had.

By day, by night, waking, and in my dreams,

In courtly company, or at my beads,

With you mine alder-liefest + sovereign,
Makes me the bolder to salute my king
With ruder terms; such as my wit affords,
And over-joy of heart doth minister.

K. Hen. Her sight did ravish: but her grace in speech,

Her words y-clad with wisdom's majesty, Makes me, from wondering fall to weeping joys,

Such is the fulness of my heart's content.-Lords, with one cheerful voice, welcome my love.

All. Long live queen Margaret, England's happiness!

[Flourish.

Q. Mar. We thank you all. Suf. My lord protector, so it please your grace,

Here are the articles of contracted peace, Between our sovereign and the French king Charles,

For eighteen months concluded by consent. Glo. [Reads.] Imprimis, It is agreed between the French King, Charles, and William de la Poole, marquis of Suffolk, ambassador for Henry king of England, that the said Henry shall espouse the lady Margaret, daughter unto Reignier king of Naples, Sicilia, and Jerusalem; and crown her queen of England, ere the thirtieth of May next ensuing.Item,-That the dutchy of Anjou and the county of Maine, shall be released and delivered to the king her fatherK. Hen. Uncle, how now? Glo. Pardon me, gracious lord; Some sudden qualm hath struck me at heart, And dimm'd mine eyes, that I can read further.

the

no

K. Hen. Uncle of Winchester, I pray, read

on.

Win. Item,-It is further agreed between them, that the dutchies of Anjou and Maine shall be released and delivered over to the king her father; and she sent over of the king of England's own proper cost and charges, without having dowry.

K. Hen. They please us well.-Lord marquis, kneel down;

We here create thee the first duke of Suffolk,
And girt thee with the sword.

Cousin of York, we here discharge your grace
From being regent in the parts of France,
Till term of eighteen months be full expir'd.
Thanks, uncle Winchester, Gloster, York, and
Buckingham,

Somerset, Salisbury, and Warwick:

We thank you all for this great favour done,
In entertainment to my princely queen.
Come, let us in; and with all speed provide
To see her coronation be perform'd.

[Exeunt KING QUEEN, and SUFFOLK. Glo. Brave peers of England, pillars of the state,

To you duke Humphrey must unload his grief,
Your grief, the common grief of all the land.
What did my brother Henry spend his youth,
His valour, coin, and people, in the wars ?
Did he so often lodge in open field,

In winter's cold, and summer's parching heat,
To conquer France, his true inheritance ?
And did my brother Bedford toil his wits,
To keep by policy what Henry got?
Have you yourselves, Somerset, Buckingham,
Brave York, Salisbury, and victorious War-
wick,

Receiv'd deep scars in France and Normandy?

I am the bolder to address you, having already fa muliarized you to my imagination. † Beloved above all things.

With all the learned council of the realm, Studied so long, sat in the council-house, Early and late, debating to and fro

How France and Frenchmen might be kept in awe ?

And hath his highness in his infancy
Been crown'd in Paris, in despite of foes?
And shall these labours, and these houours,
die?

Shall Henry's conquest, Bedford's vigilance,
Your deeds of war, and all our counsel, die?
O peers of England, shameful is this league!
Fatal this marriage, cancelling your fame;
Blotting your names from books of memory;
Razing the characters of your renown;
Defacing monuments of conquer'd France;
Undoing all, as all had never been!

Car. Nephew, what means this passionate discourse?

This peroration with such circumstance? *
For France, 'tis our's: and we will keep it still.
Glo. Ay, uncle, we will keep it, if we can;
But now it is impossible we should:
Suffolk, the new-made duke that rules the
roast,

Hath given the dutchies of Anjou and Maine
Unto the poor king Reignier, whose large style
Agrees not with the leanness of his purse.

Sal. Now, by the death of him that died for

War. For grief, that they are past recovery: For, were there hope to conquer them again, My sword should shed hot blood, mine eyes no tears.

Anjou and Maine ! myself did win them both; Those provinces these arms of mine did conquer:

And are the cities, that I got with wounds,
Deliver'd up again with peaceful words?
Mort Dieu

York. For Suffolk's duke-may he be suffocate,

That dims the honour of this warlike isle ! France should have torn and rent my very heart,

Before I would have yielded to this league.
I never read but England's kings have bad
Large sums of gold, and dowries, with their

Behoves it us to labour for the realm.
I never saw but Humphrey duke of Gloster
Did bear him like a noble gentleman.
Oft have I seen the haughty cardinal,
More like a soldier than a man o'the church,
As stout, and proud as he were lord of all,
Swear like a ruffian, and demean himself
Unlike the ruler of a common-weal.-
Warwick, my son, the comfort of my age!
Thy deeds, thy plainness, and thy house-keeping,
Hath won the greatest favour of the commons,
Excepting none but good duke Humphrey.-
And, brother York, thy acts in Ireland,
In bringing them to civil discipline;
Thy late exploits, done in the heart of France,
When thou wert regent for our sovereign,
Have made thee fear'd and honour'd of the

While they do tend the profit of the land.

Paris is lost; the state of Normandy
Stands on a tickle point, now they are gone :
Suffolk concluded on the articles:
The peers agreed; and Henry was well pleas'd,
To change two dukedoms for a duke's fair
daughter.

I cannot blame them all; what is't to them?
'Tis thine they give away, and not their own.
Pirates may make cheap pennyworths of their
pillage,

And purchase friends, and give to courtezans,
Still revelling, like lords, till all be gone :
While as the silly owner of the goods
Weeps over them, and wrings his hapless
bands,

And shakes his head, and trembling stands aloof,

sold.

While all is shar'd, and all is borne away;
Ready to starve, and dare not touch his own.
So York must sit, and fret, and bite his tongue,
While his own lands are bargain'd for and
[Ireland,
Methinks, the realms of England, France, and
Bear that proportion to my flesh and bloo6,
As did the fatal brand Althea burn'd,
Unto the prince's heart of Calydon. +
Anjou and Maine, both given unto the French!
Cold news for me; for I had hope of France,
Even as I have of fertile England's soil.

A day will come, when York shall claim his

And, when I spy advantage, claim the crown;
For that's the golden mark I seek to hit :
Nor shall proud Lancaster usurp my right,
Nor hold the sceptre in his childish fist,
Nor wear the diadem upon his head,
Whose church-like humours fit not for a crown.
Then, York, be still awhile, till time do serve :
Watch thou, and wake, when others be asleep,
To pry into the secrets of the state:
Till Henry, surfeiting in joys of love,
With his new bride, and England's dear-bought

SCENE 11.-The same.—A Room in the Duke of GLOSTER's House.

Enter GLOSTER and the DUCHESS. Duch. Why droops my lord, like over-ripen'd corn,

brows,

As frowning at the favours of the world?
Why are thine eyes fix'd to the sullen earth,
Gazing on that which seems to dim thy sight?
What see'st thou there? king Henry's diadem,
Enchas'd with all the honours of the world?
If so, gaze on, and grovel on thy face,
Until thy head be circled with the same.
Put forth thy hand, reach at the glorious
gold :-

What, is't too short? I'll lengthen it with mine:
And, having both together heav'd it up,
We'll both together lift our heads to heaven ;

And never more abase our sight so low,
As to vouchsafe one glance unto the ground.
Glo. O Nell, sweet Nell, if thou dost love
thy lord,

Banish the canker of ambitious thoughts:
And may that thought, when I imagine ill
Against my king and nephew, virtuous Henry,
Be my last breathing in this mortal world!
My troublous dream this night doth make me
sad.

Duch. What dream'd my lord? tell me, and
I'll requite it

With sweet rehearsal of my morning's dream. Glo. Methought this staff, mine office-badge in court,

Was broke in twain, by whom, I have forgot,
But, as I think, it was by the cardinal;
And on the pieces of the broken wand
Were plac'd the heads of Edmund duke of So-
merset,

And William de la Poole first duke of Suffolk.
This was my dream; what it doth bode, God

And on my head did set the diadem.

to

Glo. Nay, Eleanor, then must I chide outright:

Presumptuous dame, ill-nutur'd Eleanor!
Art thou not second woman in the realm;
And the protector's wife, belov'd of him?'
Hast thou not worldly pleasure at command,
Above the reach or compass of thy thought?
And wilt thou still be hammering treachery,
To tumble down thy husband, and thyself,
From top of honour to disgrace's feet?
Away from me, and let me hear no more.
Duch. What, what, my lord! are you
choleric

With Eleanor, for telling but her dream?
Next time, I'll keep my dreams unto myself,
And not be check'd.

Hume. But, by the grace of God, and Hume's

advice,

Your grace's title shall be multiplied.
Duch. What say'st thou, mau? hast thou as
yet conferr'd

With Margery Jourdain, the cunning witch;
And Roger Bolingbroke, the conjurer?
And will they undertake to do me good?
Hume. This they have promised,-to show
your highness

A spirit rais'd from depth of under ground,
That shall make answer to such questions,
As by your grace shall be propounded him
Duch. It is enough; I'll think upon the ques-
tions :

When from Saint Alban's we do make return,
We'll see these things effected to the full.
Here, Hume, take this reward; make merry,
man,

With thy confederates in this weighty cause.
[Exit DUCHESS.
Hume. Hume must make merry with the du-
chess' gold;
Marry, and shall. But how now, Sir John

Hume? Seal up your lips and give no words butmum !

The business asketh silent secrecy.

Dame Eleanor gives gold, to bring the witch:
Gold cannot come amiss, were she a devil.
Yet have I gold, flies from another coast:
I dare not say, from the rich cardinal,
And from the great and new-made duke of
Suffolk;

Yet I do find it so: for, to be plain,
They, knowing dame Eleanor's aspiring hu-

mour,

Glo. Nay, be not angry, I am pleas'd again.

Enter a MESSENGER.

Mess. My lord protector, 'tis his highness' pleasure,

You do prepare to ride unto Saint Alban's, Whereas the king and queen do mean to hawk.

Glo. I go.-Come, Nell, thou wilt ride with us ?

Duch. Yes, good my lord, I'll follow presently.

[Exeunt GLOSTER and MESSENGER. Follow I must, I cannot go before, While

Gloster bears this base and humble
mind.

Were I a man, a duke, and next of blood,
I would remove these tedious stumbling-blocks,
And smooth my way upon their headless
necks :.

And, being a woman, I will not be slack
To play my part in fortune's pageant.
Where are you there? Sir John! nay, fear

not, man,

We are alone; here none but thee, and I.

•

SCENE III.-The same.-A Room in the Palace.

Enter PETER, and others, with Petitions.

1 Pet. My masters, let's stand close; my lord protector will come this way by and by, and then we may deliver our supplications in the quill. +

2 Pet. Marry, the Lord protect him, for he's a good man! Jesu bless him!

Enter SUFFOLK and Queen MARGARET.

1 Pet. Here 'a comes, methinks, and the queen with him: I'll be the first, sure.

2 Pet. Come back, fool; this is the duke of Suffolk, and not my lord protector.

Suf. How now, fellow would'st any thing with me?

1 Pet. I pray, my lord, pardon me! I took ye for my lord protector.

Q. Mar. [Reading the superscription.] To my lord protector are your supplications to his lordship? Let me see them: What is thine?

John Goodman, my lord cardinal's man, for 1 Pet. Mine is, an't please your grace, against keeping my house, and lands, and wife, and all, from me.

Suf. Thy wife too? that is some wrong, indeed.-What's your's?-What's here! [Reads.] Against the duke of Suffolk for enclosing the commons of Meljord.-How now, sir knave?

Let the issue be what it will.

† With great exactness and observance of form,