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As if, with Circe, she would change my shape.
Puc. Chang'd to a worser shape thou canst not be.
York. O, Charles the Dauphin is a proper man ;
No shape but his can please your dainty eye.

Puc. A plaguing mischief light on Charles, and thee! And may ye both be suddenly surpriz'd

By bloody_hands, in sleeping on your beds!

York. Fell, banning hag! enchantress, hold thy

tongue.

stake.

Puc. I pr'ythee, give me leave to curse awhile. York. Curse, miscreant, when thou comest to the [Exeunt. Alarums. Enter SUFFOLK, leading in LadyMARGARET. Suf. Be what thou wilt, thou art my prisoner.

fairest beauty, do not fear, nor fly;

[Gazes on her.

For I will touch thee but with reverent hands,

And lay them gently on thy tender side.

I kiss these fingers [Kissing her hand.] for eternal peace:

Who art thou? say, that I may honour thee.

Mar. Margaret my name; and daughter to a king,

The king of Naples, whosoe'er thou art.

Suf. An earl I am, and Suffolk am I call'd.

Be not offended, nature's miracle,

Thou art allotted to be ta'en by me :

So doth the swan her downy cygnets save.
Keeping them prisoners underneath her wings.
Yet, if this servile usage once offend,

Go, and be free again as Suffolk's friend.

[She turns away as going. O, stay!I have no power to let her pass; My hand would free her, but my heart says--no. As plays the sun upon the glassy streams, Twinkling another counterfeited beam, So seems this gorgeous beauty to mine eyes. Fain would I woo her, yet I dare not speak : I'll call for pen and ink, and write my mind: Fye, De la Poole ! disable not thyself;'

Hast not a tongue? is she not here thy prisoner ?

[8] To ban is to curse!

STEEV.

[9] This comparison, made between things which seem sufficiently unlike, is intended to express she softness and delicacy of Lady Margaret's beauty, which delighted, but did not dazzle; which was bright, but gave no pain by its lustre. JOHNS.

[1] Do not represent thyself so weak. To disable the judgment of another was, in that age, the same as to destroy its credit or authority. JOHNS.

Wilt thou be daunted at a woman's sight?
Ay; beauty's princely majesty is such,

Confounds the tongue, and makes the senses rough.
Mar. Say, earl of Suffolk,-if thy name be so,-
What ransome must I pay before I pass?
For, I perceive, I am thy prisoner.

Suf. How canst thou tell, she will deny thy suit,
Before thou make a trial of her love?

[Aside. Mar.Why speak'st thou not? what ransome must I pay? Suf. She's beautiful; and therefore to be woo'd: She is a woman; therefore to be won.

[Aside

Mar. Wilt thou accept of ransome, yea, or no?
Suf. Fond man! remember, that thou hast a wife;
Then how can Margaret be thy paramour? [Aside.
Mar. I were best leave him, for he will not hear.
Suf. There all is marr'd; there lies a cooling card.
Mar. He talks at random; sure, the man is mad.
Suf. And yet a dispensation may be had.

Mar. And yet I would that you would answer me.
Suf. I'll win this lady Margaret. For whom?
Why, for my king: Tush! that's a wooden thing.
Mar. He talks of wood: It is some carpenter.
Suf. Yet so my fancy may be satisfied,
And peace established between these realms.
But there remains a scruple in that too:
For though her father be the king of Naples,
Duke of Anjou and Maine, yet is he poor,
And our nobility will scorn the match.

[Aside.

Mar. Hear ye, captain? Are you not at leisure ?
Suf. It shall be so, disdain they ne'er so much :
Henry is youthful, and will quickly yield.—
Madam, I have a secret to reveal.

Mar. What though I be enthral'd? he seems a knight,

And will not any way dishonour me.

[Aside.

Suf. Lady, vouchsafe to listen what I say.

Mar. Perhaps, I shall be rescu'd by the French;

And then I need not crave his courtesy.

[Aside.

Suf. Sweet madam, give me hearing in a cause

Mar.Tush! women have been captivate ere now. [Asi

Suf. Lady, wherefore talk you so ?

Mar. I cry you mercy, 'tis but quid for quo. Suf. Say, gentle princess, would you not suppose Your bondage happy, to be made a queen ?

Mar. To be a queen in bondage, is more vile, Than is a slave in base servility;

Z*

VOL. V.

For princes should be free.

Suf. And so shall you,

If happy England's royal king be free.

Mar. Why, what concerns his freedom unto me?
Suf. I'll undertake to make thee Henry's queen;
To put a golden sceptre in thy hand,
And set a precious crown upon thy head,
If thou wilt condescend to be my-
Mar. What?
Suf. His love.

Mar. I am unworthy to be Henry's wife.
Suf. No, gentle madam; I unworthy am
To woo so fair a dame to be his wife,
And have no portion in the choice myself.
How say you, madam; are you so content?

Mar. An if my father please, I am content.

Suf. Then call our captains, and our colours, forth : And, madam, at your father's castle walls

We'll crave a parley, to confer with him.

[Troops come forward.

A Parley sounded. Enter REIGNIER, on the Walls.

Suf. See, Reignier, see, thy daughter prisoner.

Reig. To whom?

Suf. To me.

Reig. Suffolk, what remedy?

I am a soldier; and unapt to weep,

Or to exclaim on fortune's fickleness.

Suf. Yes, there is remedy enough, my lord:
Consent, (and, for thy honour, give consent,)
Thy daughter shall be wedded to my king;
Whom I with pain have woo'd and won thereto;
And this her easy-held imprisonment
Hath gain'd thy daughter princely liberty.
Reig. Speaks Suffolk as he thinks?
Suf. Fair Margaret knows,

2

That Suffolk doth not flatter, face, or feign.
Reig. Upon thy princely warrant, I descend,

To give thee answer of thy just demand.

[Exit from the Walls.

Suf. And here I will expect thy coming.

Trumpets sounded. Enter REIGNIER, below. Reig. Welcome, brave earl, into our territories; Command in Anjou what your honour pleases.

[2] To face is to carry a false appearance; to play the hypocrite. JOHN.

Suf. Thanks, Reignier, happy for so sweet a child, Fit to be made companion with a king:

What answer makes your grace unto my suit?

Reig. Since thou dost deign to woo her little worth, To be the princely bride of such a lord ;

Upon condition I may quietly

Enjoy mine own, the county Maine, and Anjou,
Free from oppression, or the stroke of war,
My daughter shall be Henry's, if he please.
Suf. That is her ransome, I deliver her;
And those two counties, I will undertake,
Your grace shall well and quietly enjoy.

Reig. And I again,-in Henry's royal name,
As deputy unto that gracious king,

Give thee her hand, for sign of plighted faith.

Suf. Reignier of France, I give thee kingly thanks, Because this is in traffic of a king:

And yet, methinks, I could be well content
To be mine own attorney in this case.-
I'll over then to England with this news,
And make this marriage to be solemniz'd;
So, farewell, Reignier! Set this diamond safe
In golden palaces, as it becomes.

[Aside.

Reig. I do embrace thee, as I would embrace The Christian prince, king Henry, were he here.

Mar. Farewell, my lord! Good wishes, praise, and

prayers,

Shall Suffolk ever have of Margaret.

[Going.

Suf.Farewell, sweet madam! But hark you Margaret;

No princely commendations to my king?

Mar. Such commendations as become a maid,

A virgin, and his servant, say to him.

Suf. Words sweetly plac'd, and modestly directed.

But, madam, I must trouble you again,—

No loving token to his majesty ?

Mar. Yes, my good lord; a pure unspotted heart,

Never yet taint with love, I send the king.

Suf. And this withal.

[Kisses her.

Mar. That for thyself;-I will not so presume,

To send such peevish tokens to a king. [Ex.RE1.& MAR.
Suf. O, wert thou for myself!-But, Suffolk, stay ;

Thou may'st not wander in that labyrinth;
There Minotaurs, and ugly treasons, lurk.
Solicit Henry with her wond'rous praise:
Bethink thee on her virtues that surmount;

Mad, natural graces that extinguish art ;5
Repeat their semblance often on the seas,

That, when thou com'st to kneel at Henry's feet,
Thou may'st bereave him of his wits with wonder. [Exit.

SCENE IV.

Camp of the Duke of YORK, in Anjou. Enter YORK, WARWICK, and Others.

York. Bring forth that sorceress, condemn'd to burn. Enter LA PUCELLE, guarded, and a Shepherd. Shep. Ah, Joan! this kills thy father's heart outright! Have I sought every country far and near,

And, now it is my chance to find thee out,
Must I behold thy timeless, cruel death ?

Ah, Joan, sweet daughter Joan, I'll die with thee!
Puc. Decrepit miser !6 base ignoble wretch !

I am descended of a gentler blood;

Thou art no father, nor no friend, of mine.

Shep. Out, out !—My lords, an please you, 'tis not so; I did beget her, all the parish knows :

Her mother liveth yet, can testify

She was the first fruit of my bachelorship.

War. Graceless! wilt thou deny thy parentage? York. This argues what her kind of life hath been, Wicked and vile; and so her death concludes.

Shep. Fie, Joan ! that thou wilt be so obstacle !7

God knows, thou art a collop of my flesh;

And for thy sake I have shed many a tear:

Deny me not, I pray thee, gentle Joan.

Puc. Peasant, avaunt!-You have suborn'd this man,

On purpose to obscure my noble birth.

Shep. 'Tis true, I gave a noble to the priest, The morn that I was wedded to her mother.Kneel down and take my blessing, good my girl. Wilt thou not stoop? Now cursed be the time Of thy nativity! I would, the milk

Thy mother gave thee, when thou suck'st her breast,
Had been a little ratsbane for thy sake!

Or else, when thou didst keep my lambs a-field,
I wish some ravenous wolf had eaten thee !

[5] By the word mad, I believe the poet meant wild or uncultivated. We call a wild girl, to this day, a mad-cap. Mad, in some of the ancient books of gardening, is used of plants which grow rampant and wild. STEEV. [6] Miser has here no relation to avarice, but simply means a miserable creature, in which sense it was frequently used by old writers. STEEV. [7] A vulgar corruption of cbstinate, which I think has oddly lasted since ar author's time till now. JOHNS.

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