Alarm. Enter Suffolk with Margaret in his hand.
Suf. Be what thou wilt, thou art my prifoner.

Oh fairest beauty, do not fear nor fly,

[Gazes on ber.

For I will touch thee but with reverent hands:
I kifs thefe fingers for eternal peace,

And lay them gently on thy tender fide.

Who art thou? fay; that I may honour thee.

Mar. Margaret my name, and daughter to a King,

The King of Naples, whofoe'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 fwan her downy cygnets fave,
Keeping them pris'ners underneath her wings.
Yet if this fervile ufage once offend,
Go and be free again, as Suffolk's friend. [She is going.
Oh stay! I have no pow'r to let her pass,
My hand would free her, but my heart says no.
As plays the fun upon the glaffy ftreams,
Twinkling another counterfeited beam,
So feems 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.
Fie, De la Pole, difable not thy felf:

Haft not a tongue? is the not here thy prisoner?
Wilt thou be daunted at a woman's fight?

Oh, beauty's princely majefty is fuch,

Confounds the tongue, and makes the fenfes crouch.

Mar. Say, Earl of Suffolk, if thy name be so, What ransom muft I pay before I pass?

For I perceive I am thy prifoner.

Suf. How canft thou tell fhe will deny thy fuit,

Before thou make a tryal of her love?

3 rough.

[Afide.

Mar.

Mar. Why speak'ft thou not? what ransom muft I pay? Suf. She's beautiful; and therefore to be wooed : She is a woman; therefore to be won.

[Afide.

Mar. Wilt thou accept of ranfom, yea or no? Suf. Fond man, remember that thou haft a wife; Then how can Margaret be thy paramour?

[Afide.

Mar. 'Twere beft to leave him, for he will not hear. Suf. There all is marr'd; there lyes a cooling card. Mar. He talks at random; fure the man is mad. Suf. And yet a difpenfation 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: a

Yet fo my fancy may be fatisfy'd,

And peace established between thefe realms.
But there remains a fcruple in that too:
For though her father be the King of Naples,
Duke of Anjou and Maine, yet he is poor,
And our Nobility will scorn the match.

[Afide.

Mar. Hear ye me, Captain? are ye not at leifure? Suf. It fhall be fo, difdain they ne'er so much: Henry is youthful, and will quickly yield.

Madam, I have a fecret to reveal.

Mar. What tho' I be inthrall'd, he feems a Knight,

And will not any way difhonour me.

Suf. Lady, vouchsafe to listen what I say.

[Afide:

Mar. Perhaps I fhall be refcu'd by the French, [Afide, And then I need not crave his courtefie.

Suf. Sweet Madam, give me hearing in a cause.

Mar. Tufh, women have been captivate ere now, b

(a) Why, for my King: Tufh, that's a wooden thing. Mar. He talks of wood: it is fome carpenter.

Suf. Yet fo my fancy, &c.

[Afide.

Suf.

Suf. Say, gentle Princefs, 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 flave in bafe fervility:

For Princes fhould be free.

Suf. And fo fhall 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 fcepter in thy hand,

And fet a precious crown upon thy head,
If thou wilt condefcend 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 fo fair a dame to be his wife,
And have no portion in the choice my felf.
How fay you, Madam, are you fo 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 caftle walls,
We'll crave a parley to confer with him.

SCENE

V.

Sound. Enter Reignier on the walls. Suf. See, Reignier, fee thy daughter prifoner. Reig. To whom?

Suf. To me.

Reig. Suffolk, what remedy?

I am a foldier and unapt to weep,

Or to exclaim on fortune's fickleness.

Suf. Yes, there is remedy enough, my Lord:
Confent, and for thy honour give confent,
Thy daughter fhall be wedded to my King
Whom I with pain have woo'd and won thereto;
And this her eafie-held imprisonment

Hath

Hath gain'd thy daughter Princely liberty.
Reig. Speaks Suffolk as he thinks?
Suf. Fair Margaret knows

That Suffolk doth not flatter, face, or 4 'feign.`
Reig. Upon thy Princely warrant I defcend,
To give thee answer of thy juft demand.
Suf. And here I will expect thy coming.

Trumpets found. Enter Reignier.

Reig. Welcome, brave Earl, into our territories,
Command in Anjou what your honour pleafes.
Suf. Thanks, Reignier, happy in fo fweet a child,
Fit to be made companion of a King:

What answer makes your Grace unto my fuit?
Reig. Since thou doft deign to woo her little worth,
To be the Princely bride of fuch a Lord;
Upon condition I may quietly

Enjoy mine own, the country Maine and Anjou,
Free from oppreffion or the stroke of war,
My daughter fhall be Henry's, if he please.
Suf. That is her ranfom, I deliver her;
And those two counties I will undertake
Your Grace fhall well and quietly enjoy.
Reig. And I again in Henry's Royal name,
As deputy unto that gracious King,

Give thee her hand for fign of plighted faith.
Suf. Reignier of France, I give thee kingly thanks,
Because this is in traffick of a King.

And yet methinks I could be well content
To be mine own attorney in this cafe.
I'll over then to England with this news, |
And make this marriage to be folemniz'd:
So Sarewel, Reignier, fet this diamond fafe
In golden palaces as it becomes.

Reig. I do embrace thee, as I would embrace
The Chriftian Prince King Henry, were he here.

[Afide.

Mar. Farewel, my Lord: good wishes, praise and pray'rs VOL. IV. 4 fain.

F

Shall

Shall Suffolk ever have of Margaret.

[She is going. Suf. Farewel, fweet Madam; hark you, Margaret; No princely commendations to my King?

Mar. Such commendations as become a maid, A virgin and his fervant, fay to him.

Suf. Words fweetly plac'd, and modeftly directed. But, Madam, I muft trouble you again;

No loving token to his Majefty?

Mar. Yes, my good Lord, a pure unfpotted heart, Never yet taint with love I fend the King.

Suf. And this withal.

[Kifles ber.

Mar. That for thy felf-I will not fo prefume,

To fend fuch peevish tokens to a King.

Suf. O wert thou for thy felf-but, Suffolk, ftay, Thou may'it not wander in that labyrinth;

There minotaurs and ugly treafons lurk.
Sollicit Henry with her wond'rous praife,
Bethink thee on her virtues that furmount,
Her natʼral graces that extinguifh art;
Repeat their femblance often on the feas,
That when thou com'ft to kneel at Henry's feet,
Thou may'ft bereave him of his wits with wonder. [Exeunt.

Enter York, Warwick, a Shepherd, and Pucelle.

York. Bring forth that forceress condemn'd to burn.
Shep. Ah, Joan, this kills thy father's heart out-

Have I fought ev'ry country far and near,

And now it is my chance to find thee out

Muft I behold thy timeless cruel death!

Ah, Joan, fweet daughter, I will die with thee.
Pucel. Decrepid Mifer, bafe ignoble wretch,

I am defcended of a gentler blood.
Thou art no father nor no friend of mine.

[right;

Shep. Out, out--my Lords, an please you, 'tis not fo;