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FIRST PART OF KING HENRY VI.

Glo. Ay, grief, I fear me, both at first and last.

[Exeunt GLOSTer and Exeter

Suf. Thus Suffolk hath prevail'd; and thus he goes,
As did the youthful Paris once to Greece,
With hope to find the like event in love,
But prosper better than the Trojan did.

Margaret shall now be queen, and rule the king;
But I will rule both her, the king, and realm.

[Exit

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A Sea-captain, Master, and Master's MARGERY JOURDAIN, a Witch.
Mate.
Wife to SIMPCOX.

Lords, Ladies, and Attendants; Herald; Petitioners, Aldermen, a Beadle, Sheriff, and Officers; Citizens, Prentices, Falconers, Guards, Soldiers, Messengers, &c.

SCENE, in various Parts of England.

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King

Flourish of Trumpets: then Hautboys. Enter, on one side, HENRY, Duke of GLOSTER, SALISBURY, WARWICK, and Cardinal BEAUFORT; on the other, Queen MARGARET, led in by SUFFOLK; YORK, SOMERSET, BUCKINGHAM, and Others, following.

Suf. As by your high imperial majesty
I had in charge at my depart for France,
As procurator to your excellence,

To marry princess Margaret for your grace;
So, in the famous ancient city, Tours,

In presence of the kings of France and Sicil,

The dukes of Orleans, Calaber, Bretaigne, and Alençon,
Seven earls, twelve barons, and twenty reverend bishops,
I have perform'd my task, and was espous’d:

And humbly now upon my bended knee,

In sight of England and her lordly peers,

Deliver up my title in the queen

To your most gracious hands, that are the substance

Of that great shadow I did represent;

The happiest gift that ever marquess gave,

The fairest queen that ever king receiv'd.

K. Hen. Suffolk, arise. Welcome, queen Margaret:

I can express no kinder sign of love,

Than this kind kiss. - O Lord! that lends me life,

Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness;

For thou hast given me, in this beauteous face,

A world of earthly blessings to my soul,

If sympathy of love unite our thoughts.

Q. Mar. Great king of England, and my gracious lord, The mutual conference that my mind hath had

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

In courtly company, or at my beads,

With you mine alderlievest 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!
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.

[Flourish.

Glo. [Reads.] "Imprimis: It is agreed between the French king, Charles, and William de la Poole, marquess 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 duchy of Anjou and the county of Maine, shall be released and delivered to the king her father".

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Pardon me, gracious lord;

that

Some sudden qualm hath struck me at the heart,
And dimm'd mine eyes, that I can read no farther.
K. Hen. Uncle of Winchester, I pray, read on.
Win. Item,
"It is farther agreed between them,
the duchies of Anjou and Maine shall be released and delivered
over to the king her father; and she sent over of the king of Eng-
land's own proper cost and charges, without having any dowry."
K. Hen. They please us well. - Lord marquess,
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
I' the parts of France, till term of eighteen months

Be full expir'd.· - Thanks, uncle Winchester,
Gloster, York, 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 Warwick,
Receiv'd deep scars in France and Normandy?
Or hath mine uncle Beaufort, and myself,
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 was his highness in his infancy
Crowned in Paris, in despite of foes?

And shall these labours, and these honours, 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.

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