Can I do this, and cannot get a crown? SCENE III. France. A Room in the Palace. [Exit. Flourish. Enter LEWIS the French King, and Lady BONA, attended; the King takes his State. Then enter Queen MARGARET, Prince EDWARD her Son, and the Earl of OXFORD. K. LEW. Fair queen of England,5 worthy Mar garet, * Sit down with us; it ill befits thy state, [Rising. • And birth, that thou should'st stand, while Lewis doth sit. *Q. MAR. No, mighty king of France; now Margaret "Spencer, the father of that wanton Spencer, "Revell❜d in England's wealth and treasury." MALONE. Fair queen of England, &c.] Thus the folio. The quartos give the following: "Welcome, queen Margaret, to the court of France. STEEVENS. See the notes referred to in p. 74, n. 3. MALOne. No, mighty king of France; &c.] Instead of this speech the quartos only supply the following: "Queen. I humbly thank your royal majesty, "And pray the God of heaven to bless thy state, "Great king of France, that thus regard'st our wrongs.' " STEEVENS. *Must strike her sail, and learn a while to serve, *Where kings command. I was, I must confess, *Great Albion's queen in former golden days: *But now mischance hath trod my title down, * And with dishonour laid me on the ground; *Where I must take like seat unto my fortune, *And to my humble seat conform myself. * K. LEW. Why, say, fair queen, this deep despair? whence springs *Q. MAR. From such a cause as fills mine eyes with tears, * And stops my tongue, while heart is drown'd in cares. * K. LEW. Whate'er it be, be thou still like thy self, * And sit thee by our side: yield not thy neck [Seats her by him. * To fortune's yoke, but let thy dauntless mind * Still ride in triumph over all mischance. Be plain, queen Margaret, and tell thy grief; *It shall be eas'd, if France can yield relief. * Q. MAR. Those gracious words revive my drooping thoughts, * And give my tongue-tied sorrows leave to speak. *Now, therefore, be it known to noble Lewis,— * That Henry, sole possessor of my love, *Is, of a king, become a banish'd man, * Of England's true-anointed lawful king. * With this my son, prince Edward, Henry's heir,— *Am come to crave thy just and lawful aid; And, if thou fail us, all our hope is done : * Scotland hath will to help, but cannot help; * Our people and our peers are both misled, * Our treasure seiz'd, our soldiers put to flight, * And, as thou see'st, ourselves in heavy plight. *K. LEW. Renowned queen, with patience calm the storm, * While we bethink a means to break it off. * Q. MAR. The more we stay, the stronger grows our foe. *K. LEW. The more I stay, the more I'll succour thee. *Q. MAR. O, but impatience waiteth on true sorrow: * And see, where comes the breeder of my sorrow. Enter WARWICK," attended. K. LEW. What's he, approacheth boldly to our presence? 17 Enter Warwick,] This nobleman's embassy and commission, the insult he receives by the King's hasty marriage, and his consequent resolution to avenge it, with the capture, imprisonment, and escape of the King, Shakspeare, it is true, found in Hall and Holinshed; but later, as well as earlier writers, of better authority, incline us to discredit the whole; and to refer the rupture between the King and his political creator, to causes which have not reached posterity, or to that jealousy and ingratitude so natural, perhaps, to those who are under great obligations too great to be discharged. Beneficia, (says Tacitus,) ed usque læta sunt, dum videntur exsolvi posse : ubi multum antevenêre, pro gratia odium redditur. There needs no other proof how little our common histories are to be depended upon than this fabulous story of Warwick and the Lady Bona. The King was privately married to Lady Elizabeth Widville, in 1463, and in February 1465, Warwick actually stood sponsor to the Princess Elizabeth their first child. What secretly displeased him was: 1. the King's marrying one of the Queen's sisters to the Duke of Buckingham; 2. his con Q. MAR. Our earl of Warwick, Edward's greatest friend. K.LEW. Welcome, brave Warwick! What brings thee to France? [Descending from his state. Queen MARGARET rises. *Q. MAR. Ay, now begins a second storm to rise; *For this is he, that moves both wind and tide. WAR. From worthy Edward, king of Albion, With nuptial knot, if thou vouchsafe to grant To England's king in lawful marriage. • Q. MAR. If that go forward, Henry's hope is done. 8 ferring the office of Lord Treasurer (which he had taken from the Lord Montjoy,) upon Lord Rivers, the Queen's brother 3. his making a match between the son and heir of the Lord Herbert and another of the Queen's sisters; and between that nobleman's daughter and the young Lord Lisle; and creating young Herbert Knight and Lord of Dunstar; 4. his making a match between Sir Thomas Grey, the Queen's son, and Lady Ann daughter and heiress of the Duke of Exeter, the King's niece, who had been talked of as a wife for the Earl of Northumberland, Warwick's brother. See Wilhelmi Wyrcester Annales, which are unfortunately defective from the beginning of November 1468, at which time no open rupture had taken place between the King and Warwick, who, for any thing that appears to the contrary, were, at least, upon speaking terms. 8 RITSON -Henry's hope is done.] So the folio. The quartos read: -all our hope is done. STEEVens. We have had nearly the same line in Margaret's former speech p. 119. The line having made an impression on Shakspeare, he WAR. And, gracious madam, [TO BONA.] in our king's behalf, * I am commanded, with your leave and favour, Humbly to kiss your hand, and with my tongue To tell the passion of my sovereign's heart; Where fame, late entering at his heedful ears, Hath plac'd thy beauty's image, and thy virtue." Q. MAR. King Lewis,—and lady Bona,-hear me speak, * • Before you answer Warwick. His demand1 Springs not from Edward's well-meant honest love, * But from deceit, bred by necessity; * For how can tyrants safely govern home, * Unless abroad they purchase great alliance? *To prove him tyrant, this reason may suffice,*That Henry liveth still: but were he dead, * Yet here prince Edward stands, king Henry's son. * Look therefore, Lewis, that by this league and marriage * Thou draw not on thy danger and dishonour: * For though usurpers sway the rule a while, * Yet heavens are just, and time suppresseth wrongs. WAR. Injurious Margaret! PRINCE. And why not queen? introduced it in that speech, which appears (except in this instance) to have been entirely his own production; and afterwards inadvertently suffered it with a slight variation to remain here, where only it is found in the old play. MALONE. 9 Hath plac'd thy beauty's image, and thy virtue.] So the folio. The quarto thus: 1 "Hath plac'd thy glorious image, and thy vertues.” STEEVENS. His demand &c.] Instead of the remainder of this speech the old play has the following lines: 66 hear me speak, "Before you answer Warwick, or his words, MALONE. |