Twinkling another counterfeited63 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:

  Fie, de la Pole, disable67 not thyself!

  Hast not a tongue? Is she not here?

  Wilt thou be daunted at a woman’s sight69?

  Ay, beauty’s princely majesty is such

  Confounds the tongue and makes the senses rough71.

  MARGARET    Say, Earl of Suffolk — if thy name be so —

  What ransom must I pay before I pass?

  For I perceive I am thy prisoner.

  Aside

  SUFFOLK    How canst thou tell she will deny thy suit,

  Before thou make a trial of her love?

  MARGARET    Why speak’st thou not? What ransom must I pay?

  Aside

  SUFFOLK    She’s beautiful, and therefore to be wooed:

  She is a woman, therefore to be won.

  MARGARET    Wilt thou accept of ransom, yea or no?

  Aside

  SUFFOLK    Fond81 man, remember that thou hast a wife:

  Then how can Margaret be thy paramour?

  Aside

  MARGARET    I were best to leave him, for he will not hear.

  Aside

  SUFFOLK    There all is marred: there lies a cooling card84.

  Aside

  MARGARET    He talks at random: sure, the man is mad.

  Aside

  SUFFOLK    And yet a dispensation86 may be had.

  MARGARET    And yet I would that you would answer me.

  Aside

  SUFFOLK    I’ll win this Lady Margaret. For whom?

  Why, for my king: tush, that’s a wooden thing89.

  Aside

  MARGARET    He talks of wood: it is some carpenter.

  Aside

  SUFFOLK    Yet so my fancy91 may be satisfied,

  And peace establishèd between these realms.

  But there remains a scruple93 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.

  MARGARET    Hear ye, captain? Are you not at leisure?

  Aside

  SUFFOLK    It shall be so, disdain they ne’er so much98.

  Henry is youthful and will quickly yield.—

  To Margaret

  Madam, I have a secret to reveal.

  Aside

  MARGARET    What though I be enthralled101, he seems a knight,

  And will not any way dishonour me.

  SUFFOLK    Lady, vouchsafe to listen what I say.

  Aside

  MARGARET    Perhaps I shall be rescued by the French,

  And then I need not crave his courtesy.

  SUFFOLK    Sweet madam, give me a hearing in a cause.

  Aside

  MARGARET    Tush, women have been captivate107 ere now.

  SUFFOLK    Lady, wherefore talk you so?

  MARGARET    I cry you mercy, ’tis but. quid109 for quo.

  SUFFOLK    Say, gentle princess, would you not suppose

  Your bondage happy111 to be made a queen?

  MARGARET    To be a queen in bondage is more vile112

  Than is a slave in base servility113,

  For princes should be free.

  SUFFOLK    And so shall you,

  If happy England’s royal king be free.

  MARGARET    Why, what concerns his freedom unto me?

  SUFFOLK    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—

  MARGARET    What?

  SUFFOLK    His love.

  MARGARET    I am unworthy to be Henry’s wife.

  SUFFOLK    No, gentle madam, I unworthy am

  To woo so fair a dame to be his wife,

  And have no portion in the choice127 myself.

  How say you, madam, are ye so content?

  MARGARET    An if129 my father please, I am content.

  SUFFOLK    Then call our captains and our colours130 forth,

  And, madam, at your father’s castle walls

  We’ll crave a parley132, to confer with him.

  [Enter Captains, Colours and Trumpeters] Sound [a parley]. Enter Reignier on the walls

  See, Reignier, see, thy daughter prisoner.

  REIGNIER    To whom?

  SUFFOLK    To me.

  REIGNIER    Suffolk, what remedy136?

  I am a soldier, and unapt to weep,

  Or to exclaim on138 fortune’s fickleness.

  SUFFOLK    Yes, there is remedy enough, my lord:

  Consent, and for thy honour give consent,

  Thy daughter shall be wedded to my king,

  Whom142 I with pain have wooed and won thereto:

  And this her easy-held143 imprisonment

  Hath gained thy daughter princely liberty.

  REIGNIER    Speaks Suffolk as he thinks?

  SUFFOLK    Fair Margaret knows

  That Suffolk doth not flatter, face147, or feign.

  REIGNIER    Upon thy princely warrant148, I descend

  To give thee answer of thy just149 demand.

  [Exit from the walls]

  SUFFOLK    And here I will expect150 thy coming.

  Trumpets sound. Enter Reignier [below]

  REIGNIER    Welcome, brave earl, into our territories:

  Command in Anjou what your honour pleases.

  SUFFOLK    Thanks, Reignier, happy for153 so sweet a child,

  Fit to be made companion with a king:

  What answer makes your grace unto my suit?

  REIGNIER    Since thou dost deign to woo her little worth156

  To be the princely bride of such a lord,

  Upon condition I may quietly158

  Enjoy mine own, the country Maine and Anjou,

  Free from oppression or the stroke of war,

  My daughter shall be Henry’s, if he please.

  SUFFOLK    That is her ransom: I deliver her,

  And those two counties163 I will undertake

  Your grace shall well and quietly enjoy.

  REIGNIER    And I again165 in Henry’s royal name,

  As deputy166 unto that gracious king,

  Give thee her hand for sign of plighted167 faith.

  SUFFOLK    Reignier of France, I give thee kingly thanks,

  Because this is in traffic169 of a king.—

  Aside

  And yet, methinks, I could be well content

  To be mine own attorney171 in this case.—

  To Reignier

  I’ll over then to England with this news,

  And make this marriage to be solemnized173:

  So farewell, Reignier: set this diamond safe

  In golden palaces, as it becomes175.

  REIGNIER    I do embrace thee, as I would embrace

  The Christian prince King Henry, were he here.

  MARGARET    Farewell, my lord: good wishes, praise and prayers

  Shall Suffolk ever have of Margaret.

  She is going

  SUFFOLK    Farewell, sweet madam: but hark you, Margaret:

  No princely commendations181 to my king?

  MARGARET    Such commendations as becomes a maid,

  A virgin and his servant, say to him.

  SUFFOLK    Words sweetly placed184 and modestly directed.

  But madam, I must trouble you again;

  No loving token to his majesty?

  MARGARET    Yes, my good lord, a pure unspotted heart,

  Never yet taint188 with love, I send the king.

  SUFFOLK    And this withal189.

  Kisses her

  MARGARET    That for thyself: I will not so presume

  To send such peevish191 tokens to a king.

  [Exeunt Reignier and Margaret]

  SUFFOLK O, wert thou for myself! But, Suffolk, stay192:

  Thou mayst not wander in that labyrinth:

  There Minotaurs194 and ugly treasons lurk.

  Solicit Henry with her wondrous praise195.

  Bethink thee on her virtues that surmount196,

  Mad natural graces that extinguish art197,

  Repeat their semblance198 often on the seas,

  That when thou com’st to kneel at Henry’s feet,

  Thou mayst bereave200 him of his wits with wonder.

  Exit

  [Act 5 Scene 4]

  running scene 20

  Enter York, Warwick, [a] Shepherd [and Joan la] Pucelle [guarded]

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK    Bring forth that sorceress condemned to burn.

  SHEPHERD    Ah, Joan, this kills thy father’s heart outright.

  Have I sought every country3 far and near,

  And now it is my chance4 to find thee out,

  Must I behold thy timeless5 cruel death?

  Ah, Joan, sweet daughter Joan, I’ll die with thee.

  PUCELLE    Decrepit miser7, base ignoble wretch,

  I am descended of a gentler8 blood.

  Thou art no father, nor no friend9 of mine.

  SHEPHERD    Out, out!— My lords, an’t10 please you, ’tis not so:

  I did beget11 her, all the parish knows:

  Her mother liveth yet, can testify

  She was the first fruit of my bach’lorship13.

  WARWICK    Graceless, wilt thou deny thy parentage?

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK    This argues15 what her kind of life hath been:

  Wicked and vile, and so her death concludes16.

  SHEPHERD    Fie, Joan, that thou wilt be so obstacle17:

  God knows thou art a collop18 of my flesh,

  And for thy sake have I shed many a tear:

  Deny me not, I prithee, gentle Joan.

  To the English

  PUCELLE    Peasant, avaunt!—You have suborned21 this man,

  Of22 purpose to obscure my noble birth.

  SHEPHERD    ’Tis true, I gave a noble23 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 cursèd be the time

  Of thy nativity27: I would the milk

  Thy mother gave thee when thou sucked’st her breast,

  Had been a little ratsbane29 for thy sake.

  Or else, when thou didst keep my lambs afield30,

  I wish some ravenous wolf had eaten thee.

  Dost thou deny thy father, cursèd drab32?—

  O burn her, burn her: hanging is too good.

  Exit

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK    Take her away; for she hath lived too long,

  To fill the world with vicious qualities.

  PUCELLE    First let me tell you whom you have condemned:

  Not one begotten of a shepherd swain37,

  But issued from the progeny38 of kings:

  Virtuous and holy, chosen from above,

  By inspiration of celestial grace,

  To work exceeding41 miracles on earth.

  I never had to do42 with wicked spirits:

  But you that are polluted with your lusts,

  Stained with the guiltless blood of innocents,

  Corrupt and tainted with a thousand vices:

  Because you want46 the grace that others have,

  You judge it straight47 a thing impossible

  To compass48 wonders but by help of devils.

  No misconceivèd49, Joan of Arc hath been

  A virgin from her tender50 infancy,

  Chaste and immaculate in very thought,

  Whose maiden blood thus rigorously effused52

  Will cry for vengeance at the gates of heaven.

  To Guards

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK    Ay, ay.— Away with her to execution.

  WARWICK    And hark ye, sirs: because she is a maid,

  Spare for no faggots56: let there be enough:

  Place barrels of pitch57 upon the fatal stake,

  That so her torture may be shortenèd.

  PUCELLE    Will nothing turn your unrelenting hearts?

  Then, Joan, discover thine infirmity60,

  That warranteth by law to be thy privilege61.

  I am with child, ye bloody homicides:

  Murder not then the fruit within my womb,

  Although ye hale64 me to a violent death.

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK    Now heaven forfend65, the holy maid with child?

  WARWICK    The greatest miracle that e’er ye wrought.

  Is all your strict preciseness67 come to this?

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK    She and the dauphin have been juggling68.

  I did imagine what would be her refuge69.

  WARWICK    Well, go to: we’ll have no bastards live,

  Especially since Charles must father it.

  PUCELLE    You are deceived: my child is none of his:

  It was Alençon that enjoyed my love.

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK    Alençon, that notorious machiavel74?

  It dies, an if75 it had a thousand lives.

  PUCELLE O    give me leave, I have deluded you:

  ’Twas neither Charles nor yet the duke I named,

  But Reignier, King of Naples, that prevailed78.

  WARWICK    A married man: that’s most intolerable!

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK    Why, here’s a girl! I think she knows not well,

  There were so many, whom she may accuse.

  WARWICK    It’s sign she hath been liberal and free82.

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK    And yet, forsooth, she is a virgin pure.—

  Strumpet, thy words condemn thy brat and thee.

  Use no entreaty, for it is in vain.

  PUCELLE    Then lead me hence, with whom I leave my curse:

  May never glorious sun reflex87 his beams

  Upon the country where you make abode:

  But darkness and the gloomy shade of death

  Environ you, till mischief and despair

  Drive you to break your necks or hang yourselves!

  Exit [guarded]

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK    Break thou in pieces and consume92 to ashes,

  Thou foul accursèd minister93 of hell!

  Enter [Bishop of Winchester, now] Cardinal [attended]

  WINCHESTER    Lord Regent, I do greet your excellence

  With letters of commission95 from the king.

  For know, my lords, the states of Christendom,

  Moved with remorse of these outrageous broils97,

  Have earnestly implored a general peace

  Betwixt our nation and the aspiring99 French,

  And here at hand the dauphin and his train

  Approacheth to confer about some matter.

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK    Is all our travail102 turned to this effect?

  After the slaughter of so many peers,

  So many captains, gentlemen and soldiers,

  That in this quarrel have been overthrown

  And sold their bodies for their country’s benefit,

  Shall we at last conclude effeminate peace?

  Have we not lost most part of all the towns,

  By treason, falsehood and by treachery,

  Our great progenitors had conquerèd?

  O Warwick, Warwick, I foresee with grief

  The utter loss of all the realm of France.

  WARWICK    Be patient, York: if we conclude113 a peace,

  It shall be with such strict and severe covenants114

  As little shall the Frenchmen gain thereby.

  Enter Charles, Alençon, Bastard [of Orléans] and Reignier

  CHARLES    Since, lords of England, it is thus agreed

  That peaceful truce shall be proclaimed in France,

  We come to be informèd by yourselves

  What the conditions of that league must be.

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK    Speak, Winchester, for boiling choler chokes

  The hollow passage of my poisoned voice,

  By sight of these our baleful122 enemies.

  WINCHESTER    Charles and the rest, it is enacted123 thus: