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

  SUFFOLK

  That is her ransom. I deliver her,

  And those two counties I will undertake

  Your grace shall well and quietly enjoy.

  RENÉ

  And I again in Henry’s royal name,

  As deputy unto that gracious king,

  Give thee her hand for sign of plighted faith.

  SUFFOLK

  René of France, I give thee kingly thanks,

  Because this is in traffic of a king.

  (Aside) And yet methinks I could be well content

  To be mine own attorney in this case.

  (To René) I’ll over then to England with this news,

  And make this marriage to be solemnized.

  So farewell, René; set this diamond safe

  In golden palaces, as it becomes.

  RENÉ

  I do embrace thee as I would embrace

  The Christian prince King Henry, were he here.

  MARGARET (to Suffolk)

  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 commendations to my king?

  MARGARET

  Such commendations as becomes a maid,

  A virgin, and his servant, say to him.

  SUFFOLK

  Words sweetly placed, and modestly directed.

  ⌈She is going ⌉

  But madam, I must trouble you again—

  No loving token to his majesty?

  MARGARET

  Yes, my good lord : a pure unspotted heart,

  Never yet taint with love, I send the King.

  SUFFOLK And this withal.

  He kisses her

  MARGARET

  That for thyself; I will not so presume

  To send such peevish tokens to a king.

  ⌈Exeunt René and Margaret⌉

  SUFFOLK ⌈aside⌉

  O, wert thou for myself!—but Suffolk, stay.

  Thou mayst not wander in that labyrinth.

  There Minotaurs and ugly treasons lurk.

  Solicit Henry with her wondrous praise.

  Bethink thee on her virtues that surmount,

  Mad natural graces that extinguish art.

  Repeat their semblance often on the seas,

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

  Thou mayst bereave him of his wits with wonder.

  ⌈Exeunt⌉

  5.6 Enter Richard Duke of York, the Earl of Warwick, and a Shepherd

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK

  Bring forth that sorceress condemned to burn.

  ⌈Enter Joan la Pucelle guarded⌉

  SHEPHERD

  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.

  JOAN

  Decrepit miser, base ignoble wretch,

  I am descended of a gentler blood.

  Thou art no father nor no friend of mine.

  SHEPHERD

  Out, out!—My lords, an’t 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 bach’lorship.

  WARWICK (to Joan)

  Graceless, wilt thou deny thy parentage?

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK

  This argues what her kind of life hath been—

  Wicked and vile; and so her death concludes.

  SHEPHERD

  Fie, Joan, that thou wilt be so obstacle.

  God knows thou art a collop of my flesh,

  And for thy sake have I shed many a tear.

  Deny me not, I prithee, gentle Joan.

  JOAN

  Peasant, avaunt! (To the English) You have suborned

  this man

  Of purpose to obscure my noble birth.

  SHEPHERD (to the English)

  ‘Tis true I gave a noble to the priest

  The morn that I was wedded to her mother.

  (To Joan) 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 sucked’st her breast

  Had been a little ratsbane for thy sake.

  Or else, when thou didst keep my lambs afield,

  I wish some ravenous wolf had eaten thee.

  Dost thou deny thy father, cursed drab?

  (To the English) O burn her, burn her! Hanging is too

  good. Exit

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK (to guards)

  Take her away, for she hath lived too long,

  To fill the world with vicious qualities.

  JOAN

  First let me tell you whom you have condemned:

  Not one begotten of a shepherd swain,

  But issued from the progeny of kings;

  Virtuous and holy, chosen from above

  By inspiration of celestial grace

  To work exceeding miracles on earth.

  I never had to do 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 want the grace that others have,

  You judge it straight a thing impossible

  To compass wonders but by help of devils.

  No, misconceived Joan of Arc hath been

  A virgin from her tender infancy,

  Chaste and immaculate in very thought,

  Whose maiden-blood thus rigorously effused

  Will cry for vengeance at the gates of heaven.

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK

  Ay, ay, (to guards) away with her to execution.

  WARWICK (to guards)

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

  Spare for no faggots. Let there be enough.

  Place barrels of pitch upon the fatal stake,

  That so her torture may be shortened.

  JOAN

  Will nothing turn your unrelenting hearts?

  Then Joan, discover thine infirmity,

  That warranteth by law to be thy privilege:

  I am with child, ye bloody homicides.

  Murder not then the fruit within my womb,

  Although ye hale me to a violent death.

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK

  Now heaven forfend—the holy maid with child?

  WARWICK (to Joan)

  The greatest miracle that e’er ye wrought.

  Is all your strict preciseness come to this?

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK

  She and the Dauphin have been ingling.

  I did imagine what would be her refuge.

  WARWICK

  Well, go to, we will have no bastards live,

  Especially since Charles must father it.

  JOAN

  You are deceived. My child is none of his.

  It was Alençon that enjoyed my love.

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK

  Alençon, that notorious Machiavel?

  It dies an if it had a thousand lives.

  JOAN

  O give me leave, I have deluded you.

  ‘Twas neither Charles nor yet the Duke I named,

  But René King of Naples that prevailed.

  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 free.

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK

  And yet forsooth she is a virgin pure!

  (To joan) Strumpet, thy words condemn thy brat and

  thee.

  Use no entreaty, for it is in vain.

  JOAN

  Then lead me hence; with whom I leave my curse.

  May never glorious sun reflex 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.

  Enter the Bishop of Winchester, now Cardinal

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK (to Joan)

  Break thou in pieces, and consume to ashes,

  Thou foul accursed minister of hell.

  ⌈Exit Joan, guarded⌉

  WINCHESTER

  Lord Regent, I do greet your excellence

  With letters of commission from the King.

  For know, my lords, the states of Christendom,

  Moved with remorse of these outrageous broils,

  Have earnestly implored a general peace

  Betwixt our nation and the aspiring French,

  And here at hand the Dauphin and his train

  Approacheth to confer about some matter.

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK

  Is all our travail 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 conquered?

  O Warwick, Warwick, I foresee with grief

  The utter loss of all the realm of France!

  WARWICK

  Be patient, York. If we conclude a peace

  It shall be with such strict and severe covenants

  As little shall the Frenchmen gain thereby.

  Enter Charles the Dauphin, the Duke of Alençon, the Bastard of Orléans, and René Duke of Anjou

  CHARLES

  Since, lords of England, it is thus agreed

  That peaceful truce shall be proclaimed in France,

  We come to be informed 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 baleful enemies.

  WINCHESTER

  Charles and the rest, it is enacted thus:

  That, in regard King Henry gives consent,

  Of mere compassion and of lenity,

  To ease your country of distressful war

  And suffer you to breathe in fruitful peace,

  You shall become true liegemen to his crown.

  And, Charles, upon condition thou wilt swear

  To pay him tribute and submit thyself,

  Thou shalt be placed as viceroy under him,

  And still enjoy thy regal dignity.

  ALENÇON

  Must he be then as shadow of himself?—

  Adorn his temples with a coronet,

  And yet in substance and authority

  Retain but privilege of a private man?

  This proffer is absurd and reasonless.

  CHARLES

  ’Tis known already that I am possessed

  With more than half the Gallian territories,

  And therein reverenced for their lawful king.

  Shall I, for lucre of the rest unvanquished,

  Detract so much from that prerogative

  As to be called but viceroy of the whole?

  No, lord ambassador, I’ll rather keep

  That which I have than, coveting for more,

  Be cast from possibility of all.

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK

  Insulting Charles, hast thou by secret means

  Used intercession to obtain a league

  And, now the matter grows to compromise,

  Stand‘st thou aloof upon comparison?

  Either accept the title thou usurp’st,

  Of benefit proceeding from our king

  And not of any challenge of desert,

  Or we will plague thee with incessant wars.

  RENÉ (aside to Charles)

  My lord, you do not well in obstinacy

  To cavil in the course of this contract.

  If once it be neglected, ten to one

  We shall not find like opportunity.

  ALENÇON (aside to Charles)

  To say the truth, it is your policy

  To save your subjects from such massacre

  And ruthless slaughters as are daily seen

  By our proceeding in hostility;

  And therefore take this compact of a truce,

  Although you break it when your pleasure serves.

  WARWICK

  How sayst thou, Charles? Shall our condition stand?

  CHARLES It shall,

  Only reserved you claim no interest

  In any of our towns of garrison.

  RICHARD DUKE OF YORK

  Then swear allegiance to his majesty,

  As thou art knight, never to disobey

  Nor be rebellious to the crown of England,

  Thou nor thy nobles, to the crown of England.

  ⌈They swear⌉

  So, now dismiss your army when ye please.

  Hang up your ensigns, let your drums be still;

  For here we entertain a solemn peace. Exeunt

  5.7 Enter the Earl of Suffolk, in conference with King Henry, and the Dukes of Gloucester and Exeter

  KING HENRY (to Suffolk)

  Your wondrous rare description, noble Earl,

  Of beauteous Margaret hath astonished me.

  Her virtues gracèd with external gifts

  Do breed love’s settled passions in my heart,

  And like as rigour of tempestuous gusts

  Provokes the mightiest hulk against the tide,

  So am I driven by breath of her renown

  Either to suffer shipwreck or arrive

  Where I may have fruition of her love.

  SUFFOLK

  Tush, my good lord, this superficial tale

  Is but a preface of her worthy praise.

  The chief perfections of that lovely dame,

  Had I sufficient skill to utter them,

  Would make a volume of enticing lines

  Able to ravish any dull conceit;

  And, which is more, she is not so divine,

  So full replete with choice of all delights,

  But with as humble lowliness of mind

  She is content to be at your command—

  Command, I mean, of virtuous chaste intents,

  To love and honour Henry as her lord.

  KING HENRY

  And otherwise will Henry ne‘er presume.

  (To Gloucester) Therefore, my lord Protector, give

  consent

  That Marg’ret may be England’s royal queen.

  GLOUCESTER

  So should I give consent to flatter sin.

  You know, my lord, your highness is betrothed

  Unto another lady of esteem.

  How shall we then dispense with that contract

  And not deface your honour with reproach?

  SUFFOLK

  As doth a ruler with unlawful oaths,

  Or one that, at a triumph having vowed

  To try his strength, forsaketh yet the lists

  By reason of his adversary’s odds.

  A poor earl’s daughter is unequal odds,

  And therefore may be broke without offence.

  GLOUCESTER

  Why, what, I pray, is Margaret more than that?

  Her father is no better than an earl,

  Although in glorious titles he excel.

  SUFFOLK

  Yes, my lord; her father is a king,

  The King of Naples and Jerusalem,

  And of such great authority in France

  As his alliance will confirm our peace

  And keep the Frenchmen in allegiance.

  GLOUCESTER

  And so the Earl of Armagnac may do,

  Because he is near kinsman unto Charles.

  EXETER

  Beside, his wealth doth warrant a liberal dower,

  Where René sooner will receive than give.

  SUFFOLK

  A dower, my lords? Disgrace not so your King

  That he should be so abject, base, and poor

  To choose for wealth and not for perfect love.

  Henry is able to enrich his queen,

  And not to seek a queen to make him rich.

  So worthless peasants bargain for their wives,

  As market men for oxen, sheep, or horse.

  Marriage is a matter of more worth

  Than to be dealt in by attorneyship.

  Not whom we will but whom his grace affects

  Must be companion of his nuptial bed.

  And therefore, lords, since he affects her most,

  That most of all these reasons bindeth us:

  In our opinions she should be preferred.

  For what is wedlock forced but a hell,

  An age of discord and continual strife,

  Whereas the contrary bringeth bliss,

  And is a pattern of celestial peace.

  Whom should we match with Henry, being a king,

  But Margaret, that is daughter to a king?

  Her peerless feature joined with her birth

  Approves her fit for none but for a king.

  Her valiant courage and undaunted spirit,

  More than in women commonly is seen,

  Will answer our hope in issue of a king.

  For Henry, son unto a conqueror,

  Is likely to beget more conquerors

  If with a lady of so high resolve

  As is fair Margaret he be linked in love.

  Then yield, my lords, and here conclude with me:

  That Margaret shall be queen, and none but she.

  KING HENRY

  Whether it be through force of your report,

  My noble lord of Suffolk, or for that

  My tender youth was never yet attaint

  With any passion of inflaming love,

  I cannot tell; but this I am assured:

  I feel such sharp dissension in my breast,

  Such fierce alarums both of hope and fear,

  As I am sick with working of my thoughts.

  Take therefore shipping; post, my lord, to France;

  Agree to any covenants, and procure