Edward the First - Scene 6
[SCENE VI.]
Enter Jack and the Harper, getting a standing against the Queen comes in .
The trumpets sound : Q UEEN E LINOR , in her litter, borne by four Negro-Moors, J OAN OF A CON with her, attended on by the E ARL OF G LOCESTER and her four Footmen: one having set a ladder to the side of the litter, she descendeth, and her daughter followeth .
Q. Elinor . Give me my pantables.
Fie, this hot weather how it makes me sweat!
Heigh-ho, my heart! ah, I am passing faint!
Give me my fan that I may cool my face.
Hold, take my mask, but see you rumple it not.
This wind and dust, see how it smolders me!
Some drink, good Glocester, or I die for drink!
Ah, Ned, thou hast forgot thy Nell I see,
That she is thus enforced to follow thee!
Glocester . This air's distemperature, and please your majesty,
Noisome through mountains' vapours and thick mist,
Unpleasant needs must be to you and your company,
That never [erst] was wont to take the air
Till Flora have perfum'd the earth with sweets,
With lilies, roses, mints, and eglantine.
Q. Elinor . I tell thee [that] the ground is all too base
For Elinor to honour with her steps;
Whose footpace, when she progress'd in the street[s]
Of Acon and the fair Jerusalem,
Was [upon] naught but costly arras-points,
Fair island-tapestry, and azured silk;
My milk-white steed treading on cloth of ray,
And trampling proudly underneath the feet
Choice of our English woollen drapery.
This clime o'er-lowering with black congeal'd clouds,
That take their swelling from the marish soil,
Fraught with infectious fogs and misty damps,
Is far unworthy to be once embalm'd
With redolence of this refreshing breath,
That sweetens where it lights, as do the flames
And holy fires of Vesta's sacrifice.
Joan . Whose pleasant fields new-planted with the spring,
Make Thamesis to mount above the banks.
And, like a wanton, wallowing up and down
On Flora's beds and Napae's silver down.
Glocester . And Wales for me, madam, while you are here;
No climate good unless your grace be near.
Would Wales had aught could please you half so well,
Or any precious thing in Glocester's gift,
Whereof your ladyship would challenge me!
Joan . Well said, my lord! 'tis as my mother says;
You men have learnt to woo a thousand ways.
Glocester . O madam, had I learnt, against my need,
Of all those ways to woo, one way to speed,
My cunning, then, had been my fortune's guide.
Q. Elinor . Faith, Joan, I think thou must be Glocester's bride. —
Good earl, how near he steps unto her side!
So soon this eye these younglings had espied. —
I'll tell thee, girl, when I was fair and young,
I found such honey in sweet Edward's tongue,
As I could never spend one idle walk
But Ned and I would piece it out with talk. —
So you, my lord, when you have got your Joan,
No matter, let queen-mother be alone.
Old Nell is mother now, and grandmother may;
The greenest grass doth droop and turn to hay.
Woo on, kind clerk, good Glocester, love thy Joan:
Her heart is thine, her eyes is not her own.
Glocester .This comfort, madam, that your grace doth give.
Binds me in double duty whilst I live.
Would God, King Edward see and say no less!
Q. Elinor . Glocester, I warrant thee upon my life
My king vouchsafes his daughter for thy wife.
Sweet Ned hath not forgot, since he did woo,
The gall of love and all that 'longs thereto.
Glocester . Why, was your grace so coy to one so kind?
Q. Elinor . Kind, Glocester! so, methinks, indeed:
It seems he loves his wife no more than needs,
That sends for us in all the speedy haste.
Knowing his queen to be so great with child,
And make[s] me leave my princely pleasant seats
To come into his ruder part of Wales.
Glocester . His highness hath some secret reason why
He wisheth you to move from England's pleasant court.
The Welshmen have of long time suitors been,
That when the war of rebels sorts an end,
None might be prince and ruler over them
But such a one as was their countryman;
Which suit, I think, his grace hath granted them.
Q. Elinor . So, then, it is King Edward's policy
To have his son — forsooth, son if it be —
A Welshman: well, Welshman it liketh me.
And here he comes.
Enter E DWARD L ONGSHANKS and his Lords to the Q UEEN and her Footman.
Longsh . Nell, welcome into Wales!
How fares my Elinor?
Q. Elinor . Ne'er worse: beshrow
Their hearts, 'tis long on.
Longsh . Hearts, sweet Nell?
[Be]shrow no hearts where such sweet saints do dwell.
Q. Elinor . Nay, then, I see I have my dream: I pray, let go:
You will not will you, whether I will or no?
You are disposed to move me.
Longsh . Say any thing but so.
Once, Nell, thou gavest me this.
Q. Elinor . I pray, let go;
Ye are disposed, I think.
Longsh . Ay, madam, very well.
Q. Elinor . Let go and be naught, I say!
Longsh . What ails my Nell?
Q. Elinor . Ay me, what sudden fits is this I prove?
What grief, what pinching pain, like young men's love,
That makes me madding run thus to and fro?
Longsh . What, melancholy, Nell?
Q. Elinor . My lord, pray, let me go.
Give me sweet water. Why, how hot it is!
Glocester . These be the fits
Trouble men's wits.
Longsh . Joan, ask thy beauteous mother how she doth.
Joan . How fares your majesty?
Q. Elinor . Joan, aggrieved at the heart,
And angered worse, because I cannot right me:
I think the king comes purposely to spite me.
My fingers itch till I have had my will:
Proud Edward, call in thy Elinor; be still.
It will not be, nor rest I anywhere
Till I have set it soundly on his ear.
Joan . Is that the matter? then let me alone.
Q. Elinor . Fie, how I fret with grief!
Longsh . Come hither, Joan:
Know'st thou what ails my queen?
Joan . Not I, my lord:
She longs, I think, to give your grace a box on th' ear.
Longsh . Nay, wench, if that be all, we'll ear it well. —
What all amort! How doth my dainty Nell?
Look up, sweet love: unkind! not kiss me once?
That may not be.
Q. Elinor . My lord, I think you do it for the nonce.
Longsh . Sweetheart, one kiss.
Q. Elinor . For God's sake, let me go.
Longsh . Sweetheart, a kiss.
Q. Elinor . For God's sake, let me go.
Longsh . Sweetheart, a kiss.
Q. Elinor . What, whether I will or no?
You will not leave? let be I say.
Longsh . I must be better chid.
Q. Elinor . No, will? Take that, then, lusty lord: sir, leave when you are bid.
Longsh . Why, so, this chare is chared.
Glocester . A good one, by the rood.
Q. Elinor . No force, no harm.
Longsh . No harm that doth my Elinor any good. —
Learn, lords, 'gainst you be married men, to bow to women's yoke;
And sturdy though you be, you may not stir for every stroke, —
Now, my sweet Nell, how doth my queen?
Q. Elinor . She vaunts
That mighty England hath felt her fist,
Taken a blow basely at Elinor's hand.
[ Longsh .] And vaunt she may, good leave, being curst and coy:
Lack nothing, Nell, whilst thou hast brought thy lord a lovely boy.
Q. Elinor . Ven aca ; I am sick;
Good Katherine I pray thee, be at hand.
Kath . This sickness, I hope,
Will bring King Edward a jolly boy.
Longsh . And, Katherine,
Who brings me that news shall not go empty-handed.
Enter Jack and the Harper, getting a standing against the Queen comes in .
The trumpets sound : Q UEEN E LINOR , in her litter, borne by four Negro-Moors, J OAN OF A CON with her, attended on by the E ARL OF G LOCESTER and her four Footmen: one having set a ladder to the side of the litter, she descendeth, and her daughter followeth .
Q. Elinor . Give me my pantables.
Fie, this hot weather how it makes me sweat!
Heigh-ho, my heart! ah, I am passing faint!
Give me my fan that I may cool my face.
Hold, take my mask, but see you rumple it not.
This wind and dust, see how it smolders me!
Some drink, good Glocester, or I die for drink!
Ah, Ned, thou hast forgot thy Nell I see,
That she is thus enforced to follow thee!
Glocester . This air's distemperature, and please your majesty,
Noisome through mountains' vapours and thick mist,
Unpleasant needs must be to you and your company,
That never [erst] was wont to take the air
Till Flora have perfum'd the earth with sweets,
With lilies, roses, mints, and eglantine.
Q. Elinor . I tell thee [that] the ground is all too base
For Elinor to honour with her steps;
Whose footpace, when she progress'd in the street[s]
Of Acon and the fair Jerusalem,
Was [upon] naught but costly arras-points,
Fair island-tapestry, and azured silk;
My milk-white steed treading on cloth of ray,
And trampling proudly underneath the feet
Choice of our English woollen drapery.
This clime o'er-lowering with black congeal'd clouds,
That take their swelling from the marish soil,
Fraught with infectious fogs and misty damps,
Is far unworthy to be once embalm'd
With redolence of this refreshing breath,
That sweetens where it lights, as do the flames
And holy fires of Vesta's sacrifice.
Joan . Whose pleasant fields new-planted with the spring,
Make Thamesis to mount above the banks.
And, like a wanton, wallowing up and down
On Flora's beds and Napae's silver down.
Glocester . And Wales for me, madam, while you are here;
No climate good unless your grace be near.
Would Wales had aught could please you half so well,
Or any precious thing in Glocester's gift,
Whereof your ladyship would challenge me!
Joan . Well said, my lord! 'tis as my mother says;
You men have learnt to woo a thousand ways.
Glocester . O madam, had I learnt, against my need,
Of all those ways to woo, one way to speed,
My cunning, then, had been my fortune's guide.
Q. Elinor . Faith, Joan, I think thou must be Glocester's bride. —
Good earl, how near he steps unto her side!
So soon this eye these younglings had espied. —
I'll tell thee, girl, when I was fair and young,
I found such honey in sweet Edward's tongue,
As I could never spend one idle walk
But Ned and I would piece it out with talk. —
So you, my lord, when you have got your Joan,
No matter, let queen-mother be alone.
Old Nell is mother now, and grandmother may;
The greenest grass doth droop and turn to hay.
Woo on, kind clerk, good Glocester, love thy Joan:
Her heart is thine, her eyes is not her own.
Glocester .This comfort, madam, that your grace doth give.
Binds me in double duty whilst I live.
Would God, King Edward see and say no less!
Q. Elinor . Glocester, I warrant thee upon my life
My king vouchsafes his daughter for thy wife.
Sweet Ned hath not forgot, since he did woo,
The gall of love and all that 'longs thereto.
Glocester . Why, was your grace so coy to one so kind?
Q. Elinor . Kind, Glocester! so, methinks, indeed:
It seems he loves his wife no more than needs,
That sends for us in all the speedy haste.
Knowing his queen to be so great with child,
And make[s] me leave my princely pleasant seats
To come into his ruder part of Wales.
Glocester . His highness hath some secret reason why
He wisheth you to move from England's pleasant court.
The Welshmen have of long time suitors been,
That when the war of rebels sorts an end,
None might be prince and ruler over them
But such a one as was their countryman;
Which suit, I think, his grace hath granted them.
Q. Elinor . So, then, it is King Edward's policy
To have his son — forsooth, son if it be —
A Welshman: well, Welshman it liketh me.
And here he comes.
Enter E DWARD L ONGSHANKS and his Lords to the Q UEEN and her Footman.
Longsh . Nell, welcome into Wales!
How fares my Elinor?
Q. Elinor . Ne'er worse: beshrow
Their hearts, 'tis long on.
Longsh . Hearts, sweet Nell?
[Be]shrow no hearts where such sweet saints do dwell.
Q. Elinor . Nay, then, I see I have my dream: I pray, let go:
You will not will you, whether I will or no?
You are disposed to move me.
Longsh . Say any thing but so.
Once, Nell, thou gavest me this.
Q. Elinor . I pray, let go;
Ye are disposed, I think.
Longsh . Ay, madam, very well.
Q. Elinor . Let go and be naught, I say!
Longsh . What ails my Nell?
Q. Elinor . Ay me, what sudden fits is this I prove?
What grief, what pinching pain, like young men's love,
That makes me madding run thus to and fro?
Longsh . What, melancholy, Nell?
Q. Elinor . My lord, pray, let me go.
Give me sweet water. Why, how hot it is!
Glocester . These be the fits
Trouble men's wits.
Longsh . Joan, ask thy beauteous mother how she doth.
Joan . How fares your majesty?
Q. Elinor . Joan, aggrieved at the heart,
And angered worse, because I cannot right me:
I think the king comes purposely to spite me.
My fingers itch till I have had my will:
Proud Edward, call in thy Elinor; be still.
It will not be, nor rest I anywhere
Till I have set it soundly on his ear.
Joan . Is that the matter? then let me alone.
Q. Elinor . Fie, how I fret with grief!
Longsh . Come hither, Joan:
Know'st thou what ails my queen?
Joan . Not I, my lord:
She longs, I think, to give your grace a box on th' ear.
Longsh . Nay, wench, if that be all, we'll ear it well. —
What all amort! How doth my dainty Nell?
Look up, sweet love: unkind! not kiss me once?
That may not be.
Q. Elinor . My lord, I think you do it for the nonce.
Longsh . Sweetheart, one kiss.
Q. Elinor . For God's sake, let me go.
Longsh . Sweetheart, a kiss.
Q. Elinor . For God's sake, let me go.
Longsh . Sweetheart, a kiss.
Q. Elinor . What, whether I will or no?
You will not leave? let be I say.
Longsh . I must be better chid.
Q. Elinor . No, will? Take that, then, lusty lord: sir, leave when you are bid.
Longsh . Why, so, this chare is chared.
Glocester . A good one, by the rood.
Q. Elinor . No force, no harm.
Longsh . No harm that doth my Elinor any good. —
Learn, lords, 'gainst you be married men, to bow to women's yoke;
And sturdy though you be, you may not stir for every stroke, —
Now, my sweet Nell, how doth my queen?
Q. Elinor . She vaunts
That mighty England hath felt her fist,
Taken a blow basely at Elinor's hand.
[ Longsh .] And vaunt she may, good leave, being curst and coy:
Lack nothing, Nell, whilst thou hast brought thy lord a lovely boy.
Q. Elinor . Ven aca ; I am sick;
Good Katherine I pray thee, be at hand.
Kath . This sickness, I hope,
Will bring King Edward a jolly boy.
Longsh . And, Katherine,
Who brings me that news shall not go empty-handed.
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