Page 854 - Shakespeare - Vol. 1
P. 854
KING LEWIS
Fair Queen of England, worthy Margaret,
Sit down with us: it ill befits thy state
And birth that thou shouldst stand while Lewis doth sit.
MARGARET
No, mighty King of France: now Margaret
Must strike her sail and learn awhile to serve [5]
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 [10]
And to my humble state conform myself.
KING LEWIS
Why say, fair queen, whence springs this deep despair?
MARGARET
From such a cause as fills mine eyes with tears
And stops my tongue, while heart is drowned in cares.
KING LEWIS Seats her by him.
Whate’er it be, be thou still like thyself [15]
And sit thee by our side.
Yield not thy neck
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 eased, if France can yield relief. [20]
MARGARET
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 banished man [25]
And forced to live in Scotland a forlorn;
While proud ambitious Edward, Duke of York,
