 | The Earl of Warwick |  |
SCENE II.
the Council Chamber.King EDWARD, Dukes of CLARENCE, and BUCKINGHAM, Earls of SUFFOLK, PEMBROKE, &c.
EDWARD.
Good Buckingham, I thank thee for thy counsel,
Nor blame thy honest warmth; I love this freedom,
16
And doth become thee: what says noble Suffolk?
SUFFOLK.
I wou'd not cross my royal master's will;
But, on my soul, I think, this nuptial league
With France prepost'rous and impolitic!
It cannot last; we are by nature foes,
And nought but mutual poverty and weakness,
Can ever make us friends—she wants our aid
Against the pow'rful Burgundy, and therefore,
Throws out this lure of beauty to ensnare you,
That purpose gain'd, she turns her arms against us.
PEMBROKE.
Why, let her: if she comes with hostile arm,
England thank heav'n, is ready to receive her:
I love my country, and revere my king,
As much perhaps as honest Buckingham,
Or my good fearful lord of Suffolk here,
Who knows so well, or wou'd be thought to know,
What France will do hereafter: yet I think,
The faith of nations is a thing so sacred,
It ought not to be trifled with.—I hate
As much as you th'unnatural forc'd alliance,
And yet, my lords, if Warwick is empow'r'd,
For so I hear he is, to treat with Lewis;
I know not how in honour you can swerve
From his conditions.
(shouting.)
Hark! the hero comes:
Those shouts proclaim him near: the joyful people
Will usher in their great deliverer
As he deserves.
| The Earl of Warwick | |