University of Virginia Library

SCENE THE THIRD.

Mary, Ormond.
Or.
Oh queen, to thee, the messenger of peace,
And the confirmer of eternal friendship,
Elizabeth hath sent me: in her name,
In every enterprize, I offer thee
Her powerful assistance.

Ma.
I already
Know by experience what her friendship is;
Hence mayest thou infer the extent of mine.

Or.
Hence I derive the confidence, and courage,
To intercede with thee ...

Ma.
For whom?

Or.
Thou knowest
That marriage-rites have not yet shackled her;
That of her throne thy son is hitherto
The only successor: may it please thee,
For the dear sake of this beloved child,
The hope of both these realms, precious to us,
No less than to thyself, to banish from thee
All rancour that thy heart may entertain
Against his father. Thou, at all events,
Would'st chuse him for thy spouse; and can it now
Be true, that a precipitate divorce
Should sever him from thee? ...

Ma.
And who has spread
Such tales of me? False be they, or malignant,
Yet if the threshold of Elizabeth
Haply they reach, must they find faith in her?
Not e'en a single project of divorce
I ever entertained; yet were it so,
What meanest thou? Could that to her give umbrage,
Whom to my nuptials formerly I found
So utterly averse?

Or.
Elizabeth,
Though never envious of thy happiness,
Was jealous of thy honour. She applied
Counsel both frank and friendly, to thy free
And royal judgment. She dissuaded thee
From nuptials perhaps somewhat less illustrious,
Than might befit an independent princess;
But nothing more. Persuaded thoroughly
Of thy fixed resolution, she was silent;
Nor do I think that blame to her attaches,
If thou art not in perfect happiness.

Ma.
'Tis true: kept she not in hard fetters bound
Henry, whom I had chosen for my consort,
So, that a fugitive from prison, he
Came to my royal bed; and his right hand,
Yet livid from the pressure of her chains,
To my right hand he joined? does she not now,
In a well-guarded tower, within her realm,
Retain by force the mother of my spouse?
'Tis well becoming her, indeed, to feel,
To-day, compassion for her former prisoner.—
Thou should'st from this most exquisite distress
Relieve her, by assuring her, that Henry
Lives, at his pleasure, in full liberty,
Within its precincts, or remote from court;
That from my heart I have not banished him;
And that I never knew, nor know I now,
To investigate the private cares of others.

Or.
Nor does Elizabeth, within thy palace,
Presume to penetrate, more than is fitting,
With curious indiscretion. Royal secrets,
Though known to all, to every king are sacred.
I am commanded to suggest to thee
Respectfully, that to a double realm,
One heir alone affords a hope too scanty;
And that the existence of a single child
Has much of casualty and incertitude.

Ma.
This most magnanimous solicitude
Of her great heart hath in my heart inspired
Reciprocal solicitude. I yet
Cherish the hope to be again a mother:
And yet to make her happy, who partakes
In all my joys, with a new numerous offspring.
But if she is as prodigal of aid
As of advice to me, I hope ere long
To see in perfect peace, not only this
My palace, but my realm.

Or.
To obtain such peace,
I in her name now venture to propose
As the best means ...

Ma.
They are?

Or.
No doubtful means.
She wishes thee somewhat more mild to those
Who not thy yoke, but that of Rome, have spurn'd.
E'en as thy other, these are faithful subjects,
And far surpassing them in strength and numbers;
They feel as men, and are thy loyal sons;
To whom their different creed alone procures
Such disproportionate oppression.