What think you of a duchess? have you limbs Anne. No, in truth. Pluck off Old L. Then you are weakly made. a little : 3 I would not be a young count in your way, Ever to get a boy. Anne. How you do talk! I swear again, I would not be a queen Old L. In faith, for little England You'd venture an emballing: I myself Would for Carnarvonshire, although there 'long'd No more to the crown but that. Lo! who comes here? Enter the Lord Chamberlain. Cham. Good morrow, ladies. What wer't worth to know The secret of your conference? Anne. My good lord, Not your demand; it values not your asking: Cham. It was a gentle business, and becoming Anne. Now, I pray God, amen! 'Anne declining to be either a queen or a duchess, the old lady says, "pluck off a little;" let us descend a little lower, and so diminish the glare of preferment by bringing it nearer your own quality. 4 That is, you would venture to be distinguished by the bail, the ensign of royalty, used with the sceptre at coronations. Cham. You bear a gentle mind, and heavenly blessings Follow such creatures. That you may, fair lady, Perceive I speak sincerely, and high note's I do not know Anne. What kind of my obedience I should tender; More than my all is nothing: nor my prayers Are not words duly hallow'd, nor my wishes More worth than empty vanities; yet prayers and wishes Are all I can return. 'Beseech your lordship, Vouchsafe to speak my thanks and my obedience, As from a blushing handmaid, to his highness; Whose health and royalty I pray for. Cham. Lady, I shall not fail t' approve the fair conceit The king hath of you.-[Aside.] I have perus'd her well: Beauty and honour in her are so mingled, That they have caught the king: And who knows yet But from this lady may proceed a gem, To lighten all this isle ?-[To her.] I'll to the king, And say I spoke with you. [Exit. 5 To approve is here to confirm, by the report he shall make, the good opinion the king has formed. The carbuncle was supposed by our ancestors to have intrin sic light, and to shine in the dark any other gem may reflect light, but cannot give it. Thus in a Palace described in Amadis de Gaule, 1619: "In the roofe of a chamber hung two lampes of Anne. My honour'd lord. Old L. Why, this it is; see, see! This compell'd fortune!) have your mouth fill'd up, Before you open it. Anne. This is strange to me. Old L. How tastes it? is it bitter? forty pence, no." There was a lady once ('tis an old story) That would not be a queen, that would she not, For all the mud in Egypt :— Have you heard it? Anne. Come, you are pleasant. Old L. With your theme, I could O'ermount the lark. The marchioness of Pembroke! A thousand pounds a year, for pure respect! That promises more thousands: Honour's train I know your back will bear a duchess.—Say, Anne. Good lady, Make yourself mirth with your particular fancy, And leave me out on't. 'Would I had no being, If this salute my blood a jot: it faints me, To think what follows. gold, at the bottomes whereof were enchafed two carbuncles, which gave so bright a splendour round about the roome, that there was no neede of any other light." 7 Forty pence was in those days the proverbial expression of a small wager. Money was then reckoned by pounds, marks, and nrbles. Forty pence, or three and fourpence, is half a noble and is still an established legal fee. The queen is comfortless, and we forgetful Old L. What do you think me? [Exeunt. SCENE IV. A Hall in Black-Friars. Trumpets, Sennet, and Cornets. Enter two Vergers, with short silver Wands; next them, two Scribes, in the Habit of Doctors; after them, the Archbishop of CANTERBURY alone;' after him the Bishops of LINCOLN, ELY, ROCHESTER, and ST. ASAPH; next them, with some small Distance, follows a Gentleman bearing the Purse, with the great Seal, and a Cardinal's Hat; then two Priests, bearing each a silver Cross; then a Gentleman-Usher bareheaded, accompanied with a Sergeant at Arms, bearing a silver Mace; then two Gentlemen, bearing two great silver Pillars; after them, side by side, the two Cardinals, WOLSEY and CAMPEIUS; two Noblemen with the Sword and Mace. The King takes place under the Cloth of State; the two Cardinals sit under him as Judges. The Queen takes place at some Distance from the King. The Bishops place themselves on each side the Court, in manner of a Consistory; between them, the Scribes. The 1 At this time, June 21, 1529, the archbishop of Canterbury was William Warham, who died in August, 1532, and was succeeded by Cranmer the following March. The whole of this long stage-direction is taken verbatim from the original copy, and in most of its particulars was according to the actual event. - The "two priests bearing each a silver cross," and the "two gentle. men bearing two great silver pillars," were parts of Wolsey's official pomp and circumstance; the one being symbolic of his office as archbishop of York, the other of his authority as cardinal legate. H. Lords sit next the Bishops. The Crier and the rest of the Attendants stand in convenient order about the Stage. Wol. Whilst our commission from Rome is read, Let silence be commanded. King. What's the need? It hath already publicly been read, And on all sides the authority allow'd: Wol. Be't so. - Proceed. Scribe. Say, Henry king of England, come into the court. Crier. Henry king of England, &c. King. Here. Scribe. Say, Katharine queen of England, come into court. Crier. Katharine queen of England, &c. The Queen makes no Answer, rises out of her Chair, goes about the Court, comes to the King, and kneels at his Feet; then speaks."] Kath. Sir, I desire you do me right and justice, And to bestow your pity on me; for I am a most poor woman, and a stranger, ness, Heaven wit 2 "Because she could not come directly to the king for the distance which severed them, she took pain to go about unto the king kneeling down at his feet."- Cavendish. |