The Complete Works of William Shakespeare · William Shakespeare
SCENE I. London. The Palace.
Sennet. Enter King, Gloucester and Exeter. KING HENRY. Have you perused the letters from the Pope, The Emperor, and the Earl of Armagnac? GLOUCESTER. I have, my lord; and their intent is this: They humbly sue unto your Excellence To have a godly peace concluded of Between the realms of England and of France. KING HENRY. How doth your Grace affect their motion? GLOUCESTER. Well, my good lord, and as the only means To stop effusion of our Christian blood And stablish quietness on every side. KING HENRY. Ay, marry, uncle, for I always thought It was both impious and unnatural That such immanity and bloody strife Should reign among professors of one faith. GLOUCESTER. Beside, my lord, the sooner to effect And surer bind this knot of amity, The Earl of Armagnac, near knit to Charles, A man of great authority in France, Proffers his only daughter to your Grace In marriage, with a large and sumptuous dowry. KING HENRY. Marriage, uncle! Alas, my years are young! And fitter is my study and my books Than wanton dalliance with a paramour. Yet call th’ ambassadors; and, as you please, So let them have their answers every one. I shall be well content with any choice Tends to God’s glory and my country’s weal. Enter Winchester in Cardinal’s habit, a Legate and two Ambassadors.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.