Queen. Ah! good Sir John of Hainault, Never so cheerless, nor so far distrest.
Sir J. I hear, sweet lady, of the king's unkindness; But droop not, madam; noble minds contemn Despair: will your grace with me to Hainault, And there stay time's advantage with your son? How say you, my lord, will you go with your friends, And shake off all our fortunes equally?20
Prince. So pleaseth [276] the queen, my mother, me it likes: The king of England, nor the court of France, Shall have me from my gracious mother's side, Till I be strong enough to break a staff; And then have at the proudest Spencer's head.
Sir J. Well said, my lord.
Queen. O, my sweet heart, how do I moan thy wrongs, Yet triumph in the hope of thee, my joy! Ah, sweet Sir John! even to the utmost verge Of Europe, or [277] the shore of Tanais,30 We will with thee to Hainault—so we will:— The marquis is a noble gentleman; His grace, I dare presume, will welcome me. But who are these?
Enter Kent and Young Mortimer.
Kent. Madam, long may you live, Much happier than your friends in England do!
Queen. Lord Edmund and Lord Mortimer alive! Welcome to France! the news was here, my lord, That you were dead, or very near your death.
Y. Mor. Lady, the last was truest of the twain: But Mortimer, reserved for better hap,40 Hath shaken off the thraldom of the Tower, And lives t' advance your standard, good my lord.
Prince. How mean you? and the king, my father, lives! No, my Lord Mortimer, not I, I trow.