Char. Now shine it like a comet of revenge, Alen. Defer no time, delays have dangerous ends; Alarums. Enter TALBOT, and certain English. Tal. France, thou shalt rue this treason with thy [Exeunt to the Town. Char. Your grace may starve, perhaps, before that time. Bed. O, let no words, but deeds, revenge this treason! Puc. What will you do, good gray-beard? break you. Bed. Not to be gone from hence; for once I read, Tal. Undaunted spirit in a dying breast!- [Exeunt BURGUNDY, TALBOT, and Forces, Alarums: Excursions. Enter SIR JOHN FASTOLFE and a Captain. Cap. Whither away, Sir John Fastolfe, in such haste? Fast. Whither away? to save myself by flight; We are like to have the overthrow again. Fast. Cap. What! will you fly, and leave Lord Talbot? Ay, All the Talbots in the world to save my life. [Exit. Cap. Cowardly knight! ill fortune follow thee. [Exit. Tal. Foul fiend of France, and hag of all despite, Retreat: Excursions. Enter, from the Town, LA a lance, And run a tilt at death within a chair? Encompass'd with thy lustful paramours! And twit with cowardice a man half dead? Damsel, I'll have a bout with you again, Or else let Talbot perish with this shame. PUCELLE, ALENGON, CHARLES, &c. and exeunt, Bed. Now, quiet soul, depart when heaven please; Puc. Are you so hot, sir?-Yet, Pucelle, hold They, that of late were daring with their scoffs, thy peace; If Talbot do but thunder, rain will follow.- God speed the parliament! who shall Tal. I speak not to that railing Hecate, But unto thee, Alençon, and the rest; Tal. Signior, hang!-base muleteers of France! Puc. Captains, away: let's get us from the walls; For Talbot means no goodness, by his looks.God be wi' you, my lord! we came, sir, but to tell you That we are here. [Exeunt LA PUCELLE, &c. from the Walls. Are glad and fain by flight to save themselves. Tal. Thanks, gentle duke. But where is Pucelle I think, her old familiar is asleep: Now where's the Bastard's braves, and Charles his gleeks?5 : What, all a-mort? Rouen hangs her head for grief, The noble duke of Bedford, late deceas'd, 1 Pride signifies haughty power. The same speaker afterwards says, in Act. iv. : "And from the pride of Gallia rescued thee." 2 Darnel (says Gerarde, in his Herbal) hurteth the eyes, and maketh them dim, if it happen efther in corne for breade, or drinke. Hence the old proverb-Lolio victitare, applied to such as were dim-sighted. Thus also Ovid. Fast. i. 691 : 'Et careant loliis oculos vitiantibus agri.' La Pucelle means to intimate that the corn she carried with her had produced the same effect on the guards of Rouen; otherwise they would have seen through her disguise, and defeated her stratagem. 3 This is from Harding's Chronicle, who gives this account of Uther Pendragon: 'For which the king ordained a horse-litter 6 i. e. what quite cast down, or dispirited A gentler heart did never sway in court: SCENE III. The same. The Plains near the City. Puc. Dismay not, princes, at this accident, Char. We have been guided by thee hitherto, Bast. Search out thy wit for secret policies, To leave the Talbot, and to follow us. Should grieve thee more than streams of foreign gore; Bur. Either she hath bewitch'd me with her words, Puc. Besides, all French and France exclaims on thee, Doubting thy birth and lawful progeny. See then! thou fightest against thy countrymen, Char. Ay, marry, sweeting, if we could do that, And made me almost yield upon my knees. France were no place for Henry's warriors; But be extirped from our provinces. Have batter'd me like roaring cannon shot, Forgive me, country, and sweet countrymen! Alen. For ever should they be expuls'd2 from So, farewell, Talbot; I'll no longer trust thee. France, And not have title to an earldom here. Puc. Your honours shall perceive how I will work, An English March. Enter, and pass over at a dis- A French March. Enter the DUKE of BURGUNDY Now, in the rearward, comes the duke, and his; [A Parley sounded. Char. A parley with the duke of Burgundy. tryman. ing hence. Bur. What say'st thou, Charles? for I am march- words. Puc. Look on thy country, look on fertile France, Strike those that hurt, and hurt not those that help! 1 i. e. extirpated, rooted out. 2 Expuls'd is expell'd. 3 Another mistake. The duke was not liberated till after Burgundy's decline to the French interest; which did not happen, by the way, till some years after the execution of La Pucelle; nor was that during the regency of York, but of Bedford. 4 Haughty does not mean disdainful, or violent, as Johnson supposed; but elevated, high-spirited. 5 The inconstancy of the French was always the subject of satire. 'I have read (says Johnson) a disserta Puc. Done like a Frenchman, turn, and turn again!5 Char. Welcome, brave duke! thy friendship makes us fresh. Bast. And doth beget new courage in our breasts. Alen. Pucelle hath bravely played her part in this, And doth deserve a coronet of gold. Char. Now let us on, my lords, and join our powers; And seek how we may prejudice the foe. [Exeunt. SCENE IV. Paris. A Room in the Palace. Enter KING HENRY, GLOSTER, and other Lords, VERNON, BASSET, &c. To them TALBOT, and some of his Officers. Tal. My gracious prince, and honourable peers, - I have a while given truce unto my wars, Glo. Yes, if it please your majesty, my liege. lord! When I was young (as yet I am not old), tion written to prove that the index of the wind upon our 6 Hanmer supplied the apparent deficiency in this line, by reading: 'Is this the fam'd Lord Talbot, &c. 7 Malone remarks that Henry was but nine mor old when his father died, and never saw him." poet did not perhaps deem historical accuracy neces 8 Convinced. 9 Rewarded We here create you earl of Shrewsbury; And in our coronation take your place. [Exeunt KING HENRY, GLOSTER, TALBOT, and Nobles. Ver. Now, sir, to you, that were so hot at sea, Ver. Sirrah, thy lord I honour as he is. Bas. Villain, thou knowest the law of arms ACT IV. [Exeunt. To haste unto your coronation, Writ to your grace from the duke of Burgundy. Or whether that such cowards ought to wear Glo. To say the truth, this fact was infamous, Tal. When first this order was ordain'd, my lords, Knights of the garter were of noble birth: Valiant, and virtuous, full of haughty courage, Such as were grown to credit by the wars; Not fearing death, nor shrinking for distress, But always resolute in most extremes." He then, that is not furnish'd in this sort, Doth but usurp the sacred name of knight, Profaning this most honourable order; And should, (if I were worthy to be judge,) Be quite degraded, like a hedge-born swain That doth presume to boast of gentle blood. K. Hen. Stain to thy countrymen! thou hear'st thy doom: Be packing therefore, thou that wast a knight; No more but, plain and bluewing the [Reads. Mov'd with compassion of my country's wreck, And join'd with Charles, the rightful king of France. O monstrous treachery! Can this be so; There should be found such false dissembling guile ? And give him chastisement for this abuse :-- Tal. Content, my liege? Yes; but that I am prevented, Tal. Shame to the duke of Burgundy, and thee! I should have begg'd I might have been employ'd. I vow'd base knight, when I did meet thee next, To tear the garter from thy craven's leg, K. Hen. Then gather strength, and march unto him straight: 5 (Which I have done,) because unworthily Then judge, great lords, if I have done amiss; 1 i. e. the badge of a rose. 2 By the ancient law before the conquest, fighting in the king's palace, or before the king's judges, was punished with death. And still by the Stat. 33 Hen. VIII. c. xii. maliciously striking in the king's palace, whereby And what offence it is, to flout his friends. Tal. I go, my lord; in heart desiring still, You may behold confusion of your foes. Enter VERNON and BASSET. [Exit. Ver. Grant me the combat, gracious sovereign! Bas. And me, my lord, grant me the combat too! York. This is my servant; hear him, noble prince! Som. And this is mine; Sweet Henry, favour him! K. Hen. Be patient, lords; and give them leave to speak. Say, gentlemen, What makes you thus exclaim? And wherefore crave you combat? or with whom? 5 The old copy has Poictiers instead of Patay. The battle of Poictiers was fought in 1357, the 31st of King Edward III. and the scene now lies in the 7th of King Henry VI. viz. 1428. The action happened (according blood is drawn, is punishable by perpetual imprison- to Holinshead) 'neere unto a village in Beausse, called ment and fine, at the king's pleasure, and also with loss of the offender's right hand. Stowe gives a circumstantial account of Sir Edmond Knevet being found guilty of this offence, with the ceremonials for carrying the sentence into execution. He petitioned the king to take his left hand instead of his right; and the king was pleased to pardon him altogether. - Annals, edit. 1605, p. 978. 3 To pretend is to intend, to design. 4 Warburton would read thy craven leg. Craven is mean, dastardly. Pataie. From this battel departed, without any stroke stricken, Sir John Fastolfe, the same yeere by his valiantnese elected into the order of the garter. But for doubt of misdealing at this brunt, the duke of Bedford tooke from him the image of St. George and his garter,' &c. 6 Vide note 8 on p. 13; and note 4 on p. 17. 7 i. e. in greatest extremities. More and most were used by our ancestors for greater and greatest. 8 See note 3. 9 Prevented is anticipated. 1 Ver. With him, my lord, for he hath done me | Let me be umpire in this doubtful strife. wrong. Bas. And I with him; for he hath done me wrong. First let me know, and ther. I'll answer you. Ver. And that is my petition, noble lord; Though ne'er so cunningly you smother it. I see no reason, if I wear this rose, [Putting on a red Rose, And therefore, as we hither came in peace, War. My lord of York, I promise you, the king K. Hen. Good lord! what madness rules in brain- In that he wears the badge of Somerset. sick men; When, for so slight and frivolous a cause, York. Let this dissension first be tried by fight, York. There is my pledge; accept it, Somerset. And perish ye, with your audacious prate! Exe. It grieves his highness; -Good my lords, K. Hen. Come hither, you that would be com- Henceforth, I charge you, as you love our favour, How will their grudging stomachs be provok'd War. Tush! that was but his fancy, blame him I dare presume, sweet prince, he thought no harm. [Exeunt YORK, WARWICK, and VERNON. Exe. Well didst thou, Richard, to suppress thy voice: For, had the passions of thy heart burst out, [Exit. SCENE II. France. Before Bordeaux. Enter TALBOT, with his Forces. Tal. Go to the gates of Bordeaux, trumpeter, Trumpet sounds a Parley. Enter, on the Walls, the To wilful disobedience, and rebel? Beside, What infamy will there arise, That, for a toy, a thing of no regard, King Henry's peers, and chief nobility, O, think upon the conquest of my father, If you forsake the offer of our love." My tender years; and let us not forego That for a trifle, that was bought with blood! Gen. Thou ominous and fearful owl of death, Our nation's terror, and their bloody scourge! Destroy'd themselves, and lost the realm of France? Shall lay your stately and air-braving towers, 1 To repugn is to resist. From the Latin repugno. 2 i. e. discovered. 3 The old copy reads 'And if I wish he did: an evident typographical error. York says that he is not pleased that the king should prefer the red rose, the badge of Somerset, his enemy; Warwick desires him not to be offended at it, as he dares say the king meant no harm. To which York, yet unsatisfied, hastily replies, in a menacing tone, 'If I thought he did; but he instantly checks his threat with, let it rest. It is an example of a rhetorical figure not uncommon. 4 'Tis an alarming circumstance, a thing of great consequence, or much weight. 5 Envy, in old English writers, frequently means malice, enmity. 6 Unkind is unnatural. 7 The old editions read their love. Sir Thomas Hanmer altered it to our love; and I think, with Steevens, that the alteration should be adopted. The period of thy tyranny approacheth. Upon no Christian soul but English Talbot. [Exeunt General, &c. from the Walls. Tal. He fables not, I hear the enemy ;- • How are we park'd, and bounded in a pale; And they shall find dear deer of us, my friends. right! Prosper our colours in this dangerous fight! [Exeunt. SCENE III. Plains in Gascony. Enter YORK, with Forces; to him a Messenger. York. Are not the speedy scouts return'd again, That dogg'd the mighty army of the Dauphin? Mess. They are return'd, my lord; and give it out, That he is march'd to Bordeaux with his power, To fight with Talbot: As he march'd along, By your espials were discovered, Two mightier troops than that the Dauphin led; Which join'd with him, and made their march for Bordeaux. York. A plague upon that villain Somerset; Enter SIR WILLIAM LUCY. Lucy. Thou princely leader of our English strength, York. He dies, we lose; I break my warlike word; We mourn, France smiles; we lose, they daily get; All 'long of this vile traitor Somerset. Lucy. Then, God take mercy on brave Talbot's soul! And on his son, young John; whom, two hours York. Alas! what joys shall noble Talbot have, Lucy. Thus, while the vulture of sedition Feeds in the bosom of such great commanders, Sleeping neglection doth betray to loss The conquest of our scarce-cold conqueror, That ever-living man of memory, Henry the Fifth:-Whiles they each other cross, Lives, honours, lands, and all, hurry to loss. [Exit. SCENE IV. Other Plains of Gascony. Enter SOMERSET, with his Forces; an Officer of TAL BOT's with him. Som. It is too late; I cannot send them now: This expedition was by York, and Talbot, Too rashly plotted; all our general force Might with a sally of the very town Be buckled with: the over-daring Talbot Hath sullied all his gloss of former honour, By this unheedful, desperate, wild adventure: York set him on to fight, and die in shame, That, Talbot dead, great York might bear the name. Of. Here is Sir William Lucy, who with me Set from our o'ermatch'd forces forth for aid. Enter SIR WILLIAM LUCY. Som. How now, Sir William? whither were you sent? Lucy. Whither, my lord? from bought and sold Who, ring'd about11 with bold adversity, or baffled. To be treated with contempt like a lowt or country fellow, says Malone. But the meaning of the word here is evidently loitered, retarded: and the following quotation from Cotgrave will show that this was sometimes the sense of to lowt:-'Loricarder, to luske, tout, or lubber it; to loyter about like a master less man.' 7 those sleeping stones That as a waist do girdle you about.' King John. Si. e. expended, consumed. Malone says that the word is still used in this sense in the western counties. 9 Alluding to the tale of Prometheus. 10 i. e. from one utterly ruined by the treacherous practices of others. The expression seems to have been proverbial; intimating that foul play had been used. 1 To rive their dangerous artillery' is merely a figurative way of expressing to discharge it. To rive is to burst; and burst is applied by Shakspeare more than once to thunder, or to a similar sound. 2 Due for endue, or giving due and merited praise. 3 So Milton's Comus: 'She fables not, I feel that I do fear." 4 In blood is a term of the forest; a deer was said to be in blood when in vigour or in good condition, and full of courage, here put in opposition to rascal, which was the term for the same animal when lean and out of condition. 5 Spies 6 To lowt may signify to depress, to lower, to dishonour, says Johnson: but in his Dictionary he explains it to overpower. Steevens knows not what to make of it to let down, to be subdued, or vanquished, 11 Encircled, environed. ۱ |