SCENE II.-France.-Before Rouen. Enter LA PUCELLE disguised, and SOLDIERS dressed like Countrymen, with Sacks upon their Backs.

Puc. These are the city gates, the gates of
Rouen,

Through which our policy must make a breach :
Take heed, be wary how you place your words;
Talk like the vulgar sort of market-men,
That come to gather money for their corn.
If we have entrance, (as I hope we shall,)
And that we find the slothful watch but weak,
I'll by a sign give notice to our friends,
That Charles the Dauphin may encounter
them.

Alarum: Excursions. Enter from the Town, BEDFORD, brought in sick, in a Chair, with TALBOT, BURGUNDY, and the English Forces. Then, enter on the Walls, LA PUCELLE, CHARLES, BASTARD, ALENÇON, and others.

Puc. Good morrow, gallants! want ye corn for bread ?

I think the duke of Burgundy will fast,
Before he'll buy again at such a rate:
'Twas full of darnel; Do you like the taste!
Bur. Scoff on, vile fiend, and shameless cour-

tezan!

Encompass'd with thy lustful paramours ! Becomes it thee to taunt his valiant age,

And we be lords and rulers over Rouen ; Therefore we'll knock.

Knocka.

Guard. [Within.] Qui est là? Puc. Puisans, pauvres gens de France: Poor market-folks, that come to sell their

corn.

Guard. Enter, go in; the market-bell is rung. [Opens the Gates. Puc. Now, Rouen, I'll shake thy bulwarks to the ground.

[PUCELLE, &c. enter the City. Enter CHARLES, BASTARD of Orleans, ALENSON, and Forces.

Char. Saint Dennis bless this happy stratagem!

And once again we'll sleep secure in Roüen. Bast. Here enter'd Pucelle, and her practisants;

Now she is there, how will she specify
Where is the best and safest passage in?

Alen. By thrusting out a torch from yonder tower;

Which, once discern'd, shows, that her meaning is,

No way to that, + for weakness, which she enter'd. Enter LA PUCELLE on a Battlement: holding out a Torch burning.

Puc. Behold, this is the happy wedding torch,

That joineth Rouen unto her countrymen :
But burning fatal to the Talbotites.

Bast. See, noble Charles the beacon of our friend,

The burning torch in yonder turret stands.
Char. Now shine it like a comet of revenge,
A prophet to the fall of all our foes!
Alen. Defer no time, Delays bave dangerous
ends;

Enter, and cry-The Dauphin!-presently,
And then do execution on the watch.

[They enter.

Alarum. Enter TALBOT, and certain

English.

Damsel, I'll have a bout with you again,
Or else let Talbot perish with this shame.
Puc. Are you so hot, Sir ?-Yet, Pucelle, hold
thy peace;

If Talbot do but thunder, rain will follow.-
[TALBOT, and the rest consult together.
God speed the parliament! who shall be the
speaker?

Tal. Dare ye come forth, and meet us in the field ?

Puc. Belike, your lordship takes us then for fools,

To try if that our own be our's or no.

Tal. I speak not to that railing Hecate,
But unto thee, Alençon, and the rest;
Will ye, like soldiers, come and fight it out?
Alen. Signior, no.

Tal. Signior, hang!-base
France !

muleteers

of

Like peasant foot-boys do they keep the walls,
And dare not take up arms like gentlemen.
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. Tal. And there will we be too, ere it be long, Or else reproach be Talbot's greatest fame !— Vow, Burgundy, by honour of thy house, (Prick'd on by public wrongs, sustain'd in France,)

Either to get the town again, or die:
And I,-as sure as English Henry lives,
And as his father here was conqueror;
As sure as in this late-betrayed town
Great Coeur-de-lion's heart was buried;
So sure I swear, to get the town, or die.

Bur. My vows are equal partners with thy

Vows.

thy tears,

If Talbot but survive thy treachery.-
Pucelle, that witch, that damned sorceress,
Hath wrought this hellish mischief unawares,
That hardly we escap'd the pride of France.
[Excunt to the Town.

• Confederates in stratagems. t.e. No way equal to that. 1 Haughty power.

Bur. Courageous Bedford, let us now persuade

strength,

Beside five hundred prisoners of esteem,--
Lets fall his sword before your highness' feet;
And, with submissive loyalty of heart,
Ascribes the glory of his conquest got,
First to my God, and next unto your grace.
K. Hen. Is this the lord Talbot, uncle Glos
ter,

That hath so long been resident in France ?
Glo. Yes, if it please your majesty, my
liege.

K. Hen. Welcome, brave captain, and victorious lord!

When I was young, (as yet I am not old,)
I do remember how my father said,
A stouter champion never handled sword.
Long since we were resolved of your truth,
Your faithful service, and your toil in war;
Yet never have you tasted our reward,
Or been reguerdon'd with so much as thanks,
Because till now we never saw your face :
Therefore, stand up; and, for these good de-
serts,

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, Disgracing of these colours, that I wear Su honour of my noble lord of York,

• Elevated.

Dar'st thou maintain the former words thou spak'st?

Bast. Yes, Sir; as well as you dare patronage The envious barking of your saucy tongue Against my lord the duke of Somerset.

Ver. Sirrah, thy lord I honour as he is.
Bas. Why, what is he? as good a man as
York.

Ver. Hark ye; not so: in witness, take ye
that.
[Strikes him.
Bus. Villain, thou know'st the law of arms is
such,

That who so draws a sword, 'tis present death; Or else this blow should broach thy dearest

blood.

But I'll unto his majesty, and crave

I may have liberty to 'venge this wrong;
When thou shalt see, I'll meet thee to thy cost.
Ver. Well, miscreant, I'll be there as soon as
you:

And, after, meet you sooner than you would.
[Exeunt.

ACT IV.

SCENE 1.-The same.-A Room of State.

Enter King HENRY, GLOSTER, EXETER, YORK,

SUFFOLK, SOMERSET, WINCHESTER, WARWICK, TALBOT, the GOVERNOR of Paris, and others.

Glo. Lord bishop, set the crown upon his bead.

Win. God save king Heary, of that name the sixth !

are his

Glo. Now, governor of Paris, take your oath,--[GOVERNOR kneels. That you elect no other king but him: Esteem none friends, but such as friends; And none your foes, but such as shali pretend ⚫ Malicious practices against his state: This shall ye do, so help you righteous God ! [Exeunt Gov. and his Train.

Enter Sir JOHN FASTOLFE.

Fast. My gracious sovereign, as I rode from Calais,

To haste unto your coronation,

A letter was deliver'd to my hands,

Writ to your grace from the duke of Burgundy. Tal. Shame to the duke of Burgundy and thee! I vow'd, base knight, when I did meet thee next,

To tear the garter from thy craven's + leg.

[Plucking it off.

(Which I have done) because unworthily
Thou wast installed in that high degree.-
Pardon me, princely Henry, and the rest:
This dastard, at the battle of Patay,
When but in all I was six thousand strong,
And that the French were almost ten to oue,
Before we met, or that a stroke was given,
Like to a trusty squire, did run away;
In which assault we lost twelve hundred men;
Myself, and divers gentlemen beside,
Were there supris'd, and taken prisoners.
Then judge, great lords, if I have done amniss;
Or whether that such cowards ought to wear
This ornament of kuighthood, yea or no.

Glo. To say the truth, this fact was infamous
And ill beseeming any common inan;
Much more a knight, a captain, and a leader.
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. §

+ Confirmed in opinion. Rewarded.

• Design

1 High.

+ Mean, dastardly. 1. e. In greatest extremities,

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-boru swain
That doth presume to boast of gentle blood.
K. Hen. Stain to thy countrymen I thou hear'st
thy doom:

Be packing therefore, thou that wast a knight:
Henceforth we banish thee, on pain of death.—
(Exit FASTOLFE.
And now, my lord protector, view the letter
Sent from our uncle duke of Burgundy.
Glo. What means his grace, that he hath
chang'd his style!

[Viewing the superscription. No more but, plain and bluntly,-To the king? Hath he forgot, he is his sovereign ? Or doth this churlish superscription Pretend some alteration in good will? What's here 1-I have, upon especial cause,— [Reads. Mov'd with compassion of my country's wreck,

Together with the pitiful complaints
Of such as your oppression feeds upon,
Forsaken your pernicious faction,
And join'd with Charles, the rightful king
of France.

[guile.

O monstrous treachery! Can this be so;
That in alliance, amity, and oaths,
There should be found such false dissembling
K. Hen. What! doth my uncle Burgundy
revolt?

Glo. He doth, my lord; and is become your foe.

K. Hen. Is that the worst this letter doth contain?

Glo. It is the worst, and all, my lord, he writes.

K. Hen. Why then, lord Talbot there shall talk with him,

And give him chastisement for this abuse ;-
My lord, how say you? are not you content?
Tal. Content, my liege? Yes; but that I am
prevented, +

I should have begg'd I might have been employ'd.

K. Hen. Then gather strength, and march unto him straight :

Let him perceive, bow ill we brook his trea

son;

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. [Exit. Enter VERNON and BASSET.

Ver. Grant me the combat, gracious sovereign!

Bas. And me, my lord, grant me the combat

too!

When stubbornly he did repugn⚫ the truth,
About a certain question in the law,
Argu'd betwixt the duke of York and him;
With other vile and ignominious terms:
In confutation of which rude reproach,
And in defence of my lord's worthiness,
I crave the benefit of law of armis.

Ver. And that is my petition, noble lord : For though he seem, with forged quaint conceit,

To set a gloss upon his bold intent,
Yet know, my lord, I was provok'd by him ;
And he first took exceptions at this badge,
Pronouncing that the paleness of this flower
Bewray'd the faintness of my master's heart.
York. Will not this malice, Somerset, be

left?

Ver. Nay, let it rest where it began at first.
Bas. Confirm it so, mine honourable iord.
Glo. Confirm it so? Confounded be your
strife!

And perish ye, with your audacious prate!
Presumptuous vassals! are you not asham'd,
With this immodest clamorous outrage
To trouble and disturb the king and us!
And you, my lords,-methinks, you do not
well,

To bear with their perverse objections;
Much less to take occasion from their mouths
To raise a mutiny betwixt yourselves:
Let me persuade you take a better course.
Exe. It grieves his highness;-Good my
lords; be friends.

K. Hen. Come hither, you that would be combatants : Henceforth, I charge you, as you love our

favour,

Quite to forget this quarrel, and the cause.—
And you, my lords,-remember where we are;
In France, amongst a fickle wavering nation:
If they perceive dissention in our looks,
And that within ourselves we disagree,
How will their grudging stomachs be provok'd
To wilful disobedience, and rebe!?
Beside, what infamy will there arise,
When foreign princes shall be certified,
That, for a toy, a thing of no regard,
King Henry's peers, and chief nobility,
Destroy'd themselves, and lost the realm of
France ?

O think upon the conquest of my father,
My tender years; and let us not forego
That for a trifle, that was bought with blood:
Let me be umpire in this doubtful strife.
I see no reason, if I wear this rose.

more incline to Somerset than York:
[Putting on a red Rose.
That any one should therefore be suspicious
Both are my kinsmen, and I love them both:
As well they may upbraid me with my crown,
Because forsooth the king of Scots is crown'd.
But your discretions better can persuade,
Than I am able to instruct or teach :
And therefore, as we hither came in peace,
So let us still continue peace and love.~