Our gayness, and our gilt,' are all besmirch'd
With rainy marching in the painful field;
There's not a piece of feather in our host,
(Good argument, I hope, we shall not fly,)
And time hath worn us into slovenry:
But, by the mass, our hearts are in the trim:
And my poor soldiers tell me-yet ere night
They'll be in fresher robes; or they will pluck
The gay new coats o'er the French soldiers' heads,
And turn them out of service. If they do this,
(As, if God please, they shall,) my ransome then
Will soon be levied. Herald, save thou thy labour;
Come thou no more for ransome, gentle herald;
They shall have none, I swear, but these my joints:
Which if they have as I will leave 'em to them,
Shall yield them little, tell the Constable.

Mont. I shall, king Harry. And so fare thee well:
Thou never shalt hear herald any more.
[Exit.
K. Hen. I fear, thou'lt once more come again for

ransome.

Enter the Duke of YORK.

York. My lord, most humbly on my knee I beg The leading of the vaward.

K. Hen. Take it, brave York.-Now, soldiers, march away:

And how thou pleasest, God, dispose the day!

[Exeunt.

5

our gilt,] i. e. golden show, superficial gilding. Obso

lete.

SCENE IV.

The Field of Battle.

Alarums: Excursions. Enter French Soldier,
PISTOL, and Boy.

Pist. Yield, cur.

Fr. Sol. Je pense, que vous estes le gentilhomme de bonne qualité.

Pist. Quality, call you me?-Construe me, art thou a gentleman? What is thy name? discuss. Fr. Sol. O seigneur Dieu!

Pist. O, signieur Dew should be a gentleman:Perpend my words, O signieur Dew, and mark;O signieur Dew, thou diest on point of fox, Except, O signieur, thou do give to me Egregious ransome.

Fr. Sol. O, prennez misericorde! ayez pitié de moy! Pist. Moy shall not serve, I will have forty moys; For I will fetch thy rim out at thy throat,

In drops of crimson blood.

Fr. Sol. Est il impossible d'eschapper la force de

ton brass?

Pist. Brass, cur!

Thou damned and luxurious mountain goat,"
Offer'st me brass?

Fr. Sol. O pardonnez moy!

Pist. Say'st thou me so? is that a ton of moys?? Come hither, boy; Ask me this slave in French, What is his name.

6

Boy. Escoutez; Comment estes vous appellé?

a sword.

7

8

thou diest on point of fox,] Fox is an old cant word for

luxurious mountain goat,] Luxurious means lascivious. a ton of moys?] Moy is a piece of money; whence moi d'or, or moi of gold.

Fr. Sol. Monsieur le Fer.

Boy. He says, his name is-master Fer.

Pist. Master Fer! I'll fer him, and firk him,' and ferret him:-discuss the same in French unto him.

Boy. I do not know the French for fer, and ferret, and firk.

Pist. Bid him prepare, for I will cut his throat. Fr. Sol. Que dit-il, monsieur?

Boy. Il me commande de vous dire que vous faites vous prest; car ce soldat icy est disposé tout à cette heure de couper vostre gorge.

Pist. Ouy, couper gorge, par ma foy, pesant,
Unless thou give me crowns, brave crowns;
Or mangled shalt thou be by this my sword.

Fr. Sol. O, je vous supplie pour l'amour de Dieu, me pardonner! Je suis gentilhomme de bonne maison; gardez ma vie, & je vous donneray deux cents escus. Pist. What are his words?

Boy. He prays you to save his life: he is a gentleman of a good house; and, for his ransome, he will give you two hundred crowns.

Pist. Tell him,—my fury shall abate, and I The crowns will take.

Fr. Sol. Petit monsieur, que dit-il?

Boy. Encore qu'il est contre son jurement, de pardonner aucun prisonnier; neantmoins, pour les escus que vous l'avez promis, il est content de vous donner la liberté, le franchisement.

Fr. Sol. Sur mes genoux, je vous donne mille remerciemens: & je m'estime heureux que je suis tombé entre les mains d'un chevalier, je pense, le plus brave, valiant, & tres distingué seigneur d'Angleterre. Pist. Expound unto me, boy.

9

and firk him,] The word firk is so variously used by the old writers, that it is almost impossible to ascertain its precise meaning. On this occasion it may mean to chastise.

Boy. He gives you, upon his knees, a thousand thanks: and he esteems himself happy that he hath fallen into the hands of (as he thinks) the most brave, valorous, and thrice-worthy signieur of England.

Pist. As I suck blood, I will some mercy show.Follow me, cur. [Exit PISTOL.

Boy. Suivez vous le grand capitaine.

Exit French Soldier. I did never know so full a voice issue from so empty a heart: but the saying is true,-the empty vessel makes the greatest sound. Bardolph, and Nym, had ten times more valour than this roaring devil i'the old play, that every one may pare his nails with a wooden dagger; and they are both hanged; and so would this be, if he durst steal any thing adventurously. I must stay with the lackeys, with the luggage of our camp: the French might have a good prey of us, if he knew of it; for there is none to guard it, but boys. [Exit.

SCENE V.

Another Part of the Field of Battle.

Alarums.

Enter Dauphin, ORLEANS, Bourbon, Constable, RAMBURES, and Others.

Con. O diable?

Orl. O seigneur!-le jour est perdu, tout est perdu!

Dau. Mort de ma vie! all is confounded, all! Reproach and everlasting shame

Sits mocking in our plumes.-Omeschante fortune!— Do not run away. [A short Alarum.

Con.

Why, all our ranks are broke.

Dau. O perdurable shame!'-let's stab ourselves.

1

O perdurable shame!] Perdurable is lasting.

Be these the wretches that we play'd at dice for?
Orl. Is this the king we sent to for his ransome?
Bour. Shame, and eternal shame, nothing but
shame!

Let us die instant: Once more back again;
And he that will not follow Bourbon now,
Let him go hence, and, with his cap in hand,
Like a base pander, hold the chamber-door,
Whilst by a slave, no gentler than my dog,
His fairest daughter is contaminate.

Con. Disorder, that hath spoil'd us, friend us now!
Let us, in heaps, go offer up our lives
Unto these English, or else die with fame.
Orl. We are enough, yet living in the field,
To smother up the English in our throngs,

If any order might be thought upon.

Bour. The devil take order now! I'll to the throng;

Let life be short; else, shame will be too long.

SCENE VI.

[Exeunt.

Alarums.

Another Part of the Field.

Enter King HENRY and Forces; Ex-
ETER, and Others.

K. Hen. Well have we done, thrice-valiant countrymen:

But all's not done, yet keep the French the field. Exe. The duke of York commends him to your majesty.

K. Hen. Lives he, good uncle? thrice, within this hour,

I saw him down; thrice up again, and fighting;

no gentler -] Who has no more gentility.