The dramatic works of William Shakspere, from the text of Johnson, Stevens [sic] & Reed, with glossarial notes, his life, etc. by N. Rowe

Plan. Ay, noble uncle, thus ignobly us'd, Your nephew, late-despised* Richard, comes. Mor. Direct mine arms, I may embrace his neck,

And in his bosom spend my latter gasp:
O, tell me, when my lips do touch his cheeks,
That I may kindly give one fainting kiss.-
And now declare, sweet stem from York's
great stock,

Why didst thou say-of late thou wert despis'd? Plan. First, lean thine aged back against mine arm;

And, in that ease, I'll tell thee my disease.t
This day, in argument upon a case, [me:
Some words there grew 'twixt Somerset and
Among which terms he used his lavish tongue,
And did upbraid me with my father's death;
Which obloquy set bars before my tongue,
Else with the like I had requited him:
Therefore, good uncle,-for my father's sake,
In honour of a true Plantagenet,
And for alliance' sake,--declare the cause
My father, earl of Cambridge, lost his head.
Mor. That cause, fair nephew, that im-
prison'd me,

And hath detain'd me, all my flow'ring youth,
Within a loathsome dungeon, there to pine,
Was cursed instrument of his decease.

Plan. Discover more at large what cause that was;

For I am ignorant, and cannot guess.

Mor. I will; if that my fading breath permit,
And death approach not ere my tale be done
Henry the fourth, grandfather to this king,
Depos'd his nephew Richard; Edward's son,
The first-begotten, and the lawful heir
Of Edward king, the third of that descent:
During whose reign, the Percies of the north,
Finding his usurpation most unjust,
Endeavour'd my advancement to the throne:
The reason mov'd these warlike lords to this,
Was-for that (young king Richard thus re-
mov'd,

Leaving no heir begotten of his body,)
I was the next by birth and parentage;
For by my mother I derived am

From Lionel duke of Clarence, the third son
To king Edward the third, whereas he,
From John of Gaunt doth bring his pedigree,
Being but fourth of that heroic line.
But mark; as, in this haughty great attempt,
They laboured to plant the rightful heir,
I lost my liberty, and they their lives.
Long after this, when Henry the fifth,-
Succeeding his father Bolingbroke,-did reign,
Thy father, earl of Cambridge, then deriv'd
From Jamous Edmund Langley, duke of
York,-

Marrying my sister, that thy mother was,
Again, in pity of my hard distress,
Levied an army; weenings to redeem,
And have install'd me in the diadem:
But, as the rest, so fell that noble earl,
And was beheaded. Thus the Mortimers,
In whom the title rested, were suppress'd.
Plan. Of which, my lord, your honour is the
last.

Mor. True; and thou seest, that I no issue have;

And that my fainting words do warrant death:
Thou art my heir; the rest, I wish thee gather:
But yet be wary in thy studious care.
Plan. Thy grave admonishments prevail with

But yet, methinks, my father's execution
Was nothing less than bloody tyranny.
Mor. With silence, nephew, be thou politic;
Strong-fixed is the house of Lancaster,
And, like a mountain, not to be remov'd.
But now thy uncle is removing hence;
As princes do their courts, when they are
cloy'd

With long continuance in a settled place.
Plan. Ö, uncle, 'would some part of my
young years

Might but redeem the passage of your age! Mor. Thou dost then wrong me; as the slaught'rer doth,

Which giveth many wounds, when one will kill.
Mourn not, except thou sorrow for my good;
Only, give order for my funeral;

And so farewell;* and fair be all thy hopes!
And prosperous be thy life, in peace, and war!
[Dies.
Plan. And peace, no war, befall thy parting
In prison hast thou spent a pilgrimage, [soul!
And like a hermit overpass'd thy days.-
Well, I will lock his counsel in my breast;
And what I do imagine, let that rest.-
Keepers, convey him hence; and I myself
Will see his burial better than his life.-

[Exeunt KEEPERS, bearing out MORTIMER.
Here dies the dusky torch of Mortimer,
Chok'd with ambition of the meaner sort:---
And, for those wrongs, those bitter injuries,
Which Somerset hath offer'd to my house,-
I doubt not, but with honour to redress:
And therefore haste I to the parliament;
Either to be restored to my blood,

Or make my ill the advantage of my good.

ACT III.

[Exit,

SCENE I.-The same.-The Parliament-house. Flourish. Enter King HENRY, EXETER, GLOSTER, WARWICK, SOMERSET, and SUFFOLK; the Bishop of WINCHESTER, RICHARD PLANTAGENET, and others. GLOSTER offers to put up a Bill; WINCHESTER Snatches it, and tears it.

Win. Com'st thou with deep premeditated

lines,

With written pamphlets studiously devis'd,
Humphrey of Gloster? if thou canst accuse,
Or aught intend'st to lay unto my charge,
Do it without invention suddenly;
As I with sudden and extemporal speech
Purpose to answer what thou canst object.

Glo. Presumptuous priest! this place com-
mands my patience,
[me.
Or thou should'st find thou hast dishonour'd
Think not, although in writing I preferr'd
The manner of thy vile outrageous crimes,
That therefore I have forg'd, or am not able
Verbatim to rehearse the method of my pen:
No, prelate; such is thy audacious wicked-

ness,

Thy lewd, pestiferous, and dissentious pranks,
As very infants prattle of thy pride.
Thou art a most pernicious usurer;
Froward by nature, enemy to peace;
Lascivious, wanton, more than well beseems
A man of thy profession, and degree;
And for thy treachery, What's more manifest?
In that thou laid'st a trap to take my life,
As well at London bridge, as at the Tower?
Beside, I fear me, if thy thoughts were sifted,

Lucky, prosperous. + My ff, is my ill usage.

I. e. Articles of accusson

The king, thy sovereign, is not quite exempt
From envious malice of thy swelling heart.
Win. Gloster, I do defy thee.-Lords, vouch-
To give me hearing what I shall reply. [safe
If I were covetous, ambitious, or perverse,
As he will have me, How am I so poor?
Or how haps it, I seek not to advance
Or raise myself, but keep my wonted calling:
And for dissention, Who preferreth peace
More than I do,-except I be provok'd?
No, my good lords, it is not that offends;
It is not that, that hath incens'd the duke:
It is, because no one should sway but he;
No one, but he, should be about the king;
And that engenders thunder in his breast,
And makes him roar these accusations forth.
But he shall know, I am as good-

Glo. As good?

Thou bastard of my grandfather!

Win. Ay, lordly Sir; For what are you, I
But one imperious in another's throne? [pray,
Glo. Am I not the protector, saucy priest?
Win. And am I not a prelate of the church?
Glo. Yes, as an outlaw in a castle keeps,
And useth it to patronage his theft.
Win. Unreverent Gloster!

Glo. Thou art reverent

Touching thy spiritual function, not thy life.
Win. This Rome shall remedy.
War. Roam thither then.

Som. My lord, it were your duty to forbear.
War. Ay, see the bishop be not overborne.
Som. Methinks, my lord should be religious,
And know the office that belongs to such.

And, if you love me, as you say you do,
Let me persuade you to forbear a while.
K. Hen. O, how this discord doth afflict my
soul!-

Can you, my lord of Winchester, behold
My sighs and tears, and will not once relent?
Who should be pitiful, if you be not?
Or who should study to prefer a peace,
If holy churchmen take delight in broils?
War. My lord protector, yield;-yield Win-
chester;-

Except you mean, with obstinate repulse, Wur. Methinks, his lordship should be hum-To slay your sovereign, and destroy the realm. It fitteth not a prelate so to plead. [bler; You see what mischief, and what murder too, Som. Yes, when his holy state is touch'd so Hath been enacted through your enmity; Then be at peace, except ye thirst for blood. Win. He shall submit, or I will never yield. Glo. Compassion on the king commands me

near.

War. State holy, or unhallow'd, what of that? Is not his grace protector to the king?

Plan. Plantagenet, I see, must hold his
tongue;

Lest it be said, Speak, sirrah, when you should;
Must your bold verdict enter talk with lords?
Else would I have a fling at Winchester.

[Aside. K. Hen. Uncies of Gloster, and of Winchester,

The special watchmen of our English weal;
I would prevail, if prayers might prevail,
To join your hearts in love and amity.
O, what a scandal is it to our crown,
That two such noble peers as ye, should jar!
Believe me, lords, my tender years can tell,
Civil dissention is a viperous worm,
That gnaws the bowels of the commonwealth.
[A noise within; Down with the tawny coats!
What tumult's this?

War. An uproar, I dare warrant,
Begun through malice of the bishop's men.
[A noise again; Stones! Stones!
Enter the MAYOR of London, attended.
May. O, my good lords,―and virtuous Hen-
Pity the city of London, pity us! [ry,
The bishop and the duke of Gloster's men,
Forbidden late to carry any weapon,
Have fill'd their pockets full of pebble-stones;
And, banding themselves in contrary parts,
Do pelt so fast at one another's pate, [out:
That many have their giddy brains knock'd
Jur windows are broke down in every street,
And we, for fear, compell'd to shut our shops.
Ater, skirmishing, the Retainers of GLOSTER
and WINCHESTER, with bloody pates.

K. Hen. We charge you, on allegiance to
ourself,

3 Sert. And I will see what physic the tavern affords. [Exeunt SERVANTS, MAYOR, &c.

War. Accept this scroll, most gracious
Sovereign;

Which in the right of Richard Plantagenet,
We do exhibit to your majesty.

Glo. Well urg'd, my lord of Warwick;-for, sweet prince,

An if your grace mark every circumstance,
You have great reason to do Richard right:
Especially, for those occasions

At Eltham-place I told your majesty.

K. Hen. And those occasions, uncle, were of force:

Therefore, my loving lords, our pleasure is,
That Richard be restored to his blood.

War. Let Richard be restored to his blood; So shall his father's wrongs be recompens'd. Win. As will the rest, so willeth Winchester.

K. Hen. If Richard will be true, not that | But all the whole inheritance I give, [alone, That doth belong unto the house of York, From whence you spring by lineal descent.

Plan. Thy humble servant vows obedience, And humble service, till the point of death. K. Hen. Stoop then, and set your knee against my foot;

And, in reguerdon of that duty done,
I girt thee with the valiant sword of York:
Rise, Richard, like a true Plantagenet;
And rise created princely duke of York.
Plan. And so thrive Richard, as thy foes
may fall!

And as my duty springs so perish they
That grudge one thought against your majesty!
All. Welcome, high prince, the mighty duke

of York!

Som. Perish, base prince, ignoble duke of
York!
[Aside.

Glo. Now will it best avail your majesty,
To cross the seas, and to be crown'd in France:
The presence of a king engenders love
Amongst his subjects, and his loyal friends;
As it disanimates his enemies.

K. Hen. When Gloster says the word, king
Henry goes;

For friendly counsel cuts off many foes.
Glo. Your ships already are in readiness.
[Exeunt all but EXETER.
Exe. Ay, we may march in England, or in
Not seeing what is likely to ensue: [France,
This late dissention, grown betwixt the peers,
Burns under feigned ashes of forg'd love,
And will at last break out into a flame :
As fester'd members rot but by degrees,
Till bones, and flesh, and sinews, fall away,
So will this base and envious discord breed.
And now I fear that fatal prophecy,
Which, in the time of Henry, nam'd the fifth,
Was in the mouth of every sucking babe,-
That Henry, born at Monmouth, should win
all;

And Henry, born at Windsor, should lose all:
Which is so plain, that Exeter doth wish
His days may finish ere that hapless time.

[Exit.

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.

1 Sold. Our sacks shall be a mean to sack the city,

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

[Knocks.

Guard. [Within.] Qui est là? Puc. Paisans, pauvres gens de France: Poor market-fólks, 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, ALENÇON, 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 díscern'd, shows, that her meaning is,No way to that,t 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 Roüen 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 have dangerous ends;

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

[They enter.

Alarums. Enter TALBOT, and certain English. Tal. France, thou shalt rue this treason with 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.
[Exeunt to the Town.

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!

I trust, ere long, to choke thee with thine own,
And make thee curse the harvest of that corn.
Char. Your grace may starve, perhaps, be-
fore that time.

Bed. O, let no words, but deeds, revenge this
treason!

Fuc. What will you do, good grey-beard? break a lance,

And run a tilt at death within a chair?

Tal. Foul fiend of France, and hag of all de-
spite,

Encompass'd with thy lustful paramours!
Becomes thee to taunt his valiant age,
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.
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 ours, or no.

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

France!

Tul. Signior, hang!-base muleteers of Like peasant foot-boys do they keep the walls, And dare not take up arms like gentlemen. PHC. 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 Wulls.
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.

Tal. But, ere we go, regard this dying prince,
The valiant duke of Bedford:-Come, my lord,
We will bestow you in some better place,
Fitter for sickness, and for crazy age.

Bed. Lord Talbot, do not so dishonour me:
Here will I sit before the walls of Rouen,
And will be partner of your weal, or woe.
Bur. Courageous Bedford, let us now per-
suade you.

Bed. Not to be gone from hence; for once

I read,
That stout Pendragon, in his litter, sick,
Came to the field, and vanquished his foes:
Methinks, I should revive the soldiers' hearts,
Because I ever found them as myself.

Tal. Undaunted spirit in a dying breast!Then be it so:-Heavens keep old Bedford safe

And now no more ado, brave Burgundy,
But gather we our forces out of hand,
And set upon our boasting enemy.

[Exeunt BURGUNDY, TALBOT, and Forces
leaving BEDFORD, and others.

Alarums: Excursions. Enter Sir JOHN FAS-
TOLFE, 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.
Cap. What! will you fly, and leave lord Tal-
bot?

Fast. Ay,

All the Talbots in the world to save my life.

Retreat: Excursions. Enter from the Town, La PUCELLE, ALENÇON, CHARLES, &c. and Exeunt, flying.

Bed. Now, quiet soul, depart when heaven

For I have seen our enemies' overthrow.
please;
They, that of late were daring with their scoffs,
What is the trust or strength of foolish man?
Are glad and fain by flight to save themselves.
[Dies, and is carried off in his Chair.
Alarum: Enter TALBOT, BURGUNDY, and others.
Tal. Lost, and recover'd in a day again!
Yet, heavens have glory for this victory!
This is a double honour, Burgundy:

Enshrines thee in his heart; and there erects
Bur. Warlike and martial Talbot, Burgundy
Thy noble deeds, as valour's monument.

Tal. Thanks, gentle duke. But where is
I think, her old familiar is asleep:
Pucelle now?

Now

where's the Bastard's braves, and
Charles his gleeks?*

What, all a-mort?t Rouen hangs her head
That such a valiant company are fled.
for grief,
Now will we take some ordert in the town,
And then depart to Paris, to the king;
Placing therein some expert officers;
For there young Harry, with his nobles, lies.
Bur. What wills lord Talbot, pleaseth Bur-
gundy.

Tal. But yet, before we go, let's not forget
The noble duke of Bedford, late deceas'd,
But see his exequies fulfill'd in Rouen.;
A gentler heart did never sway in court:
A braver soldier never couched lance,
For that's the end of human misery. [Exeunt.
But kings and mightiest potentates must die;

SCENE III.-The same.-The Plains near the
City.

Enter CHARLES, the BASTARD, ALENÇON, LA
PUCELLE, and Forces.

Puc. Dismay not, princes, at this accident,
Care is no cure,
Nor grieve that Rouen is so recovered:
but rather corrosive,
For things that are not to be remedied.
Let frantic Talbot triumph for a while,
We'll pull his plumes, and take away his train.
And like a peacock sweep along his tail;
If Dauphin, and the rest, will be but rul'd.
* Scofl's.
+ Make some necessary dispositions. Funeral rites.
+ Quite dispirited

Char. We have been guided by thee hitherto, | Doubting thy birth and lawful progeny. [tion, And of thy cunning had no diffidence; One sudden foil shall never breed distrust. Bast. Search out thy wit for secret policies, And we will make thee famous through the world.

Alen. We'll set thy statne in some holy place, And have thee reverenc'd like a blessed saint; Employ thee then, sweet virgin, for our good. Puc. Then thus it must be; this doth Joan devise:

By fair persuasions, mix'd with sugar'd words,
We will entice the duke of Burgundy
To leave the Talbot, and to follow us.

Char. Ay, marry, sweeting, if we could do that,

France were no place for Henry's warriors; Nor should that nation boast it so with us, But be extirped from our provinces.

Alen. For ever should they be expuls'dt from France,

And not have title to an earldom here.

Who join'st thou with, but with a lordly na-
That will not trust thee, but for profit's sake?
When Talbot hath set footing once in France,
And fashion'd thee that instrument of ill,
Who then, but English Henry, will be lord,
And thou be thrust out, like a fugitive?
Call we to mind,-and mark but this, for
proof;-

Was not the duke of Orleans thy foe?
And was he not in England prisoner?
But, when they heard he was thine enemy,
They set him free, without his ransom paid,
In spite of Burgundy, and all his friends.
See then! thou fight'st against thy countrymen,
And join'st with them will be thy slaughter-
men,
[lord;
Come, come, return; return, thou wand'ring
Charles, and the rest, will take thee in their

arms.

Bur. I am vanquished; these haughty words of hers

Puc. Your honours shall perceive how I will Have batter'd me like roaring cannon-shot, work,

To bring this matter to the wished end.

[Drums heard. Hark! by the sound of drum, you may perceive Their powers are marching unto Paris-ward. An English March. Enter, and pass over at a distance, TALBOT and his Forces.

There goes the Talbot, with his colours spread;
And all the troops of English after him."
A French March. Enter the duke of BURGUNDY
and Forces.

Now, in the rearward, comes the duke, and his;

Fortune, in favour, make him lag behind. Summon a parley, we will talk with him. [A Parley sounded. Char. A parley with the duke of Burgundy. Bur. Who craves a parley with the Burgundy?

Puc. The princely Charles of France, thy countryman.

Bur. What say'st thou, Charles? for I am marching hence.

Char. Speak, Pucelle; and enchant him with thy words.

Puc. Brave Burgundy, undoubted hope of
France!

Stay, let thy humbie handmaid speak to thee.
Bur. Speak on; but be not over-tedious.
Puc. Look on thy country, look on fertile
France,

And see the cities and the towns defac'd
By wasting ruin of the cruel foe!

As looks the mother on her lowly babe,
When death doth close his tender dying eyes,
See, see, the pining malady of France;
Behold the wounds, the most unnatural wounds,
Which thou thyself hast given her woful breast!
, turn thy edged sword another way; [help!
Strike those that hurt, and hurt not those that
One drop of blood, drawn from thy country's
bosom,
[gore;
Should grieve thee more than streams of foreign
Return thee, therefore, with a flood of tears,
And wash away thy country's stained spots!
Bur. Either she hath bewitch'd me with
her words,

Or nature makes me suddenly relent. Puc. Besides, all French and France exclaims on thee,

And made me almost yield upon my knees.Forgive me, country, and sweet countrymen! And, lords, accept this hearty kind embrace : My forces and my power of men are yours;So, farewell, Talbot; I'll no longer trust thee. Puc. Done like a Frenchman, turn, and turn again!

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

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,

Hearing of your arrival in this realm,
I have a while given truce unto my wars,
To do my duty to my sovereign :
In sign whereof, this arm-that hath reclaim'd
To your obedience fifty fortresses, [strength,
Twelve cities, and seven walled towns of
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 victo-

rious lord!

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The dramatic works of William Shakspere, from the text of Johnson, Stevens ...