25

Enter a third Messenger.
3 Mess. My gracious lords, to add to your laments,
Wherewith you now bedew king Henry's hearse,
I must inform you of a dismal fight
Betwixt the stout lord Talbot and the French.

Win. What! wherein Talbot overcame? is 't so ?

3 Mess. 0, no! wherein lord Talbot was o'erthrown:
The circumstance 23 I 'll tell you more at large.
The tenth of August last, this dreadful lord,
Retiring from the siege of Orleans,
Having full 24

scarce six thousand in his troop,
By three-and-twenty thousand of the French
Was round encompassed and set upon.
No leisure had he to enrank his men;
He wanted pikes to set before his archers;
Instead whereof, sharp stakes, pluck'd out of hedges,
They pitched in the ground confusedly,
To keep the horsemen off from breaking in.
More than three hours the fight continued ;
Where valiant Talbot, above human thought,
Enacted wonders with his sword and lance.
Hundreds he sent to hell, and none durst stand him;
Here, there, and every where, enrag'd he slew. 26
The French exclaim'd, The devil was in arms;
All the whole army stood agaz'd 27 on him.
His soldiers, spying his undaunted spirit,
A Talbot! A Talbot! cried out amain,
And rush'd into the bowels of the battle. 28
Here had the conquest fully been seald up,
If sir John Fastolfe 29 had not play'd the coward.

23) circumstance = die nähern, ein Ereigniss begleitenden Umstände. 24) full adverbial mit scarce verbunden mit sehr genauer Noth. 25) Die Piken wurden wie Pallisaden zum Schutz vor den Bogenschützen aufgepflanzt, hin

ter denen diese dann losschossen; statt solcher Piken musste Talbot in der Eile sich mit Pfählen, aus den Zäunen losgerissen, begnügen, um den Andrang der feindlichen

Reiterei abzuhalten. 26) Für slew vermuthete Malone ohne Noth flew. to slay ist hier intransitiv = nie

dermetzeln, ein Gemetzel veranstalten. 27) agased = mit starrem Blick, im Hinstarren verloren, ist mit on zu verbinden. 28) Sh. entlehnte diesen Ausdruck vielleicht aus Kyd's altem Drama Jeronimo: Meet,

Don Andrea! yes, in the battle's bowels. 29) So lautet der Name bei Holinshed, während die Fol. hier und weiterhin Falstaffe

He being in the vaward, 30 plac'd behind
With purpose to relieve and follow them,
Cowardly fled, not having struck one stroke.
Hence grew the general wrack and massacre:
Enclosed were they with their enemies.
A base Walloon, to win the Dauphin's grace,
Thrust Talbot with a spear into the back;
Whom all France, with their chief assembled strength,
Durst not presume to look once in the face. 31

Bed. Is Talbot slain? then I will slay myself,
For living idly here in pomp and ease,
Whilst such a worthy leader, wanting aid,
Unto his bastard foe-men is betray'd.

3 Mess. O, no! he lives; but is took prisoner, And lord Scales with him, and lord Hungerford: Most of the rest slaughter'd, or took , likewise.

Bed. His ransom there is none but I shall pay.
I'll hale the Dauphin headlong from his throne;
His crown shall be the ransom of my friend :
Four of their lords I 'll change for one of ours.
Farewell, my masters; to my task will I.
Bonfires in France forthwith I am to make,
To keep our great Saint George's feast withal: 32
Ten thousand soldiers with me I will take,
Whose bloody deeds shall make all Europe quake.

3. Mess. So you had need; for Orleans is besieg'd.
The English army is grown weak and faint;
The earl of Salisbury craveth supply,
And hardly keeps his men from mutiny,
Since they, so few, watch such a multitude.

Exe. Remember, lords, your oaths to Henry sworn,
Either to quell the Dauphin utterly,
Or bring him in obedience to your yoke.

Bed. I do remember it; and here take my leave,
To go about my preparation.

33

[Exit. [Exit.

Glo. I 'll to the Tower, with all the haste I can,
To view the artillery and munition;
And then I will proclaim young Henry king.

Exe. To Eltham will I, where the young king is,
Being ordain'd his special governor;
And for his safety there I 'll best devise.

Win. Each hath his place and function to attend :
I am left out; for me nothing remains.
But long I will not be Jack-out-of-office. 34
The king from Eltham I intend to send,
And sit at chiefest stern of public weal.

[Exit.

35

[Exit.

SCENE II.

France. Before Orleans.
Flourish. Enter CHARLES, with his Forces; ALENÇON,

REIGNIER, and Others.
Char. Mars his true moving, even as in the heavens,
So in the earth, to this day is not known.
Late did he shine upon the English side;
Now we are victors, upon us he smiles. 2
What towns of any moment but we have ?
At pleasure here we lie near Orleans;
Otherwhiles, the famish'd English, like pale ghosts,
Faintly besiege us one hour in a month. 3

Alen. They want their porridge, and their fat bull-beeves:
Either they must be dieted like mules,
And have their provender tied to their mouths,
Or piteous they will look like drowned mice.

34) Jack-out-of-office Hans ausser Dienst, das Gegentheil des sonst gebräuchlichen

Jack-in-office Hans im Dienst. 95) Für send wollte M. Mason des Reimes und des bessern Sinnes wegen steal lesen.

Indess bedarf die alte Lesart keiner Aonderung, da sie einfach sagt, dass Winchester den jungen König von Eltham, wo er in Exeter's Gewalt bleiben würde, wegschicken

wolle, um ihn anderswo eher in seine eigene Gewalt zu bekommen. 9) Mars ist doppelsinnig hier der Planet und der Kriegsgott. Steevens citirt dazu

aus einem Pamphlet von Nashe (1596) You are as ignorant in the true movings of my muse, as the astronomers are in the true movings of Mars, which to this day they could never attain to. Mars his ist eine euphemische Umschreibung des Genitivs Mars's, die Sh. auch in Troilus and Cressida mehrmals anwendet: Mars his gauntlet (A. 4, Sc. 5), Mars his heart (A. 5, Sc. 2).

Jetzt, da wir Sieger sind, lächelt er auf uns herab. 3) Die Engländer, vor Orleans eingeschlossen, sind so matt und ausgehungert, dass sie in

Reig. :Let 's raise the siege. Why live we idly here?
Talbot is taken, whom we wont to fear:
Remaineth none but mad-brain'd Salisbury,
And he may well in fretting spend his gall;
Nor men nor money hath he to make war.

Char. Sound, sound alarum! we will rush on them.
Now for the honour of the forlorn French !
Him I forgive my death, that killeth me,
When he sees me go back one foot, or fly.

[Eseunt. Alarums; Excursions ; afterwards a retreat. 5

Re-enter CHARLES, ALENÇON, REIGNIER, and Others.
Charl. Who ever saw the like? what men have I!
Dogs! cowards ! dastards ! I would ne'er have fled,
But that they left me 'midst my enemies.

Reig. Salisbury is a desperate homicide;
He fighteth as one weary of his life:
The other lords, like lions wanting food,
Do rush upon us as their hungry prey.

Alen. Froissart, a countryman of ours, records, ?
England all Olivers and Rowlands bred 8
During the time Edward the third did reign.
More truly now may this be verified;
For none but Samsons, and Goliasses,
It sendeth forth to skirmish. One to ten! 9
Lean raw-bon'd rascals! 10 who would e'er suppose
They had such courage and audacity?

Char. Let 's leave this town; for they are hair-brain'd slaves,
And hunger will enforce them to be more eager:
Of old I know them; rather with their teeth
The walls they 'll tear down than forsake the siege.

6

Reig. I think, by some odd gimmors, 11 or device,
Their arms are set like clocks still to strike on;
Else ne'er could they hold out so, as they do.
By my consent, we 'll e'en let them alone.
Alen. Be it so.

Enter the Bastard of Orleans.
Bast. Where is the prince Dauphin? I have news for him.
Char. Bastard of Orleans, thrice welcome to us.

Bast. Methinks, your looks are sad, your cheer 12 appallid:
Hath the late overthrow wrought this offence?
Be not dismay'd, for succour is at hand:
A holy maid hither with me I bring,
Which, by a vision sent to her from heaven,
Ordained is to raise this tedious siege,
And drive the English forth the bounds of France.
The spirit of deep prophecy she hath,
Exceeding the nine sibyls of old Rome; 13
What 's past and what 's to come, she can descry.
Speak, shall I call her in? Believe my words, 14
For they are certain and unfallible.

Char. Go, call hier in. [Exit Bastard.) But first, to try her skill,
Reignier, stand thou as Dauphin in my place:
Question her proudly, let thy looks be stern.
By this means shall we sound what skill she hath.

[Retires.
Enter LA POCELLE, 16 Bastard of Orleans, and Others.
Reig. Fair maid, is 't thou wilt do these wond'rous feats ?

Puc. Reignier, is 't thou that thinkest to beguile me?
Where is the Dauphin? - Come, come from behind;
I know thee well, though never seen before.
Be not amaz'd, there's nothing hid from me:
In private will I talk with thee apart.
Stand back, you lords, and give us leave awhile.

Reig. She takes upon her bravely at first dash.