1 Sold. Our sacks shall be a mean to sack the city, And we be lords and rulers over Roan;

Therefore we 'll knock.

Guard. [Within.] Qui est là?

Puc. Paisans, pauvres gens de France: 6 Poor market-folks, that come to sell their corn.

Guard. Enter, go in: the market-bell is rung.

5

[Knocks.

[Opens the gates.

Puc. Now, Roan, I'll shake thy bulwarks to the ground.

[PUCELLE, &c. enter the citu.

Enter CHARLES, Bastard of ORLEANS, ALENÇON, and Forces.

Char. Saint Dennis bless this happy stratagem,

And once again we 'll sleep secure in Roan.

Bast. Here enter'd Pucelle, and her practisants; 7

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. 9

Enter LA PUCELLE on a battlement: holding out a torch burning.
Puc. Behold! this is the happy wedding torch,

That joineth Roan unto her countrymen,

But burning fatal to the Talbotites. 10

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. 11

5) Ein ähnliches Wortspiel mit sack

[They enter.

Sekt, kommt in K. Henry IV. First Part (A. 5,

Sc. 3) vor: Here's that will sack a city.

6) Frage und Antwort lauten in der Fol.: Che la. Peasauns la pouure gens de Fraunce. Holinshed erzählt diese hier von der Pucelle angewandte List an einer andern Stelle seiner Chronik von der Einnahme der Stadt Evreux, und zwar durch die Engländer.

=

7) practisant ein Sh.'sches Wort, gebildet von to practise also wohl thätiges Werkzeug, Helfershelfer.

9) kein Weg in der Stadt lasse sich, in Betreff seiner schwachen, schutzlosen Lage, mit dem vergleichen, auf dem sie selbst eindrang.

Die folgende Bühnenweisung lautet

in der Fol. Enter Pucell on the top, thrusting out a torch burning.

10) Talbotites die Anhänger Talbot's in der Stadt.

11) und dann macht die Wache nieder, schlagt die Wachtposten zu Boden.

Alarums. Enter TALBOT, and English Soldiers.

Tal. France, thou shalt rue this treason 12 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. 13

[Exeunt to the town.

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, REIGNIER, and Others.

Puc. Good morrow, gallants. Want ye corn for bread? 14

I think, the duke of Burgundy will fast,

Before he'll buy again at such a rate.

"T was full of darnel; 15 do you like the taste?

Bur. Scoff on, vile fiend, and shameless courtezan!

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, before that time. Bed. O let no words, but deeds, revenge this treason. Puc. 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 despite, Encompass'd with thy lustful paramours, 16

Becomes it 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,

and the rest, consult together. 17

God speed the parliament! who shall be the speaker?

12) So in K. John (A. 3, Sc. 1) France, thou shalt rue this hour.

13) pride erklärt Warburton richtig mit haughty power, wie A. 4, Sc. 6 from the pride of Gallia rescued thee.

14) Die Pucelle spielt auf die Verkleidung an, mittelst welcher sie in die Stadt eingedrungen ist.

15) Lolch, in Brot gebacken, erzeugt Schwindel und schwächt die Sehkraft. So hatte auch vermittelst ihrer Verkleidung die Pucelle die Engländer geblendet, dass sie ungesehen in die Stadt gelangte

16) paramour = Buhle, gebraucht Sh. hier von Männern, sonst überall von Weibern. 17) Die Fol. hat dafür They whisper together in counsel. In Bezug auf diese leise Berathung der Engländer unter sich, sagt dann die Pucelle ironisch God speed the parliament Das Englische Parlament hatte bei seiner Zusammenkunft zunächst einen Sprecher zu wählen. Deshalb steht auch the speaker mit dem bestimmten Artikel.

etc.

Tal. Dare you 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, Alençon, and the rest.

Will ye, like soldiers, come and fight it out?
Alen. Signior, 19 no.

18

Tal. Signior, hang! base muleters 20 of France! Like peasant 21 foot-boys do they keep the walls,

And dare not take up arms like gentlemen.

Puc. Away, captains! 22 let 's get us from the walls,

For Talbot means no goodness by his looks.
God be wi' you, my lord: we came 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. 23
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 24 town
Great Cordelion's heart 25 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 Roan,

And will be partner of your weal or woe.

18) Hecate wird hier, wie in Macbeth, als Hexe, und zwar als die oberste der Hexen aufgefasst.

19) Alençon wählt geflissentlich wie zum Hohn die modische ausländische Anrede mit Signior, und Talbot hebt dieselbe in seiner Erwiderung eben so hervor.

20) muleter oder muliter, mit betonter erster Sylbe, ist Sh.'s Wort, hier wie in Antony and Cleopatra (A. 3, Sc. 7) your mariners are muleters. Die Hgg. setzen muleteers dafür.

22) Rowe, dem die meisten Hgg. folgen, änderte des Verses wegen Captains, away. 23) Sonst soll der grösste Ruhm, den Talbot gewonnen, sich in Schmach verwandeln. 24) Vgl. A. 2, Sc. 5, Anm. 7.

25) So wird auch im King John der König Richard Löwenherz genannt.

Bur. Courageous Bedford, let us now persuade 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. 26
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. Alarum: 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:

Cap. What! will you fly, and leave lord Talbot?
Fast.

We are like to have the overthrow again.

Ay,

All the Talbots in the world, to save my life.
Cap. Cowardly knight! ill fortune follow thee!

[Exit.

[Exit.

Retreat: Excursions. Enter, from the town, LA PUCELLE, ALENÇON, CHARLES, &c. and exeunt, flying.

Bed. Now, quiet soul, depart when Heaven please,

For I have seen our enemies' overthrow.

What is the trust or strength of foolish man?
They, that of late were daring with their scoffs,
Are glad and fain by flight to save themselves.

[Dies, and is carried off 27 in his chair.

Alarum. Enter TALBOT, BURGUNDY, and Others.

Enshrines thee in his heart; and there erects

Thy noble deeds, as valour's monument.

Tal. Thanks, gentle duke. But where is Pucelle now?

I think her old familiar is asleep: 28

26) Die Altenglische Sage erzählt das sowohl von Uther Pendragon, dem Vater des Königs Arthur, als auch von seinem Bruder Aurelius.

27) Die Fol. hat Bedford dies and is carried in by two in his chair.

28) Da Talbot die Pucelle für eine Hexe hält, schreibt er ihr als solcher auch einen spiritus familiaris, einen begleitenden Geist zu, der ihr bei ihren Zaubereien behülflich ist.

Now where's the Bastard's braves, and Charles his gleeks? 29
What, all a-mort? 30 Roan hangs her head for grief,

That such a valiant company are fled.

Now will we take some order 31 in the town,
Placing therein some expert officers,

And then depart to Paris to the king;

For there young Henry, with his nobles, lies. 32
Bur. What wills lord Talbot, pleaseth Burgundy.
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 Roan.
A braver soldier never couched lance,

A gentler heart did never sway in court;

But kings, and mightiest potentates must die,
For that 's the end of human misery.

SCENE III.

The Same. The Plains near the City.

[Exeunt.

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

Puc. Dismay not, princes, at this accident,

Nor grieve that Roan is so recovered:
Care is no cure, but rather corrosive,
For things that are not to be remedied.
Let frantic Talbot triumph for a while,
And like a peacock sweep along his tail,
We'll pull his plumes, and take away his train,
If Dauphin and the rest will be but rul'd.

Char. We have been guided by thee hitherto,
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 statue in some holy place,
And have thee reverenc'd like a blessed saint:
Employ thee then, sweet virgin, for our good.

29) braves prahlerische Reden; gleeks, in der Fol. glikes, his für Charles' vgl. A. 1, Sc. 2, Anm. 1.

=

Spottreden.

Zu Charles

30) a-mort

am Verenden, todt. Sh. hat denselben von der Jagd und von dem Verenden des Wildes entlehnten Ausdruck in demselben scherzhaft übertragenen Sinne = niedergeschlagen, muthlos, in Taming of the Shrew (A. 4, Sc. 2).

31) to take some order einige Anstalten treffen.

32) Vgl. A. 2, Sc. 2, Anm. 3.

1) for things ist mit care zu verbinden.