Than mid-day sun, fierce bent against their faces. What should I say? his deeds exceed all speech: He ne'er lift up his hand but conquered.

EXE. We mourn in black, why mourn we not
in blood?

Henry is dead, and never shall revive:
Upon a wooden coffin we attend;
And death's dishonourable victory
We with our stately presence glorify,
Like captives bound to a triumphant car.
What! shall we curse the planets of mishap,
That plotted thus our glory's overthrow?
Or shall we think the subtle-witted French
Conjurers and sorcerers, that, afraid of him,
By magic verses have contriv'd his end? (2)

WIN. He was a king bless'd of the King of
kings.

Unto the French the dreadful judgment-day
So dreadful will not be, as was his sight.
The battles of the Lord of hosts he fought:
The church's prayers made him so prosperous.
Had not
GLO. The church! where is it?
churchmen pray'd,

His thread of life had not so soon decay'd:

None do you like but an effeminate prince,
Whom, like a schoolboy, you may over-awe.
WIN. Gloster, whate'er we like, thou art pro-
tector,

And lookest to command the prince and realm.
Thy wife is proud; she holdeth thee in awe,
More than God, or religious churchmen may.

GLO. Name not religion, for thou lov'st the
flesh,

And ne'er throughout the year to church thou go'st, Except it be to pray against thy foes.

BED. Cease, cease these jars, and rest your
minds in peace!

Let's to the altar :-heralds, wait on us :-
Instead of gold, we'll offer up our arms,

Since arms avail not, now that Henry's dead.—
Posterity, await for wretched years,

When at their mothers' moist eyes, babes shall

suck;

MESS. My honourable lords, health to you all!
Sad tidings bring I to you out of France,
Of loss, of slaughter, and discomfiture:
Guienne, Champaigne, Rheims, Orleans,
Paris, Guysors, Poictiers, are all quite lost.

BED. What say'st thou, man! before dead
Henry's corse

Speak softly, or the loss of those great towns
Will make him burst his lead, and rise from death.
GLO. Is Paris lost? is Rouen yielded up?
If Henry were recall'd to life again, [ghost.
These news would cause him once more yield the
EXE. How were they lost? what treachery was
us'd?

[money.

MESS. No treachery; but want of men and Among the soldiers this is muttered,— That here you maintain several factions; And, whilst a field should be despatch'd and fought, You are disputing of your generals.

One would have ling'ring wars, with little cost; Another would fly swift, but wanteth wings;

a Moist-] The reading of the second folio: the first has moisten'd.

b Marish-] The first folio reads Nourish, an evident misprint, but one not lacking defenders. Our reading is Pope's, which Ritson has very well supported by a line from Kyd's "Spanish Tragedy:"

"Made mountains marsh with spring-tides of my tears."

2 MESS. Lords, view these letters, full of bad
mischance:

France is revolted from the English quite,
Except some petty towns of no import:
The Dauphin Charles is crowned king in Rheims ;
The bastard of Orleans with him is join'd;
Reignier, duke of Anjou, doth take his part;
The duke of Alençon flieth to his side.

EXE. The Dauphin crowned king! all fly to him!

O, whither shall we fly from this reproach? GLO. We will not fly, but to our enemies' throats:

Bedford, if thou be slack, I'll fight it out.
BED. Gloster, why doubt'st thou of my for-
wardness?

An army have I muster'd in my thoughts,
Wherewith already France is over-run.

ACT I.]

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 flew: *
The French exclaim'd, the devil was in arms;
All the whole army stood agaz'd on him:
His soldiers, spying his undaunted spirit,
A Talbot! a Talbot! cried out amain,
And rush'd into the bowels of the battle.
Here had the conquest fully been seal'd up,
If sir John Fastolfe + had not play'd the coward;
He being in the vaward,a (plac'd behind,
With purpose to relieve and follow them,)
Cowardly fled, not having struck one stroke.
Hence grew the general wreck 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.

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 dastard 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 :
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 be-
sieg'd;

The English army is grown weak and faint :
The earl of Salisbury craveth supply,
And hardly keeps his men from mutiny,

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.
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.

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.

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!e.

e The forlorn French!] The sense of forlorn in this place, does not appear to have been understood, and Mr. Collier's But the old word, annotator proposes to read forborne, instead. meaning fore-tost, needs no change; the Dauphin apostrophises the honour of those French who had previously fallen.

τ

Him I forgive my death, that killeth me, When he sees me go back one foot or fly.

[Exeunt.

Alarums; Excursions; the French are beaten back by the English with great loss.

Re-enter CHARLES, ALENÇON, REIGNIER, and others.

CHAR. 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,*
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!
Lean raw-bon'd rascals! 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.

REIG. I think, by some odd gimmers 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.

Exceeding the nine sibyls of old Rome;
What's past, and what's to come, she can descry.
Speak, shall I call her in? Believe my words,
For they are certain and unfallible.

CHAR. Go, call her 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.

Re-enter the Bastard of Orleans, with La PUCELLE.(3)

REIG. Fair maid, is't thou wilt do these wondrous feats? [me?Puc. Reignier, is 't thou that thinkest to beguile 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.
Puc. Dauphin, I am by birth a shepherd's
daughter,

My wit untrain❜d in any kind of art.
Heaven and our Lady gracious hath it pleas'd
To shine on my contemptible estate:
Lo! whilst I waited on my tender lambs,
And to sun's parching heat display'd my cheeks,
And, in a vision full of majesty,
God's mother deigned to appear to me;
Will'd me to leave my base vocation,
And free my country from calamity.
Her aid she promis'd, and assur'd success:
In complete glory she reveal'd herself;
And, whereas I was black and swart before,
With those clear rays which she infus'd on ine,
That beauty am I bless'd with, which you see.
Ask me what question thou canst possible,
And I will answer unpremeditated:
My courage try by combat, if thou darʼst,
And thou shalt find that I exceed my sex.
Resolve on this ;-thou shalt be fortunate,
If thou receive me for thy warlike mate.
CHAR. Thou hast astonish'd me with thy high
terms;

с

b

Only this proof I'll of thy valour make,-
In single combat thou shalt buckle with me;
And, if thou vanquishest, thy words are true;
Otherwise, I renounce all confidence.

"Peel'd priest, dost thou command me to be shut out?"

b Which you see.] Thus the second folio; the first has superfluously," which you may see."

c Resolve on this:] Be assured of it.

amazon,

And fightest with the sword of Deborah.

Puc. Christ's mother helps me, else I were too weak. [help me : CHAR. Whoe'er helps thee, 'tis thou that must Impatiently I burn with thy desire;

My heart and hands thou hast at once subdu'd.
Excellent Pucelle, if thy name be so,
Let me thy servant, and not sovereign, be;
'Tis the French Dauphin sueth to thee thus.
Puc. I must not yield to any rites of love,
For my profession's sacred from above:
When I have chased all thy foes from hence,
Then will I think upon a recompense.

CHAR. Mean time look gracious on thy pros-
trate thrall.

REIG. My lord, methinks, is very long in talk. ALEN. Doubtless he shrives this woman to her smock,

Else ne'er could he so long protract his speech. REIG, Shall we disturb him, since he keeps no mean? [do know:

ALEN. He may mean more than we poor men These women are shrewd tempters with their tongues. [you on? what devise

REIG. My lord, where are you? Shall we give over Orleans, or no?

Puc. Why, no, I say,

distrustful recreants!

Fight till the last gasp, I will be your guard.
CHAR. What she says, I'll confirm; we'll fight

it out.

Puc. Assign'd am I to be the English scourge. This night the siege assuredly I'll raise: Expect saint Martin's summer, halcyon+ days, Since I have entered into these wars. Glory is like a circle in the water, Which never ceaseth to enlarge itself, Till, by broad spreading, it disperse to nought. With Henry's death the English circle ends; Dispersed are the glories it included. Now am I like that proud insulting ship, Which Cæsar and his fortune bare at once.(4)

A Saint Martin's summer,-] "That is, expect prosperity after misfortune, like fair weather at Martlemas, after winter has begun."-JOHNSON.

Conveyance.] Deception, fraudulence,—perhaps connivance. 'Tis Gloster that calls.] See note (b), p. 293.

CHAR. Was Mahomet inspired with a dove? (5) Thou with an eagle art inspired, then. Helen, the mother of great Constantine, Nor yet saint Philip's daughters, were like thee. Bright star of Venus, fall'n down on the earth, How may I reverently worship thee enough? ALEN. Leave off delays, and let us raise the siege. [honours; REIG. Woman, do what thou canst to save our Drive them from Orleans, and be immortaliz'd. CHAR. Presently we'll try:let's :-come,

away

[Exeunt.

about it; No prophet will I trust, if she prove false.

SCENE III.-London. Tower Hill.

Enter, at the Gates, the DUKE of GLOUCESTER, with his Serving-men in blue coats.

GLO. I am come to survey the Tower this day; Since Henry's death, I fear, there is conveyance.bWhere be these warders, that they wait not here? Open the gates, 'tis Gloster that calls.

с

[Servants knock. 1 WARD. [Within.] Who's there that knocks so imperiously?

1 SERV. It is the noble duke of Gloster.
2 WARD. [Within.] Whoe'er he be, you may
not be let in.
[tector?

1 SERV. Villains, answer you so the lord pro-
1 WARD. [Within.] The Lord protect him! so
we answer him:

We do not otherwise than we are will'd.

GLO. Who willed you? or whose will stands
but mine?

There's none protector of the realm but I.—
Break up the gates, I'll be your warrantize :
Shall I be flouted thus by dunghill grooms?

GLOUCESTER'S Men rush at the Tower gates: and
WOODVILLE, the Lieutenant, speaks within.
WOOD. [Within.] What noise is this? what
traitors have we here?

GLO. Lieutenant, is it you whose voice I hear? Open the gates; here's Gloster, that would enter, WOOD. [Within.] Have patience, noble duke; I may not open; The cardinal of Winchester forbids: From him I have commandement, express That thou, nor none of thine, shall be let in.

d Break up the gates,-] To break up, meant to break open.

e Commandement,-] Commandement, here, as in "The Merchant of Venice," Act IV. Sc. 1

"Be valued 'gainst your wife's commandement," must be pronounced as a quadrisyllable.

U 2