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.
Enter La Pucelle on a Battlement; holding out
a Torch burning.

Puc. Behold, this is the happy wedding torch,
That joineth Rouen unto her countrymen:
But burning fatal to the Talbotites.

Plan. And so thrive Richard, as thy foes may Bast. See, noble Charles! the beacon of our fall!

SCENE II. France. Before Rouen.
Enter La Pucelle disguised, and Soldiers dress-
ed like Countrymen, with Sacks upon their
Backs.

Puc. These are the city gates, the gates of
Rouen,

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 Rouen;
Therefore we'll knock.

[Knocks.

Guard. [Within.] Qui est la?
Puc. Paisans, pauvres gens de France:
Poor market folks, that come to sell their corn.
Guard. Enter, go in; the market bell is rung.
[Opens the Gate.
Puc. Now, Rouen, I'll shake thy bulwarks to
the ground. [Pucelle, &c. enter the City.
Enter Charles, Bastard of Orleans, Alençon,

Char. Saint Dennis bless this happy stratagem! And once again we'll sleep secure in Rouen. Bast. Here enter'd Pucelle, and her practi

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

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

They, that of late were daring with their scoffs,Now, in the rearward, comes the duke, and his: Are glad and fain by flight to save themselves. Fortune, in favour, makes him lag behind. Summon a parley, we will talk with him.

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!
O, turn thy edged sword another way;
Strike those that hurt, and hurt not those that
help!

One drop of blood, drawn from thy country's
bosom,

Should grieve thee more than streams of foreign
gore;

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,

Doubting thy birth and lawful progeny.
Who join'st thou with, but with a lordly nation,
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 fightest against thy countrymen,
And join'st with them will be thy slaughter-men.
Come, come, return; return, thou wand'ring
lord;

Charles, and the rest, will take thee in their arms.
Bur. Í um vanquished: these haughty words)

of hers

Have batter'd me like roaring cannon shot,
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 play'd her part in this,

And doth deserve a coronet of gold.

Char. Now let us on, my lords, and join our powers;

And seek how we may prejudice the foe.

[Exeunt. 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

K. Hen. Welcome, brave captain, and victo
rious lord!

When I was young (as yet I am not old,)
I do remember how my father said,
A stouter champion never handled sword.
Long since we were resolved of your truth,
Your faithful service, and your toil in war;
Yet never have you tasted our reward,
Or been reguerdon'd with so much as thanks,
Because till now we never saw your face:
Therefore, stand up; and, for these good deserts,
We here create you earl of Shrewsbury;
And in our coronation take your place.

[Exeunt K. Hen. Glo. Tal. and Nobles
Ver. Now, sir, to you, that were so hot at sea,
Disgracing of these colours that I wear
In honour of my noble lord of York,―
Dar'st thou maintain the former words thou
spak'st?

Bas. Yes, sir; as well as you dare patronage
The envious barking of your saucy tongue
Against my lord the duke of Somerset.

Ver. Sirrah, thy lord I honour as he is.
Bas. Why, what is he ? as good a man as York.
Ver. Hark ye; not so: in witness, take ye that.
Strikes him.

Bas. Villain, thou know'st, the law of arms is

SCENE I. The same. A Room of State. Enter King Henry, Gloster, Exeter, York, Suffolk, Somerset, Winchester, Warwick, Talbot, the Governor of Paris, and others.

Glo. Lord bishop, set the crown upon his head. Win. God save King Henry, of that name the sixth !

Glo. Now, governor of Paris, take your oath,
[Governor kneels.

That you elect no other king but him:
Esteem none friends, but such as are his friends;
And none your foes, but such as shall pretend
Malicious practices against his state:
This shall ye do, so help you righteous God!
[Exeunt Gov. and his Train.
Enter Sir John Fastolfe.
Fast. My gracious sovereign, as I rode from
Calais,
To haste unto your coronation,
A letter was deliver'd to my hands,
Writ to your grace from the duke of Burgundy.
Tal. Shame to the duke of Burgundy, and thee!
vow'd, base knight, when I did meet thee next,
To tear the garter from thy craven's leg.

I

[Plucking it of.
(Which I have done,) because unworthily
Thou wast installed in that high degree.-
Pardon me, princely Henry, and the rest:
This dastard, at the battle of Patay,
When but in all I was six thousand strong,
And that the French were almost ten to one,~
Before we met, or that a stroke was given,
Like to a trusty squire did run away;
In which assault we lost twelve hundred men;
self, and divers gentlemen beside,
Were there surpris'd and taken prisoners.
Then judge, great lords, if I have done amiss;
Or whether that such cowards ought to wear
This ornament of knighthood, yea, or no.
Glo To say the truth, this fact was infamous

And ill beseeming any common man;
Much more a knight, a captain, and a leader.
Tal. When first this order was ordain'd, my
lords,

Knights of the garter were of noble birth:
Valiant, and virtuous, full of haughty courage,
Such as were grown to credit by the wars;
Not fearing death, nor shrinking for distress,
But always resolute in most extremes.
He then, that is not furnish'd in this sort,
Doth but usurp the sacred name of knight,
Profaning this most honourable order;
And should (if I were worthy to be judge,)
Be quite degraded, like a hedge-born swain
That doth presume to boast of gentle blood.
K. Hen. Stain to thy countrymen! thou hear'st
thy doom:

Be packing therefore, thou that wast a knight;
Henceforth we banish thee, on pain of death.
[Exit Fastolfe.
And now, my lord protector, view the letter
Sent from our uncle duke of Burgundy.
Glo. What means his grace, that he hath
chang'd his style?

[Viewing the superscription.
No more but, plain and bluntly,-To the king?
Hath he forgot, he is his sovereign?
Or doth this churlish superscription
Pretend some alteration in good will?
What's here?-I have upon especial cause,—

[Reads. Moo'd with compassion of my country's wreck,

Together with the pitiful complaints
Of such as your oppression feeds upon,-
Forsaken your pernicious faction,

And join'd with Charles, the rightful king of
France.

O monstrous treachery! Can this be so;
That in alliance, amity, and oaths,

There should be found such false dissembling
guile?

K. Hen. What I doth my uncle Burgundy revolt?

Glo. He doth, my lord; and is become your foe. K. Hen. Is that the worst, this letter doth contain ?

Glo. It is the worst, and all, my lord, he writes.
K. Hen. Why then, Lord Talbot there shall
talk with him,

And give him chastisement for this abuse :-
My lord, how say yon? are you not content?
Tal Content, my liege? Yes; but that I am
prevented,

I should have begg'd I might have been em-
ploy'd.

K. Hen. Then gather strength, and march unto
him straight:

Let him perceive, how ill we brook his treason;
And what offence it is, to flout his friends.

Tal. I go, my lord; in heart desiring still,
You may behold confusion of your foes. [Erit.

Enter Vernon and Basset.

Ver. Grant me the combat, gracious sovereign!
Bas. And me, my lord, grant me the combat

too!

York. This is my servant; hear him, noble prince!

Som. And this is mine; Sweet Henry, favour him!

K. Hen. Be patient, lords; and give them leave to speak.

Say, gentlemen, What makes you thus exclaim? And wherefore crave you combat? or with whom?

.

K. Hen. What is that wrong whereof you both complain?

First let me know, and then I'll answer you.
Bas. Crossing the sea from England into
France,
This fellow here, with envious carping tongue,
Upbraided me about the rose I wear;
Saying-the sanguine colour of the leaves
Did represent my master's blushing cheeks,
When stubbornly he did repugn the truth,
About a certain question in the law,
Argu'd betwixt the duke of York and him;
With other vile and ignominious terms:
In confutation of which rude reproach,
And in defence of my lord's worthiness,
I crave the benefit of law of arms.

Ver. And that is my petition, noble lord:
For though he seem, with forged quaint conceit,
To set a gloss upen his bold intent,
Yet know, my lord, I was provok'd by him;
And he first took exceptions at this badge,
Pronouncing-that the paleness of this flower
Bewray'd the faintness of my master's heart.
York. Will not this malice, Somerset, be left 7
Som. Your private grudge, my lord of York,
will out,

Though ne'er so cunningly you smother it
K. Hen. Good lord! what madness rules in
brainsick men ;

When, for so slight and frivolous a cause,
Such factious emulations shall arise!-
Good cousins both, of York and Somerset,
Quiet yourselves, I pray, and be at peace.
York. Let this dissension first be tried by fight,
And then your highness shall command a peace.
Som. The quarrel toucheth none but us alone;
Betwixt ourselves let us decide it then.

York. There is my pledge; accept it, Somerset.
Ver. Nay, let it rest where it began at first.
Bas. Confirm it so, mine honourable lord.
Glo. Confirm it so? Confounded be your strife!
And perish ye, with your audacious prate!
Presumptuons vassals! are you not asham'd,
With this immodest clamorous outrage,
To trouble and disturb the king and us?
And you, my lords,-methinks, you do not well,
To bear with their perverse objections;
Much less, to take occasion from their mouths
To raise a mutiny betwixt yourselves;
Let me persuade you take a better course.
Exe. It grieves his highness;-Good my lords,

be friends.

K. Hen. Come hither, you that would be
combatants:

Henceforth, I charge yon, as yon love our favour,
Quite to forget this quarrel, and the cause.-
And you, my lords,-remember where we are;
In France, amongst a fickle wavering nation:
If they perceive dissension in our looks,
And that within ourselves we disagree,
How will their grudging stomachs be provok'd
To wilful disobedience, and rebel?
Beside, What infamy will there arise,
When foreign princes shall be certified,
That, for a toy, a thing of no regard,
King Henry's peers, and chief nobility,
Destroy'd themselves, and lost the realm of
France?

I

O, think upon the conquest of my father,
My tender years; and let us not forego
That for a trifle, that was bought with blood!
Let me be umpire in this doubtful strife.
see no reason, if I wear this rose,
[Putting on a red rose.
That any one should therefore be suspicious
I more incline to Somerset, than York;
Both are my kinsmen, and I love them both:
As well they may upbraid me with my crown,
Because, forsooth, the king of Scots is crown'd.
But your discretions better can persuade,
Than I am able to instruct or teach:
And therefore, as we hither came in peace,
So let us still continue peace and love.
Cousin of York, we institute your grace

To be our regent in these parts of France:
And, good my lord of Somerset, unite
Your troops of horsemen with his bands of
foot ;-

And, like true subjects, sons of your progenitors,
Go cheerfully together, and digest
Your angry choler on your enemies.
Ourself, my lord protector, and the rest,
After some respite, will return to Calais;
From thence to England; where I hope ere long
To be presented, by your victories,
With Charles, Alençon, and that traitorous rout.
[Flourish. Exeunt K. Hen. Glo. Som.
Win. Suf. and Basset.

War. My lord of York, I promise you, the king
Prettily, methought, did play the orator.
York. And so he did; but yet I like it not,
In that he wears the badge of Somerset.
War. Tush! that was but his fancy, blame
him not;

I dare presume, sweet prince, he thought no

harm.

York. And if I wist he did,-but let it rest; Other affairs must now be managed.

[Exeunt York, Warwick, and Vernon. Exe. Well didst thou, Richard, to suppress thy voice:

For, had the passions of thy heart burst out,
I fear we should have seen decipher'd there
More rancorous spite, more furious raging broils,
Than yet can be imagin'd or suppos'd.
But howsoe'er, no simple man that sees
This jarring discord of nobility,
This should'ring of each other in the court,
This factious bandying of their favourites,"
But that it doth presage some ill event.
"Tis much, when sceptres are in children's hands;
But more, when envy breeds unkind division;
There comes the ruin, there begins confusion.

[Exit.

SCENE II. France. Before Bordeaux.
Enter Talbot, with his Forces.
Tal. Go to the gates of Bordeaux, trumpeter,
Summon their general unto the wall.
Trumpet sounds a Parley. Enter, on the
Walls, the General of the French Forces, and

others.

English John Talbot, captains, calls you forth,
Servant in arms to Harry king of England;
And thus he would,-Open your city gates,
Be humble to us; call my sovereign yours,
And do him homage as obedient subjects,
And I'll withdraw me and my bloody power:
But, if you frown upon this proffer'd peace,
You tempt the fury of my three attendants,
Lean famine, quartering steel, and climbing fire;
Who, in a moment, even with the earth
Shall lay your stately and air-braving towers,
If you forsake the offer of our love.

Gen. Thou ominous and fearful owl of death,
Our nation's terror, and their bloody scourge !
The period of thy tyranny approacheth.
On us, thou canst not enter, but by death:
For, I protest, we are well fortified,
And strong enough to issue out and fight:
If thou retire, the Dauphin, well appointed,
Stands with the snares of war to tangle thee;
On either hand thee there are squadrons pitch'd,
To wall thee from the liberty of flight;
And no way canst thon turn thee for redress,
But death doth front thee with apparent spoil,
And pale destruction meets thee in the face.
Ten thousand French have ta'en the sacrament,
To rive their dangerous artillery
Upon no Christian soul but English Talbot.
Lo! there thou stand'st, a breathing valiant man,
Of an invincible unconquer'd spirit:
This is the latest glory of thy praise,
That I, thy enemy, due thee withal;
For ere the glass, that now begins to run,

Finish the process of his sandy hour,
These eyes, that see thee now well coloured,
Shall see thee wither'd, bloody, pale, and dead.
(Drum afar off.

Hark! hark! the Dauphin's drum, a warning
bell,

Sings heavy musick to thy timorous soul;
And mine shall ring thy dire departure out.

[Exeunt General, &c. from the Walls.
Tal. He fables not, I hear the enemy ;-
Out, some light horsemen, and peruse their
wings.

O, negligent and heedless discipline!
How are we park'd, and bounded in a pale;
A little herd of England's timorous deer,
Maz'd with a yelping kennel of French curs!
If we be English deer, be then in blood:
Not rascal-like, to fall down with a pinch;
But rather moody-mad, and desperate stags,
Turn on the bloody hounds with heads of steel,
And make the cowards stand aloof at bay :
Sell every man his life as dear as mine,

And they shall find dear deer of us my friends-
God, and Saint George! Talbot, and England's
right!

Prosper our colours in this dangerous fight!
[Exeunt.

SCENE III. Plains in Gascony.
Enter York, with Forces; to him a Messenger.
York. Are not the speedy scouts return'd again,
That dogg'd the mighty army of the Dauphin?
Mess. They are return'd, my lord; and give it

out,

That he is march'd to Bordeaux with his power,
To fight with Talbot: as he march'd along,
By your espials were discovered

Two mightier troops than that the Dauphin led;
Which join'd with him, and made their march
for Bordeaux.

York. A plague upon that villain Somerset;
That thus delays my promised supply

Of horsemen, that were levied for this siege !
Renowned Talbot doth expect my aid;
And I am louted by a traitor villain,
And cannot help the noble chevalier:
God comfort him in this necessity!

If

he miscarry, farewell wars in France.
Enter Sir William Lucy.

Lucy. Thou princely leader of our English
strength,

Never so needful on the earth of France,
Spur to the rescue of the noble Talbot;
Who now is girdled with a waist of iron,
And hemm'd about with grim destruction
To Bordeaux, warlike duke! to Bordeaux,
York!

Else, farewell Talbot, France and England's
honour.

York. O God! that Somerset-who in proud