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, As I with sudden and extemporal speech Glo. Presumptuous priest! this place commauds Or thou should'st find thou hast dishonour'd me. Or raise myself, but keep my wonted calling? Glo. As good? Thou bastard of my grandfather!4- Glo. Am I not the protector, saucy priest? Glo. Thou art reverent Touching thy spiritual function, not thy life. 1 My ill is my ill usage. This sentiment resembles another of Falstaff, in the Second Part of King Henry IV. I will turn diseases to commodity.' 2 This parliament was held in 1426 at Leicester, though here represented to have been held in London. King Henry was now in the fifth year of his age. In the first parliament, which was held at London shortly after "his father's death, his mother Queen Katharine brought the young king from Windsor to the metropolis, and sat on the throne with the infant in her lap. 3 i e. articles of accusation. IVin. This Rome shall remedy. War. 2 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. War. Methinks, his lordship should be humbler, It fitteth not a prelate so to plead. Som. Yes, when his holy state is touch'd so 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. Uncles 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 dissension 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 Henry,--Pity the city of London, pity us! The bishop and the duke of Gloster's men, K. Hen. We charge you, on allegiance to ourself, To hold your slaught'ring hands, and keep the peace. Pray, uncle Gloster, mitigate this strife. 1 Serv. Nay, if we be Forbidden stones, we'll fall to it with our teeth. 2 Serv. Do what ye dare, we are as resolute. [Skirmish again. Glo. You of my household, leave this peevish broil, And set this unaccustom'd fight aside. 3 Serv. My lord, we know your grace to be a man Just and upright; and, for your royal birth, Inferior to none, but his majesty: And ere that we will suffer such a prince, 1 Serv. Ay, and the very parings of our nails Shall pitch a field, when we are dead. [Skirmish again. Glo. Stay, stay, I say! 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! of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, by Katharine Swynford, whom the duke afterwards married. 5 The jingle between roam and Rome is common to other writers. 6 Johnson explains unaccustomed by unseemly, inde. cent; and in a note on Romeo and Juliet he says that he thinks he has observed it used in old books for wonderful, powerful, efficacious. But he could find no instances of either of these strange uses of the word when he compiled his dictionary. 7 i. e. a bookish person, a pedant, applied in contempto a scholar. Inkhornisms and inkhorn-terms were 4 The bishop of Winchester was an illegitimate son I common expressions. SCENE II. KING HENRY VL Can you, my lord of Winchester, behold War. My lord protector, yield;-yield, Win- Except you mean, with obstinate repulse, War. Behold, my lord of Winchester, the duke Glo. Here, Winchester, I offer thee my hand. That malice was a great and grievous sin: War. Sweet king!-the bishop hath a kindly For shame, my lord of Winchester! relent; Win. Well, duke of Gloster, I will yield to thee; Glo. Ay: but, I fear me, with a hollow heart.- Win. So help me God, as I intend it not! [Aside. K. Hen. O, loving uncle, kind duke of Gloster, How joyful am I made by this contract!Away, my masters! trouble us no more; But join in friendship, as your lords have done. 1 Serv. Content; I'll to the surgeon's. And so will I. 2 Serv. 3 Serv. 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. Plan. And so thrive Richard, as thy foes may fall! York! Som. Perish, base prince, ignoble duke of York! Glo. Now will it best avail your majesty, K. Hen. When Gloster says the word, King Henry goes; For friendly counsel cuts off many foes. Guard. [Within.] Qui est la? [Exit.' [Knocks. Glo. Well urg'd, my lord of Warwick;-for, sweet | Poor market-folks, that come to sell their corn, prince, And if your grace mark every circumstance, You have great reason to do Richard right: At Eltham-place I told your majesty. K. Hen. And those occasions, uncle, were of force: Therefore, my loving lords, our pleasure is, War. Let Richard be restored to his blood; K. Hen. Stoop then, and set your knee against And, in reguerdon2 of that duty done, I girt thee with the valiant sword of York: 1 A kindly gird is a kind or gentle reproof. A gird, 2 Reguerdon is recompense, reward. It is perhaps 4 i. e. so will the maliguity of this discord propagate Guard. Enter, go in; the market-bell is rung. Char. Saint Dennis bless this happy stratagem! Alen. By thrushing out a torch from yonder Which, once discern'd, shows, that her meaning is,- Puc. Behold, this is the happy wedding torch, Bast. See, noble Charles! the beacon of our friend, 5 The duke of Exeter died shortly after the meeting of this parliament, and the earl of Warwick was appointed governor or tutor to the king in his room. 6 Rouen was anciently written and pronounced Roan 7 Practice, in the language of the time, was treachery or insidious stratager Practisauts are therefore con federates in treachery. 8 i. e. no way like or compared to that. 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.- Puc. Good morrow, gallants! want ye corn for bread? I think, the duke of Burgundy will fast, I trust, ere long, to choke thee with thine own, Char. Your grace may starve, perhaps, before Bed. O, let no words, but deeds, revenge this treason! Puc. What will you do, good gray-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! 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, 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, ye, Tal. Signior, hang!-base muleteers of France! Like peasant footboys do they keep the walls; And dare not take up arms like gentlemen. Puc. 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 Walls. 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 1 Pride signifies haughty power. The same speaker afterwards says, in Act. iv. :— "And from the pride of Gallia rescued thee.' 2 Darnel (says Gerarde, in his Herbal) hurteth the eyes, and maketh them dim, if it happen either in corne for breade, or drinke.' Hence the old proverb-Lolio victitare, applied to such as were dim-sighted. Thus also Ovid. Fast. i. 691 : 'Et careant loliis oculos vitiantibus agri.' La Pucelle means to intimate that the corn she carried with her had produced the same effect on the guards of Rouen; otherwise they would have seen through her disguise, and defeated her stratagem 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 FASTOLFE 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 Talbot? Fast. Ay, All the Talbots in the world to save my life. [Exu. Cap. Cowardly knight! ill fortune follow thee. [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. [Dics, and is carried off in his Chair.* Alarum: Enter TALEOT, BURGUNDY, and others. Tal. Lost, and recover'd in a day again! This is a double honour, Burgundy: Yet, heavens have glory for this victory! Bur. Warlike and martial Talbot, Burgundy 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: Now where's the Bastard's braves, and Charles his gleeks?5 What, all a-mort ? Rouen hangs her head for grief, 3 This is from Harding's Chronicle, who gives this account of Uther Pendragon: For which the king ordained a horse-litter To beare him so then unto Verolame, Where Occa lay and Oysa also in feer, That Saynt Albons, now hight of noble fame, Bet downe the walles, but to him forthe thei came Wher in battayl Occa and Oyssa were slayne, The felde he had, and thereof was ful fayne.' 4 The Duke of Bedford died at Rouen in September 1435; but not in any action before that town. 5 Scoffs 6 i. e. what quite cast down, or dispirited 7 Make some necessary disposition s A gentler heart did never sway in court: Puc. Dismay not, princes, at this accident, Bast. Search out thy wit for secret policies, Char. Ay, marry, sweeting, if we could do that, Should grieve thee more than streams of foreign gore; Or nature makes me suddenly relent. Puc. Besides, all French and France exclaims on Doubting thy birth and lawful progeny. Call we to mind,-and mark but this, for proof;- Bur. I am vanquished: these haughty words of hers Have batter'd me like roaring cannon shot, Alen. For ever should they be expuls'd' from So, farewell, Talbot; I'll no longer trust thee. France, And not have title to an earldom here. Puc. Your honours shall perceive how I will 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. Puc. Brave Burgundy, undoubted hope of France! Bur. Speak on; but be not over-tedious. As looks the mother on her lowly babe, 1 i. e. extirputed, rooted out. 3 Another mistake. The duke was not liberated till after Burgundy's decline to the French interest; which did not happen, by the way, till some years after the execution of La Pucelle; nor was that during the regency of York, but of Bedford. 4 Haughty does not mean disdainful, or violent, as Johnson supposed; but elevated, high-spirited. 5 The inconstancy of the French was always the subject of satire. I have read (says Johnson) a dissertaC Puc. Done like a Frenchman, turn, and turn again!5 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 powers; And seek how we may prejudice the foe. [Exeunt. Tal. My gracious prince,-and honourable peers,- In sign whereof, this arm-that hath reclaim'd K. Hen. Is this the Lord Talbot, uncle Gloster, When I was young (as yet I am not old), I do remember how my father said," 6 Hanmer supplied the apparent, leficiency in this line, by reading:- 'Is this the fam'd Lord Talbot,' &c. 7 Malone remarks that Henry was but nine months old when his father died, and never saw him.' The poet did not perhaps deenr historical accuracy necessary. 8 Convinced. 9 Rewarded: We here create you earl of Shrewsbury; [Exeunt KING HENRY, GLOSTER, TALBOT, Ver. Now, sir, to you, that were so hot at sea, Ver. Sirrah, thy lord I honour as he is. That whoso draws a sword, 'tis present death;2 I may have liberty to venge this wrong; ACT IV. [Exeunt. Or whether that such cowards ought to wear Glo. To say the truth, this fact was infamous, Tal. When first this order was ordain'd, my lords, Be packing therefore, thou that wast a knight; SCENE I. The same. A Room of State. Enter Glo. Now, governor of Paris, take your oath, Enter SIR JOHN FASTOLFfe. Fast. My gracious sovereign, as I rode from To haste unto your coronation, Tal. Shame to the duke of Burgundy, and thee! [Plucking it off. (Which I have done,) because unworthily 2 By the ancient law before the conquest, fighting in the king's palace, or before the king's judges, was punished with death. And still by the Stat. 33 Hen. VIII. c. xii. maliciously striking in the king's palace, whereby blood is drawn, is punishable by perpetual imprisonment and fine, at the king's pleasure, and also with loss of the offender's right hand. Stowe gives a circumstantial account of Sir Edmond Knevet being found guilty of this offence, with the ceremonials for carrying the sentence into execution. He petitioned the king to take his left hand instead of his right; and the king was pleased to pardon him altogether.-Annals, edit. 1605, p. 979. 3 To pretend is to intend, to design. 4 Warburton would read thy craven leg. Craven is mean, dastardly. [Reads. And join'd with Charles, the rightful king of O monstrous treachery! Can this be so; There should be found such false dissembling guile? And give him chastisement for this abuse :- I should have begg'd I might have been employ'd. Enter VERNON and BASSET. to speak.- Say, gentlemen, What makes you thus exclaim? battle of Poictiers was fought in 1357, the 31st of King 6 Vide note 8 on p. 13; and note 4 on p. 17. 7 i. e. in greatest extremities. More and most were used by our ancestors for greater and greatest. 8 See note 3. 9 Prevented is anticipated. |