K. Hen. It is not the fashion for the maids in France to kiss before they are married, would she say? Alice. Ouy, vrayment. K. Hen. O Kate, nice customs curt'sy to great kings. Dear Kate, you and I cannot be confined within the weak list of a country's fashion: we are the makers of manners, Kate; and the liberty that follows our places, stops the mouths of all findfaults; as I will do yours, for upholding the nice fashion of your country, in denying me a kiss : therefore, patiently and yielding. [Kissing her.] You have witchcraft in your lips, Kate: there is more eloquence in a sugar touch of them, than in the tongues of the French council; and they should sooner persuade Harry of England, than a general petition of monarchs. Here comes your father. Enter the French KING and QUEEN, BURGUNDY, BEDFORD, GLOSTER, EXETER, WESTMORELAND, and other French and English Lords. Bur. God save your majesty! my royal cousin, teach you our princess English? K. Hen. I would have her learn, my fair cousin, how perfectly I love her; and that good English. Bur. Is she not apt? K. Hen. Our tongue is rough, coz; and my condition is not smooth so that, having neither the voice nor the heart of flattery about me, I cannot so conjure up the spirit of love in her, that he will appear in his true likeness. : Bur. Pardon the frankness of my mirth, if I answer you for that. If you would conjure in her you must make a circle: if conjure up love in her in his true likeness, he must appear naked, and blind: Can you blame her then, being a maid yet rosed over with the virgin crimson of modesty, if she deny the appearance of a naked blind boy in her naked seeing self? It were, my lord, a hard condition for a maid to consign to. K. Hen. Yet they do wink, and yield; as love is blind, and enforces. Bur. They are then excused, my lord, when they see not what they do. K. Hen. Then, good my lord, teach your cousin to consent to winking. Bur. I will wink on her to consent, my lord, if you will teach her to know my meaning: for maids, well summered and warm kept, are like flies at Bartholomew-tide, blind, though they have their eyes; and then they will endure handling, which before would not abide looking on. K. Hen. This moral ties me over to time, and a hot summer; and so I will catch the fly, your cousin, in the latter end, and she must be blind too. Bur. As love is, my lord, before it loves. K. Hen. It is so; and you may, some of you, thank love for my blindness; who cannot see many a fair French city, for one fair French maid that stands in my way. Fr. King. Yes, my lord, you see them perspectively, the cities turned into a maid; for they are all girdled with maiden walls, that war hath never entered. K. Hen, Shall Kate be my wife? K. H n. I am content; so the maiden cities you talk of, may wait on her so the maid that stood in the way of my wish,shall show me the way to my will Fr. K. We have consented to all terms of reason. K. Hen. Is't so, my lords of England? West. The king hath granted every article : His daughter, first; and then, in sequel, all, According to their firm proposed natures. Exe. Only, he hath not yet subscribed this: Where your majesty demands, That the king of France, having any occasion to write for matter of grant, shall name your highness in this form, and with this addition, in French, Notre tres cher filz Henry roy d'Angleterre, heretier de France; and thus in Latin, · Præclarissimus filius noster Henricus, rex Angliæ, et hæres Franciæ. Fr. King. Nor this I have not, brother, so denied, But your request shall make me let it pass. K. Hen. I pray you then, in love and dear alliance, Let that one article rank with the rest : Fr. King. Take her, fair son; and from her blood raise up Issue to me that the contending kingdoms May cease their hatred; and this dear conjunction K. Hen. Now welcome, Kate: - - and bear me witness all, That here I kiss her as my sovereign queen. [Flourish. Q. Isab. God, the best maker of all marriages, Combine your hearts in one, your realms in one! As man and wife, being two, are one in love, So be there 'twixt your kingdoms such a spousal, That never may ill office, or fell jealousy, Which troubles oft the bed of blessed marriage, Thrust in between the paction of these kingdoms, To make divorce of their incorporate league; That English may as French, French Englishmen, Receive each other! - God speak this Amen! All. Amen! K. Hen. Prepare we for our marriage; on which day, My lord of Burgundy, we'll take your oath, Enter Chorus. Thus far, with rough, and all unable pen, Mangling by starts the full course of their glory. Small time, but, in that small, most greatly liv'd This star of England: fortune made his sword; By which the world's best garden he achiev'd, And of it left his son imperial lord. Henry the sixth, in infant bands crown'd king Of Franee and England, and this king succeed; Whose state so many had the managing, That they lost Frauce, aud made his England bleed: Which oft our stage hath shown; and, for their sake In your fair minds let this acceptance take.[Exit, Bed. Hung be the heavens with black, yield day to night! Comets, importing change of times and states, Henry the fifth, too famous to live long! Glo. England ne'er had a king until his time. Virtue he had, deserving to command: His brandish'd sword did blind men with his beams. Than mid-day sun, fierce bent against their faces. Exe. We mourn in black; Why mourn we not in blood? Henry is dead, and never shal! revive: Upon a wooden coffin we attend; Win. He was a king bless'd of the King of kings. Glo. The church! where is it? Had not churchmen pray'd, His thread of life had not so soon decay'd; ́ Win. Gloster, whate'er we like, thou art protector; 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; Enter a Messenger. 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 These news would cause him once more yield the ghost. Exe. How were they lost? what treachery was us'd? Mess. No treachery; but want of men and money. One would have ling'ring wars, with little cost; Let not sloth dim your honours, new-begot; Exe. Were our tears wanting to this funeral, These tidings would call forth her flowing tides. Bed. Me they concern; regent I am of France: Give me my steeled coat, I'll fight for France. · Away with these disgraceful wailing robes! Wounds I will lend the French, instead of eyes, To weep their intermissive miseries. Enter another Messenger. 2 Mess. Lords, view these letters, full of bad mis chance, France is revolted from the English quite; 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 forward ness? An army have I muster'd in my thoughts, Wherewith already France is over-run. Enter a third Messenger. 3 Mess. My gracious lords, ments, -to add to your la Wherewith you now bedew king Henry's hearse, - Win. What! wherein Talbot overcame? is't so? 3 Mess. O, no; wherein lord Talbot was o'erthrown: The circumstance I'll tell you more at large. He wanted pikes to set before his archers; him; Here, there, and every where, enrag'd he slew: A base Walloon, to win the Dauphin's grace, Bed. Is Talbot slain? then I will slay myself, For living idly here, ir. pomp and ease, Whilst such a worthy leader, wanting aid, 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 ransome there is none but I shall pay : I'll hale the Dauphin headlong from his throne, His crown shall be the ransome 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 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 leave, To go about my preparation. [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. [Exit. Ere. To Eltham will I, where the young king is, Being ordain'd his special governor ; And for his safety there I'll best devise. [Exit. 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; The king from Eltham I intend to send, And sit at chiefest stern of publick weal. SCENE II.-France. Before Orleans. 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 : Alen. They want their porridge, and their fat bullbeeves: Either they must be dieted like mules, Reig. Let's raise the siege; Why live we idly here? 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. [Exeunt. Alarums; Excursions; afterwards a Retreat. Re-enter CHARLES, ALENÇON, REIGNIER, and others. Char. Who ever saw the like? what men have I?Dogs! cowards! dastards! - Iwould ne'er have fled, But that they left me midst my enemies. Reig. Salisbury is a desperate homicíde; He fighteth as one weary of his life. The other lords, like lions wanting food, Do rush upon us as their hungry prey. Alen. Froissard, a countryman of ours, records, It sendeth forth to skirmish. One to ten! Char. Let's leave this town; for they are hairbrain'd slaves, And hunger will enforce them to be more eager : Enter the Bastard of Orleans. Bast. Where's the prince Dauphin? I have news for him. Char. Bastard of Orleans, thrice welcome to us. Bast. Methinks, your looks are sad, your cheer appall'd; Hath the late overthrow wrought this offence? And drive the English forth the bounds of France. Exceeding the nine sibyls of old Rome; Char. Go, call her in: [Exit Bastard.] But, first, to try her skill, Where is the Dauphin?· - come, come from behind; My wit untrain'd in any kind of art. In cómplete glory she reveal'd herself; Char. Thou hast astonish'd me with thy high terms; Only this proof I'll of thy valour make, - Puc. I am prepar'd: here is my keen-edg'd sword, Out of a deal of old iron I chose forth. Char. Then come o' God's name, I fear no woman. Puc. And, while I live, I'll ne'er fly from a man. [They fight. Char. Stay, stay thy hands; thou art an Amazon, And fightest with the sword of Deborah. Puc. Christ's mother helps me, else I were too weak. Char. Whoe'er helps thee, 'tis thou that must Impatiently I burn with thy desire: Puc. I must not yield to any rites of love, Char. Mean time, look gracious on thy prostrate Reig. My lord, methinks, is very long in talk. smock; Else ne'er could he so long protract his speech. Reig. Shall we disturb him, since he keeps no mean? Alen. He may mean more than we poor men do know: These women are shrewd tempters with their tongues. Reig. My lord, where are you? what devise you on? 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. Till, by broad spreading, it disperse to nought. Nor yet Saint Philip's daughters, were like thee. Drive them from Orleans, and be immortaliz'd. about it: No prophet will I trust, if she prove false. [Exeunt. SCENE III. - London. Hill before the Tower. Enter, at the gates, the DUKE OF GLOSTER, 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. Where be these warders, that they wait not here? Open the gates; Gloster it is that calls. [Servants knock. 1 Ward. [Within.] Who is 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. 1 Serv. Answer you so the lord protector, villains? 1 Ward. [Within.] The Lord protect him! so we answer him: We do no 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. - Enter to the gates, WOODVILLE, the Lieutenant. 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: Arrogant Winchester? that haughty prelate, Thou art no friend to God, or to the king: 1 Serv. Open the gates unto the lord protector; Or we'll burst them open, if that you come not quickly. Enter WINCHESTER, attended by a Train of Servants in tawny coats. Win. How now, ambitious Humphrey ? what means this? Glo. Piel'd priest, dost thou command me to be shut out? Win. I do, thou most usurping proditor, Glo. Stand back, thou manifest conspirator; |