KING Henry the Sixth.

Duke of Gloucester, Uncle to the King, and Protector. Duke of Bedford, Uncle to the King, and Regent of France. Cardinal Beauford, Bishop of Winchester, and great Uncle to the King.

Duke of Exeter.
Duke of Somerset.
Earl of Warwick.
Earl of Salisbury,
Earl of Suffolk.
Lord Talbot.

Young Talbot, his Son.

Richard Plantagenet, afterwards Duke of York.
Mortimer, Earl of March.

Sir John Faftolfe. Woodvile, Lieutenant of the Tower.
Lord Mayor of London. Sir Thomas Gargrave.
Sir William Glanfdalę. Sir William Lucy.
Vernon, of the White Rofe, or York Faction.
Baffet, of the Red Rofe, or Lancaster Faction.
Charles, Dauphin, and afterwards King of France.
Reignier, Duke of Anjou, and Titular King of Naples.
Duke of Burgundy.

Duke of Alanfon.

Bastard of Orleans.

Governor of Paris.

Mafter Gunner of Orleans. Boy, his Son.
An old Shepherd, Father to Joan la Pucelle.

Margaret, Daughter to Reignier, and afterwards Queen to King Henry.

Countess of Auvergne.

Joan la Pucelle, a Maid pretending to be infpir'd from Heav'n, and fetting up for the Championess of France. Fiends, attending her.

Lords, Captains, Soldiers, Meffengers, and feveral Attendants both on the English and French.

The SCENE is partly in England, and partly in France.

King

The FIRST PART of

HENRY VI

ACT I. SCENE I.

WESTMINSTER-Abbey.

Dead March. Enter the Funeral of King Henry the Fifth, attended on by the Duke of Bedford, Regent of France; the Duke of Gloucefter, Protector; the Duke of Exeter, and the Earl of Warwick, the Bishop of Winchefter, and the Duke of Somerfet.

BED FOR D.

UNG be the heavens with black, yield day to night!

Comets, importing change of times and ftates,

The first Part of K. HENRY VI.] The Hiftorical Tranfactions contained in this Play, take in the Compafs of above 30 Years. I muft obferve, however, that our Author, in the three Parts of Henry VI. has not been very precife to the Date and Difpofition of his Facts; but fhuffled them, backwards and

Brandish

forwards, out of Time. For Inftance; The Lord Talbot is kill'd at the End of the 4th Act of this Play, who in reality did not fall till the 13th of July 1453 and the 2d Part of Henry VI. opens with the Marriage of the King, which was folemniz'd 8 Years before Talbot's Death, in the Year 1445. Again, in

the

Brandish your cryftal treffes in the sky,
And with them fcourge the bad revolting stars,
That have confented unto Harry's death!
Henry the Fifth, too famous to live long!
England ne'er loft a King of fo much worth.

Glou. England ne'er had a King until his time:
Virtue he had, deferving to command.

His brandish'd fword did blind men with its beams,
His arms fpread wider than a Dragon's wings,
His fparkling eyes, repleat with awful fire,
More dazzled and drove back his enemies,
Than mid day fun fierce bent against their faces.
What should I fay? his deeds exceed all speech:
He never lifted up his hand but conquer'd.
Exe. We mourn in black; why mourn we not in
blood?

Henry is dead, and never fhall revive:

Upon a wooden coffin we attend :
And death's difhonourable victory
We with our stately prefence glorify,
Like captives bound to a triumphant car.
What? fhall we curle the planets of mishap,

the 2d Part, Dame Eleanor Cob-
ham is introduced to infult Q.
Margaret; though her Penance
and Banishment for Sorcery hap-
pened three Years before that
Princess came over to England.
I could point out many other
Tranfgreffions againft Hiftory, as
far as the Order of Time is con-
cerned. Indeed, tho' there are
feveral Matter-Strokes in these
three Plays, which inconteftably
betray the Workmanship of Shake-
Speare; yet I am almost doubt-
ful, whether they were entirely
of his Writing. And unless they
were wrote by him very early,
I should rather imagine them to

have been brought to him as a Director of the Stage; and fo to have received fome finishing Beauties at his Hand. An accurate Obferver will eafily fee, the Diction of them is more obj lete, and the Numbers more mean and prefaical, than in the Generality of his genuine Compofitions. THEOBALD. Brandifh your CRYSTAL trefes] We have heard of a cryftal heaven, but never of cryftal comets before. We should read, CRISTED or crafted, i. e. treffes ftanding an end, or mounted like a creft. WARBURTON.

2

I believe cryftal is right.

3

That plotted thus our glory's overthrow?
Or fhall we think the fubtle-witted French
Conj'rers and forc'rers, that, afraid of him,
By magick verfe have thus contriv'd his end?
Win. He was a King, bleft of the King of Kings.
Unto the French, the dreadful judgment-day
So dreadful will not be as was his fight.
The battles of the Lord of hofts he fought;
The church's pray'rs made him fo profperous.

Glou. The church? where is it? had not churchmen pray'd,

His thread of life had not fo foon decay'd.
None do you like but an effeminate Prince,
Whom, like a School-boy, you may over-awe.

Win. Glofter, whate'er we like, thou art Protector.
And lookeft to command the Prince and realm;
Thy wife is proud; fhe holdeth thee in awe,
More than God, or religious church-men may.

Glou. Name not religion, for thou lov'st the flesh; And ne'er throughout the year to church thou go'lt, Except it be to pray against thy foes,

Bed. Ceafe, ceale thefe 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.

Pofterity await for wretched years,

When at their mothers' moift eyes babes fhall fuck; *Our ifle be made a nourish of falt tears,

3 The fubtle-witted French, &c.] There was a notion prevalent a long time, that life might be taken away by metrical charms. As fuperftition grew weaker, these charms were imagined only to have power on irrational animals. In our author's time it was fup

And

pofed that the Irish could kill rats by a fong.

4 Our Ifle be made a Marish of falt Tears. Thus it is in both the Impreflions by Mr. Pope: upon what Authority, I cannot fay. All the old Copies read, a Nourish: and confidering it is

And none but women left to 'wail the dead.
Henry the Fifth! thy ghoft I invocate;
Profper this realm, keep it from civil broils,
Combat with adverse planets in the heavens ;
A far more glorious ftar thy foul will make,
Than Julius Cæfar, or bright-

SCENE II.

Enter Meffenger.

Me. My honourable Lords, health to you all.
Sad tidings bring I to you out of France,
Of lofs, of flaughter, and difcomfiture;
Guienne, Champaign, and Rheims, and Orleans,
Paris, Guyfors, Poitiers, are all quite lost.

Bed. What fay'ft thou, man?-Before dead Henry's coarse?

Speak foftly, or the lofs of thofe great towns
Will make him burst his lead, and rife from death.

filled up with-Francis Drake,tho' that were a terrible anachronifm; (as bad as Hector's quoting Ariftotle in Troilus and Creffida); yet perhaps at the time that brave Englishman was in his glory, to an English-hearted audience, and pronounced by fome favourite actor, the thing might be popular, tho' not judicious; and therefore by fome critick in favour of the author afterwards ftruck out. But this is a mere flight conjecture. РОРЕ.

To confute the flight conjecture of Pope a whole page of vehement oppofition is annexed to this paffage by Theobald. Sir T. Hanmer has flopped at Cafar-perhaps more judicioufly.

Glou.