K. Hen. What says she, fair one? that the my speed!)-donc vostre est France, et vous estes tongues of men are full of deceits? mienne. It is as easy for me, Kate, to conquer the kingdom, as to speak so much more French: I shall never move thee in French, unless it be to laugh at me. Alice. Ouy; dat de tongues of de mans is be full of deceits: dat is de princess. K. Hen. The princess is the better Englishwoman. I'faith, Kate, my wooing is fit for thy understanding: I am glad, thou canst speak no better English; for, if thou could'st, thou would'st find me such a plain king, that thou would'st think, I had sold my farm to buy my crown. I know no ways to mince it in love, but directly to say-I love you: then, if you urge me further than to say-Do you in faith? I wear out my suit. Give me your answer; 'faith, do; and so clap hands and a bargain: How say you, lady? Kath. Sauf vostre honneur, le Francois que vous parlez, est meilleur que l'Anglois lequel je parle. K. Hen. No, 'faith, is't not, Kate: but thy speaking of my tongue, and I thine, most truly falsely, must needs be granted to be much at one. But, Kate, dost thou understand thus much English? Canst thou love me? Kath. I cannot tell. K. Hen. Can any of your neighbours tell, Kate? I'll ask them. Come, I know, thou lovest me: and at night when you come into your closet, you'll question this gentlewoman about me; and I know, Kate, you will, to her, dispraise those parts in me, that you love with your heart; but, good Kate, mock me merclfully; the rather, gentle princess, because I love thee cruelly If ever thou be'st mine, Kate, (as shalt), I get thee with scambling, and thou must K. Hen. No; 'tis hereafter to know, but now to promise: do but now promise, Kate, you will endeavour for your French part of such a boy; and, for my English moiety, take the word of a king and a bachelor. How answer you, la plus belle Katharine du monde, mon tres chere et divine deesse? Kath. Sauf vostre honneur, me understand well. K. Hen. Marry, if you would put me to verses, or to dance for your sake, Kate, why you undid me: for the one, I have neither words nor measure; and for the other, I have no strength in measure, yet a reasonable measure in strength. If I could win a lady at leap-frog, or by vaulting I have a saving faith within me, tells me,-thou into my saddle with my armour on my back, under the correction of bragging be it spoken, I should quickly leap into a wife. Or, if I might buffet for my love, or bound my horse for her favours, I could lay on like a butcher, and sit like a jack-an-apes, never off: but, before God, I cannot look greenly, nor gasp out my eloquence, nor I have no cunning in protestation; only downright oaths, which I never use till urged, nor never break for urging. If thou canst love a fellow of this temper, Kate, whose face is not worth sun-burning, that never looks in his glass for love of anything he sees there, let thine eye be thy cook. I speak to thee plain soldier: If thou canst love me for this, take me: if not, to say to thee-that I shall die, is Kath. Your majeste’ave fausse French enough to true but for thy love, by the Lord, no; yet I deceive de most sage damoiselle dat is en France. love thee too. And while thou livest, dear Kate, K. Hen. Now, fye upon my false French! By take a fellow of plain and uncoined constancy; mine honour, in true English, I love thee, for he perforce must do thee right, because he Kate: by which honour I dare not swear, thou hath not the gift to woo in other places: for lovest me; yet my blood begins to flatter me these fellows of infinite tongue, that can rhyme that thou dost, notwithstanding the poor and themselves into ladies' favours,-they do always untempering effect of my visage. Now beshrew reason themselves out again. What! a speaker my father's ambition! he was thinking of civil is but a prater; a rhyme is but a ballad. A wars when he got me; therefore was I created good leg will fall; a straight back will stoop; with a stubborn outside, with an aspect of iron, a black beard will turn white: a curled pate that, when I come to woo ladies, I fright them. will grow bald; a fair face will wither; a full But, in faith, Kate, the elder I wax, the better eye will wax hollow: but a good heart, Kate, I shall appear: my comfort is, that old age, is the sun and moon; or, rather, the sun, and not the moon; for it shines bright, and never changes, but keeps his course truly. If thou would have such a one, take me: And take me, take a soldier; take a soldier, take a king: And what sayest thou then to my love? speak, my fair, and fairly, I pray thee. Kath. Is it possible dat I should love de enemy of France? K. Hen. No; it is not possible you should love the enemy of France, Kate: but, in loving me, you should love the friend of France; for I love France so well, that I will not part with a village of it; I will have it all mine: and, Kate, when France is mine, and I am yours, then yours is France, and you are mine. Kath. I cannot tell vat is dat. that ill layer-up of beauty, can do no more spoil upon my face; thou hast me, if thou hast me, at the worst; and thou shalt wear me, if thou wear me, better and better; And therefore tell me, most fair Katharine, will you have me? Put off your maiden blushes: avouch the thoughts of your heart with the looks of an empress; take me by the hand, and say,-Harry of England, I am thine: which word thou shalt no sooner bless mine ear withal, but I will tell thee aloud-England is thine, Ireland is thine; France is thine, and Henry Plantagenet is thine; who, though I speak it before his face, if he be not fellow with the best king, thou shalt find the best king of good fellows. Come, your answer in broken musick; for thy voice is musick, and thy English broken: therefore queen of all, Katharine, break thy mind to me in broken English, Wilt thou have me? K. Hen. No, Kate? I will tell thee in French; which, I am sure, will hang upon my tongue like a new-married wife about her husband's neck, hardly to be shook off. Quand j'ay la possession de France, et quand vous avez le possession it de moi (lot me see, what then? Saint Dennis be| Kath. Dat is, as it shall please de roy mon pere. K. Hen. Nay, it will please him well, Kate; shall please him, Kate. Kath. Den it shall also content me. K. Hen. Upon that I will kiss your hand, and I call you-my queen. Kath. Laissez, mon seigneur, laissez, laissez: ma foy, je ne veux point que vous abaissez vostre grandeur, en baisant la main d'une vostre indigne serviteure; excusez moy, je vous supplie, mon tres puissant seigneur. K. Hen. Then I will kiss your lips, Kate. Kath. Les dames, et damoiselles, pour estre baisees devant leur nopces, il n'est pas le coutume de France. K. Hen. Madam, my interpreter, what says she? 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. Hen. I am content; so the maiden cities Alice. Dat it is not be de fashion pour les ladies of France,-I cannot tell what is, baiser, en EngK. Hen. To kiss. [lish. Alice. Your majesty entendre bettre que moy. K. Hen. It is not the fashion for the maids in France to kiss before they are married, would Alice. Ouy, vrayment. [she say? K. Hen. O, Kate, nice customs curt'sy to great kings. Dear Kate, you and I cannot be con- Exe. Only, he hath not yet subscribed this :fined within the weak list of a country's fashion: Where your majesty demands,-That the king of we are the makers of manners, Kate; and the France, having any occasion to write for matter liberty that follows our places, stops the mouths of grant, shall name your highness in this form, of all find-faults; 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. 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. and with this addition, in French,-Notre tres cher filz Henry roy d'Angleterre, heritier de France; and thus in Latin,-Præclarissimus filius noster Henricus, rex Anglia, et hæres Francia. Fr. King. Nor this I have not, brother, so But your request shall make me let it pass. 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 With envy of each other's happiness, France. All. Amen! [witness all, K. Hen. Now welcome, Kate:-and bear me That here I kiss her as my sovereign queen. [Flourish. 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 you conjure up Q. Isa. God, the best maker of all marriages, love in her in his true likeness, he must appear Combine your hearts in one, your realms in one! naked, and blind: Can you blame her then, As man and wife, being two, are one in love, 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. So be there 'twixt your kingdoms such a spousal, To make divorce of their incorporate league; Small time, but, in that small, most greatly liv'd Whose state so many had the managing, That they lost France, and made his England bleed: [sake, Which oft our stage hath shown; and, for their In your fair minds let this acceptance take. First Part of King Benry the Sixth. KING HENRY THE SIXTH. Persons Represented. [Exit. WOODVILLE, Lieutenant of the Tower. COUNTESS OF AUVERGNE. JOAN LA PUCELLE, commonly called Joan of Arc. Fiends appearing to La Pucelle, Lords, Warders of the Tower, Heralds, Officers, Soldiers, Messengers, and several Attendants both on the English and French. SCENE partly in England, partly in France. Art First. SCENE I. Westminster Abbey. Dead March. Corpse of King Henry the Fifth discovered, lying in state; attended on by the DUKES OF BEDFORD, GLOSTER, and EXETER; the EARL OF WARWICK, the BISHOP OF WINCHESTER, Heralds, &c. Bed. HUNG be the heavens with black, yield day to night! Comets, importing change of times and states, Glo. England ne'er had a king, until his Virtue he had, deserving to command: [time. His brandish'd sword did blind men with his beams; His arms spread wider than a dragon's wings; His sparkling eyes, replete with wrathful fire, More dazzled and drove back bis enemies, Than midday sun fierce bent against their faces. What should I say? his deeds exceed all speech: He ne'er lift up his hand, but conquer'd. Exe. We mourn in black; why mourn we not in blood? Henry is dead, and never shall revive; What? shall we curse the planets of mishap, Win. He was a king bless'd of the King of kings. Unto the French the dreadful judgment day His thread of life had not so soon decay'd: Win. Gloster, whate'er we like, thou art pro was us'd? Glo. Is Paris lost? is Rouen yielded up? By guileful fair words peace may be obtained. Let not sloth dim your honours, new begot: Exe. Were our tears wanting to this funeral, Enter another Messenger. 2 Mess. Lords, view these letters, full of bad! France is revolted from the English quite; Bedford, if thou be slack, I'll fight it out. An army have I muster'd in my thoughts, Enter a third Messenger. 3 Mess. My gracious lords, to add to your la- The circumstance I'll tell you more at large. He wanted pikes to set before his archers; They pitched in the ground confusedly, him; Here, there, and every where, enrag'd he slew: A Talbot! a Talbot! cried out amain, Durst not presume to look once in the face. For living idly here, in pomp and ease, 3 Mess. O no, he lives; but is took prisoner, And Lord Scales with him, and Lord HungerMost of the rest slaughterd, or took, likewise. ford: I'll hale the Dauphin headlong from his throne, 3 Mess. So you had need; for Orleans is be- Exe. Remember, lords, your oaths to Henry Bed. I do remember it; and here take leave, Glo. I'll to the Tower, with all the haste I can, [Exit. Exe. To Eltham will I, where the young king Win. Each hath his place and function to at- [Exit. Scene closes. SCENE II. France. Before Orleans. Enter CHARLES, with his Forces; ALENCON, REIGNIER, and Others. 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; Alen. They want their porridge, and their fat bull-beeves: Either they must be dieted like mules, Now for the honour of the forlorn French :- I?— [Exeunt. Alarums: Excursions: afterwards a Retreat. Re-enter CHARLES, ALENCON, REIGNIER, and Others. Char. Who ever saw the like? what men have [fled, Dogs! cowards! dastards!-I would ne'er have 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. Froissard, 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 raɛcals; 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 gimmals 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. 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? The spirit of deep prophecy she hath, 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 mean shall we sound what skill she hath. [Retires. Enter LA PUCELLE, Bastard of Orleans,and Others. Reig. Fair maid, is't thou wilt do these wondrous feats? Puc. Reignier, is't thou that thinkest to be- My courage try by combat, if thou dar'st, Char. Thou hast astonish'd me with thy high Puc. I am prepard; here is my keen-edg'd sword, Deck'd with five flower-de-luces on each side; The which at Touraine, in Saint Katharine's churchyard, Out of a great 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 [They fight. man. weak. Char. Stay, stay thy hands; thou art an AmaAnd fightest with the sword of Deborah. [zon, Puc. Christ's mother helps me, else I were too [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 rights 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 prostrate thrall. Reig. My lord, methinks, is very long in talk. Alen. Doubtless he shrives this woman to her |