And thou be thrust out, like a fugitive? Call we to mind, and mark but this for proof, 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 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. 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 peers, Hearing of your arrival in this realm, I have a while given truce unto my wars, In sign whereof, this arm-that hath reclaim'd Twelve cities, and seven walled towns of strength,' Glo. Yes, if it please your majesty, my liege. K. Hen. Welcome, brave captain, and victorious lord. When I was young, (as yet I am not old) [Flourish. Exeunt King HENRY, GLOSTER, 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? 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. [Striking him. Bas. Villain, thou know'st, the law of arms is such, That, whoso draws a sword, 'tis present death, Or else this blow should broach thy dearest blood. But I'll unto his majesty, and crave I may have liberty to venge this wrong, When thou shalt see, I'll meet thee to thy cost. Ver. Well, miscreant, I'll be there as soon as you; And after meet you sooner than you would. [Exeunt. ACT IV. 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. That you elect no other king but him, Esteem none friends, but such as are his friends, This shall ye do, so help you righteous God! [Exeunt Gov. and his Train. 3 That, whoso draws a sword, 'tis present death,] The meaning seems to be, that whoever drew a sword within the precincts of the palace was punished with death. Warburton would read, "That who so draws a sword i' th' presence 't's death;" but as the king was not present, he was obliged to apply his alteration to the presence chamber. No such awkward accumulation of apostrophes appears necessary. VOL. V. F 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. [Plucking it off. Which I have done, because unworthily In which assault we lost twelve hundred men; Glo. To say the truth, this fact was infamous, 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; at the battle of PATAY,] The old copy has Poictiers. The typographical error was not corrected, strange as it may seem, until the time of Steevens. The action of which Shakespeare is speaking happened (according to Holinshed) 66 neere unto a village in Beausse called Pataie," in 1428, whereas the battle of Poitiers was fought in 1357. "From this battell (of Patay) departed without anie stroke stricken, Sir John Fastolfe, the same yeere by his valiantnesse elected into the order of the garter. But for doubt of misdealing at this brunt, the duke of Bedford tooke from him the image of St. George and his garter." &c. See also p. 12, note 7. Not fearing death, nor shrinking for distress, Be packing therefore, thou that wast a knight. [Exit FASTOLFE. And now, my lord protector, view the letter Glo. What means his grace, that he hath chang'd his style? 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? [Reads.] "I have upon especial cause,― "Mov'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? 5 PRETEND some alteration, &c.] The verb "pretend" is here used in its etymological sense of hold out. In the opening of this scene we have had it employed in the kindred sense of intend, which was its commonest signification in the time of Shakespeare. |