Bur. Either she hath bewitched me with her words, Or nature makes me suddenly relent.

Puc. Besides, all French and France exclaims on thee,

Doubting thy birth and lawful progeny.

Who join'st thou with, but with a lordly nation,
That will not trust thee, but for profit's sake?
When Talbot hath set footing once in France,
And fashioned thee that instrument of ill,
Who then but English Henry will be lord,
And thou be thrust out, like a fugitive?
Call we to mind,—and mark but this, for proof;—
Was not the duke of Orleans thy foe?
And was he not in England prisoner?
But, when they heard he was thine enemy,
They set him free,' without his ransom paid,
In spite of Burgundy, and all his friends.
See then! thou fight'st against thy countrymen,
And join'st with them will be thy slaughter-men.
Come, come, return; return, thou wandering lord;
Charles, and the rest, will take thee in their arms.
Bur. I am vanquished: these haughty words of hers
Have battered me like roaring cannon-shot,
And made me almost yield upon my knees.-
Forgive me, country, and sweet countrymen!
And, lords, accept this hearty, kind embrace:
My forces and my power of men are yours;
So, farewell, Talbot; I'll no longer trust thee.

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.

1 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.

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 honorable peers,— Hearing of your arrival in this realm,

I have a while given truce unto my wars,

To do my duty to my sovereign;

In sign whereof, this arm-that hath reclaimed
To your obedience fifty fortresses,

Twelve cities, and seven walled towns of strength,
Beside five hundred prisoners of esteem-
Lets fall his sword before your highness' feet;
And, with submissive loyalty of heart,
Ascribes the glory of his conquest got,
First to my God, and next unto your grace.

K. Hen. Is this the lord Talbot, uncle Gloster,1
That hath so long been resident in France?

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,)

I do remember how my father said,2
A stouter champion never handled sword.
Long since we were resolved of your truth,
Your faithful service, and your toil in war;
Yet never have you tasted our reward,
Or been reguerdoned with so much as thanks,
Because till now we never saw your face.
Therefore, stand up; and, for these good deserts,
We here create you earl of Shrewsbury;

And in our coronation take your place.

[Exeunt KING Henry, Gloster, Talbot, and Nobles.

1 Hanmer supplied the apparent deficiency in this line, by reading:— "Is this the famed lord Talbot," &c.

2 Malone remarks that "Henry was but nine months old when his father died."

Ver. Now, sir, to you, that were so hot at sea, Disgracing of these colors that I wear

In honor of my noble lord of York,—

Dar'st thou maintain the former words thou spak'st?
Bas. Yes, sir; as well as you dare patronage
The envious barking of your saucy tongue
Against my lord the duke of Somerset.
Ver. Sirrah, thy lord I honor as he is.

Bas. Why, what is he? as good a man as York.
Ver. Hark ye; not so: in witness, take ye that.
[Strikes 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.

2

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. Win. God save king Henry, of that name the Sixth !

Glo. Now, governor of Paris, take your oath,

1 i. e. the badge of a rose.

[Governor kneels.

2 By the ancient law, before the conquest, fighting in the king's palace, or before the king's judges, was punished with death.

That you elect no other king but him;
Esteem none friends, but such as are his friends
And none your foes, but such as shall pretend1
Malicious practices against his state:

This shall ye do, so help you righteous God!

s;

[Exeunt Gov. and his Train.

Enter SIR JOHN FASTOLFE.

Fast. My gracious sovereign, as I rode from Calais, To haste unto your coronation,

A letter was delivered to my hands,

Writ to your grace from the duke of Burgundy.
Tal. Shame to the duke of Burgundy, and thee!
I vowed, base knight, when I did meet thee next,
To tear the garter from thy craven's leg,

[Plucking it off.

-

(Which I have done,) because unworthily
Thou wast installed in that high degree.-
Pardon me, princely Henry, and the rest:
This dastard, at the battle of Patay,2
When but in all I was six thousand strong,
And that the French were almost ten to one,
Before we met, or that a stroke was given,
Like to a trusty squire, did run away;
In which assault we lost twelve hundred men;
Myself, and divers gentlemen beside,
Were there surprised and taken prisoners.
Then judge, great lords, if I have done amiss;
Or whether that such cowards ought to wear
This ornament of knighthood, yea, or no.

Glo. To say the truth, this fact was infamous,

1 To pretend is to intend, to design.

2 The old copy has Poictiers instead of Patay. The battle of Poictiers was fought in 1357, the 31st of king Edward III., and the scene now lies in the 7th of king Henry VI. viz. 1428. The action happened (according to Holinshed) "neere unto a village in Beausse, called Pataie.-From this battel departed, without any stroke stricken, sir John Fastolfe, the same yeere by his valiantnese 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.

And ill beseeming any common man ;

Much more a knight, a captain, and a leader.

Tal. When first this order was ordained, 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; Not fearing death, nor shrinking for distress, But always resolute in most extremes. He then, that is not furnished in this sort, Doth but usurp the sacred name of knight, Profaning this most honorable order; And should (if I were worthy to be judge) Be quite degraded, like a hedge-born swain That doth presume to boast of gentle blood.

K. Hen. Stain to thy countrymen! thou hear'st thy

doom.

Be packing therefore, thou that wast a knight;
Henceforth we banish thee, on pain of death.-

[Exit FASTOLFE.

And now, my lord protector, view the letter
Sent from our uncle duke of Burgundy.

Glo. What means his grace, that he hath changed [Viewing the superscription.

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?—I have upon especial cause,- [Reads. Moved with compassion of my country's wreck,

Together with the pitiful complaints

Of such as your oppression feeds upon,—

Forsaken your pernicious faction,

And joined 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? K. Hen. What! doth my uncle Burgundy revolt? Glo. He doth, my lord; and is become your foe. K. Hen. Is that the worst this letter doth contain? Glo. It is the worst, and all, my lord, he writes.