Before he'll buy again at such a rate :
'Twas full of darnel; Do you like the taste?

Burg. Scoff on, vile fiend, and shameless courtezan!
I trust, ere long, to choke thee with thine own,
And make thee curse the harvest of that corn.

Char. Your grace may starve, perhaps, before that time. Bed. O, let no words, but deeds, revenge this treason! Puc. What will you do, good grey-beard? break a lance, And run a tilt at death within a chair?

Tal. Foul fiend of France, and hag of all despite,
Encompass'd with thy lustful paramours !
Becomes it thee to taunt his valiant age,
And twit with cowardice a man half dead?
Damsel, I'll have a bout with you again,
Or else let Talbot perish with his shame.

Puc. Are you so hot, sir?-Yet, Pucelle, hold thy peace; If Talbot do but thunder, rain will follow.

[TALBOT, and the rest, consult together, God speed the parliament! who shall be the speaker? Tal. Dare ye come forth, and meet us in the field? Puc. Belike, your lordship takes us then for fools, To try if that our own be ours, or no.

Tal. I speak not to that railing Hecaté,

But unto thee, Alençon, and the rest;
Will ye, like soldiers, come and fight it out?
Alen. Signior, no.

Tal. Signior, hang!-base muleteers of France!
Like peasant foot-boys do they keep the walls,
And dare not take up arms like gentlemen.

Puc. Captains, away: lets get us from the walls;
For Talbot means no goodness, by his looks.—

God be wi' you, my lord! we came, sir, but to tell you
That we are here. [Exe. La Puc. &c. from the walls.
Tal. And there will we be too, ere it be long,

Or else reproach be Talbot's greatest fame!
Vow, Burgundy, by honour of thy house,
(Prick'd on by public wrongs, sustain'd in France,)
Either to get the town again, or die :
And I, as sure as English Henry lives,
And as his father here was conqueror;
As sure as in this late-betrayed town
Great Coeur-de-lion's heart was buried;
So sure I swear, to get the town, or die.

Bur. My vows are equal partners with thy vows.
Tal. But, ere we go, regard this dying prince,
The valiant duke of Bedford :-Come, my lord,
We will bestow you in some better place,
Fitter for sickness, and for crazy age.

Bed. Lord Talbot, do not so dishonour me :
Here will I sit before the walls of Rouen,
And will be partner of your weal, or woe.

Bur. Courageous Bedford, let us now persuade you.
Bed. Not to be gone from hence; for once I read,
That stout Pendragon, in his litter, sick,
Came to the field, and vanquished his foes:
Methinks, I should revive the soldiers' hearts,
Because I ever found them as myself.

Tal. Undaunted spirit in a dying breast!-
Then be it so:-Heavens keep old Bedford safe!
—And now no more ado, brave Burgundy,
But gather we our forces out of hand,

And set upon our boasting enemy.

[Exe. BURGUNDY, TALBOT, and Forces, leaving. BEDFORD, and others.

Alarum: Excursions. Enter Sir JOHN FASTOLFE, and a

Captain.

Cap. Whither away, sir John Fastolfe, in such haste ? Fast. Whither away? to save myself by flight;

We are like to have the overthrow again.

Cap. What will you fly, and leave lord Talbot?
Fast. Ay,

All the Talbots in the world, to save my life.

[Exit.

Cap. Cowardly knight! ill fortune follow thee! [Exit. Retreat: Excursions. Enter, from the town, LA PUCELLE, ALENÇON, CHARLES, &c. and exeunt, flying.

Bed. Now, quiet soul, depart when heaven please; For I have seen our enemies overthrow.

What is the trust or strength of foolish man?

They, that of late were daring with their scoffs,
Are glad and fain by flight to save themselves.

[Dies, and is carried off in his chair.

Alarum. Enter TALBOT, BURGUNDY, and others. Tal. Lost, and recover'd in a day again!

[5] This hero was Uther Pendragon, brother to Aurelius, and father to klug Arthur. STEEVENS.

This is a double honour, Burgundy :
Yet, heavens have glory for this victory!
Bur. Warlike and martial Talbot, Burgundy
Enshrines thee in his heart; and there erects
Thy noble deeds, as valour's monument.

Tal. Thanks, gentle duke. But where is Pucelle now? I think, her old familiar is asleep :

Now where's the Bastard's braves, and Charles his gleeks? What, all a-mort ? Rouen hangs her head for grief,

That such a valiant company are fled.

Now will we take some order in the town,
Placing therein some expert officers;
And then depart to Paris, to the king;

For there young Harry, with his nobles, lies.

Bur. What wills lord Talbot, pleaseth Burgundy.
Tal. But yet, before we go, let's not forget
The noble duke of Bedford, late deceas'd,
But see his exequies fulfill'd in Roüen;
A braver soldier never couched lance,
A gentler heart did never sway in court:
But kings and mightiest potentates, must die;
For that's the end of human misery.

SCENE III.

[Exeunt

The same. The plains near the city. Enter CHARLES, the
Bastard, ALENÇON, LA PUCELLE, and Forces.

Puc. Dismay not, princes, at this accident,
Nor grieve that Rouen is so recovered:
Care is no cure, but rather corrosive,
For things that are not to be remedied.
Let frantic Talbot triumph for a while,
And like a peacock sweep along his tail;
We'll pull his plumes, aud take away his train,
If Dauphin, and the rest, will be but rul'd.

Char. We have been guided by thee hitherto,
And of thy cunning had no difference;
One sudden foil shall never breed distrust.

Bast. Search out thy wit for secret policies,
And we will make thee famous through the world.
Alen. We'll set thy statue in some holy place,
And have thee reverenc'd like a blessed saint;

[6] That is, quite dispirited; a frequent Gallicism. STEEVENS.

Employ thee then, sweet virgin, for our good.

Puc. Then thus it must be; this doth Joan devise:
By fair persuasions, mix'd with sugar'd words,
We will entice the duke of Burgundy

To leave the Talbot, and to follow us.

Char. Ay, marry, sweeting, if we could do that, France were no place for Henry's warriors;

Nor should that nation boast it so with us,

But be extirped from our provinces.

Alen. For ever should they be expuls'd from France, And not have title to an earldom here.

Puc. Your honours shall perceive how I will work,

To bring this matter to the wished end.

[Drums heard Hark! by the sound of drum, you may perceive

Their powers are marching unto Paris-ward.

An English March. Enter, and pass over at a distance,
TALBOT and his Forces.

There goes the Talbot, with his colours spread;
And all the troops of English after him.

A French March. Enter the Duke of BURGUNDY and
Forces.

Now, in the rearward, comes the duke, and his ;
Fortune, in favour, makes him lag behind.

Summon a parley, we will talk with him.

[A Parley sounded. Char. A parley with the duke of Burgundy. Bur. Who craves a parley with the Burgundy? Puc. The princely Charles of France, thy countryman. Bur. What say'st thou, Charles? for I am marching

bence.

Char. Speak, Pucelle; and enchant him with thy words. Puc. Brave Burgundy, undoubted hope of France! Stay, let thy humble handmaid speak to thee.

Bur. Speak on; but be not over-tedious.

Puc. Look on thy country, look on fertile France,

And see the cities and the towns defac'd

By wasting ruin of the cruel foe!

As looks the mother on her lowly babe,
When death doth close his tender dying eyes,
See, see, the pining malady of France;
Behold the wounds, the most unnatural wounds,

[8] To extiro is to root out. STEEVENS.

Which thou thyself hast given her woful breast!
O, turn thy edged sword another way;

Strike those that hurt, and hurt not those that help!
One drop of blood, drawn from thy country's bosom,
Should grieve thee more than streams of foreign gore ;
Return thee, therefore, with a flood of tears,
And wash away thy country's stained spots!

Bur. Either she hath bewitch'd me with her words, Or nature makes me suddenly relent.

Fuc. 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 fashion'd 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 ransome 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 wand'ring lord;
Charles, and the rest, will take thee in their arms.
Bur. I am vanquished; these haughty words of hers
Have batter'd 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.

[9] A mistake: The Duke was not liberated till after Burgundy declined to the French interest; which did not happen, by the way, till some years after the execution of this very Joan la Pucelle; nor was that during the regency of York, but of Bedford. RITSON.

[1] Haughty-That is, elevated, high-spirited. M. MASON.

[2] The inconstancy of the French was always the subject of satire. I have read a dissertation written to prove that the index of the wind upon our steeples was made in form of a cock, to ridicule the French for their frequent changes. JOHNSON.