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TO YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

ASTOR, LENOX AND TILDEN FOUNDATIONS

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FIRST PART OF

KING HENRY VI.

King Henry the Sixth.

PERSONS REPRESENTED.

Duke of Gloster, uncle to the king, and protector. Duke of Bedford, uncle to the king, and regent of France.

Thomas Beaufort, duke of Exeter, great uncle to
the king.

Henry Beaufort, great uncle to the king, bishop of ||
Winchester, and afterwards cardinal.
John Beaufort, earl of Somerset ; afterwards duke.
Richard Plantagenet, eldest son of Richard, late
earl of Cambridge; afterwards duke of York.
Earl of Warwick. Earl of Salisbury.
Earl of Suffolk.

Lord Talbot, afterwards earl of Shrewsbury.
John Talbot, his son.

Edmund Mortimer, earl of March.

Mortimer's keeper, and a lawyer.

Sir John Fastolfe.

Sir William Lucy.

Sir William Glansdale. Sir Thomas Gargrave. Mayor of London. Woodville, lieut. of the Tower.

Vernon, of the white rose, or York faction.
Basset, of the red rose, or Lancaster faction.
Charles, dauphin, and afterwards king of France.
Reignier,duke of Anjou,and titular king of Naples.
Duke of Burgundy. Duke of Alençon.
Governor of Paris. Bastard of Orleans.
Master-gunner of Orleans, and his son.
General of the French forces in Bourdeaux.
A French Sergeant. A Porter.

An old shepherd, father to Joan la Pucelle.
Margaret, daughter to Reignier; afterwards mar-

ried to King Henry. 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, and partly in France.

ACT I.

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.

Bedford.

HUNG be the heavens with black,1 yield day to night!

Comets, importing change of times and states,
Brandish your crystal tresses in the sky;
And with them scourge the bad revolting stars,
That have consented unto Henry's death!
Henry the Fifth, too famous to live long!
England ne'er lost a king of so much worth.

Glo. England ne'er had a king, until his time.
Virtue he had, deserving to command:
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 his enemies,
Than mid-day sun, fierce bent against their faces.
What should I say? his deeds exceed all speech:
He ne'er lift up his hand, but conquered.

Exe. We mourn in black; Why mourn we not in blood?

Henry is dead, and never shall revive:
Upon a wooden coffin we attend;

And death's dishonourable victory

We with our ståtely presence glorify,

Like captives bound to a triumphant car.

What! shall we curse the planets of mishap,

(1) Alluding to our ancient stage-practice when a tragedy was to be acted

VOL. II.

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And lookest to command the prince, and realm. Thy wife is proud; she holdeth thee in awe, More than God, or religious churchmen, may.

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

Bed. Cease, cease these 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.-
Posterity, await for wretched years,

When at their mothers' moist eyes babes shall suck,
Our isle be made a nourish3 of salt tears,
And none but women left to wail the dead.-
Henry the Fifth! thy ghost I invocate;
Prosper this realm, keep it from civil broils!
Combat with adverse planets in the heavens!

(2) There was a notion long prevalent, that life might be taken away by metrical charms. (3) Nurse was anciently so spelt.

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A far more glorious star thy soul will make, Than Julius Cæsar, or bright

Enter a Messenger.

Mess. My honourable lords, health to you all!
Sad tidings bring I to you out of France,
Of loss, of slaughter, and discomfiture:
Guienne, Champaigne, Rheims, Orleans,
Paris, Guysors, Poictiers, are all quite lost.
Bed. What say'st thou, man, before dead Henry's
corse?

Speak softly or the loss of those great towns
Will make him burst his lead, and rise from death.
Glo. Is Paris lost? is Rouen yielded up?
If Henry were recall'd to life again,
These news would cause him once more yield the
ghost.

Exe. How were they lost? what treachery was
us'd?

Mess. No treachery; but want of men and money.
Among the soldiers this is muttered,―
That here you maintain several factions;
And, whilst a field should be despatch'd and fought,
You are disputing of your generals.

One would have ling'ring wars, with little cost;
Another would fly swift but wanteth wings;
A third man thinks, without expense at all,
By guileful fair words peace may be obtain'd.
Awake, awake, English nobility!

Let not sloth dim your honours, new-begot:
Cropp'd are the flower-de-luces in your arms;
Of England's coat one half is cut away.

Exe. Were our tears wanting to this funeral, These tidings would call forth her flowing tides. Bed. Me they concern; regent I am of France :Give me my steeled coat, I'll fight for France.--Away with these disgraceful wailing robes! Wounds I will lend the French, instead of eyes, To weep their intermissive miseries.2

Enter another Messenger.

No leisure had he to enrank his men;
He wanted pikes to set before his archers;
Instead whereof, sharp stakes, pluck'd out of hedges,
They pitched in the ground confusedly,
To keep the horsemen off from breaking in.
More than three hours the fight continued;
Where valiant Talbot, above human thought,
Enacted wonders with his sword and lance.
Hundreds he sent to hell, and none durst stand him
Here, there, and every where, enrag'd he slew :
The French exclaim'd, The devil was in arms
All the whole army stood agaz'd on him:
His soldiers, spying his undaunted spirit,
A Talbot! a Talbot! cried out amain,
And rush'd into the bowels of the battle.
Here had the conquest fully been seal'd up,
If sir John Fastolfe had not play'd the coward;
He being in the vaward (plac'd behind,
With purpose to relieve and follow them,)
Cowardly fled, not having struck one stroke.
Hence grew the general wreck and massacre;
Enclosed were they with their enemies:

A base Walloon, to win the dauphin's grace,
Thrust Talbot with a spear into the back;
Whom all France, with their chief assembled
strength,

Durst not presume to look once in the face.

Bed. Is Talbot slain? then I will slay myself, For living idly here, in pomp and ease, Whilst such a worthy leader, wanting aid, Unto his dastard foe-men is betray'd.

3 Mess. O no, he lives; but is took prisoner, And lord Scales with him, and lord Hungerford: Most of the rest slaughter'd, or took, likewise.

my

Bed. His ransom there is none but I shall pay :
I'll hale the dauphin headlong from his throne,
His crown shall be the ransom of
friend;
Four of their lords I'll change for one of ours.--
Farewell, my masters; to my task will I;
Bonfires in France forthwith I am to make,
To keep our great Saint George's feast withal:

2 Mess. Lords, view these letters, full of bad Ten thousand soldiers with me I will take,

mischance,

France is revolted from the English quite;
Except some petty towns of no import:
The dauphin Charles is crowned king in Rheims;
The bastard of Orleans with him is join'd;
Reigneir, duke of Anjou, doth take his part;
The duke of Alençon flieth to his side.

Exe. The dauphin crowned king! all fly to him!
O, whither shall we fly from this reproach?

Glo. We will not fly, but to our enemies' throats: Bedford, if thou be slack, I'll fight it out.

Bed. Gloster, why doubt'st thou of my forward-
ness?

An army have I muster'd in my thoughts,
Wherewith already France is over-run.

Enter a third Messenger.

3 Mess. My gracious lords,-to add to your
laments,

Wherewith you now bedew king Henry's hearse,
I must inform you of a dismal fight,
Betwixt the stout lord Talbot and the French.
Win. What! wherein Talbot overcame? is't so?
3 Mess. O, no; wherein lord Talbot was o'er-

thrown:

The circumstance I'll tell you more at large. The tenth of August last, this dreadful lord, Retiring from the siege of Orleans,

Having full scarce six thousand in his troop, By three and twenty thousand of the French Was round encompassed and set upon :

(1) Her, i. e. England's.

Whose bloody deeds shall make all Europe quake.
3 Mess. So you had need; for Orleans is besieg'd;
The English army is grown weak and faint:
The earl of Salisbury craveth supply,
And hardly keeps his men from mutiny,
Since they, so few, watch such a multitude.
Exe. Remember, lords, your oaths to Henry

sworn;

Either to quell the dauphin utterly, Or bring him in obedience to your yoke. Bed. I do remember it; and here take leave, [Exit. about my preparation. go Glo. I'll to the Tower, with all the haste I can, To view the artillery and munition;

Το

[Exit.

And then I will proclaim young Henry king. [Ex.
Exe. To Eltham will I, where the young king is,
Being ordain'd his special governor ;
And for his safety there I'll best devise.
Win. Each hath his place and function to attend:
I am left out; for me nothing remains.
But long I will not be Jack-out-of-office;
The king from Eltham I intend to send,
And sit at chiefest stern of public weal.

[Exit. Scene closes. SCENE II-France. Before Orleans. Enter Charles, with his forces; Alençon, Reignier, and others.

Char. Mars his true moving, even as in the heavens,

(2) i. e. Their miscries which have had only a short intermission.

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