KING HENRY V. That play'st so subtly with a king's repose; Con. Hark, how our steeds for present service neigh. Dau. Mount them, and make incision in their That their hot blood may spin in English eyes, horses' blood? How shall we then behold their natural tears? Mess. The English are embattled, you French Winding up days with toil, and nights with sleep, Do but behold yon poor and starved band, Con. To horse, you gallant princes! straight to Had the fore-hand and vantage of a king. Enter Erpingham. Erp. My lord, your nobles, jealous of your ab sence, Seek through your camp to find you. K. Hen. And your fair show shall suck away their souls, That our French gallants shall to-day draw out, The vapour of our valour will o'erturn them. Collect them all together at my tent: Erp. hearts! Possess them not with fear; take from them now Glo. My liege! Enter Gloster. K. Hen. My brother Gloster's voice ?-Ay; [Exeunt. phin, Orleans, Rambures, and others. And all is done. Then let the trumpets sound Yon island carrions, desperate of their bones, Grand. Why do you stay so long, my lords of SCENE II.-The French camp. Enter Dau-Fly o'er them all, impatient for their hour. Orl. The sun doth gild our armour; up, my lords. Orl. O brave spirit! (1) Farced is stuffed. The tumid puffy titles with which a king's name is introduced. (2) The sun. (3) An old encouraging exclamation. Do them out, extinguish them. Scene II. And give their fasting horses provender, KING HENRY V. Harry the king, Bedford, and Exeter, Con. I stay but for my guard; On, to the field: SCENE III.-The English camp. bury, and Westmoreland. Glo. Where is the king? Bed. The king himself is rode to view their battle. West. Of fighting men they have full threescore thousand. Exe. There's five to one; besides, they all are Sal. God's arm strike with us! 'tis a fearful odds. Bed. Farewell, good Salisbury; and good luck Exe. Farewell, kind lord; fight valiantly to-day: O that we now had here Enter King Henry. But one ten thousand of those men in England, K. Hen. What's he, that wishes so? No, 'faith, my coz, wish not a man from England: Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile, Sal. My sovereign lord, bestow yourself with The French are bravely3 in their battles set, K. Hen. All things are ready, if our minds be so K. Hen. Thou dost not wish more help from West. God's will, my liege, 'wou'd you and alone, Without more help, might fight this battle out! Which likes me better, than to wish us one.- Mont. Once more I come to know of thee, ki If for thy ransom thou wilt now compound, Who hath sent thee now? thus? The man, that once did sell the lion's skin They shall be fam'd; for there the sun shall greet them, And draw their honours reeking up to heaven; Let me speak proudly ;-Tell the constable, (3) Gallantly. (4) Expedition. (5) Remind. (6) i. e. In brazen plates anciently let into tomb stones. 1 We are but warriors for the working-day :1 ransom. Enter the Duke of York. York. My lord, most humbly on my knee I beg The leading of the vaward.4 K. Hen. Take it, brave York.-Now, soldiers, march away:— And how thou pleasest, God, dispose the day! [Exeunt SCENE IV.-The field of battle. Alarums: Excursions. Enter French Soldier, Pistol, and Boy. Pist. Yield, cur. Fr. Sol. Je pense, que vous estes le gentilhomme| de bonne qualité. Pist. Quality, call you me?-Construe me, art thou a gentleman? What is thy name? discuss. Fr. Sol. O seigneur Dieu! || faites vous prest; car ce soldat icy est disposé tout à cette heure de couper vostre gorge. Pist. Ouy, couper gorge, par ma foy, peasant, Unless thou give me crowns, brave crowns; Or mangled shalt thou be by this my sword. Fr. Sol. O, je vous supplie pour l'amour de Dieu, me pardonner! Je suis gentilhomme de bonne maison: gardez ma vie, et je vous donneray deux cents escus. Pist. What are his words? Boy. He prays you to save his life: he is a gendeman of a good house; and for his ransom, he will give you two hundred crowns. Pist. Tell him,-my fury shall abate, and I The crowns will take. Fr. Sol. Petit monsieur, que dit-il? Boy. Encore qu'il est contre son jurement, de pardonner aucun prisonnier; neantmoins, pour les escus que vous l'avez promis, il est content de vous donner la liberté, le franchisement. Fr. Sol. Sur mes genoux, je vous donne mille remerciemens: et je m'estime heureux que je suis tombé entre les mains d'un chevalier, je pense, le plus brave, valiant, et tres distingué seigneur d'Angleterre. Pist. Expound unto me, boy. Boy He gives you, upon his knees, a thousand thanks: and he esteems himself happy that he hath fallen into the hands of (as he thinks) the most brave, valorous, and thrice-worthy signieur of England. Pist. As I suck blood, I will some mercy show.Follow me, cur. [Exit Pistol. Boy. Suivez vous le grand capitaine. (Exit French Soldier. I did never know so full a voice issue from so empty a heart but the saying is true,-The empty vessel makes the greatest sound. Bardolph, and Nym, had ten times more valour than this roaring devil Pist. O, signieur Dew should be a gentleman:-i'the old play, that every one may pare his nails Ferpend my words, O signieur Dew, and mark ;- with a wooden dagger; and they are both hanged; O signieur Dew, thou diest on point of fox,5 Except, O signieur, thou do give to me Egregious ransom. Fr. Sol. O, prennez misericorde! ayez pitié de moy! Pist. Moy shall not serve, I will have forty moys; For I will fetch thy rims out at thy throat, In drops of crimson blood. Fr. Sol. Est il impossible d'eschapper la force de ton bras? Pist. Brass, cur! Thou damned and luxurious mountain goat, Fr. Sol. O pardonnez moy! Pist. Say'st thou me so? is that a ton of moys! 28 Come hither, boy; Ask me this slave in French, What is his name. Boy. Escoutez; Comment estes vous appellé ? Fr. Sol. Monsieur le Fer. Boy. He says, his name is--master Fer. Pist. Master Fer! I'll fer him, and firk? him, and ferret him :--discuss the same in French unto him. Boy. I do not know the French for fer, and ferret, and firk. Pist. Bid him prepare, for I will cut his throat. Fr. Sol. Que dit-il, monsieur? Boy. Il me commande de vous dire que vous (1) We are soldiers but coarsely dressed. (5) An old cant word for a sword, so called from a famous sword-cutler of the name of Fox. and so would this be, if he durst steal any thing adventurously. I must stay with the lackeys, with the baggage of our camp: the French might have a good prey of us, if he knew of it; for there is none to guard it, but boys. [Exit. SCENE V-Another part of the field of battle. Alarums. Enter Dauphin, Orleans, Bourbon, Constable, Rambures, and others. Con. O diable! Orl. O seigneur!-le jour est perdu, tout est perdu! Dau. Mort de ma vie! all is confounded, all! Reproach and everlasting shame Sits mocking in our plumes.-O meschante for tune! Do not run away. [A short alarum. Con. Why, all our ranks are broke. Dau. Operdurable10 shame!--let's stab ourselves. Be these the wretches that we play'd at dice for? Orl. Is this the king we sent to for his ransom? Bour. Shame, and eternal shame, nothing but His fairest daughter is contaminate. Gower: What call you the town's name where Con. Disorder, that hath spoil'd us, friend us now! Alexander the pig was born? Let us, in heaps, go offer up our lives Orl. We are enough, yet living in the field, Bour. The devil take order now! I'll to the Let life be short; else, shame will be too long. [Exeunt Gow. Alexander the great. Flu. Why, I pray you, is not pig, great? The pig, or the great, or the mighty, or the huge, or the magnanimous, are all one reckonings, save the phrase is a little variations. Gow. I think, Alexander the great was born in Macedon; his father was called-Philip of Macedon, as I take it. Flu. I think, it is in Macedon, where Alexander SCENE VI-Another part of the field.is porn. I tell you, captain,-If you look in the Alarums. Enter King Henry and forces; Exe-maps of the 'orld, I warrant, you shall find, in the ter, and others. K. Hen. Well have we done, thrice-valiant countrymen : But all's not done, yet keep the French the field. Exe. The duke of York commends him to your majesty. K. Hen. Lives he, good uncle? thrice, within this hour, I saw him down; thrice up again, and fighting; From helmet to the spur, all blood he was. Exe. In which array (brave soldier) doth he lie, Suffolk first died; and York, all haggled over, Upon these words I came, and cheer'd him up: He threw his wounded arm, and kiss'd his lips; K. Hen. [Exeunt SCENE VII-Another part of the field. Alar ums. Enter Fluellen and Gower. Flu. Kill the poys and the luggage! 'tis expressly against the law of arms: 'tis as arrant a piece of knavery, mark you now, as can be offered, in the 'orld: In your conscience now, is it not? Gow. 'Tis certain, there's not a boy left alive: and the cowardly rascals, that ran from the battle, have done this slaughter: besides, they have burned and carried away all that was in the king's tent: wherefore the king, most worthily, hath caused every soldier to cut his prisoner's throat. O, 'tis a gallant king! Flu. Ay, he was porn at Monmouth, captain (2) Scour. (1) Reached. comparisons between Macedon and Monmouth, that the situations, look you, is both alike. There is a river in Macedon; and there is also moreover a river at Monmouth; it is called Wye, at Monmouth: but it is out of my prains, what is the name of the other river; but 'tis all one, 'tis so like as my fingers is to my fingers, and there is salmons in both. If you mark Alexander's life well, Harry of Monmouth's life is come after it indifferent well; for there is figures in all things. Alexander (God knows, and you know,) in his rages, and his furies, and his wraths, and his cholers, and his moods, and his displeasures, and his indignations, and also being a little intoxicates in his prains, did, in his ales and his angers, look you, kill his pest friend, Clytus. Gow. Our king is not like him in that: he never killed any of his friends. Flu. It is not well done, mark you now, to take tales out of my mouth, ere it is made an end and finished. I speak but in the figures and comparisons of it: As Alexander is kill his friend Clytus, being in his ales and his cups; so also Harry Monmouth, in right wits and his goot judgments, is turn away the fat knight with the great pelly-doublet: he was full of jests, and gipes, and knaveries, and mocks; I am forget his name. K. Hen. I was not angry since I came to France Until this instant.-Take a trumpet, herald; Ride thou unto the horsemen on yon hill; If they will fight with us, bid them come down, Or void the field; they do offend our sight: If they'll do neither, we will come to them, And make them skirr? away, as swift as stones Enforced from the old Assyrian slings: Besides, we'll cut the throats of those we have; And not a man of them, that we shall take, Shall taste our mercy :-Go, and tell them so. Enter Montjoy. Exe. Here comes the herald of the French, my liege. Glo. His eyes are humbler than they us'd to be. K. Hen. How now, what means this, herald? know'st thou not, That I have fin'd these bones of mine for ransom? Com'st thou again for ransom? Mont. No, great king: I come to thee for charitable license, K. Hen. Praised be God, and not our strength, What is this castle call'd, that stands hard by? K. Hen. Then call we this-the field of Fought on the day of Crispin Crispianus. tation is as arrant a villain, and a Jack sauce, as K. Hen. Then keep thy vow, sirrah, when thou Will. So I will, my liege, as I live. K. Hen. Who servest thou under? Will. Under captain Gower, my liege. Flu. Gower is a goot captain; and is goot know- K. Hen. Call him hither to me, soldier. [Exit. K. Hen. Here, Fluellen; wear thou this favour for me, and stick it in thy cap: When Alençon and myself were down together, I plucked this glove from his helm: if any man challenge this, he is a Agin-friend to Alençon and an enemy to our person; if thou encounter any such, apprehend him, an thou dost love me. Flu. Your grandfather of famous memory, an't please your majesty, and your great-uncle Edward the plack prince of Wales, as I have read in the chronicles, fought a most prave pattle here in France. K. Hen. They did, Fluellen. Flu. Your majesty says very true: if your majesties is remembered of it, the Welshman did goot service in a garden where leeks did grow, wearing leeks in their Monmouth caps; which, your majesty knows, to this hour is an honourable padge of the service; and, I do believe, your majesty takes no scorn to wear the leek upon Saint Tavy's day. K. Hen. I wear it for a memorable honour: For I am Welsh, you know, good countryman. Flu. All the water in Wye cannot wash your majesty's Welsh plood out of your pody, I can tell you that: Got pless it and preserve it, as long as it pleases his grace, and his majesty too! Flu. Your grace does me as great honours, as can be desired in the hearts of his subjects: I would fain see the man, that has but two legs, that shall find himself aggriefed at this glove, that is all; but I would fain see it once; an please Got of his grace, that I might see it. to K. Hen. Knowest thou Gower? Flu. He is my dear friend, an please you. [Exit. K. Hen. My lord of Warwick,-and my brother Follow Fluellen closely at the heels: The glove, which I have given him for a favour, May, haply, purchase him a box o'the ear; It is the soldier's; I, by bargain, should Wear it myself. Follow, good cousin Warwick: If that the soldier strike him (as, I judge K. Hen. Thanks, good my countryman. By his blunt bearing, he will keep his word,) Flu. By Cheshu, I am your majesty's country-Some sudden mischief may arise of it; man, I care not who know it; I will confess it to For I do know Fluellen valiant, all the 'orld: I need not to be ashamed of your majesty, praised be Got, so long as your majesty is an honest man. K. Hen. God keep me so !-Our heralds go with Bring me just notice of the numbers dead [Points to Williams. Exe. Mont. and others. Will. An't please your majesty, 'tis the gage one that I should fight withal, if he be alive. K. Hen. An Englishman? of Will. An't please your majesty, a rascal, that swaggered with me last night: who, if 'a live, and ever dare to challenge this glove, I have sworn to take him a box o'the ear: or, if I can see my glove in his cap (which he swore, as he was a soldier, he would wear, if alive,) I will strike it out soundly. K. Hen. What think you, captain Fluellen? is it fit this soldier keep his oath? Flu. He is a craven and a villain else, an't please your majesty, in my conscience. K. Hen. It may be, his enemy is a gentleman of great sort, quite from the answer of his degree. Flu. Though he be as goot a gentleman as the tevil is, as Lucifer and Belzebub himself, it is necessary, look your grace, that he keep his vow and his oath: if he be perjured, see you now, his repu(2) High rank. (1) Coward. And, touch'd with choler, hot as gunpowder, Will. I warrant, it is to knight you, captain. Flu. Got's will and his pleasure, captain, I pe- Will. Sir, know you this glove? Flu. Know the glove? I know, the glove is a glove. Will. I know this; and thus I challenge it. Flu. That's a lie in thy throat.-I charge you in Enter Warwick and Gloster. (3) For saucy Jack. |