Embark his royalty; and his brave fleet
With filken ftreamers the young Phoebus fanning.
Play with your fancies; and in them behold,
Upon the hempen tackle, fhip-boys climbing;
Hear the fhrill whiftle, which doth order give
To founds confus'd; behold the threaden fails,
Borne with th' invisible and creeping wind,
Draw the huge bottoms thro' the furrow'd fea,
Breafting the lofty furge. O, do but think,
You ftand upon the rivage, and behold
A city on th'inconftant billows dancing;
For fo appears this Fleet majestical,

Holding due courfe to Harfleur. Follow, follow.
Grapple your minds to fternage of this navy,
And leave your England, as dead midnight still,
Guarded with grandfires, babies and old women;
Or paft, or not arriv'd, to pith and puiffance:
For whe is he, whofe chin is but enrich'd
With one appearing hair, that will not follow
Thefe cull'd and choice-drawn cavaliers to France?
Work, work your thoughts, and therein fee a fiege;
Behold the ordnance on their carriages

With fatal mouths gaping on girded Harfleur.
Suppofe, th' ambaffador from France comes back;
Tells Harry, that the King doth offer him
Catharine his daughter, and with her to dowry
Some petty and unprofitable Dukedoms:
The offer likes not; and the nimble gunner
With lynftock now the devilish cannon touches,
And down goes all before him. Still be kind,
And eke out our performance with your mind.

[Exit..

before told us fo precisely, and that fo often over, that he embark'd at Southampton? I dare acquit the Poet from fo flagrant a Variation. The Indolence of a Tranfcriber, or a Compofitor at Prefs, muft give Rife to fuch an Error. They, feeing Peer at the End of the Verfe, unluckily thought of Doverpeer, as the best known to them: and fo unawares corrupted the Text.

ACT III.

SCENE, before HARFLEUR.

[Alarm, and Cannon go off.]

Enter King Henry, Exeter, Bedford, and Gloucester ; Soldiers, with scaling ladders.

King HENRY.

NCE more unto the breach, dear friends, once

more;

Or close the wall up with the English dead.

In peace, there's nothing fo becomes a man
As modeft ftillness and humility:

But when the blaft of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the Tyger;
Stiffen the finews, fummon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;

Let it thro' the pry

portage

of the head,

like the brafs cannon: let the brow o'erwhelm it,
As fearfully, as doth a galled rock

O'er-hang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean.

Now fet the teeth, and stretch the noftril wide;
Hold hard the breath, and bend up every fpirit
To his full height. Now on, you nobleft English,
Whofe blood is fetcht from fathers of war-proof;
Fathers, that, like fo many Alexanders,
Have in thefe parts from morn till even fought,
And fheath'd their fwords for lack of argument.
Dishonour not your mothers; now atteft,

That thofe, whom you call'd fathers, did beget you.
Be copy now to men of groffer blood,

And

And teach them how to war; and you, good yeomen,
Whofe limbs were made in England, fhew us here
The mettle of your pafture: let us fwear

That you are worth your breeding, which I doubt not :.,
For there is none of you so mean and bafe,
That hath not noble luftre in your eyes;
I fee you ftand like Greyhounds in the flips,
Straining upon the ftart. The game's a-foot:
Follow your fpirit; and, upon this charge,
Cry, God for Harry! England! and St. George!

[Exeunt King, and Train. [Alarm, and Cannon go off.

Enter Nim, Bardolph, Piftol, and Boy.

Bard. On, on, on, on, on, to the breach, to the breach.

Nim. 'Pray thee, corporal, ftay; the knocks are too hot; and for mine own part, I have not a cafe of lives: the humour of it is too hot, that is the very plain fong of it.

Pift. The plain fong is moft juft; for humours do

abound:

Knocks go and come: God's vaffals drop and die; And fword and shield, in bloody field, doth win immortal fame.

Boy. Wou'd I were in an ale-house in London, I would give all my fame for a pot of ale and fafety.

Pift. And I; if wifhes would prevail,
I wou'd not ftay, but thither would I hye.
Enter Fluellen.

Flu. Up to the breach, you dogs; avaunt, you cul

lions.

Pift. Be merciful, great Duke, to men of mould, Abate thy rage, abate thy manly rage;

Good bawcock, bate thy rage; ufe lenity, fweet chuck. Nim. These be good humours; your honour wins bad humours. [Exeunt. Boy. As young as I am, I have obferv'd these three fwashers. I am boy to them all three; but all they

0 4

three,

three, though they would ferve me, could not be man to me; for, indeed, three fuch Anticks do not amount to a man. For Bardolph, he is white-liver'd and redfac'd; by the means whereof he faces it out, but fights not. For Piftol, he hath a killing tongue and a quiet fword; by the means whereof he breaks words, and keeps whole weapons. For Nim, he hath heard, that men of few words are the best men; and therefore he fcorns to fay his prayers, left he fhould be thought a coward; but his few bad words are match'd with as few good deeds, for he never broke any man's head but his own, and that was against a poft when he was drunk. They will fteal any thing, and call it purchase. Bardolph ftole a lute-cafe, bore it twelve leagues, and fold it for three half-pence. Nim and Bardolph are fworn brothers in filching; and in Calais they ftole a fire-fhovel. I knew, by that piece of fervice, the men would carry coals. They would have me as familiar with mens' pockets, as their gloves or their hand-kerchers; which makes much against my manhood; for if I would take from another's pocket to put into mine, it is plain pocketting up of wrongs. I must leave them, and feek fome better fervice; their villany goes against my weak ftomach, and therefore I muft caft it up. [Exit Boy.

Enter Gower, and Fluellen.

Gower. Captain Fluellen, you must come presently to the mines; the Duke of Gloucefter would fpeak with

you.

Flu. To the mines? tell you the Duke, it is not fo good to come to the mines; for, look you, the mines are not according to the difciplines of the war; the concavities of it is not fufficient; for, look you, th' athverfary (you may discuss unto the Duke, look you) is digt himself four yards under the countermines; by Chefbu, I think, a' will plow up all, if there is not petter directions.

Gower. The Duke of Gloucefter, to whom the order of the fiege is given, is altogether directed by an Irish man, a very valiant gentleman, i' faith.

Flu.

Flu. It is captain Mackmorris, is it not?
Gower. I think, it be.

Flu. By Chefbu, he is an Afs, as is in the world; I will verifie as much in his beard; he has no more directions in the true difciplines of the wars, look you, of the Roman difciplines, than is a Puppy-dog.

Enter Mackmorris, and Capt. Jamy.

Gower. Here he comes, and the Scots Captain, Captain Jamy with him.

Flu. Captain Famy is a marvellous valorous gentleman, that is certain; and of great expedition and knowledge in the ancient wars, upon my particular knowledge of his directions; by Chefbu, he will maintain his argument as well as any military man in the world, in the difciplines of the priftine wars of the Romans.

Jamy. I fay, gudday, Captain Fluellen.

Flu. Godden to your worship, good captain James. Gower. How now, captain Mackmorris, have you quitted the mines? have the pioneers given o'er ?

Mack. By Chrish law, tifh ill done; the work ifh give over, the trumpet found the retreat. By my hand, I swear, and by my father's foul, the work ifh ill done; it ifh give over; I would have blowed up the town, fo Chrifh fave me law, in an hour. O tifh ill done, tish ill done; by my hand, tifh ill done.

Flu. Captain Mackmorris, I beseech you now, will you vouchsafe me, look you, a few difputations with you, as partly touching or concerning the difciplines of the war, the Roman wars, in the way of argument, look you, and friendly communication; partly, to fatisfy my opinion; and partly for the fatisfaction, look you, of my mind; as touching the direction of the military difcipline, that is the point.

Jamy. It fall be very gud, gud feith, gud captains bath, and I fall quit you with gud leve, as I may pick occafion; that fall I, marry.

Mack. It is no time to difcourfe, fo Chrifh fave me: the day is hot, and the weather and the wars, and the King and the Duke; it is not time to difcourfe, the

05

town