P

Pift. Bid him prepare, for I will cut his throat.
Fr. Sol. Que dit-il, Monfieur?

Boy. Il me commande de vous dire que vous vous teniez preft; car ce foldat icy eft difpofé tout à cette heure de couper vofire gorge.

Pift. Owy, cuppelle gorge, parmafoy, pefant, unless thou give me crowns, brave crowns: or mangled fhalt thou be by this my fword.

Fr. Sol. O, je vous fupplie pour l'amour de Dieu, me pardonner; je fuis gentilhomme de bonne maison, gardez ma vie, & je vous donneray deux cents efcus.

Pift. What are his words?

Boy. He prays you to fave his life, he is a gentleman of a good house, and for his ransom he will give you two hundred crowns.

Pift. Tell him, my fury shall abate, and I the crowns will take.

Fr. Sol. Petit Monfieur, que dit-il ?

Boy. Encore qu'il eft contre fon jurement, de pardonner aucun prifonnier: neantmoins pour les efcus que vous l'avez promettes, il eft content de vous donner la liberté, le franchisement.

Fr. Sol. Sur mes genoux je vous donne mille remerciemens, & je me efime heureux qui je fuis tombé entre les mains d'un Chevalier, je penfe, le plus brave, valiant, & tres eftimé Signeur d'Angleterre.

Pift. Expound unto me, boy.

Boy. He gives you upon his knees a thousand thanks, and efteems himself happy that he hath fall'n into the hands of one, as he thinks, the most brave, valorous, and thrice-worthy Signieur of England.

Pift. As I fuck blood, I will fome mercy shew. Follow me, cur.

Boy. Suivez le grand capitain. [Ex. Pift. and Fr. Sol. I did never know fo full a voice iffue from fo empty a heart; but the faying is true, The empty veffel makes the greatest found.. Bardolph and Nim had ten times more valour than this roaring devil i'th' old play; every one may pare his nails with a wooden dagger: yet they are both hang'd; and fo would this be, if he durft steal

any

any thing advent'rously. I must ftay with the lacqueys, with the luggage 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, Another part of the Field of Battk.

Enter Conftable, Orleans, Bourbon, Dauphin, and Rambures.

Con.

"O Diable!

Orl. O Signeur! le jour eft perdu, tout eft
perdu.

Dau. Mort de ma vie ! all is confounded, all!
Reproach and everlasting shame
Sits mocking in our plumes.
Omefchante fortune!
- do not run away.
Con. Why, all our ranks are broke.

[A short alarm.

Dau. O perdurable fhame let's ftab our selves: Be these the wretches, that we play'd at dice for ? Orl. Is this the King we fent to for his ransom? Bour. Shame, and eternal fhame, nothing but shame! Let us die, inftant : Once more back again; (25) The man, that will not follow Bourbon now, Let him go hence, and with his cap in hand Like a bafe pander hold the chamber-door, Whilft by a flave, no gentler than a dog, His fairest daughter is contaminated.

Con. Disorder, that hath spoil'd us, friend us now! Let us on heaps go offer up our lives.

Orl. We are enow, yet living in the field,

To fmother up the English in our throngs ;

(25) Let us dye, inftant: Once more back again ;] This Verfes which is quite left out in Mr. Pope's Editions, ftands imperfect in the first Folio. By the Addition of a Syllable, I think, I have retriev'd the Poet's Senfe. It is thus in the Old Copy;

Let us dye in once more back again.

If

If any order might be thought upon.

Bour. The devil take order now! I'll to the throng; Let-life be fhort, elfe fhame will be too long. [Exeunt.

Alarum. Enter the King and his train, with prisoners.

K. Henry. Well have we done, thrice valiant country

men;

But all's not done; the French yet keep the field.

Exe. The Duke of York commends him to your Majefty.

K. Henry. Lives he, good uncle? thrice within this

hour

I faw him down; thrice up again, and fighting:
From helmet to the fpur all bleeding o'er.

Exe. In which array, brave foldier, doth he lie,
Larding the plain; and by his bloody fide
(Yoak-fellow to his honour-owing wounds)
The noble Earl of Suffolk alfo lies.

Suffolk first dy'd, and York, all haggled over,
Comes to him where in gore he lay infteep'd,
And takes him by the beard; kiffes the gafhes,
That bloodily did yawn upon his face,

And cries aloud, " tarry, my coufin Suffolk,
My foul fhall thine keep company to heav'n:
"Tarry, fweet foul, for mine, then fly a-breast:
As in this glorious and well-foughten field
We kept together in our chivalry.

Upon these words I came, and cheer'd him up;
He fmil'd me in the face, gave me his hand,
And, with a feeble gripe, fays, "dear
my lord,
Commend my fervice to my Sovereign;
So did he turn, and over Suffolk's neck
He threw his wounded arm, and kist his lips;
And fo efpous'd to death, with blood he feal'd
A teftament of noble-ending love.

The pretty and fweet manner of it forc'd

Those waters from me, which I would have stop'd;
But I had not fo much of man in me,
But all my mother came into mine eyes,

And gave me up to tears.

·K. Henry. ·

K. Henry. I blame you not;

For, hearing this, I must perforce compound (26)

With mistful eyes, or they will iffue too.

But, hark, what new alarum is this fame?

Then every foldier kill his prisoners.

The French have re-inforc'd their scatter'd men;

Give the word through.

[Alarum.

[Exeunt.

Alarms continued; after which, Enter Fluellen and Gower.

Flu. Kill the poyes and the luggage! 'tis exprefly against the law of arms; (27) 'tis as arrant a piece of Knavery,

(26) For, hearing this, I must perforce compound With mixtfull Eyes,] What monfter of a Word is this mixt full! The Poet certainly wrote, miftfull: i. e. just ready to over-run with Tears. The Word he took from his Observation of Nature: for just before Tears burft out, it appears as if there was a Mift before our Eyes. Mr. Warburton.

(27) Kill the Poyes and the luggage! 'tis expressly against the Law of Arms;] In the Old Folio's, the 4th A&t is made to begin here. But as the Matter of the Chorus, which is to come betwixt the 4th and 5th Acts, will by no means fort with the Scenary that here follows; I have chofe to fall in with the other Regulation. Mr. Pope gives a Reason, why this Scene fhould be connective to the preceding Scenes but his Reason,` according to Custom, is a mistaken one. The Words of Fluellen, (he says,) immediately follow thofe of the King just before. The King's last Words, at his going off, were;

Then ev'ry Soldier kill his Prisoners:

'Give the Word through.

Now Mr. Pope muft very accurately suppose, that Fluellen overhears this: and that by replying, Kill the Poyes and the Luggage! 'tis expressly against the Law of Arms; he is condemning the King's Order, as against martial Difcipline. But this is a moft abfurd Suppofition. Fluellen neither overhears, nor replys to, what the King had faid: nor has kill the Poyes and the Luggage any reference to the Soldiers' killing their Prisoners. Nay, on the contrary (as there is no Interval of an A& here,) there muft be fome little Paufe betwixt the King's going off, and Fluellen's Entring: (and therefore I have faid, Alarms conti

pued;)

Knavery, mark you now, as can be defir'd in your confcience now, is it not?

Gow. 'Tis certain, there's not a boy left alive; and the cowardly rafcals, that ran away from the battle, ha' done this flaughter: befides, they have burn'd or carried away all that was in the King's tent; wherefore the King moit worthily has caus'd ev'ry foldier to cut his prifoner's throat. O'tis a gallant King!

Flu. I, he was porn at Monmouth, captain Gower; what call you the town's name, where Alexander the pig, was born?

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, fave the phrafe 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 is porn: I tell you, captain, if you look in the maps of the orld: I warrant, that you fall find, in the comparifons between Macedon and Monmouth, that the fituafions, look you, is both alike. There is a river in Macedon, there is alfo morever a river at Monmouth: it is call'd Wye at Monmouth, but it is out of my prains, what is the name of the other river; but it is all one,

nued;) for we find by Gower's first Speech, that the Soldiers had already cut their Prisoners Throats, which requir'd fome time to do. The Matter is this. The Baggage, during the Battle, (as K. Henry had no Men to fpare,) was guarded only by Boys and Lacqueys; which some French Run-aways getting notice of, they came down upon the English Camp-boys, whom they kill'd, and plunder'd and burn'd the Baggage: in Refentment of which Villany it was, that the King, contrary to his wonted Lerity, order'd all Prisoners Throats to be cut. And to this Villany of the French Run-aways Fluellen is alluding, when he says, Kill the Poyes and the Luggage. The Fact is fet out, (as Mr. Pope might have obferved) both by Hall and Hollingshead,

VOL. IV.

'tis