Come, side by side together live and die;
And soul with soul from France to heaven fly.

Alarum: Excursions, wherein Talbot's son is hemm'd about, and Talbot rescues him,

Tal. Saint George, and victory! fight, soldiers,

fight: The regent hath with Talbot broke his word, And left us to the rage age of France his sword. Where is John Talbot? pause, and take thy

breath;

-

I gave thee life, and rescu'd thee from death. John. O twice my father! twice am I thy

son:

The life, thou gav'st me first, was lost and done;

Till with thy warlike sword, despight of fate,
To my determin'd time thou gav'st new date.

Tal. When from the Dauphin's crest thy

sword struck fire,

It warm'd thy father's heart with proud desire Of bold - fac'd victory. Then leaden age, Quicken'd with youthful spleen, and warlike

rage,

Beat down Alençon, Orleans, Burgundy,
And from the pride of Gallia rescu'd thee.
The ireful bastard Orleans that drew blood
From thee, my boy; and had the maidenhood
Of thy first fight - I soon encountered;

!

And, interchanging blows, I quickly shed
Some of his bastard blood; and, in disgrace,

1

Bespoke him thus: Contaminated, base,
And mis-begotten blood I spill of thine,

Mean and right poor; for that pure blood of

mine,

Which thou didst force from Talbot, my brave

\

boy: Here, purposing the Bastard to destroy,

Came in strong rescue. Speak, thy father's

care;

Art not thou weary, John? How dost thou

fare?

Wilt thou yet leave the battle, boy, and fly,
Now thou art seal'd the son of chivalry?
Fly, to revenge my death, when I am dead;
The help of one stands me in little stead.
O, too much folly is it, well I wot,
To hazard all our lives in one small boat.
If I to day die not with Frenchmen's rage,
To-morrow I shall die with mickle age:
By me they nothing gain, an if I stay,
'Tis but the short'ning of my life one day:
In thee thy mother dies, our houshold's name,
My death's revenge, thy youth, and England's

fame:

All these, and more, we hazard by thy stay; All these are sav'd, if thou wilt fly away.

John. The sword of Orleans hath not made

me smart,

These words of yours draw life-blood from my heart:

On that advantage, bought with such a shame, —
To save a paltry life, and slay bright fame, -
Before young Talbot from old Talbot fly,
The coward horse, that bears me, fall and die!
And like me to the peasant boys of France;
To be shame's scorn, and subject of mischance!
Surely, by all the glory you have won,
An if I fly, I am not Talbot's son:

Then talk no more of flight, it is no boot;
If son to Talbot, die at Talbot's foot.

Tal. Then follow thou thy desperate sire of

Crete,

Thou Icarus; thy life to me is sweet:
If thou wilt fight, fight by thy father's side;
And, commendable prov'd, let's die in pride.

۱

[Exeunt.

SCENE VII.

Another part of the same.

Alarum: Excursions. Enter TALBOT wounded, supported by a Servant.

Tal. Where is my other life? -mine own is

gone;
O, where's young Talbot? where is valiant
John?

Triumphant death, smear'd with captivity!
Young Talbot's valour makes me smile at thee:-
When he perceiv'd me shrink, and on my knee,
His bloody sword he brandish'd over me,
And, like a hungry lion, did commence
Rough deeds of rage, and stern impatience:
But when my angry guardant stood alone,
Tend'ring my ruin, and assail'd of none,
Dizzy-ey'd fury, and great rage of heart,
Suddenly made him from my side to start
Into the clust'ring battle of the French:
And in that sea of blood my boy did drench
His over-mounting spirit; and there dy'd
My Icarus, my blossom, in his pride.

Enter Soldiers, bearing the body of Johu

Talbot.

Serv. O my dear lord! lo, where your son

is borne!

Tal. Thou antick death, which laugh'st us

here to scorn,

Anon, from thy insulting tyranny,

Coupled in bonds of perpetuity,

Two Talbots, winged through the lither sky,

In thy despight, shall 'scape mortality.

O thou whose wounds become hard-favour'd

death,

Speak to thy father, ere thou yield thy breath:

Brave death by speaking, whether he will, or

no;

Imagine him a Frenchman, and thy foe. -
Poor boy! he smiles, methinks; as who should

say

Had death been French, then death had died to

day. Come, come, and lay him in his father's arms; My spirit can no longer bear these harms. Soldiers, adieu! I have what I would have, Now my old arms are young John Talbot's grave. [dies.

Alarums. Exeunt Soldiers and Servant, leaving the two bodies. Enter CHARLES, ALENÇOn, BURGUNDY, Bastard, LA PUCELLE, and forces.

Char. Had York and Somerset brought rescue

in,

We should have found a bloody day of this.
Bast. How the young whelp of Talbot's,

raging-wood,

:

Did flesh his puny sword in Frenchmen's blood!
Puc. Once I encounter'd him, and thus I

-

said,

Thou maiden youth, be vanquish'd by a maid:
But with a proud, majestical, high scorn, -
He ar wer'd thus; Young Talbot was not born
To be the pillage of a giglot wench:
So, rushing in the bowels of the French,

He left me proudly, as unworthy fight.

;

Bur. Doubtless, he would have made a noble

knight:

See, where he lies inhersed in the arms
Of the most bloody nurser of his harms.

Bast. Hew them to pieces, hack their bones

asunder;

Whose life was England's glory, Gallia's

wonder.

Char. O, no; forbear: for that which we
have fled

During the life, let us not wrong it dead.

Enter Sir William Lucy, attended; a French
herald preceding.

Lucy. Herald,

Conduct me to the Dauphin's tent; to know
Who hath obtain'd the glory of the day.

Char. On what submissive message art thou

sent?

Lucy. Submission, Dauphin? 'tis a mere

French word;

We English warriors wot not what it means.
I come to know what prisoners thou hast ta'en,
And to survey the bodies of the dead.

Char. For prisoners ask'st thou? hell our pri-

son is.

But tell me whom thou seek'st.

L12