SCENE IV.

France. Before Orleans.

Enter, on the Walls, the Master-Gunner and his Son.

M. Gun. Sirrah, thou know'st how Orleans is

besieg'd;

And how the English have the suburbs won.

{

Son. Father, I know; and oft have shot at them, Howe'er, unfortunate, I miss'd my aim.

M. Gun. But now thou shalt not. Be thou rul'd by me:

Chief master gunner am I of this town;
Something I must do, to procure me grace.
The prince's espials have informed me,

8

How the English, in the suburbs close intrench'd,
Wont, through a secret grate of iron bars
In yonder tower, to overpeer the city;

And thence discover, how, with most advantage,
They may vex us, with shot, or with assault.
To intercept this inconvenience,

A piece of ordnance 'gainst it I have plac'd;
And fully even these three days have I watch'd,
If I could see them. Now, boy, do thou watch,
For I can stay no longer.

L

If thou spy'st any, run and bring me word;
And thou shalt find me at the governor's.

[Exit.

gives to his Mayors. The Mayor of London, in Richard III. is just of the same stamp. And so is the Mayor of York in the Third Part of this play, where he refuses to admit Edward as King, but lets him into the city as Duke of York, on which Gloster says"A wise stout captain! and persuaded soon.

"Hast. The good old man would fain that all were well." Such are all Shakspeare's Mayors. M. MASON.

The prince's espials] Espials are spies.

Son. Father, I warrant you; take you no care; I'll never trouble you, if I may spy them.

Enter, in an upper Chamber of a Tower, the Lords
SALISBURY and TALBOT, Sir WILLIAM GLANS-
DALE, Sir THOMAS GARGRAVE, and Others.

Sal. Talbot, my life, my joy, again return'd!
How wert thou handled, being prisoner?
Or by what means got'st thou to be releas'd?
Discourse, I pr'ythee, on this turret's top.

Tal. The duke of Bedford had a prisoner,
Called the brave lord Ponton de Santrailles;
For him I was exchang'd and ransomed.
But with a baser man of arms by far,

Once, in contempt, they would have barter'd me:
Which I, disdaining, scorn'd; and craved death
Rather than I would be so pil'd esteem'd."
In fine, redeem'd I was as I desir'd,

But, O! the treacherous Fastolfe wounds my heart!
Whom with my bare fists I would execute,

If I now had him brought into my power.

Sal. Yet tell'st thou not, how thou wert entertain'd.

Tal. With scoffs, and scorns, and contumelious taunts.

In open market-place produc'd they me,

To be a publick spectacle to all;

Here, said they, is the terror of the French,
The scare-crow that affrights our children so.
Then broke I from the officers that led me;
And with my nails digg'd stones out of the ground,
To hurl at the beholders of my
shame.

១ - so pil'd esteem'd.] Some of the modern editors read, but without authority-so vile-esteem'd.-So pill'd, may mean-so pil lag'd, so stripp'd of honours; but Mr. Steevens thinks Shakspeare wrote fhilistin'd; i. e. treated as Sampson was by the Philistines.

My grisly countenance made others fly;
None durst come near for fear of sudden death.
In iron walls they deem'd me not secure ;

So great fear of my name 'mongst them was spread,
That they suppos'd, I could rend bars of steel,
And spurn in pieces posts of adamant:
Wherefore a guard of chosen shot I had,
That walk'd about me every minute-while;
As if I did but stir out of
my bed,
Ready they were to shoot me to the heart.
Sal. I grieve to hear what torments
But we will be reveng'd sufficiently.
Now it is supper-time in Orleans:

you

endur'd;

Here, through this grate, I can count every one,
And view the Frenchmen how they fortify;
Let us look in, the sight will much delight thee.-
Sir Thomas Gargrave, and sir William Glansdale,
Let me have your express opinions,

Where is best place to make our battery next.

Gar. I think, at the north gate; for there stand lords.

Glan. And I, here, at the bulwark of the bridge. Tal. For aught I see, this city must be famish'd, Or with light skirmishes enfeebled.

[Shot from the Town. SALISBURY and Sir THO. GARGRAVE fall.

Sal. O Lord, have mercy on us, wretched sinners!
Gar. O Lord, have mercy on me, woeful man!
Tal. What chance is this, that suddenly hath
cross'd us?-

Speak, Salisbury; at least, if thou can'st speak;
How far'st thou, mirror of all martial men?

One of thy eyes, and thy cheek's side struck off!'—

Ithy cheek's side struck off!] Cambden says in his Remaines, that the French scarce knew the use of great ordnance, till the siege of Mans in 1455, when a breach was made in the walls of that town by the English, under the conduct of this earl of Salis

Accursed tower! accursed fatal hand,
That hath contriv'd this woeful tragedy!
In thirteen battles Salisbury o'ercame;
Henry the fifth he first train'd to the wars;
Whilst any trump did sound, or drum struck up;
His sword did ne'er leave striking in the field.

Yet liv'st thou, Salisbury? though thy speech doth

fail,

One eye thou hast, to look to heaven for
grace:
The sun with one eye vieweth all the world.-
Heaven, be thou gracious to none alive,
If Salisbury wants mercy at thy hands!—
Bear hence his body, I will help to bury it.
Sir Thomas Gargrave: hast thou any life?
Speak unto Talbot; nay, look up to him.
Salisbury, cheer thy spirit with this comfort;
Thou shalt not die, whiles-

He beckons with his hand, and smiles on me;
As who should say, When I am dead and gone,
Remember to avenge me on the French.-
Plantagenet, I will; and Nero-like,

Play on the lute, beholding the towns burn:
Wretched shall France be only in my name.

[Thunder heard; afterwards an Alarum. What stir is this? What tumult's in the heavens ? Whence cometh this alarum, and the noise?

Enter a Messenger.

Mess. My lord, my lord, the French have ga

ther'd head:

The Dauphin, with one Joan la Pucelle join'd,A holy prophetess, new risen up,

Is come with a great power to raise the siege.

[SALISBURY groans.

bury; and that he was the first English gentleman that was slain by a cannon-ball.

Tal. Hear, hear, how dying Salisbury doth

groan!

It irks his heart, he cannot be reveng'd.→→
Frenchmen, I'll be a Salisbury to you:
Pucelle or puzzel,' dolphin or dogfish,

Your hearts I'll stamp out with my horse's heels,
And make a quagmire of your mingled brains,
Convey me Salisbury into his tent,

And then we'll try what these dastard Frenchmen dare. [Exeunt, bearing out the Bodies.

SCENE V.

The same. Before one of the Gates.

Alarum. Skirmishings. TALBOT pursueth the Dauphin, and driveth him in; then enter JOAN LA PUCELLE, driving Englishmen before her. Then enter TALBOT.

Tal. Where is my strength, my valour, and my force?

Our English troops retire, I cannot stay them?
A woman, clad in armour, chaseth them.

Enter LA PUCELLE.

Here, here she comes:I'll have a bout with thee;

Devil, or devil's dam, I'll conjure thee:

3

Blood will I draw on thee, thou art a witch,

* Pucelle or puzzel-] Pussel means a dirty wench or a drab, from puzza, i. e. malus fætor, says Minsheu.

3 Blood will I draw on thee,] The superstition of these times taught that he that could draw the witch's blood, was free from her power. JOHNSON.