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The fad-ey'd juftice with his furly hum,
Delivering o'er to executors pale
The lazy yawning drone. I this infer,
That many things, having full reference
To one confent, may work contrariously :
As many arrows, loofed feveral ways,

Come to one mark: as many ways meet in one town;
As many fresh ftreams meet in one falt fea;
As many lines clofe in the dial's center;

So may a thousand actions, once a-foot,
End in one purpose, and be all well born
Without defeat. Therefore to France, my Liege.
Divide your happy England into four,
Whereof take you one quarter into France;
And you withal fhall make all Gallia fhake:
If we, with thrice fuch powers left at home,
Cannot defend our own doors from the dog,
Let us be worried; and our Nation lofe

The name of hardiness and policy.

[pbin. K. Henry. Call in the meffengers, fent from the Dau

Now are we well refolv'd; and by God's help
And yours, the noble finews of our power,
France being ours, we'll bend it to our awe,
Or break it all to pieces. There we'll fit,
Ruling in large and ample empery,

O'er France, and all her almost kingly Dukedoms;
Or lay these bones in an unworthy urn,

Tomblefs, with no remembrance over them.

Either our History fhall with full mouth

Speak freely of our acts; or else our grave,

Like Turkish mute, fhall have a tongueless mouth;
Not worshipt with a waxen epitaph.

Enter Ambaffadors of France.

Now are we well prepar'd to know the pleasure
Of our fair coufin Dauphin; for we hear,
Your greeting is from him, not from the King.
Amb. May't please your Majefty to give us leave
Freely to render what we have in charge:
Or fhall we sparingly fhew you far off

The Dauphin's meaning, and our embaffie?

K. Henry. We are no tyrant, but a christian King,
Unto whofe grace our paffion is as fubject,

As are our wretches fetter'd in our prifons:
Therefore, with frank and with uncurbed plainness,
Tell us the Dauphin's mind.

Amb. Thus then, in few.

Your Highness, lately fending into France,
Did claim fome certain Dukedoms in the right
Of your great predeceffor, Edward the third.
In answer of which claim, the Prince our master
Says, that you favour too much of your youth;
And bids you be advis'd: there's nought in France,
That can be with a nimble galliard won;
You cannot revel into Dukedoms there :
He therefore fends you (meeter for your spirit)
This tun of treasure; and in lieu of this,
Defires you, let the Dukedoms, that you claim,
Hear no more of you. This the Dauphin fpeaks.
K. Henry. What treasure, uncle?

Exe. Tennis-balls, my Liege.

Lus.

K. Henry. We're glad, the Dauphin is fo pleasant with His prefent, and your pains, we thank you for. When we have match'd our rackets to thefe balls, We will in France, by God's grace, play a fet, Shall ftrike his father's Crown into the hazard. Tell him, h'ath made a match with fuch a wrangler, That all the Courts of France will be difturb'd With chaces. And we understand him well, How he comes o'er us with our wilder days; Not measuring, what ufe we made of them. We never valu'd this poor feat of England, And therefore, living hence, did give our self To barb'rous licence; as 'tis ever common, That men are merrieft, when they are from home. But tell the Dauphin, I will keep my State, Be like a King, and fhew my fail of Greatness When I do rowze me in my throne of France. For that I have laid by my Majefty, And plodded like a man for working days;

;

But I will rife there with fo full a glory,
That I will dazzle all the eyes of France;
Yea, ftrike the Dauphin blind to look on us.
And tell the pleasant Prince, this mock of his
Hath turn'd his balls to gun-ftones; and his foul
Shall ftand fore charged for the wafteful vengeance,
That fhall fly with them: many thousand widows
Shall this his Mock mock out of their dear husbands
Mock mothers from their fons, mock caftles down:
And fome are yet ungotten and unborn,

That shall have cause to curfe the Dauphin's fcorn.
But this lies all within the will of God,
To whom I do appeal; and in whose name,
Tell you the Dauphin, I am coming on
To venge me as I may; and to put forth
My rightful hand in a well-hallow'd caufe.
So get you hence in peace; and tell the Dauphin,
His jeft will favour but of fhallow wit,
When thousands weep, more than did laugh at it.
Convey them with fafe conduct. Fare ye well.

Exe. This was a merry meffage.

[Exeunt Ambaffadors.

K. Henry. We hope to make the fender blush at it: Therefore, my lords, omit no happy hour, That may give furth'rance to our expedition; For we have now no thoughts in us but France, Save those to God, that run before our bufinefs. Therefore, let our proportions for these wars Be foon collected, and all things thought upon, That may with reasonable swiftnefs add More feathers to our wings: for, God before, We'll chide this Dauphin at his father's door. Therefore let every man now task his thought, That this fair action may on foot be brought. [Exeunt. Enter Chorus.

Chorus. Now all the youth of England are on fire, (10) And filken dalliance in the wardrobe lies:

VOL. IV.

B

Now

(10) Now all the Youth of England] I have replaced this Chorus here, by the Authority of the Old Folie's; and ended the firft A, as the Poet

certainly

Now thrive the armourers, and honour's thought
Reigns folely in the breaft of every man.
They fell the pafture now, to buy the horse;
Following the mirror of all Chriftian Kings,
With winged heels, as English Mercuries.
For now fits Expectation in the air,

And hides a fword from hilts unto the point
With Crowns imperial; Crowns, and Coronets,
Promis'd to Harry and his followers.
The French, advis'd by good intelligence
Of this moft dreadful preparation,
Shake in their fear; and with pale policy
Seek to divert the English purposes.

O England! model to thy inward greatness,

certainly intended. Mr. Pope remov'd it, becaufe (fays He) This Chorus manifeftly is intended to advertise the Spectators of the Change of the Scene to Southampton; and therefore ought to be placed just before that Change, and not here. 'Tis true, the Spectators are to be inform'd, that, when they next fee the King, they are to fuppofe him at Southampton. But This does not imply any Neceffity of this Chorus being contiguous to that Change. On the contrary, the very concluding Lines vouch abfolutely against it.

But, till the King come forth, and not till then,

Unto Southampton do we fhift our Scene.

For how abfurd is fuch a Notice, if the Scene is to change, fo foon as ever the Chorus quits the Stage? Befides, unless this Chorus be prefix'd to the Scene betwixt Nim, Bardolfe, &c, We fhall draw the Poet into another Abfurdity. Piftol, Nim, and Bardolfe are in this Scene talking of going to the Wars in France: but the King had but juft, at his quitting the Stage, declar'd his Refolutions of commencing this War: And without the Interval of an A, betwixt that Scene and the Comic Characters entring, how could They with any Probability be inform'd of this intended Expedition? If Mr. Pope had ever read Monfieur Hedelin's moft curious Treatife, call'd, La Pratique du Theatre, he would have known, that one main use of the Intervals of Acts is, that fuch a Pause thould (facilite cette agreable illufion qu'il faut faire aux Spectateurs ;) facilitate that agreeable Deception, which must be put upon the Spectators. Tho a Tune between the Acts takes up but a very little time, yet the Audiences are always willing to help their own Deception fo far, to allow as much Time spent in it, as the Poet finds neceffary should be employ'd in the Conduct of his Fable. And therefore 'tis the Practice of all knowing Poets, where more Time is to be skip'd over than could be taken up in the Action upon the Stage, to fuppofe that intermediate Time spent during the Intervals of the Acts: by which Artifice the Spectators come into the Deceit, and are not fhock'd by a too flagrant Improbability.

Like little body with a mighty heart;

What might'st thou do, that honour would thee do,
Were all thy children kind and natural !

But fee, thy fault France hath in thee found out;
A neft of hollow bofoms, which he fills
With treach'rous crowns; and three corrupted men,
One, Richard Earl of Cambridge, and the second,
Henry Lord Scroop of Maham, and the third,
Sir Thomas Grey Knight of Northumberland,
Have for the gilt of France (O guilt, indeed!)
Confirm'd confpiracy with fearful France:
And by their hands this grace of Kings muft die,
If hell and treafon hold their promifes,
Ere He take ship for France; and in Southampton.
Linger your patience on, and well digest
Th' abuse of distance, while we force a play.
The fum is paid, the traitors are agreed,
The King is fet from London, and the scene
Is now transported, gentles, to Southampion:
There is the play-houfe now, there muft you fit;
And thence to France fhall we convey you fafe,
And bring you back; charming the narrow feas
To give you gentle pass: for if we may, (11)
We'll not offend one ftomach with our play.
But, till the King come forth, and not till then,
Unto Southampton do we fhift our scene.

(11)

charming the narrow Seas

[Exit.

To give you gentle Pafs:] Ben Jonson, in the Prologue to his Every Man in his Humour, feems to me to have flurted invidiously at this Play of our Author's.

He rather prays, you will be pleas'd to fee

One fuch to day, as other Plays should be;

Where neither Chorus wafts you o'er the Seas, &c.

Now this Comedy of Ben's was acted in the Year 1598, fo that Henry 5th, confequently, had made its Appearance on the Stage earlier than that Period.

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