The well-appointed King at Hampton Peer +
Embark his royalty, and his brave fleet
With filken ftreamers the young Phabus 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' invifible 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 majeftical,

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 who 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 see a siege;
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 lynstock now the devilish cannon touches,
And down goes all before him. Still be kind,
And eke out our performance with your mind. [Exit.

SCENE II.

Before HARFLEUR.
[Alarm and Cannon go off.]

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

K.Henry.

NCE more unto the breach, dear friends,

once more;

*Or clofe the wall up with the Englife dead.
In peace, there's nothing fo becomes a man
As modeft ftillness and humility;

But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the Tyger;
Stiffen the finews, fummon up the blood,
Difguile fair nature with hard-favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible afpect;
Let it pry thro' the 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 wafteful ocean.
Now fet the teeth, and ftretch the noftril wide;
Hold hard the breath, and bend up every spirit
To his full height. Now on, you noblest English,

lynflock The flaff to which the match is fixed when ordnance is fired.

Or fe the wall, &c.] Here is apparently a chafin. One line at least is 1, which contained the other part of a disjunctive propofition. The King's fpeech is, Dear friends, either win the town, or defe up the wall with dead. The old 4to gives no help.

7

Portage of the head.] Port age, open space, from pert, a gate. Let the eye appear in the head, as cannon through the batt'ements, or embrafures, of a fortification.

His confounded beft.] His worn or wafted base.

7 -

bend up every spirit] A metaphor from the bow.

Whofe

Whofe blood is fetcht from fathers of war proof;
Fathers, that, like fo many Alexanders,

Have in these parts from morn till even fought,
And sheath'd their fwords for lack of argument
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest,

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

And teach them how to war. And you, good yeomen,
Whose 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 base,
That hath not noble luftre in your eyes.
1 fee you stand 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 Cannons go off.

SCENE III.

Enter Nim, Bardolph, Pistol, 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 song of it.

Pift. The plain fong is most juft, for humours do abound,

Knocks go and come; God's vaffals drop and die;
And fword and fhield,
In bloody field,

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

If wishes would prevail with me',

My purpose should not fail with me,
But thither would I hye.

Enter Fluellen.

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

cullions.

Pit. 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 obferved thefe three fwathers. I am boy to them all three; but all they three, though they would ferve me, could not be man to me; for, indeed, three fuch Anticks do not mount 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 Pistol, 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 should 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

This paffage I have replaced from the first folio, which is the only authentic copy of this play. Thefe lines, which perhaps are part of a fong. Mr. Pope did not like,and therefore changed them, in conformity to the imperfect play in 4to, and was followed

2

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 handkerchers, 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 muft leave them, and feek fome better fervice; their villainy goes against my weak ftomach, and therefore I muft caft it up. [Exit Boy.

Enter Gower, and Fluellen.

Gower. Captain Fluellen, you must come prefently to the mines; the Duke of Gloucester 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' athversary (you may difcufs 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.

S

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

Flu. It is captain Macmorris, is it not?

Gower. I think, it be.

Flu. By Chefbu he is an Afs, as is in the world; I will verify as much in his beard. He has no more

3

the men would carry coals.] It appears that in ShakeSpeare's age, to carry coals was, I know not why, to endure affronts. So in Romeo and Juliet, one fervingman asks another whether he will carry coals.

4 is digt bimfelf four yards under the countermines :] Fluellen means, that the enemy had digged himself countermines four yards under the mines.

5. will plow up all.] That is, he will blow up all.

directions