Tal. Thanks, gentle duke. But where is Pucelle now? I think her old familiar 6 is asleep :

Now where's the Bastard's braves, and Charles his gleeks? 7 What, all amort? 8 Rouen hangs her head for grief,

That such a valiant company are fled.

Now will we take some order in the town,
Placing therein some expert officers;
And then depart to Paris to the King,

For there young Henry with his nobles lie.

Bur. What wills Lord Talbot pleaseth Burgundy.
Tal. But yet, before we go, let's not forget
The noble Duke of Bedford late deceased,
But see his exequies fulfill'd in Rouen :
A braver soldier never crouchèd lance,
A gentler heart did never sway in Court:
But kings and mightiest potentates must die,
For that's the end of human misery.

SCENE III. The Plains near Rouen.

[Exeunt.

Enter CHARLES, the Bastard of Orleans, ALENÇON, LA PU-
CELLE, and Forces.

Puc. Dismay not, princes, at this accident,
Nor grieve that Rouen is so recovered:
Care is no cure, but rather córrosive,
For things that are not to be remedied.
Let frantic Talbot triumph for a while,
And like a peacock sweep along his tail;

6 A familiar was the common attendant of a witch, and was generally an evil spirit disguised in the form of a cat, dog, or some other animal. See Macbeth, i. I, note 2.

7 Charles his is the old usage for Charles's. — Gleeks is scoffs, mocks, or gibes. See vol. iii. page 45, note II.

8 Quite cast down or dispirited; the same as mortified.

We'll pull his plumes, and take away his train,
If Dauphin and the rest will be but ruled.

Char. We have been guided by thee hitherto,
And of thy cunning had no diffidence:
One sudden foil shall never breed distrust.

Bast. Search out thy wit for secret policies,
And we will make thee famous through the world.
Alen. We'll set thy statue in some holy place,
And have thee reverenced like a blessèd saint:
Employ thee, then, sweet virgin, for our good.
Puc. Then thus it must be; this doth Joan devise :
By fair persuasions, mix'd with sugar'd words,

We will entice the Duke of Burgundy

To leave the Talbot and to follow us.

Char. Ay, marry, sweeting, if we could do that, France were no place for Henry's warriors;

Nor should that nation boast it so with us,

But be extirpèd1 from our provinces.

Alen. For ever should they be expulsed from France, And not have title of an earldom here.

Puc. Your Honours shall perceive how I will work

To bring this matter to the wishèd end.

[Drums heard.

Hark! by the sound of drum you may perceive

Their powers are marching unto Paris-ward.

An English march. Enter, and pass over at a distance, TALBOT and his Forces.

There goes the Talbot, with his colours spread,

And all the troops of English after him.

A French march. Enter the Duke of BURGUNDY and his

Forces.

Now in the rearward comes the duke and his :

1 Extirpèd is but another form of extirpated; rooted out.

Fortune in favour makes him lag behind.
Summon a parley; we will talk with him.

[Trumpets sound a parley.

Char. A parley with the Duke of Burgundy ! Bur. Who craves a parley with the Burgundy? Puc. The princely Charles of France, thy countryman. Bur. What say'st thou, Charles? for I am marching hence. Char. Speak, Pucelle, and enchant him with thy words. Puc. Brave Burgundy, undoubted hope of France ! Stay, let thy humble handmaid speak to thee.

Bur. Speak on; but be not over-tedious.

Puc. Look on thy country, look on fertile France, And see the cities and the towns defaced

By wasting ruin of the cruel foe!

As looks the mother on her lovely babe
When death doth close his tender dying eyes,
See, see the pining malady of France;

Behold the wounds, the most unnatural wounds,
Which thou thyself hast given her woeful breast!
O, turn thy edged sword another way;

Strike those that hurt, and hurt not those that help!
One drop of blood drawn from thy country's bosom
Should grieve thee more than streams of foreign gore:
Return thee, therefore, with a flood of tears,

And wash away thy country's stainèd spots.

Bur. [Aside.] Either she hath bewitch'd me with her words,

Or nature makes me suddenly relent.

Puc. Besides, all French and France exclaim on thee, Doubting thy birth and lawful progeny.

Who join'st thou with, but with a lordly nation,

That will not trust thee but for profit's sake?
When Talbot hath set footing once in France,

And fashion'd thee that instrument of ill,

Who then but English Henry will be lord,

And thou be thrust out like a fugitive?

Call we to mind, — and mark but this for proof, —

Was not the Duke of Orleans thy foe?
And was he not in England prisoner?
But, when they heard he was thine enemy,
They set him free, without his ransom paid,
In spite of Burgundy and all his friends.
See, then, thou fight'st against thy countrymen,
And join'st with them will be thy slaughter-men.
Come, come, return; return, thou wandering lord;
Charles and the rest will take thee in their arms.

Bur. [Aside.] I'm vanquished; these haughty 2 words of

hers

Have batter'd me like roaring cannon-shot,
And made me almost yield upon my knees.
Forgive me, country, and sweet countrymen !
And, lords, accept this hearty kind embrace:
My forces and my power of men are yours :—
So, farewell, Talbot; I'll no longer trust thee.

Puc. Done like a Frenchman,3 - [Aside.] turn, and turn again!

Char. Welcome, brave duke! thy friendship makes us fresh.

Bast. And doth beget new courage in our breasts.
Alen. Pucelle hath bravely play'd her part in this,

And doth deserve a coronet of gold.

Char. Now let us on, my lords, and join our powers;

And seek how we may prejudice the foe.

[Exeunt.

2 Haughty in a good sense, for lofty or high-spirited. The usage was

common.

3 The inconstancy of the French was always a subject of satire. "I have read," says Johnson, "a dissertation written to prove that the index of the wind upon our steeples was made in form of a cock to ridicule the French for their frequent changes."

SCENE IV.

LIBRARY

UNIVERSITY OF

KING HENRY THE SIXTH

ALI

1.

To

SCENE IV. - Paris. A Room in the Palace.

Enter King HENRY, GLOSTER, WINCHESTER, YORK, SUFFOLK,
SOMERSET, WARWICK, EXETER, VERNON, BASSET, &c.

them TALBOT and some of his Officers.

Tal. My gracious Prince, and honourable peers, Hearing of your arrival in this realm,

I have awhile given truce unto my wars,

To do my duty to my sovereign:

In sign whereof, this arm - that hath reclaim'd

To your obedience fifty fortresses,

[Kneeling.

Twelve cities, and seven wallèd towns of strength,
Besides five hundred prisoners of esteem
Lets fall his sword before your Highness' feet,
And with submissive loyalty of heart
Ascribes the glory of his conquest got
First to my God, and next unto your Grace.
King. Is this Lord Talbot, uncle Gloucester,
That hath so long been resident in France?
Glo. Yes, if it please your Majesty, my liege.
King. Welcome, brave captain and victorious lord!
When I was young,
as yet I am not old, —
I do remember1 how my father said
A stouter champion never handled sword.
Long since we were resolvèd2 of your truth,
Your faithful service, and your toil in war;
Yet never have you tasted our reward,
Or been reguerdon'd with so much as thanks,
Because till now we never saw your face :

Therefore stand up; and, for these good deserts,

1 Malone remarks that "Henry was but nine months old when his father died, and never saw him."

2 Resolved, again, for assured or convinced. See page 18, note 9.