King Henry VI, First Part

SCENE III

London. Before the Tower.

[Enter the Duke of Gloucester, with his Serving-men in blue coats.]

GLOUCESTER

 
I am come to survey the Tower this day:
Since Henry's death, I fear, there is conveyance.
Where be these warders that they wait not here?
Open the gates; 'tis Gloucester that calls.
 

FIRST WARDER

 
[Within] Who's there that knocks so imperiously?
 

FIRST SERVING-MAN

 
It is the noble Duke of Gloucester.
 

SECOND WARDER

 
[Within] Whoe'er he be, you may not be let in.
 

FIRST SERVING-MAN

 
Villains, answer you so the lord protector?
 

FIRST WARDER

 
[Within] The Lord protect him! so we answer him:
We do no otherwise than we are will'd.
 

GLOUCESTER

 
Who willed you? or whose will stands but mine?
There's none protector of the realm but I.
Break up the gates, I 'll be your warrantize:
Shall I be flouted thus by dunghill grooms?
Gloucester's men rush at the Tower Gates, and Woodvile the
Lieutenant speaks within.
 

WOODVILE

 
What noise is this? what traitors have we here?
 

GLOUCESTER

 
Lieutenant, is it you whose voice I hear?
Open the gates; here's Gloucester that would enter.
 

WOODVILE

 
Have patience, noble duke; I may not open;
The Cardinal of Winchester forbids:
From him I have express commandment
That thou nor none of thine shall be let in.
 

GLOUCESTER

 
Faint-hearted Woodvile, prizest him 'fore me?
Arrogant Winchester, that haughty prelate
Whom Henry, our late sovereign, ne'er could brook?
Thou art no friend to God or to the King.
Open the gates, or I 'll shut thee out shortly.
 

SERVING-MEN

 
Open the gates unto the lord protector,
Or we 'll burst them open, if that you come not quickly.
 

[Enter to the Protector at the Tower Gates Winchester and his men in tawny coats.]

WINCHESTER

 
How now, ambitious Humphry! what means this?
 

GLOUCESTER

 
Peel'd priest, dost thou command me to be shut out?
 

WINCHESTER

 
I do, thou most usurping proditor,
And not protector, of the king or realm.
 

GLOUCESTER

 
Stand back, thou manifest conspirator,
Thou that contrivedst to murder our dead lord;
Thou that givest whores indulgences to sin:
I 'll canvass thee in thy broad cardinal's hat,
If thou proceed in this thy insolence.
 

WINCHESTER

 
Nay, stand thou back; I will not budge a foot:
This be Damascus, be thou cursed Cain,
To slay thy brother Abel, if thou wilt.
 

GLOUCESTER

 
I will not slay thee, but I 'll drive thee back:
Thy scarlet robes as a child's bearing-cloth
I 'll use to carry thee out of this place.
 

WINCHESTER

 
Do what thou darest; I beard thee to thy face.
 

GLOUCESTER

 
What! am I dared and bearded to my face?
Draw, men, for all this privileged place;
Blue coats to tawny coats. Priest, beware your beard;
I mean to tug it and to cuff you soundly:
Under my feet I stamp thy cardinal's hat:
In spite of pope or dignities of church,
Here by the cheeks I 'll drag thee up and down.
WINCHESTER. Gloucester, thou wilt answer this before the pope.
 

GLOUCESTER

 
Winchester goose, I cry, a rope! a rope!
Now beat them hence; why do you let them stay?
Thee I 'll chase hence, thou wolf in sheep's array.
Out, tawny coats! out, scarlet hypocrite!
Here Gloucester's men beat out the Cardinal's
men, and enter in the hurly-burly the Mayor of
London and his Officers.
 

MAYOR

 
Fie, lords! that you, being supreme magistrates,
Thus contumeliously should break the peace!
 

GLOUCESTER

 
Peace, mayor! thou know'st little of my wrongs:
Here's Beaufort, that regards nor God nor king,
Hath here distrain'd the Tower to his use.
 

WINCHESTER

 
Here's Gloucester, a foe to citizens,
One that still motions war and never peace,
O'ercharging your free purses with large fines,
That seeks to overthrow religion,
Because he is protector of the realm,
And would have armour here out of the Tower,
To crown himself king and suppress the prince.
 

GLOUCESTER

 
I will not answer thee with words, but blows.
Here they skirmish again.
 

MAYOR

 
Nought rests for me in this tumultuous strife
But to make open proclamation:
Come, officer; as loud as e'er thou canst:
Cry.
 

OFFICER. All manner of men assembled here in arms this day against God's peace and the king's, we charge and command you, in his highness' name, to repair to your several dwelling-places; and not to wear, handle, or use any sword, weapon, or dagger, henceforward, upon pain of death.

GLOUCESTER

 
Cardinal, I 'll be no breaker of the law;
But we shall meet, and break our minds at large.
 

WINCHESTER

 
Gloucester, we will meet; to thy cost, be sure;
Thy heart-blood I will have for this day's work.
 

MAYOR

 
I 'll call for clubs, if you will not away.
This Cardinal's more haughty than the devil.
 

GLOUCESTER

 
Mayor, farewell: thou dost but what thou mayst.
 

WINCHESTER

 
Abominable Gloucester, guard thy head;
For I intend to have it ere long.
 

[Exeunt, severally, Gloucester and Winchester with their Serving-men.]

MAYOR

 
See the coast clear'd, and then we will depart.
Good God, these nobles should such stomachs bear!
I myself fight not once in forty year.
 

[Exeunt.]

SCENE IV. Orleans

[Enter, on the walls, a Master Gunner and his Boy.]

MASTER GUNNER

 
Sirrah, thou know'st how Orleans is besieged,
And how the English have the suburbs won.
 

BOY

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

MASTER GUNNER

 
But now thou shalt not. Be thou ruled 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
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 placed;
And even these three days have I watch'd,
If I could see them.
Now do thou watch, for I can stay no longer.
If thou spy'st any, run and bring me word;
And thou shalt find me at the governor's.
 

[Exit.]

BOY

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

[Exit.]

[Enter, on the turrets, the Lords Salisbury and Talbot, Sir William Glansdale, Sir Thomas Gargrave, and others.]

SALISBURY

 
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 prithee, on this turret's top.
 

TALBOT

 
The Duke of Bedford had a prisoner
Call'd the brave Lord Ponton de Santrailles;
For him was I exchanged 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 vile-esteem'd.
In fine, redeem'd I was as I desired.
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.
 

SALISBURY

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

TALBOT

 
With scoffs and scorns and contumelious taunts.
In open market-place produced they me,
To be a public spectacle to all:
Here, said they, is the terror of the French,
The scarecrow 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;
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 supposed 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;
And if I did but stir out of my bed,
Ready they were to shoot me to the heart.
 

[Enter the Boy with a linstock.]

SALISBURY

 
I grieve to hear what torments you endured,
But we will be revenged sufficiently.
Now it is supper-time in Orleans:
Here, through this grate, I count each 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.
 

GARGRAVE

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

GLANSDALE

 
And I, here, at the bulwark of the bridge.
 

TALBOT

 
For aught I see, this city must be famish'd,
Or with light skirmishes enfeebled.
 

[Here they shoot. Salisbury and Gargrave fall.]

SALISBURY

 
O Lord, have mercy on us, wretched sinners!
 

GARGRAVE

 
O Lord, have mercy on me, woful man!
 

TALBOT

 
What chance is this that suddenly hath cross'd us?
Speak, Salisbury: at least, if thou canst speak:
How farest thou, mirror of all martial men?
One of thy eyes and thy cheek's side struck off!
Accursed tower! accursed fatal hand
That hath contrived this woful 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 like thee, Nero,
Play on the lute, beholding the towns burn;
Wretched shall France be only in thy name.
 

[Here an alarum, and it thunders and lightens. ]

 
What stir is this? what tumult's in the heavens?
Whence cometh this alarum and the noise?
 

[Enter a Messenger.]

MESSENGER

 
My lord, my lord, the French have gather'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.
 

[Here SALISBURY lifteth himself up and groans.]

TALBOT

 
Hear, hear how dying Salisbury doth groan!
It irks his heart he cannot be revenged.
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.
 

[Alarum. Exeunt.]

SCENE V. The same

[Here an alarum again: and Talbot pursueth the Dauphin, and driveth him: then enter Joan La Pucelle, driving Englishmen before her, and exit after them: then re-enter Talbot.]

TALBOT

 
Where is my strength, my valor, and my force?
Our English troops retire, I cannot stay them:
A woman clad in armour chaseth them.
 

[Re-enter La Pucelle.]

 
Here, here she comes. I 'll have a bout with thee;
Devil or devil's dam, I 'll conjure thee:
Blood will I draw on thee, thou art a witch,
And straightway give thy soul to him thou servest.
 

PUCELLE

 
Come, come, 'tis only I that must disgrace thee.
 

[Here they fight.]

TALBOT

 
Heavens, can you suffer hell so to prevail?
My breast I 'll burst with straining of my courage,
And from my shoulders crack my arms asunder,
But I will chastise this high-minded strumpet.
 

[They fight again.]

PUCELLE

 
Talbot, farewell; thy hour is not yet come:
I must go victual Orleans forthwith.
 

[A short alarum: then enter the town with soldiers.]

 
O'ertake me, if thou canst; I scorn thy strength.
Go, go, cheer up thy hungry-starved men;
Help Salisbury to make his testament:
This day is ours, as many more shall be.
 

[Exit.]

TALBOT

 
My thoughts are whirled like a potter's wheel;
I know not where I am, nor what I do;
A witch, by fear, not force, like Hannibal,
Drives back our troops and conquers as she lists.
So bees with smoke and doves with noisome stench
Are from their hives and houses driven away.
They call'd us for our fierceness English dogs;
Now, like to whelps, we crying run away.
 

[A short alarum.]

 
Hark, countrymen! either renew the fight,
Or tear the lions out of England's coat;
Renounce your soil, give sheep in lions' stead:
Sheep run not half so treacherous from the wolf,
Or horse or oxen from the leopard,
As you fly from your oft-subdued slaves.
 

[Alarum. Here another skirmish.]

 
It will not be: retire into your trenches:
You all consented unto Salisbury's death,
For none would strike a stroke in his revenge.
Pucelle is ent'red into Orleans,
In spite of us or aught that we could do.
O, would I were to die with Salisbury!
The shame hereof will make me hide my head.
 

[Exit Talbot. Alarum; retreat; flourish.]

SCENE VI. The Same

[Enter, on the walls, La Pucelle, Charles, Reignier, Alencon, and Soldiers.]

PUCELLE

 
Advance our waving colours on the walls;
Rescued is Orleans from the English:
Thus Joan la Pucelle hath perform'd her word.
 

CHARLES

 
Divinest creature, Astraea's daughter,
How shall I honour thee for this success?
Thy promises are like Adonis' gardens
That one day bloom'd and fruitful were the next.
France, triumph in thy glorious prophetess!
Recover'd is the town of Orleans.
More blessed hap did ne'er befall our state.
 

REIGNIER

 
Why ring not out the bells aloud throughout the town?
Dauphin, command the citizens make bonfires
And feast and banquet in the open streets,
To celebrate the joy that God hath given us.
 

ALENCON

 
All France will be replete with mirth and joy,
When they shall hear how we have play'd the men.
 

CHARLES

 
'Tis Joan, not we, by whom the day is won;
For which I will divide my crown with her;
And all the priests and friars in my realm
Shall in procession sing her endless praise.
A statelier pyramis to her I 'll rear
Than Rhodope's of Memphis ever was;
In memory of her when she is dead,
Her ashes, in an urn more precious
Than the rich-jewel'd coffer of Darius,
Transported shall be at high festivals
Before the kings and queens of France.
No longer on Saint Denis will we cry,
But Joan la Pucelle shall be France's saint.
Come in, and let us banquet royally
After this golden day of victory.
 

[Flourish. Exeunt.]

ACT SECOND

SCENE I. Before Orleans

[Enter a Sergeant of a band, with two Sentinels.]

SERGEANT

 
Sirs, take your places and be vigilant:
If any noise or soldier you perceive
Near to the walls, by some apparent sign
Let us have knowledge at the court of guard.
 

FIRST SENTINEL

 
Sergeant, you shall. [Exit Sergeant.
Thus are poor servitors,
When others sleep upon their quiet beds,
Constrain'd to watch in darkness, rain and cold.
 

[Enter Talbot, Bedford, Burgundy, and forces, with scaling-ladders, their drums beating a dead march.]

TALBOT

 
Lord Regent, and redoubted Burgundy,
By whose approach the regions of Artois,
Wallon and Picardy are friends to us,
This happy night the Frenchmen are secure,
Having all day caroused and banqueted:
Embrace we then this opportunity,
As fitting best to quittance their deceit
Contriv'd by art and baleful sorcery.
 

BEDFORD

 
Coward of France, how much he wrongs his fame,
Despairing of his own arm's fortitude,
To join with witches and the help of hell!
 

BURGUNDY

 
Traitors have never other company.
But what 's that Pucelle whom they term so pure?
 

TALBOT

 
A maid, they say.
 

BEDFORD

 
A maid! and be so martial!
 

BURGUNDY

 
Pray God she prove not masculine ere long,
If underneath the standard of the French
She carry armour as she hath begun.
 

TALBOT

 
Well, let them practice and converse with spirits:
God is our fortress, in whose conquering name
Let us resolve to scale their flinty bulwarks.
 

BEDFORD

 
Ascend, brave Talbot; we will follow thee.
 

TALBOT

 
Not all together: better far, I guess,
That we do make our entrance several ways;
That, if it chance the one of us do fail,
The other yet may rise against their force.
 

BEDFORD

 
Agreed: I 'll to yond corner.
 

BURGUNDY

 
And I to this.
 

TALBOT

 
And here will Talbot mount, or make his grave.
Now, Salisbury, for thee, and for the right
Of English Henry, shall this night appear
How much in duty I am bound to both.
 

SENTINEL

 
Arm! arm! the enemy doth make assault!
 

[Cry: 'St George,' 'A Talbot.']

[The French leap over the walls in their shirts.

Enter, several ways, the Bastard of Orleans, Alencon, and

Reignier, half ready, and half unready.]

ALENCON

 
How now, my lords! what, all unready so?
 

BASTARD

 
Unready! aye, and glad we 'scap'd so well.
 

REIGNIER

 
'Twas time, I trow, to wake and leave our beds,
Hearing alarums at our chamber-doors.
 

ALENCON

 
Of all exploits since first I follow'd arms,
Ne'er heard I of a warlike enterprise
More venturous or desperate than this.
 

BASTARD

 
I think this Talbot be a fiend of hell.
 

REIGNIER

 
If not of hell, the heavens, sure, favor him.
 

ALENCON

 
Here cometh Charles: I marvel how he sped.
 

BASTARD

 
Tut, holy Joan was his defensive guard.
 

[Enter Charles and La Pucelle.]

CHARLES

 
Is this thy cunning, thou deceitful dame?
Didst thou at first, to flatter us withal,
Make us partakers of a little gain,
That now our loss might be ten times so much?
 

PUCELLE

 
Wherefore is Charles impatient with his friend?
At all times will you have my power alike?
Sleeping or waking must I still prevail,
Or will you blame and lay the fault on me?
Improvident soldiers! had your watch been good,
This sudden mischief never could have fall'n.
 

CHARLES

 
Duke of Alencon, this was your default,
That, being captain of the watch to-night,
Did look no better to that weighty charge.
 

ALENCON

 
Had all your quarters been as safely kept
As that whereof I had the government,
We had not been thus shamefully surprised.
 

BASTARD

 
Mine was secure.
 

REIGNIER

 
And so was mine, my lord.
 

CHARLES

 
And, for myself, most part of all this night,
Within her quarter and mine own precinct
I was employ'd in passing to and fro,
About relieving of the sentinels:
Then how or which way should they first break in?
 

PUCELLE

 
Question, my lords, no further of the case,
How or which way: 'tis sure they found some place
But weakly guarded, where the breach was made.
And now there rests no other shift but this;
To gather our soldiers, scatter'd and dispersed,
And lay new platforms to endamage them.
 

[Alarum. Enter an English Soldier, crying 'A Talbot! a Talbot!' They fly, leaving their clothes behind.]

SOLDIER

 
I 'll be so bold to take what they have left.
The cry of Talbot serves me for a sword;
For I have loaden me with many spoils,
Using no other weapon but his name.
 

[Exit.]