scholar, Inkhornisms and inkhorn-terms were common expressions.
"If one chance to derive anie word from the Latine, which is insolent
to their ears (as perchance they will take that phrase to be) they
forthwith make a jest of it, and terme it an inkhorne tearme." —
Preface to Guazzo's Civil Conversation, 1586. Florio defines pedan-
taggine "a fond self-conceit in using of ink-pot words or affected
Latinisras, as most pedants do, and is taken in an ill sense." — H. N. H.
71
Act III. Sc. i. THE FIRST PART OF
As by his smoothed brows it doth appear:
Why look you still so stern and tragical?
Glou. Here, Winchester, I offer thee my hand.
King. Fie, uncle Beaufort! I have heard you
preach
That malice was a great and grievous sin ;
And will not you maintain the thing you teach.
But prove a chief offender in the same? 130
Wai\ Sweet king ! the bishop hath a kindly gird.
For shame, my lord of Winchester, relent!
What, shall a child instruct you what to do?
Win. Well, Duke of Gloucester, I will yield to
thee;
Love for thy love and hand for hand I give.
Glou. [Aside] Aye, but, I fear me, with a hollow
heart. —
See here, my friends and loving countrymen ;
This token serveth for a flag of truce
Betwixt ourselves and all our followers:
So help me God, as I dissemble not ! 140
Win. [Aside] So help me God, as I intend it not!
King. O loving uncle, kind Duke of Gloucester,
How joyful am I made by this contract!
Away, my masters! trouble us no more; -
But join in friendship, as your lords have done.
First Serv. Content: I'll to the surgeon's.
Sec. Serv. And so will 1=
Third Serv. And I will see what physic the tavern
affords. [Exeunt Serving-men, Mayor, c^.
131. "hath a kindly gird," receives a meet rebuke. — C. H. H.
142. "Mnd"; Pope, "gentle"; Capell, "kind, kind"; Collier MS.,
'■'end kind"; probably the line should be read: —
"O loving Uncle. \ \ Kind Diike \ of Olducest4r" — I. G.
72
KING HENRY VI Act III. Sc. i.
War, Accept this scroll, most gracious sovereign,
Which is the right of Richard Plantagenet. 1^^
We do exhibit to your majesty.
Gloii. Well urged, my Lord of Warwick: for,
sweet uriiice,
An if your grace mark every circumstance.
You have great reason to do Richard right:
Esj^ecially for those occasions
At Eltham place I told your majesty.
King. And those occasions, uncle, were of force:
Therefore, my loving lords, our pleasure is
That Richard be restored to his blood.
War. Let Richard be restored to his blood; 160
So shall his father's wrongs be recompensed.
Win. As will the rest, so willeth Winchester.
King. If Richard will be true, not that alone
But all the whole inheritance I give
That doth belong unto the house of York,
From whence you spring by lineal descent.
Plan. Thy humble servant vows obedience
And humble service till the point of death.
King. Stoop then and set your knee against my
foot ;
And, in reguerdon of that duty done, 1 ' ^
I gird thee with the valiant sword of York :
Rise, Richard, like a true Plantagenet,
And rise created princely Duke of York.
Plan. And so thrive Richard as thy foes may fall!
156. "At Eltham Place I told," etc., i. e. which I told ... at
Eltham Place.— C. H. H.
173. Holinshed, after setting forth the reconciliation of the duke
and the bishop, adds,— "But when the great fier of tills dissen-
Shk-1-15
7S
Act III. Sc. i. THE FIRST PART OF
And as my duty springs, so perish they
That grudge one thought against your ma-
jesty!
All. Welcome, high prince, the mighty Duke of
York!
So77i. [Aside'] Perish, base prince, ignoble Duke
of York!
Glou. Now will it best avail your majesty
To cross the seas and to be crown'd in
France : 180
The presence of a king engenders love
Amongst his subjects and his loyal friends.
As it disanimates his enemies.
King. When Gloucester says the word, King
Henry goes;
For friendly counsel cuts off many foes.
Glou. Your ships already are in readiness.
[Sennet. Flourish. Exeunt all hut Exeter.
Exe. Aye, we may march in England or in France,
Not seeing what is likely to ensue.
This late dissension grown betwixt the peers
Burns under feigned ashes of forged love, 190
And will at last break out into a flame :
As fester'd members rot but by degree.
Till bones and flesh and sinews fall away,
tion was thus by the arbitrators, to their knowledge and judgment,
utterly quenched out and laid under boord; all other controversies
betweene other lords, taking part with the one partie or the other,
were appeased, and brought to concord, so that for joy the king
caused a solemne fest to be kept on Whitsundaie; on which dale
he created Richard Plantagenet, sonne and heire to the erle of
Cambridge, duke of York, not foreseeing that this preferment should
be his destruction." — H. N. H.
183. "disanimates," discourages.— C. H. H.
74
KING HENRY VI Act in. Sc. ii.
So will this base and envious discord breed.
And now I fear that fatal prophecy
Which in the time of Henry named the fifth
Was in the mouth of every sucking babe;
That Henry born at Monmouth should win all
And Henry born at Windsor lose all:
Which is so plain, that Exeter doth wish 200
His days may finish ere that hapless time.
[E,rit.
Scene II
France. Before Rouen.
Enter La Pucelle disguised, xvith four Soldiers
with sacks upon their hacks.
Puc. These are the city gates, the gates of Rouen,
Through which our policy must make a breach:
Take heed, be wary how you place your words;
Talk like the vulgar sort of market men
That come to gather money for their corn.
If we have entrance, as I hope we shall,
And that we find the slothful watch but weak,
I '11 by a sign give notice to our friends,
That Charles the Dauphin may encounter them.
First Sol. Our sacks shall be a mean to sack the
citv, 10
And we be lords and rulers over Rouen ;
Therefore we '11 knock. [Knocks.
199. "lose," should lose; F. 1, "loose"; Ff. 2, 3, 4, "should lose."—
I.G.
75
Act III. Sc. ii. THE FIRST PART OF
Watch. [Within'l Qui est la?
Puc. Paysans, pauvres gens de France;
Poor market folks that come to sell their corn.
Watch. Enter, go in ; the market bell is rung.
Puc. Now, Rouen, I '11 shake thy bulwarks to the
ground. [Ecceu7it.
Enter Charles _, the Bastard of Orleans j Alengon,
Reignier_, and forces.
Char. Saint Denis bless this happy stratagem!
And once again we '11 sleep secure in Rouen.
Bast. Here enter'd Pucelle and her practisants ; 20
Now she is there, how will she specify
Where is the best and safest j^assage in?
Reign. By thrusting out a torch from yonder
tower ;
Which, once discern' d, shows that her meaning
is,
No way to that, for weakness, which she en-
ter'd.
Enter La Pucelle on the top, thirsting out a torch
hurnhig.
Puc. Behold, this is the happy wedding torch
That joineth Rouen unto her countrymen.
But burning fatal to the Talbotites! [Exit.
Bast. See, noble Charles, the beacon of our friend;
14. "Paysans, pauvres gens de France"; Rowe's emendation of Ff.,
"Peasatins la pouure," etc. — I. G.
25. "No way into the town is so ill-defended as that by which sha
had entered."— C. H. H.
76
KING HENRY VI Act III. Sc. ii.
The burning torch in yonder turret stands. 30
Char. Now shine it like a comet of revenge,
A prophet to the fall of all our foes !
Reign. Defer no time, delays have dangerous ends:
Enter, and cry, 'The Dauphin!' presently.
And then do execution on the watch.
lAlarwm. Exeunt.
An alarum. Enter Talhot in an excursion.
Tal. France, thou shalt rue this treason with thy
tears.
If Talbot but survive thy treachery.
Pucelle, that witch, that damned sorceress.
Hath wrought this hellish mischief unawares.
That hardly we escaped the pride of France. 40
[Exit.
40. "the pride"; Theobald, "the prize"; Hanmer, "being prize";
Jackson, "the bride"; Vaughan, "the gripe." — I. G.
"Pride" here signifies haughty power. So, afterwards, in Act
iv. sc. 6: "And from the pride of Gallia rescu'd thee." — Tlie gen-
eral sentiment of the English respecting Joan of Arc is very well
shown in that the regent, soon after the coronation at Rhcims, wrote
to Charles VII, complaining that "he had, bj^ the allurement of a
develish witch, taken upon him the name, title, and dignitie of the
king of France," and challenging him to a trial of the question by
private combat. Divers other choice vituperative epithets are stuck
upon the heroic maiden by the old chroniclers, such as "false mis-
creant," "a damnable sorcerer suborned by Satan," and "hir per-
nicious practises of sorccrie and witcherie"; and Holinshed is down
upon the prince for having to do with her: "Whose dignitie abroad
was foulic spotted in this point, that contrarie to the holie degree
of a right christen prince, he would not reverence to prophane his
sacred estate by dealing in develish practises with misbeleevers and
witches." There needs but a little knowledge of men as they now
are, to understand how the English of that daj' should think their
power so great that none but spirits could, and their rights so clear
that none but devils would, thwart their purpose. — II. X. H.
77
Act III. Sc. ii. THE FIRST PART OF
An alarum: excursions. Bedford, brought in sick
in a chair. Enter Talbot and Burgundy with-
out: within La Pucelle, Charles, Bastard, Alen-
fon, and Reignier, on the walls.
Puc. Good morrow, gallants! want ye corn for
bread ?
I think the Duke of Burgundy will fast
Before he '11 buy again at such a rate:
'Twas full of darnel; do you like the taste?
Bur. Scoff on, vile fiend and shameless courtezan!
I trust ere long to choke thee with thine own,
And make thee curse the harvest of that corn.
Char. Your grace may starve perhaps before that
time.
Bed. O, let no words, but deeds, revenge this trea-
son!
Puc. What will you do, good graybeard? break
a lance, 50
And run a tilt at death within a chair?
Tal. Foul fiend of France, and hag of all despite,
Encompass'd with thy lustful paramours!
Becomes it thee to taunt his valiant age,
And twit with cowardice a man half dead?
Damsel, I '11 have a bout with you again.
Or else let Talbot perish with this shame.
Puc. Are ye so hot? yet, Pucelle, hold thy peace;
44. "Darnel," says Gcrarde in his Herbal, "hurteth the eyes, and
maketh them dim, if it happen either in corne for breade, or drinke."
La Pucelle means to intimate that the corn she carried with her
had produced the same effect on the guards of Rouen; otherwise
they would have seen through her disguise, and defeated her strat-
agem. — H. N. H.
52. "all despite"; Collier MS., "hell's despite."— I. G.
78
KING HENRY VI Act ill. Sc. u.
If Talbot do but thunder, rain will follow.
[The English whisper together in council.
God speed the parliament! who shall be the
speaker ? ^^
Tal. Dare ye come forth and meet us in the field?
Fuc. Belike your lordship takes us then for fools,
To try if that our own be ours or no.
Tal. I speak not to that railing Hecate,
But unto thee, Alenc^on, and the rest;
Will ye, like soldiers, come and fight it out ?
Alen. Signior, no.
Tal. Signior, hang! base muleters of France!
Like peasant foot-boys do they keep the walls,
And dare not take up arms like gentlemen. '''0
Puc. Away, captains ! let 's get us from the walls ;
For Talbot means no goodness by his looks.
God be wi' you, my lord! we came but to tell
you
That we are here. [Exeunt from the walls.
Tal. And there will be we too, ere it be long,
Or else reproach be Talbot's greatest fame!
Vow, Burgundy, by honor of thy house,
Prick'd on by public wrongs sustain'd in
France,
Either to get the town again or die :
And I, as sure as English Henry lives, 80
And as his father here was conquerer,
As sure as in this late-betrayed town
67. "Signior"; the courtly term is used with ironical politeness. —
C. H. H.
73. "God be wi' you"; Rowe's emendation of Ff., "Ood b' uy."—
I. G.
Act III. Sc. ii. THE FIRST PART OF
Great Coeur-de-lion's heart was buried,
So sure I swear to get the town or die.
Bu?\ ]My vows are equal partners with thy vows.
Tal. But, ere we go, regard this dying prince,
The vaHant Duke of Bedford. Come, my
lord,
We will bestow you in some better place.
Fitter for sickness and for crazy age.
Bed. Lord Talbot, do not so dishonor me: 90
Here will I sit before the walls of Rouen
And will be partner of your weal or woe.
Bur. Courageous Bedford, let us now persuade
you.
Bed. Not to be gone from hence ; for once I read
That stout Pendragon in his litter sick
Came to the field and vanquished his foes:
Methinks I should revive the soldiers' hearts.
Because I ever found them as myself.
Tal. Undaunted spirit in a dying breast!
Then be it- so : heavens keep old Bedford
safe! 100
And now no more ado, brave Burgundy,
But gather we our forces out of hand
And set upon our boasting enemy.
[Exeunt all hut Bedford and Attendants.
'An alarum: excursions. Enter Sir John Fastolfe
and a Captain.
Cap. Whither away. Sir John Falstolfe, in such
haste?
95. "Pendragon," Uther Pendragon, the father of King Arthur. —
C. H. H.
80
KING HENRY VI Act III. Sc. u.
Fast. Whither away! to save myself by flight:
We are hke to have the overtlirow again.
Cap. What! will you fly, and leave Lord Talbot?
Fast. Aye,
All the Talbots in the world, to save my life.
[Ejcit.
Cap. Cowardly knight! ill fortmie follow thee!
[Exit.
Retreat: excursions. La PiiceUe, Alengon^ and
Charles fly.
Bed. Now, quiet soul, depart when heaven
please, 11^
For I have seen our enemies' overthrow.
What is the trust or strength of foolish man?
Thej^ that of late were daring with their scoff's
Are glad and fain by flight to save themselves.
[Bedford dies, and is carried in by two in his chair.
An alarum. Re-enter Talbot, Burgundy^ and
the rest.
Tal. Lost, and recover'd in a day again !
This is a double honor, Burgundy:
Yet heavens have glory for this victory !
114. This scene of feigning, fighting, jesting, dying, and running
away, is a fiction of the Poet's; though there are several passages
in the war in France, that might have furnished a hint and basis
for it. The regent died quietly in his bed at Rouen, September 14,
1435, and was buried in the Cathedral. It is said that some years
after Louis XI, being urged to remove his bones and deface his
monument, replied, — "I will not war with the remains of a prince
who was once a match for your fathers and mine; and who, were
he now alive, would make the proudest of us tremble. Let his ashes
rest in peace, and may the Almighty have mercy on his soul!"—
H. N. H.
81
Act III. Sc. ii. THE FIRST PART OF
Bur. Warlike and martial Talbot, Burgundy
Enshrines thee in his heart and there erects
Thy noble deeds as valor's monuments. 120
Tal. Thanks, gentle duke. But where is Pucelle
now ?
I think her old familiar is asleep:
Now where 's the Bastard's braves, and Charles
his gleeks?
What, all amort? 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 131
The noble Duke of Bedford late deceased,
But see his exequies fulfiil'd in Rouen:
. A braver soldier never couched lance,
A gentler heart did never sway in court ;
But kings and mightiest potentates must die.
For that's the end of human misery. \_Eoceunt.
11^. "and martial"; Collier MS., "and matchless" ; Vaughan, "un-
matchable." — I. G.
126. "take some order" adopt some measures. — C. H. H.
82
KING HENRY VI Act III. Sc. iii.
Scene III
The plains near Rouen.
Enter Charles, the Bastard of Orleans, Alenfon,
La Pucelle, and forces.
Puc. Dismay not, princes, at this accident,
Nor grieve that Rouen is so recovered;
Care is no cure, but rather corrosive,
For things that are not to be remedied.
Let frantic Talbot triumph for a while
And like a peacock sweep along his tail;
We '11 pull his plumes and take away his train,
If Dauphin and the rest wdll be but ruled.
Char. We have been guided by thee hitherto,
And of thy cunning had no diffidence: 10
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 '11 set thy statue in some holy place,
And have thee reverenced like a blessed saint:
Employ thee then, sweet virgin, for our good.
Piic. 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. 20
Char. Aye, 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 extirped from our provinces.
83
Act III. Sc. iii. THE FIRST PART OF
Alen. For ever should they be expulsed from
France,
And not have title of an earldom here.
Puc. Your honors shall perceive how I will work
To bring this matter to the wished end.
[Drum sounds afar off.
Hark ! by the sound of drum you may perceive
Their powers are marching unto Paris-ward. 30
Here sound an English march. Enter^ and pass
over at a distance, Talbot and his forces.
There goes the Talbot, with his colors spread,
And all the troops of English after him.
French march. Enter the Duke of Burgundy and
forces.
Now in the rearward comes the duke and his:
Fortune in favor makes him lag behind.
Summon a parley ; we will talk with him.
Trumpets sound a parley.
Char. A parley with the Duke of Burgundy!
Btir. Who craves a parley with the Burgundy?
Puc. The princely Charles of France, thy coun-
tryman.
Bur. WKat say'st thou, Charles? for I am march-
ing hence.
Char. Speak, Pucelle, and enchant him with thy
words. 40
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,
84
KING HENRY VI Act in. Sc. m.
And see the cities and the towns defaced
By wasting ruin of the cruel foe.
As looks the mother on her lowly babe
When death doth close his tender dying eyes,
See, see the pining malady of France; 49
Beliold the wounds, the most unnatural wounds.
Which thou thyself hast given her woful 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 for-
eign gore:
Return thee therefore with a flood of tears,
And wash away thy country's stained spots.
Bur. Either she hath bewitch'd me with her words,
Or nature makes me suddenly relent.
Puc. Besides, all French and France exclaims on
thee, 60
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,
W^as not the Duke of Orleans thy foe?
69-73. Throughout this play the Poet takes great hberties with the
order of events, shuffliiifr them back and forth without much regard
to their actual succession. The duke of Orleans, who had been
85
Act III. Sc. iii. THE FIRST PART OF.
And was lie not in England prisoner? 70
But when they heard he was thine enemy,
They set hini 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.
^ur. I am vanquished; these haughty words of
hers
Have batter'd me like roaring cannon-shot.
And made me almost yield upon my knees. 80
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 '11 no longer trust thee.
taken prisoner at the battle of Agincourt in 1415, and retained as
such in England ever since, was not released till November, 1440,
which was more than five years after the defection of Burgundy
from the English cause. The long captivity of Orleans was partly
owing to the duke of Burgundy, there being an old grudge between
the two families; Burgundy still persuading the English to demand
a larger ransom than Orleans was able to pay. Now the former
sought the enlargement of his rival, and, to secure his friendship,
paid the ransom, and effected a marriage of him with his niece,
Mary of Cleves. England, however, would not release Orleans
till he bound himself to return at the end of a year, unless he
could induce the French king to a final peace; and engaged at
the same time to pay back the money on the signing of the treaty
or the return of the captive. The duke being for some time ex-
cluded from the French court through the intrigues of favorites,
the time for his return was prolonged; till at last, in 1444, he
brought about an armistice for two years, and there the matter
seems to have ended. — H. N. H.
86
KING HENRY VI Act III. Sc. iv.
Puc. [Aside] Done like a Frenchman: turn, and
turn again!
Cha?\ 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 pow-
ers, 90
And seek how we may prejudice the foe.
[Ej:cunt.
Scene IV
Paris. The palace.
Enter the King, Gloucester, Bishop of Winchester,
York, Suffolk, Somerset, Wandck, Exeter:
Vernon, Basset, and others. To them xdlh his
Soldiers, Talbot.
Tal. My gracious prince, and honorable peers.
Hearing of your arrival in this realm,
I have aA\'hile 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,
85. "Done Ukc a Frenchman: turn, and turn again"; "the in-
cojistancy of the French was always a subject of satire. I have
read a dissertation 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 clianges" (Johnson). — H. N. H.
87
Act III. Sc. iv. THE FIRST PART OF
Twelve cities and seven walled towns of
strength,
Beside five hundred prisoners of esteem,
Lets fall his sword before your highness' feet,
And wdth submissive loyalty of heart 10
Ascribes the glory of his conquest got
First to my God and next unto your grace.
[Kneels
King. Is this the Lord Talbot, uncle Gloucester,
That hath so long been resident in France ?
Glou. Yes, if it please your majesty, my liege.
King. Welcome, brave captain and victorious lord I
When I was young, as yet I am not old.
I do remember how my father said
A stouter champion never handled sword.
Long since we were resolved of your truth, 20
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 de-
serts,
V/e here create you Earl of Shrewsbury;
And in our coronation take your place.
18. "I do remember" ; "Henry was but nine months old when his
father died, and never even saw him" (Malone). — H. N. H.
26. Talbot was not made earl of Shrewsbury till 1442, more than
ten years after the crowning of Henry at Paris. And the honor
was not conferred at Paris, but at London. The matter is thus
stated by Holinshed: "About this season John, the valiant lord
Talbot, for his approved prowesse and wisdome, as well in Eng-
land as in France, both in peace and warre so well tried, was cre-
ated earle of Shrewsburie, and with a companie of three thousand
men sent againe into Normandie, for the better defense of the
same."— H. N. H.
88
KING HENRY VI Act III. So. iv.
[Sennet. Flourish. Ejceunt all but Vernon and
Basset.
Ver. Now, sir, to you, that were so hot at sea,
Disgracing of these colors that I wear
In honor of my noble Lord of York: — 30
Darest thou maintain the former words thou
spakest ?
Bas. Yes, sir ; as well as you dare patronage
The envious barking of your saucy tongue
Against my lord the Duke of Somerset.
Ver. Sirrah, thy lord I honor as he is.
Bas. Why, w^uit is he? as good a man as York.
Ver. Hark ye ; not so : in witness, take ye that.