Tal. But yet, before we go, let's not forget
The noble duke of Bedford, late deceas'd,
But see his exequies fulfill'd in Roüen;
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.

SCENE III.

[Exeunt.

The same. The Plains near the City.

Enter CHARLES, the Bastard, ALENÇON, 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 frantick Talbot triumph for a while,
And like a peacock sweep along his tail:
We'll pull his plumes, and take away his train,
If Dauphin, and the rest, will be but rul'd.

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 reverenc'd like a blessed 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 extirped1 from our provinces.

Alen. For ever should they be expuls'd from
France,

And not have title to an earldom here.

Puc. Your honours shall perceive how I will work, To bring this matter to the wished 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 Forces.

Now, in the rearward, comes the duke, and his;
Fortune, in favour, makes him lag behind.
Summon a parley, we will talk with him.

[A Parley sounded. 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.

1i.e. extirpated, rooted out. So in Lord Sterline's Darius, 1603:

The world shall gather to extirp our name.' 2 Expuls'd is expell'd. Thus in Jonson's Sejanus:'The expulsed Apicata finds him there.'

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

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

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;

Behold 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 foreign 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,

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 free3, without his ransom paid,
In spite of Burgundy, and all his friends.

See then! thou fightest against thy countrymen,

3 Another mistake. The duke was not liberated till after Burgundy's decline to the French interest; which did not happen, by the way, till some years after the execution of La Pucelle; nor was that during the regency of York, but of Bedford.

And join'st with them will be thy slaughter-men. Come, come, return; return, thou wand'ring lord; Charles, and the rest, will take thee in their arms. Bur. I am vanquished: these haughty 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, turn, and turn again 5!
Char. Welcome, brave duke! thy friendship makes
us fresh.

Bast. And doth beget new courage in our breasts. Alen. Pucelle hath bravely played 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.

SCENE IV. Paris. A Room in the Palace.

Enter KING HENRY, GLOSTER, and other Lords, VERNON, BASSET, &c. To them TALBOT, and some of his Officers.

Tal. My gracious prince, and honourable

peers,

Hearing of your arrival in this realm,

4 Haughty does not mean disdainful, or violent, as Johnson supposed; but elevated, high spirited. Vide note 9, p. 52. At the first interview with Joan the Dauphin says:

'Thou hast astonish'd me with thy high terms.'

i. e. what Burgundy calls her haughty words. Haught and hault were used in the same manner; from hault and haultain, old French.

5 The inconstancy of the French was always the 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.'

I have a while 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,

Twelve cities, and seven walled towns of strength,
Beside 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.
K. Hen. Is this the Lord Talbot, uncle Gloster 6,
That hath so long been resident in France?

Glo. Yes, if it please your majesty, my liege.
K. Hen. Welcome, brave captain, and victorious
lord!

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,
Your faithful service, and your toil in war;
Yet never have you tasted our reward,
Or been reguerdon'd9 with so much as thanks,
Because till now we never saw your face:
Therefore, stand up; and, for these good deserts,
We here create you earl of Shrewsbury;
And in our coronation take your place.

[Exeunt KING HENRY, GLOSTER, TALBOT,
and Nobles.

Ver. Now, sir, to you, that were so hot at sea,

6 Hanmer supplied the apparent deficiency in this line, by reading :

Is this the fam'd Lord Talbot,' &c.

7 Malone remarks that 'Henry was but nine months old when his father died, and never saw him.' The poet did not perhaps deem historical accuracy necessary.

8 Convinced. Vide note on page 12. 9 Rewarded. Vide note on page 61.