Disgracing of these colours 10 that I wear
In honour of my noble lord of York.-

Dar'st thou maintain the former words thou spak'st?
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 honour as he is.

Bas. Why, what is he? as good a man as York. Ver. Hark ye; not so: in witness, take ye that. [Strikes him.

Bas. Villain, thou know'st, the law of arms is such, That, whoso draws a sword, 'tis present death 11; Or else this blow should broach thy dearest blood. But I'll unto his majesty, and crave

I may have liberty to venge this wrong;
When thou shalt see, I'll meet thee to thy cost.

Ver. Well, miscreant, I'll be there as soon as you; And, after, meet you sooner than you would. [Exeunt.

10 i.e. the badge of a rose.

11 By the ancient law before the conquest, fighting in the king's palace or before the king's judges was punished with death. And still by the Stat. 33 Hen. VIII. c. xii. malicious striking in the king's palace, whereby blood is drawn, is punishable by perpetual imprisonment and fine, at the king's pleasure, and also with loss of the offender's right hand. Stowe gives a circumstantial account of Sir Edmond Knevet being found guilty of this offence, with the ceremonials for carrying the sentence into execution. He petitioned the king to take his left hand instead of his right; and the king was pleased to pardon him altogether.— Annals. edit. 1605, p. 978.

ACT IV.

SCENE I. The same.

A Room of State.

Enter KING HENRY, GLOSTER, EXETER, YORK, SUFFOLK, SOMERSET, WINCHESTER, WARWICK, TALBOT, the Governor of Paris, and Others.

Glo. Lord bishop, set the crown upon his head. Win. God save King Henry, of that name the sixth!

Glo. Now, governor of Paris, take your oath,

[Governor kneels, That you elect no other king but him:

Esteem none friends, but such as are his friends; And none your foes, but such as shall pretend1 Malicious practices against his state:

This shall ye do, so help you righteous God!

[Exeunt Gov. and his Train.

Enter SIR JOHN FASTOlfe.

Fast. My gracious sovereign, as I rode from Calais,

To haste unto your coronation,

A letter was deliver'd to my hands,

Writ to your grace from the duke of Burgundy. Tal. Shame to the duke of Burgundy, and thee! I vow'd, base knight, when I did meet thee next, To tear the garter from thy craven's 2 leg,

[Plucking it off.

1 To pretend is to intend, to design. Thus in Macbeth :

'What good could they pretend,

2 Warburton would read thy craven leg.' Craven is mean, dastardly.

(Which I have done), because unworthily
Thou wast installed in that high degree.—
Pardon me, princely Henry, and the rest:
This dastard, at the battle of Patay3,

When but in all I was six thousand strong,
And that the French were almost ten to one,-
Before we met, or that a stroke was given,
Like to a trusty squire, did run away;
In which assault we lost twelve hundred men;
Myself, and divers gentlemen beside,
Were there surpris'd, and taken prisoners.
Then judge, great lords, if I have done amiss;
Or whether that such cowards ought to wear
This ornament of knighthood, yea, or no.

Glo. To say the truth, this fact was infamous,
And ill beseeming any common man;

Much more a knight, a captain, and a leader.

4

Tal. When first this order was ordain'd, my lords, Knights of the garter were of noble birth: Valiant, and virtuous, full of haughty courage, Such as were grown to credit by the wars; Not fearing death, nor shrinking for distress, But always resolute in most extremes 5. He then, that is not furnish'd in this sort, Doth but usurp the sacred name of knight,

3 The old copy has Poictiers instead of Patay. The battle of Poictiers was fought in 1357, the 31st of King Edward III. and the scene now lies in the 7th of King Henry VI. viz. 1428. The action happened (according to Holinshed) 'neere unto a village in Beausse called Pataie.-From this battel departed, without any stroke striken, Sir John Fastolfe, the same yeere by his valiantnesse elected into the order of the garter. But for doubt of misdealing at this brunt, the duke of Bedford tooke from him the image of St. George and his garter,' &c. Vol. ii. p. 601. Monstrelet mentions the degradation of Sir John Fastolfe. 4 Vide note 9 on p. 52; and note 4 on p. 71.

5 i. e. in greatest extremities. More and most were used by our ancestors for greater and greatest. Vide note on Macbeth, Act v. Sc. 4, p. 315,

Profaning this most honourable order;
And should (if I were worthy to be judge),
Be quite degraded, like a hedge-born swain
That doth presume to boast of gentle blood.
K. Hen. Stain to thy countrymen! thou hear'st
thy doom:

Be packing therefore, thou that wast a knight;
Henceforth we banish thee, on pain of death.-

[Exit FASTOLfe. And now, my lord protector, view the letter Sent from our uncle duke of Burgundy.

Glo. What means his grace, that he hath chang'd his style? [Viewing the superscription. No more but, plain and bluntly,-To the king? Hath he forgot, he is his sovereign?

Or doth this churlish superscription

6

Pretend some alteration in good will?

What's here?—I have upon especial cause,

[Reads.

Mov'd with compassion of my country's wreck,
Together with the pitiful complaints

Of such as your oppression feeds upon,-
Forsaken your pernicious faction,

And join'd with Charles, the rightful king of

France.

O monstrous treachery! Can this be so;

That in alliance, amity, and oaths,

There should be found such false dissembling guile? K. Hen. What! doth my uncle Burgundy revolt? Glo. He doth, my lord; and is become your foe. K. Hen. Is that the worst, this letter doth contain? Glo. It is the worst, and all, my lord, he writes. K. Hen. Why then, Lord Talbot there shall talk with him,

6 See note on p. 74.

And give him chastisement for this abuse:—

My lord, how say you? are you not content? Tal. Content, my liege? Yes; but that I am prevented?,

I should have begg'd I might have been employ'd. K. Hen. Then gather strength, and march unto him straight:

Let him perceive, how ill we brook his treason;
And what offence it is, to flout his friends.

Tal. I go, my lord; in heart desiring still,
You may behold confusion of your foes.

Enter VERNON and BASSET.

[Exit.

Ver. Grant me the combat, gracious sovereign! Bas. And me, my lord, grant me the combat too! York. This is my servant; hear him, noble prince! Som. And this is mine; Sweet Henry, favour him! K. Hen. Be patient, lords; and give them leave to speak.

Say, gentlemen, What makes you thus exclaim? And wherefore crave you combat? or with whom? Ver. With him, my lord; for he hath done me wrong. Bas. And I with him; for he hath done me wrong. K. Hen. What is that wrong whereof you both complain?

First let me know, and then I'll answer you.

Bas. Crossing the sea from England into France, This fellow here, with envious carping tongue, Upbraided me about the rose I wear; Saying the sanguine colour of the leaves Did represent my master's blushing cheeks, When, stubbornly he did repugn3 the truth,

7 Prevented is anticipated. Vide note on the Second Part of King Henry IV. Act i. Sc. 2, p. 272.

To repugn is to resist. From the Latin repugno.
Imperfect nature that repugneth law,

Or law too hard that nature doth offend.'

Dymock's Il Pastor Fido, 1602.