Glo. Is Paris loft? is Roan yielded up? If Henry were recall'd to life again,

These news would cause him once more yield the ghoft. Exe. How were they loft? what treachery was us’d? Meff. No treachery; but want of men, and money. Among the foldiers this is muttered,

That here you maintain several factions;

And, whilst a field should be dispatch'd and fought,
You are difputing of your generals.

One would have ling'ring wars, with little cost;
Another would fly fwift, but wanteth wings;
A third man thinks, without expence at all,
By guileful fair words peace may be obtain❜d.
Awake, awake, English nobility!
Let not sloth dim your honours, new-begot:
Crop'd are the flower-de-luces in your arms;
Of England's coat one half is cut away.

Exe. Were our tears wanting to this funeral,
These tidings would call forth their flowing tides.
Bed. Me they concern; regent I am of France:-
Give me thy fteeled coat, I'll fight for France.-
Away with these disgraceful wailing robes!
Wounds I will lend the French, instead of

eyes,

Enter to them another Messenger.

2 Meff. Lords, view thefe letters, full of bad mifchance. France is revolted from the English quite;

Except fome petty towns of no import:

The Dauphin Charles is crowned king in Rheims;
The bastard of Orleans with him is join'd;

f intermiffive miferies.]—which will have but a fhort intermiffion,

from Henry's decease to my arrival.

Reignier,

Reignier, duke of Anjou, doth take his part;

The Duke of Alençon flieth to his fide.

[Exit.

Exe. The Dauphin crowned king! all fly to him!

O, whither fhall we fly from this reproach?

Glo. We will not fly, but to our enemies' throats :Bedford, if thou be flack, I'll fight it out.

Bed. Glofter, why doubt'ft thou of my forwardness? An army have I muster'd in my thoughts, Wherewith already France is over-run.

Enter a third Messenger.

3 Meff. My gracious lords,-to add to your laments, Wherewith you now bedew king Henry's hearse,— 1 muft inform you of a difmal fight,

Betwixt the ftout lord Talbot and the French.

Win. What! wherein Talbot overcame? is't fo?
3 Meff. O, no; wherein lord Talbot was o'erthrown:
The circumftance I'll tell you more at large.
The tenth of Auguft laft, this dreadful lord,
Retiring from the fiege of Orleans,

Having full scarce fix thousand in his troop,
By three and twenty thousand of the French
Was round encompaffed and fet upon :

No leifure had he to enrank his men ;
He wanted pikes to fet before his archers;
Instead whereof, sharp stakes, pluck'd out of hedges,
They pitched in the ground confufedly,
To keep the horsemen off from breaking in.
More than three hours the fight continued;
Where valiant Talbot, above human thought,
Enacted wonders with his fword and lance.

& fall fearce-fearce full." a full poor cell."
TEMPEST, Vol. 1. p. 7. Pro.
Hundreds

Hundreds he fent to hell, and none durft stand him;
Here, there, and every where, enrag'd he flew:
The French exclaim'd, The devil was in arms;
All the whole army stood "agaz'd on him:
His foldiers, spying his undaunted spirit,
A Talbot! a Talbot! cried out amain,
And rush'd into the bowels of the battle.
Here had the conquest fully been seal'd up,
If Sir John Faftolfe had not play'd the coward:
He being in the vaward (' plac'd behind,
With purpose to relieve and follow them)
Cowardly fled, not having ftruck one stroke.
Hence grew the general wreck and maffacre;
Enclosed were they with their enemies:

A bafe Walloon, to win the Dauphin's grace,
Thruft Talbot with a fpear into the back;
Whom all France, with her chief affembled ftrength,
Durft not presume to look once in the face.

Bed. Is Talbot flain? then I will flay myself,
For living idly here, in pomp and ease,
Whilst fuch a worthy leader, wanting aid,
Unto his daftard foe-men is betray'd.

3 Meff. O no, he lives; but is took prifoner, And lord Scales with him, and lord Hungerford : Most of the rest slaughter'd, or took, likewise.

Bed. His ranfom there is none but I shall pay :
I'll hale the Dauphin headlong from his throne,
His crown fhall be the ranfom of my friend;
Four of their lords I'll change for one of ours.-
Farewel, my mafters; to my tafk will I;
Bonfires in France forthwith I am to make,

agaz'd]-at gaze, gazing.

i plac'd bebind,]-behind the

foremost line, in the rear of the foremost divifion.

Το

To keep our great faint George's feaft withal:
Ten thousand foldiers with me I will take,

Whofe bloody deeds fhall make all Europe quake.

3 Mess. So you had need; for Orleans is besieg'd ;.
The English army is grown weak and faint:
The earl of Salisbury craveth fupply;

And hardly keeps his men from mutiny,
Since they, fo few, watch fuch a multitude.

Exe. Remember, lords, your oaths to Henry fworn ; Either to quell the Dauphin utterly,

Or bring him in obedience to your yoke.

Bed. I do remember it; and here take leave,

To go about my preparation.

[Exit.

Glo. I'll to the Tower with all the hafte I can,

To view the artillery and munition;

And then I will proclaim young Henry king.

[Exit.

Exe. To Eltham will I, where the young king is,

Being ordain'd his fpecial governor;

And for his fafety there I'll beft devife.

[Exit.

Win. Each hath his place and function to attend ;
I am left out; for me nothing remains.
But long I will not be Jack-out-of-office;
The king from Eltham I intend to *fteal,
'And fit at chiefest stern of public weal.

SCENE II.

Before Orleans in France.

[Exit.

Enter Charles, Alençon, and Reignier, marching with a drum and foldiers.

Char. Mars his true moving, even as in the heavens,

So in the earth, to this day is not known:

x fend.

And fit at chiefeft ftern of public weal.]-and occupy

the firft poft in the kingdom.

planet Mars.

VOL. IV.

K

Mars]-The motion of the

Late,

Late, did he shine upon the English fide;
Now we are victors, upon us he smiles.
What towns of any moment, but we have?
At pleasure here we lie, near Orleans;
"Otherwhiles, the famifh'd English, like pale ghosts,
Faintly befiege us one hour in a month.

Alen. They want their porridge, and their fat bullbeeves:

Either they must be dieted, like mules,

And have their provender ty'd to their mouths,
Or piteous they will look, like drowned mice.

Reig. Let's raife the fiege; Why live we idly here?
Talbot is taken, whom we wont to fear:
Remaineth none, but mad-brain'd Salisbury;
And he may well in fretting spend his gall,
Nor men, nor money, hath he to make war.

Char. Sound, found alarum; we will rush on them.
Now for the honour of the forlorn French:-
Him I forgive my death, that killeth me,

When he fees me go back one foot, or fly.

[Exeunt.

[Here Alarum, they are beaten back by the English, with great lofs.

Re-enter Charles, Alençon, and Reignier.

Char. Who ever faw the like? what men have I?-
Dogs! cowards! daftards! I would ne'er have fled,
But that they left me 'midft my enemies.
Reig. Salisbury is a desperate homicide;
He fighteth as one weary of his life.
The other lords, like lions wanting food,
Do rush upon us as their hungry prey.

a Otherwbiles,]-Otherwife, or else.

• the forlorn]-those that are ftationed upon the forlorn hope.. bangry prey.bunger's prey.

Alen.