*HE A^rrmm Vehsion PR 2812 .A2 113 Copy 1 KING HENRY The Richard Mansfield Acting Version of KING HENRY V Copyright by ROSE & SANDS THE RICHARD MANSFIELD ACTING VERSION OF King Henry V A History in Five AEls by W SI Shakespeare Whi cb version was for the first time presented by M^ Rich 1 ? Mansfield & his Company of Players on the Stage of the Garden Theatre October 3^ M C M -\ ,lra<*.ne$l '-^^ NEW T R K : M C CLURE, PHILLIPS & C° M . C M . fcf I . 1 97011 Littery of Congr«w V« i Ooe against < Mr Woodward Barrett Sir Thomas Grey j Henry V ( Mr F. C. Butler Archbishop ^/"Canterbury Mr John C. Dixon Bishop of Ely , Mr Salesbury Cash Lord Fanhope Mr J. F. Hussey Sir John Blount Mr W. J. Green Sir John Asheton Mr M. Hutchinson Sir John Mowbray Mr William Robbins Stanley Mr W. E. Peters ' Mr James L. Carhart officers in Mr J. Palmer Collins Fluellen \ Henry V.'s < Mr A. G. Andrews Macmorris army Mr Chas. J. Edmonds Jamey J (_ Mr Augustine Duncan Williams, soldier in Henry V.'s army Mr Joseph Whiting Bates, soldier in Henry V.'s army Mr J. A. Wilkes Pistol "") soldiers in Henry V.'s C . . . Mr W. N. Griffith Nym v army, formerly servants \ . . Mr Wallace Jackson Bardolph . . . j to FalstafF ( . . . Mr B. W. Turner Boy, servant to above Miss Dorothy Chester English Herald Mr P. J. Rollow Charles the Sixth, King of France Mr Sheridan Block Lewis, the Dauphin of France Mr A. Berthelet (xvii) Sir Thomas Erpingham , Gower A List of the Persons of the PlaV The Duke of Burgundy Mr Mervyn Dallas The Duke of Orleans Mr Richard Sterling The Duke of Bourbon Mr Clement Toole The Constable of France Mr Prince Lloyd The Duke of Alencon Mr P. W. Thompson Lord Rambures Mr E. k H. Vincent Lord Grandpre Mr W. H. Brown Archbishop of Sens Mr J. E. Gordon Archbishop of Bourges Mr Bouic Clark Governor of Harfleur Mr Stanley Jessup Montjoy, French Herald Mr Edwin Brewster French Soldier Mr F. Gaillard French Messenger Mr Edwin L. Belden Chorus Miss Florence Kahn Isabel, Queen of France Miss Georgine Brandon Princess Katherine, daughter of Charles and Isabel Mile Ida Brassey Alice, lady attending Princess Katherine . . . Mile Susanne Santje Dame Quickly, a hostess, and Pistol's wife . . Miss Estelle Mortimer Civic and Ecclesiastical Dignitaries, Knights, Nobles, Pages, Ladies of the Court and other Attendants, Soldiers, Citizens, ^c. (xviii) ACT ONE of King Henry V The Prologue Rumour appears as Chorus (l) O for a muse of fire, that would ascend The brightest heaven of invention ! A kingdom for a stage, princes to act, And monarchs to behold the swelling scene ! Then should the warlike Harry, like himself, Assume the port (2) of Mars ; and, at his heels, Leash'd in like hounds, should famine, sword, and fire > (3) Crouch for employment. Suppose, within the girdle of these walls Are now confin'd two mighty monarchies, Whose high upreared and abutting fronts The perilous, narrow ocean parts asunder. Piece out our imperfections with your thoughts; Into a thousand parts divide one man, And make imaginary puissance : Think, when we talk of horses, that you see them Printing their proud hoofs i' the receiving earth : For 'tis your thoughts that now must deck our kings, Carry them here and there, jumping o'er times, Turning the accomplishment of many years Into an hour-glass ; for the which supply, Admit me Chorus to this history. C(i) Chorus is used only four times by Shakespeare : in King Henry V., Rumour ; in Romeo and Juliet ; in Winter's Tale, Time ; and in Timon of Athens, Gower. Though Shakespeare denominates " Rumour as Chorus " in King Henry V., Charles Kean departed from that character- ization and introduced "Clio, Muse of History, as Chorus," and other productions have borrowed the idea of " Father Time, as Chorus " from Winter's Tale. (2) That is, deportment, carriage. From the French portde. (3) Holinshed says that Henry V. declared to the people of Rouen "that the goddesse of battell, called Bellona, had three handmaid- ens, ever of necessitie attending upon her, as blood, fire, and famine." King Henry the Fifth The FIRST Scene {A Corridor in the Palace at Westminster) QEnter, from heft, the Archbishop of Canter- bury (i) and the Bishop ofEhy (2) Canterbury {Left Centre) My lord, I'll tell you ; that self bill is urg'd, Which in the eleventh year of the last king's reign Was like, and had indeed against us pass'd, But that the scambling (3) and unquiet time Did push it out of farther question. Ely {Right Centre) But how, my lord, shall we resist it now ? Canterbury It must be thought on. If it pass against us, We lose the better half of our possession ; For all the temporal lands which men devout By testament have given to the church Would they strip from us. Thus runs the bill. Ely This would drink deep. Canterbury 'Twould drink the cup and all. Ely But what prevention ? Canterbury The king is full of grace and fair regard. Ely And a true lover of holy church. d,(i) Henry Chicheley, a Carthusian monk, recently promoted to that see. (2) John Fordham, consecrated 1388, died 1426. (3) Scrambling, ac- cording to Percy. The time when authority is unrespected, says Knight. Act One : The First Scene Canterbury The courses of his youth promis'd it not. The breath no sooner left his father's body,(i) But that his wildness, mortified in him, Seem'd to die too ; yea, at that very moment Consideration, like an angel, came And whipp'd the offending Adam out of him, Leaving his body as a paradise To envelope and contain celestial spirits. Ely We are blessed in the change. Canterbury Hear him but reason in divinity, And, all-admiring, with an inward wish You would desire the king were made a prelate : Hear him debate of commonwealth affairs, You would say it hath been all in all his study : List his discourse of war, and you shall hear A fearful battle rendered you in music : Turn him to any cause of policy, The Gordian knot of it he will unloose, Familiar as his garter : that, when he speaks, The air, a charter'd libertine, is still, And the mute wonder lurketh in men's ears, To steal his sweet and honey'd sentences ; So that the art and practic(2) part of life Must be the mistress to this theoric (3) : Which is a wonder how his grace should glean it, Since his addiction was to courses vain, His companies unletter'd, rude, and shallow, His hours fill'd up with riots, banquets, sports, And never noted in him any study, C(i) There is a theory among historians that Prince Hal assumed his wildness of the Boar's Head days to dissipate the jealousy and regicidal fears of his father, King Henry IV. (2) Practical. (3) Theory. (3) King Henry the Fifth Any retirement, any sequestration From open haunts and popularity. Ely The strawberry grows underneath the nettle, And wholesome berries thrive and ripen best Neighbour'd by fruit of baser quality : And so the prince obscur'd his contemplation Under the veil of wildness; which, no doubt, Grew like the summer grass, fastest by night, Unseen, yet crescive (1) in his faculty. Canterbury It must be so ; for miracles are ceas'd, And therefore we must needs admit the means How things are perfected. Ely But, my good lord, How now for mitigation of this bill Urg'd by the commons % Doth his majesty Incline to it, or no? Canterbury He seems indifferent, Or rather swaying more upon our part Than cherishing the exhibiters against us ; For I have made an offer to his majesty, — Upon our spiritual convocation And in regard of causes now in hand, Which I have open'd to his grace at large, As touching France, — to give a greater sum Than ever at one time the clergy yet Did to his predecessors part withal. C(i) Increasing. Only use of crescive by Shakespeare. (4) Act One : The First Scene Ely How did this offer seem receiv'd, my lord ? Canterbury With good acceptance of his majesty; Save that there was not time enough to hear, As I perceiv'd his grace would fain have done, The severals and unhidden passages Of his true titles to some certain dukedoms, And generally to the crown and seat of France Deriv'd from Edward, his great-grandfather. Ely What was th' impediment that broke this off? Canterbury The French ambassador upon that instant Crav'd audience; and the hour, I think, is come, To give him hearing. Is it four o'clock % Ely It is. Canterbury (crossing to Right) Then we go in, to know his embassy, Which I could with a ready guess declare, Before the Frenchman speak a word of it. Ely I'll wait upon you, and I long to hear it. (Exeunt Right.) King Henry the Fifth The SECOND Scene (The tf krone Room in the Palace at Westminster ; various Lords and ecclesiastics in attendance, Right and Left of throne?) {[Enter, from Left, King Henry, (i) Bedford, (2) Gloster, (3) Exeter (4) and Westmoreland, pre- ceded by Warwick bearing the crown of St. Edward, the bearers of the swords of State and Justice, a her- ald, (5) trumpeters, pages and attendants. The King ascends the throne. King Henry Where is my gracious lord of Canterbury '? Exeter Not here in presence. King Henry Send for him, good uncle. Westmoreland {Kneeling before throne?) Shall we call in the ambas- sador, my liege % C(i) Henry the V. of that name, and sone of Henry the IIIL, began his reygne over this realme of Englande ye xxi day of the moneth of Marche. * * * This man, before ye deth of his fader, applyed hym unto all vyce and insolency, and drewe unto hym all ryottours and wylde dysposed persones ; but after he was admytted to the rule of the lande, anone and sodaynly he became a newe man, and tourned all that rage and wyldnes into sobernesse and wyse sadnesse, and the vyce into constant vertue. — Fabyan. He was Duke of Lancaster and Earl of Chester and Derby. — Tyler. (2) John, Duke of Bedford, was the third son of King Henry IV., and his brother, Henry V., left to him the Regency of France. He died in the year 1435. This duke was accounted one of the best generals of the royal race of Plantagenet. (3) Humphrey, Duke of Gloster, was the fourth son of King Henry IV., and on the death of his brother, Henry V., became Regent of England. It is generally supposed he was strangled. His death took place in the year 1446. (4) Thomas Beaufort, Earl of Dorset, half brother to King Henry IV., hence uncle of Henry V. He was made Duke of Exeter after the Battle of Agincourt. Lord High Admiral. (5) William Burgess, herald, afterward Garter. (6) Act One: The Second Scene King Henry Not yet, my cousin ; we would be resolv'd, Before we hear him, of some things of weight That task our thoughts, concerning us and France. QEnter,from Right, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Ely. tfhey kneel at right before throne. Canterbury God and his angels guard your sacred throne, And make you long become it. (Canterbury and Ely rk) King Henry Sure, we thank you, My learned lord, we pray you to proceed And justly and religiously unfold, Why the law Salique,(i) that they have in France, Or should, or should not, bar us in our claim. And heaven forbid, my dear and faithful lord, That you should fashion, wrest, or bow your reading, Or nicely charge your understanding soul (2) With opening titles miscreate, (3) whose right Suits not in native colours with the truth; For God doth know how many now in health • Shall drop their blood in approbation Of what your reverence shall incite us to. Therefore take heed how you impawn(4) our person, How you awake our sleeping sword of war. We charge you, in the name of Heaven, take heed : For never two such kingdoms did contend C(i) According to this law no woman was permitted to govern or be a queen in her own right. The title was only allowed to the wife of the monarch. This law was imported from Germany by the warlike Franks. (2) The meaning of these two lines is given by Dr. Johnson : " Take heed, lest, by nice and subtle sophistry, you burthen your knowing soul, with the guilt of advancing a false title, or of maintaining, by specious fallacies, a claim which, if shown in its native and true colors, would appear to be false. " (3) Spurious. (4) Engage. (7) King Henry the Fifth Without much fall of blood ; whose guiltless drops Are every one a woe, a sore complaint, 'Gainst him whose wrongs gives edge unto the swords That make such waste in brief mortality. Under this conjuration, speak, my lord ; For we will hear, note, and believe in heart That what you speak is in your conscience wash'd As pure as sin with baptism. Canterbury Then hear me, gracious sovereign; and you peers, That owe yourselves, your lives, and services, To this imperial throne. There is no bar To make against your highness' claim to France, But this, which they produce from Pharamond, — " No woman shall succeed in Salique land ; " Which Salique land the French unjustly gloze(l) To be the realm of France, and Pharamond The founder of this law and female bar. Yet their own authors faithfully affirm That the land of Salique is in Germany, Between the floods of Sala and of Elbe.(2) King Henry May I, with right and conscience, make this claim *? Canterbury The sin upon my head, dread sovereign ! For in the Book of Numbers(3) it is writ, — When the man dies, let the inheritance Descend unto the daughter. Gracious lord, Stand for your own ; unwind your bloody flag ; Look back into your mighty ancestors : C(i) Explain. (2) Floods, i.e., rivers. The Archbishop's speech in this scene, explaining King Henry's title to the crown of France, is closely copied from Holinshed's chronicle, page 545. (3) See Numbers xxvii. 8. Act One : The Second Scene Go, my dread lord, to your great grandsire's (1) tomb, From whom you claim ; invoke his warlike spirit, And your great-uncle's, Edward the Black Prince ; Who on the French ground play'd a tragedy, Making defeat on the full power of France ; Whiles his most mighty father on a hill Stood smiling, to behold his lion's whelp Forage in blood of French nobility.(2) Ely Awake remembrance of these valiant dead, And with your puissant arm renew their feats. You are their heir, you sit upon their throne ; The blood and courage, that renowned them, Runs in your veins ; and my thrice-puissant lie*ge Is in the very May-morn of his youth, Ripe for exploits and mighty enterprises. Exeter Your brother kings and monarchs of the earth Do all expect that you should rouse yourself, As did the former lions of your blood. Westmoreland They know your grace hath cause, and means and might : So hath your highness ; never king of England Had nobles richer, and more loyal subjects ; Whose hearts have left their bodies here in England, And lie pavilion'd in the fields of France. King Henry Call in the messengers sent from the Dauphin. (Exit Herald and Trumpeters Right.) Now we are resolved ; and, by Heaven's help C(i) Edward III. (2) The allusion is to the battle of Cressy, fought August 25 th, 1346. (9) King Henry the Fifth And yours, the noble sinews of our power, France being ours, we'll bend it to our awe, Or break it all to pieces ; there we'll sit, Ruling in large and ample empery(i) O'er France and all her almost kingly dukedoms, Or lay these bones in an unworthy urn, Tombless, with no remembrance over them. Either our history shall with full mouth Speak freely of our acts, or else our grave, Like Turkish mute, shall have a songless mouth, Not worshipp'd with a waxen epitaph. (2) {[The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop a/' Ely ascend the throne and sit either side of the King. 'The attendants relieve them of their crosiers. {[Enter, from Right, the Archbishop of Bourges, the Constable of France and other French Ambassa- dors, (3) with attendants carrying a treasure chest, cov- ered with a velvet cloth sprinkled with fleur-de-lys. The bearers deposit the chest at the foot of the throne and re- tire Right. Now are we well prepared to know the pleasure Of our fair cousin Dauphin ; for, we hear, Your greeting is from him, not from the king. Bourges May't please your majesty to give us leave Freely to render what we have in charge ; Or shall we sparingly show you far off The Dauphin's meaning, and our embassy *? C.C 1 ) Kingdom, from empere, old French. (2) Perishable epitaph. (3) The charge of this Ambassade was committed unto the Erie of Ven- dosme to Mayster Bouratier, Archbyshop of Bourgues. * * * And the King, sitting under his cloth of Estate, the said Ambassador had accesse unto him. — Stow. Une ambassade composee des Comtes de Vendome et de Tancarville, de l'archeveque de Bourges, de l'eveque de Lisieux et d'aucuns autres du grand conseil. — Recordes de St. Denis, 6, xxxiv. Act One : The Second Scene King Henry We are no tyrant, but a Christian king ; Unto whose grace our passion is as subject As are our wretches fetter'd in our prisons : Therefore, with frank and with uncurbed plainness Tell us the Dauphin's mind. Bourges Thus, then, in few. Your highness, lately sending into France, Did claim some certain dukedoms, in the right Of your great predecessor, King Edward the Third, In answer of which claim, the prince our master Says that you savour too much of your youth, (1) And bids you be advis'd there's nought in France That can be with a nimble galliard(2) won: You cannot revel into dukedoms there. He therefore sends you, meeter for your spirit, This tun of treasure ; and, in lieu of this, Desires you, let the dukedoms that you claim Hear no more of you. This the Dauphin speaks. King Henry What treasure, uncle % ^Exeter draws back the cloth disclosing a box of ten- nis-balls, tfhe discovery creates a sensation among the 'English nobles. Exeter Tennis-balls, my liege ! King Henry We are glad the Dauphin is so pleasant with us ; His present, and your pains, we thank you for. C(i) King Henry V. was born August 9, 1388. The campaign against France began in the summer of 141 5. Henry was then in his twenty- seventh year. (2) A French dance. King Henry the Fifth When we have match'd our rackets to these balls, We will in France, by Heaven's grace, play a set Shall strike his father's crown into the hazard : Tell him, he hath made a match with such a wrangler, That all the courts of France will be disturb'd With chaces.(i) And we understand him well, How he comes o'er us with our wilder days, Not measuring what use we made of them. We never valued this poor seat of England, And therefore, living hence, did give ourself To barbarous license ; as 't is ever common That men are merriest when they are from home. But tell the Dauphin I will keep my state, Be like a king, and show my sail of greatness When I do rouse me in my throne of France : For that I have laid by my majesty And plodded like a man for working-days, But I will rise there with so full a glory That I will dazzle all the eyes of France, Yea, strike the Dauphin blind to look on us. And tell the pleasant prince this mock of his Hath turn'd his balls to gun-stones; (2) and his soul Shall stand sore charged for the wasteful vengeance That shall fly with them : for many a thousand widows Shall this his mock mock out of their dear husbands, Mock mothers from their sons, mock castles down ; And some are yet ungotten and unborn That shall have cause to curse the Dauphin's scorn. But this lies all within the will of God, To whom I do appeal; and in whose name, Tell you the Dauphin, I am coming on To venge me as I may, and to put forth My rightful hand in a well-hallow'd cause. C(i) The spot where a ball must fall in the game of tennis, beyond which the adversary must strike his ball to gain a point, or chace. (2) Cannon balls were at first made of stone. Act One : The Second Scene So, get you hence in peace ; and tell the Dauphin, His jest will savour but of shallow wit, When thousands weep, more than did laugh at it. Convey them with safe conduct. — Fare you well. {Exeunt Ambassadors and Attendants escorted by the English herald.) Exeter This was a merry message. King Henry We hope to make the sender blush at it. Therefore, my lords, omit no happy hour, That may give furtherance to our expedition. For we have now no thought in us but France ; (l ) Save those to God, that runs before our business. Therefore, let our proportions for these wars Be soon collected ; and all things thought upon, That may, with reasonable swiftness, add More feathers to our wings; for, Heaven before, We'll chide this Dauphin at his father's door. Therefore let every man now task his thought, That this fair action may on foot be brought. (^Tableau.) C(0 "About the middle of the year 1414, Henry V., influenced by the persuasions of Chichely, Archbishop of Canterbury, by the dying injunc- tions of his royal father, not to allow the kingdom to remain long at peace, or more probably by those feelings of ambition, which were no less natural to his age and character, than consonant with the manners of the time in which he lived, resolved to assert that claim to the crown of France which his great grandfather, King Edward the Third, had urged with such confidence and success." — Nicolas' 's History of the Battle of Agincourt. King H E nry the Fifth "The THIRD Scene (Exterior of the Boar's Head, Eastcheap, London) {[Enter from Right, Nym, and from heft, Bardolph. Bardolph Well met, Corporal Nym. Nym Good morrow, Lieutenant Bardolph. Bardolph What, are Ancient(i) Pistol and you friends yet? Nym For my part, I care not : I say little ; but when time shall serve, there shall be smiles ; but that shall be as it may. I dare not fight, but I will wink, and hold out mine iron. It is a simple one ; but what though ? It will toast cheese ; and it will endure cold as another man's sword will ; and there's an end. Bardolph I will bestow a breakfast to make you friends; and we'll be three sworn brothers to France ; let it be so, good Corporal Nym. Nym 'Faith, I will live so long as I may, that's the cer- tain of it ; and when I cannot live any longer, I will do as I may ; that is my rest, and that is the rendez- vous of it. Bardolph It is certain, corporal, that he is married to Nell Quickly : and, certainly, she did you wrong ; for you were troth-plight to her. C(l) Corruption of Ensign. (14) Act One : The Third Scene Nym I cannot tell ; things must be as they may ; men may sleep, and they may have their throats about them at that time ; and, some say, knives have edges. It must be as it may ; though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. There must be conclusions. Well, I cannot tell. QEnter, from Left, Pistol and Dame Quickly. Bardolph Here comes Ancient Pistol, and his wife : — good corporal, be patient here. — How now, mine host Pistol? Pistol Base tike,(i) call'st thou me host"? Now, by this hand I swear, I scorn the term ; Nor shall my Nell keep lodgers. (Nym and Pistol draw.} Quickly O well-a-day, Lady,(2) if he be not here. Now we shall see wilful adultery and murther committed. Good Lieutenant Bardolph — Bardolph Good corporal, offer nothing here. {Steps between them.) Nym Pish! Pistol Pish for thee, Iceland dog ! thou prick eared cur of Iceland ! C(i) Cur. (2) "Our blessed Lady," i.e., the Virgin Mary. King Henry the Fifth Quickly Good Corporal Nym, show thy valour and put up thy sword. Nym Wilt thou shog(i) off? I would have you solus. (Sheathing his sword.) Pistol Solus, egregious dog ? O viper vile ! The solus in thy most marvellous face ; The solus in thy teeth, and in thy throat, And in thy hateful lungs, yea, in thy maw, perdy (2) ; And, which is worse, within thy nasty mouth ! I do retort the solus in thy bowels. Nym I am not Barbason (3), you cannot conjure me. I have an humour to knock you indifferently well. If you grow foul with me, Pistol, I will scour you with my rapier, as I may, in fair terms. And that's the humour of it. Pistol O braggart vile, and damned furious wight ! The grave doth gape, and doting death is near; Therefore exhale (4). (Pistol and Nym draw.) Bardolph Hear me, hear me what I say : — he that strikes the first stroke, I'll run him up to the hilts, as I am a soldier. (Draws.) CJO Nym's word for jog. — Schmidt. (2) Corruption of "par Dieu." (3) A demon. The unmeaning humour of Pistol's speech very naturally reminds Nym of the sounding nonsense uttered by conjurers. — Steevens. (4) The commentators are in doubt whether this means "draw your sword" or "die." Either makes sense — if it be necessary to make Pistol speak sense. — Rolfe. Act One : The Third Scene Pistol An oath of mickle might ; and fury shall abate. (Pistol sheathes sword.} Give me thy fist, thy fore-foot to me give ; Thy spirits are most tall. Nym I will cut thy throat, one time or other, in fair terms ; that is the humour of it. (Nym sheathes sword.} {[Enter Boy from Left. Boy Mine host Pistol, you must come to my master, — and you, hostess ; — he is very sick, and would to bed. Good Bardolph, put thy face between his sheets, and do the office of a warming pan. Faith he's very ill. Bardolph Away, you rogue. Ouickly <\* By my troth, he'll yield the crow a pudding one of these days ; the king has killed his heart. Good husband, come home presently. (Exeunt Dame Quickly and Boy, Left.} Bardolph Come, shall I make you two friends % We must to France together ; — why, the devil, should we keep knives to cut one another's throats'? Pistol Let floods o'erswell, and fiends for food howl on. Nym You'll pay me the eight shillings I won of you at betting. (i7) King Henry the Fifth Pistol Base is the slave that pays, (l) Nym That now I will have ; that's the humour of it. Pistol As manhood shall compound : push home. CTkey draw.') Bardolph (draws) By this sword, he that makes the first thrust I'll kill him; by this sword, I will. Pistol Sword is an oath, and oaths must have their course. (Pistol sheathes sword.) Bardolph Corporal Nym, an thou wilt be friends, be friends : an thou wilt not, why, then be enemies with me too. Prithee, put up. Nym I shall have my eight shillings I won of you at bet- ting. (Nym sheathes sword.) Pistol A noble shalt thou have, and present pay ; And liquor likewise will I give thee ; And friendship shall combine, and brotherhood : I'll live by Nym, and Nym shall live by me. Is not this just ? — for I shall sutler be Unto the camp, and profits will accrue. Give me thy hand. (Offers hand.) Nym I shall have my noble '? C(i) A quotation from an old play, like much of Pistol's nonsense. — White. (7s) Act One : The Third Scene Pistol In cash most justly paid. Nym Well, then, that's the humour of it. (Takes Pistol's hand.) ^Re-enter Dame Quickly from Left. Quickly As ever you came of women, come in quickly to Sir John. Ah, poor heart ! he is so shaked of a burning quotidian tertian,(i) that it is most lament- able to behold. Sweet men, come to him. (Exit Left.) Nym The king hath run bad humours on the knight; that's the even of it. Pistol Nym, thou hast spoke the right ; His heart is fracted(2) and corroborate. Nym The king is a good king; but it must be as it may: he passes some humours and careers. Pistol (going Left) Let us condole the knight; for lambkins we will live. (Exeunt Left.) Rumour appears as Chorus. Now all the youth of England are on fire, And silken dalliance in the wardrobe lies; C.(i) The dame jumbles together the quotidian fever, the paroxysms of which recurred daily, and the tertian, in which the period was three days. (2) Broken. (^9) King Henry the Fifth Now thrive the armourers, and honour's thought Reigns solely in the breast of every man. They sell the pasture now to buy the horse, Following the mirror of all Christian kings, With winged heels, as English Mercuries. For now sits expectation in the air, And hides a sword, from hilts unto the point With crowns imperial, crowns and coronets, Promis'd to Harry and his followers. The French, advis'd by good intelligence Of this most dreadful preparation, Shake in their fear, and with pale policy Seek to divert the English purposes. O England ! model to thy inward greatness, Like little body with a mighty heart, What might'st thou do, that honour would thee do, Were all thy children kind and natural ! But see thy fault ! France hath in thee found out A nest of hollow bosoms which he fills With treacherous crowns; and three corrupted men, — One, Richard Earl of Cambridge ;(i) and the second, Henry, Lord Scroop(2) of Masham; and the third, Sir Thomas Grey, knight, of Northumberland, — Have, for the guilt(3) of France (O guilt, indeed !) Confirm'd conspiracy with fearful France; And by their hands this grace of kings(4) must die If hell and treason hold their promises, Ere he take ship for France, and in Southampton The sum is paid ; the traitors are agreed ; The king is set from London ; and the scene Is now transported, gentles, to Southampton. C(i) Richard de Coningsbury, younger son of Edmund of Langley, Duke of York. He was father of Richard Duke of York, who was father of Edward IV. (2) Third husband of Joan Duchess of York, mother-in-law of Richard Earl of Cambridge. (3) The gold. (4) Com- plimentary sense, like "Mirror of all Christian Kings" above. Act One : The Fourth Scene The FOURTH Scene (I'he Quay at Southampton.) CExeter, Bedford, Gloster, Warwick, West- moreland, with other lords and attendants, azvait the King. Soldiers cross at rear. Bedford 'Fore Heaven, his grace is bold, to trust these traitors.(i) Exeter They shall be apprehended by and by. Westmoreland How smooth and even they do bear themselves ! As if allegiance in their bosoms sat, Crowned with faith and constant loyalty. Bedford The king hath note of all that they intend, By interception which they dream not of. (2) Exeter Nay, but the man that was his bedfellow, (3) Whom he hath dull'd and cloy'd with gracious favours, — That he should, for a foreign purse, so sell His sovereign's life to death and treachery ! C(i) His Men shipped, and the King himself ready to go on board: a conspiracy against his life is discovered, forged by Richard Earl of Cam- bridge, Henry Lord Scroope of Masham, the Lord Treasurer, and Sir Thomas Grey of Northumberland, who, being suborned by the French for a Million of Gold, as upon their apprehension they confessed (though their indictment contains other matter), were all three put to death ! which was no sooner performed but that the Wind blowing fair, King Henry weighs Anchor, and with a fleet of 160 ships sets sail on Lady Day, An. 1414. — Sanford's Genealogical History of the Kings. (2) The Earl of March, of the house of Clarence, who was to be placed upon the throne by the conspiracy, informed the King. (3) This does not refer to any particular person. Bedfellow was common as a familiar appellation among the nobility in oldeu time. (21) King Henry the Fifth ('Trumpets.) QEnter the King, Scroop, Grey, Cambridge and attendants from Left. ■■ King Henry {Centre) Now sits the wind fair, and we will aboard. My Lord of Cambridge, and my kind Lord of Masham, And you, my gentle knight, give me your thoughts. Think you not, that the powers we bear with us Will cut their passage through the force of France; Doing the execution, and the act, For which we have in head assembled them ? Scroop (at Right Centre) No doubt, my liege, if each man do his best. King Henry I doubt not that : since we are well persuaded, We carry not a heart with us from hence That grows not in a fair consent with ours,(i) Nor leave not one behind that does not wish Success and conquest to attend on us. Cambridge (at Left Centre) Never was monarch better fear'd and lov'd Than is your majesty ; there's not, I think, a subject That sits in heart-grief and uneasiness Under the sweet shade ot your government. Grey (near Scroop) True : those that were your father's enemies Have steep'd their galls in honey and do serve you With hearts create of duty and of zeal. C( T ) In friendly concord. Act One : The Fourth Scene King Henry We therefore have great cause of thankfulness ; And shall forget the office of our hand, Sooner than quittance of desert and merit, According to the weight and worthiness. Scroop So service shall with steeled sinews toil, And labour shall refresh itself with hope, To do your grace incessant services. King Henry We judge no less. — Uncle of Exeter Enlarge the man committed yesterday, That rail'd against our person ; we consider It was excess of wine that set him on ; And, on our more advice, we pardon him. Scroop That's mercy, but too much security : Let him be punished, sovereign ; lest example Breed, by his sufferance, more of such a kind. King Henry O, let us yet be merciful. Cambridge So may your highness, and yet punish too. Grey Sir, you show great mercy if you give him life, After the taste of much correction. King Henry Alas, your too much love and care of me Are heavy orisons 'gainst this poor wretch. If little faults proceeding on distemper,(i) C(i) Distempered, old meaning for having too much liquor. (S3) King Henry the Fifth Shall not be wink'd at, how shall we stretch our eye When capital crimes, chew'd, swallow'd, and di- gested, Appear before us ? — We'll yet enlarge that man, Though Cambridge, Scroop, and Grey, in their dear care, And tender preservation of our person, Would have him punish'd. And now to our French causes : Who are the late commissioners ? Cambridge I one, my lord ; (Kneels?) Your highness bade me ask for it to-day. Scroop So did you me, my liege. {Kneels?) Grey And I, my royal sovereign. (Kneels?) King Henry (as he takes rolls of parchment from Exe- ter and hands to each of the three) Then, Richard, Earl of Cambridge, there is yours ; There yours, Lord Scroop of Masham ; and, sir knight, Grey of Northumberland, this same is yours : Read them ; and know, we know your worthiness. My Lord of Westmoreland and uncle Exeter, We will aboard to-night, — ^fthe conspirators hopefully open their commission hut, reading, disclose their horror in their faces. Why, how now, gentlemen *? What see you in those papers, that you lose So much complexion ? — Look ye, how they change .! Act One : The Fourth Scene Their cheeks are paper.(i) — Why, what read you there, That hath so cowarded and chas'd your blood Out of appearance ? Cambridge I do confess my fault ; And do submit me to your highness' mercy. Grey and Scroop To which we all appeal. King Henry The mercy that was quick(2) in us but late, By your own counsel is suppress'd and kill'd : You must not dare, for shame, to talk of mercy ; For your own reasons turn into your bosoms, As dogs upon their masters, worrying you. See you, my princes, and my noble peers, These English monsters ! My Lord of Cambridge here, — You know how apt our love was, to accord To furnish him with all appertinents Belonging to his honour ; and this man Hath, for a few light crowns, lightly conspir'd, And sworn unto the practices of France, To kill us here in Hampton : to the which This knight, no less for bounty bound to us Than Cambridge is, hath likewise sworn. But O! What shall I say to thee, Lord Scroop ; thou cruel, Ingrateful, savage, and inhuman creature ! Thou, that didst bear the key of all my counsels, That knew'st the very bottom of my soul, That almost mightst have coined me into gold, Wouldst thou have practis'd on me for thy use ; May it be possible, that foreign hire i ' ' ■ ■'■■■' CX 1 ) That is, white as paper. (2) Alive. (^5) King Henry the Fifth Could out of thee extract one spark of evil, That might annoy my finger? 'tis so strange, That, though the truth of it stands off as gross(i) As black from white, my eye will scarcely see it. Treason and murther ever kept together, k As two yoke-devils sworn to either's purpose, Working so grossly in a natural cause, That admiration did not whoop at them ; But thou, 'gainst all proportion, didst bring in Wonder to wait on treason and on murther : And whatsoever cunning fiend it was That wrought upon thee so preposterously Hath got the voice (2) in hell for excellence. All other devils that suggest by treasons Do botch and bungle up damnation With patches, colours, and with forms, being fetch'd From glistering semblances of piety; But he that temper'd(3) thee bade thee stand up, Gave thee no instance why thou should'st do treason, Unless to dub thee with the name of traitor. If that same demon that hath gull'd thee thus Should with his lion gait(4) walk the whole world, He might return to vasty Tartar back, And tell the legions, " I can never win A soul so easy as that Englishman's." O, how hast thou with jealousy infected The sweetness of affiance ! Show men dutiful ? Why, so didst thou : seem they grave and learned ? Why, so didst thou : come they of noble family? Why, so didst thou : seem they religious ? Why, so didst thou : or are they spare in diet, Free from gross passion or of mirth or anger, Constant in spirit, not swerving with the blood, C(i) Palpable. (2) Verdict, judgment. (3) Moulded, fashioned. (4) An allusion to the Devil going ' ' about like a lion, seeking whom he may devour." (2^3) * Act One : The Fourth Scene Garnish'd and deck'd in modest complement, Not working with the eye without the ear, And but in purged judgment trusting neither"? Such and so finely bolted didst thou seem : And thus thy fall hath left a kind of blot, To mark the full-fraught man and best indued With some suspicion. I will weep for thee For this revolt of thine, methinks, is like Another fall of man. — Their faults are open. Arrest them to the answer of the law ; And God acquit them of their practices ! (fturns away?) Exeter {as he touches the shoulder of each with his baton. Gower draws the sword of each.} I arrest thee of high treason, by the name of Richard Earl of Cambridge. I arrest thee of high treason, by the name of Henry Lord Scroop of Masham. I arrest thee of high treason, by the name of Thomas Grey, knight, of Northumberland. Scroop Our purposes Heaven justly hath discover'd; And I repent my fault more than my death ; Which I beseech your highness to forgive, Although my body pay the price of it. Cambridge For me, — the gold of France did not seduce ; Although I did admit it as a motive, The sooner to effect what I intended.(i) But heaven be thanked for prevention; Which I in sufferance heartily will rejoice, Beseeching God and you, to pardon me. C(i) The confession of the Earl of Cambridge, and his supplication for mercy in his own handwriting, are in the British Museum. King Henry the Fifth Grey Never did faithful subject more rejoice At the discovery of most dangerous treason, Than I do at this hour joy o'er myself, - Prevented from a damned enterprise : My fault, but not my body, pardon, sovereign. King Henry Heav'n quit you in its mercy ! Hear your sentence. You have conspir'd against our royal person, Join'd with an enemy proclaim'd, and from his coffers Received the golden earnest of our death, Wherein you would have sold your king to slaughter, His princes and his peers to servitude, His subjects to oppression and contempt And his whole kingdom into desolation. Touching our person, seek we no revenge ;(i) But we our kingdom's safety must so tender, (2) Whose ruin you have sought, that to her laws We do deliver you. Get you therefore hence, Poor miserable wretches, to your death : The taste whereof, God, of his mercy, give you Patience to endure, and true repentance Of all your dear offences ! — Bear them hence. (fturns up to the sea wall.) (Exeunt Conspirators Right, guarded?) (burning.) Now, lords, for France; the enterprise whereof Shall be to you, as us, like glorious. We doubt not of a fair and lucky war ; Since Heaven so graciously hath brought to light C(i) This speech is taken from Holinshed : — Revenge herein touching my person, though I seek not ; yet for the safeguard of my dear friends, and for due preservation of all sorts, I am by office to cause example to be showed ; get ye hence, therefore, you poor miserable wretches, to the receiving of your just reward, wherein God's majesty give you grace of His mercy, and repentance of your heinous offences." (2) Regard. Act One : The Fifth Scene This dangerous treason, lurking in our way, To hinder our beginnings. We doubt not now But every rub is smoothed on our way. Then, forth, dear countrymen ; let us deliver Our puissance into the hand of God, Cheerly to sea ; the signs of war advance : No king of England, if not king of France. (^Tableau.) "The FIFTH Scene (Exterior of the Boar's Head, Eastcheap, London) QEnter, from Left, Nym, Bardolph, Pistol, Dame Quickly and Boy, prepared for departure to the war. Hostess (to Pistol, as they enter, following the others) Prithee, honey-sweet husband, let me bring thee to Staines. Pistol (Left) No; for my manly heart doth yearn (1). — Bardolph, be blithe : Nym, rouse thy vaunting veins : Boy, bristle thy courage up ; for FalstafF he is dead, And we must yearn therefore. Bardolph (Right) Would I were with him, wheresome'er he is, either in heaven or in hell ! Hostess (Centre) Nay, sure, he's in Arthur's(2) bosom, if ever man went to Arthur's bosom. A' made a finer end, and went away an it had been any christom(3) child ; a' parted even just between twelve and one, even at C(i) Grieve, mourn. (2) Mrs. Quickly is not strong on Scripture. — Rolfe. She means Abraham's bosom. (3) A Quicklyism for chrisom, the white vesture put upon the child after baptism. King Henry the Fifth the turning o' the tide: (1) for after I saw him fumble with the sheets and play with flowers and smile upon his fingers' ends, I knew there was but one way ; for his nose was as sharp as a pen, and a'^ babbled of green fields. ' How now, Sir John ! ' quoth I : ' what, man ! be o' good cheer.' So a' cried out ' Lord, Lord, Lord ! ' three or four times. Now I, to comfort him, bid him a' should not think of God ; 1 hoped there was no need to trouble himself with any such thoughts yet. So a' bade me lay more clothes on his feet : I put my hand into the bed and felt them, and they were as cold as any stone. Nym {Right Centre) They say he cried out of sack. Hostess Ay, that a' did. And of women. Bardolph Hostess Nay, that a' did not. Boy (Left Centre) Yes, that a' did ; and said they were devils incarnate. Hostess A' could never abide carnation ; 'twas a colour he never liked. Boy Do you not remember, a' saw a flea stick upon Bardolph's nose, and a' said it was a black soul burn- ing in hell-fire ? Bardolph Well, the fuel is gone that maintained that fire : that's all the riches I got in his service. C(i) Alluding to the old notion that nobody dies except at the ebb of the tide. Act One : The Fifth Scene Nym Shall we shog? the king will be gone from Southampton. Pistol Come, let's away. (Crosses to Centre.) — My love, give me thy lips. (Kisses Quickly.) Look to my chattels and my movables : Let senses rule ; ( l) the word is " Pitch and Pay : " Trust none ; For oaths are straws, men's faiths are wafer-cakes, And hold-fast is the only dog, my duck : Therefore, Caveto(2) be thy counsellor. Go, clear thy crystals. (3) — Yoke-fellows in arms, Let us to France ; like horse-leeches, my boys, To suck, to suck, the very blood to suck ! Boy And that's but unwholesome food, they say. Pistol Touch her soft mouth, and march. Bardolph Farewell, hostess. (Kisses her, then exit Right) Nym (approaches to kiss Quickly. Pistol inter- feres) I cannot kiss, that is the humour of it ; but, adieu. (Exit Right) Pistol Let housewifery appear : keep close, I thee command. Hostess Farewell ; adieu. (Exit Pistol Right, Quickly Left.) C(i) Let prudence govern you. (2) Take care. (3) Dry thine eyes. (30 King Henry the Fifth Boy (Centre) As young as I am, I have observed these three swashers(i). I am boy to them all three : but all they three, though they would serve me, could not be man to me; for indeed, three such antics(2) do not amount to a man. For Bardolph, — he is white-liv- ered^), and red-faced; by the means whereof, a' faces it out, but fights not. For Pistol, — he hath a killing tongue, and a quiet sword; by the means whereof 'a breaks words, and keeps whole weapons. For Nym, — he hath heard, that men of few words are the best men ; and therefore he scorns to say his prayers, lest 'a should be thought a coward : but his few bad words are matched with as few good deeds ; for 'a never broke any man's head, but his own, and that was against a post, when he was drunk. They will steal anything, and call it, — purchase. Bardolph stole a lute-case, bore it twelve leagues, and sold it for three half-pence. Nym and Bardolph are sworn brothers in filching. (4); They would have me as familiar with men's pockets, as their gloves or their handkerchiefs : which makes much against my man- hood, if I should take from another's pocket, to put into mine ; for it is plain pocketing up of wrongs. I must leave them, and seek some better service : their villainy goes against my weak stomach, and there- fore I must cast it up. (Exit Boy Right.) The End of the First Act C(i) Bullies. (2) Buffoons, fools. (3) Cowardly. (4) Grey suggests that Shakespeare took Nym's name from the old Anglo-Saxon word nim, to filch. IP) ACT TWO of King Henry V The FIRST Scene {A Room in the Palace of Charles the Sixth, atRoueii) ^King Charles (l) seated at Centre, the Dauphin, (2) the Constable Comes to him, where in gore he lay insteep'd, And takes him by the beard, kisses the gashes That bloodily did yawn upon his face, And cries aloud, — " Tarry, dear Cousin Suffolk ! My soul shall thine keep company to heaven : Tarry, sweet soul, for mine, then fly a-breast ; As, in this glorious and well-foughten field, We kept together in our chivalry ! " Upon these words I came, and cheer'd him up : He smil'd me in the face, raught(4) me his hand, And with a feeble gripe, says, " Dear, my lord, Commend my service to my sovereign." So did he turn, and over Suffolk's neck He threw his wounded arm, and kiss'd his lips ; And so, espous'd to death, with blood he seal'd A testament of noble-ended love. The pretty and sweet manner of it forc'd Those waters from me, which I would have stopp'd But I had not so much of man in me, C(i) Enriching. (2) Honorable. (3) Cut, mangled. (4) Reached, from Old English. (84) Act Three : The Seventh Scene And all my mother came into mine eyes And gave me up to tears. King Henry {turns to Exeter and grasps his hand) I blame you not ; For, hearing this, I must perforce compound With mistful eyes, or they will issue too. — But, hark ! what new alarum is this same *? — The French have reinforced their scattered men: Give the word through. (Exeunt Right, all but Fluellen and Gower, who come forward.) Fluellen Kill the poys and the luggage ! 't is expressly against the law of arms : 't is as arrant a piece of knavery, mark you now, as can pe offert; in your conscience, now, is it not *? Gower O, 't is a gallant king ! Fluellen Ay, he was pom at Monmouth, Captain Gower. What call you the town's name where Alexander the Pig was porn *? Gower Alexander the Great. Fluellen Why, I pray you, is not pig, great ? The pig or the great, or the mighty, or the huge, or the mag- nanimous, are all one reckonings save the phrase is a little variations. Gower I think Alexander the Great was born in Mace- don; his father was called Philip of Macedon, as I take it. (Exeunt, talking.) King Henry the Fifth {[Enter, from Right, King Henry and forces, War- wick, Gloster, Exeter, and others, attended. King Henry I was not angry since I came to France Until this instant. — Take a trumpet, herald ; Ride thou unto the horsemen on yon hill : If they will fight with us, bid them come down, Or void(i) the field; they do offend our sight. If they'll do neither, we will come to them, And make them skirr(2) away as swift as stones Enforced from the old Assyrian slings. Besides, we'll cut the throats of those we have, And not a man of them that we shall take Shall taste our mercy. Go and tell them so. {Exit English Herald, Right, 2.) Exeter Here comes the herald of the French, my liege. {[Enter Montjoy, Right, 1 ; he kneels before the King. Gloster His eyes are humbler than they us'd to be. King Henry How now ! what means this, herald ? know'st thou not That I have fin'd(3) these bones of mine for ran- som ? Com'st thou again for ransom % ? Montjoy No, great king : I come to thee for charitable license, That we may wander o'er this bloody field To look (4) our dead, and then to bury them. C(i) Avoid, withdraw. (2) Move rapidly. (3) Defined as the sum for ransom. (4) Look for. ~(86) Act Three: The Seventh Scene King Henry I tell thee, truly, herald, I know not if the day be ours, or no ; For yet a many of your horsemen peer, And gallop o'er the field. Montjoy The day is yours. {Rises?) King Henry Praised be Heaven, and not our strength, for it. — What is this castle call'd that stands hard by ? Montjoy They call it Agincourt. King Henry Then call we this the field of Agincourt, Fought on the day of Crispin Crispianus. Fluellen Your grandfather of famous memory, an't please your majesty, and your great uncle Edward the plack prince of Wales, as I have read in the chron- icles, fought a most prave pattle here in France. King Henry They did, Fluellen. Fluellen Your majesty says very true : if your majesties is remembered of it, the Welshmen did goot service in a garden where leeks did grow,(i) wearing leeks in their Monmouth caps (2) ; which your majesty C(i) King Arthur won a great victory over the Saxons "in a garden where leeks did grow," and Saint David ordered that every one of the king's soldiers should wear a leek in his cap in honour thereof. Hence the Welsh custom of wearing the emblem on Saint David's day, March 1st. (2) A kind of woollen cap made at Monmouth and much worn by soldiers. " (87) King Henry the Fifth knows, to this hour is an honourable padge of the service ; and, I do pelieve, your majesty takes no scorn to wear the leek upon Saint Tavy's day. King Henry I wear it for a memorable honour : For I am Welsh, you know, good countryman. Fluellen All the water in Wye cannot wash your majesty's Welsh plood out of your pody, I can tell you that : Got pless it and preserve it, as long as it pleases his grace, and his majesty, too ! King Henry Thanks, good my countryman. Fluellen By Saint Tavy, I am your Majesty's countryman, I care not who know it ; I will confess it to all the 'orld: I need not be ashamed of your majesty, praised be Heaven, so long as your majesty is an honest man. King Henry God keep me so ! — Our heralds go with him ; Bring me just notice of the numbers dead On both our parts. — Call yonder fellow hither. (Points to Williams. Exeunt Montjoy and others?) Exeter Soldier, you must come to the king. (Williams advances.} King Henry Soldier, why wearest thou that glove in thy cap ? Williams An't please your majesty, 'tis the gage of one that I should fight withal, if he be alive. (38) Act Three : The Seventh Scene King Henry An Englishman'? Williams An't please your majesty, a rascal that swaggered with me last night : who, if 'a live and ever dare to challenge this glove, I have sworn to take him a box o' the ear : or, if I can see my glove in his cap (which he swore, as he was a soldier, he would wear if alive), I will strike it out soundly. King Henry What think you, Captain Fluellen ? is it fit this soldier keep his oath ? Fluellen He is a craven and a villain else, an't please your majesty, in my conscience. King Henry It may be his enemy is a gentleman of great sort, quite from the answer of his degree.(i) Fluellen Though he be as goot a gentleman as the tevil is, as Lucifer and Belzebub himself, it is necessary, look your grace, that he keep his vow and his oath. King Henry Then keep thy vow, sirrah, when thou meet'st the fellow. Williams So I will, my liege, as I live. King Henry Who servest thou under? C(i) A person of such station as is not bound to hazard his person to answer to a challenge from one of the soldier's low degree. (89) King Henry the Fifth Williams Under Captain Gower, my liege. Fluellen Gower is a goot captain ; and is goot knowledge and literatured in the wars. King Henry Call him hither to me, soldier. Williams I will, my liege. {Exit Williams, Right.) King Henry Here, Fluellen; wear thou this favour for me, and stick it in thy cap. (Gives glove to Fluellen who receives it on his knee.) When Alencon and myself were down together,(i) I plucked this glove from his helm; if any man challenge this, he is a friend to Alenc^on and an enemy to our person ; if thou encounter any such, apprehend him, as thou dost me love. Fluellen (rises) Your grace does me as great honours as can be desired in the hearts of his subjects : I would fain see the man, that has but two legs, that shall find himself aggriefed at this glove, that is all; but I would fain see it once : an please Heaven of its grace that I might see it. King Henry Knowest thou Gower ? Fluellen He is my dear friend, an please you. C(i) This alludes to an historical fact. Henry was felled to the ground by the Duke of Alencon, but recovered himself and slew two of the Duke's attendants. (9°) Act Three : The Seventh Scene King Henry Pray thee, go seek him, and bring him to my tent. Fluellen I will fetch him. (Exit Fluellen, Right.} Henry My lord of Warwick, and my brother Gloster, Follow Fluellen closely at the heels. The glove, which I have given him for a favour, May, haply, purchase him a box o' the ear; — It is the soldier's : I, by bargain, should Wear it myself. Follow, good cousin Warwick : If that the soldier strike him (as, I judge By his blunt bearing, he will keep his word), Some sudden mischief may arise of it. Follow, and see there be no harm between them. — (Exeunt Warwick and Gloster, Right.') Go you with me, uncle of Exeter. (Exeunt Left.) QEnter, from Right, Gower and Williams. Williams I warrant it is to knight you, captain. QEnter Fluellen, following them from Right. Fluellen (Centre) Got's will and his pleasure, captain, I peseech you now, come apace to the king : there is more goot toward you peradventure than is in your knowl- edge to dream of. (Williams notices the glove in Fluellen's helmet. He starts with surprise. He takes the glove from his own helmet and holds it to Fluellen.) Williams (Right) Sir, know you this glove ? King Henry the Fifth Fluellen Know the glove ! I know the glove is a glove. Williams I know this, and thus I challenge it. {Strikes him.) Fluellen 'Sblood !(i) an arrant traitor as any is in the uni- versal world, or in France, or in England ! Gower How now, sir ! you villain ! {Draws and comes between them, Centre.) Williams Do you think I'll be forsworn *? Fluellen Stand away, Captain Gower; I will give treason his payment into plows, I warrant you. Williams I am no traitor. Fluellen That's a lie in thy throat. — I charge you in his majesty's name, apprehend him: he's a friend of the Duke Alencon's. QEnter Warwick and Gloster from Right. Warwick How now, how now ! what's the matter ? Fluellen My Lord of Warwick, here is — praised pe Got for it! — a most contagious treason come to light, look you, as you shall desire in a summer's day. Here is his majesty. C(i) A common oath, an abbreviation for God's blood. (92) Act Three : The Seventh Scene {[Enter, from Left, King Henry and Exeter, other lords and attendants. King Henry {Centre) How now ! what's the matter ? Fluellen (Left) My liege, here is a villain and a traitor, that, look your grace, has struck the glove which your ma- jesty is take out of the helmet of Alencon. Williams {Right) My liege, this was my glove ; here is the fellow of it: and he that I gave it to in change promised to wear it in his cap ; I promised to strike him, if he did : I met this man with my glove in his cap, and I have been as good as my word. Fluellen Your majesty hear now (saving your majesty's manhood), what an arrant, rascally, beggarly, lousy knave it is : I hope your majesty is pear me in testi- mony, and witness, and will avouchment, that this is the glove of Alencon, that your majesty is give me, in your conscience now. King Henry Give me thy glove, soldier! Look, here's the fel- low of it. 'Twas I, indeed, thou promised'st to strike; And thou hast given me most bitter terms (1). Fluellen And please your majesty, let his neck answer for it, if there is any martial law in the 'orld. C(i) Words. (93) King Henry the Fifth King Henry How canst thou make me satisfaction ? W i lli am s (kneeling) All offences, my liege, come from the heart: never came any from mine that might offend your majesty. King Henry It was ourself thou didst abuse. Williams Your majesty came not like yourself; you ap- peared to me but as a common man ; witness the night, your garments, your lowliness; and what your highness suffered under that shape, I beseech you, take it for your own fault, and not mine : for had you been as I took you for, I made no offence ; therefore, I beseech your highness, pardon me. King Henry Here, Uncle Exeter, fill this glove with crowns. And give it to this fellow. — Keep it, fellow; And wear it for an honour in thy cap, Till I do challenge it. — Give him the crowns : — And, captain, you must needs be friends with him. Fluellen By this day and this light, the fellow has mettle enough in his pelly : — (Crosses, Right, to Williams and offers coin.) Hold, there is twelve pence for you. Williams I will none of your money. (Retires up Right.) Fluellen (following) It is with a goot will. (94) Act Three: T^ Seventh Scene QEnter English Herald from Right. He kneels be- fore the King. King Henry {Left Centre) Now, herald ; are the dead number'd ? Herald Here is the number of slaughter'd French. {Delivers a paper?) King Henry What prisoners of good sort are taken, uncle ? Exeter Charles, Duke of Orleans,(i) nephew to the king; John, Duke of Bourbon, and Lord Bouciqualt : Of other lords and barons, knights and 'squires, Full fifteen hundred, besides common men. (2) King Henry This note doth tell me of ten thousand French That in the field lie slain : of princes, in this num- ber, And nobles bearing banners, there lie dead One hundred twenty-six: added to these, Of knights, esquires, and gallant gentlemen, Eight thousand and four hundred ; of the which, C(i) Charles, Duke of Orleans, was wounded and taken prisoner at Agin- court. Henry refused all ransom for him, and he remained in captivity twenty-three years. (2) Among the most illustrious persons slain were the Dukes of Brabant, Barre, and Alencon, five counts, and a still greater proportion of distinguished knights ; and the Duke of Orleans, the Count of Vendome, who was taken by Sir John Cornwall, the Marshal Bouci- qualt, and numerous other individuals of distinction, whose names are minutely recorded by Monstrelet, were made prisoners. The loss of the English army has been variously estimated. The discrepancies respect- ing the number slain on the part of the victors, form a striking contrast to the accuracy of the account of the loss of their enemies. The English writers vary in their statements from seventeen to one hundred, whilst the French chroniclers assert that from three hundred to sixteen hundred individuals fell on that occasion. St. Remy and Monstrelet assert that sixteen hundred were slain. — Nicolas' 's History of Agincourt. "(95) King Henry the Fifth Five hundred were but yesterday, dubb'd knights :(i) So that, in these ten thousand they have lost, There are but sixteen hundred mercenaries; The rest are princes, barons, lords, knights, 'squires, And gentlemen of blood and quality. Here was a royal fellowship of death ! — Where is the number of our English dead ? {Herald shows him another paper, then rises and retires Right Centre?) Edward the Duke of York, the Earl of Suffolk, Sir Richard Ketly, Davy Gam, esquire (2) : None else of name (3) ; and of all other men But five and twenty. — O God, thy arm was here; And not to us, but to thy arm alone, Ascribe we all ! — When, without stratagem, But in plain shock and even play of battle, Was ever known so great and little loss On one part and on the other % — Take it, God, For it is none but thine ! Exeter 'Tis wonderful ! King Henry Do we all holy rites ; Let there be sung Non Nobis and I'e Deum ; The dead with charity enclos'd in clay; And then to Calais ; and to England then ; Where ne'er from France arriv'd more happy men. {All kneel. Song of thanksgiving.} The End of the Third Act C(i) In ancient times the distribution of this honour appears to have been customary on the eve of battle. (2) This gentleman, being sent by Henry, before the battle, to find out the strength of the enemy, made this report : " May it please you, my liege, there are enough to be killed, enough to be taken prisoners, and enough to run away." He saved the king's life in the field. — Malone. (3) Of eminence. (96)~ ACT FOUR of King Henry V An HISTORICAL Episode (i) QThe Return of Henry F. to London, after the Battle of Agincourt. HE scene represents London Bridge at the Surrey end. Gaily decorated booths are banked against the fronts of the houses ; banners, flags, and garlands float in the air ; a holiday throng crowds the ways, the booths and the windows ; the chimes of St. Paul are heard above the babel of the crowd. Peddlers of bal- lads, gilded ginger-bread and other holiday knick-knacks do a thriving business. A Merry Andrew amuses with athletic antics. 'Two small boys get into a fight and anxious mothers separate them. The blare of trumpets attracts attention to the coming