Lords, Meffengers, French and English Soldiers, with other Attendants.

The SCENE, at the Beginning of the Play, lies in England; but afterwards, wholly in France.

The tranfactions comprifed in this hiftorical play commence about the latter end of the first, and terminate in the eighth year of this king's reign; when he married Katharine princefs of France, and clofed up the differences betwixt England and that crown. It was writ (as appears from a paffage in the chorus to the fifth act) at the time of the earl of Effex's commanding the forces in Ire land in the reign of queen Elizabeth, and not 'till after Henry the VIth had been played, as may be feen by the conclufion of this play. 2 This goes upon the notion of the Peripatetic fyftem, which imagines feveral heavens one above another; the laft and highest of which was one of fire. this wooden circle. 4 The helmets. 5 i. e. your powers of fancy. in burlefque and common language, meant no more than very narrow. In old books this mode of expreflion occurs perpetually.

3 i. c.

6 Perilous narreu.

ACT

SCENE

ACTI.

I.

Ely. But how, my lord, fhall we refift it now
Cant. It must be thought on. If it pass against us,
We lofe the better half of our poffeffion :
For all the temporal lands, which men devout
By teftament have given to the church,
Would they ftrip from us; being valu'd thus,
As much as would maintain, to the king's honour,
Full fifteen earls, and fifteen hundred knights;
Six thousand and two hundred good efquires;
And, to relief of lazars, and weak age,
Of indigent faint fouls, paft corporal toil,
A hundred alms-houses, right well fupply'd ;
And to the coffers of the king, betide,

Á thousand pounds by the year: Thus runs the bill.
Ely. This would drink deep.

Cant. "Twould drink the cup and all.
Ely. But what prevention?

not.

Cant. The king is full of grace, and fair regard.
Ely. And a true lover of the holy church.
Cant. The courfes of his youth promis'd
The breath no fooner left his father's body,
But that his wildnets, mortify'd in him,
Seem'd to die too: yea, at that very moment,
Confideration like an angel came,

And whipp'd the offending Adam out of him;
Leaving his body as a paradife,

To envelop and contain celeftial fpirits.
Never was fuch a fudden scholar made:
Never came reformation in a flood 2,
With fuch a heady current, fcouring faults ;
Nor never Hydra-headed wilfulness
So foon did lose his feat, and all at once,
As in this king.

Ely. We are bleffed in the change.
Cant. Hear him but reafon in divinity,
And, all-admiring, with an inward with
You would defire, the king were made a prelate:
Hear him debate of common-wealth affairs,
You would fay,-it hath been all-in-all his study:
Lift his difcourfe of war, and you shall hear

A fearful battle render'd you in music:
Turn him to any caufe of policy,
The Gordian knot of it he will unloofe,
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 fteal his fweet and honey'd fentences;
So that the art, and practic part of life
Muft be the miftrefs to this theorique 3:
Which is a wonder, how his grace thould glean it,
Since his addiction was to courses vain;
His companies unletter'd, rude, and fhallow;
His hours fill'd up with riots, banquets, fports;
And never noted in him any ftudy,
Any retirement, any fequeftration
From open haunts and popularity.

Ely. The ftrawberry grows underneath the
nettle;

And wholfome berries thrive, and ripen best,
Neighbour'd by fruit of bafer quality:
And fo the prince obfcur'd his contemplation
Under the veil of wildnets; which, no doubt,
Grew like the fummer grafs, fafteft by night,
Unfeen, yet crefcive in his faculty 5.

Cat. It must be fo: for miracles are ceas'd;
And therefore we muft needs admit the means,
How things are perfected.

Fly. Bur, my good lord,

How now for mitigation of this bill
Urg'd by the commons ? Doth his majesty
Incline to it, or no?

Cant. He feems indifferent;

Or, rather, fwaying more upon our part,
Than cherithing the exhibiters against us :
For I have made an offer to his majetty,-
Upon our fpiritual convocation;
And in regard of caufes now in hand,
Which I have open'd to his grace at large,
As touching France,―to give a greater fum
Than ever at one time the clergy yet
Did to his predeceffors part withał.

Ely. How did this offer feem receiv'd, my lordà
Cant. 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 feverals, and unhidden paffages,

Of his true titles to fome certain dukedoms;
And, generally, to the crown and feat of France,
Deriv'd from Edward, his great grandfather.
Ely. What was the impediment that broke

this off?

A Meaning, when every one feambled, i. c. firambled and shifted for himself as well as he could. 2 Alluding to the method by which Hercules cleanfed the Augcan ftables when he turned a river through them. 3 That is, his theory must have been taught by art and practice. Theoric or theorique is what terminates in fpeculation. 4 i. e. The wild fruit fo called, which grows in the woods. si. e. Increafing in its proper power. 6 The pages of his titles are the lines of fucceffion by which his claims defcend. Unhidden is open, clar.

Cant.

K. Henry. Where is my gracious lord of Canterbury? 1

Exe. Not here in prefence.

K. Henry. Send for him, good uncle 1.
Weft. Shall we call in the ambaffador, my liege
K. Henry. Not yet, my coufin; we would be
refolv'd,

Before we hear him, of fome things of weight,
That tafk our thoughts 2, concerning us and France.
Enter the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Bishop
of Ely.

Cant. God, and his angels, guard your facred
throne,

And make you long become it!

K. Henry. Sure, we thank you.
My learned lord, we pray you to proceed;
And juftly and religiously unfold,

Why the law Salique, that they have in France,
Or fhould, or should not, bar us in our claim.
And God forbid, my dear and faithful lord,
That you should fashion, wreft, or bow your
reading,

Or nicely charge your understanding foul
With opening titles 3 mifcreate, 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 4
Of what your reverence fhall incite us to :
Therefore take heed how you impawn our perfon,
How you awake the fleeping fword of war;
We charge you in the name of God, take heed:
For never two fuch kingdoms did contend,
Without much fall of blood; whose guiltless drops
Are every one a woe, a fore complaint,
'Gainst him, whofe wrong gives edge unto the
fword

That makes fuch wafte in brief mortality.
Under this conjuration, fpeak, my lord;
For we will hear, note, and believe in heart,
That what you fpeak is in your confcience wath'd
As pure as fin with baptifm.

Which Salique land the French unjustly gloze
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 Salique lies in Germany,
Between the floods of Sala and of Elbe:
Where Charles the great, having fubdu'd the
Saxons,

There left behind and settled certain French
Who, holding in difdain the German women,
For fome dithoneft manners of their life,
Eftablish'd there this law, to wit, no female
Should be inheritrix in Salique land;
Which Salique, as I faid, 'twixt Elbe and Sala,
Is at this day in Germany call'd--Meifen.
Thus doth it well appear, the Salique law
Was not devised for the realm of France:
Nor did the French poffefs the Salique land
Until four hundred one and twenty years
After defunction of king Pharamond,
Idly fuppos'd the founder of this law;
Who died within the year of our redemption
Four hundred twenty-fix; and Charles the great
Subdu'd the Saxons, and did feat the French
Beyond the river Sala, in the year
Eight hundred five. Befides, their writers fay,
King Pepin, which depofed Childerick,
Did, as heir general, being defcended

1

Of Blithild, which was daughter to king Clothair,
Make claim and title to the crown of France.
Hugh Capet alfo,-that ufurp'd the crown
Of Charles the duke of Lorain, fole heir male
Of the true line and ftock of Charles the great-
To fine 6 his title with fome fhew of truth,
(Though, in pure truth, it was corrupt and naught)
Convey'd himself as heir to the lady Lingare,
Daughter to Charlemain, who was the fon
To Lewis the emperor, and Lewis the fon
Of Charles the great. Alfo king Lewis the ninth,
Who was fole heir to the ufurper Capet,
Could not keep quiet in his confcience,
Wearing the crown of France, 'till fatisfy'd
That fair queen Ifabel, his grandmother,
Was lineal of the lady Ermengare,
Daughter to Charles the forefaid duke of Lorain;
By the which marriage, the line of Charles the great
Was re-united to the crown of France.
So that, as clear as is the fummer's fun,
King Pepin's title, and Hugh Capet's claim,
King Lewis his fatisfaction, all appear
To hold in right and title of the female:
So do the kings of France unto this day;
Howbeit they would hold up this Salique law,
To bar your highness claiming from the female;

Cant. Then hear me, gracious fovereign,-and And rather chufe to hide them in a net,

you peers,

That owe your lives, your faith, and fervices,
To this imperial throne ;-5 There is no bar
To make against your highness' claim to France,
But this, which they produce from Pharamond,
In terram Salicam mulieres se fuccedant,

No woman shall facceed in Salique land:

Than amply to imbare 7 their crooked titles,
Ufurp'd from you and your progenitors.
K. Henry. May 1, with right and confcience,
make this claim?

Cant. The fin upon my head, dread fovereign!
For in the book of Numbers is it writ
When the fon dies, let the inheritance

John Holland, duke of Exeter, was married to Elizabeth the king's aunt. 2 Meaning, keep our mind bufied with fcruples and laborious difquilitions. 3 i. e. fpurious. 41.c. in proving and fupporting that title which fhall be now fet up. 5 This whole fpeech is copied from

Halinfhed.. e. to make it fhewy or fpecious by fome appearance of justice. display to view.

7 i. c. lay open, Defcend

Defcend unto the daughter. Gracious lord,
Stand for your own; unwind your bloody flag;
Look back unto your mighty ancestors:
Go, my dread lord, to your great grandfire's 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 moft mighty father on a hill
Stood fmiling, to behold his lion's whelp
Forage in blood of French nobility.-
O noble English, that could entertain
With half their forces the full pride of France;
And let another half stand laughing by,
All out of work, and cold for action!

Ely. Awake remembrance of these valiant dead,
And with your puiffant arm renew their feats:
You are their heir, you fit upon their throne;
The blood and courage that renowned them,
Runs in your veins; and my thrice-puiffant liege
Is in the very May-morn of his youth,
Ripe for exploits and mighty enterprizes.

When all her chivalry hath been in France,
And the a mourning widow of her nobles,
She hath herself not only well defended,
But taken, and impounded as a stray,
The king of Scots; whom she did send to France,
To fill king Edward's fame with prifoner kings;
And make your chronicle as rich with praife,
As is the ouze and bottom of the fea
With funken wreck and fumless treasuries.
Exc. But there's a faying very old and true,-

If that you will France in,

Then with Scotland first begin:
For once the eagle England being in prey,
To her unguarded nest the weazel Scot
Comes fneaking, and fo fucks her princely eggs;
Playing the mouse, in absence of the cat,
To taint and havock more than fhe can eat.

Ely. It follows then, the cat must stay at home:
Yet that is but a curs'd 3 neceffity;
Since we have locks to fafeguard neceffaries,
And pretty traps to catch the petty thieves.
While that the armed hand doth fight abroad,

Exe. Your brother kings and monarchs of the The advised head defends itself at home :

earth

Do all expect that you should rouse yourself,

As did the former lions of your blood.

For government, though high, and low, and lower,
Put into parts, doth keep in one confent 4;
Congruing in a full and natural close,

Weft. They know, your grace hath caufe, and Like mufick.

K. Henry, We do not mean the courfing fnatchers
But fear the main intendment of the Scot,
Who hath been still a 2 giddy neighbour to us:
For you fhall read, that my great grandfather
Never went with his forces into France,
But that the Scot on his unfurnith'd kingdom
Came pouring, like the tide into a breach,
With ample and brim fulness of his force;
Galling the gleaned land with hot aflays;
Girding with grievous fiege caftles and towns;
That England, being empty of defence,
Hath fhook, and trembled at the ill neighbourhood.
Cant. She hath been then more fear'd than harm'd,
my liege:

For hear her but exampled by herself,

Cant. True: therefore doth heaven divide
The ftate of man in divers functions,
Setting endeavour in continual motion;
To which is fixed, as an aim or butt,
Obedience : for to work the honey bees;
Creatures, that, by a rule in nature, teach
The art of order to a peopled kingdom.
They have a king, and officers of forts :
Where fome, like magiftrates, correct at home,
Others, like merchants, venture trade abroad;
Others, like foldiers, armed in their ftings,
Make boot upon the fummer's velvet buds ;
Which pillage they with merry march bring home
To the tent-royal of their emperor :
Who, bufy'd in his majefty, furveys
The finging mafons building roofs of gold;
The civil citizens kneading up the honey;
The poor mechanick porters crowding in
Their heavy burdens at his narrow gate;
The fad-ey'd justice, with his furly hum,
Delivering o'er to executors pale
The lazy yawning drone. I this infer,-
That many things, having full reference
To one confent, may work contrariously;
As many arrows, loofed feveral ways,
Fly to one mark;

As many feveral ways meet in one town;
As many fresh ftreams run in one felf fea;
As many lines clofe in the dial's center;
So may a thousand actions, once afoot,
End in one purpofe, and be all well borne
Without defeat. Therefore to France, my liege.
Divide your happy England into four;

1 The marches are the borders, the limits, the confines. Hence the Lords Marchers, i. e. the lords prefidents of the marches, &c. 2. c. inconftant, changeable. 3 i. c. an unfortunate neceffity, or a neceffity to be execrated. 4 Confent is unifun. The fenfe is, that all endeavour is to termi

nate in obedience, to be fubordinate to the public good and gencral defign of government.

Whereof

Whereof take you one quarter into France,
And you withal fhall make all Gallia shake.
If we, with thrice that power left at home,
Cannot defend our own door from the dog,
Let us be worried; and our nation lofe
The name of hardiness, and policy.

[Dauphin.
K. Henry. Call in the metfengers fent from the
Now are we well refolv'd: and,by God's help;
And yours, the noble finews of our power,-
France being ours, we'll bend it to our awe,
Or break it all to pieces: Or there we'll fit,
Ruling, in large and ample empery 1,
O'er France, and all her almost kingly dukedoms;
Or lay these bones in an unworthy urn,
Tomblefs, with no remembrance over them:
Either our history fhall, with full mouth,
Speak freely of our acts; or else our grave,
Like Turkish mute, fhall have a tonguelefs mouth,
Not worshipp'd with a waxen epitaph.

Enter Ambafadors of France.

Now we are well prepar'd to know the pleasure
Of our fair coufin Dauphin; for, we hear,
Your greeting is from him, not from the king.
Amb. May't please your majesty, to give us leave
Freely to render what we have in charge;
Or shall we sparingly fhew you far off
The Dauphin's meaning, and our embassy ?

K. Henry. We are no tyrant, but a Christian king;
Unto whofe grace our paffion is as fubject,
As are our wretches fetter'd in our prifons:
Therefore, with frank and with uncurbed plainnefs,
Tell us the Dauphin's mind.

Amb. Thus then, in few.

Your highness, lately fending into France,
Did claim fome certain dukedoms, in the right
Of your great predeceffor, king Edward the third.
In answer of which claim, the prince our mafter
Says, that you favour too much of your youth;
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 fends you, meeter for your spirit,
This tun of treasure; and, in lieu of this,
Defires you, let the dukedoms, that you claim,
Hear no more of you. This the Dauphin fpeaks.
K. Henry. What treafure, uncle?
Exe. Tennis-balls, my liege.

[with us;
K. Henry. We are glad the Dauphin is so pleasant
His prefent, and your pains, we thank you for :
When we have match'd our rackets to thefe balls,
We will, in France, by God's grace, play a fet,
Shall ftrike his father's crown into the hazard:

Tell him, he hath made a match with fuch a
wrangler,

That all the courts of France will be disturb'd
With 3 chaces. 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 valu'd this poor feat of England;
And therefore, living hence 4, did give ourself
To barbarous licence; as 'tis ever common,
That men are merrieft when they are from home.
But tell the Dauphin,-I will keep my state;
Be like a king, and fhew my fail of greatness,
When I do roufe 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 rife there with fo full a glory,
That I will dazzle all the eyes of France,
Yea, ftrike the Dauphin blind to look on us.
And tell the pleasant prince,-this mock of his
Hath turn'd his balls to gun-ftones 5; and his foul
Shall ftand fore charged for the wasteful vengeance
That fhall fly with them: for many a thousand
widows

Shall this his mock mock out of their dear husbands;
Mock mothers from their fons, mock caftles down;
And fome are yet ungotten, and unborn,
That fhall have cause to curfe the Dauphin's fcorn.
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.
So, get you hence in peace; and tell the Dauphin,
His jeft will favour but of fhallow wit,
When thousands weep, more than did laugh at it.-
[Exeunt Ambafadors.
Convey them with fafe conduct.-Fare you well.

Exe. This was a merry metlage.

K. Henry. We hope to make the fender 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;
Save thofe to God, that run before our business.
Therefore, let our proportions for these wars
Be foon collected; and all things thought upon,
That may, with reasonable swiftness, add
More feathers to our wings: for, God 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.

1 Empery fignifies dominion, but is now an obfolete word, though formerly in general ufe. galliard was an ancient dance, now obsolete.

[Exeunt

2 A

3 Chace is a term at tennis. So is the hazard; a place 4 i. e. not in the court, the place in

in the tennis-court into which the ball is fometimes ftruck.
which he is now speaking.

but of stone.

s When ordnance was first used, they discharged balls, not of iron,

ACT