In private will I talk with thee apart;—

Stand back, you lords, and give us leave awhile.
REIG. She takes upon her bravely at first dash.
Puc. Dauphin, I am by birth a shepherd's daughter,
My wit untrain'd in any kind of art.

Heaven, and our Lady gracious, hath it pleas'd
To shine on my contemptible estate:

Lo, whilst I waited on my tender lambs,
And to sun's parching heat display'd my cheeks,
God's mother deigned to appear to me;
And, in a vision full of majesty,
Will'd me to leave my base vocation,
And free my country from calamity:
Her aid she promis'd and assur'd success:
In complete glory she reveal'd herself;
And, whereas I was black and swart before,
With those clear rays which she infus'd on me,
That beauty am I bless'd with which you may see.
Ask me what question thou canst possible,
And I will answer unpremeditated:

My courage try by combat, if thou dar'st,

And thou shalt find that I exceed my sex.
Resolve on this: Thou shalt be fortunate
If thou receive me for thy warlike mate.
CHAR. Thou hast astonish'd me with thy high terms:
Only this proof I'll of thy valour make,—
In single combat thou shalt buckle with me:
And if thou vanquishest thy words are true;
Otherwise I renounce all confidence.

Puc. I am prepar'd: here is my keen-edg'd sword,
Deck'd with fineb flower-de-luces on each side;

The which, at Touraine, in Saint Katharine's churchyard,
Out of a great deal of old iron I chose forth.
CHAR. Then come, o' God's name, I fear no woman.
Puc. And, while I live, I 'll ne'er fly from a man.

[They fight, and LA PUCELLE overcomes.

CHAR. Stay, stay thy hands; thou art an Amazon,
And fightest with the sword of Deborah.

Puc. Christ's mother helps me, else I were too weak.
CHAR. Whoe'er helps thee, 't is thou that must help me:
Impatiently I burn with thy desire:

My heart and hands thou hast at once subdued.
Excellent Pucelle, if thy name be so,

a Resolve-be firmly persuaded.

b Fine. The original has five.

Let me thy servant, and not sovereign, be;
"T is the French dauphin sueth to thee thus.
Puc. I must not yield to any rites of love,

For my profession 's sacred from above:
When I have chased all thy foes from hence,
Then will I think upon a recompense.

CHAR. Meantime, look gracious on thy prostrate thrall.
REIG. My lord, methinks, is very long in talk.
ALEN. Doubtless, he shrives this woman to her smock;
Else ne'er could he so long protract his speech.
REIG. Shall we disturb him, since he keeps no mean?
ALEN. He may mean more than we poor men do know:

These women are shrewd tempters with their tongues
REIG. My lord, where are you? what devise you on?
Shall we give over Orleans, or no?

Puc. Why, no, I say, distrustful recreants!

Fight till the last gasp; I will be your guard.
CHAR. What she says I'll confirm; we 'll fight it out.
Puc. Assign'd am I to be the English scourge.

This night the siege assuredly I'll raise :
Expect saint Martin's summer, halcyon days,
Since I have entered into these wars.
Glory is like a circle in the water,
Which never ceaseth to enlarge itself,
Till, by broad spreading, it disperse to nought.
With Henry's death the English circle ends;
Dispersed are the glories it included.

Now am I like that proud insulting ship
Which Cæsar and his fortune bare at once?
CHAR. Was Mahomet inspired with a dove3?
Thou with an eagle art inspired then.
Helen, the mother of great Constantine,
Nor yet saint Philip's daughters, were like thee.
Bright star of Venus, fall'n down on the earth,
How may I reverently worship thee enough?
ALEN. Leave off delays, and let us raise the siege.
REIG. Woman, do what thou canst to save our honours;
Drive them from Orleans, and be immortaliz'd.

CHAR. Presently we 'll try:-Come, let 's away about it:
No prophet will I trust, if she prove false.

Saint Martin's summer-fine weather in November-prosperity after misfortune.

[Exeunt.

SCENE III.-London. Hill before the Tower.

Enter, at the gates, the DUKE OF GLOSTER, with his Serving-men in blue coats.

GLO. I am come to survey the Tower this day:

Since Henry's death, I fear there is conveyance.
Where be these warders, that they wait not here?
Open the gates; 't is Gloster that calls.

1 WARD. [Within.] Who's there that knocks so imperiously?

1 SERV. It is the noble duke of Gloster.

2 WARD. [Within.] Whoe'er he be, you may not be let in.

1 SERV. Villains, answer you so the lord protector?

1 WARD. [Within.] The Lord protect him! so we answer him: We do no otherwise than we are will'd.

GLO. Who willed you? or whose will stands but mine?

There's none protector of the realm but I.

Break up the gates, I'll be your warrantize :

Shall I be flouted thus by dunghill grooms?

[Servants knock.

Servants rush at the Tower gates. Enter to the gates, WOODVILLE, the

Lieutenant.

WOOD. [Within.] What noise is this? what traitors have we here?
GLO. Lieutenant, is it you whose voice I hear?

Open the gates; here's Gloster that would enter.

WOOD. [Within.] Have patience, noble duke; I may not open;
The cardinal of Winchester forbids:

From him I have express commandment,
That thou, nor none of thine, shall be let in.

GLO. Faint-hearted Woodville, prizest him 'fore me?
Arrogant Winchester? that haughty prelate,
Whom Henry, our late sovereign, ne'er could brook?
Thou art no friend to God, or to the king:
Open the gates, or I'll shut thee out shortly.

1 SERV. Open the gates unto the lord protector;

Or we 'll burst them open, if that you come not quickly.

Enter WINCHESTER, attended by a train of Servants in tawny coats.

WIN. How now, ambitious Humphrey? what means this?

GLO. Peel'd priest, dost thou command me to be shut out?

WIN. I do, thou most usurping proditor,

■ Conveyance-theft.

Break up. So in Hall's Chronicle:-" The lusty Kentish-men, hoping on more friends, brake up the gates of the King's Bench and Marshalsea."

• Peel'd—an allusion to the shaven crown of the priest.

And not protector of the king or realm.
GLO. Stand back, thou manifest conspirator;
Thou that contriv'dst to murder our dead lord;
Thou that giv'st whores indulgences to sin:
I'll canvass thee in thy broad cardinal's hat,
If thou proceed in this thy insolence.

WIN. Nay, stand thou back, I will not budge a foot;
This be Damascus, be thou cursed Cain,

To slay thy brother Abel, if thou wilta.

GLO. I will not slay thee, but I'll drive thee back:
Thy scarlet robes, as a child's bearing cloth
I'll use, to carry thee out of this place.

WIN. Do what thou dar'st; I beard thee to thy face.
GLO. What am I dar'd, and bearded to my face?—
Draw, men, for all this privileged place;

Blue-coats to tawny-coats. Priest, beware your beard;

[GLOSTER and his men attack the Bishop.

I mean to tug it, and to cuff you soundly:
Under my feet I stamp thy cardinal's hat;
In spite of pope, or dignities of church,

Here by the cheeks I 'll drag thee up and down.
WIN. Gloster, thou 'lt answer this before the pope.
GLO. Winchester goose! I cry-a rope! a rope!

Now beat them hence: Why do you let them stay?-
Thee I'll chase hence, thou wolf in sheep's array.—

Out, tawny-coats!-out, scarlet hypocrite!

Here a great tumult. In the midst of it, enter the Mayor of London, and
Officers.

MAY. Fie, lords! that you, being supreme magistrates,
Thus contumeliously should break the peace!
GLO. Peace, mayor; thou know'st little of my wrongs.
Here 's Beaufort, that regards nor God nor king,
Hath here distrain'd the Tower to his use.
WIN. Here's Gloster, too, a foe to citizens;
One that still motions war, and never peace,
O'ercharging your free purses with large fines;
That seeks to overthrow religion,

Because he is protector of the realm;

And would have armour here out of the Tower,

To crown himself king, and suppress the prince.

a The old travellers believed that Damascus was the scene of the first murder. Maundevile "And in that place where Damascus was founded Kaym slew Abel his brother." So the second folio; the first omits too.

says,

GLO. I will not answer thee with words, but blows. [Here they skirmish again. MAY. Nought rests for me, in this tumultuous strife,

But to make open proclamation:—

Come, officer, as loud as e'er thou canst cry.

OFF. "All manner of men, assembled here in arms this day, against God's peace and the king's, we charge and command you, in his highness' name, to repair to your several dwelling-places; and not to wear, handle, or use, any sword, weapon, or dagger, henceforward, upon pain of death."

GLO. Cardinal, I 'll be no breaker of the law:

But we shall meet, and break our minds at large.

WIN. Gloster, we 'll meet; to thy dear costa, be sure :
Thy heart-blood I will have for this day's work.

MAY. I'll call for clubs, if you will not away:—

This cardinal is more haughty than the devil.

GLO. Mayor, farewell: thou dost but what thou mayst.
WIN. Abominable Gloster! guard thy head;

For I intend to have it, ere long.

[Exeunt.

MAY. See the coast clear'd, and then we will depart.-
Good God! that nobles should such stomachs bear!
I myself fight not once in forty year.

[Exeunt.

SCENE IV.-France. Before Orleans.

Enter, on the walls, the Master-Gunner and his Son.

M. GUN. Sirrah, thou know'st how Orleans is besieg'd,
And how the English have the suburbs won.

SON. Father, I know; and oft have shot at them,
Howe'er, unfortunate, I miss'd my aim.

M. GUN. But now thou shalt not. Be thou rul'd by me:
Chief master-gunner am I of this town;.

Something I must do to procure me grace.
The prince's espials have informed me,

b

How the English, in the suburbs close intrench'd,
Wont, through a secret grate of iron bars

In yonder tower, to overpeer the city;

And thence discover how, with most advantage,
They may vex us, with shot, or with assault.

To intercept this inconvenience,

A piece of ordnance 'gainst it I have plac'd;

a The first folio omits dear, which is in the second.

b Espials-spies.

Wont. The old copies read went. The correction, which is a very judicious one, was made by Tyrwhitt. Wont-are accustomed-accords with the construction of the remainder of the

sentence.

HISTORIES.-VOL. II.

B