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, 'tis thou that must help me : Impatiently I burn with thy desire;

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

Let me thy servant, and not sovereign, be:
'Tis 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:

(27)

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 naught.
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 dove?

Thou with an eagle art inspirèd, 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 reverent(28) 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.

[Exeunt.

SCENE III. London. Before the gates of the Tower.

Enter the Duke of GLOSTER, with his Serving-men in blue coats.(29)
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; 'tis Gloster that calls.(30) [Servants knock.
First Warder. [within] Who's there that knocketh (31) so
imperiously?

First Serv. It is the noble Duke of Gloster.

Second Warder. [within] Whoe'er he be, you(2)

be let in.

may not

First Serv. Villains, answer you so the lord protector?
First Warder. [within] The Lord protect him! so we an-

swer 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?

[Gloster's Serving-men rush at the Tower-gates. Woodville. [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.

Woodville. [within] Have patience, noble duke; I may not open;

The Cardinal of Winchester forbids:

From him I have express commandment(33)

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.

Serving-men. Open the gates unto the lord protector:
We'll burst them open, if you come not quickly.(30)

[Gloster's Serving-men rush again at the Tower-gates.
Enter WINCHESTER, with his Serving-men in tawny coats.
Win. How now, ambitious Humphrey! what means this?
Glo. Peel'd priest, dost thou command me be shut out ?(35)
Win. I do, thou most usurping proditor,

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 wilt.

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 privilegèd place;

Blue-coats to tawny-coats.-Priest, beware your beard;
I mean to tug it, and to cuff you soundly:

Under my feet I'll stamp thy cardinal's hat;

In spite of Pope or dignities of church,

Here by the cheeks I'll drag thee up and down. (36)

Win. Gloster, thou wilt 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 GLOSTER and his Serving-men attack the other party; and enter in the hurly-burly 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, a foe to citizens;(37) 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.

Glo. I will not answer thee with words, but blows.
[Here they skirmish again.
May. Naught rests for me, in this tumultuous strife,
But to make open proclamation:-

Come, officer; as loud as e'er thou canst. (38)

Off. [reads] "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 dwellingplaces; 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) cost, 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's 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.(40)

[Exeunt, severally, Gloster and Winchester with
their Serving-men.

May. See the coast clear'd, and then we will depart.-
Good God, these nobles should such stomachs bear!(41)
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 'spials have informèd me

How th' English, in the suburbs close intrench'd,
Wont, (2) 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;
And even these three days (43) have I watch'd, if I
Could see them.

Now do thou watch, for I can stay no longer.

If thou spy'st any, run and bring me word;

And thou shalt find me at the governor's.

[Exit.

Son. Father, I warrant you; take you no care;

I'll never trouble you, if I may spy them.

Enter, in an upper chamber of a tower, the Lords SALISBURY and TALBOT, Sir WILLIAM GLANSDALE, Sir THOMAS GARGRAVE, and others.

Sal. Talbot, my life, my joy, again return'd!
How wert thou handled being prisoner,
Or by what means gott'st thou to be releas'd,
Discourse, I prithee, on this turret's top.

Tal. The Duke of Bedford had a prisoner
Called the brave Lord Ponton de Santrailles ;(44)
For him was I exchang'd and ransomèd.
But with a baser man-of-arms by far,

Once, in contempt, they would have barter'd me:
Which I, disdaining, scorn'd; and cravèd death

VOL. V.

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