King Henry VI, Part 1 | Page 4

the English quite,
Except some
petty towns of no import.
The Dauphin Charles is crowned king in
Rheims;
The Bastard of Orleans with him is join'd;
Reignier, Duke
of Anjou, doth take his part;
The Duke of Alencon flieth to his side.

EXETER. The Dauphin crowned king! all fly to him!
O, whither
shall we fly from this reproach?
GLOUCESTER. We will not fly but
to our enemies' throats.
Bedford, if thou be slack I'll fight it out.

BEDFORD. Gloucester, why doubt'st thou of my forwardness? An
army have I muster'd in my thoughts,
Wherewith already France is
overrun.
Enter a third MESSENGER
THIRD MESSENGER. My gracious lords, to add to your
laments,

Wherewith you now bedew King Henry's hearse,
I must inform you
of a dismal fight
Betwixt the stout Lord Talbot and the French.


WINCHESTER. What! Wherein Talbot overcame? Is't so?
THIRD
MESSENGER. O, no; wherein Lord Talbot was
o'erthrown.
The
circumstance I'll tell you more at large.
The tenth of August last this
dreadful lord,
Retiring from the siege of Orleans,
Having full scarce
six thousand in his troop,
By three and twenty thousand of the French

Was round encompassed and set upon.
No leisure had he to enrank
his men;
He wanted pikes to set before his archers;
Instead whereof
sharp stakes pluck'd out of hedges
They pitched in the ground
confusedly
To keep the horsemen off from breaking in.
More than
three hours the fight continued;
Where valiant Talbot, above human
thought,
Enacted wonders with his sword and lance:
Hundreds he
sent to hell, and none durst stand him;
Here, there, and everywhere,
enrag'd he slew
The French exclaim'd the devil was in arms;
All the
whole army stood agaz'd on him.
His soldiers, spying his undaunted
spirit,
'A Talbot! a Talbot!' cried out amain,
And rush'd into the
bowels of the battle.
Here had the conquest fully been seal'd up
If
Sir John Fastolfe had not play'd the coward.
He, being in the vaward
plac'd behind
With purpose to relieve and follow themCowardly

fled, not having struck one stroke;
Hence grew the general wreck and
massacre.
Enclosed were they with their enemies.
A base Walloon,
to win the Dauphin's grace,
Thrust Talbot with a spear into the back;

Whom all France, with their chief assembled strength,
Durst not
presume to look once in the face.
BEDFORD. Is Talbot slain? Then I
will slay myself,
For living idly here in pomp and ease,
Whilst such
a worthy leader, wanting aid,
Unto his dastard foemen is betray'd.

THIRD MESSENGER. O no, he lives, but is took prisoner,

And Lord
Scales with him, and Lord Hungerford;
Most of the rest slaughter'd or
took likewise.
BEDFORD. His ransom there is none but I shall pay.

I'll hale the Dauphin headlong from his throne;
His crown shall be
the ransom of my friend;
Four of their lords I'll change for one of
ours.
Farewell, my masters; to my task will I;
Bonfires in France
forthwith I am to make
To keep our great Saint George's feast withal.

Ten thousand soldiers with me I will take,
Whose bloody deeds

shall make an Europe quake.
THIRD MESSENGER. So you had
need; for Orleans is besieg'd; The English army is grown weak and
faint;
The Earl of Salisbury craveth supply
And hardly keeps his
men from mutiny,
Since they, so few, watch such a multitude.

EXETER. Remember, lords, your oaths to Henry sworn,
Either to
quell the Dauphin utterly,
Or bring him in obedience to your yoke.

BEDFORD. I do remember it, and here take my leave
To go about
my preparation. Exit GLOUCESTER. I'll to the Tower with all the
haste I can
To view th' artillery and munition;
And then I will
proclaim young Henry king. Exit EXETER. To Eltham will I, where
the young King is,
Being ordain'd his special governor;
And for his
safety there I'll best devise. Exit WINCHESTER. [Aside] Each hath his
place and function to attend:
I am left out; for me nothing remains.

But long I will not be Jack out of office.
The King from Eltham I
intend to steal,
And sit at chiefest stern of public weal. Exeunt
SCENE 2.
France. Before Orleans
Sound a flourish. Enter CHARLES THE DAUPHIN, ALENCON,
and REIGNIER, marching with drum and soldiers
CHARLES. Mars his true moving, even as in the heavens
So in the
earth, to this day is not known.
Late did he shine upon the English
side;
Now we are victors, upon us he smiles.
What towns of any
moment but we have?
At pleasure here we lie near Orleans;

Otherwhiles the famish'd English, like pale ghosts,
Faintly besiege us
one hour in a month.
ALENCON. They want their porridge and their
fat bull
beeves.
Either they must be dieted like mules
And have
their provender tied to their mouths,
Or piteous they will look, like
drowned mice.
REIGNIER. Let's raise the siege. Why live we idly
here?
Talbot is taken, whom we wont to fear;
Remaineth none but
mad-brain'd Salisbury,
And he may well in fretting spend his gall


Nor men nor money hath he to make war.
CHARLES. Sound, sound
alarum; we will rush on them.
Now for the honour of the forlorn
French!
Him I forgive my death that killeth me,
When he sees me
go back one foot or flee. Exeunt
Here alarum. They are beaten back by the English, with great loss.
Re-enter