King Henry VI, Part 1 | Page 7

himself King and suppress the Prince.
GLOUCESTER. I
will not answer thee with words, but blows.
[Here they skirmish again] MAYOR. Nought rests for me in this
tumultuous strife
But to make open proclamation.
Come, officer, as
loud as e'er thou canst,
Cry.
OFFICER. [Cries] 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.

GLOUCESTER. Cardinal, I'll be no breaker of the law;
But we shall
meet and break our minds at large.
WINCHESTER. Gloucester, we'll
meet to thy cost, be sure;
Thy heart-blood I will have for this day's
work.
MAYOR. I'll call for clubs if you will not away.
This
Cardinal's more haughty than the devil.
GLOUCESTER. Mayor,
farewell; thou dost but what thou
mayst.
WINCHESTER.
Abominable Gloucester, guard thy head,
For I intend to have it ere
long.
Exeunt, severally, GLOUCESTER and
WINCHESTER
with their
servants

MAYOR. See the coast clear'd, and then we will depart.
Good God,
these nobles should such stomachs bear!
I myself fight not once in
forty year. Exeunt
SCENE 4.
France. Before Orleans
Enter, on the walls, the MASTER-GUNNER
OF ORLEANS and his BOY
MASTER-GUNNER. Sirrah, thou know'st how Orleans is
besieg'd,

And how the English have the suburbs won.
BOY. Father, I know;
and oft have shot at them,
Howe'er unfortunate I miss'd my aim.

MASTER-GUNNER. 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
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;
And even these three days 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 BOY. Father, I warrant you; take you no care;
I'll
never trouble you, if I may spy them. Exit
Enter SALISBURY and TALBOT on the turrets, with
SIR WILLIAM GLANSDALE, SIR THOMAS
GARGRAVE,
and others
SALISBURY. Talbot, my life, my joy, again return'd!
How wert thou
handled being prisoner?
Or by what means got'st thou to be releas'd?

Discourse, I prithee, on this turret's top.
TALBOT. The Earl of
Bedford had a prisoner
Call'd the brave Lord Ponton de Santrailles;

For him was I exchang'd and ransomed.
But with a baser man of arms

by far
Once, in contempt, they would have barter'd me;
Which I
disdaining scorn'd, and craved death
Rather than I would be so vile
esteem'd.
In fine, redeem'd I was as I desir'd.
But, O! the
treacherous Fastolfe wounds my heart
Whom with my bare fists I
would execute,
If I now had him brought into my power.

SALISBURY. Yet tell'st thou not how thou wert entertain'd. TALBOT.
With scoffs, and scorns, and contumelious taunts, In open market-place
produc'd they me
To be a public spectacle to all;
Here, said they, is
the terror of the French,
The scarecrow that affrights our children so.

Then broke I from the officers that led me,
And with my nails
digg'd stones out of the ground
To hurl at the beholders of my shame;

My grisly countenance made others fly;
None durst come near for
fear of sudden death.
In iron walls they deem'd me not secure;
So
great fear of my name 'mongst them was spread
That they suppos'd I
could rend bars of steel
And spurn in pieces posts of adamant;

Wherefore a guard of chosen shot I had
That walk'd about me every
minute-while;
And if I did but stir out of my bed,
Ready they were
to shoot me to the heart.
Enter the BOY with a linstock
SALISBURY. I grieve to hear what torments you endur'd;
But we
will be reveng'd sufficiently.
Now it is supper-time in Orleans:
Here,
through this grate, I count each one
And view the Frenchmen how
they