Most spend their mouths,' when what they seem to threaten Take up the English short; and let them know F. King. Re-enter Lords, with EXETER, and Train. From our brother of England? [Gives a paper. Unto the crown of France. That you may know Exe. Bloody constraint; for if you hide the crown (1) Spend their mouths. This is a huntsman's term, meaning to bark. Unless the dauphin be in presence here, Fr. King. For us, we will consider of this further: Back to our brother of England. Dau. The mighty sender, doth he prize you at. Thus says my king: and, if your father's highness Dau. Say, if my father render fair return, Nothing but odds with England; to that end, I did present him with those Paris balls. Exe. He'll make your Paris Louvre shake for it, (As we, his subjects, have in wonder found) And these he masters now; now he weighs time, In your own losses, if he stay in France. Fr. King. To-morrow shall you know our mind at full. Come here himself to question our delay; For he is footed in this land already. Fr. King. You shall be soon despatch'd, with fair conditions: A night is but small breath, and little pause, To answer matters of this consequence. [Exeunt. CHORUS. Thus with imagin'd wing our swift scene flies, In motion of no less celerity Than that of thought. Suppose that you have seen Embark his royalty; and his brave fleet With silken streamers the young Phoebus fanning. Upon the hempen tackle ship-boys climbing: Holding due course to Harfleur. Follow, follow With fatal mouths gaping on girded Harfleur. Suppose, the ambassador from the French comes back; Katharine his daughter; and with her, to dowry, With linstock3 now the devilish cannon touches, [Alarum; and chambers (small cannon) go off. And down goes all before them. Still be kind, And eke out our performance with your mind. [Exit. ACT III. SCENE I.-The same. Before Harfleur. Alarums. Enter KING HENRY, EXETER, BEDFORD, Gloster, and Soldiers, with scaling ladders. K. Henry. Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more; Or close the wall up with our English dead! (1) Grapple your minds to sternage, i. e. follow in imagination close to the sterns of this navy. (2) The offer likes not, i. e. is not pleasing. (3) With linstock. A linstock is the staff to which the match, for firing the cannon, is fastened. In peace, there's nothing so becomes a man But when the blast of war blows in our ears, Let it pry through the portage1 of the head, O'erhang and jutty his confounded2 base, Now set the teeth, and stretch the nostril wide; And teach them how to war!-And you, good yeomen, That you are worth your breeding: which I doubt not; I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips, Cry-God for Harry! England! and Saint George! [Exeunt. Alarum, and chambers go off. SCENE II.-The same. Forces pass over; then enter NYM, BARDOLPH, PISTOL, and Boy. Bard. On, on, on, on, on! to the breach, to the breach! Nym. 'Pray thee, corporal, stay; the knocks are too hot; and, for mine own part, I have not a case of lives humour of it is too hot, that is the very plain-song of it. the (1) Let it pry through the portage of the head. Let the eye look from the head like cannons pointing from the port-hole of a fortress. (2) Confounded base. Confounded here means worn away, wasted. (3) Be copy now to men of grosser blood, i. e. set an example for the imitation of those of inferior birth. (4) A case of lives i. e. a set of lives, many lives. Pist. The plain-song is most just; for humours do abound; God's vassals drop and die; Knocks go and come; And sword and shield, In bloody field, Doth win immortal fame. Boy. 'Would I were in an alehouse in London! I would my fame for a pot of ale and safety. give all Pist. And I: If wishes would prevail with me, My purpose should not fail with me, But thither would I hie. Boy. As duly, but not as truly, As bird doth sing on bough. Enter FLUELLEN. Flu. Up to the preach,1 you dogs! avaunt, you cullions. [Driving them forward. Pist. Be merciful, great duke, to men of mould! Abate thy rage, abate thy manly rage! Abate thy rage, great duke! Good bawcock, bate thy rage! use lenity, sweet chuck! Nym. These be good humours !-your honour wins bad humours. [Exeunt NYM, PIST., and BARD., followed by FLU. Boy. As young as I am, I have observed these three swashers. I am boy to them all three: but all they three, though they would serve me, could not be man to me; for, indeed, three such antics do not amount to a man. For Bardolph, he is white-livered, and red faced; by the means whereof 'a faces it out, but fights not. For Pistol,—he hath a killing tongue and a quiet sword; by the means whereof 'a breaks words but keeps whole weapons. For Nym,-he hath heard that men of few words are the best men; and therefore he scorns to say his prayers, lest 'a should be thought a coward: but his few bad words are match'd with as few good deeds; for 'a never broke any man's head but his own, and that was against a post when he was drunk. They will steal anything and call it-purchase. Bardolph stole a lute-case, bore it twelve leagues, and sold it for three halfpence. Nym and Bardolph are sworn brothers in filching; and in Calais they stole a fire-shovel: I knew, by that piece of service, they men would carry coals.2 They would have me as familiar with men's pockets, as their gloves or their handkerchers which makes much against my manhood, if I should (1) Up to the preach. Fluellen or Llewellyn is a Welshman, and therefore, both here and elsewhere, he speaks with certain pronunciations, e. g. using p for b. and others which may be noticed as we go on. (2) Carry coals, i. e. endure affronts. |