The sad-ey'd justice with his surly hum, Delivering o'er to executors pale The lazy yawning drone. I this infer, That many things, having full reference To one consent, may work contrarioufly: As many arrows, loosed several ways, Come to one mark: as many ways meet in one town; As many fresh streams meet in one falt sea; As many lines close in the dial's center; So may a thousand actions, once a-foot, End in one purpose, and be all well born Without defeat. Therefore to France, my Liege.
Divide your happy England into four, Whereof take you one quarter into France; And you withal shall make all Gallia shake : If we, with thrice such powers left at home, Cannot defend our own doors from the dog, Let us be worried; and our Nation lose
The name of hardiness and policy.
K. Henry. Call in the messengers, fent from the Dau
Now are we well resolv'd; and by God's help And yours, the noble finews of our power, France being ours, we'll bend it to our awe, Or break it all to pieces. There we'll fit, Ruling in large and ample empery, O'er France, and all her almost kingly Dukedoms; Or lay these bones in an unworthy urn, Tombless, with no remembrance over them. Either our History shall with full mouth Speak freely of our acts; or else our grave, Like Turkish mute, shall have a tongueless mouth;
Not worshipt with a waxen epitaph.
Enter Ambassadors of France.
Now are we well prepar'd to know the pleasure Of our fair cousin Dauphin; for we hear,
Your greeting is from him, not from the King.
Amb. May't please your Majesty to give us leave
Freely to render what we have in charge:
Or shall we sparingly shew you far off
The Dauphin's meaning, and our embaffie? K. Henry. We are no tyrant, but a christian King, Unto whose grace our passion is as fubject, As are our wretches fetter'd in our prisons : Therefore, with frank and with uncurbed plainness, Tell us the Dauphin's mind.
Amb. Thus then, in few. Your Highness, lately fending into France, Did claim fome certain Dukedoms in the right Of your great predeceffor, Edward the third. In answer of which claim, the Prince our master Says, that you savour too much of your youth; And bids you be advis'd: there's nought in France, That can be with a nimble galliard won; You cannot revel into Dukedoms there : He therefore fends you (meeter for your spirit) This tun of treasure; and in lieu of this, Defires you, let the Dukedoms, that you claim, Hear no more of you. This the Dauphin speaks. K. Henry. What treasure, uncle ?
Exe. Tennis-balls, my Liege.
K. Henry. We're glad, the Dauphin is so pleasant with
His present, and your pains, we thank you for. When we have match'd our rackets to these balls, We will in France, by God's grace, play a fet, Shall strike his father's Crown into the hazard. Tell him, h'ath made a match with such a wrangler, That all the Courts of France will be disturb'd With chaces. And we understand him well, How he comes o'er us with our wilder days; Not measuring, what use we made of them. We never valu'd this poor feat of England, And therefore, living hence, did give our felf To barb'rous licence; as 'tis ever common, That men are merriest, when they are from home. But tell the Dauphin, I will keep my State, Be like a King, and shew my fail of Greatness; When I do rowze me in my throne of France. For that I have laid by my Majesty,
And plodded like a man for working days;
But I will rise there with fo full a glory, That I will dazzle all the eyes of France ; Yea, strike the Dauphin blind to look on us. And tell the pleasant Prince, this mock of his Hath turn'd his balls to gun-stones; and his foul Shall stand fore charged for the wasteful vengeance, That shall fly with them: many thousand widows Shall this his Mock mock out of their dear husbands; Mock mothers from their fons, mock castles down : And fome are yet ungotten and unborn, That shall have cause to curse the Dauphin's scorn. But this lies all within the will of God, To whom I do appeal; and in whose name, Tell you the Dauphin, I am coming on To venge me as I may; and to put forth My rightful hand in a well-hallow'd caufe. So get you hence in peace ; and tell the Dauphin, His jest will favour but of shallow wit, When thousands weep, more than did laugh at it. Convey them with safe conduct. Fare ye well.
Exe. This was a merry message. K. Henry. We hope to make the fender blush at it : Therefore, my lords, omit no happy hour, That may give furth'rance to our expedition ; For we have now no thoughts in us but France, Save those to God, that run before our business. Therefore, let our proportions for these wars Be foon collected, and all things thought upon, That may with reasonable swiftness add More feathers to our wings: for, God before, We'll chide this Dauphin at his father's door. Therefore let every man now task his thought, That this fair action may on foot be brought. [Exeunt.
Chorus. Now all the youth of England are on fire, (10)
And filken dalliance in the wardrobe lies:
(10) Now all the Youth of England] I have replaced this Chorus here,
by the Authority of the Old Folie's; and ended the first Act, as the Poet
Now thrive the armourers, and honour's thought Reigns folely in the breast of every man. They fell the pasture now, to buy the horfe; Following the mirror of all Christian Kings, With winged heels, as English Mercuries. For now fits Expectation in the air, And hides a fword from hilts unto the point With Crowns imperial; Crowns, and Coronets, Promis'd to Harry and his followers. The French, advis'd by good intelligence Of this moft dreadful preparation, Shake in their fear; and with pale policy Seek to divert the English purposes. O England! model to thy inward greatness,
certainly intended. Mr. Pope remov'd it, because (says He) This Chorus manifeftly is intended to advertise the Spectators of the Change of the Scene to Southampton; and therefore ought to be placed just before that Change, and not here. 'Tis true, the Spectators are to be inform'd, that, when they next see the King, they are to suppose him at Southampton. But This does not imply any Neceffity of this Chorus being contiguous to that Change. On the contrary, the very concluding Lines vouch absolutely against it.
But, till the King come forth, and not till then,
Unto Southampton do we shift our Scene.
For how absurd is such a Notice, if the Scene is to change, so soon as ever the Chorus quits the Stage? Befides, unless this Chorus be prefix'd to the Scene betwixt Nim, Bardolfe, &c, We shall draw the Poet into another Absurdity. Pistol, Nim, and Bardolfe are in this Scene talking of going to the Wars in France: but the King had but just, at his quitting the Stage, declar'd his Resolutions of commencing this War: And without the Interval of an Att, betwixt that Scene and the Comic Characters entring, how could They with any Probability be inform'd of this intended Expedition? If Mr. Pope had ever read Monfieur Hedelin's most curious Treatife, call'd, La Pratique du Theatre, he would have known, that one main use of the Intervals of Acts is, that fuch a Pause should (facilite cette agreable illufion qu'il faut faire aux Spectateurs ;) facilitate that agreeable Deception, which must be put upon the Spectators. Tho a Tune between the Acts takes up but a very little time, yet the Audiences are always willing to help their own Deception so far, to allow as much Time spent in it, as the Poet finds necessary should be employ'd in the Conduct of his Fable. And therefore 'tis the Practice of all knowing Poets, where more Time is to be skip'd over than could be taken up in the Action upon the Stage, to suppose that intermediate Time spent during the Intervals of the Acts: by which Artifice the Spectators come into the Deceit, and are not shock'd by a too flagrant Improbability.
Like little body with a mighty heart; What might'st thou do, that honour would thee do, Were all thy children kind and natural ! But fee, thy fault France hath in thee found out; A nest of hollow bosoms, which he fills With treach'rous crowns; and three corrupted men, One, Richard Earl of Cambridge, and the second, Henry Lord Scroop of Masham, and the third, Sir Thomas Grey Knight of Northumberland, Have for the gilt of France (O guilt, indeed!) Confirm'd confpiracy with fearful France : And by their hands this grace of Kings must die, If hell and treason hold their promises, Ere He take ship for France; and in Southampton. Linger your patience on, and well digeft Th'abuse of distance, while we force a play. The sum is paid, the traitors are agreed, The King is set from London, and the scene Is now transported, gentles, to Southampion : There is the play-house now, there must you fit; And thence to France shall we convey you safe, And bring you back; charming the narrow feas To give you gentle pass: for if we may, (11) We'll not offend one stomach with our play. But, till the King come forth, and not till then, Unto Southampton do we shift our scene.
To give you gentle Pass :) Ben Jonson, in the Prologue to his Every Man in his Humour, seems to me to have flurted invidiously at this Play of our Author's.
He rather prays, you will be pleas'd to fee One such to day, as other Plays should be ;
Where neither Chorus wafts you d'er the Seas, &c.
Now this Comedy of Ben's was acted in the Year 1598, so that Henry 5th, consequently, had made its Appearance on the Stage earlier than that Period.
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