Between the promise of his greener days,

And these he masters now; now he weighs time,
Even to the utmost grain; which you shall read
In your own losses, if he stay in France.

Fr. King. To-morrow shall you know our mind at full, Exe. Despatch us with all speed, lest that our king 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.

ACT III.

Enter CHORUS.

[Exeunt.

Chor. THUS with imagin'd wing our swift scene flies, In motion of no less celerity

Than that of thought. Suppose, that you have seen
The well-appointed king at Hampton pier
Embark his royalty; and his brave fleet

With silken streamers the young Phoebus fanning.
Play with your fancies; and in them behold,
Upon the hempen tackle, ship-boys climbing:
Hear the shrill whistle, which doth order give
To sounds confus'd: behold the threaden sails,
Borne with th' invisible and creeping wind,
Draw the huge bottoms through the furrow'd sea,
Breasting the lofty surge: 0, do but think,
You stand upon the rivage,' and behold
A city on th' inconstant billows dancing;
For so appears this fleet majestical,

Holding due course to Harfleur. Follow, follow!
Grapple your minds to sternage of this navy ;9
And leave your England, as dead midnight, still,
Guarded with grandsires, babies, and old women,
Either past, or not arriv'd to, pith and puissance :
For who is he, whose chin is but enrich'd
With one appearing hair, that will not follow
These cull'd and choice-drawn cavaliers to France?

Rivage-the bank or shore. JOHNSON.

[6] The stern being the hinder part of the ship, the meaning is let your minds follow close after the navy. Stern, however, seems to have been anciently synonymous to rudder. ANON.

Work, work, your thoughts, and therein see a siege :
Behold the ordnance on their carriages,

With fatal mouths gaping on girded Harfleur.

Suppose, th' ambassador from the French comes back;
Tells Harry-that the king doth offer him
Katharine his daughter; and with her, to dowry,
Some petty and unprofitable dukedoms.

The offer likes not: and the nimble gunner
With linstock now the devilish cannon touches,

[Alarum; and chambers go off. And down goes all before them. Still be kind, And eke out our performance with mind. your

SCENE I

[Exit.

The same. Before Harfleur. Alarums Enter King HENRY, EXETER, BEDFORD, GLOSTER, and Soldiers, with scaling

ladders.

K. Hen. Once more unto the breach; dear friends,

once more;

Or close the wall up with our English dead!
In peace, there's nothing so becomes a man,
As modest stillness, and humility:

rage.

But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard-favour'd
Then lend the eye a terrible aspéct ;
Let it pry through the portage of the head,'
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it,
As fearfully, as doth a galled rock

O'erhang and jutty, his confounded base,3
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean.

Now set the teeth, and stretch the nostril wide;
Hold hard the breath, and bend up every spirit*
To his full height !-On, on, you noblest English,
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war proof!

[8] The staff to which the match is fixed when ordnance is fired. JOHNSON. [9] Chambers-small pieces of ordnance. STEEVENS.

[1] Portage-open space, from port, a gate. Let the eye appear in the head as cannon through the battlements,or embrasures, of a fortification. JOHNSON.

[2] The force of the word jutty, when applied to a rock projecting into the sea, is not felt by those who are unaware that this word anciently signified a mole raised to withstand the encroachment of the tide. WHITE.

Jutty-heads, in sea-language, are platforms standing on piles, near the docks, and projecting without the wharves, for the more convenenient docking and undocking ships. STEEVENS.

[3] His worn or wasted base.

[4] A metaphor from the bow. JOHNS.

Fathers, that, like so many Alexanders,

Have, in these parts, from morn till even fought,
And sheath'd their swords for lack of argument."
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest,

That those, whom you call'd fathers, did beget you!
Be copy now to men of grosser blood,

And teach them how to war!-And you, good yeomen,
Whose limbs were made in England, show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear

That you are worth your breeding: which I doubt not; For there is none of you so mean and base,

That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.

I see you
stand like greyhounds in the slips,*
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot;
Follow your spirit: and upon this charge,
Cry-God for Harry! England! and St. 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 : the humour of it is too hot, that is the very plain-song of it.

Pist. The plain-song is most just; for humours do abound;

Knocks go and come; God's vassals drop and die ;
And sword and shield,

In bloody field,

Doth win immortal fame.

Boy. 'Would I were in an alehouse in London! I would give all my fame for a pot of ale, and safety. Pist. And I:

If my 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.

[3] Argument-matter, or subject. JOHNSON.

Slips are a contrivance of leather, to start two dogs at one time. C.

[5] A case of pistols, which was the current phrase for a pair or brace of pistols, In our author's time, is at this day the term always used in Irelane where much of the language of the age of Elizabeth is yet retained. MALONE

Enter FLUELLEN.

Flu. Got's plood! Up to the preaches, you rascals! will you not up to the preaches? [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.

For

[Exeunt NYM, PIST. and BARD. followed by FLU. Boy. As young as I am, I have observ'd 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-liver'd, and red-faced; by the means whereof, 'a faces it out, but fights not. Pistol, he hath a killing tongue, and a quiet sword; by the means whereof 'a breaks words, and 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 matched 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 any thing, and call it-purchase. Bardolph stole a lutecase, 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, the men would carry coals. They would have me as familiar with men's pockets, as their gloves, or their handkerchiefs; which makes much against my manhood, if I should take from another's pocket, to put into mine; for it is plain pocketing up of wrongs. I must leave them, and seek some better service their villany goes against my weak stomach, and therefore I must cast it up. [Exit Boy.

Re-enter FLUELLEN, GOWER following. Gow. Captain Fluellen, you must come presently to the mines; the duke of Gloster would speak with you. Flu. To the mines! tell you the duke, it is not so good to come to the mines: For, look you, the mines is not according to the disciplines of the war; the concavities 19

JOHNSON.

To men of earth, to poor mortal men. It appears that, in Shakespeare's age, to carry coals, was, I know not why, to endure affronts. JOHNSON,

of it is not sufficient; for, look you, th' athversary (you may discuss unto the duke, look you,) is dight himself four yards under the countermines: by Cheshu, I think, 'a will plow up all, if there is not better directions.

Gow. The duke of Gloster, to whom the order of the siege is given, is altogether directed by an Irishman; a very valiant gentleman, i' faith.

Flu. It is captain Macmorris, is it not?

Gow. I think, it be.

Flu. By Cheshu, he is an ass, as in the 'orld: I will verify as much in his peard: he has no more directions in the true disciplines of the wars, look you, of the Roman disciplines, than is a puppy-dog.

Enter MACMORRIS and JAMY, at a distance.

Gow. Here 'a comes; and the Scots captain, captain Jamy, with him.

Flu. Captain Jamy is a marvellous falorous gentleman, that is certain; and of great expedition; and knowledge in the ancient wars, upon my particular knowledge of his directions by Cheshu, he will maintain his argument as well as any military man in the 'orld, in the disciplines of the pristine wars of the Romans.

Jamy. I say, gud-day, captain Fluellen.

Flu. God-den to your worship, goot captain Jamy. Gow. How now, captain Macmorris ? have you quit the mines? have the pioneers given o'er ?

Mac. By Chrish la, tish ill done: the work ish give over, the trumpet sound the retreat. By my hand, I swear, and by my father's soul, the work ish ill done; it ish give over: I would have blowed up the town, so Chrish save me, la, in an hour. O, tish ill done, tish ill done; by my hand, tish ill done!

Flu. Captain Macmorris, I peseech you now, will you voutsafe me, look you, a few disputations with you, as partly touching or concerning the disciplines of the war, the Roman wars, in the way of argument, look you, and friendly communication; partly, to satisfy my opinion, and partly, for the satisfaction, look you, of my mind, as touching the direction of the military discipline; that is the point.

Jamy. It sall be very gud, gud feith, gud captains bath: and I sall quit you with gud leave, as I may pick occa sion; that sall I, marry.

[8] Fluellen means, that the enemy bad digged himself countermines four yards [9] That is, be will blow up all. JOHNSON.

under the mines.