Henry VI, Part I by William Shakespeare
Act 1 - Scene 4
Orleans.
Master-Gunner : Sirrah, thou know'st how Orleans is besieged,
[p]And how the English
have the suburbs won.
Boy : Father, I know; and oft have shot at them,
[p]Howe'er unfortunate I
miss'd my aim.
Master-Gunner : But now thou shalt not. Be thou ruled by me:
[p]Chief master-gunner am
I of this town;
[p]Something I must do to procure me grace.
[p]The
prince's espials have informed me
[p]How the English, in the suburbs
close intrench'd,
[p]Wont, through a secret grate of iron bars
[p]In
yonder tower, to overpeer the city,
[p]And thence discover how with
most advantage
[p]They may vex us with shot, or with assault.
[p]To
intercept this inconvenience,
[p]A piece of ordnance 'gainst it I have
placed;
[p]And even these three days have I watch'd,
[p]If I could see
them.
[p]Now do thou watch, for I can stay no longer.
[p]If thou
spy'st any, run and bring me word;
[p]And thou shalt find me at the
governor's.
Boy : Father, I warrant you; take you no care;
[p]I'll never trouble you, if
I may spy them.
[p][Exit]
[p][Enter, on the turrets, SALISBURY and
TALBOT,]
[p]GLANSDALE, GARGRAVE, and others]
Lord Talbot/Earl of Shrewsbury : The Duke of Bedford had a prisoner
[p]Call'd the brave Lord Ponton de
Santrailles;
[p]For him was I exchanged and ransomed.
[p]But with a
baser man of arms by far
[p]Once in contempt they would have barter'd
me:
[p]Which I, disdaining, scorn'd; and craved death,
[p]Rather than
I would be so vile esteem'd.
[p]In fine, redeem'd I was as I
desired.
[p]But, O! the treacherous Fastolfe wounds my heart,
[p]Whom
with my bare fists I would execute,
[p]If I now had him brought into
my power.
Lord Talbot/Earl of Shrewsbury : With scoffs and scorns and contumelious taunts.
[p]In open
market-place produced they me,
[p]To be a public spectacle to
all:
[p]Here, said they, is the terror of the French,
[p]The scarecrow
that affrights our children so.
[p]Then broke I from the officers that
led me,
[p]And with my nails digg'd stones out of the ground,
[p]To
hurl at the beholders of my shame:
[p]My grisly countenance made
others fly;
[p]None durst come near for fear of sudden death.
[p]In
iron walls they deem'd me not secure;
[p]So great fear of my name
'mongst them was spread,
[p]That they supposed I could rend bars of
steel,
[p]And spurn in pieces posts of adamant:
[p]Wherefore a guard
of chosen shot I had,
[p]That walked about me every
minute-while;
[p]And if I did but stir out of my bed,
[p]Ready they
were to shoot me to the heart.
Sir Thomas Gargrave : I think, at the north gate; for there stand lords.
Sir William Glansdale : And I, here, at the bulwark of the bridge.
Lord Talbot/Earl of Shrewsbury : For aught I see, this city must be famish'd,
[p]Or with light
skirmishes enfeebled.
Sir Thomas Gargrave : O Lord, have mercy on me, woful man!
Lord Talbot/Earl of Shrewsbury : What chance is this that suddenly hath cross'd us?
[p]Speak,
Salisbury; at least, if thou canst speak:
[p]How farest thou, mirror
of all martial men?
[p]One of thy eyes and thy cheek's side struck
off!
[p]Accursed tower! accursed fatal hand
[p]That hath contrived
this woful tragedy!
[p]In thirteen battles Salisbury
o'ercame;
[p]Henry the Fifth he first train'd to the wars;
[p]Whilst
any trump did sound, or drum struck up,
[p]His sword did ne'er leave
striking in the field.
[p]Yet livest thou, Salisbury? though thy
speech doth fail,
[p]One eye thou hast, to look to heaven for
grace:
[p]The sun with one eye vieweth all the world.
[p]Heaven, be
thou gracious to none alive,
[p]If Salisbury wants mercy at thy
hands!
[p]Bear hence his body; I will help to bury it.
[p]Sir Thomas
Gargrave, hast thou any life?
[p]Speak unto Talbot; nay, look up to
him.
[p]Salisbury, cheer thy spirit with this comfort;
[p]Thou shalt
not die whiles--
[p]He beckons with his hand and smiles on me.
[p]As
who should say 'When I am dead and gone,
[p]Remember to avenge me on
the French.'
[p]Plantagenet, I will; and like thee, Nero,
[p]Play on
the lute, beholding the towns burn:
[p]Wretched shall France be only
in my name.
[p][Here an alarum, and it thunders and lightens]
[p]What
stir is this? what tumult's in the heavens?
[p]Whence cometh this
alarum and the noise?
Messenger : My lord, my lord, the French have gathered head:
[p]The Dauphin, with
one Joan la Pucelle join'd,
[p]A holy prophetess new risen up,
[p]Is
come with a great power to raise the siege.
Lord Talbot/Earl of Shrewsbury : Hear, hear how dying Salisbury doth groan!
[p]It irks his heart he
cannot be revenged.
[p]Frenchmen, I'll be a Salisbury to
you:
[p]Pucelle or puzzel, dolphin or dogfish,
[p]Your hearts I'll
stamp out with my horse's heels,
[p]And make a quagmire of your
mingled brains.
[p]Convey me Salisbury into his tent,
[p]And then
we'll try what these dastard Frenchmen dare.
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Next: Act 1 - Scene 5
