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Henry VI part one

Act II, Scene 1

 

Before Orleans.
 
[Enter a Sergeant of a band with two Sentinels]
 
SERGEANT
        T     T    T     ,            ,    ,  2
      Sirs, take your | places,| and be | vigilant:
         ,      ,         ,        ,         ,
      If an|y noise | or sol|dier you | perceive
        ,             ,          ,       ,        ,
      Near to | the walls,| by some | appar|ent sign
       ,         ,    ,                   ,          ,
      Let us | have know/ledge at | the court | of guard.
 
FIRST SENTINEL
       ,               ,       ,          ,   ,
      Sergeant | you shall.| Thus are | poor serv/itors
            ,         ,        ,          ,       ,
      (When oth|ers sleep | upon | their qui|et beds)
             ,           ,          ,          ,          ,
      Constrained | to watch | in dark|ness, rain,| and cold.
 
[Enter TALBOT, BEDFORD, BURGUNDY, and Forces, with scaling-ladders, their drums beating a dead march]
 
TALBOT
        ,   ,                 ,        ,     ,
      Lord Reg/ent, and | redoubt|ed Burg|undy,
           ,          ,          ,        ,       ,
      By whose | approach | the reg|ions of | Artois,
          ,         ,     ,          ,          ,
      Wallon,| and Pic|ardy | are friends | to us:
            ,       ,           ,         ,        ,
      This hap|py night,| the French|men are | secure,
       ,        T   T   .   T          ,      ,
      Having | all day caroused | and ban|queted,
          ,          ,          ,     ,    ,
      Embrace | we then | this op|portun|ity,
          ,         ,         ,          ,         ,
      As fit|ting best | to quit|tance their | deceit,
           ,          ,         ,        ,     ,
      Contrived | by art,| and bale|ful sor|cery.
 
BEDFORD
       ,             ,           ,          ,           ,
      Coward | of France,| how much | he wrongs | his fame,
          ,                  ,    ,     ,     ,
      Despair|ing of his // own arm's fort|itude,
           ,           ,        ,          ,         ,
      To join | with witch|es, and | the help | of hell.
 
BURGUNDY
        ,              ,      ,      ,     ,
      Traitors | have nev|er oth|er comp|any.
            ,                ,     ,           ,         ,
      But what's | that Pu/celle whom | they term | so pure?
 
TALBOT
          ,          ,
      A maid,| they say.
 
BEDFORD
                            ,         ,       ,        2->
                        A maid?| and be | so mar||tial?
 
BURGUNDY
            ,          ,          ,            ,    ,
      Pray God | she prove | not mas|culine / ere long:
          ,      ,           ,        ,          ,
      If und|erneath | the stand|ard of | the French
           ,      ,       ,         ,       ,
      She car|ry arm|or, as | she hath | begun.
 
TALBOT
        ,                ,        ,         ,             x
      Well, let | them prac|tice and | converse | with spirits.
       ,            ,          ,          ,     2      ,
      God is | our fort|ress, in | whose con|quering name
       ,    2     ,          ,             ,       ,
      Let us re|solve to | scale their | flinty | bulwarks*.
 
BEDFORD
         ,       ,    ,                  ,        ,
      Ascend | brave Tal/bot, we | will fol|low thee.
 
TALBOT
           ,       ,        ,       ,        ,
      Not all | togeth|er: bet|ter far | I guess,
            ,        ,         ,          ,        ,
      That we | do make | our ent|rance seve|ral ways:
            ,         ,          ,        ,         ,
      That if | it chance | the one | of us | do* fail,
           ,      ,          ,        ,             ,
      The oth|er yet | may rise | against | their force.
 
BEDFORD
          ,      T   .   T   T     2->
      Agreed;| I'll to yond corn|er.
 
BURGUNDY
                                           ,        ,
                                       And I | to this.
 
TALBOT
            ,          ,        ,          ,          ,
      And here | will Tal|bot mount,| or make | his grave.
       ,   ,      2          ,         ,          ,
      Now Sal/isbury,| for thee,| and for | the right
          ,        ,        ,            ,         ,
      Of Eng|lish Hen|ry, shall | this night | appear
            ,        ,     ,        ,          ,
      How much | in du|ty, I | am bound | to both.
 
SENTINELS
       T    T    .   T   ,          ,        ,
      Arm, arm, the en|emy | doth^make | assault.
 
[Cry: 'St. George,' 'A Talbot.'  The French leap over the walls in their shirts. Enter, several ways, the BASTARD OF ORLEANS, ALENCON, and REIGNIER, half ready, and half unready]
 
ALENCON
           ,         ,            ,        ,     ,
      How now | my lords? | What all | unread|y so?
 
BASTARD OF ORLEANS
          ,      ,          ,      2    ,          ,
      Unread|y? Aye,| and glad | we escaped | so well.
 
REIGNIER
              ,        ,         ,          ,           ,
      Twas* time |(I trow)| to wake | and leave | our beds,
        ,         ,       ,         ,        ,
      Hearing | alar|ums at | our chamb|er-doors.
 
ALENCON
       .  T   T   T            ,        ,          ,
      Of all exploits |since^first | I fol|lowed arms,
        ,    ,         2     T   T   T      ,
      Nere heard / I of a | warlike ent|erprise
             ,      ,        ,     ,            ,
      More* vent|urous,| or des|perate | than this.
 
BASTARD OF ORLEANS
          ,           ,       ,       ,          ,
      I think | this Tal|bot be | a fiend | of hell.
 
REIGNIER
          ,         ,          ,        ,     ,   2
      If not | of hell,| the heav|ens sure | favor him.
 
ALENCON
            ,         ,          ,      ,         ,
      Here com|eth Charles,| I marv|el how | he sped?
 
BASTARD OF ORLEANS
            ,      ,         ,       ,         ,
      Tut, ho|ly Joan | was his | defens|ive guard.
 
      [Enter CHARLES and JOAN LA PUCELLE]
 
CHARLES
           ,         ,          ,       ,         ,
      Is this | thy cun|ning, thou | deceit|ful dame?
              ,         ,          ,       ,       ,
      Didst^thou | at first,| to flat|ter us | withal,
            ,       ,       ,      ,        ,
      Make^us | partak|ers of | a lit|tle gain,
            ,          ,           ,         ,          ,
      That now | our loss | might be | ten^times | so much?
 
JOAN LA PUCELLE
             ,          ,         ,         ,           ,
      Wherefore | is Charles | impa|tient with | his friend?
       .  T    T     T          ,         ,        ,
      At all times will | you have | my power | alike?
        ,            ,         ,        ,          ,
      Sleeping | or wak|ing, must | I still | prevail,
           ,          ,          ,          ,         ,
      Or will | you blame | and lay | the fault | on me?
          ,    2    ,          ,           ,            ,
      Improv|ident sol|diers, had | your watch | been good,
            ,       ,         ,       ,             x
      This sud|den mis|chief nev|er could | have fallen.
 
CHARLES
        ,         ,         ,          ,        ,
      Duke of | Alen|con, this | was your | default,
            ,      ,        ,         ,         ,
      That be|ing cap|tain of | the watch | tonight,
            ,        ,       ,           ,        ,
      Did look | no bet|ter to | that weight|y charge.
 
ALENCON
           ,           ,         ,         ,       ,
      Had all | your quart|ers been | as safe|ly kept,
           ,         ,       ,         ,      ,
      As that | whereof | I had | the gov|ernment,
          ,          ,           ,       ,         ,
      We had | not been | thus shame|fully | surprised.
 
BASTARD OF ORLEANS
        ,            ,
      Mine was | secure.
 
REIGNIER
                             ,         ,         ,
                        And so | was mine,| my lord.
 
CHARLES
           ,        ,      T    T   .  T           ,
      And for | myself,| most part of all | this night
          ,          ,                   ,   ,   ,
      Within | her quart|er, and mine^//own precinct
      ,            ,         ,        ,        ,
      I was | employed | in pas|sing to | and fro,
         ,        ,       ,         ,     ,
      About | reliev|ing of | the sent|inels.
            ,         ,      ,                   ,            ,
      Then how,| or which | way, should | they first | break in?
 
JOAN LA PUCELLE
        ,             ,          ,       ,         ,
      Question |(my lords)| no furth|er of | the case,
       T   .   T    T           ,           ,            ,
      How or which way;| 'tis sure | they found | some^place,
            ,       ,         ,           ,            ,
      But weak|ly guard|ed, where | the breach | was made:
           ,            ,         ,       ,           ,
      And now | there^rests | no^oth|er shift | but this,
          ,     2     ,           ,         ,         ,
      To gath|er our sol|diers, scat|tered and | dispersed,
           ,          ,    ,           ,        ,
      And lay | new plat|forms to | endam|age them.
 
[Alarum. Enter a Soldier, crying 'A Talbot! a Talbot!' They fly, leaving their clothes behind]
 
SOLDIER
            ,        ,         ,           ,           ,
      I'll be | so bold | to take | what they | have left:
           ,        ,         ,         ,        ,
      The cry | of Tal|bot serves | me for | a sword,
          ,          ,      ,         ,       ,
      For I | have load|en me | with ma|ny spoils,
       ,          ,      ,       ,          ,
      Using | no^oth|er weap|on but | his name.
 
[Exit]

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