Chapter 14

_Trumpets sound. Enter, at one door, U.E.L.H., KING HENRY,(A) BEDFORD, GLOSTER, EXETER, WARWICK, WESTMORELAND, and other Lords; at another, U.E.R.H., the FRENCH KING, QUEEN ISABEL, the PRINCESS KATHARINE,[7](B) Lords, Ladies, &c., the Duke of BURGUNDY, and his Train. The two parties, French and English, are divided by barriers._

_K. Hen._ (L.C.) Peace to this meeting, wherefore we are met![8] Unto our brother France,--and to our sister, Health and fair time of day;--joy and good wishes To our most fair and princely cousin Katharine; And (as a branch and member of this royalty, By whom this great assembly is contriv'd,) We do salute you, duke of Burgundy;-- And, princes French, and peers, health to you all!

[_All the French party bow to KING HENRY._

_Fr. King._ (R.C.) Right joyous are we to behold your face, Most worthy brother England; fairly met:-- So are you, princes English, every one.

_Q. Isa._ (_R. of F. KING._) So happy be the issue, brother England, Of this good day, and of this gracious meeting, As we are now glad to behold your eyes; Your eyes, which hitherto have borne in them Against the French, that met them in their bent, The fatal balls of murdering basilisks:[9] The venom of such looks, we fairly hope, Have lost their quality; and that this day Shall change all griefs and quarrels into love.

_K. Hen._ To cry amen to that, thus we appear.

_Q.Isa._ You English princes all, I do salute you.

[_All the English party bow to QUEEN ISABELLA._

_Bur._ (R.) My duty to you both, on equal love, Great kings of France and England! Let it not disgrace me, If I demand, before this royal view, What rub or what impediment there is, Why that the naked, poor, and mangled peace Dear nurse of arts, plenties, and joyful births, Should not, in this best garden of the world, Our fertile France, put up her lovely visage?

_K. Hen._ If, duke of Burgundy, you would the peace, Which you have cited, you must buy that peace With full accord to all our just demands; Whose tenours and particular effects You have, enschedul'd briefly, in your hands.

_Fr. King._ I have but with a cursorary eye O'er-glanc'd the articles: pleaseth your grace To appoint some of your council presently To sit with us once more, with better heed To re-survey them, we will suddenly Pass our accept and peremptory answer.[10]

_K. Hen._ Brother, we shall.--Go, uncle Exeter,-- And brother Bedford,--and you, brother Gloster,-- Warwick,--and Huntingdon,--go with the king; And take with you free power, to ratify, Augment, or alter, as your wisdoms best Shall see advantageable for our dignity, And we'll consign thereto.--

[_Barriers removed. The English Lords, EXETER, BEDFORD, GLOSTER, WARWICK, and HUNTINGDON, cross to the KING OF FRANCE, and exeunt afterwards with him._

Will you, fair sister, Go with the princes, or stay here with us?

_Q. Isa._ Our gracious brother, I will go with them: Haply a woman's voice may do some good, When articles too nicely urg'd be stood on.

_K. Hen._ Yet leave our cousin Katharine here with us: She is our capital demand, compris'd Within the fore rank of our articles.

_Q. Isa._ She hath good leave.

[_Trumpets sound._

[_Exeunt all through gates, L.E.R. and L., but HENRY, KATHARINE, and her Gentlewomen._

_K. Hen._ (L.C.) Fair Katharine, and most fair! Will you vouchsafe to teach a soldier terms, Such as will enter at a lady's ear, And plead his love-suit to her gentle heart?

_Kath._ (R.C.) Votre majeste shall mock at me; I cannot speak votre Anglais.

_K. Hen._ O fair Katharine, if you will love me soundly with your French heart, I will be glad to hear you confess it brokenly with your English tongue. Do you like me, Kate?

_Kath._ _Pardonnez moi,_ I cannot tell vat is--like me.

_K. Hen._ An angel is like you, Kate, and you are like an angel.

_Kath._ _Que dit-il? que je suis semblable aux anges?_

_K. Hen._ I said so, dear Katharine; and I must not blush to affirm it.

_Kath._ _O bon Dieu! les langues des hommes sont pleines de tromperies._

_K. Hen._ What say you, fair one?

_Kath._ Dat de tongues of de mans is be full of deceits.

_K. Hen._ I'faith, Kate. I know no ways to mince it in love, but directly to say--I love you: then, if you urge me further than to say--Do you in faith? I wear out my suit. Give me your answer; i'faith, do; and so clap hands and a bargain: How say you, lady?

_Kath._ Me understand well.

_K. Hen._ Marry, if you would put me to verses or to dance for your sake, Kate, why you undid me. If I could win a lady at leap-frog, or by vaulting into my saddle with my armour on my back, under the correction of bragging, be it spoken, I should quickly leap into a wife. But, before Heaven, I cannot look greenly,[11] nor gasp out my eloquence, nor I have no cunning in protestation; only downright oaths, which I never use till urged, nor never break for urging. If thou canst love a fellow of this temper, Kate, whose face is not worth sun-burning, that never looks in his glass for love of any thing he sees there, let thine eye be thy cook. I speak to thee plain soldier: If thou canst love me for this, take me; if not, to say to thee--that I shall die, is true, but--for thy love, by the lord, no; yet I love thee too. And while thou livest, dear Kate, take a fellow of plain and uncoined constancy;[12] for a good leg will fall;[13] a straight back will stoop; a black beard will turn white; a curled pate will grow bald; a fair face will wither; a full eye will wax hollow: but a good heart, Kate, is the sun and moon; or, rather, the sun, and not the moon, for it shines bright, and never changes, but keeps his course truly. If thou would have such a one, take me: And take me, take a soldier; take a soldier, take a king: And what sayest thou, then, to my love? speak, my fair, and fairly, I pray thee.

_Kath._ Est il possible dat I should love de enemy de la France?

_K. Hen._ No; it is not possible you should love the enemy of France, Kate: but, in loving me, you should love the friend of France; for I love France so well, that I will not part with a village of it; I will have it all mine: and, Kate, when France is mine, and I am yours, then yours is France, and you are mine.

_Kath._ Vat is dat?

_K. Hen._ Kate, dost thou understand thus much English? Canst thou love me?

_Kath._ I cannot tell.

_K. Hen._ Can any of your neighbours tell, Kate? I'll ask them. Come, I know thou lovest me: and at night, when you come into your closet, you'll question this gentlewoman about me; and I know, Kate, you will to her dispraise those parts in me that you love with your heart. If ever thou be'st mine, Kate, (as I have a saving faith within me, tells me,--thou shalt,) shall there not be a boy compounded between Saint Dennis and Saint George, half French, half English, that shall go to Constantinople[14] and take the Turk by the beard? shall he not? what sayest thou, my fair flower-de-luce? How answer you, _la plus belle Katharine du monde, mon tres chere et divine deesse?_

_Kath._ _Votre majeste_ 'ave _fausse_ French enough to deceive _la plus sage damoiselle_ dat is _en France._

_K. Hen._ Now, fie upon my false French! By mine honour, in true English, I love thee, Kate: by which honour I dare not swear thou lovest me; yet my blood begins to flatter me that thou dost, notwithstanding the poor and untempting effect of my visage. But, in faith, Kate, the elder I wax, the better I shall appear: my comfort is, that old age, that ill layer-up of beauty, can do no more spoil upon my face: thou hast me, if thou hast me, at the worst; and thou shalt wear me, if thou wear me, better and better: And therefore tell me, most fair Katharine, will you have me? Put off your maiden blushes; avouch the thoughts of your heart with the looks of an empress; take me by the hand, and say--Harry of England, I am thine: which word thou shalt no sooner bless mine ear withal, but I will tell thee aloud--England is thine, Ireland is thine, France is thine, and Henry Plantagenet is thine; who, though I speak it before his face, if he be not fellow with the best king, thou shalt find the best king of good fellows. Come, your answer in broken musick, for thy voice is musick, and thy English broken; therefore, queen of all, Katharine, break thy mind to me in broken English, Wilt thou have me?

_Kath._ Dat is as it shall please _le roi mon pere_.

_K. Hen._ Nay, it will please him well, Kate; it shall please him, Kate.

_Kath._ Den it shall also content me.

_K. Hen._ Upon that I will kiss your hand, and I call you--my queen.

_Kath._ _Laissez, mon seigneur, laissez, laissez._

_K. Hen._ Then I will kiss your lips, Kate.

_Kath._ Dat is not be de fashion _pour les_ dames _de la_ France.

_K. Hen._ O Kate, nice customs curt'sy to great kings. We are the makers of manners, Kate; therefore, patiently, and yielding. (_Kisses her._) You have witchcraft in your lips, Kate: there is more eloquence in a sugar touch of them than in the tongues of the French council; and they should sooner persuade Harry of England than a general petition of monarchs. (_Trumpets sound._) Here comes your father.

[_The centre gates are thrown open, and_

_Re-enter the FRENCH KING and QUEEN, BURGUNDY, BEDFORD, GLOSTER, EXETER, WESTMORELAND. The other French and English Lords as before, U.E.R. and L._

_Bur._ (R.) My royal cousin, teach you our princess English?

_K. Hen._ (C.) I would have her learn, my fair cousin, how perfectly I love her; and that is good English.

_Bur._ Is she not apt?

_K. Hen._ Our tongue is rough, coz, and my condition is not smooth;[15] so that, having neither the voice nor the heart of flattery about me, I cannot so conjure up the spirit of love in her, that he will appear in his true likeness. Shall Kate be my wife?

_Fr. King._ (L.C.) So please you.

_Exe._ The king hath granted every article: His daughter, first; and then, in sequel, all, According to their firm proposed natures.

_Fr. King._ Take her, fair son; That the contending kingdoms Of France and England, whose very shores look pale With envy of each other's happiness, May cease their hatred; and this dear conjunction Plant neighbourhood and christian-like accord In their sweet bosoms, that never war advance His bleeding sword 'twixt England and fair France.

_K. Hen._ Now, welcome, Kate:--and bear me witness all, That here I take her as my sovereign queen.

[_The KING places a ring on KATHARINE'S finger._

Prepare we for our marriage:--on which day, My lord of Burgundy, we'll take your oath, And all the peers', for surety of our leagues.-- Then shall I swear to Kate, and you to me; And may our oaths well kept and prosp'rous be!(C)

[_Flourish of Trumpets. Curtain descends._

[Footnote V.4: _----gleeking_] i.e., scoffing, sneering. _Gleek_ was a game at cards.]

[Footnote V.5: _----English +condition+._] _Condition_ is temper, disposition of mind.]

[Footnote V.6: _----Doth fortune play the +huswife+_] That is, the _jilt_.]

[Footnote V.7: The dresses of Queen Isabella, her ladies, and the Princess Katharine, are taken from Montfaucon Monarchie Francoise.]

[Footnote V.8: _----wherefore we are met!_] i.e., Peace, for which we are here met, be to this meeting.]

[Footnote V.9: _The fatal balls of murdering basilisks:_] It was anciently supposed that this serpent could destroy the object of its vengeance by merely looking at it.]

[Footnote V.10: _----we will, suddenly, Pass our accept, and peremptory answer._] i.e., our answer shall be such as to leave no room for further questioning in the matter. "_We will peremptorily make answer._"]

[Footnote V.11: _----look +greenly+,_] i.e., like a young lover, awkwardly.]

[Footnote V.12: _----take a good fellow of plain and +uncoined+ constancy;_] _Uncoined_ constancy signifies _real_ and _true_ constancy, _unrefined_ and _unadorned_.]

[Footnote V.13: _----a good leg will fall,_] i.e., shrink--fall away.]

[Footnote V.14: _----shall go to Constantinople_] Shakespeare has here committed an anachronism. The Turks were not possessed of Constantinople before the year 1463, when Henry the Fifth had been dead thirty-one years.]

[Footnote V.15: _----my +condition+ is not smooth;_] i.e., manners, appearance.]

THE END.

HISTORICAL NOTES TO ACT FIFTH.

(A) _Enter_ KING HENRY,] At this interview, which is described as taking place in the Church of Notre Dame, at Troyes, King Henry was attired in his armour, and accompanied by sixteen hundred warriors. Henry is related to have placed a ring of "inestimable value" on the finger of Katharine, "supposed to be the same worn by our English queen-consorts at their coronation," at the moment when he received the promise of the princess.

(B) _The PRINCESS KATHARINE_,] Katharine of Valois was the youngest child of Charles VI., King of France, and his Queen, Isabella of Bavaria. She was born in Paris, October 27th, 1401. Monstrelet relates, that on Trinity Sunday, June 3rd, the King of England wedded the lady Katharine in the church at Troyes, and that great pomp and magnificence were displayed by him and his princess, as if he had been king of the whole world. Katharine was crowned Queen of England February 24, 1421; and shortly after the death of her heroic husband, which event took place August 31st, 1422, the queen married a Welch gentleman of the name of Owen Tudor, by whom she had three sons and one daughter. The eldest son, Edmund, married Margaret Beaufort, the heiress of the house of Somerset. His half-brother, Henry VI., created him Earl of Richmond. He died before he reached twenty years of age, leaving an infant son, afterwards Henry VII., the first king of the Tudor line. Katharine died January 3rd, 1437, in the thirty-sixth year of her age, and was buried at Westminster Abbey.

(C) _----may our oaths well kept and prosp'rous be;_] The principal articles of the treaty were, that Henry should espouse the Princess Catherine: That King Charles, during his life time, should enjoy the title and dignity of King of France: That Henry should be declared and acknowledged heir of the monarchy, and be entrusted with the present administration of the government: That that kingdom should pass to his heirs general: That France and England should for ever be united under one king; but should still retain their several usages, customs, and privileges: That all the princes, peers, vassals, and communities of France, should swear, that they would both adhere to the future succession of Henry, and pay him present obedience as regent: That this prince should unite his arms to those of King Charles and the Duke of Burgundy, in order to subdue the adherents of Charles, the pretended dauphin; and that these three princes should make no peace or truce with him but by common consent and agreement. Such was the tenour of this famous treaty; a treaty which, as nothing but the most violent animosity could dictate it, so nothing but the power of the sword could carry it into execution. It is hard to say whether its consequences, had it taken effect, would have proved more pernicious to England or France. It must have reduced the former kingdom to the rank of a province: It would have entirely disjointed the succession of the latter, and have brought on the destruction of the royal family; as the houses of Orleans, Anjou, Alencon, Britanny, Bourbon, and of Burgundy itself, whose titles were preferable to that of the English princes, would, on that account, have been exposed to perpetual jealousy and persecution from the sovereign. There was even a palpable deficiency in Henry's claim, which no art could palliate. For, besides the insuperable objections to which Edward the Third's pretensions were exposed, _he_ was not heir to that monarch: If female succession were admitted, the right had devolved on the house of Mortimer: Allowing that Richard the Second was a tyrant, and that Henry the Fourth's merits in deposing him were so great towards the English, as to justify that nation in placing him on the throne, Richard had nowise offended France, and his rival had merited nothing of that kingdom: It could not possibly be pretended that the crown of France was become an appendage to that of England; and that a prince who by any means got possession of the latter, was, without farther question, entitled to the former. So that, on the whole, it must be allowed that Henry's claim to France was, if possible, still more unintelligible than the title by which his father had mounted the throne of England. --_Hume's History of England._

JOHN K. CHAPMAN AND COMPANY, PRINTERS, 5, SHOE LANE, AND PETERBOROUGH COURT, FLEET STREET.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Errata Noted by Transcriber

a paean of victory [poean] within this wooden O [wooden, O] suppose every man to represent [first "r" in "represent" invisible] [Historical Notes to Act II] [endnote labeling, with (A) reused, unchanged] Lewis, Dovphin of Viennois [spelling unchanged] should not raise the seige [spelling unchanged] ... had played the Englishmen at dice." [missing close quote]] I remember him now. [; for .] _Non nobis domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo_ [_seel nomini_] yet I love thee too [I I love thee]

Scenes

_Correspondences are approximate; all Scenes have been significantly edited. Chorus speeches are fairly close to their original form._

Kean edition (this text): Shakespeare

I.1 : I.2 I.2 : II.3, with Boy's speech from III.2 II.1 : II.2 II.2 : II.4 III (unnumbered scene after Chorus) : III.1 III.1 : III.5 III.2 : III.6 IV (unnumbered scene interrupting Chorus) : III.7 IV.1 : IV.1 IV.2 : IV.2 IV.3 : IV.3 IV.4 : IV.5 IV.5 : IV.6 and IV.7 (intermingled) IV.6 : IV.8 Interlude added by Kean : _no equivalent_ V.1 : V.1 V.2 : V.2

_Shakespeare's Epilogue (spoken by Chorus) is absent._

End of Project Gutenberg's King Henry the Fifth, by William Shakespeare