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For I have loaden me with many spoils,
Ufing no other weapon but his name.

[Exit.

SCENE II.

Orleans. Within the Town.

Enter TALBOT, BEDFORD, BURGUNDY, a Captain, and Others.

BED. The day begins to break, and night is fled, Whose pitchy mantle over-veil'd the earth. Here found retreat, and cease our hot purfuit.

[Retreat founded.

TAL. Bring forth the body of old Salisbury; And here advance it in the market-place, The middle centre of this curfed town.Now have I paid my vow unto his foul;2 For every drop of blood was drawn from him, There hath at least five Frenchmen died to-night. And, that hereafter ages may behold What ruin happen'd in revenge of him,

of this play should have taken this circumftance from the Chronicle which furnished him with this plot, than from the Comment on Spenfer's Paftorals. MALONE.

This is one of the floating atoms of intelligence which might have been orally circulated, and confequently have reached our author through other channels, than those of Spenser's annotator, or our English Chronicler. STEEVENS.

2 Now have I paid my vow unto his foul; &c.] So, in the old fpurious play of King John:

"Thus hath king Richard's fon perform'd his vow,

"And offer'd Auftria's blood for facrifice

"Unto his father's ever-living soul." STEEVENS.

Within their chiefeft temple I'll erect
A tomb, wherein his corpfe fhall be interr'd:
Upon the which, that every one may read,
Shall be engrav'd the fack of Orleans;

The treacherous manner of his mournful death,
And what a terror he had been to France.
But, lords, in all our bloody maffacre,

I mufe, we met not with the Dauphin's grace;
His new-come champion, virtuous Joan of Arc;
Nor any of his falfe confederates.

BED. 'Tis thought, lord Talbot, when the fight began,

Rous'd on the fudden from their drowsy beds,
They did, amongst the troops of armed men,
Leap o'er the walls for refuge in the field.

BUR. Myfelf (as far as I could well discern,
For fmoke, and dufky vapours of the night,)
Am fure, I fcar'd the Dauphin, and his trull;
When arm in arm they both came fwiftly running,
Like to a pair of loving turtle-doves,

That could not live afunder day or night.

After that things are fet in order here,

We'll follow them with all the power we have.

Enter a Meffenger.

MESS. All hail, my lords! which of this princely train

Call

ye the warlike Talbot, for his acts

So much applauded through the realm of France? TAL. Here is the Talbot; who would speak with him?

MESS. The virtuous lady, countefs of Auvergne, With modefty admiring thy renown,

By me entreats, good lord, thou wouldft vouchfafe

To vifit her poor caftle where the lies ;3
That she may boast, she hath beheld the man
Whofe glory fills the world with loud report.

BUR. Is it even fo? Nay, then, I fee, our wars Will turn unto a peaceful comick sport, When ladies crave to be encounter'd with.You may not, my lord, defpife her gentle fuit.

TAL. Ne'er truft me then; for, when a world of

men

Could not prevail with all their oratory,
Yet hath a woman's kindness over-rul'd :-
And therefore tell her, I return great thanks;
And in fubmiffion will attend on her.-
Will not your honours bear me company

BED. No, truly; it is more than manners will:
And I have heard it faid,-Unbidden guests
Are often welcomeft when they are gone.

TAL. Well then, alone, fince there's no remedy, I mean to prove this lady's courtesy.

Come hither, captain. [Whispers.]-You perceive my mind.

CAPT. I do, my lord; and mean accordingly.

[Exeunt.

where he lies;] i. e, where fhe dwells. MALONE.

SCENE III.

Auvergne. Court of the Caftle.

Enter the Countefs and her Porter.

COUNT. Porter, remember what I gave in charge; And, when you have done fo, bring the keys to me.

PORT. Madam, I will.

[Exit.

COUNT. The plot is laid: if all things fall out right,

I fhall as famous be by this exploit,

As Scythian Thomyris by Cyrus' death.

Great is the rumour of this dreadful knight,`
And his achievements of no lefs account:

Fain would mine eyes be witnefs with mine ears,
To give their cenfure+ of these rare reports.

Enter Meffenger and TALBOT.

MESS. Madam,

According as your ladyfhip defir'd,

By meffage crav'd, fo is lord Talbot come.

COUNT. And he is welcome.

man?

MESS. Madam, it is.

COUNT.

What! is this the

Is this the fcourge of France?

Is this the Talbot, so much fear'd abroad,

4their cenfure] i. e. their opinion. So, in King Richard III:

"And give your cenfures in this weighty bufinefs."

STEEVENS.

That with his name the mothers ftill their babes ? 5
I fee, report is fabulous and falfe :

I thought, I fhould have seen some Hercules,
A fecond Hector, for his grim afpéct,

And large proportion of his strong-knit limbs.
Alas! this is a child, a filly dwarf:

It cannot be, this weak and writhled' fhrimp
Should strike fuch terror to his enemies.

TAL. Madam, I have been bold to trouble you:
But, fince your ladyship is not at leisure,
I'll fort fome other time to vifit you.

COUNT. What means he now ?-Go afk him, whither he goes.

MESS. Stay, my lord Talbot; for my lady craves To know the caufe of your abrupt departure. TAL. Marry, for that she's in a wrong belief, I go to certify her, Talbot's here.

Re-enter Porter, with Keys.

COUNT. If thou be he, then art thou prifoner. TAL. Prifoner! to whom?

5 That with his name the mothers ftill their babes ?] Dryden has transplanted this idea into his Don Sebaftian, King of Portugal:

6

"Nor fhall Sebaftian's formidable name

"Be longer us'd, to lull the crying babe." STEEVENS.

·writhled—] i. e. wrinkled. The word is ufed by Spenfer. Sir Thomas Hanmer reads-wrizled, which has been followed in fubfequent editions. MALONE.

The inftance from Spenfer, is the following:

"Her writhled skin, as rough as maple rind."

Again, in Marfton's fourth Satire :

"Cold, writhled eld, his lives wet almost spent."

STEEVENS.

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