Page 258 - Shakespeare - Vol. 1

GENERAL

Thou ominous and fearful owl of death, [15]
Our nation’s terror and their bloody scourge,
The period of thy tyranny approacheth.
On us thou canst not enter but by death;
For I protest we are well fortified
And strong enough to issue out and fight. [20]
If thou retire, the dauphin, well appointed,
Stands with the snares of war to tangle thee.
On either hand thee there are squadrons pitched
To wall thee the liberty of flight;
And no way canst thou turn thee for redress [25]
But Death doth front thee with apparent spoil
And pale Destruction meets thee in the face.
Ten thousand French have ta’en the sacrament
To rive their dangerous artillery
Upon no Christian soul but English Talbot. [30]
Lo, there thou stand’st, a breathing valiant man
Of an invincible unconquered spirit:
This is the latest glory of thy praise
That I, thy enemy, due thee withal;
For ere the glass, that now begins to run, [35]
Finish the process of his sandy hour,
These eyes, that see thee now well colourèd,
Shall see thee withered, bloody, pale, and dead.

Drum afar off.
Hark, hark, the dauphin’s drum, a warning-bell,
Sings heavy music to thy timorous soul, [40]
And mine shall ring thy dire departure out.

Exeunt [General and others aloft].

T ALBOT [Exit one or more.]

He fables not; I hear the enemy.
Out, some light horsemen, and peruse their wings.

O negligent and heedless discipline!
How are we parked and bounded in a pale, [45]
A little herd of England’s timorous deer
Mazed with a yelping kennel of French curs!
If we be English deer, be then in blood,
Not rascal-like to fall down with a pinch,