The Complete Works of William Shakespeare · William Shakespeare
SCENE II. The French camp.
Enter the Dauphin, Orleans, Rambures and others. ORLEANS. The sun doth gild our armour; up, my lords! DAUPHIN. _Monte à cheval!_ My horse, _varlet! laquais_, ha! ORLEANS. O brave spirit! DAUPHIN. _Via, les eaux et terre!_ ORLEANS. _Rien puis? L’air et feu?_ DAUPHIN. _Cieux_, cousin Orleans. Enter Constable. Now, my Lord Constable! CONSTABLE. Hark, how our steeds for present service neigh! DAUPHIN. Mount them, and make incision in their hides, That their hot blood may spin in English eyes, And dout them with superfluous courage, ha! RAMBURES. What, will you have them weep our horses’ blood? How shall we, then, behold their natural tears? Enter a Messenger. MESSENGER. The English are embattl’d, you French peers. CONSTABLE. To horse, you gallant princes! straight to horse! Do but behold yon poor and starved band, And your fair show shall suck away their souls, Leaving them but the shales and husks of men. There is not work enough for all our hands; Scarce blood enough in all their sickly veins To give each naked curtle-axe a stain, That our French gallants shall today draw out, And sheathe for lack of sport. Let us but blow on them, The vapour of our valour will o’erturn them. ’Tis positive ’gainst all exceptions, lords, That our superfluous lackeys and our peasants, Who in unnecessary action swarm About our squares of battle, were enough To purge this field of such a hilding foe, Though we upon this mountain’s basis by Took stand for idle speculation, But that our honours must not. What’s to say? A very little little let us do, And all is done. Then let the trumpets sound The tucket sonance and the note to mount; For our approach shall so much dare the field That England shall crouch down in fear and yield.
Text from Project Gutenberg, public domain in the United States.