Gloucester.
Lord Bishop, set the crown upon his head.

Win.
God save King Henry, of that name the Sixth.

Glou.
Now governor of Paris take your oath,
That you elect no other King but him;
Esteem none friends but such as are his friends,
And none your foes, but such as shall pretend
Malicious practices against his state.
This shall ye do, so help you righteous God. † ^noteEnter Falstaff.

Fal.
My gracious Soveraign, as I rode from Calais,
To haste unto your coronation,
A letter was deliver'd to my hands,
Writ to your grace from the Duke of Burgundy.

Tal.
Shame to the Duke of Burgundy and thee:
I vow'd, base Knight, when I did meet thee next,
To tear the garter from thy craven's leg,
Which I have done; because unworthily
Thou wast installed in that high degree.
Pardon, my Princely Henry, and the rest:
This dastard, at the battle of Poictiers,

When but in all I was six thousand strong,
And that the French were almost ten to one;
Before we met, or that a stroke was given,
Like to a trusty 'squire did run away.
In which assault we lost twelve hundred men,
My self and divers gentlemen beside
Were there surpriz'd and taken prisoners.
Then judge, great lords, if I have done amiss;
Or whether that such cowards ought to wear
This ornament of knighthood, yea or no?

Glou.
To say the truth, this fact was infamous,
And ill beseeming any common man;
Much more a Knight, a captain, and a leader.

Tal.
When first this order was ordain'd, my lords,
Knights of the garter were of noble birth,
Valiant and virtuous, full of haughty courage,
Such as were grown to credit by the wars;
Not fearing death, nor shrinking for distress,
But always resolute in most extreams.
He then that is not furnish'd in this sort
Doth but usurp the sacred name of Knight,
Prophaning this most honourable order;
And should, if I were worthy to be judge,
Be quite degraded, like a hedge-born swain
That doth presume to boast of gentle blood.

K. Henry.
Stain to thy countrymen, thou hear'st thy doom,
Be packing therefore thou that wast a Knight;
Henceforth we banish thee on pain of death. [Exit Falstaff.
And now, my lord Protector, view the letter
Sent from our uncle Duke of Burgundy.

Glou.
What means his grace that he hath chang'd his stile?
No more but plain and bluntly, To the King. [Reading.
Hath he forgot he is his Soveraign?

Or doth this churlish superscription
Portend some alteration in good will?
What's here? I have upon especial cause, [Reads.
Mov'd with compassion of my country's wrack,
Together with the pitiful complaints
Of such as your oppression feeds upon,
Forsaken your pernicious faction,
And join'd with Charles the rightful King of France.
O monstrous treachery! can this be so?
That in alliance, amity, and oaths,
There should be found such false dissembling guile?

K. Henry.
What! doth my uncle Burgundy revolt?

Glou.
He doth, my lord, and is become our foe.

K. Henry.
Is that the worst this letter doth contain?

Glou.
It is the worst, and all, my lord, he writes.

K. Henry.
Why then lord Talbot there shall talk with him,
And give him chastisement for this abuse.
My lord, how say you, are you not content?

Tal.
Content, my Liege? yes: but that I'm prevented,
I should have begg'd I might have been employ'd.

K. Henry.
Then gather strength, and march unto him strait:
Let him perceive how ill we brook his treason,
And what offence it is to flout his friends.

Tal.
I go, my lord, in heart desiring still
You may behold confusion of your foes. [Exit Talbot.

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