Enter the KING OF FRANCE, the DAUPHIN, the duke of BOURBON, the CONSTABLE of France, and others
The KING OF FRANCE, the DAUPHIN, the duke of BOURBON, and the CONSTABLE of France enter, with others.
KING OF FRANCE
'Tis certain he hath passed the river Somme.
KING OF FRANCE
He's certainly crossed the river Somme.
CONSTABLE
An if he be not fought withal, my lord,
Let us not live in France. Let us quit all
And give our vineyards to a barbarous people.
CONSTABLE
And if he advances unopposed, my lord, let us abandon France. Let us leave everything and give our vineyards to the barbarous nation.
DAUPHIN
5
Ô Dieu vivant, shall a few sprays of us,
The emptying of our fathers' luxury,
Our scions, put in wild and savage stock,
Spurt up so suddenly into the clouds
And overlook their grafters?
DAUPHIN
God alive! Shall a few offshoots of our nation, born of our father's lust—our branches grafted to wild and savage trunks—grow to such a height that they look down with contempt on the plants from which they first sprang
?
BOURBON
10
Normans, but bastard Normans, Norman bastards!
Mort de ma vie, if they march along
Unfought withal, but I will sell my dukedom
To buy a slobb'ry and a dirty farm
In that nook-shotten isle of Albion.
BOURBON
Normans, nothing more than bastard Normans, Norman bastards! I hope I die! If they march along unopposed, I will sell my dukedom for a sodden, filthy farm in that craggy isle of Albion.
CONSTABLE
15
Dieu de batailles, where have they this mettle?
Is not their climate foggy, raw, and dull,
On whom, as in despite, the sun looks pale,
Killing their fruit with frowns? Can sodden water,
A drench for sur-reined jades, their barley broth,
CONSTABLE
God of battles! Where do they get this spirit? Isn't their climate foggy, cold, and dark? Doesn't the sun shine palely down on them, as though in contempt, killing their fruit with frowns? Can boiled water (beer, they call it)—a drink for broken-down horses, heat their cold blood to such a valiant level? And shall our lively blood, quickened by wine, be so frosty? Oh, for the
