For fome dishonest manners of their life,
Eftablish'd there this law,-to wit, no female
Should be inheritrix in Salique land;

Which Salique, as I faid, 'twixt Elbe and Sala,
Is at this day in Germany call'd-Meifen.
Thus doth it well appear, the Salique law
Was not devised for the realm of France:
Nor did the French poffefs the Salique land
Until four hundred one and twenty years
After defunction of king Pharamond,
Idly fuppos'd the founder of this law;
Who died within the year of our redemption
Four hundred twenty-fix; and Charles the great,
Subdued the Saxons, and did feat the French
Beyond the river Sala, in the year

Eight hundred five. Befides, their writers fay,
King Pepin, which depofed Childerick,
Did, as heir general, being defcended

Of Blithild, which was daughter to king Clothair,
Make claim and title to the crown of France.
Hugh Capet alfo,-that ufurp'd the crown
Of Charles the duke of Lorain, fole heir male
Of the true line and stock of Charles the great,-
To fine his title with fome fhew of truth

(Though, in pure truth, it was corrupt and naught),
Convey'd himself as heir to the lady Lingare,
Daughter to Charlemain, who was the fon
To Lewis the emperor, and Lewis the fon
Of Charles the great. Alfo king Lewis the tenth,
Who was fole heir to the ufurper Capet,
Could not keep quiet in his confcience,
Wearing the crown of France, 'till fatisfy'd
That fair queen Ifabel, his grandmother,
Was lineal of the lady Ermengare,

Daughter

Daughter to Charles the forefaid duke of Lorain :
By the which marriage, the line of Charles the great
Was re-united to the crown of France.

So that, as clear as is the fummer's fun,
King Pepin's title, and Hugh Capet's claim,
King Lewis his fatisfaction, all appear
To hold in right and title of the female:
So do the kings of France unto this day;
Howbeit they would hold up this Salique law,
To bar your highness claiming from the female;
And rather choose to hide them in a net,
Than amply to imbare their crooked titles
Ufurp'd from you and your progenitors.

K. Henry. May I, with right and conscience, make this claim?

Cant. The fin upon my head, dread fovereign! For in the book of Numbers is it writ,When the fon dies, let the inheritance Defcend unto the daughter. Gracious lord, Stand for your own; unwind your bloody flag; Look back unto your mighty ancestors:

Go, my

dread lord, to your great grandfire's tomb, From whom you claim; invoke his warlike fpirit, And your great uncle's, Edward the black prince; Who on the French ground play'd a tragedy, Making defeat on the full power of France ; Whiles his moft mighty father on a hill Stood fmiling, to behold his lion's whelp Forage in blood of French nobility.

O noble English, that could entertain

With half their forces the full pride of France;
And let another half stand laughing by,
All out of work, and cold for action!

Ely. Awake remembrance of thefe valiant dead,
B

And

And with your puiffant arm renew their feats :
You are their heir, you fit upon their throne;
The blood and courage, that renowned them,
Runs in your veins; and my thrice-puiffant liege
Is in the very May-morn of his youth,

Ripe for exploits and mighty enterprizes.

Exe. Your brother kings and monarchs of the earth Do all expect that you fhould roufe yourself,

As did the former lions of your blood.

Weft. They know, your grace hath cause, and means and might;

So hath your highnefs; never king of England
Had nobles richer, and more loyal fubjects;
Whose hearts have left their bodies here in England,
And lie pavilion'd in the fields of France.

Cant. O, let their bodies follow, my dear liege, With blood, and fword, and fire, to win your right: In aid whereof, we of the fpirituality

Will raise your highness fuch a mighty fum,
As never did the clergy at one time

Bring in to any of your ancestors.

K. Henry. We must not only arm to invade the

But lay down our proportions to defend

[French;

Against the Scot, who will make road upon us

With all advantages.

Cant. They of thofe marches, gracious fovereign, Shall be a wall fufficient to defend

Our inland from the pilfering borderers.

K. Henry. We do not mean the courfing fnatchers

But fear the main intendment of the Scot,

Who hath been still a giddy neighbour to us;
For you fhall read, that my great grandfather,
Never went with his forces into France,
But that the Scot on his unfurnish'd kingdom

[only,

Came

I

Came pouring, like the tide unto a breach
With ample and brim fulness of his force;
Galling the gleaned land with hot essays;
Girding with grievous fiege caftles, and towns;
That England, being empty of defence,

Hath fhook, and trembled at the ill neighbourhood.
Cant. She hath been then more fear'd than harm'd,
my liege :

For hear her but exampled by herfelf,---
When all her chivalry hath been in France,
And she a mourning widow of her nobles,
She hath herself not only well defended,
But taken, and impounded as a ftray,

The king of Scots; whom the did send to France,
To fill king Edward's fame with prifoner kings;
And make your chronicle as rich with praise,
As is the ouze and bottom of the fea

With funken wreck and fumlefs treasuries.
Weft. But there's a faying, very old and true,-
If that you will France win,

Then with Scotland firft begin:

For once the eagle England being in prey,
To her unguarded neft the weazel Scot
Comes fneaking, and fo fucks her princely eggs;
Playing the mouse, in absence of the cat,
To fpoil and havoc more than fhe can eat.

Exe. It follows then, the cat must stay at home: Yet that is but a curs'd neceffity;

Since we have locks to fafeguard neceffaries,
And pretty traps to catch the petty thieves.
While that the armed hand doth fight abroad,
The advised head defends itself at home:
For government, though high, and low, and lower,

B 2

Put

Put into parts, doth keep in one confent;
Congruing in a full and natural close,
Like mufic.

Cant. True: therefore doth heaven divide
The state of man in divers functions,
Setting endeavour in continual motion;
To which is fixed, as an aim or butt,
Obedience: for fo work the honey bees;
Creatures, that, by a rule in nature, teach
The act of order to a peopled kingdom.
They have a king, and officers of forts:
Where fome, like magiftrates, correct at home;
Others, like merchants, venture trade abroad;
Others, like foldiers, armed in their stings,
Make boot upon the fummer's velvet buds;
Which pillage they with merry march bring home
To the tent-royal of their emperor :
Who, bufy'd in his majefty, furveys
The finging mafons building roofs of gold;
The civil citizens kneading up the honey;
The poor mechanic porters crowding in
Their heavy burdens at his narrow gate;
The fad-ey'd juftice, with his furly hum,
Delivering o'er to executors pale

The lazy yawning drone. I this infer,-
That many things, having full reference
To one confent, may work contrariously;
As many arrows, loofed feveral ways,
Fly to one mark;

As many feveral ways meet in one town;
As many fresh ftreams run in one felf fea;
lines clofe in the dial's centre;

As many
So many a thousand actions, once afoot,
End in one purpose, and be all well borne

Without