The Life of King Henry V. William Shakespeare

Your Highness, lately sending into France,

       Did claim some certain dukedoms, in the right

       Of your great predecessor, King Edward the Third.

       In answer of which claim, the prince our master

       Says that you savour too much of your youth,

       And bids you be advis’d there’s nought in France

       That can be with a nimble galliard won.

       You cannot revel into dukedoms there.

       He therefore sends you, meeter for your spirit,

       This tun of treasure; and, in lieu of this,

       Desires you let the dukedoms that you claim

       Hear no more of you. This the Dauphin speaks.

      KING HENRY.

       What treasure, uncle?

      EXETER.

       Tennis-balls, my liege.

      KING HENRY.

       We are glad the Dauphin is so pleasant with us.

       His present and your pains we thank you for.

       When we have match’d our rackets to these balls,

       We will, in France, by God’s grace, play a set

       Shall strike his father’s crown into the hazard.

       Tell him he hath made a match with such a wrangler

       That all the courts of France will be disturb’d

       With chaces. And we understand him well,

       How he comes o’er us with our wilder days,

       Not measuring what use we made of them.

       We never valu’d this poor seat of England;

       And therefore, living hence, did give ourself

       To barbarous licence; as ’tis ever common

       That men are merriest when they are from home.

       But tell the Dauphin I will keep my state,

       Be like a king, and show my sail of greatness

       When I do rouse me in my throne of France.

       For that I have laid by my majesty

       And plodded like a man for working days,

       But I will rise there with so full a glory

       That I will dazzle all the eyes of France,

       Yea, strike the Dauphin blind to look on us.

       And tell the pleasant prince this mock of his

       Hath turn’d his balls to gun-stones, and his soul

       Shall stand sore charged for the wasteful vengeance

       That shall fly with them; for many a thousand widows

       Shall this his mock mock out of their dear husbands,

       Mock mothers from their sons, mock castles down;

       And some are yet ungotten and unborn

       That shall have cause to curse the Dauphin’s scorn.

       But this lies all within the will of God,

       To whom I do appeal; and in whose name

       Tell you the Dauphin I am coming on

       To venge me as I may, and to put forth

       My rightful hand in a well-hallow’d cause.

       So get you hence in peace; and tell the Dauphin

       His jest will savour but of shallow wit,

       When thousands weep more than did laugh at it.—

       Convey them with safe conduct.—Fare you well.

      [Exeunt Ambassadors.]

      EXETER.

       This was a merry message.

      KING HENRY.

       We hope to make the sender blush at it.

       Therefore, my lords, omit no happy hour

       That may give furtherance to our expedition;

       For we have now no thought in us but France,

       Save those to God, that run before our business.

       Therefore, let our proportions for these wars

       Be soon collected, and all things thought upon

       That may with reasonable swiftness add

       More feathers to our wings; for, God before,

       We’ll chide this Dauphin at his father’s door.

       Therefore let every man now task his thought,

       That this fair action may on foot be brought.

      [Exeunt.]