CHATILLON. Then turn your forces from this paltry siege And stir them up against a mightier task. England, impatient of your just demands, Hath put himself in arms. The adverse winds, Whose leisure I have stay'd, have given him time To land his legions all as soon as I; His marches are expedient to this town, His forces strong, his soldiers confident. With him along is come the mother-queen, An Ate, stirring him to blood and strife; With her the Lady Blanch of Spain; With them a bastard of the king's deceas'd; And all th' unsettled humours of the land - Rash, inconsiderate, fiery voluntaries, With ladies' faces and fierce dragons' spleens - Have sold their fortunes at their native homes, Bearing their birthrights proudly on their backs, To make a hazard of new fortunes here. In brief, a braver choice of dauntless spirits Than now the English bottoms have waft o'er Did never float upon the swelling tide To do offence and scathe in Christendom. [Drum beats] The interruption of their churlish drums Cuts off more circumstance: they are at hand; To parley or to fight, therefore prepare.

Then Turn Your Forces From This Paltry Siege

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1381
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