Sheep in Allendale, Northumberland.
O DO not wish one more!
Rather proclaim it, Westmoreland, through my host,
That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let him depart. His passport shall be made,
And crowns for convoy put into his purse.
We would not die in that man’s company
That fears his fellowship to die with us.
This day is call’d the feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,
Will stand a tip-toe when this day is named,
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,
And say, ‘To-morrow is Saint Crispian.’
Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say, ‘These wounds I had on Crispian's day.’
Old men forget; yet all shall be forgot,
But he’ll remember with advantages
What feats he did that day.
Précis
Faced with the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, King Henry V’s courtiers wished they had brought more men. But Henry, mindful of morale, assured them that, on the contrary, he would pay for any quaking heart’s passage home, and promised that to their dying day, veterans of the campaign would be revered as heroes. (53 / 60 words)