Crier. Nay, 'tis ever so. An I were to bid a dumb man hold his tongue, by my troth, I think a' would cry "Silence," till the drum of my ear were bursten. Silence!
Enter John de Vienne, Eustache de St. Pierre following. John de Vienne seats himself at the Head of the Council Table; Eustache sits in the Front, among the Citizens.
De Vienne. You partly know why I have here convened you.
I pr'ythee, now,—I pr'ythee, honest friends!
Summon up all the fortitude within you,
Which you are masters of. Now, Heaven forgive me!
I almost wish I had not been a soldier;—
For I have, here, a matter to deliver
Requires a schoolman's preface. 'Tis a task,