Who, ne'er so tame, so cherish'd, and lock'd up, The better cherish'd, still the nearer death. A hare-brain'd Hotspur, govern'd by a spleen: And on his father's;-we did train him on; Ver. Deliver what you will, I'll say, 'tis so. I will embrace him with a soldier's arm, Better consider what you have to do, Enter a MESSENGER. Mess. My lord, here are letters for you. Still ending at the arrival of an hour. An if we live, we live to tread on kings; Enter HOTSPUR and DOUGLAS; and Officers and When the intent of bearing them is just. Soldiers, behind. Hot. My uncle is return'd :-Deliver up For I profess not talking; Only this- Of his oath-breaking; which he mended thus,-Now,-Esperance!*-Percy!-And set on.- By now forswearing that he is forsworn: Re-enter DOUGLAS. Doug. Arm, gentlemen; to arms! for I have A brave defiance in King Henry's teeth, And, nephew, challeng'd you to single fight. Hot. O, 'would the quarrel lay upon our heads; And chid his truant youth with such a grace, Sound all the lofty instruments of war, [The Trumpets sound. They embrace, bought This sword hath ended him: so shall it thee, Blunt. I was not born a yielder, thou proud And thou shalt find a king that will revenge [They fight, and BLUNT is slain. Hot. O Douglas, hadst thou fought at Holme- I never had triumph'd upon a Scot. *The motto of the Percy family. Hot. This, Douglas? no, I know this face full A gallant knight he was, his name was Blunt; I'll murder all his wardrobe, piece by piece, Hot. Up, and away; Our soldiers stand full fairly for the day. [Exeunt.I Other Alarums.-Enter FALSTAFF. Fal. Though I could 'scape shot-free at London, I fear the shot here; here's no scoring, but upon the pate.-Soft! who art thou? Sir Walter Blunt;-there's honour for you: Here's no vanity!-I am as hot as molten lead, and as heavy too: God keep lead out of me! I need no more weight than mine own bowels.-I have led my raggamuffins where they are peppered: there's but three of my hundred and fifty left alive; and I they are for the town's end, to beg during life. But who comes here? Enter Prince HENRY. West. Come, my lord, I will lead you to your tent. P. Hen. Lead me, my lord? I do not need P. John. We breathe too long:-Come, cousin Our duty this way lies; for God's sake, come. did not think thee lord of such a spirit: K. Hen. I saw him hold lord Percy at the P. Hen. O, this boy Alarums.-Enter DOUGLAS. Doug. Another king! they grow like Hydra's am the Douglas, fatal to all those [heads: That wear those colours on them.-What art That counterfeit'st the person of a king? [thou, K. Hen. The king himself; who, Douglas, grieves at heart, P. Hen. What, stand'st thou idle here? lend So many of his shadows thou hast met, me thy sword : Many a nobleman lies stark and stiff Fal. O Hal, I pr'ythee, give me leave to breathe a while.-Turk Gregory never did such deeds in arms, as I have done this day. I have paid Percy, I have made him sure. P. Hen. He is, indeed; and living to kill thee. Lend me thy sword, I pr'ythee. Fal. Nay, before God, Hal, if Percy be alive, thou get'st not my sword; but take my pistol, if thou wilt. P. Hen. Give it me: What, is it in the case? Fal. Ay, Hal; 'tis hot, 'tis hot; there's that will sack a city. [The prince draws out a bottle of sack. SCENE IV-Another part of the Field. Lord John of Lancaster, go you with him. P. John. Not I, my lord, unless I did bleed too. My lord of Westmoreland, lead him to his tent. ↑ A piece of meat cut crossways for the gridiron. I And not the very king. I have two boys, Doug. I fear, thou art another counterfeit ; [They fight; the KING being in danger, enter Prince HENRY. [art like K. Hen. Stay, and breathe a while :- That ever said, I hearken'd for your death. Enter HOTSPur. Hot. If I mistake not, thou art Harry Mon- P. Hen. Thou speak'st as if I would deny my A very valiant rebel of the name. I am the prince of Wales; and think not, Percy, * Reputation. To share with me in glory any more: Hot. Nor shall it, Harry, for the hour is come Enter FALSTAFF. [They fight. Fal. Well said, Hal! to it, Hal!-Nay, you shall find no boy's play here, I can tell you. Enter DOUGLAS; he fights with FALSTAFF, who falls down as if he were dead, and exit DOUGLAS. HOTSPUR is wounded, and fails. Hot. O, Harry, thou hast robb'd me of my But thought's the slave of life, and life time's And food for Ill-weav'd ambition, how much art thou shrunk! Is room enough:-This earth, that bears thee dead, I should not make so dear a show of zeal :- futes me but eyes, and nobody sees me. Therefore, sirrah, [Stabbing him.] with a new wound in your thigh, come you along with me. [Takes HOTSPUR on his back. Re-enter Prince HENRY and Prince JOHN. P. Hen. Come, brother John, full bravely hast thou flesh'd Thy maiden sword. P. John. But, soft! whom have we here? Art thou alive? or is it fantasy That plays upon our eyesight? I pr'ythee speak; Fal. No, that's certain; I am not a double man: but if I be not Jack Falstaff, then am la Jack. There is Percy: [Throwing the body down.] if your father will do me any honour, so; if not, let him kill the next Percy himself. I look to be either earl or duke, I can assure you. P. Hen. Why, Percy I killed myself, and saw thee dead. Fal. Didst thou?-Lord, lord, how this world out of breath; and so was he: but we arose both is given to lying!-I grant you, I was down, and at an instant, and fought a long hour by Shrewsbury clock. If I may be believed, so; if not, let them, that should reward valour, bear the sin upon their own heads. I'll take it upon my death, I gave him this wound in the thigh: if the man were alive, and would deny it, I would make him eat a piece of my sword. P. John. This is the strangest tale that e'er ! P. Hen. This is the strangest fellow, brother Come, bring your luggage nobly on your back: [A Retreat is sounded. The trumpet sounds retreat, the day is ours, [Exeunt Prince HENRY and Prince JOHN. Fal. I'll follow, as they say, for reward. He that rewards me, God reward him! If I do grow great, I'll grow less; for I'll purge, and leave sack, and live cleanly, as a nobleman should do. [Exit, bearing off the body. SCENE V.-Another part of the Field. The Trumpets sound.-Enter King HENRY, Prince HENRY, Prince JOHN, WESTMORELAND, and others, with WORCESTER, and VERNON, prisoners. [He sees FALSTAFF on the ground. What! old acquaintance! could not all this flesh Keep in a little life? Poor Jack, farewell! I could have better spar'd a better man. O, I should have a heavy miss of thee, If I were much in love with vanity. Death hath not struck so fat a deer to-day, Though many dearer, in this bloody fray :Embowell'd will I see thee by and by; Till then, in blood by noble Percy lie. [Exit. Fal. [Rising slowly.] Embowelled! if thou embowel me to-day, I'll give you leave to powdert me, and eat me too, to-morrow. 'Sblood, 'twas time to counterfeit, or that hot termagant Scot had paid me scot and lot too. Counterfeit ? I lie, I am no counterfeit: To die, is to be a counterfeit; for he is but the counterfeit of a man, who hath not the life of a man: but to counterfeit dying, when a man thereby liveth, is to be no counterfeit, but the true and perfect image of life indeed. The better part of valour is-discretion; in the which better part, I have saved my life. 'Zounds, I am afraid of this gunpowder If, like a Christian, thou hadst truly borne Percy, though he be dead: How, if he should Betwixt our armies true intelligence, counterfeit too, and rise? I am afraid, he would Wor. What I have done, my safety urg'd me prove the better counterfeit. Therefore I'll And I embrace this fortune patiently, [to; make him sure: yea, and I'll swear I killed him. Since not to be avoided it falls on me. Why may not he rise, as well as I? Nothing con- K. Hen. Bear Worcester to the death, and * Scarf, with which he covers Percy's face." + Salt. Vernon too: K. Hen. Thus ever did rebellion find rebuke,- Other offenders we will pause upon. [Exeunt WORCESTER and VERNON, guarded. How goes the field? [he saw P. Hen. The noble Scot, lord Douglas, when The fortune of the day quite turn'd from him, The noble Percy slain, and all his men Upon the foot of fear,-fled with the rest; And, falling from a hill, he was so bruis'd, That the pursuers took him. At my tent The Douglas is; and I beseech your grace, I may dispose of him. K. Hen. With all my heart." Hath taught us how to cherish such high deeds, Even in the bosom of our adversaries. K. Hen. Then this remains,-that we divide our power. You, son John, and my cousin Westmoreland, Towards York shall bend you, with your dearest speed, To meet Northumberland, and the prelate Scroop, Myself, and you, son Harry, will towards Wales, [Exeunt. KING HENRY THE FOURTH. HENRY, Prince of Wales, afterwards King Henry V. THOMAS, Duke of Clarence, PRINCE JOHN OF LANCASTER, after TRAVERS and MORTON, Domestics of Northum- FALSTAFF, BARDOLPH, PISTOL, and PAGE. wards (2 Henry V.) Duke of Bed- His Sons. DAVY, Servant to Shallow. MOULDY, SHADOW, WART, FEEBLE, and BULL- FANG and SNARE, Sheriff's Officers. A DANCER, Speaker of the Epilogue. LADY NORTHUMBERLAND.-LADY PERCY. Lords, and other Attendants; Officers, Soldiers, INDUCTION. Warkworth.-Before Northumberland's Castle. The vent of hearing, when loud Rumour speaks? Is thought with child by the stern tyrant war, I run before king Harry's victory; : They bring smooth comforts false, worse than true wrongs. [Exit. ACT I. SCENE I.—The same.-The PORTER before the Gate; Enter Lord BARDOLPH. Bard. Who keeps the gate here, ho?-Where is the earl? Port. What shall I say you are? Northumberland castle. |