not Jack Falstaff, then am I a 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.

260

Prince. Why, Percy I kill'd myself, and saw thee dead. Fal. Didst thou? Lord, Lord, how this world is given to lying! I grant you I was down and out of breath; and so was he: but we rose both at an instant and fought a long hour by Shrewsbury clock. If I may be believ'd, 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, 'zounds I would make him eat a piece of my sword.

Lan. This is the strangest tale that ever I heard.
Prince. This is the strangest fellow, brother John.

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[A retreat is sounded.

The trumpet sounds retreat; the day is ours.
Come, brother, let us to the highest of the field,
To see what friends are living, who are dead.

[Exeunt Prince of Wales and Lancaster. 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.

Enter KING HENRY, GLOUCESTER, BEDFORD, EXETER,
WARWICK, WESTMORELAND, and Attendants.

K. Hen. Where is my gracious Lord of Canterbury?
Exe. Not here in presence.

K. Hen.

Send for him, good uncle. West. Shall we call in the ambassador, my liege?

K. Hen. Not yet, my cousin: we would be resolv❜d,

Before we hear him, of some things of weight

That task our thoughts, concerning us and France.

Enter the ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY, and the BISHOP

OF ELY.

Cant. God and his angels guard your sacred throne, And make you long become it!

K. Hen.

Sure, we thank

you.

10

My learned lord, we pray you to proceed

And justly and religiously unfold

Why the law Salique, that they have in France,

Or should, or should not, bar us in our claim.

Cant. Then hear me, gracious sovereign, and you peers, That owe yourselves, your lives, and services

To this imperial throne. There is no bar

To make against your highness' claim to France
But this, which they produce from Pharamond,
'No woman shall succeed in Salique land: '
Which Salique land the French unjustly gloze
To be the realm of France, and Pharamond
The founder of this law and female bar.
Yet their own authors faithfully affirm
That the land Salique is in Germany,
Between the floods of Sala and of Elbe.

20

K. Hen. May I with right and conscience make this claim?
Cant. The sin upon my head, dread sovereign!

Stand for your own; unwind your bloody flag;
Look back into your mighty ancestors.

Go, my dread lord, to your great-grandsire's tomb,
From whom you claim; invoke his warlike spirit,
And your great-uncle's, Edward the Black Prince.
Who on the French ground play'd a tragedy,
Making defeat on the full power of France.

Ely. Awake remembrance of these valiant dead,
And with your puissant arm renew their feats:
You are their heir; you sit upon their throne.

K. Hen. Call in the messengers sent from the Dauphin.

30

[Exeunt some attendants.

Now are we well resolv'd; and, by God's help,
And yours, the noble sinews of our power,
France being ours, we'll bend it to our awe,
Or break it all to pieces. Or there we 'll sit,
Ruling in large and ample empery,
Or lay these bones in an unworthy urn.

Enter Ambassadors of France.

Now are we well prepar'd to know the pleasure

Of our fair cousin Dauphin; for we hear

Your greeting is from him, not from the king.

First Amb. May 't please your majesty to give us leave Freely to render what we have in charge;

Or shall we sparingly show you far off

The Dauphin's meaning and our embassy?

K. Hen. We are no tyrant, but a Christian king;

40.

50

Therefore with frank and with uncurbéd plainness

Tell us the Dauphin's mind.

First Amb.
Thus, then, in few.
Your highness, lately sending into France,
Did claim some certain dukedoms, in the right
Of your great predecessor, 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.
K. Hen. What treasure, uncle ?

Exe.

Tennis balls, my liege.

K. Hen. We're 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 chases. And we understand him well,
How he comes o'er us with our wilder days,
Not measuring what use we made of them.
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.
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 fare you well.

Exe. This was a merry message.

[Exeunt Ambassadors.

K. Hen. 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..
Therefore let our proportions for these wars

90

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.

ACT II.

London. A street.

[Exeunt. Flourish.

Enter Corporal NYм and Lieutenant BARDOLPH.

Bard. Well met, Corporal Nym.

Nym. Good morrow, Lieutenant Bardolph.

Bard. What, are Ancient Pistol and you friends yet? I will bestow a breakfast to make you friends; and we'll be all three sworn brothers to France. Let it be so, good Corporal Nym.

Nym. Faith, I will live so long as I may, that's the certain

of it; and when I cannot live any longer, I will do as I that is my rest, that is the rendezvous of it.

may:

Bard. It is certain, corporal, that he is married to Nell Quickly and certainly she did you wrong; for you were trothplight to her.

:

11

Nym. I cannot tell: things must be as they may men may sleep, and they may have their throats about them at that time; and some say knives have edges. It must be as it may: though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod. Well, I cannot tell.

Enter PISTOL and Hostess.

Bard. Here comes Ancient Pistol and his wife: good corporal, be patient here. How now, mine host Pistol!

Pist. Base tike, call'st thou me host?

Now, by this hand, I swear, I scorn the term;

Nor shall my Nell keep lodgers.

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Host. No, by my troth, not long. [Nym and Pistol draw.]

O well-a-day, Lady, if he be not drawn! now we shall see wilful murder committed.

Bard. Good lieutenant! good corporal! offer nothing here.
Nym. Pish!

Pist. Pish for thee, Iceland dog!

Host. Good Corporal Nym, show thy valour, and put up your sword.

Nym. Will you shog off? I would have you solus.

Pist. Solus,' egregious dog? O viper vile!

The 'solus' in thy most mervailous face;

30

Nym. I have an humour to knock you indifferently well. If you grow foul with me, Pistol, I will scour you with my rapier, as I may, in fair terms: and that's the humour of it.