Sought to entrap me by intelligence; Rated my uncle from the council-board; In rage dismiss'd my father from the court; Broke oath on oath, committed wrong on wrong: Too indirect for long continuance. Blunt. Shall I return this answer to the king? The king, with mighty and quick-raised power, Meets with lord Harry: and I fear, Sir Michael, What with the sickness of Northumberland, (Whose power was in the first proportion) 5 And what with Owen Glendower's absence thence, (Who with them was a rated sinew3 too, And comes not in, o'er-rul'd by prophecies)→→ I fear, the power of Percy is too weak To wage an instant trial with the king. Hot. Not so, sir Walter; we'll withdraw a while. 10 Go to the king; and let there be impawn'd And in the morning early shall my uncle Bring him our purposes: and so farewel. [love. [fear; Sir Mich. Why, my good lord, you need not Blunt. I would, you would accept of grace and 15 And there's my lord of Worcester, and a head Hot. And, may be, so we shall. Blunt. Pray heaven, you do! SCENE IV. [Exeunt. Of gallant warriors, noble gentlemen. [drawn York. And so there is: but yet the king hath The special head of all the land together;The prince of Wales, lord John of Lancaster, 20 The noble Westmoreland, and warlike Blunt; And many more corrivals, and dear men Of estimation and command in arms. 25 Sir Mich. Doubt not, my lord, they shall be York. I hope no less, yet needful 'tis to fear; 30 And 'tis but wisdom to make strong against him; ' Meaning, this army, from which I hope for protection. accounted a strong aid. i. e. woody, from bosquet, Fr. 2 A brief is simply a letter. mean, a noisy chattering bird, a pie; while Mr. Steevens thinks it alludes to a kind of fat greasy puddings called chewets. Hh2 And For my part, I may speak it to my shame, 10 K. Henry. And, prince of Wales, so dare we venture thee, Albeit, considerations infinite Do make against it :-No, good Worcester, no, And yet I must remember you, my lord, With some fine colour, that may please the eye And never yet did insurrection want [Exe. Worcester and Vernon. 25 P. Henry. It will not be accepted, on my life: The Douglas and the Hotspur both together Are contident against the world in arms. K. Henry. Hence, therefore, every leader to his charge; 30 For, on their answer, we will set on them: And God befriend us, as our cause is just! 35 [Exe. King, Blunt, and Prince John. Fal. Hal, if thou see me down in the battle, and bestride me, so; 'tis a point of friendship. P. Henry. Nothing but a colossus can do thee that friendship. Say thy prayers, and farewell. Fal. I would it were bed-time, Hal, and all well. P. Henry. Why, thou owest heaven a death. [Exit Prince Henry. Fal. 'Tis not due yet; I would be loth to pay him before his day. What need I be so forward with him that calls not on me? Well, 'tis no mat. ter: honour pricks me on. Yea, but how if ho nour prick me off when I come on: how then? 45 Can honour set to a leg? No. Or an arm? No. Or take away the grief of a wound? No. Honour hath no skill in surgery then? No. What is honour? A word. What is that word, honour? Air. A trim reckoning!-Who hath it? He that dy'd o' 50 Wednesday. Doth he feel it? No. Doth he hear it? [soul No. Is it insensible then? Yea, to the dead. But P. Henry. In both our armies, there is many a will it not live with the living? No. Why? DeShall pay full dearly for this encounter, traction will not suffer it:-therefore I'll none of If once they join in trial.. Tell your nephew, it: Honour is a mere scutcheon, and so ends my The prince of Wales doth join with all the world 55 catechism. [Exit. In praise of Henry Percy: by my hopes,— This present enterprize set off his head,I do not think, a braver gentleman, More active-valiant, or more valiant-young, More daring, or more bold, is now alive, To grace this latter age with noble deeds. 1 SCENE II. Hotspur's Camp. Enter Worcester and Vernon. Wor. O, no, my nephew must not know, Sir Richard, i. e. the injuries done by king Richard in the wantonness of prosperity. chicken, who, being hatched and fed by the sparrow, in whose nest the cuckow's.egg was laid, grows in time able to devour her nurse. articles. i. e. we stand in opposition to you. 2 The cuckow's i. e. exhibited in The The liberal kind offer of the king. Ver. 'Twere best, he did. The king should keep his word in loving us; Who, ne'er so tame, so cherish'd, and lock'd up, A hair-brain'd Hotspur, govern'd by a spleen: Ver. Deliver what you will, I'll say, 'tis so. Enter Hotspur, and Douglas. Hot. My uncle is return'd,-Deliver up Trimm'd up your praises with a princely tongue; any prince so wild, at liberty*:- I will embrace him with a soldier's arm, 20 Arm, arm, with speed:And, fellows, soldiers, 25 Better consider what you have to do, Than I, that have not well the gift of tongue, Enter a Messenger. Mes. My lord, here are letters for you, O gentlemen, the time of life is short; To spend that shortness basely, were too long, My lord of Westmoreland.-Uncle, what news? 30 If life did ride upon a dial's point, Wor. The king will bid you battle presently. Doug. Arm, gentlemen, to arms! for I have A brave defiance in king Henry's teeth, king, And, nephew, challeng'd you to single fight. 'Engag'd is deliver'd as an hostage. Still ending at the arrival of an hour. Mes. My lord, prepare; the king comes on apace. Hot. I thank him, that he cuts me from my tale, 40 For I profess not talking; Only this 45 50 55 Let each man do his best: and here draw I [The trumpet sounds. They embrace, then exe. Plain near Shrewsbury. The King entereth with his power. Alarum to Doug. Know then, my name is Douglas; 2 i. e. recital. 5 3i. e. was master of. * i. e. of any prince who played such pranks, and was not confined as a madman. This was the word of battle on Percy's side, and has always been the motto of the Percy family. Esperance en Dieu is the present motto of the duke of Northumberland, and has been long used by his predecessors. 'i. e. one might wager heaven to earth. 11 Because Doug. The lord of Stafford dear to-day hath Blunt. I was not born a yielder, thou proud Scot; Fight, Blunt is slain. Enter Hotspur. [thus, 5 10 Doug. All's done, all's won; here breathless lies Doug. A fool go with thy soul, whither it goes! [Exe. 20 25 Hot. Up, and away: Our soldiers stand full fairly for the day. Other alarums. Enter Falstaff. Fal. Though I could 'scape shot-free' at London, I fear the shot here; here's no scoring, but 30 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: Heaven keep lead out of me! I need no more weight than my own bowels.—I have led 35 my raggamuffins where they are pepper'd: there's not three of my hundred and fifty left alive; and they are for the town's end, to beg during life. But who comes here? Enter Prince Henry. P. Henry. What, stand'st thou idle here? lend me thy sword: P. Henry. What, is it time to jest and dally now? [Throws it at him, and exit. Fal. If Percy be alive, I'll pierce him. It he do come in my way, so: if he do not,--if I come in nis, willingly, let him make a carbonado' of me. I like not such grinning honours as Sir Walter han: Give me life: which if I can save, so; if not, honour comes unlook'd for, and there's an end. [Exit. SCENE IV. Another part of the Field. K. Henry. Harry, withdraw thyself; thou bleed'st too much :- Lan. Not I, my lord, unless I did bleed too. My lord of Westmoreland, lead him to his tent. And heaven forbid, a shallow scratch should drive Lan. We breathe too long:-Come, cousin Our duty this way lies; for heaven's sake, come. P. Henry. By heaven, thou hast deceiv'd me, Lancaster, I did not think thee lord of such a spirit: K. Henry. I saw him hold lord Percy at the point, Many a noblenian lies stark and stiff Fal. O Hal, I pr'ythee give me leave to breathe awhile.-Turk Gregory never did such deeds in arms, as I have done this day. I have paid Percy,| I have made him sure". P. Henry. He is, indeed; and living to kill thee. 50 I pr'ythee, lend me thy sword. Ful. Nay, Hal, if Percy be alive, thou get'st not my sword; but take my pistol, if thou wilt. P. Henry. Give it me: What, is it in the case? Fal. Ay, Hal; 'tis hot, 'tis hot: there's that will 55 sack a city. [The Prince draws out a bottle of sack. missive 3 In P. Henry. O, this boy Enter Douglas. [Exit. Doug. Another king! they grow like Hydra's heads: I am the Douglas, fatal to all those K. Henry. The king himself: who, Douglas, So many of his shadows thou hast met, 4 1i. e. in resemblance, alike. 2 A play upon shot, as it means the part of a reckoning, and a weapon discharged from artillery. our author's time, the negative, in common speech, was used to design, ironically, the excess of a thing. Meaning Gregory the Seventh, called Hildebrand. This furious friar surmounted almost invincible obstacles to deprive the emperor of his right of investiture of bishops, which his predecessors had long attempted in vain. Fox, in his History, hath made this Gregory so odious, that I don't doubt but the good Protestants of that time were well pleased to hear him thus characterized, as uniting the attributes of their two great enemies, the Turk and Pope, in one. Sure has two significations-certainly disposed of, and safe. Falstaff uses it in the former sense; the prince replies to it in the latter. A quibble on the word suck. 'A cac bonado is a piece of meat cut cross-wise for the gridiron. History says, the prince was wounded in the eye by an arrow. Dong 6 Doug. I fear thou art another counterfeit ; And yet, in faith, thou bear'st thee like a king: But mine, I ani sure thou art, whoe'er thou be, And thus I win thee. [They fight; the King being in danger, enter 5 Prince Henry. P. Henry. Hold up thy head, vile Scot, or Never to hold it up again! The spirits K. Henry. Stay, and breathe a-while- P. Henry. O heaven; they did me too much That ever said, I hearken'd for your death. The insulting hand of Douglas over you; Enter Hotspur. They wound my thoughts, worse than thy sword But thought's the slave of life, and life time's fool; Ill-weav'd ambition, how much art thou shrunk! 15 Is room enough:-This earth, that bears thee dead, I should not make so great a show of zeal:- 25 [Exit. 30 Hot. If I mistake not, thou art Harry Monmouth. name. Hot. My name is Harry Percy. I am the prince of Wales; and think not, Percy, Hot. Nor shall it, Harry, for the hour is come And all the budding honours on thy crest 35 45 [He sees Falstaff on the ground. What! old acquaintance! could not all this flesh Keep in a little life? Poor Jack, farewel! I could have better spar'd a better man. [Exit. Fal. Imbowell'd! if thou imbowel me to-day, I'll give you leave to powder me', and eat me too, to-morrow. 'Sblood, 'twas time to counterfeit, or that hot termagant Scot had paid me scot 40 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 sav'd my life. I am afraid of this gunpow der Percy, though he be dead: How if he should counterfeit too, and rise? I am afraid, he would 50 prove the better counterfeit. Therefore I'll make him sure: yea, and I'll swear I kill'd him.Why may he not rise, as well as I? Nothing confutes me but eyes, and nobody sees me.Therefore, sirrah, with a new wound in your thigh, come you along with me. Ful Well said, Hal! to it, Hal!-Nay, you Hot. O, Harry, thou hast robb'd me of my youth: [Takes Hotspur on his back. Re-enter Prince Henry, and John of Lancaster. P.Henry. Come, brother John, full bravely hast thou flesh'd 'Dr. Johnson comments on this passage thus: "Hotspur in his last moments endeavours to console himself. The glory of the prince wounds his thoughts; but thought, being dependent on life, must cease with it, and will soon be at an end. Life, on which thought depends, is itself of no great value, being the fool and sport of time; of time, which, with all its dominion over sublunary things, must itself at last be stopped," See note, p. 461. To powder is to salt, Thy |