Lan. Fare you well, Falstaff; I, in my condi

tion',

Shall better speak of you than you deserve. [Ex.

10

Fal. I would, you had but the wit; 'twere better than your dukedom.-Good faith, this same 5 young sober-blooded boy doth not love me; nor a man cannot make him laugh:-but that's no marvel, he drinks no wine. There's never any of these demure boys come to any proof: for thin drink doth so over-cool their blood, and making many fish-meals, that they fall into a kind of male green-sickness; and then, when they marry, they get wenches: they are generally fools and cowards; which some of us should be too, but for inflammation. A good sherris-sack hath a two-15 fold operation in it. It ascends me into the brain;} dries me there all the foolish, and dull, and crudy vapours which environ it: makes it apprehensive, quick, forgetive', full of nimble, fiery, and delectable shapes; which deliver'd o'er to the voice, 20 (the tongue) which is the birth, becomes excellent wit. The second property of your excellent sherris is, the warming of the blood; which, before cold and settled, left the liver white and pale, which is the badge of pusillanimity and cowardice: 25 but the sherris warms it, and makes it course from the inwards to the parts extreme. It illumineth the face; which, as a beacon, gives warning to all the rest of this little kingdom, man, to arm: and then the vital commoners, and inland petty spi-30 rits, muster me all to their captain, the heart; who, great, and puff'd up with this retinue, doth any deed of courage; and this valour comes of sherris: So that skill in the weapon is nothing, without sack; for that sets it a-work and learn-35 ing, a mere hoard of gold kept by a devil; till sack commences it, and sets it in act and use.Hereof comes it, that prince Harry is valiant: for the cold blood he did naturally inherit of his father, he hath, like lean, steril, and bare land, ma-40 nured, husbanded, and tilled, with excellent endeavour of drinking good, and good store of fertile sherris; that he is become very hot and valiant. If I had a thousand sons, the first human principle I would teach them, should be,-to forswear thin 45 potations, and to addict themselves to sack. Enter Bardolph.

SCENE IV.

The Palace at Westminster.

Enter King Henry, Warwick, Clarence, and
Gloster, &c.

K. Henry. Now, lords, if heaven doth give
successful end

To this debate that bleedeth at our doors,
We will our youth lead on to higher fields,
And draw no swords but what are sanctify'd.
Our navy is address'd', our power collected,
Our substitutes in absence well invested,
And every thing lies level to our wish:
Only we want a little personal strength;'
And pause us, 'till these rebels, now afoot,'
Come underneath the yoke of government.
War. Both which, we doubt not but your
Shall soon enjoy.
[majesty

K. Henry. Humphrey, my son of Gloster,
Where is the prince your brother? [Windsor.
Glo. I think, he's gone to hunt, my lord, at
K. Henry. And how accompanied?
Glo. I do not know, my lord.

K. Henry. Is not his brother, Thomas of Cla-
rence, with him?

Glo. No, my good lord; he is in presence here.
Cla. What would my lord and father?

K. Henry. Nothing but well to thee, Thomas
of Clarence.

[ther?
How chance, thou art not with the prince thy bro-
He loves thee, and thou dost neglect him, Thomas;
Thou hast a better place in his affection,
Than all thy brothers: cherish it, my boy;
And noble offices thou may'st effect
Of mediation, after I am dead,
Between his greatness and thy other brethren:-
Therefore, omit him not, blunt not his love;
Nor lose the good advantage of his grace,
By seeming cold or careless of his will.
For he is gracious, if he be observ'd;
He hath a tear for pity, and a hand
Open as day for melting charity:
Yet notwithstanding, being incens'd he's flint;
As humourous as winter', and as sudden
As flaws congealed' in the spring of day.
His temper, therefore, must be well observ'd:-
Chide him for faults, and do it reverently,
When you perceive his blood inclin'd to mirth:
But, being moody, give him line and scope;
Till that his passions, like a whale on ground,
Confound themselves with working. Learn this,
Thomas,

And thou shalt prove a shelter to thy friends;
A hoop of gold to bind thy brothers in;
That the united vessel of their blood,

2

i. e.

'i. e.

1i. e. in my good nature (or condition may perhaps here, as in The Tempest, mean, in my place as commanding officer) I shall speak better of you than you merit. i. e. quick to understand. inventive, imaginative. A very pleasant allusion to the old use of sealing with soft wax. our navy is ready, prepared. i. e. changeable as the weather of a winter's day. 'Alluding to the opinion of some philosophers, that the vapours being congealed in the air by cold (which is most intense towards the morning), and being afterwards rarified and let loose by the warmth of the sun, occasion those sudden and impetuous gusts of wind which are called flaws.

Kk

Mingled

Mingled with venom of suggestion,

(As, force perforce, the age will pour it in) Shall never leak, though it do work as strong As aconitum, or rash' gunpowder.

Cla. I shall observe him with all care and love.
K. Henry. Why art thou not at Windsor with:
him, Thomas?

Cla. He is not there to-day; he dines in London.
K. Henry. And how accompanied? can'st thou
[lowers. 10

tell that?

Cla. With Poins, and other his continual fol-
K. Henry. Most subject is the fattest soil to weeds;
And he, the noble image of my youth,
Is overspread with them: Therefore my grief
Stretches itself beyond the hour of death;
The blood weeps from my heart, when I do shape,
In forms imaginary, the unguided days,
And rotten times, that you shall look upon
When I am sleeping with my ancestors.
For when his headstrong riot hath no curb,
When rage and hot blood are his counsellors,
When means and lavish manners meet together,
O, with what wings shall his affections fly
Towards fronting peril and oppos'd decay!

15

The manner and true order of the fight,
This packet, please it you, contains at large.
K. Henry. And wherefore should these good
news make me sick?

Vill fortune never come with both hands full,
But write her fair words still in foulest letters?
She either gives a stomach, and no food,-
Such are the poor, in health; or else a feast,
And takes away the stomach,-such are the rich,
That have abundance, and enjoy it not.

I should rejoice now at this happy news;
And now my sight fails, and my brain is giddy:-
O me! come near me, now I am much ill.

Glo. Comfort your majesty!

Clu̸. O my royal father!

[Sinks down.

[look up!

West. My sovereign lord, chear up yourself, War. Be patient, princes; you do know these Are with bis highness very ordinary.

[fits

20 Stand from him, give him air,; he'll straight be well.
Cla. No, no; he cannot long hold out these pangs:
The incessant care and labour of his mind
Hath wrought the mure, that should confine it in,
So thin, that life looks through, and will break out.

War. My gracious lord, you look beyond him 25 quite:

The prince but studies his companions, [guage,
Like a strange tongue: wherein to gain the lan-
'Tis needful, that the most immodest word

Be look'd upon, and learn'd; which once attain'd,
Your highness knows, comes to no further use,
But to be known, and hated. So, like gross terms,
The prince will, in the perfectness of time,
Cast off his followers: and their memory
Shall as a pattern or a measure live,
By which his grace must mete the lives of others;
Turning past evils to advantages. [her comb
K. Henry. 'Tis seldom, when the bee doth leave
In the dead carrion.-Who's here: Westmoreland?
Enter Westmoreland.

West. Health to my sovereign! and new happi-
Added to that which I am to deliver!
[ness
Prince John, your son, doth kiss your grace's hand:
Mowbray, the bishop Scroop, Hastings, and all,
Are brought to the correction of your law;
There is not now a rebel's sword unsheath'd,
But peace puts forth her olive every where.
The manner how this action has been borne,
Here, at more leisure, may your highness read;
With every course, in his particular.

35

Glo. The people fear me; for they do observe
Unfather'd heirs, and loathly births of nature:
The seasons change their manners; as the year
Hadfoundsome monthsasleep,andleap'dthemover.
Cla. The river hath thrice flow'd,' no ebb be-
tween:

30
And the old folk, time's doating chronicles,
Say, it did so a little time before
That our great grandsire, Edward, sick'd and dy'd.
War.Speak lower, princes, for the king recovers.
Glo. This apoplexy will, certain, be his end.
K. Henry. I pray you take me up, and bear me
Into some other chamber: softly, pray. [hence
Let there be no noise made, my gentle friends;
Unless some dull and favourable hand
Will whisper music to my weary spirit.

40

45

War. Call for the music in the other room.
K.Henry.Setme the crown upon mypillow here".
Cla. His eye is hollow, and he changes much.
War. Less noise, less noise.

[They conveythe king to an inner part of the room.
Enter Prince Henry.

P. Henry. Who saw the duke of Clarence?
Cla.. I am here, brother, full of heaviness.
P. Henry. How now! rain within doors, and
[none abroad'

[bird, 50 How doth the king?

K. Henry. O Westmoreland, thou art a summer
Which ever in the haunch of winter sings
The lifting up of day. Look! here's more news.
Enter Harcourt.

Har. From enemies heaven keep your majesty: 55
And when they stand against you, may they fall
As those that I am come to tell you of
The earl Northumberland, and the lord Bardolph,
With a great power of English and of Scots,
Are by the sheriff of Yorkshire overthrown:

i. e. the wall.

60

Glo. Exceeding ill.

P. Henry. Heard he the good news yet?
Tell it him.

Glo. He alter'd much upon the hearing it.
P. Henry. If he be sick

With joy, he will recover without physic.
War. Not so much noise, my lords:-sweet
prince, speak low;

The king your father is dispos'd to sleep.
Cla. Let us withdraw into the other room.

2 i. e. his passions.

'i. e. make me afraid.

1 Rash, is quick, violent, sudden. His is aised for its, very frequently in the old plays. That is, equivocal births; pro ductions not brought forth according to the stated laws of generation, "This is historically true. It happened on the 12th of October, 1411. Dult signifies melancholy, gentle, soothing. is still the cutum in France to place the crown on the king's pillow when he is dying.

9 It

War.

War. Will't please your grace to go along with us?||
P. Henry. No; I will sit and watch here by the
king. [Exeunt all but Prince Henry.
Why doth the crown lie there upon his pillow,
Being so troublesome a bed-fellow?
O polish'd perturbation! golden care!
That keep'st the ports' of slumber open wide
To many a watchful night!-sleep with it now!-
Yet not so sound, and half so deeply sweet,
As he, whose brow, with homely biggen' bound,
Snores out the watch of night. O majesty!
When thou dost pinch thy bearer, thou dost sit
Like a rich armour worn in heat of day,
That scalds with safety. By his gates of breath
There lies a downy feather, which stirs not:
Did he suspire, that light and weightless down
Perforce must move.- My gracious lord! my fa-

ther!

This sleep is sound, indeed; this is a sleep,
That from this golden rigol' hath divorc'd
So many English kings. ~ Thy due, from me,
Is tears, and heavy sorrows of the blood;
Which nature, love, and filial tenderness
Shall, O dear father, pay thee plenteously:
My due, from thee, is this imperial crown;
Which, as immediate from thy place and blood,
Derives itself to me. Lo, here it sits,-

[Putting it on his head. Which heaven shall guard: and put the world's

whole strength

Into one giant arm, it shall not force
This lineal honour from me: this from thee
Will I to mine leave, as 'tis left to me.

[Exit.

Their bones with industry;

For this they have engrossed and pil'd up
The canker'd heaps of strange-atchieved gold;
For this they have been thoughtful to invest
5 Their sons with arts and martial exercises:
When, like the bee, tolling' from every flower
The virtuous sweets;
[honey,
Our thighs pack'd with wax, our mouths with
We bring it to the hive; and, like the bees,
10 Are murder'd for our pains. This bitter taste
Yield his engrossments' to the ending lather.-
Re enter Warwick.

15

Now, where is he that will not stay so long,
Till his friend sickness hath determin'd me [room,
War. My lord, I found the prince in the next
Washing with kindly tears his gentle cheeks;
With such a deep demeanour in great sorrow,
That tyranny, which never quail'd but blood,
Would, by beholding him, have wash'd his knife
20 With gentle eye-drops. He is coming hither.
K. Henry, But wherefore did he take away the

crown?

Re-enter Prince Henry.
Lo, where he comes.--Come hitherto me, Harry:-
25 Depart the chamber, leave us here alone.
[Exeunt Lords, &c.
P.Henry.Inever thought tolearyou speak again.
K. Henry. Thy wish was father, Harry, to that
I stay too long by thee, I weary thee. [thought:
Dost thou so hunger for my empty chair,
That thou wilt needs invest thee with mine honours
Before thy hour be ripe? O foolish youth!
Thouseek'stthegreatnessthatwill overwhelm thee.
Stay but a little; for my cloud of dignity
35 Is held from talling with so weak a wind,

30

Cla. We left the prince my brother here, my 40 Who undertook to sit and watch by you.

K. Henry. The prince of Wales! Where is he? let me see him:

He is not here.

War. This door is open; he is gone this way.
Glo. He came not through the chamber where
we stay'd.
[my pillow?

That it will quickly drop: my day is dim.
Thou hast stol'n that, which, after some few hours,
Were thine without offence; and, at my death,
Thou hast seal'd up my expectation":
Thy life did inanifest thou lov'ust me not,
And thou wilt have me die assured of it.
Thou hid'st a thousand daggers in thy thoughts;
Which thou hast whetted on thy stony heart,
To stab at half an hour of my life.

45 What! can'st thou not forbear me half an hour?
Then get thee gone, and dig my grave thyself;
And bid the metry bells ring to thine ear,
That thou art crowned, not that I am dead.
Let all the tears that should bedew my hearse,
Be drops of balm, to sanctify thy head:
Only compound me with forgotten dust;
Give that, which gave thee lite, unto the worms.
Pluck down my officers, break my decrees;
For now a time is come to mock at forin,
Harry the Fifth is crown'd:--Up, vanity!

K. Hen. Where is the crown? who took it from
War. When we withdrew, my lege, we left it
here.
[seek him out. 50
K. Henry. The prince bath ta'en it nence:-go,
Is he so hasty, that he doth suppose
My sleep my death?

Find hun, my lord of Warwick; chide him
This part of his conjoins with my decease, [are
And helps to end ine.-See, sons, what things you
How quickly nature falls into revolt,

When gold becomes her object!

For this the foolish over-careful fathers

[hither.

55

Down, royal state! all you sage counsellors, hence!
And to the English court assemble now,

From every region, apes of idleness!

Now, neighbour contines, purge you of your scum:

Have broke their sleeps with thought, their brains 60 Have you a ruffian, that will swear, drink, dance,

with care,

1i. e. the gates of slumber.

Revel the night; rob, murder, and commit

2 A kind of cap, at present worn only by children; but so called from the cap worn by the Beguines, an order of nuns. Rigol means a circle. ing toll. Ilis accumulations. i. e. thou hast confirmed my opinion.

*Tolling is tak The

The oldest sins the newest kind of ways?
Be happy, he will trouble you no more:
England shall double gild his treble guilt;
England shall give him office, honour, might:
For the fifth Harry from curb'd licence plucks
The muzzle of restraint, and the wild dog
Shall flesh his tooth in every innocent.
O my poor kingdom, sick with civil blows!
When that my care could not withhold thy riots,
What wilt thou do when riot is thy care'?
O, thou wilt be a wilderness again,
Peopled with wolves, thy old inhabitants!

P. Henry. O, pardon me, iny liege! but for my
tears,
[Kneeling.
The moist impediments unto my speech,
I had fore-stall'd this dear and deep rebuke,
Ere you with grief had spoke, and I had heard
The course of it so far. There is your crown;
And He that wears the crown immortally,
Long guard it yours! If I affect it more,
Than as your honour, and as your renown,
Let me no more from this obedience rise,
Which my most true' and inward-duteous spirit
Teacheth, this prostrate and exterior bending
Heaven witness with me, when I here came in,
And found no course of breath within your majesty,
How cold it struck my heart! If I do feign,
O, let me in my present wildness die;
And never live to shew the incred ulous world
The noble change that I have purposed!
Coming to look on you, thinking you dead,
(And dead almost, my liege, to think you were)
I spake unto the crown, as having sense,
And thus upbraided it. The care on thee depending,
Hath fed upon the body of my father;
Therefore, thou, best of gold, art worst of gold.
Other, less fine in carrat, is more precious,
Preserving life in med'cine potable3 :

How troublesome it sat upon my head:
To thee it shall descend with better quiet,
Better opinion, better confirmation;
For all the soil of the atchievement goes
5 With me into the earth. It seem'd in me,
But as an honour snatch'd with boisterous hand;
And I had many living, to upbraid
My gain of it by their assistances;

Which daily drew to quarrel, and to blood-shed,
10/Wounding supposed' peace: all these bold fears3,
Thou see'st, with peril I have answered:-
For all my reign hath been but as a scene
Acting that argument; and now my death
Changes the mode: for what in me was purchas'd,
15 Falls upon thee in a more fairer sort,

So thou the garland wear'st' successively. [do,
Yet, though thou stand'st more sure than I could
Thou art not firm enough, since griefs are green;
And all thy friends, which thou must make thy
201
friends,

Have but their stings and teeth newly ta'en out;
By whose fell working I was first advanc'd,
And by whose power I well might lodge a fear
To be again displac'd: which to avoid,
25I cut them off; and had a purpose now
To lead out many to the Holy Land;
Lest rest, and lying still, might make them look
Too near into my state. Therefore, my Harry,
Be it thy course, to busy giddy minds [out,
30 With foreign quarrels; that action, hence berne
May waste the memory of the former days.
More would I, but my lungs are wasted so,
That strength of speech is utterly deny'd me.
How I came by the crown, O God, forgive!
35 And grant it may with thee in true peace live.
P. Henry. My gracious liege,

But thou, most fine, most honour'd,most renown'd,
Hast eat thy bearer up. Thus my most royal liege, 40
Accusing it, I put it on my head;

To try with it, as with an enemy,

That had before my face murder'd my father,-
The quarrel of a true inheritor.
But if it did infect my blood with joy,

Or swell my thoughts to any strain of pride;
If any rebel or vain spirit of mine

Did, with the least affection of a welcome,
Give entertainment to the might of it,
Let heaven for ever keep it from
my
my head!
And make me as the poorest vassal is,
That doth with awe and terror kneel to it!
K. Henry. O my son;

Heaven put it in thy mind to take it hence,

45

But health, alack, with youthful wings is flown
From this bare, wither'd trunk: upon thy sight,
My worldly business makes a period.-
50 Where is my lord of Warwick?

P. Henry. My lord of Warwick !

K. Henry. Doth any name particular belong Unto the lodging where I first did swoon? War. 'Tis called Jerusalem, my noble lord.

That thou might'st win the more thy father's love. 55 K. Henry, Laud be to God!-even there my

Pleading so wisely in excuse of it.

Come hither, Harry, sit thou by my bed;
And hear, I think, the very latest counsel
That ever I shall breathe. Heaven knows, my son,
By what by-paths, and indirect crook'd ways,
I met this crown; and I myself know well,

2 i. e. loyal.

life must end.

It hath been prophesy'd to me many years,
I should not die but in Jerusalem;
Which vainly I suppos'd the Holy Land:-
60 But, bear me to that chamber; there I'll lie;
In that Jerusalem shall Harry die. [Exeunt.

1i. e. curator: a bold figure. Dr. Johnson says, "There has long prevailed an opinion, that a solution of gold has great medicinal virtues, and that the incorruptibility of gold might be communicated to the body impregnated with it. Some have pretended to make potable gold, among other frauds practised on credulity." i. e. turpitude, reproach. i. e. counterfeited, imagined. Fear is here used for that which causes fear. i. e. by order of succession. haps we should read my friends,

Per

ACT

SCENE I.

Shallow's Seat in Glostershire.

ACT V.

Enter Shallow, Falstaff, Bardolph, and Page.

Shal. BY Y cock and pye', sir, you shall not away to-night.- What, Davy, I say!

Fal. You must excuse me, master Robert Shal

low.

Enter Davy.

5

10

man, I have but very little credit with your wor ship. The knave is mine honest friend, sir; therefore, I beseech your worship, let him be countenanc'd.

Shal. Go to; I say, he shall have no wrong. Look about, Davy. Where are you, Sir John? Come, off with your boots.-Give me your hand, master Bardolph.

Bard. I am glad to see your worship.

Shal. I thank thee with all my heart, kind master Bardolph:—and weicome, my tall fellow. [to the puge.] Come, Sir John.

Shal. I will not excuse you; you shall not be excus'd; excuses shall not be adinitted: there is no excuse shall serve; you shall not be excus’d.— Why, Davy! Fal. I'll follow you, good master Robert ShalDavy. Here, sir. low. Bardolph, look to our horses. [Exeunt ShalShal. Davy, Davy, Davy,-let me see, Davy: 15 low, Bardolph, &c.]—If I were saw'd into let me see:-yea, marry, William cook, bid quantities, I should make four dozen of such him come hither. Sir John, you shall not be ex-bearded hermit's staves as master Shallow. It is a cus'd.

Dary. Marry, sir, thus;-those precepts' cannot be serv'd: and, again, sir,-Shall we sow the head-land with wheat?

Shal. With red wheat, Davy. But for William cook;―are there no young pigeons? Davy. Yes, sir. Here is now the smith' note, for shoeing, and plough-irons. Shal. Let it be cast, and paid:-Sir John, you shall not be excus'd.

Davy. Now, sir, a new link to the bucket must needs be had:-And, sir, do you mean to stop any of William's wages, about the sack he lost the 30 other day at Hinckley fair?

Shal. He shall answer it: Some pigeons, Davy; a couple of short-legg'd hens; a joint of mutton; and any pretty little tiny kickshaws, tell William cook.

Davy. Doth the man of war stay all night, sir? Shal. Yes, Davy. I will use him well; A friend i' the court is better than a penny in purse. Use his men well, Davy; for they are arrant knaves, and will backbite.

Davy. No worse than they are back-bitten, sir for they have marvellous foul linen.

Shal. Well conceited, Davy. About thy business, Davy.

;

wonderful thing, to see the semblable coherence of his men's spirits and his: They, by observing of 20]him, do bear themselves like foolish justices; he, by conversing with them, is turned into a justicelike serving-man: their spirits are so married in conjunction with the participation of society, that they flock together in consent, like so many wild25 geese. If I had a suit to master Shallow, I would humour his men, with the imputation of being near their master: if to his men, I would curry with master Shallow, that no man could better command his servants. It is certain, that either wise bearing, or ignorant carriage, is caught, as men take diseases, one of another: therefore, let men take heed of their company. I will devise matter enough out of this Shallow, to keep prince Harry in continual laughter, the wearing-out of six fashions (which is four terms, or two actious), and he shall laugh without intervallums. O, it is much, that a lie, with a slight oath, and a jest with a sad brow, will do with a fellow that never had the ache in his shoulders! O, you shall see 40him laugh 'till his face be like a wet cloak ill Haid up.

35

Davy. I beseech you, sir, to countenance Wil-45 liam Visor of Woncot, against Clement Perkes off the hill.

Shal. There are many complaints, Davy, against that Visor; that Visor is an arrant knave, on my knowledge.

50

Davy. I grant your worship that he is a knave, sir: but yet, God forbid, sir, but a knave should have some countenance at his friend's request. An honest man, sir, is able to speak for himself, when a knave is not. I have serv'd your worship truly, 55 sir, these eight years; and if I cannot once or twice in a quarter bear out a knave against an hones

2

Shal. [within] Sir John!

Fal. I come, master Shallow; I come, master
Shallow.
[Exit Falstuff.

SCENE II.
The Court, in London.
Enter the Earl of Warwick, and the Lord Chief

Justice.

1 See note1, 48. p. Anciently, the lower orders of people had no surnames, but in their stead were content to adopt the titles of their several professions. Precept is a justice's warrant,

The