SCENE IV. now, KING HENRY IV. Made to my father, while his blood was poor, Upon the naked shore at Ravenspurg; And forsooth, takes on him to reform Some certain edicts, and some strait decrees, That lie too heavy on the commonwealth : Cries out upon abuses, seems to weep Over his country's wrongs; and, by this face, This seeming brow of justice, did he win. The hearts of all that he did angle for. Proceeded further; cut me off the heads Of all the favourites, that the absent king In deputation left behind him here, When he was personal in the Irish war. Blunt. Tut, I came not to hear this. Then, to the point. Hot. In short time after, he depos'd the king Son after that, depriv'd him of his life; And, in the neck of that, task'd the whole state: To make that worse, suffer'd his kinsman March (Who is, if every owner were well plac'd, Indeed his king,) to be incag'd in Wales, There without ransome to lie forfeited: Disgrac'd me in my happy victories ; 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? Blunt. I would, you would accept of grace and love. SCENE IV.-York. 'Pray heaven, you do! [Exeunt. A Room in the Archbishop's House. Enter the Archbishop of YORK, and a Gentleman. Arch. Hie, good sir Michael; bear this sealed brief, With winged haste, to the lord mareschal; haste. Gent. My good lord, I guess their tenor. Arch. Like enough, you do. The king, with mighty and quick-raised power, And comes not in, o'er-ruled by prophecies,) — To wage an instant trial with the king. Gent. Why, good my lord, you need not fear; there's Douglas, And Mortimer. Arch. No, Mortimer's not there. Gent. But there is Mordake, Vernon, lord Harry Percy, And there's my lord of Worcester; and a head Arch. And so there is: but yet the king hath drawn The special head of all the land together; - Gent. Doubt not, my lord, they shall be well Arch. I hope no less, yet needful 'tis to fear; And, to prevent the worst, sir Michael, speed: For, if lord Percy thrive not, ere the king Dismiss his power, he means to visit us, For he hath heard of our confederacy, And 'tis but wisdom to make strong against him; Therefore, make haste: I must go write again To other friends; and so farewell, sir Michael. [Exeunt, severally. ACT V. Trumpet. Enter WORCESTER and VERNON. How now, my lord of Worcester? 'tis not well, That you and I should meet upon such terms As now we meet: You have deceiv'd our trust; And made us doff our easy robes of peace, To crush our old limbs in ungentle steel : That is not well, my lord, this is not well. What say you to't? will you again unknit This churlish knot of all-abhorred war? And move in that obedient orb again, Where you did give a fair and natural light; And be no more an exhal'd meteor, A prodigy of fear, and a portent Of broached mischief to the unborn times? For mine own part, I could be well content To entertain the lag-end of my life With quiet hours; for, I do protest, I have not sought the day of this dislike. More daring, or more bold, is now alive, To grace this latter age with noble deeds. For my part, I may speak it to my shame, I have a truant been to chivalry; K. Hen. You have not sought it! how comes it And so, I hear, he doth account me too: then? Fal. Rebellion lay in his way, and he found it. Wor. It pleas'd your majesty, to turn your looks In Richard's time; and posted day and night K. Hen. These things, indeed, you have articulated, Proclaim'd at market-crosses, read in churches; With some fine colour, that may please the eye And never yet did insurrection want P. Hen. In both our armies, there is many a soul Shall pay full dearly for this encounter, If once they join in trial. Tell your nephew, More active-valiant, or more valiant-young, Yet this before my father's majesty, I am content, that he shall take the odds K. Hen. And, prince of Wales, so dare we venture thee, Albeit, considerations infinite Do make against it :- No, good Worcester, no, [Exeunt WORCESTER and VERNON, P. Hen. It will not be accepted, on my life: The Douglas and the Hotspur both together Are confident against the world in arms. K. Hen. Hence, therefore, every leader to his charge; For, on their answer, will we set on them: [Exeunt 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. Hen. 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. Hen. Why, thou owest God a death. [Erit. Fal. 'Tis not due yet; I would be loath to pay him before his day. What need I be so forward with him that calls not on me? Well, 'tis no matter; Honour pricks me on. Yea, but how if honour prick me off when I come on? how then? 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 in that word, honour? What is that honour? Air. A trim reckoning! - Who hath it? He that died o'Wednesday. Doth he feel it? No. Doth he hear it? No. Is it insensible then? Yea, to the dead. But will it not live with the living? No. Why? Detraction will not suffer it:- therefore I'll none of it: Honour is a mere scutcheon, and so ends my catechism. [Erit. Wor. O, no, my nephew must not know, sir Richard, The liberal kind offer of the king. Ver. 'Twere best, he did. Then are we all undone SCENE II. For treason is but trusted like the fox; It hath the excuse of youth, and heat of blood; A hare-brain'd Hotspur, govern'd by a spleen: All his offences live upon my head, And on his father's; - we did train him on ; Ver. Deliver what you will, I'll say, 'tis so. Enter HOTSPUR and DOUGLAS; and Officers and Hot. My uncle is return'd: - Deliver up [Exit. War. There is no seeming mercy in the king. Doug. Arm, gentlemen; to arms! for I have A brave defiance in King Henry's teeth, Wer. The Prince of Wales stepp'd forth before the king, And, nephew, challeng'd you to single fight. Hot. O, 'would the quarrel lay upon our heads; Trimm'd up your praises with a princely tongue; And chid his truant youth with such a grace, Of any prince, so wild, at liberty: friends, :- And, fellows, soldiers, Better consider what you have to do, Mess. My lord, here are letters for you. O gentlemen, the time of life is short; Enter another Messenger. Mess. My lord, prepare; the king comes on apace. [The trumpets sound. They embrace, and exeunt. Excursions, and parties fighting. Alarum to the battle. Then enter DOUGLAS and BLUNT, meeting. Blunt. What is thy name, that in the battle thus Doug. Blunt. They tell thee true. Doug. The lord of Stafford dear to-day hath bought Thy likeness; for, instead of thee, king Harry, Blunt. I was not born a yielder, thou proud Scot; They fight, and BLUNT is slain. Hot. O Douglas, hadst thou fought at Holmedon thus, I never had triumph'd upon a Scot. Doug. All's done, all's won; here breathless lies Doug. Here. Hot. This, Douglas? no, I know this face full well. A gallant knight he was, his name was Blunt; 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 my own bowels. I have led my raggamuffins where they are peppered: there's but three of my hundred and fifty left alive; and they are for the town's end, to beg during life. But who comes here? 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. P. Hen. What, is't a time to jest and dally now? [Throws it at him, and exit. Fal. Well, if Percy be alive, I'll pierce him. If he do come in my way, so: if he do not, if I come in his willingly, let him make a carbonado of me. I like not such grinning honour as sir Walter hath : Give me life which if I can save, so; if not, honour comes unlooked for, and there's an end. [Exit. SCENE IV. Another part of the Field. Alarums. Excursions. Enter the KING, PRINCE HENRY, PRINCE JOHN, and WESTMORELAND. K. Hen. I pr'ythee, Harry, withdraw thyself; thou bleed'st too much :Lord John of Lancaster, go you with him. P. John. Not I, my lord, unless I did bleed too. P. Hen. I do beseech your majesty, make up, Lest your retirement do amaze your friends. K. Hen. I will do so : My lord of Westmoreland, lead him to his tent. West. Come, my lord, I will lead you to your tent. P. Hen. Lead me, my lord? I do not need your help: And heaven forbid, a shallow scratch should drive The prince of Wales from such a field as this; P. John. We breathe too long: - Come, cousin Our duty this way lies; for God's sake come. I did not think thee lord of such a spirit: K. Hen. I saw him hold lord Percy at the point, Lends mettle to us all. Doug. [Erit. Alarums. Enter DOUGLAS. I am the Douglas, fatal to all those K. Hen. The king himself; who, Douglas, grieves at heart, So many of his shadows thou hast met, Doug. I fear, thou art another counterfeit ; And yet, in faith, thou bear'st thee like a king: But mine, I am sure, thou art, whoe'er thou be, And thus I win thee. [They fight; the KING being in danger, enter PRINCE HENRY. P. Hen. Hold up thy head, vile Scot, or thou art like Never to hold it up again! the spirits [They fight; DoUGLAS fies P. Hen. O heaven! they did me too much injury, That ever said, I hearken'd for your death. If it were so, I might have let alone Which would have been as speedy in your end, The insulting hand of Douglas over you; As all the poisonous potions in the world, And sav'd the treacherous labour of your son. K. Hen. Make up to Clifton, I'll to sir Nichol Gawsey. [Exit KING HENAT 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 falls. Hot. O, Harry, thou hast robb'd me of my youth: I better brook the loss of brittle life, But thought's the slave of life, and life time's fool; And food for Ill-weav'd ambition, how much art thou shrunk! When that this body did contain a spirit, A kingdom for it was too small a bound; But now, two paces of the vilest earth Is room enough : — This earth, that bears thee dead Bears not alive so stout a gentleman. If thou wert sensible of courtesy, [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. 0, 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 powder 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 Percy, though he be dead: How, if he should counterfeit too, and rise? I am afraid, he would prove the better counterfeit. Therefore I'll make him sure: yea, and I'll swear I killed him. Why may not he rise, as well as I? Nothing confutes 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 Upon the ground. Art thou alive? or is it phantasy That plays upon our eyesight? I pr'ythee, speak; We will not trust our eyes, without our ears: Thou art not what thou seem'st. Fal. No, that's certain; I am not a double man: but if I be 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. P. Hen. Why, Percy I killed 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 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 I heard. P. Hen. This is the strangest fellow, brother John. Come, bring your luggage nobly on your back: [A retreat is sounded. [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. |