: over; by the Lord, an I do not, I am a villain; I'll be damned for never a king's son in Christendom. P. Hen. Where shall we take a purse to-morrow, Jack? Fal. Where thou wilt, lad, I'll make one; an I do not, call me villain, and baffle me. P. Hen. I see a good amendment of life in thee; from praying, to purse-taking. Enter Poins, at a distance. Fal. Why, Hal, 'tis my vocation, Hal; 'tis no sin for a man to labour in his vocation. Poins!-Now shall we know if Gadshill have set a match. O, if men were to be saved by merit, what hole in hell were hot enough for him? This is the most omnipotent villain, that ever cried, Stand, to a true man. P. Hen. Good-morrow, Ned. Poins. Good morrow, sweet Hal.-What says monsieur Remorse? What says sir John Sack-and-Sugar? Jack, how agrees the devil and thee about thy soul, that thou soldest him on Good-Friday last, for a cup of Madeira, and a cold capon's leg? P. Hen. Sir John stands to his word, the devil shall have his bargain; for he was never yet a breaker of proverbs, he will give the devil his due. Poins. Then art thou damned for keeping thy word with the devil. P. Hen. Else he had been damned for cozening the devil. Poins. But, my lads, my lads, to-morrow morning, by four o'clock, early at Gadshill: There are pilgrims going to Canterbury with rich offerings, and traders riding to London with fat purses: I have visors for you all, you have horses for yourselves; Gadshill lies to-night in Rochester; I have bespoke supper to-morrow night in Eastcheap; we may do it as secure as sleep: If you will go, I will stuff your purses full of crowns; if you will not, tarry at home, and be hanged. Fal. Hear me, Yedward; if I tarry at home, and go not, I'll hang you for going. Poins. You will, chops? Fal. Hal, wilt thou make one? P. Hen. Who, I rob? I a thief? not I, by my faith. Fal. There's neither honesty, manhood, nor good fellowship in thee, nor thou camest not of the blood royal, if thou darest not stand for ten shillings. P. Hen. Well, then once in my days I'll be a mad cap. Fal. Why, that's well said. P. Hen. Weli, come what will, I'll tarry at home. Fal. By the Lord, I'll be a traitor then, when thou art king. P. Hen. I care not. Poins. Sir John, I pr'ythee, leave the prince and me alone; I will lay him down such reasons for this adventure, that he shall go. Fal. Well, may'st thou have the spirit of persuasion, and he the ears of profiting, that what thou speakest may move, and what he hears may be believed, that the true prince may (for recreation sake,) prove a false thief; for the poor abuses of the time want countenance. Farewell: You shall find me in Eastcheap. P. Hen. Farewell, thou latter spring! Farewell, All-hallown summer! [Exit Falstaff. Poins. Now, my good sweet honey lord, ride with us to-morrow; I have a jest to execute, that I cannot manage alone. Falstaff, Bardolph, Peto, and Gadshill shall rob those men that we have already way-laid; yourself, and I, will not be there: and when they have the booty, if you and I do not rob them, cut this head from my shoulders. P. Hen. But how shall we part with them in setting forth? Poins. Why, we will set forth before or after them, and appoint them a place of meeting, wherein it is at our pleasure to fail; and then will they adventure upon the exploit themselves: which they shall have no sooner achieved, but we'll set upon them. P. Hen. Ay, but, 'tis like, that they will know us, by our horses, by our habits, and by every other appointment, to be ourselves. Poins. Tut! our horses they shall not see, I'll tie them in the wood; our visors we will change, after we leave them; and, sirrah, I have cases of huckram for the nonce, to immask our noted outward garments. P. Hen. But, I doubt, they will be too hard for us. Poins. Well, for two of them, I know them to be as true bred cowards as ever turned back; and for the third, if he fight longer than he sees reason, I'll for swear arms. The virtue of this jest will be, the incomprehensible lies that this same fat rogue will tell us, when we meet at supper: how thirty, at least, he fought with; what wards, what blows, what extremities he endured; and, in the reproof of this, lies the jest. P. Hen. Well, I'll go with thee; provide us all things necessary, and meet me to-morrow night in Eastcheap, there I'll sup. Farewell. P. Hen. I know you all, and will a while uphold The unyok'd humour of your idleness: Yet herein will I imitate the sun; Who doth permit the base contagious clouds To sport would be as tedious as to work; By how much better than my word I am, SCENE III. The same. Another Room in the Palace. Enter King Henry, Northumberland, Woreester, Hotspur, Sir Walter Blunt, and others. K. Hen. My blood bath been too cold and temperate, Unapt to stir at these indignities, And you have found me; for, accordingly, Wor. Our house, my sovereign liege, little deserves My lord, K. Hen. Worcester, get thee gone, for I see danger And disobedience in thine eye: O, sir, Your presence is too bold and peremptory, And majesty might never yet endure The moody frontier of a servant brow. You have good leave to leave us; when we need Your use and counsel, we shall send for you. You were about to speak. North. [Exit Worcester. [To North. Yea, my good lord. Either envy, therefore, or misprizion Hot. My liege, I did deny no prisoners. And 'twixt his finger and his thumb he held He call'd them-untaught knaves, unmannerly, With many holiday and lady terms He question'd me; among the rest demanded I then, all smarting, with my wounds being cold, Out of my grief and my impatience, Answer'd neglectingly, I know not what; And talk so like a waiting-gentlewoman, This bald unjointed chat of his, my lord, I answer'd indirectly, as I said; And, I beseech you, let not his report Come current for an accusation, Betwixt my love and your high majesty. Whatever Harry Percy then had said, Hath lately married. Shall our coffers then Hot. Revolted Mortimer! He never did fall off, my sovereign liege, drink, Upon agreement, of swift Severn's flood; Colour her working with such deadly wounds; K. Hen. Thou dost belie him, Percy, thou dost belie He never did encounter with Glendower; He durst as well have met the devil alone, Art not ashamed? But, sirrah, henceforth Let me not hear you speak of Mortimer: Send me your prisoners with the speediest means, [Exeunt King Henry, Blunt, and Trais Hot. And if the devil come and roar for them, I will not send them:-I will after straight, And tell him so; for I will ease my heart, Although it be with hazard of my head. North. What, drunk with choler? stay, and panse awhile: 1 Blunt. The circumstance consider'd, good my lord, And shed my dear blood drop by drop i' the dust, To such a person, and in such a place, May reasonably die, and never rise K. Hen. Why, yet he doth deny his prisoners; And then it was, when the unhappy king (Whose wrongs in us God pardon!) did set forth Upon his Irish expedition; From whence he, intercepted, did return To be depos'd, and shortly, murdered. Hot. I'll keep them all; By heaven, he shall not have a Seot of them: No, if a Scot would save his soul, he shall not: I'll keep them, by this hand. Wor. You start away, Wor. And for whose death, we in the world's wide And lend no ear unto my purposes.mouth Live scandaliz'd, and foully spoken of. Those prisoners you shall keep. Hot. Nay, I will; that's flat: Hot. But, soft, I pray you; Did king Richard then He said, he would not ransome Mortimer; Proclaim my brother Edmund Mortimer Heir to the crown? North. He did; myself did hear it. Hot. Nay, then I cannot blame his cousin king, That wish'd him on the barren mountains starv'd. But shall it be, that you, that set the crown Upon the head of this forgetful man; And, for his sake, wear the detested blot Of murd'rous subornation,-shall it be, That you a world of curses undergo; Being the agents, or base second means, The cords, the ladder, or the hangman rather? O, pardon me, that I descend so low, To show the line, and the predicament, Wherein you range under this subtle king.Shall it, for shame, be spoken in these days, Or fill up chronicles in time to come, That men of your nobility and power, Did gage them both in an unjust behalf,As both of you, God pardon it! have done,To put down Richard, that sweet lovely rose, And plant this thorn, this canker, Bolingbroke? And shall it, in more shame, be further spoken, That you are fool'd, discarded, and shook off By him, for whom these shames ye underwent? No; yet time serves, wherein you may redeem Your banish'd honours, and restore yourselves Into the good thoughts of the world again : Revenge the jeering, and disdain'd contempt, Of this proud king; who studies, day and night, To answer all the debt he owes to you, Even with the bloody payment of your deaths. Therefore, I say, Wor. Peace, cousin, say no more: And now I will unclasp a seeret book, And to your quick conceiving discontents Ill read you matter deep and dangerous ; As full of peril, and advent'rous spirit, As to o'er-walk a current, roaring loud, On the unsteadfast footing of a spear. Hot. If he fall in, good night :-or sink or swim : Send danger from the east unto the west, North. Imagination of some great exploit Hot. By heaven, methinks, it were an easy leap, To pluck bright honour from the pale-fae'd moon; Or dive into the bottom of the deep, Where fathom-line could never touch the ground, But out upon this half-fae'd fellowship! Wor. He apprehends a world of figures here, But not the form of what he should attend.Good cousin, give me audience for a while. Forbad my tongue to speak of Mortimer; But I will find him when he lies asleep, And in his ear I'll holla-Mortimer! Nay, I'll have a starling shall be taught to speak Nothing but Mortimer, and give it him, To keep his anger still in motion. Wor. Cousin; a word. Hot. Hear you, All studies here I solemnly defy, Save how to gall and pinch this Bolingbroke: And that same sword-and-buckler prince of Wales,But that I think his father loves him not, And would be glad he met with some mischance, I'd have him poison'd with a pot of ale. Wor. Farewell, kinsman! I will talk to you, When you are better temper'd to attend. North. Why, what a wasp-stung and impatient fool Art thou, to break into this woman's mood; Hot. Why, look you, I am whipp'd and scourg'd with rods, Nettled, and stung with pismires, when I hear When you and he came back from Ravenspurg. You say true: Hot. In faith, it is exceedingly well aim'd. To save our heads by raising of a head: To make us strangers to his looks of love. Hot. He does, he does; we'll be reveng'd on him. North. Farewell, good brother: we shall thrive, I trust. Hot. Uncle, adieu :-O, let the hours be short, Till fields, and blows, and groans applaud our sport! [Exeunt. ACT II. 1 Car. Nay, soft, I pray ye; I know a trick worth two of that, i'faith. Gads. I pr'ythee, lend me thine. 2 Car. Ay, when? canst tell?-Lend me thy lan tern, quoth a ?-marry, I'll see thee hanged first. Gads. Sirrah carrier, what time do you mean to come to London? 2 Car. Time enough to go to bed with a candle, I warrant thee.-Come, neighbour Mugs, we'll call up the gentlemen; they will along with company, for they have great charge. [Exeunt Carriers. Gads. What, ho! chamberlain! Cham. [Within.] At hand, quoth pick-purse. Gads. That's even as fair as-at hand, quoth the chamberlain: for thou variest no more from picking of purses, than giving direction doth from labouring; thou lay'st the plot how. Enter Chamberlain. Cham. Good morrow, master Gadshill. It holds eur rent, that I told you yesternight: There's a franklin in the wild of Kent, hath brought three hundred marks with him in gold: I heard him tell it to one of his company, last night at supper; a kind of auditor; one that hath abundance of charge too, God knows what. They are up already, and call for eggs and butter: They will away presently. Guds. Sirrah, if they meet not with saint Nicholas' elerks, I'll give thee this neck. Cham. No, I'll none of it: I pr'ythee keep that for the hangman; for, I know, thou worship'st saint Nich SCENE I-Rochester. An Inn Yard. Enter a Car- olas as truly as a man of falsehood may. rier, with a Lantern in his hand. 1 Carrier. HEIGH ho! An't be not four by the day, I'll be banged: Charles' wain is over the new chimney, and yet our horse not packed. What, ostler! Ost. [Within.] Anon, anon. 1 Car. I pr'ythee, Tom, beat Cut's saddle, put a few flocks in the point; the poor jade is wrung in the with ers out of all cess. Enter another Carrier. 2 Car. Pease and beans are as dank here as a dog, and that is the next way to give poor jades the bots: this house is turned upside down, since Robin ostler died. 1 Car. Poor fellow! never joyed since the price of oats rose; it was the death of him. 2 Car. I think this be the most villanous house in all London road for fleas: I am stung like a tench. 1 Car. Like a tench? by the mass, there is ne'er a king in Christendom could be better bit than I have been since the first cock. 2 Car. Why, they will allow us ne'er a jorden, and then we leak in your chimney; and your chamber-lie breeds fleas like a loach. 1 Car. What, ostler! come away and be hanged, come away. 2 Car. I have a gammon of bacon, and two razes of ginger, to be delivered as far as Charing across. 1 Car. 'Odsbody! the turkies in my pannier are quite starved.-What, ostler!-A plague on thee! hast thou never an eye in thy head? canst not hear? An 'twere not as good a deed as drink, to break the pate of thee, I am a very villain.-Come, and be hanged: Hast no faith in thee? Enter Gadshill. Gads. Good-morrow, carriers. What's o'clock? 1 Car. I think it be two o'clock. Gads. I prythee, lend me thy lantern, to see my gelding in the stable. Gads. What talkest thou to me of the hangman? if I hang, I'll make a fat pair of gallows: for, if I hang, old sir John hangs with me; and, thou know'st, he's no starveling. Tut! there are other Trojans that thou dreamest not of, the which, for sport sake, are content to do the profession some grace; that would, if matters should be looked into, for their own credit sake, make all whole. I am joined with no foot land-rakers, no long-staff, sixpenny strikers; none of these mad, mustachio purple-hued malt worms: but with nobility, and tranquillity; burgomasters, and great oneyers; such as can hold in; such as will strike sooner than speak, and speak sooner than drink, and drink sooner than pray: And yet I lie; for they pray continually to their saint, the commonwealth; or, rather, not pray to her, but prey on her; for they ride up and down on her, and make her their boots. Cham. What, the commonwealth their boots? will she hold out water in foul way? Gads. She will, she will; justice hath liquored her; We steal as in a castle, cock sure; we have the receipt of fern-seed, we walk invisible. Cham. Nay, by my faith; I think you are more beholden to the night, than to fern-seed, for your walking invisible. Gads. Give me thy hand: thou shalt have a share in our purchase, as I am a true man. Cham. Nay, rather let me have it, as you are a false thief. Gads. Go to Homo is a common name to all men. SCENE II.-The road by Gadshill. Enter Prince tance. Poins. Come, shelter, shelter; I have removed Fal staff's horse, and he frets like a gummed yelyet. P. Hen. Stand close. Enter Falstaff. Fal. Poins! Poins, and be hanged! Poins! P. Hen. Peace, ye fat-kidneyed rascal; What a brawling dost thou keep? Fal. Where's Poins, Hal? P. Hen. He is walked up to the top of the hill; I'll go seek him. [Pretends to seek Poins. Fal. I am accursed to rob in that thief's company: the rascal hath removed my horse, and tied him I know not where. If I travel but four foot by the squire further afoot, I shall break my wind. Well, I doubt not but to die a fair death for all this, if I 'scape hanging for killing that rogue. I have forsworn his company hourly any time this two-and-twenty years, and yet I am bewitched with the rogue's company. If the raseal have not given me medicines to make me love him, I'll be hanged; It could not be else; I have drunk medicines.-Poins!-Hal!-a plague upon you both! -Bardolph!-Peto!-I'll starve, ere I'll rob a foot further. An 'twere not as good a deed as drink, to turn true man, and leave these rogues, I am the veriest var let that ever chewed with a tooth. Eight yards of uneven ground, is threescore and ten miles afoot with me; and the stony-hearted villains know it well enough: A plague upon't, when thieves cannot be true to one another! [They whistle.] Whew!-A plague upon you all! Give me my horse, you rogues; give me my horse, and be hanged. P. Hen. Peace, ye fat-guts! lie down; lay thine ear close to the ground, and list if thou canst hear the tread of travellers. Fal. Have you any levers to lift me up again, being down? 'Sblood, I'll not bear mine own flesh so far afoot again, for all the coin in thy father's exchequer. What a plague mean ye to colt me thus? P. Hen. Thou liest, thou art not colted, thou art un colted. Enter Bardolph. Bard. What news? Gads. Case ye, case ye; on with your visors; there's honey of the king's coming down the hill; 'tis going to the king's exchequer. Fal. You lie, you rogue; 'tis going to the king's tav. ern. Gads. There's enough to make us all. P. Hen. Sirs, you four shall front them in the nar- Gads. Some eight, or ten. Fal. Zounds! will they not rob us? P. Hen. Well, we leave that to the proof. Fal. Now cannot I strike him, if I should be hanged. [Excunt P. Henry and Poins.. Fal. Now, my masters, happy man be his dole, say I; every man to his business. Enter Travellers. 1 Trav. Come, neighbour; the boy shall lead our horses down the hill: we'll walk afoot a while, and ease our legs. Thieves. Stand. Fal. Strike; down with them; cut the villains throats: Ah! whoreson caterpillars! bacon-fed knaves! they hate us youth: down with them; fleece them. 1 Trav. O, we are undone, both we and ours, forever. Fal. Hang ye. gorbellied knaves; are ye undone? No, ye fat chuffs; I would your store were here! On, bacons, on! What, ye knaves? young men must live; You are grand-jurors, are ye? We'll jure ye, i'faith. [Exe. Falstaff, &c. driving the Travellers out. Re-enter Prince Henry and Poins. P. Hen. The thieves have bound the true men: Now could thou and I rob the thieves, and go merrily to London, it would be argument for a week, laughter for a month, and a good jest for ever. Poins. Stand close, I hear them coming. Re-enter Thieves. Fal. Come, my masters, let us share, and then to horse before day. An the Prince and Poins be not two arrant cowards, there's no equity stirring: there's no more valour in that Poins, than in a wild duck. P. Hen. Your money. [Rushing out upon them. Poins. Villains. [As they are sharing, the Prince and Poins set P. Hen. Got with much ease. Now merrily to horse: [Exeunt. SCENE III.-Warkworth. A Room in the Castle. -But, for mine own part, my lord, I could be well contented to be there, in respect of the love I bear your house.-He could be contented,-Why is he not then? In respect to the love he bears our house :-he shows in this, he loves his own barn better than he loves our house. Let me see some more. The purpose you undertake, is dangerous;-Why, that's certain; 'tis dangerous to take a cold, to sleep, to drink: but I tell you, my lord fool, out of this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety. The purpose you undertake, is dangerous; the friends you have named, uncertain; the time itself, unsorted; and your whole plot too light, for the counterpoise of so great an opposition.-Say you so, say you so? I say unto you again, you are a shaliow, cow P. Hen. What, a coward, sir John Paunch ? Ather; but yet no coward, Hal. the Lord, our plot is a good plot as ever was laid; our |