Fal. Hear me, Yedward, if I tarry at home, | wards, what blows, what extremities he endu and go not, I'll hang you for gong. 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. Well, 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. red; 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. Poins. Farewell, my lord. [Exit Poins. P. Hen. I know you all, and will a while up hold The unyok'd humour of your idleness: And nothing pleaseth but rare accidents. P. Hen. Farewell, thou latter spring! Fare- 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 buckram for the nonce, to immask our noted outward garments. P. Hen. But, I doubt, they will be too hard for us. Pains. 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 forswear 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 palace. [Erit. Another room in the Enter King HENRY, NORTHUMBERLAND, WOB- K. Hen. My blood hath been too cold and Unapt to stir at these indignitics, And therefore lost that title of respect, Wor. Our house, my sovereign liege, little deserves The scourge of greatness to be used on it; Have holp to make so portly. North. My lord, K. Hen. Worcester, get thee gone, for I see And disobedience in thine eye: 0, sir, And majesty might never yet endure Which Harry Percy here at Holmedon took, Hot. My liege, I did deny no prisoners. And 'twixt his finger and his thumb he held I then, all smarting, with my wounds being cold, He should, or he should not ;-for he made me mad, To see him shine so brisk, and smell so sweet, And telling me, the sovereign'st thing on earth Betwixt my love and your high majesty. To do him wrong, or any way impeach What then he said, so he unsay it now. K. Hen. Why, yet he doth deny his prisoners; His brother-in-law, the foolish Mortimer; Hot. Revolted Mortimer! He never did fall off, my sovereign liege, Those mouthed wounds, which valiantly he took, Upon agreement, of swift Severn's flood; Colour her working with such deadly wounds; He never did encounter with Glendower; He durst as well have met the devil alone, We license your departure with your son:- [Exeunt King Henry, Blunt, and Train. Hot. And if the devil come and roar for them, Blunt. The circumstance consider'd, good my I will not send them :-I will after straight, lord, Whatever Harry Percy then had said, And tell him so; for I will ease my heart, Re-enter WORCESTER. Hot. Speak of Mortimer! 'Zounds, I will speak of him; and let my soul Want mercy, if I do not join with him: Yea, on his part, I'll empty all these veins, And shed my dear blood drop by drop i'the dust, But I will lift the down-trod Mortimer As high i'the air as this unthankful king, As this ingrate and canker'd Bolingbroke. North. Brother, the king hath made your nephew mad. [To Worcester. Wor. Who struck this heat up after I was gone? Hot. He will, forsooth, have all my prisoners; And when I urg'd the ransome once again Of my wife's brother, then his cheek look'd pale; And on my face he turn'd an eye of death, Trembling even at the name of Mortimer. Wor. I cannot blame him: Was he not proclaim'd By Richard, that dead is, the next of blood? North. He was; I heard the proclamation: From whence he, intercepted, did return Wor. And for whose death, we in the world's wide mouth Live scandaliz'd, and foully spoken of. Hot. But, soft, I pray you; Did king Richard then Proclaim my brother Edmund Mortimer Heir to the crown? North. He did; myself did hear it. Of this proud king; who studies, day and night, Wor. Peace, cousin, say no more: 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 To pluck bright honour from the pale-fac'd moon : 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. Hot. I cry you mercy. Wor. Those same noble Scots, That are your prisoners, Hot. I'll keep them all; By heaven, he shall not have a Scot of them: Hot. Nay, then I cannot blame his cousin No, if a Scot would save his soul, he shall not: king, That wish'd him on the barren mountains starv'd. I'll keep them, by this hand. Wor. You start away, And lend no ear unto my purposes.— Hot. Nay, I will; that's flat : He said, he would not ransome Mortimer; I'll have a starling shall be taught to speak Wor. Hear you, Cousin; a word. Hot. All studies here I solemnly defy, But that I think his father loves him not, Wor. Farewell, kinsman! I will talk to you, When you are better temper'd to attend. North. Why, what a wasp-stung and impstient fool Art thou, to break into this woman's mood; Tying thine ear to no tongue but thine own? Hot. Why, look you, I am whipp'd and scourg'd with rods, Nettled, and stung with pismires, when I hear Of this vile politician, Bolingbroke. In Richard's time,-What do you call the place? A plague upon't!-it is in Gloucestershire ;- Hot. You say true: Why, what a candy deal of courtesy This fawning greyhound then did proffer me! Good uncle, tell your tale, for I have done. Hot. I have done, i'faith. Wor. Then once more to your Scottish pri Wor. True; who bears hard As what I think might be, but what I know Hot. I smell it ; upon my life, it will do well. North. Before the game's a-foot, thou still let'st slip. Hot. Why, it cannot choose but be a noble plot: And then the power of Scotland, and of York,― To join with Mortimer, ha? Wor. And so they shall. Hot. In faith, it is exceedingly well aim'd. Wor. And 'tis no little reason bids us speed, To save our heads by raising of a head: For, bear ourselves as even as we can, The king will always think him in our debt; And think we think ourselves unsatisfied, Till he hath found a time to pay us home. And see already, how he doth begin To make us strangers to his looks of love. Hot. He does, he does; we'll be reveng'd on him. Wor. Cousin, farewell:-No further go in this, Than I by letters shall direct your course. When time is ripe, (which will be suddenly,) I'll steal to Glendower, and lord Mortimer; Where you and Douglas, and our powers at once, (As I will fashion it,) shall happily meet, To bear our fortunes in our own strong arms, Which now we hold at much uncertainty. North. Farewell, good brother: weshall thrive, I trust. Hot. Uncle, adieu :-0, let the hours be short, Till fields, and blows, and groans applaud our sport! [Exeunt. ACT II. SCENE I.-Rochester. An Inn yard. Enter a Carrier, with a lantern in his hand. 1 Car. Heigh ho! An't be not four by the day, I'll be hang'd: 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 withers 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 villainous 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 cross. razes of ginger, to be delivered as far as Charing-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. 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 pr'ythee, lend me thy lantern, to see my gelding in the stable. 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 lantern, 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. It Cham. Good morrow, master Gadshill. holds current, 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. Gads. Sirrah, if they meet not with saint Nicholas' clerks, 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 Nicholas as truly as a man of falsehood may. 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 knowest, 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 landrakers, no long-staff, sixpenny strikers; none of these mad, mustachio purple-hued malt 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. a Enter FALSTAFF. Fal. Poins! Poins, and be hanged! Poins! P. Hen. Peace, ye fat-kidneyed rascal; What 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 rascal 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 varlet 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, |