Obrázky stránek
PDF
ePub
[blocks in formation]

Hot. Where? Doug. Here.

Hot. This, Douglas? no, I know this face full well: A gallant knight he was, his name was Blunt; Semblably furnish'd 7) like the king himself. Doug. A fool go with thy soul, whither it goes! A borrow'd title hast thou bought too dear. Why didst thou tell me that thou wert a king? Hot. The king hath many marching in his coats. Doug. Now, by my sword, I will kill all his coats; I'll murder all his wardrobe, piece by piece, Until I meet the king. Hot.

Up, and away;

Our soldiers stand full fairly for the day. [Exeunt.

Other Alarums. Enter FALSTAFF.

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?

Enter Prince HENRY.

[blocks in formation]

Our duty this way lies; for God's sake, come.
[Exeunt Prince JOHN and WESTMORELAND.
P. Hen. By heaven, thou hast deceiv'd me, Lan-
caster,

I did not think thee lord of such a spirit:
Before, I lov'd thee as a brother, John;
But now, I do respect thee as my soul.
K. Hen. I saw him hold lord Percy at the point,
With lustier maintenance than I did look for
Of such an ungrown warrior.

P. Hen.

Lends mettle to us all.

O, this boy,

[Exit.

Alarums. Enter DOUGLAS.

Doug. Another king! they grow like hydras' heads: I am the Douglas, fatal to all those That wear those colours on them. - What art thou, That counterfeit'st the person of a king? K. Hen. The king himself; who, Douglas, grieves at heart,

So many of his shadows thou hast met,
And not the very king. I have two boys,
Seek Percy, and thyself, about the field:

P. Hen. What, stand'st thou idle here? lend me But, seeing thou fall'st on me so luckily,

thy sword:

Many a nobleman lies stark and stiff
Under the hoofs of vaunting enemies,
Whose deaths are unreveng'd: Pr'ythee, lend thy

sword. 18)

[ocr errors]

Fal. O Hal, I pr'ythee, give me leave to breathe a while. Turk Gregory never did such deeds in arins, 19) as I have done this day. I have paid Percy, I have made him sure.

P. Hen. He is, indeed; and living to kill thee. Lend thy sword, I pr'ythee. 20)

Fal. Nay, before God, Hal, if Percy be alive thou get'st not my sword; but take my pistol, if thou wilt.

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 21) of 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.

me.

[ocr errors]

I will assay thee; so defend thyself.
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

Of Shirley, Stafford, Blunt, are in my arms:
It is the prince of Wales, that threatens thee;
Who never promiseth, but he means to pay.
[They fight; DOUGLAS flies.

Cheerly, my lord; How fares your grace?
Sir Nicholas Gawsey hath for succour sent,
And so hath Clifton; I'll to Clifton straight.
K. Hen. Stay, and breathe awhile:
Thou hast redeem'd thy lost opinion;
And show'd, thou mak'st some tender of my life,
In this fair rescue thou hast brought to me.
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
The insulting hand of Douglas over you;
Which would have been as speedy in your end,

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 Nicholas
Gawsey.
[Exit King HENRY.

Enter HOTSPUR.

Hot. If I mistake not, thou art Harry Monmouth.
P. Hen. Thou speak'st as if I would deny my name.
Hot. My name is Harry Percy.
P. Hen.

Why, then I see

A very valiant rebel of the name.
I am the prince of Wales; and think not, Percy,
To share with me in glory any more:
Two stars keep not their motion in one sphere;
Nor can one England brook a double reign,
Of Harry Percy, and the prince of Wales.
Hot. Nor shall it, Harry, for the hour is come
To end the one of us; And 'would to God,
Thy name in arms were now as great as mine!
P.Hen. I'll make it greater, ere I part from thee;
And all the budding honours on thy crest
I'll crop to make a garland for my head.
Hot. I can no longer brook thy vanities.

Enter FALSTAFF.

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
Thy maiden sword.
P. John.

But, soft! whom have we here?
[They fight. Did you not tell me, this fat man was dead?
P. Hen. I did; I saw him dead, breathless and
bleeding

Fal. Well said, Hal! to it, Hal! - Nay, you shall Upon the ground. 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 robbed me of my youth: 22)
I better brook the loss of brittle life,
Than those proud titles thou hast won of me;
They wound my thoughts, worse than thy swerd
my flesh:

But thought's the slave of life, and life, time's fool;
And time, that takes survey of all the world,
Must have a stop. 23) O, I could prophesy,
But that the earthy and cold hand of death
Lies on my tongue: No, Percy, thou art dust,
And food for
[Dies.
P. Hen. For worms, brave Percy: Fare thee well,
great heart!

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,

-

I should not make so dear a show of zeal:
But let my favours hide thy mangled face; 24)
And, even in thy behalf, I'll thank myself
For doing these fair rites of tenderness.
Adieu, and take thy praise with thee to heaven!
Thy ignomy sleep with thee in the grave,
But not remember'd in thy epitaph!

[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.
O, I should have a heavy miss of thee,
If I were much in love with vanity.
Death hath not struck so fat a deer 25) 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

26)

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:27) 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:
For my part, if a lie may do thee grace,
I'll gild it with the happiest terms I have.

[A Retreat is sounded.
The trumpet sounds retreat, the day is ours.
Come, brother, let's to the highest of the field,
To see what friends are living, who are dead.
[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.

[blocks in formation]

Ill-spirited Worcester! did we not send grace,
Pardon, and terms of love to all of you?
And would'st thou turn our offers contrary?
Misuse the tenor of thy kinsman's trust?
Three knights upon our party slain to-day,
A noble earl, and many a creature else,

Had been alive this hour,

If, like a christian, thou hadst truly borne
Betwixt our armies true intelligence.

The Douglas is; and I beseech your grace,
I may dispose of him.
K. Hen.

With all my heart.

P. Hen. Then, brother John of Lancaster, to you This honourable bounty shall belong:

Go to the Douglas, and deliver him

Up to his pleasure, ransomeless, and free;

His valour, shown upon our crests to-day,

28) Hath taught us how to cherish such high deeds,

Wor. What I have done, my safety urg'd me to; Even in the bosom of our adversaries.

And I embrace this fortune patiently,

Since not to be avoided it falls on me.

K. Hen. Then this remains, — that we divide our power.

K. Hen. Bear Worcester to the death, and Ver- You, son John, and my cousin Westmoreland, non too: Towards York shall bend you, with your dearest speed,

Other offenders we will pause upon.
[Exeunt WORCESTER and VERNON guarded.
How goes the field?

P. Hen. The noble Scot, lord Douglas, when he

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

FALSTAFF, BARDOLPH, PISTOL, and Page.
POINS and PEтO, Attendants on Prince Henry.

Prince JOHN of Lancaster, 1) afterwards his Sons. SHALLOW and SILENCE, Country Justices.

(2 Henry V.) Duke of Bedford;

Prince HUMPHREY of Gloster, afterwards

(2 Henry V.) Duke of Gloster;

Earl of WARWICK;

Earl of WESTMORELAND;

of the King's Party.

GOWER;

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small]

OPEN your ears; For which of you will stop
The vent of hearing, when loud Rumour speaks?
I, from the orient to the drooping west,
Making the wind my post-horse, still unfold
The acts commenced on this ball of earth:

Upon my tongues continual slanders ride;
The which in every language I pronounce,
Stuffing the ears of men with false reports.
I speak of peace, while covert enmity,
Under the smile of safety, wounds the world:
And who but Rumour, who but only I,
Make fearful musters, and prepar'd defence;
Whilst the big year, swol'n with some other grief,
Is thought with child by the stern tyrant war,
And no such matter! Rumour is a pipe
Blown by surmises, jealousies, conjectures;
And of so easy and so plain a stop,

That the blunt monster with uncounted heads,
The still-discordant wavering multitude,
Can play upon it. But what need I thus
My well-known body to anatomize

Among my household? Why is Rumour here?
I run before king Harry's victory;
Who, in a bloody field by Shrewsbury,

DAVY, Servant to Shallow.

MOULDY, SHADOW, Wart, Febble, and BULLCALF,

Recruits.

FANG and SNARE, Sheriff's Officers.

RUMOUR.

A Porter.

A Dancer, Speaker of the Epilogue.

Lady NORTHUMBERLAND.
Lady PERCY.

Hostess QUICKLY.

DOLL TEAR-SHEET.

Lords and other Attendants; Officers, Soldiers, Messenger, Drawers, Beadles, Grooms, &c.

England.

Hath beaten down young Hotspur, and his troops, Quenching the flame of bold rebellion

Even with the rebels' blood. But what mean I
To speak so true at first? my office is
To hoise abroad, that Harry Monmouth fell
Under the wrath of noble Hotspur's sword;
And that the king before the Douglas' rage
Stoop'd his anointed head as low as death.
This have I rumour'd through the peasant towns
Between that royal field of Shrewsbury
And this worm-eaten hold of ragged stone,
Where Hotspur's father, old Northumberland,
Lies crafty-sick: the posts come tiring on,
And not a man of them brings other news
Than they have learn'd of ine; From Rumour's
tongues

They bring smooth comforts false, worse than true [Exit.

wrongs.

ACT I.

SCENE I. The same.

The Porter before the Gate; Enter Lord
BARDOLPH.

Bard. Who keeps the gate here, ho? — Where is the earl?

Port. What shall I say you are? Bard. Tell thou the earl, That the lord Bardolph doth attend him here.

[blocks in formation]

I bring you certain news from Shrewsbury.
North. Good, an heaven will!
Bard.
As good as heart can wish:
The king is almost wounded to the death;
And, in the fortune of my lord your son,
Prince Harry slain outright; and both the Blunts
Kill'd by the hand of Douglas: young prince John,
And Westmoreland, and Stafford, fled the field;
And Harry Monmouth's brawn, the hulk sir John,
Is prisoner to your son: O, such a day,
So fought, so follow'd, and so fairly won,
Came not, till now, to dignify the times,
Since Cæsar's fortunes!

[blocks in formation]

Saw you the field? came you from Shrewsbury?
Bard. I spake with one, my lord, that came from
thence;

A gentleman well bred, and of good name,
That freely render'd me these news for true.
North. Here comes my servant, Travers, whom

I sent

On Tuesday last to listen after news.
Bard. My lord, I over-rode him on the way;
And he is furnish'd with no certainties,
More than he haply may retail from me.

Enter TRAVERS.

North. Now, Travers, what good tidings with you?

come

Tra. My lord, sir John Umfrevile turn'd me back
With joyful tidings; and, being better hors'd,
Out-rode me. After him, came, spurring hard,
A gentleman almost forspent 4) with speed,
That stopp'd by me to breathe his bloodied horse:
He ask'd the way to Chester; and of him
I did demand, what news from Shrewsbury.
He told me, that rebellion had bad luck,
And that young Harry Percy's spur was cold:
With that, he gave his able horse the head,
And, bending forward, struck his armed heels
Against the panting sides of his poor jade
Up to the rowel-head; and starting so,
He seem'd in running to devour the way,
Staying no longer question.

North.

Ha!

[ocr errors]

Again.

Said he, young Harry Percy's spur was cold?

Of Hotspur, coldspur? that rebellion

Had met ill-luck!

Bard.

My lord, I'll tell you what;

If my young lord your son have not the day,

Upon mine honour, for a silken point 5)

I'll give my barony: never talk of it.

[ocr errors]

Enter MORTON.

North. Yea, this man's brow, like to a title leaf, 7)
Foretells the nature of a tragic volume:

So looks the strond, whereon the imperious flood
Hath left a witness'd usurpation.

- 8)

Say, Morton, did'st thou come from Shrewsbury?
Mor. I ran from Shrewsbury, my noble lord;
Where hateful death put on his ugliest mask,
To fright our party.
North.
How doth my son, and brother?
Thou tremblest; and the whiteness in thy cheek
Is apter than thy tongue to tell thy errand.
Even such a man, so faint, so spiritless,
So dull, so dead in look, so woe-begone,
Drew Priam's curtain in the dead of night,
And would have told him, half his Troy was burn'd:
But Priam found the fire, ere he his tongue,
And I my Percy's death, ere thou report'st it.
This thou would'st say, Your son did thus, and

[blocks in formation]

Why, he is dead.
See, what a ready tongue suspicion hath!
He, that but fears the thing he would not know,
Hath, by instinct, knowledge from others' eyes,
That what he fear'd is chanced. Yet speak, Morton;
Tell thou thy earl, his divination lies;
And I will take it as a sweet disgrace,
And make thee rich for doing me such wrong.

Mor. You are too great to be by me gainsaid:
Your spirit) is too true, your fears too certain.
North. Yet, for all this, say not that Percy's dead.
I see a strange confession in thine eye:
Thou shak'st thy head; and hold'st it fear, or sin, 10)
To speak a truth. If he be slain, say so;
The tongue offends not, that reports his death:
And he doth sin, that doth belie the dead;
Not he, which says the dead is not alive.
Yet the first bringer of unwelcome news
Hath but a losing office; and his tongue
Sounds ever after as a sullen bell,
Remember'd knolling a departing friend.
Bard. I cannot think, my lord, your son is dead.
Mor. I am sorry, I should force you to believe
That, which I would to heaven I had not seen:
But these mine eyes saw him in bloody state,
Rend'ring faint quittance, 1) wearied and out-
breath'd,

To Harry Monmouth; whose swift wrath beat down
The never-daunted Percy to the earth,
From whence with life he never more sprung up.
In few, his death (whose spirit lent a fire
Even to the dullest peasant in his camp,)
Being bruited once, took fire and heat away
From the best temper'd courage in his troops:
For from his metal was his party steel'd;
Which once in him abated, all the rest
Turn'd on themselves, like dull and heavy lead.
And as the thing that's heavy in itself,

North. Why should the gentleman, that rode by Upon enforcement, flies with greatest speed;

Travers,

Give then such instances of loss?
Bard.

Who, he?
He was some hilding fellow, ❝) that had stol'n
The horse he rode on; and, upon my life,
Spoke at a venture. Look, here comes more news.

So did our men, heavy in Hotspur's loss,
Lend to this weight such lightness with their fear,
That arrows fled not swifter toward their aim,
Than did our soldiers, aiming at their safety,
Fly from the field: Then was that noble Worcester
Too soon ta'en prisoner: and that furious Scot,

« PředchozíPokračovat »