I do not think a braver gentleman, More active-valiant, or more valiant-young, And so, I hear, he doth account me too : I am content, that he shall take the odds Of his great name and estimation; And will, to save the blood on either side, Try fortune with him in a single fight. Interpretation will misquote our looks; A hair-brain'd Hotspur, govern'd by a spleen : K. Hen. And, prince of Wales, so dare we In any case, the offer of the king. Albeit, considerations infinite Do make against it :-No, good Worcester, no, [Exeunt WORCESTER and VERNON. K. Hen. Hence, therefore, every leader to 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 fare well. Fal. I would it were bed-time, Hal, and all well. P. Hen. Why, thou owest God a death. [Exit. Wor. O no, my nephew must not The liberal kind offer of the king. Wor. Then are we all undone. It is not possible, it cannot be, know, The king should keep his word in loving us : Will have a wild trick of his ancestors. • It is common for the king to be here seated on a drum, and to rise at this line; when Falstaff, who is strangely placed behind hun, tumbles down, to create a very ill-timed Bartholomew-fair laugh. Ver. Deliver what you will, I'll say, 'tis so. Here comes your cousin. Enter HOTSPUR and DOUGLAS; and Officers Hot. My uncle is return'd :-Deliver up land. Which cannot choose but bring him quickly on. And nephew, challeng'd you to single fight. beads; [day, And that no man might draw short breath to But I and Harry Monmouth! Tell me, tell me, How show'd his tasking? seem'd it in contempt? Ver. No, by my soul; I never in my life Spoke your deservings like a chronicle; If he outlive the envy of this day, Better consider what you have to do, • Own. Enter a MESSENGER. Mess. My lord, here are letters for you. If die, brave death, when princes die with us! Enter another MESSENGER. apace. Hot. I thank him that he cuts me from my tale, For I profess not talking: Only this Let each man do his best: and here draw I exeunt. Walter Blant; there's honour for you: Here's Enter Prince HENRY. P. Hen. What, stand'st thou idle here? len Many a nobleman lies stark and stiff Fal. O Hal, I pr'ythee, give me leave t breathe a while.-Turk Gregory never did suc deeds in arms, as I have done this day. I hav paid Percy, I have made him sure. P. Hen. He is, indeed; and living to ki thee. Lend me thy sword, I pr'ythee. Fal. Nay, before God, Hal, if Percy be aliv thou get'st not my sword; but take my pisto if thou wilt. P. Hen. Give it me: What, is it in the case Fal. Ay, Hal; 'tis hot, 'tis hot; there's th will sack a city. [The Prince draws out a bottle of sac P. Hen. What, is't a time to jest and dal now? [Throws it at him and ex Fal. Well, if Percy be alive, I'll pierce bi If he do come in my way, so if he do not, it come in his willingly, let him make a carb nado of me. I like not such grinning hono as Sir Walter hath: Give me life: which if can save, so; if not, honour comes unlooked fo Thou crossest me? what honour dost thou seek and there's an end.' Doug. Know then, my name is Douglas; Doug. The lord of Stafford dear to-day hath Thy likeness; for, instead of thee, king Harry, [They fight, and BLUNT is slain. Hot. O Donglas, hadst thou fought at Hol- I never had triumph'd upon a Scot. [Ex KIN SCENE IV.-Another part of the Field. Alarums. Excursions. Enter the Prince HENRY, Prince JOHN, and WES MORELAND. K. Hen. I pr'ythee, [much: Harry, withdraw thyself; thon bleed'st t too. P. Hen. I do beseech your majesty, make u Lest your retirement do amaze your friends. K. Hen. I will do so : My lord of Westmoreland, lead him to bis ter West. Come, my lord, I will lead you your tent P. Hen. Lead me, my lord? I do not ne your help: Doug. All's done, all's won; here breathless And heaven forbid a shallow scratch sho lies the king. Hot. Where? [Exeunt. P. Hen. Oh! this boy Other Alarums.-Enter FALSTAFF Fal. Though I could 'scape shot-free at London, I fear the shot here; here's no scoring, [E but upon the pate.-Soft! who art thou? Sir I am the Douglas, fatal to all those In resemblance. A piece of meat cut crossways for the gridiron That wear those colours on them.-What art So many of his shadows thou hast met, Doug. I fear thou art another counterfeit ; [They fight; the KING being in danger, enter Prince HENRY. P. Hen. Hold up thy head, vile Scot, or thou Never to hold it up again! the spirits P. Hen. For worms, brave Percy: Fare thee Ill weav'd ambition, how much art thou shrunk! Is room enough;-This earth, that bears thee I should not make so dear a show of zeal :- [Exit. [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. OI 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. Fal. [Rising slowly.] Embowelled! if thou embowel me to-day, I'll give you leave to pow'Sblood, der me, and eat me too, to-morrow. 'twas time to counterfeit, or that hot termagant Scot had paid me scot and lot too. Counterfeit? I lie, 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 Nich-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, Sirrab, [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. That ever said I hearken'd for your death. Enter HOTSPUR. P. Hen. Thou speak'st as if I would deny my name. Hot. My name is Harry Percy. A very valiant rebel of the name. I am the prince of Wales; and think not, Percy, Hot. Nor shall it, Harry, for the hour is come Enter EALSTAFF. Het. O Harry, thou hast robb'd me of my [youth, I better brook the loss of brittle life, Than those proud titles thou hast won of me; They wound my thoughts, worse than thy sword [fool; my flesh; But thought's the slave of life, and life time's And time, that takes survey of all the world, Must have a stop. O I could prophesy, But that the earthy and cold hand of death Lies on my tongue :-No, Percy, thou art dust, [Dies. And food for There is no reason to suppose that Hotspur was slain by the Prince of Wales 'he probably fell by an unknown hand. + Reputation. P. John. But, soft! whom bave we here? Fal. No, that's certain; I am not a double 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 arose 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 Come, bring your luggage nobly on your back; [A Retreat is sounded. SCENE V.-Another part of the Field. The Trumpets sound.-Enter King HENRY, Prince HENRY, Prince JOHN, WESTMORELAND and others, with WORCESTER and VERNON, prisoners. P. Hen. Thus ever did rebellion find re- Ill-spirited Worcester! did we not send grace, If, like a Christian, thou hadst truly borne K. Hen. Bear Worcester to the death, and Other offenders we will pause upon.- P. Hen. The noble Scot, lord Douglas, when The fortune of the day quite turn'd from him, K. Hen. With all my heart. P. Hen. Then, brother Johu of Lancaster to K. Hen. Then this remains, that we divide You, son John, and my cousin Westmoreland, To meet Northumberland and the prelate Who, as we hear, are busily in arms: Wor. What I have done, my safety urged me Meeting the check of such another day: to; And I embrace this fortune patiently, Since not to be avoided it falls on me. And since this business so fair is done, [Exeunt. 1 SECOND PART OF KING HENRY IV. LITERARY AND HISTORICAL NOTICE. SHAKSPEARE 19 supposed to have written this play in 1598. Its action comprehends a period of nine years, commencing with Hotspur's death, 1403, and terminating with the coronation of Henry V. 1412-13. Many of the tragic scenes in this second portion of the history are forcible and pathetic; but the comedy is of a much looser and more indecent character, than any in the preceding part. Shallow is an odd though pleasing portrait of a brainless magistrate; and a character, it is to be feared, not peculiar to Glostershire only. In thus exhibiting his worship to the ridicule of an audience, Shakspeare amply revenged himself on his old Warwickshire prosecutor. On the character of Falstaff, as exhibited in the two plays, Dr. Johnson makes the following admirable remarks: "Falstaff! unimitated, unimitable Falstaff, how shall I describe thee; thou compound of sense and vice; of sense which may be admired, but not esteemed; of vice which may be despised, but hardly detested. Falstaff is a character loaded with faults, and with those faults which naturally produce contempt. He is a thief and a glutton, a coward and a boaster; always ready to cheat the weak, and prey upon the poor; to terrify the timorous, and insult the defenceless. At once obsequious and malignant, he satirizes in their absence those whom he lives by flattering. He is familiar with the prince, only as an agent of vice; but of this familiarity he is so proud, as not only to be supercilious and haughty with common men, but to think his interest of importance to the Duke of Lancaster. Yet the man thus corrupt, thus despicable, makes himself necessary to the prince that despises him, by the most pleasing of all qualities, perpetual gaity; by an unfailing power of exciting laughter, which is the more freely indulged, as his wit is not of the splendid or ambitious kind, but consists in easy scapes and sallies of levity, which make sport, but raise no envy. It must be observed, that he is stained with no enormous or sanguinary crimes, so that his licentiousness is not so offensive but that it may be borne for his mirth." |