To stab at half an hour of my life.

What! canst thou not forbear me half an hour?
Then get thee gone; and dig my grave thyself;
And bid the merry bells ring to thine ear,
That thou art crowned, not that I am dead.
Let all the tears, that should bedew my hearse,
Be drops of balm, to sanctify thy head:
Only compound me with forgotten dust;

Give that, which gave thee life, unto the worms.
Pluck down my officers, break my decrees;
For now a time is come to mock at form,
Harry the fifth is crown'd:-Up, vanity!

And to the English court assemble now,
From every region, apes of idleness!

Now, neighbour confines, purge you of your scum:
Have you a ruffian, that will swear, drink, dance,
Revel the night; rob, murder, and commit
The oldest sins the newest kind of ways?
Be happy, he will trouble you no more:
England shall double gild his treble guilt:
England shall give him oflice, honour, might:
For the fifth Harry from curb'd license plucks
The muzzle of restraint, and the wild dog
Shall flesh his tooth in every innocent.
O my poor kingdom, sick with civil blows!
When that my care could not withhold thy riots,
What wilt thou do, when riot is thy care?
O, thou wilt be a wilderness again,
Peopled with wolves, thy old inhabitants!
P. Hen. O, pardon me, my liege! but for my
tears,
(Kneeling.)

The moist impediments unto my speech,
I had forestall'd this dear and deep rebuke,
Ere you with grief had spoke, and I had heard
The course of it so far. There is your crown;
And He, that wears the crown immortally,
Long guard it yours! If I affect it more,
Than as your honour, and as your renown,
Let me no more from this obedience rise,
(Which my most true and inward-duteous spirit
Teacheth,) this prostrate and exterior bending!
Heaven witness with me, when I here came in,
And found no course of breath within your majesty,
How cold it struck my heart! If I do feign,
O, let me in my present wildness die ;
And never live to show the incredulous world
The noble change that I have purposed!
Coming to look on you, thinking you dead,
(And dead almost, my liege, to think you were,)
I spake unto the crown, as having sense,
And thus upbraided it: The care on thee depending,
Hath fed upon the body of my father;
Therefore, thou, best of gold, art worst of gold.
Other, less fine in carat, is more precious,
Preserving life in med' cine potable:

But thou, most fine, most honour'd, most renown'd,
Hast eat thy bearer up. Thus, my most royal liege,
Accusing it, I put it on my head;

To try with it,-as with an enemy,

That had before my face murder'd my father,-
The quarrel of a true inheritor.

But if it did infect my blood with joy,

Or swell my thoughts to any strain of pride;
If any rebel or vain spirit of mine

Did, with the least affection of a welcome,
Give entertainment to the might of it,
Let God for ever keep it from my head!
And make me as the poorest vassal is,
That doth with awe and terror kneel to it!
K. Hen. O, my son!

Heaven put it in thy mind, to take it hence,
That thou might'st win the more thy father's love,
Pleading so wisely in excuse of it.

Come hither, Harry, sit thou by my bed;
And hear, I think, the very latest counsel,
That ever I shall breathe. Heaven knows, my son,
By what by-paths, and indirect crook'd ways,
I met this crown; and I myself know well,

Changes the mode: for what in me was purchas'd,
Falls upon thee in a more fairer sort;

So thou the garland wear'st successively.
Yet, though thou stand'st more sure than I could do,
Thou art not firm enough, since griefs are green;
And all thy friends, which thou must make thy
friends,

Have but their stings and teeth newly ta'en out;
By whose fell working I was first advanc'd,
And by whose power I well might lodge a fear
To be again displac'd: which to avoid,
I cut them off; and had a purpose now
To lead out many to the Holy Land;
Lest rest, and lying still, might make them look
Too near unto my state. Therefore, my Harry,
Be it thy course, to busy giddy minds
With foreign quarrels; that action, hence borne out,
May waste the memory of the former days.
More would I, but my lungs are wasted so,
That strength of speech is utterly denied me.
How I came by the crown, O God, forgive!
And grant it may with thee in true peace live!
P. Hen. My gracious liege,

You won it, wore it, kept it, gave it me;
Then plain, and right, must my possession be:
Which I, with more than with a common pain,
'Gainst all the world will rightfully maintain.

Enter Prince JOHN of Lancaster, WARWICK,
Lords, and others.

K. Hen. Look, look, here comes my John of
Lancaster.

P. John. Health, peace, and happiness, to my [son John;

royal father!

K. Hen. Thou bring'st me happiness, and peace,
But health, alack, with youthful wings is flown
From this bare wither'd trunk: upon thy sight,
My worldly business makes a period.-
Where is my lord of Warwick?
P. Hen.
My lord of Warwick!
K. Hen. Doth any name particular belong
Unto the lodging, where I first did swoon?
War. 'Tis call'd Jerusalem, my noble lord.
K. Hen. Laud be to God!-even there my life
must end.

It hath been prophesied to me many years,
I should not die but in Jerusalem;
Which vainly I suppos'd, the Holy Land :-
But, bear me to that chamber; there I'll lie;
In that Jerusalem shall Harry die.

ACT V.

SCENE I.- Glostershire.

[Exeunt.

A Hall in Shallow's House.

Enter SHALLOW, FALSTAFF, BARDOLPH, and Page. Shal. By cock and pye, sir, you shall not away to-night. What, Davy, I say!

Fal. You must excuse me, master Robert Shallow. Shal. I will not excuse you; you shall not be excus'd; excuses shall not be admitted; there is no excuse shall serve; you shall not be excused.Why, Davy!

let me see:-yea, marry, William cook, bid him come hither. Sir John, you shall not be excused.

Davy. Marry, sir, thus ;-those precepts cannot be served; and, again, sir,—Shall we sow the head-land with wheat?

Shal. With red wheat, Davy. But for William cook ;-Are there no young pigeons?

Davy. Yes, sir.-Here is now the smith's note, for shoeing, and plough-irons.

Shal. Let it be cast, and paid:-sir John, you shall not be excused.

Davy. Now, sir, a new link to the bucket must needs be had :-And, sir, do you mean to stop any of William's wages, about the sack he lost the other day at Hinckley fair?

Shal. He shall answer it :-Some pigeons, Davy; a couple of short-legged hens; a joint of mutton; and any pretty little tiny kickshaws, tell William

cook.

Davy. Doth the man of war stay all night, sir? Shal. Yes, Davy. I will use him well; A friend i'the court is better than a penny in purse. Use his men well, Davy; for they are arrant knaves, and will backbite.

Davy. No worse than they are back-bitten, sir; for they have marvellous foul linen. [Davy. Shal. Well conceited, Davy. About thy business, Davy. I beseech you, sir, to countenance William Visor of Wincot against Clement Perkes of the hill. Shal. There are many complaints, Davy, against that Visor; that Visor is an arrant knave, on my knowledge.

Davy. I grant your worship, that he is a knave, sir: but yet, God forbid, sir, but a knave should have some countenance at his friend's request. An honest man, sir, is able to speak for himself, when a knave is not. I have served your worship truly, sir, these eight years; and if I cannot once or twice in a quarter bear out a knave against an honest man, I have but a very little credit with your worship. The knave is mine honest friend, sir; therefore, I beseech your worship, let him be countenanced.

Shal. Go to; I say, he shall have no wrong. Look about, Davy. [Exit Davy.] Where are you, sir John? Come, off with your boots.-Give me your hand, master Bardolph.

Bard. I am glad to see your worship. Shal. I thank thee with all my heart, kind master Bardolph:-and welcome, my tall fellow. (To the Page.) Come, sir John. [Exit Shallow. Fal. I'll follow you, good master Robert Shallow. Bardolph, look to our horses. [Exeunt Bardolph and Page.] If I were sawed into quantities, I should make four dozen of such bearded hermit'sstaves as master Shallow. It is a wonderful thing, to see the semblable coherence of his men's spirits and his They, by observing him, do bear themselves like foolish justices; he, by conversing with them, is turned into a justice-like serving-man; their spirits are so married in conjunction with the participation of society, that they flock together in consent, like so many wild-geese. If I had a suit to master Shallow, I would humour his men, with the imputation of being near their master: if to his men, I would curry with master Shallow, that no It is man could better command his servants. certain, that either wise bearing, or ignorant carriage, is caught, as men take diseases, one of another: therefore, let men take heed of their company. I will devise matter enough out of this Shallow, to keep prince Harry in continual laughter, the wearing-out of six fashions, (which is four terms, or two actions,) and he shall laugh without intervallums. O, it is much, that a lie, with a slight oath, and a jest, with a sad brow, will do with a fellow that never had the ache in his shoulders! O, you shall see him laugh, till his face be like a wet cloak ill laid up.

Shal. (Within.) Sir John!

away?

made us heavy!

Ch. Just. Peace be with us, 1st we be heavier! P. Humph. O, good my lord, you have lost a friend, indeed: And I dare swear, you borrow no that face Of seeming sorrow; it is, sure, yur own.

P. John. Though no man be asar'd what grace
You stand in coldest expectation: [to find,
I am the sorrier; 'would, 'twere othewise.
Cla. Well, you must now speak sir Jhn Falstaff
fair;

Which swims against your stream of qulity.
Ch. Just. Sweet princes, what I di, I did in

honour,

Led by the impartial conduct of my soul
And never shall you see, that I will beg
A ragged and forestall'd remission.-
If truth and upright innocency fail me,
I'll to the king my master, that is dead,
And tell him who hath sent me after him.
War. Here comes the prince.

Enter King HENRY V. Ch. Just. Good morrow; and heaven sae your majesty!

King. This new and gorgeous garment, njesty, Sits not so easy on me as you think.Brothers, you mix your sadness with some ar; This is the English, not the Turkish court; Not Amurath an Amurath succeeds, But Harry Harry: Yet be sad, good brothes, For, to speak truth, it very well becomes yu; Sorrow so royally in you appears, That I will deeply put the fashion on, And wear it in my heart. Why then, be sa But entertain no more of it, good brothers, Than a joint burden laid upon us all. For me, by heaven, I bid you be assur'd, I'll be your father and your brother too; Let me but bear your love, I'll bear your ares. Yet weep, that Harry's dead; and so will : But Harry lives, that shall convert those ears, By number, into hours of happiness.

P. John, &c. We hope no other from your majesty.

King. You all look strangely on me;—and you most; (To the Chief Justice) You are, I think, assur'd I love you not. Ch. Just. I am ssur'd, if I be measur'd rightly, Your majesty hath no just cause to hate me. King. No!

How might a prince of my great hopes forget
So great indignities you laid upon me?

What! rate, rebuke, and roughly send to prison
The immediate heir of England! Was this easy?
May this be wash'd in Lethe, and forgotten?

Ch. Just. I then did use the person of your father;

The image of his power lay then in me:
And, in the administration of his law,
Whiles I was busy for the commonwealth,
Your highness pleased to forget my place,
The majesty and power of law and justice,
The image of the king, whom Jpresented,
And struck me in my very set of judgment;
Whereon, as an offender to your father,

I

gave bold way to my authority,

And did commit you. If the deed were ill,
Be you contented, wearing now the garland,
To have a son set your derees at nought;
To pluck down justice fram your awful bench;
To trip the course of law and blunt the sword
That guards the peace ad safety of your person:
Nay, more; to spurn atyour most royal image,
And mock your workings in a second body.
Question your royal thoughts, make the case yours;
Be now the father, ad propose a son:
Hear your own digity so much profan'd,
See your most dreadful laws so loosely slighted,
Behold yourself so by a son disdain'd;
And then imaginene taking your part,
And, in your powr, soft silencing your son:
After this cold cosiderance, sentence me;
And, as you are king, speak in your state,
What I have doe, that misbecame my place,
My person, or by liege's sovereignty.

King. You ar right, justice, and you weigh this
well;

Therefore st jear the balance, and the sword:
And I do wsh your honours may increase,
Till you drive to see a son of mine
Offend yo and obey you, as I did.

So shall live to speak my father's words;-
Happy and, that have a man so bold,
That dare do justice on my proper son:
And not iss happy, having such a son,
That word deliver up his greatness so

Into the ands of justice. You did commit me:
For whih, I do commit into your hand
The unstin'd sword that you have us'd to bear;
With tls remembrance,-that you use the same
With te like bold, just, and impartial spirit,
As yowave done 'gainst me. There is iny hand;
You shall be as a father to my youth:
My voe shall sound as you do prompt mine ear;
And I ill stoop and humble my intents
To yor well-practis'd, wise directions.-
And, finces all, believe me, I beseech you ;—
My faier is gone wild into his grave,
For imis tomb lie my affections;
And wth his spirit sadly I survive,
To mck the expectation of the world;
To frutrate prophecies; and to raze out
Rotte opinion, who hath writ me down
After y seeming. The tide of blood in me
Hath roudly flow'd in vanity, till now:
Now dth it turn, and ebb back to the sea;
Whereit shall mingle with the state of floods,
And flo henceforth in formal majesty.
Now ca. we our high court of parliament:
And let's choose such limbs of noble counsel,
That thegreat body of our state may go
In equal ank with the best govern'd nation;
That war,or pesce, or both at once, may be

SCENE III.-Glostershire. The Garden of
Shallow's House.

Enter FALSTAFF, SHALLOW, SILENCE, BARDolph, the Page, and DAVY.

Shal. Nay, you shall see mine orchard: where, in an arbour, we will eat a last year's pippin of my own graffing, with a dish of carraways, and so forth; -come, cousin Silence;-and then to bed.

Fal. 'Fore God, you have here a goodly dwelling, and a rich,

Shal. Barren, barren, barren; beggars all, beggars all, sir John:-marry, good air.-Spread, Davy; spread, Davy; well said, Davy.

Fal. This Davy serves you for good uses; he is your serving-man, and your husbandman.

Shal. A good varlet, a good varlet, a very good varlet, sir John.-By the mass, I have drunk too much sack at supper: A good varlet. Now sit down, now sit down:-Come, cousin.

Sil. Ab, sirrah! quoth-a,-we shall

Do nothing but eat, and make good cheer, (Singing.)
And praise heaven for the merry year;
When flesh is cheap, and females dear,
And lusty lads roam here and there,
So merrily,

And ever among so merrily.

Fal. There's a merry heart!-Good master Silence, I'll give you a health for that anon.

Shal. Give master Bardolph some wine, Davy. Davy. Sweet sir, sit: (seating Bardolph and the Page at another table.) I'll be with you anon:most sweet sir, sit. -Master page, good master page, sit: proface! What you want in meat, we'll have in drink. But you must bear; The heart's all. [Exit.

Shal. Be merry, master Bardolph ;-and my little soldier there, be merry.

Sil. Be merry, be merry, my wife's as all; (Singing.) For women are shrews, both short and tall: 'Tis merry in hall, when beards wag all,

Be

And welcome merry shrove-tide.

merry, be merry, &c.

Fal. I did not think, master Silence had been a man of this mettle. [ere now. Sil. Who, I? I have been merry twice and once,

Re-enter DAVY.

Davy. There is a dish of leather-coats for you. (Setting them before Bardolph.)

Shal. Davy,Davy. Your worship?-I'll be with you straight. (To Bard.)-A cup of wine, sir?

Sil. A cup of wine, that's brisk and fine,
And drink unto the leman mine;

And a merry heart lives long-a.

Fal. Well said, master Silence.

(Singing.)

Sil. And we shall be merry;-now comes in the sweet of the night.

Fal. Health and long life to you, master Silence. Sil. Fill the cup, and let it come;

I'll pledge you a mile to the bottom.

Shal. Honest Bardolph, welcome: If thou wantest any thing, and wilt not call, beshrew thy heart. Welcome, my little tiny thief; (to the Page.) and welcome, indeed, too.-I'll drink to master Bardolph, and to all the cavaleroes about London. Davy. I hope to see London once ere I die. Bard. An I might see you there, Davy,

Shal. By the mass, you'll crack a quart together. Ha! will you not, master Bardolph?

Bard. Yes, sir, in a pottle pot.

Shal. I thank thee:-The knave will stick by thee, I can assure thee that; he will not out; he is true bred.

Bard. And I'll stick by him, sir. Shal. Why, there spoke a king. Lack nothing: be merry. (Knocking heard.) Look who's at door there: Ho! who knocks? [Exit Davy. Fal. Why, now you have done me right. (To Silence, who drinks a bumper.) Sil. Do me right,

And dub me knight:

Samingo.

Is't not so?

Fal. "Tis so.

(Singing.)

Host. No, thou arrant knave; I would I might die, that I might have thee hanged: thou hast drawn my shoulder out of joint.

1 Bead. The constables have delivered her over

Re-enter DAVY.

Davy. An it please your worship, there's one Pistol come from the court with news. Fal. From the court, let him come in.

How now,

Pistol?

Enter PISTOL.

Pist. God save you, sir John!

Fal. What wind blew you hither, Pistol? Pist. Not the ill wind, which blows no man to good.-Sweet knight, thou art now one of the greatest men in the realm.

Sil. By'r lady, I think a' be; but goodman Puff Pist. Puff? [of Barson. Puff in thy teeth, most recreant coward base!Sir John, I am thy Pistol, and thy friend, And helter-skelter have I rode to thee; And tidings do I bring, and lucky joys, And golden times, and happy news of price.

Fal. I pr'ythee now, deliver them like a man of this world.

Pist. A foutra for the world, and worldings base! I speak of Africa, and golden joys.

Fal. O base Assyrian knight, what is thy news? Let king Cophetua know the truth thereof.

Sil. And Robin Hood, Scarlet, and John. (Sings.) Pist. Shall dunghill curs confront the Helicons? And shall good news be baffled?

Then, Pistol, lay thy head in Furies' lap.

Shal. Honest gentleman, I know not your breedPist. Why then, lament therefore. [ing. Shal. Give me pardon, sir:-If, sir, you come with news from the court, I take it, there is but two ways; either to atter them, or to conceal them. I am, sir, under the king, in some authority. Pist. Under which king, Bezonian? speak, or die. Shal. Under king Harry. Pist.

Harry the fourth? or fifth?

Shal. Harry the fourth. Pist.

A foutra for thine office!Sir John, thy tender lambkin now is king; Harry the fifth's the man. I speak the truth: When Pistol lies, do this; and fig me, like The bragging Spaniard.

Fal. What! is the old king dead?

Pist. As nail in door: the things I speak, are just. Fal. Away, Bardolph ; saddle my horse.-Master Robert Shallow, choose what office thou wilt in the land, 'tis thine.-Pistol, I will double-charge thee with dignities.

Bard. O joyful day!—I would not take a knighthood for my fortune.

Pist. What? I do bring good news?

Fal. Carry master Silence to bed.-Master Shallow, my lord Shallow, be what thou wilt, I am fortune's steward. Get on thy boots; we'll ride all night:-0, sweet Pistol:-Away, Bardolph. [Exit Bard.]-Come, Pistol, utter more to me; and, withal, devise something, to do thyself good.

I warrant her: There hath been a man or two lately killed about her.

Doll. Nut-hook, nut-hook, you lie. Come on; I'll tell thee what, thou damned tripe-visaged rascal; an the child I now go with, do miscarry, thou hast better thou hadst struck thy mother, thou paper-faced villain.

Host. O the Lord, that sir John were come! he would make this a bloody day to somebody. But I pray God the fruit of her womb miscarry!

1 Bead. If it do, you shall have a dozen of cushions again; you have but eleven now. Come, I charge you both go with me; for the man is dead, that you and Pistol beat among you.

Doll. I'll tell thee what, thou thin man in a censer! I will have you as soundly swinged for this, you blue-bottle rogue! you filthy famished correctioner! if you be not swinged, I'll forswear half-kirtles.

1 Bead. Come, come, you she knight-errant, come. Host. O, that right should thus overcome might! Well; of sufferance comes ease. [justice. Doll. Come, you rogue, come; bring me to a Host. Ay; come, you starv'd blood-hound. Doll. Goodman death! goodman bones! Host. Thou atomy thou! Doll. Come, you thin thing; come, you rascal! 1 Bead. Very well. [Exeunt.

SCENE V.-A public Place near Westminster
Abbey.

Enter two Grooms, strewing rushes.

1 Groom. More rushes, more rushes. 2 Groom. The trumpets have sounded twice. 1 Groom. It will be two o'clock ere they come from the coronation: Despatch, despatch.

[Exeunt Grooms.

Enter FALSTAFF, SHALLOW, PISTOL, BARDOLPH, and the Page.

Fal. Stand here by me, master Robert Shallow; I will make the king do you grace: I will leer upon him, as 'a comes by; and do but mark the countenance that he will give me.

Pist. God bless thy lungs, good knight.

Fal. Come here, Pistol; stand behind me.-0, if I had had time to have made new liveries, I would have bestowed the thousand pound I borrowed of you. (To Shallow.) But 'tis no matter; this poor show doth better: this doth infer the zeal I had to see him.

Shal. It doth so.

Fal. It shews my earnestness of affection. Shal. It doth so.

Fal. My devotion.

Shal. It doth, it doth, it doth.

Fal. As it were, to ride day and night; and not to deliberate, not to remember, not to have patience [to shift me. Fal. But to stand stained with travel, and sweat

Shal. It is most certain.

ing with desire to see him: thinking of nothing else; putting all affairs else in oblivion; as if there were nothing else to be done, but to see him. Pist. 'Tis semper idem, for absque hoc nihil est: "Tis all in every part.

Shal. 'Tis so, indeed.

Pist. My knight, I will inflame thy noble liver, And make thee rage.

Thy Doll, and Helen of thy noble thoughts,
Is in base durance, and contagious prison;
Haul'd thither

By most mechanical and dirty hand:

Rouse up revenge from ebon den with fell Alecto's snake,

For Doll is in; Pistol speaks nought but truth.
Fal. I will deliver her.

(Shouts within, and the trumpets sound.) Pist. There roar'd the sea, and trumpet-clangor sounds.

Enter the King and his Train, the Chief Justice among them.

Fal. God save thy grace, king Hal! my royal

Hal!

Pist. The heavens thee guard and keep, most royal imp of fame!

man.

heart!

Fal. God save thee, my sweet boy! King. My lord chief justice, speak to that vain I'tis you speak? Ch. Just. Have you your wits? know you what Fal. My king! my Jove! I speak to thee, my [prayers; King. I know thee not, old man: Fall to thy How ill white hairs become a fool, and jester! I have long dream'd of such a kind of man, So surfeit-swell'd, so old, and so profane; But, being awake, I do despise my dream. Make less thy body, hence, and more thy grace; Leave gormandizing; know, the grave doth gape For thee thrice wider than for other men:Reply not to me with a fool-born jest; Presume not, that I am the thing I was: For heaven doth know, so shall the world perceive, That I have turn'd away my former self; So will I those, that kept me company. When thou dost hear I am as I have been, Approach me; and thou shalt be as thou wast, The tutor and the feeder of my riots: Till then, I banish thee, on pain of death,As I have done the rest of my misleaders,Not to come near our person by ten mile. For competence of life, I will allow you; That lack of means enforce you not to evil: And, as we hear you do reform yourselves, We will, according to your strength, and quali[lord, Give you advancement.-Be it your charge, my To see perform'd the tenor of our word.— Set on. [Exeunt King, and his Train. Fal. Master Shallow, I owe you a thousand pound.

ties,

Shal. Ay, marry, sir John; which I beseech you to let me have home with me.

Fal. That can hardly be, master Shallow. Do not you grieve at this; I shall be sent for in private to him: look you, he must seem thus to the world. Fear not your advancement; I will be the man yet, that shall make you great.

Shal, I cannot perceive how; unless you give

me your doublet, and stuff me out with straw. I beseech you, good sir John, let me have five hundred of my thousand.

Fal. Sir, I will be as good as my word: this that you heard, was but a colour.

[John. Shal. A colour, I fear, that you will die in, sir Fal. Fear no colours; go with me to dinner. Come, lieutenant Pistol;-come, Bardolph:-I shall be sent for soon at night.

Re-enter Prince JOHN, the Chief Justice,

Officers, &c.

P. John. The king hath call'd his parliament, my [expire,

Ch. Just. He hath.

P. John. I will lay odds,—that, ere this year We bear our civil swords, and native fire, As far as France: I heard a bird so sing, Whose music, to my thinking, pleas'd the king. Come, will you hence? [Exeunt.

EPILOGUE.-Spoken by a Dancer.

First, my fear; then, my court'sy; last, my speech. My fear is, your displeasure; my court'sy, my duty; and my speech, to beg your pardons. If you look for a good speech now, you undo me: for what I have to say, is of mine own making; and what, indeed, I should say, will, I doubt, prove mine own marring. But to the purpose, and so to the venture.—Be it known to you, (as it is very well,) I was lately here in the end of a displeasing play, to pray your patience for it, and to promise you a better. I did mean, indeed, to pay you with this; which, if like an ill venture, it come unluckily home, I break, and you, my gentle creditors, lose. Here, I promised you, I would be, and here I commit my body to your mercies: bate me some, and I will pay you some, and, as most debtors do, promise you infinitely.

If my tongue cannot entreat you to acquit me, will you command me to use my legs? and yet that were but light payment,—to dance out of your debt. But a good conscience will make any possible satisfaction, and so will I. All the gentlewomen here have forgiven me; if the gentlemen will not, then the gentlemen do not agree with the gentlewomen, which was never seen before in such an assembly.

One word more, I beseech you. If you be not too much cloyed with fat meat, our humble author will continue the story, with Sir John in it, and make you merry with fair Katharine of France: where, for any thing I know, Falstaff shall die of a sweat, unless already he be killed with your hard opinions; for Oldcastle died a martyr, and this is not the man. My tongue is weary; when my legs are too, I will bid you good night: and so kneel down before you;-but, indeed, to pray for the queen.