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. 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 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 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. Poins. Farewell, my lord. [Exit POINS. 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 But, when they seldom come, they wish'd-for come, So, when this loose behaviour I throw off, [7] For the nonce is an expression in daily use amongst the common people in Suf folk, to signify on purpose; for the turn. HENLEY. [8] Reproof, is confutation. JOHNSON. [9] To falsify hope is to exceed hope, to give much where men hope for little.This speech is very artfully introduced to keep the Prince from appearing vile in the opinion of the audience; it prepares them for his future reformation; and what is yet more valuable, exhibits a natural picture of a great mind offering excuses to itself, and palliating those follies which it can neither justify nor forsake. JOHNSON > And, like bright metal on a sullen ground, My reformation, glittering o'er my fault, SCENE III. [Exit. The same. Another Room in the Palace. Enter King HENRY, NORTHUMBERLAND, WORCESTER, HOTSPUR, Sir WalTER BLUNT, and others. K. Hen. My blood hath been too cold and temperate, Unapt to stir at these indignities, And you have found me; for, accordingly, Which the proud soul ne'er pays, but to the proud. Wor. Our house, my sovereign liege, little deserves The scourge of greatness to be used on it; And that same greatness too which our own hands North. 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 You have good leave to leave us; when we need You were about to speak. North. Yea, my good lord. [Exit WORCESTER [TO NORTH. Those prisoners in your highness' name demanded, [1] Condition for disposition. Shakespeare uses it very frequently for temper of mind, and in this sense the vulgar still say a good or ill-conditioned man. JOHN. [2] Frontier was anciently used for forehead. STEEVENS. Either envy, therefore, or misprision Hot. My liege, I did deny no prisoners. And 'twixt his finger and his thumb he held Who, therewith angry, when it next came there, He question'd me; among the rest demanded I then, all smarting, with my wounds being cold, 5 Out of my grief and my impatience, Answer'd neglectingly, I know not what ; He should, or he should not ;-for he made me mad, And talk so like a waiting-gentlewoman, Of guns, and drums, and wounds, (God save the mark !) And telling me, the sovereign'st thing on earth Was parmaceti, for an inward bruise; And that it was great pity, so it was, [3] Pouncet-box-A small box for musk or other perfumes then in fashion: the lid of which, being cut with open work, gave it its name; from poinsoner, to prick, pierce, or engrave. WARBURTON. [4] Snuff is equivocally used for anger and a powder taken up the nose. [5] A popinjay is a parrot. JOHNSON. STEEVENS. [6] i. e pain. In our ancient translations of physical treatises dolor ventris ia commonly called belly-grief. STEEVENS. This bald unjointed chat of his, my lord, And, I beseech you, let not his report Betwixt my love and your high majesty. Blunt. The circumstance consider'd, good my lord, Whatever Harry Percy then had said, To such a person, and in such a place, At such a time, with all the rest re-told, May reasonably die, and never rise 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; That we, at our own charge, shall ransome straight Hot. Revolted Mortimer! He never did fall off, my sovereign liege, But by the chance of war ;-To prove that true, 8 In single opposition, hand to hand, He did confound the best part of an hour In changing hardiment with great Glendower : [7] Let what he then said never rise to impeach him, so he unsay it now. JOHNSON. [8]" To prove the loyalty of Mortimer," says Hotspur, "one speaking witness is sufficient; for his wounds proclaim his loyalty, those mouthed wounds," &c. JOHNSON. [9] Hardiment-an obsolete word, signifying hardiness, bravery, stoutness. Spenser is frequent in his use of it, STEEVENS. Three times they breath'd, and three times did they drink,' Colour her working with such deadly wounds; Receive so many, and all willingly : Then let him not be slander'd with revolt. K. Hen. Thou dost belie him, Percy, thou dost belie him, He never did encounter with Glendower; I tell thee, He durst as well have met the devil alone, [Exeunt King HENRY, BLUNT, and Train. Hot. And if the devil come and roar for them, North. What, drunk with choler? stay, and pause awhile: Here comes your uncle. [1] It is the property of wounds to excite the most impatient thirst. The poet therefore hath with exquisite propriety introduced this circumstance, which may serve to place in its proper light the dying kindness of Sir Philip Sidney; who, though suffering the extremity of thirst from the agony of his own wounds, yet, notwithstanding, gave up his own draught of water to a wounded soldier. HENLEY. [2] This passage has been censured as sounding nonsense, which represents a stream of water as capable of fear. It is misunderstood. Severn is here not the flood, but the tutelary power of the flood, who was affrighted and hid his head in the hollow bank. JOHNSON. [3] Crisp is curled. STEEVENS. [4]"Never did policy lying open to detection so colour its workings." JOHNSON |