The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare

Which heaven shall guard: And put the world's whole strength

Into one giant arm, it shall not force

This lineal honour from me: This from thee
Will I to mine leave, as 'tis left to me.
K. Hen. Warwick! Gloster! Clarence!

[Exit.

Re-enter WARWICK, and the rest.
Cla. Doth the king call?
War. What would your majesty? How fares
your grace?

K. Hen. Why did you leave me here alone,
my lords?

Cla. We left the prince my brother here, my liege,

War. When we withdrew, my liege, we left

it here.

K. Hen. The prince hath ta'en it hence:-80,

seek him out.

Stay but a little; for my cloud of dignity
Is held from falling with so weak a wind,
That it will quickly drop: my day is dim.
Thou hast stol'n that, which, after some few
bours,

Who undertook to sit and watch by you.

let me see him: He is not here.

War. This door is open; he is gone this way.
P. Humph. He came not through the chamber
where we stay'd.
K. Hen. Where is the crown? who took it from
my pillow?

K. Hen. The prince of Wales? Where is he? Were thine without offence; and, at my death,
Thou hast seal'd up my expectation :*
Thy life did manifest, thou lov'dst me not,
And thou wilt have me die assured of it.
Thou hid'st a thousand daggers in thy thoughts;
Which thou hast whetted on thy stony heart,
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,
Let all the tears that should bedew my hearse,
That thou art crowned, not that I am dead.
Be drops of balm, to sanctify thy head:
Only compound me with forgotten dust;

Is he so hasty, that he doth suppose
My sleep my death?

ther.
[Exit WARWICK.
This part of his conjoins with my disease,
And helps to end me.-See, sons, what things
you are!

Find him, my lord of Warwick; chide him hi-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!
Down, royal state! all you sage counsellors,
hence!

How quickly nature falls into revolt,
When gold becomes her object!

For this the foolish over-careful fathers

Have broke their sleep with thoughts, brains with care,

Their bones with industry;

P. Hen. I never thought to hear you speak again.

K. Hen. Thy wish was father, Harry, to that
thought:

I stay too long by thee, I weary thee.
Dost thou so hunger for my empty chair,
That thou wilt needs invest thee with mine ho-

For this they have engrossed and pil'd up
The canker'd heaps of strange-achieved gold;
For this they have been thoughtful to invest
Their sons with arts, and martial exercises:
When, like the bee, tolling* from every flower
The virtuous sweets;

Our thighs pack'd with wax, our mouths with
honey,

We bring it to the hive; and, like the bees,
Are murder'd for our pains. This bitter taste
Yield his engrossments to the ending father.--
Re-enter WARWICK.

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

their 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 office, 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.
blows!
O, my poor kingdom, sick with civ
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!

Now, where is he that will not stay so long
Till his friend sickness hath determin'd‡ me?
War. My lord, I found the prince in the next

room,

Washing with kindly tears his gentle cheeks;
With such a deep demeanour in great sorrow,
That tyranny, which never quaff'd but blood,
Would, by beholding him, have wash'd his knife
With gentle eye-drops. He is coming hither.
K. Hen. But wherefore did he take away the

crown?

nours

Before thy hour be ripe? O foolish youth! Thou seek'st the greatness that will overwhelm thee.

Re-enter Prince HENRY.

Lo, where he comes.-Come hither to me, Har-
ry:-

Depart the chamber, leave us here alone.
[Exeunt CLARENCE, Prince HUMPHREY,
Lords, &c.

* Taking toll. † Accumulations.

Ended.

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,
Than as your honour, and as your renown,
Long guard it yours! If I affect it more,
Let me no more from this obedience rise,

(Which my most true and inward-duteous spi

rit
Teacheth,) this prostrate and exterior bending !
Heaven witness with me, when I here came in,
And found no course of breath within your ma-
jesty,

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
* Confirmed my opinion.

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 re-
nown'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!

By what by-paths, and indirect crook'd ways,
I met this crown; and I myself know well,
How troublesome it sat upon my head:
To thee it shall descend with better quiet,
Better opinion, better confirmation;
For all the soilt of the achievement goes,
With me into the earth. It seem'd in me,
But as an honour snatch'd with boisterous hand;
And I had many living, to upbraid
My gain of it by their assistances;
Which daily grew to quarrel and to bloodshed,
Wounding supposed peace: all these bold fears,
Thou see'st with peril I have answered:
For all my reign hath been but as a scene
Acting that argument; and now my death
Changes the mode :|| for what in me was pur-
chas'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.

* Weight. + To be taken. + Spot, dirt.
Frights.
State of things.
Purchase, in Shakspeare, frequently means stolen goods,

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.

Shal. Yes, Davy. I will use him well; A friend War. Exceeding well; his cares are now all 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.

Shal. Well conceited, Davy. About thy business, Davy.

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 wor ship truly, Sir, this 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's staves 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 man could better command his servants. It is 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.t

Shal. [Within.] Sir John!

Fal. I come, master Shallow; I come, master Shallow. [Exil FALSTAFF. SCENE II.-Westminster.-A Room in the Pa

lace.

Enter WARWICK, and the Lord CHIEF JUSTICE. War. How now, my lord chief justice? whither away?

Ch. Just. How doth the king?

*A egrious face.

↑ Full of wrinkles,

ended.

Ch. Just. I hope, not dead.

War. He's walk'd the way of nature; And, to our purposes, he lives no more.

Ch. Just. I would, his majesty had call'd me with him:

you not.

Ch. Just. I know he doth not; and do armyTo welcome the condition of the time; Which cannot look more hideously on me Than I have drawn it in my fantasy.

Enter Prince JOHN, Prince HUMPHREY, Cla

RENCE, WESTMORELAND, and others. War. Here comes the heavy issue of dead HarO, that the living Harry had the temper [ry: Of him, the worst of these three gentlemen!" How many nobles then should hold their places, That must strike sail to spirits of vile sort!

Ch. Just. Alas! I fear, all will be overturn'd.
P. John. Good morrow, cousin Warwick.
P. Humph. Cla. Good morrow, cousin.
P. John. We meet like men that had forgot to
speak.

War. We do remember; but our argument Is all too heavy to admit much talk.

P. John. Well, peace be with him that hath made us heavy!

Ch. Just. Peace be with us, lest we be heavier! P. Humph. O, good my lord, you have lost a friend, indeed:

And I dare swear, you borrow not that face
Of seeming sorrow; it is, sure, your own.

P. John. Though no man be assur'd what grace to find,

You stand in coldest expectation:
I am the sorrier; 'would 'twere otherwise.

Cla. Well, you must now speak Sir John Falstaff fair;

Which swims against your stream of quality.
Ch. Just. Sweet princes, what I did, 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 save your majesty!

King. This new and gorgeous garment, maSits not so easy on me as you think.- [jesty, Brothers, you mix your sadness with some fear; This is the English, not the Turkish court; Not Amurath an Amurath* succeeds, But Harry Harry: Yet be sad, good brothers, For, to speak truth, it very well becomes you; Sorrow so royally in you appears, That I will deeply put the fashion on, And wear it in my heart. Why then, be sad: But entertain no more of it, good brothers, For me, by heaven, I bid you be assur'd, Than a joint burden laid upon us all. I'll be your father and your brother too; Let me but bear your love, I'll bear your cares.

* Emperor of the Turks, died in 1596; his son, which suUS |ceeded him, had all his brothers strangled.

Yet weep, that Harry's dead; and so will I:
But Harry lives, that shall convert those tears,
By number, into hours of happiness.

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

King. You all look strangely on me :-and [To the CH. JUSTICE. you most; You are, I think, assur'd I love you not. Ch. Just. I am assur'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 I presented,
And struck me in my very seat 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 decrees at nought;
To pluck down justice from your awful bench;
To trip the course of law, and blunt the sword
That guards the peace and safety of your person;
Nay, more; to spurn at your most royal image,
And mock your workings in a second body.t
Question your royal thoughts, make the case
Be now the father, and propose a son: [yours;
Hear your own dignity so much profan'd,
See your most dreadful laws so loosely slighted.
Behold yourself so by a son disdained;
And then imagine me taking your part,
And, in your power, soft silencing your son;
After this cold considerance, sentence me;
And, as you are a king, speak in your state,
What I have done, that misbecame my place,
My person, or my liege's sovereignty.

For in his tomb lie my affections;
And with his spirit sadly* I survive,
To mock the expectation of the world;
To frustrate prophecies; and to raze out
Rotten opinion, who hath writ me down
After my seeming. The tide of blood in me
Hath proudly flow'd in vanity, till now:
Now doth it turn, and ebb back to the sea;
Where it shall mingle with the state of floods,
And flow henceforth in formal majesty.

Now call we our high court of parliament:
And let us choose such limbs of noble counsel,
That the great body of our state may go
In equal rank with the best-govern'd nation,
That war, or peace, or both at once, may be
As thing acquainted and familiar to us;--
In which you, father, shall have foremost hand.—
[To the Lord CH. JUSTICE.
Our coronation done, we will accite,t
As I before remember'd, all our state :
And (God consigning to my good intents,)
No prince, nor peer, shall have just cause to say,-
Heaven shorten Harry's happy life one day.

[Exeunt. SCENE III-Glostershire.-The Garden of SHALLOW's house.

Enter FALSTAFF, SHALLOW, SILENCE, BAR-
DOLPH, the PAGE, and DAVY.

King. You are right, justice, and you weigh
this well;
Therefore still bear the balance and the sword:
And I do wish your honours may increase,
Till you do live to see a son of mine
Offend you, and obey you, as I did.
So shall I live to speak my father's words;-
Happy am I, that have a man so bold,
That dares do justice on my proper son :
And not less happy, having such a son,
That would deliver up his greatness so
Into the hands of justice.-You did commit me:
For which, I do commit into your hand
The unstained sword that you have us'd to bear;
With this remembrance,-That you use the same
With the like bold, just, and impartial spirit,
As you have done 'gainst me. There is my hand;
You shall be as a father to my youth:
My voice shall sound as you do prompt mine ear,
And I will stoop and humble my intents
To your well-practis'd, wise directions.
And, princes all, believe me, I beseech you;-
My father is gone wild into his grave,

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Shal. Give master Bardolph some wine, Davy. Davy. Sweet Sir, sit; [Seating BARDOLPH and the PAGE at another table.] I'll be with you -Master Page, anon-most sweet Sir, sit.. 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.

* Crown.

Treat with contempt your acts executed by a represenfative.

In your regal character and office.

Sil. Be merry, be merry, my wife's as all ;◊

[Singing,

* Gravely.
↑ Summons.
Italian, much good may it do you.
As all women are.

For women are shrews, both short and tall:
'Tis merry in hall, when beards wag all,
And welcome merry shrove-tide.
Be merry, be merry, &c.

Fal. I did not think, master Silence had been a man of this mettle.

Sil. Who I? I have been merry twice and once, I speak of Africa, and golden joys.

ere now.

Re-enter DAVY.

for

Davy. There is a dish of leather-coats 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 lemant mine;
And a merry heart lives long-a.
Fal. Well said, master Silence.
Sil. And we shall be merry;-now comes in
the sweet of the night.

[Singing.

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 cavaleroest

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 toge-
ther. 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, [Singing. And dub me knight:

Samingo.||

Is't not so?

Fal. How now, Pistol?

Pist. God save you, Sir John!

Fal. O base Assyrian knight, what is thy news?
Let king Cophetua know the truth thereof.
Sil. And Robin Hood, Scarlet, and John.

Pist. A foutra for the world, and worldlings base!

[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 breeding.

Pist. Why then, lament therefore.

Shal. Give me pardon, Sir;-If, Sir, you come with news from the court, I take it, there is but two ways; either to utter them, or to conceal them. I am, Sir, under the king, in some authority.

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 of Barson.

Pist. Puff?

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.

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.-Boot, boot, master Shallow; I

Fal. "Tis so.

Let us

do somewhat.

Sil. Is't so? Why, then say, an old man can know, the young king is sick for me. take any man's horses; the laws of England are at my commandment. Happy are they which Dary. An it please your worship, there's one have been my friends; and woe to my lord chief Pistol come from the court with news.

Re-enter DAVY.

justice!

Fal. From the court, let him come in.

Enter PISTOL.

Pist. Let vultures vile seize on his lungs also!
Where is the life that late I led, say they:
Why, here it is; Welcome these pleasant days.
[Exeunt.
SCENE IV.-London.-A street.

Pist. Under which king, Bezonian? speak, or
Shal. Under king Harry.
[die.
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 doublecharge thee with dignities.

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

Pist. What? I do bring good news?

* Apples commonly called russetines. † Sweetheart.

Gay fellows.

He who drank a bumper on his knees to the health of his mistress, was dubbed a knight for the evening.

It should be Domingo; it is part of a song in one of Mashe's plays.

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The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare: From the Text of ..., Volume 1