Nor moody beggars, starving for a time
Of pellmell havock and confusion.

[a soul P. Hen. In both our armies, there is many Shall pay full dearly for this encounter, If once they join in trial. Tell your nephew, The prince of Wales doth join with all the world

In praise of Henry Percy by my hopes,
This present enterprise set off his head,
I do not think a braver gentleman,
More active-vailant, or more valiant-young,
More daring, or more bold, is now alive
To grace this latter age with noble deeds.
For my part, I may speak it to my shame,
I have a truant been to chivalry;
And so, I hear, he doth account me too :
Yet this before my father's majesty,-
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.

K. Hen. And, prince of Wales, so dare we venture thee;

[no,

Albeit considerations infinite
Do make against it.-No, good Worcester,
We love our people well; even those we love
That are misled upon your cousin's part;
And, will they take the offer of our grace,
Both he, and they, and you, yea, every man
Shall be my friend again, and I'll be his :
So tell your cousin, and bring me word
What he will do: but if he will not yield,
Rebuke and dread correction wait on us,
And they shall do their office. So, be gone;
We will not now be troubled with reply:
We offer fair; take it advisedly.

[Exeunt Worcester and Vernon. P. Hen. It will not be accepted, on my life: The Douglas and the Hotspur both together Are confident against the world in arms.

K. Hen. Hence, therefore, every leader to his charge;

For, on their answer, will we set on them:
And God befriend us, as our cause is just !

[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 farewell. [well.

Doth he feel it? no. Doth he hear it? no. It is insensible, then? yea, to the dead. But will it not live with the living? no. Why? detraction will not suffer it :--therefore, I'll none of it: honour is a mere scutcheon :—and so ends my catechism. [Exit.

SCENE II.-The Rebel Camp.

Enter Worcester and Vernon.
Wor. O, no! my nephew must not know,
Sir Richard,

The liberal kind offer of the king.
Ver. 'Twere best he did.
Wor.

Then are we all undone.

It is not possible, it cannot be,
The king should keep his word in loving us;
He will suspect us still, and find a time
To punish this offence in other faults: [eyes:
Suspicion, all our lives, shall be stuck full of
For treason is but trusted like the fox,
Who, ne'er so tame, so cherish'd, and lock'd
Will have a wild trick of his ancestors.
[up,
Look how we can, or sad, or merrily,
Interpretation will misquote our looks;
And we shall feed like oxen at a stall,
The better cherish'd, still the nearer death.
My nephew's trespass may be well forgot,-
It hath the excuse of youth, and heat of blood;
And an adopted name of privilege,-
A hare-brain'd Hotspur, govern'd by a spleen :
All his offences live upon my head,

And on his father's: we did train him on ;
And, his corruption being ta'en from us,
We, as the spring of all, shall pay for all.
Therefore, good cousin, let not Harry know,
In any case, the offer of the king.

Ver. Deliver what you will, I'll say 'tis so.
Here comes your cousin.
Enter Hotspur and Douglas; Officers and
Soldiers, behind.

Hot. My uncle is return'd :-Deliver up My lord of Westmoreland, Uncle, what news? Wor. The king will bid you battle presently. Doug. Defy him by the lord of Westmoreland.

Hot. Lord Douglas, go you and tell him so. Doug. Marry, and shall, and very willingly.

[Exit. Wor. There is no seeming mercy in the Hot. Did you beg any? God forbid ! [king. Wor. I told him gently of our grievances, Of his oath-breaking; which he mended thus,

By now forswearing that he is forsworn:
He calls us rebels, traitors; and will scourge
With haughty arms this hateful name in us.
Re-enter Douglas.

Doug. Arm, gentlemen! to arms! for I have thrown

bear it ;

tempt?

Ver. No, by my soul; I never in my life
Did hear a challenge urg'd more modestly,
Unless a brother should a brother dare
To gentle exercise and proof of arms.
He gave you all the duties of a man; [tongue;
Trimm'd up your praises with a princely
Spoke your deservings like a chronicle;
Making you ever better than his praise,
By still dispraising praise, valu'd with you:
And, which became him like a prince indeed,
He made a blushing cital of himself;

And chid his truant youth with such a grace,
As if he master'd there a double spirit,
Of teaching, and of learning, instantly.
There did he pause: but let me tell the
If he outlive the envy of this day, [world,-
England did never owe so sweet a hope,
So much misconstru'd in his wantonness.
Hot. Cousin, I think thou art enamoured
On his follies: never did I hear
Of any prince so wild at liberty.
But be he as he will, yet once ere night
I will embrace him with a soldier's arm,
That he shall shrink under my courtesy.-
Arm, arm, with speed!--And, fellows, soldiers,
Better consider what you have to do, [friends,
Than I, that have not well the gift of tongue,
Can lift your blood up with persuasion.
Enter a Messenger.

Mess. My lord, here are letters for you.
Hot. I cannot read them now.-
O gentlemen, the time of life is short!
To spend that shortness basely, were too long,
If life did ride upon a dial's point,
Still ending at the arrival of an hour.
An if we live, we live to tread on kings;
If die, brave death, when princes die with us!
Now, for our consciences, the arms are fair,
When the intent of bearing them is just.

Enter another Messenger.

apace.

Mess. My lord, prepare; the king comes on [tale, Hot. I thank him, that he cuts me from my For I profess not talking; only this— Let each man do his best: and here draw I A sword, whose temper I intend to stain With the best blood that I can meet withal In the adventure of this perilous day. Now, Esperance -Percy!-and set on.Sound all the lofty instruments of war, And by that music let us all embrace ; For, heaven to earth, some of us never shall A second time do such a courtesy.

[The trumpets sound. They embrace, and exeunt.

SCENE III.-Plain near Shrewsbury. Excursions and Parties fighting. Alarum to the Battle. Then enter Douglas and Blunt, (who is accoutred like the King,) meeting. Blunt. What is thy name, that in the battle thus [seek Thou crossest me? what honour dost thou Upon my head?

Doug. Know, then, my name is Douglas ; And I do haunt thee in the battle thus, Because some tell me that thou art a king. Blunt. They tell thee true. [hath bought Doug. The lord of Stafford dear to-day Thy likeness; for, instead of thee, King Harry, This sword hath ended him: so shall it thee, Unless thou yield thee as my prisoner.

Blunt. I was not born a yielder, thou proud Scot;

And thou shalt find a king that will revenge Lord Stafford's death.

[They fight, and Blunt is slain. Enter Hotspur.

Hot. O, Douglas! hadst thou fought at Holmedon thus,

Doug. Here.

I never had triúmph'd upon a Scot.
Doug. All's done, all's won here breath-
Hot. Where?
[less lies the king.
[full well :
Hot. This, Douglas! no; I know this face
A gallant knight he was, his name was Blunt ;
Semblably furnish'd 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.

[coats;

Doug. Now, by my sword, I will kill all his 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.

Alarums. Enter Falstaff.

[Exeunt.

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 mine own bowels.-I have led my ragamuffins where they are peppered: there's not 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.

P. Hen. What! stand'st thou idle here? lend me thy sword:

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

[thou,

Fal. Nay, before God, Hal, if Percy be alive, thou gett'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 of me. 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.

SCENE IV.--Another Part of the Field. Alarums. Excursions. Enter King Henry, Prince Henry, Prince John, and Westmoreland.

K. Hen. I pr'ythee, [much. Harry, withdraw thyself; thou bleed'st too Lord John of Lancaster, go you with him. P. John. Not I, my lord, unless I did bleed too.

So many of his shadows thou hast met,
And not the very king. I have two boys
Seek Percy, and thyself, about the field:
But, seeing thou fall'st on me so luckily,
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, re-enter P. Henry.

P. Hen. Hold up thy head, vile Scot, or thou art like

Never to hold it up again! the spirits [arms:
Of valiant Shirley, Stafford, Blunt, are in my
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 a while :-
Thou hast redeem'd thy lost opinion; [life,
And show'd thou mak'st some tender of my
In this fair rescue thou hast brought to me.
P. Hen. O God, they did me too much in-

jury,

That ever said I hearken'd for your death. If it were so, I might have let alone

tent.

The prince of Wales from such a field as this,
Where stain'd nobility lies trodden on,
And rebels' arms triumph in massacres !
P. John. We breathe too long:-come,
cousin Westmoreland,

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

P. Hen.

Why, then, I see [Percy,

A very valiant rebel of that name.
I am the prince of Wales; and think not,
To share with me in glory any more :

Lancaster;

moreland.

Hot. Nor shall it, Harry; for the hour is