Now, Warwick, where is he that would not stay Till his friend sickness had determin'd me? [Warwick.] My lord, I found the prince in the next room, Washing his gentle cheeks with tears, and plung'd In deepest sorrow. He is coming hither. away [K. Henry.] But wherefore did he take the crown? Lo, where he comes !-Come hither to me, Harry: The rest depart, and leave us here alone. [a pause.] [P. Henry.] I never thought to hear you speak again. [K. Henry.] 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 my honours Then get thee gone, and dig my grave thyself; Now, neighbour confines, purge you of your scum: O, my poor kingdom, Oh, thou wilt be a wilderness again! Thou foolish youth! Thou seek'st the greatness that will overwhelm thee. Stay but a little: for my cloud of dignity Is held from falling by so weak a wind, That it will quickly drop; my day is dim. Thou hast stolen that, which after some few hours Thy life did manifest thou lov'dst me not, [P. Henry.] O, pardon me, my liege!—but for my tears, Heaven witness with me, when I here came in, And thus upbraided it. "The care on thee depending And eat thy bearer." Thus, my royal liege, To try with it, as with an enemy That had before my face murder'd my father, But if it did infect my blood with joy, Did, with the least affection of a welcome, [K. Henry.] O, my son, Heaven put it in thy mind to take it hence, That thou mightst win the more thy father's love, Pleading so wisely in excuse of it. Heaven knows, my son, By what by-paths and indirect, crook'd ways Yet, though thou stand'st more sure than I could do, Be it thy course to busy giddy minds With foreign quarrel; that action hence borne out Doth any name particular belong Unto the chamber where I first did swoon? [P. Henry.] 'Tis call'd Jerusalem, my noble lord. [K. Hen.] Laud be to heaven! Even there my life must end. It ha'th been prophesied to me many years, I should not die but in Jerusalem; : Which vainly I suppos'd the Holy Land :- We are now to transport ourselves, in imagination, to the garden of Justice Shallow's house in Gloucestershire, where, in an alcove, we shall find the three old men, who met together in a former scene-Justice Shallow, Justice Silence, and Sir John Falstaff,-enjoying themselves after their dinner. Silence is quite tipsy, and therefore entirely unlike what he is at other times, for he is very noisy and talkative. He has been singing scraps of old songs, and telling Falstaff he would pledge him in a glass a mile to the bottom. In the midst of this merry-making, Davy, the serving-man, comes in, and announces that one Pistol is come from the court with news. Pistol is one of Falstaff's followers, and his ancient or flag-bearer when on military service. This Pistol is a man who always speaks in words of bombast, often misquoted, from the tragedies of that age: the moment he is announced, Falstaff starts from his seat, and exclaims, [Falstaff] From the court?-let him come in, let him [Pistol.] Sir John, I am thy Pistol, and thy friend, And golden times, and happy news of price. [Falstaff.] I pr'ythee now, deliver them like a man of this world. [Pistol.] Sweet knight, thou art now one of the greatest men in the realm. He is interrupted by Silence, who agrees he is the greatest, except goodman Puff of Barson. Pistol, indignant at the interruption, continues in great ire: Puff! Puff in thy teeth, most recreant coward base! And shall good news be baffled? Then, Pistol, lay thy head in furies' lap. Justice Shallow here interposes. [Shallow.] Cousin Silence, let me speak to him. Honest gentleman, I know not your breeding. [Pistol.] Why then lament therefore. [Shallow.] Give me your pardon, sir;-if, sir, you come with news from the court, I take it there are but two ways, either to utter them or to conceal them. I am, sir, under the king, in some authority. [Pistol.] Under which king, Bezonian? speak or die. [Shallow.] Under king Harry. [Pistol.] Harry the Fourth or Fifth? [Shallow.] Harry the Fourth. [Pistol.] Fourth in thy teeth! Sir John, thy tender lambkin now is king; [Falstaff] What! is the old king dead? Away! Bardolph, We must now suppose the necessary interval for the journey, and that Falstaff, Shallow, Pistol, and Bardolph, are waiting in a public place, as the shortest method of meeting with the new king, who is expected to pass by the way: thus speaks Falstaff to Shallow while waiting: [Falstaff] Stand here, master Robert Shallow; I will make the king do you grace: I will leer upon him as he comes by; and do but mark the countenance he will give me. Come here, Pistol; stand behind me. Oh ! if I had had time to have made new liveries, I would have bestowed the thousand pounds I borrowed of you, master Shallow; but 'tis no matter; this poor show doth better; this doth infer the zeal I had to see him; to stand stained with travel after riding day and night; |