Hot. Not so, sir Walter; we'll withdraw awhile. Go to the king; and let there be impawn'd Some surety for a safe return again, And in the morning early shall mine uncle Bring him our purposes: and so farewell. Blunt. I would, you would accept of

love.

Hot. And, may be, so we shall.

grace and

Blunt.

'Pray heaven, you do!

[Exeunt.

SCENE IV.

York. A Room in the Archbishop's House.

Enter the Archbishop of York, and a Gentleman. Arch. Hie, good sir Michael; bear this sealed brief,1

With winged haste, to the lord mareshal;

This to my cousin Scroop; and all the rest

To whom they are directed: if

you knew

How much they do import, you would make haste. Gent. My good lord,

I

guess their tenor.

Arch.

Like enough, you do.

To-morrow, good sir Michael, is a day,
Wherein the fortune of ten thousand men
Must 'bide the touch: For, sir, at Shrewsbury,
As I am truly given to understand,

The king, with mighty and quick-raised power,
Meets with lord Harry: and I fear, sir Michael,—
What with the sickness of Northumberland,
(Whose power was in the first proportion,)2

1

2

sealed brief,] A brief is simply a letter.

in the first proportion,] Whose quota was larger than that of any other man in the confederacy.

1

And what with Owen Glendower's absence, thence,
(Who with them was a rated sinew too,3
And comes not in, o'er-rul'd by prophecies,)-
I fear, the power of Percy is too weak
To wage an instant trial with the king.

Gent. Why, good my lord, you need not fear;
there's Douglas,

And Mortimer.

Arch.

No, Mortimer's not there.

Gent. But there is Mordake, Vernon, lord Harry

Percy,

And there's my lord of Worcester; and a head
Of gallant warriors, noble gentlemen.

Arch. And so there is: but yet the king hath
drawn

The special head of all the land together;-
The prince of Wales, lord John of Lancaster,
The noble Westmoreland, and warlike Blunt;
And many more cor-rivals, and dear men
Of estimation and command in arms.

Gent. Doubt not, my lord, they shall be well
oppos'd.

Arch. I hope no less, yet needful 'tis to fear;
And, to prevent the worst, sir Michael, speed:
For, if lord Percy thrive not, ere the king
Dismiss his power, he means to visit us,-
For he hath heard of our confederacy,

And 'tis but wisdom to make strong against him;
Therefore, make haste: I must go write again
To other friends; and so farewell, sir Michael.
[Exeunt, severally.

3

rated sinew too,] A rated sinew signifies a strength on which we reckoned; a help of which we made account.

ACT V.

SCENE I. The King's Camp near Shrewsbury.

Enter King HENRY, Prince HENRY, Prince JOHN of Lancaster, Sir WALTER BLUNT, and Sir JOHN FALSTaff.

K. Hen. How bloodily the sun begins to peer
Above yon busky hill! the day looks pale
At his distemperature.

P. Hen.

The southern wind

5

Doth play the trumpet to his purposes;
And, by his hollow whistling in the leaves,
Foretells a tempest, and a blustering day.

K. Hen. Then with the losers let it sympathize; For nothing can seem foul to those that win.

Trumpet. Enter WORCESTER and VERNON,
How now, my lord of Worcester? 'tis not well,
That you and I should meet upon such terms
As now we meet: You have deceiv'd our trust;
And made us doff our easy robes of peace,
To crush our old limbs in ungentle steel:
That is not well, my lord, this is not well.
What say you to't? will you again unknit
This churlish knot of all-abhorred war?
And move in that obedient orb again,
Where you did give a fair and natural light;
And be no more an exhal'd meteor,
A prodigy of fear, and a portent

4

busky hill!] Busky is woody. (Bosquet, Fr.) Milton writes the word perhaps more properly, bosky.

5

to his purposes;] That is, to the sun's, to that which the sun portends by his unusual appearance.

Of broached mischief to the unborn times?
Wor. Hear me, my liege:

For mine own part, I could be well content
To entertain the lag-end of my life
With quiet hours; for, I do protest,

I have not sought the day of this dislike.

K. Hen. You have not sought for it! how comes it then?

Fal. Rebellion lay in his way, and he found it. P. Hen. Peace, chewet, peace."

Wor. It pleas'd your majesty, to turn your Of favour from myself, and all our house; And yet I must remember you, my lord, We were the first and dearest of your friends. For you, my staff of office did I break In Richard's time; and posted day and night To meet you on the way, and kiss your hand, When yet you were in place and in account Nothing so strong and fortunate as I. It was myself, my brother, and his son, That brought you home, and boldly did outdare The dangers of the time: You swore to us,And you did swear that oath at Doncaster,That you did nothing purpose 'gainst the state; Nor claim no further than your new-fall'n right, The seat of Gaunt, dukedom of Lancaster: To this we swore our aid. But, in short space, It rain'd down fortune showering on your head; And such a flood of greatness fell on you,What with our help; what with the absent king; What with the injuries of a wanton time;7 The seeming sufferances that you had borne; And the contrarious winds, that held the king

Peace, chewet, peace.] A chewet, or chuet, is a noisy chattering bird, a pie.

7

the injuries of a wanton time;] i. e. the injuries done by King Richard in the wantonness of prosperity.

So long in his unlucky Irish wars,
That all in England did repute him dead,-
And, from this swarm of fair advantages,
You took occasion to be quickly woo'd
To gripe the general sway into your hand:
Forgot your oath to us at Doncaster;
And, being fed by us, you us'd us so
As that ungentle gull, the cuckoo's bird,8
Useth the sparrow: did oppress our nest;
Grew by our feeding to so great a bulk,
That even our love durst not come near your sight,
For fear of swallowing; but with nimble wing
We were enforc'd, for safety sake, to fly
Out of your sight, and raise this present head:
Whereby we stand opposed by such means
As you yourself have forg'd against yourself;
By unkind usage, dangerous countenance,
And violation of all faith and troth

Sworn to us in your younger enterprize.

K. Hen. These things, indeed, you have articulated,'

Proclaim'd at market-crosses, read in churches;
To face the garment of rebellion

With some fine colour, that may please the eye
Of fickle changelings, and poor discontents,
Which gape, and rub the elbow, at the news
Of hurlyburly innovation:

And never yet did insurrection want
Such water-colours, to impaint his cause;
Nor moody beggars, starving for a time2

As that ungentle gull, the cuckoo's bird,] The cuckoo's chicken, who, being hatched and fed by the sparrow, in whose nest the cuckoo's egg was laid, grows in time able to devour her nurse. 9 we stand opposed, &c.] We stand in opposition to you. articulated,] i. e. exhibited in articles.

1

2

time, &c.

starving for a time] i. e. impatiently expecting a