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The Prince of Wales from such a field as this, 12 That ever said I hearken'd for your death. 52
Where stain'd nobility lies trodden on,
And rebels' arms triumph in massacres!
Lanc. We breathe too long: come, cousin
Westmoreland,

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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. KING HENRY being in danger, re-enter the PRINCE. Prince. Hold up thy head, vile Scot, or thou art like

Never to hold it up again! the spirits

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If it were so, I might have let alone
The insulting hand of Douglas over you;
Which would have been as speedy in your end
As all the poisonous potions in the world, 56
And sav'd the treacherous labour of your son.
K. Hen. Make up to Clifton: I'll to Sir
Nicholas Gawsey.
[Exit.

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Fal. Well said, Hal! to it, Hal! Nay, you shall find no boy's play here, I can tell you. 76

Re-enter DOUGLAS; he fights with FALSTAFF, who falls down as if he were dead, and exit DOUGLAS. HOTSPUR is wounded, and falls. Hot. O, Harry! thou hast robb'd me of my youth.

Of valiant Shirley, Stafford, Blunt, are in my I better brook the loss of brittle life

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Than those proud titles thou hast won of me;
They wound my thoughts worse than thy sword

my flesh:

80

But thought's the slave of life, and life time's

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89 We will not trust our eyes without our ears: Thou art not what thou seem'st.

When that this body did contain a spirit,
A kingdom for it was too small a bound;
But now,
two paces of the vilest earth
Is room enough: this earth, that bears thee
dead,

Bears not alive so stout a gentleman.
If thou wert sensible of courtesy,

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96

I should not make so dear a show of zeal:
But let my favours hide thy mangled face,
And, even in thy behalf, I'll thank myself
For doing these fair rites of tenderness.
Adieu, and take thy praise with thee to heaven!
Thy ignomy sleep with thee in the grave, 100
But not remember'd in thy epitaph!

140

Fal. No, that's certain; I am not a double man: but if I be not Jack Falstaff, then am I a Jack. There is Percy [throwing the body down]: if your father will do me any honour, so; if not, let him kill the next Percy himself. I look to be either earl or duke, I can assure you.

Prince. Why, Percy I killed myself, and saw thee dead. 147

Fal. Didst thou? Lord, Lord! how this world is given to lying. I grant you I was down and out of breath, and so was he; but we rose both at an instant, and fought a long hour by Shrewsbury clock. If I may be believed, so; if not, let them that should reward valour bear the sin upon their own heads. I'll take it upon my 104 death, I gave him this wound in the thigh: if the man were alive and would deny it, 'zounds, I would make him eat a piece of my sword. 157 Lanc. This is the strangest tale that e'er I heard.

[He spies FALSTAFF on the ground.
What! old acquaintance! could not all this flesh
Keep in a little life? Poor Jack, farewell!
I could have better spar'd a better man.
O! I should have a heavy miss of thee
If I were much in love with vanity.
Death hath not struck so fat a deer to-day,
Though many dearer, in this bloody fray. 108
Embowell'd will I see thee by and by:
Till then in blood by noble Percy lie.

[Exit. Fal. [Rising.] Embowelled! if thou embowel me to-day, I'll give you leave to powder me and eat me too, to-morrow. 'Sblood! 'twas time to counterfeit, or that hot termagant Scot had paid me scot and lot too. Counterfeit? I lie, I am no counterfeit: to die, is to be a counterfeit; for he is but the counterfeit of a man, who hath not the life of a man; but to counterfeit dying, when a man thereby liveth, is to be no counterfeit, but the true and perfect image of life indeed. The better part of valour is discretion; in the which better part, I have saved my life. 'Zounds! I am afraid of this gunpowder Percy though he be dead: how, if he should counterfeit too and rise? By my faith I am afraid he would prove the better counterfeit. Therefore I'll make him sure; yea, and I'll swear I killed him. Why may not he rise as well as I? Nothing confutes me but eyes, and nobody sees me: therefore, sirrah [stabbing him], with a new wound in your thigh come you along with me.

[He takes HOTSPUR on his back.

Re-enter the PRINCE and JOHN OF LANCASTER.
Prince. Come, brother John; full bravely
hast thou flesh'd
132
Thy maiden sword.

Lanc.
But, soft! whom have we here?
Did you not tell me this fat man was dead?

Prince. I did; I saw him dead,

Breathless and bleeding on the ground.
Art thou alive? or is it fantasy

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136

If like a Christian, thou hadst truly borne
Betwixt our armies true intelligence.
Wor. What I have done my safety urg'd me
to;

That plays upon our eyesight? I prithee, speak; i

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TRAVERS and MORTON, Retainers of Northum- Lords and Attendants; Officers, Soldiers, Mesberland.

senger, Drawers, Beadles, Grooms, &c.

SCENE.-England.

INDUCTION.

Warkworth. Before NORTHUMBERLAND's Castle. Enter RUMOUR, painted full of tongues Rum. Open your ears; for which of you will stop

4

The vent of hearing when loud Rumour speaks?
I, from the orient to the drooping west,
Making the wind my post-horse, still unfold
The acts commenced on this ball of earth:
Upon my tongues continual slanders ride,
The which in every language I pronounce,
Stuffing the ears of men with false reports.
I speak of peace, while covert enmity
Under the smile of safety wounds the world:
And who but Rumour, who but only I,
Make fearful musters and prepar'd defence,
Whilst the big year, swoln with some other grief,
Is thought with child by the stern tyrant war,
And no such matter? Rumour is a pipe

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8 Even with the rebels' blood. But what mean I
To speak so true at first? my office is
To noise abroad that Harry Monmouth fell
Under the wrath of noble Hotspur's sword,
And that the king before the Douglas' rage
Stoop'd his anointed head as low as death.
This have I rumour'd through the peasant
towns

12

32

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North. Now, Travers, what good tidings come with you?

Tra. My lord, Sir John Umfrevile turn'd me
back

With joyful tidings; and, being better hors'd,
Out-rode me. After him came spurring hard 36
A gentleman, almost forspent with speed,
That stopp'd by me to breathe his bloodied
horse.

He ask'd the way to Chester; and of him

I did demand what news from Shrewsbury. 40
He told me that rebellion had bad luck,
And that young Harry Percy's spur was cold.
With that he gave his able horse the head,
And, bending forward struck his armed heels 44
Against the panting sides of his poor jade
Up to the rowel-head, and, starting so,
He seem'd in running to devour the way,
Staying no longer question.

North.

Ha! Again: Said he young Harry Percy's spur was cold? Of Hotspur, Coldspur? that rebellion Had met ill luck?

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48

If my young lord your son have not the day, 52 Upon mine honour, for a silken point

I'll give my barony: never talk of it.

North. Why should the gentleman that rode by Travers

Give then such instances of loss?

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