KING HENRY THE Fourth :

HENRY, Prince of Wales, afterwards
King Henry V.;

THOMAS, Duke of Clarence :

PRINCE JOHN of Lancaster, afterwards (his Sons.
(2 Henry V.) Duke of Bedford ;
PRINCE HUMPHREY of Gloster, after-

wards (2 lieury V.) Duke of Gloster; Earl of Warwick;

Earl of Westmoreland; of the King's Party.
GOWER; HARCOURT;

Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench.
A Gentleman attending on the Chief Justice.
Earl of Northumberland ;

SCROOP, Archbishop of York;

LORD MOWBRAY; LORD HASTINGS;
LORD BARDOLPH; SIR JOHN COLEVILE;
TRAVERS and Morton, Domestics of Northumberland.
FALSTAFF, BARDOLPH, PISTOL, and Page.

POINS and PETO, Attendants on Prince Henry.

SHALLOW and SILENCE, Country Justices.
DAVY, Servant to Shallow.

MOULDY, SHADOW, WART, FEEBLE, and BULLCALF,

Recruits.

FANG and SNARE, Sheriff's Officers.

REMOR. A Porter.

A Dancer, Speaker of the Epilogue.

LADY NORTHUMBERLAND. LADY PERCY.
HOSTESS QUICKLY. DOLL TEAR-SHEET.

Lords, and other Attendants; Officers, Soldiers, Messenger, Drawers, Beadles, Grooms, &c.

SCENE. England.

Enemies to the
King.

5

SECOND PART OF

KING HENRY THE FOURTH.

INDUCTION.

Warkworth. Before Northumberland's Castle.

Enter RUMOR, painted full of tongues.1

Rumor. OPEN your ears; for which of you will stop The vent of hearing, when loud Rumor 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 Rumor, who but only I, Make fearful musters, and prepared defence; Whilst the big ear, swollen with some other grief, Is thought with child by the stern tyrant war, And no such matter? Rumor is a pipe Blown by surmises, jealousies, conjectures; And of so easy and so plain a stop,2

That the blunt monster with uncounted heads,
The still-discordant wavering multitude,

1 In a mask on St. Stephen's Night, 1614, by Thomas Campion, Rumor comes on in a skin coat full of winged tongues.

2 The stops are the holes in a flute or pipe.

Can play upon it. But what need I thus
My well-known body to anatomize
Among my household? Why is rumor here?
I run before king Harry's victory;
Who, in a bloody field by Shrewsbury,
Hath beaten down young Hotspur, and his troops,
Quenching the flame of bold rebellion

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
Stooped his anointed head as low as death.
This have I rumored through the peasant towns
Between that royal field of Shrewsbury
And this worm-eaten hold of ragged stone,'
Where Hotspur's father, old Northumberland,
Lies crafty-sick. The posts come tiring on,
And not a man of them brings other news
Than they have learned of me. From Rumor's tongues
They bring smooth comforts false, worse than true

wrongs.

[Exit.

ACT I.

[ACT I.

SCENE I. The same. The Porter before the Gate.

Enter LORD BARDOLPH.

Bardolph. Who keeps the gate here, ho?-Where is the earl?

Port. What shall I say you are?

Bard. Tell thou the earl, That the lord Bardolph doth attend him here. Port. His lordship is walked forth into the orchard.

1 Northumberland's castle.

KING HENRY IV.

SC. I.]

Please it your honor, knock but at the gate,
And he himself will answer.

Enter NORTHUMBERLAND.

Bard.

Here comes the earl. North. What news, lord Bardolph ? Every minute

now

Should be the father of some stratagem;
The times are wild; contention, like a horse
Full of high feeding, madly hath broke loose,
And bears down all before him.

Bard.

Noble earl,
I bring you certain news from Shrewsbury.
North. Good, an Heaven will!
Bard.

As good as heart can wish.-
The king is almost wounded to the death;
And, in the fortune of my lord your son,
Prince Harry slain outright; and both the Blunts
Killed by the hand of Douglas: young prince John,
And Westmoreland, and Stafford, fled the field;
And Harry Monmouth's brawn, the hulk sir John,
Is prisoner to your son. O, such a day,
So fought, so followed, and so fairly won,
Came not, till now, to dignify the times,
Since Cæsar's fortunes!

North.

How is this derived? Saw you the field? Came you from Shrewsbury? Bard. I spake with one, my lord, that came from thence;

On Tuesday last to listen after news.

Bard. My lord, I overrode him on the way;
And he is furnished with no certainties,
More than he haply may retail from me.

A gentleman well-bred, and of good name,
That freely rendered me these news for true.

North. Here comes my servant, Travers, whom I

sent

Enter TRAVERS.

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

[ACT 1.

Tra. My lord, sir John Umfrevile turned me back With joyful tidings; and, being better horsed, Outrode me. After him, came, spurring hard, A gentleman almost forspent1 with speed, That stopped by me to breathe his bloodied horse. He asked the way to Chester; and of him I did demand, what news from Shrewsbury. 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 Against the panting sides of his poor jade Up to the rowel-head; and, starting so, He seemed 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 !

Bard.

My lord, I'll tell you what; If my young lord your son have not the day, Upon mine honor, for a silken point *

2

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

North. Why should the gentleman, that rode by

Travers,

Give then such instances of loss?

3

Bard.
Who, he?
He was some hilding fellow, that had stolen
The horse he rode on; and, upon my life,

Spoke at a venture. Look, here comes more news.

Enter MORTON.

North. Yea, this man's brow, like to a title-leaf, Foretells the nature of a tragic volume;

1 Exhausted.

2 A silken point is a tagged lace. 3 i. e. Hillerling, base, low fellow.