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,)
And what with Owen Glendower's absence, thence,
(Who with them was a rated sinew" too,

And comes not in, o'er-ruled by prophecies,)—
I fear, the power of Percy is two weak

To wage an instant trial with the king.

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

And lord 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,

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

a

rated sinew-] i. e. A strength on which was reckoned; a help of which we made account.-JOHNSON.

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.

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

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;

b

- busky-] i. e. Woody. (Bosquet. Fr.) Milton writes the word perhaps more properly, bosky.-STEEVENS.

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

d

e

doff-]i. e. Do off.

our old limbs-] The king was not four years older than he was at the deposition of the king.

And be no more an exhal'd meteor,
A prodigy of fear, and a portent

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 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 looks
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 wonton time ;
The seeming sufferances that you had borne;
And the contrarious winds, that held the king
So long in his unlucky Irish wars,

That all in England did repute him dead,—

f chewet,] In an old book of cookery, printed in 1596, I find a receipt to make chewets, which from their ingredients seem to have been fat, greasy puddings.-STEEVENS.

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

h

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,
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 opposedi 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 time1
Of pellmell havock and confusion.

P. Hen. In both our armies, there is many a soul

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 enterprize set off his head,"

I do not think, a braver gentleman,

h

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.-JOHNSON.

we stand opposed, &c.] We stand in opposition to you..

articulated,] i. e. Exhibited in articles.

starving for a time-] i. e. Impatiently expecting a time, &c.
set off his head,] i. e. Taken from his account.

More active-valiant, 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, Albeit, considerations infinite

Do make against it:-No, good Worcester, no,"

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.

n

No, good Worcester, no,] As there appears no reason for introducing the negative into this sentence, I should suppose it an error of the press, and that we ought to read, Know, good Worcester, know.-M. MASON.

and bestride me, so ;] In the battle of Agincourt Henry, when king, performed this act of friendship for his brother the duke of Gloucester. -STEEVENS.