[He throws the bottle at him. Exit.[3160]
come in my way, so: if he do not, if I come in his willingly,[3162]55
let him make a carbonado of me. I like not such grinning
honour as Sir Walter hath: give me life: which if I can
save, so; if not, honour comes unlooked for, and there's an
end. [Exit.
Scene IV. Another part of the field.
Alarum. Excursions. Enter the King, the Prince, Lord John of Lancaster, and Earl of Westmoreland.[3163]
Harry, withdraw thyself; thou bleed'st too much.[3164][3165]
Lord John of Lancaster, go you with him.[3164]
And God forbid a shallow scratch should drive[3170]
The Prince of Wales from such a field as this,
Where stain'd nobility lies trodden on,[3171]
And rebels' arms triumph in massacres!
Our duty this way lies; for God's sake, come.
[Exeunt Prince John and Westmoreland.[3172]
I did not think thee lord of such a spirit:
Before, I loved thee as a brother, John;
But now, I do respect thee as my soul.20
With lustier maintenance than I did look for
Of such an ungrown warrior.
Enter Douglas.[3174]
I am the Douglas, fatal to all those
That wear those colours on them: what art thou,
That counterfeit'st the person of a king?
So many of his shadows thou hast met30
And not the very king. I have two boys
Seek Percy and thyself about the field:
But, seeing thou fall'st on me so luckily,
I will assay thee: so, defend thyself.[3175]
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; the King being in danger, re-enter Prince of Wales.[3176]
[They fight: Douglas flies.
Sir Nicholas Gawsey hath for succour sent,45
And so hath Clifton: I'll to Clifton straight.
Thou hast redeem'd thy lost opinion,[3181]
And show'd thou makest some tender of my life,
In this fair rescue thou hast brought to me.50
That ever said I hearken'd for your death.[3183]
If it were so, I might have let alone
The insulting hand of Douglas over you,
Which would have been as speedy in your end55
As all the poisonous potions in the world,
And saved the treacherous labour of your son.
Enter Hotspur.
A very valiant rebel of the name.[3187][3188]
I am the Prince of Wales; and think not, Percy,
To share with me in glory any more:
Two stars keep not their motion in one sphere;65
Nor can one England brook a double reign,
Of Harry Percy and the Prince of Wales.
To end the one of us; and would to God[3189]
Thy name in arms were now as great as mine!70
And all the budding honours on thy crest[3190]
I'll crop, to make a garland for my head.
Enter Falstaff.
no boy's play here, I can tell you.
Re-enter Douglas; he fights with Falstaff, who falls down as if he were dead, and exit Douglas. Hotspur is wounded, and falls.[3192]
I better brook the loss of brittle life[3194]
Than those proud titles thou hast won of me;
They wound my thoughts worse than thy sword my flesh:[3195]80
But thought's the slave of life, and life time's fool;[3196]
And time, that takes survey of all the world,
Must have a stop. O, I could prophesy,
But that the earthy and cold hand of death[3197]
Lies on my tongue: no, Percy, thou art dust,85
And food for— [Dies.
Ill-weaved ambition, how much art thou shrunk!
When that this body did contain a spirit,
A kingdom for it was too small a bound;90
But now two paces of the vilest earth
Is room enough: this earth that bears thee dead[3199]
Bears not alive so stout a gentleman.
If thou wert sensible of courtesy,
I should not make so dear a show of zeal:[3200]95
But let my favours hide thy mangled face;[3201]
And, even in thy behalf, I'll thank myself
For doing these fair rites of tenderness.[3202]
Adieu, and take thy praise with thee to heaven!
Thy ignominy sleep with thee in the grave,[3203]100
But not remember'd in thy epitaph!
[He spieth Falstaff on the ground.[3204]
Keep in a little life? Poor Jack, farewell!
I could have better spared a better man:
O, I should have a heavy miss of thee,105
If I were much in love with vanity!
Death hath not struck so fat a deer to-day,[3205]
Though many dearer, in this bloody fray.
Embowell'd will I see thee by and by:
Till then in blood by noble Percy lie. [Exit.110
to-day, I'll give you leave to powder me and eat me too
to-morrow. 'Sblood, 'twas time to counterfeit, or that hot[3207]
termagant Scot had paid me scot and lot too. Counterfeit? I[3208]
lie, I am no counterfeit: to die, is to be a counterfeit; for[3208]115
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[3209]120
afraid of this gunpowder Percy, though he be dead: how, if[3210]
he should counterfeit too, and rise? by my faith, I am[3211]
afraid he would prove the better counterfeit. Therefore
I'll make him sure; yea, and I'll swear I killed him. Why[3212]
may not he rise as well as I? Nothing confutes me but125
eyes, and nobody sees me. Therefore, sirrah [stabbing[3213]
him], with a new wound in your thigh, come you along[3214]
with me. [Takes up Hotspur on his back.
Re-enter the Prince of Wales and Lord John of Lancaster.[3215]
Thy maiden sword.
Did you not tell me this fat man was dead?
Breathless and bleeding on the ground. Art thou alive?[3218][3219]
Or is it fantasy that plays upon our eyesight?[3218]
I prithee, speak; we will not trust our eyes[3218]135
Without our ears: thou art not what thou seem'st.[3218]
I be not Jack Falstaff, then am I a Jack. There is Percy[3220]
[throwing the body down]: if your father will do me any[3221]
honour, so; if not, let him kill the next Percy himself. I[3222]140
look to be either earl or duke, I can assure you.
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 long145
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 death, I gave him this[3225]
wound in the thigh: if the man were alive, and would deny
it, 'zounds, I would make him eat a piece of my sword.[3226]150
Come, bring your luggage nobly on your back:
For my part, if a lie may do thee grace,
I'll gild it with the happiest terms I have.155
[A retreat is sounded.[3228]
[Exeunt Prince of Wales and Lancaster.
Scene V. Another part of the field.
The trumpets sound. Enter the King, Prince of Wales, Lord John of Lancaster, Earl of Westmoreland, with Worcester and Vernon prisoners.[3233]
Ill-spirited Worcester! did not we send grace,[3235]
Pardon and terms of love to all of you?
And wouldst thou turn our offers contrary?
Misuse the tenour of thy kinsman's trust?5
Three knights upon our party slain to-day,
A noble earl and many a creature else
Had been alive this hour,[3236]
If like a Christian thou hadst truly borne
Betwixt our armies true intelligence.10
And I embrace this fortune patiently,
Since not to be avoided it falls on me.[3237]
[Exeunt Worcester and Vernon, guarded.[3239]
The fortune of the day quite turn'd from him,[3241]
The noble Percy slain, and all his men
Upon the foot of fear, fled with the rest;20
And falling from a hill, he was so bruised
That the pursuers took him. At my tent
The Douglas is; and I beseech your grace
I may dispose of him.
This honourable bounty shall belong:[3242]
Go to the Douglas, and deliver him
Up to his pleasure, ransomless and free:
His valour shown upon our crests to-day[3243]
Hath taught us how to cherish such high deeds[3243][3244]30
Even in the bosom of our adversaries.
Which I shall give away immediately.[3245][3246]
You, son John, and my cousin Westmoreland35
Towards York shall bend you with your dearest speed,[3247]
To meet Northumberland and the prelate Scroop,[3248]
Who, as we hear, are busily in arms:
Myself and you, son Harry, will towards Wales,[3249]
To fight with Glendower and the Earl of March.40
Rebellion in this land shall lose his sway,[3250]
Meeting the check of such another day:
And since this business so fair is done,[3251]
Let us not leave till all our own be won. [Exeunt.