The Works of William Shakespeare [Cambridge Edition] [Vol. 4 of 9]

Arch. To you, my noble Lord of Westmoreland.[4086]

West. I pledge your grace; and, if you knew what pains [4087]
I have bestow'd to breed this present peace,[4087]
You would drink freely: but my love to ye [4088]75
Shall show itself more openly hereafter.

Arch. I do not doubt you.

West. I am glad of it.
Health to my lord and gentle cousin, Mowbray.

Mowb. You wish me health in very happy season;
For I am, on the sudden, something ill.80

Arch. Against ill chances men are ever merry;
But heaviness foreruns the good event.

West. Therefore be merry, coz; since sudden sorrow
Serves to say thus, 'some good thing comes to-morrow.'[4089]

Arch. Believe me, I am passing light in spirit.85

Mowb. So much the worse, if your own rule be true.

Lan. The word of peace is render'd: hark, how they shout![4091]

Mowb. This had been cheerful after victory.

Arch. A peace is of the nature of a conquest;
For then both parties nobly are subdued,90
And neither party loser.

Lan. Go, my lord,
And let our army be discharged too. [Exit Westmoreland.[4092]
And, good my lord, so please you, let our trains [4093]
March by us, that we may peruse the men
We should have coped withal.

Arch. Go, good Lord Hastings,95
And, ere they be dismiss'd, let them march by. [Exit Hastings.[4094]

Lan. I trust, lords, we shall lie to-night together.

Now, cousin, wherefore stands our army still?[4096]

West. The leaders, having charge from you to stand,
Will not go off until they hear you speak.100

Lan. They know their duties.

Hast. My lord, our army is dispersed already:[4098]
Like youthful steers unyoked, they take their courses [4099]
East, west, north, south; or, like a school broke up,
Each hurries toward his home and sporting-place.[4100]105

West. Good tidings, my Lord Hastings; for the which
I do arrest thee, traitor, of high treason:
And you, lord archbishop, and you, lord Mowbray,
Of capital treason I attach you both.

Mowb. Is this proceeding just and honourable?110

West. Is your assembly so?

Arch. Will you thus break your faith?

Lan. I pawn'd thee none:[4101]
I promised you redress of these same grievances [4102]
Whereof you did complain; which, by mine honour,
I will perform with a most Christian care.115
But for you, rebels, look to taste the due
Meet for rebellion and such acts as yours.[4103]
Most shallowly did you these arms commence,
Fondly brought here and foolishly sent hence.
Strike up our drums, pursue the scatter'd stray:120
God, and not we, hath safely fought to-day.[4104]
Some guard these traitors to the block of death,[4105]
Treason's true bed and yielder up of breath. [Exeunt.

Scene III. Another part of the forest.

Fal. What's your name, sir? of what condition are you,
and of what place, I pray?[4107]

Cole. I am a knight, sir; and my name is Colevile of [4108]
the dale.[4108]

Fal. Well, then, Colevile is your name, a knight is your5
degree, and your place the dale: Colevile shall be still your
name, a traitor your degree, and the dungeon your place,[4109]
a place deep enough; so shall you be still Colevile of the [4110]
dale.

Cole. Are not you Sir John Falstaff?10

Fal. As good a man as he, sir, whoe'er I am. Do ye
yield, sir? or shall I sweat for you? If I do sweat, they are
the drops of thy lovers, and they weep for thy death: therefore
rouse up fear and trembling, and do observance to my
mercy.15

Cole. I think you are Sir John Falstaff, and in that
thought yield me.

Fal. I have a whole school of tongues in this belly of
mine, and not a tongue of them all speaks any other word
but my name. An I had but a belly of any indifferency, I20
were simply the most active fellow in Europe: my womb,
my womb, my womb, undoes me. Here comes our general.

Lan. The heat is past; follow no further now:[4112]
Call in the powers, good cousin Westmoreland. [Exit Westmoreland.

Now, Falstaff, where have you been all this while?25
When every thing is ended, then you come:[4113]
These tardy tricks of yours will, on my life,
One time or other break some gallows' back.

Fal. I would be sorry, my lord, but it should be thus:
I never knew yet but rebuke and check was the reward of30
valour. Do you think me a swallow, an arrow, or a bullet?
have I, in my poor and old motion, the expedition of
thought? I have speeded hither with the very extremest [4114]
inch of possibility; I have foundered nine score and odd [4115]
posts: and here, travel-tainted as I am, have, in my pure35
and immaculate valour, taken Sir John Colevile of the
dale, a most furious knight and valorous enemy. But
what of that? he saw me, and yielded; that I may justly
say, with the hook-nosed fellow of Rome, 'I came, saw, and [4116]
overcame.'40

Lan. It was more of his courtesy than your deserving.

Fal. I know not: here he is, and here I yield him: and
I beseech your grace, let it be booked with the rest of this
day's deeds; or, by the Lord, I will have it in a particular [4117]45
ballad else, with mine own picture on the top on't, Colevile [4118]
kissing my foot: to the which course if I be enforced, if you
do not all show like gilt two-pences to me, and I in the
clear sky of fame o'ershine you as much as the full moon
doth the cinders of the element, which show like pins' heads50
to her, believe not the word of the noble: therefore let me
have right, and let desert mount.

Lan. Thine's too heavy to mount.

Fal. Let it shine, then.

Lan. Thine's too thick to shine.55

Fal. Let it do something, my good lord, that may do
me good, and call it what you will.

Lan. Is thy name Colevile?

Cole. It is, my lord.

Lan. A famous rebel art thou, Colevile.60

Fal. And a famous true subject took him.

Cole. I am, my lord, but as my betters are
That led me hither: had they been ruled by me,
You should have won them dearer than you have.[4119]

Fal. I know not how they sold themselves: but thou,65
like a kind fellow, gavest thyself away gratis; and I thank [4120]
thee for thee.

Lan. Now, have you left pursuit?[4122]

West. Retreat is made and execution stay'd.

Lan. Send Colevile with his confederates [4123]70
To York, to present execution:
Blunt, lead him hence; and see you guard him sure.

And now dispatch we toward the court, my lords:
I hear the king my father is sore sick:
Our news shall go before us to his majesty,75
Which, cousin, you shall bear to comfort him;
And we with sober speed will follow you.

Fal. My lord, I beseech you, give me leave to go [4125][4126]
Through Gloucestershire: and, when you come to court,[4125]
Stand my good lord, pray, in your good report.[4125][4127]80

Lan. Fare you well, Falstaff: I, in my condition,[4128]
Shall better speak of you than you deserve.[4128]

Fal. I would you had but the wit: 'twere better than [4130]
your dukedom. Good faith, this same young sober-blooded
boy doth not love me; nor a man cannot make him laugh;[4131]85
but that's no marvel, he drinks no wine. There's never none [4132]
of these demure boys come to any proof; for thin drink doth [4133]
so over-cool their blood, and making many fish-meals, that[4133]
they fall into a kind of male green-sickness; and then, when
they marry, they get wenches: they are generally fools and90
cowards; which some of us should be too, but for inflammation.
A good sherris-sack hath a two-fold operation in it. It
ascends me into the brain; dries me there all the foolish and [4134]
dull and crudy vapours which environ it; makes it apprehensive,[4134][4135]
quick, forgetive, full of nimble fiery and delectable95
shapes; which, delivered o'er to the voice, the tongue, which [4136]
is the birth, becomes excellent wit. The second property of [4137]
your excellent sherris is, the warming of the blood; which,
before cold and settled, left the liver white and pale, which
is the badge of pusillanimity and cowardice; but the sherris100
warms it and makes it course from the inwards to the parts
extreme: it illumineth the face, which as a beacon gives [4138]
warning to all the rest of this little kingdom, man, to arm;
and then the vital commoners and inland petty spirits muster
me all to their captain, the heart, who, great and puffed105
up with this retinue, doth any deed of courage; and this [4139]
valour comes of sherris. So that skill in the weapon is
nothing without sack, for that sets it a-work; and learning
a mere hoard of gold kept by a devil, till sack commences [4140]
it and sets it in act and use. Hereof comes it that Prince110
Harry is valiant; for the cold blood he did naturally inherit
of his father, he hath, like lean sterile and bare land,
manured, husbanded and tilled with excellent endeavour
of drinking good and good store of fertile sherris, that he
is become very hot and valiant. If I had a thousand sons,115
the first humane principle I would teach them should be, to [4141]
forswear thin potations, and to addict themselves to sack.

How now, Bardolph?

Bard. The army is discharged all and gone.

Fal. Let them go. I'll through Gloucestershire; and120
there will I visit Master Robert Shallow, esquire: I have him
already tempering between my finger and my thumb, and
shortly will I seal with him. Come away. [Exeunt.[4143]

Scene IV. Westminster. The Jerusalem Chamber.

Enter the King, the Princes Thomas of Clarence and Humphrey of Gloucester, Warwick, and others.[4144]

King. Now, lords, if God doth give successful end [4145]
To this debate that bleedeth at our doors,[4146]
We will our youth lead on to higher fields
And draw no swords but what are sanctified.
Our navy is address'd, our power collected,5
Our substitutes in absence well invested,
And every thing lies level to our wish:
Only, we want a little personal strength;
And pause us, till these rebels, now afoot,
Come underneath the yoke of government.10

War. Both which we doubt not but your majesty
Shall soon enjoy.

King. Humphrey, my son of Gloucester,[4147]
Where is the prince your brother?[4147]

Glou. I think he's gone to hunt, my lord, at Windsor.

King. And how accompanied?

Glou. I do not know, my lord.15

King. Is not his brother, Thomas of Clarence, with him?

Glou. No, my good lord; he is in presence here.

Clar. What would my lord and father?

King. Nothing but well to thee, Thomas of Clarence.
How chance thou art not with the prince thy brother?20
He loves thee, and thou dost neglect him, Thomas;
Thou hast a better place in his affection
Than all thy brothers: cherish it, my boy,
And noble offices thou mayst effect
Of mediation, after I am dead,25
Between his greatness and thy other brethren:
Therefore omit him not; blunt not his love,
Nor lose the good advantage of his grace
By seeming cold or careless of his will;
For he is gracious, if he be observed:30
He hath a tear for pity and a hand
Open as day for melting charity:[4148]
Yet notwithstanding, being incensed, he's flint,
As humorous as winter and as sudden [4149]
As flaws congealed in the spring of day.[4150]35
His temper, therefore, must be well observed:
Chide him for faults, and do it reverently,
When you perceive his blood inclined to mirth;
But, being moody, give him line and scope,[4151]
Till that his passions, like a whale on ground,40
Confound themselves with working. Learn this, Thomas,
And thou shalt prove a shelter to thy friends,
A hoop of gold to bind thy brothers in,
That the united vessel of their blood,
Mingled with venom of suggestion—45
As, force perforce, the age will pour it in—
Shall never leak, though it do work as strong [4152]
As aconitum or rash gunpowder.

Clar. I shall observe him with all care and love.

King. Why art thou not at Windsor with him, Thomas?50

Clar. He is not there to-day; he dines in London.[4153]

King. And how accompanied? canst thou tell that?[4154]

Clar. With Poins, and other his continual followers.[4153]

King. Most subject is the fattest soil to weeds;
And he, the noble image of my youth,55
Is overspread with them: therefore my grief
Stretches itself beyond the hour of death:
The blood weeps from my heart when I do shape
In forms imaginary the unguided days
And rotten times that you shall look upon60
When I am sleeping with my ancestors.
For when his headstrong riot hath no curb,
When rage and hot blood are his counsellors,
When means and lavish manners meet together,
O, with what wings shall his affections fly65
Towards fronting peril and opposed decay!

War. My gracious lord, you look beyond him quite:
The prince but studies his companions
Like a strange tongue, wherein, to gain the language,
'Tis needful that the most immodest word70
Be look'd upon and learn'd; which once attain'd,
Your highness knows, comes to no further use [4155]
But to be known and hated. So, like gross terms,
The prince will in the perfectness of time
Cast off his followers; and their memory75
Shall as a pattern or a measure live,
By which his grace must mete the lives of others,[4156]
Turning past evils to advantages.

King. 'Tis seldom when the bee doth leave her comb [4157]
In the dead carrion.

Who's here? Westmoreland?80

West. Health to my sovereign, and new happiness [4159]
Added to that that I am to deliver![4160]
Prince John your son doth kiss your grace's hand:
Mowbray, the Bishop Scroop, Hastings and all [4161]
Are brought to the correction of your law;85
There is not now a rebel's sword unsheath'd,
But Peace puts forth her olive every where.
The manner how this action hath been borne
Here at more leisure may your highness read,
With every course in his particular.[4162]90

King. O Westmoreland, thou art a summer bird,
Which ever in the haunch of winter sings
The lifting up of day.

Look, here's more news.

Har. From enemies heaven keep your majesty;[4164]
And, when they stand against you, may they fall95
As those that I am come to tell you of!
The Earl Northumberland and the Lord Bardolph,
With a great power of English and of Scots,
Are by the sheriff of Yorkshire overthrown:[4165]
The manner and true order of the fight,100
This packet, please it you, contains at large.[4166]

King. And wherefore should these good news make me sick?[4167]
Will Fortune never come with both hands full,
But write her fair words still in foulest letters?[4168]
She either gives a stomach and no food;105
Such are the poor, in health; or else a feast
And takes away the stomach; such are the rich,[4169]
That have abundance and enjoy it not.
I should rejoice now at this happy news;
And now my sight fails, and my brain is giddy:110
O me! come near me; now I am much ill.[4170]

Glou. Comfort, your majesty![4171]

Clar. O my royal father!

West. My sovereign lord, cheer up yourself, look up.

War. Be patient, princes; you do know, these fits
Are with his highness very ordinary.115
Stand from him, give him air; he'll straight be well.[4172]

Clar. No, no, he cannot long hold out these pangs:[4173]
The incessant care and labour of his mind
Hath wrought the mure, that should confine it in,
So thin that life looks through and will break out.[4174]120

Glou. The people fear me; for they do observe [4175]
Unfather'd heirs and loathly births of nature:[4176]
The seasons change their manners, as the year
Had found some months asleep and leap'd them over.[4177]

Clar. The river hath thrice flow'd, no ebb between;125
And the old folk, time's doting chronicles,
Say it did so a little time before
That our great-grandsire, Edward, sick'd and died.[4178]

War. Speak lower, princes, for the king recovers.

Glou. This apoplexy will ceitain be his end.[4179]130

King. I pray you, take me up, and bear me hence
Into some other chamber: softly, pray.[4180]

Scene V. Another Chamber.

The King lying on a bed: Clarence, Gloucester, Warwick, and others in attendance.[4181]

Scene III. Another part of the forest.

Scene IV. Westminster. The Jerusalem Chamber.

Scene V. Another Chamber.