# Henry IV Part 1 (1917) Yale/Text/Act I

Notes originally placed at the bottom of each page appear below, following Act I. Where these notes gloss a word in the text, the gloss can also be found by hovering over the text.
Where these notes refer to an end note (cf. n. = confer notam; "consult note"), a link to the accompanying end note is provided from the Footnotes section. The end notes accompanying Act I begin on page 114 of the original volume.
Layout 2
ACT FIRST
Scene One
[London. The Palace]
Enter the King, Lord John of Lancaster, Earl of Westmoreland, with others.
King. So shaken as we are, so wan with care, Find we a time for frighted peace to pant, And breathe short-winded accents of new broils To be commenc'd in stronds afar remote. 4 No more the thirsty entrance of this soil Shall daub her lips with her own children's blood; No more shall trenching war channel her fields, Nor bruise her flowerets with the armed hoofs 8 Of hostile paces: those opposed eyes, Which, like the meteors of a troubled heaven, All of one nature, of one substance bred, Did lately meet in the intestine shock 12 And furious close of civil butchery, Shall now, in mutual well-beseeming ranks, March all one way, and be no more oppos'd Against acquaintance, kindred, and allies: 16 The edge of war, like an ill-sheathed knife, No more shall cut his master. Therefore, friends, ​As far as to the sepulchre of Christ,— Whose soldier now, under whose blessed cross 20 We are impressed and engag'd to fight,— Forthwith a power of English shall we levy, Whose arms were moulded in their mothers' womb To chase these pagans in those holy fields 24 Over whose acres walk'd those blessed feet Which fourteen hundred years ago were nail'd For our advantage on the bitter cross. But this our purpose now is twelve months old, 28 And bootless 'tis to tell you we will go: Therefore we meet not now. Then let me hear Of you, my gentle cousin Westmoreland, What yesternight our council did decree 32 In forwarding this dear expedience.
West. My liege, this haste was hot in question, And many limits of the charge set down But yesternight; when all athwart there came A post from Wales loaden with heavy news; 37 Whose worst was, that the noble Mortimer, Leading the men of Herefordshire to fight Against the irregular and wild Glendower, 40 Was by the rude hands of that Welshman taken, A thousand of his people butchered; Upon whose dead corpse there was such misuse, Such beastly shameless transformation 44 By those Welshwomen done, as may not be Without much shame re-told or spoken of.
King. It seems then that the tidings of this broil Brake off our business for the Holy Land. 48
​West. This, match'd with other, did, my gracious lord; For more uneven and unwelcome news Came from the north and thus it did import: On Holy-rood day, the gallant Hotspur there, 52 Young Harry Percy and brave Archibald, That ever-valiant and approved Scot, At Holmedon met, Where they did spend a sad and bloody hour; As by discharge of their artillery, 57 And shape of likelihood, the news was told; For he that brought them, in the very heat And pride of their contention did take horse, 60 Uncertain of the issue any way.
King. Here is a dear and true industrious friend, Sir Walter Blunt, new lighted from his horse, Stain'd with the variation of each soil 64 Betwixt that Holmedon and this seat of ours; And he hath brought us smooth and welcome news. The Earl of Douglas is discomfited; Ten thousand bold Scots, two and twenty knights, 68 Balk'd in their own blood did Sir Walter see On Holmedon's plains: of prisoners Hotspur took Mordake the Earl of Fife, and eldest son To beaten Douglas, and the Earls of Athol, 72 Of Murray, Angus, and Menteith. And is not this an honourable spoil? A gallant prize? ha, cousin, is it not?
West. In faith, 76 It is a conquest for a prince to boast of.
King. Yea, there thou mak'st me sad and mak'st me sin ​In envy that my Lord Northumberland Should be the father to so blest a son, 80 A son who is the theme of honour's tongue; Amongst a grove the very straightest plant; Who is sweet Fortune's minion and her pride: Whilst I, by looking on the praise of him, 84 See riot and dishonour stain the brow Of my young Harry. O! that it could be prov'd That some night-tripping fairy had exchang'd In cradle-clothes our children where they lay, 88 And call'd mine Percy, his Plantagenet. Then would I have his Harry, and he mine. But let him from my thoughts. What think you, coz, Of this young Percy's pride? the prisoners, 92 Which he in this adventure hath surpris'd, To his own use he keeps, and sends me word, I shall have none but Mordake Earl of Fife.
West. This is his uncle's teaching, this is Worcester, 96 Malevolent to you in all aspects; Which makes him prune himself, and bristle up The crest of youth against your dignity.
King. But I have sent for him to answer this; 100 And for this cause a while we must neglect Our holy purpose to Jerusalem. Cousin, on Wednesday next our council we Will hold at Windsor; so inform the lords: 104 But come yourself with speed to us again; For more is to be said and to be done Than out of anger can be uttered.
West. I will, my liege. Exeunt.
Scene Two
[The Same]
Enter Henry, Prince of Wales, and Sir John Falstaff.
Fal. Now, Hal, what time of day is it, lad?
Prince. Thou art so fat-witted, with drinking of old sack, and unbuttoning thee after supper, and sleeping upon benches after noon, that thou hast forgotten to demand that truly which thou wouldst truly know. What a devil hast thou to do with the time of the day? unless hours were cups of sack, and minutes capons, and clocks the tongues of bawds, and dials the signs of leaping-houses, and the blessed sun himself a fair hot wench in flame-colour'd taffeta, I see no reason why thou shouldst be so superfluous to demand the time of the day. 13
Fal. Indeed, you come near me now, Hal; for we that take purses go by the moon and the seven stars, and not by Phœbus, he, 'that wan- dering knight so fair.' And, I prithee, sweet wag, when thou art king,—as, God save thy Grace,—majesty, I should say, for grace thou wilt have none,— 20
Prince. What! none?
Fal. No, by my troth; not so much as will serve to be prologue to an egg and butter.
Prince. Well, how then? come, roundly, roundly. 25
Fal. Marry, then, sweet wag, when thou art ​king, let not us that are squires of the night's body be called thieves of the day's beauty: let us be Diana's foresters, gentlemen of the shade, minions of the moon; and let men say, we be men of good government, being governed as the sea is, by our noble and chaste mistress the moon, under whose countenance we steal, 33
Prince. Thou sayest well, and it holds well too; for the fortune of us that are the moon's men doth ebb and flow like the sea, being go- verned as the sea is, by the moon. As for proof now: a purse of gold most resolutely snatched on Monday night and most dissolutely spent on Tuesday morning; got with swearing 'Lay by;' and spent with crying 'Bring in:' now in as low an ebb as the foot of the ladder, and by and by in as high a flow as the ridge of the gallows.
Fal. By the Lord, thou sayest true, lad. And is not my hostess of the tavern a most sweet wench? 46
Prince. As the honey of Hybla, my old lad of the castle. And is not a buff jerkin a most sweet robe of durance? 49
Fal. How now, how now, mad wag! what, in thy quips and thy quiddities? what a plague have I to do with a buff jerkin? 52
Prince. Why, what a pox have I to do with my hostess of the tavern?
Fal. Well, thou hast called her to a reckon- ing many a time and oft.
​Prince. Did I ever call for thee to pay thy part?
Fal. No; I'll give thee thy due, thou hast paid all there. 60
Prince. Yea, and elsewhere, so far as my coin would stretch; and where it would not, I have used my credit.
Fal. Yea, and so used it that, were it not here apparent that thou art heir apparent,—But, I prithee, sweet wag, shall there be gallows stand- ing in England when thou art king, and resolu- tion thus fobbed as it is with the rusty curb of old father antic the law? Do not thou, when thou art king, hang a thief. 70
Prince. No; thou shalt.
Fal. Shall I? O rare! By the Lord, I'll be a brave judge. 73
Prince. Thou judgest false already; I mean, thou shalt have the hanging of the thieves and so become a rare hangman. 76
Fal. Well, Hal, well; and in some sort it jumps with my humour as well as waiting in the court, I can tell you.
Prince. For obtaining of suits? 80
Fal. Yea, for obtaining of suits, whereof the hangman hath no lean wardrobe. 'Sblood, I am as melancholy as a gib cat, or a lugged bear.
Prince. Or an old lion, or a lover's lute. 84
Fal. Yea, or the drone of a Lincolnshire bagpipe.
​Prince. What sayest thou to a hare, or the melancholy of Moor-ditch? 88
Fal. Thou hast the most unsavory similes, and art, indeed, the most comparative, rascal- liest, sweet young prince; but, Hal, I prithee, trouble me no more with vanity. I would to God thou and I knew where a commodity of good names were to be bought. An old lord of the council rated me the other day in the street about you, sir, but I marked him not; and yet he talked very wisely, but I regarded him not; and yet he talked wisely, and in the street too. 98
Prince. Thou didst well; for wisdom cries out in the streets, and no man regards it. 100
Fal. O! thou hast damnable iteration, and art indeed able to corrupt a saint. Thou hast done much harm upon me, Hal; God forgive thee for it! Before I knew thee, Hal, I knew nothing; and now am I, if a man should speak truly, little better than one of the wicked. I must give over this life, and I will give it over; by the Lord, an I do not, I am a villain: I'll be damned for never a king's son in Christendom.
Prince. Where shall we take a purse to- morrow. Jack? 111
Fal. 'Zounds! where thou wilt, lad, I'll make one; an I do not, call me a villain and baffle me.
Prince. I see a good amendment of life in thee; from praying to purse-taking. 115
​Fal. Why, Hal, 'tis my vocation, Hal; 'tis no sin for a man to labour in his vocation.
Enter Poins.
Poins! Now shall we know if Gadshill have set a match. O! if men were to be saved by merit, what hole in hell were hot enough for him? This is the most omnipotent villain that ever cried 'Stand!' to a true man. 122
Prince. Good morrow, Ned.
Poins. Good morrow, sweet Hal. What says Monsieur Remorse? What says Sir John Sack- and-Sugar? Jack! how agrees the devil and thee about thy soul, that thou soldest him on Good- Friday last for a cup of Madeira and a cold capon's leg? 129
Prince. Sir John stands to his word, the devil shall have his bargain; for he was never yet a breaker of proverbs: he will give the devil his due.
Poins. Then art thou damned for keeping thy word with the devil.
Prince. Else he had been damned for cozen- ing the devil. 136
Poins. But my lads, my lads, to-morrow morning, by four o'clock, early at Gadshill! There are pilgrims going to Canterbury with rich offerings, and traders riding to London with fat purses: I have vizards for you all; you have horses for yourselves. Gadshill lies to-night in Rochester; I have bespoke supper to-morrow night in Eastcheap: we may do it as secure as sleep. If you will go I will stuff your purses full ​of crowns; if you will not, tarry at home and be hanged. 147
Fal. Hear ye, Yedward: if I tarry at home and go not, I'll hang you for going.
Poins. You will, chops?
Fal. Hal, wilt thou make one?
Prince. Who, I rob? I a thief? not I, by my faith. 153
Fal. There's neither honesty, manhood, nor good fellowship in thee, nor thou camest not of the blood royal, if thou darest not stand for ten shillings. 157
Prince. Well, then, once in my days I'll be a madcap.
Fal. Why, that's well said. 160
Prince. Well, come what will, I'll tarry at home.
Fal. By the Lord, I'll be a traitor then, when thou art king. 164
Prince. I care not.
Poins. Sir John, I prithee, leave the prince and me alone: I will lay him down such reasons for this adventure that he shall go. 168
Fal. Well, God give thee the spirit of per- suasion and him the ears of profiting, that what thou speakest may move, and what he hears may be believed, that the true prince may, for recreation sake, prove a false thief; for the poor abuses of the time want countenance. Farewell: you shall find me in Eastcheap. 175
Prince. Farewell, thou latter spring! Fare- well, All-hallown summer! [Exit Falstaff.]
​Poins. Now, my good sweet honey lord, ride with us to-morrow: I have a jest to execute that I cannot manage alone. Falstaff, Bardolph, Peto, and Gadshill shall rob those men that we have already waylaid; yourself and I will not be there; and when they have the booty, if you and I do not rob them, cut this head from my shoulders. 185
Prince. But how shall we part with them in setting forth?
Poins. Why, we will set forth before or after them, and appoint them a place of meeting, wherein it is at our pleasure to fail; and then will they adventure upon the exploit themselves, which they shall have no sooner achieved but we'll set upon them. 193
Prince. Yea, but 'tis like that they will know us by our horses, by our habits, and by every other appointment, to be ourselves. 196
Poins. Tut! our horses they shall not see, I'll tie them in the wood; our vizards we will change after we leave them; and, sirrah, I have cases of buckram for the nonce, to inmask our noted outward garments. 201
Prince. Yea, but I doubt they will be too hard for us.
Poins. Well, for two of them, I know them to be as true-bred cowards as ever turned back; and for the third, if he fight longer than he sees reason, I'll forswear arms. The virtue of this jest will be, the incomprehensible lies that this ​same fat rogue will tell us when we meet at supper: how thirty, at least, he fought with; what wards, what blows, what extremities he endured; and in the reproof of this lies the jest.
Prince. Well, I'll go with thee: provide us all things necessary and meet me to-morrow night in Eastcheap; there I'll sup. Farewell.
Poins. Farewell, my lord. Exit Poins.
Prince. I know you all, and will awhile uphold 217 The unyok'd humour of your idleness: Yet herein will I imitate the sun, Who doth permit the base contagious clouds To smother up his beauty from the world, 221 That when he please again to be himself, Being wanted, he may be more wonder'd at, By breaking through the foul and ugly mists Of vapours that did seem to strangle him. 225 If all the year were playing holidays, To sport would be as tedious as to work; But when they seldom come, they wish'd for come, And nothing pleaseth but rare accidents. 229 So, when this loose behaviour I throw off, And pay the debt I never promised, By how much better than my word I am 232 By so much shall I falsify men's hopes; And like bright metal on a sullen ground, My reformation, glittering o'er my fault, Shall show more goodly and attract more eyes Than that which hath no foil to set it off. 237 I'll so offend to make offence a skill; Redeeming time when men think least I will. Exit.
Scene Three
[The Same]
Enter the King, Northumberland, Worcester, Hotspur, Sir Walter Blunt, and others.
King. My blood hath been too cold and temperate, Unapt to stir at these indignities. And you have found me; for accordingly You tread upon my patience: but, be sure, 4 I will from henceforth rather be myself, Mighty, and to be fear'd, than my condition, Which hath been smooth as oil, soft as young down, And therefore lost that title of respect 8 Which the proud soul ne'er pays but to the proud.
Wor. Our house, my sovereign liege, little deserves The scourge of greatness to be us'd on it; And that same greatness too which our own hands 12 Have holp to make so portly.
North. My lord,—
King. Worcester, get thee gone; for I do see Danger and disobedience in thine eye. 16 O, sir, your presence is too bold and peremptory, And majesty might never yet endure The moody frontier of a servant brow. You have good leave to leave us; when we need Your use and counsel we shall send for you. 21
Exit Worcester.
[To Northumberland.] You were about to speak.
North. Yea, my good lord. Those prisoners in your highness' name demanded, Which Harry Percy here at Holmedon took, 24 ​Were, as he says, not with such strength denied As is deliver'd to your majesty: Either envy, therefore, or misprision Is guilty of this fault and not my son. 28
Hot. My liege, I did deny no prisoners: But I remember, when the fight was done, When I was dry with rage and extreme toil, Breathless and faint, leaning upon my sword, 32 Came there a certain lord, neat, and trimly dress'd, Fresh as a bridegroom; and his chin, new reap'd, Show'd like a stubble-land at harvest-home: He was perfumed like a milliner, 36 And 'twixt his finger and his thumb he held A pouncet-box, which ever and anon He gave his nose and took't away again; Who therewith angry, when it next came there, 40 Took it in snuff: and still he smil'd and talk'd; And as the soldiers bore dead bodies by, He call'd them untaught knaves, unmannerly, To bring a slovenly unhandsome corpse 44 Betwixt the wind and his nobility. With many holiday and lady terms He question'd me; among the rest, demanded My prisoners in your majesty's behalf. 48 I then all smarting with my wounds being cold, To be so pester'd with a popinjay, Out of my grief and my impatience Answer'd neglectingly, I know not what, 52 He should, or he should not; for he made me mad To see him shine so brisk and smell so sweet And talk so like a waiting-gentlewoman ​Of guns, and drums, and wounds,—God save the mark!—56 And telling me the sovereign'st thing on earth Was parmaceti for an inward bruise; And that it was great pity, so it was, This villainous saltpetre should be digg'd 60 Out of the bowels of the harmless earth, Which many a good tall fellow had destroy'd So cowardly; and but for these vile guns, He would himself have been a soldier. 64 This bald unjointed chat of his, my lord, I answer'd indirectly, as I said; And I beseech you, let not his report Come current for an accusation 68 Betwixt my love and your high majesty.
Blunt. The circumstance consider'd, good my lord, What e'er Lord Harry Percy then had said To such a person and in such a place, 72 At such a time, with all the rest re-told, May reasonably die and never rise To do him wrong, or any way impeach What then he said, so he unsay it now. 76
King. Why, yet he doth deny his prisoners, But with proviso and exception, That we at our own charge shall ransom straight His brother-in-law, the foolish Mortimer; 80 Who, on my soul, hath wilfully betray'd The lives of those that he did lead to fight Against that great magician, damn'd Glendower, Whose daughter, as we hear, the Earl of March ​Hath lately married. Shall our coffers then 85 Be emptied to redeem a traitor home? Shall we buy treason, and indent with fears, When they have lost and forfeited themselves? No, on the barren mountains let him starve; 89 For I shall never hold that man my friend Whose tongue shall ask me for one penny cost To ransom home revolted Mortimer. 92
Hot. Revolted Mortimer! He never did fall off, my sovereign liege, But by the chance of war: to prove that true Needs no more but one tongue for all those wounds, 96 Those mouthed wounds, which valiantly he took, When on the gentle Severn's sedgy bank, In single opposition, hand to hand, He did confound the best part of an hour 100 In changing hardiment with great Glendower. Three times they breath'd and three times did they drink, Upon agreement, of swift Severn's flood, Who then, affrighted with their bloody looks, 104 Ran fearfully among the trembling reeds, And hid his crisp head in the hollow bank Blood-stained with these valiant combatants. Never did base and rotten policy 108 Colour her working with such deadly wounds; Nor never could the noble Mortimer Receive so many, and all willingly: Then let him not be slander'd with revolt. 112
King. Thou dost belie him, Percy, thou dost belie him: He never did encounter with Glendower: ​I tell thee, He durst as well have met the devil alone 116 As Owen Glendower for an enemy. Art thou not asham'd? But, sirrah, henceforth Let me not hear you speak of Mortimer: Send me your prisoners with the speediest means, 120 Or you shall hear in such a kind from me As will displease you. My Lord Northumberland, We license your departure with your son. Send us your prisoners, or you will hear of it. 124
Exit King [with Blunt and train].
Hot. An if the devil come and roar for them, I will not send them: I will after straight And tell him so; for I will ease my heart, Albeit I make a hazard of my head. 128
North. What! drunk with choler? stay, and pause awhile: Here comes your uncle.
Enter Worcester.
Hot.Speak of Mortimer! 'Zounds! I will speak of him; and let my soul Want mercy if I do not join with him: 132 In his behalf I'll empty all these veins, And shed my dear blood drop by drop i' the dust, But I will lift the down-trod Mortimer As high i' the air as this unthankful king, 136 As this ingrate and canker'd Bolingbroke.
North. Brother, the king hath made your nephew mad.
Wor. Who struck this heat up after I was gone?
Hot. He will, forsooth, have all my prisoners; ​And when I urg'd the ransom once again 141 Of my wife's brother, then his cheek look'd pale, And on my face he turn'd an eye of death, Trembling even at the name of Mortimer. 144
Wor. I cannot blame him: was he not proclaim'd By Richard that dead is the next of blood?
North. He was; I heard the proclamation: And then it was when the unhappy king,–148 Whose wrongs in us God pardon!—did set forth Upon his Irish expedition; From whence he, intercepted, did return To be depos'd, and shortly murdered. 152
Wor. And for whose death we in the world's wide mouth Live scandaliz'd and foully spoken of.
Hot. But, soft! I pray you, did King Richard then Proclaim my brother Edmund Mortimer 156 Heir to the crown?
North.He did; myself did hear it.
Hot. Nay, then I cannot blame his cousin king, That wish'd him on the barren mountains starve. But shall it be that you, that set the crown 160 Upon the head of this forgetful man, And for his sake wear the detested blot Of murd'rous subornation, shall it be, That you a world of curses undergo, 164 Being the agents, or base second means, The cords, the ladder, or the hangman rather? O! pardon me that I descend so low, To show the line and the predicament 168 Wherein you range under this subtle king. ​Shall it for shame be spoken in these days, Or fill up chronicles in time to come, That men of your nobility and power, 172 Did gage them both in an unjust behalf, As both of you—God pardon it!—have done, To put down Richard, that sweet lovely rose, And plant this thorn, this canker, Bolingbroke? And shall it in more shame be further spoken, That you are fool'd, discarded, and shook off By him for whom these shames ye underwent? No; yet time serves wherein you may redeem 180 Your banish'd honours, and restore yourselves Into the good thoughts of the world again; Revenge the jeering and disdain'd contempt Of this proud king, who studies day and night To answer all the debt he owes to you, 185 Even with the bloody payment of your deaths. Therefore, I say,—
Wor.Peace, cousin! say no more: And now I will unclasp a secret book, 188 And to your quick-conceiving discontents I'll read you matter deep and dangerous, As full of peril and adventurous spirit As to o'er-walk a current roaring loud, 192 On the unsteadfast footing of a spear.
Hot. If he fall in, good night! or sink or swim: Send danger from the east unto the west, So honour cross it from the north to south, 196 And let them grapple: O! the blood more stirs To rouse a lion than to start a hare.
North. Imagination of some great exploit Drives him beyond the bounds of patience. 200
​Hot. By heaven methinks it were an easy leap To pluck bright honour from the pale-fac'd moon, Or dive into the bottom of the deep, Where fathom-line could never touch the ground, 204 And pluck up drowned honour by the locks; So he that doth redeem her thence might wear Without corrival all her dignities: But out upon this half-fac'd fellowship! 208
Wor. He apprehends a world of figures here, But not the form of what he should attend. Good cousin, give me audience for a while.
Hot. I cry you mercy.
Wor.Those same noble Scots 212 That are your prisoners,—
Hot.I'll keep them all; By God, he shall not have a Scot of them: No, if a Scot would save his soul, he shall not: I'll keep them, by this hand.
Wor.You start away, 216 And lend no ear unto my purposes. Those prisoners you shall keep.
Hot.Nay, I will; that's flat: He said he would not ransom Mortimer; Forbade my tongue to speak of Mortimer; 220 But I will find him when he lies asleep, And in his ear I'll holla 'Mortimer!' Nay, I'll have a starling shall be taught to speak 224 Nothing but 'Mortimer,' and give it him, To keep his anger still in motion.
Wor. Hear you, cousin; a word.
​Hot. All studies here I solemnly defy, 228 Save how to gall and pinch this Bolingbroke: And that same sword-and-buckler Prince of Wales, But that I think his father loves him not, And would be glad he met with some mischance, I would have him poison'd with a pot of ale. 233
Wor. Farewell, kinsman: I will talk to you When you are better temper 'd to attend.
North. Why, what a wasp-stung and impatient fool 236 Art thou to break into this woman's mood, Tying thine ear to no tongue but thine own!
Hot. Why, look you, I am whipp'd and scourg'd with rods. Nettled, and stung with pismires, when I hear Of this vile politician, Bolingbroke. 241 In Richard's time,—what do ye call the place?— A plague upon 't—it is in Gloucestershire;— 'Twas where the madcap duke his uncle kept, His uncle York; where I first bow'd my knee Unto this king of smiles, this Bolingbroke, 'Sblood! When you and he came back from Ravenspurgh.
North. At Berkeley Castle. 249
Hot. You say true. Why, what a candy deal of courtesy This fawning greyhound then did proffer me! Look, 'when his infant fortune came to age,' 253 And 'gentle Harry Percy,' and 'kind cousin.' O! the devil take such cozeners. God forgive me! Good uncle, tell your tale, for I have done. 256
​Wor. Nay, if you have not, to 't again; We'll stay your leisure.
Hot.I have done, i' faith.
Wor. Then once more to your Scottish prisoners, Deliver them up without their ransom straight, And make the Douglas' son your only mean 261 For powers in Scotland; which, for divers reasons Which I shall send you written, be assur'd, Will easily be granted. [To Northumberland.] You, my lord, 264 Your son in Scotland being thus employ'd, Shall secretly into the bosom creep Of that same noble prelate well belov'd, The Archbishop. 268
Hot. Of York, is it not?
Wor. True; who bears hard His brother's death at Bristol, the Lord Scroop. I speak not this in estimation, 272 As what I think might be, but what I know Is ruminated, plotted and set down; And only stays but to behold the face Of that occasion that shall bring it on. 276
Hot. I smell it. Upon my life it will do wondrous well.
North. Before the game's afoot thou still lett'st slip.
Hot. Why, it cannot choose but be a noble plot: 280 And then the power of Scotland and of York, To join with Mortimer, ha?
Wor.And so they shall.
Hot. In faith, it is exceedingly well aim'd.
Wor. And 'tis no little reason bids us speed, ​To save our heads by raising of a head; 285 For, bear ourselves as even as we can, The king will always think him in our debt, And think we think ourselves unsatisfied, 288 Till he hath found a time to pay us home. And see already how he doth begin To make us strangers to his looks of love.
Hot. He does, he does: we'll be reveng'd on him. 292
Wor. Cousin, farewell: no further go in this, Than I by letters shall direct your course. When time is ripe,—which will be suddenly,— I'll steal to Glendower and Lord Mortimer; 296 Where you and Douglas and our powers at once,— As I will fashion it,—shall happily meet, To bear our fortunes in our own strong arms, Which now we hold at much uncertainty. 300
North. Farewell, good brother: we shall thrive, I trust.
Hot. Uncle, adieu: O! let the hours be short, Till fields and blows and groans applaud our sport!
Exeunt.
Footnotes to Act I
Scene One
​4 stronds: coasts 5 Cf. n. 7 trenching: trench-digging channel: make channels in 12 intestine: internal, civil 13 close: grapple 14 mutual well-beseeming ranks: ranks which have, most properly, a common interest ​21 impressed: compelled into service 28 Cf. n. 29 bootless: useless 33 dear expedience: important expedition 34 hot in question: in hot debate 35 charge: expense 36 athwart: from an unexpected quarter 38 Mortimer; cf. n. 40 irregular: lawless ​49 match'd: joined 50 uneven: disconcerting 52 Holy-rood day; cf. n. 53 Harry Percy; cf. n. 54 approved: well-tried 58 shape of likelihood: probability 69 balk'd: piled up (?) 71 Mordake; cf. n. ​83 minion: darling 91 coz: cousin, used by the sovereign in addressing any nobleman 91-95 Cf. n. 97 Cf. n. 107 uttered; cf. n.
Scene Two
​3 sack: sweet Spanish wine 9 bawds: panders 10 leaping-houses: brothels 16 Cf. n. 19-33 Cf. n. 24 roundly: plainly, to the point 26 Marry: an interjection, well; originally an oath, by the Virgin Mary ​29 Diana's: the moon's 30 minions: servants 40 'Lay by': address of highwaymen to their victims 41 'Bring in': a call for wine 47 honey of Hybla: Sicilian honey lad of the castle; cf. Appendix 48 buff jerkin: leather jacket worn by sheriff's officers; cf. n. 49 durance: a stuff noted for its durability 51 quips: jests quiddities: subtleties, puns ​67 resolution: determination, boldness 68 fobbed: tricked 69 antic: buffoon 73 brave: fine 78 jumps: agrees humour: temperament, inclination 81 obtaining of suits: the clothes of the criminal were the hangman's perquisite 82 'Sblood: God's blood 83 gib cat: tom cat lugged bear: bear led by a rope ​87 hare; cf. n. 88 Moor-ditch; cf. n. 90 comparative: witty, i.e., full of witty comparisons 93 commodity: supply 101 damnable iteration; cf. n. 112 'Zounds: God's wounds 113 baffle: hang by the heels (a punishment inflicted on recreant knights) ​118 Gadshill; cf. n. set a match: planned a robbery 135 cozening: cheating 141 vizards: masks 144 Eastcheap; cf. n. ​150 chops: fat face 177 All-hallown summer: All Saints' summer; cf. n. ​195 habits: clothes 196 appointment: equipment 199 sirrah; cf. n.
200 cases of buckram: cloaks of coarse linen for the nonce: for the occasion 201 noted: well-known 206 the third; cf. n. ​211 wards: guards in fencing 212 reproof: refutation 218 unyok'd humour: unrestrained caprices 220 contagious: pestilential 229 accidents: events 234 sullen: dull
Scene Three
​3 found me: guessed my character 6 condition: natural disposition 13 portly: stately 19 moody: angry frontier: the outworks of a fort, used figuratively ​26 deliver'd: reported 27 misprision: misapprehension 36 milliner; cf. n. 38 pouncet-box: a perforated box for perfumes 41 in snuff: as an offence (with play on the word snuff) 46 holiday and lady terms: choice and ladylike expressions 50 popinjay: parrot 51 grief: pain ​56 God save the mark; cf. n.
57 sovereign'at: of most supreme excellence 58 parmaceti: corrupted form of spermaceti, a substance found in whale-oil 62 tall: valiant 75 impeach: call in question 80 brother-in-law; cf. n. on ll. 145–6 84 Earl of March: Mortimer ​87 indent: bargain 94 fall off: desert 100 confound: consume 101 changing hardiment: exchanging valour 106 crisp: curled, i.e., rippled 109 Colour: disguise ​ ​145-146 Cf. n. 149 in us: at our hands 163 murd'rous subornation: secret prompting to murder 168 line: rank predicament: situation, classification 169 range: stand ​173 gage them: pledge themselves 176 canker: dog-rose 183 disdain'd: disdainful ​207 corrival: rival 208 half-fac'd: half and half 209 apprehends: imagines figures: unpractical fancies 212 cry you mercy: beg your pardon 224 starling: a bird with remarkable powers of mimicry ​228 defy: renounce 230 sword and buckler: arms carried by the lower classes; hence, ruffianly 240 pismires: ants 244 kept: lived 245 York; cf. n. 251 candy deal: sugary lot 255 cozeners: swindlers ​258 stay: await 271 Scroop; cf. n. 272 estimation: conjecture 279 still: always lett'st slip: art letting the hounds loose from the leash ​285 head: army 286 even: prudently 293 cousin: kinsman 298 happily: perchance, if all goes well