ince. Sir John stands to his word, the Devil shall his bargain; for he was never yet a breaker of provhe will give the Devil his due. pintz. Then art thou damn'd for keeping thy word with Devil. ince. Else he had been damn'd for cozening the Devil. ointz. But, my lads, my lads, to-morrow morning, by o'clock, early at Gads-hill! 25 there are pilgrims going Canterbury with rich offerings, and traders riding to Lonwith fat purses: I have visards for you all; you have ses for yourselves: Gadshill lies to-night in Rochester: ave bespoke supper to-morrow night in Eastcheap: we y do it as secure as sleep. If you will go, I will stuff ar purses full of crowns; if you will not, tarry at home d be hang'd. Fal. Hear ye, Yedward; 26 if I tarry at home and go not, 1 hang you for going. Pointz. You will, chops? Fal. Hal, wilt thou make one? Prince. Who, I rob? I a thief? not I, by my faith. Fal. There's neither honesty, manhood, nor good fellowhip in thee, nor thou camest not of the blood royal, if thou arest not stand for ten shillings.27 Prince. Well, then, once in my days I'll be a madcap. re of Seres in Spaine." And indeed Falstaff expressly calls it sherris-sack. The latter part of the name, sack, is thought to have come from its being a dry wine, vin sec; and it was formerly written seck. 25 Gads-hill was a wooded place on the road from London to Rochester, much noted as a resort of highwaymen. 26 Yedward was a familiar corruption of Edward. Frince. I care пос. Pointz. Sir John, I pr'ythee, leave the Prince alone I will lay him down such reasons for this a that he shall go. Fal. Well, God give thee the spirit of persua him the ears of profiting, that what thou speakest and what he hears may be believed, that the tr may, for recreation-sake, prove a false thief; for abuses of the time want countenance. Farewell: find me in Eastcheap. Prince. Farewell, thou latter Spring! farewell, A Summer! 28 [Exit Pointz. Now, my good sweet honey-lord, rid to-morrow: I have a jest to execute that I canno alone. Falstaff, Bardolph, Peto, and Gadshill, those men that we have already waylaid: yourself not be there; and when they have the booty, if y do not rob them, cut this head from my shoulders. Prince. But how shall we part with them forth? Pointz. Why, we will set forth before or after appoint them a place of meeting, wherein it is at o to fail; and then will they adventure upon the exp selves; which they shall have no sooner achieved set upon them. Prince. Ay, but 'tis like that they will know 28 All-hallown, or All hallows, is All Saints' Day, the first o Nothing could more happily express the character of Falsta the wood; our visards we will change, after we leave em; and, sirrah, I have cases of buckram for the nonce,30 immask our noted outward garments. Prince. But I doubt 31 they will be too hard for us. Pointz. Well, for two of them, I know them to be as truered cowards as ever turn'd back; and for the third, if he ght longer than he sees reason, I'll forswear arms. The rtue of this jest will be, the incomprehensible lies that this me fat rogue will tell us when we meet at supper: how irty, at least, he fought with; what wards,32 what blows, hat extremities he endured; and in the reproof 33 of this es the jest. Prince. Well, I'll go with thee: provide us all things ecessary, and meet me to-night in Eastcheap; there I'll Pointz. Farewell, my lord. Prince. I know you all, and will awhile uphold Who doth permit the base contagious clouds 29 Appointment for equipment or outfit. See page 9, note 8. [Exit. 30 This passage shows that sirrah was sometimes used merely in a playful, familiar way, without implying any lack of respect. For the nonce signified for the occasion, for the once. 31 Doubt in the sense of fear or suspect; a frequent usage. 32 Wards is guards; that is, modes or postures of defence. Dut, when mey serum come, they wish u-ion come And nothing pleaseth but rare accidents. So, when this loose behaviour I throw off, SCENE III. The Same. A Room in the Pa Enter King HENRY, NORTHUMBERLAND, WORCEST SPUR, Sir WALTER BLUNT, and others. King. My blood hath been too cold and temper Unapt to stir at these indignities, As you have found me; for, accordingly, 35 Hopes for expectations; no uncommon use of the word ev 36 Sullen in its old sense of dark or black. See vol. x. page 37 In such cases, the old poets often omit as after so. H notes as follows: "This speech is very artfully introduced, to ke from appearing vile in the opinion of the audience: it prepares future reformation; and, what is yet more valuable, exhibits a ich the proud soul ne'er pays but to the proud. d that same greatness too which our own hands North. My good lord, King. Worcester, get thee gone; for I do see nger and disobedience in thine eye : sir, your presence is too bold and peremptory, ■d majesty might never yet endure ne moody frontier3 of a servant brow. ou have good leave to leave us when we need our use and counsel, we shall send for you. [Exit WORCES. [To NORTH.] You were about to speak. Yea, my good lord. North. Which Harry Percy here at Holmedon took, Jere, as he says, not with such strength denied s is deliver'd to your Majesty : Lither envy, therefore, or misprision 4 s guilty of this fault, and not my son. Hot. My liege, I did deny no prisoners. 1 The King means that he will rather be what his office requires than hat his natural disposition prompts him to be. The use of condition for emper or disposition was exceedingly common. 2 Holp and holpen are the old preterites of the verb to help. - Portly here as the sense of stately or imposing. So in The Merchant, iii. 2: “The magnificoes of greatest port." 3 Frontier seems to be here used very much in the sense of confronting or outfacing. The image is of a threatening or defiant fortress. |