P. HEN. Give it me: What, is it in the case? FAL. Ay, Hal; 'tis hot, 'tis hot; there's that will fack a city." [The Prince draws out a bottle of fack. P. HEN. What, is't a time to jeft and dally now? [Throws it at him, and exit. FAL. Well, if Percy be alive, I'll pierce him. If he do come in my way, fo: if he do not, if I come 2 fack a city.] A quibble on the word fack. JOHNSON. The fame quibble may be found in Ariftippus, or the Jovial Philofopher, 1630: it may juftly feem to have taken the 66 name of fack from the facking of cities.' STEEVENS. 3 —a bottle of fack.] The fame comic circumftance occurs in the ancient Interlude of Nature, (written long before the time of Shakspeare,) bl. 1. no date: 66 Glotony. We fhall have a warfare it "Man. Ye; where is thy harnes? Glotony. Mary, here may ye fe, "Here ys harnes inow. ys told me. "Wrath. Why haft thou none other harnes but thys? 66 "Without it be a bottell? "Another bottell I wyll go purvey, "Left that drynk be scarce in the way, "Or happely none to fell." STEEVENS. if Percy be alive, I'll pierce him.] Certainly, he'll pierce him, i. e. Prince Henry will, who is just gone out to seek him. Befides, I'll pierce him, contradicts the whole turn and humour of the fpeech. WARBURTON. I rather take the conceit to be this: To pierce a veffel is to tap it. Falftaff takes up his bottle which the Prince had toffed at his head, and being about to animate himself with a draught, cries: If Percy be alive, I'll pierce him, and fo draws the cork. I do not propofe this with much confidence. JOHNSON. Ben Jonfon has the fame quibble in his New Inn, A& III : in his, willingly, let him make a carbonado of me.' I like not fuch grinning honour as fir Walter hath: Give me life: which if I can fave, fo; if not, honour comes unlook'd for, and there's an end. [Exit. SCENE IV. Another Part of the Field. Alarums. Excurfions. Enter the King, Prince HENRY, Prince JOHN, and WESTMOREland. K. HEN. I pr'ythee, Harry, withdraw thyself; thou bleed'ft too much : ^— Lord John of Lancaster, go you with him. P. JOHN. Not I, my lord, unless I did bleed too. P. HEN. I do befeech your majesty, make up, Left your retirement do amaze your friends.' I believe Falstaff makes this boaft that the Prince may hear it; and continues the rest of the fpeech in a lower accent, or when he is out of hearing. Shakspeare has the fame play on words in Love's Labour's Loft, Act IV. fc. ii. Vol. V. p. 265, n. 8. STEEVENS. Shakspeare was not aware that he here ridiculed the ferious etymology of the Scottish hiftorian: "Piercy a penetrando oculum Regis Scotorum, ut fabulatur Boetius." Skinner. HOLT WHITE. 3 ---a carbonado of me.] A carbonado is a piece of meat cut cross-wife for the gridiron. JOHNSON. So, in The Spanish Gypfie by Middleton and Rowley, 1653: 4 "Carbonado thou the old rogue my father, "While you flice into collops the rufty gammon his man." STEEVENS, -thou bleed' too much:] Hiftory fays, the Prince was wounded in the face by an arrow. STEEVENS. amaze your friends.] i. e. throw them into confternation. STEEVENS. K. HEN. I will do fo: My lord of Westmoreland, lead him to his tent. WEST. Come, my lord, I will lead you to your tent. P. HEN. Lead me, my lord? I do not need your help: And heaven forbid, a fhallow fcratch fhould drive The prince of Wales from fuch a field as this; Where ftain'd nobility lies trodden on, And rebels' arms triumph in maffacres ! P. JOHN. We breathe too long:-Come, cousin Westmoreland, Our duty this way lies; for God's fake, come. I did not think thee lord of fuch a spirit: K. HEN. I faw him hold lord Percy at the point, With luftier maintenance than I did look for Of fuch an ungrown warrior." P. HEN. Lends mettle to us all! 6 I saw him bold lord Percy at the point, O, this boy [Exit. With luffier maintenance than I did look for &c.] So, Holinfhed, p. 759; the earle of Richmond withstood his violence, and kept him at the fword's point without advantage, longer than his companions either thought or judged." STEEVENS. Alarums. Enter DOUGLAS. DOUG. Another king! they grow like Hydra's heads : I am the Douglas, fatal to all thofe That wear thofe colours on them.-What art thou, That counterfeit'ft the person of a king? K. HEN. The king himself; who, Douglas, grieves at heart, So many of his fhadows thou haft met, DOUG. I fear, thou art another counterfeit; And yet, in faith, thou bear'ft thee like a king: But mine, I am fure, thou art, whoe'er thou be, And thus I win thee. [They fight; the King being in danger, enter Prince HENRY. P. HEN. Hold up thy head, vile Scot, or thou art like Never to hold it up again! the spirits Of Shirley, Stafford, Blunt, are in my arms: [They fight; DOUGLAS flies. 5 Of Shirley, &c.] The old copies, redundantly, Of valiant Shirley, &c. STEEVENS. 6 Who never promiseth, but he means to pay.] We should cer tainly read: Who never promiseth, but means to pay. which agrees with what the Prince fays in the first Act : "And pay the debts I never promifed." M. MASON. Cheerly, my lord; How fares your grace?— K. HEN. Stay, and breathe a while :Thou haft redeem'd thy loft opinion;" And fhow'd, thou mak'ft fome tender of my life, In this fair rescue thou hast brought to me. P. HEN. O heaven! they did me too much injury, The infulting hand of Douglas over you; Enter HOTSPUR. Hor. If I mistake not, thou art Harry Monmouth. P. HEN. Thou fpeak'ft as if I would deny my name. Hor. My name is Harry Percy. P. HEN. Why, then I fee A very valiant rebel of the name. 7 Thou haft redeem'd thy loft opinion;] i. e. thy loft reputation; for in that fenfe the word was then used. So, in Beaumont and Fletcher's Thierry and Theodoret: "What opinion will the managing "Of this affair bring to my wifdom! my invention Again, in The Gamefter, by Shirley, 1637: "Patience! I mean you have the opinion of a valiant gentleman; one that dares fight and maintain your honour against odds.” REED. |