Appears, Act I. sc. 2. sc. 3.

Appears, Act II. sc. 1;

FALSTAFF.

Act II. sc. 1; sc. 4. Act III. sc. 1. Act IV.
Act V. sc. 1; sc. 3; sc. 5.

BARDOLPH.

sc. 2; sc. 4. Act III. sc. 1. Act IV. sc. 3 Act V. sc. 1; sc. 3; sc. 5.

PISTOL.

Appears, Act II. sc. 4. Act V. sc. 3; sc. 5.
Page.

Appears, Act I. sc. 2. Act II. sc. 1; sc. 2; sc. 4. Act V. sc. 1; sc. 3; sc. 5.

POINS, an attendant on Prince Henry.
Appears, Act II. sc. 2; sc. 4.
PETO, an attendant on Prince Henry.
Appears, Act II. sc. 4.

SHALLOW, a country justice.

Appears, Act III. sc. 2. Act V. sc. 1; sc. 3; sc. 5.
SILENCE, a country justice.
Appears, Act III. sc. 2. Act V. sc. 3.

DAVY, servant to Shallow.

Appears, Act V. sc. 1; sc. 3.

MOULDY, SHADOW, WART, FEEBLE, BULLCALF, recruits.

Appear, Act III. sc. 2.

FANG and SNARE, sheriff's officers.
Appear, Act II. sc. 1.

Rumour.
Appears, Induction.

A Porter.
Appears, Act I. sc. 1.

A Dancer, speaker of the epilogue.
Appears, Epilogue.

LADY NORTHUMBERLAND and LADY PERCY.

Appear, Act II. sc. 3.

HOSTESS QUICKLY.

Appears, Act II. sc. 1; sc. 4.

Act V. sc. 4.

DOLL TEARSHEET.

Appears, Act II. sc. 4. Act V. sc. 4.

SCENE, ENGLAND.

KING HENRY IV.,

PART II.

INDUCTION.

Warkworth. Before Northumberland's Castle.
Enter Rumour, painted full of tongues.
Rum. Open your ears: For which of you will stop
The vent of hearing when loud Rumour speaks?
I, from the orient to the drooping west,

Making the wind my post-horse, still unfold
The acts commenced on this ball of earth:

Upon my tongues continual slanders ride;
The which in every language I pronounce,
Stuffing the ears of men with false reports.
I speak of peace, while covert enmity,
Under the smile of safety, wounds the world:
And who but Rumour, who but only I,
Make fearful musters, and prepar'd defence,
Whilst the big year, swoln with some other griefs,
Is thought with child by the stern tyrant war,
And no such matter? Rumour is a pipe
Blown by surmises, jealousies, conjectures;
And of so easy and so plain a stop

That the blunt monster with uncounted heads,
The still-discordant wavering multitude,
Can play upon it. But what need I thus
My well-known body to anatomize

Among my household? Why is Rumour here?

VOL. V.

K

I run before king Harry's victory;
Who, in a bloody field by Shrewsbury,

Hath beaten down young Hotspur, and his troops,
Quenching the flame of bold rebellion

Even with the rebels' blood. But what mean I
To speak so true at first? my office is

To noise abroad,—that Harry Monmouth fell
Under the wrath of noble Hotspur's sword;
And that the king before the Douglas' rage
Stoop'd his anointed head as low as death.
This have I rumour'd through the peasant towns
Between the royal field of Shrewsbury
And this worm-eaten hold of ragged stone,
Where Hotspur's father, old Northumberland,
Lies crafty-sick the posts come tiring on,
And not a man of them brings other news

Than they have learn'd of me: From Rumour's tongues They bring smooth comforts false, worse than true [Exit.

wrongs.

ACT I.

SCENE I.-The same.

The Porter before the Gate; Enter LORD BARDOLPH.

L. Bard. Who keeps the gate here, ho?-Where is

the earl?

Port. What shall I say you are?

L. Bard.

Tell thou the earl,

That the lord Bardolph doth attend him here.

Port. His lordship is walk'd forth into the orchard. Please it your honour, knock but at the gate,

And he himself will answer.

L. Bard.

Enter NORTHUMBERLAND.

Here comes the earl.

North. What news, lord Bardolph? every minute

now

Should be the father of some stratagem: a
The times are wild; contention, like a horse
Full of high feeding, madly hath broke loose,
And bears down all before him.

L. Bard.

Noble earl, I bring you certain news from Shrewsbury. North. Good, an heaven will!

L. Bard.

As good as heart can wish: The king is almost wounded to the death; And, in the fortune of my lord your son,

Prince Harry slain outright; and both the Blunts Kill'd by the hand of Douglas: young prince John,

a Stratagem-some military movement, according to the Greek derivation of the word;-some enterprise ;-some decisive act on one part or the other, resulting from the wild times of contention.

And Westmoreland, and Stafford, fled the field;
And Harry Monmouth's brawn, the hulk sir John,
Is prisoner to your son: O, such a day,
So fought, so follow'd, and so fairly won,
Came not, till now, to dignify the times,
Since Cæsar's fortunes!

North.

How is this deriv'd?

Saw you the field? came you from Shrewsbury?

L. Bard. I spake with one, my lord, that came from thence;

A gentleman well bred, and of good name,

That freely render'd me these news for true.

North. Here comes my servant, Travers, whom I

sent

On Tuesday last to listen after news.

L. Bard. My lord, I over-rode him on the way; And he is furnish'd with no certainties,

More than he haply may retail from me.

Enter TRAVERS.

North. Now, Travers, what good tidings come with you?

Trav. My lord, sir John Umfrevile turn'd me back With joyful tidings; and, being better hors'd, Out-rode me. After him came, spurring hard, A gentleman almost forspent with speed, That stopp'd by me to breathe his bloodied horse : He ask'd the way to Chester; and of him I did demand what news from Shrewsbury. He told me, that rebellion had ill luck, And that young Harry Percy's spur was cold: With that, he gave his able horse the head, And, bending forward, struck his armed heels Against the panting sides of his poor jade Up to the rowel-head; and starting so,

a Forspent. For, as a prefix to a verb, is used to give it intensity.