Than a joint burden laid upon us all.

  55

  For me, by heaven, I bid you be assured,

  I’ll be your father and your brother too:

  Let me but bear your love, I’ll bear your cares.

  Yet weep that Harry’s dead, and so will I;

  But Harry lives that will convert those tears

  60

  By number into hours of happiness.

  BROTHERS

  We hope no otherwise from your majesty.

  KING

  You all look strangely on me, [to Justice] and

  you most.

  You are, I think, assured I love you not.

  JUSTICE

  I am assured, if I be measured rightly,

  65

  Your majesty hath no just cause to hate me.

  KING

  No? How might a prince of my great hopes forget

  So great indignities you laid upon me?

  What – rate, rebuke and roughly send to prison

  Th’immediate heir of England? Was this easy?

  70

  May this be washed in Lethe and forgotten?

  JUSTICE

  I then did use the person of your father.

  The image of his power lay then in me;

  And in th’administration of his law,

  Whiles I was busy for the commonwealth,

  75

  Your highness pleased to forget my place,

  The majesty and power of law and justice,

  The image of the king whom I presented,

  And struck me in my very seat of judgement,

  Whereon, as an offender to your father,

  80

  I gave bold way to my authority

  And did commit you. If the deed were ill,

  Be you contented, wearing now the garland,

  To have a son set your decrees at naught?

  To pluck down justice from our awful bench?

  85

  To trip the course of law and blunt the sword

  That guards the peace and safety of your person?

  Nay, more: to spurn at your most royal image

  And mock your workings in a second body?

  Question your royal thoughts, make the case yours,

  90

  Be now the father and propose a son,

  Hear your own dignity so much profaned,

  See your most dreadful laws so loosely slighted,

  Behold yourself so by a son disdained;

  And then imagine me taking your part

  95

  And in your power soft silencing your son.

  After this cold considerance, sentence me;

  And as you are a king, speak in your state

  What I have done that misbecame my place,

  My person, or my liege’s sovereignty.

  100

  KING

  You are right, Justice, and you weigh this well;

  Therefore still bear the balance and the sword.

  And I do wish your honours may increase

  Till you do live to see a son of mine

  Offend you and obey you as I did;

  105

  So shall I live to speak my father’s words:

  ‘Happy am I that have a man so bold

  That dares do justice on my proper son,

  And not less happy having such a son

  That would deliver up his greatness so.’

  110

  Into the hands of justice you did commit me,

  For which I do commit into your hand

  Th’unstained sword that you have used to bear,

  With this remembrance: that you use the same

  With the like bold, just and impartial spirit

  115

  As you have done ’gainst me. There is my hand.

  You shall be as a father to my youth;

  My voice shall sound as you do prompt mine ear,

  And I will stoop and humble my intents

  To your well-practised, wise directions.

  120

  – And, princes all, believe me, I beseech you,

  My father is gone wild into his grave,

  For in his tomb lie my affections;

  And with his spirits sadly I survive

  To mock the expectation of the world,

  125

  To frustrate prophecies and to raze out

  Rotten opinion, who hath writ me down

  After my seeming. The tide of blood in me

  Hath proudly flowed in vanity till now:

  Now doth it turn and ebb back to the sea,

  130

  Where it shall mingle with the state of floods

  And flow henceforth in formal majesty.

  Now call we our high court of parliament,

  And let us choose such limbs of noble counsel

  That the great body of our state may go

  135

  In equal rank with the best-governed nation,

  That war or peace or both at once may be

  As things acquainted and familiar to us,

  In which you, father, shall have foremost hand.

  Our coronation done, we will accite,

  140

  As I before remembered, all our state;

  And, God consigning to my good intents,

  No prince nor peer shall have just cause to say,

  ‘God shorten Harry’s happy life one day!’ FExeunt.F

  5.3

  Enter Sir John FFALSTAFFF, SHALLOW, SILENCE,

  DAVY, BARDOLPH [and] PAGE.

  SHALLOW Nay, you shall see my orchard, where, in an

  arbour, we will eat a last year’s pippin of mine own

  graffing with a dish of caraways and so forth. Come,

  cousin Silence, and then to bed.

  FALSTAFF ’Fore God, you have here goodly dwelling,

  5

  and rich.

  SHALLOW Barren, barren, barren; beggars all, beggars

  all, Sir John. Marry, good air. – Spread, Davy; spread,

  Davy. [Davy spreads a tablecloth.] Well said, Davy.

  FALSTAFF This Davy serves you for good uses. He is

  10

  your serving-man and your husband.

  SHALLOW A good varlet, a good varlet, a very good

  varlet, Sir John. By the mass, I have drunk too much

  sack at supper! A good varlet. Now sit down, now sit

  down. [to Silence] Come, cousin.

  15

  SILENCE Ah, sirrah, quoth ’a, we shall

  [Sings.] Do nothing but eat and make good cheer,

  And praise God for the merry year,

  When flesh is cheap and females dear,

  And lusty lads roam here and there

  20

  So merrily,

  And ever among so merrily.

  FALSTAFF There’s a merry heart, good Master Silence!

  I’ll give you a health for that anon.

  SHALLOW Give Master Bardolph some wine, Davy.

  25

  DAVY Sweet sir, sit; I’ll be with you anon. – Most sweet

  sir, sit. – Master Page, good Master Page, sit. – Proface!

  What you want in meat we’ll have in drink, but you

  must bear. The heart’s all. [Exit.]

  SHALLOW Be merry, Master Bardolph; [to Page] and

  30

  my little soldier there, be merry.

  SILENCE [Sings.]

  Be merry, be merry, my wife has all,

  For women are shrews, both short and tall.

  ’Tis merry in hall when beards wags all;

  And welcome merry Shrovetide!

  35

  Be merry, be merry.

  FALSTAFF I did not think Master Silence had been a

  man of this mettle.

  SILENCE Who, I? I have been merry twice and once ere

  now.

  40

  Enter DAVY.

  DAVY There’s a dish of leather-coats for you.

  SHALLOW Davy!

  DAVY Your worship, I’ll be with you straight. – A cup

  of wine, sir?

  SILENCE [Sings.]

  A cup of wine, that’s brisk and fine,

  45

  And drink unto thee, leman mine;

  And a merry heart lives long-a.

  FALSTAFF Well said, Master Silence.

  SILENCE And we shall be merry, now comes in the

  sweet a’th’ night.

  50

  FALSTAFF [Drinks.] Health and long life to you, Master

  Silence!

  SILENCE [Sings.]

  Fill the cup and let it come!

  I’ll pledge you a mile to th’ bottom.

  SHALLOW Honest Bardolph, welcome! If thou want’st

  55

  anything and wilt not call, beshrew thy heart. [to

  Page] Welcome, my little tiny thief; and welcome

  indeed, too. I’ll drink to Master Bardolph and to all

  the cabileros about London. [Drinks.]

  DAVY I hope to see London once ere I die.

  60

  BARDOLPH An I might see you there, Davy!

  SHALLOW By the mass, you’ll crack a quart together,

  ha? Will you not, Master Bardolph?

  BARDOLPH Yea, sir, in a pottle-pot.

  SHALLOW By God’s liggens, I thank thee. The knave

  65

  will stick by thee. I can assure thee that ’a will not

  out, ’a; ’tis true bred!

  BARDOLPH And I’ll stick by him, sir.

  SHALLOW Why, there spoke a king! Lack nothing; be

  merry!

  70

  One knocks at door.

  Look who’s at door there, ho! Who knocks? [Exit Davy.]

  FALSTAFF Why, now you have done me right.

  SILENCE [Sings.]

  Do me right

  And dub me knight,

  Samingo.

  75

  Is’t not so?

  FALSTAFF ’Tis so.

  SILENCE Is’t so? Why then, say an old man can do

  somewhat.

  [Enter DAVY.]

  DAVY An’t please your worship, there’s one Pistol

  80

  come from the court with news.

  FALSTAFF From the court? Let him come in.

  Enter PISTOL.

  How now, Pistol?

  PISTOL Sir John, God save you.

  FALSTAFF What wind blew you hither, Pistol?

  85

  PISTOL Not the ill wind which blows no man to good.

  Sweet knight, thou art now one of the greatest men in

  this realm.

  SILENCE By’r Lady, I think ’a be, but goodman Puff of

  Bar’son.

  90

  PISTOL Puff?

  Puff i’thy teeth, most recreant coward base!

  Sir John, I am thy Pistol and thy friend,

  And helter skelter have I rode to thee;

  And tidings do I bring, and lucky joys

  95

  And golden times and happy news of price.

  FALSTAFF I pray thee now, deliver them like a man of

  this world.

  PISTOL

  A foutre for the world and worldlings base!

  I speak of Africa and golden joys.

  100

  FALSTAFF

  O base Assyrian knight, what is thy news?

  Let King Cophetua know the truth thereof.

  SILENCE [Sings.]

  And Robin Hood, Scarlet and John.

  PISTOL

  Shall dunghill curs confront the Helicons?

  And shall good news be baffled?

  105

  Then, Pistol, lay thy head in Fury’s lap!

  SHALLOW Honest gentleman, I know not your breeding.

  PISTOL Why then, lament therefor.

  SHALLOW Give me pardon, sir. If, sir, you come with

  news from the court, I take it there’s but two ways:

  110

  either to utter them or conceal them. I am, sir, under

  the King in some authority.

  PISTOL

  Under which king, besonian? Speak or die!

  SHALLOW

  Under King Harry.

  PISTOL Harry the Fourth or Fifth?

  SHALLOW

  Harry the Fourth.

  PISTOL A foutre for thine office!

  115

  Sir John, thy tender lambkin now is King.

  Harry the Fifth’s the man! I speak the truth.

  When Pistol lies, do this [Makes the fig.]

  and fig me like

  The bragging Spaniard.

  FALSTAFF What, is the old King dead?

  PISTOL

  As nail in door. The things I speak are just.

  120

  FALSTAFF Away, Bardolph! Saddle my horse! Master

  Robert Shallow, choose what office thou wilt in the

  land; ’tis thine! Pistol, I will double charge thee with

  dignities.

  BARDOLPH O joyful day! I would not take a FknighthoodF

  125

  for my fortune!

  PISTOL What? I do bring good news.

  FALSTAFF [to Davy] Carry Master Silence to bed.

  [Exeunt Davy and Silence.]

  128

  Master Shallow – my Lord Shallow – be what thou

  wilt: I am Fortune’s steward. Get on thy boots; we’ll

  130

  ride all night. O sweet Pistol! Away, Bardolph!

  [Exit Bardolph.]

  Come, Pistol, utter more to me, and withal devise

  something to do thyself good. Boot, boot, Master

  Shallow! [Exit Shallow.]

  I know the young King is sick for me. Let us take

  135

  any man’s horses: the laws of England are at my

  commandment. Blessed are they that have been my

  friends, and woe to my Lord Chief Justice!

  [Exit with Page.]

  138

  PISTOL

  Let vultures vile seize on his lungs also!

  ‘Where is the life that late I led,’ say they?

  140

  Why, here it is! Welcome these pleasant days! Exit.

  5.4

  Enter FBeadlesF [dragging in] FHOSTESS QuicklyF

  [and] FDOLL TearsheetF.

  HOSTESS No, thou arrant knave, I would to God that

  I might die that I might have thee hanged! Thou

  hast drawn my shoulder out of joint.

  BEADLE The constables have delivered her over to me,

  and she shall have whipping-cheer, I warrant her.

  5

  There hath been a man or two killed about her.

  DOLL Nut-hook, nut-hook, you lie! Come on. I’ll tell

  thee what, thou damned tripe-visaged rascal: an the

  child I go with do miscarry, thou wert better thou

  hadst struck thy mother, thou paper-faced villain!