KING HENRY IV.

PART II.

King Henry the Fourth:

Henry, Prince of Wales, afterwards
King Henry V;

Thomas, Duke of Clarence;

Prince John of Lancaster, afterwards
(2 Henry V.) Duke of Bedford;
Prince Humphrey of Gloster, after-
wards (2 Henry V.) Duke of Gloster ;

Earl of Warwick;

>his sons.

Earl of Westmoreland; of the king's party.

Gower; Harcourt;

1;} of the king's party.

Lord Chief Justice of the king's bench.

A Gentleman attending on the chief justice.

Earl of Northumberland;

Scroop, Archbishop of York;

Lord Mowbray;

Lord Hastings;

enemies to the king.

Lord Bardolph;

Sir John Colevile;

Travers and Morton, domestics of Northumberland.

Falstaff, Bardolph, Pistol, and Page.

Poins and Peto, attendants on Prince Henry.

Shallow and Silence, country justices.

Davy, servant to Shallow.

Mouldy, Shadow, Wart, Feeble, and Bulcalf, recruits.

Fang and Snare, sheriff's officers.

Rumour.

A Porter.

A Dancer, speaker of the Epilogue.

Lady Northumberland.

Lady Percy.

Hostess Quickly.

Doll Tear-sheet.

Lords and other Attendants; Officers, Soldiers, Mes senger, Drawers, Beadles, Grooms, &c.

SCENE-England.

SECOND PART OF

KING HENRY IV.

INDUCTION.

m

Warkworth. Before Northumberland's Castle. Enter Rumour, painted full of tongues.

Rumour.

OPEN your ears; For which of you

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, swol'n with some other grief,
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 upcounted 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?
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 that 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

wrongs.

m

[Exit.

ACT I.

SCENE I-The same. The Porter before the gate; Enter Lord Bardolph.

Bardolph.

WHO keeps the gate here, ho?-Where is the earl? Port. What shall I say you are?

Tell thou the earl,

Bard.
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.

Bard.

Enter Northumberland.

Here comes the earl.

North. What news, lord Bardolph ? every minute

now

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

Bard.

Noble earl,

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

Bard.
The king is almost wounded to the death;
And, in the fortune of my lord your son,

As good as heart can wish :

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

A

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

gen tleman 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.

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.