The First Part of Henry IV:

Act 5, Scene 4


  *        Alarm. Excursions. Enter the KING,
           the PRINCE [wounded], LORD JOHN
           OF LANCASTER, and EARL OF
           WESTMORELAND.

      KING HENRY IV
  1   I prithee,
  2   Harry, withdraw thyself; thou bleed'st too much.
  3   Lord John of Lancaster, go you with him.

      LANCASTER
  4   Not I, my lord, unless I did bleed too.

      PRINCE HENRY
  5   I beseech your majesty, make up,
  6   Lest your retirement do amaze your friends.

      KING HENRY IV
  7   I will do so.
  8   My Lord of Westmoreland, lead him to his tent.

      WESTMORELAND
  9   Come, my lord, I'll lead you to your tent.

      PRINCE HENRY
 10   Lead me, my lord? I do not need your help:
 11   And God forbid a shallow scratch should drive
 12   The Prince of Wales from such a field as this,
 13   Where stain'd nobility lies trodden on,
 14   and rebels' arms triumph in massacres!

      LANCASTER
 15   We breathe too long: come, cousin Westmoreland,
 16   Our duty this way lies; for God's sake come.

           [Exeunt Prince John and Westmoreland.]

      PRINCE HENRY
 17   By God, thou hast deceived me, Lancaster;
 18   I did not think thee lord of such a spirit:
 19   Before, I loved thee as a brother, John;
 20   But now, I do respect thee as my soul.

      KING HENRY IV
 21   I saw him hold Lord Percy at the point
 22   With lustier maintenance than I did look for
 23   Of such an ungrown warrior.

      PRINCE HENRY
 23                                               O, this boy
 24   Lends mettle to us all!

           Exit.

           [Enter DOUGLAS.]

      EARL OF DOUGLAS
 25   Another king! they grow like Hydra's heads:
 26   I am the Douglas, fatal to all those
 27   That wear those colours on them: what art thou,
 28   That counterfeit'st the person of a king?

      KING HENRY IV
 29   The king himself; who, Douglas, grieves at heart
 30   So many of his shadows thou hast met
 31   And not the very King. I have two boys
 32   Seek Percy and thyself about the field:
 33   But, seeing thou fall'st on me so luckily,
 34   I will assay thee: so, defend thyself.

      EARL OF DOUGLAS
 35   I fear thou art another counterfeit;
 36   And yet, in faith, thou bear'st thee like a king:
 37   But mine I am sure thou art, whoe'er thou be,
 38   And thus I win thee.

           They fight.the King being in danger,
           enter PRINCE OF WALES.

      PRINCE HENRY
 39   Hold up thy head, vile Scot, or thou art like
 40   Never to hold it up again! the spirits
 41   Of valiant Shirley, Stafford, Blunt, are in my arms:
 42   It is the Prince of Wales that threatens thee;
 43   Who never promiseth but he means to pay.

 **         They fight: Douglas flieth.

 44   Cheerly, my lord how fares your grace?
 45   Sir Nicholas Gawsey hath for succor sent,
 46   And so hath Clifton: I'll to Clifton straight.

      KING HENRY IV
 47   Stay, and breathe awhile:
 48   Thou hast redeem'd thy lost opinion,
 49   And show'd thou mak'st some tender of my life,
 50   In this fair rescue thou hast brought to me.

      PRINCE HENRY
 51   O God! they did me too much injury
 52   That ever said I hearken'd for your death.
 53   If it were so, I might have let alone
 54   The insulting hand of Douglas over you,
 55   Which would have been as speedy in your end
 56   As all the poisonous potions in the world
 57   And saved the treacherous labour of your son.

      KING HENRY IV
 58   Make up to Clifton: I'll to Sir Nicholas Gawsey.

           Exit King.

           Enter HOTSPUR.

      HOTSPUR
 59   If I mistake not, thou art Harry Monmouth.

      PRINCE HENRY
 60   Thou speak'st as if I would deny my name.

      HOTSPUR
 61   My name is Harry Percy.

      PRINCE HENRY
 61                                       Why, then I see
 62   A very valiant rebel of the name.
 63   I am the Prince of Wales; and think not, Percy,
 64   To share with me in glory any more:
 65   Two stars keep not their motion in one sphere;
 66   Nor can one England brook a double reign,
 67   Of Harry Percy and the Prince of Wales.

      HOTSPUR
 68   Nor shall it, Harry; for the hour is come
 69   To end the one of us; and would to God
 70   Thy name in arms were now as great as mine!

      PRINCE HENRY
 71   I'll make it greater ere I part from thee;
 72   And all the budding honours on thy crest
 73   I'll crop, to make a garland for my head.

      HOTSPUR
 74   I can no longer brook thy vanities.

           They fight.

           Enter FALSTAFF.

      FALSTAFF
 75   Well said, Hal! to it Hal! Nay, you shall find
 76   no boy's play here, I can tell you.

           Enter DOUGLAS; he fighteth with Falstaff.
           He [Falstaff] falls down as if he were dead,
 **        [and exit Douglas]. The Prince killeth Percy.

      HOTSPUR
 77   O, Harry, thou hast robb'd me of my youth!
 78   I better brook the loss of brittle life
 79   Than those proud titles thou hast won of me;
 80   They wound my thoughts worse than sword my flesh:
 81   But thoughts, the slave of life, and life, time's fool;
 82   And time, that takes survey of all the world,
 83   Must have a stop. O, I could prophesy,
 84   But that the earthy and cold hand of death
 85   Lies on my tongue: no, Percy, thou art dust
 86   And food for—

 **        [Dies.]

      PRINCE HENRY
 87   For worms, brave Percy: fare thee well, great heart!
 88   Ill-weaved ambition, how much art thou shrunk!
 89   When that this body did contain a spirit,
 90   A kingdom for it was too small a bound;
 91   But now two paces of the vilest earth
 92   Is room enough: this earth that bears [thee] dead
 93   Bears not alive so stout a gentleman.
 94   If thou wert sensible of courtesy,
 95   I should not make so dear a show of zeal:
 96   But let my favours hide thy mangled face;
 97   And, even in thy behalf, I'll thank myself
 98   For doing these fair rites of tenderness.
 99   Adieu, and take thy praise with thee to heaven!
100   Thy ignominy sleep with thee in the grave,
101   But not remember'd in thy epitaph!

           He spieth Falstaff on the ground.

102   What, old acquaintance! could not all this flesh
103   Keep in a little life? Poor Jack, farewell!
104   I could have better spared a better man:
105   O, I should have a heavy miss of thee,
106   If I were much in love with vanity!
107   Death hath not struck so fat a deer to-day,
108   Though many dearer, in this bloody fray.
109   Embowell'd will I see thee by and by:
110   Till then in blood by noble Percy lie.

           Exit. Falstaff riseth up

      FALSTAFF
111   [Rising up] Embowelled! if thou embowel me to-day,
112   I'll give you leave to powder me and eat me too tomorrow.
113   'Sblood,'twas time to counterfeit, or that hot termagant
114   Scot had paid me scot and lot too. Counterfeit? I lie,
115   I am no counterfeit: to die, is to be a counterfeit; for
116   he is but the counterfeit of a man who hath not the
117   life of a man: but to counterfeit dying, when a man
118   thereby liveth, is to be no counterfeit, but the true
119   and perfect image of life indeed. The better part of
120   valour is discretion; in the which better part I have
121   saved my life.'Zounds, I am afraid of this gunpowder
122   Percy, though he be dead: how, if he should counterfeit
123   too and rise? by my faith, I am afraid he would
124   prove the better counterfeit. Therefore I'll make
125   him sure; yea, and I'll swear I killed him. Why
126   may not he rise as well as I? Nothing confutes
127   me but eyes, and nobody sees me. Therefore,
128   sirrah,

           [Stabbing him.]

129   with a new wound in your thigh, come you along with me.

           He takes up Hotspur on his back.

           Enter PRINCE [and]
           JOHN OF LANCASTER.

      PRINCE HENRY
130   Come, brother John; full bravely hast thou flesh'd
131   Thy maiden sword.

      LANCASTER
131                               But, soft! whom have we here?
132   Did you not tell me this fat man was dead?

      PRINCE HENRY
133   I did; I saw him dead,
134   Breathless and bleeding on the ground. Art thou alive?
135   Or is it fantasy that plays upon our eyesight?
136   I prithee, speak; we will not trust our eyes
137   Without our ears: thou art not what thou seem'st.

      FALSTAFF
138   No, that's certain; I am not a double man: but if I be
139   not Jack Falstaff, then am I a Jack. There is Percy:

           [Throwing the body down.]

140   if your father will do me any honour, so;
141   if not, let him kill the next Percy himself.
142   I look to be either earl or duke, I can assure
143   you.

      PRINCE HENRY
144   Why, Percy I killed myself and saw thee dead.

      FALSTAFF
145   Didst thou? Lord, Lord, how this world is given to
146   lying! I grant you I was down and out of breath;
147   and so was he: but we rose both at an instant and
148   fought a long hour by Shrewsbury clock. If I may
149   be believed, so; if not, let them that should reward
150   valour bear the sin upon their own heads. I'll take
151   it upon my death, I gave him this wound in the thigh:
152   if the man were alive and would deny it, 'zounds,
153   I would make him eat a piece of my sword.

      LANCASTER
154   This is the strangest tale that ever I heard.

      PRINCE HENRY
155   This is the strangest fellow, brother John.
156   Come, bring your luggage nobly on your back:
157   For my part, if a lie may do thee grace,
158   I'll gild it with the happiest terms I have.

***        A retrait is sounded.

159   The trumpet sounds retreat; the day is our.
160   Come, brother, let us to the highest of the field,
161   To see what friends are living, who are dead.

           Exeunt [Prince and Lancaster].

      FALSTAFF
162   I'll follow, as they say, for reward. He that rewards
163   me, God reward him! If I do grow great, I'll grow
164   less; for I'll purge, and leave sack, and live cleanly
165   as a nobleman should do.

           Exit.