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Broke oath on oath, committed wrong on wrong,
And in conclusion drove us to seek out
This head of safety; and withal to pry
Into his title, the which we find

Too indirect for long continuance.

Blunt. Shall I return this answer to the king?
Hot. Not so, Sir Walter: we'll withdraw awhile.
Go to the king; and let there be impawn'd
Some surety for a safe return again,
And in the morning early shall my uncle
Bring him our purposes: and so farewell.

Blunt. I would you would accept of grace and love.

Hot. And may be so we shall.

110

Blunt.

Pray God you do.

[Exeunt.

SCENE IV. York. The ARCHBISHOP's palace.

Enter the ARCHBISHOP OF YORK and SIR
MICHAEL.

Arch. Hie, good Sir Michael; bear this sealed brief

With winged haste to the lord marshal;

This to my cousin Scroop, and all the rest

To whom they are directed. If you knew

How much they do import, you would make

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Arch.

Like enough you do.

To-morrow, good Sir Michael, is a day
Wherein the fortune of ten thousand men
Must bide the touch; for, sir, at Shrewsbury,
As I am truly given to understand,

The king with mighty and quick-raised power
Meets with Lord Harry: and, I fear, Sir Michael,
What with the sickness of Northumberland,
Whose power was in the first proportion,

And what with Owen Glendower's absence thence,
Who with them was a rated sinew too

And comes not in, o'er-ruled by prophecies,
I fear the power of Percy is too weak

To wage an instant trial with the king.

Sir M. Why, my good lord, you need not fear;

There is Douglas and Lord Mortimer.

Arch. No, Mortimer is not there.

Sir M. But there is Mordake, Vernon, Lord
Harry Percy,

And there is my Lord of Worcester and a head
Of gallant warriors, noble gentlemen.

Arch. And so there is: but yet the king hath
drawn

The special head of all the land together :
The Prince of Wales, Lord John of Lancaster,
The noble Westmoreland and warlike Blunt ;
And many moe corrivals and dear men
Of estimation and command in arms.

Sir M. Doubt not, my lord, they shall be well
opposed.

Arch. I hope no less, yet needful 'tis to fear; And, to prevent the worst, Sir Michael, speed:

17. a rated sinew, an expected

source of strength.

31. corrivals, associates.

10

20

30

31. dear men of estimation, men of dear estimation.

For if Lord Percy thrive not, ere the king X Dismiss his power, he means to visit us,

For he hath heard of our confederacy,

And 'tis but wisdom to make strong against him :
Therefore make haste. I must go write again
To other friends; and so farewell, Sir Michael.

[Exeunt.

40

ACT V.

SCENE I. The KING'S camp near Shrewsbury.

Enter the KING, Prince of Wales, Lord John
OF LANCASTER, SIR WALTER BLUNT, and
FALSTAFF.

King. How bloodily the sun begins to peer
Above yon busky hill! the day looks pale
At his distemperature.

Prince.

The southern wind

Doth play the trumpet to his purposes,
And by his hollow whistling in the leaves
Foretells a tempest and a blustering day.

King. Then with the losers let it sympathise,
For nothing can seem foul to those that win.

[The trumpet sounds.

Enter WORCESTER and VERNON.

How now, my Lord of Worcester! 'tis not well
That you and I should meet upon such terms

Sc. 1. Qq and Ff include the
Earl of Westmoreland among
the persons; but it appears
from v. 2. 29-31 that he was in

10

the rebel camp as a hostage till the return of Worcester.

2. busky, wooded, bosky. 4. his, the sun's.

As now we meet.

You have deceived our trust,
And made us doff our easy robes of peace,
To crush our old limbs in ungentle steel:
This is not well, my lord, this is not well.
What say you to it? will you again unknit
This churlish knot of all-abhorred war?
And move in that obedient orb again
Where you did give a fair and natural light,
And be no more an exhaled meteor,

A prodigy of fear and a portent

Of broached mischief to the unborn times?
Wor. Hear me, my liege:

For mine own part, I could be well content
To entertain the lag-end of my life

With quiet hours; for I do protest,

I have not sought the day of this dislike.

King. You have not sought it? how comes it,
then?

Fal. Rebellion lay in his way, and he found it.
Prince. Peace, chewet, peace!

Wor. It pleased your majesty to turn your looks

Of favour from myself and all our house;
And yet I must remember you, my lord,
We were the first and dearest of your friends.
For you my staff of office did I break

In Richard's time; and posted day and night
To meet you on the way, and kiss your hand,
When yet you were in place and in account
Nothing so strong and fortunate as I.

It was myself, my brother and his son,

That brought you home and boldly did outdare 17. orb, orbit.

19. exhaled, drawn up (as a vapour by the sun; the sixteenth-century theory of the origin of meteors).

24. entertain, occupy.

20

30

40

29. chewet, jackdaw, chatterer ('chouette').

32. remember, remind.

The dangers of the time. You swore to us,
And you did swear that oath at Doncaster,
That you did nothing purpose 'gainst the state;
Nor claim no further than your new-fall'n right,
The seat of Gaunt, dukedom of Lancaster:
To this we swore our aid. But in short space
It rain'd down fortune showering on your head;
And such a flood of greatness fell on you,
What with our help, what with the absent king,
What with the injuries of a wanton time,
The seeming sufferances that you had borne,
And the contrarious winds that held the king
So long in his unlucky Irish wars

That all in England did repute him dead :
And from this swarm of fair advantages
You took occasion to be quickly woo'd
To gripe the general sway into your hand;
Forgot your oath to us at Doncaster ;
And being fed by us you used us so
As that ungentle gull, the cuckoo's bird,
Useth the sparrow; did oppress our nest;
Grew by our feeding to so great a bulk

That even our love durst not come near your

sight

For fear of swallowing; but with nimble wing
We were enforced, for safety sake, to fly
Out of your sight and raise this present head;
Whereby we stand opposed by such means
As you yourself have forged against yourself
By unkind usage, dangerous countenance,
And violation of all faith and troth

Sworn to us in your younger enterprise.

King. These things indeed you have articulate,

51. sufferances, sufferings.

60. gull, unfledged bird.

ib. the cuckoo's bird, the

young cuckoo.

50

60

72. articulate, drawn out in articles.

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