The beaten Douglas; and the earls

Of Athol, Murray, Angus, and Menteith.
And is not this an honourable spoil?

A gallant prize? ha, coufin, is it not?

Weft. 'Faith, 'tis a conqueft for a prince to boast of. K. Henry. Yea, there thou mak'ft me fad, and mak'st me fin

In envy that my lord Northumberland
Should be the father of fo bleft a fon :
A fon, who is the theme of honour's tongue;
Amongst a grove, the very straitest plant ;
Who is sweet fortune's minion, and her pride:
Whilft I, by looking on the praise of him,
See riot and difhonour ftain the brow

Of my young Harry. O, that it could be prov'd,
That fome night-tripping fairy had exchang'd
In cradle-cloths our children where they lay,
And call'd mine-Percy, his-Plantagenet !
Then would I have his Harry, and he mine.
But let him from my thoughts :-What think you, coz
Of this young Percy's pride? the prisoners,

Which he in this adventure hath furpriz'd,

To his own use he keeps; and fends me word,
I fhall have none but Mordake earl of Fife.

Weft. This is his uncle's teaching, this is Worcester, Malevolent to you in all aspects;

Which makes him 'prune himself, and bristle up
The crest of youth against your dignity.

K. Henry. But I have fent for him to anfwer this;
And, for this cause, a while we must neglect
Our holy purpose to Jerufalem.

1 prune bimself,]-pick and fleek his feathers; put on a fair outside. - or spend a minute's time

"In pruning me?”

LOVE'S LABOUR LOST, Vol. I. p. 582. Biron.

Coufin,

Coufin, on Wednesday next our council we
Will hold at Windfor, fo inform the lords:
But come yourself with speed to us again;
For more is to be faid, and to be done,
Than" out of anger can be uttered.
Weft. I will, my liege.

SCENE II.

An Apartment belonging to the Prince.

[Exeunt.

Enter Henry, Prince of Wales, and Sir John Falstaff. Fal. Now, Hal, what time of day is it, lad?

P. Henry. Thou art fo fat-witted, with drinking of old fack, and unbuttoning thee after fupper, and fleeping upon benches after-noon, that thou haft forgotten to demand that "truly which thou would't truly know. What a devil haft thou to do with the time of the day? unless nours were cups of fack, and minutes capons, and clocks the tongues of bawds, and dials the figns of leapinghouses, and the bleffed fun himself a fair hot wench in flame-colour'd taffata; I fee no reason, why thou should'st be fo fuperfluous to demand the time of the day.

Fal. Indeed, you come near me now, Hal: for we, that take purses, go by the moon and seven stars; and not by Phoebus,-he, that wand'ring knight so fair. And, I pray thee, fweet wag, when thou art king,-as, God fave thy grace, (majefty, I fhould fay; for grace thou wilt have none.)

P. Henry. What! none?

Fal. No, by my troth; not fo much as will ferve to be prologue to an egg and butter.

out of anger can be uttered.]—can iffue from my mind, whilft thus incensed at Percy's conduct.

truly]-with propriety.

P. Henry. Well, how then? come, roundly, roundly. Fal. Marry, then, fweet wag, when thou art king, let not us, that are fquires of the night's body, be call'd thieves of the day's beauty; let us be-Diana's foresters, gentlemen of the fhade, minions of the moon: And let inen say, we be men of good government; being govern'd as the fea is, by our noble and chafte miftrefs the moon, under whose countenance we —steal.

;

P. Henry. Thou fay'ft well; and it holds well for the fortune of us, that are the moon's men, doth ebb and flow like the fea; being govern'd as the fea is, by the moon. As, for proof, now: A purse of gold most resolutely fnatch'd on Monday night, and moft diffolutely spent on Tuesday morning; got with fwearing-Play by; and fpent with crying- bring in: now, in as low an ebb as the foot of the ladder; and, by and by, in as high a flow as the ridge of the gallows.

Fal. By the lord, thou fay'st true, lad. And is not my hoftefs of the tavern a moft fweet wench?

P. Henry. As the honey of Hybla, my old lad of the castle. And is not a buff jerkin a most sweet robe of durance?

Fal. How now, how now, mad wag? what, in thy quips, and thy quiddities? what a plague have I to do with a buff jerkin?

P. Henry. Why, what a pox have I to do with my hoftefs of the tavern?

be call'd thieves of the day's beauty ;]-be ftigmatiz'd as robbers in the open day.-the day's looty. Play by ]-stand still, stop.

a bring in:]-more wine.

r

my old lad of the cafle.]-Sir John Oldcastle, a character fomewhat fimilar to this of Falstaff, in the old play of Henry V. is here very probably alluded to.-old lad of Caftile.

buff jerkin]-the drefs of a bailiff, or fheriff's officer.
in thy quips, and thy quiddities ?]-in thy fatirical vein.

Fal.

Fal. Well, thou haft call'd her to a reckoning, many a time and oft.

P. Henry. Did I ever call thee to pay thy part?

Fal. No; I'll give thee thy due, thou haft paid all there.

P. Henry. Yea, and elsewhere, fo far as my coin would ftretch; and, where it would not, I have us'd my credit.

Fal. Yea, and fo us'd it, that, were it not here apparent that thou art heir apparent,-But, I pr'ythee, sweet wag, fhall there be gallows ftanding in England when thou art king? and refolution thus fobb'd as it is, with the rusty curb of old father antick the law? Do not thou, when thou art king, hang a thief.

P. Henry. No; thou fhalt.

Fal. Shall I? O rare! By the Lord, I'll be a brave judge.

P. Henry. Thou judgeft falfe already: I mean, thou fhalt have the hanging of the thieves, and fo become a rare hangman.

Fal. Well, Hal, well; and in fome fort it jumps with my humour, as well as waiting in the court, I can tell

you.

P. Henry. For obtaining of "fuits?

Fal. Yea, for obtaining of "fuits; whereof the hangman hath no lean wardrobe.

W

'Sblood, I am as melan

choly as a gib cat, or a lugg'd bear.

P. Henry. Or an old lion; or a lover's lute.

Fal. Yea, or the drone of a Lincolnshire bagpipe. P. Henry. What fay'ft thou to a hare, or the melancholy of Moor-ditch?

"fuits?-(Pun petitions, and fuits of chaths.

W

a gib cat,]—a ram cat, juft return'd from his nightly excurfions. -a gelt one.

a bare, or the melancholy of Moor-ditch ?]--fitting folitary on her form; Moorfields was a part of London formerly but little frequented.

Hh 4

Fal.

y

Fal. Thou haft the most unfavoury fimilies; and art, indeed, the most comparative, rafcallieft,-fweet young prince, But, Hal, I pr'ythee, trouble me no more with vanity. I would to God, thou and I knew where a com- : modity of good names were to be bought: An old lord of the council rated me the other day in the street about you, fir; but I mark'd him not: and yet he talk'd very wifely; but I regarded him not: and yet he talk'd wifely, and in the street too.

P

P. Henry. Thou did't well; for wifdom cries out in the streets, and no man regards it.

Fal. O, thou haft damnable iteration; and art, indeed, able to corrupt a faint. Thou hast done much harm upon me, Hal,-God forgive thee for it! Before I knew thee, Hal, I knew nothing; and now am I, if a man should speak truly, little better than one of the wicked. I must give over this life, and I will give it over; by the lord, an I do not, I am a villain; I'll be damn'd for never a king's fon in Christendom.

P. Henry. Where fhall we take a purse to-morrow, Jack? Fal. Where thou wilt, lad, I'll make one; an I do not, call me villain, and baffle me.

a

P. Henry. I fee a good amendment of life in thee; from praying, to purse-taking.

Fal. Why, Hal, 'tis my vocation, Hal; 'tis no fin for e man to labour in his vocation. Poins !-Now fhall we know, if Gadfhill have fet a match. O, if men were to be fav'd by merit, what hole in hell were hot enough for him?

y comparative, full of comparisons.

z iteration;-knack at repeating texts of fcripture.

and baffle me.]-and treat me with the utmoft ignominy.

b a match.]-made any appointment, formed any fcheme for the high way; fet a watch-kept a good look out.

Enter