Hot. And I can teach thee, coz, to shame the devil, By telling truth; Tell truth, and shame the devil.-If thou have power to raise him, bring him hither, And I'll be sworn, I have power to shame him hence. O, while you live, tell truth, and shame the devil. Mort. Come, come,

No more of this unprofitable chat.

Glend. Three times hath Henry Bolingbroke made head Against my power: thrice from the banks of Wye, And sandy-bottom'd Severn, have I sent him, Bootless home, and weather-beaten back.

Hot. Home without boots, and in foul weather too! How 'scapes he agues, in the devil's name?

Glend. Come, here's the map; shall we divide our right,

According to our three-fold order ta'en?

Mort. The archdeacon hath divided it
Into three limits, very equally :

England, from Trent and Severn hitherto,7
By south and east, is to my part assign'd:
All westward, Wales beyond the Severn shore,
And all the fertile land within that bound,
To Owen Glendower :-and, dear coz, to you
The remnant northward, lying off from Trent.
And our indentures tripartite are drawn:
Which being sealed interchangeably,
(A business that this night may execute,)
To-morrow, cousin Percy, you, and 1,

And my good lord of Worcester, will set forth,
To meet your father, and the Scottish power,
As is appointed us, at Shrewsbury.

My father Glendower is not ready yet,

Nor shall we need his help these fourteen days :Within that space, [To GLEND.] you may have drawn

together

Your tenants, friends, and neighbouring gentlemen.
Glend. A shorter time shall send me to you, lords,

And in my conduct shall your ladies come:

From whom you now must steal, and take no leave ;
For there will be a world of water shed,
Upon the parting of your wives and you.

Hot. Methinks, my moiety, north from Burton here,

(7) i. e. to this spot (pointing to the map) MAL.

(8) A moiety was frequently used by the writers of Shakspeare's age, as a portion of any thing, though not divided into two equal parts.

MAL.

In quantity equals not one of yours:
See, how this river comes me cranking in,
And cuts me, from the best of all my land,
A huge half moon, a monstrous cantle out.9
I'll have the current in this place damm'd up;
And here the smug and silver Trent shall run,
In a new channel, fair and evenly:

'It shall not wind with such a deep indent,

To rob me of so rich a bottom here.

Glend. Not wind? it shall, it must; you see, it doth.
Mort. Yea,

But mark, how he bears his course, and runs me up
With like advantage on the other side;

Gelding the opposed continent as much,

As on the other side it takes from you.

Wor. Yea, but a little charge will trench him here, And on this north side win this cape of land;

And then he runs straight and even.

Hot. I'll have it so; a little charge will do it.
Glend. I will not have it alter'd.

Hot. Will not you?

Glend. No, nor you shall not.

Hot. Who shall say me nay?

Glend. Why, that will I.

Hot. Let me not understand you then,

Speak it in Welsh.

Glend. I can speak English, lord, as well as you; For I was train'd up in the English court :"

Where, being but young, I framed to the harp

Many an English ditty, lovely well,

And gave the tongue 2 a helpful ornament;

A virtue that was never seen in you.

Hot. Marry, and I'm glad of it with all my heart ;

I had rather be a kitten, and cry-mew,

Than one of these same metre ballad-mongers:

I had rather hear a brazen canstick turn'd,3

Or a dry wheel grate on an axle-tree;

(9) A cantle is a corner, or piece of any thing.--Canton, Fr. canto, Ital. signify a corner. STEEV.

(1) Owen Glendower whose real name was Owen ap-Gryffyth Vaughan, took the name of Glyndour or Glendower from the lordship of Glyndourdwy, of which he was owner. He was crowned Prince of Wales in the year 1402, and for near twelve years was a very formidable enemy to the English. He died in great distress in 415. MAL. (2) The English language. JOHN. (3) The word candlestick, which destroys the harmony of the line is writ ten canstick in the quartos, and so it was pronounced. STEEV.

And that would set my teeth nothing on edge,
Nothing so much as mincing poetry;
'Tis like the forc'd gait of a shuffling nag.

Glend. Come, you shall have Trent turn'd.

Hot. I do not care: I'll give thrice so much land To any well-deserving friend;

But, in the way of bargain, mark ye me,

I'll cavil on the ninth part of a hair.

Are the indentures drawn? shall we be gone?

Glend. The moon shines fair, you may away by night: I'll haste the writer, and, withal,

4

Break with your wives of your departure hence:

I am afraid, my daughter will run mad,
So much she doateth on her Mortimer.

[Exit.

Mort. Fye, cousin Percy! how you cross my father!
Hot. I cannot choose: sometimes he angers me,

With telling me of the moldwarp and the ant, 5
Of the dreamer Merlin and his prophecies;
And of a dragon and a finless fish,

A clip-wing'd griffin, and a moulten raven,
A couching lion, and a ramping cat,

And such a deal of skimble-skamble stuff

As puts me from my faith. I tell you what,-
He held me, but last night, at least nine hours,

In reckoning up the several devils' names,

That were his lackeys: I cried, humph,-and well,go to, 6

But mark'd him not a word. O, he's as tedious
As is a tired horse, a railing wife;

Worse than a smoky house :-I had rather live
With cheese and garlick, in a windmill, far,
Than feed on cates, and have him talk to me,
In any summer-house in Christendom.

Mort. In faith, he is a worthy gentleman;
Exceedingly well read, and profited

In strange concealments;7 valiant as a lion,
And wond'rous affable; and as bountiful
As mines of India. Shall I tell you, cousin?
He holds your temper in a high respect,

(4) He means the writer of the articles. POPE.

(5) This alludes to an old prophesy, which is said to have induced Owen Glendower to take arms against king Henry. POPE.

(6) These two senseless monosyllables seem to have been added by some foolish player, purposely to destroy the mesure. RITSON.

(7) Skilled in wonderful secrets. JOHNS.

And curbs himself even of his natural scope,
When you do cross his humour; 'faith, he does :
I warrant you, that man is not alive,

Might so have tempted him as you have done,
Without the taste of danger and reproof;
But do not use it oft, let me entreat you.

Wor. In faith, my lord, you are too wilful-blame ;*
And since your coming hither have done enough
To put him quite beside his patience.

You must needs learn, lord, to amend this fault:
Though sometimes it show greatness, courage, blood,
(And that's the dearest grace it renders you,)
Yet oftentimes it doth present harsh rage,
Defect of manners, want of government,
Pride, haughtiness, opinion, and disdain :
The least of which, haunting a nobleman,

Loseth men's hearts; and leaves behind a stain
Upon the beauty of all parts besides,

Beguiling them of commendation.

Hot. Well, I am school'd; good manners be your speed!

Here come our wives, and let us take our leave.

Re-enter GLENDOWER, with the ladies.

Mort. This is the deadly spite that angers me,My wife can speak no English, I no Welsh.

Glen. My daughter weeps; she will not part with you, She'll be a soldier too, she'll to the wars.

Mort. Good father, tell her,—that she, and my aunt Percy,

Shall follow in your conduct speedily.

[GLENDOWER speaks to his daughter in Welsh, and she answers him in the same.

Glend. She's desperate here; a peevish self-will'd harlotry,

One no persuasion can do good upon.

[Lady M. speaks to MORTIMER in Welsh. Mort. I understand thy looks: that pretty Welsh Which thou pourest down from these swelling heavens, I am too perfect in; and, but for shame,

In such a parley would I answer thee. [LadyM.speaks.

I understand thy kisses, and thou mine,

(8) This is a more of speech with which I am not acquainted. Perhaps it might be read, too wilful-blunt, or, too wilful bent.

JOHNS.

And that's a feeling disputation :

But I will never be a truant, love,

Till I have learn'd thy language; for thy tongue
Makes Welsh as sweet as ditties highly penn'd,
Sung by a fair queen in a summer's bower,
With ravishing division, to her lute.

Glend. Nay, if you melt, then will she run mad.
[Lady M. speaks again.
Mort. O, I am ignorance itself in this.
Glend. She bids you,

Upon the wanton rushes lay you down, 9
And rest your gentle head upon her lap,
And she will sing the song that pleaseth you,
And on your eye-lids crown the god of sleep,
Charming your blood with pleasing heaviness;
Making such difference 'twixt wake and sleep,'
As is the difference betwixt day and night,
The hour before the heavenly-harness'd team
Begins his golden progress in the east.

Mort. With all my heart I'll sit, and hear her sing:
By that time will our book, I think, be drawn.
Glend. Do so;

And those musicians that shall play to you,

Hang in the air a thousand leagues from hence;
Yet straight they shall be here: sit, and attend.

Hot. Come, Kate, thou art perfect in lying down: Come, quick, quick; that I may lay my head in thy lap. Lady P. Go, ye giddy goose.

[GLENDOWER speaks some Welsh words, and then the music plays.

Hot. Now I perceive, the devil understands Welsh ; And 'tis no marvel, he's so humorous.

By'r-lady, he's a good musician.

Lady P. Then should you be nothing but musical; for you are altogether governed by humours. Lie still, ye thief, and hear the lady sing in Welsh.

Hot. I had rather hear Lady, my brach, howl in Irish.
Lady P. Would'st thou have thy head broken?
Hot. No.

[9] It was the custom in this country, for many ages to strew the floors with rushes, as we now cover them with carpets. JOHNS

[] She will lull you by her song into soft tranquillity, in which you shall be so near to sleep as to be free from perturbation, and so much awake as to be sensible of pleasure; a state partaking of sleep and wakefulness, as the twilight of night and day. JOHN, [2] Our paper conditions. JOHN..