Page. Sir? Fal. What money is in my purse? Page. Seven groats and two-pence. Fal. I can get no remedy against this consumption of the purse borrowing only lingers and lingers it out, but the disease is incurable.-Go bear this letter to my lord of Lancaster; this to the prince; this to the earl of Westmoreland; and this to old mistress Ursula, whom I have weekly sworn to marry since I perceived the first white hair on my chin: About it; you know where to find me. [Exit Page.] A pox of this gout! or, a gout of this pox! for the one, or the other, plays the rogue with my great toe. It is no matter, if I do halt; I have the wars for my colour, and my pension shall seem the more reasonable: A good wit will make use of any thing; I will turn diseases to commodity. [Exit. SCENE III. York. A Room in the Archbishop's Palace. Enter the Archbishop of York, the Lords HASTINGS, MOWBRAY and BARDOLph. Arch. Thus have you heard our cause, and known our means; And, my most noble friends, I pray you all, Mow. I well allow the occasion of our arms; How, in our means, we should advance ourselves Bard. The question then, lord Hastings, standeth thus ; Hast. With him, we may. Bard. Ay, marry, there's the point; For, in a theme so bloody-fac'd as this, Of aids uncertain, should not be admitted. Arch. "Tis very true, lord Bardolph; for, indeed, It was young Hotspur's case at Shrewsbury. Bard. It was, my lord; who lin'd himself with hope, Eating the air on promise of supply, Flattering himself with project of a power Much smaller than the smallest of his thoughts: And so, with great imagination, Proper to madmen, led his powers to death, Hast. But, by your leave, it never yet did hurt, We see th' appearing buds; which, to prove fruit, That frosts will bite them. When we mean to build, We first survey the plot, then draw the model; What do we then, but draw anew the model To build at all? Much more, in this great work, Question surveyors; know our own estate, Like one, that draws the model of a house Beyond his power to build it; who, half through, A naked subject to the weeping clouds, And waste for churlish winter's tyranny. Hast. Grant, that our hopes (yet likely of fair birth.) Should be still-born, and that we now possess'd (5) i. e. which turned out to be much smaller. MUSGRAVE The utmost man of expectation; I think, we are a body strong enough, Bard. What! is the king but five and twenty thousand? Hast. To us, no more; nay, not so much, lord Bardolph. For his divisions, as the times do brawl, Are in three heads: one power against the French, In three divided; and his coffers sound With hollow poverty and emptiness. Arch. That he should draw his several strengths together, And come against us in full puissance, Need not be dreaded. Hast. If he should do so, He leaves his back unarm'd, the French and Welsh Bard. Who, is it like, should lead his forces hither? I have no certain notice. Arch. Let us on; And publish the occasion of our arms. The commonwealth is sick of their own choice, An habitation giddy and unsure Hath he, that buildeth on the vulgar heart. And howl'st to find it. What trust is in these times ? And take thou this! O thoughts of men accurst! ACT II. SCENE 1-London. A Street. Enter Hostess; Fang, and his Boy, with her; and SNARE following. Host. Master Fang, have you entered the action? Host. Where is your yeoman? Is it a lusty yeoman? will a' stand to't? Fang. Sirrah, where's Snare? Host. O Lord, ay: good master Snare. Snare. Here, here. Fang. Snare, we must arrest sir John Falstaff. Host. Yea, good master Snare; I have entered him and all. Snare. It may chance cost some of us our lives, for he will stab. Host. Alas the day! take heed of him; he stabbed me in mine own house, and that most beastly in good faith, a' cares not what mischief he doth, if his weapon be out: he will foin like any devil; he will spare neither man, woman, nor child. Fang. If I can close with him, I care not for his thrust. Host. No, nor I neither: I'll be at your elbow. * Fang. An I but fist him once; an a' come but within my vice ; Host. I am undone by his going; I warrant you, he's an 'infinite thing upon my score:-Good master Fang, hold him sure;-good master Snare, let him not 'scape. He comes continuantly to Pie-corner, (saving your manhoods,) to buy a saddle; and he's indited to dinner to the Jubbar's head' in Lumbert-street, to master Smooth's the silk man: I pray ye, since my exion is entered, and my case so openly known to the world, let him be brought in to his answer. A hundred mark is a long loan for a poor lone woman to bear and I have borne, and borne, : [3] Vice or grasp; a metaphor taken from a smith's vice. POPE. JOHS. and borne; and have been fubbed off, and fubbed off, and fubbed off, from this day to that day, that it is a shame to be thought on. There is no honesty in such dealing; unless a woman should be made an ass, and a beast, to bear every knave's wrong. Enter Sir JOHN FALSTAFF, Page, and BARDOLPH. Yonder he comes; and that arrant malmsey-noses knave, Bardolph, with him. Do your offices, do your offices, master Fang, and master Snare; do me, do me, do me your offices. Fal. How now? whose mare's dead? what's the matter? Fang. Sir John, I arrest you at the suit of mistress Quickly. Fal. Away, varlets!-Draw, Bardolph; cut me off the villain's head; throw the quean in the channel. Host. Throw me in the channel? I'll throw thee in the channel. Wilt thou wilt thou? thou bastardly rogue! ---Murder, murder! O thou honey-suckle villain! wilt thou kill God's officers, and the king's? O thou honeyseed rogue ! thou art a honey-seed; a man-queller, and a woman-queller." Fal. Keep them off, Bardolph. Fang. A rescue! a rescue! Host. Good people, bring a rescue or two.-Thou wo't, wo't thou? thou wo't, wo't thou? do, do, thou rogue do, thou hemp-seed! Fal. Away, you scullion! you rampallian! you fustilarian! I'll tickle your catastrophe. Enter the Lord Chief Justice, attended. Ch. Just. What's the matter? keep the peace here, hol Host. Good my lord, be good to me! I beseech you, stand to me! Ch. Just. How now, sir John? what, are you brawling here? Doth this become your place, your time, and business? [5] i. e. red nose, from the effect of malmsey wine. JOHNSON. [6] Honey-suckle villain, honey-seed rogue-the lanlady's corruption of homicidal and homicide. THEOBALD. [7] Wickliff in his Translation of the New-Testament, uses this word for Carnifex, Mark vi. 27. Herod sent a man queller, and commanded his head to he brought." STEEVENS. |