than speak; and fpeak fooner than think; and think fooner than pray, and yet I, for they pray continually unto their Saint the Common-wealth; or rather, not pray to her, but pro on her; for they ride and down on her, and make her their boots. Cham. What, the common-wealth their boots? will fhe hold out water in foul way?

up

2

Gads. She will, fhe will; juftice hath liquor'd her. We fteal as in a caftle, cock-fire; we have the receipt of Fern feed, we walk invifible.

Cham. Nay, I think rather, you are more beholden to the night, than the Fern-feed, for your walking invifible.

Gads. Give me thy hand: thou shalt have a share in our purchase, as I am a true man.

Cham. Nay, rather let me have it, as you are a falfe thief.

Gads. Go to, *Homo is a common name to all men. --Bid the oftler bring my Gelding out of the ftable. Farewel, ye muddy knave.

2 She will, he will; justice bath liquor'd her.] A Satire on chicane, in courts of justice; which fupports ill men in their violations of the law, under the very cover of it. WARBURTON. 3 -we have the receipt of Fern-feed, Fern is one of thofe plants which have their feed on the back of the leaf fo fmall as to escape the fight. Those who perceived that fern was propagated by femination and yet could never fee the feed, were much at a lofs for a folution of the difficulty; and as

[Exeunt.

wonder always endeavours to augment itself, they afcribed to Fern-feed many ftrange properties, fome of which the ruftick virgins have not yet forgotten or exploded.

Homo is a name, &c.] Gadshill had promifed as he was a true man, the chamberlain wills him to promife rather as he is a false thief; to which Gadskill anfwers, that though he might have reafon to change the word true, he might have fpared man, for bomo is a name common to all men, and among others to thieves.

SCENE

Poins.

velvet.

SCENE III.

Changes the Highway.

Enter Prince Heary, Poins, and Peto.

OME, fhelter, fhelter. I have removed
Falstaff's horfe, and he frets like a gumm'd

COM

P. Henry. Stand clofe.

Enter Falftaff.

Fal. Poins, Poins, and be hanged, Poins! P. Henry. Peace, ye fat kidney'd rafcal, what a brawling doft thou keep?

Fal. What, Poins! Hal!

P. Henry. He is walk'd up to the top of the hill, I'll go feek him.

4

Fal. I am accurft to rob in that thief's company: the rascal hath remov'd my horfe, and ty'd him, I know not where. If I travel but four foot by the square farther afoot, I fhall break my wind. Well, I doubt not but to die a fair death for all this, if I'fcape hanging for killing that rogue. I have forfworn his company hourly any time this two and twenty year, and yet I am bewitch'd with the rogue's company. If the rafcal have not given me medicines to make me love him, I'll be hang'd; it could not be elfe; I have drunk medicines. Poins! Hal! a Plague upon you

-four foot by the fquare] The thought is humourous, and alludes to his bulk: Infinuating, that his legs being four foot afunder, when he advanced four foot, this put together made four foot quare.

fo much humour here as is fufpected: four for by the Square is probably no more than four foot by a rule.

love him,] WARBURTON. gar notion

I am in doubt whether there is

medicines to make me Alluding to the vulof love-powder.

both.

both. Bardolph! Peto! I'll starve, ere I'll rob a foot further. An 'twere not as good a deed as to drink, to turn true man, and to leave these rogues, I am the veriest varlet that ever chew'd with a tooth. Eight yards of uneven ground, is threefcore and ten miles afoot with me; and the ftony-hearted villains know it well enough. A plague upon't, when thieves cannot be true one to another. [They whistle.] Whew! a plague upon you all. Give me my horfe; you rogues, give me my horse, and be hang'd.

P. Henry. Peace, ye fat guts! lye down, lay thine ear close to the ground, and lift if thou canst hear the tread of travellers.

Fal. Have you any levers to lift me up again, being down? 'Sblood, I'll not bear mine own flesh so far afoot again, for all the coin in thy father's exchequer. What a plague mean ye, 7 to colt me thus ?

P. Henry. Thou lieft, thou art not colted, thou art uncolted.

Fal. I pr'ythee, good Prince Hal, help me to my horfe, good King's fon.

P. Henry. Out, you rogue! fhall I be your oftler? Fal. Go hang thy felf in thy own heir-apparent garters; if I be ta'en, I'll peach for this. An I have not ballads made on you all, and fung to filthy tunes, let a cup of fack be my poison. When a jeft is fo forward,

and afoot too!-I hate it.

Enter Gads-hill.

Gads. Stand,
Fal. So I do against my will.

6 roh a foot further.] This is only a flight errour which yet has run through all the copies. We should read rub a foot. So we now fay rub on.

7 To calt is, to fool, to trick, but the prince taking it in an

other fenfe oppofes it by uncelt, that is, unhofe.

8

heir-apparent garters;] Alluding to the order of the garter, in which he was enrolled as heir apparent.

Poins. O, 'tis our Setter, I know his voice. 9 Bardolph.-What news?

Gads. Cafe ye, cafe ye; on with your visors; there's mony of the King's coming down the hill, 'tis going to the King's Exchequer.

Fal. You lie, you rogue, 'tis going to the King's

tavern.

Gads. There's enough to make us all.

Fal. To be hang'd.

P. Henry. Sirs, you four shall front them in the narrow lane; Ned Poins and I will walk lower; if they 'scape from your encounter, then they light on us. Peto. But how many be of them?

Gads. Some eight or ten.

Fal. Zounds! will they not rob us?

P. Henry. What, a coward, Sir John Paunch. Fal. Indeed, I am not John of Gaunt, your grandfather; but yet no coward, Hal.

P. Henry. Well, we'll leave that to the proof. Poins. Sirrah, Jack, thy horfe ftands behind the hedge; when thou need'ft him, there fhalt thou find him. Farewel, and stand fast.

Fal. Now cannot I ftrike him, if I should be hang'd.

P. Henry. Ned, where are our disguises?

Poins. Here, hard by. Stand clofe.

Fal. Now, my mafters, happy man be his dole, fay I; every man to his bufinefs.

Bardolph -What news.] In all the copies that I have feen Poins is made to speak upon the entrance of Gads-bill thus,

O, 'tis our Siter, I know his voice-Bardolph, What news? This is abfurd; he knows Gadshill to be the fetter, and afks Bardolph what news. To counenance this impropriety, the later editions have made GadsVOL. IV.

L

hill and Bardolph enter together,
but the old copies bring in Gads-
bill alone, and we find that Fel-
faff, who knew their ftations,
calls to Bardolph among others
for his horfe, but not to Gads-
bill who was posted at a distance.
We should therefore read,

Poins. O'tis our fetter, &c.
Bard. What news?
Gadfh. Cafe ye, &c.

SCENE

Trav. Come, neighbour; the boy fhall lead our horfes down the hiil: we'll walk a foot a while, and eafe our legs.

Thieves. Stand,

Trav. Jefu blefs us!

Fal. Strike; down with them, cut the villains' throats; ah! whorfon caterpillars; bacon-fed knaves; they hate us youth; down with them, fleece them.

Trav. O, we are undone, both we and ours for ever. Fal. Hang ye, gorbellied knaves, are you undone? no, ye fat chuffs, I would your ftore were here. On, bacons, on! what, ye knaves? young men muft live; you are grand jurors, are ye? we'll jure ye, i'faith. [Here they rob and bind them: Exeunt.

Enter Prince Henry and Poins.

P. Henry. The thieves have bound the true men. Now could thou and I rob the thieves and go merrily to London, it would be argument for a week, laughter for a month, and a good jest for ever.

Poins. Stand clofe, I hear them coming.

Enter Thieves again at the other part of the stage:

Fal. Come, my mafters, let us fhare, and then to horfe before day; an the Prince and Poins be not two arrant Cowards, there's no equity ftirring There's no more valour in that Poins, than in a wild Duck.

P. Henry Your mony.

Poins. Villains!

[As they are fearing, the Prince and Poins fet upon them. They all run away, and Falstaff after a