But I will rise there with so full a glory,
That I will dazzle all the eyes of France,
Yea, strike the Dauphin blind to look on us.
And tell the pleasant prince,-this mock of his
Hath turn'd his balls to gun-stones; (5) and his soul
Shall stand sore charged for the wasteful vengeance
That shall fly with them: for many a thousand
widows

Shall this his mock mock out of their dear husbands,

Mock mothers from their sons, mock castles down,
And some are yet ungotten and unborn,
That shall have cause to curse the Dauphin's scorn.
But this lies all within the will of God,
To whom I do appeal; and in whose name,
Tell you the Dauphin, I am coming on,
To venge me as I may, and to put forth
My rightful hand in a well-hallow'd cause.

So, get you hence in peace; and tell the Dauphin,

With reasonable swiftness-] Mr. Collier's annotator has,"Seasonable swiftness,"

which, however plausible, is tame and prosaic; by reasonable swiftness, is meant the speed of thought; as in "Hamlet," we have,

His jest will savour but of shallow wit, When thousands weep, more than did laugh at it.Convey them with safe conduct.-Fare you well. [Exeunt Ambassadors.

EXE. This was a merry message.
K. HEN. We hope to make the sender blush
at it.

Therefore, my lords, omit no happy hour
That may give furtherance to our expedition:
For we have now no thought in us but France,
Save those to God, that run before our business.
Therefore, let our proportions for these wars
Be soon collected, and all things thought upon,
That may with reasonable swiftness add
More feathers to our wings: for, God before,b
We'll chide this Dauphin at his father's door.
Therefore, let every man now task his thought,
That this fair action may on foot be brought.
[Exeunt.

As meditation,"

a

wings as swift

And in "Troilus and Cressida," Act II. Sc. 2:

"The very wings of reason."

b God before,-] That is, "I swear before God," or "God witness."

Now all the youth of England are on fire,
And silken dalliance in the wardrobe lies;
Now thrive the armourers, and honour's thought
Reigns solely in the breast of every man.
They sell the pasture now, to buy the horse;
Following the mirror of all Christian kings,
With winged heels, as English Mercuries.
For now sits Expectation in the air;
And hides a sword, from hilts unto the point,
With crowns imperial, crowns and coronets,
Promis'd to Harry, and his followers.
The French, advis'd by good intelligence
Of this most dreadful preparation
Shake in their fear; and with pale policy
Seek to divert the English purposes.

O England!-model to thy inward greatness,
Like little body with a mighty heart,-
What mightst thou do, that honour would
thee do,

Were all thy children kind and natural!
But see thy fault! France hath in thee found out
A nest of hollow bosoms, which he fills

a Force a play.] So in the original. Possibly, however, an allusion is intended to the dumb shows which of old preceded each act, and we should read:

With treacherous crowns: and three corrupted

men,

One, Richard earl of Cambridge; and the second,
Henry lord Scroop of Masham; and the third,
Sir Thomas Grey, knight, of Northumberland,-
Have for the gilt of France, (O guilt, indeed!)
Confirm'd conspiracy with fearful France;
And by their hands this grace of kings must die
(If hell and treason hold their promises,)
Ere he take ship for France, and in Southampton.
Linger your patience on; and we'll digest
The abuse of distance; force a play.
The sum is paid: the traitors are agreed;
The king is set from London; and the scene
Is now transported, gentles, to Southampton.
There is the playhouse now, there must you sit,
And thence to France shall we convey you safe,
And bring you back, charming the narrow seas
To give you gentle pass; for, if we may,

We'll not offend one stomach with our play.
But, till the king come forth, and not till then,
Unto Southampton do we shift our scene. [Exit.

"Linger your patience on; and we'll digest The abuse of distance; fo esee a play."

See the Chorus before Act III.

SCENE I.-London. Eastcheap.

Enter, severally, NYм and BARDOLPH.

BARD. Well met, corporal Nym.

NYM. Good morrow, lieutenant Bardolph. BARD. What, are ancient Pistol and you friends yet?

NYм. For my part, I care not: I say little; but when time shall serve, there shall be smiles; -but that shall be as it may. I dare not fight, but I will wink, and hold out mine iron: it is a simple one, but what though? it will toast cheese, and it will endure cold as another man's sword will: and there's an end."

And there's an end.] The quartos read, "And there's the ha nour of it."

And we'll be all three sworn brothers-] See note (a), p. 484, Vol. 1.

b

BARD. I will bestow a breakfast, to make you friends, and we'll be all three sworn brothers to France let it be so, good corporal Nym.

NYM. 'Faith, I will live so long as I may, that's the certain of it; and when I cannot live any longer, I will do as I may: that is my rest, that is the rendezvous of it.

BARD. It is certain, corporal, that he is married to Nell Quickly: and, certainly, she did you wrong; for you were troth-plight to her.

NYM. I cannot tell; things must be as they may men may sleep, and they may have their throats about them at that time; and, some say, knives have edges. It must be as it may though patience be a tired mare,* yet she will plod.

There must be conclusions:-well, I cannot tell. BARD. Here comes ancient Pistol, and his wife: -good corporal, be patient here.

Enter PISTOL and Hostess."

How now, mine host Pistol !

PIST. Base tike, call'st thou me-host? Now, by this hand, I swear I scorn the term; Nor shall my Nell keep lodgers.

HOST. No, by my troth, not long: for we cannot lodge and board a dozen or fourteen gentlewomen, that live honestly by the prick of their needles, but it will be thought we keep a bawdyhouse straight. [NYM draws his sword.] O wella-day, Lady, if he be not drawn! now we shall see wilful adultery and murder committed.

BARD. Good lieutenant,-good corporal,-offer nothing here.

NYM. Pish!d

PIST. Pish for thee, Iceland dog! (1) thou prickear'd cur of Iceland!

HOST. Good corporal Nym, show thy valour, and put up your sword.

NYM. Will you shog off? I would have you solus. [Sheathing his sword.

PIST. Solus, egregious dog! O viper vile! The solus in thy most marvellous face; The solus in thy teeth, and in thy throat, And in thy hateful lungs, yea, in thy maw, perdy; And, which is worse, within thy nasty mouth! I do retort the solus in thy bowels: For I can take, and Pistol's cock is up, And flashing fire will follow.

NYM. I am not Barbason; you cannot conjure me. I have an humour to knock you indifferently well if you grow foul with me, Pistol, I will scour you with my rapier, as I may, in fair terms: if you would walk off, I would prick your guts a little, in good terms, as I may; and that's the humour of it.

PIST. O braggart vile, and damned furious wight!

The grave doth gape, and doting death is near; Therefore exhale.

[PISTOL and NYм draw their swords. BARD. Hear me, hear me what I say :-he that strikes the first stroke, I'll run him up to the hilts, as I am a soldier. [Draws his sword.

a Hostess.] The old copies have "Quickly," but evidently through inadvertence, as she is always afterwards called "Hostess," which, or "Mistress Pistol," is now her proper appellation. bO well-a-day, Lady, if he be not drawn! now we shall see, &c.] In the folio, "if he be not hewne now." The correction was made by Theobald.

e Good lieutenant,-good corporal,-offer nothing here.] To obviate the inconsistency of Bardolph, himself the lieutenant, designating Pistol by that title, Capell prints, "Good ancient," and Malone makes the sentence a part of the Hostess's speech. This, however, is not the only anomaly of the same kind. In the opening of the present scene, Nym addresses Bardolph as "lieu

Boy. Mine host Pistol, you must come to my master,—and you,† hostess; he is very sick, and would to bed.-Good Bardolph, put thy nose between his sheets, and do the office of a warmingpan: 'faith, he's very ill.

BARD. Away, you rogue!

HOST. By my troth, he'll yield the crow a pudding one of these days: the king has killed his heart. Good husband, come home presently.

[Exeunt Hostess and Boy.

BARD. Come, shall I make you two friends? We must to France together; why the devil should we keep knives to cut one another's throats?

PIST. Let floods o'erswell, and fiends for food howl on!

NYм. You'll pay me the eight shillings I won of you at betting?

PIST. Base is the slave that pays.

NYм. That now I will have; that's the humour of it.

PIST. As manhood shall compound; push home. [PISTOL and NYм draw their swords. BARD. By this sword, he that makes the first thrust, I'll kill him; by this sword, I will. PIST. Sword is an oath; and oaths must have their course.

tenant," while in Act III. Sc. 2, he calls him "corporal." Again, in the Second Part of "Henry IV." Act V. Sc. 5, Falstaff styles Pistol "lieutenant," though his military rank is only that of "ancient." Whether these incongruities are the effect of design or inattention on Shakespeare's part, (they could hardly arise from carelessness in the printing office,) it is now, perhaps, impossible to determine; we prefer therefore to adhere to the old text.

d Pish!] In the quartos "Push!" the older form of the same contemptuous exclamation. See note (a), p. 731, Vol. I.