}

King Henry the Fourth :
Henry, prince of Wales, afterwards king

Henry V;
Thomas, duke of Clarence;
Prince John of Lancaster,* afterwards (2 Hen->his sons.

ry V) duke of Bedford;
Prince Humphrey of Gloster, afterwards (2

Henry V) duke of Gloster;
Earl of Warwick;
Earl of Westmoreland; of the king's party.
Gower; Harcourt;
Lord chief justice of the King's Bench.
A gentleman attending on the chief justice.
Earl of Northumberland;
Scroop, archbishop of York;
Lord Mowbray ; lord Hastings;

enemies to the king.
Lord Bardolph; sir John Colevile;
Travers and Morton, domesticks of Northumberland.
Falstaff, Bardolph, Pistol, and Page.
Poins and Peto, attendants on prince Henry.
Shallow and Silence, country justices.
Davy, servant to Shallow.
Mouldy, Shadow, Wart, Feeble, and Bullcalf, recruits.
Fang and Snare, sheriff's officers.
Rumour. A Porter.
A Dancer, speaker of the epilogue.
Lady Northumberland. Lady Percy.
Hostess Quickly. Doll Tear-sheet.
Lords and other attendants; officers, soldiers, messenger,

drawers, beadles, grooms, &c.

SCENE, England.

SECOND PART OF

KING HENRY IV.

INDUCTION.

Warkworth. Before Northumberland's Castle.

Enter Rumour, painted full of Tongues.2

Rum. Open your ears; For which of you will stop The vent of hearing, when loud Rumour speaks? I, from the orient to the drooping west, Making the wind my post-horse, still unfold The acts commenced on this ball of earth: Upon my tongues continual slanders ride; The which in every language I pronounce, Stuffing the ears of men with false reports. I speak of peace, while covert enmity, Under the smile of safety, wounds the world: And who but Rumour, who but only I, Make fearful musters, and prepar'd defence; Whilst the big year, swol’n with some other grief, Is thought with child by the stern tyrant war, And no such matter? Rumour is a pipe 3 Blown by surmises, jealousies, conjectures;

1 Enter Rumour,] This speech of Rumour is not inelegant or unpoetical, but it is wholly useless, since we are told nothing which the first scene does not clearly and naturally discover. The only end of such prologues is to inform the audience of some facts previous to the action, of which they can have no knowledge from the persons of the drama. Johnson.

painte:l full of Tongues.] This direction, which is only to be found in the first edition in quarto of 1600, explains a passage in what follows, otherwise obscure. Pope.

Rumour is a pipe —] Here the poet imagines himself describing Rumour, and forgets that Rumour is the speaker.

Johnson

2

3

KING HENRY IV, PART II.

A%

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King Henry the Fourth:
Henry, prince of Wales, afterwards king

Henry V;
Thomas, duke of Clarence;
Prince John of Lancaster,* afterwards (2 Hen- his sons.

ry V) duke of Bedford;
Prince Humphrey of Gloster, afterwards (2

Henry V) duke of Gloster;
Earl of Warwick;
Earl of Westmoreland; of the king's party.
Gower; Harcourt;
Lord chief justice of the King's Bench.
A gentleman attending on the chief justice.
Earl of Northumberland;
Scroop, archbishop of York;
Lord Mowbray; lord Hastings;

enemies to the king'.
Lord Bardolph; sir John Colevile;
Travers and Morton, domesticks of Northumberland.
Falstaff, Bardolph, Pistol, and Page.
Poins and Peto, attendants on prince Henry.
Shallow and Silence, country justices.
Davy, servant to Shallow.
Mouldy, Shadow, Wart, Feeble, and Bullcalf, recruits.
Fang and Snare, sheriff's officers.
Rumour. A Porter.
A Dancer, speaker of the epilogue.
Lady Northumberland. Lady Percy.
Hostess Quickly. Doll Tear-sheet.
Lords and other attendants; officers, soldiers, messenger,

drawers, beadles, grooms, &c.

SCENE, England.