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bawds, and dials the figns of leaping-houfes, and the bleffed fun hitelf a fair hot wench in flamecolour'd taffata. I fee no reason why thou fhould't be to fuperfluous to demand the time of the day.

Fal. Indeed you come near me now, Hal. For we that take purses, go by the moon and seven stars, and not by Phoebus, he, that wand'ring knight fo fair. And I pray thee, fweet wag, when thou art king —as God fave thy Grace, (Majefty, I fhould fay; for grace thou wilt have none).

P. Henry. What! none?

Fal. No, by my troth, not fo much as will ferve to be prologue to an egg and butter. P. Henry. Well, how then?

ly, rounaly

-come

-round

Fal. Marry then, fweet wag, when thou art king, let not us that are squires of the night's body be call'd thieves of the day's booty. Let us be Diana's foretters, gentlemen of the flade, minions of the moon; and let men fay, we be men of good government, being governed, as the fea is, by our noble and chafle miftrefs the moon, under whofe countenance we- fteal.

P. Henry. Thou fay'it well, and it holds well too; for the fortune of us, that are the moon's men, doth ebb and flow like the fea, being govern'd, as the fea is, by the moon. As for proof now: A purfe of gold moft refolutely fnatch'd on Monday night, and moft difiolutely fpent on Fuefday morning, got with fwearing, lay by, and spent with crving bring in; now in as low an ebb as the foot of the ladder, and by and by in as high a flow as the ridge of the gallows.

Fal By the Lord thou say'st true, lad; and is not mine hoftefs of the tavern a molt fweet wench?

P. Henry. As the honey of Hybla, my old lad of the castle; and is not a buff-jerkin a most sweet robe of durance?

* This alludes to the name Shakespeare first gave to this buffoon character, which was Sir John Oldcastle: and when he changed the name, he forgot to trike out

Fal. How now, how now, mad wag; what, in thy quips and quiddities? what a plague have I to do with a buff-jerkin?

P. Henry. Why, what a pox have I to do with my hoftefs of the tavern?

Fal. Well, thou haft called her to a reckoning many a time and oft.

P. Henry. Did I ever call thee to pay thy part?
Fal. No, I'll give thee thy due, thou haft paid all

there.

P. Henry. Yea, and elsewhere, so far as my coin would ftretch; and where it would not I have us'd my credit.

Fal. Yea, and fo us'd it, that were it not here apparent that thou art heir apparent- -But I pr'ythee, fweet wag, fhall there be gallows ftanding in England when thou art king? and refolution thus fobbed as it is, with the rufty curb of old Father Antic, the law? Do not thou, when thou art a king, hang a thief.

P. Henry. No: thou fhalt.

Fal. Shall I? O rare! By the Lord I'll be a brave judge.

P. Henry. Thou judgeft falfe, already: I mean, thou fhalt have the hanging of the thieves, and fo become a rare hangman.

Fal. Well, Hal, well; and in fome fort it jumps with my humour, as well as waiting in the court, I can tell you.

P. Henry. For obtaining of fuits?

Fal. Yea, for obtaining of fuits, whereof the hangman hath no lean wardrobe. 'sblood, I am as melancholy as a gib-cat, or a lugg'd bear.

P. Henry. Or an old lion, or a lover's lute.
Fal. Yea, or the drone of a Lincolnshire bagpipe.

this expreffion that alluded to it. The reafon of the change was this: One Sir John Oldcastle having fuffered in the time of Henry V. for the opinions of Wickliffe, it gave offence, and therefore the poet altered it to Falstaff, and endeavours to remove the fcandal, in the epilogue to the second part of Henry IV. Warburton.

P. Henry. What fay'ft thou to a hare, or the melancholy of Moor ditch?

Fal. Thou haft the most unfavoury fimilies; and art, indeed, the most comparative, rafcallieft, fweet young prince-But, Hal, I pr'ythee, trouble ine no more with vanity; I would to God thou and I knew where a commodity of good names were to be bought an old lord of the council rated me the other day in the street about you, Sir; but I mark’d him not, and yet he talk'd very wifely, and in the ftreet too.

P. Henry. Thou didst well; for wifdom cries out in the streets, and no man regards it.

Fal. O, thou haft danmable iteration, and art, indeed, able to corrupt a faint. Thou haft done much harm unto me, Hal, God forgive thee for it! Before I knew thee, Hal, I knew nothing; and now am I, if a man fhould fpeak truly, little better than one of the wicked. I must give over this life, and I will give it over: By the Lord, an' I do not, I am a villain. I'll be damn'd for never a king's fon in Chriftendom.

P. Henry. Where fhall we take a purse to-morrow, Jack?

Fal. Where thou wilt, lad, I'll make one; an I

do not, call me villain, and baffle me.

P. Henry. I fee a good amendment of life in thee, from praying to purle-taking.

Fal. Why, Hal, 'tis my vocation, Hal. 'Tis no fin for a man to labour in his vocation. Poins! Now thall we know if Gads-hill have fet a match. O, if men were to be fa ed by merit, what hole in hell were hot enough for him!

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This is the moft omnipotent villain that ever cry'd,

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P. Henry Good morrow, Ned. 、

Poins. Good morrow, fweet Ha!. What fays Monfieur Remorie? what fays Sir John Sack-and

Sugar? Jack! how agree the devil and thou about thy foul, that thou foldeft him on Good Friday laft, for a cup of Madera, and a cold capon's leg?

P. Henry Sir John ftands to his word; the devil fhall have his bargain, for he was never yet a breaker of proverbs; He will give the devil his due. Poins. Then thou art damn'd for keeping thy word with the devil.

P. Henry. Elfe he had been damn'd for cozening the devil.

Poins. But, my lads, my lads, to-morrow morning, by four o'clock, early at Gads-hill; there are pilgrims going to Canterbury with rich offerings, and traders riding to London with fat purfes. I have vifors for you all; you have horfes for yourfelves: Gads-hill lyes to-night in Rochester, I have befpoke fupper to-morrow night in Eaft-cheap; we may do it as fecure as fleep: if you will go, I will stuff your purfes full of crowns; if you will not, tarry at home, and be hang'd.

Fal. Hear ye, Yedward; if I tarry at home, and go not, I'll hang you for going. Poins. You will, chops?

Fal. Hal, wilt thou make one?

P. Henry. Who, I rob? I a thief? not I, by my faith.

Fal. There is neither honefty, manhood, nor good fellowship in thee, nor thou cam'ft not of the blood royal, if thou dar'ft not cry, ftand, for ten fhillings.

P. Henry. Well then, once in my days I'll be a madcap.

Fal Why, that's well faid.

P. Henry. Well, come what will, I'll tarry, at home.

Fal. By the Lord, I'll be a traitor then when tl ou art King.

P Henry I care not.

Poins. Sir John, I pr'ythee leave the prince and me alone; I will lay him down fuch reafons for this adventure, that he fhall go.

Fal. Well, may'ft thou have the fpirit of per

fuafion, and he the ears of profiting, that what thou fpeak'ft may move, and what he hears may be believ'd; that the true prince may (for recreation fake) prove a falfe thief; for the poor abufes of the time want countenance. Farewell, you thall find me in East-cheap.

P. Henry. Farewell, thou latter spring! farewell, all-hallown fummer! [Exit Falftaff.

Poins. Now, my good fweet honey lord, ride with us to-morrow. I have a jeft to execute, that I cannot manage alone. Falstaff, Bardolph, Peto, and Gads-hill, fhall rob those men that we have already way-laid; yourself and I will not be there; and when they have the booty, if you and I do not rob them, cut this head from off my fhoulders.

P. Henry. But how fhall we part with them in fetting forth?

Poins. Why, we will fet forth before or after them; and appoint them a place of meeting, wherein it is at our pleasure to fail; and then will they adventure upon the exploit themselves, which they fhall have no fooner atchiev'd, but we'll fet upon them.

P. Heury, Ay, but 'tis like they will know us by our horfes by our habits, and by every other appointment, to be ourselves.

Poins Tut, our holes they fhall not fee, I'll tye them in the wood; our vizors we will change after we leave them; and, firrah, I have cales of buckram for the nonce, to immask our noted outward garments.

us.

P. Henry. But, I doubt, they will be too hard for

Poins. Well, for two of them, I know them to be as true-bred cowards as ever turn'd back; and for the third, if he fights longer than he fees reafon, I'll forfwear arms. The virtue of this jeft will be, the incomprehenfible lies that this fame fat rogue will tell us when we meet at fupper; how thirty at least he fought with, what wards, what blows, what extremities be cured, and, in the reproof of this, yes the jet.

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