The remnant northward, lying off from Trent.
And our indentures tripartite are drawn,
Which being sealed interchangeably,

(A business that this night may execute)
To-morrow, cousin Percy, you, and I,

And my good lord of Worcester, will set forth,
To meet your father, and the Scottish power,
As is appointed us, at Shrewsbury.

My father Glendower is not ready yet,

Nor shall we need his help these fourteen days.— Within that space you may have drawn together Your tenants, friends, and neighbouring gentlemen. Glend. A shorter time shall send me to you, lords; And in my conduct shall your ladies come:

From whom you now must steal, and take no leave; For there will be a world of water shed,

Upon the parting of your wives and you.

Hot. Methinks, my moiety2, north from Burton here, In quantity equals not one of yours.

See, how this river comes me cranking in,
And cuts me from the best of all my land
A huge half-moon, a monstrous cantle out".
I'll have the current in this place damm'd up,
And here the smug and silver Trent shall run,
In a new channel, fair and evenly:

It shall not wind with such a deep indent,

To rob me of so rich a bottom here.

Glend. Not wind? it shall; it must: you see, it doth.

Mort. Yea, but mark, how he bears his course, and

runs me up

Methinks, my MOIETY,] In Shakespeare's age, "moiety" was often used to signify a share, and not merely a half part.

3

— CANTLE out.] "This word, in its strict sense," says Douce, “signifies a small piece of any thing, but here a portion or parcel. The French have chanteau and chantel, from the Latin quantulum." The quarto editions have scantle, the letters having been carried on from the preceding word: the folio, 1623, reads cantle.

With like advantage on the other side;
Gelding the opposed continent, as much
As on the other side it takes from you.

Wor. Yea, but a little charge will trench him here, And on this north side win this cape of land;

And then he runs straight and even.

Hot. I'll have it so: a little charge will do it.
Glend. I will not have it alter'd.

Glend. I can speak English, lord, as well as you,
For I was train'd up in the English court;

Where, being but young, I framed to the harp
Many an English ditty, lovely well,

And gave the tongue a helpful ornament;
A virtue that was never seen in you.

Hot. Marry, and I'm glad of it with all my heart.

I had rather be a kitten, and cry mew,

Than one of these same metre ballad-mongers:

I had rather hear a brazen canstick turn'd',

Or a dry wheel grate on the axle-tree;
And that would set my teeth nothing on edge,
Nothing so much as mincing poetry.

'Tis like the forc'd gait of a shuffling nag.
Glend. Come, you shall have Trent turn'd.
Hot.

I do not care.

I'll give thrice so much land to any well-deserving

friend;

But, in the way of bargain, mark ye me,

I'll cavil on the ninth part of a hair.

♦ I had rather hear a brazen CANSTICK turn'd,] Candlestick was often written and printed "canstick," as here, for the sake of the metre, and so it stands in every old quarto: the folio, 1623, first introduced candlestick.

Are the indentures drawn? shall we be gone?

Glend. The moon shines fair, you may away by night: I'll haste the writer, and withal,

Break with your wives of your departure hence.

I am afraid my daughter will run mad,
So much she doteth on her Mortimer.

[Exit.

Mort. Fie, cousin Percy! how you cross my father.
Hot. I cannot choose: sometime he angers me
With telling me of the moldwarp and the ant,
Of the dreamer Merlin and his prophecies;
And of a dragon, and a finless fish,

A clip-wing'd griffin, and a moulten raven,
A couching lion, and a ramping cat,

And such a deal of skimble-skamble stuff

As puts me from my faith. I tell you what,

He held me, last night, at least nine hours,

In reckoning up the several devils' names,

That were his lackeys: I cried, "humph," and "well,”

"go to,"

But mark'd him not a word. O! he's as tedious

As a tired horse, a railing wife;

Worse than a smoky house: I had rather live
With cheese and garlick in a windmill, far,
Than feed on cates, and have him talk to me,
In any summer-house in Christendom.

Mort. In faith, he is a worthy gentleman";
Exceedingly well read, and profited
In strange concealments; valiant as a lion,
And wondrous affable, and as bountiful
As mines of India. Shall I tell you, cousin?
He holds your temper in a high respect,
And curbs himself even of his natural scope,
When you do cross his humour; 'faith, he does.
I warrant you, that man is not alive,

5 In faith, he is a worthy gentleman ;] The folio has was for " is," a corruption it introduced from the later quartos: those of 1598 and 1599 have “is." In the next line the folio has Exceeding for "Exceedingly."

Might so have tempted him as you have done,
Without the taste of danger and reproof:
But do not use it oft, let me entreat you.

Wor. In faith, my lord, you are too wilful-blame,
And since your coming hither have done enough
To put him quite beside his patience.

You must needs learn, lord, to amend this fault:
Though sometimes it show greatness, courage, blood,
And that's the dearest grace it renders you,
Yet oftentimes it doth present harsh rage,
Defect of manners, want of government,
Pride, haughtiness, opinion, and disdain :
The least of which, haunting a nobleman,
Loseth men's hearts, and leaves behind a stain
Upon the beauty of all parts besides,

Beguiling them of commendation.

Hot. Well, I am school'd: good manners be your

speed!

Here come our wives, and let us take our leave.

Re-enter GLENDOWER, with the Ladies.

Mort. This is the deadly spite that angers me,

My wife can speak no English, I no Welsh.

Glend. My daughter weeps: she will not part with

you,

She'll be a soldier too; she'll to the wars.

Mort. Good father, tell her, that she, and my aunt Percy,

Shall follow in your conduct speedily.

[GLENDOWER speaks to her in Welsh, and she

answers him in the same.

Glend. She's desperate here; a peevish self-will'd harlotry', one

6 -you are too wilful-blame ;] So all the old copies: the expression is awkward, perhaps corrupt, but the meaning is very intelligible.

7 - a peevish self-will'd harlotry,] "Peevish" is silly. See Vol. ii. p. 150, and Vol. iii. p. 348. The same words are applied by Capulet to his daughter, "A peevish, self-will'd harlotry it is." "Romeo and Juliet," Act iv. sc. 2.

66

That no persuasion can do good upon.

[She speaks to MORTIMER in Welsh.

Mort. I understand thy looks: that pretty Welsh Which thou pourest down from these swelling hea

vens,

I am too perfect in; and, but for shame,

In such a parley would I answer thee.

[She speaks again.

I understand thy kisses, and thou mine,
And that's a feeling disputation:

But I will never be a truant, love,

Till I have learn'd thy language; for thy tongue
Makes Welsh as sweet as ditties highly penn'd,
Sung by a fair queen in a summer's bower,
With ravishing division, to her lute.

Glend. Nay, if you melt, then will she run mad.

[She speaks again. Mort. O! I am ignorance itself in this. Glend. She bids you on the wanton rushes lay you

down3,

And rest your gentle head upon her lap,

And she will sing the song that pleaseth you,
And on your eye-lids crown the god of sleep,
Charming your blood with pleasing heaviness;
Making such difference 'twixt wake and sleep,
As is the difference betwixt day and night,
The hour before the heavenly-harness'd team
Begins his golden progress in the east.

Mort. With all my heart I'll sit, and hear her sing: By that time will our book, I think, be drawn?.

8 She bids you on the wanton RUSHES lay you down,] The floors of apartments at this period were usually strewed with rushes. This fact is over and over again mentioned in old writers. The familiarity of our ancestors with rushes, gave rise to various sayings regarding them.

9 By that time will our BOOK, I think, be drawn.] It was very common to call any paper writing at this period "a book." In "The Egerton Papers," published by the Camden Society, 4to, 1840, many instances may be found where persons sent patents, deeds, or drafts of deeds, to the Lord Chancellor, calling them "books." The "book" to which Mortimer refers was the agree