Now, where is he, that will not stay so long
Till his friend sickness hath determined1 me?
War. My lord, I found the prince in the next
Washing with kindly tears his gentle cheeks,
With such a deep demeanor in great sorrow,
That tyranny, which never quaff'd but blood,
Would, by beholding him, have wash'd his knife
With gentle eye-drops. He is coming hither.
K. Hen. But wherefore did he take away the
crown?
Lo, where he comes. Come hither to me, Harry :Depart the chamber; leave us here alone.
[Exeunt Clarence, Prince Humphrey, Lords, &c.
P. Hen. I never thought to hear you speak again. K. Hen. Thy wish was father, Harry, to that thought:
I stay too long by thee; I weary thee.
Dost thou so hunger for my empty chair,
That thou wilt needs invest thee with mine honors Before thy hour be ripe? O foolish youth!
Thou seek'st the greatness that will overwhelm
Stay but a little; for my cloud of dignity
Is held from falling with so weak a wind,
That it will quickly drop: my day is dim.
Thou hast stolen that, which, after some few hours, Were thine without offence; and, at my death,
Thou hast seal'd up my expectation.1
Thy life did manifest, thou lovedst me not,
And thou wilt have me die assured of it.
Thou hidest a thousand daggers in thy thoughts;
Which thou hast whetted on thy stony heart,
To stab at half an hour of my life.
What! canst thou not forbear me half an hour?
Then get thee gone, and dig my grave thyself;
And bid the merry bells ring to thine ear,
That thou art crowned, not that I am dead.
Let all the tears that should bedew my hearse,
drops of balm to sanctify thy head:
Only compound me with forgotten dust;
Give that, which gave thee life, unto the worms :
Pluck down my officers, break my decrees;
For now a time is come to mock at form;
Harry the Fifth is crown'd. Up, vanity!
Down, royal state! all you sage counsellors, hence! And to the English court assemble now,
From every region, apes of idleness!
Now, neighbor confines, purge you of your scum.
Have you a ruffian, that will swear, drink, dance,
Revel the night, rob, murder, and commit
Thou has confirmed my opinion.
The oldest sins the newest kind of ways?
Be happy; he will trouble you no more:
England shall double gild his treble guilt;
England shall give him office, honor, might;
For the fifth Harry from curb'd license plucks
The muzzle of restraint, and the wild dog
Shall flesh his tooth in every innocent.
O my poor kingdom, sick with civil blows!
When that my care could not withhold thy riots,
What wilt thou do, when riot is thy care?
O, thou wilt be a wilderness again,
Peopled with wolves, thy old inhabitants!
P. Hen. O, pardon me, my liege! but for my
The moist impediments unto my speech,
I had forestall'd this dear and deep rebuke,
Ere you with grief had spoke, and I had heard
The course of it so far. There is your crown;
And He that wears the crown immortally,
Long guard it yours! If I affect it more,
Than as your honor, and as your renown,
Let me no more from this obedience rise,
(Which my most true 1 and inward-duteous spirit
Teacheth) this prostrate and exterior bending!
Heaven witness with me, when I here came in,
And found no course of breath within your majesty,
How cold it struck my heart! if I do feign,
O, let me in my present wildness die;
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