Took it in fnuff*]. And ftill he fmil'd, and talk'd;

And as the foldiers bare dead bodies by,
He call'd them untaught knaves, unmannerly,
To bring a flovenly, unhandsome coarfe
Betwixt the wind, and his nobility.“

'With many holiday and lady terms

He queftion'd me: amongst the rest, demanded

My prifoners, in your Majefty's behalf.

I then all fmarting with my wounds; being gal'd To be fo pester'd with a popinjay,

Out of my grief, and my impatience, 'Anfwer'd, neglectingly, I know not what: 'He fhould, or fhould not; for he made me mad, To fee him fhine fo brifk, and fmell fo fweet, And talk fo like a waiting-gentlewoman, [mark!) 'Of guns, and drums, and wounds; (God fave the And telling me, the fovereign'ft thing on earth 'Was parmacity for an inward bruife;

And that it was great pity, fo it was, This villanous falt-petre thould be digg'd 'Out of the bowels of the harmless earth, 'Which many a good tall fellow had destroy'd So cowardly and but for thefe vile guns, 'He would himself have been a foldier. This bald, unjointed chat of his, my Lord, I anfwer'd indirectly †, as I faid;

And I beseech you, let not his report

Come currant for an accufation,

Betwixt my love and your high Majefty.

Blunt. The circumftance confider'd, good my Lord, Whatever Harry Percy then had faid,

To fuch a perfon, and in fuch a place,
At fuch a time, with all the rest retold,
May reasonably die; and never rise
To do him wrong, or any way impeach.
What he then faid, fee, he unsays it now.

K. Henry. Why, yet he doth deny his prifoners, But with provifo and exception,

That we at our own charge fhall ransom straight
His brother-in-law, the foolish Mortimer;

This ftupidity between the crotchets is the players. Mr. W. tindirectly, or negligently.

VOL. IV.

M

Who

Who, on my foul, hath wilfully betray'd

The lives of thofe that he did lead to fight
Against the great magician, damn'd Glendower;
Whofe daughter, as we hear, the Earl of March
Hath lately married. Shall our coffers then
Be empty'd, to redeem a traitor home?
Shall we buy treason? and indent * with fears
When they have loft and forfeited themselves?
No; on the barren mountains let him starve;
For I fhall never hold that man my friend,
Whofe tongue shall ask me for one penny coft
To ranfom home revolted Mortimer.

Hot. Revolted Mortimer ?

He never did fall off, my fov'reign Liege,"
But 'bides the chance of war; to prove that true,
Needs no more but one tongue, for all those wounds,
Thofe mouthed wounds, which valiantly he took, t
When on the gentle Severn's fedgie bank,

In fingle oppofition, hand to hand,

He did confound the best part of an hour

In changing hardiment with great Glendower.

Three times they breath'd, and three times did they
Upon agreement of fwift Severn's flood;

Who then affrighted with their bloody looks,
Ran fearfully among the trembling reeds,
And hid his crisp'd head in the hollow bank,
Blood-ftained with thefe valiant combatants.
Never did bafe and rotten policy

Colour her working with fuch deadly wounds;
Nor ever could the noble Mortimer

Receive fo many, and all willingly.

Then let him not be flander'd with revolt.

[drink,

að

K. Henry. Thou doft belye him, Percy, thou belyef

He never did encounter with Glendower;

He durft as well have met the devil alone,

As Owen Glendower for an enemy.

Art not afham'd? but, firrah, from this hour
Let me not hear you fpeak of Mortimer.

[him

Send me your prifoners with the speedieft means,
Or you fhall hear in fuch a kind from me

As will displease you. My Lord Northumberland, *Indent, for article, bargain.

I

We

We license your departure with your fon.
Send us your prifoners, or you'll hear of it.

[Exit. K. Henry,A
Hot. And if the devil come and roar for them,
I will not fend them. I will after strait,
And tell him fo; for I will ease my heart,
Although it be with hazard of my head.
North. What, drunk with choler? stay,
Here comes your uncle.

Enter Worcester.

Hot. Speak of Mortimer?

and paufe [a while;

Yes, I will speak of him; and let my foul
Want mercy, if I do not join with him.
In his behalf, I'll empty all these veins,
And shed my dear blood drop by drop in dust,
But I will lift the down-trod Mortimer

As high i' th' air as this unthankful King,

As this ingrate and canker'd Bolingbroke.

mad.

North. Brother, the King hath made your nephew [To Worcester, War. Who ftrook this heat up after I was gone? Hot. He will, forfooth, have all my prifoners: And when I urge'd the ransom once again

Of

my wife's brother, then his cheek look'd pale, And on my face he turn'd an eye of death, Trembling ev'n at the name of Mortimer.

Wor. I cannot blame him; was he not proclaim'd, By Richard that is dead, the next of blood? North. He was. I heard the proclamation; And then it was, when the unhappy King (Whose wrongs in us God pardon 1) did fet forth Upon his Irish expedition;

From whence he, intercepted, did return

To be depos'd, and fhortly murthered.

Wor. And for whofe death, we in the world's wide

Live fcandaliz'd, and foully fpoken of.

[mouth

Hot. But foft, I pray you;-did King Richard theat Proclaim my brother Mortimer

Heir to the crown?

North. He did; myfelf did hear it,

Hot. Nay, then I cannot blame his coufin King,

M 2

That

That wifh'd him on the barren mountains ftarv'd.
But fhall it be, that you that fet the crown
Upon the head of this forgetful man,
And for his fake wear the detefted blot
Of murd'rous fubornation; fhall it be,
That you a world of curfes undergo,
Being the agents or bafe fecond means,
The cords, the ladder, or the hangman rather?
(O pardon me, that I defcend fo low,
To fhew the line and the predicament
Wherein you range under this fubtle King);
Shall it for fhame be fpoken in thefe days,
Or fill up chronicles in time to come,
That men of your nobility and power
Engage'd them both in an unjust behalf;
(As both of you, God pardon it! have done);
To put down Richard, that fweet lovely rofe,
And plant this thorn, this canker Bolingbroke!
And fhall it in more fhame be further spoken,
That you are fool'd, difcarded, and fhook off
By him, for whom these shames ye underwent ?
No; yet time ferves, wherein you may redeem
Your Banifh'd honours, and restore yourfelves
Into the good thoughts of the world again.
Revenge the jeering and difdain'd contempt
Of this proud King, who ftudies day and night
To anfwer all the debt he owes unto you,
Ev'n with the bloody payments of your deaths;
Therefore I fay

Wor. Peace, coufin, fay no more.
And now I will unclasp a fecret book,
And to your quick-conceiving discontents
I'll read you matter, deep and dangerous;
As full of peril and advent'rous fpirit,
As to o'erwalk a current roaring loud,
On the unftedfast footing of a spear

*

Hot. If he fall in, good night. Or fink or fwim, Send danger from the east unto the west,

So honour cross it from the north to fouth;

And let them grapple.

O the blood more stirs

To roufe a lion, than to ftart a hare.

* i. e. of a fpear laid across.

North.

North. Imagination of fome great exploit Drives him beyond the bounds of patience.

Hot. By heav'n, methinks it were an eafy leap, To pluck bright Honour from the pale-face'd moon; Or dive into the bottom of the deep,

Where fathom-line could never touch the ground,
And pluck up drowned honour by the locks:
So he that doth redeem her thence, might wear
Without corrival all her dignities.

But out upon this half-face'd fellowship!

Wor. He apprehends a world of figures here, But not the form of what he fhould attend. Good coufin, give me andience for a while. Hot. I cry you mercy.

Wor. Thofe fame Noble Scots, That are your prifoners

Hot. I'll keep them all.

By Heav'n, he fhall not have a Scot of them :
No, if a Scot would fave his foul, he fhall not;
I'll keep them by this hand.

Wor. You ftart away,

And lend no ear unto my purposes;
Those prisoners you thall keep.

Hot. I will; that's flat:

He faid, he would not ransom Mortimer :
Forbad my tongue to speak of Mortimer:
But I will find him when he lies afleep,
And in his ear I'll holla, Mortimer!
Nay, I will have a ftarling taught to speak
Nothing but Mortimer, and give it him,
To keep his anger still in motion.

Wor. Hear you, coufin, a word.

Hot. All ftudies here I folemnly defy,
Save how to gall and pinch this Bolingbroke:

And that fame fword-and-buckler Prince of Wales, (But that, I think, his father loves him not,

And would be glad he met with fome mifchance),
I'd have him poifon'd with a pot of ale.

Wor. Farewel, my kinfman; I will talk to you,

When you are better temper'd to attend.

North. Why, what a wafp-tongue'd and impatient Art thou, to break into this woman's mood,

[fool