THE SECOND PART OF

KING HENRY THE

FOURTH.

Rumour, the Presenter.

KING HENRY THE FOURTH.

HENRY, Prince of Wales, afterwards King

Henry V.,

THOMAS, Duke of Clarence,

PRINCE JOHN of Lancaster,

PRINCE HUMPHREY of Gloucester,

The EARL OF WARWICK,

The EARL OF WESTMORELAND,

The EARL OF SURREY,

The LORD CHIEF JUSTICE of the
King's Bench,

GOWER, HARCOURT, and BLUNT,

The EARL OF NORTHUMBERLAND,
SCROOP, Archbishop of York,
LORD MOWBRAY, LORD HASTINGS,
LORD BARDOLPH, Sir JOHN COLEVILE;

TRAVERS and MORTON, retainers of
Northumberland,

Sir JOHN FALSTAFF.

POINS, PETO, BARDOLPH, and PISTOL.

Page to Falstaff.

SHALLOW and SILENCE, Country Justices.

DAVY, servant to Shallow.

Opposites to the King.

MOULDY, SHADOW, BULL-CALF, WART, and FEEBLE,

Recruits.

FANG and SNARE, Sheriffs' Officers.

A Dancer, Speaker of the Epilogue.

LADY NORTHUMBERLAND.

LADY PERCY.

MISTRESS QUICKLY, Hostess of a tavern in Eastcheap. DOLL TEARSHEET.

Lords and Attendants, Officers, Soldiers, Porter, Drawers, Messengers, Grooms, &c.

SCENE,-ENGLAND.

THE SECOND PART OF

KING HENRY THE FOURTH.

Warkworth.

INDUCTION.

Before Northumberland's Castle.

Enter Rumour, painted full of tongues.

Rumour.

PEN your ears: for which of you will stop

The vent of hearing when loud Rumour speaks?

1, 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 prepared defence, Whilst the big year, swoln with some other griefs,

Is thought with child by the stern tyrant war,
And no such matter? Rumour is a pipe
Blown by surmises, jealousies, conjectures;
And of so easy and so plain a stop

That the blunt monster with uncounted heads, The still-discordant wavering multitude,

Can play upon

it. But what need I thus

My well-known body to anatomize

Among my household? Why is Rumour here? I run before king Harry's victory;

Who, in a bloody field by Shrewsbury,

Hath beaten down young Hotspur, and his troops, Quenching the flame of bold rebellion

Even with the rebels' blood. But what mean I
To speak so true at first? my office is

To noise abroad,—that Harry Monmouth fell
Under the wrath of noble Hotspur's sword;
And that the king before the Douglas' rage
Stoop'd his anointed head as low as death.
This have I rumour'd through the peasant towns
Between that royal field of Shrewsbury
And this worm-eaten hold of ragged stone,
Where Hotspur's father, old Northumberland,
Lies crafty-sick: the posts come tiring on,
And not a man of them brings other news
Than they have learn'd of me: from Rumour's

tongues

They bring smooth comforts false, worse than

true wrongs.

[Exit.

W

ACT I.

SCENE I.-The same.

Enter LORD BARDOLPH.

Lord Bardolph.

HO keeps the gate here, ho?

[The Porter opens the Gate Where is the earl?

Tell thou the earl,

Port. What shall I say you are?

L. Bard.
That the lord Bardolph doth attend him here.
Port. His lordship is walk'd forth into the
orchard.

Please it your honour, knock but at the gate,
And he himself will answer.

Enter NORTHUMBERLAND.

L. Bard. Here comes the earl, [Exit Porter. North. What news, lord Bardolph ? every minute now

Should be the father of some stratagem:
The times are wild; contention, like a horse,
Full of high feeding, madly hath broke loose,
And bears down all before him.

L. Bard.

Noble earl,

I bring you certain news from Shrewsbury.
North. Good, an heaven will!

L. Bard.

As good as heart can wish :

The king is almost wounded to the death;
And, in the fortune of my lord your son,

Prince Harry slain outright; and both the Blunts
Kill'd by the hand of Douglas: young prince

John,