Internet Shakespeare Editions

Toolbox




Jump to line
Through Line Number
Help on texts
About this text
Print this page

About this text

  • Title: Henry IV, Part 2 (Folio 1 1623)
  • Editor: Rosemary Gaby

    • Copyright Rosemary Gaby. This text may be freely used for educational, non-profit purposes; for all other uses contact the Editor.
    Author: William Shakespeare
    Editor: Rosemary Gaby
    Not Peer Reviewed

    Henry IV, Part 2 (Folio 1 1623)

    86The second Part of King Henry the Fourth.
    My Cousin Bullingbrooke ascends my Throne:
    1490(Though then, Heauen knowes, I had no such intent,
    But that necessitie so bow'd the State,
    That I and Greatnesse were compell'd to kisse:)
    The Time shall come (thus did hee follow it)
    The Time will come, that foule Sinne gathering head,
    1495Shall breake into Corruption: so went on,
    Fore-telling this same Times Condition,
    And the diuision of our Amitie.
    War. There is a Historie in all mens Liues,
    Figuring the nature of the Times deceas'd:
    1500The which obseru'd, a man may prophecie
    With a neere ayme, of the maine chance of things,
    As yet not come to Life, which in their Seedes
    And weake beginnings lye entreasured:
    Such things become the Hatch and Brood of Time;
    1505And by the necessarie forme of this,
    King Richard might create a perfect guesse,
    That great Northumberland, then false to him,
    Would of that Seed, grow to a greater falsenesse,
    Which should not finde a ground to roote vpon,
    1510Vnlesse on you.
    King. Are these things then Necessities?
    Then let vs meete them like Necessities;
    And that same word, euen now cryes out on vs:
    They say, the Bishop and Northumberland
    1515Are fiftie thousand strong.
    War. It cannot be (my Lord:)
    Rumor doth double, like the Voice, and Eccho,
    The numbers of the feared. Please it your Grace
    To goe to bed, vpon my Life (my Lord)
    1520The Pow'rs that you alreadie haue sent forth,
    Shall bring this Prize in very easily.
    To comfort you the more, I haue receiu'd
    A certaine instance, that Glendour is dead.
    Your Maiestie hath beene this fort-night ill,
    1525And these vnseason'd howres perforce must adde
    Vnto your Sicknesse.
    King. I will take your counsaile:
    And were these inward Warres once out of hand,
    Wee would (deare Lords) vnto the Holy-Land.
    1530Exeunt.


    Scena Secunda.


    Enter Shallow and Silence: with Mouldie, Shadow,
    Wart, Feeble, Bull-calfe.

    Shal. Come-on, come-on, come-on: giue mee your
    1535Hand, Sir; giue mee your Hand, Sir: an early stirrer, by
    the Rood. And how doth my good Cousin Silence?
    Sil. Good-morrow, good Cousin Shallow.
    Shal. And how doth my Cousin, your Bed-fellow?
    and your fairest Daughter, and mine, my God-Daughter
    1540Ellen?
    Sil. Alas, a blacke Ouzell (Cousin Shallow.)
    Shal. By yea and nay, Sir, I dare say my Cousin William
    is become a good Scholler? hee is at Oxford still, is hee
    not?
    1545Sil. Indeede Sir, to my cost.
    Shal. Hee must then to the Innes of Court shortly: I
    was once of Clements Inne; where (I thinke) they will
    talke of mad Shallow yet.

    Sil. You were call'd lustie Shallow then (Cousin.)
    1550Shal. I was call'd any thing: and I would haue done
    any thing indeede too, and roundly too. There was I, and
    little Iohn Doit of Staffordshire, and blacke George Bare,
    and Francis Pick-bone, and Will Squele a Cot-sal-man, you
    had not foure such Swindge-bucklers in all the Innes of
    1555Court againe: And I may say to you, wee knew where
    the Bona-Roba's were, and had the best of them all at
    commandement. Then was Iacke Falstaffe (now Sir Iohn)
    a Boy, and Page to Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Nor-
    folke.
    1560Sil. This Sir Iohn (Cousin) that comes hither anon a-
    bout Souldiers?
    Shal. The same Sir Iohn, the very same: I saw him
    breake Scoggan's Head at the Court-Gate, when hee was
    a Crack, not thus high: and the very same day did I fight
    1565with one Sampson Stock-fish, a Fruiterer, behinde Greyes-Inne.
    Oh the mad dayes that I haue spent! and to see
    how many of mine olde Acquaintance are dead?
    Sil. Wee shall all follow (Cousin.)
    Shal. Certaine: 'tis certaine: very sure, very sure:
    1570Death is certaine to all, all shall dye. How a good Yoke
    of Bullocks at Stamford Fayre?
    Sil. Truly Cousin, I was not there.
    Shal. Death is certaine. Is old Double of your Towne
    liuing yet?
    1575Sil. Dead, Sir.
    Shal. Dead? See, see: hee drew a good Bow: and
    dead? hee shot a fine shoote. Iohn of Gaunt loued
    him well, and betted much Money on his head. Dead?
    hee would haue clapt in the Clowt at Twelue-score, and
    1580carryed you a fore-hand Shaft at foureteene, and foure-
    teene and a halfe, that it would haue done a mans heart
    good to see. How a score of Ewes now?
    Sil. Thereafter as they be: a score of good Ewes
    may be worth tenne pounds.
    1585Shal. And is olde Double dead?

    Enter Bardolph and his Boy.

    Sil. Heere come two of Sir Iohn Falstaffes Men (as I
    thinke.)
    Shal. Good-morrow, honest Gentlemen.
    1590Bard. I beseech you, which is Iustice Shallow?
    Shal. I am Robert Shallow (Sir) a poore Esquire of this
    Countie, and one of the Kings Iustices of the Peace:
    What is your good pleasure with me?
    Bard. My Captaine (Sir) commends him to you:
    1595my Captaine, Sir Iohn Falstaffe: a tall Gentleman, and a
    most gallant Leader.
    Shal. Hee greetes me well: (Sir) I knew him a
    good Back-Sword-man. How doth the good Knight?
    may I aske, how my Lady his Wife doth?
    1600Bard. Sir, pardon: a Souldier is better accommoda-
    ted, then with a Wife.
    Shal. It is well said, Sir; and it is well said, indeede,
    too: Better accommodated? it is good, yea indeede is
    it: good phrases are surely, and euery where very com-
    1605mendable. Accommodated, it comes of Accommodo:
    very good, a good Phrase.
    Bard. Pardon, Sir, I haue heard the word. Phrase
    call you it? by this Day, I know not the Phrase: but
    I will maintaine the Word with my Sword, to bee a
    1610Souldier-like Word, and a Word of exceeding good
    Command. Accommodated: that is, when a man is
    (as they say) accommodated: or, when a man is, being
    whereby
    About
    Contact us
    Content quality
    Site guide
    © Internet Shakespeare Editions
    Copyright details
    Privacy policy
    This site is supported by:
    University of Victoria
    Friends of the ISE
    SSHRC