Persons Represented. King Henry the Fourth. Henry, Prince of Wales, afterwards King, King Henry the Fourth's son. John, duke of Bedford [Prince John of Lancaster], King Henry the Fourth's son. Humphrey, duke of Gloster [Prince Humphrey of Gloucester], King Henry the Fourth's son. Thomas duke of Clarence King Henry the Fourth's son. Earl of Northumberland, against the king. Scroop, Archbishop of York, against the king. Lord Mowbray, against the king. Lord Hastings, against the king. Lord Bardolph, against the king. Sir John Colevile [Sir John Colville], against the king. Travers, against the king. Morton, against the king. Earl of Warwick, of the king's party. Earl of Westmoreland, of the king's party. Gower, of the king's party. Harcourt, of the king's party. Lord Chief Justice, of the king's party. Falstaff [Sir John Falstaff], Poins, Bardolph, Pistol, Peto, and Page. Shallow, and Silence, country justices. Davy, servant to Shallow. Phang [Fang] and Snare, two serjeants. Mouldy, recruit. Shadow, recruit. Wart, recruit. Feeble, recruit. Bullcalf, recruit. Lady Northumberland. Lady Percy. Hostess Quickly [Mrs. Quickly]. Doll Tear-sheet [Doll Tearsheet]. Drawers, Beadles, Grooms, &c. [Rumour], [Porter], [Servant], [Drawer 1], [Drawer 2], [Drawer], [Beadle], [Groom 1], [Groom 2], [Dancer] SCENE, England. 1 ^note

INDUCTION. ^{1 note}

Rum.
Open your ears; For which of you will stop
The vent of hearing, when loud Rumour speaks?
I, 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 prepar'd defence;
Whilst the big year, swoll'n with some other grief,
Is thought with child by the stern tyrant war,
And no such matter? ^{3 note}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 houshold? 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
^{4 note}

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.

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