King.
Lords, give us leave; the Prince of Wales and I
Must have some private conference: but be near at hand ^{note note},

For we shall presently have need of you. [Exeunt Lords.
I know not whether God ^note will have it so,
For some displeasing service I have done,
That, in his secret doom, out of my blood
He'll breed revengement and a scourge for me;
But thou dost in thy ^note passages of life
Make me believe that thou art only mark'd
For the hot vengeance and the rod of heaven
To punish my mistreadings. Tell me else,
Could such inordinate and low desires,
Such poor, such bare ^note, such lewd, such mean attempts ^note,
Such barren pleasures, rude society,
As thou art match'd withal and grafted to ^note,
Accompany the greatness of thy blood
And hold their level with thy princely heart?

Prince.
So please your majesty, I would ^note I could
Quit all offences with as clear excuse
As well as I am doubtless I can purge
Myself of many I am charged withal:
Yet such extenuation let me beg,
As, in ^note reproof of many tales devised,
Which oft the ear of greatness needs must hear,
By smiling pick-thanks and base newsmongers,
I may, for some things true, wherein my youth
Hath faulty wander'd and irregular,
Find pardon on my true submission.

King.
God ^note pardon thee! yet let me wonder, Harry ^note,
At thy affections, which do hold a wing
Quite from the flight of all thy ancestors.
Thy place in council thou hast rudely lost,
Which by thy younger brother is supplied,
And art almost an alien to the hearts
Of all the court and princes of my blood:

The hope and expectation of thy time
Is ruin'd, and the soul of every man
Prophetically do ^note forethink thy fall.
Had I so lavish of my presence been,
So common-hackney'd in the eyes of men,
So stale and cheap to vulgar company,
Opinion, that did help me to the crown,
Had still kept loyal to possession
And left me in reputeless banishment,
A fellow of no mark nor likelihood.
By ^note being seldom seen, I could not stir
But like a comet I was wonder'd at;
That men would tell their children ‘This is he;’
Others would say ‘Where, which is Bolingbroke?’
And then I stole all courtesy from heaven,
And dress'd myself in such humility
That I did pluck allegiance from men's hearts,
Loud shouts and salutations from their mouths,
Even in the presence ^note of the crowned king.
Thus did I ^note keep my person fresh and new;
My presence, like a robe pontifical,
Ne'er seen but wonder'd at: and so my state,
Seldom but sumptuous, showed like a feast
And wan ^note by rareness such solemnity.
The skipping king, he ambled up and down
With shallow jesters and rash bavin ^note wits,
Soon kindled and soon burnt; carded his ^note state,
Mingled his royalty with capering ^note fools,
Had his great name profaned with their scorns
And gave his countenance, against his name,
To laugh at ^note gibing boys and stand the push

Of every beardless vain comparative,
Grew a companion to the common streets,
Enfeoff'd ^note himself to popularity;
That, being daily swallow'd by men's eyes,
They surfeited with honey and began
To loathe ^note the taste of sweetness ^note, whereof a little ^note
More than a little is by much too much.
So when he had occasion to be seen,
He was but as the cuckoo is in June,
Heard, not regarded; seen, but with such eyes
As, sick and blunted with community,
Afford ^note no extraordinary gaze,
Such as is bent on sun-like majesty
When it shines seldom in admiring eyes;
But ^note rather drowzed and hung their eyelids down,
Slept in his face and render'd ^note such aspect
As cloudy men use ^note to ^note their adversaries,
Being with his presence glutted, gorged and full.
And in that very line, Harry, standest ^note thou;
For thou hast lost thy princely privilege
With vile participation: not an eye
But is a-weary of thy common sight,
Save mine, which hath desired to see thee more;
Which now doth that ^note I would not have it do ^note,
Make blind itself with foolish tenderness.

Prince.
I shall hereafter, my thrice gracious lord,
Be more myself. ^note

King.
For ^note all the world
As thou art to ^note this hour was Richard then

When I from France set foot at ^note Ravenspurgh,
And even as I was then is Percy now.
Now, by my sceptre and my soul to boot,
He hath more worthy interest to ^note the state
Than thou the ^note shadow of succession;
For of no right, nor colour like to right,
He doth fill fields with harness in the realm,
Turns head against the lion's armed jaws,
And, being no more in debt to years than thou,
Leads ancient lords and reverend ^note bishops on
To bloody battles and to bruising arms.
What never-dying honour hath he got
Against renowned ^note Douglas! whose high deeds,
Whose hot incursions and great name in arms
Holds from all soldiers ^note chief majority
And military title capital
Through all the kingdoms that acknowledge Christ:
Thrice hath this ^note Hotspur, Mars ^note in swathling ^note clothes,
This infant warrior, in his enterprizes
Discomfited great Douglas, ta'en him once ^note,
Enlarged him and made a friend of him,
To fill the mouth of deep ^note defiance up
And shake the peace and safety of our throne.
And what say you to this? Percy, Northumberland,
The Archbishop's grace of York, Douglas, Mortimer ^note,
Capitulate against us and are up.
But wherefore do I tell these news to thee?
Why, Harry, do I tell thee of my foes,
Which art my near'st ^note and ^note dearest enemy?
Thou that ^note art like enough, through vassal fear,

Base inclination and the start of spleen,
To fight against me under Percy's pay,
To dog his heels and curtsy at his frowns,
To show how much thou art degenerate ^note.

Prince.
Do not think so; you shall not find it so:
And God ^note forgive them that so much have ^note sway'd
Your majesty's good thoughts away from me!
I will redeem all this on Percy's head
And in the closing of some glorious day
Be bold to tell you that I am your son;
When I will wear a garment all of blood
And stain ^note my favours ^note in a bloody mask,
Which, wash'd away, shall scour my shame with it:
And that shall be the day, whene'er it lights,
That this same child of honour and renown,
This gallant Hotspur, this all-praised knight,
And your unthought-of Harry chance to meet.
For every honour sitting ^note on his helm,
Would they were multitudes, and on ^note my head
My shames ^note redoubled! for the time will come,
That I shall make this northern youth exchange
His glorious deeds for my indignities.
Percy is but my factor, good my lord,
To engross up ^note glorious deeds on my behalf;
And I will call him to so strict account,
That he shall render every glory up,
Yea, even the slightest worship of his ^note time,
Or I will tear the reckoning from his heart.
This, in the name of God ^note, I promise here:
The which if He be pleased I shall perform ^note, ^note

I do beseech your majesty may salve
The long-grown wounds of my intemperance ^note:
If not, the end of life cancels all bands ^note;
And I will die a ^note hundred thousand ^note deaths
Ere break the smallest parcel of this vow.

King.
A hundred thousand rebels die in this:
Thou shalt have charge and sovereign trust herein. Enter Blunt. ^note
How now, good Blunt? thy ^note looks are full of speed.

Blunt.
So hath ^note the business that I come to speak of.
Lord Mortimer of Scotland hath sent word
That Douglas and the English rebels met
The eleventh of this month at Shrewsbury:
A mighty and a fearful head they are,
If promises be kept on every hand,
As ever offer'd foul play in a state.

King.
The Earl of Westmoreland set forth ^note to-day;
With him my son, Lord John of Lancaster;
For this advertisement is five days old:
On Wednesday next, Harry ^note, you shall ^note set forward;
On Thursday we ourselves will march: our meeting
Is ^note Bridgenorth: and, Harry, you shall march
Through Gloucestershire; by which account ^note,
Our business valued ^note, some twelve days hence
Our general forces at Bridgenorth shall meet.
Our hands are full of business: let's away;
Advantage feeds him ^note fat, while men ^note delay. [Exeunt.

^note

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