Act V, Scene 4

Another part of the field.

[Alarum. Excursions. Enter PRINCE HENRY, LORD JOHN OF LANCASTER, and EARL OF WESTMORELAND]

• Henry IV. I prithee, 2950
  Harry, withdraw thyself; thou bleed'st too much.
  Lord John of Lancaster, go you with him.

• Prince John. Not I, my lord, unless I did bleed too.

• Henry V. I beseech your majesty, make up,
  Lest your retirement do amaze your friends. 2955

• Henry IV. I will do so.
  My Lord of Westmoreland, lead him to his tent.

• Earl of Westmoreland. Come, my lord, I'll lead you to your tent.

• Henry V. Lead me, my lord? I do not need your help:
  And God forbid a shallow scratch should drive 2960
  The Prince of Wales from such a field as this,
  Where stain'd nobility lies trodden on,
  and rebels' arms triumph in massacres!

• Prince John. We breathe too long: come, cousin Westmoreland,
  Our duty this way lies; for God's sake come. 2965

[Exeunt LANCASTER and WESTMORELAND]

• Henry V. By God, thou hast deceived me, Lancaster;
  I did not think thee lord of such a spirit:
  Before, I loved thee as a brother, John;
  But now, I do respect thee as my soul. 2970

• Henry IV. I saw him hold Lord Percy at the point
  With lustier maintenance than I did look for
  Of such an ungrown warrior.

• Henry V. O, this boy
  Lends mettle to us all! 2975

[Exit]

[Enter DOUGLAS]

• Earl of Douglas. Another king! they grow like Hydra's heads:
  I am the Douglas, fatal to all those
  That wear those colours on them: what art thou, 2980
  That counterfeit'st the person of a king?

• Henry IV. The king himself; who, Douglas, grieves at heart
  So many of his shadows thou hast met
  And not the very king. I have two boys
  Seek Percy and thyself about the field: 2985
  But, seeing thou fall'st on me so luckily,
  I will assay thee: so, defend thyself.

• Earl of Douglas. I fear thou art another counterfeit;
  And yet, in faith, thou bear'st thee like a king:
  But mine I am sure thou art, whoe'er thou be, 2990
  And thus I win thee.

[They fight. KING HENRY being in danger, PRINCE HENRY enters]

• Henry V. Hold up thy head, vile Scot, or thou art like
  Never to hold it up again! the spirits
  Of valiant Shirley, Stafford, Blunt, are in my arms: 2995
  It is the Prince of Wales that threatens thee;
  Who never promiseth but he means to pay.
  [They fight: DOUGLAS flies]
  Cheerly, my lord. how fares your grace?
  Sir Nicholas Gawsey hath for succor sent, 3000
  And so hath Clifton: I'll to Clifton straight.

• Henry IV. Stay, and breathe awhile:
  Thou hast redeem'd thy lost opinion,
  And show'd thou makest some tender of my life,
  In this fair rescue thou hast brought to me. 3005

• Henry V. O God! they did me too much injury
  That ever said I hearken'd for your death.
  If it were so, I might have let alone
  The insulting hand of Douglas over you,
  Which would have been as speedy in your end 3010
  As all the poisonous potions in the world
  And saved the treacherous labour of your son.

• Henry IV. Make up to Clifton: I'll to Sir Nicholas Gawsey.

[Exit]

[Enter HOTSPUR]

• Hotspur (Henry Percy). If I mistake not, thou art Harry Monmouth.

• Henry V. Thou speak'st as if I would deny my name.

• Hotspur (Henry Percy). My name is Harry Percy.

• Henry V. Why, then I see
  A very valiant rebel of the name. 3020
  I am the Prince of Wales; and think not, Percy,
  To share with me in glory any more:
  Two stars keep not their motion in one sphere;
  Nor can one England brook a double reign,
  Of Harry Percy and the Prince of Wales. 3025

• Hotspur (Henry Percy). Nor shall it, Harry; for the hour is come
  To end the one of us; and would to God
  Thy name in arms were now as great as mine!

• Henry V. I'll make it greater ere I part from thee;
  And all the budding honours on thy crest 3030
  I'll crop, to make a garland for my head.

• Hotspur (Henry Percy). I can no longer brook thy vanities.

[They fight]

[Enter FALSTAFF]

• Falstaff. Well said, Hal! to it Hal! Nay, you shall find no 3035
  boy's play here, I can tell you.
  [Re-enter DOUGLAS; he fights with FALSTAFF,]
  who falls down as if he were dead, and exit
  DOUGLAS. HOTSPUR is wounded, and falls]

• Hotspur (Henry Percy). O, Harry, thou hast robb'd me of my youth! 3040
  I better brook the loss of brittle life
  Than those proud titles thou hast won of me;
  They wound my thoughts worse than sword my flesh:
  But thought's the slave of life, and life time's fool;
  And time, that takes survey of all the world, 3045
  Must have a stop. O, I could prophesy,
  But that the earthy and cold hand of death
  Lies on my tongue: no, Percy, thou art dust
  And food for—

[Dies]

• Henry V. For worms, brave Percy: fare thee well, great heart!
  Ill-weaved ambition, how much art thou shrunk!
  When that this body did contain a spirit,
  A kingdom for it was too small a bound;
  But now two paces of the vilest earth 3055
  Is room enough: this earth that bears thee dead
  Bears not alive so stout a gentleman.
  If thou wert sensible of courtesy,
  I should not make so dear a show of zeal:
  But let my favours hide thy mangled face; 3060
  And, even in thy behalf, I'll thank myself
  For doing these fair rites of tenderness.
  Adieu, and take thy praise with thee to heaven!
  Thy ignominy sleep with thee in the grave,
  But not remember'd in thy epitaph! 3065
  [He spieth FALSTAFF on the ground]
  What, old acquaintance! could not all this flesh
  Keep in a little life? Poor Jack, farewell!
  I could have better spared a better man:
  O, I should have a heavy miss of thee, 3070
  If I were much in love with vanity!
  Death hath not struck so fat a deer to-day,
  Though many dearer, in this bloody fray.
  Embowell'd will I see thee by and by:
  Till then in blood by noble Percy lie. 3075

[Exit PRINCE HENRY]

• Falstaff. [Rising up] Embowelled! if thou embowel me to-day,
  I'll give you leave to powder me and eat me too
  to-morrow. 'Sblood,'twas time to counterfeit, or
  that hot termagant Scot had paid me scot and lot too. 3080
  Counterfeit? I lie, I am no counterfeit: to die,
  is to be a counterfeit; for he is but the
  counterfeit of a man who hath not the life of a man:
  but to counterfeit dying, when a man thereby
  liveth, is to be no counterfeit, but the true and 3085
  perfect image of life indeed. The better part of
  valour is discretion; in the which better part I
  have saved my life.'Zounds, I am afraid of this
  gunpowder Percy, though he be dead: how, if he
  should counterfeit too and rise? by my faith, I am 3090
  afraid he would prove the better counterfeit.
  Therefore I'll make him sure; yea, and I'll swear I
  killed him. Why may not he rise as well as I?
  Nothing confutes me but eyes, and nobody sees me.
  Therefore, sirrah, 3095
  [Stabbing him]
  with a new wound in your thigh, come you along with me.

[Takes up HOTSPUR on his back]

[Re-enter PRINCE HENRY and LORD JOHN OF LANCASTER]

• Henry V. Come, brother John; full bravely hast thou flesh'd 3100
  Thy maiden sword.

• Prince John. But, soft! whom have we here?
  Did you not tell me this fat man was dead?

• Henry V. I did; I saw him dead,
  Breathless and bleeding on the ground. Art 3105
  thou alive?
  Or is it fantasy that plays upon our eyesight?
  I prithee, speak; we will not trust our eyes
  Without our ears: thou art not what thou seem'st.

• Falstaff. No, that's certain; I am not a double man: but if I 3110
  be not Jack Falstaff, then am I a Jack. There is Percy:
  [Throwing the body down]
  if your father will do me any honour, so; if not, let
  him kill the next Percy himself. I look to be either
  earl or duke, I can assure you. 3115

• Henry V. Why, Percy I killed myself and saw thee dead.

• Falstaff. Didst thou? Lord, Lord, how this world is given to
  lying! I grant you I was down and out of breath;
  and so was he: but we rose both at an instant and
  fought a long hour by Shrewsbury clock. If I may be 3120
  believed, so; if not, let them that should reward
  valour bear the sin upon their own heads. I'll take
  it upon my death, I gave him this wound in the
  thigh: if the man were alive and would deny it,
  'zounds, I would make him eat a piece of my sword. 3125

• Prince John. This is the strangest tale that ever I heard.

• Henry V. This is the strangest fellow, brother John.
  Come, bring your luggage nobly on your back:
  For my part, if a lie may do thee grace,
  I'll gild it with the happiest terms I have. 3130
  [A retreat is sounded]
  The trumpet sounds retreat; the day is ours.
  Come, brother, let us to the highest of the field,
  To see what friends are living, who are dead.

[Exeunt PRINCE HENRY and LANCASTER]

• Falstaff. I'll follow, as they say, for reward. He that
  rewards me, God reward him! If I do grow great,
  I'll grow less; for I'll purge, and leave sack, and
  live cleanly as a nobleman should do.

[Exit]