call up the gentlemen; they will along with company, for they have great charge.

[Exeunt Carriers. .

S CEN. E II.

Enter Chamberlain.

Gads. What, ho, chamberlain !
Cham. At hand, quoth pick-purfe.

Gads. That's ev'n as fair, as at hand, quoth the chamberlain; for thou varieft no more from picking of purfes, than giving direction doth from labouring; thou lay'it the plot how.

Cham. Good-morrow, mafter Gads-hill. It holds current that I told you yefternight. There's a franklin in the wild of Kent hath brought three. hundred marks with him in gold; I heard him tell it to one of his company last night at fupper, a kind of auditor, one that hath abundance of charge too, God knows what. They are up already, and call for eggs and butter. They will away prefently.

Gads. Sirrah, if they meet not with St Nicholas' + clarks, I'll give thee this neck.

Cham. No, I'll none of it; I pr'ythee keep that for the hangman; for I know thou worshipp'ft St Nicholas as truly as a man of falfhood may.

Gads. What talk'ft thou to me of the hangman If I hang, I'll make a fat pair of gallows: for if I hang, old Sir John hangs with me, and thou know'st he's no ftarveling. Tut, there are other Trojans that thou dream'It not of, the which, for fport-fake, are content to do the profellion fome grace; that would, if matters fhould be look'd into, for their own credit fake, make all whole. I am join'd with no foot-land-rakers, no long-staff-fix-penny-strikers, none of thofe mad Muftachio-purple-hu'd-maltworms; but with nobility and tranquillity, burgo

* Franklin is a little gentleman. Johnson.

St Nicholas was the patron faint of fcholars: and Nicholas, or Old Nick, is a cant name for the devil. Hence he equivocally calls robbers St Nicholas's clarks. Warh

masters, and great oneyers; fuch as can hold in, fuch as will trike fooner than fpeak, and fpeak fooner than think, and think fooner than pray; and yet I lie, for they pray continually unto their faint the commonwealth; or rather, not pray to her, but prey on her; for they ride up and down on her, and make her their boots.

Cham. What, the commonwealth their boots? will the hold out water in foul way?

Gads. She will, fhe will; juftice hath liquor'd her. We fteal as in a castle, cock-fure; we have the receipt of Fern-feed *, we walk invifible.

Cham. Nay, I think rather you are more beholden to the night, than the fern-feed, for your walking invisible.

Gads. Give me thy hand: thou fhalt have a share in our purchase, as I am a true man.

Cham. Nay, rather let me have it, as you are a false thief.

2

Gads. Go to, Homo is a common name to all men.-Bid the oftler bring my gelding out of the table: farewell, ye muddy knave. [Exeunt.

Changes to the Highway.

Enter Prince Henry, Poins, and Peto.

Poins. Come, fhelter, fhelter. I have removed Falftaff's horfe, and he frets like a gumm'd velvet. P. Henry. Stand clofe.

Fern is one of thofe plants which have their feed on the back of the leaf fo fmall as to efcape the fight. Those who perceived that fern was propagated by femi-nation, and yet could never fee the feed, were much at a lofs for a folution of the difficulty; and as wonder always endeavours to augment itself, they afcribed to fern-feed many ftrange properties, fome of which the ruftic virgins have not yet forgotten or exploded.

Johnfon.

Enter Falftaff.

Fal. Poins, Poins, and be hang'd, Poins! P. Henry. Peace, ye fat-kidney'd rascal, what a brawling doft thou keep?

Fal. What, Poins! Hal!

P. Henry. He is walk'd up to the top of the hill, I'll go feek him.

*

Fal. I am accurs'd to rob in that thief's company: the rafcal hath remov'd my horfe, and ty'd him I know not where. If I travel but four foot by the fquare farther afoot I fhall break my wind. Well, I doubt not but to die a fair death for all this, if I 'cape hanging for killing that rogue. I have forfworn his company hourly any time this two and twenty year, and yet I am bewitch'd with the rogue's company. If the rafcal have not given me medicines to make me love him, I'll be hang'd; it could not be elfe; I have drunk medicines. Poins! Hal! a plague upon you both. Bardolph! Peto! I'll ftarve ere I'll rob a foot further. An 'twere not as good a deed as to drink, to turn true man, and to leave thefe rogues, I am the verieft varlet that ever chew'd with a tooth. Eight yards of uneven ground is threefcore and ten miles afoot with me, and the ftony-hearted villains know it well enough. A plague upon't when thieves cannot be true one to another. [They whistle.] Whew!-a plague upon you all. Give me my horfe; you rogues, give me my horfe, and be hang'd.

P. Henry. Peace, ye fat guts! lv down, lay thine ear clofe to the ground, and lift if thou canst hear the tread of travellers.

Fal. Have you any levers to lift me up again, being down? 'Sblood, I'll not bear mine own fleth fo far afoot again for all the coin in thy father's ex

The thought is humourous, and alludes to his bulk: infinuating, that his legs being four foot asunder, when he advanced four foot, this put together made four foot Square. Warburton.

chequer. What a plague mean ye to colt me thus?

P. Henry. Thou lieft, thou art not colted, thou art uncolted.

Fal. I pr'ythee, good Prince Hal, help me to my horfe, good King's fon.

P. Henry. Out, you rogue! fhall I be your oftler? Fal. Go hang thyfelf in thy own heir-apparent garters; if I be ta'en, I'll peach for this. An I have not ballads made on you all, and fung to filthy tunes, let a cup of fack be my poifon. When a jeft is fo forward, and afoot too— I hate it.

Gads. Stand,

Enter Gads-hill.

Fal. So I do against my will.

Poins. O, 'tis our fetter, I know his voice. Bardolph. What news?

Gads. Cafe ye, cafe ye; on with your visors; there's money of the king's coming down the hill, 'tis going to the king's exchequer.

Fal. You lie, you rogue, 'tis going to the king's

tavern.

Gads. There's enough to make us all.

Fal. To be hang'd.

P. Henry. Sirs, you four fhall front them in the narrow lane; Ned Poins and I will walk lower; if they 'scape from your encounter, then they light

on us.

Peto. But how many be of them?

Gads. Some eight or ten.

Fal. Zounds! will they not rob us?

P. Henry. What, a coward, Sir John Paunch. Fal. Indeed I am not John of Gaunt your grandfather; but yet no coward, Hal.

P. Henry. Well, we'll leave that to the proof. Poins. Sirrah, Jack, thy horfe ftands behind the

To colt, is to fool, to trick. Fohnson.

Alluding to the order of the garter, in which he was inrolled as heir-apparent. Johnson.

hedge; when thou need'ft him, there shalt thou find him. Farewell, and ftand faft.

Fal. Now cannot I ftrike him, if I fhould be hang'd.

P. Henry. Ned, where are our disguises?
Poins. Here, hard by.

Stand clofe.

Fal. Now, my mafters, happy man be his dole, fay I; every man to his business.

Trav. Come, neighbour; the boy fhall lead our horfes down the hill; we'll walk afoot a while, and ease our legs.

Thieves. Stand.

Trav. Jefu bless us!

Fal. Strike; down with them; cut the villains' throats: ah! whorefon caterpillars; bacon-fed knaves; they hate us youth; down with them, fleece them.

Trav. O, we are undone, both we and ours for

ever.

Fal. Hang ye, gorbellied knaves, are you undone ? no, ye fat chuffs, I would your ftore were here. On, bacons, on! what, ye knaves? young men muft live; you are grand jurors, are ye? we'll jure ye, i'faith.

[Here they rob and bind them. Exeunt.

Enter Prince Henry and Poins.

P. Henry. The thieves have bound the true men. Now could thou and I rob the thieves, and go merrily to London, it would be argument for a week, laughter for a month, and a good jeft for ever.

Poins. Stand close, I hear them coming.

Enter Thieves again at the other part of the stage.

Fal. Come, my mafters, let us fhare, and then to horfe before day. An the Prince and Poins be not two arrant cowards, there's no equity stirring. There is no more valour in that Poins than in a wild-duck.