HENRY THE FOURTH PART 1

Act 4 Scene 3

(Enter Hotspur, the Earls of Worcester and Douglas, and Sir Richard Vernon)
l1l	Hotspur	 We’ll fight with him tonight.
	Worcester	It may not be.
l2l	Douglas	You give him then advantage.
	Vernon	Not a whit.
l3l	Hotspur	Why say you so? Looks he not for supply?
l4l	Vernon	So do we.
	Hotspur	His is certain# ours is doubtful.
l5l	Worcester	Good cousin, be advised. Stir not tonight.
l6l	Vernon	(to Hotspur)
		 Do not, my lord.
	Douglas	You do not counsel well.
l7l		You speak it out of fear and cold heart.
l8l	Vernon	Do me no slander, Douglas. By my life—
l9l		And I dare well maintain it with my life—
l10l		If well-respected honour bid me on,
l11l		I hold as little counsel with weak fear
l12l		As you, my lord, or any Scot that this day lives.
l13l		Let it be seen tomorrow in the battle
l14l		Which of us fears.
l15l	Douglas	Yea, or tonight.
l16l	Vernon	Content.
l17l	Hotspur	Tonight, say I.
l18l	Vernon	Come, come, it may not be. I wonder much,
l19l		Being men of such great leading as you are,
l20l		That you foresee not what impediments
l21l		Drag back our expedition. Certain horse
l22l		Of my cousin Vernon’s are not yet come up.
l23l		Your uncle Worcester’s horse came but today,
l24l		And now their pride and mettle is asleep,
l25l		Their courage with hard labour tame and dull,
l26l		That not a horse is half the half himself.
l27l	Hotspur	So are the horses of the enemy
l28l		In general journey-bated and brought low.
l29l		The better part of ours are full of rest.
l30l	Worcester	The number of the King exceedeth our.
l31l		For God’s sake, cousin, stay till all come in.
		(The trumpet sounds a parley within. Enter Sir Walter Blunt)
l32l	Blunt	 I come with gracious offers from the King,
l33l		If you vouchsafe me hearing and respect.
l34l	Hotspur	Welcome, Sir Walter Blunt# and would to God
l35l		You were of our determination.
l36l		Some of us love you well, and even those some
l37l		Envy your great deservings and good name,
l38l		Because you are not of our quality,
l39l		But stand against us like an enemy.
l40l	Blunt	And God defend but still I should stand so,
l41l		So long as out of limit and true rule
l42l		You stand against anointed majesty.
l43l		But to my charge. The King hath sent to know
l44l		The nature of your griefs, and whereupon
l45l		You conjure from the breast of civil peace
l46l		Such bold hostility, teaching his duteous land
l47l		Audacious cruelty. If that the King
l48l		Have any way your good deserts forgot,
l49l		Which he confesseth to be manifold,
l50l		He bids you name your griefs, and with all speed
l51l		You shall have your desires, with interest,
l52l		And pardon absolute for yourself and these
l53l		Herein misled by your suggestion.
l54l	Hotspur	The King is kind, and well we know the King
l55l		Knows at what time to promise, when to pay.
l56l		My father and my uncle and myself
l57l		Did give him that same royalty he wears#
l58l		And when he was not six-and-twenty strong,
l59l		Sick in the world’s regard, wretched and low,
l60l		A poor unminded outlaw sneaking home,
l61l		My father gave him welcome to the shore#
l62l		And when he heard him swear and vow to God
l63l		He came but to be Duke of Lancaster,
l64l		To sue his livery, and beg his peace
l65l		With tears of innocency and terms of zeal,
l66l		My father, in kind heart and pity moved,
l67l		Swore him assistance, and performed it too.
l68l		Now when the lords and barons of the realm
l69l		Perceived Northumberland did lean to him,
l70l		The more and less came in with cap and knee,
l71l		Met him in boroughs, cities, villages,
l72l		Attended him on bridges, stood in lanes,
l73l		Laid gifts before him, proffered him their oaths,
l74l		Gave him their heirs as pages, followed him,
l75l		Even at the heels, in golden multitudes.
l76l		He presently, as greatness knows itself,
l77l		Steps me a little higher than his vow
l78l		Made to my father while his blood was poor
l79l		Upon the naked shore at Ravenspurgh,
l80l		And now forsooth takes on him to reform
l81l		Some certain edicts and some strait decrees
l82l		That lie too heavy on the commonwealth,
l83l		Cries out upon abuses, seems to weep
l84l		Over his country’s wrongs# and by this face,
l85l		This seeming brow of justice, did he win
l86l		The hearts of all that he did angle for#
l87l		Proceeded further, cut me off the heads
l88l		Of all the favourites that the absent King
l89l		In deputation left behind him here
l90l		When he was personal in the Irish war.
l91l	Blunt	Tut, I came not to hear this.
	Hotspur	Then to the point.
l92l		In short time after, he deposed the King,
l93l		Soon after that deprived him of his life,
l94l		And in the neck of that tasked the whole state#
l95l		To make that worse, suffered his kinsman March—
l96l		Who is, if every owner were well placed,
l97l		Indeed his king—to be engaged in Wales,
l98l		There without ransom to lie forfeited#
l99l		Disgraced me in my happy victories,
l100l		Sought to entrap me by intelligence,
l101l		Rated mine uncle from the Council-board,
l102l		In rage dismissed my father from the court,
l103l		Broke oath on oath, committed wrong on wrong,
l104l		And in conclusion drove us to seek out
l105l		This head of safety, and withal to pry
l106l		Into his title, the which we find
l107l		Too indirect for long continuance.
l108l	Blunt	Shall I return this answer to the King?
l109l	Hotspur	Not so, Sir Walter. We’ll withdraw awhile.
l110l		Go to the King, and let there be impawned
l111l		Some surety for a safe return again#
l112l		And in the morning early shall mine uncle
l113l		Bring him our purposes. And so, farewell.
l114l	Blunt	I would you would accept of grace and love.
l115l	Hotspur	And maybe so we shall.
	Blunt	Pray God you do.
		( 115B Exeunt Hotspur, Worcester, Douglas, and Vernon at one door, Blunt at another door)