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He never did fall off, my fovereign Liege (9),
But by the chance of war; to prove that true,
Needs no more but one tongue, for all those wounds,
Thofe mouthed wounds, which valiantly he took,
When on the gentle Severn's fedgy bank,

In fingle oppofition, hand to hand,

He did confound the best part of an hour
In changing argument with great Glendower:

Three times they breath'd, and three times did they drink,
Upon agreement, of fwift Severn's flood;
Who then affrighted with their bloody looks,
Ran fearfully among the trembling reeds,
And hid his crifp'd head in the hollow bank,
Blood-ftained with thefe valiant combatants.
Never did base and rotten policy

Colour her working with fuch deadly wounds;
Nor ever could the noble Mortimer

(9) He never did fall off my fou'reign Liege,

But by the chance of war.] The fenfe here is very carelefly exprefs'd, if this be the genuine reading: for, in that case, the poet muft mean; he never did fall off, tho' we by the chance of war have loft his fervice. Mr. Warburton has suspected the text; and therefore I'll fubjcin his reasons and emendation."A very pretty "way of apologizing for Mortimer! The King calls him revolted "Mortimer; and well he might, if he had indeed revolted, tho' by

the chance of war. Can the chance of war excufe a foldier for "forfeiting his honour? Our military men will scarce allow it. "But in cafe Hot-spur had a mind to infinuate, that the chance of

war was an alievation to the revolt, he would not, fure, in "common sense have resented the epithet in fuch a manner as to "repeat the King's words with great disdain ;—revolted Mortimer! "This would be execrable stuff, indeed, in the mouth of a foldier, ❝or a reafoner. I am perfuaded therefore the poet wrote;

He never did fall off, my fou'reign Liege,

But 'bides the chance of war.

“i. e. abides by it, endures it. And that, indeed, was a fufficient "proof that he had not fall'n off, if he yet endured the rigours of "imprisonment. And that this was truly Hot-fpur's fentiment, that is, that he had at leaft a mind to make the King believe fo, hear his own words afterwards;

-fuffer'd bis kinfman March, (Who is, if ev'ry owner were right plac'd Indeed, bis King ;) to be encag'd in Wales, &c.

Receive

Receive fo many, and all willingly.

Then let him not be flander'd with revolt.

K. Henry. Thou doft belie him, Percy, thou belieft him;; He never did encounter with Glendower:

He durft as well have met the devil alone,
As Owen Glendower for an enemy.

Art not afham'd? but, firrah, from this hour
Let me not hear you speak of Mortimer.

Send me your prifoners with the speedieft means,,
Or you fhall hear in fuch a kind from me:
As will difplease you-My Lord Northumberland,
We licence your departure with your fon.
Send us your prisoners, or you'll hear of it.

[Exit K. Henry..

Hot. And if the devil come and roar for them,,

I will not fend them. I will after strait,

And tell him fo; for I will eafe my heart,.

Although it be with hazard of my head.

North.What, drunk with choler? stay, and pause a while;; Here comes your uncle.

Enter Worcesters.

Hot. Speak of Mortimer?

Yes, I will fpeak of him; and let my foul!
Want mercy, if I do not join with him.
In his behalf, I'll empty all these veins,
And shed my dear blood drop by drop in dust,,
But I will lift the downfall'n Mortimer
As high i'th' air as this unthankful King,,
As this ingrate and cankred Bolingbroke..

North. Brother, the King hath made your nephew madi.

[To Worcester.. Wor. Who ftrook this heat up, after I was gone?: Hot. He will, forfooth, have all my prifoners ::

And when I urg'd the ranfom once again

Of my wife's brother, then his cheek look'd pale,,
And on my face he turn'd an eye of death,,
Trembling ev'n at the name of Mortimer、

By

Wor. I cannot blame him; was he not proclaim'd;,
Richard that dead is, the next of blood?
E 6

North..

North. He was: I heard the proclamation;
And then it was, when the unhappy King
(Whofe wrongs in us, God pardon !) did fet forth
Upon his Irish expedition;

From whence he, intercepted, did return

To be depos'd, and shortly murdered.

Wor. And for whofe death, we in the world's wide mouth

Live fcandaliz'd, and foully spoken of.

Hot. But foft, I pray you Proclaim my brother Mortimer Heir to the crown ?

did King Richard then

North. He did; myself did hear it,

Hot. Nay, then I cannot blame his cousin King,
That with'd him on the barren mountains ftarv'd.
But fhall it be, that you, that fet the crown
Upon the head of this forgetful man,
And for his fake wear the detefted blot
Of murd'rous fubornation? hall it be,
That you a world of curfes undergo,
Being the agents or bafe fecond means,
The cords, the ladder, or the hangman rather?
(O pardon me, that I defcend fo low,
To fhew the line and the predicament
Wherein you range under this fubtle King)
Shall it for fhame be spoken in thefe days,
Or fill up chronicles in time to come,
That men of your nobility and power
Ingag'd them both in an unjust behalf;
(As both of you, God pardon it! have done :)
To put down Richard, that sweet lovely rose,
And plant this thorn, this canker Bolingbroke?
And hall it in more shame be further spoken,
That you are fool'd, discarded, and fhook off
By him, for whom these shames ye underwent ?
No; yet time ferves, wherein you may redeem
Your banish'd honours, and restore yourselves
Into the good thoughts of the world again.
Revenge the jeering and difdain'd contempt
Of this proud King, who ftudies day and night
To answer all the debt he owes unto you,

Ev❜n with the bloody payments of your deaths:
Therefore, I fay

Wor. Peace, coufin, fay no more.
And now I will unclafp a fecret book,
And to your quick-conceiving difcontents
I'll read you matter, deep and dangerous;
As full of peril and advent'rous spirit,
As to o'erwalk a current, roaring loud,
On the unfteadfast footing of a fpear.

Hot. If he fall in, good night, or fink or fwim:
Send danger from the east unto the west,

So honour cross it from the north to fouth;

And let them grapple.O! the blood more firs
To rouze a lion, than to ftart a hare.

North. Imagination of fome great exploit
Drives him beyond the bounds of patience.

Hot. By heav'n, methinks, it were an eafy leap (10),
To pluck bright honour from the pale-fac'd moon;
Or dive into the bottom of the deep,

Where fadom-line could never touch the ground,
And pluck up drowned honour by the locks:
So he, that doth redeem her thence, might wear
Without corrival all her dignities.

But out upon this half-fac'd fellowship!

Wer. He apprehends a world of figures here,
But not the form of what he fhould attend.
Good coufin, give me audience for a while.
Hot. I cry you mercy.

Wor. Thofe fame noble Scots,
That are your prisoners-

(10) By beav'n, methinks, it were an easy leap

To pluck bright bonour, &c.] This bold Rbodomontado of Hot fpur, however, by the mouthing of an after, it may be always crown'd with applause; I find, and not without fome juftice, was carp'd at and ridicul'd in our author's time. In Beaumont and Fleteber's Knight of the burning Peftle, (the Rebearfal of those days,) a grocer's wife brings her 'prentice Ralph to the Play-boufe to act a part; and encouraging him to exert, fays, Hold up thy bead, Ralph ; Shew the gentlemen what thou can't do: Speak a huffing part: warrant you the gentlemen will accept of it. And then Ralph repeats this whole fpeech of Hot-Spur.~

Hot.

Hot. I'll keep them all.

By heav'n, he thall not have a Scot of them:
No, if a Scot would fave his foul, he shall not;
I'll keep them, by this hand.

Wor. You ftart away,

And lend no ear unto my purposes
Thofe prifoners you shall keep.

Hot. I will; that's flat:

He faid, he would not ranfom Mortimer :
Forbade my tongue to fpeak of Mortimer:
But I will find him when he lies afleep,
And in his ear I'll holla, Mortimer!
Nay, I will have a starling taught to speak
Nothing but Mortimer, and give it him,
To keep his anger ftill in motion..

Wor, Hear you, coufin a word.

Hot. All ftudies here I folemnly defy,
Save how to gall and pinch this. Bolingbroke:
And that fame fword and buckler Prince of Wales;.
(But that, I think, his father loves him not,
And would be glad he met with some mischance,)
I'd have him poifon'd with a pot of ale.

Wor. Farewel, my kinfman; I will talk to you,.
When you are better temper'd to attend.

North. Why, what a wafp tongu'd and impatient-fool: Art thou, to break into this woman's mood, Tying thine ear to no tongue but thine own?

Hot. Why, look you, I am whipt and scourg'd with rods,.
Nettled, and ftung with pifmires, when I hear
Of this vile politician Bolingbroke:

In Richard's time- what do ye call the place ?
A plague upon't! it is in Glo'ferfire-
"Twas where the mad-cap Duke his uncle kept-
His uncle York-where I first bow'd my knee
Unto this King of. fmiles, this Bolingbroke :
When you and he came back from Ravenspurg
North. At Barkley castle,

Hot. You fay true ::

Why, what a deal of candied courtesy

This fawning greyhound then did proffer me!:

Look,

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