SCENE I. London. A street. The Life of King Henry the Fifth  Shakespeare homepage  |  Henry V  | Act 2, Scene 1 

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 Enter Corporal NYM and Lieutenant BARDOLPH  BARDOLPH  Well met, Corporal Nym. 

 NYM  Good morrow, Lieutenant Bardolph. 

 BARDOLPH  What, are Ancient Pistol and you friends yet? 

 NYM  For my part, I care not: I say little; but when 

 time shall serve, there shall be smiles; but that 

 shall be as it may. I dare not fight; but I will 

 wink and hold out mine iron: it is a simple one; but 

 what though? it will toast cheese, and it will 

 endure cold as another man's sword will: and 

 there's an end. 

 BARDOLPH  I will bestow a breakfast to make you friends; and 

 we'll be all three sworn brothers to France: let it 

 be so, good Corporal Nym. 

 NYM  Faith, I will live so long as I may, that's the 

 certain of it; and when I cannot live any longer, I 

 will do as I may: that is my rest, that is the 

 rendezvous of it. 

 BARDOLPH  It is certain, corporal, that he is married to Nell 

 Quickly: and certainly she did you wrong; for you 

 were troth-plight to her. 

 NYM  I cannot tell: things must be as they may: men may 

 sleep, and they may have their throats about them at 

 that time; and some say knives have edges. It must 

 be as it may: though patience be a tired mare, yet 

 she will plod. There must be conclusions. Well, I 

 cannot tell. 



 Enter PISTOL and Hostess  BARDOLPH  Here comes Ancient Pistol and his wife: good 

 corporal, be patient here. How now, mine host Pistol! 

 PISTOL  Base tike, call'st thou me host? Now, by this hand, 

 I swear, I scorn the term; Nor shall my Nell keep lodgers. 

 Hostess  No, by my troth, not long; for we cannot lodge and 

 board a dozen or fourteen gentlewomen that live 

 honestly by the prick of their needles, but it will 

 be thought we keep a bawdy house straight. 



 NYM and PISTOL draw  O well a day, Lady, if he be not drawn now! we 

 shall see wilful adultery and murder committed. 

 BARDOLPH  Good lieutenant! good corporal! offer nothing here. 

 NYM  Pish! 

 PISTOL  Pish for thee, Iceland dog! thou prick-ear'd cur of Iceland! 

 Hostess  Good Corporal Nym, show thy valour, and put up your sword. 

 NYM  Will you shog off? I would have you solus. 

 PISTOL  'Solus,' egregious dog? O viper vile! 

 The 'solus' in thy most mervailous face; 

 The 'solus' in thy teeth, and in thy throat, 

 And in thy hateful lungs, yea, in thy maw, perdy, 

 And, which is worse, within thy nasty mouth! 

 I do retort the 'solus' in thy bowels; 

 For I can take, and Pistol's cock is up, 

 And flashing fire will follow. 

 NYM  I am not Barbason; you cannot conjure me. I have an 

 humour to knock you indifferently well. If you grow 

 foul with me, Pistol, I will scour you with my 

 rapier, as I may, in fair terms: if you would walk 

 off, I would prick your guts a little, in good 

 terms, as I may: and that's the humour of it. 

 PISTOL  O braggart vile and damned furious wight! 

 The grave doth gape, and doting death is near; 

 Therefore exhale. 

 BARDOLPH  Hear me, hear me what I say: he that strikes the 

 first stroke, I'll run him up to the hilts, as I am a soldier. 



 Draws  PISTOL  An oath of mickle might; and fury shall abate. 

 Give me thy fist, thy fore-foot to me give: 

 Thy spirits are most tall. 

 NYM  I will cut thy throat, one time or other, in fair 

 terms: that is the humour of it. 

 PISTOL  'Couple a gorge!' 

 That is the word. I thee defy again. 

 O hound of Crete, think'st thou my spouse to get? 

 No; to the spital go, 

 And from the powdering tub of infamy 

 Fetch forth the lazar kite of Cressid's kind, 

 Doll Tearsheet she by name, and her espouse: 

 I have, and I will hold, the quondam Quickly 

 For the only she; and--pauca, there's enough. Go to. 



 Enter the Boy  Boy  Mine host Pistol, you must come to my master, and 

 you, hostess: he is very sick, and would to bed. 

 Good Bardolph, put thy face between his sheets, and 

 do the office of a warming-pan. Faith, he's very ill. 

 BARDOLPH  Away, you rogue! 

 Hostess  By my troth, he'll yield the crow a pudding one of 

 these days. The king has killed his heart. Good 

 husband, come home presently. 



 Exeunt Hostess and Boy  BARDOLPH  Come, shall I make you two friends? We must to 

 France together: why the devil should we keep 

 knives to cut one another's throats? 

 PISTOL  Let floods o'erswell, and fiends for food howl on! 

 NYM  You'll pay me the eight shillings I won of you at betting? 

 PISTOL  Base is the slave that pays. 

 NYM  That now I will have: that's the humour of it. 

 PISTOL  As manhood shall compound: push home. 



 They draw  BARDOLPH  By this sword, he that makes the first thrust, I'll 

 kill him; by this sword, I will. 

 PISTOL  Sword is an oath, and oaths must have their course. 

 BARDOLPH  Corporal Nym, an thou wilt be friends, be friends: 

 an thou wilt not, why, then, be enemies with me too. 

 Prithee, put up. 

 NYM  I shall have my eight shillings I won of you at betting? 

 PISTOL  A noble shalt thou have, and present pay; 

 And liquor likewise will I give to thee, 

 And friendship shall combine, and brotherhood: 

 I'll live by Nym, and Nym shall live by me; 

 Is not this just? for I shall sutler be 

 Unto the camp, and profits will accrue. 

 Give me thy hand. 

 NYM  I shall have my noble? 

 PISTOL  In cash most justly paid. 

 NYM  Well, then, that's the humour of't. 



 Re-enter Hostess  Hostess  As ever you came of women, come in quickly to Sir 

 John. Ah, poor heart! he is so shaked of a burning 

 quotidian tertian, that it is most lamentable to 

 behold. Sweet men, come to him. 

 NYM  The king hath run bad humours on the knight; that's 

 the even of it. 

 PISTOL  Nym, thou hast spoke the right; 

 His heart is fracted and corroborate. 

 NYM  The king is a good king: but it must be as it may; 

 he passes some humours and careers. 

 PISTOL  Let us condole the knight; for, lambkins we will live. 

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