SCENE III. Gloucestershire. SHALLOW'S orchard. The Second part of King Henry the Fourth  Shakespeare homepage  |  Henry IV, part 2  | Act 5, Scene 3 

 Previous scene  |  Next scene  SCENE III. Gloucestershire. SHALLOW'S orchard. 

 Enter FALSTAFF, SHALLOW, SILENCE, DAVY, BARDOLPH, and the Page  SHALLOW  Nay, you shall see my orchard, where, in an arbour, 

 we will eat a last year's pippin of my own graffing, 

 with a dish of caraways, and so forth: come, 

 cousin Silence: and then to bed. 

 FALSTAFF  'Fore God, you have here a goodly dwelling and a rich. 

 SHALLOW  Barren, barren, barren; beggars all, beggars all, 

 Sir John: marry, good air. Spread, Davy; spread, 

 Davy; well said, Davy. 

 FALSTAFF  This Davy serves you for good uses; he is your 

 serving-man and your husband. 

 SHALLOW  A good varlet, a good varlet, a very good varlet, 

 Sir John: by the mass, I have drunk too much sack 

 at supper: a good varlet. Now sit down, now sit 

 down: come, cousin. 

 SILENCE  Ah, sirrah! quoth-a, we shall 

 Do nothing but eat, and make good cheer, 



 Singing  And praise God for the merry year; 

 When flesh is cheap and females dear, 

 And lusty lads roam here and there 

 So merrily, 

 And ever among so merrily. 

 FALSTAFF  There's a merry heart! Good Master Silence, I'll 

 give you a health for that anon. 

 SHALLOW  Give Master Bardolph some wine, Davy. 

 DAVY  Sweet sir, sit; I'll be with you anon. most sweet 

 sir, sit. Master page, good master page, sit. 

 Proface! What you want in meat, we'll have in drink: 

 but you must bear; the heart's all. 



 Exit  SHALLOW  Be merry, Master Bardolph; and, my little soldier 

 there, be merry. 

 SILENCE  Be merry, be merry, my wife has all; 



 Singing  For women are shrews, both short and tall: 

 'Tis merry in hall when beards wag all, 

 And welcome merry Shrove-tide. 

 Be merry, be merry. 

 FALSTAFF  I did not think Master Silence had been a man of 

 this mettle. 

 SILENCE  Who, I? I have been merry twice and once ere now. 



 Re-enter DAVY  DAVY  There's a dish of leather-coats for you. 



 To BARDOLPH  SHALLOW  Davy! 

 DAVY  Your worship! I'll be with you straight. 



 To BARDOLPH  A cup of wine, sir? 

 SILENCE  A cup of wine that's brisk and fine, 



 Singing  And drink unto the leman mine; 

 And a merry heart lives long-a. 

 FALSTAFF  Well said, Master Silence. 

 SILENCE  An we shall be merry, now comes in the sweet o' the night. 

 FALSTAFF  Health and long life to you, Master Silence. 

 SILENCE  Fill the cup, and let it come; 



 Singing  I'll pledge you a mile to the bottom. 

 SHALLOW  Honest Bardolph, welcome: if thou wantest any 

 thing, and wilt not call, beshrew thy heart. 

 Welcome, my little tiny thief. 



 To the Page  And welcome indeed too. I'll drink to Master 

 Bardolph, and to all the cavaleros about London. 

 DAVY  I hove to see London once ere I die. 

 BARDOLPH  An I might see you there, Davy,-- 

 SHALLOW  By the mass, you'll crack a quart together, ha! 

 Will you not, Master Bardolph? 

 BARDOLPH  Yea, sir, in a pottle-pot. 

 SHALLOW  By God's liggens, I thank thee: the knave will 

 stick by thee, I can assure thee that. A' will not 

 out; he is true bred. 

 BARDOLPH  And I'll stick by him, sir. 

 SHALLOW  Why, there spoke a king. Lack nothing: be merry. 



 Knocking within  Look who's at door there, ho! who knocks? 



 Exit DAVY  FALSTAFF  Why, now you have done me right. 



 To SILENCE, seeing him take off a bumper  SILENCE  [Singing] 

 Do me right, 

 And dub me knight: Samingo. 

 Is't not so? 

 FALSTAFF  'Tis so. 

 SILENCE  Is't so? Why then, say an old man can do somewhat. 



 Re-enter DAVY  DAVY  An't please your worship, there's one Pistol come 

 from the court with news. 

 FALSTAFF  From the court! let him come in. 



 Enter PISTOL  How now, Pistol! 

 PISTOL  Sir John, God save you! 

 FALSTAFF  What wind blew you hither, Pistol? 

 PISTOL  Not the ill wind which blows no man to good. Sweet 

 knight, thou art now one of the greatest men in this realm. 

 SILENCE  By'r lady, I think a' be, but goodman Puff of Barson. 

 PISTOL  Puff! 

 Puff in thy teeth, most recreant coward base! 

 Sir John, I am thy Pistol and thy friend, 

 And helter-skelter have I rode to thee, 

 And tidings do I bring and lucky joys 

 And golden times and happy news of price. 

 FALSTAFF  I pray thee now, deliver them like a man of this world. 

 PISTOL  A foutre for the world and worldlings base! 

 I speak of Africa and golden joys. 

 FALSTAFF  O base Assyrian knight, what is thy news? 

 Let King Cophetua know the truth thereof. 

 SILENCE  And Robin Hood, Scarlet, and John. 



 Singing  PISTOL  Shall dunghill curs confront the Helicons? 

 And shall good news be baffled? 

 Then, Pistol, lay thy head in Furies' lap. 

 SILENCE  Honest gentleman, I know not your breeding. 

 PISTOL  Why then, lament therefore. 

 SHALLOW  Give me pardon, sir: if, sir, you come with news 

 from the court, I take it there's but two ways, 

 either to utter them, or to conceal them. I am, 

 sir, under the king, in some authority. 

 PISTOL  Under which king, Besonian? speak, or die. 

 SHALLOW  Under King Harry. 

 PISTOL  Harry the Fourth? or Fifth? 

 SHALLOW  Harry the Fourth. 

 PISTOL  A foutre for thine office! 

 Sir John, thy tender lambkin now is king; 

 Harry the Fifth's the man. I speak the truth: 

 When Pistol lies, do this; and fig me, like 

 The bragging Spaniard. 

 FALSTAFF  What, is the old king dead? 

 PISTOL  As nail in door: the things I speak are just. 

 FALSTAFF  Away, Bardolph! saddle my horse. Master Robert 

 Shallow, choose what office thou wilt in the land, 

 'tis thine. Pistol, I will double-charge thee with dignities. 

 BARDOLPH  O joyful day! 

 I would not take a knighthood for my fortune. 

 PISTOL  What! I do bring good news. 

 FALSTAFF  Carry Master Silence to bed. Master Shallow, my 

 Lord Shallow,--be what thou wilt; I am fortune's 

 steward--get on thy boots: we'll ride all night. 

 O sweet Pistol! Away, Bardolph! 



 Exit BARDOLPH  Come, Pistol, utter more to me; and withal devise 

 something to do thyself good. Boot, boot, Master 

 Shallow: I know the young king is sick for me. Let 

 us take any man's horses; the laws of England are at 

 my commandment. Blessed are they that have been my 

 friends; and woe to my lord chief-justice! 

 PISTOL  Let vultures vile seize on his lungs also! 

 'Where is the life that late I led?' say they: 

 Why, here it is; welcome these pleasant days! 



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