ACT V 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. | 5 |
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 | 10 |
| 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. | 15 |
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 | 20 |
| 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. | 25 |
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 | 30 |
| 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. | 35 |
| 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. | 40 |
| 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; | 45 |
| 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; | 50 |
| 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 | 55 |
| 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? | 60 |
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. | 65 |
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. | 70 |
| 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. | 75 |
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 | 80 |
| 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, | 85 |
| 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! | 90 |
| 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? | 95 |
| 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 | 100 |
| 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. | 105 |
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: | 110 |
| 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 | 115 |
| 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. | 120 |
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 | 125 |
| 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! | 130 |
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! | |
| Exeunt | |