Page:Henry IV Part 2 (1921) Yale.djvu/61

King Henry the Fourth, II. iv

and foining o' nights, and begin to patch up

thine old body for heaven?

Fal. Peace, good Doll! do not speak like a

death's head: do not bid me remember mine

end.

Dol. Sirrah, what humour's the prince of?

Fal. A good shallow young fellow: a' would

have made a good pantler, a' would have chipped

bread well.

Dol. They say, Poins has a good wit.

Fal. He a good wit! hang him, baboon! his

wit is as thick as Tewksbury mustard: there is

no more conceit in him than is in a mallet.

Dol. Why does the prince love him so, then?

Fal. Because their legs are both of a bigness,

and a' plays at quoits well, and eats conger and

fennel, and drinks off candles' ends for flap-

dragons, and rides the wild mare with the boys,

and jumps upon joint-stools, and swears with a

good grace, and wears his boots very smooth,

like unto the sign of the leg, and breeds no bate

with telling of discreet stories; and such other

gambol faculties a' has, that show a weak mind

and an able body, for the which the prince

admits him: for the prince himself is such

another; the weight of a hair will turn the

scales between their avoirdupois.

 258 pantler: servant in charge of the pantry

263 conceit: imagination

267 drinks flapdragons; cf. n.

268 rides mare: plays see-saw

269 joint-stools: stools made by a joiner, as distinguished from those of rough make

271 sign of the leg: a shoemaker's sign

breeds no bate: causes no strife

273 gambol: sportive 