Page:Richard II (1921) Yale.djvu/105

King Richard the Second, V. iii

And beg thy pardon ere he do accuse thee.

I'll not be long behind; though I be old,

I doubt not but to ride as fast as York:

And never will I rise up from the ground

Till Bolingbroke have pardon'd thee. Away! be gone.

Exeunt.

Boling. Can no man tell me of my unthrifty son?

'Tis full three months since I did see him last.

If any plague hang over us, 'tis he.

I would to God, my lords, he might be found:

Inquire at London, 'mongst the taverns there,

For there, they say, he daily doth frequent,

With unrestrained loose companions,

Even such, they say, as stand in narrow lanes

And beat our watch and rob our passengers;

While he, young wanton and effeminate boy,

Takes on the point of honour to support

So dissolute a crew.

H. Percy. My lord, some two days since I saw the prince,

And told him of these triumphs held at Oxford.

Boling. And what said the gallant?

H.Percy. His answer was: he would unto the stews,

And from the common'st creature pluck a glove,

 1 unthrifty: ne'er-do-well; cf. n.

9 watch: Elizabethan equivalent of constables

passengers: passers-by

10 wanton: spoilt child

15 gallant: young blood

16 stews: brothels

