and _Gadshill_; but now he omits one of the number,
which must be either _Falstaff_, as not subject to any imputation in point
of Courage; and in that case _Peto_ will be the _third_;--or, as I rather
think, in order to diminish the force of the Prince's objection, he
artfully drops _Gadshill_, who was then out of town, and might therefore
be supposed to be less in the Prince's notice; and upon this supposition
_Falstaff_ will be the _third, who will not fight longer than he sees
reason_. But on either supposition, what evidence is there of a
pre-supposed Cowardice in _Falstaff_? On the contrary, what stronger
evidence can we require that the Courage of _Falstaff_ had to this hour,
through various trials, stood wholly unimpeached, than that _Poins_, the
ill-disposed _Poins_, who ventures, for his own purposes, to steal, as it
were, _one_ of the _four_ from the notice and memory of the Prince, and
who shews himself, from worse motives, as skilfull in _diminishing_ as
_Falstaff_ appears afterwards to be in _increasing_ of numbers, than that
this very _Poins_ should not venture to put down _Falstaff_ in the list of
Cowards; though the occasion so strongly required that he should be
degraded. What _Poins_ dares do however in this sort, he _does_. "_As to
the third_," for so he describes _Falstaff_ (as if the name of this
Veteran would have excited too strongly the ideas of Courage and
resistance), "_if he fights longer than he sees reason, I will forswear
arms._" This is the old trick of cautious and artful malice: The turn of
expression, or the tone of voice does all; for as to the words themselves,
simply considered, they might be now truly spoken of almost any man who
ever lived, except the iron-headed hero of _Sweden_.--But _Poins_ however
adds something, which may appear more decisive; "_The virtue of this jest
will be the incomprehensible lyes which this fat rogue will tell when we
meet at supper; how thirty at least he fought with; and what wards, what
blows, what extremities, he endured: And in the reproof of this lies the
jest_":--Yes, and the _malice_ too.--This prediction was unfortunately
fulfilled, even beyond the letter of it; a completion more incident,
perhaps, to the predictions of malice than of affection. But we shall
presently see how far either the prediction, or the event, will go to the
impeachment of _Falstaff_'s Courage.--The Prince, who is never duped,
comprehends the whole of _Poins_'s views. But le