P 231, c. 1. 7. 9. - such a show

As fool and fight is.] This is not the only passage in which Shakspeare has discovered conviction of the impropriety of battles represented on the stage. He knew that five or Six men with swords, gave a very unsatisfactory idea of an army, and therefore, without much care to excuse his former practice, he allows that a theatrical fight would destroy all opinion of truth, and leave him never an understanding friend. Magnis ingeniis et multa nihilominus habituris simplex convenit erroris confessio. Yet I know not whether the coronation shown in this play may not be liable to all that can be objected against a battle. JOHNSON.

Id. 7. 11. (To make that only true we now intend. To intend, in our author, has sometimes the same meaning as to pretend, but this line is somewhat obscure.

P 231, c. 2. 1. 9.

ACT I.

SCENE I.

-Guynes and Arde:] Guynes then belonged to the English, and Arde to the French: they are towns in Picardy, and the valley of Ardren lay between them. Arde is Ardres, but both Hall and Holinshed write it as Shakspeare does.

13 124 All clinquant,] All glittering, all shining. Clarendon uses this word in his description of the Spanish Juego de Toros. 137. Durst wag his tongue in censure] Censure for determination, of which had the noblest appearance.

P 232 c.1,1 That Bevis was believ'd] The old romantic legend of Bevis of Southampton. 11. 4. the tract of every thing, &c.] The course of these triumphs and pleasures, however well related, must lose in the description part of that spirit and energy which were expressed in the real action. Id 1 8. the office did

Distinctly his full function.] The commisna for regulating this festivity was well executed, and gave exactly to every particular person and action the proper place. JOHN

Id.

Id.

ciples of things, or rudiments of knowledge. The word is here applied, not without a catachresis, to a person.

1. 19. -fierce vanities?] Fierce is here, I think, used like the French fier for proud, unless we suppose an allusion to the mimical ferocity of the combatants in the tilt. JOHN

SON.

1. 21. That such a keech-] A keech is a solid lump or mass. A cake of wax or tallow formed in a mould, is called yet in some places a keerh. There may, perhaps, be a singular propriety in this term of contempt. Wolsey was the son of a butcher, and in The second Part of King Henry IV. a butcher's wife is called Goody Keech.

Id. l. 44. the file- That is, the list. Id. l. 49. Must fetch him in he papers.] He papers, a verb; his own letter, by his own single authority, and without the concurrence of the council, must fetch him in whom he papers down.

But minister, &c.] What effect had this pompous show, but the production of a wretch ed conclusion. JOHNSON.

Id. l. 72.- The ambassador is silenc'd?] I understand this of the French ambassador residing in England, who, by being refused an audience, may be said to be silenc'd. JOHNA fine name

SON.

Id. l. 74. A proper title of a

of a peace. Ironically, peace;)

Id. 1 77. Our reverend cardinal carried.] To carry a business was at this time a current phrase for to conduct or manage it. Id. c. 2, l. 27.- butcher's cur-] Wolsey is said to have been the son of a butcher. Id. 1. 29. A beggar's book

Out-worths a noble's blood.] That is, the literary qualifications of a bookish beggar are more prized than the high descent of hereditary greatness. This is a contemptuous exclamation very naturally put into the mouth of one of the ancient, unlettered, martial nobility. JOHNSON.

Id. 1. 37. He bores me with some trick:] He stabs or wounds me by some artifice or fiction. Id. l. 48. -from a mouth of honour-] I will crush this base-born fellow, by the due influence of my rank, or say that all distinction of persons is at an end. JOHNSON.

Id. 1. 66. ——sincere motions,] Honest indigna

tion.

suggests-] Suggests, for excites.

Id. c. 2, l. 9. and the best heart of it.] Heart is not here taken for the great organ of circulation and life, but, in a common and popular sense, for the most valuable or precious part. Id. 7. 10. stood the level.] To stand in the level of a gun is to stand in a line with its mouth, so as to be hit by the shot.

Id l. 68. -front but in that file-] i. c. I am merely on a level with the rest, and step in the same line with them

Id l. 71. You know no more than others: &c.] That is, you know no more than other counsellors, but you are the person who frame those things which are afterwards proposed, and known equally by all.

P. 234, c. 1, 7. 7.

tractable obedience, &c.] i. e. Things are now in such a situation, that resentment and indignation predominate in every man's breast over duty and allegiance. Id. l. 20. There is no primer business.] No matter of state more urgent.

Id. l. 27.

"If I am Traduced by ignorant tongues," &c. MALONE

--

Id. 1. 31. We must not stint-] To stint is here to stop, to retard.

Id. 1. 33. To cope- To engage with, to encounter. The word is still used in some counties.

Id l. 37. --once weak ones,] Once is here used
for sometime, or at one time or other.
Id. 1. 38 or not allow'd;] Not approved.
Id. l. 33. — what worst, as oft,

Hitting a grosser quality.] The worst actions of great men are commended by the vulgar, as more accommodated to the grossness of their notions. JOHNSON.

Id. 1. 52. From every tree, lop. --] Lop is a
substantive, and signifies the branches.
Id. 1. 76. And never seek for aid out of himself.)
Beyond the treasures of his own mind.

Id. c. 2, l. 44. The duke being at the Rose, &e] This house was purchased about the year 1561, by Richard Hill, sometime master of the Merchant Tailors' company, and is now the Merchant Tailor's school, in Suffolk-lane,

P. 235. c. 1, 7.4 --so rank? Rank weeds, are weeds grown up to great height and strength. What, says the king, was he advanced to this pitch! JOHNSON.

Id. 44.

by day and night.] This, I believe, was a phrase anciently signifying-at all times every way, completely The king's words, however, by some critics have been considered as a adjuration. I do not pretend to have determined the exact force of them.

VENS.

SCENE III.

STEE

is what we now term a grimace, an artificial cast of the countenance.

Id. 1.63. A springhalt- The stringhalt, or springhalt, is a disease incident to horses, which gives them a convulsive motion in their paces. -leave these remnants Id. c. 2. l. 3.

Of fool, and feathers,] An allusion to the feathers which were formerly worn by fools in their caps.

Id. l. 10. blister'd breeches,] i. e breeches puff'd, swell'd out like blisters. The moders editors read-bolster'd breeches, which has the

P. 236, c. 1, l. 62. chambers discharged. A chamber is a gun which stands erect on its breech. Such are used only on occasions of rejoicing, and are so contrived as to carry great charges, and thereby to make a noise more than proportioned to their bulk. They are called chambers because they are mere chambers to lodze powder; a chamber being the techuical term for that cavity in a piece of orduance which contains the combustibles. Some of them are still fired in the Park, and at the places opposite to the parliament-house when the king goes thither.

Id. c. 2, l. 47. take it.] That is, take the chief place.

Id. l. 56. unhappily] That is, unluckily, mischievously.

Id. 1. 66. I were unmannerly, to take you out, And not to kiss you.] [A kiss was ancienty the established fee of a lady's partner.

ACT II.

SCENE I.

P. 237, c. 1, 32. "To have brought,"-MALONE. Id. c. 2. 1 44-- no black envy

Shall make my grave. Shakspeare, by this expression, meant no more thau to make the duke say, No action expressive of malice shall conclude my life. The sense will then be, (whether quaintly or poetically expressed. let the reader determine) no malicious action shal close my grave, i. e. attend the conclusion of my existence, or terminate my life; the last action of it shall not be uncharitable. STEE

I be not found a talker.] I take the meaning to be. Let care be taken that my promise be performed, that my professions of welcome be not found empty talk. JoHNSON.

Id. 1. 18.

--so sick though,] That is, so sick, as he is proud.

Id l. 21. one have at him.”—MALONE. Id. 1. 32. Have their free voices ;] The construction is, have sent their free voices; the word sen,

which occurs in the next line, being understood here.

P 239, c. 1, l. 77. Kept him a foreign man still ;] Kept him out of the king's presence, employed in foreign embassies.

SCENE III.

li c. 2, 1. 30. To give her the avaunt!] To send her away contemptuously; to pronounce against her a sentence of ejection.

ld. l. 36. Yet, if that quarrel, fortune,] Perhaps for quarreller.

Id 1 40-stranger now again.] Again an alien; not only no longer queen, but no longer an Englishwoman. JOHNSON.

1. 1. 48. --our best having.] That is, our best possession. Id 7.59. cheveril-] Is kid skin, soft lea

ther.

1171.

Pluck off a little ; &c.] i. e. let us

urge.

SCENE II.

I. 1. 55. is it bitter? forty pence, no.] Forty pence was, in those days, the proverbial expression of a small wager, or a small sum. Money was then reckoned by pounds, marks, and nobles.

11.58. For all the mud in Egypt :] The fertility of Egypt is derived from the mud and slime of the Nile.

SCENE IV.

-Sennet,] Dr. Burney (whose General | History of Music has been so highly and deservedly applauded) undertook to trace the etymology, and discover the certain meaning of this term, but without success. Mr. Malone thinks it was no more than a flourish, or Sounding.

Id c. 2. i 12. —— pillars; ] Pillars were some of the ensigns of dignity carried before cardinals.

P 241, c. 1, 1. 34. —— and make my challenge,] Challenge is here a law term. The criminal, when he refuses a juryman, says-I challenge him. Abhor and refuse are also law terms. Id 1 54. gainsay-] i. e. deny. L. 1. 68. You sign your place and calling.] To sign here is to show, to denote. By your outward meekness and humility, you show that you are of an holy order, but, &c.

Id. c. 2. l. 25. — could speak thee out)] had tongues capable of speaking out thy merits; 1. e. of doing them extensive justice. 1.33 although not there

At once and fully satisfied.)] The sense, which is encumbered with words, is no more than this-I must be loosed, though when so leased, I shall not be satisfied fully and at once; that is, I shall not be immediately satified. JOHNSON,

39 that might"-MALONE.

52 The passages made toward it :] i. e. closed, or fastened.

242 c. 1.17. —— hulling in

The wild sea-] That is, floating without guidance; tossed here and there.

Id. 1. 35. In it be memoriz'd.] To memorize is to make memorable.

Id. l. 52. He is return'd, in his opinions ;] Cranmer, says Suffolk, is returned in his opinions, i. e. with the same sentiments which he enter tained before he went abroad, which (sentiments) have satisfied the king, together with all the famous colleges referred to on the occasion-Or perhaps the passage (as Mr. Tyrwhitt observes) may mean-He is return'd in effect, having sent his opinions, i. e. the opinions of divines, &c. collected by him. P. 245, c. 1, l. 30. Yet fil'd with my abilities:] My endeavours, though less than my desires, have fil'd, that is, have gone an equal pace with my abilities.

Id.

l. 49. notwithstanding that your bond of duty,] Besides the general bond of duty, by which you are obliged to be a loyal and obedient subject, you owe a particular devotion of yourself to me, as your particular benefactor.

Id. l. 54. - that am, have, and will be.] Perhaps the meaning is, that, or such a man, I am, have been, and will ever be.

Id. l. 60. - against the chiding flood,] i. e. the resounding flood.

Id. c. 2, 1. 22. To Asher-house,] Asher was the ancient name of Esher.

Id. 1. 22. my lord of Winchester's,] Shak

speare forgot that Wolsey was himself bishop of Winchester, unless he meant to say, you must confine yourself to that house which you possess as bishop of Winchester. Asher, near Hampton-Court, was one of the houses belonging to that bishopric.

d. 1. 69. "That in the way," &c.-MALONE. Id. l. 79. To be thus jaded-] To be abused and ill treated, like a worthless horse: or perhaps to be ridden by a priest;-to have him mounted above us.

P

246, c. 1, l. 2. And dare us with his cap, like larks.] It is well known that the hat of a cardinal is scarlet; and that one of the methods of daring larks was by small mirrors fastened on scarlet cloth, which engaged the attention of these birds while the fowler drew his net over them.

Id. 1. 18 Worse than the sacring bell.] The little bell which is rung to give notice of the Host approaching when it is carried in procession, as

duction of it was sufficient to suspend the execution of the law; it procured indemnity for offences committed, and imposed acquiescence and submission on whatever was done under its authority. Instances abound in the history of almost every nation.

Id. 1. 67. Than but once think his place becomes thee not.] Who dares to suppose that the place or situation in which he is, is not suitable | to thee also? who supposes that thou art not as fit for the office of a privy counsellor as he is? P. 253, c. 1, l. 22 You must be godfather,] Our prelates formerly were often employed on the like occasions. Cranmer was godfather to Edward VI.; archbishop Warham to Henry's eldest son by queen Katharine; and the bishop of Winchester to Henry himself.

Id 1 28.—you'd spare your spoons ;] It was the custom, long before the time of Shakspeare, for the sponsors at christenings to offer gilt spoons as a present to the child. These spoons were called apostle spoons, because the figures of the apostles were carved on the tops of the handles. Such as were at once opulent and generous, gave the whole twelve; those who were either more moderately rich or liberal, escaped at the expense of the four evangelists; or even sometimes contented themselves with presenting one spoon only, which exhibited the figure of any saint, in honour of whom the child received its name.

SCENE II.

Id 1 53 — Paris-garden?] This celebrated bear-garden on the bankside was so called from Robert de Paris, who had a house and garden there in the time of King Richard II. Id 1 51. gaping] i. e. shouting or roaring; a sense which this word has now almost lost. 121.75. sir Guy, nor Colbrand,] Of Guy of Warwick every one has heard. Colbrand was the Danish giant, whom Guy subdued at Winchester. Their combat is very elaborately described by Drayton, in his Polyolbion. Id c. 2, L. 7. — Moorfields to muster in ?] The train-bands of the city were exercised in Moorfields.

Id 1. 16. he should be a brazier by his face.] A brazier signifies a man that manufactures brass, and a reservoir for charcoal occasionally heated to convey warmth. Both these senses are understood. JOHNSON.

.. 19. That fire-drake-] A fire-drake is both a serpent, anciently called a brenningdrake, or diasps, and a name formerly given to a Will o'the Wisp, or ignis fatuus. A firedrake was likewise an artificial fire-work. Id. 1.23. till her pink'd porringer fell off her head] Her pink'd porringer is her pink'd cap, which looked as if it had been moulded on a porringer.

II. 25. the meteor-] The fire-drake, the bra

Id.

Id.

Id.

not be forgotten, that "precious limbs" was a common phrase of contempt for the puritans. l. 40. - in Limbo Patrum,] He means, in confinement. In limbo, continues to be a cant phrase, in the same sense, at this day. The Limbus Patrum is, properly, the place where the old fathers and patriarchs are supposed to be waiting for the resurrection.

1. 42. —— running banquet of two beadles,] A public whipping. A banquet, in ancient language, did not signify either dinner or supper, but the desert after each of them.

1. 62. here ye lie bailing of bumbards,] A bumbard is an ale barrel; to bait bumbards is to tipple, to lie at the spigot. Id.l.72. --I'll pick you o'er the pales else,] To pick to pitch.

SCENE IV.

Id. l. 74. The Palace.] At Greenwich, where this procession was made from the church of the Friars.

ld. l. 78. -standing bowls—] i. e. bowls elevated on feet or pedestals.

P.

254, c. 1, l. 8. Heaven from thy endless goodness, &c.] These words are not the invention of the poet, having been pronounced at the christening of Elizabeth.

Id. l. 57. [Nor shall this peace sleep with her: &c.] These lines, to the interruption by the king, seem to have been inserted at some revisal of the play, after the accession of king James. If the passage, included in crotches, be left out, the speech of Cranmer proceeds in a regular tenour of prediction, and continuity of sentiments: but, by the interposition of the new lines, he first celebrates Elizabeth's successor, and then wishes he did not know that she was to die; first rejoices at the consequence, and then laments the cause. Our author was at once politic and idle; he resolved to flatterJames but neglected to reduce the whole speech to propriety; or perhaps intended that the lines inserted should be spoken in the action, and omitted in the publication, if any publication was ever in his thoughts. Mr. Theobald has made the same observation. JOHNSON.

Id.

EPILOGUE.

Id. c. 2, l. 54. — - such a one we show'd them ;] In the character of Katharine. JOHNSON. - if they smile,] Though it is very difficult to decide whether short pieces be genuine or spurious, yet I cannot restrain myself from expressing my suspicion that neither the Prologue nor Epilogue to this play is the work of Shakspeare; non vultus, non color. It appears to me very likely that they were supplied by the friendship or officiousness of Jonson, whose manner they will be perhaps found exactly to resemble. There is yet another supposition possible: the Prologue and Epilogue may have been written after Shakspeare's departure from the stage, upon some accidental revival of the play, and there will then be reason for imagining that the writer, whoever he was, intended no great kindness to him, this play being recommended by a subtle and covert censure of his other works. There is, in Shakspeare, so much of fool and fight;

the fellow,

"In a long motley coat, guarded with yel

low,"

appear so often in his drama, that I think it not very likely that he would have animadverted so severely on himself. All this, however, must

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