in this book, and sometimes to the same sense and purpose with some words in this place. I intended (saith he) not only to oblige my friends, but my enemies.

The like saith Richard:

'I do not know that Englishman alive,
With whom my soul is any jot at odds,
More than the infant that is born to-night:
I thank my God for my humility.'

Other stuff of this sort may be read throughout the tragedy, wherein the poet used not much license in departing from the truth of history, which delivers him a deep dissembler, not of his affections only, but his religion." 75. Lord... highness. The quartos have "liege... majesty."

90. Lag. Late, tardy. Cf. lag of (= later than) in Lear, i. 2. 6. Buried is here a trisyllable.

92. Nearer in bloody thoughts, etc. Cf. Macb. ii. 3. 146:

94. Go current from suspicion. Pass free from suspicion, are believed to be all right. For the metaphor, cf. i. 3. 256 above and iv. 2. below.

99. The forfeit. That is, the thing forfeited, or his servant's life. Cf. M. of V. iv. 1. 37: "To have the due and forfeit of my bond," etc.

107. Be advis'd. Be considerate, be not hasty. Cf. i. 3. 318 above. 115. Lap. Wrap. Cf. Macb. i. 2. 54: "lapp'd in proof;" and Cymb. v. 5. 360: "lapp'd In a most curious mantle." See also Milton, L'All. 136: "Lap me in soft Lydian airs ;" and cf. p. 177 above.

119. Pluck'd.

A favourite word with S. Cf. i. 1. 55, ii. 2. 58, iii. 1. 36,

iv. 2. 65, and v. 4. 19 in the present play.

120. To put it. As to put it. Cf iii. 2. 27 below. Gr. 281. 127. Ungracious. Impious, wicked. Ct. Rich. II. ii. 3. 89: "and that word grace

In an ungracious mouth is but profane;"

and 1 Hen. IV. ii. 4. 490: "Swearest thou, ungracious boy?" 129. Beholding. Beholden; the only form in S. Cf. iii. 1. 107 below. Gr. 372.

138. Still. Constantly; as very often. Gr. 59.

SCENE II.-Enter the Duchess of York. "Cecily, daughter of Ralph Neville, first Earl of Westmoreland, and widow of Richard Duke of York, who was killed at the battle of Wakefield in 1460. She survived her husband thirty-five years, living till the year 1495" (Malone).

1. Good grandam, etc. The quartos read, "Tell me, good grandam, is our father dead?” and in 3, “Why do you wring your hands, and beat,”

etc.

6. Orphans, wretches. The quartos have "wretches, orphans," and in II "lost labour to weep for one," etc.

8. Cousins. Here--grandchildren. For its application to nephews, uncles, brothers-in-law, etc., see Ham. p. 179. Cf. iii. 1. 2 below.

14. Importune. Accented on the penult, as regularly in S. See Ham. p. 190.

15. Prayers. A dissyllable, as usually in S. Cf. v. 1. 21 below. Gr. 479.

16. And so will I. Omitted in the quartos.

18. Incapable. That is, unable to comprehend.

21. Provok'd to it by. The quartos have "provoked by," and in 24 "And hugd me in his arme " ("arms" in 7th and 8th quartos).

28. Visor. As in the folios; the quartos have “vizard," for which see Mach. p. 211.

30. Dugs. "Of old this word was merely as we now use breasts" (W.).

used in no derogatory sense, and
Cf. 2 Hen. VI. iii. 2. 393:

"As mild and gentle as the cradle-babe
Dying with mother's dug between its lips."

38. Impatience. A quadrisyllable. See on i. 3. 80 above.

39. Act.

Suggested by the preceding scene. Cf. K. John, ii. 1. 376:

"As in a theatre, whence they gape and point

At your industrious scenes and acts of death." See also Temp. ii. 1. 252, T. N. v. 1. 254, and Macb. ii. 4. 5. 41, 42. Why grow, etc. The quartos read:

"Why grow the branches now the root is wither'd?
Why wither not the leaves, the sap being gone?"

46. Ne'er-changing night. The quartos have "perpetual rest." The Coll. MS. gives "ne'er-changing light." Cf. i. 4. 47 above.

50. His images.

son).

"The children by whom he was represented" (John

51. But now two mirrors, etc. Malone compares R. of L. 1758:

Poor broken glass, I often did behold

In thy sweet semblance my old age new born;
But now that fair fresh mirror, dim and old,
Shows me a bare-bon'd death by time out-worn.'

See also Sonn. 3. 9:

"Thou art thy mother's glass, and she in thee
Calls back the lovely April of her prime;
So thou through windows of thine age shalt see
Despite of wrinkles this thy golden time.'

The two mirrors are Edward and Clarence; the false glass is Gloster. 60. Moiety. See on i. 2. 250 above.

61. Overgo. Go beyond, exceed; as in Sonn. 103. 7: "That overgoes my blunt invention quite." O'ergo is go over, travel, in Z. L. L. v. 2. 196: "Of many weary miles you have o'ergone."

69. The watery moon is "the moon, the governess of floods " (M. N. D. ii. 1. 103) or the ruler of the tides. See also I Hen. IV. i. 2. 31: "being governed, as the sea is, by the moon."

77. Dear. In a double sense="of one so dearly loved," and "so in tensely severe (Clarke).

81. Parcell'd. "Particular" (Schmidt), or "separately dedicated to particular objects" (Clarke).

84, 85. And so do I; I for an Edward weep. These words are in the quartos, but not in the 'folios.

89-100. Comfort. 94. Opposite with. 95. For. Because.

104. Cry you mercy.

throne. These lines are found only in the folios. Cf. T. N. ii. 5. 162: "opposite with a kinsman." See on i. 1. 58 above.

Beg your pardon. See on i. 3. 235 above.

109. Amen, etc. See p. 26 above.

112. Cloudy. That is, with “ cloudy brow" (2 Hen. VI. iii. 1. 155) or "cloudy looks" (P. P. 312). See also Temp. ii. 1. 142 and 1 Hen. IV. iii. 2. 83.

113. Heavy mutual. The quartos have "mutual heavy."

117. Hearts. The folio has "hates," which the following lines show to be a misprint. "For in no sense can we suppose Buckingham to declare that the rancor, broken or unbroken, of their high swollen hates must be preserved; and even with hearts the figure, although intelligible and even impressive, is far from being clearly made out" (W.).

See

120. Me seemeth. It seems to me. Cf. 2 Hen. VI. iii. I. 23: "Me seemeth then it is no policy," etc. The me is a dative, as in methinks. M. of V. p. 135 (note on Methought) or Gr. 297.

121. Fet. Equivalent to the "fetcht" of the quartos. See Hen. V. p. 163. Cf. Chaucer, C. T. 819: “the wyn was fet anon ;” Id. 2527 : “in to the paleys fet," etc.* See another example in note on i. 3. 228 above.

"Edward the young prince, in his father's lifetime and at his demise, kept his household at Ludlow, as Prince of Wales; under the governance of Antony Woodville, Earl of Rivers, his uncle by the mother's side. The intention of his being sent thither was to see justice done in the Marches; and by the authority of his presence to restrain the Welshmen, who were wild, dissolute, and ill-disposed, from their accustomed murders and outrages" (Theo.)

123-140. Why. say I. These lines are omitted in the quartos. 127. The estate is green. Referring to the youth of the king.

129. As please himself. As may please himself. For the impersonal verb, see on 120 above. For the form, cf. A. Y. L. epil. 14: “as much of this play as please you,' etc.

130. Apparent. Evident, manifest. See K. John, p. 165 or Rich. II.

p. 150.

133. Compact. The accent on the last syllable, as regularly in S. except in 1 Hen. VI. v. 4. 163.

142. Ludlow. The folios misprint "London," as also in 153 below. Ludlow Castle is in the town of Ludlow in Shropshire, near the Welsh boundary, and was built shortly after the Norman Conquest. Edward IV. repaired it as a residence for the Prince of Wales and the appointed place for meeting his deputies, the Lords Presidents, who held in it the Court of the Marches, for transacting the business of the principality. Here, at the time represented in the play, the prince, twelve years old, kept a mimic court with a council. Ordinances for the regulation of his household were drawn up by his father not long before his death, prescribing his religious duties, his studies, his meals, and his sports. No

*The line-numbers and the readings are those of Gilman's ed. of Chaucer (Boston 1879). Our future references will be to this edition, unless some other is specified.

man is to sit at his board except such as Earl Rivers shall allow; and while he is at table it is ordered "that there be read before him noble stories, as behoveth a prince to understand; and that the communication at all times, in his presence, be of virtue, honour, cunning [knowledge], wisdom, and deeds of worship, and nothing that shall move him to vice." Sir Henry Sidney, the father of Sir Philip Sidney, resided here while Lord President of the Marches, and extensive additions were then made to the castle. In 1634, when the Earl of Bridgewater was Lord President, Milton's Comus was represented at Ludlow; and here also Butler, who was Steward of the Castle under Lord Carbery, wrote part of Hudibras. At present the structure is a grand and imposing ruin. The great hall, where Comus was first played, is roofless, and little remains to show the ancient splendour of the other apartments; but the Norman keep, 110 feet high, ivy-mantled to the top, and the circle of smaller towers about it, are still standing, a conspicuous landmark on the rocky hill above the town.

144. Censures. Opinions. See Ham. p. 190.

147. Sort. Find, seek. Cf. R. of L. 899: "When wilt thou sort an hour great strifes to end?" 3 Hen. VI. v. 6. 85: "But I will sort a pitchy day for thee," etc.

148. Index. Prelude, prologue; the index having been formerly put at the beginning of a book. See Ham. p. 236. Cf. iv. 4. 85 below. 150. My other self. Cf. J. C. ii. 1. 274: "to me, your self, your half;" Sonn. 10. 13: "Make thee another self, for love of me;" Id. 73. 8: "Death's second self," etc. Lord Campbell called Prince Albert "the alter ego of the sovereign;" taking the alter ego from Cicero, with whom the expression seems to have been a favourite one. Cf. Ep. Fam. 7.5: "vide quam mihi persuaserim te me esse alterum;" Id. 2. 15: quoniam alterum me reliquissem ;" Id. Att. 4. I: me alterum se fore dixit," etc. Cicero got it from Aristotle (Tɛpo avroi, in Eth. M. 8. 12. 3), as` the "tamquam " implies in Læl. 21. 82: "amicus est tamquam alter idem."

66

66

153. I, as a child, etc. "This, from that arch-schemer Richard, shows his subtle mode of making men's weaknesses subservient to his own views; since he affects to be guided by Buckingham's superior ability in craft and strategy, of which he knows him to be proud" (Clarke). Cf. iii. 5. 5 fol. below.

SCENE III.-I. Good morrow, etc. The quartos have "Neighbour, well met; whither away so fast?" and in 3 "Ay" for Yes, and in 4“ Bad” for Ill.

4. Seldom comes the better. A proverbial saying good news is rare. Reed quotes The English Courtier, 1586: "as the proverbe sayth, seldome come the better.' It is also found in Ray's Proverbs.

5. Giddy.

as in 9 below.

"Excitable" (Schmidt). The quartos have "troublous,"

8. God help the while! God help us now! Cf. iii. 6. 10 below: "Here's a good world the while!" See also K. John, p. 165, note on Bad world the while!

II. Woe to that land, etc. As Steevens notes, a quotation from Ecclesiastes, x. 16: "Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child!"

13-15. That in his nonage, etc. That in his riper years he himself, and till he comes of age his council, shall govern well. It is like ii. 4. 59 below, except for the inversion of the clauses in the latter part. Cf. W. T. iii. 2. 164, 203, Macb. i. 3. 60, ii. 3. 45 (where there is an inversion), etc. For That the folio has "Which."

18. Wot. Knows; used only in the present tense and the participle wotting. See W. T. p. 175. Cf. Gen. xxi. 26, xxxix. 8, xliv. 15, etc.

28. Haught. Haughty. Cf. Rich. II. iv. 1. 254, 3 Hen. VI. ii. 1. 169, etc. The quartos read, "And the queen's kindred haughty and proud."

30. Solace. Take comfort, be happy. Cf. R. and F. iv. 5. 47: "But one thing to rejoice and solace in;" and Cymb. i. 6. 86: