Lord Say's Apology for himself.

Juftice, with favour, have I always done; Prayers and tears have mov'd me, gifts could never: (10) When have I aught exacted at your hands? Kent, to maintain, the king, the realm and you, Large gifts have I bestow'd on learned clerks Because my book preferr'd me to the king: And seeing, ignorance is the curfe of God, Knowledge the wing wherewith we fly to Heav'n, Unless you be poffefs'd with dev'lish spirits,

You cannot but forbear to murther me.

(10) When, &c.] The interrogation in all the editions is plac'd at the end of this line: the paffage, in my opinion, should be pointed thus:

When have I aught exacted at your hands,

Kent to maintain, the king, the realm, and you?

This renders the paffage plain and eafy that he should have be ftowed gifts on learned clerks to maintain Kent, the king, &c. is fomething very unreasonable; that he should have bestowed gifts on them because his book preferr'd him to the king, is not only reafonable, but extremely probable,

The

Within whofe circuit is Elifium,

And all that poets feign of bliss and joy.

SCENE

(1) Do but, &c] In the fecond part of Henry IV. (p. 21.) we have fome fine reflections on the miferies that attend a crown: thefe, on the tranfports it beftows, are beautifully in character, aud come very aptly from the mouth of the ambitious Gloucefler. In the double marriage of Beaumont and Fletcher, Ferrand the tyrant, complaining of the miferies that attend royalty, a courtier longing to enjoy the honour, is put into poffefiion of them for See the third one day, and finds them fufficiently burthenfom. act. Some of the tyrants complaints, and the courtiers praifes of royalty, are the following:

Ferr. Tell me no more,

I faint beneath the burden of my cares,

And yield myfelf moft wretched.

Vill. Look but on this,

Has not a man that has but means to keep
A hawk, a grey-hound, and a hunting-nag,
More pleasure than this king?

Caftr. A dull fool ftill:

Make me a king, and let me fcratch with care,
And fee who'll have the better give me rule,
Command, obedience, pleasure of a king,
And let the devil roar; the greateft corrofive
A king can have, is of mere precious tickling,
And handled to the height more dear delight,
Than other mens whole lives, let them be fafe too.

Thou

SCENE V. A hungry Lion.

So looks the pent-up lion o'er the wretch That trembles under his devouring paws; And fo he walks infulting o'er his prey, And fo he comes to rend his limbs afunder.

SCENE VI. The Duke of York on the gallant Behaviour of his Sons.

My fons, God knows, what hath bechanced them : But this I know, they have demean'd themselves Like men born to renown, by life or death. Three times did Richard make a lane to me, And thrice cry'd, courage father! fight it out: And full as oft came Edward to my fide, With purple falchion painted to the hilt In blood of thofe, that had encounter'd him: And when the hardieft warriors did retire; Richard cry'd, charge! and give no foot of ground;

Thou enemy to majefty,

What think'ft thou of a king?

Vill. As of a man,

That hath power to do all ill.

Caftr. Or a thing rather

That does divide an empire with the Gods;
Obferve but with how little breath he shakes
A populous city, which would' ftand unmov'd
Against a whirlwind !

For me, I do profess it

Were I offer'd to be any thing on earth,
I wou'd be mighty Ferrand―.

Ferr, Did'st thou but feel

The weighty forrows that fit on a crown,

Tho' thou fhould't find one in the streets, Caftruccio,

Thou would't not think it worth the taking up :
But fince thou art enamour'd of my fortune,

Thou shalt ere long tafte it

Caftr. But one Day,

And then let me expire.

And

And cry'd a crown, or else a glorious tomb,
A scepter, or an earthly fepulchre

With this we charg'd again; but out! alas,
We bodg'd again; as I have feen & fwan

a

With bootless labour fwim against the tide

And spend her ftrength with over-matching waves.

A Father's Paffion on the Murder of a favourite Child.

Oh tyger's heart wrapt in a woman's hide!
How could'st thou drain the life-blood of the child,
To bid the father wipe his eyes withal,

And yet be seen to wear a woman's face ?
Women are soft, mild, pitiful, and flexible;
Thou ftern, obdurate, flinty, rough, remorseless.

That face of his the hungry cannibals

(2) Would not have touch'd, would not have stain'd with blood:

But you are more inhuman, more inexorable,
Oh ten times more, than tygers of Hyrcania.
See, ruthlefs queen, a hapless father's tears
This cloth thou dip'dft in blood of my fweet boy,
And I with tears do wash the blood away.

Keep thou the napkin, and go boaft of this:

(2) Would not, &c.] The firft folios and the old quarto read this paffage as it is here printed; the fecond folio reads,

Wou'd not have touch'd,

Wou'd not have stained the roses juft with blood.

Which Mr. Theobald for the fake of an alteration of his own prefers to this, for which we have fo good authority. He reads, Wou'd not have ftain'd the roses juic'd with blood; Sir T. Hanmer, not pleas'd with this criticifm, tries another caft, and gives us

The roses just in bud.

And

And if thou tell'ft the heavy story right,
Upon my Soul, the hearers will shed tears,
Yea, even my foes will shed fast falling tears,
And fay, "alas, it was a piteous deed!"

The Duke of York in Battle.

Methought, he bore him in the thickest troop,
* As doth a lion in a herd of neat ;
Or as a bear, encompass'd round with dogs,
Who having pinch'd a few, and made them cry,
The reft ftand all aloof and bark at him.

The MORNING.

See how the morning opes her golden gates,
And takes her farewel of the glorious fun!
(3) How well refembles it the prime of youth,
Trimm'd like a yonker prancing to his love!

*As, &c.] The poets abound with numberlefs fimilies of this kind; particularly Homer and Virgil: but none perhaps is finer than the following from that book, where every page abounds with beauties, and true fublimity. Isaiah xxxi. 4. "Like as the lion, and the young lion roaring on his prey; when a multitude of thepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abafe himself for the noise of them."

(3) How, &c.] There is fomething very peculiar in this paffage, "The prime of youth and like a yonker, feeming nearly the fame thing; but it is extremely beautiful, the author perfonifies the prime of youth, and defcribes him as an allegorical perfon, trimm'd like a yonker, which with us fignifies a brifk, lively young man; but more properly perhaps from its original, a nobleman, or young lord. See Skinner. The plain manner of understanding it is difficult, and the conftruction very involved; however, it seems no more than this, "how well refembles it, a yonker trimm'd out, in the prime of youth, prancing to his love."

VOL. 11,

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