Ch. Just. How doth the king?

War. Exceeding well; his cares are now all ended.
Ch. Just. I hope, not dead.

War.

He's walk'd the way of nature;

And, to our purposes, he lives no more.

Ch. Just. I would, his majesty had call'd me with him: The service that I truly did his life,

Hath left me open to all injuries.

War. Indeed, I think, the young king loves you not. Ch. Just. I know, he doth not; and do arm myself, To welcome the condition of the time;

Which cannot look more hideously upon me
Than I have drawn it in my fantasy.

Enter Prince JOHN, Prince HUMPHREY, CLARENCE,
WESTMORELAND, and Others.

War. Here come the heavy issue of dead Harry:
O, that the living Harry had the temper
Of him, the worst of these three gentlemen!
How many nobles then should hold their places,
That must strike sail to spirits of vile sort!
Ch. Just. Alas! I fear, all will be overturn'd.
P. John. Good morrow, cousin Warwick.
P. Humph. Cla. Good morrow, cousin.

P. John. We meet like men that had forgot to speak.
War. We do remember; but our argument

Is all too heavy to admit much talk.

P. John. Well, peace be with him that hath made us

heavy!

Ch. Just. Peace be with us, lest we be heavier!

P. Humph. O, good my lord, you have lost a friend, indeed:

And I dare swear, you borrow not that face
Of seeming sorrow; it is, sure, your own.

P.John. Though no man be assur'd what grace to find, You stand in coldest expectation:

I am the sorrier; 'would, 'twere otherwise.

Cla. Well, you must now speak sir John Falstaff fair; Which swims against your stream of quality.

Ch. Just. Sweet princes, what I did, I did in honour, Led by the impartial conduct of my soul;

2 impartial conduct —] Thus the quartos. The folio reads -imperial. Steevens.

And never shall you see, that I will beg
A ragged and forestall'd remission.3

Impartial is confirmed by a subsequent speech addressed by the King to the Chief Justice:

That you use the same

"With the like bold, just, and impartial spirit,
"As you have done 'gainst me."

Malone.

3 A ragged and forestall'd remission.] Ragged has no sense here. We should read:

A rated and forestall'd remission.

i. e. a remission that must be sought for, and bought with sup plication. Warburton.

Different minds have different perplexities. I am more puzzled with forestall'd than with ragged; for ragged, in our author's licentious diction, may easily signify beggarly, mean, base, ignominious; but forestall'd I know not how to apply to remission in any sense primitive or figurative. I should be glad of another word, but cannot find it. Perhaps, by forestall'd remission, he may mean a pardon begged by a voluntary confession of offence, and anticipation of the charge. Johnson.

The same expression occurs in two different passages in Massinger. In The Duke of Milan, Sforza says to the Emperor: "Nor come I as a slave

"Falling before thy feet, kneeling and howling
"For a forestall'd remission."

And, in The Bondman, Pisander says:

"Ourselves to most advantage, than to trust
"To a forestall'd remission."

In all these passages a forestall'd remission seems to mean, a remission that it is predetermined shall not be granted, or will be rendered nugatory. Shakspeare úses, in more places than one, the word forestall in the sense of to prevent. Horatio says to Hamlet, "If your mind dislike any thing, obey it. I will forestall their repair hither." In this very play, the Prince says to the King:

"But for my tears, &c.

"I had forestall'd this dear and deep rebuke." In Hamlet, the King says:

"And what 's in prayer, but this twofold force,-
"To be forestall'd, ere we come to fall,

"Or pardon'd, being down?" M. Mason.

I believe, forestall'd only means asked before it is granted. If he will grant me pardon unasked, so; if not, I will not condescend to solicit it. In support of the interpretation of forestall'd remission, i. e. a remission obtained by a previous supplication, the following passage in Cymbeline may be urged:

may

"This night forestall him of the coming day!" Malone.

If truth and upright innocency fail me,
I'll to the king my master that is dead,
And tell him who hath sent me after him.
War. Here comes the prince.

Enter King HENRY V.

Ch. Just. Good morrow; and heaven save your majesty!

King. This new and gorgeous garment, majesty, Sits not so easy on me as you think.

4

Brothers, you mix your sadness with some fear;
This is the English, not the Turkish court;
Not Amurath an Amurath succeeds,
But Harry Harry:5 Yet be sad, good brothers,
For, to speak truth, it very well becomes you;
Sorrow so royally in you appears,

That I will deeply put the fashion on,

And wear it in my heart. Why then, be sad:
But entertain no more of it, good brothers,
Than a joint burden laid upon us all.
For me, by heaven, I bid you be assur'd,
I'll be your father and your brother too;
Let me but bear your love, I'll bear your cares.
Yet weep, that Harry 's dead; and so will I:
But Harry lives, that shall convert those tears,

4

not the Turkish court;] Not the court where the prince that mounts the throne puts his brothers to death. Johnson. 5 Not Amurath an Amurath succeeds,

But Harry Harry:] Amurath the Third (the sixth Emperor of the Turks) died on January the 18th, 1595-6. The people being generally disaffected to Mahomet, his eldest son, and inclined to Amurath, one of his younger children, the Emperor's death was concealed for ten days by the Janizaries, till Mahomet came from Amasia to Constantinople. On his arrival he was saluted Emperor, by the great Bassas, and others his favourers; "which done, (says Knolles) he presently after caused all his brethren to be invited to a solemn feast in the court; whereunto they, yet ignorant of their father's death, came chearfully, as men fearing no harm: but, being come, were there all most miserably strangled." It is highly probable that Shakspeare here alludes to this transaction; which was pointed out to me by Dr. Farmer.

This circumstance, therefore, may fix the date of this play subsequently to the beginning of the year 1596; and perhaps it was written while this fact was yet recent. Malone.

By number, into hours of happiness.

P. John, &c. We hope no other from your majesty. King. You all look strangely on me:-and you most; [To the Ch. Just.

You are, I think, assur'd I love you not.

Ch. Just. I am assur'd, if I be measur'd rightly,
Your majesty hath no just cause to hate me.
King. No!

How might a prince of my great hopes forget
So great indignities you laid upon me?

What! rate, rebuke, and roughly send to prison
The immediate heir of England! Was this easy?6
May this be wash'd in Lethe, and forgotten?

Ch. Just. I then did use the person of your father;
The image of his power lay then in me:
And, in the administration of his law,
Whiles I was busy for the commonwealth,
Your highness pleased to forget my place,
The majesty and power of law and justice,
The image of the king whom I presented,
And struck me in my very seat of judgment; 7

6 —was this easy?] That is, was this not grievous? Shakspeare has easy in this sense elsewhere. Johnson.

Thus, perhaps, in King Henry VI, Part II, Act III, sc. i:
these faults are easy, quickly answer'd."
Was this easy-may mean,-was this a slight offence?
Thus, Lord Surrey:

"And easy sighes, such as folkes draw in love." Steevens. 7 And struck me in my very seat of judgment;] I do not recollect that any of the editors of our author have thought this remarkable passage worthy of a note. The Chief Justice, in this play, was Sir William Gascoigne, of whom the following memoir may be as acceptable as necessary:

While at the bar, Henry of Bolingbroke had been his client; and upon the decease of John of Gaunt, by the above Henry, his heir, then in banishment, he was appointed his attorney, to sue in the Court of Wards the livery of the estates descended to him. Richard II revoked the letters patent for this purpose, and defeated the intent of them, and thereby furnished a ground for the invasion of his kingdom by the heir of Gaunt; who becoming afterwards Henry IV, appointed Gascoigne Chief Justice of the King's Bench in the first year of his reign. In that station Gascoigne acquired the character of a learned, an upright, a wise, and an intrepid judge. The story so frequently alluded to of his committing the prince for an insult on his person, and the

Whereon, as an offender to your father,

court wherein he presided, is thus related by Sir Thomas Elyot, in his book entitled The Governour: "The moste renouned prince king Henry the fyfte, late kynge of Englande, durynge the lyfe of his father, was noted to be fiers and of wanton courage: it hapned, that one of his seruauntes, whom he fauoured well, was for felony by him committed, arrained at the kynges benche: whereof the prince being aduertised, and incensed by lyghte persones about him, in furious rage came hastily to the barre where his seruante stode as a prisoner, and commaunded him to be vngyued and set at libertie: whereat all men were abashed, reserved the chiefe Justice, who humbly exhorted the prince, to be contented, that his seruaunt mought be ordred, accordynge to the aunciente lawes of this realme: or if he wolde haue hym saued from the rigour of the lawes, that he shulde obteyne, if he moughte, of the kynge his father, his gratious pardon, whereby no lawe or justyce shulde be derogate. With whiche answere the prince nothynge appeased, but rather more inflamed, endeuored hym selfe to take away his seruant. The iuge considering the perillous example, and inconuenience that mought therby ensue, with a valyant spirite and courage, commanded the prince vpon his alegeance, to leave the prisoner, and depart his way. With which commandment the prince being set all in a fury, all chafed and in a terrible maner, came vp to the place of iudgement, men thynking that he wold haue slayne the iuge, or haue done to hym some damage: but the iuge sittynge styll without mouing, declaring the maiestie of the kynges place of iugement, and with an assured and bolde countenaunce, had to the prince, these wordes followyng.

"Syr, remembre yourselfe, I kepe here the place of the kyng your souerainé lorde and father, to whom ye owe double obedience: wherfore eftsoones in his name, I charge you desyste of your wylfulnes and vnlawfull enterprise, & from hensforth giue good example to those, whych hereafter shall be your propre subjectes. And nowe, for your contempte and disobedience, go you to the prysone of the kynges bench, wherevnto I commytte you, and remayne ye there prysoner vntill the pleasure of the kynge your father be further knowen."

"With whiche wordes being abashed, and also wondrynge at the meruaylous gravitie of that worshypfulle justyce, the noble prince layinge his weapon aparte, doying reuerence, departed, and wente to the kynges benche, as he was commanded. Wherat his servauntes disdaynynge, came and shewed to the kynge all the hole affaire. Wherat he awhyles studyenge, after as a man all rauyshed with gladnes, holdynge his eien and handes vp towarde heuen, abraided, saying with a loude voice, O mercifull God, howe moche am I, aboue all other men, bounde to your infinite goodnes, specially for that ye haue gyuen me a iuge, who feareth nat to minister iustyce, and also a sonne, who can suffre semblably, and obeye iustyce!""