If old Sir Robert did beget us Both, I give heav'n thanks, I was not like to thee. Eli. He hath a trick of Geur-de-lion's face, K. John. Mine eye hath well examined his parts, And finds them perfect Richard: firrah, fpeak, What doth move you to claim your brother's land? Phil. Because he hath a half-face, like my father, With that half-face would he have all my land? (2) A half-fac'd groat, five hundred pound a year! Rob. My gracious Liege, when that my Father liv'd, Your brother did imploy my father much; Phil. Well, Sir, by this you cannot get my land. Your tale must be, how he imploy'd my mother. Rob. And once dispatch'd him in an Embaffie To Germany; there with the Emperor To treat of high affairs touching that time: (2) With half that Face] But why with half that Face? There is no Question but the Poet wrote, as I have reftor'd the Text, With that half-face Mr. Pope, perhaps, will be angry with me for discovering an Anachronism of our Poet's, in the next Line; where he alludes to a Coin not ftruck till the Year 1504, in the Reign of K. Henry VII. viz. a Groat, which, as well as the half Groat, bare but half-faces imprefs'd. Vid. Stow's Survey of London, p. 47. Holingfhed, Camden's Remains, &c. The Poet fneers at the meagre fharp Vifage of the Elder Brother, by comparing him to a filver Groat, that bore the King's Face in Profile, fo fhew'd but half the Face. The Groats of all our Kings of England, and, indeed, all their other Coins of Silver, one or two only excepted, had a full Face crown'd; till Henry VII, at the Time above-mention'd, coin'd Groats and half Groats, as also fome Shillings, with half Faces; that is, Faces in Profile, as all our Coin has now. The firft Groats of K. Henry VIII. were like these of his Father; tho' afterwards he return'd to the broad Faces again. These Groats, with the Impreffion in Profile, are undoubtedly here alluded to: tho', as I faid, the Poet is knowingly guilty of an Ánachronism in it : for, in the Time of King John there were no Groats at all: they being first, as far as appears, coin'd in the Reign of K. Edward III. Th'ad Th'advantage of his absence took the King, (As I have heard my father fpeak himself) K. John. Sirrah, your brother is legitimate; Eli. Whether hadft thou rather be a Faulconbridge, And, like thy brother, to enjoy thy land: Or the reputed Son of Coeur-de-lion, My My arms fuch Eel-skins ftuft; my Face so thin, (3) Left men should fay, "look, where three-farthings goes! Eli. I like thee well; wilt thou forfake thy fortune, Bequeath thy land to him, and follow me? I am a foldier, and now bound to France. Phil. Brother, take you my land, I'll take my chance; Your face hath got five hundred pound a year, Yet fell your face for five pence, and 'tis dear. Madam, I'll follow you unto the death. Eli. Nay, I would have you go before me thither. Phil. Our country manners give our betters way. K. John. What is thy name? Phil. Philip, my Liege, fo is my name begun; Philip, good old Sir Robert's wife's eldeft fon. (3) my Face fo thin, That in mine Ear I durft not stick a Rofe, Left Men fhould fay, Look, where three-farthings goes!] In this very obfcure Paffage our Poet is anticipating the Date of another Coin; humouroufly to rally a thin Face, eclipfed, as it were, by a full-blown Rofe. We muft obferve, to explain this Allufion, that Queen Elizabeth was the first, and indeed the only, Prince who coin'd in England three-half-pence, and three-farthing Pieces. She at one and the fame time, coin'd Shillings, Six-pences, Groats, Three-pences, Twopences, Three-half-pence, Pence, Three-farthings, and Half-pence; And these Pieces all had her Head, and were alternately with the Rofe behind, and without the Rofe. The Shilling, Groat, Two-Pence, Penny, and Half-penny had it not: the other intermediate Coins, viz. the Six-pence, Three-pence, Three-half-pence, and Three-farthings had the Rofe. This accurate Distinction I owe to the Favour and Communication of the worthy and ingenious Martin Folkes, Efq;. I'll venture to advance one Obfervation, before I have done with this Subject, that as each of the leffer of thefe Pieces were hardly to be distinguish'd in Size from that immediately next to it in Value; it was the common prac tice to deface the Rofe upon the leffer Coin, to make it pafs for that next above it in Price. And this ferves to give Light to a Paffage of Beaumont and Fletcher in their Scornful Lady. He had a Baftard, his own toward Iffue, whipt, and then cropt, for washing out the Rafes in Three-farthings to make them Pence. K. John. K. John. From henceforth bear his Name, whose form thou bear'f: Kneel thou down Philip, but rife up more great; Phil. Brother by th' mother's fide, give me your huad; Phil. Madam, by chance, but not by truth; what tho'? Something about, a little from the right, In at the window, or else o'er the hatch: K. John. Go, Faulconbridge, now haft thou thy defire; Phil. Brother, adieu; good fortune come to thee, For thou was got i'th' way of honesty. [Ex. all but Phil. A foot of honour better than I was, But many a many foot of land the worse! For your converfing. Now your traveller, (4) My piked Man of Countries.] Thus Mr. Pope exhibits this Paffage, and interprets the Word, formal, bearded. The old Copies give it us, picked, by a flight Corruption in the Spelling; but the Author certainly defign'd, picqued; (from the French Verb, se piquer) i. e. touchy, tart, apprehenfive, upon his Guard. (Thus (Thus leaning on mine elbow, I begin) And talking of the Alps and Apennines, It draws towards fupper in conclufion, so. And fits the mounting fpirit like my felf: (5) And fo i'er Anfwer knows what Question would. (Saving in Dialogue] In this fine Speech Faulconbridge would fhew the Advantages and Prerogatives of Men of Worship. He particularly obferves, that he has the Traveller at Command. (And here we must remember the Time our Author wrote in; when Travellers, by the daily Discovery of new Worlds, were in the greatest Estimation.) At the first Intimation of his Defire to hear strange Stories, the Traveller complies, and the Anfwer comes as easy as an A, b, c, book. Now, Sir, fays the Knight, this is my Queftion:- -The over-ready Traveller will scarce give him Leave to make it, but, e'er Anfwer knows what Queftion would, What then? Why, according to the Stupidity of the hitherto receiv'd Reading, it grows towards Suppertime. And is not this worshipful Society? To fpend all the Time be. twixt Dinner and Supper, before either of them knows what the other would be at. So abfurdly is the Sense vitiated, by putting the three Lines in a Parenthesis; which, we may fuppofe, was first occafion'd by their Blunder in the Word, Saving, instead of the true Word, Serving. Now my Emendation gives the Text this Turn; "And e'er Anfwer "knows what the Question would be at, my Traveller ferves in his Dialogue of Compliment, which is his ftanding Dish at all Tables, "then he comes to talk of the Alpes and Apennines, &c. and by the "time this Difcourfe concludes, it draws towards Supper. All now here is Senfe and Humour; and the Phrase of ferving in is a very humourous one, to fignify that this was his Worship's fecond Courfe. Mr. Warburton. 66 Sweet, |