9 Were now the general of our gracious empress (As, in good time, he may,) from Ireland coming, Bringing rebellion broached on his sword, How many would the peaceful city quit, To welcome him? much more, and much more cause, Did they this Harry. Now in London place him ; (As yet the lamentation of the French Invites the king of England's stay at home: and deep affection of the people towards him, by reason of his bounty, liberalitie, affabilitie, and mild behaviour, that as well schollars, souldiers, citizens, saylers, &c. protestants, papists, sectaries and atheists, yea women and children which never saw him, that it was held in them a happiness to follow the worst of his fortunes." That such a man should have fallen a sacrifice to the caprice of a fantastick woman, and the machinations of the detestable Cecil, must ever be lamented. His return from Ireland, however, was very different from what our poet predicted. See a curious account of it in the Sydney Papers, vol. ii. p. 127. MALONE. 9 the general of our gracious empress -] The Earl of Essex, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. POPE. Few noblemen of his age were more courted by poets. From Spenser, to the lowest rhymer, he was the subject of numerous sonnets or popular ballads. I will not except Sydney. I could produce evidence to prove that he scarce ever went out of England, or left London, on the most frivolous enterprize, without a pastoral in his praise, or a panegyrick in metre, which were sold or sung in the streets. T. WARTON. To such compliments as are here bestowed by our author on the earl of Essex, Barnabie Riche, in his Souldier's Wishe to Britons Welfare, or Captain Skill and Captain Pill, 1604, p. 21, seems to allude: ". not so much as a memorandum for the most honourable enterprizes, how worthily so ever performed, unless perhaps a little commendation in a ballad, or if a man be favoured by a playmaker, he may sometimes be canonized on a stage." STEEVENS. 'Bringing rebellion BROACHED] Spitted, transfixed. JOHNSON. 2 The emperor's coming-] The emperor Sigismond, who was married to Henry's second cousin. If the text be right, I suppose the meaning is-The emperor is coming, &c. but I suspect some corruption, for the Chorus speaks of the emperor's visit To order peace between them;) and omit SCENE I3. France. An English Court of Guard. Enter FLUELLEN and GoWER. Gow. Nay, that's right; but why wear you your leek to-day? Saint Davy's day is past. FLU. There is occasions and causes why and wherefore in all things: I will tell you, as my friend, captain Gower; The rascally, scald, beggarly, lowsy, as now past. I believe a line has been lost before "The emperor's," &c.—If we transpose the words and omit, we have a very unmetrical line, but better sense. "Omit the emperor's coming, -and all the occurrences which happened till Harry's return to France." Perhaps this was the author's meaning, even as the words stand. If so, the mark of parenthesis should be placed after the word home, and a comma after them. MALONE. The embarrassment of this passage will be entirely removed by a very slight alteration, the omission of a single letter, and reading— The emperor coming in behalf of France," Instead of emperor's. M. MASON. Mr. Capell proposes the following insertion: "To order peace between them: But these now "We pass in silence over; and omit," &c. Boswell. 3 Scene I.] This scene ought, in my opinion, to conclude the fourth Act, and be placed before the last Chorus. There is no English camp in this Act; the quarrel apparently happened before the return of the army to England, and not after so long an interval as the Chorus has supplied. JOHNSON. Fluellen presently says, that he wore his leek in consequence of an affront he had received but the day before from Pistol. Their present quarrel has therefore no reference to that begun in the sixth scene of the third Act. STEEVENS. pragging knave, Pistol,-which you and yourself, and all the 'orld, know to be no petter than a fellow, look you now, of no merits, he is come to me, and prings me pread and salt yesterday, look you, and bid me eat my leek: it was in a place where I could not breed no contentions with him; but I will be so pold as to wear it in my cap till I see him once again, and then I will tell him a little piece of my desires. Enter PISTOL. Gow. Why, here he comes, swelling like a turkey-cock. FLU. 'Tis no matter for his swellings, nor his turkey-cocks.-Got pless you, ancient Pistol! you scurvy, lowsy knave, Got pless you! PIST. Ha! art thou Bedlam? dost thou thirst, base Trojan, 4 To have me fold up Parca's fatal web * ? FLU. I peseech you heartily, scurvy lowsy knave, at my desires, and my requests, and my petitions, to eat, look you, this leek; because, look you, you do not love it, nor your affections, and your appetites, and your digestions, does not agree with it, I would desire you to eat it. PIST. Not for Cadwallader, and all his goats. FLU. There is one goat for you. [Strikes him.] Will you be so goot, scald knave, as eat it? PIST. Base Trojan, thou shalt die. FLU. You say very true, scald knave, when Got's will is I will desire you to live in the mean time, and eat your victuals: come, there is sauce for it, [Striking him again.] You called me yesterday, mountain-squire; but I will make you to-day a 4 To have me fold up, &c.] Dost thou desire to have me put thee to death? JOHNSON. squire of low degree. I pray you, fall to; if you can mock a leek, you can eat a leek. Gow. Enough, captain; you have astonished him. FLU. I say, I will make him eat some part of my leek, or I will peat his pate four days :-Pite, I pray you; it is goot for your green wound, and your ploody coxcomb. PIST. Must I bite ? FLU. Yes, certainly; and out of doubt, and out of questions too, and ambiguities. PIST. By this leek, I will most horribly revenge ; I eat, and eke I swear-7. FLU. Eat, I pray you: Will you have some more sauce to your leek? there is not enough leek to swear by. 5- squire of low degree.] That is, "I will bring thee to the ground." JOHNSON. "The Squire of Low Degree" is the title of an old romance, enumerated, among other books, in A Letter concerning Queen Elizabeth's Entertainment at Kenelworth. STEEVENS. This metrical romance, which was very popular among our countrymen in ancient times, was burlesqued by Chaucer, in his rhyme of Sir Thopas, and begins thus : "It was a squyre of lowe degre, "That loved the king's daughter of Hungré." See Reliques of English Poetry, vol. iii. p. 30, 2d edition. PERCY. 6 ASTONISHED him.] That is, you have stunned him with the blow. JOHNSON. Rather, you have confounded him. M. MASON. Dr. Johnson's explanation is the true one. So, in the second book of The Destruction of Troy: "Theseus smote again upon his enemy, which, &c.—and struck Theseus so fiercely with his sword-that he was astonished with the stroke." STEEVENS. 7 I eat, and EKE I swear-] The first folio has eat, for which the later editors have put-" I eat and swear." We should read, I suppose, in the frigid tumour of Pistol's dialect: 66 I eat, and eke I swear." JOHNSON. Thus also Pistol, in The Merry Wives of Windsor: "And I to Ford shall eke unfold." STEEVENS. Perhaps I eat, and eating swear." HOLT WHITE. " PIST. Quiet thy cudgel; thou dost see, I eat. FLU. Much goot do you, scald knave, heartily. Nay, 'pray you, throw none away; the skin is goot for your proken coxcomb. When you take occasions to see leeks hereafter, I pray you, mock at them; that is all. PIST. Good. FLU. Ay, leeks is goot:-Hold you, there is a groat to heal your pate. PIST. Me a groat! FLU. Yes, verily, and in truth, you shall take it; or I have another leek in my pocket, which you shall eat. PIST. I take thy groat, in earnest of revenge. FLU. If I owe you any thing, I will pay you in cudgels; you shall be a woodmonger, and buy nothing of me but cudgels. God be wi' you, and keep you, and heal your pate. [Exit. PIST. All hell shall stir for this. 8 Gow. Go, go; you are a counterfeit cowardly knave. Will you mock at an ancient tradition,begun upon an honourable respect, and worn as a memorable trophy of predeceased valour,—and dare not avouch in your deeds any of your words? words? I have seen you gleeking and galling at this gentleman twice or thrice. You thought, because he could not speak English in the native garb, he could not therefore handle an English cudgel: you find it otherwise; and, henceforth, let a Welsh correction teach you a good English condition 9. Fare ye well. [Exit. 8 - gleeking i. e. scoffing, sneering. Gleek was a game at cards. So, in Greene's Tu Quoque, 1614: "Why gleek, that's your only game Gleek let it be; for I am persuaded I shall gleek some of you." Again, in Tom Tyler and his Wife, 1661: "I suddenly gleek, or men be aware." STEEvens. See vol. v. p. 253, n. 8. Boswell. 9 English CONDITION.] Condition is temper, disposition of |
