Enter King HENRY, YORK, and SOMERSET, conversing with him; Duke and Duchess of GLOSTER, Cardinal BEAUFORT, BUCKINGHAM, SALISBURY, and WARWICK. K. Hen. For my part, noble lords, I care not which ; Or Somerset, or York, all's one to me. York. If York have ill demean'd himself in France, Then let him be denay'd the regentship." Som. If Somerset be unworthy of the place, Let York be regent, I will yield to him. War. Whether your grace be worthy, yea, or no, Car. Ambitious Warwick, let thy betters speak. Sal. Peace, son ;-and shew some reason, Buckingham, Why Somerset should be preferr'd in this. Q. Mar. Because the king, forsooth, will have it so. Glo. Madam, the king is old enough himself To give his censure: these are no women's matters. Q. Mar. If he be old enough, what needs your grace To be protector of his excellence? Glo. Madam, I am protector of the realm; Suf. Resign it then, and leave thine insolence. Car. The commons hast thou rack'd; the clergy's bags Are lank and lean with thy extortions. Som. Thy sumptuous buildings, and thy wife's attire, Have cost a mass of public treasury. Buck. Thy cruelty in execution, Upon offenders, hath exceeded law, Q. Mar. Thy sale of offices, and towns in France,- Would make thee quickly hop without thy head. [Exit GLOSTER. The Queen drops her fan. [6] Denay is frequently used instead of deny, among old writers. STEEVENS. (7) Through all these plays censure is used in an indifferent sense, simply for judgment or opinion, JOHNSON. -Give me my fan: What, minion! can you not? [Gives the Duchess a box on the ear I cry you mercy, madam; Was it you? Duch. Was't I? yea, I it was, proud Frenchwoman : Could I come near your beauty with my nails, I'd set my ten commandments in your face. K. Hen. Sweet aunt, be quiet; 'twas against her will. Duch. Against her will! Good king, look to't in time ; She'll hamper thee, and dandle thee like a baby! Though in this place most master wear no breeches, She shall not strike dame Eleanor unreveng'd. Buck. Lord cardinal, I will follow Eleanor, And listen after Humphrey, how he proceeds: She's tickled now; her fume can need no spurs, She'll gallop fast enough to her destruction. Re-enter GLOSTER. Glo. Now, lords, my choler being over-blown, York. I'll tell thee, Suffolk, why I am unmeet. Did never traitor in the land commit. Suf. Peace, head-strong Warwick! [Exit. [Exit. War. Image of pride, why should I hold my peace? Enter Servants of SUFFOLK, bringing in HORNER and PETER Suf. Because here is a man accus'd of treason: Pray God, the duke of York excuse himself! York. Doth any one accuse York for a traitor ? are these? What Suf. Please it your majesty, this is the man And that your majesty was an usurper. K. Hen. Say, man, were these thy words? Hor. An't shall please your majesty, I never said nor thought any such matter: God is my witness, I am falsely accused by the villain. Pet. By these ten bones, my lords, [Holding up his hands.] he did speak them to me in the garret one night, as we were scouring my lord of York's armour. York. Base dunghill villain, and mechanical, I'll have thy head for this thy traitor's speech :— Let him have all the rigour of the law. Hor. Alas, my lord, hang me, if ever I spake the words. My accuser is my prentice; and when I did correct him for his fault the other day, he did vow upon his knees he would be even with me: I have good witness of this; therefore, I beseech your majesty, do not cast away an honest man for a villain's accusation. K. Hen. Uncle, what shall we say to this in law? Hor. And I accept the combat willingly. Pet. Alas, my lord, I cannot fight; for God's sake, pity my case the spite of man prevaileth against me. O, Lord have mercy upon me! I shall never be able to fight a blow: O Lord, my heart! [8] The jests in this play turn rather too much on the enumeration of fingers. We have just heard a Duchess threaten to set her ten commandments in the face of a Queen. This adjuration is, however, very ancient. STEEVENS. VOL. VI. I 2 Glo. Sirrah, or you must fight, or else be hang'd. K. Hen. Away with them to prison: and the day Of combat shall be the last of the next month.Come, Somerset, we'll see thee sent away. [Exeunt. The same. SCENE IV. The Duke of GLOSTER'S Garden. Enter MARGERY JOURDAIN, HUME, SOUTHWELL, and BOLINGBROKE, Hume. Come, my masters; the duchess, I tell you, expects performance of your promises. Boling. Master Hume, we are therefore provided: Will her ladyship behold and hear our exorcisms ?? Hume. Ay; What else? fear you not her courage. Boling. I have heard her reported to be a woman of an invincible spirit: But it shall be convenient, master Hume, that you be by her aloft, while we be busy below; and so, I pray you, go in God's name, and leave us. [Exit HUME.] Mother Jourdain, be you prostrate, and grovel on the earth-John Southwell, read you; and let us to our work. Enter Duchess, above. Duch. Well said, my masters; and welcome all. To this geer; the sooner the better. Boling. Patience, good lady; wizards know their times: Deep night, dark night, the silent of the night,' The time of night when Troy was set on fire; [9] The word exorcise, and its derivatives, are used by Shakespeare in an uncom mon sense. In all other writers it means to lay spirits, but in these plays it invariably means to raise them. M. MASON. [1] The old quarto reads, the silence of the night. The variation between the co ples is worth notice: "Bolingbrooke makes a circle, "Bol. Dark night, dread night, the silence of the night, "Wherein the furies mask in hellish troops, "Send up, I charge you, from Cocytus' lake "The spirit Ascalon to come to me; "To pierce the bowels of this centrick earth, STEEVENS. [2] I was unacquainted with the etymology of this word, till it was pointed out to me by an ingenious correspondent in the Gentleman's Magazine:" Shakespeare's ban-dogs (says he) is simply a village-dog, or mastiff, which was formerly called a band-dog, per syncopen, bandog." In support of this opinion he quotes Cains de canibus Britannicis. STEEVENS. [Here they perform the ceremonies appertaining, and make the circle; BOLINGBROKE, or SOUTHWELL, reads, Conjuro te, &c. It thunders and lightens terribly; then the Spirit riseth. Spir. Adsum. M. Jourd. Asmath, By the eternal God, whose name and power Thou tremblest at, answer that I shall ask ; For, till thou speak, thou shalt not pass from hence. [As the Spirit speaks, SOUTHWELL writes the answer. Safer shall he be upon the sandy plains Than where castles mounted stand.* Have done, for more I hardly can endure. Boling. Descend to darkness, and the burning lake : False fiend, avoid !5 [Thunder and lightning. Spirit descends. Enter YORK and BUCKINGHAM, hastily, with their Guards, and others. York. Lay hands upon these traitors, and their trash. Beldame, I think, we watch'd you at an inch.-What, madam, are you there? the king and commonweal Are deeply indebted for this piece of pains; [3] It was anciently believed that spirits, who were raised by incantations, re mained above ground, and answered questions with reluctance. STEEVENS. [4] I remember to have read this prophecy in some old Chronicle, where I think it ran thus: "Safer shall he be on sand, "Than where castles mounted stand." STEEVENS. [5] Instead of this short speech, the old quarto gives us the following "Then down, I say, unto the damned pool, Where Pluto in his fiery waggon sits, Riding amidst the sing'd and parched smoaks, The road of Dytas, by the river Styx; "There howle and burn for ever in those flames: Rise, Jordane, rise, and stay thy charming spells :"Zounds! we are betray'd!" Dytas is printed by mistake for Ditis, the genitive case of Dis, which is used instead of the nominative by more than one ancient author. STEEVENS. |