PORT. An't please your honour, We are but men; and what so many may do, An army cannot rule them. If the king blame me for 't, I'll lay ye all By the heels, and suddenly; and on your heads Ye should do service. Hark, the trumpets sound; A Marshalsea, shall hold you play these two months. MAN. You great fellow, stand close up, or I'll make your head ache. PORT. You i' the camblet, get up o' the rail; I'll pick you o'er the pates else. [Exeunt. SCENE IV.-The Palace. Enter trumpets, sounding; then two Aldermen, Lord Mayor, Garter, CRANMER, DUKE OF NORFOLK, with his marshal's staff, DUKE OF SUFFOLK, Two Noblemen bearing great standing bowls for the christening gifts; then Four Noblemen bearing a canopy, under which the DUCHESS OF NORFOLK, godmother, bearing the child richly habited in a mantle, &c. Train borne by a Lady: then follows the MARCHIONESS OF DORSET, the other godmother, and Ladies. The troop pass once about the stage, and Garter speaks. GART. Heaven, from thy endless goodness, send prosperous life, long, and ever happy, to the high and mighty princess of England, Elizabeth! Flourish. Enter KING and Train. CRAN. [Kneeling.] And to your royal grace, and the good queen, My noble partners, and myself, thus pray;— All comfort, joy, in this most gracious lady, May hourly fall upon ye! With this kiss take my blessing: God protect thee! K. HEN. My noble gossips, ye have been too prodigal : I thank ye heartily; so shall this lady, When she has so much English. Let me speak, sir, CRAN. Upon this land a thousand thousand blessings, Shall still be doubled on her: truth shall nurse her, Holy and heavenly thoughts still counsel her: She shall be lov'd, and fear'd: Her own shall bless her: And hang their heads with sorrow: Good grows with her: In her days every man shall eat in safety, Under his own vine, what he plants; and sing The bird of wonder dies, the maiden phoenix, As great in admiration as herself; So shall she leave her blessedness to one, (When Heaven shall call her from this cloud of darkness,) Who, from the sacred ashes of her honour, Shall star-like rise, as great in fame as she was, And so stand fix'd: Peace, plenty, love, truth, terror, To all the plains about him:- -Our children's children K. HEN. Thou speakest wonders. CRAN. She shall be, to the happiness of England, An aged princess; many days shall see her, And yet no day without a deed to crown it. Would I had known no more! but she must die- To the ground, and all the world shall mourn her. Thou hast made me now a man; never, before This happy child, did I get anything: This oracle of comfort has so pleas'd me, That, when I am in heaven, I shall desire To see what this child does, and praise my Maker. [Exeunt. EPILOGUE. "Tis ten to one, this play can never please The merciful construction of good women; VARIOUS READINGS. ACT II., Sc. 4. "You have, by fortune, and his highness' favours, Gone slightly o'er low steps; and now are mounted Where powers are your retainers: and your wards, Domestics to you, serve your will.” The original has "your words." The alteration to wards was proposed by Tyrwhitt. He holds that the Queen "paints the powers of government depending upon Wolsey, under three images-as his retainers, his wards, his do mestic servants." Tyrwhitt has certainly taken a prosaic view of this passage. What an image is presented of an able but unscrupulous statesman, to say, that his powers, or persons in power under him, are used as the mere agents of his pleasurehis personal" retainers;" and that his words, without regard to the general obligation of truth, are "domestics," who serve but his will. "You have scarce time, ACT III., Sc. 2. To steal from spiritual labour a brief span Surely the meaning is-"You have scarce time to keep your earthly audit in a brief span stolen from spiritual leisure." "A man that more detests, more strives against The original has stirs. The change is made by the folio Corrector. ACT V., Sc. 2. A man that stirs against offenders is doing a more definite service than he that only strives against them. "We are all men, In our own natures frail, incapable Of our flesh; few are angels." ACT V., Sc. 2. MALONE. "In our own natures frail, and culpable Of our flesh." M. MASON, and MS. Corrector. |