as familiarly of John of Gaunt, as if he had been sworn brother to him; and I'll be sworn he never saw him but once in the Tilt-yard, and then he burst his head', for crowding among the marshal's men. I saw it; and told John of Gaunt, he beat his own names; for you might have thrust him, and all his apparel, into an eel-skin the case of a treble hautboy was a mansion for him, a court; and now has he land and beeves. Well, I will be acquainted with him, if I return; and it shall go hard, but I will make him a philosopher's two stones to me. If the young dace be a bait for the old pike, I see no reason in the law of nature but I Let time shape, and there an end. may snap at him. [Exit. ACT IV. SCENE I. A Forest in Yorkshire. Enter the Archbishop of YORK, MOWBRAY, HASTINGS, and Others'. Arch. What is this forest call'd? Hast. 'Tis Gaultree forest, an't shall please your grace. Arch. Here stand, my lords; and send discoverers forth, To know the numbers of our enemies. 7 and then he BURST his head,] The commentators cite various passages to show that "burst" was of old used for break, but they omit the most apposite from Shakespeare himself, where, in the opening of "The Taming of the Shrew," Vol. iii. p. 107, the hostess calls upon Sly to "pay for the glasses he had burst." he beat his own name ;] i. e. gaunt; alluding to Shallow's figure. you might have THRUST him,] So the quarto, 1600: the folio, trussed. Hastings, and Others.] "Within the forest of Gaultree," adds the old stage-direction in the quarto, with unusual particularity. Shakespeare took Holinshed as his authority for the place. 8 - 9 1 Hast. We have sent forth already. Arch. "Tis well done.My friends and brethren in these great affairs, I must acquaint you, that I have receiv'd New-dated letters from Northumberland; Their cold intent, tenour and substance, thus:Here doth he wish his person, with such powers As might hold sortance with his quality, The which he could not levy; whereupon He is retir'd, to ripe his growing fortunes, To Scotland; and concludes in hearty prayers, That your attempts may overlive the hazard, And fearful meeting of their opposite2. Mowb. Thus do the hopes we have in him touch ground, And dash themselves to pieces. Hast. Enter a Messenger. Now, what news? Mess. West of this forest, scarcely off a mile, In goodly form comes on the enemy: And, by the ground they hide, I judge their number Upon, or near, the rate of thirty thousand. Mowb. The just proportion that we gave them out. Let us sway on, and face them in the field. Enter WESTMORELAND. Arch. What well-appointed leader fronts us here? Mowb. I think it is my lord of Westmoreland. West. Health and fair greeting from our general, The prince, lord John and duke of Lancaster. Arch. Say on, my lord of Westmoreland, in peace, What doth concern your coming? 2 West. Then, my lord3, their OPPOSITE.] i. e. adversary. See Vol. ii. p. 63; Vol. iii. p. 381. 392. 3 Then, my lord,] These words are not in the quarto: the folio inserted them, no doubt, to complete the preceding imperfect line. Unto your grace do I in chief address The substance of my speech. If that rebellion With your fair honours. You, lord archbishop, Whose beard the silver hand of peace hath touch'd; Out of the speech of peace, that bears such grace, To a loud trumpet, and a point of war? Arch. Wherefore do I this? stands: so the question Briefly to this end.-We are all diseas'd; 4 SO APPEAR'D,] Old copies, so appear. Corrected by Pope. 5 Turning your books to GRAVES,] So the old copies; and it may be right. Warburton and Hanmer read glaires, and Steevens more plausibly greaves, armour for the legs. 6 And, with our surfeiting, and wanton hours,] This and the twenty-four following lines are not in the quarto editions of this play. Troop in the throngs of military men ; But, rather, show a while like fearful war, And purge th' obstructions, which begin to stop What wrongs our arms may do, what wrongs we suffer, And find our griefs heavier than our offences. We see which way the stream of time doth run, And have the summary of all our griefs, When we are wrong'd, and would unfold our griefs, Even by those men that most have done us wrong. West. When ever yet was your appeal denied? [And consecrate commotion's bitter edge'?] 7 And are enforc'd from our most quiet THERE] So the folio, the only old copy of this passage: the meaning seems to be, that the archbishop complains that he and his friends are driven from their chief quiet in the stream of time by a rough torrent. Warburton altered "there" to sphere, but without any obvious necessity. 8 [And consecrate commotion's bitter edge?] This line is not in the folio. Arch. My brother general, the commonwealth, [To brother born an household cruelty,] I make my quarrel in particular9. West. There is no need of any such redress; Mowb. Why not to him, in part, and to us all, West. O! my good lord Mowbray', Construe the times to their necessities, I make my quarrel in particular.] The second line of this speech is omitted in the folio, and is restored from the quarto. The whole is obscure, but Malone, following Monck Mason, thus explains the probable intention of the author: My brother-general, who is joined here with me in command, makes the commonwealth his quarrel, i. e. has taken up arms on account of public grievances; a particular injury done to my own brother, is my ground of quarrel." Malone supposed a line to have been lost, which possibly may have been the case; and the second line of the archbishop's speech is said to be wanting in some copies of the quarto impressions, as well as in the folio. It is found in both the quartos belonging to the Duke of Devonshire, and in two others that I have had the opportunity of examining. O! my good lord Mowbray,] This and the thirty-six lines following it are not in the quarto edition. 2 And then, WHEN-] The folio reads "And then, that." The error was corrected by Pope. |