Out of the gripes of cruel men, and give it SUR. 'Tis no counterfeit. SUF. 'Tis the right ring, by heaven: I told ye all, When we first put this dangerous ftone a rolling, 'Twould fall upon ourselves. NOR. Do you think, my lords, The king will fuffer but the little finger Of this man to be vex'd? Снам. 'Tis now too certain: How much more is his life in value with him? 'Would I were fairly out on't. CROM. My mind gave me, In feeking tales, and informations, Against this man, (whofe honefty the devil Ye blew the fire that burns ye: Now have at ye. Enter King, frowning on them; takes his feat. GAR. Dread fovereign, how much are we bound to heaven In daily thanks, that gave us fuch a prince; His royal felf in judgement comes to hear great offender. K. HEN. You were ever good at fudden com mendations, Bishop of Winchefter. But know, I come not They are too thin and bafe to hide offences." Good man, [To CRANMER.] fit down. Now let me fee the proudest He, that dares moft, but wag his finger at thee: By all that's holy, he had better starve, Than but once think his place becomes thee not.” They are too thin &c.] i. e. the commendations above mentioned. Mr. Pope in the former line changed flattery to flatteries, and this unneceffary emendation has been adopted by all the fubfequent editors. I believe our authour wrote-They are too thin and bare; and that the editor of the firft folio, not understanding the word, changed it to bafe, as he did in King Henry IV. Part I. See Vol. VIII. p. 398, n. 4. MALONE. 8 But know, I come not To hear fuch flattery now, and in my prefence; They are too thin and bafe to hide offences. &c.] I think the pointing of thefe lines preferable to that in the former edition, in which they ftand thus: I come not To hear fuch flatteries now: and in my prefence It then follows: To me you cannot reach: you play the Spaniel, And think with wagging of your tongue to win me. But the former of thefe lines fhould evidently be thus written: the relative whom being understood. WHALLEY. I think the old copy is right. MALONE. Surely, the first of these lines fhould be pointed thus: To me you cannot reach, you play the spaniel,— That is, you fawn upon me, who am above your malice. M. MASON. In the punctuation of this paffage I have followed the concurring advice of Mr. Whalley and Mr. M. Mafon. STEEVENS. 9 Than but once think his place becomes thee not.] Who dares to fuppofe that the place or fituation in which he is, is not suitable to thee alfo? who fuppofes that thou art not as fit for the office of a privy counsellor as he is. Mr. Rowe and all the fubfequent editors read-this place. MALONE. SUR. May it please your grace,— K. HEN. No, fir, it does not please me. This good man, (few of you deserve that title,) CHAN. Thus far, My moft dread fovereign, may it like your grace To let my tongue excufe all. What was purpos'd, Concerning his imprisonment, was rather (If there be faith in men,) meant for his trial, And fair purgation to the world, than malice; I am fure, in me. K. HEN. Well, well, my lords, refpect him; Take him, and ufe him well, he's worthy of it. I will fay thus much for him, If a prince May be beholden to a fubject, I Am, for his love and fervice, fo to him. Make me no more ado, but all embrace him; Be friends, for fhame, my lords.-My lord of Canterbury, I have a fuit which you must not deny me; a fair 2 That is, &c.] My fuit is, that you would be a godfather to young maid, who is not yet chriftened. Mr. Rowe readsThere is, &c. and all the fubfequent editors have adopted this unneceffary alteration. The final word her, we should now confider You must be godfather, and anfwer for her. as fuperfluous; but we have many inftances of a fimilar phrafeology in thefe plays:-or, the conftruction may be--A fair young maid, &c. you must be godfather [to], and answer for her. So, before in this play : 66 whoever the king favours, "The cardinal inftantly will find employment [for], Again, in The Merchant of Venice: "How true a gentleman you fend relief [10].” Again, in Julius Cæfar: "Thy honourable metal may be wrought "From what it is difpos'd [to]." See alfo Vol. VIII. p. 91, n. 9, and a note on Cymbeline, fc. ult. Vol. XIII. MALONE. The fuperfluous pronoun in the text (if it be fuperfluous) may be justified by the following paffage in Romeo and Juliet: this reverend holy friar, "All our whole city is much bound to him." STEEVENS. 3 You must be godfather,] Our prelates formerly were often employed on the like occafions. Cranmer was godfather to Edward VI. See Hall, fo. 232. Archbishop Warham to Henry's eldeft fon by Queen Katharine; and the Bishop of Winchester to Henry himself. See Sandford, 479, 495. REED. 4 you'd spare your fpoons ;] It was the cuftom, long before the time of Shakspeare, for the fponfors at chriftenings, to offer gilt fpoons as a prefent to the child. The fe fpoons were called apoftle spoons, because the figures of the apoftles were carved on the tops of the handles. Such as were at once opulent and generous, gave the whole twelve; thofe who were either more moderately rich or liberal, efcaped at the expence of the four evangelifts; or even fometimes contented themselves with prefenting one spoon only, which exhibited the figure of any faint, in honour of whom the child received its name. In the year 1560, we find entered on the books of the Stationers' company, "a fpoyne, of the gyfte of mafter Reginold Wolfe, all gylte with the pyЄture of St. John.” Two noble partners with you; the old duchefs of Norfolk, Ben Jonfon alfo, in his Bartholomew Fair, mentions fpoons of this kind: "and all this for the hope of a couple of apoftle Spoons, and a cup to eat caudle in." 66 2. So, in Middleton's comedy of A chafte Maid of Cheapfide, 1620: Gof. What has he given her ?-what is it, goffip? 3. Gof. A faire high ftanding-cup, and two great 'poftle Spoons, one of them gilt. 1. Pur. Sure that was Judas then with the red beard." Again: "E'en the fame goffip 'twas that gave the Spoons." Again, in fir William D'Avenant's comedy of The Wits, 1639: my pendants, carcanets, and rings, My chrift'ning caudle-cup, and spoons, "Are diffolv'd into that lump." Again, in The Maid in the Mill, by Beaumont and Fletcher : "Didft afk her name?. "Yes, and who gave it her; "And what they promis'd more, befides a spoon, Again, in The Noble Gentleman, by the fame authors: "I have an odd apostle Spoon.” Mr. Pegge, in his preface to A Forme of Cury, a Roll of ancient English Cookery, compiled about A. D. 1390, &c. obferves, that "the general mode of eating muft either have been with the Spoon or the fingers; and this, perhaps, may have been the reason, that Spoons became the ufual prefent from goffips to their god-children, at christenings." STEEVENS. As the following ftory, which is found in a collection of anecdotes, entitled Merry Paffages and Feafts, MSS. Harl. 6395, contains an allufion to this cuftom, and has not, I believe, been publifhed, it may not be an improper fupplement to this account of apoftle Spoons. It fhews that our author and Ben Jonfon were once on terms of familiarity and friendship, however cold and jealous the latter might have been at a fubfequent period: "Shakspeare was godfather to one of Ben Jonfon's children, and after the christening, being in deepe ftudy, Jonfon came to cheer him up, and afk'd him why he was fo melancholy: No 'faith, Ben, fays he, not I; but I have been confidering a great while what should be the fittest gift for me to beftow upon my godchild, and I have refolv'd at laft. I pr'ythee, what? fays he.-I' faith, Ben, I'll give him a douzen good latten [Latin] spoons, and thou shalt tranflate them." The collector of thefe anecdotes appears to have been nephew to Sir Roger L'Eftrange. He names Donne as the relater of this story. |