the allegiance of his fubjects, fhould deprive the Prince of his fucceffion! Nothing can be better imagined than the parallel he draws between himself and Percy, Richard and Henry of Monmouth. The affectionate father, the offended king, the provident politician, and the conscious ufurper, are all united in the following speeches:

K. HENRY.

I know not, whether God will have it so,

For fome displeasing service I have done ;

That, in his fecret doom, out of my blood

He'll breed revengement, and a scourge for me.

But thou do'ft in thy paffages of life

Make me believe that thou art only mark'd

For the hot vengeance and the rod of heav'n,

To punish my mif-treadings. Tell me, elfe

Could fuch inordinate and low defires,

Such poor, fuch bafe, fuch lewd, fuch mean attempts,

Such barren pleasures, rude fociety

As thou art match'd withal, and grafted to,

Accompany the greatness of thy blood,
And hold their level with thy princely heart?

K. HENRY.

Heav'n pardon thee. Yet let me wonder, Harry,
At thy affections, which do hold a wing
Quite from the flight of all thy ancestors.
Thy place in council thou haft rudely loft,
Which by thy younger brother is supply'd;
And art almost an alien to the hearts
Of all the court and princes of my blood.
The hope and expectation of thy time
Is ruin'd, and the foul of every man
Prophetically does fore-think thy fall.
Had I fo lavish of my prefence been,
So common-hackney'd in the eyes of men,
So ftale and cheap to vulgar company ;
Opinion, that did help me to the crown,
Had still kept loyal to poffeffion,
And left me in reputeless banishment,
A fellow of no mark, nor likelihood.
But being feldom feen, I could not stir,
But, like a comet, I wonder'd at,
That men would tell their children, this is he;

was

Others would fay, where? which is Bolingbroke?

And then I ftole all courtesy from heav'n,

And drest myself in much humility,
That I did pluck allegiance from mens hearts,

Loud

Loud fhouts and falutations from their mouths,
Even in the presence of the crowned king..
Thus I did keep my perfon fresh and new,
My prefence, like a robe pontifical,
Ne'er feen, but wonder'd at; and fo my ftate,
Seldom, but fumptuous, fhew'd like a feaft,
And won, by rarenefs, fuch folemnity.
The skipping king, he ambled up and down
With shallow jefters, and rash bavin wits,
Soon kindled, and foon burnt; 'fcarded his ftate,
Mingled his royalty with carping fools;
Had his great name profaned with their scorns;
And gave his countenance, against his name,
To laugh at gybing boys, and ftand the push
Of every beardless, vain comparative;
Grew a companion to the common ftreets,
Enfeoff'd himself to popularity.

That, being daily fwallow'd by mens eyes,
They furfeited with honey, and began
To loath a taste of sweetness; whereof a little

More than a little, is by much too much.
So when he had occafion to be seen,

He was but as the cuckow is in June,
Heard, not regarded; feen, but with fuch eyes,
As, fick and blunted with community,

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Afford

Afford no extraordinary gaze;

Such, as is bent on fun-like majesty,
When it shines feldom in admiring eyes;

But rather drowz'd, and hung their eye-lids down,
Slept in his face, and rendred fuch aspect

As cloudy men use to their adversaries,
Being with his prefence glutted, gorg'd and full.
And in that very line, Harry, stand'st thou;
For thou haft loft thy princely privilege

With vile participation; not an eye,
But is a-weary of thy common fight,

Save mine, which hath defir'd to fee thee more;
Which now doth, what I would not have it do,
Make blind itfelf with foolish tenderness.

Our author is fo little under the discipline of art, that we are apt to ascribe his happiest fucceffes, as well as his most unfortunate failings, to chance. But I cannot help thinking, there is more of contrivance and care in his execution of this play, than in almost any he has written. It is a more regular drama than his other historical plays, lefs charged with abfurdities, and lefs involved in confufion. It is indeed liable to those

those objections which are made to tragicomedy. But if the pedantry of learning could ever recede from its dogmatical rules, I think that this play, inftead of being condemned for being of that species, would obtain favour for the fpecies itself, though perhaps correct taste may be offended with the tranfitions from grave and important, to light and ludicrous fubjects, and more ftill with those from great and illuftrious, to low and mean perfons. Foreigners unused to these compofitions will be much disgusted at them. The vulgar call all animals that are not natives of their own country, monfters, however beautiful they may be in their form, or wifely adapted to their climate and natural destination. The prejudices of pride are as violent and unreasonable as the fuperftitions of ignorance. On the French Parnaffus, a tragi-comedy of this kind will be deemed a monfter fitter to be shewn to the people at a fair, than exhibited to circles of the learned and polite. From fome peculiar circumstances

relating

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