6

And when my knightly ftomach is fuffic'd,
Why then I fuck my teeth, and catechise
My piked man of countries ;-My dear Sir,
(Thus leaning on mine elbow, I begin)
I fhall befeech you— -that is question now :
And then comes anfwer like an ABC-book:
O Sir, fays anfwer, at your beft command,
At your employment, at your fervice, Sir:-
No, Sir, fays queftion, I, fweet Sir, at yours,
And fo e'er anfwer knows what question would,
Saving in dialogue of compliment;
And talking of the Alps and Apennines,

6 Like an a, b, c book.] An a, b, c book, or, as they spoke and wrote it, an abfey book, is a catechifm.

7 And fo e'er answer knows what question would, SAVING in dialogue of compli

ment;] In this fine fpeech, Faulconbridge would fhew the advantages and prerogatives of men of worship. He obferves, particularly, that he has the traveller at command (people at that time, when a new world was difcovering, in the highest estimation). At the firft intimation of his defire, to hear ftrange ftories, the traveller complies, and will fearce give him leave to make his queftion, but e'er anfwer knows what question would -What then, why, according to the prefent reading, it grows towards fupper-time: And is not this worshipful fociety? To fpend all the time between dinner and fupper before either of them knows what the other would be Read SERVING inttead of faving, and all this nonfenfe is

at.

avoided; and the account ftands thus, "E'er answer knows what

66

queftion would be at, my tra"veller ferves in his dialogue of compliment, which is his ftanding dish at all tables; then he comes to talk of the Alps and Apenines, &c. and, by the time this "difcourfe concludes, it draws "towards fupper." All this is fenfible and humorous; and the phrafe of ferving in is a very pleasant one to denote that this was his worship's fecond course. What follows fhews the romantic turn of the voyagers of that time; how greedily their relations were fwallowed, which he calls fweet poifon for the age's tooth and how acceptable it made men at court-For it fall firew the footsteps of my rifing. And yet the Oxford Editor fays, by this sweet poison is meant WARBURTON. flattery.

This paffage is obfcure; but fuch an irregularity and perplexity runs thro' the whole fpeech, that I think this emendation not necessary.

The

The Pyrenean and the river Po;

It draws towards fupper in conclufion, fo.
But this is worshipful fociety,

And fits the mounting spirit like myself:
For he is but a baftard to the time,
That doth not smack of observation;
[And fo am I, whether I fmack or no :]
And not alone in habit and device,
Exterior form, outward accoutrement;
But from the inward motion to deliver

Sweet, sweet, sweet poison for the age's tooth;
Which tho' I will not practife to deceive,
Yet, to avoid deceit, I mean to learn;

For it shall strew the footsteps of my rifing.
" But who comes in fuch hafte, in riding robes?
What woman-poft is this? hath the no husband,
That will take pains to blow a horn before her?
O me! it is my mother; now, good lady,
What brings you here to court fo hastily?

Enter Lady Faulconbridge, and James Gurney.

Lady. Where is that flave, thy brother, where is he,
That holds in chase mine honour up and down?
Phil. My brother Robert, old Sir Robert's son,
2 Colbrand the giant, that fame mighty man,
Is it Sir Robert's fon, that you seek fo?

Lady. Sir Robert's fon? ay, thou unrev'rend boy,

Which though, &c.] The conftruction will be mended, if inftead of which though, we read, this though.

9 But who comes here.] Milton, in his tragedy, introduces Dallilab with fuch an interrogatory exclamation.

To blow a born.] He means,

that a woman who travelled about like a poft was likely to born her husband.

2 Colbrand was a Danish giant, whom Guy of Warwick difcomfited in the prefence of king Athelfian. The combat is very pompously defcribed by Drayton in his Polyolbien.

Sir Robert's fon; why fcorn't thou at Sir Robert ?
He is Sir Robert's son, and so art thou.

Philip. James Gurney, wilt thou give us leave a while?
Gur. Good leave, good Philip.

3

Phil. Philip!

fparrow

James;

There's toys abroad; anon I'll tell thee more,

[Exit James.

Madam, I was not old Sir Robert's fon,
Sir Robert might have eat his part in me
Upon Good-Friday, and ne'er broke his faft:
Sir Robert could do well; marry, confefs!
Could he get me? Sir Robert could not do it;
We knew his handy-work; therefore, good mother,
To whom am I beholden for thefe limbs ?

Sir Robert never holpe to make this leg.

Lady. Haft thou confpired with thy brother too, That, for thine own gain, fhould't defend mine ho

nour?

What means this fcorn, thou moft untoward knave?

4

Phil. Knight, Knight, good mother

lifco like.

Bafi

What!

3 Philip, fparrow, James.] I conbridge's Words here carry a think the Poet wrote,

Philip! Spare me, James. i. e. don't affront me with an appellation that comes from a Family which I difclaim. WARB. The old reading is far more agreeable to the character of the Speaker.

Dr. Gray obferves, that Skelton has a poem to the memory of Philip Sparrow; and Mr. Pope in a short note remarks, that a Sparrow is called Philip.

4 Knight, Knight, good Mother, Bafilifco like.] Thus muft this Paffage be pointed; and, to come at the Humour of it, I must clear up an old Circumftance of Stage Hiftory. Faul

concealed Piece of Satire on a
ftupid Drama of that Age, print-
ed in 1599, and called Soliman
and Perfeda. In this piece there
is the Character of a bragging
cowardly Knight, called Bafilif
co. His Pretenfion to Valour is
fo blown and feen through, that
Pifton, a Buffoon-fervant in the
Play, jumps upon his Back, and
will not difengage him, till he
makes Bafilifco fwear upon his
dudgeon dagger to the Contents,
and in the Terms, he dictates to
him: as, for inftance,

Baf. O, Ifwear, I fwear,
Pift. By the Contents of this
Blade,
Baf.

my

father

What! I am dub'd; I have it on my fhoulder:
But, mother, I am not Sir Robert's fon;
I have disclaim'd Sir Robert, and my land;
Legitimation, name, and all is gone :
Then, good my mother, let me know
Some proper man, I hope; who was it, mother?
Lady. Haft thou deny'd thyfelf a Faulconbridge?
Phil. As faithfully, as I deny the devil.
Lady. King Rickard Caur-de-lion was thy father;
By long, and vehement fuit, I was feduc'd
To make room for in my hufband's bed.
Heav'n lay not my tranfgreffion to my charge!
Thou art the iffue of my dear offence,
Which was fo ftrongly urg'd paft my defence.
Phil. Now, by this light, were I to get again,
Madam, I would not with a better father.

› Some fins do bear their privilege on earth,
And fo doth yours; your fault was not your folly.
Needs must you lay your heart at his difpofe,
Subjected tribute to commanding love,

Bal. By the Contents of this
Blade,

Pift. I, the aforesaid Bafilifco,
Baf. 1, the aforesaid Bafilifco,
Knight, good fellow, knight,
knight,

Pift. Knave, good fellow, knave, knave,

So that 'tis clear, our Poet is fneering at this Play; and makes Philip, when his Mother calls him Knave, throw off that Reproach by humorously laying claim to his new Dignity of Knighthood; as Bafilico arrogantly infifts on his Title of Knight in the Paffage above quoted. The old Play is an execrable bad one; and, I fuppofe, was fufficiently exploded in the Reprefentation: which might

make this Circumftance fo well known, as to become the Butt for a Stage farcafm. THEOBALD. Knight, Knight, good mother

Bafilico like The words allude to an expreffion in an old foolish play, then the common butt of ridicule, but the beauty of the paffage confifts in his alluding, at the fame time, to his high original. His father, Richard the firft, was furnamed Coeur de-lion. And the Cor Leonis, a fixed ftar of the first magnitude, in the fign Leo, is called Bafilifco. WARBURTON. Could one have thought it! 5 Some fins.] There are fins, that, whatever be determined of them above, are not much cenfured on earth.

Against whofe fury, and unmatched force,
The awless lion could not wage the fight;
Nor keep his princely heart from Richard's hands.
He, that perforce robs lions of their hearts,
May eafily win a woman's. Ay, my mother,
With all my heart, I thank thee for my father.
Who lives and dares but fay, thou didst not well
When I was got, I'll fend his foul to hell.
Come, lady, I will fhew thee to my kin,
And they fhall fay, when Richard me begot,
If thou hadft faid him nay, it had been fin;
Who fays, it was, he lyes; I fay, 'twas not.

[Exeunt.

ACT II.

SCENE I.

Before the Walls of Angiers in France.

Enter Philip King of France, Lewis the Dauphin, the Archduke of Auftria, Conftance, and Arthur.

B

6

LEWIS.

EFORE Angiers well met, brave Auftria.
Arthur! that great fore-runner of thy blood
Richard, that robb'd the lion of his heart,
And fought the holy wars in Palestine,
By this brave Duke came early to his grave:

6 Richard, that robb'd, &c.] So Raftal in his Chronicle. It is fayd that a Lyon was put to kynge Richard, beynge in prifon, to have devoured him, and when the lyon was gapynge he put his arme in his mouth, and pulled the lyon by the harte fo hard that

And