Of dainty and fuch picking grievances: 9 That may repeat and history his lofs To new remembrance: For full well he knows, HAST. Befides, the king hath wafted all his rods ARCH. 'Tis very true;- MoWB. Be it fo. Here is return'd my lord of Westmoreland. Of dainty and fuch picking grievances:] I cannot but think that this line is corrupted, and that we fhould read: Of picking out fuch dainty grievances. JOHNSON. Picking means piddling, infignificant. STEEVENS. I wipe his tables clean;] Alluding to a table-book of flate, ivory, &c. WARBURTON. Re-enter WESTMORELAND. WEST. The prince is here at hand: Pleaseth your lordship, To meet his grace just distance 'tween our armies ? MoWB. Your grace of York, in God's name then fet forward. ARCH. Before, and greet his grace :-my lord, we come. [Exeunt. SCENE II. Another Part of the Foreft. Enter, from one fide, MOWBRAY, the Archbishop, HASTINGS, and Others: from the other fide, Prince JOHN of LANCASTER, WESTMORELAND, Officers, and Attendants. P. JOHN. You are well encounter'd here, my coufin Mowbray : Good day to you, gentle lord archbishop ;- 3- an iron man,] Holinfhed fays of the Archbishop, that "coming foorth amongst them clad in armour, he incouraged and pricked them foorth to take the enterprise in hand." STEEVENS. Turning the word to fword,3 and life to death. To us, the imagin'd voice of God himself; 4 Between the grace, the fanctities of heaven,5 3 Turning the word to fword, &c.] A fimilar thought occurs in Gower's Confeffio Amantis, 1554: "Into the fworde the churche kaye STEEVENS. the imagin'd voice of God himself;] The old copies, by an apparent error of the prefs, have-the imagine voice. Mr. Pope introduced the reading of the text. Perhaps Shakspeare wrote To us, the image and voice &c. So, in a fubfequent scene: "And he, the noble image of my youth." MALONE. I cannot perfuade myself to reject a harmonious reading, that another eminently harfh may fupply its place. STEEVENS. 5the fanctities of heaven,] This expreffion Milton has copied : "Around him all the fanctities of heaven workings:] i. e. labours of thought. So, in King Henry V: 1 In deeds difhonourable? You have taken up," The fubjects of his fubftitute, my father; And, both against the peace of heaven and him, ARCH. Good my lord of Lancaster, I am not here against your father's peace: The which hath been with fcorn fhov'd from the court, Whereon this Hydra fon of war is born : Whofe dangerous eyes may well be charm'd asleep," MoWB. If not, we ready are to try our fortunes To the laft man. HAST. And though we here fall down, We have supplies to fecond our attempt; 7 You have taken up,] To take up is to levy, to raise in arms. JOHNSON. in common fenfe,] I believe Shakspeare wrote common fence, i. e. drove by self-defence. WARBURTON. Common fenfe is the general sense of general danger. JOHNSON. May not common sense here mean, according to the dictates of reafon? M. MASON. • Whofe dangerous eyes may well be charm'd afleep,] Alluding to the dragon charmed to reft by the spells of Medea. STEEVENS. And fo, fuccefs of mischief' fhall be born; P. JOHN. You are too fhallow, Haftings, much To found the bottom of the after-times. WEST. Pleafeth your grace, to answer them directly, How far-forth you do like their articles? 2 P. JOHN. I like them all, and do allow them well: And swear here by the honour of my blood, My lord, these griefs fhall be with speed redrefs'd; * And fo, fuccefs of mischief-] Success for fucceffion. 2 WARBURTON. and do allow-] i. e. approve. So, in King Lear, Act II. fc. iv: if your sweet sway "Allow obedience." MALONE. 3 Difcharge your powers-] It was Weftmoreland who made this deceitful propofal, as appears from Holinfhed: "The earl of Westmoreland ufing more policie than the reft, faid, whereas our people have been long in armour, let them depart home to their woonted trades: in the meane time let us drink togither in figne of agreement, that the people on both fides may fee it, and know that it is true, that we be light at a point." STEEVENS. |