What yesternight our Council did decree, Weft. My Liege, this hafte was hot in queftion, Upon whose dead corps there was such misuse, K. Henry, It feems then, that the tidings of this broil Brake off our business for the holy Land. Weft. This, matcht with other, did, my gracious lord; For more uneven and unwelcome news Came from the North, and thus it did import. And fhape of likelihood, the news was told; K. Henry. Here is a dear and true induftrious friend, Betwixt that Holmedon, and this Seat of ours: 6 this dear expedience.] 7 And many limits - LiFor expedition. WARBURTON. mits for eflimates. WARBURT. And he hath brought us fmooth and welcome news. Ten thoufand bold Scots, three and twenty Knights, On Holmedon's plains. Of prifoners, Hot-fpur took To beaten Douglas, and the Earls of Athol, And is not this an honourable spoil? A gallant prize? ha, coufin, is it not? Weft. In faith, a conqueft for a Prince to boast of. K. Henry. Yea, there thou mak'ft me fad, and mak'ft me fin In Envy, that my lord Northumberland Should be the father of fo bleft a fon, A fon, who is the theam of Honour's tongue, Then would I have his Harry, and he mine. Of this young Percy's pride? the prisoners, Weft. This is his uncle's teaching, this is Worcester, Malevolent to you in all aspects, 8 Which makes him plume himself, and briftle up The this the Oxford Editor gives his WARBURTON. fiat. I am not fo confident as thofe two The Creft of youth againft your Dignity. K. Henry. But I have fent for him to answer this; Coufin, on Wednesday next our Council we SCENE II. An Apartment of the Prince's. [Exeunt. Enter Henry Prince of Wales, and Sir John Falstaff. Fal. OW, Hal, what time of day is it, lad? NOW P. Henry. Thou art fo fat-witted with drinking old fack, and unbuttoning thee after supper, and fleeping upon benches in the afternoon, that thou haft forgotten to demand that truly, which thou would't truly know. What a devil haft thou to do with the time of the day? Unless hours were cups of fack, and minutes capons, and clocks the tongues of bawds, and dials the figns of leaping-houses, and the bleffed Sun himself a fair hot wench in flame-colour'd taffata. I fee no reafon why thou fhould't be fo fuperfluous, to demand the time of the day. two editors. The metaphor is taken from a cock who in his pride prunes himself; that is, picks off the loofe feathers to imooth the rest. To prune and to plume, spoken of a bird, is the fame. 9 Then out of anger can be uttered. That is, Mors is to be faid than anger will suffer me to fay: More than can ifjue from a mind difturbed like mine. To demand that truly, which thou wouldst truly know.] The Prince's objection to the question feems to be, that Faltaf had asked in the night what was the time of day. Fal. Fal. Indeed, you come near me now, Hal. For we, that take purfes, go by the moon and feven stars, and not by Phebus, he, that wandring knight fo fair. And I pray thee, fweet wag, when thou art Kingas God fave thy Grace (Majefty, I fhould fay; for grace thou wilt have none.) P. Henry. What! none? Fal. No, by my troth, not so much as will ferve to be prologue to an egg and butter. P. Henry. Well, how then?-come-roundly, roundly Fal. Marry, then, fweet wag, when thou art King, 2 let not us that are fquires of the night's body, be call'd thieves of the day's booty. Let us be Diana's foresters, gentlemen of the fhade, minions of the Moon; and let men say, we be men of good government, being governed as the Sea is, by our noble and chafte miftrefs the Moon, under whofe countenance we———— fteal. P. Henry. Thou fay'ft well, and it holds well too; for the fortune of us, that are the Moon's men, doth ebb and flow like the Sea; being govern'd as the Sea is, by the Moon. As for proof, now: a purfe of gold most resolutely fnatch'd on Monday night, and moft diffolutely spent on Tuesday morning; got with fwearing, lay by; and spent with crying, bring In former editions, 2 Let not Us, that are Squires of the Night's body, be call'd Thieves of the Day's Beauty.] This conveys no manner of Idea to me. How could they be called Thieves of the Day's Beauty? They robbed by Moonfhine; they could not fteal the fair Day-light. I have ventured to fubftitute, Booty: and this I take to be the Meaning. Let us not be called Thieves, the Purloiners of that Booty, which, to the Proprietors, was the Pur 3 chafe of honeft Labour and Induftry by Day. THEOBALD. 3 got with fearig, lay by ;] . e. fwearing at the paflengers they robbed, lay by your arms; or rather, lay by was a phrafe that then fignified fand still, addreffed to thofe who were preparing to rush forward. But the Oxford Editor kindly accommodates thefe old thieves with a new cant phrafe, taken from Baghot-Heath or Fichly-Commen, of LUG OUT. I 2 WARBURTON. in: in: now in as low an ebb as the foot of the ladder; and by and by in as high a flow as the ridge of the gallows. Fal. By the lord, thou fay'ft true, lad: and is not mine Hoftefs of the tavern a most sweet wench? P. Henry. As the honey of Hybla, my old lad of 4 As the Honey of Hybla, my Old Lad of the Cafle.] Mr. Rowe took notice of a Tradition, that this Part of Falstaff was written originally under the Name of Oldcofle. An ingenious Correfpondent hints to me, that the Paffage above quoted from our Author proves, what Mr. Rore tells us was a Tradition. Old Lad of the Castle feems to have a Reference to Oldcafle. Befides, if this had not been the Fact, why, in the Epilogue to the Second Part of Henry IV. where our Author promifes to continue his Story with Sir John in it, should he say, Where, for any Thing I know, Falstaff ball de of a Saveat, unless already be be killed with your hard Op nions: for Oldcastle did a Martyr, and this is not the Man. This looks like declining a Point, that had been made an Objection to him. I'll give a farther Matter in Proof, which feems almoft to fix the Charge. I have read an old Play, called, The famous Vidories of Henry the Vth, containing the Honourable Battle of Agincourt.- -The Action of this Piece commences about the 14th Year of K. Henry IVth's Reign, and ends with Henry the Vth marrying Princefs Catharine of France. The Scene opens with Frince Henry's Robberies. Sir the John Oldcastle is one of his Gang, and called Jockie: and Ned and Gads-hill are two other Comrades.- -From this old imperfect Sketch, I have a Sufpicion, Shakespeare might form his two Parts of Henry the IVth, and his Hiftory of Henry V and confequently, 'tis not improbable, that he might continue the mention of Sir John Oldcofile, till fome Defcendants of that Family moved Queen Elizabeth to command him to change the Name. THEOBALD. my old lad of the cafle;] This alludes to the name Shakespear firft gave to this buffoon character, which was Sir John Oldcaftle: And when he changed the name, he forgot to ftrike out this expreffion that alluded to it. The reafon of the change was this, one Sir John Oldcastle having fuffered in the time of Henry V. for the opinions of Wickliffe, it gave offence; and therefore the Poet altered it to Falstaff, and endeavours to remove the fcandal, in the Epilogue to the second part of Henry IV. Fuller takes notice of this matter in his Church Hiftory, Stage-Poets have themselves been very bold with, and others very merry at, the memory of Sir John Oldcastle, whom they have fancied a boon companion, a jovial royfter, and a coward |