K. HEN. Ha! Canterbury? DEN. Ay, my good lord. K. HEN. 'Tis true: Where is he, Denny? DEN. He attends your highness' pleasure. what amazed, the earle of Bedford with a loud voice confirming his words with a solemn othe, said, when you first began the matter, my lordes, I told you what would come of it. Do you thinke that the king would suffer this man's finger to ake? Much more (I warrant you) will he defend his life against brabling varlets. You doe but cumber yourselves to hear tales and fables against him. And incontinently upon the receipt of the king's token, they all rose, and carried to the king his ring, surrendring that matter as the order and use was, into his own hands. "When they were all come to the king's presence, his highness, with a severe countenance, said unto them; ah, mylordes, I thought I had wiser men of my counsaile than now I find you. What discretion was this in you thus to make the primate of the realme, and one of you in office, to wait at the counsaillechamber doore amongst serving men? You might have considered that he was a counsailer as wel as you, and you had no such commission of me so to handle him. I was content that you should trie him as a counsellor, and not as a meane subject. But now I well perceive that things be done against him maliciouslie, and if some of you might have had your mindes, you would have tried him to the uttermost. But I doe you all to wit, and protest, that if a prince may bee beholding unto his subject (and so solemnlie laying his hand upon his brest, said,) by the faith I owe to God I take this man here, my lord of Canterburie, to be of all other a most faithful subject unto us, and one to whome we are much beholding, giving him great commendations otherwise. And, with that, one or two of the chiefest of the counsaile, making their excuse, declared, that in requesting his indurance, it was rather ment for his triall and his purgation against the common fame and slander of the worlde, than for any malice conceived against him. Well, well, my lords, (quoth the king,) take him, and well use him, as hee is worthy to bee, and make no more ado. And with that, every man caught him by the hand, and made faire weather of altogethers, which might easilie be done with that man. STEEVENS. K. HEN. Bring him to us. [Exit DENNY. Lor. This is about that which the bishop spake; I am happily' come hither. Re-enter DENNY, with CRANMER. K. HEN. [Aside. Avoid the gallery. [LOVELL seems to stay. Ha! I have said.-Be gone. What! [Exeunt LOVELL and DENNY. CRAN. I am fearful:-Wherefore frowns he thus? 'Tis his aspect of terror. All's not well. K. HEN. How now, my lord? You do desire to 'Pray you, arise, My good and gracious lord of Canterbury. I have news to tell you: Come, come, give me your hand. Ah, my good lord, I grieve at what I speak, Have mov'd us and our council, that you shall happily-] The present instance, and another in p. 183, seem to militate against my former explanation of— happily, and to countenance that of Mr. M. Mason. See p. 154, n. 2. STeevens. This morning come before us; where, I know, It fits we thus proceed, or else no witness CRAN. I humbly thank your highness; And am right glad to catch this good occasion Most throughly to be winnow'd, where my chaff And corn shall fly asunder: for, I know, There's none stands under more calumnious tongues, Than I myself, poor man.3 K. HEN. Stand up, good Canterbury; Thy truth, and thy integrity, is rooted In us, thy friend: Give me thy hand, stand up; CRAN. Most dread liege, You a brother of us, &c.] You being one of the council, it is necessary to imprison you, that the witnesses against you may not be deterred. JOHNSON. 3 Than I myself, poor man.] Poor man probably belongs to the King's reply. GREY. - indurance,] i. e. confinement. Dr. Johnson, however, in his Dictionary, says that this word (which Shakspeare borrowed from Fox's narrative already quoted) means—delay, procrastination. STEEVENS. The good I stand on5 is my truth, and honesty; Will triumph o'er my person; which I weigh not,* Know you not how K. HEN. Your state stands i'the world, with the whole world? Your enemies Are many, and not small; their practices Must bear the same proportion: and not ever 5 The good I stand on-] Though good may be taken for advantage or superiority, or any thing which may help or sup port, yet it would, I think, be more natural to say: The ground I stand on―. JOHNSON. The old copy is certainly right. So, in Coriolanus : "Your franchises, whereon you stand, confin'd "Into an augre's bore." MALone. Again, in The Merry Wives of Windsor: "Though Page be a secure fool, and stands so firmly on his wife's frailty 6 STEEVENS. -I, with mine enemies,] Cranmer, I suppose, means, that whenever his honesty fails, he shall rejoice as heartily as his enemies at his destruction. MALONE. 7 I weigh not,] i. e. have no value for. So, in Love's Labour's Lost : "You weigh me not,-O that's, you care not for me. See King Richard III. Act III. sc. i. STEEVENS. 8 and not ever-] Not ever is an uncommon expression, and does not mean never, but not always. M. MASON. A Ween you of better luck,] To ween is to think, to im agine. Though now obsolete, the word was common to all our ancient writers. STEEVENS. I mean, in perjur'd witness, than your master, God, and your majesty, CRAN. K. HEN. Be of good cheer; They shall no more prevail, than we give way to. Fail not to use, and with what vehemency There make before them.-Look, the good man weeps! He's honest, on mine honour. God's blest mother! 1 that Enter an old Lady.' GENT. [Within.] Come back; What mean you? LADY. I'll not come back; the tidings that I bring an old Lady.] This, I suppose, is the same old cat appears with Anne Bullen, p. 77. STEEvens. |