SCENE V.-The French camp.

Enter LEWIS and his train.

Lew. The sun of heaven methought was loath to set,

But stay'd and made the western welkin blush,
When English measure backward their own ground
In faint retire. O, bravely came we off,
When with a volley of our needless shot,

5
After such bloody toil, we bid good-night;
And wound our tottering colours clearly up,
Last in the field, and almost lords of it!

Enter a Messenger.

Mess. Where is my prince, the Dauphin?
Lew.

Here: what news? Mess. The Count Melun is slain; the English lords IO

66

as

3. When English measure] Pope often spelt "totter" in Shakespeare's read “th' English measur'd.” But time. Fleay also points out that the sudden change of tense is not totter was used for swinging in the without warrant elsewhere. Mr. air-e.g. Spanish Tragedy, 111. xii. Wright quotes The Winter's Tale, v. 152:

obehold a man hanging and ii. 83 : "She lifted the princess from tottering, and tottering as you know the earth, and so locks her in embrac- the wind will wave a man.

“ Tottering as if she would pin her to her ing" here may mean waving in the heart.” We might conceivably under- breeze. stand some such elliptical construction 7. clearly] Capell conjectured

“When the English (should so for- “chearly,” the Collier MS."closely," get themselves as to) measure," etc. an utterly un-Shakespearian use of

4. retire] Compare 11. i. 253, 326 the word. The Cambridge Editors supra.

suggest “cleanly," as "equivalent to 5. a volley of our needless shot] neatly'”and "antithetical to‘tottera needless volley of our shot. For ing' or 'tattering.'

“Clean” or this transference of adj. compare "cleanly.

." in the sense of "com“bleeding ground," 11. i. 304 supra. pletely” is an English idiom traceable

7. tottering]The Folios have “tott'r- as far back as Alfred the Great ing,” Pope" tatter'd,” Malone“tatter. “Swae claene hio was obfeallenu,” so ing,”. Collier MS. “totter'd." "Mr. completely had it fallen away (Preface Wright explains it as flying in tatters. to Alfred's version of the Cura PasIt is quite certain that ".

"tatter was toralis).

By his persuasion are again fall’n off,
And your supply, which you have wish'd so long,

Are cast away and sunk on Goodwin Sands.
Lew. Ah, foul shrewd news! beshrew thy very heart!
I did not think to be so sad to-night

15
As this hath made me. Who was he that said
King John did fly an hour or two before

The stumbling night did part our weary powers?
Mess. Whoever spoke it, it is true, my lord.
Lew. Well; keep good quarter and good care to-night: 20

The day shall not be up so soon as I,
To try the fair adventure of to-morrow. [Exeunt.

SCENE VI.-An open place in the neighbourhood of

Swinstead Abbey.

Hub.

Enter the BASTARD and HUBERT, severally. Hub. Who's there? speak, ho! speak quickly, or I shoot. Bast. A friend. What art thou ?

Of the part of England. 11. again] F1; at length Ff 2, 3, 4.

12. supply] taken as plural. Com- perly posted. Scene iii. in Act iv. of pare v. iii. 9-11 supra. Capell read Antony and Cleopatra explains this I supplies” for the same reason as he phrase, and in line 22, “ Follow the printed “was” in v. iii. 11.

noise so far as we have quarter," 14. shrewd] originally meant evidently means “ Follow the noise "cursed” = Mid. Eng. schrewed, p. to the limit of the post we have to part. of schrēawen, to curse. The guard." play upon the words “shrewd" and « beshrew" is now evident. For “be

Scene VI. shrew" compare line 49 in the last scene; for the Elizabethan meaning, 2-6. A friend Hubert, 1 compare Cotgrave, “ Mal : ill, bad, think] Few critics have been connaughtie, lewd,

harmefull, tent with the arrangement of these shrewd.”

lines, Hubert's expostulation (lines 4, 20. keep good quarter] Keep careful 5) “why mine?” being meanwatch, see that the sentries are pro. ingless. Vaughan's suggestion is

C

Bast. Whither dost thou go?
Hub. What's that to thee? why may not I demand
Of thine affairs, as well as thou of mine?

5 Bast. Hubert, I think. Hub.

Thou hast a perfect thought:
I will upon all hazards well believe
Thou art my friend, that know'st my tongue so well.

Who art thou ?
Bast.

Who thou wilt: and if thou please,
Thou mayst befriend me so much as to think Ιο

I come one way of the Plantagenets.
Hub. Unkind remembrance! thou and eyeless night

Have done me shame: brave soldier, pardon me,
That any accent breaking from thy tongue

Should 'scape the true acquaintance of mine ear. 15 Bast. Come, come; sans compliment, what news abroad?

3-6. Whither thought] Arranged by Capell; six lines in Ff ending Hub. Why, here walk I in the black brow of night,

To find you out. Bast.

Brief, then; and what's the news? Hub. O, my sweet sir, news fitting to the night, Black, fearful, comfortless and horrible.

20 Bast. Show me the very wound of this ill news:

I am no woman, I'll not swoon at it.
Hub. The king, I fear, is poison'd by a monk:

I left him almost speechless; and broke out
To acquaint you with this evil, that you might 25
The better arm you to the sudden time,

Than if you had at leisure known of this.
Bast. How did he take it? who did taste to him?
Hub. A monk, I tell you ; a resolved villain,

Whose bowels suddenly burst out: the king 30

Yet speaks and peradventure may recover.
Bast. Who didst thou leave to tend his majesty ?
Hub. Why, know you not ? the lords are all come back,

And brought Prince Henry in their company;
At whose request the king hath pardon'd them, 35

And they are all about his majesty.
Bast. Withhold thine indignation, mighty heaven,

And tempt us not to bear above our power! 22. swoon] F 4; swound Ff 1, 2, 3. 33. not?] Ff; not, Malone conj.

24-27. and broke out ... known of The monk had willingly sacrificed thisj I made my escape (from the his life in performing this duty, thus Abbey) to tell you this evil news making sure of the death of the king. that you might prepare yourself better 32. Who] Hanmer corrects to for the emergency than you could Whom. So Henry V. iv. vii. 154: have done had you heard in a more • Who servest thou under ?” This leisurely manner.

form for the accusative of the inter28. who did taste to him] It was rogative is not infrequent in lax the duty of a “ taster to eat part English. of every dish set before the king 38. And tempt ... power] do not with the object of detecting poison. try us beyond our power.

I'll tell thee, Hubert, half my power this night,
Passing these flats, are taken by the tide; 40
These Lincoln Washes have devoured them;
Myself, well mounted, hardly have escaped.
Away before: conduct me to the king ;
I doubt he will be dead or ere I come.

[Exeunt.

SCENE VII.-The orchard at Swinstead Abbey.

Enter PRINCE HENRY, SALISBURY, and BIGOT.
P. Hen. It is too late : the life of all his blood

Is touch'd corruptibly, and his pure brain,
Which some suppose the soul's frail dwelling-house,
Doth by the idle comments that it makes
Foretell the ending of mortality.

5

Enter PEMBROKE.

Pem. His highness yet doth speak, and holds belief

That, being brought into the open air,
It would allay the burning quality

Of that fell poison which assaileth him.
P. Hen. Let him be brought into the orchard here. 10
Doth he still rage ?

[Exit Bigot. 40. are] Compare this use of 50, where “defensible” in “ For we “power” as plural with that of no longer are defensible” means “supply" in the same way in v. iii. capable of making defence; therefore 9-11 and v. v. 12 supra.

we must take the meaning of “. 43. Away befores lead the way on. ruptibly “ so as to cause it to

corrupt.” Scene VII.

2. pure] We must understand 'pure” as “naturally,"

usually," 2. corruptibly] Capell read “ or “ otherwise clear.' Grant White ruptedly"; Rann conjectured

cor

as

cor