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,
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.
Mess. The Count Melun is slain; the English lords

3. When English measure] Pope read "th' English measur'd." But the sudden change of tense is not without warrant elsewhere. Mr. Wright quotes The Winter's Tale, v. ii. 83: "She lifted the princess from the earth, and so locks her in embracing as if she would pin her to her heart." We might conceivably understand some such elliptical construction as "When the English (should so for get themselves as to) measure," etc. 4. retire] Compare 11. i. 253, 326 supra.

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5. a volley of our needless shot] a needless volley of our shot. For this transference of adj. compare "bleeding ground," II. i. 304 supra. 7. tottering] The Folios have "tott'ring," Pope" tatter'd," Malone" tattering," Collier MS. "totter'd." "Mr. Wright explains it as flying in tatters. It is quite certain that " "tatter was

5

Here: what news?

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often spelt "totter" in Shakespeare's
time. Fleay also points out that
"totter 29
was used for swinging in the
air-e.g. Spanish Tragedy, III. xii.
152: "behold a man hanging and
tottering, and tottering as you know
the wind will wave a man." "Totter-
ing here may mean waving in the
breeze.

7. clearly] Capell conjectured "chearly," the Collier MS. "closely," an utterly un-Shakespearian use of the word. The Cambridge Editors suggest "cleanly," as "equivalent to 'neatly'" and "antithetical to 'tottering' or 'tattering.' "Clean" or 'cleanly" in_the sense of "completely" is an English idiom traceable

as far back as Alfred the Great"Swae claene hio was opfeallenu," so completely had it fallen away (Preface to Alfred's version of the Cura Pastoralis).

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

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.

15

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.

Enter the BASTARD and HUBERT, severally.

Hub. Who's there? speak, ho! speak quickly, or I shoot.
Bast. A friend. What art thou?
Hub.

11. again] F 1; at length Ff 2, 3, 4. 12. supply] taken as plural. Compare v. iii. 9-11 supra. Capell read supplies" for the same reason as he printed "was " in v. iii. II.

14. shrewd] originally meant 66 cursed" Mid. Eng. schrewed, p. part. of schreawen, to curse. The play upon the words "shrewd" and "beshrew" is now evident. For "beshrew" compare line 49 in the last scene; for the Elizabethan meaning, compare Cotgrave, "Mal: ill, bad, naughtie, lewd, harmefull, shrewd."

20. keep good quarter] Keep careful watch, see that the sentries are pro

Of the part of England.

perly posted. Scene iii. in Act iv. of Antony and Cleopatra explains this phrase, and in line 22, “Follow the noise so far as we have quarter," evidently means "Follow the noise to the limit of the post we have to guard."

Scene VI.

2-6. A friend Hubert, I think] Few critics have been content with the arrangement of these lines, Hubert's expostulation (lines 4, 5)“why. mine?" being meaningless. Vaughan's suggestion is

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?

Bast. Hubert, I think.

Hub.

Bast.

5

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?

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

ΙΟ

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

thought] Arranged by Capell; six lines in Ff ending affaires. . . . mine? . . . thinke . . . thought:

3-6. Whither go?... thee? perhaps the most ingenious and most plausible: "Hub. Of the part of England. Whither dost thou go? Bast. What is that to thee? Hub. What's that to thee.-Why may," etc. This different apportioning of the speeches and insertion of the repeated half line, at once straightens out the sense and corrects the metre. Watkiss Lloyd distributes the speeches as follows: "Bast. A friend. Hub. What art thou? Bast. Of the part of England. Whither dost thou go? Hub. What is that to thee? Bast. Why . . . mine? Hubert, I think." This suggestion would be convincing were it not for "Hubert, I think " being tacked on unnaturally to the Bastard's speech.

6. Thou . . . thought] You have guessed exactly right. So 2 Henry

...

V. III. i. 88: "King Richard might create a perfect guess."

II. one way] by one line of descent. 12. Unkind remembrance] i.e. really "unkind want of remembrance." Hubert reproaches his memory for failing him.

12. eyeless] The Folios read "endless" (with variations of spelling), for which Theobald reads " eyeless,' a reading suggested by Warburton. Daniel conjectured "cand'less "—a hideous word. Is there a reminiscence on anyone's part (Shakespeare, copyist, or printer) of the "endless night" of Gaunt's speech in Richard II. 1. iii. 22?

16. sans] Shakespeare was very fond of this French form of" without." It is also used by the anonymous writer of the Troublesome Raigne.

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.
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
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,

20

25

30

Whose bowels suddenly burst out: the king
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. 24-27. and broke out . . . known of this] I made my escape (from the Abbey) to tell you this evil news that you might prepare yourself better for the emergency than you could have done had you heard in a more leisurely manner.

28. who did taste to him] It was the duty of a "taster" to eat part of every dish set before the king with the object of detecting poison.

33. not?] Ff; not, Malone conj. The monk had willingly sacrificed his life in performing this duty, thus making sure of the death of the king. 32. Who] Hanmer corrects to Whom. So Henry V. IV. vii. 154: "Who servest thou under?" This form for the accusative of the interrogative is not infrequent in lax English.

38. And tempt . . power] do not try us beyond our power.

I'll tell thee, Hubert, half my power this night,
Passing these flats, are taken by the tide;
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.

40

[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.

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.

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