An echo with the clamour of thy drum, To feast upon whole thousands of the French. [Exeunt. SCENE III.--The field of battle. Alarums. Enter King JOHN and HUBERT. K. John. How goes the day with us? O, tell me, Hubert. Hub. Badly, I fear. How fares your majesty ? K. John. This fever, that hath troubled me so long, Lies heavy on me; O, my heart is sick! Enter a Messenger. Mess. My lord, your valiant kinsman, Faulconbridge, 5 Desires your majesty to leave the field And send him word by me which way you go. 170. all as] Pope; all, as Ff. 169. ready braced] ready tightened Compare 1 Henry VI. 11. iv. 12: “Beup for playing. The leathern sliding tween two dogs which hath the loops which are used for tightening deeper mouth." the membranes of military or side 177. A bare-ribb'd death] Compare drums are called “braces." this image with that used by the 173. deep-mouth'd] deep - voiced. Bastard in 11. i. 352. IO K. John. Tell him, toward Swinstead, to the abbey there. That was expected by the Dauphin here, The French fight coldly, and retire themselves. And will not let me welcome this good news. 15 SCENE IV.--Another part of the field. Enter SALISBURY, PEMBROKE, and BIGOT. If they miscarry, we miscarry too. 5 Pem. They say King John sore sick hath left the field. 14. Ay me] Aye me Ff; Ah me Pope. Scene iv. 2, 3. French : ... miscarry,] Rowe; French, ... miscarry, Ff 3, 4; French, ... miscarry; Ff 1, 2. 11. Are] Capell printed Was and Scene iv. Lettsom supposes a lost line; but “supply" here is treated as plural, 5. In spite of spiie] against all odds. as again in v. v. 12 infra. Compare 3 Henry VI. 11. iii. 5: "And spite of spite needs must I rest awhile." Enter MELUN, wounded. Wounded to death. Unthread the rude eye of rebellion 20 Sal. May this be possible? may this be true ? Mel. Have I not hideous death within my view, Retaining but a quantity of life, 7. revolts] the revolted nobles, as its correctness is proved by the next in v. ii. 151 supra. lines. We must therefore suspect II. Unthread ... rebellion] Mr. line 14. Mr. Wright suggests that Wright has conclusively proved in “French" is singular, as in Henry V. the Clarendon Press edition that iv. iv. 80: “The French might have the long series of emendations suc- a good prey of us if he knew it." ceeding Theobald's rejection of the This necessitates reading “lord” for Folios' reading as too homely are “lords,” and, unless we accept the quite unnecessary. Compare Richard conjecture made independently by II. v. v. 17: Sidney Walker and Keightley that a " It is as hard to come as for a line has been lost between 14 and 15, it camel seems the only way out of the difficulty. To thread the postern of a small 17. moe] Anglo-Saxon má. This needle's eye"; form often occurs in place of “more." and Coriolanus, ill. i. 124: “They 23. quantity] small portion. So would not thread the gates." Taming of the Shrew, IV. iii. 112: 14, 15. For if the French, etc.] “Thou rag, thou quantity, thou rem“ He” comes in too abruptly, but nant." 30 35. Which bleeds away, even as a form of wax From forth the noise and rumour of the field, 45 30. do] omitted by Pope. 31. forsworn] I omit the comma of the Folios. 42. (For . . . Englishman.)] Ff. 24, 25. even as a form of wax, etc.] 34. crest] The anonymous sugIt seems to have been a common prac- gestion of " cresset” is most tempttice to place waxen images of enemies ing. before a fire in the belief that as the 37. rated] properly appreciated or wax melted the person represented recompensed. wasted away. Hence the simile, 37, 38. fine . . . fine] A play upon although not directly referring to the meanings of “penalty” and the above practice, would be more "end.” Compare Hamlet, v. i. 115: familiar to an Elizabethan audience “Is this the fine of his fines " than to us. 41. respect] consideration. Com25. Resolveth] almost=dissolveth. pare 111. i. 318 supra. Where I may think the remnant of my thoughts With contemplation and devout desires. 50 60 And happy newness, that intends old right. [Exeunt, leading off Melun. 53. retired] retiring Hanmer. 59. pangs] fangs Heath. 49. beshrew] “a mild form of im- the reading of the Folios, and so precation" (Dyce-Littledale). So would Schmidt. Still it has perhaps Twelfth Night, iv. i. 62: “ Beshrew a sufficiently suspicious look to justify his soul for me"; and see v. v. 14 the various emendations and suginfra. gestions—“ Right in thine eyes, 54. rankness] Capell conjectures Pope ; “ Pight in thine eyes,” Han. “bankless" ; but "rankness" in the mer ; " Pight in thine eye," Warbursense of immoderate growth or ton; “ Fight in thine eye,” Capell; pressing beyond bounds is supported “ Bright in thine eye,” Collier, ed. 2 by many passages in the other plays, (Collier MS.); “Fright in thine eye,” and this special use is found in Venus Anon. (ap. Collier conj.); “Riot in and Adonis, 71: “ Rain added to a thine eye,” Brae (conj.); “Writhing river that is rank.” Compare also thine eye,” Elze (conj. Athen. 1867); E.E. Psalter (1300): “He turned “Light on thine eye,” Moberly(conj.). into blood the stremes ranke.” 60. New flights Pope, in defiance 55. we have o'erlook'd] Compare of the final couplet, read “ And fy 1" Hamlet, iv. v. 99: “ The ocean, over- and omitted the next line. peering of his list." 61. And happy newness ... right] 60. Right in thine eye) Vaughan, happy be the new course which we withdrawing his conjecture of take to establish the right we had “ Brighten thine eye,” would retain forsaken. |