KING RICHARD II.

"A cased lion by the mortal paw."

As 'cased' is skinned, it can hardly be right. I read, as Mitford, I find, had done,caged.

"So looks apent-uplion, o'er the wretchThat trembles under hisdevouring paws."

"So looks apent-uplion, o'er the wretch

That trembles under hisdevouring paws."

3 Hen. VI. i. 3.

As Shakespeare had re-made this play not long before, the image may have remained in his mind. We might also readraged, i.e. enraged—

"In war was never lion rag'd more fierce" (Rich. II. ii. 1);

or, with Theobald,chafed—

"So looks thechafedlionUpon the daring huntsman that ha gall'd him"

"So looks thechafedlion

Upon the daring huntsman that ha gall'd him"

(Hen. VIII. iii. 2).

"By what thou swear'st against the thing thou swear'st."

I rather think that the second 'swear'st' should beswor'st.Possiblytoorbywas lost at the end of the line; but we have, "Thou swear'st thy gods in vain." Lear, i. 1.

"Some airy devil hovers in the sky."

Warburton proposedfiery, needlessly.

"Here, Hubert, keep this boy.—Philip, make up."

"Of hoarding abbots; imprison'd angelsSet at liberty: the fat ribs of peace."

"Of hoarding abbots; imprison'd angels

Set at liberty: the fat ribs of peace."

Never was a more happy and a more certain correction than S. Walker's transposition of 'imprison'd angels' and 'Set at liberty,' which restores the metre of two lines.

"Sound on into the drowsy race of Night."

As Shakespeare had read, in the Faerie Queen, of Night "To run her timelyrace" (i. 5. 45), the attempted corrections of 'race' are all superfluous. So also is Warburton's reading ofonefor 'on'; for 'Sound on' is keep sounding.

"Then in despight of brooded, watchful day."

As 'brooded' is brooding, no just objection can be made. Pope proposedbroad-eyed, Mitfordbroad and.

"So by a roaring tempest, on the floodA whole armado of convicted sail," etc.

"So by a roaring tempest, on the flood

A whole armado of convicted sail," etc.

For 'convicted' I readconflicted, i.e. dashed, or dashing together. We have "conflictingwind and rain" (Lear, iii. 1), "conflictingelements" (Tim. iv. 3). It seems more probable than any of the various corrections proposed.

"No scope of Nature, no distempered day."

I adopt Pope's reading,'scape.

"Strong reasons make strong actions."

So 2nd folio properly reads; the 1st has 'strangeactions.'

"Can you not read it? is it not fairlywrit?"

The reply proves that we should read so.

"And quench this fiery indignation."

The context shows that 'this' should behis.

"Doth make a stand at what your Highness wills."

"And more, more strong then lesser, is my fear."

I read 'inmy fear.' We haveIsforInalso in Jul. Cæs. i. 3; the same confusion of these words occurs more than once in Chaucer. I have often met with it in books printed in the last century; and I myself, in writing these Notes, have frequently confounded these words.

"If what in rest you have in right you hold,Why then your fears—which, as they say, attendThe steps of wrong—should move you to mew upYour tender kinsman," etc.

"If what in rest you have in right you hold,

Why then your fears—which, as they say, attend

The steps of wrong—should move you to mew up

Your tender kinsman," etc.

As it is plain, from what went before, that they should not have that effect, editors have made a transposition of 'then' and 'should.' It seems to me, however, that here, as in so many other places, the printer omitted the negative after 'should.' I do not perfectly understand 'rest' in the preceding line, but it may be tranquillity, tranquil, undisturbed possession, a sense it bears in Scripture. See Ps. xcv. 11, cxvi. 7.

"That you'dhave bid us ask his liberty."

"How oft the sight of means to do ill deedsMakes ill deeds done!"

"How oft the sight of means to do ill deeds

Makes ill deeds done!"

So also Capell and Collier's folio have transposed in the last line.

"As bid me tell my tale in express words."

For 'As' Pope readOr, MaloneAnd.

"Thou art a murderer.—Do not prove me so;Yet am I none."

"Thou art a murderer.—Do not prove me so;

Yet am I none."

For 'not,' which makes no sense, we should readyouorbut. I prefer the latter.

"Send fairplay orders and make compromise."

For 'orders' Collier's folio readsoffers, which I have adopted.

"That we the sons and children of this isleWere born to see so sad an hour as this."

"That we the sons and children of this isle

Were born to see so sad an hour as this."

For 'Were' the folio hasWas, produced by 'isle.'

"And grapple thee unto a pagan shore."

'Grapple' is Pope's correction; the folio hascripple.

"Your breath first kindled the dead coal of wars."

Capell read 'coals of war.'

"Vive le roy!as I have bank'd their towns."

As there is mention of cards in the next line, I think that in 'bank'd' there may be an allusion to card-playing. The same is the opinion of Mr. Staunton. In Ant. and Cleop. (ii. 2) we have "shepursedup his heart."

"This unheard sauciness and boyish troops."

For 'unheard' Theobald readunhaired; and we have in Venus and Adonis 'hairlessface.' I, however, preferunbeard, i.e. unbearded, beardless. We have already had in this play 'heat' forheated.

"Even at the crying of your nation's crow."

For 'crow' I readcock; Collier's folio readscock, andcrowingfor 'crying.' In the next line I read, with Rowe,hisfor 'this.'

"Unthread the rude eye of rebellion."

Theobald readsuntreadandway. A little further on we have, "We will untread the steps of damned flight;" but no change is needed here.

"For if the French be lords of this loud day,He means to recompense," etc.

"For if the French be lords of this loud day,

He means to recompense," etc.

Here 'He' can only refer to John, while it is evidently the Dolphin that is meant. I have therefore, as I find Mr. Lloyd also has done, readPrincefor 'French,' and of courselordfor 'lords.' But as in this playPrincealone is never used of the Dolphin, it may be that a line is lost. It might have been something of this sort: "And Fortune smile upon the Dolphin's arms."

"Unkind Remembrance! Thou and endless Night."

For 'endless' Theobald readeyeless; but there is no need of change.

"I have a kind soul that would giveyouthanks."

"Maymany years of happy days befall."

"And free from other misbegotten hate."

We might readany, perhaps, for 'other'; Collier's folio haswrath or.

"Upon remainder of a dear account."

Collier's folio readsclear; anddandclmight be confounded.

"Marshal, ask yonder knight in arms."

This is the merest prose. Ritson foraskrepeats 'demand of'; but it seems to me that the simplest way is to read 'askof,' making 'Marshal' a trisyllable, as the King of course speaks in a solemn, majestic tone. In 1 Hen. VI. iv. 7, an envoy says: "Great märshal to Henery the Sixth." In Hen. VIII. v. 4, the herald speaks in the same manner.

"Staythem; the King hath thrown his warder down."

"To wake our Peace, which in our country's cradle," etc.

From what follows, in which she is said to "fright fair Peace," we might suspect that for 'Peace' the poet had writtenStrife, or some such word.

"The sly slow hours shall not determinate."

Pope readfly, and he has been generally followed. I have little doubt that the poet wroteslide(i. q.glide)slow.

"So sholdestow endure and lattenslydeThetymeand fonde to be glad and light."

"So sholdestow endure and lattenslyde

Thetymeand fonde to be glad and light."

Chauc. Tr. and Cress.

In Albumazar we have, "Howslowthe dayslideson!" Thedwas not sounded inslide-slow. Introd. p.52.

"It boots thee not to be compassionate."

Theobald proposed 'become passionate'; Singer 'be so passionate.' No change seems to be needed, though the expression is singular.

"To plot, contrive, or complot any ill."

It might be better to readcompassfor 'complot,' as the preceding 'plot' may have been in the printer's mind; orplanfor 'plot.'

"Norfolk, so fare as to mine enemy...."

There is here, I think, an aposiopesis, which removes all difficulty;faris usually read for 'fare,' the reading of the 4tos and folio.

"Whereforethink not the king did banish thee."

"We did observeit. Cousin Aumerle."

"Where lies he?—At Ely-house,my lord."

By reading 'where' a dissyllable, and thus throwing a metric accent on 'he,' we have the expression of the proud unfeeling character of Richard in the early part of the play. Propriety—to say nothing of metre—demandsmy lord.

"The setting sun, and music at the close,As the last taste of sweets, is sweetest last,Writ in remembrance more than things long past."

"The setting sun, and music at the close,

As the last taste of sweets, is sweetest last,

Writ in remembrance more than things long past."

So this place is pointed in the original and subsequent editions, making little or no sense. I punctuate—'As the last taste of sweets is sweetest—last'; in which I find I had been anticipated by Mason. The passage is one of the poet's obscurest. His meaning is that the concluding part of any impression on the senses is the most permanent in its effect on the mind; but how strangely expressed!

"As praises of his state. Then there are foundLascivious metres," etc.

"As praises of his state. Then there are found

Lascivious metres," etc.

The two earliest 4tos read: "As praises, of whose taste the wise arefound;" and by reading, as we should,fond, this also gives us very good sense.

"Against the envy of less happier lands."

Pope readhappy, which is doubtless more grammatical, according to the language of later times; but the text is probably as the poet wrote it. See on As You Like it, i. 2.

"For young hot colts being rag'd do rage the more."

There seems hardly to be any doubt that 'rag'd,' to which it is impossible to give any tolerable meaning, was suggested by 'rage.' We might readcurb'dor, with Ritson,rein'd, as in Cor. iii. 3.

"I do beseech your majesty, imputeHis words to wayward sickliness and age."

"I do beseech your majesty, impute

His words to wayward sickliness and age."

So I read, omitting 'in him,' introduced by the printer, at the end of the second line.

"What says henow?—Nay, nothing; all is said."

"Or else he never would compare betweenyou."

"Tends thatthatthou would'st speak to the Duke of Hereford?"

"And quite lost their hearts; the nobles hath he fin'd,For ancient quarrels, and quite lost their heartstoo."

"And quite lost their hearts; the nobles hath he fin'd,

For ancient quarrels, and quite lost their heartstoo."

"Thy words are but as thoughts; therefore be bold."

Collier's folio needlessly readsOurfor 'Thy.'

"That Harry Duke of Hereford, Reginald lord Cobham,That late broke from the Duke of Exeter,His brother, late Archbishop of Canterbury."

"That Harry Duke of Hereford, Reginald lord Cobham,

That late broke from the Duke of Exeter,

His brother, late Archbishop of Canterbury."

From Malone's note it would seem quite plain that a line has been lost after the first; yet the poet may have fallen into error. The person who escaped was Thomas Arundel, the nephew, not the brother, of the 'late archbishop.' I transpose here in agreement with the text of Holinshed and the laws of metre.

"Thus thrust disorderly into my hands."

The 4tos and folio read 'Thus disorderly thrust.'

"Is mynearkinsman, whom the king hath wronged."

"The hateful commons will perform for us."

The 4tos and folio read "Will the hateful," etc.

"To take advantage of the absent time."

It means probably of the time of absence; but it is very awkwardly expressed. Perhaps for 'time' we should readking, which Theobald also proposed. We have "the absent King" (i.e.Rich. II.) in 1 Hen. IV. iv. 3.

"And ostentation of despised arms."

I can see no sense in 'despised' here; Singer readsdisposed. I preferdisplayed, which he also had conjectured.

"The otherin hopeto enjoy by rage and war."

So also Theobald completed sense and metre.

"Thanks, gentle uncle. Come,mylords, away,To fight with Glendower and his complices."

"Thanks, gentle uncle. Come,mylords, away,

To fight with Glendower and his complices."

With Theobald, I am dubious of the last line. The scene would end better with the couplet, and Glendower is not mentioned anywhere else in the play. A little higher up in the scene, however, a line intervenes between two rimes.

"Barloughly Castle call they this at hand?—Yea, my lord. How brooks your grace the air."

"Barloughly Castle call they this at hand?—

Yea, my lord. How brooks your grace the air."

For 'Yea,' we should readEven so. Introd. p.68.

"In murders and in outrage bloody here."

As 4to 1597 readsbouldyfor 'bloody', the reading of the other 4tos and the folio, the right reading would seem to beboldly.

"Strive to speak big and clap their female jointsIn stiff unwieldy arms."

"Strive to speak big and clap their female joints

In stiff unwieldy arms."

Pope readsclaspand Collier's foliofeeble, which seem to be better.

"Your Grace mistakesme; only to be brief,Left I his title out."

"Your Grace mistakesme; only to be brief,

Left I his title out."

"Had been so brief with you to shorten you,For taking so the head, your whole head's length."

"Had been so brief with you to shorten you,

For taking so the head, your whole head's length."

We should readofffor 'so' suggested by that in the preceding line.

"That any harm should stain so fair a show."

The folios of both Collier and Singer readstormfor 'harm.'

"And I could sing, would weeping do me good,And never borrow any tear of thee."

"And I could sing, would weeping do me good,

And never borrow any tear of thee."

We should either readweepfor 'sing' orsingingfor'weeping.' Pope, who is generally followed, readweep. I prefersinging; so also does Staunton.

"But stay,girl, hëre come the gardeners."

She had already called her 'girl' twice.

"As we this garden. At time of yearwe cutAnd wound the bark, the skin of our fruit-trees."

"As we this garden. At time of yearwe cut

And wound the bark, the skin of our fruit-trees."

In the first line something is wanting at the end in both 4tos and folio; in the second the 4tos read 'Do wound,' and those who follow them read 'Weat time of year.' I prefer the reading of the folio, addingwe cut. If we follow the 4tos, we should read perhaps 'yearwe still.' The expression 'time of year,'i.e.spring (?) occurs in one of the Sonnets of Thomas Watson (1581?): "And time of year reviveth everything."

"Their fruits of duty.Thesuperfluous branches."

So also S. Walker; 2nd folio readsAll.

"I heard you say that you had rather refuseThe offer of an hundred thousand crownsThan Bolingbroke's return to England."

"I heard you say that you had rather refuse

The offer of an hundred thousand crowns

Than Bolingbroke's return to England."

This is nonsense, and the last line is unmetrical. A verb is evidently lost; if we read 'Thanto see,' or 'Thansee proud,' all becomes clear.

"Of good old Abraham.MyLords Appellants."

"Give me the crown. Here, cousin, seize the crown.Here cousin, on this side my hand; and on that side yours."

"Give me the crown. Here, cousin, seize the crown.

Here cousin, on this side my hand; and on that side yours."

Some reject, as a needless repetition, which destroys the metre, the 'Here cousin' in the second line; but it serves to mark the impatience of the King.

"Hath Bolingbroke depos'dThine intellect? hath he been in thy heart?"

"Hath Bolingbroke depos'd

Thine intellect? hath he been in thy heart?"

"For why, the senseless brands will sympathizeWiththe heavy accent of thy moving tongue."

"For why, the senseless brands will sympathize

Withthe heavy accent of thy moving tongue."

"Andhe shall think that thou, which knowest the way."

"Sent back like Hallowmas, or shortest [of] day."

As, on account of the rime, we must read 'day,' it is evident that 'of' is a superfluous addition made by the printers. We have just the same in Meas. for Meas. iv. 4, and elsewhere.

"If God preventmenot, I purpose so."

"Yea, lookest thou pale? Let me see the writing,sir."

"Thy overflow of good converts to bad."

What follows might lead us to read 'thebad.'

"But makes one pardon strong.—With all my heartI pardon him.—A god on earth thou art."

"But makes one pardon strong.—With all my heart

I pardon him.—A god on earth thou art."

This natural—I might almost say inevitable—transposition did not escape Pope; yet many subsequent editors have clung faithfully to the old printers!

"Uncle, farewell, and, cousinmine, adieu."

This addition of Collier's folio is better than Theobald's oftoo, which makes an unpleasant jingle.

"My brain I'll prove the female to my soul."

It might be better to readwillfor 'I'll.'

"Against the Word, as thus:Come, little ones, and then again."

The 'and' is most probably a printer's addition.

"My thoughts are minutes, and with sighs they jarTheir watches on unto mine eyes, the outward watch."

"My thoughts are minutes, and with sighs they jar

Their watches on unto mine eyes, the outward watch."

As this is nonsense, and 'watches' was evidently suggested by 'watch,' I readmotionsfor 'watches on.' "To a minute, to a second; thou shalt set thy watch, and the bridegroom shall observe itsmotions" (Congreve, Love for Love, iii. 9).

"What art thou? and how camest thouinhither?"

"Forthwith a power of English shall we levy."

We might incline to readlead; but the text is right. Gifford quotes "Scipio before heleviedhis forces to the walls of Carthage," from Gosson's School of Abuse, and other passages in its defence.

"Ten thousand bold Scots, two and twenty knights,Balk'd in their own blood did sir Walter see."

"Ten thousand bold Scots, two and twenty knights,

Balk'd in their own blood did sir Walter see."

The explanations given of 'Balk'd' do not satisfy me. Steevens has given some good authority forBak'd, the conjecture of Grey; but on the whole I incline to Heath'sBath'd. Still I have made no alteration.

"Mordake,theearl of Fife, and eldest sonTo beaten Douglas, and the earls of Athol,Of Murray,andof Angus and Menteith."

"Mordake,theearl of Fife, and eldest son

To beaten Douglas, and the earls of Athol,

Of Murray,andof Angus and Menteith."

"If thou darest not stand for ten shillings."

Pope also read, as I do, 'crystand.'

"And you have found me; for accordinglyYou tread upon my patience."

"And you have found me; for accordingly

You tread upon my patience."

I read 'have found meso. Accordingly.' In Com. of Err. i. 1. and elsewhere we havesoforfor.

"I will from henceforth rather be myself,Mighty and to be fear'd, than my condition."

"I will from henceforth rather be myself,

Mighty and to be fear'd, than my condition."

What is the difference between 'myself' and 'my condition,'i.e.natural disposition? I read 'my conditionpast.'

"Out of my grief and my impatienceTo be so pestered with a popinjay."

"Out of my grief and my impatience

To be so pestered with a popinjay."

So Edwards and Johnson properly transposed these lines.

"Art thou not ashamed? But, sirrah,fromhenceforth."

"By Richard that dead is, the next of blood."

It is so printed in both 4tos and folio; but we surely should read 'is dead.'

"As to o'erwalk a current roaring loud."

Perhaps the poet used the more forceable term,torrent.

"But not the form of what he should attendto."

"Tying thine ear to no tongue but thine own."

Perhaps 'Tying' was not the poet's word. It may have beenTurning, or some other.

"Will easily be granted. You, my lord," etc.

Such is the proper punctuation, also proposed by Thirlby.

"I'll steal to Glendower and Lord Mortimer."

There is evidently a line lost after this.

"But with nobility and tranquillity."

To all appearance,gentilitywould be more correct; buthe may be playing on the ignorance of the Chamberlain, to whom the word was unknown. He then says 'great-onyers' for great-ones.

"Away, good Ned.FatFalstaff sweats to death."

So also Capell.

"One horse, my lord, hehathbrought even now."

"Ned, prythee come out of that fat room."

I suspect we should readhotroom.

"Pitiful-hearted Titan, that melted at the sweet tale of the son's."

So I read, with the two earliest 4tos; the others and the folio havesunfor 'son's'; and, with Malone, I see a reference to the Tale of Phaethon. Of the double genitive there are many instances. Theobald, who is followed by Singer, readbutterfor 'Titan,' thinking there was an incongruity. But the Prince, in the exuberance of his spirits, spoke rather at random, heedless of the unconnectedness of his discourse.

"If thou didst, then behold that compound."

It may be thatneverhas been omitted before 'didst.'

"Away, you starveling, you elf-skin."

Hanmer and Warburton were right, I think, in readingeelfor 'elf.'

"You dried neat's tongue,youbull's pizzle, you stock-fish."

"There is virtue in that Falstaff; him keep with."

The poet probably wrote 'him keep withthee.'

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