Hath pafs'd in fafety through, the narrow feas,

And with his troops doth march amain to London; 'And many giddy people flock to him.

*OXF. Let's levy men, and beat him back again.5

CLAR. A little fire is quickly trodden out; Which, being fuffer'd, rivers cannot quench.

WAR. In Warwickshire I have true-hearted friends,

Not mutinous in peace, yet bold in war; Those will I mufter up :-and thou, fon Clarence, 'Shalt ftir, in Suffolk, Norfolk, and in Kent,

5 Let's levy men, and beat him back again.] This line expreffes a spirit of war fo unsuitable to the character of Henry, that I would give the first cold speech to the King, and the briik answer to Warwick. This line is not in the old quarto; and when Henry faid nothing, the first speech might be as properly given to Warwick as to any other. JOHNSON.

Every judicious reader muft concur in Dr. Johnson's opinion, as far as it relates to the second of these two speeches.

STEEVENS.

This line is given in the folio to the King, to whom it is fo unfuitable, that I have no doubt it was merely a printer's error. I have not, however, affigned it to Warwick, and the preceding speech to Henry, as Dr. Johnfon propofes, because it appears to me fafer to take the old play as a guide; in which, as in Shakfpeare's piece, the firft fpeech is attributed to Warwick. The fecond speech is given to Oxford, and ftands thus:

Oxf. 'Tis beft to look to this betimes;

"For if this fire do kindle any further

"It will be hard for us to quench it out."

Shakspeare, in new-modelling this fcene, probably divided. this fpeech between Oxford and Clarence, fubftituting the line before us in the room of the words-" "Tis beft to look to this betimes." I have therefore given this line to Oxford. It might with equal, or perhaps with more propriety, be affigned to Warwick's brother, Montague. MALONE.

6 Shalt ftir, in Suffolk, &c.] The old copy-ftir up. But the omiffion of the adverb, which hurts the metre, is justified by the following paffages in King John, &c.—

"The knights and gentlemen to come with thee:→→ Thou, brother Montague, in Buckingham, 'Northampton, and in Leicestershire, fhalt find • Men well inclin'd to hear what thou command'ft:And thou, brave Oxford, wondrous well belov'd, In Oxfordshire shall mufter up thy friends.— My fovereign, with the loving citizens,*Like to his ifland, girt in with the ocean, * Or modest Dian, circled with her nymphs,Shall reft in London, till we come to him.Fair lords, take leave, and ftand not to reply.Farewell, my fovereign.

K. HEN. Farewell, my Hector, and my Troy's true hope."

* CLAR. In fign of truth, I kifs your highness' hand.

*K. HEN. Well-minded Clarence, be thou for

tunate!

"I'll stir them to it :-Come, away, away! !"

Again, ibid:

"An Até ftirring him to war and ftrife.” Again, in King Lear:

"If it be you that stir thefe daughters' hearts
Against their father," STEEVENS.

7 my Hector, and my Troy's true hope.] This line having probably made an impreffion on our author, when he read over the old play, he has applied the very fame expreffion to the Duke of York, where his overthrow at Wakefield is defcribed, and yet fuffered the line to ftand here as he found it :

"Environed he was with many foes,

"And stood against them, as the hope of Troy.
"Against the Greeks."

The two latter lines, as the reader may find in p. 50, were new, no trace of them being there found in the old play. Many fimilar repetitions may be obferved in this Third Part of King Henry VI. from the fame caufe. MALONE.

* MONT. Comfort, my lord;—and so I take my

leave.

*OXF. And thus [Kissing HENRY's hand.] I feal my truth, and bid adieu.

* K. HEN. Sweet Oxford, and my loving Montague,

* And all at once, once more a happy farewell. WAR. Farewell, fweet lords; let's meet at Coventry.

[Exeunt WAR. CLAR. OXF. and MONT. *K. HEN. Here at the palace will I rest a while. * Coufin of Exeter, what thinks your lordship? Methinks, the power, that Edward hath in field, *Should not be able to encounter mine.

* EXE. The doubt is, that he will feduce the rest. *K. HEN. That's not my fear, my meed hath got me fame.8

*I have not stopp'd mine ears to their demands, * Nor posted off their fuits with flow delays;

*

My pity hath been balm to heal their wounds, *My mildness hath allay'd their fwelling griefs, * My mercy dry'd their water-flowing tears:

8 my meed hath got me fame:] Meed fignifies reward. We should read—my deed; i. e. my manners, conduct in the adminiftration. WARBURTON.

This word fignifies merit, both as a verb and a substantive: that it is used as a verb, is clear from the following foolish couplet which I remember to have read :

"Deem if I meed,

"Dear madam, read."

A Specimen of Verfes that read the fame way backward and forward. SIR J. HAWKINS.

Meed here means merit, as it did in a former paffage, [p. 49, 1.6.] when Edward says of himself and his brothers:

"Each one already blazing by our meeds." M. MASON

* I have not been defirous of their wealth, * Nor much opprefs'd them with great fubfidies, *Nor forward of revenge, though they much err'd; * Then why should they love Edward more than me?

* No, Exeter, thefe graces challenge grace: * And, when the lion fawns upon the lamb,

*The lamb will never ceafe to follow him.

[Shout within. A Lancafter! A Lancaster! EXE. Hark, hark, my lord! what shouts are thefe ?

Enter King EDWARD, GLOSTER, and Soldiers.

'K. EDW. Sieze on the fhame-fac'd Henry, bear him hence,

And once again proclaim us king of England.*You are the fount, that makes fmall brooks to

flow;

* Now ftops thy fpring; my fea fhall fuck them

dry,

* And fwell fo much the higher by their ebb.'Hence with him to the Tower; let him not speak. [Exeunt fome with King HENRY. 'And, lords, towards Coventry bend we our course, 'Where peremptory Warwick now remains :"

Shout within. A Lancafter!] Surely the fhouts that ushered King Edward fhould be, A York! A York! I fuppose the author did not write the marginal directions, and the players confounded the characters. JOHNSON.

We may fuppofe the fhouts to have come from fome of Henry's guard, on the appearance of Edward. MALONE.

I And, lords, towards Coventry bend we our course,

Where peremptory Warwick now remains:] Warwick, as Mr. M. Mafon has obferved, [p. 166, n. 4.] has but juft left the stage, declaring his intention to go to Coventry. How then

"The fun fhines hot, and, if we use delay, • Cold biting winter mars our hop'd-for hay.

* GLO. Away betimes, before his forces join, *And take the great-grown traitor unawares : * Brave warriors, march amain towards Coventry. [Exeunt.

could Edward know of that intention? Our author was led into this impropriety by the old play, where alfo Edward says:

"And now towards Coventry let's bend our course,

"To meet with Warwick and his confederates."

Some of our old writers feem to have thought, that all the perfons of the drama must know whatever was known to the writers themselves, or to the audience. MALONE.

The fun fhines hot, &c.] These lines are formed on two others which are found in the old play in a subsequent scene in the next A&t, being spoken by Edward, after the battle of Barnet, and just before he fets out for Tewksbury.

Come, let us go;

"For if we flack this fair bright summers day,

"Sharp winters showers will mar our hope, for haie." I fufpect, haie was inadvertently written in the manuscript inftead of aye, and that Shakspeare was thus led to introduce an idea different from that intended to be conveyed by the original author. MALONE.

The old reading is undoubtedly the true one; the allufion, being to a well-known proverb-" Make hay while the sun shines." See Ray's Collection, edit. 1768, p. 117. STEEVENS.