HAST. But I fhall laugh at this a twelve-month hence, That they, who brought me in my mafter's hate, Well, Catefby, ere a fortnight make me older, CATE. 'Tis a vile thing to die, my gracious lord, When men are unprepar'd, and look not for it. HAST. O monftrous, monftrous! and fo falls it out' With Rivers, Vaughan, Grey and fo 'twill do With fome men elfe, who think themselves as fafe As thou, and I; who, as thou know'ft, are dear To princely Richard, and to Buckingham. CATE. The princes both make high account of you, For they account his head upon the bridge. [Afide. HAST. I know, they do ; and I have well deserv'd it. Enter STANLEY. Come on, come on, where is your boar-fpear, man? Fear you the boar, and go fo unprovided? STAN. My lord, good morrow; and good morrow,5 Catefby: You may jeft on, but, by the holy rood," - and good morrow,] And, was fupplied by Sir Thomas Hanmer, to affift the measure. STEEVENS. 6 the holy rood,] i. e. the crofs. So, in the old mystery of Candlemas-Day, 1512: "Whan hir swete fone fhall on a rood deye." Again, in Spenfer's Fairy Queen, B. VI. c. vi: I do not like these feveral councils," I. HAST. My lord, I hold my life as dear as yours; And never, in my life, I do proteft, Was it more precious to me than 'tis now: STAN. The lords at Pomfret, when they rode from London, Were jocund, and suppos'd their states were sure, "And nigh thereto a little chapell ftoode "Deck'd all the roofe, and shadowing the roode, STEEVENS. 7 I do not like thefe feveral councils,] See p. 381, n. 1. 8 MALONE. My lord, I hold my life as dear as yours ;] Thus the first folio. The quartos-(profoundly ignorant of our author's elliptical mode of expreffing himfelf, and in contempt of metre,)— as dear as you do yours. STEEVENS. 9- I mifdoubt;] i. e. fufpect it of danger. So, in King Henry VI. P. III: I 66 the bird "With trembling wings mifdoubteth every bush." STEEVENS. have with you.] A familiar phrafe in parting, as much as, take fomething along with you, or I have fomething to jay to you. JOHNSON. This phrafe fo frequently occurs in Shakspeare, that I wonder Johnson should, in his fourteenth volume, miftake its meaning. To-day, the lords you talk of are beheaded. STAN. They, for their truth, might better wear their heads, Than fome, that have accus'd them, wear their hats. But come, my lord, let's away. Enter a Pursuivant. HAST. Go on before, I'll talk with this good fellow. Exeunt STAN. and CATESBY. How now, firrah? how goes the world with thee? PURS. The better, that your lordship please to afk. HAST. I tell thee, man, 'tis better with me now, Than when thou met'ft me laft where now we meet: Then was I going prifoner to the Tower, By the suggestion of the queen's allies; But now, I tell thee, (keep it to thyself,) This day those enemies are put to death, And I in better ftate than ere I was. It fignifies merely "I will go along with you;" and is an expreffion in ufe at this day. In The First Part of King Henry VI. when Suffolk is going out, Somerfet fays-" Have with you ;" and then follows him. In Othello, Iago fays: "Captain, will you go?" "Oth. Have with you." In The Merry Wives of Windfor, Mrs. Ford fays : "Will you go, Mrs. Page?" To which the replies: "Have with you." And in the fame fcene, the Hoft afterwards fays To which the Page replies-" Have with you." M. MASON. 2 They, for their truth,] That is, with respect to their honesty. JOHNSON. PURS. God hold it,3 to your honour's good con tent! HAST. Gramercy, fellow: There, drink that for [Throwing him his Purse. your honour. [Exit Pursuivant. me. PURS. I thank Enter a Prieft. PR. Well met, my lord; I am glad to fee your honour. HAST. I thank thee, good fir John,4 with all my heart. I am in your debt for your laft exercife ;5 Enter BUCKINGHAM.6 BUCK. What, talking with a priest, lord chamberlain ? 3 -hold it,] That is, continue it. JOHNSON. 4 good fir John,] Sir was formerly the ufual address to the inferior clergy. See Vol. V. p. 7, n. 1. MALONE. 5 exercife;] Performance of divine service. JOHNSON. I rather imagine it meant--for attending him in private to hear his confeffion. So, in fc. vii: "To draw him from his holy exercife." MALONE. Exercife, I believe, means only religious exhortation, or lecture. So, in Othello: "Much caftigation, exercife devout." STEEVENS. • Enter Buckingham.] From the Continuation of Harding's Chronicle, 1543, where the account given originally by Sir Tho mas More is tranfcribed with fome additions, it appears that the person who held this converfation with Haftings was Sir Thomas Howard, who is introduced in the laft Act of this play as Earl of Surrey: "The fame morning ere he [Haftings] were up from his bed Your friends at Pomfret, they do need the priest; Your honour hath no fhriving work in hand." HAST. 'Good faith, and when I met this holy man, The men you talk of came into my mind. What, go you toward the Tower? Buck. I do, my lord; but long I cannot stay there: I shall return before your lordship thence. Häst. Nay, like enough, for I stay dinner there. Come, will not. you go? [Afide. I'll wait upon your lordship. where Shore's wife lay with him all night, there came to him fir Thomas Haward, [Howard] fonne to the lord Haward,-as it were of courtefaie, to accoumpaignie him to the counfaill; but forafmuche as the lord Haftings was not ready, he taried a while for him, and hasted him away. This fir Thomas, while the lord Haftings stayed a while commonyng with a priest whom he met in the Tower ftrete, brake the lordes tale, faying to him merily, What, my lorde, I pray you come on; wherefore talke you fo long with the priest? You have no nede of a priest yet:' and laughed upon him, as though he would faye, you shall have nede of one fone." Fol. 59. MALone. 7-fhriving work in hand.] Shriving work is confeffion. So, in Hamlet: the bearers put to fudden death, JOHNSON. |