Richard, that robb'd the lion of his heart, By this brave duke came early to his grave; 3 At our importance hither is he come, Of thy unnatural uncle, English John: Embrace him, love him, give him welcome hither. 'Richard, that robb'd &c.] So, Raftal in his Chronicle: "It is fayd that a lyon was put to kynge Richard, beynge in prifon, to have devoured him, and when the lyon was gapynge he put his arme in his mouth, and pulled the yon by the harte fo hard that he flewe the lyon, and therefore fome fay he is called Rycharde Cure de Lyon; but fome fay he is called Cure de Lyon, because of his boldness and hardy ftomake." GRAY, I have an old black lettered hiftory of lord Fauconbridge, whence Shakespeare might pick up this circumftance. FARMER. 2 By this brave duke came early to his grave:] The old play led Shakespeare into this error of afcribing to the duke of Auftria the death of Richard, who loft his life at the fiege of Chaluz, long after he had been ranfom'd out of Auftria's power. STEEVENS. 3 At our importance] At our importunity. JOHNSON. -that pale, that white-fac'd shore,] England is fuppofed to be called Albion from the white rocks facing France. JOHNSON. Even 'till that England, hedg'd in with the main, Conft. O, take his mother's thanks, a widow's thanks, 'Till your ftrong hand fhall help to give him ftrength, To make a more requital to your love. Auft. The peace of heaven is theirs, that lift their fwords In fuch a juft and charitable war. K. Philip. Well then, to work; our cannon fhall be bent Against the brows of this refifting town.- Conft. Stay for an answer to your embaffy, 6 Enter Chatillon. K. Philip. A wonder, lady!—lo, upon thy wish, Our meffenger Chatillon is arriv'd. To make a more requital, &c.] I believe it has been already obferved, that more fignified in our author's time, greater. STEEVENS. A wonder, lady!] The wonder is only that Chatillon happened to arrive at the moment when Conftance mentioned him; which the French king, according to a fuperftition which prevails more or less in every mind agitated by great affairs, turns into a miraculous interpofition, or omen of good. JOHNSON, What What England fays, fay briefly, gentle lord, 8 His marches are expedient to this town, With ladies' faces, and fierce dragons' fpleens,- In brief, a braver choice of dauntless spirits, To do offence and 'fcath in Chriftendom. The interruption of their churlish drums [Drums beat, 7-expedient-] Immediate, expeditious. JOHNSON. An Até, firring him &c.] Até was the Goddess of Revenge. The player-editors read-an Ace. STEEVENS. 9 Bearing their birth-rights, &c.] So, Hen. VIII: 1 "Many broke their backs with bearing manors on them." JOHNSON. 1 —feath—] Deftruction, harm. JOHNSON. So, in How to chufe a good Wife from a Bad, 1630: "For thefe accounts, faith it will feath thee fomewhat." Again: "And it fhall feath him fomewhat of my purse." STEEVENS. K. Philip. K. Philip. How much unlook'd for is this expedition! Auft. By how much unexpected, by fo much Let them be welcome then, we are prepar'd. Enter King John, Faulconbridge, Elinor, Blanch, Pembroke, and others. K. John. Peace be to France; if France in peace permit Our juft and lineal entrance to our own! If not; bleed France, and peace afcend to heaven! 2 That thou haft under-wrought its lawful king, Out-faced infant state, and done a rape Upon the maiden virtue of the crown. Look here upon thy brother Geffrey's face ;- 2 -under-wrought-] i. e. underworked, undermined. STEEVENS. Which owe the crown that thou o'er-maftereft? K. John. From whom haft thou this great commiffion, France, To draw my answer from thy articles? K. Phil. From that fupernal judge, that firs good thoughts In any breaft of strong authority, To look into the blots and ftains of right. K. John. Alack, thou doft ufurp authority. As thine was to thy hufband: and this boy Liker in feature to his father Geffrey, Than thou and John in manners; being as like, 3 To look into the blots and flains of right.] Mr. Theobald reads, with the first folio, blots, which being fo early authorized, and fo much better understood, needed not to have been changed by Dr. Warburton to bolts, though bolts might be used in that time for Spots: fo Shakespeare calls Banquo "Spotted with blood, the blood-bolter'd Banquo." The verb to blot is ufed figuratively for to difgrace a few lines lower. And perhaps, after all, bolts was only a typographical mistake. JOHNSON. Blot is certainly right. The illegitimate branch of a family always carried the arms of it with what in ancient heraldry was called a blot or difference. So, in Drayton's Epiftle from 2. fabel to K. Richard II: "No baftard's mark doth blot his conq'ring shield," Blots and ftains occur again together in the firit scene of the third act, STEEVENS. |