3 Fal. Thou haft the most unfavoury fimilies; and art, indeed, the moft comparative, rafcallieft,-sweet young prince,-But, Hal, I pr'ythee, trouble me no more with vanity. I would to God, thou and I knew where a commodity of good names were to be bought: An old lord of the council rated me the other day in the street about you, fir; but I mark'd him not: and yet he talk'd very wifely; but I regarded him not: and yet he talk'd wifely, and in the street too. P. Henry. Thou did'ft well; for wifdom cries out in the streets, and no man regards it. Fal. O, thou haft damnable iteration; and art, indeed, able to corrupt a faint. Thou haft done much great fen, or moor, on the north fide of the walls of the city, being frozen over, &c. This explains the propriety of the comparifon. WARTON. 3 the most comparative,-] Sir T. Hanmer, and Dr. Warburton after him, read, incomparative, I fuppofe for incomparable, or peerless; but comparative here means quick at comparisons, or fruitful in fimilies, and is properly introduced. JOHNSON. This epithet is ufed again, in act III. fc. ii. of this play, and apparently in the fame fenfe: 66- ftand the pufh "Of every beardlefs vain comparative." And in Love's Labour's Loft, act V. fc. ult. Rofaline tells Biron that he is a man "Full of comparisons and wounding flouts." STEEVENS. So, in Nah's Apologie of Pierce Penniless, 1593: "He took upon him to fet his foot against me, and to over-crow me with comparative terms." MALONE. O, then haft &c.] For iteration fir T. Hanmer and Dr. Warburton read attraction, of which the meaning is certainly more apparent; but an editor is not always to change what he does not understand. In the laft fpeech a text is very indecently and abufively applied, to which Falstaff anfwers, thou haft damnable iteration, or, a wicked trick of repeating and applying holy texts. This I think is the meaning. JOHNSON. Iteration is right, for it alfo fignified fimply citation or recitation. So, in Marlow's Doctor Fauftus, 1651: "Here take this book and perufe it well, From the context, iterating here appears to mean pronouncing, reciting. MALONE, harm harm upon me, Hal,-God forgive thee for it! Before I knew thee, Hal, I knew nothing; and now am I, if a man should speak truly, little better than one of the wicked. I muft give over this life, and I will give it over; by the lord, an I do not, I am a villain; I'll be damn'd for never a king's fon in Christendom. P. Henry. Where shall we take a purse to-morrow, Jack? Fal. Where thou wilt, lad, I'll make one; an I do not, call me villain, and baffle me 5. P. Henry. I fee a good amendment of life in thee; from praying, to purse-taking. 5 Fal. Why, Hal, 'tis my vocation, Hal; 'tis no fin —and baffle me.] See Mr. Tollet's note on K. Rich. II. act I. fc. i. STEEVENS. 6 In former editions: Fal. Why, Hal, 'tis my vocation, Hal; 'tis no fin for a man to labour in his vocation. Enter Poins. Poins. Now fhall we know, if Gadshill have fet a match.] Mr. Pope has given us one fignal obfervation in his preface to our author's works. "Throughout his plays," fays he, “had all the fpeeches been printed without the very names of the perfons, I believe one might have applied them with certainty to every speaker." But how fallible the moft fufficient critic may be, the paffage in controverfy is a main inftance. As fignal a blunder has efcaped all the editors here, as any through the whole fet of plays. Will any one perfuade me, Shakespeare could be guilty of fuch an inconfiftency, as to make Poins at his first entrance want news of Gadshill, and immediately after to be able to give a full account of him? -No; Falstaff, feeing Poins at hand, turns the stream of his difcourfe from the prince, and fays: "Now fhall we know, whether Gadshill has fet a match for us ;" and then immediately falls into railing and invectives against Poins. How admirably is this in character for Falstaff! And Poins, who knew well his abufive manner, seems in part to overhear him: and fo foon as he has returned the prince's falutation, cries, by way of anfwer: "What fays Monfieur Remorfe? What fays fir Jack Sack-and-Sugar?" THEOBALD. Mr. Theobald has faftened on an obfervation made by Mr. Pope, hyperbolical enough, but not contradicted by the erroneous reading in this place, the fpeech, like a thousand others, not be ing fin for a man to labour in his vocation. Poins!Now fhall we know, if Gadshill have fet a match'. O, if men were to be fav'd by merit, what hole in hell were hot enough for him? Enter Poins. This is the moft omnipotent villain, that ever cry'd, Stand, to a true man. P. Henry. Good morrow, Ned. Poins. Good morrow, fweet Hal.-What fays monfieur Remorfe? What fays fir John Sack-and-Sugar? Jack, how agrees the devil and thee about thy foul, that thou foldeft him on Good-friday laft, for a cup of Madeira, and a cold capon's leg? P. Henry. Sir John ftands to his word, the devil fhall have his bargain; for he was never yet a breaker of proverbs, He will give the devil his due. Poins. Then art thou damn'd for keeping thy word with the devil. P. Henry. Elfe he had been damn'd for cozening the devil. Poins. But, my lads, my lads, to-morrow morning, by four o'clock, early at Gadshill: There are pilgrims going to Canterbury with rich offerings, and traders riding to London with fat purfes: I have vifors for you all, you have horfes for yourselves : Gadshill lies to-night in Rochefter; I have bespoke fupper to-morrow night in Eaft-cheap; we may do it as fecure as fleep: If you will go, I will ftuff your purfes full of crowns; if you will not, tarry at home, and be hang'd. ing fo characteristic as to be infallibly applied to the fpeaker. Theobald's triumph over the other editors might have been abated by a confeffion, that the first edition gave him at least a glimpse of the emendation. JOHNSON. 7 a match. Thus the quartos 1599, and 1608. The folio reads: a watch. STEEVENS. Fal. Fal. Hear ye, Yedward; if I tarry at home, and go not, I'll hang you for going. Poins. You will, chops? Fal. Hal, wilt thou make one? P. Henry. Who, I rob? I a thief? not I, by my faith. Fal. There's neither honesty, manhood, nor good fellowship in thee, nor thou cam'ft not of the blood royal, if thou dar'ft not stand for ten fhillings. P. Henry. Well then, once in my days I'll be a mad-cap. Fal. Why, that's well faid. P. Henry. Well, come what will, I'll tarry at home. Fal. By the lord, I'll be a traitor then, when thou art king. P. Henry. I care not. Poins. Sir John, I pr'ythee, leave the prince and me alone; I will lay him down fuch reasons for this adventure, that he shall go. Fal. Well, may'ft thou have the spirit of perfuafion, and he the ears of profiting, that what thou fpeakeft may move, and what he hears may be believed, that the true prince may (for recreation fake) prove a falfe thief; for the poor abufes of the time want countenance. Farewel: You fhall find me in Eaft-cheap. P. Henry. Farewel, thou latter fpring! farewel All-hallown fummer 9! [Exit Falfiaff. Poins. sif thou dar'ft not cry, fand, &c.] The prefent reading may perhaps be right; but I think it neceffary to remark, that all the old editions read:-if thou dar'ft not ftand for ten fillings. JOHNSON. Falftaff is quibbling on the word royal. The real or royal was of the value of ten fillings. Almoft the fame jeft occurs in a fubfequent fcene. The quibble, however, is loft, except the old reading be preferved. Cry, ftand, will not fupport it. STEEVENS. -All-hallown fummer!] All-hallows is All-hallowwn-tide, or All-faints' day, which is the first of November. We have ftill a church Poins. Now, my good fweet honey lord, ride with us to-morrow; I have a jeft to execute, that I cannot manage alone. Falstaff, Bardolph, Peto, and Gadshill, fhall rob thofe men that we have already way-laid; yourself, and I, will not be there: and when they have the booty, if you and I do not rob them, cut this head from my fhoulders. P. Henry. But how fhall we part with them in fetting forth? Poins. Why, we will fet forth before or after them, and appoint them a place of meeting, wherein it is at our pleasure to fail; and then will they adventure a church in London which is abfurdly filed St. All-hallows, as if a word which was formed to exprefs the community of faints, could be appropriated to any particular one of the number. In The Play of the four Ps, 1569, this mistake (which might have been a common one) is pleasantly exposed: "Pard. Friends, here you fhall fee, even anone, "Of All-ballows the bleffed jaw-bone, "Kiss it hardly, with good devotion: &c." The characters in this fcene are ftriving who fhould produce the greateft falfhood, and very probably in their attempts to excell each other, have out-ly'd even the Romish Kalendar. Shakespeare's allufion is defign'd to ridicule an old man with youthful paffions. So, in the fecond part of this play: "the Martlemas your mafter." STEEVENS. In former editions: Falftaff, Harvey, Roffil, and Gadhill, shall rob these men that sve have already way-laid;] Thus we have two perfons named, as characters in this play, that never were among the dramatis perfona. But let us fee who they were that committed this robbery. In the fecond act we come to a fcene of the highway. Falstaff, wanting his horfe, calls out on Hal, Poins, Bardolph, and Peto. Prefently Gadshill joins them, with intelligence of travellers being at hand; upon which the prince fays: You four Shall front 'em in a narrow lane, Ned Poins and I will walk lower. So that the four to be concerned are Falstaff, Bardolph, Peto, and Gadfhill. Accordingly, the robbery is committed; and the prince and Poins afterwards rob these four. In the Boar's-head tavern, the prince rallies Peto and Bardolph for their running away, who confefs the charge. Is it not plain that Bardolph and Peto were two of the four robbers? And who then can doubt, but Harvey and Roffil were the names of the actors. THEOBALD. upon |