SCENE IV. The Palace. Enter trumpets, sounding; then two Aldermen, Lord Mayor, Garter, CRANMER, Duke of NORFOLK, with his marshal's staff, Duke of SUFFOLK, two Noblemen bearing great standing bowls for the christening gifts; then four Noblemen bearing a canopy, under which the Duchess of NORFOLK, godmother, bearing the child, richly habited in a mantle, &c. Train borne by a Lady: then follows the Marchioness of DorSET, the other godmother, and Ladies. The troop pass once about the stage, and Garter speaks. Gart. Heaven, from thy endless goodness, send prosperous life, long, and ever happy, to the high and mighty princess of England, Elizabeth ! Flourish. Enter King, and Train. Cran. [Kneeling.] And to your royal grace and the good queen, My noble partners, and myself, thus pray ;- K.Hen. Thank you, good lord archbishop; Cran. Elizabeth. K.Hen. Stand up, lord. - [The King kisses the child. With this kiss take my blessing: God protect thee! Into whose hands I give thy life. Cran. Amen. K.Hen. My noble gossips, ye have been too prodigal: I thank ye heartily; so shall this lady, When she has so much English. Cran. Let me speak, sir, For Heaven now bids me; and the words I utter Shall still be doubled on her truth shall nurse her, Holy and heavenly thoughts still counsel her: And hang their heads with sorrow. Good grows with her: As great in admiration as herself; So shall she leave her blessedness to one, K.Hen. Thou speakest wonders.] Cran. She shall be, to the happiness of England, To the ground, and all the world shall mourn her. [2] These lines, to the interruption by the king, seem to have been inserted at some revisal of the play, after the accession of king James. JOHNS. I have receiv'd much honour by your presence, [Exeunt. EPILOGUE. 'TIS ten to one, this play can never please [4] Though it is very difficult to decide whether short pieces be genuine 1 or spurious, yet I cannot restrain myself from expressing my suspicion that neither the prologue nor epilogue to this play is the work of Shakspeare; non vultus, non color. It appears to me very likely that they were supplied by the friendship or officiousness of Jonson, whose manner they will be found exactly to resemble. There is yet another supposition possible: the prologue and epilogue may have been written after Shakspeare's departure from the stage, upon some accidental revival of the play, and there will then be reason for imagining that the writer, whoever he was, intended no great kindness to him, this play being recommended by a subtle and covert censure of his other works. There is, in Shakspeare, so much of fool and fight; "the fellow, "In a long motley coat, guarded with yellow," appears so often in his drama, that I think it not very likely that he would have animadverted so severely on himself. All this, however, must be received as very dubious, since we know not the exact date of this or the other plays, and cannot tell how our author might have changed his practice or opinions. JOHNS. [5] The historical dramas are now concluded, of which the two parts of Henry IV. and Henry V. are among the happiest of our author's compositions; and King John, Richard the Third. and Henry VIII. deservedly stand in the second class. Those whose curiosity would refer the historical scenes to their original, may consult Holinshed, and sometimes Hall: from Holinshed Shakspeare has often inserted whole speeches, with no more alteration than was necessary to the numbers of his verse. To transcribe them into the margin was unnecessary, because the original is easily examined, and they are seldom less perspicuous in the poet than in the historian. To play histories, or to exhibit a succession of events by action and dialogue, was a common entertainment among our rude ancestors upon great festivities. The parish clerks once performed at Clerkenwell a play which lasted three days, containing The History of the World. JOHNS. |