K. Hen. Then this remains,-that we divide our

power.

You, son John, and my cousin Westmoreland, Towards York shall bend you, with your dearest

speed,

To meet Northumberland, and the prelate Scroop,
Who, as we hear, are busily in arms:

Myself, and you, son Harry,—will towards Wales,
To fight with Glendower, and the earl of March.
Rebellion in this land shall lose his sway,
Meeting the check of such another day:
And since this business so fair is done,
Let us not leave till all our own be won.

[Exeunt.

ANNOTATIONS

UPON

THE FIRST PART OF HENRY IV.

Find we a time for frighted peace to pant, And breathe short-winded accents-] That is, Let us soften peace to rest a while without disturbance, that she may recover breath to propose new

wars.

JOHNSON.

2 No more the thirsty Erinnys of this soil

Shall daub her lips with her own children's blood.] Mr. M. Mason supplied this reading, and Mr. Steevens adopted it in his last edition: not, however, without confessing that he looked upon it as very farfetch'd; in which, I believe, all his friends will agree with him. On a former occasion he suggested that we should read entrants, with, in my opinion, a far greater appearance of plausibility. Entrance is the word in all the old copies. It is true this mode of expression is very licentious, but is it any thing strange to find licentiousness of expression in Shakspeare? The passage, as it always has stood, may easily be construed into the simple meaning of " no longer shall the land smear her mouth with the blood

of her own children." At all events, let what reading may be right, it is not in my power to persuade myself that Erinnys (or the Fury of Discord) is not wrong.

3- expedience] for expedition.

4 By those Welshwomen done-] Thus Holinshed: "The shameful villainy used by the Welsh66 women towards the dead carcasses, was such as "honest ears would be ashamed to hear."

STEEVENS.

5 -to demand that truly which thou wouldst truly know.-] The prince's objection to the question seems to be, that Falstaff had asked in the night what was the time of day.

JOHNSON.

6-let not us, that are squires of the night's body, be called thieves of the day's beauty.] This conveys no manner of idea to me. How could they be called thieves of the day's beauty? They robbed by moonshine; they could not steal the fair day-light. I have ventured to substitute booty; and this I take to be the meaning. Let us not be called thieves, the purloiners of that booty, which, to the proprietors, was the purchase of honest labour and industry by day.

THEOBALD.

7 -my old lad of the castle;] Mr. Rowe took notice of a tradition, that this part of Falstaff was written originally under the name of Oldcastle. An ingenious correspondent hints to me, that the passage above quoted from our author proves what Mr. Rowe tells us was a tradition. Old lad of the castle seems

to have a reference to Oldcastle. Besides, if this had not been the fact, why, in the epilogue to The Second Part of Henry IV. where our author promises to continue his story with Sir John in it, should he say, "Where, for any thing I know, Falstaff shall die of

66

a sweat, unless already he be killed with your hard opinions; for Oldcastle died a martyr, and this is "not the man." This looks like declining a point that had been made an objection to him. I'll give a farther matter in proof, which seems almost to fix the charge. I have read an old play, called, The famous victories of Henry the Fifth, containing the honourable battle of Agincourt. The action of this piece commences about the 14th year of K. Henry the Fourth's reign, and ends with Henry the Fifth's marrying princess Catharine of France. The scene opens with prince Henry's robberies. Sir John Oldcastle is one of the gang, and called Jockie; and Ned and Gadshill are two other comrades. From this old imperfect sketch, I have a suspicion, Shakspeare might form his two parts of Henry the Fourth, and his history of Henry the Fifth; and consequently it is not improbable, that he might continue the mention of Sir John Oldcastle, till some descendants of that family moved queen Elizabeth to command him to change the name.

THEOBALD.

my old lad of the castle;] This alludes to the name Shakspeare first gave to this buffoon character, which was Sir John Oldcastle; and when he changed the name he forgot to strike out this expres