Sands. 'Tis time to give them phyfick, their diseases Are grown fo catching. Cham. What a lofs our ladies Will have of these trim vanities! Lov. Ay, marry, There will be woe indeed, lords; the fly whorefons A French fong, and a fiddle, has no fellow. Sands. The devil fiddle them! I am glad, they're going; (For, fure, there's no converting of them ;) now An honeft country lord, as I am, beaten A long time out of play, may bring his plain-fong, Held current mufick too. Cham. Well faid, lord Sands; Your colt's tooth is not caft yet. Nor fhall not, while I have a stump. Lov. To the cardinal's; Your lordship is a guest too. Cham. O, 'tis true: This night he makes a fupper, and a great one, To many lords and ladies; there will be The beauty of this kingdom, I'll affure you. Lov. That churchman bears a bounteous mind indeed, A hand as fruitful as the land that feeds us; His dews fall every where. Cham. No doubt, he's noble; He had a black mouth, that faid other of him. Sands. He may, my lord, he has wherewithal; in him, Sparing would fhew a worse fin than ill doctrine: Men of his way fhould be moft liberal, They are fet here for examples. Cham. True, they are fo; But few now give fo great ones. My barge ftays'; My barge ftays;-] The fpeaker is Bridewell, from which he is proceeding by water to York-place, (Cardinal Wolfey's houfe,) now Whitehall. MALONE. now in the king's palace at Your Your lordship fhall along:-Come, good fir Thomas, For I was fpoke to, with fir Henry Guilford, Sands. I am your lordship's [Exeunt Hautboys. Ajmall table under a ftate for the Cardinal, Enter Lord Chamberlain, Lord SANDS, and Sir Thomas The very thought of this fair company Cham. You are young, fir Harry Guilford. 2 noble bevy-] Milton has copied this word: "A bevy of fair dames." JOHNSON. 3 As firft-good company,-] In the old copy there is a comma after the word first, for which Mr. Theobald fubftituted a hyphen. MALONE. a running banquet-] feems to have meant a bafty banquet. Queen Margaret and Prince Edward, (fays Habington in his Hiftory of K. Edward IV.) though by the Earle recalled, found their fate and the winds fo adverfe, that they could not land in England, to taste this running banquet to which fortune had invited them." The bafty banquet, that was in Lord Sands's thoughts, is too obvious to require explanation. MALONE. I think, 34 I think, would better please them: By my life, Lov. O, that your lordship were but now confeffor Sands. I would, I were; They should find eafy penance. Lov. 'Faith, how eafy ? Sands. As easy as a down-bed would afford it. Cham. Sweet ladies, will it pleafe you fit? Sir Harry, Place you that fide, I'll take the charge of this: His grace is ent'ring.-Nay, you must not freeze; Two women plac'd together makes cold weather:My lord Sands, you are one will keep them waking; Pray, fit between these ladies. Sands. By my faith, And thank you lordship.-By your leave, fweet ladies: [feats himself between Anne Bullen and another lady. If I chance to talk a little wild, forgive me; I had it from my father. Anne. Was he mad, fir? Sands. O, very mad, exceeding mad, in love too: So, now you are fairly feated:-Gentlemen, Pafs away frowning Sands. For my little cure, Let me alone. [kiffes her Hautboys. Enter Cardinal WOLSEY, attended; and takes his ftate. Wol. You are welcome, my fair guests; that noble lady, Or gentleman, that is not freely merry, Is not my friend: This, to confirm my welcome; And to you all good health. Sands. Your grace is noble : Let me have fuch a bowl may hold my thanks, Wol. My lord Sands, [drinks. I am beholding to you: cheer your neighbours.- Whose fault is this? Sands. The red wine first must rise In their fair cheeks, my lord; then we fhall have them Talk us to filence. Anne. You are a merry gamefter, My lord Sands. Sands. Yes, if I make my play". Here's to your ladyfhip: and pledge it, madam, Anne. You cannot fhew me. Sands. I told your grace, they would talk anon. [Drum and trumpets within: chambers discharged. Wol. What's that? Cham. Look out there, fome of you. [Exit a Servant. And to what end is this?-Nay, ladies, fear not; Re-enter Servant. Cham. How now? what is't? Serv. A noble troop of ftrangers; For fo they feem: they have left their barge, and landed; - if I make my play.] i. e. if I make my party. STEEVENS. 6 chambers difcharged.] A chamber is a gun which stands erect on its breech. Such are ufed only on occafions of rejoicing, and are fo contrived as to carry great charges, and thereby to make a noife more than proportioned to their bulk. They are called chambers because they are mere chambers to lodge powder; a chamber being the technical term for that cavity in a piece of ordnance which contains the combuftibles. Some of them are still fired in the Park, and at the places oppofite to the parliament-houfe, when the king goes thither. Camden enumerates them among other guns, as follows:-"cannons, deni. cannons, chambers, arquebufque, mufquet." Again, in A New Trick to cheat the Devil, 1636: "Iftill think o' the Tower-ordnance, "When my lord mayor takes his barge." STEEVENS. 7 They have left their barge,] See p. 32, n. I. MALONE. D 2 Wol. Wol. Good lord chamberlain, Go, give them welcome, you can speak the French tongue; You have now a broken banquet; but we'll mend it. Hautboys. Enter the King, and twelve others, as Mafkers, habited like Shepherds, with fixteen torch bearers; usher'd by the Lord Chamberlain. They pass directly before the Cardinal, and gracefully falute him. A noble company! What are their pleasures? Cham. Because they speak no English, thus they pray'd To tell your grace ;-That, having heard by fame Of this fo noble and so fair affembly This night to meet here, they could do no lefs, Out of the great refpect they bear to beauty, But leave their flocks; and, under your fair conduct, An hour of revels with them. Wol. Say, lord chamberlain, They have done my poor houfe grace; for which I pay them A thoufand thanks, and pray them take their pleasures. [Ladies chofen for the dance. The King chooses Anne Bullen. 8 Enter the king, and twelve others, as mafkers,] For an account of this mafque fee Holinthed, Vol. II. p. 921. STEEVENS. The account of this mafque was first given by Cavendish, in his Life of Wolfey, which was written in the time of Queen Mary; from which Stowe and Holinfhed copied it. Cavendish was himself prefent. Before the king &c. began to dance, they requested leave (fays Cavendish,) to accompany the ladies at mumchance. Leave being granted, "then went the mafquers, and first faluted all the dames, and then returned to the most worthieft, and then opened the great cup of gold filled with crownes, and other pieces to caft at. Thus perufing all the gentlewomen, of fome they wonne, and to fome they loft. And having viewed all the ladies they returned to the Cardinal with great reverence, pouring downe all their gold, which was above two hundred crownes. At all, quoth the Cardinal, and cafting the die, he wonne it; whereat was made great joy." Life of Wolfey, p. 22. edit. 1641. MALONE. |