And when my knightly ftomach is fuffic'd,
Why then I fuck my teeth, and catechife
My piked man of countries ;-My dear Sir,
(Thus leaning on mine elbow, I begin)

I fhall befeech you,that is question now:
And then comes anfwer like an ABC-book:
O Sir, fays anfwer, at your beft command,
At your employment, at your fervice, Sir:
No, Sir, fays question, I, sweet Sir, at yours,
7 And fo e'er anfwer knows what queftion would,
Saving in dialogue of compliment;

And talking of the Alps and Apennines,

6 Like an a, b, c book] An a, b, c book, or, as they fpoke and wrote it, an alfoy book, is a catechifm.

7 And fo e'er arfwer knows what question would, SAVING in dialogue of compl

ment] In this fine fpeech, Faulconbridge would fhew the advantages and prerogatives of men of worjoip. He obferves, particularly, that he has the traveller at command; (people at that time, when a new world was difcovering, in the higheft eftima. tion.) At the firft intimation of his defire, to hear strange ftories, the traveller complies, and will fearce give him leave to make his question, but e'er anfwer knows what question would -What then, why, according to the prefent reading, it grows towards fupper-time: And is not this averfbinful fociety? To fpend all the time between dinner and fupper before either of them knows what the other would be Real SERVING inftead of Javing, and all this nonfenfe is

at.

66

comes to talk of the Alps and A "penines,&c. and, by the time this "difcourfe concludes, it draws "towards fupper." All this is fenfible and humorous; and the phrafe of ferving in is a very pleafant one to denote that this was his worship's fecond court. What follows fhews the romantic turn of the voyagers of that time; how greedily their relations were swallowed, which he calls fweet poifon for the age's tooth; and how acceptable it made men at court-For it fall frew the footsteps of my ring. And yet the Oxford Editor fays, by this sweet poison is meant flatWARBURTON.

tery.

This paffage is obfcure; but fuch an irregularity, and perplexity runs thro' the whole fpeech, that I think this emendation not neceffary.

The

The Pyrenean and the river Po;

It draws towards fupper in conclufion, fo.
But this is worshipful fociety,

And fits the mounting fpirit like myseif:
For he is but a bastard to the time,
That doth not fmack of obfervation;
[And fo am I, whether I fmack or no :]
And not alone in habit and device,
Exterior form, outward accoutrement;
But from the inward motion to deliver
Sweet, fweet, fweet poifon for the age's tooth;
8 Which tho' I will not practise to deceive,
Yet, to avoid deceit, I mean to learn ;
For it fhall ftrew the footsteps of my rifing.
9 But who comes in fuch hafte, in riding robes?
What woman-poft is this? hath fhe no husband,
That will take pains to blow a horn before her?
O me! it is my mother; now, good lady,
What brings you here to court fo haftily?

SCENE IV.

Enter Lady Faulconbridge, and James Gurney. Lady. Where is that flave, thy brother, where is he, That holds in chafe mine honour up and down? Phil. My brother Robert, old Sir Robert's fon, * Colbrand the giant, that fame mighty man, Is it Sir Robert's fon, that you feek fo?

Lady. Sir Robert's fon? ay, thou unrev'rend boy,

8 Which though, &c.] The conftruction will be mended, if inftead of which though, we read, this though.

9 But who comes here.] Milton, in his tragedy, introduces Dallilah with fuch an interrogatory exclamation.

To blow a horn.] He means,

that a woman who travelled about like a pot was likely to horn her husband.

2 Coibrand was a Danish giant, whom Guy of Warwick dilcomfited in the prefence of king Athelftan. The combat is very pompously defcribed by Drayton in his Polyolbion.

Sir Robert's fon; why scorn'st thou at Sir Robert?
He is Sir Robert's fon, and fo art thou.

Phil. James Gurney, wilt thou give us leave a while!
Gur. Good leave, good Philip.

Phil. Philip!.

-fparrow

There's toys abroad; anon I'll tell thee more.

-James;

[Exit James.

Madam, I was not old Sir Robert's fon,
Sir Robert might have eat his part in me
Upon Good-Friday, and ne'er broke his faft:
Sir Robert could do well; marry, confefs!
Could he get me? Sir Robert could not do it;
We knew his handy-work; therefore, good mother,
To whom am I beholden for thefe limbs ?

Sir Robert never holpe to make this leg.

Lady. Haft thou confpired with thy brother too, That, for thine own gain, should'ft defend mine ho

nour?

What means this fcorn, thou most untoward knave?

4

Phil. Knight, Knight, good mother

lifco like.

-Bafi

What!

Philip, fparrow, James.] I conbridge's Words here carry a think the Poet wrote,

Philip! Spare me, James. i. e. don't affront me with an appellation that comes from a Family which I difclaim. WARB. The old reading is far more agreeable to the character of the Speaker.

Dr. Gray obferves, that Skelton has a poem to the memory of Philip Sparrow; and Mr. Pope in a fhort note remarks, that a Sparrow is called Philip.

+ Knight, Knight, good Mother, Bafilifco like.] Thus muft this Paffage be pointed; and, to come at the Humour of it, I must clear up an old Circumftance of Stage-Hiftory. Faul

concealed Piece of Satire on a
ftupid Drama of that Age, print-
ed in 1599, and called Soliman
and Perfida. In this piece there
is the Character of a bragging
cowardly Knight, called Bafiuf-
co. His Pretenfion to Valour is
fo blown and feen through, that
Pifton, a Buffoon-fervant in the
Play, jumps upon his Back, and
will not difengage him, till he
makes Bafilifco fwear upon his
dudgeon dagger to the Contents,
and in the Terms, he dictates to
him: as, for Inftance,

Baf. O, Ifwear, Ifwear.
Pift. By the Contents of this
Blade,
Baf

What! I am dub'd; I have it on my shoulder:
But, mother, I am not Sir Robert's son;
I have disclaim'd Sir Robert, and my land;
Legitimation, name, and all is gone :
Then, good my mother, let me know
my father
Some proper man, I hope; who was it, mother?
Lady. Haft thou deny'd thyfelf a Faulconbridge?
Phil. As faithfully, as I deny the devil.

;

Lady. King Richard Caur-de-lion was thy father;
By long, and vehement fuit, I was feduc'd
To make room for him in my husband's bed.
Heav'n lay not my tranfgreflion to my charge!
Thou art the iffue of my dear offence,
Which was fo ftrongly urg'd paft my defence.
Phil. Now, by this light, were I to get again,
Madam, I would not with a better father.
5 Some fins do bear their privilege on earth,
And fo doth yours; your fault was not your folly.
Needs must you lay your heart at his dispose,
Subjected tribute to commanding love,

Baf. By the Contents of this
Blade,

Pift. I, the forefaid Bafilifco,
Baf. I, the forefaid Bafilifco,
Knight, good fellow, knight,.
knight,

Pift. Knave, good fellow, knave, knave,

So that 'tis clear, our Poet is fneering at this Play; and makes Philip, when his Mother calls him Knave, throw off that Reproach by humorously laying claim to his new Dignity of Knighthood; as Bafilico arrogantly infifts on his Title of Knight in the Paffage above quoted. The old Play is an execrable bad one; and, I fuppofe, was fufficiently exploded in the Reprefentation: which might

make this Circumstance so well known, as to become the Butt for a Stage-farcafm. THEOBALD.

Knight, Knight, good mother

Bafilifco like] The words allude to an expression in an old foolish play, then the common butt of ridicule, but the beauty of the paffage confifts in his alluding, at the fame time, to his high original. His father, Richard the firft, was furnamed Caur-de-lion. And the Cor Leonis, a fixed star of the first magnitude, in the fign Leo, is called Bafilif. co. WARBURTON. Could one have thought it! 5 Some fins.] There are fins, that whatever be determined of them above, are not much cenfured on ea th.

And

Againft whofe fury, and unmatched force,
The awlefs lion could not wage the fight;
Nor keep his princely heart from Richard's hands.
He, that perforce robs lions of their hearts,
May eafily win a woman's. Ay, my mother,
With all my heart, I thank thee for my father.
Who lives and dares but fay, thou didst not well
When I was got, I'll fend his foul to hell.
Come, lady, I will fhew thee to my kin,

And they fhall fay, when Richard me begot,
If thou hadst faid him nay, it had been fin;
Who fays, it was, he lyes; I fay, 'twas not.
[Exeunt.

6

ACT II.

SCENE I.

Before the Walls of Angiers in France.

Enter Philip King of France, Lewis the Dauphin, the
Archduke of Auftria, Conftance, and Arthur.

LEWIS.

EFORE Angiers well met, brave Auftria.
Arthur! that great fore-runner of thy blood
Richard, that robb'd the lion of his heart,
And fought the holy wars in Palestine,
? By this brave Duke came early to his grave:

6 Richard, that ribb'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 lyon by the harte fo hard that

And