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The Pyrenean and the river Po;

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

And fits the mounting fpirit like myself:
For he is but a baftard to the time,
That doth not fmack of observation;
[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, sweet, sweet poifon for the age's tooth;
s Which tho' I will not practise to deceive,
Yet, to avoid deceit, I mean to learn;
For it shall 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?

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Enter Lady Faulconbridge, and James Gurney.

Lady. Where is that flave, thy brother, where is he,
That holds in chase 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,

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 Dallilab with fuch an interrogatory exclamation.

"

iTo blow a born.] He means,

I

that a woman who travelled about 'ike a poft was likely to born her husband.

2 Colbrand was a Danish giant, whom Guy of Warwick discomfited in the prefence of king AThe combat is very theiftan. pompously defcribed by Drayton in his Polyolbion,

Sir

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

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

Phil. Philip!- -fparrow

James;

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

[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 fast:
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, fhould'ft defend mine ho

nour?

What means this fcorn, thou moft untoward knave?
Phil. Knight,
Knight, Knight, good mother — Bafi
lifco like.

What!

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

Philip! (pare me, James. i. e. don't affront me with an appellation that comes from a Family which I disclaim. 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.

4 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 Perfeda. In this Piece there
is the Character of a bragging
cowardly Knight, called Bafilif
co. His Pretenfion to Valour is
fo blown and feen through, that
Pifton, a Buffoon-servant 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, I fwear,
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 fon;
I have difclaim'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 thyself 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 in my husband's bed.
Heav'n lay not my tranfgreffion 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 wifh 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 difpofe,
Subjected tribute to commanding love,

Baf. By the Contents of this
Blade,

Pift. I, the aforefaid Bafilifco,
Baf. 1, the aforesaid Bafilifco,
Knight, good fellou, 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 quot ed. The old Play is an execrable bad one; and, I fuppofe, was fufficiently exploded in the Representation which might

4

make this Circumftance fo well known, as to become the Butt for a Stage farcafm. THEOBALD. Knight, Knight, good mother

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

co.

And

Against whofe fury, and unmatched force,
The awless lion could not wage the fight;
Nor keep his princely heart from Richard's hands.
He, that perforce robs lions of their hearts,
May easily 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 hadft faid him nay, it had been fin;
Who fays, it was, he lyes; I fay, 'twas not.

[Exeunt.

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.

B

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7

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:

Richard, that robb'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

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And for amends to his pofterity,

At our importance hither is he come,
To spread his colours, boy, in thy behalf;
And to rebuke the ufurpation

Of thy unnatural uncle, English John.

Embrace him, love him, give him welcome hither.
Arthur. God fhall forgive you Caur-de lion's death
The rather, that you give his off-fpring life;
Shadowing their right under your wings of war.
I give you welcome with a pow'rlefs hand,
But with a heart full of unftained love :
Welcome before the gates of Angiers, Duke.
Lewis. A noble boy! who would not do thee right?
Auft. Upon thy cheek lay I this zealous kifs,
A feal to this indenture of my love;
That to my home I will no more return,
Till Angiers and the right thou haft in France,
Together with that pale, that white-fac'd fhore,
Whose foot spurns back the ocean's roaring tides,
And coops from other lands her islanders;
Ev'n till that England, hedg'd in with the main,
That water-walled bulwark, still secure
And confident from foreign purposes,
Ev'n till that outmoft corner of the weft,
Salute thee for her King. Till then, fair boy,
Will I not think of home, but follow arms.

Conft. O, take his mother's thanks, a widow's thanks,

Till

your strong hand fhall help to give him ftrength, To make a more requital to your love.

Auft. The peace of heav'n is theirs, who lift their fwords

In fuch a juft and charitable war.

made prifoner by the Duke of Auftria, but was released for an exorbitant ransome, and was afterwards killed with a cross-bow, before the castle of Chalons.

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At my importance.] At my importunity.

9 That pale, that white fac'd hore.] England is fuppofed to be called Albion from the white rocks facing France. Ee

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K. Philip.

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