Disdain to call us lord; and Picardy Hath slain their governors, surpris'd our forts, 6 And now the house of York-thrust from the crown, Burns with revenging fire; whose hopeful colours And all by thee.-Away!-Convey him hence. Suf. O, that I were a god, to shoot forth thunder Upon these paltry, servile, abject drudges! Small things make base men proud: this villain, here, Being captain of a pinnace, threatens more Than Bargulus the strong Illyrian pirate3. Drones suck not eagles' blood, but rob bee-hives. By such a lowly vassal as thyself. Thy words move rage, and not remorse, in me': 7 6 ARE rising-] The folio," and rising." Corrected by Rowe. whose hopeful colours Advance our half-fac'd sun,] "Edward III." according to Camden's Remains, "bare for his device the rays of the sun dispersing themselves out of a cloud." 8 Than BARGULUS the strong Illyrian pirate.] Bargulus, Illyrius latro, de quo est, apud Theopompum, magnas opes habuit." Hist. Theopomp. lib. ii. cap. xi. as quoted by Warburton. For "Bargulus" of the folio we have another hero in the quarto "Contention." The captain, says Suffolk, "Threatens more plagues than mighty Abradas, The great Macedonian pirate." Abradas is mentioned by Greene, in his "Penelope's Web," of which the only known edition bears date in 1601, but no doubt it was printed about ten years earlier. This circumstance remotely connects the old play with Greene. See the Introduction to the third part of " Henry VI." 9 Thy words move rage, and not remorse, in me :] Malone tells us that in the "original play," the " First Part of the Contention," this line is assigned to I go of message from the queen to France; I charge thee, waft me safely cross the channel. Cap. Walter! Whit. Come, Suffolk, I must waft thee to thy death1. Suf. Penè gelidus timor occupat artus2:-it is thee I fear. Whit. Thou shalt have cause to fear, before I leave thee. What are ye daunted now? now will ye stoop? 1 Gent. My gracious lord, entreat him, speak him fair. And sooner dance upon a bloody pole, True nobility is exempt from fear: Cap. Hale him away, and let him talk no more. the captain, and he objects to Shakespeare's judgment in depriving him of it, and giving it to Suffolk: other commentators have remarked upon the same circumstance, without referring to the "original play," or they would have seen that the line there forms part of Suffolk's speech, as in the folio, 1623. It is difficult to account for Malone's blunder, and the implicit adoption of it by Steevens and Boswell. 1 Cap. Walter !—— Whit. Come, Suffolk, I must waft thee to thy death.] This passage, in the folio, 1623, stands thus : "Lieu. Water: W. Come, Suffolk," &c. The captain or lieutenant calls " Walter," misprinted Water, and the capital W was intended to mark the commencement of Whitmore's speech. 2 Penè gelidus timor occupat artus:] "Penè" is misprinted Pine in the folio, 1623; and as the editor of the folio, 1632, could make nothing of the word, he omitted it. The author of this scrap of Latin, which is not in the quarto "Contention," has not been pointed out: Malone substituted Penè for Pine. 3 Come, soldiers, show what cruelty ye can,] Although this line is assigned to the lieutenant, there can be no doubt that the prefix has been misplaced, That this my death may never be forgot.— A Roman sworder and banditto slave [Exit SUF., with WHIT. and Others. Cap. And as for these whose ransom we have set, It is our pleasure one of them depart: Therefore, come you with us, and let him go. [Exeunt all but the first Gentleman. Re-enter WHITMORE, with SUFFOLK'S Body. Whit. There let his head and lifeless body lie, Until the queen, his mistress, bury it. 1 Gent. O, barbarous and bloody spectacle! His body will I bear unto the king: If he revenge it not, yet will his friends; [Exit. [Exit, with the Body. SCENE II. Blackheath. Enter GEORGE BEVIS and JOHN HOLLAND. Geo. Come, and get thee a sword, though made of a lath: they have been up these two days. John. They have the more need to sleep now then. Geo. I tell thee, Jack Cade, the clothier, means to dress the commonwealth, and turn it, and set a new nap upon it. and that it belongs to Suffolk. The sense, which clearly runs on, does not however appear to have detected the error until the time of Sir Thomas Hanmer. 4 vile BEZONIANS :] "Bezonians" are low needy persons. See Vol. iv. p. 451, note 9. John. So he had need, for 'tis threadbare. Well, I say, it was never merry world in England, since gentle men came up. Geo. O miserable age! Virtue is not regarded in handicrafts-men. John. The nobility think scorn to go in leather aprons. Geo. Nay more; the king's council are no good workmen. John. True; and yet it is said, - labour in thy vocation: which is as much to say, as,-let the magistrates be labouring men; and therefore should we be magistrates. Geo. Thou hast hit it; for there's no better sign of a brave mind, than a hard hand. John. I see them! I see them! There's Best's son, the tanner of Wingham. Geo. He shall have the skins of our enemies to make dog's leather of. John. And Dick, the butcher. Geo. Then is sin struck down like an ox, and iniquity's throat cut like a calf. John. And Smith, the weaver. Geo. Argo, their thread of life is spun. John. Come, come; let's fall in with them. Drum. Enter CADE, DICK the Butcher, SMITH the Weaver, and Others in great number3. Cade. We John Cade, so termed of our supposed father, Dick. Or rather, of stealing a cade of herrings. [Aside. Cade. For our enemies shall fall before us, in 5 and Others in GREAT NUMBER.] "With infinite numbers" says the folio, very unusually; but we are to suppose it to mean as many as the company could afford to send on as rebels. 61 - for our enemies shall fall before us,] Alluding to his name, Cade, as if spired with the spirit of putting down kings and princes, -Command silence. Dick. Silence! Cade. My father was a Mortimer, Dick. He was an honest man, and a good bricklayer. [Aside. Cade. My mother a Plantagenet, Dick. I knew her well; she was a midwife. [Aside. Cade. My wife descended of the Lacies,— Dick. She was, indeed, a pedlar's daughter, and sold many laces. [Aside. Smith. But, now of late, not able to travel with her furred pack, she washes bucks here at home. [Aside. Cade. Therefore am I of an honourable house. Dick. Ay, by my faith, the field is honourable, and there was he born under a hedge; for his father had never a house, but the cage. Cade. Valiant I am. [Aside. Smith. 'A must needs, for beggary is valiant. [Aside. Cade. I am able to endure much. Dick. No question of that, for I have seen him whipped three market days together. Cade. I fear neither sword nor fire. [Aside. Smith. He need not fear the sword, for his coat is of proof. [Aside. Dick. But, methinks, he should stand in fear of fire, being burnt i' the hand for stealing of sheep. [Aside. Cade. Be brave then; for your captain is brave, and vows reformation. There shall be in England seven half-penny loaves sold for a penny: the three-hooped pot shall have ten hoops; and I will make it felony, to drink small beer. All the realm shall be in common, and in Cheapside shall my palfrey go to grass. And, when I am king, (as king I will be)— derived from the Latin cado. "A cade of herrings," mentioned by Dick, the butcher, was a cask, (cadus, Lat.) smaller than a barrel, and containing six hundred herrings. |