Pr'ythee, let 's walk. Now, by my holy-dame, I should have ta'en some pains to bring together Cran. Most dread liege, Will triumph o'er my person; which I weigh not,5 What can be said against me. K. Hen. Know you not how Your state stands i' the world, with the whole world? Are many, and not small; their practices Must bear the same proportion: and not ever6 2 - indurance,] i. e. confinement. Dr. Johnson, however, in his Dictionary, says that this word (which Shakspeare borrowed from Fox's narrative already quoted) means-delay, procrastination. Steevens. 3 The good I stand on ] Though good may be taken for advantage or superiority, or any thing which may help or support, yet it would, I think, be more natural to say: The ground I stand on -. Johnson. The old copy is certainly right. So, in Coriolanus: "Your franchises, whereon you stand, confin'd "Into an angre's bore." Malone. Again, in The Merry Wives of Windsor: "Though Page be a secure fool, and stands so firmly on his wife's frailty Steevens. I, with mine enemies,] Cranmer, I suppose, means, that whenever his honesty fails, he shall rejoice as heartily as his enemies at his destruction. Malone. 5 I weigh not,] i. e. have no value for. So, in Love's Labour's Lost: "You weigh me not.-O that 's, you care not for me." See King Richard III, Act III, sc. i. Steevens. 6 and not ever —] Not ever is an uncommon expression, and does not mean never, but not always. M. Mason. Of as great size. Ween you of better luck," Cran. God, and your majesty, I rotect mine innocence, or I fall into K. Hen. Fail not to use, and with what vehemency Deliver them, and your appeal to us There make before them.-Look, the good man weeps! He's honest, on mine honour. God's blest mother! I swear, he is true-hearted; and a soul None better in my kingdom.-Get you gone, And do as I have bid you.—[Exit CRAN.] He has strangled His language in his tears. Enter an old Lady. Gent. [within] Come back; What mean you? Lady. I'll not come back; the tidings that I bring Will make my boldness manners.-Now, good angels Fly o'er thy royal head, and shade thy person Under their blessed wings!9 K. Hen. 7 Now, by thy looks Ween you of better luck,] To ween is to think, to imagine. Though now absolete, the word was common to all our ancient writers. Steevens. 8 an old Lady.] This, I suppose, is the same old cat that appears with Anne Bullen, p. 250. Steevens. 9 good angels Fly o'er thy royal head, and shade thy person Under their blessed wings!] So, in Hamlet, Act III, sc. iv: "You heavenly guards!" Steevens. I guess thy message. Is the queen deliver'd? Acquainted with this stranger; 'tis as like you, K. Hen. Lov. Lovell,2 Enter LovELL. Sir. I'll to the [Exit King. K. Hen. Give her an hundred marks. queen. Lady. An hundred marks! By this light, I'll have more. An ordinary groom is for such payment. SCENE II. Lobby before the Council-Chamber. [Exeunt. Enter CRANMER; Servants, Door-Keeper, c. attending. Cran. I hope, I am not too late; and yet the gentle man, That was sent to me from the council, pray'd me To make great haste. All fast? what means this?-Hoa! Who waits there?—Sure, you know me? D. Keep. But yet I cannot help you. 1 Cran. Why? Yes, my lord; D. Keep. Your grace must wait, till you be call'd for. bless her!] It is doubtful whether her is referred to the Queen or the girl. Johnson. As I believe this play was calculated for the ear of Elizabeth, I imagine, her relates to the girl. Malone. 2 Lovell,] Lovell has been just sent out of the presence, and no notice is given of his return: I have placed it here at the instant when the King calls for him. Steevens. Cran. Enter Doctor BUTTS. Butts. This is a piece of malice. I am glad, Cran. [aside] 'Tis Butts, The king's physician; As he past along, How earnestly he cast his eyes upon me! So. [Exit BUTTS. Pray heaven, he sound not my disgrace! For certain, This is of purpose lay'd, by some that hate me, (God turn their hearts! I never sought their malice,) To quench mine honour: they would shame to make me Wait else at door; a fellow-counsellor, Among boys, grooms, and lackeys. But their pleasures Must be fulfill'd, and I attend with patience. Enter, at a window above,3 the King and Butts. Butts. I'll show your grace the strangest sight, K. Hen. What 's that, Butts? Butts. I think, your highness saw this many a day. Butts. There, my lord: The high promotion of his grace of Canterbury; K. Hen. Ha! 'Tis he, indeed: Is this the honour they do one another? 'Tis well, there's one above them yet. I had thought, They had parted so much honesty among them, 4 3 at a window above,] The suspicious vigilance of our ancestors contrived windows which overlooked the insides of chapels, halls, kitchens, passages, &c. Some of these convenient peep-holes may be still found in colleges, and such ancient houses as have not suffered from the reformations of modern architecture. Among Andrew Borde's instructions for building a house, (see his Dietarie of Health,) is the following: "Many of the chambers to have a view into the chapel." Again, in a Letter from Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, 1573: "And if it please her majestie, she may come in through my gallerie, and see the disposition of the hall in dynner time, at a window opening thereunto Without a previous knowledge of this custom, Shakspeare's scenery, in the present instance, would be obscure. Steevens. 4 They had parted &c.] We should now say-They had shared, &c. i. e. had so much honesty among them. Steevens. (At least, good manners,) as not thus to suffer Let them alone, and draw the curtain close ;5 THE COUNCIL-CHAMBER. [Exeunt. Enter the Lord Chancellor, the Duke of SUFFOLK, Earl of SURREY, Lord Chamberlain, GARDINER, and CROMWELL. The Chancellor places himself at the upper end of the table on the left hand; a seat being left void above him, as for the Archbishop of Canterbury. The rest seat themselves in order on each side. CROMWELL at the lower end, as secretary. Chan. Speak to the business, master secretary Why are we met in council? Crom. Please your honours, The chief cause concerns his grace of Canterbury. Gar. Has he had knowledge of it? 5 draw the curtain close;] i. e. the curtain of the balcony, or upper-stage, where the King now is. Malone. 6 Chan. Speak to the business,] This Lord Chancellor, though a character, has hitherto had no place in the Dramatis Persone. In the last scene of the fourth Act, we heard that Sir Thomas More was appointed Lord Chancellor: but it is not he whom the poet here introduces. Wolsey, by command, delivered up the seals on the 18th of November, 1529; on the 25th of the same month, they were delivered to Sir Thomas More, who surrendered them on the 16th of May, 1532. Now the conclusion of this scene taking notice of Queen Elizabeth's birth, (which brings it down to the year 1534,) Sir Thomas Andlie must necessarily be our poet's chancellor; who succeeded Sir Thomas More, and held the seals many years. Theobald. In the preceding scene we have heard of the birth of Elizabeth, and from the conclusion of the present it appears that she is not yet christened. She was born September 7, 1533, and baptized on the 11th of the same month. Cardinal Wolsey was Chancellor of England from September 7, 1516, to the 25th of October, 1530, on which day the seals were given to Sir Thomas More. He held them till the 20th of May, 1533, when Sir Thomas Audley was appointed Lord Keeper. He therefore is the person here introduced; but Shakspeare has made a mistake in calling him Lord Chancellor, for he did not obtain that title till the January after the birth of Elizabeth. Malone. |