Or else this blow should broach thy dearest blood. But I'll unto his majesty, and crave

I may have liberty to venge this wrong;

When thou shalt see, I'll meet thee to thy cost.
VER. Well, miscreant, I'll be there as soon as

you;

And, after, meet you sooner than

you would.

[Exeunt.

This reading cannot be right, because, as Mr. Edwards observed, it cannot be pronounced. It is, however, a good comment, as it shows the author's meaning. JOHNSON.

I believe the line should be written as it is in the folio:

"That, who so draws a sword- -,"

i. e. (as Dr. Warburton has observed,) with a menace in the court, or in the presence chamber.

Johnson, in his collection of Ecclesiastical Laws, has preserved the following, which was made by Ina, king of the West Saxons, 693: "If any one fight in the king's house, let him forfeit all his estate, and let the king deem whether he shall live or not." I am told that there are many other ancient canons to the same purpose. Grey. STEEVENS.

Sir William Blackstone observes that, "by the ancient law before the Conquest, fighting in the king's palace, or before the king's judges, was punished with death. So too, in the old Gothic constitution, there were many places privileged by law, 'quibus major reverentia et securitas debetur, ut templa et judicia quæ sancta habebantur,―arces et aula regis,—denique locus quilibet presente aut adventante rege.' And at present with us, by the Stat. 33 Hen. VIII. c. xii, malicious striking in the king's palace, wherein his royal person resides, whereby blood is drawn, is punishable by perpetual imprisonment and fine, at the king's pleasure, and also with loss of the offender's right hand, the solemn execution of which sentence is prescribed in the statute at length." Commentaries, vol. iv. p. 124. By the ancient common law, also before the Conquest, striking in the king's court of justice, or drawing a sword therein, was a capital felony." 125. REED.

Ibid. p.

66

ACT IV. SCENE I.

The Same. A Room of State,

Enter King HENRY, GLOSTER, Exeter, York, SufFOLK, SOMERSET, WINCHESTER, WARWICK, TALBOT, the Governour of Paris, and Others.

GLO. Lord bishop, set the crown upon his head. WIN. God save king Henry, of that name the sixth !

GLO. Now, governour of Paris, take your oath,— [Governour kneels, That you elect no other king but him:

Esteem none friends, but such as are his friends; And none your foes, but such as shall pretend Malicious practices against his state:

This shall ye do, so help you righteous God!

[Exeunt Gov. and his Train,

Enter Sir JOHN FASTOLfe.

FasT. My gracious sovereign, as I rode from Calais,

To haste unto your coronation,

A letter was deliver'd to my hands,

Writ to your grace from the duke of Burgundy. TAL. Shame to the duke of Burgundy, and thee! I vow'd, base knight, when I did meet thee next, To tear the garter from thy craven's leg",

[Plucking it off.

such as shall PRETEND-] To pretend is to design, to JOHNSON.

So, in Macbeth :

"What good could they pretend?" STEEVENS.

To tear the garter from thy CRAVEN'S leg,] Thus the old copy. STEEVENS.

The last line should run thus:

(Which I have done) because unworthily
Thou wast installed in that high degree.-
Pardon me, princely Henry, and the rest:
This dastard, at the battle of Patay 9,

When but in all I was six thousand strong,
And that the French were almost ten to one,-
Before we met, or that a stroke was given,
Like to a trusty squire, did run away;
In which assault we lost twelve hundred men ;
Myself, and divers gentlemen beside,
Were there surpriz'd, and taken prisoners.
Then judge, great lords, if I have done amiss;
Or whether that such cowards ought to wear
This ornament of knighthood, yea, or no.

GLO. To say the truth, this fact was infamous, And ill beseeming any common man ;

Much more a knight, a captain, and a leader.
TAL. When first this order was ordain'd,

lords,

from thy craven leg."

my

i. e. thy mean, dastardly leg. WHALLEY. To take the epithet expressing cowardice from the person, and to apply it to his leg, is surely no very obvious improvement. BOSWELL.

9 at the battle of PATAY,] The old copy has-Poitiers. The error was pointed out by Mr. Steevens. MALONE.

The battle of Poictiers was fought in the year 1357, the 31st of King Edward III. and the scene now lies in the 7th year of the reign of King Henry VI. viz. 1428. This blunder may be justly imputed to the players or transcribers; nor can we very well justify ourselves for permitting it to continue so long, as it was too glaring to have escaped an attentive reader. The action of which Shakspeare is now speaking, happened (according to Holinshed) "neere unto a village in Beausse called Pataie," which we should read, instead of Poictiers. "From this battell departed without anie stroke striken, Sir John Fastolfe, the same yeere by his valiantnesse elected into the order of the garter. But for doubt of misdealing at this brunt, the duke of Bedford tooke from him the image of St. George and his garter," &c. Holinshed, vol. ii. p. 601. Monstrelet, the French historian, also bears witness to this degradation of Sir John Fastolfe. STEEVENS.

Enter VERNON and BASSET.

VER. Grant me the combat, gracious sovereign! BAS. And me, my lord, grant me the combat too! YORK. This is my servant; Hear him, noble

prince!

SOM. And this is mine; Sweet Henry, favour him!

K. HEN. Be patient, lords; and give them leave to speak.

Say, gentlemen, What makes you thus exclaim? And wherefore crave you combat? or with whom? VER. With him, my lord; for he hath done me

wrong.

BAS. And I with him; for he hath done me wrong.

K. HEN. What is that wrong whereof you both complain?

First let me know, and then I'll answer you.

BAS. Crossing the sea from England into France, This fellow here, with envious carping tongue, Upbraided me about the rose I wear; Saying the sanguine colour of the leaves Did represent my master's blushing cheeks, When stubbornly he did repugn the truth", About a certain question in the law, Argu'd betwixt the duke of York and him; With other vile and ignominious terms; In confutation of which rude reproach, And in defence of my lord's worthiness, I crave the benefit of law of arms.

VER. And that is my petition, noble lord:

For though he seem, with forged quaint conceit,

6

did REPUGN the truth,] To repugn is to resist. The word is used by Chaucer. STEEVENS.

It is found in Bullokar's English Expositor, 8vo. 1616.

MALONE.

To set a gloss upon his bold intent,

Yet know, my lord, I was provok'd by him;
And he first took exceptions at this badge,
Pronouncing that the paleness of this flower
Bewray'd the faintness of my master's heart.

YORK. Will not this malice, Somerset, be left? SOM. Your private grudge, my lord of York, will out,

Though ne'er so cunningly you smother it.

K. HEN. Good Lord! what madness rules in brainsick men ;

When, for so slight and frivolous a cause,
Such factious emulations shall arise!-
Good cousins both, of York and Somerset,
Quiet yourselves, I pray, and be at peace.

YORK. Let this dissention first be tried by fight, And then your highness shall command a peace. SOM. The quarrel toucheth none but us alone; Betwixt ourselves let us decide it then.

YORK. There is my pledge; accept it, Somerset. VER. Nay, let it rest where it began at first. BAS. Confirm it so, mine honourable lord. GLO. Confirm it so? Confounded be your strife! And perish ye, with your audacious prate! Presumptuous vassals! are you not asham'd, With this immodest clamorous outrage

To trouble and disturb the king and us?

And you, my lords,—methinks, you do not well,
To bear with their perverse objections;
Much less, to take occasion from their mouths
To raise a mutiny betwixt yourselves;
Let me persuade you take a better course.

EXE. It grieves his highness;-Good my lords;
be friends.

K. HEN. Come hither, you that would be combatants:

Henceforth, I charge you, as you love our favour,