And, as the soldiers bore dead bodies by, With many holiday and lady terms3 He question'd me; among the rest, demanded I then, all smarting, with my wounds being cold, 2 Took it in snuff:] Snuff is equivocally used for anger, and a powder taken up the nose. So, in The Fleire, a comedy, by E. Sharpham, 1610: "Nay be not angry; I do not touch thy nose, to the end it should take any thing in snuff.” Again, in Decker's Satiromastix, 1602: 66 66 'tis enough, Having so much fool, to take him in snuff;" and here they are talking about tobacco. Again, in Hinde's Eliosto Libidinoso, 1606: "The good wife glad that he took the matter so in snuff," &c. Steevens. 3 With many holiday and lady terms -] So, in A Looking Glass for London and England, 1598: “These be but holiday terms, but if you heard her working day words." Again, in The Merry Wives of Windsor : he speaks holiday." Steevens. 66 4 I then, all smarting, with my wounds being cold, To be so pester'd with a popinjay,] But in the beginning of the speech he represents himself at this time not as cold but hot, and inflamed with rage and labour: "When I was dry with rage, and extreme toil," &c. I am therefore persuaded that Shakspeare wrote and pointed it thus: I then all smarting with my wounds; being gall'd To be so pester'd with a popinjay, &c. Warburton. Whatever Percy might say of his rage and toil, which is merely declamatory and apologetical, his wounds would at this time be certainly cold, and when they were cold would smart, and not before. If any alteration were necessary, I should transpose the lines: I then all smarting with my wounds being cold, Out of my grief, and my impatience, To be so pester'd with a popinjay, A popinjay is a parrot. Johnson. The same transposition had been proposed by Mr. Edwards, in John Alday's Summarie of Secret Wonders, &c. bl. 1. no date, we are told that "The Popingay can speake humaine speach, they come from the Indias," &c. Out of my griefs and my impatience, Answer'd neglectingly, I know not what; He should, or he should not;-for he made me mad, To see him shine so brisk, and smell so sweet, And talk so like a waiting gentlewoman, Of guns, and drums, and wounds, (God save the mark!) 8 From the following passage in The Northern Lass, 1632, it should seem, however, that a popinjay and a parrot were distinct birds: "Is this a parrot or a popinjay ?" Again, in Nash's Lenten Stuff, &c. 1599: "— the parrot, the popinjay, Philip-sparrow, and the cuckow." In the ancient poem called The Parliament of Birds, bl. 1. this bird is called "the po pynge jay of paradyse." Steevens. It appears from Minshieu that Dr. Johnson is right. See his Dict. 1617, in v. Parret. Malone. The old reading may be supported by the following passage in Barnes's History of Edward III, p. 786: "The esquire fought still, until the wounds began with loss of blood to cool and smart." Tollet. So, in Mortimeriados, by Michael Drayton, 4to. 1596: 5 Malone. -grief-] i. e. pain. In our ancient translations of physical treatises, dolor ventris is commonly called belly-grief. Steevens. 6 parmaceti,] So the old editions. Some modern editors have altered it to spermaceti. Sir Richard Hawkins, in his Voyage into the South Sea, 1593, speaking of whales, says, 66 his spawne is for divers purposes. This we corruptly call parmacettie, of the Latin word Sperma Ceti." p. 46. Reed. 71 parmaceti, for an inward bruise;] So, in sir T. Overbury's Characters, 1616: "[An Ordinary Fencer.] His wounds are seldom skin-deepe; for an inward bruise lambstones and sweetebreads are his only spermaceti." Bowle. 8 but for these vile guns, &c.] A similar thought occurs in Questions of profitable and pleasant Concernings, &c. 1594, p. 11: "I confesse those gunnes are diuellish things, and make many men runne away that other wayes would not turne their heads." Steevens. He would himself have been a soldier. And, I beseech you, let not his report Betwixt my love and your high majesty. Blunt. The circumstance consider'd, good my lord, Whatever Harry Percy then had said, To such a person, and in such a place, K. Hen. Why, yet he doth deny his prisoners; That we, at our own charge, shall ransom straight 9 To do him wrong, or any way impeach What then he said, so he unsay it now. w.] Let what he then said never rise to impeach him, so he unsay it now. Johnson. mer. 1 His brother-in-law, the foolish Mortimer;] Shakspeare has fallen into some contradictions with regard to this Lord MortiBefore he makes his personal appearance in the play, he is repeatedly spoken of as Hotspur's brother-in-law. In Act II, Lady Percy expressly calls him her brother Mortimer. And yet when he enters in the third Act, he calls Lady Percy his aunt, which in fact she was, and not his sister. This inconsistence may be accounted for as follows. It appears both from Dugdale's and Sandford's account of the Mortimer family, that there were two of them taken prisoners at different times by Glendower; each of them bearing the name of Edmund; one being Edmund Earl of March, nephew to Lady Percy, and the proper Mortimer of this play; the other, Sir Edmund Mortimer, uncle to the former, and brother to Lady Percy. Shakspeare confounds the two persons. Steevens. Another cause also may be assigned for this confusion. Henry Percy, according to the accounts of our old historians, married Eleanor, the sister of Roger Earl of March, who was the father of the Edmund Earl of March, that appears in the present play. But this Edmund had a sister likewise named Eleanor. Shakspeare might, therefore, have at different times confounded these two Eleanors. In fact, however, the sister of Roger Earl of March, whom young Percy married, was called Elizabeth. Malone. See my note on Act II, sc. iii, where this lady is called-Kate. Steevens. Who, on my soul, hath wilfully betray'd 2 and indent with fears,] The reason why he says, bargain and article with fears, meaning with Mortimer, is, because he supposed Mortimer had wilfully betrayed his own forces to Glendower out of fear, as appears from his next speech. Warburton. The difficulty seems to me to arise from this, that the King is not desired to article or contract with Mortimer, but with another for Mortimer. Perhaps we may read: Shall we buy treason? and in lent with peers, When they have lost and forfeited themselves? Shall we purchase back a traitor? Shall we descend to a composition with Worcester, Northumberland, and young Percy, who by disobedience have lost and forfeited their honours and themselves? Johnson. Shall we buy treason? and indent with fears,] This verb is used by Harrington in his translation of Ariosto. B. XVI, st. 35: "And with the Irish bands he first indents, "To spoil their lodgings and to burn their tents." Again, in The Cruel Brother, by Sir W. D'Avenant, 1630: Dost thou indent 66 "With my acceptance, make choice of services?" Fears may be used in the active sense for terrors. So, in the second part of this play: all those bold fears "Thou seest with peril I have answered." These lords, however, had, as yet, neither forfeited or lost any thing, so that Dr. Johnson's conjecture is inadmissible. After all, I am inclined to regard Mortimer (though the King affects to speak of him in the plural number) as the Fear, or timid object, which had lost or forfeited itself. Henry afterwards says: 66 he durst as well have met the devil alone, Indent with fears, may therefore mean, sign an indenture or compact with dastards. Fears may be substituted for fearful people, as wrongs has been used for wrongers in King Richard II: "He should have found his uncle Gaunt a father, "To rouse his wrongs, and chase them to a bay." "Near Cæsar's angel (says the Soothsayer to Antony) thy own becomes a fear," i. e. a spirit of cowardice; and Sir Richard Vernon, in the play before us, uses an expression that nearly resembles indenting with fears: When they have lost and forfeited themselves? Hot. Revolted Mortimer! He never did fall off, my sovereign liege, But by the chance of war; 3-To prove that true, In single opposition, hand to hand, "I hold as little counsel with weak fear, The King, by buying treason, and indenting with fears, may therefore covertly repeat both his pretended charges against Mortimer; first, that he had treasonably betrayed his party to Glendower; and, secondly, that he would have been afraid to encounter with so brave an adversary. Steevens. 3 He never did fall off, my sovereign liege, But by the chance of war;] The meaning is, he came not into the enemy's power, but by the chance of war. The King charged Mortimer, that he wilfully betrayed his army, and, as he was then with the enemy, calls him revolted Mortimer. Hotspur replies, that he never fell off, that is, fell into Glendower's hands, but by the chance of war. I should not have explained thus tediously a passage so hard to be mistaken, but that two editors have already mistaken it. Johnson. 4 To prove that true, Needs no more but one tongue for all those wounds, &c.] Hotspur calls Mortimer's wounds mouthed, from their gaping like a mouth, and says, that to prove his loyalty, but one tongue was necessary for all these mouths. This may be harsh; but the same idea occurs in Coriolanus, where one of the populace says: "For if he shows us his wounds, we are to put our tongues into these wounds, and speak for them." And again, in Julius Cæsar, Antony says: 66 there were an Antony, "Would ruffle up your spirits, and put a tongue "In every wound of Cæsar, that should move," &c. M. Mason. 5- hardiment-] An obsolete word, signifying hardiness, bravery, stoutness. Spenser is frequent in his use of it. Steevens. |