Enter King JoHN, King PHILIP, LEWIS, BLANCH, ELINOR, Baftard, AUSTRIA, and Attendants. K. PHI. 'Tis true, fair daughter; and this bleffed day, Ever in France shall be kept feftival: in this suspicion of a scene or two being loft; and unwittingly drew Mr. Pope into this error. "It feems to be fo, (fays he,) and it were to be wish'd the reftorer (meaning me) could fupply it." To deferve this great man's thanks, I will venture at the talk; and hope to convince my readers, that nothing is loft; but that I have fupplied the fufpected chafm, only by rectifying the divifion of the acts. Upon looking a little more narrowly into the constitution of the play, I am fatisfied that the third act ought to begin with that fcene which has hitherto been accounted the laft of the second act; and my reafons for it are thefe. The match being concluded, in the fcene before that, betwixt the Dauphin and Blanch, a meffenger is fent for Lady Conftance to King Philip's tent, for her to come to Saint Mary's church to the folemnity. The princes all go out, as to the marriage; and the Bastard ftaying a little behind, to defcant on intereft and commodity, very properly ends the act. The next scene then, in the French king's tent, brings us Salisbury delivering his meffage to Conftance, who, refufing to go to the folemnity, fets herfelf down on the floor. The whole train returning from the church to the French king's pavilion, Philip expreffes fuch fatisfaction on occafion of the happy folemnity of that day, that Conftance rifes from the floor, and joins in the fcene by entering her protest against their joy, and curfing the bufinefs of the day. Thus, I conceive, the fcenes are fairly continued; and there is no chafm in the action, but a proper interval made both for Salisbury's coming to Lady Conftance, and for the folemnization of the marriage. Befides, as Faulconbridge is evidently the poet's favourite character, it was very well judged to close the act with his foliloquy. THEOBALD. This whole note feems judicious enough; but Mr. Theobald forgets there were, in Shakspeare's time, no moveable scenes in common playhoufes. JOHNSON. It appears from many paffages that the ancient theatres had the advantages of machinery as well as the more modern ftages. See a note on the fourth scene of the fifth act of Cymbeline, How happened it that Shakspeare himfelf fhould have mentioned the act of shifting scenes, if in his time there were no fcenes capable of being shifted? Thus in the chorus to King Henry V: "Unto Southampton do we shift our scene." 8 To folemnize this day, the glorious fun CONST. A wicked day,' and not a holyday !————— [Rifing. This phrafe was hardly more ancient than the custom which it defcribes. STEEVENS. 8 To folemnize this day, &c.] From this paffage Rowe seems to have borrowed the firft lines of his Fair Penitent. JOHNSON. The first lines of Rowe's tragedy "Let this aufpicious day be ever facred," &c. are apparently taken from Dryden's Verfion of the fecond Satire of Perfius: "Let this aufpicious morning be expreft," &c. STEEVENS. 9- and plays the alchemift;] Milton has borrowed this thought: when with one virtuous touch "Th' arch-chemic fun," &c, Paradife Loft, B. III. STEEVENS. So, in our author's 33d Sonnet: "Gilding pale ftreams with heavenly alchymy." MALONE. 2 Shall never fee it but a bolyday.] So, in The Famous Hiftorie of George Lord Fauconbridge, 1616: " This joyful day of their arrival [that of Richard I. and his miftrefs, Clarabel,] was by the king and his counfell canonized for a boly-day." MALONE. 3 A wicked day, &c.] There is a paffage in The Honeft Whore, by Decker, 1604, fo much refembling the prefent, that I cannot forbear quoting it: Curst be that day for ever, that robb'd her "Of breath, and me of blifs! henceforth let it stand "Mark'd with a marginal finger, to be chofen 66 By thieves, by villains, and black murderers, "As the best day for them to labour in. "If henceforth this adulterous bawdy world Atheism, rapes, treacherous friendship, perjury, "Slander (the beggars fin), lies (the fin of fools), "Or any other damn'd impieties, "On Monday let them be delivered," &c. HENDERSON, What hath this day deferv'd? what hath it done; -high tides,] i. e. folemn feafons, times to be observed above others. STEEVENS. 5 Nay, rather, turn this day out of the week;] In allufion (as Mr. Upton has obferved) to Job iii. 3: "Let the day perish," &c. and v. 6: "Let it not be joined to the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months." MALONE. In The Fair Penitent, the imprecation of Califta on the night which betrayed her to Lothario, is chiefly borrowed from this and fubfequent verfes in the fame chapter of Job. STEEVENS. 6- prodigiously be cross'd:] i. e. be disappointed by the production of a prodigy, a monfter. So, in A Midsummer Night's Dream: "Nor mark prodigious, fuch as are 66 Despised in nativity." STEEVENS. " But on this day, &c.] That is, except on this day. JOHNSON. In the ancient almanacks (feveral of which I have in my poffeffion) the days fuppofed to be favourable or unfavourable to bargains, are diftinguifhed among a number of other particulars of the like importance. This circumftance is alluded to in Webster's Duchefs of Malfy, 1623: By the almanac, I think "To choose good days and fhun the critical." Again, in The Elder Brother of Beaumont and Fletcher : an almanac "Which thou art daily poring in, to pick out Days of iniquity to cozen fools in." STEEVENS. See Macbeth, A& IV. sc. i. MALONE. K. PHI. By heaven, lady, you shall have no cause To curfe the fair proceedings of this day: Have I not pawn'd to you my majesty? CONST. You have beguil'd me with a counterfeit, Refembling majefty; which, being touch'd, and tried," Proves valueless: You are forfworn, forfworn; You came in arms to fpill mine enemies' blood, But now in arms you ftrengthen it with yours: The grappling vigour and rough frown of war, Is cold in amity and painted peace, And our oppreffion hath made up this league:-Arm, arm, you heavens, against thefe perjur'd kings! A widow cries; be husband to me, heavens ! AUST. Lady Conftance, peace. You have beguil'd me with a counterfeit, Refembling majefty;] i. e. a falfe coin. A counterfeit formerly fignified alfo a portrait.—A representation of the king being usually impressed on his coin, the word feems to be here used equivocally. MALONE. 9 Refembling majefty; which, being touch'd, and tried,] Being touch'd-fignifies, having the touchstone applied to it. The two laft words-and tried, which create a redundancy of measure, fhould, as Mr. Ritson obferves, be omitted. STEEVENS. 2 You came in arms to Spill mine enemies' blood, But now in arms you ftrengthen it with yours:] I am afraid here is a clinch intended. You came in war to deftroy my enemies, but now you ftrengthen them in embraces. JOHNSON. 3 Wear out the day-] Old copy-days. Corrected by Mr. Theobald. MALONE. 4 Set armed difcord, &c.] Shakspeare makes this bitter curfe effectual. JOHNSON. CONST. War! war! no peace! peace is to me a war. 4 O Lymoges! O Auftria! thou doft fhame That bloody fpoil: Thou flave, thou wretch, thou coward; Thou little valiant, great in villainy! 4 O Lymoges! O Auftria!] The propriety or impropriety of thefe titles, which every editor has fuffered to país unnoted, deferves a little confideration. Shakspeare has, on this occafion, followed the old play, which at once furnished him with the character of Faulconbridge, and afcribed the death of Richard I. to the duke of Austria. In the person of Auftria, he has conjoined the two well-known enemies of Coeur-de-lion. Leopold, duke of Auftria, threw him into prifon, in a former expedition; [in 1193] but the caftle of Chaluz, before which he fell, [in 1199] belonged to Vidomar, viscount of Limoges; and the archer who pierced his fhoulder with an arrow (of which wound he died) was Bertrand de Gourdon. The editors feem hitherto to have understood Lymoges as being an appendage to the title of Auftria, and therefore enquired no further about it. Holinfhed fays on this occafion: "The fame yere, Phillip, baftard fonne to king Richard, to whom his father had given the caftell and honor of Coinacke, killed the vifcount of Limoges, in revenge of his father's death," &c. Auftria, in the old play [printed in 1591] is called Lymoges, the Auftrich duke. With this note, I was favoured by a gentleman to whom I have yet more confiderable obligations in regard to Shakspeare. His extenfive knowledge of hiftory and manners, has frequently fupplied me with apt and neceffary illuftrations, at the fame time that his judgement has corrected my errors; yet fuch has been his conftant folicitude to remain concealed, that I know not but I may give offence while I indulge my own vanity in affixing to this note the name of my friend HENRY BLAKE, Efq. STEEVENS, |