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The bird of wonder dies, the maiden phoenix,
Her afhes new create another heir,

As great in admiration as herself;

So fhall fhe leave her bleffednefs to one,

(When heaven fhall call her from this cloud of darkness,)

Who, from the facred ashes of her honour,
Shall ftar-like rife, as great in fame as fhe was,
And so stand fix'd: Peace, plenty, love, truth, terror,
That were the fervants to this chofen infant,
Shall then be his, and like a vine grow to him;
Wherever the bright fun of heaven shall shine,
His honour and the greatnefs of his name

Shall be, and make new nations: He shall flourish,
And, like a mountain cedar, reach his branches
To all the plains about him:-Our children's
children

Shall fee this, and bless heaven.

K. HEN.

Thou speakest wonders.]

CRAN. She fhall be, to the happiness of England, An aged princefs; many days fhall fee her,

the following paffage in the 9th book of Lucan (a poet from whose ftores old Ben has often enriched himself):

· quanta fub nocte jaceret

Noftra dies.

STEEVENS.

9 His honour and the greatness of his name

Shall be, and make new nations:] On a picture of this contemptible king, which formerly belonged to the great Bacon, and is now in the poffeffion of Lord Grimfton, he is styled imperii Atlantici conditor. The year before the revival of this play (1612) there was a lottery for the plantation of Virginia. Thefe lines probably allude to the fettlement of that colony. MALONE.

2 She shall be, to the happiness of England,

An aged princefs;] The tranfition here from the complimentary addrefs to King James the first is fo abrupt, that it seems obvious to me, that compliment was inferted after the acceffion of that prince. If this play was wrote, as in my opinion it was, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, we may easily determine where

And yet no day without a deed to crown it.
'Would I had known no more! but fhe muft die,
She muft, the faints must have her; yet a virgin,
A most unspotted lily fhall fhe pass

To the ground, and all the world fhall mourn her.
K. HEN. O lord archbishop,

Thou haft made me now a man; never, before
This happy child, did I get any thing:
This oracle of comfort has fo pleas'd me,
That, when I am in heaven, I fhall defire
To fee what this child does, and praise my Maker.-
I thank ye all,-To you, my good lord mayor,
And your good brethren,' I am much beholden;
I have receiv'd much honour by your prefence,
And ye fhall find me thankful. Lead the way,
lords;-

Ye must all fee the queen, and she must thank ye,

Cranmer's eulogium of that princefs concluded. I make no queftion but the poet refted here:

And by thofe claim their greatness, not by blood.

All that the bishop fays after this, was an occafional homage paid to her fucceffor, and evidently inferted after her demife. How naturally, without this infertion, does the king's joy and fatisfactory reflection upon the bishop's prophecy, come in!

King. Thou fpeakeft wonders. O lord archbishop,

Thou'st made me now a man. Never, before

This happy child, did I get any thing: &c.

Whether the king would fo properly have made this inference, upon hearing that a child of fo great hopes fhould die without iffue, is fubmitted to judgment. THEOBALD.

3 And your good brethren,] Old copy-you.

But the aldermen were never called brethren to the king. The top of the nobility are but coufins and counsellors. Dr. Thirlby, therefore, rightly advised:

And your good brethren,—

i. e. the lord mayor's brethren, which is properly their style.

So, in King Henry V:

THEOBALD.

MALONE.

"The mayor and all his brethren in beft fort."

She will be fick elfe.

This day, no man think

He has business at his houfe; for all shall stay,
This little one shall make it holiday.

[Exeunt.

4 The play of Henry the Eighth is one of thofe, which still keeps poffeffion of the ftage, by the fplendour of its pageantry. The coronation, about forty years ago, drew the people together in multitudes for a great part of the winter. Yet pomp is not the only merit of this play. The meek forrows and virtuous distress of Katharine have furnished some scenes, which may be justly numbered among the greateft efforts of tragedy. But the genius of Shakspeare comes in and goes out with Katharine. Every other part may be easily conceived and eafily written. JOHNSON.

'Tis ten to one, this play can never please
All that are here: Some come to take their ease,
And fleep an act or two; but thofe, we fear,
We have frighted with our trumpets; fo, 'tis clear,
They'll fay, 'tis naught: others, to hear the city
Abus'd extremely, and to cry,-—that's witty!
Which we have not done neither: that, I fear,
All the expected good we are like to hear
For this play at this time, is only in

The merciful conftruction of good women;
For fuch a one we fhow'd them; If they fmile,"
And fay, 'twill do, I know, within a while

-fuch a one we show'd them;] In the character of Katharine. JOHNSON.

6

-If they fmile, &c.] This thought is too much hackney'd. It had been used already in the Epilogues to As you like it, and the fecond part of King Henry IV. STEEVENS.

Though it is very difficult to decide whether fhort pieces be genuine or fpurious, yet I cannot restrain myself from expreffing my fufpicion that neither the Prologue nor Epilogue to this play is the work of Shakspeare; non vultus, non color. It appears to me very likely that they were fupplied by the friendship or officiouf nefs of Jonfon, whofe manner they will be perhaps found exactly to resemble. There is yet another fuppofition poffible: the Prologue and Epilogue may have been written after Shakspeare's departure from the ftage, upon fome accidental revival of the play, and there will then be reafon for imagining that the writer, whoever he was, intended no great kindness to him, this play being recommended by a fubtle and covert cenfure of his other works. There is in Shakspeare fo much of fool and fight;

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the fellow,

"In a long motley coat, guarded with yellow," appears fo often in his drama, that I think it not very likely that he would have animadverted fo feverely on himself. All this, however, must be received as very dubious, fince we know not the exact date of this or the other plays, and cannot tell how our author might have changed his practice or opinions. JOHNSON.

All the best men are ours; for 'tis ill hap,
If they hold, when their ladies bid them clap.

Dr. Johnson's conjecture, thus cautioufly ftated, has been fince ftrongly confirmed by Mr. Tyrwhitt's note, p. 5, by which it appears that this play was revived in 1613, at which time without doubt the Prologue and Epilogue were added by Ben Jonson, or fome other perfon. On the fubject of every one of our author's hiftorical pieces, except this, I believe a play had been written, before he commenced a dramatick poet. See the Effay at the end of the third part of King Henry VI. MALONE.

I entirely agree in opinion with Dr. Johnson, that Ben Jonson wrote the Prologue and Epilogue to this play. Shakspeare had a little before affifted him in his Sejanus; and Ben was too proud to receive affistance without returning it. It is probable, that he drew up the directions for the parade at the chriftening, &c. which his employment at court would teach him, and Shakspeare muft be ignorant of. I think, I now and then perceive his hand in the dialogue.

It appears from Stowe, that Robert Green wrote fomewhat on this fubject. FARMER.

See the first scene of this play, p. 3. MALONE.

In fupport of Dr. Johnfon's opinion, it may not be amifs to quote the following lines from old Ben's prologue to his Every

Man in his Humour:

"To make a child new fwaddled, to proceed

"Man, and then fhoot up, in one beard and weed,
"Paft threefcore years: or with three rufty fwords,
"And help of fome few foot-and-half-foot words,
Fight over York and Lancaster's long wars,
"And in the tyring-houfe," &c. STEEVENS.

The hiftorical dramas are now concluded, of which the two parts of Henry the Fourth, and Henry the Fifth, are among the happieft of our author's compofitions; and King John, Richard the Third, and Henry the Eighth, defervedly ftand in the fecond clafs. Those whofe curiofity would refer the hiftorical fcenes to their original, may confult Holinfhed, and fometimes Hall: from Holinfhed, Shakspeare has often inferted whole speeches, with no more alteration than was neceffary to the numbers of his verfe. To tranfcribe them into the margin was unneceffary, because the original is easily examined, and they are feldom lefs perfpicuous in the poet than in the hiftorian.

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