Obrázky stránek
PDF
ePub

And hang their heads with forrow. Good grows with

her,

In her days, ev'ry man fhall eat in fafety,
Under his own vine, what he plants; and fing
The merry fongs of peace to all his neighbours.
God fhall be truly known, and those about her
From her fhall read the perfect ways of honour,
And claim by those their greatness, not by blood.
['Nor fhall this peace fleep with her; but as when
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 bleffedness to one,

When heav'n fhall call her from this cloud of darkness, Who from the facred afhes of her honour

Shall ftar-like rife, as great in fame as fhe was,

And fo ftand 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;
Where-ever the bright fun of heav'n fhall fhine,
His honour and the greatnefs of his name

Shall be, and make new nations. He fhall flourish,
And, like a mountain cedar, reach his branches
To all the plains about him: childrens' children
Shall fee this, and blefs heav'n.

Nor fhall this peace fleep with ber.] Thefe lines, to the interruption by the King, feem to have been inferted at fome reyifal of the play after the acceffion of King James. If the paffage, included in crotchets, be left out, the fpeech of Cranmer proceeds in a regular tenour of prediction and continuity of fentiments; but by the interpofition of the new lines, he firft celebrates Elizabeth's fucceffor, and then withes he did not know 1-73

that she was to die; first rejoices at the confequence, and then laments the caufe. Our author was at once politick and idle; he refolved to flatter James, but neglected to reduce the whole fpeech to propriety, or perhaps intended that the line inferted fhould be spoken in the action, and omitted in the publication, if any publication ever was in his thoughts. Mr. Theobald has made the fame obfervation.

King

King. Thou speakest wonders.]

Cran. She fhall be, to the happiness of England,
An aged Princefs; many days fhall fee her,
And yet no day without a deed to crown it.
'Would, I had known no more! but she must die,
She muft, the Saints must have her; yet a Virgin,
A most unspotted lily fhe fhall pafs

To th' ground, and all the world shall mourn her,
King. O Lord Arch-bishop,

Thou'ft 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 heav'n, I fhall defire

To see 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 presence,
And ye fhall find me thankful. Lead the way, Lords;
Ye must all fee the Queen, and she must thank ye,
She will be fick elfe. This day no man think,
H'as business at his house, for all fhall stay ;
This little one shall make it holy day.

[blocks in formation]

[Exeunt.

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 diftrefs of Catherine have furnished fome fcenes which may be justly numbered among the greatest efforts of tragedy. But the genius of Shakespeare comes in and goes out with Catherine. Every other part may be eafily conceived, and easily written.

EPILOGUE.

"T

IS ten to one, this Play can never please All that are here. Some come to take their eafe, And fleep an Act or two; but those, we fear, We've frighted with our trumpets: foʼtis clear, They'll fay, it's naught: Others, to bear 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're like to bear For this Play at this time, is only in The merciful conftruction of good women; For fuch a one we fhew'd' 'em. If they fmile, And fay 'twill do; I know within a while All the best men are ours; for 'tis ill hap, If they bold, when their ladies bid 'em clap.

I In the character of Catharine.

Though it is very difficult to decidewhether fhort pieces be genu ine or fpurious, yet I cannot reftrain myself from expreffing my fufpicion that neithertheprologue nor epilogue to this play is the work of Shakespeare; non vultus, non color. It appears to me very likely that they were fupplied by the friendship or officioufnefs of Johnson, whofe manner they will be perhaps found exactly to refemble. There is yet another

fuppofition poffible: the prologue and epilogue may have been written after Shakespeare's departure from the ftage, upon fome accidental revifal 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

in Shakespeare fo much of fool that he would have animadvert

and fight,

-the fellow

ed fo feverely on himself. All this, however, must be received as very dubious, fince we know

In a long motley coat, guarded not the exact date of this or

with yellow,

[blocks in formation]

the other plays, and cannot tell how our authour might have changed his practice or opinions.

bers of his verse. To transcribe them into the margin was unneceffary, because the original is eafily examined, and they are feldom lefs perfpicuous in the poet than in the hiftorian.

To play hiftories, or to exhibit a fucceffion of events by action and dialogue, was a common entertainment among our rude ancestors upon great feftivities. The parish clerks once performed at Clerkenwell a play which lafted three days, containing, The History of the World.

The END of the FIFTH VOLUME,

[ocr errors]
« PředchozíPokračovat »