What doth concern your coming? West. Then, my lord, address Unto your grace do I in chief Whose beard the silver hand of peace hath touch'd; Whose learning and good letters peace hath tutor'd; Whose white investments 2 figure innocence, Into the harsh and boist'rous tongue of war? Arch. Wherefore do I this ?-so the question stands. Briefly to this end:-We are all diseas'd; I have in equal balance justly weigh'd What wrongs our arms may do, what wrongs we suffer, And have the summary of all our griefs, We are denied access unto his person Even by those men that most have done us wrong." The dangers of the days but newly gone, West. When ever yet was your appeal denied? Wherein have you been galled by the king? What peer hath been suborn'd to grate on you That you should seal this lawless bloody book Of forg'd rebellion with a seal divine, [And consecrate commotion's bitter edge ? b] Arch. My brother, general! the commonwealth! [To brother born an household cruelty,] I make my quarrel in particular. West. There is no need of any such redress; Or, if there were, it not belongs to you. Mowb. Why not to him, in part; and to us all, That feel the bruises of the days before; And suffer the condition of these times To lay a heavy and unequal hand Upon our honours? West. O my good lord Mowbray, Construe the times to their necessities, And you shall say indeed,-it is the time, And not the king, that doth you injuries. Yet, for your part, it not appears to me, Either from the king, or in the present time, a The twenty-five lines here ending are not found in the quarto. b This line is omitted in the folio. c We have pointed this passage in a manner which, it appears to us, in some degree removes the obscurity. It is ordinarily read as follows: "My brother general, the commonwealth, The second line of the three is not found in the folio; and this gives us the key to our reading. The Archbishop is impa tient of Westmoreland's further question, and addressing him as general, exclaims, My brother! The Commonwealth! These are sufficient causes for our hostility. He then adds, "I make my quarrel in particular;" and the second line retained from the quarto explains why. In the first part of this play we are told of, "The Archbishop-who bears hard His brother's death at Bristol, the lord Scroop." The Cambridge Editors are of opinion that several lines have been omitted, and those which remain displaced. That you should have an inch of any ground That need to be reviv'd, and breath'd in me? Their eyes of fire sparkling through sights of steel, And the loud trumpet blowing them together; Then, then, when there was nothing could have staid My father from the breast of Bolingbroke, West. You speak, lord Mowbray, now you know not what : The earl of Hereford was reputed then But, if your father had been victor there, Cried hate upon him; and all their prayers, and love, Were set on Hereford, whom they doted on, And bless'd and grac'd indeed, more than the king. But this is mere digression from my purpose.— Here come I from our princely general, To know your griefs; to tell you from his Mowb. Well, by my will, we shall admit no parley. West. That argues but the shame of your offence: A rotten case abides no handling. Hast. Hath the prince John a full commission, In very ample virtue of his father, To hear, and absolutely to determine I muse you make so slight a question. Arch. Then take, my lord of Westmoreland, this schedule; For this contains our general grievances : Each several article herein redress'd; you, lords, Please In sight of both our battles we may meet : My lord, we will do so. [Exit WEST. Mowb. There is a thing within my bosom tells me, That no conditions of our peace can stand. Hast. Fear you not that if we can make our peace Upon such large terms, and so absolute, a Consign'd. The folio either reads consin'd or confin'd the si and the fi being so much alike in the old typography, that it is difficult to distinguish them. There can be no doubt we think that consign'd is the true reading, having the sense of ratified, confirmed. b Awful. It has been supposed by some that awful is here used in the place of lawful. In the Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act IV. Scene I., we refer to this passage under the impression that by "awful banks" was meant, legitimate bounds, orderly limits. It may be reasonably conjectured, however, that, in the passage before us, the word awful is used in the sense of reverential;-that those who are in arms against the king, having their grievances redressed, will come again within their bounds of awe towards him; the word awful is not used actively, as producing awe, but passively, capable of awe. 269 As our conditions shall consist upon, Arch. No, no, my lord; Note this,—the king Of dainty and such picking grievances : To new remembrance: For full well he knows, Hast. Besides the king hath wasted all his rods On late offenders, that he now doth lack Arch. 'Tis very true: SCENE II.-Another Part of the Forest. Enter, from one side, MOWBRAY, the ARCHBISHOP, HASTINGS, and others: from the other side, PRINCE JOHN of Lancaster, WESTMORELAND, Officers, and Attendants. P. John. You are well encounter'd here, my Good day to you, gentle lord archbishop : It is even so :-Who hath not heard it spoken, To us the imagin'd voice of Heaven itself; Between the grace, the sanctities of heaven, Have here up-swarm'd them. Good my Arch. lord of Lancaster, 1 am not here against your father's peace: But, as I told my lord of Westmoreland, The time misorder'd doth, in common sense, Crowd us, and crush us, to this monstrous form, To hold our safety up. I sent your grace The parcels and particulars of our grief, (The which hath been with scorn shov'd from the court,) Whereon this Hydra son of war is born: Whose dangerous eyes may well be charm'd asleep, With grant of our most just and right desires; And true obedience, of this madness cured, Stoop tamely to the foot of majesty. P. John. You are too shallow, Hastings, much too shallow, To sound the bottom of the after-times. West. Pleaseth your grace, to answer them directly, How far-forth you do like their articles? P. John. I like them all, and do allow them well: And swear here by the honour of my blood, My lord, these griefs shall be with speed redress'd; Upon my life, they shall. If this may please you, Discharge your powers unto their several counties, As we will ours and here, between the armies, Let's drink together friendly, and embrace; That all their eyes may bear those tokens home, Of our restored love and amity. Arch. I take your princely word for these redresses. P. John. I give it you, and will maintain my word: And thereupon I drink unto your grace. Hast. Go, captain, [to an Officer.] and deliver to the army This news of peace; let them have pay, and part: I know it will well please them; Hie thee, captain. [Exit Officer. Arch. To you, my noble lord of Westmore And let our army be discharged too.— [Exit WESTMORELAND. And, good my lord, so please you, let our trains March by us, that we may peruse the men We should have cop'd withal. Arch. Go, good lord Hastings, And, ere they be dismiss'd, let them march by. [Exit HASTINGS. P. John. I trust, lords, we shall lie to-night together. Re-enter WESTMORELAND. Now, cousin, wherefore stands our army still? West. The leaders, having charge from you to stand, Will not go off until they hear you speak. Re-enter HASTINGS. Hast. My lord, our army is dispers'd already : Like youthful steers unyok'd, they took their Course East, west, north, south; or, like a school broke up, Each hurries towards his home, and sportingplace. West. Good tidings, my lord Hastings; for the which I do arrest thee, traitor, of high treason: Of capital treason I attach you both. I promis'd you redress of these same grievances. 271 |