To the tent-royal of their emperor :
Who, bufy'd in his majefty, furveys
The finging mafons building roofs of gold;
The civil citizens kneading up the honey;
The poor mechanick porters crowding in
Their heavy burdens at his narrow gate;
The fad-ey'd juftice, with his furly hum,
Delivering o'er to executors pale

The lazy yawning drone. I this infer,—
That many things, having full reference
To one confent, may work contrariously;
As many arrows, loosed several ways,
Fly to one mark;

As many feveral ways meet in one town;
As many fresh streams run in one felf fea;
As many lines clofe in the dial's center;
'So may a thousand actions, once afoot,
End in one purpose, and be all well borne

• The civil citizens kneading up the honey;] This may poffibly be right but I rather think that Shakespeare wrote-heading up the honey; alluding to the putting up merchandise in cafks. And this is in fact the cafe. The honey being headed up in separate and diftinct cells by a thin membrane of wax drawn over the mouth of each of them, to hinder the liquid matter from running out. WARBURTON.

To head the honey can hardly be right; for though we head the cask, no man talks of heading the commodities. To knead gives an easy sense, though not phyfically true. The bees do in fact knead the wax more than the honey, but that Shakespeare perhaps did not know. JOHNSON.

The old quartos read--lading up the honey. STEEVENS.

So may a thousand actions, once afoot,] The, fpeaker is endeavouring to fhew that the ftate is able to execute many projected actions at once, and conduct them all to their completion, without impeding or joftling one another in their course. Shakefpeare, therefore, must have wrote, actions 't once a foot, i.e. at once; or, on foot together. WARBURTON.

Sir T. Hanmer is more kind to this emendation by reading að The change is not neceffary, the old text may stand.

at once.

JOHNSON.

Without defeat. Therefore to France, my liege. Divide your happy England into four; Whereof take you one quarter into France, And you withal fhall make all Gallia fhake. If we, with thrice that power left at home, Cannot defend our own door from the dog, Let us be worried; and our nation lofe The name of hardinefs, and policy.

K. Henry. Call in the meffengers fent from the
Dauphin.

Now are we well refolv'd: and,-by God's help;
And yours, the noble finews of our power,-
France being ours, we'll bend it to our awe,
Or break it all to pieces: Or there we'll fit,
Ruling, in large and ample empery',

O'er France, and all her almoft kingly dukedoms;
Or lay these bones in an unworthy urn,
Tomblefs, with no remembrance over them:
Either our history fhall, with full mouth,
Speak freely of our acts; or else our grave,
Like Turkish mute, fhall have a tongueless mouth,
Not worship'd with a waxen epitaph.

4

Enter

2 Without defeat.-] The quartos 1600 and 1608 read, Without defect. STEEVENS.

3 empery,] This word which fignifies dominion, is now obfolete, though formerly in general ufe. So, in Claudius Tiberius Nero, 1607:

"Within the circuit of our empery." STEEVENS.

4 -with a waxen epitaph.] The quarto 1608 reads, with a paper epitaph.

Either a waxen or a paper epitaph, is an epitaph eafily obliterated or destroyed; one which can confer no lafting honour on the dead. Shakespeare employs the former epithet in a fimilar fense in K. Richard II:

"That it may enter Mowbray's waxen coat.” Again, in G. Whetstone's Garden of Unthriftines, 1576: "In waxe, fay I, men eafily grave their will;

"In marble ftone the worke with paine is wonne :

"But perfect once, the print remaineth still,

“When waxen feales by every browse are donne."

STEEVENS.

The

Enter ambafadors of France.

Now we are well prepar'd to know the pleasure
Of our fair coufin Dauphin; for, we hear,
Your greeting is from him, not from the king,
Amb. May't please your majefty, to give us leave
Freely to render what we have in charge;

Or fhall we fparingly fhew you far off

The Dauphin's meaning, and our embaffy?

K. Henry. We are no tyrant, but a Christian king; Unto whofe grace our paffion is as fubject,

As are our wretches fetter'd in our prifons: Therefore, with frank and with uncurbed plainnefs, Tell us the Dauphin's mind.

Amb. Thus then, in few.

Your highnefs, lately fending into France,
Did claim fome certain dukedoms, in the right
Of your great predeceffor, king Edward the third,
In answer of which claim, the prince our mafter
Says, that you favour too much of your youth;
And bids you be advis'd, there's nought in France,
That can be with a nimble galliard won;
You cannot revel into dukedoms there :
He therefore fends you, meeter for your spirit,
This tun of treasure; and, in lieu of this,
Defires you, let the dukedoms, that you claim,
Hear no more of you. This the Dauphin fpeaks,
K. Henry. What treasure, uncle?

6

Exe. Tennis-balls, my liege.

The second reading is more unintelligible, to me at least, than the other: a grave not dignified with the flightest memorial. JOHNSON.

5

-a nimble galliard won:] A galliard was an ancient dance, now obfolete. So, in All for Money, 1574:

"Where shall we get a pipe to play the devil a galliard ?” STEEVENS. Tennis-balls, my liege.] In the old play of Henry V. already mentioned, this prefent confifts of a gilded tun of tennis-balls and a carpet. STEEVENS.

K. Henry

7

K. Henry. We are glad, the Dauphin is so pleasant with us;

8

His prefent, and your pains, we thank you for:
When we have match'd our rackets to these balls,
We will, in France, by God's grace, play a fet,
Shall ftrike his father's crown into the hazard:
Tell him, he hath made a match with fuch a wrangler,
That all the courts of France will be disturb'd
With chaces. And we understand him well,
How he comes o'er us with our wilder days,
Not measuring what use we made of them.
We never valu'd this poor feat of England;
9 And therefore, living hence, did give ourself
To barbarous licence; As 'tis ever common,
That men are merrieft when they are from home.
But tell the Dauphin,-I will keep my ftate;
Be like a king, and fhew my fail of greatnefs,
When I do roufe me in my throne of France:

We are glad the dauphin is fo pleafant with us;] Thus ftands the answer of K. Henry in the fame old play:

"My lord, prince Dolphin is very pleasant with me.
"But tell him, that inftead of balls of leather,

"We will tofs him balls of brafs and of iron:
"Yea, fuch balls as never were toss'd in France.
"The proudest tennis-court in France fhall rue it."

And the following paffage is in Michael Drayton's Battle of Agin

court:

"I'll fend him balls and rackets if I live,
"That they fuch racket fhall in Paris fee,
"When over line with bandies I fhall drive;

"As that, before the fet be fully done,

"France may perhaps into the hazard run." STEEVENS. 3 Chace is a term at tennis. JOHNSON.

So is the hazard; a place in the tennis-court into which the ball is fometimes ftruck. STEEVENS.

9 And therefore, living hence,-] This expreffion has strength and energy: he never valued England; and therefore lived bence; i. e. as if abfent from it. But the Oxford editor alters hence to here. WARBURTON.

Living hence means, I believe, withdrawing from the court, the place in which he is now speaking. STEEVENS.

For

I

For that I have laid by my majefty,

And plodded like a man for working-days;
But I will rife there with fo full a glory,
That I will dazzle all the eyes of France,
Yea, ftrike the Dauphin blind to look on us.

2

And tell the pleasant prince,-this mock of his
Hath turn'd his balls to gun-ftones; and his foul
Shall ftand fore charged for the wafteful vengeance
That fhall fly with them: for many a thousand widows
Shall this his mock mock out of their dear husbands;
Mock mothers from their fons, mock caftles down;
And fome are yet ungotten, and unborn,

That fhall have caufe to curfe the Dauphin's fcorn.
But this lies all within the will of God,
To whom I do appeal; And in whofe name,
Tell you the Dauphin, I am coming on,
To venge me as I may, and to put forth
My rightful hand in a well-hallow'd caufe.
So, get you hence in peace; and tell the Dauphin,
His jeft will favour but of fhallow wit,

When thousands weep, more than did laugh at it.—
Convey them with safe conduct.-Fare you well.
[Exeunt Amballadors.

Exe. This was a merry meffage.

K. Henry. We hope to make the fender blufh at it. Therefore, my lords, omit no happy hour, That may give furtherance to our expedition : For we have now no thought in us, but France; Save those to God, that run before our business. Therefore, let our proportions for thefe wars

For that I have laid by-] To qualify myfelf for this undertaking, I have defcended from my station, and studied the arts of life in a lower character. JOHNSON.

2

The quartos 1600 and 1608 read-for this. STEEVENS.

bis balls to gun-flones ;· -] When ordinance was first ufed, they discharged balls, not of iron, but of ftone. JOHNSON. So Holinfhed, p. 947- "About feaven of the clocke marched forward the light peeces of ordinance, with ftone and powder." STEEVENS.

Be