Embark his royalty; and his brave fleet

With filken ftreamers the young Phoebus fanning.
Play with your fancies; and in them behold,
Upon the hempen tackle, fhip-boys climbing :
Hear the fhrill whiftle, which doth order give
To founds confus'd behold the threaden fails,
Borne with the invifible and creeping wind,
Draw the huge bottoms through the furrow'd fea,
Breafting the lofty furge: O, do but think,
You ftand upon the rivage, and behold
A city on the inconftant billows dancing;
For fo appears this fleet majeftical,

Holding due course to Harfleur. Follow, follow!
Grapple your minds to fternage of this navy;
And leave your England, as dead midnight, ftill,
Guarded with grandfires, babies, and old women,
Or paft, or not arriv'd to, pith and puiffance:
For who is he, whofe chin is but enrich'd
With one appearing hair, that will not follow
Thefe cull'd and choice-drawn cavaliers to France ?
Work, work, your thoughts, and therein see a siege;

feeing pier at the end of the verfe, unluckily thought of Dover pier, as the best known to them; and fo unawares corrupted the

text. THEOBALD.

Hampton pier] It is obvious, that this, and not Dover pier according to the folios, was the true reading. Among the records of the town of Southampton, they have a minute and authentic account (drawn up at that time) of the encampment of Henry the fifth near the town, before this embarkment for France. It is remarkable, that the place where the army was encamped, then a low level plain or a down, is now entirely covered with fea, and called Westport. WARTON.“A

7-rivage,-] The bank or fhore. JOHNSON."

Rivage: French. So, in Spenfer's Fairy Queen, B. IV. c. i. "Pactolus with his waters fhere

"Throws forth upon the rivage round about him nere.” Again, in Gower, De Confeffione Amantis, lib. viii. fol. 186; Upon the fronde at rivage." STEEVENS

66

-to fternage of this navy ;] The stern being the hinder part of the ship, the meaning is, let your minds follow close after the navy. STEEVENS.

Behold

Behold the ordinance on their carriages,

With fatal mouths gaping on girded Harfleur. Suppofe, the ambaffador from the French comes back;

Tells Harry-that the king doth offer him
Katharine his daughter; and with her, to dowry,
Some petty and unprofitable dukedoms.
The offer likes not: and the nimble gunner
With linftock now the devilish cannon touches,

[Alarum; and chambers go off. And down goes all before him. Still be kind, And eke out our performance with

SCENE

Before Harfleur

[Alarum.]

your mind. [Exit.

I.

Enter king Henry, Exeter, Bedford, Glofter, and foldiers, with Scaling ladders.

K. Henry. Once more unto the breach, dear friends,

once more;

Or close the wall up with the English dead!

peace, there's nothing so becomes a man,

9 linflock] The staff to which the match is fixed when ordnance is fired. JOHNSON.

So, in Middleton's comedy of Blurt Mafter Conftable, 1601: "O Cupid, grant that my blushing prove not a linftocke, and give fire too fuddenly, &c."

Again, in the few of Malta, by Marlow, 1633:

"Till you fhall hear a culverin difcharg'd
"By him that bears the linftock kindled thus."

STEEVENS.

* Or close the wall] Here is apparently a chafm. One line at leaft is loft, which contained the other part of a disjunc tive propofition, The king's fpeech is, dear friends, either win the town, or clofe up the wall with dead. The old quarto gives no help. JOHNSON. 1 :

This fpeech was added after the quartos 1600 and 1608. STEEVENS.

As modeft ftillnefs, and humility:

But when the blaft of war blows in our ears
Then imitate the action of the tyger;
Stiffen the finews, fummon up the blood,
Difguife fair nature with hard-favour'd rage:
Then lend the eye a terrible afpect;

Let it pry through the 3 portage of the head,
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it,
As fearfully, as doth a galled rock

4

O'er-hang and jutty + his confounded bafe,
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean.
Now fet the teeth, and ftretch the noftril wide;
Hold hard the breath, and 'bend up every fpirit
To his full height !-On, on, you nobleft English,
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!

2

when the blaft of war blows in our ears,

Then imitate the action of the tyger ;]

Fa

Sir Tho. Hanmer has obferved on the following paffage in Troilus and Crefida, that in forms and high winds the tyger roars and rages most furiously.

3

66

even fo

"Doth valour's fhew and valour's worth divide

"In ftorms of fortune: for, in her ray and brightness, "The herd hath more annoyance by the brize

"Than by the tyger: but when splitting winds

"Make flexible the knees of knotted oaks,

"And flies flee under fhade; why then the thing of

courage,

As rouz'd with rage, with rage doth fympathize, &c." STEEVENS. -portage of the head,] Portage, open space, from port, a gate. Let the eye appear in the head as cannon through the battlements, or embrafures, of a fortification. JOHNSON.

5

-his confounded bafe,· ] His worn or wafted base. JOHNSON.

bend up every Spirit] A metaphor from the bow.

JOHNSON. Whofe blood is fet from fathers of war-proof!] Thus the folie 1623, and rightly. So Spenfer's Faery Queen, B. III : "Whom ftrange adventure did from Britain fet." Again, in the Prologue to Ben Jonfon's Silent Woman:

"Though there be none far-fet, there will dear bought."

4

Fathers, that, like fo many Alexanders,

Have, in these parts, from morn 'till even fought,
And theath'd their fwords for lack of argument.
Dishonour not your mothers; now atteft,

That thofe, whom you call'd fathers, did beget you
Be copy now to men of groffer blood,

And teach them how to war!-And you, good yeo

men,

Whofe limbs were made in England, fhew us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear

That you are worth your breeding: which I doubt not;
For there is none of you fo mean and base,
That hath not noble luftre in your eyes.
I fee you stand like greyhounds in the flips,
Straining upon the ftart. The game's afoot;
Follow your spirit: and, upon this charge,
Cry-God for Harry! England! and faint George!

[Exeunt King and train. [Alarm, and chambers go off.

SCENE II.

Enter Nym, Bardolph, Piftol, and Boy.

Bard. On, on, on, on, on! to the breach, to the breach!

8

Nym. 'Pray thee, corporal, ftay; the knocks are too hot; and, for mine own part, I have not a case

Again, in Lord Surrey's Tranflation of the fecond book of Virgil's Eneid:

"And with that winde had fet the land of Grece." The facred writings afford many inftances to the fame purpose. Mr. Pope first made the change, which I, among others, had inadvertently followed. STEEVENS.

7 argument.] Is matter, or fubject. JOHNSON.

8

-corporal,- We should read lieutenant. It is Bardolph to whom he speaks. STEEVENS.

S

-a cafe of lives :-] A fet of lives, of which, when one is worn out, another may ferve. JOHNSON.

of lives the humour of it is too hot, that is the very plain-fong of it.

Pit. The plain-fong is moft juft: for humours do abound;

and come; God's vaffals drop and die; And fword and shield,

In bloody field,

Doth win immortal fame.

Poy. 'Would I were in an ale-house in London! Į would give all my fame for a pot of ale, and fafety, Pift. And I:

If wishes would prevail with me,

My purpose fhould not fail with me,
But thither would I hye.

2

Boy. As duly, but not as truly, as bird doth fing on bough.

Enter Fluellen.

Flu. 'Splood-Up to the preaches 3, you rascals! will you not up to the preaches?

4

Pift. Be merciful, great duke, to men of mould! Abate thy rage, abate thy manly rage!

Good bawcock, bate thy rage! ufe lenity, sweet chuck!

Nym. Thefe be good humours !-your honour wins bad humours.

[Exeunt.

If wishes &c.] This paffage I have replaced from the first folio, which is the only authentic copy of this play. These lines, which perhaps are part of a fong, Mr. Pope did not like, and therefore changed them in conformity to the imperfect play in quarto, and was followed by the fucceeding editors. For prevail I fhould read avail. JOHNSON.

2 As duly, &c.] This fpeech I have restored from the folio.

་

STEEVENS.

-up to the preaches, &c.] Thus the 4to, with only the difference of breaches instead of preaches. Modern editors have been very liberal of their Welch dialect. The folio reads, Up to the breach you dogges, avaunt you cullions. STEEVENS. to men f mould!-] To men of earth, to poor mortal men. JOHNSON.

4.

Boy