I give you welcome with a powerless hand, LEW. A noble boy! Who would not do thee right? AUST. Upon thy cheek lay I this zealous kiss, Even till that utmoft corner of the weft, CONST. O, take his mother's thanks, a widow's thanks, Till your strong hand shall help to give him strength, To make a more requital to your love." AUST. The peace of heaven is theirs, that lift their fwords In fuch a juft and charitable war. K. PHI. Well then, to work; our cannon fhall be bent Against the brows of this refifting town. that pale, that white-fac'd fbore,] England is fuppofed to be called Albion from the white rocks facing France. JOHNSON. 6 To make a more requital, &c.] I believe it has been already obferved, that more fignified in our author's time, greater. STEEVENS. To cull the plots of beft advantages:-" CONST. Stay for an answer to your embaffy, Enter CHATILLON. K. PHI. A wonder, lady!-lo, upon thy wish, Our messenger Chatillon is arriv'd.What England fays, fay briefly, gentle lord, We coldly paufe for thee; Chatillon, speak. CHAT. Then turn your forces from this paltry fiege, His marches are expedient to this town, 1 To cull the plots of beft advantages:] i. e. to mark fuch stations as might moft over-awe the town. HENLEY. 8 A wonder, lady!] The wonder is only that Chatillon happened to arrive at the moment when Conftance mentioned him; which the French king, according to a fuperftition which prevails more or lefs in every mind agitated by great affairs, turns into a miraculous interpofition, or omen of good. JOHNSON. 9 — expedient-] Immediate, expeditious. JOHNSON. So, in K. Henry VI. Part II: "A breach, that craves a quick, expedient ftop." STEEVENS, An Até, ftirring him to blood and strife;2 With ladies' faces, and fierce dragons' fpleens,-- To do offence and fcath" in Chriftendom. 2 An Até, ftirring him, &c.] Até was the Goddess of Revenge. The player-editors read-an Ace. STEEVENS. Corrected by Mr. Rowe. MALONE. This image might have been borrowed from the celebrated libel, called Leicester's Commonwealth, originally published about the year 1584: She ftandeth like a fiend or fury, at the elbow of her Amadis, to flirre him forward when occafion fhall ferve." STEEVENS. 3 With them a bastard of the king deceas' d:] The old copy, erroneously, reads-king's. STEEVENS. This line, except the word ruith, is borrowed from the old play of King John, already mentioned. Our author fhould have written king, and fo the modern editors read. But there is certainly no corruption, for we have the fame phrafeology elsewhere. MALONE. It may as juftly be faid, that the fame error has been elsewhere repeated by the fame illiterate compofitors. STEEVENS. 4 Bearing their birthrights, &c.] So, in King Henry VIII: O, many "Have broke their backs with laying manors on them." JOHNSON. 5 Than now the English bottoms have waft o'er,] Waft for rafted. So again in this play: "The iron of itself, though heat red hot- -." i. e. heated. STEEVENS. 6 Scath] Deftruction, harm. JOHNSON. So, in How to chufe a good Wife from a Bad, 1602: For these accounts, 'faith it shall seath thee fomething." Again : "And it shall feath him fomewhat of my purfe." STEEVENS. The interruption of their churlish drums [Drums beat. Cuts off more circumftance: they are at hand, To parley, or to fight; therefore, prepare. K. PHI. How much unlook'd for is this expedition! AUST. By how much unexpected, by so much We must awake endeavour for defence; For courage mounteth with occafion: Let them be welcome then, we are prepar'd. Enter King JOHN, ELINOR, BLANCH, the Baftard, PEMBROKE, and Forces. K. JOHN. Peace be to France; if France in permit Our juft and lineal entrance to our own! peace If not; bleed France, and peace afcend to heaven! ven. K. PHI. Peace be to England; if that war re turn From France to England, there to live in peace! 7-underwrought-] i. e. underworked, undermined. STEEVENS. Look here upon thy brother Geffrey's face ;- To draw my answer from thy articles? K. PHI. From that fupernal judge, that stirs good thoughts In any breast of strong authority, To look into the blots and ftains of right.* 8 this brief-] A brief is a fhort writing, abstract, or defcription. So, in A Midsummer Night's Dream: 9 "Here is a brief how many fports are ripe." England was Geffrey's right, STEEVENS. And this is Geffrey's:] I have no doubt but we fhould read"and his is Geffrey's." The meaning is, " England was Geffrey's right, and whatever was Geffrey's, is now his," pointing to Arthur. M. MASON. To look into the blots and ftains of right.] Mr. Theobald reads, with the firft folio, blots, which being fo early authorized, and fo much better underftocd, needed not to have been changed by Dr. Warburton to bolts, though bolts might be used in that time for Spots: fo Shakspeare calls Banquo "Spotted with blood, the blood-bolter'd Banquo." The verb to blot is ufed figuratively for to difgrace, a few lines lower. And perhaps, after all, balts was only a typographical mistake. JOHNSON. Blots is certainly right. The illegitimate branch of a family always carried the arms of it with what in ancient heraldry was |