And even as I was then, is Percy now.
Now by my scepter, and my foul to boot,
He hath more worthy intereft to the state,
Than thou, the fhadow of fucceffion: 3
For, of no right, nor colour like to right,
He doth fill fields with harness in the realm;
Turns head against the lion's armed jaws;
And, being no more in debt to years than thou,
Leads ancient lords and reverend bishops on,
To bloody battles, and to bruifing arms.
What never-dying honour hath he got
Against renowned Douglas; whose high deeds,
Whofe hot incurfions, and great name in arms,
Holds from all foldiers chief majority,
And military title capital,

Through all the kingdoms that acknowledge Chrift?
Thrice hath this Hotfpur Mars in fwathing clothes,
This infant warrior, in his enterprizes

3 He hath more worthy intereft to the ftate,

Than thou, the shadow of fucceffion] This is obfcure. I believe the meaning is-Hotfpur hath a right to the kingdom more worthy than thou, who haft only the shadowy right of lineal juccellion, while he has real and folid power. JOHNSON.

Rather, He better deferves to inherit the kingdom than thyself, who art intitled by birth to that fucceffion of which thy vices render thee unworthy. RITSON.

To have an intereft to any thing, is not English. If we read, He hath more worthy intereft in the ftate,

the fenfe would be clear, and agreeable to the tenor of the reft of the King's fpeech. M. MASON.

I believe the meaning is only, he hath more popularity in the realm, more weight with the people, than thou the heir apparent to the throne.

"From thy fucceffion bar me, father; I

"Am heir to my affection-'

fays Florizel, in The Winter's Tale.

We fhould now write-in the ftate, but there is no corruption in the text. So, in The Winter's Tale:

his princely exercifes than formerly."

he is lefs frequent t

MALONE.

Discomfited great Douglas: ta'en him once,
Enlarged him, and made a friend of him,
To fill the mouth of deep defiance up,

And shake the peace and fafety of our throne.
And what say you to this? Percy, Northumberland,
The archbishop's grace of York, Douglas, Mortimer,
Capitulate against us, and are up.

But wherefore do I tell thefe news to thee?
Why, Harry, do I tell thee of my foes,
Which art my near'ft and deareft' enemy?
Thou that art like enough,-through vaffal fear,
Bafe inclination, and the start of spleen,
To fight against me under Percy's pay,
To dog his heels, and court'fy at his frowns,
To show how much degenerate thou art.

P. HEN. Do not think so, you shall not find it fo:
And God forgive them, that fo much have fway'd
Your majesty's good thoughts away from me!
I will redeem all this on Percy's head,
And, in the clofing of fome glorious day,
Be bold to tell you, that I am your fon;
When I will wear a garment all of blood,
And ftain my favours in a bloody mafk,"

4 Capitulate-] i. e. make head. So, to articulate, in a subsequent fcene, is to form articles. STEEVENS.

Rather, combine, confederate, indent. To capitulate is to draw up any thing in heads or articles. Johnson's Dictionary. RITSON.

To capitulate, Minfheu explains thus: " per capita feu articulos pacifci;" and nearly in this fenfe, I believe, it is ufed here. The Percies, we are told by Walfingham, fent about letters containing three articles, or principal grievances, on which their rifing was founded: and to this perhaps our author alludes.

MALONE.

5 deareft-] Dearest is moft fatal, moft mifchievous.

JOHNSON.

6 And ftain my favours in a bloody mask,] We should read-avour, i. e. countenance. WARBURTON.

Which, wash'd away, fhall fcour my fhame with it. And that shall be the day, whene'er it lights, That this fame child of honour and renown, This gallant Hotspur, this all-praised knight, And your unthought-of Harry, chance to meet: For every honour fitting on his helm, Would they were multitudes; and on my head My fhames redoubled! for the time will come, That I fhall make this northern youth exchange His glorious deeds for my indignities. Percy is but my factor, good my lord, To engrofs up glorious deeds on my behalf; And I will call him to fo ftrict account, That he shall render every glory up, Yea, even the flighteft worship of his time, Or I will tear the reckoning from his heart. This, in the name of God, I promise here: The which if he be pleas'd I fhall perform, I do befeech your majefty, may falve The long-grown wounds of If not, the end of life cancels all bands; my intemperance:

Favours are features. JOHNSON.

I am not certain that favours, in this place, means features, or that the plural number of favour in that fenfe is ever used. I believe favours mean only fome decoration ufually worn by knights in their helmets, as a prefent from a miftrefs, or a trophy from an enemy. So, afterwards in this play:

"Then let my favours hide thy mangled face:"

where the Prince muft have meant his fcarf.

Again, in Heywood's Rape of Lucrece, 1630:

"Aruns, thefe crimson favours, for thy fake,

"I'll wear upon my forehead mafk'd with blood."

STEEVENS.

Steevens's explanation of this paffage appears to be right. The word garments, in the preceding line, feems to confirm it.

6

M. MASON.

cancels all bands;] i. e. bonds, for thus the word was anciently fpelt. So, in The Comedy of Errors:

66

My mafter is arrefted on a band."

And I will die a hundred thousand deaths,
Ere break the fmalleft parcel of this vow.

K. HEN. A hundred thoufand rebels die in this:Thou shalt have charge, and fovereign truft, herein.

Enter BLUNT.

How now, good Blunt? thy looks are full of fpeed. BLUNT. So hath the business that I come to speak

of."

Lord Mortimer of Scotland hath fent word,3-
That Douglas, and the English rebels, met,
The eleventh of this month, at Shrewsbury:
A mighty and a fearful head they are,

Shakspeare has the fame allufion in Macbeth:

"Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond," &c. Again, in Cymbeline:

"And cancel these cold bonds." STEEVENS.

7 So hath the business that I come to speak of.]. So alfo the bufinefs that I come to speak of, hath speed; i. e. requires immediate attention and dispatch. Mr. Pope changed hath to is, and the alteration has been adopted, in my opinion unneceffarily, by the fubfequent editors. MALONE.

8 Lord Mortimer of Scotland hath sent word,] There was no fuch perfon as lord Mortimer of Scotland; but there was a lord March of Scotland, (George Dunbar,) who having quitted his own country in difguft, attached himself fo warmly to the English, and did them fuch fignal fervices in their wars with Scotland, that the Parliament petitioned the King to bestow fome reward on him. He fought on the fide of Henry in this rebellion, and was the means of faving his life at the battle of Shrewsbury, as is related by Holinthed. This, no doubt, was the lord whom Shakfpeare defigned to reprefent in the act of fending friendly intelligence to the King. Our author had a recollection that there was in these wars a Scottish lord on the King's fide, who bore the fame title with the English family, on the rebel fide, (one being the Earl of March in England, the other Earl of March in Scotland,) but his memory deceived him as to the particular name which was common to both. He took it to be Mortimer, inftead of March.

STEEVENS,

If promises be kept on every hand,
As ever offer'd foul play in a state.

K. HEN. The earl of Westmoreland fet forth today;

With him my fon, lord John of Lancaster;
For this advertisement is five days old :-
On Wednesday next, Harry, you shall fet
Forward; on Thursday, we ourselves will march:
Our meeting is Bridgnorth: and, Harry, you
Shall march through Glofterfhire; by which ac-

count,

Our business valued, fome twelve days hence
Our general forces at Bridgnorth fhall meet.
Our hands are full of bufinefs: let's away;
Advantage feeds him fat,' while men delay.

[Exeunt.

Eaftcheap. A Room in the Boar's Head Tavern.

Enter FALSTAFF and BARDOLPH.

FAL. Bardolph, am I not fallen away vilely fince this laft action? do I not bate? do I not dwindle? Why, my skin hangs about me like an old lady's loose gown; I am wither'd like an old apple-John. Well,

9 Advantage feeds him fat,] i. e. feeds himself. MALONE. So, in The Taming of a Shre-v:

2

"Who, for twice feven years, hath efteemed him
"No better than a poor and a loathfome beggar."

STEEVETS.

my fkin hangs about me like an old lady's loofe gown;] Pope has in the Dunciad availed himself of this idea:

"In a dun night-gown of his own loose skin.”

MALONE.