Port. His lordship is walk'd forth into the orchard: Please it your honour, knock but at the gate, And he himself will answer. Enter Northumberland. Bard. Here comes the earl. North. What news, lord Bardolph? every minute now Should be the father of fome ftratagem. The times are wild; contention, like a horse Bard. Noble earl, I bring you certain news from Shrewsbury. Bard. As good as heart can wish :- North. How is this deriv'd? Saw you the field? came you from Shrewsbury? A gentleman well bred, and of good name, fent On Tuesday laft to liften after news. Bard. My lord, I over-rode him on the way, And he is furnifh'd with no certainties, More than he, haply, may retail from me. Enter Enter Travers. North. Now, Travers, what good tidings come with you? Tra. My lord, Sir John Umfrevile turn'd me back With joyful tidings; and, being better hors'd, Out-rode me. After him came, fpurring hard, A gentleman, almoft fore-fpent with speed, That stopp'd by me, to breathe his bloodied horse: He afk'd the way to Chefter; and of him I did demand what news from Shrewsbury. He told me, that rebellion had bad luck, And that young Harry Percy's fpur was cold: With that he gave his able horse the head, And, bending forward, ftruck his armed heels Against the panting fides of his poor jade Up to the 7 rowel-head; and, ftarting fo, He feem'd in running to devour the way, Staying no longer question. North. Ha!- -again? 6 * Said he, young Harry Percy's fpur was cold? Bard. My lord, I'll tell you what- armed heels] Thus the quarto 1600. The folia 1623, reads able heels; the modern editors, without authority, agile heels. STEEVENS. 6 poor jade] Poor jade is ufed not in contempt, but in compaffion. Poor jade means the horse wearied with his journey. STEEVENS. -rowel-head ; 7 -] I think that I have obferved in old prints the rowel of thofe times to have been only a fingle fpike. JOHNSON. He Jeem'd in running to devour the way,] So in The Book of Job, chap. xxxix. "He fwalloweth the ground in fierceness and rage." STEEVENS. 9 -filken point] A point is a string tagged, or lace. North. Why fhould the gentleman, that rode by Travers, Give then fuch inftances of lofs? Bard. Who he? He was ' fome hilding fellow, that had ftol'n Spoke at adventure. Look, here comes more news. Enter Morton. North. Yea, this man's brow, like to a title-leaf, Foretels the nature of a tragic volume. So looks the ftrond, whereon the imperious flood Say, Morton, did'ft thou come from Shrewsbury? North. How doth my fon, and brother? -fome bilding fellow,-] For bilderling, i. e. base, degenerate. POPE. like to a title-leaf,-] It may not be amifs to ob ferve, that in the time of our poet, the title-page to an elegy, as well as every intermediate leaf, was totally black. I have several in my poffeffion, written by Chapman, the tranflator of Homer, and ornamented in this manner. STEEVENS. 3 -fo woe-be-gone,] The word was common enough amongst the old Scotish and English poets, as G. Douglas, Chaucer, lord Buckhurft, Fairfax; and fignifies, far gone in woe. WARBURTON, Your Your brother, thus; fo fought the noble Douglas; North. Why, he is dead. See what a ready tongue fufpicion hath! He that but fears the thing he would not know, And I will take it as a fweet difgrace, And make thee rich for doing me fuch wrong. Thou • Your Spirit-] The impreffion upon your mind, by which you conceive the death of your fon. JOHNSON. Yet, for all this, fay not, &c.] The contradiction in the first part of this fpeech might be imputed to the distraction of Northumberland's mind; but the calmnefs of the reflection, contained in the last lines, feems not much to countenance fuch a fuppofition. I will venture to diftribute this paffage in a manner which will, I hope, feem more commodious; but do not with the reader to forget, that the most commodious is not always the true reading. Bard. Yet for all this, fay not that Percy's dead. Not he that faith the dead is not alive. Morton. Yet the first bringer of unwelcome news Here 6 Thou shak'st thy head; and hold'st it fear, or fin, Bard. I cannot think, my lord, your fon is dead. From whence, with life, he never more fprung up. And Here is a natural interpofition of Bardolph at the beginning, who is not pleafed to hear his news confuted, and a proper preparation of Morton for the tale which he is unwilling to tell. JOHNSON. 6 hold it in fear, or fin,] Fear for danger. WARBURTON. If he be flain, fay fo.] The words fay fo are in the firft folio, but not in the quarto: they are neceffary to the verse, but the fenfe proceeds as well without them. JoHNSON. 3 For from his metal was his party fteel'd; wich once in him abated,-] The word metal is one of thefe hacknied metaphorical terms, which refumes fo much of a literal fenfe as not to need the idea (from whence the figure is taken) to be kept up. So that it may with elegance enough be laid, his metal was abated, as well as bis courage was abated. See |