Which time shall bring to ripeness: She shall be
(But few now living can behold that goodness)
A pattern to all princes living with her,
And all that shall succeed: Saba was never
More covetous of wisdom, and fair virtue,

:

Than this pure soul shall be all princely graces,
That mould up such a mighty piece as this is,
With all the virtues that attend the good,

Shall still be doubled on her truth shall nurse her,
Holy and heavenly thoughts still counsel her:

She shall be lov'd, and fear'd: Her own shall bless her:

Her foes shake like a field of beaten corn,

And hang their heads with sorrow: Good grows with her:
In her days, every man shall eat in safety,

Under his own vine, what he plants; and sing
The merry songs of peace to all his neighbours:
God shall be truly known; and those about her
From her shall read the perfect ways of honour,
And by those claim their greatness, not by blood.
Nor shall this peace sleep with her: But as when
The bird of wonder dies, the maiden phoenix,
Her ashes new create another heir,

As great in admiration as herself;

So shall she leave her blessedness to one,

(When Heaven shall call her from this cloud of darkness,) Who, from the sacred ashes of her honour,

Shall star-like rise, as great in fame as she was,

And so stand fix'd: Peace, plenty, love, truth, terror,

That were the servants to this chosen infant,

Shall then be his, and like a vine grow to him;
Wherever the bright sun of heaven shall shine,
His honour, and the greatness of his name,
Shall be, and make new nations: He shall flourish,
And, like a mountain cedar, reach his branches

To all the plains about him :— -Our children's children
Shall see this, and bless Heaven.

K. Hen.

a The passage ending here, and beginning

Thou speakest wonders."

"Nor shall this peace sleep with her,"

is

Cran. She shall be, to the happiness of England,
An aged princess; many days shall see her,
And yet no day without a deed to crown it.
Would I had known no more! but she must die,
She must, the saints must have her; yet a virgin,
A most unspotted lily, shall she pass

To the ground, and all the world shall mourn her.
K. Hen. O lord archbishop,

Thou hast made me now a man; never, before
This happy child, did I get anything:

This oracle of comfort has so pleas'd me,

That, when I am in heaven, I shall desire

To see what this child does, and praise my Maker.
I thank ye all,-to you, my good lord mayor,
And you, good brethren, I am much beholding;
I have receiv'd much honour by your presence,
And ye shall find me thankful. Lead the way, lords;
Ye must all see the queen, and she must thank ye,
She will be sick else. This day, no man think
He has business at his house; for all shall stay;
This little one shall make it holiday.

Exeunt.

is held to be an interpolation, and is ordinarily printed in brackets. Differing from the usual opinions, for reasons stated in our Introductory Notice, we have removed the marks by which the supposed interpolation is commonly distinguished.

EPILOGUE.

'Tis ten to one, this play can never please All that are here: Some come to take their ease, And sleep an act or two; but those, we fear, We have frighted with our trumpets; so, 't is clear, They'll say 't is naught: others, to hear the city Abus'd extremely, and to cry,-" That's witty!" Which we have not done neither that, I fear, All the expected good we are like to hear, For this play at this time, is only in The merciful construction of good women; For such a one we show'd them: If they smile, And say, 't will do, I know, within a while All the best men are ours; for 't is ill hap, If they hold, when their ladies bid them clap.

ILLUSTRATIONS OF ACT V.

1 SCENE II." At a window above."

THE old mode of building castles or mansions, by which a principal room could be commanded from a window opening into it, is illustrated by a letter from Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1573 :-" And if it please her Majesty, she may come in through my gallery, and see the disposition of the hall in dinner-time, at a window opening thereunto."

2 SCENE II.-" You'd spare your spoons."

The allusion is to the practice of sponsors at a christening presenting the child with spoons, called apostle spoons. The old plays contain many allusions to this custom; as in a comedy of Middleton's :

"2 Gos. What has he given her?-what is it, gossip?

3 Gos. A fair high standing cup, and two great 'postle spoons, one of them gilt."

3 SCENE III." Paris-garden.”

The bear-garden on the Bankside, remarkable enough to be distinguished in the maps of London in the time of Elizabeth.

4 SCENE III." Who cried out, Clubs!"

The cry of clubs was sure to draw together the London "truncheoneers ;" and the appearance of " the hope of the Strand" cannot fail to remind us of the heroic apprentices of the watchmaker of Fleet Street, in that inimitable picture of ancient manners, The Fortunes of Nigel.' See Illustrations of Romeo and Juliet,' Act I., Scene 1.

6

5 SCENE III." The Tribulation of Tower-hill, or the limbs of Limehouse.” These allusions are perhaps now inexplicable. Johnson supposed the Tribulation to have been a puritanical meeting-house. But why should the "youths that thunder at a playhouse" be endurable by the frequenters of the Tribulation? Because, says Steevens, such an audience was familiarized to excess of noise by the bellowings of their preachers. Is it not, that the puritans, hating playhouses, approved of the uproar of those who " fight for bitten apples," because it disturbed

those that came to hear?

SHAKSPERE, who, according to Malone, read no history but Holinshed's, may now be traced to another source-to one of the most popular books in our language, Fox's Acts and Monuments of the Christian Martyrs,' printed in 1563. Our poet saw the dramatic power of this scene, though the occurrence took place long after the birth of Elizabeth :

"When night came, the king sent sir Anthony Denny about midnight to Lambeth to the archbishop, willing him forthwith to resort unto him at the court. The message done, the archbishop speedily addressed himself to the court, and, coming into the gallery where the king walked and tarried for him, his highness said, ‘Ah, my lord of Canterbury, I can tell you news. For divers weighty considerations it is determined by me and the council that you to-morrow at nine of the clock shall be committed to the Tower, for that you and your chaplains (as information is given us) have taught and preached, and thereby sown within the realm, such a number of execrable heresies, that it is feared, the whole realm being infected with them, no small contention and commotions will rise thereby amongst my subjects, as of late days the like was in divers parts of Germany; and therefore the council have requested me, for the trial of the matter, to suffer them to commit you to the Tower, or else no man dare come forth as witness in those matters, you being a counsellor.'

"When the king had said his mind, the archbishop kneeled down, and said, 'I am content, if it please your grace, with all my heart, to go thither at your highness' commandment; and I must humbly thank your majesty that I may come to my trial, for there be that have many ways slandered me, and now this way I hope to try myself not worthy of such report.'

“The king, perceiving the man's uprightness, joined with such simplicity, said, 'Oh Lord, what manner o' man be you? What simplicity is in you! I had