KING HENRY VI.—PART I.
Act I.
Sc. 1.
"Than Julius Cæsar or bright ..."
Johnson proposed Berenice; and, though it was her hair and not herself that was stellified, he may have been right. The punctuation here given, however, removes all difficulty.
"Guienne, Champaigne, Rheims, Orleans, and Roan."
A little lower we have, "Is Paris lost? is Roän yielded up?"
"A third thinks that without expense at all."
The 2nd folio reads 'A third man thinks.'
"He being in the vaward, placed behind."
Most certainly 'vaward' should be 'rearward'. Introd. p. [66].
Sc. 2.
"Otherwhiles the famish'd English like pale ghosts."
Collier's folio reads 'The whiles.'
Sc. 3.
"Villains, answer you the Lord Protector so?"
The folio has 'answer you so.'
"Gloster, we'll meet, and to thy cost, be sure."
"For I intend to have it off ere long."
Sc. 5.
"Sheep run not half so treacherous from the wolf."
For 'treacherous,' which must be wrong, Pope read timorous, Collier's folio tremulous.
Sc. 6.
"For rescued is Orleans from the English."
The 2nd folio reads 'English wolves.'
"Divinest creäture, Astræa's daughter."
The 2nd folio reads bright Astræa's.
"Before the kings and queens of France for aye."
Act II.
Sc. 3.
"Lady, that will I show you presently."
Sc. 4.
"Or else was wrangling Somerset in the error?"
It should apparently be right, not 'error'; as it is a few lines lower.
Sc. 5.
"Was for that—young King Richard they remov'd."
"Unto King Edward the Third, whëreas he."
"I doubt not but with honour to redress 'em."
Act III.
Sc. 1.
"Am I not Lord Protector, saucy priest?"
"Rome shall this remedy.—Roam thither then."
The folio reads "Rome shall remedy this."
"And Henry born in Windsor should lose all."
The 2nd folio added should.
Sc. 3.
"As looks the mother on her lowly babe."
For 'lowly' Collier's folio reads lovely.
Act IV.
Sc. 1.
"This dastard at the battle of Patay."
The folio reads Poictiers; Steevens made the correction. The error must have been the printer's.
"But always resolute in most extremes."
I adopt the correction of worst for 'most.'
"And now, my Lord Protector, view the letter."
"My lord, how say you? Are you not content?"
The folio reads "How say you, my lord?"
"To wilful disobedience and rebellion."
The end had certainly been effaced. Introd. p. [57].
"An if I wist he did ... but let it rest."
So Steevens corrected the wish of the folio.
"But that it doth presage some ill event."
For 'that' we should read sees, or some other verb.
Sc. 4.
"Swearing that you withhold his levied host."
For 'host' Hanmer read horse, which the next speech would seem to prove to be right.
Sc. 5.
"But if I bow they'll say it was for fear."
For 'bow' I read do.
Sc. 7.
"Great Märshal to Henery the Sixth."
So Lucy must have pronounced it, in a slow measured tone. See on Rich. II. i. 3.
"For God's sake let him have 'em."
For ''em' the folio reads him here, and five lines lower down.
Act V.
Sc. 3.
"And lay them gently on thy tender side.
I kiss these fingers for eternal peace."
I approve of this transposition made by Malone.
"Hast not a tongue? is she not here?"
The 2nd folio, which all follow, adds thy prisoner; alone might be better.
"Confounds the tongue and makes the senses rough?"
Various attempts have been made to amend 'rough,' but with little success. We might perhaps read dull; but 'rough' may have been used in the sense of rugged, insensible.
"And here I will expect thy coming down."
"Mad natural graces that extinguish art."
For 'Mad,' which makes no sense, Capell read And.
Sc. 4.
"Used intercession to obtain a league."
I think we should read truce or peace for 'league.'
Sc. 5.
"Provokes the mightiest hulk against the tide."
I incline to read Propels for 'Provokes.'
"Yes, my good lord, her father is a king."
"The most of all these reasons bindeth."
"Whëreas the contráry bringeth bliss."
The 2nd folio reads 'bringeth forth.'