[23], [133]. mate: either match or put down, overcome. The latter sense is more probable, with a punning allusion to the use of the word in chess, at which Guise seems to be engaged with the King. Cf. [l. 184].
[23], [135-36]. of the new edition: of the recent creation. An allusion to the lavish creation of knights by James, shortly after his accession.
[24], [141-42]. y'ave cut too many throats. An allusion to Guise's share in the Massacre of St. Bartholomew. Contrast the references to the episode in The Revenge, [ii, 1, 198-234].
[24], [149]. the Knights ward. Dilke thought that the allusion here was to the "poor knights of Windsor," but it really refers to a part of the "Counter" prison in London. Cf. Eastward Hoe, v, 2, 54, where Wolf says of Sir Petronel Flash, "The knight will i' the Knights-Ward, doe what we can, sir." (See Schelling's note.)
[24], [163-64]. out a th' presence: outside the presence of the Sovereign.
[25], [168]. like a rush. An allusion to the custom, still prevalent in Chapman's time, of strewing floors with rushes.
[25], [178-79]. of the place The divers frames. An obscure expression, which may mean: the varied character in different places of the bed of the sea.
[25], [180-83]. Bristled . . . fome. The imagery in these lines also presents difficulty. D'Ambois's heart is likened to the sea, which, once swollen into billows, will not sink into its original calm till it is overspread by the crown or sheet of foam which the waves, after their subsidence, leave behind.
[25], [184]. You have the mate. Cf. textual note on [i, 1, 153], and [note on 23, 133], p. 148.
[26], [208]. a blanquet. To toss D'Ambois in, as is plain from l. 212.