[281], [34-5]. Not . . . goe. Taken in conjunction with iii, iii, 24, this means: Hercules is no match for two foes, but Guise will encounter two, though with Hercules as their ally.
[283], [61-3]. y'have a brother to . . . on him. Louis de Lorraine, youngest brother of the Duke of Guise, became Archbishop of Rheims in 1574, and Cardinal in 1578.
[286], [33-4]. the sword . . . life. Cf. Bussy D'Ambois, [v, iv, 114-118].
[286], [41-2]. Hee will lie . . . shee cryes. This habit of the lapwing gave the bird an evil reputation as a symbol of deceitfulness. Cf. Measure for Measure, i, iv, 32.
Though 'tis my familiar sin
With maids to seem the lapwing and to jest,
Tongue far from heart.
For a sarcastic hit at a different trick of the lapwing, cf. Hamlet, v, ii, 174.
[289], [85]. [Enter Renel, the Countess, and] Charlotte above. The addition of the bracketed words is necessary, as the Q gives no indication of the entrance of these two characters. They appear with Charlotte "above," i. e. in a gallery at the back of the stage. When Charlotte, enraged at Clermont's slowness in dispatching Montsurry, "gets downe" (l. 87), they remain in the gallery unobserved.
[291], [125-7]. That the Shatillions ghost . . . death. Gaspar de Chatillon, better known as Admiral de Coligny, the champion of the Huguenot party, was murdered during "the Massacre of St. Bartholomew," on Aug. 24, 1572, at the instigation of the Duke of Guise.
[293], [161]. I . . . descend. Renel and the Countess have overheard from the gallery (cf. [note] on l. 85) Clermont's speech, and Renel, realising that it foreshadows suicide, descends in the hope of preventing this. But, as he has to lead his blind companion, his progress is slow, and when they "enter" the main stage ([l. 203]), it is too late.