II. 4. 481. Johnson was the first to suggest that Poins and not Peto should remain with the Prince. 'I cannot but suspect,' he says, 'that for Peto we should read Poins: what had Peto done that his place should be honourable, or that he should be trusted with the plot against Falstaff? Poins has the prince's confidence, and is a man of courage. This alteration clears the whole difficulty, they all retired but Poins, who, with the prince, having only robbed the robbers, had no need to conceal himself from the travellers.' Johnson's last-mentioned reason for the alteration has less weight when we consider that they all wore vizards. In favour of his conjecture we find that the Dering MS. has 'Poynes' for 'Peto' in line 523, and in the stage directions to lines 504, 508, 524. On the other hand, the formal 'Good morrow, good my lord' is appropriate to Peto rather than to Poins, who was on much more familiar terms with the prince, and rarely addresses him in this play except as 'Hal.' We have therefore left the old text undisturbed.
[Note XV.]
III. 2. 174-176. The first Quarto, whose arrangement is followed in all the other Quartos, reads:
'On thursday we our selues will march. Our meeting
Is Bridgenorth, and Harry, you shall march
Through Glocestershire, by which account ...'
The first Folio has:
'On Thursday, wee our selues will march.
Our meeting is Bridgenorth: and Harry, you shall march
Through Glocestershire: by which account....'
Pope altered the passage thus:
'On Thursday we ourselves will march: our meeting
Is at Bridgenorth; and Harry, you shall march
Through Glo'stershire: by which, some twelve days hence
Our general forces at Bridgenorth shall meet.'
Capell's arrangement, taking in the previous line, is as follows: