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I make my quarrel in particular.2

2 My brother general, &c.

I make my quarrel in particular.] The sense is this-"My brother general, the commonwealth, which ought to distribute its benefits equally, is become an enemy to those of his own house, to brothers born, by giving some to all, and others none; and this (says he) I make my quarrel or grievance that honours are unequally distributed;" the constant birth of malecontents, and the source of civil commotions. Warburton.

In the first folio the second line is omitted, yet that reading, unintelligible as it is, has been followed by Sir T. Hanmer. How difficultly sense can be drawn from the best reading, the explication of Dr. Warburton may show. I believe there is an error in the first line, which, perhaps, may be rectified this:

My quarrel general, the commonwealth,

To brother born an household cruelty,

I make my quarrel in particular.

That is, my general cause of discontent is public mismanagement; my particular cause, a domestick injury done to my natural brother, who had been beheaded by the king's order. Johnson. This circumstance is mentioned in the First Part of the play: "The archbishop who bears hard

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"His brother's death at Bristol, the lord Scroop."

Steevens.

The meaning of the passage appears to me to be this-" My brother-general (meaning Mowbray, the Lord Marischal) makes the misconduct of publick affairs, and the welfare of the community, his cause of quarrel; but my particular cause of quarrel, is a family injury, the cruelty with which my real brother has been treated;" meaning Lord Scroop. M. Mason.

Perhaps the meaning is—" My brother general, who is joined here with me in command, makes the commonwealth his quarrel, i. e. has taken up arms on account of publick grievances; a particular injury done to my own brother, is my ground of quarrel.” I have, however, very little confidence in this interpretation. I have supposed the word general a substantive; but probably it is used as an adjective, and the meaning may be, I consider the wrongs done to the commonwealth, the common brother of us all, and the particular and domestick cruelty exercised against my natural brother, as a sufficient ground for taking up arms.—If the former be the true interpretation, perhaps a semicolon should be placed after commonwealth. The word born in the subsequent line (To brother born) seems strongly to countenance the supposition that general in the present line is an epithet applied to brother, and not a substantive.

In that which is apparently the first of the two quartos, the second line is found; but is omitted in the other, and the folio. I suspect that a line has been lost following the word commonwealth; the sense of which was-" is the general ground of our taking up arms."

West. There is no need of any such redress; Or, if there were, it not belongs to you.

Mowb. Why not to him, in part; and to us all, That feel the bruises of the days before;

And suffer the condition of these times

To lay a heavy and unequal hand
Upon our honours?

West.
O my good lord Mowbray,"
Construe the times to their necessities,4
And you shall say indeed,-it is the time,
And not the king, that doth you injuries.
Yet, for your part, it not appears to me,
Either from the king, or in the present time,5
That you should have an inch of any ground
To build a grief on: Were you not restor❜d
To all the duke of Norfolk's signiories,
Your noble and right-well-remember'd father's?
Mowb. What thing, in honour, had my father lost,
That need to be reviv'd, and breath'd in me?
The king, that lov'd him, as the state stood then,
Was, force perforce, compell'd to banish him:

This supposition renders the whole passage so clear, that I am now decidedly of opinion that a line has been lost. "My general brother, the commonwealth, is the general ground of our taking up arms; a wrong of a domestick nature, namely the cruelty shewn to my natural brother, is my particular ground for engaging in this war." Malone.

It is now become certain that there are three varieties of the quarto editions, 1600, of this play. They are all before me, and in two of them (only one of which contains the additional scene at the beginning of the third Act) the second line, pointed out by Mr. Malone, is wanting. Steevens.

30 my good lord Mowbray, &c.] The thirty-seven lines following are not in the quarto. Malone.

Construe the times to their necessities,] That is,-Judge of what is done in these times according to the exigencies that over-rule us. Johnson.

5 Either from the king, &c.] Whether the faults of government be imputed to the time or the king, it appears not that you have, for your part, been injured either by the king or the time.

Johnson.

6 To build a grief on:] i. e. a grievance. Malone. 7 Was, force perforce,] Old copy-Was forc'd. Corrected by Mr. Theobald. In a subsequent scene we have the same words: "As, force perforce, the age will put it in." Malone.

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And then, when Harry Bolingbroke, and he,-
Being mounted, and both roused in their seats,
Their neighing coursers daring of the spur,

9

Their armed staves in charge, their beavers down,1
Their eyes of fire sparkling through sights of steel,2
And the loud trumpet blowing them together;
Then, then, when there was nothing could have staid
My father from the breast of Bolingbroke,
O, when the king did throw his warder down,
His own life hung upon the staff he threw:
Then threw he down himself; and all their lives,
That, by indictment, and by dint of sword,

Have since miscarried under Bolingbroke.

West. You speak, lord Mowbray, now you know not what:

The earl of Hereford3 was reputed then
In England the most valiant gentleman;

Who knows, on whom fortune would then have smil'd?
But, if your father had been victor there,
He ne'er had borne it out of Coventry:
For all the country, in a general voice,

Cried hate upon him; and all their prayers, and love,
Were set on Hereford, whom they doted on,
And bless'd, and grac'd indeed, more than the king.4

8 And then, when -] The old copies read-And then, that Corrected by Mr. Pope. Mr. Rowe reads-And when that

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Malone.

9 Their armed staves in charge, &c.] An armed staff is a lance. To be in charge, is to be fixed in the rest for the encounter.

1

Johnson.

their beavers down,] Beaver, meant properly that part of the helmet which let down, to enable the wearer to drink; but is confounded both here and in Hamlet with visiere, or used for helmet in general.

Shakspeare, however, is not answerable for any confusion on this subject. He used the word beaver in the same sense in which it was used by all his contemporaries. Malone.

2

sights of steel,] i. e. the perforated part of their helmets, through which they could see to direct their aim. Visiere, Fr. Steevens.

3 The earl of Hereford -] This is a mistake of our author's. He was Duke of Hereford. See King Richard II. Malone.

And bless'd, and grac'd indeed, more than the king.] The two oldest folios, (which first gave us this speech of Westmoreland) read this line thus:

But this is mere digression from my purpose.—
Here come I from our princely general,
To know your griefs; to tell you from his grace,
That he will give you audience: and wherein
It shall appear that your demands are just,
You shall enjoy them; every thing set off,
That might so much as think you enemies.
Mowb. But he hath forc'd us to compel this offer;
And it proceeds from policy, not love.

West. Mowbray, you overween, to take it so;
This offer comes from mercy, not from fear:
For, lo! within a ken, our army lies;
Upon mine honour, all too confident

To give admittance to a thought of fear.
Our battle is more full of names than yours,
Our men more perfect in the use of arms,
Our armour all as strong, our cause the best;
Then reason wills, our hearts should be as good:-
Say you not then, our offer is compell'd.

Mowb. Well, by my will, we shall admit no parley. West. That argues but the shame of your offence: A rotten case abides no handling.

Hast. Hath the prince John a full commission,

In very ample virtue of his father,

To hear, and absolutely to determine

Of what conditions we shall stand upon?

West. That is intended in the general's name:

I muse, you make so slight a question.

Arch. Then take, my lord of Westmoreland, this schedule;

For this contains our general grievances:

Each several article herein redress'd;

All members of our cause, both here and hence,
That are insinew'd to this action,

And bless'd and grac'd and did more than the king. Dr. Thirlby reformed the text very near to the traces of the corrupted reading. Theobald.

5 That is intended in the gencral's name:] That is, this power is included in the name or office of a general. We wonder that you can ask a question so trifling. Johnson.

Intended is-understood, i. e. meant without expressing, like entendu, Fr. subauditur, Lat. Steevens.

Acquitted by a true substantial form;"
And present execution of our wills
To us, and to our purposes, consign'd;"

5 substantial form;] That is, by a pardon of due form and legal validity. Johnson.

7 To us, and to our purposes, consign'd;] The old copies—confin'd. Steevens.

This schedule we see consists of three parts: 1. A redress of general grievances. 2. A pardon for those in arms. 3. Some demands of advantage for them. But this third part is very strangely expressed.

And present execution of our wills

To us, and to our purposes confin'd.

The first line shows they had something to demand, and the se. cond expresses the modesty of that demand. The demand, says the speaker, is confined to us and to our purposes. A very modest kind of restriction truly! only as extensive as their appetites and passions. Without question Shakspeare wrote

To us and to our properties confin'd;

i. e. we desire no more than security for our liberties and properties: and this was no unreasonable demand. Warburton.

This passage is so obscure that I know not what to make of it. Nothing better occurs to me than to read consign'd for confin'd. That is, let the execution of our demands be put into our hands, according to our declared purposes. Johnson.

Perhaps we should read—confirm'd. This would obviate every difficulty. Steevens.

I believe two lines are out of place. I read:
For this contains our general grievances,

And present execution of our wills;

To us and to our purposes confin'd. Farmer.

The present reading appears to me to be right; and what they demand is, a speedy execution of their wills, so far as they relate to themselves, and to the grievances which they proposed to redress. M. Mason.

The quarto has confin'd. In my copy of the first folio, the word appears to be consign'd. The types used in that edition were so worn, that f and s are scarcely distinguishable. But however it may have been printed, I am persuaded that the true reading is consign'd; that is, sealed, ratified, confirmed; a Latin sense; аисtoritate consignatæ literæ Cicero pro Cluentio." It has this signification again in this play:

"And (God consigning to my good intents)
"No prince nor peer" &c.

Again, in King Henry V:

"And take with you free power to ratify,
"Augment or alter, as your wisdoms best
"Shall see advantageable for our dignity,

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