I is y 



" of mankind : the tone of the court was ftrongly againft FalftafF 

 " as the mifleader of the young prince : fomething, therefore, 

 " that would not too much offend the prince, yet leave behind 

 " a difgraceful fear upon Falftaff, was very fuitable to the temper 

 " and fituation of parties and affairs." My objedion to thefe 

 remarks, as indeed to the general fcheme and tenor of the whole 

 criticifm, is their exceffive refinement. Dramatic charaders are 

 not drawn for fpeculative ingenious men in their clofets, but 

 for mankind at large. Now, I fay, thefe fine-fpun dedudions 

 from the temper and fituation of Lancafter and the reft of the 

 parties, even though they could be made out to our fatisfadion, 

 have not a ftrong and immediate influence: the part of his 

 character which we know, however unamiable, does not, I think, 

 excite thofe impreffions of courfe : and for the moft part arguments 

 from one part of charader to another, unlefs the connexion be 

 univerfally acknowledged, is too philofophical a bufinefs for the 

 public underftanding. We had better, therefore, examine Falftaff's 

 own defence. " I never knew yet," fays he, " but rebuke and 

 " check was the reward of valour. Do you think me a fwallow, 

 '* an arrow, or a bullet ? Have I in my poor and old motion 

 " the expedition of thought ? I have fpeeded hither with the 

 *^ extremeft inch of poflibility. I have foundered ninefcore and 

 *' odd pofts : and here, travel-tainted as I am, have, in my pure 

 " and immaculate valour, taken Sir John Colville of the dale, 

 " a moft furious knight and valorous enemy. But what of that ? 

 •' He faw me and yielded j that I may juftly fay with the 

 " hook-nofed fellow of Rome — I came, faw and overcame. 



( D ) Lancajier. 



