181}. 
disease, and next affliction arising from 
misfortune. 
Then happy low lie down, 
Uneasy liesa head that wears a crown. 
Act III. Scene 1. 
The singularly happy and beautiful emen- 
dation of Dr. Warburton in this place of 
“low lie down,” to ‘* lowly clown,” is 
rejected by Mr. Steevens, as almost 
every other improvement of the confess- 
edly corrupt text of Shakespeare, for the 
sake of an unintelligible explanation of 
nonsense. An acquaintance with black 
letter lore, and “ all such reading as was 
never read,” is not.the only requisite in a 
commentator of this poet, 
O heaven! that one might read the book of 
fate, 
And see the revolution of the times, 
How chances mock! O! if this were seen, 
The happiest youth, viewing his progress 
through, 
What perils past, what crosses to ensue, 
Would shut the book and sit him down and 
die. Ibid, Ib. 
Dr. Johnson remarks a difficulty in the 
line, “ What perils past, what crosses to 
ensue,” because it seems to make past 
perils equally terrible with ensuing cros- 
ses. The idea of the poet seems to have 
been that of a youth opening the book of 
fate in the midst, and casting his eye 
‘backward as well as forward, no portion 
of the events there recorded being ante- 
rior to the moment of consultation. 
This is the English not the Turkish court, 
Not Amurath an Amurath succeeds, 
But Harry, Harry. «dct V. Scene 1. 
It may be remarked, that at the accession 
of Henry V. A.D. 14153, there had been 
no instance of an Amurath succeeding to 
‘an Amurath inthe Turkish court. Theo- 
bald has pointed out another chronolo- 
gical error, relating to the Turkish his- 
tory in the last act of Henry V. where the 
king talks of “ going to Coustantinople to 
take the Grand Turk by the beard,” many 
years before that imperial city, to the 
disgrace of Christendom, fell a prey to 
the attacks of the most odious and fero- 
cious of barbarians. 
Ibid, Scene ult.—« Stand here by me, 
master Robert Shallow, I will make the 
king do you grace, &c.” : 
he celebrated ‘‘ Essay on the Cha- 
racter of Sir John Falstaff,” has demon- 
strated, thatthe popular idea of Falstaff 
asa constitutional coward, like Parolles 
or Pistol, Bessus or Bobadil, is a very 
mistaken one: though he is designedly 
placed in situations which render hitn 
Monracy Mas. No. 212, 
Critical Remarks on Shakespeare. 
$25 
able to ludicrous imputations; and he 
even makes no scruple, at least on one 
occasion, to abandon the point of honour, 
and ona pressing emergency to owe his 
safety to “a fetch of wit.” Those who 
are of opinion that it was intended by 
Shakespeare, to exhibit him as a poltron, 
must explain away the following facts, 
among many others, which militate 
against that hypothesis. 
1. Even in the disgraceful affair of 
Gad’s-hill, Falstaff does not retreat till 
he is abandoned by his dastardly com, 
panions; and after having maintained the 
contest singly for some time, against his 
two youthful and vigorous assailants, the 
Prince and Poins. His subsequent ace 
count of this business is humorous ex- 
aggeration, mere rodomantade, not in- 
tended for serious belief: though the un- 
expected detection of his wild and whims 
sical fictions deprives him totally of the 
advantage of a grave defence. 
2. When the formidable rebellion, 
headed by Percy and Douglas, broke 
out, and forces were levied for its sup- 
pression, the prince procures for Falstaff, 
a charge of foot.” Would he have 
‘done this in a moment of imminent 
danger, for a base and notorious ré- 
creant? 
3. Falstaff hastens his march to the 
place of rendezvous, where he is told by 
the earl of Westmoreland, “ that the 
king looks for them all.” -He is found 
among the number of those who surround 
the king’s person, when Worcester de- 
livers his messaye. He is addressed, in 
common with other distinguished leaders 
of the royal army, by the king, and takes 
his station in pursuance of the royal 
command. He was engaged, as it ap- 
pears, in the heat and thickest tumult of 
the battle, where the greater part of his 
soldiers were slaughtered: and at length 
he encounters Douglas in person, In 
this unequal conflict, he had recourse to 
a stratagem totally incompatible indeed 
with that high sense of honour, which 
ought to characterise a soldier, but per- 
fectly consonant to the humour, the 
hilarity, the eccentricity of the fat knight, 
who, after “ the deeds in arms which he 
had done that day,” would, on so extra- 
“ordinary an emergency, be certain to 
meet with the indulgence, perhaps even 
the applause, of the world. ; 
4. His great enemy, the lord chief 
justice, allows, “ that his day's service at 
Shrewsbury has gilded over his night’s 
exploit at Gad’s-hill.” And, after mene 
tioning the intelligence he had received, 
2T thag 
