Or but allay, the fire of paffion,4

BUCK,

Sir,

I am thankful to you; and I'll go along

By your prescription :-but this top-proud fellow, (Whom from the flow of gall I name not, but From fincere motions,5) by intelligence,

And proofs as clear as founts in Júly, when
We fee each grain of gravel, I do know
To be corrupt and treafonous.

NOR.

Say not, treasonous,

BUCK. To the king I'll fay't; and make my
vouch as ftrong

. As fhore of rock. Attend. This holy fox,
Or wolf, or both, (for he is equal ravenous,6
As he is fubtle; and as prone to mischief,
As able to perform it: his mind and place
Infecting one another," yea, reciprocally,)
Only to fhow his pomp as well in France
As here at home, fuggefts the king our mafters

4

If with the fap of reafon you would quench,

Or but allay, the fire of paffion.] So, in Hamlet:
"Upon the heat and flame of thy diftemper
"Sprinkle cool patience." STEEVENS.

-fincere motions,)] Honeft indignation, warmth of

integrity. Perhaps name not, fhould be blame not.

Whom from the flow of gall I blame not. JOHNSON.

6 -for he is equal ravenous,] Equal for equally. Shakfpeare frequently ufes adjectives adverbially. See King John, Vol. X. p. 523, n. 4. MALOne.

7 his mind and place

Infecting one another,] This is very fatirical. His mind he reprefents as highly corrupt; and yet he fuppofes the contagion of the place of firft minifter as adding an infection to it.

WARBURTON.

8 -fuggefts the king our master-] Suggests, for excites. WARBURTON. So, in King Richard II:

"Suggeft his foon-believing adverfaries." STEEVENS,

To this last coftly treaty, the interview,

That swallow'd fo much treasure, and like a glass
Did break i' the rinfing.

NOR.

'Faith, and fo it did.

BUCK. Pray, give me favour, fir. This cunning

cardinal

The articles o'the combination drew,

As himself pleas'd; and they were ratified,
As he cried, Thus let be: to as much end, .
As give a crutch to the dead: But our count-car-
dinal 9

Has done this, and 'tis well; for worthy Wolfey,
Who cannot err, he did it. Now this follows,
(Which, as I take it, is a kind of puppy

To the old dam, treason,)-Charles the emperor,
Under pretence to fee the queen his aunt,
(For 'twas, indeed, his colour; but he came
To whisper Wolfey,) here makes visitation:
His fears were, that the interview, betwixt
England and France, might, through their amity,
Breed him fome prejudice; for from this league
Peep'd harms that menac'd him: He privily i
Deals with our cardinal; and, as I trow,—
Which I do well; for, I am fure, the emperor
Paid ere he promis'd; whereby his fuit was granted,
Ere it was afk'd;-but when the way was made,
And pav'd with gold, the emperor thus defir'd ;-
That he would please to alter the king's course,
And break the forefaid peace. Let the king know,
(As foon he fhall by me,) that thus the cardinal

9 our count-cardinal-] Wolfey is afterwards called king cardinal. Mr. Pope and the fubfequent editors readcourt-cardinal. MALONE.

I

He privily-] He, which is not in the original copy, was added by the editor of the fecond folio. MALONE.

CA

Does buy and fell his honour as he pleases,
And for his own advantage.

NOR.

I am forry

To hear this of him; and could wifh, he were
Something mistaken in't.3

BUCK.

No, not a fyllable;

I do pronounce him in that very shape,

He fhall

appear in proof.

Enter BRANDON; a Sergeant at Arms before him, and two or three of the Guard.

BRAN. Your office, fergeant; execute it.
SERG.
My lord the duke of Buckingham, and earl
Of Hereford, Stafford, and Northampton, I
Arreft thee of high treason, in the name
Of our most sovereign king.

BUCK.

Sir,

Lo you, my lord, The net has fall'n upon me; I shall perish Under device and practice.4

Does buy and fell his honour as he pleafes,] This was a proverbial expreffion. See King Richard III. A&t V. fc. iii. MALONE.

The fame phrase occurs alfo in King Henry VI. Part I: from bought and fold lord Talbot."

Again, in The Comedy of Errors: "It would make a man as mad as a buck, to be fo bought and fold." STEEVENS.

Something mistaken in't.] That is, that he were fomething different from what he is taken or supposed by you to be.

A& V:

MALONE.

practice.] i. e. unfair ftratagem. So, in Othello,

"Fallen in the practice of a curfed flave."

And in this play, Surrey, fpeaking of Wolfey, fays: "How came his practices to light?" REED.

BRAN.

I am forry

To fee you ta'en from liberty, to look on
The business prefent: 5 'Tis his highness' pleasure,
You fhall to the Tower.

BUCK.

It will help me nothing,

To plead mine innocence; for that die is on me, Which makes my whiteft part black. The will of heaven

Be done in this and all things!-I obey.

my lord Aberga'ny, fare you well..

king

BRAN. Nay, he muft bear you company :-The [To ABERGAVENNY, Is pleas'd, you shall to the Tower, till you know How he determines further.

ABER.

As the duke faid

The will of heaven be done, and the king's pleasure By me obey'd.

BRAND.

Here is a warrant from

The king, to attach lord Montacute; and the bodies
Of. the duke's confeffor, John de la Court,"
One Gilbert Peck, his chancellor,8-

$ I am forry

To fee you ta'en from liberty, to look on

The business prefent:] I am forry that I am obliged to be present and an eye-witness of your lofs of liberty. JOHNSON.

6 lord Montacute;] This was Henry Pole, grandson to George Duke of Clarence, and eldest brother to Cardinal Pole. He had married the Lord Abergavenny's daughter. He was restored to favour at this juncture, but was afterwards executed for another treason in this reign. REED.

7

John de la Court,] The name of this monk of the Chartreux was John de la Car, alias de la Court. See Holinfhed, p. 863. STEEVENS.

One Gilbert Peck, his chancellor,] The old copies have it-his counfellor; but I, from the authorities of Hall and Holinfhed, changed it to chancellor. And our poet himself, in the beginning of the fecond Act, vouches for this correction:

BUCK.

So, fo;

These are the limbs of the plot: No more, I hope.

BRAN. A monk o' the Chartreux.

BUCK.

BRAN.

O, Nicholas Hopkins? 9

He.

BUCK. My furveyor is falfe; the o'er-great car

dinal

Hath fhow'd him gold: my life is spann'd already:1
I am the fhadow of poor Buckingham ; 2

Whofe figure even this instant cloud puts on,
By dark'ning my clear fun.3-My lord, farewell.

[Exeunt.

"At which, appear'd against him his furveyor,
"Sir Gilbert Peck, his chancellor." THEOBALD.

I believe [in the former inftance] the author wrote-And Gilbert &c. MALONE.

9 Nicholas Hopkins ?] The old copy has-Michael Hopkins. Mr. Theobald made the emendation, conformably to the Chronicle: "Nicholas Hopkins, a monk of an house of the Chartreux order, befide Briftow, called Henton." In the MS. Nich, only was probably fet down, and mistaken for Mich.

I

MALONE.

my life is spann'd already :] To Span is to gripe, or inclofe in the hand; to span is alfo to meafure by the palm and fingers. The meaning, therefore, may either be, that hold is taken of my life, my life is in the gripe of my enemies; or, that' my time is measured, the length of my life is now determined. JOHNSON.

Man's life, in fcripture, is faid to be but a pan long. Probably, therefore, it means, when 'tis Spann'd 'tis ended.

REED.

2 I am the Shadow of poor Buckingham;] So, in the old play of King Leir, 1605:

"And think me but the Shadow of myself."

3 I am the fhadow of poor Buckingham; Whofe figure even this inftant cloud puts on,

STEEVENS.

By dark'ning my clear fun.] Thefe lines have paffed all the editors. Does the reader understand them? By me they