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The  Tragedy  of  Sir  John 
Tan  Olden  Barnavett 


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Hanc   eximij   viri  effigiem  ex  vultu  expressit  Michael  lohannis  a  Mierevelt  pictor  Delfensis 

aeri  incidit  Wilhelmus  Delff. 


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HUMPHREY    MILFORD 

OXFORD    UNIVERSITY    PRESS 

LONDON    EDINBURGH  GLASGOW  NEW  YORK  TORONTO 

MELBOURNE   CAPE  TOWN    BOMBAY   CALCUTTA 


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THE  TRAGEDY  OF  SIR  JOMN 
VAN  OLDEN  BARNAVELT 

ANONY/v\ous  Elizabethan  Flay 

EDITED     FROA    THE     MANUSCRIPT 
WITH    INTRODUCTION    AND     NOTES 

BY 

WILHELAINA   p.  FRIcJLINCK 


ACADE/niSCH    PROEFSCHRIPT 

TER  VERKRIJGING  VAN  DEN  GRAAD  VAN 

DOCTOR  IN  DE  LETTEREN  en  WIJ5BEGEERTE 

AAN  DE  UNIVERSITEIT  VAN  AASTERDAA,  OP  GE2AG 
VAN  DEN  RECTOR-AAGNIFICUS  Dr.  P.  ZEEMAN,  HOOG- 
LEERAARINDEFACULTEITDERWIS-ENNATUURKUNDE. 
IN  HET  OPENBAAR  TE  VERDEDIGEN  OP  AAANDAG 
9    OCTOBER    1922    DES    NAAIDDAGS    TE   3   UUR  (precies) 

IN  DE  AULA  DER  UNIVERSITEIT  DOOR  lo  qQ  ^  J 


WILHEL/AINA  PAULINA  FRIJLINCl 

GEBOREN   TE   A/AERSFOORT 


9^(!).a^, 


1922 

H.   G.   VAN   DORSSEN 

AAVSTERDAAV 


2J9S 
'7 


Aan  de  nagedachtenis 
aijner  ouders. 


PREFACE. 


My  purpose  in  giving  a  new  edition  of  the  Tragedy  of  Sir  John 
Van  Olden  Barnavelt  was  in  the  first  place  to  compare  BuUen's  edition 
with  the  manuscript.  I  have  restored,  but  for  half  a  dozen  words, 
the  passages  scored  through  in  the  manuscript,  which  are  of  interest 
from  a  censorship  point  of  view;  I  also  considered  that  passages, 
deleted  on  account  of  their  being  too  long  for  the  stage,  would  be 
interesting  to  the  reader  of  the  play.  I  have  attempted  a  thorough  in- 
vestigation into  the  sources  of  the  play,  which  has  not  been  done 
before,  testing  the  indebtedness  of  the  dramatists  to  their  sources,  and 
the  influence  which  the  sources  had  on  the  composition  of  the  play. 
I  hope  that  I  have  succeeded  in  throwing  some  light  on  the  question  of 
the  authorship,  and  that  I  have  made  it  clear,  why  the  authorship  is 
assigned  to  Fletcher  and  Massinger.  My  other  reason  for  giving  a  new  edition 
is  that  I  want  to  remove  the  difficulty  which  students  of  English  literature 
have  had  so  far  in  obtaining  the  play,  as  there  exist  but  few  copies  of 
BuUen's  Collection  of  Old  English  Plays,  and  I  think  myself  justified  in 
giving  a  separate  edition  of  a  play  which,  on  account  of  its  literary 
value  and  historical  interest,  deserves  more  attention  from  students  of 
English  literature  than  it  has  yet  received.  I  was  agreeably  surprised 
to  see  my  opinion  confirmed  by  a  remark  in  the  Modern  Language 
Notes  for  May  1921,  vol.  XXXVI.  S.C.C's  review  of  Fr.  Schoel's 
edition  of  the  play  Charlemagne  (the  Distracted  Emperor)  ends  with  the 
words  "Students  look  forward  to  the  forthcoming  edition  of  Heywood's 
The  Captives  announced  by  the  Yale  Press,  and  drawn  from  BuUen's 
rare  volumes.  But  when  shall  wc  have  an  edition  of  the  greatest  of 
BuUen's  'finds'    Sir  John    Van  Olden  BarnaveltT'' 

As  the  language  offers  no  particular  difficulties,  I  have  only  sparsely 
annotated  the  text;  uncommon  and  obsolete  words  are  explained  and 
iUustrated  by  quotations  from  contemporary   authors. 

This  study  was  undertaken  at  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  A.  E.  H.  SwAEN 
Professor  of  EngUsh  Philology  in  the  University  of   Amsterdam.    It   is 


a  pleasant  duty  to  me  to  express  my  deep  gratitude  and  heartiest  thanks 
for  the  stimulating  advice  and  valuable  assistance  which  he  has  always 
with  the  utmost  readiness  and  kindness  afforded  to  me  during  the 
preparation  of  this  study. 

I  am  deeply  indebted  to  Dr.  W.  W.  Greg  the  learned  editor  of  the 
Malone  Society's  texts  for  his  helpful  suggestions  in  my  study  of  the 
manuscript  of  the  play,  and  his  invaluable  information  concerning 
many  words  in  the  deletions.  I  am  glad  of  this  opportunity  to  return 
my  sincerest  thanks  for  his  unceasing  kindness  in  checking  the 
proofsheets  with  the  manuscript,  and  going  through  all  the  deleted 
passages  again.  I  also  thank  Miss  M.  St.  ClARE  Byrne  for  carefully 
going  through  the  deleted  passages  confirming  my  reading. 

It  is  also  a  pleasure  to  me  to  acknowledge  my  thanks  to  Dr.  J.  HoOPS 
Professor  of  English  Philology  in  the  University  of  Heidelberg  for  his 
ready  approval  of  this  study.  I  am  very  grateful  for  much  valuable  advice 
and  encouragement  received  from  him  during  my  studies  in  Heidelberg. 

I  also  want  to  express  my  special  thanks  to  Dr.  J.  H.  Kern  Pro- 
fessor of  English  philology  in  the  University  of  Groningen  for  the 
guidance  in  my  previous  studies.  I  shall  always  hold  his  highly 
interesting  lectures  in  grateful  remembrance. 

My  thanks  are  also  due  to  the  Professors  Dr.  Bachmann,  Dr.  Vetter 
and  Dr.  LiPPS  for  the  instructive  lectures  which  I  had  the  privilege 
of  hearing  at  the  University  of  Zurich. 

I  thank  Dr.  W.  VAN  DER  Gaaf  lecturer  of  English  philology  in  the 
University  of  Amsterdam  for  reading  through  part  of  the  Introduction 
when  Professor  SwAEN  was  away. 

I  want  here  to  acknowledge  the  unceasing  kindness  and  courtesy  of 
the  officals  of  the  libraries  in  Amsterdam,  Zurich  and  Heidelberg  in 
procuring  me  all  the  books  I  wanted,  and  to  the  members  of  the  staff 
of  the  British  Museum  for  their  bibliographical  help;  I  express  my 
best  thanks  for  the  courteous  aid  rendered  me  during  my  study  of  the 
manuscript  in  the  manuscript  room  of  the  British  Museum.  Especial 
thanks  are  also  due  to  the  Librarian  of  the  University  Library  in 
Groningen  for  sending  me  the  Dutch  books  I  needed  during  my  studies 
abroad,  and  to  the  'Koninklijke  Bibliotheek'  in  the  Hague  for  the 
prolonged  use  I  had  of  the  rare  volumes  of  BuUen's  Collection  of  Old 
English  Plays, 

Amsterdam,  October  1922. 


CONTENTS. 


Frontispiece  Photo  of  Barnavelt 

Preface vii 

Introduction xi 

A.  Edition  andmanuscript XI 

B.  S  u  m  mary  of  the  play XV 

C.  DateandStagehistory xviil 

D.  Sources XXIV 

E.  Authorship  and  Distribution  of  scenes.     .     .  LIX 

F.  Placeindramatichistory XCVII 

G.  Aestheticandliteraryvalue CI 

H.     Treatment  of  the  subject  and  Historical 

value CXXVI 

I.       Translations CLIV 

J.       Criticalestimate CLV 

Title  Page clix 

Persons  of  the  play clx 

Company  by  whom  the  play  was  acted clx 

Manuscript  Facsimile 

Text i 

Notes 84 

Bibliography 112 


/^ 


Introduction 

A.     Edition  and  Manuscript 

The  first  edition  of  The  Tragedy  of  Sir  John  Van  Olden  Bamavelt  ap- 
peared in  1883  in  Bullen's  Collection  of  Old  English  Plays,  after  it  had 
remained  in  manuscript  for  over  two  hundred  and  sixty  years.  It  is  printed  in 
the  second  volume  of  the  Collection,  occupying  pages  201  to  314.  All  the 
plays  in  the  volume  are  anonymous,  and  printed  for  the  first  time,  namely 
Dick  of  Devonshire,  The  Lady  Mother,  probably  by  Glapthorne,  and  Cap- 
tain Underwit,  of  which  it  is  almost  certain  that  Shirley  is  the  author. 
At  the  end  are  two  appendices  ;  the  first  gives  a  description  of  the  manus- 
cript, a  folio  volume  numbered  Eg.  M.  S.  1994,  and  the  plays  contained 
in  it ;  the  second  offers  an  interesting  analysis  of  The  Tragedy  of  Sir 
John  Van  Olden  Bamavelt  written  by  R.  Boyle,  who  has  attempted  a 
distribution  of  the  scenes  between  the  two  authors  Fletcher  and  Mas- 
singer. 

Bullen  prefixes  an  Introduction  to  the  play  discussing  the  authorship  ; 
he  gives  some  foot-notes,  principally  on  stage  directions,  names  of  actors, 
and  one  on  a  marginal  note  by  the  censor ;  he  also  indicates  where  passages 
have  been  scored  through.  The  editor  has  not  attempted  to  restore  any 
deleted  passages.  Mr.  Bullen  has  retained  the  old  spelling,  except  for  a  few 
misreadings,  but  modernised  the  old  spelUing  of  "v"  and  "i"  and  the 
punctuation. 

In  1884  there  appeared  a  reprint  of  The  Tragedy  Sir  John  Van  Olden 
Bamavelt  at  the  Hague,  published  by  M.  Nijhoff  with  an  introduction 
by  Professor  Fruin. 

Professor  Fruin's  motive  for  giving  a  reprint  of  the  play  was  a  desire 
to  make  the  Dutch  public  acquainted  with  a  fine  historical  play  which 
had  an  important  event  in  Dutch  history  for  its  subject.  In  the  intro- 
duction he  mentions  the  probable  authors,  gives  an  analysis  ot  the 
play,  and  discusses  the  characterization  especially  of  Barnavelt,  whose 
character  he  describes  as  improbable  and  unhistoiical.  Professor 
Fruin  regrets  that  Bullen  has  not  attempted  to  restore  the  deleted 
passages,    as   these    would  be    of   interest    to   us,  and    ends    with    some 

—  XI  — 


remarks  on  the  historical  characters,    and   the    names    of    some    minor 
figures. 

The  present  edition  aims  at  reproducing  the  original  with  strict  fidelity 
on  the  principles  followed  in  the  publications  ol  the  Mai  one  Society.  The 
lines  have  been  numbered  throughout  and  necessary  textual  notes  added 
at  the  foot  of  the  page  ;  all  readings  by  BuUen  different  from  my  readings 
of  the  text,  are  recorded  in  the  foot-notes. 

The  manuscript  of  The  Tragedy  of  Sir  John  Van  Olden  Barnavelt  is 
in  the  British  Museum,  Add.  M.S.  18,653.  It  was  purchased  from  the 
Earl  of  Denbigh  in  185 1,  and  nothing  is  known  about  its  earlier  history. 
In  the  right-hand  corner  of  the  first  folio  ^yK^-J'  is  written  in  different  ink; 
it  is  apparently  a  shelf-mark,  and  not  older  than  the  eighteenth  century. 
The  manuscript  consists  ot  thirty-one  folio  leaves,  bound  in  red  Russia 
leather  ;  the  leaves,  with  the  exception  of  the  inserted  leaves,  are  of  a 
uniform  height  of  11^  inches,  and  width  of  7K  inches.  The  title  is  written 
on  the  front  cover,  in  the  same  large  script  as  is  used  for  the  stage  direc- 
tions, and  by  the  same  hand.  The  text  is  written  on  both  sides  of  the 
leaves,  including  the  last,*  with  the  exception  of  the  inserted  leaves.  There 
are  two  watermarks;  folios  i,  3,  6,  7,  10,  11,  13,  15,  16,  18,  28  have  the 
watermark  of  a  pot,  the  other  mark  is  a  bunch  of  grapes.  The  original 
pagination  is  in  ink ;  all  the  leaves  have  been  numbered  in  pencil  in 
the  British  museum,  including  the  title-page  and  the  inserted  leaves, 
consequently  the  pencil  pagination  counts  up  to  thirty-one  leaves, 
instead  of  the  original  twenty-eight  marked  in  ink.  The  manuscript  is 
preserved  in  a  very  good  state  ;  the  leaf  inserted  between  fols  27  and  28 
has  been  torn ;  two  words  and  some  letters  are  missing.  The  bottom 
edge  of  fol.  19  is  cut  off,  probably  by  the  binder,  and  three  words  cannot 
be  read  with  certainty. 

The  leaf  between  fols  7  and  9  is  a  short  one,  written  on  the  recto  only, 
and  is  evidently  substituted  for  the  original  fol.  8,  which  has  been  cancelled; 
the  pagination  is  not  marked  in  ink,  probably  by  an  oversight  of  the 
scribe.  The  speech  of  the  2  Duch  w.  originally  began  with  line  796,  as 
fol.  9»  is  older  than  the  present  fol.  8.  The  fact  that  two  speeches  by  the 
s?me  speaker  follow  one  another  is  an  accident  of  revision ;  either  the  attri- 
bution in  line  791  2  Diich  w.  is  wrong,  or  the  scribe  has  forgotten  to  delete 
the  speaker's  name  in  line  796. 

Between  fols.  14  and  15  a  short  leaf  is  inserted,  on  the  recto  of  which 
the  short  third  scene  is  written.  At  the  end  of  the  second  scene  on  fol.  14  ^ 

—  XII  — 


a  hand  is  drawn,  which  is  repeated  on  the  inserted  leaf  before  scene  3. 
The  inserted  leaf  is  not  numbered  in  the  pagination,  I  have  called  it 
Fol.  14*  in  the  text.  I  have  indicated  the  point  where  I  returned  to  fol.  14* 
again  by  printing  [Fol.  14^].  The  leaf  has  the  same  watermark  as  fols. 
20  etc.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  this  short  third  scene  is  the  one  on  which 
there  has  been  much  disagreement  among  the  critics  as  to  the  authorship  ; 
it  is  quite  possible  that  the  scene  is  an  interpolation.  Fol.  16  is  evidently  an 
insertion  replacing  a  cancelled  leaf,  the  writing  is  much  lower  than  usual. 
Another  leaf  is  inserted  between  fols.  27  and  28;  on  the  recto  the  conversation 
between  the  two  Lords  is  continued  from  fol.  28,  denoted  by  a  mark  ;  it  is  not 
marked  in  the  pagination,  and  is  damaged,  as  I  described  above ;  I  have 
numbered  it  Fol,  27*,  and  indicated  the  point,  where  I  returned  to  fol.  28^ 
by  [Fol.  28«]. 

The  manuscript  is  written  in  a  clear  hand  in  the  usual  style  of  the 
time  ;  it  is  the  hand  of  a  professional  type  and  is  certain  to  belong  to  a 
scribe.  I  compared  the  handwriting  with  the  facsimile  photo  of  the  tripar- 
tite letter,  written  to  Henslowe  by  Field,  Massinger  and  Daborne,  kindly 
lent  me  by  Dr.  W.  W.  Greg,  and  noted  that  the  handwriting  shows  no 
resemblance  to  any  of  these. 

There  are  few  errors  or  corrections.  English  and  Italian  script  are 
pretty  clearly  distinguished  ;  the  proper  names  and  stage  directions  are 
in  Italian  script,  which  is  also  used  to  distinguish  or  emphasize  a  word, 
as  in  line  2548,  which  is  entirely  in  Italian  characters.  The  distinction 
between  majuscule  and  m.nuscule  forms  sometimes  offer  difficulties, 
in  particular  in  the  case  of  'L'  and  '1'.  Sometimes  the  majuscule  is 
curly  and  with  flourishes,  as  frequently  in  'Lordships,'  but  in  other  cases  *L'  is 
quite  questionable.  Wherever  the  majuscule  is  clear,  I  printed  'L',  in  other 
cases  I  have  retained  the  minuscule.  The  majuscule,  *M'  and  *N*  are  not 
very  clearly  distinguished  either  ;  I  have  let  an  initial  curl  mark  a  capital. 
In  the  case  of  V  and  'y'  the  initial  curls  occur  quite  as  often  in  the 
middle  of  a  word,  so  I  have  marked  them  all  for  small  letters  'w'  and  *y'» 

The  pointing  is  careful,  though  full  points  at  the  end  of  a  line  are  some- 
times not  marked  ;  in  this  case  I  did  not  print  them.  The  scribe  uses 
full  points,  commas,  colons,  semicolons  and  points  of  interrogation. 
The  use  of  marks  of  exclamation  is  doubtful ;  they  seem  not  to  have  a 
shape  different  from  the  queries.  The  scribe  uses  a  query  several  times, 
where  we  should  use  an  exclamation  ;  only  in  line  2532  'ha  !'  the  form 
is  quite  different  from  the  usual  interrogation  mark.  I  have  noted  the 
others  as  doubtful. 

—   XTII   — 


The  stage  directions  have  been  added  in  darker  ink,  and  I  have  little 
doubt,  by  the  same  hand.^  The  interlineations  of  the  deleted  lines  are 
also  in  darker  ink,  but  in  a  different  hand ;  the  ink  is  probably  the  same 
as  that  of  the  overwriting  of  the  cancelled  passages.  The  actors'  names 
seem  to  be  added  in  a  different  hand  from  the  text  and  directions;  this 
is  always  recorded  in  the  footnotes.  The  alterations  in  the  directions 
seem  to  be  by  the  original  hand.  It  is  a  matter  of  special  interest  that 
another  hand  appears  in  the  manuscript.  There  is  a  marginal  note  signed 
"G  B"  on  Fol.  4^  ,  in  the  handwriting  of  Sir  George  Buc.  Mr.  Bullen 
compared  the  marginal  note  with  an  autograph  letter  and  found  the 
handwriting  to  correspond  exactly  ;  he  states  in  a  note  :  'The  initials 
are  unquestionally  those  of  Sir  George  Buc".^ 

We  recognise  this  hand  again  in  the  substitutions  of  the  deleted  lines 
in  the  fourth  act,  namely  line  2436  "cutt  of  his  opposites,"  and  line  2445 
"to  another  forme".  The  censor  seems  to  have  read  the  manuscript  very 
carefully  ;  all  through  the  play  lines  are  marked  for  deletion  by  crosses 
in  ink  before  the  lines  ;  they  generally  contain  disrespectful  utterances 
about  the  Prince  of  Orange  ;  the  objectionable  words  are  deleted,  and  others 
interlined  or  a  dded.  In  this  edition  the  deleted  words  are  indicated  by  square 
brackets  ;  the  interlineations  have  been  printed  after  the  original  reading; 
they  are  always  recorded  in  the  notes.  All  mutilations  are  indicated  by 
pointed  brackets  ;  of  the  letters  printed  within  the  pointed  brackets 
insufficient  traces  remain  to  make  the  reading  certain.  There  are  quite 
a  considerable  number  of  passages  deleted  ;  the  lines  marked  for  omission, 
but  not  actually  cancelled,  amount  to  54 ;  there  are  104  whole  lines 
deleted ;  besides  these  there  are  seven  half  lines,  and  fifteen  words,  can- 
celled, where  other  words  are  interlined.  Sometimes  the  lines  substituted 
for  the  deleted  ones  are  written  in  the  margin  ^;  on  Fol.  23^  the  lines 
in  the  margin,  substituted  for  the  deleted  ones,  were  even  cancelled 
subsequently,  which  renders  the  complication  of  substitution  and  dele- 
tion very  interesting. 

There  is  no  list  of  dramatis  personae  ;  the  names  of  actors  are  sometimes 
added  in  full,   or  in  initials,   usually  in  the  right-hand   margin. 


*  Mr.  Greg  is  of  the  same  opinion.  Professor  Cruickshank  considers  the  stage-direction* 
to  be  in  another  hand,  cf.  Phil.  Massinger,  Appendix  VII,  n.  :  "The  stage  directions 
are  in  a  bolder  hand  and  deep  black  ink,  they  are  plainly  part  of  the  MS.  and  not 
later  insertions." 

■    Page  204  in  the  Introduction  to  the  Tragedy  of  Barnavelt. 

•  Fol.  yb. 


XIV 


In  the  introduction  to  the  Welsh  Embassador,  edited  by  the  Malone 
Society,  April  1921,  the  editor  calls  attention  to  a  technical  point,  which 
is  common  to  many  manuscripts  of  the  time,  and  being  also  particularly 
marked  in  the  play  of  Sir  John  Van  Olden  Barnavelt,  deserves  notice  here. 

''In  order  to  obtain  ahgnment  for  the  speeches  and  to  provide  a  suitable 
margin,  the  folio  leaf  was  folded  first  down  the  middle  and  then  each 
half  folded  again.  When  flattened  out  the  whole  leaf  was  thus  divided 
into  four  equal  columns.  The  lines  of  the  text  were  begun  at  the  left 
hand  fold,  thus  leaving  one  column  for  speakers' names  and  stage  directions 
and  three  for  the  text :  of  these  a  normal  line  ol  verse  occupies  about 
two  ;  each  column  is  just  under  two  inches  wide."  In  our  play  the  marginal 
directions  are  usually  written  in  the  last  column. 

The  colotype  facsimiles  reproduce  the  upper  half  of  Fol.  i  «,  and  the 
whole  of  Fol.  23«  showing  the  deletions  and  censor's  marks. 

B.     Summary  of  The  Play 

I  will  now  give  a  summary  of  the  plot  of  the  play.  As  is  usual  with 
Massinger  he  makes  the  audience  at  once  acquainted  with  the  purpose 
of  the  plot ;  the  opening  of  the  play  is  the  conversation  of  Barnavelt 
with  his  partisans  about  the  Prince  of  Orange,  in  which  Barnavelt's  am- 
bition and  plans  to  defy  the  Prince  are  exposed.  The  people  say  that 
they  owe  victory  and  peace  to  the  Prince,  this  makes  him  proud.  Barnavelt 
enumerates  in  an  indignant  speech  what  the  ungrateful  people  owe  to 
himself  and  to  his  statesmanship.  He  threatens  that  having  made  the 
State  to  what  it  is  now,  he  can  undo  his  work  again  and  bring  back  Spain's 
tyranny.  Modesbargen  warns  him  against  taking  this  course  of  action  to  gain 
glory  and  popular  applause,  telling  him  that  he  has  the  greatest  power 
in  the  state,  adding  "let  this  suffice  your  ambition".  The  others  promise 
to  stand  by  Barnavelt.  Two  captains  enter  with  a  petition.  Barnavelt 
knows  them  for  having  railed  at  the  States  and  tells  them  in  angry  words 
that  their  company  is   dismissed. 

In  the  second  scene  Barn  velt  openly  professes  himself  of  the  Arminan 
sect ;  in  defiance  of  the  Prince,  who  is  a  sworn  enemy  to  this  creed. 
Barnavelt  advises  the  Arminian  1  aders  to  win  ovei;\the  burghers  to  their 
party,  and  enroll  new  companies  to  defend  them  against  the  old  soldiers. 

The  other  Lords  of  the  State  come  in  order  to  be  present  at  the  meeting, 
where  a  discussion  will  be  held  on  the  oath  which  the  Prince  is  to  take.  Bar- 
navelt argues  that  the  Prince  is  only  a  servant  to  the  State,  and  not  higher 


XV  — 


in  rank  than  any  of  them  ;  he  will  explain  his  views,  nieanwhile  the  Prince 
shall  have  to  wait  outside. 

Scene  3.  The  Prince  of  Orange  conges  with  his  officiers,  but  access 
is  denied  to  him  ;  the  indignant  officers  are  about  to  force  the  door,  but 
the  Prince,  in  a  magnanimous  speech  prevents  this,  saying  "they  are 
the  masters  to  whom  we  owe  obedience." 

The  council  breaks  up,  the  Prince  humbly  asks  in  what  way  he  has 
offended.  Barnavelt  tells  him  he  has  grown  too  haughty  and  insolent. 
The  Prince  accuses  Barnavelt  of  spreading  rebellion  by  religious  dissent 
and  of  having  raised  new  forces,  threatening  "to  shake  of  his 
head." 

The  Prince  tells  the  officers  it  is  necessary  to  quell  this  rebellion  ; 
they  commission  him  to  take  the  towns,  where  Barnavelt  has  enlisted 
mercenaries. 
Act  II. 

Barnavelt  tells  Leidenberch  and  Modesbargen  that  their  plot  against  the 
Prince  is  discovered  and  that  Van  Dort  and  Bredero  are  going  to  force  the 
towns.  Roch-Giles  comes  with  captains  and  a  lieutenant  of  the  old  companies; 
they  try  to  win  the  officers  over  to  their  party.  The  Captain  tells  them 
in  a  bold  speech  that  they  are  loyal  to  the  Prince  and  will  not  be  persuaded 
to  do  anything  dishonest,  asserting  that  the  States  enrich  themselves 
by  the  war,  and  get  money  from  the  foreign  officers  coming  to  the  country. 
They  serve  only  lor  honour  and  not  for  gain,  and  refuse  to  rebel  against 
the  Prince,  but  will  defend  him  against  the  rebels.  Barnavelt  has  overheard 
the  conversation,  and  in  his  anger  decides  to  raise  a  revolt  against  this 
tyrant  and  to  assert  the  superior  power  of  the  States. 

Then  follow  some  short  scenes  in  which  Dutch  women  talk  to  an 
English  lady,  probably  the  wife  of  an  English  officer.  They  speak  of 
women's  rights,  and  are  proud  of  calling  their  husbands  servants  and  not 
masters.  Van  der  Mitten,  a  burgher,  brings  the  news  that  the  Prince  has 
disarmed  the  towns  and  that  the  old  companies  remain  faithful  to  him.  The 
Prince  comes  and  desires  to  enter  the  town,  whereupon  the  English 
guards  open  the  gate  declaring  they  will  fight  for  him.  The  Prince  has 
entered  the  town  to  the  great  alarm  of  the  burghers'  wives,  the  English 
lady  looking  on  and  laughing  at  their  fear.  The  Prince  orders  his  officers 
to  disarm  the  town,  tells  Leidenberch,  who  wants  to  defend  his  behaviour, 
that  he  will  be  tried  at  the  Hague. 
Act  III. 

Bredero  and  Van  Dort  speak  about  the  rumour  that  the  Advocate 

—   XVI   — 


is  suspected.  Barnavelt  appears,  and  they  tell  him  of  the  rumours.  Barna- 
velt's  indignation  is  great ;  he  speaks  in  bitter  words  of  the  ingratitude 
of  the  people  and  says  he  will  die  free,  as  he  lived  ;  if  the  Prince  wants  to 
bring  him  to  submission,  he  shall  have  to  draw  his  sword.  Barnavelt's 
son  brings  the  news  that  the  mercenaries  in  Utrecht  are  disbanded;  Leiden- 
berch  has  been  taken  prisoner,  and  Modesbargen  has  fled.  Barnavelt  starts 
at  the  news,  but  does  not  lose  courage  ;  he  is  resolved  fight  to  the  last. 
In  the  next  scene  the  Prince  resumes  his  seat  in  the  council,  and  in  a 
generous  speech  begs  the  Lords  to  admit  Barnavelt  again,  as  he  still  loves 
him,  but  the  others  refuse  to  do  so.  The  Prince  tells  the  Lords  that  he  has 
disarmed  the  towns,  and  offers  mediation  for  the  suspected  persons,  but  the 
others  decide  that  they  ought  to  be  punished.  Leidenberch  has  already 
confessed  some  secrets.  The  Prince  sends  a  captain  to  Germany  to  find 
Modesbargen,  and  try  to  capture  him.  Leidenberch  is  brought  in;  he  pro- 
mises to  tell  what  he  knows  about  the  plot.  He  is  sent  back  to  prison  where 
his  little  son  is  allowed  to  stay  with  him. 

Barnavelt  visits  Leidenberch  in  prison,  where  the  latter  confesses 
that  he  has  betrayed  their  secrets.  Barnavelt  shows  great  anger,  and 
overwhelms  him  with  reproaches  ;  he  points  out  that  the  only  way  to 
save  their  honour  is  committing  suicide.  He  assures  Leidenberch  that 
he  will  do  the  same  ;  then  their  secrets  will  be  safe. 

A  pathetic  scene  follows  when  Leidenberch  takes  leave  of  his    son, 
and  kills  himself  with  a  penknife. 
Act  IV. 

This  scene  is  laid  in  the  neighbouring  country  on  Modesbargen's  estate. 
While  Modesbargen  is  hunting,  he  is  detected  by  Maurice's  soldiers;  they 
have  laid  a  plan  to  bar  his  way  back  to  the  castle,  by  breaking  the  axle 
tree  of  a  haycart,  which  is  standing  on  the  drawbridge.  Modesbargen 
finds  out  that  he  is  betrayed ;  he  hurries  home,  but  cannot  enter  the 
castle  as  the   haycart  is  still  in  the  way,  and  is  taken  prisoner. 

In  the  second  scene  the  Prince  hears  the  news  that  Leidenberch  has 
committed  suicide ;  he  fears  that  the  prisoner's  guilt  is  greater  than  was 
suspected,  and  is  going  to  have  the  best  companies  sent  to  the  town  to 
be  secured  against  hostile  attempts.  The  next  scene  presents  Barnavelt 
in  his  study  looking  over  State  papers,  and  enumerating  all  his  ser- 
vices to  the  country ;  he  speaks  of  his  doubts  and  betrays  greats  fear, 
but  takes  courage,  when  his  son  comes  to  tell  him  that  Leidenberch  is 
dead.  A  Captain  of  the  Prince's  guard  enters,   and  takes  him  prisoner. 

In  the  next  scene  the  burghers  and  women  are  decorating  the  houses 


XVII 


with  flowers,  because  it  is  the  annual  fair.  They  come  to  Barnavelt's 
house  with  flowers,  and  sing  a  song  to  Barnavelt's  wife.  The  Prince 
overhears  their  conversation  in  praise  of  Barnavelt  noticing  that  the 
advocate  is  still  much  loved.  The  next  scene  is  Barnavelt's  trial ; 
here  he  shows  his  undaunted  courage  defying  his  accusers.  Modes- 
bargen  is  brought  in  and  pleads  guilty.  The  Lords  bring  proofs 
against  Barnavelt,  but  he  denies  all  guilt  warning  them,  in  a  last 
bold  speech,  against  unjust  proceedings,  as  this  will  ruin  a  State. 
Act  V. 

Barnavelt's  wife  and  daughter  bring  a  basket  of  pears  to  the  prison. 
The  servant  gives  it  to  the  provost  who  tries  one,  and  discovers  a  scroll 
of  paper  in  it,  with  these  words  :  "you  have  friends  left  and  therefore 
despair  not."  He  shows  it  the  Prince ;  who  now  resolves  to  take  severer 
measures  against  Barnavelt.  The  French  ambassadors  come  to  the 
Prince  to  mediate  for  Barnavelt.  The  Prince  will  explain  the  affair 
to  the  King  of  France,  who  is  sure  to  approve  of  their  proceedings. 

Barnavelt  is  sent  for,  and  receives  his  sentence  of  death.  Then 
follows  a  rough  comic  scene  of  three  executioners,  who  throw  dice 
to  decide  which  of  them  shall  be  allowed  to  behead  the  advocate.  The  last 
scene  presents  the  execution.  Leidenberch's  coffin  is  hung  up  on  the 
gallows  ;  in  Barnavelt's  last  speech  he  again  sets  forth  his  services  to 
his  ungrateful  country,  and  dies  with  a  prayer  for  the  Prince.  Two  Lord? 
watching  the  execution  point  the  moral : 

"farwell,    great   hart  ;   full  low   thy   strength   now   lyes  : 
he    that    would   purge    ambition   this   way    dies." 

C.     Date  and  Stage-history 

With  regard  to  the  date  of  the  play  we  can,  by  a  stroke  of  good  fortune, 
give  almost  the  exact  date  of  the  performance.  Sidney  Lee  published  in  the 
Athenaeum  for  Jan.  19th  1884  a  letter,  found  among  the  State  Papers, 
from  Thomas  Locke  to  Carlton  the  English  Ambassador  at  the  Hague, 
dated  August  14th   1619,    running  as   follows  : 

"The  Players  heere  were  bringing  of  Barnavelt  upon  the  stage,  and  had 
bestowed  a  great  deale  of  money  to  prepare  all  things  for  the  purpose, 
but  at  the  instant  were  prohibited  by  my  Lo.  of  London."^ 


\ 


•  Domestic  State  Papers  James  I  vol.  CX  No.   18. 


XVIII 


Mr.  Lee  remarks  :  'The  play  was  thus  ready  on  August  14th  1619  and 
its  performance  was  hindered  by  John  King  Bishop  of  London.  But  he 
did  not  persist  in  his  obstruction.  On  August  27th  following  Locke  writes: 
"Our  players  have  found  the  meancs  to  goe  through  with  the  play  of  Barna- 
velt  and  it  hath  had  many  spectators  and  receaved  applause."^  We  may 
thus  assign  the  first  performance  to  a  day  immediately  preceding  August 
27th   1619." 

The  time  of  the  composition  of  the  play  can  be  more  precisely  defined, 
when  we  note  the  two  references  to  the  dismissal  of  Barnavelt's  son  as 
governor  of  Bergen-op-Zoom,   of .  : 

"wher  's  my  son  William  ?   his  Goverment  is  gon  too,"* 
and  :  ... 

*'Thou  hast  lost  thy  Charge,  wee  '11  haue  another,  Will.'" 

The  news  of  the  dismissal  of  the  governor  of  Bergen-op-Zoom  was 
communicated  to  England  by  Sir  Dudley  Carlton  on  July  14th  saying 
that  it  happened  last  week.  So,  if  these  Hnes  are  not  later  additions,  the 
play  was  composed  between  July  14th  and  August   14th 

Fleay  remarks  :  "the  play  was  forbidden  by  the  Lord  Mayor  of  London. 
Mr.  Bullen  assigns  the  power  of  prohibitions  to  the  Bishop  of  London, 
but  gives  no  authority  for  this  remarkable  innovation  in  stage-history"*. 

Professor  Creizenach^  also  states  that  the  Lord  Mayor  would  not  give 
permission  for  the  performance,  which  is  undoubtedly  correct. 

We  may  ask  why  was  the  performance  prohibited,  and  what  was  the 
reason  that  the  play  disappeared  from  the  repertory  and  was  not  printed  in 
the  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  Folio  of  1647.^  It  was  lost  sight  of  altogether, 
till  it  was  brought  to  light  at  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century.  It  is  surely 
not  wonderful  that  the  performance  should  have  been  forbidden ;  the 
excitement  in  England  about  the  Arminian  controversy  in  Holland,  and 
the  interest  taken  in  the  trial  and  execution  of  the  great  statesman,  is 
shown  by  the  pamphlets  and  libels  which  were  translated  into  English, 
and  a  ballad,  to  which  I  shall  revert  later  on.  King  James,  who  had  not 
given  up  his  favourite  project  of  a  Spanish  marriage  for  his  son,  was 


^  Dom.    State   Papers   James  I   vol.    CX   No.    37. 
'  line  1951. 

•  line  2020. 

*  History  of  the  Stage  Chapt.  V. 

■  Geschichte  des  neueren  Dramas  Bd.  IV. 


—   XIX    — 


anxious  to  gain  favour  with  Spain,  so  he  could  not  approve  of  a  play 
directed  against  Spain ;  he  surely  did  not  want  to  have  Barnavelt  brought 
upon  the  stage  in  London  as  a  hero,  as  he  had  perpetually  tried  to  bring 
about  his  fall. 

Professor  Schelling  expresses  the  same  opinion,  when  he  writes  :  "the 
openly  expressed  hatred  which  King  James  bore  the  fallen  Dutch  states- 
man gives  credibility  to  the  surmise  of  a  prohibition,  and  accounts  for 
the  singular  circumstance  that  so  extraordinary  a  work  should  have 
remained   unknown   and   unpublished  until   our   own   day."^ 

Prohibitions  of  plays  were  no  matter  of  unusual  occurrence  on  the 
Elizabethan  and  Jacobean  stage.  As  early  as  1559  Queen  Elizabeth  had 
issued  a  proclamation  as  to  licenses  for  interludes  not  touching  religion 
or  politics.  It  runs : 

"No  play  shal  be  permitted  to  be  played  wherein  either  matter  of  religion  or  of 
gouernance  of  the  estate  of  common  weal  shal  be  handled  or  treated  on  danger  of 
arrest  and  imprisonment." 

The  dramatist  Nash  tells  us  in  a  tract  The  Returne  of  the  renowned 
Cavaliero  Pasquill  of  England  1589  that  the  performance  in  the  nature 
of  an  old  moral  "Vetus  Comoedia"  bringing  Martin  Marprelate  on  the 
stage,  occasioned  the  temporary  inhibition  of  plays  in  the  City  by  the 
Chief  Magistrate  "because  it  had  ventured  to  represent  upon  the  stage 
a  matter  of  state   and    religion." 

But  at  that  time,  when  an  author  wanted  to  express  his  political  opin- 
ion or  his  ambition  prompted  him  to  aim  at  success,  he  was 
almost  obliged  to  address  the  people  from  the  stage,  for  in  this  case 
he  was  sure  to  get  a  hearing.  "The  theatre  was  at  once  the  news- 
paper, the  review,  the  magazine  and  the  novel  of  the  seventeenth 
century ;  all  popular  literary  interest  centred  in  the  stage."**  We 
need  only  think  of  Hamlet's  words :  "Let  the  players  be  well 
used,  for  they  are  the  abstract  and  brief  chronicles  of  the  time; 
after  your  death  you  were  better  have  a  bad  epitaph  than  their  ill  report, 
while  you  live."*  So  in  spite  of  the  prohibition  the  players  persisted  in 
introducing  political  events  and  bringing  public  persons  on  the  stage 
with  the  result  that  actors  and  authors  frequently  got  into  trouble.  In 
1603   Ben  Jonsons's  Sejanus  brought  the   King's  men  into  difficulties. 


*  The  Elizabethan  Drama. 

•  W.  Donne.  Essays  on  the  Drama. 

•n  2. 


—    XX    — 


Ben  was  accused  of  papacy  and  treason  by  the  Earl  ol  Northampton 
and  imprisoned  ;  at  the  intervention  of  the  Earl  of  Suffolk  he  was  set 
at  liberty  again.  Collier  states  with  respect  to  the  prohibition  of  a 
tragedy  on  the  conspiracy  of  Gowry  9 gainst  King  James  that  John 
Chamberlain  wrote  a  letter  to  Winwood  dated   i8th  Dec.   1604  :^ 

The  Tragedy  of  Gowry  with  al  the  action  and  actors  hath  been  twice  represented 
by  the  King's  Players  with  exceeding  concourse  of  all  sorts  of  people.  But  whether 
the  matter  or  manner  be  not  well  handled,  or  that  it  be  thought  that  Princes  should 
not  be  played  on  the  stage  in  their  life-time,  I  hear  that  some  great  counsellors  are 
much  displeased  with  it,  and  so  it  is  thought,  it  shall  be  forbidden."* 

Whether  it  was  prohibited  or  not  is  uncertain,  but  no  such  play  has 
survived  to  our  day.  Collier  tells  us  that  in  the  play  Eastward  Hoe  !  by 
Marston,  Jonson  and  Chapman,  and  probably  acted  by  the  Children  of  the 
Revels  in  1 604,  some  passages  on  the  Scotch  had  given  offence  to  Sir 
James  Murray,  who  represented  this  in  so  strong  a  light  to  the  King  that 
orders  were  given  to  arrest  the  authors.  A  report  was  spread  that  the 
poets  would  be  punished  by  having  their  ears  cut  off,  but  they  were 
soon  set  at  liberty,  presumably  at  the  intercession  of  Camden  and 
Selden.^ 

Another  play :  Chapman's  Conspiracy  and  Tragedy  of  Charles  Duke 
of  Byron  raised  difficulties.  In  a  letter  dated  April  5,  1608  Beaumont, 
the  French  ambassador  in  London,  writes  :* 

"I  caused  certain  Players  to  be  forbid  from  acting  the  History  of  Biron,  when 
however  they  saw  that  the  whole  court  had  left  the  town  they  persisted  in  acting  it; 
nay  they  brought  upon  the  stage  the  Queen  of  France  and  Mademoiselle  de  Verneuil. 
The  former  having  first  accosted  the  latter  with  very  hard  words,  gave  her  a  box 
on  the  ear.  At  my  suit  three  of  them  were  arrested,  but  the  principal  person,  the  author 
escaped." 

Before  the  performance  of  Barnavelt's  catastrophe  there  is  another 
striking  instance  of  the  readiness  of  the  playwrights  to  bring 
a  contemporary  historical  event  on  the  stage,  in  a  play  concerning  the 
Marquis  d'Ancre,  who  was  killed  in  April  1617.  The  Privy  Council  writes 
to  the  Master  of  the  Revels  Sir  George  Buc  in  June  1617  : 


*  The  History  of  English  dramatic  Poetry  and  Annals  of  the  Stage,  I. 
»  Winwood  memorials  of  State  1725. 

*  op.   cit. 

*  1608  misprinted  1605  in  the  English  translation,  see  Bertram  Dobell  New  discovered 
Documents  of  the  Elizabethan  and  Jacobean  Period. 


XXI 


"Wee  are  informed  that  there  are  certeyne  Players,  or  Comedians,  wee  know  not 
of  what  company,  that  goe  about  to  play  some  enterlude  concerning  the  late  Mar- 
quesse  d*  Ancre,  which  for  many  respects  wee  think  noi  fitt  to  be  suffered.  Wee  doe 
therefore  require  you,  upon  your  perill,  to  take  order  that  the  same  be  not  represented 
or  played  in  any  place  about  the  Citty,  or  elsewhere  where  you  have  authoritie.  And 
hereof  have  ^you  a  speciall  care." 

Some  years  after  the  performance  of  Barnavelt,  in  August  1624,  there 
was  a  great  commotion  about  Middleton's  A  Game  at  Chess,  which  at- 
tacked Gondomar  the  Spanish  ambassador.  As  it  gave  expression  to  the 
popular  indignation  against  Spain,  the  play  was  an  enormous  success. 
The  ambassador  lodged  a  complaint  with  the  Priory  Council  'ot  bringing 
a  modern  Christian  King  upon  the  stage',  as  this  was  forbidden.  After 
three  days  of  overflowing  houses  the  players  were  summoned  and  reproved, 
but  Middleton  had  'shifted  out  of  the  way.'  The  performance  was  for- 
bidden, but  nobody  punished :  'the  King  being  unwilling  for  one's 
sake  and  only  fault  to  punish  the  innocent  and  utterly  ruin  the 
company.'^ 

Massinger  had  all  through  his  career  been  known  for  his  unflagging 
interest  in  contemporary  history,  and  his  plays  are  remarkable  for  the 
social  and  political  allusions,  especially  those  written  alone  after  Flet- 
cher's death.  In  Believe  as  You  List  he  reproducesunder  fictitious  names 
the  refusal  of  Charles  to  give  assistance  to  his  brother  in-law,  and  describes 
the  wandering  exile  ot  the  Elector  Palatine ;  he  denounces  the  policy 
of  Weston,  whom  he  considers  bribed  by  Spain.  The  comparison  between 
Bithynia  and  Rome  refers  to  England  and  Spain.  Collier  tells  us  that 
Massinger  seems  to  have  had  some  difficulty  in  getting  the  play  licensed. 
It  appears  that  the  license  was  refused  in  1630  from  an  entry  in  Sir  H.  Her- 
bert's Office  Book  which  runs  : 

*'iist  Jan.  1630/31.  1  did  refuse  to  license  a  play  by  Massinger  because  it  did  contain 
dangerous  matter,  as  the  deposing  of  Sebastian  King  of  Portugal  by  Philip  the  [2nd] 
and  there  being  a  peace  sworn  twixt  the  Kings  of  England  and  Spain." 

Massinger  seems  to  have  made  alterations  in  the  play,  and  it  was  licensed 
as    Believe  as   You    List. 

Sir  Henry  Herbert  speaks  of  another  incident  connected  with  the  license  of 
a  play  by  Massinger,  now  lost,  entitled  The  King  and  the  Subject.  In  the  speech 
of  Don  Pedro  King  of  Spain  to  his  subjects,  there  is  a  passage  about 
the  King's  difficulties  in  raising  supplies  by  shipmoney.  King    Charles 


1  Collier  Op.  cit. 


—   XXII 


9"?^  ijtt;u  i^ih   ^i^y^^;   :j 


saw  it,  and  remarked  :  this  is  too  insolent  and  to  be  changed.  A  result 
of  these  prohibitions  was  that  a  play  was  suppressed,  and  that  it  dis- 
appeared from  the  repertory  ;  it  was  often  not  printed,  and  even  got  lost 
altogether.  I  think  it  almost  certain  that  this  is  the  reason  why  the  Tragedy 
of  Sir  John  Van  Olden  Barnavelt  does  not  occur  in  the  Beaumont  and 
Fletcher   Folio  of  1647. 

A  play  that  had  been  forbidden,  was  often  printed  in  a  mutilated 
form.  Bertram  Dobell^  describes  the  difficulty  Chapman  had  to  get  his 
play  The  Conspiracy  and  Tragedy  of  Charles  Duke  of  Byron  printed.  The 
author  wrote  a  spirited  letter  of  indignation,  expressing  his  deep  sense 
of  the  wrong  done  to  him.  Afterwards  he  got  leave  to  publish  the  play 
but  with  omissions  and  changes ;  he  complains  about  ''these  sadly 
maimed  and   disfigured   members". 

Professor  Delius^  expresses  a  different  opinion  as  to  the  cause  why 
the  play  disappeared  from  the  stage.  He  thinks  that  a  play  having 
for  its  subject  an  historical  event  happening  in  another  country, 
would  have  been  of  no  interest  to  an  English  audience,  who  where 
used  to  plays  full  of  action,  lively  plots  and  stage  effects.  So  he  con- 
siders it  no  wonder  that  the  public  should  have  been  bored,  and  that  the 
play  should  have  been  withdrawn  and  left  to  oblivion.  After  what  I  have 
said  about  the  interest  taken  in  England  in  the  Dutch  political  questions 
and  Thomas  Locke's  statement  that  the  play  'had  many  spectators 
and  received  applause'  this  theory  is  easily  refuted. 

ColHer  states  "The  latest  date  that  Burbadge's  name  occurs  on  any 
list  is  in  the  license  dated  March  1 61 9  granted  by  the  King  to  the  King's 
Men  to  play  not  only  at  the  Globe  on  the  Bankside,  but  also  at  their 
private  house  situated  in  the  precincts  of  Blackfriars",  and  adds  "we 
should  not  be  surprised  if  the  character  of  Barnavelt  had  been  the  last 
sustained  by  Burbadge.  The  death  of  Barbadge  may  possibly  have  put 
a  stop  to  the  performance  of  the  play  of  Barnavelt."^ 

This  theory  is  wrong,  as  we  know  that  Richard  Burbadge  died  March  13 
1619*. 


^  New  discovered   Documsnts  of  the   Eliz.   and  Jac.    Period. 

*  Jahrbuch    der    Deutschen    Shakespeare    Gesellschaft,    Bd.   XDC,    1 884. 
»  Op  cit.  I. 

*  Fleay  Chronicle  of  the  English  Drama  and  The  Dictionary  of  National  Biography 
both  state  :  *R.  Burbadge  died  according  to  the  registers  of  St.  Leonard's  Shoreditch 
on   13   March   1618/19.' 


—    XXIII   — 


D.    Sources 

In  the  Introduction  to  his  edition  of  Ihe  Tragedy  of  Sir  John  Van 
Oldai  Barnavelt  BuUen  mentions  as  the  sources  which  the  authors 
have  been  able  to  use: 

BarnaveVs  Apologie,  or  Holland's  Hysteria:  with  marginall  Castiga- 
tions,  1618. 

Neives  ont  of  Holland:  concerning  Barnavelt  and  his  fellow- Prisoners, 
their  Conspiracy  against  their  Native  Country  with  the  enemies  thereof,  i6ig. 

The  Arraignment  of  John  Van  Olden  Barnavelt,  late  Advocate  of 
Holland  and  West  Freisland.  Containing  the  articles  alleadged  against 
him  and  the  reasons  of  his  execution,  161  g. 

Professor  Koeppel  remarks  ''Bullen  hat  sich  leider  nicht  die  Miihe 
genommen  das  ihm  vorliegende  Quellenmaterial  mit  dem  Drama  zu 
vergleichen."  ^ 

BuUcn  had  already  given  his  reason  for  not  comparing  the  play  with 
the  sources:  "To  discover  the  materials  from  which  the  playwrights 
worked  up  their  solid  and  elaborate  tragedy  would  require  a  more 
extensive  investigation  than  I  care  to  undertake."  ^ 

Professor  Koeppel  has  compared  Barnavelt's  soliloquy  in  his  study, 
with  the  Latin  translation  of  The  Apology  and  points  out  the  very 
close  relation  of  this  scene  to  the  original;  he  arrives  at  the  same 
conclusion  in  comparing  Barnavelt's  enumeration  of  his  services  to  the 
State  with  the  same  source.  ^  He  also  makes  mention  of  a  tract  Li^iea 
Vitae :  A  Line  of  Life  Oct.  10  1620  by  the  dramatist  John  Ford,  in 
which  the  Dutch  Statesman  is  cited  as  an  example  of  greatness  brought 
to  destruction  by  ambition. 

Motley  mentions  other  pamphlets,  which  may  have  been  known  in 
England  at  that  time,  as: 

The  Golden  Legend  of  the  New  St.  John. 
The  Arminian  Road  to  Spain. 
Declarations  of  the  Golden  Bellows. 

The  historian  remarks :  **It  was  an  age  of  pamphleteering,  of  venomous, 
virulent,    unscrupulous    libels.    And    never   even  in  that  age  had  there 


*  Quillen^studien    zu    den    Dramen    George    Chapman^s^     Philip    Massinger^s    and 

John  Ford's. 

*  Introduction  to  The  Tragedy  of  Sir  John  Van  Olden  Barnavelt.  {Old  Plays,)  Vol.  II. 

*  op.  cii. 

—  XXIV  — 


been  anything-  to  equal  the  savage  attacks  upon  this  great  statesman. 
It  moves  the  gall  of  an  honest  man,  even  after  the  lapse  of  two 
centuries  and  a  half,  to  turn  over  those  long  forgotten  pages,  and  mark  the 
depths  to  wliich  political  and  theological  party  spirit  could  descend.  Day 
by  day  appeared  pamphlets,  each  more  poisonous  than  its  predecessors."  ^ 

There  exists  a  letter  from  Barneveld  to  Caron,  the  States'  ambassador 
to  England,  dated  *26  March  1618'  in  which  he  writes  "we  are  tortured 
more  and  more  v/ith  religious  differences  ;  the  factious  libels  become 
daily  more  numerous  and  more  impudent,  and  no  man  comes  undamaged 
from  the  field.  I,  as  a  reward  for  all  my  troubles,  labours,  and  sorrows, 
have  three  double  portions  of  them."  " 

In  the  play  Bariiavelt  remarks: 

"openly  I  will  profes  myself 

of  the  Arminian  sect alreadie 

'tis  known  I  fauour  you,  and  that  hath  drawne 
libells  against  me:"  " 

Besides  those  mentioned  I  was  fortunate  to  find  in  the  British 
Museum  in  London  the  following  pamphlets: 

Ledenberch  his  Confessions,  both  at  Vtrecht  and  the  Hague',  also  the 
death  of  Taurinus,  and  hoiv  the  said  Ledenberch  murthered  himself. 
Pri?ited  according  to  the  Dutch  Original.  London  161 8. 

A  Proclamation  given  by  the  Discreet  Lords  and  States  of  the  Duke- 
dome  of  Gelderlandt  and  County  of  Zutphen.  London  16 18. 

Sententia  lata  ct  pronunciata  adversus  ad  Ledenber^ium  et  in  cadaver 
ejus  executioni  maiidata.  Hagae  Comitis  161^. 

A  ballad :  Murther  vnmaskedy  or  Barneviles  base  Conspiracie  against 
his  ow7ie  Country,  discouered :  zvho  vyinaturally  comp lotted  to  surrender 
into  the  Arch-dukes  power,  these  foure  Townes,  Vtreicht,  Nimingham, 
Bergen-op-zo7ne,  and  Brill:  Together  with  his  horrible  intent  to  murther 
Graue  Maurice,  and  others.  Pepys,  I,  108.  The  ballad  is  printed  in: 
A  Pepysian  Garland  ed.  by  Hyder  E.  Rollins.   1922. 

The  English  translations  of  other  pamphlets  seem  to  have  perished; 
Motley  mentions  in  another  place:   The  Necessary  and  Living  Discourse 


*  The  Life  and  Death  of  John  of  Barneveld  II. 
'  The  Hague  Archives,  Manuscript. 
'  lines  236  ff. 

—  XXV  — 


of  a  Spanish  Counsellor,  i6i8.  This  pamphlet  is  referred  to  by  Barnavelt 
himself  in  The  Apology  and  is  probably  lost.  Gifford  supposes  that  the 
dramatists  of  that  time  were  indebted  for  Spanish  and  Italian  plots  to 
many  loose  pamphlets  which  lay  heaps  upon  heaps  in  the  vaults  below 
St.  Paul's,  and  perished  in  the  fire  of  London.  The  pamphlets  mentioned 
by  Motley  may  have  suffered  the  same  fate,  but  I  have  been  able  to 
read  the  Dutch  originals,  and  shall  revert  to  them  again. 

Of  the  pamphlets,  mentioned  above,  four  are  referred  to  in  our 
play,  namely  the  Apology \  compare: 

"th'  Appollogie  he  wroat,  so  poorely  raild  at,"  ^ 
Ledenberch  his  Confessions ;  compare : 

"read  the  Confessions 

of  Leidenberch,  and  Taurinus."  ^ 

The  Proclamation  of  Gelderlandt  and  Zutphen,  compare: 

"looke  vpon  this 

signd  by  the  Gouernor,  Chauncellor,  and  Counsell 

of  Gilderland,  and  Zutphen;"  ^ 

The  Arraignment  of  John  Van  Olden  Barnavelt,  to  which  there  is 
a  clear  reference,  and  which  consists  of  thirty-four  articles,  compare : 

"yf  hauing  the  Conspirators  in  our  powre 
we  sentence  none  of  them  being  convincd  too 
of  fowre  and  thirtie  articles,"   * 

When  we  ask  ourselves  the  question :  are  the  dramatists  indebted  to 
these  sources,  and  have  they  been  influenced  by  them,  we  can  safely 
answer  in  the  affirmative.  In  the  composition  of  the  plot  and  in  the 
conception  of  Barnavelt's  character  they  were  decidedly  under  the 
influence  of  their  sources.  They  considered  the  Advocate  to  be  a 
statesman  of  great  abilities,  who  had  rendered  the  country  invaluable 
service,  but  who  deservedly  fell  through  his  ambition,  which  made  him  a 
conspirator  against  the  Prince  of  Orange  and  his  own  country.  This 
view  is  certainly  suggested  by  the  sources,  where  ambition  is  often 
mentioned  as  Barnavelt's  greatest  sin;  cf.  the  title  Newes  out  of  Holland, 
concerning  Barnavelt  and  his  fellow  Prisoners  their  Conspiracy  against 
their  native  country  and  the  following  passage  in  this  pamphlet  "The 
contentions  which  oftentimes  arise  and  are  made  in  the  manage- 
ment  of  affaires,   the  iealousies  of  power  and  authority,  and  ambition 


*  line  1589. 

2  lines  2190-91. 
»  lines  2394  ff. 

*  lines  2561  ff. 

—  XXVI  — 


which  alwaies  drawes  and  drives  men  to  entcrprize  and  take  more 
upon  them  than  they  should,  are  euills  in  all  states." 

The  Proclamatioji  belonging  to  the  Arraignment  begins:  "Forasmuch 
as  it  is  fallen  out  that  some  ambitious  persons,  for  the  furtherance  of 
their  particular  designes  and  ambition " 

In  the  marginall  Castigations  of  Petrus  Holderus  to  BarnaveVs 
Apology  we  read:  *'I  know  moreover,  that  your  ambition  gapes  for 
great  emploiment,  and  an  impotent,  and  vnrestrained  desire  of  praise 
makes  you  adventure  your  selfe  blindfolded  in  pursuit  thereof,"  and 
on  page  12:  **but  your  ambition  is  apparent  and  your  vaunts  prove 
you  to  be  as  vaine  as  vanity  itself." 

In  the  tract  Lima  Vitae  the  author  expresses  the  same  view.  He 
treats  of  the  danger  of  sins  besetting  men  in  high  offices,  whom  he 
calls  'publicke  men'.  He  gives  three  instances  in  three  famous  coun- 
tries of  'publicke  men'  fallen  victims  to  the  dangers  of  pride,  envy 
and  flattery,  'all  chancing  within  the  compasse  of  twentie  years.'  In 
England,  Robert,  Earl  of  Essex ;  in  France,  Charles,  Duke  of  Byron ; 
in  the  Netherlands,    Sir  John  Van  Olden  Barneuelt. 

The  passage  quoted  by  Koeppel  in  his  above-mentioned  Qiiellen- 
studien  is  remarkable  for  the  public  opinion  prevailing  in  England 
about  the  Dutch  statesman's  life  and  death : 

"Sir  lohn  Van  Olden  Barnauelt,  in  the  Netherlands  (whose  ashes  are  scarce  colde) 
is  and  will  bee,  a  lively  president  of  the  mutabilitie  of  greatness.  Hee  was  the  only 
one  that  traffiqued  in  the  counsels  of  foreine  princes,  had  factors  in  all  Courts, 
Intelligencers  amongst  all  Christian  nations;  stood  as  the  Oracle  of  the  Prouinces, 
and  was  euen  the  Moderator  of  Policies  of  all  sorts:  was  reputed  to  bee  second  to 
none  on  earth  for  soundness  and  designes;  was  indeed  his  Countreyes  both  Minion, 
Mirror  and  Wonder:  yet,  enforcing  his  publicke  authoritie  too  much  to  bee  servant 
to  his  private  ambition,  hee  left  the  tongue  of  lustice  to  proclayme,  that  long  life 
and  a  peacefuU  death  are  not  granted  or  held  by  the  Charters  of  Honour,  except 
vertuous  Resolution  renew  the  patent,  at  a  daily  expence  of  prof  iciencie  in  goodnesse." 

It  is  interesting  to  notice  that  this  is  the  same  verdict  our  dramatists 
give  of  Barnavelt;  as  I  have  noted  above,  they  admit  his  great  fame 
and  power  as  a  Statesman,  but  judge  that  he  deservedly  fell  as  a  victim 
to  his  private  ambition. 

The  dramatists  make  Barnavelt  resort  to  religion  as  his  instrument 
to  attain  his  bad  purpose;  his  revolt  and  conspiracy  are  to  be  covered 
by  the  cloak  of  religious  convictions.  In  the  first  scene  he  hears  of 
the  growing  popularity  and  power  of  the  Prince ;  in  order  to  excel  and 

—  XXVII  — 


ruin  him,  he  lays  a  treacherous  plot  and  in  the  second  scene  confesses 
himself  openly   of  the  Arminian  sect. 

This   view   is   expressed    in   the   tract  mentioned  before :  "that  there 
was  neuer  any  publique  mischief  attempted  in  a  State  by  even  Atheists, 
or   very   incarnate    Deuils,    but   Religion   was  their  colour  to  effect  it." 
In  our  play  we  find ; 

*who  blew  new  fires, 
even  fires  of  fowle  rebellion,  I  must  tell  ye, 
the  bellowes  to  it,  Religion."  ^ 

These  words  recall  a  passage  in  the  Castigations : 

"as  for  your  Arminians,  they  are  the  Deuils  instruments,  and 
the  bellows  to  blow  the  fire  of  contention" 

This  view  is  again  expressed  in  the  last  scene  of  the  play: 

"Examine  all  men 
branded  with  such  fowle  syns  as  you  now  dye  for, 
and  you  shall  find  their  first  stepp  still,  Religion: 
Gowrie  in  Scotland,  't  was  his  maine  pretention; 
was  not  he  honest,  too?  his  Cuntries  father? 
those  fyery  speritts  next  that  hatchd  in  England 
that  bloody  Powder  Plot:  and  thought  like  meteors 
to  haue  flashd  their  Cuntryes  peace  out  in  a  moment: 
were  not  their  Barrells  loden  with  Religion?"  ^ 

The  pamphlets  of  the  time  must  have  equally  influenced  the  dra- 
matists in  their  conception  of  the  Prince  of  Orange ;  over  against  the 
plotting,  ambitious  statesman,  stands  the  generous,  noble  and  virtuous 
warrior.  The  opinion  of  the  King  of  England,  who  hated  Barnavelt 
and  whose  feelings,  though  not  his  political  opinions,  were  in  the  Prince's 
favour,  may  also  have  added  to  this  influence,  for  the  renowned 
General  was  greatly  admired  in  England.  I  have  seen  several  pamphlets 
singing  the  praise  of  the  Victor  of  Flanders,  as: 

The  honorable  Victory  obtained  by  Graue  Maurice  his  Excellencie  against 
the  cittie  of  Rhyneberg^  translated  of  the  Dutch  copie.  London,  IS97- 

A  discourse  more  at  large  of  the  late  ouerthrowe  giuen  to  the  King 
of  Spaines  armie  at  Turnehaut  by  Count  Morris  of  Nassawe  1^97- 

The  Battaile  fought  betweene  Count  Maurice  of  Nassanx  and  Albertus 
Archduke  of  Austria  nere  Newport  in  Flaunders  the  XXII  day  of 
June  1600. 


*  lines  521—23. 

*  lines  2938  ff. 


—  XXVIII 


A  short  report  of  the  honourable  lourrtey  into  Brabant  by  Graue  Mauris 
Gouernour  of  the  Vnited  Netherlandish  Provinces  from  the  26  day  of  lune 
to  the  ig  day  of  Inly  1602. 

In  the  Legend  of  New  St.  John  the  Prince  is  praised  in  the  same 
terms.  We  read  here: 

''Now  if  hee  {i,  e.  Barnavelt)  haue  done  the  Country  such  great  service  as  he  vaunts 
of,  what  service  hath  his  Excellency  done,  that  hath  led  our  Armies  into  the  field, 
and  tooke  all  cares  upon  him,  that  hath  many  times  encountred  his  enemies  with 
small  forces,  and  yet  by  his  prowesse  and  wisedome  hath  so  ordered  his  proceedings, 
that  he  hath  returned  Victor,  and  both  stopt  and  disgraced  the  designes  of  his 
enemies,  putting  his  noble  body  into  most  assured  danger,  for  the  safeguard  and 
welfare  of  his  Country?" 

and  page  28: 

"The  valiant  and  renowned  Prince  of  Orange  following  his  father's  steps" 
The  Castigations  also  abound  in  flattering  epithets  as: 

"but  your  worth,  most  excellent  Prince  secures  you."  ^ 
and, 

"Noble  Prince,  let  him  feele  and  haue  experiment  of  your  power  and  valour: 
cleere  your  selfe,  and  your  honour."  ^ 

It  is  only  natural  that  it  should  be  so;  Motley  remarks  "The 
sword  is  usually  an  overmatch  for  the  long  robe  in  political  struggles. 
The  contest  to  which  the  Advocate  was  called  had  become  mainly  a 
personal  and  a  political  one;  it  was  an  unequal  contest  and  the  chances 
were  singularly  against  Barneveld.  On  the  one  side  stood  the  aged  but 
still  vigorous  statesman,  ripe  with  half  a  century  of  political  lore,  on 
the  other  the  son  of  William  the  Silent,  the  high-born,  brilliant,  and 
scientific  soldier,  with  the  laurels  of  Turnhout  and  Nieuwpoort  and  of 
a  hundred  famous  sieges  upon  his  helmet.  All  history  shows  that  the 
brilliant  soldier  of  a  republic  is  apt  to  have  the  advantage  in  a  struggle 
for  popular  affection  and  popular  applause  over  the  statesman  however 
consummate.  The  general  imagination  is  more  excited  by  the  triumphs 
of  the  field  than  by  those  of  the  tribunal,  for  national  enthusiasm  is 
universally  excited  by  splendid  military  service.  The  gre^it  battles  and 
sieges  of  the  Prince  had  been  on  a  world's  theatre  and  on  their  issue 
seemed  to  depend,  and  had  frequently  depended,  the  very  existence  of 
the  nation.  The  labour  of  the  Statesman,  on  the  contrary,  had  been 
comparatively  secret.  His  noble  orations  and  arguments  had  been  spoken 


page  8. 
page  44. 


—  XXIX  — 


with  closed  doors,  were  never  printed  or  even  reported,  while  his  vast 
labours  especially  in  directing  the  foreign  affairs  of  the  Commonwealth 
had  been  by  their  very  nature  as  secret  as  they  were  perpetual  and 
enormous."  ^.  It  is  therefore  not  surprising  that  the  dramatists  were 
influenced  in  the  same  way  in  their  conception  of  the  two  characters. 
We  find  this  view  expressed  in  the  play: 

"you  are  the  arme  oth'  war: 
the  Soldiers  sperit: 

the  other  but  dead  stories ;  you  the  dooer"  ^ 
and, 

''too  late  ye  find,  Sir 
how  naked  and  vnsafe  it  is  for  a  long  Gowne 
to  buckle  with  the  violence  of  an  Army."  ' 

Compare  the  answer  given  by  'a  young  man  challenged  by  the  Emperor 

Traian' ; 

"it  was  not  safe  nor  fitt,  to  hold  contention 
with   any  man  comaunded  thirtie  legions"  ^ 

It  must  strike  all  readers  of  our  play  that  Barnavelt's  weak  point 
is  the  vaunting  of  his  own  merits;  before  the  tribunal  this  may  only  be 
natural,  but  he  does  so  to  the  Lords  of  the  States,  even  to  the  Captain 
of  the  Guard,  who  has  come  to  take  him  prisoner,  and  also  on  the 
scaffold.  In  the  play  he  is  often  blamed  for  his  bragging;  the  Prince 
of  Orange  remarks  in  the  trial  scene: 

''pawse  I  beseech  you 
and  while  you  gather  breath  to  fill  the  trumpet 
of  your  deserts,  give  me  leave  to  deliuer 
a  litle  for  the  States,  and  mine  owne  honour,"  ^ 

In  the  execution  scene  one  Lord  remarks : 

"'tis  strange  how  this  man  brags;  'tis  a  strange  impudence"^ 

Unluckily  the  manuscript  is  damaged  here,  but  I  think  Mr.  Bullcn 
substituded  the  right  words. 

This  trait  of  character  was  undoubtedly  suggested  by  the  Apology^ 
of  which  the  dramatists  have  even  copied  some  parts  literally,  as  I 
shall  show  later  on.  The  Apology  was  Barnavelt's  defence,  so  as  a 
matter    of   course    he    put    the    services  he  had  rendered  his  country, 

»  op.  cit,  II. 

'  lines  370 — 73. 

•  lines  1080 — 82. 
<  lines  1086—87. 
»  lines  2312  ff. 

•  line  2919. 

—   XXX  — 


which  were  indeed  invaluable,  in  the  clearest  light;  there  was  certainly 
no  need  for  him  to  be  modest.  Professor  Fruin,  who  has  done  full 
justice  to  Barnavelt  in  his  historical  studies,  writes  on  Barnavelt's 
bragging  about  his  designs  and  the  successful  expeditions  of  the  Prince: 
"this  weakness  sounds  disagreeable  to  us,  when  we  read  the  Apology \ 
it  is  true  he  wrote  a  defence,  but  he  might  have  acknowledged  some 
of  the  remarkable  military  qualities  of  the  Prince."  ^ 

The  Apology  consists  of  fifty-three  pages  with  the  marginal  notes 
by  Holderus,  and  is  preceded  by  an :  'Epistle  Dedicatorie'  "to  the 
Right  Worshipful  and  worthy  David  Parens  Doctor  of  Divinity  and 
chief  Professor  of  the  same  in  the  most  famous  and  princely  University 
of  Heidelberg,  all  tranquility  of  life." 

The  Apology  was  originally  written  in  Dutch,  had  been  translated 
into  Latin,  and  thence  into  English.  Motley  remarks  "The  Remon- 
strance to  the  States  contained  a  summary  review  of  the  political 
events  of  his  life,  which  was  indeed  nothing  more  or  less  than  the 
history  of  his  country  and  almost  of  Europe  itself  during  that  period, 
broadly  and  vividly  sketched  with  the  hand  of  a  master."  - 

BuUen  remarks  about  the  Castigations : 

The  Castigations  by  'Robert  Holderus,  Minister  of  the  Word  of  God' are  remarkable, 
even  in  the  annals  of  theological  controversy,  for  gross  blackguardism.  After  indulging 
in  the  most  loathsome  displays  of  foul  brutality  this  'minister  of  the  Word  of  God' 
ends  with  a  cheerful  prayer:  that  'they  whom  Thou  hast  predestined  to  salvation 
may  always  have  the  upper  hand  and  triumph  in  the  certainly  of  their  salvation: 
but  they  whom  Thou  hast  created  unto  confusion,  and  as  vessels  of  Thy  just  wrath, 
may  tumble  and  be  thrust  headlong  thither  whereto  from  all  eternitie  Thou  didst 
predestinate  them,  even  before  they  had  done  any  good  or  evil.' "  ^ 

In  the  Apology  Barnavelt  begins  by  stating  that  he  has  always  employed 
his  pen  in  writing  for  the  good  of  the  Commonwealth,  but  now  he  is 
obliged  to  take  it  up  in  his  own  behalf.  He  speaks  of  the  place  and 
function  he  occupied  in  the  Commonwealth  as  Advocate  General,  and 
explains  in  what  his  office  consisted.  He  tells  of  his  opposition  to  the 
Earl  of  Leicester,  till  the  latter  was  obliged  to  leave  the  country,  and 
describes  how  painful  those  years,  when  the  country  was  in  great 
danger,  had  been  to  him.  He  states  that  Grave  Maurice  was  made 
governor  and  tells  of  the  expedition  into  Flanders  and  the  victory 
on    the    Prince    of  Parma.  He  continues  speaking  of  his  Embassies  to 


*   Versprtide  Geschriften  VII. 

'  op.  cit.  II. 

'  Introduction  to  the  Tragedy  of  Sir  John  Van  Olden  Barnavelt. 

—  XXXI   — 


England  and  France,  and  the  services  rendered  to  his  country,  how  he 
settled  the  debts  and  money  matters  in  a  statisfactory  way.  He  then 
answers  the  charges  of  the  abusive  pamphlets  of  the  people  who  say 
that  they  do  not  know,  who  he  is  and  what  he  is.  He  explains  his 
lineage  and  his  wife's,  and  shows  that  they  are  of  noble  birth.  He  speaks 
of  his  studies  in  Holland  and  abroad,  his  service  in  the  army  as  a 
volunteer  in  the  sieges  of  Harlem  and  Leiden.  He  proceeds  to  speak 
about  his  religious  faith,  entering  into  the  description  of  the  religious 
controversies,  and  asserting  that  he  has  always  preached  tolerance.  He 
again  refers  to  his  services  to  the  country  during  the  thirty-two  years 
when  he  was  Advocate  of  the  country,  and  his  relations  to  foreign 
kings  and  queens,  and  explains  how  he  brought  matters  from  con- 
fusion into  order.  He  denies  the  charges  of  bribery  made  in  the  pamphlets, 
giving  a  detailed  account  of  the  way  in  which  he  acquired  his  fortune 
and  wealth  by  his  rents.  He  denies  that  he  ever  sowed  sedition  in 
religious  matters,  giving  as  his  opinion  that  the  determination  ought 
to  be  reserved  to  each  Province,  recommends  the  union  between  the 
cities  and  provinces,  and  ends  by  praying  God  to  open  his  judges' eyes, 
and  strengthen  them  in  their  prosperous  and  happy  government. 

Professor  Koeppel  has  already  drawn  our  attention  to  the  close  resem- 
blance between  the  third  scene  of  the  fourth  act  of  the  play  (Fletcher's 
share)  and  the  source.  He  has  compared  this  speech  with  the  Latin 
translation  of  the  Dutch  pamphlet.  ^  I  will  print  this  part  again  by 
the  side  of  the  English  translation. 


The  Apology: 
"I    was  often  intreated  by  the  King 
of  France,  by  Elizabeth  Queene  of 
England    both    of   famous    and    im- 
mortall    memorie 


lines  1884  ff: 
"This   from   the   King    of   Fraunce, 

of  much  importance 
and    this   from    Englands    Queene, 

both  mightie  Princes 
and  of  imortall    memories:    here 

the  Rewards  sett: 


I  was  often  intreated  by  the  King  of 
great  Brittaine,  and  the  King  of  Sue- 
land,  the  Elector  Palatine  of 
Brandenburg,  the  Elector  of  Colen 
in  divers  occurrences  to  do  unto  them 
acceptable  offices  and  services. 


>  op.  cit.. 


they  lou'd  me  both:  the  K  i  ng  o  f  S  w  e  th- 

land,  this, 
about  a  Truyce:  his  bounty,  too:  what's 

this? 
from  the  Elector  Palatine  of  Bran- 

denburge 
]t o   doe  him   faire,   and  acceptable 

offices, 

did  so:    a    rich    iewell,  and  a  Chaine 

he  sent  me : 


—  XXXII 


the    Count   of  Solems;  And  this 

from    his    faire    Countess 
about  compounding  of  a  busines: 

I  did  it,  and  I  had  their  thancks, 
Count  Bentham, 

the  Archbishop  ofCullen,  Duke 
of  Brunswick, 

Graue  Embden;  theis  from  Citties, 

haue  I  held  correspondence  with  theis 

Princes 
and    had    their   loves,    the   molding   of 

their  busines," 

Professor  Koeppel  proceeds  to  point  out  the  use  the  dramatists  may 
have  made  of  this  source  in  Barnavelt's  second  speech  before  the 
tribunal. 


The  Count  and  Countess  of 
Solmes:  even  to  the  finishing  and 
compounding  of  maters 

And  finally  with  the  Count  of 
Ben  them  for  restitution  of  speciall 
Offices  of  the  Arch-bishoprick 
of  Col  en.  For  which  services  hee 
thanked  me  by  Letters. 

In  like  manner  I  helped  other  Princes, 
Counts,  and  foraine  Cities  earnestly 
requesting  mee  thereto". 


The  Apology  page  33: 
"Five  times  I  performed  a  Regall 
Embassage  and  in  foure  Embassages, 
the  management  and  direction  of  all 
things  was  committed  unto  me.  I  my- 
self spake  to  Kin;.;s  faceto  face. 
The  first  was  in  the  yeere  '85  wherin 
we  first  obtained  of  the  Queene  of 
England  the  ayde  of  foure  thousand 
armed  men. 


The  second  Embassage  was  to  the 
King  of  France  In  my  Embassage 
to  the  King  ofEnglandatthis 
day 

By  reason  of  these  five  Regall 
Embassies  and  tractates,  it  happened 
that  the  forenamed  Kings  afforded  to 
the  States  more  than  two  hundred  ^ 
and  five  hundred  thousand 
pounds  from  the  payment  wherof 
the  confederated  Prouinces  (1 
having  a  principall  hand  therein)  were 
discharged,  and  their  Obligations  sur- 
rendered, as  also  their  Citties  and 
strongholds  laid  to  pledge." 


lines  2259.  ff: 
'*I  haue  five  times  in  regallEm- 

bassies 
byn  sent  the  principall  Agent  for  theis 

Cuntries, 
and  for  your  good,  haue  spoken,  face 

to  face 
with  mightie  Kings:  twyce  with  that 

virgin  Queene 
our  Patronesse  of  happie  memory 

Elizabeth  of  England. 

twyce  in  Fraunce 

with  that  invincible  King 

Once    with    the    King    of  Britaine 
that  now  is, 

two  Millions,    and   five   hundred 

thousand  pounds 
for    which    the    Prouinces  stood 

bound,  I  wrought 
freely  to  be  dischargd:  the  Townes 
they  pawnd 
to  be  deliuerd  vp." 


^  hundred  must   be  an  error  in  the  pamphlet,  the  dramatist  rightly  changed  it  into 
millions. 


—  XXXIII 


Barnavelt's  first  speech  before  the  tribunal  also  shows  a  close  relation 
to  the  source,  compare: 


The  Apolof::y  page  32: 

"Grave  Maurice  and  Count 
William  received  instructions 
for  their  government  of  the  Earle  of 
Leicester.  The  Companies  of  the 
Grand  Prouinciall  Assemblies  were  so 
animated  against  the  States  of  Holland 
that  both  by  words  and  writings  they 
called  into  doubt,  whether  the 
States  of  Holland  and  West- 
Frisland  had  so  much  authoritie 
left  them,  as  might  warrant  them  to 
enioine  the  performance  of  the 
tribute   imposed. 

Many  also  of  the  Gouernours 
of  the  free  cities  were  sinisterly 
affected  towards  the  State,  The  gar- 
risons had  bound  themselves  by 
oath  to  the  Earl  of  Leicester. 
The  promiscuous  multitude  was 
an  enemie  to  the  States. 

And  not  long  after  the  cities  of 
Graues  and  Vendloe  were  pos- 
sessd,  Nimeghen  was  violently 
assaulted. 

the  Earl  returnes,  looses  Sluse, 
the  communalitie  of  Middleborough 
makes  an  vprore  in  the  Abbey. 

I  cannot  express  in  what  paine  I  passed 
those  yeares,  with  what  courage  and 
alacritie  most  grieuous  distresses  were 
vanquished." 


lines  2222  ff: 
"Your  Excellence,  Graue  William 

and  Count  Henrie 
taking     Instructions     for     your 

Comaunds 
from  one  that  then  ruld  all;    the 

Prouinces 
refucing    to  bring  in  their  Contributions 
and  arguing  whether  the  West- 

Frizelander 
and  Hollander  had  powre  to  raise 

such  Tribut. 


when    many     of    the     Gouernors 

stood  ill 
affected  to  you;  all  our  Garrisons 
not  sworn  e  then  t o  the Generall  States 

but  others, 
which  the  promiscuous  multitude 

gladly  followed: 

when  Graues   and   Vendloe,  were 

held  by  the  Spaniard 
and     Nimweghen    with    violence 

assaulted, 

then,  when  the  Sluice  was  lost 
and  all  in  muteny  at   M idlebo rough: 

who  then  labourd 
more  then  the  now  suspected  Barnauelt 
t'appease  seditions,    and   compound  all 
Quarrells?" 


The  passage  which  is  deleted  in  the  manuscript,  has  also  largely 
been  borrowed  from  the  source.  Barnavelt's  speech,  enumerating  what 
the  country  owes  to  him,  passing  over  the  Prince's  merits,  of  which 
I  have  spoken  before,  is  a  close  copy  of  the  Apology. 


cf  page  12: 
"How   an  expedition  was  vndertaken 
against  the  town  of  Breda, 
after    what    manner    the  fortress  of 
Terheide     and     Steinberch     was 
taken 


lines  2301— 23 1 1 : 
"nor   can   you  but  remember  'twas  my 

Counsaile 
when    in    one    yeere    you  did  be- 

seige    Breda 
tooke  in  the  fortress  of  Terheide 

and  Steinberch 


—  XXXIV 


the  expedition  of  the  yeere  91  when 
we  wonne  Zutphen,  Deuenter 
and  Del  f  s-1 1  e  and  other  adiacent  forts 
and  lands,  when  we  fortunately  wonne 
Hulst  and  Nymegen  in  the  same 
yeere. 


wan   Nimweghen,   Deuenter,  Zut- 
phen, Hulst,  Delfs-Isle 


and  how  the  Prince  of  Parma,  to 
his  great  losse  and  damage  was  en- 
forced to  leave  the  fort  beyond 
Nimeghen. 


and    forcd    the    Prince   of  Parma, 

to    retire 
back    with    disgrace    to    Antwerpe,  all 

his  works 
razd    downe,    or    standing    for  our  vse, 

made  ours. 


By  what  meanes  all  things  were 
prepared,  directed,  and  succes- 
fully  effected. 


with  what  care.  Cost,   direction  and 

successe 
I    saw    all    things    prepard:    and 

made  faire  wary 
to  perfect  your  designes. 


page  13: 
"From  the  yeare  1588  unto  the  yeere 
1606  I    went  thirtie-six  several   times 
to  Prince  Maurice   in  his  Campe" 


how     oft     then     in    your    Campe    I 
visited  you," 


There  are  no  other  parts  in  the  play  bearing  such  close  resem- 
blance to  the  Apology,  but  very  often  the  words  of  Barnavelt  and 
others  express  the  same  ideas  as  some  passages  of  the  pamphlet,  and 
may  have  been  suggested  by  them.  Examples  are : 


Apology  page  16: 

"afterwards   I   was  chiefe  instrument, 
and  procurer  of  uniting  the  Provinces." 


lines  2215 — 2217: 

"  'tis  strange  that  man 
should  labour  to  devide  those  Generall 

States 
that  had  no  weak  hand  in  vnyting  them." 


page  35: 
"when  I  entered  my  offices,  fourscore 
hundred  thousand  Florens  could  scarce 
be  raised  in  the  generalitie  for  main- 
taining the  charges  of  warre :  but  at 
present  they  pay  more  at  the  least  then 
two  and  fortie  hundred  thousand  pounds. 
I  was  imploied  also  in  diverse  Treaties 
with  the  Embassadors  of  the  Queen 
Mother  in  France,  and  with  the  Em- 
bassadors in  England." 


lines  38 — 40: 
"Money,    the    strength    and   fortune   of 

the  war 
the   help   of  England,   and  the  aide  of 

Fraunce 
I  onely  can  call  mine:" 


XXXV   — 


page  17: 

"Then  after  so  many,  so  great,  so 
singular  offices  and  services  for  so  long 
a  time  continually  performed, 

having  sustained  more  then  32  yeares 
the  office  of  the  disposer  of  the  affaires 
of  the  country  and  in  another  place 
and  office  nine  yeares  before." 


lines  75—78: 

"whatsoever 
the  good  succes  of  forty  yeeres  employ- 
ment 
in  the  most  serious  affaires  of  State 
haue  raisd  vp  to  his  memory." 

and  line  1075 : 
"my    forty    yeares    endeauours  write  in 
dust?" 


page  11: 
"By   what    meanes    the  gouernement 
of  Gelderland,    Vtricke    was    conferred 
vpon  Prince  Maurice  was  furthered  and 
effected  by  me." 

page  2 I : 
•^Another  thing  yet  is  this  that  I  for 
the   most   part,  was  a  speciall  ouerseer 
in'our  resolutions,  expeditions  and  war- 
like attempts" 


page  19: 
"I  haue  continued  in  this  mind  through 
Gods   grace  now  50  yeeres;  and  being 
welnie   71    yeeres    old   at    this  present, 
I  hope  I  shall  live  and  die  therin". 

page  53: 
My    good   Lords,    I   haue  been  more 
tedious  then  I  was  aware  of. 


line  31 : 
'When  I  gaue  him  the  first  place" 

and  line  37: 
'his  stile  of  Excellencie,  was  my  guift;" 


lines  109 — 112: 
"this    Grave    Maurice,  this   now  Prince 

of  Orange 
whose  popularitie  you  weakely  envy, 
was  still  by  you  comaunded,  for  when 

did  he 
enter   the    feild  but    'twas  by  your  al- 

lowaunce?" 

lines  2441,  42: 
And  here  I  prophecie  I,  that  haue  ly vd 
and  dye  a  free  man" 


line  2429: 
"you  rise  and  I  grow  tedious. 


At    the    end    of   the    last    scene    Barnauelt    wishes  the  Lords  happy 
success  to  all  their  undertaking-s,  in  the  same  way  2iS  the  Apology  ^nds: 


"I  beseech  Almighty  God  in  mercie 
to  open  your  eyes,  and  with  the  blessings 
of  his  heavenly  grace  to  strengthen  and 
confirme  you  in  your  prosperous  and 
happy  gouernment." 


lines  2969,  70: 
"farwell,  my  lords:    To  all  your  Coun- 

sailes,  fortune, 
happie  succes  and  proffit:" 


The  speech  of  Barnauelt  "I  come  to  dye:  bethinck  you  of  your 
Justice"  ^  in  the  last  scene,  is  an  epitome  of  all  that  the  authors  had 
read    in    The    Apology;    the    answer    of  the   two    Lords  is  in  the  same 


»  lines  2894  ff. 


—   XXXVI 


way  influenced  by  the  'marginal  Castigations'.  It  must  be  admitted  to 
the  credit  of  the  dramatists  that  they  are  very  little  influenced  by  the 
slanderous  personal  remarks  in  the  'Castigations'  and  the  Golden  Legend; 
in  silence  they  passed  over  the  libels  on  the  Advocate's  wife  and 
children,  and  the  slanderous  imputations  of  his  enriching  himself  by 
Spanish  gold. 

The  next  pamphlet  I  will  now  treat  of  is  The  Golden  Legend.  The 
full  title  is: 

Barnenelt  displayed  or  the  Golden  Legaid  of  New  St.  loJin  found  out 
in  the  united  Prouinces  of  the  Low  Countries  comprehending-  A  short 
Rehearsall  of  the  Nobleness,  Vertues,  and-  Actions  of  mr.  John  of 
Barneuelt^  late  Advocate  and  Speaker  for  the  Prouinces  of  Holland  and 
West  Friesland  Written  for  the  instruction  of  all  tnen^  but  especially 
the  foolish  Brozunist,  and  the  bli?ide  Papist. 

On  the  title  page  of  the  Dutch  pamphlet  is  drawn  a  bust  of 
Barnavelt  on  an  altar  with  tapers,  with  a  halo  round  his  head ;  holding 
in  his  left  hand  a  sceptre,  and  in  his  right  hand  a  money-bag;  round 
it  some  men  kneel  in  prayer. 

The  pamphlet  is  addressed  to  the  impartial  Reader  and  faithful 
Patriot ;  it  surpasses  in  violence  and  scurrility  any  other  libel  of  the 
time,  so  that  the  States  of  Holland  decided  to  have  it  'taken  in'.  It  was 
supposed  that  Barnevelt's  arch-enemy  Frangois  van  Aerssen,  the  former 
Dutch  ambassador  to  France,  or  one  of  the  latter's  friends,  was  the  author, 
but  this  assumption  is  not  accepted  by  modern  historians. 

The  paper  begins  with  the  usual  charges  of  Barnevelt's  ^  ambition  and 
his  plotting  to  bring  his  native  country  to  ruin;  a  parallel  is  found  in 
the  conspiracy  of  the  Marquisse  d'Ancre  in  France.  It  describes  how 
Barnevelt  rose  from  a  base  descent  to  the  very  height  of  honour, 
mentions  as  the  cause  of  his  fall  his  insatiable  desire  of  wealth 
and  honour,  and  accuses  him  of  trying  to  alter  the  Religion  of  his 
country.  Then  follow  the  most  villainous  imputations  about  a  base 
descent,  and  scurrilous  tales  about  the  bad  lives  of  his  wife,  sons  and 
daughters.  The  author  accuses  Barnevelt  of  inciting  the  magistrates  against 
the  Reformed  Church,  and  of  dismissing  the  preachers.  It  is  told  that 
he  was  master  of  the  whole  nation,  commanded  the  Prince  in  his  military 
exploits,  slandering  and  humiliating  him  in  public.  He  is  described  as 
being  full  of  pride  and  always  bragging  of  his  great  deeds;  as  having 
an    insatiable    desire    of  riches,  which  he  acquired    by   Spanish    bribes. 


^  I  have  kept  the  spelling  of  the  pamphlet  here. 

—   XXXVII   — 


Other  crimes  are  that  he  slandered  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  raised 
new  soldiers,  opposed  the  Earl  of  Leicester,  the  defender  of  this  Republic  ; 
estranged  the  garrison  of  Gertruidenberg  from  the  Commander  Lord 
Willoughby,  and  suffered  Spanish  prisoners  to  be  ransomed  for  little 
or  nothing. 

The  author  speaks  of  Barnevelt's  reckless  undertaking  to  send  the 
Prince's  forces  into  Flanders,  an  advice  which  only  a  Spanish  brain 
could  devise,  and  mentions  how  Barnevelt  betrayed  the  Prince's  enter- 
prises several  times.  He  is  accused  of  having  'erected'  the  Arminian 
faction,  of  having  spread  sedition,  and  tried  to  raise  civil  war  in  order 
to  betray  the  country  to  Spain,  so  that  the  Pope  could  get  the  upper 
hand.  He  had  made  a  league  with  eight  cities  against  the  Prince, 
union,  justice  and  religion,  and  had  employed  the  services  of  CJytenbogaert, 
Grotius  and  Hogerbeets  for  his  evil  purposes.  There  had  been  secret 
meetings  in  which  Hogerbeets  and  Grotius  were  presidents;  they  were 
in  league  with  the  Province  of  Utrecht,  and  had  accepted  the  help  of  Spain. 

Some  parts  of  the  play  have  been  copied  verbally  from  this  source ; 
the  following  passage  is  of  special  interest: 

"He,  i.e.  Barnevelt  hath  maliciously  rayled  upon  and  slandered  his  Excellency, 
onely  to  make  the  commons  hate  him;  when  he  put  him  from,  all  Colleagues 
and  Negotiations,  especially  out  of  the  Councell  of  the  State  of  Holland, 
at  suchatime  as  waighty  and  serious  matters  were  treated  concernin'g 
the  place  and  oath  of  his  Excellency,  then  was  he  banished  the 
council-chamber  and  might  not  be  admitted,  although  many  of  the  best 
rancke  did  earnestly  intreate  it."  ^ 

We  find  this  incident  described  in  the  play  in  the  passage,  where  the 
censor  objects  to  the  disgrace  done  to  the  Prince.  ^ 

Koeppel  remarks  **The  incident  that  admittance  to  the  council  is 
refused  to  the  Prince,  has  been  compared  to  the  part  in  Henry  VIII 
V.  2,  where  Cranmer  has  to  wait  outside  the  council-chamber.  The 
similarity  of  the  situation  is  apparent;  we  have  often  found  traces  of 
Shakespeare  in  Massinger."  ^ 

In  the  play  Barnavelt,  after  giving  order  not  to  admit  the  Prince  to 

the  council,  goes  on : 

"in  this  disgrace  I  haueone  foot  on  his  neck 
ere  long  He  set  the  other  on  his  head 
and  sinck  him  to  the  Center"  ^ 


1  page  14. 

'  lines  385  fif. 

»  op.  cit. 

<  lines  329—331- 


—  XXXVIII  — 


cf.  the  Golden  Legend: 

"boasting  that  now   he    had  one   foot  upon  the  neck  of  his  Excellency, 
hee  would  soone  haue  the  other  on  his  head  and  crush  him". 

As  this  passage  follows  the  preceding  one  immediately  in  the  pam- 
phlet, I  think  it  beyond  doubt  that  the  author  was  acquainted  with 
the  pamphlet  and  followed  his  source  closely  here.  So  there  is  no 
need  for  assuming  an  imitation  of  Henry  VIIT,  we  must  remember 
that  when  Koeppel  made  the  above  remark  he  did  not  know  the  pamphlet. 
There  are  again  passages  of  some  length  copied  literally  from  this 
source,  namely  the  accusations  laid  to  Barnavelt's  charge  in  the  trial 
scene,  and  the  Advocate's  answer,  compare: 

lines  2402  ff.: 

*to  subvert  Religion 
to  deface  lustice,  and  to  break  the 


page  41: 
"Yet  all  this  is  nothing  to  what  he 
has  done  of  late,  when  he  erected  the 
Arminian  faction,  sought  the  altera- 
tion and  subvertion  of  Religion, 
turned  the  Country  topsie  turvy,  d  e  f  a  c  e  d 
lustice,  andbraketheVnion  and 
blessed  league  between  Prouinces 
and  Cities;" 

"to  take  sharpe  resolutions  against  the 
Protestants;  nay  to  publish  most 
bitter  Proclamations  against  those 
of  the  true  Religion." 

"to  dispose   of  his  Excellence 
according  to  his  power." 


"to  take  all  the  old  Soldiers 
from  the  Commandement  of  the 
States,  to  make  them  serve  in  a 
civill  war 


to  raise  up  stranger  against 
stranger,  Cittizen  against  Cit- 
tizen,  Soldiour  against  Soldier, 
and  Magistrate  against  magis- 
trate; utterly  to  consume  and  waste 
the  Land  within,  that  the  for- 
raigne  enemy  might  with  lesse 
danger  take  them  in  such  a  con- 
fusion. 


vnion 
and    holly    League     between     the 
Prou  inces" 


"the  Proclamations  are  allowd  by  you 
sent  forth  against  the  Protestants" 


"your  resolution  to  degrade    my 

brother 
and   then   dispose  of  him  as  you 

thought  fitt" 

"Your    plott    here   to    withdraw    all 

the  Soldiers 
from  the  Coinaundement  of  the 

States,  and  w  y  n  them 
to  serve  for  your  ends  in  a   Civill 

war. 
to     raise     vp     Cittizen     against 

Cittizen, 
stranger  against  stranger.   Sol- 
dier against  Soldier, 
and    Maiestrates    against    the 

Maiestrates 
to   waste    the    Land  within  that 

with  lesse  danger 
the  forraigne  Enemy  might  make 
his  entraunce". 


—  XXXIX 


If  this    bee  not  treachery  after 
the  highest  example" 


yf  then,   this  be  not  treacherie 
beyond   all   presidents    of    Traitors" 


In    the    answer   by   the    Prince    to    Barnavelt's  defence  (see  Apology) 
the  source  is  also  literally  followed : 

lines  2318  ff.:  "who  was  he 


gaue  intelligence  to  ihoseof  Ant- 
werp e  that  his  Excellency  would 
come  thither?  the  man  was  known 
and  so  was  the  woman,  that  car- 
ried the  letters  to  Antwerpe  for  him 
to  his  good  friend.  But  out  of  whom 
could  this  man  know  the  exploit 
but  out  of  Mr.  lohn  ? 

Who  was  the  cause  that  his  Excel- 
lencie  did  not  rescue  Reinberke 
in  the  last  siege?  Who  writ  the 
letter  whereby  the  Gouernour  was 
forced  to  deliver  it  up  to  the  enemy, 
without  any  necessity? 

Who  was  the  cause  there  were 
no  more  forces  sent  against  the 
enemie,  when  he  came  ouer  the 
Rheine,  and  tooke  the  townes  of 
Lingen,  Groll,  Oldenseel  and  many 
others  ? 

Those  who  haue  cleare  eyes  and 
untainted  understandings  know  this 
vainglory  of  his  is  but  a  windy  blad- 
der of  vanity."  vanilie," 

The  next  lines: 

"your  Insolence  to  me  before  the  Battaile 
of  Flaunders  I  forget" 

and  the  following  deleted  lines  refer  to  the  expedition  into  Flanders, 
which  was  recommended  by  Barnavelt  and  the  States  against 
Orange's  will,  though  the  Prince  submitted  to  their  wishes  and  fought 
SI  hazardous  battle,  in  which  he  gained  the  victory.  This  difference  of 
opinion  is  described  in  the  Golden  Legend: 

"What  service  he  meant  to  do  the  King  by  the  Voyage  into  Flanders,  those  that 
place  their  spectacles  well,  may  easily  see,  for  all  things  are  now  come  to  light. 
Was  it  not  hee  that  caused  his  Excellency  with  all  his  power  to  goe  into  the 
enemies  Countrey  in  a  most  visible  and  palpable  danger,  as  all  experience  approued  ? 
insomuch  that  all  men  of  understanding  cryed  out  and  said  that  it  was  a  Spaniard, 


thatgave    i  n  t  e  1 1  i  g  e  n  c  e  of  my 

sodaine    coming 
to   surprize   Antwerpe?    they    that 

brought  the    Letters 
were   known e,    and  but   from  you 

could  haue  no  notice 
of  any  such  design: 

who  hinderd  me 
from    rescuing    of    Rhinberch   in 

the  last  Seige? 
who  warranted  the  yeilding  of  it  vp 
without  necessitie  to^  the  Gover- 
nor? 

who  was  the  cause  no  greater 
powre  was  sent 

against  the  Enemie,  when  he  past 
the  Rhine, 

and  tooke  the  Townes  of  Olden- 
sell,  Lingen,  Groll? 

To   think   of  this  would   give    a    little 

vent 
to    the   windy    bladder    of  your 


^  The  dramatist  misunderstood  this  passage;  'to'  ought  to  be  *by'. 

—  XL  — 


or  he  had  a  Spaniards  heart  in  his  belly  that  had  first  giuen  counsell;  yea  his 
Excellency  himselfe  being  a  man  of  great  prudence,  high  action  and  unspeakable 
kwowledge,  perceiving  the  eminent  dangers  and  insupportable  difficulties  which 
attended  the  journey,  said  openly  at  the  Counsell  Table,  that  the  honour  of 
his  countrey  was  put  to  the  rapiers  point.  Mr.  John  out  of  the  wonted  extremity 
of  his  old  pride  replyed,  that  if  his  Excellency  were  afraid  to  goe  thither, 
he  would  goe  himselfe,  but  his  magnanimity  was  tempered  with  such  wisdome, 
that  as  long  as  the  battaile  endured,  he  with  all  his  band  staid  at 
Ostend." 

The  influence  of  the  source  is  clearly  visible  in  Barnavelt's  speech, 
which  is  deleted  in  the  manuscript  and  restored  but  for  a  couple  of 
words,  in  this  edition;  compare  lines  2335   ff. : 

Bar.  't  was  when  your  Hignes  too  much  prouidence 
(for  willingly  I  would  not  say  your  feare) 
led  you  to  doubt  the  hazard  of  a  Battaile, 
and  said  the  fortune  of  the  Prouinces 
was  put  vpon  the  rapiers  point,  how  I 
(for  since  you  vrge  me,  I  will  speak  it  boldly) 
stood  vp,  and  offerd  if  that  you  refusd 
to  take  the  Charge  myself. 
Bred,  and  for  all  the  boast 

staid,  till  the  day  was  won,  safe  at  Oostend' 

The  lines  1444,   14445: 

"I  make  no  doubt  but  once  more,  like  a  comet 
to  shine  out  faire  and  blaze  prodigiously" 

recall  the  passage  in  the  Golden  Legend: 

"Further  he  hath  shewed  his  pride  in  his  undeserved  greatnesse,  wherewith  he 
hath  made  himself  shine  in  the  world,  aboue  any  blazing  Comet 

It   may   be   accidental   that  this    metaphor    is    used    in   the   play  as 
well  as  in  the  Golden  Legend,  for  we  meet  with  frequent  allusions  to  the 
comet  of  16 19  in  the  plays  of  that  time.  Mr.  Boyle  ^  has  already  drawn 
attention  to  the  reference  in  Dekker's  and  Massinger's    Virgin  Martyr 
"From  such  a  star 
Blazing  with  fires  of  hate,  what  can  be  looked  for 
But  tragical  events?"  ' 

In  The  Unnatural  Combat  a  contemporary  play  by  Massinger  alone, 
the  same  metaphor  occurs: 

"when  my  sword 
Advanced  thus,  to  my  enemies  appear'd 
A  hairy  Comet,  threatening  death  and  ruin"  • 

*  Englische  Studien  X. 
'  II.  3.  no. 
'  I.  I,  230. 

—   XLI   — 


Though  not  taken  literally  from  the  pamphlet  many  passages  in  our 
play  show  the  influence  of  the  source,  namely: 

"When  first  his  policie  had  made  him  lines  109  ff : 

Advocate,  how  did  he  abuse  the  young  This  Prince  of  Orange 

yeeres  of  his  Excellency,  gouerningthe  was  still  by  you  comaunded:   for  when 

warres  so  at  his  will  and  pleasure"  did  he 

enter  the  feild  but  'twas  by  your  allo- 

waunce  ? 
wat   servise   vndertake,  which   you  ap- 
proud  not? 

what  Action  of  his  renownd,  in  which 

your  Counsaile  was  forgotten?" 
lines  100  ff: 

*for  thirtie  yeeres    (onely   the  name  of 
king 

you   haue  not  had,  and  yet  your  abso- 
lute powre 

hath  ben  as  ample)  who  hath  ben  em- 
ployed 

in  office,  goverment,  or  Embassie, 

who    raisd    to    wealth    or    honour    that 
was  not 

brought   in   by   your  allowaunce?  who 
hath  held 

his  place  without  your  lycence?" 

lines  106—8:  "your  Estate  is 

beyond  a  privat  mans: 

your  Brothers,  Sonnes 
frendes,   famylies,   made   rich    in  trust 
and  honours." 


"that  all  the  offices  were  given  or 
commanded  by  him:  by  which  meanes 
he  tyed  all  men  to  his  service,  at  last 
he  was  almost  master  of  the  whole 
nation,  so  far  he  stretcht  and  ouer 
stretcht  his  authority  that  onely  he  held 
correspondency  with  the  Embassadors 
of  forraine  Princes,  as  if  the  Country 
had  bin  his  owne,  and  hee  the  abso- 
lute Monarch" 


"by  foule  meanes  he  gained  great 
riches,  they  came  rather  from  that  corner 
from  whence  the  Pistolets  were  shot." 

"he  made  himself  shine  in  the  world, 
which  he  hath  especially  showne  to  some 
of  his  owne  kindred,  as  to  his  owne 
Brother  whom  he  made  Pensioner  of 
Roterdam,  then  Embassador  for  Eng- 
land, his  other  Brother  gouernour  of 
Vorne  and  Baily  of  Putten. 
to  his  owne  sonnes:  one  of  the  office 
of  Hountmaster,  being  one  of  the  chiefest 
offices  of  the  Land ;  the  other  hee  made 
Mintmaster  and  afterwards  Gouernour 
of  Bergen-op-Zoome.  His  brother-in  law 
was  made  President  in  the  high  Court 
and  sent  on  an  Embassage  for  Sweden. 

Van  der  Mitten  ^  was  to  be  imployed 
in  the  greatest  Embassage." 

*  Van  der  Myle  Barnevclt's  son-in-law  is  meant  here. 

—  XLII  — 


"His  heart  was  full  of  pride,  his  very 
gesture,  carriage  and  countenance  showed 
as  much". 


lines  537,  8: 
"We  doe  not  like  his  carriage 
he  do's  all,  speakes  all,  all  disposes" 


This  is  also  stated  in  the  'Castigations' :  ''Boldly  say,  I  was  a  and  w, 
the  beginning  and  the  ending,  the  first  and  last  of  honourable  and 
mighty  States,  of  all  the  Councels  and  Assemblies,  of  all  Statutes  and 
Decrees." 

The  accusations  in  the  trial  scene  taken  from  this  pamphlet  are 
stated  here  at  some  length. 


page  41: 
"this  is  all  nothing  to  what  he  hath 
done  of  late,  when  he  erected  the 
Arminian  faction,  sought  the  altera- 
tion and  subvertion  of  Religion,  turned 
the  country  topsie  turvy  and  brake  the 
Vnion  and  blessed  league  between  the 
Prouinces  and  Citties" 


"to  take  all  the  old  Soldiers  from 
the  Commandement  of  the  States  and 
new  Soldiers  without  leave  of 
the  Generall  States  to  fightagainst 
the  Vnion" 

"to  dispose  of  his  Excellence 
according  to  his  power." 

page  44: 
"What  could  but  follow  from  this 
(making  the  soldiers  withstand  his  Ex- 
cellencie)  but  murther  and  bloodshed, 
not  only  in  Vtrechtbutgenerally  through- 
out the  whole  nation.  Could  anything 
issue  but  the  effusion  of  blood  and 
civill  massacre?" 

"Mr.  lohn  saw  well  enough  that  of 
neceasitie  hee  must  seeke  ayde  from 
some  where  else ;  which  done,  the  rule 
and  gouernment  of  the  Country  must 
consequently  fall  into  the  hands  of 
strangers.  But  vpon  what  stranger  his 
eye  was  fixt,  that  let  others  judge,  for 
mine  owne  part,  I  hope  the  Lords  will 
make  him  say,  it  was  the  Aragonian 
heaven  he  stared  at." 


lines  2193  ff.: 
"First,  that  the  Arminians  faction 
(of  which  Sir  lohn  Van  Olden  Barnauelt, 
late  Advocate  of  Holland  and  West 
Frizeland  and  Counsellor  of  State,  was 
without  contradiction  the  head)  had 
resolued  and  agreed  to  renounce  and 
break  the  generality  and  vnitie  of  the 
State." 

"Secondly,  Change  and  alter  the  Reli- 
gion, and  to  that  end,  without  the 
Consent  of  the  Generall  States, 
had  raysed  vp  and  dispeirsed  3000 
Arminian  Soldiers," 

"Thirdly,  to  degrade  the  Prince 
of  Orange" 

"Fourthly,  to  massacre  the  people  of 
the  townes  which  were  their  greatest 
Enemies;  or  offered  resistaunce." 


"Fiftly,  yf  that  failed,  take  in  assis- 
taunce  of  some  forreigne  Potentates, 
as  Spaine  or  Brabant,  delivering  vnto 
them  Vtrecht,  Nimweghcn,  Bergen  op 
Zone,  and  the  Brill." 


XLIII  — 


In  the  pamphlet  Ledenberch  his  Confessions  both  at  Vtrecht  a7id  the 
Hague  we  find  "fiftly,  that  they  have  communicated  the  same  with 
some  of  the  Coiincell  of  France  and  therunto  desired  aduice  and  councell." 

The  charge  that  Barnavelt  planned  'to  take  in  assistance  of  some 
forreigne  Potentates  as  Spaine  or  Brabant'  occurs  in  the  Golden  Legend 
in  "a  letter  written  by  the  generall  of  the  English  Forces,  Lord 
Willoughby  at  Bergen  op  Zone",  published  in  print: 

"For  it  is  said  Barneuelt  hath  written  and  promised  the  President  Richard  (one 
of  the  councell  of  State  to  the  Duke  of  Parma)  that  he  will  mannage  all  affayres 
in  such  order,  that  the  united  Provinces  shall  come  again  into  the  hands  of  the 
King  of  Spayne." 

But  the  fifth  charge  is  undoubtedly  taken  from  the  ballad  mentioned 
above,  which  states  that  Barnavelt  'complotted  to  surrender  thetownes 
Vtreicht,  Nimingham,  Bergen-op-zome  and  Brill  to  the  Archduke.' 

The  Confessions  of  Ledenberch  differ  in  some  parts  from  the  play; 
they  run: 

"First,  to  breake  the  Vnion  and  to  ordaine  another  forme  or  kind  of  Gouernment, 
and  that  thorow  the  helpe  and  assistance  of  the  Prouinces  of  Holland,  Vtrecht  and 
Oueryssell. 

Secondly,  to  depose  his  Princely  Excellencie. 

Thirdly,  to  make  the  Religion  common. 

Fourthly,  to  maintaine  and  assist  one  another  therein  with  life  and  goods." 

The  fifth  confession  has  been  mentioned  before. 

The  description  of  Leidenberch's  suicide  is  given  in  the  same  pamphlet 
Examination  and  Confessions  {at  Vtrecht  and  the  Hage)  on  one  Leydenberg, 
Pentioner  of  Leyden^  and  Taurinus ;  with  their  sodaine  and  fearful  ends. 

"The  27th  of  September  Ledenberch  was  examined,  acknowledged  the  abouesaid, 
and   thereafter   said   to    his   Son,   I   haue   confessed   that  which  will  cost  life  and 

goods;  

betweene  one  and  two  of  the  clocke  in  the  night  hee  rose,- and  taking  a  pen-knife 
out  of  his  penner,  hee  thrust  it  into  his  belly;  feeling  that  he  was  not  sped,  he 
took  the  table-knife  and  therewith  cut  his  throate:  and  stabd  him  selfe  with  the 
same  knife  into  his  short  ribs  and  lastly  into  the  brest:  his  sonne  awakening,  it 
was  alas  too  late  for  his  poore  soule." 

When  we  compare  this  short  account  with  the  fine  suicide  scene  in 
our  play  by  Fletcher,  we  cannot  but  admire  this  dramatist's  poetic 
imagination. 

Lines  2394 — 97  are  based  on  the  pamphlet  mentioned  before: 

"Look  vpon  this 
signd  by  the  Gouernor^  Chauncellor.  and  Counsell 
of  Gilderland  and  Zutphen^  who  here  name  thee 
the  roote  and  head  of  the  late  Schisme." 

—  XLIV  — 


I  have  consulted  the  Proclamation  in  English,  which  is  printed  with  the 
Confessions  of  Leydenberg ;  the  full  title  is : 

A  Proclainatiom  given  by  the  Discreet  Lords  and  States, 
against  the  slanders  laid  upon  the  Evangelicall  and  Reformed  Religion, 
by  the  Arminians  and  Separists,  Contaifiing  all  the  Points,  Accusations, 
Declarations  and  Confessions  taken  out  of  the  last  Provinciall  Synode 
holden  at  Arnhem  the  75  day  of  September  last  past  1618.  Printed 
accordifig  to  the  Dutch  Originals  at  London  1618. 

The  pamphlet  begins  as  follows: 

"The  Gouernour,  Chancellor  and  Councell  in  the  name  of  the  Lords  and  Estates 
of  the  Dukedome  of  Geldcrlandt  and  County  of  Zutphen  doe  give  to  understand: 
that  the  Remonstrants  or  Arminians  are  the  authors  of  the  objected  points;  the 
Teachers  of  the  Evangelical  Reformed  Churches  arc  slandered  as  having  held 
these  tenets." 

The  Governour,  Chancellor,  and  Councell  publish  the  points  and 
accusations  so  that  others  may  continue  in  the  truth  of  the  Evangelical 
Reformed  Religion.  Then  follows:  'an  Extract  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Synod  of  Gelderlandt  held  at  Arnhem  July   161 8'. 

An  important  difference  with  the  source  is  that  in  the  pamphlet 
Barnavelt  is  not  mentioned  at  all,  whereas  in  the  play,  he  is  named  as: 
''the  roote  and  head  of  the  late  Schisme". 

The  Arraignejnent  of  John  Van  Olden  Barneuelt  is  certainly  of  great 
interest  in  regard  to  the  plot  of  the  play;  the  dramatists  based  the 
plot  chiefly  on  this  material,  which  will  be  evident  when  I  have  com- 
pared   some    articles    of  the  Arraig?iment  with  some  parts  of  the  play. 

The  title  runs: 

Arraignmejit  of  John  van  Olden  Barneuelt,  late  Advocate  of  Holland 
and   West  Friesland. 

Containing  the  Articles,  alleadged  against  hi^n^  and  the  reasons  of  his 
execution,  being  perfor7ned  upon  the  ij  of  May  Anno  16 IQ  Stilo  Nuovo. 

In  the  inner  Cotirt  of  the  Grauen  Hage  in  Holland. 

Together  tvith  a  letter  zurittefi  by  the  Generall  States  unto  the  particular 
Vnited  Provinces,  concerning  the  aforesaid  action. 

Published   by   authoj'itie,    and   with  priuiledge   of  the  States  Generall 

Printed  by  Edward  Griffin  for  Ralph  Rounthwait  at  the  sign  of  the 
Golden  Lion  in  Pauls  Church-yard.  London  i6ig. 

The  first  two  pages  contain  'the  priviledge  or  the  allowance  from 
the  States  generall  to  Hillebrant  Jacobson  to  print  the  sentence  and 
judgment  with  the  licence  for  two  years'.  The  Arraignment  is  preceded 
by  'the  Copie  of  a  Letter,    written    by    the    generall    States    unto    the 

—  XLV  — 


particular  united  Prouinces  in  the  Netherlands',  informing  them  that 
the  judges  had  knowledge  of  certain  points,  not  mentioned  in  the 
sentence,  which  gave  great  suspicion  that  he  had  'intelligence'  with  the 
enemy,  but  that  no  definite  sentence  could  have  been  given  without 
further  inquisition,  'which  was  not  thought  convenient  in  respect  to 
his  great  age  and  other  considerations  concerning  the  service  of  the  Land'. 

Then  follows  'the  Judgement  given  and  pronounced'  containing 
thirty-four  Articles  and  occupying  thirty-one  pages;  to  this  is  added 
'the  Proclamation  made  by  the  generall  States  of  the  united  Nether- 
land  Provinces,  for  the  holding  of  a  generall  Fast  and  day  of  Praier 
for  the  good  successe  of  the  Synode,  and  peace  and  preservation  of 
the  Land'. 

The  beginning  of  'the  Proclamation'  is  very  instructive  in  connection 
with  the  plot  of  our  play.  It  runs  as  follows : 

"Forasmuch  as  it  is  so  fallen  out  that  some  ambitious  persons  for  the  furtherance 
of  their  particular  designes  and  ambitions,  to  the  great  hinderance  of  the  reformed 
religion,  and  speciall  disadvantage  of  the  service  of  the  Land,  stirred  up,  sought  to 
haue  reversed  and  annihilated  the  true  religion,  and  together  at  one  time,  wholly 
to  haue  ruinated  and  subverted  the  State  of  the  Land," 

Motley  remarks  indignantly  on  the  Arraignment:  "Barneveld's  defence 
was  called  by  the  commissioners  his  'confession'  with  an  effrontery 
which  did  not  lack  ingenuity".^ 

Barnavelt  was  accused  of  a  long  list  of  crimes  in  the  Arraignment,  w'lz: 
of  having  perturbed  religion,  of  having  opposed  the  national  Synod, 
of  having  despised  the  salutary  advice  of  many  princes  and  notable 
personages,  of  having  brought  to  pass  private  assemblies,  and  of  having 
caused  the  Deputies  of  eight  towns  in  Holland  to  hold  divers  secret 
meetings.  It  is  stated  that  he  had  confessed  to  having  obtained  from 
the  King  of  Great  Britain  certain  letters  furthering  his  own  opinions, 
the  draft  of  which  he  had  himself  suggested,  corrected  and  sent  over 
to  the  States'  Ambassador  in  London,  and  when  written  out,  signed, 
and  addressed  by  the  King  to  the  States-general,  had  delivered  them 
without  stating  how  they  had  been  procured;"  he  had  confessed  to 
having  placed  in  the  Churches  divers  heretical  Teachers,  and  to  not 
having  prevented  vigorous  decrees  from  being  enforced  in  several  places 
against   those   of  the   true  religion.  He  was  besides  accused  of  having 


1  op.  cit.  IL 

*  This  is   one   of  the   reasons,   why  James  I  hated  Olden  Barneveld,  he  found  out 
too  late  that  he  had  been  outwitted  by  the  Advocate. 

—   XLVI  — 


instigated  the  magistrates  to  disobedience,  of  having  suggested  new- 
fangled oaths  for  the  soldiers  authorizing  them  to  refuse  obedience  to 
the  States-General  and  his  Excellency,  of  having  especially  encouraged 
the  proceedings  at  Utrecht,  and  of  having  interfered  with  the  cashiering 
of  the  mercenaries  in  that  town.  The  Advocate  was  also  charged  with 
having  calumniated  the  Prince  of  Orange  by  saying  that  his  Excellency 
had  aspired  to  the  sovereignty  of  the  Provinces;  with  having  of  his 
own  accord  rejected  a  certain  proposed  alliance  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance and  of  having  received  from  foreign  potentates  various  large 
sums  of  money  and  other  presents. 

Article  29  of  the  Arraignment  accuses  Barnavelt  of  usurping  the 
authority  over  the  Army 

"that  also  to  withdraw  the  ordinary  souldiers  from  the  obedience  of  the  Generall 
States  and  of  his  Excellencie,  he  had  laboured  by  all  the  meanes  he  could  make 
them  understand,  that  they  were  by  oath  bound,  before  all  others  to  obey  the  States 
of  the  particular  Provinces  (their  pay-masters)  though  it  were  against  the  Generall 
States  and  his  Excellence". 

Barnavelt  had  expresed  his  view  on  the  relation  of  the  army  to  the 
States  in  the  Apology: 

"A  sixth  thing  is  that  all  the  heads,  Admiralls,  Commanders,  Administers  of  the 
principall  Office  of  Warre,  Gouernours  of  horsemen,  Captaines,  Officers,  Souldiers 
which  earned  pay  either  by  sea  or  by  land,  all  these  I  say  acknowledged  the  Lords 
the  States  of  Holland  and  West-Frisland,  as  paymasters  of  their  stipends,  swore 
faith  and  obedience  unto  them,  and  honowred  his  Excellence  as  Captain  Generall 
in  commanding  the  execution  of  such  things  as  the  Lords  the  States  determined."  ^ 

Barnavelt's  and  Leidenberch's  views  are  the  same  in  the  play,  compare 
Barnavelt's  speech  to  the  Captain : 

"but  you  shall  know,  sir 

they  are  not  such,  but  Potentates  and  Princes 

from  whom  you  take  pay 

but  I  will  make  that  tongue  give  him  the  lye 

that  said  so 

your  Companie  is  cast." ' 

and  lines  679 — 81 : 

*I  know  you  love  the  valiant  Prince,  and  yet 
you  must  graunt  him  a  Servant  to  the  States 
as  you  are.  Gentlemen. 

the  Prince  himself  admits  this: 

"they  are  your  masters,  your  best  masters,  noblest, 
those  that  protect  your  states,  hold  yp  your  fortunes; 


1  page  34. 
3  lines  169  ff. 


XLVn  — 


I  and  all  Soldiers  els  that  strike  with  their  armes, 
and  draw  from  them  the  meanes  of  life  and  honour, 
are  doble  tyde  in  faith  to  obseruc  their  pleasures"  ^ 

When  we  compare  the  conversation  between  Leidenberch  and  the 
Captains  refusing  to  fight  for  Barnavelt  and  his  party  against  the 
Prince,  with  article  31  of  the  Arraignment  we  find  that  it  was  suggested 
by  the  source.  ^ 

Article  31.  "Whereupon  it  followed  that  the  aforesaid  Hoogerbeets,  Grotius  and 
other  Deputies  secretly  and  in  private  assemblies,  advised  with  some  of  the 
States  of  Vtrecht  and  the  Secretary  Ledenberch,  made  proposition  touching 
present  resistance,  and  how  to  moue  the  new  companies  thereunto,  as  also  to 
procure  the  ordinary  souldiers  not  lo  be  obedient  to  the  commandement  of  his 
Excellencie" 

It  is  especially  on  the  articles  14,  16,  19,  23,  27  that  the  plot  of 
the  conspiracy,  of  the  resistance  to  the  Prince  and  of  the  incidents  at 
Utrecht  are  based ;  they  mention  the  raising  of  new  companies  and  the 
guarding  of  the  gates  against  the  Prince,  and  describe  the  meetings 
of  Barnavelt's  accomplices. 

Article  14.  *The  Magistrates  of  the  towns  were  warranted,  for  their  defences  to 
raise  new  companies  of  soldiers,  and  to  give  them  another  oath,  whereby  it 
followed  that  diuers  townes  in  Holland  began  to  raise  a  great  number  of  soldiers, 
giuing  them  a  particular  oath  with  speciall  charge  to  be  obedient  only  to  their 
commandements  against  all  men  whatsoever,  and  particularly  against  the  generalitie, 
and  his  Excellencie." 

Article  16.  That  he  {i.  e.  Barnavelt)  within  a  few  dayes  went  to  Vtrecht  and 
councelled  some  of  the  States  there  likewise  to  raise  new  companies  of  souldiers 
contrary  to  the  common  oath  of  the  generalitie  and  his  Excellencie". 

Article  19.  "And  as  in  Vtrecht  newes  was  brought  that  his  Excellencie  the  Prince 
of  Orange,  was  to  come  into,  and  pass  through  the  said  towne,  he  (/.  e.  Barnavelt) 
not  many  dayes  before,  aduertised  the  Secretarie  Ledenberch  by  private 
letters,  that  it  was  fit  and  expedient  for  them,  to  keep  a  slrong  watch  at  their 
gates,  desiring  Ledenberch  when  he  had  read  the  letters  to  burne 
them" 

cf.  lines  2004 — 2006  of  the  play 

"kiUd  himself:  nor  left  behind  him 

one  peece  of  paper  to  dishonour  ye: 

Article  23.     "That  he  had  intelligence  given  him  that  the  said  Ledenberch  togither 

with    the   pentionary  Hoogerbet   and   Grotius,  in  the  house  of  John  Vtenbogaert 

did   consult  upon   the   reasons  and   motives   to  dissuade  the  Deputie  of  Vtrecht 

not  to  put  their  commission  in  effect  (about  the  discharging  of  the  new  souldiers); 


1  lines  448  ff. 
'  lines  626  ff. 


—  XLVIII  — 


and  also  that  the  same  deliberation  holdcn  and  required  by  Ledenbergh  should 
be  kept  secret;  whereupon  it  followed  that  the  said  Hoogerbets  and  his  complices, 
in  the  house  of  Daniel  Trefel  meeting  together,  with  many  sharp  and  pernicious 
speeches  and  moiions  used  by  Grotius,  diss  waded  the  Deputies  of  Vtrecht  to 
show  their  authoritie." 
Article  27.  *That  he  by  certaine  persons  expressly  sent  out  in  the  night-time, 
advertised  the  Magistrate  of  Leyden,  that  his  Excellencie  was  to  goe  from  the 
Hage,  and  that  apparently  he  would  goe  thither,  that  they  therefore  should 
stand  upon  their  guard.  Vpon  which  his  advice  it  followed,  that  the  watchbell 
being  rung,  the  new  soldiers  and  shot  ran  to  armes  at  midnight,  as  also  that 
the  gates  of  the  said  towne  were  kept  shut  the  next  day  after,  vntill  he  gaue 
them  other  advice  that  his  Excellencie  was  gone  another  way." 

The  articles    12,    13,    14,    26,    the    end    of  27,    and    34  contain  the 
accusations  read  to  Barnavelt  in  the  trial  scene. 

Article  12.  "That  he  sought  by  the  meanes  of  his  complices  and  adherents  to 
pertuibe  and  trouble  the  poliiiq  le  State,  deuising  to  invent  and  finde  the  meanes 
to  reduce  and  bring  the  gouernment  thereof  into  disorder  and  confusion,  by 
meanes  theieof  the  better  lo  effect  hi:>  mischievous  pretence  against  the  security 
and  prosperity  of  the  State." 

Article  13.  "That  he  had  taken  upon  him,  to  trouble  the  State  of  the  Religion 
and  thereby  to  bring  the  Church  of  God  into  great  trouble  and  extremitie.  To 
that  end  he  had  maintained  and  put  in  pratise  most  exorbitant  and  pernicious 
maximes  against  the  state  of  the  Land." 

Article  14.  "the  Magistrates  of  the  towns  were  warranted,  for  their  defences,  to 
raise  new  companies  of  soldiers,  and  give  them  another  oath.  It  followed  that 
diuers  towncs  in  Holland  began  to  raise  a  great  number  of  soldiers,  giving  them 
a  particular  oath  with  speciall  charge  to  be  obedient  only  to  their  Commande- 
ments  against  all  men  whatsoever,  and  particularly  against  the  generalitie,  and 
his  Excellencie." 

Article  26.  "That  to  make  the  service  and  councell  of  his  Excellencie  in  all 
places  unprofitable  and  of  no  force,  he  sought  to  disgrace  and  scandalize  his 
said  Excellencie  by  diuers  calumniations  and  utterly  to  dishonour  him." 

Article  27  ^  "All  which  his  proceedings  tending  to  the  end  not  only  to  make  the 
towne  of  Vtrecht  a  slaughter-house,  but  also  to  bring  the  State  of  the  Land, 
and  the  person  of  the  Piince  of  Orange  into  utter  subversion." 

Article  34.  "whereby  and  by  meanes  of  all  his  other  machinations  and  conspiracies, 
it    is    fallen    out,    that    generall    p^erturbation    in    the    Land    as   well    spiritual   as 

temporall  is  risen  up the  union  broken,  the  Countrie  brought  into  danger; 

these  wrongs  are  to  be  punished,  for  an  example  to  all  others" 

the  last  line  may  have  suggested  the  Lord's  speech : 
"we  are  to  consider  what's  the  offence 
and  how  it  should  be  punishd,  to  deter 
others  by  the  example ' 

1  the  end  of  the  article. 
'  lines  1268 — 70. 

—   XLIX  — 


The  ambassadors'  speeches  and  Orange's  answer  in  the  first  scene 
of  the  last  act  can  be  traced  back  to  another  source,  namely  Newes 
out  of  Holland  from  which    they    are    in    s6me   places   literally   taken. 

The  full  title  is: 

Newes  out  of  Holland,  Concerning  Barneuelt  and  his  Fellow-Prisoners 
their  Conspiracy  against  their  Native  Country,  with  the  Enemies  thereof : 
the  Oration  and  Propositions  made  in  their  behalf e  unto  the  Generall 
States  of  the  united  Prouinces  at  the  Hague  by  the  Ambassadors  of  the 
French  King.  With  their  Answer e  thereunto,  largely  and  truly  set  downe. 
London  idip. 

The  visit  of  the  ambassadors  is  an  historical  fact.  Motley  writes 
about  this  incident:  "On  the  12*''  December  16 18  both  de  Boississe 
Seignior  de  Thumerie  and  du  Maurier  came  before  the  States-General 
and  urged  a  speedy  and  impartial  trial  for  the  illustrions  prisoners.  If 
they  had  committed  acts  of  treason  and  rebellion  they  deserved  to  be 
punished,  but  the  ambassadors  warned  against  confounding  acts  dictated 
by  violence  of  party  spirit  at  an  excited  period  with  the  crime  of  high 
treason  against  the  sovereignty  of  the  State"  ^  The  States-General 
were  greatly  troubled  and  treated  the  affair  with  great  secrecy;  they 
returned  their  answer,  after  long  deliberation  with  the  Prince  and  his 
counsellors.  They  replied  on  the  19*^  of  January  assuring  the  ambas- 
sadors that  the  delay  in  the  trial  was  in  order  to  make  the  evidence 
of  the  great  conspiracy  complete;  they  promised  that  the  sentence 
upon  the  prisoners,  when  pronounced,  would  give  entire  satisfaction 
to  all  the  allies  and  to  the  King  of  France  in  particular,  of  whom 
they  spoke  throughout  the  document  in  terras  of  profound  respect. 

After  Barnavelt's  execution  the  sentence  was  sent  to  France  accom- 
panied by  a  Statement  that  Barnavelt  had  been  guilty  of  unpardonable 
crimes  which  had  not  been  set  down  in  the  Act  of  Condemnation. 
Complaints  were  also  made  of  the  conduct  of  du  Maurier  (who  had  been 
unwearied  in  his  efforts  to  save  Barnavelt  even  on  the  morning  of  the 
execution)  for  thrusting  himself  into  the  internal  affairs  of  the  States, 
taking  sides  so  ostentatiously  against  the  government. 

'The  Oration  occupies  six  pages  of  press  print  and  is  signed :  'de 
Thumerie'  and  'du  Morier.' 

I  will  print  the  ambassadors'  speeches  by  the  side  of  some  parts  of 
the    source    to  show  the  occasional  close  resemblance. 

»  Op  cit  II. 


the  Oration: 
"My  Lords,  the  King  our  Master 
commanded  us,  to  recommend  unto 
you  the  same  which  we  have  heretofore 
at  other  times  motioned,  touching  the 
good  and  peace  cf  your  estate;  his 
Maiestie  will  not  cease  to  witnesse  unto 
you,  that  he  hath  no  lesse  care  thereof, 
then  of  the  peace  and  tranquility 
of  his  owne  Kingdom e" 


lines  2587: 

"My  good  Lords, 
we  are  comaunded  by  the  King 

our  Master 
(who  ever  hath  respected  your  affaires 
as    the    tranquility    of    his    own 

Kingdoms) 
to   let    you    thus    far    vnderstand    his 

pleasure, 


"We  will  therefore  proceede  to 
exhort  you,  to  continue  stedfast 
in  the  vnion  ofyourProuinces, 
as  the  principall  foundation  of  your 
estate,  and  to  be  carefull  that  the 
chan  gin  g  o  f  Magi  s  t  r  a  t  e  s  and 
Counsellors  which  hath  bin 
made  in  diuers  of  your  Townes, 
do  not  breede  enmities  and  dis- 
sentions  among  your  Citizens,  instead 
of  ceasing  them" 


he    do's    exhort    you,    as   the   best 

foundation 
of  your  estate,  with  all  care  to  preserve 
the  vnion  ofyourprouinces,  and 

wishes 
the  changes  that  you  haue  made 

of  Maiestrates 
the  Advocate    and    Counsellors   of 

State 
in  many   of  your  Townes,  breed 

not  dissentions 
in  steed   of  ceasing  them:" 


Then  the  letter  goes  on  warning  against  unnecessary  changes  in  the 
government  which  should  only  be  made  upon  great  necessity.  The 
hope  is  expressed  that  the  Synod  will  be  a  means  to  procure  peace 
and  concord  in  regard  to  the  religious  troubles.  Here,  as  everywhere 
in  the  play,  the  dramatists  omit  details  about  the  religious  controver- 
sies and  the  National  Synod. 


"We  are  likewise  to  tell  you  some- 
what from  the  King,  touching  your 
Prisoners,  and  to  shew  you,  how 
much  it  concerneth  the  honour  and 
reputation  of  your  affaires,  to  admi- 
nister unto  them  good  and  speedy  lustice. 
They  are  accused  of  the  most 
inorme   and    detestable    crimes 

that  can  be     .     .     , 

If  they  be  culpable  of  these  dis- 
loyalties the  King  our  Master  giveth 
you  counsell  and  advise  to  exercise 
the  rigour  of  your  Lawes  against 
them." 


"Touching  your  Prisoners 
that  stand  accusd  of  detestable 

Crymes, 
his   counsaile    is,    if    they    be 

culpable 
that  you  vse   speedy   lustice    and 

with  rigour," 


LI 


Morier's  speech,  which  follows,  shows  the  same  or  even  a  closer  relation 
to  the  source. 


"To  the   contrary   diuers 

Princes  haue  shewed  them- 
selves ready  to  pardon,  euen  such 
enterprises  as  haue  bin  done 
against  theirowne  persons:  and 
the  freest  Common-Wealths,  al- 
waies  used  to  spare  the  blood 
of  their  Citizens;  and  that  in  the 
greatest  malefactors;  it  being  one 
of  the  principallest  signes  of 
liberty  and  freedome,  not  easily 
or  lightly  to  touch  the  life  of 
Citizens." 


"Ever   remembring    that    the    greatest 

Princes 
haue    sometimes    to   their    glory  byn 

most  apt 
to   pardon   what  was  enterprizd 

against 
their   Goverments,   nay   their   lives; 

and  that  the  freest 
and  the  best  Comon-wealthes,  haue 

alwaies  vsd 
to  spare  the  blood  of  their  owne 

Cittize  n  s 
and  that  in  great  offendors  —  it 

still  being 
the  principall  signe   of  libertie 

and  freedom 
not  easely,   but  with  mature  advice, 
to  touch  the  lives   of   Cittizens." 

Then  follows  a  definition  of  the  term  treason  by  which  "jealousy 
of  power  and  authority",  and  "ambition"  are  not  to  be  understood. 
The  pamphlet  goes  on: 

"We  doubt  not  my  Lords,  but  that  in  your  integrities  and  wisedomcs  you  make 
distinction  as  you  should,  of  the  faith  and  actions  whereof  men  are  accused, 

"and  the  rather 
when    question    is   made  of  such 

as   are 
your  officers  placd  in  authoritie 
of   whom    the    ancientst    Moun- 

sieur    Barnauelt 
so   much  comended  for  so  many 

good 
and    notable    services    don    for 

theis    Cuntries, 
deserves  most  serious  regard.  My  Master 
and  other  Kings  and  Princes,  your 

Allyes, 
lyvingyet  witnesses  of  his  great  meritts 
and  with  such  admiration  that  they  can 
be  hardly  brought  to   thinck  he 

should    conspire 
against  those  States  for  which  your- 

selues  best  know 
what  travayles  he  hath  vndergon;" 


question  being  made  of  the 
lives  of  your  officers  and  subjects 
placed  in  authority  wherof  one 
is  the  auncientest  Councellor  of 
your  state,  which  is  Monsieur  Bar- 
neuelt,  so  much  commended  for 
the  good  and  notable  services 
by  him  done  for  these  countries, 
whereof  the  Princes  and  States  and 
allies  unto  the  same  are  wit- 
nesses, that  it  is  hardly  to  be 
thought  or  beleeved,  that  he  should 
haue  conspired  treason  against  his 
native  Countrie,  for  the  which  you 
your  selves  know  hee  hath  taken 
so  great  paines." 


LII   — 


The  oration  continues  to  point  out  that  it  is  necessary  that  the 
truth  should  be  brought  to  light,  and  advises  the  States-General  to 
appoint  unsuspected  and  impartial  judges,  who  ought  to  give  judg- 
ment only  upon  clear  proofs.  It  mentions  the  affection  which  Barnavelt 
always  bore  to  France,  speaks  of  the  testimonies  of  his  loyalty  and 
fidelity,  which  seem  to  exclude  all  suspicion  of  treason,  ending: 


"The  Counsel  which  the  King 
giueth  you  touching  these  Prisoners 
is,  not  to  use  rigour  against  them, 
but  rather  fauour  and  clemency.  His 
Maiesty  shall  haue  sufficient  glory  and 
satisfaction,  to  haue,  like  a  true  friend 
and  allie,  giuen  you  wholesome 
and  sound  counsels,  whereof  the  use 
and  event  will  be  as  happy  and  profi- 
table for  your  Slate,  as  the  contrary  is 
hurtful  and  dangerous:  andhis  Majestie 
cannot  chuse  but  be  much  offended 
at  the  small  respect  which  you 
still  make  of  his  Counsels,  requests 
and  amitie,  which  thereby  may  procure 
as  much  slacknesse,  as  in  times  past 
you  haue  found  promptness  and 
fauourablenesse  in  your  neede." 


"and  therefore 
once   more   he   do's  advice  you  to 

vse  mercy: 
which  if  you  doe,  he  then  shall  thinck 

you  merit 
the    many    fauours    you    haue    tasted 

from  him, 
yf  not,  he  having  given  you  wholl- 

som  Counsaile, 
yf  you  refuce  it,  he  must  think  himself 
slighted    in     his    requests:    and 

then  perhaps 
hereafter  you  may  misse  that  prompt- 

nes  in  him 
which  you  haue  found  when  yonr 

wants  most  requird  it." 


Though  here  the  source  is  not  so  closely  followed,  the  ideas  ex- 
pressed in  the  two  speeches  are  similar. 

The  second  part  of  the  pamphlet:  "the  Generall  State's  answere  to  the 
Propositions,  made  unto  them,  by  the  French  King's  Ambassadors" 
occupies  seven  pages  of  press  print.  The  States-General  of  the  United 
Provinces  express  their  gratitude  for  the  advice  given  them  by  the 
King  of  France;  they  consider  themselves  justified  in  their  measures 
to  appoint  new  magistrates  and  express  the  hope  that  by  the  convo- 
cation of  a  Synod  peace  will  be  restored  with  regard  to  the  differences 
on  religious  matters.  They  will  collect  all  the  evidence  concerning  the 
prisoners  and  pronounce  judgment  as  soon  as  possible. 

In  the  Prince  of  Orange's  answer  to  the  French  Ambassadors 
the  dramatists  are  not  so  much  indebted  to  their  source  as  in  the 
first  part  of  this  scene.  I  will  compare  some  passages  with  the  Prince's 
speech  to  show  that  only  few  lines  have  been  copied  from  'the  Answer', 
though  the  tendency  of  the  two  is  the  same. 


LIII  — 


lines  2635  ff. : 

willingly, 

for  I  must  still  be  glad  to  take  occa- 
sion 

to  speak  how  much  your  Lordships,  and 
myself 

ever  stand  bound  to  that  most  chris- 
tian  King 

whose    fauours,    with  all  thancks, 
we  must  acknowledge 

as  with  all  care  preserve; 


The  States  generall  of  the  united 
Prouinces,  hauing  in  open  assembly, 
heard,  and  deliberately  perused  the  Pro- 
positions of  Messieurs  de  Boisise  and 
du  Morier,  Ambassadors  of  the  most 

Christian    King    of  France 

declare  to  give  all  good  meanes  and 
occasions  vpon  his  Maiestie,  to  moue 
him  to  continue  his  royal  fauours 

vnto  them 

for  the  which  they  are  obliged  to  give 
and  yeeld  all  kind  of  thankes,  thty 
are  no  less  desirous  to  shew  the 
continuance  of  the  most  strict  bond 
thereof. 

So  they  are  exceeding  much 
grieued  to  perceive  themselves 
to  be  mistaken  and  taxed  not  to 
haue  resolved  vpon  the  affaires  touching 
the  good  of  the  State. 

They  are  perswaded  that  judgement 
shall  not  be  long  deferred,  and  such 
without  doubt,  that  at  the  publication 
therof,  all  their  Allies  and  his  Maiestie 
will  commend  their  vpright  dealing. 

hoping  that  his  Maiestie 

will  find  it  more  expedient  for  his  service 
and  the  good  of  the  said  Provinces, 
to  referre  the  same  to  the  said 
States  gouernment  and  iudgement, 
which  they  will  take  paincs  to  conclude 
and  finish  with  so  much  equitie 
and  clemencie  among  themselves 
that  the  obedience  of  their  subjects 
shall  by  their  authority  be  confirmed". 

Of  the  lost  pamphlets  mentioned  by  Motley,  the  only  one  that 
may  have  affected  the  dramatists  materially  is: 

The    Necessary    and   Living  Discourse  of  a  Spanish  Counsellor  16 1 8. 

In  a  dignified  and  conciliatory  ^  letter  to  the  Prince  written  by 
Barneveld  on  24  April  16 18  concerning  the  alienation  from  the  Prince, 
which  he  had  observed  to  his  great  sorrow,  the  Advocate  writes  with 
regard  to  this  pamphlet: 


Onely  we  hope 
his  Maiestie  will  give  vs  leave  to  say 
we  greive  that  he  is  misinformd 

of  vs 
and  our  proceedings, 

of  which  we  hereafter 
will  give  him  certaine  and  vnanswerable 

pioofes. 
to   iustefie   our  Actions,  which  we  will 
make  knowne  to  all  the  world, 

till  when,  we  wish 
he   will   be   pleas d,    to   give  way 

to  the  States 
to  finish  what  they  haue  begon,  with 

lustice 
temperd  with  mercy": 


1  The  epithets  are  Motley's. 


—  LIV  — 


"Especially  it  was  I  that  was  thus  made  the  object  of  hatred  and 
contempt.  Hundreds  of  lies  and  calumnies,  circulating  in  the  form  of 
libels,  seditious  pamphlets  and  lampoons,  compelled  me  to  return  from 
Utrecht  to  the  Haghe".  He  then  alludes  to  the  Necessary  and  Liviftg 
Discourse  of  a  Spanish  Counsellor  which  was  attributed  to  his  greatest 
foe  Frangois  van  Aerssen  and  goes  on :  ''therefore  I  most  respectfully 
beg  your  Excellency  not  to  believe  these  fellows,  but  to  reject  their 
counsels."  ^ 

The  Discourse  begins  with  a  warning  to  the  people  to  open  their 
eyes  to  the  danger  threatening  their  country.  The  country  was  governed 
by  the  excellent  Stadholder  Prince  Maurice,  who  protected  it  from 
Spanish  violence,  till  some  proud  and  ambitious  person  came,  to  make 
the  country  an  oligarchy.  Then  follows  a  warning  against  Barneveld, 
who  with  sly  craftiness  had  usurped  the  government  of  all  affairs  in 
Holland.  He  had  enlisted  soldiers  whom  he  obliged  to  swear  a  new 
oath  against  the  Prince,  and  had  tried  to  degrade  his  Excellence  the 
most  courageous  and  victorious  prince,  by  whose  powerful  hand  the 
country  was  saved,  'the  awe  and  fear  of  our  neighbours.'  The  pamphlet 
ends  by  an  appeal  to  the  Prince  and  to  all  faithful  Patriots  and 
lovers  of  religion  to  protect  the  true  religion  and  the  safety  of  the 
country. 

I  consulted  the  Dutch  originals  of  the  other  pamphlets  mentioned  by 
Motley  to  see  if  they  might  have  had  any  influence  on  the  dramatists. 

The  Declaration  of  the  Golden  Bellows,  in  Dutch :  De  Verclaringhe 
van  den  Gouden  Blaesbalck. 

The  Arminian  Road  to  Spain,  in  Dutch:  De  Arminiaensche  Vaert 
naer  Spaegnien, 

A  little  Window  by  peeping  through  which  we  can  see  the  great 
Masters  rolling  down  to  the  gates  of  Hell,  in  Dutch :  Een  Cleyn  Ven- 
sterken,  waer  door  gekeecken  tverdt,  hoe  die  groote  Meesters  haer  tot  de 
poorten  der  he  lie  wentelden. 

In  the  last  pamphlet  Barnavelt  is  compared  to  Lucifer,  who  also  wanted 
to  rise  higher.  The  Advocate  betrayed  his  country  for  Spanish  ducats, 
and  is  thrown    into  hell  with  Grotius,  Hoogerbeets  and    Uytenbogaert. 

The  pamphlets  unanimously  praise  the  Prince  of  Orange,  who 
saved  the  country,  and  commend  his  conduct  in  Utrecht,  where  he 
disbanded    the   mercenaries.  They  condemn  Barnavelt  for  his  enlisting 


^   Waaragtige  Historie  van  Oldenharnevdd. 

—   LV 


the  new  soldiers,  for  accepting  bribes  from  Spain,  and  for  his  treason 
to  the  country. 

The  undignified,  libellous  tone  of  these  pamphlets  makes  the  perusal 
disagreeable  to  us,  and  fortunately  the  dramatists  did  not  allow  them- 
selves to  be  influenced  by  them,  if  they  knew  them,  which  is  very 
likely  the  case. 

A  Dutch  pamphlet  the  English  translation  of  which  seems  no  longer 
to  exist  is  of  some  interest  to    us.     The    title    of   this  pamphlet  is : 

Cort  Verhael  van  al  'tgene  binnen  Utrecht  gepasseerd  iSy  de  Aenkomst 
van  syn  Princelicke  Excellentie  en  7  afdancken  der    Waertgelders.  ^ 

It  was  printed  in  Amsterdam  in  1618  and  a  picture,  probably  of  Maurice, 
is  on  the  title  page.  I  have  translated  part  of  it  into  English  for 
comparison  with  the  play.  *A  short  Account  of  all  that  passed 
in  Utrecht,  the  arrival  of  his  Excellency  and  the  disbanding  of  the 
mercenaries'. 

^'matters  had  come  to  such  a  pass  that  his  Excellency  told  Count  Earnest  of 
Nassau  the  renowned  warrior  to  ride  through  the  town  and  establish  good  order. 
Three  companies  came  from  Aernhem  and  Vyanen  in  the  morning.  His  Excellency 
Prince  Maurice  of  Orange  rose  at  daybreak  on  the  last  of  July,  and  after  praying 
God  that  everything  might  pass  without  bloodshed,  he  ordered  the  mercenaries  to 
lay  down  their  arms.  His  Excellency  was  busy  all  day  to  arrange  everything  in 
proper  order,  as  a  wise  and  prudent  Prince,  who  with  God's  help  had  settled  matters 
in  such  a  way  that  not  a  drop  of  blood  was  shed.  The  Delegates  of  the 
States  of  Holland  seeing  that  things  were  thus  arranged,  took  their  seats  in  their 
coaches  and  rode  off,  the  chief  Delegate  among  them  being  H.  Grotius. 

There  is  anothers  pamphlet  giving  an  account  of  the  events  in  almost 
the  same  words.  The  title  of  the  Dutch  pamphlet  is:     Oranjes  Check 


*  The  Dutch  original  is  as  follows: 

De  Sake  is  so  verre  gekomen,  dat  syne  Princelicke  Excellentie  dien  vermaerden 
krijchshelt  Graef  Ernst  van  Nassau  door  de  stad  heeft  laten  rijden,  die  op  alles 
goede  orde  stelde.  Drie  vaendelen  quamen  's  morghens  van  buiten  van  Aernhem 
ende  van  Vyanen.  Syn  Prinelycke  Excellentie  Mauritius  van  Oraignien  is  *s  morghens 
den  laetsten  July  vroeg  opgestaen  ende  nae  aenroeping  van  God's  heyligen  name,  dat 
alles  sonderbloetvergietenmocht  afloopen,  gebood  hy  de  Waertgelders 't  gheweeraf 
te  leggen.  Syn  Princelicke  Excellentie  was  dien  gantschen  dag  besich  om  in  alles 
orde  te  stellen  als  een  wys  en  voorsichtich  Prince  toekomt,  die  de  sake  door  Gods 
hulpe  so  verre  gebracht  heeft,  datter  niet  een  druppel  bloed's  vergoten  is 
gheworden.  Ende  dat  ghingh  met  zulke  goede  orde  te  werk,  dat  yder  hem 
bewonderde.  De  Ghecommitteerden  van  de  E.  Hecren  Staten  van  Holland  ziende, 
dat  het  zoo  te  werk  gingh,  ginghen  in  haer  koetsen  sitten,  ende  reden  deur,  daer 
onder  de  voornaemste  was  H.  Grotius." 

—   LVI  — 


Beleydt  in  7  Afdancken  der  Waert-ghelders  binnen  de  Stadt  Utrecht. 
In  English  'Orange's  brave  conduct  in  disbanding  the  Waertgelders, 
within  the  town  of  Utrecht'. 

Lines  984  fif.  and  1223  fif.  seem  to  have  been  suggested  by  this 
pamiDhlet : 

"how  many  Townes,  hath  he  (and  sodainely) 
disarmd  againe  and  setled  in  obedience, 

and    without    bloodshed,    Lords,    without    the    sword 
and  those  Calamitiei  that  shake  a  kingdom" 
and, 

*'my  grave  Lords 

that  it  hath  byn  my  happines  to  take  in, 

and    with    so    litle   blood,    so  many  Townes 

that  were  falne  of,  is  a  large  recompence 

for  all  my  travell." 

compare  also  lines   1864 — 6"]  \ 

'■^Orange  I  haue  sent  patents  out  for  the  choicest  Companies 

hether  to  be  remou'd:  first  Collonell  Veres 

from  Dort,  next  Sir  Charles  Morgans,  a  stowt  Company 

and  last   my    Cosens,    the    Count   Ernests   Company:" 

There  are  some  old  prints,  which  are  also  of  interest  in  connection 
with  our  play,  as  they  may  have  been  known  in  England.  There  exists 
an  old  print  bearing  the  inscription:  'The  corpse  of  Ledenberg  secretary 
of  Vtrecht'.  It  represents  the  place  of  execution,  where  the  coffin  with 
Ledenberg's  corpse  is  hanging  on  the  gallows. 

There  is  another  old  print  which  bears  relation  to  the  same  subject ; 
the  scene  represents  a  gallows  on  which  the  coffin  of  Ledenberg  hangs; 
in  the  distance  the  dunes ;  the  inscription  is  'The  corpse  of  Gillis  van 
Ledenberg.' 

An  old  print  called :  "D'Arminiaensche  uytvaert'  ^  gives  a  picture 
of  the  Hague;  by  the  side  of  the  town  stand  three  gibbets,  on  one  of 
which  hangs  Ledenberg's  coffin. 

A  very  interesting  old  print  to  which  Vondel  has  written  some  verse 
lines,  commemorates  the  victory  of  the  Contra-Remonstrants. 

In  a  hall  hangs  an  enormous  pair  of  scales ;  in  the  right  scale,  which 
is  higher  than  the  other,  the  gown  of  the  Advocate  and  the  cushion 
of  council  lie;  by  the  side  of  this  Barneveld  and  two  others  stand, 
probably  Grotius  and  Hogerbeets.  Through  the  open  window  the  square 
in    Utrecht   is   seen,   with   the    picture    of    the    Prince    disbanding    the 


^  The  Arminian  obsequies. 

—  LVII   — 


mercenaries.  Maurice  comes,  and  puts  his  sword  in  the  left  scale,  so 
that  it  goes  down.  Brandt  thinks  that  the  print  and  Vondel's  lines  date 
from  the  time  of  Barneveld's  imprisonment;  if  it  had  been  drawn  after 
Barneveld's  execution,  we  might  have  expected  a  picture  of  Barneveld's 
execution  in  the  background,  instead  of  the  disarming  of  the  soldiers. 

The  dramatists  may  also  have  had  information  from  the  English 
soldiers  who  had  been  to  Holland,  which  is  confirmed  by  the  use  of 
corrupted  forms  of  Dutch  words  and  expressions,  as  'shellain',  for 
'schelm',  'keramis-time*  for  'kermis',  'the  Bree'  for  'de  brui*.  English 
companies  of  actors  travelled  much  on  the  Continent  passing  through 
Holland  on  their  way  to  Germany,  and  may  have  brought  news  and 
particulars  concerning  the  Arminian  controversies  and  the  execution 
of  the  Dutch  Statesman. 

I  hope  I  have  succeeded  in  showing  that  the  dramatists  were  de- 
cidedly under  the  influence  of  their  sources,  though  there  is  some 
difference  in  the  way  they  were  affected  by  them.  Massinger's  scenes 
have  been  copied  more  literally  from  the  sources  than  Fletcher's,  for 
example  Barnavelt's  speeches  before  the  Tribunal  ^,  Orange's  accusations 
in  his  answer  to  him,  ^  the  Ambassadors'  speeches  and  the  Prince's 
answer  .2  The  only  passage  taken  verbally  from  the  source  by  Fletcher, 
is  Barnavelt's  soliloquy  in  his  study.  *  All  the  other  scenes  by  Fletcher 
as  Barnavelt's  conversation  with  Bredero  and  Vandort,  ^  with  his  son,  ^ 
and  his  speech  in  the  execution  scene  ^  are  original.  I  shall  speak  of 
Barnavelt's  character  later,  but  want  to  make  one  remark  here.  When 
we  read  the  sources,  and  compare  the  picture  drawn  of  Barnavelt  in  them 
with  that  in  the  play,  taking  into  consideration  the  scant  material  at 
the  dramatists'  disposal,  we  must  acknowledge  that  they  succeeded 
remarkably  well  in  doing  justice  to  the  figure  of  the  great  statesman, 
even  though  it  may  rank  far  below  the  representation  modern  history 
has  been  able  to  put  before  our  eyes.  If  Barnavelt's  figure  in  the 
play  is  not  true  to  history,  the  sources  are  to  blame  for  it;  we  must 
remember  that  the  pamphlets  were  written  in  a  time  of  confusion, 
intense  hatred  and  blind-eyed  prejudice. 


^  2223  ff,  2259  ff. 

»  2318  ff. 

»  2587  a 

*  1884  ff. 
»  1064  ff. 

•  1170  ff. 
>  2894  a. 


LVIII   — 


E.      Authorship  and  Distribution  of  Scenes 

I  now  proceed  to  the  difficult  and  interesting  problern  of  the  author- 
ship of  the  play,  which  has  been  nauch  discussed  by  several  scholars. 

A  simple  reading  of  the  text  shows  unmistakably  the  hands  of  two 
different  authors  in  the  changes  of  style  and  dramatic  treatment.  Most 
critics  are  agreed  in  assigning  the  play  to  Massinger  and  Fletcher.  Bullen 
writes  in  the  Introduction  to  his  edition  of  the  play  "On  a  first  rapid 
inspection  I  assumed  with  most  uncritical  recklessness  that  Chapman 
was  the  author,  but  when  I  came  to  transcribe  the  piece  I  soon  became 
convinced  that  it  was  the  production  of  Fletcher.  But  in  other  passages 
we  find  a  second  hand  at  work.  I  think  we  may  speak  with  tolerable  cer- 
tainty if  we  credit  Massinger  with  these  scenes."  Boyle  expresses  his  opin- 
ion with  greater  conviction.  He  published  the  results  of  his  investigation 
based  on  metrical  tests,  and  especially  parallel  passages  in  the  case  of 
Massinger,  and  concluded  that  ''the  play  indubitably  belongs  to  the 
Massinger  and  Fletcher  series."^  Fleay  had  arrived  at  the  conclusion 
of  assigning  the  play  to  Massinger,  Fletcher  and  Field,  but 
afterwards  dropped  Field.  The  poet  Swinburne,  who  has  written 
a  warm  and  appreciative  criticism  of  the  play,  admits  that  he  had  first 
thought  of  Chapman,  but  now  accepts  Bullen's  statement,  and  declares 
himself  quite  convinced  that  the  play  is  by  Massinger  and  Fletcher.^ 
Mr  Oliphant  also  concurs  with  this  view,  but  professor  Cruickshank 
det  ects  a  third  hand  in  some  scenes.^ 

We  have  heard  of  the  collaboration  of  Massinger  and  Fletcher  before 
1 619.  In  fact,  the  first  mention  of  Massinger  as  a  dramatist  was,  as  a  col- 
laborator with  Fletcher  and  others  in  a  letter  to  Henslowe  asking  for  the 
loan  of  £  5.  The  letter  runs  as  follows 

"To  our  most  loving  friend  Mr.  Phillipp  Hinchlow,  Esquire,  these  :  — 
"Mr.  Hinchlow,  —  You  understand  our  unfortunate  extremitie  and  I  doe  not    thinck 


^  Bullen's  Collection  of  Old  English  Plays  11,  Appendix  II.  See  also  Englische  Studien  X 

and  the  Introduction  to  Gelbcke's  translation     of  the  play  in  :   Die  Englische  Biihne 

zu  Shakespeare' s  Zeit. 

'  The   Fortnightly   Review,   July   1889,   Vol.   XL VI   Philip   Massinger. 

•  Philip  Massinger,  Appendix  III. 

—  LIX  — 


you  so  void  of  christianitie,  but  that  you  would  throw  so  much  money  into  the  Thames 
as  wee  request  now  of  you,  rather  than  endanger  so  many  innocent  lives.  You  know  there 
is  ten  pound  more  at  least  to  be  receaved  of  you  for  the  play.  We  desire  you  to  lend  us  five 
pound  of  that,  which  shall  be  allowed  to  you,  without  which  we  cannot  be  bayled,  norl 
play  any  more  till  this  be  dispatch'd.  It  will  loose  you  twenty  pound  ere  the  end  of  the 
next  weeke,  beside  the  hinderance  of  the  next  new  play.  Pray,  sir,  consider  our  cases  with 
humanity,  and  now  give  us  cause  to  acknowledge  you  our  true  friend  in  time  of  neede. 
Wee  have  entreated  Mr.  Davison  to  deliver  this  note  as  well  to  witnesse  your  love  as  our 
promises,   and  alwayes  acknowledgment  to  be  ever 

your  most  thanckfull ;  and  loving  friends, 

Nat.  Field". 

"The  money  shall  be  abated  out  of  the  mony  remayns  for  the  play  of  Mr.  Fletcher 
and  ours. 

Rob.  Daborne." 

"I  have  ever  founde  you  a  true  lovinge  friende  to  mee,  and  in  soe  small  a  suite,  it 
beeing  honest,  I  hope  you  will  not  faile  us. 

Philip  Massinger."* 

The  letter  is  undated,  but  is  with  tolerable  certainty  assigned  to  the 
year  1613  or   1614 ;  we  know  that  Henslowe  died  in  January  1615/16. 

It  is  assumed  by  Fleay  and  Bullen  that  this  letters  refers  to  the  Honest 
MarCs  Fortune^  but  Boyle  thinks  it  may  just  as  well  refer  to  The  Bloody 
Brother  or  Thierry  and  Theodoret,  or  to  a  play  now  lost,  which  is  also 
Mr.    Oliphant's   opinion.^ 

It  is  proved  by  internal  evidence  that  Fletcher  and  Massinger  col- 
laborated in  many  plays  written  for  the  King's  Men  after  Henslowe's  death, 
except  for  two  years,  when  Massinger  wrote  for  the  Queen's  Men  playing 
at  the  Cockpit,  also  called  the  Phoenix,  from  1623  till  Fletcher's  death 
in  1625. 

The  plays  were  printed  in  the  Folio  edition  of  1647  containing  The 
Plays  of  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  edited  by  Humphrey  Moseley  and  Hum- 
phrey Robinson  with  a  preface  by  the  dramatist  Shirley.  About  ten 
years  after  in  1658  Sir  Aston  Cokaine,  Massinger's  patron  and  friend, 
wrote  to  his  cousin  Mr.  Charles  Cotton  that  Massinger  had  collaborated 
in  many  plays  of  the  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  Folio.  He  addressed  a  re- 
monstrance to  the  publishers  in  a  sonnet  in  his  Small  Poems  of  Divers 
Sorts : 


*  Malone- Archives    of    Dulwich    College  and  printed   by  Gifford  in  the  introduction  to 
Massinger's   Works. 

•  Englische  Studien  XIV. 

—  LX  -— 


'*In   the   large    book    of   plays  you   late    did    print 
In  Beaumont  and  in  Fletcher's  name,   why  in  't 
Did  you  not  justice,  give  to  each  his  due  ? 
For  Beaumont  of  those  many  writ  but  few  : 
And   Massinger  in  other  few  ;   the   main 
Being  sweet  issues  of  sweet  Fletcher's  brain. 
But   how    came   I,    you    ask,    so    much    to    know  ? 
Fletcher's   chief  bosom  friend  informed   me    so." 

There  has  been  some  difference  among  crities  who  this  bosom  friend 
was,  but  it  is  pretty  sure  that  he  meant  his  cousin  the  elder  Cotton. 

Sir  Aston  Cokaine  also  wrote  an  epitaph  on  Fletcher  and  Massinger 
making  the  same  statement : 

"In   the   same   grave    Fletcher   was   buried   here 

Lies  the  Stage  Poet  Philip  Massinger  ; 

Plays  they  did  write  together,  were  great  friends 

And  now  one  grave  includes  them  in  their  ends  : 

So   whom  on  earth  nothing  did  part  beneath 

Here,    in    their   fames,    they   lie   in   spight   of    death". 

At  that  time  no  attention  was  paid  to  these  assertions,  but  of  late 
years,  many  scholars  have  occupied  themselves  with  investigations 
on  the  respective  shares  of  Beaumont,  Fletcher  and  Massinger  in  these 
plays,  and  Massinger  has  at  last  come  to  his  own  again. 

The  result  of  these  researches  is  that  Massinger,  whose  collection  of 
works  consists  of  fourteen  plays,  had  collaborated  with  others,  according 
to  Schelling^  in  fifty-four  plays,  namely  with  Field,  Tourneur,  Fletcher, 
Daborne  and  Dekker,  and  revised  a  play  by  Middleton  and  Rowley, 
This  may  sound  surprising,  but  to  explain  this  way  of  composing  plays 
1 1  will  say  a  few  words  en  Elizabethan  colk  boration. 

On  the  whole  playwrights  were  not  very  well  off  at  that  time ;  with 
a  few  exceptions,  as  Shakespeare  and  Beaumont,  they  had  to  write  un- 
interruptedly for  their  living. When  they  were  yet  unknown,  they  usually 
began  their  career  by  revising  or  adapting  plays,  and  often  entered  the 
service  of  Henslowe  or  other  stage  managers,  who  had  many  authors 
in  their  pay  to  furnish  contributions  for  their  companies.  When  the 
authors  were  in  pecuniary  difficulties  the  manager  often  advanced  a 
t  sum  of  money  on  a  play  which  was  not  yet  finished,  and  it  frequently 
I  happened    that   playwrights   were   continually   in  their  manager's   debt. 


*  The  Elizabethan  Drama. 


LXI  — 


It  is  melancholy  to  think  how  playwrights  like  Chettle  and  Daborne 
worked  in  unbroken  slavery  for  Henslowe.  One  of  the  causes  was  the 
bad  salary  paid  for  a  play ;  the  price  seems  to  have  fluctuated  between 
10  and  20  £,  sometimes  only  £6.  Daborne  desires  in  1613  £  12  for  the 
She  Saint  and  £  12  for  the  Bellman  of  London  and  the  overplus 
of  the  performance  for  two  days.  We  see  that  Daborne  and  Massinger 
had  been  in  money  difficulties,  from  a  bond  to  Henslowe  for  £  3,  dated 
July  4th  1 61 5  running  as  follows  :^ 

"The  condition  of  this  obligation  is  such,  that  if  the  above  bounden 
Robert  Daborne  and  Philip  Massinger  or  either  of  them,  should  pay 
or  cause  to  be  paid  unto  the  above-named  Philip  Henslowe,  his  exe- 
cutors, administrators,  or  assigns,  the  full  and  entire  sum  of  three  pounds 
of  lawful  money  of  England, at  or  upon  the  first  day  of  August  next  ensuing 
the  date  of  these  presents,  at  the  now  dwelling-house  of  the  said  Philip 
Henslowe,  situate  on  the  Bankside,  without  fraud  or  farther  delay, 
then  and  from  thenceforth  this  present  obligation  to  be  null  and  void 
and  of  no  effect,  or  else  to  remain  and  abide  in  full  power,  strength 
and  virtue. 

Rob.  Daborne. 

Philip  Massinger." 

Plays  were  constantly  revised  under  new  names,  even  Shakespeare 
began  his  career  working  in  such  revisions.  We  read  in  Henslowe's  Diary 
for  the  22nd  of  November  1602  ''Lent  unto  the  companye  to  pay  unto 
Wm.  Birde  and  Samuel  Rowley,  for  ther  adicyones  in  Docter  Fostes 
the  some  of  iiijll.  Middleton  received  five  shillings  for  preparing  Green's 
Friar  Bacon  for  presentation  at  Court  adding  a  prologue  and  epilogue. 

Collaboration  was  often  the  result  of  stage-rivalry  ;  when  one  company 
had  a  play  that  drew  a  large  audience,  the  other  company  ordered  some 
dramatists  to  write  a  play  to  rival  it  in  the  shortest  possible  time.  It 
was  on  the  whole  the  result  of  the  constant  demand  for  theatrical  novelty. 
The  exacting  manager  sometimes  wanted  to  ensure  a  quick  dramati- 
zation of  some  temporary  topic  and  set  two  or  three,  even  four  or  five 
authors  at  work,  as  is  seen  in  the  above  mentioned  letter  to  Henslowe. 

We  can  safely  say  that  the  system  of  collaboration  was  quite  usual 
among  the  Elizabethan  dramatists  ;  all  engaged  in  it,  even  Shakespeare 
and  Ben  Jonson,  whom  we  might  certainly  expect  to  work  alone. 
The  drawback  of  this  system  was  that  the  managers,  who  sought  more 
their  own  profit  than  to  serve  artistic  ends,  appreciated  it  only,  if  their 


*  Found  among  the  archives  of  Dulwich  College.  W.  W.  Greg,  Henslowe  Papers. 


—   LXII 


I 


employees  pleased  the  audience.  The  dramatists  were  often  obliged  to 
work  with  great  haste,  and  the  lack  of  unity  in  many  plays  of  the  time 
was  often  due  to  this  collaboration.  The  characterization  was  not  always 
consistent,  as  in  the  case  of  the  play  of  Barnavelt,  a  fault  which  is  to  be 
attributed  to  the  joint  authorship. 

Professor  Cruickshank  ^  tells  us  :  opinions  of  critics  differ  as  regards  col- 
laboration. Euripides  says  in  Andromache,  lines  476-477  : 

Ipiv  M.o'ua-of.i  (pLXoij(Ti  Y.pcdvzivy 

Diderot,  on  the  other  hand,  writes  in  a  passage  quoted  by  Twining,  in 
his  edition  of  Aristotle's  Poetics :  "On  serait  tente  de  croire  qu'un 
drame  devrait  etre  I'ouvrage  de  deux  hommes  de  genie,  I'un  qui  arrangeat 
et  I'autre  qui  fit  parler."^ 

I  think  this  kind  of  collaboration  is  meant  by  Professor  Brander  Mat- 
thews when  he  remarks  :  "If  the  collaboration  has  been  a  true  collabo- 
^ration,  if  the  two  partners  have  combined  to  invent,  to  elaborate,  to 
construct  a  plot,  and  to  fit  it  with  characters  proper  to  its  complete  con- 
Iduct,  then  there  has  been  a  chemical  union  of  their  several  qualities, 
land  not  a  merely  mechanical  mixture,  thereafter  separable  into  its  con- 
(stituent  elements.  Every  scene  and  every  act  of  Froufrou,  for  example, 
is  the  joint  work  of  Meilhac  and  Halevy.  When  there  is  a  true  collabo- 
ration of  this  sort,  it  is  really  of  no  great  importance  which  of  the  two 
[held  the  pen  in  the  writing  of  any  given  scene." 

I  am  afraid  that  Fletcher  and  Massinger's  collaboration  was  not 
[such  an  ideal  one.  As  I  have  noted  above,  the  dramatists  often  resorted 
[to  collaboration  to  fulfil  the  demand  for  a  quick  dramatization  of  a  tem- 
porary event,  as  in  the  case  of  our  play,  which  shows  signs  of  hasty 
jworkmanship  in  the  inconsistency  of  characterization  and  also  in  some 
^contradictions.  Compare  for  example  Barnavelt's  words  : 

"The    valiant    Soldier 
shall   weep    for    me,   because   I    fed,    and   noursd   him"* 

(with  his  remark  in  the  scene  where  he  cashiers  the  company  : 


;*  Philip  Mas  singer, 
r  De  la   Poesie  Dramatique. 

r  A  critical  essay  on  Philip  Massinger  in  C.  M.  Gayley's  Representative  EnglishComcdies. 
lines   1176-78. 


LXIII 


"your    Companie   is   cast  :  you    had  best   complaine 
to   your  great  General),"' 

Yet  Massinger  and  Fletcher  worked  in  continual  collaboration  drawn 
together  by  personal  friendship.  This  kiad  of  collaboration  contrasts 
favourably  with  the  practice  of  the  fertile  and  ingenious  Spanish  play- 
wrights contemporary  with  these  English  dramatists,  who,  as  Professor 
Brander  Matthews  tells  us,  wrote  each  two  of  the  five  acts  of  a  play,  di- 
viding the  third  act  between  them.^ 

Much  has  been  written  on  the  probable  method  of  collaboration;  there 
is  often  much  agreement  among  the  critics,  but  the  differences  are  also 
significant.  Professor  E.  N.  S.  Thompson  offers  among  others  two  theories 
with  relation  to  the  authorship  of  the  Fletcher-Massinger  plays  to  which 
I  cannot  subscribe.  He  states  "Massinger  customarily  takes  the  first 
and  last  acts,  and  Fletcher  the  major  part  of  the  three  intervening  acts," 
and  again  "In  the  continuous  co-operation  of  Fletcher  with  Massinger  a  fixed 
method  of  collaboration,  based  on  structural  division  {i.e.,  one  by  acts 
and  scenes)  rather  than  on  a  division  of  subject  matter,  was  held  to  pretty 
consistently."^ 

I  quite  agree  that  in  many  of  the  joint  plays  by  Fletcher  and  Massinger 
the  first  act  must  be  assigned  to  Massinger,  as  in  The  False  One,  The  Span- 
ish Curate  and  The  Double  Marriage.  This  is  probably  the  outcome  of 
a  difference  in  dramatic  genius.  Massinger's  mastery  of  construction 
is  evident  in  the  excellent  expositions  of  his  plays,  whereas  Fletcher 
may  have  been  conscious  of  his  lack  of  constructive  power,  and  have 
left  the  first  act  to  Massinger.  But  there  are  many  plays  in  which  the  first  act 
is  attributed  to  Fletcher,  namely  :  The  Prophetess,  The  Captain,  The  Cus- 
tom of  the  Country  and  The  Sea-voyage.  Critical  assignment  does  not  bear 
out  the  theory  that  Massinger  wrote  the  last  act  of  the  plays,  as  in  a  good 
many  plays  Fletcher  wrote  the  last  act  or  scene.  In  The  Tragedy  of  Bar- 
navelt  Fletcher  has  brought  the  action  to  a  close  ;  the  first  scene  of  the 
fifth  act  is  divided  between  the  two  authors  and  the  two  last  scenes  are 
by  Fletcher. 

Miss  Hatcher  also  expresses  her  doubts  about  the  correctness  of  Pro- 
fessor Thompson's  theory.  She  remarks  "It  is  hard  to  believe  that  in 
the  collaboration  with  Massinger  the  dramatist  of  larger  genius,  larger 
fame    and  higher  social  distinction  would  have  accepted  any  habit   of 

*  lines  179,  80. 

*  op.  cit. 

*  Englische  Studien  XL. 

—  LXIV  — 


collaboration  which  thrust  him  in  so  unflattering  and  subordinate  a 
background."  Miss  Hatcher  thinks  that  the  paramount  difficulty  in 
accepting  the  second  theory  lies  in  the  necessity  for  believing 
that  men  of  the  fine  calibre  of  Beaumont,  Fletcher  and  even 
Massinger,  would  have  adopted  with  any  of  the  permanence  of 
habit  so  mechanical  a  division  of  parts,  as  that  which  deals  out 
acts  and  scenes,  regardless  of  subject  matter  or  relation  of  parts.  At 
the  beginning  of  such  partnerships,  this  experimental  division  of 
labour  might  have  been  adopted  temporarily,  but  it  seems  incon- 
ceivable that  the  dramatists  should  not  have  left  behind  them 
so  dull  and  wooden  a  device.  The  division  by  subject  matter  has 
every  advantage  over  the  other  more  mechanical  method.  ^  I  quite 
agree  with  this  remark,  and  I  think  the  method  of  collaboration 
to  be  too  much  a  thing  of  conjecture  so  far,  to  assume  any  fixed  method 
with  safety.  I  think  that  the  dramatists  adopted  a  division  of  subject 
matter  which  assigned  to  each  of  them  such  parts  as  best  suited  their 
temperament  and  genius.  When  discussing  the  distribution  of  the  dif- 
ferent scenes  between  the  two  authors  of  our  play,  I  shall  illustrate  this 
by  examples.  Massinger  generally  lays  down  the  lines  of  the  plot  and  the 
essential  features,  Fletcher  rcay  often  bring  it  to  completion,  but  both  share 
in  developing  the  story.  Massinger  seems  to  have  been  conscious  of  his  want 
of  humour,  and  leaves  the  comical  parts  to  Fletcher,  who  certainly  had 
a  real  vein  of  humour.  I  do  not  quite  agree  with  Mr.  L.  Wann's  remark 
"to  Fletcher  fell  the  production  of  the  comic  action ;  Beaumont  and  Mas- 
singer confined  themselves  to  the  serious  action."  ^  In  many  plays  Fletcher 
also  occupied  himself  with  the  serious  action ;  in  the  play  of  Barnavelt 
the  pathetic  scene  of  Leidenberch's  suicide  is  Fletcher's  share.  In  oppo- 
sition to  Diderot's  recommendation  of  collaboration  I  consider  the  plays 
which  Massinger  wrote  alone  after  Fletcher's  death,  of  a  higher  literary 
value  than  those  written  in  collaboration  with  Fletcher,  which  lack  the 
self-concentration  necessary  for  creating  a  higher  work  of  art. 

There  are  several  ways  of  determining  the  authorship  of  a  play;  in 
the  first  place  the  authorship  can  be  based  on  considerations  of  an  aesthetic 
nature,  namely  the  impression  we  gain  from  the  evidence  of  construction, 
characterization,  dramatic  fitness,  style  and  expressions.  Another  way 
of  establishing  the  authorship  is  by  the  application  of  metrical  tests.  The 

^  Anglia  33,   1 910. 

*  The  Collaboration  of  Beaumont,  Fletcher  and  Massinger.  Shakespeare  Studies, Univer- 
sity  of   Wisconsin. 

—  LXV  —• 


scholars  Boyle  and  Fleay  have  published  many  interesting  papers  on 
the  results  obtained  by  this  rnethod  of  criticism  of  the  non-aesthetic  kind. 
When  the  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  Folio  appeared  in  1647,  nobody 
cared  to  make  an  investigation  into  the  authorship  of  the  different  parts 
of  the  plays.  It  is  interesting  to  read  Langbaine's  remark  in  regard  to 
this  question  : 

,,I  wish  I  were  able  to  give  the  reader  a  more  perfect  account  of  what  plays  Fletcher 
writ  in  alone,  in  what  plays  he  was  assisted  by  the  judicious  Beaumont,  and  which 
were  the  plays  in  which  old  Phil  Massinger  had  a  hand,  but  Mr.  Charles  Cotton  being 
dead,  I  know  none  but  Sir  Aston  Cockain  (if  he  be  yet  alive)  that  can  satisfy  the  world 
in   this   particular."* 

In  the  edition  of  the  plays  of  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  of  181 2  by  Weber 
the  editor  states  his  opinion  on  Massinger's  collaboration  in  many  of  the 
plays.  The  assignment  of  the  plays  to  the  different  authors  was  based 
so  far  on  chronological  and  external  evidence  and  on  literary  proofs.  Darley, 
in  his  edition  of  the  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  plays  of  1839,  departed  from 
the  usual  criticism  by  following  a  new  method.  Miss  Hatcher  remarks  that 
Darley  was  the  first  to  draw  attention  to  the  metrical  qualities  of  the 
plays ;  he  further  attempted  to  distinguish  Massinger's  versification, 
and  may  in  this  way,  have  struck  out  the  path  for  the  later  critics 
who  applied  metrical  tests. ^ 

The  first  attempt  to  assign  the  shares  to  the  authors  of  a  play  by  es- 
tablishing a  characteristic  method  of  versification  for  each  author,  was 
made  by  Fleay  in  1874.  His  investigations  were  based  on  metrical  tests, 
in  particular  on  the  double  ending  test,  rhyme-  and  prose  tests.  In  the 
discussion  of  Fleay's  paper  read  before  the  New  Shakespeare  Society 
1874  Mr.  Spedding  remarked  that  metrical  tests  must  be  controlled  and 
checked  by  higher  criticism.  Some  critics  think  that  Fleay  goes  too  far 
in  his  claims  for  his  tests  ;  verse  tests  have  in  fact  been  unduly  overpraised, 
but  on  the  other  hand  also  undervalued.  Prof.  Elze  granted  the  value  of 
metrical  tests  as  a  "gleichberechtigtes  Kriterium"  by  the  side  of  the 
others.  R.  Boyle  writes  "One  great  condition  of  applying  the  metrical 
tests  with  success  is  to  saturate  the  ear  with  the  verse  of  the  author  to 
be  investigated.  There  are  infinite  little  peculiarities  which  cannot  be 
tabulated,  but  which  contribute  still  more  strongly  to  form  the  opinions, 
than  those  coarser  traits  capable  of  being  put  into  a  table."  He  published 
his  investigations  on  the  plays  of  Beaumont,  Fletcher  and  Massinger  in  Eng- 

*  An  Account  of  the  English  Dramatick  Poets. 

•  John  Fletcher.  A  Study  in  dramatic  Method. 

—  LXVI  — 


lische  Studien,  printing  tabular  schemes  of  several  plays  ;  he  thinks  Fleay's 
tests  inadequate  and  adds  the  tests  of  double-endings,  run-on  lines, 
and  light  and  weak  endings,  giving  the  percentages  of  each  group.  In  Mas- 
singer's  case  this  metrical  evidence  is  corroborated  by  the  presence  of 
characteristic  repetitions  of  phrase  and  sentiment,  and  he  has  drawn  up 
a  list  of  parallel  passages  occurring  in  this  author's  plays. ^  Mr.  Oliphant 
continued  the  investigations  based  on  verse  tests,  but  also  added  tests 
of  an  aesthetic  kind  based  on  literary  criticism.^ 

Before  attempting  to  ascertain  the  authorship  of  various  parts  of  a 
work,  one  has  to  learn  the  methods  and  peculiarities  of  style  and 
metre  of  the  authors  in  question  from  their  undoubted  plays.  I 
shall  point  out  the  characteristics  in  which  Fletcher's  metre  is 
distinguished  from  Massinger's,  the  authors  in  question  here.  The  plays 
which  are  unanimously  assigned  by  critics  to  Fletcher,  and  to  Massinger 
alone,  have  been  taken  as  a  basis  for  the  investigation  of  the  author's 
metre.  Fletcher's  verse  is  chiefly  characterized  by  the  combination  of 
the  double  ending  with  the  end-stop t  line;  this  peculiarity  is  found 
in  no  other  Elizabethan  author.  He  often  begins  his  line  with  a  trochee 
going  on  afterwards  with  the  iamb  ;  there  is  in  his  verse  an  abundance 
of  trisyllabic  feet,  in  his  comedies  there  are  sometimes  fifteen  syllables 
in  a  line.  A  characteristic  feature  of  Fletcher's  verse  is  the  pause  after 
an  unaccented  syllable ;  it  occurs  after  the  third,  fifth  and  seventh 
syllables,    cf.  line  451 : 

"your  thancks  and  duties,   not  your  threats,   and  angers." 

He  often  supplants  one  long  syllable  by  three  or  four  short  ones  pro- 
nounced rapidly.  Dr.  Abbott  remarks  ^  The  first  word  of  Fletcher's  verse 
is  often  a  monosyllable,  generally  unemphatic,  so  that  it  may  be  easily 
taken  away,  and  the  result  is  a  verse  that  does  not  read  like  a  dramatic 
verse,  but  like  a  trochaic  verse.  Shakespeare  uses  this  peculiar  Fletcher- 
ian    trochaic    line    often    to    express    indignation.  Cf.  Hamlet  /,  5,  106 

"O  villain,  villain,  smiling  damned  villain" 

An  example  in  our  play  is  : 

"o  you  delt  coldly,   Sir,  and  too,   too  poorely,"* 

He  carries  the  use  of  double  endings  to  an  excessive  extent ;  in  some  works, 


'  Englische  Studien,   V,  VII,  VIII,  IX,   X   1881—87. 
»  Englische  Studien,  XIV,  XV,  XVI  1890—92. 
'  New  Shakespeare  Society  Transactions  1874. 
*  line   1458. 

—  LXVII  — 


especially  in  his  later  plays,  they  amount  even  to  76  per  cent  as 
for  example  in  A  Very  Woman.  In  The  Tragedy  of  Barnavelt  the  per- 
centage of  double  endings  in  Fletcher's  scene-  in  the  first  act  ^  amounts 
to  74  ;  in  Massinger's  first  scene  the  number  is  43,2  per  cent.  A  very 
characteristic  feature  of  Fletcher's  verse  is  the  accented  female  ending, 
that  is  the  emphasizing  of  the  extra  or  eleventh  syllable ;  it  is  often 
done  on  purpose,  as  words  quite  unnecessary  in  the  sentence  like 
"still",   "too",  "sir",  "now",  are  dragged  in. 

Massinger  makes  a  larger  use  of  run-on  lines,  has  fewer  double  endings, 
and  often  light  and  weak  endings,  that  is  he  ends  his  line  with  words  that 
cannot  be  grammatically  separated  from  the  next  line.  His  free  distribution 
of  pauses  in  the  verse  is  in  striking  contrast  with  Fletcher's  method. 
Mr.  Oliphant  has  drawn  attention  to  the  middle-ending  speech  test ;  Massin- 
ger's percentage  of  speeches  that  end  where  the  verse  ends  is  sometimes  as 
low  as  15  per  cent,  whereas  Fletcher's  pauses  at  the  end  of  the  line  amount  to 
85  or  even  90  per  cent.  Mr. Oliphant  remarks  "Fletcher  remained  bound  by, 
even  strengthened  the  bonds  of  the  curse  of  final  pauses".^  In  the  first 
scene  ol  the  first  act  of  The  Tragedy  of  Barnavelt  Massinger's  end-stopt 
lines  are  33  per  cent,  whereas  in  Fletcher's  scene  the  percentage  is 
81.7  per  cent.^ 

Boyle  gives  the  use  of  double  endings,  run-on  lines  and  light  and  weak 
endings  by  Fletcher  and  Massinger  in  tables  and  comes  to  the  following 
percentages  : 

double  endings  run-on  lines  light,  weak  endings 

Massinger  :  41  to  46  %  32  to  39  %  1.7  to  4.25 

Fletcher :  50  %  15  to  20  %  very    few* 

Fletcher's  style  is  easily  distinguished  from  that  of  his  co-adjutors, 
it  has  a  soft  melodious  flow,  but  is  lax,  effusive  and  exuberant;  his  speeches 
are  often  too  fluent  and  facile  to  be  forcible  ;  the  principles  on  which  his 
verse  is  built  present  no  variety,  the  result  is  that  it  becomes  monotonous. 
The  end-stopt  lines  give  the  verse  clearness,  but  also  discontinuity 
of  thought,  his  object  was  to  achieve  an  effect  of  ease. 

Massinger's  verse  is  more  like  Shakespeare's,  it  is  musical,  flowing,  and 
dignified  ;  there  is  a  great  evenness  of  verse,  and  no  changes  from  iamb  to 
trochee;  there  are  few  inharmonious  lines.  His  weak  endings  make  the 


*  Scene  3. 

•  Englische  Studien  XIV.  The  works  of  Beaumont,  Fletcher,  and  Massinger. 

•  I.,  3. 

*  Englische  Studien  V. 

—  Lxvni  — 


lines  run  on,  and  render  his  verse  almost  indistinguishable  from  prose. 

Leslie  Stephen  remarks  :  "Fletcher's  metre  is  too  prominent,  it  is  a 
sing-song  that  tires  by  its  monotony" ;  and  regarding  Massinger's  metre  : 
"the  contrast  is  just  enough  to  give  a  stately  step  to  florid  prose. "^ 

Fleay  gives  some  examples  of  Fletcher's  and  Massinger's  metre,  which 
I  copy  here  to  illustrate  what  I  have  said  above  ^ : 

Fletcher  Bonduca  v  2. 

"What  should  I  do  there  then  ?  You  are  brave  captains 

Most   valiant   men  :    go   up   yourselves  :    use   virtue  : 

See   what  will   come   on    't  :    pray   the   gentleman 

To  come   down  and  be   taken  ?    Ye  all  know  him  : 

I  think,  ye've  felt  him  too  :  there  ye  shall  find  him, 

His  sword  by  his  side  :  plumes  of  a  pound  weight  by  him 

Will  make  your  chops  ache  :  you'll  find  it  a  more  labour 

To   win   him  living   than   climbing   of   a   crow's   nest." 

Massinger  Bondman  I  3. 

"To  all  posterity  may  that  act  be  crowned 

With  a  deserved  applause,   or  branded  with 

The  mark  of  infamy  !  stay  yet  ere  I  take 

This  seat  of  justice  or  engage  myself 

To  fight  for  you  abroad  or  to  reform 

Your  state  at  home,  swear  all  upon  my  sword 

And  call  the  gods  of  Sicily  to  witness 

The   oath  you   take,   that  whatsoe'er  I  shall 

Propound   for   safety   of   your   commonwealth, 

Not   circumscribed   or  bound  in,   shall  by  you 

Be    willingly   obeyed  1" 

I  now  add  two  passages  from  the  play  of  Barnavelt  by    Fletcher   and 
Massinger  respectively,  which  show  the  same  characteristics. 
Fletcher,  lines  993  ff: 

"he  has  run  through  a  busines,  will  much  add  to  him, 

and  sett  his  vertues  of  with  greater  lustre  : 

But   that   a    man    so    wise    as    Mounseiur    Barnauelt, 

so    trusted,   so   rewarded   for   his   Service, 

and  one  that  built  the  ladder  to  his  honour 

of   open,   honest   actions,   strong,   and   straight  still, 

should    now    be    doubted. 

I  know  not  nor  I  wish  it  not, 

But  if  he  haue  a  fowle  hart,  't  has  byn  hid  long. 

And  cuhingly  that  poison  has   byn  carried." 


*  Hours  in  a  Library. 

'  New  Shakespeare  Society  Transactions   1874. 

— ■  LXIX  — 


Note  also  the  alliteration  of  which  Fletcher  made  a  much  greater  use 
than  Massinger. 
Massingcr,  lines  2419  ff. 

"give    me    leave, 
onely  to  smile  :  then  say  all  theis  are  falce, 
your  wittnesses  subornd,  your  testemonies 
and   wrytings   forgd :   and   this   elaborate   forme 
of  lustice  to  delude  the  world  a  cover 
for  future   practises  :   this  I   affirme 

vpon  my  soule  :  Now,  when  you  please  Condempnc  me, 
I  will  not  vse  one  sillable  for  your  mercy, 
to  haue  mine  age  renewd,  and  once  againe 
to  see  a  second  triumph  of  my  glories  : 
you  rise  :  and  I  grow  tedious  :  let  me  take 
my  farwell  of  you  yet  :  and  at  the  place 
where  I  haue  oft  byn  heard  ;  and  as  my  life 
was  ever  fertile   of  good  councells  for  you, 
it  shall  not  be  in   the  last   moment  barren." 

In  Fletcher's  and  Massinger's  plays  the  authors  seldom  resort  to  rhyme, 
and  only  in  few  cases  prose  is  used ;  in  our  play  they  have  employed 
rhyme  very  sparingly  ;  there  occurs  now  and  then  a  couplet  at  the  end 
of  a  scene  or  a  speech.  Prose  is  used  only  in  the  accusations  read  by  the 
officer  in  the  trial  scene.  Bullen  prints  the  first  part  of  the  second  scene 
in  the  last  act  as  prose,  but  I  consider  this  incorrect ;  it  is  quite  possible 
to  scan  the  lines  as  blank  verse  making  allowance  for  the  license  which 
Fletcher  frequently  indulged  in,  as  for  instance,  in  his  treatment  of 
trisyllabic  feet,  and  in  the  way  he  slurs  unaccented  syllables.  There 
is  a  difference  between  the  authors  in  their  way  of  using  short  lines. 
Fletcher  does  not  scruple  to  use  short  lines,  and  a  good  many  occur 
in  our  play.  Massinger  seldom  resorts  to  the  use  of  hemistichs  ;  when 
cut  up  between  two  or  even  three  speakers  the  lines  are  still  regular 
cf.  lines  67-69  : 

^^  Modesbargen     againe  have  made  you, 
Barnavelt  this  to  me  ? 

Modesbargen        to  you  Sir." 

or  lines  159-61  : 

"i.  Captain        we   must  stand  to  it 
Barnavelt     you.  Sir,  you 
2.   Captain         my  lord." 

A     sure    way    of   tracing   Massinger's    hand,    is    the   investigation  of 


LXX 


parallel  passages  in  his  plays.  In  the  Quarterly  Review  ^  in  a  criti- 
cism on  Dyce's  and  Barley's  Editions  of  Beaumont  and  Fletcher's 
works  we  read  'Toets,  especially  those  who  write  a  great  deal,  and  are 
not  of  the  highest  genius  and  first-rate  power,  are  apt  to  repeat 
themselves  in  a  certain  way,  that  is  they  fall  into  the  same  general 
strain  of  thought  as  on  former  occasions.  But  we  seldom  find  that 
poets  repeat  their  own  marked  phrases."  Massinger  is  really  remarkable 
for  his  way  of  repeating  himself  and  others,  especially  Shakespeare. 
R.  Boyle  thinks  this  was  due  to  his  profession  of  an  actor,  and 
that  he  borrowed  unconsciously  from  others  in  whose  plays  he  had  acted. 
I  do  not  consider  it  an  ascertained  fact  that  Massinger  was  an  actor;  we 
find  nowhere  any  certain  proof  for  this  assertion.  There  is  only  one  al- 
lusion to  it  in  a  poem  found  in  manuscript  in  Trinity  College  by  A.  B.  Grosart. 
The  poem  is  a  verse-letter  addressed  to  a  new-sought  patron,  William 
Herbeit  3rd  Earl  of  Pembroke,  Lord  Chamberlain,  frequently  mentioned 
in  biographies  of  Shakespeare.    I  copy  the  lines  in  question  : 


"lett    them    write    well   that    doo    this,    and   in  grace 

I  would  not  for  a  pension  or  a  place 

Part  soe  with  mine  owne  candor  :  lett  me  rather 

Live  poorely  on  those  toys  I  would  not  father 

Not  knowne  beyond  a  player  or  a   r 

That  does  pursue  the  course  that  I  have  ran 

Ere   soe   grow  famous."* 


Sir  A.  Ward  writes  "Massinger's  habit  of  self-repetition  in  phraseo- 
logy may  be  due  to  the  rhetorical  bent  of  his  genius ;  it  accords  with 
other  signs  of  studious  self -training."^ 

Professor  Koeppel  remarks  *lt  is  a  great  pity  that  the  straitened  cir- 
cumstances of  Massinger's  life  obliged  him  to  work  rapidly  ;  his  colourless 
phrases  remind  us  of  the  haste  of  the  dramatist,  sacrifizing  one  of  the 
greatest  charms  of  any  poem,  its  freshness  of  expression,  to  the  wish  to 
have  done  with  his  work*."  I  think  Massinger's  self-repetition  to  be 
also     due    to    haste.     Expressions     like :      'this    I    foresaw',    *be    ne'er 


^  LXXXIII,   Sept.    1848. 

*  EngUsche  Studien  XXVI,  Literary  finds  in  Trinity  College,  Dublin    and    elsewhere'* 

*  A   History  of   English  Dramatic  Literature. 

*  Cambridge   History   of   English   Literature. 


LXXI 


remembered',    *at  all  parts',    'The   freedom  I    was    born    to',  abound  in 
many  of  his  plays. 

Some  repetitions,  which  occur  in  many  plays,  are  : 

line  7  :  "I   speake    the    peoples    Language" 

cf.    The  Sea    Voyage :    "You   speak   the   language 

Which  1  should  use  to  you."* 
line   42:  "When  I  should  passe  with  glory  to  my  rest" 

cf.  :  The    Virgin   Martyr  :  "And   now  in   the   evining 

When  thou  shouldst  pass  with  honour  to  thy  rest.''* 
lines   130-32  :  "And  you  shall  find  that   the   desire   of  glory 

Was   the  last  frailety  wasemen   ere  putt  of." 
cf.   A    Very    Woman  :    "Though   the   desire   of  fame   be   the  last   weakness 

Wise   men   put  off."* 
line  134  :  "Like  Barnauelt  and  in  that  all  is  spoken." 

cf.  Custom  of  the  Country  ;     "In  that  alone  all  miseries  are  spoken."* 

A  striking  metaphor,  taken  from  animal    life,    which     Massinger    re- 
peats in  The  Parliament  oj  Love  is  : 

lines  655,  56:  "when   the   hot   Lyons   breath 

burnes  vp  the  feilds  :" 

Compare  The  Parliament  of  Love  : 

"When  the  hot  lion's  breath  singeth  the  fields."' 

Another  characteristic  feature   of  Massinger  is   his   habit   of  showing 
his  characters  in  uncertainty  before  taking  a  resolution,    passages   like : 
*I   am   much  troubled',  *I  will  do  something  but  what  I  am  not  yet  de- 
termined'   occur  in  many  of  his  plays.  In  our  play  we  find : 
lines  1396,  97  : 

"I  haue  lost  myself 

But   something  I  shall  doe." 

and  lines  746,    47  : 

"and  something  there   ile   doe,   that  shall   divert 
the   torrent." 

In  Fletcher's  share  in   Barnavelt,  there  is  a  reminiscence  of  his  part 
in  Henry  VIII,  compare  lines  1575,76 


•  n,  I,  2. 

•  v.,  2.,  31S. 
'  V,  4,   10. 

•  II,  3. 
•I,  4. 


LXXII  — 


"farwell :    my  last   farwell. 
a  long  farwell,  Sir." 

and  Henry  VIII : 

•'So  farewell  to   the  little  good  you  bear   me  1 
Farewell  !  a  long  farewell  !  to  all  my  greatness  !"  ^ 

The  same  phrase  occurs  also  in  Fletcher's  part  in  the  Little   French  Lawyer 

"Farewell  wench, 
a   long   farewell   from    all    that   ever    knew    thee."  * 

Cupid's  Revenge:   (Fletcher's  part) 

"Farewell!" 
To   all   our   happines   a   long    farewell."  " 

Bonduca : 

"That   steels   me 
a  long    farewell   to    this   world."  * 

Another  characteristic  feature  of  Massinger's  style  is  his  fondness  of  the 
absolute  construction  and  his  use  of  parentheses,  the  two  often  used  in  com- 
bination. His  way  of  putting  in  parentheses  is  detrimental  to  the  unity 
of  his  verse  and  wearisome  to  the  reader.  Swinburne  remarks  :  ,, Massin- 
ger's curious  and  vexatious  addiction  to  the  use  of  the  ablative  absolute, 
a  Latinizing  habit  peculiar  to  him,  and  suggestive  of  a  recurrent  stutter 
or  twitch  or  accent  —  is  no  less  obvious  than  objectionable."^  He  quotes 
the  passage 

,,who,    when    there    was    Combustion    in    the    State, 

your  Excellence,   Graue   William^    and   Count  Henrie, 

taking  Instructions   for   your   Comaunds 

from  one  that  then  ruld  all :  the  Prouinces 

refusing   to   bring  in   their   Contributions 

and  arguing  whether  the  West  Frizelander 

and   Hollander  had  powre   to  raise  such  Tribut,  • 

and  remarks  :  "this  unhappy  relative  (who)  has  no  verb  to  support 
it,  and  is  left  hanging  over  a  howling  wilderness  of  ablatives  absolute 
and  parenthetical  propositions  !"' 


'  III,    2,    350. 

•  III,    I,    105. 

•  IV,  3,  4. 

•  IV,    4. 

'  Contemporaries  of  Shakespeare.  Philip  Massinger. 

•  lines  2221  ff. 
'  Ibid. 


LXXIU 


This  is  a  sign  comparative  immaturity  in  the  art  of  composition. 
Barnavelt's  speech  was  probably  one  of  Massingcr's  earliest  attempts 
at  displaying  his  rhetorical  talents.  Other  examples  of  the  absolute  con- 
struction are :  ^ 

**th'  Appollogie  he  wroat,  so  poorely  raild  at,"* 

and, 

"then   the  Prouinces 
haue  lost  their  liberties,  Justice  hir  Sword,"* 

Fletcher's  style  shows  a  peculiarity  of  repeating  words  several  times 
in  order  to  produce  an  effect  of  pathos,  often  by  accumulating  his  epithets, 
as  for  instance  in  The  Maid's  Tragedy : 

"I  do  appear  the  same,  the  same  Evadne, 

Drest  in    the   shames   I   lived   in,    the   same   monster  !"* 

Mr.  Oliphant  gives  an  example  from  'Women  Pleased ;" 

*'But  through  the  world,  the  wide  world,  thus  to  wander, 
The   wretched   world   alone,   no   comfort   with   me." 

He  criticizes  Fletcher's  senseless  repetitions  as  ''intentional  and  irritating; 
they  show  a  grotesque  attempt  to  be  pathetic."*  In  Barnavelt  there  are 
some  of  these  repetitions,  which  are  an  evidence  of  dramatic  incapacity  ; 
in  greater  poets  the  effect  in  reached  by  a  single  happy  touch,  cf.  lines 
2982-84, 

the   Sun  he  shot  at,  is  now  setting, 
setting  this   night,   that  he   may  rise  to-morrow, 
for  ever  setting." 

and  lines   1541 — ^43, 

Leidenherch      *'dye,    did   you    say  ?    dye    willfully  ? 
Barnavelt         dye  any  way 

dye  in  a  dreame  ;" 

Sir  A.  Ward  remarks  in  regard  to  the  authorship  of  Fletcher's  and 
Massinger's  plays  "The  metrical  peculiarities  of  Fletcher  and  Massinger 
respectively  are  only  relatively  characteristic,  and  very  far  from  in- 
fallible marks.  The  mental  and  moral  qualities  of  Massinger's  work 
are   less  easily  mistaken."^ 

•  line  1589. 

•  line   1258. 

•  IV,   I,  231. 

•  Englische  Studien  XIV. 

•  History  of  English  Dramatic  Literature  11. 

—  LXXIV  — 


We  shall  see  that  by  the  side  of  the  evidence  of  style  and  diction  the  author- 
ship can  be  distinguished  by  further  considerations  of  an  aesthetic  nature. 
Massinger  constructed  his  plays  well,  the  opening  is  usually  clear  and 
effective,  and  built  on  broad  lines.  This  is  also  the  case  in  the  play  of 
Barnavelt ;  in  the  first  scene  of  the  first  act  the  chief  characters  are  intro- 
duced an  1  the  object  of  the  plot  is  revealed  ;  we  hear  of  Orange's  growing 
popularity  and  the  rivalry  between  the  Prince  and  Barnavelt;  we  are 
niade  acquainted  with  the  latter's  ambitious  designs  so  that  our  interest 
is  awakened.  Fletcher's  plays  suffer  from  looseness  of  construction,  he 
delights  in  sudden  and  unexpected  turns  of  the  action.  In  the  construction 
of  Barr.avelt's  tragedy  two  hands  are  visible,  there  are  short  and  lively 
scenes  which  do  not  tend  to  develop  the  action  or  lead  up  to  the  castastrophe. 
I  refer  to  the  short  animated  scenes  2-6  in  the  second  act,  which  are 
evidently  by  Fletcher,  and  the  humourous  scene  in  the  fifth  act,  which 
is  undoubtedly  the  latter  poet's  share.  It  is  also  discernible  in  the  charac- 
terization that  two  authors  were  at  work  drawing  Barnavelt's  character. 
Massinger  modelled  his  characters  carefully  ;  his  great  characters  Paris, 
Charalois,  Antiochus  are  consistent,  though  he  lacks  the  power  to  paint 
growth  of  character.  Fletcher's  heroes,  on  the  other  hand,  are  marked 
by  a  superficiality  of  character.  Fletcher  was  careless  and  inconsistent  in 
painting  his  characters,  they  are  not  living  beings  and  deficient  in  depth. 
He  did  not  only  fail  to  develop  consistently  the  characters,  conceived  by 
his  coadjutor,  but  it  even  happened  that  he  spoiled  the  conception  of  other 
authors.  Boyle  has  remarked  that  in  the  Honest  Man's  Fortune  he  made 
a  despicable  figure  of  Montague,  who  was  painted  by  Tourneur  and  Mas- 
singer as  a  gentleman.  Barnavelt  suffers  the  same  fate  ;  the  conception 
of  the  character  laid  down  by  Massinger  in  the  first  act  is  not  sustained. 
Fletcher  seems  not  to  be  able  to  portray  true  loftiness  of  character. 
The  fearless,  undaunted  Advocate  depicted  in  the  first  scene  of  the 
play  and  also  in  the  fifth  scene  of  the  fourth  act,  which  is  Massinger's 
conception,  is  represented  by  Fletcher  in  the  third  scene  of  the  fourth  act 
sitting  in  his  study,  miserable  and  down-hearted.  Boyle  considers  this 
inconsistency  to  be  a  certain  proof  of  the  joint  autorship  of  the 
play.  He  compares  Shakespeare's  way  of  painting  his  characters  in 
adversity,  which  is  quite  "distinct  from  the  Fletcherian  shrivelling 
up  of  everything  manly  in  Buckingham's  and  Wolsey's  nature  in  the 
presence  of  death."  ^ 


New   Shakespeare  Society    Transactions   1885. 

—  LXXV  — 


Political    View. 

There  is  a  great  difference  between  the  two  authors  in  their  political 
view,  which  can  also  be  traced  in  our  play.  Fletcher  was  in  favour  at 
court.  "It  appears",  says  Malone,  "from  Sir  Henry  Herbert's  manuscript 
that  the  new  plays  which  Fletcher  had  brought  out  in  the  course  of  the 
year  were  generally  presented  at  court  at  Christmas."  S.T.  Coleridge 
describes  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  as  high  flying,  obedient  Tories  and  Mas- 
singer  as  a  decided  Whig. "^  This  is  not  quite  right.  Massinger  was  a  lover 
of  liberty,  but  he  belonged  to  the  party  of  conservative  opposition  like 
his  patron  Philip,  the  fourth  Earl  of  Pembroke  and  Montgomery.  In  many 
of  his  plays  we  find  speeches  in  which  he  utters  his  honest  indignation 
at  oppression.  We  need  only  read  Marullo's  speech  in  The  Bondman : 

,, Happy  those  times 
When  lords  were  styled  fathers  of  families 
And  not  imperious   masters  !   when   they  number'd 
Their  servants  almost  equal  with  their  sons, 
Or   one   degree   beneath   them  !    when   their  labours 
Were  cherish'd    and  rewarded  and  a  period 
Set  to  their  sufferings  ;  when  they  did  not  press 
Their  duties  or  their  wills,  beyond  the  pov/er 
And  strength  of  their  performance  I  all  things  order'd 
With  such  decorum,  as  wise  lawmakers, 
From  each  well-governed  private  house  deriv'd 
The  perfect   model   of  a   Commonwealth 
Humanity  then  lodged  in  the  hearts  of  men, 
And  thankful  masters  carefully  provided 
For   creatures   wanting  reason.   The   noble   horse 
That  in  his  fiery  youth,  from  his  wide  nostrils 
Neigh'd  courage   to  his  rider,  and  brake  through 
Groves  of  opposed  pikes,  bearing  his  lord 
Safe  to  triumphant  victory,  old  and  wounded. 
Was  set  at  liberty  and  freed  from  service. 
The  Athenian  mules,  that  from  the  quarry  drew 
Marble,  hew'd  for  the  temples  of  the  gods. 
The  great  work  ended,  were  dismissed,  and  fed 
At  public  cost,  nay  faithful  dogs  have  found 
Their  sepulchres ;  but  man  to   man  more  cruel, 
Appoints  no  end  to  the  suffering  of  his  slave."  * 

His  plays  were  also  acted  at  Court,  but  all  through  his  life  he  v/as  known 


■  Literary  Remains  II. 
•  IV,  I,  136. 


—  LXXVI 


for  the  outspokenness  of  his  political  opinions,  and  freedom   of  speech. 
Examples  are  :  ^ 

The  Emperor  of  the  East : 

,,How   I    abuse 
This  precious  time  1   Projector  I  treat  first 
Of  you  and  your  disciples  ;  you  roar  out, 
All  is  the  king's,  his  will  above  his  laws; 
And  that  fit  tributes  are  too  gentle  yokes 
For  his  poor  subjects  ;   whispering  in  his  ear, 
If  he  would  have  their  fear,  no  man  should  dare 
To    bring   a   salad   from   his    country   garden. 
Without   the  paying  gabel."* 

The  Maid  of  Honour  : 

*'With  your  leave,  I  must  not  kneel,  sir, 

While  I  reply  to   this  :   but  thus  rise  up 

In  my  defence,  and  tell  you,  as  a  man, 

(Since,   when  you  are  unjust,   the   deity. 

Which  you  may  challenge  as  a  king,  parts  from  you) 

't  Was  never  read  in  holy  writ,  or  moral. 

That  subjects   on  their  loyalty  were   obliged 

To  love  their  sovereign's  vices  ;  your  grace,  Sir, 

To   such   an   undeserver  is   no   virtue.'" 

Compare  also  : 

Maid  of  Honour  IIL,  3.,  135  and  The  Great  Duke  of  Florence  /,  :.,  'J2>' 
In  the  same  way  Barnavelt  encounters  his  accusers  in  Massinger's  scenes 
with  undaunte.j  courage  ;  he  denies  the  charges,  brought  agairst  him  *  and 
he  bol  .'ly  utters  his  defiance  of  the  Prince  whom  he  considers  his  equal, 
as  it  was  he  "who  set  him  in  the  first  place."^  We  get  quite  a  different  im- 
pression from  some  scenes  in  which  Barnavelt's  views  are  painted  by  Flet- 
cher. In  the  last  scene  of  the  play  Barnavelt  is  described  dying  with  a 
prayer  for  the  Prince  : 

"May  he  protect  with  honour,  fight  with  fortune, 

and   dye   with  generall  love,   an  old  and   good   Prince."* 

Fletcher,  who  loves  describing  such  scenes  of  sentimental  pathos,  shows 
that  this  humble  servility  is  his  conception  of  loyalty,  as  is  also  evident  in 


*  Quoted   by   Professor  Cruickshank   Philip     Massinger. 

•  I,  2,  236. 

•  IV,  5,  52. 

•  IV,  5. 
M,  1. 

•  lines  2986 — 87. 

—  Lxxvn  — 


Valentinian.  S.  T.  Coleridge  greatly  objects  to  the  third  scene  of  the  first 
act  of  Valentinian  and  remarks  :  "it  is  a  real  trial  of  charity  to  read  this 
scene  with  tolerable  temper  towards  Fletcher.  So  very  slavish,  so  reptile,  are 
the  feelings  and  sentiments  represented  as  duties."  ^  Hallam  is  of  the 
same  opinion  when  he  writes  :  "If  Fletcher  meant,  which  he  very  probably 
did,  to  inculcate  a  moral,  that  the  worst  of  tyrants  are  to  be  obeyed  with 
unflinching  submission,  he  may  have  gained  applause  at  court,  at  the 
expense  of  his  reputation  with  po^terity."^ 

G.  Macaulay  ^  contradicts  Coleridge's  remark,  which  he  calls  super- 
ficial;  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  gave  expression  to  the  feelings  of  the  play- 
goers, who  were  anti-puritans.  Besides,  few  sovereigns  are  represented 
in  their  plays  as  true,  noble  sovereigns,  many  of  them  were  objects  of 
contempt  and  hatred  as  in  the  case  of  Valentinian. 
M  a  s  s  i  n  g  e  r  's  rhetoric. 

Massinger's  hand  is  also  recognisable  in  our  play  from  the  rhetorical 
nature  of  the  language.  Massinger's  eloquence  is  a  striking  feature  ;  we 
can  say  that  his  genius  is  more  rhetorical  than  dramatic,  and  almost 
every  play  furnishes  some  evidence  of  his  remarkable  flow  of  genuine 
eloquence  ;  instances  are  :  Charalois'  earnest  pleading  in  The  Fatal  Dowry  * 
Lidi^'s  suit  to  the  Duke  to  forgive  her  lover  in  The  Great  Duke  of  Florence^  ; 
Luke's   soliloquy  on  examining  his  newly  acquired  treasure.® 

Massinger's  works  show  even  a  tendency  to  a  form  of  composition 
that  contains  pleading  both  for  and  against  a  given  thesis  ;  he  often  directs 
his  story  to  trial  scenes,  where  he  finds  an  opportunity  for  his  love  of 
argument.  He  may  have  written  these  scenes  under  the  influence  of  Eu- 
ripides' plays  ;  Professor  Cruickshank  remarks  "in  the  same  way  he 
makes  character  argue  against  character,  and  loves  displaying  his  rhe- 
torical talents  as  a  pleader  in  a  trial  at  law,  or  a  debate  in  the  senate.'* 
He  is  a  born  pleader  and  never  misses  an  opportunity  of  venting  his 
rhetoric,  with  the  result  that  he  often  indulges  in  long  speeches  to  the 
detriment  of  the  action  ;  there  is  often  too  much  arguing,  or  a  rhetorical 
speech  is  superfluous  from  a  dramatic  point  of  view,  as  for  instar  ce, 
Paris'    eloquent  apology  for  the  stage.' 

•  Notes  and  Lectures. 

•  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  Europe. 

•  Francis  Beaumont. 

•  I,  2.  and  IV,  4. 

•  IV,  2. 

•  City  Madam  III,  3. 

'  The  Roman  Actor.  I,  3. 

—  LXXVIII  — 


Massinger's  rhetoric  is  certainly  earnest  and  impressive,  the  genuine 
sentiment  gives  dignity  to  his  speeches,  as  for  example,  the  bold  speech 
of  Sforza  before  the  Emperor^,  which  is  eloquent  and  full  of  power,  MaruUo's 
denunciation  of  slavery  ^  and  Malefort's  pleading  before  the  council  of 
war.  ^  I  suppose  these  splendid  effusions  of  eloquence,  of  which  there 
are  so  many  in  Massinger's  works,  elicited  Swinburne's  criticism 
"Massinger  has  no  superior  in  purity  andlucidity  of  dignified  eloquence."* 

In  our  play  Massinger  may  have  found  his  first  occasion  for  the  display 
of  rhetoric.  The  features  of  The  Tragedy  of  Barnavelt  show  a  more 
oratorical  style  than  the  earlier  plays  of  this  period.  The  arguing  between 
the  Captain  and  Leidenberch  is  vigorous  and  effective  ^ ;  in  a  smaller 
degree  the  debate  in  the  States  ®,  but  above  all  Barnavelt's  speech  in 
the  great  trial  scene  ',    which  shows  Massinger's  mastery  in  debate. 

In  tragedy  Massinger  is  eloquent,  rather  than  pathetic;  this  proves 
that  he  was  more  a  rhetorician  than  a  poet ;  R,  Boyle  remarks  ''Mas- 
singer's love  of  rhetorical  effects  betrays  his  want  of  passion  ;  his  claims 
to  honour  are  more  intellectual  than  imaginative".  Gifford  is  of  the  same 
opinion,  when  he  writes  "Massinger  is  as  powerful  a  ruler  of  the  under- 
standing as  Shakespeare  is  of  the  passion"®;  Sir  Leslie  Stephen  expresses  the 
same  view  as  follows  ''A  single  touch  in  Shakespeare  often  reveals 
more  depth  of  feeling  than  a  whole  scene  of  Massinger's  forensic  elo- 
quence ;  there  is  something  hollow  under  all  this  stately  rhetoric."  * 
Professor  Morris  remarks  :  "The  more  passionate  Massinger's  characters 
become,  the  longer  and  more  declamatory  their  speeches  ;  thought  does 
not  answer  thought,  and  feeling  flash  out  into  lasting  phrase,  even  as 
vitally  as  they  do  in  real  life.  This  makes  these  passionate  speeches  un- 
natural. Naturalness  of  expression,  the  inevitable  word  for  the  particular 
situation,  is  rare  in  Massinger."^'' 

It  is  true  that  Massinger's  rhetoric  does  not  appeal  to  the  heart ;  we 


"■  The  Duke  of  Milan  III,   i. 

*  The   Bondman  IV,   2. 

'   Unnatural  Combat  I,   i. 

*  Op.  cit. 

*  lines  626  ff. 

*  lines  1223  ff. 
'  lines  2212  ff. 

'  Introduction  to  the  edition  of  Massinger's  Works.  ^ 

*  Hours  in  a  Library. 

*"  On  the  Date  and  Composition  of  The  Old  Law,  reprinted  from  The  Publications  of  the 
Modern   Language   Association  of   America,   vol.    XVII,   no.    i. 

—  LXXIX  — 


find  in  his  works  more  passages  of  splendid  eloquence  than  impassoined 
poetry,  and  seldom  if  ever  does  he  move  his  audience  to  tears.  In  the  Tra- 
gedy of  Bamavelt  the  Advocate's  speech  fails  to  affect  us  very  power- 
fully ;  this  may  also  be  due  to  the  representation  of  the  hero  by  what  has 
preceded  ;  his  ambitious  plotting  docs  not  seem  to  warrant  this  powerful 
appeal.  Sir  A.  Ward,  speaking  about  the  tendency  to  rhetorical  superficiality 
in  the  drama  of  the  first  half  of  the  17th  century,  accounts  for  it  in  the 
following  words  "The  rapidity  ot  production  accounts  for  the  rhetorical 
note  which  is  characteristic  of  the  tragic  and  comic  drama  ;  declamation 
for  declamation's  sake  takes  the  place  of  attempts  to  stir  profounder 
depths  of  emotion."  ^ 

My  opinion  is  that  in  Massinger's  case  the  rhetoric  is  more  the  outcome 
of  his  rhetorical  genius,  and  due  to  want  of  passion,  than  a  tendency 
to  rapidity  and  superficiality. 

Fletcher's  eloquence  is  different  from  Massinger's,  which  strikes  us 
at  once  in  reading  Barnavelt's  tragedy.  The  Advocate's  eloquence  in 
the  scenes  composed  by  Massinger,  is  calm  and  dignified  rather  than 
passionate,  whereas  the  hero's  speeches  written  by  Fletcher  display 
more  poetic  fire  ;  they  are  in  an  impulsive  and  impetuous  strain.  Bar- 
navelt's answer  to  Vandort's  persuasion  to  submit  to  the  Prince  in  the 
third  act  written  by  Fletcher  is  remarkable  for  the  vehemence  of  effusion  ; 
especially  the  last  part  from  : 

"When  I  am  a  Sycophant 

and  a  base  gleaner  from  an  others  fauour"* 

to  the  end. 
Fletcher's    Pathos. 

As  a  poet  Fletcher  is  superior  to  Massinger ;  his  hand  is  discernible 
in  many  scenes  which  exhibit  true  poetic  feeling.  He  possesses  sweet 
delicacy  of  pathos  and  especially  i:i  isolated  scenes,  he  succeeds  to  a 
high  degree  in  exciting  emotion. 

Schlegel  remarks  "Beaumont  and  FLtcher  succeeded  better  in  those 
scenes  and  pathetic  pictures  which  cccupy  a  niiddle  place  between 
comedy  and  tragjdy."^  Massinger's  works,  on  the  other  hanel,  give  on  the 
whole  an  impression  of  hardness,  there  are  few  really  poetic  scenes  of  emotion. 
In  our  play  the  pathetic  scene,  by  Fletcher,  describing  Leidenberch  bidding 


*  History   of    English    Dramatic   Literature. 
■  lines   1095  ff. 

•  Vorlesungen   iiber  dramatische  Kunst  und   Literatur. 

— LXXX  — 


farewell  to  life,  and  the  conversation  with  his  little  son  is  painted  with 
true  poetic  feeling  and  natural  sweetness  ;  the  picture  of  the  boy  reminds 
us  of  the  fine  creation  of  the  affectionate  Hengo  in   Bonduca  and  the 
splendid  death  scene  in  this  play. 
The  beautiful  image  : 

"thy  teares  are  dew-drops  :  sweet  as  those  on  roses, 
but  mine  the  faint  and  yron  sweatt  of  sorrow"  * 

is  an  example  of  Fletcher's  command  of  poetical  diction  ;  the  first  line 
is  perhaps  the  only  one  in  the  play  that  clings  to  the  memory.  Fletcher 
has  more  poetic  fervour,  whereas  Massinger  seldom  rises  above  his  usual 
even  flow  of  language.  His  hand  is  distinctly  visible  in  the  third  act, 
in  which  Barnavelt  upbraids  Leidenberch  with  having  betrayed  his  secrets, 
and  urges  him  to  commit  suicide  as  the  only  way  to  save  his  honour 
and  keep  their  secrets  safe.  ^  The  headlong  violence  and  impetuosity  of 
the  language  is  quite  different  from  Massinger's  style.  This  passage  is 
also  remarkable  tor  the  abundant  use  of  alliteration,  which  Massinger 
uses  on  the  whole  more  sparingly.  ^| 

F 1  e  t  c  h  e  r  *  s    h  u  m  0  u  r.  -  t| 

Fletcher  has  moreover  a  real  vein  of  humour  and  a  brighter  imagination; 
he  delights  in  painting  lively  scenes.  The  spirited  incidents  in  our  play 
describing  the  chattering  Dutch  burghers'  wives,^  in  fact  interrupting  the 
action,  are  by  most  critics  assigned  to  Fletcher's  hand,  though  Swinburne 
declares  that  the  scenes  remind  him  more  of  the  style  of  The  City  Mg^dam 
than  of  Rule  a  Wife  and  Have  a  Wife.  I  shall  have  occasion  to  return  to 
this   when  speaking  of  the  distribution  of  scenes  between  the  two  authors. 

The  description  of  the  crowd  awaiting  Barnavelt's  appearance  for 
his  execution*  is  a  sure  instance  of  Fletcher's  realistic  humour ;  the  scene 
of  the  three  executioners®  gambling  for  the  privilege  of  beheading  the 
Advocate,  offensive  to  modern  taste,  is  an  instance  of  his  comic 
vein. 

Massinger  has  a  weak  device  of  making  his  characters  describe  what  is 
happening  before  the  eyes  of  the  audience  ;  these  remarks  are  weak  and  un- 
natural, and  indicate  a  lack  of  dramatic  genius,  as  for  example  in  our  play.: 


•  lines   1639,  40. 
■  lines   1494  ff. 

•  II,  2. 

•  V,  3. 
'  V,  2. 


—  LXXXI  — 


*'I  never  sawe 

the  Advocate  so  mov'd."* 

which  has  a  parallel  in  The  Emperor  of  the  East : 

**I  never  saw  him  moved  thus."" 

and  in  The  Sea  Voyage : 

***t  Is  strange   to  see  her  moved  thus"  • 

Professor  Delius*  is  the  only  critic  who  does  not  assume  a  double 
authorship,  but  declares  the  play  to  be  written  by  an  anonymous  author, 
imitating  alternately  the  style  of  Fletcher  and  of  Massinger.  The  author 
has  studied  the  poets  well  and  adopts  Massinger's  verse  for  the  conver- 
sation of  the  calm,  calculating  Prince  of  Orange,  whereas  Fletcher's 
metre  is  more  fit  for  the  passionate  character  of  the  Advocate  ;  he  thinks 
it  also  possible  that  the  author  may  have  used  a  style  prevailing  on  the 
English  stage  at  that  time. 

This  theory  is  not  to  the  point,  because  Orange's  and  Barnavelt's 
speeches  are  in  Fletcher's  as  well  as  in  Massinger's  style.  Barnavelt's 
defence*  is  undoubtedly  in  Massinger's  style,  whereas  the  Prince's  con- 
versation* with  William  and  the  officers  is  written  in  Fletcher's  metre. 
Swinburne,  who  is  naturally  a  better  critic  of  style  remarks  "Mas- 
singer's style  is  as  apparently  easy  as  it  is  really  difficult  to  reproduce  ; 
as  tempting  to  imitators  as  it  is  inimitable  by  parasites."'  The  assertion 
of  an  author  adopting  another  poet's  style  and  metre  is  dangerous. 
Ward's  opinion  "metre  asserts  the  individuality  of  a  writer"  is 
without  any  doubt  a  better  point  of  view. 

Professor  Delius  considers  the  faulty  characterization  a  proof  against 
Massinger's  and  Fletcher's  authorship.  He  writes  :  "these  authors  would 
have  been  able  to  draw  fine  and  consistent  figures,  even  if  the  material 
of  the  sources  had  been  insufficient,  and  the  description  tainted  by 
prejudiced  party  spirit.  Besides,  the  action  does  not  develop  in  a  regular 
progress,  there  is  no  climax  bringing  on  the  inevitable  catastrophe". 
Boyle  has  refuted  Professor  Delius'  arguments  in  a  very  able  criticism. 


•  line?  311,   12. 
'  IV,  4. 

•  II,    2. 

•  Jahrhuch  der  Deutschen  Shakespeare  Gesellschaft  XIX   1884. 

•  IV,  5. 

•  I.  3. 

'  Op  cit. 

—  LXXXII  — 


and  considers  the  faults  in  the  character-painting  and  the  discontinuity 
of  action  a  proof  for  the  double  authorship  ;  these  faults  are  repeatedly 
to  be  detected  in  the  joint  work  of  Massinger  and  Fletcher. 

Another  argument  against  the  authorship  of  Fletcher  and  Massinger 
is  according  to  Professor  Delius  the  choice  of  subject.  He  remarks  "these 
authors  have  never  taken  an  historical  event  from  contemporary  history 
for  a  theme  of  their  plots  ;  besides,  Massinger  and  Fletcher  were  too 
loyal  and  'unpolitisch'  to  have  to  fear  any  prohibition  of  their  plays." 
Professor  Delius  concludes  that  other  proofs  would  be  needed  than  those 
of  metrical  tests  and  parallel  passages,  to  allow  us  to  assign  this  play 
to  the  two  famous  dramatists  of  the  period  of  James  I. 

It  is  true  that  Massinger  never  brings  a  political  event  directly  on  the 
stage  as  Chapman  did  in  The  Conspiracy  and  Tragedy  of  Byron  ;  he  always 
adopts  an  allegorical  treatment  of  events  and  characters  as  for  example  in 
Believe  as  You  List,  but  on  the  other  hand,  we  know  that  Mas- 
singer and  Fletcher  together  with  Field  had  already  composed  a  play, 
referring  to  the  murder  on  John  van  Wely  in  the  household  of  Prince 
Maurice  in  i6i6.  The  title  of  the  play  is  the  Jeweller  of  Amsterdam  or 
the  Hague ;  it  was  entered  on  the  Stationers'  Registers  April  1654  and 
probably  acted  before  1 61 9.  The  play  was  never  printed,  and  is  now  lost. 

It  is  a  great  mistake  to  call  Massinger  "unpolitisch,"  we  need  only  think 
of  the  many  political  allusions  in  his  plays  ;  among  others  in  The  Maid 
of  Honour  the  allusion  of  the  King's  hesitation  to  help  his  son-in-law,  the 
Elector  Palatine,  mirrored  in  Robert  King  of  Sicily^  and  in  The  Bondman 
where  Buckingham  is  referred  to  as  Cisco,  and  where  the  state  of  the  Fleet 
is  alluded  to.  ^  In  Believe  as  You  List  Weston,  King  Charles's  Lord 
high  treasurer,  is  represented  as  Philoxenus. 

In  our  play  the  allusion  to  Raleigh's  execution  : 

"for    the    Cato's 
and  all   free   speritts  slaine,   or   else   proscribe! 
that    durst   have    stird   against  him",* 

is  typical    of  Massinger's   veiled    criticism    directed   against    the    king's 
friendly  policy  to  Spain. 

Distribution    of  scenes  between  the   Authors 

I  now  offer  a  critical  discussion  of  the  separate  shares  of  the  two  authors 
of  our  play. 


I,   I. 

I,  3.  205. 
lines   2437—39. 


—   LXXXIII   — 


Act  I.  All  scholars  are  unanimous  in  assigning  the  first  two  scenes  of  the 
play  to  Massinger.  I  have  already  spoken  about  the  clear,  effective 
exposition  which  is  a  characteristic  feature  of  the  works  of  this  author. 
The  statement  is  also  corroborated  by  parallel  passages  from  Mas- 
singer's  plays  as  "I  speak  the  people's  language"  and  "when  I  should 
pass  with  glory  to  my  rest"    already   mentioned   before. 

A  line  like 

,,your   Brothers,  sonnes, 
frends,  famylies  made  rich,  in  trust  and  honours."* 

often  occurs  in  his  plays.  Professor  Cruickshank^  designs  them  as 
catalogue  lines  and  gives  more  instances,  among  others  from  The  City 
Madam : 

,, Tissue,  gold,  silver,  velvets,  satins,  taffetas".' 

and  from  Believe  as  You  List : 

„A11   circumstances, 
Answers,   despatches,   doubts   and   difficulties."* 

The  metaphor  in  the  lines  297,   98 

"we  need  not  add  this  wind  by  our  observaunce, 
to  sailes  too  full  alredy  :" 

is  taken  from  sailing ;  Massinger  often  uses  similar  ones,  compare  City 
Madam  I.,   3  : 

"When  your  ships  are  at  sea,  their  prayers  will  swell 
The  sails  with  prosperous  winds." 

The  third  scene  of  the  first  act  is  Fletcher's  share,  a  view  on  which  all 
critics  agree,  only  Professor  Cruickshank  detects  a  third  hand  here.  I 
think  the  metre  of  this  scene  is  characteristic  of  Fletcher  ;  the  large  number 
of  double  endings  and  end-stopt  lines  renders  the  Prince's  speeches 
monotonous  to  a  degree ;  besides,  the  substitution  of  'ye'  for  you  is  a 
practice  of  which  Fletcher  is  very  fond.  There  is  an  abundance  of  allitera- 
tion, if  we  compare  some  lines  of  this  scene  with  about  the  same  number  in 
Valentinian  we  shall  see  that  this  abundant  use  of  alliteration  is  common 
in  Fletcher's  plays.  I  copy  a  number  of  lines  from  each  play  to  illu- 
strate this  statement. 


*  line  107,  8. 

•  Op.  cit. 

'  n,  I.  72. 
•  II,  2,  312. 


•—  LXXXIV  — 


"he  that  put's  forward  first  to  this  wild  action 

has  lost  my  love,  and  is  becom  mine  Enemy, 

my  mortall  enemie  ;  put  vp  your  weapons, 

you   draw'em  against  order,   duty,  faith, 

and  let  me  die,  ere  render  such  examples. 

the  men  you  make  so  meane,  so  slight  account  of 

and  in  your  angers  prise,   not  in  your  honours, 

are   Princes,  powerfull  Princesse,   mightie   Princes, 

that  daylie  feed  more  men  of  your  great  fashion 

and  noble  ranck,   pay  and   maintaine   their  fortunes, 

then  any  Monarch  Europe  ha's  :  and  for  this  bounlie 

if  ye   consider   truly.   Gentlemen, 

and   honestly,    with   thankfull   harts   remember, 

you   are   to   pay   them   back   againe   your  service  : 

they  are  your  Masters,  your  best  masters,  noblest 

those  that  protect  your  states,  hold  vp  your  fortunes"* 

The   repetitions   in   the  eighth  line  and  in  the  last  line  but  one,  are  a 
typical  mannerism  of  Fletcher,  as  I  have  pointed  out  before. 
Valentinian : 

"There  where  our  swords  may  make  us  meat  and  danger 

Digest  our  well-got  viands  :  here  our  weapons 

and  bodies  that  were  made  for  shining  brass. 

Are  both  unedged,  and  old  with  ease  and  women. 

And  then  they  cry  again  :  "Where  are  the  Germans, 

Lined  with  hot  Spain,  or  Gallia  ?   Bring  'em  on 

And  let  the  son  of  war,  steeled  Mithridates, 

Lead  up  his  winged  Parthians  like  a  storm 

Hiding  the  face  of  Heaven  with  showers  of  arrows  : 

Yet  we  dare  fight  like  Romans"  !  Then  as  soldiers 

Tired    with   a    weary    march,    they   tell   their   wounds. 

Even  weeping-ripe  they  were  no  more,  nor  deeper. 

And  glory  in   those  scars   that  make  *em  lovely 

And,  sitting  where  a  camp  was,  like  sad  pilgrims 

They  reckon  up   the  times,   and  living  labours 

Of  Julius  or  Germanicus  ;  and  wonder 

That  Rome,  whose,  turrets  once  were  topt  with  honours. 

Can  now  forget  the  custom  of  her  conquests : 

And  then  they  blame  your  grace  and  say  :  "Who  leads  us  ? 

Shall  we  stand  here  like  statues  ?"* 

Act  II.  On  the  first  scene  of  the  second  act  all  scholars  hold  a  unanimous 
view ;  this  scene  is  undoubtedly  by  Massinger.  In  the  arguments  of  the 


*  lines  434  ff. 
•I.  3. 


—  LXXXV 


Captain  of  the  English  mercenary  troops  refusing  to  take  part  ii)  the 
rebellion  against  the  Prince,  Massinger  displays  his  abilities  as  a  pleader; 
in  the  same  way  Barnavelt's  eloquent  speech  beginning  "Oh  I  am  lost 
with  anger, "^  is  typical  of  Massinger's  indignant  rhetorical  effusions.  There 
are,   moreover  many  of  Massinger's  favourite  expressions,  numely : 

'This  I  foresaw'  compare  Maid  of  Honour,  'This  I  foresaw  and  feared'.* 
*at  all  parts*  of.  Unnatural  Combat  II  i.  269.  'play  their  parts*  and  'their 
most   certaine   ruyn*  cf.  The  Guardian  II. y  4.  ending  in  'certain  ruyn*. 

A  favourite  phrase  is :  'be  nere  remembred*,  cf.  The  Renegado  I  3 
*by  poets  ne'er  remember'd*.  The  phrases  'we  are  lost  for  ever',  and 
'something  there  I'll  do'  occur  frequently  in  his  plays.  The  phrase 
'that  trailes  a  pike'  is  a  favourite  expression  with  Massinger  cf.  Maid 
of  Honour  III,  l,  'trailing  the  puissant  pike',  in  line  2525  the  phrase 
occurs  again  in  our  play.  The  metaphor  'when  the  hot  lion's  breath 
burns  up  the  fields*  occurring  again  in  Parliament  of  Love  I  have 
mentioned  before. 

The  following  short  and  spirited  scenes  of  this  act  present  some  diffi- 
culty ;  all  critics  state  their  views  with  caution.  Boyle  remarks  "the 
second  scene  is  Fletcher's  and  the  scenes  3,  4,  5,  6,  7  are  probably  his."* 

Mr.  Oliphant  assigns  the  scenes  to  Fletcher,  and  Mr.  Cruickshank  detects  a 
third  hand.  It  is  true  that  it  is  not  easy  to  assign  the  scenes  with  absolute 
certainty  to  either  Fletcher  or  Massinger,  but  I  do  not  think  there  is  any 
need  to  introduce  the  supposition  of  a  third  hand  here.  I  regret  I  cannot 
agree  with  Mr.  Swinburne's  criticism  "the  satire  on  feminine  pretension 
and  its  cackling  cry  for  women's  rights  remind  us  rather  of  The  City 
Madam  than  of  Rule  a  Wife  and  Have  a  Wife  ^ ;  the  vivacity  and  ani- 
mation of  the  whole  act,  the  short  scenes,  which  are  lively  incidents 
rather  than  links  necessary  in  the  chain  for  developing  and  furthering  the 
action,  speak  for  the  authorship  of  Fletcher,  whose  plays  suffer  too  often 
from  a  similar  loose  construction. 

The  repetitions  in  :  "We  can  make  him  thinck,  what  we  list,  say  what 
we  list,  print  what  we  list,  whom  we  list  abuse  in  it"^    remind  us  of  Flet- 


»  lines  718  ff. 

•IT,  3. 

•  Bullen's  Collection  II.  Appendix  II. 

*  Englische  Studien  XVI. 

•  op.  ciU 

*  lines  801,  2. 


—  LXXXVI  — 


cher's   hand.     Mr.    Beck    notes    these    repetitions    as    characteristic   of 
Massinger ;    he  gives  examples  from  Massinger's  works  : 

'•you  have   a   cause,  a  cause  so  just" 
and, 

"has  made  me    worthy,  worthy  of",* 

Mr.  Oliphant  calls  these  repetitions  Fletcherian  ^,  which  I  think,  is 
more  correct.  It  is  true  that  repetitions  occur  in  Massinger's  works,  but 
I  think  more  frequently  in  Fl'etcher's  ;  in  our  play  the  repetitions  occur 
nearly  always  in  Fletcher's  scenes;  compare  lines  1103,4;  1163,64; 
1530-33  ;  1541-43  ;  2070,71,    these  lines  are  typically  Fletcherian  ;  and  2918. 

The  view  that  Dutchmen  are  ruled  by  their  wives  is  again  expressed 
by  Fletcher  in  The  Little  French  Lawyer  cf. 

•'Nor  would  I  be  a  Dutchman 

To  have  my  wife  my  sovereign,    to  command  me."' 
The  lines 

„fy,  doe  not  run  for  shame  ; 
how  their  feare  outstincks  their  garlick  :" 

remind  us  certainly  of  Rule  a  Wife  and  Have  a  Wife. 

**Fie,  how  she  belches  the  spirit  of  garlic" 

In  this  scene  "y^"  is  used  again  for  "you". 

All  these  marks  of  Fletcher's  hand  are  to  me  sufficient  proof  to  assign 
the  scenes  to  this  poet. 

Act  III.  Bullen  remarks  with  regard  to  the  first  scene  of  the  next 
act  :*    ''this  scene  shows  us  Fletcher  at  his  highest." 

Barnavelt's  speeches  in  this  scene  are  an  instance  of  Fletcher's  passion- 
ate rhetoric,  of  which  I  have  spoken  before.  It  reaches  a  climax  in  the 
brilliant  effusion  of  sublime  indignation  in  answer  to  Vandort's  persua- 
sions ^.  Note  also  Barnavelt's  speech  expressing  courage  and  deep  scorn, 
when  his  son  advises  him  to  submit  to  the  Prince,  beginning : 

"art  thou  my  Son }  thou  lyest"* 

Mr.  Cruickshank  detects  a  third  hand  in  this  scene,  as  far  as  "will 
ripen  the  imposture."  I  cannot  agree  with  this  statement  as  lines  with 


*  Philip  Massinger  The  Fatall  Dowry  dissertation. 

•  Englische  Studien  XIV. 

•Ill,    1,    105.    Fletcher's  part   according   to   Boy\t^^  Englische   Studien  X. 

*  Introduction   to    the   play. 
'  lines   X09S   ff, 

•  lines  1 169  ff. 

—  LXXXVII  — 


emphatic  double  endings  are  typical  of  Fletcher's  metre,  they  are  never 
used  in  such  number  by  any  other  Elizabethan  dramatist.  They  are  of 
frequent  occurence  in  this  part,   namely 

"and   a  faire  fortunate   Soldier  :  I  hold  the   State,   Sir" 
"so  gently,   and   without  noyce  he  has   performd   this." 
"of  open,  honest  actions,  strong  and  straight  still, 
"but  if  he  haue  a  fowle  hart  't  has  byn  hid  long" 

"more  equall,  and  more  honorable  step  in", 

The  second  scene  is  characteristic  of  Massinger  on  account  of  the  Prince's 
oratorical  speeches  and  arguments,  which  are  in  Massinger's  style.  There 
are  again  some  parallel  passages  occurring  in  many  of  his  plays,  as  :  "I'll 
instantly  about  it",  and  the  lines  : 

"I  haue  lost  myself, 

but  something  I  shall  doe." 

In  the  first  twenty-one  lines  there  occur  three  weak  endings,  which  is 
a  characteristic  mark  of  Massinger's  hand.^ 

Here  again  we  find  examples  of  Massinger's  addiction  to  parentheses 
in  combination  with  the  absolute  construction  viz : 

"I    would   advise 
(that  since  all  now  sing  the  sweet  tunes  of  Concord, 
No  sword  vnsheathd,  the  meanes  to  hurt  cut  off, 
and  all  their  stings  pluckd  out  that  would  have  vsd  them 
against  the  publique  peace)   we  should  end  here"* 


and, 


"then  the  Prouinces 
haue  lost  their  liberties,  Justice  hir  Sword, 
And  we  prepard  a  way  for  our  owne  ruyn"' 


A  phrase  like  line  1 306  :  "since  you  approve  it,  leave  that  to  me"  is 
surely  familiar  to  all  students  of  Massinger.  Boyle  has  drawn  attention 
to  the  political  maxim  expressed  in  Vandort's  speech,  which  occurs  again 
in  The  Virgin  Martyr,  written  at  about  the  same  time : 


I  lines  1191,   1196,   1206. 
■  hnes   1227  ff. 
•  lines  1258 — 60. 


—  Lxxxvm  — 


"such   mild  proceedings  in  a  Goverment 

new  setled,   whose   maine  strength  had  it's   dependaunce 

vpon  the  powre  of  some  perticuler  men, 

might  be  given  way  to,  but  in  ours  it  were 

vnsafe   and   scandalous."* 

The  Virgin  Martyr  : 

"In   all  growing  empires 
Even  cruelty  is  useful ;  some   must  suffer 
And  be  set  up  examples  to  strike  terror 
In  others,  though  far  off  ;  but,  when  a  state 
Is  raised  to  her  perfections,  and  her  bases 
Too  firm  to  shrink,  or  yield,  we  may  use  mercy 
And  do  't  with  safety."* 

The  next  scene  is  a  very  short  one,  and  the  most  difficult  scene  to 
account  for.  Most  critics  have  stated  their  views  with  diffidence.  Mr. 
Boyle  writes  that  this  scene  seems  to  be  Massinger's  ^ ;  Mr.  Oliphant 
remarks  "the  scene  has  no  certain  signs  of  either  Fletcher  or  Massinger, 
it  may  be  the  work  of  neither."  *  Professor  Cruickshank  also  assigns 
it  to  a  third  hand.  *  Mr.  Swinburne's  statement  that  the  third  and  fourth 
scenes  are  unmistakably  Fletcher's  ®,  is  certainly  correct  in  regard  to 
the  fourth  scene,  but  I  think  the  remark  is  a  slip  ;  the  critic  has  over- 
looked the  difficulty  about  the  third  scene.  It  is  certainly  not  *unmis- 
takably'  Fletcher's,  though  it  may  be  assigned  to  Fletcher's  hand.  The 
only  thing  to  suggest  Massinger's  hand  is  the  simile  in   the   first   lines ; 

"i.   Cap.  this  is  a  strange  cutting  time 

2.  let  'em  cutt  deep  enough 

they  will  doe  no  great  cure  els  :*" 

Massinger  often  used  similes  taken  from  surgery ;  in  The  Bondman 
we  find  a  similar  one 

''^TimoL  Old  fester'd  sores 

Must  be  lanced  to  the  quick  and  cauterized  ; 


Timag. 

This 

bites 

sore 

Cleon. 

The 

cure 

is  worse 

than 

*  lines  1254  ff. 

*  I,  I,  236  ff. 

»  Bullen's  Collection. 

Appendix 

II. 

*  Englische  Studien 

XVI. 

•  op.  cit. 

'  op.  cit. 

*  lines  1405 — 7, 

!  I,  3,  220. 

LXXXIX  — 

Apart  from  this  I  do  not  consider  the  style  or  metre  to  be  like  Massinger*s. 
I  am  more  inclined  to  regard  the  scene  as  an  interpolation  by  somebody 
else  ;  it  serves  to  give  the  information  that  Leidenberch  has  confessed 
Barnavelt's  secrets,  and  that  he  is  allowed  to  receive  visitors,  as  a  pre- 
paration for  the  next  scene,  when  Barnavelt  visits  Leidenberch  to  insti- 
gate him  to  commit  suicide.  The  fact  that  the  scene  is  written  on  a  separate 
short  leaf,  which  is  inserted,  also  confirms  my  opinion  to  assume  an  inter- 
polation. 

I  have  already  spoken  of  the  passionate  flow  of  language  in  Barnavelt's 
reproaches  to  Leidenberch  in  the  next  scene,  in  connection  with  Fletcher's 
more  emotional  rhetorical  genius,  and  drawn  attention  to  his  repetition 
of  one  word  to  achieve  a  dramatic  effect,  also  occurring  in  this  scene.^ 

The  lines : 

"he  that  first  gaue  vs  honours 
allowes  vs  also  saffe  waies  to  preserve  'em, 
to  scape  the  hands  of  Infamy,  and  tirrany 
we  may  be  our  owne  Justice  :"■ 

are  certainly  Fletcher's,  and  in  direct  opposition  to  Massinger's  morality. 

In  The  Fatal  Dowry  Charalois  is  acquitted  by  the  judges,  but  he  dies, 

because  he  has  taken  justice  in  his  own  hands  ;  the  moral   is  spoken    by 

himself ; 

"what's  fallen  on  me 
Is  by  Heaven's  will,  because  I  made  myself 
A  judge  in  my  own  cause,  without  their  warrant."' 

Professor  Cruickshank  rightly  remarks  :  "as  a  good  moralist,  Massinger 
dislikes  suicide",  and  gives  examples  from  his  plays,  among  others ; 
Believe  as  you  List  IV,  2,  58  The  Guardian  //.,  4.,  11. 

The  next  short  scene  is  by  all  critics  assigned  to  Massinger,  but 
Professor  Cruickshank  considers  the  scene  unworthy  of  this  poet.  The 
passage  with  absolute  construction  and  parentheses  : 

"th*  AppoUogie  he  wroat  so  poorely  raild  at 
(for  answeard  at  no  part,  a  man  can  call  it) 
and  all  his  life  and  Actions  so  detracted, 
that  he,  as  I  am  certenly  informd, 
lookes  every  howre  for  worsse."* 

is  characteristic  of  Massinger's  hand. 


*  the  word  'dye*  in  lines  1528,  30,  31,  32;    1541,  42. 

•  1543—46. 

•  V.  2. 

*  lines  1589  ff. 


XC 


Moreover  we  again  meet  with  some  of  his  favourite  phrases  as  :  *at  no 
part'  and  'the  freedom  I  was  borne  to'  a  phrase  which  occurs  again  in 
The  Renegado : 

,,and  robs  me  of  the  fierceness  I  was  born  with"* 

and  The  Great  Duke  of  Florence : 

For  I  must  use  the  freedom  I  was  born  with"" 

The  sixth  scene  of  this  act  has  been  treated  of  before,  the  pathos  is 
undeniably  due  to  Fletcher's  genius.  BuUen  assigns  Leidenberch's  soli- 
loquy to  Massinger ;  the  only  signs  in  favour  of  this  view  are  the  classical 
allusions,  to  the  use  of  which  Massinger  was  indeed  too  much  given,  but 
the  sweet  picture  of  the  child  is  indisputably  drawn  by  Fletcher's  pen. 
In  Massinger's  works  the  only  place,  where  children  occur  is  in  The  Un- 
natural Combat",^  and  here,  as  Professor  Cruickshank  rightly  remarks,  in 
an  unpleasing  context,*  whereas  Fletcher's  tender  love  for  children,  with 
which  we  are  already  acquainted  from  the  little  figure  in  Bonduca,  is 
set  forth  in  a  lovely  and  pleasing  light. 

I  must  not  omit  Swinburne's  criticism  running  as  follows  "this  scene  is 
in  my  opinion  the  most  beautiful  ever  written  by  Fletcher.  That  we  owe 
the  recovery  of  such  a  jewel  of  dramatic  poetry  to  Mr.  BuUen  is  a  matter 
of  eternal  gratitude."* 

Act  IV.  In  turning  to  the  fourth  act,  we  come  to  the  animated  description  of 
Modesbargen  with  his  huntsmen;  the  Captain  and  soldiers  detecting 
them,  and  the  exciting  scene,  when  Modesbargen  is  taken  prisoner.  These 
episodes  are  of  lively  interest,  and  depicted  in  Fletcher's  spirited  manner; 
we  have  here  the  same  kaleidoscopic  shifting  of  figures  we  know  from 
other  scenes  in  the  plays  by  Fletcher.  Miss  Hatcher  has  noted  this  in 
The  Woman's  Prize  III.,  4.  The  scene  is  assigned  to  Fletcher  by  all  critics. 

The  evidence  of  metre  and  diction  justifies  us  to  consider  the  second 
scene  of  this  act  with  confidence  to  be  Fletcher's  share. 

I  have  already  pointed  out,  when  speaking  of  Fletcher's  inconsistency 
of  characterization  that  the  third  scene  of  this  act  is  to  be  assigned  to 
Fletcher's  hand. 


'  11,  5. 
•I,  I. 

•  IV,  2,  87. 

•  op  cit. 
'  op  cit. 


—  xa  — 


The  next  scene  is  again  a  short  one,  which  is  in  all  probability  Mas- 
si  nger'o,  followed  by  the  greatest  scene  in  the  play,  Barnavelt's  defence 
before  the  tribunal.  I  have  already  had  occasion  to  speak  about  the  bril- 
liant rhetoric,  which  is  unquestionably  to  be  assigned  to  Massinger,  the 
pleader.  Professor  Cruickshank's  remark  that  Act.  IV  sc  5  is  'unworthy  of 
Massinger'  ^  is  incomprehensible  to  me,  for  assuredly,  if  anything  in  the 
play,  this  scene,  on  account  of  the  rhetoric,  bears  the  impress  of  Massinger's 
hand. 

Some  lines  in  this  act  bear  a  remarkable  similarity  to  a  passage  in 
The  Unnatural  Combat,  a  play  by  Massinger  alone,  probably  written  in 
the  same  year.  Compare  : 

•'And  if  ever 
'twer  lawfull  th'vnthanckfull  men  t'  vpbraid 
vnequalld  benefitts,  let  it  not  in  me 
be  now  held  glorious,  if  I  speake  myself."* 


and, 


**who  then  rose  vp,  or  durst  step  in  before  me, 
to  doe  theis  Cuntries  service  ?  who  then  labourd 
more  then  the  now  suspected  Barnauelt 
t'appease  seditions,  and  compound  all  Quarrells? 
who  pacified  the  Malcontents  ?  who  taught  you 
to  stand  vpon  your  Guards,  and  trust  your  selves  ? 
6  you  forgettfuU,  all  this  I  performd."' 


with  The  Unnatural  Combat 


"I  would  not  boast  my  actions,  yet  'tis  lawful 
To  upbraid  my  benefits  to  unthanckful  men. 
Who  sunk  the  Turkish  gallies  in  the  streights 
But  Malefort  ?    Who  rescued  the  French  merchants 
When  they  were  boarded,  and  stow*d  under  hatches 
By  the  pirates  of  Argiers,  when  every  minute 
They  did  expect  to  be  chain'd  to  the  oar, 
But  your  now  doubted  admiral  ?"* 


•  V.  3.  I  suppose  there  must  be  some  error  here.  In  Philip  Massinger,  Appendix  XIl, 
Professor  Cruickshank  writes!  "Mr.  Bullen  thinks  that  Massinger  wrote  III.  2  ;  II.  6; 
IV  (the  trial  scene).  These  ascriptions  seem  to  me  correct".  And  in  Appendix  III,  6  : 
**Act  III,  5,  and  Act  IV,  5  seem   to   me   unworthy   of   Massinger." 

•  lines  2255—58. 

•  lines  2237  ff. 
•I,   I, 

—  xcn  — 


The  authorship  of  the  first  scene  of  the  last  act  seems  to  be  divided 
between  our  two  poets  ;  Bullen  assigns  the  whole  scene  to  Massinger ;  Boyle 
and  Swinburne  as  far  as  ''Enter  Provost"  and  Professor  Cruickshank 
assigns  the  scene  as  far  as  "Exeunt  Wife  and  Daughter"  ^  to  a  third 
hand.  Mr.  Oiiphant  considers  the  scene  to  belong  to  Massinger,  but  the 
incident  of  Barnavelt's  appearance,  as  quite  detached  from  the  rest  of 
the  scene  to  be  an  insertion  of  Fletcher's.  I  consider  this  the  most 
plausible  view,  but  I  think  Fletcher's  part  begins  after  'Ext  Embassadors'^; 
the  first  part  of  the  scene  and  the  ambassadors'  speeches  with  Orange's 
answer  are  clearly  in  Massinger's  style ;  this  assumption  is  confirmed 
by  an  image  which  occurs  several  times  in  Massinger's  other  plays ; 
compare : 

"but  such  shall  find  their  flattring  breath  but  makes 
the  fire,  our  Cuntries  safetie  byds  vs  cherish, 
to  burne   with   greater  heate"* 

and  The  Virgin  Martyr : 

"You  pour  oil 
On  fire    that   burns   already   at   the   height."  * 

and  again  in  the  same  play: 

"Do  not  blow 

The  furnace  of  a  wrath  thrice  hot  already".* 

Maid  of  Honour : 


•"t   Is    far 
From  me  Sir,  to  add  fuel  to  your  anger 
That  in  your  ill  opinion   of  him,   burns 
Too   hot   already."* 


The  Duke  of  Milan : 

"And  yet,  in   this,   you  but   pour   oil  on  fire."' 

The  next  part  betrays  Fletcher's  style,  but  in  the  speeches  of    Orange 


>  line 

2583. 

•  line 

2657, 

»  lines 

2553-55- 

*  I.    I 

84. 

»  III, 

2,    lOI. 

•  II,   ] 

. 

'  V, 

XCIII  ~ 


and  Vandort  we  detect  Massinger's  hand  again,  especially  in  the  laying 
down  of  the  moral  lesson  ;  nothing  could  be  more  like  Massinger  than  this 
moralizing  vein.  He  was  fond  of  tagging  short  moral  lessons  to  the  end 
of  scenes.  Sir  Leslie  Stephen  calls  him  'a  moralizer  by  temperament.' 
His  plays  always  have  a  moral  tendency  generally  set  forth  in  a  few 
lines  at  the  end,  as  for  instance  in  The  Unnatural  Combat : 

"There  cannot  be  a  want  of  power  above 
To  punish  murder  and  unlawful  love  1" 

and  The  Roman  Actor : 

"and  such  as  governed  only  by  their  will 
and  not  their  reason,  unlamented  fall". 

In  Barnavelt  the  moral  pointed  at  the  end  of  the  play  occurs  in  Fletcher's 
part. 

The  two  following  scenes  are  assigned  by  all  critics  to  Fletcher.  I  have 
noted  before  that  the  comic  scene  representing  the  gambling  executioners, 
and  the  last  scene  describing  the  crowd,  are  characteristic  of  Fletcher's 
humour.  In  almost  all  the  joint  plays  by  Massinger  and  Fletcher  the 
comic  parts,  and  the  scenes  describing  people  of  lower  social  standing 
must  be  assigned  to  Fletcher's  hand ;  in  the  tragedy  of  Barnavelt  these 
scenes  are  all  attiibuted  to  Fletcher.  The  conclusion  of  the  play  is  Flet- 
cher's share,  which  is  evident  from  the  style  and  the  fervent  eloquence  of 
Barnavelt's  protestations ;  also  from  the  inconsistency  in  the  characteri- 
zation, for  Barnavelt's  last  speech  is  not  in  keeping  with  Massinger's 
conception  of  the  Advocate's  character.  The  elegiac  note  of  this  speech 
reminds  us  of  Buckingham's  speech  in  Henry  VIII  which  is  Fletcher's 
part.  See  Aesthetic  value. 
The  lines : 

"and  then  turn  back,  and  blush,  blush  my  ruyne^" 
and, 

"blush  in  thine  age,  (bad    man)   thy  grave  blush  for  thee"' 

remind  us  of  the  lines  in  The  City  Madam  : 

"I    blush    for    you, 

"Blush  at  your  poverty  of  spirit."' 


'  1. 

2918. 

•1. 

3924. 

•  II 

,  I,  58 

XCIV 


Professor  Cruickshank  remarks  "the  characters  in  Massinger  are 
very  fond  of  blushing",  but  I  do  not  think  that  this  similarity  proves 
anything  in  regard  to  the  authorship,  for  both  Fletcher  and  Massinger 
showed  a  partiality  to  making  their  characters  blush  ;  Professor  Cruicks- 
hank adds  to  his  note  :  "it  is  true  that  blushing  plays  a  great  part  in  all 
our  old  dramatists." 

This  analysis  of  the  play  illustrates  my  view  that  the  main  body  was 
framed  by  Massinger,  who  probably  planned  the  play  as  a  whole,  and  laid 
down  the  lines  of  the  plot  and  principal  features,  though  a  considerable 
part  of  it  may  be  assigned  to  Fletcher.  The  construction,  characterization 
and  the  dignified  rhetorical  parts  are  mainly  Massinger's,  but  the  scenes 
of  passion  and  emotion  are  Fletcher's.  This  poet  also  contiibuted  the 
comical  and  humourous  elements.  That  the  action  is  lively  and  that 
there  are  scenes  of  great  poetic  and  pathetic  beauty  we  owe  to  Fletcher's 
genius. 

The  following  tabular  scheme  represents  the  different  views  of  the 
critics,  concerning  the  distribution  of  scenes  between  the  authors  of  the 
play,  to  which  I  have  added  my  view. 

I  beg  leave  to  correct  Mr.  L.  Wann's  statement  in  his  contribution  to 
the  Shakespeare  Studies,  University  of  Wisconsin  1916,  The  Collaboration 
of  Beaumont,  Fletcher  and  Massinger.  Mr.  Wana  remarks  with  regard  to 
the  play  under  discussion  that  all  critics  ?gree  as  to  the  apportionment 
of  scenes  with  the  exception  of  Act  V,  sc.  I.  It  will  be  clear  from  this 
scheme  that  there  are  other  scenes,  besides  the  one  mentioned  by  Mr. 
Wann,  on  which  all  critics  do  not  agree. 


—  xcv  — 


Distribution  of  Scenes. 


Fleay    Boyle 

BULLEN* 

Swinburne 

Cruickshank 

Oliphant 

Frijlinck 

Act.  I. 

Scene  i.  Massinger 

Massinger 

Massinger 

Massinger 

1 

Scene  2.  Massinger 

Massinger 

Massinger 

Massinger 

1 

Scene  3.  Fletcher 

Fletcher 

a  third  hand 

Fletcher 

Fletcher 

1M 

Act.  n. 

Scene  i.  Massinger 

Massinger 

Massinger 

Massinger 

Scene  2. 
Scene  3. 
Scene  4. 
Scene  5. 
Scene  6. 

probably 
Fletcher 

Massinger 
rather  than 
Fletcher 

a  third  hand 

Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Act.m. 

Scene  i.  Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Fletcher 

a.  a  third  hand 
as  far  as  "will 
ripen" 

b.  Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Scene  2.  Massinger 

Massinger 

Massinger 

Massinger 

Massinger 

Massinger 

Scene  3.    it  seems 
Massinger 

unmistaka- 
bly 
Fletcher 

a  third  hand 

neither  Fletcher 
nor  Massinger 

doubtful,    per- 
haps  an   inter- 
polation   by   a 
third  hand 

Scene  4.  Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Scene  5.  Massiger 

Massinger 

unworthy  of 
Massinger 

Massinger 

Massinger 

Scene  6.  Fletcher 

MassingerLei- 
denberch's 
soliloquy 

Fletcher 

Massinger 

Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Act.  IV. 

Scene  i.  Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Scene  2.  Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Scene  3.  Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Scene  4.  apparently 
Massinger 

Massinger 

Massinger 

Scene  5.  Massinger 

Massinger 

Massinger 

unworthy  of 
Massinger* 

Massinger 

Massinger 

Act.  V. 

Scene  i.a.  Massinger 

as  far  as  "Enter 

Provost" 

b.  Fletcher 

Massinger 

a.  Massinger 
asfaras"Ex- 
eunt     Em- 
bassadors" 
b»  Fletcher 

a  third  hand 
as  far  as 
Exeunt    Wife 
and    Daughter 

a*  Massinger 
b.  Fletcher  • 
c*  Massinger 

a.  Massinger  as 
far   as  line  2658 

b.  Fletcher     as 
far  as  line  2700 

c.  Massinger 

Scene  2.  Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Scene  3.  Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Fletcher 

Fletcher 

When  the  critic  has  offered  no  opinion  on  the  authorship  of  a  scene,  there  is  a  blank. 

*  Mr.  Bullen  states  his  opinion  only  on  a  few  scenes. 
'     See  Note  Distribution  of  Scenes. 

•  When  Barnavelt  is  on  the  stage. 


F.    Place  in  dramatic  history 

If  we  want  to  form  a  just  appreciation  of  our  play,  we  shall  have  to 
consider  the  position  of  the  tragedy  in  the  history  of  the  drama  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  The  play  of  Bamavelt  belongs  to  the  group  of  hist- 
orical dramas  dealing  with  the  contemporary  history  of  foreign  coun- 
tries. I  will  just  attempt  a  short  sketch  of  the  history  of  this  species  of 
drama,  as  treated  by  the  dramatists  of  the  Elizabethan  era. 

Sir  A.  Ward  remarks,  speaking  ot  the  drama  in  the  first  half  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  "The  historical  drama  proper  was  dead.  The  drama- 
tists, under  influences,  partly  no  doubt  beyond  their  control,  abandoned 
creative  effort  in  the  field  of  the  national  historical  drama.  Shakespeare's 
immortal  achievements  had  indeed  made  rivalry  difficult,  but  had  not 
closed  the  field  itself  against  his  successors.  They  left  this  noble  province 
of  their  art,  with  few  exceptions,  empty  and  deserted.  Some  ventured 
upon  efforts  akin  to  the  endeavours  of  the  national  historical  drama, 
in  treating  themes  derived  from  the  history  of  nations  in  moral  and  in- 
tellectual sympathy  with  our  own.  Even  here  the  mantle  of  the  author 
of  Bussy  d'Ambois  and  Byron  remained  almost  unclaimed,  except  now 
and  then  by  Fletcher  and  Massinger." 

Mr.  Tucker  Brooke  regards  Tamburlaine,  produced  in  1587,  more  than 
any  other  drama,  the  source  and  original  of  the  Elizabethan  history  play; 
Bale's  King  John  is  rather  a  controversial  morality,  reinforced  by  historical 
application,  than  a  history  play.  The  earliest  example  of  a  play  dealing 
with  recent  foreign  history  is  Marlowe's  Massacre  of  Paris  \  it  contains 
an  allusion  to  the  Spanish  Armada,  the  date  is  probably  1593.  It  is  a 
hasty  production  and  has  little  dramatic  interest ;  the  character  of  the 
Duke  of  Guise  is  satisfactorily  drawn.  The  Tragical  Reign  of  Selimtis 
which  may  have  been  written  by  R.  Greene  has  incidents  of  Turkish 
history  for  its  subject.  The  influence  of  Tamburlaine  can  be  traced 
in  Feele's  play  The  Battle  of  Alcazar,  produced  in  1592  or  before. 
The  tragedy  of  Dido  Queen  of  Carthage,  of  which  the  date  of 
1 591  assigned  to  it,  is  doubtful,  deserves  already  more  the  name  of  an 
historical  tragedy.  Before  1 600  A  Larum  for  London  or  the  Siege  of  Ant- 


»  A  History   of   English   Dramatic  Literature. 
•  The  Tudor  Drama. 


XCVII 


werp  was  produced,  dealing  with  the  capture  of  Antwerp  by  the  Spanish 
in  1 576.  Mr.  Tucker  Brooke  reniarks  that  the  earliest  English  play  to  treat 
the  material  of  history  with  conscious  reverence  for  the  established  rules 
of  dramatic  composition  is  Marlowe's  Edward  II,  composed  in  1592  ; 
here  more  regard  is  paid  to  characterization  than  in  the  other  plays. 
Then  follows  the  period  of  Shakespeare's  splendid  history  plays  ;  Profes- 
sor Parrott  rightly  remarks  "from  1590  to  1600  Shakespeare  ruled; 
it  was  the  time  when  the  historical  drama  rose  into  life,  and  under  his 
hands  reached  its  complete  development."  In  this  period  King  John^ 
Richard  II,   Richard  III,  Henry  IV,  Henry  V  were  produced. 

Mr.  Tucker  Brooke  mentions  three  plays  of  Shakespeare's  full  power ; 
the  historical  tragedies  Macbeth,  Antony  and  Cleopatra  and  Coriolanus, 
and  remarks  "each  of  these  plays  exemplifies  tragedy  in  its  purest  and 
highest  form,  and  the  tragic  effect  depends  in  each  case  upon  the  wise 
interpretation  of  actual  character  and  historic  fact."  In  a  similar  manner 
Massinger  and  Fletcher  have  attempted,  though  on  a  more  modest  scale, 
to  paint,  in  combination  with  historic  fact,  the  ruin  of  a  great  and  noble 
nature  by  a  single  besetting  and  overwhelming  weakness,  namely  ambi- 
tion, but  the  difference  with  Macbeth  is  that  in  our  play  the  historical 
material  is  taken  from  contemporary  history. 

Ben  Jonson's  Catiline  and  Sejanus  are  historical  tragedies  written 
under  classical  influence  ;  the  theme  is  taken  from  classical  sources. 

We  soon  note  a  difference  in  the  treatment  of  historical  matter.  Pro- 
fessor Schelling   remarks    "a  romantic  spirit  swept  over  the  drama." 

We  come  to  the  class  of  plays,  in  which  history  serves  only  as  a  back- 
ground for  romantic  fiction,  as  for  example  in  Shakespeare's  King  Lear 
and  Cymbeline  and  Fletcher's  Bonduca.  Mr.  Tucker  Brooke  remarks 
"after  1600  the  real  history  play  declined  rapidly ;  henceforth  the  histor- 
ical title  practically  vanishes,  and  the  chronicles  are  searched  only  for 
purely  romantic  matter." 

I  will  now  return  to  the  class  of  plays  to  which  our  tragedy  belongs, 
namely  the  historical  plays  relating  to  contemporary  events.  Swinburne, 
treating  the  tragedies  of  Bussy  d'Ambois,  Charles  Duke  of  Byron  and 
Chabot  Admiral  of  France  speaks  of  "the  stately  line  of  tragic  poems 
dealing  with  recent  or  immediate  history  of  foreign  countries."  I  think 
we  are  certainly  justified  in  adding  the  play  of  Bamavelt  to  this  'stately 
line  of  tragic  poems.' 

Professor  Schelling  notes  that  a  feature  of  King  James's  time  was  the 
allusiveness  of  the  historical  drama  to  affairs  abroad,  or  even  at  home. 

—  xcvm  — 


Though  it  was  forbidden  by  the  authorities,  the  dramatists  persisted  in 
bringing  political  persons  and  events  upon  the  stage.  Massinger  in  par- 
ticular, has  always  taken  a  lively  interest  in  contemporary  politics  which 
brought  him  in  collision  with  the  censor,  as  I  have  noted  before  ^. 

Of  the  tragedies  belonging  to  this  class  Chapman's  The  Conspiracy  and 
Tragedy  of  Charles  Duke  of  Byron  shows  a  close  relation  to  our  play  in  some 
respects.  Byron's  execution  had  taken  place  in  1602,  and  had  drawn  great 
attention  so  that  the  dramatization  of  this  event  was  of  lively  interest 
to  the  audience,  which  was  also  the  case  with  our  play.  The  following 
remark  by  Professor  Parrott,  referring  to  Chapman's  tragedies,  is  also 
applicable  to  our  play.  "Chapman's  tragedies  are  not  tragedies  of  fate 
like  those  of  the  Greek  drama,  nor  tragedies  of  character  like  those  of 
Shakespeare.  The  peculiar  tragic  theme  of  Byron  is  the  conflict  of  the 
individual  with  his  environment,  and  the  inevitable  issue  of  that  conflict 
in  the  individual's  defeat."  The  figure  of  the  hero  in  our  play  reminds 
us  of  the  Duke  of  Byron  in  his  overbearing  ambition  and  pride,  his  in- 
domitable spirit  and  inevitable  overthrow.  I  shall  have  occasion  to  point 
out  the  similarity,  which  the  dying  speech  of  Barnavelt  bears  to  Byron's, 
in  regard  to  the  elegiac  note^  Professor  Schelling  has  noted  a  parallel 
in  the  relation  of  King  Henry  to  Byron,  and  of  the  Prince  of  Orange  to 
Barnavelt.  Granting  this,  we  can  however  not  speak  of  any  direct  influ- 
ence. Chapman's  tragedies  are  tedious  and  undramatic  ;  they  are  rather 
dramatic  poems  than  plays.  In  style  and  versification  our  play  shows 
a  marked  difference  ;  instead  of  Massinger's  lucidity  we  struggle  with 
Chapman's  forced  obscurity,  but  are  rewarded  for  our  labour  by  an 
abundance  of  brilliant  passages  and  splendid  poetic  images,  which  the 
play  of  Barnavelt  lacks. 

The  Tragedy  of  Barnavelt  stands  alone  as  an  historical  tragedy 
of  this  period  in  which  regard  is  paid  to  the  truth  of  history. 
Fletcher  had  dealt  with  historical  themes  before,  but  as  Miss 
Hatcher  remarks  "he  felt  no  obligation  to  either  the  letter  or  the 
spirit,  and  dealt  with  history  in  a  fashion  romantic  in  its  freedom  of 
handling,  if  not  in  its  inclusion  of  all  the  so-called  romantic  features."^ 
Fletcher's  Bonduca  and  Valentinian  confirm  this  statement.  Thierry 
and  Theodoret,  in  which  both  Fletcher  and  Massinger  had  a  hand  with 


•  See    Stage   history. 

•  See  Aesthetic  value. 

•  op  cit, 

—  XCIX 


others,  represents  historical  incidents  happening  in  the  French  Court, 
but  the  treatment  of  the  play  is  romantic.  In  Believe  as  You  Lf5/Massinger 
described  the  wandering  exile  of  the  Elector  Palatine  under  fictitious 
names,  transferring  the  scene  to  another  country.  In  The  Unnatural  Com- 
bat a  play  contemporary  with  Bamavelt,  Massinger  dramatized  the  events 
occurring  in  the  Cenci  family  in  Rome,  taking  Francesco  Cenci  for  his 
model  of  Malefort.  Works  on  history,  pamphlets,  tracts  and  contempo- 
rary information  were  of  greater  interest  to  Massinger  as  subject  matter 
for  his  plots  than  works  of  fiction. 

Sir  A.  Ward  considers  the  regard  paid  to  historical  truth  an  objection 
to  assigning  the  play  to  Massinger's  hand.  He  writes  "The  extremely 
interesting  tragedy  of  Sir  John  Van  Olden  Bamavelt  bears  on  the  face 
of  it  every  mark  of  having  been  produced  soon  after  the  catastrophe  of 
the  great  Advocate  of  Holland.  The  play  in  question  is  of  its  kind  almost 
without  parallel  in  the  literature  of  the  great  age  of  our  drama.  So  far 
as  the  choice  of  theme  and  the  essentials  of  its  treatment  are  concerned, 
they  point  to  the  collaboration  of  some  other  mind  with  Fletcher's,  and 
are  fairly  though  not  closely  consistent  with  what  is  known  to  us  of  Mas- 
singer's  attitude  as  a  dramatist  towards  contemporary  history.  For  while 
he  repeatedly  adopts  an  allegorical  treatment  of  political  events,  situ- 
ations and  character,  I  am  not  aware  that  any  play  known  with  certainty 
to  be  his,  brings  an  actual  chapter  of  recent  political  history  directly 
on  the  stage,  after  the  manner  of  Chapman's  Byron  or  Glapthorne's 
Alhertus  Wallenstein,'' 

Sir  A.  Ward  speaks  of  the  plays  by  Massinger  which  are  extant,  but  we 
must  not  forget  that  not  long  before  Barnavelt's  execution  a  play  was 
produced  by  Field,  Fletcher  and  Massinger,  called  The  Jeweller  of 
Amsterdam  relating  a  contemporary  event,  which  occurred  in  1616, 
namely  the  murder  of  John  van  Wely,  Prince  Maurice's  confidential 
groom.^ 

Professor  Schelling  notes  that  historically  viewed  ^^The  Tragedy  of 
Bamavelt  is  one  of  an  interesting  group  of  dramas  which  touch  on  contem- 
porary political  occurrences  ;  in  its  freedom  from  ulterior  satirical  or  pol- 
itical purposes,  it  stands  practically  alone." 

As  the  play  was  forbidden  after  the  first  performance,  and  remained 
in  manuscript  till  the  nineteenth  century,  it  can  hardly  have  exerted 
any  direct  influence  on  other  dramas  of  the  age. 


See  Authorship* 

~  C 


G.    Aesthetic  and  Literary  Value 

Characterizati  on. 

The  Rev.  F.  G.  Fleay  remarks,  speaking  of  the  period  in  which  the 
tragedy  of  Barnavelt  was  written  "It  was  the  Silver  Age  of  the  drama. 
The  Golden  Age  of  Shakespeare,  Jonson,  Chapman,  Webster  and  Beaumont 
had  passed  away.  It  was  the  age  of  Fletcher,  but  of  Fletcher  supreme, 
aided  by  Field,  Jonson  and  Massinger"\ 

A.  L.  Casserley,  speaking  of  the  decline  of  the  drama  in  his  essay  on 
Massinger  and  Ford,  is  of  the  same  opinion  when  he  remarks  "It  is  a 
glorious  decline,  our  lament  for  the  departing  day  is  lost  in  our  wonder 
of  the  splendour  of  the  evening."'' 

The  remark  that  our  play  belongs  to  the  Silver  Age  of  the  drama  is 
quite  correct.  The  decline  is  in  the  first  place  evident  in  the  characteri- 
zation. In  the  play  we  have  too  much  description  of  character,  whereas 
in  Shakespeare's  plays  the  characters  reveal  themselves  by  their  actions. 
S.  T.  Coleridge  remarks  "the  characters  of  the  dramatis  personac  like 
those  in  real  life  are  to  be  inferred  by  the  reader,  they  are  not  to  be  told 
to  him."^  In  Barnavelt's  play  there  is  never  a  touch  of  delicate  charac- 
terization, or  any  sudden  revelation  of  character  by  a  few  words,  as  in 
Shakespeare.  We  are  too  often  told  what  qualities  the  persons  possess, 
not  only  by  others  but  even  by  themselves.  The  Prince  of  Orange  is 
praised  by  the  Lords,  on  account  of  his  courage,  his  nobility  and  virtue, 
his  modesty,  discretion  and  wisdom  ;  he  himself  speaks  of  his  courage 
and  great  deeds.  Barnavelt,  in  particular  is  always  singing  his  own  praises, 
and  speaking  of  his  honourable  past ;  the  Lords,  the  people,  his  servant, 
all  inform  us,  how  much  he  was  respected,  and  how  great  his  authority  was. 
Even  the  Prince  admits  that  he  was  "great  in  authority  and  matchless 
in  his  worldly  policy." 

In  Shakespeare's  plays  there  is  growth  and  a  harmonious  development 
of  character ;  the  actions  arise  out  of  previous  circumstances.  In  the 
play  of  Barnavelt  there  is  no  growth  ;  the  characters  remain  as  they  are 
in  spite  of  circumstances  ;   they  are  represented  in  a  series  of  various 


*  Chronicle  History  of  the  London  Stage  Chapter  V. 
■   Westminster  Review   1899,  vol.   152. 

•  Literary  Remains  II. 

—  CI  — 


moods.  It  is  true  that  Barnavelt,  who  defies  and  abuses  the  Prince  in  the 
first  scene,  ends  in  the  last  by  uttering  a  prayer  for  the  Prince's  happiness, 
but  this  demeanour  is  unconvincing  and  not  warranted  in  any  way  by 
what  has  happened  in  the  intermediate  acts,  so  that  there  is  nothing  to 
account  for  Barnavelt's  repentance.  This  is  a  serious  inconsistency  in  the 
character-drawing,  and  in  this  case  due  to  the  joint  authorship,  as  I  have 
pointed  out  before.  But  neither  Fletcher,  nor  Massinger  can  be  acquitted 
of  this  fault  of  characterization  in  the  plays  which  they  composed  alone. 
Though  Massinger  is  a  more  careful  painter  of  character  than 
Fletcher,  the  conversion  of  his  villains  is  sometimes  quite  unconvincing 
as,  for  example,  of  the  cruel  villain  Flaminius ;  he  has  most  unscrupulously 
tried  all  through  the  play  to  accomplish  Antiochus'  ruin,  and  remarks  when 
he  is  convicted  and  sent  to  prison  : 

**I  prove   too   late 
as  heaven  is    merciful,    man's   crueltie 
never  escapes   unpunished." 

We  also  miss  in  the  play  the  delicate  shades  of  character  we  admire 
in  Shakespeare;  the  characters  in  Fletcher's  and  Massinger's  plays  are 
contrasted  as  much  as  possible  ;  for  example  the  Prince,  who  is  noble 
magnanimous  and  modest  is  sharply  contrasted  to  Barnavelt,  who  is  unscru- 
pulous and  ambitious  and  who  has  a  thirst  of  glory.  This  absence  of  delicate 
characterization  is  considered  by  some  critics,  due  to  the  fact  that  this 
delicacy  was  not  appreciated  any  more  by  the  audience,  but  I  think  the  truth 
is  that  the  dramatists,  making  action  rather  than  characterization  their 
aim,  had  accustomed  the  audience  to  intricate  plots  of  incident  and 
adventure,  so  that  they  had  lost  the  taste  of  careful  delineation  of  character 
and  philosophic  soliloquies.  The  Stage  had  become  more  the  amusement 
of  the  idle ;  the  age  of  lofty  imagination  had  passed  away.  Shakespeare 
had  always  tried  to  teach  and  lead  the  audience,  but  his  successors  were 
anxious  to  please  them. 

The  character  of  the  hero  is  not  a  study  of  the  soul ;  neither  Fletcher 
nor  Massinger  had  studied  the  depths  of  human  nature,  and  both  continually 
fail  in  describing  conflicts  and  complications  of  feeling ;  they  lack  the  in- 
sight into  the  soul  that  Shakespeare  had.  Schlegel  truly  remarks  about 
Beaumont's  and  Fletcher's  character- drawing  :  "they  enter  little  into  the 
secret  history  of  the  heart. "^  Barnavelt  and  Orange  possess  no  individuality; 
the  latter  is  the  conventional  type  of  the  virtuous  prince. 


*   VorUsungen  iiber  dramatische  Kunst  und  Literatur. 

—  cn  — 


The    Character  of  Barnavelt. 

Barnavelt's  figure  is  not  a  heroic  conception.  In  some  scenes 
the  hero  is  powerfully  drawn,  but  there  is  no  fixity  of  character ;  very 
often  there  is  a  decided  falling  off  instead  of  development.  When  Bar- 
navelt is  first  introduced,  the  interest  of  the  spectators  is  awakened  in 
him  by  the  manifestations  of  a  heroic  cast  of  mind.  His  overbearing  am- 
bition and  thirst  of  glory  cannot  suffer  the  Prince  to  rise  higher  than 
himself  in  the  eyes  and  the  love  of  the  people.  Though  warned  by  his 
friends,  he  is  going  to  put  every  thing  to  the  stake  to  defy  the  Prince. 
To  these  warnings  he  answers  : 

"read  but  ore  the  Stories 

of  men  most  fam'd  for  courage,    or  for  counsaile 
and  you  shall  find   that  the   desire   of  glory- 
was  the  last  frailety  wise  men  ere  putt  of." 

His  indisputable  authority  in  the  State  is  illustrated  by  his 
cashiering  the  captain  who  "had  railed  at  the  Lords  of  the  States 
and  had  called  them  merchants,  apothecaries  and  physitians,"  he  remarks 
ironically  "you  had  best  complain  to  your  great  general,  and  see  if  he 
can  of  himself  maintain  you." 

In  the  interview  with  Bredero  and  Vandort,  Barnavelt  hears  that  he 
is  suspected  of  disloyalty.  His  indignation  either  feigned  or  real  is  great ; 
in  a  glowing  speech  he  accuses  the  people  of  being  ungrateful  for  the 
services  he  has  rendered  to  his  country  for  forty  years.  He  de- 
clares passionately  that  he  will  never  bow  to  the  Prince,  even 
if  the  others  are  slavish  enough  to  do  so.  When  his  son  enters,  and 
advises  him  to  submit  to  the  Prince,  adding  "you  are  at  your  last," 
he  scorns  the  thought  and  we  cannot  but  admire  his  undaunted 
courage  and  fiery  indignation,  when  he  declares  "that  he  will  seek  his 
grave  first."  This  intrepid  character  is  consistently  sustained  in  the  trial 
scene,  when  he  boldly  denies  all  the  accusations  ;  his  speech  is  not  so 
passionate  here,  but  his  demeanour  is  dignified.  At  the  end  the  un- 
daunted hero  denies  the  Prince's  charges  with  a  smile : 

"give  me  leave 
onely  to  smile,  then  say  all  theis  are  falce." 

adding  loftily  : 

"now  when  you  please  Condempne  me 
I  will  not  vse  one  sillable  for   your   mercy 
to  have    mine   age    renewd   and   once  againe 
to  see  a  second  triumph  of  my  glories." 

—  an  — 


Before  taking  leave  he  will  not  omit  warning  the  Lords  against  the 
course  they  are  going  to  take,  which,  history  teaches  us,  has  proved  the 
extinction  of  political  liberties  in  a  republic. 

It  is  possible  for  us  to  sympathize  with  the  hero  as  he  is  depicted 
in  these  scenes.  His  character,  though  mistaken,  forces  us  to  sympathy, 
if  not  admiration  by  the  overmastering  passion.  He  is  painted  as  a 
great  statesman  and  a  powerful  character,  who  considers  the  first  place 
in  the  Republic  to  be  his  due.  If  the  character  of  Barnavelt  had  been 
sustained  at  this  height,  the  play  might  have  ranked  very  high  in  English 
dramatic  literature  ;  but  in  some  scenes  there  is  a  decided  falling  off. 
We  might  have  expected  a  character  drawn  in  this  style  to  preserve 
a  dignified  demeanour  under  misfortune ;  but  Barnavelt's  character 
is  painted  with  lamentable  inconsistency  when  he  is  described  sitting 
in  his  study.  Here  the  hero  betrays  an  incredible  weakness,  looking 
over  testimonials  from  Kings  and  letters  from  Princes,  consoling  himself 
with  the  thought  that  the  States  have  nobody  to  fill  his  place  to 
treat  with  great  Princes  and  manage  the  affairs  of  state.  He  sits  moaning 
and  wailing  like  a  weak  creature  deficient  in  all  moral  courage  : 

•'what  help?  6  miserable  man,  none  left  thee  : 

what  constant  frends  ?  't  is  now  a  cryme  to  know  thee." 

In  Shakespeare's  characters  we  notice  a  softening  influence  of 
adversity,  for  example,  Leontes  in  A  Winter's  Tale  becomes  mild  under 
misfortune. 

There  is  again  a  falling  off  in  chacterization  in  the  last  scene,  when 
Barnavelt  is  sent  to  his  execution.  In  a  long  conversation  with  two 
Lords,  he  boasts  again  of  his  merits,  blames  his  ungrateful  country  and 
begs  the  people  to  forget  him.  So  far  his  demeanour  is  dignified,  in 
the  way  he  faces  death.  When  begged  to  ascend  the  scaffold,  he  boldly 
answers : 

•*feareles  I  will  my  lords  : 

and   what   you   can  inflict,    as   feareles   suffer." 

But  his  farewell  message  to  the  Prince,  and  the  good  wishes  for  the 
latter's  happiness  are  unconvincing  after  his  words  to  the  Prince  in  the 
trial  scene,  and  on  the  whole,  quite  out  of  keeping  with  his  former  abuses 
and  haughty  defiance  of  the  Prince,  as  I  have  noted  before. 

I  have  the  same  objection  to  the  conception  of  Barnavelt's  character 


CIV 


which  Professor  Fruin  expressed  in  the  Introduction  to  his  reprint  of 
Bullen's  edition  of  the  play.  The  motive  to  Barnavelt's  conspiracy  is 
unconvincing ;  this  renders  both  the  conception  of  his  character  and 
his  actions  highly  incredible.  The  Statesman's  power  is  "as  absolute 
as  a  monarch's"  and  he  need  not  fear  that  he  is  going  to  lose  his 
power  or  his  position  as  the  first  great  statesman  in  the  republic  ;  the 
Prince  is  very  modest  and  content  with  the  place  he  occupies  in  the 
country  as  the  first  soldier  and  a  servant  to  the  States.  But  he  weakly 
envies  the  Prince's  popularity  as  a  renowned  warrior ;  to  quote  his 
own  words  : 

"shall  I   then   suffer 

the  peoples  thancks  and  praires, 

to  haue  an   other  obiect  ?" 

This  motive  is  futile^  and  we  can  only  agree  with  Modesbargen,  who 
frankly  expresses  his  opinion  : 

"and   for    what  ? 
Glory,    the  popular  applause,  fine  purchase 
for  a  gray  beard  to  deale  in." 

The  suggestion  that  he  will  rather  bring  back  the  country  under  Spain's 
vassalage,  and  destroy  his  own  achievements  than  see  the  Prince  rise 
to  the  first  place,  is  h'ghly  improbable  ;  cf.  : 

"he  that  could  defeat  the  Spanish  counsailes 
and  made  the   State  what  't  is, 
will  change  it  once  again 
ere  fall  with  such  dishonour." 

He  even  says  so  himself  before  the  tribunal : 

"after   all 
theis    meritorious   and   prosperous   travells 
t'   vnyte   theis   States,    can    Barnauelt   be   suspected 
to  be   the   author  to  vndooe  that  knot 
which  with  such  toyle  he  fastend  ?" 

In  consequence  his  course  of  action,  when  he  joins  the  Arminians  is 
also  highly  improbable.  This  would  be  an  unwise  course  for  him  to  take 
if  his  object  was  to  regain  his  popularity,  because  this  sect  was  very 
unpopular.  The  printing  presses  could  hardly  print  the  number  of  libels, 
pamphlets  and  prints  directed  against  the  Arminians ;  all  these  and 
the  ballads  of  the  time  illustrate  how  much  they  were  hated  by  the 
people. 


CV  — 


The  advocate  lays  the  foundation  of  his  conspiracy  with  care,  showing 
his  sly,  plotting  and  unprincipled  nature  in  the  words  : 

"we  live  not  now  with  Saincts,  but  wicked  men, 
and  any  thriving  way,  we  can  make  vse  of, 
what  shape  soere  it  weares,  to  crosse  their    arts 
we    must    embrace    and    cherish ;    and    this    course 
(carrying  a   zealous  face)  will  countenance 
our  other  actions  ;" 

His  next  action  does  not  inspire  us  with  much  sympathy  either;  he 
commands  the  guard  at  the  door  not  to  admit  the  Prince  to  the  council- 
chamber,  but  to  keep  him  waiting  before  the  closed  door,  adding : 

"in  this  disgrace  I  haue  one  foote  on  his  neck, 
ere  long  ile  set  the  other  on  his  head, 
and  sinck  him  to  the   Center:" 

After  the  meeting  of  the  council  he  upbraids  the  Prince  in  undignified 
language  with  having  grown  too  haughty ;  a  rather  poor  excuse  for 
such  a  disgrace.  We  can  but  agree  with  the  Prince  when  he  remarks 
"to  what  a  monster  this  man's  growne." 

In  the  next  act  when  the  English  captains  have  refused  to  fight  against 
the  Prince,  Barnavelt  exhorts  his  friends  to  stand  firm  in  order  that 
"this  goverment,  your  wives,  your  lives,  and  liberties  be  safe"  adding  : 

"rise  vp  against  this  Tirant,  and  defend 
with  rigour,  what  too  gentle  lenitie 
hath  almost  lost." 

Barnavelt  himself  must  know  that  this  is  a  falsehood,  only  inspired 
by  jealousy  and  hate,  for  in  the  play  there  is  no  foundation  whatever 
for  calling  the  Prince  a  tyrant.  Another  objection  to  the  conception  of 
Barnavelt's  character  is  his  unscrupulous  conduct  in  instigating  Leiden- 
berch  to  suicide.  This  scene  is  an  original  composition  of  Fletcher's  in- 
vention, as  not  the  slightest  suggestion  of  it  occurs  in  the  sources.  Here 
Barnavelt's  figure  is  painted  in  the  darkest  colours,  and  an  indelible  stain 
is  thrown  on  his  character.  Till  now  he  has  tried  to  ruin  his  enemies,  but 
in  this  scene  he  does  not  scruple  to  get  rid  ot  his  former  friend,  whose 
misfortune  is  due  to  Barnavelt's  advice  and  influence.  He  is  depicted  as 
an  unscrupulous,  wily  schemer,  telling  lies  to  gain  his  ends,  and  he  seems 
to  be  fully  aware  himself  of  the  treacherous  course  he  is  going  to  take  ;  cf. 

"Now  Barnauelt,  thou  treadst  the  subtlest  path 
the  hardest,  and  the  thorniest,  most  concernes  thee, 
that  ere  thy  careful!  course  of  life   run   through," 

—  CVI  — 


He  steadily  keeps  his  purpose  in  view ;  this  is  not  self-preservation, 
which  might  be  excused,  but  only  thirst  of  glory;  he  expects 
"once  more  like  a  Comet,   to  shine  out  faire  and  blaze  prodigiously". 

In  his  interview  with  Leidenberch  he  feigns  a  justified  indignation 
when  the  latter  confesses  that  he  has  betrayed  the  secrets  concerning  the 
conspiracy.  Barnavelt  suggests  suicide  as  the  only  honourable  way  left 
to   escape   disgrace   and   shame,    cf : 

"but  one   way  left 

but  that  thy  base  feare  dares  not  let  thee  look  on  : 

and  that   way  will  I  take,  though  it  seeme  steepe 


yet  on  the  end  hangs  smyling  peace,  and  honour, 
and  I  will  on." 


knowing  in  his  heart  all  the  time  that  he  does  not  at  all  intend  to  commit 
suicide  himself. 

The    inconsistency    in    the  characterization  of  the  hero  is  largely  due 
to  the  dual  authorship,  as  I  have  pointed  out  before  ;  see  Authorship. 
In  the  play  Barnavelt  is  not  a  really  tragic  character  presented  before 
our  eyes  in  harmonious  development. 
The    Character   of    the   Prince    of   Orange. 

As  I  remarked  before,  we  are  expected  to  sympathize  with  the  Prince. 
His  great  actions  are  chiefly  described  ;  we  hear  of  his  growing  popularity 
as  a  great  soldier  "that  he  is  the  army*s  soul,  by  which  it  moves  to 
victory";  his  friends  remark  to  him  :  "you  are  the  arme  of  the  war, 
the  soldier's  spirit".  The  popular  opinion  is  that  he  has  saved  the 
country  from  foreign  usurpation,  and  Grotius  remarks  that  this  'has 
swelled  his  pride'  beyond  the  limits  of  his  habitual  modesty.  But  this 
proves  to  be  calummy ;  in  the  Prince's  first  speech  his  modesty  is  illus- 
trated in  the  words : 

"What  I  haue  don,  I  looke  not  back,  to  magnifie 
my  Cuntry  calld  me  to  it." 

He  speaks  with  great  forbearance  about  the  slanders  that  expose  his 
name  and  even  his  person  to  danger,  and  shows  his  magnanimity  in  the 
words  : 

"Nor  can   the  bitter  and  bold  toungue  of  mallice 

make   me  forsake  my  dutie 

or  gaine  so  much  vpon  me  as  an  anger 

so  the  State  suffer  not 

I  am  as  easie  to  forget." 

—  cvn  — 


But  then  follows  a  speech  by  the  Prince,  which  shakes  our  belief  as  to 
his  magnanin^ous  forbearance.  I  refer  to  the  lines  : 

•'I   pray  ye  no  more  ; 

stupid  I  neuer  was  nor  so  secure  yet 

to  lend  my  patience  to  mine  owne  betraying: 

I  shall  find  time  and  riper  cause." 

This  is  not  the  speech  of  a  high-minded  noble  warrior  who  does  not 
care  to  meddle  with  politics,  but  rather  of  a  consummate  politician,  who 
has  feigned  his  former  forbearance,  and  is  little  more  than  a  downright 
hypocrite.  Professor  Fruin  thinks  we  should  not  attach  any  deeper  sense 
to  these  lines,  and  I  certainly  think  that  they  are  a  slip  only,  due  to  hasty 
composition.  In  fact,  this  scene  is  composed  by  Fletcher,  who  is  not  very 
careful  in  delineation  of  character. 

When  access  to  the  council-chamber  is  denied  to  the  Prince,  and  this 
disgrace  excites  the  indignation  of  his  brother  and  the  officers, 
he  appeases  their  anger  by  a  magnanimous  speech,  which  elicits 
the  Colonel's  praise  **a  prince  of  rare  humanity  and  temper".  Meeting 
the  Lords  coming  from  the  council,  he  addresses  them  without  anger, 
begging  them  with  great  humility  to  tell  him  in  what  he  has  offended  ; 
only,  after  being  accused  by  Barnavelt  of  pride  and  insolence  does  he  vent 
his  justified  wrath;  he  charges  Barnavelt  with  rebellious  designs,  and 
threatens  that  if  he  perseveres  in  this  course  of  action,  he  shall  have  to 
pay  for  it  with  his  head. 

But  the  Prince  is  to  be  the  victim  of  a  worse  insult.  When  he  comes 
to  Utrecht,  and  desires  to  enter  the  town,  the  guard  at  the  gate  have 
received  the  command  from  Leidenberch  to  stop  his  passage ;  but  as  they 
are  loyal  to  the  Prince  they  invite  him  to  enter.  The  Prince  is  more 
sad  than  angry ;  instead  of  uttering  words  of  anger,  he  only  remarks 
reproachfully : 

"None  of  our  frends  vpon  the  Portt  ?  Is  this  the  welcom 
of  such  a  Towne,  so  bound  in  preservation 
to  vs  and  ours  ?" 

The  author  is  anxious  that  we  should  understand  this,  and  adds  one  of 
those  annoying  undramatic  remarks  of  a  spectator : 

"the    Prince   is   sadly   angry". 

When  he  meets  Leidenberch  he  vents  his  rightful  indignation,  orders 
the  officers  to  disband  the  companies  of  new  soldiers,  and  tells  Leidenberch 
in  great  scorn  that  he  is  a  prisoner,  and  may  justify  his  deeds  at  the  Hague. 
Then  follows  a  conversation  between  Vandort  and  Bredero  describing  the 

—  cvm  — 


Prince's  character;  they  remark  that  in  disbanding  many  companies  of  mer- 
cenaries in  different  towns,  he  has  borne  himself  like  a  noble  Gentleman, 
and  a  fair  Soldier,  and  that  all  his  actions  have  been  wise  and  constant.  I 
have  already  pointed  out  that  this  character-drawing  by  description  is 
a  weakness  in  the  play. 

cf.     "like  a  true   noble   Gentleman,   he  had  borne  himself 
and  a  fair  fortunate  Soldier  :  I  hold  the  State  Sir 
most  happie  in  his    care,    and   this   torn    Cuntry 
most   bound   to  his  deliueraunce." 

Bredero's  answer  is  a  long  eulogy  on  the  Prince  about  the  disbanding 
of  the  mercenary  troops ;  Vandort  remarks  in  reply  : 

"he   has   run    through   a   business,   will   much   add   to   him, 
•'and   sett   his   vertues    of   with   greater   lustre." 

When  Barnavelt  enters,  Vandort  tells  him  he  is  suspected,   and  remarks 

"you   know    the    Prince,    and  know   his   noble   nature." 

In  the  meeting  of  the  council,  where  the  Prince  has  taken  his 
place  again,  he  shows  his  habitual  magnanimous  temper.  He  begs 
the  Lords  that  Barnevelt  may  be  admitted  to  their  assembly,  for  as 
long  as  the  Advocate  continues  loyal  to  the  State,  he  loves  him,  other- 
wise he  will  pity  him.  The  Prince  is  not  going  to  boast  of  his  deeds;  in 
a  long  speech  he  assures  the  Lords  that  he  is  happy  to  have  won  back, 
without  shedding  a  drop  of  blood,  so  many  towns  that  were  led 
astray.  He  pleads  that  the  leaders  of  the  revolt  may  not  be  punished,  as 
this  may  breed  new  dissensions  ;  his  advice  is  "let  us  leave  them  to  the 
scourge  of  their  owne  consciences."  But  the  others  persuade  him  to  mention 
the  leaders  of  the  revolt  ;  he  does  so,  but  begs  the  Lords  to  allow  him 
to  leave  out  Barnavelt. 

When  the  Prince  hears  of  Leidenberch's  suicide,  he  is  convinced  that 
the  danger  must  be  greater  than  he  suspected,  and  assures  the  Lords  that 
he  ''that  has  never  feared  an  army  in  the  field"  will  send  for  the  choicest 
companies  to  guard  the  country  against  rebellion,  if  necessary.  The  Lords 
authorize  him  "to  proceed  as  he  thinks  fit."  So  the  Prince  thinks  he 
will  hardly  be  justified  any  longer,  if  he  does  not  order  Barnavelt  to 
be  arrested.  He  gives  the  order  for  Barnavelt's  arrest,  which  is  promptly 
executed. 

Soon  after  he  overhears  the  conversation  of  the  Burghers  and  women 
at  the  fair;  this  confirms  him  in  the  belief   that  the  love  of  the  people 


ax  - 


grows   dangerous,  and  he  determines   that  justice  must  have  its  course. 

In  the  great  trial  scene  Barnavelt's  imposing  figure  and  his 
glowing  rhetorical  speeches  put  the  Prince  in  the  background  ;  the  latter 
interrupts  the  Advocate  once  or  twice  to  accuse  him  of  treacherous 
attempts  to  frustrate  his  own  designs  of  beating  the  Spanish  armies. 
The  Prince  appears  again  on  the  stage  to  answer  the  French  ambassa- 
dors in  a  frank,  but  dignified  way,  to  show  that  the  States  are  not  the 
King's  servants,  but  his  friends.  He  is  also  present,  when  Barnavelt  re- 
ceives his  inevitable  sentence  of  death,  and  avails  himself  of  the  oppor- 
tunity to  point  the  moral  that  "punishment  is  always  in  store  for  those 
that  plot  against  the  general  good,  even  though  they  are  the  greatest 
of  men."  My  conclusion  as  to  the  Prince  of  Orange's  character  is,  that  it 
lacks  originality  and  force.  It  through  the  lack  of  sufficient  subject 
matter  the  dramatists  were  unable  to  draw  true  historical  portraits 
of  the  Prince  and  the  Advocate,  they  might  have  presented  living 
persons  to  us,  whose  actions  are  consistent  all  through  the  play,  which 
they  have  failed  to  do. 
Minor    characters. 

The  minor  characters  serve  to  give  a  background  and  historical  realism 
to  the  story.  They  are  not  vividly  drawn,  and  not  with  consistency  either ; 
like  the  Prince  of  Orange  they  have  no  individuality  of  their  own. 
This  is  probably  due  to  hasty  workmanship.  Neither  Fletcher  nor 
Massinger  took  the  trouble  to  draw  their  minor  characters  with  care, 
they  worked  too  rapidly  to  give  much  thought  to  them.  The  figure  of 
Leidenberch  stands  out  most  vividly  ;  he  is  a  beautiful  and  pathetic 
character  in  the  play.  He  is  conspicuous  for  his  weakness  of  character  and 
unreliable  nature ;  in  the  first  scene  the  captain  describes  him  as 
one  of  the  Lords,  who  will  "promise  anything,  no  suitor  ever  departed 
discontented  from  him  ;  he  does  prefer  to  all  an  outward  pity,  but  he  never 
did  man  good";  it  once  happened  that  after  talking  for  a  long  time  to 
a  beggar,  "he  gave  him  not  a  doyt."  He  is  a  flatterer  and  a  beautiful 
talker ;  he  flatters  the  Advocate,  and  also  the  Prince.  He  has  con- 
sented to  prevent  the  latter  from  gaining  access  to  the  council-cham- 
ber, but  soon  after  he  appeals  to  the  Prince's  excellent  judgment, 
declares  that  rumours  are  not  to  be  trusted,  and  assures  him  that 
he  was  ever  noble.  He  tries  by  flattery  to  persuade  the  captains  to 
take  up  arms  against  the  Prince,  using  beautiful  phrases  like  "we 
all  stand  far  indebted  to  your  service"  ;  he  calls  them  "the  worthiest, 
the  faithfuUest,   and  strongest  that    protect    us",     assuring    them     *'I 

—  CX  — 


know  you  love  the  valiant  Prince  and  yet  you  must  graunt  him  a 
servant  to  the  States".  The  Captain  answers  "we  know  your  oild 
tongue  ;  and  your  rethorique  will  hardly  work  on  us,  that  are  acquainted 
with  what  faire  language  your  ill  purposes  are  ever  cloathd."  The  picture 
of  his  dismay  whenever  he  hears  the  name  of  'the  English'  is  rather 
overdone  and  only  a  device,  I  suppose,  to  flatter  the  national  pride  of 
the  audience,  to  show  how  formidable  the  sound  of  their  name  was  in 
the  foreign  country.  When  Vandermitten  tells  him  that  the  lady  walking 
about  is  an  English  woman,  he  irrevelantly  answers  "Would  they  were 
all  shipt  well  for  the  other  part  of  the  world."  The  news  that  the  English 

command  the  gate    elicits  an    imprecation:  "Ten  towsand  devills 

those  English  are  the  men  borne  to  undoe  us."  Again,  when  he  hears 
that  the  English  make  a  stand,  he  exclaims  :  "oh  mischeif  all  our  designes 
are  crackt,  layed  open,  ruynd." 

When  he  has  been  taken  prisoner,  we  hear  from  Barnavelt's  son  that 
he  has  'revealed  much*,  and  brought  before  the  Prince  and  the  other 
Lords  for  trial,  he  assures  them  at  once  "all  that  I  know  I  will  deliuer  to 
you."  When  Barnavelt  visits  him  in  prison  he  confesses  his  weakness, 
and  is  impelled  by  the  headlong  violence  and  fervour  of  Barnavelt's  power 
of  persuasion  and  passionate  reasoning  to  promise  to  commit  suicide. 
When  he  performs  this  tragic  deed,  he  is  presented  as  a  truly  pathetic 
figure,  his  farewell  to  the  little  boy  is  painted  with  delicate  feeling ;  his 
effort  to  pluck  up  courage  by  the  meditation  that  death  is  'but  fabled 
out  terrable  to  fright  us  from  it'  stirs  our  pity.  Barnavelt  is  right,  when 
he  remarks,  hearing  of  Leidenberch's  suicide  "he  was  a  weak  man 
indeed,  but  he  has  redeemd  it." 

Of  the  other  minor  characters  only  the  figures  of  Modesbargen  and 
Grotius  can  assert  any  claim  to  characterization.  In  the  first  scene  Modes- 
bargen is  distinguished  from  the  others  by  speaking  frankly  to  the  Ad- 
vocate ;  he  does  not  flatter  him  as  Grotius  does,  but  censures  his  foolish 
desire  of  glory,  and  warns  him  not  to  spoil  his  honourable  career  by  am- 
bition. He  hopes  heaven  may  frustrate  the  Advocate's  evil  purpose  of  bring- 
ing back  Spain's  tyranny.  In  this  eloquent  speech  he  is  drawn  as  a  very 
frank,  outspoken  friend.  In  the  next  scene  he  warns  Barnavelt  again  that 
"where  ReHgion  is  made  a  cloke  to  our  bad  purposes,  they  seldom  haue 
succes",  but  assures  him  that  as  long  as  Barnavelt's  proceedings  "do 
not  preiudice  the  State,  he  will  goe  as  far  as  any."  He  is  prudent  in  his 
promises,  which  elicits  the  unjust  remark  from  Barnavelt :  "you  are 
governd  more  by  your  feare  then  reason." 

—  CXI  — 


After  the  catastrophe  in  Utrecht  he  has  escaped  to  Germany,  and  feels 
quite  relieved  to  be  exempted  from  all  political  cares  ;  he  exclaims  : 

**I  was  a  boy,  a  foole,  to  follow  Barnauelt, 
to  step  into  his  attempts,  to  wedd  my  freedom 
to   his   most   dangerous   faction." 

While  hunting  he  is  taken  prisoner  by  Orange's  men  and  shows  him- 
self a  vahant  soldier  when  he  asks  the  Captain  to  do  him  one  favour 
"doe  but  shoot  me,  clap  both  your  Pistolls  into  me." 

His  reproaches  to  Barnavelt  at  the  Advocate's  trial  make  a  less  favour- 
able impression ;  this  speech  is  again  an  example  of  the  inconsistency 
with  which  the  characters  are  painted   in  the  play,  cf. 

**o,    Mounsieur    Barnauelt,    now   you    perceive 

to    what    a    desperate  state  your  headlong  Counsells 

and  rash  designes  haue  brought  vs." 

This  is  the  speech  of  a  brow-beaten,  disloyal  coward.  The  inconsistency  in 
the  character  delineation  is  usually  due  to  Fletcher's  authorship,  but  here 
Massinger's  hand  can  clearly  be  traced.  It  is  possible  that  Massinger 
wanted  in  this  way  to  throw  Barnavelt's  intrepid  demeanour  into  greater 
relief.  When  forsaken  on  all  sides,  and  even  accused  of  rash  designs 
by  his  former  partisan,  he  never  thinks  of  pleading  guilty,  but  answers  : 

"you  that  feele 
the   horror   of   fowle   guilt   in   your   falce   bosom 
confes  yourself  soe  ;    my   strong  Inocence 
to   the   death   stands   constant." 

Grotius'  character  is  painted  with  a  few  strokes  ;  in  the  first  scene  he 
flatters  the  Advocate,  and  promises  to  follow  him  blindly,  declaring : 

"ile   nere   enquire 
what   'tis   you   goe    about   but   trust   your    Counsailes 
as    the   Auncients    did   their    Oracles." 

He  is  of  a  bolder  nature  than  the  other  partisans  ;  he  never  tries  to 
back  out,  but  remains  faithful  to  the  Advocate  to  the  last. When  Leidenberch 
is  arrested  and  Modesbargen  has  fled,  he  threatens  that  if  they  dare 
imprison  Barnavelt  he  will  set  the  court,  where  the  States  meet,  on  fire 
and  quench  it  with  the  blood  of  the  Prince  and  his  Lords  ;  he  is  going  back 
to  Rotterdam,  and  says  "ile  nere  repent,  what  ever  can  fall  on  me." 
There  would  have  been  greater  consistency  if  the  part  ot  the  flatterer 
in  the  first  scene  had  been  assigned  to  Modesbargen,  and  Grotius  had 
been  painted  as  the  brave,  frank  friend,  which  he  remained  to  the  last. 

The    characters    of    Bredero   and   Vandort  are  also  drawn  with  great 


CXU 


inconsistency.  In  the  second  scene  they  are  depicted  as  Barnavelt*s  friends. 
When  Barnavelt  says  that  the  Prince  is  but  a  Servant  to  the  States 
and  ought  to  be  refused  admittance  to  the  council-chamber,  for  they  need 
not  "wayt  his  prowd  pleasure"  Vandort  readily  agrees  to  this  "tis  most 
requisite,  goe  on,  you  haue  my  voice",  and  Bredero  joins  in  "and  mine." 
To  our  surprise  they  side  with  the  Prince  against  Barnavelt  in  the  next 
scene.  Bredero  declares  *Ve  doe  not  like  his  carriage"  and  Vandort 
remarks  "He  do's  all,  speakes  all :  all  disposes."  They  even  authorize 
the  Prince  to  frustrate  Barnavelt 's  designs  : 

"you  shall  haue  new   Commission  from  vs   all 

to   take  in   all   those   Townes  he  has  thrust  his  men  in  : 

when  you  haue  that,   proceed  as  likes  your  Excellence." 

In  the  other  parts  of  the  play  they  are  the  principal  agents  against 
Barnavelt ;  in  the  third  act  they  utter  long  eulogies  on  the  Prince's  noble 
conduct,  and  regret  that  Barnavelt  is  suspected  ;  they  try  to  persuade 
him  to  submit  to  the  Prince  and  not  to  persevere  in  his  struggle  for  the 
ascendancy.  In  Barnavelt's  soliloquy  in  his  study  he  says  "Vandort 
is  fleshd  vpon  me,  and  Bredero,  though  he  be  of  noble  nature  dare  not 
step  in." 

In  the  trial  scene  they  prove  to  be  Barnavelt's  most  implacable  judges  ; 
Vandort  advises  not  to  delay  the  verdict,  and  when  Barnavelt  is  brought 
in,  pronounces  the  sentence  of  death. 

The  female  characters  in  the  play  are  introduced  by  the  dramatists 
to  brighten  the  political  story,  which  only  offered  them  male  characters. 
Though  the  figures  of  Barnavelt's  wife  and  daughter  are  of  subordinate 
importance  and  hardly  enter  into  the  action,  they  heighten  the  human 
interest. 

The  introduction  of  Leidenberch's  little  boy,  keeping  his  father  company 
in  prison,  is  a  distinctly  artistic  touch  ;  it  relieves  the  gloom  of  the  prison 
scene,  where  Leidenberch  commits  suicide.  The  little  figure  is  truly  pathetic; 
especially  the  words,  uttered  in  firm  confidence, 

"Come  father,    now  I  must  goe  too,  I  care  not. 
while  I  am  with  you,  you  shall  haue  no  hurt 
ile  be  your  warrant" 

touch  our  inmost  feelings,  when  we  think  of  what  is  going  to  follow. 
Leidenberch's  suicide  in  the  presence  of  the  sleeping  boy,  deepens  the 
pathos  of  the  tragic  deed. 

I  wish    to    note    here    that    Leidenberch's    pathetic   soliloquy  before 


CXIII 


death  is  surely  a  reminiscence  of  Cato*s  speech  in  Chapman's  The 
Tragedy  of  Caesar  and  Pompey,  There  is  a  clear  reference  to  Cato  in 
the  speech : 

„Thou  soule  of  Cato 
and  you  brave  Romaine  speritts,  famous  more 
for  your  true  resolutions  on  yourselues 
then  Conquest  of  the  world,  behold  and  see   me" 

Leiden berch  and  Cato  both  take  as  examples  the  Romans,  who 
never  hesitated,  but  met  death  bravely  ;  compare  Cato's  words: 

"the    Consuls'    souls 
That    slew    themselves    so  nobly,  scorning  life 
Led   under   tyrants'    sceptres,    mine    would   see." 

The  ideas  expressed  in  the  two  soliloquies  are  the  same  'death  is  no  worse 
than  sleep*  and  'the  pain  is  short,  illness  is  worse'.  This  had  also  been 
Barnavelt's  argument  in  persuading  Leidenberch  to  kill  himself: 

**Leid.      'tis  no  great  paine 

Barn,     'tis  nothing  : 

Imagination  onely  makes  it  monstrous 
when  we  are  sick  we  endure  a  hundred  fitts 
this  is  but  one." 

For  clearness'  sake  I  will  quote  Cato's  soliloquy  : 

"Poor  slaves,   how   terrible   this   death  is   to   them  I 
If  men  would  sleep  they  would  be  wroth  with  all 
That  interrupt  them,   plysic  take,   to   take 
The  golden  rest  it  brings,  both  pay  and  pray 
For   good   and   soundest   naps,    all   friends   consenting 
In   those   kind  invocations,   praying   all 
*Good  rest  the  gods  vouchsafe  you',  but  when  Death, 
Sleep's  natural  brother,  comes  (that's  nothing  worse. 
But  better,  being  more  rich,  and  keeps  the  store  ; 
Sleep  ever  fickle,  wayward  still,  and  poor), 
0  how  men  grudge,  and  shake,  and  fear,  and  fly 
His  stern  approaches  ;   all  their  comforts  taken 
In  faith  and  knowledge  of  the  bliss  and  beauties 
That  watch  their  wakings  in  an  endless  life, 
Drown'd  in  the  pains  and  horrors  of  their  sense 
Sustain'd  but  for  an  hour  I"^ 

When  the  sword  is  brought  to  Cato,  he  continues 

"Unsheathe  1  Is  't  sharp  ?  'Tis  sweet  1  Now  I  am  safe  ; 
Come  Caesar,  quickly  now,  or  lose  your  vassal, 


V.    2. 


—  CXIV  — 


Now  wing  thee,  dear  soul,  and  receive  her,  heaven. 
The  earth,  the  air,  and  seas  I  know,  and  all 
The  joys  and  horrors  of  their  peace  and  wars, 
And   now   will  see  the  gods'  state,   and  the  stars,"* 

Here  we  notice  again  some  siniilarities ;  Leidenberch  and  Cato  are 
both  anxious  to  feel  the  sharpness  of  the  sword.  Cato  calls  it  'sweet', 
and  Leidenberch  'meets  it  with  the  gladness  of  a  longing  lover.*  Both  feel 
safe  after  the  deed,  compare  Cato's  words  'Now  I  am  safe'  and  Leiden- 
berch's 

"Now  shoot  your  spightes 

here  is  a  constant  frend  will  not  betray  me."' 

A  weakness  in  the  play  is  the  introduction  of  the  English  lady  'walking 
about  to  see  the  sport',  and  preaching  obedience  to  the  Dutch  women. 
She  is  not  a  very  plausible  figure  and  not  in  any  organic  connexion  with 
the  action.  She  does  not  appear  in  the  play  again,  and  seems  to  be  only 
meant  to  serve  as  a  favourable  contrast  to  the  cackling  Dutch  wives 
to  flatter  the  national  pride  of  the  audience.  The  episode  has  some  his- 
torical interest,  but  does  not  contribute  in  any  way  to  the  catastrophe, 
which  is  a  flaw  in  the  development  of  the  action. 

There  are  other  short  episodes  in  the  play,  namely  Modesbargen's  hunt 
and  his  capture  ;  they  are  of  lively  interest  and  depicte  d  with  effective 
animation. 

The  realistic  description  of  the  citizens  crowding  to  see  the 
execution  and  coming  into  collision  with  the  soldiers,  'who  won't  let 
them  see  their  friends  hanged  in  peace'  is  drawn  with  great  spirit.  Swin- 
burne remarks  on  this  scene  "the  tragically  humourous  realism  is  effective." 
Fletcher  has  caught  with  wonderful  spirit  the  humours  of  the  crowd. 
He  had  great  sympathy  with  the  lower  classes  ;  in  many  of  his  plays 
there  is  a  group  of  people  of  lower  birth,  as  here  the  common  people 
in  the  street.  In  all  these  scenes  in  our  play  Fletcher's  hand  can  be 
traced.  Massinger  is  less  at  home  on  the  humbler  levels  of  humanity; 
he  is  generally  concerned  with  people  of  gentle  birth.  His  principal 
characters  nearly  always  belong  to  the  nobility,  or  are  persons  of  high 
social  standing. 
Fletcher's  stagecraft. 

Fletcher  is  incomparable  as  a  master  of  stagecraft.  In  our  play  therq 
are    happy  stage  devices,  which  he  made  frequent  use  of  in  his  other 

»  ibid. 

•  lines   i68i,  82. 

—  CXV  — 


plays.  The  balcony  or  the  window  is  a  very  important  stage  adjunct  in  his 
plays ;  it  contributes  to  the  picturesqueness  of  the  scene.  In  our 
play  the  window  is  niade  use  of  in  the  fourth  scene  of  the  fourth 
act,  when  Barnavelt's  wife  appears  'aboue',  and  talks  to  the  Burghers 
and  women  coming  with  flowers  to  decorate  Barnavelt's  house.  In  this  way 
an  effective  background  is  formed  for  the  people  who  are  praising  Barnavelt, 
and  abusing  the  Prince ;  it  serves  at  the  same  time  as  a  device  for 
Orange's  overhearing  the  conversation.  In  this  way  he  learns  that  Barna- 
velt is  still  honoured  and  loved  by  the  people  and  this  confirms  him  in 
his  determination  to  bring  about  the  conviction  of  Barnavelt,  as  the  love 
of  the  people  is  growing  too  dangerous.  This  overhearing  of  a  conver- 
sation, and  making  use  of  it,  is  a  well-known  and  favourite  device  of  the 
Elizabethan  stage ;  compare  Fletcher  Monsieur  Thomas  \  Massinger 
The  Virgin  Martyr^  and  Shakespeare  Much  Ado  about  Nothing^,  though 
here  the  device  is  arranged  as  a  trick  to  induce  Beatrice  to  accept  Bene- 
dict's love. 

Fletcher  liked  introducing  music  and  songs  in  his  plays.  In  Barnavelt 
there  are  two  songs,  and  a  dance  in  the  scenes  composed  by  Fletcher.'*' 
Dramatic    Irony. 

An  effective  use  is  made  of  dramatic  irony  in  the  scene  of  Modesbar- 
gen's  hunting.  Thirwall  in  his  essay  On  the  Irony  of  Sophocles  calls  dram- 
atic irony  'the  mockery  of  fate  which  excites  a  melancholy  smile.' 
G.  C.  Macaulay  remarks  ''the  dramaticironyis  no  mere  playwright's  device  ; 
it  is  the  scenic  representation  of  the  practical  contrast  in  human  life 
between  the  show  and  the  reality ;  the  practical  irony  of  life.  The  tragic 
interest  is  heightened  more  artificially  by  the  utterances  of  the  character 
concerned  than  by  the  arrangements  of  the  incidents  ;  his  words  convey 
a  meaning  other  than  he  is  conscious  of."^  There  is  a  good  deal  of  tragic 
irony  in  Shakespeare's  plays,  one  case  among  many  is  Duncan's  com- 
ment on  the  castle,  where  he  is  to  be  murdered  that  very  night : 

"This   castle   hath   a   pleasant  seat,   the  air 
Nimbly  and  sweetly   recommends  itself 
Unto  our  gentle  senses."* 


m.  I. 

n.  3. 

m.  I. 

IV.  4; 

V.  2. 

Francis 

BeaumonU 

I  6. 

CXVI 


The  Prince  of  Orange  has  sent  the  Captain  to  Germany  to  take 
all  measures  for  Modesbargen's  capture.  Modesbargen  goes  hunting, 
and  feels  safe  from  care  and  persecution  after  his  escape  ;  he  is  now 
enjoying  life  in  innocent  pleasures.  At  the  very  moment,  when  the  sol- 
diers stand  ready  to  capture  him  he  exclaims  : 

"how  sweetly  do  I  live,  and  laugh  vpon 
the  perrills  I  haue  past,  the  plotts  and  traynes 
and  now  (methinks)  I  dare  securely  looke  on 
the  steepe  and  desprat  follyes,   my  indiscretion 
like  a  blind  careles   foole   had   allmost   cast   me    on. 
Here  I  stand  saffe,  'gainst  all  their  strenghts  and  Stratagems  : 
I  was  a  boy,  a  foole  to  follow  Barnauelt 


but  I  haue  scapd  their  clawes  K 


To  the  audience  these  words  are  of  deep  dramatic  significance.  At  this 
moment  a  huntsman  comes  telling  the  news  that  he  has  discovered  armed 
soldiers,  and  soon  after  Modesbargen  is  arrested. 

If  we  had  expected  a  powerful  scene  depicting  Barnavelt's  execution, 
we  are  disappointed.  The  scene  has  not  the  solemnity  worthy  of  the  fall  of 
a  great  figure ;  we  are  not  filled  with  pity  and  terror  at  the  hero's  overthrow. 
This  is  again  the  result  of  the  faults  in  the  composition  noted  before, 
as  the  dramatists  had  failed  to  depict  a  great  figure.  Swinburne  remarks 
"the  stately  and  fervent  eloquence  of  Barnavelt's  last  appeals  and  protesta- 
tions are  fine  and  effective;  the  pathos,  if  not  profound,  is  genuine,  and  the 
grasp  of  character  more  firm  and  serious  than  usual  with  Fletcher."  ^ 
I  consider  the  value  of  this  scene  overrated  by  this  criticism.  It  is  true 
that  the  language  is  stately  and  eloquent,  but  I  think  this  eloquence 
is  out  of  place  and  undramatic.  The  conversation  between  the  two  Lords 
and  Barnavelt  is  drawn  out  too  long ;  Barnavelt's  appeals  and  protesta- 
tions might  be  effective,  but  we  have  heard  so  much  before  of  his  former 
services  to  the  country,  and  of  his  ungrateful  people,  that  they  have 
no  dramatic  interest,  and  we  are  not  moved  by  them  any  more.  There 
is  a  lack  of  dramatic  force  and  deep  tragic  pathos  in  Barnavelt's  farewell 
to  life  and  glory.  We  may  feel  pity  for  the  hero  in  his  fall,  but  i  t  is 
certainly  not  mixed  with  terror.  If  we  compare  Barnavelt  to  King  Lear 
standing  on  the  heath,  exposed  to  hail  and  rain,  blind  and  forsaken 
by   all     except    the   fool,    there  is   sublime  pathos   in   Lear's  remark . 


*  lines  1 741  ff. 
?  Op,  cit. 


CXVII 


"I  tax  not  you,  you  elements  with  unkindness.*' *  These  words  touch 
the  heart  more  intensely  than  Barnavelt's  long  and  eloquent  speeches. 
J.  R.  Lowell  rightly  remarks  "here  we  are  in  the  awful  presence  of  un- 
exampled woes."* 

Barnavelt*s  last  words  are  more  elegiac  th^n  pathetic.  Professor  Th. 
Parrott  thinks  that  the  elegiac  note  is  imitated  from  Byron's  farewell 
speech  in  The  Conspiracy  and  Tragedy  of  Charles  Duke  of  Byron.^  This 
speech  seems  to  have  made  a  special  impression  on  Fletcher,  as  he  imi- 
tated it  again  in  Buckingham's  farewell  in  Henry  VIII. 

Professor  Parott  mentions  lines  245-61,  but  I  am  inclined  to  include 
lines  224-28  and  231-34  for  comparison  as  well.  The  passage  runs  as  fol- 
lows : 

•'This   is   some    poor    witness 

That  my  desert  might  have  outweigh'd  my  forfeit : 

But  danger  haunts  desert  when  he  is  greatest ; 


And  kings'  suspicions  needs  no  balances  ; 

Commend  my  love,  I  charge  you,  to  my  brothers, 

And  by  my  love  and  misery  command  them 

To  keep  their  faiths  that  bind  them  to  the  King, 

And  so  farewell  for  ever  1  Never  more 

Shall  any  hope  of  my  revival  see  me  ; 

Such  is  the  endless  exile  of  dead  men. 

Summer  succeeds  the  Spring ;  Autumn  the  Summer  ; 

The   frosts   of   Winter   the   fall'n   leaves    of   Autumn : 

All  these  and  all  fruits  in  them  yearly  fade, 

And  every  year  return  :  but  cursed  man 

Shall  never  more  renew  his  vanish'd  face. 

Fall  on  your  knees  then,  statists,  ere  ye  fall. 

That  you  may  rise  again  :  knees  bent  too  late, 

Stick  you  in   earth  like  statues  :   see  in   me 

How  you  are  pour'd  down  from  your  clearest  heavens  ; 

Fall  lower  yet,   mix'd  with  th'unmoved  centre, 

That  your  own  shadows  may  no  longer  mock  ye. 

Strike,  strike,  0  strike  ;  fly,  fly,  commanding  soul. 

And   on   thy   wings  for   this   thy  body's   breath, 

Bear  the  eternal  victory  of  Death  I"* 


»  m.  2. 

■  The   Old  English  Dramatists. 

•  Chapman's  Tragedies  edited  by  Th,  Parrott. 

•  V.  4. 

~  cxvm  -- 


In  Buckingham's  speech  there  are  some  lines  which  offer  a  striking 
parallel  to  Barnavelt's  namely  : 

"Commend    me    to    his   grace; 

may  he  live 

Longer    than   I    have    time    to    tell    his    years  1 
Ever   belo'vd   and   loving   may   his   rule   be  I"* 

Some  critics,  as  Professor  Creizenach,  Professor  Fruin  and  Professor  Delius 
object  to  the  comic  scene  of  the  gambling  executioners.  It  is  true  that  our 
modern  taste  objects  to  comic  scenes  in  tragedy  as  we  consider  them 
painful  in  serious  plays  ;  we  readily  admit  that  the  vulgar  jokes  of  the 
executioners  jar  upon  the  tone  and  dignity  of  the  play,  but  we  ought 
to  judge  the  dramatists  by  their  own  standard  and  to  take  the  taste 
of  the  tinxe  into  consideration.  Dr.  Bradley  remarks  "the  mass  of  the 
audience  liked  the  intermixture  ot  seriousness  and  mirth."  * 

The  comic  element  served  as  an  interlude  or  as  a  relief  to  tragic  matter, 
and  at  the  same  time  for  the  relaxing  of  great  tension  or  overwrought 
emotion.  Dr.  Johnson  justifies  the  mixing  of  tragic  and  comic  parts  by 
saying  that  in  life,  the  vulgar  is  often  near  the  sublime ;  serious  things 
happen  with  comic  situations. 

The  practice  of  interweaving  tragedy  with  comic  parts  is  characteristic 
of  the  English  drama  in  the  seventeenth  century.  It  was  an  inherit- 
ance from  the  mystery  plays,  and  survived  from  the  moralities,  where  the 
Vice  alternates  the  solemnity  of  the  plot  with  laughter.  Camhises  'the 
lamentable  tragedy  mixed  full  of  pleasant  mirth'  had  still  great  affinity 
in  this  respect  with  the  old  moralities.  In  the  Elizabethan  plays 
we  meet  with  a  variety  of  treatment.  There  are  no  touches  of  humour 
in  The  Conspiracy  and  Tragedy  of  Charles  Duke  of  Byron,  nor  in  The 
Revenge  of  Bussy  d'  Ambois,  neither  are  there  any  in  Jonson's  tragedies 
Sejanus  and  Catiline.  In  Faustus  and  numerous  other  plays  a  great 
license  prevails.  Mr.  Tucker  Brooke  remarks  "the  mingling  of  comic 
burlesque  with  the  serious  business  of  tragedy  was  a  special  vice  of 
the  time,  which  Shakespeare's  practice  only  later  transmuted  into  a 
virtue."^ 

There  is  a  great  difference  in  the  treatment  of  mixing  comic  and  tragic 
scenes.  The  comic  scenes  may  be  in  harmony  with  the  serious  tenor  of  the 
whole  ;  they  are  so  closely  interwoven  with  the  tragic  part  as  to  produce  a 

»  Henry  VIII,    II.   i,  87. 
■  Oxford  Lectures  on  Poetry. 
•  The  Tudor  Drama. 

—  CXIX  — 


unity  of  the  tragic  scenes,  or  to  heighten  the  tragic  effect,  as  in  King  Lear, 
where  the  fool  contributes  greatly  to  the  tragic  desolation  of  the  scene. 
Mr.  Hadow  remarks  "we  laugh  at  the  home-thrusts  and  the  absurd 
stories  and  the  snatches  of  biting  verse,  but  it  is  with  a  laughter  on  the 
further  side  of  tears.  "^ 

There  is  the  same  close  connexion  in  TheVir gin  Martyr,  where  the  apprentices 
throw  Dorothea's  great  virtues  into  relief ;  but  when  the  comic  scenes 
do  not  harmonize  with  the  tragic  parts,  they  have  no  dramatic  interest, 
and  are  a  fault,  as  is  the  case  in  our  play.  Professor  Creizenach  remarks  that 
in  this  respect  Shakespeare  was  also  a  child  of  his  time,  but  very  often  we 
get  the  impression  that  he  did  not  compose  these  parts  con  amore  as  the  p3.rt 
of  the  clown  in  Antony  and  Cleopatra,  or  Mercutio  in  Romeo  and  Juliets 
Mr.  W.  H.  Hadow  is  of  a  different  opinion  as  to  Shakespeare's  practice. 
He  remarks  "In  all  Shakespeare's  tragedies  the  element  of  comedy 
appears,  though  under  different  forms,  as  pathetic  in  Lear,  or  gallant  as 
Mercutio's  part  in  Romeo  and  Juliet.  Even  Macbeth  has  the  scene  of  the 
Porter,  and  Hamlet  has  the  players  and  the  gravediggers.  The  comic 
scenes  fall  under  two  divisions.  One  kind  is  that  in  which  the  comic  scenes 
are  necessary  to  give  circumstance  to  the  plot  or  to  prepare  for  some 
climax.  No  tragic  scene  could  carry  us  so  well,  as  do  the  brawling  servants, 
into  the  heart  of  the  feud  between  Montagues  and  Capulets  ;  the  drinking 
scene  in  Othello  is  a  feast  on  the  crater's  edge  :  one  feels  through  it  all 
the  ominous  trembling  of  the  earth.  The  other  kind  as  for  example  the  grave- 
diggers  in  Hamlet  and  the  Porter  in  Macbeth  appears  at  first  sight  to  be 
the  least  organic  which  any  dramatist  could  device  The  gravediggers  were 
severely  censured  by  Voltaire  and  the  scene  of  the  Porter  was  violently 
attacked  by  Coleridge."  ^  Mr.  Hadow  considers  the  physical  effect  of  the 
knocking  in  itself  a  masterpiece  of  stagecraft.  He  remarks  "this  is  not  a 
mere  contrast  of  colour,  mere  relief  and  breathing-space,  *a  stopping  to  bait* 
as  Dryden  says,  on  the  tragic  journey.  We  notice  that  all  these  cases  stand  on 
one  common  ground  :  that  the  character  momentarily  introduced  under- 
stands no  whit  of  the  tragedy  which  is  gathering  around  him.  The  comic 
character  enters  for  a  single  moment,  touches  the  outermost  fringe  of 
the  story,  and  then  disappears  entirely  from  the  stage.  It  never  occurs  to 
these  people  that  they  are  witnessing  the  crisis  of  a  tragedy,  still  less  that 
they  have  borne  any  part  in  bringing  it  about."  An  example  is  the  Egyptian 

»  The  Use  of  comic  Episodes  in  Tragedy, 

•  Op,  at, 

•  Op,  cu, 

—  cxx  — 


peasant  who  brings  the  asp  to  Cleopatra.  Mr.  Hadow  thinks  that  here 
Shakespeare  lifts  the  veil  and  shows  us  for  an  instant  one  of  the  most 
tremendous  truths  which  even  he  has  revealed.  "In  the  world  of  human 
life  we  are  constantly  touching  the  fringe  of  great  issues,  great  events,  great 
tragedies;  we  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  conflict,  we  may  even,  for  good  or 
ill,  take  an  unwitting  part  in  it,  and  then  the  scene  closes  and  we  go 
on  our  way  and  know  no  more."^ 

I  think  Mr.  Hadow  has  successfully  vindicated  the  much  censured  prac- 
tice of  interweaving  these  comic  scenes  in  tragedy,  and  much  of  it  can  be 
applied  to  the  comic  scene  of  the  gambling  executioners  in  our  play. 
The  executioners  gamble  and  sing  quite  unconscious  of  the  tragedy  of 
Barnavelt's  conflict  and  fall,  in  the  same  way  as  the  gravedigger,  to 
whom  death  is  equally  commonplace,  can  sing  at  his  work.  But  in  our 
play  the  connexion  is  much  looser,  the  rough  jokes  of  the  executioners, 
cannot  bear  comparison  with  the  wise  arguing  of  the  gravedigger  ; 
the  vulgarity  of  Fletcher's  scene  jars  upon  our  feelings. 
Style    and    Versification. 

When  discussing  the  authorship  of  the  play,  I  have  already  spoken 
at  some  length  of  Massinger's  and  Fletcher's  versification.  Massinger's 
style  is  marked  by  a  great  fluency;  a  characteristic  feature  of  his  works  is 
the  easy,  even  flow  of  language.  In  a  contemporary  poem  On  the  Time  Poets 
we  find  the  lines  on  Massinger  : 

"Massinger,   whose  easy  Pegasus  will  amble  o'er 
some   threescore   miles  of  Fancy  in  an  hour."" 

His  style  is  always  stately,  harmonious  and  dignified,  we  seldom  meet 
with  a  harsh  construction,  but  on  the  other  hand  there  are  hardly  any 
passages  of  great  brilliancy.  On  the  whole  Massinger's  style  is  very  lucid  ; 
it  is  more  perspicuous  than  that  of  any  other  dramatic  poet  of  the  age  ; 
this  lucidity  gives  the  impression  that  he  is  more  mature  and  modern 
than  the  other  Elizabethan  dramatists.  He  avoids  Shakespeare's  ob- 
scurity and  this  is  the  reason  why  Coleridge  calls  Massinger's  style  "a 
better  model  for  dramatists  than  Shakespeare's." 

Sir  Leslie  Stephen  remarks  "Massinger's  writing  is  pitched  in  too 
low  a  key."^  It  is  true  that  very  often  his  versification  can  scarcely  be 
distinguished  from  prose,  it  is  never  highly  poetical  or  brilliant,  but  his 


Ibid, 

Choyee  Drollery  1656, 

Op,  ciU 


—  CXXI  — 


verse  has  a  majestic  march  and  a  musical  fluency  in  the  rhetorical 
passages.  Massinger  can  rise  to  a  high  dignity,  which  he  often  does  in 
Bamavelt,  but  he  does  not  mount  to  the  sublime. 

Massinger's  imagery  also  proves  that  he  is  not  a  poet  of  high  imagina- 
tion. I  have  noted  before  that  our  play  belongs  to  the  Silver  Age  of  the 
drama,  or  to  the  period  of  the  decline.  In  the  first  place  this  is  evident  in 
the  characterization  and  in  the  second  place  in  the  loss  of  intensity  and 
power  of  the  imagery.  In  our  play  we  seldom  meet  with  a  picturesque, 
striking  image,  and  if  we  do,  it  generally  occurs  in  Fletcher's  part.  Mas- 
singer's  metaphors  make  the  impression  that  they  are  composed  in  the 
study  rather  than  inspired  directly  by  nature, 

I  have  already  noted  the  striking  image  illustrating  the  destruction 
caused  by  the  war  which  occurs  again  in  Massinger's  The  Parliament 
of  LoVBy 

"when   the  hot  Lyon's   breath 
burnes  vp  the  feilds."* 

A  poetical  image  is  found  in  the  lines  : 

"I  bound  vp  those  strenghtes 

in  the  golden  fagot  of  faire  Concord.'" 

There  are  poetical,  but  not  very  imaginative  metaphors  in  the  lines : 

"now  in  the  sun-set  of  my  daie  of  honour 
when   I   should   passe  with   glory   to    my   rest 
shall  I  sitt  downe  and  suffer  the  choice  fruites 
of  my  deepe  proiects,  grace  anothers    Banquet  ?"• 

and  in  the  lines  : 

"the  labourinthes  of  poUicie,  I  haue  trod 
to  find  the  clew  of  saffetie  for  my  Cuntrie"* 

There  are  some  poetical  phrases  as 

"all  now  sing  the  sweet  tunes  of  Concord.'" 

I  have  already  noted  that  Massinger  made  a  discreet  use  of  alliteration  ; 
there  are  some  passages  in  which  the  alliteration  is  very  successfully 
used,  namely : 


*  lines  655,  56. 
'  line  2344,  45. 
'  lines  40  ff. 

*  lines  33,  34. 

*  line   1228. 


—  cxxn  — 


"confusion  with  one  greedy  grip   being  ready* 
and  in  the  line  quoted  above  : 

**and  in  the  golden  fagot  of  faire  Concord" 

Professor  Cruickshank  notes  that  Massinger  has  some  notable  conapound 
epithets  as  for  instance :  'brass-leaved' ;  'full-sailed'.  An  example  of  this 
usage  in  Barnavelt  is  :  *full-wingd.'^ 

Fletcher's  versification  and  style  are  quite  different  from  Massinger's. 
There  prevailed  a  greater  freedom  of  style  than  in  Shakespeare's  time,  and 
Fletcher  especially  aimed  at  careless  ease ;  there  is  a  conversational 
looseness  in  his  style  which  gives  the  effect  of  unpremeditated  speech 
and  is  more  dramatic  than  Massinger's  ;  his  blank  verse  is  for  this  reason 
the  best  substite  for  prose.  Fletcher  was  a  greater  poet  than  Massinger, 
and  his  diction  has  more  colour  and  splendour.  His  versification  is  ex- 
quisitely musical ;  it  is  true  that  he  is  never  sublime,  but  his  diction 
is  marked  by  a  fanciful  charm  of  expression  and  graceful  melody.  His 
imagery  is  more  poetical  and  picturesque  than  Massinger's ;  but  though 
his  metaphors  are  vivid,  they  are  often  forced.  Metaphors  taken  from  the 
sea  and  sailing  are  favourites  with  Fletcher.  In  Barnavelt  a  powerful 
image  is : 

"who 
vnbard  the  Havens  that  the  floating  Merchant 
might  clap  his  lynnen  wings  vp  to  the  windes 
and  back  the  raging  waves  to  bring  you  proffit  ?"• 

The  following  comparison   of  a  sailor  in  the  dangerous  waters  is  very 
imaginative. 

**yet,    what  so   confident  Sailor  that  heares   the  Sea  rore, 
the  winds  sing  lowd,   and  dreadfull,  the  day  darkend 
but  he  will  cry  a  storme  :   downe  with  his   Canvas 
and  hull,  expecting  of  that  horrid  feauour*'.* 

Other  images  taken  from  sailing  occurring  in  the  play  are : 

"we  need  not  add  this  wind  by  our  observaunce 
to  sailes  too  full  alredy".' 


»  line  2234. 

»  line  983. 

•  lines   2912   ff. 

•  lines    1994  ff, 

•  lines  297,98. 


cxxm  — 


and, 


and, 


"our  comendations  are  too  light  gales, 
too  slack  and  emptie  windes,  to  move  your  worthes, 
and  tempests  of  your  owne  tongue,  and  the  Soldiers 
now  onely  fill  your  sailes".* 


"roust  we 
blow  all  we  can  to  fill  his  sailes  with  greatnes  ?"' 

Massinger  has  imitated  this   image  in   The  City  Madam 

"when   your   ships   are   at   sea,   their  prayers  will  swell 
The  sails   with  properous   winds.'" 

A  fine  image  taken  from  navigation  again  is  : 

"and  we  exposd,  like  bruizd,  and  totterd  vessels 
to  merciles   and  cruell  Seas  to  sinck   vs".* 

There  is  a  very  imaginative  metaphor  by  Fletcher  in  Bamavelt,  which  is 
also  imitated  by  Massinger  : 

"iust  like  a  strong  demolishd  Towre  ile  totter 

and  fright  the   neighbour  Cuntries  with  my  murmor: 

my  ruyns  shall  reach  all :  *" 

conipare  The  Gtiardian : 

"Like  to  a  tottering  tower 
not  to  be  underpropped  :  yet  in  my  fall 
I'll  crush  thee  with  my  ruins.'" 

When  Bamavelt  persuades  Leidenberch  to  seek  death,  he  says  : 

"the  narrowest  dore  of  death  I  would  work  through  first."' 

this  image  of  a  door  of  life  or  death  is  found  again  in  Massinger's  The 
Parliament  of  Love  : 

"There  are  a  thousand  doors  to  let  out  life."? 

Barnavelt's  remark  on  receiving  his  sentence  of  death  : 
"I  shall  not  play  my  last  Act  worst"  • 

^  lines   478-81. 
'  line    1133. 

•  I.  3. 

•  lines   1454,   55. 
'  lines   1 174  ff. 

•  m.  6. 

•  line   1539. 
I  IV.  3. 

"  line  2694. 

—  CXXIV  — 


remind  us  of  Juliet's  words  : 

**my  dismal  scene  I  needs  must  act  alone.^ 

Fletcher  has  many  images  in  which  persons  or  things  are  compared  to 
meteors;  they  are  common  in  the  plays  of  the  time.  In  Bamavelt  we  find: 

"I  make  no  doubt  but  once  more  like  a  Comet 
to  shine  out  faire  and   blaze   prodigiously,"' 

and, 

•'must  Barnauelt  passe  with  'em,  and  glide  away 
like  a  spent  Exhalation"* 

Compare  to  this    in  Henry  VIII,    Fletcher's  part, 

"I   shall   fall  like   a   bright   exhalation   in   the   evening."* 

and  in  Bamavelt  : 

"those     fyery     Speritts  next 

that  thought  like  meteors 

to  haue  flashd  their   Cuntryes   peace   out  in   a   Moment."* 

Compare  the  Guardian: 

"or   like    meteors 

blaze   forth   prodigious   terrors."  * 

I  have  already  given  an  example  ot  Fletcher's  abundance  of  alliteration  ;' 
sometimes  he  crowds  his  lines  with  alliteration  and  even  double  allitera- 
tion, as  for  example  : 

"and  when  they  slept,  watcht  to  secure  their  slombers  ? 
subiect  to   slights,  to  scornes,  to  taynts,  to  tortures?"* 

It  is  very  remarkable  that  in  the  last  line  there  is  no  word  that  does  not 
alliterate. 

On  the  whole  our  play  cannot  lay  claim  to  any  brilliancy  of  diction  ; 
there  are  few  passages  of  high  poetical  beauty,  never  any  surprisingly 
brilliant  passages,  nor  individual  lines  that  are  truly  sublime  ;  we  do  not 
meet  with  lines  that  cling  to  the  memory,  which  so  often  strike  us  in 
Shakespeare's  plays. 


*  Romeo  and  Juliet  IV.   3. 
'  lines   1444,   45. 

*  lines    1904,    5. 

*  III.  2.  225. 

*  lines  2943,   44. 

*  II.  4. 

*  see   Authorship. 
!  lines  2083,  84. 


—  cxxv  — 


H.  Treatment  of  the  Subject  and  Historical  value 

Professor  Delius  criticizes,  as  a  blemish  of  the  play,  the  deficiency  in 
true  historical  colour,  which  is  indispensable  in  a  play  of  essentially 
political  interest,  especially  to  an  audience  of  a  foreign  nation.^  I  quite 
agree  with  this  criticism ;  there  is  a  notable  deficiency  in  the  clear  exposi- 
tion of  the  political  situation  of  the  period.  The  dissensions  between  the 
different  parties  are  not  put  in  a  clear  light,  and  no  attempt  is  made  to 
throw  light  on  the  historical  problems.  The  cause  is,  in  my  opinion,  that 
the  dramatists  had  not  sufficiently  entered  into  the  spirit  of  the  historical 
events,  which  is  evident  all  through  the  play. 

Professor  Gardiner  gives  an  instructive  exposition  of  the  controversies 
in  the  Replublic  in  his  History  of  England^  which  deserves  to  be  quoted 
as  a  whole,  and  to  be  compared  with  the  treatment  of  the  subject  in  the 
play. 

**Arminianism  in  Holland.  An  example  was  given  in  the  Dutch  Republic, 
of  the  violence  with  which  the  flames  of  religious  factions  may  rage, 
when  they  are  fanned  by  the  well-meant,  but  injudicious  attempts  of 
a  Government  to  interfere  with  the  natural  current  of  opinion.  A  protest 
had  been  raised  by  Arminius  and  his  followers  against  the  Calvinistic 
doctrine  of  predestination.  In  the  province  of  Holland  the  teaching  had 
been  welcomed  by  Barnaveld.  He  obtained  from  the  States  of  Holland 
an  order  that  the  rival  theologians  should  abstain  from    controversy. 

Intolerance  of  the  Calvinists,  The  proceedings  of  Barnaveld  were  dis- 
tasteful to  Maurice.  He  cared  little  for  theology,^  but  he  saw  that  the 
unwise  course  which  Barnaveld  was  pursuing  was  weakening  the  military 
strength  of  the  Republic.  If  Barnaveld  could  have  been  brought  to  grant 
a  real  toleration,  instead  of  one  which  was  one-sided  and  unjust,  the 
catastrophe  might  have  been  averted.  When  the  States  ordered  their 
contingent  in  the  federal  army  to  transfer  its  allegiance  from  the  common 
government  to  themselves,  and  began  to  raise  new  levies  in  their  own 


*  Jahrbuch  der  Deutschen  Shakespeare  Gesellschaft,  XIX. 

'  Motley  states  :  "Maurice  was  no  theologian  ;  he  was  a  steady  churchgoer  and 
his  favourite  divine,  the  preacher  at  his  court-chapel  was  none  other  than  Uytenbogaert, 
the  very  man  who  was  to  be  the  champion  of  the  Arminians.  He  was  wont  to  say  he 
knew  ncthing  of  predestination,    whether  it  was  green,  or  whether  it  was  blue," 

—  CXXVI  — 


name,  Maurice  interfered.  The  overthrow  of  Barnaveld*s  power  was 
easy ;  in  a  few  days  the  leaders  of  the  Arminians  were  in  prison,  and  their 
places  occupied  by  the  devoted  followers  of  the  House  of  Nassau.  Maurice, 
by  the  death  of  his  elder  brother,  now  Prince  of  Orange,  might  have 
organized  the  Republic,  but  he  was  not  qualified  for  such  a  task,  he  had 
done  soldier's  work  and  could  do  no  more ;  he  stood  aside  whilst  under 
the  shadow  of  his  great  name,  violent  and  unscrupulous  partisans  com- 
mitted acts  by  which  his  memory  has  been  blackened  for  ever. 

Spring  1619.  The  synod  of  Dort.  The  Arminians  were  summoned  as 
culprits  ;  they  were  deprived  of  their  offices.  The  States-General  banished 
those  who  refused  to  abstain  from  preaching.  Barnaveld  was  tried  before 
a  tribunal  specially  appointed  for  the  purpose  of  trying  him,  and  was 
accused  of  treason  of  which  he  was  absolutely  innocent.  Maurice,  who 
had  been  led  to  believe  that  his  antagonist  was  too  dangerous  to  be  spared, 
refused  to  interfere  in  his  behalf;  in  his  seventy-third  year  the  aged  States- 
man was  hurried  to  the  scaffold  as  a  traitor  to  the  Republic  which  he  had 
done  so  much  to  save."^ 

I  will  now  quote  an  exposition  of  the  historical  facts,  given  by  a  Dutch 
historian.    Professor    Wijnne    writes   in    his  "History  of  our  Country"  : 

''During  the  period  of  the  Truce  peace  did  not  reign  in  the  Republic; 
instead  of  order  and  tranquillity  the  country  was  torn  by  intestine 
disturbances.  In  1 603  Arminus  was  appointed  to  the  professorship  of 
theology  at  Leiden ;  his  belief  disagreed  with  the  prevailing  creed  on 
the  important  point  of  predestination,  one  of  the  principal  tenets  of 
Calvinism.  He  had  soon  many  adherents,  Uytenbogaart,  Maurice's  court 
chaplain,  being  foremost  among  them.  Arminius  differed  on  another 
point  with  the  views  of  the  Calvinists;  he  advocated  civic  authority 
over  the  church,  which  was  also  Barnevelt's  view,  whereas  the  Calvinists 
maintained  to  supremacy  of  the  Church  over  the  State.  The  Arminians 
drew  up  a  ''Remonstrance"  in  which  their  views  were  formulated  in  five 
points.  The  opposite  party  answered  by  a  Contra-Remonstrance,  from 
which  the  parties  received  the  names  of  'Remonstrants'  and  'Contra- 
Remonstrants.'  The  States  of  Holland  with  the  Advocate  as  their  leader 
took  the  side  of  the  Remonstrants.  In  161 1  the  discords  grew  more  violent; 
a  Contra-Remonstrant  preacher  at  Rotterdam  was  forbidden  to  preach 
on  account  of  disobedience.  The  schism  in  the  Reformed  Church  became 
wider;  the  Contra-Remonstrants  preached  in  separate  places,  and  in  many 


History  of  England, 


CXXVII 


towns  serious  disturbances  took  place.  The  seceders  insisted  that  a  separate 
church  should  be  assigned  to  them,  and  in  March  1617  they  took  possession 
of  the  Cloister  Church  in  the  Hague,  situated  next  door  to  Barnevelt's 
house.  It  was  clear  to  the  Magistrates  that  in  the  disturbances  they  could 
not  rely  on  the  troops  garrisoned  in  the  towns.  This  was,  to  a  great  extent, 
owing  to  the  attitude  of  Prince  Maurice,  who  was  very  popular  with  the 
soldiers.  The  Stadholder  was  no  theologian,  and  did  not  know  much 
about  predestination.  He  had  abstained  from  taking  part  in  the  religious 
controversies  up  to  now,  but  on  July  23  of  this  year  he  went  in  solemn  state, 
with  a  brilliant  cavalcade,  to  the  Cloister  Church. 

Frangois  van  Aerssen  and  others  were  unceasing  in  their  efforts  to 
excite  Maurice's  animosity  against  Barnevelt,  which  was  not  difficult 
taking  the  Prince's  suspicious  nature  into  consideration.  They  planned 
to  bring  the  Arminians  to  destruction,  and  to  this  effect  desired  to  convoke 
a  national  synod.  The  States  of  Holland  voted  against  it,  but  proposed 
to  call  a  provincial  synod.  They  tried  to  put  a  stop  to  the  confusion  by  a 
measure  called  'the  Sharp  Resolve'.  The  resolution  authorized  the 
magistrates  of  the  cities  to  enlist  troops  for  their  security ;  the  officers 
and  soldiers  received  the  command  to  be  loyal  and  obedient  to  the  magis- 
trates of  the  cities,  where  they  lay  in  garrison.  It  is  an  indisputable  fact 
that  the  provinces  and  cities  had  always  had  the  right  to  enlist  troops, 
the  so-called  'Waartgelders'.  Some  towns  enlisted  three  or  four  hundred 
men,  the  province  of  Holland  had  no  more  than  eighteen  hundred,  the 
State  of  Utrecht  had  six  hundred.  Some  towns  decided  to  enlist  troops 
in  order  to  prevent  violence,  others  because  they  could  not  rely  on  the 
garrisons,  and  up  to  June  1618  there  was  nobody  who  had  ever  disputed 
the  right  of  the  magistrates  to  enlist  troops.  The  party  that  attacked 
first,  was  not  Barnevelt's  party ;  the  Contra-Remonstrants  refused  to 
listen  to  the  offers  of  mediation  of  the  Arminians,  let  alone  to  act  up  to 
them.  In  these  days  the  crisis  was  approaching  fast.  The  party  in  the 
States-General,  bent  upon  gaining  the  victory,  resolved  to  decide  matters  by 
violence.  The  States-General  determined  to  send  a  deputation  to  Utrecht  to 
persuade  the  States  of  that  province  to  disband  the  mercenaries,  and 
to  demand  their  consent  to  the  convocation  of  a  national  synod.  This 
course  of  action  was  a  violation  of  every  privilege,  law  and  custom.  On 
July  25th  1618  Prince  Maurice  accompanied  by  a  committee  of  the  States- 
General  arrived  at  Utrecht.  They  held  a  meeting  with  Grotius,  pensionary 
of  Rotterdam,  and  some  other  members  of  the  States  of  Holland,  and 
proposed  to  the  States  to  disband  the  mercenaries.  It  was  clear  from 

—  CXXVUI  — 


Maurice's  speech  that,  if  necessary,  he  would  not  shrink  from  using  violence. 

The  Commanders  of  the  garrisons  were  reminded  of  their  duty,  and 
early  in  the  morning  of  the  31th  July  Maurice  disarmed  the  mercenary 
troops.  He  changed  the  magistrates  of  the  town,  and  Gillis  van  Ledenberg, 
the  soul  of  the  States  of  Utrecht,  was  dismissed  from  his  office.  The 
majority  of  the  States  of  Holland  tried  to  restore  peace  and  order ;  but 
also  in  their  province,  the  mercenaries  were  ordered  to  lay  down  their 
arms.  In  the  meeting  of  the  States-General  two  resolutions  were  passed. 
The  first  authorized  the  Prince  to  take  all  measures  which  he  considered 
necessary  to  the  welfare  of  the  country ;  the  second  contained  the  arrest 
of   Barnevelt,    Grotius   and  Hoogerbeets. 

On  the  29th  August  Barnevelt  was  arrested  in  the  name  of  the  States- 
General  by  a  lieutenant  of  the  Prince's  guard.  In  September  Maurice 
travelled  through  Holland  and  a  general  change  of  magistracies  was 
effected. 

A  special  commission  of  twenty-four  judges  was  appointed  for  Barne- 
velt's  trial.  Some  were  the  Advocate's  personal  enemies,  and  a  great 
many  were  political  adversaries.  Barnevelt  was  not  allowed  any  proper 
means  of  defence,  he  was  not  even  permitted  the  help  of  a  lawyer; 
the  interrogatories  were  strictly  secret.  In  April  it  was  still  doubtful 
whether  the  majority  of  the  judges  should  vote  for  a  sentence  of  death, 
but  Aerssen  and  other  personal  enemies  of  Barnevelt  seem  to  have  urged 
that  such  a  verdict  was  inevitable,  and  that  Prince  Maurice  would  not  be 
displeased  with  it.  The  verdict  was  that  Barnevelt  was  to  be  executed 
with  the  sword,  and  hio  property  confiscated.  The  protests  that  can  be 
alledged  against  the  proceedings  of  the  tribunal  are  innumerable.  The 
whole  thing  was  a  political,  and  not  a  judicial  affair. 

The  French  ambassadors  had  come  before  the  States-General,  and 
had  offered  mediation  in  behalf  of  the  prisoners,  but  in  vain.  On  the  13th 
of  May  the  Advocate  of  Holland  was  executed  at  the  Hague.  In  this  way 
the  blinded  party  spirit  of  contemporaries  succeeded  in  casting  a  stain 
on  the  Advocate's  steadfast  attachment  to  his  country,  and  cut  off  a  life 
which  had  been  uninterruptedly  devoted  to  the  welfare  of  the  Republic. 
The  history  of  the  Republic  from  1586  to  1618  is  his  history."^ 

The  dramatists  have  not  succeeded  in  sifting  their  material  suf- 
ficiently to  bring  out  the  truth  clearly,  which  is  not  surprising,  when  we  take 
into  consideration,  how  blinded  by  party  spirit  the  authors  of  the  political 


Geschiedenis  van  het   Vaderland. 

—  CXXIX  — 


pamphlets  were  at  that  time ;  it  must  have  been  almost  impossible  for 
them  to  have  a  clear,  unprejudiced  conception  of  the  figure  of  the  great 
Statesman,  but  they  might  have  given  a  readier  ear  to  Barneveld's  defence 
in  The  Apology ;  in  that  case  they  might  have  known  th?t  the  Advocate  had 
always  had  the  welfare  of  his  country  in  view.  We  are  now  better  informed 
about  Barneveld's  person  by  our  modern  historians,  among  whom 
Motley  has  studied  Barneveld's  character  with  great  zeal  and  warm 
love.  Sir  A.  Ward  remarks  concerning  Motley's  work  The  Life  and  Death  of 
John  of  Bameveld  "it  is  a  work  of  great  warmth  of  feeling  and  colour, 
if  not  altogether  of  judicial  impartiality."^ 

Barnavelt,*  whose  greatest  sin  in  the  play  is  his  ambition,  is  drawn 
as  a  shrewd,  plotting  conspirator,  as  I  have  pointed  out  before.'*  To 
secure  himself  against  the  threatening  loss  of  his  popularity  he  lays  a  plot 
against  the  Prince  and  to  gain  his  ends  he  calls  in  the  aid  of  Spain,  under 
whose  power  he  intends  to  bring  back  the  Provinces.  This  point  of  view  is  not 
in  keeping  with  the  historical  facts  ;  all  through  Barneveld's  career  he 
can  never  be  accused  of  conspiracy  against  Maurice's  person,  and  Barneveld 
and  Maurice  had  certainly  each  in  their  own  way  the  welfare  of  the  State 
in  view.  Motley  observes  :  "Shallow  creatures  considered  the  struggle 
as  a  personal  one.  There  could  be  no  doubt  of  the  bitter  animosity  between 
the  two  men ;  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  jealousy  was  playing  the 
part  which  that  master  passion  will  ever  play  in  all  the  affairs  of  life.  But 
it  was  with  the  aged  statesman  a  matter  of  principle,  not  of  policy.  The 
principles,  by  which  his  political  life  had  been  guided,  had  been  the  supre- 
macy of  the  civil  authority  over  the  clerical  and  military.  His  character, 
his  personal  pride,  the  dignity  of  opinion  and  office,  his  respect  for  con- 
stitutional law  were  all  at  stake.*"  Groen  van  Prinsterer,  a  staunch  admirer 
of  Prince  Maurice,  admits  that  in  this  conflict,  the  two  great  men  of  a 
small  republic  both  acted  in  good  faith.^  It  was  plain  that  in  the  Common- 
wealth there  was  no  room  for  the  Advocate  and  the  Stadholder.  Motley 
draws  an  interesting  picture  of  the  figure  of  the  Advocate  in  the  great 
conflict ;  in  some  scenes  of  the  play  the  portrayal  of  the  hero  bears  a 
great  similarity  to  it.  He  writes  : 


*  History  of   English  dramatic  Literature.  IT. 

■  Barneveld's  name.  In  this  part  I  have  used  Motley's  spelling,  except  when  referring  to 
the  play,  in  that  case  the  spelling  of  the  play  is  retained. 

*  See  Aesthetic   value. 

*  Motley,  The  Life  and  Death  of  John  of  Barneveld, 

*  Maurice  et  Barnevelt. 


—  cxxx 


"Doubtless  Barneveld  loved  power,  and  the  more  danger  he  found  on  every  side, 
the  lessinclinedhe  was  to  succumb.  Arrogant,  overbearing,  self-concentrated,  accustomed 
to  lead  senates,  and  to  guide  the  councils,  and  share  the  secrets  of  king,  of  unmatched 
industry,  full  of  years  and  experience,  he  accepted  the  great  fight  which  was  forced 
upon  him.  Irascible,  courageous,  austere,  contemptuous,  he  saw  the  Republic,  whose 
cradle  he  had  rocked,  grown  to  be  one  of  the  most  powerful  and  prosperous  among 
the  States  of  the  world,  and  could  with  difficulty  imagine  that  she  was  ready  to 
rend  the  man  whom  she  was  bound  to  cherish  and  to  revere." 

The  imputations  against  Barneveld  of  purposing  to  betray  the  country 
to  Spain,  have  since  been  stigmatized  as  falsehoods  by  historical  investiga- 
tions, but  were  firmly  believed  by  all  the  Calvinists  at  that  time.  Even 
Maurice,  who  was  suspicious  by  nature,  was  easily  led  to  consider  the 
Advocate  to  be  a  conspirator ;  he  readily  believed  the  instigations  of 
Barncveld's  enemies,  who  insinuated  that  he  held  secret  communications 
with  France,  and  endeavoured  to  bring  back  the  Provinces  under  the 
vassalage  of  Spain.  Maurice  had  told  his  stepmother  Louise  de  Coligny, 
the  fourth  wife  of  William  the  Silent,  that  those  dissensions  would  never 
be  decided  except  by  the  use  of  weapons,  and  he  mentioned  to  her  that 
he  had  received  information  from  Brussels,  which  he  in  part  believed, 
that  the  Advocate  was  a  stipendiary  of  Spain.^ 

After  Barneveld's  arrest  there  was  a  deluge  of  the  most  villainous 
pamphlets  and  the  result  was  that  people,  not  only  his  enemies,  were 
aghast  as  they  heard  how  the  Advocate  had  for  years  been  the  hireling 
of  Spain,  whose  government  had  bribed  him  largely,  and  how  his  plot 
to  sell  the  country  to  the  ancient  tyrant  had  just  in  time  been  discovered.^ 
The  people  believed  it,   and  hated  him  accordingly. 

The  conception  of  Barneveld's  character  as  extremely  ambitious  is  not 
true  to  history  either,  which  can  be  proved  by  a  letter  written  by  the 
Advocate  to  the  Prince,  when  he  became  aware  of  their  alienation.  He 
wrote  a  dignified  letter,  dated  24  April  1 61 8,  in  which  he  declared  that 
he  had  always  tried  to  promote  the  service  of  the  country  and  had,  ten 
years  ago,  not  only  offered  to  resign  all  his  functions,  but  to  leave  the 
country  rather  than  remain  in  office  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  his  Excellency. 
A  year  ago  he  had  again  offered  to  resign  all  his  offices  rather  than  find 
himself  in  perpetual  opposition  to  his   Excellency.' 

The  figure  of  Maurice  cannot  lay  claim  to  historical  truth  either.  He 


^  Uytenbogaert,    Leven,    chapter    X.     Uytenbogaert    adds,    referring    to    the  first  part 

"whether  it  were  a  prophecy  or  a  design  is  to  me  unknown." 

*  Baudartius,  Memorien  I. 

'   W aaragtige  Historic  van  J.  van  Oldenharneveldt, 

^  CXXXI  — 


is  painted  as  a  noble,  generous  Prince,  magnanimous  and  forbearing, 
until  the  safety  of  his  country  and  his  person  make  it  inevitable  for  him 
to  pronounce  the  deserved  doom  on  the  Advocate.  This  is  the  description 
of  the  virtuous  Prince  we  know  from  the  Golden  Legend  of  the  New  St. 
John,  and  merely  the  usual  type  of  a  noble  prince,  a  well-known  figure 
on  the  stage  at  Beaumont  and  Fletcher's  time. 

The  plot  gives  a  representation  of  the  facts  which  is  not  at  all  in  keeping 
with  the  historical  truth.  In  the  play  Barnavelt's  motive  for  the  conspiracy 
is  that  he  hears  that  his  popularity  is  waning  before  the  rising  glory  of  the 
Prince ;  he  need  not  fear  that  he  shall  lose  his  place  as  the  first  statesman 
of  the  Republic  for  the  Prince  is  depicted  as  modest  and  contented  with 
the  place  assigned  to  him  in  the  Replublic  as  a  servant  of  the  States,  and 
with  the  rank  of  Captain  General  of  the  army.  Barnavelt's  conduct  is  im- 
probable and  a  wrong  representation  of  the  historial  facts  is  given  in 
this  way.  In  order  to  regain  his  popularity  Barnavelt  tries  to  raise  a  rebel- 
lion and  places  himself  at  the  head  of  the  Arminians.  This  action  makes 
the  plot  more  improbable  still,  for  this  would  never  restore  his  popularity. 
The  Arminians  were  hated  by  the  greater  part  of  the  people ;  they  were 
considered  heretics  and  reviled  as  such.  Besides,  Barneveld  was  surely  not 
a  friend  of  the  people;  this  representation  of  the  Advocate  in  our 
play  is  incorrect.  He  was  an  aristocrat,  and  an  advocate  of  an 
oligarchic  form  of  government.  The  eminent  statesman  might  easily 
have  led  the  people  as  he  wanted,  but  he  had  never  taken 
the  trouble  to  consider  their  wishes ;  they  had  to  obey  as  long 
as  he  ruled  according  to  the  form  of  government  he  had  instituted. 
As  he  had  ruled  of  late  in  direct  opposition  to  the  will  of  the  people,  his 
ruin  was  undoubtedly  the  wish  of  the  common  people,  who  considered 
themselves  offended  in  their  deepest  religious  conviction,  whereas  the  Prince 
was  the  idol  of  the  soldiers,  and  also  of  the  common  people.  The  general 
approbation  of  Barneveld's  arrest  by  the  common  people  is  an  indisputable 
proof,  and  this  also  strengthened  Maurice  in  his  proceedings  against 
Barneveld.  So  the  lines  : 

"the   peoples   loves   grow   daungerous 

the  lowd  and  common  voice  of  his  deservings 

is  floong  abroad" 

are  in  direct  contradiction  to  the  historical  truth.  It  is  an  historical  fact  that 
Barneveld's  house  was  decorated  on  May-day,  but  by  Barneveld's  family 
and  aristocrat  friends,  and  not  by  the  common  people.  The  represen- 
tation in  the   play    of   the    people  praising  Barnavelt,  and  abusing  the 

—  CXXXII  — 


Prince  is  not  true  to  history.  Baudartius  tells  us  that  the  relatives  of 
the  fallen  Statesman  could  not  appear  in  the  streets  without  being 
exposed  to  insult,  without  hearing  scurrilous  and  obscene  verses  against 
the  prisoners  and  themselves  howled  in  their  ears  by  all  the  ballad- 
mongers  of  the  town.^ 

In  the  second  scene  of  the  first  act  Barnavelt,  in  order  to  find  a  pretext 
for  his  revolutionary  proceedings,  says  : 

"and  openly  I   will  profes   myself 
of   the  Arminian  sect". 

This  representation  of  the  facts  is  in  direct  opposition  to  the  historical 
truth.  In  the  Apology  Barneveld  has  explained  that  he  had  studied  abroad, 
and  that  he  had  been  in  Heidelberg  till  the  year  1570,  where  he  had  become 
acquainted  with  the  doctrine  that  disputed  the  truth  of  predestination. 
He  had  studied  it  there  and  adopted  it,  and  "had  lived  in  that  faith  since,  by 
the  grace  of  God  for  fifty  years,  and  hoped  to  die  therein."  The  Prince  had 
not  taken  sides  in  the  controversies  till  16 16,  when  Barneveld  had 
long  been  an  adherent  of  Arminius'  doctrine.  Arminius  was  appointed 
Professor  of  theology  in  Ley  den  in  1603  and  as  Gardiner  remarks  "the 
new  teaching  of  Arminius  had  been  welcomed  in  Holland  by  Barneveld." 
Besides,  Barneveld's  profession  of  faith  was  what  we  should  expect.  The 
magistrates  throughout  Holland  with  the  exception  of  a  few  cities,  were 
Arminians,  the  preachers  Gomarians,  for  Arminius  ascribed  to  civil 
authority  the  right  to  decide  upon  church  matters  ;  the  religious  contro- 
versies were  also  the  controversies  "whether  priests  shall  govern  the 
state,  or  the  state  the  priest".  Motley  remarks  "in  those  days,  and 
in  that  land  especially,  theology  and  politics  were  one",  and  Barneveld 
naturally  advocated  the  latter  principle. 

There  seems  to  be  a  germ  of  historical  truth  in  Barnavelt's  objection 
to  admit  the  Prince  to  the  council  chamber,  when  the  Lords  of  the  States 
of  Holland  were  going  to  meet,  and  in  the  altercation  between  Barnavelt 
and  the  Prince  afterwards,  though  the  Prince  was  never  actually  shut 
out.  Van  der  Kemp  describes  the  scene  as  follows  :  "The  States  of  Holland 
met  in  full  assembly ;  sixty  delegates  being  present.  It  was  proposed  to 
invite  his  Excellency  to  take  part  in  the  deliberations.  A  committee 
which  had  waited  upon  him  the  day  before,  had  reported  him  to  be  in 
favour  of  moderate  rather  than  harsh  measures  in  the  church  affairs. 
Barneveld  stoutly  opposed  the  motion.   "What  need  had  the  sovereign 


*  op,  cit.  I, 

—  CXXXIII  — 


States  of  Holland  of  advice  from  a  Stadholder,  from  their  servant,  their 
functionary?"  he  cried.  But  the  majority,  for  once,  thought  otherwise 
and  the  Prince  was  invited  to  come.  Barneveld  and  other  eloquent  speakers 
recommended  mutual  toleration;  Grotius  exhausted  learning  and  rhetoric. 
The  Stadholder  grew  impatient  at  last,  and  clapped  his  hand  on  his  rapier. 
**No  need  here",  he  said,  "of  flowery  orations  and  learned  arguments. 
With  this  good  sword  I  will  defend  the  religion  which  my  father  planted 
in  the  Provinces,  and  I  should  like  to  see  the  man  who  is  going  to  prevent 
me."i 

The  scene,  depicting  Barnavelt  sitting  disconsolate  in  his  study,^  has 
an  interesting  parellel  in  history.  Uytenbogaert  tells  us  about  a  visit 
he  paid  the  Advocate  on  August  28  1618,  the  day  of  Barneveld's  arrest. 
He  did  not  find  his  friend  as  usual  at  his  desk  busily  occupied  with  writing. 
The  Advocate  had  pushed  his  chair  away  from  the  table  encumbered  with 
books  and  papers,  and  sat  with  his  back  leaning  against  it,  lost  in  thought. 
His  stern,  stoical  face  was  like  that  of  a  lion  at  bay.  Uytenbogaert  saw 
that  the  statesman  needed  cheering  up  and  comfort ;  he  tried  to  arouse 
him  from  his  gloom,  consoling  him  by  reflections  on  the  innumerable 
instances  in  all  countries  and  ages,  of  patriotic  statesmen  who  for  faithful 
service  had  reaped  nothing  but  ingratitude.  Soon  afterwards  he  took 
his  leave,  feeling  a  presentiment  of  evil  within  him,  which  it  was  impossible 
for  him  to  shake  off,  as  he  pressed  Barneveld's  hand  at  parting.^  It  is 
rather  interesting  to  speculate  whether  Fletcher  had  heard  of  this  visit ; 
if  so,  he  had  quite  misunderstood  Barneveld's  mood.  The  contents  of 
Barnavelt's  first  soliloquy,  which  as  I  have  pointed  out,  is  verbally  taken 
from  the  Apology  is  true  to  history  ;  the  letters  from  the  King  of  France 
and  the  Queen  of  England  were  sent  to  the  Advocate,  and  that  he  had 
held  correspondance  with  the  Elector  of  Brandenburg  and  the  Duke 
of  Brunswick  is  an  historical  fact.  But  the  dramatist's  conception  of 
Barnavelt  wailing  and  talking  incoherent  nonsence  to  his  daughter  and 
servant  is  in  flat  opposition  to  the  historical  truth,  for  everybody  admired 
Barneveld's  stoic  calm,  and  heroic  spirit,  displayed  all  through  the  trial, 
the  condemnation  to  death  and  at  the  execution  ;  even  his  enemies 
have  admitted  this.  In  the  play  Barnavelt  does  surely  not  remind  us  of 


•  van  der  Kemp,  Maurits  van  Nassau, 

•  IV.  3. 

•  Uytenbogaert,  Kerckelijcke  Historie^  IV  and  Wynne,  Geschiedenis  van  het  Vaderland, 
translation  by  Motley. 

—  CXXXIV  — 


'a.  lion  at  bay.'  Sir  A.  Ward  remarks  "in  this  scene  the  hero  appears 
as  a  sort  of  baffled  Macchiavel."^ 

Two  hours  after  Uytenbogaert's  visit  Barneveld  went  in  his  coach 
to  the  session  of  the  States  of  Holland  in  the  Inner  Court.  As  he  alighted 
he  was  accosted  by  a  chamberlain  of  the  Prince,  and  informed  that  his 
Highness  desired  to  speak  with  him.  Barneveld  followed  the  chamberlain 
and  was  met  in  the  antechamber  by  a  lieutenant  of  the  Prince's  body- 
guard who  arrested  him  in  the  name  of  the  States-General.  The  Advocate 
demanded  an  interview  with  the  Prince,  which  was  absolutely  refused. 
He  was  carried  off  a  prisoner,  and  locked  up  in  a  room  belonging  to  Maurice's 
apartments.  The  dramatists  seem  not  to  have  been  acquainted  with  the 
details  of  the  arrest,  but  they  apparently  knew  that  he  was  arrested  by 
an  officer  of  the  Prince's  guard.  After  some  time  the  Advocate  was  trans- 
ferred to  a  room  in  the  Inner  Court,  and  was  not  allowed  to  see  anybody; 
only  his  servant  stayed  with  him.  The  lines  : 

'*his  rude  Guard, 
for  proofe  that  they  contempne  all  such  as  ayme 
or  hope  for  his  release  (as  if  he  were 
some  prodigie  or  Monster),  each  night  show  him 
to  such  as  greive  his  fortune,  which  must  be 
to  him  worse  then  ten  thousand  deaths  made  horrid 
with  all  the  artes  of  Crueltie."* 

are  in  opposition  to  the  historical  facts,  and  only  a  lamentable  invention 
of  Fletcher's  brain.  Motley  remarks  "The  Advocate  was  in  prison  and 
the  earth  seemed  to  have  closed  over  him." 

I  have  already  spoken  of  Barnavelt's  intrepid  and  dignified  demeanour 
before  the  tribunal;  here  the  dramatist  (Massinger)  seems  instinctively 
to  have  caught  the  true  political  colour,  which  becomes  evident,  when 
we  compare  this  scene  with  the  description  and  the  interesting  details 
given  in  the  Waaragtige  Historie  as  follows  : 

"There  had  been  an  inclination  at  first  on  the  part  of  Barneveld's 
judges  to  treat  the  prisoner  as  a  criminal,  and  to  require  him  to  answer 
standing  to  the  interrogatories.  But  as  the  terrible  old  roan  advanced 
into  the  room,  leaning  on  his  staff,  and  surveying  them  with  an  air  of 
haughty  command  habitual  to  him,  they  shrank  before  his  glance ;  several 
involuntarily    rising  uncovered  to  salute  him,  and  making  way  for  him 


*  History  of   English  dramatic  Literature. 

•  lines  2482  ff. 


—  cxxxv  — 


to  the  fire-place,  about  which  they  were  standing  that  wintry  morning.^ 
We  read  about  the  interrogatories :  "Moved  occasionally  from  his 
austere  simplicity  in  which  he  set  forth  his  defence,  the  majestic  old  man 
rose  to  a  strain  of  indignant  eloquence  which  might  have  shaken  the 
hall  of  a  vast  assembly,  and  found  echo  in  the  hearts  of  a  thousand  hearers, 
as  he  denounced  their  petty  insults  ;  glaring  like  a  caged  lion  at  his  tor- 
mentors, who  had  often  shrunk  before  him,  when  he  was  free,  and  now 
attempted  to  drown  his  voice  by  contradictions,  interruptions  and  threats.^" 
It  must  fill  us  with  gratitude  that  the  representation  of  a  scene  like  this 
was  entrusted  to  the  pen  of  a  dramatist  that  proved  to  be  worthy 
of  this  task,  and  whose  fiery  dramatic  eloquence  insures  to  this  scene  a 
high  rank  in  English  dramatic  poetry. 

The  execution  scene,  describing  the  soldiers  and  the  crowd,  is  painted 
with  true  realism,  and  does  not  materially  differ  from  the  description 
which  the  modern  historians  give.  Motley's  interesting  description  follows 
here  "It  was  a  bright  morning  in  May.  In  the  beautiful  village  capital 
of  the  "Count's  Park"  commonly  called  the  Hague,  the  soldiers  were 
marching  and  the  citizens  thronging  eagerly  towards  the  castle.  By  four 
o'clock  the  Outer  and  Inner  Courts  had  been  lined  with  detachments 
of  the  Prince's  guard  and  companies  of  the  other  regiments  to  the  number 
of  twelve  hundred  men.  In  front  of  the  lowerwindowof  the  ancient  hall  with 
its  Gothic  archway  hastily  converted  into  a  door,  a  shapeless  platform  of 
rough,  unhewn  planks  had  that  night  been  rudely  patched  together. 
This  was  the  scaffold.  A  slight  railing  around  it  served  to  protect  it  from 
the  crowd.  The  great  mass  of  spectators  had  forced  their  way  by  daybreak 
into  the  hall  to  hear  the  sentence.  At  last  at  half  past  nine  o'clock,  a 
shout  arose  :  "There  he  comes,  there  he  comes",  and  the  populace  flowed 
out  from  the  hall  of  judgment  into  the  courtyard  like  a  tidal  wave."® 

of.  lines  2838,  39:  Enter   Boyes   and   Burgers 

'*He   comes,   he   comes,  he   comes  ;   6  for   a  place   now." 

In  an  instant  the  Inner  Court  was  filled  with  more  than  three  thousand 
spectators. 

cf.  lines  2852,   53 

''Prouost:  Cleere  all  the  Skaffold 

let  no  more  into  th*  Court ;  we  are  choakd  with  people." 


•  Translation  by  Motley,  op.  cit. 

•  Motley  op,  ciU 

•  op.  cit. 

•  Waaragtige  Historie  van  J.  van   Oldenhameveldt. 

—  CXXXVI  — 


The  old  statesman  leaning  on  his  staff  accompanied  by  his  faithful 
valet  and  the  provost,  and  escorted  by  a  file  of  soldiers  appeared.  He 
walked  out  upon  the  scaffold  and  calmly  surveyed  the  scene.  Lifting 
his  eyes  to  heaven,  he  was  heard  to  murmur,  "0  God  1  what  does  man 
come  to  1"  Then  he  said  bitterly  once  more  :  "This,  then,  is  the  reward 
of  forty  years'  service  to  the  State  !" 
cf.  lines  2859,  60: 

"for  all  my  Cares,  for  my  most  faithfull  service 
for  you,  and  for  the  State,  thus  ye  promote  me." 

and  line  1075  : 

my  forty  yeares    endeauors,   wn'te   in   dust, 

La  Motte,  the  preacher  who  attended  him,  said  fervently  "It  is  no 
longer  time  to  think  of  this.  Let  us  prepare  your  coming  before  God". 
It  is  of  interest  to  compare  these  words  with  line  2893  of  the  play,  when 
Barnavelt  has  spoken  of  his  service  to  the  country  and  one  of  the  Lords 
remarks: 

"will  ye   bethinck   ye  Sir,   of   what  ye   come  for?" 

Motley's  description  continues  "After  the  prayer  when  the  valet 
had  helped  him  take  off  his  doublet,  Barneveld  came  forward  and  said 
in  a  loud,  firm  voice  to  the  people  :  "Men,  do  not  believe  that  I  am  a 
traitor  to  the  country.  I  have  ever  acted  uprightly  and  loyally  as  a  good 
patriot,  and  as  such  I  shall  die". 

The  crowd  was  perfectly  silent.  He  then  took  his  cap  from  his  servant, 
drew  it  over  his  eyes,  and  went  forward  towards  the  sand,  saying  :  "Christ 
shall  be  my  guide.   O  Lord,  my  heavenly  Father,   receive  my  spirit  1" 

As  he  was  about  to  kneel  with  his  face  to  the  south,  the  provost  said 
"My  Lord  will  be  pleased  to  move  to  the  other  side,  not  where  the  sun 
is  in  his  face."  He  knelt  accordingly  with  his  face  towards  his  own  house. 
The  servant  took  farewell  of  him  and  Barneveld  said  to  the  executioner 
"Be  quick  about  it.  Be  quick  I" 

The  executioner  then  struck  his  head  off  at  a  single  blow."^ 

Wagenaar  tells  us  that  the  Advocate  expecting  the  sword  said  :  "be 
quick,  be  quick",  and  praying  lifted  his  hands  so  high  that  the  executioner 
cut  off  some  bits  of  his  fingers  at  the  stroke".^  It  is  remarkable  that  this 
detail  is  also  referred  to  in  the  play,  compare : 


»  op,  eit. 

■  Vaderlandsche  Historie. 


—  CXXXVII 


^''Exec.     is  it   wel   don   mine    Heeres  ? 
Lord,     somewhat   too    much :    you   haue   strooke   his   fingers   too"% 

In  reading  this  description  we  notice  that  in  the  play  Barnavelt's  conduct 
on  the  scaffold,  boasting  his  services,  and  blaming  the  people  for  base 
ingratitude  and  malice,  is  not  confirmed  by  the  historical  facts. 

The  good  wishes  uttered  by  Barnavelt  for  the  Prince's  happiness  are 
inconsistent  with  the  conception  of  Barnavelt's  character  in  the  play, 
but  may  have  been  suggested  by  the  last  message  sent  by  Barneveld 
to  the  Prince  through  his  preacher.  *'Tell  his  Excellency  that  I  have 
always  served  him  with  upright  affection  so  far  as  my  office,  duties  and 
principles  permitted.  If  I  in  the  discharge  of  my  oath  and  official  func- 
tions, I  have  ever  done  anything  contrary  to  his  views,  I  hope  that  he  will 
forgive  it,  and  that  he  will  hold  my  children  in  his  gracious  favour." 

cf.  lines  2975  ff.  : 

"I   haue   a  wiffe,   my  lords,   and   wretched   Children 
vnles  it  please  his  Grace  to  looke  vpon  'em, 
and  your  good  honours  with  your  eies  of  fauour 
'twill  be  a  litle  happines  in  my  death 
that   they   partake   not   with   their   fathers   ruyns." 

The  dramatists  may  have  heard  it  rumoured  that  Barnavelt  had  sent 
a  farewell  message  to  the  Prince  before  the  execution ;  I  suppose  many 
rumours  of  the  trial  and  execution  had  found  their  way  to  England  by 
soldiers  and  merchants ;  moreover  a  broadsheet  account  of  an  eye- 
witness was  published  the  day  after  the  execution.  In  W.  C.  Hazlitt's 
Biographical  Collections  and  Notes  on  Early  English  Literature  1474 — 1700 
is  mentioned  an  old  print  The  picture  of  Barnaueldes  execucion. 
Licensed  to  Nathaniel  Newbery  17  May  1 61 9,'  which  our  dramatists 
are  sure  to  have  seen  ;  again  a  proof  of  the  lively  interest  taken  in  England 
in  the  events  in  the  Netherlands. 

It  cannot  escape  notice  that  the  Prince  is  drawn  in  the  most  favourable 
light  in  the  play,  his  slightest  proceedings  against  Barnavelt  being  justified; 
it  is  with  reluctance  that  the  noble  and  virtuous  Prince  is  persuaded  by 
undeniable  proofs  of  the  Advocate's  guilt,  and  is  obliged  for  the  sake 
of  the  safety  of  his  country  and  his  person  to  have  the  conspiring  statesman 
led  to  his  just  punishment  and  deserved  doom.  This  conception  is  the 
reflection  of  the  popular  feeling  of  the  time.  If  the  dramatist  tried  seriously 


*  lines  2996,  97. 

•  lines  2981  ff. 


—  cxxxvni  — 


to  impress  the  real  meaning  of  the  catastrophe  upon  an  English  audience, 
the  attempt  must  be  considered  a  failure.  Modern  historians  are  unanimous 
in  their  verdict  that  the  execution  of  the  Advocate,  which  could  only  be 
justified  if  the  prisoner  was  convicted  of  treason,  remains  a  stain  on  the 
history  of  the  great  Republic  ;  also  a  stain  on  the  memory  of  the  famous 
Command' r,  Prince  Maurice.  Macaulay  even  stigmatizes  the  execution 
as   'a  judicial  murder.'^ 

There  are  many  historical  touches  in  the  play,  which  are  of  interest. 
The  events  happening  in  Utrecht  are  based  on  historical  facts.  The 
enlisting  of  new  soldiers  by  Barnavelt  plays  an  important  part  in  our 
tragedy  and  is  considered  one  of  Barnavelt's  most  grievous  crimes.  These 
troops,  in  the  play  called  the  'new  companies',  were  local  forces,  the 
so-called  Waartgelders'.  They  were  enlisted  for  temporary  purposes, 
in  contrast  with  the  standing  army.  Their  primary  task  was  the  guarding 
of  the  gates  and  the  maintaining  of  order  in  the  towns,  when  the  regular 
troops  were  fighting  with  a  foreign  enemy.  They  were  mercenaries,  and 
the  difference  between  them  and  the  regular  soldiers  was  that  they  had 
usually  half  the  pay  of  a  regular  soldier,  but  when  they  did  active  service 
for  the  magistracy,  they  got  higher  pay.  They  had  to  obey  the  magistrates 
and  States  of  the  provinces  to  which  they  belonged. 

It  is  true  to  history  that  this  raising  of  the  Waartgelders  was  considered 
a  capital  crime  by  the  court  of  justice,  and  it  is  also  a  fact  that  the  pro- 
ceedings in  the  town  of  Utrecht  had  excited  the  Prince's  great  displeasure. 
In  a  letter  to  his  cousin  William  he  writes  "The  States  of  Utrecht  have 
enlisted  six  companies  of  soldiers  by  their  own  authority,  without  giving 
notice  of  it,  neither  to  the  Lords  of  the  States-General,  neither  to  us, 
nor  to  the  Council  of  State,  in  such  a  way  that  one  cannot  know  to  what 
end  this  is  done  ;  so  that  it  is  presumed  that  it  has  been  done  by  the  Advo- 
cate Barnevelt,  who  of  late  has  been  present  there."  The  Prince  had  always 
remained  resentful  on  account  of  these  proceedings. 

History  informs  us  that  the  Prince  came  to  the  gates  of  Utrecht,  and 
entered  the  town  ;  the  feeble  plans  for  shutting  the  gates  upon  him  had 
not  been  carried  into  effect.  Three  nights  afterwards  on  31  July  161 8 
Maurice  quietly  ordered  a  force  of  regular  troops  to  be  under  arms  at  three 
o'clock.  At  break  of  day  the  Prince  himself  appeared  on  horse-back  sur- 
rounded by  his  staff  on  the  Neude,  a  large  square  adorned  by  handsome 
public  buildings.  Each  of  the  entrances  to  the  square  had  been  securely 


*  The  History  of   England  I. 

—  CXXXIX 


guarded  by  Maurice's  orders,  and  cannon  planted  to  command  all  the 
streets.  A  single  company  of  the  'Waartgelders'  was  stationed  in  the 
Neude.  The  Prince  rode  calmly  towards  them  and  ordered  them  to  lay 
down  their  arms.  They  obeyed  without  a  murmur!  He  then  sent  to  summon 
all  the  other  companies  of  Waartgelders  to  the  Neude.  This  was  done 
with  perfect  promptness,  and  in  a  short  space  of  time  the  whole  body 
of  mercenaries,  nearly  lOOO  in  number  had  laid  down  their  arms  at  the 
feet  of  the  Prince.  The  Stadholder  with  the  consummate  art  which 
characterized  all  his  military  manoeuvres  had  so  admirably  carried  out 
his  measures  that  not  a  shot  was  fired,  not  a  blow  given,  not  a  single 
burgher  disturbed  in  his  peaceful  slumbers.  The  Prince  was  overwhelmed 
with  praises  by  the  States-General  in  their  next  meeting.^  We  find  a 
reference  to  his  incident  in  our  play  in  the  lines  : 

"tis  certaine  his  proceedings  in  this  busines 
as  in  all  els,  haue  byn  most  wise  and  constant, 
how  many  Townes,  armd  with  theis  new  Pretenders 

hath  he  (and  sodainely) 

disarmd  againe  and  setled  in  obedience, 

and  without  bloodshed.  Lords,  without  the  Sword, 


so  gently,  and  without  noyce  he  has  performd  this 
as  if  he  had  don  it  in  a  dreame"" 

In  Barneveld's  defence  before  the  tribunal  he  vindicated  the  right  of 
the  towns  to  enlist  'Waartgelders'.  He  explained  that  the  magistrates  of 
cities  had  of  old  had  the  right  to  protect  their  own  citizens  by  enlisting 
paid  troops,  illustrating  this  by  innumerable  instances  under  William 
the  Silent,  Leicester,  and  the  actual  goverment.^  Maurice  had  legally 
not  been  justified  in  disbanding  the  mercenary  troops,  and  in  performing 
this   deed  had  exceeded  the  commission  of  the  States-General. 

Motley  gives  an  interesting  description  of  the  interview  between  the  Advo- 
cate and  the  Stadholder,  not  long  alter  the  incidents  at  Utiecht ;  Barneveld 
wanted  to  speak  to  the  Prince  about  some  means  for  settling  the  religious 
difficulties. 

"The  Advocate  with  long  grey  beard  and  stern  blue  eye,  haggard  with  illness  and 
anxiety,  tall  but  bent  with  age,  leaning  on  his  staff  and  wrapped  in  a  black  velvet  cloak, 
an  imposing  magisterial  figure  ;  the  florid,  plethoric  Prince  in  brown  doublet,  big 
russet  boots,  and  felt  hat  with  its  string  of  diamonds,  with  hand  clutched  on  swordhilt 


*  Motley  op,  cit. 

■  981  ff.  see  also  Sources. 

'   Verhooren  van  Johan  van  Oldenbameveld, 


—  CXL  — 


and  eyes  full  of  angry  menace,  the  very  type  of  the  high-born,  imperious  soldier  — 
thus  they  surveyed  each  other  as  men,  once  friends,  between  whom  a  gulf  had  opened. 
Barneveld  sought  to  convince  the  Prince  that  in  the  proceedings  at  Utrecht  no  dis- 
respect had  been  intended  to  him  and  repeated  his  arguments  against  the  Synod. 
The  Prince  sternly  replied  in  very  few  words  that  the  National  Synod  was  a  settled 
matter.  His  brow  grew  black,  when  he  spoke  of  the  proceedings  at  Utrecht,  which  he 
denounced  as  a  conspiracy  against  his  own  person  and  the  constitution  of  the  country. 
Barneveld  used  in  vain  the  powers  of  argument  by  which  he  had  guided  kings  and 
republics,  cabinets  and  assemblies,  during  so  many  years.  His  eloquence  fell  powerless 
upon  the  iron  taciturnity  of  the  Stadholder.  Maurice  had  expressed  his  determination, 
and  had  no  other  argument  to  sustain  it,  but  his  usual  exasperating  silence.  The  inter- 
view ended  hopelessly,  and  the  Prince  and  the  Advocate  separated  to  meet  no  more 
on   earth". 

As  to  the  place  and  time  of  action  of  the  scene  the  dramatists  have 
mixed  up  two  events.  When  the  Prince  came  to  Utrecht  it  was  the  time 
of  the  annual  fair,  'kermis'  in  Dutch.  Motley  draws  a  lively  and  attractive 
picture  of  the  aspect  of  the  town  as  follows  : 

,, Meantime  all  looked  merry  enough  in  the  old  episcopal  city.  There  were  few  towns 
in  Lower  or  in  Upper  Germany  more  elegant  and  imposing  than  Utrecht.  Situate  on 
the  slender  and  feeble  channel  of  the  ancient  Rhine  as  it  falters  languidly  to  the  sea, 
surrounded  by  trim  gardens  and  orchards,  and  embowered  in  groves  of  beeches  and 
lime-trees,  with  busy  canals  fringed  with  poplars,  lined  with  solid  quays,  and  crossed 
by  innumerable  bridges  ;  with  the  stately  brick  tower  of  St.  Martin's  rising  to  a  daring 
height  above  one  of  the  most  magnificent  Gothic  cathedrals  in  the  Netherlands,  this 
seat  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  Willebrord  was  still  worthy  of  its  history  and  position.  It  was 
the  annual  fair  and  all  the  world  was  keeping  holiday  in  Utrecht.  The  pedlars  and 
itinerant  merchants  from  all  the  cities  and  provinces  had  brought  their  wares — jewelry 
and  crockery,  ribbons  and  laces,  ploughs  and  harrows,  carriages  and  horses,  cows 
and  sheep,  cheeses  and  butter-firkins,  doublets  and  petticoats,  guns  and  pistols  —  and 
displayed  them  in  temporary  booths  or  on  the  ground,  in  every  street  and  along  every 
canal.  The  town  was  one  vast  bazaar.  In  the  shop-windows  and  on  the  bookstalls  of 
Contra-Remonstrant  tradesmen,  now  becoming  more  and  more  defiant  as  the  last 
allies  of  Holland,  the  States  of  Utrecht,  were  gradually  losing  courage,  were  seen  the 
freshest  ballads  and  caricatures  against  the  Advocate.  In  the  midst  of  this  scene 
of  jollity  and  confusion,  that  midsummer  night  entered  the  renowned  stadholder  whose 
name  was  magic  to  every  soldier's  heart,  not  only  in  his  own  land  but  throughout 
Christendom,   with  his  fellow  commissioners."^ 

In  the  play  when  the  Burghers  and  women  enter  with  boughs  and 
flowers,  the  captain  remarks  to  the  Prince  *"t  is  Keramis-time"'* ;  this 
is  historically  incorrect,  for  this  scene  is  laid  in  the  Hague  ;  the  people 
came  to  decorate  the  houses,  because  it  was  the  first  of  May.  The  fact 

*  op  cit.  II  p.   259. 

•  line  2117 

—  CXLI  — 


that  Barneveld's  house  was  decorated  on  May-day  is  true  to .  history  ; 
the  deed  had  excited  Maurice's  disgust  and  anger,  which  is  shown  in  a 
letter  wiitten  to  his  cousin  William  Lewis  after  Barneveld's  execution 
"They  (i.e.  Barneveld's  wife  and  sons  or  other  friends)  also  planted  a 
may-pole  before  their  house  adorned  with  garlands  and  ribbands,  and 
practised  other  jollities,  while  they  ought  to  have  conducted  themselves 
in  a  humble  fashion."^ 
There  is  a  reference  to  an  important  historical  fact  in  lines  2332,  33  : 

•*your  Insolence  to  me,  before  the  Battaile 
of  Flaunders,  I  forget." 

In  the  year  1600  a  difference  had  risen  between  the  Advocate  and  the 
Stadholder  about  the  expedition  to  Flanders.  Barneveld  advocated  the 
expedition,  whereas  Maurice  strongly  advised  against  it.  The  difference 
of  opinion  was  a  natural  result  of  the  point  of  view  from  which  each 
looked  at  the  matter.  The  warrior  saw  the  great  military  dangers  of  the 
risky  encounter  with  the  superior  forces  of  the  enemy  in  a  foreign  country; 
the  Statesman  considered  the  danger  slight  compared  to  the  great  ad- 
vantages a  possible  success  offered  to  the  country.  Though  unwilling, 
Maurice  complied  with  the  wishes  of  the  States-General,  who  always  wanted 
to  prescribe  his  moveme  its  down  to  the  minutest  details,  and  embarked 
accompanied  by  Barneveld  and  the  Lords  of  the  States-General  with 
15000  men  for  Dunkirk.  Barneveld  and  the  States-General  stayed  at 
Ostend.  The  battle  was  won  with  great  risk,  and  Maurice  with  his  cavalry 
gained  the  victory,  after  a  terrible  struggle  in  the  open  field,  so  that 
Maurice's  joy  at  the  glorious  victory  was  mixed  with  bitterness.  He  returned 
home,  without  having  quite  fulfilled  his  commission.  After  the  battle  a  sharp 
discussion  had  taken  place  between  Maurice  and  Barneveld  ;  from  this 
moment  there  was  an  alineation  between  the  two  greatest  men  of  the 
republic,  and  this  dispute  was  the  germ  of  the  coming  disgreement.  The 
passage  following  these  lines  was  deleted  by  the  censor ;  it  contains  ridi- 
culous charges  of  cowardice  directed  against  the  Prince  by  Barnavelt, 
awarding  the  glory  of  the  victory  to  the  brothers  Vere.  The  dramatist 
probably  invented  this  speech  to  illustrate  in  brighter  colours  the  animosity 
between  the  Advocate  and  the  Prince,  but  overshot  his  mark.  The  charges 
are  without  any  historical  foundation,  for  Barneveld  undoubtedly  admired 
the  warlike  qualities  of  the  great  Commander.  It  is  an  historical  fact 
that  Sir  Horace  Vere  and  his  brother  Sir  Francis  Vere  fought  in  the  battle 


*  Green  van  Prinsterer,  Archives  de  la  Maison  d'Orange. 

—  CXLH  — 


of  Nieuwpoort  commanding  the  English  forces.  Sir  Francis  Vere  was 
wounded  and  Prince  Maurice  highly  praised  his  courage  shown  on  that 
occasion^ 

It  is  interesting  for  readers  of  the  play  to  have  the  figures  of  Maurice 
and  Barneveld  before  them  as  they  are  described  by  a  modern  historian. 
Motley  writes  in  his  study  of  Barneveld  : 

"The  Advocate  was  tall  and  majestic  of  presence,  with  large  quadrangular  face, 
austere  blue  eyes  looking  authority  and  command,  a  vast  forehead,  and  a  grizzled 
beard.  With  great  love  of  power,  which  he  was  conscious  of  exerting  with  ease  to  himself 
and  for  the  good  of  the  public, he  had  little  personal  vanity,  and  not  the  smallest  ambition 
of  authorship ;  of  fluent  and  convincing  eloquence  with  tongue  and  pen,  his  ambition 
was  to  do  his  work  thoroughly  according  to  his  view  of  duty,  and  to  ask  God's  blessing 
upon  it  without  craving  overmuch  the  applause  of  men. 

The  Prince,  in  the  full  flower  of  his  strength  and  his  fame,  was  of  a  noble  and  martial 
presence.  The  face  although  unquestionably  handsome,  offered  a  sharp  contrast  within 
itself  ;  the  upper  half,  all  intellect,  the  lower  quite  sensual.  Fair  hair  growing  thin, 
but  hardly  tinged  with  grey,  a  bright,  cheerful,  and  thoughtful  forehead,  large  hazel 
eyes  within  a  singularly  large  orbit  of  brow.  It  was  a  face  which  gave  the  world  assurance 
of  a  man  and  a  commander  of  men.  Power  and  intelligence  were  stamped  upon  him 
from  his  birth.  He  was  plain,  but  not  shabby  in  attire  ;  the  only  ornaments  he  indulged 
in,  except,  of  course,  on  state  occasions,  were  a  golden  hilt  to  his  famous  sword,  and 
a  rope  of  diamonds  tied  around  his  felt  hat." 

Of  the  minor  characters  the  figure  of  Leidenberch,  his  functions  as 
secretary  of  Utrecht,  his  arrest  and  suicide  are  all  true  to  history,  making 
allowance  for  some  slight  deviations  from  the  historical  truth. 

The  conception  of  Leidenberch 's  character  is  not  confirmed  by  history; 
^e  do  not  find  anywhere  that  he  was  weak  and  unreliable  by  nature. 
Motley  gives  the  following  description  of  him  in  his  proceedings  as  the 
leader  of  Barneveld's  party  in  Utrecht,  "a  tall,  handsome,  bald  headed, 
well  featured  mild  gentleman-like  man  was  this  secretary  of  the  Utrecht 
assembly,  and  certainly  not  aware,  while  passing  to  and  fro  on  half- 
diplomatic  missions  that  he  was  committing  high-treason." 

Two  days  after  the  Prince's  disbanding  of  the  Waartgelders,  Leidenberch 
was  dismissed  from  his  office  after  a  service  of  over  thirty  years.  He  fled 
to  Gouda  but  returned  to  Utrecht  after  some  weeks,  where  he  was  arrested 
and  kept  a  prisoner  in  his  own  house  ;  on  the  29^11  of  August  he  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  Inner  Court  in  the  Hague,  on  the  same  day  when  Barneveld 
was  arrested.  He  was  the  first  of  the  prisoners  subjected  to  examination 


*  See  Notes. 


—  cxLin  — 


on  Sept.  27th.  He  was  much  depressed  and  is  said  to  have  exclaimed 
with  many  sighs:  "Oh  Barneveld,  Barneveld,  what  have  you  brought  us  tol"^ 
These  words  remind  us  of  Modesbargen's  reproach  to  Barnavelt  before 
the  tribunal : 

"Mounseiur  Barnauelt. .  . .    Now  you  perceive 

to   what  a  desperate  state  your  headling   Counsells 

and  rash  designes  haue  brought  vs."» 

His  son  Joost,  a  boy  of  eighteen  had  been  allowed  to  keep  his  father 
company  in  his  confinement.  In  the  night  after  the  interrogation  he 
committed  suicide  in  the  presence  of  his  son,  leaving  a  letter  for  him 
written  in  French.  He  expressed  his  fear  that  the  judges  should  intend 
to  torture  him  in  order  to  pronounce  an  ignominious  sentence  upon  trifles 
to  justify  the  arrest.  To  escape  this  he  was  "going  to  God  by  the  shortest 
road",  as  he  expressed  it ;  "against  a  dead  man  there  can  be  pronounced 
no  sentence  of  confiscation  of  property".  At  that  time  suicide  was  con- 
sidered to  be  a  proof  of  guilt.  His  corpse  was  embalmed,  till  a  verdict 
should  be  pronounced.  This  was  done  after  seven  months  ;  his  property 
was  confiscated  and  his  corpse  condemned  to  the  gallows.  In  the  play 
there  are  some  deviations  from  the  historical  truth.  It  would  have  been 
impossible  for  Barneveld  to  visit  Leidenberch  in  prison  and  instigate 
him  to  suicide,  as  he  was  a  prisoner  himself.  The  plausibility  of  this  scene 
was  doubted  even  by  Fletcher's  contemporaries.  Thomas  Locke  writes 
in  the  letter  mentioned  before  ^:  "some  say  that  (according  to  the  proverbe) 
the  diuill  is  not  so  bad  as  he  is  painted  and  that  Barnauelt  should  per- 
swade  Ledenberg  to  make  away  himself  (when  he  came  to  see  him  after 
he  was  prisoner)  to  prevent  the  discovrie  of  the  plott,  and  to  tell  him  that 
when  they  were  both  dead  (as  though  he  meant  to  do  the  like)  they  might 
sift  it  out  of  their  ashes,  was  thought  to  be  a  point  strayned."* 

Motley  shows  us  Barneveld's  character  in  another  light,  when  he 
informs  us  that  the  Advocate  hearing  of  his  own  condemnation 
to  death  remarked  "and  must  my  Grotius  die  too.^"  adding  with  a 
sigh  of  relief  when  assured  of  the  contrary :  "I  should  deeply  grieve 
for  that ;  he  is  so  young,  and  may  live  to  do  the  State  much  service." 

The  coffin  with  Leidenberch's  remains  was  not  hung  up  in  the  Inner 
Court,  where  Barnaveld  was  beheaded,  but  hung  on  a  gibbet  for  twenty- 


•  Baudartius,   Memorien  I,   chapter   X. 

•  lines  2379  ff. 

•  See  Stage  history. 

•  Domestic  State  Papers^  James  /,  vol,  CX,  No.  37 

—  CXLIV  — 


one  days  on  'the  Golgotha*  outside  the  Hague  on  the  road  to    Ryswyk 
not  till  two  days  after  Barneveld's  execution. 

The  behaviour  of  the  other  prisoners  is  not  confirmed  by  the  historical 
facts.  Motley  tells  us  that  they  all  preserved  a  haughty  demeanour  under 
their  misfortunes,  and  stoutly  refused  all  confession  of  guilt.  Grotius 
only  had  a  moment  of  weakness  ;  it  is  told  that  towards  the  end  of  his 
trial  he  showed  a  faltering  in  his  faith  as  to  Barnevald's  innocence,  and 
declared  that  he  held  many  acts  of  the  Advocate  suspected. 

Three  of  the  judges  went  in  person  to  the  prison-chamber  of  Hoogerbeets 
urging  him  to  ask  forgiveness,  or  allow  his  friends  to  do  so  for  him.  He 
stoutly  refused  to  do  either.  "If  my  wife  and  children  do  ask",  he  said  "I  will 
protest  against  it.  I  need  no  pardon.  Let  justice  take  its  course.  Think 
not,  gentlemen,  that  I  mean  by  asking  for  pardon  to  justify  your  pro- 
ceedings".^ 

The  flight  of  Modesbargen  in  the  play  is  true  to  history.  The 
historical  facts  are  that  Moersbergen^  had  fled  to  Germany  to  the  castle 
of  Mersfeld  in  Munster ;  he  was  captured  by  some  horsemen  and  brought 
first  to  Zutphen  and  from  there  to  the  Hague,  where  he  was  tried,  and  in  a 
moment  of  weakness  sued  for  pardon. 

Another  incident  which  is  true  to  history  is  the  altercation  between 
Leidenberch  and  the  Captain  in  the  first  scene  of  the  second  act; 
we  hear  that  the  Captain  refuses  to  take  up  arms  against  the 
Prince.  The  historical  facts  are :  on  July  30th  the  Lords  of 
the  States  summoned  Colonel  Ogle  governor  of  the  town  of  Utrecht, 
Count  Earnest  of  Nassau,  Sir  Horatio  Vere  and  other  commanders, 
reminding  them  of  the  possibility  that  the  province  of  Holland  should 
not  pay  them,  if  they  did  not  promise  to  stand  aside  at  the  coming  events. 
Sir  John  Ogle  flatly  refused  to  act  in  opposition  to  the  Stadholder  and  the 
States-General,  whom  he  recognised  as  his  lawful  superiors  and  masters, 
and  he  warned  Ledenberg  and  his  companions  as  to  the  perilous  nature 
of  the  course  which  they  were  pursuing.  Great  was  in  consequence  the 
indignation  of  the   Utrecht  and   Holland  commissioners.^ 

The  episode  in  the  play,  describing  the  French  ambassadors  de  Boisise 
and  du  Maurier  offering  mediation  on  behalf  of  the  prisoners,  and  especially 
of  Barnavelt,    is    based   on    the   historical    facts.    I  have  already  spoken 


*  Wagenaar,  Vaderlandsche   Historie,   vol.    X,   pag.    369.    G.    Brandt,    Historie   van  de 
Rechtspleging  van    Oldenbarnevelt.   biz.    264. 

*  Moersbergen  is   erroneously    called   Modesbargen   in    the   play. 

*  Baudartius,  op.  cit.  I. 

—  CXLV  — 


of  this  visit  when  discussing  the  sources  of  the  play ;  the  difference  with 
the  historical  truth  is  that  here  the  Prince  answers  the  ambassadors 
immediately,  whereas  the  States-General  replied  after  a  week's  delay. 

The  incident  of  the  sending  of  pears  to  Barnavelt  in  prison  is  also  his- 
torically true.  Motley  tells  us  "Barneveld's  wife  was  allowed  to  send  him  fruit 
from  their  garden.  One  day  a  basket  of  fine  saffron  pears  was  brought 
to  him.  On  slicing  one  with  a  knife  he  found  a  portion  of  a  quill  inside  it. 
Within  the  quill  was  a  letter  on  thinnest  paper  in  minutest  handwriting 
in  Latin  "Don't  rely  upon  the  States  of  Holland,  for  the  Prince  of  Orange 
has  changed  the  magistrates  in  many  cities.  Dudley  Carlton  is  not  your 
friend."  A  sergeant  of  the  guard  however,  before  bringing  in  these  pears, 
had  put  a  couple  of  them  in  his  pocket  to  take  home  to  his  wife.  The 
letter,  copies  of  which  perhaps  had  been  inserted  for  safety  in  several 
of  the  pears,  was  thus  discovered,  and  the  use  of  this  ingenious  device 
prevented  for  the  future."^ 

The  gambling  scene  of  the  three  executioners  to  which  some  critics 
have  objected  has  a  remote  historical  foundation.  An  eye-witness  has 
recorded  the  following  incident,  supposed  to  have  happened  on  the  morning 
of  the  execution  "A  squalid,  unclean  box,  originally  prepared  as  a  coffin 
for  a  Frenschman,  lay  on  the  scaffold.  Upon  the  coffin  sat  two  common 
soldiers  of  ruffianly  aspect  playing  at  dice,  betting  whether  the  Lord 
or  the  Devil  would  get  the  soul  of  Barneveld.  Many  a  foul  and  ribald  jest 
at  the  expense  of  the  prisoner  was  exchanged  between  these  gamblers 
and  some  of  their  comrades,  who  were  grouped  about  at  that  early 
hour."^  It  is  remarkable  in  regard  to  the  gambling  scene  of  the  three 
executioners  to  note  Motley's  information  :  "There  was  every  reason  for 
both  Grotius  and  Hoogerbeets  to  expect  a  similar  doom  ;  the  scaffold  on 
which  the  Advocate  had  suffered  was  left  standing ;  three  executioners 
were  still  in  the  town." 
The  line  spoken  bij  Bamavelt's  son  William  : 

"my  goverment  of  Barghen  is  disposd  of."  • 

is  historically  correct.  William  of  Stoutenburg  was  dismissed  from  his 
post  as  governor  of  the  fortress  of  Bergen-op-Zoom  in  July  1619.  Sir 
Dudley  Carlton  had  communicated  the  news  in  a  message  of  July    i^^\ 


•  op  cit. 

•  Waaragtige  Historie  ^2>y  Letter  written  13  May  1619  by  an  eye-witness  P.  Hanneman, 
to  his  cousin  Abraham  van  der  Bruggen,  student  at  Leyden,  Translation  by  Motley. 

•  line  1157. 

—  CXLVI  — 


saying  that  it  had  happened  last  week;  this  date  is  confirmed  by  'the 
Resolutions'  of  the  States-General  of  the  5th,  pth^  nth,  17th  of  July  1619. 
But  we  see  from  this  that  the  dismissal  happened  after  Barneveld's 
execution,   and  not  before  his  arrest. 

There  are  some  minor  historical  touches,  which  are  interesting  to 
note.  Motley  informs  us  that  Maurice  continued  to  place  himself  before 
the  world  as  the  servant  of  the  States-General,  which  he  never  was,  either 
theoretically  or  in  fact.  We  find  this  expressed  in  the  play  in  lines  304 — 6  : 

^^Barnauelt       the   Prince  of  Orange 

is  but  as  Barnauelt,  a  Servant  to 
your  Lordships,  and  the  State  :" 

and  lines  452 — 54  : 

^^Orange     I,  and  all  Soldiers  els 

are   doble   tyde  in  faith  to   obserue   their  pleasures" 

We  are  informed  by  Motley  that,  when  the  Stadholderate  of  the  pro- 
vinces of  Gelderland,  Utrecht  and  Overyssel  became  vacant,  it  was  again 
Barneveld's  potent  influence  and  sincere  attachment  to  the  House  of 
Nassau  that  procured  the  election  of  Maurice  to  that  post.  Barnavelt 
refers  to  this  in  his  answer  to  Grotius'  words  ''you  scarce  holding  the 
second  place"  ;  compare  : 

"when  I  gave  him  the  first" * 

and, 

"his   stile   of   Excellencie,    was   my   guift."' 

Another  historical  touch  is  the  part  which  Maurice's  cousin  William 
Lewis  takes  in  the  conflict.  The  Stadholder  of  Friesland  was  a  staunch 
Calvinist  and  continually  urging  the  Prince,  openly  to  take  the  side  of 
the  Calvinists,  but  the  Prince  was  irresolute  by  nature,  and  hesitated 
for  a  long  time.  In  the  play  William  tries  to  persuade  Maurice  not  to 
hesitate  any  longer  in  taking  measures   for  his  safety ;  cf   lines  380,  81  : 

"yf  you  would  see  it :  but  take  through  the  mallice 
the  evill  intended  now,  now  bent  vpon  ye," 

But  Count  William  was  not  relentless  as  Maurice  was,  he  had  a  more 
reconciliatory  nature  and  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Prince  before  Barneveld's 
condemnation  advising  him  to  use  moderation,  and  "to  beware  of 
torture  and  particularly  of  bloodshed  as  that  is  sure  to  lead  to  greater 


»  line  31. 
?  line  37, 


—  CXLVII 


confusion."*  Of  this  moderation  we  find  nothing  recorded  in  the  play, 
but  on  the  whole,  Count  William  takes  a  very  subordinate  part. 

Swinburne,  in  his  criticism  of  The  Tragedy  of  Sir  John  Van 
Olden  Bamavelt,  remarks  when  speaking  of  the  noble  rhetorical  scenes, 
which  show  a  mastery  of  dramatic  debate  "we  lament  a  radical  defect, 
we  ask  ourselves  in  perplexity,  if  not  with  irritation,  whether  we  are 
expected  to  symphatise  with  the  calm  and  patriotic  moderation  of 
the  Prince,  or  with  the  fiery  and  intemperate  enthusiasm  of  the  Ad- 
vocate. To  hold  the  balance  equally  and  fairly  between  the  extreme 
pretensions  of  principle  or  opinion  on  a  historical  question  is  the  aim 
of  a  historian,  it  cannot  be  the  object  of  a  dramatic  poet ;  cf.  Coria- 
lanus,  which  is  a  perfect  work  of  art.  In  the  play  of  Barnavelt  we 
listen  to  two  equally  eloquent  pleaders  ;  beyond  the  effect  of  their  eloquence 
we  are  shown  no  reason,  given  no  hint,  where  our  sympathies  should 
be  enlisted. "2  Professor  Cruickshank  seems  to  subscribe  to  this  view, 
when  he  remarks  "We  do  not  know,  if  we  are  intended  to  sympathise 
with  Orange  or  Barnavelt.  Such  a  specimen  of  the  historical  drama  pure 
and  simple  makes  us  feel  that  more  than  a  mere  narrative  of  events  is 
needed  in  a  play ;  we  look  to  the  author  to  guide  our  sympathies,  and 
have  a  view  of  his  own  about  this  theme."® 

I  beg  leave  to  differ  in  opinion  from  this  criticism  ;  I  have  already 
pointed  out  before  that  all  through  the  play  we  are  conscious  of  the  virtue 
and  magnanimity  of  the  noble  prince,  who  has  to  be  on  his  guard 
against  being  ruined  by  an  ambitious,  plotting  statesman.  I  quite  agree 
with  Professor  Creizenach,  who  remarks  "das  Andenken  des  edlen 
Greises,  der  sein  Haupt  auf  das  Block  niederlegte,  wird  mit  Schmutz 
beworfen,  alles  Licht  fallt  auf  Moritz  von  Oranien,  der  die  Sympathien 
der  englischen  Regierung  besass."*  Professor  Schelling  apparently 
holds  the  same  view  judging  from  a  sentence  in  his  review  of  the 
play  "The  character  of  Barnavelt  is  conceived  in  a  fine  heroic  vein, 
in  which  justifiable  pride  in  his  honourable  past,  almost  wins  us 
to  forgetfulness  of  his  later  ill-judged  practices  against  the  prince. 
The  noble  forbearance  and  reluctance  on  the  part  of  Maurice  remind 
us  of  the  relation  between  Henry  of  Navarre  and  Charles  Duke 
of  Byron  in  Chapman's  play,  and  give  an  artistic  inevitability  to  the 


*  Groen  van  Prin?terer,    Maurice  et   Bamevelt. 

•  The  Fortnightly  Review,  July  1889. 

•  Philip   Massinger,  Appendix  XII. 

*  Geschichte  des  neueren   Dramas. 


CXLVm  — 


catastrophe."^  Sir  A.  Ward's  view  is  more  emphatically  expressed  : 
'The  issue  of  the  conflict  is  represented  in  the  play  as  a  just 
chastisement    inflicted   upon  a  wily  schemer  by  a  courageous  prince."* 

It  is  quite  true  that  Barnavelt's  speeches  are  masterpieces  of  dramatic 
rhetoric,  but  they  are  not  convincing ;  we  are  conscious  all  the  time 
that  they  are  uttered  by  a  'wily  schemer',  for  example,  Barnavelt's 
fine  speech  before  the  tribunal  cannot  move  our  hearts,  as  it  is  not  warrant- 
ed by  what  has  gone  before.  We  admire  the  hero's  intrepid  heroic  de- 
meanour, but  we  cannot  be  filled  with  intense  pity  at  the  overthrow  of 
a  sly,  crafty  conspirator.  I  think  the  audience  were  not  'in  perplexity', 
but  quite  assured  that  the  Piince  of  Orange  deserved  their  sympathies  in 
this  tragic  conflict,  that  however  the  inevitable  ruin  of  so  eminent,  and 
otherwise  so  admirable  a  statesman  was  certainly  to  be  regretted.  This 
view  is  quite  in  accordance  with  the  popular  feeling  of  the  time  in  Holland 
and  also  in  England,  where  the  Prince  was  greatly  admired.  King  James's 
attitude  also  strongly  influenced  the  dramatists.  The  King  had  openly 
ordered  his  ambassador  Sir  Dudley  Carlton  to  support  the  Contra- Remon- 
strants, and  tried  as  much  as  possible,  both  publicly  and  privately,  to 
accomplish  the  ruin  of  Barneveld,  whom  he  hated  as  a  too  clever  antagonist. 
His  attitude  with  regard  to  the  religious  controversies  was  remarkable 
enough,  for,  as  Motley  observes,  in  the  sovereign's  eye  a  Puritan  in  England 
was  an  obnoxious  vermin  to  be  hunted  with  dogs  ;  in  the  Netherlands 
he  was  the  governing  power.  Through  his  ambassador  Carlton  he  never 
ceased  in  his  efforts  to  bring  the  opposing  party  to  destruction. 

Professor  Gardiner  attributes  James's  remarkable  attitude  rather  to  perso- 
nal causes  when  he  remarks  "James  had  not  been  an  unconcerned  spectator 
of  the  events  in  the  Dutch  republic.  He  had  been  profuse  of  advice,  but 
not  a  word  of  the  slightest  practical  use  to  either  party  had  crossed  his 
lips.  His  theological  sympathies  were  on  the  side  of  the  Calvinists.  If 
his  political  sympathies  were  on  the  side  of  Barneveld  and  the  supporters 
of  the  claim  of  the  civil  government  to  control  the  clergy,  they  were 
neutralized  by  the  recollection  of  frequent  collisions  with  that  statesman."® 

I  do  not  think  that  the  dramatists  were  aware  of  their  partiality  in  the 
play  to  the  Calvinistic  cause,  for  usually  in  England  the  stage  was  un- 
favourably, if  not  inimically  disposed  to  the  Puritans,  who  were  implacable 


*  the   Elizabethan   Drama  II. 

■  A  History  of  English  dramatic  Literature. 

•  op.  cit. 


—  CXLIX  — 


enemies  of  the  stage ;  the  dramatists  were  favoured  and  protected  by 
the  higher  classes,  who  thought  Puritanism  among  the  lower  classes  a 
danger  to  the  country    and  to  themselves,  which  it  soon  proved  to  be. 

The  authors  of  our  play  seem  to  have  been  acquainted  with  the  social 
situations  in  the  Dutch  republic,  they  may  have  gained  this  knowledge 
from  merchants,  soldiers  or  actors,  who  had  been  to  the  Netherlands. 
The  remarkable  relation  between  the  soldiers  and  the  citizens,  and  between 
the  officers    and  the  magistrates  is  illustrated  in  the  play  in  true  colours. 

The  discussion  about  women's  rights  between  the  English  lady  and 
the  Dutch  burghers'  wives  is  of  interest,  as  it  illustrates  the  difference 
between  the  English  and  the  Dutch  character.  The  independent  position 
of  the  Dutch  woman  had  been  noted  before  in  history  and  dramatic 
history.  Fletcher  had  remarked  in  The  Little  French  Lawyer 

"Nor  would  I  be  a  Dutchman 

To  have  my  wife,   my  sovereign,  to  command  me."» 

In  Othello  Shakespeare  had  already  expressed  his  view  on  women's 
rights  : 

"Let  husbands  know 

Their  wives  have  sense  like  them." 

Guicciardini  has  told  us  something  about  the  Dutch  women  in  his 
interesting  description  of  the  Netherlands.*  He  writes  : 

"The  Women  of  this  country,  besides  being  as  a  rule  good-looking,  as  is  said  before, 
are  also  very  modest,  kind  and  gentle  :  for  they  begin  from  a  child,  after  the  custom 
of  the  country,  to  have  free  intercourse  with  every  one,  therefore  they  are  in  conduct, 


»  m.  I.  105. 

•  Lod.  Guicciardini.  Descrittione  de  Tutti  I  Paesi  Bassi  altrimenti  detti  Germania  In- 
feriore.  Antwerp.  1567.  The  book  is  remarkable  for  completeness  and  carefulness,  and 
gives  abundant  information  of  the  country  at  that  time.  It  was  translated  into  French 
in  the  same  year  and  in  1612  a  Dutch  translation  appeared  by  Cornelius  Kilianus. 

Lodovico  Guicciardini  1523 — 1589  was  a  Florentine  nobleman,  who  travelled  in 
the  Netherlands;  he  lived  in  Amsterdam  and  in  Antwerp,  where  he  died;  in  1565  he 
was   imprisoned   by    Alva. 

Nederlandt  ofte  Beschrijvinge  derselviger  Provincien  ende  Steden. 

De  Vrouwen  van  desen  lande  boven  heur  ghemeynlijcke  schoonheydt,  so  voorseyt 
is,  syn  oock  seer  gesedig,  vriendelijck  ende  liefelijck  want  sy  beginnen  van  joncks  kindts 
af,  na  des  landts  gebruyck  vryelijck  te  verkeeren  met  eenen  yegelijcken  :  deshalven  sy 
in  handel,  spraeck  ende  alle  dingen  veerdig,  behendigh  ende  koen  worden  ;  houden 
haer  niet  te  min  in  sulcke  vryheydt  seereerlijc  ende  deugdelijc  :  ende  gaenniet  alleenlijc 
over  ende  weder  in  de  stadt  om  haersakente  beschicken  :  maer  reysen  oock  over  landt 
van  den  eenen  ten  anderen,  met  luttel  gheselschaps,  sonder  eenige  berispinge.Zy  syn  seer 


CL 


I 


speech  and  all  things  able,  handy  and  brave  ;  they  remain,  however,  in  such  liberty 
very  honest  and  virtuous,  and  they  not  only  go  about  in  the  town  to  manage  their 
affairs:  but  also  travel  without  blame  in  the  country  to  one  another,  with  little  com- 
pany. They  are  very  frugal,  busy  and  always  doing  something,  not  only  the  house-work 
and  the  house-keeping,  as  the  men  little  mind  those  things,  but  also  occupy  them- 
selves with  trade,  buying  and  selling:  and  are  busy  with  hands  and  tongue  in  affairs 
that,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  only  concern  the  men,  with  such  skill  and  industry  that  in 
many  places,  as  in  Holland  and  Zealand,  the  men  suffer  the  women  to  manage  all,  to 
which  is  added  that  the  men  are  much  away,  occupied  in  trade,  navigation  or  fishing, 
through  which,  making  allowance  for  the  natural  desire  of  women  of  mastery,  they 
undoubtedly  become  too  much  the  mistress,  and  are  sometimes  exceedingly  proud, 
haughty  and  spiteful."* 

The  English  lady  is  horrified  at  the  views  uttered  by  the  Dutch  women, 
and  answers  that  in  England  the  women  are  obedient,  compare : 

••our  country  brings  vs  vp  to  faire  obedience 

to  know  our  husbands  for  our  Governors 

so  to  obey,  and  serve  'em,  two  heads  make  monsters."' 

This  view  is  confirmed  by  passages  from  other  plays,  compare  : 
The  Picture  : 

,,You  have  been  an  obedient  wife,  a  right  one."" 

and  the  Emperor  of  the  East : 

'•Do   you    thinck 
Such  arrogance,  or  usurpation  rather, 
Of  what  is  proper  and  peculiar 
In  every  private  husband,  and  much  more 
To  him,  an  emperor,  can  ranck  with  the  obedience 
And  duty  of  a  wife  ?"* 


*  translated  from  the  Dutch  version  by  W.P.F. 
■  lines  814  ff. 

•  I    I. 

•  m,  2. 

sober,besich  ende  altijdt  wat  doende.beschickende  met  alleenlijck  huyswerc  ende  huyshou- 
dinge,  daer  de  mans  hen  luttel  met  becommeren  maer  onderwinden  haer  00c  met  coopman- 
schap,  in  't  koopen,  ende  verkoopen :  ende  syn  neerstig  in  de  weere,  met  hant  ende  tonge 
in  hanteringen  die  den  mans  eygentlijck  aengaen,  met  alsulcke  behendigheydt  ende 
vlijtigheydt,  dat  te  veel  plaetsen,  als  in  Hollandt  ende  Zeelant,  de  mans  den  vrouwen 
alle  dingen  laten  beschicken  (het  welcke  by  komt,  dat  de  mans  veel  buyten  buys  syn 
in  Coophandel,  Zeevaert  ofte  Visscherye).  Waerdoor,  midts  oock  de  natuerlijcke  be- 
geerlijckheydt  der  vrouwen  tot  heerschappye,  sy  sonder  twyfel  veel  te  seer  de  mestersse 
makeni  ende  somtijdts  boven  maten  fier,  grootsch  ende  spijtigh  worden. 

—  CLI  — 


I  suppose  the  dramatist  had  for  a  moment  lost  sight  of  the  fact  that  the 
Provost's  wife  is  a  Dutch  woman  ;  when  the  Provost  commands  her  to 
go  home,  she  answers 

"you    know    my  obedience  and  I  must  practise  it."* 

She  may  be  meant  to  illustrate  the  truth  that  exceptions  prove  the 
rule,  or  the  dual  authorship  may  account  for  the  inconsistency. 

But  we  also  meet  with  other  views  in  the  plays  of  the  time,  I  need 
only  mention  the  Renegado : 

^^Donusa  Thou  Carazie, 

Wert   born   in   England ;    what's   the   custom  there 

Among  your  women  ? 
Car.  Your  city  dame 

Without  leave,  wears  the  breeches,  has  her  husband 
At  as   much  command  as  her   'prentice. 
Don.  But   your   court   lady  ? 

Car.  She,  I   assure   you   madam, 

Knows   nothing   but   her    will ;    must   be    allow'd 
Her  footmen,    her  caroch,  her  ushers,  pages 
Her  doctor,  chaplains,  and,  as  I  have  heard, 
They're  grown  of  late  so  learnM  that  they  maintain 
A  strange  position,  which  their  lords,  with  all 
Their   wit  cannot  confute."* 

The  scenes  in  question  also  illustrate  a  sad  lack  of  authority  in  the  Dutch 
republic ;  there  is  no  respect  for  order;  the  citizens  rule  their  superiors  in 
the  same  way  as  the  wives  rule  their  husbands.  They  are  led  by  an  Armininian 
Preacher,  who  exclaims  on  hearing  that  the  Prince  is  drawing  up  *'they 
shall  defie  him  and  to  his  face".  This  view  seems  correct,  for  Motley  also 
tells  us  of  an  incident  that  happened  in  Schoonhoven  one  of  those  days. 
**The  authorities  attempted  one  Sunday  by  main  force  to  induct  a  Contra- 
Remonstrant  into  the  pulpit  from  which  a  Remonstrant  had  just  been 
expelled.  The  women  of  the  place  turned  out  with  their  distaffs  and  beat 
them  from  the  field.  The  garrison  was  called  out,  and  there  was  a  pitched 
battle  in  the  streets  between  soldiers,  police,  officers  and  women  ;  the 
victory  remaining  with  the  ladies  !"  Motley  remarks  :  "the  respect  for 
authority  which  had  so  long  been  a  characteristic  of  the  Netherlanders 
seemed  to  have  disappeared."  I  am  glad  to  be  able  to  quote  this  authority 
for,  being  Dutch,  I  regret  to  say  that  I  am  not  so  convinced  of  this  'love 
of  authority' ;    the  scene  described  above  reminds  me  of  the  spectacles 

*  lines  2536. 

'  I,   2. 

—  cm  — 


witnessed  during  the  European  war,  when  the  women  of  the  town  marched 
up  to  the  Town  Hall  clamouring  for  higher  rations  of  food,  but  fortu- 
nately there  were  never  'pitched  battles.' 

These  scenes  and  others,  where  the  English  soldiers  are  mentioned 
as  loyal  to  their  oath  to  the  Prince  are  painted  with  a  strong  patriotic 
flavour.  This  was  undoubtedly  done  to  flatter  the  national  pride  of  the 
audience;  the  noble  prince  conquers  the  revolutionary  spirits,  and  restores 
peace  and  order,  at  the  head  of  brave  loyal  English  soldiers.  They  are 
depicted  as  inaccessible  to  the  persuasions  of  Leidenberch  and  the  threats 
of  Rock-Giles,  and  scorn  to  fight  against  their  lawful  commander.  Whenever 
Leidenberch  only  hears  the  name  of  "the  English"-  he  is  utterly  dismayed 
and  sees  no  other  help  but  uttering  imprecations  ;  even  when  he  hears 
that  the  lady  is  English  he  breaks  forth  without  rhyme  or  reason  :  "would 
they  were  all  shipt  well  for  th'  other  part  oth'  world  :  theis  stubborne 
English   we   onely   feare." 

This  patriotic  flavour  occurs  repeatedly  in  the  Elizabethan  plays. 
Professor  Creizenach  cites  the  following  cases  :  in  Heywood's  A  Challenge 
for  Beauty  a  Portuguese  knight  trying  to  find  the  noblest  and  most 
beautiful  woman  in  the  world,  meets  her  in  England.  In  Massinger's 
The  Virgin  Martyr,  when  a  slave  is  called  to  take  Dorothea  he  refuses, 
as  he  scorns  doing  so  mean  a  deed;  it  turns  out  that  he  is  a  Briton.  In 
the  play  of  Barnavelt  this  patriotic  flavour  is  very  marked;  we  are  led 
to  believe  that  it  is  only  owing  to  the  aid  of  the  brave  and  loyal  English 
troops  that  the  courageous  Prince  quelled  a  dangerous  rebellion. 

There  are  no  English  historical  persons  among  the  dramatis  personae. 
Sii  John  Ogle,  the  commander  of  the  English  troops  in  Utrecht  is  re- 
presented as  'a  captain'.  There  is  a  reference  in  the  play  to  Queen  Eliza- 
beth as  'that  virgin  Queene  our  Patronesse  of  happie  memory  Elizabeth 
of  England'.^  Leicester's  name  is  not  mentioned,  but  he  is  referred  to 
as  'one  that  then  ruld  all.'^  King  James  is  only  mentioned  as  'the  King 
of  Britaine  that  now  is.'^ 

The  dramatists  have  been  mistaken  in  some  of  the  Dutch  names, 
owing  to  the  sources.  Van  der  Myle,  Barnavelt' s  son-in-law,  is  called 
Vandermitten,  and  is  presented  as  a  Burgher ;  the  dramatists  found  this 
name  in  the  pamphlet  The  Golden  Legend  oj  the  New  St.  John.  As  to 
the  name  of  Van  Dort,  I  notice  that  'the  Copy  of  the  letter  written  by  the 

I  line  2262. 
■  line  2224. 
»  line  2267, 

—  CLHI  — 


Generall  States  vnto  the  particular  Vnited  Prouinces  in  the  Netherlands' 
is  signed  by  Van  Dort,  which  must  have  suggested  this  name  for  one 
of  the  Lords  to  the  dramatists.  Professor  Fruin.  remarks  "I  cannot  under- 
stand why  one  of  the  Utrecht  Burghers  is  called  Rock-Giles,  I  have  never 
met  with  the  name  of  Rock  anywhere."  This  name  is  also  taken  from 
The  Golden  Legend ;  in  this  pamphlet  Rock-Giles  is  mentioned  as 
'Barneuel's  dear  brother  in  villany.'  The  name  of  Modesbargen  is  a 
mistake  for  Moersbergen  ;  the  name  occurb  incorrect  like  this  in  the  English 
translation  of  The  Arraignment.  Holderus  is  the  name  of  the  'Minister  of 
the  Word  of  God*  who  wrote  the  libellous  Castigations  in  the  margin 
of  BameveVs  Apology.  Professor  Fruin  thinks  it  a  stroke  of  the  drama- 
tist's  humour  to  give  the  name  of  a  zealous  Calvinistic  preacher  to  a 
rebellious  Arminian  agitator. 

I.    Translations 

The  Tragedy  of  Sir  John  Van  Olden  Bamavelt  has  been  translated  into 
Dutch  and  German.  In  1885  Professor  C.  W.  Opzoomer  gave  an  excellent 
Dutch  translation  of  the  play,  bearing  the  title  Johan  Van  Oldenhamevelt. 
The  translator  has  caught  with  wonderful  spirit  the  stately  and  dignified 
tone  of  the  rhetorical  passages,  and  the  language  is  marked  on  the  whole 
by  the  harmony  and  dignity  of  the  original.  There  are  a  few  incorrect 
translations,  as  for  instance,  line  2429 

"you  rise  and  I  grow  tedious" 

is  rendered  by 

„gij  rijst  en  ik  ga  onder" 

I  take  the  meaning  to  be  "you  get  up  and  I  am  talking  too  long", 
or  "I  bore  you"  ;  in  the  pamphlet  we  also  find  this  use  of  tedious' : 
"good  Lords  I  am  more  tedious  than  I  was  aware  of"^ ;  here  the  meaning 
is  again"  I  am  talking  longer  than  I  was  aware  of." 

A  funny  error  occurs  in  the  translation  of  line  2835 

"the  Prince  strickes  iust  ith'  nick" 

The  meaning  is  "in  the  nick  of  time"  i.e.,  "the  exact  moment  when 
something  should  be  done".  Professor  Opzoomer  has  probably  read 
"neck"  and  translates 

„De  Prins   treft  juist  den   nek." 


'  The  Apology^  See  Sources. 

—  CLIV  — 


Professor  Opzoomer  neglected  the  pun  in  the  lines  172,  73 

"this  indeed  is  stately, 
Statesmen  do  you  call  'em  ?" 

The  Dutch  translation  is 

*"t  Is   rijk   gesierd 

Hen  noemt  gij  staatslui  ?" 

I  see  no  objection  to  rendering  this  by 

"een  statig   woord 
Hen  noemt  gij  staatslui  ?" 

Line  2026  "he  was  a  weak  man  indeed*'  translated  by  "week  was  hij, 
ja"  is  better  rendered  by   "zwak  was  hij,   ja.'* 

I  consider  the  line  "laat  ons  zwijgen  gaan,  en  zijn  gepeins  niet  storen"^ 
a  very  feeble  line  indeed,  but  the  occurrence  of  a  line  like  this  is  exceptional. 
Professor  Opzoomer  has  omitted  line  2770  in  which  a  mutilated  word 
occurs  : 

"now  the  Graves  head....  he  goose  giblitts" 

In  1890  there  appeared  a  German  translation  of  the  play  by  F.  A.  Gelbcke 
in  a  collection  of  twelve  plays  Die  Englische  Buhne  zu  Shakespeare's 
Zeit.  R.  Boyie  contributed  a  general  introduction,  and  an  introduction 
to  each  play.  Gelbcke  had  already  published  a  translation  of  Shakespeare's 
Sonnets  in  1867.  The  translation  of  our  play  bearing  the  title  Mynheer 
Jan  van  Olden  Bameveld  is  in  every  respect  careful  and  excellent,  and 
the  blank  verse  deserves  high  praise.  I  have  already  noted  some  errors 
of  slight  importance  as  the  translation  of  "this  Grave  Maurice"  by 
"der  strenge  Moritz"  and  line  2429  mentioned  above  by  „Ihr  steigt  und 
ich  bin  miide",  which  is  incorrect. 

J.    Critical  estimate 

When  Bullen  had  edited  his  'newly  recovered  treasure'  the  play 
of  Bamavelt  was  on  the  whole  very  favourably  received,  its  merits 
were  indeed  overrated.  The  critics  were  exuberant  in  their  praises.  Bullen 
remarks  in  his  Introduction  "I  have  no  hesitation  in  predicting  that 
Barnavelt's  Tragedy,  for  its  splendid  command  of  fiery  dramatic  rhet- 
oric, will  rank  among  the  masterpieces  of  English  dramatic  literature." 

Fleay  follows  Bullen  in  his  criticism  ;  he  writes  "This  magnificent 
play   is  mainly  the   production   of  Fletcher   and  Massinger"  and,  "The 


line    1028     "Salute,   and  counsell :   Let's  leaue  him  to  his   thoughts." 

—  CLV   — 


play  of  Barnavelt  is  worth  a  small  library  of  ordinary  reprints  ;  it  is  one 
of  Fletcher's  and  Massinger's  masterpieces." 

R.  Boyle  has  extolled  the  value  higher  still.  He  writes  "even  a  cursory 
glance  will  convince  the  reader  that  the  play  is  one  of  the  greatest  trea- 
sures of  our  dramatic  literature."  He  thinks  it  a  matter  of  regret  that 
such  a  gem  should  have  remained  in  manuscript  for  over  200  years  ;  and 
remarks  "the  conclusion  weakens  the  dramatic  power  of  the  close,  but 
it  does  not  prevent  the  play  from  occupying  a  high  place  among  our  dra- 
matic treasures."  The  poet  Swinburne  hailed  the  appearance  of  our  play 
with  delight.  In  the  Athenaeum  for  March  iQth  1883  he  writes  "All 
students  of  English  dramatic  literature  owe  a  great  debt  of  gratitude 
to  Mr.  Bullen  for  the  gift  of  this  newly  unearthed  treasure."  Afterwards 
in  his  review  ot  the  play  he  remarks  "we  must  consider  the  claims  of 
this  noble  tragic  poem  which  ought  henceforward  to  be  printed  at  the  head 
of  Massinger's  works." 

Sir  A.  Ward  remarks  "the  extremely  interesting  tragedy  of  Barnavelt 
was  fortunately  recovered  and  made  known  by  Mr.  Bullen." 

In  Germany  Professor  Leo  announced  the  new  collection  of  plays 
and  remarked  about  the  tragedy  of  Barnavelt :  "Das  Stiick  ist  eine 
bisher  unbekannte  Tragodie  von  Massinger  und  Fletcher ;  die  Veroffent- 
lichung  ist  fiir  alle  Kenner  der  dramatischen  Litteratur  von  grossem 
Interesse."^ 

Other  critics  are  less  favourable  in  their  criticism.  Professor  Cruick- 
shank  calls  the  play  a  "piece  d'occasion"  written  shortly  after  the  tragic 
death  of  Barnavelt,  in  such  a  way,  however,  that  it  would  not  interest 
a  later  generation,  who  had  forgotten  the  sensation  of  the  time.  In  the 
second  place,  it  has  no  unity,  a  fact  no  doubt  partly  due  to  the  dual 
authorship.  There  is  much  fine  poetry  in  the  play,  but  Fleay  goes  too 
far  when  he  calls  the  play   'magnificent'." 

Professor  Fruin  gives  as  his  opinion  that  the  tragedy  of  Barnavelt 
fully  merits  the  praises  of  the  critics  (Bullen,  Boyle  and  Swinburne)  as 
regards  style  and  diction,  but  that,  as  a  dramatic  composition,  it  cannot 
rank  among  the  masterpieces  of  English  literature. 

Professor  DeHus'  criticism  is  much  less  favourable,  in  fact,  he  has  a  great 
deal  to  find  fault  with  in  the  play,  and  his  opinion  is  that  Massinger  and 
Fletcher  are  authors  of  too  great  standing  to  be  regarded  as  the  com- 


•  Jahrhuch  der  Deutschen  Shakespeare  Gesellschaft^  XDC,   1884. 
»  The  Fortnightly  Review,  vol.  XLVI,  July  1889. 

—  CLVI  — 


i 


posers  of  the  play.  The  only  merits  of  the  play  he  considers  to  be  "der 
charakterisch  lebendig  gefarbte  Stil  und  Vers,  der  ein  feines  Studium 
der  spateren  historischen  Dramen  Shakespeare's  verrat."  ^ 

When  a  sumnniary  is  offered  of  the  beauties  and  the  blemishes  of  the 
play,  we  shall  notice  that  there  is  much  to  praise  and  much  to  blame. 
The  exposition  is  faultless  ;  at  the  close  of  the  first  act  we  have  had 
before  our  eyes  all  the  important  figures  of  the  play,  and  we  are  made 
acquainted  with  all  the  facts  necessary  for  the  comprehension  of  the 
events  about  to  take  place.  The  construction  is  excellent,  and  excites 
our  admiration  when  we  take  into  consideration  the  scant  subject  matter 
at  the  dramatists'  disposal,  but  the  development  is  not  as  rapid  as  it 
should  be  ;  the  action  is  interrupted  by  episodes  that  do  not  lead  up  to 
the  catastrophe.  There  are  in  the  play  happy  devices  which  show  great 
mastery  of  stagecraft ;  the  vivacity  and  reahsm  of  some  scenes,  painted 
with  spirited  humour,  are  effective.  There  is  no  consistency  of  character- 
drawing,  and  we  are  never  struck  with  a  touch  of  delicate  characteri- 
zation. The  characters  leave  no  permanent  impression,  as  the  dramatists 
failed  to  paint  living  beings  of  our  own  flesh  and  blood.  There  is  no 
depth  of  conception  in  the  hero's  character,  his  motives  are  unconvin- 
cing and  this  renders  the  plot  improbable.  Some  scenes  are  master- 
pieces of  dramatic  rhetoric,  but  there  is  no  great  intensity  of  emotion. 
Sir  Leslie  Stephen's  criticism  of  Massinger's  plays  also  holds  good 
for  Massinger's  share  in  our  tragedy  **his  plays  are  apt  to  be  a  con- 
tinuous declamation  cut  into  fragments,  and  assigned  to  the  different 
actors."^  The  nobility  of  diction  and  dignity  of  tone  in  the  greater  part 
of  the  play  are  among  the  chief  merits  of  the  tragedy.  There  is  fine  poetry 
and  effective  pathos  in  some  scenes. 

The  catastrophe  wants  tragic  depth  ;  the  scene  is  too  long  drawn  out, 
and  Barnavelt's  farewell  is  more  elegiac  than  pathetic.  As  a  historical 
play  the  composition  shows  a  deficiency  in  the  exposition  of  the  political 
events  ;  the  historical  problems  are  not  put  in  a  clear  light,  and  the  whole 
lacks  true  historic  colour.  I  do  not  think  the  excessive  praises  of  the 
critics  justified.  I  agree  with  Professor  Cruickshank  when  he  thinks  that 
Fleay  goes  too  far  when  he  calls  the  play  'magnificent'.  It  is  also  going 
too  far  to  call  it  *a  jewel,'  and  I  do  not  consider  it  worthy  to  rank 
among  the  masterpieces  of  English  dramatic  literature,  but  I  think  Pro- 


*  Jahrbuch  der  Deutschen  Shakespeare  Gesellschaft  vol.   XIX, 
»  Op.  cit. 


—   CLVII  — 


fessor  Delius  might  have  paid  more  attention  to  the  good  qualities  of  the 
play. 

I  regret  that  I  cannot  agree  with  Professor  Cruishshank's  criticism  ; 
the  play  is  certainly  more  than  a  hasty  production  got  up  for  a  tem- 
porary purpose,  but  on  account  of  the  want  of  depth,  it  cannot  be 
called  a  forcibly  conceived  tragedy. 

The  story  of  the  life  and  death  of  Barnavelt,  as  told  by  Motley,  is  one 
of  the  most  tragic  in  an  important  era  of  history.  The  dramatists  have 
failed  to  catch  the  pathos  of  his  fate  ;  there  is  a  lack  of  the  solemnity 
and  the  grandeur  worthy  of  the  fall  of  a  great  figure.  Though  there  are 
splendid  rhetorical  speeches,  there  is  no  great  intensity  of  emotion ; 
the  whole  lacks  depth  and  intensity  of  feeling.  The  dramatists  wanted 
the  philosophic  insight  of  Shakespeare  to  depict  the  conflict  of  emotions 
and  the  fall  of  a  proud,  ambitious  character  of  dauntless  courage,  guided 
in  the  wrong  direction  by  a  strong  will.  Are  we  allowed  to  conjecture  whether 
a  consummate  master  in  the  delineation  of  character  like  Shakespeare 
would  have  inspired  the  spectators  with  pity  and  also  awe  at  the  fall 
of  the  greatest  Statesman  of  the  age  }  I  certainly  think  he  would,  and  it 
is  due  to  the  want  of  vital  force  in  the  conception,  to  the  inconsistency 
of  characterization  and  to  the  lack  of  depth  of  interest  that  the  tragedy 
cannot  rank  as  a  masterpiece  of  English  dramatic  literature,  though  we 
cannot  deny  its  claim  to  a  high  place  in  the  second  rank  of  the  English 
Elizabethan  plays. 

I  shall  consider  myself  happy,  if  I  have  succeeded  in  bringing  The 
Tragedy  of  Sir  John  Van  Olden  Barnavelt  to  the  notice  of  students  of 
English  literature,  and  if  I  have  contributed  to  procuring  the  play  a 
wider  circle  of  readers  than  it  has  had  till  now  . 


—  CLvm  — 


T<he>  Tragedy  of  S"^  lohn 
Van  Olden  Barnauelt.  / 


Persons  of  the  Play.^  | 

Grave  Maurice,  Prince  of  Orange,  Captain-General  of  the  Army.  |r 

Grave  William,  his  cousin.  $, 

Grave  Henry.' 

Sir  John  Van  Olden  Barnavelt,  Advocate  of  Holland  and  West-Friesland.  , 

William  Van  Olden  Barnavelt,  Governor  of  Bergen-op-Zoom,  his  son.  JL 

Leidenberch,  Secretary  of  the  States  of  Utrecht.  Wm 

Grotius,  Pensionary  of  Rotterdam. 

Hogerbeets,  Pensionary  of  Leiden. 

Modesbargen,  1 

Bredero,  >  Lords  of  the  States. 

Vandort,         J 

MorIIr  }  ^'*"^^  ambassadors. 

S=lw }  ^-^^^-  '^^'--' 

Holderus,  an  Arminian  preacher. 

Rock-Giles,        \  «„,  v^„ 

Vandermitten,/^"'^^^"- 

Leidenberch's  son,  a  boy. 

2  Captains. 

2  Lords. 

2  Burghers. 

A  Lieutenant. 

Provost. 

Barnavelt's  servant. 

Three  executioners  of  Harlem,  Leyden  and  Utrecht. 

A  messenger. 

Barnavelt's  wife. 

Barnavelt's  daughter. 

Provost's  wife. 

an  English  gentlewoman. 

4  Dutch  women.  \ 

a  Dutch  widow.^  \ 

Lords,  Colonels,  Captains,  Officers,  Soldiers,  Guard,  Arminians,  Burghers,        /  , 

Women,  Boys,  Huntsmen,  Servants.  / 


I 
Holderus  )  rr,, t^.,,     ,  1 


/     Company  by  whom  the  play  was  acted. 

\        Leidenberch Robert  Gough 

Morier George  Birch 

f  CAPTAIN  I Robert  Benfield 

A  Captain  )  .    j.. 

Barnavelt's  servant  )  *   *   '  •' 

A  Captain  >  •^/r^^,^ 

Huntsman  \ ^^^liel 

Officer 
Provost 
Servant  \    .......  R.  T. 

Huntsman 
A  Messenger 

Barnavelt's  wife Nicholas  Tooley  \ 

Barnavelt's  daughter  .   .   .  G.  Lowen  \ 

Provost's  wife Thomas  Holcombe      / 

*  The  list  of  dramatis  personae  and  the  list  of  actors'  names  do  not  occur  in 
the  manuscript. 

*  Probably  Frederic  Henry,   Maurice's  youngest  brother  was  meant  here;  the 
name  is  frequently  deleted  in  the  manuscript. 

■  *  •  deleted  in  the  manuscript. 

—  CLX  — 


■■f^4v^°^ 


%!fJ 


^^ 


^   ^ 


n 


^ 


3  '^-i 


C^ii  ' 


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ci 


I 


2> 


cLX 


,  .-^^;t^v-i^i^^;«Sm^ 


il 


I 


Actus  pri^:  Scce"".  pri",  Fol.  1* 

Enter  Barnauelt,  Modes-bargen,  Leidenberch, 
[VandermtttenJ .  Grotius 

Bar.  The  Prince  of  Orange  now,  all  names  are  Lost  els 
that  hee's  alone  the  ffather  of  his  Cuntrie? 
said  yo"  not  soe? 

Leid.  I  speake  the  peoples  Language 

Bar.  That  to  his  Arme,  &  Sword,  the  Protiinces  owe 

their  flourishing  peace?  That  hee's  the  Armyes  soule 

by  which  it  moves  to  victorie?  lo 

Moct.  So  'tis  said,  S^ 

Leid.  Nay,  more:  that  without  him,  dispaire,  and  ruyn 
had  ceaizd  on  all,  and  buried  quick  our  safeties. 
[  Vand.\  That  had  not  he  in  Act,  betterd  o*"  Counsailes 
^^^-       and  in  his  execution  set  them  of, 

all  we  designd  had  ben  but  as  a  tale 
forgot  as  soone  as  told. 

Leid.  and  with  such  zeale 

this  is  deliuerd,  that  the  Prince  beleeves  it; 

ffor  Greatnes  in  hir  owne  worth,  confident  20 

doth  neuer  waigh,  but  with  a  covetous  hand 

hir  lightest  meritts:  and  who  add  to  the  scale 

seldom  offend. 


[Vand.\  'Tis  this  that  swells  his  pride 
Gro.       beyond  those  lymitts,  his  late  modestie 

ever  obserud;  This  makes  him  Court  the  Soldier, 
as  his  owne  creature,  and  to  arrogate 
all  prosperous  proceedings,  to  him  self, 

3  Groiius]  added  later. 

9  That'\  the  Z  written  over  and',  the  scribe  problably  wrote  rtw^  by  mistake,  and  altered  it  into  T, 
20  hir\  her  BuUen.         22  hir\  his  Bullen.         26  Court\  count  BiiUen, 


Vi 


detracts  from  yo°,  and  all  men:  yo"  scarce  holding 
the  second  place.  30 

Bar.  When  I  gave  him  the  first 

I  robd  myself:  for  it  was  iustly  mine; 
the  labourinthes  of  pollicie,  I  haue  trod 
to  find  the  clew  of  saffetie  for  my  Cuntrie 
requird  a  head  more  knowing:  and  a  courage 
+  asboldashis,[increasdwithalltheArmyes]thoughImustsay'tisgreat. 
his  stile  of  Excellencie,  was  my  guift; 
Money,  the  strength  and  fortune  of  the  war, 
the  help  of  England,  and  the  aide  of  ffraunce 
I  onely  can  call  mine:  and  shall  I  then  40 

now  in  the  sun-set  of  my  daie  of  hono"" 
when  I  should  passe  with  glory  to  my  rest, 
and  raise  my  Monument  from  my  Cuntries  praises, 
sitt  downe,  and  with  a  boorish  patience  suffer 
the  Harvest  that  I  labo''d  for,  to  be 
anothers  spoile?  the  peoples  thancks,  and  praires 
w*^**  should  make  faire  way  for  me  to  my  grave 
to  haue  an  other  obiect?  the  choice  fruites  * 

of  my  deepe  proiects,  grace  anothers  Banquet? 
No,  this  ingratefuU  Cuntry,  [and  this  bold]  this  base  people      50 
+  [vserper  of  what's  mine]  most  base  to  my  deserts,  shall  first  with  horro*" 
know  he  that  could  defeat  the  Spanish  counsailes, 
and  countermyne  their  dark  works,  he  that  made 
the  State  what  'tis,  will  change  it  once  againe 
ere  fall  with  such  dishono*". 
Modl,  be  advisd  SS  Fol.  1*" 

I  love  yo"  as  a  friend :  and  as  a  wiseman  i    ■ 

haue  ever  hono'^d  yo":  be  as  yo"  were  then  '    | 

and  I  am  still  the  same :  had  I  not  heard 

theis  last  distemperd  words,  I  would  haue  sworne  60 

that  in  the  making  vp  of  Bar^iaudt 

reason  had  onely  wrought:  passion  no  hand  in't: 

But   now   I  find  yo"  are  lesse  then  a  man, 

lesse  then  a  comon  man ;  and  end  that  race 

36,  51  the  crosses  are  by  the  censor. 

36  though  I  must  say  Uis  greaf]  interlined. 

46  praises  BuUen.        50  ungraiffull  Bullen.  this  base  people\  added. 

51  most  base  to  my  deserts]  interlined. 

—    2    — 


yo"  haue  so  long  run  strongly,  like  a  child, 
for  such  a  one  old  age,  or  hono"  surfeyts 
againe  haue  made  yo". 


Bar.  this  to  me? 


Mod.  to  yo"  S^ 

for  is't  not  boyish  folly  (youthfuU  heat  7° 

I  cannot  call  it)  to  spurne  downe,  what  all 
his  life  hath  labourd  for?  Shall  Barnauelt 
that  now  should  studie  how[res]  to  die,  propound 
new  waies  to  get  a  name,  or  keep  a  being 
a  month  or  two,  to  ruyn  whatsoever 
the  good  succes  of  forty  yeeres  employment 
in  the  most  serious  affaires  of  State 
haue  raisd  vp  to  his  memory?  and  for  what? 
Glory,  the  popular  applause,  fine  purchase 
for  a  gray  beard  to  deale  in.  80 

[Vand.]   Gro.  yo"  offend  him. 

Mod.  'tis  better  then  to  flatter  him,  as  yo"  doe, 
Be  but  yourself  againe,  and  then  consider 
what  alteration  in  the  State,  can  be 
by  which  yo"  shall  not  loose :  Should  yo"  bring  in 
(as  heaven  avert  the  purpose,  or  the  thought 
of  such  a  mischeif)  the  old  Tirrany 
that  Spaine  hath  practisd,  do  yo"  thinck  yo"  should  be 
or  greater  then  yo"  are,  or  more  secure 
from  danger?  would  yo"  change  the  goverment,  9° 

make  it  a  Monarchie?  suppose  this  don, 
and  any  man  yo"  fauoM  most,  set  vp 
shall  yo""  authoritie  by  him  encrcase? 
be  not  so  foolishlie  seducd :  for  what 
can  hope  propose  to  yo",  in  any  Change 
w*^^  ev'n  now,  yo"  posses  not? 

Bar.  doe  not  measure 
my  ends  by  yours. 

Mod.  I  know  not  what  you  ayme  at: 

for  thirthie  yeeres  (onely  the  name  of  king  100 

yo"  haue  not  had,  and  yet  yo"^  absolute  powre 
hath  ben  as  ample)  who  hath  ben  employd 

86  or\  and  Bullen.         87  mischief  Bullen. 
^   3  — 


in  office,  goverment,  or  Embassie, 

who  raisd  to  wealth  or  hono'  that  was  not 

brought  in  by  yo*"  allowauncer  who  hath  held 

his  place  without  yo*"  lycence?  your  Estate  is 

beyond  a  privat  mans:  your  Brothers,  Sonnes, 

ffrends,  ffamylies  made  rich,  in  trust  &  hono"; 

Nay;  this  Grave  Maurice^  this  now  Prince  of  Orange 

whose  popular] tie  yo"  weakely  envy  no 

was    still    by   yo"    comaunded:  for  when  did  he         Fol.  2* 

enter  the  fifeild,  but  'twas  by  your  allowaunce? 

what  service  vndertake,  which  yo"  approu'd  not? 

what  victory  was  won,  in  which  yo"  shard  not? 

what  Action  of  his  renownd,  in  which 

yo*"  Counsaile  was  forgotten?  yf  all  theis  then 

suffice  not  yo*"  Ambition,  but  yo"  must 

extend  it  further,  I  am  sorry  that 

yo"  give  me  cause  to  feare,  that  when  yo"  move  next 

yo"  move  to  yo""  distruction.  120 


Bar.  yf  I  fall, 

it  shall  not  be  alone,   for  in  my  ruyns 
my  Enemies  shall  find  their  Sepulchers: 
Modes-bargen,  Though  in  [yeeres]  place  you  are  my  equall, 
the  fire  of  hono^  which  is  dead  in  yo", 
burnes  hotly  in  me,  and  I  will  preserve 
each  glory  I  haue  got,  with  as  much  care 
as  I  acheivd  it;  read  but  ore  the  Stories 
of  men  most  fam'd  for  courage,  or  for  counsaile, 
and  yo"  shall  find  that  the  desire  of  glory  130 

was  the  last  frailety  wisemen  ere  putt  of: 
be  they  my  presidents 
Vand\  Gro.  'tis  like  yourself 

like  Barnaueity  and  in  that,  all  is  spoken 
Leid.  I  can  doe  something  in  the  State  of   Vtrecht 
and  yo"  shall  find  the  place  of  Secretarie 
which  yo"  conferd  vpon  me  there,  shall  be 


116  this  Bullen.         120  destruction  BuUen.         122  it]  I  Bullen. 

124  place]  interlined.  Modes- bar (^en\  a  letter  has  been  erased  after  the  s. 

135  do    Bullen. 

—  4  — 


when  yo"  employ  me,  vsefull 
[Vand.]  Gro,  all  1  am 

yo"  know  yo"  may  coinaund:  ile  nere  enquire  140 

what  'tis  you  goe  about,  but  trust  yo""  Counsailcs 
as  the  Auncients  did  their  Oracles. 
Mod.  though  I  speak 

not  as  a  fflatterer,  but  a  frend:  propound 
what  may  not  preiudice  the  State,  and  I 
\      will  goe  as  far  as  any.  —  Enter  2  Captaines 

Bar.  to  all  my   service,  lo:  R:  migh. 


ere  long  you  shall  know  more:  What  are  theis? 


Leid.  Captaines 

that  raild  vpon  the  Comissary.  150 

Bar.  I  remember. 

/.   Cap.  why,  yo"  dare  charge  a  fifoe  i'  the  head  of  his  troope, 
and  shake  yo"  to  deliuer  a  petition 
to  a  Statesman  and  a  ffrend? 

2.  Cap.  I  need  not  seek  him, 

he  has  found  me;  and  as  I  am  a  Soldier 
his  walking  towards  me,  is  more  terrible 
then  any  Enemies  march  I  ever  mett  with 

/.  Cap.  we  must  stand  to  it. 

Bar,  yo",  S^  yo"  160 

2.   Cap.  my  lord. 

Bar.  as  I  vse  this,  I  waigh  yo":  yo"  are  he 

that  when  your  Company  was  viewd,  and  checkd 

for   your   dead  paies:  stood  on  yo*"  termes  of  hono'*; 

cryde  out  I  am  a  Gentleman,  a  Comaunder 

and  shall  I  be  curbd  by  my  lords  the  States?  Fol.  2** 

(for  thus  yo"  said  in  scorne)  that  are  but  Merchants, 

Lawyers,  Appothecaries,  and  Phisitians, 

perhaps  of  worsser  ranck?  But  yo"  shall  know  S*" 

they  are  not  such,  but  Potentates,  and  Princes  170 

from  whom  yo"  take  pay: 

/.  Cap.  this  indeed  is  stately, 

Statesmen  do  yo"  call  'em? 


144  friend  BuUen.  147  lo:  R:  migh.]  added  in  another  hand. 

168  Apothecaries  BuUen.  168  Physitians  BuUen.  169  worser  BuUen. 

—   5   — 


2,  Cap,  I  beseech  your  Lordship: 
't  was  wine,  and  anger: 
Bar,  no  Sir,  want  of  dutie: 

but  I  will  make  that  tongue  ^w^  him  the  lye 
that  said  soe,  drunck,  or  sober:  take  my  word  for't, 
yo*"  Companie  is  cast:  yo"  had  best  complaine 
to  yo*"  great  Generall,  and  see  if  he  i8o 

can  of  himself  maintaine  yo":  Come  Modesbargen.    —  Ex^, 
Leid.  i  am  sorry  for  yo"  Captaine:  but  take  comfort, 
I  love  a  Soldier,  and  all  I  can  doe 
to  make  yo"  what  yo"  were,  shall  labo*"  for  yo" 
and  so  good  morrow  Gentlemen     —  Exit 

/.  Cap.  yet  there's  hope. 

for  yo"  haue  one  frend  left. 

2.   Cap,  yo"  are  deceiud  Sir: 

and  doe  not  know  his  nature,  that  gaue  promise 

of  his  assistaunce.  190 

/.   Cap.  who  is't? 

2.  Cap.  Leidenberch 

one  of  the  Lords,  the  States:  and  of  great  powre  too, 

I  would  he  were  as  honest:  This  is  he 

that  neuer  did  man  good:  and  yet  no  Suito*" 

ever  departed  discontented  from  him : 

hee'U  promise  any  thing:  I  haue  scene  him  talke 

at  the  Church  dore  with  his  hat  of,  to  a  Begger 

almost  an  howre  togeather;  yet  when  he  left  him 

he  gave  him  not  a  doyt:  he  do's  profes  200 

to  all  an  outward  pitty,  but  within 

the  devills  more  tender:  the  great  plague  vpon  him 

why  thinck  I  of  him :  he's  no  part  of  that 

must  make  my  peace. 

/.   Cap,  why  what  course  will  yo"  take  then 

2.  Cap.  a  Bribe  to  Barnauelts  wiffe,  or  [a  fresh  whore]  a  kind  wench 
for  my  young  lord  his  Son,  when  he  has  drunck  hard, 
ther's  no  way  els  to  doo't. 

/.  Cap.  I  haue  gold  good  store. 


187  friend  Bullen.         190  assistance  BuUen.         199  houre  BuUen. 
206  a  kind  wench]  interlined. 

—  6  — 


yo^  shall  not  want  that:  and  if  I  had  thought  on't 
when  I  left  London,  I  had  fitted  you 
for  a  convenient  Pagan. 


2IO 


2.  Cap.  why,  is  there 

such  store  they  can  be  spard? 

/.   Cap,    [ay  they  abound  Sir,] 

[and  yo"  fight  in  the  shade  to  those  that  serve  there] 

[I  meane  in  the  tearme  time,  for  now  ther's  a  [Tearme]  Truce  SS] 

[the   Somer's  their  vacation :  the  poore  wretches] 

[are  horribly  out  of  action(:)  at  a  new  Play]  219 

[when  they  haue  pawnd  their  smocks,  to  show  their  best  gownesj 

[in  the  best  roomes  to  the  Gallants  and  hoong  forth]  Fol.  3* 

[all  their  allurements,  and  ^ee'n)  said  alowd] 

[come  on  for  we  are  for  you:  with  a  peece] 

[I  could  haue  prest  yo"  one  to  follow  me] 

[that  should  haue  serud  yo''turne  and,  three  moneths  kept  him] 

[from  pickle  herrings,  oyle    (b  .  .haag)  and  pilchers :] 

[But  to  yo'  busines:  let  vs  leave  this  fooling] 

[and  try  what  gold  can  doe] 

2.  Cap.  I  thank  yo"  Sir 


Exeunt 


I 


Scce'*.  2"^.     Enter  Barnauelt:  Modesbargen^  Leidenberch 
[Vandermttten] :  Grotius :  [Taurmus,    Vtenbogart] 

Hoger  beets. 
Bar.  The  States  are  sitting:  all  that  I  can  doe 
ile  say  in  litle:  and  in  me,  theis  Lords 
promise  as  much.  I  am  of  your  belief 
in  every  point  yo"  hold  touching  religion, 
and  openly  I  will  profes  myself 
of  the  Arminiaji  sect. 
Gro.  yo"  bono""  it. 
[Tau.\  Hog.  and  all  o""  praires,  and  service. 
Bar.  Reverend  men 


230 


240 


215-228  marked  for  omission;  apparently  pudoris  causa. 

217  The  scribe  repeated  the  word  Tearme,  crossed  it  out,   and   interlined    Truce. 
219  There  was  probably  some  stop  after  action,  but  all  trace  has  been  lost. 

222  The  missing  word  is  very  doubtful;  the  first  letter  is  pretty  certainly  e,  the  apostrophe  is  clear. 

226  It  is  impossible  to  read  the  missing  word  or  words  -  ^  is  clear,  the  next  letter  may  possibly 

be  a,  then  cither  a  space  or  a  small  letter  completely  obscured,  h  clear,  a  fairly  certain,  ag  clear. 

231  The  deletions  are  not  very  clearly  done,  especially  the  first.        233  /////^Bullen.       240  man  Bullen. 


^  7  — 


Yo*"  loves  I  am  ambitious  of:  Alreadie 
'tis  knovvne  I  fauo*"  yo",  and  that  hath  drawne 
libells  against  me:  but  the  stinglesse  hate 
of  those  that  wryte  them,  I  contempne. 


[Vtend.]  Hog,  they  are  worthie 

of  nothing  but  contempt 
Bar,  that  I  confcs  too : 

but  yet  we  must  expect  much  opposition 
ere  yo*"  opinions  be  confirmd :  I  know 
,  the  Prince  of  Orange,  a  sworne  Enemie 

to  yo""  affections;  he  h'as  vowd  to  crosse  yo": 

but  I  will  still  stand  for  yo":  my  advice  is 

that  having  won  the  Burgers  to  yo*"  partie 

perswade  them  to  enroll  new  Companies 

for  their  defence  against  the  Insolence 

of  the  old  Soldiers,  garisond  at    Vtrecht] 

yet  practise  on  them  too:  and  they  may  vrge  this, 

That  since  they  haue  their  pay  out  of  that  Province, 

iustice  requires  they  should  be  of  their  partie : 

all  that  is  don  in    Vtrecht^  shalbe  practisd 

in  Roterdam,  and  other  Townes  I  name  not; 

farther  directions  yo"  shall  haue  hereafter, 

till  when,  I  leave  yo". 


250 


260 


Gro.  with  all  zeale  and  care 
we  will  performe  this. 
Leid.  this  foundation 
is  well  begun. 


ExK 


[  Vand.^   Gro.  and  may  the  building  prosper 

Mod.  yet  let  me  tell  yo",  where  Religion 
is  made  a  cloke  to  o*"  bad  purposes 
they  seldom  haue  succes. 


270 


Bar.  yo"  are  too  holly 

we  live  not  now  w***  Saincts,  but  wicked  men, 

and  any  thriving  way,  we  can  make  vse  of 

what  shape  soere  it  weares,  to  crosse  their  arts  Fol.  "5^ 

we  must  embrace,  and  cherish:  and  this  course 

(carrying  a  zealous  face)  will  countenaunce 

241  Already  BuUen.  252  still]  interlined. 

265  Ex^.]  Bullen  notes:  All  the  characters  remain  on  the  stage  in  spite  of  this 
direction.    Mr.    Bullen   has  misunderstood  this  stage  direction.  See  Notes. 
273  now  not  Bullen. 

—  8  — 


our  other  actions;   make  the  Burgers  ours, 
raise  Soldiers  for  o*"  guard :  strengthen  o*"  side 
against  the  now  vnequall  opposition  280 

-f-  of  this  [provvd]  Frince  [of  Or ajio^e]  that  Contemns  vs:  at  the  worst 
when  he  shall  know  there  are  some  Regiments 
we  may  call  o",  and  that  haue  no  dependaunce 
vpon  his  fauo*",  'twill  take  from  his  pride 
\    and  make  vs  more  respected.  —  Enter  Bredero 

Mod.  may  it  prove  soe.  Vandort 

Bre.  good  day,  my  Lord,  Officers 

Vand.  good  Mounseiur  Advocate 
yo"  are  an  early  stirrer. 

Bar,  'tis  my  dutie,  290 

to  wayt  yo""  Lordships  pleasure:  please  yo"  to  walke? 

Bre.  the  Prince  is  wanting:' and  this  meeting  being 
touching  the  oath  he  is  to  take,  'twer  fitt 
that  we  attend  him. 

Bar.  that  he  may  set  downe 

what  he  will  sweare,  prescribing  lymitts  to  vs, 
we  need  not  add  this  wind  by  our  observaunce 
to  sailes  too  full  alredy :  oh  my  lords 
what  will  yo"  doe?  haue  we  with  so  much  blood 
maintaind  o*"  liberties?  left  the  allegeaunce  300 

(how  iustly  now  it  is  no  time  to  argue) 
to  Spaine,  to  offer  vp  o""  slavish  necks 
to  one,  that  only  is,  what  we  haue  made  him  ? 
for,  be  but  you  yourselves,  this  Prince  of  Orange 
is  but  as  Barnauelt^  a  Servant  to 
yo""  Lordships,  and  the  State:  like  me  maintaind: 
the  pomp  he  keepes,  at  yo""  charge:  will  yo"  then 
wayt  his  prowd  pleasure;  and  in  that  confes 
by  daring  to  doe  nothing,  that  he  knowes  not 
you  haue  no  absolute  powre?  3'° 

Vandort.  I  never  sawe 

the  Advocate  so  mov'd. 

Bar.  now  to  be  patient 

were  to  be  treacherous:  trust  once  his  counsaile 

that  neuer  yet  hath  faild  yo",  make  him  know 

that  any  limb  of  this  o*"  reverend  Senate 

281    That  Contemns  vs :]  interlined.  The  cross  before  the  line  is  by  the  censor. 
291  wayte  BuUen.  293  ^iwere  Bullen. 

—  9  — 


in  powre  is  not  beneath  him:  As  we  sitt 

ile   yeild  yo"  further  reasons:  i'  the  meane  time 

comaund  him  by  the  Officers  of  the  Court 

not  to  presse  in,  vntill  yo"*  Lordships  pleasure  320 

be  made  knowne  to  him. 


Vand.  'tis  most  requisite, 
Ltid.  and  for  the  hono**  of  the  Court 
Vandort  goe  on: 

yo"  haue  my  voice. 
Bre.  and  mine:  yet  wec'll  proceed 
as  iudgement  shall  direct  vs. 
Vandort  't  my  purpose. 

Bar.  In  this  disgrace,  I  haue  one  foote  on  his  neck,  Fol.  4* 

ere  long  ile  set  the  other  on  his  head,  33° 

and  sinck  him  to  the  Center: 
Leid,  looke  to  the  dores  there  —  Exeunt. 

Sect".  J''.-  Enter  Pr,  of  Orange:    [Gr:   Henrie:]    Gra:    William. 
[CollonellsJ  &  Captaines.  —   w*"  Rob: 

Or:  I  now,  mcthincks,  I  feele  the  happynes 

of  being  sproong  from  such  a  noble  ffather 
that  sacrifizd  his  bono*",  life,  and  fortune 
for  his  lov'd  Cuntry:  Now  the  blood  &  kindred 
of  Home,  and  Egntont  (Memories  great  Martires) 
that  must  out  live  all  Alua's  Tirranies  34© 

and  when  their  Stories  told  ev'n  shake  his  ashes 
methincks  through  theis  [eyes]  vaines  now,  now  at  this  instant 
I  feele  their  Cuntries  losse:  I  feele  too 
\Henry.\  all  feele  sencibly 
WtU.       and  every  noble  hart  laments  their  miseries 
and  every  eie,  that  labours  not  with  mallice 
sees  your  great  services,  and  through  what  dangers 
yo"  haue  raisd  those  noble  speritts  monuments. 
Or.  What  I  haue  don,  I  look  not  back,  to  magnifie: 

my  Cuntry  calld  me  to  it:  what  I  shall  yet  doe  35° 

with  all  the  industrie  &  strength  I  haue  lent  me 
and  grace  of  heaven  to  guid,  so  it  but  satisfie 
the  expectation   of  the  State  comaunds  me, 

342  eyes\  probably  scribe's  error.  vaines]  interlined. 

343  BuUen  notes:  The  words  ** I  feele  too"  probably  belong  to  another  speaker. 
334  mr  Rob;]  added  in  a  different  hand. 

—   10  — 


and  in  my  Cuntries  eye  appeere  but  lovely 

I  shall  sitt  downe,  though  old  and  bruizd,  yet  happie: 

Nor  can  the  bitter,  and  bold  tounge  of  mallice, 

that  neuer  yet  spoke  well  of  faire  dcservings, 

w*^  all  hir  course  aspersions  floong  vpon  me 

make  me  for  sake  my  dutie;  touch,  or  shake   me, 

or  gaine  so  much  vpon  me,  as  an  anger,  360 

whilst  here  I  hold  me  loyall:  yet  beleeue  Gentlemen 

theis  wrongs  are  neither  few,  nor  slight,  nor  followed 

by  liberall  tongues,  provokd  by  want,  or  wine, 

for  such  were  to  be  smild  at,  and  so  slighted, 

but  by  those  men,  and  shot  so  neere  mine  bono*", 

I  feare,  my  person  too :  but  so  the  State  suffer  not 

I  am  as  easie  to  forget. 


Wi//.  too  easie, 

and  that  feeds  vp  their  mallice  to  a  Monster, 
yo"  are  the  arme  oth'  war:  37° 

[Hen.]  the  Soldiers  sperit: 

the  other  but  dead  stories;  yo"  the  dooer: 

Co/,  it  stands  not  with  the  bono""  yo"  haue  won  S*", 
still  built  vpon,  and  betterd. 

Or.  no  more,  good  CoUonell. 

Co/,  the  love  the  Soldier  bearcs  yo"  to  give  way  thus 
to  haue  yo*"  actions  consturd,  scornd,  and  scoffd  at 
by  such  malignant  soules :  you  are  yo*"  self  Sir, 
and  master  of  more  mindes,  that  love,  &  bono""  ye 
Wi//.  yf  yo"  would  see  it :  but  take  through  the  mallice  380 

the  evill  intended  now,  now  bent  vpon  ye. 

Or.  I  pray  ye,  no  more;  as  yo"  love  me,  no  more 

stupid  I  neuer  was,  nor  so  secure  yet  Fol.  4*' 

to  lend  my  patience  to  mine  owne  betraying:  —  Guard  at  dore 


I  shall  find  time  and  riper  cause:  Now  ffrends 
are  my  Lords  the  States  set  yet? 


/.  Gu.  an  houre  agoe  Sir 

Or.  +  beshrew  ye  Gentlemen,  yo"  haue  made  me  tardy : 
open  the  dore. 


I  like  not  this:  neith"" 
do  I  think  y*  the  p^.  was 
thus  disgracefully  vsed. 
besides  he  is  to  much 
presented,  [her].  G.B. 


361  believe  BuUen.         365  neer  BuUen.         381  hent\  altered  from  built  in  dififerent  ink. 

384  lend\  lead  Bullen. 

386  The  marginal  note  is  by  Sir  George  Buc,  Master  of  the  Revels,  in  his  own  handwriting.  See 

Introduction-Manuscript;  he  marked  lines  385 — 403  for  omission. 
388  The  cross  is  in  ink  by  the  censor. 

—    II   — 


/.  Gu.  I  beseech  your  Grace  to  pardon  me. 
Or.  do'st  thou  know  who  I  am? 


/.  Gu,  +  yes  S',  and  hono*"  ye: 

Or.  why  do'st  thou  keep  the  dore  fast  then? 
[Henry\  thou  ffellow 

Will,      thou  sawcy  fellow;  and  yo"  that  stand  by  gaping: 
is  the  Prince  of  no  more  value,  no  more  respect 
then  like  a  Page? 
2.  Gu.  we  beseech  yo*"  Excellencies 

to  pardon  vs:  our  duties  are  not  wanting, 
nor  dare  we  entertaine  a  thought  to  crosse  ye, 
we  are  placd  here  on  Comaund. 
Or.  to  keepe  me  out? 

haue  I  lost  my  place  in  Councell?  are  my  services 
growne  to  so  poore  regards,  my  worth  so  bankrupt, 
or  am  I  tainted  with  dishonest  actions 
that  I  am  held  vnfitt  my  Cuntries  busines? 
who  placd  ye  here? 
/  Gu.  the  body  of  the  Councell, 

and   we    beseech  yo""    Grace  make  it  not  o*"  syn, 
they  gave  vs  strict  comaund,  to  stop  yo*"  passage 
Or.  'twas  frendly  don,  and  like  my  noble  Masters, 
Will.  \  deny  yo""  place? 


390 


400 


410 


Henry 


make  good  the  dore  against  ye? 
this  is  vnsufiferable,  most  vnsufiferable. 


Or.  now  I  begin  to  feele  those  doubts,  I  feare  still 
Coll.  so  far  to  dare  provoke  ye,  'tis  too  monstrous; 
and  yo"  forget  yo*"  self,  your  birth,  yo'*  hono', 
the  name  of  Soldier  if  yo"  suffer  this: 
suffer  from  those,  those  things,  those,  pox  vpon't 
those  molds  of  men  made  noble  by  yo'  services,  420 

yo*"  daylie  sweatts? 

1.  Cap.  it  must  not  be  endured  thus 

the  wrong  extends  to  vs,  we  feele  it  seuerally 

2,  Cap.  yo*"  sweet  humillitie,  has  made  'em  scorne  ye, 

and  vs,  and  all  the  world  that  serve  their  vses, 

and  stick  them  selues  vp  teachers,  masters,  Princes, 

allmost  new  gods  too,  founders  of  new  faithes: 

weell  force  yo*"  way. 

392  The  cross  is  in  ink  by  the  censor.        395    Will]  perhaps  in  a  different  hand. 
401  placed  Bullen.  412  yo*-]  you  Bullen.  419  420  those]  these  BuUen. 

424  humiltitie,]  unti  is  one  minim  short. 


—    12   — 


i 


Coll.  let's  see  then  who  dare  stop  ye. 
Guard,  not  we,  I  am  sure.  43° 

Coll.  let's  see  who  dare  denie  ye 

yo*"  place,   and  right  of  councell. 
Or.  stay  I   comaund   ye, 

he  that  put's  forward  first  to  this  wild  action 

has  lost  my  love,  and  is  becom  mine  Enemy; 

my  mortall  enemic ;  put  vp  yo*"  weapons, 

yo"  draw  'em  against  order,  duty,  faith, 

and  let  me  die,  ere  render  such  examples,  Fol.  5* 

the  men  yo"  make  so  meane,  so  slight  account  of 

and  in  yo*"  angers  prise,  not  in  yo*"  hono".  44° 

are  Princes,  powerfull  Princesse,  mightie  Princes, 

that  daylie  feed  more  men  of  your  great  fashion 

and  noble  ranck.  pay,  and  maintaine  their  fortunes, 

then  any  Monarch  Europe  ha's,  and  for  this  bountie 

if  ye  consider  truly,  Gentlemen, 

and  honestly,  with  thankfuU  harts  remember 

yo"  are  to  pay  them  back  againe  yo*"  service: 

they  are  your  Masters,  yo""  best  masters,  noblest, 

those  that  protect  yo*"  states,  hold  vp  your  fortunes, 

and  for  this  good,  yo"  are  to  sacrifize  45° 

yo*"  thancks,  and  duties,  not  yo*"  threats,  and  angers, 

I,  and  all  Soldiers  els,  that  strike  with  their  armes 

and  draw  from  them  the  meanes  of  life,  &  bono*" 

are  doblc  [paid]  tyde  in  faith  to  obserue  their  pleasures, 

Coll.  a  Prince  of  rare  humanitie,  and  temper: 

Sir,  as  yo"  teach  vs  Armes,  yo"  man  o**  minds  too, 
with  civill  precepts,  making  vs  true  Soldiers, 
then  worthie  to  receive  a  trust  from  others  458 

\  when  we  stand  masters  of  our  owne  discretions    —  Enter 
\Henry\  ivill  yo""  good,  and  great  example,  tyes  vs  all  S*".  Barnauelt, 

Cap.  the  Councell's  broken  vp.  Modesbargen 

A — ^1 i_i     T      J  Letdenterch 

Or.  My  noble  Lords,  q^^^^^^ 

let  it  not  seeme  displeasing  to  yo"*"  wisdomes,  \Vandermitten\ 

I  humbly  ask  in  what  I  have  offended,  Bredero, 

or  how  suspected  stand,  or  with  what  cryme  blotted    Vandort  \&'c\ 

that  this  day,  from  yo"-  felloweship,  yo**  councell      tlogerbeets. 

my  Cuntries  care,  and  where  1  owe  most  service 

441  Princes5e\  Princes  BuUen.         463  Grotius\  interlined.        466  Hog€rheets\  added  later. 

—    13   — 


like  a  man  perishd  in  his  worth,  I  am  exilde 


Bar,  yo*"  Grace  must  know,  we  cannot  wait  attendaunce 

w'**  happely  yo"  looke  for  470 

Or,  wayt,  my  lords  ? 

Bar,  nor  what  we  shall  designe  for  the  States  comfort 
stay  yo*"  deliberate  crosses;  we  know  yo"  are  able 
and  every  way  a  wise  Prince  fitt  for  counsell, 
but  I  must  tell  ye  Sir,  and  tell  ye  truly, 
the  Soldier  has  so  blowne  ye  vp,  so  swelld  ye, 
and  those  few  services,  yo"  call  yo""  owne, 
that  now  our  comendations  are  too  light  gales, 
too  slack,  and  emptie  windes,  to  move  yo""  worthes,  J 

and  [trumpetts]  tempests  of  yo*"  owne  tongue,  and  the  Soldie"      | 
now  onely  fill  your  sailes.  481      | 

Bred,  be  not  so  bitter. 

Btir.  we  mix  with  quiet  speritts,  staid,  and  temperate, 
and  those  that  levell  at,  not  great,  but  good  ends, 
dare  hold  vs  their  Companions,  not  their  Servants, 
and  in  that  ranck,  be  ready  to  supply  vs: 
yo"*"  Grace  is  growne  too  haughtie. 

Leid.  might  it  please  ye, 

but  thinck  S^  of  our  honest  services 

(I  dare  not  terme  them  equall)  and  but  waigh  well  49° 

in  which  I  know  yo*"  Grace,  a  perfect  Master, 
yo*"  iudgment  excellent,  and  then  but  tell  vs, 
and  truly,  (which  I  know  yo**  goodnes  will  doe) 
why  should  we  seeme  so  poore,  so  vndertrodden, 
and  though  not  trusted  with  the  State,  and  Councell,  Fol.  5^ 
why  so  vnable  vallued:  pardon  great  Sir, 
if  those  complaine,  that  feele  the  waight  of  envy 
if  such  poore  trod  on  wormes,  make  show  to  turne  againe, 
nor  is  it  we  that  feele,  I  hope  nor  yo"  Sir 
that  gives,  the  cullo*"  of  this  difference,  500 

rumo*"  has  many  tongues,  but  few  speak  truth, 
we  feele  not  onely,  if  we  did  'twer  happie, 
o'  Cuntry  S^  our  Cuntrie  beares  the  blow  too, 
but  yo"  were  ever  noble. 
Or,  good  my  lords, 

480  tempests]  Bullen  prints  the  deleted  trumpetts  for  the  substituted  tempests,  which  is  incorrect, 
488  ye']  you  Bullen.  490  'waigh\  ai  altered.  497  thai\  who  Bullen. 

_  14  -^ 


let  it  be  free,  yo''  Servant  chargd  in  mallice, 

if  not  fling  of  his  crymes,  at  least  excuse  'em 

to  yo"  my  great  correcter:  would  to  heaven,  Sir, 

that  syn  of  pride,  and  insolence  yo"  speake  of, 

that  pufift  vp  greatnes,  blowne  from  others  follyes,  510 

were  not  too  neere  a  kin  to  yo*"  great  Lordship, 

and  lay  not  in  yo*"  bosom,  yo'  most  deere  one, 

yo"  taint  me  S*",  with  syns  concerne  my  manne", 

if  I  haue  such,  ile  studdy  to  correct  'em, 

but  should  I  taint  yo",  I  should  charge  ye  deeper, 

the  cure  of  those  would  make  ye  shrinck  &  shake  too, 

shake  of  your  head. 


Bar.  yo"  are  too  weak  ith'  hams  Sir: 

Or.  who  raisd  theis  new  religious  forces,  Sir? 

and  by  what  warrant?  what  assignement  had  ye  520 

from  the  States  generall:  who  blew  new  fires, 
even   fires    of  fowle  rebellion,  I  must  tell  ye, 
the  bellowes  to  it.  Religion,  yo"  nere  lou'd  yet 
but  for  yo*"  ends;  through  all  the  Townes,  the  Garrisons 
to  fright  the  vnion  of  the  State,  to  shake  it? 
what  syns  are  theis?  you  may  smile  with  much  comfort, 
and  they  that  see  ye,  and  not  looke  closely  to  ye, 
may  crye  too,  er't  be  long. 
Bar.  yo*"  Grace  has  leave  Sir, 

and  'tis  right  good  it  be  soe;  Follow  me  home,  530 

and  there  ile  give  ye  new  directions, 
how  to  proceed,  and  sodainely 
Leid'.Mod.  we  are  yours  Sir  —  ExK 

Or.  My  lords:  to  what  a  monster  this  man's  growne, 
yo"  may  (if  not  abusd  with  dull  securitie) 
see  plaine  as  day. 
Bred,  we  doe  not  like  his  carriage 
Vandort  he  do's  all :  speakes  all :  all  disposes 

Or.  spoiles  all 

he  that  dare  live  to  see  him  work  his  ends  out,  540 

vncrossd,  and  vnprevented;  that  wretched  man 
dare  live  to  see  his  Cuntry  shrinck  before  him: 
Consider  my  best  Lords,  my  noblest  Masters, 
how  most,  most  fitt,  how  iust,  and  necessary 

508  correcter :\   last  letter  altered  and  doubtful:  the  scribe  first  wrote  /  or  possibly 

t  and  then  tried  to  alter  it,  possibly  to  superior  r. 
519  theis]  these  Bullen.  523  nere\  were  BuUen. 

—   15   — 


a  sodaine,  and  a  strong  prevention. 


Bred,  we  all  conccave  yo*"  Grace:  and  all  look  through  him, 
and    find    him  what  we  feare  not  yet,  but  grieve  at: 
yo"  shall  haue  new  Comissiori  from  vs  all 
to  take  in  all  those  Townes,  he  has  thrust  his  men  in:      Fol.  6* 
when  yo"  haue  that,  proceed,  as  likes  yo*"  Excellence,        550 
Or.  yo""  lordships  true  ffrend,  and  most  obedient  Servant 
Vandort.  Come,  to  the  present  busines  then. 

Or.  we  attend  ye.       Exeunt  I . 

Actus  Secundus :  Scce'^,  prt . 
Enter  Barnauelt:  Leidenberch,  Modesbargen. 
Bar.  I  haue  with  danger  venturd  thus  far  to  you, 

that  yo"  might  know  by  me^  our  plot's  discoverd. 
But  let  not  that  discourage  yo":  though  Van-Dort 
and  Bredero,  with  others  haue  assented 

to  force  this  Towne;  stand  yo"  still  on  yo*"  Guard,  560 

and  on  my  reputation  rest  assurd 
w*^  violence  they  neuer  dare  attempt  yo": 
for  that  would  give  the  world  to  vnderstand 
th'  vnited  Prouinces,  that  by  their  Concord 
so  long  haue  held  out  'gainst  th'opposition 
of  all  Spaines  Governo",  their  plotts,  and  Armyes 
make  way  to  their  most  certaine  ruyn,  by 
a  Civill  warre. 
Leid.  this  cannot  be  denide 


Bar.  and  so,  at  any  time  we  may  make  o"*"  peace  570 

returning  to  o""  first  obedience 

vpon  what  termes  we  please. 
Mod.  that  is  not  certaine: 

fifor  should  we  tempt  them  once  to  bring  their  fiforces 

against  the  Towne,  and  find  we  give  it  vp 

for  want  of  strength  to  keepe  it,  the  Conditions 

to  w*^**  we  must  subscribe,  are  in  their  will, 

and  not  our  choice,  or  pleasure. 
Bar.  yo"  are  governd, 

more  by  yo*"  feare,  then  reason:  580 

Mod.  may  it  prove  soe: 

that  way  I  would  be  guiltie 
Bar.  how  appeere 

551  friend  BuUen.  561  assured  BuUen. 

—    16  — 


the  new  raisd  Companies? 


Leid  they  stand  full  and  faithfull: 

and  for  the  Burgers,  they  are  well  affected 
to  o*"  designes  :  the'  [Preachers]  Arminians  play  their  parts  too, 
and  thunder  in  their  [Pulpitts]  meetings,  hell  and  dampnation 
to  such  as  hold  against  vs. 

Bar.  'tis  well  orderd;  590 

But  haue  yo"  tride  by  any  meanes  (it  skills  not 
how  much  yo"  promise)  to  wyn  the  old  Soldiers 
(the  English  Companies,  in  chief  I  ay  me  at) 
to  stand  firme  for  vs? 

Leid  we  haue  to  that  purpose 

imploid  Rock-Giles,  w^^  some  choice  Btirgers  els 
that  are  most  popular,  to  the  Officers 
that  doe  comaund  here  in  the  Collonells  absence, 
we  expect  them  every  mynitt:  yf  yo^  Lordship  Fol.  6^ 

(for  'tis  not  fitt,  I  think,  yo"  should  be  scene)  600 

will  please  to  stand  a  side  (yet  yo"  shalbe  —  Enter 

w*^in  the  hearing  of  our  Conference)  Rock-Giles: 

yo"  shall  perceive,  we  will  imploy  all   arts  2.   Burgers 

to  make  them  ours.  Captaines 

Mod.  they  are  come.  Leiutennt 

Bar.  be  earnest  with  them.  \Soldiers\ 

R.   Giles,  with  much  a  dooe  I  haue  brought  'em:  the  prowd  Shellains 
are  paid  too  well,  and  that  makes  them   forget 
we  are  their  Masters. 
/.  Burg,  but  when  we  tooke  them  on  610 

famishd  allmost  for  want  of  entertainement, 
then  they  cryde  out,  they  would  do  any  thing 
we  would  comaund  them. 
/.   Cap.  and  so  we  say  still: 

provided  it  be  honest. 
Giles,  is  it  fitt 

that  mercenary  Soldiers,  that  for  pay 
give  vp  their  liberties,  and  are  sworne  t'expose 
their  lyves,  and  fortunes  to  all  dangers,  should 
capitulate  with  their  Lords.  620 

I.  Burg,  prescribing  when 

they  are  pleasd  to  be   comaunded,  and  for  what? 

587  the']  apostrophe  added  Arminians]  interlined.  588  meetings]  interlined. 

607  adoe  BuUen. 

—    17   -- 


Giles,  answeare  to  this 


Leiut.  yo"  know  o*"  resolutions, 

and  tl^erefore  Captaine  speak  for  all. 

/.  Cap,  I  will 

and  doe  it  boldly:  we  were  entertaind 
to  serve  the  generall  States  and  not  one  Prouince: 
to  fight  as  often  as  the  Prince  of  Orarige 
shall  lead  vs  forth,  and  not  to  stand  against  him :  630 

to  guard  this  Cuntrie,  not  to  ruyn  it, 
to  beat  of  forreigne  Enemies,  not  to  cherish 
domestique  fifactions :  And  where  yo"  upbraid  vs 
w^  the  poor  meanes  we  haue  to  feed,  not  cloath  vs, 
fogetting  at  how  deere  a  rate  we  buy 
the  triffles  we  haue  from  yo",  thus  I  answeare, 
noe  Cuntrie  ere  made  a  defencive  war 
and  gaind  by  it,  but  yo".  what  privat  Gentleman 
that  onely  trailes  a  pike,  that  comes  from  England 
or  Fraunce^  but  brings  gold  with  him?  w*^^  he  leaves  here,       640 
and  so  enriches  yo";  where  such  as  serve 
the  Polander,  Bohemiany  Dane,  or   Turck, 
though  they  come  almost  naked  to  their  CoUours 
besides  their  pay  (w*^^  they  contempne)  the  spoiles 
of  Armyes  overthrowne,  of  Citties  sackd, 
depopulations  of  wealthie  Cuntries 
if  he  survive  the  vncertaine  chaunce  of  war, 
returne  him  home,  to  end  his  age  in  plenty 
of  wealth,  and  bono". 
Bar.  this  is  shrewdly  vrgd.  650 

7.   Cap.  where  we,  poore  wretches,  covetous  of  fame  onely 
come  hether,  but  as  to  a  Schoole  of  war, 
to  learne  to  struggle  against  cold,  and  hunger, 
and  with  vnwearied  steps,  to  overcome  Fol.  7* 

a  tedious  March,  when  the  hot  Lyons  breath 
burncs  vp  the  fifeilds:  the  glory  that  we  ayme  at 
being  o""  obedience  to  such  as  doe 
Comaund  in  cheif:  to  keepe  o*"  ranck^,  to  fly 
more  then  the  death,  all  mutenies,  and  rebellions; 
and  would  yo"  then,  whose  wisdomes  should  correct         660 
such  follies  in  vs,  rob  vs  of  that  litle 
that  litle  bono*",  that  rewards  o*"  service ; 
635  fogetting]  sic.  637  defensive  BuUen. 

—    18   — 


to  bring  our  necks  to  the  Hangmans  Sword,  or  halter? 
or  (should  we  scape)  to  brand  o*"  foreheads  with 
the  name  of  Rebells? 


Giles,  I  am  put  to  a  non  plus: 

speake  mine  Here  Secretarie 
Leid.  I  haue  heard 

so  much  deliuerd  [of]  by  yo",  and  so  well, 
yo'"  actions  too,  at  all  parts  answearing  670 

what  yo"  haue  spoken,  that  I  must  acknowledge, 
we  all  stand  far  indebted  to  yo*"  service: 
and  therefore,  as  vnto  the  worthiest 
the  faithfullest,  and  strongest,  that  protect 
vs,   and  o''  Cuntries,  we  now  seek  to  yo", 
and  would  not  but  such  men  should  be  remembred 
as  principall  Assistaunts  in  the  Cure 
of  a  disease  w*"^  now  the  State  lyes  sick  of: 
+  I  know  yo"  love  the  Prince  [of  Orange^  valiant  Prince  and  yet 
yo"  must  graunt  him  a  Servant  to  the  States,  680 

as  yo"  are  Gentlemen,  and  therefore  will  not 
defend  that  in  him  which  yo"  would  not  cherish 
in  cold  blood  in  yo""  selues,  for  should  he  be 
disloyall. 
Leiut.  he  disloyall?  'tis  a  language 
I  will  not  heare. 

2.   Cap.  such  a  suspition  of  him 

in  one  that  wore  a  Sword,  deserv'd  the  lye. 

I.   Cap.  We  know  yo*"  oild  tongue;  and  yo''  rethorique, 

will  hardly  work  on  vs,  that  are  acquainted  690 

w***  what  faire  language  yo''  ill  purposes 
are  ever  cloathd :   nor  ever  wilbe  won 
to  vndervalue  him,  whose  least  fam'd  service 
scornes  to  be  put  in  ballance  w*^  the  best 
of  all  yo""  Counsailes:  and  for  his  faith,  6  heaven 
it  do's  as  far  transcend  yours  in  yo""  praires 
as  light  do's  darknes. 
Leid  I  perceive  'tis  true 

that  such  as  flatter  Servants,  make  them  prowd ;  700 

669  by\  interlined.  677  Cure\  Care  Bullen. 

679  valiant  Prince  and\  interlined;  a  cross  before  the  line  by  the  censor. 

688  is  Bullen;  probably  a  misprint. 

—    19  — 


wee'll  vse  a  rougher  way,  and  here  comaund  yo" 
to  leave  the  Towne,  and  sodainely:  if  yo"  wish  not 
to  be  forcd  hence. 


.  Cap.  yo'  new  raisd  Companies 

of  such  as  neuer  saw  the  Enemie, 

can  hardly  make  that  good,  we  were  placd  here 

by  the  allowaunce  of  the  generall  States 

and  of  the  Pi'hice,  to  keepe  it  to  their  vsel 
Lehit.  and  we  will  doe  it:  Fol.  7^ 


/.  Cap.  and  while  there  is  Lead  7io 

vpon  a  house,  or  any  Soldier  master 
but  of  a  doyt:  when  that  is  gon,  expect 
that  we  will  make  yo"  sport,  or  leave  o*"  lives 
to  witnes  we  were  faithfuU:  Come,  Lieutenaunt 
let  vs  draw  vp  the  Companies,  and  then 

charge  on  vs  when  yo"  please.        Ex^. 

Mod.  this  I  foresaw. 


Bar.  oh,  I  am  lost  with  anger :  are  we  falne 

so  lowe  from  what  we  were,  that  we  dare  heare 
this  from  o*"  Servants,  and  not  punish  it.^^  720 

where  is  the  terro*"  of  o*"  names,  our  powre, 
That  Spaine  w*^  feare  hath  felt  in  both  hir  Indiesl 
we  are  lost  for  ever:  and  from  fifreemen  growne  [slaues] 
[slaves  to  the  pride  of  one  we  haue  raisd  vp]  |    3^  ^ 

+  [vnto  this  (g  ...  t)  height,    the  Spanish  yook] 

[is  soft,  and  easie,  if  compard  with  what] 
4-  [we  suffer  from  this  popular  S(ar)ke,  that  hath] 
[stolne  like  a  cuning  thief  the  Armyes  hearts] 
[to  serve  his  own  ambitious  ends:  Now  Frends] 
I  call  not  on  yo""  furtheraunce,  to  preserve  ^  §  -^     7^° 

the  lustre  of  my  Actions :  let  me  with  them 
be  nere  remembred,  so  this  goverment, 
yo*"  wives,  yo*"  lives,  and  liberties  be  safe: 
and  therefore,  as  yo"  would  be  what  you  are, 
ffreemen,  and  Masters  of  what  yet  is  yours 
rise  vp  against  this  Tirant,  and  defend 
w***  rigo*",  what  too  gentle  lenitie 
hath  almost  lost 

Leid  ile  to  the  new  raisd  Soldiers 

and  make  them  firme  d    ^    5^     74o 


Giles  ile  muster  vp  the  Burgers 

—    20 


0 

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and  make  them  stand  vpon  their  guard. 


Mod.  for  me 

ile  not  be  wanting. 

Bar.  ile  back  to  the  Hage 

and  something  there  ile  doe,  that  shall  divert 
the  torrent  that  swells  towards  vs,  or  sinck  in  it, 
and  let  this  Prince  of  Orange  seat  him  sure, 
or  he  shall  fall,  when  he  is  most  secure     —    Exeunt  I 


Sees'".  2"".  [Enter  Holelerus:  &  a  duteh    Widow\  75° 

\^Hoi.\   [I  graunt  you  are  a  Sister,  a  free  Sister] 
[as  of  the  body  politique  of  the  Citty:] 
[do's  this  bar  me,  (sweet  Widow)  to  affect  ye,] 
[to  linck  in  wedlock  with  ye?] 


Wid.\ 
vacat 


[HoL] 
Widl\ 


[Master  Hoiderus] 

[that  you  are  a  zealous  Brother,  I  confes  too,] 

[one  of  a  mightie  tongue :  But  heer's  the  question] 

[whether  the  truth  be  propogated,] 

[hang  the  truth] 

[the  truth  is  ther's  too  much  on't  widow.] 

[besides  this] 

[yo"  want  the  wisdome  of  Auncients] 


760 


703  forced  Bullen.  706  placed  Bullen.  708  keep  Bullen. 

722  feare  hath]  interlined,  hir]  his  Bullen. 

The  three  lines  substituted  for  the  deleted  ones  are  written  in  the  margin;  they  are  probably 
in  the  same  hand  as  the  text,  but  written  later  in  different  ink. 

723  [slaues']  is  in  the  same  hand  and  ink  as  the  marginal  addition. 

725  Of  the   doubtful  word  only  the  first  and  last  letters  are  legible;    it  might  possibly  be  great. ^ 

the  cross  before  the  line  is  by  the  censor. 
727     Sarke]    very    doubtful,  the  word  may  be  a  mistake  of  the  scribe  for  Sharke  (see  Notes),  the 

S  is  certain  and  the  ke  are  very  probable,  but  the  intervening  letters  are  very  obscure;  the 

cross  before  the  line  is  by  the  censor. 
730  furtherance.  Bullen. 
756  vacat]  added  in  a  different  hand. 

750 — 762  these  lines  are  marked  for  omission  as  well  as  being  crossed  out. 
762  want]    there   seems   to   be   a   letter  after  the  t  (possibly  another  */)  but  it  has  probably  been 

crossed  out. 


—   21    — 


Enter  Holderus:  Duch-wocmen :  &  an  Fol.  8*. 

Eyiglish-genfw  ; 

/.  D.zv.  Here  come  the  Sisters:  that's  an -English  Gentlewonian, 
let's  pray  for  hir  Conversion. 

2.  D.  w.  yo"  are  wellcom,  Lady : 

and  yo""  coming  over  hether,  is  most  happy: 

for  here  yo"  may  behold  the  generall  freedom 

we  live  &  trafifique  in,  the  ioy  of  woemen,  770 

No  emperious  Spanish  eye,  governes  o*"  Actions, 

nor  Italian  iealouzie  locks  vp  o""  Meetings : 

we  are  o*"  selves,  our  owne  disposers.  Masters, 

and  those  that  yo"  call  husbands,  are  o""  Servants, 

J.  D.  w.  your  owne  Cuntry  breedes  ye  hansom,  maintaines  ye  brave, 
but  with  a  stubborne  hand,  the  husbands  awe  ye, 
yo"  speake  but  what  they  please ;  looke  where  they  point  ye, 
and  though  ye  haue  some  libertie,   'tis  lymitted. 

/J..  D.w.  which  Cursse  ye  must  shake  of:  To  live  is  nothing: 

to  live   admird,  and   lookd  at,  poore  deservings  780 

but  to  live  soe:  so  free  yo"  may  Comaund,  Lady, 
compel! ;  and  there  raigne  Soveraigne. 

1.  D.  w.  do  yo"  thinck  ther's  any  thing 

o**  husbands  labo*"  for,  and  not  for  o"*"  ends? 

are  we  shut  out  of  Counsailes,  privacies, 

and  onely  lymitted  o*"  houshold  busines? 

No,  certaine.  Lady;  we  pertake  with  all, 

or  o*"  good  men  pertake  no  rest:  why  this  man 

workes  theis,  or  theis  waies,  with  o""  against  the  State, 

we  know,  and  give  allowaunces  79o 

2.  D.  w.  why  such  a  Gentleman 

thus  hansom,  and  thus  yong,  comaunds  such  a  quarter, 
where  theis  faire  Ladies  lye :  why  the   Grave  s  angry : 
and  Mounseiur  Barnauelt  now  discontent 
do  yo"  thinck  it's  fitt  we  should  be  ignoraunt        / 


763  Fol.  8  is  a  short  leaf  written  on  one  side  only;  it  is  not  numbered  in  ink,  like 
the  rest,  and   was   evidently   substituted    for  the  original  eighth  leaf,  cancelled. 
779  you  BuUen.       4\  altered  from  2.        783  there's  Bullen.         786  household  Bullen. 
795  if^norant  Bullen. 

—   22   — 


2.Duch-w.  or  why  ther's  sp''ung  vp  now  a  new  devotion?  Fol.  9* 

good  Gentlewoman,  no :  do  yo"  see  this  fellow, 
he  is  a  SchoUer,  and  a  parlous  Scholler, 
or  whether  he  be  a  Scholler  or  no,   'tis  not  a  doyt  matter, 
he's  a  fine  talker,  and  a  zealous  talker,  800 

we  can  make  him  thinck  what  we  list,  [preach]  say  what  we  list, 
print  what  we  list,  and  whom  we  list,  abuse  in  't 

Eng-genfw.  and  a  [Preacher]  Teacher  do  yo"  say? 

2.  Duch.  w.  a  singuler  [Preacher.]  Teacher, 
for  so  we  hold  such  here. 

Eng-genfw.  doe  they  vse  no  modestie, 

vpon  my  life,  some  of  theis  new  Anninians 
theis  hissing  tosts. 
Hold,  an  ignorant  strange  woman 

whose  faith  is  onely  tride  by  a  Coach,  and  fowre  horses      810 
J.  Ditch  w.  Come  yo"  must  be  as  we  are ;  and  the  rest  of  yo*"  Cuntry women, 
you  doe  not  know  the  sweet  on't. 

Eng-genfw,  indeed  nor  will  not. 

our  Cuntry  brings  vs  vp  to  faire  obedience, 
to  know  our  husbands  for  o""  Governo", 
so  to  obey,  and  serve  'em:  two  heads  make  monsters; 
nor  dare  we  thinck  of  what  is  don  above  vs, 
nor  talk  of  Graues, 
Hold,  the  Graue  shall  smart  for't  shortly:  819 

goe  yo",  and  tell  him  so,  gooddy  English  woman  :  —   Enter  [2.]  i 

\  yo"  hauelongtayles,  and  long  tongues,  butweshall clip 'em.  Burger\s\: 

I.  Duch.  w.  how  now,  what  haste }  [  Vandermitten.] 

I.  Burg.    Vand^.  the  Prince  is  drawing  vp  to  vs,  Grotius: 

and  h'as  disarmd  all  the  strong  Townes  about  vs, 
of  o*"  new  Soldiers,  the  English  now  stand  onely 
and  the  old  Companies. 

Eng-genfw.  now  yo*"  wisdomes,  Ladies, 

your  learning  also,  Sir:  yo*"  learned  prating. 


796  sp^ung\  altered  from  hung.  2.  DucA-w.]  forgotten  to  be  deleted,  see  Manuscript. 

799  Bullen  prints  c^oy'l,  the  editor  has  taken  the  comma  after    Scholler   as  an  apostrophe; 

doyt  occurs  thrice  again  in  the  play,  spelt  in  this  way.  801  say\  interlined. 

803,  804  Teacher\  interlined.         Zoc)  foure  Bullen.         811   Country  women  Bullen. 
820  soe  Bullen.        823  Grotius:]  added  later. 

—   23   — 


yo"  that  dare  prick  yo*"  eares  vp,  at  great  Princes, 

and  doble  charge  yo""  tongue  with  new  opinions  830 

what  can  yo"  doe?  or  can  theis  holly  woemen 

that  yo"  haue  arm'd  against  obedience, 

and  made  contempners  of  the  ffooles,  their  husbands, 

examine''s  of  State,  can  they  doc  any  thing? 

can  they  defy  the  Prince} 


Hold,  they  shall  defie  him ; 

and  to  his  face :  why  doe  not  ye  raise  the  Burgers      —  Enter 
and  draw  vp  the  new  Compaines?  Leidenberge 

Leid.  away,  good  women  :  {^ni^  Gough.'] 

this  is  no  sport  for  yo":  goe  cheere  yo*""  husbands,  840 

and  bid  'em  stand  now  bravely  for  their  liberties, 
Arnam,  and  Roterdam,  and  all  about  vs 
haue  yeilded  him  obedience:  all  the  new  Companies 
purgd,  and  disarmd:  goe  yo":  talke  to  ih.&  Arminians 
and  raise  their  harts:  good  Ladies,  no  more  Councells, 
this  is  no  time  to  puppet  in : 
/.  Duch'W.  we  are  gon  Sir: 


2.  Duch-w.  and  will  so  coniure  vp  o"*  lazie  husbands.  Fol.  9** 

Eng-genfw.  and  coniure  wisely  too,  the  devill  will  faile  els.      —  ^;ir'women. 
Leid.  what's  she?  850 

7.  Burg.  vand''.  an  English  woman: 

Leid.  would  they  were  all  shipt  well : 

for  th'other  part  oth'  world:  theis  stubborne  English 
we  onely  feare.  —  Enter  a 

I.  Burg    Vand''.  we  are  strong  enough  to  curb  'em.  Messenger 

Leid.  but  we  haue  turnop  harts  :  now,  what's  the  next  newes  ?        R:  T 
Mess.  The  Prince  is  at  the  Barriers,  and  desires  his  entraunce, 
Leid.  He  must  not  enter;  what  Company  is  with  him? 
Mess,  but  few;  and  those  vnarmd  too:  about  some  twentie. 
Leid.  and  what  behind?  860 

Mess,  we  can  discover  none; 


Leid.  let's  goe,  and  view:  Brothers,  be  strong,  and  valiant 

we  haue  lost  the  Towne  els:  and  o'  freedoms  with  it.     —  Exeunt  I . 

lo:  Ri: 

Sees'",  J''.  Enter,  i.  Captaine:  &  Soldiers,  —    tnigh 

Sold.  They  charge  vs  not  to  let  him  in. 

839  (Sr'W  Gough\  added  in  a  different  hand:  the  &^  is  doubtful. 

853 /(7r]  to  BuUen.  856  hearts  BuUen.     R:  T\  added  in  a  different  hand. 

864  lo:  R:\  added  in  a  different  hand.  865  —  niigh\  added  in  a  different  hand. 

—  24  — 


/.   Cap.  We  will  doe  it 

he  h'as  our  faithes :  what  strengthe's  vpon  the  Guard  ? 
Sold,  two  hundred  English. 
/.   Cap.  goe,  and  give  this  comaund  then 

that  if  any  Burgers,  or  Arminian  Soldiers  870 

offer  to  come  vpon  the  Guard :  or  to  let  in,  or   out 

any,  without  our  knowledge :  presently 

to  bend  their  strength  vpon  'em. 
Sold,  it  shalbe  don.      —  Exit 
I.   Cap.  doe  yo"  dispeirse  to  the  old  Companies, 

bid  'em  be  ready:  tell  'em  now  is  the  time: 

and  charge  'em  keepe  a  strong  eye  ore  the  Burgers 

lie  vp  toth'  Guard. 


Sold.  wee'U  doe  it  seriously        —  Exeunt.  I 

frT-   Rob:  ^ 
Scce".  ^''.  Enter  Pr.  of  Orange :    Willm  Captaine:  Leiutennt  &c.        880 

Orange.  None  of  o*"  ffrends  vpon  the  Portt?  Is  this  the  welcom 
of  such  a  Towne,  so  bound  in  preservation 

to  vs  and  ours?  ^ 

2  Cap.  the  Prince  is  sadly  angry. 
Leiut.  can  ye  blame  him  Captaine,  when  such   a  den  of  dog  whelps 

are  fosterd  here  against  him :  you  will  rouse  anon :  lo:  Ric 

there  are  old  Companies  sure,  honest,  and  faithfull    —  Enter  Cap^. 
that  are  not  poysond  with  this  ranck  infection:  on  y*  walls. 

now  they  appeare  Sir: 
I.  Cap.  will  your  Grace  please  to  enter?  890 

Or.  and  thanck  ye  too, 
I.   Cap.  the  Port  is  open  for  ye 

Or.  yo"  sec  my  nomber. 
7.   Cap.  but  I  hope  'tis  more  Sir? 
Or.  theis  must  in  first. 

'twill  breed  a  good  securitie 


I.  Cap.  we  stand  all  ready  for  yo^  Grace, 

Or.  we  thanck  ye. 
I.  Cap.  what  Companies  come  on,  Sir?  Fol.   10* 

Or.  three  Troopc  of  horse,  »  900 

that  will  be  with  ye  presently:  keepe  strong  the  Port 
I.  Cap.  enter  when  please  yo"" Grace:  we  shall  stand  sure  Sir  —    Exeunt   I 

875  do  Bullen.     disperse^wVitii..  879  wr  Roh-\  added  in  a  different  hand. 

880  Wil/m]  interlined  above  a  caret  mark.     886  lo:  Ric]  added  in  a  different  hand.     893  number  Bullen. 

—   25   — 


Sea".  ^.  Enter  Leidenberge :  [Vandermttten]  Grotius :  Rock  Giles 
Leid.  Is  he  come  in,  do  yo"  say? 
[  Vand\  Grot,  he  is :  but  followed 

so  slenderly  and  poore, 
Leid,  we  are  vndon  then : 

he  knowes  too  well,   what  ground  he  ventures  on 
where  are  the  Arminian  Soldiers? 


R.  Giles,  they  stand  ith'  market  place.  910 

Leid.  are  they  well  armd? 
R,  Giles,  ready  to    entertaine  him. 

Leid.  who    comaunds  the  Port} 


Vand.  the  English 
Leid.  ten-towsand  devills : 

odd's  sacrament:  a  meere  trick  to  betray  vs. 
Vand.  we  can  discover  none  behind. 


Leid.  a  trick: 

those  English  are  the  men  borne  to  vndooe  vs.      — -  Enter  Messeng^. 
Mess.  Arme, Arme, and  nowstand to  yo''auncient freedoms,      R:   T:         920 

three  troope  of  horse;  ten  Companies  of  foote 

are  enterd  now  the  Port. 
Leid.  I  told  ye  Gentlemen 
Mess,  the  English  make  a  stand  vpon  the  new  Compaines 

ready  to  charge  'em,  if  they  stirr. 
Leid.  oh  mischeif 

all  o*"  designes  are  crackt,  layed  open ;  ruynd : 

let's  looke  if  any  cure  remaine:  6  devill       —  Exeunt 

SccB"",  &".  Enter  Duck-woemen:  &  Burgers. 
Duch-w.  The  Prince,  the  Prince,  the  Prince'.  6  o*"  Husbands.  93^ 

Duch-w. 


goe  pray :  goe  pray :  goe  pray :  we  shalbe  hangd  all.      —  Enter 
I  would  it  were  no  worsse.  Eng.genf"^* 


Eng-genfw.  Now,  wher's  yo""  valo"? 

yo"  that  would  eat  the  Prince  .f* 
Duck.  w.  sweet  English  Gentlewoman. 
Eng-genfw.  fy  doe  not  run  for  shame ;  body  'a  me,  —  Enter 

how  their  feareoutstinckstheirgarlick :  \\t\&S\Gregory    Holderus.  T.f 

903  Grotius]  interlined.  905  Grot.\  added  in  a  different  hand. 

920  ancient  BuUen.     R:  T:]  added  in  a  different  hand.  926  mischief  Bullen. 

931,  932  The   hand   that  marked   these  lines   for  omission  was  probably  the  same  as  that 

which  added  the  actors'  names. 
937  'S'f]  Sir  Bullen;  see  Notes.         T.  /*.] added  in  a  different  hand. 

—  26  — 


art  thou  afraid  too?  out  with  thy  two  edgd  tongue, 
and  lay  about  thee. 


Hold,  out  o'  my  way,  good  woemen :  940 

out  o'  my  way:  I  shalbe  whipt,  and  hangd  too: 
Eng-gent'w.  theis  fifellowes  haue  strong  faithes :  8z:  notable  valo" 

ile  walk  about,  and  see  this  sport     —  Exeunt.      —  Enter  Orange 

Or.  Now  Mounseiur  Leidenberge,  yo"  may  se  openly    Leidenberge:  Burgers. 
the  issues  of  yo*"  desperate  vndertakings,  Captaines.  Sold*'^. 

and  yo""  good  helpes,  myne  Heeires:  Now  yo"  must  feeletoo 
and  to  yo""  greifes,  what  the  deserts  of  those  are,        and  Anninia^. 
that  boldly  dare  attempt  their  Cuntries  ruyn, 
and  who  we  serve,  how  faithfully,  and  honestly 
yo"  must,  and  shall  confes  too  :  not  to  blind  ends         950    Fol.   10'' 
[\]   hood-winckt  with  base  ambition,  such  as  yours  are, 

but  to  the  generall  good:  Let  theis  new  Companies  —  \proms\ 

march  by  vs,  through  the  Market,  so  to  the  Guard  house,       [Enter  ^] 
And  there  disarme  ['em] :  wee'll  teach  ye  true  obedience:  [Arminians:'] 
then  let  'em  quitt  the  Towne  :  hansom  swag  fellowes  :      \^pass  ouer] 
and  fitt  for  fowle  play: 
Leiut.  theis  are  but  heavy  Marches. 

Or.  they  wilbe  lighter  straight,  when  they  are  vnfurnishd : 
yo"  put  yo"*  trust  in  theis :  yo"  haue  tall  defences, 
treason  maintaind  with  heresie,  fitt  weapons?  960 

So,  now  disarme  the  Towne,  wee'll  plant  new  Governo". 
Letd.  will  yo""  Grace  be  pleasd  to  heare? 

Or.  yes,  at  the   Hage  Sir: 

till  when  bethinck  yo"  of  yo"**  acts,  and  answeares, 
for  there  before  the  generall  State:  wher's  Modesbargen 
Cap.  he  left  the  Towne  two  daies  agoe. 

Or,  a  guilty  feare : 

but  we  shall  fright  him  worsse:  good  order  taken 

for  the  Towne,  and  what  fitt  Garrison  to  leave  in't, 

we  are  homeward  bound ;  where  we  shall  make  yo"  wellcom,         970 

yo"  haue  instructed  vs,  in  what  free  fashion : 

Come  Gentlemen :  let's  now  goe  take  our  rest, 

prowd  confidence,  is  but  a  foole  at  best.      Exeunt    I 

940  woemenl  woeman  Bullen ;  the  second  e  is  indistinct. 

944  Bullen  prints:  Scoena  7.  this  stage  direction  is  not  in  the  manuscript. 

947  and  Arminia^']  added,  probably  in  a  different  hand. 

955  P^^^  ouer]  added  by  a  different  hand.  968  take  Bullen;  the  n  is  doubtful. 

—   27   — 


Actus   Tercius :  Sees",  prt^ 
Efiter  Bredero,    Vandort:  [&  2.  Lords  J] 
Bre.  Myne  Heire,  Vandort^  what  thinck  ye  of  the  Prince  now? 
Vandort    like  a  true  noble  Gentleman,  he  has  borne  himself, 
and  a  faire  fortunate  Soldier:  I  hold  the  State  Sir 
most  happie  in  his  care :  and  this  torne  Cuntry 
whose  wounds  smart  yet,  most  bound  to  his  deliueraunce.       980 
Bre,  'tis  certaine  his  proceedings  in  this  busines 

as  in  all  els,  haue  byn  most  wise,  and  constant, 
and  waited  on  with  full  wingd  Expedition : 
how  many  Townes,  armd  with  theis  new  Pretenders, 
stird  vp,  and  steeld  by  founders  of  new  doctrines 
the  cullo*"  to  their  Cause,  hath  he,  (and  sodainely) 
disarmd  againe,  and  setled  in  obedience, 
and  without  bloodshed,  Lords,  w%ut  the  Sword, 
and  those  Calamities,  that  shake  a  kingdom 
so  gently,  and  without  noyce,  he  has  performd  this  99° 

as  if  he  had  don  it  in  a  dreame? 
[/.  Lord.']   most  certaine 
y  and         he  has  run  through  a  busines,  will  much  add  to  him, 
and  sett  his  vertues  of  with  greater  lustre, 
But  that  a  man  so  wise,  as  Mounseiur  Barnauelt^ 
so  trusted,  so  rewarded  for  his  Service, 
and  one  that  built  the  ladder  to  his  hono"" 
of  open  honest  actions,  strong,  and  straight  still, 
should  now  be  doubted. 
\2.  Lord.]  I  know  not,  nor  I  wish  it  not,  1000  Fol.  11* 

Bred.  b^t  if  he  haue  a  fowle  hart,  't  has  byn  hid  long, 

and  cuningly  that  poyson  has  byn  carried. 
Vandort.  But  why  a  ffather  to  theis  new  professions? 
why  should  he  strengthen  those  opinions, 
that  all  true  learning  much  laments,  and  greives  at, 
and  sincks  the  soules  sweet  vnion,  into  ruyn, 
why  theis  my  lords?  and  why  in  every  Garrison 
vnles  he  had  an  end  that  shot  at  evill 

should  he  so  strongly  plant  theis  fire-brands,  loio 

and  through  his  powre.  add  daylie  to  their  nombers?        —  Ent 
Bred,  most  sure  he  is  suspected,  strongly  suspected, 

977  Gentlemen  Bullen.        986  collour  BuUen.        990  noyse  Bullen.        994  set  Bullen. 
loii  Ent\  The  scribe  started  to  mark  an  Entry  here,  and  left  it  standing. 

—   28   — 


but  that  a  man  of  his  great  trust,  and  busines 
should  sinck,  or  sufifer  vnder  doubts,  or  whispers 
or  loose  his  hono""  by  an  others  envy 
is  not  faire  play,  nor  honest:  The  Prince  of  Orange 
most  thinck  affects  him  not,  nor  he  the  Prince 
that  either  of  their  angry  wills  should  prove 
a  lawful  act,  to  ruyn  one  another, 
and  not  a  medium  of  more  open  Justice 
more  equall,  and  more  honorable  step  in  1020 

man  had  no  powre  to  stand,  nor  fall  with  hono*" 
if  he  be  falce,  honest,  and  vpright  proofes     —  Enter 
\    will  ripen  the  Imposture.  Barnauelt 

I.  Lord,  here  he  comes  Sir.  &  his  Son. 


Vandort  Methincks  he  beares  not  in  his  Countenaunce 
the  fuUnes  of  that  grave,  and  constant  sperit, 
nor  in  his  eye  appeeres  that  heat,  and  quicknes 
he  was  wont  to  move  withall,  salute,  and  counsell:   /  Let's  leaue  him  to 
Son.  they  mind  ye  not:  his  thoughts. 

now,  as  I  haue  a  soule,  they  looke  not  on  ye.  1030 

Bar.  My  noble  Lords :  what  is't  appeeres  vpon  me 

so  ougly  strange,  yo"  start,  and  fly  my  Companie? 
what  plague  sore  haue  ye  spide?  what  taynt  in  hono""? 
what  ill  howre  in  my  life,  so  cleere  deserving 
that  rancks  me  thus  below  yo*"  fellowships? 
for  w*^**  of  all  my  cares,  of  all  my  watches, 
my  services  (too  many,  and  too  mightie 
to  find  rewards)  am  I  thus  recompenced? 
not  lookd  on,  not  saluted?  left  forgotten 
like  one  that  came  to  petition  to  yo*"  hono",  1040 

over  the  shoulder  sleighted? 
Bt-ed.  Mounseiur  Barnauelt, 

I  am  sorry  that  a  man  of  yo*"  great  wisdom, 

and  those  rare  parts,  that  make  ye  lou'd,  and  hono'"d, 

in  every  Princes  Court,  highly  esteemd  of, 

should  loose  somuch  in  point  of  good,  &  vertue, 

now  in  the  time,  yo"  ought  to  fix  yo*"  faith  fast, 

the  creadit  of  yo*"  age  carelessly  loose  it, 

1026  fulnes  Bullen. 

1028  leVs  lemie  him  to  his  thoughts]  this  line  was  evidently  overlooked  by  the  scribe, 
and  then  written  in  the  margin.  1035  me  thus]  in  this  Bullen. 

—   29  — 


I  dare  not  say  ambitiously:  that  yo'  best  frends 

and  those  that  ever  hoong  on  your  example  1050 

dare  not,  w***  comon  safetie  now  salute  ye. 


Bar,  I  loose  in  point  of  hono""?  my  frends  feare  me?       Fol.   11' 
my  age  suspected  too?  now  as  ye  are  iust  men 
vnknit  this  riddle. 

lord,  ye  are  doubted,  strongly  doubted. 

Bar.  6  the  devill, 


2.  lord,  your  loialtie  suspected. 
Bar.  who  dare  doe  this? 
Bred,  we  wish  all  well:  and  yo"  that  know  how  dangerous 

in  men  of  lesser  mark,  theis  fowle  attempts  are  1060 

and  often  haue  bewaild  'em  in  the  meanest, 
I  make  no  doubt,  will  meet  yo*"  owne  fault,  sodainely, 
and  chideyo''self:  grow  faireagaine,  and  flourish:  -  i n  the  same  full  esteei 
Bar.  and  must  I  heare  [this]  sett  down  for  all  my  service,  ye  held,  &  fauj 

is  this  the  glorious  mark  of  my  deservings? 
taynted,  and  torne  in  bono''  must  I  perish 
and  must  theis  silver  curies,  6  yo"  vnthanckfuU 
theis  emblemes  of  my  frostie  cares,  and  travells, 
for  yo",  and  for  the  State,  fall  w***  disgraces? 
Goe  fall  before  yo""  new  Prince,  worship  him,  1070 

fill  all  yo*"  throates  with  flattery,  cry  before  him 
'tis  he,  and  onely  he,  h'as  truly  seru'd  ye; 
forget  mc,  and  the  peace  I  haue  wrought  yo*""  Cuntry, 
bury  my  memory,  raze  out  my  name, 
my  forty  yeares  endeauo",  write  in  dust, 
that  yo**  great  Prince,  may  blow  'cm  into  nothing, 
and  on  my  Monument,  (yo"  most  forgetfull) 
fling  all  yo*"  scornes :  erect  an  yron-toothd  envy 
that  she  may  gnaw  the  pious  stones  that  hides  me. 

Vandort  ye  are  too  much  mou'd  :  and  now  too  late  ye  find  Sir,       1080 
how  naked,  and  vnsafe  it  is  for  a  long  Gowne 
to  buckle  with  the  violence  of  an  Army; 

1050  hoong\  thought  Bullen.  1055  you  Bullen.  1060  foule  Bullen. 

1063  in   the  same  full  esteeme  ye  held,  b^  fatio^,']  the  line  was  evidently  overlooked 
by  the  scribe,  and  written  in  the  margin  in  two  short  lines. 

1064  this   Bullen;   the   editor  has  restored   this  which   is    deleted   in    the    text;  the 
metre  is  correct  without  the  word,  but  it  is  wanted  in  the  context. 

1075  endeavoures  Bullen.         1078  yroon-toothed  Bullen. 

—   30   — 


The  Empero''   Traian  challenging  a  yong  man 
and  a  swift  runner,  to  try  his  speed  against  him, 
the  Gentleman  made  answeare  sodainely 
it  was  not  safe,  nor   fitt,  to  hold  contention 
with    any    man    comaunded  thirtie  legions. 
yo"  know  the  Prince,  and  know  his  noble  nature, 
I  thinck  yo"  know  his  powre  too:  of  all  yo*"  wisdomes 
this  will  not  show  the  least,  nor  prove  the  meanest  1090 

in  good  mens  eyes,  I  thinck  in  all  that  know  ye, 
to  seeke  his  love;  gentle  &  faire   demeano" 
wyn  more  then  blowes,  and  soften  stubborne  ange". 
let  me  perswade  ye. 
Bar.  when  I  am  a  Sycophant, 

and  a  base  gleaner  from  an  othe"  fauo'' 

as  all  yo"  are,  that  halt  vpon  his  crutches 

shame  take  that  smoothnes,  and  that  sleeke  subiection. 

I  am  myself,  as  great  in  good,  as  he  is, 

as  much  a  master  of  my  Cuntries  fortunes;  noo 

and  one  to  whom,  (since  I  am  forcd  to  speak  it, 

since  mine  owne  tongue  must  be  my  Advocate,) 

this  blinded  State,  that  plaies  at  boa-peep  w***  vs,       Fol.  12* 

this  wanton  State,  that's  weary  of  hir  lovers, 

and  cryes  out,  give  me  yoiiger  still,  and  fresher 

is  bound,  and  so  far  bound:  I  found  hir  naked,  -  floong  out  a  dore's  and 

the  marks  of  all  her  miseries  vpon  hir,  starud,  no  frends  to  pitty  hir, 

an  orphan  State,  that  no  eye  smild  vpon, 

and  then  how  carefully  I  vndertooke  hir, 

how  tenderly,  and  lovingly  I  noursd  hir:  mo 

but  now  she  is  fatt,  and  faire  againe,  and  I  foold, 

a  new  love  in  hir  arme-s,  my  doatings  scornd  at: 

and  I  must  sue  to  him:  be  witnes  heaven, 

if  this  poore  life  were  forfeyt  to  his  mercy, 

at  such  a  rate  I  hold  a  scornd  subiection 

I  would  not  give  a  penney  to  redeeme  it : 

1  haue  liv'd  ever  free,  onely  depended 


1 105  younger  Bullen. 

1 106  fioong  out  adores  and  starud,  no  frends  to  pitty  hir,]  evidently  overlooked 
by  the  scribe  and  written  in  the  margin  in  two  short  lines.  Bullen 
prints:  floung. 

—   31    — 


vpon  the  honestie  of  my  faire  Actions, 
nor  am  I  now  to  studdy  how  to  die  soe. 


Bred,  take  better  thoughts.  1120 

Bar.  they  are  my  first,  and  last; 

the  legacie  I  leave  my  frends  behind  me, 
I  neuer  knew  to  flatter,  to  kneele  basely, 
and  beg  from  him  a  smile,  owes  me  an  bono**; 
ye  are  wreatches,  poore  staru'd  wreatches:  fedd  on  crumbs 
that  he  flings  to  ye:  from  yo""  owne  aboundaunce, 
wreatched,  and  slavish  people,  ye  are  becom, 
that  feele  the  griping  yoak,  and  yet  bow  to  it; 
what  is  this  man,  this  Prince,  this  god  ye  make  now, 
but  what  o*"  hands  haue  molded,  wrought  to  fashion,      1130 
and  by  o*"  constant  labo",  given  a  life  to? 
and  must  we  fall  before  him,  now,  adoare  him, 
blow  all  we  can,  to  fill  his  sailes  w*^  greatnes, 
worship  the  Image  we  set  vp  o^'selues, 
put  fate  into  his  hand,  into   his  will 
o""  lives,  and  fortunes?  howle,  and  cry  to  o*"  owne  clay 
be  mercifull  6  Prince}  6  pittied  people, 
base,  base,  poore  patcht  vp  men :  yo"  dare  not  heare  this, 
yo"  haue  sold  yo*"  eares  to  slavery:  begon,  and  flatter: 
when  ere  your  politick  Prince^M\.\.%  his  hooke  into  my  nose,      1 140 
here  must  he  put  his  Sword  too. 
ExK 


Bred,  we  lament  ye.        _ 
Son,  we  are  vndon.  Sir. 


Enter  y'  Son 


Bar.  why? 

Son.  for  certaine  perishd 

Vtrecht  is  taken  in :  Modesbargen  fled, 
and  Leidenberge,  a  Servant  to  their  pleasures 
a  prisoner  Sir. 
Bar.  ha 
Son  'tis  too  true. 


1150 


Bar,  a  prisoner? 

Son.  and  some  say,  has  byn  torturd,  reveald  much 
even  all  he  knowes:  no  letters  are  against  ye 
for  those  he  burnt:  but  they  haue  so  much  foold  him 
that  his  owne  tongue 

1 1 22  friends  Bullen.       wj^Z  patcht  vp  nien\  patch  men  BuWen. 

1 142  Enter  y  Soji\  added  in  a  different  hand.         1152  tortured  Bullen. 

—    32   — 


Bar.  he  cannot  be  so  boyish  Fol.  12** 

Son,  my  goverment  of  Barghen,  is  disposd  of 
their  anger  now,  against  vs  all  profest, 
and  in  yo'"  ruyn,  all  must  fall. 

Bar,  a  prisoner?  1160 

Modesbargen  fledd?  I  am  glad  he  is  scapt  their  fingers: 
Now  if  the  devill  had  but  this  Leidenberge 
I  were  safe  enough :  what  a  dull  foole  was  I 
a  stupid  foole,  to  wrap  vp  such  a  secreat 
in  a  shecpes  hart!  6  I  could  teare  my  flesh  now, 
and  beat  my  leaden  braines 

Son,  faith  try  the  Prince,  Sir, 
you  are  at  yo*"  last. 

Bar.  art  thou  my  Son?  thou  lyest: 

I  neuer  got  a  Parasite,  a  Coward,  1170 

I  seeke  the  Prince,  or  bend  in  base  submission  ? 

ile  seeke  my  grave  first:  yf  I  needes  must  fall 

and  that  the  fatall  howre  is  cast  of  Barnauelt^ 

iust  like  a  strong  demolishd  Towre  ile  totter, 

and  fright  the  neighbo*"  Cuntries  with  my  murmo*": 

my  ruyns  shall  reach  all:  The  valiant  Soldier 

whose  eies  are  vnacquainted  but  w***  anger 

shall  weep  for  me,  because  I  fedd,  and  noursd  him. 

Princes  shall  mourne  my  losse,  and  this  vnthanckfull 

forgetfuU  Cuntry,  when  I  sleepe  in  ashes,  ngo 

shall  feele,  and  then  confes  I  was  a  fiather       —    Exeunt  j 

Sccb'',  2^,  Enter:  P.  of  Orange^  [HenrieJ    William:  B^'edero, 
Vandort^  Lords:  Collonells :  Captaines 

Bred,  will  yo*"  Excellence  please  to  sitt?  Table:  Bell 

Or.  I  am  prowd,  yo"''  lordships 

so  willingly  restore  me  to  that  place 

from  which  the  envy  of  the   Advocate, 

of  late  hath  forcd  me:  And  y*  yo"  may  know, 

how  ere  his  mallice  live  to  me,  all  hatred 

is  dead  in  me,  to  him;  I  am  a  Suito*"  1190 

1 1 74  To'wre\  Tower  Bullen;  it  may  be  that  the  scribe  wrote  7l7W«^  by  mistake, 

but  this  is  not  certain. 
1 184  Table:  BeW]  added  in  a  different  hand.  1188  j']  Bullen  prints  that. 

—  33  — 


he  may  be  sent  for;  ffor  as  Barnaiielt  is 
a  member  of  this  body  politique, 
I  hono*"  him,  and  will  not  scorne  to  yeild 
a  strict  accompt  of  all  my  Actions  to  him ; 
and,  though  my  Enemie,  while  he  continues 
a  frend  to  his  owne  fame,  and  loyall  to 
the  State ^  I  love  him,  and  shall  greive  that  he 
when  he  falls  from  it,  must  deserve  my  pitty. 

Vandort.  this  disposition  in  yo*"  Excellence 

do's  well  becom  yo":  but  would  wrong  o*"  iudgements  1200 

to  call  one,  as  a  partner  to  those  counsailes 
that  is  suspected,  and  ev'n  then,  when  all 
his  dark  designes,  and  deepest  purposes 
are  to  be  sifted. 
Bred  it  were  most  vnfit,  Fol.   13* 

and  therefore  we  entreat  yo"""  Highnes  to 
presse  it  no  further. 
Or.  my  good  lords:  your  pardon, 

yo"  are  your  owne  disposers:  Gentlemen, 
I  shall  a  while  entreat  ye  to   forbeare  12 10 

the  troble  that  yo"  put  vpon  yo^'selues, 
in  following  me :  I  can  need  no  defence  here, 
being  left  among  those,  whose  grave  counsailes  ever 
haue  lookd  out  for  my  safetie  'tis  yo*"  pleasure 

\Coll^  ['tis  yo""  pleasure,] 

and  therefore  I  embrace  it.     —     ExK  [Table:  Bell] 

Vandort.  Now,  when  yo"  please, 

yo*"  Excellence  may  deliuer  what  yo"  haue 
obseru'd,  concerning  the  Anninian  faction, 
what  hopes,  and  heads  it  had,  for  without  question         1220 
it  found  more  fauore",  and  great  ones  too, 
then  yet  we  haue  discoverd. 
Or.  my  grave  Lords, 

that  it  hath  byn  my  happines  to  take  in, 

and  with  so  litle  blood,  so  many  Townes 

that  were  falne  of,  is  a  large  recompence 

for  all  my  travell;  and  I  would  advise 

(that  since  all  now  sing  the  sweet  tunes  of  Concord, 

no  Sword  vnsheathd,  the  meanes  to  hurt,  cut  off, 

1201  these  Bullen.  1214  His  yo^  pleasure']  added  when  1215  was  crossed  out. 

1 2 13  these  Bullen.         1216  Table:  BeW]  added  in  a  different  hand. 

—   34  — 


and  all  their  stings  pluckd  out;  that  would  haue  vsd  them    1230 

against  the  publique  peace)  we  should  end  here 

and  not  with  labo*"  search  for  that,  which  will 

afflict  vs,  when  'tis  found:  Something  I  know 

that  I  could  wish :  I  nere  had  vnderstood, 

w*^^  yet  if  I  should  speake,  as  the  respect 

and  duty  that  I  owe  my  Cuntry,  binds  me, 

it  wilbe  thought  'tis  rather  privat  spleene 

then  pious  zeale:  but  that  is  not  the  hazard 

w'^  I  would  shun.  I  rather  feare  the  men 

we  must  offend  in  this,  being  great,  rich,  wise,  1240 

sided  w*^  strong  fifrends,  trusted  with  the  guard 

of  places  most  important,  will  bring   forth 

rather  new  birthes  of  tumult,  should  they  be 

calld  to  their  Triall,  then  appease  disorder 

in  their  iust  punishment,  and  in  doing  Justice 

on  three  or  fowre,  that  are  delinquents,  loose 

so  many  thousand  inocents,  that  stand  firme 

and  faithfull  patriots.  Let  vs  leave  them  therefore 

to  the  scourge  of  their  owne  consciences,  perhaps 

th'assuraunce  that  they  are  yet  vndiscoverd  1250 

because  not  cyted  to  their  answeare,   will 

so  work  w*'^  them  hereafter  to  doe  well 

that  we  shall  ioy  we  sought  no  farther  in  it. 


Vandort.  such  mild  proceedings  in  a  Goverment 

new  setled,  whose  maine  strength  had  it's  dependaunce 

vpon  the  powre  of  some  perticuler  men  Fol.   13** 

might  be  given  way  to,  but  in  ours,  it  were 

vnsafe,  and  scandalous ;  then  the  Prouivces 

haue  lost  their  liberties,  lustice  hir  Sword, 

and  we  prepard  a  way  for  our  owne  ruyn  1260 

when  for  respect  or  favo*"  vnto  any, 

of  what  condition  soever,  we 

palliat  seditions,  and   forbeare  to  call 

treason  by  hir  owne  name. 

/.  Lord  it  must  not  be : 

such  mercie,  to  our  .selues  were  tirranie 


2.  Lord,  nor  are  we  to  consider  who  they  are 

1230  «.f(f</ Bullen.  1243  births  Bullen.  12^6  foure  BuUen. 

1250  assurance  Bullen.  1260  prepared  Bullen. 

—  35  — 


that  haue  offended,  but  what's  the  offence, 
and  how  it  should  be  punishd,  to  deter 
others  by  the  example  1270 

Bred,  which  we  will  doe, 

and  vsing  that  vnited  powre  w*'*  warrants, 
all  we  think  fitt,  we  doe  intreat  yo*"  Highnes 
(for  willingly  we  would  not  say,   comaund  yo") 
as  yo"  affect  the  safetie  of  the  State, 
or  to  preserve  yo*"  owne  deserved  hono" 
and  neuer  tainted  loyaltie,  to  make  knowne 
all  such  as  are  suspected. 
Or.  I  obey  yo": 

and  though  I  cannot  give  vp  certaine  proofes  1280 

to  point  out  the  delinquents,  I  will  name 
the  men  the  generall  voice  proclaimes  for  guiltie. 
Modesbargens  flight  assures  him  one,  nor  is 
the  pentionary  of  [Leiden]  Roterdam,   Grotius 
free  from  suspition;  from    Vtrecht  I  haue  brought 
the  Secretarie  Leidenberge,  who  hath 
confest  alredy  something  that  will  [greive]  give  vs 
light  to  find  out  the  rest:  I  would  end  here 
and  leave  out  Barnauelt. 
Bred,  yf  he.be  guiltie  1290 

he's  to  be  nam'd,  and  punishd  with  the  rest 

Vandort.  vpon  good  evidence,  but  not  till  then 
to  be  comitted 
Will,  'twcr  expedient 

that  something  should  be  practisd  to  bring  in 
Modesbargen. 

\Henry?^  out  of  him,  the  truth  of  all 
may  be  wroong  out. 
Bred,  the  advice  is  sound,  and  good. 

Vandort.  but  with  much  difficultie  to  be  performd,  1300 

for  how  to  force  him  out  of  Germanie 
(whether  they  say  hee's  fledd,)  without  a  war 
at  least  the  breaking  of  that  league  we  haue 
concluded  with  them,  I  ingeniously 

1 27 1  we]  interlined.  1284  Roterdam]  interlined  in  a  different  hand. 

1287  give]  interlined. 

-  36- 


confes  my  ignoraunce.  —  Enter  officer 

Or.  since  you  approve  it,  ^-    ^•' 

leave  that  to  me. 
off.  my  lord  Fol.   14* 

Or.  call  in  the  Captaine 

you  saw  me  speak  with  at  the  dore.  13 lo 

off.  'tis  don.     —     Exit. 
Bred,  what  do's  yo*"  Excellence  ayme  at? 

Or.  haue  [h  ]  but  patience         —     Enter  Captaine  m^  Rice 

yo"  shall  know  sodainely. 
Cap.  my  good  Angell  keepe  me 

and  turne  it  to  the  best:  what  am  I  sent  for? 
Or.  yo"  are  wellcom  Captaine :  nay  'tis  for  yo*"  good 

that  yo"  are  calld  for:  yo"  are  well  acquainted 

with  all  the  parts  of  Germanic} 
Cap.  I  haue  livd  there,  1320 

most  of  my  time 
Or.  but  doe  yo"  know  the  Castle 

belonging  to  Modesbargens  Aunt,  or  Cosen, 

w*^^  'tis  I  know  not. 
Cap.  very  well,  my  Lord, 

a  pleasant  Cuntry  'tis,  and  yeilds  good  hunting. 
Bred,  and  that's  a  sport  Modesbargen  from  his  youth 

was  much   inclind  to. 
Or.  wee'U  make  vse  of  it 

it  is  of  waight,  that  yo"  must  vndertake  1330 

and  do's  require  yo*"  secrecie,  and  care. 
Cap.  in  both,  I  wilbe  faithful! 
Or.  I  beleevc  yo", 

and  to  confirme  it,  w*^  all  possible  speed 

I  would  haue  yo"  to  post  thether;  from  the  Borders 

make  choice  of  any  horsemen  yo"  thinck  fitt, 

and  when  yo"  come  there,  devide  them  into  parties 

and  lodge  neere  to  the  Castle,  yf  Modesbargen 

come  forth  to  hunt,  or  if  at  any  time 

yo"  find  the  draw-bridge  vp,  break  in  vpon  him,  1340 

and  willing,  or  vnwilling  force  him  hether, 

yo"  shall  haue  gold  to  furnish  yo",  and  this  don 

propose  yo**  owne  rewards,  they  shalbe  graunted. 

1306  R.   T'\  added  in  a  different  hand.         13 13  m^  Rice]  added  in  a  different  hand. 
13 13  h]  the  letter  after  h  is  doubtful,  probably  unfinished  a. 

'-  Z7  — 


Cap,  yf  I  be  wanting,  let  my  head  pay  for  it: 
ile  instantly  about  it.  —  Exit 

Or.  doe,  and  prosper. 
Will,  what  will  yo"  do  w*'*  Leidenberge? 
Bred,  let  him  be 

kept  safe  a  while:  for  Barnauelt,  till  we  haue 
some  certaine  proofes  against  him,  1  hold  fitt  1350 

he  haue  his  libertie,  but  be  suspended 
from  any  place,  or  voice  in  Court,  vntill 
his  guilt,  or  inocence  appeere. 
Vattd.  I  like  it.  — 

Lords,  we  are  all  of  yo*"  opinion 

Or.  bring  in  Leidenberch.  —       EnUr  Leidenberch:  Boy. 

Boy.  doe  all  theis,  father,  wayt  on  yo"?  Guard. 

Leid.  yes  Boy. 

Boy.  indeed  I  doe  not  like  their  Countenaunces  Fol.   14** 

they  looke  as  if  they  meant  yo"  litle  good  1360 

pray  yo"  put  them  away. 
Leid.  alas,  poore  inocent, 

it  is  for  thee  I  suffer:  for  myself 
I  have  set  vp  my  rest. 
Or.  Now,  Mounseiur  Leidenberch, 

we  send  not  for  yo",  though  yo*"  fault  deserve  it 
to  load  yo"  with  reproofe,  but  to  advise  yo" 
to  make  vse  of  the  way  we  haue  found  out 
to  save  your  life,  and  bono"":  yo"  alredy 
in  free  confession  of  yo*"  fault  haue  made  ^n^ 

a  part  of  satisfaction :  goe  on  in  it 
and  yo"  shall  find  a  faire  discovery 
of  yo*"  fowle  purposes,  and  th'agents  in  'em, 
will  wyn  more  fauo*"  from  they*"  lordships  to  yo" 
then  any  obstinate  deniall,  can  doe, 
Leid.  all  that  I  know  I  will  deliuer  to  yo" 

and  beyond  that  yo""  Excellence,  nor  their  Lordships 
will  not,  I  hope  perswade  me. 
Vandort.  in  the  meane  time 

yo"  are  a  prisoner.  1380 

Boy.  who,  my  ffather? 
Bred,  yes  Boy. 

1369  already  BuUen. 

_  38  - 


Boy.  then  I  will  be  a  prisoner  too;  for  heaven-sake 
let  me  goe  with  him:  for  theis  naughtie  men 
will  nere  wayt  oi?  him  well:  I  am  vsd  to  vndresse  him 
when  he's  to  goe  to  bed,  and  then  read  to  him, 
vntill  he  be  a  sleepe.  and  then  pray  by  him, 
I  will  not  leave  him. 
Bred,  why,  thou  shalt  not,  Boy: 

goe  with  thy  father.  1390 

Boy.  yo"  are  a  good  Lord, 

indeed  I  love  yo"  for't,  and  will  pray  for  yo": 
Come  ffather,  now  I  must  goe  too,  I  care  not. 
while  I  am  with  yo",  yo"  shall  haue  no  hurt, 
ile  be  yo*"  warrant 
Leid.  1  haue  lost  myself, 

but  something  I  shall  doe     —     ExK 
Or.  'tis  time  to  rise: 

and  if  your  Lordships  please,  we  will  defer 
our  other  busines,  to  an  other   sitting  1400 

Vandort.  in  the  meane  time,  wee'U  vse  all  honest  meanes 

to  sound  the  depth  of  this  Confederacie: 
/>4  in  which  heavens  hand  direct  vs,  and  assist  vs.  —  Exeunt  I. 

SccB"".  y.  Enter  2.  Captaines.        ,A  Fol.  H"* 


/.   Cap.  This  is  a  strange  cutting  time.  ^^'^  Rob: 

2.  let  'em  cutt  deep  enough  mtghell: 

they  v^ill  doe  no  great  cure  els:  I  wonder  strangely 

they  carry  such  a  gentle  hand  on  Leideriberch 

that  any  frends  come  to  him. 
/.  has  Confest  much  1410 

beleeue  it,  and  so  far  they  feare  him  not 

they  would  be  els  more  circumspect 
2.  pray  ye  tell  me, 

is  there  no  further  newes  of  those  are  fledd? 

I  meane  those  fellow  Instruments? 
/.  None  as  yet: 

at  least  divulgd  abroad.  But  certenly 

1399  Lordshipps  Bullen. 

1403  At  the  end  of  the  scene  in  the  left-hand  margin  is  drawn  a  hand,  which  is  repeated  on 
the  next  leaf  in  the  right-hand  margin;  here  the  short  third  scene  is  written  on  the  recto 
of  a  separate  short  leaf  inserted.    See   Introduction,   Manuscript  and   Authorship. 

1405  m^  Rol):]  added  in  another  hand.  1406  mighell:]  added  in  a  different  hand. 

—  39  — 


the  wise  States  are  not  idle;  neither  at  this  time 
do's  it  concerne  their  safeties:  we  shall  heare  shortly 
more  of  theis  Monsters.  1420 


let's  to  dynner  Sir 

there  we  shall  heare  more  newes. 


7.  ile  bcare  ye  Companie        —     Exeunt j 

Sect",  ^f.     Enter  Barnauelt,  &  Prouost.       [Fol.  14**] 

Bar.  And  how  doth  he  take  his  Imprisonement?  m!^ Prouost. 

Pro.  a  litle  discontent,  and  't  please  yo*"  Lordship 
and  sad,  as  men  [condempnd]   Confind 

Bar.  He  do's  not  talke  much?  Fol.  15* 

Pro.  litle  or  nothing,  Sir. 

Bar.  nor  wrighte?  1430 

Pro.  not  any  thing 

yet  I  haue  charge  to  give  him  those  free  vses. 

Bar.  doe  yo"  keep  him  close? 

Pro.  not  so  close,  and  't  like  yo'  Lordship 
but  yo"  may  see,  and  speake  with  him. 

Bar.  1  thanck  ye, 

pray  ye  give  me  leave. 

Pro.  ile  send  him  to  yo*"  Hono*".  —  Exit 

Bar.  Now  Barnauelt,  thou  treadst  the  sublest  path 

the  hardest,  and  the  thorniest,  most  concernes  thee,        1440 
that  ere  thy  carefuU  course  of  life  run  through, 
the  Master  peece  is  now  a  foot;  w**  if  it  speed 
and  take  but  that  sure  hold,  I  ayme  it  at, 
I  make  no  doubt,  but  once  more  like  a  Comet, 
to  shine  out  faire,  and  blaze  prodigiously       —  Enter 
\  even  to  the  ruyn  of  those  men  that  hate  me,  Leidetiberch 

I  am  sorry  for  your  fortune. 
Leid    'tis  a  sad  one, 

and  full  of  burthen ;  but  I  must  learne  to  beare  it, 

how  stands  yo*"  State?  1450 

Bar.  vpon  a  ball  of  yce, 

that  I  can  neither  fix,  nor  fall  with  safetie. 
Leid   the  heavie  hand  of  heaven,  is  now  vpon  vs, 

and  we  exposd,  like  bruizd,  and  totterd  vessells, 

1424  4\  altered  from  3.  1427  Confind]  added  later  in  different  ink. 

1437  pr^y  y^  gi'^^  ^^  leave\  this  line  is  given  to  the  Provost  by  Bullen;  in  the  text  it  belongs 
to  Bamauelt,  for  the  rule  is  under  pray. 

—  40  — 


to  merciles,  and  cruell  Seas,  to  sinck  vs. 


Ba7\  our  Indiscreations,  are  o"""  evill  fortunes, 

and  nothing  sincks  vs,  but  want  of  providence; 

6  yo"  delt  coldly  S"",  and  too  too  poorely, 

not  like  a  man  fitt  to  stem  tides  of  danger, 

when  yo"  gave  way  to  the  Prince,  to  enter  Vtrecht;        .1460 

there  was  a  blow,  a  full  blow  at  o''  fortunes, 

and  that  great  indiscreation,  that  mayne  blindnes, 

in   not   providing   such  a  Constant  Captaine, 

one  of  o*"  ownc,  to  comaund  the  watch,  but  suffer 

the  haughtie  English  to  be  masters  of  it, 

this  was  not  well,  nor  fitting  such  a  wisdom, 

not  provident 

Leid.  I  must  confes  my  erro*", 

the  beastly  coldnes  of  the  drowsy  Burgers 

put  me  past  all  my  aymes.  1470 

Bar.  6,  they  are  sweet  lewell's: 

he  that  would  put  his  confidence  in  Turnops: 

and  pickelld  Spratts:  Come,  yet  resume  yo""  Courage, 

pluck  vp  that  leaden  hart,  and  looke  vpon  me; 

Modesbargen' 5  fledd;  and  what  we  lockt  in  him, 

too  far  of,  from  their  subtle  keys  to  open: 

yf  we  stand  constant  now,  to  one  an  other, 

and  in  o^  soules  be  true. 

Leid  that  comes  too  late,  S*", 

too  late  to  be  redeemd  :  as  I  am  vnfortunate        1480     Fol.   IS** 
in  all  that's  gone  before:  in  this. 

Bar,  what? 


Leid.  6, 

in  this,  this  last,  and  greatest 
Bar.  speake 
Leid.  most  miserable. 

I  haue  confesd  :  now  let  yo""  eies  shoot  through  me. 

and  if  there  be  a  killing  anger,  sinck  me. 
Bar.  Confessd? 


Leid    'tis  don :  this  traito'^-tongue,  h'as  don  it :  1490 

this  coward  tongue. 

1457  BuUen   prints:   [our]   want;  our  is  not  in  the  text,  and  this  addition  is  unnecessary,  as  the 

measure  is  correct  without  the  word. 
1459  dangers  BuUen.  1473  pickled  Bullcn.  1474  mee  BuUen.  1490  done  Bullen. 

—  41    — 


Bar.  Confessd? 

Leid  he  lookes  me  blind  now. 

Bar.  how  I  could  cursse  thee  ffoole;  dispise  thee,  spurne  thee: 
but  thou  art  a  thing,  not  worthie  of  mine  anger, 
a  fifrend?  a  dog:  a  whore  had  byn  more  secreat, 
a  comon  whore,  a  closer  Cabinet: 
Confest:  vpon  what  safety:  thou  trembling  Aspyn, 
vpon  what  hope?  Is  there  ought  left  to  buoy  vs 
but  o*"  owne  confidence?  what  fifrends  now  follow  vs,  1500 

that  haue  the  powre  to  strike  of  theis  misfortunes 
but  o*"  owne  constant  harts?  where  were  my  eies, 
my  vnderstanding,  when  I  tooke  vnto  me 
a  fellow  of  thy  falce  hart,  for  a  fifrend 
thy  melting  mind :  foold  with  a  few  faire  words, 
suffer  those  secreats,  that  concerne  thy  life, 
in  the  Revealer,  not  to  be  forgiven  too, 
to  be  pluckt  from  thy  childes  hart,  with  a  promise, 
a  nod,  a  smile?  thyself,  and  all  thy  fortunes 
through  thy  base  feare,  made  subiect  to  example;  15 10 

nor  will  the  shott  stay  there :  but  w*^  full  violence 
run  through  the  rank  of  frends,  dispeirce,  and  totter, 
the  best  and  fairest  hopes  thy  fame  was  built  on. 

Leid,  what  haue  I  done?  how  am  I  foold,  and  cozend? 
what  shall  redeeme  me  from  this  Ignoraunce? 

Bar.  not  any  thing  thou  aymst  at:  thou  art  lost: 
a  most  vnpittied  way  thou  fallst. 

Ltid.  not  one  hope 

to  bring  me  of?  nothing  reserud  to  cleere  me 

from  this  cold  Ignoraunce?  1520 

Bar.  but  one  way  left, 

but  that  thy  base  feare  dares  not  let  thee  look  on : 
and  that  way  will  I  take,  though  it  seeme  steepe, 
and  every  step  stuck  with  affrights,  and  horro", 
yet  on  the  end  hangs  smyling  peace,  and  hono^ 
and  I  will  on. 

Lfid.  propound,  and  take  me  with  ye. 

Bar.  dye  vncompelld:  and  mock  their  preparations, 

1494  cursee  Bullen,  apparently  a  misprint;  dcspice  Bullen. 
1 5 12  rancke  disperse  Bullen.  ic^iy  falst  Bullen. 

—  42   — 


their  envyes,  and  their  Justice, 


Leid,  dye?  1530 

Bar.  dye  willingly: 

dye  sodainely  and  bravely:  so  will  I: 

then  let  'em  sift  o''  Actions  from  o""  ashes; 

I  looke  to  morrow  to  be  drawne  before  'em ; 

and  doe  yo"  thinck,  I,  that  haue  satt  a  ludge 

and  drawne  the  thred  of  life  to  what  length  I  pleasd  :      Fol.  16* 

will  now  appeare  a  Prisoner  in  the  same  place 

tarry  for  such  an  ebb :  no  Leidejiberch^ 

the  narrowest  dore  of  death,  I  would  work  through  first 

ere  I  turne  Slave  to  stick  their  gawdy  triumphes.  1540 

Leid.  dye  did  yo"  say?  dye  willfully? 

Bar.  dye  any  way: 

dye  in  a  dreame;  he  that  first  gaue  vs  hono" 

allowes  vs  also  saffe  waies  to  preserve  'em, 

to  scape  the  hands  of  Infamy,  and  tirrany 

we  may  be  o"*"  owne  Justice:  he  that  looses 

his  Creadit  (deere  as  life)  through  doubt,  or  faintnes 

is  guilty  of  a  doble  death,  his  Name  dies, 

he  is  onely  pious,  that  preserves  his  heire 

his  hono^  when  he's  dead.  155° 

Leid  'tis  no  great  paine. 

Bar.  'tis  nothing 

Imagination   onely  makes  it  monstrous; 
when  wc  are  sick,  we  endure  a  hundred  fitts 
this  is  but  one,  a  hundred  waies  of  torture, 
and  cry,  and  howle,  weary  of  all  about  vs, 
o*"  fifrends,  AUyes,  o*^  Children  teadious  to  vs, 
even  o*"  best  health,  is  but  still  sufferaunce; 
one  blow,  one  short  peece  of  an  howre  dos  this 
and  this  cures  all:  maintaines  no  more  phisitians  1560 

restores  o*"  memories,  and  ther's  the  great  cure 
where,  if  we  stay  the  fatall  Sword  of  Justice 
it  moawes  the  man  downe  first,  and  nixt  his  fashion, 
his  living  name,  his  Creadit. 
Leid.  give  me  yo*"  hand  Sir; 

1536  This  leaf,  in  which  the  writing  is  much    lower    than   usual,    is    evidently    an   insertion  pre- 
sumably replacing  a  cancelled  leaf.  1544  j«/l?  Bullen.  1546  /^j^jBullen. 
\SA7  faintnes s  Bullen.                                               1561  there's  BuUen.               1563  next  BuUcn. 

—  43   — 


yo"  haue  put  me  in  a  path,  I  will  tread  strongly: 

redeeme  what  I  haue  lost,  and  that  so  nobely 

the  world  shall  yet  confes,  at  least  I  lovd  ye: 

how  much  I  smile  at  now,  theis  peoples  mallice, 

dispise  their  subtle  ends,  laugh  at  their  Justice,  i57o 

and  what  a  mightie  Prince,  a  constant  man  is, 

how  he  can  set  his  mind  aloft,  and  looke  at 

the  bussings,  and  the  busines  of  the  spightfuU 

and  crosse  when  ere  he  please,  all  their  close  weavings: 

farwell :  my  last  farwcU. 


Bar,  a  long  farwell  S^  Fol.  16** 

Leid,  o'  bodies  are  the  earthes,  that's  their  dyvorsse 

but  o**  imortall  names  shall  twyn  togeather. 
Bar.  thus  tread  we  back  ward  to  o""  graves;  but  faint  not: 
Leid  ffooles  onely  fly  their  peace:  thus  I  pursue  it.    —    Exeunt.  I 

Scc^.  5".     Enter  Grotius:  &  Hogerbeets.  'S^i 

Gro.  They  haue  arrested  him?   Hogerbeets t 

Hog.  yes 

that  yo"  all  know  Grotius  they  did  at    Vtrich 

but  since  they  haue  with  more  severitie 

and  scorne  of  vs,  proceeded :  Monsieur  Barnauelt 

walkes  with  a  thousand  eies,  and  guards  vpon  him, 

and  has  at  best  a  painted  libertie. 

th'Appollogie  he  wroat,  so  poorely  raild  at, 

(for  answeard  at  no  part,  a  man  can  call  it)  159^' 

and  all  his  life,  and  Actions  so  detracted 

that  he,  as  I  am  certenly  informd, 

lookes  every  howre  for  worsse. 

Gro.  Come,  Come,  they  dare  not: 

or  if  they  should,  I  will  not  suffer  it 

I  that  haue  without  dread,  ever  maintaind 

the  freedom  I  was  borne  to,  against  all 

that  ever  haue  provoakd  me,  will  not  feare 

what  this  old  Graue,  or  the  new  Prince  of  Orangey 

dare  vndertake  beyond  this,  but  will  rise  vp  i6oo 

and  if  he  lay  his  handg  on  Barnauelt^ 

his  Court,  our  Guift,  and  where  the  generall  States 

1 58 1  s\  altered  from  4.  1592  informed  Bullen. 

—  44  — 


o*"  equalls  sitt,  ile  fry  about  their  eares, 
and  quench  it  in  their  blood:  what  now  I  speake 
againe  ile  speake  alowd :  let  who  will  tell  it, 
I  neuer  will  fly  from  it 


Hog,  what  yo"  purpose, 
I  will  not  fly  from. 

Gro.  back  yo"  then  to  Leyden, 

Taper:  ile  keep  at  Roterdam;  there  if  he  fetch  me  1610 

pen  &  inke  Table        ile  nere  repent,  what  ever  can  fall  on  me.     —     Exeunt 

SccB^,  d^.     Enter  Leidenberch  &  Boy, 
Boy.  Shall  I  help  yo"  to  bed  S^?^ 
Leid  no  my  Boy,  not  yet.  . 
Boy.  'tis  late,  and  I  grow  sleepie. 
Leid  goe  to  bed  then, 

for  I  must  wryte,  my  Childe 
Boy.  I  had  rather  watch  Sir,  Fol.   17* 

if  yo"  sitt  vp:  for  I  know  yo"  will  wake  me. 
Leid  indeed  I  will  not:  goe,  I  haue  much  to  doe:  1620 

prethee  to  bed:  I  will  not  waken  thee. 
Boy.  pray  Sir,  leave  wryting,  till  to  morrow. 
Leid  why  Boy? 
Boy.  you  slept  but  ill  last  night:  and  talkd  in  yo""  sleep  too 

trembled,  and  tooke  no  rest. 
Leid  I  ever  do  soe: 

good  Boy  to  bed:  my  busines  is  of  waight 

and  must  not  be  defered :  good  night,  sweet  Boy. 
Boy.  my  flather  was  not  wont  to  be  so  kind. 

to  hug  me,  and  to  kisse  me  soe.  1630 

Leid.  why  do'st  thou  weep? 
Boy.  I  cannot  tell:  But  such  a  tendernes 

whether  it  be  with  your  kind  words  vnto  me 

or  what  it  is,  has  crept  about  my  hart,  Sir, 

and  such  a  sodaine  heavynes  withall  too, 
Leid  thou  bringst  fitt  mourners  for  my  fl'unerall. 
Boy.  but  why  do  yo"  weep,  flather.^ 
Leid.  6  my  Boy 

thy  teares  are  dew-drops:  sweet  as  those  on  roses, 

J     1603  sit  Bullen.         1610,  161 1  marginal  note  added  in  a  different  hand.         1612  6\  altered  from  j-. 
J     1625  trembled]  tumbled  Bullen;  the  re^  which  is  not  very  clear,  has  been  written  over  something  else. 
1626  doe  Bullen.  1628  dejerrd  Bullen.  1632  such']  sure  ^MWtn, 

—  45  — 


but  mine  the  faint,  and  yron  sweatt  of  sorrow:  1640 

prethee,  sweet  Child  to  bed:  good  rest  dwell  with  thee 
an d  heaven  [reserve]  returne a  blessi ng :  that's  my  good  Boy  —  Ex^  Boy. 
How  nature  rises  now,  and  turnes  me  woman? 
when  most  I  should  be  man?  Sweet  hart  farwell, 
farwell  for  ever:  when  we  get  vs  Children 
we  then  doe  give  o*"  freedoms  vp  to  ffortune, 
and  loose  that  native  courage  we  are  borne  to; 
to  dye  were  nothing:  simply  to  leave  the  light, 
no  more  then  going  to  o*"  beds,  and  sleeping: 
but  to  leave  all  these  dearnesses  behind  vs,  1650 

these  figures  of  o*"  selues,  that  we  call  blessings 
is  that  w*^*^  trobles:  Can  man  beget  a  thing 
that  shalbe  decrer  then  himself  vnto  him? 
\  tush,  Leidcnbe7'cJi  thinck  what  thou  art  to  doe: 

not  to  play  Niobe,  weeping  ore  hir  Children, 

vnless  that  Barnauelt  appeere  again e  Son  abed 

and  chide  thy  dull-cold  nature :  He  is  fast : 

Sleepe  on  sweet  Child,  the  whilst  thy  wreatched  ffather 

prepares  him  to  the  yron  sleepe  of  death : 

or  is  death  fabled  out,  but  terrable  1660 

to  fright  vs  from  it:  or  rather  is  there  not 

some  hid  Hesperides,  some  blessed  fruites 

moated  about  with  death?  Thou  soule  of  Cato^ 

and  yo"  brave  Romaine  speritts,  famous  more 

for  yo""  true  resolutions  on  yo*"  selues, 

then  Conquest  of  the  world :  behold,  and  see  me 

an  old  man,  and  a  gowne  man,  with  as  much  hast 

and  gladnes  entertaine  this  Steele,  that  meetes  me, 

as  ever  longing  lover,  did  his  Mistris 

So,  so  :  yet  further :  soe.  1670 


Boy  w^Hn  oh. 


Leid  sure  the  Boy  wakes. 

and  I  shalbe  prevented. 
Boy.  now  heaven  blesse  me :  Fol.  17** 

6  mc:  6  me. 
Leid  he  dreames:  and  starts  with  frightings : 

I  bleed  a  pace,  but  cannot  fall:  'tis  here 

1642  returne]  interlined.  1644,  1645  farewell  Bullen.         1655  hirl  her  Bullen. 

1656  the  marginal  direction  added  in  a  different  hand. 

-46  - 


this  will  make  wider  roome:  Sleep  gentle  Child 

and  do  not  looke  vpon  thy  bloody  ffather, 

nor  more  remember  him,  then  fitts  thy  fortune:  1680 

Now  shoot  yo""  spightes :  now  clap  on  all  yo*"  councells, 

here  is  a  constant  ffrend  will  not  betray  me: 

I  now  I  faint:  mine  eies  begin  to  hunt 

for  that  they  haue  lost  for  ever:  this  worlds  beutie 

6,  oh,  6  oh:  my  long  sleepe  now  h'as  ceizd  me.  —  Enter  Bey 

Boy,  I  heard  him  groane,  and  cry:  I  heard  him  fall  sure 

6  there  he  lyes,  in  his  owne  blood :  6  ffather 

6  my  deere  ffather:  dead,  and  bequeathd  no  blessing: 

why  did  I  goe  to  bed?  why  was  I  heavy? 

6  I  will  neuer  sleep  againe:  the  house  there:  1^90 

yo"  that  are  curteous,  rise:  yo"  that  haue  ffathers. 

ho,  Master  Prouost:  6  my  deerest  ffather  ^  ^      „ 

-^  —  Enter  Pi'ouost 

some  Surgeons,  Surgeons :  ^  Seru*^ 

Pro.  'twas  the  Boycs  voice,  certaine  R:   T. 

Ser.  what  bloody  sight  is  this?  h'as  killd  himself: 

dead :  stone  cold  dead :  he  needs  no  art  of  Surgeons. 


I 


Pro.  take  of  the  Boy 

Boy.  6  let  me  dwell  here  ever. 

Pro.  this  was  a  fatall  stroak,  to  me  a  heavy, 

for  my  remissnes,  wilbe  loaden  with  it:  ^7<^ 

bring  in  the  Body:  ile  to  the  State  instantly: 

examine  all  the  wounds,  and  keep  the  knives, 

the  Boy  fast  too:  may  be  he  knowes  some  circumstaunce 

Boy.  6  that  I  neuer  knew  againe. 

Pro.  in  with  it.         Exeunt  j 

Actus  Quartus:  Scce'^.  pri"". 
Enter  Captaine,  &  Soldiers.  Cap:  lo:  R 

Cap.  Are  the  Horsse  left  where  I  appointed  'em? 

and  all  the  Soldiers  ready? 
Sold,  they  are  all  Captaine.  1710 

Cap.  'tis  well:  Modesbargen  is  abroad,  for  certaine, 

hunting  this  morning. 
Sold,  'tis  most  likely  Sir: 

1684  worldes  Bullen.  1688  deere]  deare  Bullen.  1694  R:   T.]  added  in  a  different  hand. 

1 69 1  curteous]  verteous  Bullen;  the  cu  is  not  absolutely  certain;  vertcous  is  incorrect. 

1701  Body']  Boy  Bullen.         1707  Cap:  lo:  R\  added  in  a  different  hand.         1708  Horses  Bullen. 

—  47   — 


for  round  about  the  Castle,  since  the  dawning 
we  haue  heard  the  merry  noyce  of  homes. 


Cap,  dispeirce  then, 

except  some  three,  or  fowre  to  watch  the  Castle 

least  he  breake  in  againe:  what  Company 

haue  ye  discoverd,  that  attends  him? 
Sold,  few  S',  1720 

I  do  not  thinck  he  has  five  within  the  fifort,  now 

able  to  make  resistaunce. 
Cap.  let'em  be  twenty 

we  are  strong  enough  to  fright  'em :  And  by  all  meanes 

let  those  that  stay,  seek  by  some  trick,  or  other 

to  make  the  Bridge  good,  that  they  draw  it  not  Fol.   18* 


Homes         if  he  returne,  vpon  vs.  Homes 

Sol.  with  all  care  S*".  —  Exeunt.  _         ,^    ,     r 

_-    -  — — =q ,  ,  ,  ,       ,,    ,  .     1  ;         hjiter  Modes- barren 

Modesb.  The  doggs  haue  hunted  well  this  dewy  morning,  o.  fjtj^f^c*Men 

and  made  a  merry  cry:  migh 

7.   Huntes.  the  Hare  was  rotten  1731 

yo"  should  haue  heard  els,  such  a  rore,  and  scene  'em 

make  all  hir  dobles  out  with  such  neat  hunting, 

and  run  at  such  a  merry  rate  togeather, 

they  should  haue  dapled  ore  yo'  bay  w***  fome  S'. 

Mod.  'Tis  very  well:  and  so  well,  I  affect  it 

that  I  could  wish  I  had  nere  hunted  after 

any  delight  but  this,  nor  sought  more  hono"*: 

this  is  securely  safe,  drawes  on  no  danger, 

nor  is  this  Chace  crost  with  malignant  envy:  1740 

how  sweetly  do  I  live,  and  laugh  vpon 

the  perrills  I  haue  past,  the  plotts,  and  traynes, 

and  now  (methinks)  I  dare  securely  looke  on 

the  steepe  &  desprat  follyes,  my  indiscretion 

like  a  blind  careles  foole  had  allmost  cast  me  on, 

Here  I  stand  saffe, 'gainst  all  their  strenghts,  and  Stratagems: 

I  was  a  boy,  a  ffoole,  to  follow  Barnauelt, 

to  step  into  his  attemps,  to  wedd  my  freedom  1748 

'  \  to  his  most  dangerous  ffaction,  a  meere  Coxcomb,  —  Enter  21 

but  I  haue  scapd  their  clawes:  haue  ye  found  more  game?        Htintesina* 

2.  Hunt,  beating  about  to  find  a  new  Hare,  we  discoverd  Ri   T. 

1715  noyse  BuUen  1717  foure  Bullen.  1727  Homes]  both  added  in  a  different  hand. 

1730  migk']  added  in  a  different  hand.  1751   R:  T.]  added  in  a  different  hand. 

—  48  - 


Mod.  discoverd?  what? 


2.  Hunt  Horsemen,  and  't  please  ye  Sir. 

scowt  round  about  vs;  and  w*^^  way  still  the  doggs   went 

they  made  vp,  w^^in  view. 
Mod.  look't  they  like  Soldiers? 
2.  Hunt,  for  certaine  they  are  Soldiers,  for  if  theis  are  eyes, 

I  saw  their  pistolls. 
Mod.  many? 
2.  Hunt,  some  half  a  score,  Sir.  1760 

Mod.  I  am  betraid :  away,  and  raise  the  Boores  vp, 

bid  'em  deale  manfully. 
I.  Hunt,  take  a  close  way  home, 

and  clap  yo*"  spurrs  on  roundly. 
Mod.  no  place  safe  for  me 

this  Prince  has  long  armes:  and  his  kindled  anger 

a  thousand  eyes:  make  hast,  and  raise  the  Cuntry  —  Ex^ —  Enter  Capt*^. 
Cap.  This  was  a  narrow  scape:  he  was  ith'  fifeild  sure  &  Soldiers 

Sold,  yes,  that  was  certaine  he,  that  ridd  of  by  vs, 

when  we  stood  close  ith'  brakes.  1770 

Cap.  a  devill  take  it, 

how  are  we  cozend :  pox  of  o*"  goodly  providence, 

if  he  get  home,  or  if  the  Cuntry  know  it. 
Sold,  make  haste,  he  is  yet  vnmand:  we  may  come  time  enough 

to  enter  with  him :  besides  ther's  this  advantage 

they  that  are  left  behind,  in  stead  of  helping 

a  Boores  Cast  ore  the  Bridge,  loden  with  hay 

haue  crackt  the  Ax  tree  w*^  a  trick,  ar 

and  choakes  the  Bridge,  from  drawing. 


Cap.  ther's  some  hope  yet:  1780 

away,  and  clap  on  spurs :  he  shall  scape  hardly 

if  none  of  vs  salute  him  :  mounte,  mounte.  —  Ex^  —  Enter  Modesbe{ 
Mod.  Hell  take  this  hay :   'tis  set  on  purpose  here :  &  Huntesmen 

fire  it,  and  draw  the  Bridge,  clap  faggotts  on't 

and  fire   the  Cart,  and  all:  no  Boores  come  in  yet? 

where  be  yo*"  Musketts,  Slaves? 
Hunt,  we  haue  no  powder  S'',  Fol.   18** 

Mod.  yo"  haue  sold  me.  Rogues,  betrayd  me:  fire  the  Cart  I  say 

or  heave  it  intoth'  Moat. 

1761  betraide  Bullen.         1764  spurres  Bullen.         1775  there's  Bullen. 
1780  there's  Bullen.         1782  the  end  of  the  last  word  has  been  cut  away, 
but  the  tail  of  g  is  still  visible. 

—  49  — 


Hunt,  we  haue  not  men  enough  1790  i 

will  ye  goe  in,  the  Cuntry  will  rise  presently 
and  then  yo"  shall  see  S**,  how  wee'U  buckle  w*'^  'em. 

Mod.  I  see  I  am  vndon,  they  hay  choakes  all,  —  Enter  Captai?ie 
I  cannot  get  beside  it.  &  Soldiers 

Cap.  Stir  not  a  foote, 

for  he  that  do's  has  mett  his  preist:  goe  ceise  his  body: 

but  hurt  him  not:  yo"  must  along  with  vs,  Sir 

we  haue  an  easie  nag  will  swym  away  with  ye, 

yo"  ghesse  the  cause  I  am  sure:  when  yo"  are  ith'  saddle  once 

let  yo"*  Boores  loose,  wee'll  show 'em  such  a  base:  1800 

do  not  deiect  yo""  self,  nor  rayle  at  fortune 

they  are  no  helpes:  thinck  what  yo"  haue  to  answeare 

Mod.  Captaine,  within  this  Castle,  in  ready  Coyne 

I  haue  a  thousand  Ducketts,  doe  me  one  curtesie 
it  shalbe  brought  out  presently. 

Cap.  what  is  it, 

for  I  haue  vse  of  money? 

Mod.  doe  but  shoot  me, 

clap  both  yo*"  Pistolls  into  me. 
Cap.  no  I  thanck  ye,  1810 

I  know  a  trick  worth  ten  o'  that:  ile  love  ye 
and  bring  ye  to  those  men  that  long  to  see  ye: 
away,  away:  and  keepe  yo*"  pistolls  spand  still 
we  may  be  forced. 

Mod.  I  am  vndon  for  ever.  —  Exeunt. 

SccB^,  2"".     Enter  Orange.^  Bredero^   Vandort:  [Lords.] 

Tho:  po: 
Bred.  Is't  possible  he  should  be  so  far  tempted 

to  kill  himself? 
Vand.  has  don  it,  and  most  desperately, 

nor  could  strong  Nature  stay  his  hand:  his  owne  Child  1820 

that  slept  beside  him:  which  showes  him  guilty  lords 
more  then  we  suspected. 
Or.  'tis  to  be  feard  soe 

and  therefore,  howsoere  I  moud  yo*"*  lordships 

1793  they^^  scribe's  error  for  the^  probably  through  the  next  word  hay. 

1800  hase\  haste  Bullen.  1802  thincke  Bullen. 

1812  long]  love  Bullen.       1816  Tho:  po:]  added  in  a  different  hand. 

—    50  — 


to  a  mild,   and  sweet  proceeding  in  this  busines 

that  nothing  might  be  construde  in't  malitious, 

and  make  the  world  beleeue  o*"  owne  ends  wrought  it, 

now  it  concernes  ye  to  put  on  more  strictnes 

and  with  seveerer  eyes  to  looke  into  it, 

ye  robb  yo''selves  of  yo''  owne  rightes  els,  Justice  1830 

and  loose  those  pious  names,  yo""  Cuntries  safeties: 

and  sodainely  this  must  be  don,  and  constantly 

the  powre  ye  hold  els,  wilbe  scornd,  &  laughd  at 

and  theis  vnchristian  stroakes,  be  laid  to  yo*"  charge. 


Bred,  yo*"  Grace  goes  right;  but  with  what  generall  safetic 
(for  ther's  the  mayne  point:)  if  we  proceed  seveerely 
may  this  be  don?  we  all  know  how  much  followed 
and  with  what  swarmes  of  love,  this  Mounsieur  Barnauelt 
is  courted  all  the  Cuntry  over :  Besides,  at  Leyden 
we  heare  how  Hogerbeets  behaues  himself  1840 

and  how  he  stirrs  the  peoples  harts  against  vs: 
and   Gr otitis  has  byn  heard  to  say,  and  openly 
(a  man  of  no  meane  mark,  nor  to  be  slighted) 
that  if  we  durst  imprison  Barnauelt 

he  would  fire  the  Court,  and  State-house;  and  that  Sacrifize 
he  would  make  more  glorious  w*^  yo'"  blood,  and  o".  Sir. 

Vand,  All  angers  are  nor  armd;  the  lowdest  Channell         Fol.   19* 
runs  shallowest,  and  there  betrayes  his  weakenes, 
the  deep  &  silent  man,  threatens  the  danger. 
Or.  if  they  had  equall  powre  to  man  their  wills  1850 

and  hope,  to  fling  theis  miseries  vpon  vs, 
I  that  nere  feard  an  Army  in  the  feild 
a  body  of  most  choice  and  excellent  Soldiers, 
and  led  by  Captaines  hono''d  for  experience 
can  I  feare  them,  or  shake  at  their  poore  whispers? 
I  that  haue  broke  the  beds  of  Mutenies, 
and  bowde  againe  to  faire  obedience 
those  stubborne  necks,  that  burst  the  raynes  of  order 
shall  I  shrinck  now,  and  fall,  shot  w***  a  rumo""? 
no,  my  good  Lords,  those  vollyes  neuer  fright  me;  i860 

yet,  not  to  seeme  remisse,  or  sleep  secure  here, 
I  haue  taken  order  to  prevent  their  angers: 

1827  believe  Bullen.         1833  potvrs  Rullen.         1848  weaknes  Bullen. 
185 1  theis\  their  Bullen. 

—    51    — 


I  haue  sent  Potents  out  for  the  choicest  Companies 
hether  to  be  remou'd:  first  Collonell    Veres 
from  Dort^  next  S^  Charles  Morgans,  a  stowt  Company 
and  last  my  Cosens,  the  Count  Ernests  Company: 
w***  theis  I  doubt  not,  to  make  good  o*"  busines, 
they  shall  not  find  vs  babes. 


Bred,  you  are  nobely  provident.  1870 

Vand.  and  now  proceed,  when  it  please  yo":  and  what  yo"  think  fit 
we  shall  subscribe  to  all. 
Or,  I  thanck  yo*"  Hono". 

Call  in  the  Captaine  of  my  Guard.        Enter  Captaine 

Ser.   T:  p:  hee's  here,  Sir.  nV  Rob'- 

Or.  harck  in  yo"*^  eare. 
Cap.  I  shall  Sir, 
Or.  doe  it  wisely 

and  without  tumult. 
Cap.  I  observe  yo""^  Grace 
Or.  now  take  yo"""  rest,  my  lords:  for  what  care  followes         1880 

leave  it  to  me. 
all.  we  wish  it  all  succes  S^  —         Exeunt. 


Scce"".  J''.     Enter  Bdrnauelt  {in  his  studdy) 

Bar.  This  from  the  King   of  Fraunce,  of  much  importance, 
and  this  from  Englands  Queene,  both  mightie  Princes 
and  of  imortall  memories:  here  the  Rewards  sett: 
they  lou'd  me  both :  the  King  of  Swethland,  this, 
about  a  Truyce:  his  bounty  too:  what's  this? 
from  the  Electo*"  Palatine  of  Brandenburg e 
to  doe  him  faire,  and  acceptable  offices,  1890 

I  did  so:  a  rich  iewell,  and  a  Chaine  he  sent  me: 
the  Count  of  Solents  \  And  this  from  his  faire  Countess 
about  compounding  of  a  busines: 
I  did  it,  and  I  had  their  thancks.   Count  Bentham, 
the  Archbisshop  of  Cullen,  Duke  of  Brunswick, 
Graue  Embden;  theis  from   Citties,  theis  from  Prouinces 


1863  Patents]  scribe's  error  for  Patents.         1875   T:  p :  2in6.  m^  Rob:  are  added  in  a  different  hand. 
1887    Swethland\  BuUen  prints  Swechland,  which  is  incorrect.         1895  Archbishop  BuUen. 

—   52  — 


Petitions  theis :  theis  from  the  States  for  places, 
haue  I  held  corespondence  with  theis  Princes, 
and  had  their  loves,  the  molding  of  their  busines, 
trusted  with  their  most  secreat  purposes?  1900 

of  every  State  acquainted  w***  the  misteries? 
and  must  I  stick  here  now?  stick  vnreleeud  too? 
must  all  theis  glories  vanish  into  darknes? 
and  Barnauelt  passe  with  *em,  and  glide  away- 
like  a  spent  Exhalation?  I  cannot  hold, 
I  am  crackt  too  deepe  alredy:  what  haue  I  don, 
I  cannot  answeare?  ffoole,  remember  not 
ffame  has  too  many  eares,  and  eyes  to  find  thee, 
what  help?  6  miserable  man,  none  left  thee:         —  Enter  S^uant 
what  constant  frends  ?  'tis  now  a  cry  me  to  know  thee       R:   T 
if  it  be  death.  .1911 


SerK  My  Lady  would  entreat  Sir,  Fol.   19** 

Bar,  my  head:  what  art  thou?  from  whom  sent? 

Ser*.  heaven  blesse  me 

Bar.  are  they  so  greedy  of  my  blood?  6  pardon  me 
I  know  thee  now;  thou  art  my  honest  Servant, 
what  would  thy  Lady? 

SerK  your  Company  to  supper.  Sir. 

Bar.  I  cannot  eate:  I  am  full  alredy  tell  hir, 

bid  hir  sitt  downe:  full,  full,  too  full  — /  my  thancks,  1920 

poyzd  equally  with  those  faire  services 
I  haue  don  the  State,  I  should  walk  confidently 
vpon  this  high-straind  danger:  6,  this  end  swayes  me 
a  heavy  bad  opinion  is  fixt  here  —  Enter  Datighter 

\  that  pulls  me  of:  and  I  must  downe  for  ever  G:  lozven. 


Daughter  Sir,  will  it  please  ye; 
Bar.  ha? 


Daughter  will  it  please  ye  Sir. 

Bar.  please  me,  what  please  me? 

that  I  send  thee,  Girle  1930 


1898  correspondence  Bullen.  19 10  R:   T\  added  in  a  different  hand. 

191 1  The  bottom  edge  of  the  leaf  is  cut  off,  and  the  first  three  words  cannot  be  read  with  certainty. 
1920  Bullen  notes:  Exit  Serv,  This  direction  is  not  in  the  text  thancks\  a  altered  from  ^. 

1922  done    States  Bullen.  1925  G:  lowen\  added  in  a  different  hand. 

—  53  - 


to  some  of  my  great  Masters  to  beg  for  me, 
didst  thou  meane  soe? 


Daugh.  I  meane  Sir. 

Bar,  thou  art  too  charitable 

to  prostitute  thy  beutie,  to  releeue  me, 
with  thy  soft  kisses,  to  redeeme  from  fetters 
the  stubborne  fortune  of  thy  wretched  ffather. 
Daugh.  I  vnderstand  ye  not. 

Bar.  I  hope  thou  do'st  not. 
Daugh.  my  Lady  Mother,  Sir  1940 

Bar.  pre'thee,  good  Girle 

be  not  so  cruell  to  thy  aged  father 
to  some  vp  all  his  miseries  before  him 
Daugh.  I  come  Sir,  to  entreat  yo*"  Company 
Bar    I  am  not  alone. 


Daugh.  my  Mother  will  not  eate  Sir: 
what  fitt  is  this? 

Bar,  there  can  be  no  attonement: 

I  know  the  Prince:    Vandort  is  fleshd  vpon  me, 
and  Bredero,  though  he  be  of  noble  nature  195° 

dare  not  step  in:  wher's  my  Son    William} 
his  Goverment  is  gon  too,  and  the  Soldier, 
6  the  fake  Soldier,  what  wouldst  thou  haue,  a  husband? 
goe  marry  an  English  Captaine,  and  hee'U  teach  thee 
how  to  defy  thy  ffather,  and  his  fortune. 
I  cannot  eate,  I  haue  no  stomach,  Girle. 
Daught.  good  Sir,  be  patient. 

Bar.  no  newes  from    Grotius} 

no  flow  of  ffrends  there?  Hooger-beets  lye  still  too? 
away:  ile  come  anon.  i960 

Daugh.  now  heaven  preserve  ye.    —  Exit 

Bar.  a  gentle  Girle:  why  should  not  I  pray  too? 

I  had  nere  more  need :  when  I  am  sett,  and  gon, 

what  vnderstanding  can  they  stick  vp  then 

to  fill  the  place  I  bore?  none,  not  a  man: 

to  traffick  w***  great  Princes  ?   none :  to  deale 

with  all  the  trobles  of  the  war?  none:  certaine,  no  man; 

to  bring  in  daylie  treasure,  I  know  no  man, 

they  cannot  pick  a  man,  made  vp  to  serve  'em:  1969 

1932  so  BuUen.  1958  news  BuUen. 

—  54  — 


\   why  should  I  feare  then  ?  doubt,  and  fly  before         —  Enter  wife 
myne  owneweake  thoughts?  art  thou  there  too?  nich. 


wife  fy,  fy  Sir  and  daught. 

why  do  yo"  suffer  theis  sad,  dead  retirements 
To  choake  yo""  speritts  ?  yo"  haue  studied  long  enough    Fol.  20* 
to  serve  the  vses  of  those  men  that  scorne  ye, 
'tis  time  yo"  take  your  ease  now. 


Bar.  I  shall  shortly 

an  everlasting  ease,  I  hope. 
wife  why  weep  ye? 

my  deere  Sir,  speak.  1980 

Bar.  neuer  till  now  vnhappie, 

thy  fruit  there,  and  my  fall,  ripen  togeather 

and  ffortune  gives  me  heires  of  my  disgraces. 
wife  take  nobler  thoughts 
Bar,  what  will  becom  of  thee,  wiffe? 

when  I  am  gon,  when  they  haue  gorgd  their  envies 

with  what  I  haue,  what  honest  hand  in  pitty 

will  powre  out  to  thy  wants?  what  noble  eye 

will  looke  vpon  my  Children  strooke  with  miserie 

and  say  yo"  had  a  father  that  I  hono'"d,  1990 

for  his  sake  be  my  Brothers,  and  my  Sisters? 
wife  there  cannot  be  such  crueltie 
Bar.  I  hope  not: 

yet,  what  so  confident   Sailo''  that  heares  the  Sea  rore, 

the  winds  sing  lowd,  and  dreadfull,  the  day  darkend 

but  he  will  cry  a  storme :  downe  with  his  Canvas,    —  Enter  Son. 
\  and  hull,  expecting  of  that  horrid  feauo*"? 

how  now?  what  newes? 
Son.  pluck  vp  yo*"  hart  Sir,  fairely 

and  wither  not  away,  thus  poorely  from   vs:  2000 

be  now  secure :  the  myst  ye  feard  is  vanishd : 

Leidenberch's  dead. 
Bar.  dead? 


Son.  killd  himself:  his  owne  hand: 

most  bravely  was  his  Justice:  nor  left  behind  him 

one  pcece  of  paper  to  dishono""  ye : 

they  are  all  to  seeke  now,  for  their  Accusations 

1 97 1  nich.]  added  in  a  different  hand.  1972  and  daught.]  added  in  a 

different  hand.  1999  plucke  BuUen. 

—  5S  — 


Bar,  and  is  he  dead?  so  timely  too?  so  truly? 

Spcak't  againe,  Will 
Son.  hee's  dead  Sir;  if  I  live  here.  2010 

Bar.  and  his  owne  hand? 


Son.  his  hand,  and  will  performd  it. 

Bar.  give  me  some  wyne :  I  find  now,  notw^^'standing .     —  Enter  SeruK 
the  opposition  of  those  mindes  that  hate  me  \w*^  wine] 

a  wise-man  spyns  his  owne  fate,  and  secures  it.  R:   T 

Nor  can  I,  that  haue  powre  to  perswade  men  dye     —   Ent:  w*^  wyn 
want  living  frends,  to  iustifie   my  Creadit : 
goe  in,  and  get  me  meat  now:  invyte  my  frends 
I  am  determind  to  be  high  and  merry.: 
Thou  hast  lost  thy  Charge,  wee'U  haue  another.  Will!       2020 
it  shall  goe  hard  els:  The  Prince  of  Orange  now 
will  find   what  ffrends  I  haue,  and  of  what  reckning: 
and  when  he  seekes  this  life,  he  must  make  passage 
through  thousands  more,  and  those  he  litle  dreames  of 

So7i.  I  wonder  how  he  got  that  sperit,  Sir,  to  dye  soe  ? 

Bar,  he  was  a  weak  man  indeed :  but  he  has  redeemd  it : 
there  be  some  other,  I  could  wish  of  his  mind 
do'st  thinck  they  dare  doe  any  thing  now? 
Son  'troth  I  thinck  not  Sir. 

Bar.  no  Boy,  I  warrant  thee:  they  make  great  soundes  2030 

but  mark  what  followes:  prethee  let's  be  merry 
I  want  it  much.  —  Enter  Seru^ 

Son.  I  am  glad  to  see  yo"  so,  Sir.  w*^ 

Bar.  I  cannot  be  abouc  two  daies  from  Councell.  Fol.  20^' 

\  I  know  their  wants?  how  now?  what  haste? 

SerK  6  Sir;  ye  are  vndon 
we  haue  lost  ye? 

Bar.  ha? 


Ser^.  for  ever  lost  ye. 

Bar.  why?  2040 

The  Captaine  of  the  Guard:  the  Pr/V/^^j"  Captaine     —  Enter  Wife 


Bar.  where?  how?  &  Daughter 

2015  R:  Z]  added  in  a  different  hand.  2024  little  Bullen. 

2016  Ent:  w^^  TVjyrt]  added  in  a  different  hand. 
2020  the  point  of  exclamation  is  very  doubtful. 

2025  The  point  of  interrogation  is  very  indistinct.         speritt  Bullen. 
2033  'wi^\  added  by  a  different  hand.  The  addition  was  not  completed. 
2041  The  speaker's  name  is  omitted  in  the  text;  read  Seruant. 

-  56  - 


SerK  \  is  broken  in,  now,  vpon  vs. 

wiff  he  will  not  be  denyde :  6  my  deere  Husband 


The  cruell  Princes  Captaine         —  Captame  w^Hjt.  nV  Rob. 


Cap.  ope  the  dore : 

wee'll  force  it  els :  and  all  that  dare  resist  vs 
wee'U  put  toth'  Sword. 

Bar.  open  the  dore:  farewell  wifife, 

goe  to  the  fifrench  Embassado*",  presently,  2050 

there's  all  my  hope:  to  him  make  knowne  my  misery: 
wooe  him,  with  teares,  with  praires :  this  kisse :  be  happie 

wife  6  we  shall  neuer  see  ye  more    —     Ex^ 
Bar.  \  away:  —    Enter  Captaine 

Now  Instrument  of  blood,  why  doe  ye  seeke  vs  ?  &  others 

I  haue  knowne  the  day  yo"  haue  wayted  like  a  Suppliant, 
and  those  knees  bended,  as  I  past:  Is  there  no  reverence 
belonging  to  me,  left  now?  that  like  a  Ruffian 
rudely  ye  force  my  lodgings?  no  punishment 
due  to  a  cryme  of  that  fowle  nature?  2060 

Cap.  yo"   must   pardon  me, 

I  haue  Coinission  Sir,  for  what  I  offer, 

and  from  those  men,  that  are  yo"*"  Masters  too, 

at  least  you'll  find   'em  soe:  you  must  shift  yo**  lodging, 

and  presently:  I  haue  a  charge  to  see  ye, 

yeild  yo''self  quietly 

Bar.  goe,  and  tell  their  Lordships 

I  will  attend  to  morrow:  I  know  my  time; 

and  how  to  meet  their  mallice  without  guards ; 

this  is  the  Prince y  the  cruell  Prince  your  Master,  2070 

the  thirstie  Prince  of  this  poor  life. 

Cap.  be  not  vext 

that  will  not  help  ye,  Sir: 

Bar.  I  wilbe  vext; 

and  such  an  anger  I  will  fling  amongst  'em 

shall  shake  the  servile  soules  of  these  poor  wretches 

that  stick  his  slight  deservings  aboue  mine: 

I  charge  ye  draw  yo*"  Guard  off,  and  dispeirce  'em : 

I  haue  a  powre  as  full  as  theirs. 

Cap.  you  '11  find  not ;  2080 

2045  w.  Rob:\  added  in  a  different  hand.  2055  Now]    You  BuUen. 

2078  disperce  Bullen. 

—  57  — 


and  I  must  haue  ye  with  me. 


Bar,  and  am  I  subiect 

that  haue  stood  the  brunt  of  all  their  busines? 

and  when  they  slept,  watcht  to  secure  their  slombers? 

subiect  to  slights,  to  scornes,  to  taynts,  to  tortures? 

to  feed  one  privat  mallice,  am  I  betrayd, 

myne  age,  myne  hono*^,  and  my  honest   dealing 

sold  to  the  hangmans  Sword? 

Cap.  I  cannot  stay. 

Bar.  take  me,  2090 

and  glory  in  my  blood,  yo"  most  vngratefull, 
feed  yo"""  long  bloody  hopes,  and  bath  yo"""  angers      Fol.  21* 
in  Barnaiielts  deservings.  share  my  Services, 
let  it  be  death  to  pitty  me,  to  speak  well  of  me, 
the  ruyn  of  whole  ffamylies:  when  I  am  gon 
and  angry  war  againe  shall  ceize  yo"""  Cuntry, 
too  late  remember  then,  and  cursse  yo""  follyes : 
I  am  ready :  farwell  Son ;  remember  me 
but  not  my  fortune ;  let  them  cry,  that  shall  want  me.         2099 

Cap.  no  man  come  necre,  on  paine  of  death:  away  with  him.  —  Exeunt 


Sccb'',  /f.     Enter  Orange:  &  i  Captaine.  lo:  Rice. 

Cap.  And,  as  I  told  yo*""  Highnes,  so  wee  tooke  him: 
Or.  'twas  with  discretion,  and  valo*"  foUowd, 

yo"  were  not  noted,  as  you  made  yo""  entraunce 
into  the  Hage} 
Cap.  no,  Sir,  'twas  about  Midnight 

and  few  were  stirring  but  the  Guard. 
Or.  the  better: 

let  his  being  brought  in,  be  still  conceald,  and  tell  him 
\  if  vncompelld  he  will  confes  the  truth  21 10 

at  Barnauelts  Arraignement,  that  all  fauo"" 
that  I  can  wyn  him,  shall  prepare  a  way         —  Enter  Burgers 
to  quallifie  his  fault.  ^  women,  w*^ 

Cap.  ile  work  him  to  it  Bowghs  & 

J   J      Ui.       ^  noivres. 

and  doubt  not.  -^ 

Or.  what  are  theis 

2101  lo:  Rice\  added  in  a  different  hand.        2104  yo*\  omitted  by  Bullen. 
2105  Hague  Bullen. 

-  58  - 


Cap.  'Tis  KeramiS'Mwci^y 

in  which  it  is  a  custome  with  the  people 
to  deck  their  dores  w*^  Garlonds,  Bowghes,  and  flowres 
that  are  most  gratious. 
Oi'.  6  I  remember: 
stand  close. 


c^ 


/.  Burg'',  strow,  strow:  more  Garlonds,  and  more  fflowres, 
vp  w*^  the  Bow.s^hes;  'sacramant  I  will  haue 
my  noble  ffrends  house,  Mounseiur  Barnauelts 
as  well  deckt  as  his  Excellencie's  Court, 
for  though  they  haue  got  him  in  prison,  he  deserves 
as  well  as  any. 
Cap.  mark  yo"  that. 
2.  Burg,  'tis  said  2130 

they  will  cutt  of  his  head 
/.  Burg*'  much:  with  a  Cusshion  : 

they  know  he  h'as  too  many  ffrends. 
Burg^  they  dare  not: 

people  will  talke :  I  hope  ere  long  to  see  him 
as  great  as  ever: 
Burg*",  greater  too;  I  doubt  not, 

and  of  more  powre :  his  feet  vpon  the  neckg 
of  all  his  Enemies 
Or.  I  am  glad,  I  heard  this:  2140 

and  Barnauelt  shall  feele  I  will  make  vse  oft 
Come,  follow  me.  —  Bxeunt 
Burg''.  So,  now  the  merry  Song 

we  made  for  his  good  Lady:  Lustique,  hoa:     — Song:  j —  Eniar 
wife  All  thancks,  kind  ffrends,  that  a  sad  house  can  give  ye  /   wife^  aboue. 
pray  yo"  receive:  for  I  rest  well  assurd 
though  theis  sports,  are  vnseasonable  here 
they  teslefie  yo*"  loves:  and  if  my  Lord  Fol.  21*' 

ere  lyve  to  be  himself  againe,  I  know 
he  will  remember  it.  2150 

Burg,  now  for  the  Daunce,  Boyes.     \Daunce\ 

wife  ther's  something  for  your  paines;  drinck  it,  I  pray: 

21 17  Keramis]  Kramis  Bullen.         21 19  deck'\  k  apparently  altered  from  kt. 

2123  strew ^  strew:  Bullen.         2132  Cusshion\  is  blotted,  but  still  legible;  Cusshin  Bullen. 

2134,  2143,  2153  [2]  Burg.  Bullen.  2137,  215 1   [i]  Burg.  Bullen. 

2148  tesiifie  Bullen.  2149  live  Bullen. 

—  59  — 


Burg,  to  a  doyt,  my  vroa:  to  thy  Lords  health,  and  thine: 
the  Bree:  for  his  Excellence,  and  the  Heeres, 
that  love  him  not:  ten  hunderd  towsand  blessings 
to  him  and  thee,  my  vroa.  —  Daunce 


wife    I  thanck  yo"  ffrend  —    Exeunt     I 

Scce^,  5''.     Enter  Orange;  Bredero:   Vandort 


Barre  William  [Henry]:  Lords.  Table. 


Vand.  Let  him  be  sent  for  presently:  he  shall  know,    —  A  Bar  brought  in 

were  he  ten  times  more  popular,  his  ffrends  2161 

and  flatterers  Centuple,  the  Sword  of  lustice 

shall  fall  on  him,  as  on  the  meanest  man 
\  since  he  deserves  it.  —     Enter  Prouost, 

Pro.  Make  roome  for  the  Prisoner:  Captaines  &  Guard 

Bar.  My  dutie  to  yo*"  Highnes,  and  theis  Princes.  w^^  Barnauelt 

and  an  increase  of  wisdome  to  yo**  Lordships 

for  w*^**  the  world  admires  yo",  I  wish  to  yo": 

Alas,  what  troble  do's  a  weake  old  man 

(that  is  being  out  of  all  imployment,  vseles,  2170 

the  bag  of  his  deserts  too,  cast  behind  yo") 

impose  vpon  this  Senat?  my  poore  life 

(w'**  others  envy  makes  yo"  Instruments 

to  fight  against)  will  hardly  be  a  Conquest 

worthie  such  great  performers. 
Vand.  Mounseiur  Barnauelt 

'tis  no  mans  envy,  that  hath  brought  vs  hether 

to  sitt  as  fudges  on  yo",  but  yo*"  owne 

your  owne  late  Actions,  they  haue  raisd  a  war 

against  yo'"  former  merritts,  and  defeated  2180 

what  ever  then  was  ranckt  for  good,  and  great, 

for  w'**  your  Enemies,  those  that  yo"  thought  ffrends 

triumph,  not  wee. 
Bre  we  rather  wish  yo"  could 

acquitt  yo'"self  of  that,  for  which  we  haue 

too  evident  prooffes,  then  labo""  to  intrap  yo". 
Bar,  I  must  beleeue,  and  suffer  whatsoever 

yo*"  Lordships  charge  me  with :  yet  would  gladly  heare 

2153  thyne  Bullen.  2155  hundred  tAousanii  BuWen.  2156  Daunce]  added  in  a  different  hand. 

2159  Barre  and  Table,  are  added  in  a  different  hand. 

i\6o  A  Bar  brought  in]  added  presumably  in  a  different  hand. 

2170  Bullen  closes  the  brackets  after  vseles.  2173  yo^]  your  Bullen. 

—  60  — 


what  my  faultes  are. 


Vand.  read  the  Confessions  2190 

of  Leidenberch,  and   Taurinus. 
Bar.  Leidenberch} 
Officer  reads.  Firsts  that  the  Arminians  {faction  (of  w*^*"  S""  lohn    Van 

Olden  Barnauelt,  late  Advocate  of  Holland,  and  West-Frizeland 
and  Councellor  of  State^  was  w^^'out  contradiction  the  head) 
had  resolued,  and  agreed,  to  renounce,  and  break,  the 
generallity,  and  vnitie  of  the  State. 

Secondly   Change,    and  alter  the  Religion:  and  to  that  end, 
w^^'out  the  Consent  of  the  generall  States,  had  raysed  vp 
and  dispeirsed  3000.  Arminian  Soldiers,  2200 

Thirdly.  To  degrade  the  Prince  of  Orange.  Fol.  22* 

Fourthly.  To  massacre  the  people  of  the   Townes,  ^n^^  were 
their  greatest  Enemies;  or  offered  resistaunce. 
Fiftly  yf  that  fayled,  to  take  in  assistaunce  of  some  forreigne 
Potentates,  as  Spaine,  or  Brabant,  delivering  vnto  them 
Vtricht,  Nimweghen.,  Bergen  op  Zone,  and  the  Brill, 


Bar.  and  that,  with  others  this  was  Barnauelts  purpose 

for  so  yo""  Lordships  take  it. 
Bred,  with  good  reason. 
Vand.  too  many,  and  strong  prooffes  invyting  vs  2210 

to  creadit  it 


Bar.  yf  yo"  will  haue  them  such 

all  truth  I  can  bring  to  dyvert  yo*""  Lordships 

from  your  determinate  opinion  that  way 

will  not  remove  them :  yet  'tis  strange  that  man 

should  labo**  to  devide  those  generall  States 

that  had  no  weak  hand,  in  vnyting  them, 

That  Barnauelt  (a  name  yo°  haue  remembred 

when  yo"  haue  thought  by  whom  yo"  were  made  happie) 

That  Barnauelt  (alowd  I  dare  repeat  it)  2220 

who,  when  there  was  Combustion  in  the  State, 

yo*"  Excellence,    Graue  William,  and   Count  Henrie, 

taking  Instructions  for  your  Coinaunds 

from  one  that  then  ruld  all:  the  Prouinces 

refucing  to  bring  in  their  Contributions 

and  arguing  whether  the    West  Frizelander 

2206  Nunweghen  BuUen.         2210  proo/es  Bullen.        2218  retnemhend  Bullen. 
— -61   — 


and  Hollander  had  powre  to  raise  such  Tribut, 
when  many  of  the  Governo"  stood  ill 
affected  to  yo";  all  o*"  Garrisons 

not  sworne  then  to  the  Generall  States,  but  others,         2230 
w***  the  promiscuous  multitude  gladly  followed: 
when   Graues  &    Vendlocy  were  held  by  the  Spaniard 
and  Nitmveghen  w***  violence  assaulted, 
Confusion  w*'*  one  greedy  gripe  being  ready 
to  seaze  on  all;  then,  when  the  Sluice  was  lost, 
and  all  in  muteny  at  Midleboroiigh : 
who  then  rose  vp,  or  durst  step  in  before  me, 
to  doe  theis  Cuntries  service?  who  then  labourd 
more  then  the  now  suspected  Barnauelt 
t'appcase  seditions,  and  compound  all  Quarrells?  2240 

who  pacified   the  Malcontents?  who  taught  yo" 
to  stand  vpon  yo*"  Guards,  and  trust  your  selves? 
6  yo"  forgettfuU,  all  this  I  performd, 
and  in  the  golden  fagot  of  faire  Concord 
bound  safely  vp  those  strengthes,  which  Mutenies, 
Corruption,  and  home-bred  Traito"  scatterd. 
Vand.  this  is  a  point  yo"  often  choose  to  treat  of:  » 

and  yet  some  part  of  theis  good  services 
none  will  deny  yo". 
Or.  but  to  ingrosse  all,  2250 

would  argue  me  yo*"  ward,  should  I  give  way  too't 
and  theis  grave  Lords,  your  Schollers. 
Bar  in  the  Art 

of  Goverment,  they  scornd  not  once  to  be  soe, 

nor  yo",  to  give  me  hearing:   And  if  ever  Fol.  22^ 

'twer  lawfuU  th'vnthanckfull  men  t'vpbarid 

vnequalld  benefitts,  let  it  not  in  me 

be  now  held  glorious,  if  I  speake  myself. 

I  haue  five  times  in  regall  Embassies 

byn  sent  the  principall  Agent  for  theis  Cuntries,  2260 

and,  for  yo*"  good,  haue  spoken,  face  to  face 

with  mightie  Kings:  twyce  w*''  that  virgin  Qucene 

2233  Nunweghm  Bullen.         2238,  2252  these  BuUen. 

2256  lawful  Bullen.      vpbarid]  scribe's  error  for  vpbraid,  2257  unequall  Bullen. 

2258  myself]  my  best  Bullen.  Though  this  reading  may  have  seemed  more  plausible 
'     to  Mr.  Bullen,  myself  is  quite  clear  in  the  text. 

—  62   — 


f 


our  Patronesse  of  happie  memory 

Elizabeth  of  England;  twyce  in  Fraunce 

w*''  that  invincible  King  that  worthely 

(though  dead)  is  still'd  the  Great;  Henry  the  fourth-. 

once  with  the  king  of  Britaine  that  now  is, 

yet,  let  my  greatest  Enemy,  name  the  least 

of  theis  so  high  Imployments,  in  which  I 

treated  without  advantage,  and  returnd  not  2270 

w***  proffitt,  as  with  hono*",  to  my  Cuntry, 

and  let  me  fall  beneath  the  worst  aspersion 

his  mallice  can  throw  on  me :  Besides  Soldiers 

so  often  levied,  by  my  meancs  for  yo", 

w*^**  to  perticularize  were  teadious 

two  Millions,  and  five   hundred  thousand  poundg 

for  w*^'*  the  Prouinces  stood  bound,  I  wrought 

freely  to  be  dischargd ;  the  Townes  they  pawnd 

to  be  deliuerd  vp :  And  after  all 

theis  meritorious,  and  prosperous  travells  2280 

tVnyte  theis  States,  can  Barnauelt  be  suspected 

to  be  the  autho*",  to  vndooe  that  knot 

which  with  such  toyle  he  fastend? 


[Vand.]  [you  take  leave] 

[to  speak  of  that,  which  yo"  so  oft  haue  told] 
[that  'tis  the  talk  of  Children.] 
[Bar.]  [it  may  be,] 

[for  by  such  men  as  yo"  are  'tis  forgot:] 

[But  with  my  dying  breath,  ile  wryte  this  new] 

[vpon  theis  walls :  and  yo"  shall  nere  sitt  here]  2290 

[(if  yo"  goe  on  in  yo*"  Iniustice  towards  me,)] 

[but  all  my  glorious  Actions  shall  appeere] 

[so  many  ghosts  to  fright  yo":  do  yo"  smile?] 

[yo"  haue  me  here,  and  yo"  may  vse  yo*"  pleasures,] 

[Ile  loose  no  more  breath  to  yo":  To  yo""  Highnes,] 

[to  yo",  I  turne  my  Speech   now ;  Though   I  haue  not] 

[sometimes    preferd    what  yo"  Comaunded,  when] 

[it  lookd  not  towards  the  generall  good,  'tis  monstrous] 

[if  in  yo""  hono*",  yo"  should  not  acquitt  me] 

[of  any  purpose  I  had  to  degrade  yo":]  2300 

2275    particularize  BuUen.  2282  undoe  Bullen. 

-  63  - 


[Nor  can  yo"  but  remember  'twas  my  Counsaile]  | 

[when  in  one  yeere,  yo"  did  beseige  Breda,]  - 

[tooke  in  the  ffortresse  of  Terheide  and  Steinberch]  ; 

[wan  Nimweghetty  Deiienter,  Zutphen,  Hulst,  Delfs-Isle] 

[and  forcd  the  Prince  of  Parma,  to  retire] 

[back  w***  disgrace  to  Antiverpe,  all  his  works] 

[razd  downe,  or  standing  for  our  vse,  made  ours.] 

[how  oft  then  in  yo*"  Camp,  I  visited  yo",] 

[w***  what  care,  Cost,  direction,  and  successe,] 

[1  saw  all  things  prepard:  and  made  faire  way]  Fol.  23* 

[to  perfect  yo*"  designes.]  23  ii 


Or.  pawse  I  beseech  yo", 

and  while  you  gather  breath  to  fill  the  Trumpet 

of  your  deserts,  give  me  leave  to  deliuer 

a  litle  for  the  States,  and  mine  owne  bono*", 

we  haue  heard  a  glorious  Catologue  of  your  vertues, 

but  not  one  vice,  or  slip  of  yours,  remembred: 

but  I  will  help  yo''  memory:  who  was  he 

that   gave   intelligence   of  my  sodaine  coming 

to  surprize  Antwerpe}  they  that  brought  the  Letters         2320 

were  knowne,  and  but  from  yo"  could  haue  no  notice 

of  any  such  design:  who  hinderd  me 

from  rescuing  of  Rhinberch  in  the  last  Seige? 

who  warranted  the  yeilding  of  it  vp 

w^'^out  necesitie  to  the  Governo''? 

who  was  the  cause  no  greater  powre  was  sent 

against  the  Enemie,  when  he  past  the  Rhine, 

and  tooke  the  Townes  of  Oldensell,  Lingen,   Groll} 

To  think  of  this,  would  give  a  litle  vent 

to  the  windy  bladder  of  yo"*"  vanitie,  2330 

which  yo"  have  blowne  to  an  vnlymitted  vastnes 

your  Insolence  to  me,  before  the  Battailc 

of  Flaunders,  I  forget.  

2316  Catalogue  Bullen.  2323   Rheinherch  BuUen. 


64 


Bar.  [yo"  shall  not  Sir,]  b—, 

['twas  when  your  Highnes  too  much  prouiden{ce)]  a 


+  [(for  Willi nghy  I  would  not  say  yo*"  feare)] 


>t 


[(l)ed  yo"  to  doubt  the  hazard  of  a  Battaile,]       "d^  ^  'ct'  'a' 

[and  said  the  fortune  of  the  Proumces]  ^     '^  ?  '^   § 

[was  put  vpon  the  rapiers  point,  ho\v  I] 

[(for  since  yo"  vrge  me,  I  will  speak  it  boldly)]       hh  *"    ^    '^  "^     2340 

[stood  vp,  and  ofiferd  if  that  yo"  refusd,] 

[to  take  the  Charge  myself] 


ot 

^ 

0 

^ 

^ 

X 

•-1 

3 
0 

r1- 

i>^< 

P 

^^ 

0 

(A 

3 

in 

(A 

3 

0 

n 
0 

0 
0 

►t 

lL-i 

nh 

< 

P 

•-J 

0 

^ 

a> 

ri 

(^ 

0 
n 

S 

rt 

P 

0 

^ 

0 
0 

1-1 

3 

c 

1— 1 

'^ 

^ 

r."" 

0 

CTQ 

[  F^;/^.]  +  [but  well  assurd] 

['twould  not  be  graunted] 
l^Bred,']  [and  for  all  the  boast] 

[staid  till  the  day  was  won,  safe  at  Ostend.'] 
[Or.]   [I  was  in  person  there—] 
[Bar.]  [and  yet  you  clayme] 

[as  litle  in  the  victory  as  I,] 

[that  then  was  absent :  I  was  in   Ostend,]  """"  *£*  I    ^  2350 

+  [yo"  with  three  troopes  of  horsse  were  on  the  hill]      ^  5-  i^ 
[andsawtheBattailcfought,butstrooknostroakin't.]  »    % 

I       1     yj 

[I  must  confes  'tis  fitt  a  Generall]  tr 

[should  looke  out  for  his  safetie :  and  yo"  therefore]        g 

[are  to  be  held  ex(cu)sd:  But  that  great  day,]  rr 

[that  memorable  day,  in  which  o*"   hono",] 

[o""  lives,  and  liberties  were  at  the  stake,] 

[(we  owe)  to  the  direction  and  the  vallo""] 

[of  those  vnparalelld  paire  of  warlike  Brothers] 

[the  ever  noble    Veres:  and  who  takes  from  them]  2360 

[vsurpe  on  what  is  theirs.] 


I 


2334-2372  The  complication  of  substitution  and  deletion  in  this  passage  is  very  interesting. 
1.  2334-2353  were  crossed  out  by  the  same  hand  (the  censor's)  which  placed  the  crosses  in 
the  margin,  and  were  subsequently  written  over  to  obliterate  them.  The  lines  in  the  margin 
were  added  to  replace  this  deletion.  They  were  subsequently  deleted  at  the  same  time  as 
2354-2372  by  being  scribbled  over,  but  are  much  less  fully  obliterated  than  2334-2353. 

2335  prouidence]  this  reading  is  almost  certain  and  supported  by  the  reading  in  the  margin;  the 
two  last  letters  are  illegible. 

2337  ledP}^  doubtful;  the  /  is  entirely  obliterated  by  a  blot,  and  the  rest  is  not  clear. 

2355  ^xcusd\  the  word  is  hardly  doubtful,  though  the  cu  are  blotted. 
In  the  margin  1.  4  prouident  is  legible  all  except  the  td. 

2358  The  beginning  of  the  line  is  blotted.  The  second  word  is  very  probably  owe^  but  of  the 
first  nothing  is  now  visible; 

2361  vsurpe]  sic,  probably  for  vsurpes. 

-65  - 


Vdnd.  [doe  we  sitt  here] 

[t*  arraigne  this  insolent  man?] 
Bred,  [or  stands  he  here] 
[to  Condempne  vs?] 
William  [to  robb  yo"  of  yo*"  hono^] 

[&  yo"  sitt  patient?] 
Henrie,  [turne  back  theis  base  slaunders]  Fol.  23** 

[into  the  Traito"  throat.] 
Or,  [no;  let  him  rayle]  2370 

[I  can  contempne  his  Calumnyes,  and  convince  him] 
[w***  truthes  shall  shake  his  prowdest  confidence] 
Call  in  Modesbarggn 
Bar.  he  a  prisoner,  too? 

then  I  am  lost 
Or.  ha?  do's  that  startle  yo°?  \prouost\ 

Bar.  \  I  must  collect  myself  Enter  \Captaine\    w*^ 

Or.  yo"  shall  heare  more.  captmne 

Modesb.  6  Mounseiur  Barnauelt,  do  we  meet  thus  Modesbargen 

I  am  as  sorry  to  behold  yo"  there  2380 

as  know  myself  a  Prisoner:  Now  yo"  perceive 
to  what  a  desperate  state  yo*"  headlong  Counsellg 
and  rash  designes  haue  brought  vs;  to  stand  out  now 
were  to  no  purpose  for,  alas,  they  haue 
too  pregnant  proofifes  against  vs. 
Bar,  yo"  that  feele 

the  horro*"  of  fowle  guilt,  in  yo"*"  falce  bosom 
confes  yo*"  self  soe:  my  strong  Inocence 
to  the  death  stands  constant: 
Or.  take  Modesbargen  in.     —     Ex^  2390 

Vand  This  is  an  impudence,  I  neuer  read  of: 
But  now  wee'll  show  thee,  miserable  man 
such  further  proofifes,  as  would  call  vp  a  blush 
vpon  the  devills  cheeke:  looke  vpon  this 
signd  by  the  Gouernor,  Chauncellor^  and  Counsell 
of  Gilderland,  and  Zutphen\  who,  here  name  thee 
the  roote,  and  head  of  the  late  Schisme: 
Bred,  and  this 

2377  Captaine   was   crossed  out,    and  prouost  written  over  it;  then  prouost  was  crossed  out,  and 
captaine  interlined  below,  all  by  a  different  hand  that  also  added  wt^ 

—   66   — 


I 


sent  from  the  Lords  of  Vtrecht  where  'tis  prou'd 

that  the  new  Companies,  were  raisd  by  yo"  2400 

and  to  what  purpose. 


William  to  subvert  Religion 

to  deface  Justice,  and  to  break  the  vnion 
and  holly  League  betweene  the  Prouinces. 
Henry.  The  Proclamatio7is  are  allowd  by  yo" 

sent  forth  against  the  Protestants',  and  here 
yo""  resolution  to  degrade  my  Brother 
and  then  dispose  of  him,  as  yo"  though  fitt 
Vand,  yo*"  plott  here  to  withdraw  all  the  old   Soldiers 

from   the    Comaundement  of  the  States^  and  wyn  them    2410 
to  serve  for  yo*"  ends,  in  a  Civill  war. 
Bred,  to  raise  vp  Cittizen  against  Cittizen, 

stranger  'gainst  stranger:  Soldier  against  Soldier, 
and  Maiestrates,  against  the  Maiestrates 
Or.  to  waste  the  Land  within,  that  with  lesse  danger 
the  forraigne  Enemy  might  make  his  entraunce, 
yf  then,  this  be  not  treacherie  beyond 
all  presidents  of  Traito"- 
Bar.  give  me  leave, 

onely  to  smile :  then  say  all  theis  are  fake,  2420 

your  wittnesses  subornd,  yo*"  testemonies 

and  wrytings  forgd :  and  this  elaborate  forme 

of  Justice  to  delude  the  world,  a  cover 

for  future  practises :  this  I  affirme  Fol.  24* 

[vpon  my  soule]:  Now,  when  you  please  Condempne  me, 

I  will  not  vse  one  sillable  for  yo""  mercy, 

to  haue  mine  age  renewd,  and  once  againe 

to  see  a  second  triumph  of  my  glories: 

yo"  rise :  and  I  grow  tedious :  Let  me  take 

my  farwell  of  yo"  yet:  and  at  the  place  2430 

where  I  haue  oft  byn  heard,  and  as  my  life 

was  ever  fertile  of  good  councells  for  yo", 

it  shall  not  be  in  the  last  moment  barren. 


2403  brake  Bullen  2410  Comandement  BuUen.  1421  witnesses  BiiUen, 

-  67- 


Octavius,  when  he  did  affect  the  Empire, 

and  strove  to  tread  vpon  the  neck  of  Rome, 
+    and  all  hir  auncient  freedoms,  [tooke  that  course]  cutt  of  his  opposites. 

[that  now  is  practisd  on  yo"] :  for  the  Gate's 

and  all  free  speritts  slaine,  or  els  proscribd 

that  durst  have  stird  against  him,  he  then  sceasd 

the  absolute  rule  of  all:   [yo"  can  apply  this]:  2440 

And  here  I  prophecie,  I  that  haue  lyvd 

and  dye  a  free  man,  shall,  when  I  am  ashes 

be  sensible  of  yo""  groanes,  and  wishes  for  me; 

and  when  too  late  yo"  see  this  Goverment 
+    changd  [to  a  Monarchie]  to  another  forme,  you'll  howle  in  vaine 

and  wish  yo"  had  a  Barnauelt  againe. 

Now,  lead  me  where  yo"  will:  a  speedy  Sentence: 

I  am  ready  for  it:  and  'tis  all  I  ask  yo".  —  Exeunt 

Actus  Quinttis.     Scce''.  pri''. 
Enter   Wife:  Daughter:  Seru*  w^^  Peares:  —   m''  Rice 

wife.  Denyde  to  see  my  Husband:  6  yo"  Tirants,  2451 

and  (to  increase  my  misery)  in  vaine 
by  heaven  I  kneeld  for't,  wept,  and  knecld  in  vaine, 
to  such  as  would  while  Barnauelt  was  himself: 
but  why  doe  I  remember  that  word  was, 
that  never  happie  word  of  was? 
Ser^.  good  Madam. 

beare  (with  yo""  vsuall  wisdom)  what  is  not 
in  yo"  to  help:  the  strict  guard's  kept  vpon  him, 
his  State  ceizd  on :  my  Lord,  yo''  Son,  disgracd  too,  2460 

and  all  yo*"  frends  suspected,  may  assure  yo" 
no  price  beneath  his  head  must  answeare  for  him, 
Daughter,  but  is  he  not  alredy  dead? 
wife.  I,  I 

2434-2445  These  lines  are  marked  for  omission  by  an  ink  line,  drawn  through  the  passage  from 

top  to  bottom,  but  not  actually  cancelled. 
2436,  2440  and  2445  crosses  in  ink  by  the  censor;  the  substitions  for   the   deleted   words   are   in 

the  same  hand  as  the  marginal  note  FOL.  4b,  i.  e.  in  Sir  George  Buc's  handwriting. 
2436  ancient  Bullen.         cutt  of  his  opposites.]  added  in  the  margin.         2438  sperritts  Bullen. 
2440  you  can  apply  this]  deleted  by  the  censor. 
2445  changd]  gd  are  written  over  the  original  letters;  the  scribe  first  wrote  chauned  by  mistake. 

to  another  forme]  interlined.         2450  w  Rice^  added  in  a  different  hand.         2455  ^^  Bullen. 

—  6%   — 


I 


there  lyes  my  feare. 


Ser*.  I  sweare  to  yo",  I  saw  him 

not  many  howres  since,  and  hundreds  more: 
but  yet,  as  one  that's  bound  to  bono*"  him 
I  had  rather  haue  had  assuraunce  of  his  death 
then  so  to  haue  seene  him.  2470 

both,  why? 

Ser*.  I  haue  followed  him 

when  every  step  he  made,  met  a  Petition, 
and  those  that  are  his  Judges  now,  like  Clyents 
haue  wayted  on  him,  the  whole  Court  attending 
when  he  was  pleasd  to  speake,  and  with  such  murmo" 
as  glad  Spectato"  in  a  Theater 
grace  their  best  Acto"  with,  they  ever  heard  him, 
when  to  haue  had  a  sight  of  him,  was  held 
a  prosperous  omen  ;  when  no  eye  gazd  on  him  Fol.  24** 

that  was  not  filld  with  admiration,  not  2481 

as  now  w*^  scorne,  or  pitty :  his  rude  Guard 
for  proofe  that  they  contempne  all  such  as  ayme 
or  hope  for  his  release  (as  if  he  were 
some  prodigie,  or  Monster)  each  night  show  him 
to  such  as  greive  his  fortune,  which  must  be 
to  him  worsse  then  ten  thousand  deaths,  made  horrid 
with  all  the  artes  of  Crueltie. 
Daugh.  I  haue  hope  yet 

to  [so]  see  an  alteration.  2490 

wife  my  good  Servant 

he  has  some  ffrends  left  yet,  and  powrefuU  ones, 
that  can  doe  more  then  weepe  for  him,  as  we  doe, 
those  I  will  strayt  sollicite:  In  the  meane  time 
that  to  his  comfort  he  may  know  so  much 
endeauo*"  thou  to  haue  this  simple  present 
as  from  thyself  sent  to  him 

SerK  I  will  hazard  2498 

\  all  that  can  fall  vpon   me,  to  effect  it.    Enter  Prouost 

Pro.  what  makes  this  fellow  here?  whether  would  yo"  S"",       ^  Guard. 

2470  than      seen  BuUen.  2472  followd  BuUen.  2474  these  Bullen. 

2475  attending]  ing  altered  from  ed.  2488  artes\  actes  Bullen. 

2499  Bullen  prints:  Exeunt  Wife  and  Daughter  this  direction  is  not  in  the  text.  2500  ye  Bullen. 

-69- 


Ser*.  Sir,  to  desire  accesse  vnto  my  Lord, 

were  to  ask  that  I  know  must  be  denide, 
and  therefore  I  forbeare  it:  but  intreating 
what  cannot  wrong  yo",  in  the  graunt,  I  hope 
to  find  yo"  curteous. 

Pro.  what's  the  Suit? 


Ser*.  this  onely. 

My  lord,  yo*"  prisoner,  for  my  service  gaue  me 

a  poore  house  with  an  Orchard,  in  the  Cuntry, 

the  fruites  of  which,  he  did  not  scorne  to  taste  of         2510 

in  th'  height  of  his  prosperitie :  but,  of  all 

that  pleasd  his  pallat,  there  was  one  faire  tree, 

on  which  theis  Peares  grew;  w*^**,  by  his  appointment 

were  still  reserud  for  him,  and  as  a  Rent 

due  for  my  living,  I  stood  bound  to  tender, 

theis,  yf  yo"  please,  the  last  I  shall  pay  to  him 

I  would  present  him  with,  by  what  Attorney 

yo*"  goodnes  shall  prescribe  me. 

Pro.  they  are  faire  Peares, 

exceeding  faire  ones,  ile  make  bold  with  one  2520 

the  rest  beare  to  him : 

Ser*.  all  wilbe  discoverd, 

\  I  am  glad,  I  am  got  off,  yet.  —    Exit    —      Enter  Prouosts  Wij 

Pro.  what  make  yo"  here?  ^-  ^^' 

doe  yo"  come  to  traile  a  pike,  or  vse  a  Musket? 
Pr.  Wife  for  neither,  S*",  I  came  to  see  yo", 

Pro.  home, 

this  is  no  place  for  women:  to  yo*"  Ghossips 
this  burthen  would  becom  a  Chamber  better. 

wife  'tis  a  faire  Peare.  2530 

Pro.  yo"  long  for't;  pray  yo"  take  it 

yo"  are  priviledgd  now  to  beg:  ha!  Charmes  in't,  stay: 
give  mee't;  I  would  not  for  a  thousand  dollars 
this  had  byn  vndiscoverd :  pray  yo"  goe  home, 
at  night  ile  see  yo". 

wife  yo"  know  my  obedience 
\  and  I  must  practise  it 

2515  tender]  t  apparently  altered  from  r.        2524  T:  Holc:\  added  in  a  different  hand. 
2525  do  BuUen.        2528  Gossips  BuUen.        2529  become  Bullen. 

—  70  — 


Pro.  Make  out  for  the  fellow  Fol.  25* 

that  came  with  this  device:  'twas  queintly  carried,  2539 

the  stalke  pluckt  cleenly  out,  and  in  the  quill    Enter 

this  scroll  conveyd,  what  ere  it  be,  the  Prince  Orange^ 

shall  instantly  peruse* t.  \^Henry\  vf*. 

Or.  how  came  yo",  by  this?  Vandort 

Pro.  I  intercepted  it,  in  a  dish  of  Peares  Rredero 

brought  by  a  man  of  j5ar«a:«^//j,  but  sent  to  him  \Lords^ 

from  some  of  better  ranck. 
Or.  see,  what  is  written  here. 

you  haue  f rends  left,  and  therfore  S^.  dispaire  not, 
Vand.  *Tis  this  that  feeds  his  Insolence,  theis  are  they 

that  when  they  should  haue  paid  their  prairs  for  him      2550 

as  for  a  guilty  man,  adoarnd  his  house 

in  the  dispight  of  vs,  and  of  our  Justice 
Bred,  but  such  shall  find  their  flattring  breath  but  makes 

the  fire,  our  Cuntries  safetie  byds  vs  cherish, 

to  burne  with  greater  heate. 
Vand.  and  so  consume  him : 

Or.  the  freedom  of  o*"  goverment,  and  o*""  hono", 

and  what  we  dare  doe  now  lies  at  the  stake ; 

the  better  part  of  all  the  christian  world 

marks  our  proceedings,  and  it  wilbe  said  2560 

yf  having  the  Conspirato"   in  o*""  powre 

we  sentence  none  of  them,  being  convincd  too 

of  fowre  and  thirtie  Articles,  and  each  treason 

'tis  done  for  feare:  then,  to  affright  the  rest, 

I  hold  it  fitt,  that  Barnauelty  one  that  has 

most  frends,  and  meanea  to  hurt,  and  will  fall  therefore 

with  greater  terro*",  should  receive  his  Sentence, 

then  dye  as  he  deserves,  for  Modesbargen 

and  Hogerbeets  we  shall  find  fitt  time  to 

thinck  of  them  hereafter.  2570 

Bred,  let  him  be  sent  for 


Vand.  in  the  meane  time,  'tis  fit  we  should  give  hearing 
to  the  French  Embassadors,  who  I  know  come  now 
to  mediat  for  him. 

Bred,  wayt  vpon  them  in: 

2540  cleanly  Bullen.        2542  w^^\  apparently  substituted  for  Henry  by  the  same  hand. 
2553  flattering  Bullen. 

—  71    — 


their  Propositions  shalbe  answeard  freely 
\  and  by  such  men,  as  are  their  fifrendg,  not  Servants.  —   Enter 


Boi.    nV"  Rob:  we  will  plead  for  him:  and  prevaile,  we  doubt  not  r o^/c/c^  1  Embas 

take  comfort  therefore,  Madam,  and  a  while  Morier 

since  yo"  are  not  to  be  admitted  here,  ^^y^^  daughr 

^g^yg  vs  to  o-  endeauo".  attend's. 


wife  heaven  direct  2582 

and  prosper  theis  yo"*"  charitable  travailes  —  Ex*: 
Orange,  bring  Chaires  there  for  their  Lordships  —  2.    Chair es 

Vand.  and  prepare  them  S*"- :[mY  Bir. 

a  sylent  hearing. 
Bois.     My  good  Lords. 

+  we  are  comaunded  by  the  King  o"*"  Master 
(who  ever  hath  respected  yo"*"  affaires 

as  the  tranquility  of  his  owne  Kingdoms)  2590 

to  let  yo"  thus  far  vnderstand  his  pleasure, 
He  dos  exhort  yo",  as  the  best  foundation 
of  yo""  estate,  with  all  care  to  preserve 

the  vnion  of  yo"*^  Provinces,  and  wishes  Fol.  15^ 

the  change  that  yo"  haue  made  of  Maiestrates 
the  Advocate,  and  Counsello"  of  State 
in  many  of  yo"*"  Townes,  breed  not  dissentions, 
in  steed  of  ceasing  them :  Touching  your  Prisoners 
that  stand  accusd  of  detestable  Crymes 
his  Counsaile  is,  if  they  be  culpable  2600 

that  yo"  vse  speedy  Justice,  and  with  rigo*", 

Mor.  Ever  remembring  that  the  greatest  Princes 

haue  some  times,  to  their  glory,  byn  most  apt 

to  pardon,  what  was  enterprizd  against 

their  Goverments,  nay  their  lives:  and  y*  the  freest 

and  the  best  Coinon-wealthes,  haue  alwaies  vsd 

to  spare  the  blood  of  their  owne  Cittizens, 

and  that  in  great  offendo";  it  still  being 

the  principall  signe  of  libertie,  and  freedom 

not  easely,  but  with  mature  advice  2610 

to  touch  the  lives  of  Cittizens 

2578  mf  Rob:  and  ^  Embas  are  added  in  a  different  hand. 

2584  The   scribe  first  wrote    Vand.  and  then  wrote  Orange  over  it. 

2585  S*f:  mr  Bir.  added  in  a  different  hand:  the  S^^ is  doubtful;  it  is  possible  that  g^^  (i.  e.  gatherer) 
may  be  meant.  2605  y^  that  Bullen.  2610  easily  BuUen. 

-.  72  — 


Bois.  and  the  rather 

when  question  is  made  of  such  as  are 
yo*"  officers,  placd  in  authoritie 
of  whom  the  ancientst  Mounsieur  Barnauelt 
so    much    comended,  for  so  many  good 
and  notable  services  don  for  theis  Cuntries 
deserves  most  serious  regard ;  My  Master 
and  other  Kings  &  Princes,  yo*"  AUyes 

lyving,  yet  wittnesses  of  his  great  meritts,  2620 

and  with  such  admiration  that  they  can 
be  hardly  brought  to  thinck  he  should  conspire 
against  those  States,  for  w*^^  yourselues  best  know 
what  travayles  he  hath  vndergon :  and  therefore 
once  more  he  do's  advice  yo",  to  vse  mercy: 
which  if  yo"  doe,  he  then  shall  thinck  yo"  merit 
the  many  fauo",  yo"  haue  tasted  from  him, 
yf  not,  he  having  given  yo"  whollsom  Counsaile 
yf  you  refuce  it,  he  must  thinck  himself 
slighted  in  his  requests:  and  then  perhaps  2630 

hereafter  yo"  may  misse  that  promptnes  in  him 
w*=^  yo"  haue  found,  when  yo*"  wants,  most  requird  it. 
Vand.  may  it  please  yo*"  Highnes,  in  the  names  of  all 
to  make  their  Lordships  answeare. 
Or.  willingly 

for  I  must  still  be  glad  to  take  occasion 

to  speak  how  much  yo'  Lordships,  &  myself 

ever  stand  bound  to  that  most  christian  King 

whose  fauo",  with  all  thancks,  we  must  acknowledge, 

as  with  all  care  preserve;  Onely  we  hope  2640 

his  Maiestie  will  give  vs  leave  to  say 

we  greive  that  he  is  misinformd  of  vs 

and  o*"  proceedings,  of  which  we  hereafter 

will  give  him  certaine,  and  vnanswerable  proofes 

to  iustefie  our  Actions,  which  we  will 

make  knowne  to  all  the  world,  till  when,  we  wish 

he  will  be  pleasd,  to  give  way  to  the  States 

to   finish  what  they  haue  begon,  with  Justice 

temperd  with  mercy:  and  that  yo""  good  Lordships 

2614    placed  Bullen.  2620    witnesses  BuUen.        2623  these  BuUen. 

—  73  — 


will  give  his  Grace  to  vnderstand  thus  much, 
if  with  the  generall  voice  yo"  doe  approve  it. 


Bred,  we  will  confirme  it,  with  o"""  generall  Scale, 
and  send  our  answeare  to  his  Propositions 
with  o*"  respect,  and  duties 
Mor  this  we  shall 

make  knowne  vnto  him : 


2650 


FoL.  26^ 


Ex*  Emb\ 


Or,  roome  there  for  their  Lordships.  — 
Bred,  what  thinck  you  now,  my  Lords? 
Vand,  in  my  opinion 

'tis  time  he  had  his  Sentence.  2660 

Hen.  is  it  drawne? 

Vand  yes,  here  it  is:  The  peoples   loves  grow  daungerous, 
in  every  place  the  whispers  of  his  rescue; 
the  lowd,  and    comon  voice  of  his  deservings 
is  floong  abroad :  nor  doe  they  handle  theis  things 
by  rules  of  truth  &  reason,  but  their  owne  wills, 
their  headstrong  hott  affections 
Bred  is  he  sent  for? 

Or,  yes,  and  will  presently  be  here: 
Bred.  Sit  downe  then  2670 

and  now  with  speedy  Justice,  let's  prepare 


to  cutt  of  this  Imposthume: 


Vand,  \  'tis  high  time  Sir: 

Pro.  roome  for  the  Prisoner. 


—  Enter  Prouost 

&  Giiardy  w*^ 

BarnaueU 


Vand  bring  him  in :  Sit  downe  Sir, 

and  take  yo"*^  last  place  with  vs: 

Bar,  'tis  yo"^  forme, 

and  I  infringe  no  order 
Bred.  Mounseiur  Barnauelt 

will  ye  confes  yet  freely  yo*"  bad  practises 
and  lay  those  Instruments  open  to  the  world 
those  bloody,  and  bold  Instruments  yo"  wrought  by: 
mercy  may  sleepe  awhile,  but  neuer  dyes.    Sir, 

Bar,  I  haue  spoake  all  I  can:  and  seald  that  all 

with  all  I  haue,  to  care  for  now;  my  Conscience, 
more  I  beseech  yo'  hono". 


2680: 


2652  Bred\  B  altered  from  M, 
2672  off  Bullen. 


2661  Hen\    Wm.  Bullen. 


—  74  — 


Or.  take  yo*"  pleasure. 
Vand  yo"  will  give  vs  no  more  lights :  what  this  world  gives  yo" 

to  morrow  thus  we  take  away:  receive  it, 
Bar,  my  Sentence.  2690 

Vand.  y^^\  Consider  for  yo*""  soule  now: 

and  so  farewell. 
Bar.    I  humbly  thanck  yo'  hono", 

I  shall  not  play  my  last  Act  worst. 
Bred,  heavens  mercy: 

Or.  and  a  still  consience  wayt  vpon  yo*"  end  S*", 

now  guard  him  back  againe:  by  th'  break  of  day 
yo°  shall  haue  order  from  vs. 
Pro.  room  for  the  Prisoner     Ex^ 


Or.  the  world  shall  know,  that  what's  iust  we  dare  doe         2700 
Vand  nor  shall  the  desperate  act  of  Leidenberch 
delude  what  we  determind;  let  his  Coffin 
be  therefore  hangd  vp  on  the  publique  Gallowes. 
th'  Executioners,  like  hungry  vulturs 
haue  smelld  out  their  imployment. 

Or.  let  them  haue  it: 

and  all  that  plot  against  the  generall  good 

learne  from  this  mans  example,  great  in  age,  Fol.  26** 

greater  in  wealth,  and  in  authoritie, 

but  matchles  in  his  worldly  poUicie,  2710 

that  there  is  one  aboue,  that  do's  deride 

the  wisest  counsailes,  that  are  misaplide  —  Exeunt  I 

Sea".  2"".  Enter ^  Harlem^  Ley  den.,  &   Vtricht  Executio''' 

Har.  Now  hard,  and  sharpe,  for  a  wager,  who  shall  do  it? 

here's  a  Sword  would  doe  a  mans  head  good  to  be  cut  of  w***  it 
Cures   all   rhumes,  all  Catharres,  Megroomes,  verteegoes, 
presto,  be  gon. 
Leyd.  yo"  must  not  carry  it,  Harlem, 

yo"  are  a  pretty  fellow,  and  lop  the  lyne  of  life  well, 

2696  is  given  by  BuUen  to  Bredero.  Oranfre  is  placed  before  2696,  though  it  seems  more  plausible 
not  to  divide  the  lines  2695  and  2696  the  words  are  meant  for  Orange  as  the  rule  is  under 
heavens  mercy: 

2699  Bullen  notes:  Exi.  Provost  and  Guard,  with  Barnavelt;  this  direction  is  not  in  the  text. 

2713  Utrecht  Bullen.        2704  vultures  Bullen. 

—  75  — 


but  weake  to  Balthazar  \  give  roome  for  Leyden,  2720 

heer's  an  old  Cutter;  heer's  one  has  poUd  more  pates 
and  neater  then  a  dicker  of  yo*"  Barbers, 
they  nere  need  washing  after :  do's  not  thy  neck  itch  now 
to  be  scratchd  a  litle  with  this? 


Harl.  no  in  truth  do's  it  not 

but  if  you'll  try  first:  yf  I  doe  not  whip  yo*"  Edipoll 

as  clenly  of,  and  set  it  on  againe 

as  handsomely  as  it  stands  now,  that  yo"  may  blow  yo"""  nose 

and  pledge  me  two  Cans  after. 

Ley,  I  was  afraid  2730 

the  rogue  had  don't  indeed. 

Vtr.  yo"  two  imagine  now 

yo"  are  excellent  workmen :  and  that  yo"  can  doe  wonde" 
and    Vtricht  but  an  Asse:  let's  feele  yo*"  Raizo": 
handsawes,  meere  handsawes :  do  yo"  put  yo*"  knees  to  'em  too, 
and  take  mens  necks  for  timber?  yo"  cutt  a  feather? 
cut  butter  when  yo*"  tooles  are  hot :  looke  here  puppies 
heer's  the  Sword  that  cutt  of  Pontpeis  head, 
Har.  the  head  of  a  Pumpion 

Vtr.  looke  on't,  but  come  not  neere  it:  the  very  wind  on't  2740 

will  borrow  a  leg,  or  an  arme ;  heer's  touch  &  take,  boyes, 
and  this  shall  moaw  the  head  of  Mousieur  BarnauelV. 
man  is  but  grasse,  and  hay:  1  haue  him  here, 
and  here  I  haue  him :  I  would  vndertake  with  this  Sword 
to  cutt  the  devills  head  of,  homes,  and  all 
and  give  it  to  a  Burger  for  his  breakfast. 

Ley.  we  know  yo"  haue  byn  the  headman  of  the  parish 
a  great  while    Vtrich,  and  ministerd  much  Justice, 
nickt   many   a   worthie   gamster:    and    that   yo"    Harlem^ 
haue  shortend  many  a  hanging  cause,  to  your  Coinendation: 
yet  for  all  this,  who  shall  trym  Mousieur  Barnauelt       2751 
must  run  by  fortune ;  yo"  are  proper  men,  both, 
but  why  before  me?  that  haue  studdied  the  true  trick  on't 
theis  twenty  yecres,  and  run  through  all  the  theorims 

2726  dodipoll  BuUen.    This  is  probably   the   correct  word,    the    scribe    must   have    misread   his 

copy,  for  the  word  is  clearly  Edipoll  in  the  text. 
2729  two\  too  Bullen.  2734  Utrecht  Bullen.  2742  Mounsieur  Bullen. 

2748  Utricht  Bullen.  2749  gamester  Bullen.  2754  theorems  Bullen. 

-76- 


HarL  let's  fling  for't  then. 
Ley  I  am  content: 
Vtr  and  I. 


HarL  Sit  round  then :  here  are  dyce :  and  ile  begin  to  ye 

haue  at  your  head,  S''  lohn:  dewce  ace:  a  doggs  head, 
the  devill  turnd  this  ace  vp :  farwell  veluet  gowne  2760 

thou   hast  mist  the   luckiest  hand  to  scratch  thy  Coxcomb. 

Ley.  no,  no  S*". 

now  for  my  part:  heigh,  fight  aloft,  for  the  head,  boyes. 
how?  Cater-trey?    / 
Vtr.  will  yo"  take  a  sleeve  for  yo*"  share  Sir?        ^  Fol.  27* 

Ley.  'tis  but  a  desperat  cast,  and  so  hee'l  find  it, 
if  it  fall  to  me:  Cast  for  yo*"  game: 

Vtr.  haue  at  it. 

stay,  let  me  swing  my  Sword  thrice  round  first:  now 
now  the  Graues  head  (       he)  goose  giblitts:  3770 

two  sixes  boyes:  I  knew  I  should  performe  it 

Har.  ye  haue  it:  thanck  your  fortune. 

Vtr.  I  could  not  misse  it: 

I  neuer  lost  so  faire  a  stake  yet:  how  ile  doe  it 

and  in  what  posture:  first,  how  ile  take  my  leave  of  him: 

w*^  a  few  teares  to  draw  more  money  from  him : 

then  fold  vp  his  braunchd  gowne,  his  hat,  his  doblet, 

and  like  the  devill,  cry  mine  owne:  lye  there    boyes: 

then  bind  his  eyes:  last,  stir  myself  vp  bravely 

and,  in  the  midle  of  a  whoUsom  praire  2780 

whip  :  and  hie  iacet  Barnauelt'.  Come,  let's  sing  o**  old  Song 

and  then  come  view  me  how  I  doe  my  busines 

Boy:  come,  sing  yo"  for  me.      —  Song.  —  Ex*  / 

Sees'",  f.  Enter  2.   Captaines:  &  y''""  Soldiers,       severally 

ni^  Rob:  nt^  Rice 

1.  Cap.  Here  stand  we  fast: 

2.  Cap.  Cock  all  yo*"  Musketts,  Soldiers 

2770  it  is  impossible  to  read  more  than  the  last  two  letters  of  the  damaged  word;  probably  three 

letters  are  lost. 
2784  w  Rob:  m^  Rice\  added  in  a  different  hand. 
2786  Bullen  prints    now  after   Soldiers.   The  editor  has  mistaken  the  superior  ur  oi your  of  the 

next  line  for  now:  the  scribe  often  writes  the   superior  r  quite   high   on   a  level   with    the 

preceding  line,  and  now  is  certainly  incorrect. 

—  71  — 


and  gentlemen,  be  ready  to  bend  yo"  pikes 

the  prisoner's  coming  out. 
/.  but  doe  yo"  think 

they  meane  to  take  his  head  of?  or  to  fright  him?  2790 

2.  heaven  keep  me  from  such  frights:  why  are  theis  Guards 

comaunded  to  make  good  the  Execution? 

if  they  intend  not  death  ? 
/.  but  dare  they  doe  it? 
2.  what  dare  not  Justice  doe,  that's  right,  and  honest? 

is  he  not  proou'd  a  guilty  man?  what  bugs 

should  publick  safety  be  a  fraid  to  looke  on? 

do  yo"  hold  the  vnited  States  so  tame  to  feare  him? 

feare  him  a  Traito*"  too? 


/.  yo"  know  hee's  much  lou'd,  2800 

and  every  where  they  stir  in  his  Compassion 
2.  they'll  stir  so  long,  till  some  of  'em  will  sinck  for't 

some  of  the  best  I  feare,  that  glewd  his  fifaction, 

their  building  lyes  discouerd,  and  their  bases  broken, 
/.  there  is  much  money  laid,  in  every  place  too 

hundreds,  and  thousands,  that  they  dare  not  strike  him. 
2.  give  loosers  leave  to  play  the  fooles:  'tis  lost  all: 

secure  yo^'self,  he  dyes:  nor  is  it  wisdom  2808 

to  goe  an  ace  lesse  with  him:  he  is  monstrous         —    Enter  Prouost 

\  the  people  hurry  now :  stand  fast,  he  is  coming  Sold\  &  Execu*"' 

Pro.  make  room e  before:  cleere  all  theis  gaping  people  w^^  a  Coffin 

and  stop  their  passage.  &r>  a  GibbeU 

1.  Cap.  how  now,  what  wonder's  this. 

Pro.  stay,  or  ile  make  ye  stay:  1  charge  ye  stir  not. 

2.  Cap.  what  thinck  yo"  now?  dare  not  theis  men  do  iustice 

this  is  the  body  of  LHdenberg'.  that  killd  himself 

to  free  his  Cause ;  his  shame  has  found  him  yet.  Fol.  11^ 

Pro.  vp  with  him,  come;  set  all  yo*"  hands,  and  heave  him. 

Exe.  a  plaguy  heavy  lubber:  sure  this  fellow 

has  a  busshell  of  plot  in's  belly,  he  waighes  so  massy :  2820 

heigh :  now  againe :  he  stincks,  like  a  hung  poll  cat 

this  rotten  treason  has  a  vengaunce  savo"". 

this  venison  wants  pepper,  and  salt  abhominably. 


2795  ^0  Bullen.  2809  go  Bullen.  281 1  'wtf^aCoffin\  added  in  a  different  hand. 

2812  <Sr»  a  Gibbett]  added  in  a  different  hand.  2820  bushel        weighes  Bullen, 

2822  venieance  Bullen. 

-   78   - 


Pro.  pyn  him  aloft,  and  pin  him  sure. 
Exec.  I  warrant  ye 

if  ere  he  run  away  againe,  ile  swing  for  him 

this  would  make  a  rare  signe  for  a  Cookes  shop:  the  Christmas  pie. 

Pro.    Come,  now  about  the  rest:  keepe  the  Court  cleere  still      Ex* 

2.  Cap.  what  thinck  yo"  now? 

/.  Cap.  now  I  am  a  fraid  of  him.  2830 

this  prologue  should  portend  a  fatall  Tragedie: 
theis  examples  will  make  'em  shake. 
2.  'tis  well  they  haue  'em, 

their  stubbornenes,  and  pride  requires  'em  greater: 

the  Prince  strickes  iust  ith'  nick,  and  stricke   home   nobely 

this  new  pretending  ffaction,  had    fird  all  els: 

they  had  floong.  a  generall  ruyn  on  the  Cuntry:     —   Enter  Boyes 

Burgers. 
2840 


Boy. 

boy. 

Cap. 

I  Bur. 

2.  Burg. 

J.  Bur. 

I.  Cap. 


he  comes,  he  comes,  he  comes ;  6  for  a  place  now: 
let's  climb  the  Battlements. 


away  w*°  theis  rogues: 

I  saw  the  Guard  goe  for  him :  where  shall  we  be  now 

he  will  make  a  notable  Speech  I  warrant  him 

let's  get  vs  neere  the  Skaffold. 


keep  of  Turnops : 
ye  come  vpon  o*"  pikes  els 
Burg,    pox  o'  theis  Soldiers 

we  cannot  see  o""  frends  hangd  in  quiet  for  'em : 
come,  come  toth'  top  oth'  hall.  2848 

2  <:«/.    ^^good  pilchers  —  Enter  Prouost 

Now  blow  yo""  matches,  and  stand  fast,  he  comes  here.        Barnauelt  • 
I.  Cap.  and  now  bend  all  your  pikes.  Scaffold  Lords:  Guard. 

Pro.  cleere  all  the  Skaffold.  .  (a  Scaffold  put  out) 

\  let  no  more  into  th'  Court :  we  are  choakd  w***  people.  Execution''. 

Bar.  yo"  are  curteous  in  yo"*"  preparations,  gentlemen : 
Lord,  yo"  must  ascend  S*". 
Bar.  feareles  I  will  my  lords: 

and  what  yo"  can  inflict,  as  feareles  suffer. 
Thus  high  yo"  raise  me,  a  most  glorious  kindnes 

2827  Bullen  notes:  Ex^.  Exectttioners^  this  direction  is  not  in  the  text. 

2828  Bullen  notes:  Exeunt  Provost  and  Soldiers;  this  is  not  in  the  text. 

2835     The  c  has  been  inserted  in  strickes  and  stricke;  Bullen  prints  strikes  for  both. 

stricke']  the  scribe  seems   first  to  have  written  some  indecipherable  letter  after  the  e  and 

then  to  have  crossed  it  out,  forgetting  apparently  to  add  an  s. 
2838-49  are  marked  for  omission,  but  not  crossed  out.        2851  Scaffold]  added  in  a  different  hand. 

—  79  — 


for  all  my  Cares,  for  my  most  faithful!  service 

for  yo",  and  for  the  Stale,  thus  ye  promote  me:  2860 

I  thanck  ye,  Cuntry  men,  most  nobely  thanck  ye 

pull  of  my  Gowne:  of  what  place  are  yo",  fifrend? 


Exec,  of   Virich  S^ 


Bar.  of  Vtrich}  wherefore  prethee? 

art  thou  appointed  here? 
Exec,  to  tell  yo"  true  Sir, 

I  won  this  place  at  dyce;  we  were  three  appointed 
Bar,  Am  1  becom  a  generall  game?  a  Rest 

for  every  Slave  to  pull  at?  thanck  ye  still  Fol.  28* 

yo"  are  growne  the  noblest  in  yo""  fauo",  gentlemen,      2870 
what's  that  hangs  there?  what  Coffin? 
Lord,  how  it  stirrs  him  1 


2.  lord  the  body  Sir,  of  Leidenberch  the  Traito*" 

Bar.  the  Traito^? 
Lord.  I  the  Traito'':  the  fowle  Traito*" 

who  though  he  killd  himself,  to  cleere  his  cause, 
Justice  has  found  him  ou(t),  and  so  proclaimd  him. 

Bar.  haue  mercy,  on  his  soule:  I  dare  behold  him. 
Lord,  beleeue  me,  he's  much  moved : 
2  Lord,  he  has  much  reason.  2880 

Bar.  Are  theis  the  holly  praires  ye  prepare  for  me, 

the  comforts  to  a  parting  soule?  still  I  thanck  ye: 
most  hartely,  and  lovingly  I  thanck  ye; 
will  not  a  single  death  give  satisfaction, 
6  yo"  most  greedy  men,  and  most  vngratefuU 
the  quiet  sleep  of  him  yo"  gape  to  swallow 
but  yo"  must  trym  vp  death  in  all  his  terro", 
and  add  to  soules  departing  frights  and  feauo"? 
hang  vp  a  hundred  Coffins,  I  dare  view  'em, 
and  on  their  heads  subscribe  a  hundred  treasons  2890 

it  shakes  not  me:  thus  dare  I  smile  vpon  'em 
and  strongly  thus  out  looke  yo*"  fellest  Justice 
Lord,  will  ye  bethinck  ye  S^  of  what  ye  come  for? 

Bar.  I  come  to  dye:  bethinck  yo"  of  your  Justice; 

and-w*^  what  Sword  ye  strike,  the  edge  of  mallice: 

bethinck  ye  of  the  travells  I  had  for  ye, 

the  throaes,  and  grones :  to  bring  faire  peace  amongst  ye  : 

2862  yff^\  yi  BuUen.  2877  out]  the  t  is  no  longer  visible. 

—  80  — 


ooo 


bethinck  ye  of  the  dangers  I  haue  plundgd  through, 
and  almost  gripes  of  death  to  make  you  glorious. 
Thinck,  when  the  Cuntry,  like  a  wildernes  2900 

brought  nothing  forth  but  desolation, 
fire,  Sword,  and  ffamine :  when  the  earth  sweatt  vnder  ye, 
cold  dewes  of  blood,  and  Spanish  flames  hoong  ore  ye, 
and  every  man  stood  markt  the  child  of  murder, 
and  women  wanted  wombes  to  feed  theis  cruelties, 
thinck  then  who  stept  in  to  you :  gently  tooke  ye 
and  bound  your  bleeding  wounds  vp :  from  yo''  faces 
wipd  of  the  sweatts  of  sorrow;  fedd,  and  nurssd  ye, 
who  brought  the  plowgh  againe,  to  crowne  yo'  plenty; 
yo""  goodly  meadowes  who  protected  (Cuntrymen)  2910 

from  the  armd  Soldiers  furious  marches?  who 
vnbard  the  Havens,  that  the  floating  Merchant 
might  clap  his  lynnen  wings  vp  to  the  windcs 
and  back  the  raging  waves  to  bring  yo"  proffit? 
thinck  through  whose  care,  yo"  are  a  Nation 
o  and  haue  a  name  yet  left,  a  fruitfull  Nation, 

o  (would  I  could  say  as  thanckfull,)  bethinck  ye  of  theis  things 

—     and  then  turn  back,  and  blush,  blush  my  ruyne. 
7.  Lord.  'Tis  strange  how  this  (man  b)rags  ;  'tis  a  strange  impudence  Fol.  27* 
o  not  to  be  pittied  in  hs  (Case)  not  sufferd ;  2920 

o  yo"  breed  the  peace?  yo"(br>ing  the  plowgh  againe? 

yo"  wipe  the  fire,  and  blood  of  from  this  Cuntry? 
and  yo"  restore  hir  to  hir  former  Beuty? 
blush  in  thine  age,  (bad  man)  thy  grave  blush  for  thee, 
and  scorne  to  hide  that  man  that  holds  no  Creadit: 
Beare  witnes  all  the  world,  y*  knowes  o*"  Trobles, 
or  ever  greiu'd  o*"  plagues,  what  we  haue  sufiferd, 
and,  vnder  heaven,  by  what  armes  we  haue  cur*d  theis: 
Councells,  and  fifrends;  in  w*^^  I  tell  thee  (Barnauelt) 
and  through  thy  Impudence,  I  here  proclaime  it,  2930 

2908  fed  BuUen. 

2918  There   is    a  word  wanting  in  this  line,  Bullen  prints  for  after  the  second  hlush. 

2919  Fol.   27*   is  a   short  leaf,  written  on  the  recto  only,  and  inserted  between  fols.  27  and  28. 

It  contains  an  addition  of  32  lines,  the  intended  position  of  which  after  2918  is  indicated 
by  a  double  reference  mark. 

2920  hs\  sic,  apparently;  the  word  does  not  seem  to  be  mutilated.  Bullen  prints  his. 

2919 — 21.    The    page    is    torn  here,  and  some  words  are  missing.    Bullen  prints:  man  brags^  and 
case  and  bring.  This  reading  is  probably  correct.  2926  y^\  that  BuUen. 

—  81   — 


thou  hadst  the  least,  and  last  share:  'Tis  not  yo'  face  S', 

the  greatnes  of  yo"*  frends,  corruptly  purchast, 

the  Crying  vp  of  yo*"  manic  Services, 

w'**  lookd  into  wither  away  like  Mushrumps 

shall  scandall  vs. 


2.  Lord  yo""  Romaine  end,  to  make  men 

imagine  yo""  stung  conscience  fortefide, 
no,  nor  yo*"  ground  Religion:  Examine  all  men 
branded  w***  such  fowle  syns  as  yo"  now  dye  for, 
and  yo°  shall  find  their  first  stepp  still,  Religion:  2940 

Gowrie  in  Scotland^  'twas  his  maine  pretention : 
was  not  he  honest  too?  his  Cuntries  fifather? 
those  fyery  Speritts  next,  that  hatchd  in  England 
that  bloody  Powder-Plot;  and  thought  like  meteors 
to  haue  flashd  their  Cuntryes  peace  out  in  a  Moment 
were  not  their  Barrells  loden  w***  Religion? 
were  not  they  pious,  iust,  and  zealous  Subiects? 
humble  yo""  soule  for  shame,  and  seeke  not  now  S*" 
to  tumble  from  that  happines  even  Angells  2949 

were  throwne  from,  for  their  pride :  Confes,  and  dye  well   /- 
Lord,  will  ye  confes  yo*"  faultcs?  [Fol.  28*] 

Bar.  I  come  not  heather, 

to  make  myself  guilty :  yet  one  fait  I  must  vtter  Fol.  28*' 

and  'tis  a  great  one. 

Lord  the  greater  mercy. 

Bar.  I  dye  for  saving  this  vnthanckfuU  Cuntry. 

Lord  play  not  with  heaven : 

Bar.  my  Game's  as  sure  as  yo"  is: 

and  w***  more  care,  and  inocence,  I  play  it: 

take  of  my  doblet:  and  I  prethee,  fellow  2960 

strike  without  feare: 

Exec.  I  warrant  ile  fitt  ye: 
I  pray  forgive  me  Sir 

Bar.  most  hartely: 

and  heer's  my  hand :  I  love  thee  too ;  thy  phisick 
will  quickly  purge  me  from  the  worldes  abuses: 
when  I  speak  lowdest,  strike 

Exec.  1  shall  observe  ye. 

2937  stung\  strong  BuUen.        foriifide  Bullen.  2953  fali\  fault  Bullen* 

2965    physick  Bullen. 

—  82   — 


Bar.  farwell  my  lords:  To  all  yo"  Counsailes,  fortune, 

happie  succes,  and  proffit:  peace  to  this  Cuntry:  2970 

and  to  yo"  all  that  I  haue  bredd  like  children 
not  a  more  faithfuU  father,  but  more  fortunate, 
doe  not  I  stay  too  long? 
Lord,  take  yo*"  owne  time  Sir. 

Bar.  I  haue  a  wifife,  my  lords,  and  wretched  Children 
vnles  it  please  his  Grace  to  looke  vpon  *em, 
and  yo'  good  hono",  w*'*  yo*"  eies  of  fauo'. 
'twill  be  a  litle  happines  in  my  death 
that  they  partake  not  w*'*  their  flfathers  ruyns, 
Lord  let  not  that  troble  ye,  they  shall  not   find  it.  2980 

Bar.  Comend  my  least  breath  to  his  Excellence, 
tell  him  the  Sun  he  shot  at,  is  now  setting, 
setting  this  night,  that  he  may  rise  to  morrow, 
for  ever  setting:  now  let  him  raigne  alone, 
and  w***  his  rayes,  give  life,  and  light  to  all  men, 
May  he  protect  with  hono'',    fight  with  fortune, 
i|j;  and  dye  w*^  generall  love,  an  old,  and  good  Prince; 

my  last  petition,  good  Cuntrymen  forget  me, 
yo*"  memories  wound  deeper  then  yo""  mallice, 
and  I  forgive  ye  all :  a  little  stay  me,  -  2990 

Hono"",  and  world.  I   fling  ye  thus  behind  me, 
and  thus  a  naked  poore-man,  kneele  to  heaven: 
be  gratious  to  me,  heare  me,  strengthen  me, 
I  come,  I  come:  6  gratious  heaven:  now:  now: 
now  I  present  —    / 
Exec,  is  it  well  don  mine  Heeres? 

Lord,  somewhat  too  much :  yo"  haue  strooke  his   fingers  too 
but  we  forgive  yo*"  haste :  draw  in  the  body 
and  Captaincs,  we  discharge  yo*"  Companies. 
Vandort  Make  clecre  the  Court :  vaineglory  thou  art  gon :  3000 

and  thus  must  all,  build  on  Ambition 
2.  Lord  ffarwell,   great  hart:  full  low  thy  strength  now  lyes, 

he  that  would  purge  ambition  this  way  dies.    Exeunt 

2993,  94  gracious  BuUen. 

3000   Vandort  and  the  rule  under  2999  are  added  afterwards  in  a  different  hand. 


-83  - 


Notes. 

Notes  on  the  Deletions. 

The  play  seems  to  have  raised  many  scruples  in  the  censor's  mind;  I  have 
already  noted,  when  speaking  of  the  manuscript,  that  a  great  number  of  lines 
have  been  actually  deleted.  Many  plays  of  the  time  suffered  the  same  fate. 
Swinburne  remarks,  speaking  of  Chapman's  plays  :  "In  the  time  of  Chapman  the 
Master  of  the  Revels  wielded  with  as  fitful  a  hand  as  imperious  an  authority  as 
any   court   official   of   later   date. 

At  the  time  when  our  play  was  produced  Sir  George  Buc  was  Master  of  the  Revels, 
and  had  assumed  the  office  as  successor  to  Edmund  Tylney,  who  died  in  October  1610. 
For  some  time  previously  he  had  acted  as  Tylney's  deputy,  as  on  November  21st  1606 
he  licensed  Sharpham's 'Fleire'.  He  was  a  historian  and  poet,  and  is  described  by  Camden 
in  Britannia  ed.  1607,  as  a  man  of  distinguished  learning  'qui  multa  in  historiis  ob- 
servavit  et  candide  impertiit.'  He  wrote  The  History  of  the  Life  and  Reign  of  Richard 
the  Third  included  in  the  first  volume  of  Rennet's  Complete  History  of  Etigtand,  and 
some  treatises  among  which  The  Art  of  Revels^  of  which  no  copy  is  known.  In  Cal.  State 
Papers,  Dom.  Series,  1619  we  find  the  Chamberlain  writing  to  Sir  Dudley  Carlton  : 
"Old  Sir  George  Buck  master  of  the  revels,  has  gone  mad."  Two  years  afterwards, 
1622,  Buc  had  become  too  infirm  to  discharge  his  duties.  Privy  Seal  May  22nd  states: 
"as  Buc  by  reason  of  sickness  and  indisposition  of  body  wherewith  it  has  pleased 
God  to  visit  him,  was  become  disabled  and  insufficient  to  undergo  and  perform  his 
duties,  the  office  had  been  conferred  on  Sir  John  Ashley."  Sir  Henry  Herbert's  Register 
states  that  Buc  died  on  September  22nd  1623. 

Sir  George  Buc's  office  books  are  lost,  but  the  'allowances'  of  plays  were  endorsed 
by  him  on  the  allowed  copies.  This  is  Buc's  signature,  reprinted  form  Collier's 
History  of   English  dramatic   Poetry 


G.  B^^r 


The  marginal  note  on  fol  4b  is  in  Buc's  handwriting  and  signed  G.  B.  ;  he  objects 
to  lines  385 — 403  and  observes  that  the  prince  is  too  much  presented.  We  remember 
that  there  existed  a  prohibition  against  bringing  a  Christian  king  on  the  stage.  Though 
the  prince  of  Orange  was  not  a  sovereign,  Buc  had  his  scruples  about  it.  In  line  51 
Barnavelt  calls  the  prince  'this  bold  userper  of  what  's  mine',  which  was  promptly 

crossed  out.  In  line  281  'this  prowd  Prince  of  Orange,'  the  words  'prowd'  and  'of  Orange 

» 

-   84   - 


are  deleted.  It  is  not  surprising  that  lines  724 — 29  have  been  crossed  out  ;  here  the 
Prince  is  spoken  of  in  very  disrespectful  terms  as  an  oppresser,  who  has  won  the  sol- 
diers' love  for  his  own  ambitious  ends.  Lines  2434 — 45  are  marked  for  omission  ;  the 
substitutions  for  the  deleted  words  are  again  in  the  censor's  handwriting ;  the  lines 
contain  veiled  allusions  to  contemporary  politics  as  for  example  'Octavius  (i.  e.  King 
James)  striving  to  tread  upon  the  neck  of  his  people',  and  'the  Cato's  and  all  free  speritts 
slaine'  which  is  an  allusion  to  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  's  execution.  The  words  'changd 
to  a  Monarchic'  are  altered  into  'changed  to  another  form',  because  the  censor  would 
not  suffer  the  Prince  to  be  accused  of  aspiring  to  the  sovereignty,  even  though  it 
was   his    enemy   who   uttered  the   charge. 

There  are  a  considerable  number  of  longer  passages  deleted  in  the  play.  Lines  215 — 28 
are  cancelled  apparently  because  th^y  were  considered  indecent,  though  the  passage 
is  no  worse  than  hundreds  of  others  in  the  plays  of  the  time.  Lines  750 — 62  are  pro- 
bably crossed  out  by  the  stage  manager  or  the  author  himself  as  they  may  have  been 
considered  of  insufficient  interest  in  the  context. 

In  the  fourth  act  a  long  speech  by  Barnavelt  is  crossed  out  from  lines  2284 — 231 1. 

It  contains  an  enumeration  of  his  own  services  to  the  country.  I  suppose  this  speech 
was  deleted  through  self-criticism  on  the  author's  part,  there  are  a  considerable  number 
of  very  long  speeches  in  this  act.  The  next  deleted  passage  is  the  longest  in  the  play 
from  line  2334 — 72  ;  even  the  lines  in  the  margin  replacing  the  deleted  ones,  were 
crossed  out  afterwards.  It  is  again  not  surprising  that  they  should  have  attracted  the 
censor's  attention  and  raised  scruples,  for  here  the  admired  victor  of  the  battle  of 
Nieuwpoort  is  accused  of  cowardice  by  Barnavelt.  The  Advocate  asserts  that  the 
victory  was  gained  by  the  Veres,  for  the  Prince  looked  on,  standing  safe  on  a  hill  with 
three  troops  of  horse,   while  the  battle  was  fought. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  second  scene  of  the  first  act,  line  231,  the  names  Vandermitten 
Taurinus,  Vtenbogart  are  crossed  out.  In  line  239  Taurinus  is  crossed  out  and  Hoger- 
beets  is  substituted,  in  line  245  Vtenbogart  is  crossed  out  and  Hogerbeets  substituted. 
In  line  265  Ext.  is  left  standing,  the  stage  direction  refers  to  Vtenbogart  and  Taurinus, 
who  leave  the  stage,  but  the  others  remain  ;  by  an  oversight  of  the  person  who  crossed 
out  Taurinus  and  Vtenbogart  this  stage  direction  was  forgotten  to  be  deleted.  Bullen 
remarks  in  a  note  referring  to  Exeunt:  "All  the  characters  remain  on  the  stage  in  spite 
of  this  direction."  This  stage  direction  was  meant  for  the  Arminian  preachers  in  the  ori- 
ginal reading,  before  the  omission  of  the  names  in  the  stage  direction.  The  plot  of  the 
play  has  suffered  much  by  this  omission,  which  I  think,  Mr.  Bullen  has  nor  realised. 
Professor  Fruin  has  pointed  this  out  in  the  Introduction  to  his  reprint.  Though  Tau- 
rinus and  Vtenbogart  had  not  much  to  say,  and  the  words  could  easily  be  assigned 
to  Hogerbeets  and  Grotius,  the  situation  illustrates  the  conspiracy  of  Barnavelt  and 
the  wordly  powers,  the  pensionaries  of  Leiden  and  Rotterdam  with  the  clerical  powers, 
and  justifies  the  accusation  against  Barnavelt  of  conspiring  withthe  Arminian  preachers. 
Uytenbogaert,  Maurice's  court-chaplain  was  well-known,  and  Taurinus  was  espe- 
cially known  and  denounced  in  England  as  the  author  of  the  pamphlet  The  Balance^ 
in  which  an  oration  of  the  English  ambassador  had  been  criticized.  Through  this 
omission  the  line  2190,  91  :  "read  the  Confessions  of  Leidenberch  and  Taurinus"  are 
incomprehensible  to  the  reader. 


-85  - 


Notes  on  the  names  of  actors. 

The  play  was  performed  by  the  King's  Men  in  1619  ;  there  is  no  list  of  actors,  but  in 
some  cases  the  names  of  actors  are  added  in  full,  or  in  other  cases  the  initials  are  added 
in  the  text.  Fleay  prints  a  list  of  actors  in  his  Chronicle  History  of  the  London  Stage,  in 
which  some  errors  occur.  He  prints  the  name  of  John  Lowin  for  the  actor  taking  Barna- 
velt's  part  ;  this  is  based  on  pure  conjecture  ;  the  name  of  John  Lowin  does  not  occur  in 
the  manuscript,  and  it  is  not  known  who  took  the  part  of  Barnavelt.  The  name  of 
G.  Lowen  occurs  in  the  manuscript  for  the  actor  taking  the  part  of  Barnavelt's  daughter  ; 
in  this  case  J.  Lowen  may  be  meant,  but  anyhow  Fleay  has  confused  the  names  of  the  ac- 
tors, or  the  parts  of  Barnavelt  and  his  daughter.  He  prints  George  Birch  taking  the 
part  of  Vandort ;  this  is  an  error  owing  to  BuUen's  note  in  his  edition.  In  line  2585 
the  name  Mr.  Bir.  is  added  ;  I  am  almost  certain  that  the  two  names  of  Mr.  Rob  and 
Mr.  Bir.  are  added  for  the  French  ambassadors,  who  enter.  Bullen  prints  a  foot-note 
referring  to  Vandort :  "In  the  right  hand  margin  we  find  the  actor's  name  Mr.  Bir. 
i.e.  Birch."  I  think  it  very  unlikely  that  the  name  of  the  actor  taking  Vandort's  part 
should  have  been  added  in  the  last  act,  taking  into  consideration  that  Vandort  had 
been  on  the  stage  from  the  first  act.  Fleay  prints  Thomas  Pollard  for  the  actor  taking 
Bredero's  part.  This  is  again  an  error  due  to  the  addition  in  line  18 16.  Tho  :  Po  is  added 
here  for  one  of  the  Lords  ;  when  "Lords"  was  deleted,  the  name  of  T.  P.  was  added 
after  servant,  Thomas  Pollard  could  not  have  taken  the  part  of  Bredero  and  the  Ser- 
vant, as  they  both  appear  in  the  same  scene. 

Nicholas  Tooley  taking  the  part  of  Barnavelt's  wife  was  a  well-known  actor  ;  his 
real  name  was  Nicholas  Wilkinson,  he  probably  had  this  stage  name,  because  he  had 
performed  in  the  play  of  Toolie.  In  1610  and  161 1  he  was  one  of  the  chief  actors  in 
The  Alchemist  and  Catiline.  Of  his  later  performances  we  know  that  he  played  in  The 
Prophetess,  The  Sea   Voyage,  The  Spanish  Curate,  (licensed  in  1622). 

Robert  Grougjhe  or  Goffe,  taking  Leidenberch's  part  was  one  of  the  original  actors 
in  Shakespeare's  plays,  he  probably  took  the  female  parts.  Before  1588  he  had  played 
Aspasia  in  Tarlton's  Second  Part  of  The  Seven  Deadly  Sins  ;  as  this  is  a  female  part, 
he  was  still  young  then.  In  161 1  he  took  the  part  of  the  tyrant  in  The  Second  Maiden's 
Tragedy.  His  name  does  not  appear  in  the  dramatis  personae  of  any  plays  by  Beaumont 
and  Fletcher> 

It  is  not  known  which  actors  are  meant  by  migh  or  mighel  and  R.T. 

John  Rice.  There  is  very  little  known  about  this  actor.  His  name  appears  last  on 
the  list  of  principal  actors  in  the  Folio  of  1623.  He  was  first  heard  of  in  i6ii  being 
among  the  twelve  actors  who  engaged  with  Henslowe  to  perform  at  the  Fortune  ; 
he  took  the  unimportant  part  of  Pescare  in  The  Duchess  of  Malfi  ;  he  played  in  The 
False  One,  but  in  which  character  is  unknown.  He  was  among  those  to  whom  Charles  I 
granted  a  patent  in  1625. 

Robert  Benlield  was  a  very  "serviceable"  member  of  the  King's  Company  ;  he  acted 
in  many  of  the  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  plays.  Nothing  is  known  about  him  till  161 3  ; 
he  acted  as  one  of  the  Children  of  the  Queen's  Revels  with  Field  and  Taylor.  In  1624 
his  name  appears  in  the  submission  of  the  King's  Men  to  the  Master  of  the  Revels 
for  having  acted  The  Spanish  Viceroy  without  a  license.  He  signed  the  dedication 
of  the  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  Folio  edition. 


—  86  — 


Notes  on  the  Persons  of  the  Play. 

Maurice ,  Count  of  Nassau,  Prince  of  Orange  was  born  atDillenburg  1567  son  of  William 
the  Silent  and  thelatter's  second  wife  Anna  van  Saksen;  he  studied  at  Heidelberg,  came 
to  the  Netherlands  in  1577  and  studied  the  classics  and  mathematics  at  Leiden.  In  1585 
he  was  appointed  governor  of  Holland,  Zealand  and  West  Friesland,  and  received  the 
title  of  Prince  of  Orange.  He  was  appointed  captain-general  of  the  Army  and  proved 
to  be  a  soldier  of  surpassing  military  genius.  In  1587  he  fought  many  battles  against 
the  Duke  of  Parma  in  Brabant.  He  was  appointed  governor  of  Overyssel  and  Utrecht 
in  1590  and  of  Gelderland  in  the  next  year.  From  1590  to  1604  he  was  a  victor  in  a  series 
of  battles  against  the  Spanish  armies  under  Spinola,  which  made  him  the  first  com- 
mander of  his  time.  In  1617  he  became  the  leader  of  the  Contra-Remonstrant  party. 
When  his  eldest  brother  Prince  Philip  William  died,  he  inherited  the  title  of  Prince 
of  Orange.  In  1621  on  the  death  of  his  cousin  William  Louis  he  was  appointed  governor 
of  Groningen  and  Drente.   He  died  in  1625. 

William  Louis  Count  of  Nassau  Maurice's  cousin  and  also  brother-in-law  was  born  at 
Dillenburg  in  1560,  he  studied  at  Heidelberg,  and  came  to  the  Netherlands  in  1577.  In  1579 
he  was  appointed  Colonel  of  the  Army  of  the  States;  he  had  great  warlike  capacities 
and  distinguished  himself  in  many  battles  ;  he  fought  by  the  side  of  Maurice  in  the 
battles  of  Zutphen,  Deventer  and  Nijmegen.  In  1584  he  was  appointed  governor  of 
Friesland,  and  in  1596  of  Groningen  and  Drente.  He  was  a  staunch  Calvinist,  but 
advised  Maurice  against  the  execution  of  Oldenbarnevelt.  He  died  in  1620. 

Sir  John  Van  Oldenbarnevelt,  knight  templar.  Advocate  and  keeper  of  the  Great  Seal 
of  Holland  and  West  Friesland  was  born  at  Amersfoort  in  1547;  he  studied  law  at  Leiden, 
in  1565  he  travelled  abroad  to  continue  his  studies;  he  studied  law  at  Louvain  and 
Bourges,  went  to  Basle  and  Cologne  and  studied  at  Heidelberg.  He  returned  to  the  Hague, 
in  1570,  when  he  was  appointed  advocate  of  the  court  of  Holland;  in  1572  in  the  rebellion 
he  followed  the  Prince  and  served  as  a  volunteer  in  the  army;  he  fought  in  the  cam- 
paigns to  relieve  the  siege  of  Haarlem  in  1573,  of  Leiden  in  1574,  but  had  to  leave  on 
account  of  illness.  In  1576  he  was  called  to  the  important  post  of  chief  pensionary 
of  Rotterdam;  in  1586  he  accepted  the  Advocacy  of  the  States  of  Holland.  The 
alliance  of  the  Republic  with  England  and  France  is  one  of  his  great  achievements. 
In  1598  he  went  on  an  Embassy  to  France  and  from  there  to  England.  In  1603  he 
was  the  head  of  an  Embassy  to  King  James;  accomplished  the  restitution  of  the 
cautionary  towns  for  a  relatively  small  sum  of  money  in  1616.  He  brought  about 
the  Truce  with  Spain  and  was  suspected  of  planning  to  bring  the  Provinces  back 
under  the  vassalage  of  Spain.  He  was  a  leader  of  the  Arminians,  and  took  an  active 
part  in  the  great  struggle  between  church  and  civil  government.  He  was  arrested  in 
1618  and  accused  of  having  excited  civil  strife.  He  was  executed  on  May  13th  1619. 
William  van  Oldenbarnevelt,  Lord  of  Stoutenberg,  Sir  John's  second  son,  born  in 
1590,  studied  at  Heidelberg  1606;  lived  at  Henry  IV's  court;  accompanied  van  der 
Mijle  his  brother-in-law  on  a  embassy  to  Venice,  travelled  to  Rome,  Naples  and  Venice  ; 
he  chose  the  army  as  his  career  and  was  appointed  governor  of  Bergen-op-Zoom. 
After  his  father's  execution,  he  was  dismissed ;  took  part  in  a  conspiracy  against  the 
Prince,  and  fled  to  Brussels. 
HugoGrotius  wasborn  at  Delft  in  1 583;  he  was  a  scholar  and  poet  almost  from  his  cradle, 

-  87   - 


wrote  Latin  verses  at  the  age  of  seven  ;  he  matriculated  at  Leiden  at  the  age  of  eleven. 
When  fourteen  years  old,  he  took  his  bachelor's  degree  after  a  rigorous  examination 
in  the  classics,  astronomy,  mathematics,  jurisprudence  and  theology.  Possessed  of 
singular  beauty,  he  was  athletic  of  frame  and  proficient  in  manly  exercises.  He  was 
attached  to  the  embassy  of  Barnevelt  to  the  court  of  Henry  IV.  The  king  called  him 
the  miracle  of  Holland,  and  presented  him  with  a  gold  chain  with  a  miniature.  He 
studied  at  Orleans  and  received  the  honorary  degree  of  Doctor  of  Law  from  the  Uni- 
versity of  Orleans.  In  1613  he  was  appointed  Chief  Pensionary  of  Rotterdam,  he  was 
a  member  of  the  States  of  Holland  and  the  States-General.  He  was  sent  to  England 
to  settle  the  commercial  differences.  King  James  called  him  "a  pedant,  full  of  words 
and  without  judgment  1"  He  became  a  leader  of  the  Arminians,  preached  toleration. 
He  was  advocate,  poet,  his'.orian,  editor  of  Greek  and  Latin  classics,  writer  of  trage- 
dies, law  treatises  and  theological  works.  In  16 19  he  was  arrested  with  Barnevelt, 
and  condemned  to  lifelong  imprisonment  in  the  castle  of  Loevestein.  After  two  years' 
imprisonment  he  escaped  in  a  chest  of  books  to  Gorcum,  and  from  there  to  Antwerp, 
disguised  as  a  bricklayer.  Afterwards  he  resided  at  the  French  Court  as  ambassador 
of  Sweden.  On  his  return  from  a  visit  to  Sweden,  he  was  shipwrecked,  and  after  landing 
died  at  Rostock  in  1645. 

GiUes  van  Ledenbergh.  The  date  of  his  birth  is  unknown,  he  was  a  clerk  of^the  advocate 
of  Utrecht  till  1588  ;  in  this  year  he  became  secretary  of  Utrecht.  He  was  a  friend 
and  partisan  of  Barnevelt;  leader  of  the  Arminians  in  Utrecht.  In  1617  he  proposed 
the  enlisting  of  mercenary  troops  in  Utrecht.  When  these  companies  laid  down  their 
arms  at  the  Prince's  command  in  1618,  Ledenbergh  fled  to  Gouda,  but  returned  after 
some  days  ;  he  was  arrested  and  brought  to  the  Hague.  After  the  first  interrogatory 
he  committed  suicide  in  prison.  His  corpse  was  embalmed,  and  not  buried  till  the 
sentence  should  be  pronounced.  This  was  done  on  May  15th,  1619.  The  verdict  was 
that  his  corpse  was  to  be  hanged,  and  his  property  confiscated.  The  coffin  hung  on  the 
gallows    for    21    days. 

Rombout  Hogerbouts  was  born  in  1561  ;  when  he  was  seven  years  old,  he  fled  with 
his  parents  to  Wesel  to  escape  Alva's  persecutions,  but  returned  in  1577.  He  studied  law 
at  Leiden,  received  his  degree  in  1584.  In  1590  he  was  called  to  the  post  of  pensionary 
of  this  town  and  secretary  of  the  University.  He  was  sent  on  a  embassy  to  Sweden  in 
161 1.  In  1617  he  was  a  leader  of  the  Arminians  at  Leiden.  He  was  arrested  on  the  same 
day  as  Oldenbarnavelt;  he  refused  to  sue  for  pardon,  and  was  condemned  to  life-long  im- 
prisonment in  the  castle  of  Loevestein,  where  he  remained  till  1625.  Prince  Frederic 
Henry  mediated  for  him  ;  he  was  allowed  to  return  home,  but  died  five  weeks  after 
his  return.  During  his  imprisonment  he  wrote  memoirs  for  his  children  preserved  in 
Brandt's  Historie  der  Reformatie.  Brandt  calls  him  a  loyal  Dutchman,  a  wise  lawyer, 
an  eloquent  orator,  a  great  theologian,  a  pious  Christian  and  a  conscientious  justice. 

Moersbergen  was  a  member  of  the  Order  of  the  Knights  of  Utrecht  and  the  leader  of 
the  nobility.  He  joined  the  Arminians,  and  after  the  catastrophe  at  Utrecht  he  fled  to 
the  castle  of  Merfeld  in  Munster  (Germany).  He  was  captured  by  some  horsemen, 
brought  first  to  Zutphen  and  then  to  the  Hague.  He  had  many  influential  friends.  He 
asked  pardon,  was  considered  to  have  acted  under  the  influence  of  Ledenbergh,  and 
banished  for  six  years. 

Uytenbogaert  a  celebrated  divine,  leader  of  the  Arminians,  devoted  friend  to  Barne- 
vdt;    he    had    been  the  favourite  preacher  of  Maurice,  who  listened  regularly  to  his 

—  S8  — 


preaching  in  the  French  chapel  of  the'court  till  1617.  He  had  studied  theology  at  Geneva 
and  met  Arminius  there.  He  was  the  author  of  the  Remonstrance  against  the  Cal- 
vinists.  He  refused  an  appointment  to  the  professorship  at  Leiden  on  Arminius'  death. 
His  name  is  mentioned  in  "the  Epistle  Dedicatorie  by  Houlderus  to  BarnaveVs  Apo- 
logy'' as  "the  Arminian  author  of  a  certaine  shamelesse  Libell,  called  the  Scales  or 
Ballance." 

When  Barnevelt  was  arrested  Uytenbogaert  fled  to  Antwerp,  but  he  still  took  an 
active  part  in  the  controversies.  In  1619  he  was  exiled  and  his  property  confiscated. 
He  returned  to  the  Hague  in  1629  and  died  in  1644.  He  edited  many  books  to  further 
the  Arminian  cause. 

Taurinus  born  in  1576,  studied  at  Leiden;  he  was  one  of  the  most  learned  preachers 
of  his  time;  he  was  a  Minister  at  Utrecht  and  soon  became  the  leader  of  the  Arminians 
there.  He  wrote  many  pamphlets,  the  best  known  being  The  Balance  directed  against 
the  English  ambassador  Carlton,  who  was  unceasing  in  his  efforts  to  accomplish  the 
ruin  of  the  Arminians.  Motley  calls  it  :  "a  stinging  and  well-merited  criticism  of  a  very 
stupid  oration."  He  fled  with  Ledenbergh  in  1618,  and  ended  his  life  in  exile  in 
Antwerp  in  ihe  same  year. 


Notes. 

Tha  New  Englis  Dictionary  and  The  Century  Dictionary  have  been  the  chief 
authorities  used  in  preparing  these  notes.  Considerable  aid  has  been  furnished 
by  Schmidt's   Shakespeare   Lexicon   and   Nares*   Glossary. 

13.    buried  quick,   alive,  as  used  in  the    Creed.    Compare  also    Hamlet  V.  i,  239  : 

"Now  pile  your  dust  upon  the  quick  and  dead" 
and   Winter's  Tale  IV.  4.   132 

"Not  like  a  corse,  or  if,  not  to  be  buried 

But  quick  and  in  mine  arms." 
Massinger  repeats  this  phrase  in  other  plays,  compare  The  Fatal  Dowry  I.  2  : 

"After  those  great  defeatures 

Which  in  these  dreadful  ruins  buried  quick...." 
and  The  Duke  of  Milan  I.  3  : 

"In  which  the  memory  of  all  good  actions 

We  can  pretend  to,  shall  be  buried  quick." 
our  safeties.     Early  modern  English  shows  a  strong  tendency  to  use  abstract  nouns 
in  the  plural,  cf.  :   The  Merchant  of    Venice  II.  6.  41  : 

"must  I  hold  a   candle   to   my  shames  ?" 
and    Macbeth  IV.    3.    30  : 

"I  pray  you 

Let  not  my  jealousies  be  your  dishonours 

But  mine  own  safeties." 
Van  Dam  quotes  as  an  example  of  the  use  in  modern  English  :  Disraeli  Coningsby 
I  ch.  2  : 

"a  family  famous  for  its  hatreds." 


-  89 


Examples  of  this  usage  abound  in  our  play,  viz  : 
1.   617     "mercenary  Soldiers  that  for  pay 

give  vp  their  liberties" 
1.    867     "he  has  our  faithes" 

1.    920     "Arme,  Arme,  and  now  stand  to  your  auncient  freedoms" 
1.    942     "theis  fellowes  haue  strong  faithes  and  notable  valours" 
1.   947  „now  you  must  feele  too 

and  to  your  greifes" 
1'    959     "you  haue  tall  defences" 
1.    1418  ,, neither  at  this  time 

do's  it  concerne  their  safeties" 
1.    2092     "bath  your  angers  in  Barnauelt's  deservings" 
15.  in  his  execution  set  thezn  off.     show  them  to  the  best  advantage,  cf.  Cymhe- 
line  I.   6.    170  : 

"he  hath  a  kind  of  honour  sets  him  off." 
56.  be  advisd.     a  phrase  Massinger  is  very  fond  of,  cf.  A   Very  Woman  V.  3  : 
"be   yet   advised." 
and   The   Fatal   Dowry  I.   2  :   ,,be   advised,   young  lord" 

73.  that  now  should  studie  how  to  die.  a  parallel  passage  occurs  in  the  Fatal  Dowry 
I.  2: 

"that  I  may 
Employ  the  small  remainder  of  my  life 
In  living  well,  and  learning  how  to  die  so." 

74.  keep  a  being  a  month  or  two,  to  ruyn  whatsoever  the  good  successe.  being 
i.e.  existence  ;  to  ruyn  is  a  verb  here,  the  meaning  is  :  to  lead  an  existence  for  a  month 
or  two,  so  as  to  bring  to  destruction  all  that  the  good  success. 

94.  benotso  foolishlie  seducd.     beguiled,  deluded  cf.  Hobbes  Leviathanll.  XIX.  96  : 

,,To  be  seduced  by  Orators  as  a  Monarch  by  Flatterers." 

109.  this  Grave  Maurice.  Gelbcke  translated  'der  strenge  Moritz',  which  is  wrong; 
it  is  the  title,  which  occurs  in  the  pamphets  and  ballads  for  instance  in  the  ballad 
Murther  vnvtasked,  or  Barneviles  base  Conspiracie ;  together  with  his  horrible  intent 
to  murther  Graue  Maurice.  In  the  manuscript  the  word  is  written  with  a  capital 
letter,  the  translation   ought  to  be  'Graf  Moritz'. 

130.  "And  you  shall  find  that  the  desire  of  glory"  In  Bullen's  edition  this  line  is 
followed  by  the  words  :  "the  last  infirmity  of  noble  minds"  a  reminiscence  of  Milton's 
Lycidas,  the  line  was  written  in  the  margin  by  Bullen,  and  printed  by  mistake, 
it   does   not   belong   to   the   text. 

162.  as  I  use  this  I  waigh  you.     we  are  to  understand  that  Barnavelt  tears  up  the 
petition. 

I  waigh  you.     regard,  esteem  cf.  Love's  Labours  Lost  V.  2.  27  : 

"You  weigh  me  not  ?  0  that's  you  care  not  for  me." 

163.  Your  Companie  was  checked,     rebuked  cf.    II  Henry  IV  III.   i.  68: 

"When    Richard,   with  his   eye   brimful  of   tears, 
Then  checked  and  rated  by  Northumberland 
Did  speak  these  words," 

164.  for  yoisr  dead  paies.  Bullen  notes:  It  seems  to  have  been  no  uncommon  thing 

—  90  — 


for  officers  to  keep  the  names  of  soldiers  on  the  list  after  their  death  and  pocket  their 
pay,  cf.  Webster's  Appius  and  Virginia  V  i. 
179. yoxir  Gompanie  in  cast,     dismissed  cf.  Othello  I,  i.  150: 

"The  State  cannot  with  safety  cast  him" 
189.  you  doe  not  know  his  nature,  that  gaue  promise,  the  nature  of  him  that  gave 
promise.  The  possessive  pronouns  as  correlatives  to  relative  pronouns  were  still  very 
often  used  in  Shakespeare's  time  and  in  the  17th  century  in  their  original    functions 
as    genitives. 

cf.   Measure  for  Measure  XL  4.   120  : 

*'I  something  do  excuse  the  thing  I  hate 
For  his  advantage  that  I  dearly  love." 
A  New   Way  to  Pay  Old  Debts  IV.   i  : 

"Yet  she  cannot 
With  all  that  she  brings   with  her,  fill  their  mouths 
That  never  will  forget  who   was  her  father." 
This  construction  occurs  again  in  the  play  of  Bamavelt^  line  314  : 
,, trust  once  his  counsaile  that  never  yet  hath  faild  you" 
200.  doyt.     a  small  Dutch  coin,  worth  half  a  farthing,  so  the  type  of  a  trifling  sum; 
the  word  occurs  several  times  in  our  play,  viz  :  799  :  *"t  is  not  a  doyt  matter  ;"  1  2153  : 
"to  a  doyt,  my  vrao." 

cf .  The  Tempest  II.  2.  33  : 

"they  will  not  give  a  doit  to  relieve  a  lame  Beggar" 
226.  pilchers.     used  for  pilchards  ;  a  pilchard  is  a  small  seafish  closely  allied  to  the 
herring,  but  smaller  and  rounder  in  form  ;  it  is  taken  in  large  numbers  on  the  coasts 
of  Cornwall  and  Devon.   New   English   Diet. 
243.  the  stingless  hate.     cf.  Julius  Caesar  V.   i.  35  : 

^^Cassius      They  rob  the  Hybla  bees,  and  leave  them  honeyless 
Antony         Not  stingless  too  ?" 
257.  yet  practise  on  them,     act  upon  them  by  artifice  so  as  to  induce  them  to  do 
what  we  want  cf.  Much  Ado  about  Nothing  II.  i.  398  : 
"I  will  so  practise  on  Benedicte, 
That   hee   shall  fall  in   love   with   Beatrice" 
260.  shall  be  practisd  in  Roterdam.  accomplished. 

284.  'twile  take  from  his  pride,     diminish, 
this  expression  occurs  again  in  our  play,   cf.  line  2361  : 

"who  takes  from  them  vsurpe  on  what  is  theirs" 
it  occurs  repeatedly  in  other  plays  by  Massinger  :  cf.  The  Duke  of  Milan  II.  i  : 

"You  should  else  take  from  the   dignity  of  Caesar." 
the  Guardian  IV.   i  : 

"Vouchsafe   to   hear   me 

With  an  impartial  ear,  and  il  will  take  from 

The  rigour  of  your  censure." 
The  Parliament  of  Love  V,  i  : 

"I  thought  it  could  not  but  take  from  my  honour" 
289.  you  are  an  early  stirrer,     cf.  II  Henry  /F  iii.  2.  3  : 

"give  me  your  Hand,  Sir  :  an  early  stirrer,  by  the  Rood" 

—  91  — 


The    first  scene  of  the  fourth  act  in  A  New  Way  to  Pay  Old  Debts  begins  exactly  in 
the  same  way  as  this  scene,    cf. 

f^Overreach     A  good  day  to   my  Lord 
Lovall  You    are    an    early    riser,    Sir    Giles." 

331.  and  sinck  him  to  the  Center,     the  middle  point  of  the  earth,  cf.  Hamlet  II.  2.  159: 

"I  will  find 
Where  truth  is  hid,  though  it  were  hid  indeed 
within  the  centre" 
E.  Dowden  annotates  in  the  Arden  Shakespeare  : 

"centre,  that  is  of  the  earth,  and  so  according  to  Ptolemaic  astronomy, 
of  the  universe." 
Midsummer  Night's  Dream.  III.  2.   54  : 

"I'll  believe  as  soon 
This  whole  earth  may  be  bored  and  that  the  moon 
May   through    the   centre   creep. 
Massinger  is  very  fond  of  this  expression,  it  occurs  several  times  in  his  works,  viz  : 
the  Guardian  III.  6  : 

"Some  sudden  flash  of  lightning  strike   me  blind 
Or  cleave  the  centre  of  the  earth,  that  I 
May  find  a  sepulchre." 
The  Renegado  II.  5  : 

*' Asambeg      Thus  I  guard  me  against  your  further  anger 
Paulina  Which   shall   reach   thee 

Though  I  were  in   the  centre." 
The  Emperor  of  the  East  V.  3  : 

"May  lightning  cleave  the  centre  of  the  earth." 
The  Maid  of  Honour  IV.  4  : 

''''  Aurelio        You  '11  follow  me  ? 

Bertholdo       To  the  centre,  such  a  Sybilla  guiding  me." 
335.  I  now,  xnethincks,  I  feele  the happyness.    /,  the  interjection  and  the  pronoun,  are 
written  in  the  same  way;  here  the  first  '/'  is  meant  for  ay\  'ay'  is  exceedingly  common 
about   1600,  at  first  it  was  always  written  '/', 

cf.  Every  man  in  his  Humour  I.   i  :  "I,  so  I  do." 
I  occurs  again  in  this  meaning  in  our  play,  line  1683  : 
"I   now  I   faint" 
and  line  2464  :  "I,  I  there  lyes  my  feare." 

339.  Home  and  Egmont,  Memories  great  Martires.  The  Count  of  Egmond  and  the 
Count  of  Hoorne,  both  knights  of  the  Golden  Fleece  were  condemned  by   Alva's  court 
of  justice  as  conspirators  against  the  Spanish  government  and  executed  at  Brussels 
on  June  5th   1568. 
344.  all  feele  sencibly.     acutely,  intensely,  cf.  Cary  Dante  Inferno  VI.  no  : 
"As  each  thing  to  more  perfection  grows 
It  feels  more  sensibly  both  good  and  pain" 
358.  with  all  hir  course  aspersions,     calummy,  cf.  Fuller  Worthies  III.  120: 
"As  false  is  the  aspersion  of  his  being  a  great  usurer." 
377.  to  haue  your  actions  consturd.    interpreted  or  taken  in  a  specified  way,  apart 

—  92  — 


from  the  real  sense.  The  accent  is  on  the  first  syllable,  as  is  shown  by  the  metre, 
cf.  Julius  Caesar  I.  3.  34  : 

"Indeed,   it  is   a  strange-disposed  time 

But    men   may   construe   things   after   their   fashion 

Clean  from  the  purpose  of  the  things  themselves." 
To  construe,  Latin  construere,  Mid.  Eng.  construen.  At  an  early  date  the  stress  was 
put  on  the  first  syllable  and  the  final  syllable  reduced  to  'stre'  and  'ster'.  Conster 
continued  to  be  the  pronunciation  down  to  the  19th  century,  even  after  it  had  dis- 
appeared as  a  written  form.  Conster  is  used  in  The  Virgin  Martyr  II.  2.  in  the  meaning 
of  comprehend,   cf  : 

*^Theophilus     I    now   conster    thee." 
380.  If  you  would  see  it :  but  take  through  the  xnallice,  take  through  is  examine, 
the  meaning  is  :  if  you  would  but  see  it,  and  examine  the  malice. 
383.  nor  so  secure,     confidently  careless,  unsuspecting,  cf.  Hamlet  i.  5.  61  : 

"upon   thy   secure  hour  thy  uncle   stole" 
and   A  Very  Woman  : 

"to    doubt   is   safer   than   to   be   secure." 
The  words  occurs  again  in  our  play  in  this  sense  cf.  748,  49  : 

"And  let  this  Prince  of  Orange  seat  him  sure 

Or  he  shall  fall  when  he  is   most  secure." 
413.  make  good  the  dore  against  ye.     hold  against,  secure  against,  cf.  Cymheline 
V.   3.   23  : 

"made   good   the   passage" 
420.  those  molds  of  men.     forms,  frames,  cf.   Coriolanus  III.  2.   103: 

"Were  there  but  this  single  plot  to  lose. 

This   mould   of   Marcus,   they   to   dust  should  grind  it." 

388.  beshrew  ye  gentlemen,     a   mild  form   of  imprecation,   it  is   also  frequent    in 
Shakespeare  cf.  Hamlet  II.   i.   113.   Merchant  of   Venice  II.  6.  52. 
440.  in  your  angers  prise,     estimate,   cf.    Much   Ado  about  Nothing.  III.    i.   90 : 

"Having  so  soft  and  excellent  a  wit 

As  she  is  prisde  to  have." 

517.  shake  of  your  head,  shake  off,  of  and  off  were  originally  identical,  and  not 
completely  differentiated  till  after  1600,  we  often  find  of  for  off,  cf.  Langland  Piers 
the   Plowman   A.    V.    170: 

"Clement   the   Cobelere  caste   of  his   cloke." 
'Of  for  'off  occurs  many  times  in  Barnavelt,  cf.  line  779  : 

"which    Cursse   ye    must   shake    of" 
and   1.  2672  : 

"to  cutt  of  this  Imposthume." 

518.  too  weak  ith'  hamis.    knee-joints,  cf.  Hamlet  U.  2.  203  :  "weak  hams" 

535.  if  not  abusd  with  dull  securitie.    the  noun  has  the  same  meaning  as  the  ad- 
jective in  lines  383  and  749,  carlessness,  want  of  caution,  cf.  Macbeth  HI-  5-  32  : 
"security   is    mortal's    chiefest    enemy." 
ACT  II. 
This  scene  of  the  second  act  is  laid  in  Utrecht. 


—  93 


567.  make  way  to  their  most  certaine  ruyn.  'certain  ruin'  is  a  phrase  occurring 
frequently  in  Massinger's  works,  cf.   The  Guardian  II.  4  : 
^^Severino ;  our    whole   life   a   journey 
ending    in    certain    ruin" 
The   Picture  II.    i  : 

^^Sophia  I  do  expect  my  fall  and  certain  ruin" 
The  Great   Duke  of   Florence  I.    i  : 

"That  I   must   either   keep    my  height   with   danger 
Or    fall    with    certain    ruin." 
The   Maid  of  Honour  I.    i  : 

"to  stay  him  in  his  fall 
to  certain  ruin." 
561.  rest  assurd.     remain,  to  rest  is  often  used  with  adjectival  complement  in  the 
sense  of  remain  in  a  specified  condition,    cf.  I  Henry   VI  V.  5.  95  : 

"I  hold  it   cowardice  to  rest   mistrustful." 
and  III  Henry  /  F     I V.  2.  8  : 

"till  you  return  I  rest  perplexed" 
In  Massinger  and  Field   Fatal  Dowry  I.   2  : 

"I  rest  content  with  the  honours  and  estate  I  now  possess" 
to  rest  often  occurs  with  assured^  cf.  Julius  Caesar  V.  3.   17  : 

"That  I  may  rest  assured 
Whether  your   Troopes   are  Friend   or   Enemy." 
579.  you  ai«  governd  more  by  fear  then  reason,  swayed,  cf.    Hamlet  III.  2.  372  : 
"be    governed    by    your    knowledge" 

586.  they  are  well  affected  to  our  designes.  disposed,  the  effection  is  usually  in- 
dicated by  well  or  ill;  earlier  affect,  Latin  affectus  ;  it  may  be  derived  from  the  verb 
-f  past  participle  ending  ed,  or  from  the  noun  affect  +  the  ending  ed  as,  evil-minded, 
cf.  Bunyan,  Pilgrim's  Progress  II.  151  : 

"How  stands  the  country   affected  towards  you  ?  " 
and  King  Lear  II.   i.   100: 

"no   marvel,   then,   though   he   were  ill   affected." 

587.  The  Arminians  play  their  parts  too  again  one  of  Massinger's  favourite  phrases  cf: 

Fatal  Dowry  I,   i  :     (Massinger's  part) 

But  do  your  parts" 
The  Picture  II.  2  : 

"I  will  do  my  parts" 
The  Maid  of  Hdnour  IV.  3  :  "I    have    done    my    parts" 

The  City  Madam  I.   i  :         "You  have  done  your  parts  here" 
591.  it  skills  not.     it  does  not  matter,  cf.  Lyly  Euphues  245  :"Whether  he  be    now 
lyuing,  I   know  not,  but  whether  he  be  or  no,  it  skilleth  not.   The  expression  occurs 
again  in  Massinger's  works,    cf.  The  Fatal  Dowry  I.  2  : 

"but   it   skills    not,    you   have   what   you   desire." 

606.  be  earnest  with  them,     sincerely  zealous,  urgent,  cf.  Hamlet  V.  2.  38  : 

"an    earnest    conjuration" 
and  Richard  III  I.  4.  87  : 

"I  have  been  an  earnest  advocate  to  plead  for  him" 

607.  the  prowd  Shellains.     rogues,  a  corrupted  form  of  Dutch  schelm.  Bullen. 

—  94  — 


611.  for  want  of  entertainement.  provision  for  the  support  of  persons  in  service 
especially  soldiers,  cf.  Sprigge  Anglia  Rediviv.  IV.  VII.  269  "All  officers  and  soldiers 
that  shall  desire   to   take   entertainment  from  any  foreign  kingdom" 

632.  to  cherish  doxnestique  factions,  to  support,  to  encourage,  cf.  King  Richard  II 
II.  3.   147  : 

"And  you  that  do  abet  him  in  this  kind 
Cherish  rebellion   and   are   rebels   all." 
638.  what  privat  Gentleman  that  onely  trailes  a  pike,     to  trail  arms  is  to  carry  in 
an  oblique  forward  position  with  the  breech  or  the  butt  near  the  ground,  the  piece 
or  the  pike  being  held  by  the  right  hand  near  the  middle. 

The  phrase  'to  trail   a  pike'  is  *to  serve  as  a  soldier',  it   is  a  favourite  phrase  with 
Massinger,    cf.    The   Spanish    Curate  I.    i  :    (Massinger's    part)  : 
"how   proud   should  I   be 

to  trail  a  pike  under  your  brave  command." 
and   The   Maid  of  Honour  III.    i  : 

"I  serv'd  two  prenticeships,  just  fourteen  years, 
Trailing  the  puissant  pike" 
the  phrase  occurs  again  in  Barnavelt's  tragedy  :  line  2525  : 

"doe   you   come   to   traile   a  pike   or  vse   a   Musket  ?" 
650.  shrewdly   vrgd.     the   expression    has   a  parallel  in    the  Guardian  II.  5  :  "aptly 
urged." 

670.  at  all  parts,     the  expression  abounds  in  Massinger's  works;  I  need  only  refer  to: 
the  Great  Duke  of  Florence  I.  2  ;  the  Duke  of  Milan  I.  4  ;  the  Guardian  I.  i  ;  the  Unnatural 
Combat  II.  2. 
689.  your  oild  tongue,     the  expression  is  repeated  in  the  Parliament  of  Love  V.  l  : 
"I  have  no  oil'd  tongue,  and  I  hope  my  bluntness 
will  not  offend." 
700.  such  as  flatter  Servants  make  them  prowd.     Boyle   draws   attention  to  the 
fact     that  this  thought  is  again  expressed  in  the  Guardian  III.  2.  55  : 
"In  the  discovery  of  my  secrets  to  her, 
I've  made  my  slave  my  mistress" 
and  in  the   Renegado  II.   i: 

"What  poor  means 
Must  I  make  use  of  now  ;  and  flatter  such, 
To  whom,  till  I  have  betrayed  my  liberty. 
One   gracious   look   of   mine    would   have   erected 
An    altar  to  my  service."^ 

717.  this  I  foresaw,  one  of  Massinger's  favourite  phrases  ;  it  occurs  in  many  of  his 
plays,  cf.  The  Unnatural  Combat  III.  4,  The  City  Madam  III.  2,  The  Maid  of  Honour, 
11.  3,  The  Fatal  Dowry  I.  2,  A  Very  Woman  V.  4,  Thierry  and  Theodoret  I.  2.  116  (Mas- 
singer's part.) 

718.  I  am  lost  with  anger,     the  expression  occurs  in  The  Little  French  Lawyer  I.  i.  217: 

"I  am  lost  with  rage." 


»  Englische   Studien  X    1887. 

~  95  — 


723.  from  freemen  grown  slaues.     those  who  are  not    slaves;    in    later    use    often 
those  who  are  politically  free.  cf.  Julius  Caesar,  III.  2.  25  : 

"Had  you  rather  Caesar  were  living,  and  die  all  slaves  ;  than  that  Caesar 
were   dead,   to   live   all  free-men?" 
and  Ibid.y  V.  3.  41: 

"Come    now,    keep    thine    oath  ; 
Now  be  a  freeman  ;" 
727.  this  popular  Sharke.     thief,  a  shark  is  a  fish  known  for  its  voracity  ;  in  figu- 
rative use  :  a  rapacious  person,  cf.  Jonson  Silent   Woman,  IV.  2  : 

*^La  Foole     a  very  Sharke,  he  set  me  in  the  nick  't  other 
night  at  Primero" 
730.  I  call  not  on  your  furtherance,     assistance,  cf.  Henry  V,  I.  2.  301  : 
"that  may  give  furtherance  to  your  expedition." 
and  Henry  VI,  V.  3.  21  : 

"Cannot  my  body  nor  blood-sacrifice 
Entreat  you  to  your  wonted  furtherance  ?" 
732.  let  me  be  nere   remembred.     a   favourite   phrase   with    Massinger,    occurring 
very  often  in  his  works,  cf  Maid  of  Honour  II. ,4,  The  Renegade  I.  3.,  The  Roman  Actor  I.  4, 
and  III.  I. 
737.  too  gentle  lenitie.     mildness,   cf.    Romeo   and  Juliet  III.    i.    128: 
"away    to    heaven,    respective   lenity 
And  fire-eyed  fury  be  my  conduct  now  !" 
748.  and  let  this  Prince  of  Orange  seat  him  sure,     this  line  is   a  reminiscence  of 
Shakespeare,  Julius  Caesar  I.   2.   236  : 

"And  after  this  let  Caesar  seat  him  sure 
For  we  will  shake  him,   or  worse   days   endure." 
753.  do's  this  bar  me.     prevent  me,  cf.  The  Taming  of  the  Shrew,  Ind.  2.  138  : 
"And  frame   your  mind  the   mirth  and   merriment 
Which  bars  a  thousand  harms." 
to  affect  ye.     to  love  you,  cf.  The   Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona,  III.  i.  82  : 

"a  lady  whom  I   affect." 
758.  propogated.     propagated,  in  the  i6th  and  17th  centuries  propogated  was  used 
erroneously  for  propagated.   New   Eng.   Diet. 

773.  we  are  ourselves,  our  owne  disposers,   persons   who  arrange  or  direct  their 
own  affairs  ;  the  word  is  often  used  by  Massinger  in  this  sense,  cf.  line  1209  : 
"you   are   your   owne   disposers  :" 
801.  thinck  what  we  list,    please  ;  list  is  used  as  a  personal  verb  here,  cf.  Hamlet  I, 

5.    177: 

"if    we    list    to    speak." 
808.  theis  hissing  tosts.  toasts;  one  who  drinks  to  excess,  usually  Old  toast  ci.  Cotton 
Voyage  to  Ireland  III.  128  : 

"When,  having  half  din'd,  There  comes  in  my  Host 
A  Catholic  good,  and  a  rare  drunken  toast." 
It  was  formerly  the  custom  to  have  pieces  of  toast  floating  in  many  kinds  of  liquor, 
especially  when  drunk  hot.  The  meaning  in  question  of  the  word  'toast'  may  be  re- 
ferred to  this  custom. 

—  96  -^ 


821.  you  haue  long  tailes,  but  we  shall  clip'exn.  cf.  long-tailed,  applied  to  a  long" 
winded  speech,  this  sense  is  obsolete;  clip  is  cut  with  scissors  or  shears,  hence  curtail. 

829.  you  that  dare  prick  your  eares  vp,  at  great  Princes,     show  attention  to 

830.  and  doble  chaz^e  your  tongue,     overcharge  cf.  II  Henry  IV,  V.  3.  129  : 

"I   will  double   charge   thee  with  dignities." 

848.  We  will  coniure  vp  our  lazie  husbands,  adjure,  to  conjure  up  is  to  constrain 
a  person  to  some  action  by  putting  him  upon  his  oath  or  by  appealing  to  something 
sacred  cf.  Franklin  Ess.  Works  III  369  : 

"A  remonstrance  was  conjured  up  from  sundry  inhabitants." 

856.  tumop  hearts.  The  New  Engl.  Diet,  quotes  this  line  from  the  tragedy  of 
Barnavelt;  turnip  is  humorously  applied  to  a  person,  cf.  Dickens  Pickwick  Papers 
"now  I  find",  continued  Sam,  "what  a  reg'lar  softhearted  inkred'lous  turnip  I  must 
ha  been." 

Bullen  prints  a  note  referring  to  line  1472  :  "He  that  would  put  his  confidence  in 
Turnops"  "The  Dutch  word  knol  signifies  both  a  turnip  and  a  blockhead." 
875.  do  you  disperse  to  the  old  Companies,  send  off  or  cause  to  go  in  different 
directions  cf.    Hon.   Act.   E.  Glemham  :  "dispearsing  sundrye  Sentronels  for  watches, 
far  from    the  Campe,  diuers  wayes" 

881.  none  of  our  frends  vpon  the  Portt.     gate,  Dutch  *poort',  cf.  Coriolanus  V.  6.  6  : 

"Him  I  accuse  : 
The  City  Ports  by  this  hath  enter'd." 

886.  you  will  rouse  anon,     excite  to  vigorous  action  cf.  Steele  Tatler  No.  2  : 
"The  Emperor  is  rouzed  by  the  Alarm." 

888.  ranck.     foul  cf.  Hamlet  III.  3.  36  : 

"my  offence  is   rank,  it  smells   to  heaven." 

931.  goe  pray  :  goe  pray  :  cf,  Hamlet  I.  5.  132  :  "go  pray  ;"  ibid  II.  i.  loi  :  "go 
seek";  The  Merchant  of  Venice  II.  7.  43:  "come  view";  The  Tempest  II.  i.  190: 
"go  sleep." 

937.  litle  St.  Gregory.  Saint  Gregory  surnamed  "the  Illuminator"  born  at  Va- 
larshabad,  Armenia,  about  257  died  332.  The  founder  and  patron  saint  of  the  Armenian 
Church.  He  was  consecrated  patriarch  of  Armenia  about  302.  Bullen  prints 'Sir',  but 
the  text  clearly  has  'St'.  It  is  clear  why  the  English  Gentlewoman  calls  Holderus 
'litle  Saint    Gregory.' 

945.  desperate  vndertakings.  reckless  cf.  I  Henry  V/,  II,  i.  45  :"an  enterprise  more 
venturous  or  desperate  than  this." 

and   Ihid  IV.   4.   7.   "unheedful  desperate,   wild  adventure". 

950.  not  to  blind  ends,  purposes  that  blind  or  mislead,  deceitful,  cf.  Gower  Con- 
fessio  Amantis  I.  73  : 

"He  with  blind  tales  so  her  ladde 
That  all  his  will  of  her  he  hadde" 

951.  hood-winckt  with  base  ambition,     blind-folded. 

955.  swag  fellows.  The  New  Engl.  Dictionary  puts  big  and  blustering,  with  a  point  of 
interrogation  and  quotes  this  line  from  the  play  of  Barnavelt.  As  a  noun,  swag  was 
used  for  a  big,  blustering  fellow,  the  word  is  obsolete.  Cf.  Nash  Martins  Months 
Minde  42  : 

"Kaitives,  lewd  swagges,  ambicious  wretches." 


—  97 


959.  tall  defenses,  lofty,  grand;  tall  is  used  ironically  here  ;  the  figurative  use  is 
obsolete,  cf.  Watts,  Horae  Lyr.  Ill  Death  T  Gunston  187  : 

"The  tall  titles,  insolent  and  proud" 
971.  in  what  free  fashion,     open,  unreserved,  cf.  Julius  Caesa'r  IV.   2.    17  : 

**a  free  and  friendly  conference." 

ACT  III. 

983.  with  full  wingd  Expedition,  dispatch,  prompt  excution,  this  sense  is  obsolete, 
cf.  Paston  Letters  No.  493  II  166  "The  King  shall  shame  his  good  grace  and  favour 
in  the  expedition  thereof." 

1015.  The  Prince  of  Orange  most  thinck  affects  him  not.  the  Prince  does  not  love 
him  see  line  753 
1017.  that  either  of  their  angry  wills  should  prove 
a  lawful   act,   to  ruyn   one   another, 
a    not    a   medium    of   more    open    lustice 
more     equall,     and    more    honorable    step  in. 
A  difficult  passage  which  may  be  paraphrased  as  follows  :  if  either  should  prove 
to  be  a  lawful  agency  to  ruyn  the  other,  and  not  a  means  of  open,  honorable  Justice 
should   come    between. 

1022.  honest  and  vpright  proofes  will  ripen  the  Imposture,  will  prepare  the  de- 
tection  of   the   deceit. 
1048.  carelessly  loose  it.     untie  cf.  Comedy  of  Errors  V.  339  :  "I  will  loose  his  bonds" 
1062.  will  meet  your  owne  fault,     encounter  as  an  enemy 

cf.  Punch  22  Nov.  252/1  "Seen  my  last  pamphet.  'How  to  meet  the  Microbe  ?'  " 
and  King  John  V.   i.  60  : 
"forage  and  run 

to  meet  displeasure  farther  from  the  doors" 
sodainly.     presently,  immediately 
cf.  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor  IV.  1.  6. 

"Mistress  Ford  desires  you  to  come  suddenly" 
1067.  theis  silver  curies,  theis  emblemes  of  nay  frostie  cares. the  meaning  of  frostic 
emblems    i.e.  curies  is  transferred  to  cares  ;  the  meaning  is  the  cares  that  have  ren- 
dered my  hair  white  ;  frosty  is  grey  cf.  II  Henry  F/,  V.  i     167. 

"where  is  loyalty 
If  it  be  banished  from  this  frosty  head" 
and  Titus   Andronicus  V.   3.   77  : 

"But  if  my  frosty  signs  and  chaps  of  age 
Grave  witnesses  of  true  experience." 
1078.  erect  an  yron-toothed  envy  that  she  may  gnaw  the  pious  stones  that  hides 
me.  In  Early  modern  English  the  number  of  the  predicate  is  often  influenced  by  the 
preceding  substantive,  cf.  King  John  II.  i.  217  : 

"those  sleeping  stones 
That  as   a  waist  doth  girdle  you   about." 
and  G.  Peele  Edward  I  sc  XX,  b  I.  192  : 

"Is   this   the   welcome   that  the   clouds  affords  ?" 
These   forms  are  especially  frequent  in  the  Shakespeare  folio  editions  ;  they  were 
afterwards  treated  as  printers'  errors. 

-  98- 


1081.  how  naked,   and  vnsafe.     without    defence,    unprotected,  cf. 
Johnson  Rambler  No.  i8o  "as  a  small  garrison  must  leave  one  part  of  an  extensive 
fortress   naked   when  an  alarm   calls   them  to  another". 

1098.  Shame  take  that  sznoothnes.  amiability,  affability,  very  often  in  an  un- 
favourable sense  with  the  implication  of  insincerity  or  selfish  designs  cf.  As  You 
Like  It.  I.  3.  79  : 

*'She  is  too  subtle  for  thee  ;  and  her  smoothness 
Her  very  silence,  and  her  patience 
Spcake  to  the  people,  and  they  pity  her" 
1109.  I  vndertooke  hir.     I  took  charge  of  her,  cf.  Henry  VI 11^  II.  i.  97  : 
"Then  give   my  charge  up   to   Sir  Nicholas  Vaux, 
Who   undertakes   you   to  your   end." 
1128.  the  griping  yoak.     pinching,  cf.  Romeo  et  Juliet  IV.  5.  128: 

"When  griping  grief  the  heart  doth  wound" 
1138.  patcht  vp  men.  paltry  ;  a  patch  i.  e.  a  fool  or  a  paltry  fellow  ;  it  was  originally 
the  name  or  rather  nichname  of  Cardinal  Wolsey's  domestic  fool  or  jester,  supposed  by 
some  to  have  been  so  called  from  his  patched  garb,  or  patched  face  ;  but  it  is  perhaps 
rather  an  anglicized  form  of  Italian  pazzo  :  fool.  It  seems  however  to  have  been  later 
associated  or  taken  as  identical  with  the  sunstantive  patch,  a  piece  of  cloth  or  leather 
to  mend  a  hole,  as  in  Shakespeare's  "patched  fool"  cf.  Midsummer  Night's  Dream 
IV,  I.  215: 

"But  man  is  but  a  patch'd  foole." 
This  means  according  to  some  annotators  :  partly-coloured. 

1173.  the  fatall  howre  is  cast,     the  hour  of  death  is  cast.  The  expression  is  taken 
from  the  game,  to  cast  dice  cf.  Richard  II ^  i.  3.  85  : 
"however  God  or  fortune   cast   my  lot" 
1251.  not  cyted  to  their  answeare.     summoned,  cf.  Henry  Vllly  IV.  i.  29  : 
"a  court  at  Dunstable....    to   which 
She  was  often  cited  by  them,  but  appear'd  not" 
1263.  we  palliate  seditions,     excuse,  cover  as  with  a  cloak,  cf.  Tirwhyt  tr.  Balzac's 
Letters  317 

"I  need  not  seeke  colours  to  palliate  my  actions  or  words." 
1275.  as  you  affect  the  safetie  of  the  State,     aim  at,    cf.  note  line  2434  and 
II  Henry  VI   IV.  7.   104: 

"have  I    affected  wealth  and  honour?" 
1304.  I  ingeniously  confes  my  ignoraunce.     frankly,   used  by  confusion  for  inge- 
nuously, cf.  Timon  of  Athens  II.  2.  230  : 

"Thou  art  true  and  honest,  ingeniously  I  speak." 
1364.  I  have  set  vp  my  rest.     A  metaphor  from  the  once  fashionable  and  favourite 
game  of  primero,    meaning,  to  stand  upon  the  cards  you  have  in  your  hands,  in  hopes 
that  they  may  prove  better  than  those  of  your  adversary.  Hence  to  make  up  your 
mind,   to   be   determined.   Nares. 

The  phrase  occurs  very  often  in  the  work  of  the  dramatists  of  that  time  cf.  Merchant 
of  Venice  II.  2.  no  "I  have  fully  set  up  my  rest  to  run  away".  Ford  H  Is  a  Pity  she's 
Whore : 


—  99 


"Despair   or   tortures   of  a   thousand  hells 
All's  one  to  me  ;  I  have  set  up  my  rest." 

The  New  English  Dictionary  gives  another  meaning  namely  :  to  make  an  end.  This 
usage  is  rare  cf.  Pepys'  Diary  8  Jan.  :  "So  home  ;  with  much  ado,  and  now  resolving 
to  set  up  my  rest  as  to  plays  till  Easter." 

1396.  I  have  lost  myself,  but  something  I  shall  doe.  a  phrase  which  occurs,  again 
and  again  in  Massinger's  plays,  cf.  Maid  of  Honour  V.  i.  The  Renegado  III.  4.  Great 
Duke  of  Florence  11.  3.  the  Bondman  V.  2.  103. 

1402.  this Confederacie.  conspiracy  cf.  Ben  Jonson  Bartholomew  Fair  I.  i.  "Why, 
this    is  a  confederacy  :  a  meere  piece  of  practice  upon  her  by  these  impostors." 

1417.  at  least  divulgd  abroad.  made  public  cf.  Hamlet  IV.  i.  22.  "to  keep  it  from 
divulging"  t.  e.  becoming  known. 

1433.  doe  you  keep  him  close,  in  strict  confinement  cf.  Richard  III.  IV.  2.  53 
,,The  Son  of  Clarence  have  I  pent  up  close". 

1439.  thou  treadst  the  subtlest  path,    wiliest. 

1441.  run  through,     past  tense,  modern  English  ran. 

1444.  like  a  comet  to  shine  out  faire  and  blaze  prodigiously,  a  reference  to  the 
comet   of    1618/ 19   see  Introduction.    Sources. 

1449.  lull  of  burthen,     load,  figuratively  used  for  sorrow. 

1450.  how  stands  your  State,     how  are  the  circumstances  for  the  time  being, 
cf.   Shakespeare   Sonnet  29.   2  : 

"I  all  alone  beweep   my  outcast  state." 
1458.  you  delt  coldly  Sir.     without  zeal. 
1473.  and  pickelld  Spratts.     often  applied  to  persons  as  a  term  of  contempt. 

1475.  what  we  lockt  in  him  (is)  too  far  of,  from  their  subtle  keys  to  open. a  metaphor 
which  recalls  Shakespeare's  lines  in  Hamlet  I.  3.  8.  : 
"'t  Is  in  my  memory  locked 
And  you  yourself  shall  keep  the  key  of  it." 
The  whole  scene  is  typical  of  Fletcher's  style,    see    Introduction    Authorship,    but 
this  metaphor  is  repeated  in  The  Great  Duke  of  Florence,  cf.  III.   i  : 
"What  you   deliver  to   me  shall  be  k  eked  up 
In  a  strong   Cabinet,   of   which  you  yourself 
Shall  keep  the  key." 
This  might  be  taken  as  a  proof  that  the  scene  is  composed  by  Massinger,  but  there 
are  surer  signs  to  prove  that  the  scene  must  be  Fletcher's  ;  moreover  there  are  other 
cases,  in  which  Massinger  not  only  repeats  himself,  but  also  others. 

1515.  what  shall  redeeme  me  from  this  Ignoraunce.  stupidity,  offence  caused 
by  want  of  knowledge,  cf.  King  Lear  IV.  5.  9  : 

"it  was  a  great  ignorance  to  let  him  live'* 
1520.  cold  Ignoraunce.     hopeless  cf.    AlVs   Well  that  Ends   Well  II.   i.    147  : 
"and  oft  it  hits  where  hope  is  coldest." 
Ignorance  is   here   want   of   discernment,   incapacity   of   distinguishing   between   right 
or  wrong,  cf.  Richard  III,  III.  7.  113  : 

"I   do   suspect  I   have   done  some   offence. 


And  that  you  come  to  reprehend  my  ignorance' 


—    100 


1527.  take  me  with  ye.     i.  e.   explain  to  me  (a  very  common  expression).   Bullen. 
1540.  to  stick  their  gawdy  triuznphes.     to   decorate,   usually  followed   by  with   or 
in,  cf.  Twelfth  Night  II.  4.  56  : 

"My   shrowd    of   white   stuck   all   with    Ew." 
The  usage  without  preposition  seems  rare.  We  find  the  meaning  of  decorating  with 
green  in  Wiltshire  Gloss.  "We  alius  sticks  th'   Church  at  Christmas" 

1554.  We  endure  a  hundred  fitts.  violent  attacks  of  illness,  cf.  N.  Robinson  Th. 
Physick  ; 

"the  fits   of  intermittent  fevers." 

1563.  and  next  his  fashion,     repute,  social  standing. 

1597.  the  freedom  I  was  borne  to.  a  phrase  whicn  is  often  repeated  by  Massinger, 
cf.  line   1647  :   ,,and  loose  that  native  courage   we  are  borne  to" 

and  The  Great  Duke  of  Florence  I.  i.  "For  I  must  use  the  freedom  I  was  born  with" 
Ibid.  III.   I.  "it  is  a  duty  that  I  was  born  with" 

1603.  ile  fry  about  their  ears.  Bullen  notes  :  'fry'  has  here  the  unusual  sense  of 
'buzz', 'hiss'.  Mr.  Swinburne  remarks  on  this  note  :  "Mr.  Bullen's  note  is  surely  an  over- 
sight. Were  this  the  sense  I  do  not  see  how  the  passage  could  be  either  parsed  or  con- 
strued. Grotius  threatens,  if  the  prince  lays  hands  on  Barnavelt,  to  set  on  fire  the  hall 
of  justice  or  house  of  parliament"^  I  quite  agree  with  Mr.  Swinburne;  to  fry  is  here 
to  burn  cf.  Drayton  Legends  III.  147  "Fuel  to  that  fire,  Wherein  He  fry'd."  B.Jonson 
Poetaster  I.  i  "Earth  and  seas  in  fire  and  flame  shall  fry."  That  this  is  the  correct 
sense  is  clear  from  lines  1842  : 

"and  Grotius  has  byn  heard  to  say  and  openly 
that  if  we  durst  imprison   Barnauelt 

he  would  fire    the    court    and  State  house  and  that  Sacrifize 
he  would  make  more  glorious  with  your  blood  and  ours". 
1657.  he  is  fast,     fast  asleep,  this  sense  is  obsolete  cf.  Romeo  and  Juliet  IV.  5.  i  : 

"Fast  I  warrant  her." 
and  Massinger  The  Great  Duke  of  Florence  IV.   5.   i  : 
"Is   my  lord  stirring  ? 
No  he  's   fast." 

1663.  moated  about  with  death,     surrounded  by  death  as  with  a  moat. 

1664.  Thou  soule  of  Cato  and  you  brave  Romainesperitts,  famous  more  for  yoxir 
true  resolutions  on  yourselues.      this  is  a  reference  to  Cato  killing  himself  with  his 

own  sword,  cf.  Chapman  The  Tragedy  of  Caesar  of  Pompey  V.  2.   134  : 

"the   Consuls'  souls, 

That  slew  themselves  so  nobly 

mine     would     see." 

This  reference  to  the  brave  Romans  dying  by  their  own  hands  occurs  in  many  works 
of  the  dramatists  of  the  time,  cf.  Julius  Caesar  II.  i.  226  : 
"But  bear  it  as  our  Roman  Actors  do 
With    untired    spirits    and    formal    constancy." 
Macbeth  V.  8.  i.  "Why  should  I  play  the  Roman  fool,  and  die  on  mine  own  sword?" 
Massinger  Duke  of  Milan  V.  i.   128  : 


*   The  Fortnightly   Review y   July,    1889. 


—  loi  — 


"Why  let  us   then  turn   Romans, 
And  falling  by  our  own  hands,  mock  their  threats 
And  dreadful  preparations" 
1667.  a  gowne  man.     gone,  dead  cf.  Othello  V.  i.  lo  :  "0  quick,  or  I  am  gone." 
1681.  Now  shoot  your  spightes.     spite,  malice,  the  use  of  the  plural  is  uncommon 
in  modern  English. 

now  clap  on  all  your  councells.  impose  or  lay  on,  it  is  used  of  an  action,  a  liability, 
writ  or  duty,  cf.  Henry   VIII,  V.  4.  84  : 

**0n    your    heads 
(He)   Clap   round   Fines   for   neglect." 
1689.  why  was  I  heavy,     sleepy,  cf.  The  Tempest  III.  i.  189  :  „Will  you  laugh  me 
asleep,  for  I  am  very  heavy  ?" 

ibid.     198  :  "Thank  you  —   Wondrous  heavy". 

ACT  IV. 
The  first  scene  of  this  act  is  laid  in  Germany. 
1716.  dispeirce  then,     spread    in    scattered    order,    used    intransitively,    cf.    Wood 
Life  (Oxf.  Hist.  Soc.)  385  :  "Sir  Thomas  desired  them  to  disperse  and  not  to  accom- 
pany him." 

1731.  the  Hare  was  rotten.  Bullen  prints  the  following  note:  "and  bycause  some 
Hares  by  haunting  the  lowe  watrie  places  do  become  foule  and  mesled,  such  Hares 
doe  never  follow  the  hard  ways  nor  make  such  pathes  to  their  formes,  but  use  all  their 
subtleties  and  poUecies  by  the  sides  of  the  Ryvers,  brookes  and  other  waters  Turber- 
villes  Booke  of  Hunting  (1575)  p.   160." 

1733.  make  all  hir  dobles  out.     make  all  her  turns  to  escape  pursuit ;  a  double  is 
a  sharp  turn  in  the  running  of  a  hunted  hare.  cf.  Venus   and  Adonis  682  "With  what 
care  he  (i.e.  the  hare)  cranks  and  crosses  with  a  thousand  doubles." 
Fletcher   Woman's  Prize  III.  4. 

"All  their  arch-villanies   and   all   their   dobles 
Which  are  more  than  a  hunted   Hare  ere  thought  on" 
1742  theplottsandtraynes.     baits,  something  used  to  entice,  cf.  Macbeth  IV.  3.  118  : 

"Macbeth 
By  many  of  these  trains  hath  sought  to  win  me 
Into  his  power." 
1754.  scowts  round  about  vs.    surround  with  a  watch  and  play  the  spy,  cf .  Fletcher 
Bonduca  V.  2  : 

"Take  more  men,  and  scout  him  round." 
1764.  Clap  your  Spurres  on.     to  put  on  with  the  indication  of  energy,  cf.  line  1784: 
"clap  faggots  on't."  and  1.  2913:  "the  Merchant  might  clap,  his  lynnen 
wings  vp  to  the  windes." 
1800.  wee'II  show  'em  such  a  base,     challenge,  usually  to  bid  base  i.  e.  to  challenge 
to  a  chase  ;  the  expression  is  taken  from  a  game  among  boys,  it  is  played  by  two  sides 
who  occupy  contiguous  'bases'  or  'homes'  ;  any  player  running  out  from  his  'base'  is 
chased  by  one  of  the  opposite  side,  and,  if  caught,  made  a  prisoner  ;  in  general  use 
to  challenge  cf.  Venus  and  Adonis  51  : 

"to  bid  the  wind  a  base  he  now  prepares." 
Bullen  reads  baste,  which  may  be  right,  to  baste  is  to  beat  soundly,  to  thrash,  so 
it  may  have  been  used  for  basting,  a  thrashing. 

—    102   — 


1801.  do  not  delect  yourself,     be  not  dejected  cf.  Sterne  Tristram  Shandy  III,  XX 
"to  deject  and  contrist  myself  with  so  bad  and  melancholy  account." 
1826.  might  be  cozistrude  in  'tmalitious.     interpreted,  see  note  line  377. 
1847.  the  lowdest  Channell  runs  shallowest,   the  same  idea  was  first  expressed  in 
Purchas  Pilgrimage  VIII.  5.  760  : 

"Still  waters  are  deepest." 
Shakespeare  expressed  it  in  II  Henry   VI,  III.   i.  53: 

"Smooth  runs  the  water  where  the  brook  is  deep." 
1849.  the  deep  and  silent  man.     profoundly  cunning. 

1887.  the  King  ofSwethland,  the  source  has  Sueland  ;  the  name  is  usually  Suealand 
O.E.  Sweoland  ;  this  name  does  not  survive.  In  a  letter  from  Sir  R.  Winwood  to  King 
James  dated  7  April  1612  the  name  occurs  as  Sueueland.  In  the  14th  century  forms 
with  'th'appear  in  English,  e.  g.  Trevisa's  Highden  Swetherlond  for  Swethelond.  From 
the  i6th  to  the  i8th  century  typical  forms  are  Swethland,  Swedeland  and  Sweedland. 
1893.  about  compoimding  of  a  business,     arranging  cf.  Coriolanus  V.  6.  84  : 

"and    we    here    deliver what 

We  have  compounded  on" 
1904.  And  Bau'navelt  glide  away  like  a  spent  exhalation.     Boyle  has  drawn  attention 
to  the  parallel  passage  in  Henry   VIII,  III.  2.  225  ; 

"I  shall  fall  like  a  bright  exhalation  in  the  evening." 
1921.  poyzd.     balanced 

1923.  high-straind  danger,  excessive,  pushed  to  an  abnormal  height,  cf.  King 
Lear  I.    i.    172 : 

"With  strained  pride, 

To  come  betwixt  our  sentence  and  our  power" 
1937.  stubbome  fortune,     harsh. 

1949.  Vandort  is  fleshd  vpon  me.  fierce  and  eager  for  combat  cf.  Distracted  Emperor  VI 
Bullen  Old  Plays  III.  242  : 

"there  is  no  devyll  in  me 

that  could  have  flesht  me  to  thy  violent  death" 

1963.  when  I  am  sett  and  gon.     dead,  cf.  Henry   VIII,  III.  2.  224 

"from  that  full  meridian  of  glory 
I  haste  now  to  my  setting." 

1964.  what  vnderstanding.     man  of  intellect. 

1986.  when  they  have  gorgd  their  envies,  fed  to  the  full,  a  metaphor  taken  from 
hawking  ;  it  was  in  early  use  of  a  bird  of  prey,  but  now  in  common  use,  to  fill  full, 
to  satiate,  also  used  figuratively,  cf.  Shakespeare  Lucrece  694  :  "The  full-fed  Hound, 
or  gorged  Hawk."  the  transferred  sense  occurs  in  A.    Warren  Poor  Mans  Pass  E  3 

"Some  Vsurer, 
whose  gorged  chests  surfet  with  cramming  gold." 
1999.  pluck  vp  your  hart,     summon  up  courage,  cheer  up  ;  also  pluck  up  your  spirits 
cf.  The  Taming  of  the  Shrew  IV,  3.  38  : 

"pluck  up   thy  spirits  ;  look  cheerfully  upon   me." 
2019.  to  be  high,     elated,  cf.  the  expression  *in  high  spirits' 

2044.  he  will  not  be  denyde.  refused  admittance,  this  sense  is  obsolete  cf.  I  Henry  I V 
II.  4.  544  : 

"If  you  will  deny  the  Sherif,  so  ;  if  not,  let  him  enter" 

—  103  — 


2071.  the  thirstie  Prince  of  this  poore  Life,  the  Prince  thirsty  of  this  poor  Life  ;  this 
uncommon  construction  is  typically  Fletcherian.  Boyle  quotes  two  examples  from 
other  plays  :  the  Knight  of  Malta  II.  3.  67 

"Thou  naked  man  of  all  that  we  call  npble"  i.  e. 
thou  man  naked  of  all  that  we  call  noble,  and  the  Double  Marriage  III.  3. 
•'Thou  barren  thing  of  honesty  and  honour  t.  e,  thou  thing  barren  of  honesty  and 
honour."* 
2084.  to  seciire  their  sloznbers.     to  guard  from  danger,  cf.  The  Tempest  II.  1.  310  : 

"while  we  stood  here  securing  your  repose." 
2093.  share  my  Services,     have  each  your  share  of  my  services  and  their  reward. 
2117.  Keramis-time.  the  annual  fair,  cf.  Evelyn  Diary  28  July  :  '*It  was  now  Kermas 
or  a  fair  in  this  town"  and  Dryden  Parallel  Poetry  and  Painting  XVII.  305  "The  painting 
of  clowns,  the  representation  of  a  Dutch  kermis"  and  mrs.   Calderwood  Letters  and 
Journals  ;  "as  we  came  through  Harlem,  it  was  Kearmas,  which  is  a  great  fair." 
2130.  to  quallilie  his  fault,     to  mitigate  cf.  Hamlet  IV.  7.   114: 
"time   qualifies   the  spark  and  fire  of  it"  (t.  e.  love) 
2132.  much,  with  a  Cusshion.     much  is  an  ironical  expression  (very  common)  of 
denial    or    astonishment,    Bullen. 
2144.  lustique.     merrily  (Dutch  lustig)  cf.  AlVs  Well  that  Ends  Well  II.  3.  147  : 

"Lustick,    as    the    Dutchman    says."    Bullen 
the  Globe  edition  has  "lustig" 
and  Dekker  Sir  Thomas  Wyatt  III.   103  : 

"If  my  old  Maister  be  hanged,  why  so  ; 
If  not,  why  rusticke  and  lusticke." 
2154.  The  Bree:  for  his  Excellence,     a  corruption  of  Dutch  hruiy  the   meaning  is 
"A  plague  on  his  Excellence  1"  Bullen. 

2147.  unseasonable,  not  being  in  the  proper  season  or  time  cf.  Much  Ado  about 
Nothing  II.  2.  16  - 

"at  any  unseasonable  instant  of  the  night" 
2186.  to  intrap  you.     to    ensnare,  to  catch  in  a  trap,  cf.  The  Merchant  of  Venice  III. 
2.  loi  : 

"The  seeming   truth   which  cunning   times   put   on 
To  entrap  the  wisest."' 

2200.  dispeirsed  3000  Arminian  Soldiers,  distributed  from  a  main  point  or  centre, 
here     the  verb  is  used  transitively,  in  line  17 16  it  is  used  intransitively,  see  note. 

2213.  to  dy vert  your  Lordships  fx^m  your  opinion  to  turn  from,  cf.  Milton  Paradise 
Lost  IX.   814: 

"Other  care 
May  have  diverted  from  continual  Watch 
Our  great  Forbidden" 

2221.  there  was  Conlbustion  in  the  State,  cf.  Henry  VIII,  V.  4.  51  :  "kindling 
such  a  combustion  in  the  state". 

2224.  one  that  then  ruld  all.  a  reference  to  Lord  Leicester,  who  was  governor 
of  the  Provinces  during  the  years  1585 — 1587. 


*  Die  Englishe  Biihne  zu  Shakespeare's  Zeit^  Einleitung  zu  Barneveld. 

—   104    -r 


2232.  when  Graues  and  Vendloe  were  held  by  the  Spaniard.  In  the  governorship 
of  Leicester  Parma  took  Grave  and  Venlo  in  1587. 

2235.  when  theSluice  was  lost,     in  1587  Sluys  surrendered  to  Parma,  who  besieged  it. 
2240.  to  compound  all  Quarrells.     to  settle  amicably,  see  note  1.   1893. 

2251.  to  ingrosse  all.  to  collect  together  from  all  quarters,  to  keep  exclusive  pos- 
session of,  used  figuratively  here;  this  sense  is  obsolete,  cf.  I  Henry  IV t  HI.  3  : 

"Percy  is   but   my   Factor.... 
To   engrosse   vp   glorious   Deeds   on   my  behalfe." 

2252.  your  Schollers.     pupils,  cf.    Antony  and  Cleopatra  IV.  4.    102  : 

"thy  master  dies  thy  scholar." 
2258.  glorious,  boastful,  vainglorious,  this  sense  is  obsolete  cf.  Bacon  Essay  Vaine- 
glory  Arb.  462  :  "they  that  are  glorious,  must  needs  be  factious." 

2278.  freely  to  be  dischargd.     paid,   cf.    Merchant  of    Venice  IV.    I.   208  : 

"Is  he  not  able  to     discharge     the  money  ?" 

2297.  I  haue  not  preferd  what  you  Comaunded.  assisted  in  bringing  about,  this 
sense  is  obsolete,  cf.   Rowlands  Four    Knaves  (Percy  Society)  50  : 

"Thus   fingering   money   to   preferre   the   case." 

2298.  it  lookd  not  towards  the  generall  good,  tended  to,  cf.  N.  Fairfax  Bullen  & 
Selv.  188  "The  argument  drawn  from  God's  unbounded  power,  as  looking  towards 
the   behoof   of   the   Creature." 

2302.  when  in  one  yeere  you  did  beseige  Breda 

tooke  in  the  fortresse  of  Terheide  and  Steinberch.  In  1 590  Prince  Maurice  surprised 
and  took  Breda  ;  in  the  same  year  he  took  Steenbergen,  north  of     Bergen-op-Zoom. 

2304.  wanNimweghen,  Deuenter,  Zutphen,  Hulst,  Delfs-Isle.  In  159 1  Prince  Maurice 
took  Zutphen,  in  the  same  month  Deventer,  surprised  Delfzyl,  and  took  Hulst  and 
Nymegen  in  the  same  year. 

2319.  who  gave  intelligence,  notice,  information  cf.  The  Merry  Wives  of  Wind- 
sor III.  5.  85  :  "As  good  luck  would  have  it,  comes  in  Mistress  Page  ;  gives  intelligence 
of  Ford's  approch."  It  is  especially  applied  to  the  communications  of  spies  or  secret  agents 
cf.  Temple  History  of  England  565  :  "He  practis'd  private  Intelligence  in  the  Danish 
Court."  This  sense  is  obsolete. 

2324.  the  yeilding  of  it  vp  to  the  Governor  ,of  ought  to  be  hy  ;  the  town  was  sur- 
rendered by  the  governor  as  Maurice  failed  to  relieve  it. 

2328.  tooke  the  Townes  of  Oldensell,  Lingen,  Groll.  Oldenzaal  and  Lingen  on  the 
eastern   frontier   were   taken  by   Spinola  in    1605,   Groll  in    1606. 

2332.  your  Insolence  to  me  before  the  Battaile  of  Flaunders,  I  forget.  This  is  a 
reference  to  the  battle  of  Nieuwpoort  fought  in  1600.  see  Introduction,  Treatment 
of  the  subject. 

2335.  too  much  prouidence.  foresight,  timely  care  ;  in  the  margin  the  adjective 
prouident  occurs,  having  the  same  meaning,  forecasting,  prudent  in  preparing  for 
exigencies. 

2348.  you  clayme  as  litle  in  the  victory  as  I.     you  are  entitled  to,   deserve  as  little 
in  the  victory,  cf.  Antony  and  Cleopatra  II.  2.   130  : 
"Octavia,  whose  beauty  claimes 
No  worse  a  husband  then  the  best  of  men." 

2359.  those  vnparalelld  paire  of  warlike  Brothers,  this  is  a  case  of  confusion  by 
proximity;  it  is  a  not  uncommon  Shakesperian  idiom,  the  two  nouns  connected   by 

-  105  - 


*of'  seem  regarded  as  a  compound  noun  with  plural  termination  cf.  King  Lear  II.  2.  96: 

"these  kind  of  knaves  I  know" 
and  Fletcher  The  Faithful  Shepherdess  II.  3  : 

"These  happy  pair  of  lovers  meet  straightway." 
2360.  the  ever  noble  Veres.  Sir  Francis  Vere  (1560 — 1609)  was  appointed  com- 
mander of  the  English  troops  in  Holland  in  1589.  He  had  fought  in  the  relief  of  Bergen- 
op-Zoom  in  June  1587,  and  in  1589  in  the  relief  of  Rijnberg.  He  was  distinguished 
for  great  bravery  at  Sluys,  so  that  he  was  spoken  of  as  "young  Vere,  who  fought  at 
Sluys"  ;  he  fought  bravely  in  the  battle  of  Nieuwpoort,  where  he  got  wounded.  Prince 
Maurice  had  written  a  letter  to  the  queen,  attributing  the  victory  in  a  great  measure 
to  the  judgment  and  valour  of  the  English  general.  In  honour  of  the  victory,  a  ballad 
was  published  :  "A  New  Ballad  of  the  Great  Ouerthrow  Sir  Francis  Vere  gaue  to  the 
Archduke  1600."  In  1601  he  was  appointed  governor  of  Ostend  to  defend  the  town. 
His  brother  Sir  Horace  Vere  (1565 — 1635)  also  fought  in  the  battle  of  Nieuwpoort 
in  1600  ;  he  was  governor  of  the  cautionary  town  Brielle,  which  he  surrendered  to  the 
States  in  1616,  he  was  commander  of  the  English  troops  in  the  Netherlands  ;  in  1620 
he  went  to  Germany  in  the  aid  of  the  Elector  Palatine  Frederic. 
2403.  to  deface  lustice.     to  mar  the  face  of,  to  disfigure  cf.  Shakespeare  Sonnets  VI: 

"Then  let   not   winter's   ragged  hand   deface 

In  thee  thy  summer." 
2418.  all  presidents  of  Traitors,     precedents,  examples. 

2429.  I  grow  tedious.  I  bore  you,  I  grow  wearisome.  Gelbcke  translates  :  "Ich 
werde  miide",  this  is  not  correct.  Tedious  is  used  especially  of  a  speech  or  narrative, 
hence  of  a  speaker  or  writer,  so  as  to  cause  weariness. 

2434.  Octavius  when  he  did  affect  the  Empire,  aim  at  cf.  Corialanus  IV.  6.  32 : 

"self-loving  and  affecting  one  sole  throne  without  assistance." 
see  also  note  line   1275. 

2435.  and  strove  to  tread  vpon  the  neck  of  Rome  and  all  hir  auncient  freedoms.  These 
lines  and  the  preceding  one  are  a  political  allusion  to  King  James's  frequent  collisions 
with  Parliament.  Soon  after  in  162 1  in  answer  to  the  Protestations  of  the  Commons 
concerning  the  liberties  and  privileges  of  Parliament,  he  sent  for  the  Journals  of  the 
House,  and  tore  out  the  page  containing  it  with  his  own  hand  saying  :  "I  will  govern 
according  to  the  common  weal,  but  not  according  to  the  common  will." 

2437.  the  Gato's  and  all  free  speritts  slaine.  an  allusion  to  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  who 
was  executed  in  1618  at  the  instigation  of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham  and  the  Spanish 
ambassador  Gondomar  to  please  the  Spanish  king. 

ACT.  V. 
2478.  grace  their  best  Actors,     favour,  cf.  The  Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona.  I.  3.  58: 
"How   happily   he   lives,    how    well   beloved, 
And  daily  graced  by  the  Emperor ;" 
2494.  those  will  I  strayt  soUicite.     seek  by  petition. 
2517.  by  what  Attorney,     substitute  cf.  Comedy  of  Errors  V.  100  : 
"I  will   attend  my  husband,  be  his  nurse 
And  will  have  no  attorney  but  myself." 
2532.  charmes  in  it.     things  with  magic  power,  enchantments. 

2539.       't  was  queintly  carried,     neatly  cf.  The  Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona  II.  i.  128: 
"the  lines  are  very  quaintly  writ". 

—  106  — 


ihid.  III.   I.   117  : 

"a    ladder    quaintly    made    of    cords." 
2540.  cleenly.     neatly  see  line  2727. 

2552.  in  the  dispighte  of  vs.  in  defiance  of,  in  defiant  opposition  of,  it  usually  implies 
contempt,  cf.  Hall  Chroni.  183  b,  "and  sent  all  their  heddes..  ..to  be  set  upon  poles, 
over  the  gate  of  the  citie  of  Yorke  in  despite  of  them,  and  their  lignage." 

2562.  being  convincd  of  fowre  and  thirtie  articles,  proved  guilty  of,  cf.  Troilus 
and  Cressida  II.   2.    130  : 

"Else  might  the  world  convince  of  levity 
As    well    my    undertakings    as    your    counsels." 
2576.  shalbe  answeard  freely,     frankly,  cf.  The  Merchant  of  Venice  III.  2.  257 

"I  freely  told  you" 
2608.  it  still  being  the  principall  signe  of  libertie.  ever,  the  usual  meaning  of  'still' 
in  Shakespeare. 

cf.   Measure  for  Measure  II.   i.  298  :  "Pardon  is  still  the  nurse  of  second  woe." 
2636.  to  take  occasion,     to  take  advantage   of  the  opportunity,   cf.   Pepys   Diary 
6  Dec. 

"I  took  occasion  to  go  up  and  to  bed  in  a  pet." 
I  Henry  IV,  V.  i.  56: 

"And  from  this  swarm  of  fair  advantages 
You   took   occasion   to   be   quickly   woo'd 
To   gripe   the   general   sway  into   your   hand." 
2644.  vnanswerable  proofes.     proofs    not    admitting    of     an    answer,   indisputable 
Berkeley  Th.   Vision  §  i  "A  new  and  unanswerable  proof  of  the  Existence  and  im- 
mediate operation  of  God" 

2672.  tocuttof  thislmposthiune.  literally  an  abcess,  figuratively  a  moral  corruption 
in  the  individual  cf.  Hamlet  IV.  4.  27  : 

"This   is   the  imposthume   of   much   wealth   and   peace 
That  inward  breaks" 
and   Browning   Pacchiarotto  XXII  : 

"The  imposthume  I  prick  to  relieve  thee  of  Vanity" 
Fletcher  applies  the  word  to  a  person  swollen  with  pride  or  insolence,  which  cor- 
responds to  the  meaning  here,   cf.   The  Island  Princess  I.  4  ; 
"Dost   thou   know   me,   bladder, 
Thou  insolent  impostume." 
I  consider  this  part  of  the  scene  after  ^*  Exeunt  Embassadors"  to  be  Fletcher's  share. 
See  Introduction  Authorship. 

2688.  you  will  give  us  no  more  lights. information  cf.  The  Two  Gentlemen  of  Verona 
III.   I.  49  : 

"Upon  mine  honour,  he  shall  never  know 
That  I  had  any  light  from  thee  of  this" 
2702.  delude  what  we  deterznind.   frustrate  our  purpose,  this  sense  is  obsolete  cf. 
Hospital    Incurable  Fooles    58  :    "Thus  he  did  delude  the  last  blow  of  this  despiteful 
Foole" 

and  /  Henry   VI  V.  4.  76  :  "0  give  me  leave,  I  have  deluded  you," 
2711.  deride,     laugh  at  in  scorn,  cf.  King  Lear  I.  i,  284 : 

—   107  — 


"Time   shall   unfold   what   plighted   cunning   hides 
Who  cover  faults,  at  last  shame  them  derides." 
BibU  Luke  XIII   35:   "And   the  rules   also....    derided  him." 

2716.  znegrooxnes.     megrims,   nervous  head-aches.  The  French  word  migraine  is  now 
sometimes  used  by  English  writers. 
verteegoes.     vertigo,  giddiness 

2721.  polld  more  pates,  cut  off  cf.  Carew  Cornwall  "Some  pilchards  are  polled, 
gutted,  splitted,  powdred  and  dried  in  the  Sunne." 

2722.  a  dicker.  Bullen  annotates  :  "The  quantity  of  ten  of  any  commodity;  as 
a  dicker  of  hides  was  ten  hides,  a  dicker  of  iron  ten  bars.  See  Fragment  Antiq.  page  192. 
Probably  from  decas,  Lat."   Nares. 

2726.  Edipoll.  scribe's  error  for  dodipoll,  a  thick  head,  humourously  applied  to 
a   stupid   person. 

2727.  denly.     neatly  see  line  2540. 

2739.  the  head  of  a  Pumpion.     Sc.   pumpkin   French.    Bullen 
a  gourd  cf.  The  Merry   Wives  of   Windsor  III,  3.  43. 

"We  'U  use  this  unwholesome  humidity 

This  gross  watery  pumpion" 
H.  C.  Hart  annotates  in   the  Arden  Shakespeare  water-melon.  Ben  Jonson  uses  the 
word  in  Time   Vindicated  and  it  occurs  in  the  early  travellers." 

Fletcher  uses  the  word  in  Rule  a  Wife  and  Have  a  Wife  I.  5.  as  a  term  of  contempt 
for  a  big  man,   cf. 

"0  here's  another  pumpion,  the  cramm'd  son  of  a  starv'd  usurer." 
2741.  heers  touch  and  take.     cf.  The  Two    Merry  Milke-maids  II.  2. 

'''Fred.      By  this  hand  Wench,  He  keepe  touch. 

Lady.        Touch  and  take   my  Lord,   else  no   middling." 
and  Ibid.  IV.   1.  "I  know  what  the  Prouerbe  saies,  touch  and  take  me." 
2743.  man  is  but  grass,     cf.  Psalm  103.   15  ; 

"The  days  of  man  are  but  as  grass." 

2747.  the  headman  of  the  parish,     executioner,    obsolete   for   headsman 
cf.    All's  well  that  ends  well  IV.   3.    342. 

"Come,  headman,  off  with  his  head." 
Byron.  Parisina  XV  "The  headman  feels  if  the  axe  be  sharp  and  true"  (some  editions: 
headsman) 

2749.  nickt  many  a  worthie  gamester,  to  nick  in  the  game  of  hazard  is  to  win 
against  the  other  players  by  casting  a  nick  i.  e.  a  winning  throw. 

cf.  Otway  Atheist  III.  i.."  I  ha'  not  been  robb'd.  Sir,  but  I  have  been  nick'd, and 

that's    as    bad". 

For  the  figurative  use  the  New  English  Dictionary  quotes  this  sentence  from    the 
Tragedy  of  Bamavelt  and  the  following  :  G.  Daniel  Trinarch  Henry  V,  CCCX 
"France  underhand  pursues 

The  Advantage  of  the   Warre  to  nicke  him   out 
Ere  he  could  prize  his  Chance  ;  False  Dice  may  do  it" 
I  think  the  word  is  meant  as  a  pun  in  combination  with  the  meaning  of  to  nick, 
to  sever  with  a  snip  or  single  cut,  as  with  shears  (Scotch)  cf.  Burns"    Death  and  Doctor 
Hornbook : 

—   108  — 


"  *Ay,  Ay  1*  quoth  he  (Death)  and  shook  his  head, 

"It's  e'en  a  lang,  lang  time  indeed 

Sin  I  began  to  nick  the  thread 

And  choke   the  breath'." 
and   to  break   or  crack  cf,  Fletcher   Mad  Lover  I.    i. 

"You  men  of  wares,  the  men  of  wars  will  nick  ye  ; 

For   starve   nor   beg   they   must   not." 
2754.  theorixns.   theorem    proposition     or    statement,     theory. 

Bowen  Logic  XI  374  "A  demonstrable  judgment,  or  one  which  is  announced  as 
needing  proof,  if  theoretical,  is   called  a  Theorem. 

2760.  dewce  ace.     Deux  et  az,   Cotgrave  cf.   Love's  Labours  Lost  I.  2. 

"I  am  sure,  you  know  how  much  the  gross  sum  of  deuce-ace  amounts  to." 
The    lowest  cast  of  the  dice,  two  aces  was  called  :  ames  ace.  Bullen. 
a  doggs-head.     Among  the   Romans   the  highest  cast  was   called    Venus    and    the 
lowest  cams,  cf.  a  well-known  couplet  of  Propertius  lib.  IV  el.  VIII  1.  45  : 
"Me   quoque   per    talos    Venerem    quaerente   secundos 
Semper   damnosi   subsiluere    canes".    Bullen. 

2761.  thy  Coxcomb,     jocularly  for  head  cf.  Henry   V  V.   i.  57. 

"the  skin  is  good  for  your  broken  coxcomb." 

2764.  Gater-trey.     Sc.  quatre  et  trois.  Bullen. 

2766.  't  is  but  a  desperate  cast,  and  so  heel  find  it,  if  it  fall  to  me.   hopeless,  cf. 
The  Merry   Wives  of   Windsor  III.   5.   127  :  "my  suit  then  is  desperate." 
and  CymbelinelV.  3.  6.  ,,My  queen  upon  a  desperate  bed"  Dowden  annotates:  a  sick-bed 
without  recovery. 

2770.  goose  giblitts.  the  portions  of  a  goose  that  are  taken  out  or  cut  off  before 
cooking,    cf.    Middleton    and    Rowley  the   Spanish   Gypsy  II.    2  : 

"It  was  mine  own  Goose,  and  I  laid  the  Jiblets  upon  another  Coxcombs  trencher." 

In  figurative  use,  things  of  little  value  ;  applied  to  a  person  as  a  term  of  contempt. 

2777.  braimchd  gowne.     Bullen  notes  'embroidered.' 

cf.   Philaster,  V,  4: 

"Your  branch'd  cloth  of  bodkin,  or  your  tishues," 

2786.  Cocky  our  musketts.  put  in  readiness  for  firing  by  raising  the  cock  or  hammer, 
cf.  Milton  Eikonoklastes  23  "Pistols  cockt  and  menac'd  in  the  hands  of  about  300 
Ruffians." 

2787.  bend  your  pikes,  to  bend  is  used  of  instruments  of  war  in  the  meaning  of  to 
direct,  to  aim,  cf.   King  John  II.  37  : 

"our   cannon   shall  be   bent 
Against  the  brows  of  this  residing  town." 

2796.  what  bugs,     bugbears  cf.  Hamlet  V.  2.  22. 
"such  bugs  and  goblins  in  my  life" 

2801.  they  stir  in  his  Compassion,  they  are  excited,  they  are  agitated  in  sympathy 
with  him.   cf.   Coriolanus  III.   i.   53  : 

"You  show  too  much  of  that 

For  which  the  people  stir." 
2803.  that  glewd  his  faction,     fixed  firmly  cf.  Ill  Henry  VI  II.  6.  5  : 

"My  Love  and  Feare,  glew'd  many  Friends  to  thee" 


109  -^ 


2819.  a  heavy  lubber,     fellow  cf.  King  Lear  I.  4.  loi  : 

"If  you   will  measure  your  lubber's  length  again,   tarry." 

2835.  the  Prince  strikes  iustith'  nick,  the  precise  or  exact  moment  when  something 
should  be  done,  in  modern  use  more  often  "in  the  nick  of  time" 

2836.  this  pretending  faction,     plotting  faction,  this   sense  is    obsolete, 

cf.  Hist.  Estate  Scotland  in  Woodrow  Soc.  Miscellanies  1884.  63.  "She  said  That  it 
was  against  her  authoritie  that  they  pretended" 

2849.  pilchers.     a  term  of  contempt,  like  "poor  John".  Bullen. 

2850.  blow  your  matches,  literally  :  blow  the  fire  of  your  matches.  The  matches 
consisting  of  a  wick  or  cord  were  prepared  that  when  lighted  at  the  end  they  were 
not  easily  extinguished  ;  they  were  used  for  firing  cannon  or  other  fire-arms. 

cf.  Encycl.  Brit.  1  a  musket  is  a  fire-arm,  formerly  fired  by  the  application  of  a  lighted 
match. 

2868.  Ana  I  becom  a  generaU  game  ?  a  Rest  for  every  Slave  to  pull  at.  Bullen  prints 
the  following  note  :  "To  set  up  one's  rest,  meant,  as  has  been  abundantly  shown  by 
Shakespearean  commentators,  to  stand  upon  one's  cards  at  primero;  but  the  word  "pull" 
in  this  connexion  is  not  at  all  easy  to  explain.  The  general  sense  of  the  present  passage 
is   plain  : 

"Is  my  life  held  in  such  paltry  esteem  that  slaves  are  allowed  to  gamble  for  it  as 
for  a  stake  at  cards  ?" 

We  have  nowhere  a  plain  account  of  primero.   When  the   Compleat  Gamester   was 
published  (in  1674)  the  game  had  been  discontinued.  The  variety  of  quotations  given 
by  Nares,  under  Primero  and  Rest  is  simply  distracting.  There  are  two  passages  (apud 
Nares)  of  Fletcher's  bearing  on  the  present  difficulty  :    Woman's  Prize  I.  2. 
"My  rest  is  up,  wench,  and  I  pull  for  that 
Will  make  me  ever  famous." 
Monsieur  Thomas  IV.  9. 

"Faith,  sir,  my  rest  is  up. 
And  what  I  now  pull  shall  no  more  afflict  me 
Than  if  I  play'd  at  span-counter." 
Dyce  accepts  Nares'  suggestion  that  pull  means  to  draw  a  card  ;  but  if  a  player  is 
standing  on  his  cards,  why  should  he  want  to  draw  a  card  ?  There  is  an  old  expression 
to  "pull  down  a    side"  i.  e,  to  ruin  one's  partner  (by  bad  play)  ;  and  I  am  inclined  to 
think  that  to  "pull  at  a  rest"  in  primero  meant  to  try  to  pull  down  (beat,  go  beyond) 
the  player  who  was  standing  on  his  cards.  The  first  player  might  say  "my  rest  is  up"; 
the  other  players  might  either  discard  or  say:  "See  it"  ;  then  the  first  player  would  either 
"revie"  it  (cover  with  a  larger  sum)  or  throw  up  his  cards.  At  length,  for  some  limitation 
would  have  been  agreed  upon  —  the  challenger  would  play  his  cards,  and  the  opponents 
would  "pull  at  his  rest"  try  to  break  down  his  hand.  I  am  not  at  all  sure  that  this 
is    the    proper    explanation  ;  but  pull  in  the  text  cannot   possibly  mean  draw  a  card." 
Bull  n. 

I  think  Dyce's  explanation  "to  draw  a  card"  is  quite  correct  here.  The  meaning  is : 
"to  pull  a  card  in  order  to  have  a  chance." 

Barnavelt  is  the  rest  —  the  one  who  says  my  rest  is  up  —  and  every  slave  may 
pull  i.  e.  draw  a  card,  to  try  his  chance  ;  in  this  case  to  be  allowed  to  execute  him. 
2886.  you  gape  to  swallow,     open   the   mouth   wide   with   hope   and   expectation, 
you  long  for,  cf.  Romeo  and  Juliet  II.  Chor  2. 


Iio  — 


"young  affectation  gapes  to  be  his  heir" 
2892.  I  out  looke  your  fellest  lustice.  face  down.  cf.  to  outlook  conquest. 
2913.   clap  his  Isrxmen  wings  vp  to  the  windes.  put  up  with  the  implication  of  ener- 
getic action,  see  note  1.  1764,  cf.  Antony  and  Cleopatra  III.  X.  20: 
"Antony  claps  on  his  sea-wing" 
cf.  The  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor  II.  2.  142. 

"Clap  on  more  sailes,  pursue" 
Admiral  Smyth's  Sailor's  Word  Book  ;  "clap  on  more  sail  i.  e.    to  make  more  sail" 
2927.  greiu'd  our  plagues,     bemoaned  cf.    Pericles  I.   2.    100: 

"I  thought  it  princely  to  grieve  them" 
2936.  your  Roxnaine  end.  the  brave  way  in  which  you  face  death  as  the  Romans 
did,  compare  note  to  line  1664  7wZtW5  Caesar  II.  i.  226, 

2941.  Gowrie  in  Scotland,  an  allusion  to  the  conspiracy  of  Gowrie  against  the 
life  and  personal  freedom  of  James  in  Scotland  by  John  Ruthven  earl  of  Gowrie  and 
others.  It  resulted  in  the  death  of  the  leaders  in  a  struggle  with  the  king's  followers 
at  Perth  in   1600. 

2944.  bloody  Powder  Plot,     allusion  to  the  Gunpowder  Plot  to  blow  up  the  Parliament 
House  by  Guy   Fawkes   1605. 
2946.  loden.     archaic   for  loaded   cf.    Milton   Samson    Agonistes    1243 

"These  braveries  in  Irons  loaden  on  thee" 
2966.  the  worldes  abuses,  injuries,  ill-usage,  this  sense  is  obsolete,  cf.  III.  Henry  VI 
III.  3.  188.  "Did  I  let  pass  th'  abuse  done  to  my  niece  ?" 

2990.    a  litle  stay  me.     detain  me,  suffer  me  to  remain,  used  as  a  transative  verb, 
cf.  Julius   Caesar  II.   2.    75  : 

"Calpurnia  here,  my  wife,  stays  me  at  home." 
to  stay  as  a  transitive  verb  is  now  only  used  in  literary  style  :  the  meaning  is  to  hinder 
a  person  from  going,  to  keep  in  the  same  place  or  position  cf.  Lisander  and  Calista  II.  31  : 
"while  the  rain  stays  you  here." 


—   Ill 


Bibliography 

The   works    are   arranged   according   to    the  dates  of  publication. 

I.    Pamphlets 

1618.  Barnevels  Apology  or  Holland's  Mysteria:  with  marginall 
Castigations. 

1618.  The  Necessary  and  Living  Discourse  of  a  Spanish 
Counsellor. 

1618.  Ledenberch  his  Confessions,  both  at  Vtrecht  and  the 
Hague  :  also  the  Death  of  Taurinus,  and  how  the  said  Ledenberch 

MURTHERED   HIMSELF,  London. 

1618.  Examinations  and  Confessions  (at  Vtrecht  and  the  Hage) 
ON  ONE  Leydenberg,  Pentioner  of  Leyden  and  Taurinus  ;  with 
their  sodaine  and  fearful  ends. 

1618.  A  Proclamation  given  by  the  Discreet  Lords  and  States 
of  the  Dukedome  of  Gelderlandt  and  County  of  Zutphen,  London. 

1618.  Cort  Verhael  van  al  'tgene  binnen  Vtrecht  gepasseert  is, 
DE  Aenkomst  van  syn  Princelicke  Excellentie  en    't   afdancken 

DER    WaERTGELDERS. 

1618.  Orange's   Cloeck    Beleydt    in  't  Afdancken    der    Waert- 

GHELDERS     BINNEN    DE    StADT    VtRECHT. 

1618.  De  Verclaringhe  van  den  Gouden  Blaesbalck. 
1618.  De  Arminiaensche  Vaert  naar  Spaegnien. 

1618.  Een  Cleyn  Vensterken,  waer  door  gekeecken  werdt,  hoe 
die  groote  Meesters  hen  tot  de  poorten  der  hellen  wentelden. 

1619.  The  Arraignment  of  John  Van  Olden  Barnevelt,  late 
Advocate  of  Holland  and  West  Friesland. 

1619.  Barnevelt  displayed  or  the  Golden  Legend  of  New 
St.  John. 

1619.  Newes  out  of  Holland  :  concerning  Barnevelt  and  his 
Fellow-Prisoners. 

1619,  Sententia  lata  et  pronunciata  adversus  ad  Ledenbergium 

ET  IN   CADAVER   EJUS   EXECUTIONI   MANDATA,    HaGAE   CoMITIS. 

1620.  Linea  Vitae  :  a  Line  of  Life,  John  Ford. 

—    112    — 


1851.  A  Catalogue  of  Proclamations,  Broadsides,  Ballads  and 
Poems,  J.  0.  Halliwell,  London. 

1863.  De  Nederlandsche  Geschiedenis  in  platen,  verzameld  door 
F.  Mullen 

1889.  Catalogus  van  de  Pamflettenverzameling  berustende  in 
DE  KoNiNKLijKE  BiBLiOTHEEK,  bewei'kt  met  aanteekeningen  van  Dr. 
W.  P.  C.  Knuttel. 

1922.  MuRTHER  vnmasked,  or  Barnaviles  base  Conspiracie  against 
HIS  owNE  Country,  discouered.  A  ballad. 

n.  Texts 

A.  Collective    Editions 

1805.  The  Plays  of  Philip  Massinger,  W.  Gifford,  with  an  Essay 
on  the  Dramatic  Writings  of  Massinger  by  J.  Ferriar. 

1843.  The  works  of  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  by  the  Rev.  Alexander 
Dyce,  London. 

1868.  The  Plays  of  Philip  Massinger  from  the  Text  of  William 
Gifford,  edited  by  Lt.  Col.  F.  Cunningham,    London. 

1910.  The  Tragedies  of  George  Chapman,  edited  by  T.  M.  Parrott. 

1911.  The  Works  of  William  Shakespeare,  Globe  Edition,  ed.  by 
W.  G.  Clark  and  W.  A.  Wright. 

B.  Selections 

1808.  Specimens  of  English  Dramatic  Poets,  Charles  Lamb,  London. 

1883.  A  Collection  of  Old  English  Plays,  edited  by  A.  H.  Bullen, 

London,  vol.  II  contains   The  Tragedy  of  Sir  John  Van  Olden  Bamavelt, 

1887.  The  best  Plays  of  the  Old  Dramatists  Beaumont  and 
Fletcher,  edited  by  J.  St.  Loe  Strachey  [Mermaid  Series), 

1888,  A  Woman  is  a  Weather-Cock  and  Amends  for  Ladies  by 
Nathaniel  Field,  printed  in  Nero   and   other  plays.  [Mermaid  Series), 

1889*  The  best  Plays  of  the  Old  Dramatists,  Philip  Massinger, 
edited  by  A.   Symons,    [Mermaid  Series), 

1890.  Die  Englische  Buhne  zu  Shakespeares  Zeit,  Zwolf  Dramen 
seiner  Zeitgenossen  iibersetzt  von  F.  A.  Gelbcke,  mit  Einleitungen  von 
R.  Boyle,  Leipzig. 

1914.  Representative  English  Comedies  Gayley  and  Brander 
Matthews,   New- York. 

—  113  — 


C.  Separate    Plays 

1849.  Believe  as  You  list  by  Philip  Massinger,  edited  by  T.  Crofton 
Croker,  [Percy  Society)  London. 

1906.  The  Maid's  Tragedy  and  Philaster,  edited  by  A.  H.  Thorndike 
(The  Belles  Letires  Series),  Boston. 

D.  Reprints    and    Translations 

1884.  The  Tragedy  of  Sir  John  Van  Olden  Barnavelt,  herdrukt 
naar  de  uitgave  van  A.  H.  Bullen  met  een  inleiding  van  R.  Fruin, 
's-Gravenhage. 

1885.  JoHAN  VAN  Oldenbarnevelt.  Engelsch  Treurspel  vertaald 
door  Mr.  C.  W.  Opzoomer,  's-Gravenhage. 

1890.  Mynheer  Jan  van  Olden  Barneveld,  iibersetzt  von  F.  A. 
Gelbcke,   Die  Englische  BiJhne   zu   Shakespeares  Zeit,    Band  3. 


III.  Works  Biographical  and  Critical 

1668.  An  Essay  on  Dramatic  Poesy,  John  Dryden,  London. 

1678.  The  Tragedies  of  the  Last  Age,  consider'd  and  examin'd, 
BY  THE  PRACTICE  OF  THE  Ancients,  Thomas  Rymer,  London. 

1691.  An  Account  of  the  English  Dramatic  Poets,  Gerard  Langbaine 
London. 

1797.  Comments  on  the  Plays  of  Beaumont  and  Fletcher.  J.  Monck 
Mason,  London. 

1808.  Review  of  Gifford's  Edition  of  Massinger's  Works. 
Edingburgh  Review^  XXIIL 

1811.  Vorlesungen  iiBER  Dramatische  Kunst  und  Litteratur, 
A.  W.  von  Schlegel,  Heidelberg. 

1813.  Letters  written  by  eminent  Persons  and  Lives  of  eminent 
Men,  John  Aubrey,  London. 

1821.  Lectures  on  the  Dramatic  Literature  of  the  Age  of 
Elizabeth,  William  Hazlitt,  London. 

1836.  The  Literary  Remains  of  Samuel  Taylor  Coleridge,  collected 
and  edited  by  H.  W.  Coleridge,  II,  London. 

1839.  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  Europe  in  the  15TH, 
i6th  and   17TH  Centuries,  Henry  Hallam,  London. 

1840.  Review  of  Darley's  Eidition  of  the  Works  of  Beaumont 
and  Fletcher,   Eraser's  Magazine,  XXII  August. 


"4 


1840.  Preface  to  the  Edition  of  the  works  of  Massinger  and 
Ford,  Hartley  Coleridge,  London. 

1841.  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  and  their  Contemporaries  (William 
Spaulding),  Edinburgh  Review,  LXXIII,  April. 

1847.  Review  of  Dyce's  Edition  of  the  Works  of  Beaumont  and 
Fletcher.  Edinburgh  Review,  LXXXVI,   July. 

1848.  Review  of  Dyce's  and  Barley's  Editions  of  the  Works  of 
Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  Quarterly  Review,  LXXXIII,   September. 

1856.  Studien  uber  das  Englische  Theater,  Moritz  Rapp,  Archiv 
filr  das  Studium  der  neuern  Sprachen  und  Literaturen,  XX. 

1858.  Essays  on  the  Drama  and  on  Popular  Amusements,  W.  B. 
Donne,  London. 

1858-1860.  Shakespeare's  Zeitgenossen  und  ihre  Werke,  F.  W.  von 
Bodenstett,  Berlin. 

1868.  The  English  Drama  and  Stage  under  the  Tudor  and  Stuart 
Princes,  W.  C.  Hazlitt,  London. 

1870.  A  Collection  of  Documents  respecting  the  Office  of 
Master  of  the  Revels,  J.  O.  Halliwell,  London. 

1874.  Illustrations  of  the  Life  of  Shakespeare,  J.  0.  Halliwell, 
London. 

1874.  A  Paper  on  metrical  tests  as  applied  to  dramatic  Poetry. 
(Fletcher,   Beaumont   and   Massinger)    F.   G.   Fleay,   New  Shakespeare 

Society  Transactions,   Series  L 

1875.  History  of  English  Dramatic  Literature  to  the  Death 
OF  Queen  Anne,  A.  W.  Ward. 

1876.  The  Political  Element  in  Massinger,  S.  R.  Gardiner,  Con- 
temporary Review,  August,  reprinted  in  the  New  Shakespeare  Society 
Transactions,  Series  I 

1876.  Collections  and  Notes,  W.  C.  Hazlitt,  London. 
1876.  Beaumont  and  Fletcher,  Unsigned,  National   Quarterly  Review 
XXXIII,  September. 

1878.  On  Philip  Massinger,  James  Phelan,  Dissertation  Leipsic, 
printed  at  Halle. 

1879.  The  History  of  English  Dramatic  Poetry  and  Annals  of 
THE  Stage,  J.  Payne  Collier,  London. 

1880.  Notes  on  Elizabethan  Dramatists  with  conjectural  emen- 
dations of  the  text,  K.  Elze,  Halle. 

1881-1887.  Beaumont,  Fletcher  and  Massinger,  Robert  Boyle, 
Englische  Studien,  V,  VII,  VIII,  IX,  X. 

—  115  — 


1882.  On  Massinger  and  The  Two  Noble  Kinsmen,  R.  Boyle,  New 
Shakespeare  Society  Transactions, 

1883.  Francis  Beaumont:  A  Critical  Study,  G.  C.  Macaulay, 
London. 

1884.  Review  of  Bullen's  Collection  of  Old  English  Plays, 
F.  A.  Leo.  Nachtwort  von  N.  Delius,  Jahrhuch  der  Deutschen  Shake- 
speare Gesellschaft,   XIX,   Weimar. 

1885.  Francis  Beaumont,  A.  B.  Grosart,  Dictionary  of  National 
Biography, 

1885.  Henry  VIII :  An  Investigation  into  the  Origin  and  Author- 
ship OF  THE  Play,  R.  Boyle,  New  Shakespeare  Society  Transactions,  Series  I. 

1885.  On  the  Chronology  of  the  Plays  of  Fletcher  and  Massinger, 
F.  G.  Fleay,  Englische  Studien  IX. 

1886.  Beaumont,  Fletcher  and  Massinger,  R.  Boyle,  New  Shake- 
speare Society  Transactions,  Series  I. 

1887.  Beaumont  and  Fletcher.  A.  C.  Swinburne,  The  Encyclopaedia 
Bntannica, 

1887^  A  History  of  Elizabethan  Literature,  G.  Saintsbury, 
London. 

1887.  Outlines  of  the  Life  of  Shakespeare,  J.  O.  Halliwell. 

1889.  J.  Fletcher,  A.  H.  BuUen,  Dictionary  of  National  Biography, 

1889.  Philip  Massinger,  A.  C.  Swinburne,  Fortnightly  Review,  July 
XLVI. 

1889.  Annals  of  the  Career  of  Nathaniel  Field,  Fleay,  Englische 
Studien,  XIII. 

1890.  Allgemeine  Ausspruche  in  den  Dramen  Philip  Massingers, 
A.  Gaspary,  Marburg. 

1890-92.  The  Works  of  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  E.  F.  Oliphant, 
Englische  Studien,  XIV,  XV,  XVI. 

1890,  A  Chronicle  History  of  the  London  Stage  1559-1642, 
F.  G.  Fleay,  London. 

1891.  A  Biographical  Chronicle  of  the  English  Drama,  F.  G.  Fleay, 
London. 

1891.  Dramatic  Essays,    Charles  Lamb,  London. 

1892.  The  Old  Dramatists,  James  Russell  Lowell,  Boston. 

1892.  Blank  Verse  and  Metrical  Tests,  R.  Boyle,  Englische  Stu- 
dien, XVI. 
1894.  Massinger,  R.  Boyle,  Dictionary  of  National  Biography, 


—  116  — 


1895.  Metaphor  and  Simile  in  the  Minor  Elizabethan  Drama, 
F.   J.  Carpenter,  Chicago. 

1895-1903.  A  History  of  English  Poetry,  W.  G.  Courthope,  London. 

1895.  Grundriss  der  Englischen  Metrik,  J.  Schipper,  Wien  und 
Leipzig. 

1897.  Quellen-Studien  zu  den  Dramen  Chapman's,Massinger's 
and  Ford's,  E.  Koeppel,  Strassburg. 

1897.  An  Inquiry  into  the  Authorship  of  the  Middleton-Rowley 
Plays,  P.  Wiggin. 

1899.  Geschichte  der  Englischen  Litteratur.  B.  ten  Brink.   Strassburg. 

1899.  The  Jacobean  Poets,  Edmund  Gosse,  London. 

1899.  A  Note  on  Philip  Massinger,  A.  L.  Casserley,  Westminster 
review,  October,  CLIL 

1899.  Literary  Finds  in  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  A.  B.  Grosart, 
Englische  Studien,   XXVI. 

1900.  Philip  Massinger,  W.  von  Wurzbach,  Shakespeare  J ahrbuch, 
XXXV,  XXXVI. 

1901.  History  of  Elizabethan  Literature,  G.  Saintsbury,  London. 

1901.  The  Influence  of  Beaumont  and  Fletcher  on  Shakespeare, 
A.   H.   Thorndike,   Worcester,   Mass. 

1902.  On  the  Date  and  Composition  of  the  old  Law  by  Massinger, 
MiDDLETON  AND  RowLY,  E.  C.  Morris,  reprinted  from  The  Publications 
of  the  Modem  Language  Association  of  America,  XVII. 

1903-1909.  Geschichte  des  Neueren  Dramas,  W.  Creizenach,  Halle. 

1904.  Henslowe's  Diary,  edited  by  W.  W.  Greg,  London. 

1905.  John  Fletcher,  a  Study  in  Dramatic  Method,  0.  L.  Hatcher, 
Chicago. 

1906.  Philip  Massinger,  The  Fatall  Dowry,  C.  Beck,  Dissertation 
Erlangen,  Bayreuth,  1906. 

1907.  Henslowe  Papers  edited  by   W.  W.  Greg,  London. 

1907.  Aeussere  Geschichte  der  Theatergruppen  i  559-1642,  H.  Maas, 
Materialen  zur  Kunde  des  dlteren  Englischen  Dramas^  XIV. 

1908.  Elizabethan  Dramatic  Collaboration,  E.  Thompson,  Eng- 
lische Studien,   XL. 

1908.  The  Elizabethan  Stage,  W.  Archer,  Quarterly  Review,  No.  415. 

1909.  Oxford  Lectures  on  Poetry,  A.  C.  Bradley. 

1909.  Hours  in  a  Library,  Leslie  Stephen,  London. 

1910,  Philip  Massinger,  E.  Koeppel,  The  Cambridge  History  of  English 
Literature. 


—  117 


1910.  Fletcher's  habit  of  Dramatic  Collaboration,  0.  L.  Hat- 
cher, Anglia  XXXIII. 

1911.  The  Elizabethan  Drama  i 558-1642,  F.  E.  Schelling,  London. 

1912.  The  Tudor  Drama,  C.  F.  Tucker  Brooke,  Londoxi. 

1915.  The  Use  of  Comic  Episodes  in  Tragedy,  W.  H.  Hadow,  The 
English  Association^  Pamphlet  31. 

1916.  The  Collaboration  of  Beaumont,  Fletcher  and  Massinger, 
L.  Wann,  Shakespeare  Studies,  University  of  Wisconsin. 

1916.  The  Authorship  of  the  Two  Noble  Kinsmen.  H.  Dugdale 
Sykes,  Modem  Language  Review,  April. 

1919.  Contemporaries  of  Shakespeare,  A.  C.  Swinburne,  Edited  by 
A.  Gosse  and  T.  J.  Wise,  London. 

1920.  Philip  Massinger,  A.  H.  Cruickshank,  Oxford. 

IV.  Works  on  History 

1567.  Descrittione  de  Tutti  I  Paesi  Bassi  altrimenti  detti  Ger- 
mania  Inferiore.  Lod.  Guicciardini,  Antwerp,  translated  into  Dutch  : 
Nederlandt  ofte  Beschryvinge  derselviger  Provincien  ende 
Steden,  C.  Kilianus,  1612. 

1625.  Memorien  ofte  Cort  Verhael  der  Gedenckweerdighste 
zoo  Kerckelycke  als  Wereltlycke  Gheschiedenissen  van  Neder- 
LAND.  Baudartius. 

1640.  Leven,  Kerckelijcke  Bedieninghe  en  zedighe  Verantwoor- 
dinghe,  Uytenbogaert. 

1647.  Kerckelijcke  Historie.  Uytenbogaert. 

1670.  Waaragtige  Historie  van  Oldenbarneveldt. 

1721.  Historie  van  de  Rechtspleging  omtrent  Mr.  Johan  van 
Oldenbarnevelt,  Mr.  Rombout  Hoogerbeets,  Mr.  Hugo  de  Groot, 
G.  Brandt,  Rotterdam. 

1770,  Vaderlandsche  Historie,  Wagenaar. 

1843.  Maurits  van  Nassau,  van  der  Kemp. 

1850.  Verhooren  van  Johan  van  Oldenbarneveld. 

1870.  Geschiedenis  van  het  Vaderland,  Dr.  J.  A.  Wijnne.  Groningen. 

1874.  The  Life  and  Death  of  John  of  Barneveld,  J.  L.  Motley, 
The  Hague. 

1874.  A  Short  History  of  the  English  People,  J.  R.  Green,  London. 

1875.  Maurice  et  Barnevelt.  Groen  van  Prinsterer,  Utrecht. 
1884.  The  History  of  England   1603 — 1642   from  the  Accession 


118 


OF  James  I  to  the  Outbreak  of  the  Civil  War,  S.  R.  Gardiner,  London. 

1893.  Geschiedenis  van  het  Nederlandsche  Volk,  P.  J.  Blok, 
Groninger. 

1899-1905.  Verspreide  Geschriften,  R.  Fruin,  's-Gravenhage. 

1920.  Handboek  tot  de  Staatkundige  Geschiedenis  van  Neder- 
LAND,  Dr.  I.  H.  Gosses  en  Dr.  N.  Japikse,  's-Gravenhage. 


—   119  — 


I 


IV^ 


STELLINGEN 


.K< 


I. 


London     belonged     originally     to    the     East-Saxon 
dialect    region. 


Mead  and   meadow   are   dialectal  variants ;  they  are 
both  accusative  forms. 


III. 


The  reading  of  the  F'olios,  Hamlet  II.  2.  51 
''I  hold  my  dutie,  as  I  hold  my  Soule 
Both  to  my  God,  one  to  my  gracious  King" 
is  correct;  the  modern  emendation 

''Both  to  my  God  and  to  my  gracious  King" 
is  unnecessary  and  incorrect. 


IV. 


Trautmann's  solution  of  the  Old  English  riddle 
55  of  the  Exeter  Book  (57  Wyatt  19 12)  as  ''swifts" 
is  quite  plausible. 


V. 


R.    Boyle's    theory    that    Henry   VIII  is    a  play  by 
Fletcher  and  Massinger  cannot  be  maintained. 


VI. 


The  opening  lines  of  Keats's  Endymion 
''A  thing  of  beauty  is  a  joy  for  ever  : 
Its  loveliness  increases;" 
have    been    written    under    the    influence    of    Bacon's 
Essay  Of  Gardens. 


VII. 


The   reading   of  Lamb's   Tales  from  Shakespeare  is 
to  be  recommended  for  our  schools. 


VIII. 


Het  is  te  betreuren  dat  het  Grieksch  niet  is  ver- 
plicht  gesteld  in  het  nieuwe  wetsontwerp  M.  O.  art.  75 
voor  hen,  die  in  een  der  Moderne  Talen  wenschen 
te  studeeren.  ^ 

o 


IVH^ 


I 


PR  The   tragedy  of  Sir  John 

2199  Van  Olden  Barnavelt 

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1922 


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