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That with his name the mothers ftill their babes?5
I fee, report is fabulous and falfe:

I thought, I fhould have feen fome Hercules,
A fecond Hector, for his grim afpéct,

And large proportion of his ftrong-knit limbs,
Alas! this is a child, a filly dwarf :'

It cannot be, this weak and writhled fhrimp
Should ftrike fuch terror to his enemies.

TAL. Madam, I have been bold to trouble you:
But, fince your ladyfhip is not at leifure,
I'll fort fome other time to vifit you,

COUNT. What means he now ?-Go afk him, whither he goes.

MESS. Stay, my lord Talbot; for my lady craves To know the caufe of your abrupt departure. TAL. Marry, for that she's in a wrong belief, I go to certify her, Talbot's here.

Re-enter Porter, with keys.

COUNT. If thou be he, then art thou prifoner. TAL. Prifoner! to whom?

COUNT.

To me, blood-thirsty lord;

And for that cause I train'd thee to my house.
Long time thy fhadow hath been thrall to me,

5 That with his name the mothers fill their babes?] Dryden has transplanted this idea into his Don Sebastian, King of Portugal:

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"Nor fhall Sebaftian's formidable name

"Be longer us'd, to lull the crying babe." STEEVENS.

writhledi. e. wrinkled. The word is ufed by Spenfer. Sir Thomas Hanmer reads -wrizled, which has been followed in fubfequent editions. MALONE.

The inftance from Spenfer, is the following:

Her writhled fkin, as rough as maple rind."

STEEVENS.

For in my gallery thy picture hangs:

But now the fubftance fhall endure the like;
And I will chain thefe legs and arms of thine,
That haft by tyranny, these many years,
Wafted our country, flain our citizens,
And fent our fons and hufbands captivate.?
TAL. Ha, ha, ha!

COUNT. Laugheft thou, wretch? thy mirth fhall

turn to moan.

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TAL. I laugh to see your ladyfhip so fond, To think that you have aught but Talbot's fhadow, Whereon to practice your feverity.

COUNT. Why, art not thou the man?

TAL.

I am indeed. COUNT. Then have I fubftance too.

TAL. No, no, I am but fhadow of myself: 9
You are deceiv'd, my fubftance is not here,
For what you fee, is but the fmallest part
And leaft proportion of humanity:

I tell you, madam, were the whole frame here;
It is of fuch a fpacious lofty pitch,

Your roof were not fufficient to contain it.
COUNT. This is a riddling merchant for the

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nonce;

captivate. ] So, in Soliman and Perfeda:

"If not deftroy'd and bound, and captivate,

"If captivate, then forc'd from holy faith."

STEEVENS.

fo fond, ] i, e. fo foolish. So, in King Henry IV. Part II. "Fondly brought here, and foolishly fent hence."

STEEVENS.

STEEVENS.

I am but fhadow of myself: ] So, in King Henry VIII: "I am the fhadow of poor Buckingham." This is a riddling merchani &c.] So, in Romeo and Juliet: "What faucy merchant was this?"

See a note on this paffage, A& II. fc. iv. STEEVENS.

He will be here, and yet he is not here:
How can these contrarieties agree?

TAL. That will I fhow you prefently.3

Hewinds a horn. Drums heard; then a peal of ord-
nance. The gates being forced, enter Soldiers.
How fay you, madam? are you now perfuaded,
That Talbot is but fhadow of himfelf?

These are his fubftance, finews, arms, and ftrength,
With which he yoketh your rebellious necks;
Razeth your cities, and fubverts your towns,
And in a moment makes them defolate.

COUNT. Victorious Talbot! pardon my abufe:
I find, thou art no less than fame hath bruited,4
And more than may be gather'd by thy fhape.
Let my prefumption not provoke thy wrath;
For I am forry, that with reverence

I did not entertain thee as thou art.

TAL. Be not difmay'd, fair lady; nor misconftrue
The mind of Talbot, as you did mistake
The outward compofition of his body.

What you have done, hath not offended me:
No other fatisfaction do I crave,

But only (with your patience,) that we may
Tafle of your wine, and fee what cates you have;
For foldiers' ftomachs always ferve them well.

COUNT. With all my heart; and think me ho-
noured

To feast fo great a warrior in my houfe. [Exeunt.

3 That will I show you prefently.] The deficient foot in this line may properly be fupplied, by reading-

4

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That, madam, will I show you prefently. STEEVENS.

-bruited, ] To bruit is to proclaim with noife, to announce loudly. So, in Macbeth:

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