Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 2.djvu/510

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NOTES AND QUERIES.

i* s. n. DEC. 23. me.

It is soinethinc more than a mere

coincidenof that at the end of Act IV. of 'Alphonsus ' wr find Alexander exclaim- ing :

T arms. invat'Duke of Saxony, to arms.

P. 267.

and at the beginning of the same act (first speech of the Bishop of Mentz) : Brother of Collen, no more churchman now, Instead of mitre and a crosier staff, Have you beta'en you to your helm and targe ?

The association of Peele's name with ' Selimus ' may be held to receive further justification in the occurrence in this play and ' Alphonsus ' of the same allusion

certainly not a stock allusion with the dramatists of the period in a precisely similar situation. The first scene of ' Alphon- sus ' introduces us to the Emperor indulging in a " Machiavellian " soliloquy. To him enters the crafty Lorenzo, his confidant and secretary, who instructs him in certain maxims by which to regulate his conduct in his dealings with his enemies. The first maxim is :

" A prince must be of the nature of the lion and the fox, but not the one without the other."

Upon this Alphonsus comments : ' The fox is subtle, but he wanteth force ; 'The lion strong, but scorneth policy ;

I'll imitate Lysander in this point,

And where the lions hide is thin and scant,

ril firmly patch it with the fox's fell.

Let it suffice I can be both in one.

Lorenzo's second maxim is :

" A Prince above all things must seem devout ; ' but there is nothing so dangerous to his state, as to regard his promise or his oath."

And the comment of Alphonsus : Tush, fear not me, my promises are sound, But he that trusts them shall be sure to fail.

dompare this with ' Selimus.' Selimus, in a soliloquy, reveals his bloodthirsty designs for compassing the crown. To him enters " Abraham, the Jew " (a poisoner like Lorenzo), who undertakes to dispatch Bajazet. On his departure, Selimus, con- tinuing his meditation, observes :

. . . .nothing is more doubtful to a prince ' Than to be scrupulous and religious. I like Lysander's counsel passing well; " If that I cannot speed with lion's force, To clothe my complots in a fox's skin."

And one of these shall still maintain my cause, Or fox's skin, or lion's rending paws.

' The Tragical Reign of Selimus.' ("Temple Dramatists f -d. 11. 1731-5, 1742-3.)

This repetition is of so significant a kind that it can only be explained either on the supposition that one of these plays is

indebted to the other or that Peele was con- cerned in both.

' Titus Andronicus ' and the three parts of ' Henry VI.' also display many affinities with ' Alphonsus,' but as my object is merely to show that ' Alphonsus ' is Peele's it will be well in this concluding portion of my paper strictly to confine myself to those works which are universally acknowledged to be his.

I have already shown that the peculiarities of vocabulary and phrasing of the author of this play are such as we find elsewhere in Peele's dramas. The same may be said of its versification, which is indistinguishable from that of ' Edward I.' and ' The Battle of Alcazar.' To illustrate the fundamental resemblance of ' Alphonsus ' to these plays both in its diction and the movement of its verse, I cannot do better than to place the following extracts from speeches in ' Al- phonsus ' side by side with speeches de- livered in similar circumstances by characters in ' The Battle of Alcazar ' and ' Edward I.'

The Bishop of Collen urges the Duke of Saxony to make war upon Alphonsus : Stir now or never, let the Spanish tyrant That hath dishonoured us, murder'd our friends, And stain'd this seat with blood of innocents, At last be chastis'd with the Saxon sword.

' Alphonsus,' Act I. p. 206.

Muly Mahomet urges King Sebastian to make war upon Abdelmec, King of Morocco : Now, now or never, bravely execute Your resolution sound and honourable, And end this war together with his life That doth usurp the crown with tyranny.

' The Battle of Alcazar,' IV. ii. 57-60.

Alphonsus expresses his grief at the death of the Bishop of Mentz : Come, princes, let us bear the body hence ; I'll spend a million to embalm the same. Let all the bells within the empire ring, Let mass be said in every church and chapel, And that I may perform my latest vow, I will procure so much by gold or friends, That my sweet Mentz shall be canonized And numbered in the bead-roll of the saints.

I'll build a church in honour of thy name Within the ancient famous city Mentz Fairer than any one in Germany, There shalt thou be interred with kingly pomp, Over thy tomb shall hang a sacred lamp. Which till the day of doom shall ever burn. &c. ' Alphonsus,' Act IV. p. 260.

Edward I. laments the death of Queen Elinor and Joan of Aeon : You peers of England, see in royal pomp These breathless bodies be entombed straight, With tired colours cover'd all with black. Let Spanish steeds, as swift as fleeting wind,