tween his ancient kings, and certain kings of the present day, whom as contemporaries we can best judge, are tests of his truth to life.
What Friederich Schlegel says of the writer of history holds good of our poet. He is a prophet looking into the past. Were it permissible to hold the mirror up to one of the greatest of our crowned contemporaries, every one would perceive that Shakespeare made out his public notification[1] two hundred years ago. In fact, when we contemplate this great, admirable, and certainly also glorious monarch, a certain strange thrill comes over us, such as we might experience should we in broad daylight meet a form which we had before seen only in nightly dreams. When we saw him eight years ago, riding through the streets bare-headed, humbly greeting all on every side, we thought continually of the passage in which York describes Bolingbroke's entry to London. is cousin, the later Richard II., knew him well, studied him closely, and expressed himself once very accurately :
"Ourself, and Bushy, Bagot here, and Green,
Observed his courtship to the common people :
How he did seem to dive into their hearts,
With humble and familiar courtesy ;
What reverence he did throw away on slaves ;
- ↑ Steckbrief, writ of arrest, the public notice of a runaway, including a description of him.
