genius.

Page 20, l. 1 [Stz. 28]. "_And instantly an Embassy is sent._" --Of the
letters written by Henry on this occasion, Sir Harris Nicolas remarks in
his standard work on the Battle of Agincourt, "Their most striking
features are falsehood, hypocrisy, and impiety." Being so bad, they are
naturally attributed by him to the much maligned Cardinal Beaufort. It
is admitted that "in some places they approach nearly to eloquence, and
they are throughout clear, nervous, and impressive." They are defended
at great length by Mr. Tyler, in his "Life of Henry V."

Page 20, l. 20 [Stz. 30]. "_A Tunne of Paris Tennis balls him sent._"
--This incident, so famous from the use made of it by Shakespeare, is
in all probability historical, being mentioned by Thomas Otterbourne,
a contemporary writer, and in an inedited MS. chronicle of the same
date. These are quoted by Sir Harris Nicolas and in Mr. Julian
Marshall's erudite "Annals of Tennis" (London, 1878). Its being omitted
by other contemporaries is no strong argument against its authenticity.
Drayton follows Shakespeare and the chronicler Hall in writing _tunne_.
Holinshed uses the less poetical term _barrel_.

Page 20, ll. 28-32 [Stz. 31].--

"I'le send him Balls and Rackets if I liue
That they such Racket shall in Paris see,
When ouer lyne with Bandies I shall driue,
As that before the Set be fully done,
France may (perhaps) into the Hazard runne."

On these lines Mr. Julian Marshall observes: "This passage is
remarkable, as offering one of the first examples of the double sense of
_racket_, meaning hubbub as well as the implement used in tennis; and
also as showing the early use of the word _bandy_, which we shall find
recurring later in the history of the game." None of the historians who
have related the incident mention the pointed reply to the Dauphin put
into Henry's mouth by Shakespeare, that he would "strike his father's
crown into the hazard." The old playwright on whose foundation
Shakespeare built merely says, "Tel him that in stead of balles of
leather we wil tosse him balles of brasse and yron." Drayton must
consequently have borrowed the term from Shakespeare, which is a pretty
conclusive proof of his having read "Henry V." as well as witnessed its
performance. Regarding Shakespeare's justification for the technical
terms used by him, Mr. Marshall judiciously remarks: "It is certain that
tennis was played and that rackets were used in the time of