Note And for they knew, the French did still abet — AGINCOVRT.

Page 19, ll. 13, 14. “And for they knew, the French did still abet The Scot against vs.”—The discussion between Westmorland and Exeter on the expediency of first attacking Scotland is found in Holinshed. In the rude old play, “The Famous Victories of Henry the Fifth,” on which Shakespeare founded his “Henry IV.” and “Henry V.,” the argument for attacking Scotland first is put into the mouth of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Shakespeare’s noble expansion of this scene from the hints of his artless predecessor and of the chroniclers is one of the most signal proofs of the superiority of his genius.