And, struck me in my very seat of judgment;
Whereon, as an offender to your father,
I gave bold way to my authority,
And did commit you." {162}

Now this is a relation that we are well content, although unsupported by
contemporaneous authority, to receive on tradition; because in the
nature of the circumstances we cannot expect to find any authentic
evidence of the occurrence. But we should never think of citing these
passages as fixing the fact of the _blow_, as chronicled by Hall, in
opposition to the milder representation of the story as told by Sir
Thomas Elliott in "The Governour." The bard makes that selection between
the two versions which best suits the scene he is depicting.

We cannot, however, be so easily satisfied with the second fact,--the
reappointment of Gascoigne,--thus asserted by Shakspeare when making
Henry say:

"You did commit me;
For which, I do commit into your hand
The unstain'd sword that you have us'd to bear;
With this remembrance,--that you use the same
With the like bold, just, and impartial spirit,
As you have done 'gainst me."

We require better evidence for this than tradition, because, if true,
better evidence can be adduced. A noble writer has very recently
declared that he can "prove to demonstration that Sir William Gascoigne
survived Henry IV. several years, _and actually filled the office of
Chief Justice of the King's Bench under Henry V_." As to the first of