A parliamente member, a juftice of peace, "Yet an affe in his ftate; "We allow by his ears, but with affes to mate. Contemptible (lays our Editor) as this performance muft now appear, at the time when it was written it might have had fufficient power to irritate a vain, weak, and vindictive magiftrate; efpecially as it was affixed to fome of his park gates, and confequently publifhed among his neighbours.-It may be remarked likewife, that the jingle on which it turns occurs in the first scene of the Merry Wives of Windfor. I may add, that the veracity of the late Mr. Oldys hath never yet been impeached; and it is not very probable that a ballad fhould be forged, from which an undifcovered wag could derive no triumph over antiquarian credulity.' Mr. Steevens thinks it not improbable that Shakspeare, in the character of Falstaff, might have aimed fome strokes at the corpulence and intemperance of Ben Jonfon. Mr. Oldys, in his MS. additions to Langbaine's Account of English dramatie poets, introduces the following ftory of Ben, which was found in a memorandum-book, written in the time of the civil wars by Mr. Oldifworth, who was Secretary to Philip Earl of Pembroke. "Mr. Camden recommended him to Sir Walter Raleigh, who trufted him with the care and education of his eldest fon, Walter, a gay fpark, who could not brook Ben's rigorous treatment: but perceiving one foible in his difpofition, made ufe of that to throw off the yoke of his government. This was an unlucky habit that Ben had contracted, through his love of jovial company, of being overtaken with liquor, which Sir Walter of all vices did moft abominate, and hath most exclaimed againft. One day when Ben had taken a plentiful dose, and was fallen into a found fleep, young Raleigh got a great basket and a couple of men, who laid Ben in it, and then with a pole carried him to Sir Walter, telling him that their young master had fent home his tutor." The expreffion, delighted fpirit,' in the fpeech of Claudio, in Measure for Measure, hath been a fubject of much conjecture amongst the critics. Sir Thomas Hanmer altered the word to dilated," as if because the spirit in the body is faid to be imprisoned, it was crouded together likewife, and fo by death not only fet free but expanded, which if true (fays Dr. Warburton) would make it lefs fenfible of pain." Dr. Johnson ac 52 knowledges knowledges that "the most plaufible alteration is that which fubftitutes 'the benighted fpirit,' alluding to the darkness always fuppofed in the place of future punishment." But however plaufible this correction might appear, the learned Critic is not difpofed to adopt it. He rather approves of an amendment propofed by Mr. Thirlby, who would fubftitute delinquent for delighted. Mr. Steevens, in the prefent edition, adopts Dr. Warburton's reading, and remarks that, by delighted fpirit, is meant the foul once accustomed to delight, which of course must render the sufferings, afterwards defcribed, lefs tolerable. Thus our Author calls youth, blessed, in a former fcene, before he proceeds to fhew its wants and its inconveniences.' If Dr. Johnfon's ingenious conjecture, that Shakspeare writ blasted and not bleffed youth,' be well grounded, Mr. Steevens must look elsewhere for an illuftration: and we think he hath not far to go for it. The fenfible warm motion (mentioned in the preceding line) is as much in contraft with the kneaded clad, as the delighted spirit with fiery floods. In this connection the meaning is perfectly obvious. The body, now warm with life, and active in its motions, will be reduced to a cold unanimated mafs; and the fpirit now delighted or pleafed with its fituation and enjoyments in the body, will exchange it for the regions of unknown and unutterable horror. We have heard of fome ingenious conjectures relating to the paffage in question, that are not mentioned by any of the Editors of Shakspeare, and which we think carry more plaufibility in them than the dilated of Sir Thomas Hanmer, or even the delinquent of a greater critic. A gentleman of great ingenuity hath propofed the following alteration: Aye, but to die and go we know not where; To lie in cold obftruction and to rot : Delated is a law-term for arraigned or accufed. We think this correction a very elegant one. It gives a grandeur to the expreffion, and we should be very ready to adopt it, if we were not convinced that delighted was the original word, and that it admits of a very juft and natural interpretation. Another curious and ingenious gentleman, who thinks himfelf at liberty with the reft of the readers of Shakspeare, to speculate on a difputed paffage, offers a modeft query in the following manner: "May not delighted bear the fame meaning as the word alighted. If fo, the fenfe is obvious, and fignifies a fpirit difcharged from the body." It is curious to trace the progrefs of conjecture about the meaning of a paffage, that in itself merits no attention, and would gain none, if it were found in any other author but Shakspeare. The critics have been much divided about the fignification of an aukward, ill-founding line in the speech of Leonato, in Much Ado about Nothing (Act V. Sc. I.). Speaking of a parent whose diftreffes might be fuppofed as "overwhelming" as his own, he fays "If fuch a one will fmile and ftroke his beard; 66 "And I of him will gather patience." Mr. Row, without any authority, altered the line to "And hallow, wag, cry hem," &c. Mr. Theobald, on confulting the old quarto, the firft and fecond folios, found that the line originally stood thus And forrow, wagge, &c. Hence he hit on an emendation; without any great breach on the letter indeed; but we think to the total annihilation of the fenfe. He would substitute wage for wag; and by a licence of fpeech that no grammar will admit of he propofes to read the line And forrow wage, cry hem, &c. "i. e. (fays he) if fuch a one will combat with, ftrive against forrow, &c." Sir Thomas Hanmer, and after him Dr. Warburton, read waive instead of wag:-by which term they mean-put afide or Shift off. Dr. Johnfon is much diffatisfied with all the conjectures and emendations of preceding critics, and therefore reads the line as if it begun interjectionally : "Sorrow, wag!". i. e. begone, or as one might fay, wag off! Mr. Tyrwhitt chufeth to read And forrow gagge.' i. e. ftop the mouth of it. But Mr. Warton diflikes wage, and waive, and wag, and gag; and therefore (as he fays) with the least departure from the old copies, and in entire conformity to the acknowledged and obvious fenfe of the paffage, he ventures to correct it thus: "If fuch a one will fmile "And forrowing, cry hem, &c. Mr. Steevens is willing to let wag ftand; not indeed in the humble ftate of a verb; but in the more important character of a noun fubftantive. But to effect this change, he muft reduce the confequence of a neighbouring word, and forrow must be converted into a forry adjective. forry adjective. To be as ferious as we can on this subject-though we think Mr. Steevens not quite ferious $ 3 himself himfelf-we fhall only propofe the ingenious Editor's correetion, and leave it to our Readers to make what use they please of it: "If fuch a one will fmile "And, forry wag! cry hem! &c." The following beautiful paffage in the Merchant of Venice is, we think, judiciously explained by Mr. Malone: There's not the fmalleft orb which thou behold'ft, "But in his motion like an angel fings, Still quiring to the young-ey'd cherubims. "Such harmony is in immortal fouls; "But whilst this muddy vefture of decay "Doth grofly clofe it in, we cannot hear it." Part of the difficulty of this paffage was occafioned by a wrong punctuation. -The whole runs thus: There is not one of the heavenly orbs, but fings as it moves, ftill quiring to the cherubims. Similar to the barmony they make is that of immortal fouls. Or in other words-Each of us have as perfect harmony in our fouls as the harmony of the spheres, inasmuch as we have the quality of being moved by fweet founds: but our grofs, terreftrial part, which environs us, deadens the found, and prevents our hearing it.' This faves all the confufion which Dr. Warburton has introduced, who refers fouls to orbs; and not being able to reconcile them, changes the word to founds.- Doth clofe it in."-This Dr. Johnfon conjectures to have been the original reading, in oppofition to the folios, which read, "Doth grofsly close in it." Mr. Malone fupports his interpretation of the paffage by a fimilar expreffion in Marston's Antonio and Melido, 1602. 66 Heav'n's tones "Strike not fuch harmony to immortal fouls, "As your accordance fweet my breast withal. In a note on the word fellow, in A&t IV. Sc. I. of Taming of the Shrew, we have the following anecdote: In the old play called the Return from Parnaffus, we have a curious paffage, which fhews the opinion of contemporaries concerning the learning of Shakspeare. The ufe of the word fellow brings it to my remembrance. Burbage and Kempe are introduced to teach the univerfity-men the art of acting, and are reprefented (especially Kempe) as leaden Spouts-very illiterate. Few of the univerfity, fays Kempe, pen plays well: they fmell too much of that writer, Ovid, and that writer, Metamorphofis-Why here's our fellow Shakspeare puts them all down." On that obfcure expreffion in All's well that ends well [A&I, Sc. II.] whofe "whofe judgments are "Mere fathers of their garments, whofe conftancies 66 We have the following ingenious conjecture, from Mr. Tyrwhytt. I have a fufpicion that Shakspeare wrote-" mere feathers of their garments:" i. e. whofe judgments are merely parts (and infignificant parts) of their drefs, worn and laid alide as feathers are, from the mere love of novelty and change.” The whole paffage confirms this emendation. In the fame comedy we meet with the following very crabbed and almoft unintelligible paffage : King. "What dar't thou venture? Hel. "Tax of impudence "A trumpet's boldnefs, a divulged fhame, "Traduc'd by odious ballads; my maiden's name "With vileft torture let my life be ended." Dr. Johnson obferves, that this paffage is apparently corrupt, and he entertained fmall hopes of rectifying it. The ingenious Mr. Malone hath remarked that the old copy reads→ not fear'd but fear'd' The impreffion (fays he) in my book, is very faint, but I think that is the word. In the fame line it reads, not no, but ne-probably an error for the. I would with to read and point the paffage thus: a divulged fhame "Traduc'd, by odious ballads, my maiden's name; "With vileft torture, let my life be ended." i. e. Let my maiden reputation become the fubject of ballads-let it be otherwise mangled; and (what is the worst of worst-the confummation of mifery) my body extended on the rack by the moft cruel torture, let my life pay the forfeit of my prefump tion.' Dr. Johnfon obferved, in a former Edition of our Author, that a clown, in his dramas, is commonly taken for a licensed jefter or domeftic fool. This circumftance is confirmed by Mr. Steevens in a note on the 3d Scene, Act I. of the forementioned comedy, where the perfons introduced are the Countess, Steward, and Clown. This dialogue (fays the Editor) or that in Twelfth Night, between Olivia and the Clown, feems to have been particularly cenfured by Cartwright in one of the copies of verfes prefixed to the works of Beaumont and Fletcher: "Shakespeare to thee was dull, whofe belt jeft lies 'th' Lady's questions and the Fool's replies. "Old fashion'd wit, which walk'd from town to town, |