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On the margin of one of my folios an unknown hand has written lush woodbine, which I think is right. JOHNS. L. 22. A Roundel is a dance in a ring. GRAY. Ibid.] From round comes roundel, and from roundel, roundelet. The firft, the form of the figure, the fecond, the dancé in the figure, the laft, the fong or tune to the dance.

And fong in all the roundell luftily.

Chaucer's Knight's Tale, 1531. GRAY. L. 23. Then for the third part of a minute bence.] So the old copies. But the Queen fets them work, that is to keep them employed the remainder of the night; the poet, undoubtedly, intended her to fay, Dance your round, and fing your fong, and then inftantly (before the third part of a minute) begone to your respective duties.

THEOB. CAPELL.*

Ibid.] Then for the third part, &c. Ibid.] We should read third part of the midnight. The common reading is nonfenfe. Poffibly Shakespeare might have used the French word Minuit. WARB.

Ibid.] The common reading, fays Mr. Warburton, is nonfenfe. And fo, because he does not think the third part of a minute long enough, he would read midnight; i. e. for the third part of an inftant, an indivifible point of time. But his fatal French led him into this blunder. "Poffibly Shakespeare might have used the French word minuit." He feems to be very little acquainted with Shakespeare; who could make fuch a nonfenfical conjecture. CANONS.*

L. 28. —our queint Spirits-] We fhould read sports.

WARE.

Ibid.] Dr. Warburton reads against all authority queint Sports. But Profpero in the Tempeft applies queint to Âriel. JOHNSON.

P. 108. 1. 16. O take the fenfe, fweet, of my innocence;

Love takes the meaning in love's conference.] Here, by fome mifchance or other, innocence and conference have been jumbled into one another's places, and thereby deprived a very fenfible reply of all kind of meaning. Reftore each to its right place, and the sense will be this :--when she had interpreted his words to an evil meaning, he replies,

O take the fenfe, sweet, of my conference.

i. e. judge of my meaning by the drift of my whole fpeech, and do not pervert the fenfe of an ambiguous word to a meaning quite foreign to the difcourfe. Befides, fays he, Love takes the meaning in love's innocence.

i. e. The innocence of your love may teach you to discover the innocence of mine. These are the fentiments, which were quite loft in this aukward tranfpofition. WARE.

Ibid.] I am by no means convinced of the neceffity of this alteration. Lyfander in the language of love profeffes, that as they have one heart, they fhall have one bed. This Hermia thinks rather too much, and entreats him to lye further off. Lyfander anfwers,

O! take the fenfe, fweet, of my innocence. Understand the meaning of my innocence, or my innocent meaning. Let no fufpicion of ill enter thy mind.

Love takes the meaning in love's conference.

In the converfation of those who are affured of each other's kindness, not fufpicion but love takes the meaning. No m: levolent interpretation is to be made, but all is to be received in the fenfe which love can find, and which love can dictate.

JOHNS.

P. 109. 1. 20. Near to this lack-love, this kill-curtesy.] Thus, in all the printed editions. But this verfe, as Ben Jonfon fays, is broke loofe from his fellows, and wants to be tied up. I belive the poet wrote,

Near to this kill-courtesy.

And fo the line is reduced to the measure of the other. But this term being fomewhat quaint and uncommon, the players, in my opinion, officiously clapped in the other, as a comment; and fo it has ever fince held poffeffion.

THEOB. & CAP.* P. 111. 1. 11. Reafon becomes the marshal to my will.] That is, My will now follows reafon.

JOHNS. P. 112.] In the time of Shakespeare there were many companies of players, fometimes five at the fame time, contending for the favour of the publick. Of thefe, fome were undoubtedly very unskilful and very poor; and it is probable that the defign of this fcene was to ridicule their ignorance, and the odd expedients to which they might be driven by the want of proper decorations. Bottom was perhaps the

head of a rival houfe, and is therefore honoured with an afs's head.

JOHNS.

P. 113. 1. 5. Snowt. By'r laken a parlous fear.] By our lady-kin, or little lady, as ifakins is a corruption of by my faith. Thefe kind of oaths are laughed at in the First Part of Henry the Fourth, act III. fc. 3. when Hotfpur tells lady Percy, upon her faying in good footh," You fwear like a comfit-maker's wife, and give fuch farcenet furety for your oaths, as if you never walked farther than Finsbury.”

GRAY.*

P. 115. 1. 9. In the old editions,-ftay thou there a while.] The verfes fhould be alternately in rhyme; but fweet in the clofe of the first line, and while in the third, will not do for this purpose. The author, doubtless, gave it,

- ftay thou but here a whit.

i. e. a little while: for fo it fignifies, as alfo any thing of no price or confideration; a trifle: in which sense it is very frequent with our author. THEOB.

P. 116. 1. 9.] It is plain by Bottom's answer that Snout mentioned an afs's head; therefore we should read,

SNOUT. O Bottom, thou art changed; what do I fee on thee? An afs's head? JOHNSON. P. 117.1.2-5.] Thefe lines are in one quarto of 1600, the first folio of 1623, the second of 1632, and the third of

1664, &c. ranged in the following order:

Mine ear is much enamour'd of thy note,

On the first view to say, to fwear, I love thee;
So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape,

And thy fair virtue's force (perforce) doth move me. This reading I have inferted, not that it can suggest any thing better than the order to which the lines have been reftored by Mr. Theobald from another 4to, but to shew that fome liberty of conjecture must be allowed in the revifal of 'works fo inaccurately printed, and fo long neglected. JOHNS. gleek.] Joke or fcoff. POPE.

L. 10.

P. 118. 1. 8. the fiery glow-worm's eyes.] I know not how Shakespeare, who commonly derived his knowledge of nature from his own obfervation, happened to place the glow-worm's light in his eyes, which is only in his tail.

JOHNS.

L. 13.] There are but three fairies that falute Bottom; nor does he addrefs himself to more, though four had entered before, whom the queen had called by name, and commanded to do their courtefies. In short, I cannot tell what is become of monfieur Moth, unless he be prudently walked off, for fear of cavalero Cobweb: for we hear no more of him, either here or in the next act, where the queen, Bottom, and fairies are introduced again. GRAY.

L. 28.

patience.] The Oxford edition reads, I know your parentage well. I believe the correction is right.

JOHNS.

P. 119. 1. 13. patches.] Patch was in old language used as a term of opprobry; perhaps with much the fame import as we ufe raggamuffin, or tatterdemalion.

L. 21.

--

norul.] A head. Saxon.

JOHNS. JOHNSON.

L. 23. minnock.) This is the reading of the old quarto, and I believe right. Minneken, now minx, is a nice trifling girl. M.nnock is apparently a word of contempt. JOHN.

L. 25.-fort.) Company. So above, that barren fort; and in Waller, A fort of lufty fhepherds strive. JOHNSON.

P. 120. 1. 4. And at our ftamp.) This feems to be a vicios reading. Fairies are never reprefented ftamping or of a fize that should give force to a ftamp, nor could they have diftinguished the ftamps of Puck from thofe of their own companions, I read,

And at a ftump here o'er and o'er one falls.
So Drayton,

A pain he in his head-piece feels,
Against a fubbed tree he reels,

And up went poor Hobgoblin's heels;
Alas his brain was dizzy.-
At length upon his feet he gets,
Hobgoblin fumes, Hobgoblin frets,
And as again he forward fets,

And through the bufhes fcrambles,
A ftump doth trip him in his pace,
Down fell poor Hob upon his fa.e,
And lamentably tore his cafe,

Among the briers and brambles.

JOHNSON.

Ibid.) I apprehend the stamp of a fairy's foot might operate to the full as ftrongly on this occafion, as the flump of a STEEVENS.

tree.

L. 9.) Some fleeves, fome hats.) There is the like image in Drayton of Queen Mab and her Fairies flying from Hotgoblin.

Some tore a ruff, and fome a gown,

'Gainft one another juftling;

They flew about like chaff i'th' wind,
For hafte fome left their masks behind,
Some could not stay their gloves to find,
There never was fuch bustling.

JOHNSON.

L. 27. Being o'er shoes in blood.) An allufion to the Proverb, Over fhoes, over boots.

JOHNSON.

P. 121. 1. 6. Her brother's noon tide with th' Antipodes.) She fays, fhe would as foon believe, that the moon, then shining, could creep through the centre, and meet the fun's light on the other fide the Globe. It is plain therefore we should read

ith Antipodes, i. e. in the Antipodes where the fun was then fhining. WARB.* Ibid.) Excellent Grammarian, as well as Philofopher! Why noontide with (i. e. among) the Antipodes, will not mean on the other fide the globe, (whi h is all that the context and Mr. Warburton want it to mean) is utterly unaccountable.

But in the Antipodes, is a very inaccurate expreffion; for the Antipodes means not a place on the globe, as Mr. Warburton's explanation, in the Antipodes where, neceffarily implies; but the people inhabiting that place. CANONS.* P. 121.1. 8.] Old copies read fo dead, in my copy some reader has altered dead to dread. JOHNSON.

L. 21. O brave touck.) Touch in Shakespear's time was the fame with our exploit, or rather ftroke, A brave touch, a noble ftroke, un grand coup. Mafon was very merry, pleasantly playing both with the fhrewd touches of many curft boys, and the fmall difcretion of many lewd fchoolmasters." Afcbam. JOHNS.

L. 25.mifpris'd.) Mistaken; fo below mifprifion is mis

take.

JOHNSON.

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