fchemer, never at a lofs; if she cannot ferve the lady, she will ferve the duke.

JOHNS. P. 214. 1. 9. -Caftiliano volo;] We should read volto. In Englife, put on your Caftilian countenance; that is, your grave, folemn looks. The Oxford editor has taken my emendation: But, by Caftilian countenance, he fuppofes is meant moft civil and courtly looks. It is plain, he underftands gravity and formality to be civility and courtliness. WARB. and CAP.

P. 215. 1. 9. It's dry Sir.] What is the jeft of dry band, I know not any better than Sir Andrew. It may poffibly mean, a hand with no money in it; or, according to the rules of Phyfiognomy, the may intend to infinuate, that it is not a lover's hand, a moift hand being vulgarly accounted a fign of an amorous conftitution. JOHNS.

L. 31. In former copies,

-thou feeft, it will not COOL MY nature.] We sbould read, it will not CURL BY nature. The joke is evident.

THEOB.

P. 216. l. 16. — -and dyet I will not compare with an old man.] This is intended as a fatire on that common vanity of old men, in preferring their own times, and the paft generation to the prefent. WARB.

Ibid.] The fenfe feems to be, and yet I look on myself as a boy being put on a level with an old man in this matter, how fuperior foever he may be to me in other respects.

REVI*.

P. 217. 1. 3. Taurus that's fides and heart.] Alluding to the medical aftrology ftill preserved in almanacks, which refers the affections of particular parts of the body, to the predominance of particular conftellations. JOHNS. P. 218. l. 13. - -a woman's part.] That is, thy proper part in a play would be a woman's. Women were then perfonated by boys.

JOHNS.

L. 21. Yet a barful frife.] The reading we find in Mr. Pope's edition "Yet O baneful ftrife!" is much more natural as well as more intelligible.

P. 219. 1. 1. lenten anjaver:

call it, a dry answer.

REVI*.

-] A lean, or as we now

JOHNS.

L. 24. Hall, in his Chronicle, fpeaking of the death of Sir

Thomas More, fays, that he knows not whether to call him a foolish wife man, or a wife foolish man. JOHNS. P. 221. 1. 21. Now Mercury indue thee with LEASING, for thou speak ft well of fools!] This is a ftupid blunder. We Thould read, with PLEASING, i. e. with eloquence, make thee a gracious and powerful speaker, for Mercury was the God of orators as well as cheats. But the firft editors, who did not understand the phrafe, indue the with pleasing, made this foolish correction; more excufable, however, than the laft editor's, who, when this emendation was pointed out to him, would make one of his own; and fo in his Oxford edition, reads, with LEARNING; without troubling himself to fatisfy the reader how the first editor fhould blunder in a word fo eafy to be understood as learning, tho' they well might in the word pleafing, as it is used in this place.

WARB.

Ibid.] I think the prefent reading more humourous. May Mercury teach thee to lye fince thou lieft in favour of fools.

JOHNS.

P. 222. I. 11. 'Tis a gentleman. HERE,- -] He had before faid it was a gentleman. He was asked what gentleman? and he makes this reply; which, it is plain, is corrupt, and fhould be read thus.

'Tis a gentleman- HEIR.

i. e. fome lady's eldest fon just come out of the nursery; for this was the appearance Viola made in mens clothes. See the character Malvolio draws of him presently after.

WARB.

Ibid.] Gentleman heir is a phrafe fresh from the mint. But Mr. Warburton may take it back, Shakespear has no need of it; as any body will own, who confiders that Sir Toby was drunk, and interrupted in his speech by his pickled CANONS.* herrings.

1. 10.

P. 223. -fund at your door like a sheriff's pft, -] It was the custom for that officer to have large pets fet up at his door, as an indication of his office. The original of which was, that the king's proclamations, and other publick acts, might be affixed thereon by way of publication. So fonfon's Every man out of bis humour,

-put off

To the Lord Chancellor's tomb, or the Shrives posts.

So again in the old play called Lingua,

Knows be bow to become a scarlet gown, bath be a pair of

fresh posts at his door? P. 224. 1. 7.

WARB.

WARB.

-I am very comptible,] Comptible for

ready to call to account. Ibid.] The gentle words immediately preceding might have led Dr. Warburton to the plain meaning, which is "I am very apt to take to heart, and to make account of the leaft finifter usage.

REVI.*

-] Wild, frolick, mad.

JOHNS.

P. 225. 1. 2. Ladies, in romance, are guarded by giants, who repel all improper or trouble fome advances. Viola feeing the waiting-maid fo eager to oppofe her message, intreats Olivia to pacify her giant. JOHNS.

L. 3. Vio. tell me your mind, I am a messenger.] These words must be divided between the two fpeakers thus,

Oli, Tell me your mind.

Vio. I am a mellenger.

Viole growing troublefome, Olivia would difmifs her, and therefore cuts her short with this command, Tell me your mind. The other taking advantage of the ambiguity of the word mind, which fignifies either business or inclinations, replies as if the had used it in the latter fense, I am a messengerWARB.

Ibid] It is extremely odd that Mr. Warburton fhould underftand these words to express Viola's inclinations, not her bufinefs. REVISAL

L. 30. Look yeu, Sir, fuch a one I was this prefent : is't not well done ?] This is nonfenfe. The change of was to wear, I think, clears all up, and gives the expreffion an air of gallantry. Viola preffes to fee Olivia's Face: The other at length pulls off her Veil, and fays; we will draw the curtain, and fhew you the Picture. I wear this complexion to day, I may wear another to morrow; jocularly intimating, that the painted. The other, vext at the Jeft, fays, "Excellently done, if God did all." Perhaps, it may be true, what you fay in Jett; otherwife 'tis an excellent face. 'Tis in grain, &c. replies Olivia.

WARB.

P. 227. 4. Hollow your name to the reverberate bills,] I have corrected, reverberant. THEOB.* P. 228. l. 12. Mine eye, &c.] I believe the meaning is; I am not mistress of my own actions, I am afraid that my eyes betray me, and flatter the youth without my confent, with difcoveries of love. JOHNS.

P. 229. 1. 2. To express myfeif.] That is, to reveal myself.

JOHNS. L. 13. With fuch estimable wonder.] These words Dr. Warburton calls "an interpolation of the players," but what did the players gain by it? they are fometimes guilty of a joke without the concurrence of the poet, but they never lengthen a fpeech only to make it longer. Shakefpeare often confounds the active and paffive adjectives. Eftimable wonder is esteeming wonder, or wonder and efleem. The meaning is, that he could not venture to think fo highly as others of his fifter.

JOHNS. P. 230, 1. 17. Her eyes bad LOST ber tongue.] This is nonfenfe: we thould read

Her eyes had CREST her tongue; Alluding to the notion of the fascination of the eyes; the effects of which were called craffing. WARB.

Ibid.] That the fafcination of the eyes was called croffing ought to have been proved. Bur however that be, the prefent reading has not only fenfe but beauty. We say a man lafes his company when they go one way and he goes another. So Olivia's tongue loft her eyes; her tongue was talking of the Duke and her eyes gazing on his messenger. JOHNS.

L. 26. How eafy is it, for the proper falfe In women's waxen bearts to fet their forms!] This is obfcure. The meaning is, "how eaty is disguise to women;" how eafily does their own falfhood, contained in their waxen changeable bearts, enable them to assume deceitful appearances. The two next lines are perhaps tranfpofed, and

fhould be read thus:

For fuch as we are made, if fuch we be, Alas, our frailty is the caufe not we. JOHNS. Ibid. For fuch as we are made, if fuch we be] Read, "For fuch as we are made of, fuch we be." OBS.andCON), P. 231, 1. 18. I think, it rather consists of eating and drink

ing.] A redicule on the medical theory of that time, which fuppofed health to confift in the juft temperament and balance of thefe elements in the human frame. WARB.

P. 231, 1.25. By my troth, the fool has an excellent breast.] I have been advifed to read, breath here. But the text is, certainly, right without any alteration. The allufion is not to the clown having a white skin, but a good power in finging. It was a phrase in vogue, in our author's time. In a Spanish vocabulary printed in Queen Elizabeth's reign, Aquel tiene linda boz is thus expounded; He has a good breaft; i. e. as we now fay, good lungs, to hold out finging. So Ben. Jonfon, in his mafque of Gipfies metamorphofed:

An excellent fong, and a fweet fongfter, and would have done rarely in a cage, with a dish of water and hempfeed; fine breaft of his own!

And Beaumont and Fletcher. in their Pilgrim;

Pray you, ftay a little: Let's hear him fing, h'as a fine breaft.

THEOB.

Ibid.] By my troth the fool has an excellent breast] That is, he has an exellent voice. It was propofed to Theobald, to read breath for breaft. Theobald's reafons for retaining breaft, may be corroborated from the following paffage in the ftatutes given to Stoke College by archbishop Parker, 1535 "Of which faid querifters, after their breasts are changed, we will, the most apt be helpen with exhibition of forty fhillings, &c." Strype's life of Parker, p. 9. That is, the boys when their voices were changed, or broke, and confequently rendered unferviceable to the choir, were to be removed to the university. WARTON.

P. 232, 1. 4. Ifent thee fixpence for thy Lemon, bad ft it.] But the clown was neither Pantler, nor Butler. The Poet's word was certainly mistaken by the ignorance of the Printer. I have restored, leman, i. e. I fent thee fixpence to spend on thy mistress. THEOB.

L. 5. I did impeticos, &c.] This, Sir Thomas Hanmer tells us, is the fame with "impocket thy gratuity." He is undoubtedly right; but we must read, I did impeticoat thy gratuity. The fools were kept in long coats, to which the allufion is made. There is yet much in this dialogue which I do not understand.

JOHNS.