special case, although he favoured her much) would not grant her suit. Andrugio (disguised among the company), sorrowing the grief of his sister, betrayed his safety and craved pardon. The king, to renown the virtues of Cassandra, pardoned both him and Promos." The performance of Whetstone, as might be expected in a drama of that date, is feeble and monotonous, not informed with any real dramatic power, drawling or bombastic in its tragic parts, extravagant in its comic. Mr. Collier has observed that "the first part is entirely in rhyme, while in the second are inserted considerable portions of blank-verse, put only in the mouth of the king, as if it better suited the royal dignity."+ It is scarcely necessary to offer to our readers any parallel examples of the modes in which Whetstone and Shakspere have treated the same incidents. We will, however, extract one scene, which may be compared with Shakspere. The second scene of the second act of Measure for Measure, fraught as it is with the noblest poetry, owes little to the following beyond the dramatic situation : PROMOS with the Sheriff, and their Officers. Pro. 'Tis strange to think what swarms of unthrifts live That, were it not that justice oft them grieve, The just man's goods by rufflers should be reft. At this our 'size are thirty judg'd to die, Such wicked weeds even by the roots to tear. Cass. [to herself.] O cruel words! they make my heart to bleed: Lest grace come short when starved is the steed. [Kneeling, speaks to PROMOS. Most mighty lord, a worthy judge. thy judgment sharp abate; And yet to add intent thereto is far from my pretence; I sue with tears to win him grace that sorrows his offence. Wherefore herein, renowned lord, justice with pity pays; Which two, in equal balance weigh'd, to heaven your fame will raise. Pro. Cassandra, leave off thy bootless suit; by law he hath been tried- Cas. Yet this may be replied: If 'mends be made, may over-rule the force of law with mercy. Pro. Fair dame, I see the natural zeal thou bear'st to Andrugio, Until that you in this behalf more of my pleasure know. Cass. O most worthy magistrate, myself thy thrall I bind, [Eril. [Exeunt. COSTUME. WITH the exception, perhaps, of the Winter's Tale, no play of Shakspere's is so utterly destitute of any "loop or hinge to hang an" appropriate costume upon as Measure for Measure. The scene is laid in Vienna, of which city there never was a duke; and in the whole of the list of persons represented there is not one German name. Vincentio, Angelo, Escalus, Claudio, Lucio, Isabella, Juliet, Francisca, Mariana, all smack of Italy; and it has therefore been questioned by some whether or not we should read "Sienna" for "Vienna." There does not appear, however, to be any authority for supposing the scene of action to have been altered either theatrically or typographically, and, consequently, we must leave the artist to the indulgence of his own fancy, with the suggestion merely that the Viennese costume of the time of Shakspere must be sought for Amongst the national monuments of the reign of the Emperor Rodolph II., A. D. 1576—1612. ACT I. And let them work." The nature of our people, Our city's institutions, and the terms b a Here is one of the obscure passages for which this play is remarkable. The text is usually pointed thus:- But that to your sufficiency, as your worth is able, It is certainly difficult to extract a clear meaning from this. It is not our purpose to remove obscurities by additions or omissions in the text, and therefore we leave the passage as in the original, excepting a slight alteration in the punctuation. But we suggest a reading which appears more clearly to give the meaning that may be collected from the text as it stands. We would read "Then no more remains, But that to your sufficiency your worth is able, And let them work." Sufficiency is adequate power; worth is the virtue or strength (virtus), which, added to sufficiency, is able (equal to the duty). By the omission of as the sense is clearer, and the line is more metrical. b Terms.-Blackstone explains this to mean the technical Angelo, Duke. There is a kind of character in thy life, That, to the observer, doth thy history Fully unfold: Thyself and thy belongings Are not thine own so proper, as to waste Thyself upon thy virtues, theyb on thee. Heaven doth with us as we with torches do; Not light them for themselves: for if our virtues Did not go forth of us, 't were all alike As if we had them not. Spirits are not finely touch'd But to find issues: nor nature never lends Both thanks and use. But I do bend my speech language of the courts, and adds, "An old book called Les Termes de la Ley (written in Henry the Eighth's time) was in Shakspeare's day, and is now, the accidence of young students in the law." a The commentators have stumbled at this passage. Johnson says, "What is there peculiar in this, that a man's life informs the observer of his history?" Monck Mason would correct the passage as follows: "There is a kind of history in thy life, Surely character has here the original meaning of something engraved or inscribed-thy life is thy habits. Angelo was a man of decorum. The duke afterwards says, "Lord Angelo is precise." b They-So the original. In modern editions them, as corrected by Hanmer. But as Angelo might waste himself upon his virtues, they might waste themselves on him. e Use.-Interest of money. d Alterations have been made and proposed in this passage. Hanmer reads "To one that can, in my part me advertise." This is to destroy the sense. My part in him is, my part deputed to him, which he can advertise-direct his attention to.-without my speech. a Hold.-Tyrwhitt supposes that the Duke here checks himself, Hold therefore; and that the word Angelo begins a new sentence. We have little doubt that the word hold is addressed to Angelo; and used technically in the sense of to have and to hold. Hold, therefore, our power, Angelo. b Douce thus explains this passage: "I delegate to thy tongue the power of pronouncing sentence of death, and to thy heart the privilege of exercising mercy.' Leuven'd. As leaven slowly works to impart its quality to bread, so the considerations upon which the Duke made choice of Angelo have gradually fermented in his mind. |