And fit for great employment, worthy lord. Duke. Thou hast prevail'd: I pardon them, and thee; 8 Dispose of them, as thou know'st their deserts. Val. And, as we walk along, I dare be bold With our discourse to make your grace to smile : What think you of this page, my lord? Duke. I think the boy hath grace in him; he blushes. Val. I warrant you, my lord; more grace than boy. Duke. What mean you by that saying? Val. Please you, I'll tell you as we pass along, One feast, one house, one mutual happiness. 8 [Exeunt. - include all jars-] i. e. shut up, or conclude. • With triumphs,] Triumphs in this and many other passages of might sometimes sink below his highest flights, than that any other should rise up to his lowest. JOHNSON. Shakspeare, signify Masques and Revels, &c. 1 In this play there is a strange mixture of knowledge and ignorance, of care and negligence. The versification is often excellent, the allusions are learned and just; but the author conveys his heroes by sea from one inland town to another in the same country; he places the Emperor at Milan, and sends his young men to attend him, but never mentions him more; he makes Proteus, after an interview with Silvia, say he has only seen her picture; and, if we may credit the old copies, he has, by mistaking places, left his scenery inextricable. The reason of all this confusion seems to be, that he took his story from a novel, which he sometimes followed, and sometimes forsook, sometimes remembered, and sometimes forgot. That this play is rightly attributed to Shakspeare, I have little doubt. If it be taken from him, to whom shall it be given ? This question may be asked of all the disputed plays, except Titus Andronicus; and it will be found more credible, that Shakspeare Johnson's general remarks on this play are just, except that part in which he arraigns the conduct of the poet, for making Proteus say, that he had only seen the picture of Silvia, when it appears that he had had a personal interview with her. This, however, is not a blunder of Shakspeare's, but a mistake of Johnson's, who considers the passage alluded to in a more literal sense than the author intended it. Sir Proteus, it is true, had seen Silvia for a few moments; but though he could form from thence some idea of her person, he was still unacquainted with her temper, manners, and the qualities of her mind. He therefore considers himself as having seen her picture only. -The thought is just, and elegantly expressed. M. MASON. |