1

virtue. Finders of madmen are thofe who formerly acted under the writ De Lunatico inquirendo.

P. 246.

Sir To. meddle you must, that's certain.

Meddle, mr. Steevens explains, mix; but it means to interfere, have to do with, concern ones felf, &c. as before explained.

P. 267.

Clo. The bells of St. Bennet.

What neceffity is there for accufing Shakspeare of any impropriety in this place. There must have been churches in Illyria, and how does dr. Johnson know that none of them was dedicated to St. Bennet?

p. 278.

Oli. A most extracting frenzy of mine own, From my remembrance clearly banish'd his.

i. e. fays dr. Warburton, a frenzy that drew me away from every thing but its own object. But mr. Malone, ever ftudious to preferve his authors text, till fome example is produced of the word being used in the above fenfe, fhould wish to read distrading, which he very modeftly conjectures to have been the original word. If dr. Warburton had confidered his explanation a fingle moment, he would undoubtedly have given it right, i. e. a frenzy that drew every object but one out of my memory.

Ibid.

Clo. An your ladyfhip will have it [i. e. Malvolios letter] as it ought to be, you must allow vox.

K 2

66 I am

"I am by no means certain," fays mr. Steevens, “that I understand this paffage." The learned editors diffidence mut, therefor, apologise for his having mistaken it: the meaning is, nevertheless, very fimple.

If your ladyfhip, fays the Clown, will have this letter read as it fhould be, you must allow me the full and proper ufe of my voice. She had just checked him for bawling too loud, which he tells her is the right method of reading a madmans letter.

WINTERS TALE.

p. 305:

Leo.

lower messes

Perchance are to this business purblind.

.

A

Mefs, fays dr. Johnson, is a contraction of master, as Mess John, master John; an appellation ufed by the Scots, to those who have taken their academical degree. Lower messes, therefor, adds he, are graduates of a lower form. Mr. Steevens, however, believes that lower mejses is onely used to fignify the lowest [lower] degrees about the court. conjecture in which he feems to be as right, as dr. Johnson is certainly wrong: the word mess, as Mefs John, neither being any contraction of master, nor having the remotest allufion to academical degrees. It is merely the Scotifh pronunciation of Mafs, and is only applyed, in vulgar language, to the priest or minister.

Cam. I have lov'd thee

.

P. 311.

Leo. Make that thy question, and go rot.

Nothing

Nothing can be more obvious than that the words here put into the mouth of Camillo really belong to Leontes, whom he neither does nor could addrefs with fo much familiarity, But we are under no neceffity to agree with mr. Tyrwhitt that they would come in more properly after rot. If the measure be thought to need emendation, it would be less violence to adopt that proposed by mr. Theobald,

p. 326.

Ant. I have three daughters; the eldest is eleven, The second, and the third, nine, and fome five.

"This," fays dr. Johnfon, "is mr, Theobalds correc tion; the former editions read fans five."

If the critic mean to say onely that fome editions prior to Theobalds read fans, the affertion may probably be true; but if his note imply that Theobald first introduced the word fome, nothing can be less fo: it is the reading of the firft folio, and the fecond does not read fans,

The speaker tells us that one of his daughters was eleven, the fecond nine, and the third about five.

P. 345.

Leo. I ne'er heard yet,

That any of these bolder vices wanted

Lefs impudence to gain-fay what they did,

Than to perform it first.

"It is apparent," dr. Johnson fays, "that according to the proper, at least according to the prefent use of words, lefs fhould be more, or wanted fhould be had."

It is a pity that the learned critic should not better underftand the language upon which he profefses to comment. There is not the flighteft difficulty or impropriety in the paffage. I never heard, fays Leontes, that any of

thefe

thefe greater offenders wanted (i. e. were deficient in) lefs impudence to deny their crime than to commit it. You, therefor, he means to tell the queen, who have had fufficient impudence to do what I charge you with, can be at no lofs for impudence to deny it.

P. 375.

Flo. the gods themselves,

Humbling their deities to love, have taken

The shapes of beasts upon them;-their transformations
Were never for a piece of beauty rarer;

Nor in a way fo chaste.

In what way? We should certainly read (in the margin at leaft):

Flo. Your hand my Perdita: fo turtles pair,

That never mean to part.

Per. I'll fwear for 'em.

For whom or what? This is fheer nonfenfe. And dr. Johnson, by giving the line to Polixenes, rather increases the abfurdity than lefsens it. We should, doubtless, read thus:

I'll fwear for one.

i. e. I will answer or engage for myself. Some alteration is abfolutely neceffary. This feems the eafyeft; and the reply will then be perfectly becoming her character.

P. 394.

Shep. Leave your prating, fince these good men are pleaf'd, let them come in.

Here a dance of twelve fatyrs.

Pol.

Pol. [Afide.] O father, you'll know more of that hereafter.

This, fays dr. Warburton, is replied by the king in anfwer to the fhepherds faying fince these good men are pleased.

This is very unlikely. The dance, which has intervened, would take up too much time to preferve any connection between the two fpeeches. The line fpoken by the king feems to be in reply to fome unexprefsed question from the old fhepherd, and should not be uttered afide.

MACBETH.

P. 473.

Mach. The prince of Cumberland!—

The crown of Scotland, mr. Steevens obferves, was originally not hereditary. When a fucceffor was declared in the life time of a king, (as was often the cafe) the title of prince of Cumberland was immediately beftowed on him as the mark of his defignation.

The propriety of this note is not very apparent.

The crown of Scotland had been hereditary for ages before Duncan,-nay, from the very foundation of the Scotifh monarchy. The apparent or prefumptive heir was always the known and declared fucceffor; as in England and every other hereditary government. The kings eldest fon, or grandfon (i. e. the heir apparent for the time being) alone was prince of Cumberland, as the king of Englands. is prince of Wales;