MAR. Go fhake your ears.

SIR AND. 'Twere as good a deed, as to drink when a man's a hungry, to challenge him to the field; and then to break promise with him, and make a fool of him.

SIR TO. Do't, knight; I'll write thee a challenge; or I'll deliver thy indignation to him by word of mouth.

MAR. Sweet fir Toby, be patient for to-night; fince the youth of the count's was to-day with my lady, the is much out of quiet. For monfieur Malvolio, let me alone with him: if I do not gull him into a nayword, and make him a common recreation, do not think I have wit enough to lie ftraight in my bed: I know, I can do it.

SIR TO. Poffefs us,' poffefs us; tell us fomething of him.

MAR. Marry, fir, fometimes he is a kind of Puritan.

SIR AND. O, if I thought that, I'd beat him like a dog.

SIR TO. What, for being a Puritan? thy exquisite reason, dear knight?

SIR AND. I have no exquifite reason for't, but I have reafon good enough.

MAR. The devil a Puritan that he is, or any thing conftantly but a time-pleaser; an affection'd

a nayword,] A nayword is what has been fince called

a byeword, a kind of proverbial reproach. STEEVENS.

5 Poffefs us,] That is, inform us, tell us, make us masters of the matter. JOHNSON.

So, in The Merchant of Venice, Shylock fays:

"I have poffefs'd your grace of what I purpose."

DOUCE

afs, that cons ftate without book, and utters it by great fwarths: the best perfuaded of himself, fo cramm'd, as he thinks, with excellencies, that it is his ground of faith, that all, that look on him, love him; and on that vice in him will my revenge find notable caufe to work.

SIR TO. What wilt thou do?

MAR. I will drop in his way fome obfcure epiftles of love; wherein, by the colour of his beard, the shape of his leg, the manner of his gait, the expreffure of his eye, forehead, and complexion, he fhall find himfelf moft feelingly perfonated: I can write very like my lady, your niece; on a forgotten matter we can hardly make diftinction of our hands. SIR TO. Excellent! I fmell a device.

SIR AND. I have't in my nofe too.

SIR TO. He fhall think, by the letters that thou wilt drop, that they come from my niece, and that the is in love with him.

MAR. My purpose is, indeed, a horfe of that colour. SIR AND. And your horfe now would make him an afs.8

MAR. Afs, I doubt not.

SIR AND. O, 'twill be admirable.

- an affection'd af,] Affection'd means affected. In this fenfe, I believe, it is ufed in Hamlet" no matter in it that could indite the author of affection," i. e. affectation. STEEVENS. great fwarths: A fwarth is as much grafs as a mower cuts down at one stroke of his fcythe. STEEVENS.

7

Sir And. And your horfe now, &c.] This conceit, though bad enough, fhews too quick an apprehenfion for Sir Andrew. It fhould be given, I believe, to Sir Toby; as well as the next short fpeech: 0, 'twill be admirable. Sir Andrew does not ufually give his own judgement on any thing, till he has heard that of fome other perfon. TYRWHITT.

MAR. Sport royal, I warrant you: I know, my phyfick will work with him. I will plant you two, and let the fool make a third, where he fhall find the letter; observe his construction of it. For this night, to bed, and dream on the event. Farewel. [Exit. SIR TO. Good night, Penthefilea.

SIR AND. Before me, fhe's a good wench.

SIR TO. She's a beagle, true-bred, and one that adores me; What o'that?

SIR AND. I was adored once too.

SIR TO. Let's to bed, knight.-Thou hadft need fend for more money.

SIR AND. If I cannot recover your niece, I am a foul way out.

SIR TO. Send for money, knight; if thou haft her not i'the end, call me Cut.'

SIR AND. If I do not, never truft me, take it how you will.

9

Penthefilea.] i. e. Amazon. STEEVENS.

Send for money, knight;] Sir Toby, in this inftance, exhibits a trait of Iago:-" Put money in thy purfe." STEEVENS.

call me Cut.] So, in A Woman's a Weathercock, 1612: "If I help you not to that as cheap as any man in England, call me Cut."

Again, in The Two Angry Women of Abingdon, 1599:
"I'll meet you there; if I do not, call me Cut."
This term of contempt, perhaps, fignifies only-call me-gelding.
STEEVENS.

call me Cut.] i. e. call me horse. So, Falstaff in King Henry IV. P. I: " -fpit in my face, call me herfe." That this was the meaning of this expreffion is afcertained by a paffage in The Two Noble Kinsmen :

"He'll buy me a white Cut forth for to ride.” Again, in Sir John Oldcastle, 1600: "But mafter, 'pray ye, let me ride upon Cut." Curtal, which occurs in another of our author's plays, (i. e. a horse, whose tail has been docked,) and Cut, were probably fynonymous. MALONE.

SIR TO. Come, come; I'll go burn fome fack, 'tis too late to go to bed now: come, knight; come, knight.

SCENE IV.

A room in the Duke's palace.

[Exeunt.

Enter DUKE, VIOLA, CURIO, and Others.

DUKE. Give me fome mufick:-Now, good mor-
row, friends:-

Now, good Cefario, but that piece of fong,
That old and antique fong we heard laft night;
Methought, it did relieve my paffion much;
More than light airs, and recollected terms,
Of these moft brifk and giddy-paced times :-
Come, but one verse.

CUR. He is not here, fo please your lordship, that should fing it.

DUKE. Who was it?

CUR. Fefte, the jefter, my lord; a fool, that the lady Olivia's father took much delight in: he is about the house.

DUKE. Seek him out, and play the tune the while.
[Exit CURIO.-Mufick.
Come hither, boy; If ever thou fhalt love,
In the fweet pangs of it, remember me:
For, fuch as I am, all true lovers are;
Unftaid and fkittish in all motions elfe,
Save, in the conftant image of the creature
That is belov'd.-How doft thou like this tune?

♦ — recollected -] Studied. WARBURTON.

I rather think, that recollected fignifies, more nearly to its pri mitive fenfe, recalled, repeated, and alludes to the practice of compofers, who often prolong the fong by repetitions. JOHNSON,

V10. It gives a very echo to the feat Where Love is thron'd.'

DUKE. Thou doft speak masterly:

My life upon't, young though thou art, thine eye
Hath ftay'd upon fome favour that it loves;
Hath it not, boy?

DUKE. She is not worth thee then. What years,

i'faith?

V10. About your years, my lord.

DUKE. Too old, by heaven; Let still the woman take

An elder than herfelf; fo wears fhe to him,
So fways the level in her husband's heart.
For, boy, however we do praise ourselves,
Our fancies are more giddy and unfirm,

More longing, wavering, fooner lost and worn,'
Than women's are.

Where Love is thron'd.] i. e. to the heart. So, in Romeo and Juliet:

"My bofom's lord [i. e. Love] fits lightly on his throne." Again, in Othello:

"Yield up O Love, thy crown, and hearted throne—.” So before, in the first act of this play:

66

when liver, brain, and heart,

"Thefe fovereign thrones, are all fupply'd and fill'd
"(Her fweet perfections) with one felf-king."

The meaning is, (as Mr. Heath has obferved,)" It is fo confonant to the emotions of the heart, that they echo it back again."

favour.] The word favour ambiguously used.

MALONE,

JOHNSON.

Favour, in the preceding speech, fignifies countenance. STEEVENS. loft and worn,] Though loft and worn may mean loft and aworn out, yet loft and won being, I think, better, these two words