P. 101. (1)

"Ere he can spread his sweet leaves to the air,
Or dedicate his beauty to the sun."

Theobald's emendation.-The old eds. have" to the same."—" "Theobald," observes Mr. Knight, "gave us sun; and we could scarcely wish to restore the old reading, even if the probability of a typographical error, same for sunne, were not so obvious." See also my Remarks on Mr. Collier's and Mr. Knight's eds. of Shakespeare, p. 167.

The old eds. mark his entrance some lines earlier, just as previously in the present scene, p. 98, they make Abraham and Balthasar, and also Benvolio, enter too soon,—and only because they followed the prompter's book, which had the entrances so set down, to show that the performers were to be in readiness to appear on the stage. Again, in act ii. sc. 3, p. 125, according to the old eds., Romeo enters while the Friar has yet several lines of his soliloquy to utter. To this the modern editors have not attended (see my Remarks

on Mr. Collier's and Mr. Knight's eds. of Shakespeare, p. 147).

So the second folio.—The first quarto has "best seeming thinges."-The later quartos and the first folio have "welseeing formes."

P. 103. (*)

66

And, in strong proof of chastity well arm'd,

From love's weak childish bow she lives unharm'd."

Here I have not disturbed the usual modern lection.-The first quarto has, "Gainst Cupids childish bow she liues vnharm'd."

The other eds. have,

"From loues weake childish bow she liues vncharmd." (which a writer in Blackwood's Magazine for Oct. 1853, p. 454, thinks may mean "disenchanted from the power of love," &c.:-I cannot agree with him). -Mr. Grant White (Shakespeare's Scholar, &c. p. 370) says, that the emendation of Mr. Collier's Ms. Corrector, “——— she lives encharm'd,"--" will hereafter take a place in the text without a question:" which, I apprehend, he would not have said, if he had recollected that “unharm'd” is the reading of the first quarto, and not,—as he, Mr. Collier, and some others state, the conjectural alteration of Rowe.

P. 103. ($) Theobald printed the Varior. Shakespeare.

with her dies beauty's store:" but see notes ad l. in

P. 104. (6)

"Par. Younger than she are happy mothers made.

Cap. And too soon marr'd are those so early made."

The first quarto alone has ". so early maried;" which is also the reading of Mr. Collier's Ms. Corrector, and which, Mr. Singer says, "is undoubtedly the true one; as we have it in Puttenham, 'The maid that soon married is soon marred is.'" (Shakespeare Vindicated, &c. p. 231.) But, as Steevens ad l. observes, "the jingle between marr'd and made is likewise frequent among the old writers. So Sidney,

'Oh, he is marr'd, that is for others made!'

Spenser introduces it very often in his different poems:"-he might have added, that Shakespeare has it several times; so in the present play, p. 130, "that God hath made himself to mar;" and in Macbeth, act ii. sc. 3, "it makes him, and it mars him." And, as Paris has used the word "made," it appears to me most natural that Capulet in his rejoinder should use "made” also.

P. 104. (7)

Earth hath swallow'd all my hopes but she," &c.

This line, I conceive, is not to be mended by printing "swallowèd.”—The second folio has "Earth up hath swallowed," &c.-The usual modern reading is "The earth hath swallow'd," &c.

P. 104. (8)

66

Such, amongst view of many, mine being one,

May stand in number, though in reckoning none.”

So the first quarto.—The later eds. have (not more intelligibly), “Which one [on] more veiew of many," &c.-See the notes ad l. in the Varior. Shakespeare.

P. 106. (9)

"Serv. To supper; to our house."

"The words 'to supper' are in the old copies annexed to the preceding speech. They undoubtedly belong to the Servant, to whom they were transferred by Mr. Theobald [by Warburton apud Theobald]." MALONE.

Theobald printed "Your lady-love," &c. But the old text is right enough.

P. 112. (11)

"O'er courtiers' knees, that dream on court'sies straight;

O'er lawyers' fingers

O'er ladies' lips," &c.

Even if the first quarto had not had "O're courtiers knees: who strait on cursies dreame," &c., the context ought to have shown Malone and those

other editors who print "On courtiers' knees," &c., that "On" is grossly wrong. (With respect to the rather awkward repetition, "a courtier's nose," which occurs soon after,-and which, according to Steevens, was owing to the alterations made in this speech from time to time by the author, the various attempts to do away with it have proved as unhappy as they are useless.)

I am not sure that the dialogue here is rightly distributed; perhaps there should be a third speaker:-but it is of no great consequence.

P. 114. (13) "It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night," &c.

This is generally quoted with the reading, "Her beauty hangs," &c.,-a reading which is found in none of the old eds. prior to the second folio, and therefore, however it may be regarded as an improvement,-has not the shadow of a claim to be received into the text.

Warburton's correction.-The old eds. have "the gentle sinne" (and "sin"),

&c.

P. 118. (15)

"Mer. Nay, I'll conjure too."

Mr. Collier ad l. is mistaken in saying that all the old copies give this to Benvolio: the first quarto has "Mer: Call, nay lle coniure too."

The old eds. have “Young Abraham Cupid," &c.-That here the “Abraham” of the early copies is merely a corrupted form of " auburn," I now feel more confident than when I made the following remarks on this passage:

"Upton altered 'Abraham' to 'Adam,' understanding the allusion to be to the celebrated archer Adam Bell; and, since Upton's time, the alteration has been adopted by all editors, except Capell and Mr. Knight;-the former hazarding the strange conjecture, that, ‘as Cophetua was a Jew king of Africa, Shakespeare might make the Cupid that struck him a Jew Cupid,' Notes, &c. vol. ii. P. iv. 7; the latter telling us that 'the 'Abraham' Cupid is the cheatthe Abraham man'-of our old statutes.'

That Shakespeare had an eye to the ballad of King Cophetua and the Beggar Maid is certain;

"The blinded boy that shootes so trim,

From heaven down did hie,

He drew a dart, and shot at him

In place where he did lye.'

But this stanza contains nothing to countenance, in the slightest degree, the reading 'Adam Cupid.'

In Soliman and Perseda, 1599, we find,

'Where is the eldest sonne of Pryam,
That abraham-coloured Troion? dead.'

in Middleton's Blurt, Master Constable, 1602,

Sig. H 3.

'A goodlie, long, thicke, Abram-colour'd beard.'

Sig. D.

and in our author's Coriolanus, act ii. sc. 3, according to the first three folios, 'not that our heads are some browne, some blacke, som Abram;' there being no reason to doubt that in these passages ‘abraham' (or ‘Abram') is a corruption of abron,' i.e. 'auburn.' Is, then, the right reading in the present line,"Young abram [=auburn] Cupid,' &c.,—

Shakespeare having used ‘abram' for 'auburn-hair'd,' as the author of Soliman and Perseda has used abraham-colour'd Troion' for 'Trojan with auburncoloured hair?' Every body familiar with the Italian poets knows that they term Cupid, as well as Apollo, 'Il biondo Dio:' and W. Thomas, in his Principal Rules of the Italian Grammer, &c., gives; 'Biondo, the aberne [i.e. auburn] colour, that is betwene white and yelow.' Sig. E 2, ed. 1567. In our author's Two Gentlemen of Verona, act iv. sc. 2, ‘auburn' means yellowish,— 'Her hair is auburn, mine is perfect yellow.'"

A Few Notes on Shakespeare, &c. p. 109.

So the first quarto,—which I mention only because two critics have recently spoken of this as a modern reading, and prefer "the lazy-passing clouds," &c., substituted by Mr. Collier's Ms. Corrector for "the lazie puffing cloudes," &c., of the later quartos and of the folio.

So the undated quarto, and rightly.-Both Mr. Knight and Mr. Collier give the lection of the other old eds., " To cease thy strife," &c.,-Mr. Knight without any note, and Mr. Collier with a note which may mislead the reader to suppose that "suit" is a modern conjectural emendation.

P. 123. (19)

"And make her airy tongue more hoarse than mine," &c. Mr. Collier prints "And make her airy voice more hoarse than mine." &c.; and remarks, "So the quarto 1597, more fitly than the later copies, which substitute tongue for 'voice.' All modern editors read tongue, not observing the

variation in the editions." But the word "voice" occurs just above; and, though the expression, "her airy tongue more hoarse," &c., is, strictly speaking, incorrect, it surely may be allowed in poetry. To "airy tongue," at least, Milton saw no objection; for he recollected the present passage when he wrote,

"And airy tongues that syllable men's names," &c.

Comus, v. 208.

P. 123. (20)

"My dear ?"

So the undated quarto ("My Deere").-The first quarto has "Madame."— The other two quartos "My neece” (“neece” being evidently a blunder for "deere," and by progressive corruption,—“ Deere," "Neere," "Neece").—The folio also has "My Neece."-The editor of the second folio substituted ". sweete."

P. 125. (21)

But where unbruised youth with unstuff"d brain," &c. Mr. Collier's Ms. Corrector changes “unbruisèd” to "unbusied."

My

We are to suppose that Benvolio uses the word "indite” in ridicule of the Nurse's "confidence.”—Mr. Collier's Ms. Corrector (see Mr. Collier's onevolume Shakespeare) substitutes "invite:"-which is also the reading of the first quarto: but there, in the preceding speech, instead of “confidence,” we find "conference."

The "1" was inserted by the editor of the second folio.

P. 132. (25)

66

"R is for the dog: no; I know," &c.

The old eds. have “R. is for the no, I know," &c.-I give Tyrwhitt's emendation (which is far more probable than Warburton's reading, "R. for thee? no," &c., or Mr. Collier's, “R. is for thee? no," &c., or what Ritson calls the "proper regulation"-" R. is for the,-no; I know," &c.)

P. 133. (26) "But old folks, many feign as they were dead," &c. There is, I make little doubt, some corruption in the words "many feign" (old eds. "many faine"): it has been proposed to alter "many" to "marry;" and Mr. Collier's Ms. Corrector re-writes the passage.