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of the dogs and hunters; then seeing the bear, he cries, this is the chace, or, the animal pursued.

Line 409.

427.

JOHNSON. -flap-dragoned it :] i. e. swallowed it. -a bearing-cloth-] A bearing-cloth is the fine mantle or cloth with which a child is usually covered when it is carried to the church to be baptised.

Line 430.

PERCY -some changeling :] i. e. some child left behind by the fairies, in the room of one which they had stolen.

Line 442.

STEEVENS. -they are never curst, but when they are hun

gry:] Curst signifies malicious, or mischievous.

ACT IV.

Line 7.

-and leave the growth untried

Of that wide gap ;] The growth of the wide gap, is somewhat irregular; but he means the growth, or progression of the time which filled up the gap of the story between Perdita's birth and her sixteenth year. To leave this growth untried, is to leave the passages of the intermediate years unnoted and unexamined. JOHNSON.

Line 8. —since it is in my power, &c.] The reasoning of Time is not very clear; he seems to mean, that he who has broke so many laws may now break another; that he who introduced every thing, may introduce Perdita on her sixteenth year; and he intreats that he may pass as of old, before any order or succession of objects, ancient or modern, distinguished his periods. JOHNSON.

Line 31. Is the argument of time :] Argument is the same with subject.

JOHNSON.

STEEVENS.

Line 68. -but I have, missingly noted,] Missingly noted, meaus, I have observed him at intervals, not constantly or regularly, but occasionally. Line 85. But, I fear the angle-] Angle in this place means a fishing-rod, which he represents as drawing his son like a fish away.

STEEVENS

ANNOTATIONS ON

[ACT IV.

Line 87.

-some question-] i. e. some debate, some talk. Line 99. For the red blood reigns in the winter's pale.] i. e. the red or spring blood now holds dominion o'er those parts lately benumbed by winter.

Line 102. pugging tooth-] Sir T. Hanmer, and after him Dr. Warburton, read, progging tooth. It is certain that pugging is not now understood. But Dr. Thirlby observes, that this is the cant of gypsies.

JOHNSON.

Line 106. -my aunts,] Aunt appears to have been at

this time a cant word for a bawd.

Line 109.

name for rich velvet.

Line 121.

STEEVENS.

wore three pile ;] three-pile was the old

PERCY.

With die and drab, I purchased this caparison; i. e. with gaming and whoring, I brought myself to this shabhy dress. Line 122. -my revenue is the silly cheat:] Silly is used by the writers of our author's time, for simple, low, mean; and in this the humour of the speech consists. I don't aspire to arduous and high things, as bridewell or the gallows; I am content with this humble and low way of life, as a snapper-up of unconsidered trifles. WARBURTON,

Line 123. Gallows, and knock, &c.] The resistance which a highwayman encounters in the fact, and the punishment which he suffers on detection, withhold me from daring robbery, and determine me to the silly cheat and petty theft.

Line 128.

wool.

JOHNSON.

tods ;] A tod is twenty-eight pounds of PERCY.

Line 137. -three-man song-men all,] i. e. singers of catches in three parts. A six-man-song occurs in the Tournament of Tottenham. See The Rel. of Poetry, vol. ii. p. 24.

PERCY.

Line 141. —warden-pies ;] Wardens are a species of large pears. I believe the name is disused at present.

STEEVENS.

Line 184.

The game of nine-holes.

-with trol-my-dames :] Trou-madame, French. WARBURTON. Line 191. -abide] To abide, here, must signify, to sojourn, to live for a time without a settled habitation.

JOHNSON.

Line 195. -motion of the prodigal son,] i. e. the puppet-shew, then called motions. A term frequently occurring in our author. WARBURTON.

Line 222. -let me be unrolled, and my name put in the book of virtue!] Begging gypsies, in the time of our author, were in gangs and companies, that had something of the shew of an incorporated body. From this noble society he wishes he may be unrolled if he does not so and so. WARBURTON. Line 225. -hent the stile-a:] Hent is from the verb to

hend, to take hold of, to seize.

Line 236.

your extremes,] That is, your excesses, the JOHNSON.

extravagance of your praises.

Line, 238. The gracious mark o' the land,] The object of all men's notice and expectation.

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JOHNSON.

To show myself a glass.] i. e. one would think that in putting on this habit of a shepherd, you had sworn to put me out of countenance; for in this, as in a glass, you shew me how much below yourself you must descend before you can get upon a level with me. The sentiment is fine, and expresses all the delicacy, as well as humble modesty of the character. WARBURTON.

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Vilely bound up!] It is impossible for any man to rid his mind of his profession. The authorship of Shakspeare has supplied him with a metaphor, which rather than he would lose it, he has put with no great propriety into the mouth of a country maid. Thinking of his own works, his mind passed naturally to the binder. I am glad that he has no hint at an editor. JOHNSON.

Line 318. Grace, and remembrance,] Rue was called herb of grace. Rosemary was the emblem of remembrance; I know not why, unless because it was carried at funerals.

Line 373.

-violets, dim,

JOHNSON.

But sweeter than the lids of Juno's eyes,] I suspect that our author mistakes Juno for Pallas, who was the goddess of blue eyes. Sweeter than an eye-lid is an odd image: but perhaps he uses sweet in the general sense, for delightful. JOHNSON.

It was formerly the fashion to kiss the eyes as a mark of extraordinary tenderness. I have somewhere met with an account of the first reception one of our kings gave to his new queen, where he is said to have kissed her fayre eyes.

Line 399.

STEEVENS.

·Each your doing, &c.] That is, your man

ner in each act crowns the act.

Line 427.

behaviour.

Line 434.

JOHNSON.

-we stand, &c.] That is, we are now on our

JOHNSON.

—a worthy feeding :] I conceive feeding to be a pasture, and a worthy feeding to be a tract of pasturage not inconsiderable, not unworthy of my daughter's fortune.

for truth.

Line 436.

Line 462.

496.

JOHNSON. He looks like sooth :] Sooth is an obsolete word

-fadings:] A dance so called.

poking-sticks of steel,] The poking-sticks

were heated in the fire, and made use of to adjust the plaits of ruffs.

Line 518.

STEEVENS. - clamour your tongues,] The phrase is taken from ringing. When bells are at the height, in order to cease them, the repetition of the strokes becomes much quicker than before; this is called clamouring them.

WARBURTON.

Line 520. -A pair of sweet gloves.] Sweet or perfumed gloves are frequently mentioned by Shakspeare, and were very fashionable in the age of Elizabeth, and long afterwards. WARBURTON.

Line 603. -bowling,] Bowling, I believe, is here a term for a dance of smooth motion without great exertion of agility. JOHNSON.

Line 793. -and by my fancy:] It must be remembered that fancy in this author very often, as in this place, means love. JOHNSON.

Line 863. Ourselves to be the slaves of chance,] As chance has driven me to these extremities, so I commit myself to chance to be conducted through them. JOHNSON.

ACT V.

Line 17. Or, from the all that are, took something good,] This is a favourite thought; it was bestowed on Miranda and Rosalind before.

Line 82.

95.

198.

Should rift-] i. e. should split.

JOHNSON.

Affront his eye ] To affront, is to meet. JOHNSON,

-whose daughter

His tears proclaim'd his parting with her:] This is very ungrammatical and obscure. We may better read, -whose daughter

His tears proclaim'd her parting with her.

The prince first tells that the lady came from Lybia, the king interrupting him, says, from Smalus; from him, says the prince, whose tears, at parting, shewed her to be his daughter. JOHNSON.

The obscurity arises from want of a proper punctuation. By placing a comma after his, I think the sense is clear'd.

STEEVENS.

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