Perhaps Milton was thinking of this line, and another in Hamlet,

That thou, dead corse, thus clad in complete steel,

when he wrote the following line in Comus :
She that has that (chastity) is clad in complete steel.
P. 18.-18.-340.

Rom. O, she is rich in beauty; only poor,
That, when she dies, with beauty dies her store.

These words, as they stand at present, I do not understand, notwithstanding the explanations given by the commentators. Theobald's correction is intelligible to me.

P. 19.-19.-342.

Rom. These happy masks, that kiss fair ladies' brows,
Being black, put us in mind they hide the fair.

I think Mr. Malone is right.

P. 20.-20.-345.

Cap. The earth hath swallow'd all my hopes but she,
She is the hopeful lady of my earth.

I incline to believe that the explanation given by Mr. M. Mason and Mr. Malone is the true one.

P. 21.-22.-347.

Cap. Such comfort, as do lusty young men feel
When well-apparell'd April on the heel

Of limping winter treads..!

I think, with Mr. Malone, that the present reading is right.

And like her most, whose merit most shall be ;
Such, amongst view of many, mine, being one,
May stand in number, though in reckoning nonė.

This I do not understand. I am by no means

satisfied with Mr. Steevens's emendation. Of the

corrections proposed, I prefer Mr. Monk Mason's. If we could suppose, that such amongst view of many, was used for amongst view of many such, the sense would be easily intelligible: such would mean such as I have already described, "exquisite beauties, earth-treading stars." In this explanation I have no confidence, because I do not remember an instance of a similar collocation of words.

66

On Lammas eve at night shall she be fourteen;
That shall she, marry; I remember it well.
"Tis since the earthquake now eleven years;
And she was wean'd,- I never shall forget it,-
Of all the days of the year, upon that day.

"The earthquake is a mere stroke of fancy; "and it is worthy of a right antiquary to find "it in history, and in England 1580.”

p. 308. I agree with Heron.

P. 48.-48.-384.

HERON,

Rom. O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!

Her beauty hangs upon the cheek of night

Like a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear.

I agree with Mr. Steevens.

P. 56.-57-398.

Rom. He jests at scars, that never felt a wound.

I think Dr. Johnson has mistaken: I do not believe that Shakespeare supposed Romeo to have overheard Mercutio, or to have him in his thoughts. I take this to be intended for a general position, like that quoted by Mr. Steevens from Sidney's Arcadia.

None can speak of a wound with skill, if he have not a
wound felt.

Romeo only means to say, that before he was

in love he regarded the sufferings of lovers as objects rather of mirth than pity.

P. 58.-58.-399.

Rom. O, speak again, bright angel! for thou art
As glorious to this night, being o'er my head,
As is a winged messenger of heaven
Unto the white upturn'd wond'ring eyes
Of mortals, that fall back to gaze on him,
When he bestrides the lazy-pacing clouds,
And sails upon the bosom of the air.

I think we should adopt Theobald's correction, and read sight, for the reason candidly assigned by Mr. Steevens in the latter part of his note, which Mr. Malone has thought proper to suppress in his edition.

P. 58.-58.-400.

Jul. O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father, and refuse thy name:

Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,

And I'll no longer be a Capulet.

Rom. Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this? [Aside.
Jul. 'Tis but thy name, that is my enemy;-

Thou art thyself though, not a Montague.

I rather think the old punctuation, which places the comma after thyself, and not after though, is right; and I take the meaning to be, Thou wouldst continue the same person, though thou shouldst "deny thy father and refuse thy name," and so cease to be a Montague.

P. 61.-63.-405.

Jul. Dost thou love me? I know thou wilt say-Ay;
And I will take thy word: yet, if thou swear'st,
Thou may'st prove false; at lovers' perjuries,

They say, Jove laughs.

Jupiter ex alto perjuria ridet amantum,

Et jubet Æolios irrita ferre Notos.

Ov. de Arte Amandi, Lib. I. 633.

Nec jurare time. Veneris perjuria venti
Irrita per terras et freta summa ferunt.
Gratia magna Jovi. Vetuit pater ipse valere,
Jurasset cupide quicquid ineptus amor.

Tibull, Lib. I. El. 4. 21.

Mr. Malone's perverse and tasteless rejection of my sweet, because it is the reading of the 2d folio, is a striking instance to what lengths a pertinacious adherence to a system will carry one who has formed an hypothesis.

Yet I should kill thee with much cherishing.

Pope seems to have been thinking of this passage, when he wrote the following lines in his 2d pastoral.

Oh were I made by some transforming pow'r
The captive bird that sings within thy bow'r!
Then might my voice thy list'ning ears employ,
And I those kisses, he receives, enjoy.

I never could agree with Dr. Warton in preferring the wish of the shepherd in Theocritus to become a buzzing bee to this passage of Pope. Surely a lover would feel less pleasure in creeping among the leaves of ivy and fern, which compose the chaplet on his mistress's head, than in receiving her caresses, of which a bee is incapable. The Οφις-μικρος πτερώιος (as Cupid in Anacreon calls a bee) must be rather an object of terror than of delight and affection. In the 19th

Idyllium Dr. W. must remember a bee is represented as inflicting a severe wound: Cupid is described as stamping with pain:

τα δ ̓ Αφροδίτα

Δειξεν τὴν ὀδυναν, καὶ μέμφετο, ἔτλιγε τυτθον

Θηριον ενι μέλισσα, καὶ ἀλίκα τραυμα]α ποιεί.

I confess the bee in Theocritus reminds me of the humble bee in the Rehearsal.

P. 67.-66.-412.

Fri. The grey-ey'd morn smiles on the frowning night,
Checkering the eastern clouds with streaks of light;
And flecked darkness like a drunkard réels

From forth day's path-way, made by Titan's wheels!

I think Mr. Steevens has taken the right reading, which is confirmed by Mr. Holt White's quotation. The reading chosen by Mr. Malone I cannot understand.

P. 68.-69.-415.

Fri. Within the infant rind of this small flower
Poison hath residence, and med'cine power:

For this, being smelt, with that part cheers each part;
Being tasted, slays all senses with the heart.

I incline to suspect that the first part is a corruption, and wish to read sense with Theobald.

P. 75.-77.-425.

Mer. Follow me this jest now, till thou hast worn out
thy pump; that, when the single sole of it is worn, the
jest may remain, after the wearing, solely singular.
Rom. O single-soled jest, solely singular for the single-

ness.

Mer. Come between us, good Benvolio; my wits fail.

This reminds me of a passage in Congreve.

Millamant. Mincing, stand between me and his wife.
Witwoud. Do, Mrs. Mincing, like a skreen before a great
fire.