Escapium is a barbarous Latin word, signifying what comes by chance or accident. MALONE. P. 84, l. 1 and 3. Eye can spy---in darkness lie. Thus the modern editions. The first read : and " in darkness be." Ib. 1. 7. Upon their cheeks what helpless shume they Read---Upon my cheeks what helpless shame I feel. feel. Ib. 1. 17. Black stage for tragedies. In our author's time, I believe, the stage was hung with black, when tragedies were performed. The hanging however was, I suppose, no more than one piece of black baize placed at the back of the stage, in the room of the tapestry, which was the common decoration when comedies were performed. MALONE. P. 85, 1. 4. Noon-tide prick; i. e. the point of noon. STEEVENS. Ib. 1. 8. He is but night's child. The wicked, in scriptural language, are called the children of darkness. STEEVENS. Ib. 1. 9. Him would disdain. The first copies read ---He would distain :--- that of 1616 has it, ungrammatically---he would disdain. The above correction is by Dr. Sewell. Ib. 1. 10. Her twinkling handmaids; i. e. the stars. MALONE. Ib. 1. 14. As palmers, that make short their pilgrimage. This is the reading of the octavo, 1616, and the "Where now I have no one to blush with me." Where, according to Mr Malone's exposition, being put for Whereas. "But I alone," &c. But how does the following line :-- agree with Whereas? We must, agreeable to his sense, read---Whereas now I have no one to blush with me, &c. I alone must sit and pine, &c. and leave out the But. I therefore think, that Where now? is a frantic interrogation. EDITOR. Ib. 1. 28. Sepulcher'd in thy shade. The word se pulchered is thus accented by Milton in his verses on our author. MALONE. And so it should, when a verb; but when a noun, en the first syllable, like advértisement, advertise---chástisement, chastise, &c. EDITOR. Read--will show. P. 86, 1. 2. The light shall show. Ib. ib. Character'd in my brow. suppose, thus accented (on the second syllable) when our author wrote, and is at this day pronounced in the same manner by the country people in Ireland, where, I believe, much of the pronunciation of Queen Elizabeth's age is yet retained. MALONE. Ib. 1. 6. To cypher. tion of decipher. Read--'cipher, an abbrevia Ib. 1. 7. Will quote; i. e. Mark or observe. MA LONE. * Ib. 1. 12. `Feast-finding minstrels. Our ancient min strels were the constant attendants on feasts. STEEVENS. Ib. 1. 25. Read the mote afar. Thus the recent editions have it; but we should read according to the first, mot; i. e. the motto or word, as (Mr. Malone says) it was sometimes formerly called, which motto is the following line :-- "How he in peace," &c. P. 87, 1. 8. Yet am I guilty of thy honour's wreck? Other editions have it with greater propriety : "Yet am I guiltless of thy honor's wreck ?" The first copy has it guilty, but not as an interrogatory, which Dr. Sewell adopted, in order to render it sense. But this does not accord with the next verse, (line) where the words are arranged as here, and yet are not interrogatory, but affirmative. Guilty was, I am persuaded, a misprint. Though the first copy seems to have been printed under our author's inspection, we are not, therefore, to conclude that it is entirely free from typographical faults. Shakespeare was, probably, not a very diligent corrector of his sheets; and, however attentive he might have been, I am sorry to be able to observe, that, notwithstanding an editor's best care, some errors will happen at the press. If the author wrote guilty, then, undoubtedly, there was some error in the subsequent line. Shakespeare might have written :-- "Yet am I guilty of his honor's wreck? The compositor's eye might have glanced a second time on the first line, and thus the word Yet might have been inadvertently repeated. MALONE. Ib. 1. 12. 1. 17. He did complain him. See note, p. 78; Or tyrant folly lurk in gentle breasts? Folly is, I believe, here used as in scripture, for wick edness. Gentle is well-born. MALONE. Ib. 1. 26. And useless bans. Read---burns, accord ing to all the copies before that of 1616. P. 83, 1. 2. P. 89, 1. 3. Displaceth. Read---displacest. Thy smothering titles. Read---smoothing; i. c. flattering, according to the first editions. Ib. ib. To a ragged name; i. e. a contemptible ignominious name. MALONE. Ib. 1. 10. When wilt thou sort an hour. When wilt thou choose out an hour. MALONE. Ib. 1. 18, Advice is sporting, &c. While infection is spreading, the grave rulers of the state, that ought to guard against its further progress, are careless and inattentive. Advice was formerly used for knowledge and deliberation. MALONE. This idea was probably suggested to Shakespeare by the rapid progress of the plague in London. STEEVENS. Ib. 1. 20. And murder rages. Read---murder's rages. Ib. 1. 25. Well apaid. Read--appay'd; i. e. pleased. The word is now obsolete. MALONE. P. 90, 1. 8. Copesmate; i. e. companion. STEEVENS. Ib. 1. 15. Thy servant opportunity. Read--thy servant, opportunity. Ib. 1. 19. Time's office is to find the hate of foes. Thus the modern editions. The proper reading is---to fine the hate of foes. It is the business of time to soften and refine the animosities of men---to soothe and reconcile enemies. MALONE. "To fine the hate of foes," is to bring to an end. The same thought has already occurred in the poem before us:- "When wilt thou sort an hour great strifes to end ?" STEEVENS. Ib. 1. 26. To wrong the wronger till he render right. To punish, by the compunctions visiting of conscience, the person who has done an injury to another, till he has made compensation. Dr. Farmer would very ele gantly read:- To wring the wrongs, &c. MALONE. Ib. 1. 27. To ruinate proud buildings with thy hours. As we have here no invocation to time, I suspect the two last words of this line to be corrupted, and would read :-- To ruinate proud buildings with their bowers. STEEVENS. 3 Hours is surely the true reading. In the preceding address to opportunity the same words are employed: "Wrath, envy, treason, rape, and murder's rages, "Thy heinous hours wait on them as their pages." To ruinate proud buildings with thy hours, is to destroy buildings by thy slow and unperceived progress. It were easy to read with his hours; but the poet ha |