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In this sonnet this mistake has happened four times.

MALONE.

Ib. 1. 23.

MALONE.

P. 45, l. 1.

Bids my heart; i. e. invites my heart.

So either by the picture of my love. Thus
Read---

the modern editions.

"So either by thy picture, or my love.” Ib. 1. 2. Thyself away, are present still with me. Are instead of art, according to the old copy. Thyself, though away, art present, &c. MALONE. Ib. 1. 10. It might be unused, &c. Read--it might unused, &c.

Ib. 1. 15.

P. 46, 1. 4.

Are left, &c. Read--art left

Whenas thy love, &c. When as, in ancient language, was synonymous to when. MALONE. Ib. 1. 5. Call'd to that and it, &c. Read---Call'd to that audit, &c.

Ib. 1. 10. Do I insconce me here; i. e. I fortify my-
A sconce was a species of fortification. MA-

self.

LONE.

Ib. 1. 13. On my part. Read--on thy part.

P. 48, 1. 2.

'Gain

passage find. Thus an erroneous modern edition; but read--'gan passage find---began to This sonnet was printed in a collection

find passage.

of verses, entitled " England's Helicon," in 1600; we also find it in " Love's Labour's Lost."

and

Ib. 1. 7. My hand hath sworn. In “ Love's Labour's Lost" this line is printed with a slight variation

Ib. 1. 8.

Ib. 1. 11.

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My hand is sworn.'

"" MALONE.

From thy throne. Read---from thy thorn.

Thou, for whom ev'n Jove would swear.

Other copies read-Thou, for whom Jove would swear; and Mr. Malone says swear is used here as a dissyllable; but it is more probable that a word was omitted. Previous to this line is the following additional couplet in Love's Labour's Lost :"

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"Do not call it sin in me,

"That I am forsworn for thee." EDITOR. Ib. 1. 18 and 19. Love is dying---Hearts denying, &c. Other copies read--

Love's denying, &c. i. e. A denial of love, a breach of faith, &c. being the cause of all these misfortunes. Heart's renying. Renying is from the French, renier,

to forswear.

MALONE.

Ib. 1. 19. Causer of this. Read-'cause of this; ì. e. Because of this. STEEVENS.

The old copy is right. The word causer is again used by Shakespeare in "Love's Labour's Lost :".

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"And study too, the causer of your vows." MALOne. The reason, I presume, that Mr. Steevens wish'd to alter this word, is on account of the singular number being expressed by causer, whereas there are many reasons given for all being amiss; we might, therefore, read causers, or rather causes of this. But why, I wonder, did Mr. Steevens propose the abbreviation of because, when the metre would admit of the whole word? EDI

TOR.

Ib. 1. 20. All my merry jigs, &c. A jig was a metrical composition. MALONE.

P. 49, 1. 6. Love hath forlorn me. As the metre, as well as the rhyme, in this passage, is defective, I suspect some corruption, and would read--

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"Love forlorn I;"

i. e. I love-forlorn; i. e. deserted, forsaken. STEE

VENS.

All the copies agree in the reading of the text. The metre is the same as in the corresponding line:--"O! cruel speeding.”

To the exactness of rhyme the author appears to have paid little attention. We have just had dame and re

main.

MALone.

The poets of Shakespeare's age were by no means exact with respect to rhyme, having then no hypercritics to encounter: but how comes it, that modern poets, for whom there can be no excuse, are equally defective? In the prologue to "Raising the Wind" we have becalm'd and charm'd for rhyme: is not this as bad as mourn I and forlorn me; oft and naught; dame and re

main?

EDITOR.

Ib. 1. 9. Sound no dell. Read---no deal; i. e. in no degree, more or less. STEEVENS.

Ib. 1. 13.

With sighs so deep.

Weelkes's copy

reads---My sighs, &c. which Mr. Malone conjectures

to be right.

Ib. ib.

Procures to weep. If we read---My sighs,

&c. we must also read Procure.

After the word Procure, him or the dog must be understood. MALONE.

If we read---With sighs, &c. the meaning must be this.---My curtail dog, &c. with deep anguish finds way to weep in howling, &c. and if we read procure, according to some copies, then it means,---I, with deep sighs, bring my dog to weep, &c. EDITOR.

Ib. 1. 15. Thro' heartless ground. Thus the old editions. Weelkes's copy reads---harkless ground.

If heartless ground be the true reading, it means, I think, uncultivated, desolated ground, corresponding in its appearance with the unhappy state of its owner. An hypercritic will, perhaps, ask how can the ground be harkless, if sighs resound? The answer is, that no other noise is heard but that of sighs: "The birds do not sing, the bells ring not," &c. MALONE.

Ib. 1. 18. Bring not forth their dye. This is an error of an erroneous modern edition. Read--

Bring not forth: they die."

Instead of this line, Weelkes's copy substitutes another (and better) line, which is alluded to in the preceding note, viz.

"Loud bells ring not cheerfully." EDITOR.

Ib. 1. 20. Nymphs black peeping. Read---back peep

ing,

Weelkes's copy reads with greater propriety---back creeping. EDITOR.

Weelkes's copy

P. 50, 1. 1. Farewell sweet love. reads---sweet lass, which constitutes rhyme for-was. Ib. 1. 2. For a sweet content, of all my woe the cause. Other copies read--

"For a sweet content, the cause of all my woe."

The transposition has been made in order to render rhyme for was. The copy printed in “ England's He

licon" has it--

"The cause of all my moan." Which makes it agree with the last line, and renders it uniform with the preceding stanzas, viz.

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"Farewell, sweet lass,

"Thy like ne'er was,

"For a sweet content the cause of all my moan;

65 Poor Coridon

"Must live alone, ⚫

Other help from him, I see, there is none."

EDITOR.

Ib. 1. 9. As well as fancy (partly all might.) Thus a modern edition. The old copy reads :--

"As well as fancy partial might."

Mr. Steevens proposed to read, (for the sake of rhyme)

"Partial tike,"

A term of contempt, he observed, employed by Shakespeare, and our old writers. Mr. Malone has seen a manuscript copy of this poem, of the age of Shakespeare, in the possession of Samuel Lysons, Esq. which has---partial tike, and which, he thinks, adds such supe port to Mr. Steevens's conjecture, that he has, in his edition, adopted that gentleman's proposed reading.

Instead of adopting an obsolete term, I would have preferred---partial like--alike partial; or, should this have been deemed incomprehensible, have retained--partial might, and rendered the preceding line:"And stall'd the deer that thou would'st smite."

EDITOR.

Fancy here means love. MALONE. Ib. 1. 13. With filed talk. With studied or polished language. MAlone.

Ib. 1. 17. And set a person. The old copy has it---her person.

Read---thy person.

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