Midfummer-Night's Dream..

P. 93. Long wintering on a young man's revenue. Wintering on, is a conjecture of Mr. Warburton's. The common reading was,

Long withering out a young man's revenue :

an expreffion which he confidently affures us is not good English, though he hath not condefcended to give us his reafons. Notwithstanding which unfupported affertion, it may however be Shakespear's English, the energy of whofe language not unfrequently foars, as we have already feen, beyond the comprehenfion of the verbal critick. I must own the metaphor appears to me extremely appofite to denote the lingering confumption and decay of an eftate, the owner of which is impairing it by continual drains, in confequence of his youthful prodigality, at the fame time that the cleareft part of its income is intercepted before it comes to his hands.

P. 95. By him imprinted; and within his power To 'leve the figure, or disfigure it.

See the Canons of Criticism, p. 64, 65. To 'leve, for releve, by an initial aphærefis, is a word unknown as well to the French as the English language. Even to releve, in the fenfe of heightening a figure, in which Mr. Warburton would introduce it in this place, is not English, though it be French. The common reading, leave, is moft undoubtedly the

true one.

P. 98. Beteem them:

To teme, vacuare, exhaurire. Hinc Lincoln. To teem out, Effundere; ab Hibernico tiomam, exantJare. Lye's Erymolog,

P. 100.

P. 100. Her. My good Lyfander,

Lyf. I fwear to thee by Cupid's Strongest bow, &c.

Mr. Warburton feems fo little acquainted with the genuine undisguifed workings of nature and the human paffions, that he is unable to recognize them when fairly exhibited to his view. This very paffage affords the strongest proof of his inability in this respect, fince, in his attempt to correct it, he hath, under the pretext of following nature, diftorted and mangled the fine drawing our poet had given from her, by putting the greatest part of Hermia's answer to the propofal of Lyfander, into the mouth of the latter. Let us confider his objections: Lyfander does but juft propofe her running away from her father at midnight, and ftraight fhe is at her oaths that she will meet him at the place of rendezvous.' No doubt fuch a conduct is not to be justified according to the ftrict rules of prudence. But when it is confidered, that fhe is deeply in love, and a just allowance is made for the neceffity of her fituation, being but juft fentenced, either to death, a vow of perpetual virginity, or a marriage fhe detefted, every equitable reader, and I am fure the fair fex in general, will be more inclined to pity than blame her. Not one doubt or hesitation, not one condition of affurance for Lyfander's conftancy.' The intimacy of their love, and their perfect confidence in each others fidelity, furely rendered such distrustful precautions unneceffary. The ladies, I believe, will generally agree, that, if she could not rely on her fervant's love, her fecurity would be very little bettered by his profeffions and verbal affurances, however folemnly given. Either fhe was naufeously coming;'-The poet fuppofes her, not only coming, but actually come, and that each of the lovers

had

had been long in the full and conscious poffeffion of the other's heart; and, in this fituation, the fame behaviour would be extremely proper, which might reasonably disgust a ftranger or flight acquaintance. • Or fhe had before jilted him; and he could not believe her without a thousand oaths.' He asks. no oaths of her. They are the fuperfluous, but tender effufion of her own heart-felt paffion. On the other hand, how manifeft is the impropriety of the following lines in the mouth of Lyfander?

And by that fire which burn'd the Carthage queen,
When the falfe Trojan under fail was feen;
By all the vows that ever men have broke,
In number more than ever women spoke.

Would any man in his fenfes, when he is giving the strongest affurances of his fidelity to his mistress, endeavour at the fame time to defeat the purpose, and destroy the effect of them, by expressly reminding her how often her fex had been deceived and ruined by trufting to fuch fecurity? Whereas in her mouth thefe expreffions have the greatest beauty. She finely infinuates to her lover, that she is not infenfible of the hazard fhe runs from the entire confidence the repofes in him; but at the fame time fhe lets him fee, that fhe loves him with a paffion above being reftrained by this or any other confideration. This excefs of tenderness expreffed with fo much delicacy, muft very strongly affect every mind that is fufceptible of a fympathy with thofe generous fentiments. It is plain that Mr. Warburton hath fo little fenfibility of them that he doth not even understand their language; a most unhappy fymptom of his incapacity for the part of a commentator on fuch a poet as Shakespear, whofe foul was full of them, and felt them in their utmost force and delicacy.

P. 102,

P. 102. Emplying our bofoms of their counsels fwell'd ; There, my Lyfander and myself shall meet.

It is evident, as well from the diffonance of the rhyme, as from the abfurdity and falfe grammar of the expreffion, bofoms fwell'd of their counfels,' that the laft word of the firft line is corrupt. Mr. Theobald hath by a very happy conjecture corrected this wrong reading, fubftituting in its place,

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Emptying our bofoms of their counfels fweet;

that is, emptying our bofoms of thofe fecrets upon which we were wont to confult each other with fo fweet a fatisfaction. The poet feems to have had in his eye the following paffage in Pfalm lv. 14, "But it was even thou, my companion, my "guide, and mine own familiar friend. We took "sweet counsel together, and walked in the house of "God as friends." Mr. Warburton hath given us the old corrupted text, without vouchfafing fo much as to mention Mr. Theobald or his emendation.

Ibid. And thence from Athens turn away our eyes,
To feek new friends and flrange companions.

Here too the rhyme is defective, which Mr. Theobald hath with some probability restored by substituting,

To feek new friends and ftranger companies. See his note on the place.

P. 103. And fo go on to a point.

So Mr. Warburton enjoins us to read; the common text was, and fo grow on to a point; that is, and fo by degrees proceed to fome conclufion of the business in hand. It is by no means fo clear as this critick prefumes, that this reading is wrong. The expreffion feems rather to have fome propriety and

humour

humour in the mouth of a weaver, whofe piece is continually growing on or encreafing till it is terminated in the last thread.

P. 104. I could play Ercles rarely, or a part to tear a cap in.

Mr. Warburton informs us, that a ranting bully was called a tear-cap,' but he gives us no other authority for it but his own bare affertion, which by this time perhaps the reader may be inclined to think is no very good one. I fuppofe it might not be unusual for a player, in the violence of his rant, fometimes to tear his cap; and if fo, the emendation may poffibly be right. It is poffible too that the explanation of the common reading, a part "to tear a cat in,' given us in the Canons of Criticifm, p. 14. to wit, that it is a burlefque upon Hercules's killing a lion, may be the true one, in which cafe Mr. Warburton's correction is unneceffary. The determination is fubmitted to the reader.

P. 109. Didst thou not lead him glimmering, through the night?

It is not eafy to guess at the reafon which induced Mr. Warburton to corrupt the text in this place. The common reading was,

Didft thou not lead him through the glimmering night. which prefents us with an image univerfally known, and readily apprehended. But to represent the Queen' of Fairies herself as fupplying the place of a Jack o' the lanthorn makes a moft burlefque contrast with that dignity of character with which the poet hath cloathed her, and is indeed perfectly ridiculous.

Ibid. And never fince that middle fummer's fpring. We fhould re-establish the ancient and authentick reading,

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