after repeated attempts, he declares he dares not utter: on which she taxes him with want of affection to herself, and he then, with all the delicacy of respectful feeling, after an injunction of silence, replies, as in the text · Peace! Calantha is the princess-the king's daughter- (her claims progressively rising in dignity)—to shew the hopeless nature of his love. What now becomes of Mr. Weber's poor vulgarism-Calantha 'tis? G.303. W.278.-Or progress in the chariot of thy sun. Read: in the chariot of the sun. This passage is not without curiosity, as tending to prove that some of the words now supposed to be Americanisms, were in use among our ancestors, and crossed the Atlantic with them. It is not generally known that Ford's county (Devonshire) supplied a very considerable number of the earlier settlers in the Colonies. G. 303. W.278.-Grausis r. Groneas. G.305. W.279.-O that I could preserve thee in fruition "For preserve, I suspect we should read but serve." A more extraordinary suspicion never entered mortal head: the only apology for it is, that Mr. Weber did not know what he was saying. To outdo art, and try a jealousy. "The old copy reads, quite absurdly, cry a jealousy." I omit the rest, in pity to the reader: but Mr. Weber makes sense of the passage, he says, by reading try,* which, as occurring immediately above, is the last word that would i. e. I must try to try. have occurred to any reasonable man! I believe that here is again a dislocation, and would read, without much effort— Some way I must try G. 310. W. 284. To outdo art, and jealousy decry. if out of those inventions Which flow in Athens, thou hast there engross'd Engrossed, i. e. taken a sketch, or a general idea of." What is Mr. Weber thinking of? Engrossed is simply "made thyself master of." It occurs in the very same sense in Love's Sacrifice, Act iv. s. i. G. 312. IV.285.-Wish him thrift in all his best desires. 'Thrift is not used in its usual sense, but in that of thriving.” To copy such hopeless imbecillity is almost too much for any patience; to observe upon it, is impossible. G.315. W.288.-But] 'i. e. only!' G. 315. W.288.-To wait on thy direction. read directions. G. 317. W.290.-When any troubled passion makes us halt No absurdity, however gross, could raise any suspicion of inaccuracy in Mr. Weber's mind, and tempt him to recur to the original. This blundering passage is one of many, equally incorrect, quoted by the Edinburgh Reviewers, without the smallest apparent doubt of its fidelity. In Massinger they could find errors in every page; but in the publication before us, their lynx-eyes wearied themselves in vain to detect a mistake. G. 317. W.290.-Speak; and enjoy it. "The old copy reads, Speak, I enjoy it ;”— which Mr. Weber, with vast parade, and the assistance of a grammatical friend, corrects as above; "the old compositor having mistakingly substituted" (as he learnedly phrases it) "the pronoun for the common sign of abbreviation, used for the conjunctive particle." The two Priscians have carefully attended to honest Dogberry's advice, and let "their reading and writing appear when there was no need of such vanities." Calantha means as she says, "Proceed, I take pleasure in it." Three times in the course of this very scene, she repeats the same sentiment. Were any alteration necessary (which there is not) we might read, at once, Speak, aye enjoy it. G.318. W.290.-Beshrew thy sadness, Thou turn'st me to much woman. Read: Beshrew thy sadness! Thou turn'st me too much woman. The speaker is Calantha. G.318. W.291.-Rather than raging of the blood. How Mr. Weber could read the sweetly chaste speech of Penthea, and wilfully corrupt " ranging" to "raging," surpasses all conception. G. 319. W.292.-What say'st thou? Read: What saidst thou? A far better reading. G. 323. W.295.-My lord, ye were too froward. G. 328. W.298.-The balsam of a supple patience. G. 328. W.299.-" List, i.e. hearken" ! Mille graces! G. 331. W.301.-I who was made a monarch Of what a heart could wish, of a chaste wife. "The old copy reads, for a chaste wife.' Here again Mr. Weber's meddling folly is inexcusable. Read, with the original I who was made a monarch Of what a heart could wish for, a chaste wife. G. 331. W.302.-To redeem a sacrilege so impious I have incensed a largess of more patience For this nonsense, read, To redeem a sacrilege so impious, G. 332. W.302.-Practise no farther. Directly the reverse of the speaker's meaning. Read, G 332. IV.302.-May the death of love to her. G. 334. W.304.-Every antick rapture. upon me. "A metaphor, taken from the caricature of dramatic enter G.341. W. 310. Read: our labouring age draws to a rest: But must Calantha quail to that young grape. our labouring age draws to a rest; But must Calantha quail too? that young grape? This speech is taken by Mr. Weber from the king, to whom it characteristically belongs, and given to Armostes: yet he has a note on it! G. 344. W.313.-Have I kept my word? Read: Have I now kept my word? The omission not only destroys the metre, but the point of the verse. G. 344. W.313.-Rich fortune's guard. Mr. Weber, who has an explanatory note here, too, has missed the poet's meaning after all. Read: Rich fortunes guard! i. e. may they, &c. G.344. W.313.-Ho, here's a swinge in destiny! Apparent Apparent, i. e. apparently." Read: Ho, here's a swing in destiny apparent! G. 347. W.315.-Fortends it Jove. "The 4to reads, fortends, which was never, I believe, used in the sense of forefend." The 4to clearly and distinctly reads, forefend, i.e. forbid. G. 348. W.316.-Scene IV. "A chair with an engine." On this unfortunate chair Mr. Weber is quite facetious. "This most wonderful chair, (he says) should it ever be introduced, must be furnished with a trap to catch the person who unwarily attempts to rest upon it, &c. According to our ideas, the contrivance is very ludicrous; but Ford was probably thinking of some horrible instrument of torture, in the contrivance of which our ancestors were not only inge nious, but attempted to be elegant." Has the reader had enough of this despicable trash? To |