These numbers will I tear, and write in prose. Disfigure not his flop. Long. The fame fhall go. [he reads the fonnet: Did not the heavenly rhetorick of thine eye ('Gainst whom the world cannot hold argument) Perfuade my heart to this falfe perjury, Vows, for thee broke, deferve not punishment: A woman I forfwore; but I will prove, Thou being a goddess, I forfwore not thee: My vow was earthly, theu a heavenly love; Thy grace being gain'd, cures all difgrace in me. Vows are but breath, and breath a vapour is : Then thou fair fun, which on my earth dost shine, Exhal'ft this vapour-vow; in thee it is: If broken then, it is no fault of mine; If by me broke, what fool is not fo wife, To lofe an oath to win a paradife? Biron [Afide.] This is the liver-vein, which makes flesh a deity; A green goofe, a goddess: pure, pure idolatry. God amend us, God amend! we are much out o' the way. 1 Oh, rhimes are guards on wanton Cupid's bofe : Disfigure not bis fhop.] All the editions happen to concur in this error: but what agreement in fenfe is there between Cupid's bofe and his fap? or, what relation can thofe two terms have to one another? or, what, indeed, can be understood by Cupid's foop? It muft undoubtedly be corrected, as I have reformed the text. Slops are large and wide-kneed breeches, the garb in fashion in our author's days, as we may observe from old family pictures; but they are now worn only by boors and fea-faring men and we have dealers whose fole bufinefs it is to furnish the failors with fhirts, jackets, &c.who are called, op men; and their shops, flop-hops. THEOBALD. the liver vein,— - The liver was anciently fup pofed to be the feat of love. JOHNSON. Enter Enter Dumain. Long. By whom fhall I fend this? -Company! ftay. [Stepping afide. Biron. [Afide.] All hid, all hid, an old infant play; Like a demy-god, here fit I in the sky, And wretched fool's fecrets heedfully o'er-eye: More facks to the mill! O heavens, I have my wifh; Dumain transform'd, four woodcocks in a dish! Dum. O most divine Kate! Biron. O most prophane coxcomb! [Afide. Dum. By heaven the wonder of a mortal eye! Biron. By earth, fhe is not corporal; there you [Afide. lie. Dum. Her amber hair for foul hath amber coted.* Biron. An amber-colour'd raven was well noted. [Afide. By earth, he is but corporal, there you lie.] Old edition: Dumain, one of the lovers, in fpite of his vow to the contrary, thinking himself alone here, breaks out into fhort foliloquies of admiration on his miftrefs; and Biron, who ftands behind as an eves-dropper, takes pleasure in contradicting his amorous raptures. But Dumain was a young lord: he had no fort of poft in the army: what wit, or allufion, then, can there be in Biron's calling him corporal? I dare warrant, I have restored the poet's true meaning, which is this. Dumain calls his mistress divine, and the wonder of a mortal eye; and Biron in flat terms denies these hyperbolical praises. I fcarce need hint, that our poet commonly ufes corporal as corporeal. THEOBALD. Theobald's emendation is plaufible, but perhaps unneceffary. The paffage may be thus explained. Dumain fwears first, by beaven, that the is the wonder of a mortal eye Biron feems in his reply to mean, Swear next by earth, that the is not corporal; and when you have carried matters fo far, I fhall not fcruple to tell you in yet plainer terms, that you lye. STEEVENS. +-amber coted.] To core is to outftrip, to overpafs. So in Hamlet. certain players 66 "We coted, &c." So in Chapman. 66 -Words her worth had prov'd with deeds "Had more ground been allow'd the race, and coted far "his fteeds." STEEVENS. Dd 4 Dum. Dum. As fair as day, [Afide Biron. Ay, as fome days; but then no fun muft fhine. [Afide. Dum, O that I had my wifh! Long. And I had mine! [Afide. King. And I mine too, good Lord! [Afide. Biran. Amen, fo I had mine! Is not that a good word? [Afide. Dum. I would forget her, but a fever she Reigns in my blood, and will remembred be. Biron. A fever in your blood! why then, incifion Would let her out in fawcers; fweet mifprifion ! [Afide. Dum. Once more I'll read the ode, that have writ. Biron. Once more I'll mark, how love can vary wit. Dumain reads his fonnet: On a day, (alack, the day!) [Afide. Air, would I might triumph fo!] Perhaps we may better read, Vow, alack, for youth unmeet, Youth fo apt to pluck a fweet. Do not call it fin in me, That I am forfworn for thee: Thou, for whom even fove would fwear, s Turning mortal for thy love. This will I fend, and fomething else more plain, Would from my forehead wipe a perjur'd note; Long. Dumain, thy love is far from charity, fuch; King. Come, Sir, you blush; as his, your cafe is [coming forward, You chide at him, offending twice as much. You do not love Maria? Longaville Did never fonnet for her fake compile ? Nor never lay'd his wreathed arms athwart His loving bofom, to keep down his heart. I have been closely fhrowded in this bush, And mark'd you both, and for you both did blush. I heard your guilty rhimes, obferv'd your fashion; Saw fighs reek from you, noted well your passion. 6 -even Jove would fwear,] The word even has been fupplied. STEEVENS. 7 --my true love's fasting pain.] I should rather chufe to read feftring, rankling. WARBURTON. There is no need of any alteration. Fafting is longing, hungry, avanting. JOHNSON. Ay, Ay me! fays one; O Jove! the other cries; [To Long. And Jove, for your love, would infringe an oath. [To Dumain. What will Biron say, when that he shall hear I would not have him know fo much by me. O, what a scene of foolery have I seen, To How will he triumph, leap, and laugh at it?] We should certainly read, geap, i. e. jeer, ridicule. WARBURTON. To leap is to exult, to fkip for joy. It muft ftand. JOHNSON. To fee a king transformed to a knot !] Knot has no fenfe that can fuit this place. We may read fot. The rhimes in this play are fuch, as that fat and for may be well enough admitted. JOHNSON. A knot is, I believe, a true lover's knot, meaning that the King -lay'd |