MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM.

"I see that men make ropes in such a scarre,That we'll forsake ourselves."

"I see that men make ropes in such a scarre,

That we'll forsake ourselves."

This is evident nonsense. Rowe readhopesandaffairsfor 'ropes' and 'scarre'; and to this emendation, or Mitford's ofcasefor 'scarre,' I see no very serious objection. We have "make envy" (Hen. VIII. v. 2), "make doubt" (Ib.), "make comfort" (Cymb. i. 2), "making practice" (Meas. for Meas. iii. 2). Why then object to "make hopes?" even though it is to be found nowhere else in Shakespeare. 'Scarre,' however, is probably right; in Lingua (i. 6) we have, "Poets will write whole volumes of thisscar." It must be remembered thatscarewas writtenscarre, and so as a substantive 'scarre' may be fright, alarm, flutter, perturbation. Finally, it is even possible that 'ropes' may be right, a line being lost; something of this sort: "Of oaths and vows to scale our fort, in hope."

"Have the like oaths. He had sworn to marry me."

Here, as elsewhere, we havehasandhadconfounded.

"Merely our traitors, and, as in the common course of all treasons, we still see them reveal themselves, till they attain to their abhorred ends."

I think it would be better to read, as I have done,isfor 'in' (see on King John, iv. 2), andconcealfor 'reveal,' unless for the latter we should prefer readingveil. Perhaps also we might retain 'reveal,' and readwhenfor 'till.'

"Is it not meant damnable in us to be trumpeters of our unlawful intents?"

Malone's first thought wasmostfor 'meant.' Mr. Dyceproposesmean and; I think he is right, and have followed him. (See on Rom. and Jul. i. 3.)

"If I were to live this present hour."

The context seems to requiredie, not 'live'; so here, as elsewhere, we may happen to have a substitution of the contrary term. (See Introd. p.66.)

"Or whether he thinks it were not possible."

This would seem to be one of the places where 'or' is forand.

"Dear almost as his life;forwhich gratitude."

Both sense and metre require this addition.

"Our wagon is prepared, and time revives us."

As 'revives' seems to make no sense, we might readreproves, or ratherinvites. "Thetime invites you. Go." (Ham. i. 3.)

"But sure he is the prince of the world."

For 'sure' we should, I think, readsince.

"But I am now, sir, muddied in Fortune's mood."

Warburton's conjecture ofmoatfor 'mood' is very specious, but, I fear, nothing more. 'Muddied' and 'mood' form what is termed a paronomasia.

"I do pity his distress in my smiles of comfort."

The Cambridge editors adopt Warburton's readingsimiles. I doubt if either was the poet's word.

"You beg more thanoneword then."

It was the 3rd folio that suppliedone.

"Natural rebellion done in the blade of youth,When oil and fire," etc.

"Natural rebellion done in the blade of youth,

When oil and fire," etc.

The context would suggestblazeto any one, as it did to Theobald.

"The nature of his great offence is dead."

He means Helena, but I do not see how 'nature' applies to her. Perhaps we should readmotive; or some other word.

"I am not a day of season."

Something seems evidently lost here; for the address to Bertram is too abrupt. I would read 'seasonable weather.' We have, 'Like anunseasonablestormy day (Rich. II. iii. 2); and there was in the Liturgy, at that time, "a prayer forseasonable weather." The phrase 'day of season,' I believe, occurs nowhere else. Lower down—probably in the same page of the MS.—there appears to be an effacement of the same kind, and the loss of an entire line.

"The daughter of this lord.—Admiringly, my liege. At first * * *sight of her. (?)I stuck my choice upon her. Ere my heartDurst make too bold a herald of my tongue,Where the impression of mine eye infixing," etc.

"The daughter of this lord.—

Admiringly, my liege. At first * * *sight of her. (?)

I stuck my choice upon her. Ere my heart

Durst make too bold a herald of my tongue,

Where the impression of mine eye infixing," etc.

Is it not amazing that no one seems ever to have perceived that a line must have been lost between the last two lines? It may have been of this kind, "Another object met my wandering fancy." Capell, I find, read 'Atthefirstsight.'

"The last that ere I took her leave at court."

I read 'lasttime' ande'erfor 'ere.' Rowe reade'er she; but the text is right.

"And that even here thou takestAs from my death-bed, my last living leave."—Rich. II. 5.

"And that even here thou takest

As from my death-bed, my last living leave."—Rich. II. 5.

"He needs not our mistrust."—Macb. iii. 3.

"I bade her if her fortunes ever stood," etc.

The proper word would seem to betold, not 'bade'; butbidwas used in the sense of tell or say, as in "bid farewell," etc.

"Andbademe if I had a friend that lov'd her;I should but teach him how to tell my story,And that would woo her."—Othel. i. 3.

"Andbademe if I had a friend that lov'd her;

I should but teach him how to tell my story,

And that would woo her."—Othel. i. 3.

"Now I, to comfort him,bidhim 'a should not think of God."—Hen. V. ii. 3.

"I stood ingaged."

As 'ingaged' is usually the same asengaged, a sense which would be absurd here, we might venture to read 'ungaged,' or 'uningaged. (See on Com. of Err. ii. 2.)

"I'll buy me a son-in-law in a fair, and tollhim."

So Steevens also reads.

"I wonder, sir, sir wives are monsters to you."

The second 'sir' is an evident error. The 2nd folio omits it, and reads 'aresuch.' I read, as Tyrwhitt had done,since.

"Come hither, Count. Do you know these womenhere"?

"Than in my thought it liesnow.—Good, my lord."

"He blushes, and 'tis hit."

For 'hit,' which is probably wrong, Capell readit; Pope, who is generally followed,his. It is very hard to choose; as each makes good sense, each is a natural printer's error.

"Her insuit coming with her modern grace."

I accept without hesitation the excellent correction of Collier's folio, and of Sidney Walker,infinite cunning. In Tr. and Cr. iii. 2, we read 'comingin dumbness,' where Pope made the proper correctioncunning.

"You, that have turned off a first so noble wife,May justly diet me."

"You, that have turned off a first so noble wife,

May justly diet me."

As I can make little sense of 'diet,' I readdeny.

"Do younotknow he promised me marriage?"

The negative is required for both sense and metre.

"And when the moon, like to a silver bowNew-bent in heaven."

"And when the moon, like to a silver bow

New-bent in heaven."

'New' is the correction of Rowe; the 4tos and folio haveNow.

"But I will woo thee in another key,With pomp, with triumph, and with revelling."

"But I will woo thee in another key,

With pomp, with triumph, and with revelling."

Collier's folio gives the right word, 'revelry.'

"This man hath [be]witch'd the bosom of my child."

The verse in this play is strictly decasyllabic. The 2nd folio omits 'man,' with Mr. Dyce's approval. In omittingbe, I have been preceded by Theobald.

"Unto his lordship, whose unwished yokeMy soul consents not to give sovereignty."

"Unto his lordship, whose unwished yoke

My soul consents not to give sovereignty."

The 2nd folio needlessly reads 'towhose.'

"To fit your fancie[s] to your father's will."

"I have a widow aunt, a dowager,Of great revenue, and she hath no child,And she respects me as her only son.From Athens is her house remote seven leagues."

"I have a widow aunt, a dowager,

Of great revenue, and she hath no child,

And she respects me as her only son.

From Athens is her house remote seven leagues."

Common sense dictates the transposition made here of the last lines. There is no note on this passage in the Cambridge Shakespeare; so none of the known critics can have noticed it. The third line, it is evident, had been an addition made by the poet in the margin.

"By the simplicity of Venus' doves,By that which knitteth souls and prospers loves."

"By the simplicity of Venus' doves,

By that which knitteth souls and prospers loves."

Singer transposes these lines. It is, by the way, surprising how many transpositions there are in this play; but itwas not necessary to transpose here, and his doing so arose from his misunderstanding the second line; in which the allusion is most probably to theCestusof Venus.

"Sickness is catching; oh, were favour so!Your words I catch, fair Hermia; ere I go."

"Sickness is catching; oh, were favour so!

Your words I catch, fair Hermia; ere I go."

For 'your words' Hanmer read 'Yours would,' an excellent emendation, and generally adopted.

"Emptying our bosoms of their counsel sweet,There my Lysander and myself shall meet;And thence from Athens turn away our eyes,To seek new friends and stranger companies."

"Emptying our bosoms of their counsel sweet,

There my Lysander and myself shall meet;

And thence from Athens turn away our eyes,

To seek new friends and stranger companies."

'Sweet' and 'stranger companies' are Theobald's corrections ofswelledandstrange companions. "More certain emendations," says Mr. Dyce, "were never made."

"To tear a cat inandto make all split."

"Butmakeroom, fairy; here comes Oberon."

The decasyllabic formmustbe preserved. Pope read as I do.

"What, jealous Oberon! Fairies skip hence."

In the 4tos and folio 'Fairy.' (See Introd. p.52.)

"When thou wast stolen away from Fairyland,And in the shape of Corin sat all day."

"When thou wast stolen away from Fairyland,

And in the shape of Corin sat all day."

This is the reading of the folio; the 4tos, which all the editors follow, havehast. I prefer the former; for Shakespeare invariably employs the verb substantive with 'stolen away,' except in the case of a doubly-compound tense.

"The human mortals want their winter here."

Theobald proposed and then rejected 'winter-cheer.' I should prefersummerfor 'winter' (see Introd. p.66); for in Dr. Forman's Diary of the year 1594—which year Shakespeare had certainly in view—we read, "This monethes of June and July were very wet and wonderfull cold, like winter, that the 10 dae of Julii many did syt by the fyer,yt was so cold; and soe was it in Maye and June; and scarse too fair dais together all that tyme, but it rayned every day more or lesse. Yf it did not raine then was it cold and cloudye.... There were many gret fludes this sommer."

"The seasons change their manners, as the yearHad found some months asleep and leaped them over."

"The seasons change their manners, as the year

Had found some months asleep and leaped them over."

2 Hen. IV. iv. 4.

It is possible, however, that the error may lie in 'want,' for which we might readhave, or some other word.

"And on old Hiems' chin and icy crownAn odorous chaplet."

"And on old Hiems' chin and icy crown

An odorous chaplet."

For 'chin' Grey readchill; Tyrwhitt, whom some follow,thin. But it is probably one of those inadvertencies so frequent in our poet.

"The one I'll slay, the other slayeth me."

Thirlby's just correction ofstayandstayeth.

"Hast thou the flower there? Welcome, wanderer.—Ay, there it is.—I pray thee give it me."

"Hast thou the flower there? Welcome, wanderer.—

Ay, there it is.—I pray thee give it me."

For 'there' in the second line, Mr. Dyce reads—and perhaps rightly—here.

"I know a bank," etc.

I read and arrange the whole passage thus:

"I know a bank whëre the wild thyme blows,Where violets and the nodding oxlip grows,Quite o'er-canopied with lusciöus woodbine,With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine,And there the snake throws her enamell'd skinWeed wide enough to wrap a fairy in.There sleeps Titania sometime of the night,Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight.Then with the juice of this I'll streak her eyes," etc.

"I know a bank whëre the wild thyme blows,

Where violets and the nodding oxlip grows,

Quite o'er-canopied with lusciöus woodbine,

With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine,

And there the snake throws her enamell'd skin

Weed wide enough to wrap a fairy in.

There sleeps Titania sometime of the night,

Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight.

Then with the juice of this I'll streak her eyes," etc.

In the second line I have transposed 'oxlip' and 'violet'; for the former 'nods' and the latter does not, "With cowslips wan, that hang the pensive head" (Lycidas,v.14). In the third I giveo'erfor 'over.' The transposition whichfollows is imperatively demanded by the sequence of ideas, and we have other instances in this play. The fifth and sixth lines may have been an addition made by the poet or transcriber in the margin, and taken in in the wrong place by the printer. (See on i. 1.) If 'And' be the right word in the last line, something must have been lost,ex. gr."Upon her will I steal there as she lies;" but the poet's word may have been what I have given,Then, strongly emphaticized, and writtenThan, the two first letters of which having been effaced, the printer made it 'And.' The very same thing seems to have taken place in L. L. L. v. 2. It may also have been thatyn, then, was taken for &, and.

"Pard or boar with bristled hair."

The rime demands the old formhear. (See on Com. of Err. iii. 2.)

"Transparent Helena, Nature shows her art."

The transposition 'her shows' of the folio is merely one of those of which we have so many examples in these plays. The usual reading is that of the 2nd folio, 'hereshows.'

"So I being young, till now ripe not to reason."

It would seem better to read 'not ripe'; or 'ripe' may be a verb.

"If I wereso, fair Thisby, I were only thine."

"So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape."

This and the two following lines are transposed in Roberts' 4to and the folio.

"Being o'er shoes in blood, plunge in the deepAnd kill me too."

"Being o'er shoes in blood, plunge in the deep

And kill me too."

Mr. Dyce, with whom I agree, adopts the excellent reading of Coleridge and Sidney Walker, 'knee-deep.'

"Once o'er shoes we are straight o'er head in sin."

Woman Killed with Kindness.

"And from thy hated presence part Iso."

Pope addedso, which is required by metre and rime, and yet is wanting in all the old editions.

"This princess of pure white, this seal of bliss."

For 'princess' Hanmer readpureness; Collier proposesimpress; but no change is needed. 'White' is whiteness, and 'princess of pure white' is sovereign lady of whiteness,i.e., white in the highest degree. I suspect that Chaucer wroteemperesin

"Theempriseand the flower of flowers alle."

Leg. of Good Women.

"For parting us.—Oh! isthisall forgot?"

The 2nd folio read 'Oandis'; Malone addednow; we might also addthen. A syllable certainly is wanting.

"But miserable most to love unlov'd...This you should pity rather than despise."

"But miserable most to love unlov'd...

This you should pity rather than despise."

"Thy threats have no more strength than her weak prayers."

Here 'prayers' is the correction by Theobald ofpraiseof the original editions.

"Away you Ethiop.—No, no, sir, seemTo break loose; take on as you'd followme,But yet come not. You are a tame man, go."

"Away you Ethiop.—No, no, sir, seem

To break loose; take on as you'd followme,

But yet come not. You are a tame man, go."

This is the reading of the folio, which, with the addition ofme—evidently rubbed out at the end—gives excellent sense and metre. For 'sir' the 4tos readhe'll, which makes the passage abrupt.

"Out loathed medicine! [O] hated potion, hence!"

The same omission was made by Pope.

"Hate me! wherefore? O me! What news, my love?"

For 'news' Collier's folio, followed by Singer, readsmeans. I think they are right.

"I with the morning's love have oft made sport."

Rowe readlightfor 'love,' and Johnson and Singer have followed him. But it seems to be Cephalus that is meant.

"Which straight she gave me and her fairy sent."

It should be 'fairies.' (See on ii. 1.)

"All may to Athens back again repair."

The reading hitherto has been 'May all,' but the transposition restores the grammar.

"Dian's bud o'er Cupid's flower."

The 4to and folio reador. The correction is Thirlby's.

"Trip we after nightès shade."

Fisher's 4to has 'nights,' of which I have made a dissylable, as being more Shakespearean than 'the night's' of the folio and Roberts' 4to, which most feebly and inharmoniously throw the emphasis on 'the.' This gen. occurs more than once in our poet's earlier plays.

"When in a wood of Crete they bay'd the bear."

With Hanmer I incline to readboar.

"The woods, the fountains, every region round."

Here, too, I suspect that the poet wrote 'mountains.' 'Seem'din next line is the reading of the 2nd folio; the originals haveseeme.

"Was to be gone from Athens where we mightWithout the peril of the Athenian law...."

"Was to be gone from Athens where we might

Without the peril of the Athenian law...."

This is the reading of Fisher's 4to; Roberts' and the folio read 'might be'; which does not suit the metre of this play. Egeus breaks in and interrupts him.

"Melted,e'enas the snow, seems to me now."

"It wasted and consum'devenlike iceThat by the vehemence of heat dissolveth."

"It wasted and consum'devenlike ice

That by the vehemence of heat dissolveth."

Green's Tu Quoque.

The ordinary correction is that of Capell, 'asdoth'; an Anon. read 'Allmelted.'

"Was I betroth'd ere I saw Hermia;But, like in sickness, did I loathe this food."

"Was I betroth'd ere I saw Hermia;

But, like in sickness, did I loathe this food."

'Saw' is Steevens' correction ofsee; in L. L. L. iv. 1, we have "I came,seeand overcame." 'In sickness' is Farmer's correction of 'a sickness' of the originals.

"Mine own and not mine own.—Butare you sureThat we areyetawake? It seems to me."

"Mine own and not mine own.—Butare you sure

That we areyetawake? It seems to me."

The folio omits 'are ... awake.' Capell also addedButand an Anon.yet. The poet's words may, however, have been, "Are you sure we are awake? it seems to me." But that would make the preceding speech terminate in a manner that does not occur in this play.

"That is hot ice, and wondrous strange snow."

'Strange' is a very feeble word here. If, as I have ventured to do, we read 'sablesnow,' we have a parallel to 'hot ice.' Upton readblack; Stauntonswarthy; Hanmerscorching.

"And what poor duty cannot do, noble respectTakes it in might not merit."

"And what poor duty cannot do, noble respect

Takes it in might not merit."

As there are no short lines in this play, I think a word has been lost in the first line. I readfaltering, Theobald read 'willingduty.'

"His speech was likeuntoa tangled chain."

"This grisly beast, which lion hight by name,The trusty Thisby, coming first by night.· · · · ·Did scare away, or rather did affright."

"This grisly beast, which lion hight by name,

The trusty Thisby, coming first by night.

· · · · ·

Did scare away, or rather did affright."

A line riming with the first appears to be lost. Some read 'by name hight,' making a triplet; but I cannot agree with them.

"Here come two noble beasts in, A lion and a man."

Theobald readsmoonfor 'man.' The correction is ingenious, but not certain. I have, however, adopted it.

"A lion-fell, but else no lion's dam."

So Singer reads; others 'A lion'sfell.'

"For by thy gracious, golden, glittering streams."

This is the reading of the 2nd folio; for the old editions repeat 'beams' from the preceding line. "Phebus ofgold his stremèsdown hath sent" (Chauc. Merch. Tale), was probably in the poet's mind; or

"Which erst so glistened with thegolden streams,That cheerful Phœbus spred down from his sphere."

"Which erst so glistened with thegolden streams,

That cheerful Phœbus spred down from his sphere."

(Induct. to Mir. for Magistrates.)

"Would gowellnear to make a man look sad.—Beshrew my heart, but Idopity the man."

"Would gowellnear to make a man look sad.—

Beshrew my heart, but Idopity the man."

"These lily lipsThis cherry nose."

"These lily lips

This cherry nose."

Rime demands Theobald's 'lilybrows.'

"Now the hungry lion roars,And the wolf behowls the moon."

"Now the hungry lion roars,

And the wolf behowls the moon."

'Behowls' is Warburton's correction ofbeholdsof the originals. It is proved to be right by the following passage of Marston's Antonio's Revenge:—

"Now barks the wolf against the full-cheek'd moon,Now lions' half-clamm'd entrails roar for food" (iii. 3).

"Now barks the wolf against the full-cheek'd moon,

Now lions' half-clamm'd entrails roar for food" (iii. 3).

As this play was not printed till 1602, this may be an imitation of the passage of our text.

"Ever shall in safety rest,And the owner of it blest."

"Ever shall in safety rest,

And the owner of it blest."

Singer and a friend of Mr. Staunton's very judiciously transposed these lines, the third, or rather fourth transposition in this play. We may observe that twice before it was the second line of the couplet that commenced with 'Ever.' For a fifth transposition in the original editions, see on iii. 1. By the 'owner' is meant the occupant of the 'chamber.' Malone read 'shallit,' which is the usual reading.

"No, not a denier. Go by, S. Jeronimy!Go to thy cold bed and warm thee."

"No, not a denier. Go by, S. Jeronimy!

Go to thy cold bed and warm thee."

It is very strange that none of the critics should have seen thatS.isSignior, notSaint. The poet probably wrote itSr; for we shall find in the subsequent part of the playsirtwice used forsignior, the ordinary address in plays the scene of which lies in Italy. The 4to edition of 1631 omits S., but it is of no authority. I should feel inclined to read the next line, "Humph, Go to thy cold bed, and wärm thee," which occurs again in Lear (iii. 4). It may have been borrowed from some unknown play; but there is nothing like it in Kyd's Spanish Tragedy, which is evidently referred to in what precedes.

"I know my remedy; I must go fetch the head-borough."

Theobald, whom most editors follow, induced by the reply of Sly, readthirdborough. But might not Sly have mistaken the word?

"Huntsman, I charge thee tender well my hounds.Brach Merriman,—the poor cur is emboss'd"—"And couple Clowder with the deep-mouth'd brach."

"Huntsman, I charge thee tender well my hounds.

Brach Merriman,—the poor cur is emboss'd"—

"And couple Clowder with the deep-mouth'd brach."

'Brach' cannot be right; for brach was bitch (seeIndexs. v.), and what sportsman would say Bitch Sweet lips, for instance, of one of his hounds? In the usual manner the printer was led away by the 'brach' in the following line. The original word must have been a verb, and, were we not aware of what critics usually are, we might wonder at Johnson's most simple and natural emendation,Bathenot being universally adopted. In his whole speech the lord shows his affection for his hounds; for the charge about coupling Clowder with another hound is evidently owing to his being united to an ill-conditioned dog. Poor Merriman, it is plain, had got a swelling in the leg or elsewhere—for thatis the only possible meaning of 'emboss'd' in this place; so when the Prince (1 Hen. IV. iii. 3) calls Falstaff an "embossedrascal," he means swollen up—the proper remedy for which wasbathingor fomenting with warm water; and this he directs to be done. But Mr. Collier tells us that "adogor a deer is said to beembossedwhen fatigue makes them foam at the mouth;" from which all that can be inferred is that Mr. Collier is no sportsman; for any one who has been out with hounds knows that when fatigued they pant and put out their tongues, butneverfoam. Shakespeare, who apparently knew something of hunting, has correctly, "Lollingthe tongue with slaughtering" (Cymb. v. 3), alluding to hounds. On the other hand, Mr. Dyce most confidently readsTrash,i.e., put a "heavy collar, strap or rope dragging loose on the ground" on him to check his speed. I fear that Mr. Dyce is no sportsman either. At least at the present day hounds do not carry weight; for that, I suppose, is what he means. He probably understood 'emboss'd' in the same sense as Mr. Collier. I adopt Johnson's reading, though aware that in cases of this kind (Introd. p.65) we should not look for any similarity of form (Mr. Dyce'sductus literarum) in the word to be substituted. (See on Othel. iii. 3.) Here, for example, we might readMind, or some other word.

"And when he sayswhathe is say that he dreams."

"And not a tinker, nor ChristopheroSly."

"Madam wife, they say that I have dreamedhere."

"Pisa, renowned for grave citizens,Gave me my being, and my father first,A merchant of great traffic through the world,Vincentio[s] come of the Bentivoglii.Vincentio's son, brought up in Florence,It shall become to serve all hopes conceiv'd," etc.

"Pisa, renowned for grave citizens,

Gave me my being, and my father first,

A merchant of great traffic through the world,

Vincentio[s] come of the Bentivoglii.

Vincentio's son, brought up in Florence,

It shall become to serve all hopes conceiv'd," etc.

In the first four lines I have, with previous editors, given the correct punctuation, and have omitted the superfluoussafter Vincentio in the fourth. In the following line the metre shows that something is wrong, and it may be that 'Vincentio's' should beLucentio his, for nothing is more common than this confusion of proper names. (See on King John, ii. 1.) Hanmer I find also made this correction. At the same time it is equally probable that something has been omitted, and that we should read 'onlyson,' or 'sonand heir,' as in v. 1. It is one of those cases in which choice is difficult. I have given the first in my Edition of the plays; but I now greatly prefer the third.

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