dispute worth mentioning; an uncommon piece of good-forture, which we afcribe folely to the principles we have adopted in vindicating the text of that great poet. -We appeal to one-half of the united kingdom for the meanings we have affixed to his words; we call upon the vernacular modes of speech to justify our interpretations; we have even found it neceffary to defcend into what fome may term the vulgarity of language, to heal up the wounds which affaffin-pens have inflicted on the Dictator of poetry: Look! in this place, ran Hanmer's dagger through; We readily allow that the laft-mentioned gentleman has, in fome paffages, vindicated the original of Shakespear from the mutilations of his former editors; though we cannot but think him deficient in many qualifications of an editor. We fufpect Mr. Johnfon introduces his third volume with a note that indicates him to be above confulting the vernacularity of our language, though it is by that chiefly we can underftand Shakespeare. I'll pheefe you,-] To pheeze or feafe, is to feparate a twist into fingle threads. In the figurative fenfe it may well enough be taken, like teaze or toze, for to barrafs, to plague. Perhaps I'll pheefe you, may be equivalent to I'll comb your head, a phrafe vulgarly used by perfons of Shy's character on like occafions." Had Mr. Johnfon vifited the parts of this ifland to which Shakespeare's language has migrated, he would have known that to pheefe differs but little from to fcrew. To pheefe on the lid of a box is the fame as to fcrew it on. I'll pheefe you' is no more than I'll make you faft-lay you by the heels; and this fense of the word makes the tinker's wife reply very naturally, A pair of ftocks, you rogue !'-The word pheefe feems to be the corruption of vice, a common inftrument which works by a fcrew, and is made ufe of to faften or fecure a piece of work. from fruitful Lombardy.] So Mr. Theobald. The former editions, inftead of from, had for.' So fays Mr. Johnson; but has he removed any difficulty? has he not fallen into a grofs abfurdity? We shall not contend for the propriety of the phrafe, as it flood in the old editions to fignify I am arrived from fruitful Lombardy,' tho' we believe it may be eftablished; but furely it must be a grofs blunder in Shakespeare to me Lucentio fay, I am arrived from Great Britain that I may fee city of Bri for Padua actually is a city of Lombardy fon beftowed ever fo little attention upo have feen that Lucentio arrived from Having finished the above obieran A pretty peat.] Peat, or pet, i w tion; and that the peat or pe: 1 TH to certainty, by what follows. Our editor, after very jufti I paffage : • She moves me not; or on • Petruchio fays, that if a grin we lad you affection here fpoken of, i termos " 'ta mung and 4 from place where it never car se faght & angu money." Plecfe ye, we may cons of norant of the meanguly Three ages fuch as artw The word is uite in the Palace of Pleas ginal word reafon given by a man to order fin bath a trick peculiarity of ot be ignorant h the whole of d into the Har twenty thoufand pencil. dispute worth mentioning; an uncommon piece of good-fortune, which we ascribe solely to the principles we have adopted in vindicating the text of that great poet.We appeal to one-half of the united kingdom for the meanings we have affixed to his words; we call upon the vernacular modes of speech to justify our interpretations; we have even found it neceffary to defcend into what fome may term the vulgarity of language, to heal up the wounds which affaffin-pens have inflicted on the Dictator of poetry: - Look! in this place, ran Hanmer's dagger through; See, what a rent the envious Theobald made; Through this, the well-beloved Johnson stabb’d. We readily allow that the laft-mentioned gentleman has, n fome paffages, vindicated the original of Shakespear from the mutilations of his former editors; though we cannot but think him deficient in many qualifications of an editor. We fufpect Mr. Johnfon introduces his third volume with a note that indicates him to be above confulting the vernacularity of our language, though it is by that chiefly we can understand Shakespeare. • I'll pheefe you,-] To pheeze or feafe, is to feparate a twist into fingle threads. In the figurative fenfe it may well enough be taken, like teaze or toze, for to harrass, to plague. Perhaps I'll pheefe you, may be equivalent to I'll comb your head, a phrase vulgarly used by perfons of Sh's character on like occafions.' Had Mr. Johnson visited the parts of this ifland to which Shakespeare's language has migrated, he would have known. that to pheefe differs but little from to fcrew. To pheese on the lid of a box is the fame as to fcrew it on. I'll pheese you' is no more than I'll make you fast—lay you by the heels; and this fense of the word makes the tinker's wife reply very naturally, • A pair of stocks, you rogue !'-The word pheese seems to be the corruption of vice, a common inftrument which works by a fcrew, and is made use of to fasten or secure a piece of work. -from fruitful Lombardy.] So Mr. Theobald. The former editions, instead of from, had for.' So fays Mr. Johnson; but has he removed any difficulty? has he not fallen into a grofs abfurdity? We fhall not contend for the propriety of the phrafe, as it stood in the old editions to fignify I am arrived from fruitful Lombardy,' tho' we believe it may be established; but furely it must be a grofs blunder in Shakespeare to make Lucentio say, I am arrived from Great Britain that I may fee the city of Bristol, for Padua actually is a city of Lombardy. Had Mr. Johnfon beftowed ever fo little attention upon this paffage, he would have seen that Lucentio arrived from Pisa, which was a republic, and is ftill a city in Tuscany. Having finished the above obfervation, we turned to Mr. Johnfon's Appendix, where he furlily tells his reader, without the leaft apology for ofcitancy or ignorance, that the old reading may ftand. "A pretty peat.] Peat, or pet, is a word of endearment, from petit, little, as if it meant pretty little thing.' We are apt to believe that Mr. Johnson is again unfortunate in this emendas tion; and that the peat or pet he has spoken of, is what we commonly call a fit of the fullens; and our conjecture seems to amount to certainty, by what follows- it is beft put finger in the eye, an fhe knew why.' Crying may be very properly called the * fecond stage of the pet. Our editor, after very justly rejecting a note of Warburton's, too abfurd to be transcribed, thus defcants upon the following paffage : • She moves me not; or not removes, at least, qua • Petruchio fays, that if a girl has money enough, no bad lities of mind or body will remove affection's edge; that is, hinder him from liking her.' We believe, on the other hand, that the affection here spoken of, is Petruchio's affection for the money, and not for the woman; for how can a thing be removed from a place where it never can be fupposed to have been? If she was the devil (fays he) the cannot remove my affection for her money.' Pleafe ye, we may contrive this afternoon,] Mr. Theobald asks what they were to contrive? and then fays, a foolish corruption pof feffes the place, and fo alters it to convive; in which he is followed, as he pretty conftantly is, when wrong, by the Oxford Editor. But the common reading is right, and the Critic was only ignorant of the meaning of it. Contrive does not fignify here to project, but to spend and wear out. As in this paffage of Spenser, Three ages fuch as mortal men CONTRIVE. Fairy Queen, b. xi. ch. 9. The word is ufed in the fame fenfe of Spending or wearing out in the Palace of Pleasure. So fay Warburton and Johnfon; but the latter fuffers the word convive to ftand in his text. We agree that the ori*ginal word contrive ought not to be changed; tho' not for the reafon given by our two editors. To contrive an afternoon is for a man to order his affairs fo as that he may follow particular bu finefs or pleasure ; and none but fuch a critic as Theobald could have found the smallest difficulty in the paffage. In the Comedy of Errors, Mr. Johnfon has the following note t Start fome other where? I cannot but think that our author wrote, -ftart fome other bare. So in Much ado about Nothing, Cupid is faid to be a good barefinder.' We are inclinable to believe that the word fart here has an allufion to a term in brewing, and has no relation to starting or raising an bare. -poor I am but his fiale.'] The word ftale, in our author, used as a substantive, means, not something offered to allure or attract, but fomething vitiated with ufe, fomething of which the best part has been enjoyed and confumed.' The nature of Adriana's discourse here inclines us to believe that the word ftale (perhaps it ought to have been fall) fignifies a kind of a fbed or workshop. ." he breaks the pale, And feeds from home, poor I am but his ftale." "Beat. He fet up his bills here in Meffina, and challeng'd Cupid at the flight; and my uncle's fool, reading the challenge, fubfcrib'd for Cupid, and challeng'd him at the birdbolt." Mr. Johnson's note upon this fays, The difufe of the bow makes this paffage obfcure. Benedick is represented as challenging Cupid at archery. To challenge at the flight is, I believe, to wager who fhall fhoot the arrow furtheft without any particular mark. To challenge at the bird bolt, feems to mean the fame as to challenge at children's archery, with small arrows fuch as are discharged at birds. In Twelfth Night Lady Olivia opposes a bird-bolt to a cannon bullet, the lightest to the heaviest of miffive weapons.' Befides the above, we meet with a fupplementary note in Mr. Johnson's Appendix, in which the writer explains the nature and ufe of a bird-bolt, and tells us, that they "are fhort thick arrows of about a foot long, and have no points, but spread near the end, fo as to leave a flat furface of about the fize of a fhilling, and are to this day in use to kill rooks with, and are shot from a cross-bow." We are of opinion that thefe notes might have been spared, and that the whole of Beatrice's pleasantry in this paffage confifts in her uncle's fool challenging Cupid to fhoot a bolt with him, in allusion to the well known proverb, a fool's bolt is foon fhet. To tell us Cupid is a rare hare finder, &c.] I know not whether I conceive the jeft here intended. Claudio hints his love of Hero. Benedick afks whether he is ferious, or whether he only |