The heavens do lour upon you, for fome ill; Move them no more, by croffing their high will. [Exeunt CAPULET, Lady CAPULET, PARIS, and FRIAR. 1. Muf. 'Faith, we may put up our pipes, and be gone. Nurfe. Honeft good fellows, ah, put up, put up; For, well you know, this is a pitiful cafe. [Exit Nurfe. 1. Muf. Ay, by my troth, the cafe may be amended. Enter PETER'. Pet. Muficians, O, muficians, Hearts eafe, heart's ease; O, an you will have me live, play-heart's cafe. 1. Muf Why heart's ease? Pet. O, musicians, because my heart itself plays-My heart is full of woe': O, play me fome merry dump, to comfort me. 2. Muf. Not a dump we 3; 'tis no time to play now. Pet. You will not then? Muf. No. Pet. I will then give it you foundly. 1. Muf. What will you give us? Pet. No money, on my faith; but the gleek 4: I will give you the minstrel 3. 1. Muf. Enter Peter.] From the quarto of 1599, it appears, that the part of Peter was originally performed by William Kempe. MALONE. 2 My beart is full of woe:] This is the burthen of the first stanza of A pleasant new ballad of Two Lovers: "Hey hoe! my heart is full of woe." STEEVENS. 3 Not a dump we;] A dump anciently fignified fame kind of dance, as well as forrow. So, in Humour out of Breath, a comedy, by John Day, 1607: "He loves nothing but an Italian dump, "Or a French brawl." But on this occafion it means a mournful fong. So, in the Arraign ment of Paris, 1584, after the shepherds have fung an elegiac hymn over the hearfe of Colin, Venus fays to Paris: How cheers my lovely boy after this dump of woe? "Paris. Such dumps, fweet lady, as bin thefe, are deadly dumps to prove." STEEVENS. 4 the gleek:] So, in the Midsummer Night's Dream: "Nay, I can gleek, upon occafion." To gleek is to fcoff. The term is taken from an ancient game at cards called gleek. STEEVENS. The 1. Muf. Then will I give you the ferving-creature. 'Pet. Then will I lay the ferving-creature's dagger on your pate. I will carry no crotchets: I'll re you, I'll fa you; Do you note me? 1. Muf. An you re us, and fa us, you note us. 2. Muf. Pray you, put up your dagger, and put out your wit. Pet. Then have at you with my wit; I will dry-beat you with an iron wit, and put up my iron dagger :Answer me like men: When griping grief the heart doth wound, Why filver found? why, mufick with her filver found? What The game is mentioned in the beginning of the prefent century, by Dr. King of the Commons, in his Art of Love: "But whether we diverfion feek "Or Ombre," &c. NICHOLS. 5 the minftrel.] From the following entry on the books of the Stationers' Company, in the year 1560, it appears that the hire of a parfon was cheaper than that of a minstrel or a cook: "Item payd to the preacher vis. iid. "Item payd to the minstrell xiis. "Item payd to the coke xv s." STEEVENS. When griping grief, &c.] The epithet griping was by no means likely to excite laughter at the time it was written. Lord Surrey, in his tranflation of the fecond book of Virgil's neid, makes the hero Lay: "New gripes of dred then pearfe our trembling breftes." Dr. Percy thinks that the questions of Peter are defigned as a ridicule on the forced and unnatural explanations too often given by us painful editors of ancient authors. STEEVENS. In Commendation of Muficke. Where griping grief ye hart would woŭd, and dolful domps ye mind oppreffe, There mufick with her filver found, is wont with fpede to geue re dreffe ; Of troubled minds for every fore, fwete mufick hath a falue in store : Ja joy it maks our mirth abound, in grief it chers our heauy fprights, The carefull head releef hath found, by muficks pleasant fwete delights: Our fenfes, what fhould I faie more, are fubject unto muficks lore. The L 4 What fay you, Simon Catling? 1. Muj. Marry, fir, because filver hath a fweet found. Pet. Pretty! What fay you, Hugh Rebeck?? 2. Muf. I fay-filver jound, becaufe muficians found for filver. Pet. Pretty too!-What fay you, James Sound-poft? 3. Muf. 'Faith, I know not what to say. Pet. O, I cry you mercy! you are the finger: I will fay for you. It is-mufick with her filver found', becaufe The Gods by mufick hath their pray, the foule therein doth ioye, For as the Romaine poets fale, in feas whom pirats would destroye, A Dolphin fau'd from death most sharpe, Arion plaiyng on his harp. Oh heauenly gift that turnes the minde, (like as the fterne doth rule the ship) Of mufick, whom ye Gods affignde, to comfort man, whom cares would nip, Sith thou both man, and beast doeft moue, what wifema the will thee Richard Edwards. reprove? From The Paradife of Daintie Devifes, Fel. 31. b. Of Richard Edwards and William Hunnis, the authors of fundry poems in this collection, fee an account in Wood's Athena Oxon, and alfo in Tanner's Bibliotbeca. SIR JOHN HAWKINS. Another copy of this fong is published by Dr. Percy, in the firft volame of his Reliques of ancient English Poetry. STEEVENS. 7 And doleful dumps the mind opprefs,] This line I have recovered from the old copy. [1597.] It was wanting to complete the stanza as it is afterwards repeated. STEEVENS. & Simon Catling?] A catling was a small luteftring made of catgut. STEEVENS. In An biftorical account of taxes under all denominations in the time of William and Mary, p. 336, is the following article: "For every grofs of catlings and luteftring," &c. A. C. 9 Hugb Rebeck?] The fidler is fo called from an inftrument with three ftrings, which is mentioned by feveral of the old writers. Rebet, rebecquin. See Menage, in v. Rebec. In England's Helicon, 1614, is The Shepherd Arfilius bis song to bis REBECK, by Bar. Yong. STEEV. It is mentioned by Milton, as an inftrument of mirth: "When the merry bells ring round. "And the jocund rebecks found,-". MALONE. -filver found,] So, in The Return from Parnassus, 1606: Again, in Wily Beguiled, 16c6: what harmony is this, "With filver found that glutteth Sophos' ears?" Spenfer 2 caufe fuch fellows as you have feldom gold for founding: Then mufick with her filver found, With Speedy help doth lend redrefs. [Exit, finging. 1. Muf. What a peftilent knave is this fame? 2. Muf. Hang him, Jack! Come, we'll in here; tarry for the mourners, and stay dinner. [Exeunt. ACT V3. SCENE I. Mantua. A Street. Enter ROMEO. Rom. If I may truft the flattering eye of fleep+, My dreams prefage fome joyful news at hand : Spenfer perhaps is the first who used this phrase: My "A filver found that heavenly mufic feem'd to make."STEV. Edwards's Song preceded Spenfer's poem. MALONE. 2-becaufe fuch fellows as you-] Thus the quarto 1597. The others read because musicians. I should fufpect that a fidler made the alteration. STEEVENS. 3 A& V. The acts are here properly enough divided, nor did any better diftribution than the editors have already made, occur to me in the perufal of this play; yet it may not be improper to remark, that in the first folio, and I fuppofe the foregoing editions are in the fame flate, there is no divifion of the acts, and therefore fome future editor may try, whether any improvement can be made, by reducing them to a length more equal, or interrupting the action at proper in tervals. JOHNSON. 4 If I may truft the flattering eye of fleep,] i. e. If I may confide in thofe delightful vifions which I have fren while afleep. The precife meaning of the word flattering here, is ascertained by a former paffage in Act II. all this is but a dream, "Too flattering-fweet to be fubftantial." By the eye of fleep Shakspeare, I think, rather meant the vifual power, which a man afleep is enabled by the aid of imagination to exercise, than the eye of the god of sleep. This is the reading of the orignal copy in 1597, which in my opinion is preferable in this and various other places, to the fubfequent copies. That of 1599, and the folio, read: If I may truft the flattering truth of sleep, which by a very forced interpretation may mean, If I may confide in the pleasing vifions of fleep, and, believe them to be true.-Dr. John fon's My bofom's lord fits lightly in his throne; Lifts fon's interpretation is, "If I may truft the honesty of fleep, which I know bowever not to be fo nice as not often to practice flattery." Otway, to obtain a clearer fenfe than that furnished by the words which Dr. Johnfon has thus interpreted, reads, lefs poetically than the original copy, which he had probably never feen, but with nearly the fame meaning: If I may trust the flattery of fleep, My dreams prefage fome joyful news at hand: and Mr. Pope has followed him. MALONE. 5 My bofom's lord-] So, in K. Arthur, a Poem, by R. Chester, 1601: "That neither Uter nor his councell knew, "How his deepe bofome's lord the dutchess thwarted." The author, in a marginal note, declares, that by boom's lord he means-Cupid. STEEVENS. So alfo, in the preface to Caliba Poetarum, or the Bumble-bee, 1599: whilft he [Cupid,] continues honoured in the world, we must once a yeare bring him upon the stage, either dancing, kissing, laughing, or angry, or dailying with his darlings, seating himself in their breafts,” &C. Thus too Shakspeare, in Twelfth Night: It gives a very echo to the feat Where love is thron'd. Again, in Orbello: Yield up, O Love, thy crown and bearted throne. Though the paffage quoted above from Orbello proves decifively that Shakspeare confidered the heart as the throne of love, it has been maintained, fince this note was written, ftrange as it may feem, that by my bofom's lord, we ought to understand, not the god of love, but the beart. The words-love fits lightly on bis throne, fays Mr. Mafon, can only import" that Romeo loved lefs intenfely than ufual." Nothing lefs. Love, the lord of my bofom, (fays the fpeaker,) who has been much difquieted by the unfortunate events that have happened fince my marriage, is now, in confequence of my last night's dream, gay and cheerful. The reading of the original copy-fits cheerful in his throne, atcertains the authour's meaning beyond a doubt. When the poet defcribed the god of love as fitting lightly on the heart, he was thinking, without doubt, of the common phrafe, a light beart, which fignified in his time, as it does at prefent, a heart undisturbed by care. Whenever Shakspeare wishes to reprefent a being that he has perfonified, eminently happy, he almoft always crowns him, or places him on a throne. So in K. Henry IV. P. I. "And on your eyelids crown the god of sleep." Again, in the play before us: "Upon his brow thame is afham'd to fit: "For 'tis a throne where honour may be crown'd, «Again, |