Ham. Do they hold the fame eftimation they did when I was in the city? Are they fo follow'd? Rof. No, indeed, they are not. Ham. How comes it? Do they grow rufty? Rof. Nay, their endeavour keeps in the wonted pace: But there is, fir, an aiery of children, little eyafes, that cry There will still, however, remain fome difficulty. The statute 39 Eliz. ch.4. which feems to be alluded to by the words-their inbibition, was not made to inhibit the players from acting any longer at an eftablished theatre, but to prohibit them from firolling. All fencers (fays the act) bearwards, common players of enterludes, and minstrels, wandering abroad, (other than players of enterludes, belonging to any baron of this realm or any other honourable perfonage of greater degree, to be authorized to play under the hand and feal of arms of fuch baron or perfonage,) shall be taken, adjudged and deemed, rogues, vagabonds, and sturdy beggars, and fhall fuftain fuch pain and punishments as by this act is in that behalf appointed." This ftatute, if alluded to, is repugnant to Dr. Johnson's tranfpofition of the text, and to Mr. Steevens's explanation of it as it now ftands. Yet Mr. Steevens's explanation may be right: Shakspeare might not have thought of the act of Elizabeth. He could not however, mean to charge his friends the old tragedians with the new cuftom of introducing perfonal abufe; but muft rather have meant, that the old tragedians were inhibited from performing in the city, and obliged to travel, on account of the mifconduct of the younger company. See n. 7. MALONE. 6 How comes it? &c.] From here to Hercules and bis load too, inclufively, is only found in the folio. MALONE. 7-an aiery of children, &c.] Relating to the play houfes then contending, the Bankfide, the Fortune, &c. played by the children of his majesty's chapel. POPE. It relates to the young finging men of St. Paul's, concerning whofe performances and fuccefs in attracting the best company, I find the following paffage in Jack Drum's Entertainment, or Pajquil and Katherine, 1601: "I faw the children of Powles last night; And troth they pleas'd me pretty, pretty well, -"'Tis a good gentle audience, &c." It is faid in Richard Flecknoe's Short Difcourfe of the English Stage, 1664, that "both the children of the chappel and St. Paul's, acted playes, the one in White-Friers, the other behinde the Convocation-house in Paul's; till people growing more precife, and playes more cry out on the top of question, and are moft tyrannically clapp'd for't: these are now the fashion; and fo berattle more licentious, the theatre of Paul's was quite fuppreft, and that of the children of t he chappel converted tothe use of the children of the revels." STEEVENS. The fuppreffion to which Fleckno alludes took place in the year 1583-4; but afterwards both the children of the chapel and of the Revels played at our authour's playhoufe in Blackfriars, and elsewhere; and the choir-boys of St. Paul's at their own houfe. See the Account of our old theatres in Vol. I. Part II. A certain number of the children of the Revels, I believe, belonged to each of the principal theatres. Our authour cannot be fuppofed to direct any fatire at thofe young men who played occafionally at his own theatre. Ben Jonion's Cyntbia's Revels, and his Poetafter, were performed there by the children of Queen Elizabeth's chapel, in 1600 and 1601; and Eastward Hoe by the children of the revels, in 1604 or 1605. I have no doubt therefore that the dialogue before us was pointed at the choir-boys of St. Paul's, who in 1601 acted two of Marfton's plays, Antonio and Mellida, and Antonio's Revenge. Many of Lily's plays were reprefented by them about the fame time; and in 1607 Chapman's Buy Ambris was performed by them with great applaufe. It was probably in this and fome other noisy tragedies of the fame kind, that they cry'd out on the top of question, and were moft tyrannically clapp'd for't. At a later period indeed, after our poet's death, the Children of the Revels had an established theatre of their own, and fome difpute leems to have arifen between them and the king's company. They performed regularly in 1623, and for eight years afterwards, at the Red Bull in St. John's Street; and in 1627, Shakspeare's company obtained an inhibition from the Mafter of the Revels to prevent their performing any of his plays at their houfe: as appears from the following entry in Sir Henry Herbert's Office-book, already mentioned: "From Mr. Heminge, in their company's name, to forbid the playinge of any of Shakspeare's playes to the Red-Bull company, this 11th of Aprill, 1627,50 o." From other paffages in the fame book, it appears that the Children of the Revels compofed the Red-Bull company. We learn from Heywood's Apology for Alors, that the little eyafes here mentioned were the perfons who were guilty of the late innovation, or practice of introducing perfonal abufe on the ftage, and perhaps for their particular fault the players in general fuffered; and the older and more decent comedians, as well as the children, had on fome recent occafion been inbibited from acting in London, and compelled to turn ftrollers. This fuppofition will make the words, concerning which a difficulty has been stated, (fee n. 6.) perfectly clear. Heywood's Apology for Actors was published in 1612; the paffage therefore which is found in the folio, and not in the quarto, was probably added not very long before that time. "Now to fpeake (fays Heywood,) of fome abuse lately crept into the quality, as an inveighing against the ftate, the court, the law, the berattle the common ftages, (fo they call them) that many, wearing rapiers, are afraid of goofe quills, and dare scarce come thither. Ham. What, are they children? Who maintains them? how are they efcoted? Will they pursue the quality no longer than they can fing'? will they not fay afterwards, citty, and their governments, with the particularizing of private mens bumours, yet alive, noblemen and others, I know it diftaftes many; neither do I any way approve it, nor dare I by any means excufe it. The liberty which fome arrogate to themselves, committing their bitternefs and liberal invectives against all eftates to the mouthes of cbildren, fuppofing their juniority to be a priviledge for any rayling, be it never fo violent, I could advife all fuch to curbe, and limit this prefumed liberty within the bands of difcretion and government. But wife and judicial cenfurers before whom fuch complaints fhall at any time hereafter come, will not, I hope, impute these abuses to any tranfgreffion in us, who have ever been carefull and provident to fhun the like." Prynne in his Hiftriomaftix, fpeaking of the ftate of the stage, about the year 1620, has this paffage: "Not to particularife thofe late new fcandalous invective playes, wherein fundry perfons of place and eminence [Gundemore, the late lord admiral, lord treasurer, and others,] have been particularly perfonated, jeared, abufed in a grofs and fcurri lous manner," &c. The folio, 1623, has-berattled. The correction was made by the editor of the fecond folio. MALONE. 8 little eyafes, that cry out on the top of question,] Little eyafes ; i. e. young neftlings, creatures just out of the egg. THEOBALD. From cy, Teut. ovum, q. d. qui recens ex ovo emerfit. Skinneri Etymol. An aiery or eyerie, as it ought rather to be written, is derived from the fame root, and fignifies both a young brood of hawks, and the neft itself in which they are produced. Ал eyas hawk is fometimes written a nyas hawk, perhaps from a corruption that has happened in many words in our language, from the letter n paffing from the end of one word to the beginning of another. However, fome etymologifts think nyas a legitimate word. MALONE. The meaning feems to be, they afk a common question in the highest notes of the voice. JOHNSON. I believe queftion, in this place, as in many others, fignifies conver fation, dialogue. So, in The Merchant of Venice: " - think, you queftion with the Jew." The meaning of the paffage may therefore be→ Children that perpetually recite in the bigbeft notes of voice that can be uttered. STEEVENS. 9-efcoted] Paid, from the French efcot, a fhot or reckoning.JOHNS. Will they pursue the quality no longer than they can fing] Will they follow the profeffion of players no longer than they keep the voices of afterwards, if they fhould grow themselves to common players, (as it is moft like 2, if their means are no better,) their writers do them wrong, to make them exclaim against their own fucceffion 3 ? Rof. 'Faith, there has been much to do on both fides; and the nation holds it no fin, to tarre them on to controverfy: there was, for a while, no money bid for argument, unless the poet and the player went to cuffs in the question. Ham. Is it poffible? Guil. O, there has been much throwing about of brains. Ham. Do the boys carry it away? Ro.Ay, that they do, my lord; Hercules and his load too3. Ham. It is not very ftrange: for my uncle is king of Denmark; of boys? So afterwards he fays to the player, Come, give us a tafle ef your quality; come, a paffionate speech. JOHNSON. So, in the players' Dedication, prefixed to the first edition of Fletcher's plays in folio, 1647: "directed by the example of fome who once fteered in our quality, and fo fortunately aspired to chufe your honour, joined with your now glorified brother, patrons to the flowing compofitions of the then expired fweet fwan of Avon, Shakspeare." Again, in Goffon's School of Abufe, 1579: "I speak not of this, as though every one [of the players] that profeffeth the qualitie, fo abufed himtelf,-." "Than they can fing", does not merely mean, "than they keep the voices of boys," but is to be understood literally. He is fpeaking of the choir-boys of St. Paul's. MALONE. 2mft like, The old copy reads,-like moft. STEEVENS. The correction was made by Mr. Pope. MALONE. 3- their writers do them wrong, &c.] I should have been very much furprized if I had not found Ben Jonfon among the writers here alluded to. STEEVENS. 4 to tarre them on to controverfy :] To provoke any animal to rage, is to tarre bim. The word is faid to come from the Greek παράσσω. JOHNSON. 5 Hercules and bis load too.] i. e. they not only carry away the world, but the world-bearer too: alluding to the ftory of Hercules's relieving Atlas. This is humorous. WARBURTON. The allufion may be to the Globe playhouse on the Bankfide, the fign of which was Hercules carrying the Globe. STEEVENS. I fuppofe Shakspeare meant, that the boys drew greater audiences than the elder players of the Globe theatre. MALONE. 6 It is not very frange: for my uncle-] I do not wonder that the new players have fo fuddenly rifen to reputation; my uncle fupplies another Denmark; and thofe, that would make mouths at him while my father lived, give twenty, forty, fifty, an hundred ducats a-piece, for his picture in little 7. 'Sblood there is fomething in this more than natural, if philofophy could find it out. [Flourish of trumpets within. Guil. There are the players. 8 Ham. Gentlemen, you are welcome to Elfinore. Your hands. Come then: the appurtenance of welcome is fashion and ceremony: let me comply with you in this garb; left my extent to the players, which, I tell you, muft fhew fairly outward, fhould more appear like entertainment than yours. You are welcome: but my uncle-father, and aunt-mother, are deceived. Guil. In what, my dear lord? Ham. I am but mad north-north weft: when the wind is foutherly, I know a hawk from a hand-faw'. Enter another example of the facility with which honour is conferred upon new claimants. JOHNSON. It is not very frange, &c. was originally Hamlet's obfervation, on being informed that the old tragedians of the city were not fo followed as they used to be: [fee p. 265, n. 6.] but Dr. Johnson's explanation is certainly juft, and this paffage connects fufficiently well with that which now immediately precedes it. MALONE. 7 in little.] i. e. in miniature. So, in Drayton's Shepherd's Sirena: "Paradife in little done." Again, in Maflinger's New way to pay old debts: "His father's picture in little." STEEVENS. - let me comply-] Hanmer reads, Let me compliment with you. JOHNSON. 9 When the wind is foutherly, &c.] So, in Damon and Pythias, 1582: "But I perceive now, either the winde is at the fouth, 1 STEEVENS. I know a bawk from a band-faw.] This was a common proverbial speech. The Oxford Editor alters it to, I know a bawk from an bernbaw, as if the other had been a corruption of the players; whereas the poet found the proverb thus corrupted in the mouths of the people: fo that this critic's alteration only ferves to fhew us the original of the expreffion. WARBURTON. Similarity of found is the fource of many literary corruptions. In Holborn we have ftill the fign of the Bull and Gate, which exhibits but an odd combination of images. It was originally (as I learn from the |