I might have said, No part of it is mine, Hath drops too few to wash her clean again o; Bene. Sir, sir, be patient: For my part, I am so attir'd in wonder, I know not what to say. BEAT. O, on my soul, my cousin is belied! BENE. Lady, were you her bedfellow last night? BEAT. No, truly, not; although, until last night, I have this twelvemonth been her bedfellow. LEON. Confirm'd, confirm'd! O, that is stronger made, The sense requires that s But mine, and mine I lov'd, AND mine I prais'd, AND mine that I was proud on ;] we should read as in these three places. speaker stands thus- Had this been shame would not have rebounded on me. mine, as mine I loved her, praised her, was proud of her: consequently, as I claimed the glory, I must needs be subject to the shame,' &c. WARBURTON. Even of this small alteration there is no need. The speaker utters his emotion abruptly. "But mine, and mine that I lov'd," &c. by an ellipsis frequent, perhaps too frequent, both in verse and prose. JOHNSON. the wide sea Hath drops too few to wash her clean again ;] The same thought is repeated in Macbeth : "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood "Clean from my hand? 7 — which may SEASON give STEEVENS. To her foul tainted flesh!] The same metaphor from the kitchen occurs in Twelfth-Night: Which was before barr'd up with ribs of iron! For I have only been silent so long, And given way unto this course of fortune, 8 If this sweet lady lie not guiltless here LEON. Friar, it cannot be : Thou seest, that all the grace that she hath left, Why seek'st thou then to cover with excuse FRIAR. Lady, what man is he you are accus'd of1? 8 TO BURN the ERRORS -] The same idea occurs in Romeo and Juliet: 66 Transparent hereticks be burnt for liars." STEEVENS. 9 of my BOOK;] i. e. of what I have read. MALONE. ■ Friar. what man is he you are accus'd of?] The Friar had just before boasted his great skill in fishing out the truth. And, indeed, he appears by this question to be no fool. He was by, all the while at the accusation, and heard no name mentioned. Why then should he ask her what man she was accused of? in this lay the subtilty of his examination. For had Hero been guilty, it was very probable that in that hurry and confusion of spirits, into which the terrible insult of her lover had thrown her, But HERO. They know, that do accuse me; I know none: If I know more of any man alive, Than that which maiden modesty doth warrant, FRIAR. There is some strange misprision in the princes. BENE. Two of them have the very bent of honour 2; And if their wisdoms be misled in this, The practice of it lives in John the bastard, LEON. I know not; If they speak but truth of her, These hands shall tear her; if they wrong her ho nour, The proudest of them shall well hear of it. Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor fortune made such havock of my means, she would never have observed that the man's name was not mentioned; and so, on this question, have betrayed herself by naming the person she was conscious of an affair with. The Friar observed this, and so concluded, that were she guilty, she would probably fall into the trap he laid for her.-I only take notice of this to show how admirably well Shakspeare knew how to sustain his characters. WARBURTON. 2 — BENT of honour;] Bent is used by our author for the utmost degree of any passion, or mental quality. In this play before, Benedick says of Beatrice, her affection has its full bent." The expression is derived from archery; the bow has its bent, when it is drawn as far as it can be. JOHNSON. To quit me of them throughly. FRIAR. Pause a while, And let my counsel sway you in this case. 3 Your daughter here the princes left for dead 3 ; 4 And publish it, that she is dead indeed: LEON. What shall become of this? What will this do? FRIAR. Marry, this, well carried, shall on her be half Change slander to remorse; that is some good: That what we have we prize not to the worth, 3 Your daughter here the PRINCES left for dead :] The old copies read princess. The correction was made by Mr. Theobald. MALONE. 4 ostentation;] Show, appearance. JOHNSON. 5- we RACK the value ;] i. e. we exaggerate the value. The allusion is to rack-rents. The same kind of thought occurs in Antony and Cleopatra : "What our contempts do often hurl from us, "We wish it ours again." STEEVENS. 6- died UPON his words,] i. e. died by them. So, in A Midsummer Night's Dream : "To die upon the hand I love so well." STEEVENS. The idea of her life shall sweetly creep And every lovely organ of her life Shall come apparell'd in more precious habit, Into the eye and prospect of his soul, Than when she liv'd indeed:-then shall he mourn, Out of all eyes, tongues, minds, and injuries. 8 BENE. Signior Leonato, let the friar advise you : Yet, by mine honour, I will deal in this LEON. Being that I flow in grief, The smallest twine may lead me ". 7 (If ever LOVE had interest in his LIVER,)] The liver, in conformity to ancient supposition, is frequently mentioned by Shakspeare as the seat of love. Thus Pistol represents Falstaff as loving Mrs. Ford-" with liver burning hot." STEEVENS. -my INWARDNESS] i. e. intimacy. Thus Lucio, in Measure for Measure, speaking of the Duke, says-" I was an inward of his." Again, in King Richard III. : 8 "Who is most inward with the noble duke?" STEEVENS. 9 The smallest twine may lead me.] This is one of our author's observations upon life. Men overpowered with distress, eagerly |