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These jointly woo'd him, envying one another,
(Obey'd by all as spouse, but lov'd as brother)
And wrought a curious robe, of sable grave,
Fresh green, and pleasant yellow, red most brave,
And constant blue, rich purple, guiltless white,
The lowly russet, and the scarlet bright:
Branch'd and embroider'd like the painted spring;
Each leaf match'd with a flower, and each string
Of golden wire, each line of silk: there run
Italian works, whose thread the sisters spun;
And there did sing, or seem to sing, the choice
Birds of a foreign note and various voice :
Here hangs a mossy rock; there plays a fair
But chiding fountain, purled: not the air,
Nor clouds, nor thunder, but were living drawn;
Not out of common tiffany or lawn,

But fine materials, which the muses know,
And only know the countries where they grow.
Now, when they could no longer him enjoy,
In mortal garments pent,-death may destroy,
They say, his body; but his verse shall live,

And more than nature takes our hands shall give:

In a less volume, but more strongly bound,

Shakespeare shall breathe and speak; with laurel crown'd,
Which never fades; fed with ambrosian meat,

In a well-lined vesture, rich, and neat.

So with this robe they clothe him, bid him wear it;
For time shall never stain, nor envy tear it.

The friendly admirer of his endowments,

I. M. S.'

If, as the Rev. Joseph Hunter contends, these admirable verses be assigned to Richard James, Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, we know not how the initials are to be reconciled: still less do we know how to account for the greater disparity of style. A man may change his initials, but cannot easily change the character and quality of his poetry. We subjoin here, for the sake of completeness, certainly not for any excellence they possess, the following tributes to Shakespeare. The first is from John Weever's "Epigrams in the oldest Cut," &c., 1599, and Epig. 22 is headed Ad Gulielmum Shakespeare.

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'Honie-tong'd Shakespeare, when I saw thine issue,

I swore Apollo got them, and none other;

Their rosie-tainted features cloth'd in tissue,

Some heaven-born goddesse said to be their mother:
Rose-check'd Adonis with his amber tresses,

Faire fire-hot Venus charming him to love her;
Chaste Lucretia, virgine-like her dresses,

Prowd lust-stung Tarquine seeking still to prove her;

[Romea,

Romea, Richard, more whose names I know not,
Their sugred tongues and power-attractive beuty
Say they are saints, althogh that Sts they shew not,
For thousands vowes to them subjective dutie.
They burn in love, thy children, Shakespear, het them:
Go, wo thy Muse; more nymphish brood beget them."

The above is an exact copy of the original, with its various errors, including the false concord in the twelfth line, which, as my friend Mr. W. W. Williams observes, ought to run "For thousands vowe," &c. The next is from "The Scourge of Folly," by John Davies, called "of Hereford" to distinguish him from a much superior poet, Sir John Davys. It was published about 1609, and has for title "To our English Terence, Mr. Will. Shakespeare."

"Some say, good Will, which I in sport do sing,

Hadst thou not plaid some kingly parts in sport,
Thou hadst bin a companion for a king,

And beene a king among the meaner sort.
Some others raile; but raile as they thinke fit,

Thou hast no rayling but a raigning wit;
And honesty thou sow'st, which they do reape,

So to increase their stocke, which they do keepe."

We might add some lines from the same author's "Microcosmus," printed in 1603, and from his "Humour's Heaven on Earth," printed in 1605; but they have no characteristic, nor indeed any other merit, and we can only guess that Shakespeare and Burbadge are alluded to from the initials W. S. and R. B. placed by the writer in his margin.

In reference to the portrait of Shakespeare, on the title-page of the folio, 1623, I subjoin a note furnished by the kindness of Mr. T. E. Tomlins, of Lincoln's Inn Fields. It shows that Martin Droeshout, the engraver of that portrait, a native of Brabant, and called Pictor, received Letters Patent of Denization in the year 1607: the words are "Martinio Droeshout, pictori in Brabantia in partibus transmarinis," and it was entered on the Patent roll 5 Jac. I. p. 30, mem. 39. The above reached me through the hands of my friend Mr. F. Guest Tomlins.

SUPPLEMENTAL NOTES.

[The immediately ensuing leaves contain farther matter, illustrative of the text of Shakespeare, which could not so conveniently be placed at the bottom of the page, or which subsequent reading and inquiry have produced. We are not aware that any part of it has before been used for the same purpose.]

VOL. I.

P. 41.]-17th June, 1555.] In the Carlton Ride has been found a Court Roll, dated 29 April, 1552, by which it appears that John Shakespeare and two others had made a sterquinarium in “ Hendley strete." It does not follow (though it is probable) that this John Shakespeare was the father of the poet: it may have been John Shakespeare, the shoemaker, regarding whom see p. [47.

P. 99.]-Shakespeare visited Italy.] See an excellent letter by Mr. John Bruce in "The Shakespeare Society's Papers," Vol. i. p. 88, on the possibility that Shakespeare was in the Low Countries in 1586. He arrives at the conclusion that Will, "the jesting player" of Lord Leicester, mentioned in a letter from Sir P. Sidney, dated Utrecht, 24 March, 1586, was not Shakespeare but, in all likelihood, William Kempe.

P. 119.]-Add to note 9: We are, we think, hardly justified in saying that Shakespeare had once resided in the parish of Shoreditch. His name occurs in a subsidy-roll of the year 1598, as having been assessed in the sum of 61. 13s. 4d. on property in St. Helen's, Bishopgate. This may have been some other William Shakespeare, and the nature of the property is no where hinted at.

Shakespeare

P. 15.-Set her two courses: off to sea again; lay her off,] seems to have drawn his boatswain according to the description of a good pilot in G. Harvey's "Four Letters," &c., 1592, near the opening of Letter iv.—“ Like an expert pilot, that in a hideous tempest regardeth not the foolish shriekings, or vain outcries of disorderly passengers, but bestirreth himself, and directeth his mariners according to the wise rules of orderly navigation."

P. 16.-Did never MEDDLE with my thoughts.] Webster, in his "White Devil," 1612 (edit. Dyce i. 77), uses the word co-meddled.—“ Religion, Oh, how it is co-meddled with policy!"- How could the rev. editor, just above it, print "Oh, horrible salary!" What sense can there be in it, and to what can "salary" refer? The speaker is alluding to the cruelty practised in Italy, where “they sell justice with those weights they press men to death with," and contrasting it with the practice in England, exclaiming "Oh, horrible slavery!" as regards the condition of people in Italy.

P. 17.-Out three years old.] We meet with the same expression, with the addition only of "full," in Barnaby Rich's tract, "Greene's Newes out of Heaven and Hell," 1593, Sign. E 4 b, "This gentlewoman had been married full out tenne yeares."

P. 19. He being thus LORDED.] The typographical error load for "lord” is met with in Robert Greene's "Menaphon," 1587, Sign. F 4 b, where it is asserted that the heliotropion turns "to her load," instead of "to her lord," viz. the sun. Melody Moore has the same words-" to her lord."

P. 44. That's VERITY.] We meet with this error of the press in Nash's "Have with you to Saffron Walden," 1596, Sign O b, where he says "In plaine truth and in verity," "verity" being misprinted verily.

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P. 54.-Why, thou DEBAUCHED fish thou,] So much had the old corrupt spelling, deboist, gone out of use in 1649, that in a popular poem published in that year, although it was to be pronounced deboist for the sake of the rhyme, it was printed "debauch't :”.

"Enlarge

Our ventricles unto the whole discharge,

Even unto succetts, confects dry and moyst;

Let us go thorough and not be debauch't."

"A Bartholemew Fairing," 1649, 4to.

P. 65.-and thy BROWN groves,] The use of the epithet "brown" here is much the same as in R. Barnfield's "Legend of Cassandra" at the end of his "Cynthia," 1595, where he speaks of the "brown veil" of black-mantled Night; "And now black mantled Night with her brown vaile Covers each thing that all the worlde might quaile."

When 8penser, in his Pastorals, speaks of "the budded brooms," nobody can suppose (unless it be the Rev. A. Dyce) that he means "broom groves."

P. 82.-And deal in her command, with all her power,] In W. Heminge's "Jew's Tragedy" there is a curious misprint of without, not for "with all," but for methought, where Zarack ought to say,

“Again, again, again methought I saw ;"

and he is made to say "without I saw,"-probably a mishearing.

P. 90.-For he was more than over shoes in love.] The same expression occurs in R. Greene's "Menaphon," 1587, Sign. F: "the cuntrie maides themselves fell in love with this faire nimph, and could not blame Menaphon for being over the shoes with such a beautifull creature."

P. 29.-that's noddy.] Puttenham in his "Art of English Poesie," 1589, p. 35, calls Thersites a "glorious noddie, whom Homer maketh mention of."

P. 116. Is it mine eyen,] When the note on this passage was written I was not aware that Mr. Singer might have followed Sir T. Hanmer in the emendation ; nor, of course, that it had ever been suggested before it appeared in my former edition: "mine eyen" must inevitably be right.

P. 131. She is not to be kissed fasting,] The Rev. Mr. Dyce makes an odd blunder here, when he asserts (Shakespeare i. p. 52) that Rowe supplied the word "fasting:"Rowe inserted "kist" and not "fasting."

P. 151. Her eyes are GREEN as grass,] Yet Gascoigne praising a lady thus writes:

"Her eyes are greye as glasse, her teeth as whyte as mylke, A ruddy lyp, a dympled chyn, a skinne as smoothe as silke." Works: edit. 1587, p. 284. "Grey as glass," may certainly be right.

P. 161. We will CONCLUDE all jars] If include be taken in the sense of "conclude," the following from R. Hobart's "Life and Death of Edward II." st. 405, shows that to "conclude was sometimes used for to include.

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"And in that compasse he concluded me,"

meaning "included me:" in the very next line we have "concluded" in the sense of ended,

"And so concluded, I should be depos'd."

P. 182.—the HUMOUR of this age,] "Humour" and honour were often confounded by old printers and transcribers, but the blunder of "honour" for

horror was less frequent. Nevertheless we have an undoubted instance of it in Webster's "Duchess of Malfi," A. iv. sc. 2, where Bossola, in a fit of remorse, throwing off the disguise of a Bellman, in which he had strangled the heroine, exclaims

"Off, my painted horror!"

In the old copies, and in modern reprints, "horror" stands honour. In what way was the Bellman's disguise Bossola had worn for the purpose of murder an honour? See Dyce's Webster, i. 283, and Hazlitt's Webster, ii. 250.

P. 190.-to the tune of "GREEN SLEEVES."] There is a passage in "Fennes Frutes," 1590, fo. 50 b, showing that "green sleeves" became a sort of cant name for a beloved lady-" Did not noble Achilles purchase great dishonour by doting love? For when he lay at the siege of Troy, because Atridas had taken his sweet love, and green sleeves from him, he would no longer fight," &c. P. 202.-and flying what pursues.] The same thing is said, in nearly the same words, in Marston's "Fawn," 1606, A. iv.

"So we may learn that nicer love's a shade,
It follows fled, pursued flies as afraid."

" from the 4to.

P. 211.-Follow me, LAD of peace.] "Lad of peace " is addressed to Justice Shallow, who was of the peace. Those who print "lads of peace do not perceive this: the Host has previously called Evans and Caius "boys of art." P. 218.-how you DRUMBLE] The active participle is met with in Nash's "Have with you to Saffron Walden," 1596, Sign. E 2 b. Though, graybeard, drumbling over a discourse be no crime I am subject to."

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P. 223.-And bowled to death with TURNIPS.] Yet turnips were not then by any means a common vegetable: both they and carrots had been imported from Holland, and in "The Shoemaker's Holiday," 1600, by Dekker and Wilson, Firk, speaking of the rich contents of a ship from abroad, says that she was laden with prunes, almons, suger-candy, carrat roofs, turnups; oh brave fatting meate!" P. 242. You may not CONCEAL them, sir.] It would be just as reasonable to say that Marston did not know the difference between "conceive" and conceal, when in his "Fawn," 1606, A. iii., we find the following:

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"Dulcimel. May I rest sure thou wilt conceive a secret?

Philocalia. Yes, madam.

Dul. How may I rest truly assured?

Phil. Truly thus: Do not tell it me.

Dul. Why, canst thou not conceal a secret?"

Here "conceive," in the first line, is merely a misprint for conceal in the last. P. 272. Save that we do the DENUNCIATION lack] The same use of “denounce," for pronounce, is found in Webster's “White Devil” (edit. Dyce, i. 107), where Monticelso, just elected Pope, excommunicates Brachiano and Vittoria :"We do denounce excommunication Against them both."

Sentence of excommunication was formerly denounced. It would be easy to multiply instances: pronounce was of later use.

P. 292.-Not with fond SHEKELS] In Richard Johnson's “ Seven Champions of Christendom," edit. 1608, p. 43, we hear of a corslet of the value of “a thousand sickles of silver."

P. 294. With all her double vigour, art, and nature,] So Browne in his "Britannia's Pastorals," edit. 1625, Book i. song 2, calls prostitutes

"Insatiate gulphs, in your defective part,

By art help nature, and by nature art."

P. 296.- Oh, injurious LOVE,] Sir T. Hanmer altered "love" to law, with considerable plausibility, but the change is by no means necessary; and as there is no trace of it in the corr. fo. 1632, we refrain from varying from the received reading in all the old impressions.

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