2 Our. And I from Mantua, for a gentleman, Whom, in my mood, I ftabb'd unto the heart."

I OUT. And I, for fuch like petty crimes as these.
But to the purpose,-(for we cite our faults,
That they may hold excus'd our lawless lives,)
And, partly, feeing you are beautify'd

With goodly shape; and by your own report
A linguist; and a man of such perfection,
As we do in our quality much want ;-

2

2 Our. Indeed, because you are a banish'd man, Therefore, above the reft, we parley to you: Are you content to be our general?

To make a virtue of neceffity,

And live, as we do, in this wilderness?

3 OUT. What fay'st thou? wilt thou be of our confort?

Say, ay, and be the captain of us all :

We'll do thee homage, and be rul'd by thee,
Love thee as our commander, and our king.

brother or fifter, but any remote defcendant. Of this use I have given inftances, as to a nephew. See Othello, A&t I. I have not, however, difturbed Theobald's emendation. STEEVENS.

Heir in our author's time (as it sometimes is now) was applied to females, as well as males. The old copy reads-And heir. The correction was made in the third folio. MALONE.

9 Whom, in my mood, I ftabb'd unto the heart.] Thus Dryden: "Madness laughing in his ireful mood.”

Again, Gray:

"Moody madness, laughing, wild," HENLEY.

Mood is anger or refentment. MALONE.

2- -in our quality.

-] Our quality means our profeffion,

calling, or condition of life. Thus in Maflinger's Roman Actor, Aretinus fays to Paris the tragedian:

"In thee, as being chief of thy profeffion,

"I do accufe the quality of treafon :"

that is, the whole profeffion or fraternity.

Hamlet, fpeaking of the young players, fays, "will they purfue the quality no longer than they can fing ?" &c. &c. M. MASON,

SIL. By thy approach thou mak'ft me most unhappy.

JUL. And me, when he approacheth to your prefence.

[Afide. SIL. Had I been feized by a hungry lion, I would have been a breakfast to the beast, Rather than have falfe Proteus refcue me. O, heaven be judge, how I love Valentine, Whofe life's as tender to me as my foul; And full as much (for more there cannot be,) I do deteft falfe perjur'd Proteus : Therefore be gone, folicit me no more.

PRO.What dangerous action, stood it next to death,
Would I not undergo for one calm look?
O, 'tis the curfe in love, and ftill approv'd,'
When women cannot love where they're belov'd.
SIL. When Proteus cannot love where he's
belov'd.

Read over Julia's heart, thy first best love,
For whofe dear fake thou didst then rend thy faith
Into a thousand oaths; and all thofe oaths
Defcended into perjury, to love me.

Thou haft no faith left now, unless thou had’st two,
And that's far worse than none; better have none
Than plural faith, which is too much by one:
Thou counterfeit to thy true friend!

PRO.

Who refpects friend?

SIL.

In love,

All men but Proteus.

PRO. Nay, if the gentle spirit of moving words Can no way change you to a milder form, I'll woo you like a foldier, at arms' end; And love you 'gainst the nature of love, force you.

9and fill approv'd,] Approv'd is felt, experienced.

MALONE.

The leaft whereof would quell a lover's hope,
Yet, fpaniel-like, the more fhe fpurns my love,
The more it grows, and fawneth on her still.
But here comes Thurio: now muft we to her window,
And give some evening mufic to her ear.

Enter THURIO, and Muficians.

THU. How now, fir Proteus? are you crept before us?

PRO. Ay, gentle Thurio; for, you know, that love

Will creep in fervice where it cannot go."

THU. Ay, but, I hope, fir, that you love not here.
PRO. Sir, but I do; or elfe I would be hence.
THU. Whom? Silvia?

PRO. Ay, Silvia,—for your fake.

THU. I thank you for your own. Now, gentlemen, Let's tune, and to it luftily a while.

Enter Hoft, at a distance; and JULIA in boy's clothes.

HOST. Now, my young gueft! methinks you're allycholly; I pray you, why is it?

JUL. Marry, mine hoft, because I cannot be merry. Host. Come, we'll have you merry: I'll bring you where you shall hear mufick, and fee the gentleman that you afk'd for.

The fame expreffion is ufed by Dr. Wilfon in his Arte of Rhetorique, 1553: "And make him at his wit's end through the fudden quip." MALONE.

-you know, that love

Will creep in fervice where it cannot go.] Kindnefs will creep where it cannot gang, is to be found in Kelly's Collection of Scottish Proverbs, p. 226. REED,

PRO. My fhame and guilt confounds me.-
Forgive me, Valentine: if hearty forrow
Be a fufficient ransom for offence,

I tender it here; I do as truly suffer,

As e'er I did commit.

VAL.

Then I am paid;

And once again I do receive thee honeft:-
Who by repentance is not fatisfy'd,

Is nor of heaven, nor earth; for these are pleas'd;
By penitence the Eternal's wrath's appeas'd:-
And, that my love may appear plain and free,
All that was mine in Silvia, I give thee.'

So, in our poet's 133d Sonnet:

"But flave to flavery my fweeteft friend muft be." MALONE. Perhaps our author only wrote-feet," which the transcriber, or printer, prolonged into the fuperlative" fweeteft." STEEVENS. 3 All, that was mine in Silvia, I give thee.] It is (I think) very odd, to give up his miftrefs thus at once, without any reafon alledged. But our author probably followed the stories just as he found them in his novels as well as hiftories. POPE.

This paffage either hath been much fophifticated, or is one great proof that the main parts of this play did not proceed from Shakfpeare; for it is impoffible he could make Valentine act and speak fo much out of character, or give to Silvia fo unnatural a behaviour, as to take no notice of this ftrange conceffion, if it had been made. HANMER.

Valentine, from seeing Silvia in the company of Proteus, might conceive she had efcaped with him from her father's court, for the purposes of love, though fhe could not foresee the violence which his villainy might offer, after he had feduced her under the pretence of an honeft paffion. If Valentine, however, be fuppofed to hear all that paffed between them in this scene, I am afraid I have only to subscribe to the opinions of my predeceffors. STEEVENS. I give thee.] Transfer these two lines to the end of Thurio's fpeech in page 287, and all is right. Why then should Julia faint? It is only an artifice, seeing Silvia given up to Valentine, to discover herfelf to Proteus, by a pretended miftake of the rings. One great fault of this play is the haftening too abruptly, and without due preparation, to the denouement, which fhews that, if it be Shakspeare's (which I cannot doubt,) it was one of his very early performances. BLACKSTONE,

1

JUL. O me, unhappy!

PRO. Look to the boy.

[Faints.

VAL. Why, boy! why wag! how now? what is the matter?

Look up; speak.

JUL.

O good fir, my mafter charg'd me

To deliver a ring to madam Silvia ; +

Which, out of my neglect, was never done.
PRO. Where is that ring, boy?

JUL.

Here 'tis this is it. [Gives a ring.

PRO. How! let me fee:"

Why this is the ring I gave to Julia.

JUL. O, cry you mercy, fir, I have mistook;

This is the ring you sent to Silvia.

[Shows another ring.

PRO. But, how cam'ft thou by this ring? at my depart,

I gave this unto Julia.

JUL. And Julia herself did give it me; And Julia herself hath brought it hither. PRO. How! Julia!

JUL. Behold her that gave aim to all thy oaths,"

4 To deliver a ring to Madam Silvia ;] Surely our author wrote"To give a ring," &c. A verfe fo rugged must be one of those corrupted by the players, or their tranfcriber. STEEVENS.

s Pro. How! let me fee: &c.] I fufpect that this unmetrical paffage fhould be regulated as follows:

Pro. How! let me fee it: Why, this is the ring

I gave to Julia.

Jul. 'Cry you mercy, fir,

I have miftook: this is the ring you fent

To Silvia.

Pro. But how cam'ft thou by this?

At my depart, I gave this unto Julia. STEEVENS.

Behold her that gave aim to all thy oaths,] So, in Titus Andronicus, A& V. fc. iii:

"But gentle people, give me aim a while."