Being lass-lorn; thy pole-clipt vineyard;? than that of the turfy mountains, would, for want of this precaution, be devoured, and so the intended ftover (hay, or winter keep] with which these meads are proleptically described as Thatched, be loft. The giving way and caving in of the brims of those banks, occafioned by the heat, rains, and frosts of the preceding year, are made good, by opening the trenches from whence the banks themselves were at first raised, and facing them up a freíh with the inire those trenches contain. This being done, the brims of the banks are, in the poet's language, pioned and twilled.---Mr. Warton himself in a note upon Comus, hath cited a passage in which pioners are explained to be diggers [rather trenchers] and Mr. Steevens mentions Spenser and the author of Muleasles, as both using pioning for digging. TWILLED is obviously formed from the participle of the French verb touiller, which Cotgrave interprets filthily to mix or mingle; confound or fruffle together; bedirt; begrime; besmear:-significations that join to confirm the explanation here given. This bank with pioned and twilled brims is described, as trimmed, at the beheft of Ceres, by Spungy April, with flowers, to make cold nymphs chajte crowns, These flowers were neither peonies uor lilies, for they never blow at this season, but us ladysmocks all silver white," which during this humid month, Itart np in abundance on such banks, and thrive like oats on the same kind of soil:" Avoine touillée croisi comme enragée.”—That OU changes into W, in words derived from the French is apparent in cordwainer, from cordouannier, and many others. HENLEY, Mr. Henley's note coutends for small proprieties, and abounds with minute observation. But that Shakspeare was no diligent Botanist, may be ascertained from his erroneous descriptions of a Cowslip, (in the Tempest and Cymbeline) for who ever heard it chara&erized as a bell-shaped flower, or could allow the drops at the bottom of it to be of a crimson hue? With equal careleifness, or want of information, in the Winter's Tale ho enumerates 6 lilies of all kinds,” among the children of the spring, and as contemporaries with the daffodil, the primrose, and the violet. It might be added, (if we must Speaś by the card) that wherever there is a bank there is a ditch; where there is a ditch there may be water; and where there is water the aquatic lilies may flourish, whether the bank in question belongs to a river or a field.—These are petty remarks, but they are occafioned by petty cavils - It was enough for our author that peonies and Lilies were well-known Where thou thyself do'st air: The queen o’the sky Enter CERES. Cer. Hail, many-colour'd messenger, that ne'er flowers, and he placed them on any bank, and produced them in any of the genial months, that particularly suited his purpose. He who has confounded the customs of different ages and nations, miglit easily confound the produce of the seasons. That his documents de Re Rufticâ were more exact, is equally improbable. He regarded objeds of Agriculture, &c. in the gross, and little thought, when he meant to bestow some ornamental epithet on the banks appropriated to a Goddess, that a future critic would with him to say their brims were filthily mixed or mingled, confounded or Shuffled together, bedinted, begrimed, and bomeared. Mr. Henley, however, has not yet proved the existence of the derivative which he labours to introduce as an English word; nor will the lovers of elegant description with him much success in his attempt. Unconvinced therefore by his ftri&ures, I shall not exclude a border of flowers to make room for the graces of the spade, or what Mr. Pope, in his Dunciad, has styled the majesty of mud.” STEEVENS. and thy broom groves,] Broom, in this place, signifies the Spartium Scoparium, of which brooms are frequently made. Near Gainlingay in Cambridgeshire it grows high enough to conceal the tallest catile as they pass through it; and in places, where it is cultivated, ftill higher. STEEVENS. 9 Being lass-lorn ; ] Lass-lorn is forsaken of his mistress. Sa Spenser: Who after that he had fair Una lorn." STEEVENS, - thy pole-clipt vineyard ] To clip is to twine round or embrace, The poles are clipd or embraced by the vines. Vineyard is here seud as a trisyllable. STEEVENS, 8 + And with each end of thy blue bow dost crown Iris. A contract of true love to celebrate ; Tell me, heavenly bow, Of her society done } 3 My bosky acres, &c.] Bosky is woody. Bosky acres are fields divided from each other by hedge-rows. Bofcus is iniddlc Latin for wood. Bosquet, Fr. So Milion: “ And every bolky bourn from side to side." Again, in X. Edward. I. 1599. " Hale him from hence, and in this bosky wood to this short-grass'd green?] The old copy reads short-gras'd green. Short-graz'd green means grazed so as to be short. The corredion was made by Mr. Rowe. STEEVENS. 4 Swears he will shoot no more, but play with spar rows, Highest queen of state, Enter Juno, Juno. How does my bountcous fister ? Go with me, To bless this twain, that they may prosperous be, And honour'd in their issue, S O N G. JUNO. Honour, riches, marriage-blessing, Long continuance, and increasing, I Highest queen of fate, Great Juno comes; I know ker by her gait.] Mr. Whalley thinks this paliage a remarkable instance of Shakspeare's knowledge of ancient poetic story; and that the hint was furnished by the Divun incedo Regina of Virgil. John Taylor, the water-poet, declares, that he never learned his Accidence, and that Latin and French were to him Heathen Greek; yet, by the help of Mr. Whalley's argument, I will prove him a learned man, in spite of every thing he may say to the contrary: for thus he makes a gallant address his lady ; " Moit inestimable magazine of beauty! in whom the port and majesty of Juno, the wisdom of Jove's brain-bred girle, and the feature of Cytherea, have their domestical habitation." FARMER. So, in The Arraignement of Paris, 1584: “ First statelic Jung, with her porte and grace." STE EVENS, 7 Cer. Earth's increase,' and foison plenty; ? Barns, and garners never empty; FER. This is a most majestic vision, and Harmonious charmingly :: May I be bold even 6 Earth's increase, and foison plenty; &c. ) All the editions, that I have ever seen, concur in placing this whole sonnet to Juno; but very absurdly, in my opinion. I believe every accurate reader, who is acquainted with poetical history, and the distinå offices of these two goddesses, and who then seriously reads over our author's lines, will agree with me that Ceres's name ought to have been placed, where I have now prefixed it. THEOBALD. And is not in the old copy. It was added by the editor of the second folio. Earth's increase, is the produce of the earth. The expression is scriptural: “Then shall the earth bring forth her increase, and God, our God, fhall give us his blefling." PSALM lxvii. MALONE. This is one amongst a multitude of emendations which Mr. Malone acknowledges to have been introduced by the Editor of the second Folio; and yet, in contradi&ion to himself in his Prolegomena, he depreciates the second edition, as of no importance or value. FENTON. 7 — foison plenty ;] i. e. plenty to the utmost abundancç; foiscina signifying plenty. See p. 62. STEEVENS. 8 Harmonious charmingly :] Mr. Edwards would read: " Harmonious charming lay." For though [says he] the benediâion is sung by two goddesses, it is yet but one lay or hymn. I believe however, this passage appears as it was written by the poet, who, for the sake of the verse, made the words change places. We might read [transferring the last syllable of the second word to the end of the first] “ Harmoniously charming." Ferdinand has already praised this aerial Masque as an objců of fight and may not improperly or inelegantly subjoin, that the |
0 Reviews Reviews aren't verified, but Google checks for and removes fake content when it's identified Write review |