If he fufpect I may difhonour him: And what may make him blush in being known, Who am no more but as the tops of trees, (Which fence the roots they grow by, and defend them,) 8 Makes both my body pine, and foul to languish, And punish that before, that he would punish. And with th' oftent of war &c.? TYRWHITT. The emendation made by Mr. Tyrwhitt is confirmed by a paffage in The Merchant of Venice: "Like one well Audied in a sad oftent, "To please his grandam." Again, in King Richard II: "With oftentation of defpifed arms." MALONE Which care of them, &c.] Old copy Which care of them, not pity of myself, (Who once no more but as the tops of trees. Which fence the roots they grow by, and defend them,} I would read Who am no more &c. FARMER. Pericles means to compare the head of a kingdom to the upper branches of a tree. As it is the office of the latter to screen the roots they grow by, fo it is the duty of the former to prote& his fubje&s, who are no lefs the fupporters of his dignity. STEEVENS. Once, more, muft have been a corruption. I formerly thought the poet might have written Who owe no more, but am now perfuaded that, he wrote, however ungrammatically-Who wants more, i. has no other with or .. which felf wants no more; 1. LORD. Joy and all comfort in your facred breast! 2. LORD. And keep your mind, till you return to us, Peaceful and comfortable! HEL. Peace, peace, my lords, and give experience They do abufe the king, that flatter him: Whereas reproof, obedient, and in order, PER. All leave us elfe; but let your cares o'er look defire, but to prote& its subje&s. The transcriber's ear, I fup. pofe, deceived him in this as in various other inftances. It should. be remembered that felf was formerly used as a fubftantive, and is so used at this day by perfous of an inferior rank, who frequently fay his felf. Hence, I fuppofe, the author wrote wants rather than want. MALONE. 9 To which that breath &c. } i. e. the breath of flattery. The old copy reads that Spark; the word, (as Mr. Steevens has obferved,} being accidentally repeated by the compofitor. He would read that wind. MALONE. This paffage feems to be corrupt, as it ftands, and the fense requires that we should read, To which that blaft gives heat and fronger glowing. Steevens agrees with me in the neceffity of fome amendment, but proposes to read wind, which I think not fo proper a word as blaft. M. MASON. When fignior Sooth-] A near kinfman of this gentleman is mentioned in The Winter's Tale: and his pond fish'd by his next neighbour, by fr Smile, his neighbour." What shipping, and what lading's in our haven, And then return to us. [Exeunt Lords.] Helicanus, thou Haft moved us: what feeft thou in our looks? HEL. An angry brow, dread lord. PER. If there be fuch a dart in princes' frowns, How durft thy tongue move anger to our face? HEL. How dare the plants look up to heaven from whence 'They have their nourishment?s PER. To take thy life. Thou know'ft I have power HEL. [Kneeling.] I have ground the axe myself; Do you but ftrike the blow. PER. Rife, pr'ythee rife; Sit down, fit down; thou art no flatterer: I thank thee for it; and high heaven forbid, That kings fhould let their ears hear their faults hid!" How dare the plants look up to heaven, from whence They have their nourishment?] Rowe &c. read, Thus the quarto 1609. Mra How dare the planets look up unto heaven From whence they have their nourishment? It would puzzle a philofopher to ascertain the quality of planetar nourishment, or to discover how planets, which are already in heaven, can be faid to look up to it. STEEVENS. Heaven That kings should let their cars hear their faults kid!] forbid, that kings fhould ftop their ears, and fo prevent them from bearing their fecret faults!—To let formerly guified to hinder. So, in Hamlet: "By heaven I'll make a ghoft of him that lets me." Again, in Tancred and Gifmund, 1592: "Nor base fufped of aught to let his fuit." MALONE. I am not clear but that let is here ufed in its ordinary fenfe, Forbid it, heaven (fays Pericles) that kings fhould fuffer they cars to hear their failings palliated!" HOLг WHITE. Fit counfellor, and fervant for a prince, Who by thy wisdom mak'st a prince thy fervant, HEL. With patience bear Such griefs as you do lay upon yourself. PER. Thou fpeak'ft like a phyfician, Helicanus; Who minifter'ft a potion unto, me, That thou would't tremble to receive thyself. Attend me then: I went to Antioch, Where, as thou know'st, against the face of death, 6 Where, as thou know't, &c.] Malone obferves that whereas is frequently ufed by the old dramatick writers, instead of where, and he is certainly right; but the obfervation is not to the purpose on the prefent occafion; for the word whereas does not really occur in this paffage, which should be printed and pointed thus: I went to Antioch, Where, as thou know', against the face of death, Where is more frequently used for whereas, but not in this place. M. MASON. • From whence an issue - ] From whence I might propagate ap iffae, that are arms, &c MALONE. 7 From whence an iffue I might propagate, Bring arms to princes, and to fubjects joys. ] Old copy: Are arms to princes, and bring joys to fubjects. I once imagined that a line was wanting to complete the fense of this paffage, and that the deficiency might be fupplied as follows:\ a glorious beauty, From whence an iffue I might propagate; Influenced, however, by the fubfequent remark of Mr. M. Mafon, I have recovered the fenfe for which he contends, by omitting one word in the corrupted line, and tranfpofing others. STEEVENS. The meaning of this paffage is clearly this: From whence might propagate fuch ifuc, as bring additional ftrength to princesa Her face was to mine eye beyond all wonder; 'Tis time to fear, when tyrants feem to kifs. Under the covering of a careful night, Who feem'd my good protector; and being here, Decrease not, but grow fafter than their years: and joy to their fubjects." The expreffion is certainly faulty; but it feems to be the fauit of the author, not the printer. I believe it was written as it ftands. M. MASON. Seem'd not to like, but smooth :] To Smooth formerly fignified to flatter. See note on "6 --fmooth every paffion," in King Lear, A& II. fc. ii. MALONE. To fmooth in this place means to froke. In the fame fense we fhould understand the word in Milton's Comus, v. 251: แ -fmoothing the raven down "Of darkness, till it fmil'd.” They fay in fome counties Smooth-instead of stroke, the cat. 9 than their years: ] Old copy-the years. HOLT WHITE. Their fufpicions outgrow their years; a circumftance fufficiently natural to veteran * And should he doubt it, (as no doubt he doth,)] The quarto 1609, reads, And fhould he doo't, as no doubt he dothfrom which the reading of the text has been formed. The repetition is much in our author's manner, and the following words, to lop that doubt, render this emendation almoft certain. MALONE, Here is an apparent coriuption. I fhould not hesitate to read--doubt on't-or, doubt it. To doubt is to remain in fufpenfe or uncertainty. Should he be in doubt that thall keep this fecret, (as there is no doubt but he is,) why, to "lop that doubt," i. e. to get |