The Gleek was originally a game at cards. word is often used by other ancient comic writers, in the same sense as by our author. Mr. Lambe observes in his notes on the ancient metrical history of The Battle of Floddon, that in the North to gleek is to deceive, or beguile; and that the reply made by the Queen of the fairies, proves this to be the meaning of it. STEEVENS. P. 126, l. 14. In the ancient copies, this, and the three preceding speeches, are given to the Fairies collectively. By the advice of Dr. Farmer I have omitted a useless repetition of ,,and I,“ which overloaded the measure. STEEVENS. P. 126, 1. 17. Dewberries strictly and properly are the fruit of one species of wild bramble called the creeping or the lesser bramble; but as they staid here among the more delicate fruits, must be understood to mean raspberries which are also of the bramble kind. T. HAWKINS. they Dewberries are gooseberries, which are still so called in several parts of the kingdom. HENLEY. P. 126, 1. 21. And light them at the fiery glow-worm's eyes.] I know not how Shakspeare, who commonly derived his knowledge of nature from his own observation, happened to place the glow-worm's light in his eyes, which is only in his tail. JOHNSON. The blunder is not in Shakspeare, but in those who have construed too literally a poetical expres sion. It appears from every line of his writings that he had studied with attention the book of nature,' and was an accurate observer of any object that within his notice. He must have khown tang light of the glow worm Seated in the tail Was but surely a poet is justified in calling the luminous part of a glow worm the eye. It is a liberty we take in plain prose; for the point of greatest brightness in a furnace is commonly called the eye of it. Dr. Johnson might have arraigned him with equal propriety for sending his fairies to light their tapers at the fire of the glow worm, which in Hamlet he terms uneffectual: ,,The glow-worm shews the matin to be near, ,,And 'gins to pale his uneffectual fire," M. MASON. P. 127, l. 5. A squash is an immature peascod. STEEVENS. 1 P. 127, 1. 11. I know your patience well:] The Oxford edition reads I know your paren tage well. I believe the correction is right. JOHNSON. Parentage was not easily corrupted to patience. I fancy, the true word is, passions, sufferings. There is an ancient satirical Poem entitled ,,The Poor Man's Passions, [i. e. sufferings,] or Poverty's patience." Patience and Passions are so alike in sound, that a careless transcriber or compositor might easily have substituted the former word for the latter. FARMER. These words are spoken ironically. According to the opinion prevailing in our author's time, mustard was supposed to excite to choler. Perhaps we should read well." M. MASON. REED. ,,I know you passing T P. 127, last 1. Night-rule in this place should seem to mean, what frolick of the night, what revelry is going forward? It appears, from the old song of Robin Goodfellow, in the third volume of Dr. Percy's Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, that it was the office of this waggish spirit,,to viewe [or superintend] the night-sports." STEEVENS. P. 128, 1. 4. Patch was in the old language used as a term of opprobry; perhaps with much same import as we use raggamuffin, or tatterdemalion. JOHNSON. the Puck calls the players, a crew of patches." A common opprobrious term, which probably took its rise from Patch, cardinal Wolsey's fool. In the western counties, cross-patch is still used for perverse, ilt-natur'd fool. T. WARTON. The name was rather taken from the patch'd or py'd coats worn by the fools or jesters of those times. I should suppose patch to be merely a corrup tion of the Italian pazzo, which signifies properly a fool. So, in The Merchant of Venice, Act II. sc. v. Shylock says of Launcelot : The patch is kind enough; after having just called him, that fool of Hagar's offspring. TYRWHITT. P. 128, 1. 8. Barren is dull, unpregnant. STEEVENS. P. 138, 1. 12. An ass's nowl A head. Saxou. JOHNSON. The following receipt for the process tried cu Bottom, occurs in Albertus Magnus de Secretis: ,,Si vis quod caput hominis assimiletur capiti asini, sume de segimine aselli, et unge hominem in capite, et sic apparebit." There was a transla. tion of this book in Shakspeare's time. Dovce. P. 128, 1. 14. And forth my mimick comes:] Minnock is the reading of the old quarto, and I believe right. Minnekin, now minx, is a nice trifling girl. Minnock is apparently a word of contempt. JOHNSON. P. 128, 1. 17. The chough is a bird of the daw Kind. STEEVENS. P. 128, 1. 17. sort,] Company. So above: that barren sort." JOHNSON. P. 128, 1. 21. And, at our stamp, here o'er and o'er one falls;] This seems to be a vicious reading. Fairies are never represented stamping, or of a size that should give force to a stamp, nor could they have distinguished the stamps of Puck from those of their own companions. I read: And at a stump here o'er and o'er one falls." Se Drayton: 4 pain he in his head piece feels, ,,At length upon his feet he gets, ,,And through the bushes scrambles, Among the briers and brambles." JOHNSON. I adhere to the old reading. The stamp of a fairy might be efficacious though not loud; neither is it necessary to suppose, when superna tural beings are spoken of, that the size of the agent determines the force of the action. That fairies did stamp to some purpose, may be known from the following passage in Olaus Magnus de Gentibus Septentrionalibus. ,,Vero saltum adeo profundé in terram impresserant, ut locus insigni ardore orbiculariter peresus, non parit arenti redi - vivum cespite gramen." Shakspeare's own, autho rity, however, is most decisive. See the conclusion of the first scene of the fourth act: ,,Come, my Queen, take hand with me, Honest Reginald Scott', says, "Our grandams maides were wont to set a boll of milke before Incubus, and his cousin Robin Good - fellow, for grinding of malt or mustard, and sweeping the house at midnight: and that he would chafe exceedingly, if the maid or good wife of the house, having compassion of his nakedness, laid anie clothes for him beesides his messe of white bread and milke, which was his standing fee. For in that case he saith, What have we here? Hemton, hamten, here will I never more tread nor stampen." Discoverie of Witchcraft, 1584, p. 85. RITSON. P. 128, 1. 27. 28. For briers and thorns at their apparel snatch; Some, sleeves; some, hats:] There is the like image in Drayton, of Queen Mab and her fairies flying from Hobgoblin: ,,Some tore a ruff, and some a gown, JOHNSON. P. 128, last 1. but one. But hast thou yet latch'd etc.] Or letch'd, lick'd over, lecher, to lick, French. HANMER. In the North, it signifies to infect. STEEVENS. |