PAR. I'll lay my life, with my difpofer Creffida. belonging to different perfons are all in the quarto affigned to Ajax. "Cobloaf! He would pun thee," &c. and in the last scene of the fame act, words that evidently belong to Neftor are given to Ajax, [See p. 307, n. 2.] both in the quarto and folio. I have not therefore hefitated to add the words, "You must not know where he fups," to the fpeech of Pandarus. Mr. Steevens proposes to affign the next fpeech," I'll lay my life," &c. to Helen instead of Paris. This arrangement appeared to me fo plaufible, that I once regulated the text accordingly. But it is obfervable that through the whole of the dialogue Helen steadily perfeveres in foliciting Pandarus to fing: "My lord Pandarus,"" Nay, but my lord,"-&c. I do not therefore believe that Shakspeare intended the fhould join in the prefent inquiry. Mr. M. Mafon's objection alfo to fuch an arrangement is very weighty. "Pandarus (he obferves) in his next fpeech but one clearly addreffes Paris, and in that speech he calls Creffida his difpofer." In what fenfe, however, Paris can call Creffida his difpofer, I am altogether ignorant. Mr. M. Mafon fuppofes that Paris means to call Creffida his governour or director, as it appears from what Helen fays afterwards that they had been good friends." Perhaps Shakspeare wrote-defpifer. What Pandarus fays afterwards, that Paris and Creffida are twain," fupports this conjecture. I do not believe that depofer (a reading fuggefted below) was our author's word; for Creffida had not depofed Helen in the affections of Troilus. A fpeech in a former fcene in which Pandarus fays, Helen loves Troilus more than Paris, (which is infifted on by an anonymous Remarker,) [Mr. Ritfon] proves nothing. Had he faid that Troilus once loved Helen better than Crefsida, and afterwards preferred Creffida to her, the obfervation might deserve fome attention. The words, I'll lay my life-are omitted in the folio. The words,-You must not know where he fups,―I find Sir T. Hanmer had affigned to Pandarus. MALONE. I believe, with Sir Thomas Hanmer, that-You must not know where he fups, fhould be added to the fpeech of Pandarus; and that the following one of Paris fhould be given to Helen. That Creffida wanted to feparate Paris from Helen, or that the beauty of Creffida had any power over Paris, are circumftances not evident from the play. The one is the opinion of Dr. Warburton, the other a conjecture of Mr. Heath's. By giving, however, this line,-I'll lay my life with my difpofer Creffida, to Helen, and by changing the word difpofer into depofer, fome meaning may be ob PAN. No, no, no fuch matter, you are wide;* come, your difpofer is fick. PAR. Well, I'll make excufe. PAN. Ay, good my lord. Why fhould you fayCreffida? no, your poor disposer's sick. PAR. I Spy.3 PAN. You fpy! what do you spy?-Come, give me an inftrument.-Now, fweet queen. HELEN. Why, this is kindly done. PAN. My niece is horribly in love with a thing you have, fweet queen. HELEN. She fhall have it, my lord, if it be not my lord Paris. PAN. He! no, fhe'll none of him; they two are twain. tained. She addreffes herself, I fuppofe, to Pandarus, and, by her depofer, means-fhe who thinks her beauty (or, whofe beauty you fuppofe) to be fuperior to mine.-But the paffage in queftion (as Arthur fays of himself in King John) is "not worth the coil that is made for it." STEEVENS. The dialogue should perhaps be regulated thus: "Par. Where fups he to-night? "Helen. Nay, but my lord, "Pan. What fays my fweet queen? "Par. My coufin will fall out with you. [To Helen. "Pan. You must not know where he fups. [To Paris. "Helen. I'll lay my life with my depofer Creffida." She calls Creffida her depofer, because she had depofed her in the affections of Troilus, whom Pandarus in a preceding scene is ready to fwear the lov'd more than Paris. RITSON. 2 -you are wide;] i. e. wide of your mark; a common exclamation when an archer miffed his aim. So, in Spenser's State of Ireland: "Surely he fhoots wide on the bow-hand, and very far from the mark." STEEVENS. 3 Par. Ifpy.] This is the ufual exclamation at a childish game called Hie, Jpy, hie. STEEVENS. HELEN. Falling in, after falling out, may make them three.+ PAN. Come, come, I'll hear no more of this; I'll fing you a fong now. HELEN. Ay, ay, pr'ythee now. By my troth, fweet lord,' thou haft a fine forchead." PAN. Ay, you may, you may. HELEN. Let thy song be love: this love will undo us all. O, Cupid, Cupid, Cupid! PAN. Love! ay, that it fhall, i'faith. PAR. Ay, good now, love, love, nothing but love. PAN. In good troth, it begins fo: Love, love, nothing but love, ftill more! 4 Falling in, after falling out, &c.] i. e. the reconciliation and wanton dalliance of two lovers after a quarrel, may produce a TOLLET. child, and fo make three of two. 6 -fweet lord,] In the quarto-fweet lad. JOHNSON. —a fine forehead.] Perhaps, confidering the character of Pandarus, Helen means that he has a forehead illuminated by eruptions. To thefe Falstaff has already given the splendid names of→ brooches, pearls, and ouches. See notes on King Henry IV. Part II. Vol. IX. p. 78, 79, n. 4. STEEVENS. The fhaft confounds-] To confound, it has already been obferved, formerly meant to deftroy. MALONE. that it wounds,] i. e. that which it wounds. MUSGRAVE. Thefe lovers cry-Oh! ob! they die! Ob! ob! a while, but ha! ba! ba! Hey ho! HELEN. In love, i'faith, to the very tip of the nose. PAR. He eats nothing but doves, love; and that breeds hot blood, and hot blood begets hot thoughts, and hot thoughts beget hot deeds, and hot deeds is love. PAN. Is this the generation of love? hot blood, hot thoughts, and hot deeds?-Why, they are vipers: Is love a generation of vipers? Sweet lord, who's a-field to-day?" 9 Thefe lovers cry-Oh! oh! they die! Doth turn oh! oh! to ha! ha! be! Adonis: So dying love lives ftill:] So, in our author's Venus and "For I have heard, it [love] is a life in death, MALONE. The wound to kill may mean the wound that seems mortal. The wound to kill is the killing wound. M. MASON. JOHNSON. A paffage in Maffinger's Fatal Dowry may prove the apteft comment on the third line of this despicable ditty: 2 "Beaumelle. [Within.] Ha! ba! ba! "Charalois. How's this? It is my lady's laugh- a generation of vipers?] Here is an apparent allufion to the whimfical phyfiology of Shakspeare's age. Thus, fays Thomas Lupton, in The Seventh Booke of Notable Thinges, 4to. bl. 1.: PAR. Hector, Deiphobus, Helenus, Antenor, and all the gallantry of Troy: I would fain have arm'd to-day, but my Nell would not have it fo. How chance my brother Troilus went not? HELEN. He hangs the lip at fomething;-you know all, lord Pandarus. PAN. Not I, honey-fweet queen.—I long to hear how they fped to-day.-You'll remember your bro ther's excufe? PAR. To a hair. PAN. Farewell, fweet queen. HELEN. Commend me to your niece. PAN. I will, fweet queen. [Exit. [A Retreat founded. PAR. They are come from field: let us to Priam's hall, To greet the warriors. Sweet Helen, I must woo you To help unarm our Hector: his stubborn buckles, With these your white enchanting fingers touch'd, Shall more obey, than to the edge of fteel, Or force of Greekifh finews; you fhall do more Than all the ifland kings, difarm great Hector. "The female vyper doth open her mouth to receyve ye generative &c. of the male vyper, which receyved, fhe doth byte off his head. This is the maner of the froward generating of vypers. And, after that, the young vipers that fprings of the fame, do eate or gnaw afunder their mother's belly, therby comming or burfting forth. And fo they (being revengers of theyr father's iniurye) do kyll theyr owne mother. You may fee, they were a towardly kynde of people, that were called the generation of vipers." St. Matthew, iii. 7, &c. STEEVENS. Pan. Is this the generation of love? &c.- Sweet lord, who's a-field to-day?] However Pan. may have got fhuffled to the head of this fpeech, no more of it, I am confident, than the last five or fix words belongs to that character. The reft is clearly Helen's. |