For the arch where the Archer reposed was the cavern of Death,
Who had stol'n out, unknown,

To unfasten the portals of life with his skeleton keys,
In St. Mary-le-bone.

Soon he returned, and Love, waking, to see the grim king
With terror did shiver,

And, in a hurry arising, his arrows he dropt
In a quake from his quiver.

Oh Cupid! you stupid, 'twas silly to fly;
Death could not hurt you :-

For love, when 'tis true,

It never can die!

Now the arrows of Death were all lying about on the ground,
And with Cupid's did mix,

And, ever since, Cupid and Death are unconsciously playing
Most unlucky tricks;

For Love, having gather'd some arrows of Death with his own,
Sometimes makes a hit

At the "gallery of beauty," but finds that his mistaken shaft
Drives some belle to "the pit."

Oh! Cupid, you stupid, why spoil thus your quiver,
And send to the heart

Some poisonous dart,

That was meant for the liver?

And Death, as unconsciously shooting Love's arrows around,
To bring down the old ones,

Sees grandads and dowagers wondrously warm'd into love,
That he meant to be cold ones.

Oh! mischievous medley of Love and of Death :—which is worse ('Tis a question perplexing);

To be too young to die, or be too old to love?-both

Are confoundedly vexing.

Cupid!—how sadly grotesque is the view

perverse,

Oh

Of white gloves and favours

66

In this setting of the air those conversant with Irish music will perceive that the two last bars, in each part, were Anglicized, to suit the taste of the time. The air should conclude with a triple repetition of the tonic-a characteristic feature of Irish tunes. Since writing the introductory note (p. 38), I have ascertained that in a manuscript of Music for the Viol de Gamba, formerly in the possession of Mr. Andrew Blaikie, of Paisley, bearing date 1692, the tune is entitled "King James' March to Ireland." In another, dated 1706, which was recently in the possession of Mr. David Laing (and now in that of Doctor Rimbault), it appears as King James' March to Dublin." Now, it is most probable that King James, at a time when it was so important to him to excite Irish feeling, would employ Irish airs on his Irish marches; and I think it may be said that, when the earliest known Scottish settings of the air have Ireland and Dublin as essential points of the title, Scottish editors might have paused before they so confidently claimed it. This remark is not unworthy of notice as collateral evidence-if collateral evidence were needed,-which it is not; for the fact of the air being popular in London, as “THE IRISH TUNE," long before there is any provable trace of it in Scotland, conclusively invalidates the Scottish claim, and establishes, beyond all cavil, the right of Ireland to this charming melody.

THE WOODS OF CAILLINO, p. 161.

See curious note to-p. 162. Here follow the notes of the Shakespearian commentators.

From MALONE'S SHAKSPEARE. Edited by BOSWELL.

PISTOL. Quality? Callino, castore me! art thou a gentleman ?*

We should read this nonsense thus:

66 Quality, cality-construe me, art thou a gentleman ?"

i.e. tell me, let me understand whether thou be'st a gentleman.-WARBURTON.

Mr. EDWARDS, in his MS. notes, proposes to read:

"Quality, call you me? construe me," &c.-STEEVENS.

The alteration proposed by Mr. Edwards has been too hastily adopted. Pistol, who does not understand French, imagines the prisoner to be speaking of his own quality. The line should therefore have been thus:

"Quality!-calmly; construe me, art thou a gentleman ?"-RITSON.

The words in the folio (where alone they are found)—" Qualitee calmie custure me," appeared such nonsense, that some emendation was here a matter of necessity, and accordingly that made by the joint efforts of Dr. Warburton and Mr. Edwards has been adopted in mine and the late editions. But, since, I have found reason to believe that the old copy is very nearly right, and that a much slighter emendation than that which has been made will suffice. In a book entitled "A Handful of Plesant Delites, containing sundrie new Sonets, newly devised to the newest Tunes," &c., by Clement Robertson and others, 16mo, 1584, is "a Sonet of a Lover in the Praise of his Lady, to Calen o custure me, sang at every line's end

When as I view your comely grace, Calen o, &c.

* Quality, call you me?-Construe me.] The old copy reads
"Quallitie calmie custure me."-STEEVENS.

Pistol, therefore, we see, is only repeating the burden of an old song, and the words should be undoubtedly printed—

"Quality! Calen o custure me. Art thou a gentleman?" &c.

He elsewhere has quoted the old ballad beginning

"Where is the life that late I led?"

With what propriety the present words are introduced, it is not necessary to inquire. Pistol is not very scrupulous in his quotations.

It may also be observed, that construe me is not Shakspeare's phraseology, but—construe to me. So, in Twelfth-Night :-"I will construe to them whence you come," &c.— MALONE.

Construe me, though not the phraseology of our author's more chastised characters, might agree sufficiently with that of Pistol. Mr. Malone's discovery is a very curious one, and when (as probably will be the case) some further ray of light is thrown on the unintelligible words, Calen, &c., I will be the first to vote it into the text.-STEEVENS. "Callino, Custore me" is an old Irish song, which is preserved in Playford's Musical Companion, 673: