Another, with his finger and his thumb,
Cry'd, Via! we will do't, come what will come :
The third he caper'd, and cried, All goes well:
The fourth turn'd on the toe, and down he fell.
With that, they all did tumble on the ground,
With fuch a zealous laughter, fo profound,
That in this fpleen ridiculous appears,
To check their folly, paffion's folemn tears."
PRIN. But what, but what, come they to vifit us?
BOYET. They do, they do; and are apparel'd
thus,―

9

Like Mufcovites, or Ruffians: as I guess,'

• Spleen ridiculous-] Is, a ridiculous fit of laughter. JOHNSON. The Spleen was anciently fuppofed to be the caufe of laughter. So, in fome old Latin verfes already quoted on another occafion: Splen ridere facit, cogit amare jecur." STEEVENS. 2 - paffion's folemn tears.] So, in A Midsummer Night's Dream: "Made mine eyes water, but more merry tears

66

"The paffion of loud laughter never fhed." MALONE. 3 Like Mufcovites, or Ruffians: as I guess,] The fettling commerce in Ruffia was, at that time, a matter that much ingroffed the concern and conversation of the publick. There had been several embaffies employed thither on that occafion; and several tracts of the manners and itate of that nation written: fo that a mask of Mufcovites was as good an entertainment to the audience of that time, as а coronation has been fince. WARBURTON.

A mask of Muscovites was no uncommon recreation at court long before our author's time. In the first year of King Henry the Eighth, at a banquet made for the foreign ambaffadors in the parliament-chamber at Westminster" came the lorde Henry, Earle of Wiltshire, and the lorde Fitzwater, in twoo long gounes of yellowe fatin travarfed with white fatin, and in every ben of white was a bend of crimofen fatin after the fashion of Rufia or Ruflande, with furred hattes of grey on their hedes, either of them havying an hatchet in their handes, and bootes with pykes turned up." Henry VIII. p. 6. This extract may ferve to convey an idea of the drefs ufed upon the prefent occafion by the king and his lords at the performance of the play. RITSON.

Hall

Their purpose is, to parle, to court, and dance:
And every one his love-feat will advance.
Unto his feveral miftrefs; which they'll know
By favours feveral, which they did beftow.

PRIN. And will they fo? the gallants shall be tafk'd:

For, ladies, we will every one be mafk'd;
And not a man of them fhall have the grace,
Despite of fuit, to fee a lady's face.-
Hold, Rofaline, this favour thou shalt wear;
And then the king will court thee for his dear;
Hold, take thou this, my fweet, and give me thine;
So fhall Birón take me for Rofaline.-

And change you favours too; fo fhall your loves
Woo contrary, deceiv'd by these removes.

Ros. Come on then; wear the favours most in

fight.

KATH. But, in this changing, what is your intent? PRIN. The effect of my intent is, to cross theirs : They do it but in mocking merriment; And mock for mock is only my intent. Their feveral counfels they unbofom fhall To loves miftook; and fo be mock'd withal, Upon the next occafion that we meet, With vifages difplay'd, to talk, and greet.

Ros. But fhall we dance, if they defire us to't? PRIN. No; to the death, we will not move a foot: Nor to their penn'd fpeech render we no grace; But, while 'tis fpoke, each turn away her face." BorET. Why, that contempt will kill the speaker's heart,

And quite divorce his memory from his part.

her face.] The first folio, and the quarto, 1598, havehis face, Corrected by the editor of the fecond folio. MALONE.

PRIN. Therefore I do it; and, I make no doubt, The reft will ne'er come in,' if he be out. There's no fuch sport, as sport by sport o'erthrown; To make theirs ours, and ours none but our own: So fhall we stay, mocking intended game; And they, well mock'd, depart away with shame. [Trumpets found within.

BorET. The trumpet founds; be mafk'd, the maskers come. [The ladies mafk.

Enter the King, BIRON, LONGAVILLE, and DUMAIN, in Ruffian habits, and mafked; MOTH, Muficians, and Attendants.

MOTн. All bail, the richest beauties on the earth! BOYET. Beauties no richer than rich taffata." MоTH. A boly parcel of the fairest dames,

[The ladies turn their backs to him. That ever turn'd their-backs-to mortal views!

BIRON. Their eyes, villain, their eyes.

MOTH. That ever turn'd their eyes to mortal views! Out

Borer. True; out, indeed.

will ne'er come in,] The quarto, 1598, and the folio, 1623, read—will e'er. The correction was made in the second folio. MALONE.

6 Beauties no richer than rich taffata.] i. e. the taffata masks they wore to conceal themselves. All the editors concur to give this line to Biron; but, furely, very abfurdly for he's one of the zealous admirers, and hardly would make fuch an inference. Boyet is fneering at the parade of their addrefs, is in the fecret of the ladies' ftratagem, and makes himself fport at the abfurdity of their proem, in complimenting their beauty, when they were mask'd. It therefore comes from him with the utmost propriety. THEOBALD.

MOTH. Out of your favours, heavenly Spirits, vouchSafe

Not to behold

BIRON. Once to behold, rogue.

Morн. Once to behold with your fun-beamed eyes, with your fun-beamed eyes—

BOYET. They will not anfwer to that epithet; You were beft call it, daughter-beamed eyes.

MOTH. They do not mark me, and that brings

me out.

BIRON. Is this your perfectnefs? be gone, you

rogue.

Ros. What would thefe ftrangers? know their minds, Boyet:

If they do fpeak our language, 'tis our will
That fome plain man recount their purposes:
Know what they would.

BOYET. What would you with the princefs?
BIRON. Nothing but peace, and gentle vifitation.
Ros. What would they, fay they?

BOYET. Nothing but peace, and gentle vifitation. Ros. Why, that they have; and bid them fo be

gone.

BOYET. She fays, you have it, and you may be

gone.

KING. Say to her, we have meafur'd many miles, To tread a meafure with her on this grafs.

BorET. They fay, that they have meafur'd many a mile,

To tread a measure with you on this grafs.

1 To tread a meafure-] The meafures were dances folemn and flow. They were performed at court, and at public entertainments of

Ros. It is not fo: afk them, how many inches Is in one mile: if they have measur'd many, The measure then of one is easily told.

BOYET. If, to come hither you have measur'd miles,

And many miles; the princefs bids you tell,
How many inches do fill up one mile.

BIRON. Tell her, we measure them by weary

fteps.

BorET. She hears herfelf.

Ros.

How many weary steps,

Of many weary miles you have o'ergone,

Are number'd in the travel of one mile?

BIRON. We number nothing that we spend for

you;

Our duty is fo rich, fo infinite,

the focieties of law and equity, at their halls, on particular occafions.
It was formerly not deemed inconfiftent with propriety even for the
graveft perfons to join in them; and accordingly at the revels which
were celebrated at the inns of court, it has not been unusual for
the firft characters in the law to become performers in treading the
meafures. See Dugdale's Origines Juridiciales. Sir John Davies, in
his poem called Orchestra, 1622, defcribes them in this manner:
"But, after thefe, as men more civil grew,

"He did more grave and folemn measures frame :
"With fuch fair order and proportion true,
"And correfpondence ev'ry way the fame,
"That no fault-finding eye did ever blame,
"For every eye was moved at the fight,
"With fober wond'ring and with fweet delight.
"Not thofe young ftudents of the heavenly book,

"Atlas the great, Prometheus the wife,

"Which on the ftars did all their life-time look,

"Could ever find fuch measure in the skies,

"So full of change, and rare varieties;

"Yet all the feet whereon these measures go,

"Are only fpondees, folemn, grave, and flow." REED.

See Beatrice's defcription of this dance in Much ado about Nothing, Vol. IV. p. 426. MALONE.