Bars me the right of voluntary choofing:
But, if my father had not fcanted me,
And hedg'd me by his wit,' to yield myself
His wife, who wins me by that means I told you,
Yourself, renowned prince, then stood as fair,
As any comer I have look'd on yet,

For my affection.

MOR.
Even for that I thank you;
Therefore, I pray you, lead me to the caskets,
To try my fortune. By this fcimitar,-
That flew the Sophy,' and a Perfian prince,
That won three fields of Sultan Solyman,-
I would out-ftare the fterneft eyes that look,
Out-brave the heart moft daring on the earth,
Pluck the young fucking cubs from the fhe bear,
Yea, mock the lion when he roars for prey,
To win thee, lady: But, alas the while!
If Hercules, and Lichas, play at dice
Which is the better man, the greater throw
May turn by fortune from the weaker hand;
So is Alcides beaten by his page; *

And hedg'd me by his wit,] I fuppofe we may fafely readand hedg'd me by his will. Confined me by his will. JOHNSON. As the ancient fignification of quit, was fagacity, or power of mind, I have not difplaced the original reading. See our author, paffim. STEEVENS.

3 That flew the Sophy, &c.] Shakspeare feldom efcapes well when he is entangled with geography. The prince of Morocco must have travelled far to kill the Sophy of Perfia. JOHNSON.

It were well, if Shakspeare had never entangled himself with geography worfe than in the prefent cafe. If the prince of Morocco be fuppofed to have ferved in the army of fultan Solyman (the fecond, for inftance), I fee no geographical objection to his having killed the Sophi of Perfia. See D'Herbelot in Solyman Ben Selim.

TYRWHITT, 4 So is Alcides beaten by his page;] The ancient copies read-his rage. STEVENS.

Though the whole fet of editions concur in this reading, it is
Corrupt at bottom.
Let us look into the poet's drift, and the

And fo may I, blind fortune leading me,
Mifs that which one unworthier may attain,
And die with grieving.

POR.

You must take your chance;

And either not attempt to choose at all,

Or fwear, before you choofe,-if you choose wrong, Never to speak to lady afterward

In way of marriage; therefore be advis'd.'

MOR. Nor will not; come, bring me unto my

chance.

POR. Firft, forward to the temple; after dinner Your hazard fhall be made.

MOR. Good fortune then! [Cornets. To make me blefs't," or curfed'ft among men.

[Exeunt.

hiftory of the perfons mentioned in the context. If Hercules, (fays he,) and Lichas were to play at dice for the decifion of their fuperiority, Lichas, the weaker man, might have the better caft of the two. But how then is Alcides beaten by his rage? The poet means no more, than, if Lichas had the better throw, fo might Hercules himself be beaten by Lichas. And who was he, but a poor unfor tunate fervant of Hercules, that unknowingly brought his master the envenomed fhirt, dipt in the blood of the Centaur Neffus, and was thrown headlong into the fea for his pains; this one circumftance of Lichas's quality known, fufficiently afcertains the emendation I have fubftituted, page instead of rage. THEOBALD.

5- therefore be advis'd.] Therefore be not precipitant; confider well what you are to do. Advis'd is the word oppofite to rafh. JOHNSON,

"Kneel'd at my feet, and bade me be advis'd." STEEVENS, bless't,] i. e. bleffed'ft. So, in King Richard III:

- harmlefs't creature;" a frequent vulgar contraction in Warwickshire, STEEVENS,

Enter LAUNCELOT GOBBO."

LAUN. Certainly, my confcience will ferve me to run from this Jew my mafter: The fiend is at mine elbow; and tempts me, faying to me, Gobbo, Launcelot Gobbo, good Launcelot, or good Gobbo, or good Launcelot Gobbo, ufe your legs, take the start, run away: My confcience fays,-no; take heed honeft Launcelot; take heed, honeft Gobbo; or, as aforefaid, boneft Launcelot Gobbo; do not run; fcorn running with thy beels: Well, the moft courageous fiend bids

7

The old copies read-Enter the Clown alone; and throughout the play this character is called the Clown at most of his entrances or exits. STEEVENS.

7-fcorn running with thy heels :] Launcelot was defigned for a wag, but perhaps not for an abfurd one. We may therefore fuppofe, no fuch expreffion would have been put in his mouth, as our author had cenfured in another character. When Piftol fays, " he hears with cars," Sir Hugh Evans very properly is made to exclaim,

The tevil and his tam! what phrafe is this, he hears with ears? why it is affectations." To talk of running with one's heels, has fcarce less of abfurdity. It has been fuggefted, that we should read and point the paffage as follows: "Do not run; fcorn running; withe thy heels:" i. e. connect them with a withe, (a band made of ofiers) as the legs of cattle are hampered in fome countries, to prevent their traggling far from home. The Irishman in Sir John Oldenfle petitions to be hanged in a withe; and Chapman has the following paffage:

There let him lie

"Till I, of cut-up ofiers, did imply

* A quith, a fathom long, with which his feete
"I made together in a fure league meete.”

I think my felf bound, however, to add, that in Much ado about
Nothing, the very phrafe, that in the prefent inftance is difputed,

occurs:

" O illegitimate construction! I form that with my heels ;” i. e. I recalcitrate, kick up contemptuously at the idea, as animals throw up their hind legs. Such alfo may be Launcelot's meaning.

STEEVENS.

me pack; via! says the fiend; away! says the fiend, for the heavens; rouse up a brave mind, fays the fiend, and run. Well, my confcience, hanging about the neck of my heart, fays very wifely to me, my boneft friend Launcelot, being an boneft man's fon,—or rather an honeft woman's fon;-for, indeed, my father did fomething fmack, fomething grow to, he had a kind of tafte;-well, my confcience fays, Launcelot, budge not; budge, fays the fiend; budge not, fays my confcience: Confcience, fay I, you counfel well; fiend, fay I, you counsel well to be ruled by my confcience, I fhould ftay with the Jew my master, who, (God bless the mark!) is a kind of devil; and, to run away from the Jew, I fhould be ruled by the fiend, who, faving your reverence, is the devil himself: Certainly, the Jew is the very devil incarnation; and, in my confcience, my confcience is but a kind of hard confcience, to offer to counsel me to stay with the Jew: The fiend gives the more friendly counsel : I will run, fiend; my heels are at your commandment, I will run.

I perceive no need of alteration. The pleonafm appears to me confiftent with the general tenour of Launcelot's fpeech. He had just before expreffed the fame thing in three different ways:-" Use your legs; take the start; run away." MALONE.

-away! fays the fiend, for the heavens ;] As it is not likely that Shakspeare fhould make the Devil conjure Launcelot to do any thing for Heaven's fake, I have no doubt but this paffage is corrupt, and that we ought to read,

Away! fays the fiend, for the haven,

By which Launcelot was to make his escape, if he was determined to run away. M. MASON.

-away! fays the fiend, for the heavens ;] i. e. Begone to the heavens. So again, in Much ado about Nothing: "So I deliver up my apes, [to the devil,] and arvar to St. Peter, for the heavens."

Enter old GOBBO, with a basket.

GOB. Mafter, young man, you, I pray you; which is the way to master Jew's?

LAUN. [afide.] O heavens, this is my true begotten father! who, being more than fand-blind, high-gravel blind, knows me not:-I will try conclufions with him.

GOB. Mafter young gentleman, I pray you, which is the way to mafter Jew's?

LAUN. Turn up on your right hand,' at the next turning, but, at the next turning of all, on your left; marry, at the very next turning, turn of no hand, but turn down indirectly to the Jew's house.

GOB. By God's fonties, 'twill be a hard way to

9 Enter old Gobbo,] It may be inferred from the name of Gobbo, that Shakspeare defigned this character to be reprefented with a bump-back. STEEVENS.

atry conclufions-] To try conclufions is to try experiments. So, in Heywood's Golden Age, 1611:

"Cannot attain thy love, I'll try conclufions."

Again, in The Lancashire Witches, 1634:

Nay then I'll try conclufions:

"Mare, Mare, fee thou be,

"And where I point thee, carry me." STEEVENS.

So quarto R.-Quarto H. and folio read-confufions. MALONE. 3 Turn up on your right hand, &c.] This arch and perplexed direction to puzzle the enquirer, feems to imitate that of Syrus to Demea in the Brothers of Terence:

ubi eas præterieris,

"Ad finiftram bac rectâ plateâ: ubi ad Dianæ veneris,
"Ito ad dextram: prius quam ad portam venias," &c.
THEOBALD.

God's fonties,] I know not exactly of what oath this is a corruption. I meet with God's fanty in Decker's Honeft Whore, 1635:

Again, in The longer thou liveft the more Fool thou art, a comedy, 1. 1. without date:

"Gods fantie, this is a goodly book indeed."