"As those gold candles, fix'd in heaven's air." Sonn: XXI. Look, how the floor of heaven "Is thick inlaid with patins of bright gold!" M. of Ven. V. 1. Lor. MALONE. And in imitation of the majestical roof of the firmament the magnificent rooms in our palaces and lofty chapels had their roofs stellated at that time; and so continued till after the middle of the last century. (25) lenten entertainment-] i. e. sparing, like the en tertainments given in Lent. 66 to maintain you with bisket, "Poor John, and half a livery, to read moral virtue (26) Shirley's Duke's Mistress, 1638. STEEVENS we coated them on the way] Overtook. marry we presently coted and outstript them.” Return from Parnassus, 1606. In the laws of coursing, says Mr. Tollett, "a cote is when a greyhound goes endways by the side of his fellow, and gives the hare a turn." This quotation seems to point out the etymology of the verb to be from the French coté, the side. STEEVENS. We shall add," he costed and posted with such lightfoote speede, that coting and bording all, &c." Brian Melbancke's Philistinus, 4to. 1583. Brit. Bibliogr. 8vo. 1812. II. 443. "With that Hippomenes coted (præterit, v. 668.) her." A. Golding's Ov. Met. B. X. 1593. Signat. S. 3. "Coted farre." Chapm. II. 23. παραλαω. ν. 527. "Let it bee farre from us to let our idle knowledge content itselfe with naked contemplation, like a barren womb in a monasterie. Default of speedie order and direction maketh us to be thus coated by the Spaniard." Capt. Lord Kemys's 2d Voyage to Guinea, 4to. 1595. Pref, to Reader. (27) laugh, whose lungs are tickled o' the sere] Of, or by the sere, or a parched affection of the throat. Mr. Steevens, who says that laughing is very uneasy to asthmatical patients, adds, that "such is the case, as he is told, with those whose lungs are tickled by serum;" and Mr. Douce (Illustr. II. 230.) says, that " every one has felt that dry tickling in the throat and lungs, which excites coughing;" and he instances the use of this phrase in Howard's Defensative against the poyson of supposed prophecies, fo. 1620. "discovering the moods and humors of the vulgar sort to be so loose and tickle of the seare." The sense, to which we are led, seems to be in conformity with the ideas above stated; and the passage may be rendered, "By his merriment make even those whose haske or huskiness sub jects them to incessant coughing, involuntarily yield to laughter." Steevens produces an instance of the substantive and adjective use of the word in a still less intelligible sense: "And wyll byde whysperynge in the eare; 66 Thynk ye her tayle is not light of the seare?" An antient Dialogue between the Comen Secretary and Jelowsy, touchynge the unstableness of Harlottes. bl. 1. no date. "Hector, thou onely pestilence in all mortalitie (28) the lady shall say her mind freely]" Shall have free scope for the expression of her passion, shall not be prevented from doing justice to her part, how false soever her recital, or whatever the fate of the poet's numbers:" or, as Mr. Henderson, shall "mar the measure of the verse rather than not express herself freely and fully." (29) their inhibition comes by means of the late innovation} Hamlet represents the conduct of the players in quitting the capital and strolling, as every way injudicious; considering it as having been altogether matter of election and choice in them. Rosencrantz, on the contrary, being of opinion, that with hardly any election given, they had yielded to circumstances, to the changes of fashion and of the times, replies; that he "conceives their inhibition (i. e. their forbiddance or cause of removal from the capital) is to be ascribed to the late innovation;" i. e. a license granted to a new description of actors; and though they, the old company, had not relaxed in their efforts, that fashion was capricious, and the new candidates for public favour had met with the most extravagant applauses and success: and that the old company, like almanacs out of date, and so, as it were inhibited or forbidden, had been superseded and dislodged. Harlequin had never, at a later period, made such inroads upon the stage, as the children of St. Paul's had then made upon old company. the It would have been extraordinary, if the circumstances of the squabbles between the rival managers of the playhouses, at that time of day licensed, had been delivered down to us minutely, or even altogether intelligibly. (30) ayrie of children] Aiery, or eyrie, is derived from the same root as eyas, from ey, Teut. ovum q. d. qui recens ex ovo emersit. Skin. Etymol. and signifies both a young brood of hawks, and the nest itself. MALONE. The children were the young singing men of the chapel royal, or St. Paul's; of the former of whom perhaps the earliest mention occurs in an anonymous puritanical pamphlet, 1569, entitled The Children of the Chapel stript and whipt: "Plaies will neuer be supprest, while her maiesties unfledged minions flaunt it in silkes and sattens. They had as well be at their popish seruice in the deuil's garments," &c.-Again, ibid: "Euen in her maiesties chapel do these pretty upstart youthes profane' the Lordes day by the lasciuious writhing of their tender limbes, and gorgeous decking of their apparell, in feigning bawdie fables gathered from the idolatrous heathen poets," &c. Concerning the performances and success of the latter in attracting the best company, I also find the following passage in Jack Drum's Entertainment, or Pasquil and Katherine, 1601: "I saw the children of Powles last night; "And troth they pleas'd me pretty, pretty well, "The apes, in time, will do it handsomely. I like the audience that frequenteth there 'Tis a good gentle audience," &c. It is said in Richard Flecknoe's Short Discourse of the English Stage, 1664, that "both the children of the chappel and St. Paul's, acted playes, the one in White-Friers, the other behinde the Convocation-house in Paul's; till people growing more precise, and playes more licentious, the theatre of Paul's was quite supprest, and that of the children of the chappel converted to the use of the children of the revels." STEEVENS. The suppression to which Flecknoe alludes took place in the year 1583-4; but afterwards both the children of the chappel and of the Revels played at our author's playhouse in Blackfriars, and elsewhere; and the choir-boys of St. Paul's at their own house. See my Account of our old Theatres. A certain number of the children of the Revels, I believe, belonged to each of the principal theatres. Our author cannot be supposed to direct any satire at those young men, who played occasionally at his own theatre. Ben Jonson's Cynthia's Revels, and his Poetaster, were performed there by the children of Queen Elizabeth's chapel, in 1600 and 1601; and Eastward Hoe by the children of the revels, in 1604 or 1605. I have no doubt, therefore, that the dialogue before us was pointed at the choir-boys of St. Paul's, who in 1601 acted two of Marston's plays, Antonio and Mellida, and Antonio's Revenge. Many of Lyly's plays were represented by them about the same time; and in 1607, Chapman's Bussy d'Ambois was performed by them with great applause. It was probably in this and some other noisy tragedies of the same kind that they cry'd out on the top of question, and were most tyrannically clapped for't. At a later period indeed, after our poet's death, the Children of the Revels had an established theatre of their own; and some dispute seems to have arisen between them and the king's company. They performed regularly in 1623, and for eight years afterwards, at the Red Bull in St. John's Street; and in 1627 Shakespeare's company obtained an inhibition from the Master of the Revels to prevent their performing any of his plays at their house as appears from the following entry in Sir Henry Herbert's Office-book, already mentioned: "From Mr. Heminge, in their company's name, to forbid the playinge of any of Shakespeare's playes to the Red Bull company, this 11th of Aprill, 1627,-5 0 0." From other passages in the same book, it appears that the Children of the Revels composed the RedBull company. Heywood, in his Apology for Actors, 1612, says, "Now to speake of some abuse lately crept into the quality, as an inveighing against the state, the court, the law, the citty, and their governments, with the particularizing of private mens humours, yet alive, noblemen and others, I know it distastes many; neither do I any way approve it, nor dare I by any means excuse it. The liberty which some arrogate to themselves, committing their bitterness and liberal invectives against all estates to the mouthes of children, supposing their juniority to be a priviledge for any rayling, be it never so violent, I could advise all such to curbe, and limit this presumed liberty within the bands of discretion and government. But wise and judicial censurers before whom such complaints shall at any time hereafter come, will not, I hope, impute these abuses to any transgression in us, who have ever been carefull and provident to shun the like." Prynne in his Histriomastix, speaking of the state of the stage, about the year 1620, has this passage: "Not to particularise those late new scandalous invective playes, wherein sundry persons of place and eminence [Gundemore, the late lord admiral, lord treasurer, and others] have been particularly personated, jeared, abused in a gross and scurrilous manner." MALONE. (31) yases] Nestlings, just out of the egg, ey, ovum. "Eyiesse, Apotrophus. Although she be an Eyiesse, yet she is somewhat coy. Licet domi sit alumnus, manet tamen aliquanto aversior." Rider's Dict. 1589. "Tobie Matthew is here; but what with the journey, and what with the affliction he endures-he is grown extreme lean, and looks as sharp as an eyas, i. e. a young hawk just taken out of the nest." The D. of Buckingham to Ld. Visc. St. Alban, May 29, 1623. st. vet. Birch's Letters of L. Bacon, 8vo. 1763, p. 344. It is sometimes written nyas. Mr. Steevens just notices the booke of Haukynge, as offering another etymology." And so bycause the best knowledge is by the eye, they be called eyessed. Ye may also know an eyesse by the paleness of the seres of her legges, or the sere over the beake." (32) cry out on the top of question] Recite at the highest pitch of the voice; as in asking a question we generally close with a high note, the key in which children usually declaim throughout; and of course in a tone unrelieved and unvaried. In this scene Hamlet, upon the introduction of the Players, uses almost the same language," cried in the top of my judg ment:" i. e. surpassed, exceeded, surmounted, over-topped mine and Laertes, in correspondent terms, sets out a similar idea. "Stood challenger on mount of all the age." IV. 7. (33) are tyrannically clapt] Receive outrageous, extravagant applause for that, which, from the very nature of the thing, as above explained, could not convey to an auditory the nice marks and discriminations of character, with any thing like adequate expression. (34) It is not strange: for my uncle] I do not wonder that the new players have so suddenly risen to reputation: my uncle supplies another example of the facility with which honour is conferred upon new claimants. JOHNSON. It is either this, or a reflection upon the mutability of fortune, or rather the variableness of man's mind. The quartos read 66 very strange." (35) I know a hawk from a hand-saw] A common proverb. "Ignorat quod distant æra lupinis." Hor. "He knows not a Hawk from an Handsaw." Langston's Lusus poeticus, 12mo. 1675, p. 26. (36) Buz, buz] A term of contempt, applied to idle babblers, who droningly hum, heap and huddle stale intelligence. It is an extinguishing interjection; when, as Sir W. Blackstone says, any one begins a story, that was generally known before." Ducange, under the article Buzi, says, as we learn from Mr. Douce, "Interpretatur despectus vel contemptus. Papias. Ab Hebraico Bus vel bouz, sprevit." Illustr. II. 231. (37) Seneca cannot be too heavy, nor Plautus too light] The tragedies of Seneca were translated into English by Thomas Newton, and others, and published first separate, at different times, and afterwards all together in 1581. One comedy of Plautus, viz. the Menæchmi, was likewise translated and published in 1595. STEEVENS. I believe the frequency of plays performed at public schools, suggested to Shakespeare the names of Seneca and Plautus as dramatic authors. T. WARTON. Prefixed to a map of Cambridge in the Second Part of Brauni Civitates, &c. is an account of the University, by Gulielmus Soonus, 1575. In this curious memoir we have the following passage: "Januarium, Februarium, & Martium menses, ut noctis tædia fallant in spectaculis populo exhibendis ponunt tanta elegantia, tanta actionis dignitate, ea vocis & vultus moderatione, ea magnificentia, ut si Plautus, aut Terentius, aut |