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"1 Br. Vpon these chalkie cliffs of Albion,
"We are arriued now with tedious toile, &c.

"To feeke our Sifter, &c."

A foothfayer enters, with whom they converse about the loft lady. "Sooths. Was the fayre? 2 Br. The fayreft for white and the pureft "for redde, as the blood of the deare or the driven fnowe, &c." In their fearch, Echo replies to their call. They find too late that their Sifter is under the captivity of a wicked magician, and that she had tasted his cup of oblivion. In the clofe, after the wreath is torn from the magician's head, and he is difarmed and killed, by a Spirit in the shape and character of a beautiful page of fifteen years old, she still remains subject to the magician's inchantment. But in a fubfequent fcene the Spirit enters, and declares, that the Sister cannot be delivered but by a Lady, who is neither maid, wife, nor widow. The Spirit blows a magical horn, and the Lady appears; fhe diffolves the charm, by breaking a glafs, and extinguishing a light, as I have before recited. A curtain is withdrawn, and the Sifter is feen feated and asleep. She is difinchanted and restored to her fenfes, having been spoken to THRICE. She then rejoins her Two Brothers, with whom she returns home; and the Boy-spirit vanishes under the earth. The magician is here called " inchanter "vile," as in COMUS, V. 906.

There is another circumftance in this play, taken from the old English APULEIUS. It is where the Old Man every night is tranfformed by our magician into a bear, recovering in the day-time his natural fhape.b

Among the many feats of magic in this play, a bride newly married gains a marriage-portion by dipping a pitcher into a well. As fhe dips, there is a voice:

“Faire maiden, white and red,

"Combe me fmoothe, and stroke my head,

"And thou fhall haue fome cockell bread!

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Gently dippe, but not too deepe,

"For feare thou make the golden beard to weepe!

"Faire maiden, white and redde,

"Combe me fmooth, and stroke my head;

"And euery haire a fheaue shall be,

"And every fheaue a golden tree!"

With this ftage-direction," A head comes up full of gold; she combes "it into her lap."

I must not omit, that Shakespeare seems also to have had an eye on this play. It is in the scene where" The Harueft-men enter with a Song." Again, "Enter the Harueft-men finging with women in "their bandes." Frolicke fays,

"Who have we here, our amorous

"harueft-ftarres?"They fing.

66

Loe, here we come a reaping a reaping, "To reape our harueft-fruite;

a See Note on CoмUS, V. 240. And Reed's OLD PL. vi. 426. xii. 401.

b See an allufion to this APULEIUS in Tomkis's ALBUMAZAR, written 1614, Reed's OLD PL, vii, 188,

"And

"And thus we paffe the yeare fo long,

"And neuer be we mute."

Compare the Mafque in the TEMPEST, A. iv. S. i. Where Iris says,
You fun-burnt ficklemen of Auguft weary,

Come hither from the furrow, and be merry:
Make holiday, your rye-ftraw hats put on,
And these fresh nymphs encounter every one
In country footing, &c.-

Where is this ftage-direction, Enter certain Reapers properly habited: they join with the nymphs in a graceful dance, &c. The TEMPEST probably did not appear before the year 1612.

Some notices of GEORGE PEELE, the author of our OLD WIUES TALE, may be thought neceffary. He was a native of Devonshire; and a Student of Chrift-Church Oxford, where he became a Master of arts in 1579. At the university, he was much esteemed for his poetical talents. Going to London, he was made conductor of the city pageants. Hence he seems to have got a connection with the ftage. He was one of the wits of the town, and his "Merrie lefts" appeared in 1607. Reprinted 1627. Mr. Steevens justly supposes, that the character of GEORGE PIEBOARD, in the Puritan, was defigned for GEORGE PEELE. See Malone's SUPPL. SHAKESP. ii. 587. He has fome few pastoral pieces in ENGLANDS HELICON. He dedicated a poem called the HONOUR OF THE GARTER, to the earl of Northumberland, by whom he was patronifed in 1593. He wrote alfo among other things, POLYHYMNIA, the defcription of a TYLT exhibited be fore the queen, 1590. As to his plays, befide the OLD WIUES TALE, 1595, he wrote THE ARRAIGNMENT OF PARIS, 1584. EDWARD THE FIRST, 1593-- -KING DAVID AND FAIR BETHSABE, 1599. [See Note on Comus, v. 934. fupr. p. 251.] -And THE TURKISH MAHOMET AND HYREN [Irene] THE FAIRE GREEK, never printed. [See Malone, ut fupr. vol. 1. 191.] Of his popularity, and in various kinds of poetry, fee Meres's WITS TREASURY, 1598. 12mo. viz. p. 232. 283. 285. And Nafh's EPISTLE to the Gentlemen Students of both univerfities, prefixed to Greene's ARCADIA, 4to. Bl. Let. He lived on the Bank-fide, oppofite to Black Friars and died, in want and obscurity, of a disease, which Wood fays is incident to poets, about the year 1597. He was a favourite dramatic poet: and his plays continued to be acted with applause long after his death. A man of Peele's profeffion, fituation, and character, must have left many more plays, at leaft interludes, than are now remembered even by name only. His OLD WIUES TALE, which is unrecited by Wood, and of which the induftrious Langbaine appears to have known nothing more than the title, had funk into total oblivion.

VOL. I.

4 D

ORIGINAL

ORIGINAL VARIOUS READINGS.

N the Library of Trinity College Cambridge, is a thin folio

Imanufcript, marked MISCELL. R. ii. 49. It is fplendidly

"

bound, and to the infide of one of the covers is pafted a paper with this infcription, "Membra haec eruditiffimi et pene divini poetæ Volim mifere disjecta et paffim fparfa, poftea vero fortuito in"venta, et in unum denuo collecta a CAROLO MASON ejufdem Collegii Socio, et inter Miscellanea repofita, ea qua decuit re"ligione confervare voluit THOMAS CLARKE, nuperrime hujufce Collegii nunc vero Medii Templi Londini Socius, 1736." Doctor Mafon, abovementioned, who was alfo Woodwardian profeffor at Cambridge, found thefe papers among other old and neglected manuscripts belonging to Sir Henry Newton Puckering, a confiderable benefactor to the Library. Befide plans of PARADISE LOST, and sketches and subjects for poetry, all in Milton's own hand, they contain entire copies of many of our author's fmaller poems, in the fame band, except in a few inftances, exhibiting his first thoughts and expreffions, and most commonly his own corrections of them according to the present text. All these variations, but imperfectly and incorrectly printed by Birch, are here given, with other notices, from a more minute and careful examination of the mannfcript.

LYCIDAS. fol. 30-34.

V. 10. Who would not fing for Lycidas, he well knew.
V. 22. To bid faire Peace be to my fable shroud.

V. 26. Under the glimmering eye-lids of the morne.

a Afterwards Mafter of the Rolls.

b He died Dec. 18, 1770. Aged 72.

He had fo great an affection for this college, in which he had been educated, that in his eightieth year he defired to be readmitted and refiding there a whole fummer, prefented to the new library, just then finished, his own collection of books, amounting to near four thousand volumes. He was fon of fir Adam Newton, tutor to Prince Henry; and many papers written by that prince, or relating to him, are involved in the collection. Sir Henry took the name of Puckering in remembrance of his uncle fir Thomas Puckering of Warwickshire, a learned and accomplished man, brother in law to fir Adam Newton, son of lord Keeper Puckering, a companion of the ftudies of prince Henry. Many of the books were prefents to the prince from authors or editors. In Dr. Duport's HoR SUBSECIVÆ, a poem is addreffed to this preferver of Milton's Manufcripts, Ad D. Henricum Puckeringum, alias Newtonum, Equitem baronettum. Cantabr. 1676. 8vo. pp. 222. 223. This fir Henry had a fon, pupil to Dr. Duport at Trinity college, but who died before his father.

V. 30. Oft till the even-ftarre bright

gay

Toward heaven's defcent had floapt his burnight wheel.
V. 47. Or froft to flowres that their buttons wear.
V. 53. Where the old bards the famous Druids lie.
V. 58. What could the golden-hayr'd Calliope
For her inchaunting fon,

When he beheld, the gods far-fighted bee,

His goarie fcalpe rowle downe the Thracian lee.

Where goary, with the fubftitution of visage for scalpe, was a cor rection from divine visage.

V. 69. Hid in the tangles of Neæra's haire.

V. 85. Oh fountain Arethufe, and thou Smooth flood,
Soft-fliding Mincius.

Smooth is then altered to fam'd, and next, to honor'd. And soft. fliding to Smooth-fliding.

V. 105. Scraul'd ore with figures dim.

Inwrought is marginal.

V. 129. Daily devours apace, and little fed.

Nothing is expunged.

V. 138. On whose fresh lap the swart ftar Atintly looks.

At first parely, as at present.

V. 139. Bring hither all your quaint enamel'd eyes.
V. 142. Bring the rathe primrose that unwedded dies,
Colouring the pale cheek of uninjoy'd love ;
And that fad floure that ftrove

To write his own woes on the vermeil graine :
Next adde Narciffus that ftill weeps in vaine;
The woobine, and the pancie freak't with jet,
The glowing violet,

The cowflip wan that hangs his pensive head,
And every bud that forrow's liverie weares,
Let daffadillies fill their cups with teares,

Bid amaranthus all his beautie shed.

Here also well-attir'd woodbine appears as at present, altered from gárifb columbine: and fad embroidery, an alteration of fad efcocheon, instead of forrow's liverie.

V. 153. Let our fad thoughts dally with falfe furmife.

a Beaumont and Fletcher, THE TWO NOBLE KINSMEN, A. iii, S. i. vol. x. p. 49. edit. 1750.

O queen Emilia,

Fresher than May, sweeter

Than her gold BUTTONS on the boughs.

Shakespeare, HAML. A. i. S. iii.

The canker galls the infants of the spring

Too oft before their BUTTONS be disclos'd.

Browne, BRIT. PAST. B. ii. S. iii. p. 61. edit. 1616.
Flora's choife BUTTONS of a ruffet dye.

See Note on LYCID. V. 45.

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V. 154.

V. 154. Ay mee, whilst thee the floods and founding feas.
V. 157. Where thou perhaps under the humming tide.
V. 160. Sleep'ft by the fable of Corineus old.

But Bellerus is a correction.

V. 176. Listening the unexpeffive nuptial fong.
In Milton's own hand.

I add all the manufcript readings of LYCIDAS, retained in the Cambridge edition 1638, but afterwards rejected.

V. 26. glimmering. V. 30. ev'n ftarre. V 31. burnight. V. 53. "The old bards." V. 69." Hid in the tangles." V. 157. humming. V. 129. "Little faid."

ARCADES. fol. 1. 2. •3•

TIT." Parte of a mafke, or Entertainment, &c."

V. 10. Now feems guiltie of abuse

And detraction from her praise,
Less than halfe he hath expreft:
Envie bid her hide the reft,

V. 18. Seated like a goddess bright.
V. 23. Ceres dares not give her ods;

Who would have this clime had held.

V. 41. Thofe virtues which dull fame hath left untold.
V. 44. For know, by lot from Jove I have the power.
V. 47. In ringlets quaint.-

V. 49. Of noifome winds, or blafting vapours chill.
V. 50. And from the leaves brush off the evil dew.
V. 62. Hath chain'd mortalitie, then liften I,

In Milton's own hand.

COMUS. fol. 13.—29.

STAGE-DIRECTION. "A guardian spirit or dæmon" [enters.] 4, "In regions mild, &c." Thefe lines are inserted, but

After v.

croffed.

Amidst th' Hefperian gardens, on whofe banks
Bedew'd with nectar and celestiall fongs,
Eternall rojes grow, and hyacinth,

And fruits of golden rind, on whofe faire tree
The fcalie-harneft dragon ever keeps
His uninchanted eye; around the verge
And facred limits of this blissfull fle,
The jealous ocean, that old river, windes
His farre extended armes, till with steepe fall
Halfe his waft flood the wild Atlantique fills,
And balfe the flow unfadom'd ftygian poole,
But foft, I was not fent to court your wonder
With diftant worlds, and frange removed climes.
Yet thence I come, and oft from thence behold.

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