Love's Labour Lost.

ACT I.

SCENE I.-page 14.

KING. A man of complements, whom right and wrong
Have chose as umpire of their mutiny, &c.

Armado is so full of false compliments, and so condescending, that he agrees with every opinion; and, whether through policy or principle, so sworn an enemy to contradiction, that he will side with right, when addressed by right, and with wrong, in like manner; therefore, if right and wrong cannot be friends, it is not the fault of the umpire.

SCENE I.-page 15.

KING. This child of fancy, that Armado hight,
For interim to our studies, shall relate,

In high-born words, the worth of many a knight
From tawny Spain, lost in the world's debate.

The words, lost in the world's debate, allude to the Emperor Charles V. who, about the period when this play was produced, had abdicated his throne in favour of his son, Philip; and having retired from the world, by taking up his residence in the monastery of St. Just, was there lost in the world's debate.

SCENE I.-page 18.

LONGAVILLE. A high hope for a low having: God grant us patience. The allusion is to a ship's head, decorated with the figure of Hope. Longaville compares the high flowing

words of Armado, to the awkward appearance of a ship, with an elevated figure of Hope, lying in a low haven. Longaville also plays on the word hope, which is used as a verb by Biron, but, by himself as a substantive; and Hope being symbolical of Patience, he concludes his speech with, God grant us patience.

The old copies read, a low heaven: the transcriber mistook the word, and wrote heaven, instead of haven.

SCENE II.-page 30.

ARMADO. Is there not a ballad, boy, of the King and the Beggar?

I do not think our Author had in view the old ballad in Dr. Percy's Collection, as supposed by Mr. Steevens; but, that he might reflect on the weakness of the Emperor Charles V., personifies both the King and the Beggar in him. It is well authenticated, that the small revenue he was to receive from Philip, to support himself and followers, was not paid; which compelled Charles to solicit relief from others, who had formerly been his dependents; and thus, the King became a beggar. The subsequent speech of Armado confirms this explication:

"I will have the subject newly writ o'er,-that I may example my digression by some mighty precedent.”

ACT II.

SCENE I.-page 37.

MARIA. In Normandy saw I this Longaville:
A man of sovereign parts he is esteem'd.

The first quarto, 1598, has the line thus:

"A man of sovereign peerlesse, he's esteem'd.”

The word his would have saved our Commentators an infinity of trouble. Our Author wrote:

A man of his sov'reign peerless he's esteem'd.

The hissing sound of the terminating letter in his, and the s in sovereign, deceived the transcriber. The sense of the passage is obvious:-A man who, in the estimation of his sovereign, has no equal.

SCENE I.-page 43.

KING. Which we much rather had depart withal,
And have the money by our father lent,
Than Aquitain so gelded as it is.

Gelded has a double meaning here:-Gelt, in the German language, means money; and with which word, our Author makes gelded correspond. The King alludes to the heavy sum lent by his father on part of Aquitain; and the other part being cut off from his possession, he deems what he holds not sufficient security for his

money.

SCENE I.-page 49.

BOYET. All senses to that sense did make their repair,
To feel only looking on fairest of fair.

This jumble proceeds from unintelligible copy, and of of which the compositor made the best he could. Our Author wrote:

All senses to that sense did make their repair,
To feed on by looking on fairest of fair.

Meaning: That all his other senses flew to his eyes, and enjoyed the delicious luxury of feeding on her beauties.

The d being badly formed in the copy, was taken for an l-on by, and only, are alike in writing, if on and by be apparently joined.

ACT IV.

SCENE III.-page 107.

DUMAIN. Her amber hairs for foul have amber coted.

There are three errors in this verse, and all owing to mistake of sound. The old copies read-coted, which Dr. Johnson observes, is the old mode of spelling quoted. But, admitting the word to mean quoted, what weight can it have in the scales of elucidation? From the text we must conclude, that amber coloured hair was esteemed a beauty, and that Dumain, as the admirer of Catherine, praises her hair for its colour. But, how, according to the form of the present reading? Mr. Malone says, quoted means-marked, or written down; but if amber has written down, that Catherine's hairs are foul, does not the lover dispraise what he considers a beauty? and, if we take the explication, that her hairs, have written down amber for foul, all beauty is lost, and we also lose the comparison; for the amber hair is no longer considered a beauty. In short, the text is so foul, that all attempts at satisfactory elucidation are vain. Our Author wrote: Her amber hairs four-fold have amber coated.

Meaning: that nature, in giving Catherine's hairs that beautiful gloss and colour, had, as it were, coated them four-fold with amber.

Now, let us see how far this reading is connected with Biron's observation, who immediately says,

"An amber-colour'd raven was well noted."

Meaning: that Catherine's hairs were as black as a raven; but that she had coated them with amber colour.

SCENE III.-page 114.

BIRON. I am betray'd, by keeping company

With moon-like men, of strange inconstancy.

The old copies read:- "With men-like men.' The present reading is supplied by Mr. M. Mason. The

penetration of Mr. Mason is generally very acute; but, in this instance, I cannot concur in opinion that our Author wrote-moon-like men.

The moon's changes being established by the order of nature, and governed by system, cannot be termed inconstant: from month to month, and to eternity, the same system produces the same effects. What similarity then can be drawn between an inconstant man, who has no fixed principle to govern his actions, and the moon; which, since the creation of the world, has never varied from its established order?

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Now, in my opinion, the text in the old copies,men -like men, " is not so far removed from good sense as our Commentators have imagined; and the entire error is owing to a break rule, thus: (-) being taken by the compositor for a hyphen. See the error corrected:

I am betray'd, by keeping company

With men,-like men of strange inconstancy.

Surely, nothing can be clearer. Biron means, that he is ashamed to have associated with men, who, by deviating from their solemn vow, have acted like men of strange inconstancy, i. e. like men devoid of stability.

SCENE III.-page 126.

BIRON. And, when love speaks, the voice of all the gods
Makes heaven, drowsy with the harmony.

Mr. Tyrwhitt observes, "few passages have been more canvassed than this." The changing a single letter may, however, prevent literary labour on this passage hereafter. The M and W have, what printer's term, the same body; and the ancient W, reversed, had all the appearance of an M: thus, then, arose the error; the W was reversed, which gave the word Makes, instead of

Wakes heaven, drowsy with the harmony..