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Oth. I greet thy love,

Not with vain thanks, but with acceptance bounteous;
And will upon the inftant put thee to❜t.
Within these three days let me hear thee fay,
That Caffio's not alive.

Iago. My friend is dead;

Tis done at your requeft. But, let her live.
Oth. Damn her, lewd Minx! oh, damn her, damn
her!

Come, go with me apart; I will withdraw

To furnish me with fome fwift means of death
For the fair Devil. Now art thou

Iago. I am your own for ever.

MORDE.

As fometimes he must vices RE- quotation the meaning of with-
bold, or make reluctant, but of
reprove, or cenfure; nor do I
know that it is used by any of the
contemporaries of Shakespeare.

I will offer an interpretation,
which, if it be received, will
make alteration unneceffary, but
it is very harth and violent. Iago
devotes himself to wrong'd O-
thello, and fays, Let him command
whatever bloody business, and in
me it shall be an act, not of cru-
elty, but of tenderness, to obey
him; not of malice to others,
but of tenderness for him. If this
fenfe be thought too violent, I
fee nothing better than to fol
low Pope's reading, as it is im-
proved by Theobald.

And again,

Squire, Knight, and Lord,
Thus the Churche REMORDE.
WARBURTON.

my Lieutenant.
[Exeunt.

Of these two emendations, 1 believe, Theobald's will have the greater number of fuffrages; it has at leaft mine. The objection against the propriety of the declaration in lago is a cavil; he does not fay that he has no principle of remorse, but that it fhall not operate against Othello's commands. To obey fhall be in me, for I will obey you, is a mode of expreffion not worth the pains here taken to introduce it; and the word remorde has not in the

SCENE

1

SCENE

IX.

Another Apartment in the Palace.

Enter Desdemona, Æmilia, and Clown.

Def. Do you know, firrah, where Lieutenant Cassig

lies?

Clown. I dare not fay, he lies any where.

Def. Why, man?

Clown. He's a foldier; and for me to fay a foldier lies, 'tis ftabbing.

Def. Go to; where lodges he?

Clown. To tell you where he lodges, is to tell you where I lie.

Def. Can any thing be made of this?

Clown. I know not where he lodges; and for me to devife a lodging, and fay, he lies here, or he lies there, were to lie in mine own throat.

Def. Can you enquire him out? and be edified by. report ?

+Clown. I will catechize the world for him; that is, make queftions, and bid them answer.

Def. Seek him, bid him come hither; tell him, I have moy'd my Lord on his behalf, and hope, all will be well.

Clown. To do this is within the compass of man's wit, and therefore I will attempt the doing of it.

[Exit Clown. Def. Where fhould I lose that handkerchief, Emilia?

4 Clown. I will catechize the world for him; that is, make queftions, and by them anfwer.] This Clown is a Fool to fome purpose. He was to go feek for one; he fays, he will ask for

ex

him, and by his own questions make answer. Without doubt, we should read; and bid them anfwer: i. e. the world; thofe, whom he queftions. WARB.

Emil.

Emil. I know not, Madam.

Def. Believe me, I had rather have loft my purse Full of Cruzadoes. And but my noble Moor Is true of mind, and made of no fuch baseness As jealous creatures are, it were enough To put him to ill thinking.

Emil. Is he not jealous?

Def. Who, he? I think, the Sun, where he was born,

Drew all fuch humours from him.

Emil. Look where he comes.

Def. I will not leave him now, till Caffio be Call'd to him. How is 't with you, my Lord?

SCENE

X.

Enter Othello.

Oth. Well, my good lady. [Afide.] Oh, hardness to diffemble!

How do you, Desdemona?

Def. Well, my Lord.

Oth. Give me your hand. This hand is moist, my lady.

Def. It yet hath felt no age, nor known no forrow.
Oth. This argues fruitfulness, and liberal heart:
Hot, hot, and moift. This hand of yours requires
A fequefter from liberty, fafting and prayer,
Much caftigation, exercife devout;
For here's a young and fweating devil here,
That commonly rebels. 'Tis a good hand,
A frank one.

Def. You may, indeed, fay fo;
For 'twas that hand, that gave away my heart.

5 -Cruzadoes.-] A Portugueze coin, in value three fhil lings Sterling. Dr. GREY.

So called from the Cross stamped upon it,

6

Oth. A liberal hand. The hearts, of old, gave hands: But our new heraldry is hands, Def. I cannot fpeak of this. mife.

6 - The hearts, of old, gave hands;

But our new heraldry is hands, not hearts.] It is evident that the first line fhould be read thus,

The hands of old gave hearts: Otherwife it would be no reply to the preceding words,

For 'twas that hand, that gave away my heart: Not fo, fays her husband: The hands of old indeed gave hearts: But the custom now is to give hands without hearts. The expreffion of new heraldry was a fatirical allufion to the times. Soon after James the First came to the Crown, he created the new dignity of Baronets for money. Amongst their other prerogatives of honour, they had an addition to their paternal arms, of a HAND gules in an Efcutcheon argent. And we are not to doubt but that this was the new heraldry alluded to by our author: By which he infinuates, that fome then created had hands indeed, but not hearts; that is, mony to pay for the creation, but no virtue to purchase the honour. But the finest part of the poet's addrefs in this allufion, is the compliment he pays to his old mistress Elizabeth. For James's pretence for raising mony by this creation, was the reduction of Uter, and other parts

not hearts. Come, now your pro

of Ireland; the memory of which he would perpetuate by that addition to their arms, it being the arms of Ulfier. Now the method ufed by Elizabeth in the reduction of that kingdom was fo different from this, the dignities fhe conferred being on those who employed their fteel and not their gold in this fervice, that nothing could add more to her glory, than the being compar'd to her fucceffor in this point of view; Nor was it uncommon for the dramatick poets of that time to fatirize the ignominy of James's reign. So Fletcher, in The Fair Maid of the Inn. One fays, I will fend thee to Amboyna 'th Eaft Indies for pepper. The other replies, To Amboyna? So I might be pepper'd. Again, in the fame play, a failor fays, Defpife not this pitch'd Canvas, the time was we have known them lined with Spanish Ducats. WARB.

The hiftorical obfervation is very judicious and acute, but of the emendation there is no need, She fays, that her hand gave away her heart. He goes on with his fufpicion, and the hand which he had before called frank, he now terms liberal; then proceeds to remark, that the hand was formerly given by the heart; but now it neither gives it, nor is given by it,

Oth.

Oth. What promise, chuck?

Def. I've sent to bid Caffio come fpeak with you. Oth. I have a 7 falt and forry Rheum offends me: Lend me thy handkerchief.

Def. Here, my Lord.
Oth. That, which I gave you.
Def. I have it not about me.
Oth. Not?

Def. No, indeed, my Lord.

Oth. That's a fault. That handkerchief

Did an Egyptian to my mother give;

She was a Charmer, and could almoft read

The thoughts of people. She told her, while fhe kept it,

'Twould make her amiable, fubdue my father
Intirely to her love; but if fhe loft it,
Or made a gift of it, my father's eye
Should hold her loathed, and his fpirits hunt
After new fancies. She, dying, gave it me
And bid me, when my fate would have me wiv'd,
To give it her. I did fo; and take heed on't;
Make it a darling, like pour precious eye;
To lofe 't, or giv't away, were fuch perdition,
As nothing else could match.

Def. Is't poffible?

8

Oth. 'Tis true; there's magic in the web of it F
A Sybil, that had numbred in the world
The Sun to courfe two hundred compaffes,
In her prophetick fury few'd the Work:

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expreffed.

WARBURTON.

The expreffion is not very infrequent we fay, I counted the clock to ftrike four; fo the numbred the fun to courfe, to run, two hundred compaffes, two hundred annual circuits:

The

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