Stand aside, good bearer.-Boyet, you can carve ; BOYET. PRIN. ear. BOYET. [Reads.] By heaven, that thou art fair, is most infallible; true, that thou art beauteous; truth Boyet, you can carve; Break up this capon.] i. e. open this letter. Our poet uses this metaphor, as the French do their poulet; which signifies both a young fowl and a love-letter. Poulet, amatoriæ literæ, says Richelet; and quotes from Voiture, Repondre au plus obligeant poulet du monde; to reply to the most obliging letter in the world. The Italians use the same manner of expression, when they call a love-epistle, una pollicetta amorosa. I owed the hint of this equivocal use of the word, to my ingenious friend Mr. Bishop. THEOBALD. Henry IV. consulting with Sully about his marriage, says: my niece of Guise would please me best, notwithstanding the malicious reports, that she loves poulets in paper, better than in a fricasee.”—A message is called a cold pigeon, in the letter concerning the entertainments at Killingworth Castle. FARMER. To break up was a peculiar phrase in carving. PERCY. So, in Westward-Hoe, by Decker and Webster, 1607: at "the skirt of that sheet, in black-work, is wrought his name: break not up the wild-fowl till anon.” Again, in Ben Jonson's Masque of Gipsies Metamorphosed: "A London cuckold hot from the spit, "And when the carver up had broke him," &c. Break the neck of the wax,] Still alluding to the capon. STEEVENS. JOHNSON. So, in The true Tragedies of Marius and Sylla, 1594: "Lectorius read, and break these letters up." STEEVENS. One of Lord Chesterfield's Letters, 8vo. Vol. III. p. 114, gives us the reason why poulet meant amatoria litera. TOLLET. 8 itself, that thou art lovely: More fairer than fair, beautiful than beauteous; truer than truth itself, have commiseration on thy heroical vassal! The magnanimous and most illustrate' king Cophetua set eye upon the pernicious and indubitate beggar Zenelophon; and he it was that might rightly say, veni, vidi, vici; which to anatomize in the vulgar, (O base and obscure vulgar!) videlicet, he came, saw, and overcame: he came, one; saw, two; overcame, three. Who came? the king; Why did he come? to see ; Why did he see? to overcome: To whom came he? to the beggar; What saw he? the beggar; Who overcame he? the beggar: The conclusion is victory; On whose side? the king's: the captive is enrich'd; On whose side? the beggar's; The catastrophe is a nuptial; On whose side? the king's?-no, on both in one, or one in both. I am the king; for so stands the comparison: thou the beggar; for so witnesseth thy lowliness. Shall I command thy love? I may: Shall I enforce thy love? I could: Shall I entreat thy love? I will. What shalt thou exchange for rags? robes; For tittles, titles; For thyself, me. Thus, expecting thy reply, I profane my lips on thy More fairer than fair, beautiful than beauteous, truer &c.] I would read, fairer that fair, more beautiful, &c. TYRWHITT. • illustrate-] for illustrious. It is often used by Chapman in his translation of Homer. Thus, in the eleventh Iliad: Jove will not let me meet 66 "Illustrate Hector,-" STEEVENS. -king Cophetua-] The ballad of King Cophetua and the Beggar-Maid, may be seen in The Reliques of Ancient Poetry, Vol. I. The beggar's name was Penelophon, here corrupted. PERCY. The poet alludes to this song in Romeo and Juliet, Henry IV. P. II. and Richard II. STEEVENS. 9 saw,] The old copies here and in the preceding line have-see. Mr. Rowe made the correction. MALONE. foot, my eyes on thy picture, and my heart on thy every part. Thine, in the dearest design of industry, Thus dost thou hear1 the Nemean lion roar 'Gainst thee, thou lamb, that standest as his prey; Submissive fall his princely feet before, And he from forage will incline to play: But if thou strive, poor soul, what art thou then? Food for his rage, repasture for his den. PRIN. What plume of feathers is he, that indited this letter? What vane? what weather-cock? did you ever hear better? BOYET. I am much deceived, but I remember the style. PRIN. Else your memory is bad, going o'er it" erewhile.3 BOYET. This Armado is a Spaniard, that keeps here in court; 4 A phantasm, a Monarcho, and one that makes sport 1 Thus dost thou hear &c.] These six lines appear to be a quotation from some ridiculous poem of that time. 3 WARBURTON. MUSGRAVE. -going o'er it —] A pun upon the word stile. - erewhile.] Just now; a little while ago. So, Raleigh: "Here lies Hobbinol, our shepherd while e'er.' JOHNSON. A phantasm,] On the books of the Stationers' Company, Feb. 6, 1698, is entered: "a book called Phantasm, the Italian Taylor, and his Boy; made by Mr. Armin, servant to his majesty." It probably contains the history of Monarcho, of whom Dr. Farmer speaks in the following note, to which I have subjoined two additional instances. STEEVENS. 5 a Monarcho;] The allusion is to a fantastical character To the prince, and his book-mates. PRIN Thou, fellow, a word: of the time:-" Popular applause (says Meres) doth nourish some, neither do they gape after any other thing, but vaine praise and glorie,—as in our age Peter Shakerlye of Paules, and Monarcho that lived about the court." p. 178. FARMER. In Nash's Have with you to Saffron-Walden, &c. 1595, I meet with the same allusion:-"but now he was an insulting monarch above Monarcho the Italian, that ware crownes in his shoes, and quite renounced his natural English accents and gestures, and wrested himself wholly to the Italian puntilios," &c. But one of the epitaphs written by Thomas Churchyard, and printed in a collection called his Chance, 4to. 1580, will afford the most ample account of this extraordinary character. I do not therefore apologize for the length of the following extract: "The Phantasticall Monarckes Epitaphe. Though Dant be dedde, and Marrot lies in graue, "And Petrarks sprite bee mounted past our vewe, "Yet some doe liue (that poets humours haue) "To keepe old course with vains of verses newe: "Whose penns are prest to paint out people plaine, "That els a sleepe in silence should remaine: "Come poore old man that boare the Monarks name, Thyne Epitaphe shall here set forthe thy fame. 66 66 66 Thy climyng mynde aspierd beyonde the starrs, Thy witts would seem to see through peace 66 and warrs, Thy tauntyng tong was pleasant sharpe and sore. "And though thy pride and pompe was somewhat vaine, "The Monarcke had a deepe discoursyng braine: "Alone with freend he could of wonders treate, "In publike place pronounce a sentence greate. "No matche for fooles, if wisemen were in place, "Both grave of looks and fatherlike of face, "Of judgement quicke, of comely forme and port. "And well disposde, if Prince did pleasure take, Who gave thee this letter? COST. I told you; my lord. "On gallant robes his greatest glorie stood, "Yet garments bare could never daunt his minde: "He feard no state, nor caerd for worldly good, "Held eche thyng light as fethers in the winde. "When straungers came in presence any wheare, "Did shewe some witte, though follie fedde his will: "The man is dedde, yet Monarks liueth still." p. 7. A local allusion employed by a poet like Shakspeare, resembles the mortal steed that drew in the chariot of Achilles. But short services could be expected from either. STEEVENS. The succeeding quotations will afford some further intelligence concerning this fantastick being: "I could use an incident for this, which though it may seeme of small weight, yet may it have his misterie with this act, who, being of base condition, placed himself (without any perturbation of minde) in the royall seat of Alexander, which the Caldeans prognosticated to portend the death of Alexander. "The actors were, that Bergamasco (for his phantastick humors) named Monarcho, and two of the Spanish embassadors retinue, who being about foure and twentie yeares past, in Paules Church in London, contended who was soveraigne of the world: the Monarcho maintained himself to be he, and named their king to be but his viceroy for Spain: the other two with great fury denying it. At which myself, and some of good account, now dead, wondred in respect of the subject they handled, and that want of judgement we looked not for in the Spaniards. Yet this, moreover, we noted, that notwithstanding the weight of their controversie they kept in their walk the Spanish turne: which is, that he which goeth at the right hand, shall at every end of the walke turne in the midst; the which place the Monarcho was loth to yeald (but as they compelled him, though |