Son! what thou feek'ft is in thee. Look, and find Each monster meets his likeness in thy mind. Yet would'st thou more? In yonder cloud, behold! 250 Whose farcenet skirts are edg'd with flamy gold, A matchlefs youth: His nod thefe worlds controuls, Wings the red lightning, and the thunder rolls. Angel of Dulnefs, fent to fcatter round Her magic charms o'er all unclaffic ground: Mid fnows of paper, and fierce hail of peafe; New wizards rife: here Booth, and Cibber there: REMARK S. VERSE 257. Immortal Rich. Mr. John Rich, Mafter of the The: atre in Lincolns-Inn-Fields, was the firft that excell'd this way. VERSE 262. Beeth and Cibber, two of the managers of the The atre in Drary-Lane, IMITATIONS. VERSE 247. Son! what thou feck'ft is in thee.] Quod petis in te est Ne te quafiveris extra. Perf. VERSE 252. Wings the red lightning, &c.] Like Salmoneus En. 6. Dum flammas Jovis, & fenitus imitatur olympi, Nimbos, & non imitabile fulmen, Are & cornipedum curfu fimularat aquorum. VERSE 254. oʻer all unclassic ground,] alludes to Mr. Addi fen's verfe in the praises of Italy, Poetic fields incompass me around, And fill I feem to tread on Claffic ground: As verfe 260 is a Parody on a noble one of the fame Author in the Campaign, and verse 255, 256. on two fublime verfes of Dr. T. 265 Dire is the conflict, difmal is the din, Here fhouts all Drury, there all Lincoln's-Inn; Alike their labours, and alike their praise. And are these wonders, Son, to thee unknown? 270 Unknown to thee? These wonders are thy own. For works like these let deathlefs Journals tell, "None but Thy felf can be thy parallel. REMARKS. VERSE 272. None but thy felf can be thy parallel. A marvellous line of Theobald, unlefs the Play call'd the Double Falfhood be, (as he would have it believed) Shakespear's: But whether this line be his or not, he proves Shakespear to have written as bad, (which methinks in an author for whom he has a Veneration almoft rifing to idolatry, might have been concealed) as for example, Try what Repentance can: What can it not? Refides not in the Man who does not think, &e. It is granted they are all of a piece, and no man doubts but herein he is able to imitate Shakespear. V. id.] The former Annotator feeming to be of opinion that the Double Falfhood is not Shakespear's; it is but juftice to give Mr. Theebald's Arguments to the contrary: Firft that the MS. was above fixty years old; fecondly, that once Mr. Betterton had it, or he hath heard fo, thirdly, that fome body told him the author gave it to a baftard daughter of his: But fourthly and above all, that he has a great 66 mind every thing, that is good in our tongue should be Shakefpear's." I allow thefe reafons to be truly critical; but what I am infinitely concern'd at is, that fo many Errors have efcaped the learn ed Editor: a few whereof we fhall here amend, out of a much greates number, as an inftance of our regard to this dear Relift, ACTI. SCENE L I have his letters of a modern date, Wherein by Julio, good Camille's fon (Who as he fays, [] fhall follow hard upon, And whom I with the growing hour [] expect) He doth follicit the return of gold, To purchase certain horfe that like him well. This place is corupted: the epithet good is a meer infignificant expletive, but the alteration of that fingle word restores a clear light to the whole context, thus, I have his letters of a modern date, And whom I with the growing hours expect Thefe, Fate referv'd to grace thy reign divine, REMARKS. Here you have not only the Perfun fpecify'd, by whofe hand the return was to be made, but the moft neceffary part, the Time, by which it was required. Camillo's fon was to follow hard upon· What? Why upon July.· Horfe that like him well, is very abfurd: Read it, without contradiction, -Horfe, that he likes well, I muft ftoop to gain her, Throw all my gay Comparisons afide, And turn my proud additions out of fervice: faith Henriquez ofà maiden of low condition, objecting his high quality: What have his Comparisons here to do? Correct it boldly, Throw all my gay Comparisons afide,, And turn my proud additions out of fervice. ACT 2. SCENE I.. All the verse of this Scene is confounded with profe, - O that a man Could reafon down this Fever of the blood, Then Julio, I might be indeed thy friend. Read this fervor of the blood, Then Julio I might be in deed thy friend: Marking the juft oppof tion of deeds and words. ACT 4. SCENE I.. How his eyes fake fire!-faid by Violante, obferving how the luftful hepherd looks at her. It muft be, as the fente plainly demands, How his eyes take fire! And meafure every piece of youth about me! Ibid. That, tho' I more difguifes for fome ends. She had but one difguife, and wore it but for one end. Reftore it, with the alteration but of two letters. That, tho' I were difguifed for fome end, ACT 4. SCENE 2.0 To oaths no more give credit, ..To tears, to vows; falfe both!.. Falle Grammar I'm fure. Both can relate but to two things: And see) how eafy a change fers it right? To tears, to vows, falfe troth. I could fhew you that word very troth, in Shakespear a hundred times. Ib. For there is nothing left thee now to look for, That can bring samfort, but a quiet grave, Their full-fed Heroes, their pacific May'rs, 280 Their annual trophies, and their monthly wars. Tho' long my Party built on me their hopes, For writing pamphlets, and for burning Popes; (Diff'rent our parties, but with equal grace The Goddess fmiles on Whig and Tory race, 285 'Tis the fame rope at fev'ral ends they twist, To Dulness, Ridpath is as dear as Mift.) Yet lo! in me what authors have to brag on! Reduc'd at last to hifs in my own dragon. REMARK 8. This I fear is of a piece with None but itself can be its parallel: for the grave put an end to all forrow, it can then need no comfort. Yet let us vindicate Shakespear where we can: I make no doubt he wrote thus, For there is nothing left thee now to look for, Which reduplication of the word gives a much ftronger emphafis ta Violante's concern. This figure is call'd Anadyplofis. I could fhew, you a hundred juft fuch in him, if I had nothing elfe to do. SCRIBLERUS. VERSE 280. Annual trophies, on the Lord Mayor's Day; and monthly wars, in the Artillery Ground. VERSE 281. Tho' long my Party.] Settle, like moft Party-writers, was very uncertain in his political principles. He was employ'd to hold the pen in the Character of a Popish fucceffor, but afterwards printed his Narrative on the contrary fide. He had managed the Ceremony of a famous Pope-burning on Nov. 17, 1680: then became a Trooper of King James's army at Hounflow-heath: After the Revolution he kept a Booth at Bartlemew-fair, where in his Droll call'd St.. George for England, he acted in his old age in a Dragon of green leather of his own invention. He was at last taken into the Charter-houfe and there dyed, aged about 60 years. V. 285. To Dulness, Ridpath is as dear as Mift.] George Ridpaths, aus thor for feveral years of the Flying-Poft, a Whig-Paper, Nathaniel Mif publisher of the Weekly Journal, a Tory-paper. IMITATIONS. VERSE 283-84. With equal grace, Our Goddess fmiles on Whig and Tory race. Virg. Æn, 10. Rex Jupiter omnibus idem. N Avert it, heav'n! that thou or Cibber e'er 290 Should wag two ferpent tails in Smithfield fair. Like the vile ftraw that's blown about the streets Coach'd, carted, trod upon, now loose, now fast, The fure fore-runner of her gentle fway. 305 To aid her caufe, if heav'n thou can'ft not bend, REMARK S. VERSE 299. Thy dragons Magiftrates and Peers fhall tafle.] It food in the first edition with blanks, Thy dragons ** and *** Concaner was fure, they muft needs mean no-body but the King and Queen, and faid he would infift it was fo, till the Poet clear'd himself by filling up the blanks otherwise agreeably to the context, and confif་ tent with his allegiance. [Pref. to a Collection of Verses, Ellays, Letters, &c. against Mr. P. printed for A Moore, pag. 6] VERSE 307. - Fauftus is thy friend, Pluto with Cato, &c.) Names of miferable Farces of Tibbald and others, which it was their cuftom to get acted at the end of the best Tragedies, to spoil the di geftion of the audience, IMITATIONS. VERSE 305. If heav'n thou canst not bend, Hell thou shalt move- 1 Virg. Æn. 7. |