give you thanks,

John. Here's mother Maudlin come to [ceiv'dMadam, for some late gift she hath reWhich she's not worthy of, she says, but cracks,

And wonders of it; hops about the house,
Transported with the joy. [She danceth.

Maud. Send me a stag!

A whole stag, madam, and so fat a deer!
So fairly hunted, and at such a time too!
When all your friends were here!

Rob. Do you mark this, Clarion?
Her own acknowledgment?

Maud. 'Twas such a bounty

And honour done to your poor beads woman,
I know not how to owe it, but to thank you;
And that I come to do: I shall go round,
And giddy with the toy of the good turn.
[She turns round till she falls.

"Look out, look out, gay folk about,
"And see me spin the ring I'm in
"Of mirth and glee, with thanks for fee
"The heart puts on, for th' venison

My lady sent, which shall be spent "In draughts of wine, to fume up fine "Into the brain, and down again "Fall in a swoon, upo' the grown." Rob. Look to her, she is mad.

Maud. My son hath sent you

A pot of strawberries, gather'd i' the wood
(His hogs would else have rooted up, or
trod 13)

With a choice dish of wildings here, to scald
And mingle with your cream.

Mar. Thank you, good Maudlin,
And thank your son. Go, bear 'em in to
[mother,

Much

Th' acater, let him thank her. Surely,
You were mistaken, or my woodmen more,
Or most myself, to send you all our store
Of venison, hunted for ourselves this day!
You will not take it, mother, I dare say,
If we'll entreat you, when you know our
guests:

13 His hogs would else have rooted up, or trod.] This reminds us of the Calabrian host's civility in Horace, from whom it seems to be copied.

Ut libet, hæc porcis hodie comedenda relinques.

14 No BROCHES turn.] A broche is explained to signify a spit.

15 And the old MORT-MAL on his shin

Now prick, and itch, WITHOUTEN BLIN.] Mort-mal is an old sore, or gangrene: withouten blin is without ceasing; from the A. S. blinnan, to cease, leave off. And Jonson seems to have had Chaucer's character of the cook in his eye;

"But great harme was it, as it thought me,

"That on his shynne a mor-mal had he."--Chaucer.

16 But best, the dear good angel of the spring,

The nightingale.] This exquisitely poetical description of the nightingale, is a literal translation from the Greek of Sappho: angel is used in its original signification of a messenger, or harbinger ;

Ηρος άγελος ἱμεροφωνος Αηδων

17 All that is KAROL, KAROL I approve.] We cannot help observing the repetition of the name of Karol, in this and the preceding verses, which Amie seems to dwell on with a singular delight. This is an effect of the poet's art; and a beauty of the same kind with that in Horace,

Cum tu, Lydia, Telephi

Cervicem roseam, cerea Telephi

Laudas brachia, &c. Lib. 1. od. 13.

1 Within a gloomy DIMBLE she doth dwell.] Dimble is the reading of all the copies, but Mr. Sympson suspects it a corruption; the word he would substitute in its room is dingle, which hath the authority of Milton in his Comus :

I know each alley,

Dingle, and bushy dell of this dark wood."

We have the same mistake in the account of the scenery; where the witches dimble should be dingle.

the sky!

And giddy flitter-mice with leather wings!
The scaly beetles, with their habergeons,
That make a humming murmur as they fly!
There in the stocks of trees, white faies do
dwell,

And span-long elves that dance about a pool!
With each a little changeling in their arms!
The airy spirits play with falling stars!
And mount the sphere of fire to kiss the
moon !
[light,
While she sits reading by the glow-worms'
Or rotten wood (o'er which the worm hath
crept)

The baneful schedule of her nocent charms,
And binding characters, through which she
wounds

Her puppets, the sigilla of her witchcraft.

All this I know, and I will find her for you; And shew you her sitting in her fourm; I'll lay

[skut My hand upon her, make her throw her Along her back, when she doth start before

us.

[see her But you must give her law and you shall Make twenty leaps and doubles: cross the paths,

And then squat down beside us.
John. Crafty croan !

I long to be at the sport, and to report it.
Scar. We'll make this hunting of the witch
as famous,

As any other blast of venery 20.

Scat. Hang her foul hag, she'll be a stink-
ing chace.

I had rather ha' the hunting of her heir.
Geo. I, we could come to see her, cry so
haw, once!

Alk. That I do promise, or I am no good
hag-finder.

And MARTAGAN!] The poet seems to have chose these plants merely for the sake of their names, and not on account of any noxious quality residing in them. Adders tongue is of a cooling nature, and useful in inflammatory cases: martagan or martagon, is only a kind of lily, of which there are several sorts. But notwithstanding this, the speech is very picturesque, and the description striking.

20 Scar. We'll make this hunting of the witch as famous,

As any other BLAST OF VENERY.] This last expression may possibly be right, as it was customary to use horns in hunting, and to conclude the death of the hare or deer with a particular lesson upon those instruments; otherwise I should have suspected blast of venery to be a corruption for beast of venery, a beast of chace; the common appellation in the sporting language.

21 Geo. If we could come to see her cry, so HAW once !] We must set right the points of this line; If we do come to see her, cry so haw, once.

So-ho is the hunter's signal upon finding a hare sitting.

The Argument of the Third Act.

"PUCK-HAIRY discovereth himself in the forest, and discourseth his offices, with their "necessities briefly; after which, Douce entering in the habit of Earine, is pursued by Karol; who mistaking her at first to be his sister, questions her how she came by those garments. "She answers, by her mother's gift. The sad shepherd coming in the while, she runs away affrighted, and leaves Karol suddenly; glamour thinking it to be Earine's ghost he "saw, falls into a melancholic expression of his phant'sie to Karol, and questions him sadly "about that point, which moves compassion in Karol of his mistake still. When Clarion " and Lionel enter to call Karol to Amie, Karol reports to them Eglamour's passion, with "much regret. Clarion resolves to seek him. Karol to return with Lionel. By the way, "Douce and her mother (in the shape of Marian) meet them, and would divert them, "affirming Amic to be recovered, which Lionel wondered at to be so soon. Robin Hood "enters, they tell him the relation of the witch, thinking her to be Marian: Robin sus"pecting her to be Maudlin, lays hold of her girdle suddenly, but she striving to get free, "they both run out, and he returns with the belt broken. She following in her own shape, demanding it, but at a distance, as fearing to be seized upon again: and seeing she can

"not recover it, falls into a rage, and cursing, resolving to trust to her old arts, which "she calls her daughter to assist in. The shepherds, content with this discovery, go home "triumphing, make the relation to Marian. Amie is gladded with the sight of Karol, &c. "In the mean time, enters Lorel, with purpose to ravish Earine, and calling her forth to "that lewd end, he by the hearing of Clarion's footing is staid, and forced to commit her "hastily to the tree again; where Clarion coming by, and hearing a voice singing, draws near unto it; but Eglamour hearing it also, and knowing it to be Earine's, falls into a "superstitious commendation of it; as being an angel's, and in the air; when Clarion "espies a hand put forth from the tree, and makes towards it, leaving Eglamour to his "wild phant'sie, who quitteth the place: and Clarion beginning to court the hand, and "make love to it, there ariseth a mist suddenly, which darkening all the place, Clarion "loseth himself, and the tree where Earine is inclosed, lamenting his misfortune, with the "unknown nymph's misery. The air clearing, enters the witch, with her son and daughter, "tells them how she had caused that late darkness, to free Lorel from surprisal, and his prey from being rescued from him: bids him look to her, and lock her up more care"fully, and follow her, to assist a work she hath in hand of recovering her lost girdle; "which she lainents the loss of with cursings, execrations, wishing confusion to their feast " and meeting, sends her son and daughter to gather certain simples for her purpose, and "bring them to her dell. This Puck hearing, prevents, and shews her error still. The "huntsmen having found her footing, follow the track, and prick after her. She gets to "her dell, and takes her form. Enter, Alken has spied her sitting with her spindle, "threads, and images. They are eager to seize her presently, but Alken persuades them to "let her begin her charms, which they do. Her son and daughter come to her; the huntsmen are affrighted as they see her work go forward. And, over-hasty to apprehend her, "she escapeth them all, by the help and delusions of Puck."

66

ACT III.

SCENE I.

Puck-hairy.

HE fiend hath much to do, that keeps

THE

a school;

Meets the necessity, and both do kiss:
'Tis call'd the timing of a duty, this.

SCENE II.

Karol, Douce. [To them Eglamour.] Kar. Sure, you are very like her! I conceiv'd

You had been she, seeing you run afore me:
For such a suit she made her 'gainst this
feast,

In all resemblance, or the very same;
I saw her in it; had she liv'd t'enjoy it,
She had been there an acceptable guest
To Marian, and the gentle Robin Hood,
Who are the crown and ghirland' of the
wood.

Dou. I cannot tell, my mother gave it

me,

And bade me wear it.

Kar. Who, the wise good woman,
Old Maud of Paplewick?

Dou. Yes, this sullen man

I cannot like him, I must take my leave.
[Eglamour enters, and Douce goes out.

Who are the crown, and GARLAND of the wood.] I have chose to give the old manner of spelling garland, as it is used by Spenser, and as the first copies exhibit it in this manner.