difficulty' (he adds) might be a little obviated by pointing the line thus: "My father-in his habit-as he liv'd." We approve of this change of the punctuation, but think the ingenious commentator has not fufficiently explained the fenfe. The words, 6 as he liv'd,' do not mean, in the manner in which he liv'd: but, as though he were alive. See,' fays Hamlet, it is my father himself-it is his very drefs-the reprefentation is as vivid as if he were actually alive and prefent. A fimilar mode of expreffion occurs in The Taming of the Shrew: Induction, Sc. 2d, We'll fhew thee Io, as fhe was a maid;

And how fhe was beguiled and furpris'd,
As lively painted as the deed were done.'

that is, as if the deed were now actually performing.

In the laft Act of this tragedy, Scene 2d, Hamlet having informed Horatio of the commiffion which he was to have carried to the King of England, requiring that monarch to put the bearer to death, proceeds to mention fome of the earneft conjurations' by which his English majefty was exhorted to comply with the Dane's requeft; viz.

• As love between them like a palm might flourish,
As peace should still her wheaten garland wear,

And ftand a comma 'tween their amities;

And many fuch like as's of great charge.'

This, Warburton, as ufual, alters to fland a commere;' i. e. a goffip. Hanmer reads, ftand a cement.' Dr. Johnfon fays, The comma is the note of connection, and continuity of fentences; the period is the note of abruption and disjunction. Shakspeare had it in his mind to write, that unlets England complied with the mandate, war should put a period to their amity; he altered his mode of diction, and thought that, in an oppofite fenfe, he might put, that Peace should ftand a comma between their amities. This is not an eafy ftyle; but is it not the style of Shakspeare? We think the Doctor's explication too far-fetched. The meaning of the paffage we take to be this: Comma, which is the fhorteft paufe, and which, according to the grammarians, only directs us to reft while we can count one, is, we conceive, here used to denote the fmalleft portion or duration of time. The Dane therefore conjures England to put Hamlet to immediate death, otherwife peace fhould not ftand an infant between them. A little after, in the fame fcene, Hamlet fays, 'A man's life's no more than to Jay, one. Their amities' is (as we obferved above) a title fimilar to, his highness, &c.

-

The account given by Mr. Malone, Mr. Steevens, and the author of the Remarks, of the ancient pageants, in their notes upon the Tempeft, and Love's Labour loft: Mr. Reed's defcription of the ancient dances called measures, rounds or roundels, galliards and lavoltas: his note upon the word curtfies in Twelfth Night his obfervations upon Falftaff's favourite liquor, fack;

M 4

upon

Sir

upon the cuftom of hunting after dinner, which was practifed in Shakspeare's days; upon the high fhoe called chioppine, &c. Joshua Reynolds's elegant remarks upon a paffage in Macbeth, together with his and Mr. Steevens's observations on the appropriation of the expreffion poor fool' at the conclufion of King Lear: Judge Blackftone's and Mr. Steevens's decifive explanation of the term quick winds' in Antony and Cleopatra: Mr. Monck Mafon's explanation of the phrafe, carry out my fide,' and many more ingenious criticifms, elucidations of difficult paffages, illuftrations of old cuftoms, &c. &c. would, we doubt not, be highly acceptable to our Readers; but our limits forbid us to add to the copious extracts which we have already made. We must therefore here conclude our account of the fcientific part of this edition, with obferving, that we cannot too warmly commend it to every admirer of the greatest poet of this or any other nation,' as he is ftiled by his present editor.

But what fhall we fay of the mechanical or technical part of the work before us? The moft tender fentence that we can pass upon it, is, that it is very negligently, we were going to say, shamefully, executed. The paper is bad, and the type worse. The letters are fcarcely legible in fome places, becaufe there is not ink fufficient to ftain the paper; and in others, because it is fo redundant as to run into blots. Pages and Scenes are often wrong 'numbered; words mifprinted; and (which is unpardonable in a work where fimilar omiffions of former editors have caufed fuch laborious collations of old folios and quartos) fometimes whole words are omitted t. A note upon the words 'fillip me with a three man beetle,' figned Johnson, vol. v. p. 492, does not, we believe, come from the pen of the Rambler. If we rightly recollect, this note is marked with the initial of a different Chriftian name, in Malone's Supplement; and fhould have been fo distinguished here. In short, the whole of this part of the work is such as would disgrace a common school-book.

As the prefent edition of Shakspeare's plays contains fo much of what has been already published in Mr. Malone's Supplement, we apprehend that a new edition of that valuable work, adapted

*Thus, vol. ii. p. 69, we have or,' for 'for,' in Tyrwhitt's note. In the fame volume, p. 488, too write,' for ' to write.' Vol. iv. P. 174, note, 'panance,' for ' penance.' Ibid. P 268, note, mantillo,' for mantello.' Vol. v. p. 12, 'confin,' for coufin.' Vol. viii. P. 446, If thou baft,' for if thou had.' Vol. ix. p. 62, Aphiaraus,' for Amphiaraus, Vol. x. p. 280, note 7, canon,' for 'can

zon,' which blunder makes the note contradictory; and numberless others.

to the prefent, by omitting all that is here reprinted, would not be unacceptable to the Public. Should the ingenious author of the Supplement be of the fame opinion, he will perhaps thank us for pointing out to him the explanation of a paffage in Pericles, A&t III. Sc. I, which has been mifunderstood:

• O ye gods!

Why do you make us love your goodly gifts

And fnatch them ftraight away? We, here below,
Recal not what we give, and therein may

Ufe honour with you.'

On this paffage, Mr. Malone and Mr. Steevens have the following notes: The meaning is fufficiently clear-In this particular you might learn from us a more honourable conduct-But the expreffion is fo harfh, that I fufpect the paffage to be corrupt.' Malone. To use, in ancient language, fignifies to put out to ufance or ufury. The fenfe of the paffage may therefore be-Our honour will fetch as much as yours, if placed out on terms of advantage. If valued, our honour is worth as much as yours." Steevens. The commentators are both mistaken. In this paffage, ufe is a noun, and honour is a verb. The fenfe is-In this particular we may honour Ufe (or cuftom) as much as we honour you.

Upon the whole, after a careful examination, we do not hefitate to pronounce, that the prefent edition of Shakspeare's plays, with all its imperfections on its head,' is far fuperior to any that have preceded it. Befide the two portraits of our poet given in the former editions, there is prefixed to this, a third, which is well engraved by Hall, from a painting in the collection of the Duke of Chandos,

** We have been obliged to a Correfpondent for the preceding Article; which appearing to us to be well drawn up, we readily determined to infert the whole, without any alterations; but we cannot take leave of the ingenious Author, without obferving to him, that he appears to be miftaken in his remark (Rev. Aug. p. 87.) on " fait l'impoffible," which certainly means no more than the English phrafe done all in our power."

ART. II. Letters and Papers. By the Bath Society. Vol. III. concluded. See laft Month's Review.

IT was not without fome degree of aftoni ament that we

read, in the contents, the title of an effay by Arthur Young, Efq. on the neceffity of hoeing turnips. At this time of day, we imagined, that any attempt to demonftrate the importance of a practice, fo indifpenfably neceffary as the hoeing of turnips, would have been entirely fuperfluous. No man, we prefume,

who

who ever faw a recently hoed crop, could entertain a doubt as to this particular. Mr. Young, however, has omitted to mention one very effential benefit that accrues from having turnips properly hoed, viz. that it prevents the danger of lofing cattle when feeding on the turnip; for where this operation is rightly performed, there will be none fmall; and it is the fmall turnips only that are in danger of being forced into the throat, and there sticking, fo as to occafion fuffocation.

The only improvement in the culture of the turnip fuggefted in this volume is that of fowing them between the rows of horse-hoed beans. On this fubject we have an account of two experiments, one by R. P. Anderdon, of Henlade, Efq. The field he mentions was a poor wet clay, value only 10s. per acre. It was fet with beans (after being dunged) in double rows, about a foot from each other, with intervals of more than three feet wide between the double rows. Thefe intervals were twice horfe-hoed and harrowed, and in the middle of July were fown with turnip produce, about 16 tons per acre. Mr. Anderdon enumerates at great length the benefits that may be derived from this practice, which are difputed by the Committee of the Bath Society, as we think, with a degree of warmth and pertinacity that would better have become a young man, than a Committee of fuch a refpectable body. True it is, that Mr. Anderdon's practice is in several refpects defective. The double rows feem to us improper, for no plant is fo much benefited by fresh air as the bean; one row in an open exposure often producing more pods than twenty when close upon each other: but the narrownefs of the intervals is a ftill greater objection. On a good foil fingle rows of beans, at 6 feet distance, will perhaps yield nearly as great a crop of grain as can be got from the ground by any other culture; and full room is given for performing every operation on the turnips as well, nearly, as if no beans had been on it. In this way a full crop of turnips and a full crop of beans may easily be obtained from the fame field in the same year, as we ourselves have experienced. The only inconvenience that occurred in this practice, was the difficulty of carrying off the beans, when a weighty crop, without injuring the turnips. We recommend that the beans fhould be planted rather at a greater than smaller diftance than the above. Turnips thrive very well on clay foils, if in proper order.

The other experiment is by Mr. John Bull, of Kingston near Taunton, who obtained at the rate of near 3 quarters of beans, and 37 tons 5 C. weight of turnips per acre. The beans were set in rows, at lefs than two feet intervals, and horfe-hoed; turnips fowed at random, between the rows, after the laft hoeing of the beans; the turnips not hoed.

Concerning

Concerning cabbages, nothing in this volume occurs that is of great importance. But the following account of the culture and produce of turnip-rooted cabbage, by Sir Thomas Bevor, seems of fuch importance as to deferve to be tranfcribed entire:

In the firft or fecond week in June, I fow the fame quantity of feed, hoe the plants at the fame fize, leave them at the fame distance from each other, and treat them in all refpects like the common turnip. In this method I have always obtained a plentiful crop of them; to afcertain the value of which, I need only inform you, that on the 23d day of April laft, having then two acres left of my crop, found and in great perfection, I divided them by fold hurdles. into three parts of nearly equal dimenfions. Into the first part I put 24 fmall bullocks of about 30 ftone weight each (14 lb. to the ftone), and 30 middle-fized fat wethers, which at the end of the first week, after they had eaten down the greater part of the leaves, and fome part of the roots, I fhifted to the fecond divifion, and then put 70 lean fheep into what was left of the firft: these fed off the remainder of the turnips left by the fat flock; and fo they were shifted through the three divifions, the lean ftock following the fat as they wanted food, until the whole was confumed.

The 24 bullocks, and 30 fat wethers, continued in the turnips. until the 31st of May, being exactly 4 weeks; and the 70 lean fheep until the 29th, which is one day over 4 weeks: fo that the two acres kept me 24 fmall bullocks, and one hundred and ten (it fhould be one hundred only) fheep four weeks (not reckoning the overplus day of the lean fheep). The value at the rate of keeping at that feafon cannot be eftimated in any common year at lefs than 4d. a week for each fheep, and is. 6d. per week for each bullock, which would amount together to the fum of 141. 10s. 8d. for two acres.' (It fhould be 151. 135. 4d. even counting only 100 sheep).

This fact needs no comment; and it is ftill farther confirmed by his experience in May 1786. I have,' fays he, May 1ft, three acres of turnip-rooted cabbages left, with which I am feeding 22 bullocks, 17 cows, 2 bulls, 4 young cattle, and 110 fheep; befides thirty horfes which partake largely of them.' This is the first hint we have met with of horses being fed by this plant, and with the worthy Baronet had been more particular on that head.

LUCERNE.

We find only one experiment on the culture of lucerne, by the Rev. Mr. Clofe, Trimley, Suffolk. It yielded at the rate of 16 tons 4 C. weight per acre of green fodder, which, confidering the expence of cultivating this plant, and its great fucculence, seems to be but a small produce. The lucerne is evidently better calculated for warm than temperate climates.

BUSH VETCH.

It were to be wifhed that gentlemen would turn their attention more than they hitherto have done to the culture of the indigenous plants of this country, and we are well pleased to find one experiment of this kind recorded in the volume now

before