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Enter DOGBERRY, VERGES, and Sexton, in gowns; and the Watch, with CONRADE and BORACHIO.

DOGB. Is our whole diffembly appear'd?

Scene II.] The perfons, throughout this fcene, have been ftrangely confounded in the modern editions. The firft error has been the introduction of a Town-Clerk, who is, indeed, mentioned in the ftage-direction, prefixed to this fcene in the old editions, (Enter the Conftables, Borachio, and the Towne-Clerke, in gownes,) but no where elfe; nor is there a fingle fpeech afcribed to him in thofe editions. The part, which he might reafonably have been expected to take upon this occafion, is performed by the Sexton; who affifts at, or rather directs, the examinations; fets them down in writing, and reports them to Leonato. It is probable, therefore, I think, that the Sexton has been ftyled the Town-Clerk, in the stage-direction above-mentioned, from his doing the duty of such an officer. But the editors, having brought both Sexton and TownClerk upon the ftage, were unwilling, as it feems, that the latter fhould be a mute perfonage; and therefore they have put into his mouth almost all the abfurdities which the poet certainly intended for his ignorant conftable. To rectify this confusion, little more is neceffary than to go back to the old editions, remembering that the names of Kempe and Cowley, two celebrated actors of the time, are put in this fcene, for the names of the perfons represented; viz. Kempe for Dogberry, and Cowley for Verges. TYRWHITT.

I have followed Mr. Tyrwhitt's regulation, which is undoubtedly juft; bat have left Mr. Theobald's notes as I found them.

STEEVENS.

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3 -in gowns;] It appears from The Black Book, 4to. 1604, that this was the drefs of a conftable in our author's time: " they mift their conftable, and fawe the black gowne of his office lye full in a puddle

The Sexton (as Mr. Tyrwhitt obferved) is ftyled in this stagedirection, in the old copies, the Town-Clerk, "probably from his doing the duty of fuch an officer." But this error has only hap pened here; for throughout the fcene itself he is described by his proper title. By miftake alfo in the quarto, and the folio, which VOL. IV. LI

VERG. O, a ftool and a cushion for the fexton!' SEXTON. Which be the malefactors?

DOGB. Marry, that am I and my partner.

VERG. Nay, that's certain; we have the exhibition to examine.

SEXTON. But which are the offenders that are to be examined? let them come before master constable.

DOGB. Yea, marry, let them come before me.— What is your name, friend?

BORA. Borachio.

DOGB. Pray write down-Borachio.-Yours, firrah?

CON. I am a gentleman, fir, and my name is Conrade.

DOGB. Write down-mafter gentleman Conrade. -Mafters, do you ferve God?

CON. BORA. Yea, fir, we hope.

DOGB. Write down-that they hope they ferve God:-and write God first; for God defend but God fhould go before such villains! +-Masters, it is

appears to have been printed from it, the name of Kempe (an actor in our author's theatre) throughout this fcene is prefixed to the speeches of Dogberry, and that of Cowley to thofe of Verges, except in two or three inftances, where either Conftable or Andrew are fubftituted for Kempe. MALONE.

3 O, a ftool and a cushion for the Sexton!] Perhaps a ridicule was here aimed at The Spanish Tragedy:

"Hieron. What, are you ready?

"Balth. Bring a chaire and a cushion for the king."

4 Con. Bora. Yea, fir, we hope.

MALONE.

Dogb. Write down-that they hope they ferve God:-and write God firft; for God defend but God should go before fuch villains!] This fhort paffage, which is truly humorous and in character, I have added from the old quarto. Befides, it fupplies a defect:

proved already that you are little better than false knaves; and it will go near to be thought fo fhortly. How answer you for yourselves?

CON. Marry, fir, we fay we are none.

DOGB. A marvellous witty fellow, I affure you; but I will go about with him.-Come you hither, firrah; a word in your ear, fir; I fay to you, it is thought you are falfe knaves.

BORA. Sir, I fay to you, we are none.

DOGB. Well, ftand aside.-'Fore God, they are both in a tale: Have you writ down-that they are none?

SEXTON. Mafter constable, you go not the way to examine; you must call forth the watch that are their accufers.

DOGB. Yea, marry, that's the eftest way: '-Let the watch come forth :-Masters, I charge you, in the prince's name, accuse these men.

for without it, the Town-Clerk afks a queftion of the prifoners, and goes on without staying for any answer to it. THEOBALD.

The omiffion of this paffage fince the edition of 1600, may be accounted for from the ftat. 3 Jac. I. c. 21. the facred name being jeftingly used four times in one line. BLACKSTONE.

'Fore God, they are both in a tale:] This is an admirable stroke of humour: Dogberry fays of the prifoners that they are falfe knaves; and from that denial of the charge, which one in his wits could not but be fuppofed to make, he infers a communion of counfels, and records it in the examination as an evidence of their guilt. SIR J. HAWKINS.

If the learned annotator will amend his comment by omitting the word guilt, and inferting the word innocence, it will (except as to the fuppofed inference of a communication of counfels, which fhould likewise be omitted or corrected) be a just and pertinent remark. RITSON.

• Yea, marry, that's the efteft way:] Our modern editors, who were at a lofs to make out the corrupted reading of the old copies, read eafieft. The quarto, in 1600, and the firft and fecond editions in folio,

I WATCH. This man faid, fir, that Don John, the prince's brother, was a villain.

DOGB. Write down-prince John a villain:Why this is flat perjury, to call a prince's brother-villain.

BORA. Mafter constable,

DOGB. Pray thee, fellow, peace; I do not like thy look, I promise thee.

SEXTON. What heard you him fay else?

2 WATCH. Marry, that he had received a thoufand ducats of Don John, for accufing the lady Hero wrongfully.

DOGB. Flat burglary, as ever was committed. VERG. Yea, by the mass, that it is.

SEXTON. What else, fellow?

I WATCH. And that count Claudio did mean, upon his words, to disgrace Hero before the whole affembly, and not marry her.

DOGB. O villain! thou wilt be condemned into everlasting redemption for this.

SEXTON. What else?

2 WATCH. This is all.

all concur in reading-Yea, marry, that's the eftest way, &c. A letter happened to flip out at prefs in the first edition; and 'twas too hard a task for the fubfequent editors to put it in, or guefs at the word under this accidental depravation. There is no doubt but the author wrote, as I have restored the text-rea, marry, that's the defteft way, i. e. the readieft, moft commodious way. The word is pure Saxon. Dearlice, debite, congrue, duely, fitly, Lebærhe, opportune, commode, fitly, conveniently, feafonably, in good time, commodiously. Vide Spelman's Saxon Gloff. THEOBALD. Mr. Theobald might have recollected the word deftly in Macbeth:

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Thyfelf and office deftly fhow." Shakspeare, I fuppofe, defigned Dogberry to corrupt this word as well as many others. STEEVENS.

SEXTON. And this is more, mafters, than you can deny. Prince John is this morning fecretly ftolen away; Hero was in this manner accufed, in this very manner refused, and upon the grief of this, fuddenly died.-Mafter conftable, let these men be bound, and brought to Leonato's; I will go before, and show him their examination. [Exit.

DOGB. Come, let them be opinion'd.
VERG. Let them be in band.

CON. Off, coxcomb! 7

7 Verg. Let them be in band.

Con. Off, coxcomb!] The old copies read,

"Let them be in the hands of coxcomb." STEEVENS. Mr. Theobald gives thefe words to Conrade, and fays-But why the Sexton fhould be fo pert upon his brother officers, there feems no reafon from any fuperior qualifications in him; or any fufpicion he shows of knowing their ignorance. This is ftrange. The Sexton throughout fhows as good fenfe in their examination as any judge upon the bench could do. And as to his fufpicion of their ignorance, he tells the Town-Clerk, That he goes not the way to examine. The meannefs of his name hindered our editor from feeing the goodness of his fenfe. But this Sexton was an ecclefiaftic of one of the inferior orders called the sacriftan, and not a brother officer, as the editor calls him. I fuppofe the book from whence the poet took his fubject, was fome old English novel tranflated from the Italian, where the word fagriftano was rendered fexton. As in Fairfax's Godfrey of Boulogne:

"When Phoebus next unclos'd his wakeful eye,
Up rofe the Sexton of that place prophane."

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The paffage then in queftion is to be read thus:

Sexton. Let them be in hand.

Con. Off, coxcomb !

[Exit.

Dogberry would have them pinion'd, The Sexton fays, it was fufficient if they were kept in fafe cuftody, and then goes out. When one of the watchmen comes up to bind them, Conrade fays, Off, coxcomb! as he fays afterwards to the conftable, Away! you are an afs. But the editor adds, The old quarto gave me the firft umbrage for placing it to Conrade, What thefe words mean I don't know: but I fufpect the old quarto divides the paffage as I have done. WARBURTON.

Theobald has fairly given the reading of the quarto.

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