hare, and to hawke. They bring him back unto the pallace, where he fups in ftate. Candles being light, the mufitions begin to play; and, the tables taken away, the gentlemen and gentlewomen fell to dancing. Then they played a pleafant Comedie, after which followed a Banket, whereat they had presently store of Ipocras and pretious wine, with all forts of confitures, to this prince of the new impreffion; fo as he was dronke, and fell foundlie afleepe. Hereupon the Duke commanded that he should be difrobed of all his riche attire. He was put into his olde ragges, and carried into the fame place where he had beene found the night before; where he spent that night. Being awake in the morning, he beganne to remember what had happened before;he knewe not whether it were true indeede, or a dreame that had troubled his braine. But in the end, after many discourses, he concludes that all was but a dreame that had happened unto him; and fo entertained his wife, his children, and his neighbours, without any other apprehenfion." MALONE.

The following ftory, related, as it appears, by an eye-witness, may not be thought inapplicable to this Induction: "I remember (fays Sir Richard Barckley, in A Difcourfe of the Felicitie of Man, 1598, p. 24.) a pretie experiment practifed by the Emperour Charles the First upon a drunkard. As this Emperour on a time entered into Gaunt, there lay a drunken fellow overthwart the ftreetes, as though he had bene dead; who, leaft the horsemen fhould ride ouer him, was drawen out of the way by the legges, and could by no means be wakened; which when the Emperour faw, he caufed him to be taken vp and carried home to his pallace, and vfed as he had appointed. He was brought into a faire chamber hanged with cofty arras, his clothes taken off, and laid in a ftately bed meet for the Emperour himselfe. He continued in a fleepe vntill the next day almost noone. When he awaked and had lyen wondring a while to fee himself in fuch a place, and diuers braue gentlemen attending upon him, they took him out of the bed, and apparelled him like a prince, in verie coftly garments, and all this was done with verie great filence on everie fide. When he was ready, there was a table fet and furnished with verie daintie meats, and he fet in a chaire to eat, attended vpon with braue courtiers, and ferued as if the Emperour had bin prefent, the cupboord full of gold plate and diuerfe fortes of wines. When he faw fuch preparation made for him, he left any longer to wonder, and thought it not good to examine the matter any further, but tooke his fortune as it came, and fell to his meate. His wayters with great reuerence and dutie obferued diligently his nods and becks, which were his fignes to call for that he lacked, for words he vfed none. As he thus fate in his majeftie eating and drinking, he tooke in his cups fo freelie, that he fel faft afleepe againe as

he fate in his chaire. His attendants stripped him out of his fresh apparel, and arrayed him with his owne ragges againe, and carried him to the place where they found him, where he lay fleeping vntil the next day. After he was awakened, and fell into the companie of his acquaintance, being asked where he had bene; he anfwered that he had bene afleepe, and had the pleasantest dream that ever he had in his life; and told them all that paffed, thinking that it had bene nothing but a dreame."

This frolick feems better fuited to the gaiety of the gallant Francis, or to the revelry of the boisterous Henry, than to the cold and diftant manners of the referved Charles; of whofe private character, however, historians have taken but flight notice.

HOLT WHITE,

From this play the Tatler formed a ftory, Vol. IV. No. 231. "THERE are very many ill habits that might with much eafe have been prevented, which, after we have indulged ourselves in them, become incorrigible. We have a fort of proverbial expreffion, of taking a woman down in her wedding foes, if you would bring her to reafon. An early behaviour of this fort, had a very remarkable good effect in a family wherein I was feveral years an intimate acquaintance.

"A gentleman in Lincolnshire had four daughters, three of which were early married very happily; but the fourth, though no way inferior to any of her fifters, either in perfon or accomplifhments, had from her infancy difcovered fo imperious a temper, (ufually called a high fpirit,) that it continually made great uneafinefs in the family, became her known character in the neighbourhood, and deterred all lovers from declaring themfelves. However, in process of time, a gentleman of a plentiful fortune and long acquaintance, having obferved that quickness of spirit to be her only fault, made his addreffes, and obtained her confent in due form. The lawyers finished the writings, (in which, by the way, there was no pin-money,) and they were married. After a decent time spent in the father's houfe, the bridegroom went to prepare his feat for her reception. During the whole courfe of his courtfhip, though a man of the moft equal temper, he had artificially lamented to her, that he was the moft paffionate creature breathing. By this one intimation, he at once made her to understand warmth of temper to be what he ought to pardon in her, as well as that he alarmed her against that conftitution in himself. She at the fame time thought herself highly obliged by the composed behaviour which he maintained in her prefence. Thus far he with great fuccefs foothed her from being guilty of violences, and ftill refolved to give her fuch a terrible apprehenfion of his fiery spirit, that she fhould never dream of giving way to her own. He returned on

the day appointed for carrying her home; but instead of a coach and fix horfes, together with the gay equipage fuitable to the occafion, he appeared without a fervant, mounted on a skeleton of a horfe, which his huntsman had the day before brought in to feaft his dogs on the arrival of his new mistress, with a pillion fixed behind, and a cafe of piftols before him, attended only by a favourite hound. Thus equipped, he in a very obliging (but fomewhat pofitive manner), defired his lady to feat herself on the cufhion; which done, away they crawled. The road being obftructed by a gate, the dog was commanded to open it: the poor cur looked up and wagged his tail; but the mafter, to fhow the impatience of his temper, drew a piftol and fhot him dead. He had no fooner done it, but he fell into a thousand apologies for his unhappy rashness, and begged as many pardons for his exceffes before one for whom he had fo profound a refpect. Soon after their fteed ftumbled, but with fome difficulty recovered; however the bridegroom took occafion to fwear, if he frightened his wife fo again, he would run him through! And alas! the poor animal being now almoft tired, made a fecond trip; immediately on which the careful husband alights, and with great ceremony, first takes off his lady, then the accoutrements, draws his fword, and faves the huntsman the trouble of killing him: then fays to his wife, Child, pr'ythee, take up the faddle; which fhe readily did, and tugged it home, where they found all things in the greatest order, fuitable to their fortune and the prefent occafion. Some time after, the father of the lady gave an entertainment to all his daughters and their husbands, where when the wives were retired, and the gentlemen paffing a toast about, our last married man took occafion to obferve to the reft of his brethren, how much, to his great fatisfaction, he found the world mistaken as to the temper of his lady, for that she was the moft meek and humble woman breathing. The applaufe was received with a loud laugh; but as a trial which of them would appear the most master at home, he proposed they fhould all by turns fend for their wives down to them. A fervant was difpatched, and answer made by one, Tell him I will come by and by;' and another, That she would come when the cards were out of her hand;' and fo on. But no fooner was her husband's defire whispered in the ear of our laft married lady, but the cards were clapped on the table, and down fhe comes with, My dear, would you fpeak with me?' He received her in his arms, and, after repeated careffes, tells her the experiment, confeffes his good-nature, and affures her, that fince the could now command her temper, he would no longer disguise his own.”

It cannot but feem ftrange that Shakspeare fhould be fo little known to the author of the Tatler, that he should fuffer this ftory to be obtruded upon him; or fo little known to the publick, that

he could hope to make it pafs upon his readers as a real narrative of a tranfaction in Lincolnshire; yet it is apparent, that he was deceived, or intended to deceive, that he knew not himself whence the ftory was taken, or hoped that he might rob so obscure a writer without detection.

Of this play the two plots are fo well united, that they can hardly be called two without injury to the art with which they are interwoven. The attention is entertained with all the variety of a double plot, yet is not distracted by unconnected incidents.

The part between Katharine and Petruchio is eminently spritely and diverting. At the marriage of Bianca the arrival of the real father, perhaps, produces more perplexity than pleasure. The whole play is very popular and diverting. JOHNSON.

THE END OF THE SIXTH VOLUME.