XLIV. In XLIII. he obtains sight of his friend in dreams; XLIV. expresses the longing of the waking hours to come into his friend's presence by some preternatural means.

4. Where thou dost stay. I would be brought where (i.e., to where) thou dost stay.

9. Thought kills me. Perhaps "thought" here means melancholy contemplation, as in Julius Cæsar, Act II. sc. 1, 1. 187, "Take thought and die for Cæsar."

10. So much of earth and water wrought. So large a proportion of earth and water having entered into my composition. Twelfth Night, Act II. sc. 3, 1. 10. "Does

not our life consist of the four elements?" Compare Julius Caesar, Act v. sc. 5, 1. 73:

The elements

So mixed in him that Nature might stand up,
say to all the world, "This was a man."

And

Antony and Cleopatra, Act v. sc. 2, 1. 292:—

I am air and fire; my other elements
I give to baser life.

And King Henry V., Act III. sc. 7, 1. 22, “He is pure air and fire; and the dull elements of earth and water never appear in him, but only in patient stillness,” etc.

XLV. Sonnet XLIV. tells of the duller elements of earth and water; this sonnet, of the elements of air and fire.

9. Recured, restored to wholeness and soundness. Venus

230

and Adonis, 1. 465. King Richard III., Act III. sc. 7, 1. 130.

12. Thy fair health. The Quarto has their for thy.

XLVI. AS XLIV. and XLV. are a pair of companion The theme of the first sonnets, so are XLVI. and XLVII. pair is the opposition of the four elements in the person of the poet; the theme of the second is the opposition of the heart and the eye, i.e., of love and the senses.

3. Thy picture's sight. The Quarto has their; so also in lines 8, 13, 14.

10. A quest of thoughts. An inquest or jury. King Richard III., Act I. sc. 4, 1. 189:

What lawful quest have given their verdict up
Unto the frowning judge?

12. Moiety, portion.

XLVII. Companion sonnet to the last.

3. Famished for a look. Compare Sonnet LXXV. 10. So Comedy of Errors, Act II. sc. 1, 1. 88 :—

Whilst I at home starve for a merry look.

10. Art present. The Quarto has are.

11, 12. Not. Quarto nor. The same thought which appears in XLV.

Compare with these sonnets-XLVI. and XLVII.-Sonnets 19, 20, of Watson's Tears of Fancie, 1593 (Watson's Poems, ed. Arber, p. 188):

My hart impos'd this penance on mine eies,

(Eies the first causers of my harts lamenting :)

That they should weepe till loue and fancie dies,
Fond love the last cause of my harts repenting.
Mine eies upon my hart inflict this paine
(Bold hart that dard to harbour thoughts of loue)
That it should loue and purchase fell disdaine,
A grievous penance which my hart doth proue,
Mine eies did weepe as hart had them imposed,
My hart did pine as eies had it constrained, etc.

Sonnet 20 continues the same:—

My hart accus'd mine eies and was offended,

Hart said that loue did enter at the eies,
And from the eies descended to the hart ;

Eies said that in the hart did sparkes arise, etc.

Compare also Diana (ed. 1584), Sixth Decade, Sonnet 7 (Arber's English Garner, vol. ii. p. 254); and Drayton, Idea, 33.

XLVIII. Line 6 of XLVI., in which Shakspere speaks of keeping his friend in the closet of his breast:

A closet never pierced with crystal eyes,

suggests XLVIII.; see lines 9-12. I have said he is safe in my breast; yet ah! I feel he is not.

5. I locked up my trifles, much more my jewels; but my jewels are trifles compared with you.

11. Gentle closure of my breast. So Venus and Adonis, 1. 782, "the quiet closure of my breast."

14. Does not this refer to the woman, who has sworn

love (CLII. 1. 2), and whose truth to Shakspere (spoken of in XLI. 13) now proves thievish? Compare Venus and Adonis, 1. 724, "Rich preys make true men thieves."

XLIX. Continues the sad strain with which XLVIII. closes. Notice the construction of the sonnet, each of the three quatrains beginning with the same words," Against that time;" so also LXIV., three quatrains beginning with the words "When I have seen." So Daniel's Sonnet beginning "If this be love," repeated in the first line of each quatrain.

3. Cast his utmost sum, closed his account and cast up the sum total.

4. Advis'd respects, deliberate, well-considered reasons. So King John, Act IV. sc. 2, 1. 214:

Perchance it frowns

More upon humour than advised respects.

8. Reasons, i.e., for its conversion from the thing it was. 9. Ensconce," protect or cover as with a sconce or fort." -DYCE.

10. Desert. Quarto, desart, rhyming with part.

L. This sonnet and the next are a pair, as XLIV., XLV. are, and XLVI., XLVII. The journey, l. 1, is that spoken of

in XLVIII. 1. 1.

5. Beast. Still used for horse in parts of Ireland.

6. Dully. The Quarto has duly, but compare LI. 2, “my dull bearer," and 1. 11, "no dull flesh."

LI. Companiou to L.

6. Swift extremity, the extreme of swiftness. So Macbeth, Act I. sc. 4, 1. 17:

Swiftest wing of recompence is slow.

7. Mounted on the wind. So 2 King Henry IV. Induction, 1. 4, "Making the wind my post-horse." Compare Cymbeline, Act III. sc. 4, 1. 38; Macbeth, Act I. sc. 7, 11. 21-23.

10. Perfect'st. The Quarto has perfects. 11. Malone and other editors print :

Shall neigh (no dull flesh) in, etc.

I.e., Desire shall neigh, being no dull flesh, etc. But does it not mean Desire, which is all love, shall neigh, there being no dull flesh to cumber him as he rushes forward in his fiery race? Compare the neighing stallion of Adonis, Venus and Adonis, 11. 300-312. Mr. Massey takes neigh" as a transitive verb governing "flesh," " Shall neigh to no dull flesh," an explanation on which surely no comment is needful.

66

14. Go, move step by step, walk, as in The Tempest, Act III. sc. 2, 1. 22 :-

STEPHANO.

TRINCULO.

We'll not run, Monsieur Monster.
Nor go neither.

Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act III. sc. 1, 1. 388, "Thou must run to him, for thou hast stayed so long that going will scarce serve thy turn."

I have placed the last two lines, spoken, as I take it, by Love, within inverted commas.