bourn, a limit, a boundary: Bourn, bound of land, i. 197; No bourn 'twixt his and mine, iii. 424; a bourn, a pale, a shore, vi. 43; from whose bourn No traveller returns, vii. 149; this chalky bourn (“this chalky boundary of England, towards France," STEEVENS), vii. 323; I'll set a bourn, vii. 497; From bourn to bourn, viii. 54. bourn, a brook, a rivulet: Come o'er the bourn, Bessy, to me, vii. 305. bow, a yoke: As the ox hath his bow, iii. 48.

bow, &c.—If I, v. 61: see note 119, v. 97. bowling-Top the, viii. 184: see bolins.

boy my greatness-Some squeaking Cleopatra, vii. 593: An allusion to female characters being acted by boys in Shakespeare's time (at least on the English stage).

boy-queller, boy-killer, vi. 95.

brabble, a squabble, a quarrel, iii. 386; vi. 299.

brabbler, a clamorous quarrelsome person, a wrangler, iv. 68. Brabbler, the name of a hound, vi. 83.

brace, "armour for the arm" (STEEVENS): and pointed to this brace,

viii. 23.

brace, state of defence: it stands not in such warlike brace, vii. 384. brach-The deep-mouth'd, iii. 106; Lady, my brach, iv. 252; Achilles' brach, vi. 30 (on which expression see note 46, vi. 108); the lady brach, vii. 266; spaniel, brach, or lym, vii. 307: "Brach. From the French brac or braque, or the German bract, a scenting dog: a lurcher, or beagle; or any fine-nosed hound. Spelman's Glossary. Used also, by corruption, for a bitch, probably from similarity of sound; and because, on certain occasions, it was convenient to have a term less coarse in common estimation than the plain one. See Du Cange in Bracco. The following account shows the lastmentioned corruption: 'There are in England and Scotland two kinds of hunting-dogs, and no where else in the world: the first kind is called ane rache (Scotch), and this is a foot-scenting creature, both of wild beasts, birds, and fishes also, which lie hid among the rocks the female thereof in England is called a brache. A brach is a mannerly name for all hound-bitches.' Gentleman's Recreation, p. 27, 8vo." Nares's Gloss.: "Brach. The kennel term for a bitch-hound." Gifford's note on Ford's Works, vol. i. p. 22. braid-Since Frenchmen are so, iii. 261: Here Steevens understands braid to mean "crafty or deceitful;" while Richardson (in his Dict.) would refer it to "the suddenness and violence" of Bertram's wooing. (In Dr. Latham's edition of Johnson's Dict. is a long and very unsatisfactory article on this word.)

braid, to upbraid, to reproach: 'Twould braid yourself too near, viii. 9. brain, to beat out the brains, i. 212; That brain'd (defeated) my purpose, i. 517.

BRAINISH-BREACH.

49

brainish apprehension, "distempered, brain-sick mood, or conceit" (CALDECOTT), vii. 173.

brain-pan, the skull, v. 185.

brakes of vice, and answer none—Some run from, i. 458: Here the meaning of brakes (a word which was used in sundry significations) has been much disputed: the context, I think, shows that we ought to understand it in the sense of "engines of torture." brands - Nicely Depending on their, vii. 668: Here brands " likely to have been the inverted torches mentioned by Mr. Steevens" (DOUCE).

are

brass of this day's work-Shall witness live in, iv. 482: “in brass, i.e. in brazen plates anciently let into tomb-stones" (STEEVENS). brave, a boast, a vaunt, a defiance: There end thy brave, iv. 68; This brave shall oft make thee to hide thy head, vi. 71; to bear me down with braves, vi. 298.

brave, to make fine or splendid: thou hast braved many men; brave not me (with a quibble), iii. 162; He should have brav'd the east an hour ago, v, 451.

brave, to defy, to bluster: Enter Demetrius and Chiron, braving, vi.

298.

bravery, finery, sumptuous apparel, magnificence: witless bravery,

i. 453; his bravery is not on my cost, iii. 32; double change of bravery, iii. 160; There shall want no bravery, viii. 189.

bravery, bravado: the bravery of his grief, vii. 202; malicious bravery, vii. 378.

brawl-A French, ii. 183: "The word brawl in its signification of a dance is from the French branle, indicating a shaking or swinging motion. The following accounts [account] of this dance may be found more intelligible than that cited from Marston [in his Malcontent, act iv. sc. 2]. It was performed by several persons uniting hands in a circle and giving each other continual shakes, the steps changing with the tune. It usually consisted of three pas and a pied-joint, to the time of four strokes of the bow; which being repeated was termed a double brawl. With this dance balls were usually opened" (DOUCE): But there was a great variety of brawls.

brazen tombs-Live register'd upon our, ii. 163: The allusion, as was first remarked by Douce, is “to the ornamenting the tombs of eminent persons with figures and inscriptions on plates of brass." breach than the observance-More honour'd in the, vii. 120: Samuel Rogers used to maintain that this line, though it has passed into a sort of proverbial expression, is essentially nonsense: "how," he would ask, "can a custom be honour'd in the breach?" Compare the

VOL. IX.

E

50

BREACH-BREATHE.

following line of a play which has been printed as a joint production of Jonson, Fletcher, and Middleton ;

....

"He keeps his promise best that breaks with hell." The Widow, act iii. sc. 2. breach of the sea, breaking of the sea, iii. 343 (" the boat. ... would be dashed in a thousand pieces by the breach of the sea." Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, vol. i. p. 43, ed. 1755; "the wind.. made a great breach of the sea upon the point." Id. vol. i. p. 132; "a breach of the sea upon some rocks." Id. vol. i. p. 134). break cross or across, a metaphor from tilting, at which it was reckoned disgraceful for the tilter to break his spear across the body of his opponent, instead of breaking it in a direct line: this last [staff] was broke cross, ii. 133; breaks them bravely, quite traverse, athwart the heart of his lover, iii. 50; so I had broke thy pate.... Good faith, across, iii. 224.

break up, to break open: Break up the gates, v. 14.

break up, to carve,-used metaphorically of opening a letter: Boyet, you can carve; Break up this capon, ii. 189; An it shall please you to break up this, ii. 365: On the first of these passages Theobald observes; "Our poet uses this metaphor as the French do their poulet; which signifies both a young fowl and a love-letter. Poulet, amatoriæ literæ, says Richelet; and quotes from Voiture, Repondre au plus obligeant poulet du monde, To reply to the most obliging letter in the world. The Italians use the same manner of expression, when they call a love-epistle una pollicetta [polizzetta] amorosa. I ow'd the hint of this equivocal use of the word to my ingenious friend, Mr. Bishop :" Farmer adds; "Henry IV., consulting with Sully about his marriage, says, 'My niece of Guise would please me best, notwithstanding the malicious reports that she loves poulets in paper better than in a fricasee.' A message is called a cold pigeon in the letter [by Laneham] concerning the entertainments at Killingworth Castle."

break with, to open a subject to: now will we break with him, i. 272 ; to break with thee of some affairs, i. 292; I will break with her and with her father, ii. 82; Then after to her father will I break, ibid. ; let us not break with him, vi. 634; Have broken with the king, v. 556. break with, to break an engagement with: I would not break with her for more money than I'll speak of, i. 379.

breast, a voice: the fool has an excellent breast, iii. 346.

breath, a breathing, an exercise: An after-dinner's breath, vi. 39; either to the uttermost, Or else a breath (“a slight exercise of arms," STEEVENS), vi. 74.

breathe, to utter, to speak: The worst that man can breathe, vi. 541;

You breathe in vain, vi. 542; The youth you breathe of, vii. 129; to breathe What thou hast said to me, vii. 172.

BREATHE-BRIBED.

51

breathe, to take exercise: thou wast created for men to breathe themselves upon thee, iii. 236; as swift As breathed (well exercised, kept in breath) stags, iii. 111; breath'd ("inured by constant practice," JOHNSON).... To an untirable and continuate goodness, vi. 507. breathe in your watering, stop and take breath while you are drinking, iv. 233 (Compare a passage in the old play Timon, edited by me for the Shakespeare Society, from a Ms. in my possession; 66 wee also doe enacte

That all holde vp their heades, and laughe aloude,

Drinke much at one draughte, breathe not in their drinke," &c. p. 37; which lines, before the play was printed, were cited by Steevens, to support an erroneous interpretation of the passage of Shakespeare). breathing, exercise, action: who are sick For breathing and exploit, iii. 213; Here is a lady that wants breathing too, viii. 29.

breathing time, time for exercise: 'tis the breathing time of day with me, vii. 205.

breathing-while, time sufficient for drawing breath, v. 364;

viii. 277.

breech'd with gore.

Their daggers Unmannerly, vii. 28: Here breech'd has drawn forth a variety of explanations from the commentators; and Dr. Latham in his recent edition of Johnson's Dict. queries if it means "sheath'd:" after all, probably Douce is right when he suggests "that the expression, though in itself something unmannerly, simply means covered as with breeches." breeching scholar, a scholar liable to be breeched, flogged, iii. 140. breed-bate, a causer of strife or contention, i. 356: see bate. Brecknock, while my fearful head is on—To, v. 422: Meaning "to the Castle of Brecknock in Wales, where the Duke of Buckingham's estate lay" (MALONE).

Brentford-The fat woman of, i. 397; the witch of Brentford, ibid. : In the corresponding scene of the quarto she it called “Gillian of Brainford;" who appears to have been a real personage, and whose name was well known in our author's time. A black-letter tract, entitled Iyl of breyntfords testament. Newly compiled, n. d. 4to, was written by Robert, and printed by William, Copland: the “Iyl” who figures in that coarse tract "kept an inne of ryght good lodgyng;" but no mention is made of her having dealt in witchcraft. Yet one of the characters in Dekker's and Webster's Westward Ho says, "I doubt that old hag, Gillian of Brainford, has bewitched me." Webster's Works, p. 238, ed. Dyce, 1857.

breese, the gad-fly, vi. 18; vii. 552.

bribed buck, i. 411: see note 124, i. 436.

brief, a short writing, an abstract: There is a brief how many sports are ripe, ii. 313; Shall draw this brief into as huge a volume, iv. 15. brief, a contract of espousals, a license of marriage: Shall seem expedient on the new-born brief, iii. 235.

brief, a letter: this sealed brief, iv. 272.

brief, in brief: Brief, I am To those that prate, and have done, no companion, viii. 195.

brief, rife, common, prevalent (a provincialism): A thousand businesses are brief in hand, iv. 61.

briefly, quickly: Go put on thy defences. Eros. Briefly, sir, vii. 566. bring me out-You, "You put me out, draw or divert me from my point" (CALDECOTT), iii. 42.

bring-To be with a person to, a cant expression, which was formerly common enough, though it occurs only once in our author's plays,— Cres. To bring, uncle? Pan. Ay, a token from Troilus, vi. 16; and see note 12, vi. 103, and Add. and Corr. viii. 478 of the various explanations which this phrase has called forth none appears to me satisfactory. (Compare the following passages;

"And I'll close with Bryan till I have gotten the thing

That he hath promis'd me, and then I'll be with him to bring:
Well, such shifting knaves as I am, the ambodexter must play,
And for commodity serve every man, whatsoever the world say."

Sir Clyomon and Sir Clamydes,-Peele's Works,
p. 503, ed. Dyce, 1861.

"And heere Ile haue a fling at him, that's flat;

And, Balthazar, Ile be with thee to bring,

And thee, Lorenzo," &c. Kyd's Spanish Tragedy, sig. G 3 verso, ed. 1618. "Orlando shakes himselfe, and with a spring

Ten paces off the English duke he cast;

But Brandimart from him he could not fling,
That was behind him, and did hold him fast:

But yet with Oliver he was to bring;

For with his fist he smote him as he past,

That downe he fell, and hardly scaped killing,

From mouth, nose, eyes, the bloud apace distilling."

Harington's Orlando Furioso, B. xxxix. 48, p. 329, ed. 1634.

"Clem. And Ile go furnish myself with some better accoutriments,

and Ile be with you to bring presently."

Heywood's Fair Maid of the West, Sec. Part, sig. L 2 verso, ed. 1631.

"Lip. Now, Mistress Maria, ward yourself: if my strong hope fail

not, I shall be with you to bring.

Shr. To bring what, sir? some more o' your kind?"

The Family of Love,-Middleton's Works, vol. ii. p. 147, ed. Dyce.