16 Shakespearian Criticism. 



is nothing in his language as reported, that evinces any wit or a merry 

 disposition. Consequently the widow must have referred to some gen- 

 eral trait which really, or in her imagination, characterized him. I 

 am not aware that the husbands of nurses, as a class, are more merry 

 than other men. Nor am I aware that widowed nurses are more apt 

 than other widows to attribute merriment to their deceased spouses. 

 We must look then for idiosyncrasies really existing in the husband's 

 character, or supplied by the wife's imagination. Now can any thing 

 be found in the context to indicate that the deceased had any especial 

 cause for merriment? I think so. The context shows that during 

 his life his wife was engaged in the occupation of a nurse. It also 

 depicts the husband as sitting and watching the infant Juliet in her 

 gambols. I infer, for reasons hereafter adduced, that this married 

 pair had no children at the time in question. These things being so, 

 the husband was evidently not an active contributor to the support of 

 himself and his wife, but the latter supported both. Surely this was 

 a situation well calculated to afford merriment to the husband. It 

 would certainly be so regarded by most of modern husbands, for 

 although there is in the masculine mind a theoretical abhorrence of 

 the wife's earning the family subsistence, yet it seldom assumes a 

 practical form. 



"Starting with this foundation, we next infer that the husband's 

 merry disposition was actual rather than ideal, for the reason that 

 wives who support their husbands are not apt to invest them with any 

 merely imaginary virtues. 



"It has been conjectured by some that Nurse intended' by the 

 words, "A was a merry man,' to indicate his occupation, and to say 

 that he was a professional buffoon or zany. This is a conjecture not 

 to be despised. The profession of a merry-andrew was a common and 

 popular one in the time of the drama, as well as in the dramatist's 



sional nurse, should himself be a clown or pantaloon. This hypothe- 

 sis is fortified by the fact that at Verona, where the scene is laid, are 

 the celebrated remains of a Eoman amphitheatre, and it is fair to pre- 

 sume that opportunity, as well as tradition, would inspire in the in- 

 habitants a fondness for theatrical amusements, and that actors and 

 pantomimists should be in demand there. The only thing that con- 

 travenes this idea is the fact, already made apparent, that Mr. Nurse 

 was supported by his wife, and thus was in no need of making merry 

 professionally. And yet the personage in question may have been a 

 jester, attached to the family of Capulet, whose wealth and standing 

 were such as to justify this inference. 



