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any special antipathy to money, and when their poor friend is in difficulties they have nothing for him but words or minted air. Our good pious friend Franz Horn here makes the following very thin and watery, but still quite correct, remark : " Here it is but fair to inquire : How is it possible that Antonio's misfortune went so far? All Venice knew and esteemed him, his excellent acquaintances knew all about 1 the terrible bond, and also that the Jew would not abate so much as a point of punctuation from it. Yet they let one day pass after another, till at last the three months expired, and with them every hope of rescue. Surely it would have been an easy thing for those good friends, of whom the royal merchant had a multitude, to raise three thousand ducats to save a human life and such a life ! but such a thing is always rather inconvenient, and so the dear good friends, because they are only so-called friends, or half or three-quarter friends, do nothing, nothing still and naught again. They pity the excellent merchant who formerly gave them such fine feasts ; scold terribly with all their hearts and tongues, though only at fitting opportunity, at Shylock, a thing incurring no danger, and then think they have done all that friendship requires. Much as we must hate Shylock we can hardly take it amiss of him that he despises this folk a little, as he well may do. Indeed he seems to confuse