MANUSCRIPT CORRECTIONS A COPY OF THE FOURTH FOLIOl SHAKSPEAKE'S PLAYS. MA NUSCRI] T CORE ECTION S A C P Y V T II E F U R T II POLIO SHAKSPEARE'S PLAYS. / 6t4^J.&- BOSTON: TICKNOR, REED, AND FIELDS. M DCCCLIV. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1853] by Ticknor, Reed, and Fields, Hi- Clerk's Office of tiie District Court of the District of Massachu etl a* 1 N T It O I) U C T 1 N The emendations to the text of Shakspeare that .Air. Collier has recently given to the world, have brought into notice other copies of the first folios, upon whose pages some annotator has been busy. Such manuscript corrections, though of no critical authority, may nevertheless be curious as the careful suggestions of some old student of the poet. Among the many writers who have undertaken to improve Shakspeare, there are a few of talent and ingenuity, who have unquestionably succeeded in trifling instances, where the great poet indulged in license not in accord- ance with a later and purer taste. Suggestions from such sources, especially those which aim at correcting the many misprints of the early editions, seem worthy of attention. The slight alteration by which some striking and characteristic felicity of expression may be obtained from language turgid and obscure, often seems such strong evidence of the probability of the annotator's conjecture, as to warrant the presentation of the improved reading in a note. That no sufficient authority can exist to incorporate such a read- ing with the text bequeathed to us by Heminge and Condell, is a point upon which, before the late publications of Mr. Collier, Shakspearian editors and critics were supposed to be unanimous. The amendments collected in the present volume are taken from a copy of the folio of 1685. The chirography and spel- ling are of antique fashion, though their date cannot well be assigned. The corrections occur with more or less frequency through sixteen of the plays. Their number (i I such gross and obvious misprints as are corrected in all modern i di- tions) is something less than four hundred. Of these, nearly I thirty are illegible, and perhaps as many more seem very trilling, or even doubtful, improvements. Among those that remain, there are some that embody original and striking suggestions. These, together with others to exhibit the general character of the emen- dations, are published as literary curiosities. No faith is professed in their claim as restorations of the genuine text ; though the evi- dent propriety of some of the changes may be such as to warrant their acceptance as probably correct. Such alterations as cor- respond with those in Mr. Collier's notes, have been generally omitted — it is sufficient to say that several of the simplest and best of his changes are supported by this corrector. Although these emendations can at present have no other claim to our consideration than that of clever conjectures, there seems reason to suppose them copied from some source which the writer considered as furnishing a purer text. This is inferred from the petty character and perfect unimportance of many of the changes — changes that no man would be likely to have made, unless from belief that he was restoring the precise language of the poet. It is not easy to imagine that any one would trouble himself to conjecture whether the "sure and firm set earth," might not be the " sound and firm set earth, 1 ' or whether Lucio should not say " I warrant so it is" instead of " I warrant it is." Such emenda- tions, seem to have neither point nor meaning, unless we suppose them taken from some authority, which the writer deemed free from corruption. As some apology seems necessary for incurring any hazard of increasing the mass of unprofitable Shaksperian literature, which has been so liberally bestowed upon the world, it may be men- tioned that these "new readings" are made public in accordance with the suggestion of a gentleman, whose extensive research and conservative criticism, entitle him to the first position among in- terpreters of the poet. Under any circumstances, however, reluc- tance must be felt in offering comment upon the writings of the Dramatist, whose wit, unlike that of his greatest comic creation, has been the cause of so much dullness in others. J. P. Q. T ]•: M P E S T , Act 1. Scene I. The first correction in the play corresponds with that in Mr. Collier's folio. " Good Boatswain, have a care." In the same speech " Play the men " is changed to " Ply the men." Scene 2. " Not a soul But. felt a fever of the mad, and play'd Some tricks of desperation." " A fever of the mind" is substituted by the corrector. " O dear father, Make not too rash a trial of him, for He 'a gentle, and not fearful." If we take "fearful " in its common acceptation of " tim- orous," the proposed change certainly renders the passage clearer. " He's gentle Iho not fearful.'' Iii iis rarer signification of "that which excites terror '' no alteration is needed. Act II. Scene 1. " The visitor will not give him o'er so." For ••visitor'' we are instructed to read adversary. " Had I plantation of this isle, my lord." For "plantation" the planting is substituted. " I am more serious than my custom ; you Must be so too, if heed me ; which to do Trebles thee o'er." Some obscurity has always lingered in the concluding line in spite of several ingenious explanations. The cor- rector proposes "Troubles thee sore" which removes all difficulty. " My master through his art foresees the danger That you his friend are in : and sends me forth (For else his project dies) to keep them living." It is difficult to see the propriety of this passage as it at present stands. It can only mean that Prospero was anxious, not for Gonzalo, but for those who were conspir- ing against his life. Dr. Johnson proposed to read "That these his friends are in." The corrector makes the mean- ing yet more clear by changing a word in the last line — " to keep you living." Si ENE 2. Stephano, struck with the singular appearance of Cali- ban, says, " If I can recover him and keep him tame, I will not take too much for him." The expression "too much" has found four interpretations, which shows that its meaning is not very obvious. Both words have been erased by the corrector, and the number 100 written in the margin. That this number might, have been easily mis- taken for the word too in the manuscript, and the much afterwards inserted as a common sequent, is all that can be said in its favor. Act IV. Scene 1. After the benediction sung by Juno and Ceres in the masque, Ferdinand exclaims: " This is a most majestic vision, and Harmonious charmingly." The corrector here concurs with a suggestion that has been made, " Harmonious charming /«y." " I will fetch off my bottle, though I be o'er ears for my labor." The annotator sees fit to strengthen the assertion of Stephano by writing " o'er head and ears." Act V. Scene 1. " On the bat's back I do fly After summer, merrily." The reading proposed by Theobald has been adopted. " After sunset merrily." MEASURE FOR MEASURE. Act I. Scene 1. The difficulty at the threshold of this comedy, upon which Mr. Collier's critic has tried his skill, is differently solved by our corrector. " Of government the properties to unfold Would seem in me t' affect speech and discourse, Since I am put to know, that your own science Exceeds in that the lists of all advice My strength can give you ; then, no more remains, But that to your sufficiency, as your worth is able, And let them work." The first change " Since I am not to know," although entirely uncalled for, might be a quaint way of strengthen- ing the compliment, meaning since in that case I should be ignorant, &c. Mr. Collier's " great improvement " is in the sixth line where "that" is turned into " add" and the two last words erased. Our corrector throws quite as much light upon the passage by the change of a single letter. " Put that to your sufficiency, as your worth is able, And let them work." Iii other words, add your theoretical knowledge to your general capability, and the result is certain. This hitter change has been suggested. Act I. Scene 1. " Which for these fourteen years we have let sleep." " Which for these nineteen years we have let slip" These changes have been suggested. Act II. Scene H. " We cannot weigh our brother with ourself." " We cannot weigh our brother with yourself." The propriety of this reading, which accords with a suggestion of Dr. Warburton's, seems evident from the context. Scene 3. " O injurious love That respites me a life, whose very comfort Is still a dying horror ! " Hanmer's suggestion of " injurious lav " agrees with the correction. Act III. Scene 1. " So then you hope of pardon from Lord Angelo." " So then you're hope of pardon from Lord Angelo." " And the delighted spirit To bathe in fiery Hoods," &c. The corrector says "dilated spirit," a reading which seems much better than the old one. notwithstanding what Warburton says in its favor. The suggestion has been made bv a modern editor. LO Lucio, having- stated the vicious propensities of the absent duke, says, "A shy fellow was the duke; and I believe 1 know the cause of his withdrawing." The corrector makes it "A sly fellow was the duke," a reading thai accords much better with the context. " He's now past it, yet and I say to thee, &c, " evidently " He's not past it yet," as Ha inner and our corrector would read it. Act IV. Scene 1. " Our corn's to reap, for yet our tithe's to sow." The corrector reads it according to the proposed change of Warburton — " Our corn 's to reap, for yet our tilths to sow." Of the propriety of this alteration there cannot be much doubt. Scene 4. " For my authority bears a credent bulk." The old copy reads "bears of a credent bulk." Steevens conjectured that "of" was a misprint for "off," but did not insert it, as the line was long enough without. The corrector compromises the matter by giving us, "For my authority bears off a credence." Act V. Scene I. The duke begins his seventh speech, "By mine honor" instead of " By mine honesty," which has too many sylla- bles for the measure. " How he refelled me, and how I replied." Refelled is changed to repeVd as in several modern editions. " These poor informal women are no more, But instruments of some more mightier member, That sets them on." " These poor informing' women are no more, But instruments of some more mighty member, That sets them on." MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Tin; few corrections in this play are hardly worth no- ticing. Benedict says [Act II. Scene 3,] that the lady who shall captivate him must be "virtuous, or I'll never cheapen her; fair, or I'll never look on her; mild, or come not near me; noble or not I, for an angel," &c. The last "I" is changed to me by the corrector. Don Pedro, in the same scene, says, that if the same net is spread for Beatrice, with which Benedict has just been caught, " the sport will be, when they hold one an opinion of another's dotage." The " one " may have been misplaced by the compositor; if so, its true position is re- stored by the corrector. " The sport will be when they hold an opinion of one another's dotage." In Dogberry's speech [Act IV. Scene 2,] " Yea, marry, that's the eftest way," deftest has been substituted for " eftest," agreeing with the suggestion of Theobald. A S Y O U L I K E I T Act I. Scene 1. Orlando, speaking of the cruel treatment of his brother, says, " The something that nature gave me, his counte- nance seems to take from me ;" should it not be according to the opinion of Warburton and our corrector — "his discountenance seems to take from me." " Rosalind lacks then the love Which teaches thee, that thou and I am one." Evidently according to Theobold's suggestion, " Which teaches me that thou and I are one.'' Act II. Scene 3. "When service should in my old limbs lie lame," " be lame,'' says the correction. In the same speech the "hot and rebellious liquors" are applied "/o" and not "in the blood." 1 1 Act II. Scene 1. '• T<> fright the animals and to kill them up." " To fright the animals and kill them too." SrENE 5. " Sirs, cover the while, the duke will drink under this tree." "The duke will dine under this tree," seems to accord better with the banquet that follows. Act III. Scene 5. " Nor, I am sure, there is no force in eyes That can do hurt." A glance at the context will show the propriety of the change. " Now, I am sure, there is no force in eyes." " What though you have no beauty ( As by my faith I see no more in you Than without candle may go dark to bed.)" Malone reads, " What though you have some beauty. " ( )ther editors have suggested that " no " was a blunder for " mo." According to the corrector this was the case. " What though you have more beauty, Yet by my faith, &c." L5 Act IV. Scene 1. " Make the doors upon a woman's wit, and it will out at the casement." The corrector supplies a word that seems to have been dropped, " Make the doors fast upon a woman's wit, &c." Act IV. Scene 3. The first speech of Rosalind is as follows, " How say you now ? Is it not past two o'clock ? And here much Orlando." Some modern editors, not being able to make anything out of the phrase, " And here much Orlando," have supplied its place with " / wonder much Orlando is not here" a change for which there is not a particle of authority. The substitution of a single word removes all difficulty. " Is it not past two o'clock? And here's no Orlando." Act V. Scene 4. Touchstone, speaking of the peace-making virtues of the word, " If," says that he knew it effectual when " seven justices could not take up a quarrel." The pro- priety of the correction is obvious. " I knew when seven justices could not make up a quarrel, &c. T W E L F T H NIG H T . Act I. Scene 1. " 8, once" is substituted for -who was," an alter- 35 ation, so far as sense or propriety is concerned, of no great value. Act V. Scene 'J. The corrector follows the later quarto in making the king throw an "onyx" instead of " an union" in the cup from which he drinks. The exclamation of Hamlet, "I am dead, Horatio," is changed to "i die, Horatio.'" Both metre and accuracy are improved by the change. " O proud deatli ! What, feast is toward in thine eternal cell." The annotator reads "infernal cell," which in connec- tion with the context seems quite as proper. KING LEAR. Act I. Scene 1. France and Burgundy, "strive to be interess'd" "in" and not " to " the young love of Cordelia. " The best, the dearest, should in this trice of time."' " And dearest, best, should in this trice of time." The metre is improved by the change. Cordelia addresses her sisters directly as " Ye jewels of our father," instead of " The jewels." She commits the king to the "professing- bosoms" of his daughters, not the "professed bosoms." Both these readings have been suggested. Some obscurity in the opening lines of Edmund's solil- oquy is removed by the correction of two blunders, that the copyist may easily have made. " Wherefore should I Stand in the plague of custom ; and permit The curiosity of nations to deprive me, For that I am some twelve or thirteen moonshines Lag of a brother." " Wherefore should I Stand on the plague of custom, and permit The courtesy of nations to deprive me," — " Courtesy" for " curiosity," corresponds with a sugges- tion of Theobald's. For " deprive " in the foregoing quotation, a pencilled correction gives us "despise ;" a change quite uncalled for if we take "deprive" in its old meaning of "disinherit." Scene 4. " I had thought by making this well known unto you." Two superfluous syllables are erased in this line ; "I thought by making this well knoivn to you." Two words added to the malediction of Lear, serve to complete a line. " Hear, nature, hear ; dear goddess hear a father."' " Let me still take away the harms I fear, Nor fear still to be taken." For " taken," the corrector reads " harmed." 38 Act II. Scene 1. " My worthy arch and patron comes to-night." As corrected, the line reads, " My worthy and arch-patron, comes to-night." Scene '3. "The king must take it ill That he's so lightly valued in his messenger, Should have him thus restrained." " To have him thus restrained" is clearly the sense of the passage. Scene 4. 2. \ " To wage against the enmity o'the air; 1- I To be a comrade with the wolf and owl ;" The figures placed against these lines by the corrector, indicate that their order should be reversed. If this is done, it destroys the emendation in Mr. Collier's folio, where the wolf is made to howl, " necessity's sharp pinch." " You heavens, give me that patience, patience I need." For the second patience the word "which" is happily substituted. :^9 The correction connects Lear's exclamation, " I have full cause for weeping," with the preceding sentence. "Though I've full cause for weeping." Act 111. Scene 2. Lear has "one place" not '-one part" in his heart, that sorrows for the exposure of his attendant. In the rhyming prophecy of the fool with which the scene concludes, a defective line is made out by making the realm of Albion, come "unto" instead of " to " great confusion. The corrector thinks a word has been dropped from the articles of Edgar's pretended diet, — "the wall-newt and the wa.tei-newt. " The sea with such a storm as his bare head In hell black night endured, would have buoy'd up And quenched the stilled fires." Perhaps " boiled up " as the corrector has altered it. Act IV. Scene 6. Edgar, after describing the cliff at Dover, declares he would not leap " upright." " Outright " seems to be prop- 40 crly substituted. Warburton suggested this change. In a previous scene, the famous cliff is described as looking "oh" instead of " in the confined deep." After Gloster has fallen, his son fears lest, " Conceit may rob The treasury of life." " The treasure of his life," reads the corrector; an altera- tion of so little consequence that we can hardly believe it made, without a supposed authority. "Ha Goneril — with a white beard — They flattered me like a dog," cVc. The words " with a white beard," are crossed out, and " Ha Reg-ail, " substituted, as in the quarto. When Lear asks Gloster to read the challenge, the Earl replies, that were the letters suns, they would be dark to him; and when still urged by his master, rejoins, " What! with the case of eyes ! " This exclamation is rendered plainer by the simple change, " What! with this case of eyes! ' Malone, in rejecting this alteration which was made by Rowe, declares that Shakspeare could not have written "this ease;" since, at the time when he lived, the words would have been equivalent to " this pair of eyes." The freedom of expression found in every page of the Poet, must set aside such an objection. The phrase "in this case," at the time of Elizabeth as at present, meant — in 41 this condition — under these circumstances. That "this case of eyes" might, without supposing any extraordinary poetic license, have been written for eyes in this condition, seems sufficiently probable. Act V. Scene 3. " Thy great employment " Will not bear question." According to the corrector, it is Edmund who claims the great employment, the sentence beginning with " my 'i instead of " thy." Of the same description is the correction in the lines where Edmund, referring to the king and his daughter, says, " They are ready To-morrow, or at further space, to appear Where you shall hold your session." We are told to read "where we shall hold our session,'' the propriety of which change is very obvious from the tenor of the next speech — " Sir, by your patience, I hold you but a subject of this war. Not as a brother." Regan, after bestowing all the power which she posses- sed upon Edmund, goes on to say, "the walls are thine." This is altered to, " the galls are thine.'' With this reading the sentence would be addressed to Goneril, a change that the context will very well admit. 6 42 The exclamations, "Save him, oh save him!" after Edmund lias fallen in the combat with his brother, are very properly given to Goneril instead of Albany, who cannot be supposed to feel much interest in the pre- servation of the man he has just denounced as a traitor and seducer. This error has been remarked by Theo- bald. " Kent. — Is this the promised end? Edgar. — Or image of that horror? Albany. — Fall and cease. Lear. — This feather stirs," &c. The speeches given to Edgar and Albany have been carefully erased by many strokes of the pen. The last correction in the play commends itself by its grammatical propriety. " hear. — He's a good fellow, I can tell you that He'll strike and quickly too. He's dead, and rotten." " T' was a good fellow, I can tell you that He\l strike and quickly too. He's dead and rotten." OTHELLO Act I. Scene 1. Iago speaks of those who throw "out shows of service to their lords," instead of " but shows." "lam not what I am," in the same speech is changed to " I am not what I seem," the obvious sense of the passage. Roderigo thinks the Moor very fortunate if "lie can carry her thus," instead of "it thus." The citizens are "snoring'" not " snorting," according to the corrector. Desdemona ties her fortune "to" and not " in an extravagant and wheel- ing stranger." Pope has suggested this change. Scene 3. " And hath, in his effect, a voice potential A.s double as the duke's." Several commentators have endeavored to explain the expression "as double as the duke's," but their efforts do not appear to be very successful. May it not be possible that the poet wrote as the corrections indicate. " And hath, in its effect, a voice potential As noble as the duke's." 44 The corrector supports Theobald's suggestion in making Othello say that his demerits " may speak and bonnetted to as proud a fortune " as that he had just acquired. To speak " unbonnetted " is directly opposite the sense of the passage. The word "consuls'' in a speech of Cassio's a little further on is changed to " council." So also in the previous scene " toged councillors " is written for " toged consuls." Brabantio accuses Othello of having used drugs or minerals that '-weaken motion." Modern editors have generally read "waken motion." The corrector by sim- ply changing "m" into "n" has "weaken notion." A similar use of the two words in King Lear, [Act II. Scene IV,] supports this reading, which corresponds with a Scene 3. Brabantio says that his particular grief, "engluts and swallows other sorrows, And it is still itself." " And yet is still itself," says the correction. Othello is asked to " relate " not " dilate," his pilgrim- age. He finds a " natural and prompt alacrity " in " hardi- ness" instead of " hardness." The corrector restores the reading of the quarto which makes Cupid "foil" instead of seel. " the active instruments." 45 Act II. Scene I. " And this, and this, the greatest discords be, That e'er our hearts shall make ! " "Let this," &c. "I'll set down the pegs that make this music, As honest as I am." For "set down" the usual phrase " let down," is substi- tuted. This has been suggested by Pope. Scene 3. " And passion having my best judgment eollied," — The corrector reads " cholerd" which seems nearer the misprint (if it be one), and full as proper as Mr. Collier's " quelled." Act III. Scene 3. Desdemona assures Cassio that she will "use all her abilities in his behalf," instead of " do all her abilities." " Thou had'st been better have been born a dog," — " Thou had'st much better," &c. Scene 4. " The hearts of old gave hands." " Hands and hearts " change places according to the suggestion of Warburton. " The hands of old gave hearts." 46 " Nor my wish To have him sec me woman'd." " Nor do /wish," *.Vc. Act 1 V. Scene 2. " Either in discourse of thought, or actual deed." The line is certainly plainer and stronger, if we read with Pope and the corrector, " Either in discourse, or thought, or actual deed." The next line but one. " Delighted them in any other form," seems more properly " on any other form," according to the correction. Scene '.i. Desdemona's song is described as an "old thing;" this the corrector alters to "odd thing." "Mo women" and " mo men " in the last line of the song are changed to " no women " and " no men." Act V. Scene 2. " Put out the light, and then put out the light." It is possible that the line should read as has been suspected ; " Put out the light, and then put out thy light." 47 The last correction in the play occurs in a line that has given rise to as much discussion as any thing in the writ- ings of the Poet. " Like the base Judean, threw a pearl away Richer than all his tribe." Tin' reading of (he first quarto "Indian" has found its supporters. The prevailing opinion however has adhered to "Judean" as in the folio. Several different explana- tions of the allusion have been offered, but none seem very satisfactory. The corrector substitutes " Egyptian " for " base Judean." "Like the Egyptian, threw a pearl away.'' At the bottom of the page he writes this note : " " Al- luding to the story of the CEgyjitiaa thief." It will be remembered that, a reference to this story occurs in the Twelfth Night. " Like to the Egyptian thief at point of death, Kill what I love." ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. Act I. Scene 2. " I shall break The cause of our expedience to the queen, And get her love to part." The corrector changes " love " to " leave." This has been suggested. Scene 3. " Though you in swearing shake the throned gods." " Though you with swearing, shake the throned gods." Scene 4. " His faults, in him, seem as the spots of heaven JMore fiery for night's blackness." The corrector reads "stars of heaven," — thus doing his best to destroy the felicity of the comparison, and render a striking line tame and prosaic. 49 Act II. Scene 1. Cleopatra's lip is neither "wan'd," as commonly printed, or " warm," as in Mr. Collier's folio, but simply " wan" ■■ That sleep and feeding may prorogue li is honor Even till a Lethe'd dulness." " Even to a Lethe'd dulness." " Noble friends, That which combined us was most great, and let not A leaner action rend us.'' "A meaner action rend us. " " All which time Before the gods my knee shall bow my prayers To them for yon." " Modern editors have licentiously read ' bow in pray- ers,'" says a note of Steevens. The corrector, neverthe- less, so reads it. Si i nk 7. •• Sit, and some wine. — A health to Lepidus." The correction reads. •• Sirrah, some wine. — A health to Lepidus." 50 Act III. Scene 2. The fifth speech of Agrippa is made to answer the pre- ceding question, " Of Antony; O the Arabian bird!" "O Antony! O thou Arabian bird!" is the usual read- ing. VCT III Si EI l 0. " And the high gods To do you justice, make them ministers, Of us, and those who love you." The corrector changes " them " to " their" " Make their ministers." In the last line but one in the scene occurs the expres- sion, " With news the time's with labor." " With news the time's in labor;" is the change of the corrector. Scene 10. " Such as 1 am, I come from Antony : T was of late as petty to his ends. As is the morning dew on the myrtle leaf To his grand sea." 51 The corrector concurs with a change that has been sug- gested by reading, " To the grand sen.'' Act V. Scene 1. ' : I must perforce Have shown to thee such a declining day, • Or look on thine." ••( )r looted on thine." The second speech after the lasl entrance of Dolabella, is inyen to Iras instead of Charmian. 6 5 - " t ®~?£v%s. i Deacidified using ihe Bookkeeper proces: Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: Feb. 2009 PreservationTechnologies A WORLD LEADER IN COLLECTIONS PRESERVATIOI 111 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township, PA 16066 ^ N