Kitabı oku: «Notes and Queries, Number 181, April 16, 1853», sayfa 2

Various

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SHAKSPEARE CORRESPONDENCE

Dogberry's Losses or Leases.—Much Ado about Nothing, Act IV. Sc. 4.:

"Dogberry. A rich fellow enough, go to: and a fellow that hath had losses; and one that hath two gowns, and everything handsome about him."

I can quite sympathise with the indignation of some of my cotemporaries at the alteration by Mr. Payne Collier's mysterious corrector, of "losses" into "leases." I am sorry to see a reading which we had cherished without any misgiving as a bit of Shaksperian quaintness, and consecrated by the humour of Gray and Charles Lamb, turned into a clumsy misprint. But we must look at real probabilities, not at fancies and predilections. I am afraid "leases" is the likelier word. It has also a special fitness, which has not been hitherto remarked. Many of the wealthy people of Elizabeth's reign, particularly in the middle class, were "fellows that had had leases." It will be recollected that extravagant leases or fines were among the methods by which the possessions of the church were so grievously dilapidated in the age of the Reformation. Those who had a little money to invest, could not do so on more advantageous terms than by obtaining such leases as the necessity or avarice of clerical and other corporations induced them to grant; and the coincident fall in the value of money increased the gain of the lessees, and loss of the corporations, to an extraordinary amount. Throughout Elizabeth's reign parliament was at work in restraining this abuse, by the well-known "disabling acts," restricting the power of bishops and corporations to lease their property. The last was passed, I think, only in 1601. And therefore a "rich fellow" of Dogberry's class was described, to the thorough comprehension and enjoyment of an audience of that day, as one who "had had leases."

Scrutator.

May I be allowed a little space in the pages of "N. & Q." to draw Mr. Collier's attention to some passages in which the old corrector appears to me to have corrupted, rather than improved, the text? Possibly on second thoughts Mr. Collier may be induced to withdraw these readings from the text of his forthcoming edition of our great poet. I give the pages of Mr. Collier's recent volume, and quote according to the old corrector.

Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act II. Sc. 2., p. 21.:

"That I, unworthy body, as I can,
Should censure thus a loving gentleman."

Can for am spoils the sense; it was introduced unnecessarily to make a perfect rhyme, but such rhymes as am and man were common in Shakspeare's time. Loving for lovely is another modernism; lovely is equivalent to the French aimable. "Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives," &c. The whole passage, which is indeed faulty in the old copies, should, I think, be read thus:

"'Tis a passing shame
That I, unworthy body that I am,
Should censure on a lovely gentleman.
Jul. Why not on Proteus as on all the rest?
Luc. Then thus,—of many good I think him best."

Thus crept in after censure from the next line but one. In Julia's speech, grammar requires on for of.

Measure for Measure, Act IV. Sc. 5., p. 52.:

"For my authority bears such a credent bulk," &c.

Fols. "of a credent bulk," read "so credent bulk."

Much Ado about Nothing, Act IV. Sc. 1., p 72.:

"Myself would on the hazard of reproaches
Strike at thy life."

When fathers kill their children, they run the risk not merely of being reproached, but of being hanged; but this reading is a mere sophistication by some one who did not understand the true reading, rearward. Leonato threatens to take his daughter's life after having reproached her.

Taming of the Shrew, p. 145.:

"O, yes, I saw sweet beauty in her face,
Such as the daughter of Agenor's race," &c.

"The daughter of Agenor's race" for "the daughter of Agenor" is awkward, but there is a far more decisive objection to this alteration. To compare the beauty of Bianca with the beauty of Europa is a legitimate comparison; but to compare the beauty of Bianca with Europa herself, is of course inadmissible. Here is another corruption introduced in order to produce rhyming couplet; restore the old reading, "the daughter of Agenor had."

The Winter's Tale, Act IV. Sc. 2., p. 191.:

"If, &c., let me be enrolled, and any name put in the book of virtue."

We have here an abortive attempt to correct the nonsensical reading of the old copies, unrolled; but if enrolled itself makes sense, it does so only by introducing tautology. Besides, it leads us away from what I believe to be the true reading, unrogued.

King John, Act V. Sc. 7., p. 212.:

"Death, having prey'd upon the outward parts,
Leaves them unvisited; and his siege is now
Against the mind."

How could death prey upon the king's outward parts without visiting them? Perhaps, however, we have here only a corruption of a genuine text. Query, "ill-visited."

Troilus and Cressida, Act I. Sc. 3., p. 331.:

"And, with an accent tun'd in self-same key,
Replies to chiding fortune."

This, which is also Hanmer's reading, certainly makes sense. Pope read returns. The old copies have retires. I believe Shakspeare wrote "Rechides to chiding fortune." This puzzled the compositor, who gave the nearest common word without regard to the sense.

Troilus and Cressida, Act V. Sc. 1., p. 342.—The disgusting speeches of Thersites are scarcely worth correcting, much less dwelling upon; but there can be little doubt that we should read "male harlot" for "male varlet;" and "preposterous discoverers" (not discolourers) for "preposterous discoveries."

Coriolanus, Act V. Sc. 5., p. 364.:

"I … holp to reap the fame
Which he did ear all his."

To ear is to plough. Aufidius complains that he had a share in the harvest, while Coriolanus took all the ploughing to himself. We have only, however, to transpose reap and ear, and this nonsense is at once converted into excellent sense. The old corrector blindly copied the blunder of a corrupt, but not sophisticated, manuscript. This has occurred elsewhere in this collection.

Antony and Cleopatra, Act I. Sc. 5., p. 467.:

"And soberly did mount an arm-girt steed."

This reading was also conjectured by Hanmer. The folios read arme-gaunt. This appears to me a mere misprint for rampaunt, but whether rampaunt was Shakspeare's word, or a transcriber's sophistication for ramping, is more than I can undertake to determine. I believe, however, that one of them is the true reading. At one period to ramp and to prance seem to have been synonymous. Spenser makes the horses of night "fiercely ramp," and Surrey exhibits a prancing lion.

This communication is, I am afraid, already too long for "N. & Q.;" I will therefore only add my opinion, that, though the old corrector has reported many bad readings, they are far outnumbered by the good ones in the collection.

W. N. L.

Mr. Collier's "Notes and Emendations:" Passage in "The Winter's Tale."—At p. 192. of Mr. Payne Collier's new volume, he cites a passage in The Winter's Tale, ending—

"… I should blush
To see you so attir'd, sworn, I think
To show myself a glass."

The MS. emendator, he says, reads so worn for sworn; and adds:

"The meaning therefore is, that Florizel's plain attire was 'so worn,' to show Perdita, as in a glass, how simply she ought to have been dressed."

Now Mr. Collier, in this instance, has not, according to his usual practice, alluded to any commentator who has suggested the same emendation. The inference would be, that this emendation is a novelty. This it is not. It has been before the world for thirty-four years, and its merits have failed to give it currency. At p. 142. of Z. Jackson's miscalled Restorations, 1819, we find this emendation, with the following note:

"So worn, i. e. so reduced, in your external appearance, that I should think you intended to remind me of my own condition; for, by looking at you thus attired, I behold myself, as it were, reflected in a glass, habited in robes becoming my obscure birth, and equally obscure fortune."

Jackson's emendations are invariably bad; but whatever may be thought of the sense of Florizel being so worn (instead of his dress), it is but fair to give a certain person his due. The passage has long seemed to me to have this meaning:

"But that we are acquiescing in a custom, I should blush to see you, who are a prince, attired like a swain; and still more should I blush to look at myself in the glass, and see a peasant girl pranked up like a princess."

& more, in MS., might very easily have been mistaken for sworn by the compositor. Accordingly, I would read the complete passage thus:

"… But that our feasts
In every mess have folly, and the feeders
Digest it with a custom, I should blush
To see you so attir'd, and more, I think,
To show myself a glass."

C. Mansfield Ingleby.

Birmingham.

Minor Notes

Alleged Cure for Hydrophobia.—From time to time articles have appeared in "N. & Q." as to the cure of hydrophobia, a specific for which seems still to be a desideratum.

In the Miscellanea Curiosa (vol. iii. p. 346.) is a paper on Virginia, from the Rev. John Clayton, rector of Crofton in Wakefield, in which he states the particulars of several cures which he had effected of persons bitten by mad dogs. His principal remedy seems to have been the "volatile salt of amber" every four hours, and in the intervals, "Spec. Pleres Archonticon and Rue powdered ana gr. 15." I am not learned enough to understand what these drugs are called in the modern nomenclature of druggists.

C. T. W.

Epitaph at Mickleton.—The following inscription is copied from a monument on the north wall of the chancel of Mickleton Church, co. Gloucester:

"The Ephitath of John Bonner

Heare lyeth in tomed John Bonner by name,

Sonne of Bonner of Pebworth, from thence he came

The : 17 : of October he ended his daies,

Pray God that wee leveing may follow his wayes

1618 by the yeare

Scarce are such Men to be found in this shere

Made and set up by his loveing frend

Evens his kindesman and [so I] doe end

John Bonner, Senior. Thomas Evens, Junior

1618."

The words in brackets are conjectural, the stone at that point being much corroded.

Balliolensis.

Charade attributed to Sheridan.—You have given a place to enigmas in "N. & Q.," and therefore the following, which has been attributed to R. B. Sheridan, may be acceptable. Was he the author?

"There is a spot, say, Traveller, where it lies,
And mark the clime, the limits, and the size,
Where grows no grass, nor springs the yellow grain,
Nor hill nor dale diversify the plain;
Perpetual green, without the farmer's toil,
Through all the seasons clothes the favor'd soil,
Fair pools, in which the finny race abound,
By human art prepar'd, enrich the ground.
Not India's lands produce a richer store,
Pearl, ivory, gold and silver ore.
Yet, Britons, envy not these boasted climes,
Incessant war distracts, and endless crimes
Pollute the soil:—Pale Avarice triumphs there,
Hate, Envy, Rage, and heart-corroding Care,
With Fraud and Fear, and comfortless Despair.
There government not long remains the same,
Nor they, like us, revere a monarch's name.
Britons, beware! Let avarice tempt no more;
Spite of the wealth, avoid the tempting shore;
The daily bread which Providence has given,
Eat with content, and leave the rest to heaven."

Balliolensis.

Suggested Reprint of Hearne.—It has often occurred to me to inquire whether an association might not be formed for the republication of the works edited by Tom Hearne? An attempt was made some years ago by a bookseller; and, as only Robert of Gloucester and Peter Langtoft appeared, "Printed for Samuel Bagster, in the Strand, 1810," we must infer that the spirited publisher was too far in advance of the age, and that the attempt did not pay. Probably it never would as a bookseller's speculation. But might not a society like the Camden be formed for the purpose with some probability, in these altered times and by such an improved method of proceeding, of placing these curious and valuable volumes once more within reach of men of ordinary means? At present the works edited by Hearne are rarely to be met with in catalogues, and when they do occur, the prices are almost fabulous, quite on the scale of those affixed to ancient MSS.

Balliolensis.

Suggestions of Books worthy of being reprinted.—Fabricius, Bibliotheca Latina Mediæ et Infimæ Ætatis, 6 vols. 8vo. (Recommended in The Guardian newspaper.)

J. M.

Epigram all the way from Belgium.—Should you think the following epigram, written in the travellers' book at Hans-sur-Lesse, in Belgium, worth preserving, it is at your service:

"Old Euclid may go to the wall,
For we've solved what he never could guess,
How the fish in the river are small,
But the river they live in is Lesse."

H. A. B.

Derivation of "Canada."—I send you a cutting from an old newspaper, on the derivation of this word:

"The name of Canada, according to Sir John Barrow, originated in the following circumstances. When the Portuguese, under Gasper Cortcreal, in the year 1500, first ascended the great river St. Lawrence, they believed it was the strait of which they were in search, and through which a passage might be discovered into the Indian Sea. But on arriving at the point whence they could clearly ascertain it was not a strait but a river, they, with all the emphasis of disappointed hopes, exclaimed repeatedly 'Canada!'—Here nothing; words which were remembered and repeated by the natives on seeing Europeans arrive in 1534, who naturally conjectured that the word they heard employed so often must denote the name of the country."
Henry H. Breen.

St. Lucia.

Railway Signals.—An effective communication from the guard to the engineman, for the prevention of railway accidents, seems to be an important desideratum, which has hitherto baffled the ingenuity of philosophers. The only proposed plan likely to be adopted, is that of a cord passing below the foot-boards, and placing the valve of the steam whistle under the control of the guard. The trouble attending this scheme, and the liability to neglect and disarrangement, render its success doubtful. What I humbly suggest is, that the guard should be provided with an independent instrument which would produce a sound sufficiently loud to catch the ear of the engineman. Suppose, for instance, that the mouth-piece of a clarionet, or the windpipe of a duck, or a metallic imitation, were affixed to the muzzle of an air-gun, and the condensed air discharged through the confined aperture; a shrill sound would be emitted. Surely, then, a small instrument might be contrived upon this principle, powerful enough to arrest the attention of the engineer, if not equal to the familiar shriek of the present whistle.

It is hoped that this hint will be followed up; that your publication will sustain its character by thus providing a medium of intercommunication for these worthies, who can respectively lay claim to the titles of men of science and men of letters, and that some experimenter "when found will make a note"—a stunning one.

T. C.

A Centenarian Trading Vessel.—There is a small smack now trading in the Bristol Channel, in excellent condition and repair, and likely to last for many years, called the "Fanny," which was built in 1753. This vessel belongs to Porlock, in the port of Bridgewater, and was originally built at Aberthaw in South Wales. Can any of your readers refer to any other trading vessel so old as this?

Anon.

Queries

BISHOP KEN

At what place, and by what bishop, was he ordained, in 1661? His ordination probably took place in the diocese of Oxford, London, Winchester, or Worcester. The discovery of it has hitherto baffled much research.

Jon Ken, an elder brother of the Bishop, was Treasurer of the East India Company in 1683. Where can anything be learned of him? Is there any mention of him in the books of the East India Company? Was he the Ken mentioned in Roger North's Lives of the Norths, as one of the court-rakes? When did he die, and where was he buried? This Jon Ken married Rose, the daughter of Sir Thomas Vernon, of Coleman Street, and by her is said (by Hawkins) to have had a daughter, married to the Honorable Christopher Frederick Kreienberg, Hanoverian Resident in London. Did M. Kreienberg die in this country, or can anything be ascertained of him or his wife?

The Bishop wrote to James II. a letter of intercession on behalf of the rebels in 1685. Can this letter be found in the State-Paper Office, or elsewhere?

In answer to a sermon preached by Bishop Ken, on 5th May, 1687, one F. I. R., designating himself "a most loyal Irish subject of the Company of Jesuits," wrote some "Animadversions." Could this be the "fath. Jo. Reed," a Benedictine, mentioned in the Life of A. Wood, under date of July 21, 1671? Father Reed was author of Votiva Tabula. Can any one throw any light on this?