understandings." T. C. Translation of C. iv. of Tasso, ap' Singer's Fairfax, vol. i. p. xlii., "I seek good Godfrey, and in him affy, Such fame about doth of his bountie fly." Harrington's Ariosto, B. xxvii. St. x.,— "And thus the wicked fiend his time espied, B. xlv. C. vi., "When in her favour he affied most." Had this continued in use, it would have supplied the want noticed by Archdeacon Hare in his Victory of Faith, of a word to represent the orEve of the New Testament. T.C. ap. Singer's Fairfax, vol. i. p. xliii., "Well is thy valure knowne, and as the same Is lov'd and praysd ev'n by thine enimies : Aide at thy hands to beg and to obtaine;" a different usage still, is done.—Note too, that to be assured to a person, is sometimes used in the sense of being married to that person. So it is employed, Comedy of Errors, iii. 2,-"To conclude, this drudge, or diviner, laid claim to me, called me Dromio, swore I was assured to her," &c. Compare Dromio's words in the earlier part of the scene: "I have but lean luck in the match, and yet she is a wondrous fat marriage." Ib.,-" told me what privy marks I had about me," &c., which none but a wife could know. iv. 1, ad fin., "To Adriana! that is where we din'd, Where Dowsabel did claim me for her husband." v., near the end of the play,— "She now shall be my sister, not my wife." Lyly, Mother Bombie, v. 3, Old English Plays, vol. 1, 278, Come, Stellio, the assurance" [the marriage articles seem to be meant] "may be made to-morrow, and our children assured to-day." They were to be married that day; see Sc. 2. Merry Devil of Edmonton, Dodsley, vol. v. p. 229, "Clare. You know, our meeting with the knight Mounchensey Is to assure our daughter to his heir. Dorcas. 'Tis without question. Clare. Two tedious winters have pass'd o'er, since first Dorcas. These couple lov'd each other, and in passion Glew'd first their naked hands with youthful moisture; And what of this? Dorcas. I know it should." Sidney, Arcadia, B. i. p. 17, ll. 35, 38,-"The day of their before the time of assurance appointed." See context. Merry Wives of Windsor, v., near the end of the play; "The truth is, she and I long since contracted, By the way, in Macbeth, iv. 3, wear thou thy wrongs, Thy title is affeer'd;" folio, affear'd;-perhaps we should read assur'd, or affirm'd. Affear'd may have originated in feare, five lines below, "I speak not as in absolute fear of you." XLIII. Substitution of Words. This species of corruption-the substitution of a particular word for another which stands near it in the context, more especially if there happens to be some resemblance between the two-a kind of error which, as we have all experienced in writing or transcribing, it is impossible to avoid at all times-occurs frequently in the folio; although how far it is to be attributed to Shakespeare's own manuscript, and how far to the printer, it may be somewhat difficult to determine. For instances in which this has confessedly taken place, even according to the universally received text, see some pages further on. The frequency of the error will justify my boldness in stigmatizing as corrupt a vast number of other passages, in which, as I believe, the same accident has happened. I quote, as usual, from the Variorum of 1821, or sometimes from the Vulgate; but I have also noticed one or two of Knight's errors. Taming of the Shrew, v. 2, "And show more sign of her obedience, Her new-built virtue, and obedience." In the former line read submission. In 1 King Henry VI. v. 4, I suspect the same thing has taken place on a larger scale, "Then swear allegiance to his majesty ; As thou art knight, never to disobey, Hamlet, i. 2, "Farewell; and let your haste commend your duty. Volt. In that and all things will we show our duty." Perhaps, "commend your service;" at any rate, duty is wrong. Comedy of Errors, i. 1,— "Therefore, merchant, I'll limit thee this day, To seek thy help by beneficial help;" perhaps [with Pope and others], "To seek thy life." Sonnet cxxvii, "Therefore my mistress' eyes are raven black, Her eyes so suited; and they mourners seem," &c. We should read, I imagine, "my mistress' hairs." Comedy of Errors, near the end,— "The duke, my husband, and my children both, And you, the calendars of their nativity, Go to a gossip's feast, and go with me; This is noticed in the Variorum edition. For the second nativity, read, not as is there suggested, festivity (this was not the idea likely to occur to Emilia's mind), but felicity.107 One of the go's, too, is wrong; the former, I imagine. King Richard III. ii. 1, 1. 3,— 107 So Hanmer, more than a century ago. Go occurs twice before in this speech. Qu., therefore,— "Hence to a gossip's feast along with me." Capell approves of Hanmer's correction, in his notes, vol. i. p. 80, "I every day expect an embassage Perhaps recall. Macbeth, v. 3, "Cleanse the stuff'd bosom of that perilous stuff, Which weighs upon the heart." Tarquin and Lucrece, St. cclxi., Do wounds help wounds, or grief help grievous deeds? "Do wounds heal wounds." (Fairfax, B. xx. St. cxxv.,— "But since all hope is vain, all help is waste, Since hurts ease hurts, wounds must cure wounds in thee.") All's Well, &c., i. 3, near the end of the act,— he and his physicians Are of a mind; he that they cannot help him; Evidently wrong; though I am not sure that "cannot heal him" is the true correction. 2 King Henry VI. ii. 1,— "Come offer at my shrine, and I will help thee." Surely, heal. King John, iv. 2,— "Then I, But for myself and them, (but, chief of all, col. 2, though he has kept the old reading in his text. He adds, "the word is spoke to herself (Emilia), and admiringly." He, no doubt, wrote, or meant to write, line, not word. Word occurs three lines above, and words two lines below. In the next example, recall is another forgotten conjecture of Hanmer's.—Ed. |