QUELL. Act I., Sc. 7.

"Of our great quell."

Quell, from the Anglo-Saxon cwelian, to kill, to destroy, is here used for murder. Chaucer has used the verb in the 'Canon's Yeoman's Prologue;' "the fould fiend him quell."

RONYON. Act I., Sc. 3.

"The rump-fed ronyon cries."

See As You Like It.'

SAGG. Act V., Sc. 3.

ROYNISH.

"Shall never sagg with doubt, nor shake with fear." To sagg is to droop or sink down.

SEELING.

Act III., Sc. 2.

"Come, seeling night.

Seeling is a term borrowed from falconry. To seel a hawk was to close up its eyes by passing a thread through the lids, in order to accustom it to endure the hood.

SHARD. Act III., Sc. 2.

"The shard-borne beetle, with his drowsy hums."

The shard is here the scaly wing-cases of the beetle. In
Gower's 'Confessio Amantis' we find-

"A dragon,

Whose sherdes shynen as the sunne."

In Cymbeline' it is used in the same sense as here. In 'Hamlet' we have the other meaning of the word, broken pottery

66

Shards, flints, and pebbles should be thrown on her." SLEAVE. Act II., Sc. 2.

66

Sleep, that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care."
Sleave is unwrought, untwisted silk, now known as floss silk.
In Troilus and Cressida' it occurs, in Act V., Sc. I. -
"Thou idle, immaterial skein of sleave silk."

WEIRD. Act I., Sc. 3.

"The weird sisters, hand in hand."

Weird is no doubt from the Anglo-Saxon, wyrd, fate, destiny, and probably from the same root as word; the word spoken is fate. In the original the word is spelt weyward and weyard

"As the weyard women promis'd."

In "weyward" the w is inserted probably to mark its pronunciation as two syllables.

PERSONS REPRESENTED.

CAIUS MARCIUS CORIOLANUS, a noble Roman.

Appears, Act I. sc. 1; sc. 4;
Act II. sc. 1; sc. 2; sc. 3.
Act IV. sc. 1; sc. 4; sc. 5.

sc. 5; sc. 6; sc. 8; sc. 9. Act III. sc. 1; sc. 2; sc. 3. Act V. sc. 2; sc. 3; sc. 5.

TITUS LARTIUS, a general, against the Volces.

Appears, Act I. sc. 1; sc. 4; sc. 5; sc. 7; sc. 9. Act II. sc. 1.
Act III. sc. 1.

COMINIUS, a general, against the Volces.

Appears, Act I. sc. 1; sc. 6; sc. 9.

Act II. sc. 1; sc. 2.

Act III. sc. 1; sc. 2; sc. 3. Act IV. sc. 1; sc. 6. Act V. sc. 1.

MENENIUS AGRIPPA, friend to Coriolanus.

Appears, Act I. sc. 1. Act II. sc. 1; sc. 2; sc. 3. Act III. sc. 1; sc. 2; sc. 3. Act IV. sc. 1; sc. 2; sc. 6. Act V. sc. 1; sc. 2; sc. 4.

SICINIUS VELUTUS, a tribune of the people.

Act IV. sc. 2; sc. 6.
JUNIUS BRUTUs, a tribune of the people.

Appears, Act I. sc. 1. Act II. sc. 1;

sc. 2; sc. 3. Act III. sc. 1; sc. 3. Act V. sc. 1; sc. 4.

Act III. sc. 1; sc. 3.

Appears, Act I. sc. 1. Act II. sc. 1; sc. 2; sc. 3.

Act IV. sc. 2; sc. 6. Act V. sc. 1.

Young MARCIUS, son to Coriolanus.

Appears, Act V. sc. 3.

A Roman Herald.

Appears, Act II. sc. 1.

TULLUS AUFIDIUS, general of the Volces.

Appears, Act I. sc. 2; sc. 8; sc. 10. Act IV. sc. 5; sc. 7.

Act V. sc. 2; sc. 3; sc. 5.

Lieutenant to Aufidius.

Appears, Act IV. sc. 7.

Conspirators with Aufidius.
Appear, Act V. sc. 5.
A Citizen of Antium.
Appears, Act IV. sc. 4.
Two Volcian Guards.
Appear, Act V. sc. 2.

VOLUMNIA, mother to Coriolanus.

Appears, Act I. sc. 3. Act II. sc. 1. Act III. sc. 2.
Act IV. sc. 1; sc. 2. Act V. sc. 3.

VIRGILIA, wife to Coriolanus.

Roman and Volcian Senators, Patricians, Ædiles, Lictors, Soldiers, Citizens, Messengers, Servants to Aufidius, and other Attendants.

SCENE, PARTLY IN ROME; AND PARTLY IN THE TERRITORIES OF THE VOLCIANS AND ANTIATES.

The Tragedy of Coriolanus' was first printed in the folio collection of 1623. With the exception of a few obvious typographical errors, such as invariably occur even under the eye of an author when a book is printed from manuscript, the text is wonderfully accurate.