ACT IV., SCENE 3.

P. 112. A fever with the absence of her son;

Madness, of which her life's in danger. — The original has “A madnesse." Walker says, "Wrong surely; the latter A originating in the former." Pope reads as in the text.

P. 112.

But for thee, thee, fellow,

Who needs must know of her departure, &c.—So Capell and Walker. The original reads "But for thee, Fellow," &c.

P. 112. There wants no diligence in seeking him,

And he'll, no doubt, be found. —So Capell. The original has "And will no doubt be found."

P. 113. I've had no letter from my master since

I wrote him Imogen was slain. —So Hanmer. The original reads "I heard no Letter," &c.; which is neither English nor sense.

ACT IV., SCENE 4.

P. 114. What pleasure, sir, find we in life, &c. folio. The first has "we finde in life.”

P. 115.

It is not likely

That when they hear the Roman horses neigh,

Behold their quarter'd fires, &c.-The original has "heare their Roman horses neigh." Probably an accidental repetition from the line below. Corrected by Rowe.

ACT V., SCENE 1.

P. 116. Yea, bloody cloth, I'll keep thee; for I wish'd

Thou shouldst be colour'd thus.-The original reads "for I am

wisht." Corrected by Pope.

P. 117.

You some permit

To second ills with ills, each elder worse,

And make them dreaded to the doer's thrift. The original has dread it instead of dreaded, which is Theobald's correction.

Singer substitutes shrift for thrift; and from the way he speaks of the old reading one would think the idea had never occurred to him, of men's thriving in this world by wrong, and achieving the larger success for being reckless how they succeed. As here given, the passage, though highly condensed, yields a just and fitting sense, and one which is not seldom exemplified among men. See foot-note 5.

ACT V., SCENE 3.

P. 120. "Or we are Romans, and will give you that

Like beasts which you shun beastly, and may 'scape

But to look back in frown."-The original has save instead of 'scape. As the meaning evidently is, "we will give you the death which you shun in a beastly manner, and which you may —," &c. ; surely there can be no doubt that we should read 'scape. "To save one's life" is good sense; but who ever heard such a phrase as "to save one's death"?

P. 121.

Forthwith they fly

Chickens, the way which they stoop'd eagles; slaves,

The strides they victors made. The original reads "they stopt Eagles," and "The strides the Victors made." The first was corrected by Rowe, the other by Theobald.

P. 123. A lag of Rome shall not return to tell, &c. -The original has "A legge of Rome." The correction is Mr. P. A. Daniel's; who aptly quotes from Timon of Athens, iii. 6, "the common legge of people," and adds as follows: "In this instance Rowe - followed, I believe, by all the editors changes the word legge to lag." In that passage, however, I read tag, from Collier's second folio; but that is nothing against lag here. Of course lag is the same as lag-end, — a phrase used several times by Shakespeare.

ACT v., SCENE 4.

Ay, or stomach.—The origi

P. 123. So graze as you find pasture.

2 Jail.

nal has “or a stomacke." Another instance of a vilely interpolated. See page 164; note on "Stoop, boys: " &c.

P. 125.

And so, great powers,

If you will make this audit, take my life,

And cancel these cold bonds.—The original reads "If you will take this audit, take this life." The corrections are Mr. P. A. Daniel's. Walker notes the first take as suspicious; and it is remarkable that in the original we have no less than six takes in the compass of twelve lines. It is worth something to get rid of one of them; and in this place make does just as well for the sense.

P. 125. "Solemn Music. Enter, as an Apparition," &c. - This stage-direction, together with all the following matter down to the reentrance of the first Jailer, is such a piece of dull impertinence as, most assuredly, Shakespeare could never have written. In style, cast of language, and versification, it is utterly unlike the rest of the play, or indeed any thing else that came from his hand. Still I am inclined to think that it was supplied by some other hand at the time, and that the Poet himself worked it in with his own noble matter. For the "label" is perhaps the absurdest and most un-Shakespearian part of the whole; yet the contents of it are, by the still more absurd interpretation of them at the close, so wrought into the dialogue as to make the "label" itself an inseparable item of the drama. As to the dialogue that follows, between Posthumus and the Jailer, I am not so clear; though that too might be spared without any detriment to the action. See the preface, page 6.

So Dyce. The

P. 127. For this, from stiller seats we come. original has came; an error which the context readily corrects.

P. 127. Thy crystal window ope; look out. So the second folio. The first has "looke, looke out."

P. 130. Of this contradiction you shall now be quit. O, the charity of a penny cord! - The original reads " Oh, of this contradiction you shall now be quit; Oh, the charity," &c. We have many instances of such repetition by a sort of anticipation; that is, a later word catching the transcriber's or compositor's eye, and so creeping in out of place.

P. 131. You must either be directed by some that take upon them to know, or take upon yourself that which, &c.—The original reads "or to take upon your selfe." Evidently an accidental repetition of to.

ACT V., SCENE 5.

P. 134. By watching, weeping, tendance, kissing, to

O'ercome you with her show; and so in time,

When she had fit you with her craft, to work, &c. -The original lacks so in the second line, and has fitted in the third. In the former case, the second folio ekes out the verse awkwardly thus, "yes, and in time." The present reading was proposed by Jervis. The other correction is Walker's. See page 79, note 20.

P. 134. Mine ears, that heard her flattery; &c. -The original has heare instead of heard. Corrected in the second folio.

P. 135. Boy, thou hast look'd thyself into my grace,
And art mine own. I know not why nor wherefore
To say, &c. -The original omits nor in the second line.

Inserted by Rowe.

P. 136. Bel. Is not this boy revived from death?

Arv.

One sand another

Not more resembles that sweet rosy lad
Who died, and was Fidele. What think you?

Gui. The same dead thing alive. In the original, the second of these speeches reads “One sand another Not more resembles that sweet rosy lad," &c. This has vastly puzzled some of the editors. But, as Johnson saw, the passage is elliptical, and the sense is evidently completed at resembles. Then the meaning comes, "he is that sweet rosy lad." I cannot conceive what Dyce and the Cambridge Editors mean by printing "Not more resembles that sweet," &c.; which is neither English nor sense; nor can any violence of interpretation make it so. We have a parallel case in King Lear. See note on "You have seen sunshine and rain at once," &c., vol. xv. page 173.

P. 137. But we saw him dead.—The original has see instead of saw. Corrected by Rowe.

P. 137. Twould torture me to leave unspoken that

Which, to be spoke, would torture thee.-The original has "Thou'll torture me to leave," &c. But the use of would in the next

line declares strongly for the same word here. And Dyce's explanation of the old reading is, I think, enough to condemn it: "Instead of torturing me to speak, thou wouldst (if thou wert wise, or aware) torture me to prevent my speaking," &c. Iachimo's next speech shows his meaning here to be, that it torments him not to speak the truth in question.

P. 137. I'm glad to be constrain'd to utter that

--

Torments me to conceal. The original reads "utter that Which torments me," thus spoiling the metre of the next line. Perhaps we ought to make the latter an Alexandrine, "utter that Which it torments me," &c. But the old poets, Shakespeare especially, often use that as equivalent to the compound relative what. So that which, in this case, is probably an interpolation.

P. 140.

This her bracelet, —

O cunning, how I got it! nay, some marks, &c.—The original omits it. Corrected in the second folio.

P. 140.

Ah me, most credulous fool,

Egregious murderer, thief, any thing
That's due to all the villains past, in being,

To come! O, give me cord, or knife, or poison,

Some upright justicer ! — Thou, King, &c. — Here Staunton proposes a reading which may be worth considering:

Give me most credulous fool,

Egregious murderer, thief— any thing

That's due to all the villains past, in being, or

To come, O, give me cord, or knife, or poison,
Some upright justicer!

P. 141.

O, gentlemen, help, help!

Mine and your mistress ! · - So Capell. The second help is not

in the original. Both sense and metre call for it.

P. 144.

I'm sorry for thee:

By thine own tongue thou art condemn'd, &c. So the second folio. The first has sorrow instead of sorry.