pleases, and the more the better, only let it be drawn up as a reserve in the background, and kept for defensive rather than for offensive operations. This is all that Beatrice can seriously mean when she says, "maiden pride adieu."
Act IV. Scene 1.—In the following passage we back Shakespeare's word against the MS. corrector's, not only in point of authenticity, but in point of taste. Leonato, greatly exasperated with his daughter, says to her—
"For did I think thou wouldst not quickly die,
Thought I thy spirits were stronger than thy shames,
Myself would, on the rearward of reproaches,
Strike at thy life."
This is the reading of the folio 1632. The folio 1623 reads "reward," but that is obviously a misprint for "rearward." The MS. corrector proposes hazard. As if the infuriated father would have cared one straw what the world might think or say of him for slaying his daughter. In his passion he was far beyond minding such a trifle as public opinion, and would never have paused to give utterance to the sentiment which the corrector puts into his mouth. What he says is this—that after heaping reproaches on his daughter to the uttermost, he would follow them up by slaying her with his own hand. This is admirably expressed by the words, "rearward of reproaches." In this same scene the fine old word "frame," in the sense of fabrication, is twice most wantonly displaced, to make way, in the one instance, for "frown," and in the other for "fraud."
Act V. Scene 1.—Let any reader who has an ear read the opening speech of Leonato, and he will perceive at once how grievously its effect is damaged by the insertion of the words "to me" in this line.
"And bid him speak (to me) of patience."
In the same speech the following lines are a problem. Leonato, rebuffing his comforters, says, "Bring to me a person as miserable as myself, and
"If such a one will smile, and stroke his beard,
And, sorrow wag! cry, Hem, when he should groan,
Patch grief with proverbs, make misfortune drunk
With candlewasters, bring him yet to me,
And I of him will gather patience."
"And sorrow wag! cry," is the main difficulty. Johnson explains it thus: "If such a one will smile, and stroke his beard, and cry, Sorrow, begone!" This, in our opinion, is quite satisfactory; but what is the philology of the word "wag?" We believe it to be the German word "weg"—away—off with you. The MS. corrector cuts the knot which he cannot untie, by reading "call sorrow joy." This is a gloss, not a reparation of the text.
Act V. Scene 4.—We may be assured that a far finer sense is contained under Hero's expression, when she says, according to the common reading,
"One Hero died defiled, but I do live,"
than under the pseudo-emendation,
"One Hero died belied, but I do live."
Love's Labour Lost.— Act I. Scene 1.—We agree with Mr Dyce[1] in thinking that a quibble is intended in Biron's speech, when he says that he and his friends will "climb in the merriness," according as the absurd style of Armado's letter shall give them cause. At any rate, nothing can be poorer than the MS. correction of this place, "chime in the merriness." We think, however, that the corrector is right in giving the words, "Sirrah, come on," to Dull the constable, and not to Biron, to whom they are usually assigned. We also consider the change of manager into armiger rather a happy alteration; at any rate, we can say this of it, that had armiger been the received reading, we should not have been disposed to accept manager in its place. This is a compliment which we can pay to very few of the MS. corrections. Had they formed the original text, and had the original text formed the marginalia, we should have had little hesitation as to which we would, in most cases, adopt. On the ground of their internal evidence—that is, of their superior excellence—the marginalia would certainly have obtained
- ↑ A Few Notes, &c., p. 50.
