162
NOTES AND QUERIES. [io* s. i. FEB. 27, im
G3, 135, et passim.) On the supposition- a sup-
position which I think may be taken as estab-
lished, in spite of an able attempt to combat
it (8 th S. ii. 203) that the word, as it appears
in the First Folio version of the play, is the
printer's incorrect rendering of some illegible
original, various words have been suggested
from time to time as that possible original,
each supported by much force and ingenuity
of argument by its particular suggester.
Of these those which have obtained the
greatest measure of support are (see
references given above) princely " the
one adopted in the Second Folio, and, J
believe, in most, if not all, copies of the text
since that time " priestly," " precise,"
"primzie," and "saintly." As no one of
these has succeeded in obtaining general
acceptance, it may seem presumptuous at
this time of day to propose another ; but, at
the risk of adding to the list of failures, I
will venture to do so. The word I would
suggest is "seemly," or, as it would at the
date of the play probably be written,
"seemelie," and, substituting this word for
"prenzie" in the text of the First Folio
instead of "princely," I would have the
passage where that word occurs run thus :
Claud. The seeming Angelo?
Isab. 0, 'tis the cunning livery of hell,
The damned'st body to invest and cover
In seemly guards !
and leave the propriety of the alteration to the judgment of your readers. It seems to me (though that is nothing) that the passage thus read conveys the exact meaning of the dramatist. The introduction of the word "precise" had also this merit, according to the almost common consent of your quondam correspondents (see references above) ; but it was open to the fatal objection of vitiating the metre. The word I have chosen avoids this, whilst being, in ray opinion, equally appropriate to the sense, if not more so ; and, if it be objected to it that it presents little similarity in form to the imitative printer's word "prenzie," I would urge that this is only so at the first glance, for. written as it would be in the characters of the period, with the elongated initial s (easily mistaken for a ?>), it would be found, I think, to come nearer to it in appearance than any other of the words suggested. JOHN HUTCHINSON.
Middle Temple Library.
"MlCHING MALLICHO" (9 th S. xi. 504).
Mr. Richard W. Hill, Stocklinch, Ilminster, has put before me a conjecture which occurred to him upon reading ' Westward Ho,' chap, xviii., in which Kingsley, apparently making a transcript from Hakluyt, writes :
"We caught a sea-cow full seven feet
long the Indians call her manati ; who
carries her young under her arm and gives it suck like a woman," &c. Mr. Hill is inclined to regard "manati" as another form of "manito," the name of the Indian spirit, which was conferred upon the sea- rnonster in question by reason of its evil
corruption
doubtful expression thus becoming "milching manati," i.e., performing a very ticklish operation. V. ST. GLAIR MACKENZIE.
Branscombe, Dorking.
4 THE WINTER'S TALE,' III. ii. 80-5. My life stands in the level of your dreams, Which I '11 lay down.
Rolfe : " My life is at the mercy of your suspicions, which are like the ' baseless- fabric ' of a dream."
Furness: " Whencesoever the metaphor, I think that ' in ' is here equivalent simply to on. ' You speak,' says Hermione, ' a lan- guage I understand not ; my life, the actions you impute to me, and your dreams are on a level.' That this is the meaning is con- firmed, I think, by the intense scorn with which Leontes repeats almost her very words: 'Your actions are my dreams! I dream'd you had a bastard ! ' "
I cannot think that Furness is happy in this conjecture. Hermione's (mode of) life,, the actions Leontes imputes to her, and his dreams can hardly be spoken of as standing on the same level, for, under this explanation, they are one and the same thing ; her sup- posed actions have no existence except in his dreams, of which they form the substance.. If there could be any doubt that " My life stands in the level of your dreams " means " My life is at the mercy of your suspicions," I should think it would be dispelled by the next clause, " Which I '11 lay down," confirm- ing, as it does, the thought of something endangering her life. Without such ante- cedent thought the statement would be un- called for; but in this connexion it naturally follows "which I'll (therefore) lay down." This clause also shows that "life," as here used, means not mode, manner, or course of living, but existence as a living being. As for Leontes's reply, he naturally fires up at the word "dreams," and emphatically asserts that his opinion is not a baseless fabric, but is founded on fact on the queen's actions. E. MERTON DEY.
'THE WINTER'S TALE,' III. ii. 87-92. Hud- son says of the phrase "like to itself," "I
