302
NOTES AND QUERIES, [ii s. ix. APRIL is, 191*.
proof edition which were omitted by the
author when ' A Child's Garden ' was given
to the world in 1885, whilst variations from
the received text occur in a large number of
pieces. The history of the book, with copies
of the poems showing all the variations, has
been most carefully compiled by Mr. Rosen-
bach, and these twenty pages form a most
valuable chapter in the bibliography of
Stevenson.
The second feature, which is unique, com- prises the " Brasheana " series of sonnets, which were written in burlesque fashion, " in memory of Peter Brash, a publican of Edin- burgh, whose tavern was a favourite resort in the old University days." Of these sonnets only the first two were put into type, and the collection possesses the proof-sheets of these, printed in eighteenth -century style " in imitation of the 4to subscription edition of Gay's Poems, " the remaining three being in manuscript. The whole series is printed in the catalogue, M 7 hich in this respect, as in several others, ranks as an editio princeps of Stevenson.
The third, and most important, feature of the collection is the large number of manu- scripts which it contains. These include a very characteristic letter from R. L. S. to his cousin " Bob," written at the age of 18 ; the manuscript of ' Catriona ' ; the correspondence relating to the publication of ' Markheim,' which was declined by the business manager of The Pall Mall Gazette, and eventually found a place in Unwinds Annual, 1886; the Pacific and Vailhna letters, 12 of the former, and 225 of the latter, which were acquired by Mr. P. A. B. Widener from Sir Sidney Colvin after his grandson's death ; and the ' Memoirs of Himself, Book I.,' which was given originally by the writer to his stepdaughter, Isobel Stewart Strong. Of this touching record of -Stevenson's child- hood, forty-five copies were privately printed by Mr. Widener for distribution among his friends, and the copy sent to me, together with a letter written only a few days before he started on his fatal voyage, is among my most valued treasures.
This collection, together with the re- mainder of Mr. Widener's books, will find a fitting resting-place in the Widener Memorial Library, which Mrs. G. D. Widener has presented to Harvard University in memory of her son. Exegit monumentum cere peren- nius. In the sympathetic memoir which Mr. Rosenbach has prefixed to the catalogue of the collection will be found a story, truly described by him as the most pathetic, the most glorious in the history of book-collect-
ing, with which I may fittingly conclude this
short notice :
" He had purchased from Mr. Quaritch the rare- second edition of Bacon's ' Essays ' (1598), of which only a few copies are extant. He said he would take it with him, as he did not want to- trust it with the other volumes that he had bought. He would keep it in his dispatch-box, with which he always travelled. Just before the Titanic sank, he said to his mother : ' Mother, I have placed the volume in my pocket ; little Bacon goes with me ! ' This is surely the finest anecdote in the whole history of books."
Hyeres.
W. F. PKIDEAUX.
WEBSTER AND THE ' N.E.D.'
THAT such a vast undertaking as the ' New- English Dictionary ' should not be abso- lutely flawless is not to be wondered at ; but some of Sir James Murray's collaborators in discharging their part in this noble work have made some omissions which are really astonishing. In the case of the dramatic works of John Webster, it is the fact that no fewer than one hundred important words have been overlooked, of which no instances are to be found in any dictionary ; and, besides this, numerous words used by Web- ster before 1625 are illustrated only by quo- tations from later works.
Having compiled a lexicon of John? Webster's vocabulary, I here give a com- plete list of the words not indexed in the 'New English Dictionary.' Among them a great many will be found highly interest- ing, not only from a philological point of view, but as they emphasize John Webster's originality.
In giving the authorities for the quota- tions I have used the following abbreviations t ' App.,' ' Appius and Virginia.' ' Cuck.,' ' Care for a Cuckold.' ' D.L.C.,' ' Devil's Law Case.'
- D.M.,' ' Duchess of Main.'
' M. Col.,' 'Monumental Column.' ' Mon. Hon.,' ' Monuments of Honour.' ' W.D.,' ' White Devil.'
abridge, active verb = to make up for. "What are your additions ? . . . .only. . . .to enter- tain a little more time, and to abridge the not received custom of music in our theatre." ' Induction to Malcontent,' 105.
accept at, intransitive verb. " The Senate should have accepted at your. .. .refusal." 'App.,' I. i. 41.
accessary to, ad jective= partaking (without any- invidious meaning). " Any action that is but accessary to the making men happy." ' D.L.C.,' II. i. 120.
accrue, active verb =to be liable to, to incur- " What penalty and danger you accrue." ' App.,' III. ii. 208.
