9 th S. IX. FEB. 1, 190'2. ]
NOTES AND QUERIES.
99
question, therefore, is, Do hares exhibit any corresponding as closely as. it well can to As You
pxopntional symptoms of wildness at their Like It.' Before the play is begun .Dr. Furness has
V A A if * Q if nf Qiioh fl to deal with the reference in Manmngham's 'Diary'
rutting time? And, if so, is it of such i, K the formance of fche piece | t the Middle
remarkable character as to be likely to have Temple on 2 February, 1601, the conjectures con-
cerning the date of production on the strength of in- inaccurate. On this subject Dr. Furness makes merry, and in this the reader will probably follow him. We have only glanced over, not studied, the diary in question, but are curious to know whether the date should not be 1601/2, which would, of course, make it 1602, according to modern com- putation. Another question to be carefully settled is whether the original MS., which Collier was the
given rise to the proverb 1
J. HOLDEN MACMlCHAEL.
NOTES ON BOOKS, &c.
Twelfth Night; or, What You Will. Edited by Horace Howard Furness. (Philadelphia, Lippin-
cottCo.)
ONE more volume the thirteenth has been added
first to use, has undergone any of the customary
Vi processes of that prince of falsifiers. With a view
by Dr. Horace Howard Furness to that Variorum to settling this it should be closely inspected with
edition of Shakespeare which is the crowning the aid of a powerful lens. In this diary the Italian
achievement, as regards Shakespearian literature, origin of the story is first indicated. A full history
of American scholarship, and puts to the blush all o f this constitutes an attractive portion of the
rival English effort. The thirteen volumes already W0 rk. The well-known difficulties of the play, the
issued include twelve plays, * Hamlet,' as our " Lady of the Strachy," the " Equinoctial of
readers presumably know, with the immense Queubus," and other delightful puzzles, which we,
amount of criticism and exegesis to which it has as W ell as Dr. Furness, are glad to leave as
given rise, occupying two volumes. Of the works mysteries, are treated at length. A full account of
now published, seven are comedies and five tra- the music sung by the topers or by the clown is
gedies. With the historical plays Dr. Furness, it given, and the book is in all respects equal to the
is understood, does not propose to concern him- best of its predecessors. Dr. Furness is, indeed,
self, leaving that portion of his task to other and the best of editors, and has learnt better than any
younger hands. other the all-important lesson that he edits best
It is with delight that we watch on the shelves w hn meddles least. The reasonableness and sanity
the augmenting row of volumes, and express a hope O f Tiis comments are in striking contrast with the
that the full series contemplated_by the editor will | rage for misunderstanding and meddling with which
appear under his supervision. Enough for fame,
and enough also to constitute a proud lifetime's
accomplishment, will be such productiveness.
In its present shape 'Twelfth Night' makes direct and strong appeal to the public. Facts of extreme value conspire to make the initial matter of keen interest. So far as regards the text, which is wholly based upon the First Folio, and of which no copy published in Shakespeare's lifetime exists, little difficulty is experienced. The principal errors are held to be typographical ; and though there are
most men who approach Shakespeare seem afflicted.
We sincerely hope that the whole of the comedies
will be issued under his conscientious and intelli-
gent supervision. Once more we note with pro-
found sympathy the pious dedication, which, to
those who know all, conveys so much which has
passed into the region of sanctities.
What Great Men have said of Great Men : a Dictionary of Quotations. By William Wale. (Sonnenschein & Co.)
some diverting cruces that seem now all but in- THTS volume is the latest addition to the useful
capable of explanation, the text, by comparison "Dictionaries of Quotations" series, but scarcely
with those of other works, is of exemplary purity,
From the outset, however, what commentators
persist in regarding as obscure faces the student,
Whence comes the name, it is asked, and what is
rises to the high level of its predecessors. Fami-
liarity with its contents is likely to make a man
glib rather than well informed. The second name
in the book, the arrangement of which is alpha-
, , , -
the significance of the second portion of the title ? betical, is Addison, the first being Abelard. Of
So well known are the revels attendant on Twelfth
Night salutations, and so well remembered are the
Saturnalia, that it requires more than the average
denseness of the, commentator to boggle over the
words " what you will," while the orgies of the
two knights, Feste, and Maria, and the sour-
the twenty - three passages given concerning the
English writer many are quite superfluous.
Tickell is not "a great man," and so does not
come within the scope of the book. No one is
the better for reading his assertion that *' every
Muse was fond of Addison." Lytton's eulogy is
faced disapproval of Malvolio, who, according to extravagant and James Ferguson's fantastic. By the assertion of Maria, is sometimes "a kinde of
a Puritane," are enough to satisfy us from what , ,
observations of current proceedings Shakespeare Harte, Elijah Fenton, William Hayley, and others- drew his notions. It is, of course, true that Sir I with no claim to greatness, and who are, indeed, Thomas Herbert, the Master of the Revels, in a already forgotten, the congested volume might be
copy of the Second Folio presented to him by
King Charles I. altered the title to * Malvolio,'
this being one of five plays he treated after a
similar fashion. To the man who gave us 'As You
Like It,' ' Much Ado about Nothing,' * The
greatly relieved. If with them went some modern
writers, altogether incapable of giving critical
have a how- ever, no wise disposed to censure the manner in
writers, altogether incapable of giving cr
opinions of the slightest value, none would h
right or a disposition to complain. We are,
Winter's Tale,' and 'A Midsummer Night's Dream,' I which Mr. Wales task has been accomplished.
what title so likely to commend itself as * Twelfth I His volume is not complete ; it is undesirable, and
Night; or, What You Will'? the "what you will" I almost impossible, that it should be so. It shows,
