Page:The Library, volume 5, series 3.djvu/204

i 9 2 PROBLEMS OF THE ENGLISH in an earlier position than in the other texts. 1 The rimes prove that P's arrangement is right, while the sense not being affe6led it is unlikely that this should have been due to emendation. That being so the cyclic group must have a common ancestor in which the error occurred and which is not an ancestor of P. This is further supported by the misplace- ment of a stage direction near the end of the play which occurs in the younger manuscripts, but not in P. 2 Again, there is a minor but yet important transposition in which P and H agree against the rest. 3 The passage is unfortunately corrupt in all manuscripts, but it seems pretty clear that the group B D W K have attempted an emendation from which P and H are free. This points to a common ancestor for the group apart from H and P, and this we will call |3. Its existence is sup- ported by a passage in which P and H give to ' Quartus Rex ' a speech assigned by the other manuscripts to ' Seueralis Rex/ whatever that may mean. 4 Another speech is given by P, H, and also by B, to ' Tertius Rex/ which D W K assign to 'Primus Rex.' 5 This is important as indicating a common ancestor of D W K, say 8, apart from P H B, but unfortunately there is no obvious con- firmation of this arrangement. A clear case of 1 Lines 637-40. My references are to a parallel text of P and D which I made for my own use. The numbering does not exactly agree with that of Deimling, who was in the habit of counting in non-existent lines. It does agree, however, with Manly 's text. 2 Line 702. 3 Lines 193-4. 4 Line 197. 5 Line 301.