The Press.
London, England, 1856-07-26 00:00:00

Dramatic Songs for Soprano, Contralto, Tenor, and Bass
Voices. Edward V. Fitzwilliam. D'Almaine and Co.

TEXT OF SHAKESPEARE.
TO THE EDITOR OF " THE PRESS."

Sir,—ln the carefully revised text of the dramatic
works of William Shakespeare Mr. Singer seems to
be in error in supposing that the word "comma,"
in the fifth act of Hamlet', has remained to the
present day unnoticed or without an endeavour to-
wards its correction, and he appears to take consider-
able credit to himself by suggesting the true meaning,
" comere," boundary or landmark.
I merely wish to romark that the word did not
escape the intelligent glance of Theobald, and in the
place of "comma" he substituted corn-mere,
" guarantee," or " common mother," and in Warbur-
ton's words:—" Nothing can be more picturesque
"than this image of Peace standing drest in her
" wheaten garland between the two princes, and ex-
" tending a hand to each; in this equipage and
" office we frequently see her on Roman coins, and
" the poets likewise image to us Peace holding an
" ear of corn as an emblem of plenty," &c.
This reading is, at least, elegant and acute ; and
Mr. Singer, in substituting his own ideas of the text,
might, I think, have offered the public generally
some little reasoning for the preference.—Your obe-
dient servant,

H. B.

TO THE EDITOR OF " THE rREss."

Sir,—ln reference to the passage " take his
haste," in Tinton of Athens, about which there has
been so much dispute, I cannot help thinking that it
is best to take a common-sense view of the phrase,
and let it remain as it was originally printed, and
probably as Shakespeare wrote it. " Take his time,"
" Take his leisure," are now common forms of ex
pression ; and why should not " Take his haste "
have been equally in vogue in Shakespeare's day to
express " make haste "? At all events Mr. Collier's
" halter " cannot for a moment be admitted. It
spoils the climax of the sentence—" hang himself."—
Yours, obediently, J. N.

TO THE EDITOR OF "THE PRESS."

Sir,—One of the changes in the text of Shake-
speare, proposed by Mr. Collier's MS. corrector, has
been received with much applause by the critics ; it
may therefore be considered bold on my part to
dissent from an almost universal verdict; still
trust to show some reason for thinking that an im-
• .provement may he made. As the text is usually
printed, Tranio, in The Taming of the Shrew, is
made to say to Lucentio :
Good master, while we do admire
This virtue, and this moral discipline,
Let's be no stoicks, nor no stocks, I pray;
Or so devote to Aristotle's checks,
As Ovid be an outcast quite abjured,—Act i. sc. 1.
Mr. Collier asks, " What are Aristotle's checks?" and
be replies, "Undoubtedly a misprint for Aristotle's
ethics, formerly spelt ethicks, and hence the absurd
blunder." But is the word so absurd? Does it not
stand here for "restraints," Tranio thus contrasting
the "moral discipline" of the severe philosopher
with the lighter tasks of the amatory poet? Be-
sides, " ethics " as proposed by the MS. corrector,
will make the line too long by a syllable. But if
there is a misprint, I incline to believe that the
true word will be found by a reference to the very
play on which, it is well known, Shakespeare founded
his own drama. In The Taming of a Shrew, the
first words, after the Induction, are these, addressed
by Polidor to Aurehno
Welcome to Athens, my beloved friend,
To Plato's school, aul Aristotle's walks.

The word walks, therefore, in Shakespeare's play,
would exactly fit the metre and sense, as applied to
the Peripatetic philosopher ; and whilst "ethics,"
however appropriate in sense, though not in sound,
•an only be looked upon as a happy guess, the word

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