Star.
London, England, 1825-01-15 00:00:00

SIIMESPEARE.

A literary treasure, which is likely to excite strong
interest in the minds of all well-read lovers of the an•
cient English drama, and will awaken the hopes and
fears of every ambitious and jealous collector of scarce
books, has, within the last few days, been brought to
light, and is :now in the bands of Messrs. Payne and
Foss, of Pall-mall. This exhumated curiosity is a book
in small quarto, said to have been once possessed by
Sir Thomas Hanmer, but not alluded to by him, con-
taining the scarce editions of eleven of Shakspeare's
Plays, amongst which is Hamlet. The-perusal of the
whole of these must highly gratify a qualified reader,
but a cards' collation of the latter Tragedy will bestow
a greater reward on the diligence of the critical exami-
ner than any, or all, of the others can give: it is, in
fact, the principal feature in the volume.- The follow-
ing is the title under which it appears:-44 The Tragi-
cal Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke, by William
Shake-speare. As it has been diuerse•times acted by
his Highnesse Seruants in the Cittie of London : as also
in the Vniuersities of Cambridge and Oxford, and else-
where. • At London, printed for N. L. and John Trun-
dell, 1603." Of this edition not the slightest- mention
has ever been made: it is therefore fair to conclude,
that to the ♦arious able and laborious Commentators
of Shakspeare, it was utterly unknown, the earliest
which has-ever obtained notice being that of 1604, of
which Mr. Malone gives the title, though it is quite
clear that he had no other knowledge of it. Many
striking peculiarities in this edition of Hamlet tend
strongly to confirm the opinion that no small portion of
the ribaldry to be found in the Plays of our great dra-
matic Poet, is to be assigned to the actors of his time,
who flattered the vulgar taste, and administered to the
vicious propensities of their age, by the introduction and
constant repetition of many indecent, and not a -few
stupid jokes, till they came to be considered, and then
printed, as part of the genuine text. Of these the two
or three brief, but offens►ve speeches of Hamlet to Ophe-
lia, in the Play Scene, Act 111. are not to be found in
the copy of 1603, and so far are we borne out in our
opinion ; for it is not to be supposed that Shakspeare
would insert them, upon cool reflection, and three years
after the success of his piece had been determined ; still
less likely is it that a piratical printer would reject any
thing actually belonging to the Play, which was pleasing
to the great bulk of those who were to become pur-
-chasers of bis publication. The drama, as it appears
in this print of 1603, is much shorter than in any sub-
sequent edition, partly owing, perhaps, to the negli-
gence of the copyist, but more probably because the
author himself elaborated and augmented it after it had
been for some time on the stage. The fact of Hamlet
having been performed so early at Cambridge and Ox-
ford, is not the least remarkable thing in this edition of
the tragedy. •

THE MURDER AT WHADDON.CHASE.

-.~-

Daniel Mangan whose mysterious disappearance has
occasioned so much anxiety, was in the service of the
Burnetts, but not as a footman. He was knowsi about
the premises by the familiar name of "Long Dan," he
being of a good height. He was a species of postman,
or out-door clerk, carrying letters, collecting bills, &c.
and he was at once a trusty and careful person, punctu-
ally discharging, as far as is yet discovered, his duties
to his masters, and rigidly taking care of his own mo-
ney. lie was khown to be a saving man, and was con-
sidered to have money by him ; but his box, which has
lately beers-opened, was found to contain only 41. Its.
and there is no ti ace of any other property *Lodging
to him. Long Dan suddenly disappeared—lArtidings
of him could be learned—none knew howitir when he
went away. The anxiety of Messrs. 4drnett became,
naturally enough, 'very great ; and as Dan bad thus
withdrawn himself, the first impression or fear was, that
he had embezzled some of the masters money, and had
absconded. The accounts were accordingly examined,
hut no errors were discovered, and then they became
alai med for his safety, apprehending that some- acci-
dent had befallen him. Knowing that Daniel Mangan
had occasionally been in the company of the " a_ worn
brothers," Lynn and Hogg ; they were desired to go in
pursuit of him, as being most likely to know where
Mangan was to be found, if by any accident he had got
inveigled into any of their haunts.- 'They set out on
such pursuit, lint they never returned to Me yard!
As to the fate of Mangan; Lynn and Hogg are sup-
posed to have made away with him, for his money; to
have decamped when inquiries began to be urged
abont Dan, ' and when they were sent in pursuit of
him ; and to have quarrelled about the booty, after
their excessive drinking at the Robin Hood, on the
borders of Whaddon Chase. Lynn is of an excessively
jealonc, as well as a violent disposition.
The whole affair, and particularly the unaccountable
absence of Mangan, have made Sir R.Burnett's premises
so many places of mourning; the men, clerks, &c. as
All knew the parties so well, are greatly affected. '

M. BEFFROY de BEAUVOIR, Ex-Member of the Na-
-0061 Convention, died a few days ago, in ti,. 17th year of bin age.