New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1853-04-15
NEW PUBLICATIONS.

We are glad to see an American edition OF this very
curious work. 1t has already made small sensation
10 the English Shaksperan circles Ga goody portion OF
the pOpulaOn) will the excitement produced by its
appearance be less among the lovers of the great bard IN
this country. Every reader of Shakspere is aware OF
the plethora Of emendaons to the current text which
have been proposed by different critics Usually these
make "confusion worse COMPOUNDED" The admirable
beau,es Of tbe roet still remain in conjunction with
parinc absurdities and most lame and impoten
cu,ions" This volume comes in at the right place.
No preyious attempt TO eucdate the obScurities of
Shaksperes text compare with it in abundant and
satisfactory results
But let us explain little the history of this volume,
for the benefit of such of readers not already
familiar with its genesis from the accounts in foreign
journals 1t its present appearance IN print TO
Mr.. Payne Collier, distinguished Shaksperian anna
teur and commentator. Happening TO be in the shop
of his bookseller one fine morning about four years
AGO. bis attention was directed to package of books
that had Just arrived from the country. On looking at
the backs and title pages of several volumes he per-
ceved an ancient folio, much cropped, with and
greasy covers and imperfect at the beginning and end
1t proved to be copy of the second folio of Shaks
peres Plays, reprinted from previous impression in
volume but it was not until after the lapse of year,
that he found the treasures hid between it's On
examining it particularly, he discovered great
variety of cancellations in the handwriting of the time
when it came from the press evidently from the pen of
an annotator who had ample means of knowing what
he was about. Many passages in nearly all the plays
are struck out if for the purpose of shortening the
performance hundreds stage directions are inserted
in manuscript; showing that the volume in pos
session of person connected with one of the early
theaters and that the corrections were probably made
by some manager member of company, for theat-
rical purposes. The punctuation has been carefully
set right hroughOut literal and verbal errors, as well
as graver lapses have been corrected the whole
Der Of cancellations amounting to 2OOOO of which the
present volume includes thousand. Nothing that
was deemed essential in the original copy has been
omitted from the reprint, although the editor has not
thought it worth while reproduce all the emenda-
tons many of which of slight Importance and many
also are repettons.
The recurrence of such numerous errors in the text
Of Shakspere is easily explained. The first edition of
his PLAYS was not published until years after his
death which took place in 1916. The copy was made
for the printer, in the first instance by persons who
Instead of receiving the last touches of the author
was in fact the crude sketch of reporter 1t was diff
cult to obtain play for the press The originals were
sold to theatrical managers, who did their utmost to
prevent them from appearing in print, and when they
were brought out, it usually by surrepttOus means
Durng the life time of SHAKESPEARE nearly half of his
productions remained in manuscript, and not one can
he ponted out in the publication of which he was con-
IJa tn lostal m
after his retirement to Stratord, and doubt thought
thew were beyond his control Under these circum-
stances il is remarkable that the text is not disgred
bv a greater number of than even those with
which it now abOunds.
How far the cancellations of this edition are worthy of
credit, appears for the most part their face They
are sustained by internal evidence They make sense
ont of what was before unmeaning or uninteigible
We accept them at once, because they hit the
nail ON the head 1t is another question: from what sources
the annotator derived his information This is purely
matter of conjecture, and is left very much inthe dark
Wewil give few specimens of their character, which
we presume no student of Shakspere will hesitate in
accepting
TANNING OF THE sHREw
Let us take aninstance from The Tanning of the Srew
Act Scene l., whore Luceno, arriving in Paua to read
at thc University Trano his man. entreats his master NOT
10 apply himself too severel y to study:
Only, good master, while do admire
This virtue, and this moral discipline.
6 f devote be 1S S to & aa re eGeci pray
As Ovid be quite abiurd"
Such has been the nvarabe from the first nublca
ton of the comedy in 1923 until our day yet it is I'M
qucsonably wrong, and wrong in the most mportantword
in the quotation the old conecor shows and as the ron
der will be sure TO acknowledge the moment the eneuda
ton is proposed;
Or T' 80 devote 't to H1 aS5 ne ' R pray
AS Ovid be an outcat quite atjurd"
In the manuscript from which the old printer worked
Ethics was no doubt written with small letter and ,;tb
H. near the end of the work was then the cusor, ana
the careless composOr ms0ok cickc for chcckes and
printed il "checkes is converted into 6thickcs in the
hand writing Of the emcndator of the folio 1882 and II i
hardly much to say that this mprnt can never be re-
peated
CORIOLANUS
Another brief and laugabe proof be adduced from
Coroanus:" il is where MenGnius in Act II scene
talking of himself to the Trbunes :"I am known The
says in all editions ancient and modem) to be humorous
paician and that loves cup of hot wine with not
drop of aayng Tyber in it said to be something imperfect
in iavorng the first complaint" Nobody has offered note
explanatory of the first complaint" and it has always
passed current as the language of Shakspere l. il
Assurcdy not for what has cup of hot wine do with
the first complaint ~ The old c0rrcctor calls upop rs to
read cup OF hot wine with not a drop of ALA wing Tvlcr
in said 10 be something imperfect in favorng the thirst
complaint and the utterly lost humor of the passage is at
once restored The scribe misheard thirst. and wrote
first and the blunder has already lasted between two
and three centuries and might have lasted three cen
turtles longer but for the discovery Of this corrected folio
MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM.
In the Midsummer Nights Dream Act H., Scene l. the
Fairy after meeting Puck says, speaking of Tana
The cowsips tall her pensioners be;
In their gold spots you
Those be rubies, fairy avors,
In those feckles hive their
There seems several objections 10 this passage as il has
stood in all editions FIRST cowsps tall" and
next the crimson spots not in their coats or on the
petals but at the bottom Of the cax as Shakspere has
himself told US in "Cymbeine," Act H., Scene H.
Lake the crimson drops
L tn botsm Of cOwslp"
The alteration authorized manuscript in the folio 1852
j. therefore, follows
The cowslips all her pensioners be;