Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1859-10-05

SOksAhI 1hsWakELdNGs
In the last number of the Atlantic is a re-
view. Of considerable length, Of the evidence in
the alleged case of the forgery of Mr.. Golfers
folio edition of Shakespeare The question has
been,,a is now being discussed with great.
warmth and vast display of learning, and va.
riouseopinions still exist as TO the genuineness
or spuriousness Of the celebrated folio Our
readers are mostly acquainted with the facts
out Of which the case has grown, but for the
benefit of such as may not be, we briefly re-
capitulate them. Mr.. Golfers account is that
he first came in possession Of the folio in the
spring of 1e49, having then bought it from a
famous, antiquarian bookseller Of London. 1t
was Of an edition of 1852. and was therefore
very highly priced by so ardent Shakespefean
scholar as Mr.. Collier. 1t was, however, suffer
ed TO lie in his shelves almost unnoticed, for
year.. when his attention being accidentally di-
rected to it one day, he discovered that in th'
margin of almost every page, there were emen>
dations in the pointing and text, sin the hand
ROritiRg Of tie time, as it clearly seemed to him.
Careful scrutiny only the more convinced him
of the genuineness of the manuscript emenda-
tions and of their antiquity. Accordingly, in
1853, he published volume, entitled: "Notes
and Emendatiors to the Text of Shakespeares
Plays, from early Manuscript corrections in a
copy of the Folio of 1882 ("
The notoriety thus given to it attracted the
scrutiny Of the English literati, and after care
ful investigation, the alleged ''early manuscript
corrections" have been pronounced gross for.
ReEies hv SSnme of the hiQhcst authority in
england. Whether Mr.
pOssesor ioo vas Inc o SGS e R6Ef
pretended to DO said though it is strenuously
claimed that the MS. corrections are of recent
manufacture. The Atlantic reviewer ESSAYS to
vindicate the claims of their genuinencss, but,
in candor, we are compelled to say that the
vindcation is not a satisfactory one
The grounds on which the forgery is charged,
are: that many of the corrections originally
made have been obllterated by penknife or by
chemical agency; that of those allowed to stand,
many have been altered and retouched into
ancient style, and in some cases new letters
evidently appear to be inserted or erased thas
on the margin are number of pencil marks,
by which the pretended early revisor made his
corrections, and that this pencil writing hasn't
oven the pretence of antiquity in style or or
biography, but written in a bold hand Of the
present day. lis claimed, moreover, that tina
supposed ink is not ink at all, but kind OF.
paint used to initiate faded ink But, what
seems to US the strongest point against sfr. c.
is, thati several cases the ink word is drawn
directly over that in pencil, and whilst the I,cn>
Gil word is sin a modern.ooking hand" the ink
word is '.in- a quaint, antIque-looking writing
These would all, in case in the Queens Bench,
be looked upon as very clear iadieiq of forgery,
and the literary Judges and Jury, before whom
this remarkable trial proceeds, are generally
inclined to view the. case in the same way. Il
the identity of the person" has not been es-
tabished, there is too good cause to believe that
the other essential branch of the proof-the
corpus dclicti-has been fully made out.
Our reviewer attempts his defence of Mr. Col
lier's claims, by showing, in brief, that all the
writing of the early part of the Seventeenth
century vas not done in the style supposed, but
that much of it was in the bold ''rnodern look,
ing hand" of the pencil writing. He shows,
again, that the spelling of that time was very
irregular and much of it was mike, such
as that in the pencil writing.
Assuming all this to be true, yet it comes
very far from making out good defence against
such evidence of guilt The most that can be
claimed for it, is that it shows possibility, but
not avery clear probability, of the genuineness
of the alleged early corrections. The evidence,
pro culpa, is affirmative and direct to the point;
that in the defence only aims at probabilities Of
innocence.
TnE press of st. Louis, it seems, we're badly
sold by irnposters under the garb of reporters
during the Fair down there They turned out
frat class confidence men, many of them, but
when that discovery was made, unfortunately
the Fairwas over, the wines were all drank, the
''cOurtesies' had been extended, and the sharp>=
ers had cleared out Another feature of the
pseudo press gang, present. calls for the indig.
nation of the Democrat. 1t was their conduct
on Saturday last 1t seems that they fr st drank
several dozen of wine, and then assembled in
the PagOda during the exhibition in theiring.
and without being called upon to do it, without
the common politeness due to the audience. orr
ganized themselves into meeting, listened to
speeches, and apPlauded sentiments as loudly
and fercely as II the place we're bar room.