The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-09-03
ON THE TEXT
OF THE SEASONS'
IhomSon's Fondne~s for Tulcrinr
With His ext Evident In sue
Cr~Ive Editions.

(Villard II. Durham in the Nal.un.)
Thomson's fondness for ~tlnherinH
with the text OF The Seasons might
we'll bring careful editors 10 despair,
but hardly 10 neglect OF existing tents.
Nevertheless, the statement : still
current-echoed in fact. without n
vestication by Or. Zippel and Mr..
fobertson-that the third. fourth and
fifth editions Of Winter" wer. re-
prints or reissues Of the second.
As q matter Of fact. the NTH cdi-
tlon Of Winter which appeared IN
1t2S. was printed from new forms
after the poet had revised his text
from beginning TO end, In this edi-
tlon the preface and contributed
poems are omitted. there are alter
atoms in spelling. in punctuation. and
in d%iction; and fifteen new ines are
added. Most OF these changes are
retained in the edition OF iI3o. and
have consequently heen recorded by
modern editors. Some lines. how
ever, were revised Yet again for the
sixth edition, 50 that a few variants
! are still buried. fortunately or an
fortunately, in the neglected pages
of the fifth edition. For eAample.
the line which is numbered i59 n
Robertson's edition now reads.
Through the black night which SITS
immense around.
the octave of 1890 had.
Thro' the loud Night, that b:d no
Waves arise.
while the fifth edition read:
Thro' the loud Night, which harro~s
up the waves.
Thirteen lines Of this passage APP
peared for the first time in 1928, IS did
also the two lines now numbered
427-S.
The fourth edition contained no
such striking changes. Even a cur
sorry examination, however, reveals
at least one alteration. In the line
now the 4ctth, the first edition read:
In the second keen was changed
to Ice" in the fourth keen reap
pears; and in the fifth and following
editions ice prevailed.
OF the third edition l annot speak,
for the Yale library has no copy. Yet
even if this were a literal reprint OF
the second, the facts already present
ed sufficiently dispose Of the assertion
. that the editions intermediate be
1 tween the second and the sixth wer.
merely unsold sheets furnished viii
new lIIIc-pdSeS. Inc SAFE o. WIN
1 ter" was evidently more rapid thar
5 photographers have commonly sup
l posed.
Another fact which seems 10 have
escaped the notice Of students is tina
: there were two issues of the second
: edition., the earlier having the title
page printed in black; the later, il
, black and red. The double issu,
seems to lave been caused by thu
= desire to cancel some words Of tn.
: preface, for there is a ciause which
does not appear IN the later i'm
! preston and which has never beer
reprinted. At the end Of the sen
tence acknowledging the poet:
! gratitude to those gentlemen WIZ
have given my performance SO IA
: vorable a reception" originally stood
particularly that honorable Person
under nho1 suspicious name hay
net with an announcement NOR
. answerable to his Generosity, thar
| my Merit" his was, l TAX it, al
:. i~ronical reference to Sir Spence
| Compton,, and was suppressed for tn
e same reason which made Thomson
wish to alter the verses OF Mallet an<
Hin-the present Of twenty guineas.