Hamlet (continued)— explanation of 'Yaughan' has been found. In his first edition Collier suggested that it might be a mis-spelt stage-direction for Yawn, and this idea had occurred to me (before I saw Collier's note) that the First Clown, resting on his spade from the thirsty labour of grave-digging, yawns while he is directing his mate to fetch a stoup of liquor. The V. i. 273, 'eisel.'-Theobald found a river Yssel 'in the German Flanders'; but he was persuaded that 'eisel' was right,-i.e., Wilt thou swallow down large draughts of vinegar. proposition, indeed, is not very grand; but the doing of it might be as distasteful and unsavoury as eating the flesh of a crocodile.' Most readers will agree with Steevens and Malone that some river must have been intended. For my own part I have a sneaking fondness for Capell's emendation 'Nilus,' though Dowden remarks that it has only the crocodile to favour it.' V. ii. 42, 'comma.'-Needlessly suspected: see Dowden's note. V. ii. 164-6, ‘The king . . . three hits.'—The terms of the wager are far from clear. For the various explanations see Furness. V. ii. 190, 'fann'd and winnow'd.'-Warburton proposed 'fann'd' for Folio's 'fond.' Quarto 'prophane and trennowed.' V. ii. 218-20, 'the readiness . . . let be.'-Johnson's text: for other arrangements see Note XXXII in Cambridge Shakespeare. V. ii. 283, 'fat and scant of breath.'-In 'fat' we may possibly have a misprint, which will be perpetuated to the end of time (for no editor will dare to oust it from the text). Craig thinks it may mean 'out of training'; and some suspect that there is a sly hit at Burbage's full habit of body. The note in the Cambridge edition says that Wyeth conjectured 'faint,' an emendation that must have occurred to hundreds and thousands of readers; and if 'faint' was written (as it well might be) 'fait' in the MS. the change would be slight. I have never been able to reconcile myself to 'fat.' KING LEAR.-VOL. IX I. i. 5, 'equalities.'-So Quarto; Folio 'qualities.' Mr. Wilfrid Perrett in The Story of King Lear (Mayer and Müller: Berlin, 1904), discussing at considerable length the first scene of King Lear, vehemently urges inter alia that 'equalities' is untenable; but his views in regard to this scene fail to convince me. The book contains much curious and recondite information. King Lear (continued)— I. i. 280, 'worth the want.'-So Folio; Quarto 'worth the worth.' (If we follow the Folio's reading, the sense seems to be 'well deserve to lose the dowry of which you have been deprived'; but the text may be corrupt.) I. ii. 21, 'to.'-Edwards' emendation 'top' is hard to resist. I. ii. 144, 'dissipation of cohorts.'-Evidently corrupt, and no good emendation has been proposed. I. v. 50-1, 'She . . . shorter.'-In The Comedy of Errors this doggerel couplet would excite no surprise, but-encountering it in Lear -one is strongly inclined to regard it with Steevens as an actor's interpolation. 'Tis such wretched stuff (but dear to the groundlings) as we find in Quips Upon Questions. II. i. 58, arch and patron.'-I lean to Theobald's and arch-patron.' II. ii. 166, 'enormous state.'-'i.e., irregular, lawless state of things. The only instance of this word in any sense in Shakespeare.' W. J. Craig (Arden edition).-But the word 'enormous' occurs in The Two Noble Kinsmen, in that magnificent address to Mars (which surely must be Shakespeare's very own)—‘Thou great corrector of enormous times.' III. iv. 118, 'old,' i.e., wold. III. vi. 25, 'bourn.'-Capell's correction of 'broome.' III. vii. 17, 'lords dependants.'-Pope, followed by many later editors, needlessly changed 'lords' to 'lord's.' III. vii. 60, 'stelled fires.'-The meaning probably is 'the fixed stars.' Quartos 2, 3, and some copies of Quarto I give 'steeled' (found in Lucrece, 1444, and Sonnets XXIV. i.). III. vii. 64, 'All cruels else subscribed.'-The Quarto's reading; Folio 'subscribe.' Furness (reading 'subscribe') and Craig ('subscribed') put the words between inverted commas as part of the speech addressed to the Porter. If we take 'cruels' to mean 'cruelties,' and 'subscribed' to mean 'permitted, condoned,' the sense would be 'all cruelties being permitted save the crowning cruelty of barring the door, on such a night as this, even against suppliant wolves.' But other interpretations of this difficult passage will suggest themselves. Mr. Perrett (Story of King Lear, pp. 296-7) puts a full stop at 'door' and takes 'subscribe' as an imperative addressed to Regan. IV. ii. 62, 'self-cover'd.'-A difficult word, but more intelligible than the emendations proposed-'self-coloured' (Moberly), 'sex-covered' (Crosby), 'self-convict' (Becket), &c. IV. iii. 19, 'like a better way.'-Warburton proposed 'like a wetter King Lear (continued)— May'; Lloyd 'like a bitter May'; P. A. Daniel 'like't a better way. IV. iv. 4, 'hor-docks.'-So Quartos; Folio 'Hardokes.' Hanmer's emendation 'burdocks' is usually accepted; but see Craig's note in Arden edition. In the matter of old plant-names emendation must be very seldom and very cautiously applied. IV. iv. 6, 'century.'—According to New English Dictionary 'century' is found as a variant of 'sentry': but here I think it must mean a company of a hundred knights to scour the country far and wide. V.iii. 23, 'good-years.'-See Craig's note in Arden edition. It seems that we are to abandon Hanmer's 'goujeres' (the French trulls and the lues Venerea); but the New English Dictionary's conclusion that the word 'came to be used in imprecatory phrases, as denoting some undefined malefic power or agency' provokes sympathy for Hanmer, and encourages the hope that some philological champion may yet rise in his defence. V. iii. 263, 'stain the stone.'—I have no passion for Collier's MS., but its correction 'shine' for 'stone' is certainly a preferable reading. V. iii. 306, And my poor fool is hang'd.'-The 'poor fool' is of course Cordelia; but many have not unnaturally surmised that Lear's last wandering thoughts were of the Fool who was with him on the night of storm. OTHELLO. I. i. 10, 'off-capt.'-So Folio; Quarto 'oft capt.' I. i. 21, 'almost damn'd in a fair wife.'-There must be gross corruption here: for emendations and explanations see Furness' Variorum edition. I. ii. 23, 'unbonneted,' i.e., as equal to equal, without making obei sance. I. iii. 257, ‘rites.'—-We must not press this word too literally, unless we wish to regard Desdemona as no better than one of Massinger's heroines. I. iii. 265, 'In me defunct.'-So Capell (Upton conj.) for 'In my defunct.' Certainly 'defunct' is a curious word for Othello to use in the presence of his bride; but he merely means that the heyday in his blood has cooled. Hart (reading 'my defunct') gives a forced and improbable interpretation-' he determines, and announces his determination, not to yield to Othello (continued)— natural inclinations in his "discharged" (or "laid aside") II. i. 3, 'heaven.'-Quarto I 'hauen.' II. i. 65, ingener.'-Steevens' emendation of Folio's 'Ingeniuer.' II. i. 155, 'To change the cod's head for the salmon's tail.'— Steevens' explanation ('to exchange a delicacy for coarser fare') is satisfactory; but Hart would turn the meaning the other way round. II. iii. 311, 'denotement.'-So Quarto 2; Quarto 1 and Folio 'deuotement.' III. iii. 123, 'delations.'-Johnson's conjecture; Folio 'dilations'; Quarto denotements.' III. iii. 447, 'the hollow hell.'-So Folio; Quartos 'thy hollow cell.' IV. ii. 55, 'slow unmoving.'-Changed in the Folio to 'slow, and mouing' (i.e., slowly moving), which many editors prefer. For other readings see Furness or Note IX in Cambridge edition. IV. ii. 64, ‘Ay, there.'-So Theobald for 'I here.' (The old copies' 'I' can stand for the personal pronoun or for 'Ay.') Hart reads 'I here' and strangely explains ('Patience . . . cherubin)'—'do you change colour at these horrible reflections, young and rose-lipped cherub? have patience, look here at me. I am black and grim as hell.' V. ii. 7, 'Put out. put out the light. This has been considered as a very difficult line,' remarks Farmer. 'Fielding makes Betterton and Booth dispute about it with the author himself in the other world.' See Furness or Note XII in Cambridge edition. V. ii. 220, 'as liberal as the north.'-The 'north' is of course the north wind; but Hart has a long and astounding note in which he seriously maintains that 'the north' here means northcountry bluntness.-Quarto I gave 'I'le be in speaking, liberall as the ayre.' V. ii. 347, 'Indian.'-So Quartos and later Folios: Folio 1 'Iudean.' Much has been written (and will be found in Furness' Variorum edition) on this passage; but if we regard Folio 1's 'Iudean' as a printer's error, all the notes may be swept away. ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. I. ii. 38, 'fertile.'-Warburton's correction of 'foretell.' I. ii. 60-1 'Alexas,—come.'-Theobald's correction: Folio makes Alexas the speaker :- Alexas. Come.' Antony and Cleopatra (continued)-— I. ii. 108, ‘quick minds.'—Warburton's correction of 'quicke windes,' but probably the true reading has yet to be found. I. iv. 24, 'soils.'-So Malone for Folio's 'foyles.' (The confusion between 'foil' and 'foil' is very common.) I. iv. 44, 'dear'd.'-Warburton's correction of 'fear'd.' 1. iv. 75, 'we.'-So later Folios; Folio 1 'me.' I. v. 48 arm-gaunt.'-I have no confidence that the Folio's 'Armegaunt' is the true reading. Warburton's interpretation 'his steed worn lean and thin by much service in war' hardly suits the context; for one feels with Malone that 'whatever epithet was used, it was intended as descriptive of a beautiful horse -such a 'hot and fiery steed' as 'roan Barbary' in Richard II. Steevens applauded Mason's conjecture 'termagant,' which finds no admirers to-day. For various explanations and emendations see Mr. R. H. Case's Appendix I in Arden edition I. v. 50, 'dumb'd.'-Theobald's correction of 'dumbe.' II. ii. 114, 'your considerate stone,' i.e., I will keep my thoughts to myself, and be as silent as a stone. II. ii. 125, 'reproof.'-Warburton's correction of 'proofe.' II. ii. 211-2, ‘tended . . . adornings.'-The difficulties in this famous passage have, I think, been exaggerated. Warburton suggested we should read 'adorings,' and there is no doubt that the words 'adoring' and 'adorning' are frequently indistinguishable. Cleopatra posed as Venus Anadyomene; and her gentlewomen-personating Nereids-gave rapt attention to her commands ('tended her i' th' eyes'), making obeisance ('their bends') and adoring her as a divinity-But see the note at the end of Vol. XII of the 1821 Variorum and Mr. Case's Appendix II in Arden edition. II. v. 102-3, ‘O . . . sure of.'-Corrupt. II. vii. 98, 'grows.'-Folio 1 'grow' (which may be retained if we take 'And' as 'If'). II. vii. 109, 'bear.'-Theobald's correction of 'beate.' III. ii. 49, ‘at full.'-Folio 1 'at the full.' III. ii. 59, 'wept.'-Theobald's correction of 'weepe.' III. iv. 27, 'stay.'-I have hesitatingly adopted Warburton's con |