31 Is th'argument of Time: of this allow, He wishes earnestly, you neuer may. Scena Secunda. Enter Polixenes, and Camillo. Pol. I pray thee (good Camillo) be no more importunate 'tis a sicknesse denying thee any thing: a death to grant this. Cam. It is fifteene yeeres fince I faw my Country : though I haue (for the moft part) bin ayred abroad, I de 33. If] I Var. '85 (misprint). neuer, yet] never yet F never yet, Cap. Var. Rann, Mal. Steev. Var. Knt, Wh. Ktly. 1. Act IV. Scene, the Court of Bohemia. Theob. Act IV, Scene i. The 5 7 Court of Bohemia. Warb. Johns. Scene i. The same. A Room in Polixenes' Palace. Cap. 6. fifteene] sixteen Han. Cap. Rann, Dyce ii, iii, Dtn. 7. bin] beene FF, being F, Rowe. I, i, 244, 245 :—'So could I, faith, boy, to have the next wish after, That Lucentio indeed had Baptista's youngest daughter' affords ground for the belief that daughter was sometimes pronounced like laughter. On the other hand, in Lear, I, iv, 312, we find daughter rhyming with caught her, and slaughter. See note in this ed. on the line in Lear; or see Ellis, Early Eng. Pronunciation, p. 963. 31. argument] JOHNSON: Argument' is the same with subject. 33. that] KEIGHTLEY (Exp. p. 202): This is evidently one of the cases in which 'that' has taken the place of than, then. 2. Enter, etc.] KNIGHT (Introd. p. 338): Shakespeare has exhibited his consummate art in opening the Fourth Act with Polixenes and Camillo, of whom we have lost sight since the end of the First. Had it been otherwise,—had he brought Autolycus, and Florizel, and Perdita, at once upon the scene,-the continuity of action would have been destroyed; and the commencement of the Fourth Act would have appeared as the commencement of a new play. Shakespeare made the difficulties of his plot bend to his art; instead of wanting art, as Ben Jonson says. 6. fifteene] CAPELL (p. 173): Strange, that only the fourth modern [i. e. Hanmer] should have made this correction [i. e. sixteen], when the elaps'd years' number had been settl'd so lately as but in the page before.-STEEVENS: See V, iii, 39: 'Which lets go by some sixteen years;' and Ib. line 61: Which sixteen Winters cannot blow away.' 7. for the most part] Are we to understand by this, coupled with the 'fifteen years,' that Camillo has not been continuously at the Court of Leontes, during the sixteen years which are just past ?-ED. 7. ayred] SCHMIDT: To lead forth, to lead about. [It is not easy to see how Dr fire to lay my bones there. Besides, the penitent King (my Master) hath sent for me, to whose feeling forrowes I might be fome allay, or I oreweene to thinke fo)which is another spurre to my departure. Pol. As thou lou'ft me (Camillo) wipe not out the rest of thy feruices, by leauing me now: the neede I haue of thee, thine owne goodneffe hath made better not to haue had thee, then thus to want thee, thou hauing made me Businesses, (which none (without thee) can sufficiently manage) must either stay to execute them thy felfe, or take away with thee the very feruices thou haft done: which if I haue not enough confidered (as too much I cannot) to bee more thankefull to thee, fhall bee my studie, and my profite therein, the heaping friendshippes. Of that fatall Countrey Sicillia, prethee speake no more, whose very naming, punnishes me with the remembrance of that penitent (as thou calft him) and reconciled King my brother, whofe loffe of his most precious Queene & Children, are euen now to be a-fresh lamented. 10. or] (or Ff. 15. want thee,] want thee. or want thee: Rowe et seq. Say to 8 ΙΟ 15 20 25 16. Bufineffes] Bufinefs F, Rowe. 21. heaping friendshippes] heaping friendship Han. Schmidt can have extracted this definition from the simple phrase equivalent to living and breathing abroad.—ED.] 21. heaping] WARBURTON: This is nonsense. We should read 'reaping friendships.' The king had said his study should be to reward his friend's deserts; and then concludes that his profit in this study should be reaping the fruits of his friend's attachment to him; which refers to what he had before said of the necessity of Camillo's stay, or otherwise he could not reap the fruit of those businesses which Camillo had cut out.-HEATH (p. 214): The sense is, All the profit I propose to myself in this study of mine to be more friendly to thee for the future is, the heaping still more friendships on thee, and by that means laying still stronger obligations on thee to continue with me.-JOHNSON: The sense of heaping friendships, though like many other of our author's unusual [phrases], at least unusual to modern ears, is not very obscure. To be more thankful shall be my study; and my profit therein the heaping friendships.' That is, 'I will for the future be more liberal of recompence, from which I shall receive this advantage, that as I heap benefits, I shall heap friendships, as I confer favours on thee I shall increase the friendship between us.-MALONE: 'Friendships' is, I believe, here used, with sufficient licence, merely for friendly offices.-DEIGHTON: But Polixenes could hardly mean that the heaping of friendly offices on Camillo was his profit. 26, 32. Children, are . . . affayres may be, are] In both instances 'are' is the well-known plural by attraction. See line 58 of the next scene: 'the loathsomnesse me, when faw'st thou the Prince Florisell my fon? Kings are no leffe vnhappy, their iffue, not being gracious, then they are in loofing them, when they haue approued their Vertues. Cam. Sir, it is three dayes fince I saw the Prince:what his happier affayres may be, are to me vnknowne: but I haue (missingly) noted, he is of late much retyred from Court, and is leffe frequent to his Princely exercises then formerly he hath appeared. Pol. I haue confidered fo much (Camillo) and with fome care, so farre, that I haue eyes vnder my feruice, which looke vpon his remouedneffe: from whom I haue this Intelligence, that he is seldome from the house of a most homely fhepheard: a man (they fay) that from very nothing, and beyond the imagination of his neighbors, is growne into an vnspeakable estate. Cam. I haue heard (fir) of fuch a man, who hath a daughter of moft rare note: the report of her is extended 28. iffue,] iffue Ff. 29. loofing] lofing F. 33. missingly] musingly Han. Coll. ii, iii (MS), Huds. 27 30 35 40 44 35. appeared] appear'd Rowe +. 36. confidered] consider'd Rowe+. 37. care, fofarre,] care so far, Rowe +. care; so far Cap. et seq. of them offend me more;' where modern editors, except DYCE and STAUNTON, follow the Folios in changing 'offend' to offends. Thus, in both the present passages KEIGHTLEY changed ‘are' to is, which is grammatical but needless.—ED. 33. missingly] WARBURTON: [I read] but I have (missing him) noted,' etc. This accounts for the reason of his taking note, because he often missed him, that is, wanted his agreeable company. For a compliment is intended; and in that sense, it is to be understood.-STEEVENS: Missingly noted' means, I have observed him at intervals, not constantly or regularly, but occasionally.-M. MASON (p. 132): I have no doubt but Hanmer's amendment [see Text. Note] is right, and the meaning will then be: I have perceived his retirement, and have reflected on it.' There is no such word as 'missingly,' and were we to coin it, it could not possibly convey the sense that Steevens attributes to it. [Collier's MS Corrector makes the same change that Hanmer makes, which Collier (ed. ii) says is 'evidently right' and that 'missingly' is a mere error of the press.']-KNIGHT: Does it not mean, 'missing him, I have noted,' etc.?-HALLIWELL: Missingly' appears to mean, missing him, discovering him not to be present, or, like a person that has missed him.-DYCE (ed. iii): Richardson (Dict. sub. Miss') has "" Missingly noted," i. e. observing him to be missing, to be absent, noted, etc.'-STAUNTON thinks Hanmer's change has 'some plausibility.'-DEIGHTON: To miss, equivalent to feel the want of, to regret the absence of,' is as common in Shakespeare as in modern parlance. more, then can be thought to begin from such a cottage Pol. That's likewife part of my Intelligence: but(I feare) the Angle that pluckes our fonne thither. Thou shalt accompany vs to the place, where we will (not appearing what we are)haue fome question with the shepheard; from whofe fimplicity, I thinke it not vneasie to get the cause of my fonnes refort thether. 'Prethe be my present partner in this bufines, and lay aside the thoughts of Sicillia. Cam. I willingly obey your command. Pol. My best Camillo, we must disguise our selues. Exit 46. part] a part Theob. Warb. Johns. Var. '73. 46, 47. but (I fear) the Angle] and, I fear, the Engle Theob. and, I fear, the angle Han. Cap. Rann, Ktly, Huds. and, I fear, the angel Garrick. but, I 45 50 55 fear the angle Var. '78, '85, Rann, Mal. 51. thether] F. 'Prethe] Prithee Ff. 55. Camillo,] Camillo! Theob. i. 46, 47. but (I fear) the Angle] THEOBALD: The disjunctive, but,' here, I think, makes stark nonsense of the context. As in the Tam. Shr. [IV, ii, 61], 'Angel' is mistakenly put for Engle, so, I suspect, Angle,' by the same easy corruption, is here. . . . 'Ay,' replies the king, that's a part of my intelligence too; and, I fear, [that daughter is] the Siren, the Decoy, the Invitation, that plucks our son thither.' [No editor accepted Theobald's engle, a word which Shakespeare, 'to his credit,' says Nares, never used.]—HEATH agrees with Theobald in preferring and to 'but;' with the rest of Theobald's note he disagrees.—Staunton: 'But,' in this place, is the Saxon Botan= to boot, and the king's meaning, 'The attractions of that girl form part of my intelligence, and they are, I apprehend, the angle which draws the prince there.'-DYCE (ed. iii): Perhaps and with Theobald.-STEEVENS: 'Angle,' in this place, means a fishing rod, which he represents as drawing his son, like a fish, away. [The reading of Garrick's Version (see Appendix) is angel; it is included in the Text. Notes, but it is possibly a mere printer's error, whereof that Version has many. See IV, iv, 147.] 49. question] That is, conversation, talk, as in Shakespeare, passim. II I Scena Tertia. Enter Autolicus finging. When Daffadils begin to peere, With heigh the Doxy ouer the dale, 1. Scene ii. Warb. Johns. Cap. The Country. Rowe. Fields [A Road. Coll.] near the Shepherds. Cap. Coll. 4 2. Enter Autolicus...] Enter Autolycus, very ragged... Sing. 3. Daffadils] Daffodils Johns. et seq. 2. singing] Fynes Moryson (Itinerary, Part III, Bk i, Chap. 3, p. 48) gives the following, as a 'Prouerbe' which he had heard in his travels: For singing Art, [they say that] The Spaniards weep, the Italians sigh, the English bleate like Goats, the Germans bellow, the French sing.' Evidently a proverb of French origin.-ED. See Appendix, Autolycus, for ROFFE's conclusion that Autolycus, with his evident abilities, his enjoyment in the Daffodils, the songs of the birds (not forgetting the tirra-lirra of the lark), his real love for, and talents in Music, all weighed together, will ultimately turn over a new leaf.' 3. When, etc.] STEEVENS: When daffodils begin to peer' and 'Jog-on, jog-on, the foot-path way-Two nonsensical songs by the rogue Autolycus,' says Dr Burney. But could not the many compliments paid by Shakespeare to musical science intercede for a better epithet than nonsensical? The Dr subsequently observes, that This Autolycus is the true ancient Minstrel, as described in the old Fabliaux.' I believe that many of our readers will push the comparison a little further, and concur with me in thinking that our modern minstrels of the opera, like their predecessor Autolycus, are pickpockets as well as singers of nonsensical ballads. [This was written in 1793!]-DOUCE (i, 351): [Dr. Burney's] observation is inaccurate. Autolycus has nothing in common with the character of a minstrel but the singing of a song or two. He is a mere rogue, assuming various shapes, and is specifically called so in the dramatis personæ. . . It is true that Autolycus declares he had been an ape-bearer'; but this was no part of the minstrel's profession in Shakespeare's time, though it had been so formerly. 6 3. Daffadils] MURRAY (N. E. D.): A variant of Affodel. The initial d has not been satisfactorily accounted for. It has been variously suggested as due to childish or playful distortion, as in Ted for Edward, tante for aunt; to union of the article th' (cf. Cotgrave, Affrodille, Th' Affodill, and northern English t'affadil); to final d of and in (e. g.) 'fennell an-d affodil'; to union of the Dutch or Flemish article, as de affodil the affodil; and to the French preposition d', as in fleur d'aphrodille. It is noteworthy that as in English the word has gained a letter, in 16th cent. French it sometimes lost one: Littré (s. v. Asphodèle) quotes from De Serres (16th cent.), 'Des racines d'affrodille,' and also 'Decoction de lapace, de frodilles.' A third form dafrodille is quite conceivable. . . . = Affodill, and its popular variants, daffodil, daffadilly, were originally and properly the Asphodel; then by popular misconception, due apparently to the application to |