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S T H E LB.ADJ8B. _ [No. 328, ; Sathbda^
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SHAKSPEAItE'S ENGLAND. BJirikspere's Eng...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Singer's Siialvspeare. The Dramatic Work...
# haae-ef-ceotohete apparently inseparable irom the / commentating mrad . No Shakespearian library would be complete without Mr . Singers text ; but readew will . use their own diaoEetion as to its adoption . The Notes are ffooiof 4 iheir kind , but the Jcind is detestable . Nineteen times out of twenty notes rto & htfkspeare are inflictions on ihe reader . Jf anliquarjanisin must haveite lumber bound up ( with poetry , Jet ihe lumber be thrown into ah appendix . at the end of the volume , where those wdio ape curious may seek IT To give the reader specimens . of -Mr . Singer ' s notes , ^ we will open at random . Qur ehause has lighted on volume V-, page * . We there * ead in the . test ;— Here is a dear and true-tinduatrious friend , Sir Walter ( Blunt , new lighted-from his horse , Stained -with the variation . of each soil . Hoes . any one feel . the $ ligb . teat need of a note here ? And if he feels the need , does he find ^ satisfaction , in what Mr . Singer adds to the word ¦ stained . ? - —
JNb circumstance tcould . have been better chosen to mark the-expedition of Sir Walter . It is used by tFalstaff in a similar manner : " To stand stained with travel . " J 3 ureLy this k slightly imbecile . No circumstance , it appears , better ananks * n expedition ,- than the expression " stained ! " We are favoured » ith SlatetaffTs use of the similar phrase , lest we should think : the word rstrange . Two pages further on Falstaff says , " Let us be Diana ' s foresters , gentle-< xnen of Ahe shade , minions of the moon ? " whereupon we have this mote : — "VExile aha slander are justly me awarded , My wife and hedre lacke lands and lawful right ; . And one their lord made dame Diana ' s Janigkt . "
¦ aChis ob the lament of Thomas Mo * lxray , Duke of Norfolk , in The Mirror for Magistcatea . SSall , in his Chronicles , says that certain persons who appeared as foresters In a pageant exhibited in the reign of King Henry VIII . were called Diana ' s knights . It is . needless to weary the reader with more specimens ; these are typical -of a large proportion of the notes . In justice to Mr . Singer , we . will now < quote ( two < of the 'better kind ; notes in which antiquarian knowledge is really foronght to ^ bear on obscure points . Falstaff says he is melancholy , and IPrmce 'Henry -asks—¦ " What sayest thou to a hare , or the melancholy of Mbor-oltdh : "—
The hare was esteemed a melancholy animal , from hex solitary sitting in her . form ; -and , according to the physic of the times , the flesh of it -was supposed to generate . melancholy . So in Vittoria Corombona , 1612 : —
" iike your melancholy hare , JEeed . after midnight . " And . an © . cayton's Polyolbion , Song a : — " The melancholy lare is form'd in brakes and . briars . " iPieras , in his Hieroglyplncs , lib . xil , says that the Egyptians expressed melancholy % y a hare sitting in her -form . Moor-ditch , a part of the ditch surrounding the city oif London , between Bishopsgate and Cripplegate , opened to an . unwholesome , impassible moraBS , and-was consequently-not -frequented by the citizens , like other suburbial tfieKte , -and therefore had an air of melanchol y . Thus in Taylors Pennylesse Pilgrim-Age , 161 « ' :- ^*' Wy'boay T > eing tirea -with travel , and my mind attired with moody « nu < kiy 3 fdore ~ c & lch melancholy . This is elucidative , but it might just as well have been printed at the end -of the volume ,: so might this : —
After all the discussion about Falstaff ' s favourite beverage , here mentioned for the first time , it appears to have been the Spanish wine -which we now call sherry . ITalstafF expressly calls it sherris- > $ ack , that is , sack from Xeres . " Sherry sack , so -called from Xeres , a sea-town of Coxduba , in Spain , where that kind of sack is made . " —Mount ' s GlosaograpJiia . It derives its name of sack probably from being a dry wine , . vin nee . And it was ancienfly written seek . " Your best sacke , " says Gervase Markham , " are of Seres in Spaine . "—Engl . Housewife . The difficulty about it has arisen from the later importation of sweet -wines from Malaga , the Canaries , & c . whioh were at first called Malaga or Canary tacks- ; sack being'b y that time considered as a name applicable to « H white wines . " I lead in the reign of Henry VII . that no sweet
wines were ihxought in to this , reign but Malmsyes , " says Hovwell , in Iris Lonuinopolia , p . 103 . And soon _ afte * , " Moreover jio sacks . were sold lmt Kumney , and that for medicine more than for drink , hut now many kinds of sacks are known and used . " One of the sweet wines still retaining the name of sack has thrown an obscurity over the original dry sack ; but if further proof wore wanting , the following passage affords it abundantly : — - " ' But what I have spoken of mixing sugar with sack , must . be understood of Sherrie sack , for to mix sugar with other wines , that in a common appellation are called sack , and are sweeter in taste , makes it unpleasant to the pallat , and fulBome to the taste . " — Vennefs Via Recta ad Vitam Longam , 1637 . Ho afterwards . carefully distinguishes Canario wine , of some termed a saake , with this adjunct -tweetey from tho genuine sack .
[ Finally , with regard to Mr . Watkiss Lloyd's "Life of the Poet and Critical Essays on ( the Flays , " we are obliged to say that duller writing we « eldom remember , even on this subject—at least , when the writer had anything to say . Mr . Iiloyd is very -painstaking and very ponderous . He deals in moral truisms and elaborately worded commonplaocs , but he has occa-.-monad passages ofTeally good reirrarTc . The very best -we have mot with we will quote ; rt contains something on Falstaff and his relation to the Prince , which , if not Hove ! wor very felicitously put , was worth saying : — TXlataff , Bardblph and Poins intorid to partition England , like the allies at Bangor ; they look to obtain full share of the power of the -future Henry V ., impunity in all plunder and excess , and robbery legalized or honourable , for this they calculate on their hold on tho prince , of which it must bo clear to all that Falstaff is tho main
stay . , Tho primary misconception is . grass . enough , and tho world is now familiar with it ; but , menwho know Horace by heart , have still been astonished at the treatment of "rom 1 So « fe-x > r pheridan , Mrs . Jordan or Lady Hamilton , by royalties and nobilities —• to « atyiuytitfli | g < af ,-the "Brummela of meaner stamp . The prinoe never forgeta that be la * prinoe , * nd evidently oxpeots that others shadl 'bear in . mind that he is merely contaittloikaepihis . Iug )^ itr 4 > ut t ) f sight , and is playing at formatting it Ifomfliwrifty « ctcqpto 4 under autfli conditions , whothor from the iirat pugo in the p « e >*& e or tboJUUeat hanger on upon the lowest round of the ecalo of titular honour , cam hatve but ono ending . Eolabrtffjeacognizas tho condition and accepts it ; he uliows that ho iu fully aware of it by turning his aluiBionH so repeatedly to tho contrast of the ( pxLwcely . dignity and the ch-onnistiamces of tho Boar ' s Head ; but ho is woak enough 90 t to we the consequences . ILiketlie reat ho laotrayb his proper selflahnoaa , 'by calamniatlag « 4 d undermining tho othort in fhaprmed ' s favour ; and thus each givoa
Singer's Siialvspeare. The Dramatic Work...
him the sanction from precedent , in ^ th eir own conduct for sacrificing associate ,-which he fully applies . . Jack announces Poms as he approaches , for an omnipotent Slain ; Poins curries favour for himself by a plot against Falstaff , who again 6 ei 2 e 3 the occasion of the play extempore to suggest exclusive attachment of the prince to SiS ^ fl WoS ^ cm ^ Barfirtp TiHidWfo tell the tale of the hacked sword with relish , and Bardoiph betrays the threat about the copper xing . Lightness and frivolousness , however , as ITiave said , are dominant even over their msinceritiea . None of the group think it worth while to resent an attack , and in truth it is the laBt expression of idleness and shallowness of design . and purpose , that whUe they backbite they still retain a certain attachment to each other , despite . mutual injuries of this kind that might beiexpected to create entire coolness at least , if not enmity . But an infidelity in friendship , as in wedlock , meets with easy condonation from minds of a certain vulcar type , -which , deficient in self-respect , do not severely , or with animosity , iudge others who fail to respect them . There-is among natures of the lower tirade the same readiness to heal after a wound that is found among the lower organisations , and the tendency in truth , if not rather a vice than a virtue , is rather a defect than a faculty . «
__ ,, . .. On the other hand , Falstaff ' s intellectual quickness is unrivalled—he far surpasses the prince who is even less practised than Poius ; he suggests half the wit that seems the prince ' s ; his bulk seems the ground tone of his character ; it has overlaid a natural capacity of activity , and now his wits are the faculty that acquire abnormal ¦ vietour in compensation . . _ .. in the second part of Henry IV . Ealstaff lets out the principle and secret of his sycophancy . " O it is much , he says , that a lie with a slight oath and a jest with a sad brow will do with a fellow that never had the ache in his shoulders . The rogue infallibly divines the prince ' s rejoinder to every remark he makes , grossly as he mistakes as to the main point of the ultimate hold he supposes himself to possess on Ins habits or sympathies . To supply theprince with rnirthls his business and his enjoyment , and he gains his ludicrous points by exaggerating ; his persona * ™ " ^« » " * ™?
of mind and habit , ever with full reliance that the prince will fall into the trap and never discern the trick . When wit and mirth and nimbleness of imaginative suggestions are in question . Talstaff is as superior to the prince as the master to his instrument , and it Js the very use of this superiority that misleads him inco the belief that he has equal s ^ ay over his earnest purposes . The prince is even inferior to Poms inThe imaginative design and conduct of a jest , and has to be led step by step over one obstacle after another in the scheme of robbing the robbers ; the best he can do in this way is the perplexity of Francis , whidh by no means satisfies the aesthetic requirement of a pregnant jest as conceived by Poins Poins who contrives tie double robbery only as introductory to the amusing lies of Falstaff—" the virtue of the jest" and is fain to inquire of the bad imitation , " TV hat cunning match have you made with this jest of the drawer ? come , what ' s the issue ? "
The prince is never so witty as at the beginning of his -first scene , and even there our future knowledge of the knight teaches us that he asked the time of day with mock purposeful concern , with design to provoke the sense of an incongruity . After that , every one of the prince ' s rejoinders is fairly laid in his way by Falstaff , and he would-have been dull indeed to mfes them , as he is still dull enough to take all credit with himself for quickness and originality . When after Falstaffs avowal that he will be . damned for never a king ' s . son in Christendom , he responds briskly to the prince ' s proposal to take a purse , " Where thou wilt , lad , I'll make one ; " of course he perceived the incongruity , and put on the utmost unconsciousness in order to heighten it and so throughout , as when with lips scarce dry he protests that he is a rogue if he has drink to-day—a lie with a slight oath , or when he professes the vigilance as of a cat to steal cream . He has succeeded in exciting the prince to the perception of
certain points of ludicrousness , and to these sensitive centres he addresses himself unremittingly ; and the delicacy of the delineation consists in the exact expression of this finesse on his part , in endlessly diversified forms on the part of the prince , and of that precise form of apprehensiveness that enables him to find a relish in wit that he can scarcely be said to properly appreciate . Hal is keen enough to form a not inaccurate estimate of motives and character but not to suspect or penetrate to the secret of the management by which he is played upon and amused . Thus the prince in truth loses a large proportion of the wit , and that of the better kind , that the reader or spectator enjoys in the contemplation of the prince and Falstaff together . In fact , we may suspect that to Prince Hal , Falstaff was rather ludicrous than witty . Thus ia the ' tavern scene after the robbery , ho is nmnsed at tho gross bravadoes of a fat liar whom he anticipates the pleasure of surprising with exposure and conviction , but ho loses the point of the jest thut is salient to the spectator , who is amused by the wily quickness of Falstaff , who , beforehand with his expectations , goes on with daring presumption on his gullibility , to multiply two rogues in buckram into olevon with it dulnees in the not to
accumulative rapidity that one would say argues prince perceive to be conscious , but that so many readers since have been as blind as he ia . In fact , we are left at last with a suspicion that the knight verily recognised the two rogues through their buckram , and ran and roared more heartily in order to hold the good jest up , and not only bragged ao outrageously because he was aware of the effect he -was producing , but hacked ibis sword and made his companions stain tlicir clothes with blood from their own nose tips , on the certain calculation that he would be betrayed . Falstaff in this scene is to Prince Harry—" thou elnybrained guts ; thou knotty pated fool "—but this is a false estimate indeed of the spirit of the fnt knight , and the prince himself was much more of a butt than the fool that he despiHed na a fool and laughed Kt . FalfltafT may underrate the prince aa grossly when he rates his capabilities aa to be u pantler , " ho would have chipped bread well ; " but assuredly his wit ia but of royal calibre , and such are the conditions of this quality that evidence of flatterers apart and deducting for the wonder of rarities and ' approximations , wit —sterling wit , is perhaps the single men till power and accomplishment thut ) mb moat rarely been found on a throne , or approached ao near to it as nn heir-apparent .
S T H E Lb.Adj8b. _ [No. 328, ; Sathbda^
S T H E LB . ADJ 8 B . _ [ No . 328 , ; Sathbda ^
Shakspeaite's England. Bjirikspere's Eng...
SHAKSPEAItE'S ENGLAND . BJirikspere's England ; or , Sketches of our / Social History in the Jidgn of Elizabeth . Ity G . W , Thornbury . 2 ^ ola . l . ougmuu ami Co . ( Second Notick . ) Tjlm second volume of tbis amusing book opens with a chapter on the Theatre and Shnk » peare , Vliich altliough neither so full in detail nor so accurate as critical renders would desire it to be , will { jfive the ' general render' very acceptable information . Here , for instance , ia n l « Ifirci » INTO TIDE rUTIIOUHK . 'L'he real . boau aicvor ontorod the theatro till the tnumi »« : tH wore blowing for the prologue , for when the houao wan only half full , tho riclmoaa of his dross could not 1 « Hulliciently applauded ; then , as if he waa ouo of tho proprietors , or had dropi > w | Xrom the itunfjingH , ho erupt Jfrom bohirul tho arrus , . n thruo-luggcd Htool m ono luiuii ttnd tho tenter to pay the boy in the other . Th « real bluaa man of funhion never appeared amused ; the more lnlflorablo and unmoved , the moro fa » hionablo . Ilw ««•' was , iu thomidat of tho sadduat aceuca of Loar « r Othollo , to turn nway , aa if ho him
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), July 5, 1856, page 18, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_05071856/page/18/
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