Page:A letter to the Rev. Richard Farmer.djvu/30

( 24 ) On comparing two of the quarto editions of King Richard III. I found that there were in the latter no les than twenty-ix errors of omiion; and indeed errors of omiion are, I believe, more frequent than almot any other in the ancient copies of this author. I have proved in various intances, that when a word was omitted or corrupted in the firt folio, the editor of the econd either left the paage as he found it, or cured the defect at random, and according to his fancy, in thoe plays of which we have quarto copies, where the true word, which in fact was omitted or corrupted, may be found. There cannot therefore be the mallet doubt that all the emendations made by this editor in the other plays alo, of which there are no quarto copies, were merely conjectural. Being uch, they tand preciely on the ame ground with the emendations uggeted by any later editor or commentator; and as they are often very injudicious in conequence of the editor's extreme ignorance of Shakpeare's phraeology and metre, they tand frequently on a wore ground, and have a les title to be adopted. The