Page:A letter to the Rev. Richard Farmer.djvu/41

( 35 ) his page with any ueles comment, and the concluive reply in quetion appeared to him unworthy of notice.

Mr. Tyrwhitt's remark, which I have in part recited, makes it unneceary for me to take any further notice of the unfounded obervations that have been made relative to the licence which Shakpeare has occaionally taken in his metre. For that licence, which it hould be remembered he has taken in common with his contemporaries, he alone is anwerable. If an editor in exhibiting his works has religiouly adhered to the original and authentick copies, admitting with the greatet caution occaional corrections of manifet errors, he has done his duty, as far as concerns the text; and need give himelf little concern about the illiberal cenures of thoe who, like the preent hypercritick, from ignorance of the poet's metre arraign his editor, for not having in various intances "endeavoured to help it by a word of his own," or by that which would have been equally improper, an interpolation of Pope or Hanmer, or the editor of the econd folio.

The anonymous writer, who has occaioned my preent addres to you, eems to think that he