Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 12.djvu/187

 10 s. XIL AUG 21, 1909.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

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an insignificant pamphleteer, Dunton. In the next issue, which was the Dublin edition that Thorns had in his pocket during his conversation with Macaulay, the names were printed in full

And furious Dryden foam in Wharton's rage. In the next three 1728 issues, one of which has " Second Edition " on the title-page and the two others " Third Edition," the line is again altered

And furious D s foam in W y's rage.

In March, 1729, there appeared in quarto the first authorized or "variorum" edition of " The Dunciad, With the Prolegomena of Scribjerus," which was quickly followed by an edition in octavo. In both these issues the line was changed to

And all the Mighty Mad in Dennis rage, to which was appended the following note :

"This verse in the surreptitious editions stood thus, And furious D foam, &c., which, in that printed in Ireland, was unaccountably fill'd up with the great name of Dryden"

This note was repeated in the subsequent editions until in that of 1733 it was finally struck out.

In the course of this inquiry, I looked through my ' Dunciads,' and comparing them with the descriptions given in Elwin and Courthope's edition of Pope's ' Works,' vol. iv. pp. 299-311, I have made a few notes, which may be of use, should any one hereafter undertake the Herculean task of compiling a bibliography of Pope. To begin with the first variorum edition of 1729, which was the earliest with the Ass vignette, Mr. Thorns was at first under the impression that the octavo issue had been printed from the same types as the quarto, as the same mistakes occurred in both ; e.g., in Book I. 1. 6, both the quarto and octavo read

Still Dunce second reigns like Dunce the first, the word " the " before " second " being omitted in both. I find, however, on com- paring the two issues, that in the quarto there is a note of interrogation after the word " first," while in the octavo there is a full stop. Two " literals " will be found in both issues

My Henley's periods, or my Blackmore's numbers

(Book II. 1. 340), and

The sick'ning Stars fade off the a'therial plane*

(Book III. 1. 342),


 * In the octavo this line is printed

The sick'ning stars fade off the a'therial plain which is an additional proof that the Dublin edition was copied from the quarto, as it prints "Stars" with a capital.

where " a'therial " should read " setherial." In the next edition the line reads

The sick'ning Stars fade off th' setherial plain.

Mr. Thorns says that in one copy seen by him the Index is followed on the opposite page by ' Addenda. M. Scriblerus Lectori.' I have two copies of the quarto, in one of which this extra leaf occurs. It was pro- bably printed off separately, after the main body of the edition had got into circulation. In my copy of the octavo the separate leaf of ' Addenda,' noted at p. 304 of Elwin and Courthope, vol. iv., also occurs.

At p. 311 of Elwin and Courthope, Col. Grant describes a Dublin edition (G 8 ), which he says is an exact reprint of the quarto. On examining my copy of this issue, I find that this statement is substantially correct, there being a note of interrogation at the end of 1. 6 of Book L, and 1. 342 of Book III. also reads " a'therial " ; but 1. 340 of Book II. is printed correctly, " Henley " instead of " Henley."

Mr. Thorns notes three varieties of the edition "Printed for Lawton Gilliver," which he marks H, one of which has the Ass frontispiece, another the Owl, and the third both, the Owl in one copy preceding the First Book, and in another the Second. I have copies of all three issues, the Owl in the third preceding the Second Book. It is, as Mr. Thorns shows, a re-engraved plate, as the inscriptions on the pile of books vary from those in previous editions, and are identical with those in subsequent ones ; but he failed to notice that it is not the insertion of a frontispiece plate, as on the recto of the plate is printed a half-title, ' The Dunciad.' This half-title is never found when the Owl is used as a frontis- piece. I may also add that in the copy with the Ass frontispiece there is found the very rare cancelled leaf, pp. 189, 190, together with the substituted leaf.

With regard to Mr. Thoms's edition I, which with the exception of the title-page, and the absence of two pages of errata, is identical with edition H, Mr. Thorns points out, inter alia, that on p. 182, 1. 26, in the word "length," the g has dropped. As a matter of fact, however, it is the t that has dropped, and not the g.

To the description of edition K it should be added that it ends with a leaf with 8 lines of errata on recto.

Lastly, there may be noted a variation in the title-page of the Fourth Book, which is not recorded by Elwin and Courthope. It will be seen from the description given in that book that the title-page of the second