Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 3.djvu/178

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NOTES AND QUERIES, do* s. in. FEB. 25, i%5.

' Richard II.,' V. i. 40, possible date of com- position 1594 (appeared in quarto 1597) : In winter's tedious nights sit by the fire With good old folks, and let them tell thee tales Of woeful ages long ago betid.

Cf. ib. III. ". 155 sq.

It is noteworthy that this scene of Act III. of 'Titus Andronicus' is not found in any of the quartos accessible hitherto ; its presence or absence in the newly found quarto will be of significance.

(d) ' T. A.,' IV. ii. 122 :-

He is your brother, lords, sensibly fed Of that self-Wood that first gave life to you, And from that womb where you imprison d were He is enfranchised and come to light.

4 Richard II.,' I. ii. 22 : Ah, Gaunt, his blood was thine ! that bed, that

womb,

That metal, that self-mould that fashion d thee, Made him a man.

(e) 'T. A.,'V. iii. 73:

Lest Rome herself be bane unto herself, And she whom mighty nations curtsy to Do shameful execution on herself.

Richard II.,' II. i. 69 : That England, that was wont to conquer others, Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.

(/) There is a peculiarly Shakespearian manner which has not been sufficiently noted by Shakespeare students, and this neglect has led even Theobald to make a wrong con- jecture. In 'Macbeth,' I. ii. 56, the folios punctuate

Point against point, rebellious Arme 'gainst arm. Theobald, however, places the comma after " rebellious " :

Point against point rebellious, arm, c. But now compare : 41) Turn face to face, and Woody point to point.

' K. John,' II. i. 390.

(2) Harry to Harry shall, hot horse to horse, Meet, &c. '1 Henry IV.,' IV. i. 121.

(3) That face to face, and royal eye to eye,

You have congreeted. 'Henry V.,' V. ii. 30. (4) Lastly, and significant as nearest in date of production to 1594 (if not in that same year) :

face to face And frowning brow to brow.

'Richard II,' I. i. 18.

Now (5) for the same arrangement and place of adjective compare 'T. A.,' V. iii. 156: Tear for tear, and loving kiss for kisa.

(rj) There is a parallelism which I rather mention than press. ' T. A.,' III. i. 233-4 : Then give me leave, for losers will have leave To ease their stomachs with their bitter tongues.

'2 Henry VI, 'III. i. 182: But I can give the loser leave to chide.

In the quartos of the 'First Part of the Contention' we have "leave to speake." It may, of course, be objected that, both plays- being in dispute, a correspondence between them is not of much significance, and, besides, that the expression is proverbial and general property. Yet the absence of this passage from the newly found quarto might be signi- ficant.

(h) The following doubt, which inspection would solve, does not very directly concern the Shakespearian question, but is in itself interesting. Act V. sc. ii. of 'T.A.' seems to me to bear indications of alternative treatments of the scene mixed together. The stage directions " Titus exit above : ' or "from above" and "Enter Titus below" are con- jectural, being omitted in quartos and folios. In 11. 45 and 59 Titus (above) says : Lo, by thy side where Rape and Murder stands, and

So thou destroy Rapine and Murder there. And then :

Tamora. These are my ministers and come with

me. Tit. Are these thy ministers ? What are they

called ?

Tamora. Rapine and Murder: therefore called so 'Cause they take vengeance of such kind of men. Tit. Gopd Lord, how like the empress' sous they

are, And you the empress !

Later, Titus (below) says :

Welcome, dre^d Fury, to my woeful house : Rapine and Murder, you are welcome too : How like the empress and her sons you are !

I am aware that these repetitions, &c. t are capable of another explanation, and perhaps the taking up of the name Rapine and Murder by Tamora after Titus may be part of the " closing " with him of which she speaks, 1. 70 (I here conjectured "glosing,"' but I think this in any case unnecessary). I only mention this scene as one which it might be worth while to scrutinize as it stands in the newly found quarto, keeping this suggestion of alternative trea-tment in view. D. C. TOVEY.

HERIOT.

(See 9"' S. x. 328, 333, 433, 497 ; xi. 75, 173.) IN Scotland a herezeld or heriot was a casualty exigible on the death of a tenant. It was payable to the landlord by the heirs of a deceased tenant, and could be exacted only in baronies where the custom was established by early practice. It is doubtful