Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 4.djvu/9

 io--8.iv.jcLYi.i905.] NOTES AND QUERIES. LOKDON, SATCJiDAY, JULY 1, 130S. CONTENTS.-NO. 79. VOTES :—<3re«ne'§ Pro«e Works. 1—A Cbaacer Tragedy, 5 —Hii M •. • si > and the Motor-Car—Forty Days' Periodicity —Dilliaoa—' Adventure* In Borneo.' 7—Phonetics of the Far Bait. 8. QUERIES :-Wall, formerly of Dymock, 8-' Les Jumeltes' —Picture* inspired by Music —Sir William Bnderby— "Reap."—Cricket: Barliest Mention-Cricket: Pictures and Engravings—Pace: Hays —Ann Radcllffe, 9—Black and Yellow the Devil's Colours— Jotlas Catzius — Authors of Quotations Wanted — Letter of Bmanuel of Portugal to Pope Julian II.—Bonlnge of Ledsum—Scotch Burial Custom—De Sousa, 10. BBPLIBS:-Knight8 Templars, 10—"There shall no tem- pests blow"—"Tertias of foot'"—Horden's 'Speculum Britannia?,' 12-Shorter: Walpole — Jack and Jill—Coke or Cook ? 13 -Turvlle—Weighing-Machine Wisdom—Wall: Martin, 11—Masons' Marks—Parker Family, IS—Norman inscriptions In Yorkshire—Authors of Quotations Wanted —'The Lovesick Gardener' — Lundy Island, 16—"Ma>- dewing"—Vulgate —Dr. Charabeilen, 17—Epigram on a Bose, 18. NOTES OS BOOKS : -Baring's 'With the Russians in Manchuria' — Bradney's 'History of Monmouthshire'— Sayce's • Assyrian Grammar'—' Hlerurgla Anglicaua.' Booksellti - Catalogues. Notices to Correspondent*. ROBERT GREENE'S PROSE WORKS. IN tbe following remarks on Greene's prose works, chiefly with reference to the use he has made of other writers, I have consulted Grosart's edition, and I have practically con- fined myself to the first twelve volumes of these valuable reprints in the " Huth Library " < 1881-6). No excuse seems necessary for dealing with so important a contemporary of Shakespeare, whose ' Winter's Tale' is founded on Greene's 'Pandosto'—provided always that some new information can be adduced, and that, I believe, I am enabled to do. Having discovered that Greene was in- debted to_ another writer by his verbal transcription therefrom, 1 proceeded to inake A careful study of the two authors. I found that Greene might have used the pages of that other write_r, sometimes as much as ten or fifteen at a time, as copy for his printers. Further, he never gives the slightest hint of his indebtedness. And of this somewhat ihady transaction, or series of transactions, I can find no mention in any of Greene's historians or editors.* There is an additional reason to follow this up: the volume Greene appropriated from is in itself well deserving of being better known, and is, indeed, a valuable, learned, and most praiseworthy and improving com- pilation—far worthier of being reproduced for modern readers than numbers that are daily appearing. The book is T(homas) B(owes's) translation of Peter de la Pri- maudaye's • French Academy ' (1586). The book is a rare one, and the best-known book- sellers in London were unable to provide me with a copy; but my friend Dr. Dowden came to my aid. His copy unfortunately lacks the title-page, so that I am uncertain of the date (there were several editions): but that it is identical with the 1586 text I have no doubt, from several quotations appearing in the ' New English Dictionary.' The pagi- nation is sometimes different, so that my references will be by chapter. While I was carrying out this interesting study several other lines of thought presented themselves, especially the free use Greene made of Lyly's ' Euphues' (1579-80). Of this 1 made separate notes, and since Lyly claims the priority in time I shall first recapitulate these. I may mention also that Greene made use of Laneham's ' Letter' (1575) in one passage, and so convenient did he seem to find this form of composition, it is highly probable that others of his " loans " are as yet unnoticed. That he was Lyly's ape is obvious, and no one put this more clearly than Jusse- rand, so far as method and style go. But I think a detailed record of his word-for-word pilferings is needful, and in this respect I nave not seen him challenged. Ho out- Lylys Lyly in many places, when it comes to a flood of similes, and often uses verbatim those of his master. When Greene in his earlier love tracts " stands on tearms of tree and stone," he is Lyly : when in his later ones (after 1586) he culls his illustrations from classical writers of antiquity, he is Primaudaye —not always in either case, for he had plenty of stuffing of his own ; but he turned to them confidently when in doubt, or when his pockets were empty. For Greene was as Works'; Simpson's ' School of Shakespeare.' vol. ii.; Ward's 'English Dramatic Literature'; Ingleby's 'Introduction to Shakespeare Allusion Books,' part i. (New Shakspere Soc.); Grosart's ' Intro- duction,' and Prof. Storojenko's ' Life of Greene' (in Grosart's edition); Jusserand's ' English Novel in the Time of Shakespeare'; Symonds's ' Shake- speare's Predecessors in the English Drama'; and various bibliographical books of reference.
 * See Dyee's 'Introduction to Greene's Dramatic