Page:Notes and Queries - Series 10 - Volume 8.djvu/610

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NOTES AND QUERIES. [io s. vm. DEC. 28, 1907.

In 'N.E.D.'; it occurs again in II. i. 324, III. i. 7 and 'Mids.,' III. ii. 447.

E. MERTON DEY.

St. Louis.

NICHOLAS FLUTE, AN ELIZABETHAN ADVENTURER. There has been much dis eussion as to the date of the writing o ' A Midsummer Night's Dream,' and " abou the years 1593-5" has been cautiously -adopted by Prof. Gollancz. It is, therefore of the more interest to note, as a possibl piece of internal evidence, that towards the end of 1594 and that year has been conjectured as the real date because o Titania's description of the disastrous state of the weather the alleged adventures o one Nicholas Flute of Dartmouth wer being considered in high places in London In ' The Cecil MSS.,' Part IV. pp. 581-2, i given a digest of the examination (taken on 16 Aug., 1594, before two justices o the peace) of this worthy, who, wishing to see other countries, sailed to " Shepeta- veige " as the Dartmouth magistrate's clerk spelt Civita Vecchia and thence proceeded on foot to Rome, where he saw strange sights and heard seditious sounds -which he thought necessary to record for official consumption. But the narrative -was coldly received : " There is no matter of great moment in the examination " it was noted concerning it ; and it was not thought worth while to bring the narrator from Dartmouth to London for the further questioning he seemed to desire (' Cecil MSS.,' Part V. p. 67). The style of the tale, however, is worth comparing with the phrasing of the immortal bellows-mender, whose friend " sweet bully Bottom " hap- pened to be called Nicholas, like the ad- venturer of Dartmouth.

ALFRED F. ROBBINS.

' HENRY IV.,' PART II., I. iii. 34-8 : Hastings. It never yet did hurt

"To lay down likelihoods and forms of hope.

L. Bard. Yes, if this present quality of war Indeed the instant action ; a cause on foot Lives so in hope, &c.

Of this passage it is said that something has been lost or misprinted (1. 37). The sense demands a verb in place of " Indeed," which is probably a compositor's error for " Ended." The tone of Lord Bardolph's speech seems to suggest such a word. Pope proposed " impede " ; but although this makes the meaning more intelligible, it is not complete enough. Shakespeare, in order to carry conviction, always touches the extreme note of expression. I under- stand the passage thus. Lord Bardolph

assents to Hastings's proposition " if this quality of war " the five-and-twenty thou- sand men of choice defeat the king on the first engagement : otherwise to have a cause on foot without the necessary prepara- tion, and only hope in prospect, is to court disaster in opposing the power and puissance of the king.

II. ii. 153, Cambridge ed. (Globe 182) : Prince. This Doll Tearsheet should be some road.

Poins. I warrant you, as common as the way between Saint Albans and London. Coleridge, with an especial reference to road, proposed to change " Doll Tearsheet ' into " Doll Tearstreet," without considering the humorous application of the former. I can imagine Mistress Dorothy exclaiming, " What mouldy name is that ? Tearstreet ? Much ! "

IV. i. 50-51 :

Turning your books to graves, your ink to blood, Your pens to lances.

Instead of " graves," " glaives " has been adopted by Hanmer, but the pens serve for weapons. Another change is to " greaves " by Rann. It is conceivable to adapt books to " armour for the leg below the knee." Compare Drayton's ' The Barons' Wars,' 1603, II. xi. : " Marching in greaves, a Helmet on his head." " Graves " is one of the plural forms of " greave." O.F. greve, a shin.

IV. i. 137-9 :

All their prayers, and love, tVere set on Hereford, whom they doted on, And bless'd, and grac'd, and did more than the

king.

In the place of " and did " in the last line

most of the editors print Theobald's correc-

ion : " And bless'd and graced indeed."

This certainly modernizes the verse, and

nakes it appear perfect ; but the ellipsis of

he preposition after " than " is still felt,

while the effect of complete expression is

iestroyed by the change. TOM JONES.

' HENRY IV.,' PART II., II. iv. 286 : Prince Henry. Saturn and Venus this year in onjunction ! What says the almanack to that ? )r. Johnson's note, as quoted in Malone's /"ariorum edition, is : " This was, indeed,

prodigy. The astrologers, says Ficinus, emark that Saturn and Venus are never enjoined."

Delius's note is : " Johnson fxigt hier ie astronomische Notiz hinzu, dass Saturn und Venus sonst nie mit einander in Con- unction treten." Delius therefore appa- ently agrees with Johnson. Can any