Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 8.djvu/245

 ii s. vii. MAR. 29, i9i3.] NOTES AND QUERIES.

241

LONDON, SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 1913.

CONTENTS.-No. 170.

NOTES : The Mr. W. H. of Shakespeare's Sonnets, 241 Davison & Newman of Fenchurch Street, 243 Shake- speare's Pall-Bearers, 245 "Tela praevisa minus nocent" William of Worcester's ' Itinerary 'Churchyard In- scriptions, 246 - " Ampersand " " Sick " Sir David Wilkie's Last Illness Rectory House of St. Michael s, Cornhill Col. Henry Brett, 247 " Chalking a score," 248.

QUERIES : Ingepenne or Inkpenn Family, 243-Mew Family Brigadier - General Morrison Places men- tioned in 'The Uncommercial Traveller ' Handel s ' Messiah ' Lord Wellesley's Issue The Sanctity of Royalty Hosier Lane, West Smithfield, 249" -plesham " The ''Silverwood" of B Ulads Danish Ballad MM. A J Penny First Edition of 'Clarissa Harlowe' Kiddell Archbishop Drummond's Visitation Questions Romney, 250 Dominic* : Norleigh Peter Browne- Christ Church, Oxford, in Time of Elizabeth Authors Wanted Biographical Information Wanted, 251.

REPLIES Ainay, 251 Thatched House Tavern Club- Lamb or Lambe, 252 "Castle" in Shakespeare and Webster Walter Gary, 253 -Long "S," Date of Disap- pearance "To carry one's life in one's hands "Curious Stone Vessels Frog's Hall, Royston, 255 Richard Simon Lambert Simnel Christmas Rimers in Ulster Tne 'London,' 'British.' and 'English' Catalogues- Richard Bull Inscription at Wetheral " Sex horas flomno," 256 Authors of Quotations Wanted Policemen on Point-Duty " Mouse Buttock "Johanna Williams- cote Warren alias Waller, 257 Crecy A Letter of Scott's : " Mutale," 253.

NOTES ON BOOKS: 'The Cambridge Modern History Atlas ' ' Aurelian Townshend's Poems and Masks' Charles Dickens and Music 'Baxter Print Year- Book 'Cornhill Magazine.'

Notices to Correspondents.

THE MR. W. H. OF SHAKESPEARE'S SONNETS.

THE battle between the Southamptonites and the Herbertists over the elusive shade of Mr. W. H. seems to have ended in a draw ; each party has advanced ingenious argu- ments on its own side, and has dealt deadly blows on the weak points of the adversary's case. In the meantime it may be Worth while to examine again the oldest of all theories on the subject, that put forward by Tyrwhitt and approved by Malone, that the Sonnets of Shakespeare are mainly addressed to a young man called William Hews (or Hughes, as We now write the name). Of course it is impossible to be satisfied that the theory is correct until research has shown that a likely candidate of that name actually lived in London in Shakespeare's time ; still, there can be no harm in examining the ground and forming a preliminary hypothesis.

The theory is founded on the supposition (which is generally admitted) that Sonnets

135, 136, and 143 prove that the youth's first name was Will ; and also on Sonnet 20, Which with No. 144 may be considered the key-sonnets of the whole series so far as their personal aspect is concerned. It runs thus :

A woman's face with nature's own hand painted

Hast thou, the Master Mistress of my passion ; A woman's gentle heart, but not acquainted

With shifting change, as is false woman's fashion. An eye more bright than theirs, less false in rolling,

Gilding the object whereupon it gazeth, A man in hew, all Hews in his controlling,

Which steals men's eyes and women's souls

amazeth. And for a woman wert thou first created ;

Till nature, as she wrought thee, fell a-doting, And by addition me of thee defeated,

By adding one thing to my purpose nothing. But since she pricked thee out for women's

pleasure.

Mine be thy love, and thy love's use their treasure.

The word Hews is printed in italics, with a capital, in the original text, evidently with intention. Mr. Wyndham has shown that the first edition was printed with care from a good manuscript, though it contains a few errors, and the proofs were not revised by the author. The use of capitals and italics can almost always be explained on regular principles. Italics Were employed (1) for proper names, like Adonis and Helen ; (2) for Latin Words, like " alien " and " audit," which had not yet been fully adopted into the English language (a practice which is still in vogue). The only other cases in which italics are employed are : (1) S.I, 1. 2, " Rose" ; (2) S. 20, 1. 7, "Hews " ; (3) S. 125, 1. 13, "Informer" ; (4) S. 135,

136, and 143, " Will" I shall return to the word Rose in the first Sonnet. " In- former " in S. 125 is either a violent personal apostrophe, or (as I have suggested in 'N. & Q.,' 11 S. vi. 446) an address to Jealousy containing a quotation from * Venus and Adonis,' 11. 655 to 657 ; in either case the italics are not accidental. " Will " is generally admitted to be a pun on the name of Shakespeare, and also of his friend. Mr. Wyndham is justified in saying that, if " Hews " be a freak of the printer's, it is the only one in the volume. The old spelling of " hew " and " Hews " makes the pun more obvious, and I shall therefore retain it throughout. The meaning of the Word " hew " requires special attention. Tyler says :

" The word hue has in our day a sense more re- stricted than it had in Shakespeare's time, when it could be employed to indicate form or appearance."