painting. The same plates of the Droeshout engraving, and Marshall's copy of it, which were used in Steevens' 1778 edition, are also in this volume. So is the plate of fac-similes of Shakespeare's autographs which was used in that edition. There is first printed Reed's "Advertisement," which occupies four pages, and is dated November 10th, 1785; then comes Dr. Johnson's preface; which is followed by Steevens' "Advertisement" to the 1778 edition; then comes a list of ancient translations, etc.; and the dedication and preface of the First Folio are followed by the prefaces of Pope, Theobald, Hanmer, and Warburton; then there is given Steevens' "Advertisement" to his "Twenty Plays." Rowe's life of Shakespeare comes next, and the grant of arms to the poet's father; his will, the Stratford Register extracts; commendatory poems; list of ancient editions of the poet's plays; works on the same; extracts from the books of the Stationers' Company; Malone's essay on the order of the plays, etc., follow. Then come the plays, which are printed in the order of the First Folio. The work is mainly a reprint of Steevens' edition of 1778, and Reed's labors were not very heavy. In his "Advertisement" Reed remarks: Where the very great and various talents of the last Editor [ Steevens], particularly for this Work, are considered, it will occasion much regret to find, that having superintended two Editions of his favourite Author through the press, he has at length declined the laborious office, and committed the care of the present Edition to one who laments with the rest of the world the secession of his predecessor; being conscious, as well of his own inferiority, as of the injury the publication will sustain by the change. As some alterations have been made in the present Edition, it may be thought necessary to point them out. These are of two kinds, additions and omissions. The additions are such as have been supplied by the last Editor, and the principal of the living Commentators. To mention these assistances, is sufficient to excite expectation; but to speak of anything in their praise will be superfluous to those who are acquainted with their former labours. Some remarks are also added from new Commentators, and some notices extracted from books which have been published in the course of a few years past. Of the omissions, the most important are some notes which have been demonstrated to be ill founded, and some which were supposed to add to the size of the volumes without increasing their value. It may probably have happened that a few are rejected which ought to have been retained; and in that case the present Editor, who has been the occasion of their removal, will feel some concern from the injustice of his proceeding. He is however inclined to believe that what he has omitted will be pardoned by the Reader; and that the liberty which he has taken will not be thought to have been licentiously indulged. In all events; that the censure may fall where it ought, he desires it to be understood that no person is answerable for any of those innovations but himself. It has been observed by the last Editor, that the multitude of instances which have been produced to exemplify particular words, and explain obsolete customs, may, when the point is once known to be established, be diminished by any future Editor, and, in conformity to this opinion, several questions, which were heretofore properly introduced, are now curtailed. Were an apology required on this occasion, the present Editor might shelter himself under tha authority of Prior, who long ago said, That when one's proofs are aptly chosen, Four are as valid as four dozen. The present Editor thinks it unnecessary to say anything of his own share in the Work, except that he undertook it in consequence of an application which was too flattering and too honourable to him to decline. He mentions this only to have it known that he did not intrude himself into the situation. He is not insensible, that the task would have been better executed by many other gentlemen, and particularly by some whose names appear to the notes. He has added but little to the bulk of the volumes from his own observations, having upon every occasion rather chosen to avoid a note, than to court the opportunity of inserting one. The liberty he has taken of omitting some remarks, he is confident, has been exercised without partiality; and therefore, trusting to the candour and indulgence of the public, will forbear to detain them any longer from the entertainment they may receive from the greatest Poet of this or any other nation. 66 In the above Reed gives a very fair account of his duty as editor of this edition. The work in nearly all particulars is a reprint of Steevens' 1778 edition. Reed added some notes of his own, which are signed Editor." The fact of his having edited Dodsley's Old Plays, and his general familiarity with the old drama, was of the greatest assistance to him, as it enabled him to add to the illustration of Shakespeare's text in this direction. In 1803, another edition, edited by Reed, appeared in twenty-one volumes octavo. The title page to Volume I. is as follows: The Plays of William Shakespeare. In twenty-one volumes. With the corrections and illustrations of various commentators. To which are added notes, by Samuel Johnson and George Steevens. The fifth edition. Revised and augmented by Isaac Reed, with a glossarial index. ΤΗΣ ΦΥΣΕΩΣ ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΕΥΣ ΗΝ, ΤΟΝ ΚΑΛΑΜΟΝ ΑΠΟΒΡΕΧΩΝ ΕΙΣ ΝΟΥΝ. Vet. Auct. apud. Suidam. Time, which is continually washing away the dissolute Fabricks of other Poets, passes without Injury by the Adamant of SHAKESPEARE. Dr. Johnson's Preface. MULTA DIES, VARIUSQUE LABOR MUTABILIS ÆVI Virgil. London: Printed for J. Johnson, R. Baldwin, H. L. Gardner, W. J. & J. Richardson, J. Nichols & Son, F. & C. Rivington, T. Payne, R. Faulder, G. & J. Robinson, W. Lowndes, G. Wilkie, J. Scatcherd, T. Egerton, J. Walker, W. Clarke & Son, J. Barker & Son, D. Ogilvy & Son, Cuthell & Martin, R. Lea, P. Macqueen, J. Nunn, Lackington, Allen & Co., T. Kay, J. Deighton, J. White, W. Miller, Vernor & Hood, D. Walker, B. Crosby & Co., Longman & Rees, Cadell & Davies, T. Hurst, J. Harding, R. H. Evans, S. Bagster, J. Mawman, Blacks & Parry, R. Bent, J. Babcock, J. Asperne, and T. Ostell. 1803. The title-pages to the other volumes merely have "The Plays of William Shakespeare," the number of the volume, and the contents, besides the names of the publishers as above and the place of publication and date. There is prefixed to the first volume an engraving of the Felton portrait, by J. Neagle. It is fairly well done, but the expression is not as soft as in the original portrait. Neagle changed the stiff ruff somewhat, to make it look more like a linen collar, and the costume that he added is a plain black gown, entirely different from the Droeshout engraving. There is a preface by Reed (which he calls an "Advertisement," and the preliminary matter is much the same as in the edition of 1785, with the exception that Malone's historical account of the English stage, is reprinted entire, and the additions to it by Steevens' and Chalmers are also given. The plays are arranged very much in the order of the First Folio except that Macbeth precedes King John and that Romeo and Juliet and The Comedy of Errors follow Othello. In his preface Reed tells us that this edition contains "the last improvements and corrections of Mr. Steevens, by whom it was prepared for the press." He further remarks that it "is faithfully printed from the copy given by Mr. Steevens to the proprietors of the preceding edition, in his life-time; with such additions as, it is presumed, he would have received had he lived to determine on them himself." This edition is the foundation on which was built the variorum editions of 1813 and 1821. It contains nearly all the notes that are in the latter, and while the text is not as good as that of 1821, the book is for most purposes very nearly as valuable for reference as the edition of 1821, which has attained the distinction of being called "the variorum." In 1813 this edition was reprinted in twenty-one volumes octavo, the proof-sheets being revised by Mr. Harris, librarian of the Royal Institution. Copies of it were also printed on large paper, in royal octavo. Prefixed to the first volume is an engraving of the Felton portrait, by W. Holl. It is fair, but the soft expression of the original has not been fully preserved. As before stated Reed's services as editor consisted principally in adding notes from old English literature explanatory of his author's text. The text itself he did not meddle with. While he was somewhat obscured by the greater lights of his day, Steevens and Malone, still his services must not be overlooked, and the praise awarded to him which is his due. J. PARKER NORRIS. A SCHOOL OF SHAKESPEARE. PREFATORY NOTE.-The aim of the following list of questions, or headings for consideration, is to be suggestive and to lead to a close and loving study of The Merchant of Venice. The questions do not pretend to be exhaustive of the play; the groups are probably not scientifically complete in themselves, and their sub-divisions may not follow in the logical order; in fact, the whole plan is tentative; but similar questions implying a like method of study in part have brought about good results in my own personal and professional experience; and hence these questions are offered, with some diffidence, to the readers of SHAKESPEARIANA and to lovers of Shakespeare. The questions do not pretend, again, to lay down the law as to precisely what the analysis of the play reveals, as Shakespeare's distinct purpose and doctrine in writing it. The Merchant of Venice is a work of Art, thank Heaven! and as indestructible as the English tongue. It is true that The Merchant of Venice does deal, as Gervinus suggests, with Property and the Rights of Property as the basis of Society; but it also deals with Human Affections as the basis of Society; and Shylock is punished as much for his sins against these Rights of Affection as he is for his abuse of the Rights of Property. And yet we can hardly say that the theme of the play must, therefore, be the Rights of Property in conflict with the Rights of Affection; any more than we can say that the true theme is Education because it is through the knowledge which is power that Portia is enabled to save her husband's honor and his friend's life; nor yet that the lesson is Justice tempered with Mercy, which Shylock rejects and by which he is finally overcome. It teaches all of these things and much more besides; and it is a dangerous kind of criticism which undertakes to interpret the multiplicity of Shakespeare's human life by translating it into some one plan of Society or of Individuality. These questions, and those to follow on other plays, employ general terms, not to establish preconceived opinions but because it is extremely difficult to get along without general terms. I have no system of Shakespeare to expound. So much by way of prevention of misconception. The cross-references and illustrations are confined to the play itself and to Shakespeare's earlier work, because, in the endeavor to learn something of Shakespeare's own growth as well as of his works, it seems wise to take things in their due order; the later plays will come up hereafter. The chronological order of the plays adopted is that given in Professor Dowden's admirable Shakspere Primer, which is heartily commended, small as it is, as an agreeable and useful companion in Shakespeare study. The important thing is first of all to read and study Shakespeare; not to read about him; not to read what his aim may, can, or must have been; but to read in Shakespeare's own words what he means. Let us use, however, the proper helps to understanding his words as he understood them. Thus may Shakespeare truly speak to the Shakespeare within us; thus may the spirit of his mighty genius be imparted-immeasurable benefit-to those eager to receive it. the needful criticism will come in due time. All It is hard to conceive any greater blessing which could befall the American people than that, beginning in their school-days, they should learn to love and to read habitually all their lives the Plays of William Shakespeare. Hollins Institute, Va. I. WM. TAYLOR THOM. (References are to the Globe edition.) OUTLINE OF A SCHEME FOR A COURSE OF "THE MERCHANT OF VENICE. " The Merchant of Venice as showing: 1. Shakespeare's Presentation of Man the Individual. (a) The Various Individualities in the play. (b) Differences and Effects upon individuals of differences of (c) Effects of Differences of Race and of Race-influence in Be- 2. Shakespeare's Presentation of Man, the Social Being. (a) Relations of legally constituted Society and of individual Members of Society to Property and to Law. Right of Property to Protection in conflict with Right of the Individual to Protection. |