Philip Massinger Part 32

V., 2, 215.C.: (The warran)t. (C)all in the Asian merchants.

MS.: ... all in the Asian marchants.

(?) The doc.u.ment would scan better.

V., 2, 216.C.: 2 MERCHANT. Now to be hanged.

MS. has s.p.a.ce above 216 for half a line to be said by someone else.

V., 2, 217.C.: 3 MERCHANT. Him that pities thee.

MS. gives no clue to the speaker.

_Ibid._C.: Flaminius. Accusers.

MS.: ... sers. It is the last word of line 217?

V., 2, 218.C.: ... die, and will prove that you took bribes.

I suggest as restoration of lines 215-218:

Call in the Asian merchants; Lets hear them speak.

1 MERCHANT:

Tis thy turn now to be hanged.

And shame to him that pities thee.

MARC:

Th accusers Are ready, and will prove, etc.

V., 2, 232.C.: (Tis) a Roman.

MS.: A Roman.

(C.s addition required by the sense.)

PROLOGUE1.C.: (So far our) author.

MS.: ... author.

APPENDIX IX. THE PARLIAMENT OF LOVE

The MS. (No. 39 in the Dyce Collection, Victoria and Albert Museum) comprises nineteen leaves of the same size as those of _Believe as You List_. It has suffered much from damp, and is in a brittle, dilapidated state. In several pa.s.sages the MS. has suffered since Giffords collation (_e.g._, II., 2, 15). The lacunae in the text_e.g._, at I., 4, 55; I., 5, 7; and I., 5, 74are all caused by the mutilation of the lower edge of the MS. The hand seems to be the same throughout, but bears no resemblance to that in which _Believe as You List_ is written, nor is it so easy to decipher. There are very few corrections in the text, and no marginal notes of any kind except the customary entrances and departures of the characters, which are duplicated as in _Believe as You List_, but in the same hand. The licence on folio 19_a_ has been cut off. On folio 19_b_ is written in a largish hand, _The Parliament of Love_, without any authors name. Gifford believed that this MS. was in Ma.s.singers hand, and says this has since been confirmed. He does not say how. One thing is certain; the same hand did not write _The Parliament of Love_ and _Believe as You List_. One instance out of many can be give in proof of this: the letter C, small and capital, in _The Parliament of Love_ is constantly written thus, ?. A marked feature of the MS. is the doubling of consonants_e.g._, tollerable, vallor, quallities, cullors. It looks as if, while it was in Giffords hands, ink had been used to restore letters here and there, and towards the end of the play there are several subst.i.tutions of words in a later ink. Giffords collation where I have tested it is correct in the main but I noted one or two mistakes_e.g._:

I., 5, 87.MS.: Sudainely.

G.: Speedily.

II., 3, 58.MS.: The graces from the Idalian greene [_sic_].

G.: The Loves and Graces. This would make the line scan.

III., 2, 15.MS.: If I compared it to an Indian slaves.

G.: with.

V., 1, 158.MS.: Have.

G.: Had.

V., 1, 292.To in MS. begins line 293.

The sort of mistake which we find in this MS. lends support to two hypotheses, between which, as far as I can see, there is nothing to decide; either, as we saw there was ground for supposing in _Believe as You List_, the author altered his diction as he composed, or he was dictating to an amanuensis. The earlier corrections are all made in the same ink. In favour of the former hypothesis are such pa.s.sages as the following:

I., 4, 84: May you suc prosper. Succeed was the original word, but cancelled for one which scans better.

I., 5, 23: Clarindore cancelled at end of line, Cleremond subst.i.tuted.

Clarindore is mentioned in the next line.

I., 5, 66: Summers sunne: heate subst.i.tuted for sunne.

II., 1. 81: That deleted after a.s.surance; the line thereby runs more smoothly.

II., 3, 5: Thy selfe: selfe deleted before strengthe.

III., 2, 16: That with incessant labour to searche out. After labour searche is deleted. In other words, the construction is changed: the main verb being dives in the next line, instead of the original intention, searches.

III., 3, 124: Performd deleted before expird.

V., 1, 111: In h.e.l.ls most uglie cullors. Horrid coullors is deleted before the last two words.

V., 1, 189: Nor did I scorn: him after scorn is deleted, as if the syntax had been changed.

V., 1, 206: Acknowledged deleted before appointed.

The sort of mistake that an amanuensis might make, either in copying or by dictation, occurs in:

II., 2, 12: The scorne darts of scorne; first scorne deleted.