The Rowley Poems Part 76

[Footnote 2: Of these varieties all, except the first, are more properly varieties of _style_ than of _language_. The _local situation_ of a writer may certainly produce a _provincial dialect_, which will often differ essentially from the language used at the same time in other parts of the same country. But this can only happen in the case of persons of no education and totally illiterate; and such persons seldom write. It is unnecessary however to discuss this point very accurately, as n.o.body, I believe, will contend, that the poems attributed to Rowley are written in any _provincial dialect_. If there should be a few words in them, which are now more common at Bristol than at London, it should be remembered that Chatterton was of Bristol.]

[Footnote 3: It is not surprizing that Chatterton should have been ignorant of a peculiarity of the English language, which appears to have escaped the observation of a professed editor of Chaucer. Mr.

Urry has very frequently lengthened _verbs in the singular number_, by adding _n_ to them, without any authority, I am persuaded, even from the errors of former Editions or MSS. It might seem invidious to point out living writers, of acknowledged learning, who have slipped into the same mistake in their imitations of Chaucer and Spenser.]

[Footnote 4: This is a point so material to the following argument, that, though it has never hitherto, I believe, been made a question, it ought not perhaps to be a.s.sumed without some proof. It may be said, that Chatterton was only the _transcriber_ of the Glossary as well as of the Poems. If to such an attention we were to answer, that Chatterton always declared himself the _author_ of the Glossaries, we should be told perhaps, that with equal truth he always declared Rowley to have been the author of the Poems. But (not to insist upon the very different weight, which the same testimony might be allowed to have in the two cases) it has happened luckily, that the Glossary to the Poem, ent.i.tled "_Englysh Metamorphosis_," [See p. 196.] was written down by Chatterton extemporally, without the a.s.sistance of any book, at the desire and in the presence of Mr. Barrett. Whoever will compare that Glossary with the others, will have no doubt of their being all from the same hand.]

[Footnote 5: Printed at London, MDCLXXI. The part, which Chatterton seems to have chiefly consulted, is that, which begins at Sign. U u u u, and is ent.i.tled "_Etymologicon voc.u.m omnium antiquarum Anglicarum, quae usque a Wilhelmo Victore invaluerunt, &c._"]

[Footnote 6: I will state shortly some of those words, which have been cited above, p. 313. as _either not ancient or not used in their ancient sense_, with their corresponding articles in Skinner.

ABESSIE; _Humility_. C.--Abessed;--_Humiliatus_. Sk.

ABORNE; _Burnished_, C.--Borne; _Burnish_. Sk. It was usual with Chatterton to prefix _a_ to words of all sorts, without any regard to custom or propriety. See in the Alphabetical Gloss. _Aboune, Abreave, Acome, Aderne, Adygne, Agrame, Agreme, Alest_, &c.

ABOUNDE. This word Chatterton has not interpreted, but the context shews that it is used in the sense of _good_. So that I suspect it was taken from the following article in Skinner. Abone,--a Fr. G. Abonnir; _Bonum_ facere.

ABREDYNGE: _Upbraiding_. C.--Abrede, exp. _Upbraid_. Sk.

ACROOL; _Faintly_. C.--Crool, exp. _Murmurare_. Sk. See the remark upon ABORNE.

ADENTE, ADENTED: _Fastened, annexed_. C.--Adent;--_Configere, Conjungere_. Sk.

Al.u.s.tE has no interpretation: but it is used in the sense of _raise_.

Perhaps it may have been derived from a mistaken reading of Al.u.s.t, which is explained by Skinner to mean _Tollere_. See the remarks upon _Alyse_ and _Bestoiker_, p. 328, 329.

DERNE, DERNIE; _Woeful, lamentable, cruel_. C.--Derne; _Dirus, crudelis_. Sk.

DROORIE; _Modesty_. C.--Drury; _Modestia_. Sk.

FONS, FONNES; _Fancys, Devices_. C.--Fonnes; _Devises_. Sk.

KNOPPED; _Fastened, chained, congealed_. C.--Knopped; _Tied_. Sk.

LITHIE: _Humble_. C.--Lithy; _Humble_. Sk. But in truth I do not believe that there is any such word. Skinner probably found it in his edition of Chaucer's _Cuckow and Nightingale_, ver. 14. where the MSS.

have LITHER (_wicked_), which is undoubtedly the right reading.]