"No more the thirsty Erinnys of this soil." (ACT I., Sc. I.)

This, suggested by Mason, is the received reading of the variorum editions, except that of 1821. Erinnys is the goddess of discord. The original has,—

"No more the thirsty entrance of

this soil."

Douce proposed to read entrails. A correspondent of the present editor suggests, crannies; and there is authority for this in a line of the old 'King John,' with reference to blood,'—

"Closing the crannies of the thirsty earth."

We should be inclined to prefer crannies, did not entrance give a perfectly clear meaning, if we receive it in the sense of "mouth," as in the passage in Genesis, where the first murderer is "cursed from the earth." The porous earth daubs her lips with her children's blood.

"Shall we buy treason and indent with foes." (ACT I., Sc. 3.)

The original, has "indent with fears." We have, in our previous editions, substituted feres, in the sense given in the 'Glossary.' The reading of the MS. Corrector is that given above.

It seems necessary to make some change in the original text; and our reader may choose between the two before him. The use of the law-term, "indent," which signifies a contract between two equal parties, gives countenance to our belief that the king refused to make a contract with vassals, who had, by their treasons, for feited their fiefs.

"Why, what a wasp-stung and impatient fool." (ACT I., Sc. 3.)

This is the reading of the first quarto. The folio has " wasptongue," which is usually printed wasp-tongued.

Mr. R. G. White, in his very able volume, 'Shakspeare's Scholar,' advocates wasp-stung.

"In faith, my wilful lord, you are to blame." (ACT III., Sc. 1.)

This is the reading of the MS. Corrector, in the place of the original,

"In faith, my lord, you are too

wilful-blame."

Mr. Collier considers that the epithet wilful got misplaced, and, necessarily that too should be to.

The compound epithets which are frequent in Shakspere, were not understood by the Corrector. In the same way he has turned "senseless-obstinate," which Mr. Collier calls a strange and unmannerly compound, into "strict and abstinent."

"Farewell, All-hallown summer!

All-hallows, or All-saints, day, is the first of November; a
November summer.

ANCIENT. Act IV., Sc. 2.

"More dishonourable ragged than an old-faced ancient."

An ancient was a standard; old-faced is old, patched up. Ancients were the standard-bearers, in the same way as we now use ensign for the flag and the bearer.

ARRAS. Act II., Sc. 4.

"Go, hide thee behind the arras.”

The arras or tapestry was originally hung on hooks against the wall; subsequently it was hung on frames placed at some distance from the wall. The space between could therefore accommodate even Falstaff, though a difficulty has been made of it.

ARTICULATED. Act V., Sc. 1.

"These things, indeed, you have articulated."

Set out-exhibited-in articles.

BALK'D. Act I., Sc. 1.

"Balk'd in their own blood."

To balk is to raise into ridges. Thus in Minshew: "to balk, or make a balk, in earing of land."

"Of basilisks, of cannon, culverin.” Harrison, in his 'Description of England,' gives us "the names of our greatest ordnance." The basilisk, the largest of all, weighed 9000 lbs., and carried a ball of 60 lbs. ; the cannon weighed 7000 lbs., and also carried a ball of 60 lbs., if this weight is not a misprint, as seems likely; the culverin weighed 4000 lbs., and carried a ball of 18 lbs.

BAVIN. Act III., Sc. 2.

"With shallow jesters, and rash bavin wits." Bavins are bundles of brushwood used to kindle fires. The word is not yet wholly out of use in some localities,

BEAVER. Act IV.. Sc. 1. See 'Henry IV., Part II.'
BOOK. Act III., Sc. 1.

"By that time will our book, I think, be drawn."
Book here means charter or deed. In our old history we find
the word boc-land or boke-land.

BRIEF. Act IV., Sc. 4.

"Bear this sealed brief."

A brief is a letter; the king's letter to the sheriff was formerly called a breve.

BUSKY. Act V., Sc. 1.

"Above yon busky hill!"

Busky is bosky, woody; from the French bosquet.

CADDIS. Act II., Sc. 4.

"Caddis garter," &c.

Caddis was a kind of worsted tape or ferret, often worn as garters by the common people in the time of Elizabeth. The prince, in describing the dress of the drawer's master, makes it as different as possible to that of the courtiers of the time.

CANKER. Act I., Sc. 3.

"And plant this thorn, this canker, Bolingbroke?"

The canker is the dog-rose. See 'Much Ado About Nothing.' CANSTICK. Act III., Sc. 1.

"I had rather hear a brazen canstick turn'd."

Canstick is a not unusual word of our old poets for candlestick. CANTLE. Act III., Sc. 1.

"A monstrous cantle out."

According to some etymologists, cantle is a corner, from the Dutch kant; Phillips, in his 'World of Words,' says it is a portion of anything, and in this sense Chaucer uses it :

"Of no partie ne cantel of a thing;"

And Shakspere again in 'Antony and Cleopatra,'—
"The greater cantle of the world is lost."

CAPITULATE. Act III., Sc. 2.

:

To capitulate is to arrange the heads of an argument or agree

ment.

CARBONADO. Act V., Sc. 3.

"Let him make a carbonado of me."

Carbonado, according to Cotgrave and Phillips, is meat broiled on the coals.

CARDED. Act III., Sc. 2.

"Carded his state."

Carded may be used for discarded; or it may be borrowed from the practice of the wool-carders, metaphorically expressing that Richard had fretted away his state, as the wool is attenuated by continual carding.

Ex-cess-ively. Cotgrave supposes the French sans cesse to be the same as out of all cess.

CHEWET. Act V., Sc. 1.

"Peace, chewet, peace."

Chewet is perhaps used as the name of a chattering bird. It was certainly the name of a dish or pie of minced meat. CHUFF. Act II., Sc. 2.

"No, ye fat chuffs."

The word chuff seems to mean a swollen pampered glutton. COLT. Act II., Sc. 2.

"Mean ye to colt me thus?"

To colt is to trick--to practise upon inexperience. CONDITION. Act I., Sc. 3.

"Than my condition."

Condition is the temper of mind, disposition.

CRANKING. Act III., Sc. 1.

"See how this river comes me cranking in."

Cranking is winding, or bending.

CRESSETS. Act III., Sc. 1.

"Of burning cressets."

The cresset was an iron frame, either square or circular, with ribs or bars, set upon beacons or watch-towers; or, when smaller, carried upon a pole; in it some blazing combustibles were burnt, and it was used for signals, or borne by the watch. We have seen one on the old tower of Hadley Church, near Barnet, which is said to have been used in the rebellion of 1745, and might have blazed in the civil wars of York and Lancaster.

CUNNING. Act II., Sc.

"Wherein cunning, but in craft?" Cunning is here used in the sense of skilful.

"Ta'en a thousand pound this day morning."

This idiom has still its local use. The reading is found in the first two quartos.

DURANCE. Act I., Sc. 2.

"And is not a buff jerkin a most sweet robe of durance."
The buff-jerkin, the coat of ox-skin (bœuf), was worn by
sheriffs' officers. In the Comedy of Errors' it is called
an everlasting garment," a robe of great endurance; but
it was also a "robe of durance" in another sense, not a
pleasant association to one who, like Falstaff, was always in
debt and in danger.

EMBOSSED. Act III., Sc. 3.

66

'Impudent, embossed rascal."

Embossed is swollen, puffed-up. So in Lear," "embossed carbuncle."

ENGAG'D. Act V., Sc. 2.

"And Westmoreland, that was engag'd, did bear it." Engaged is pledged, held as a surety.

→ ENTRANCE. Act I., Sc. 1.

"No more the thirsty entrance of this soil."

Entrance is used for mouth, and if mouth had been used, the passage would have resembled that in Genesis (chap. ii. v. 11), which Shakspere probably had in his mind, "And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand." Mason proposed to read Erinnys, which is impossible, though adopted by Malone and Steevens: Steevens's first conjecture was entrants, and Douce suggested entrails, both more likely; but what occasion is there for any change?

ESPERANCE. Act V., Sc. 2.

"Now,-Esperancé !-Percy !-and set on."

Esperancé, the motto of the Percys, is pronounced here, and in Act II., Sc. 3, as a word of four syllables, in conformity with the rule as to the final e in French poetry.

ESTIMATION. Act I., Sc. 3.

"I speak not this in estimation."

Estimation is here used for conjecture.

FAVOURS. Act III., Sc. 2.

"And stain my favours."

Favours are features. See 'Richard II.'

FAVOURS. Act V., Sc. 4.

"But let my favours hide thy mangled face."

Favours is here used for the scarf which the Prince takes off to cover the body of his opponent; scarfs were often the gifts of ladies, or were of the colours chosen by the favourite lady of the wearer, and thence called favours.