The fact that so many omissions can be supplied from such mutilated copies as the early Quartos, indicates that there may be many more omissions for the detection of which we have no clue. The text of the Merry Wives given in F1 was probably printed from a carelessly written copy of the author’s MS.
[ Note IV.]
[I. 3. 95.] Perhaps, as in the Two Gentlemen of Verona, III. 1. 315, and other passages, some of which are mentioned by Sidney Walker in his ‘Criticisms,’ Vol. II. p. 13 sqq., this vexed passage may be emended by supplying a word. We venture to suggest ’the revolt of mine anger is dangerous.’ The recurrence of the same letters anger in the word ‘dangerous,’ might mislead the printer’s eye and cause the omission.
[ Note V.]
[II. 1. 5.] In the copy of Johnson’s Edition, which belongs to Emmanuel College, there is a MS. note of Dr Farmer’s referring to Sonnet CXLVII. in support of the conjecture ‘physician’ for ‘precisian;’ we find there
‘My reason, the physician to my love,’ &c.
[ Note VI.]
[II. 1. 194, 196.] Here again we have followed the early Quartos in reading ‘Brook’ instead of ‘Broome,’ the name given by Ff Q3. That the former was the original name is proved by the jest in [II. 2. 136], where the Folios make sheer nonsense.
Mr Halliwell suggests that the following lines, [IV. 4. 75, 76],
‘Nay I’ll to him again in name of Broome;