We have borrowed from several literary journals, the Athenæum, Notes and Queries, and the Parthenon, and from Magazines, the conjectures of their correspondents. When the real name of the correspondent, or what might be such, was signed, we have given it in our notes, as ‘Hickson,’ ‘S. Verges’ (from Notes and Queries). When the name was obviously fictitious, or when the article was not signed at all, we have noted it thus: ‘Anon. (N. and Q.) conj.,’ ‘Anon. (Fras. Mag.) conj.,’ &c., referring to Notes and Queries, Fraser’s Magazine, &c.
‘Spedding,’ ‘Bullock,’ ‘Lloyd,’ ‘Williams,’ ‘Wright,’ indicate respectively our correspondents, Mr James Spedding, Mr John Bullock, of Aberdeen, the Rev. Julius Lloyd, Mr W. W. Williams, of Oxford, and Mr W. Aldis Wright, to each and all of whom we beg to return our best thanks. We have also to thank Mr Archibald Smith, Mr C. W. Goodwin, Mr Bolton Corney, Mr N. E. S. A. Hamilton, Mr J. Nichols, Mr Jourdain, Dr Brinsley Nicholson, Mr Halliwell, Dr Barlow, Mr Grant White, Mr B. H. Bright, Mr Henry A. Bright, and Mr Bohn, for friendly suggestions and kind offers of assistance.
The proposed emendations, marked ‘Anon. conj.’ are those which we have not been able to trace, or those in which the authors have not sufficient confidence to acknowledge them.
Those proposed with some confidence by the present editors are marked ‘Edd. conj.’
In conclusion, we commend this volume, the first product of long labour, to the indulgent judgement of critics. In saying this we are not merely repeating a stereotyped phrase. We have found errors in the work of the most accurate of our predecessors. We cannot hope to have attained perfect accuracy ourselves, especially when we consider the wide range which our collation has embraced, and the minute points which we have endeavoured to record, but at all events we have spared no pains to render our work as exact as we could. Those who have ever undertaken a similar task will best understand the difficulty, and will be most ready to make allowance for shortcomings. ‘Expertus disces quam gravis iste labor.’
W. G. C.
J. G.
The five plays contained in this volume occur in the first Folio in the same order, and, with one exception, were there printed for the first time.
In the case of The Merry Wives of Windsor, two Quartos (Q1 and Q2), imperfect copies of an earlier play, appeared in 1602 and 1619, the second a reprint of the first. They are described in a special Introduction to that play, and a reprint of Q1, collated with Q2, follows it. A third Quarto (Q3) was printed from F1 in 1630.