69. His fancy's queen. 'Queen of his love; "fancy" being often used for love,' 'affection.' 70. When that I was and a little, &c. "And" was occasionally introduced thus redundantly to eke out the measure, or to give a facetious effect, in old ballads.

71. With hey, ho, the wind and the rain. The bad-weatherhating tone of this burden is in harmony with Master Feste's fine-weather-loving sentiment for turning away, let summer

46

bear it out'; see Note 62, Act i.): and there is something in the rambling, inconsequent twang of the whole song which accords with this Clown's style throughout the play.

72. But when I came, alas! to wive. This, in like manner, tallies with Feste's anti-matrimonial adage-"Many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage," Act i., sc. 5.

73. Every day. 'Evermore,' 'always.' See Note 12, Act ii., "Taming of the Shrew."

SCENE 1.-SICILIA.

An Antechamber in the Palace of LEONTES.

Enter CAMILLO and ARCHIDAMUS. Arch. If you shall chance, Camillo, to visit Bohemia, on the like occasion whereon my services are now on foot, you shall see, as I have said, great difference betwixt our Bohemia and your Sicilia.

Cam. I think, this coming summer, the King of Sicilia means to pay Bohemia the visitation 2 which he justly owes him.

Arch. Wherein our entertainment shall shame us, we will be justified in our loves ;3 for, indeed, Cam. Beseech you,-

1. The first known printed copy of "THE WINTER'S TALE" is the one in the 1623 Folio; and the first known record of its performance exists in a manuscript diary of Dr. Simon Forman, preserved in the Ashmolean Museum. The entry in question is dated 15th May, 1611, and shows that this performance of the play took place at the Globe Theatre, where the company of actors to which Shakespeare belonged used to perform during the spring season (that theatre being open to the sky, while in the winter they acted at the Blackfriars Theatre. There has also been found an entry in the account of the Master of the Revels, Sir George Buc, to the effect that on the 5th of November, 1611, a play was represented at Whitehall, called "The Winter's Nightes Tayle," by "the king's players." Farthermore, a memorandum discovered in the office-book of Sir Henry Herbert, Masters of the Revels, states that "an olde playe called 'Winter's Tale,' formerly allowed of by Sir George Bucke, and likewyse by me on Mr. Hemminges his worde that there was nothing prophane added or reformed, though the allowed booke was missing and therefore I returned it without a fee this 19th of August, 1623." Alas! for that "allowed book was missing!" In all probability the manuscript copy of "The Winter's Tale" here referred to was destroyed when the Globe Theatre was burned down on the 29th of June, 1613; and if it were even but a prompter's transcript, what more than bank note paper value was then reduced to ashes! but if, as is possible, it was the original copy in the poet's own handwriting, how beyond all price the loss! It is to be feared that most of Shakespeare's manuscript plays thus perished; accounting for the otherwise strange fact of not one or even a portion of one of his manuscript productions having ever been discovered. Indeed, when once an author's play was written out clearly in separate parts, or for prompter's use, the original manuscript was most probably considered valueless, and thrown about or torn up accordingly;

Arch. Verily, I speak it in the freedom of my knowledge: we cannot with such magnificencein so rare-I know not what to say.-We will give you sleepy drinks, that your senses, unintelligent of our insufficience, may, though they cannot praise us, as little accuse us.

Cam. You pay a great deal too dear for what s given freely.

Arch. Believe me, I speak as my understanding instructs me, and as mine honesty puts it to

utterance.

Cam. Sicilia cannot show himself over-kind to Bohemia. They were trained together in their childhoods; and there rooted betwixt them then such an affection," which cannot choose but branch

but if those precious scraps could by any miracle have been preserved, and now recovered, what treasure to the world, what incalculable peace of mind to some of his commentators, who have earnestly striven to discover the true readings in certain of his passages now almost hopelessly involved in obscurity and doubt! In this very play, for instance, there are one or two such passages, that have cost ourselves sleepless nights and turmoiled ruminations innumerable; which, if we could veritably behold them in the beloved and honoured hand that first penned them, would be made clear to our understandings with a comfort of poetic soul and a calm of literary conscience unspeakable. The plot of "The Winter's Tale" is taken from Robert Greene's novel of "Pandosto: the Triumph of Time," 1588; afterwards entitled "The History of Dorastus and Fawnia;" a story so popular that it was reprinted many times. None of the names therein, however, were adopted by Shakespeare; and although traces of some of the principal characters are to be found in the novel, their beauty of development, their grace and refinement, their strength and vigour of individuality with moral purpose in their several portraitures, are wholly the poet's; while he has entirely created and introduced the characters of Paulina, Antigonus, Autolycus, and the Clown-Shepherd.

2. To pay Bohemia the visitation. Here, as frequently in the course of this play, and elsewhere, Shakespeare uses the name of the king's country as his title. See Note 86, Act ii.,

Merchant of Venice."

3. Wherein our entertainment, &c. In whatsoever the entertainment we then give you will do us discredit in comparison with that which you now give us, our love shall make up for the deficiency.'

4. Unintelligent of our insufficience. Unconscious of our inadequacy.'

5. Such an affection which cannot, &c. A similar construc