52 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



[No. 194. 



Taming of the Shretv, Act V. Sc. 2. — On the 

 exit of Katharina to " fetch " in the disobedient 

 wives, Lucentio remarks ; 



" Luc. Here is a wonder, if you talk of a wonder, 

 Ilort. And so it is. I wonder what it bodes. 

 Pet. Marry, peace it bodes, and love, and quiet life, 



An awful rule, and right supremacy ; 



And, to be short, what not that's sweet and happy." 



I'or " an awful rule " I propose to substitute and 

 lawful rule, as agreeing better with the text and 

 context ; indeed, the whole passage indicates it. 

 Petruchio means that the change in Katharina's 

 temper and conduct bodes love, peace, law, and 

 order, in contradistinction to awe or fear. The 

 repetition of the conjunction and also makes the 

 harmony of the language more equal ; " and love, 

 and quiet life, and lawful rule, and right supre- 

 macy," rings evenly to the ear. Considering the 

 number and character of the emendations in Mr. 

 Collier's volume, I have the less hesitation in 

 proposing this one. The language of Shakspeare 

 is, as we know it, for the most part so clear, har- 

 monious, distinct, and forcible, that I think we 

 are justified in considering any obscure, incon- 

 sistent, or harsh passage, as having met with some 

 mishap either in hearing, transcribing, or in print- 

 ing. Some months ago, and certainly before Mb. 

 Collier's volume of corrections appeared, I for- 

 warded to " N. & Q." (it never appeared) a cor- 

 rection from Antony and Cleopatra, Act V. Sc. 2,, 

 where Cleopatra, contemplating suicide, says it is — 

 «' To do that thing that ends all other deeds. 



Which shackles accidents, and bolts up change ; 



Which sleeps, and never palates more the dung. 



The beggar's nurse and Csesar's." 



The word " dung" ending the third line, was so 

 evidently dug, or nipple, that I thought no man 

 to whom it was pointed out could have a doubt 

 about it. Mr. Collier remarks in his recent 

 volume, " This emendation may, or may not, have 

 been conjectural, but we may be pretty sure it is 

 right." I doubt if Mr. Collier would have ac- 

 cepted any authority other than that of his own 

 folio, although Shakspeare has frequently used the 

 word dug as a synonym for nipple, as see Romeo 

 and Juliet, Act I. Sc. 3. : 



" Nurse. And she was wean'd, — I never shall forget 



it, — 

 Of all the days of the year, upon that day : 

 For I had then laid wormwood to my dug. 



but, as I said, 



When it did taste the wormwood on the nipple 

 Of my dug, and felt it bitter, pretty fool. 

 To see it tetchy, and fall out with the dug !" 



This quotation proves clearly, I consider, that dug 

 was meant by Cleopatra, and not dung ; and so I 

 considered before the old manuscript correction of 

 Mb. Collier's appeared. The words " an awful " 



are as clearly to my mind and lawful. I doubt, 

 however, if they will be so acknowledged, as the 

 use of the words " an awful," it may be contended, 

 are countenanced by other passages in Shakspeare ; 

 I quote the following. 



Two Gentlemen of Verona, Act IV. Sc. 1. — 



" Zrd Outlaw, Know then, that some of us are gen- 

 tlemen. 

 Such as the fury of ungovern'd youth 

 Thrust from the company o^ awful men." 



The word "awful" is surely, in this place, laxiful; 

 an outlaw would be little inclined to consider men 

 as " awful," but the contrary. Read the last lino 

 I as under — 



" Thrust from the company of lawful men," 



and the meaning is simple and clear. The out- 

 [ laws were thrust from the company of lawfid men, 

 that is, men who obeyed the laws they had broken 

 in " the fury of ungovern'd youth." 



In King Richard II., Act III. Sc. 3., the follow- 

 ing use of the words laioful and awful occurs : 



" K. Rich, We are amazed ; and thus long have wa 

 stood 

 To watch the fearful bending of thy knee, 



[ To Nortlmwherland, 

 Because we thought ourself thy lawful king; 

 And if we be, how dare thy joints forget 

 To pay their awful duty to our presence? " 



The meaning in this case is no doubt clear enough, 

 and the words " awful duty " may be the right 

 ones ; but had they stood lawful duty in any old 

 copy, he would have been a bold man who would 

 have proposed to substitute awfid for lawful. 



Second Part of King Henry IV., Act IV. 

 Sc. 1.— 



" Arch. To us, and to our purposes, confin'd: 

 We come within our awful banks again, 

 And knit our powers to the arm of peace." 



The use of the word " awful " in this passage may 

 be right, but, as in the preceding case, I think, 

 had lawful banks stood in any old printed copy, 

 or had it even been found in Mr. Collier's vo- 

 lume, the fitness would have been acknowledged. 

 Shakspeare used the word " lawful " in many 

 instances where, no doubt, it may with reason, 

 strong as any given here, be changed to awful. 

 In the historical plays, lawfulWwg, lawful lyrogeny, 

 lawful heir, lawful magistrate, lawful earth, laivful 

 sword, &c., may be found. These suggestions, 

 like the pinch of sand thrown on the old woman's 

 cow, if they do no good, will, I trust, do no harm. 

 Robert Rawlinson. 



Shakspeare. — A German writer. Professor Ilil- 

 gers, of Aix-la-Chapelle, published in 1852 a 

 pamphlet, in which he endeavoured to prove that 

 many passages in Shakspeare, which were origin- 

 ally written in verse, have been "degraded" into 

 prose, and quotes several passages from the plays 



