LIBRARY OF OLD AUTHORS. 309 



of average wits cannot be reckoned upon, as we see, to 

 drive tliem up as far as the temperate degree of mis- 

 prints in one syllable, and those, too, in their native 

 tongue. A fortiori, then, Mr. Halliwell is bound to lend 

 us the aid of his great learnmg wherever his author has 

 introduced foreign words and the old printers have 

 made 2^^^ of them. In a single case he has accepted his 

 responsibility as dragoman, and the amount of his suc- 

 cess is not such as to give us any poignant regret that 

 he has everywhere else left us to our own devices. On 

 p. 119, Vol. 11., Francischina, a Dutchwoman, exclaims, 

 " 0, mine aderliver love." Here is Mr. Halliwell's note. 

 " Aderliver. — This is the speaker's error for alder-liever, 

 the best beloved by all." Certainly not "the speakers 

 error," for Marston was no such fool as intentionally to 

 make a Dutchwoman blunder in her own language. But 

 is it an eiTor for alderliever ? No, but for alderliefster. 

 Mr. Halliwell might have found it in many an old Dutch 

 song. For example, Xo. 96 of Hoffmann von Fallersle- 

 ben's " Niederliindische Volkslieder " begins thus : — 



" Mijn hert altijt heeft verlanghen 

 Naer u, die alderliefste raijn." 



But does the word mean " best beloved by all " 1 No 

 such thing, of course; but "best beloved of all," — 

 that is, by the speaker. 



In "Antonio and Mellida" (Vol. I, pp. 50, 51) occur 

 some Italian verses, and here we hoped to fare better ; 

 for Mr. Halliwell (as we learn from the title-page of his 

 Dictionary) is a member of the " Reale Academia di 

 Firenzey This is the Accademia delta Cr^isca, founded for 

 the conservation of the Italian language in its purity, and 

 it is rather a fatal symptom that Mr. Halliwell should in- 

 dulge in the heresy of spelling Accademia with only one c. 

 But let us see what our Delia Cruscan's notions of con- 

 serving are. Here is a specmien : — 



