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NOTES

So far as possible, all explanatory notes have been incorporated in the Glossary.

The edition of 1862 and that edited by Hindley in 1872 correspond in general with Dr. Nott's. The readings of these editions are therefore only given when they differ from his.

Grosart's text, which preserves the old spelling, follows the original more closely. I have therefore given his readings only when he accepted the emendation of an earlier editor. In other cases it is to be understood that he kept the text of the Quarto.

The text given by Professor Saintsbury seems to be merely a reprint of Grosart's. I have therefore not recorded its readings.

3. 12. many books. Grobianus has only three books; probably chapters are meant.

5. The titles of the chapters as given here do not correspond exactly with the actual chapter headings.

5. 7. save. Nott's emendation, followed by Grosart. The Quarto reads 'haue.'

7. 1. cuckoo in June. "From this exordium, it would seem that Decker's tract came out in the month of June, perhaps at the beginning of Trinity term."÷Nott.

8. 15. gam-ut a-re. Gamuth-are (Quarto). Nott, considering that 'are' was intended to be read also as the verb, printed 'gamut, ARE.'

10. 2. haunting. Nott's emendation. The Quarto reads 'heating.'

10. 3. write. Nott's emendation, followed by Grosart, The Quarto reads 'waite.'

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11. 11. Fauni. Nott, taking 'mountebank ' as a substantive, thought it necessary to correct to Faunus. It is, however, possible to consider the word as used adjectivally, in which case no change is necessary.

11 . 17. Germanies'. Nott corrected to German's. The quotation from Brinkelow's Complaint of Roderyck Mors (c. 1545), given in N.E.D., seems however to show that 'Germany' was, at any rate earlier, a possible name for an inhabitant of the country. We might equally well read Germany's, the word standing in the Quarto as Germanies, with no apostrophe.

11. 30. Proface! Nott read 'profess,' explaining it as 'declare myself an adept.' In this reading he is followed by Hindley, but not by the edition of '62.

12. 30. lauret. Nott read 'laurel.'

15. heading. The Tailors. The Quarto has 'T the Tailors.'

15. 16. Birchin lane. Nott's emendation for 'Burchin law' of the Quarto. Accepted by Grosart.

17. 2-3. There were . . . Chairs. The Quarto has 'There were no daggers then, nor no Chayres.' Nott doubtfully explained 'daggers' as instruments to fix meat upon while cutting it. This seems unsatisfactory, nor does 'chair' in the ordinary sense appear to have much point here. Taking into consideration what immediately follows in the text, it seems to me very probable that in 'Daggers' we have a reference to the celebrated 'Dagger' tavern in Holborn, which is frequently mentioned in literature of the period. If this is so 'The Chair' may have been the name of another tavern or, as seems rather more likely, of a barber's shop. References to the barber's chair are of course frequent.

17. 19-20. Helen's cheek. The Quarto reads 'Hattens cheeke.' The change to 'Helen's' was suggested to Nott by 'a scholar of no mean iudgement,' but was not adopted by him. It is strongly

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supported by a passage in Lyly's Euphues: "Venus had hir Mole in hir cheeke which made hir more amiable [i.e., lovable]: Helen hir scarre on hir chinne which Paris called Cos amoris, the Whetstone of loue."÷Works of J. Lyly (ed. Bond), i., 184, 21-3.

The Quarto does not, however, read 'cos' but 'os,' and we must suppose that Helen's scar was confused with Venus' mole, a mistake which, in itself, is by no means unlikely.

On the other hand, 'Hatten's cheek' gives no intelligible sense. Sir Christopher Hatton, who is the only person likely to be understood by such a refereince, had died as long ago as 1591, and a joke on his appearance would, at the date of the Gull's Hornbook, be pointless; nor does there seem to be the least record of his having had any such mark. If we keep the reading 'Hatton's' we may perhaps suppose that some peculiarity of his monument in St. Paul's or, possibly, some flaw in the stone of which it was composed may have given rise to a joke which would be understood by those at least who frequented the Cathedral. But such an explanation seems, in the absence of proof, decidedly far-fetched, and I have therefore preferred, though after some hesitation, to accept the emendation, which at least gives an intelligible sense.

17. 20. cos amoris. The Quarto has os amoris, which, interpreted either as 'the mouth of love' or 'the bone of love,' seems meaningless and an impossible designation for a mole.

18. 8-9. memory . . . have. The Quarto has "memory (for their learning of all offices, from the scauenger and so vpward) haue . . ."

18. 26-8. that with . . . this. The Quarto has "that with gun powder brings threatens, to blow vp all diseases that come in his way, & smels worse then Assa fþtida in respect of this." Nott reads as my text, but has 'its way' for 'his way.' Grosart has 'brings threaten[ings] to . . .'

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19. 3. Timonists. The Quarto has Pimonists. Corrected by Nott, who is followed by all later editors.

21. heading. do for Brokers. This, the reading of the Quarto, which gives perfectly good sense, was changed by Nott and Hindley (not '62) to 'do, from Brokers' to accord with the list of chapters on p. 5.

21. 4. stage. Nott's emendation for 'stay' of the Quarto. Accepted by Grosart.

21. 19. Bachelor of Art. Nott has ' bachelor of arts.'

22. 16. doctor's. So Hindley: doctors', Nott, '62. The Quarto has no apostrophe.

22. 19. the charges of. Nott's emendation for 'that charges of' in the Quarto. Hindley omits 'of.'

24. 18-9. choose rather to have thy windpipe cut in pieces than to salute any man. From here to the end of the chapter Grobianus is closely followed. Compare the extract from The School of Slovenrie in the Appendix, lines 13-28.

26. 10. but your baboons and your jackanapes. The Quarto has in both cases 'you' for 'your.' Grosart printed 'your . . . you[r].'

26. 17-8. more glorious . . . when. The Quarto has 'more glorious then (being onely in gray) at noone, when.' Nott reads 'more glorious, being only in gray, than at noon, when.' Grosart has 'more glorious, then (being onely in gray) then at noone, when'; his second 'then' stands, of course, for 'than.'

27. heading. young gallant. Nott, following the list of chapters on p. 3 omits 'young' as 'unnecessarily interpolated.' Not so '62.
     The description. Nott omits 'The.'

27. 11. tossing all thy clothes in a rude heap. Again we have many borrowings from Dedekind. See the passage from The School of Slovenrie, ll. 29-60.

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27. 17. shin. Nott reads 'skin', Grosart 'skinne'; but the Quarto has clearly 'shinne.'

28. 9. thee. Nott's emendation for 'three' of the Quarto. Accepted by Grosart.

28. 15. strawling. Nott altered this to 'straddling.' The word 'strawling' does not seem to occur elsewhere, but it may nevertheless be correct.

31. 11. mows at it. Nott suggests 'mows of it.'

39. 5. charge. Nott's emendation for 'change' of the Quarto. Accepted by Grosart.

39. 12. he follows the fashion of great men, in keeping no house. The reduction of the households of the nobility and gentry, and consequent decay of hospitality, especially in the country, was a common subject of complaint throughout the period. The passage is well illustrated by one in Stafford's Examination of certayne complaints, 1581; "Some other [of the Noblemen and Gentlemen], seeing the charges of householde encrease so much, as by no prouision they can make, it can bee holpen, geue ouer their housholdes, and get them Chambers in London or aboute the course, and there spend their time, some of them with a seruaunt or two, where he was wont to keepe thirty or forty persons daily in his house, and to doe good in the Countrey in keeping good order and rule among his neighbors."÷(Ed. Furnivall, for N.S.S., p. 64.)

41. heading. Nott omits 'young' as on p. 22.

41. 5. some half hour after eleven. Eleven o'clock was still the usual dinner hour at this period though shortly afterwards it became later.

42. 9. Kynock. Nott says 'a learned friend conjectures Kynock to be a misprint for Rynock; and fancies the word constituted of Ryn, Rhine, and Hock, the wine so called.' He however printed Kynock, as did '62. Hindley has Rynock, without any note.

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43. 5. you. The Quarto misprints 'yon.'

43. 19. unwittingly. This reading was suggested by the editor of '62; the Quarto reads 'vomittingly.' Nott and Hindley have 'vomitingly' which does not give satisfactory sense.

43. 20. conjuration. Nott's remark that the Quarto reads 'comuration' is not true of the British Museum copy, which has, correctly, 'coniuration.'

43. 24-5. man's . . . would. Read perhaps 'man's, that is somewhat better: I would.'

44. 18. prining iron. 'priming iron' in the sense of 'tobacco pick' has been suggested, and is perhaps right, but I cannot find other instances of the word at such an early date.

44. 25. wines. The Quarto has 'wiues.' All editors read 'wines.'

46. 17. Further it is . . . The Quarto begins a new paragraph here. All editors, including Grosart, run it on.

47. 29. now. Nott suggest[s] 'row,' which reading was adopted by '62 and Hindley. It is plausible but not quite convincing, for the guide and the gull would not themselves row. 'Oars' probably means 'oarsmen.'

49. 1. poets'. The edition of '62 reads 'poet's': in the Quarto there is no apostrophe.

49. 9. are. Nott's suggestion for 'and' of the Quarto. It was accepted by the editor of '62. As an alternative, Nott suggested the insertion of 'To' before 'players'' in which case the sentence should of course not be broken after the word 'do.' Hindley has 'Players and their factors' who . . . do' your gallant pay masters; and.' Grosart followed the Quarto.

49. 23. tribe. Nott reads 'tribes': Grosart 'tribe[s].'

50. 21. Persian. Nott suggests 'Parisian' on the ground that allusions to the 'French lock' are frequent. The emendation was accepted by Hindley.

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51. 26. stage, like time. Nott's emendation for 'Stagelike time' of the Quarto. Accepted by Grosart.

52. 9. quaking. Hindley reads 'quacking,' perhaps a mere misprint.

52. 21. bastone. So Hindley. The Quarto, Nott, and '62 have 'bastome,' possibly an allowable form.

52. 27. many. Grosart has 'mary,' i.e., marry.

54. 17-8. your feather, or your red bea[r]d, or your little legs. On this passage Hindley has the following note:÷'Here Decker retorts on Ben Jonson, who, in his The Poetaster, Act III., sc. i., makes mention of÷"He with the ash-coloured feather there," "Little Legs," "And shall your hair change like these?" The blanketting alludes to the punishment inflicted on him as Horace in the Satiromastrix [sic], and the bastinadoing to a circumstance of which÷whether true or not÷several hints are to be found in the same play.'

I confess that I am sceptical. The quarrel dated from seven years before, a long time in the quickly changing conditions of the Elizabethan stage, and besides, had Dekker really intended to attack Jonson, he could hardly have chosen a more unapt way of doing it than to picture himself as a gull laughed at by a poet and able to answer him in no better way than by rising 'with a screwed and discontented face' and leaving the theatre in the middle of one of his plays. Surely Dekker, if indeed he had a red beard and little legs, was not unique in these respects among men of the period. In 1611, at least, we know that a red beard was 'most in fashion' (see L. Barry's Ram Alley, I., i.). It is indeed hard to see what more obvious or likely peculiarities of a gull Dekker could have selected for mention.

55. 15. Euphuized. The Quarto has Euphuird; Nott, Euphuesed; and Grosart, Euphuizd.

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58. 12. in love . . . i.e., very fond of one of the exercises mentioned.

58. 30. dead [pays]. Nott's emendation for 'deere' of the Quarto. The edition of '62 reads 'dear' but suggests 'dead.' Although the change seems necessary, 'dear' giving no apparent sense, it should be noted that the misprint is not a simple one, necessitating, as it does, an error of at least two letters.

59. 14-5. now there is a general peace. 'The peace concluded with Spain in August, 1604; and which had re opened up the wine trade.'÷Hindley.

59. 15. drunk. Nott[']s emendation, accepted by Grosart. The Quarto has 'drinke.'

61. 16. vintners. The Quarto misprints 'Vintuers.'

63. 20. cold; or, if. Nott's emendation for 'cold) But if' of the Quarto. Accepted by Grosart. This reading gives fair sense, but it seems to me much more probable that several words have dropped out, telling the gull what he should do if he 'smell a watch': it may perhaps have been intended to give him directions for escaping notice altogether.

66. 22. itch to. The Quarto has 'itch, to', which would also give quite good sense, though the sentence would be grammatically imperfect. If this reading is preferred the comma after 'barber's' should be replaced by a semicolon. Grosart printed 'itch to', as here.

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