Mr.
Spedding says: "I find nothing either in these later scribblings or in
what remains of the book itself to indicate a date later than the reign
of Elizabeth." The "scribblings" are therefore written by a contemporary
hand. For the purpose of reference I have placed the letters
_a, b, c, d, e_, outside of the facsimile.
(_a_) "honorificabilitudine." This curious long word when taken in
conjunction with the words "your William Shakespeare." which are also
found upon this page, appears to have some reference to the same curious
long word which is found in the ablative plural in "Loves Labour's
lost," which appeared I 1597, and was the play to which Shakespeare's
name was for the first time attached, and, as I shew, in Chapter X., p.
84, it was placed there in order to give with absolute certainty a key
to the real authorship.
(_b_) "By Mr ffrauncis William Shakespeare Baco"--with ffrauncis
written upside down over it and your/yourself written upside down
at the commencement of the line. Baco would require Baconis as
its genitive.
(_c_) "revealing day through every crany peepes." We think that this
is an accurate statement of the revelations here afforded.
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