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Article CLASSICAL THEOLOGY.—XVI. ← Page 2 of 2 Article THE BRITISH MUSRUM SLANDER AND BRO. JOHN PAYNE COLLIER.* Page 1 of 6 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Classical Theology.—Xvi.
Here the governor of the town , the members of the guild , the municipal officers , and the clergy of St . Remi , joined them . Thus attended , they paraded the street singing hymns , accompanied hy a full band . The procession was nOAv increased by the great concourse of the inhabitants and strangers from the surrounding districts ; and its impres-• siveness ivas still further augmented by numbers of the
youth of either sex , who assumed the attributes with the garb of their patron saints , and mixed in the immediate train of the 2 M'hicipal actors . Then again they repaired to the church , where Te Deum was sung by the full choir , in commemoration of the victory oi r er the English ! They then performed high mass , ancl administered the sacrament
to the Avhole part } 7 . A . scenic representation , during the service , was given of the Assumption of the Virgin . A canopy was raised , reaching nearly to the top of the dome , intended to emulate the glittering vault of heaven . Suspended about two feet below it , appeared a splendid throne , on ivhich was seated an old man , to image the Father
Almighty—a representation at once so absurd and impious as it would be thought could alone be tolerated by the votaries of the worst superstitions of popery . On either side four pasteboard angels , the size of men , floated in the air , flapping their wings in cadence to the sounds of the organ ; Avhile above Avas hung a large triangle Avith three smaller
angels at its corners ; who , at the intermission of each office , Avere made to perform upon a set of little bolls the hymn of the Ave Maria , gratia Dei plena , per secula , ancl the like , accompanied by a larger angel on each side Avith a trumpet , connected Avith the mechanism of the scaffolding . To comp lete this portion of the spectacle , tAvo other angels below
the old man ' s feet held tapers , Avhich wore lighted as the services began , ancl extinguished at their close ; at Avhich the figures Avere moved to express reluctance by turning quickly about , so that it required some dexterity to apply the extinguishers . At the commencement of the mass , tAvo of those cliernbims by the side of the figured Almighty descended to the foot of the altarandplacing themselves beside
, , the tomb in which a pasteboard figure of the Virgin hacl been substituted for her living representative , gently raised it to the feet of the Eather , so to speak . The image , as it mounted from time to time , lifted its head and extended its arms as if conscious of the joy of its approaching beatitude ; ancl that having received the , benediction and having been
encircled by another angel with a crown of glory , it gradually disappeared behind the shifting clouds . At this moment an antic below , ivho acted as fugleman , exhibited a fit of extravagant rapture ; at one moment violently clapping his hands , at the next falling as if ecstatically overcome , and then yet once more bounding from the ground . So did the pageant proceed in all its grotesque glory . The children , clamoured
for their antic to do it again ; the priests , ivith the accompaniment of bells , trumpets , ancl organs , thundered out the mass ; the pious were loud in their acclamations of praise at the devotion of the Virgin , and the whole church was filled ivith a hoarse murmur of conflicting sounds . " The sequel of all this , ive are told Avas , as on similar occasions , a public hearty banquet . With ns ive know the sacred theatricals
did not ansAver , ancl Ave much doubt how far they ever answered in the main Avith others for good—the place of the Virgin , or maid in her purity , was soon supplied by ... damsel of a very different stamp ; ive need say no more—the inference speaks for itself . But AVC belieA'e these representations elseAvhere have decayed in their fashion , ancl the pasteboard
effig ies have gone out of vogue altogether . It was thought at the Reformation , that having regard to the manners of the primitive church , pastors might be better employed in teaching their flocks than in parading their persons before them in processions ; at all events , as quite unessential to spiritual service , the pasteboard effigies were at once dispensed with . Such shows do not , and never did , bnlons ; to Protestant forms of Avorship .
The British Musrum Slander And Bro. John Payne Collier.*
THE BRITISH MUSRUM SLANDER AND BRO . JOHN PAYNE COLLIER . *
WE have Avatched , with feelings of pain , the . slow development of this neiv Shakesperian controversy , Avhich is destined to add another , ancl not the least painful , chapter to the history of the quarrels and calamities of authors . The case , divested of all extraneous matter , stands thus : —Bro . John Payne Collier , a veteran in literature , a man of high standing , of unimpeachable veracita brother of whom
y , the Craft may justly be proud ; the intimate friend ancl confidant of noblemen , gentlemen , and men distinguished in the Avorld of letters , well known as our first Shakesperian commentator , a writer on the early English drama , ballad lore , and antiquarian literature in general , the editor of numerous works of deep research ancl utility to the students in the
above branches of knowledge—has latterl y been charged with forgery , by an employe in the manuscript department of the British Museum , rejoicing in the euphonious cognomen of Nicolas Esterhazy Stephen Armytage Hamilton . This charge has arisen out of the following circumstances . Amongst Bro . Collier ' s labours are tAvo editions of the
works of Shakespeare , each giving corrections and alterations of the received text . While engaged on these he became the possessor of a copy of the 1632 folio edition of the plays , ivhich hacl been laboriously annotated by an individual ( if not , indeed , by tAvo individuals ) whose caligraphy affords reason to believe that ho , or they , must have been living at the time , or
within some foiv years of its publication . This folio , containing many thousand variations , extending from the punctuation of a single comma to the interpolation and cancelling of Avhole lines and complete sentences , Bro . Collier judged to be of such importance and intrinsic value , that although he had previously edited the " Ellesmere Shakespeare , " so called from annotated materials found in the library of the late Earl of Ellesmere , he selected the most obvious amendments of the
" old corrector , " ancl issued another volume as Notes and Emendcdions to the Teo : t of Shctlcespeare ' s Pietys , from Early Manuscript Corrections in a Copy ofthe Folio of 1632 , in the 2 ) Ossession off . Payne Collier , Esq ., F . S . A ., forming a Supplemented , Volume to the Works of Shakespeare hy the same Editor . Svo . London : Whittaker and Co . Eirst edition , IS 43 ; second editionrevised and enlarged 1853 .
, , Not content Avith an attack on the validity of the manuscript additions and corrections in this book—IIOAV known as the " Perkins folio , " from its once having been the property of a family of that name—Mr . Hamilton goes further , ancl produces a AA'holesale catalogue of charges against Bro . Collier . In the first place he accuses Mm of forging the
corrections in the " Ellesmere Shakespeare , " asserting that they are in the same handwriting as the " Perkins folio , " ancl designating them as the " Bridgewater House Shakespeare forgeries . " Then he proceeds with a very novel and ingenious accusation—that Bro . Collier first forged a document called "The Players' Petition" and subsequently introduced it into
, the State Paper Office , for the purpose of finding it there . After ivhich , Mr . Hamilton has another imputation ready , to the effect , that Bro . Collier has surreptitiously introduced the name of " Shakespeare" into a document at Dulwich College , in which the name , he says , never existed , and which Bro . Collier as strenuously maintains was in it ,
some thirty years ago , when he copied it for the purpose of printing . With the above accusations it is the province of Bro . Payne Collier ' s pamphlet to deal , and his refutation of each ancl the Avhole of these unparalleled calumnies is complete . He sets out Avith the following proposition , in Avhich AVC are at issue Avithhiin , for reasons ivhich shall presently appear . " I can have no right to complain that , if there be fair and reasonable ground for believing that a fraud ancl imposture has
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Classical Theology.—Xvi.
Here the governor of the town , the members of the guild , the municipal officers , and the clergy of St . Remi , joined them . Thus attended , they paraded the street singing hymns , accompanied hy a full band . The procession was nOAv increased by the great concourse of the inhabitants and strangers from the surrounding districts ; and its impres-• siveness ivas still further augmented by numbers of the
youth of either sex , who assumed the attributes with the garb of their patron saints , and mixed in the immediate train of the 2 M'hicipal actors . Then again they repaired to the church , where Te Deum was sung by the full choir , in commemoration of the victory oi r er the English ! They then performed high mass , ancl administered the sacrament
to the Avhole part } 7 . A . scenic representation , during the service , was given of the Assumption of the Virgin . A canopy was raised , reaching nearly to the top of the dome , intended to emulate the glittering vault of heaven . Suspended about two feet below it , appeared a splendid throne , on ivhich was seated an old man , to image the Father
Almighty—a representation at once so absurd and impious as it would be thought could alone be tolerated by the votaries of the worst superstitions of popery . On either side four pasteboard angels , the size of men , floated in the air , flapping their wings in cadence to the sounds of the organ ; Avhile above Avas hung a large triangle Avith three smaller
angels at its corners ; who , at the intermission of each office , Avere made to perform upon a set of little bolls the hymn of the Ave Maria , gratia Dei plena , per secula , ancl the like , accompanied by a larger angel on each side Avith a trumpet , connected Avith the mechanism of the scaffolding . To comp lete this portion of the spectacle , tAvo other angels below
the old man ' s feet held tapers , Avhich wore lighted as the services began , ancl extinguished at their close ; at Avhich the figures Avere moved to express reluctance by turning quickly about , so that it required some dexterity to apply the extinguishers . At the commencement of the mass , tAvo of those cliernbims by the side of the figured Almighty descended to the foot of the altarandplacing themselves beside
, , the tomb in which a pasteboard figure of the Virgin hacl been substituted for her living representative , gently raised it to the feet of the Eather , so to speak . The image , as it mounted from time to time , lifted its head and extended its arms as if conscious of the joy of its approaching beatitude ; ancl that having received the , benediction and having been
encircled by another angel with a crown of glory , it gradually disappeared behind the shifting clouds . At this moment an antic below , ivho acted as fugleman , exhibited a fit of extravagant rapture ; at one moment violently clapping his hands , at the next falling as if ecstatically overcome , and then yet once more bounding from the ground . So did the pageant proceed in all its grotesque glory . The children , clamoured
for their antic to do it again ; the priests , ivith the accompaniment of bells , trumpets , ancl organs , thundered out the mass ; the pious were loud in their acclamations of praise at the devotion of the Virgin , and the whole church was filled ivith a hoarse murmur of conflicting sounds . " The sequel of all this , ive are told Avas , as on similar occasions , a public hearty banquet . With ns ive know the sacred theatricals
did not ansAver , ancl Ave much doubt how far they ever answered in the main Avith others for good—the place of the Virgin , or maid in her purity , was soon supplied by ... damsel of a very different stamp ; ive need say no more—the inference speaks for itself . But AVC belieA'e these representations elseAvhere have decayed in their fashion , ancl the pasteboard
effig ies have gone out of vogue altogether . It was thought at the Reformation , that having regard to the manners of the primitive church , pastors might be better employed in teaching their flocks than in parading their persons before them in processions ; at all events , as quite unessential to spiritual service , the pasteboard effigies were at once dispensed with . Such shows do not , and never did , bnlons ; to Protestant forms of Avorship .
The British Musrum Slander And Bro. John Payne Collier.*
THE BRITISH MUSRUM SLANDER AND BRO . JOHN PAYNE COLLIER . *
WE have Avatched , with feelings of pain , the . slow development of this neiv Shakesperian controversy , Avhich is destined to add another , ancl not the least painful , chapter to the history of the quarrels and calamities of authors . The case , divested of all extraneous matter , stands thus : —Bro . John Payne Collier , a veteran in literature , a man of high standing , of unimpeachable veracita brother of whom
y , the Craft may justly be proud ; the intimate friend ancl confidant of noblemen , gentlemen , and men distinguished in the Avorld of letters , well known as our first Shakesperian commentator , a writer on the early English drama , ballad lore , and antiquarian literature in general , the editor of numerous works of deep research ancl utility to the students in the
above branches of knowledge—has latterl y been charged with forgery , by an employe in the manuscript department of the British Museum , rejoicing in the euphonious cognomen of Nicolas Esterhazy Stephen Armytage Hamilton . This charge has arisen out of the following circumstances . Amongst Bro . Collier ' s labours are tAvo editions of the
works of Shakespeare , each giving corrections and alterations of the received text . While engaged on these he became the possessor of a copy of the 1632 folio edition of the plays , ivhich hacl been laboriously annotated by an individual ( if not , indeed , by tAvo individuals ) whose caligraphy affords reason to believe that ho , or they , must have been living at the time , or
within some foiv years of its publication . This folio , containing many thousand variations , extending from the punctuation of a single comma to the interpolation and cancelling of Avhole lines and complete sentences , Bro . Collier judged to be of such importance and intrinsic value , that although he had previously edited the " Ellesmere Shakespeare , " so called from annotated materials found in the library of the late Earl of Ellesmere , he selected the most obvious amendments of the
" old corrector , " ancl issued another volume as Notes and Emendcdions to the Teo : t of Shctlcespeare ' s Pietys , from Early Manuscript Corrections in a Copy ofthe Folio of 1632 , in the 2 ) Ossession off . Payne Collier , Esq ., F . S . A ., forming a Supplemented , Volume to the Works of Shakespeare hy the same Editor . Svo . London : Whittaker and Co . Eirst edition , IS 43 ; second editionrevised and enlarged 1853 .
, , Not content Avith an attack on the validity of the manuscript additions and corrections in this book—IIOAV known as the " Perkins folio , " from its once having been the property of a family of that name—Mr . Hamilton goes further , ancl produces a AA'holesale catalogue of charges against Bro . Collier . In the first place he accuses Mm of forging the
corrections in the " Ellesmere Shakespeare , " asserting that they are in the same handwriting as the " Perkins folio , " ancl designating them as the " Bridgewater House Shakespeare forgeries . " Then he proceeds with a very novel and ingenious accusation—that Bro . Collier first forged a document called "The Players' Petition" and subsequently introduced it into
, the State Paper Office , for the purpose of finding it there . After ivhich , Mr . Hamilton has another imputation ready , to the effect , that Bro . Collier has surreptitiously introduced the name of " Shakespeare" into a document at Dulwich College , in which the name , he says , never existed , and which Bro . Collier as strenuously maintains was in it ,
some thirty years ago , when he copied it for the purpose of printing . With the above accusations it is the province of Bro . Payne Collier ' s pamphlet to deal , and his refutation of each ancl the Avhole of these unparalleled calumnies is complete . He sets out Avith the following proposition , in Avhich AVC are at issue Avithhiin , for reasons ivhich shall presently appear . " I can have no right to complain that , if there be fair and reasonable ground for believing that a fraud ancl imposture has