public as a man of letters, an actor of genius, a successful and liberal manager, and a devoted Shakesperian student, I am indebted for his kindness in opening to me without reserve the rich treasures of his Shakesperian and Dramatic library, and, indeed, for the transfer to my own shelves, in a spirit that "made the things more rich," of needful volumes which I might have sought for long in vain. To his knowledge and experience I also owe some valuable suggestions. From Joseph Cogswell, LL. D. Superintendent of the Astor Library, I have continually received all the assistance which it was in his power to give, and far more than I had any right or reason to expect. Even while the noble collection of books which he had projected, and to the gathering together of which he has devoted himself with such singleness of purpose, directed by various learning, was inchoate, almost chaotic, I found him ever ready, at no little sacrifice of personal convenience, to place whatever was within his reach also within mine, whether it was a book or the fruits of his own extended study. To the Hon. George Lunt, of Boston, I am indebted for several favors and kind suggestions, and to President Anderson, D. D., LL. D., of Geneva College, for a useful hint. I have to thank William C. Conant, Esq., of this city, for the benefit of his assistance on more than cne occasion; and when I add that the name of my correspondent in Portland, Me., is George W. Eveleth, I believe that I have absolved myself of all the pleasant duties of this kind which friendship and courtesy have imposed upon me. HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE TEXT OF SHAKESPEARE, QUARTOS-First Folio-Second, Third, and Fourth Folios, EARLY CRITICISM-Mutilation of the Text, EDITORS-Steevens-Malone-Chalmers-Harness-Singer, COMMENTATORS-Heath-Tyrwhitt-Ritson-Mason-Douce- MODERN EDITORS-Mr. Knight—Mr. Collier-Mr. Verplanck, CHARACTER OF ITS CHANGES-Turns Poetry to Prose—“ Whose |