Now let us, as we float along, NOTE THE text of Collins's poems involves several problems which are intricate in their details but of no great importance except to specialists. The differences between the first and second editions of the Eclogues are negligible; the text here printed is of the first edition, called the Persian Eclogues, for the use of which I am indebted to Mr. Buxton Forman, the lucky possessor of one of the very few copies in existence. The second edition, published in 1757, when Collins was mad, contains two new lines in the third eclogue and corrections of a few inconsistencies of language. The Odes are here printed according to the only authoritative edition of 1746, but the main variations in the Dodsley versions of the Ode on the Death of Colonel Ross and the Ode to Evening are noticed. The question of their authenticity is crepuscular and may be studied in the editions of Dyce or Moy Thomas. The Verses to Sir Thomas Hanmer are reprinted from the 1743 edition, though Langhorne, in 1765, published another version which is generally accepted as genuine. The Ode on the Popular Superstitions of the Highlands is reprinted from the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1788, with the omission of all matter confessedly added by the editor, Dr. Carlyle, and Mr. Henry Mackenzie. The text, as it stands, follows 6 the rough copy of the poem which Collins gave to Mr. Home; a few manuscript corrections will be found in the footnotes. The London edition of 1788, professing to be a perfect copy of the Ode, is now discredited by all intelligent critics; Mr. Swinburne, for instance, speaks of the magnificent Highland ode, so villainously defaced after his death by the most impudent interpolations on record'. Of the shorter poems, the Ode on the death of Thomson is reprinted from Mr. Bolton Corney's edition of Thomson (1842), where the text is taken from Mr. Dyce's copy of the original edition (London, Manby, 1749). The text of the Dirge in Cymbeline is from Langhorne's edition, since the first version, in the Gentleman's Magazine, is known to have been altered by the editor; the lines, Ye curious hands that hid from vulgar eyes,' from Pearch's Collection (1763), where they first appeared; the Song, 'Young Damon of the vale is dead,' from Langhorne's edition; and the Sonnet, When Phoebe form'd a wanton smile,' from the Gentleman's Magazine (Oct. 1739). This is the first edition of Collins's poems from which the Lines to Miss Aurelia C r have been omitted, Mr. G. Birkbeck Hill having proved that they were erroneously ascribed to Collins by Dr. Johnson. (Dr. Johnson's Letters, ii. 130.) It will be seen that where a choice of texts has arisen, that which was undoubtedly sanctioned by Collins himself has been printed; and all the footnotes, unless otherwise stated, are from the original editions. The portrait of Collins is from the Pickering edition of 1830. In an appendix will be found five letters: one from Collins to Dr. Hayes of Oxford, the other four the main documents from which this account of the poet has been extracted. Besides these and Dr. Johnson's memoir, the chief sources for information and references are Sir Leslie Stephen's article in the Dictionary of National Biography, and the various editions of Collins, especially those of Langhorne, Crowe, Dyce, Sir Harris Nicolas, Moy Thomas, and Willmott. I am deeply indebted to Mr. Buxton Forman for the privilege of using his copy of the Persian Eclogues; and to Prebendary Cecil Deedes, of Chichester, and the Reverend H. A. Wilson, of Magdalen College, for information concerning the early life of the poet. LIST OF THE CHIEF EDITIONS OF THE WORKS OF COLLINS 1. Persian Eclogues. London, Roberts, 1742. 2. Verses humbly addressed to Sir Thomas Hanmer on his edition of Shakespeare's Works, by a gentleman of Oxford. London, Cooper, 1743. 3. Odes on several Descriptive and Allegoric Subjects, by William Collins. London, Millar, 1747. 4. An Ode occasioned by the death of Mr. Thomson, by William Collins. London, Manby, 1749. 5. Oriental Eclogues. London, Payne, 1757. 6. The Poetical Works of Mr. William Collins, with Memoirs of the Author; and Observations on his genius and writings, by J. Langhorne. London, Becket and Dehondt, 1765. 7. Poetical Works. Glasgow, Foulis, 1787. 8. An Ode on the Popular Superstitions of the Highlands of Scotland, etc. London, Bell, 1788. [The spurious edition. This Ode first appeared in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, 1788.] 9. Poetical Works, edited by Mrs. Barbauld. London, Cadell and Davies, 1794. 11. Poetical Works. Colchester, Keymer, 1796. Poetical Works, enriched with elegant engravings. 12. Poetical Works (Langhorne's Commentary, Johnson's 'Life'; engravings from designs by Westall). London, Sharpe, 1804. 13. Poetical Works, edited by the Rev. Alexander Dyce. London, Pickering, 1827. COLLINS |