INTRODUCTION EDITIONS OF THE TEXT The New Inn stands unique among the plays of Jonson in having made its first appearance in octavo, having been first printed in this form in 1631. This play was not included in the collected editions of Jonson's works commonly known as the First and Second Folios,1 dated 1631-41. That the reason for its omission lay in its peculiarity of form is very evident; for whereas his other plays could be reprinted from their original type, and then bound together, this comedy would have needed to be entirely reset. But although omitted in these first folios, it appears in all subsequent collected editions. These are: (1) the Third Folio, 1692; (2) a bookseller's edition, 1716 [1717]; (3) Whalley's edition, 1756; (4) John Stockdale's reprint of Whalley's edition (together with the works of Beaumont and Fletcher), 1811; (5) Gifford's edition, 1816; (6) Barry Cornwall's one-volume edition, 1838; (7) Lieut. Col. Francis Cunningham's threevolume reissue (with some minor variations) of Gifford's edition, 1871; (8) another reissue by Cunningham, in nine volumes (with additional notes), 1875. The catalogue of the British Museum shows that Jonson's works were printed in two volumes at Dublin in 1729. Of these editions, the original of 1631 is the only one calling for a detailed description; of the 1 For an account of these Folios see Johnson's edition of The Devil is an Ass, pp. xi—xiv. a reprints above mentioned, the first, second, third, fifth, and eighth will be discussed. 1631. This edition has received but little attention from the editors of subsequent editions, their mode of procedure having been most extraordinary; for 1716 was based on 1692, Whalley's on 1716, and Gifford's on Whalley's, some slight reference being made, however, by the last to this little volume of 1631. It is octavo by measurement, 41,"x6", with the signatures in eights. The copy in the Bodleian Library at Oxford is bound in vellum, and the remains of tyingstrings are plainly visible. In the opinion of the binding expert at that library, this is the original binding. The copy at the British Museum has been rebound. Pagination is wanting. Collation: The verso of the title-page is blank; then come three leaves numbered (*)2, (*)3, (*)4; then four leaves without signature; A-A,, two leaves; B-G in eights. The last signature is H., on the verso of which the Ode ends. After the Dedication to the Reader, which commences with (*)2, comes the Argument, (*)3 verso to [(*)8] recto. The Persons of the Play extends from [(*)8] verso to A, recto. The Prologue is on A, verso. The play proper extends from B1 to [G]. The first epilogue is on the verso of this leaf, and the second epilogue comes on H1. The Ode which concludes the volume extends from H1 verso to H, verso. Collation was made from a facsimile in the possession of the present editor, photographed from the copy in the British Museum. Photographs of signature D1, which is lacking in the London copy, were obtained from the perfect one at Oxford. Those two are the only copies of this 1631 edition of The New Inn known to exist. 1 Gifford writes: 'The only play which, according to my opinion, Jonson gave to the press after the folio of 1616, was The New Inn, which he printed in small 8vo. this year (1631), and for the publication of which, he had probably his private reasons'; 1 and Cunningham further remarks that this volume was 'watched through the press, with more even than Jonson's usual vigilance.' One can well believe this after making a careful study of the edition. The few misprints existing are of little importance. The play is overpunctuated. Thus the words 'now' and 'again' are usually marked off by commas. Sometimes the punctuation is misleading, on two occasions at least making a satisfactory interpretation difficult. Occasionally the mark of interrogation is used for that of exclamation. The apostrophe is often a metrical device, and indicates the blending of two words without actual elision of either. The present text aims to be an exact reproduction of that of the 1631 edition. Before taking up the edition of 1692, it must be explained that my statement above that The New Inn did not appear in the First and Second Folios is made in contradiction of one by Fleay, or at least so it would seem: he makes either a misstatement, or an unfortunate arrangement of his subject-matter, when he writes: The "second volume of the Folio, 1640, for R. Meighen contained three plays, each with a separate title-page "for R. Allot, 1631." '21. Bartholomew Fair 24. The Staple of News 23. The Devil is an Ass all belonging to the se- 25. The New Inn (previously published). 1 Wks. 5. 150. And after 26. The Magnetic Lady 11, 27. A Tale of a Tub 22. The Sad Shepherd 2. The Fall of Mortimer All early work revised. Printed "1640."'1 Although aware that the Meighen Folio in the Yale Library does not contain The New Inn, I have been somewhat disquieted by this statement of Fleay's; for, considering the elastic nature of the folios, there was just a possibility that somewhere there might be a copy such as Fleay described. In his Bibliographical Hand-book (1867), after giving the title-page of the 1631 edition with 'judged of,' Hazlitt adds, 'Also in Jonson's Workes, 1616-31, vol. 2;' but that is directly contradicted in a statement with regard to the 1692 Folio in his Bibliographical Collections and Notes, Second Series (1882): 'This is the only folio impression with The Case is Altered and the New Inn.' This later statement might be taken as a correction conclusively settling the matter, were it not for the unfortunate misstatement in regard to The Case is Altered. although Hazlitt proves untrustworthy, I am convinced, after an exhaustive search for The New Inn in an early folio, that he is right, and Fleay in error. The following opinion of Mr. W. W. Greg, in a letter to me dated November 9th, 1906, may be considered of sufficient weight to close the matter, and settle all doubt: 'Fleay's and Hazlitt's statements rest on no basis of fact. To the best of my belief (and I have examined a good many copies of every edition), The Case is Altered was never printed in folio at all, and The New Inn only in that of 1692.' But 1692. The title-page of this volume, with its special reference to The New Inn, reads as follows: THE 1 Chron. Drama 1. 323. WORKS OF | BEN JONSON, | Which were formerly Printed in Two Volumes, | are now Reprinted in One. To which is added | A COMEDY, CALLED THE NEW INN. | With Additions never before Published, ... neque, me ut miretur turba laboro: | Contentus paucis lectoribus. | [For wood-cuts: a crowned rose, thistle, fleur-de-lis,1 and harp.] | LONDON, | Printed by Thomas Hodgkin, for H. Herringman, E. Brewster, | T. Bassett, R. Chiswell, M. Wotton, G. Convers, MDCXCII. The New Inn, following Discoveries and preceding Leges Convivales, covers pages 721 to 744 inclusive. Its title-page, which shows decided variations from the original octavo, follows: THE NEW INN: | OR, | The Light Heart. | A COMEDY. | As it was never Acted, but most negligently Play'd by some, the KINGS SERVANTS. And more squeamishly Beheld and Censured by others, the KINGS SUBJECTS. | Now at last set at Liberty to the READERS, His Majesty's Servants | and Subjects, to be judg'd of. 1631. | By the Author, B. Johnson. | ... Me lectori credere Mallem : | Quàm spectatoris fastidiis ferre superbi. Hor. | The DEDICATION to the READER. [This in italics occupies the remainder of the page.] The edition of 1692 is a folio reprint, in double columns, of 1631, and follows its original very closely, although giving evidence of some editing. The principal departure is in the capitalization of most of the nouns. But little alteration is made from the arrangement of the text as it stands in the original: a change of speaker being indicated occasionally by breaking the lines; obvious misprints being corrected: e. g., 4.2.71; the spelling modernized: e. g., 1. 3. 86 Tiburne] Tyburn; and the punctuation somewhat im 1 Mallory evidently considered this a leek, for in his edition of Poetaster (p. xvi) Wales is said to be represented by the wood-cut. |