Notes on Editorial Decisions, Vol. 2
Written by Steven Amarnick
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Volume 2 (Chapters 27-53) of The Duke’s Children
MS = Manuscript
FE = First Edition, Chapman & Hall
ATYR = All the Year Round
Though we refer repeatedly to what was printed in the FE, in most cases the same thing was printed earlier in ATYR.
Chapter 27
“No; he has not”
Trollope cut this with a straight line, replacing it with “He isn’t here,” which would be a complicated change merely to save one character. It is likely instead that “He isn’t here” was put in after “He hasn’t been here I suppose,” right above, was cut for space.
“standing by a fellow”
This has always been published with to rather than by, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. There is no mistaking the two words in the MS, so this is not an ordinary compositor misreading (as is the case, just below, when he mistook hearing for the similar learning). But it is hard to come up with a justification for to over by.
his friend’s state of health as well as for his stables
We print stables even though this is not what Trollope wrote; we were unable to make out what the word was. One possibility was pastimes, but the p in particular was hard to believe.
hearing how Silverbridge was going on
This has always been published with learning rather than hearing, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
“That every horse has a head, and that all did have tails till they were ill-used, is the extent of my stable knowledge.”
There would be a reader stumble without the second comma; thus, we follow the FE in adding it.
“I will do myself the honour of wishing your Grace good-night.”
There is a distracting comma after Grace in the MS; we remove it.
a fact of which he could talk in all societies
It is possible that, instead of talk, Trollope mistakenly wrote both when he meant boast. More likely, however, is that he indeed wrote talk and just crossed the t a little to the right so that it covered the l instead.
Did Lord Silverbridge think that he was going to look after his Lordship's 'orses, and do this always on the square, and then be snubbed for doing it!
A question mark is perhaps more suitable, but the MS exclamation point (which has always been published) fits well enough.
Squareness in such matters is a virtue for which Major Tifto
It is difficult to decipher for in the MS, but presumably this is what Trollope wrote.
“If you are going down to the House again I will walk with you.”
This has always been published with coming rather than going, despite what’s in the MS. It is true that the g looks more like a c in the MS; on the other hand, -oing is far more believable than -oming.
“He is the partner of your pleasures then”
This has always been published with pleasure rather than pleasures, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. We believe it more likely that the compositor, somewhat understandably, missed the s than that Trollope preferred the singular, which to our ears sounds slightly sexual.
“It is, sir, because he understands it.”
We use the FE punctuation instead of the peculiar MS punctuation, which seems to be “It is. Sir; because he understands it.”
“What you mean to imply is that you can save money by leaguing yourself with Major Tifto.”
Though we previously published this sentence with a question mark in the Folio and Everyman editions, we change it to a period. The question mark is in the MS, but it is oddly squeezed in and slanted—most likely so as not to cover the closing quotation marks that were already there. In cutting the sentence to “You mean to imply that you can save money by leaguing yourself with Major Tifto,” Trollope must have felt that the interrogatory tone fit more comfortably—though, as it turns out, the FE published the sentence with a period anyhow. Given the likelihood that the original sentence ended with a period, and the possibility that Trollope might have changed it to a period in proofs anyhow, we use the period.
“That you should do the latter is—is, I think, a reproach.”
It is possible that Trollope wrote in by mistake, then crossed it out with an extra-long line, so that the sentence would read “That you should do the latter is, I think, a reproach.” But he would have used a wavy line if he had done it in 1876. Much more likely: he wrote is followed by a dash right after, then cut it with a straight line—the dash being invisible underneath that cut.
This he said with no slightest tone of anger in his voice
We follow previous Oxford editions in omitting the FE and MS commas before and after he said. Those commas are a mistake on Trollope’s part, mindlessly followed in this case by the Chapman & Hall (but not All the Year Round) compositor.
“Let us say no more about him at present.”
There is a semicolon in the MS after him, but we have difficulty believing that this is what Trollope intended—though a comma would be fine. If Trollope had written “Let us say no more about him;—at any rate at present,” the semicolon would be more characteristic. We could have added a comma, but we think the sentence flows best without one.
Chapter 28
Mrs. Montacute Jones’s Garden-Party
Mrs. Montacute Jones is first mentioned in Chapter 20, when we learn that Miss Cassewary, in spite of the trouble she had thus taken, was quite satisfied to be allowed to go to bed in lieu of Mrs. Montacute Jones’s great ball. In the MS, the character is called Mrs. Montgomery Jones instead. Here in Chapter 28, beginning with the chapter title, Trollope crossed out Montgomery with a straight line, replacing it with Montacute. Even though the earlier mention of Montgomery was not crossed out, it was never published. Though Montacute is one character shorter than Montgomery, the change was not made for space. At this stage, had Trollope really been intent on saving space with this name, he would have cut it to something shorter than Montacute. Rather, the same character, named Mrs. Montacute Jones, was appearing in the ATYR serialization of Is He Popenjoy? in 1877-78), and so Trollope made the change when editing The Duke’s Children in 1878.
What place could be better for putting the question he had to ask her?
The FE changes the question mark to an exclamation point; we follow the MS (and previous Oxford editions) in printing the question mark.
He was by no means so confident as the heir to so many good things might perhaps have been without undue self-confidence
This has always been published with overdue rather than undue, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
Entering through the house onto the lawn he encountered Mrs. Montacute Jones
This has always been published with into rather than onto, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
“How very good of you to come all this way, Lord Silverbridge, to eat my strawberries.”
This sentence mistakenly begins a new paragraph in the FE. Once again the compositor was apparently fooled by the cut of the lines above, and neglected to see how this sentence was still part of the previous paragraph.
“Have you met Miss Boncassen yet?”
Trollope cut seen with a straight line and replaced it with the shorter met. Even though this is only a cut of one character, we believe that Trollope was willing to make such changes, provided they were easy to do (replacing one word with another, rather than rewriting an entire sentence). We published seen in the Folio and Everyman editions, but we change it to met for Oxford. The previous sentence includes said and see in it; it is plausible that the use of seen struck Trollope as awkward when he read the MS in 1878.
“The American beauty?”
The MS has a period; we follow the FE by including a question mark. The sentence is too distracting without one.
General opinion generally considered Miss Boncassen
MS: General opinion considered Miss Boncassen. It is more than possible that generally was added by mistake (especially since there are other examples of compositor inattentiveness in this paragraph), but there is no sufficient justification to reject the FE change.
arms, legs, bust, and waist
This has always been published with feet rather than legs, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. It is a bit difficult to make out the word legs, and perhaps the compositor made a quick decision to go with feet. However, Trollope certainly did not write feet, and legs does fit the strokes.
would be wearisome and ineffective
Trollope crossed out wearisome and, replacing it with the shorter altogether. It is also possible that altogether was added before the cut, in which case the restored passage should read would be wearisome and altogether ineffective. We think it more likely, however, that wearisome does the work of making it clear just how ineffective any further description would be.
through it all there was a continually changing hue
This has always been published with constantly rather than continually, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
the hypercriticism of mature age could set a finger
This has always been published with hypercritics rather than hypercriticism, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. Because the m at the end of hypercriticism is slightly detached, appearing after a short space, the compositor must not have seen it as part of the longer word. Even so, there is an extra stroke in that longer word; and when we put everything together, it is clear that Trollope wrote hypercriticism.
all who saw her acknowledge that she was most beautiful
Trollope had inserted most with a caret into the MS, so it’s odd to have it removed for the FE. We assume this was an error; Trollope is wrapping up the paragraph by saying that Isabel is most beautiful rather than merely beautiful.
“You’ve been long enough to hear that then?”
As we did earlier in the chapter with “The American beauty?” we follow the FE rather than the MS in ending the sentence with a question mark.
And as Tifto would assuredly go to almost all that were run
The MS mistakenly has an extra to before go to.
It was thus that he still intended to walk with Mabel Grex
Though this was taken out in proofs, it is hard to imagine why. Did the compositor lose his way, confused by the near repetition of this passage with the previous It was thus that he had intended to walk with Mabel Grex? Yet the repetition works well. Or possibly Trollope in his haste did not realize that the repetition was successful. We believe it likely that an error occurred, and thus we restore these words.
he need hardly have said this
We follow the MS in putting a semicolon-dash before this restored passage. There is most likely a semicolon-dash afterward too, though it is obscured by the cross-out. In any case, the paired semicolon-dashes make sense, given that they come after the paired comma-dashes.
“and then when we find your father we will talk about it”
Though the word will is at first hard to decipher because the second l doesn’t seem to be there, the same handwriting is evident eight lines below in the MS, as Trollope writes “Mother will.”
“And how much she pays for it”
There is a big blot over the word in the MS, but pays makes sense given the rest of the sentence and the context.
“I have been walking round the haycocks till I am tired of them.”
Trollope wrote I’m rather than I am, and this may well be another case where the compositor did not look closely enough. However, there is not enough reason to reject the FE here, especially since I am may be preferable, as the slightly longer sentence with am better conveys Mabel’s boredom with the haycocks. This is an ever so minute distinction, but it is not impossible that Trollope would have made the change— particularly in dialogue.
“Who is Miss Boncassen that we are all to be cast on one side for her?
This has always been published with put rather than cast, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
he could not escape till he had made with them the tour of the grounds
This has always been published with gardens rather than grounds, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
“A republican charmer must be charming indeed after all”
It is understandable why charming was changed to exciting in proofs, as charming doesn’t work well without the deleted indeed right after. With indeed restored we bring back charming as well.
“blasé well-born habituées”
We do not italicize blasé or habituées, as these French words are commonly used in English. Previous Oxford editions follow the FE in the spelling of blasées—a spelling which is indeed wholly French and thus worthy of italics. But the FE spells it blasé in Chapter 42, and we go with that more familiar English version of the word.
‘But I don’t think the republican gentlemen are ever equal to the republican ladies. ’
Though in the Folio and Everyman editions we published the MS question mark, we now think this is too jarring, and so follow the FE in using the period instead.
“Your mother will be delighted to make his acquaintance.”
FE: “Mrs. Boncassen will be delighted to make his acquaintance.” After cutting the “nonsense” (and thoroughly charming) dialogue that follows, Trollope might have felt that the less formal “your mother” was slightly out of place.
should she not at any rate have given him his opportunity
In the FE, his is changed to the. It is hard to see why; we assume this was done by mistake.
Chapter 29
“I was very fond of her;—very fond of her, very fond of her,” he had said.
Frank’s repetition brings to mind Mr. Butterwell in The Small House at Allington, who keeps telling himself “Tact, tact, tact” (Chapter 35). Perhaps Frank sounds a bit odd here, but there is not enough editorial justification to out the third very fond of her, which Trollope cut with a straight line.
“You can go out if you please, I suppose.”
The punctuation mark in the MS looks more like a period than a comma, but it is unlikely that Trollope intended the former after please.
“You are not going to take up women’s rights, I hope.”
This has always been published with woman’s rather than women’s, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. Once again, the compositor failed to recognize the epsilon e.
Mary said that she had heard of Major Tifto
This sentence was deleted in proofs, after several sentences that follow were cut for space. Trollope might not have liked the mention of Mary twice in the newly configured paragraph and so cut out the sentence with the first mention.
“The Major is the Mr. Worldly-Wiseman who won’t let Christian go to the Strait Gate.”
We follow the FE (and MS) by hyphenating Worldly-Wiseman. In previous editions, we used lower case for Strait Gate (which Trollope spelled Straight Gate), despite the FE (and MS) capitalization. But we now believe there is not enough of a reason to overrule the FE, especially since John Bunyan had written The Strait Gate, Great Difficulty of Going to Heaven two years before The Pilgrim’s Progress.
and Lady Mary did find herself to be happy with her new acquaintances
This has always been published with acquaintance rather than acquaintances, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. Both Mabel and Miss Cassewary are at the lunch with Mary and are her new acquaintances.
“We all feel that, as far as this season is concerned, we are going to be cut out; but we don’t mind it so much because she is a foreigner.”
In the MS Trollope overwrote the lower-case “b” to make it But. He also added a period but forgot to remove the semicolon. We believe this change was in response to the cuts about whether Americans are foreigners. By making a new sentence out of “But we don’t mind it so much because she is a foreigner,” Trollope was able to place a bit of added weight on Isabel’s nationality—a weight that was not necessary with the original words.
but, still, are to a certain extent foreign
The commas around still are a good deal larger than usual, suggesting that Trollope added them after he first wrote the paragraph (before cutting this sentence and others for space).
“Halloa, Tregear, I didn’t know that we were to see you.”
This has always been published with Halloo rather than Halloa; we use the latter to make the word consistent with other uses in the novel (see Chapters 33 and 68). Trollope seems to have spelled it here a third way: Hallao.
Then the two girls were convinced that the meeting was accidental; but Miss Cass still had her doubts, and Silverbridge also as to the possibility of some treachery between Lady Mabel and Tregear.
It is possible to reconstruct this as “but Silverbridge and Miss Cass still had their doubts, and Silverbridge also as to the possibility . . . ” However, the change from their to her was done with a wavy line, indicating a regular 1876 revision rather than an 1878 cut. What most likely happened: Trollope first wrote Silverbridge and Miss Cass, then decided to differentiate whom they each suspected. His first thought was to begin with Silverbridge, but he immediately changed his mind and struck out Silverbridge and, unfortunately hiding his tracks by doing so with a straight line.
Lady Mabel, in her flighty way, spoke about various things
Though Trollope indeed wrote flighty, one wonders if he meant sprightly instead. Still, flighty is feasible, not in its most negative meaning, but more “given to flights of imagination, humour, caprice, etc.” (OED).
Chapter 30
She had refused to act the part of a duenna;—but, nevertheless
The straight-line cross-out obscures Trollope’s punctuation, but a semicolon-dash would be most typical for a sentence like this—even though in this case there doesn’t seem to be enough room in the MS for a dash.
“I would rather you wrote it”
This was changed to “I would rather you wrote the letter” in proofs, but that is almost surely because the letter was cut earlier in the paragraph for space.
It cannot in any circumstances be easy
Though we previously followed the FE in publishing circumstance instead, Trollope did write circumstances. We now believe it likely that the compositor missed the s, and so we go along with previous Oxford editions in making the word circumstances.
She knew that the Duke would be struck with horror as he read any such description
There seems to be a caret underneath such, suggesting that Trollope added the word in 1876 when he realized that he was missing the word. On the other hand, such a tale appears to have been written at once, in which case we should read this as an editing, not space-saving, change: She knew that the Duke would be struck with horror as he read such a tale. This is a close call; given the straight-line cut and the fact that the replacement is indeed shorter than the original, we go with any such description.
and she found herself to be struck almost with horror herself
Trollope crossed out the second herself with a straight line; then, for the FE, the sentence was changed to and she found herself almost struck with horror. Though the original second herself is slightly awkward, the FE sentence is even more awkward, as it doesn’t acknowledge the repetition of struck . . . with horror. We print the original sentence, then, restoring to be and struck almost rather than almost struck.
That Silverbridge had taken Mary up to London he did understand
We restore up to London, which had been cut in proofs; these words fit with the earlier her trip to London, which had been cut for space.
He understood also that the meeting had taken place in the presence of Silverbridge and of Lady Mabel
Trollope had crossed out brother with a wavy line and replaced it with Silverbridge, but he forgot in the MS to cross out the in front of brother. Obviously, we could not print the Silverbridge.
“And that—friend of yours came in?”
The compositor disregarded the MS dash—perhaps because it is farther than expected from the preceding that. It is more believable to us that an error occurred than that Trollope disliked the dash and removed it in proofs.
But Silverbridge, though he had been willing to sacrifice his morning to his father
We reinstate the paragraph break, even though Trollope had clearly marked in the MS that he wanted to connect this sentence with the previous paragraph. It is likely that Trollope made the change in the MS when he cut “It is better not to go, than to go and attend to nothing” in that paragraph.
he had allowed himself to back Prime Minister
Prime Minister, the horse, is here referred to as the Prime Minister in both the MS and FE. In Chapter 43 and Chapter 49, however, the Prime Minister in the MS is changed to Prime Minister in the FE. It appears that when Trollope noticed it, he did wish to remove the from narration in front of Prime Minister, and frequently he writes Prime Minister without the in the first place. (Dialogue is different, as characters may speak more informally about the horse by using the.) We remove the in this paragraph under the assumption that Trollope would not wish to be inconsistent.
as one who was called upon by circumstance to fill a great part
Trollope wrote circumstances but we assume he would have revised it to circumstance had this part of the sentence not already been cut.
He was now sitting within the park, on a bench beneath the trees, and had lighted by this time half-a-dozen cigarettes one after another
This replaces He had wandered into St. James’s Park, and had lighted by this time half-a- dozen cigarettes one after another, as he sat on one of the benches. Trollope had cut the original mention of how Silverbridge had let himself down into the park; now, after walking, he has moved from the edge to within.
He was a very handsome youth, about six feet high
This has always been published with all but rather than about. Though Trollope’s handwriting is difficult to decipher here and one can understand how the compositor came up with all but, a close look shows that Trollope wrote about instead.
with his mother’s round blue eyes
The words his mother’s was dropped in proofs. It is possible that with other cuts in the novel referring to Glencora, Trollope might have found this current reference to be too jarring, too unexpected. Another possibility: that he found the sentence unwieldy with a reference first to one side of the family, then to another. Could he have thought that readers would get confused; and rather than rewrite to clarify, he dropped the mention of Glencora’s eyes? However, with the misplaced comma before which (see immediately below), Trollope might have misunderstood his own sentence and not seen how the sentence could still read clearly with both the mother’s eyes and the Duke’s look. Regardless of the exact reason Trollope dropped it, we believe there is sufficient justification to restore his mother’s (and Glencora indeed has round blue eyes).
with all that aristocratic look which had belonged
We overrule the FE, which has a comma after look. It is only the aristocratic look which had belonged . . . to the Duke, not the other characteristics featured in the sentence.
“But what makes you sit there?”
Trollope had cut But for space, but in proofs must have found that the passage read awkwardly, and so added What on earth to create What on earth makes you sit there? We believe that, had he seen the original sentence with But at the beginning, he would have made no change at all.
“As it happened, at the very moment when you came up I was thinking about you.”
The comma was not in the MS but added to the FE—no doubt to avoid as it happened at the very moment being read as something having happened at the moment.
“Not but what he knows it”
Trollope originally wrote “Not but what they know it,” then changed it to “Not but what he knows it” before cutting the sentence for space. It is possible that the original change was made for space, before Trollope decided to save even more space by cutting the entire sentence. More likely, though, the change was editorial. Frank is focusing on what the Duke knows, not so much on what both the Duke and Mary know.
Chapter 31
but on none of the occasions were either Venus or Hymen kind to him
Trollope wrote on neither occasion in the MS, but presumably would have made the change had the sentence turned up in proofs. There are three occasions here—hence the change to none.
“About you and the American beauty?”
The sentence ends with a period in the FE. The MS has the question mark, which is more than feasible. Certainly Trollope could have meant to put a period, but there isn’t a strong enough basis in this case to overturn what he did write.
“But as I told you before, I spared him.”
We have added the comma to avoid a potential reader stumble.
“I shouldn’t love him for instance”
The s in instance is totally obscured by the straight-line cut, making it seem as if there are two words, in and something else. But for instance is almost surely the correct reading.
“Had I chosen to set my wits to work I could have made him ask me.”
Trollope wrote put my wits in the MS, so the change to set could be an error. However, set my wits is a more common expression; the change was likely made on purpose.
Mrs. Boncassen seemed to be a most homely person
In the MS there is a large gap between the m and o of most, and, as is sometimes the case with Trollope’s handwriting, there is no cross at all over the t. Still, most seems to be the correct reading.
Everybody knew that Miss Boncassen was in England because it suited Mr. Boncassen to spend many hours in the British Museum.
There is no comma in the MS after England, but one was added in the FE. That comma creates a slightly different meaning; we have removed it.
She went where she liked
FE: She went alone where she liked, with alone having been added in proofs. It is likely, though, that this word was put in to help replace the deleted home from parties alone in the next sentence.
Some of the young ladies, however, had expressed an opinion that there was a good deal to be said in favour of this practice.
There is a mark in the MS mark indicating that Trollope wanted to create a new paragraph here. It is possible that, with the cut of the sentence above, Trollope wished to merge the sentence beginning Some of the young ladies with the next paragraph, beginning There is however a good deal to be said against it. If so, he forgot to draw a line merging the sentences into one paragraph. In addition, in the MS Trollope had changed this to the and cut practice afterward, replacing it with freedom which she enjoyed. This was a replacement, however, for the earlier deleted sentence detailing those freedoms.
But in her present phase of life Miss Boncassen suffered no misfortune of this kind.
MS: misfortunes, but corrected to misfortune in the FE. Trollope means the equivalent of no such misfortune, so the singular is more appropriate.
The whole thing had been arranged by Mrs. Montacute Jones, who had explained to Miss Boncassen the theory on which her invitations should be sent out. . . . Lady Mabel was in the habit of going everywhere, but on this occasion she had refused Mrs. Boncassen’s invitation.
Even though this is Miss Boncassen’s River-Party (the chapter title; hence her invitations), the actual invitation would not have been sent under Isabel’s name (hence Mrs. Boncassen’s invitation
but it certainly did not occur to him that Popplecourt was to be brought forward
Trollope added then with a caret between him and that, probably in response to the cuts right above. The word does not appear in the FE (most likely a compositor error). In any case, with the restored passage, we do not publish then.
and carriages had been prepared to take them to the scene of the action
This has always been published with provided rather than prepared, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. Though it is possible that the change was made on purpose, we think it more likely that the compositor erred, given that the two words are the same length and share many of the same letters.
between the very steady Countess who had his sister in charge and the young Lord beside him
The word looks closer to sturdy than to steady in the MS, but steady is possible too and fits the context better.
“Everybody, I should think, must be kind to you,—everywhere.”
We assume that this dash is under the cross-out, though it is impossible to know for sure.
“Do you ever dance with bank clerks?”
There is a crossed-out word before bank, but it is probably another bank. Trollope might have decided to leave it out, then changed his mind.
“Not a doubt; a judge not only whether it be true, but if true whether expedient,—or even possible.”
The MS semicolon after true is not feasible; we use the FE comma instead.
“or my praise would have sufficed”
FE: “or my praise would have suffered,” but fixed in previous Oxford editions.
“But I will go back to my first assertion”
It is possible that Trollope wrote get back instead. But while it is true that Trollope does not usually trail off the final o like this, his final t both rises and descends in all the nearby examples. And go back reads more smoothly than get back in this context.
Chapter 32
She had flattered him,—without perhaps any intention of flattery on her part.
The comma before the dash, which is in the MS, for some reason had dropped out in the FE; we restore it here.
In the first place he had been foolish enough to tell his father
This has always been published with fool enough rather than foolish enough, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. Trollope originally wrote fool but added the -ish beneath the line; the compositor evidently did not see it.
“But it must always be something new-fangled; and after all it ain’t of much account.”
To the naked eye there appears to be a comma in the MS after new-fangled. But there is a faint dot too, and since the FE prints it as a semicolon, we have printed one as well. In addition, we print ain’t of much account instead of the FE isn’t of much account. Later in the chapter we see the same thing: “English dukes ain’t so easily got.” Given how similar ain’t and isn’t appear to be in the MS (especially the last three letters), we assume it is a compositor error when isn’t is printed instead of ain’t.
It all came through her nose.
Though the FE prints an exclamation point, we use the MS period instead. Trollope had cut the next sentence (Every syllable of it!) for space, but neglected to cross out the exclamation point. However, he also kept in the period after nose, and with the restored sentence we adhere to his original plans: period for the first sentence, exclamation point for the second.
“To tell the truth I am standing idle by way of showing my anger against your daughter, who would not dance with me.”
Trollope had crossed out not dancing and replaced it with standing idle; he crossed out stand up and replaced it with dance. Though the changes were made with straight lines, they only ended up saving one character and were not simple. We assume this was an editorial revision, especially since we believe the edited (and ever so slightly shorter) sentence is superior. Note too that Trollope does not have a comma before who. We’ve standardized this usage, even in dialogue.
“A particular friend of mine,—Dolly Longstaffe!”
As occurred a few pages above after She had flattered him, Trollope’s comma-dash became just a dash in the FE. The exclamation point is in the MS but not the FE. We prefer the period; however, there is not enough justification to overrule our policy about MS dialogue punctuation. Given Mrs. Boncassen’s reaction to the name, it is possible that Trollope was attempting to convey how Silverbridge spoke it with particular animation or emphasis.
“Why, my Lord, there are the Countess Montague”
This has always been published with Nay rather than Why, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. Trollope should have made it clear that it was Mr. Boncassen speaking here (Mrs. Boncassen would not make the Shakespearean references), but it would be too aggressive on our part to add the attribution.
“He never did anything in his life.”
There is a sentence afterward, cut with a straight line, that we have left out, as we cannot read the key word: “That is the ********.”
with a fortune of his own and the expectation of a further fortune from his father
Trollope cut from his father for space. In proofs, further fortune became future fortune, but with the reference to his father restored, further fits well.
His passion, having become suspected by his companions, had excited their ridicule.
The commas are not in the FE or MS (or in previous Oxford editions), but the sentence is difficult to read without them.
“You’re not going to murder me now you’ve got me up here alone?”
We follow previous Oxford editions in putting a question mark here rather than the MS and FE comma.
“If any man was ever absolutely, actually, really in love I am the man.”
Though we previously followed the FE in publishing were ever, we now believe the change was made mistakenly. Trollope almost surely wrote was ever. Perhaps the change was made because the sentence looked ungrammatical. Actually, Dolly should have said has ever been, but at least was is the right mood. Subjunctive is not only wrong—this is not a contrary-to-fact conditional—but seems too unlikely for Dolly in his present unwonted state of excitement.
“But is it not pleasant?”
In the MS, is it is hard to read, but the strokes are there; this is almost certainly the correct reading. Trollope seems to have crossed out is it not and replaced it with the shorter isn’t it, presumably to save space, before he saved even more space by further cuts and adding “Isn’t it pleasant?” after “Are you indeed, Mr. Longstaffe?”
She possibly did not know the fact, or if she had heard it, she probably was too little acquainted with the intricacies of English rank to bear it in her mind.
Trollope had left in She possibly did not know the fact when he cut the rest of the sentence, but he might have felt these words looked awkward in proofs; the entire sentence was thus deleted. Or the compositor was careless.
But the allusion to an English duke told instantly on Dolly
This has always been published with intensely rather than instantly, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
“I know you are not so ill-natured”
Trollope wrote you’re in the MS, but it is plausible that he later decided you are sounded better.
And the heaviness of the cloud which gathered over them now made everything dark.
This has always been published with black rather than dark, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
a Countess for whom treble-piled sofas
Because this same countess soon speaks and is referred to then with the definite article, we capitalize Countess here.
“Is it not a pity!”
The period at the end of the MS sentence is unfeasible; since the FE uses an exclamation point, which works perfectly well, we use it too.
There was a crowd of men smoking out on the verandah,—of men who could not get into the room.
The dash might not be there in the MS—there would usually be more room for it—but the sentence is more readable with the dash included. Generally, we are less bound by Trollope’s crossed-out narration punctuation than we are by his dialogue punctuation. For the dialogue, we use his punctuation unless we think there is strong reason not to.
Damp gauzes, splashed stockings, trampled muslins, and features which have perhaps known something of rouge and certainly encountered something of rain may be made—but can only, by supreme high breeding, be made—compatible with good humour.
FE: Damp gauzes, splashed stockings, trampled muslins, and features which have perhaps known something of rouge and certainly encountered something of rain may be made, but can only, by supreme high breeding, be made compatible with good humour. This sentence, which has always been published as Trollope wrote it, is nearly unreadable. For the Folio and Everyman edition we printed that same sentence. However, we recognize now that by changing the punctuation, and putting dashes around but can only, by supreme high breeding, be made, the sentence is easier to read without replacing any of the words.
It came to pass, therefore, that many were now surly, and some very cross.
MS: that many now were surly, and some very cross. This is a close call, because Trollope might have heard a different rhythm with the cut sentence (he deleted surly, and some for space) and thus wouldn’t have made the change otherwise. But we think it likely here that Trollope was doing something customary: switching word order in proofs, so that now were became were now.
Very few, however, had their own carriages; and there was jockeying for the vehicles
There is a comma, not semicolon, in the FE, but cuts changed the sentence. With the restored words, the semicolon fits well.
“You are not waiting for me,” she said.
This may well be another case where Trollope simply forgot to put in the question mark, but the sentence is more than feasible without one. There is no question mark in the FE and previous Oxford editions.
Chapter 33
were probably more comfortable than they would have been in a hired house
There is a big blot over much of hired, but almost certainly this is the word that Trollope wrote.
“My word, Bella,” exclaimed the mother.
The FE has an exclamation point after this, which would fit, given that Mrs. Boncassen exclaimed her response. But there is not enough reason to bend our rule about following MS punctuation. It’s possible that Trollope meant a somewhat hushed—less loud—exclamation.
“and if, moved by some evil Destiny, I were to take him”
Because Isabel is using the word as a personification, we capitalize Destiny. This is a close call, however; the word is lower case in both the MS and FE.
“I got to be thinking”
Trollope may well have meant “I got to thinking,” but we publish what he wrote and what has always been printed.
“Then, my dear, I never knew it.”
Trollope crossed out didn’t with a straight line, replacing it with never (one character shorter) and changing know to knew; and he crossed out the entire next sentence: “But I think we may go down to the station now.” We previously printed “Then, my dear, I didn’t know it,” but we now believe that the first change was done for editorial reasons; in the previous sentence, Mrs. Boncassen begins by saying “I don’t know,” and Trollope may have wished to avoid repeating nearly the same words in Mr. Boncassen’s response.
The rich softness of a life in which no occupation was compulsory had its charms for her.
This crossed-out word could easily be read as real instead, but rich works better to convey a sense of luxuriousness.
All this had affected her so strongly that she had—not reflected, but almost felt that a life among these English luxuries would be a pleasant life.
What we are taking to be a dash is entirely obscured underneath the straight line. It is also possible that Trollope wrote All this had affected her so strongly that she had not reflected,—but almost felt that a life among these English luxuries would be a pleasant life, or that there was no dash at all: All this had affected her so strongly that she had not reflected, but almost felt that . . . We believe that of the three, our sentence is the strongest.
Like most Americans who do not as yet know this country
This has always been published with the rather than this, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. As happened often, Trollope forgot to dot his i, perhaps leading the compositor toward the rather than this. The strokes point to this, and besides, since Trollope includes the word here, it makes more sense for him to refer to this country not the country.
He ought to have felt that he was absolved from the necessity of making personal inquiries.
Trollope cut with a straight line at any rate before was absolved. He also cut another at any rate earlier in the paragraph (She had had enough at any rate of this English lover). Given how close these two appearances are, we think it likely that Trollope would have removed one of them if he had noticed them in proofs. We omit the second at any rate, especially because the word rate is crossed out with a double line, perhaps indicating that this was an editorial change all along.
“Do you now?”
We omit the MS comma after you, which could possibly be a stray mark. A pause between you and now, while possible, is somewhat awkward. There is no comma in the FE.
“All my emotions are about my dress,” she said as she thought the matter over.
Trollope cut as she thought the matter over for space. In the FE, she said was cut too, the compositor apparently misreading the blot over those two words.
“A man does not, I suppose, generally feel funny after going through what I suffered yesterday. Miss Boncassen,——”
This was printed in the FE with a comma after yesterday and a period after Miss Boncassen. We follow the MS. Ordinarily we would expect there to be no comma before the dash in this type of sentence, but we leave it in. Trollope may have been intending the slightest of pauses before Dolly is interrupted.
“I like things to be done—sharp,” and she hit the table a crack. “Please bring me some iced water.” This of course was addressed to the waiter.
We copy the MS in putting a comma after sharp rather than the FE period and capital And. With the two next sentences, the compositor followed what he thought was in the MS, printing “Please bring me some iced water,” this of course was addressed to the waiter. What he read as a comma, however, had to be a stray mark.
“Oh. Laws!”
Though a comma would be more likely than a period, there is not sufficient reason to overturn the MS here. The FE printed ‘Oh laws!’
“They don’t like——; well, I don’t want to say anything more that can be called fierce.”
The MS possibly contains a semicolon after well rather than a comma, but the dot is very faint and could be a stray mark. The FE printed the semicolon, and previous Oxford editions changed the punctuation to “They don’t like—well; I don’t want to say anything more that can be called fierce.”
Madame Schotzdam
Though this has always been spelled Scholzdam, in the FE and beyond, it is apparent that Trollope wrote Schotzdam the two times he refers to the lady. It is more likely that the compositor erred than that Trollope changed his mind on the spelling.
“But somebody does seem to have got out of bed at the wrong side.”
Trollope wrote “does seem to be to have” in the MS, which could have been meant as “does seem to me to have.” The words to be were left out of the FE, and we keep them out.
“You have come and asked after us all and been informed that we are all very bad.”
The FE adds have before been informed, but that is likely because of the different sentence rhythm created by the space-saving omissions of the two all’s.
Silverbridge immediately got up from his chair;—upon which Dolly also moved.
The MS dash does not appear in the FE, but it is typical for Trollope in a sentence of this sort.
“Good-morning,” said Silverbridge.
“Good-morning,” said Dolly. And then they both left the room together.
Trollope certainly wrote morning and not afternoon—even though it is now in fact afternoon. It would have been too aggressive for us to make the change, especially because, for the late-rising young men, it may still feel as if it is morning.
“Why should I be turned out because he had made an ass of himself!”
The MS period is unfeasible; we follow the FE in using an exclamation point.
“I should not mind,” said Silverbridge.
MS: “I should not mind it so very much,” with the final four words cut in proofs. Trollope could well have decided that he wanted to make Silverbridge sound more confident here as he tinkered with his characterization.
“A great spout of rain had come upon her daughter’s hat”
Trollope had written one of her daughter’s hats in the MS. The change was made in proofs, as her daughter’s hat doesn’t preclude Mrs. Clanfiddle having other daughters.
As he said this he did almost succeed in looking like Lady Clanfiddle.
FE: As he said this he almost succeeded in looking like Lady Clanfiddle. On first glance, it appears that Trollope originally wrote he did almost succeeded. However, a closer look reveals that he likely added the -ed after he crossed out did. Because the -ed looked odd, Trollope then crossed out the word entirely and rewrote it in the line above.
Chapter 34
Nobody knew whether on that occasion anybody had felt soiled
We removed to be before soiled, on the grounds that this would have been cut in proofs. Surely something is needed before to be. We could have added themselves before to be soiled, or the more grammatical (and bulky) him or herself. We chose to omit to be as the least intrusive move.
Young love should spread from its first doubtful, hesitating, unconscious spark
This has always been published with speak rather than spread, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
No one should be told to love, or bidden to marry, this young man or that young woman.
The second comma is in neither the MS nor FE, though it does appear in previous Oxford editions. It is highly likely that Trollope was saying that neither love nor marriage to this young man or that young woman should be imposed, and thus the comma is necessary.
He was neither impatient nor rollicking
This was changed to not impatient in the FE, but it is hard to see why; we assume this was done by mistake.
But she could not quite as yet bring herself to be so indelicately plain.
There are commas around as yet in the MS and FE, but we believe they were added after the cut of quite. The restoration of quite changes the rhythm of the sentence and makes the commas a bit awkward. Moreover, the first comma’s position makes it appear that it was added afterward.
“A large portion of her mother’s money, I should say.”
Originally Trollope wrote, “I should think so, because her mother was so wealthy,” which he cut with a straight line. We do not think it likely that Trollope would make such a change (which would have involved counting letters in two sentences) to save a tiny amount of space. This must be a case where Trollope made a straight-line editing change, not for space. With the revision, Lady Cantrip is more forthright about Mary getting the money—and thus potentially more effective in catching Popplecourt’s attention.
Lady Cantrip actually lacked the courage to send for her.
The sentence is better with the cut actually, but there is little doubt that this is what Trollope wrote. There is not enough justification to consider this an editorial rather than space-saving change.
“I am very glad to think that Nidderdale does not do anything of that sort.”
MS: “I am so very glad to think that Nidderdale does not do anything of that now.” Clearly a word like sort needed to be added, but perhaps Trollope erred in proofs by removing now. Or maybe Lady Cantrip’s use of present tense is sufficient, and doesn’t imply that Nidderdale never gambled. The cut of so in proofs makes sense, as Lady Cantrip already says very and need not go overboard in her insistence that Nidderdale is clean (which he isn’t).
to have got itself into such a state of inextricable confusion
Trollope apparently wrote inestimable confusion, but inextricable confusion is a much more common phrase and fits the context better, and we can imagine that this what he meant to write. It’s a close call, certainly, but we believe we are justified in printing the superior word.
“I’ll tell you what I expect; Silverbridge is going to marry her.”
FE: “I’ll tell you what; I expect Silverbridge is going to marry her.” The top part of the semicolon is somewhat faint, and thus could be a stray mark, but then we would be left with “I’ll tell you what I expect, Silverbridge is going to marry her.” What is certain in the MS: there is no punctuation before I expect.
“It does seem so odd that papa of all people should turn match-maker.”
Trollope had added some words on the lower-right side of the MS: or even anybody thought (except thought is uncertain). He then crossed out anybody thought with a straight line, leaving or even. It’s hard to know for sure what is going on there; whatever it is appears to be covered by the later “Or even that he should think about it.”
And Silverbridge also was moved by it.
MS: And Silverbridge was also moved by it. The MS is perhaps preferable, but there is not sufficient reason to reject the FE change.
and yet she had taken no trouble to meet him half-way,—had indeed almost ceased to be kind to him
It is possible to read the dash as the word or. Still, a dash is more likely, with Trollope putting a wavy line through it—or rather, a wavy line through the first half of the dash only.
all of which might owe their origin to this proposed drive up from Richmond
The FE mistakenly has own instead of owe, but the correction was made in previous Oxford editions.
Chapter 35
“If the Duke thought so also, then surely she need have no further doubt.”
There is an exclamation point in the MS, but one can see why Trollope perhaps would opt for the period instead in proofs. Mabel is now willing to accept Silverbridge, but she’s hardly enthusiastic about it.
It is a point of conscience that among the—perhaps not ten thousand
This is yet another case where the compositor mistakenly created a paragraph break with a sentence that might have looked indented (but was not) after a cut in the previous sentence.
There are countries in which the blood is bluer, less mixed
It is difficult to decipher less mixed, but this reading is almost surely correct.
They two had no idea why such vicinity had been planned.
Here is a place where ATYR changed the word to too, but it’s back to the correct two in the FE. Far more often, mistakes that appeared in ATYR were carried over to the FE.
His ideas of marriage had as yet gone no further than a conviction that girls generally were things
This has always been published with farther rather than further, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
He would not confess that he himself had “skipped” church
We would not necessarily have thought to put quotation marks around skipped in this restored sentence, but Trollope included them and so we do too.
and from the too speedy consideration of which she was now preserved by the announcing of dinner
Then they went down to dinner follows these words in the MS, crossed out with a straight line. However, this was likely added to replace the long cut, then cut itself. So we do not restore it.
Questions of rank had to be preserved, and Popplecourt, as in duty bound, took Miss Cass out to dinner, but questions of rank enabled Lady Cantrip so to manage matters that Silverbridge should sit next to Lady Mabel, and Popplecourt to Lady Mary.
Questions of rank is awkward; Trollope presumably meant considerations of rank. But there is not enough of an egregious problem to interfere, as questions can be thought of sometimes as a synonym for considerations. Right before this sentence, Trollope used the word preserved in a sentence that was also cut. We are fairly certain that Trollope would not have stood for this repetition if he had seen it in print, and while the repetition of questions of rank could have been intentional, it’s also quite possibly unintentional. However, any change here would have to be more than slight—inserting, for instance, an entirely new word, like maintained, to replace the second preserved. We deem this too much interference and thus leave the passage as is.
“Anything unexpected is, I suppose, odd”
The FE left out the quotation marks—presumably because they are unusually small in the MS and the compositor didn’t see them. The restoration of I suppose makes the quotation marks absolutely necessary; in any case, the quotation marks are included in previous Oxford editions.
“You don’t think I meant it. Oh, Lord Silverbridge, say that you don’t think I meant it.”
One or both of these sentences would seem to call for exclamation points, but they are not in the MS—and in this case, not in the FE, or previous Oxford editions, either.
“You cannot think I would wilfully wound you.”
This has always been published with willingly rather than wilfully, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
“Only you should have a doctor ready when the disease shows itself,—or it may become virulent.”
It is possible that the MS contains a semicolon-dash rather than a comma-dash. But since it is uncertain, we go with the more typical punctuation for this sentence: a comma-dash.
“That unfortunate quarrel is to go on the same as ever, I suppose”
The comma is not in the MS, but we have added it for readability.
“To keep his position till next February with a majority of a dozen, is to manage it well”
We keep Trollope’s MS comma even though it technically does not belong.
“If I were to murder my grandmother, and, when questioned about it in the House, were to acknowledge that I had done it——”. Then Lord Nidderdale stood up and made his speech as he might have made it in the House of Commons.
Trollope originally had the dash, but cut it when he also cut the word in that was about to begin a new phrase. Instead, Trollope inserted the entire new sentence about Nidderdale standing up. The sentence is unfeasible with a period at the end, as in the FE; we thus restore the dash. Our punctuation here matches previous Oxford editions.
“The comfort is so very few ever have.”
There is some temptation to add a comma after is, but it is not in the MS; we have chosen not to supply it.
It soon came to pass that Lord Popplecourt was again sitting next to Lady Mary.
This was changed to was seated in the FE, but in response to cuts.
But at the same moment in another part of the house the Duke was arranging his autumn movements.
Trollope had cut in another part of the house for space. In proofs he changed moment to time, but that’s because he might have found moment awkward without the Duke being situated, at that very moment, in another part of the house.
Now that the doing of this thing was brought nearer to him
Trollope wrote near to him in the MS, and it’s possible that nearer is a response to the cuts, but we accept the FE change.
"Yes, we all know that,” said the girl sadly, who something over twelve months since had been at such infinite trouble to explain to the very man of whom they were talking that she could not marry him on that same ground.
Trollope, in cutting for space, ended the sentence after sadly. In proofs he changed the girl to she. However, with the restoration of she in this sentence, we believe he would have kept the girl rather than repeat she.
“You ask me for anything, and see.”
There is an unreadable word in the MS before see; most likely, this is a wavy-line cross- out or a false start.
“You don’t imagine that I would take it from you.”
The FE question mark is certainly palatable, but the MS period is better.
“Don’t you know there is nobody on earth I——”; then he paused and blushed, and she sat motionless, looking at him, expecting, with her colour too somewhat raised,—“whom I like so well as I do you?”
We use the MS punctuation rather than the more awkward FE version. Also, the comma before expecting is in the MS and helpful; however, it was left out of the FE and previous Oxford editions. Finally, there he paused and blushed has always been published instead of then he paused and blushed, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
Chapter 36
He was a man somewhat older than Tifto of whose antecedents
We omit the FE comma after Tifto to avoid any confusion about whose antecedents are being referred to.
Tifto during the last year or two had been anxious to support Captain Green, and had always made use of this argument:
The FE published this sentence with a semicolon, not a colon, but the latter is more feasible; we follow previous Oxford editions in using it. The MS has neither a colon or semicolon, but something in between a period and a dash.
As it was they had an eye to business.
MS: still had. The word still is useful in this sentence, but since it appears in the next sentence, it is likely that Trollope removed it to avoid the repetition.
“The truth is,” he said, “that Silverbridge and I are going to have a tiff.”
Trollope mistakenly cut and I are going to have a tiff. Rather than put these words back in to complete the sentence beginning with The truth is, the compositor cut those remaining words. Given Green’s response in the next sentence (“I wouldn’t quarrel with him”), it makes sense for Tifto to first raise the prospect of a tiff.
who saw at a moment that his aspirations in regard to the club were vain
This is likely one of Trollope’s occasional conflations of distinct idioms (“at a moment’s notice,” “in a moment,” “at a glance”). There is not enough of a problem, however, to overturn the MS.
“but when they ain’t then I say square be d——“
The FE changes ain’t to aren’t, but as in other cases with this change, it must be a compositor error. In earlier paragraph, we print “What’s the good of young chaps of that sort if they ain’t made to pay?” instead of aren’t made to pay. Later in the paragraph he has Green repeat the thought with “What is the good of chaps of that sort if they are not made to pay?” Perhaps one could argue there that the FE aren’t is meant to match the are not in the second sentence. That second sentence, however, is different enough from the first in other ways that we think the original ain’t should stay.
“As for that of course he does pay—his share.”
It is possible that Trollope wrote a comma-dash in the MS, though what would be the comma is tiny. We follow the FE in providing a dash only.
“don't you strap him at all, you————————."
This is a unique circumstance, as the dashes are replacing missing words; it’s not the usual case of broken-off speech.
This brought them back to the state of affairs as it was between Tifto and Lord Silverbridge at the present moment.
We omit the FE comma after affairs to avoid a reader stumble.
he’d get a month at the treadmill and a month of starvation
Trollope at first wrote week instead of month both times, but decided to expand it to month before the whole passage was cut.
“One gentleman with another;—you mean that.”
Trollope cut the sentence to read ‘One gentleman with another you mean,’ with the semicolon-dash removed by a wavy line rather than the more customary straight line for space-saving changes. That wavy line was necessary, though; you can’t cancel a dash with a straight line.
“You didn’t make by him.”
The MS period makes better sense in context than the FE question mark.
Then there was a pause.
Trollope originally put a paragraph break after this short sentence. When he cut the sentence, he was forced to merge the two sentences before and after. We think, however, that the merging precedes the cut.
He didn’t think that he could ask Lord Silverbridge for a salary,—he who was a Master of Foxhounds, and a member of the Beargarden.
We use the MS punctuation; the FE nonsensically starts a new sentence with he who. Previous Oxford editions put a plain dash instead of the period, but a comma-dash is more typical of Trollope’s style.
He was endeavouring to unravel all this with a brain that was already somewhat muddled with alcohol
This has always been published with unriddle rather than unravel, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
Captain Green got up from his chair and, standing over the Major,—not quite in a vertical position, for the gin-and-water had had considerable effect upon his legs though none apparently as to intellect,—spoke his last words for that night as from an oracle.
The MS has horizontal position as part of the cut passage, but we deem this an error that Trollope would surely have changed if he had caught it in proofs. There is no confusing vertical versus horizontal, and certainly Trollope meant vertical here. Also, the comma before standing is not in the FE but is more needed with the longer restored sentence.
a great deal in the lesson thus enunciated
This has always been published with there rather than thus, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
He might now and again have told a lie about a horse—but who that deals in horses has not done as much as that?
The MS has a comma-dash rather than a plain dash, and it’s fairly likely that the FE plain dash is an error. On the other hand, one could make an argument that a quicker, rougher shift to the next sentence suits the meaning. We prefer the comma-dash, but there is not quite enough justification to overturn the FE.
Chapter 37
there stands a large, rambling, most picturesque old house
MS: there is stands. Trollope must have first planned there is standing but changed his mind, forgetting to cross out is. Also, these commas are not in the MS or FE, but we follow previous Oxford editions in adding them. The sentence is too distracting without them. This is a good example of how the FE often deferred to Trollope’s punctuation—in this case, problematically, since Trollope left out the commas.
but in the midst of lovely scenery
This is a change in proofs from the MS middle of lovely scenery. Here, it is likely that Trollope meant midst when he first wrote middle, and was able to correct the error once he saw it in proofs.
the ground rising all round it in low irregular hills or fells; and close to it, within a quarter of a mile
We’ve added the semicolon; given all the commas in this long sentence, the semicolon helps immensely. Also, the word crossed out before close is likely a false start.
but attractive by the darkness of its waters and the gloom of the rocks around
This has always been published with woods rather than rocks, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
which however he had not visited for some years
There is a crossed-out word, possibly now, after visited, which is neither fully straight nor wavy. Given our uncertainty about the word, and that now is hardly necessary to the sentence, we leave it out.
But when once the evil has been allowed to grow
We cannot decipher what Trollope wrote under the cross-out, but grow fits the context.
An owner of Grex with large means at his disposal and with a taste for the picturesque to gratify,—one who could afford to pay for memories and who was willing to pay dearly for such luxuries,—might no doubt restore Grex.
The second dash is not in the FE or MS, but we’ve put it in to balance the first. Trollope actually had inserted the first dash after writing the sentence, and evidently had forgotten the second one. Also, Trollope originally wrote still restore, then changed still to have but neglected to make the required change of restore to past tense. Rather than change restore to restored in proofs, Trollope cut out have.
Lord Grex had latterly never gone near the place, nor was his son Lord Percival very fond of looking upon the ruin of his property. But Lady Mary loved the place with a fond love.
Trollope crossed out the place in the second sentence with a straight line and replaced it with it. He may have wished to avoid the repetition, but we believe this was a regular space-saving cut. Trollope repeats the word fond in both sentences, and he might well have intentionally repeated the place too.
and there were servants with white plastered heads
It is possible that Trollope meant to write white-powdered heads (see explanatory note in the Oxford edition), but he could also have meant heads that were both white and plastered, so we print what he wrote.
Money could still be made to be forthcoming for such absolute needs as these. But still anyone who saw Grex would say that the family was ruined.
We had several choices here with these sentences that were deleted for space. We could do nothing, and print the MS Money could be still made to be forthcoming. However, this is awkward, and we doubt that Trollope would have allowed it to stand if he had noticed it in proofs. We could delete one of the still’s on grounds that Trollope would not have allowed the repetition if he had seen it in proofs. In this case, though, the repetition is not terribly clunky. Changing be still to still be is less intrusive than deciding which still to cut.
“There are the rocks and stones and walls and old women”
This has always been published with rooks rather than rocks, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
“Because she is an old woman and I am a young one, and because in intercourse between young men and young women there is something dangerous to the woman and therefore pleasant to the man.”
ATYR and previous Oxford editions: dangerous to the women and therefore pleasant to the men. However, the FE follows the MS in using the singular. We do not see enough justification to overturn the FE; the use of singular works fine, even after the plural earlier in the sentence.
“Would it help me in my prospects if your friend Lord Silverbridge knew that you were here with me,—as he probably will know?”
FE: “Would it help me in my prospects if your friend Lord Silverbridge knew that I was here?” Trollope had cut for space everything following here. It is hard to understand why, in proofs, he would change you were here to I was here. In any case, with the rest of the sentence restored, we bring back you were here too.
“There again!”
MS: “That again!” It is more than possible that the compositor erred in making the change. But the change might have been purposeful, to correspond with There! several lines above, and so we keep it.
Then she turned away, as though
The comma is in the MS but not the FE; however, with the longer restored sentence, it is valuable.
“Unmanly is a heavy word”
We put in quotation marks when “word” comes first (as in, the word “unmanly”), but not when “word” follows what is referred to.
“You can hardly think that after all that has passed I can wish to hear about her.”
This was changed to after what has passed in proofs. But the compositor might have seen the blot over all as a cross-out and been left with after that has passed, necessitating the switch to what.
“Look me in the face and tell me whether you do not know it to be false.”
The MS and FE have a question mark, but that is unfeasible. Previous Oxford editions put an exclamation point at the end of this sentence, and follow the FE in ending the next sentence with a period. In following Trollope’s punctuation for dialogue, we are restoring the exclamation point to that sentence (“And yet I am told that I am injuring you with Silverbridge!”). But because the sentence after that has an exclamation point too (“Oh,—so unmanly again!”) we have changed Trollope’s earlier question mark to a period so as to avoid too many sentences in a row with exclamation points.
“No one goes into the gutter when there is a clear path open”
This has always been published with clean rather than clear, despite what Trollope apparently wrote in the MS. It is difficult to distinguish clear from clean with certainty, but clear seems more likely.
“Of course I put out my feelers”
The word feelers does not seem to be what Trollope wrote, but it fits, and since it is impossible to decipher what he did write, we use it. Note too the similar use of feelers and metaphor in John Caldigate (“When I come across such a one as you I naturally put out my feelers,” in Chapter 8).
“I am beginning to think that we had better make up our minds to live apart.” These last words she spoke with a smile on her lips.
These sentences were deleted for space, replaced by “Then there was a pause, but as he did not speak, she went on.” Also, while smile is likely—with Mabel perhaps indicating that she isn’t serious at this point about the two of them living apart—there is some uncertainty about what Trollope wrote.
“But remember, Frank,—our position is not equal.”
MS: our positions are not equal, which we published in the Folio and Everyman editions. However, while we still think it more likely than not that the change was due to compositor error, we now believe that there is not enough justification to overturn the FE change; Trollope might have preferred the sound of the singular here.
“For aught I know there may be a certain satisfaction in feeling that two young women love you.”
This has always been published with finding rather than feeling, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
“I think I will go back to the house now.”
MS: “I think we will go back to the house now,” which is what we published in the Folio and Everyman editions. Perhaps, though, there is some justification for Mabel to use I, as she intends to go whether or not Frank agrees.
He had walked over from Ledburgh, and there he intended to sleep the night, and to return to Kendal on the following morning on his way to Scotland.
We have restored this sentence, which had been cut for space, but we have left out a similar sentence earlier, also cut for space right after “I will walk back to Ledburgh if you wish it without going to the house again”: “He had come across from Kendal to Ledburgh, and had walked from that place to Grex.” We do not believe that Trollope would have allowed both sentences to remain if he had seen them in proofs. We restore the later one because it contains more information than the earlier one does—that Frank plans to go back to Kendal and then to Scotland.
“I don’t suppose anybody else cares about the place, but to me it is the dearest spot in the world.
Trollope used a straight-line cut for in the world after anybody else, and we restored it for the Folio and Everyman editions. The repetition of in the world, however, is awkward, and we now believe that Trollope would have cut one of them out had he noticed the repetition in proofs.
She must have consented to run off with him and get herself married, where and how she did not know.
Trollope cut for space where and how she did not know but left in the first part of the sentence. However, the remaining part did not make it into the FE—most likely because the compositor, working quickly, did not notice these words in the midst of straight-line cuts before and after.
she would marry the boy, if she could so arrange it.
In proofs, it was dropped, but that’s because it was covered up in the MS. Trollope had originally made an addition to replace previous cuts, but he put the addition in the wrong place. When he crossed out the initial mark, he mistakenly covered up it.
She thought that she could arrange it.
Afterward, Trollope added Since that meeting at Richmond he had sent her the ring reset. We do not include that sentence, as it was a replacement for the cuts.
Chapter 38
that being thought at the time to be the medicine most apt to cure her of her love
This sentence was deleted for space. In the MS it reads that being at the time thought to be the medicine, which causes a slight reader stumble. We have moved thought to earlier in the sentence to avoid that stumble.
and the tutor was to have leave of absence for a week or two
This was cut with a very heavy line in the MS, and is hard to decipher; still, our reading is almost surely correct.
whose wife had graciously permitted him this recreation
This has always been published with generously rather than graciously, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
and comprised an enormous acreage of so-called forest and moor
Trollope wrote of acreage in the MS; probably he was already thinking of the word that would follow acreage.
and he thought that there should be a clause in his lease for such shootings
Trollope originally wrote a clause in the lease but crossed out the with a slightly thick, slanted line, replacing it with a word of equal length, his. There is no compelling reason to believe this change to his was made in response to nearby cuts, and so we keep it here.
There was one matter, however, which did rob him of much of his happiness, and perturbed his mind with a fear of which he hardly liked to speak to his most intimate friends.
Trollope cut for space the words after happiness. In proofs the first part of the sentence was omitted too. Perhaps the short sentence alone struck Trollope as unnecessary, and thus he made the change.
filling up his time as best he might with recreations which he rather despised, such as bicycling, tennis, polo, and pigeon-shooting
Trollope cut, for space, recreations which he rather despised, such as, and in proofs cut bicycling, tennis replacing them with coaching. Most likely, Trollope felt that bicycling and tennis did not suit a man like Reginald Dobbes, and that the explanation of his detesting these recreations was necessary.
who was now to be the master of the shooting at Crummie-Toddie
Though we have capitalized Master when it refers to someone’s official position, that is not the case here.
Lord Gerald was a lad from the Universities; and Dobbes hated University lads.
Trollope erred with Universities; he either wrote Universites or University with a missing tail for the Y. The FE chose Universities and there is no reason to overrule it.
He had, too, been hard at work on other matters.
Although too was dropped in proofs, it’s hard to see why, as the word makes for a useful transition. Perhaps the compositor missed it because it was inserted to the MS above the line with the rest of the sentence. We assume then that too was left out by mistake.
the traveller who travels into Argyllshire, Perthshire, and Inverness expects to find lovely scenery We omit the
FE comma after Inverness. There is no comma in the MS and no good reason for it to have been added.
as the brothers sat together smoking on the wall of the bridge
The word afterwards was added in proofs after sat together, but likely in response to space-saving cuts—in particular, that Reginald Dobbes had gone to bed.
having determined to be cross because, as he thought, the young men would certainly keep him waiting
The FE put a comma in before because; we leave it out, as the punctuation is different with restored cuts, and one less comma is welcome in a sentence that already has many.
they were hardly ever near enough to each other for much conversation
One can understand why the compositor might have missed to, as it is slightly obscured by the long bottom of the f in for from the line above. But it’s there and it improves the sentence.
“Only forty.”
There could be a comma in between the two words, but it doesn’t fit and we have chosen to ignore it—as did the FE. And while the punctuation mark afterward could be read as a comma (as in the FE), a period is more likely.
was second in skill only to Dobbes himself
This was changed in proofs to second only in skill to Dobbes himself, but that is clearly inferior. It is quite possible that most of the word transpositions that turn up in the FE were made in error, but we have overturned only those that demonstrably weaken the sentence.
were, if not forgiven, at least endured
The second comma (which appears in the MS) was left out of the FE. We put it back. The FE should have either left in both commas or taken both out.
Reginald Dobbes muttered a curse between his teeth, which was visible by the anger on his brow to all the party.
FE: Reginald Dobbes muttered a curse between his teeth, which was visible by the anger on his brow, to all the party. Trollope had included a comma after visible which did not make it into the FE. We follow previous Oxford editions in taking out the comma after brow rather than putting back the comma after visible to balance it.
Chapter 39
“He looks upon me as the genius of sloth.”
This was published in the FE as genus of sloth, but corrected in previous Oxford editions.
“who would know how to cook grouse”
Though the punctuation at the end of this sentence in the MS might well be read as an exclamation point, it is more likely that Trollope included cramped quotation marks here which he forgot to cross out when he added the next sentence: “I offered to go and cook his grouse.” Thus we end the sentence with a period not exclamation point.
“Great power,—hasn’t he?”
This entire paragraph with the man in knickerbockers was cut in proofs. Trollope had already cut, for space reasons, a later reference to the man in Chapter 42, and must have felt his earlier appearance here was no longer needed.
et cetera
This is almost surely what Trollope wrote and crossed out with a straight line—though it is not a word that he typically used.
The gentleman in knickerbockers
Though Trollope decided to keep this reference to the man in knickerbockers, in the shortened version it is the only reference, and so The was changed to A in proofs.
but when the hour came for the walk she was weary, she said
Trollope cut for the walk in the MS. It is quite possible that this was not a space-saving change, as he had used the phrase take a walk earlier in the paragraph. However, since he used a straight line for the cut, and since the repetition is not egregious, our first assumption is that he was cutting for space. In addition, Trollope changed hour to time in proofs. Though it is possible that Trollope would have made this change regardless, our first assumption is that he read the sentence differently without for the walk, and that hour without the following words sounded slightly awkward to him. Thus, we restore hour when we restore for the walk.
Very little was said between Silverbridge and Miss Boncassen
We omit the FE paragraph break. Once again, the compositor erred by assuming that what followed a cut of several lines must be the beginning of a new paragraph. Clearly Trollope intended no such thing when he first made the cuts—and there is little reason to believe that he came to a different decision in proofs.
“When Youth and Pleasure meet”
Though we were previously content to follow the FE style and use lower-case letters for youth and pleasure, Trollope went out of his way to change youth in the MS so that it would now be upper case and would match his capitalized Pleasure. Given that he cared enough to do this, we revert to his MS style and capitalize these personifications.
“Pretty well,” he said.
The MS seems to have an unfeasible dash here rather than a comma.
It came partly from jealousy, as though she had said to herself
MS: in part from jealousy. Apparently, Trollope first wrote came part from, then inserted in to make it came in part from, then changed his mind, cancelling the insertion and added -ly to part.
“He looks at it as a kind of pilgrimage, and pilgrimages are sacred”
We leave out the MS you know after sacred because of the sentence that follows: “I don’t care, you know,” said he, not knowing very well what he meant. Two you know’s in a row would be tolerable, but the extra know afterward is decisive.
“I don’t care, you know,” said he, not knowing very well what he meant.
Trollope apparently first wrote ‘Ha-ha,’ before crossing it out with a wavy line and then adding this sentence.
“And from a distance he spoke again.”
The FE, and previous Oxford editions, put a comma instead of a period before the next sentence: “If you choose that it shall be lost, so be it.” The much more suitable period is in the MS.
But to her feminine and more cautious mind the very value of the trinket
This has always been published with the rather than her, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
“You will, I hope, understand”
Trollope wrote the unfeasible “You will, I hope understand.”
“No,” she said, “I am angry with you.”
MS: “No,” she had said;—"I am angry with you.” Since had was dropped in proofs, the rhythm of the sentence changed—and so we believe that it makes sense to follow the more standard FE punctuation.
That evening when he went to bed Lord Silverbridge found it on his table.
FE: dressing-table rather than table, with dressing perhaps dropped because there would have been, with the cuts, a too-quick repetition of the word from earlier in the paragraph. Nevertheless, we accept the FE change, as the repetition of dressing is still somewhat jarring.
“What I mean is don’t you think all those conventional rules”
There is some temptation to add a comma as in the FE, but not enough compelling reason to go against the MS.
“He’d take books to any extent, I should say”
Here we do add a comma that is in the FE but not the MS, as there would be a reader stumble otherwise (i.e., “he’d take books to any extent I should say he could take them”).
“It isn’t worth talking about ”
FE: “It is not worth talking about.” Because there is a space in the MS between is and n’t, it is understandable that the compositor interpreted it as is not.
There is ever a certain dignity attached to that which is praised by all lips.
This has always been published with even rather than ever, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
“Think of all that lawn-tennis”
Trollope added, in proofs, this morning at the end of the sentence. With the restoration, however, of “I am so tired that I can hardly stand,” we cannot be confused as to which lawn-tennis outing Isabel is referring to.
and as he said it he put his hand on her hand
Trollope originally wrote his left hand, and the cut of left is ambiguous—somewhere between straight and wavy. We believe the sentence is better without left, and so have left it out.
“We will have our game to-morrow at any rate, if I am rested.”
The MS blot makes rested difficult to decipher, but it is almost surely correct.
Chapter 40
And Then?
We use a question mark, rather than the FE exclamation point, for this chapter title to match what is in the text.
And yet—to be Duchess of Omnium!
We reject the FE omission of the dash. One can understand why the compositor would have read the straight line as a cross-out rather than a dash, but we believe the latter is more likely.
For she thought she was aware that he had not known of Miss Boncassen’s presence.
The words she thought are not in the MS, but we add them. We would not have rewritten a whole sentence, but by adding a few words we can avoid confusing the alert reader: for Silverbridge was in fact aware of Isabel’s presence. For a nearby example of Trollope’s own use of thought to indicate at least some doubt, see Chapter 42 (page 328 in the Oxford edition), where Silverbridge thought he was sure of two things.
On such occasions she had always—“spared him,” as she had explained the matter to Miss Cassewary.
Trollope’s MS dash, taken out of the FE, fits smoothly with the restored sentence.
She had promised him nothing. She had acceded to no request. She had admitted of no embrace.
The first two sentences were cut in proofs. Is it possible that the compositor lost his place? She had admitted no embrace is almost directly under She had promised him nothing. Or, did Trollope think that Indeed he had attempted none would be unclear if the two sentences remained, as none refers only to the embrace? Or, did Trollope find the sentences too choppy and somewhat redundant? Weighing the possibilities, it is too hard to believe that Trollope would have slowed down so much as to make this sort of cut; besides, the rhythm of the paragraph is superior with the original sentences.
but comforted himself by thinking that perhaps the message had come express from her to him
Trollope actually wrote the unfeasible comforting in this sentence that was cut for space.
to all merely sublunary acquirements, conventions, and considerations
This has always been published with arrangements rather than acquirements, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
the little glimpses of parti-coloured stockings above them
Following Trollope’s incorrect spelling, the FE published party-coloured. ATYR had it right, but the FE changed it back to party and previous Oxford editions have used party as well.
the jacket fitting but never binding that lovely body and waist
MS: the bright jacket fitting, but bright is used a few sentences down, so the word was likely cut in proofs to avoid repetition.
not anxious at the present moment to discuss any matrimonial projects with her
It is likely that Trollope meant to write matrimonial prospects, but what he did write is closer to projects; we do not see sufficient reason to overturn the FE.
“You have never seen Grex.”
The FE question mark would be necessary if Silverbridge answered the supposed question. Instead, Mabel is well aware that Silverbridge has never visited; the MS period fits nicely, with its hint of a rebuke against Silverbridge for his inattention.
“How disagreeable for them!”
We use them rather than the MS him, to match the plural men/them in Mabel’s remarks.
“Yes, indeed,” she said;—“very well.”
The semicolon-dash, though outside the actual dialogue, affects how we read the dialogue, and so we put it in. The FE has a comma instead of the semicolon-dash.
“A fellow shouldn’t be cross-questioned.”
There is a clear space after should, suggesting that the word following is not. But that’s not what it looks like, especially with what appears to be an apostrophe. Most likely, in 1876 Trollope wrote a lower-case n directly over whatever was underneath it, then added the apostrophe and t. The whole sentence was later cut for space.
“If you are so much in love with her that you have resolved to face the displeasure”
We keep the MS have resolved rather than the FE mean, which was no doubt made in response to the cuts.
What could she do to prevent it?
Originally, What could she do to help prevent it, but Trollope cut help with a wavy line before crossing out the whole sentence.
“But your father? I have heard you speak with bitter regret of this affair of Lady Mary’s, because if vexes your father.”
The repetition of your father is slightly awkward, but there is not enough justification to reject the straight-line cut and so we restore it.
and when they all sauntered out into the grounds she seated herself
This was changed to she sauntered in the FE. Trollope had cut all for space, and then mistakenly cut she as well. Rather than put back she, the compositor changed they to she.
“I know a great deal about you.”
MS: “I know a good deal about you,” which we find preferable; even though Isabel has learned not to talk through her nose, Trollope usually intends her idiom to be American. Still, we are reluctant to overturn the FE in this case.
“youth and spirits and——; well, I will not go on and name the others.”
Trollope seems to have cut out the comma after and with a wavy line. The compositor in puzzling this over must have mistakenly cut the and too. We restore the word.
Chapter 41
Ischl
Though the chapter title was spelled Ischl in the MS (and in ATYR), it was consistently misspelled Ischel at the beginning of the chapter and in all the page headings of the FE.
When the apology had reached her, so that there was no longer any ground for absolute quarrel
The word quarrel was changed to hostility in the FE, but only after the entire passage was moved from the third paragraph of the chapter farther down. Hostility fits in better after the dialogue showing Phineas’ anger; the original quarrel fits better coming after sentences about Mrs. Finn’s feelings.
A man, she said, can do no more than apologise. After that there is no room even for reproach.
There are no quotation marks in the MS, but for Folio and Everyman we followed the FE in adding them. We take them out because we now believe the context is different in the shortened text; quotation marks are more necessary there. We also restore the word even, which Trollope took out when he reshuffled the paragraph.
Sometimes her husband would accompany her, and he did so on this occasion.
Trollope in the MS replaced on this occasion in this year of which we are now speaking, but in response to space-saving cuts.
At dinner the conversation turned at first on British politics
Trollope made a long cut in the MS before this sentence, moving some of it to later in the chapter.
“But you tell me that in this Sir Timothy will prevail.”
There is no in in this deleted sentence. However, it sounds too unlike the Duke for him to refer to this Sir Timothy, and we assume that Trollope would have added in had he seen the sentence in proofs.
or too large a stake of his own to be able to devote himself to party purposes
In this restored passage we omit the MS comma after own to avoid a slight reader stumble.
“Of course I see that she has been ill. She tells me that she was far from well at Salzburg.”
Trollope wrote unwell rather than ill in the MS. The change in proofs to ill avoids the awkward repetition of unwell/well.
“Nervous headaches?”
The MS has a period, but it is apparent that Mrs. Finn asks a question that the Duke then answers.
”If there is to be any propriety in such things, any law, any restraint, I could not but disapprove of it.”
Trollope had added, in proofs, of between disapprove and it in the sentences immediately above. We assume that he would have added of to this sentence too if he had seen it in proofs. There are other places where the preposition is missing; here, though, given that he had just made an insertion, it is logical to believe that he would have matched it with another.
and whatever pangs it may cost, duty should be performed
We assume that the FE change to pang was a compositor error.
“You would not have her—break her heart.”
We keep the MS period here, though it is understandable why the FE changed it to a question mark. Yet Mrs. Finn is not necessarily asking a question; she is telling the Duke what she knows to be true.
“You would not wish to see her overwhelmed by continued sorrow?”
In this case, the Duke responds by saying that Mrs. Finn has asked a question (“Wish it! What a question to ask a father!”). We think, therefore, that it would be too awkward to include the MS period rather than a question—even though the FE (but not previous Oxford editions) printed the period.
“If she be steadfast enough to cling to her affection for this man”
MS: cling constantly, but constantly is redundant. This would appear to be an example, then, of an alert change made in proofs—not absolutely necessary, but a change that improves the text.
Then he was left alone.
This was cut in proofs, but we assume only because of the other cuts.
if it were thought that a lengthened visit to the cities of China or a prolonged sojourn in the Western States of America would wean her from her lover
We have removed the MS and FE comma after China. We could have also added a comma instead after America, but the sentence reads smoothly without these pauses. Also, this has always been published with love rather than lover, despite what Trollope apparently wrote in the MS (his handwriting is not entirely clear).
“Even her little burst of pleasure at seeing Mrs. Finn only seemed to have been something gained”
We have added only; it does not appear in the MS. In this sentence, deleted for space, Trollope actually wrote seemed to have been something gained. Presumably he meant failed rather than seemed, but adding only before seemed is less intrusive. Note later in the chapter, when Mary seemed to enjoy herself, and in truth she did so.
to enable her to be at Custins by the middle of October
We do not restore the crossed-out Lord Cantrip’s seat in Dorsetshire after Custins, as the Duke soon makes it clear, in his conversation with Mrs. Finn, what Custins is.
her face became very long and she was immediately attacked by paroxysms of headache
This has always been published with headaches rather than headache, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. It is true that, elsewhere in this chapter, Trollope uses the plural headaches. However, paroxysms already conveys that the headache is something that has come upon her multiple times.
“All that is over now,—and shall be forgotten.”
Instead of over, the MS has done, which is arguably better, as it makes Mrs. Finn’s response a touch more firm. And this could well be a compositor misreading. On the other hand, Trollope might have disliked the use of done immediately after do in the previous sentence. We decide, then, to stick with what has always been printed.
“I did what was best.” There was a self-assurance about this which startled him, but he soon recovered himself. “The object being,” continued she, “to place the whole matter as it really stood within your knowledge as quickly as possible. But why should your Grace go back to that?”
Trollope originally began a new paragraph with There was and another new paragraph with The object being, but that was when he also had the Duke speaking after he recovered himself. “Perhaps you did,” he originally said. Once Trollope cut “Perhaps you did” with a wavy line, he merged these sentences into one paragraph.
and the vanity of Sir Orlando Drought
Though vanity is highly likely, it is not certain; the i is not dotted and the t is not crossed—and usually Trollope does one or the other, or both.
Chapter 42
Silverbridge stayed a couple of days at Killancodlem and then, as we know, went back to Crummie-Toddie.
Though as we know is difficult to read under the cross-out, it is almost surely correct.
Popplecourt, Nidderdale, and Gerald Palliser were there all the time, very obedient, and upon the whole very efficient.
Though this could possibly be read as at the time instead, the handwriting in the next chapter, with It’s all settled, makes it clear that all is correct. Also, Trollope had cut both of the very’s for space. In proofs, however, he restored the first very. Since he could have restored both had he wanted to, we considered following his decision in proofs and printing only that first very. However, it is more likely that Trollope found obedient in particular to be awkward without very in front of it. And we prefer the rhythm of the sentence with both very’s in it.
He could not be made to understand that in sport as in other matters there was an ambition, driving a man on to excel always and be ahead of others.
We keep could (which is the word that Trollope apparently wrote in the MS) rather than the FE would, because of the use of he would to start the previous sentence. Also, the comma after ambition doesn’t quite belong; however, it appears in the MS and FE, and the problem is not egregious enough for us to overrule their authority.
when it was absolutely essential that there should be a strong party for a drive
We restore the cut absolutely, even though the word is repeated later in the sentence, as it is possible that the repetition is included for comic effect.
“Who the —— is ‘she?’ ” asked Silverbridge almost angrily.
She is capitalized in the MS; it is lower-case with no quotation marks in the FE. Trollope originally wrote she but wrote over the lower-case s to make it a capital. We believe he did so to give extra emphasis to the word—something that is better served by quotation marks.
no confounded chaff about young ladies
We would be justified in considering the cut of confounded as a wavy-line one; however, we think it is equally likely to be a straight-line cut with a smudge. We chose the latter, since the sentence sounds better with confounded restored.
“I shall be sorry if Dobbes’s roll of the killed should be lessened by a single head, seeing that his ambition sets that way.”
This has always been published with hand, rather than head, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. Also (following previous Oxford editions), we use a comma, not the MS and FE semicolon, in the sentence. In this case, we believe that a semicolon would be too distracting.
“I told her that you knew Miss Boncassen was not here and that she had no right to expect you to come again.”
The FE changed this to Miss Boncassen was gone, which could have been made to avoid the repetition of here, as here appears in the previous sentence. But we think that the repetition actually works better with the restored words, so we assume the change would not have been made without the cuts.
“As they will not let me go back to Grex I don’t know where I could be more happy.”
It is difficult sometimes to understand the motivation for FE changes with contractions (putting them in or taking them out). Here, though, we see that the FE won’t rhymes too soon with don’t. The switch to will not let me from the MS won’t is an improvement.
“Richard will be himself again”
The again was dropped out of the FE, though it’s in the MS. Trollope is quoting from Colley Cibber’s (1671-1757) version of Richard III. Had Trollope never written again, there of course would be no issue. We cannot, however, think of any compelling reason why he would have written the more accurate again and then cut it. Thus, we have strong reason to believe that the compositor missed the word.
She had made one attempt to talk him out of his purpose.
This has always been published with an attempt, rather than one attempt, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
Then she had sent that little note, saying that she would keep it till she could give it to his wife.
This comma is in the FE, and MS too, though it was taken out in ATYR. The sentence is better without the comma—it’s the note that is saying, but we can also read the sentence as meaning “saying [in it].” Given that the comma is in both the MS and FE, and is not egregious, we leave it in.
When she wrote that, she had certainly intended that the ring should be her own.
We have added the comma to avoid a reader stumble; also, we retain that (which had been cut in the FE) before the ring, because of the restored certainly (which ever so slightly changes the sound of the sentence).
During that long game on the lawn her feelings had been sad rather than very bitter.
Trollope cut sad rather than for space; he also added very. The question is whether or not he added very to replace the cut. Sometimes Trollope does use a caret to add a shorter word replacing a word or words cut for space (see MS p. 583 in Chapter 44, when anything but is replaced by not). But it is equally possible that Trollope originally wanted the sentence to read her feelings had been sad rather than very bitter. That is what we have chosen to restore. It makes sense for Mabel to be sad rather than very bitter; that still allows for some bitterness, which surely she does feel.
Of course the girl was the lovelier of the two. All the world was raving of her beauty. And there was no doubt as to the charm of her wit and manner.
We follow the FE in printing three sentences here. However, the mark following beauty is quite long for a period, and so is the one before all, which tempts us to believe that Trollope intended lovelier of the two – all the world was raving of her beauty – and there was no doubt as to the charm of her wit and manner. Reading this as an interjection strikes us as not only less choppy than what the FE printed, but also it avoids the slight awkwardness of starting two sentences in a row with And. Ultimately, though, we do not find the choppy sentences problematic enough to overrule what has always been printed.
So she forced the ring back upon him.
The S in So is apparent, but then the o and she are covered with a blot. So she, however, is the most likely reading.
Why should she lose the prize if it might still be won?
This has always been published with her own, rather than won, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
“Do you think I would not go and sleep in the stables myself and give you up my bed if there were no other rooms?”
Trollope added own before bed in proofs, but that is after go and and myself and rooms had been cut for space. We think it likely that the effect of these cuts caused Trollope to add own, and thus we leave out own when we restore the other words. Punctuation note: this is a place where we have put in a question mark (as does the FE) even though the MS has a period.
“It is so good of you to come!”
We omit the But at the beginning of the sentence, as it may be a wavy-line cut in the MS.
“There was also there a certain Lady Fawn”
After also was cut for space, the sentence became There was there a certain Lady Fawn, and so the cut of the second there in proofs is understandable. We believe that with the restored also, the second there should be restored too.
“I might as well go back to Dobbesdom.”
This has always been published with Dobbydom, rather than Dobbesdom, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. Though we can see where the compositor, ignoring context, might have gotten Dobbydom, it doesn’t make sense, as there is nobody named Dobby.
This, however, was not practicable, as the other men were going to shoot; but there remained with them the idea that on the following day there was to be a walk in some direction among the mountains.
This sentence was cut with a wavy line, but we restore it. There is no other wavy-line cancellation approaching this one in length. For cuts of full paragraphs, Trollope generally used a giant X. In this case, however, the paragraph (and sentence) takes up only three full lines in the MS; it would have taken a bit of work for Trollope to write such a cramped X. Also, the final words in the paragraph—the mountains—go on to a fourth line, and Trollope cuts those two words with a straight line. As neither the straight-line cut itself nor what precedes it makes sense alone, it all must be part of the same cut made for the same reason. The paragraph also provides a needed transition between the preceding and the following one. Without it, the reader might be somewhat puzzled to imagine how Mabel plans to carry out her attack on Silverbridge in the midst of a sort of picnic with a whole lot of people.
In the evening, about an hour before dinner, Silverbridge and Lady Mabel were seated together on the bank of a little stream which ran on the other side of the road from the house, but on a spot not more than a furlong from the hall-door.
We have followed previous Oxford editions in adding commas around about an hour before dinner, despite the FE. The sentence is too difficult to read without them— especially when the deleted words are added back. Also, Trollope originally wrote quarter of a mile distant, and then crossed out quarter of a with a wavy line and mile distant with what appears to be a straight line. There is a considerable difference, however, between a furlong and a mile; had Trollope wanted the latter, he could have kept it and saved even more space.
the Semiramises, the Pocahontases, the Ida Pfeiffers, and the Charlotte Cordays
Though Pocahontas is singular in the MS and FE, we have made it plural to match the other names in the sentence.
she was pleased to have this opportunity added to her, this pleasant minute in which some soft preparatory word might be spoken; but the great effort should be made on the morrow
The FE puts a semicolon after her—which is clearly awkward, given the semicolon that follows. The MS properly has a comma, which we restore, as we assume a compositor error.
But Dobbes, seeing his way to a follower, has flattered Gerald into strict obedience.
The first comma is not in the MS, but we have supplied it, as the sentence reads too awkwardly without it.
“Did you think it odd,” she said after a pause, “that I should ask you to come over again?”
We leave in she said after a pause. Usually, with added words immediately following a space-saving cut, we suspect a cutting replacement. But nothing in the previous restored sentences (beginning with But Dobbes, seeing his way and ending with “I shall be a jack of all trades”) seems to relate to whether or not Mabel would pause at this point.
“No;—anything but that”
Trollope crossed out the first two words by mistake; they’re back in the FE.
She had meant to have said hardly anything just at the time
Though we prefer She had meant to have said hardly anything particular this time, and came close to using it, we ultimately felt that it was too much of a stretch, as the icu in particular is not visible, nor is the ar—and there is barely room for that ar anyhow. See also Phineas Redux, “Lady Glencora knew it all, and, just at the time, I was breaking my heart.”
“Of—course—not.”
With the thick straight-line cross-out, the word Of comes through clearly, course somewhat less clearly, and not not clearly at all. There is a wide gap between each word—hence the assumed dashes, though the dashes cannot be seen under the straight-line cross-out. “But it will disgrace your family” was clearly added later, and thus could have been a replacement for the deleted sentence preceding it. We would have been justified in leaving out “Of—course—not,” but we think it improves the paragraph and there is just enough basis for including it.
Chapter 43
“that pig-headed fellow Silverbridge”
We follow the MS rather than FE in not putting a comma after fellow.
with his pipe in his mouth and his eyes fixed upon Prime Minister
In this case, though the appeared before Prime Minister’s name in the MS, the FE left it out. We have made this consistent throughout the text: no the if it is part of narration; we keep it in if spoken by a character.
Gradually, but very gradually, had he and the Captain come to understand each other.
This appears to be what Trollope wrote, though but very could possibly be something else.
On such occasions the Captain’s remarks would generally be very short.
This has always been published with remark, rather than remarks, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. Even if he spoke for a short time, the Captain would still likely have more than one remark.
implying thereby that all that state of things between the two partners
It is possible that all is a false start, but more likely it’s the word Trollope wrote and then cut with a straight line.
“If it ain’t you’ll find yourself in the wrong box.”
We ignore the FE change to aren’t, as this is a word that the compositor continued to misread. Note that ain’t is kept in the FE in the previous sentence, but in that case the capital a and the dotted i helped prevent the compositor from going astray; at a quick glance that ain’t is easier to decipher than the next ain’t.
But this was an arrangement which, if made just now, would not suit the Major’s views.
We ignore the FE comma before which, as it creates a slight reader stumble.
using the new favourite name for that celebrated horse
MS: that celebrated horse, Coalheaver, but the name is well established; it is hard to imagine Trollope wouldn’t have cut it had he noticed it in proofs.
twenty-five to twenty and two thousand five hundred
We follow the MS in reconstructing this passage.
Here is what appears in All the Year Round:
Of course as matters stood he wasn’t going to back the Heaver at even money; but he’d take odds at hundreds between the two. All this ended in a bet being accepted and duly booked by Lord Silverbridge. And in this way Lord Silverbridge added two thousand four hundred pounds to his responsibilities.
Here is what appears in Chapman & Hall:
Of course as matters stood he wasn’t going to back the Heaver at even money;—but he’d take twenty-five to thirty in hundreds between the two. All this ended in the bet being accepted and duly booked by Lord Silverbridge. And in this way Silverbridge added two thousand four hundred pounds to his responsibilities.
Villiers says he’d take odds of 25 to 20 “in hundreds” – i.e., he puts up 20 hundreds (£2000), Silverbridge 25 hundreds (£2500), whereas twenty-five to thirty makes little sense. In the first place, one would always quote the longer odds first – nobody ever says, “I’ll bet you one to two.” In the second place, it would contradict what Villiers just said about being unwilling to “back the Heaver at even money”; if he wouldn’t do that, it couldn’t possibly make sense for him to offer Silverbridge odds.
Here’s what must have happened: two sentences later, the compositor read Trollope’s two thousand five hundred as two thousand four hundred – a perfectly plausible reading, but only if looked at out of context. Reading the proofs, Trollope noticed the contradiction and finessed the issue by making the change to “odds.” And by the time he proofed the next chapter, where his original correct figure appears (£2500 on ms. p. 582; page 343 of the Oxford edition), he evidently failed to remember what he’d done here. In reading the proofs for the book edition, Trollope, again without consulting the MS, removed the part about the odds.
“He’s been putting a lot on our ‘orse, and in this way he gets a turn in his favour.”
The word turn is hard to read but is almost surely correct.
No one was probably tipsy, but many were elated
The word probably is a bit awkward and somewhat difficult to decipher; thus, we were tempted to leave it out, as the sentence survives just fine without it. Still, we are almost certain that this is what indeed Trollope wrote, and we print it.
“These men will pay,” whispered Lupton, “but you can’t be quite sure what they’re at.”
Because the punctuation affects the way the dialogue is heard, we use Trollope’s comma rather than the FE’s semicolon after Lupton.
“I’ll mind what I’m about.”
MS: “I’ll mind what I am about.” Trollope most likely decided that Lupton’s speech sounded more natural with the contraction.
And the deed in which he himself was to be the chief actor was to be done very early in the following morning.
MS: on instead of the FE in, but this could have been a purposeful change.
“But Mr. Pook was, alas, still in bed.”
This has always been published with was also still (But Mr. Pook was also still in bed), rather than was, alas, still, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
What an ass must he have been to risk such a sum on the well-being and safety of an animal who might any day pick up a nail in his foot!
There is a question mark in the MS and FE, as well as previous Oxford editions, but clearly that’s a mistake.
Chapter 44
Tifto had exclaimed that the horse was going lame in his off fore-foot.
With several cross-outs, Trollope was indecisive in the MS, but he eventually settled on fore-foot rather than fore-leg here.
“Why, you went with him yourself.”
Though there is a comma before yourself in the MS, we find it too distracting and thus follow the FE in leaving it out.
“You allowed Pook to do just as he pleased.”
There is no to in the MS, but the word was added in the FE. Perhaps Trollope was thinking of “let Pook do” when he wrote the sentence, as he tended at times to conflate two different expressions.
But everyone knew that he could not but have a great interest in a race, as to which the half owner of the favourite was a peculiarly intimate friend of his own.
The FE comma is not ideal, but is not egregious enough to remove, especially since it does create a pause in a long sentence; also, the comma is in the MS.
Of course there would be great plunder, and where would the plunder go?
Trollope originally wrote they was to be a great plunder, and crossed it out with a straight line, replacing it with there would be great plunder. We could restore the sentence to Of course there was to be a great plunder, but only one character and two spaces are saved, and OED flags this meaning “now rare or Obs.” and gives no citation with “a plunder” later than 1650. Trollope must have seen that “they was to be a” was wrong, and decided to rewrite it as there would be above. He also wrote, separately, great plunder again, probably because plunder was hard to read. This may be evidence of how, in 1878, Trollope used a straight line even when cutting for editorial rather than space-saving reasons.
He clung during a great portion of the morning
This has always been published with great part of the morning, rather than a great portion of the morning, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. The word a is in the MS but was mostly hidden by the tail of the g in during. Because the compositor did not see the a, he would have been left with during great portion, which sounds too unfamiliar; during great part was thus an improvement. Had he seen the word a, there is little reason to doubt that during a great portion would have been printed.
“Then you may regard it as a trifle,” said Lupton.
MS: Mr. Lupton. It is hard to see why Trollope would cut Mr., but we still defer to the FE. Silverbridge does refer to him a few lines down as just Lupton, and there are three uses of Mr. Lupton just above, so Trollope might have thought it sounded better this way.
“And I think he will.”
After I think was cut for space, the sentence became “And he will.” Perhaps Trollope thought this sounded awkward and then cut And in proofs. With I think restored, we restore And as well.
not one of them was a gentleman to whom he should like to give his hand
MS: would like rather than should like, but perhaps this change in proofs was done purposefully.
After having seen his creditors he went up alone to London.
The word away is not in the MS and is not needed, but it turns up in the FE: he went up away alone to London. Given the restoration of the next sentence, with the word way at the end, we feel justified in cutting away on the grounds that Trollope would not have liked the repetition of away/way. And it is likely that the insertion of away to begin with was a compositor error.
When in London he went to Carlton Terrace and spent the night there in solitude.
The word absolute was added before solitude in proofs, but that was done to make up for the edited sentence that follows: He did not even show himself at the Beargarden.
when if not the entire three months at least ten weeks would have run by
The word run is hard to decipher but is almost surely correct.
Carlton Terrace, Sept. 14, 187—.
Though Trollope wrote 18— without the 7, we add the 7 here to match other times in the novel where the date is given (such as Chapter 1, page 8).
“But I feel now I cannot help saying it.”
MS: “But as I feel now, I cannot help saying it.” The omission of as in proofs before I feel also caused the omission of a comma after now.
Comfort and Criball
We use the FE spelling. The MS clearly has an additional letter, both here and on MS page 590 in the next chapter; Trollope wrote either Cribhall or Cribball. Perhaps Trollope worried that the extra letter would prevent some readers from catching the play on “crib all”—that is, to “steal everything.”
upon his Lordship’s simple bond
This has always been published with single bond, rather than simple bond, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. Perhaps the compositor had The Merchant of Venice in mind here, but it’s doubtful that Comfort and Criball did—or, if they did, that they would be so punctilious in their reference.
“Crasham Court”
We use the FE spelling, even though Trollope wrote the more vivid Crushum Court (crush ’em) instead. Earlier, we did revert to the MS spelling when we chose Schotzdam over Scholzdam, but in that case it seemed more clear-cut that the compositor had erred. Here, there is no mistaking that Trollope wrote Crushum, so it is possible that he came to prefer Crasham instead—perhaps so as not to repeat the Cru sound of Crushum/Crutched.
saying that he would be in Carlton Terrace by noon on the following day
Trollope wrote Carlton Gardens instead, and it was printed in the FE; previous Oxford editions had made the correction to Carlton Terrace.
Chapter 45
“There Shall Not Be Another Word Said About It”
Since this is a direction quotation, we have changed the title to add the word Said.
In these narrations, perforce, pity was expressed
The word perforce is not certain, but we feel confident enough to include it—though the word is not essential to the sentence and could have been omitted. Also, Trollope mistakenly forgot to cross out the addition he had made of In these narrations. When those words showed up in proofs, he must have then changed narrations to transactions and added the words to the end of the previous sentence.
The Duke had been, almost nervously, afraid of such men of business as Comfort and Criball
With the restoration of almost we also restore Trollope’s MS commas.
he was careful to remember that the promise made that Tifto should be dismissed was not to take effect till after this race had been run.
We have deleted the FE comma after dismissed; it is not in the MS. With the commas earlier, the sentence becomes slightly choppy with this comma included too.
Plunging is a doubtful word, and the path down to it,—like all doubtful paths,—is slippery and easy!
We have restored the first dash; both dashes are in the MS. Also, we follow the FE (and MS) in not putting quotation marks around Plunging while putting quotation marks around the earlier use of plunge in the paragraph.
he could bring himself to forgive this offence, and could soon learn to forget the money
Though we had previously (for the Folio version) read this as even learn, we are now confident that soon learn is correct. Also, Trollope had inserted even in the MS before this offence. But we think it likely that he put this word in after cutting and could soon learn to forget the money.
Then it was pressed upon him that he should take a leading step in punishing Tifto.
Trollope probably meant leading part, but leading step is what he wrote and is good enough; we did not feel justified in making a change.
though he had come to an age at which Pitt was a great minister and Pope a great poet
The words and Disraeli a novelist were cut after Pope a great poet in proofs. Originally Trollope had written Pitt was a minister, Pope a poet, and Disraeli a novelist. When he added the two great’s in the MS, he left out a great for Disraeli. Trollope was surely unwilling to call Disraeli a great novelist, but might have felt the dig at him by leaving out the word great was too distracting. It is understandable, then, why he left Disraeli out altogether in proofs.
But when he did speak of that which displeased him
This starts a new paragraph in the FE. We assume, however, that Trollope would have kept the long paragraph intact if he had not cut out the previous sentence.
Mr. Lupton and Sir Henry Playfair and Lord Stirling were in the room when the bets were made.
Trollope first wrote Straightup but lost his nerve (play + fair and straight + up), crossing it out with a wavy line and replacing it with Stratup. When reading proofs this compromise must have struck him as too bizarre and/or liable to be mispronounced (at rather than ate), spoiling his joke, and so he changed it to Stirling – i.e., sterling).
Then the father came up to the son and put his arm round the young man’s shoulders and embraced him.
This has always been published with arms, rather than arm, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. One arm around both shoulders is much more likely than two arms.
That his father should forgive so readily and yet himself suffer so deeply, affected the son’s feelings so strongly that for a time he could hardly repress his sobs.
Although a comma after readily, to match the one after deeply, would be welcome, it does not appear in the MS or in the FE.
Silverbridge in his confusion could make no answer.
We ignore the paragraph breaks in the FE now that we have restored the missing sentences.
“You speak of it as if it were a necessary task; the business of your life,—on which your bread depended.”
The semicolon is a bit unorthodox, but acceptable. Also, we follow previous Oxford editions in publishing were rather than the FE was—though we would not on our own initiative correct the Duke’s grammar here. Rather, Trollope wrote were in the MS— though it is understandable why the compositor might have read the word as was.
“It appeared to me, sir, that it did not seem to suit her,” said the hardly-driven young man.
The word appeared replaced seemed in proofs, to avoid the repetition. Also, we keep the FE hyphen between hardly and driven as there could be slight confusion without it.
Her confusion, and too evident despair when she heard of the offer that had been made to the American girl, had plainly told her tale.
We follow the MS and FE punctuation (which isn’t affected by the restored words that had been made), even though technically we should either add another comma after despair or remove the commas after confusion and girl. If we add the comma, the sentence becomes too choppy; if we take out two commas, the sentence goes on too long without a pause.
After his folly and misconduct in regard to those heavy bets
This has always been published with debts, rather than bets, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
“Perhaps you may be one of them, Silverbridge.”
Though Silverbridge is not in the MS, we have added it. Otherwise, readers may think at first that the Duke is still speaking to Phineas.
Chapter 46
and Lady Chiltern, whose father-in-law had more than once sat in the same Cabinet with himself and Lord Cantrip
The reference to Lord Cantrip—and Lord Cantrip—was cut in proofs, almost surely because of other space-saving cuts made regarding Lord Cantrip.
and rather confounded the Duke, who had hardly reflected
This has always been published with confused, rather than confounded, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
than if the two young people had been thrown together in big desolate rooms with no other companions than their elders
The words than their elders are at the top of a new page in the MS. After these words, the rest of the paragraph was cut for space. The compositor mistakenly cut everything, including than their elders, but the sentence doesn’t work well with the cut: surely the young people would not be allowed in a large room all alone.
In his case it came upon him with a rough demand for immediate task-work.
This has always been published with hard, rather than task. Though we previously published hard as well, a closer look makes it apparent that Trollope wrote task.
the first interview at least in which he had uttered a word to her of any moment.
This was originally cut for space to the first interview in which he had spoken to her seriously, and then the entire phrase was cut in proofs. The original phrase is much clearer about the distinction between the first important conversation and merely the first conversation; once this was lost, Trollope might have seen no need for what did remain in proofs.
he felt almost sure it would never be transacted
Originally, the transaction would never be transacted. This is a close call, but because the cross-out is not only extra heavy, but doubled in the middle, we believe the cut was made for editorial, not space, reasons.
Lord Popplecourt, being aware that he had already been adopted
There is no comma in the FE, but the restored words make the sentence longer; thus the pause is welcome. Even with the shortened sentence, the comma appears in previous Oxford editions.
"We saw very few people whom we knew,” said the Duke.
This was changed from said the Duke to he said in proofs. Given the cuts in the preceding sentence, it would have been too awkward to repeat the Duke so soon.
“And as grouse and deer together are about the best things out, most of us made up our minds”
The comma is not in the MS but the sentence is too difficult to read without it. “to think that some princess has fallen violently in love with him”
The Duke’s Children, Notes on Editorial Decisions, Volume 2 / Amarnick, last revised October 17, 2020
The word violently was cut in proofs, but we can see no reason why Trollope would have objected to it. What likely happened: the word looks somewhat like probably in the MS, and when Trollope saw probably in proofs, he cut it out then.
“I’ll make you any bet you like they’re married before this time next year.”
With the MS cuts this sentence became “I’ll make you a bet they’re married before this time next year.” In the FE, you was left out. We put back that first you along with the crossed-out words.
“What do you know about the Duke’s daughter?”
This has always been published with the Duke’s children, rather than the Duke’s daughter, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. They are clearly only talking about Mary and not her brothers as well.
“Or Moore’s elegies?”
Trollope had written elegies in the MS, but this was changed to Melodies in the FE. In previous editions we printed the “correct” Melodies too, but we came to believe that Trollope had it right the first time around. Popplecourt is no reader, and in trying to impress Mary it makes sense that he would mangle the name of what Thomas Moore wrote.
“I would rather not talk any more about him.”
Though the MS has what appears to be an exclamation point, there is also a possibility that these are squashed-together closing quotation marks, put in to replace the cut. It’s also worth noting that the FE did not print an exclamation point. We feel that Mary is unlikely to be “shouting” here, and thus we print a period.
“Well! What was he to believe about that dream?”
It is possible that Trollope wrote “Well—what was he to believe about the dream,” but we believe that an exclamation point is more likely.
had not the girl been so fierce with him
Trollope wrote furious in the MS, but fierce seems more appropriate and was likely a purposeful change.
He remembered too what the Duke had said about Tregear
There is an FE comma after too; we’ve chosen to leave it out, rather than add another comma before too. Previous Oxford editions chose the latter. There are already a number of pauses in the previous sentence, so it’s better not to add two more here.
Putting all these things together, by eleven o’clock on the following morning
We add the comma to avoid a potential reader stumble.
Chapter 47
“I shall give up,—oh, curses, everything”
We are reasonably confident that curses is the right word here but not certain.
“We never think of anything of that kind in our country.”
Trollope crossed out, with a straight line, that kind, and replaced it with settlements; in the FE, of was also removed before settlements. This is a puzzler. Did Trollope quickly believe he was indeed shortening the sentence? The fact that the three words (or two that he actually crossed out) are spread over two lines, and take up more space in the MS, could have swayed him. We leave in of that kind, which seems superior, especially since it avoids using settlements for a third time.
“It’s that d—— fellow, Silverbridge,” he exclaimed almost crying
This has always been published with angrily, not crying, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. Dolly clearly is angry, not almost. Also, we follow the MS (and FE) in putting a comma after fellow, even though more commonly there would be no comma here.
and poor Dolly found himself alone
The word poor was cut for space; and in the FE, Longstaffe (or Longstaff as it was spelled there) was added after Dolly. Trollope might have felt that the word Dolly alone sounded odd, and so added the Longstaffe; but poor Dolly sounds just fine without Longstaffe.
He had compared the lady to a cookmaid
MS: his lady rather than the lady. Trollope originally wrote his lady love, but crossed out love with a wavy line and forgot to change his before he deleted the whole phrase. We assume that he would have changed his lady to the lady had he seen this deleted sentence in proofs.
Dolly shook his head despondently.
This starts a new paragraph in the FE, but with the restored sentence following this one a paragraph break makes less sense; we follow the original MS in leaving it out.
“Let me know when you’ve fixed it all and I will meet you wherever you please.”
This is a straight-line cut, so we restore it, but it’s a bit mystifying what Dolly is talking about—why it is that he wants to meet in the future. In a different context, it would seem as if he is referring to a challenge that Popplecourt would accept, but that’s obviously not the case here. It is also possible that Trollope wrote whenever rather than wherever, but it’s difficult to know for sure. We choose wherever to avoid the repetition of when in the sentence.
And so Dolly got into the trap and went to Bridport and slept that night at the hotel at Dorchester.
It is tempting to add a comma after Bridport (and one appears in previous Oxford editions), but it’s not necessary; we follow both the FE and MS in leaving it out.
Lord Popplecourt, though he was able to give such excellent advice to his friend
This was changed in proofs from was able to could give—perhaps because, with the cuts, the first able was too close to the second able in the sentence.
and yet apparently so little apt to trust to anything but his own heart and his own voice
We assume that with apparently restored, yet (which was cut in proofs) should be included as well. Also, we keep the word and before his own voice and do not see it as a replacement for the cut; however, this is a close call. Originally Trollope wrote his own heart, his own voice before he inserted and to replace the comma.
She was glad enough that he was what he was.
Trollope cut enough for space, and then that in proofs. With the restoration of enough, we restore that as well, as we assume that the changed sound of the sentence with enough deleted made Trollope more likely to cut that as well.
She counted at their full value all his material advantages.
It is possible to see why the compositor read this as natural advantages instead, but Trollope clearly wrote material.
Then she stood still, looking into the other’s face.
The comma is not in the FE, but is in the MS (though we can see why the compositor might have missed it). The meaning of the sentence changes without the comma. We put it in, as did previous Oxford editions.
so much astonished that words escaped from her which she regretted afterwards
The MS/FE/Oxford comma after her alters the meaning of the sentence. Trollope surely means that Mary regretted the words that escaped her.
Chapter 48
“Approve of what?”
We find the MS exclamation point too distracting here, and so we use the FE question mark.
possessed of fortune, beauty and every good gift is to come like a bird to your call
Though we standardize the series comma for narration, we do not do so for dialogue, even though in this case the FE does add the comma after beauty.
she must of course sympathise with Miss Boncassen in return, and she was hardly prepared to do this at present
Trollope added in return with a caret, and he cut the remaining words in the sentence with a straight line. Usually that combination means that the added words were put in to replace what was cut. Here, though, we believe there is sufficient reason for Trollope to have added in return in 1876. Thus we keep these words.
Therefore she kept her own secret, though on various occasions she was sorely tempted.
We considered leaving this sentence out, as it repeats the first sentence in the paragraph about Mary being tempted; plus, it is not entirely clear what various occasions means in this context. Nevertheless, the problem is not egregious enough for us to overlook the fact that Trollope used a straight line to cut this sentence. Could he have done so in 1878? Certainly. Yet we leave the sentence in.
“You won’t remember that against me, will you?”
FE: will not remember, but we assume that change would not have been made if will you had still been there.
“But that under certain circumstances I could not marry him.”
This has always been published with would, not could, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. Trollope was playing off the earlier sentence, “That he could not marry me!”
“if heaven were opened to me with a Strait Gate.”
Spelled straight in both the MS and FE, but surely it is the Strait Gate from Pilgrim’s Progress that is being referred to. We used lower-case strait gate previously, but now we capitalize these words because of Bunyan’s book The Strait Gate.
“You don’t suppose that I think he would be disgraced?”
We use the FE question mark rather than MS period. Isabel would sound a bit too imperious at this moment if she spoke this as a statement rather than a question.
“and those others are so closely concerned with him, and would be so closely concerned with me as to trouble our joint lives”
We do not like the MS comma after him but also do not find the problem egregious enough to overrule Trollope’s punctuation.
“But if you love a star the pride you have in your star will enhance your love. The difficulty,— even the impossibility,—will enhance your love. Though you know that you must die of your love, still you must love your star the more.”
The middle sentence was cut in proofs. The second dash is missing in the MS, and probably was missing when Trollope saw the sentence in proofs. This might have caused him to give extra attention to the sentence, and he may not have liked the repetition of enhance your love or the repetition of difficult/difficulty. Thus, he cut the sentence altogether. We think, however, that Trollope hastily misunderstood what he had done. In the buildup to Though you know you must die of your love, the repetition of enhance
The Duke’s Children, Notes on Editorial Decisions, Volume 2 / Amarnick, last revised October 17, 2020
your love successfully emphasizes that enhanced love. And the repetition of difficulty leads to an even more extreme thought: about the impossibility of success.
or tell him what she thought of the proper way of getting into heaven
This has always been published with her, rather than the, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
“And yet so like,” said the Duke smiling;—"your language, your laws, your habits!”
MS: “And yet so like,” said the Duke smiling. “Your language, your laws, your habits!” Whether done by Trollope or someone else, the change here is a tiny improvement, as one longer sentence rather than two separate sentences helps to emphasize how like the two countries are.
“The choice, I am sure, would do your country honour.”
Here is a case where Trollope simply misplaced the comma in the MS that was meant to go after sure; he put it after am.
“Half our peers are men whose grandfathers were commoners.”
Trollope originally wrote Two thirds of but crossed it out with a wavy line and replaced it with Half before deleting the entire sentence for space.
Chapter 49
The groom, who was at the horse’s head
There is no comma in the FE or MS, but we add one since there is only one groom.
It was not without great inward grief that he had deprived himself of the consolations of these reflections.
We ignore the FE exclamation point, as the restored sentence following this sentence has one.
who will declare that they want hunting and care nothing for the character of the Master
It appears (though we are not fully certain) that Trollope first wrote their Master, then worked over their to change it to the.
so long as he is able to keep his hounds on to a fox
We keep Trollope’s word division in the MS and print on to, not onto, in this restored sentence, as we read keep . . . on as an adverb and to as a preposition—similar to “set a dog on (to) someone/something.”
who keeps such excellent time in a ball-room
FE: who keeps such excellent time in a ball. We assume that this was a compositor error. Either the change would have been made to at a ball, or the MS in a ball-room was correct as is. We keep the latter.
but had persisted in saying that there was no conclusive evidence against Tifto
This has always been published with he persisted, rather than had persisted, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. Trollope appears to have first written he and changed it to had. Because of the way he squeezed in the d under the p of persisted, the compositor might well have missed it.
to rob his dearest friend of the last shilling he had in the world
In cutting, Trollope mistakenly included last, but it was put back in for the FE.
“I wanted to make my book safe, thinking I was sure to win half the stakes."
Trollope changed this to “I wanted to ‘edge. I only wanted to ‘edge,” after a straight-line cut. This is a case where we think the shorter version is superior (certainly it is more colorful, though Tifto does also sound less intelligent). However, we do not see any evidence that this was a straight-line revision rather than the usual straight-line cut for space. Thus, reluctantly, we restore the longer sentence.
“Why have you not shown us your book?”
This has always been published with me, rather than us, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. It makes more sense for Lupton to be speaking collectively for the hunt rather than about his personal access.
“I hedged my bets in that way against the stakes.”
Most likely there was a wavy cross-out under also or whatever the word is after hedged. Also, that way could very well be this way.
and by a consent on the part of the meeting to receive the Major’s instant resignation
Trollope cut his with a wavy line and replaced it with the Major’s. The word instant appears to have been written at the same time as the Major’s; thus, the replacement of immediate with instant was likely an editorial, not space-saving, change—though immediate was crossed out with a straight, not wavy, line, and instant is shorter.
Chapter 50
“I’m sure I don’t know why she should”
Though there is a space between the I and the m in the MS, Trollope wrote I’m. The FE I am is almost surely an error.
who in his own ill humour could be very aggravating even to his friends
This has always been published with friend, not friends, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. If the change was made on purpose, it could have been as a result of the other change in the sentence: from in his own ill humour to the shorter who was often. The former gives more of a sense of persistent behavior on the Duke’s part that goes beyond his encounters with Lady Cantrip alone.
“It is impossible to turn her”
Though turn is not certain, it is fairly likely. Another possibility is trick. If one filled out the syntax of what Lady Cantrip is saying it would go “On the one hand she is obstinate so it’s impossible to compel her, and on the other she is clever so it is impossible to trick her.”
“As regards money you could give them what they want.”
In the FE this sentence ends with a question mark—another example of how a careless error could creep into the published version without Trollope catching it. Previous Oxford editions made the correction to a period.
“He is Conservative.”
MS: “He is a Conservative.” FE: “He is Conservative!” It is possible that the two FE changes were made to work together, that in dropping a Trollope felt that the exclamation point was more suitable. We think, though, that the quieter tone represented by the period is more fitting here. We also think that Trollope might have seen “He is a Conservative!” in proofs and decided to drop a at that point. Leaving out the article suggests more that it is Conservative (party) philosophy, and not merely the partisan fact of being a member of the Conservative party, that upsets the Duke.
but in truth there is nothing so wretched as yielding
In the MS, Trollope added to a man after wretched, but this replaced other cuts.
Could she have been made to consent to marry someone else, terrible as the rupture might have been to her at the time, still, when the thing was done, she would have reconciled herself to her new life.
Trollope added at last to the MS after herself, but this was only because he had cut out to her at the time, still, when the thing was done for space.
But would it be right? If he were to find that by persevering in this course he would doom her to death
There are some marks in the MS after persevering, but they don’t seem to be part of a word. Also, while Trollope crossed out would it be right for space while leaving But, that But does not appear in the FE.
They slept one night in town,—where they encountered Silverbridge soon after his retreat from the Beargarden.
The FE printed Trollope’s dash without his comma. We assume this was an error, and follow previous Oxford editions in printing the comma-dash.
If the party could be made up without Silverbridge then things might run smoothly.
The word then was left out of the FE but it is hard to see why. We assume this was an error.
and, turning over the page, found that the signature to it was “Francis Tregear.”
The second comma does not appear in the FE, but is in the MS (slightly hidden, but clearly there) and must have been dropped by mistake. It has been added to previous Oxford editions.
to have his dinner, his fragment of a dinner, brought to him in that solitary room
We include the second comma, which appears in the MS. It is not in the FE but has been added to previous Oxford editions.
“and to keep to myself whatever heart-breaking I may have to undergo”
Though it seems to be plural in the MS, the FE heart-breaking is preferable and was presumably a purposeful change.
“then, I think, I am entitled to ask you, as her father, whether you are justified in keeping us apart”
In the MS, instead of justified, Trollope wrote entitled; he made the change in proofs, presumably to avoid the repetition. Trollope may have been a bit too mechanical in revising here, as the repetition is effective. Still, we defer to the FE.
“had no attraction for me when I first became acquainted with her”
This has always been published with attractions, rather than attraction, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. It is much easier to believe in a compositor error here than that Trollope made a purposeful change.
“Did I doubt it, my way would be, not easier, but more simple.”
Trollope cut for space not easier, but. In proofs, simple was changed to clear, but this was in response to the cuts, as Trollope would not want Frank to be suggesting that his more simple path was also easier.
“Any endeavour to meet her clandestinely is against my instincts”
The FE published endeavours, rather than the MS endeavour. Previous Oxford editions print endeavour, which is particularly necessary because of the verb is later in the sentence.
“Therefore it is that I write to you; pleading my own cause,—and as I believe hers.”
After space-saving cuts, only Therefore it is that I write to you was left. It is understandable why these remaining words were deleted in proofs. We restore the entire sentence.
In regard to rank this young gentleman thought himself to be as good as anybody else
MS: considered rather than thought, but considered was used in the sentence above; this is another example of Trollope avoiding awkward repetitions when he noticed them.
“Whether I am such a son-in-law as you would like or not, it is your duty to accept me, if by refusing to do so you will render your daughter miserable.”
The quotation marks were dropped out of the FE (and previous Oxford editions), but are in the MS and do belong. Also, we ignore the MS comma after so to avoid a slight reader stumble.
The Boncassens he knew would be free from engagements in ten days’ time.
MS: hence rather than time, which could have been amended in the FE by removing in. Instead, time replaced hence.
Mr. Boncassen would be then at work in the British Museum
This could possibly be at the British Museum. Most likely, Trollope wrote at first, then changed it to in.
Chapter 51
He would appeal to the young man himself to say whether marriage
The MS originally had Mr. Tregear crossed out with a straight line; perhaps Trollope thought that young man would save space, but didn’t realize that the would need to be added too. More likely: he wanted the Duke to be consistent in the paragraph, and refer to Frank by young man rather than his name. Thus we see this as an editing, not space- saving, change, despite the straight line.
fitting that a young man, whose duty according to all known principles it must be to earn his bread by his daily work
The MS comma is not in the FE but is valuable.
who was altogether ignorant of the correspondence between her father and her lover
Trollope cut of course from the MS with a straight line and replaced it with altogether. Perhaps he wanted to avoid repeating of course so soon after using it in the previous paragraph. We don’t think there is anything about the cuts in this sentence that would affect whether Trollope used altogether instead of of course.
“I hope the people will come.”
This is another case where the compositor failed to notice that Trollope had not created a new paragraph after the cut of previous lines.
This was a little sermon which Mary was quite contented to endure in silence if only she could carry her point.
It is possible that Trollope wrote points, but the singular is more appropriate. There is one point she wants to carry—that is, the one that is named in the third sentence of this paragraph.
But she thought it inexpedient that Miss Boncassen, Lady Mabel, and Silverbridge should be at Matching together.
A comma after Silverbridge appears in the FE but not in the MS, and must have been put in by mistake.
“and papa particularly says that he hopes Miss Cassewary will come also”
Trollope made a number of errors in this chapter; here, he mistakenly wrote come to in the MS, though only come was printed in the FE.
“Then I have invited Lady Mabel Grex and Miss Cassewary,—all of papa’s choosing,—and the Boncassens.”
The balancing dash after choosing is not in the MS or FE (only a comma is there) but is helpful for clarity.
As the People’s Banner always rankled with animosity against the Duke, for reasons which it is not now necessary to explain, the article went on to assert that any such attempt
Trollope actually wrote went on to explain rather than went on to assert, but it is difficult to believe that he would have allowed explain to repeat if he had seen the sentence in proofs. We thus have changed explain to assert. Some word repetitions are more egregious than others, and this one strikes us as especially awkward.
And, to Mary’s great horror, all the other invitations were accepted also.
In the FE, other was deleted, but presumably in response to the cuts.
Both Lady Mabel and Miss Cassewary were delighted, and ever so much obliged to the Duke!
This could possibly be were so much rather than ever so much, but we believe the latter is correct.
and that the necessary fourth gun would be there in the person of Barrington Erle
In the MS, Trollope had inserted one before Barrington Erle, but this was in response to a previous cut in the chapter where Barrington Erle had first been introduced.
“I’m sure there’s not one of them hates Sir Timothy worse than I do.”
FE: there is rather than there’s, but this is likely a compositor error. The letter is filled with contractions; it is hard to imagine why Trollope would have purposely changed this particular one.
“If they’ll give me something good, perhaps I’ll rat.”
The word rat is uncertain but highly likely.
That Lady Mabel should also be at Matching would certainly be a misfortune.
The compositor misread the tail of the g as a comma; we print the sentence without the FE comma after Matching.
Chapter 52
Lastly came Lord Silverbridge himself.
Originally in the MS, and lastly came was part of the previous sentence, but it appears likely that and was cut with a wavy line and that the initial L in Lastly was extended.
“But how you should have hit it, as you say,—seeing that the train is not due at Bridstock till 7:05, I do not know.”
7:05 was changed in ATYR to past seven, but back to the precise time in the FE (though printed as 7.5, not 7:05). Is it possible that the ATYR compositor did not understand Trollope’s 7.5 in the MS? Also, we do not add balancing dashes here; we are less inclined to do so with dialogue if the sentence reads smoothly enough even without the second dash.
“and to go and see the race run, with a jaunty air and a cigar in my mouth”
This was changed in proofs from jaunty look to jaunty air, presumably to avoid the repetition of look from earlier in the sentence.
“I almost felt like hanging myself when I was alone in London that evening.”
Trollope cut almost for space, leaving “I felt like hanging myself.” The word very was added in proofs, so that the sentence was published with “I felt very like hanging myself.” Is it possible that the compositor mistakenly repeated the felt very from the line above? It is hard to see why Trollope would have added very in proofs.
“I am glad that everything is right,” she said, with a strong emphasis on the “everything.”
Some of this seems to have been written later, squeezed in to the MS. Most likely Trollope originally ended the sentence with right, then added the other parts. Though often in such cases he is replacing a cut, we do not think that is what happened here. Rather, Trollope must have felt that Silverbridge’s response (“Everything of that sort, I mean”) would appear odd unless it was clear that Mabel had emphasized everything.
“I went to see him in the stable when I first heard about the nail”
In the MS, there is something crossed out beneath about, but it is extra heavy; it’s hard to see what longer word could replace about in this situation, so it must be a regular cut that Trollope made in 1876.
“You can hunt here.”
Trollope apparently originally intended to write “You can’t hunt here?” But he crossed out can’t with a wavy line and replaced it with can; however, he still ended the sentence with a question mark. Had Trollope truly wanted the question, it’s hard to see why he would have changed can’t to can. It seems likely instead that the question mark is an error—left over, perhaps, from his original thinking about the sentence. Though the question mark appears in the FE and Oxford (and in our Folio edition), it now seems more suitable to change it to a period.
But, though she was very lively in her political badinage with her neighbours, nevertheless she kept her eye upon her lover and Lady Mabel.
Trollope cut in her political badinage for space; very was understandably cut in proofs. With the restored words, very fits comfortably.
In her own land she had heard absurd stories,—stories which at the moment had seemed to her to be absurd,—of the treachery of lords and countesses
This was published in the FE with just a dash, no comma, between the two stories. Previous Oxford editions kept the dash but removed the second comma-dash, since it didn’t make sense without the first comma-dash. We restore the MS punctuation.
He hardly came forward,—had hardly spoken to Miss Boncassen,—till he offered her
Trollope cut the first dash and replaced it with a capital He when he cut He hardly came forward. He neglected to cut the second comma-dash, which the FE printed.
She, as she went to bed, asked herself whether it were possible that there should be such treachery;—whether it were possible that he should pass it all by as though he had never said a word to her!
The MS and FE have was possible that there should be such treachery. Previous Oxford editions change it to were possible, and we do too; the discrepancy between was possible/were possible would otherwise be too distracting.
“Come and play a game of billiards,” he said to Isabel
This begins a new paragraph in the FE but not the MS. In this case, however, there is no reason to assume an error or response to cuts.
as the three girls with the other ladies were together in the drawing-room
MS: as the girls were together. With the added words in proofs, Trollope made the sentence clearer.
“Why did they ask us to come here?”
This has always been published with me, rather than us, despite what Trollope apparently wrote in the MS. It is understandable that the compositor would have read the word as me, but us is far more likely. If Trollope in fact chose me, he would have done so to match pronouns, with Isabel saying me just earlier. Still, Isabel has been invited along with her parents, and we think it is unlikely that she would forget about them when asking the question of why they are there.
“When I felt that you were in earnest”
MS: “When I felt you that”; earlier in the chapter, “You do it know all” rather than “You do know it all.” These are examples of Trollope’s occasional sloppiness in the MS that he didn’t catch before sending to the printers. Further down: “When I had settled that in my mind”—my was left out of the MS.
“All the dukes in England would rise up against it, and especially that Duke whose good-will would be imperative.”
Since that Duke is a very particular one, we capitalize it.
“all that I had ever thought of as being lovable in man”
MS: a man rather than man. This is quite possibly a compositor error, but not obvious enough to overturn the FE. There is nothing difficult to read about the word, so for it to be an error the compositor would have had to be especially inattentive (which, of course, is more than possible too).
“When I saw you whispering to that highly born well-bred beauty”
We go along with the MS (and FE) by leaving out a comma after born. We do not, however, hyphenate highly born.
“oh, with such perfect joy, with such perfect trust”
This has always been published with truth, rather than trust, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS.
Chapter 53
but the love-making was not quite so prosperous
Trollope inserted all round in the MS after prosperous, but this was likely a cutting replacement.
how could her very life serve her, if things were to go on like this
This has always been published with that, rather than this, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. Trollope uses that several times nearby; it is difficult to believe that he would have made a purposeful change here.
intent no doubt on proving to him that however different she might be as to birth
In this deleted passage, Trollope seems to have written in proving instead of on proving.
and yet it was indispensably necessary that something should be done
Trollope probably meant indisputably necessary, but we leave the word as is, since indispensably in this context is not impossible.
while he was opening out to her the mysteries of the British House of Peer
Trollope crossed out, with a straight line, British and Peers, replacing the latter with Lords. We assume that without British as an adjective, Trollope felt more comfortable with the more official House of Lords.
She was an apt scholar
Trollope added and succeeded in proving to him her intelligence after scholar to replace the cuts, but the compositor must have missed these additional words; without them, it is not entirely clear why the narrator is calling her an apt scholar.
“Really, Lord Silverbridge, this takes me quite by surprise.”
After cutting for space “You want to marry my daughter” and “Certainly I do,” Trollope drew a curving line to “I am afraid you have not given enough thought to the matter” so as to put it in the same paragraph with “Really, Lord Silverbridge, this takes me quite by surprise.” The line happened to pass through the words Lord Silverbridge, likely causing the compositor to misread it as a cut.
“I could make an argument in favour of my equality with the best Briton that ever lived,—as would become a true-born republican.”
This has always been published with any, rather than my, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. Also, although Republican is capitalized in the FE (and previous Oxford editions), Trollope is referring to the republic, not to the Republican party.
“But when the question becomes one of practice,—a question for our lives, for our happiness, for our own conduct, then, knowing what must be the feelings of an aristocracy in such a country as this, I am prepared to admit”
This has always been published with practising, rather than practice, despite what Trollope wrote in the MS. Also, we do not supply a corresponding dash and keep the MS comma after conduct. Finally, there is a thick though straight line over the word then before I am prepared. But because of the earlier then in the sentence, we do not restore this one; we assume the change was made in 1878 to avoid the repetition (had it been made in 1876, we believe Trollope would have been more likely to use a wavy line).
“Why ‘of course’ ”
Though the quotation marks are not in the MS, FE, or previous Oxford editions, we supply them, as they provide guidance to reading the sentence as a question.
“If she were once my wife he could not reject her.”
FE: would not reject her. Trollope clearly wrote could. It is possible that the change was made on purpose, but more likely this was an error. Or, if done on purpose, it was possibly in response to the cut (the omission of “My father could not be harsh”).
Lord Silverbridge when he left Mr. Boncassen wandered about the park awhile by himself.
We follow the FE and previous Oxford editions in using lower case for park, especially since the specific park is not mentioned in this particular chapter.
But the more he thought of it the more impossible it seemed to him that he should ask his father’s consent now at the present moment.
The word now is crossed out with a straight line. The redundancy (now and at the present moment) is not ideal, but one could argue that it helps capture Silverbridge’s state of mind—his fear that now really isn’t the time to raise the topic.
He thought that he could do it if he and his father were alone together, or comparatively alone.
Trollope had included the words in the house at the end of the sentence, but cut them. Previously we took this as a straight-line cut and restored it; the repetition of in the house (which is in the previous sentence) did not sound too bad in this case. However, it is noteworthy that the cut is not exactly done with a straight line, but one that curves instead. Compared to the other straight-line cuts nearby, this one looks different— enough for us to say now that there is a good chance the change was made in 1878 for non-space-saving reasons.
To this neither Mr. nor Mrs. Boncassen were able
Given how were was in the MS and again in both ATYR and the FE, we leave it. It is technically an error, but also certainly a usage that is common enough.
“You will tell him soon?”
There is a period in the MS and FE, but we follow previous Oxford editions in putting in a question mark. It is hard for us to believe at this moment that Isabel would in a sense issue a command.
