And many other things have been reported of us that never entered
the thought of our nation."
J.K.
_Sneck-up or Snick-up._--Surely this means nothing more or less than what
we should write _Hiccup!_ or _Hiccough!_ so, at least, I have always
supposed; misled, perhaps, by Sir Toby's surname, and his parenthetical
imprecation on "pickle herring". I do not pretend to be a critic of
Shakspeare, and must confess that I do not possess a copy of the "Twelfth
Night" but after seeing your correspondent R.R.'s letter (Vol. i., p.
467.), I resolved to write you a note. First, however, I called on a
neighbour to get a look at the text, and he brought me down Theobald's
edition of 1773, where it stands,--
"_Sir To._ We did keep time, Sir, in our catches.
Sneck up!" [_Hiccoughs._
The effort necessary to pronounce the word "catches" might help to produce
a catch of another sort in the stomach of a gentleman oppressed with drink
and pickle herring; and it seems likely that some such idea was in the
author's mind.
DAVUS.
* * * * *
+MISCELLANEOUS+
NOTES ON BOOKS, CATALOGUES, SALES, ETC.
The readiness which many of our friends have evinced to illustrate that
most curious, interesting, and valuable of all gossiping histories, the
recently completed edition of _The Diary of Samuel Pepys_, for which the
public is indebted to our noble correspondent Lord Braybrooke, tempts us to
call their attention to the no less important work now in course of
publication, _The Diary and Correspondence of John Evelyn.
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