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NOTES
in line 6.—Original draft exists in H, on same page with 39 and 40. The following is his signature at this date:
39. Soldier. 'Clongower, Aug. 1885,' Autograph in H, with a few corrections which I have taken for lines 6 and 7, of which the first draft runs:
The MS. marks the caesural place in ten of the lines; in line 2, between Both and these l. 3, at the full stop. l. 6, fancies, feigns, deems, take three stresses. l. 11, after man. In line 7 I have added a comma at smart. In l. 10 I have substituted handle for reave of MS.: see note on reave, p. 101; and in l. 13, have hyphened God made flesh. No title in MS.
It fancies; it deems; dears the artist after his art;
So feigns it finds as, &c.
40. Carrion Comfort. Autograph in H, in three versions. 1st, deleted draft. 2nd, a complete version, both on same page with 38 and 39. 3rd, with 41 on another sheet, final (?) revision carried only to end of l. 12 (two detached lines on reverse). Text is this last with last two lines from the 2nd version. Date must be 1885, and this is probably the sonnet 'written in blood', of which he wrote in May of that year.—I have added the title and the hyphen in heaven-handling.
41. No worst. Autograph in H, on same page as third draft of 40. One undated draft with corrections embodied in the text here.—l. 5, at end are some marks which look like a hyphen and a comma: no title.
