The King and Queen’s Entertainment at Bolsover (1634) survives in two witnesses, the Newcastle manuscript, BL Harl. 4955, fols. 199-202 (JnB 680), and F2, sigs. 2P1-2Q1, which places the entertainment at the end of The Underwood rather than with the other masques, following on from Welbeck. To match Welbeck, the F2 text is retitled as ‘LOVES WELCOME. / THE KING AND QVEENES / ENTERTAINMENT / AT / BOLSOVER: / AT / The Earle of Newcastles’ against the simpler title found in JnB 680 (see Bolsover, Collation). Although there are several errors in F2 there are no stop-press corrections or resettings in the copies collated. Indeed, like their counterpart, Welbeck, both JnB 680 and F2 are marked by errors and textual difficulties, and neither the printed text not the scribal copy presents an entirely complete or clear version of the entertainment. There are important differences between the MS and printed text, especially around the naming of Vitruvius, but also in the handling of locations and stage business. As with Welbeck, neither JnB 680 nor F2 can be used without emendation and, more significantly, the manuscript and print witnesses embody two versions of the text.

The copy in JnB 680 belongs to the later group of Jonson materials in the MS (see Cavendish Ent., Textual Essay for a full discussion) and is presented in John Rolleston’s mature calligraphic style. Rolleston, who had acted as Newcastle’s secretary for a number of years (see Cavendish Ent., Textual Essay), had developed his penmanship and his approach to the layout and presentation of dramatic texts, and this increased expertise is reflected in the small number of errors in the MS. Each page is headed ‘Ben Jonson’ at the top, and uses a double rule in the left margin and a right rule to provide a parallel margin. Most speech-headings are placed in the left double-rule, although for two larger speech-headings (Chorus, SH 20 and SH 28, fol. 199v) the wider left margin is used. Many of the individual shortened SHs in the opening song (2-30) and the Anteros/Eros dialogue (74-124) are reproduced with great accuracy and neatness, keeping the verse lines dispersed but the dialogue intact. Some speech-headings and stage-directions are centred, such as on fol. 199 (line 1; where SH and SD merge) and 199v (31-2): see also fol. 200 (67), or fols. 200v (73-4) and 201 (125). Marginal notes are twice placed in the left margin (fol. 199v, 41; and fol. 200v, 84), but on fol. 200 (47-8 and 52-3) the wider, outer right margin is used. The marginal notes contain stage directions, with the exception of 199v (23) where ‘Complement’, a heading, is placed in the margin.

JnB 680 contains very few errors and scribal slips. These are:

18 anything] any hing

50 you] you <there>

55 in] <with> in

98 be] be <deletion>

138 believed] believed <here>

161 but] <by> but

162 To] To <two>

Line 50 appears to be an example of eyeslip and it may be that the repetition of ‘or rather!’ in JnB 680, fol. 200 (60) preserves another example, although much of this speech is marked by short phrases closed with an exclamation mark (e.g. ‘A busy man!’ (39), ‘Or neighbour Vulcan!’ (42)). ‘From’ instead of ‘for’ at 148 may be another eyeslip. One possible instance, ‘Statut-tunes’ (64), has been excluded, as OED recognises ‘statut’ as a possible form, so the spelling may be scribal habit rather than an error.

JnB 680 also contains other significant errors. At the outset 2-4 lacks a SH, though it may be that the combined SD and SH at 1 was considered sufficient. More crucially, at 52-3 the order of the entering workmen (Dresser, Fret, Quarrel, and Beater) does not match the following dialogue, where they are listed as Dresser, Quarrel, Fret, and Beater (54-5; the order is correct in F2); and although both texts contain an SD ending the mechanics’ dance (67), JnB 680 lacks a starting direction or the F2 heading (which describes the ‘Dance of Mechanickes’, sig. 2Pv). Moreover, there are a number of slips in JnB 680 which impair the sense, such as ‘And’ for ‘An’ (38); although JnB 680 does make some sense here),‘wing’ for ‘wings’ (81), ‘from’ instead of ‘for’ (148), and ‘the’ for ‘their’ (150).