This part of the editorial apparatus for P.B. Shelley's The Devil's Walk is slightly modified from the way it will appear in The Complete Poetry of Percy Bysshe Shelley, edited by Donald H. Reiman and Neil Fraistat and published by The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Our copy-text, which we transcribe diplomatically, is Shelley's letter to Elizabeth Hitchener of ?16 January 1812 (BLib Add. MS 37496, f. 80v). We collate our Text of the letter version of the poem with 1890, 1927/i, 1927/viii, 1964J, 1972, 1989, and MYR/viii. For full citations of the historical (i.e. not primary) editions, see the bibliography.

We have omitted from our comprehensive collation all variants that seem to us purely formal features of the printers or publishers involved in these editions, such as the length of indentions, the use of full capitals, small caps, and italic or Gothic type in the titles and subtitles­a practice at one time subject to the fonts available in a print-shop or the conventions of its compositorial staff and more recently under the control of publishers, book designers, and copy-editors. In a like manner, when quotation marks have been added, we have not differentiated between single and double quotation marks. Instead, we treat both as double quotes unless evidence suggests an editorial rather than typographical explanation for the appearance of the single quotes.

TEXT collated with 1890, 1927/i, 1927/viii, 1964J, 1972, 1989, and MYR/viii.

Note:   The letter version appears once in volume 1 and again in volume viii of Ingpen's & Peck's 1927 edition of The Complete Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley.  We collate each below under the sigla 1927/i and 1927/viii.

line 1. a walking ] a-walking 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 day ] day, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 2. Hell ] Hell. 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 3. array ] array; 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 4. drest ] dressed 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 5. pry, whether ] pry whether 1972

 pry | Whether 1890 1927/i 1927/viii


line 6. well ] well. 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1964J 1972


line 7. small ] sma[ll] 1964J


line 8. wd. ] would 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 wd. 1964J 1989

 there ] there, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 ther[e] 1964J


line 9. creatures ] creatures! 1890 1927/i 1927/viii

 creatures, 1972

 all ] all, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii

 a[ll] 1964J


line 10. dress ] dress, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 ball ] ball: 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 ba[ll] 1964J


line 11. ­The ] The 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 there ] there. 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1964J 1972


line 12. stole ] stole, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 sto[le] 1964J


line 13. view ] view. 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 14. Grinning ] Receiving 1989 MYR/viii

 applause, he] applause | He 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 shews ] shows 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 claws ] claws: 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 claw[s] 1964J


line 15. they ] they underline is stricken through  MYR/viii

line 16. fright, ] fright 1972

 fright, from ] fright | From 1890 1927/i 1927/viii

 his ] his omnia


line 17. do ] do. omnia


line 18. whom ] whom, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 prayer ] prayer, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 praye[r] 1964J


line 19. devil ] Devil 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 sate ] sat 1964J

 side ] side, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 20. that ] that, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 devil ] Devil 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 were ] were [there], 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 were [there] 1964J 1989


line 21. couldnt ] couldn't 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 abide, ] abide. 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 22. Ha ha ] "Ha ha!" 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 old ] Old 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 Nick, thats ] Nick, | "That's 1890 1927/i 1927/viii

 Nick, "That's 1890 1972

 trick

 very stale ] very stale trick: 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


 ^

line 23. For ] For, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 Devil, ô ] Devil, | O 1890 1927/i 1927/viii

 Devil, O 1964J 1972

 favorite ] favourite 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 evil ] evil, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 24. ride ] ride!" 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 ride. 1964J


line 25. the Devil ] the Devil [? a Lawyer] 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1964J

 a Lawyer 1972

 the Devil [for  a lawyer] 1989


line 26. table ] table: 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


 his ] this/his "his" is superimposed on "this"  MYR/viii

line 28. Abel ] Abel. 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1964J 1972


line 29. Brainless] brainless 1890

 King ] king; 1890

 King; 1927/i 1972

 King, 1927/viii

line 30. In ... own] Many imps he saw there on the wing: 1890

 own ] own. 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 31. Many ... wi[ng] ] In a house as hot as his own. 1890

 wi[ng] ] wing: 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 win[g] 1964J

 wing 1989 MYR/viii


line 32. pennon ] pennon, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 and ] & 1989

 twiste[d] ] twisted 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 twirle[d] 1989 MYR/viii

 sting ] sting, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 33. throne ] throne. 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1964J 1972


line 34. Ah! Ah ] "Ah ah!" 1890 1927/i 1927/viii

 Satan ] Satan, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 the ] "the 1890 1927/i 1927/viii

 go[od] ] good! 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 good 1964J 1989 MYR/viii


line 35. here ] here 1890

 here  1927/i 1927/viii 1964J 1972 1989

 oth[ers] ] others! 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 others 1989

 other[s] MYR/viii

line 36. food, ] food 1972

 food, news ] food | News 1890 1927/i 1927/viii

 humans ] human omnia

 blood ] blood: 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 37. & ] and 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 dead ] dead, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 38. bed ] bed, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 39. Wch. ] Which 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 Wch. 1964J

 Wch 1989

 brothers . ] brothers." 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 brothers. 1964J 1989

line 40. Park ] Park, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 41. bond ] Bond 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 beau ] beau: 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 42. For altho ] Nor, although 1890

 Nor, tho' 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 Nor tho 1964J

 For tho 1989

 dark ] dark, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 43. wide ] wide, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 out ] out, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 44. snout ] snout, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 45. calld ] called 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1964J 1972

 so, so . . ] so-so. 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 so, so. 1964J 1989 MYR/viii


line 46. wide ] wide, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 47. & ] And 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 shew ] show 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 hore ] horse 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 [? horse] 1964J

 Iron 1989 MYR/viii

 within ] within?­ 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 48. Nine and ninety ] Nine-and-ninety 1890

 Nine & ninety 1989

 side ] side, 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972


line 49. reckoning _ ] reckoning! 1890 1927/i 1927/viii 1972

 reckoning­ 1964J 1989

 __ ] omitted MYR/viii