for December, 1871), and "Gareth and Lynette" (1872), formed a third series, and completed the work. It is probable, however, that these additional Idylls were an afterthought, and that the first four were all that were originally contemplated.
Claspt it; but while he bow'd himself to lay
Warm kisses in the hollow of her throat," &c.
The line italicized was apparently rejected as containing too Swinburnian a touch; and the passage is thus toned down in the "Gareth-and-Lynette" volume:
Claspt it, and cried, 'Thine order, O my Queen!'
But, while he bow'd to kiss the jewell'd throat," &c.
Numerous minor alterations have been made in the text of the "Idylls" from time to time; and some additional passages were first introduced in the Library Edition, published in 1873, in which the concluding lines to the Queen first appeared. Some further additions were made in the Cabinet Edition of 1874, in which, apparently, the text was definitively settled.
