Note 4 — NEW READINGS IN SHAKESPEARE.[3]
Reading edition
The German translators Tieck and Schlegel adopt the reading of the first folio, tongue, for “gown,” and translate,
“Warum soll hier mit Wolfsgeheul ich stehen.”
Dr Delius concurs with his countrymen, and remarks that the boldness of Shakespeare’s constructions readily admits of our connecting the words “in this wolfish tongue” with the words “to beg.” Now, admirable as we believe Dr Delius’ English scholarship to be, he must permit us to say that this is a point which can be determined only by a native of this country, and that the construction which he proposes is not consistent with the idiom of our language. Even the German idiom requires with (mit), and not in, a wolf’s cry. We cannot recommend him to introduce tongue into his text of our poet.