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If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Shakspeare and His Times [Vol. II. of II.] - Including the Biography of the Poet; criticisms on his - genius and writings; a new chronology of his plays; a - disquisition on the on the object of his sonnets; and a - history of the manners, customs, and amusements, - superstitions, poetry, and elegant literature of his age - -Author: Nathan Drake - -Release Date: November 28, 2016 [EBook #53626] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHAKSPEARE AND HIS TIMES *** - - - - -Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Lisa Reigel, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries.) - - - - - - - -Transcriber's Notes: Words in italics in the original are surrounded -with _underscores_. Characters superscripted in the original are -surrounded by {braces}. Ellipses match the original. In footnotes and -attributions, commas and periods seem to be used interchangeably. They -remain as printed. Variations in spelling, hyphenation, and accents -remain as in the original unless noted. A complete list of corrections -as well as other notes follows the text. - - - - - SHAKSPEARE - - AND - - HIS TIMES: - - INCLUDING - THE BIOGRAPHY OF THE POET; - CRITICISMS ON HIS GENIUS AND WRITINGS; A NEW CHRONOLOGY OF HIS PLAYS; - A DISQUISITION ON THE OBJECT OF HIS SONNETS; - AND - A HISTORY OF - _THE MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND AMUSEMENTS, SUPERSTITIONS, - POETRY, AND ELEGANT LITERATURE OF HIS AGE_. - - BY NATHAN DRAKE, M.D. - AUTHOR OF "LITERARY HOURS," AND OF "ESSAYS ON PERIODICAL LITERATURE." - - - —— On the tip of his subduing tongue - All kind of arguments and question deep, - All replication prompt, and reason strong, - For his advantage still did wake and sleep: - To make the weeper laugh, the laugher weep, - He had the dialect and different skill, - Catching all passions in his craft of will; - That he did in the general bosom reign - Of young, of old; and sexes both enchanted. - - The very age and body of the time, his form and pressure. - SHAKSPEARE. - - - _IN TWO VOLUMES._ - - VOL. II. - - LONDON: - PRINTED FOR T. CADELL AND W. DAVIES, IN THE STRAND. - 1817. - - - - - Printed by A. Strahan, - Printers-Street, London. - - - - -CONTENTS - -OF - -_THE SECOND VOLUME_. - - - PART II. _continued_. - - SHAKSPEARE IN LONDON. - - - CHAP. V. - - Dedications of Shakspeare's VENUS AND ADONIS, and RAPE OF - LUCRECE, to the Earl of Southampton — Biographical Sketch - of the Earl — Critique on the Poems of Shakspeare. - _Page_ 1 - - - CHAP. VI. - - On the Dress and Modes of Living, and the Manners and Customs - of the Inhabitants of the Metropolis, during the Age of - Shakspeare. 87 - - - CHAP. VII. - - On the Diversions of the Metropolis, and the Court — The - _Stage_; its Usages and Economy. 168 - - - CHAP. VIII. - - A Brief View of Dramatic Poetry, from the Birth of Shakspeare - to the Period of his Commencement as a Writer for the - Stage, about the Year 1590; with Critical Notices of the - Dramatic Poets who flourished during that Interval. 227 - - - CHAP. IX. - - Period of Shakspeare's Commencement as a Dramatic Poet — - Chronological Arrangement of his genuine Plays — - Observations on PERICLES; on the COMEDY OF ERRORS; on - LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST; on HENRY THE SIXTH, PART THE FIRST; - on HENRY THE SIXTH, PART THE SECOND; and on A - MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM — Dissertation on the FAIRY - MYTHOLOGY, and on the Modifications which it received from - the Genius of Shakspeare. 256 - - - CHAP. X. - - Observations on ROMEO AND JULIET; on the TAMING OF THE SHREW; - on THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA; on KING RICHARD THE THIRD; - on KING RICHARD THE SECOND; on KING HENRY THE FOURTH, PARTS - FIRST AND SECOND; on THE MERCHANT OF VENICE; and on HAMLET - — Dissertation on the AGENCY of SPIRITS and APPARITIONS, - and on the GHOST in HAMLET. 356 - - - CHAP. XI. - - Observations on KING JOHN; on ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL; on - KING HENRY THE FIFTH; on MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING; on AS YOU - LIKE IT; on MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR; on TROILUS AND - CRESSIDA; on HENRY THE EIGHTH; on TIMON OF ATHENS; on - MEASURE FOR MEASURE; on KING LEAR; on CYMBELINE; on MACBETH - — Dissertation on the POPULAR BELIEF in WITCHCRAFT during - the Age of Shakspeare, and on his Management of this - Superstition in the Tragedy of MACBETH. 419 - - - CHAP. XII. - - Observations on JULIUS CÆSAR; on ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA; on - CORIOLANUS; on THE WINTER'S TALE; on THE TEMPEST — - Dissertation on the GENERAL BELIEF of the Times in the ART - OF MAGIC, and on Shakspeare's Management of this - Superstition as exhibited in THE TEMPEST — Observations on - OTHELLO; on TWELFTH NIGHT, and on the PLAYS ASCRIBED to - Shakspeare — SUMMARY OF SHAKSPEARE'S DRAMATIC CHARACTER. - 490 - - - CHAP. XIII. - - A Brief View of Dramatic Poetry, and its Cultivators, during - Shakspeare's Connection with the Stage. 556 - - - CHAP. XIV. - - The Biography of Shakspeare continued to the Close of his - Residence in London. 581 - - - PART III. - - SHAKSPEARE IN RETIREMENT. - - - CHAP. I. - - Anecdotes relative to Shakspeare during his Retirement at - Stratford. 603 - - - CHAP. II. - - The Death of Shakspeare — Observations on his Will — On the - Disposition and Moral Character of Shakspeare — On the - Monument erected to his Memory, and on the Engraving of him - prefixed to the first Folio Edition of his Plays — - Conclusion. 611 - - - APPENDIX. 625 - - - - -SHAKSPEARE AND HIS TIMES. - - - - -PART II. - -_SHAKSPEARE IN LONDON._ - - - - -CHAPTER V. - - DEDICATIONS OF SHAKSPEARE'S VENUS AND ADONIS AND RAPE OF - LUCRECE TO THE EARL OF SOUTHAMPTON—BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE - EARL—CRITIQUE ON THE POEMS OF SHAKSPEARE. - - -Shakspeare's dedication of his _Venus and Adonis_ to the Earl of -Southampton, in 1593; the accomplishments, the liberality, and the -virtues of this amiable nobleman, and the substantial patronage which, -according to tradition, he bestowed upon our poet, together claim for -him, in this place, a more than cursory notice as to life and character. - -_Thomas Wriothesly_, Earl of Southampton, and Baron of Titchfield, was -born on the sixth of October, 1573. His grandfather had been created -an Earl in the reign of Henry the Eighth; and his father, who married -Mary, the daughter of Anthony, first Viscount of Montague, was a -strenuous supporter of the rights of Mary Queen of Scots. Just previous -to the completion of his eighth year, he suffered an irreparable loss -by the death of his father, on the 4th of October, 1581. His mother, -however, appears to have been by no means negligent of his education; -for he was early sent to Cambridge, being matriculated there when -only twelve years old, on the 11th of December, 1585. He was admitted -of St. John's College, where, on the 6th of June, 1589, he took his -degree of Master of Arts, and, after a residence of nearly five years -in the University, he finally left it for Town, to complete his course -of studies at Gray's Inn, of which place, in June, 1590, he had entered -himself a member. - -The circumstances which, so shortly after Lord Southampton's arrival in -London, induced Shakspeare to select him as his patron, may, with an -assurance almost amounting to certainty, be ascribed to the following -event. Not long after the death of her husband, Lady Southampton -married Sir Thomas Heneage, treasurer of the chamber, an office which -necessarily led him into connection with actors and dramatic writers. -Of this intercourse Lord Southampton, at the age of seventeen, was -very willing to avail himself, and his subsequent history evinces, -that, throughout life, he retained a passionate attachment to dramatic -exhibitions. No stronger proof, indeed, can be given of his love for -the theatre, than what an anecdote related by Rowland Whyte affords -us, who, in a letter to Sir Robert Sydney, dated October 11th, 1599, -tells his correspondent, that "my Lord Southampton and Lord Rutland -come not to the Court (at Nonesuch). The one doth but very seldome. -They pass away the tyme in London _merely in going to plaies EVERY -DAY_."[2:A] - -To a young nobleman thus inclined, imbued with a keen relish for -dramatic poetry, who was ardent in his thirst for fame, and liberal in -the encouragement of genius, it was natural for our poet to look not -only with hope and expectation, but with enthusiastic regard. To Lord -Southampton, therefore, though only nineteen years old, Shakspeare, -in his twenty-ninth year[2:B], dedicated his _Venus and Adonis_, "the -first heire of _his_ invention." - -The language of this dedication, however, indicates some degree of -apprehension as to the nature of its reception, and consequently proves -that our author was not at this period assured of His Lordship's -support; for it commences thus:—"Right Honorable, I know not how I -shall _offend_ in dedicating my unpolisht lines to your Lordship;" and -he adds in the opening of the next clause, "onely if your Honor _seeme -but pleased_, I account myselfe highly praised." These timidities -appear to have vanished in a very short period: for our author's -dedication to the same nobleman of his _Rape of Lucrece_, which was -entered on the Stationers' Books on May 9th, 1594, and published almost -immediately afterwards, speaks a very different language, and indicates -very plainly that Shakspeare had already experienced the beneficial -effects of His Lordship's patronage. Gratitude and confidence, indeed, -cannot express themselves in clearer terms than may be found in the -diction of this address:—"The _love_ I dedicate to Your Lordship," -says the bard, "_is without end_.—The _warrant_ I have of _your -Honourable disposition_, not the worth of my untutored lines, makes -it _assured of acceptance_. What I have done is yours, what I have -to doe is yours, being part _in all I have devoted yours_. Were my -worth greater, my duety would shew greater; meane time, as it is, _it -is bound to your Lordship_." Words more declaratory of obligation it -would not be easy to select, and we shall be justified, therefore, in -inferring, that Lord Southampton had conferred upon Shakspeare, in -consequence of his dedication to him of _Venus and Adonis_, some marked -proof of his kindness and protection. - -Tradition has recorded, among other instances of this nobleman's -pecuniary bounty, that he, at one time, gave Shakspeare a thousand -pounds, in order to complete a purchase, a sum which in these -days would be equal in value to more than five times its original -amount.[3:A] This may be, and probably is, an exaggeration; but that -it has been founded on the _well-known_ liberality of Lord Southampton -to Shakspeare; on a certain knowledge that donations had passed from -the peer to the poet, there can be little doubt. It had become the -custom of the age to reward dedication by pecuniary bounty, and that -Lord Southampton was diffusively and peculiarly generous in this -mode of remuneration, we have the express testimony of Florio, who, -dedicating his _World of Words_ to this nobleman in 1598, says:—"In -truth, I acknowledge an entire debt, not only of my best knowledge, but -of all; yea of more than I know, or can to your bounteous lordship, -_in whose pay and patronage I have lived some years_; to whom I owe -and vowe the years I have to live. But, as to me, _and many more_, the -glorious and gracious sunshine of your honour hath infused light and -life." Here, if we except the direct confession relative to "_pay_," -the language is similar to, and not more emphatically expressive of -gratitude than was Shakspeare's; and that, under the phrase "_many -more_," Florio meant to include our poet, we may, without scruple, -infer. To an actor, to a rising dramatic writer, to one who had placed -the first fruits of his genius under his protection, and who was still -contending with the difficulties incident to his situation, the taste, -the generosity, and the feeling of Lord Southampton, would naturally -be attracted; and the donation which, in all probability, followed -the dedication of _Venus and Adonis_, we have reason, from the voice -of tradition, to conclude, was succeeded by many, and still more -important, proofs of His Lordship's favour. - -The patronage of literature, however, was not the only inclination -which, at this early period of life, His Lordship cultivated with -enthusiasm; the year subsequent to his receival of Shakspeare's -dedication of _The Rape of Lucrece_, saw him entangled in all the -perplexities of love, and the devoted slave _of the faire Mrs. -Varnon_. Of this attachment, which was thwarted by the caprice of -Elizabeth, Rowland Whyte, in a letter to Sir Henry Sydney, dated -September 23rd, 1595, writes in the following terms:—"My Lord -Southampton doth with too much familiarity court the faire Mrs. Varnon, -while his friends, observing the Queen's humours towards my Lord of -Essex, do what they can to bring her to favour him; but it is yet in -vain."[5:A] This young lady, Elizabeth Vernon, was the cousin of the -celebrated Earl of Essex, between whom and Southampton differences -had arisen, which this passion for his fair relative dissipated for -ever.[5:B] - -Yet the fascinations of love could not long restrain the ardent spirit -of Lord Southampton. In 1597, when Lord Essex was appointed General -of the forces destined to act against the Azores, Southampton, at the -age of twenty-four, gallantly came forward as a volunteer, on board -the Garland, one of Her Majesty's best ships,—an offer which was soon -followed by a commission from Essex to command her. An opportunity -speedily occurred for the display of his courage; in an engagement -with the Spanish fleet, he pursued and sunk one of the enemy's largest -men of war, and was wounded in the arm, during the conflict.[5:C] -Sir William Monson, one of the Admirals of the expedition, tells us, -that the Earl lost time in this chase, which might have been better -employed[5:D]; but his friend Essex appears to have considered his -conduct in a different light, and conferred upon him, during his -voyage, the honour of knighthood. - -On his return to England, in October, 1597, he had the misfortune to -find that the Queen had embraced the opinion of Monson, rather than -that of Essex, and frowned with displeasure on the officer who had -presumed to pursue and sink a Spanish vessel, without orders from his -commander; a censure which was intended also to reach the General, with -whom she was justly offended for having assumed the direction of a -service to which his judgment and his talents were inadequate. - -Nor was the immediately subsequent conduct of Southampton in the -least degree calculated to appease the anger of Elizabeth; he renewed -his proposals of marriage, and again without consulting her wishes; -he quarrelled with, and challenged the Earl of Northumberland, and -compelled her to issue a mandate in order to prevent their meeting; -and one evening, being engaged at play, in the presence-chamber, with -Raleigh and some other courtiers, they protracted their amusement -beyond the hour of the Queen's retirement to rest; and being warned -by Willoughby, the officer in waiting, to depart, Raleigh obeyed, but -Southampton, indignant and easily irritated, refused compliance, and, -warm language ensuing, he struck Willoughby, who was not backward in -returning the blow. When the Queen, the next morning, was apprised of -this disgraceful scuffle, she applauded Willoughby for his spirited -conduct, adding, that "he had better have sent Southampton to the -porter's lodge, to see who durst have fetched him out."[6:A] - -This heedless and intemperate ebullition of passion, the result of -youth and inexperience, was atoned for by many sterling virtues of -the head and heart; and the career of dissipation was fortunately -interrupted by His Lordship's attention to his duty as a senator in the -first place, and, secondly, by an engagement to accompany Mr. Secretary -Cecil on an embassy to Paris. His introduction to parliamentary -business began on the 24th of October, 1597, and terminated, with the -session, on the 8th of February 1598; and two days afterwards, he left -London to commence his tour. - -Previous to his quitting the capital, he, and his friends, Cobham and -Raleigh, thought it necessary to entertain his future fellow-traveller; -and, on this occasion, Southampton had recourse to his favourite -amusement, the drama; for it is recorded that they "severally -feasted Mr. Secretary, before his departure; and had _plaies_, and -banquets."[7:A] The bare mention of this excursion, however, had -afforded extreme grief to the fair object of his affections, who -"passed her time in weeping[7:B];" and, in order to obviate the -apprehended consequences of his absence, and consequently her sorrow, -it had been secretly proposed that Lord Southampton should marry his -mistress before his departure.[7:C] Circumstances having prevented the -accomplishment of this plan, we are not surprised to learn that when -His Lordship departed, on the 10th of February 1598, he left "behind -him a most desolate gentlewoman, that almost wept out her fairest -eyes."[7:D] - -The travellers reached Paris on the 1st of March 1598, and on the -17th of the same month, Cecil introduced his friend, at Angers, to -that illustrious monarch Henry the Fourth, telling His Majesty, that -Lord Southampton "was come with deliberation to do him service." -Henry received the Earl most graciously, and embraced him with many -expressions of regard; and, had not the peace of Vervins intervened, -His Lordship would have ardently seized the opportunity of serving the -ensuing campaign under a general of such unrivalled reputation. - -In the course of November 1598, there is reason to suppose that this -enterprising nobleman returned to London[7:E]; soon after which event, -his union with Elizabeth Vernon took place. His bride was the daughter -of John Vernon of Hodnet, in the county of Salop, and she appears to -have possessed a large share of personal charms. A portrait of her was -drawn by Cornelius Jansen, which is said to have "the face and hands -coloured with incomparable lustre."[8:A] The unjustifiable resentment -of the Queen, however, rendered this connection, for a time, a source -of much misery to both parties. Her capricious tyranny was such, -as to induce her to feel offended, if any of her courtiers had the -audacity to love or marry without her knowledge or permission; and the -result of what she termed His Lordship's clandestine marriage, was the -instant dismissal of himself and his lady to a prison. How long their -confinement was protracted, cannot now be accurately ascertained; -that it was long in the opinion of the Earl of Essex, appears from -an address of his to the Lords of Council, in which he puts the -following interrogation:—"Was it treason in my Lord of Southampton -to marry my poor kinswoman, that neither _long_ imprisonment, nor any -punishment besides, that hath been usual, in like cases, can satisfy, -or appease[8:B]?" But we do know that it could not have existed -beyond March, 1599; for on the 27th of that month, Lord Southampton -accompanied his friend Essex to Ireland, where, immediately on his -arrival, he was appointed by the Earl, now Lord Deputy of that country, -his general of the horse. - -This military promotion of Southampton is one among numerous proofs -of the imprudence of Essex, for it was not only without the Queen's -knowledge, but, as Camden has informed us, "clean contrary to his -instructions."[8:C] What was naturally to be expected, therefore, soon -occurred; Lord Southampton was, by the Queen's orders, deprived of his -commission, in the August following, and on the 20th of September, -1599, he revisited London, where, apprehensive of the displeasure of -Her Majesty, he absented himself from court, and endeavoured to soothe -his inquietude by the attractions of the theatre, to which his ardent -admiration of the genius of Shakspeare now daily induced him to recur. - -The resentment of the Queen, however, though not altogether appeased, -soon began to subside; and in December 1599, when Lord Mountjoy was -commissioned to supersede Essex in the Lord Lieutenancy of Ireland, -Lord Southampton was one of the officers selected by Her Majesty to -attend him. Farther than this she refused to condescend; for, though -His Lordship solicited for some weeks the honour of kissing her hand, -and was supported in this request by the influence of Cecil, he -solicited in vain, and was at length compelled to rest satisfied with -the expression of her wishes for the safety of his journey. - -One unpleasant consequence of his former transient campaign in Ireland, -had been a quarrel with the Lord Grey, who acting under him as a -colonel of horse had, from the impetuosity of youthful valour, attacked -the rebel force without orders; a contempt of subordination which had -been punished by his superior with a night's imprisonment.[9:A] The -fiery spirit of Grey could not brook even this requisite attention to -discipline, and he sent Southampton a challenge, which the latter, -on his departure for Ireland, in April 1600, accepted, by declaring, -that he would meet Lord Grey in any part of that country. The Queen, -however, for the present arrested the combat; but the animosity was -imbittered by delay, and Lord Southampton felt it necessary to his -character to break off his military engagements, which had conferred -upon him the reputation of great bravery and professional skill, and -had received the marked approval of the Lord Deputy, to satiate the -resentment of Grey, who had again called him to a meeting, and fixed -its scene in the Low Countries. - -Of this interview we know nothing more than that it proved so -completely abortive, that, shortly afterwards, Lord Grey attacked -Southampton as he rode through the streets of London, an outrage -which affords but a melancholy trait of the manners of the age, though -punished on the spot by the immediate committal of the perpetrator to -prison. - -It had been happy, however, for the fame and repose of Southampton, -had this been the only unfortunate contest in which he engaged; but -he was recalled by Essex from the Low Countries, in order to assist -him in his insurrectionary movements against the person and government -of his sovereign. Blinded by the attachments of friendship, which he -cultivated with enthusiastic warmth, and indignant at the treatment -which he had lately received from the Queen, he too readily listened -to the treasonable suggestions of Essex, and became one of the -conspirators who assembled at the house of this nobleman on the 8th -of February 1601. Here they took the decisive step of imprisoning the -Queen's privy counsellors who had been sent to enquire into the purport -of their meeting, and from this mansion they sallied forth, with the -view of exciting the citizens to rebellion. An enterprise so criminal, -so rash, and chimerical, immediately met the fate which it merited; -and the trial of Essex and Southampton for high treason took place on -the 19th of February, when, both being found guilty, the former, as is -well known, expiated his offence by death, while the latter, from the -minor culpability of his views, from the modesty and contrition which -he exhibited in his defence, and from the intercession of Cecil and the -peers, obtained a remission of the sentence affecting his life, but was -condemned to imprisonment in the Tower. - -We have more than once mentioned the great partiality of Lord -Southampton to dramatic literature, and it is somewhat remarkable -that this partiality should have been rendered subservient to the -machinations of treason; for Bacon tells us, that "the afternoon before -the rebellion, Merick, (afterwards the defender of Essex-house,) with -a great company of others, that afterwards were all in the action, had -procured to be played before them the play of deposing _King Richard -the Second_;—when it was told him by one of the players that the play -was _old_, and they should have loss in playing it, because few would -come to it, there were forty shillings extraordinary given to play -it, and so thereupon played it was."[11:A] It appears from the State -Trials, vol. vii. p. 60., that the player to whom the forty shillings -were given, was Augustine Philippes, one of the patentees of the Globe -playhouse with Shakspeare, in 1603. - -The term _old_ applied to this play, which, according to the report of -the Queen, "was played forty times in open streets and houses[11:B]," -has induced Dr. Farmer and Mr. Tyrwhitt to conclude that a play -entitled _Richard the Second_, or _Henry the Fourth_, existed before -Shakspeare's dramas on these subjects. This position, however, is -dissented from by Mr. Chalmers, who says,—"In opposition to Farmer and -Tyrwhitt, I hold, though I have a great respect for their memories, -that it was illogical to argue, from a nonentity, against an entity; -that as no such play as the Henry IV. which they spoke of had ever -appeared, while Shakspeare's Richard II. was apparent to every eye, -it was inconsequential reasoning in them to prefer the first play to -the last: and I am, therefore, of opinion, that _the play of deposing -Richard_ II. which was seditiously played on the 7th of February -1600-1, was Shakspeare's Richard II., that had been originally acted in -1596, and first printed in 1597."[11:C] - -This opinion of Mr. Chalmers will be much strengthened when we -reflect that Lord Southampton's well-known attachment to the muse -of Shakspeare, would almost certainly induce him to prefer the play -written by his favourite poet to the composition of an obscure, and, -without doubt, a very inferior writer. - -The death of Elizabeth terminated the confinement and the sufferings of -Lord Southampton. No sooner had James acceded to the throne, than he -sent an order for his release from the Tower, which took place on the -10th of April, 1603, and accompanied it with a request that he would -meet him on his way to England. This might be considered as a certain -presage of future favours, and was, indeed, speedily followed, not only -by the reversal of his attainder, and the restoration of his property, -but by an accumulation of honours. He was immediately appointed master -of the game to the Queen; a pension of six hundred pounds per annum -was allotted to his lady; in July, 1603, he was installed a knight of -the garter, and created captain of Isle of Wight and of Carisbrooke -Castle, and in the following Spring he was constituted Lord Lieutenant -of Hampshire, and was chosen by the King as his companion in a journey -to Royston. - -This flow of good fortune was, however, transiently impeded by the -jealousy of James, who, stimulated by the machinations of some of his -courtiers, envious of the returning prosperity of the Earl[12:A], -was led to suspect that an improper intimacy had taken place between -Southampton and his Queen; a charge of disaffection to His Majesty -was, therefore, brought against His Lordship, and he was apprehended -towards the close of June, 1604; but not the smallest proof of his -disloyalty having been substantiated, he was immediately released, and -as immediately retaken into favour. - -Of his perfect reinstatement, indeed, in the affections of James we -possess a decided proof. Rowland Whyte, writing to Lord Shrewsbury, on -the 4th of March, 1604, says,—"My La. Southampton was brought to bed -of a young Lord upon St. David's Day (March 1st) in the morning; a St. -to be much honored by that howse for so great a blessing, by wearing -a leeke for ever upon that day."[12:B] Now this child was christened -at court on the 27th of the same month, "the King, and Lord Cranburn, -with the Countess of Suffolk, being gossips[13:A];" an honour which -was followed, in June, 1606, by a more substantial mark of regard, the -appointment of His Lordship to be Warden of the New Forest, and Keeper -of the Park of Lindhurst. - -In November, 1607, Lord Southampton lost his mother, who had been wife -successively to Henry Wriothesly Earl of Southampton, to Sir Thomas -Heneage, and to Sir William Hervey. We are told by Lord Arundel that -she "lefte the _best of her stuffe to her sonne_, and the greatest -part to her husband[13:B]"; this bequest, however, could not have -been very ample, for it did not obviate the necessity of her son's -applying, shortly afterwards, to trade and colonisation with the view -of increasing his property. In 1609, he was constituted a member of -the first Virginia Company, took a most active part in their concerns, -and was the chief promoter of the different voyages to America, which -were undertaken as well for the purposes of discovery as for private -interest. - -The warmth of temper which distinguished Lord Southampton in early -life, seems not to have been adequately repressed by time and -experience; he was ever prone to resentment, though not difficult to -conciliate, and, unhappily, the manners of the age were not such as -to impose due restraint on the tumultuary passions. A quarrel with -Lord Montgomery, on a trifling occasion, which occurred in April, -1610, is but too striking an illustration of these remarks; "they fell -out at tennis," relates Winwood, "where the rackets flew about their -ears, but the matter was compounded by the King, _without further -bloodshed_[13:C];" a passage, the close of which proves that they had -fought and wounded each other with the instruments of their amusement! - -We speedily recognise Lord Southampton, however, acting in a manner -more suitable to his station and character; on the 4th of June, 1610, -he officiated as carver at the magnificent festival which was given -in honour of young Henry's assumption of the title of Prince of Wales; -and in July, 1613, we find His Lordship entertaining the King at his -house in the New Forest, whither he had returned from an expedition to -the continent, expressly for this purpose, and under the expectation of -receiving a royal visit. After discharging this duty to his sovereign, -he again left his native country, and was present, in the following -year, with Lord Herbert of Cherbury, at the siege of Rees, in the -dutchy of Cleve. - -It was at this period that his reputation as a patron of literature, -attained its highest celebrity, and it is greatly to be desired that -tradition had enabled us to dwell more minutely on his intercourse -with the learned. His bounty to, and encouragement of, Shakspeare have -conferred immortality on his name; to Florio, we have seen, he extended -a durable and efficient support; Brathwayt, in his dedication of his -"Scholar's Medley," 1614, calls him "learnings best favourite;" and -in 1617, he contributed very liberally to relieve the distresses of -Minsheu, the author of "The Guide to Tongues." Doubtless, had we more -ample materials for his life, these had not been the only instances of -his munificence to literary talent. - -Still further promotion awaited this accomplished nobleman. When James -visited Scotland, in 1617, he accompanied his sovereign, and rendered -himself so acceptable by his courtesy and care, that, on the 19th -of April, 1619, he was rewarded by the confidential situation of a -privy-counsellor, an honour which he had long anxiously held in view. - -This completion of his wishes, however, was not attended with the -result which he had so sanguinely expected. He found himself unable, -from principle, to join in the measures of the court, and the -opposition which he now commenced against the King and his ministers, -had, in a mind so ardent, a natural tendency to excess. In 1620, and -the two following years, he was chosen, contrary to the wishes of -government, treasurer of the Virginia Company, an office of great -weight and responsibility, but to which his zeal and activity in -forwarding the views of that corporation gave him a just claim. Such, -indeed, was the sense which the company entertained of his merits, that -his name was annexed to several important parts of Virginia; as, for -instance, Southampton-hundred, Hampton-roads, &c. - -Whilst he opposed the court merely in its commercial arrangements, no -personal inconvenience attended his exertions; but when, in the session -of parliament which took place towards the commencement of the year -1621, he deemed it necessary to withstand the unconstitutional views of -ministers, he immediately felt the arm of power. He had introduced with -success a motion against illegal patents; and during the sitting of the -14th of March, so sharp an altercation occurred between himself and the -Marquis of Buckingham, that the interference of the Prince of Wales was -necessary to appease the anger of the disputants. - -This stormy discussion, and His Lordship's junction with the popular -party, occasioned so much suspicion on the part of government, that on -the 16th of June, twelve days after the prorogation of parliament, he -was committed to the custody of the Dean of Westminster; nor was it -until the 18th of the subsequent July, that he was permitted to return -to his house at Titchfield, under a partial restraint, nor until the -first of September, that he was entirely liberated. - -Unawed, however, by this unmerited persecution, and supported by -a numerous and respectable party, justly offended at the King's -pusillanimity in tamely witnessing his son-in-law's deprivation of the -Palatinate, he came forward, with augmented activity, in the parliament -of 1624, which opened on the 9th of February. Here he sat on several -committees; and when James, on the 5th of the June following, found -himself compelled to relinquish his pacific system, and to enter into a -treaty with the States-General, granting them permission to raise four -regiments in this country, he, unfortunately for himself and his son, -procured the colonelcy of one of them.[15:A] - -Being under the necessity of taking up their winter-quarters at -Rosendale in Holland, the Earl, and his eldest son Lord Wriothesly, -were seized with a burning fever; "the violence of which distemper," -says Wilson, "wrought most vigorously upon the heat of youth, -overcoming the son first, and the drooping father, having overcome the -fever, departed from Rosendale with an intention to bring his sons body -to England; but at Bergen-op-zoom he died of a lethargy in the view -and presence of the _Relator_, and were both in one small bark brought -to Southampton."[16:A] The son expired on the 5th of November, and his -parent on the tenth, and they were both buried in the sepulchre of -their fathers at Titchfield, on Innocents' day, 1624. - -Thus perished, in the fifty-second year of his age, Henry Earl of -Southampton, leaving a widow, and three daughters, who, from a letter -preserved in the Cabala, appear to have been in confined circumstances; -this epistle is from the Lord Keeper Williams to the Duke of -Buckingham, dated Nov. 7th, 1624, and requesting of that nobleman "his -grace and goodness towards the most distressed widow and children of my -Lord Southampton."[16:B] - -If we except a constitutional warmth and irritability of temper, and -their too common result, an occasional error of judgment, there did not -exist, throughout the reigns of Elizabeth and James, a character more -truly amiable, great, and good than was that of Lord Southampton. To -have secured, indeed, the reverence and affection of Shakspeare, was -of itself a sufficient passport to the purest fame; but the love and -admiration which attended him was general. As a soldier, he was brave, -open, and magnanimous; as a statesman remarkable for integrity and -independence of mind, and perhaps no individual of his age was a more -enthusiastic lover, or a more munificent patron, of arts and literature. - -The virtues of his private life, as well as these features of his -public character, rest upon the authority of those who best knew -him. To the "noble" and "honourable disposition," ascribed to him by -Shakspeare, who affectionately declares, that he loves him "without -end," we can add the respectable testimony of Chapman, Sir John -Beaumont, and Wither, all intimately acquainted with him, and the -second his particular friend. - -Chapman, in one of his dedicatory sonnets, prefixed to his version of -the Iliad, not only applies to him the epithet "learned," but declares -him to be the "choice of all our country's noblest spirits[17:A];" and -Beaumont, in an Elegy on his death, tells us that his ambition was to -draw - - "A picture fit for this my noble friend, - That his dear name may not in silence die." - -In a beautiful strain of enthusiasm, he informs us, that his verses are -calculated for posterity, and - - ——————————— "not for the present age; - For what man lives, or breathes on England's stage, - That knew not brave Southampton, in whose sight - Most plac'd their day, and in his absence night?" - -He then proceeds to sketch his character at the different periods of -his life:— - - "When he was young, no ornament of youth - Was wanting in him;" - -and, in manhood, he shone - - "As best in martial deedes and courtly sports;" - -until riper age, and the cares of the world, having begun to shade his -head with silver hairs, - - "His valiant fervour was not then decaide, - But joyn'd with counsell, as a further aide." - -After this eulogium on the more ostensible features of his life, which -terminates with the assertion, that - - "No pow'r, no strong persuasion could him draw - From that, which he conceiv'd as right and law," - -he presents a most pleasing delineation of his domestic conduct and -enjoyments:— - - "When shall we in this realme a father finde - So truly sweet, or husband halfe so kinde? - Thus he enjoyde the best contents of life, - Obedient children, and a loving wife: - These were his parts in peace:" - -and concludes with celebrating his love of letters and of literary -men:— - - "I keepe that glory last, which is the best, - The love of learning, which he oft exprest - By conversation, and respect to those - Who had a name in artes, in verse or prose."[19:A] - -Wither seems to have been equally impressed with the estimable -character of Lord Southampton, and to have meditated a record of his -life and virtues; for, in an epigram addressed to him, with a copy of -his "Abuses Stript and Whipt," he exclaims, - - "I ought to be no stranger to thy worth, - Nor let thy virtues in oblivion sleep: - Nor will I, if my fortunes give me time."[19:B] - -In short, to adopt the language of an enthusiastic admirer of our -dramatic bard, "Southampton died as he had lived, with a mind -untainted: embalmed with the tears of every friend to virtue, and to -splendid accomplishments: all who knew him, _wished to him long life, -still lengthened with all happiness_."[19:C] - -That a nobleman so highly gifted, most amiable by his virtues, and most -respectable by his talents and his taste, should have been strongly -attached to Shakspeare, and this attachment returned by the poet with -equal fervour, cannot excite much surprise; indeed, that more than -pecuniary obligation was the tie that connected Shakspeare with his -patron, must appear from the tone of his dedications, especially from -that prefixed to the "Rape of Lucrece," which breathes an air of -affectionate friendship, and respectful familiarity.[20:A] We should -also recollect, that, according to tradition, the great pecuniary -obligation of Shakspeare to his patron, was much posterior to the -period of these dedications, being given for the purpose of enabling -the poet to make a purchase at his native town of Stratford, a short -time previous to his retirement thither. - -It may, therefore, with safety be concluded, that admiration and esteem -were the chief motives which actuated Shakspeare in all the stages of -his intercourse with Lord Southampton, to whom, in 1593, we have found -he dedicated the "first heir of his invention." - -Our reasons for believing that this poem was written in the interval -which occurred between the years 1587 and 1590, have been already given -in a former part of the work[20:B], and we shall here, therefore, -only transcribe the title page of the original edition, which, though -entered in the Stationers' books by Richard Field, on the 18th of -April, 1593, was supposed not to have been published before 1594, until -Mr. Malone had the good fortune to procure a copy from a provincial -catalogue, perhaps the only one remaining in existence[20:C]:— - - -"VENUS AND ADONIS. - - Vilia miretur Vulgus, mihi flavus Apollo, - Pocula Castalia plena ministret aqua. - -London. By Richard Field, and are to be solde at the Signe of the White -Greyhound, in Paules Church Yard. 1593." - -This, the earliest offspring of our poet's prolific genius, consists -of one hundred and ninety-nine stanzas, each stanza including six -lines, of which the first four are in alternate rhime, and the fifth -and sixth form a couplet. Its length, indeed, is one of its principal -defects; for it has led, not only to a fatiguing circumlocution, in -point of language, but it has occasioned the poet frequently to expand -his imagery into a diffuseness which sometimes destroys its effect; -and often to indulge in a strain of reflection more remarkable for its -subtlety of conceit, than for its appropriation to the incidents before -him. Two other material objections must be noticed, as arising from the -conduct of the poem, which, in the first place, so far as it respects -the character of Adonis, is forced and unnatural; and, in the second, -has tempted the poet into the adoption of language so meretricious, as -entirely to vitiate the result of any moral purpose which he might have -had in view. - -These deductions being premised, we do not hesitate to assert, that -the _Venus and Adonis_ contains many passages worthy of the genius of -Shakspeare; and that, as a whole, it is superior in poetic fervour -to any production of a similar kind by his contemporaries, anterior -to 1587. It will be necessary, however, where so much discrepancy of -opinion has existed, to substantiate the first of these assertions, by -the production of specimens which shall speak for themselves; and as -the conduct and moral of the piece have been given up as indefensible, -these must, consequently, be confined to a display of its poetic value; -of its occasional merit with regard to versification and imagery. - -In the management of his stanza, Shakspeare has exhibited a more -general attention to accuracy of rhythm and harmony of cadence, than -was customary in his age; few metrical imperfections, indeed, are -discoverable either in this piece, or in any of his minor poems; but we -are not limited to this negative praise, being able to select from his -first effort instances of positive excellence in the structure of his -verse. - -Of the light and airy elegance which occasionally characterises the -composition of his _Venus and Adonis_, the following will be accepted -as no inadequate proofs:— - - "Bid me discourse, I will enchant thine ear, - Or, like a fairy, trip upon the green, - Or, like a nymph, with long dishevel'd hair, - Dance on the sands, and yet no footing seen. - - * * * * * - - "If love have lent you twenty thousand tongues, - And every tongue more moving than your own, - Bewitching like the wanton mermaid's songs, - Yet from mine ear the tempting tune is blown." - -To terminate each stanza with a couplet remarkable for its sweetness, -terseness, or strength, is a refinement almost peculiar to modern -times; yet Shakspeare has sometimes sought for, and obtained this -harmony of close: thus Venus, lamenting the beauty of Nature after the -death of Adonis, exclaims, - - "The flowers are sweet, their colours fresh and trim; - But true-sweet beauty liv'd and dy'd with him;" - -and again, when reproaching the apathy of her companion,— - - "O learn to love; the lesson is but plain, - And, once made perfect, never lost again." - -Nor are there wanting passages in which energy and force are very -skilfully combined with melody and rhythm; of the subsequent extracts, -which are truly excellent for their vigorous construction, the lines -in Italics present us with the point and cadence of the present -day. Venus, endeavouring to excite the affection of Adonis, who is -represented - - ——————— "more lovely than a man, - More white and red than doves or roses are," - -tells him, - - "I have been woo'd, as I entreat thee now, - Even by the stern and direful god of war, - Whose sinewy neck in battle ne'er did bow— - Over my altars hath he hung his lance, - His batter'd shield, his uncontrolled crest, - And for my sake hath learn'd to sport and dance, - _To coy, to wanton, dally, smile, and jest_:" - -and, on finding her efforts fruitless, she bursts forth into the -following energetic reproach:— - - "Fie, lifeless picture, cold and senseless stone, - Well-painted idol, image, dull and dead, - Statue, contenting but the eye alone, - _Thing like a man, but of no woman bred_." - -The death of Adonis, however, banishes all vestige of resentment, -and, amid numerous exclamations of grief and anguish, gives birth -to prophetic intimations of the hapless fate of all succeeding -attachments:— - - "Since thou art dead, lo! here I prophesy, - Sorrow on love hereafter shall attend; - It shall be waited on with jealousy, - _Find sweet beginning, but unsavoury end_;— - - It shall suspect, where is no cause of fear; - It shall not fear, where it should most mistrust; - It shall be merciful, and too severe, - _And most deceiving when it seems most just_;— - - It shall be fickle, false, and full of fraud, - And shall be blasted in a breathing-while; - The bottom poison, and the top o'er-straw'd - With sweets, that shall the sharpest sight beguile: - The strongest body shall it make most weak, - _Strike the wise dumb, and teach the fool to speak_." - -These passages are not given with the view of impressing upon the mind -of the reader, that such is the constant strain of the versification of -the _Venus and Adonis_; but merely to show, that, while in narrative -poetry he equals his contemporaries in the general structure of his -verse, he has produced, even in his earliest attempt, instances of -beauty, melody, and force, in the mechanism of his stanzas, which have -no parallel in their pages. In making this assertion, it must not be -forgotten, that we date the composition of _Venus and Adonis_ anterior -to 1590, that the comparison solely applies to narrative poetry, and -consequently that all contest with Spenser is precluded. - -It now remains to be proved, that the merits of this mythological story -are not solely founded on its occasional felicity of versification; but -that in description, in the power of delineating, with a master's hand, -the various objects of nature, it possesses more claims to notice than -have hitherto been allowed. - -After the noble pictures of the horse which we find drawn in the book -of Job, and in Virgil, few attempts to sketch this spirited animal can -be expected to succeed; yet, among these few, impartial criticism may -demand a station for the lines below:— - - "Imperiously he leaps, he neighs, he bounds, - And now his woven girts he breaks asunder, - The bearing earth with his hard hoof he wounds, - Whose hollow womb resounds like heaven's thunder.— - - His ears up prick'd; his braided hanging mane - Upon his compass'd crest now stands on end; - His nostrils drink the air, and forth again, - As from a furnace, vapours doth he send:— - - Sometimes he trots, as if he told the steps, - With gentle majesty, and modest pride: - Anon he rears upright, curvets and leaps, - As who should say, lo! thus my strength is try'd.— - - Look, when a painter would surpass the life, - In limning out a well-porportion'd steed, - His art's with Nature's workmanship at strife, - As if the dead the living should exceed; - So did this horse excell a common one, - In shape, in courage, colour, pace, and bone. - - Round-hoof'd, short-jointed, fetlocks shag and long, - Broad-breast, full eyes, small head, and nostril wide, - High crest, short ears, straight legs, and passing strong, - Thin mane, thick tail, broad buttock, tender hide." - -Venus, apprehensive for the fate of Adonis, should he attempt to hunt -the boar, endeavours to dissuade him from his purpose, by drawing a -most formidable description of that savage inmate of the woods, and -by painting, on the other hand, the pleasures to be derived from the -pursuit of the hare. The danger necessarily incurred from attacking the -former, and the various efforts by which the latter tries to escape -her pursuers, are presented to us with great fidelity and warmth of -colouring. - - "Thou had'st been gone, quoth she, sweet boy, ere this, - But that thou told'st me, thou would'st hunt the boar, - O be advis'd; thou know'st not what it is - With javelin's point a churlish swine to gore, - Whose tushes never-sheath'd he whetteth still, - Like to a mortal butcher, bent to kill. - - On his bow back he hath a battle set - Of bristly pikes, that ever threat his foes; - His eyes, like glow-worms, shine when he doth fret; - His snout digs sepulchres where-e'er he goes; - Being mov'd, he strikes whate'er is in his way, - And whom he strikes, his crooked tushes slay. - - His brawny sides, with hairy bristles armed, - Are better proof than thy spear's point can enter; - His short thick neck cannot be easily harmed; - Being ireful, on the lion he will venture.— - - But if thou needs wilt hunt, be rul'd by me; - Uncouple at the timorous flying hare, - Or at the fox, which lives by subtlety, - Or at the roe, which no encounter dare: - Pursue these fearful creatures o'er the downs, - And on thy well-breath'd horse keep with thy hounds. - - And when thou hast on foot the purblind hare, - Mark the poor wretch to overshoot his troubles, - How he out-runs the wind, and with what care - He cranks and crosses, with a thousand doubles:— - - Sometime he runs among the flock of sheep, - To make the cunning hounds mistake their smell; - And sometime where earth-delving conies keep, - To stop the loud pursuers in their yell; - And sometime sorteth with a herd of deer; - Danger deviseth shifts; wit waits on fear: - - For there his smell with others being mingled, - The hot scent-snuffling hounds are driven to doubt, - Ceasing their clamorous cry till they have singled - With much ado the cold fault cleanly out; - Then do they spend their mouths: Echo replies, - As if another chase were in the skies. - - By this, poor Wat, far off upon a hill, - Stands on his hinder legs with listening ear, - To hearken if his foes pursue him still; - Anon their loud alarums he doth hear; - And now his grief may be compared well - To one sore-sick, that hears the passing bell. - - Then shall thou see the dew-bedabbled wretch - Turn, and return, indenting with the way; - Each envious briar his weary legs doth scratch, - Each shadow makes him stop, each murmur stay." - -This poem abounds with similes, many of which include miniature -sketches of no small worth and beauty. A few of these shall be given, -and they will not fail to impart a favourable impression of the -fertility and resources of the rising bard. The fourth and fifth, which -we have distinguished by Italics, more especially deserve notice, the -former representing a minute piece of natural history, and the latter -describing in words adequate to their subject, one of the most terrible -convulsions of nature. - - ———————————— "as one on shore - Gazing upon a late-embarked friend, - Till the wild waves will have him seen no more, - Whose ridges with the meeting clouds contend." - - * * * * * - - ——————— "as one that unaware - Hath dropp'd a precious jewel in the flood." - - * * * * * - - "Or 'stonish'd as night-wanderers often are, - Their light blown out in some mistrustful wood." - - * * * * * - - "_Or, as the snail, whose tender horns being hit, - Shrinks backward in his shelly cave with pain._" - - * * * * * - - "_As when the wind, imprison'd in the ground, - Struggling for passage, earth's foundation shakes._" - -We shall close these extracts from the _Venus and Adonis_, with two -passages which form a striking contrast, and which prove that the -author possessed, at the commencement of his career, no small portion -of those powers which were afterwards to astonish the world; powers -alike unrivalled either in developing the terrible or the beautiful. - - "And therefore hath she bribed the Destinies, - To cross the curious workmanship of nature, - To mingle beauty with infirmities, - And pure perfection with impure defeature; - Making it subject to the tyranny - Of sad mischances and much misery; - - As burning fevers, agues pale and faint, - Life-poisoning pestilence, and frenzies wood, - The marrow-eating sickness, whose attaint - Disorder breeds by heating of the blood: - Surfeits, impostumes, grief, and damn'd despair— - - And not the least of all these maladies, - But in one minute's sight brings beauty under— - As mountain snow melts with the mid-day sun." - - * * * * * - - "Lo! here the gentle lark, weary of rest, - From his moist cabinet mounts up on high, - And wakes the morning, from whose silver breast - The sun ariseth in his majesty; - Who doth the world so gloriously behold, - That cedar tops and hills seem burnish'd gold. - - Venus salutes him with this fair good morrow: - O thou clear god, and patron of all light, - From whom each lamp and shining star doth borrow - The beauteous influence that makes him bright."[27:A] - -If we compare the _Venus and Adonis_ of Shakspeare with its classical -prototypes; with the _Epitaphium Adonidis_ of Bion, and the -beautiful narrative of Ovid, which terminates the tenth book of his -Metamorphoses, we must confess the inferiority of the English poem, -to the former in pathos, and to the latter in elegance; but if we -contrast it with the productions of its own age, it cannot fail of -being allowed a large share of relative merit. It has imbibed, indeed, -too many of the conceits and puerilities of the period in which it was -produced, and it has lost much interest by deviating from tradition; -for, as Mr. Steevens has remarked, "the common and more pleasing fable -assures us, that - - ———— "when bright Venus yielded up her charms, - The blest Adonis languish'd in her arms;"[28:A] - -yet the passages which we have quoted, and the general strain of the -poem, are such as amply to account for the popularity which it once -enjoyed. - -That this was great, that the work was highly valued by poetic minds, -and, as might be supposed, from the nature of its subject, the -favourite of the young, the ardent, and susceptible, there are not -wanting several testimonies. In 1595, John Weever had written at the -age of nineteen, as he informs us, a collection of Epigrams, which he -published in 1599[28:B]; of these the twenty-second is inscribed _Ad -Gulielmum Shakspeare_, and contains a curious though quaint encomium on -some of the poet's earliest productions:— - - "Honie tong'd Shakspeare, when I saw thine issue, - I swore Apollo got them, and none other, - Their rosie-tainted features clothed in tissue, - Some heaven-born goddesse said to be their mother. - _Rose-cheeckt Adonis with his amber tresses, - Faire fire-hot Venus charming him to love her_, - Chaste Lucretia virgine-like her dresses, - Proud lust-stung Tarquine seeking still to prove her."[28:C] - -In a copy of Speght's edition of Chaucer, which formerly belonged to -Dr. Gabriel Harvey, this physician, the noted opponent of Nash, has -inserted the following remarks:—"_The younger sort take much delight -in Shakspeare's Venus and Adonis_; but his Lucrece, and his tragedy of -Hamlet Prince of Denmarke, have it in them to please the wiser sort, -1598."[29:A] - -Meres, also, in his "Wit's Treasury," published in the same year -with the above date, draws a parallel between Ovid and Shakspeare, -resulting from the composition of this piece and his other minor poems. -"As the soule of Euphorbus," he observes, "was thought to live in -Pythagoras, so the sweete wittie soule of Ovid lives in mellifluous and -honey-tongued Shakspeare, witnes his _Venus and Adonis_, his Lucrece, -his sugred sonnets among his private friends, &c."[29:B] - -A third tribute, and of a similar kind, was paid to the early efforts -of our author in 1598, by Richard Barnefield, from which it must be -inferred that the versification of Shakspeare was considered by his -contemporaries as pre-eminently sweet and melodious, a decision for -which many stanzas in the _Venus and Adonis_ might furnish sufficient -foundation:— - - "And Shakspeare thou, whose honey-flowing vein, - (Pleasing the world,) thy praises doth contain, - Whose _Venus_, and whose Lucrece, sweet and chaste, - Thy name in fame's immortal book hath plac'd, - Live ever you, at least in fame live ever! - Well may the body die, but fame die never."[29:C] - -That singularly curious old comedy, "_The Returne from Parnassus_," -written in 1606, descanting on the poets of the age, introduces -Shakspeare solely on account of his miscellaneous poems, a striking -proof of their popularity; and, like his predecessors, the author -characterises them by the sweetness of their metre: - - "Who loves Adonis love, or Lucre's rape, - His sweeter verse contaynes hart-robbing life, - Could but a graver subject him content, - Without love's foolish lazy languishment."[30:A] - -It appears, likewise, from this extract, and will further appear from -two subsequent quotations, that the meretricious tendency of the _Venus -and Adonis_ did not altogether escape the notice or the censure of the -period which produced it. - -A more ample eulogium on the merits of Shakspeare's first production -issued from the press in 1607, in a poem composed by William Barksted, -and entitled, _Mirrha the Mother of Adonis; or Lustes Prodigies_, of -which the concluding lines thus appreciate the value of his model:— - - "But stay, my Muse, in thine own confines keep, - And wage not warre with so deere lov'd a neighbour; - But having sung thy day-song, rest and sleep; - Preserve thy small fame, and his greater favor. - His song was worthie merit; Shakspeare, hee - Sung the faire blossome, thou the wither'd tree: - Laurel is due to him; his art and wit - Hath purchas'd it; cyprus thy brows will fit."[30:B] - -A pasquinade on the literature of his times was published by John -Davies of Hereford in 1611; it first appeared in his "Scourge of -Folly," under the title of "A Scourge for Paper-Persecutors," and among -other objects of his satire _Paper_, here personified, is represented -as complaining of the pruriency of Shakspeare's youthful fancy. - - "Another (ah, harde happe) mee vilifies - With art of love, and how to subtilize, - Making lewd _Venus_ with eternal lines - To tie _Adonis_ to her love's designes; - Fine wit is shewn therein: but finer 'twere, - If not attired in such bawdy geare."[31:A] - -The charge of _subtilizing_ which this passage conveys, may certainly -be substantiated against the minor poetry of our bard: no small portion -of it is visible in the _Venus and Adonis_; but the _Rape of Lucrece_ -is extended by its admission to nearly a duplicate of what ought to -have been its proper size. - -To the quotations now given, as commemorative of Shakspeare's primary -effort in poetry, we shall add one, whose note of praise is, that our -author was equally excellent in painting lust or continency:— - - "Shakspeare, that nimble Mercury thy brain - Lulls many-hundred Argus' eyes asleep, - So fit for all thou fashionest thy vein, - At the horse-foot fountain thou hast drunk full deep. - Virtue's or vice's theme to thee all one is; - Who loves chaste life, there's _Lucrece_ for a teacher: - Who list read lust, there's _Venus_ and _Adonis_ - True model of a most lascivious lecher."[31:B] - -From the admiration thus warmly expressed by numerous contemporaries, -even when connected with slight censure, it will, of course, be -inferred that the demand for re-impressions of the _Venus and Adonis_ -would be frequent; and this was, indeed, the fact. In the year -following the publication of the _editio princeps_, there is reason to -conclude that the second impression was printed; for the poem appears -again entered in the Stationers' books on the 23d of June, 1594, by -—— Harrison, sen.; unless this entry be merely preliminary to the -edition of 1596, which was printed in small octavo, by Richard Field, -for John Harrison.[32:A] Of the subsequent editions, one was published, -in 1600, by John Harrison, in 12mo.; another occurs in 1602, and, -in 1607, the _Venus and Adonis_ was reprinted at Edinburgh, "which -must be considered," remarks Mr. Beloe, "as an indubitable proof, -that at a very early period the Scotch knew and admired the genius of -Shakspeare."[32:B] The title-page of this edition has the same motto as -in the original impression; beneath it is a Phœnix in the midst of -flames, and then follows "Edinburgh. Printed by John Wreittoun, are to -bee sold in his shop, a little beneath the Salt Trone. 1607." - -It is highly probable, that between the period of the Edinburgh copy, -and the year 1617, the date of the next extant edition, an intervening -impression may have been issued; _Venus and Adonis_, it should be -noticed, is entered in the Stationers' Register, by W. Barrett, -Feb. 16. 1616; and the next entry is by John Parker, March 8. 1619, -preparatory perhaps to the edition which appeared in 1620. In 1630, -another re-print was called for, which was again repeated in 1640, and -in the various subsequent editions of our author's poems. - -The same favourable reception which accompanied the birth and progress -of the _Venus and Adonis_ attended, likewise, the next poem which -our author produced, THE RAPE OF LUCRECE. This was printed -in quarto, in 1594, by Richard Field, for John Harrison, and has a -copious _Argument_ prefixed, which, as Mr. Malone remarks, is a -curiosity, being, with the two dedications to the Earl of Southampton, -the only prose compositions of our great poet (not in a dramatic form) -now remaining.[33:A] - -The _Rape of Lucrece_ is written in stanzas of seven lines each; the -first four in alternate rhyme; the fifth line corresponding with the -second and fourth, and the sixth and seventh lines forming a couplet. -To this construction it is probable that Shakspeare was led through the -popularity of Daniel's _Complaint of Rosamond_, which was published in -1592, and exhibits the same metrical system. - -If we had just reason for condemning the prolixity of _Venus and -Adonis_, a still greater motive for similar censure will be found -in the _Rape of Lucrece_, which occupies no less than two hundred -and sixty-five stanzas, and, of course, includes one thousand eight -hundred and fifty-five lines, whilst the tale, as conducted by Ovid, is -impressively related in about one hundred and forty verses! - -From what source Shakspeare derived his fable, whether through a -classic or a Gothic channel is uncertain. The story is of frequent -occurrence in ancient writers; for, independent of the narrative -in the _Fasti_ of the Roman poet, it has been told by _Dionysius -Halicarnassensis_, by _Livy_, by _Dion Cassius_, and _Diodorus -Siculus_. "I learn from Coxeter's notes," says Warton, "that the -_Fasti_ were translated into English verse before the year 1570. If -so, the many little pieces now current on the subject of _Lucretia_, -although her legend is in Chaucer, might immediately originate from -this source. In 1568, occurs a _Ballett_ called, 'The grevious -complaynt of Lucrece.' And afterwards, in the year 1569, is licenced -to James Robertes, 'A ballet of the death of Lucryssia.' There is also -a ballad of the legend of Lucrece, printed in 1576. These publications -might give rise to Shakspeare's _Rape of Lucrece_, which appeared in -1594. At this period of our poetry, we find the same subject occupying -the attention of the public for many years, and successively presented -in new and various forms by different poets. Lucretia was the grand -example of conjugal fidelity throughout the Gothic ages."[34:A] - -One material advantage which the _Rape of Lucrece_ possesses over -its predecessor, is, that its moral is unexceptionable; and, on this -account, we have the authority of Dr. Gabriel Harvey, that it was -preferred by the _graver_ readers. In every other respect, no very -decided superiority, we are afraid, can be adduced. It is more studied -and elaborate, it is true; but the result of this labour has in -many instances been only an accumulation of far-fetched imagery and -fatiguing circumlocution. Yet, notwithstanding these defects, palpable -as they are, the poem has not merited the depreciation to which it -has been subjected by some very fastidious critics. It occasionally -delights us by a few fervid sketches of imagination and description; -and by several passages of a moral and pathetic cast, clothed in -language of much energy and beauty; and though the general tone of the -versification be more heavy and encumbered than that of the _Venus and -Adonis_, it is sometimes distinguished by point, legerity, and grace. -The quotations, indeed, which we are about to give from this neglected -poem, are not only such as would confer distinction on any work, but, -to say more, they are worthy of the poet which produced them. - -Of metrical sweetness, of moral reflection, and of splendid and -appropriate imagery, we find an exquisite specimen at the very opening -of the poem. Collatine, boasting of his felicity "in the possession of -his beauteous mate," the bard exclaims— - - "O happiness enjoy'd but of a few! - And, if possess'd, as soon decayed and done - As is the morning's silver melting dew, - Against the golden splendour of the sun! - A date expir'd, and cancel'd ere begun."[34:B] - Stanza iv. - -We must not omit also the first clause of the sixteenth stanza, which -affords an admirable example of spirited and harmonious rhythm. Tarquin -in addressing Lucrece:— - - "He stories to her ears her husband's fame, - Won in the fields of fruitful Italy; - And decks with praises Collatine's high name; - Made glorious by his manly chivalry, - With bruised arms and wreaths of victory." - -One of the peculiar excellences of the _Rape of Lucrece_, is its -frequent expression of correct sentiment in pointed language and -emphatic verse. Tarquin, soliloquising on the crime which he is about -to commit, thus gives vent to the agonies of momentary contrition:— - - "Fair torch, burn out thy light, and lend it not - To darken her whose light excelleth thine! - And die unhallow'd thoughts, before you blot - With your uncleanness that which is divine! - - O shame to knighthood and to shining arms! - O foul dishonour to my houshold's grave! - O impious act, including all foul harms! - A martial man to be soft fancy's slave!— - - What win I, if I gain the thing I seek? - A dream, a breath, a froth of fleeting joy! - Who buys a minute's mirth, to wail a week? - Or sells eternity, to get a toy?" - -The same terseness of diction and concinnity of versification appear in -the subsequent lines:— - - "Then for thy husband's and thy children's sake, - Tender my suit: bequeath not to their lot - The shame that from them no device can take, - The blemish that will never be forgot." - -It may, likewise, be added, that simplicity and strength in the -modulation, together with a forcible plainness of phraseology, -characterise a few stanzas, of which one shall be given as an -instance:— - - "O teach me how to make mine own excuse! - Or, at the least, this refuge let me find; - Though my gross blood be stain'd with this abuse, - Immaculate and spotless is my mind; - That was not forc'd; that never was inclin'd - To accessary yieldings—but, still pure, - Doth in her poison'd closet yet endure." - -To these short examples, which are selected for the purpose of showing, -not only the occasional felicity of the poet in the mechanism of his -verse, but the uncommon and unapprehended worth of what this mechanism -is the vehicle, we shall subjoin three passages of greater length, -illustrative of what this early production of our author's Muse can -exhibit in the three great departments of the _descriptive_, the -_pathetic_, and the _morally sublime_. - -Lucrece, in the paroxysms of her grief, is represented as telling her -mournful story - - "To pencil'd pensiveness and coloured sorrow," - -to a piece - - "Of skilful painting, made for Priam's Troy," - -where - - "Many a dry drop seemed a weeping tear, - Shed for the slaughtered husband by the wife;" - -and where - - "The red blood reek'd to show the painter's strife, - And dying eyes gleam'd forth their ashy lights:" - - "She throws her eyes about the painting round, - And whom she finds forlorn, she doth lament; - At last she sees a wretched image bound, - That piteous looks to Phrygian shepherds lent; - His face, though full of cares, yet show'd content: - Onward to Troy with the blunt swains he goes, - So mild, that Patience seem'd to scorn his woes. - - In him the painter labour'd with his skill - To hide deceit, and give the harmless show - An humble gait, calm looks, eyes wailing still, - A brow unbent, that seem'd to welcome woe; - Cheeks, neither red nor pale, but mingled so - That blushing red no guilty instance gave, - Nor ashy pale the fear that false hearts have. - - But like a constant and confirmed devil, - He entertain'd a show so seeming just, - And therein so ensconc'd his secret evil, - That jealousy itself could not mistrust—— - - The well-skill'd workman this mild image drew - For perjur'd Sinon." - -This is a picture, of which the colouring, but too often overcharged in -every other part of the poem, may be pronounced chaste and correct. - -A simple and unaffected flow of thought, expressed in diction of equal -purity and plainness, are essential requisites towards the production -of the pathetic, either in poetry or prose; and, unfortunately, in the -_Rape of Lucrece_, these excellences, especially in their combined -state, are of very rare occurrence. We are not, however, totally -destitute of passages which, by their tenderness and simplicity, appeal -to the heart. Thus the complete wretchedness of Lucretia is powerfully -and simply painted in the following lines:— - - "The little birds that tune their morning's joy, - Make her moans mad with their sweet melody. - For mirth doth search the bottom of annoy; - Sad souls are slain in merry company; - Grief best is pleas'd with grief's society: - True sorrow then is feelingly suffic'd, - When with like semblance it is sympathiz'd." - -She, accordingly, invokes the melancholy nightingale, and invites her, -from similarity of fate, to be her companion in distress.— - - "And for, poor bird, thou sing'st not in the day, - As shaming any eye should thee behold, - Some dark deep desert, seated from the way, - That knows nor parching heat nor freezing cold, - Will we find out; and there we will unfold - To creatures stern sad tunes, to change their kinds: - Since men prove beasts, let beasts bear gentle minds." - -"Shakspeare has here," says Mr. Malone, in a note on the first of these -stanzas, "as in all his writings, shown an intimate acquaintance with -the human heart. Every one that has felt the pressure of grief will -readily acknowledge that _mirth doth search the bottom of annoy_."[38:A] - -The last specimen which we shall select from this poem, would alone -preserve it from oblivion, were it necessary to protect from such -a fate any work which bears the mighty name of Shakspeare. Indeed, -whether we consider this extract in relation to its diction, its metre, -its sentiment, or the sublimity of its close, it is alike calculated to -excite our admiration:— - - "Unruly blasts wait on the tender spring; - Unwholesome weeds take root with precious flowers; - The adder hisses where the sweet birds sing; - What virtue breeds, iniquity devours: - We have no good that we can say is ours, - But ill-annexed opportunity - Or kills his life, or else his quality. - - O, Opportunity! thy guilt is great: - 'Tis thou that execut'st the traitor's treason; - Thou set'st the wolf where he the lamb may get; - Whoever plots the sin, thou point'st the season; - 'Tis thou that spurn'st at right, at law, at reason; - And in thy shady cell, where none may spy him, - Sits Sin, to seize the souls that wander by him." - -We have already seen, that, in the passages quoted from contemporary -writers in favour of _Venus and Adonis_, the _Rape of Lucrece_ has, -with the exception of two instances, been honoured with equal notice -and equal approbation. Here, therefore, it will only be necessary to -add those notices in which the latter production is the exclusive -object of praise. - -Of these, the earliest[38:B] is to be found in the first edition of -_Drayton's_ "Matilda, the faire and chaste Daughter of Lord Robert -Fitzwater," published in 1594, a few months, or probably weeks, after -the appearance of the _Rape of Lucrece_. In this impression, and -_solely_ in this impression, the Heroine thus eulogises the composition -of our bard:— - - "Lucrece, of whom proud Rome hath boasted long, - Lately reviv'd to live another age, - And here arriv'd to tell of Tarquin's wrong, - Her chaste denial, and the tyrants rage, - Acting her passions on our stately stage, - She is remember'd, all forgetting me, - Yet I as fair find chaste as ere was she."[39:A] - -The year following Drayton's Matilda, a work was printed in quarto, -under the title of _Polimanteia_, in the margin of which Shakspeare's -_Lucrece_ is thus cursorily mentioned. "All praise-worthy Lucretia, -Sweet Shakspeare."[39:B] - -The next separate notice of this poem occurs in some verses prefixed -to the second edition of "Willobie his Avisa," which appeared in 1596. -They are subscribed _Contraria Contrariis Vigilantius Dormitanus_, and -open with the allusion to Shakspeare's Lucrece:— - - "In lavine land though Livie boast, - There hath beene seene a constant dame; - Though Rome lament that she have lost - The garland of her rarest fame, - Yet now ye see that here is found - As great a faith in English ground. - - Though Collatine have dearly bought - To high renowne a lasting life, - And found, that most in vaine have sought - To have a faire and constant wife, - Yet Tarquine pluckt his glistring grape, - And Shake-speare paintes poor Lucrece rape."[40:A] - -To these contemporary notices, with the view of showing what was -thought of the _Rape of Lucrece_ half a century after its production, -we shall subjoin the opinion of _S. Sheppard_, who, in "The Times -Displayed in Six Sestyads," printed in 1646, 4to., comparing Shakspeare -with Euripides, Sophocles, and Aristophanes, adds— - - "His sweet and his to be admired lay - He wrote of lustful Tarquin's rape, shews he - Did understand the depth of poesie."[40:B] - -The editions of the _Rape of Lucrece_ were as numerous as those of the -_Venus and Adonis_. "In thirteen years after their first appearance," -remarks Mr. Malone, "six impressions of each of them were printed, -while in the same period, his _Romeo and Juliet_, one of his most -popular plays, passed only twice through the press."[41:A] - -Of the early re-impressions, those which are extant, are in small -octavo, of the date 1596, 1598, 1600, 1607, 1616, 1624, 1632, &c. In -the title of that which was published in 1616, occur the words _newly -revised and corrected_. "When this copy first came to my hands," -says Mr. Malone, "it occurred to me, that our author had perhaps -an intention of revising and publishing all his works, (which his -fellow-comedians, in their preface to his plays, seem to hint he -would have done, if he had lived,) and that he began with this early -production of his muse, but was prevented by death from completing -his scheme; for he died in the same year in which this _corrected_ -copy of _Lucrece_ (as it is called) was printed. But on an attentive -examination of this edition, I have not the least doubt that the piece -was revised by some other hand. It is so far from being correct, that -it is certainly the most inaccurate and corrupt of all the ancient -copies."[41:B] - -To the Rape of Lucrece succeeds, in the order of publication, the -PASSIONATE PILGRIM. This imperfect collection of our author's -minor pieces was printed by W. Jaggard in 1599, in small octavo, and -with the poet's name. - -Not only is this little work entitled to notice from the priority of -its public appearance, before the larger collection termed "Sonnets;" -but there is, we think, sufficient proof that a part of its contents -had, as compositions, a prior origin. It opens with a sonnet inserted -in _Love's Labour's Lost_[42:A], a play which, according to Mr. -Chalmers, was written in 1592, and not later, even in the calculation -of Mr. Malone, than 1594. The second sonnet, and the fourth, seventh, -and ninth, are founded on the story of _Venus and Adonis_, and, from -their similarity in diction, imagery, and sentiment, to "the first -heir" of the poet's "invention," appear to have been originally -intended, either for insertion in the greater work, or were preludes to -its composition: they "seem," remarks Mr. Malone, "to have been essays -of the author when he first conceived the idea of writing a poem on -the subject of Venus and Adonis, and before the scheme of his poem was -adjusted;" and he adds, in a subsequent page, that the eighth sonnet -"seems to have been intended for a dirge to be sung by Venus on the -death of Adonis."[42:B] - -Beside these intimations of very early composition in the _Passionate -Pilgrim_, a similar inference may be drawn from our author's allusion, -in his sixth sonnet, to Dowland as a celebrated lutenist, and from a -notice in the old copy that the ballad commencing "_It was a lording's -daughter_," and the five following poems, were set to music, which -music, says Oldys, in one of his manuscripts, was the composition of -John and Thomas Morley. Now Dowland had obtained celebrity in his -art as early as 1590; and in 1597, when Bachelor of Music in both -the universities, published his first book of Songs or Airs, in four -parts, for the Lute; and Tho. Morley, who, there is reason to believe, -was deceased in 1600, had still earlier been in vogue, and continued -to publish his compositions until 1597, in which year appeared his -Canzonets. - -When Meres, therefore, printed his _Wit's Treasury_ in 1598, it is -highly probable that the close of the following passage, already -quoted for a different purpose, and which has been thought to refer -exclusively to the "Sonnets" afterwards published in 1609, particularly -alluded also to the sonnets of the _Passionate Pilgrim_, which had -been privately circulated and set to music by Dowland and Morley. "As -the soul of Euphorbus," says he, "was thought to live in Pythagoras, -so the sweet witty soul of Ovid lives in mellifluous and honey-tongued -Shakspeare. Witness his Venus and Adonis, his Lucrece, _his sugred -Sonnets_ among his private friends, &c." - -It is remarkable that the year following this notice by Meres, -appeared Jaggard's first edition of the _Passionate Pilgrim_. May we -not conclude, therefore, that this encomium on the manuscript sonnets -of Shakspeare, induced Jaggard to collect all the lyric poetry of -our author which he could obtain through his own research and that -of his friends, and to publish it surreptitiously with a title of -his own manufacture? That it was not sent into the world under the -direction, or even with the knowledge of Shakspeare, must be evident -from the circumstance of Marlowe's madrigal, _Come live with me, &c._ -being inserted in the collection; nor is it likely, setting this -error aside, that Shakspeare, in his thirty-third year, at a time -when he had written several plays including some dramatic songs, and -undoubtedly had produced a large portion of the sonnets which were -given to the world in 1609, would have published a Collection so scanty -and unconnected as the _Passionate Pilgrim_, which, independent of -Marlowe's poem, contains but twenty pieces. - -Indeed we are warranted in attributing not only the edition of 1599 -solely to the officiousness of Jaggard, but likewise two subsequent -impressions, of which the last furnishes us with some further curious -proofs of this printer's skill in book-making, and also with an -interesting anecdote relative to our bard. - -The precise period when the second edition issued from the press was -unknown to Mr. Malone[43:A], and is not yet ascertained; but the third -edition, printed in 1612, in small octavo, and published by W. Jaggard, -is connected with the following literary history. - -In 1609, Thomas Heywood published a folio volume entitled "Troia -Britanica: or, Great Britaine's Troy. A Poem, devided into 17 severall -Cantons, intermixed with many pleasant poeticall Tales. Concluding with -an Universal Chronicle from the Creation, untill these present Times." -This work was printed and published by William Jaggard, and includes -two translations from Ovid, namely the epistles of Paris to Helen, -and Helen to Paris, "which being so pertinent to our historie," says -Heywood, "I thought necessary to translate." - -It happened, unfortunately for the honest fame of Jaggard, that when -he published the third edition of the _Passionate Pilgrim_ in 1612, he -was tempted, with the view of increasing the size of his volume, to -insert these versions by Heywood, dropping, however, the translator's -name, and, of course, suffering them to be ascribed to Shakspeare, who -appears in the title-page as the author of the entire collection. - -Shortly after this imposition on the public had gone forth, Heywood -produced his "Apology for Actors. Containing three briefe Treatises. -1. Their Antiquity. 2. Their Ancient Dignity. 3. The true use of -their quality. London: Printed by Nicholas Okes, 1612," 4to.; and at -the close of this thin treatise, which consists but of sixty pages, -the author addresses the following remarkable epistle to his _new_ -bookseller:— - - -"To my approved good friend, Mr. Nicholas Okes. - - "The infinite faults escaped in my booke of Britaine's Troy, - by the negligence of the printer, as the misquotations, - mistaking of sillables, misplacing halfe lines, coining of - strange and never heard of words: these being without number, - when I would have taken a particular account of the _errata_, - the printer answered me, hee would not publish his owne - disworkemanship, but rather let his owne fault lye upon the - necke of the author: and being fearfull that others of his - quality, had beene of the same nature, and condition, and - finding you on the contrary, so carefull and industrious, - so serious and laborious, to doe the author all the rights - of the presse; I could not choose but gratulate your honest - endeavours with this short remembrance. Here likewise, I must - necessarily insert a manifest injury done me in that worke, - by taking the two Epistles of Paris to Helen, and Helen to - Paris, and printing them in a lesse volume, under the name of - another (_Shakspeare_), which may put the world in opinion _I - might steale them from him; and hee, to doe himselfe right, - hath since published them in his owne name_: but as I must - acknowlege my lines not worthy his patronage under whom he hath - publisht them, SO THE AUTHOR (_Shakspeare_) I KNOW - MUCH OFFENDED WITH M. JAGGARD THAT (ALTOGETHER UNKNOWNE TO HIM) - PRESUMED TO MAKE SO BOLD WITH HIS NAME. These, and the - like dishonesties, I know you to be cleare of; and I could wish - but to bee the happy author of so worthy a worke as I could - willingly commit to your care and workmanship. - - Your's ever, - THOMAS HEYWOOD." - -Here nothing can be more evident than that Jaggard introduced these -translations in the "Passionate Pilgrim," _without the permission, or -even the knowledge_ of Shakspeare, and further, that he, Shakspeare, -was _much offended with Jaggard for so doing_; a piece of information -which completely rescues the memory of Shakspeare from any connivance -in the fraud: and yet, strange as it may appear, on this very epistle -of Heywood has been founded a charge of imposition against Shakspeare, -and the only defence offered for the calumniated poet has been, that, -contrary to the public and positive assertion of Heywood, he, and not -Heywood, was the translator of the Epistles in question. - -This interpretation can only be accounted for on the supposition that -both the accuser and defender have alike mistaken the language of -Heywood, and have conceived him to have been speaking of himself, -when, in fact, he was referring to Shakspeare; for, that the passage -"_so the author I know much offended with M. Jaggard that (altogether -unknowne to him) presumed to make so bold with his name_," can only -be applied to our great poet, must be clear from the consideration -that Jaggard, so far from _making bold with the name_ of Heywood, -dropped it altogether, while he daringly committed the very offence as -to Shakspeare, by clandestinely affixing his name to the versions of -Heywood. - -It will be right, however, to bring forward the accusation and defence -of these gentlemen, as they will sufficiently prove that more errors -than one have been committed in their attempts, and that these have -been the result of a want of intimacy with the literary history of -Shakspeare's age. - -In the twenty-sixth volume of the _Monthly Magazine_, a correspondent -whose signature is Y. Z., after commenting on Heywood's letter, as -quoted by Dr. Farmer, and after transcribing the very passage just -given above in Italics, declares "this passage contains an heavy charge -against Shakspeare: it accuses him, not only of an attempt to impose on -the public, but on his patron, Lord Southampton, to whom he dedicated -his 'unpolisht lines[46:A];'" and, in his reply to Mr. Lofft, he again -remarks,—"The translations in question were certainly published in -Shakspeare's name, _and with his permission_; they were also dedicated -by him to his best and kindest friend."[46:B] - -Now, that the passage in debate contains no charge against Shakspeare -is, we think, perfectly demonstrable from the import of Heywood's -epistle, which we have given at full length, and which, we suspect, -Y. Z. has only partially seen, through the medium of Dr. Farmer's -quotation. - -That the poet imposed upon his patron by dedicating to him his -"unpolisht lines," meaning these versions from Ovid, is an assertion -totally contrary to the fact. Of his poems Shakspeare dedicated only -two to Lord Southampton, which were published separately, the _Venus -and Adonis_ in 1593, and the _Rape of Lucrece_ in 1594, and the -expression "unpolisht lines" alludes exclusively to the first of these -productions. - -So far from any permission being given by Shakspeare for the insertion -of these translations, we find him highly offended with Jaggard for -presuming to introduce them under his name; and from the admission of -these pieces and Marlowe's poem, we may securely infer that the three -editions by Jaggard of the _Passionate Pilgrim_ were surreptitious and -void of all authority. Such, indeed, seems to have been the opinion -of his contemporaries with regard to the first impression; for the -two poems in Jaggard's collection of 1599, commencing "My flocks feed -not," and "As it fell upon a day," are inscribed to Shakspeare, while -in England's Helicon of 1600 they bear the subscription of _Ignoto_, -a pretty plain intimation of all want of reliance on the editorial -sagacity of this unprincipled bookseller. - -Justice requires of us to state that Y. Z. has not brought forward this -accusation from any enmity to the poet, of whom, on the contrary, he -professes himself to be an ardent admirer; but with the hope of seeing -the transaction cleared up to the honour of his favourite bard, a hope -which Mr. Lofft, in a subsequent number of the Magazine, generously -comes forward to gratify. - -In doing this, however, he has unfortunately taken for granted the -_data_ on which Y. Z. has founded his charge, and builds his defence -of the poet on the ill-grounded supposition of his being the real -translator of the Epistles of Ovid, treating the question as if it were -the subject of a trial at law. The consequence has been a somewhat -singular series of mistakes. "It appears," observes Mr. Lofft, "that -among his undisputed poems, these translations were published by -Jaggard, in 1609."[47:A] Here are two assumptions, of which one seems -founded on a surmise in the first communication of Y. Z., who says, -"if my memory does not deceive me, the Poems of Shakspeare appeared in -1609."[48:A] That an edition of the _Passionate Pilgrim_ was printed -between the years 1599 and 1612 is certain, for the copy of 1612 is -expressly termed the _third_ edition; but that this impression took -place in 1609, is a conclusion without any authority, for, as we -have remarked before, no copy of this date has yet been discovered. -Granting, however, that it did issue in this year, there is every -reason, from the detail already given, to affirm, that it could not -contain the translations in question, and was probably nothing more -than a re-impression of the edition of 1599. - -"In the same year" (that is 1609), proceeds Mr. L., "Heywood makes his -claim." Heywood made no claim until 1612; yet, continues Mr. L., "this -he does in a book entitled 'Britain's Glory,' published by the very -same Jaggard." Now Heywood wrote no book entitled "Britain's Glory," -an assertion which seems to be verified by Mr. Lofft himself, who -commences the next paragraph but one in the following terms:—"This -Britain's _Troy_, in which he advances his claim to these translations, -seems to have been the earliest of the many volumes which he -published," a sentence which almost compels us to consider the title -"Britain's Glory," in the preceding paragraph, as a typographical -error; but it is remarkable that neither in Britain's Troy is this -claim advanced, nor was it by many instances the earliest of his -publications, a reference to the Biographia Dramatica exhibiting not -less than five of his productions anterior to 1609. - -These inaccuracies in the charge and defence of Shakspeare, the -detection of which has proved an unpleasant task, and peculiarly so -when we reflect, that to one of the parties and to his family[48:B] -the venerable bard owes many obligations, will induce us to rely with -greater confidence on the simple truth, as developed in the letter of -Heywood,—that Shakspeare, as soon as he was made acquainted with the -fraudulent attempt of Jaggard, expressed the warmest indignation at his -conduct. - -On the poetical merit of the _Passionate Pilgrim_, it will not be -necessary to say much; for, as the best and greater part of it -consists of pieces in the sonnet form, and these are but few, the -skill of the bard in this difficult species of composition will more -properly be discussed when we come to consider the value of the -large collection which he has bequeathed us under the appellation of -_Sonnets_. One, however, of the pieces which form the _Passionate -Pilgrim_, we shall extract, not only for its beauty as a sonnet, though -this be considerable, but as it makes mention of his great poetical -contemporary, Edmund Spenser, for whose genius, as might naturally -be expected, he appears to have entertained the most deep-felt -admiration:— - - "IF music and sweet poetry agree, - As they must needs, the sister and the brother, - Then must the love be great 'twixt thee and me, - Because thou lov'st the one, and I the other. - Dowland to thee is dear, whose heavenly touch - Upon the lute doth ravish human sense; - _SPENSER to me, whose deep conceit is such, - As passing all conceit, needs no defence_. - Thou lov'st to hear the sweet melodious sound, - That Phœbus' lute, the queen of music, makes; - _And I in deep delight am chiefly drown'd, - Whenas himself to singing he betakes_. - One god is god of both, as poets feign; - One knight loves both, and both in thee remain." - -The expression, _deep conceit_, "seems to allude," remarks Mr. Malone, -"to the _Faery Queen_. If so, these sonnets were not written till after -1590, when the first three books of that poem were published[49:A];" -a conjecture which is strongly corroborated by two lines from -Barnefield's "Remembrance of some English Poets," where the phrase is -directly applied to the Fairy Queen: - - "Live Spenser! ever, in thy Fairy Queene; - Whose like (for _deep conceit_) was never seene."[50:A] - -The remaining portion of Shakspeare's Poems includes the SONNETS and -A LOVER'S COMPLAINT, which were printed together in 1609.[50:B] At -what period they were written, or in what year of the poet's life they -were commenced, has been a subject of much controversy. That some of -these sonnets were alluded to by Meres in 1598, when he speaks of our -author's "sugred Sonnets among his private friends," and that a few of -these very sonnets, as many, at least, as Jaggard could obtain, were -published by him the following year, in consequence of this notice, -appears to be highly probable; but that the entire collection, as -published in 1609, had been in private circulation anterior to Meres's -pamphlet, is a position not easily to be credited, and contrary, -indeed, to the internal evidence of the poems themselves, which bear no -trifling testimony of having been written at various and even distant -periods; and there is reason to think in the space elapsing between the -years 1592 and 1609, between the twenty-eighth and forty-fifth year of -the poet's age. - -That some of them were early compositions, and produced before the -author had acquired any extended reputation, may be inferred from the -subsequent passages. In the sixteenth sonnet, with reference to his -own poetry, he adopts the expression "_my pupil pen_;" and in the -thirty-second he petitions his mistress to "vouchsafe" him "but this -loving thought," - - "_Had my friend's muse grown with this growing age, - A dearer birth than this his love had brought - To march in ranks of better equipage._" - -A small portion of the fame and property which he afterwards enjoyed, -could have fallen to his share when he composed the thirty-seventh -sonnet, the purport of which is to declare, that though - - —— "_made lame by fortune's dearest spite_," - -he is rich in the perfections of his mistress, and having engrafted his -love to her abundant store, he adds, - - "So then I am not _lame, poor, nor despis'd_." - -There is much reason to conclude, however, that by far the greater part -of these sonnets was written after the bard had passed the meridian of -his life, and during the ten years which preceded their publication; -consequently, that with the exception of a few of earlier date, -they were the amusement of his leisure from his thirty-fifth to his -forty-fifth year. We have been led to this result from the numerous -allusions which the author has made, in these poems, to the effects of -time on his person; and though these may be, and are without doubt, -exaggerated, yet are they fully adequate to prove that the writer could -no longer be accounted young. It is remarkable that the hundred and -thirty-eighth sonnet, which was originally printed in the _Passionate -Pilgrim_ contains a notice of this kind: - - "Thus vainly thinking that she thinks me young, - Although she knows _my days are past the best_;" - -an expression which well accords with the poet's _then_ period of -life; for when Jaggard surreptitiously published the minor collection, -Shakspeare was thirty-five years old. - -Among the allusions of this nature in his "Sonnets," the selection of -a few will answer our purpose. The first occurs in the twenty-second -sonnet:— - - "My glass shall not persuade _me I am old_, - So long as youth and thou are of one date." - -The two next are still more explicit:— - - "But when my glass shows me myself indeed, - _'Bated and chopp'd with tan'd antiquity_:" - Son. 62. - - "Against my love shall be, _as I am now, - With time's injurious hand crush'd and o'erworn_:" - Son. 63. - -and the last that we shall give completes the picture, which, though -overcharged in its colouring, must be allowed, we think, to reflect -some lineaments of the truth:— - - "That time of year thou may'st in me behold - When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang - Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, - Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang. - In me thou seest the twilight of such day, - As after sun-set fadeth in the west—— - In me thou seest the glowing of such fire, - That on the ashes of his youth doth lie." - Son. 73. - -The comparison instituted in these lines between the _bare ruined -choir_ of a cathedral, and an avenue at the close of autumn, has -given origin to a short but very elegantly written note from the pen -of Mr. Steevens. "This image," he remarks, "was probably suggested -to Shakspeare by our desolated monasteries. The resemblance between -the vaulting of a Gothic isle, and an avenue of trees whose upper -branches meet and form an arch over-head, is too striking not to be -acknowledged. When the roof of the one is shattered, and the boughs -of the other leafless, the comparison becomes yet more solemn and -picturesque."[52:A] - -On the principal writers of this minor but difficult species of lyric -poetry, to which Shakspeare could have recourse in his own language, -it will be necessary to enter into some brief criticism, in order to -ascertain the progress and merit of his predecessors, and the models -on which he may be conceived to have more peculiarly founded his own -practice. - -The rapid introduction of Italian poetry into our country, during -the reign of Henry the Eighth, very early brought with it a taste -for the cultivation of the sonnet. Before 1540, _Wyat_ had written -all his poems, many of which are sonnets constructed nearly on the -strictest form of the Italian model; the _octant_, or major system -being perfectly correct, while the _sextant_, or minor system, differs -only from the legitimate type by closing with a couplet. The poetical -value of these attempts, however, does not, either in versification -or imagery, transcend mediocrity, and are greatly inferior to the -productions, in the same department, of his accomplished friend, -the gallant but unfortunate _Surrey_. The sonnets of this elegantly -romantic character, which were published in 1557, deviate still -further from the Italian structure, as they uniformly consist of three -quatrains in alternate or elegiac verse, and these terminated by a -couplet; a secession from the laws of legitimacy which is amply atoned -for by virtues of a far superior order, by simplicity, purity, and -sweetness of expression, by unaffected tenderness of sentiment, and by -vivid powers of description. To this unexaggerated encomium we must -add, that the harmony of his metre is often truly astonishing, and -even, in some instances, fully equal to the rhythm of the present age. -That the assertion wants not sufficient evidence, will be acknowledged -by the adduction of a single specimen:— - - -SONNET. - - "SET me whereas the sunne doth parche the grene, - Or where his beames do not dissolve the ise: - In temperate heate where he is felt and sene: - In presence prest of people madde or wise: - Set me in hye, or yet in low degree; - In longest night, or in the shortest daye: - In clearest skie, or where cloudes thickest be; - In lusty youth, or when my heeres are graye: - Set me in heaven, in earth, or els in hell, - In hyll or dale, or in the foming flood, - Thrall, or at large, alive whereso I dwell, - Sicke or in health, in evill fame or good: - Hers will I be, and onely with this thought - Content my self, although my chaunce be nought." - -Of the sonnets of _Watson_, which were published about 1581, we have -given an opinion, at some length, in the preceding chapter, and shall -merely add here, that neither in their structure, nor in their diction -or imagery, could they be, or were they, models for our author; and are -indeed greatly inferior, not only to the sonnets of Shakspeare, but to -those of almost every other poet of his day. - -The sonnets of _Sidney_, which appeared in 1591 under the title of -_Astrophel and Stella_, exhibit a variety of metrical arrangement; a -few which rival, and several which nearly approach, the most strict -Petrarcan form. The _octant_ in Sidney is often perfectly correct, -while the _sextant_ presents us with the structure which, though -not very common in Italian, has been, since his time, adopted more -frequently than any other by our own poets; that is, where the first -line and the third, the second and fourth, the fifth and sixth, rhime -together; with this difference, however, that the moderns, in their -_division_ of the sextant, have more usually followed the example of -Surrey just quoted, in forming their minor system of a quatrain and a -couplet, while Sidney more correctly distributes it into _terzette_. - -On this arrangement is by far the greater portion of Sidney's sonnets -constructed; but the most pleasing of his metrical forms, and which -has the merit too of being built after the Italian cast, consists in -the _Octant_, of two tetrachords of disjunct alternate rhime, the last -line of the first stanza rhiming to the first of the second; and in the -_Sextant_, of a structure in which the first and second, the fourth and -fifth, and the third and sixth verses rhime. Thus has he formed the -following exquisite sonnet, which will afford no inaccurate idea of his -powers in this province of the art:— - - "O kisse, which doest those ruddie gemmes impart, - Or gemmes, or fruits of new-found Paradise, - Breathing all blisse and sweetning to the heart, - Teaching dumbe lips a nobler exercise. - - O kisse, which soules, even soules, together tyes - By linkes of Love, and only Nature's art: - How faine would I paint thee to all men's eyes, - Or of thy gifts at least shade out some part. - - But she forbids; with blushing words, she sayes, - She builds her fame on higer-seated praise: - But my heart burnes, I cannot silent be. - - Then since, deare life, you faine would have me peace, - And I, mad with delight, want wit to cease, - Stop you my mouth with still still kissing me." - Son. 81. - -In 1592, _Daniel_ produced his _Delia_, including fifty-seven sonnets, -of which only two follow the Italian standard; the remainder consisting -of three elegiac stanzas and a closing couplet. They display many -beauties, and, being a model of easy imitation, have met with numerous -copyists. - -Of the _Diana_ of _Constable_, a collection of sonnets in eight -decades, we have already, if we consider their mediocrity, given a -sufficiently copious notice. They were published in 1594, and were -soon eclipsed by the _Amoretti_ of _Spenser_, a series of eighty-eight -sonnets, printed about the year 1595. These, from the singularity of -their construction, which not only deviates from the Italian costume, -but has seldom found an imitator, require, independent of their poetic -value, peculiar notice. The Spenserian sonnet, then, consists of three -tetrachords in alternate rhime; the last line of the first tetrachord -rhiming to the first of the second, and the last of the second to the -first of the third, and the whole terminated by a couplet. That this -system of rhythm often flows sweetly, and that it is often the vehicle -of chaste sentiment and beautiful imagery must, in justice, be conceded -to this amiable poet; but, at the same time, it is necessary to add, -that it is occasionally the medium of quaintness and far-fetched -conceit. A specimen, however, shall be subjoined, of which, if the -first stanza be slightly tainted with affectation, the remainder will -be pronounced, as well in melody and simplicity as in moral beauty, -nearly perfect. - - "The doubt which ye misdeeme, fayre Love, is vaine, - That fondly feare to lose your liberty; - When, losing one, two liberties ye gaine, - And make him bond that bondage earst did fly. - Sweet be the bands, the which true Love doth tye - Without constraynt, or dread of any ill: - The gentle birde feeles no captivity - Within her cage; but sings, and feeds her fill. - There Pride dare not approach, nor Discord spill - The league twixt them, that loyal Love hath bound: - But simple Truth, and mutual Good-will, - Seeks, with sweet Peace, to salve each others wound: - There Fayth doth fearless dwell in brazen towre, - And spotlesse Pleasure builds her sacred bowre." - Son. 65. - -Between the sonnets of Spenser, and those of Drayton, a period of -ten or eleven years, many minor bards, such as _Percy_, _Barnes_, -_Barnefielde_, _Griffin_, _Smith_, &c. the titles of whose works -will be found in the table of our preceding chapter, were induced to -cultivate, and sometimes with tolerable success, this difficult little -poem; nor are there wanting, during this period, some elegant examples -of the sonnet interspersed through the works of writers of a higher -rank, as, for instance, _Googe_, _Gascoigne_, _Raleigh_, _Breton_, -and _Lodge_; but we shall close this criticism with a few remarks on -the sonnets of the once popular poet whose productions of this kind -immediately preceded the collection of Shakspeare in 1609. - -The sonnets of _Drayton_ which, in number sixty-three, were published -under the title of "Ideas," in 1605, 8vo., are, for the most part, -written on the plan of Daniel. Fifty-two exhibit three four-lined -stanzas, in alternate rhime, completed by a couplet; and eleven -consist of three quatrains with two verses of _immediate_, interposed -between two verses of _disjunct_, rhime, and a terminating couplet. -The versification of Drayton in these pieces is sufficiently smooth, -and the sentiment is sometimes natural and pleasing, though too often -injured by an ill-judged display of wit and point. With the exception, -also, of two sonnets addressed to the River Anker, they possess little -of what can be termed descriptive poetry. - -It now remains to ascertain to which of these writers of the sonnet -Shakspeare chiefly directed his attention, in choosing a model for -his own compositions. Dr. Sewell and Mr. Chalmers contend that, in -emulation of Spenser, he took the _Amoretti_ of that poet for his -guide[57:A]; but, though we admit that he was an avowed admirer of the -Fairy Queen, and that the publication of the Amoretti in 1595 might -still further strengthen his attachment to this species of lyric poesy, -yet we cannot accede to their position. The structure, indeed, of the -Spenserian sonnet is, with the exception of a closing couplet, totally -different from Shakspeare's; nor are their style and diction less -dissimilar. - -If we revert, however, to the sonnets of Daniel, which were published -in 1592, we shall there find, as Mr. Malone had previously remarked, -the prototype of Shakspeare's amatory verse. Indeed no doubt can arise, -when we recollect, that all Daniel's sonnets, save two, are composed -of three quatrains in alternate rhime and a couplet, and that all -Shakspeare's, one hundred and fifty-four in number, are, if we except -a single instance[57:B], of a similar description. There is, also, in -Daniel, much of that tissue of abstract thought, and that reiteration -of words, which so remarkably distinguish the sonnets of our bard. -Of this no greater proof can be adduced than the sonnet we shall now -subjoin, and which, in all its features, may be said to be truly -Shakspearean:— - - "AND whither, poor _forsaken_, wilt thou _go_, - To _go_ from _sorrow_, and thine own distress? - When every place presents like face of woe, - And no remove can make thy _sorrows_ less? - Yet _go_, _forsaken_; _leave these_ woods, _these_ plains: - _Leave her and all_, and _all for her_, that _leaves_ - Thee and thy love forlorn, and _both_ disdains; - And of _both_ wrongful deems, and ill conceives. - Seek out some _place_; and see if any _place_ - Can give the least release unto thy grief: - Convey thee from the thought of thy disgrace; - _Steal from thyself, and be thy care's own thief_. - But yet what comforts shall I hereby gain? - Bearing the wound, I needs must feel the pain." - Son. 49. - -There is reason to suppose that none of Shakspeare's sonnets were -written before the appearance of Daniel's "Delia." A few in the -_Passionate Pilgrim_ seem, as hath been observed, to have been -suggested during the composition of the _Venus and Adonis_, and were -probably penned in the interval elapsing between the publication of the -Delia in 1592, and of the _Venus and Adonis_ in 1593; for, though the -earliest of his sonnets, they are still cast in the very mould which -Daniel had constructed. - -The difficulties, however, which attend the ascertainment of -Shakspeare's model in these compositions, are nothing when compared -to those which surround the enquiry as to the person to whom they are -addressed. An almost impenetrable darkness rests on the question, and -no effort has hitherto, in the smallest degree, tended to disperse the -gloom. - -When Thomas Thorpe published our author's sonnets in 1609, he -accompanied them with the following mysterious dedication:— - - "To The Only Begetter - Of These Ensuing Sonnets, - Mr. W. H. - All Happiness - And That Eternity Promised - By Our Ever-Living Poet - Wisheth The - Well-Wishing Adventurer - In Setting Forth, - T. T." - -On the first perusal of this address, the import would seem to be, that -Mr. W. H. had been the _sole object_ of Shakspeare's poetry, and of the -_eternity_ promised by the bard. But a little attention to the language -of the times in which it was written, will induce us to correct this -conclusion; for as a part of our author's sonnets is most certainly -addressed to a female, it is evident that W. H. could not be the _only -begetter_ of them in the sense which primarily suggests itself. For -the true meaning of the word we are indebted to Mr. Chalmers, who -observes, on the authority of Minsheu's Dictionary of 1616, that one -sense of the verb _to beget_ is there given to _bring foorth_. "W. -H.," he continues, "was the bringer forth of the Sonnets. _Beget_ is -derived by Skinner from the A. S. _begettan_, obtinere. Johnson adopts -this derivation, and sense: so that _begetter_, in the quaint language -of Thorpe, the Bookseller, Pistol, the _ancient_, and such affected -persons, signified the _obtainer_; as to _get_, and _getter_, in the -present day, means _obtain_, and _obtainer_, or to procure, and the -procurer." - -We must, infer, therefore, from this explanation of the word, that Mr. -W. H. had influence enough to _obtain_ the manuscript from the poet, -and that he lodged it in Thorpe's hands for the purpose of publication, -a favour which the bookseller returned, by wishing him _all happiness -and that eternity_ which had been _promised_ by the bard, in such -glowing colours, to another, namely, to one of the immediate subjects -of his sonnets. - -That this is the only rational meaning which can be annexed to the -word "promised," will appear, when we reflect that for Thorpe to have -_wished_ W. H. the _eternity_ which had been promised _him_ by an -_ever-living_ poet, would have been not only superfluous, but downright -nonsense: the _eternity_ of an _ever-living_ poet must _necessarily -ensue_, and was a proper subject of _congratulation_, but not of -_wishing_ or of _hope_. - -It appears also that this dedication was understood in the same -light by some of the earlier editors of the sonnets. Cotes, it is -true, republished them in 1640 without a commentary; but when Gildon -re-printed them in 1710, he gives it as his opinion that they were _all -of them in praise of his mistress_; and Dr. Sewell, when he edited them -in 1728, had embraced a similar idea, for he tells us, in reference to -our author's example, that "A young muse must have _a mistress_, to -play off the beginning of fancy; nothing being so apt to elevate the -soul to a pitch of poetry, as the passion of love."[59:A] - -The conclusion of these editors remained undisputed for more than half -a century, when Mr. Malone, in 1780, published his Supplement to the -Edition of Shakspeare's Plays of 1778, which includes the Sonnets of -the poet, accompanied by his own notes, and those of his friends. -Here, beside the opinion which he has himself avowed, he has given the -conjectures of Dr. Farmer, and Mr. Tyrwhitt, and the decision of Mr. -Steevens. - -All these gentlemen concur in believing, that more than one hundred -of our author's sonnets are addressed to a _male object_. Dr. Farmer, -influenced by the _initials_ in the dedication, supposes that Mr. -William Harte, the poet's nephew, was the object in question; but -a reference to the Stratford Register completely overturns this -hypothesis, for it there appears, that William, eldest son of William -Harte, who married Shakspeare's Sister Joan, was baptized August 28th, -1600, and consequently could not be even in existence when the greater -part of these compositions were written. - -Mr. Tyrwhitt, founding his conjecture on a line in the twentieth -sonnet, which is thus printed in the old copy, - - "A man in _hew_ all _Hews_ in his controlling," - -conceives that the letters W. H. were intended to imply _William -Hughes_. If we recollect, however, our bard's uncontrollable passion -for playing upon words; that _hew_ frequently meant, in the usage of -his time, _mien_ and _appearance_, as well as _tint_, and that Daniel, -who was probably his archetype in these pieces, has spelt it in the -same way, and once, if not oftener, for the sake of emphasis, with a -capital[60:A], we shall not feel inclined to place such reliance on -this supposition. - -When Mr. Steevens, in 1766, annexed a reprint of the sonnets to -Shakspeare's plays, from the quarto editions, he hazarded no -observations on their scope or origin; but in Malone's Supplement, he -ventured, in a note on the twentieth sonnet, to declare his conviction -that it was addressed to a _male object_.[60:B] - -Lastly, Mr. Malone, in the Supplement just mentioned, after specifying -his concurrence in the conjecture of Mr. Tyrwhitt, adds—"To this -person, whoever he was, one hundred and twenty of the following -poems are addressed; the remaining twenty-eight are addressed to a -lady."[61:A] - -Thus the matter rested on the decision of these four celebrated -commentators, who were uniform in assorting their belief, that -Shakspeare had addressed the greater part of his sonnets to a man, -when Mr. George Chalmers in 1797, in his "Apology for the Believers -in the Shakspeare Papers," attempted to overturn their conclusion, by -endeavouring to prove that the whole of the Sonnets had been addressed -by Shakspeare to Queen Elizabeth; a position which he labours to -strengthen, by additional research, in his "Supplemental Apology" of -1799! - -That Mr. Chalmers, however, notwithstanding all his industry and -ingenuity, has failed in establishing his point, must be the -acknowledgment of every one who has perused the sonnets with attention. -Indeed the phraseology of Shakspeare so positively indicates a _male -object_, that, if it cannot, in this respect, be reposed on, we may -venture to assert, that no language, however explicit, is entitled -to confidence. Nothing but extreme carelessness could have induced -Gildon and Sewell to conceive that the prior part of these sonnets was -directed to _a female_, and even Mr. Chalmers himself is compelled to -convert his Queen into _a man_, before he can give any plausibility -to his hypothesis. That Elizabeth, in _her capacity of a sovereign_, -was frequently addressed in language strictly applicable to the _male_ -sex, is very true, and such has been the custom to almost every female -_sovereign_; but that she should be thus metamorphosed, for the express -purpose of wooing her by amatory sonnets, is a position which cannot be -expected to obtain credit. - -The question then returns upon us, _To whom are these sonnets -addressed?_ We agree with Farmer, Tyrwhitt, Steevens, and Malone, in -thinking the object of the greater part of the sonnets to have been -of the _male_ sex; but, for the reasons already assigned, we cannot -concede that either Harte or Hughes was the individual. - -If we may be allowed, in our turn, to conjecture, we would fix upon -LORD SOUTHAMPTON as the subject of Shakspeare's sonnets, from -the first to the hundredth and twenty-sixth, inclusive. - -Before we enter, however, on the quotation of such passages as are -calculated to give probability to our conclusion, it will be necessary -to show that, in the age of Shakspeare, the language of _love_ and -_friendship_ was mutually convertible. The terms _lover_ and _love_, -indeed, were as often applied to those of the same sex who had an -esteem for each other, as they are now exclusively directed to express -the love of the male for the female. Thus, for instance, Ben Johnson -subscribes himself the _lover_ of Camden, and tells Dr. Donne, at the -close of a letter to him, that he is his "ever true _lover_;" and with -the same import, Drayton, in a letter to Drummond of Hawthornden, -informs him, that Mr. Joseph Davis is in _love_ with him. Shakspeare, -in his _Dramas_, frequently adopts the same phraseology in expressing -the relations of friendship: Portia, for example, in the _Merchant of -Venice_, speaking of Antonio, says, - - ————————————— "this Antonio, - Being the bosom _lover_ of my lord:" - -and in _Coriolanus_, Menenius exclaims, - - —————— "I tell thee, fellow, - Thy general is my _lover_:"[62:A] - -but it is to his _Poems_ that we must refer for a complete and -extensive proof of this perplexing ambiguity of diction, which will -gradually unfold itself as we proceed to quote instances in support of -Lord Southampton's being the subject of his muse. - -That Shakspeare was, at the same time, attached by _friendship_, and by -_love_; that, according to the fashion of his age, he employed the same -epithet for both, though, in one instance, at least, he has accurately -distinguished the sexes, positively appears from the opening stanza of -a sonnet in the _Passionate Pilgrim_ of 1599:— - - "_Two loves_ I have of comfort and despair, - Which like two spirits do suggest me still; - The _better angel_ is a _man_ right fair, - The worser spirit a _woman_, coloured ill."[63:A] - -That this _better angel_ was _Lord Southampton_, and that to him was -addressed the number of sonnets mentioned above, we shall now endeavour -to substantiate. - -Perhaps one of the most striking proofs of this position, is the -hitherto unnoticed fact, that the language of the _Dedication to the -Rape of Lucrece_, and that of part of the _twenty-sixth sonnet_, are -almost precisely the same. - -The _Dedication_ runs thus:—"The _love_ I dedicate to your Lordship is -without end;—The warrant I have of your honourable disposition, not -the worth of my untutored lines, makes it assured of acceptance. What -I have done is yours, what I have to do is yours; being part in all I -have devoted yours. Were my worth greater, my duty would shew greater." - -The _Sonnet_ is as follows: - - "_Lord of my love_, to whom in vassalage - Thy merit hath my duty strongly knit, - To thee I send this written embassage, - To witness duty, not to show my wit. - Duty so great, which wit so poor as mine - May make seem bare, in wanting words to show it." - -Here, in the first place, it may be observed, that in his _prose_, -as well as in his _verse_, our author uses the same _amatory_ -language; for he opens the dedication to His Lordship with the -assurance that _his love for him is without end_. In correspondence -with this declaration, the sonnet commences with this remarkable -expression,—_Lord of my love_; while the residue tells us, in exact -conformity with the prose address, his high sense of His Lordship's -merit and his own unworthiness. - -That no doubt may remain of the meaning and direction of this peculiar -phraseology, we shall bring forward a few lines from the 110th sonnet, -which, uniting the language of both the passages just quoted, most -incontrovertibly designates the sex, and, at the same time, we think, -the individual to whom they are addressed:— - - ———————————— "My best of love, - Now all is done, _save what shall have no end_: - Mine appetite I never more will grind - On newer proof, to try an _older friend_, - _A God in love_, to whom I am confin'd." - -Before we proceed any further, however, it may be necessary to obviate -an objection to our hypothesis which must immediately suggest itself. -It will be said, that the first _seventeen_ sonnets are written for the -sole purpose of persuading their object to marry, and how could this -exhortation be applicable to Lord Southampton, who, from the year 1594 -to the year 1599 was the devoted admirer of _the faire Mrs. Varnon_? - -To remove this apparent incongruity, we have only to recollect, that -His Lordship's attachment to his mistress met with the most _decided -and relentless opposition_ from the Queen; and there is every reason to -infer, from the _voluntary_ absences of the Earl in the years 1597 and -1598, and the _extreme distress_ of his mistress _on these occasions_, -that the connection had been twice given up, on his part, in deference -to the will of his capricious sovereign. - -Shakspeare, when his friend at the age of twenty-one was first smitten -with the charms of Elizabeth Vernon, was high in His Lordship's -confidence and favour, as the dedication of his _Lucrece_, at this -period, fully evinces. We also know, that the Earl was very indignant -at the interference of the Queen; that he very reluctantly submitted, -for some years, to her cruel restrictions in this affair; and if, in -conformity with his constitutional irritability of temper, and the -natural impulse of passion on such a subject, we merely admit, his -having declared what every lover would be tempted to utter on the -occasion, _that if he could not marry the object of his choice, he -would die single_, a complete key will be given to what has hitherto -proved inexplicable. - -It immediately, indeed, and most satisfactorily accounts for four -circumstances, not to be explained on any other plan. It affords, -in the _first_ place, an easy and natural clue to the poet's -expostulatory language, who, being ardently attached to his patron, -wished, of course, to see him happy either in the possession of his -first choice or in the arms of a second, and, therefore, reprobates, -in strong terms, such a premature vow of celibacy: it gives in the -_second_ place, an adequate solution of the question, why so few as -only seventeen sonnets, and these the earliest in the collection, -are employed to enforce the argument? for when His Lordship, on his -return to London from the continent in 1598, embraced the resolution -of marrying his mistress, notwithstanding the continued opposition -of the Queen, all ground for further expostulation was instantly -withdrawn. These seventeen sonnets, therefore, were written between -the years 1594 and 1598, and were consequently among those noticed by -Meres in 1598, as in private circulation: in the _third_ place, it -assigns a sufficient motive for withholding from public view, until -after the death of the Queen, a collection of which part was written -to counteract her known wishes, by exciting the Earl to form an early -and independent choice: and in the _fourth_ place it furnishes a cogent -reason why Jaggard, in his surreptitious edition of the _Passionate -Pilgrim_ in 1599, did not dare to publish any of these sonnets, at -a time when Southampton and his lady were imprisoned by the enraged -Elizabeth, as a punishment for their clandestine union. - -Having thus, satisfactorily as we think, not only removed the objection -but strikingly corroborated the argument through the medium of our -defence, we shall select a few passages from these initiatory sonnets -in order still further to show the _masculine_ nature of their object, -and to give a specimen of the poet's expostulatory freedom:— - - "—— Where is _she so fair_, whose _un-ear'd womb_ - Disdains the _tillage of thy husbandry_? - Or who is _he_ so fond, will be the tomb - Of _his_ self-love, to stop posterity." - Sonnet 3. - - "—— thou — — — — - Unlook'd on diest, unless thou _get a son_." - Son. 7. - - "The world will be _thy widow_ and still weep— - No love toward others in that bosom sits, - That on _himself_ such murderous shame commits." - Son. 9. - - "—— —— —— —— Dear my love, you know, - You had a _father_; _let your son say so_." - Son. 13. - - "Now stand you on the top of happy hours; - And many _maiden_ garlands yet unset, - With virtuous wish _would bear you living flowers_." - Son. 16. - -If more instances were wanting to prove that Shakspeare's object was a -_male_ friend, a multitude might be quoted from the remaining sonnets; -we shall content ourselves, however, with adding a few to those already -given from the first seventeen:— - - "O carve not with thy hours my love's fair brow, - Nor draw no lines there with thine antique pen; - _Him_ in thy course untainted do allow, - For beauty's _pattern to succeeding men_." - Son. 19. - - "_His_ beauty shall in these black lines be seen, - And they shall live, and _he_ in them still green." - Son. 63. - -The transcription of one entire sonnet will spare further quotation, as -it must prove, against all the efforts of sophistry, the sex for which -we contend: - - "AH! wherefore with infection should HE live - And with HIS presence grace impiety. - That sin by HIM advantage should atchieve, - And lace itself with HIS society. - Why should false painting imitate HIS cheek, - And steal dead seeing of HIS living hue? - Why should poor beauty indirectly seek - Roses of shadow, since HIS rose is true? - Why should HE live now Nature bankrupt is, - Beggar'd of blood to blush through lively veins? - For she hath no exchequer now but HIS, - And proud of many, lives upon HIS gains. - O, HIM she stores, to show what wealth she had, - In days long since, before these last so bad." - Son. 67. - -The subsequent sonnets, likewise, as far as the hundred and -twenty-seventh, which appear to have been written at various periods -anterior to 1609, not only bear the strongest additional testimony -to the mascularity of the person addressed, but in several instances -clearly evince the nature of the affection borne to him, which without -any doubt consisted solely of ardent friendship and intellectual -adoration. Two entire sonnets, indeed, are dedicated to the expression -of these sentiments, in the first of which he tells his noble patron, -that he had absorbed in his own person all the friendship which he -(Shakspeare) had ever borne to the living or the dead, and he finely -terms this attachment "_religious love_." In thy bosom he exclaims— - - "—— there reigns love and all love's loving parts, - And all those friends which I thought buried. - How many a holy and obsequious tear - Hath dear religious love stolen from mine eye, - As interest of the dead, which now appear - But things remov'd, that hidden in thee lie! - Thou art the grave where buried love doth live, - Hung with the trophies of my lovers[67:A] gone; - Who all their parts of me to thee did give; - That due of many now is thine alone:" - Son. 31. - -and in the second he says, addressing the same friend, that when Death -arrests him, his verse - - "—— for memorial still with thee shall stay. - When thou reviewest this, thou dost review - _The very part was consecrate to thee_." - Son. 74. - -That Shakspeare looked up to his friend not only with admiration and -gratitude, but with reverence and homage, and, consequently, that -neither William Harte nor William Hughes, nor any person of his own -rank in society could be the subject of his verse, must be evident from -the passages already adduced, and will be still more so when we weigh -the import of the following extracts. - -We are told, in the seventy-eighth sonnet, what, indeed, we might have -supposed from the Earl's well-known munificence to literary men, that -he was the theme of every muse; and it is added, that his patronage -gave dignity to learning and majesty to grace:— - - "So oft have I invoked thee for my muse, - And found such fair assistance in my verse, - As every alien pen hath got my use, - And under thee their poesy disperse. - Thine eyes, that taught the dumb on high to sing, - And heavy ignorance aloft to fly, - Have added feathers to the learned's wing, - And given grace a double majesty. - Yet be most proud of that which I compile, - Whose influence is thine, and born of thee." - -In his ninety-first sonnet the poet informs us, that he values the -affection of his friend more than riches, birth, or splendour, -finishing his eulogium by asserting that he was not _his peculiar_ -boast, but the _pride of all men_:— - - "Thy love is better than high birth to me, - Richer than wealth, prouder than garment's cost, - Of more delight than hawks or horses be, - And having thee, of all men's pride I boast." - -But in terms the most emphatic and explicit does he point to his -object, in the sonnet which we are about to quote entire, distinctly -marking the _sex_, the _dignity_, the _rank_, and _moral virtue_ of his -friend:— - - "O TRUANT Muse, what shall be thy amends, - For thy neglect of TRUTH IN BEAUTY DY'D? - BOTH TRUTH AND BEAUTY ON MY LOVE DEPENDS; - SO DOST THOU TOO, AND THEREIN DIGNIFY'D. - Make answer, Muse: wilt thou not haply say, - 'Truth needs no colour, with his colour fix'd, - Beauty no pencil, beauty's truth to lay: - But best is best, if never intermix'd?—' - Because HE needs no praise, wilt thou be dumb? - Excuse not silence so; for it lies in thee - To make HIM much out-live a GILDED TOMB, - And to be prais'd of ages yet to be. - Then do thy office, Muse; I teach thee how - To make HIM seem long hence as HE shows now." - Son. 101. - -To whom can this sonnet, or indeed all the passages which we have -quoted apply, if not to Lord Southampton, the bosom-friend, the -munificent patron of Shakspeare, the noble, the elegant, the brave, the -protector of literature and the theme of many a song. And let it be -remembered, that if the hundreth and first sonnet be justly ascribed to -Lord Southampton, or if any one of the passages which we have adduced, -be fairly applicable to him, the whole of the hundred and twenty-six -sonnets must necessarily apply to the same individual, for the poet has -more than once affirmed this to have been his plan and object: - - "Why write I still _all one, ever the same_— - That every word doth almost tell my name." - Son. 76. - - —— "_all alike my songs, and praises be_ - To _one_, of _one_, still such and ever so." - Son. 105. - -It may be objected, that the opening and closing sonnet of the -collection which we conceive to be exclusively devoted to Lord -Southampton, admit neither of reconcilement with each other, nor with -the hypothesis which we wish to establish. This discrepancy, however, -will altogether vanish, if we compare the import of these sonnets with -that of two others of the same series. - -It will be allowed that the expressions, "_the world's fresh -ornament_," the "_only herald to the gaudy spring_," and the epithets -"_tender churl_," in the first sonnet, may with great propriety be -applied to a young nobleman of twenty-one, just entering on a public -and splendid career; but, if it be true, that these sonnets were -written at various times, between the years 1594 and 1609, how comes -it, that in the hundred and twenty-sixth, the last addressed to his -patron, he still uses an equally youthful designation, and terms him -"_my lovely boy_," an appellation certainly not then adapted to His -Lordship, who, in 1609, was in his thirty-sixth year? - -That the sonnets _were_ written at different periods, he tells us in -an apology to his noble friend for not addressing him so frequently -as he used to do at the commencement of their intimacy, assigning as -a reason, that as he was now the theme of various other poets, such -addresses must have lost their zest: - - "Our love was new, and then but in the spring, - When I was wont to greet it with my lays; - As Philomel in summer's front doth sing, - And stops his pipe in growth of riper days: - Not that the summer is less pleasant now - Than when her mournful hymns did hush the night, - But that wild musick burdens every bough, - And sweets grown common lose their dear delight. - Therefore, like her, I sometime hold my tongue, - Because I would not dull you with my song." - Son. 102. - -The mystery arising from the use of the juvenile epithets, he -completely clears up in his hundred and eighth sonnet, where he says, -that having exhausted every figure to express his patron's merit -and his own affection, he is compelled to say the same things over -again; that he is determined to consider him as young as when _he -first hallowed his fair name_; that friendship, in fact, weighs not -the advance of life, but adheres to its first conception, when youth -and beauty clothed the object of its regard. In pursuance of this -determination, he calls him, in this very sonnet, "_sweet boy_;" but it -will be more satisfactory to copy the entire poem, in order to show, -that our interpretation is not, in the smallest degree, strained:— - - "WHAT'S in the brain that ink may character, - Which hath not figur'd to thee my true spirit? - What's new to speak, what new to register, - That may express my love, or thy dear merit? - Nothing, _sweet boy_; but yet, like prayers divine, - I must each day say o'er the very same; - _Counting no old thing old, thou mine, I thine, - Even as when first I hallowed thy fair name. - So that eternal love in love's fresh case - Weighs not the dust and injury of age, - Nor gives to necessary wrinkles place, - But makes antiquity for aye his page; - Finding the first conceit of love there bred, - Where time and outward form would show it dead._" - -In conformity with this resolution of considering his friend as endowed -whilst he lives with perpetual youth, he closes his sonnets to him, -not only with the repetition of the juvenile epithet "_boy_," but he -positively assures him that he has _time in his power_, that _he grows -by waning_, and that _nature, as he goes onward, still plucks him back, -in order to disgrace time_. The conceit is somewhat puerile, though -clearly explanatory of the systematic intention of the poet: - - "O thou, _my lovely boy, who in thy power - Dost hold time's fickle glass_, his fickle hour; - Who hast _by waning grown_, and therein show'st - Thy lovers withering, as thy sweet self grow'st; - If _nature_, sovereign mistress over wrack, - _As thou goest onwards, still will pluck thee back_, - She keeps thee to this purpose, that her skill - _May time disgrace_, and wretched minutes kill." - -He terminates this sonnet, however, and his series of poetical -addresses to Lord Southampton, with a powerful corrective of all -flattery, in reminding him that although nature "_may detain_," she -cannot "_keep her treasure_," and that he must ultimately yield to -death. - -We must also observe, that the poet has marked the termination of these -sonnets to his friend, not only by the solemn nature of the concluding -sentiment, but by a striking deviation from the customary form of his -composition in these pieces; the closing poem not being constructed -with alternate rhimes, but consisting of six couplets! - -After thus attempting, at considerable length, and we trust with -some success, to solve a mystery hitherto deemed inexplicable, we -shall offer but a few observations on the object of the remaining -twenty-eight sonnets. - -In the first place, it is not true, as Mr. Malone has asserted, that -they are _all_ addressed to a female. Two, at least, have not the -slightest reference to any individual; the hundred and twenty-ninth -sonnet being a general and moral declamation on the misery resulting -from sensual love, and the hundred and forty-sixth, an address to his -own soul of a somewhat severe and religious cast. - -Of the residue, four have no very determinate application, and to whom -the twenty-two are dedicated, is not now to be ascertained, and, if -it were, not worth the enquiry; for, a more worthless character, or -described as such in stronger terms, no poet ever drew. We much wish, -indeed, these sonnets had never been published, or that their subject -could be proved to have been perfectly ideal. We are the more willing -to consider them in this light, since, if we dismiss these confessional -sonnets, not the slightest moral stain can rest on the character of -Shakspeare; as the frolic in Sir Thomas Lucy's park, from his youth, -and the circumstances attending it, must be deemed altogether venial. -It is very improbable, also, that any poet should publish such an open -confession of his own culpability. - -Of the grossly meretricious conduct of his mistress, of whose personal -charms and accomplishments we know nothing more than that she had -black eyes, black hair, and could play on the virginal, Sonnets 137. -142. and 144. bear the most indubitable evidence. Well, therefore, -might the poet term her his "_false plague_," his "_worser spirit_," -his "_female evil_," and his "_bad angel_;" well might he tell her, -notwithstanding the colour of her eyes and hair, - - "Thy black is fairest in my judgment's place; - _In nothing art thou black, save in thy deeds_." - Son. 131. - - "For I have sworn thee fair, and thought thee bright, - _Who art as black as hell, as dark as night_." - Son. 147. - -Well might he blame his pliability of temper, his insufficiency of -judgment and resolution, well might he call himself "_past cure_," and -"_frantick-mad_," when, addressing this profligate woman, he exclaims, - - "Whence hast thou this becoming of things ill, - That in the very refuse of thy deeds - There is such strength and warrantise of skill, - That in my mind, thy worst all best exceeds? - Who taught thee how _to make me love thee more, - The more I hear and see just cause of hate_? - O, _though I love what others do abhor_, - With others thou should'st not abhor my state; - If thy unworthiness rais'd love in me, - More worthy I to be belov'd by thee."[73:A] - Son. 150. - -Now, weighing, what almost every other personal event in our author's -life establishes, the general moral beauty of his character, and -reflecting, at the same time, that he was at this period a husband, -and the father of a family, we cannot but feel _the most entire -conviction_, that these sonnets were never directed to a _real_ object: -but that, notwithstanding they appear written in his own person, and -two of them, indeed, (Sonnets 135. and 136.) a perpetual pun on his -Christian name, they were solely intended to express, aloof from all -individual application, the contrarieties, the inconsistencies, and the -miseries of illicit love. Credulity itself, we think, cannot suppose -otherwise, and, at the same time, believe that the poet was privy to -their publication. - -To this discussion of a subject clogged with so many difficulties, we -shall now subjoin some remarks on the _poetical_ merits and demerits -of our author's sonnets; and here, we are irresistibly induced to -notice the absurd charge against, and the inadequate defence of, -sonnet-writing, brought forward by Messrs. Steevens and Malone, in the -Supplement of the latter gentleman.[74:A] - -The antipathy of Mr. Steevens to this species of lyric poetry, seems -to have amounted to the highest pitch of extravagance. In a note on -the fifty-fourth sonnet, he asks, "What has truth or nature to do -with sonnets?" as if truth and nature were confined to any particular -metre or mode of composition; and, in a subsequent page, he informs -us that the sonnet is "a species of composition which has reduced the -most exalted poets to a level with the meanest rhimers; has almost -cut down Milton and Shakspeare to the standards of Pomfret and——but -the name of Pomfret is perhaps the lowest in the scale of English -versifiers."[74:B] Nothing can exceed the futility and bad taste of -this remark, and yet Mr. Malone has advanced no other defence of the -"exalted poets" of Italy than that, "_he is slow to believe that -Petrarch is without merit_;" and for Milton he offers this strange -apology,—"_that he generally failed when he attempted rhime, whether -his verses assumed the shape of a sonnet, or any other form_."[74:C] - -When we recollect, that the noblest poets of Italy, from Dante to -Alfieri, have employed their talents in the construction of the sonnet, -and that many of their most popular and beautiful passages have been -derived through this medium; when we recollect, that the first bards of -our own country, from Surrey to Southey, have followed their example -with an emulation which has conferred immortality on their efforts; -when we further call to mind the exquisite specimens of rhimed poetry -which Milton has given us in his L'Allegro and Il Penseroso; and when, -above all, we retrace the dignity, the simplicity, the moral sublimity -of many of his sonnets, perhaps not surpassed by any other part of his -works, we stand amazed at the unqualified censure on the one hand, and -at the impotency of the defence on the other. - -If such be the fate, then, between these commentators, of the general -question, and of the one more peculiarly relative to Milton, it -cannot be expected that Shakspeare should meet with milder treatment. -In fact, Mr. Steevens has asserted, that his sonnets are "composed -in the highest strain of affectation, pedantry, circumlocution, and -nonsense[75:A];" a picture which Mr. Malone endeavours to soften, by -telling us that "it appears to him overcharged:" that similar defects -occur in his dramas, and that the sonnets, "if they have no other -merit, are entitled to our attention, as often illustrating obscure -passages in his plays."[75:B] - -It is true that in the next paragraph he ventures to declare, that he -cannot perceive that their versification is less smooth than that of -Shakspeare's other compositions, and that he can perceive perspicuity -and energy in some of them; but well might Mr. Steevens reply, that -"the case of these sonnets is certainly bad, when so little can be -advanced in support of them."[75:C] - -Let us try, therefore, if _we_ cannot, and that also with great ease, -prove that these sonnets have been not only miserably criticised, but -unmercifully abused; and that, in point of poetical merit, they are -superior to all those which preceded the era of Drummond. - -In the first place, then, we altogether deny that either affectation -or pedantry can, in the proper sense of the terms, be applied to the -sonnets of Shakspeare. Were any modern, indeed, of the nineteenth -century to adopt their language and style, he might justly be taxed -with both; but in Sidney and Shakspeare it was habit, indissoluble -habit, and not affectation; it was the diction in which they had been -practised from early youth to clothe their sentiments and feelings; it -was identified with all their associations and intellectual operations; -it was the language, in fact, the mode of expression, in a greater -or less degree, of all their contemporaries; and to have stripped -their thoughts of a dress, which to us appears quaint and artificial, -would have been to them a painful and more elaborate task. When once, -indeed, we can attribute this artificial, though often emphatic style, -as we ought to do, to the universally defective taste of the age in -which it sprang, and not to individual usage, we shall be prepared -to do justice to injured genius, and to confess, that frequently -beneath this laboured phraseology are to be found sentiments simple, -natural, and touching. We may also very safely affirm of Shakspeare's -sonnets, that, if their style be compared with that of his predecessors -and contemporaries, in the same department of poetry, a manifest -superiority must often be awarded him, on the score of force, dignity, -and simplicity of expression; qualities of which we shall very soon -afford the reader some striking instances. - -To a certain extent, we must admit the charge of _circumlocution_, -not as applied to individual sonnets, but to the subject on which -the whole series is written. The obscurities of this species of poem -have almost uniformly arisen from density and compression of style, -nor are the compositions of Shakspeare more than usually free from -this source of defect; but when it is considered that our author has -written one hundred and twenty-six sonnets for the sole purpose of -expressing his attachment to his patron, it must necessarily follow, -that a subject so continually reiterated, would display no small share -of circumlocution. Great ingenuity has been exhibited by the poet in -varying his phraseology and ideas; but no effort could possibly obviate -the monotony, as the result of such a task. - -We shall not condescend to a refutation of the _fourth_ epithet, which, -if at all applicable to any portion of Shakspeare's minor poems, can -alone apply to Sonnets 135. and 136., which are a continued pun upon -his Christian name, a species of trifling which was the peculiar vice -of our author's age. - -That an attempt to exhaust the subject of friendship; to say all that -could be collected on the topic, would almost certainly lead, in the -days of Shakspeare, to abstractions too subtile and metaphysical, -and to a cast of diction sometimes too artificial and scholastic for -modern taste, no person well acquainted with the progress of our -literature can deny; but candour will, at the same time, admit, that -the expression and versification of his sonnets are often natural, -spirited, and harmonious, and that where the surface has been rendered -hard and repulsive by the peculiarities of the period of their -production, we have only to search beneath, in order to discover a rich -ore of thought, imagery, and sentiment. - -It has been stated that Shakspeare's sonnets, consisting of three -elegiac quatrains and a couplet, are constructed on the plan of -Daniel's; a mode of arrangement which, though bearing no similitude to -the elaborate involution of the Petrarchan sonnet, may be praised for -the simplicity of its form, and the easy flow of its verse; and that -these technical beauties have often been preserved by our bard, and -are frequently the medium through which he displays the treasures of a -fervent fancy and a feeling heart, we shall now attempt, by a series of -extracts, to prove. - -The description of the sun in his course, his rising, meridian -altitude, and setting, and his influence over the human mind, are -enlivened by imagery peculiarly vivid and rich; the seventh and eighth -lines especially, contain a picture of a great beauty:— - - "Lo in the orient when the gracious light - Lifts up his burning head, each under eye - Doth homage to his new-appearing sight, - Serving with looks his sacred majesty; - And having climb'd the steep-up heavenly hill, - Resembling strong youth in his middle age, - Yet mortal looks adore his beauty still, - Attending on his golden pilgrimage; - But when from high-most pitch, with weary car, - Like feeble age, he reeleth from the day, - The eyes, 'fore duteous, now converted are - From his low tract, and look another way: - So thou," &c. - Son. 7. - -The inevitable effects of time over every object in physical nature, -reminding the poet of the disastrous changes incident to human life, he -exclaims in a style highly figurative and picturesque:— - - "When I do count the clock that tells the time, - And see the brave day sunk in hideous night; - When I behold the violet past prime, - And sable curls, all silver'd o'er with white; - When lofty trees I see barren of leaves, - Which erst from heat did canopy the herd, - And summer's green all girded up in sheaves, - Borne on the bier with white and bristly beard; - Then of thy beauty do I question make." - Son. 12. - -A still more lovely sketch, illustrative of the uneasiness which he -felt in consequence of absence from his friend, is given us in the -following passage, of which the third and fourth lines are pre-eminent -for the poetry of their diction:— - - "From you have I been absent in the Spring, - When proud-pied April, dress'd in all his trim, - Hath put a spirit of youth in every thing; - That heavy Saturn laugh'd and leap'd with him. - Yet nor the lays of birds, nor the sweet smell - Of different flowers in odour and in hue, - Could make me any summer's story tell, - Or from their proud lap pluck them where they grew." - Son. 98. - -To the melody, perspicuity, and spirit of the versification of the -next specimen, and to the exquisite turn upon the words, too much -praise cannot be given. It is one amongst the numerous evidences of -Lord Southampton being the subject of the great bulk of our author's -sonnets; for he assures us, that he not only esteemed his lays, but -gave argument and skill to his pen:— - - "_Where art thou, Muse_, that thou _forget'st_ so long - To speak of that which gives thee all thy might? - Spend'st thou thy fury on some worthless song, - Dark'ning thy power, to lend base subjects light? - _Return, forgetful Muse_, and straight redeem - In gentle numbers time so idly spent; - Sing to the ear that doth thy lays esteem, - And gives thy pen both skill and argument." - Son. 100. - -From the expressions "old rhyme," and "antique pen," in the extract -which we are about to quote, it is highly probable that our bard -alluded to Chaucer, certainly before his own appearance the greatest -poet that England had produced. The chivalric picture in the first -quatrain, is peculiarly interesting, and the cadence of the metre is -harmony itself:— - - "When, in the chronicle of wasted time, - I see descriptions of the fairest wights, - And beauty making beautiful old rhime, - In praise of ladies dead, and lovely knights; - Then, in the blazon of sweet beauty's best, - Of hand, of foot, of lip, of eye, of brow, - I see their antique pen would have express'd - Even such a beauty as you master now." - Son. 106. - -It is a striking proof of the poetical inferiority of the few -sonnets which Shakspeare has addressed to his mistress, that we find -it difficult to select more than one passage from them which does -honour to his memory. Of this, however, it will be allowed, that the -comparison is happy, the rhythm pleasing, and the expression clear:— - - "And truly not the morning sun of heaven - Better becomes the grey cheeks of the east, - Nor that full star that ushers in the even, - Doth half that glory to the sober west, - As those two mourning eyes become thy face." - Son. 132. - -In order, however, to judge satisfactorily of the merit of these -poems, it will, no doubt, be deemed necessary by the reader, that -a few _entire_ sonnets be presented to his notice; for, though the -passages just quoted, as well as numerous others which might be given, -have a decided claim upon our approbation, yet, the sonnet being a -very brief composition, it will, of course, be required, that all its -parts be perfect, and of equal value. That this is not always the -case with these productions of our author, will be inferred from the -short extracts which we have selected; but that it is so in very many -instances may truly be affirmed, and will, indeed, be proved by the -subsequent specimens. - -So far from affectation and pedantry being the general characteristic -of these pieces, impartial criticism must declare, that more frequent -examples of simple, clear, and nervous diction are to be culled from -them, than can be found among the sonnets of any of his contemporaries. -The following, indeed, is given, not as a solitary proof, but as the -exemplar of a numerous class of Shakspearean sonnets; and with the -remark, that neither in this instance, nor in many others, is there, -either in versification, language, or thought, the smallest deviation -into the regions of affectation or conceit:— - - "NO longer mourn for me when I am dead, - Than you shall hear the surly sullen bell - Give warning to the world that I am fled - From this vile world, with vilest worms to dwell: - Nay, if you read this line, remember not - The hand that writ it; for I love you so, - That I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot, - If thinking on me then should make you woe. - O if, I say, you look upon this verse, - When I perhaps compounded am with clay, - Do not so much as my poor name rehearse; - But let your love even with my life decay: - Lest the wise world should look into your moan, - And mock you with me after I am gone." - Son. 71. - -Simplicity of style, and tenderness of sentiment, form the sole -features of this sonnet; but in the next, with an equal chastity of -diction, are combined more energy and dignity, together with the -infusion of some noble and appropriate imagery. It must also be added, -that the flow and structure of the verse are singularly pleasing:— - - "LET me not to the marriage of true minds - Admit impediments. Love is not love - Which alters when it alteration finds, - Or bends with the remover to remove: - O no! it is an ever-fixed mark, - That looks on tempests, and is never shaken; - It is the star to every wandering bark, - Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. - Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks - Within his bending sickle's compass come; - Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, - But bears it out even to the edge of doom. - If this be error, and upon me prov'd, - I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd." - Son. 116. - -Of a lighter though more glowing cast of poetry, both in expression and -imagination, but with a slight blemish, arising from the pharmaceutical -allusion in the last line, is the sonnet which we are about to quote. -A trifling inaccuracy with respect to the colour of the cynorhodon, -or canker-rose, afforded Mr. Steevens a pretext for the splenetic -interrogation which has been recorded by us with due censure. It is -somewhat strange that the beauties of the poem could not disarm the -prejudices of the critic: - - "O HOW much more doth beauty beauteous seem, - By that sweet ornament which truth doth give! - The rose looks fair, but fairer we it deem - For that sweet odour which doth in it live. - The canker-blooms have full as deep a dye, - As the perfumed tincture of the roses, - Hang on such thorns, and play as wantonly - When summer's breath their masked buds discloses: - But, for their virtue only is their show, - They live unwoo'd, and unrespected fade; - Die to themselves. Sweet roses do not so; - Of their sweet deaths are sweetest odours made: - And so of you, beauteous and lovely youth, - When that shall fade, my verse distills your truth." - Son. 54. - -In spirit, however, in elegance, in the skill and texture of its -modulation, and beyond all, in the dignified and highly poetical -close of the third quatrain, no one of our author's sonnets excels -the twenty-ninth. The ascent of the lark was a favourite subject of -contemplation with the poet:— - - "WHEN in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes, - I all alone beweep my outcast state, - And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, - And look upon myself, and curse my fate. - Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, - Featur'd like him, like him with friends possess'd, - Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope, - With what I most enjoy contented least; - Yet in these thoughts myself almost despising, - Haply I think on thee,—and then my state, - Like to the lark at break of day arising - From sullen earth, sings hymns at heaven's gate; - For thy sweet love remember'd, such wealth brings, - That then I scorn to change my state with kings." - -It is, time, however, to terminate these transcriptions, which have -been already sufficiently numerous to enable the reader to form an -estimate of the poet's merit in the difficult task of sonnet-writing. -That many more might be brought forward, of equal value with those -which we have selected, will be allowed perhaps when we state, that in -the _specimens_ of Mr. Ellis, the _Petrarca_ of Mr. Henderson, and the -_Laura_ of Mr. Lofft, eleven have been chosen, of which, we find upon -reference, only one among the four just now adduced. - -The last production in the _minor_ poems of Shakspeare, is A -LOVER'S COMPLAINT, in which a forlorn damsel, seduced and -deserted, relates the history of her sorrows to - - "A reverend man that graz'd his cattle nigh." - -It is written in stanzas of seven lines; the first and third, and the -second, fourth, and fifth, rhiming to each other, while the sixth and -seventh form a couplet; an arrangement exactly similar to the stanza of -the Rape of Lucrece. Like many of our author's smaller pieces, it is -too full of imagery and allusion, but has several passages of great -beauty and force. In the description which this forsaken fair one gives -of the person and qualities of her lover, the following lines will be -acknowledged to possess considerable excellence:— - - "His browny locks did hang in crooked curls, - And every light occasion of the wind - Upon his lips their silken parcels hurls.— - - His qualities were beauteous as his form, - For maiden-tongu'd he was, and therefore free; - Yet, if men mov'd him, was he such a storm - As oft 'twixt May and April is to see, - When winds breathe sweet, unruly though they be.— - - His real habitude gave life and grace - To appertainings and to ornament." - -These, and every other portion of the poem, however, are eclipsed by -a subsequent part of the same picture, in which, as Mr. Steevens well -remarks, the poet "has accidentally delineated his own character as a -dramatist."[83:A] So applicable, indeed, did the passage appear to us, -as a forcible though rapid sketch of the more prominent features of -the author's own genius, and of his universal influence over the human -mind, that we have selected it as a motto for the second volume of this -work:— - - —— "On the tip of his subduing tongue - All kind of arguments and question deep, - All replication prompt, and reason strong, - For his advantage still did wake and sleep: - To make the weeper laugh, the laugher weep, - He had the dialect and different skill, - Catching all passions in his craft of will; - - That he did in the general bosom reign - Of young, of old; and sexes both enchanted." - -The address which the injured mistress puts into the mouth of her -seducer, when "he 'gan besiege her," opens in a strain of such -beautiful simplicity, that we cannot avoid an expression of regret, -that the defective taste of the age prevented its continuance and -completion in a similar style of tenderness and ease:— - - ————————————— "Gentle maid, - Have of my suffering youth some feeling pity, - And be not of my holy vows afraid." - -After relating, rather too circumstantially, the arts and hypocrisy -which had been exercised for her ruin, she bursts into the following -exclamation:— - - "O father, what a hell of mischief lies - In the small orb of one particular tear!" - -Various lines, and brief extracts, of no common merit, might be -detached from the Lover's Complaint; but enough has now been said on -the _Miscellaneous Poetry_ of Shakspeare, to prove that it possesses a -value far beyond what has been attributed to it in modern times. The -depreciation, indeed, to which it has been lately subjected, a fate -so directly opposed to that which accompanied its first reception in -the world, must be ascribed, in a great measure, to the unaccountable -prejudices of Mr. Steevens, who, in an Advertisement prefixed to the -edition of our author's Dramas, in 1793, has made the following curious -declaration:— - -"We have not reprinted the Sonnets, &c. of Shakspeare, because _the -strongest act of parliament that could be framed would fail to compel -readers into their service_; notwithstanding these miscellaneous poems -have derived every possible advantage from the literature and judgment -of their only intelligent editor, Mr. Malone, whose implements of -criticism, like the ivory rake and golden spade in Prudentius, _are -on this occasion disgraced by the objects of their culture_—had -Shakspeare produced no other works than these, his name would have -reached us with as little celebrity as time has conferred on that of -Thomas Watson, an older _and much more elegant sonnetteer_."[85:A] - -That Watson was a _much more elegant sonnetteer than Shakspeare_, is -an assertion which wants no other mean for its complete refutation, -than a reference to the works of the elder bard. At the period when -Mr. Steevens advanced this verdict, such a reference was not within -the power of one in a thousand of his readers, but all may now be -referred to a very satisfactory article in the _British Bibliographer_, -where Sir Egerton Brydges has transcribed seventeen of Watson's -sonnets, and declares it to be his conviction, that they "want the -moral cast" of Shakspeare's sonnets; "his unsophisticated materials; -his pure and natural train of thought."[85:B] It may be added, that a -more extended comparison would render the inferiority of Watson still -further apparent, and that the Bard of Avon would figure from the -juxta-position like "Hyperion to a satyr." - -When Mr. Steevens compliments his brother-commentator at the expense -of the poet; when he tells us, that _his implements of criticism are -on this occasion disgraced by the objects of their culture_, who can -avoid feeling a mingled emotion of wonder and disgust? who can, in -short, forbear a smile of derision and contempt at the folly of such a -declaration? - -And lastly, when he assures us, that _the strongest act of parliament -that could be framed would fail to compel readers into the service -of our author's Miscellaneous Poetry_, and when, at the same time, -we recollect, what gives us pleasure to acknowledge, the wit, the -ingenuity, and research of this able editor on almost every other -occasion, it will not, we trust, be deemed a work of supererogation, -that we have attempted to unfold, at length, the beauties of these -calumniated poems, and to refute the sweeping censure which they have -so unworthily incurred; nor will the summary inference with which we -shall conclude this chapter, be viewed, we hope, as either incorrect, -or unauthorised by the previous disquisition, when we state it to -consist of the following terms; namely, that _the Poems of Shakspeare, -although they are chargeable with the faults peculiar to the age in -which they sprung, yet exhibit so much originality, invention, and -fidelity to nature, such a rich store of moral and philosophic thought, -and often, such a purity, simplicity, and grace of style, as not only -deservedly placed them high in the favour of his contemporaries, -but will permanently secure to them no inconsiderable share of the -admiration and the gratitude of posterity_.[86:A] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[2:A] Sydney Papers, vol. ii. p. 132. - -[2:B] Venus and Adonis was entered on the Stationers' Books, by Richard -Field, April 18, 1593, six days before its author completed the -twenty-ninth year of his age. - -[3:A] "There is one instance," says Rowe, who first mentioned -the anecdote, "so singular in the magnificence of this patron of -Shakspeare's, that if I had not been assured that the story was handed -down by Sir William Davenant, who was probably very well acquainted -with his affairs, I should not have ventured to have inserted; that my -Lord Southampton at one time gave him a thousand pounds, to enable him -to go through with a purchase which he heard he had a mind to. A bounty -very great, and very rare at any time."—Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. -67. - -[5:A] Sydney Papers, vol. i. p. 348. - -[5:B] "There were present, at this Council, the Earl of Southampton, -with whom, in former times, he (Essex) had been at some _emulations_, -and _differences_, at Court: But, after, Southampton, having married -his Kinswoman, plunged himself wholly into his fortune," &c. -Declaration of the Treason of the Earl of Essex, sign. D. quoted by Mr. -Chalmers, Supplement. Apology, p. 110. - -[5:C] Rowland Whyte informs us, that "Lord Southampton fought with one -of the king's great men of war, and sunk her." Sydney Papers, vol. ii. -p. 72; but Sir William Monson calls this man of war "a frigate of the -Spanish fleet." - -[5:D] Account of the Wars with Spain, p. 38. - -[6:A] Sydney Papers, vol. ii. p. 83. - -[7:A] Sydney Papers, vol. ii. p. 87. - -[7:B] Ibid., p. 81. - -[7:C] Ibid., p. 88. - -[7:D] Ibid., p. 90. - -[7:E] In a letter, dated November 2nd, 1598, Rowland Whyte says, that -Lord Southampton is about to return to England. Sydney Papers, vol. ii. -p. 104. - -[8:A] Imperfect Hints towards a New Edition of Shakspeare, 4to. Part -II., Advertisement, p. xxi. - -[8:B] Birch's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 422. - -[8:C] Kennet's History of England, vol. ii. p. 614. - -[9:A] Vide Harrington's Nugæ Antiquæ, vol. ii. p. 33. - -[11:A] Bacon's Works, Mallet's edit. vol. iv. p. 412. - -[11:B] Vide Queen Elizabeth's Progresses, by Nichols, vol. ii. p. 1. - -[11:C] Chalmers's Supplemental Apology, p. 311, 312. - -[12:A] Wilson tells us, that "the Earl of Southampton, covered long -with the _Ashes_ of great Essex his _Ruins_, was sent for from the -Tower, and the King lookt upon him with a smiling _countenance_, though -displeasing happily to the new Baron _Essingdon_, Sir _Robert Cecil_, -yet it was much more to the Lords _Cobham_ and _Grey_, and Sir _Walter -Rawleigh_."—History of Great Britain, folio, 1653, p. 4. - -[12:B] Lodge's Illustrations of British History, vol. iii. p. 270. - -[13:A] Winwood's Memorials, vol. iii. p. 54. - -[13:B] Lodge's Illustrations, vol. iii. p. 331. - -[13:C] Winwood's Memorials, vol. iii. p. 154. - -[15:A] "This Spring," relates Wilson, "gave birth to four brave -Regiments of foot (a new apparition in the English horizon) fifteen -hundred in a regiment, which were raised, and transported into Holland, -under four gallant Collonells; the Earl of Oxford, the Earl of -Southampton, the Earl of Essex, and the Lord Willoughby, since Earl of -Lindsey."—History of Great Britain, p. 280. - -[16:A] History of Great Britain, p. 284. - -[16:B] Cabala, p. 299. - -[17:A] When Richard Brathwaite dedicated his "Survey of History, or -a Nursery for Gentry," to Lord Southampton, he terms him "Learning's -select Favourite." Vide Restituta, vol. iii. p. 340.—Nash, dedicating -his "Life of Jacke Wilton," 1594, to the same nobleman, calls him -"a dere lover and cherisher, as well of the Lovers of Poets, as of -Poets themselves;" and he emphatically adds,—"Incomprehensible is -the height of your spirit, both in heroical resolution and matters of -conceit. Unrepriveably perished that booke whatsoever to wast paper, -which on the diamond rocke of your judgement disasterly chanceth to -be shipwrackt." Jarvis Markham also addresses our English Mecænas in -a similar style, commencing a Sonnet prefixed to his "Most honorable -Tragedie of Richard Grenvile, Knt." in the following manner:— - - "Thou glorious Laurell of the Muses' hill; - Whose eyes doth crowne the most victorious pen: - Bright Lampe of Vertue, in whose sacred skill - Lives all the blisse of eares-inchaunting men:" - -and closes it with declaring, that if His Lordship would vouchsafe to -approve his Muse, immortality would be the result:— - - "So shall my tragick layes be blest by thee, - And from thy lips suck their eternitie." - Restituta, vol. iii. pp. 410, 414. - -[19:A] Beaumont's Poems. Chalmers's English Poets, vol. vi. p. 42. - -[19:B] Several other tributes to the memory and virtues of Southampton -are on record. Daniel has one, commemorating his fortitude, when under -sentence of death, and the Rev. William Jones published, in 1625, -a Sermon on his decease, preached before the Countess; to which he -added, "The Teares of the Isle of Wight, shed on the tombe of their -most noble, valorous, and loving Captaine and Governour, the right -Honourable Henrie, Earle of Southampton," containing an Elegy on the -father and son written by himself; "an Episode upon the death" of Lord -Southampton, by Fra. Beale Esqr.; fifteen short pieces of poetry, -called "certain touches upon the life and death of the Right Honourable -Henrie, Earle of Southampton," by W. Pettie, and another poem on the -same subject by Ar. Price. - -[19:C] Imperfect Hints towards a New Edition of Shakspeare, Part II. p. -6. 4to. 1788. - -[20:A] A similar impression seems to have arisen in the mind of the -ingenious author of the "Imperfect Hints," who, after selecting the -parting scene between Bassanio and Anthonio in the _Merchant of -Venice_, as the subject of a picture, remarks, that "this noble spirit -of friendship _might_ have been realized, when my lord Southampton (the -dear and generous friend of Shakspeare) embarked for the seige of Rees -in the Dutchy of Cleve."—Imperfect Hints, Part I. p. 35. - -[20:B] See Part II. chap. ii. - -[20:C] "Mr. Malone," relates Mr. Beloe, "had long been in search of -this edition, and when he was about to give up all hope of possessing -it, he obtained a copy from a provincial catalogue. But he still did -not procure it till after a long and tedious negotiation, and a most -enormous price."—Anecdotes of Literature, vol. i. p. 363. - -[27:A] These, and the following extracts, are taken from Mr. Malone's -edition of the Poems of Shakspeare. - -[28:A] Malone's Supplement to Shakspeare, 1780, vol. i. p. 463. - -[28:B] "Epigrammes in the oldest Cut and newest Fashion. A twice seven -Houres (in so many Weekes) Studie. No longer (like the Fashion) not -unlike to continue. The first seven, John Weever. - - Sit voluisse sit valuisse. - -At London: printed by V. S. for Thomas Bushell, and are to be sold -at his shop, at the great North doore of Paules. 1599. 12mo."—Vide -Beloe's Anecdotes, vol. vi. p. 156. - -[28:C] Beloe's Anecdotes, vol. vi. p. 159. - -[29:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 2. note by Steevens. - -[29:B] Censura Literaria, vol. ix. p. 45, 46. - -[29:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 197. - -[30:A] Ancient British Drama, vol. i. p. 49. col. 2. - -[30:B] Malone's Supplement, vol. i. p. 463. - -[31:A] Censura Literaria, vol. vi. p. 276. A second edition of this -satire was published separately, in 4to. 1625. - -[31:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 197, 198.—Many passages, I -believe, might be added to those given in the text, which point out -the great popularity of our author's earliest effort in poetry. Thus, -in the _Merrie Conceited Jests_ of George Peele, an author who died in -or before 1598, the Tapster of an Inn in Pye-corner is represented as -"much given to poetry: for he had ingrossed the Knight of the Sunne, -_Venus and Adonis_, and other pamphlets."—Reprint, p. 28. - -Again in the _Dumb Knight_, an Historical Comedy, by Lewis Machin, -printed in 1608, one of the characters, after quoting several lines -from Venus and Adonis, concludes by saying,— - - "Go thy way, thou best book in the world. - - "_Veloups._ I pray you, sir, what book do you read? - - "_President._ A book that never an orator's clerk in this - kingdom but is beholden unto; it is called, Maid's Philosophy, - or _Venus and Adonis_." - Ancient British Drama, vol. ii. p. 146. - -[32:A] It is the more probable that the entry of 1594 indicates a -separate edition, as an entry of the impression of 1596 appears in the -Stationers' Register, by W. Leake, dated June 23. 1596.—Vide Reed's -Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 121. - -[32:B] Beloe's Anecdotes, vol. i. p. 363. This copy is in the -possession of Mr. Chalmers. - -[33:A] Malone's Supplement, vol. i. p. 469. note. - -[34:A] Warton's History of English Poetry, vol. iii. p. 415, 416.—"It -is remarkable," says the historian, in a note on this passage, "that -the sign of Berthelette, the king's printer in Fleet-street, who -flourished about 1540, was the Lucretia, or as he writes it, _Lucretia -Romana_." - -[34:B] The last line of this extract is taken from the 12mo. edit. of -1616. - -[38:A] Supplement, vol. i. p. 537. note. - -[38:B] Perhaps the opening stanza of the following scarce poem, -entitled "Epicedium. A funerall Song, upon the vertuous life and godly -death of the right worshipfull the Lady Helen Branch; - - Virtus sola manet, cætera cuncta ruunt. - -London, printed by Thomas Creed, 1594;" may allude to our author's Rape -of Lucrece:— - - "You that to shew your wits, have taken toyle - In regist'ring the deeds of noble men; - And sought for matter in a forraine soyle, - As worthie subjects of your silver pen, - Whom you have rais'd from darke oblivion's den. - _You that have writ of chaste Lucretia, - Whose death was witnesse of her spotlesse life_: - Or pen'd the praise of sad Cornelia, - Whose blamelesse name hath made her fame so rife, - As noble Pompey's most renoumed wife: - Hither unto your home direct your eies, - Whereas, unthought on, much more matter lies." - Vide Brydges's Restituta, vol. iii. p. 297-299. - -[39:A] Malone's Supplement, vol. i. p. 575. - -[39:B] "Polimanteia, or The meanes lawfull and unlawfull, to judge -of the fall of a Common-wealth, against the frivolous and foolish -conjectures of this age. Whereunto is added, A letter from England to -her three daughters, Cambridge, Oxford, Innes of Court, and to all the -rest of her inhabitants, &c. &c. Printed by John Legate, Printer to the -Universitie of Cambridge, 1595." - -"This work," remarks Mr. Haslewood, "is divided into three parts; -the first, Polimanteia, is on the subtleties and unlawfulness of -Divination, the second, an address from England to her three Daughters; -and the third, England to her Inhabitants, concluding with the speeches -of Religion and Loyalty to her children. Some researches have been made -by a friend to ascertain the author's name, but without success. He -was evidently a man of learning, and well acquainted with the works of -contemporary writers, both foreign and domestic. The second part of his -work is too interesting, from the names enumerated in the margin, not -to be given entire. The mention of Shakspeare is two years earlier than -Meres's _Palladis Tamia_, a circumstance that has escaped the research -of all the Commentators; although a copy of the _Polimanteia_ was -possessed by Dr. Farmer, and the work is repeatedly mentioned by Oldys, -in his manuscript notes on Langbaine."—British Bibliographer, vol. i. -p. 274. - -[40:A] British Bibliographer, No. XIV. p. 247. - -[40:B] Ibid. No. V. p. 533. - -[41:A] Malone's Supplement, vol. i. p. 575. - -[41:B] Supplement, vol. i. p. 471.—An edition of the Rape of Lucrece, -with a supplement by John Quarles, was published about 1676; for at -the end of a copy of Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy, in my possession, -printed in 1676, and the eighth edition, is a catalogue of books sold -by Peter Parker, the proprietor of the above impression, among which -occurs the following article:— - -"The Rape of _Lucrece_ committed by _Tarquin_ the sixth, and remarkable -judgements that befell him for it, by that incomparable Master of our -English Poetry _William Shakespeare_ Gentleman. Whereunto is annexed -the Banishment of _Tarquin_ or the reward of Lust, by _John Quarles_, -8vo." - -It is remarkable, that, at the commencement of the eighteenth century, -our author's _Venus and Adonis_, and _The Rape of Lucrece_, were -re-published as _State Poems_, though it would puzzle the most acute -critic to discover, in either of them, the smallest allusion to the -politics of their age. The work in which they are thus enrolled, and -which betrays also the most complete ignorance of the era of their -production, is entitled "STATE POEMS.—Poems on affairs of State from -1620 to 1707." London, 1703-7. 8vo. 4 vols. - -[42:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vii. p. 105. Act iv. sc. 3.—We have -found reason, as will be seen hereafter, to ascribe this play to the -year 1591. - -[42:B] Malone's Supplement, vol. i. pp. 710. 715. - -[43:A] "I know not," says this gentleman, "when the second edition was -printed."—Reed's Shakspeare, 1803, vol. ii. p. 153. - -[46:A] Vol. xxvi. p. 120, 121. - -[46:B] Ibid. vol. xxvi. p. 523. - -[47:A] Monthly Magazine, vol. xxvi. p. 312. - -[48:A] Monthly Magazine, vol. xxvi. p. 121. - -[48:B] Of the ill-requited Capel, whose text of Shakspeare, -notwithstanding all which has been achieved since his decease, is, -perhaps, one of the purest extant, we shall probably have occasion -to speak hereafter. Of the talents of his nephew, and of the glowing -attachment which he bears to Shakspeare, and of the taste and judgment -which he has shown in appreciating his writings and character, we -possess an interesting memorial in the _Introduction_ to his late -publication, entitled "Aphorisms from Shakspeare." - -[49:A] Malone's Supplement, vol. i. p. 714. - -[50:A] Printed at the end of his "Lady Pecunia, 4to. London, 1605." -This very sonnet, however, has been attributed to Barnefield himself, -and is, in all probability, another evidence of the incorrectness or -the fraud of Jaggard. - -[50:B] "Shakspeare's Sonnets, never before imprinted, quarto, 1609, G. -Eld, for T. T." - -[52:A] Malone's Supplement, vol. i. p. 640. - -[57:A] Chalmers's Supplemental Apology, pp. 40-43. - -[57:B] Sonnet 126. It should be observed, however, that Sonnet 145, -though in alternate verse, and terminated by a couplet, is in the -octo-syllabic measure. - -[59:A] Preface to his revised and corrected edition of Shakspeare's -Works, p. 7. - -[60:A] See his "Queen's Arcadia." - -[60:B] Malone's Supplement, vol. i. p. 596. - -[61:A] Malone's Supplement, vol. i. p. 579. - -[62:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vii. p. 331, and vol. xii. p. 219. - -[63:A] Malone's Supplement, vol. i. p. 698. - -[67:A] If we consult the context of this sonnet, and recollect that -Shakspeare addresses in his own person, it will be sufficiently evident -that _my lovers_ here can only mean _my friends_. - -[73:A] That this series of sonnets, as well as the preceding, should be -considered by Mr. Chalmers as addressed to Queen Elizabeth, is, indeed, -of all conjectures, the most extraordinary! - -[74:A] Malone's Supplement, vol. i. p. 682. - -[74:B] Ibid. p. 684. - -[74:C] Ibid. - -[75:A] Malone's Supplement, vol. i. p. 684. - -[75:B] Ibid. p. 685. - -[75:C] Ibid. - -[83:A] Malone's Supplement, vol. i. p. 748. note. - -[85:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 30. - -[85:B] British Bibliographer, No. XII. p. 16. - -[86:A] That Shakspeare himself entertained a confident hope of the -immortality of his minor poems, the following, out of many instances, -will sufficiently prove:— - - "So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, - So long lives this, and this gives life to thee." - Son. 18. - - "Yet, do thy worst, old Time: despite thy wrong, - My love shall in my verse ever live young." - Son. 19. - - "Not marble, nor the gilded monuments - Of princes, shall out-live this powerful rhime." - Son. 54. - - "Time doth transfix the flourish set on youth, - And delves the parallels in beauty's brow; - Feeds on the rarities of nature's truth, - And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow: - And yet, to times in hope, my verse shall stand, - Praising thy worth, despite his cruel hand." - Son. 60. - - ——— "Confounding age ——— - ——— shall never cut from memory - My sweet love's beauty, though my lover's life. - His beauty shall in these black lines be seen, - And they shall live, and he in them still green." - Son. 63. - - "When all the breathers of this world are dead; - You still shall live (such virtue hath my pen), - Where breath most breathes,—even in the mouths of men." - Son. 81. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - - ON THE DRESS, AND MODES OF LIVING, THE MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS, OF - THE INHABITANTS OF THE METROPOLIS, DURING THE AGE OF SHAKSPEARE. - - -Before we enter on the dramatic career of Shakspeare, a subject which -we wish to preserve unbroken, and free from irrelative matter, it will -be necessary, in order to prosecute our view of the costume of the -Times, to give a picture in this place of the prevalent habits of the -metropolis, which, with the sketch already drawn of those peculiar to -the country, will form a corresponding, and, we trust, an adequate -whole. - -In no period of our annals, perhaps, has DRESS formed a more -curious subject of enquiry, than during the reigns of Elizabeth and -James the First. The Queen, who possessed an almost unbounded share of -vanity and coquetry, set an example of profusion which was followed -through every rank of society, and furnished by its universality, an -inexhaustible theme for the puritanic satirists of the age. - -Of the mutability and eccentricity of the dresses both of men and -women, during this period, Harrison has provided us with a singular -and interesting account, and which, as constituting a very appropriate -preface to more minute particulars, we shall here transcribe. - -"Such is our mutabilitie, that to daie there is none to the Spanish -guise, to morrow the French toies are most fine and delectable, yer -long no such apparell as that which is after the high Alman fashion, -by and by the Turkish maner is generallie best liked of, otherwise -the Morisco gowns, the Barbarian sleeves, the mandilion worne to -Collie westen ward, and the short French breeches make such a comelie -vesture, that except it were a dog in a doublet, you shall not sée -anie so disguised, as are my countrie men of England. And as these -fashions are diverse, so likewise it is a world to see the costlinesse -and the curiositie: the excesse and the vanitie: the pompe and the -braverie: the change and the varietie: and finallie the ficklenesse -and the follie that is in all degrees: insomuch that nothing is more -constant in England than inconstancie of attire. Oh how much cost is -bestowed now adaies upon our bodies and how little upon our soules! -how many sutes of apparell hath the one and how little furniture hath -the other? how long time is asked in decking up of the first, and how -little space left wherin to feed the later? how curious, how nice also -are a number of men and women, and how hardlie can the tailer please -them in making it fit for their bodies? how manie times must it be sent -backe againe to him that made it? what chafing, what fretting, what -reprochfull language doth the poore workman beare awaie? and manie -times when he dooth nothing to it at all, yet when it is brought home -againe it is verie fit and handsome; then must we put it on, then must -the long seames of our hose be set by a plumb-line, then we puffe, then -we blow, and finallie sweat till we drop, that our clothes may stand -upon us. I will saie nothing of our heads, which sometimes are polled, -sometimes curled, or suffered to grow at length like woman's lockes, -manie times cut off above or under the ears round as by a woodden dish. -Neither will I meddle with our varietie of beards, of which some are -shaven from the chin like those of Turks, not a few cut short like to -the beard of marques Otto, some made round like a rubbing brush other -with a pique devant (O fine fashion) or now and then suffered to grow -long, the barbers being growen to be so cunning in this behalfe as -the tailers. And therefore if a man have a leane and streight face, a -marquesse Ottons cut will make it broad and large; if it be platter -like, a long slender beard will make it seeme the narrower; if he be -wesell becked, then much heare left on the cheekes will make the owner -looke big like a bowdled hen, and so grim as a goose, if Cornelius of -Chalmeresford saie true: manie old men doo weare no beards at all. Some -lustie courtiers also and gentlemen of courage, doo weare either rings -of gold, stones, or pearle in their eares, whereby they imagine the -workmanship of God not to be a little amended. But herein they rather -disgrace than adorne their persons, as by their nicenesse in apparell, -for which I saie most nations doo not unjustlie deride us, as also for -that we doo séeme to imitate all nations round about us, wherein we be -like to the Polypus or Chameleon; and thereunto bestow most cost upon -our arses, and much more than upon all the rest of our bodies, as women -doo likewise upon their heads and shoulders. In women also it is most -to be lamented that they doo now farre exceed the lightnesse of our men -(who neverthelesse are transformed from the cap even to the verie shoo) -and such staring attire as in time past was supposed meet for none but -light housewives onelie, is now become an habit for chast and sober -matrones. What should I saie of their doublets with pendant cod peeses -on the brest full of jags and cuts, and sleeves of sundrie colours? -their galligascons to beare out their bums and make their attire to -sit plum round (as they terme it) about them? their fardingals, and -diverslie coloured nether stocks of silke, ierdseie, and such like, -whereby their bodies are rather deformed than commended? I have met -with some of these trulles in London so disguised, that it hath passed -my skill to discerne whether they were men or women."[89:A] - -After this philippic, we shall proceed to notice the _Dress of the -Ladies_, commencing with that of the _Queen_, who is thus described by -Paul Hentzner, as he saw her passing on her way to chapel, at the royal -palace of Greenwich. Having mentioned the procession of barons, earls, -knights, &c., he adds,—"Next came the queen, in the sixty-fifth year -of her age, as we were told, very majestic; her face oblong, fair, but -wrinkled; her eyes small, yet black and pleasant; her nose a little -hooked; her lips narrow, and her teeth black; (a defect the English -seem subject to, from their too great use of sugar) she had in her -ears two pearls, with very rich drops; she wore false hair, and that -red; upon her head she had a small crown;—her bosom was uncovered, -as all the English ladies have it, till they marry; and she had on a -necklace of exceeding fine jewels; her hands were small, her fingers -long, and her stature neither tall nor low; her air was stately, her -manner of speaking mild and obliging. That day she was dressed in white -silk, bordered with pearls of the size of beans, and over it a mantle -of black silk, shot with silver threads; her train was very long, -the end of it borne by a marchioness; instead of a chain, she had an -oblong collar of gold and jewels.——While we were there, W. Slawata, -a Bohemian baron, had letters to present to her; and she, after -pulling off her glove, gave him her right hand to kiss, sparkling with -rings and jewels.—The ladies of the court followed next to her, very -handsome and well shaped, and for the most part dressed in white."[90:A] - -A few articles of the customary dress of Elizabeth, not adverted to by -Hentzner, and particularly the characteristic ruff and stomacher, it -may be requisite to subjoin. The former of these was profusely laced, -plaited, and apparently divergent from a centre on the back of her -neck; it was very broad, extending on each side of her face, with the -extremities reposing on her bosom, from which rose two wings of lawn, -edged with jewels, stiffened with wire, and reaching to the top of her -hair, which was moulded into the shape of a cushion, and richly covered -with gems. The stomacher was strait and broad, and though leaving the -bosom bare, still formed a long waist by extending downwards; it was -loaded with jewels and embossed gold, and preposterously stiff and -formal. - -The attachment of the Queen to dress was such, that she could not bear -the idea of being rivalled, much less surpassed, in any exhibition of -this kind. "It happenede," relates Sir John Harrington, "that Ladie M. -Howarde was possessede of a rich border, powderd wyth golde and pearle, -and a velvet suite belonginge thereto, which moved manie to envye; nor -did it please the Queene, who thoughte it exceeded her owne. One daye -the Queene did sende privately, and got the ladies rich vesture, which -she put on herself, and came forthe the chamber amonge the ladies; the -kirtle and border was far too shorte for her Majestie's heigth; and she -askede every one 'How they likede her new-fancied suit?' At lengthe, -she askede the owner herself, 'If it was not made too short and -ill-becoming?'—which the poor ladie did presentlie consente to. 'Why -then, if it become not me, as being too shorte, I am minded it shall -never become thee, as being too fine; so it fitteth neither well.' This -sharp rebuke abashed the ladie, and she never adorned her herewith any -more."[91:A] - -Neither could she endure, from whatever quarter it came, any censure, -direct or indirect, on her love of personal decoration. "One Sunday -(April last)," says the same facetious knight, "my lorde of London -preachede to the Queenes Majestie, and seemede to touche on the vanitie -of deckinge the bodie too finely.—Her Majestie tolde the ladies, that -'If the bishope helde more discourse on suche matters, shee wolde fitte -him for heaven, but he shoulde walke thither withoute a staffe, and -leave his mantle behind him:' perchance the bishope hathe never soughte -her Highnesse wardrobe, or he woulde have chosen another texte."[91:B] - -Of this costly wardrobe it is recorded in Chamberlaine's epistolary -notices, that it consisted of more than two thousand gowns, with all -things answerable[91:C]; and Mr. Steevens, commenting on a passage in -_Cymbeline_, where Imogen exclaims— - - "Poor I am stale, a garment out of fashion; - And, for I am richer than to hang by the walls, - I must be ripp'd,"— - -gives us the following interesting illustration. - -"Clothes were not formerly, as at present, made of slight materials, -were not kept in drawers, or given away as soon as lapse of time or -change of fashion had impaired their value. On the contrary, they were -hung up on wooden pegs in a room appropriated to the sole purpose of -receiving them; and though such cast-off things as were composed of -_rich_ substances, were occasionally _ripped_ for domestick uses, (viz. -mantles for infants, vests for children, and counterpanes for beds) -articles of inferior quality were suffered to _hang by the walls_, till -age and moths had destroyed what pride would not permit to be worn by -servants or poor relations. - -"When a boy, at an ancient mansion-house in Suffolk, I saw one of these -repositories, which (thanks to a succession of old maids!) had been -preserved, with superstitious reverence, for almost a century and a -half. - -"When Queen Elizabeth died, she was found to have left above three -thousand dresses behind her."[92:A] - -With such a model before them, it may easily be credited, that our -fair country-women vied with each other in the luxury, variety, -and splendour of their dress. Shakspeare has noticed most of their -eccentricities in this way, and a few remarks on his allusions, with -some invectives from less good-tempered observers, will sufficiently -illustrate the subject. - -Benedict, describing the woman of his choice, says, "her hair shall -be of what colour it please God[92:B];" an oblique stroke at a very -prevalent fashion in Shakspeare's time of colouring or dying the hair, -and which, from its general adoption, not only excited the shaft of -the satirist, but the reprobation of the pulpit. Nor were the ladies -content with disfiguring their _own_ hair, but so universally dismissed -it for that of others, that it was a common practice with them, as -Stubbes asserts in his Anatomie of Abuses, to allure children who had -beautiful hair to private places, in order to deprive them of their -envied locks. - -That the dead were frequently rifled for this purpose, our poet has -told us in more places than one; thus, in his sixty-eighth sonnet, he -says— - - —— "the golden tresses of the dead, - The right of sepulchres, were shorn away, - To live a second life on second head, - 'And' beauty's dead fleece made another gay;" - -and he repeats the charge in his _Merchant of Venice_,— - - "So are those crisped snaky golden locks, - Which make such wanton gambols with the wind, - Upon supposed fairness, often known - To be the dowry of a second head, - The skull that bred them in the sepulchre."[93:A] - -The hair, when thus obtained, was often dyed of a sandy colour, in -compliment to the Queen, whose locks were of that tint; and these false -ornaments or "thatches," as Timon terms them, were called _periwigs_; -thus Julia, in the _Two Gentlemen of Verona_, contemplating the picture -of her rival, observes, - - "Her hair is auburn, mine is perfect yellow: - If that be all the difference in his love, - I'll get me such a colour'd periwig."[93:B] - -Periwigs, which were first introduced into England about 1572, were -to be had of all colours; for an old satirist, speaking of his -countrywomen, says, "It is a woonder more than ordinary to beholde -theyr perewigs of sundry collours."[93:C] A distinction, however, -in wearing the hair, as well as in other articles of dress, existed -between the matrons and unmarried women. "Gentlewomen virgins," -observes Fines Moryson, "weare gownes close to the body, and aprons -of fine linen, and go _bareheaded, with their hair curiously knotted, -and raised at the forehead, but many_ (against the cold, as they say,) -_weare caps of hair that is not their own_."[93:D] - -To some of the various coverings for the hair our poet refers in -the _Merry Wives of Windsor_, when Falstaff, complimenting Mrs. -Ford, exclaims, "thou hast the right arched bent of the brow, that -becomes the _ship-tire_, the _tire-valiant_, or any _tire of Venetian -admittance_."[94:A] - -The _ship-tire_ appears to have been an open flaunting head-dress, with -scarfs or ribands floating in the air like streamers, or as Fenton -himself, in the fifth act of this play, describes it, - - "With ribbons _pendant_ flaring 'bout her head." - -The _tire-valiant_, if the text be correct, must mean a dress still -more shewy and ostentatious; and we know that feathers, jewels, -and gold and silver ornaments, were common decorations in these -days of gorgeous finery. Nash, in 1594, speaks of "lawn caps" with -"snow-resembled silver curlings[94:B];" and a sarcastic poet in 1595 -describes - - —— "flaming heads with staring haire, - 'With' wyers turnde like horns of ram— - To peacockes I compare them right, - That glorieth in their feathers bright."[94:C] - -Venice and Paris were the sources of fashion, and both occasionally -furnished a more chaste and elegant costume for the female head than -the objects of Falstaff's encomium. The "French hood," a favourite -of the times, consisted simply of gauze or muslin, reaching from the -back of the head down over the forehead, and leaving the hair exposed -on each side.[94:D] Cauls, or nets of gold thread, were thrown with -much taste over their glossy tresses, and attracted the notice of the -satirist just quoted:— - - "These glittering caules of golden plate - Wherewith their heads are richlie dect, - Makes them to seeme an angels mate - In judgment of the simple sect."[94:E] - -Another happy mode of embellishment consisted of placing gracefully on -the hair artificial peascods, which were represented open, with rows of -pearls for peas. - -The lady's morning-cap was usually a mob[95:A]; and the citizens' -wives wore either a splendid velvet cap[95:B], or what was called the -'Minever cap,' with peaks three inches high, white, and three-cornered. - -Paint was openly used for the face: - - "These painted faces which they weare, - Can any tell from whence they came;"[95:C] - -and masks and mufflers were in general use; the former, according to -Stubbes, were made of velvet, "wherewith when they ride abroad they -cover all their faces, having holes made in them against their eyes, -whereout they looke. So that if a man that knew not their guise before, -should chaunce to meet one of them, he would think he met a monster or -a Devil, for face he can shew none, but two broad holes against their -eyes, with glasses in them[95:D];" the latter covered the lower part of -the face only, as far as the nose, and had the appearance of a linen -bandage. So common were these female masks in Shakspeare's days, that -the author of _Quippes for newfangled Gentlewemen_, after remarking -that they were the offspring not of modesty but of pride, informs us -that - - —— "on each wight now are they seene, - The tallow-pale, the browning bay, - The swarthy blacke, the grassie-greene, - The pudding-red, the dapple-graie."[95:E] - -The _ruff_, already partly described under the dress of Elizabeth, -was common to both sexes; but under the fostering care of the ladies, -attained, in stiffness, fineness, and dimensions, the most extravagant -pitch of absurdity. It reached behind to the very top of the head, -and the tenuity of the lawn or cambrick of which it was made was such, -that Stowe prophecies, they would shortly "wear ruffes of a spider's -web." In order to support so slender a fabrick, a great quantity of -starch become necessary, the skilful use of which was introduced by a -Mrs. Dingen Van Plesse in 1564, who taught her art for a premium of -five guineas. Starching was subsequently improved by the introduction -of various colours, one of which, the _yellow_ die, being the invention -of a Mrs. Turner, who was afterwards concerned in the murder of Sir -Thomas Overbury, was dismissed with abhorrence from the fashionable -world, in consequence of this abandoned woman being executed at Tyburn -in a ruff of her favourite tint. The extreme indignation with which -Stubbes speaks of the use of starch is highly amusing:—"One arch or -piller," says he, "wherewith the devil's kingdome of great ruffes -is underpropped, is a certain kind of liquid matter which they call -_startch_, wherein the devill hath learned them to wash and die their -ruffes, which, being drie, will stand stiff and inflexible about their -neckes. And this starch they make of divers substances—of all collours -and hues, as white, redde, blewe, purple, and the like." - -We are further informed by the same vehement satirist, that the ruff -had the additional support of an underpropper called a _suppertasse_, -and that its plaits were adjusted by poking-sticks made of iron, steel, -or silver, that, when used, were heated in the fire, a custom against -which he expresses his wrath by relating a most curious story of a -gentlewoman of Antwerp who had her ruff poked by the devil on the 27th -of May, 1582, "the sound whereof," says he, "is blowne through all the -world, and is yet fresh in every mans memory." It appears that this -unfortunate lady, being invited to a wedding, could not, although she -employed two celebrated laundresses, get her ruff plaited according to -her taste, upon which, proceeds Stubbes, "she fell to sweare and teare, -to curse and ban, casting the ruffes under feete, and wishing that the -devill might take her when shee did wear any neckerchers againe;" a -wish which was speedily accomplished; for the devil, assuming the form -of a beautiful young man, made his appearance under the character of a -suitor, and enquiring the cause of her agitation, "tooke in hande the -setting of her ruffes, which he performed to her great contentation and -liking; insomuch, as she, looking herselfe in a glasse (as the devill -bad her) became greatly inamoured with him. This done, the young man -kissed her, in the doing whereof, he writhed her neck in sunder, so she -died miserably; her body being straight waies changed into blew and -black colours, most ugglesome to beholde, and her face (which before -was so amorous) became most deformed and fearfull to looke upon. This -being knowne in the citie, great preparation was made for her buriall, -and a rich coffin was provided, and her fearfull body was laide -therein, and covered very sumptuously. Foure men immediately assayed -to lift up the corpes, but could not move it; then sixe attempted the -like, but could not once stirre it from the place where it stood. -Whereat the standers-by marvelling, causing the coffin to be opened to -see the cause thereof: where they found the body to be taken away, and -a blacke catte, very leane and deformed, sitting in the coffin, setting -of great ruffes, and frizling of haire, to the greate feare and woonder -of all the beholders."[97:A] - -The waist was beyond all proportion long, the bodice or stays -terminating at the bottom in a point, and having in the fore part a -pocket, for money, needle-work, and billets, a fashion to which Proteus -alludes in the _Two Gentlemen of Verona_, when he tells Valentine - - "Thy letters ——————————————— - ————————————— shall be deliver'd - Even in the milk-white bosom of thy love."[97:B] - -Gowns were made of the richest materials, with velvet capes -embroidered with bugelles, and with the sleeves curiously cut[97:C]; -the fashionable petticoat was the Scottish fardingale, made of -cloth, taffety, satin, or silk, and of enormous bulk, so that when an -Elizabethan lady was dressed in one of these, with the gown, as was -usually the case, stuffed about the shoulders, and the ruffe in the -first style of the day, her appearance was truly formidable. Over all -was frequently thrown a kirtle, mantle, or surcoat, with or without a -head, formed of silk or velvet, and richly bordered with lace. - -Silk-stockings, which were first worn by the Queen in 1560. Mrs. -Montagu, her silk-woman, having presented her with a pair of this -material in that year, soon became almost universal among the ladies, -and formed one of the most expensive articles of their dress. - -Shoes with very high heels, in imitation of the Venetian _chopine_, -a species of stilt sometimes better than a foot in height, was the -prevalent mode, and carried, for the sake of increasing the stature, -to a most ridiculous excess. It never reached, indeed, this enormous -dimension in England, but seems, from a passage in Hamlet, to have been -of such a definite size, as to admit of a reference to it as a mark -of admeasurement, for the Prince remarks, "Your Ladyship is nearer to -heaven, than when I saw you last, _by the altitude of a chopine_."[98:A] - -Fans, constructed of ostrich feathers, inserted into handles of gold, -silver, or ivory, and wrought with great skill in various elegant -forms, were so commonly worn that the author of "Quippes for upstart -newfangled Gentlewemen," 1595, exclaims,— - - "Were fannes, and flappes of feathers, found - To flit away the flisking flies,— - The wit of women we might praise, - - But seeing they are still in hand, - In house, in field, in church, in street; - In summer, winter, water, land, - In colde, in heate, in drie, in weet; - I judge they are for wives such tooles - As bables are, in playes, for fooles."[98:B] - -Silver and ivory handles were usual among ladies of the middle class -of society; but in the higher ranks they were frequently decorated with -gems, and the Queen had several new-year's gifts of fans, the handles -of which were studded with diamonds and other jewels.[99:A] Shakspeare -has many allusions to fans of feathers[99:B]; and even hints, in his -_Henry the Eighth_, that the coxcombs of his day were not ashamed to -adopt their use.[99:C] - -Perfumed bracelets, necklaces, and gloves, were favourite articles. -"Gloves as sweet as damask roses," form part of the stock of Autolycus, -and Mopsa tells the clown, that he promised her "a pair of sweet -gloves."[99:D] The Queen in this, as in most other luxuries of dress, -set the fashion; for Howes informs us, that in the fifteenth year of -her reign, Edward Vere, Earl of Oxford, presented her with a pair of -perfumed gloves trimmed with four tufts of rose-coloured silk, in which -she took such pleasure that she was always painted with those gloves on -her hands, and that their scent was so exquisite that it was ever after -called the Earl of Oxford's perfume.[99:E] - -To these notices it may be added, that a small looking-glass pendent -from the girdle[99:F], a pocket-handkerchief richly wrought with gold -and silver, and a love-lock hanging wantonly over the shoulder, were -customarily exhibited by the fashionable female. - -Burton, writing at the close of the Shakspearean era, has given us a -brief but exact enumeration of the feminine allurements of his day; a -passage which, whilst it adds a few new particulars, will furnish an -excellent recapitulation of what has been already advanced. - -"Why," exclaims he, "do they decorate themselves with artificial -flowers, the various colours of herbs, needle works of exquisite -skill, quaint devices, and perfume their persons, wear inestimable -riches in precious stones, crown themselves with gold and silver, -use coronets and tires of several fashions; deck themselves with -pendants, bracelets, ear-rings, chains, girdles, rings, pins, -spangles, embroideries, shadows, rebatoes, versicoler ribands? Why -do they make such glorious shews with their scarfs, feathers, fans, -masks, furs, laces, tiffanies, ruffs, falls, calls, cuffs, damasks, -velvets, tinsels, cloth of gold, silver tissue? Such setting up with -corks, straitening with whale bones; why, it is but as a day-net -catcheth larks, to make young ones stoop unto them.—And when they -are disappointed, they dissolve into tears, which they wipe away like -sweat: weep with one eye, laugh with the other; or as children, weep -and cry they can both together: and as much pity is to be taken of a -woman weeping as of a goose going barefoot."[100:A] - -We have seen in the extract from Harrison, at the commencement of -this chapter, that a great portion of it is employed in satirising -the extravagance and folly of the _male-dress_ of his times, and -the adduction of further particulars will serve but to strengthen -the propriety of his invective, and to prove, what will scarcely be -credited, that, in the absurdity and frivolity of personal ornament, -the men far surpassed the other sex. - -Though there is reason to conclude that this taste for expensive -and frivolous declaration, was originally derived from the reign of -Elizabeth, yet was it even still more encouraged by James; for though -he set no example of profusion of this kind in his own person, Sir -Arthur Wheldon declaring that he was "in his apparrell so constant, as -by his good will he would never change his cloathes till very ragges; -his fashion never: insomuch, as one bringing to him a hat of a Spanish -block, he cast it from him, swearing he neither loved them nor their -fashions. Another time, bringing him roses on his shoes, asked, if they -would make him a ruffe-footed-dove? one yard of sixpenny ribband served -that turne[101:A];" yet was he passionately attached to dress in the -persons of his courtiers; "he doth admire good fashion in cloaths;" -says Lord Howard, writing to Sir John Harington in 1611; "I would wish -you to be well trimmed; get a new jerkin well bordered, and not too -short; the King saith, he liketh a flowing garment; be sure it be not -all of one sort, but diversly coloured, the collar falling somewhat -down, and your ruff well stiffend and bushy. We have lately had many -gallants who failed in their suits, for want of due observance of these -matters. The King is nicely heedfull of such points, and dwelleth on -good looks and handsome accoutrements. Eighteen servants were lately -discharged, and many more will be discarded, who are not to his liking -in these matters.—Robert Carr is now most likely to win the Prince's -affection, and dothe it wonderously in a little time. The Prince -leaneth on his arm, pinches his cheek, smoothes his ruffled garment, -and, when he looketh at Carr, directeth discourse to divers others. -This young man dothe much study all art and device; he hath changed -his tailors and tiremen many times, and all to please the Prince, who -laugheth at the long grown fashion of our young courtiers, and wisheth -for change for every day."[101:B] - -King James's love of finery seems to have been imbibed, not only by his -courtiers, but by all his youthful subjects; for from the crown of his -head to the sole of his foot, nothing can exceed the fantastic attire -by which the beau of this period was distinguished. His _hair_ was worn -long and flowing, "whose length," says Decker, "before the rigorous -edge of any puritanical pair of scissors should shorten the breadth of -a finger, let the three housewifely spinsters of destiny rather curtail -the thread of thy life;—let it play openly with the lascivious wind, -even on the top of your shoulders."[102:A] His _hat_ was made of silk, -velvet, taffeta, or beaver, the last being the most expensive; the -crown was high, and narrow toward the top, "like the speare or shaft -of a steeple," observes Stubbes, "standing a quarter of a yard above -their heads;" the edges, and sometimes the whole hat, were embroidered -with gold and silver, to which a costly hat-band sparkling with gems, -and a lofty plume of feathers, were generally added. It appears, from -a passage in the _Taming of the Shrew_, that to these high hats the -name of _copatain_ was given; for Vincentio, surprised at Tranio being -dressed as a gentleman, exclaims, "O fine villain! A silken doublet! -a velvet hose! a scarlet cloak! and a _copatain hat_![102:B]" a word -which Mr. Steevens considers as synonymous with a high _copt_ hat. It -was usual with gallants to wear _gloves_ in their hats, as a memorial -of their ladies favour.[102:C] - -Of the _beard_ and its numerous forms, we have already seen a curious -detail by Harrison, to which we may subjoin, that it was customary -to dye it of various colours[102:D], and to mould it into various -forms, according to the profession, age, or fancy of the wearer. Red -was one of the most fashionable tints[102:E]; a beard of "formal -cut" distinguished the justice[102:F] and the judge; a rough bushy -beard marked the clown, and a _spade_-beard, or a _stiletto_, or -dagger-shaped beard, graced the soldier. "It is observable," remarks -Mr. Malone, "that our author's patron, Henry Earl of Southampton, -who spent much of his time in camps, is drawn with the latter of -these beards; and his unfortunate friend, Lord Essex, is constantly -represented with the former."[103:A] - -Of the effeminate fashions of this age, perhaps the most effeminate -was the custom of wearing jewels and roses in the ears, or about the -neck, and of cherishing a long lock of hair under the left ear, called -a love-lock. The first and least offensive of these decorations, the -use of jewels and rings in the ear, was general through the upper and -middle ranks, nor was it very uncommon to see gems worn appended to a -riband round the neck.[103:B] Roses were almost always an appendage of -the love-lock, but these were, for the most part, formed of riband, yet -we are told by Burton, in his Anatomy of Melancholy, "that it was once -the fashion to stick _real flowers_ in the ear." The love-lock, with -its termination in a silken rose, had become so notorious, that Prynne -at length wrote an express treatise against it, which he entitled, _The -Unloveliness of Love-locks, and long womanish Hair_, 1628.[103:C] - -The _ruff_ never reached the extravagant dimensions of that in the -other sex, yet it gradually acquired such magnitude as to offend the -eye of Elizabeth, who, in one of her sumptuary laws, ordered it, when -reaching beyond "a nayle of a yeard in depth," to be clipped.[103:D] - -The _doublet and hose_, to the eighth year of Elizabeth's reign, -had been of an enormous size, especially the breeches, which being -puckered, stuffed, bolstered and distended with wool and hair, attained -a magnitude so preposterous, that, as Strutt relates on the authority -of a MS. in the Harleian collection, "there actually was a scaffold -erected round the inside of the parliament-house for the accommodation -of such members as wore those huge breeches; and that the said scaffold -was taken down when, in the eighth of Elizabeth, those absurdities went -out of fashion."[104:A] - -The doublet was then greatly reduced in size, yet so hard-quilted, -that Stubbes says, the wearer could not bow himself to the ground, so -stiff and sturdy it stood about him. It was made of cloth, silk or -satin, fitting the body like a waistcoat, surmounted by a large cape, -and accompanied either with long close sleeves, or with very wide -ones, called Danish sleeves. The breeches, hose, or gallygaskins, now -shrunk in their bulk, were either made close to the form, or rendered -moderately round by stuffing; the former, which ended far above the -knee, were often made of crimson satin, cut and embroidered[104:B], -and the latter had frequently a most indelicate appendage, to which -our poet has too often indulged the licence of allusion.[104:C] A -cloak surmounting the whole, of the richest materials, and generally -embroidered with gold or silver, was worn buttoned over the shoulder. -Fox-skins, lamb-skins, and sables were in use as facings, but the -latter were restricted to the nobility, none under the rank of an earl -being allowed to wear sables, which were so expensive, that an old -writer of 1577, speaking of the luxury of the times, says, "that a -thousand ducates were sometimes given for _a face of sables_[105:A];" -consequently, as Mr. Malone has remarked, "a suit trimmed with -sables was, in Shakspeare's time, the richest dress worn by men in -England."[105:B] - -The stockings, or hose as they were called in common with the breeches, -consisted either of woven silk, or were cut out by the taylor "from -silke, velvet, damaske, or other precious stuffe."[105:C] They were -gartered, externally, and below the knee, with materials of such -expensive quality, that Howes tells us, in his Continuation of -Stowe's Chronicle, "men of _mean_ rank weare _garters_ and shoe-roses -of more than _five pounds price_." Decker advises his gallant to -"strive to fashion his legs to his silk stockings, and his proud -gate to his _broad garters_[105:D]," which being so conspicuous a -part of the dress, were either manufactured of gold and silver, or -were made of satin and velvet with a deep gold fringe. The common -people were content with worsted galloon, or what were called -_caddis-garters_.[105:E] The gaudiness of attire, indeed, with regard -to these articles of clothing, appears to have been carried to a most -ridiculous excess; red silk-stockings, parti-coloured garters, and -cross gartering, so as to represent the varied colours of the Scotch -plaid, were frequently exhibited. - -Nor were the shoes and boots of this period less extravagantly -ostentatious. Corked shoes, or pantofles, are described by Stubbes as -bearing up their wearers two inches or more from the ground, as being -of various colours, and razed, carved, cut, and stitched. They were -not unfrequently fabricated of velvet, embroidered with the precious -metals, and when fastened with strings, these were covered with -enormous roses of riband, curiously ornamented and of great value. -Thus Hamlet speaks of "Provencial roses on my razed shoes;" and it is -remarkable, that, as in the present age, both shoes and slippers were -worn shaped after the right and left foot. Shakspeare describes his -smith - - "Standing on slippers, which his nimble haste - Had falsely thrust upon contrary feet:"[106:A] - -and Scott, in his _Discoverie of Witchcraft_, observes, that he who -receiveth a mischance, "will consider, whether he put not on his shirt -wrong side outwards, or his _left shoe on his right_ foot."[106:B] - -The _boots_ were, if possible, still more eccentric and costly than -the shoes, resembling, in some degree, though on a larger scale, the -theatric buskin of the modern stage. They were usually manufactured -of russet cloth or leather, hanging loose and ruffled about the leg, -with immense tops turned down and fringed, and the heel decorated with -gold or silver spurs. Decker speaks of "a gilt spur and a ruffled -boot;" and in another place adds,—"let it be thy prudence to have the -tops of them wide as the mouth of a wallet, and those with fringed -boot-hose over them to hang down to thy ancles."[106:C] Yet even this -extravagance did not content those who aspired to the highest rank -of fashion; for Doctor Nott, the editor of Decker's Horn-book, in a -note on the last passage which we have quoted, informs us, on the -authority of Stubbes's Anatomie of Abuses, that these boots were often -"made of cloth fine enough for any hand, or ruff; and so large, that -the quantity used would nearly make a shirt: they were embroidered -in gold and silver; having on them the figures of birds, animals, -and antiques in various coloured silks: the needle-work alone of them -would cost from four to[107:A] ten pounds." Shakspeare alludes to the -large boots with ruffles, or loose tops, which were frequently called -_lugged boots_, in _All's Well That Ends Well_, act iii. sc. 2.; and -we find, from the same authority, that boots closely fitting the leg -were sometimes worn; for Falstaff, in _Henry the Fourth_, Part II., -accounting for the Prince's attachment to Poins, mentions, among his -other qualifications, that he "wears his boot very smooth, like unto -the sign of the leg."[107:B] - -Nor was the interior clothing of the beau less sumptuous and expensive -than his exterior apparel; his shirts, relates that minute observer, -Stubbes, were made of "camericke, Hollande, lawne, or els of the finest -cloth that may be got." And were so wrought with "needle-worke of -silke, and so curiously stitched with other knackes beside, that their -price would sometimes amount to ten pounds."[107:C] - -No gentleman was considered as dressed without his dagger and rapier; -the former, richly gilt and ornamented, was worn at the back: thus -Capulet in _Romeo and Juliet_, exclaims, - - "This dagger hath mista'en,—for, lo! his house - Is empty on the back of Montague— - And is mis-sheathed in my daughter's bosom:"[107:D] - -and an old play, of the date 1570, expressly tells us, - - "Thou must weare thy sword by thy side, - And thy _dagger_ handsumly _at thy backe_:"[107:E] - -The _rapier_, or small sword, which had been known in this country from -the reign of Henry the Eighth, or even earlier, entirely superseded, -about the 20th of Elizabeth, the use of the heavy or two-handed sword -and buckler; an event which Justice Shallow, in the _Merry Wives of -Windsor_, is represented as regretting.[108:A] Though occasionally used -as an offensive weapon, and certainly a more dangerous instrument than -its predecessor, it was chiefly worn as a splendid ornament, the hilt -and scabbard being profusely, and often elegantly decorated. It was -also the custom to wear these swords when dancing, as appears from a -passage in _All's Well That Ends Well_, where Bertram says, - - "I shall stay here the forehorse to a smock— - Till honour be bought up, and _no sword worn, - But one to dance with_;"[108:B] - -an allusion which has received most satisfactory illustration from -Mr. Douce, in an extract taken from Stafforde's _Briefe conceipt of -English pollicy_, 1581, 4to., in which not only this practice is -mentioned, but the preceding fashion of the heavy sword and buckler is -particularly noticed:—"I thinke wee were as much dread or more of our -enemies, when our gentlemen went simply, and our serving men plainely, -without cuts or gards, bearing their _heavy swords and buckelers_ on -their thighes, insted of cuts and gardes and _light daunsing swordes_; -and when they rode, carrying good speares in theyr hands in stede of -white rods, which they cary now more like ladies or gentlewemen than -men; all which delicacyes maketh our men cleane effeminate and without -strength."[109:A] - -It soon became the fashion to wear these rapiers of such an enormous -length, that government was obliged to interfere, and a sumptuary law -was passed to limit these weapons to _three feet_, which was published -by proclamation, together with one for the curtailment of ruffs. "He," -says Stowe, "was held the greatest gallant, that had the deepest ruffe -and longest rapier: the offence to the eye of the one, and the hurt -unto the life of the subject that came by the other, caused her Majesty -to make proclamation against them both, and to place selected grave -citizens at every gate to cut the ruffes, and breake the rapiers' -points of all passengers that exceeded a yeard in length of their -rapiers."[109:B] This regulation occasioned a whimsical circumstance, -related by Lord Talbot, in a letter to the Earl of Shrewsbury, dated -June 23d, 1580:—"The French Imbasidore, Mounswer Mouiser, (Malvoisier) -ridinge to take the ayer, in his returne cam thowrowe Smithfild; and -ther, at the bars, was steayed by thos offisers that sitteth to cut -sourds, by reason his raper was longer than the statute: He was in a -great feaurie, and dreawe his raper; in the meane season my Lord Henry -Seamore cam, and so steayed the matt{r}: Hir Ma{tie} is greatlie ofended -w{th} the ofisers, in that they wanted jugement."[109:C] - -This account of the _male fashionable_ dress, during the days of -Shakspeare, has sufficiently borne out the assertion which we made at -its commencement,—that in extravagance and frivolity it surpassed the -caprice and expenditure of the other sex; a charge which is repeated by -Burton at the close of this era; for, exclaiming against the luxury of -fine clothes, he remarks, "women are bad, and men worse.—So ridiculous -we are in our attires, and for cost so excessive, that as Hierom said -of old,—'tis an ordinary thing to put a thousand oaks, and an hundred -oxen into a suit of apparel, to wear a whole mannor on his back. What -with shoo-ties, hangers, points, caps and feathers, scarfs, bands, -cuffs, &c., in a short space their whole patrimonies are consumed. -Heliogabalus is taxed by Lampridius, and admired in his age for wearing -jewels in his shoos, a common thing in our times, not for Emperors -and Princes, but almost for serving-men and taylors: all the flowres, -stars, constellations, gold and pretious stones do condescend to set -out their shoos."[110:A] - -The dress of the citizen, indeed, was, if less elegant, equally showy, -and sometimes fully as expensive as that of the man of fashion. The -medium habit may, with great probability, be considered as sketched in -the following humorous tale, derived from a popular pamphlet printed in -1609:— - - "A citizen, for recreation-sake, - To see the country would a journey take - Some dozen mile, or very little more; - Taking his leave with friends two months before, - With drinking healths, and shaking by the hand, - As he had travail'd to some new-found-land. - Well: taking horse with very much ado, - London he leaveth for a day or two: - And as he rideth, meets upon the way - Such as (what haste soever) bid men stay. - "Sirrah! (says one) stand, and your purse deliver, - I am a _taker_, thou must be a _giver_." - Unto a wood hard by they hale him in, - And rifle him unto his very skin. - "Maisters, (quoth he) pray heare me ere you go: - For you have rob'd more now than you do know. - My horse, in troth, I borrow'd of my brother: - The bridle and the saddle, of another: - _The jerkin_ and the _bases_ be a taylor's: - The _scarfe_, I do assure you, is a saylour's: - The _falling band_ is likewise none of mine, - Nor _cuffes_; as true as this good light doth shine. - The _sattin-doublet_ and _rays'd velvet hose_ - Are our church-wardens—all the parish knows. - The boots are John the grocer's, at the Swan: - The spurrs were lent me by a serving-man. - _One of my rings_, (_that with the great red stone_) - In sooth I borrow'd of my gossip Jone: - Her husband knows not of it. Gentlemen! - Thus stands my case:—I pray shew favour then." - "Why, (quoth the theeves) thou need'st not greatly care, - Since in thy loss so many beare a share. - The world goes hard: many good fellowes lacke: - Looke not, at this time, for a penny backe. - Go, tell, at London, thou didst meete with foure - That, rifling _thee_, have rob'd at least a _score_.""[111:A] - -Under the next section of this chapter, including the _Modes of -Living_, it is our intention to give a short detail of the _household -furniture_, _eating_, _drinking_, and _domestic economy_ of our -town-ancestors, during the close of the sixteenth, and beginning of the -seventeenth century. - -In that part of the first volume which is appropriated to the Modes -of Living in the Country, we have seen Holinshed alluding to the -increasing luxury of his age in _furniture_, the convenience, richness, -and magnificence of which, as displayed in the upper and middle classes -of society in the metropolis, we shall now endeavour briefly to -illustrate. - -That the palaces of Elizabeth were decorated with all the splendour -that tapestry, embroidery, and cloths of gold and silver, and services -of plate could effect, we have numberless proofs; but that they united -with these the still higher luxuries of comfort and accommodation, too -often wanting amid the most gorgeous scenes, we have the testimony -of Sir John Harrington, who, in his "Treatise on Playe," circa 1597, -thus describes the conveniences which the Queen had provided for -her courtiers:—"It is a great honor of the Queen's court, that no -princes servants fare so well and so orderly:—to be short, the stately -pallaces, goodly and many chambers, fayr gallerys, large gardens, sweet -walkes, that princes with magnificent cost do make, (the xxth parte of -which they use not themselves) all shew that they desire, the ease, -content and pleasure of theyr followers, as well as themselves. Which -matter, though it be more proper to another discourse, yet I colde not -but towch it in this, agaynst theyr error rather than awsterytie, that -say play becomes not the presence, and that it would not as well become -the state of the chamber to have _easye quilted and lyned forms and -stools for the lords and ladyes to sit on_, as great plank forms that -two yeomen can scant remove out of their places, and waynscot stooles -so hard, that since great breeches were layd asyde, men can skant -indewr to sitt on."[112:A] - -Hentzner, in his Travels, gives a still further display of the costly -costume of the Queen's apartments. At Windsor Castle he tells us that -Her Majesty had "two bathing-rooms cieled and wainscoted with glass;" -and at Hampton Court he adds, "her closet in the chapel was most -splendid, quite transparent, having its window of chrystal. We were -led into two chambers, called the presence, or chambers of audience, -which shone with tapestry of gold and silver, and silk of different -colours.—Here is besides a small chapel richly hung with tapestry, -where the Queen performs her devotions. In her bed-chamber the bed -was covered with very costly cover lids of silk:—in one chamber were -several excessively rich tapestries, which are hung up when the queen -gives audience to foreign ambassadors; there were numbers of chusions -ornamented with gold and silver; many counterpanes and coverlids -of beds lined with ermine: in short, all the walls of the palace -shine with gold and silver. Here is besides a certain cabinet called -Paradise, where besides that every thing glitters so with silver, gold, -and jewels, as to dazzle ones eyes, there is a musical instrument made -all of glass, except the strings."[113:A] - -The emulation of the nobility left them little behind their Queen in -ornamental profusion of this kind; and the picture which Shakspeare has -drawn of Imogen's chamber in _Cymbeline_, may be quoted as an apposite -instance, for he ever imparts the costume of his native island to that -of every other country:— - - "Her bed-chamber was hanged - With tapestry of silk and silver; the story - Proud Cleopatra, when she met her Roman— - ——————————— A piece of work - So bravely done, so rich, that it did strive - In workmanship, and value. - ——————————— The chimney-piece, - Chaste Dian bathing.— - ——————————— The roof o' the chamber - With golden cherubins is fretted: Her andirons - (I had forgot them) were two winking Cupids - Of silver, each on one foot standing."[113:B] - -To this sketch we can add a few features from a little work entitled -"The Mirrour of Madnes," anno 1576, where the house of the opulent man -is thus described:—"My chaumbers, parloures, and other such romes, -hanged wyth clothe of tyssue, arrace, and golde; my cupbordes heades -set oute and adorned after the richest, costlieste, and most gloryous -maner, wyth one cuppe cocke height upon an other, beside the greate -basen and ewer both of silver and golde; filled at convenient tymes -with sweete and pleasaunt waters, wherewith my delicate hands may be -washed, my heade recreated, and my nose refreshed, &c."[113:C] - -When Lævinius Lemnius, a celebrated physician and divine of Zealand, -visited London, during the reign of Elizabeth, he was delighted -with the houses and furniture of the middle classes:—"The neate -cleanliness," says he, "the exquisite finenesse, the pleasaunte and -delightfull furniture in every point for household, wonderfully -rejoyced mee; their chambers and parlours, strawed over with sweet -herbes, refreshed mee; their nosegayes finelye entermingled wyth sondry -sortes of fragaunte floures, in their bed chambers and privie roomes, -with comfortable smell cheered mee up, and entierlye delighted all my -sences."[114:A] - -To these general descriptions, we shall subjoin some further remarks -on a few of the articles which they contain; minutiæ which will render -us more familiarly acquainted with the domestic arrangements of our -forefathers. - -Arras or tapestry, representing landscapes and figures, formed the -almost universal hangings for rooms below, and chambers above. When -first introduced, it was attached to the bare walls; but it was soon -found necessary, in consequence of the damp arising from the brick -work, to suspend it on wooden frames, placed at such a distance -from the sides of the room, as would easily admit of any person -being introduced behind it, a facility which soon converted these -vacancies into common hiding-places. Thus Shakspeare, during his -scenic developements, has very frequent recourse to this expedient. -"I will ensconce me behind the arras[114:B];" "I whipt me behind the -arras[114:C];" "Look thou stand within the arras[114:D]:" "Go hide thee -behind the arras[114:E]:" "Behind the arras I'll convey myself[114:F]," -&c. &c. - -We have seen that in the Country, mottoes were often placed in halls -and servants' chambers, for the instruction of the domestics; a custom -which was also adopted on tapestry for the improvement of their -superiors, and to which Shakspeare refers in his _Rape of Lucrece_, - - "Who fears a sentence, or an old man's saw, - Shall by a _painted cloth_ be kept in awe;"[115:A] - -and is further confirmed by Dr. Bulleyne, who, in one of his -productions, says,—"This is a comelie parlour,—and _faire clothes_, -with pleasaunte borders aboute the same, with many _wise sayings_ -painted upon them."[115:B] - -What these _wise sayings_ were, we are taught by the following extract -from a publication of 1601:— - - "Read what is written on the _painted cloth_: - Do no man wrong; be good unto the poor; - Beware the mouse, the maggot and the moth, - And ever have an eye unto the door; - Trust not a fool, a villain, nor a whore; - Go neat, not gay, and spend but as you spare; - And turn the colt to pasture with the mare; &c."[115:C] - -proverbial wisdom, which Orlando, in _As You Like It_, designates by -the phrase "right painted cloth."[115:D] - -That "the arras figures[115:E]," though in general coarsely executed, -had strongly impressed the mind of Shakspeare, and furnished him with -no small portion of imagery and allusion, has been very satisfactorily -established by Mr. Whiter, who remarks, that their "effects may be -perpetually traced by the observing critic," even "when the poet -himself is totally unconscious of this predominating influence."[115:F] - -The manner of illuminating the halls and banquetting rooms of the -Great at this period, was truly classical. We find that Homer, -describing the palace of Alcinous, says— - - "Youths forged of gold, at every table there, - Stood holding flaming torches;"[116:A] - -and Lucretius, speaking of the Dome of the opulent, describes its walls -with - - "A thousand lamps irradiate, propt sublime - By frolic forms of youths in massy gold, - Flinging their splendours o'er the midnight feast."[116:B] - -Similar to these were the - - —————————— "fixed candlesticks, - With torch-staves in their hands,"[116:C] - -of our ancestors, which generally represented a man in armour with his -hands extended, in which were placed the sockets for the lights; and we -may easily conceive how splendid these might be rendered by the arts of -the goldsmith and jeweller. - -Where these antique candelabras were not adopted, _living -candle-holders_ supplied their place, and were, indeed, always present, -when a central or perambulatory light was required: "Give me a torch," -says Romeo, - - "I'll be a candle-holder and look on."[116:D] - -The gentlemen-pensioners of Queen Elizabeth usually held her torches; -and Shakspeare represents Henry the Eighth going to Wolsey's palace, -preceded by sixteen torch-bearers.[116:E] At great entertainments, -beside candelabras fixed against the sides of the room, torch-bearers -stood by the tables, supplying the light which we now receive from -chandeliers.[117:A] - -_Watch-lights_, which were divided into equal portions by marks, -each of which burnt a limited time, were common in the bed-chambers -of the wealthy; they are alluded to in Tomkis's Albumazar, 1614, -where Sulpitia says, "Why should I sit up all night like a -_watching-candle_?"[117:B] - -Every _bed-chamber_ was furnished with _two_ beds, a _standing_-bed, -and a _truckle_-bed; in the former slept the master, and in the latter -his page. The Host, in _Merry Wives of Windsor_, directing Simple -where to find Sir John Falstaff, says,—"There's his chamber, his -house, his castle, his _standing-bed_, and _truckle-bed_[117:C];" and -Decker, and Middleton, further illustrate the custom, when the first, -alluding to a page, says, he is "so dear to his lordship, as for the -excellency of his fooling to be admitted both to ride in coach with -him, and _to lie at his very feet on a truckle-bed_[117:D];" and the -second, addressing a similar personage, exclaims,—"Well, go thy ways, -for as sweet a breasted _page as ever lay at his master's feet in a -truckle-bed_."[117:E] It may be added that the _standing-bed_ had -frequently on it a _counterpoint_, or _counterpane_, so rich and costly -as, according to Stowe, to be worth sometimes a thousand marks. This -piece of luxury forms one of Gremio's articles, when enumerating the -furniture of his _city-house_, a catalogue which throws much curious -light upon our present subject:— - - ———————— "My house within the city, - Is richly furnished with plate and gold; - Basons and ewers, to lave her dainty hands; - My hangings all of Tyrian tapestry: - In _ivory coffers_ I have stuffed my crowns; - In _cypress chests_ my arras, _counter points_, - Costly apparel, tents, and canopies, - Fine linen, _Turky cushions boss'd with pearl_, - _Valence of Venice gold_ in needle-work, - _Pewter_ and brass, and all things that belong - To house, or housekeeping."[118:A] - -_Pewter_, during the reign of Elizabeth, was considered as a very -costly material, and, at the commencement of the sixteenth century, -had been so rare, as to be hired by the year, even for the use of -noblemen's houses.[118:B] - -The _ivory coffers_, and _cypress chests_, mentioned in Gremio's -list, were esteemed, at this period, highly ornamental pieces of -furniture for apartments designed for the reception of visitors. "I -have seen," relates Mr. Steevens, "more than one of these, as old as -the time of our poet. They were richly ornamented on the tops and -sides with scroll-work, emblematical devices, &c. and were elevated on -feet."[118:C] Shakspeare has an allusion to this custom in _Twelfth -Night_, where he speaks of - - "Empty trunks, o'er flourished by the Devil."[118:D] - -The _tables_ in these apartments, and in the halls of the nobility, -were so constructed as to _turn up_; being flat leaves, united by -hinges, and resting on tressels, so as to fold into a small compass. -Thus Capulet, wanting room for the dancers in his hall, calls out - - "A hall! a hall! give room, and foot it, girls, - More light, ye knaves; and _turn the tables up_."[118:E] - -When dinner, or supper, was served up, these tables were covered -with _carpets_; hence Gremio exclaims, "Where's the cook? Is supper -ready?—Be the carpets laid?"[118:F] - -_Pictures_ constituted a frequent decoration in the rooms of the -wealthy; and there are numerous instances to prove that those which -were estimated as valuable, were protected by _curtains_. Olivia, -addressing Viola in _Twelfth Night_, says,—"We will draw the curtain, -and shew you the picture[119:A];" the same imagery occurs in _Troilus -and Cressida_, where Pandarus, unveiling Cressida, uses almost the same -words: "Come draw this curtain, and let us see your picture[119:B]." -The passage, however, which Mr. Douce has quoted in illustration of -this subject, as it decides the point, will supersede all further -reference:—"In Deloney's _Pleasant history of Jack of Newbery_, -printed before 1597, it is recorded," he remarks, "that 'in a faire -large parlour which was wainscotted round about, Jacke of Newbery had -fifteene faire pictures hanging, _which were covered with curtaines -of greene silke_, fringed with gold, which he would often shew to his -friends.'"[119:C] - -The practice of _strewing floors with rushes_ was general before the -introduction of carpets for this purpose, and the first mansions in the -kingdom could boast of nothing superior in this respect. Shakspeare -has many lines in reference to the custom; Glendower, for instance, -interpreting Lady Mortimer's address to her husband, says, - - ———————— "She bids you - Upon the wanton _rushes_ lay you down."[119:D] - -Again Iachimo, rising from the Trunk in Imogen's chamber, exclaims:— - - ——————————— "Our Tarquin thus - Did softly press the _rushes_, ere he waken'd - The chastity he wounded;"[119:E] - -and lastly, Romeo calls out - - "A torch for me: let wantons light of heart, - _Tickle the senseless rushes with their heels_."[120:A] - -Similar allusions abound in our old dramatic poets, one of which we -shall give for the singularity of its comparison: "All the ladies and -gallants," says Jonson, in his _Cynthia's Revels_, "lye languishing -_upon the rushes_, like so many pounded cattle i' the midst of -harvest.[120:B]" - -The utility of the rush, and the species used for this purpose, will -be illustrated by the following passages:—"Rushes that grow upon -dry groundes," observes Dr. Bulleyne, "be good to strew in halles, -chambers, and galleries, to walke upon, defending apparell, as traynes -of gownes and kertles from dust[120:C];" and Decker tells us of -"windowes spread with hearbs, the chimney drest up with greene boughs, -and the _floore strewed with bulrushes_."[120:D] - -Of the _hospitality_ of the English, and of the style of _eating_ and -_drinking_ in the upper ranks of society, Harrison has given us the -following curious, though general, detail. - -"In number of dishes and change of meat," he remarks, "the nobilitie of -England (whose cookes are for the most part musicall headed Frenchmen -and strangers) doo most exceed, sith there is no daie in maner that -passeth over their heads, wherein they have not onelie béefe, mutton, -veale, lambe, kid, porke, conie, capon, pig, or so manie of these as -the season yeeldeth: but also some portion of the red or fallow déere, -beside great varietie of fish and wild foule, and thereto sundrie other -delicates wherein the sweet hand of the seafaring Portingale is not -wanting: so that for a man to dine with one of them, and to tast of -everie dish that standeth before him (which few use to doo, but ech -one feedeth upon that meat him best liketh for the time, the beginning -of everie dish notwithstanding being reserved unto the greatest -personage that sitteth at the table, to whome it is drawen up still by -the waiters as order requireth, and from whence it descendeth againe -even to the lower end, whereby each one may tast thereof) is rather to -yield unto a conspiracie with a greate deale of meat for the spéedie -suppression of naturall health, then the use of a necessarie meane -to satisfie himselfe with a competent repast, to susteine his bodie -withall.— - -"The chiefe part likewise of their dailie provision is brought in -before them (commonlie in silver vessell, if they be of the degree -of barons, bishops and upwards) and placed on their tables, whereof -when they have taken what it pleaseth them, the rest is reserved, and -afterward sent downe to their serving men and waiters, who féed thereon -in like sort with convenient moderation, their reversion also being -bestowed upon the poore, which lie readie at their gates in great -numbers to receive the same. This is spoken of the principall tables -whereat the nobleman, his ladie and guestes are accustomed to sit, -beside which they have a certeine ordinarie allowance daillie appointed -for their hals, where the chiefe officers and household servants (for -all are not permitted by custome to waite upon their master) and with -them such inferiour guestes doo feed as are not of calling to associat -the noble man himselfe (so that besides those afore mentioned, which -are called to the principall table, there are commonlie fortie or three -score persons fed in those hals,) to the great reliefe of such poore -sutors and strangers also as oft be partakers thereof and otherwise -like to dine hardlie. As for drinke it is usuallie filled in pots, -gobblets, jugs, bols of silver in noble mens houses, also in fine -Venice glasses of all formes, and for want of these elsewhere in pots -of earth of sundrie colours and moulds (whereof manie are garnished -with silver) or at the leastwise in pewter, all which notwithstanding -are seldome set on the table, but each one as necessitie urgeth, -calleth for a cup of such drinke as him listeth to have: so that -when he hath tasted of it he delivered the cup againe to some one of -the standers by, who making it cleane by pouring out the drinke that -remaineth, restoreth it to the cupbord from whence he fetched the same. -By this devise,—much idle tippling is further more cut off, for if the -full pots should continuallie stand at the elbow or neere the trencher, -diverse would alwaies be dealing with them, whereas now they drinke -seldome and onelie when necessitie urgeth, and so avoid the note of -great drinking, or often troubling of the servitors with filling of -their bols. Neverthelesse in the noble men's hals, this order is not -used, neither in anie mans house commonlie under the degree of a knight -or esquire of great revenues. It is a world to sée in these our daies, -wherein gold and silver most aboundeth, how that our gentilitie as -lothing those mettals (bicause of the plentie) do now generallie choose -rather the Venice glasses both for our wine and béere, than anie of -those mettals or stone wherein before time we have béene accustomed to -drinke, but such is the nature of man generallie that it most coveteth -things difficult to be atteined; and such is the estimation of this -stuffe, that manie become rich onelie with their new trade unto Murana -(a towne neere to Venice situat on the Adriatike sea) from whence the -verie best are dailie to be had, and such as for beautie doo well -neare match the christall or the ancient Murrhina vasa, whereof now no -man hath knowledge. And as this is seene in the gentilitie, so in the -wealthie communaltie the like desire of glasse is not neglected."[122:A] - -To this interesting sketch a few particulars shall be added in order -to render the picture more complete; and, in the first place, we shall -give an account, from an eye-witness, of the ceremonies accompanying -the dinner-table of Elizabeth. "While the Queen was still at prayers," -relates Hentzner, "we saw her table set out with the following -solemnity: - -"A gentleman entered the room bearing a rod, and along with him -another who had a table-cloth, which, after they had both kneeled three -times with the utmost veneration, he spread upon the table, and after -kneeling again, they both retired. Then came two others, one with the -rod again, the other with a salt-seller, a plate and bread; when they -had kneeled, as the others had done, and placed what was brought upon -the table, they too retired with the same ceremonies performed by the -first. At last came an unmarried lady (we were told she was a countess) -and along with her a married one, bearing a tasting knife; the former -was dressed in white silk, who, when she had prostrated herself three -times in the most graceful manner, approached the table, and rubbed -the plates with bread and salt, with as much awe, as if the queen had -been present: when they had waited there a little while, the yeoman -of the guards entered, bareheaded, clothed in scarlet, with a golden -rose upon their backs, bringing in at each turn a course of twenty-four -dishes, served in plate, most of it gilt; these dishes were received -by a gentleman in the same order they were brought, and placed upon -the table, while the lady-taster gave to each of the guard a mouthful -to eat, of the particular dish he had brought for fear of any poison. -During the time that this guard, which consists of the tallest and -stoutest men that can be found in all England, being carefully selected -for this service, were bringing dinner, twelve trumpets and two -kettle-drums made the hall ring for half an hour together. At the end -of all this ceremonial a number of unmarried ladies appeared, who, with -particular solemnity, lifted the meat off the table, and conveyed it -into the queen's inner and more private chamber, where, after she had -chosen for herself, the rest goes to the ladies of the court. The queen -dines and sups alone with very few attendants."[123:A] - -The strict regularity and temperance which prevailed in the court of -Elizabeth, were by no means characteristic of that of her successor, -who, in his convivial moments, too often grossly transgressed the -bounds of sobriety. When Christian IV., King of Denmark, visited -England in July, 1606, the carousals at the palace were carried to a -most extravagant height, and their influence on the higher ranks was -such, that "our good English nobles," remarks Harrington, "whom I never -could get to taste good liquor, now follow the fashion, and wallow in -beastly delights. The ladies abandon their sobriety, and are seen to -roll about in intoxication;" accusations which he fully substantiates -whilst relating the following most ludicrous scene:— - -"One day," says he, "a great feast was held, and, after dinner, the -representation of Solomon his Temple, and the coming of the Queen -of Sheba was made, or (as I may better say) was meant to have been -made, before their Majesties, by device of the Earl of Salisbury and -others.—But, alas! as all earthly thinges do fail to poor mortals -in enjoyment, so did prove our presentment hereof. The Lady who did -play the Queen's part, did carry most precious gifts to both their -Majesties; but, forgetting the steppes arising to the canopy, overset -her caskets into his Danish Majesties lap, and fell at his feet, tho -I rather think it was in his face. Much was the hurry and confusion; -cloths and napkins were at hand, to make all clean. His Majesty then -got up and would dance with the Queen of Sheba; but he fell down -and humbled himself before her, and was carried to an inner chamber -and laid on a bed of state; which was not a little defiled with the -presents of the Queen which had been bestowed on his garments; such as -wine, cream, jelly, beverage, cakes, spices, and other good matters. -The entertainment and show went forward, and most of the presenters -went backward, or fell down; wine did so occupy their upper chambers. -Now did appear, in rich dress, Hope, Faith, and Charity: Hope did assay -to speak, but wine rendered her endeavours so feeble that she withdrew, -and hoped the King would excuse her brevity: Faith was then all alone, -for I am certain she was not joyned with good works, and left the court -in a staggering condition: Charity came to the King's feet, and seemed -to cover the multitude of sins her sisters had committed; in some -sorte she made obeysance and brought giftes, but said she would return -home again, as there was no gift which heaven had not already given -his Majesty. She then returned to Hope and Faith, who were both sick -and spewing in the lower hall. Next came Victory, in bright armour, -and presented a rich sword to the King, who did not accept it, but put -it by with his hand; and by a strange medley of versification, did -endeavour to make suit to the King. But Victory did not triumph long; -for, after much lamentable utterance, she was led away like a silly -captive, and laid to sleep in the outer steps of the anti-chamber. Now -did Peace make entry, and strive to get foremoste to the King; but -I grieve to tell how great wrath she did discover unto those of her -attendants; and much contrary to her semblance, most rudely made war -with her olive branch, and laid on the pates of those who did oppose -her coming." The facetious Knight concludes his story by declaring -that "in our Queen's days—I neer did see such lack of good order, -discretion, and sobriety, as I have now done."[125:A] - -We have already mentioned in Part the First, Chapter the Fifth of this -work, that the usual hour of dinner, among the upper classes, was -eleven o'clock in the forenoon; and though Harrison, in the passage -which we last quoted from him, describes the provisions as often -brought to the tables of the nobility served on silver, yet _wooden -trenchers_ for plates were still frequently to be found at the most -sumptuous tables; thus Harrington in 1592, giving directions to his -servants, orders, "that no man waite at the table without a _trencher_ -in his hand, except it be upon good cause, on pain of 1d."[125:B] - -To the silver, gilt plate, and cut glass of Harrison, may be added the -use of _china_, an article of luxury to which the Clown in _Measure -for Measure_ thus alludes:—"Your honours have seen such dishes; they -are not _china dishes_, but very good dishes."[125:C] A considerable -quantity of _china_ or _porcelain_, had been brought into this country, -during the reign of Elizabeth, as part of the cargo of some captured -Spanish carracks.[126:A] It appears, also, that carpet-cloth for tables -was, towards the close of our period, dismissed for table-linen, and -that of a quality so fine, that Mrs. Otter, in Ben Jonson's _Silent -Woman_, which was first acted in 1609, laments having "stained a damask -table-cloth, cost me eighteen pound."[126:B] - -With all these luxuries, the reader will be surprised to learn, that -_forks_ were not introduced into this country before 1611. Knives -had been in general use since the year 1563, but for the former the -fingers had been the sole substitute. The honour of this cleanly -fashion, must be given to that singular traveller Thomas Coryat, who -in his _Crudities_ informs us, that he found _forks_ common in Italy. -"Hereupon," says he, "I myself thought good to imitate the Italian -fashion, by this _forked_ cutting of meate, not only while I was in -Italy, but also in Germany, and oftentimes in _England since I_ came -home; being once quipped for that frequent using of my _forke_, by a -certaine learned gentleman, a familiar friend of mine, one M. Laurence -Whitaker, who in his merry humour doubted not to call me at table -_Furcifer_, only for using a _forke_ at feeding, but for no other -cause."[126:C] - -The utility of the practice was soon acknowledged, for we find -Jonson, in 1614, speaking of their adoption in his "Devil Is An Ass," -where Meercraft, having mentioned his "project of the forks," Sledge -exclaims— - - "Forks? what be they? - - _Meer._ The laudable use of _forks_, - _Brought into custom here_, as they are in Italy, - To th' sparing o' napkins."[126:D] - -To the articles of provision enumerated by Harrison, we may add, that -the bread of this period was of many various kinds, and sometimes -peculiarly fine, especially that made at York. "Bred," says a physician -who wrote in 1572, "of dyvers graines, of divers formes, in divers -places be used:—some in forme of manchet, used of the gentility: -some of greate loves, as is usual among yeomanry, some betweene both, -as with the franklings: some in forme of cakes, as at weddings: some -rondes of hogs, as at upsittings: some simnels, cracknels, and buns, -as in the Lent, some in brode cakes, as the oten cakes in Kendall on -yrons: some on slate stones as in the hye peke: some in frying pans -as in Darbyshyre: some betwene yrons as wapons: some in round cakes -as bysket for the ships. But these and all other the mayne bread of -York excelleth, for that it is of the finest floure of the wheat well -tempered, best baked, a patterne of all others the fineste."[127:A] - -Dinners had attained a degree of epicurism which rival those of the -present day; three courses, of which the second consisted of game, -and the third of pastry, creams, and confections, together with a -dessert, including marchpane, (a cake composed of filberts, almonds, -pistacho-nuts, pine-kernels, sugar of roses, and flour) marmalades, -pomegranates, oranges, citrons, apples, pears, raisins, dates, nuts, -grapes, &c. &c.[127:B], were common in the houses of the opulent, nor -was any expense spared in procuring the most luxurious dainties. "Who -will not admire," remarks an Essayist of this age, "our nice dames of -London, who must have cherries at twenty shillings a pound, and pescods -at five shillings a pecke, huske without pease? Yong rabbettes of a -spanne, and chickens of an inch?"[127:C] - -To such a height, indeed, had sensuality in eating arisen among the -courtiers of James the First, that Osborne, in his "Traditional -Memorials" on the reign of that monarch, informs us, "the _Earl of -Carlisle_ was one of the _Quorum_, that brought in the vanity of -_Ante-suppers_ not heard of in our Fore-fathers time, and for ought -I have read, or at least remember, unpractised by the most luxurious -tyrants. The manner of which was, to have a board covered at the first -entrance of the guests with dishes as high as a tall man could well -reach, filled with the choicest and dearest viands sea and land could -afford: and all this once seen and having feasted the eyes of the -invited, was in a manner thrown away, and fresh set on the same height, -having only this advantage of the other, that it was hot. I cannot -forget one of the attendants of the K. that at a feast, made by this -monster in excess, eat to his single share a whole pie reckoned to my -Lord at ten pounds."[128:A] - -The extravagance and excess of refection with regard to eatables, -must, however, we are sorry to say, yield to those which accompanied -the use, or rather the abuse, of vinous liquors. The propensity of the -English of his times to drunkenness, has been frequently commented on -by Shakspeare; Iago, in reference to a drinking-catch which he had -just sung, says, "I learned it in England, where (indeed) they are -most potent in potting; your Dane, your German, and your swag-bellied -Hollander,—Drink, ho!—are nothing to your English. - -_Cass._ Is your Englishman so expert in his drinking? - -_Iago._ Why, he drinks you, with facility, your Dane dead drunk; he -sweats not to overthrow your Almain; he gives your Hollander a vomit, -ere the next pottle can be filled[128:B];" a charge which seems to -be confirmed by the sober testimony of Gascoigne,—"The Almaynes," -he observes, "with their smale Rhenish wine, are contented; but we -must have March beere, double beere, dagger ale, bracket, &c. Yea, -wine itself is not sufficient, but sugar, lemons, and spices, must -be drowned thereinne!"[129:A] Yet, it is but fair to subjoin, as an -acknowledged fact, that we derived this _vinosity_, as Heywood terms -it, from the Danes; "they," says he, "have made a profession thereof -from antiquity, and are the first upon record that brought their -wassel-bowles and elbowe-deep healthes into this land."[129:B] - -Of the _consumption_ of wine, a striking estimate may be formed, from -part of a letter addressed by the Earl of Shrewsbury to the Marquis -of Winchester and Sir Walter Mildmay, dated January, 1569:—"It may -please you to understaund," says His Lordship, "that whereas I have -had a certen ordinary allowaunce of wine, amongs other noble men, for -expenses in my howsehold, w{t}out imposte; The charg˜s daily that -I do nowe susteyn, and have done all this yere past, well knowen by -reason of the Quene of Scotts, are so grete therein as I am compelled -to be now a suter unto yow that ye woll please to have a friendlie -considerac˜on unto the necessitie of my large expenses. _Truly two -tonnes in a monthe have not hitherto sufficed ordinarily._" "This -passage," observes Mr. Lodge, "will serve to correct a vulgar error, -relating to the consumption of wine in those days, which, instead -of being less, appears to have been, at least in the houses of the -great, even more considerable than that of the present time. The good -people who tell us that Queen Elizabeth's Maids of Honour breakfasted -on roast beef, generally add, that wine was then used in England -as a medicine, for that it was sold only by the _apothecaries_. The -latter assertion, though founded on a fact, seems to have led to a -mistake in the former; for the word Apothecary, from the Greek Αποθήκη, -_repositorium_, is applicable to any shopkeeper, or warehouseman, and -was probably once used in that general sense."[129:C] It appears, -however, from Decker's Tracts, that apothecaries, in the _modern -acceptation of the word_, sold both wine and tobacco, and that their -shops formed the fashionable lounge of the day:—"here you must observe -to know in what state tobacco is in town, better than the merchants; -and to discourse of the apothecaries where it is to be sold; and to be -able to speak of their wines, _as readily as the apothecary himself -reading the barbarous hand of a doctor_."[130:A] "Some lie in ambush, -to note what _apothecary's shop_ he (the gallant) resorts to _every -morning_."[130:B] - -The _variety_ of wines in the days of Shakspeare has not since been -exceeded, or, perhaps, even equalled. Harrison mentions fifty-six -French wines, and thirty-six Spanish, Italian, &c., to which must be -added several _home-made_ wines, such as Ypocras, Clarey, Braket, &c. -&c., for which receipts may be found in Arnold's Chronicle. - -Among the _foreign_ wines used at this period, none have attracted -so much notice, or so much controversy, as the celebrated beverage -of Falstaff, _Sack_. Whether this was a _dry_ or a _sweet_ wine has -been left undecided by the commentators, after much elaborate and -contradictory disquisition. If we may repose, however, on the authority -of Gervase Markham's "English Housewife," a book _published_ very -shortly after the death of Shakspeare, and probably _written_ several -years before that event, a book professing to contain "the opinions -of the greatest Physicians," many years antecedent to the Dedication -which includes this assertion[130:C], the question must be considered -as finally settled. This author, in his fourth chapter, entitled, "The -ordering, preserving, and helping of all sorts of Wines, and first of -the choice of sweet Wines," opens the subject by declaring, that he had -derived his knowledge on wines from a vintner "profest skilful in the -trade," and he then immediately proceeds, addressing the housewife, -to speak first of the election of _sweet_ wines; "she must," says he, -"be carefull that the Malmseys be full wines, pleasant, well hewed and -fine: that Bastard be fat, and strong, if it be tawney it skils not: -for the tawny Bastards be always the sweetest. Muscadine must be great, -pleasant and strong with a sweet scent, and with Amber colour. _Sack_ -if it be _Seres_ (_as it should be_) you shall know it by the mark of a -cork burned on one side of the bung, and they be ever full gage, and so -are _other Sacks_, and the longer they lye, the better they be."[131:A] - -From this passage we learn three circumstances relative to _Sack_: -1stly, that _Sack_ was a _sweet_ wine; 2dly, that _Seres_, or _Xeres_, -_Sack_, or what Shakspeare, in 1597, calls "_a good sherris-sack_," -a wine manufactured at Xeres in Spain, was the most esteemed of its -kind; and, 3dly, that _other Sacks_ were in use in this country. Still -further light is thrown upon this topic in a subsequent page, where -we are told, when enumerating the _sweet_ wines in contradistinction -to those of a sharp taste, that Sacks are of _three_ species—"Your -_best Sacks_ are of _Seres_ in Spain, your _smaller_ of Galicia and -Portugall, your _strong Sacks_ are of the Islands of the Canaries, -and of Malligo."[131:B] It is, therefore, to be inferred, that, -though all these _Sacks_ were _sweet_, the _sweetest_, as well as the -strongest, were the _Canary_ and _Malaga_; _next to these in saccharine -impregnation, and best in flavour_, the _Xeres_; and lastly, the -_weakest and least sweet_, were the _Galicia_ and _Portugal_. - -The conclusion we consequently draw from these premises is, that _the -Sherris-Sack of Falstaff was Spanish Xeres, a wine not dry, like our -modern Sherry, but sweet, and though not so strong or so sweet as the -Sacks brought from Canary and Malaga, superior in flavour to both_. - -It may be objected to this deduction, that if _Sherris-Sack_ were a -sweet wine, it would not have been necessary to add sugar to it, an -article which Sir John ever mingled with his favourite potation.[131:C] -This will not prove valid, however, when we recollect that, in the -first place, Xeres was not the _sweetest_ of the Sacks, and, in the -second, that in Shakspeare's time it was the custom to mix sugar -with every species of wine; "gentlemen garrawse," observes Fynes -Moryson, "only in wine, with which they mix sugar, which I never -observed in any other place or kingdom to be used for that purpose. -And because the taste of the English is thus delighted with sweetness, -the wines in taverns (for I speak not of merchantes or gentlemen's -cellars) are commonly mixed at the filling thereof, to make them -pleasant."[132:A] A similar partiality for sugar in wine is noticed -by Paul Hentzner[132:B], as one of the peculiarities of the English; -and from these passages Mr. Reed deduces the legitimate inference that -the fondness of the English nation for sugar, at this epoch, was so -great as to induce them to mix it even with sweet wines; "if," says -he, "the English drank only rough wine with _sugar_, there appears -nothing extraordinary, or worthy of particular notice.—The addition -of _sugar_, even to _sack_, might, _perhaps_, to a taste habituated -to sweets, operate only in a manner to improve the flavour of the -wine."[132:C] - -We find also from Sir John's comments on his favourite liquor, that -he added not only _sugar_, but a _toast_ to it[132:D]; that he had -an insuperable aversion to its being mulled with eggs, vehemently -exclaiming, "I'll no pullet-sperm in my brewage[132:E];" and that he -abominated its sophistication with lime, declaring that "a coward is -worse than a cup of sack with lime in it[132:F];" an ingredient which -the vinters used to increase its strength and durability. - -To this deterioration, our witty Knight, as his convivial hours were -usually spent in _taverns_, was, of course, peculiarly subject. Houses -of this description were very numerous in our author's days, and, there -is reason to think, fully as much frequented as are similar places -in the present age. The _Boars Head Tavern_ in Eastcheap, and the -_Mermaid_ in Cornhill, immortalised in the writings of Shakspeare, Ben -Jonson, and Fletcher, are enumerated in a _long list_ of taverns given -us in an old black-letter quarto, entitled _Newes from Bartholomew -Fayre_[133:A]; and to these we must add, as of equal poetical -celebrity, the _Tabard Inn_ or Tavern, noticed by Stowe, in 1598, -as the most ancient in Southwark[133:B], and endeared to us as the -"Hosterie" of the never-to-be-forgotten pilgrims, in that delightful -work, the _Canterbury Tales_ of Chaucer. - -A tavern, says a writer, who lived in these times, and who published in -1628, "is the common consumption of the afternoon, and the murderer or -maker-away of a rainy day.—To give you the total reckoning of it; it -is the busy man's recreation, the idle man's business, the melancholy -man's sanctuary, the stranger's welcome, the inns-of-court man's -entertainment, the scholar's kindness, and the citizen's curtesy. It -is the study of sparkling wits, and a cup of canary their book."[134:A] - -At these places were regular _ordinaries_, which Decker tells us were -of three kinds; namely, "an _ordinary of the largest reckoning_, -whither most of your courtly gallants do resort;" a _twelve-penny -ordinary_ frequented by "the justice of peace or young knight;" and -a _three-penny ordinary_, "to which your London usurer, your stale -batchelor, and your thrifty attorney do resort."[134:B] - -From the same author we also learn, that it was usual in taverns, -especially in the city, to send presents of wine from one room to -another, as a complimentary mark of friendship:—"Enquire," directs -he, "what gallants sup in the next room; and, _if they be any of your -acquaintance_, do not you, _after the city fashion_, send them in _a -pottle of wine and your name_."[134:C] This custom, too, is recorded by -Shakspeare, as a mode of introduction to a stranger, where Bardolph, -at the Garter Inn, Windsor, addressing Falstaff, says,—"Sir John, -there's one master Brook below would fain speak with you, and be -acquainted with you; and hath sent your worship a morning's draught -of sack[134:D];" a passage which Mr. Malone has illustrated by the -following nearly contemporary anecdote:—"Ben Jonson," he relates, -"was at a tavern, and in comes Bishop Corbet, (but not so then,) into -the next room. Ben Jonson calls for a quart of _raw_ wine, and gives -it to the tapster. 'Sirrah,' says he, 'carry this to the gentleman in -the next chamber, and tell him, I sacrifice my service to him.' The -fellow did, and in those words. 'Friend,' says Dr. Corbet, 'I thank him -for his love; but 'pr'ythee tell him from me that he is mistaken; for -_sacrifices_ are always _burnt_."[134:E] - -The most singular and offensive practice, however, at least to modern -manners, which occurred at this period in taverns, a practice common, -too, even among the higher ranks, is likewise related by Decker, when -giving advice "How a Gallant should behave himself in an Ordinary" of -the first class:—"You may rise in dinner time," he tells his "courtly -gallant," "to ask for a _closestool_, protesting to all the gentlemen -that it costs you an hundred pounds a year in physick, besides the -annual pension which your wife allows her doctor; and, if you please, -you may, as your great French lord doth, _invite some special friend -of yours from the table to hold discourse with you as you sit in that -withdrawing chamber_; from whence being returned again to the board, -you shall sharpen the wits of all the eating gallants about you, and do -them great pleasure to ask what pamphlets or poems a man might think -fittest to wipe his tail with."[135:A] Gross as this habit now appears -to us, it was prevalent upon the continent until nearly the close of -the last century. - -To the reign of Elizabeth is to be attributed the introduction of a -luxury, which has since become almost universal, the custom of using, -or, as it was then called, of _taking tobacco_. This herb, which -was first brought into England by Sir Francis Drake, about the year -1586, met with an early and violent opposition, and gave birth to a -multitude of invectives and satires, among which the most celebrated -is King James's "Counterblast to Tobacco." This monarch entertained -the most rooted antipathy to the use of tobacco in any form, and -closes his treatise by asserting that it is "a custom loathsome to the -eye, hatefull to the nose, harmfull to the braine, dangerous to the -lungs, and in the blacke stinking fume thereof, nearest resembling -the horrible Stigian smoake of the pit that is bottomless."[135:B] He -also tells us in another work, that were he to invite the devil to a -dinner, "he should have these three dishes—1. a pig; 2. a poole of -ling and mustard; and 3. a pipe of tobacco for digesture."[136:A] - -Tobacco may be said, indeed, to have made many inroads in domestic -cleanliness, and, on this account, to have deservedly incurred the -dislike of that large portion of the female sex on whom the charge -of household economy devolved. "Surely," says James, "smoke becomes -a kitchin farre better than a dining chamber," a remark which is as -applicable now as it was then; but we cannot help smiling when he -adds, with his usual credulity, "and yet it makes a kitchin also -oftentimes in the inward parts of men, soyling and infecting them, with -an unctuous and oily kind of soote, as hath bene found in some great -_Tobacco_ takers, that after their death were opened."[136:B] - -Such were, indeed, the tales in common circulation among the lower -orders, and which Ben Jonson has very humorously put into the mouth -of _Cob_ in _Every Man in his Humour_:—"By Gods me," says the -water-bearer, "I marle what pleasure or felicity they have in taking -this roguish tobacco! It's good for nothing but to choak a man, and -fill him full of smoke and embers: there were four died out of one -house last week with taking of it, and two more the bell went for -yesternight; one of them, they say, will ne'er scape it; he voided a -bushel of soot yesterday, upward and downward. By the stocks, an' there -were no wiser men than I, I'd have it present whipping, man or woman, -that should but deal with a tobacco-pipe; why, it will stifle them all -in the end, as many as use it; it's little better than ratsbane or -rosaker."[136:C] - -It would appear that the prejudices against the use of this narcotic -required much time for their extirpation; for Burton, who wrote -about thirty years after its introduction, and at the very close of -the Shakspearean era, seems as violent against the common use of -tobacco as even James himself:—"A good vomit," says he, "I confesse, -a vertuous herbe, if it be well qualified, opportunely taken, and -medicinally used, but as it is commonly used by most men, which take -it as Tinkers do ale, 'tis a plague, a mischiefe, a violent purger of -goods, lands, health, hellish, devilish damn'd tobacco, the ruine and -overthrow of body and soule."[137:A] - -Notwithstanding this abuse, however, and the edicts of King James -forbidding its consumption in all ale-houses, tobacco soon acquired -such general favour, that Stowe tells us in his Annals, "it was -commonly used by _most_ men and _many_ women;" and James, appealing to -his subjects, exclaims,—"Now how you are by this custome disabled in -your goods, let the gentry of this land beare witnesse, some of them -bestowing three, some foure hundred pounds a yeere upon this precious -stinke[137:B];" a sum so enormous, that we must conclude them to have -been as determined smokers as the Buckinghamshire parson recorded by -Lilly, who "was so given over to tobacco and drink, that when he had -_no_ tobacco, he would cut the _bell-ropes_ and _smoke_ them!"[137:C] - -_Snuff-taking_ was as much in fashion as smoking; and the following -passage from Decker proves, that the _gallants_ of his day were as -extravagant and ridiculous in their use of it as our modern _beaux_, -whether we regard the splendour of their boxes, or their affectation -in applying the contents; it appears also to have been customary to -take snuff immediately before dinner. "Before the meat come smoking to -the board, our gallant must draw out his tobacco-box, 'and' the ladle -for the cold snuff into the nostril,—all which artillery may be of -gold or silver, if he can reach to the price of it;—then let him shew -his several tricks in taking it, as the whiff, the ring, &c. for these -are complements that gain gentlemen no mean respect."[137:D] "It is -singular," remarks Dr. Nott, alluding to the general use of tobacco -at this period, "when the introduction of this new indulgence had so -engaged the pen of almost every cotemporary playwright and pamphleteer, -nay, even of royalty itself, that Shakspeare should have been totally -silent upon it."[138:A] - -The residue of the _Domestic Economy_ of this era may be included under -the articles of _servants_ and _miscellaneous household arrangements_. - -In the days of Elizabeth servants were more numerous, and considered as -a more essential mark of gentility, than at any subsequent period. "The -English," observes Hentzner, "are lovers of shew, liking to be followed -wherever they go by whole troops of servants, who wear their master's -arms in silver, fastened to their left arms."[138:B] They were, also, -usually distinguished by _blue coats_; thus Grumio, enquiring for his -master's servants, says,—"Call forth Nathaniel, Joseph, Nicholas, -Philip, Walter, Sugarsop, and the rest; let their heads be sleekly -combed, their _blue coats_ brushed."[138:C] We learn, however, from -Fynes Moryson, that both silver badges and blue coats went out of -fashion in the reign of James the First; "the servants of _gentlemen_," -he informs us, "were wont to weare _blew coates_, with their master's -_badge of silver on the left sleeve_, but now they most commonly weare -_clokes garded with lace_, all the servants of one family wearing the -same livery for colour and ornament."[138:D] - -The very strict regulations to which servants were subjected in the -sixteenth century, and the admirable order preserved in the household -of the upper classes at that time, will be illustrated in a very -satisfactory and entertaining manner, by the "Orders for Household -Servantes; first devised by John Haryngton, in the yeare 1566, and -renewed by John Haryngton, Sonne of the saide John, in the yeare 1592: -the saide John, the Sonne, being then High Shrieve of the County of -Somerset." - -"Imprimis, That no servant bee absent from praier, at morning or -evening, without a lawfull excuse, to be alledged within one day after, -upon payne to forfeit for every tyme 2d. - -2. "_Item_, That none sweare any othe, uppon paine for every othe 1d. - -3. "_Item_, That no man leave any doore open, that he findeth shut, -without there bee cause, upon payne for every tyme 1d. - -4. "_Item_, That none of the men be in bed, from our Lady-day to -Michaelmas, after 6 of the clock in the morning: nor out of his bed -after 10 of the clock at night; nor, from Michaelmas till our Lady-day, -in bed after 7 in the morning; nor out after 9 at night, without -reasonable cause, on paine of 2d. - -5. "Item, That no man's bed be unmade, nor fire or candle-box uncleane, -after 8 of the clock in the morning, on paine of 1d. - -6. "_Item_, That no man make water within either of the courts, upon -paine of, every tyme it shalbe proved, 1d. - -7. "_Item_, That no man teach any of the children any unhonest speeche, -or baudie word, or othe, on paine of 4d. - -8. "_Item_, That no man waite at the table, without a trencher in his -hand, except it be uppon some good cause, on paine of 1d. - -9. "_Item_, That no man appointed to waite at my table, be absent that -meale, without reasonable cause, on paine of 1d. - -10. "_Item_, If any man breake a glasse, hee shall answer the price -thereof out of his wages; and, if it bee not known who breake it, the -buttler shall pay for it, on paine of 12d. - -11. "_Item_, The table must bee covered halfe an hour before 11 at -dinner, and 6 at supper, or before, on paine of 2d. - -12. "_Item_, That meate bee readie at 11, or before, at dinner; and 6, -or before, at supper, on paine of 6d. - -13. "_Item_, That none be absent, without leave or good cause, the -whole day, or any part of it, on paine of 4d. - -14. "_Item_, That no man strike his fellow, on paine of losse of -service; nor revile or threaten, or provoke another to strike, on paine -of 12d. - -15. "_Item_, That no man come to the kitchen without reasonable cause, -on paine of 1d. and the cook likewyse to forfeit 1d. - -16. "_Item_, That none toy with the maids, on paine of 4d. - -17. "_Item_, That no man weare foule shirt on Sunday, nor broken hose -or shooes, or dublett without buttons, on paine of 1d. - -18. "_Item_, That when any strainger goeth hence, the chamber be drest -up againe within 4 hours after, on paine of 1d. - -19. "_Item_, That the hall bee made cleane every day, by eight in the -winter, and seaven in the sommer, on paine of him that should do it to -forfet 1d. - -20. "That the court-gate bee shutt each meale, and not opened during -dinner and supper, without just cause, on paine the porter to forfet -for every time 1d. - -21. "_Item_, That all stayrs in the house, and other rooms that neede -shall require, bee made cleane on Fryday after dinner, on paine of -forfeyture of every on whome it shall belong unto, 3d. - -"All which sommes shalbe duly paide each quarter-day out of their -wages, and bestowed on the poore, or other godly use."[140:A] - -To the tribe of household servants, must be added, as a constant inmate -in the houses of the great, during the life of Shakspeare, and, indeed, -to the close of the reign of Charles I., that motley personage, the -_Domestic Fool_, who was an essential part of the entertainment of the -fire-side, not only in the palace and the castle, but in the tavern and -the brothel. - -The character of the "all-licens'd fool" has been copied from the life, -with his usual naïveté and precision, and with an inexhaustible fund of -wit, in many of the plays of our poet; yet, perhaps, we shall no where -find a more condensed and faithful picture of the manners of this once -indispensable source of domestic pleasantry, than what has been given -us by Dr. Lodge:—"This fellow," says he, "in person is comely, in -_apparell_ courtly, but in behaviour a very ape, and no man; his studie -is to coine _bitter jeasts_, or to shew antique motions, or _to sing -baudie sonnets and ballads_: give him a little wine in his head, he is -continually flearing and making of mouthes: he laughs intemperately at -every little occasion, and dances about the house, leaps over tables, -out-skips mens heads, trips up his companion's heeles, burns sack with -a candle, and hath all the feats of a lord of misrule in the countrie: -feed him in his humor, you shall have his heart, in meere kindnesse he -will hug you in his armes, kisse you on the cheeke, and rapping out an -horrible oth, crie God's soule Tum I love you, you know my poore heart, -come to my chamber for a pipe of tabacco, there lives not a man in -this world that I more honour. In these ceremonies you shall know his -courting, and it is a speciall mark of him at the table, he sits and -makes faces."[141:A] - -On the passages in this quotation distinguished by Italics, it will -be necessary to offer a brief comment. From Shakspeare we learn that -the _apparel_ of the domestic fool was of two kinds; he had either a -parti-coloured coat fastened round the body by a girdle, with close -breeches, and hose on each leg of different colours; or he wore a -long petticoat dyed with curious tints, and fringed with yellow. With -both dresses was generally connected a hood, covering the whole head, -falling over part of the breast and shoulders, and surmounted with -asses ears, or a cocks-comb. Bells and a bauble were the usual insignia -of the character; the former either attached to the elbows, or the -skirt of the coat, and the latter, consisting of a stick, decorated at -one end with a carved fool's head, and having at the other an inflated -bladder, an instrument either of sport or defence. - -_Bitter jests_, provided they were so dressed up, or so connected -with adjunctive circumstances, as to raise a laugh, were at all -times allowed; but it was moreover expected, that their keenness or -bitterness should be also allayed by a due degree of obliquity in the -mode of attack, by a careless, and, apparently, undesigning manner of -delivery, and by a playful and frolic demeanour. For these purposes, -fragments of _sonnets and ballads_ were usually chosen by the fool, as -a safe medium through which the necessary degree of concealment might -be given, and the edge of his sarcasm duely abated; a practice of which -Shakspeare has afforded us many instances, and especially in his _Fool_ -in _King Lear_, whose scraps of old songs fully exemplify the aim and -scope of this favourite of our ancestors.[142:A] - -A few _household arrangements_, in addition to those developed in Sir -John Harrington's orders, shall terminate this branch of our subject. - -We have seen, when treating of the domestic economy of the country -squire, that it was usual to take their banquet or dessert, in an -arbour of the garden or orchard; and in town, the nobility and gentry, -immediately after dinner and supper, adjourned to another room, for -the purpose of enjoying their wine and fruit; this practice is alluded -to by Shakspeare, in _Romeo and Juliet_[142:B]; and Beaufort, in the -_Unnatural Combat_ of Massinger, says:— - - "We'll _dine_ in the great room, but let the musick - And _banquet_ be prepared here;"[142:C] - -a custom which it is astonishing the delicacy and refinement of modern -manners have not _generally_ adopted. - -As our ancestors, during the greater part of the period we are -considering, possessed not the conveniency of eating with forks, and -were, therefore, compelled to make use of their fingers, it became an -essential point of good manners, to wash the hands immediately _before_ -dinner and supper, as well as afterwards: thus Petruchio, on the -entrance of his servants with supper, says, addressing his wife,— - - "Come, Kate, and _wash_, and welcome heartily."[143:A] - -In the fifteenth item of Harrington's Orders, we find that _no man was -allowed to come to the kitchen without reasonable cause_, an injunction -which may appear extraordinary; but, in those days, it was customary, -in order to prevent the cook being disturbed in his important duties, -to keep the rest of the men aloof, and, when dinner was ready, he -summoned them to carry it on the table, by knocking loudly on the -dresser with his knife: thus in Massinger's _Unnatural Combat_, -Beaufort's steward says,— - - "When the dresser, the cook's drum, thunders, Come on, - The service will be lost else;"[143:B] - -a practice which gave rise to the phraseology, _he knocks to the -dresser_, or, _he warns to the dresser_, as synonymous with the -annunciation that, "dinner is ready." - -It was usual, also, especially where the domestic fool was retained, to -keep an ape or a monkey, as a companion for him, and he is frequently -represented with this animal on his shoulders. Monkeys, likewise, -appear to have been an indispensable part of a lady's establishment, -and, accordingly, Ben Jonson, in his _Cynthia's Revels_, represents -one of his characters as asserting, "the gentleman (I'll undertake -with him) is a man of fair living, and able to maintain a lady in _her -two caroches a day, besides pages, monkeys, parachitoes, with such -attendants as she shall think meet for her turn_."[144:A] - -Beside monkeys and parachitoes, this quotation also proves, that -_caroches_, a species of coach, were common in 1600, when Jonson's play -was first acted. The _coach_ and _caroch_, vehicles differing probably -rather in size than form, are thus distinguished by Green, who in his -_Tu Quoque_, 1641, speaks of - - ——————— "the keeping of a _coach_ - For country, and _caroch_ for London;"[144:B] - -and, indeed, in 1595, they seem to have been equally general, for the -author of _Quippes for upstart newfangled Gentlewemen_, says:— - - "Our wantons now in coaches dash - From house to house, from street to street."[144:C] - -The era of their introduction into this country has been recorded by -Taylor, the water-poet. "In the year 1564," he remarks, "one William -Boonen, a Dutchman, brought _first_ the use of coaches hither, and the -said Boonen was Queene Elizabeth's coachman; for indeede a coach was a -strange monster in those days, and the sight of it put both horse and -man into amazement: some said it was a great crab shell brought out of -China, and some imagined it to be one of the Pagan Temples, in which -the Cannibals adored the divell; but at last those doubts were cleared, -and coach-making became a substantial trade."[144:D] - -So substantial, indeed, had this trade become in 1601, that on the 7th -of November of the same year, an act was introduced into the House of -Lords, "to restrain the _excessive and superfluous use of coaches_, -within this realm[145:A];" it was rejected, however, on the second -reading, and the trade of coach-making went on progressively increasing. - -The extravagancy of domestic economy, with regard to these machines, -and the servants who were deemed necessary, as their accompaniment, -is strikingly depicted in the following extract from a letter written -shortly after their marriage, by Lady Compton, to her husband, William -Lord Compton, a few years subsequent to the death of Shakspeare. -After several _items_ equally _moderate_ with those we are going to -transcribe, she thus proceeds:—"Alsoe, I will have 6 or 8 gentlemen; -and I will have my twoe coaches, one lyned with velvett to myselfe, -w{th} 4 very fayre horses, and a coache for my woemen, lyned w{th} -sweete cloth, one laced w{th} gold, the other w{th} scarlett, and laced -with watched lace and silver, w{th} 4 good horses. Alsoe, I will have -twoe coachmen, one for my owne coache, the other for my women. Alsoe, -att any tyme when I travayle, I will be allowed not only carroches, -and spare horses for me and my women, but I will have such carryadgs, -as shal be fittinge for all orderly; not pestringe my things w{th} my -woemens, nor theirs w{th} either chambermayds, or theirs w{th} wase -maids. Alsoe, for laundresses, when I travayle I will have them sent -away before w{th} the carryadgs to see all safe, and the chambermayds -I will have goe before w{th} the groomes, that a chamber may be -ready, sweete and cleane. Alsoe, for that yt is indecent to croud upp -myself w{th} my gentl. usher in my coache, I will have him to have a -convenyent horse to attend me either in citty or country. And I must -have 2 footemen. And my desire is, that you defray all the chardges for -me."[145:B] - -Of the MANNERS and CUSTOMS of this period, the next branch of our -present enquiry, we shall open a short review, by sketching the -prominent features of Elizabeth's personal character, which must, -necessarily, have had great influence, not only on her courtiers, but -on society at large. As a monarch, she was, with few exceptions, truly -worthy of admiration; but, as a woman, she often exhibits such a series -of weaknesses and frailties, as must excite astonishment, as well from -the force of contrast, as from their own turpitude and folly. - -The most valuable and praise-worthy part of her private character, her -literary accomplishments, her love of learning, and her encouragement -of letters, together with the influence which they exerted over the -minds of her subjects, have been considered, at some length, in the -first volume of this work[146:A]; and to the favourable side of the -picture, we must here add, that she was equally eminent for some -acquirements more peculiarly feminine. Among these, her skill in -needle-work has been more than once particularly celebrated, her -excellence in which stimulated the ladies of her reign to more than -ordinary exertion in this useful department. "The various kinds of -needle-work practised by our indefatigable grandmothers," observes Mr. -Douce, "if enumerated, would astonish even the most industrious of our -modern ladies;" and he adds, that "many curious books of patterns for -lace and all sorts of needle-work were formerly published."[146:B] - -But this rare example, in a monarch, of industry and economy, and -the still more important acquisitions of literature and science, -were overwhelmed by a host of foibles, among which, none were more -remarkable than her extreme vanity and coquetry, and at a period too, -when she had reason to expect, from her infirmities, and the common law -of nature, that death was not far distant. To be thought beautiful, -young, and agile, and an object of amorous affection, to the last -moment of her existence, seems to have been her chief ambition as a -woman; nor could any language on these topics, when addressed to her, -be too complimentary, amatory, or glowing. When _sixty years of age_, -Raleigh thus speaks of her, in a letter intended for her perusal:—"I -that was wont to see her riding like Alexander, hunting like Diana, -walking like Venus, the gentle wind blowing her fair hair about her -pure cheeks, like a nymph, sometimes sitting in the shade, like a -goddess, sometimes singing like an angel, sometimes playing like -Orpheus; behold the sorrow of this world! once amiss hath bereaved me -of all[147:A];" and when _sixty-eight_, Lord Mountjoy, Lord Deputy of -Ireland, thus addresses her:—"When I have done all that I can, the -uttermost effects of my labours doe appeare so little to my owne zeale -to doe more, that I am often ashamed to present them unto your _faire_ -and royall _eyes_. I beseeche your Majestie to thinke, that in a matter -of so great importance, my affection will not suffer me to commit so -grosse a fault against your service, as to doe any thing, for the -which I am not able to give you a very good account, the which above -all things, I desire to do at your _owne royall feete_, and that your -service here, may give me leave to _fill my eyes with their onely deere -and desired object_."[147:B] It was at the same advanced period of -life, too, when the sister of Lord Essex, interceding for her brother's -life, tells Her Majesty,—"Early did I hope this morning, to have had -mine eyes blessed with your majesty's _beauty_.—That her brother's -life, his love, his service to her _beauties_, did not deserve so hard -a punishment. That he would be disabled from ever serving again his -sacred goddess! whose excellent _beauties_ and perfections ought to -feel more compassion."[148:A] - -Her affectation of _youth_, in order to render language such as this -somewhat appropriate, was carried to the most ridiculous excess; -"there is almost none," remarks Harrington, "that wayted in Queene -Elizabeth's court, and observed any thing, but can tell that it pleased -her much to seeme and to be thought, and to be told, that _she looked -younge_;" and he then relates, in illustration of his assertion, that -when Bishop Rudd preached before the Queen, in Lent, 1596, after giving -an arithmetical description, with a manifest allusion to Her Majesty, -of the grand climacterical year, he put a prayer into the mouth of -the Queen, in which she is represented as quoting, with reference to -herself, the following passage from Ecclesiastes: When the grinders -shall be few in number, and they wax darke that looke out of the -windowes, &c., and the daughters of singing shall be abased; but, the -sermon being concluded, "the Queene (as the manner was) opened the -window, (of her closet) but she was so far from giving him thanks, -or good countenance, that she said plainly, 'he should have kept his -arithmetick for himselfe; but I see (said she) the greatest clerks -are not the wisest men;' and so went away for the time discontented." -Three days afterwards, however, she declared before Harrington and her -courtiers, that "the good bishop was deceaved in supposing she was so -decayed in her limbs and senses, as himselfe, perhaps, and other of -that age are wont to be; she thankt God that neither her stomache nor -strength, nor her voyce for singing, nor fingering for instruments, nor -lastly, her sight was any whit decayed."[148:B] - -Her strength and agility, she endeavoured to prove, were not -diminished, by dancing, or attempting to dance, to nearly the end of -her reign. Being present at Lord Herbert's marriage, in 1600, after -supper, dancing commenced by ladies and gentlemen in masques; and -Mrs. Fetton, one of the masquers, "went to the Queen, and woed her -to dawnce. Her Majesty asked what she was? _Affection_, she said. -_Affection_, said the Queen, _is false_. Yet her Majestie _rose and -dawnced_!"[149:A] She was now in her sixty-ninth year! - -Nor was she less _artful_ than vain; cunning and finesse might be -often necessary in her political capacity, but she carried the same -wiliness and duplicity into all the relations of private life. Sir -John Harrington has admirably drawn her disposition in these respects, -and has painted her blandishments, her mutability of temper, and her -deceptive conduct, with a masterly pencil. "Hir mynde," he observes, -"was oftime like the gentle aire that comethe from the westerly pointe -in a summer's morn; 'twas sweete and refreshinge to all arounde -her:—again, she coulde pute forthe suche alteracions,—as lefte no -doubtynges whose daughter she was.—By art and nature together so -blended, it was difficulte to fynde hir right humour at any tyme;—for -few knew how to aim their shaft against her cunning.—I have seen her -smile," he adds, "soothe with great semblance of good likinge to all -arounde, and cause everie one to open his moste inwarde thought to her; -when, on a sudden, she would ponder in pryvate on what had passed, -write down all their opinions, draw them out as occasion required, -and sometyme disprove to their faces what had been delivered a month -before. Hence she knew every one's parte, and by thus _fishinge_, as -Hatton sayed, she caught many poor fish, who little knew what snare was -laid for them."[149:B] - -Of her boundless inclination to circumvent and deceive, a most -ludicrous instance is related by Sir Arthur Wheldon, who tells us, that -when Sir Roger Aston was sent with letters from James to the Queen -(which was often the case), "he did never come to deliver any—but he -was placed in the Lobby; the hangings being turned him, (lifted up) -where he might see the Queene dancing to a little fiddle, which was -to no other end, than he should tell his master by her youthfull -disposition, how likely he was to come to the possession of the Crown -he so much thirsted after."[150:A] - -Extreme _jealousy_ was another leading feature in the manners of -Elizabeth, which, far from being the result of her exalted rank, was, -indeed, most apparent in her domestic life and relations. She could -bear no female near her who, in beauty, accomplishments, or dress, was -likely either to surpass or rival her; and the death of the unfortunate -Mary may be attributed rather to an inextinguishable envy of her -personal charms, than to any apprehensions of the establishment of her -claim to the throne of England. How anxious she was to be thought more -beautiful and accomplished than her sister Queen, is vividly delineated -by Sir John Melvill, who, in his numerous interviews with Elizabeth, -during his residence in London, describes her as changing her dress for -him every day; as dancing before him, and playing on the virginals, -merely for the purpose of ascertaining whether he thought she or Mary -most excelled in dress, dancing, and music. She even went so far as -to enquire, whether he considered her hair or his mistress's to be -the fairest and most entitled to admiration, and, at length, asked -him which was tallest, and, on his answering, that the Scottish Queen -surpassed her in height,—"Then," saith she, "she is too high; for I -myself am neither too high, nor too low[150:B]." - -Nothing is better known in our history than Elizabeth's personal -chastisement of the unhappy Earl of Essex; and so little, indeed, was -she accustomed, on any occasion, to the control of her passions, that -her courtiers daily dreaded similar inflictions. "The Queene seemede -troubled to daye," says Harrington; "Hatton came out from her presence -with _ill countenance_, and pulled me aside by the girdle, and saide, -in secret waie, 'If you have any suite to daie, I praye you put it -aside, _The sunne doth not shine_.' 'Tis this accursede Spanishe -businesse; so will not I adventure her Highnesse _choller_, leste she -shoulde _collar_ me _also_."[151:A] - -Even in the expression of her dislike on such trivial matters as the -cut of a coat, or the depth of a fringe, she spared neither the public -exposure of her courtiers, nor the adoption of the most masculine and -vindictive contempt. "The Queene loveth to see me," says Sir John -Harrington, "in my laste frize jerkin, and saithe _'tis well enough -cutt_. I will have another made liken to it. I do remember _she spit -on Sir Mathew's fringed clothe_, and said, _the fooles wit was gone to -ragges_.—_Heav'n spare me_ from suche jibinge."[151:B] - -If such petulant and rough treatment fell to the lot of her courtiers -in public, we may rest assured, that in private, her domestics, and -ladies of honour, experienced not a milder fate. Manual correction, -indeed, we are told, was a frequent resource with Her Majesty, and even -when chiding for "small neglects," Fenton tells us, in a letter to Sir -John Harrington, dated May, 1597, that it was "in such wise, as to -make these fair maids often cry and bewail in piteous sort."[151:C] In -short, to adopt the language of Sir Robert Cecil, who had an intimate -knowledge both of her public and private character, she "was more than -a man, and (in troth) sometyme less than a woman."[151:D] - -Elizabeth, indeed, possessed many qualities of the most exalted rank, -and her _courage_, _magnanimity_, _prudence_, and _political wisdom_, -were such as to redeem the foibles which we have enumerated. They -were virtues, of which her successor was totally destitute; for the -_manners_ of James may be truly painted by the epithets, _frivolity_, -_pusillanimity_, _extravagance_, _pedantry_, and _credulity_. - -Some of the most striking traits in his character have been drawn with -great strength and vivacity in Sir John Harrington's description of an -interview with this monarch, in January, 1607:—"He enquyrede," says -he, "muche of lernynge, and showede me his owne in suche sorte, as -made me remember my examiner at Cambridge aforetyme. He soughte muche -to knowe my advances in philosophie, and utterede profounde sentences -of Aristotle, and suche lyke wryters, whiche I had never reade, and -which some are bolde enoughe to saye, others do not understand: but -this I must passe by. The Prince did nowe presse my readinge to him -parte of a canto in Ariosto; praysede my utterance, and said he had -been informede of manie, as to my lernynge, in the tyme of the Queene. -He asked me 'what I thoughte pure witte was made of; and whom it did -best become?' Whether a Kynge shoulde not be the best clerke in his own -countrie; and, if this lande did not entertayne goode opinion of his -lernynge and good wisdome?' His Majestie did much presse for my opinion -touchinge the power of Satane in matter of witchcraft; and askede me, -with muche gravitie,—'If I did trulie understande, why the devil did -worke more with anciente women than others?' I did not refraine from a -scurvey jeste, and even saide (notwithstandinge to whom it was said) -that—we were taught hereof in scripture, where it is tolde, that the -devil walketh in dry places.—His Highnesse tolde me the Queene his -mothers deathe was visible in Scotlande before it did really happen, -being, as he saide, 'spoken of in secrete by those whose power of sight -presentede to them a bloodie heade dancinge in the aire.' He then did -remarke muche on this gifte, and saide he had soughte out of certaine -bookes a sure waie to attaine knowledge of future chances. Hereat, -he namede many bookes, which I did not knowe, nor by whom written; -but advisede me not to consult some authors which woulde leade me to -evill consultations—at lengthe he saide: Now, Sir, you have seene my -wisdome in some sorte, and I have pried into yours. I praye you, do -me justice in your reporte, and in good season, I will not fail to -add to your understandinge, in suche pointes as I maye find you lacke -amendment."[152:A] This is an extract which lays open the heart of -James, and speaks volumes on the subject. - -The manners of the reigning monarch imperceptibly give a colouring -to those of every class of society, stronger in proportion to its -approximation to the source; a remark which is fully exemplified in the -females of the reign of Elizabeth, those especially who constituted, -or were near, the court, copying, according to their ability, the -virtues, accomplishments, and foibles of the Queen. They were learned, -skilled in needle-work, and wrote a beautiful hand, in emulation of -the Queen's, which, in the earlier period of her life, was peculiarly -elegant; but they were, also, vain, capricious, and in their habits -and language often masculine and coarse. It was customary for ladies -of the first rank to give manual correction to their servants of both -sexes; a practice of which Shakspeare has given us an instance in -his _Twelfth-Night_, where Maria, alluding to Malvolio's whimsical -appearance, says, "I know my lady will strike him."[153:A] Nor were -often their daily occupations, or their language, when provoked, in -the least degree more feminine; we are told that Elizabeth, Countess -of Shrewsbury, "was a builder, a buyer and seller of estates, a money -lender, a farmer, and a merchant of lead, coals and timber;" and -her daughter Mary, who married Gilbert, seventh Earl of Shrewsbury, -sent the following message to Sir Thomas Stanhope, with whom she had -quarrelled, by one George Williamson, which message was "delivered by -the said Williamson, February 15, 1592, in the presence of certain -persons whose names were subscribed—'My Lady hath commanded me to -say thus much to you. That though you be more wretched, vile, and -miserable, than any creature living; and, for your wickedness, become -more ugly in shape than the vilest toad in the world; and one to whom -none of reputation would vouchsafe to send any message; yet she hath -thought good to send thus much to you—that she be contented you should -live, (and doth nowaies wish your death) but to this end: that all the -plagues and miseries that may befall any man may light upon such a -caitiff as you are; and that you should live to have all your friends -forsake you; and, without your great repentance, which she looketh not -for because your hath been so bad, you will be damned perpetually in -hell fire.' With many other opprobrious and hatefull words, which could -not be remembered, because the bearer would deliver it but once, as he -said he was commanded; but said if he had failed in any thing, it was -in speaking it more mildly, and not in terms of such disdain as he was -commanded."[154:A] - -Of the male population of this period, the manners seem to have been -compounded from the characters of the two sovereigns. Like Elizabeth, -they were brave, magnanimous, and prudent; and sometimes, like James, -credulous, curious, and dissipated. On the virtues, happily from their -notoriety, there is little occasion to comment; foreigners, as well -as natives, bearing testimony to their existence: thus Hentzner tells -us,—"The English are serious, like the Germans;—they are powerful in -the field, successful against their enemies, impatient of any thing -like slavery."[154:B] But of the foibles and vices, as more evanescent -and mutable, it may be interesting to state a few particulars. - -Of the _credulity_ and superstition which abounded during this era, -and which had been fostered by the weakness of James, a sufficient -detail has already been given in a former part of this work; and we -shall here merely add, that Alchemistry was one of the foolish pursuits -of the day. Scot, who has devoted the fourteenth book of his treatise -on the "Discoverie of Witchcraft," to this subject, tells us that the -admirable description given by Chaucer of this folly, in his Chanones -Yemannes prologue and tale, still strictly applied to its cultivators -in 1584, who continued to - - —————————— "looke ill-favouredlie, - And were alwaies tired beggarlie, - So as by smelling and thredbare araie, - These folke are knowne and discerned alwaie."[155:A] - -An insatiable _curiosity_ for seeing strange sights, and hearing -strange adventures, together with an eager desire for visiting foreign -countries, prevailed in an extraordinary degree during the age of -Shakspeare, who has, in several parts of his works, satirized these -propensities with much humour. In the _Tempest_, for instance, he has -held up to scorn the first of these foibles in an admirable strain of -sarcasm:—"A strange fish! Were I in England now, (as once I was,) and -had but this fish painted, not a holiday fool there but would give -a piece of silver; there would this monster make a man; any strange -beast there makes a man: when they will not give a doit to relieve a -lame beggar, they will lay out ten to see a dead Indian[155:B];" a -passage which Mr. Douce has very appositely illustrated by a quotation -from Batman. "Of late years," says the Gothic Pliny, "there hath been -brought into England, the cases or skinnes of such crocodiles to be -seene, and much money given for the sight thereof; the policy of -strangers laugh at our folly, either that we are too wealthy, or else -that we know not how to bestow our money."[155:C] - -Of the influence arising from the relation of strange adventures, -we have a striking proof in the character of Othello, who won the -affections of his mistress by the detail of his "hair-breadth scapes:"— - - "Wherein of antres vast, and desarts idle, - Rough quarries, rocks, and hills whose head touch heaven - It was 'his' hint to speak."[155:D] - -It appears, indeed, that the conversation of this period very -frequently turned upon the wonderful discoveries of travellers, whose -voyages to, and travels in the New World then occupied much of the -public attention. Exaggeration, from a love of importance, too often -accompanied these narratives, a licence which our poet has happily -ridiculed in the following lines:— - - —————————————— "When we were boys, - Who would believe that there were mountaineers - Dew-lapp'd like bulls, whose throats had hanging at them - Wallets of flesh? or that there were such men, - Whose heads stood in their breasts? which now we find - _Each putter-out on five for one, will bring us - Good warrant of_."[156:A] - -The close of this passage alludes to a practice then common among -the numerous travellers of those times, of putting out their money, -especially when about to undertake a long and hazardous journey, for -the purpose of receiving exorbitant interest on their return; a custom -which, Moryson informs us, originated among the nobility, but before -1617 had become frequent even with men of base condition.[156:B] Thus -we find Ben Jonson, in 1599, representing Puntarvolo, in _Every Man -out of his Humour_, disclosing such a scheme:—"I do intend," says he, -"this year of jubilee coming on, to travel: and, because I will not -altogether go upon expence, I am determined to put forth some _five -thousand pound_, to be paid me _five for one_, upon the return of -myself, my wife, and my dog from the Turk's court in Constantinople. -If all or either of us miscarry in the journey, 'tis gone: if we be -successful, why there will be _five and twenty thousand pound_ to -entertain time withal."[156:C] - -To such a height had this passion for travelling attained, that those -who were not able to accomplish a distant expedition, crossed over to -France or Italy, and gave themselves as many airs on their return, -as if they had been to the antipodes; a species of affectation which -Shakspeare acutely satirizes in the following terms:—"Farewell, -monsieur traveller; look, you lisp, and wear strange suits; disable -all the benefits of your own country; be out of love with your -nativity, and almost chide God for making you that countenance you are; -or I will scarce think you have swam in a gondola."[157:A] - -An equally severe castigation has been bestowed on these superficial -ramblers, in _Observations and Discourses_, published by Edward Blount, -in 1620, who informs us, that their discourse made them every where -ridiculous. "The name of English gelding," he adds, "frights them; and -thence they take occasion to fall into the commendation of a mule, or -an ass. A pasty of venison makes them sweat, and then swear that the -only delicacies be mushrooms, or caveare, or snails. A toast in beer or -ale drives them into madness; and so to declaim against the absurd and -ignorant customs of their own country, and thereupon digress into the -commendation of drinking their wine refreshed with ice or snow." - -The pernicious habit of _gaming_ had become almost universal in the -days of Elizabeth, and, if we may credit George Whetstone, had reached -a prodigious degree of excess. Speaking of the licentiousness of the -stage previous to the appearance of Shakspeare, he adds,—"But there -are in the bowels of this famous citie, farre more daungerous plays, -and little reprehended: that wicked playes of the dice, first invented -by the devill, (as Cornelius Agrippa wryteth,) and frequented by -unhappy men: the detestable roote, upon which a thousand villanies grow. - -"The nurses of thease (worse than heathenysh) hellish exercises are -places called _ordinary tables_: of which there are in London, more in -nomber to honour the devyll, than churches to serve the living God. - -"I cõstantly determine to crosse the streets, where these vile -houses (ordinaries) are planted, to blesse me from the inticements -of them, which in very deed are many, and the more dangerous in that -they please with a vain hope of gain. Insomuch on a time, I heard -a distemperate dicer solemnly sweare that he faithfully beleeved, -_that dice were first made of the bones of a witch, and cards of her -skin_, in which there hath ever sithence remained an inchantment y{t} -whosoever once taketh delight in either, he shall never have power -utterly to leave them, for quoth he, I a hundred times vowed to leave -both, yet have not the grace to forsake either."[158:A] - -No opportunity for the practice of this ruinous habit seems to have -been omitted, and we find the modern mode of gambling, by taking the -odds, to have been fully established towards the latter end of the -sixteenth century; for Gilbert Talbot, writing to his father, the Earl -of Shrewsbury, on May the 15th, 1579, after informing His Lordship, -that the matter of the Queen's marriage with Monsieur "is growne very -colde," subjoins, "and yet I know a man may take a thousande pounds, -in this towne, to be bounde to pay doble so muche when Mons{r}. -cum̃ethe into Inglande, and treble so muche when he marryethe the Q. -Ma{tie}., and if he nether doe the one nor the other, to gayne the -thousande poundes cleare."[158:B] - -_Duelling_, at this period, from its frequency, had given rise to a -complicated system of rules for its regulation, and to fixed schools -for its practice and improvement. The "Noble Science of Defence," as -it was called, included three _degrees_, a _Master's_, a _Provost's_, -and a _Scholar's_, and for each of these a regular prize was played. In -order, also, to obviate disputes, "four _Ancient Masters of Defence_" -were constituted, who resided "in the city of London," and to whom not -only difficult points of honour were referred, but tribute was likewise -paid by all inferior professors of the science. - -Nor were books wanting to explain, and to adjust, the causes, and the -modes of quarrelling. Of these the two most celebrated were written -by _Saviolo_ and _Caranza_, authors who are repeatedly mentioned by -Shakspeare, Jonson, and Fletcher. The absurd minuteness of Saviolo's -treatise, entitled, _Of Honour and honourable Quarrels_, 4to. 1595, -has been ridiculed with exquisite humour in _As You Like It_, where -Touchstone says - - "O sir, we quarrel in print, by the book;—we met, and found - the quarrel was upon the seventh cause. - - _Jaq._ How did you find the quarrel on the seventh cause? - - _Touch._ Upon a lie seven times removed;—as thus: I did - dislike the cut of a certain courtier's beard; he sent me - word, if I said his beard was not cut well, he was in the mind - it was: This is called the _Retort courteous_. If I sent him - word again, it was not well cut, he would send me word, he cut - it to please himself: This is called the _Quip modest_. If - again, it was not well cut, he disabled my judgment: This is - call'd the _Reply churlish_. If again, it was not well cut, he - would answer, I spake not true: This is call'd the _Reproof - valiant_. If again, it was not well cut, he would say, I lie: - This is called the _Countercheck quarrelsome_: and so to the - _Lie circumstantial_, and the _Lie direct_.—All these you may - avoid, but the lie direct; and you may avoid that too, with an - _If_. I knew when seven justices could not take up a quarrel; - but when the parties were met themselves, one of them thought - but of an _If_, as, _If you said so, then I said so_; and - they shook hands, and swore brothers. Your _If_ is the only - peace-maker; much virtue in _If_."[159:A] - -Nor is this much exaggerated; for Saviolo has a chapter on the -_Diversity of Lies_, and enumerates the _Lie certain_, the _conditional -Lie_, the _Lie in general_, the _Lie in particular_, the _foolish Lie_, -and the _returning back of the Lie_. - -A taste for _gossipping_, as well amongst the _male_ as female sex, was -more than usually prevalent at this epoch. An anonymous writer of 1620, -speaking of _male gossips_, describes their trifling and vexatiously -intrusive manners, in a way which leads us to conclude, that the evil -was severely felt, and of great magnitude:—"It is a wonder," says he, -"to see what multitudes there be of all sorts that make this their only -business, and in a manner spend their whole time in compliment; as if -they were born to no other end, bred to no other purpose, had nothing -else to do, than to be a kind of living walking ghosts, to haunt and -persecute others with unnecessary observation.— - -"If these giddy goers be forced to give a reason for their wheeling up -and down the streets, their answer is, they know not else how to pass -their time. And how tedious it is, for a man that accounts his hours, -to be subject to these vacancies, and apply himself to lose a day with -such time-passers; who neither come for business, nor out of true -friendship, but only to spend the day; as if one had nothing else to -do, but to supply their idle time!— - -"After they have asked you how you do, and told some old or fabulous -news, laughed twice or thrice in your face, and censured those they -know you love not (when, peradventure, the next place they go to, is -to them—where they will be as courteous to you); spoke a few words of -fashions and alterations;—made legs and postures of the last edition; -with three or four diminutive oaths and protestations of their service -and observance; they then retire." - -The _diminutive oaths_, mentioned at the close of this quotation, were, -unfortunately, considered as ornaments of conversation, and adopted by -both sexes, in order to give spirit and vivacity to their language; a -shocking practice, which seems to have been rendered fashionable by -the very reprehensible habit of the Queen, whose oaths were neither -diminutive nor rare; for it is said, that she never spared an oath in -public speech or private conversation when she thought it added energy -to either. After this example in the highest classes, we need not be -surprised when Stubbes tells us, speaking of the great body of the -people, that, "if they speake but three or four words, yet they must be -interlaced with a bloudie oath or two." - -These abominable expletives appear to have formed no small share of the -language of _compliment_, a species of simulation which was carried -to an extraordinary height in the days of our poet: thus Marston, -describing the finished gallant, says,— - - ———————— "Marke nothing but his clothes, - His new stampt _complement_, his _cannon oathes_; - Marke those."[160:A] - -Decker, apostrophising the courtiers of his day, and playing upon a -term of Guido's musical scale, exclaims,—"You courtiers, that do -nothing but sing the gamut A-Re of _complimental courtesy_[161:A];" and -Shakspeare, painting this - - ———— "sweet, sweet poison for the age's tooth." - -represents the Bastard in his _King John_, thus addressing a travelled -fop:— - - —————————————— "_My dear sir_, - (Thus leaning on mine elbow, I begin,) - _I shall beseech you_—That is question now; - And then comes answer like an A B C book:— - _O sir_, says answer, _at your best command; - At your employment; at your service, sir_:— - _No, sir_, says question, _I, sweet sir, at yours_: - And so, ere answer knows what question would, - (Saving in dialogue of _compliment_; - And talking of the Alps, and Appennines, - The Pyrenean, and the river Po,) - It draws toward supper."[161:B] - -"What a deal of synamon and ginger is sacrificed to dissimulation," -observes Sir William Cornwallis in 1601, "_O, how blessed do I take -mine eyes for presenting me with this sight! O Signior, the star that -governs my life is contentment, give me leave to interre myself in your -arms!—Not so, sir, it is too unworthy an inclosure to contain such -preciousness, &c._ This, and a cup of drink, makes the time as fit for -a departure as can be."[161:C] - -A peculiar species of compliment existed among the scientific and -literary characters of our author's times, in permitting those who -looked up to them with reverence and esteem, to address them by the -endearing appellation of _Father_; adopting them, in fact, as their -literary offspring, and designating them, in their works, by the title -of sons. In conformity with this custom, Ben Jonson adopted not -less than twelve or fourteen persons for his sons, among whom were, -Cartright, Randolph, Brome, &c.; and the practice continued to be -observed until the end of the seventeenth century; for in 1676, Charles -Cotton dedicated his Complete Angler to his "most worthy _father_ and -friend, Mr. Izaak Walton, the elder;" and says in the body of his work, -"he gives me leave to call him _Father_, and I hope is not yet ashamed -of his _Adopted Son_."[162:A] - -This complimental paternity Shakspeare has introduced in his _Troilus -and Cressida_, where Ajax, addressing Nestor, says,—"Shall I call -you father?" to which the venerable Grecian replies, "Ay, my good -son."[162:B] - -To this sketch of manners, we shall add a brief account of some -customs, which more peculiarly belong to the province of Police, -commencing with the inaugural ceremonies attendant on the Lord Mayor's -entrance on the duties of his office. The pageantry and magnificence -which once accompanied this periodical assumption of power, may be -estimated from the following description, taken from a manuscript, -written in 1575:— - -"The day of St. Simon and Jude he (the Mayor) entrethe into his -estate and offyce: and the next daie following he goeth by water to -Westmynster, in most tryumplyke maner. His barge beinge garnished with -the armes of the citie: and nere the sayd barge goeth a shyppbote of -the Queenes Ma{tie}, beinge trymed upp, and rigged lyke a shippe of -warre, with dyvers peces of ordinance, standards, penons, and targetts -of the proper armes of the sayd Mayor, the armes of the Citie, of his -company; and of the marchaunts adventurers, or of the staple, or of -the company of the newe trades; next before hym goeth the barge of -the lyvery of his owne company, decked with their owne proper armes, -then the bachelers barge, and so all the companies in London, in -order, every one havinge their owne proper barge garnished with the -armes of their company. And so passinge alonge the Thamise, landeth -at Westmynster, where he taketh his othe in Thexcheker, beffore the -judge there, (whiche is one of the chiefe judges of England,) whiche -done, he returneth by water as afforsayd, and landeth at powles wharfe, -where he and the reste of the Aldermen take their horses, and in great -pompe passe through the greate streete of the citie, called Cheapside. -And fyrste of all cometh ij great estandarts, one havinge the armes of -the citie, and the other the armes of the Mayor's company; next them -ij drommes and a flute, then an ensigne of the citie, and then about -lxx or lxxx poore men marchinge ij and two togeather in blewe gownes, -with redd sleeves and capps, every one bearinge a pyke and a target, -wheron is paynted the armes of all them that have byn Mayor of the -same company that this newe mayor is of. Then ij banners one of the -kynges armes, the other of the Mayor's owne proper armes. Then a sett -of hautboits playinge, and after them certayne wyfflers, in velvett -cotes, and chaynes of golde, with white staves in their handes, then -the pageant of tryumphe rychly decked, whereuppon by certayne fygures -and wrytinges, some matter touchinge justice, and the office of a -maiestrate is represented. Then xvj trompeters viij and viij in a -company, havinge banners of the Mayor's company. Then certayne wyfflers -in velvet cotes and chaynes, with white staves as aforesayde. Then the -bachelers ij, and two together, in longe gownen, with crymson hoodes -on their shoulders of sattyn; which bachelers are chosen every yeare -of the same company that the Mayor is of, (but not of the lyvery,) and -serve as gentlemen on that and other festivall daies, to wayte on the -Mayor, beinge in nomber accordinge to the quantetie of the company, -sometimes sixty or one hundred. After them xij trompeters more, with -banners of the Mayor's company, then the dromme and flute of the citie, -and an ensigne of the Mayor's company, and after, the waytes of the -citie in blewe gownes, redd sleeves and cappes, every one havinge his -silver coller about his neck. Then they of the liverey in their longe -gownes, every one havinge his hood on his lefte shoulder, halfe black -and halfe redd, the nomber of them is accordinge to the greatnes of -the companye whereof they are. After them followe Sheriffes officers, -and then the Mayor's officers, with other officers of the citie, as the -comon sargent, and the chamberlayne; next before the Mayore goeth the -sword-bearer, having on his headd, the cappe of honor, and the sworde -of the citie in his right hande, in a riche skabarde, sett with pearle, -and on his left hand goeth the comon cryer of the citie, with his great -mace on his shoulder, all gilt. The Mayor hathe on a long gowne of -skarlet, and on his lefte shoulder, a hood of black velvet, and a riche -coller of gold of SS. about his neck, and with him rydeth the olde -Mayor also, in his skarlet gowne, hood of velvet, and a chayne of golde -about his neck. Then all the Aldermen ij and ij together, (amongst -whom is the Recorder), all in skarlet gownes; and those that have byn -Mayors, have chaynes of gold, the other have black velvett tippetts. -The ij Shereffes come last of all, in their black skarlet gownes and -chaynes of golde. - -"In this order they passe alonge through the citie, to the Guyldhall, -where they dyne that daie, to the number of 1000 persons, all at the -charge of the Mayor and the ij Shereffes. This feast costeth 400_l._, -whereof the Mayor payeth 200_l._, and eche of the Shereffes 100_l._ -Imediately after dyner, they go the churche of St. Paule, every one of -the aforesaid poore men, bearrynge staffe torches and targetts, whiche -torches are lighted when it is late, before they come from evenynge -prayer."[164:A] - -Had the police of the city been as strictly regulated, as were the -ceremonies attending the inauguration of its chief magistrate, the -inhabitants of London, in Queen Elizabeth's days, would have had little -cause of complaint, with regard to personal protection; but, though -the _Statutes of the Streets_ were numerous and rigid, and sometimes -ridiculously minute, for No. 22. enacts, that "no man shall blowe any -horne in the night, within this citie, or whistle after the houre of -nyne of the clock in the night, under paine of imprisonment[165:A]," -yet they were so ill executed, that, even in the day-time, disturbances -of the most atrocious kind were deemed matters of common occurrence. -Thus Gilbert Talbot and his wife, writing to the Earl and Countess -of Shrewsbury, consider the following acts of violence as _trifling -matters_:—"On Thursday laste, (Feb. 13th, 1587,) as my Lorde Rytche -was rydynge in the streates, there was one Wyndam that stode in a -dore, and shotte a dagge at him, thynkynge to have slayne him; but -God p˜vyded so for my L. Rytche, that this Wyndam apoyntynge his -servante y{t} mornynge to charge his dagge w{th} II bulletts, the -fellow, doubtinge he mente to doe sum myschefe w{th} it, charged it -only w{th} powder and paper, and no bullett; and so this L'. lyfe was -thereby saved, for otherwyse he had beene slayne. Wyndam was p˜sently -taken by my L. Rytche's men, and, beynge broughte before the Counsell, -confessed his intende, but the cause of his quarrell I knowe not; -but he is com̄ytted to the Towre. The _same daye_, also, as S{r} John -Conway was goynge in the streetes, M{r} Lodovyke Grevell came sodenly -uppon him, and stroke him on the hedd w{th} a sworde, and but for one -of S{r} John Conwaye's men, who warded the blow, he had cutt of his -legges; yet did he hurte him sumwhat on bothe his shynns: The Councell -sente for Lodovyke Grevell, and have com̄ytted him to the Marchallcye. -I am forced to trouble yo{r} Honors w{th} thes _tryflynge matters_, for -I know no greater."[165:B] - -Yet a sufficient number of watchmen, constables, and justices of the -peace, was not wanting. Of these, the first were armed with halberds, -which, in Shakspeare's time, were called _bills_, and they usually -carried a lanthorn in one hand, and sometimes a bell in the other, -resting the halberd on the shoulder.[166:A] Notwithstanding these -official characters, however, the peace of the city was frequently more -effectually preserved by the interference of the apprentices, than -by that of the appointed guardians of public order; for it appears, -from Shakspeare's dramas, that the cry of _Clubs!_ was a signal for -the apprentices to arm themselves with these weapons, and quell the -disturbance. Thus in _King Henry the Eighth_, act v. sc. 3., the -Porter's man says:—"I hit that woman who cried out, _clubs!_ when -I might see from far some forty truncheoneers draw to her succour, -which were the hope of the Strand[166:B];" and in _Henry the Sixth, -Part the First_, even the Mayor of London is represented, on occasion -of a quarrel between the partizans of the Duke of Gloucester and the -Cardinal of Winchester, as threatening to call in similar assistance:— - - "I'll call for _clubs_, if you will not away."[166:C] - -We cannot wonder that the inferior officers of the Police should be -slack in the performance of their duty, when we recollect, that the -Justices of the Peace, in these days, especially those resident in the -metropolis, were so open to bribery, that many of them obtained the -appellation of _Basket Justices_; nor did a member of the House of -Commons hesitate, during the reign of Elizabeth, to describe a justice -of the peace as "an animal who for half a dozen of chickens would -readily dispense with a dozen penal laws."[166:D] - -Many customs of a miscellaneous nature might with ease be extracted -from the dramas of our poet; but to give them any relative bearing -or concatenation would be nearly impossible, and a totally insulated -detail of minute circumstances, would prove tedious to the most -persevering reader. Enough, we trust, has been collected to throw no -feeble light on the general manners and modes of living, of the period -under consideration, especially if it be recollected that the full -picture is to be formed from a combination of this with the similar -chapter, in a former part of the work, on the costume of rural life. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[89:A] Holinshed, vol. i. p. 289, 290.—Harrison's Description of -England. - -[90:A] Paul Hentzner's Travels in England: translated by Lord Orford. -Edward Jeffery's edit. 8vo. 1797. p. 34, 35. - -[91:A] Nugæ Antiquæ apud Park, vol. i. p. 361. - -[91:B] Ibid. p. 170. - -[91:C] Ibid. p. 118. - -[92:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 526, 527. note 2. - -[92:B] Ibid. vol. vi. p. 63. Much Ado About Nothing, act ii. sc. 3. - -[93:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vii. p. 314. Act iii. sc. 2. - -[93:B] Ibid. vol. iv. p. 289. Act iv. sc. 4. - -[93:C] "The English Ape, The Italian Imitation, The Foote-Steppes of -Fraunce," a black-letter tract, dated 1588; for an account of which see -Beloe's Anecdotes, vol. ii. p. 260. - -[93:D] Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vi. p. 64. note by Malone. - -[94:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. v. p. 128. - -[94:B] "Christ's Tears over Jerusalem," 4to. 1594. - -[94:C] "Quippes for upstart new fangled Gentlewemen: or a Glasse, to -view the pride of vain glorious Women," 4to. 1595.—Vide Restituta, -vol. iii. p. 255. - -[94:D] Vide Strutt's Customs, vol. iii. plate 22. fig. 9. - -[94:E] Restituta, vol. iii. p. 256. - -[95:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 154. - -[95:B] Strutt's Customs, vol. iii. plate 12. - -[95:C] Restituta, vol. iii. p. 256. - -[95:D] Anatomie of Abuses, 4to. p. 59. - -[95:E] Restituta, vol. iii. p. 257. - -[97:A] Anatomie of Abuses, 4to. p. 43. - -[97:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 248. - -[97:C] See Katharine's Gown, in Taming of the Shrew, Reed's Shakspeare, -vol. ix. p. 157. - -[98:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 144.—Mr. Douce has given a -plate of the _chopine_, in his second volume on Shakspeare, p. 234. - -[98:B] Restituta, vol. iii. p. 257. - -[99:A] "In a list of jewels given to the Queen at New-years tide, 1589, -is 'A fanne of fethers, white and redd, the handle of golde, inamaled -with a halfe moone of mother of perles, within that a halfe moone -garnished with sparks of dyamonds, and a few seede perles on the one -side, having her Majestie's picture within it; and on the back-side a -device with a crowe over it. Geven by Sir Frauncis Drake.'"—Nichols's -Progresses, vol. ii. p. 54. note. - -[99:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. v. p. 80.; vol. xi. p. 261. &c. &c. - -[99:C] Ibid. vol. xv. p. 46. Act i. sc. 3. - -[99:D] Ibid. vol. ix. p. 349. 352. Winter's Tale, act iv. sc. 3. - -[99:E] Stowe's Annals, by Howes, edit 1614. p. 868. - -[99:F] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vii. p. 72. note. - -[100:A] Anatomy of Melancholy, folio, 8th edit. p. 293, 294. 307.—In -Vaughan's "Golden Grove," also, the first edition of which appeared in -1600, may be found some curious notices on "superfluitie of apparell" -with regard to both sexes; he tells us that the women in the early -ages of the world "imitated not hermaphrodites, in wearing of men's -doublets. They wore no chaines of gold, &c.—they went not clothed in -velvet gownes, nor in chamlet peticotes. They smelt not unto pomander, -civet, muske, and such lyke trumperies." - -[101:A] The Court and Character of King James. Written and taken by Sir -A. W. being an eye, and ear witnesse. 12mo. 1650. p. 180, 181. - -[101:B] Nugæ Antiquæ, vol. i. pp. 391, 392. - -[102:A] Decker's Gull's Hornbook, reprint of 1812, pp. 83. 87. - -[102:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ix. p. 175. - -[102:C] Ibid. vol. xvii. p. 467.—Caps were usually worn by the lower -class, see vol. vi. p. 89. - -[102:D] Ibid. vol. vi. p. 357. - -[102:E] Bottom, in _Midsummer Night's Dream_, mentions also a -straw-coloured, an orange-tawny, a purple-in-grain, and a perfect -yellow, beard, act i. sc. 2. - -[102:F] See Jaques's description of the Seven Ages in _As You Like It_, -act ii. sc. 7. - -[103:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xii. p. 399. - -[103:B] Jervis Markham has an allusion to this custom in his Treatise -entitled _Honour in Perfection_, 4to., p. 18. - -[103:C] Frequent references to these fashions may be found in our -author; vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vi. p. 162; vol. ix. p. 242, and -vol. x. p. 355. Jonson and Fletcher also abound with them; and see that -curious exposition of fashionable follies, Decker's Gull's Hornbook, -Reprint, p. 86. 137, &c. - -[103:D] Vide Stowe's Annals, p. 869.—The divisions, or pieces of the -brim of the collar or ruffe, were, according to Cotgrave's Dictionary, -1611, termed _piccadillies_. And the author of London and its Environs -described, tells us, that in _Piccadilly_ "there were formerly no -houses, and only one shop for Spanish ruffs, which was called the -_Piccadilly_ or _ruff_ shop." Vide vol. v. - -[104:A] Strutt's Customs, vol. iii. p. 85.—The next age saw this -absurd mode of dress revived: and Bulmer, in his _Pedigree of the -English Gallant_, relates, that, when the law was in force against the -use of _bags for stuffing breeches_, a man was brought before a court -of justice, charged with wearing the prohibited article, upon which, -in order to refute the accusation, he produced from within "a pair of -sheets, two table cloths, ten napkins, four shirts, a brush, a glass, a -comb, night-caps, &c." p. 548. - -[104:B] In the first volume of the Antiquarian Repertory, it is -recorded, that "Nailer came through London apparelled in a doublet and -galey-gascoigne breeches, all of crimsin satin, cut and raced." - -[104:C] - - _Luc._ A round hose, madam, now's not worth a pin, - Unless you have a cod-piece to stick pins on. - Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 236. - -Thomas Wright in his "Passions of the Minde," first published in -1601, speaking of our countrymen's proneness to imitate French -fashions, tells us in his chapter entitled "Discoverie of Passions in -Apparell,"—"Some I have heard very contemptuously say, that scarcely -a new forme of breeches appeared in the French King's kitchin but they -were presently translated over into the court of England." - -[105:A] Bishop's Blossoms.—Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 197. - -[105:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 197. - -[105:C] Anatomy of Abuses, p. 30. - -[105:D] Gull's Hornbook, p. 93. - -[105:E] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xi. p. 275, note. - -[106:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 212. - -[106:B] Quoted by Dr. Farmer: Reed's Shakspeare, vol. x. p. 481. - -[106:C] Decker's Gull's Horn-book, reprint, pp. 13. 76. - -[107:A] See also, Strutt's Dress and Habits of the People of England, -vol. ii. p. 263. - -[107:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xii. p. 102. Act ii. sc. 4. - -[107:C] Vide Andrews's History of Great Britain, vol. ii. p. 301. - -[107:D] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xx. p. 256. - -[107:E] "The Longer thou Livest the more Fool thou art."—Vide -Biographia Dramatica, vol. ii. p. 193. - -[108:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. v. pp. 75, 76.—To the old two-handed -sword, and to the monstrous stuffed hose, Ben Jonson most humorously -refers us, in his _Epicœne; or, the Silent Woman_, where True-wit -frightens Daw by an exaggerated description of Sir Amorous La Foole's -warlike attire. "He has got," says he, "somebody's _old two-hand -sword_, to mow you off at the knees: and that sword hath spawn'd such -a dagger!—But then he is so hung with pikes, halberds, petronels, -callivers, and muskets, that he looks like a justice of peace's hall: -a man of two thousand a year is not cess'd at so many weapons as he -has on. There was never fencer challeng'd at so many several foils. -You would think he meant to murder all St. Pulchre's parish. If he -could but victual himself for half a year in his _breeches_, he is -sufficiently arm'd to overrun a country."—Act iv. sc. 5. - -[108:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. viii. p. 257. Act ii. sc. 1. - -[109:A] Douce's Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 315. - -[109:B] Stowe's Annals, p. 869. - -[109:C] Lodge's Illustrations of British History, vol. ii. p. 228. - -[110:A] Anatomy of Melancholy, 8th edit. folio, p. 295. - -[111:A] "Doctor Merrie-man: or Nothing but Mirth. Written by S. R. At -London, printed for John Deane, and are to be sold at his Shoppe at -Temple Barre, under the Gate." 1609. 4to. pp. 24.—Vide Restituta, vol. -iii. p. 442. Samuel Rowland is supposed to be the author of this lively -satire. - -[112:A] Nugæ Antiquæ, vol. i. pp. 201, 202. - -[113:A] Travels in England, pp. 54. 56-58. - -[113:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xviii. pp. 489-491. - -[113:C] Censura Literaria, vol. viii. p. 19. - -[114:A] "The Touchstone of Complexions, &c." First written in Latine by -Levine Lemnie, and now Englished by Thomas Newton. small 8vo. bl. l. -1576. - -[114:B] Merry Wives of Windsor, act iii. sc. 3. - -[114:C] Much Ado about Nothing, act i. sc. 3. - -[114:D] King John, act iv. sc. 1. - -[114:E] Henry IV. Part I., act ii. sc. 4. - -[114:F] Hamlet, act iii. sc. 3. - -[115:A] Malone's Supplement, vol. i. p. 487. - -[115:B] "A Dialogue both pleasaunt and pitifull, &c." by Dr. Willyam -Bulleyne, 1564. sig. H 5. Reed's Shakspeare, vol. viii. p. 104. - -[115:C] "No whipping nor tripping, but a kind of friendly snipping," -8vo.—Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. viii. p. 104. note by Malone. - -[115:D] Act iii. sc. 2. - -[115:E] Cymbeline, act ii. sc. 2. - -[115:F] "A Specimen of a Commentary on Shakspeare, &c." on the -principle of Mr. Locke's Doctrine of the Association of Ideas, p. 78. -8vo. 1794. - -[116:A] Pope's Odyssey, book vii. - -[116:B] Good's Lucretius, vol. i. p. 189. - -[116:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xii. p. 447. King Henry V., act iv. sc. -2. - -[116:D] Romeo and Juliet, act i. sc. 4. - -[116:E] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xv. p. 55. - -[117:A] Vide Warton's Extract from Froissart, Hist. of English Poetry, -vol. iii. Dissertation, p. lxxvi. - -[117:B] Ancient British Drama, vol. ii. p. 592. - -[117:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. v. p. 181. - -[117:D] Gull's Horn-book, pp. 22, 23. - -[117:E] "More Dissemblers besides Women," act i. sc. 1. - -[118:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ix. p. 92. Taming of the Shrew, act ii. -sc. 1. - -[118:B] Ibid. p. 93. note by Steevens. - -[118:C] Ibid. vol. v. p. 376. note. - -[118:D] Act iii. sc. 4. - -[118:E] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xx. p. 65. - -[118:F] Ibid. vol. ix. p. 124. - -[119:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. v. p. 272. Act i. sc. 5. - -[119:B] Ibid. vol. xv. p. 342. Act iii. sc. 2. - -[119:C] Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 85. - -[119:D] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xi. p. 331. King Henry IV. Part I. act -iii. sc. 1. - -[119:E] Cymbeline, act ii. sc. 2. Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 466. - -[120:A] Act i. sc. 4. Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 48. - -[120:B] Act ii. sc. 5. - -[120:C] Bulwarke of Defence, 1579, fol. 21. - -[120:D] Belman of London, 1612. sig. B 4.—We may add, also, to this -enumeration, the general use of large mirrors, or looking-glasses, -for Hentzner tells us that he was shewn, "at the house of Leonard -Smith, _a taylor_, a most perfect looking-glass, ornamented with gold, -pearls, silver, and velvet, so richly as to be estimated at 500 ecus du -soleil."—Travels, p. 32. - -[122:A] Holinshed, vol. i. p. 280. - -[123:A] Hentzner's Travels, pp. 36, 37. - -[125:A] Nugæ Antiquæ, vol. i. pp. 349-352. - -[125:B] Ibid. p. 106. - -[125:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vi. p. 236. Act ii. sc. 1. - -[126:A] Douce's Illustrations, vol. i. p. 125. - -[126:B] Whalley's Jonson; act iii. sc. 2. - -[126:C] "Coryat's Crudities, hastily gobled up in five Moneths -Travells, &c." 1611. 4to. p. 90. - -[126:D] Whalley's Johnson; act v. sc. 4. - -[127:A] "The benefit of the auncient Bathes of Buckstones, which cureth -most greevous sicknesses, never before published: compiled by John -Jones, Phisition. At the King's Mede nigh Darby. Anno salutis 1572, -&c." bl. l.—Vide Censura Literaria, vol. x. p. 277. - -[127:B] Vide Stubbes's Anatomie of Abuses, p. 69, and Caius's Booke of -Counseil, &c. fol. 24. - -[127:C] The Passions of the Minde. By Th. W. (Thomas Wright.) London, -printed by V. S. for W. B. 1601. small 8vo. - -[128:A] The Works of Francis Osborn, Esq. 8vo. 9th edit. p. 475. - -[128:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xix. p. 335. - -[129:A] _Delicate Dyet for Daintie-mouthed Droonkards_: wherein the -fowle abuse of common carowsing and quaffing with heartie draughtes is -honestly admonished. 8vo. 1576. - -[129:B] _Philocothonista_, or the drunkard opened, dissected, and -anatomized, 4to. - -[129:C] Lodge's Illustrations of British History, &c., vol. ii. p. 27. - -[130:A] Gull's Horn-book, 1609, reprint, p. 119, 120. - -[130:B] English Villanies, &c. first printed in 1616. - -[130:C] Of the precise year when the first edition of Markham's -_English House-wife_ was published, I am ignorant; but a near -approximation to the fact may be deduced from the following -statement:—The _first_ edition of his _Country Contentments_ appeared -in 1615, and the _eleventh_ in 1683; of his _Cheap and Good Husbandry_, -the _first_ impression took place in 1616, and the _fourteenth_ in -1683; and of the _English House-wife_, the _ninth_ edition issued from -the press in the same year, namely 1683. - -[131:A] English Housewife, p. 112, 113. - -[131:B] Ibid. p. 118. - -[131:C] "If sack and sugar be a fault, god help the wicked."—Reed's -Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 308. - -[132:A] Itinerary, 1617, Part III. p. 152. - -[132:B] Travels, Jeffery's edition, p. 64.: "They put a great deal of -sugar in their drink." - -[132:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 282. - -[132:D] "Go fetch me a quart of sack, _put a toast in it_," Merry Wives -of Windsor, act iii. sc. 5. - -[132:E] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. v. p. 150. - -[132:F] Ibid. vol. xi. p. 281, 282.—It appears that Sack, in -Shakspeare's time, was sold at eight-pence halfpenny a Quart—for in -Falstaff's Tavern-bill occurs the following _item_: "Sack, two gallons, -5_s._ 8_d._" Vol. xi. p. 314. - -[133:A] The title-page of this curious poem is lost, but the passage -alluded to, is as follows:— - - "There hath beene great sale and utterance of wine, - Besides beere and ale, and ipocras fine, - In every country, region, and nation; - Chefely at Billingsgate, at the _Salutation_, - And _Bores Head_, neere London Stone, - _The Swan_ at Dowgate, a taverne well knowne, - _The Miter_ in Cheape, and then the _Bull Head_, - And many like places that make noses red; - The _Bores Head_ in old Fish-street, _three Cranes_ in the Vintree, - And now of late St. Martin's in the Sentree; - The _Wind-mill_ in Lothburry, _the Ship_ at the Exchange, - _King's Head_ in New Fish-streete, where roysters do range; - _The Mermaid_ in Cornhill, _Red Lion_ in the Strand, - _Three Tuns_ Newgate Market, Old Fish-street at _the Swan_." - -[133:B] "The Survay of London," 4to. 1618. bl. l. p. 782. - -[134:A] Earle's Microcosmography, reprint by Bliss, pp. 39, 40. - -[134:B] Gull's Horn-book, reprint by Nott, pp. 109. 127, 128. - -[134:C] Ibid. p. 159, 160. - -[134:D] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. v. p. 91. - -[134:E] Ibid. vol. v. p. 91. note. From _Merry Passages and Jeasts_, -MSS. Harl. 6395. - -[135:A] Gull's Horn-book, pp. 121, 122.—"Let us here remark," adds Dr. -Nott, in a note on this passage, "that J. Harington is to be considered -as the inventor of that cleanly comfort the water-closet; which gave -rise to his witty little tract above-mentioned, (Metamorphosis of -Ajax, a jakes, 1596,) wherein he humorously recommends the same to Q. -Elizabeth; and for which, by the way, he was banished her court." - -[135:B] The Workes of the most High and Mighty Prince, James, &c. &c. -folio, 1616. p. 222. - -[136:A] Apophthegms of King James, 1671. - -[136:B] The Workes of King James, folio, p. 221. - -[136:C] Whalley's Jonson; act iii. sc. 5. - -[137:A] Anatomy of Melancholy, p. 235. col. 1. - -[137:B] Workes of King James, p. 221. - -[137:C] History of his Life and Times, 8vo. p. 44. - -[137:D] Gull's Horn-book, pp. 119, 120. - -[138:A] Reprint of Decker's Gull's Horn-book, p. 17. note 15. - -[138:B] Travels, 8vo. p. 63. - -[138:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ix. p. 127. - -[138:D] Itinerary, 1617. folio. - -[140:A] Nugæ Antiquæ, vol. i. pp. 105-108. - -[141:A] Wit's Miserie and the World's Madnesse, 4to. 1599.—So -necessary was a fool to the monarch and his courtiers, that Armin, in -his _Nest of Ninnies_, 4to. 1608, describing Will Sommers, Henry the -Eighth's fool, says,— - - —————————————— "In all the Court - Few men were more belov'd than was this Foole, - Whose merry prate kept with the king much rule. - When he was sad, the King and he would rime: - Thus _Will_ exiled sadnesse many a time." - -[142:A] We must here observe, that the Baron of Brandwardine's Fool, -in _Waverley_, is an admirable copy of the character, as drawn by -Shakspeare; and, as the work seems a faithful picture of existing -manners in 1745, is a striking proof of the retention of this curious -personage, until a recent period. - -[142:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xx. p. 72. - -[142:C] Gifford's Edition of Massinger, vol. i. p. 167.; and vol. iv. -p. 29. - -[143:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ix. p. 133. - -[143:B] Gifford's Massinger, vol. i. p. 166.; and Dodsley's Old Plays, -by Reed, vol. xii. p. 430. - -[144:A] Act iv. sc. 2. - -[144:B] Ancient British Drama, vol. ii. p. 546. col. 1. - -[144:C] Restituta, vol. iii. p. 258. - -[144:D] The Works of Taylor, the Water Poet, 1630. p. 240. - -[145:A] Vide Lords' Journals, vol. ii. p. 229. - -[145:B] Vide Gifford's Massinger, vol. iv. pp. 43, 44. note ex Autog. -in Bibl. Harl. - -[146:A] Part II. chapter ii. - -[146:B] Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 94.—Mr. Douce gives -the title-pages of several publications of this kind, in 1588, 1591, -1598, and 1599; and, lastly, describes one called "The needles -excellency," illustrated with copper-plates, and adds,—"prefixed -to the patterns are sundry poems in commendation of the needle, -and describing the characters of ladies who have been eminent for -their skill in needle-work, among which are _Queen Elizabeth_ and -the Countess of Pembroke. These poems were composed by John Taylor, -the water poet. It appears that the work (in 1640) had gone through -twelve impressions, and yet a copy is now scarcely to be met with. -This may be accounted for by supposing that such books were generally -cut to pieces, and used by women to work upon or transfer to their -samplers.—It appears to have been originally published in the reign of -James the First." P. 96. - -[147:A] Vide Chalmers's Apology, p. 45., from Murden, p. 657. - -[147:B] Moryson's Itinerary, p. 233. - -[148:A] Walpole's Catalogue of Royal and Noble Authors apud Park, vol. -ii. p. 89. - -[148:B] Nugæ Antiquæ, vol. ii. pp. 216-218. - -[149:A] Nichols's Progresses of Queen Elizabeth, vol. ii. - -[149:B] Nugæ Antiquæ, vol. i. pp. 355. 357-359. - -[150:A] The Court and Character of King James, 12mo. 1650. pp. 5, 6. - -[150:B] Vide Melvill's Memoirs. - -[151:A] Nugæ Antiquæ, vol. i. pp. 175, 176. - -[151:B] Ibid. vol. i. p. 167. - -[151:C] Ibid. p. 235. - -[151:D] Ibid. p. 345. - -[152:A] Ibid. vol. i. pp. 367-370. - -[153:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. v. p. 353. - -[154:A] Lodge's Illustrations of British History, vol. i. Introduction, -pp. xviii. xix. from a MS. in the possession of the Rev. Sir Richard -Kaye, Dean of Lincoln. - -[154:B] Hentzner's Travels, pp. 63, 64. - -[155:A] Discoverie of Witchcraft, 4to. pp. 355, 356.—Scot has taken -great liberties with the text of Chaucer, both in modernising the -language, and in tacking together widely separated lines and couplets. - -[155:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 83. Act ii. sc. 2. - -[155:C] Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 14.—Batman upon -Bartholome, fol. 359. _b_. - -[155:D] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xix. pp. 269, 270. - -[156:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. pp. 114, 115. - -[156:B] Itinerary, Part I. p. 198. - -[156:C] Whalley's Works of Ben Jonson; act ii. sc. 3. - -[157:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. viii. p. 138. As You Like It, act iv. -sc. 1. - -[158:A] "The Enemie to Vnthryftinesse: publishing by Lawes, documents -and disciplines, &c. By George Whetstons, Gent. Printed at London by -Richard Jones. 1586." 4to. pp. 24. 32.—Vide British Bibliographer, -vol. iii. pp. 601-604. - -[158:B] Lodge's Illustrations of British History, vol. ii. pp. 217, 218. - -[159:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. viii. pp. 171. 177. 179, 180, 181. 183. - -[160:A] Scourge of Villanie, 1599. book ii. sat. 7. - -[161:A] Gull's Horn-book, p. 15. - -[161:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. x. pp. 360-362. - -[161:C] Essayes by Sir William Cornwallyes, the younger. Essay 28. - -[162:A] Walton's Complete Angler, Bagster's edit. 1808, pp. 369. 380. - -[162:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xv. pp. 328, 329. - -[164:A] "A breffe description of the Royall Citie of London, capitall -citie of this realme of England. (City Arms.) Wrytten by me William -Smythe citezen and haberdasher of London, 1575." MS. - -"This compilation," says Mr. Haslewood, "forms a quarto volume of -moderate thickness, and was intended for publication."—Vide British -Bibliographer, vol. i. pp. 539-542. - -[165:A] Vide "The Statutes of the Streets," printed by Wolfe, in 1595. - -[165:B] Lodge's Illustrations, vol. ii. p. 206. - -[166:A] The costume of the Watchman is thus represented in the -title-page to Decker's "O per se O," &c. 4to. 1612, and is copied in -Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vi. p. 97. - -[166:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xv. p. 205. - -[166:C] Ibid. vol. xiii. p. 36. - -[166:D] D'Ewes's Journals of Parliament, in Queen Elizabeth's Reign, p. -661. 664. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - - ON THE DIVERSIONS OF THE METROPOLIS, AND THE COURT—THE STAGE; - ITS USAGES, AND ECONOMY. - - -Of the diversions of the metropolis and court, some were peculiar, and -some were shared in common with the country. "The countrey hath his -recreations," observes Burton, "the city his several _Gymnicks_ and -_exercises_, _feasts_ and _merry meetings_."—"What so pleasant as to -see some _Pageant_ or sight go by, as at Coronations, Weddings, and -such like solemnities, to see an Embassadour or a Prince met, received, -entertained, with _Masks_, _Shews_, _Fireworks_, &c."[168:A]; and an -old dramatic poet of 1590, gives us a still more copious list of town -amusements:— - - "—— Let nothing that's magnifical, - Or that may tend to London's graceful state, - Be unperform'd, as _showes_ and _solemne feastes_, - _Watches in armour_, _triumphes_, _cresset lights_, - _Bonefires_, _belles_, and _peales of ordinaunce_ - And pleasure. See that _plaies_ be published, - Mai-games and _maskes_, with mirth and minstrelsie, - _Pageants_ and _school-feastes_, beares and puppet-plaies.[168:B] - -"Every _palace_," continues Burton, "every _city_ almost, hath his -_peculiar walks_, _cloysters_, _terraces_, _groves_, _theatres_, -_pageants_, _games_, and _several recreations_[168:C];" and we purpose, -in this chapter, giving some account of the leading articles thus -enumerated, but more particularly of the stage, as being peculiarly -connected with the design and texture of our work. - -As the principal object, therefore, of the present discussion, will be -the amusements usually appropriated to the capital; those which it has -in common with the country shall be first enumerated, though in a more -superficial way. - -Of these, _card-playing_ seems to have been as universal in the days -of Elizabeth, as in modern times, and carried on, too, with the same -ruinous consequences to property and morals; for though Stowe tells -us, when commemorating the customs of London, that "from All-Hallows -eve to the day following Candlemas-day, there was, among other sports, -playing at cards for counters, nails, and points, in every house, more -for pastime than for gain," yet we learn from contemporary satirists, -from Gosson, Stubbes, and Northbrooke[169:A], that all ranks, and -especially the upper classes, were incurably addicted to gaming in the -pursuit of this amusement, which they considered equally as seductive -and pernicious as dice. - -The games at cards peculiar to this period, and now obsolete, are, 1. -_Primero_, supposed to be the most ancient game of cards in England. -It was very fashionable in the age of Shakspeare, who represents Henry -the Eighth playing "at _primero_ with the duke of Suffolk[169:B];" and -Falstaff exclaiming in the _Merry Wives of Windsor_, "I never prospered -since I foreswore myself at _primero_."[169:C] - -The mode of playing this curious game is thus described by Mr. Strutt, -from Mr. Barrington's papers upon card-playing, in the eighth volume of -the Archæologia:—"Each player had four cards dealt to him one by one, -the seven was the highest card in point of number that he could avail -himself of, which counted for twenty-one, the six counted for sixteen, -the five for fifteen, and the ace for the same, but the two, the three, -and the four, for their respective points only. The knave of hearts was -commonly fixed upon for the quinola, which the player might make what -card or suit he thought proper; if the cards were of different suits, -the highest number won the primero, if they were all of one colour he -that held them won the flush."[170:A] - -2. _Trump_, nearly coeval in point of antiquity with primero, and -introduced in _Gammer Gurton's Needle_, a comedy, first acted in 1561, -where Dame Chat, addressing Diccon, says,— - - "We be fast set at trump, man, hard by the fyre;"[170:B] - -and we learn from Decker that, in 1612, it was much in vogue:—"To -speake," he remarks, "of all the sleights used by card-players in all -sorts of games would but weary you that are to read, and bee but a -thanklesse and unpleasing labour for me to set them down. Omitting, -therefore the deceipts practised (even in the fayrest and most civill -companies) at Primero, Saint Maw, _Trump_, and such like games, I will, -&c."[170:C] - -3. _Gleek._ This game is alluded to twice by Shakspeare[170:D]; and -from a passage in Cook's _Green's Tu Quoque_, appears to have been held -in much esteem:— - - "_Scat._ Come, gentlemen, what is your game? - - _Staines._ Why, _gleek; that's your only game_;"[170:E] - -it is then proposed to play either at twelve-penny gleek, or crown -gleek.[170:F] - -To these may be added, _Gresco_, _Mount Saint_, _New Cut_, _Knave Out -of Doors_, and _Ruff_, all of which are mentioned in old plays, and -were favourites among our ancestors.[170:G] - -_Tables and Dice_, enumerated by Burton after cards, include some -games unknown to the present day; such as _tray-trip_, _mum-chance_, -_philosopher's game_, _novum_, &c.; the first is noticed by Shakspeare -in _Twelfth Night_, and appears, from a note by Mr. Tyrwhitt, to -have been a species of _draughts_[171:A]; the second was also a game -at tables, and is coupled by Ben Jonson in the _Alchemist_ with -_tray-trip_[171:B]; the third is mentioned by Burton[171:C], and is -described by Mr. Strutt from a manuscript in the British Museum.—"It -is called," says the author, "'a number fight,' because in it men fight -and strive together by the art of counting or numbering how one may -take his adversary's king and erect a triumph upon the deficiency of -his calculations[171:D];" and the fourth is introduced by Shakspeare -in _Love's Labour's Lost_[171:E];—"it was properly called _novum -quinque_," remarks Mr. Douce, "from the two principal throws of the -dice, nine and five;—was called in French _quinque-nove_, and is said -to have been invented in Flanders."[171:F] - -The immoralities to which _dice_ have given birth, we are authorised -in considering, from the proverbial phraseology of Shakspeare, to have -been as numerous in his time as at present. The expressions "false as -dice[171:G]," and "false as dicers' oaths[171:H]," will be illustrated -by the following anecdote, taken from an anonymous MS. of the reign of -James the First:—"Sir William Herbert, playing at dice with another -gentleman, there rose some questions about a cast. Sir William's -antagonist declared it was a four and a five; he as positively insisted -that it was a five and a six; the other then swore with a bitter -imprecation, that it was as he had said; Sir William then replied, -'Thou art a perjured knave; for give me a sixpence, and if there be a -four upon the dice, I will return you a thousand pounds;' at which the -other was presently abashed, for indeed the dice were false, and of a -high cut, without a four."[172:A] - -_Dancing_ was an almost daily amusement in the court of Elizabeth; the -Queen was peculiarly fond of this exercise, as had been her father -Henry the Eighth, and the taste for it became so general, during her -reign, that a great part of the leisure of almost every class of -society was spent, and especially on days of festivity, in dancing. - -To dance elegantly was one of the strongest recommendations to the -favour of Her Majesty; and her courtiers, therefore, strove to rival -each other in this pleasing accomplishment; nor were their efforts, -in many instances, unrewarded. Sir Christopher Hatton, we are told, -owed his promotion, in a great measure, to his skill in dancing; and -in accordance with this anecdote, Gray opens his "Long Story" with -an admirable description of his merit in this department, which, as -containing a most just and excellent picture, both of the architecture -and manners of "the days of good Queen Bess," as well as of the dress -and agility of the knight, we with pleasure transcribe. Stoke-Pogeis, -the scene of the narrative, was formerly in the possession of the -Hattons:— - - "In Britain's isle, no matter where, - An ancient pile of building stands; - The Huntingdons and Hattons there - Employ'd the pow'r of Fairy hands - - To raise the cieling's fretted height, - Each pannel in achievements clothing, - Rich windows that exclude the light, - And passages that lead to nothing. - - Full oft within the spacious walls, - When he had fifty winters o'er him, - My grave Lord-Keeper led the _brawls_; - The seal and maces danc'd before him. - - His bushy beard and shoe-strings green, - His high-crown'd hat and sattin doublet, - Mov'd the stout heart of England's Queen. - Tho' Pope and Spaniard could not trouble it." - -The _Brawl_, a species of dance, here alluded to, is derived from the -French word _braule_, "indicating," observes Mr. Douce, "a shaking or -swinging motion.—It was performed by several persons uniting hands in -a circle, and giving each other continual shakes, the steps changing -with the tune. It usually consisted of three _pas_ and a _pied-joint_, -to the time of four strokes of the bow; which, being repeated, -was termed _a double brawl_. With this dance, balls were usually -opened."[173:A] - -Shakspeare seems to have entertained as high an idea of the efficacy -of a _French brawl_, as probably did Sir Christopher Hatton, when he -exhibited before Queen Elizabeth; for he makes Moth in _Love's Labour's -Lost_ ask Armado,—"Master, will you win your love with a _French -brawl_?" and he then exclaims, "These betray nice wenches."[173:B] -That several dances were included under the term _brawls_, appears -from a passage in Shelton's Don Quixote:—"After this there came in -another artificial dance, of _those called Brawles_[173:C];" and Mr. -Douce informs us, that amidst a great variety of _brawls_, noticed in -Thoinot Arbeau's treatise in dancing, entitled _Orchesographie_, occurs -a _Scotish brawl_; and he adds that this dance continued in fashion to -the close of the seventeenth century.[173:D] - -Another dance of much celebrity at this period, was the _Pavin_ or -_Pavan_, which, from the solemnity of its measure, seems to have -been held in utter aversion by Sir Toby Belch, who, in reference -to his intoxicated surgeon, exclaims,—"Then he's a rogue. After a -passy-measure, or a pavin, I hate a drunken rogue."[174:A] This is the -text of Mr. Tyrwhitt; but the old copy reads,—"Then he's a rogue, and -_a passy measure's pavyn_," which is probably correct; for the _pavan_ -was rendered still more grave by the introduction of the _passamezzo_ -air, which obliged the dancers, after making several steps round the -room, to _cross it in the middle_ in a _slow step_ or cinque pace. This -alteration of time occasioned the term _passamezzo_ to be prefixed to -the name of several dances; thus we read of the _passamezzo galliard_, -as well as the _passamezzo pavan_; and Sir Toby, by applying the latter -appellation to his surgeon, meant to call him, not only a rogue, but a -solemn coxcomb. "The _pavan_, from _pavo_ a peacock," observes Sir J. -Hawkins, "is a grave and majestick dance. The method of dancing it was -anciently by gentlemen dressed with a cap and sword, by those of the -long robe in their gowns, by princes in their mantles, and by ladies -in gowns with long trains, the motion whereof in the dance resembled -that of a peacock's tail. This dance is supposed to have been invented -by the Spaniards, and its figure is given with the characters for the -step, in the Orchesographia of Thoinot Arbeau.—Of the _passamezzo_ -little is to be said, except that it was a favourite air in the days -of Queen Elizabeth. Ligon, in his _History of Barbadoes_, mentions a -_passamezzo_ galliard, which, in the year 1647, a Padre in that island -played to him on the lute; the very same, he says, with an air of that -kind which in Shakspeare's play of _Henry the Fourth_ was originally -played to Sir John Falstaff and Doll Tearsheet, by Sneak, the musician, -there named."[174:B] - -Of equal gravity with the "doleful pavin," as Sir W. D'Avenant calls -it, was _The Measure_, to _tread_ which was the relaxation of the most -dignified characters in the state, and formed a part of the revelry -of the inns of court, where the gravest lawyers were often found -_treading the measures_. Shakspeare puns upon the name of this dance, -and contrasts it with the Scotch jig, in _Much Ado about Nothing_, -where he introduces Beatrice telling her cousin Hero,—"The fault will -be in the musick, cousin, if you be not woo'd in good time: if the -prince be too important, tell him, there is _measure_ in every thing, -and so _dance out_ the answer. For hear me, Hero: Wooing, wedding, -and repenting, is as a Scotch jig, _a measure_, and a cinque-pace: -the first suit is hot and hasty, like a Scotch jig, and full as -fantastical: the wedding, mannerly-modest, as a _measure full of state -and ancientry_; and then comes repentance, and, with his bad legs, -falls into the cinque-pace faster and faster, till he sink into his -grave."[175:A] - -A more brisk and lively step accompanied the _Canary dance_, which -was, likewise, very fashionable:—"I have seen a medicine," says Lafeu -in _All's Well that Ends Well_, alluding to the influence of female -charms,— - - "That's able to breathe life into a stone; - Quicken a rock, and _make you dance canary, - With spritely fire and motion_;"[175:B] - -and Moth advises Armado, when dancing the brawl, to _Canary it_ with -his feet.[175:C] - -The mode of performing this dance, is thus given by Mr. Douce, from -the treatise of Thoinot Arbeau:—"A lady is taken out by a gentleman, -and after dancing together to the cadences of the proper air, he leads -her to the end of the hall; this done he retreats back to the original -spot, always looking at the lady. Then he makes up to her again, with -certain steps, and retreats as before. His partner performs the same -ceremony, which is several times repeated by both parties, with various -strange fantastic steps, very much in the savage style."[175:D] - -Beside the _brawl_, the _pavan_, the _measure_, and the _canary_, -several other dances were in vogue, under the general titles of -_corantoes_, _lavoltos_, _jigs_, _galliards_, and _fancies_, but the -four which we have selected for more peculiar notice, appear to have -been the most celebrated. - -It is a melancholy proof of the imperfect state of civilisation -during the reign of Elizabeth, that the barbarous sport of _Bear and -Bullbeating_ should have been as favourite a diversion of the court, -nobility, and gentry, as of the lowest class of society. Indeed it -would appear, from an order issued by the privy council, in July, 1591, -that the populace had earlier than their superiors become tired of this -cruel spectacle, and had given a marked preference to the amusements of -the stage; for it is enacted in the above order, that there should be -no plays publickly exhibited on _Thursdays_; because on _Thursdays_, -_bear-baiting_ and such like pastimes had been _usually_ practised; -and four days afterwards an injunction to the same effect was sent to -the Lord Mayor, in which, after justly reprobating the performance of -plays on the Sabbath, it is added, that on "all other days of the week -in divers place the players do use to recite their plays to the _great -hurt and destruction of the game of bear-baiting, and like pastimes, -which are maintained for her Majesty's pleasure_."[176:A] - -History informs us that Elizabeth's pleasure was thus gratified at an -early period of her life, and continued to be so to the close of her -reign. When confined at Hatfield house, she, and her sister, Queen -Mary, were recreated with a grand exhibition of bear-baiting, "_with -which their highnesses were right well content_."[176:B] Soon after -she had ascended the throne, she entertained the French ambassadors -with bear and bull baiting, and stood a spectatress of the amusement -until six in the evening; a similar exhibition took place the next -day at Paris-Garden, for the same party; and even twenty-seven years -posterior, Her Majesty could not devise a more welcome gratification -for the Danish ambassador, than the display of such a spectacle at -Greenwich. - -So decided a partiality for this savage pastime would, of course, -induce her courtiers to take care that their mistress should not be -disappointed in this respect, and more especially when she honoured -them with one of her periodical visits. Accordingly Laneham tells us, -that when she was at Kenelworth Castle, in 1575, not less than thirteen -bears were provided for her diversion, and that these were baited with -a large species of ban-dogs.[177:A] - -An example thus set by royalty itself, soon spread through every rank, -and bear and bull baiting became one of the most general amusements -in England. Shakspeare has alluded to it in more than twenty places, -and it has equally attracted the notice of the foreign and domestic -historian. Hentzner, whose Itinerary was printed in Latin A. D. 1598, -was a spectator at one of these exhibitions, which he describes in -the following manner: speaking of the theatres he says, "there is -still another place, built in the form of a theatre, which serves -for the baiting of bulls and bears; they are fastened behind, and -then worried by great English bull-dogs, but not without great risque -to the dogs, from the horns of the one, and the teeth of the other; -and it sometimes happens they are killed on the spot; fresh ones -are immediately supplied in the places of those that are wounded or -tired." He then adds an account of a still more inhuman pastime:—"To -this entertainment, there often follows that of whipping a blinded -bear, which is performed by five or six men, standing circularly with -whips, which they exercise upon him without any mercy, as he cannot -escape from them because of his chain; he defends himself with all -his force and skill, throwing down all who come within his reach, -and are not active enough to get out of it, and tearing the whips -out of their hands, and breaking them."[177:B] Stowe, in the edition -of his Survey printed in 1618, remarks, that "as for the bayting of -Bulles and Beares, they are till this day much frequented, namely, -in Beare-gardens on the Bankside, wherein be prepared Scaffolds for -beholders to stand upon."[177:C] - -The admission to these gardens was upon easy terms, for we are told -that the spectators paid "one pennie at the gate, another at the entrie -of the scaffold, and a third for quiet standing."[178:A] It was usual -also for the bearward to parade the streets with his animal, who had -frequently a monkey on his back and was preceded by a minstrel. The -bear was generally complimented with the name of his keeper: thus, in -Shakspeare's time, there was a celebrated one at Paris Garden called -_Sackerson_. "I have seen Sackerson loose," says Slender, "twenty -times; and have taken him by the chain: but, I warrant you, the women -have so cried and shriek'd at it, that it pass'd:—but women, indeed, -cannot abide 'em; they are very ill-favoured rough things[178:B];" in -the "Puritan" published in 1607, occurs one named _George Stone_; and -in the "Humorous Lovers," by the Duke of Newcastle, printed in 1617, -_Tom of Lincoln_ is the appellation of another. - -A diversion infinitely more elegant and pleasing in all its -accompaniments, once of great utility, and unattended with the smallest -vestige of barbarism or inhumanity, we have now to record as resulting -from the use of the long bow, which, though greatly on the decline, in -the days of Elizabeth, as a weapon of warfare, still lingered amongst -us as a species of amusement. Various attempts, indeed, had been made -by the nearly immediate predecessors of Elizabeth, to revive the use of -the long bow as a military weapon; but with very partial success:—"the -most famous, prudent, politike and grave prince K. Henry the 7," says -Robinson, "was the first Phenix in chusing out a number of chiefe -Archers to give daily attendance upon his person, whom he named his -Garde. But the high and mighty renowmed prince his son, K. H. 8. (ann. -1509) not onely with great prowes and praise proceeded in that which -his father had begon; but also added greater dignity unto the same, -like a most roial renowmed David, enacting a good and godly statute -(ann. 33 H. 8. cap. 9.) for the use and exercise of shooting in every -degree. And further more for the maintenance of the same laudable -exercise in this honourable city of London by his gratious charter -confirmed unto the worshipful citizens of the same, this your now -famous order of Knightes of Prince Arthure's Round Table or Society: -like as in his life time when he saw a good Archer indeede, he chose -him and ordained such a one for a knight of the same order."[179:A] - -To this "Auncient Order, Societie, and Unitie Laudable, of Prince -Arthure," as it was termed, and to which Shakspeare alludes, under the -character of Justice Shallow, in the second part of _King Henry the -Fourth_[179:B], Archery owed, for some time, considerable support; but -ultimately, it contributed to hasten its decline. Under the auspices -of Prince Arthur, eldest son of King Henry VII., and who was so -expert a bowman, that every skilful shooter was complimented with his -name, the society flourished abundantly; its captain being honoured -with his title, and the other members being termed his knights. His -brother Henry was equally attached to the art, but unfortunately, -having appointed a splendid match at shooting with the long bow, at -Windsor, an inhabitant of Shoreditch, London, joining the archers, -exhibited such extraordinary skill, that the King, delighted with his -performance, humorously gave him the title of Duke of Shoreditch, an -appellation which not only superseded the former title, but, being -copied by the inferior members, in assuming the rank of Marquis, Earl, -&c., threw such a degree of burlesque and ridicule over the business, -as finally brought contempt upon the art itself. - -The Society, however, still subsisted with much magnificence during -the reign of Elizabeth; and in the very year that Robinson published -his book in support of Archery, namely, in 1583, "a grand shooting -match was held in London, and the captain of the archers assuming his -title of Duke of Shoreditch, summoned a suit of nominal nobility, -under the titles of Marquis of Barlo, of Clerkenwell, of Islington, of -Hoxton, of Shacklewell, and Earl of Pancrass, &c., and these meeting -together at the appointed time, with their different companies, -proceeded in a pompous march from Merchant Taylors' Hall, consisting -of three thousand archers, sumptuously apparelled; nine hundred and -forty-two of them having chains of gold about their necks. This -splendid company was guarded by four thousand whifflers and billmen, -besides pages and footmen. They passed through Broad-street, the -residence of their captain, and thence into Moorfields, by Finsbury, -and so on to Smithfield, where having performed several evolutions, -they shot at a target for honour."[180:A] - -Notwithstanding this brilliant celebration, it appears that, thirteen -years afterwards, the disuse of archery was so general, that the -"Companies of Bowyers and Fletchers" made heavy complaints, and -procured a work to be written, in order to place before "the nobility -and gentlemen of England," their distress, and deprivation of -subsistence, from the neglect of the bow. The work is entitled, "A -briefe Treatise, To proove the necessitie and excellence of the Vse -of Archerie. Abstracted out of ancient and moderne writers, by R. S. -Perused and allowed by Aucthoritie." 4to. 1596. This was one of the -last attempts to revive the bow as a weapon of defence, and it records -a contemporary and successful effort to repel cavalry by its adoption -on the part of a rebel force. - -"About Bartholomew tyde last, 1595," relates the author, "there came -out of Scotland one James Forgeson, bowyer to the King of Scots, -who credibly reported, that about two years past, certaine rebelles -did rise there against the King, who sent against them five hundred -horsemen well appointed. They meeting three hundred of the rebel's -bowmen, encountered each with other, when the bowemen slue two hundred -and fourscore of their horses, and killed, wounded, and sore hurt -most part of the Kinge's men. Whereupon the said Forgeson was sent -hether from the King with commission to buy up ten thousande bowes and -bowstaves: but because he could not speed heer, he went over into the -East countries for them."[181:A] - -The Toxophilus of Ascham, first published in 1544, was written in order -"that stil, according to the olde wont of Englande, youth should use -it for the _most honest pastime in peace_, that men might handle it as -a _most sure weapon in warre_."[181:B] The latter of these purposes so -completely failed, that the use of the bow as an offensive or defensive -weapon of warfare totally ceased in the time of James the First; but -the former was partially gained, as the treatise of Ascham certainly -contributed to prolong the reign of archery as a mere recreation, -though it could not retrieve its character as an instrument for the -destruction of game. So early, indeed, as 1531, we learn from Sir -Thomas Elyot's "Boke named the Governour," that cross-bows and guns had -then superseded the long-bow, in the sports of the field:—"Verylye -I suppose," says he, "that before crosbowes and handegunnes were -broughte into this realme, by the sleyghte of our enemies, to the -entent to distroye the noble defence of archerye, continuall use of -shootynge in the longe bowe made the feate soo perfecte and exacte -among englyshemen, that thei than as surely and soone kylled suche game -whiche thei lysted to have, as thei nowe can do with the crossebowe or -gunne."[181:C] - -The cross-bow was the fashionable instrument for killing game, even -with the ladies, in the days of Elizabeth; the Queen was peculiarly -fond of the sport, and her example was eagerly followed by the female -part of her court. Shakspeare represents the Princess and her ladies, -in _Love's Labour's Lost_, thus employed[182:A]; and Mr. Lodge informs -us, through the medium of a letter, written by Sir Francis Leake in -1605, that the Countess of Shrewsbury, and the ladies of the Cavendish -family, were ardently attached to this diversion.[182:B] - -That the _honest pastime_ of shooting with the long bow was often -commuted, in the capital, for amusements of a much less innocent -nature, we learn from Stowe, who attributes the decline of archery, -as a diversion, to the enclosure of common grounds in the vicinity -of the metropolis:—"What should I speake," says he, "of the ancient -dayly exercises in the long Bow by citizens of this citie, now almoste -cleane left off and forsaken: I over passe it: for by the meanes of -closing in of common grounds, our Archers for want of roome to shoote -abroad, creep into bowling allies, and ordinarie dicing-houses neerer -home, where they have roome enough to hazard their money at unlawfull -games."[182:C] - -Among the amusements more peculiarly belonging to the metropolis, -and which better than any other exhibits the fashionable mode, at -that time, of disposing of the day, we may enumerate the custom of -publickly parading in the middle isle of St. Paul's Cathedral. During -the reign of Elizabeth and James, _Paul's Walk_, as it was called, -was daily frequented by the nobility, gentry, and professional men; -here, from ten to twelve in the forenoon, and from three to six in the -afternoon, they met to converse on business, politics, or pleasure; and -hither too, in order to acquire fashions, form assignations for the -gaming table, or shun the grasp of the bailiff, came the gallant, the -gamester, and the debtor, the stale knight, and the captain out of -service; and here it was that Falstaff purchased Bardolph; "I bought -him," says the jolly knight, "at Paul's."[183:A] - -Of the various purposes for which this temple was frequented by the -loungers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Decker has left -us a most entertaining account, and from his tract on this subject, -published in 1609, we shall extract a few passages which throw no -incurious light on the follies and dissipation of the age. - -The supposed tomb of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, but in reality that -of Guy Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, appears to have been a privileged -part of the Cathedral:—"The Duke's tomb," observes Decker, addressing -the gallant, "is a sanctuary; and will keep you alive from worms, and -land rats, that long to be feeding on your carcass: there you may spend -your legs in winter a whole afternoon; converse, plot, laugh, and talk -any thing; jest at your creditor, even to his face; and in the evening, -even by lamp-light, steal out; and so cozen a whole covey of abominable -catch-polls."[183:B] - -Such was the resort of the male fashionable world to this venerable -Gothic pile, that it was customary for trades-people to frequent its -aisles for the purpose of collecting the dresses of the day. "If you -determine to enter into a new suit, warn your tailor to attend you in -Pauls, who, with his hat in his hand, shall like a spy discover the -stuff, colour, and fashion of any doublet or hose that dare be seen -there, and, stepping behind a pillar to fill his table books with those -notes, will presently send you into the world an accomplished man; -by which means you shall wear your clothes in print with the first -edition."[183:C] - -The author even condescends to instruct his beau, when he has obtained -his suit, how best to exhibit it in St. Paul's, and concludes by -pointing out other recourses for killing time, on withdrawing from the -cathedral. "Bend your course directly in the middle line, that the -whole body of the church may appear to be yours; where, in view of all, -you may publish your suit in what manner you affect most, either with -the slide of your cloak from the one shoulder: and then you must, as -'twere in anger, suddenly snatch at the middle of the inside, if it -be taffeta at the least; and so by that means your costly lining is -betrayed, or else by the pretty advantage of compliment. But one note -by the way do I especially woo you to, the neglect of which makes many -of our gallants cheap and ordinary, that by no means you be seen above -four turns; but in the fifth make yourself away, either in some of the -semsters' shops, the new tobacco-office, or amongst the booksellers, -where, if you cannot read, exercise your smoke, and inquire who has -writ against this divine weed, &c."[184:A] - -After dinner it was necessary that the finished coxcomb should return -to Paul's in a new dress:—"After dinner you may appear again, having -translated yourself out of your English cloth into a light Turkey -grogram, if you have that happiness of shifting; and then be seen, -for a turn or two, to correct your teeth with some quill or silver -instrument, and to cleanse your gums with a wrought handkerchief: -it skills not whether you dined, or no; that is best known to your -stomach; or in what place you dined; though it were with cheese, of -your own mother's making, in your chamber or study."[184:B] - -The fopperies exhibited in a place, which ought to have been closed -against such unhallowed inmates, rival, if not exceed, all that -modern puppyism can produce. The directions which Decker gives to -his gallant on quitting St. Paul's in the forenoon, clearly prove, -that the loungers of Shakspeare's time are not surpassed, either -in affectation or the assumption of petty consequence, by the same -worthless class of the nineteenth century:—"in which departure," -enjoins the satirist, "if by chance you either encounter, or aloof -off throw your inquisitive eye upon any knight or squire, being your -familiar, salute him not by his name of Sir such a one, or so; but call -him Ned, or Jack, &c. This will set off your estimation with great men: -and if, though there be a dozen companies between you, 'tis the better, -he call aloud to you, for that is most genteel, to know where he shall -find you at two o'clock; tell him at such an ordinary, or such; and be -sure to name those that are dearest, and whither none but your gallants -resort."[185:A] - -A still more offensive mode of displaying this ostentatious folly, -sprang from a custom then general, and even now not altogether -obsolete, of demanding _spur-money_ from any person entering the -cathedral during divine service, with spurs on. This was done by -the younger choristers, and, it seems, frequently gave birth to the -following gross violation of decency: "Never be seen to mount the -steps into the quire, but upon a high festival day, to prefer the -fashion of your doublet; and especially if the singing-boys seem to -take note of you; for they are able to buzz your praises above their -anthems, if their voices have not lost their maiden heads: but be sure -your silver spurs dog your heels, and then the boys will swarm about -you like so many white butterflies[185:B]; when you in the open quire -shall draw forth a perfumed embroidered purse, the glorious sight of -which will entice many countrymen from their devotion to wondering: -and quoit silver into the boy's hands, that it may be heard above the -first lesson, although it be read in a voice as big as one of the great -organs."[185:C] - -The tract from which we have taken these curious illustrations, -contains also a passage which serves to show, that London, in the time -of our poet, was not unprovided with exhibitions of the docility, -sagacity, and tricks of animals; and this, with similar relations, will -tend to prove, that the ingenious Mr. Astley, and the Preceptor of -the learned pig, had been anticipated both in skill and perseverance. -Decker, after conducting his "mere country gentleman" to the top of -St. Paul's, proceeds thus:—"Hence you may descend, to talk about the -_horse_ that went up; and strive, if you can, to know his keeper; take -the day of the month, and the number of the steps; and suffer yourself -to believe verily that it was not a horse, but something else in the -likeness of one: which wonders you may publish, when you return into -the country, to the great amazement of all farmer's daughters, that -will almost swoon at the report, and never recover till their bans be -asked twice in the church."[186:A] - -This is the _dancing-horse_ alluded to by Shakspeare, in _Love's -Labour's Lost_[186:B]; an English bay gelding, fourteen years old, and -named _Morocco_. He had been taught by one Banks, a Scotchman, and -their fame was spread over a great part of Europe; "if Banks had lived -in older times," remarks Sir Walter Raleigh, "he would have shamed -all the inchanters in the world: for whosoever was most famous among -them, could never master, or instruct any beast as he did."[186:C] It -was the misfortune, indeed, of this man and his horse to be taken for -enchanters; while at Paris, they had a narrow escape, being imprisoned -for dealing with the devil, and at length liberated, on the magistrates -discovering that the whole was merely the effect of human art[186:D]; -but at Rome they fell a sacrifice to the more rivetted superstitions -of the people, and were both burnt as magicians; a fate to which Ben -Jonson adverts in the following lines:— - - "But amongst those Tiberts, who do you think there was? - Old _Bankes_ the juggler, our Pythagoras, - Grave tutor to the learned horse. Both which, - Being, beyond sea, burned for one witch, - Their spirits transmigrated to a cat."[186:E] - -Nor were the feats of this sagacious horse unrivalled by the wonderful -acquirements of other animals. The praise of _Morocco_ is frequently -combined by the poets and satirists of the age, with an account of the -extraordinary tricks of his contemporary brutes: thus John Taylor, the -water-poet, places Holden's camel on a level with Banks's horse:— - - "Old Holden's _camel_, or fine Bankes his _cut_;" - -and Bishop Hall, in his satires, brings us acquainted with a sagacious -elephant, to which he kindly adds a couple of wonders of a different -description; a _bullock with two tails_, and a _fiddling friar_. He is -describing the metamorphosis which London had produced in the person -and manners of a young farmer, and adds, - - "The tenants wonder at their landlord's sonne, - And blesse them at so sudden coming on, - More than who vies his pence to view some trick - Of strange _Marocco's_ dumb arithmetick, - Of the young _elephant_, or _two-tayl'd steere_, - Or the rigg'd camel, or _fiddling frere_."[187:A] - -The catalogue of wonders, monsters, and tricks, may be augmented by a -reference to Ben Jonson, who, in his _Bartholomew Fair_, among other -spectacles, speaks of a _Bull with five legs and two pizzles_, _Dogs -dancing the morrice_, and a _Hare beating the Tabor_.[187:B] - -But of all the amusements which distinguish the age of Shakspeare, -none could vie in richness, splendour, or invention, with the costly -spectacles, called MASQUES, and PAGEANTS. The frequency of these -exhibitions during the reigns of Elizabeth and James is astonishing, if -we consider the immense expense which was lavished on their production; -the most celebrated poets and the most skilful artists often assisted -in their formation; nor was it uncommon to behold nobility, or -even royalty itself, assuming the part of actors in these romantic -entertainments. - -What a gorgeous and voluptuous court could effect, in seconding -the efforts of consummate skill, through the medium of machinery, -decoration, and dress, may be collected from the numerous Masques of -Ben Jonson, who seems to feel the inadequacy of language to express -the beauty, grandeur, and sumptuousness of the devices employed on -these occasions. Thus, in his _Hymenæi, or the Solemnities of Masque -and Barriers at a Marriage_, he manifestly labours to paint the scene, -and, at length, professes himself unequal to the task of conveying the -impressions which it had made upon him. "Hitherto," says he, "extended -the first night's solemnity, whose grace in the execution left, -not where to add to it, with wishing: I mean (nor do I court them) -in those, that sustained the nobler parts. Such was the _exquisite -performance_, as (beside the _pomp_, _splendor_, or what we may call -_apparelling_ of such _presentments_), that alone (had all else been -absent) was of power _to surprise with delight, and steal away the -spectators from themselves_. Nor was there wanting whatsoever might -give to the furniture or complement; either in _riches, or strangeness -of the habits, delicacy of dances, magnificence of the scene, or divine -rapture of musick_. Only the envy was, that it lasted not still; or, -(now it is past) _cannot by imagination, much less description, be -recovered to a part of that spirit it had in the gliding by_."[188:A] - -Nothing, indeed, shows the romantic disposition of Elizabeth, and, -indeed, of her times, more evidently than the Triumph, as it was -called, devised and performed with great solemnity, in honour of the -French commissioners for the Queen's marriage with the Duke of Anjou, -in 1581. The contrivance was for four of her principal courtiers, under -the quaint appellation of "four foster-children of Desire," to besiege -and carry, by dint of arms, "The Fortress of Beauty;" intending, by -this courtly ænigma, nothing less than the Queen's Majesty's own -person. The actors in this famous triumph were, the _Earl of Arundel_, -the _Lord Windsor_, _Master Philip Sidney_, and _Master Fulk Grevil_. -And the whole was conducted so entirely in the spirit and language -of knight-errantry, that nothing in the Arcadia itself is more -romantic.[189:A] - -The example of the court was followed with equal profusion by the -citizens, and various corporate bodies of the capital, who contended -with each other in the cost bestowed on these performances. In -1604, when King James and his Queen passed triumphantly from the -Tower to Westminster, the citizens erected seven gates or arches, -in different parts of the space through which the procession had to -proceed. Over the first arch "was represented the true likeness of -all the notable houses, towers, and steeples, within the citie of -London.—The sixt arche or gate of triumph was erected above the -Conduit in Fleete-Streete, whereon the _Globe_ of the world was seen -to move, &c. At Temple-bar a seaventh arche or gate was erected, the -forefront whereof was proportioned in every respect like a _Temple_, -being dedicated to Janus, &c.—The citie of Westminster, and dutchy of -Lancaster, at the Strand, had erected the invention of a rainbow, the -moone, sunne, and starres, advanced between two Pyramids."[190:A] - -In 1612-13, the gentlemen of the inns of court presented a masque in -honour of the marriage of the Elector Palatine of the Rhine, with the -Princess Elizabeth, of which the poetry was the composition of Chapman, -and the machinery the invention of Inigo Jones. The expense of this -pageantry amounted, according to Dugdale[190:B], to one thousand and -eighty-six pounds eight shillings and eleven pence, and was conducted -with uncommon splendour. "First rode," relates Howes, "fiftie choyce -gentlemen richly attyred, and as gallantly mounted, with every one his -footemen to attend him: These rode very stately like a vauntguard." -Next to these appeared an _antique_ or _mock-masque_. "After them came -two chariots triumphal, very pleasant and full of state, wherein rode -the choyce musitians of this kingdome, in robes like to the Virginian -priests, with sundry devises, all pleasant and significant, with two -rankes of torches: Then came the chiefe maskers with great State in -white Indian habit, or like the great princes of Barbary, richly -imbrodered with the golden sun, with suteable ornaments in all poynts, -about their necks were rufs of feathers, spangled and beset with pearle -and silver, and upon their heads lofty corronets suteable to the -rest."[190:C] - -Nor were these fanciful and ever varying pageants productive merely -of amusement; they had higher aims, and more important effects, and, -while ostensibly constructed for the purposes of compliment and -entertainment, either indirectly inculcated some lesson of moral -wisdom, or more immediately obtained their end, by impersonating the -vices and the virtues, and exhibiting a species of ethic drama. - -They had also the merit of conveying no inconsiderable fund of -instruction from the stores of mythology, history, and philosophy. -Of this the masques of Jonson afford abundant proof, containing, as -they do, not only the common superficial knowledge on these subjects, -but displaying such a mass of recondite learning, illustrative of the -manners, opinions, customs, and antiquities of the ancient world, as -would serve to extend the information of the educated, while they -delighted and instructed the body of the people. - -To these _classical diversions_, these _eruditæ voluptates_, which were -remarkably frequent during the whole era of Shakspeare's existence, we -may confidently ascribe some portion of that intimacy with the records -of history, the fictions of paganism, and the reveries of philosophy -which our poet so copiously exhibits throughout his poems and plays, -as well as no small accession to the wild and fantastic visionary -forms that so pre-eminently delight us in the golden dreams of his -imagination. - -Among the numerous scenes and descriptions which owe their birth, in -our author's dramas, to these superb combinations of mechanism and -poesy, we shall select two passages that more peculiarly point out the -manner in which he has availed himself of their scenery and arrangement. - -"There is a passage in _Antony and Cleopatra_," observes Mr. Warton, -"where the metaphor is exceedingly beautiful; but where the beauty both -of the expression and the allusion is lost, unless we recollect the -frequency and the nature of these shows (the Pageants) in Shakspeare's -age. I must cite the whole of the context, for the sake of the last -hemistick. - - "_Ant._ Sometime we see a cloud that's dragonish, - A vapour sometime, like a bear or lion; - A towred citadel, a pendant rock, - A forked mountain, or blue promontory - With trees upon't, that nod unto the world, - And mock our eyes with air: Thou hast seen these signs; - They are _Black Vesper's Pageants_."[191:A] - -This illustrious critic, however, should have continued the quotation -somewhat further; for the next three lines include a piece of imagery -immediately taken from the same source, and more worthy of remark than -any preceding allusion:— - - "_Eros._ Ay, my lord. - - _Ant._ That, which is now a horse; even with a thought, - The _Rack dislimns_; and makes it indistinct, - As water is in water."[192:A] - -The meaning of the expression, "The Rack dislimns," is clearly -ascertained by a reference to Ben Jonson's _Hymenæal Masque_ already -quoted, in which occurs the following striking passage:—"Here the -upper part of the scene, which was all of clouds, and made artificially -to swell and ride like the _Rack_, began to open, and the air clearing, -in the top thereof was discovered Juno sitting in a throne, supported -by two beautiful peacocks.—Round about her sate the spirits of the -ayre, in several colours, making musique. Above her the region of -fire, with a continual motion, was seen to whirl circularly, and -Jupiter standing in the top (figuring the heaven) brandishing his -thunder. Beneath her the rainbow Iris, and, on the two sides eight -ladies, attired richly, and alike, in the most celestial colours, who -represented her powers, as she is the Governess of Marriage."[192:B] - -This extract, also, together with the one given in a preceding page, -descriptive of the _Citizen's Pageant_ in honour of James and his -Queen, 1604, will throw a strong light on a celebrated passage in the -_Tempest_, and fully prove our poet's extensive obligations to these -very ingenious devices:— - - "Our revels now are ended: These our actors, - As I foretold you, were _all spirits_, and - Are _melted into air, into thin air_: - And, like the baseless fabric of this vision, - The cloud-capt _towers_, the gorgeous palaces, - The solemn _temples_, the great _globe_ itself, - Yea all, which it inherit, shall dissolve; - And, like this _insubstantial pageant_ faded, - Leave not a _rack_ behind."[193:A] - -The _towers_, the _temples_, and the _great globe itself_ of these -lines, we find exhibited in the pageant of 1604, eight or ten years -anterior to the representation of this play; while in the masque of -Jonson, we perceive the occasion of its performance to have been -similar to that which gave origin to the _insubstantial pageant_ of -Prospero, both being _Hymenæal Masques_, both likewise including among -their actors the characters of _Iris_ and _Juno_, and both being -accompanied by _spirits of the ayre making musick_. - -Here the term _rack_, in both quotations from our poet, manifestly -appears, from the passage in Ben Jonson's masque, to have been -drawn from the machinery of the _pageant_, and to have implied -_masses of clouds in motion_; the lines from _Antony and Cleopatra_, -alluding to their mutability and endless diversity, and those in the -_Tempest_ importing their utter insignificance and instability when -compared with the more durable materials of the _pageant_; and hence -emphatically founding on their evanescence, a complete picture of -entire dissolution, that, like the insubstantial pageant which had just -vanished from their eyes, not only towers, palaces, temples, and the -globe itself, should disappear, but even not the most trifling part of -the fabric of the world, not even the passing clouds, the _fleeting -rack_, should be left behind, as a memorial of existence. - -Upon no occasions were these imposing spectacles, the _masque_, the -_pageant_, and the _triumph_, gotten up with more gorgeous splendour, -than during the PROGRESSES which Elizabeth so frequently -made throughout the course of her long reign. Every nobleman's house -was thrown open for her reception whilst thus engaged, and the -keenest rivalry was excited amongst them, with regard to the expense, -magnificence, variety, and duration of the entertainments which they -lavished upon her. Nor was the Queen at all scrupulous in accepting -their invitations, for she considered this hospitality, however ruinous -to the individual, as a necessary attention, and, in fact, entered -the mansions of her courtiers with the same feelings of property, as -when she sate down beneath the roof of what might more strictly be -termed her own palaces. That her subjects were complaisant enough to -acquiesce in this assumption, is evident from a passage in _Harrison's -Description of England_, who mentioning the variety of the Queen's -houses, adds,—"But what shall I need to take upon me to repeat all, -and tell what houses the queen's majesty hath? Sith _all is hirs_; and -when it pleaseth hir in the summer season to recreate hirself abroad, -and view the state of the countrie, and hear the complaints of hir -unjust officers or substitutes, _every nobleman's house is hir palace_, -where she continueth during pleasure, and till she returne again to -some of hir owne." One of the most striking proofs of the frequency and -oppression of these royal visits, has been recorded by Mr. Nichols, who -tells us, that "she was _twelve_ times at Theobald's, which was a very -convenient distance from London. _Each visit_ cost Cecil _two or three -thousand pounds_; the Queen lying there _at his Lordships charge_, -sometimes _three weeks_, or _a month_, or _six weeks together_."[194:A] - -These _Progresses_, however, of which Mr. Nichols has presented us -with a most curious and ample collection, serve, more than any other -documents which history could afford, to impress us with an accurate -and interesting idea of the hospitality, diversions, costume, and -domestic economy, of the great Baronial Chieftains of our last romantic -reign. From them, observes their very ingenious editor, "much of the -manners of the times may be learned. They give us a view into the -interior of the noble families, display their state in house-keeping, -and other articles, and set before our eyes their magnificent mansions -long since gone to decay, or supplanted by others of the succeeding -age."[194:B] - -Perhaps the most splendid reception which Elizabeth met with, in -the whole course of her Progresses, was at Kenelworth-castle, in -Warwickshire, the seat of the once all-powerful Earl of Leicester. Some -slight notice of this place, as having probably attracted the attention -of young Shakspeare, during the visit of Her Majesty, has already been -given in a former part of our work; but it will be necessary here, in -order to impart a just conception of the costly entertainments which -awaited the Queen on these excursions, to give a brief catalogue of the -ten days "princely pleasures" of Kenelworth castle. - -Her Majesty reached Lord Leicester's on Saturday, the ninth of July, -1575, and was greeted, on her approach to the castle, by a Sibyl, -prophesying prosperity to her government. Six giants stood ready to -receive her at the outer gate apparently blowing trumpets, which -were in reality sounded by persons placed behind them, while the -Porter, representing Hercules, addressed her in a metrical speech, -"proclaiming open gates and free passage to all, and yielding to her -on his knees, his club, keys, and office." Arriving at the base court, -a female figure, appropriately dressed, "came all over the pool, -being so conveyed, that it seemed she had gone upon the water; she -was attended by two water-nymphs, and calling herself the Lady of the -Lake," complimented Her Majesty, who, passing on to the inner court, -crossed the bridge, which was ornamented with seven pillars on each -side, exhibiting on their summits, birds in cages, fruits in silver -bowls, corn in similar vessels, wine and grapes in silver pots, fishes -in trays, weapons of war, and musical instruments, the respective gifts -of Silvanus, Pomona, Ceres, Bacchus, Neptune, Mars, and Apollo. Then, -preceded by a noble band of music, the Queen crossed the inner court, -alighted from her horse, and entered her apartments. - -On Sunday evening, she beheld _a grand display of fire-works_, a -species of amusement which had been little known previous to her reign: -"after a warning piece or two," says Laneham, "was a blaze of burning -darts flying to and fro, beams of stars coruscant, streams and hail -of fire-sparks, lightnings of wild fire on the water; and on the land, -flight and shot of thunder-bolts, all with such continuance, terror, -and vehemence, the heavens thundered, the waters surged, and the earth -shook." - -Monday was occupied by _hunting_, conducted on a large and magnificent -scale, during which Her Majesty was ingeniously complimented through -the medium of several _sylvan devices_. - -_Music_, _dancing_, and _pageantry on the water_, formed the diversions -of the _Tuesday_. - -_Hunting_ and _field sports_ consumed the _Wednesday_; _bear-baiting_, -_tumbling_, and _fire-works_, were the recreations of the _Thursday_; -and, the weather not permitting any out-door diversions on _Friday_, -the time was spent in _banquetting_, _shows_, and _domestic games_. - -On _Saturday_, the morning being fine, the Queen was highly entertained -by the representation of a _country bride-ale_, by _running at the -quintain_, and by the "Old Coventry Play of Hock Thursday;" while the -evening diversions were a _regular play_, a _banquet_, and a _masque_. - -The amusement of hunting was resumed on the _Monday_, returning from -which Her Majesty was highly gratified by a _pageant on the water_, -exhibiting, among other spectacles, Arion seated upon a dolphin -twenty-four feet in length, and singing a song, accompanied by the -music of six performers, who were snugly lodged in the belly of the -fish. - -The _Coventry play_ not having been finished on the preceding Saturday, -was repeated, at the desire of the Queen, on the _Tuesday_, and on -_Wednesday_ the 20th, she bade adieu to Kenelworth, greatly delighted -with the hospitality and princely splendour of its noble owner.[196:A] - -The _Hall_ and the _Tiltyard_ were two of the most striking features -at Kenelworth, and they designate with sufficient precision two of the -leading characteristics of the age of Elizabeth, its _hospitality_, -and _attachment to chivalric costume_; the former was carried on upon -a scale to which modern usage is a perfect stranger; for, as Bishop -Hurd remarks, "the same bell, that called the great man to his table, -invited the neighbourhood all around, and proclaimed a holiday to the -whole country[197:A];" and the latter cherished its predilections, and -romantic ardour, by cultivating tilting, the sole remaining offspring -of the gorgeous tournament, with scientific skill. The latter half of -the sixteenth, and the commencement of the seventeenth, century, saw, -indeed, the diversion of running at the ring carried to its highest -degree of perfection, from which, however, it very soon afterwards -began to decline, and may be said to have expired with the reign of -James the First. - -Yet the influence of this amusement, in exciting the heroism of the -Elizabethan age, was by no means inconsiderable, and we may view the -_tilt-yard_ of Kenelworth, with the eyes of Dr. Hurd, "as a nursery of -brave men, a very seed-plot of warriors and heroes.—And, as whimsical -a figure as a young _tilter_ may make in a modern eye, who will say -that the virtue was not formed here, that triumphed at AXELL, and bled -at ZUTPHEN."[197:B] - -To complete the picture of Kenelworth-castle during this festive -period, it would be desirable, could we ascertain what were the -domestic economy and usages which were adopted in so large a household, -and how the Queen, her ladies, and attendants, contrived to pass the -hours, when the weather forbade exterior diversions, and when the -masque, the banquet, and the fete, had exhausted their attractions. -Fortunately we possess a sketch of this kind, from the communicative -pen of Laneham, who seems to have been gifted, if we may trust his own -account, with great powers of pleasing, and to have enjoyed, in an -extraordinary degree, the favour and confidence of the high-born dames -of honour who followed in the train of Elizabeth. - -"Methought it my part," he relates in a letter to his friend, -"somewhat to impart unto you how it is here with me, and how I lead my -life, which indeed is this:— - -"A mornings I rise ordinarily at seven o'clock: Then ready, I go -into the Chapel; soon after eight, I get me commonly into my Lord's -chamber, or into my Lord's presidents. There at the cupboard, after -I have eaten the manchet served overnight for livery (for I dare be -as bold, I promise you, as any of my friends the servants there: and -indeed could I have fresh, if I would tarry; but I am of wont jolly -and dry a mornings): I drink me up a good bol of ale: when in a sweet -pot it is defecated by all night's standing, the drink is the better, -take that of me: and a morsel in a morning, with a sound draught; is -very wholesome and good for the eye-sight: Then I am as fresh all the -forenoon after, as had I eaten a whole piece of beef. Now, Sir, if -the Council sit, I am at hand; wait at an inch, I warrant you: If any -man make babbling, 'Peace,' say I, 'wot ye where ye are?' If I take a -listener, or a pryer in at the chinks or at the lock-hole, I am by and -by in the bones of him: But now they keep good order, they know me well -enough: If a be a friend, or such a one as I like, I make him sit down -by me on a form or a chest; let the rest walk, a God's name. - -"And here doth my language now and then stand me in good stead: My -_French_, my _Spanish_, my _Dutch_, and my _Latin_: Sometime among -Ambassador's men, if their Master be within the Council: Sometime with -the Ambassador himself, if he bid call his lacky, or ask me what's a -clock; and I warrant ye I answer him roundly; that they marvel to see -such a fellow there: then laugh I and say nothing: Dinner and supper I -have twenty places to go to, and heartily prayed to: Sometime get I to -_Master Pinner_; by my faith, a worshipful Gentleman, and as careful -for his charge as any her Highness hath: there find I alway good store -of very good viands; we eat, and be merry, thank God and the _Queen_. -Himself in feeding very temperate and moderate as ye shall see any: -and yet, by your leave, of a dish, as a cold pigeon or so, that hath -come to him at meat more than he looked for, I have seen him een so -by and by surfeit, as he hath plucked off his napkin, wiped his knife, -and eat not a morsel more; like enough to stick in his stomach a two -days after: (some hard message from the higher officers; perceive ye -me?) upon search, his faithful dealing and diligence hath found him -faultless. - -"In afternoons and a nights, sometime am I with the right worshipful -_Sir George Howard_, as good a Gentleman as any lives: And sometime, at -my good _Lady Sidneys_ chamber, a Noblewoman that I am as much bound -unto, as any poor man may be unto so gracious a Laday; and sometime in -some other place. But always among the Gentlewomen by my good will; -(O, ye know thatt comes always of a gentle spirit:) And when I see -company according, then can I be as lively too: Sometime I foot it with -dancing: now with my gittern, and else with my cittern, then at the -virginals: Ye know nothing comes amiss to me: Then carol I up a song -withal; that by and by they come flocking about me like bees to honey: -And ever they cry, 'Another, good Langham, another!' Shall I tell you? -When I see _Mistress_ —— (A, see a mad Knave; I had almost told all!) -that she gives once but an eye or an ear; why then, man, am I blest; -my grace, my courage, my cunning is doubled: She says, sometime, 'She -likes it;' and then I like it much the better; it doth me good to hear -how well I can do. And to say truth; what with mine eyes, as I can -amorously gloat it, with my _Spanish_ sospires, my _French_ heighes, -mine _Italian_ dulcets, my _Dutch_ hoves, my double releas, my high -reaches, my fine feigning, my deep diapason, my wanton warbles, my -running, my timing, my tuning, and my twinkling, I can gracify the -matters as well as the proudest of them, and was yet never stained, -I thank God: By my troth, Countryman, it is some time high midnight, -ere I can get from them. And thus have I told ye most of my trade, all -the live-long day: what will ye more, God save the _Queene_ and my -_Lord_."[199:A] - -Of this magnificent castle, the unrivalled abode of baronial -hospitality, and chivalric pageantry, who can avoid lamenting the -present irreparable decay, or forbear apostrophising the mouldering -reliques in the pathetic, and picturesque language, which Bishop Hurd -has placed in the mouth of his admired Addison? - -"Where, one might ask, are the tilts and tournaments, the princely -shows and sports, which were once so proudly celebrated within these -walls? Where are the pageants, the studied devices, and emblems of -curious invention, that set the court at a gaze, and even transported -the high soul of our Elizabeth? Where now, pursued he, (pointing to -that which was formerly a canal, but at present is only a meadow, with -a small rivulet running through it) where is the floating island, the -blaze of torches that eclipsed the day, the lady of the lake, the -silken nymphs her attendants, with all the other fantastic exhibitions -surpassing even the whimsies of the wildest romance? What now is become -of the revelry of feasting? of the minstrelsy that took the ear so -delightfully as it babbled along the valley, or floated on the surface -of this lake? See there the smokeless kitchens, stretching to a length -that might give room for the sacrifice of a hecatomb; the vaulted -hall, which mirth and jollity have set so often in an uproar; the -rooms of state, and the presence-chamber: what are they now but void -and tenantless ruins, clasped with ivy, open to wind and weather, and -representing to the eye nothing but the ribs and carcase, as it were, -of their former state? And see, said he, that proud gate-way, once the -mansion of a surly porter, who, partaking of the pride of his lord, -made the crowds wait, and refused admittance, perhaps, to nobles whom -fear or interest drew to these walls, to pay their homage to their -master: see it now the residence of a poor tenant, who turns the key -but to let himself out to his daily labour, to admit him to a short -meal, and secure his nightly slumbers."[200:A] - -To this account of some of the principal diversions of the court and -the metropolis, we have now to subjoin, in a compass corresponding with -the scale of our work, a clear, but necessarily a brief view, of an -amusement which, more than any other, is calculated to interest, and to -influence every class of society. The _state_, _economy_, and _usages_ -of THE STAGE, therefore, during the age of Shakspeare, will -occupy the remainder of this chapter, forming an introduction to a -sketch of dramatic poetry, at the period of Shakspeare's commencement -as a writer for the stage. - -The reader is probably aware, from the very copious and bulky, though -somewhat indigested, collections, which have been published on this -subject, that the following detail, consisting of an arrangement of -minute facts, and which aims at nothing more than a neat and lucid -compendium of an intricate topic, must necessarily, at almost every -step, be indebted to previous researches; in order, therefore, to -obviate a _continual_ parade of reference, let it suffice, that we -acknowledge the basis of our disquisition to have been derived from -the labours of Steevens and Malone, as included in the last variorum -edition of Shakspeare; from the two Apologies of Mr. Chalmers; from -Decker, as reprinted by Nott; and occasionally, from the pages of -Warton, Percy, Whiter, and Gilchrist. Where references, however, are -absolutely essential, they will be found in their due place. - -It has been justly observed by Mr. Chalmers, that "what Augustus said -of Rome, may be remarked of Elizabeth and the stage, that she found it -_brick_, and left it _marble_."[201:A] At her accession in 1558, no -regular theatre had been established, and the players of that period, -even in the capital, were compelled to have recourse to the yards of -great Inns, as the most commodious places which they could obtain -for the representation of their pieces. These, being surrounded by -open stages and galleries, and possessing, likewise, numerous private -apartments and recesses from which the genteeler part of the audience -might become spectators at their ease, while the central space held a -temporary stage, uncovered in fine weather, and protected by an awning -in bad, were not ill calculated for the purposes of scenic exhibition, -and, most undoubtedly, gave rise to the form and construction, adopted -in the erection of the licensed theatres. - -In this stage of infancy was the public stage at the birth of -Shakspeare; nor would it so rapidly have emerged into importance, -had not the Queen, though occasionally yielding to the enmity and -fanaticism of the puritans with regard to this recreation, been warmly -attached to theatric amusements. So early as 1569, was she frequently -entertained in her own chapel-royal, by the performance of plays on -profane subjects, by the children belonging to that establishment; and -the year following has been fixed upon as the most probable era of -the erection of a regular play-house, very appropriately named _The -Theatre_, and supposed to have been situated in the Blackfriars. - -We shall not be surprised, therefore, to find, that in 1574 a regular -_company of players_ was established by _royal licence_, granting to -James Burbage, John Perkyn, John Lanham, William Johnson, and Robert -Wilson, servants of the Earl of Leicester, authority, under the privy -seal, "to use, exercyse and occupie the arte and facultye of playenge -commedies, tragedies, enterludes, stage-playes, and such other like as -they have alreadie used and studied, or hereafter shall use and studie, -as well for the recreation of our lovinge subjects as for our solace -and pleasure when we shall thinke good to see them—throughoute our -realme of England."[202:A] - -This may be considered then, with great probability, as the _first_ -general licence obtained by any company of players in England; but, -with the customary precaution of Elizabeth, it contains a clause, -subjecting all dramatic amusements to the previous inspection of the -_Master of the Revels_, an officer who, in the reign of Henry the -Eighth, had been created to superintend a part of the duties which -until then had fallen to the province of the Lord Chamberlain, and who -now had the sphere of his control augmented by this prudent enactment, -providing "that the saide commedies, tragedies, enterludes and -stage-playes be by the Master of our Revels for the tyme beynge before -sene and allowed." - -The officers who exercised this authority, during the life of -Shakspeare, were Sir Thomas Benger, Edmond Tilney, and Sir George -Bucke. Sir Thomas Benger, who succeeded Sir Thomas Cawerden in -1560, lived not to see Shakspeare's entrance into the scenic world, -but, dying in 1577, Tilney's appointment took place in 1579. This -gentleman continued to regulate the stage for the long period of -thirty-one years; he beheld the dawn and the mid-day splendour of -Shakspeare's dramatic genius, and in his official capacity, he enjoyed -the opportunity of licensing not less than _thirty_ of his dramas, -commencing with _Henry the Sixth_, and terminating with _Antony and -Cleopatra_. On his death, in 1610, Sir George Bucke, who had obtained a -reversionary patent for the office in 1603, and had executed its duties -for twelvemonth previous to Tilney's decease, became _Master of the -Revels_, and had the felicity of reading, and the honour of licensing, -some of the last and noblest productions of our immortal poet, namely, -_Timon of Athens_, _Coriolanus_, _Othello_, the _Tempest_, and _Twelfth -Night_. He also lived to deplore the premature extinction of this -unrivalled bard, and he died in the year which presented to the public -the first folio edition of his plays. - -The erection of a theatre in 1570; the establishment by royal authority -of a regular company in 1574; and the subjection of both to highly -respectable officers, operated so strongly in favour of dramatic -amusements, that we find Stubbes, the puritanic satirist, bitterly -inveighing in 1583 against the great popular support of the theatres in -his day, which he sarcastically terms _Venus' Palaces_, and immediately -afterwards designates by a general application of the names which had -been given at that time to the two principal structures: "marke," -says he, "the flocking and running to _theaters_ and _curtens_, -daylie and hourely, night and daye, tyme and tyde, to see playes and -enterludes."[204:A] - -This passion for the stage continued rapidly to increase, and before -the year 1590 not less than four or five theatres were in existence. -The patronage of dramatic representation made an equal progress at -court; for though Elizabeth never, it is believed, attended a _public_ -theatre, yet had she four companies of children who frequently -performed for her amusement, denominated the _Children of St. Pauls_, -the _Children of Westminster_, the _Children of the Chapel_, and the -_Children of Windsor_. The public actors too, who were sometimes, -in imitation of these appellations, called the _Children of the -Revels_, were, towards the close of Her Majesty's reign especially, -in consequence of a greatly acquired superiority over their younger -brethren, often called upon to act before her at the royal theatre in -Whitehall. Exhibitions of this kind at court were usual at Christmas, -on Twelfth Night, at Candlemas, and at Shrove-tide, throughout the -reigns of Elizabeth and James, and the plays of Shakspeare were -occasionally the entertainment of the night: thus we find _Love's -Labour's Lost_ to have been performed before our maiden Queen during -the Christmas-holydays, and _King Lear_ to have been exhibited before -King James on St. Stephen's night.[204:B] - -On these occasions, the representation was generally at night, that -it might not interfere with the performances at the regular theatres, -which took place early in the afternoon; and we learn from the -Council-books, that the royal remuneration, in the age of Elizabeth, -for the exhibition of a single play at Whitehall, amounted to ten -pounds, of which, twenty nobles, or six pounds thirteen shillings, and -four-pence, formed the customary fee; and three pounds, six shillings, -and eight-pence, the free gift or bounty. If, however, the performers -were required to leave the capital for any of the royal palaces in its -neighbourhood, the fee, in consequence of the public exhibition of the -day being prevented, was augmented to twenty pounds. - -The protection of the drama by Elizabeth and her ministers, though it -did not exempt the public players, except in one instance, from the -penalties of statutes against vagabonds, yet it induced, during the -whole of her long reign, numerous instances of private patronage from -the most opulent of her nobility and gentry, who, possessing the power -of licensing their own domestics as comedians, and, consequently of -protecting them from the operation of the act of vagrancy, sheltered -various companies of performers, under the denomination of their -servants, or retainers,—a privilege which was taken away, by act of -parliament, on the accession of James, and, as Mr. Chalmers observes, -"put an end for ever to the scenic system of prior times."[205:A] - -To this private patronage of the latter half of the sixteenth -century, we must ascribe not less than fourteen distinct companies of -players, that, in succession, contributed to exhilarate the golden -days of England's matchless Queen, and, in their turn, enjoyed the -honour of contributing to her amusement. Of these, the following is -a chronological enumeration:—Soon after the accession of Elizabeth, -appeared Lord Leicester's company, the same which, in 1574, was -finally incorporated by royal licence; in 1572, was formed Sir Robert -Lane's company; in the same year Lord Clinton's; in 1575, companies -were created by Lord Warwick, and the Lord Chamberlain, the name of -Shakspeare being enrolled among the servants of the latter, who, in the -first year of the subsequent reign, became entitled to the appellation -of His Majesty's servants; in 1576, the Earl of Sussex brought forward -a theatrical body, and in 1577, Lord Howard another, neither of which, -however, attained much eminence; in 1578, the Earl of Essex mustered -a company of players, and in 1579, Lord Strange, and the Earl of -Derby, followed his example; in 1591, the Lord Admiral produced his -set of comedians; in 1592, the Earl of Hertford effected a similar -arrangement; in 1593, Lord Pembroke protected an association of actors, -and, at the close of Her Majesty's reign, the Earl of Worcester had in -pay, also, a company of theatrical performers. - -In the mean time theatres, both public and private, were greatly on -the increase, and, during the period that Shakspeare immortalised -the stage, not less than _seven_ of these structures, of established -notoriety, were in existence. _Four_ of them were considered as public -theatres, namely, _The Globe_ on the Bankside, _The Curtain_ in -Shoreditch, _The Red Bull_ in St. John's Street, and _The Fortune_ in -Whitecross Street; and _three_ were termed private houses, one, for -instance, in _Blackfriars_, another in _Whitefriars_, and _The Cockpit_ -or Phœnix, in Drury-Lane. As _The Globe_, however, and the theatre -in _Blackfriars_ were the property of the same set of players, only -six companies of comedians were formed, or wanted, for the purposes of -representation. - -Beside these principal play-houses, several others, possessing a more -ephemeral existence, as _The Swan_, _The Rose_, &c., sprung up and -fell in succession, forming altogether such a number, as justly gave -alarm and offence to the stricter clergy, and at length attracted the -attention of the privy-council, who, on the 22d of June, 1600, issued -an order for the reduction of the number of play-houses, limiting these -buildings to two, selecting that called _The Fortune_ for Middlesex, -and fixing on _The Globe_ for Surrey. To such a degree, however, had -now arisen the attachment of the people to dramatic recreations, that -notwithstanding these orders were re-issued, with still stronger -injunctions, the following year, they could never be carried into any -effectual execution. - -Much as Elizabeth favoured the stage, it appears to have been -patronised by her successor with equal, if not superior, zeal. James -may be said, indeed, to have given a dignity and consequence to the -profession, to which it had hitherto been a stranger, and to have -introduced into the theatric world, a new, and better constituted -arrangement of its parts. No sooner had he ascended the throne, than -three companies were formed under his auspices; the Lord Chamberlain's -servants he adopted as his own; the Queen chose the Earl of -Worcester's, and Prince Henry fixed upon the Earl of Nottingham's; and -on the 19th of May, only twelve days after his arrival in London, he -granted to his own company, being that performing at _The Globe_, the -following _licence_, which was first published in Rymer's _Fœdera_, -in 1705:— - - -"PRO LAURENTIO FLETCHER ET WILLIELMO SHAKESPEARE ET ALIIS. - - "A.D. 1603. Pat. - - "1. Jac. P. 2. m. 4. James by the grace of God, &c. to all - justices, maiors, sheriffs, constables, headboroughs, and - other our officers and loving subjects, greeting. Know you - that wee, of our special grace, certaine knowledge, and meer - motion, have licensed and authorised, and by these presentes - doe licence and authorize theise our servaunts, Laurence - Fletcher, WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Richard Burbage, - Augustine Phillippes, John Hemings, Henrie Condel, William Sly, - Robert Armin, Richard Cowly, and the rest of their associates, - freely to use and exercise the art and faculty of playing - _comedies_, _tragedies_, _histories_, _interludes_, _morals_, - _pastorals_, _stage-plaies_, and such like other as thei have - alreadie studied or hereafter shall use or studie, as well - for the recreation of our loving subjects, as for our solace - and pleasure when we shall thincke good to see them, during - our pleasure: and the said comedies, tragedies, histories, - enterludes, morals, pastorals, stage-plaies, and such like, to - shew and exercise publiquely to their best commoditie, when - the infection of the plague shall decrease, as well within - theire nowe usuall house called the _Globe_, within our county - of Surrey, as also within anie towne-halls or moute-halls, or - other convenient places within the liberties and freedom of - any other citie, universitie, toun, or boroughe whatsoever, - within our said realmes and dominions. Willing and commanding - you and everie of you, as you tender our pleasure, not onelie - to permit and suffer them herein, without any your letts, - hindrances, or molestations, during our pleasure, but also - to be aiding or assistinge to them if any wrong be to them - offered, and to allow them such former curtesies as hathe - been given to men of their place and quallitie; and also what - further favour you shall shew to theise our servaunts for our - sake, we shall take kindlie at your handes. In witness whereof, - &c. - - "Witness our selfe at Westminster, the nynteenth daye of Maye, - - "Per Breve de private sigillo."[208:A] - -To _The Globe_ mentioned in this licence, and to the play-house -in _Blackfriars_, as being the theatres exclusively belonging to -_Shakspeare's_ company, and where all his dramas were performed, we -shall now confine our attention, the customs and usages of these, the -one being a public, and the other a private theatre, pretty accurately -applying to the rest. - -The exact era of the building of _The Globe_ has not been ascertained. -Mr. Malone, from the documents which he consulted, conceives it to have -been erected not long anterior to the year 1596; and Mr. Chalmers, -resting on the evidence of Norden's map of London, concludes it to -have been built before the year 1593.[208:B] Its scite appears to -have been on the southern side of the Thames, called the _Bankside_, -and its form, which was of considerable size, to have been externally -hexagonal, and internally circular. It was constructed of wood, and -only partly thatched, its centre being open to the weather. It was -probably named The Globe, not from the circularity of its interior, but -from its sign exhibiting Hercules supporting the globe, under which was -inscribed, _Totus mundus agit histrionem_. - -Being a _public_ theatre, _The Globe_ was likewise distinguished by -a pole erected on its roof, to which, during the hours of exhibition, -a flag was attached; for, by reason of its central exposure, it -necessarily became a summer theatre, its performers, the King's -company, usually commencing their season here during the month of May. -The exhibitions at the Globe were frequent, and it is said, chiefly -calculated for the lower class of people, the upper ranks, and the -critics, generally preferring the private theatres, which were smaller, -and more conveniently fitted up. The advantages of elegance and -decoration, however, were no longer wanting to The Globe, in 1614; for -the old structure, consisting of wood and thatch, being burnt down on -the 29th of June, 1613, the subsequent year saw it rise from its ashes -with considerable splendour.[209:A] - -The _Theatre in Blackfriars_ may be classed among the earliest -buildings of the kind, being certainly in existence before 1580. It was -erected near the present site of Apothecaries' Hall, and being without -the liberties of the city of London, had the good fortune to escape the -levelling fury of the fanatics, who, shortly after the above period, -obtained leave to destroy all the play-houses within the jurisdiction -of the city. - -It does not appear that Shakspeare's company, or the King's servants, -had any interest in this theatre before the winter of 1604, at which -period, or in the following spring, they became its purchasers; the -children of the Revels, or, as they were sometimes called, the children -of Blackfriars, being the usual performers at this house, prior to that -event. - -The distinctions subsisting between _Blackfriars_ and _The Globe_, seem -to have been nothing more, than that the former being a _private_, and -a _winter_, house, was smaller, more compactly put together, and, as -the representations were by candle-light, better calculated for the -purposes of warmth and protection. As the internal structure, however, -with the exception of the open centre, was similar to that of The -Globe, and as the economy and usages were, there is every reason to -believe, the same, not only in both these houses, but in every other -contemporary theatre, the subsequent notices may be considered as -applying, where not otherwise expressed, to the general state of the -Elizabethan stage, though immediately derived from the costume of The -Globe. - -The interior architectural arrangements of this ancient theatre have -been, in their leading features, preserved to the present day. The -_galleries_, or _scaffolds_, as they were sometimes called, were -constructed over each other, occupying three sides of the house, -and assuming, according to the plan of the building, a square or -semicircular form. Beneath these were small apartments, called _rooms_, -intended for the genteeler part of the audience, and answering, in -almost every respect, to our modern boxes. In The Globe, these were -open to all who chose to pay for them, but at Blackfriars and other -private theatres, there is some reason to conclude, that they were -occasionally the property of individuals, who secured their claim -through the medium of a key.[210:A] - -It has been remarked, that the centre of The Globe, or summer theatre, -was open to the weather, and, from the first temporary play-houses -having been built in the area of inns or common osteries, this was -usually called _The Yard_. It had neither floor nor benches, and the -common people standing here to see the performance, were, therefore, -termed by Shakspeare _groundlings_; an epithet repeated by Decker, -who speaks of "the groundling and gallery commoner, buying his sport -by the penny."[211:A] The similar space at Blackfriars was named the -_Pit_, but seems to have differed in no other respect than in being -protected by a roof. It was separated from the stage merely by a -railing of pales, for there was no intervening orchestra, the music, -consisting chiefly of trumpets, cornets, hautboys, lutes, recorders, -viols, and organs, being executed by a band of eight or ten performers, -who were stationed in an elevated balcony nearly occupying that part of -the house which is now denominated the upper stage-box. - -The stage itself appears to have been divided into two parts, namely -the _lower_ and the _upper_ stage; the former with nearly the same -relative elevation with regard to the pit as in the theatres of our own -times; the latter, resembling a balcony in shape, was placed towards -the rear of the former, having its platform not less than eight or -nine feet from the ground. This was a contrivance attended with much -conveniency; here was represented the play before the King in Hamlet; -here, in several of the old plays, part of the dialogue was carried -on, and here, having curtains which drew in front, were occasionally -concealed, from the view of the audience, persons whose seclusion might -be necessary to the business of the plot. - -Curtains also of woollen, or silk, were hung in the front of the -greater or lower stage, not suspended, in the modern style, by lines -and pullies, but opening in the middle, and sliding on an iron rod. - -Beside the accommodation of boxes, pit, and galleries, in the usual -parts of the house, two boxes, one on each side, were attached to the -balcony or upper stage, and were termed _private_ boxes; but, being -inconveniently situated, and, as Decker remarks, "almost smothered in -darkness," were seldom frequented, except from motives of eccentricity, -by characters higher than waiting-women and gentlemen-ushers.[211:B] -Seats, also, at the _private_ theatres, were allowed to be placed -on the stage, and were generally occupied by the wits, gallants, and -critics of the day: thus Decker observes,—"by sitting on the stage, -you have a signed patent to engross the whole commodity of _censure_; -may lawfully presume to be a girder, and _stand at the helm to steer -the passage of scenes_."[212:A] - -The passage in _italics_ which closes this quotation, would seem to -be decisive of the long agitated question relative to the use of -_scenery_; Mr. Malone asserting,—"that the stage of Shakspeare was -not furnished with _moveable painted scenes_, but merely decorated -with curtains, and arras or tapestry hangings, which, when decayed, -appear to have been sometimes ornamented with pictures[212:B];" and -Mr. Steevens contending, that where so much _machinery_ as the plays -of Shakspeare require, is allowed to have been employed, the less -complicated adjunct of scenes could scarcely be wanting; for that where -"the column is found standing, no one will suppose but that it was once -accompanied by its usual entablature.—In short," he adds, "without -characteristic discriminations of place, the historical dramas of -Shakspeare in particular would have been wrapped in tenfold confusion -and obscurity; nor could the spectator have felt the poet's power, -or accompanied his rapid transitions from one situation to another, -without such guides as _painted canvas_ only could supply.—But for -these, or such assistances, the spectator, like Hamlet's mother, must -have bent his gaze on mortifying vacancy; and with the guest invited -by the Barmecide, in the Arabian tale, must have furnished from his -own imagination the entertainment of which his eyes were solicited to -partake."[212:C] - -If the machinery accompanying trap-doors, tombs, and cauldrons, the -appearance of ghosts, phantoms, and monsters, the descent of gods, -the magic evanishment of articles of furniture and provision, and the -confliction of the elements, were not strangers to the Shakspearean -theatre, it surely would have been an easy matter to have transferred -the _frame-work and painted canvas_ which, according to Holinshed, and -even preceding chroniclers, decorated the pageants and tournaments of -those days, to the business of the stage. Nor can we, indeed, conceive, -as Mr. Steevens has remarked, how the minute inventory of Imogen's -bedchamber, and the accurate description of the exterior of Inverness -Castle, could have been rendered intelligible or endurable without such -assistance. - -It is highly, probable, therefore, from these considerations, and from -the passage in Decker, that, notwithstanding the mass of negative -evidence collected by Mr. Malone, _moveable painted scenes_ were -occasionally introduced on the stage during the age of Shakspeare; -and it may be further reasonably concluded, that, from the phrase of -_STEERING the PASSAGE of scenes_, the mechanism was formed and -conducted on a plan approximating that which is now familiar to a -modern audience. - -The conjecture of Mr. Steevens, however, that _private_ theatres had -no scenes, while the _public_ had, owing to the former admitting part -of the audience on the stage, who might interfere with the convenient -shifting of such an apparatus, is annihilated by the quotation from -Decker, who expressly says, that "_by SITTING ON THE STAGE_, -you have _a signed patent to stand at the helm to steer the passage of -the scenes_," by which it would appear, that those who obtained seats -on the private stage, occasionally amused themselves by assisting the -regular mechanists in the adjustment of the scenery. - -We learn, also, from Heywood[213:A], that the internal roof of the -stage was either painted of a sky-blue colour, or hung with drapery -of a similar tint, in order to represent the HEAVENS; and -there is much reason to suppose, with a very ingenious commentator, -that when the idea of a gloomy and starless night was to be impressed, -these _heavens_ were hung with black, whence, among many passages in -Shakspeare illustrative of this position, the following line manifestly -owes its origin:— - - "_Hung_ be the _Heavens_ with _black_, yield day to night."[214:A] - -It has, likewise, been asserted, and, indeed, to a certain extent, -proved, by the same learned writer, that the lower part of the stage -was distinguished by the name of HELL; and he quotes the -annexed passage from Chapman as decisive on the subject:— - - "The fortune of a _Stage_ (like fortune's self) - Amazeth greatest judgments: and none knows - The hidden causes of those strange effects, - That rise from _this HELL_, or fall from _this HEAVEN_."[214:B] - -From this connection of the celestial and infernal regions with -the stage, Mr. Whiter has inferred, through the medium of numerous -pertinent quotations from Shakspeare and his contemporaries, that a -vast mass of imagery was so blended and associated in the mind of -our great poet, as to form an intimate union in his ideas between HELL -and NIGHT; the DARKENED HEAVENS and the STAGE of TRAGEDY[214:C]; and -this, too, at an early period, even during the composition of his Rape -of Lucrece, which contains some striking instances of this theatrical -combination. - -To these notices on the interior structure of the Shakspearean theatre, -we shall now add the most material circumstances relative to its -economy and usages. - -The mode of announcing its exhibitions, if we except the medium of -newspapers, a resource of subsequent times, seems to have been not less -effectual and extensive than that of the present day. _Play-bills_ -were printed, expressing the title of the piece or pieces to be -performed, but containing neither the names of the characters, nor of -the actors; these were industriously circulated through the town, and -affixed to posts and public buildings, a custom which forms the subject -of a repartee recorded by Taylor the water-poet, who began to write -towards the close of Shakspeare's life:—"Master Field, the player," -he relates, "riding up Fleet-street a great pace, a gentleman called -him, and asked him, what play was played that day. He being angry to be -staied on so frivolous a demand, answered, that he might see what play -was plaied _upon every poste_. I cry you mercy, said the gentleman, I -tooke you for a _poste_, you rode so fast."[215:A] - -In the early part of the reign of Elizabeth, the _Days of Acting_, at -the public theatres, were chiefly confined to Sundays, Her Majesty's -licence to Burbage in 1574, granting such exhibition on that day, _out -of the hours of prayer_; and this was the day which the Queen herself -usually selected for dramatic representation at court. The rapidly -increasing taste, however, for theatric amusement soon induced the -players to go beyond the limits of permission, and we find Gosson, -in 1579, exclaiming, that the players, "because they are allowed to -play _every Sunday_, make _four_ or _five Sundays_, at least, every -week."[215:B] A reformation more consonant to morality and decorum -took place in the subsequent reign; for, though plays were still -performed on Sundays, at the court of James the First, yet they were -no longer tolerated on that day at the public theatres, permission -being now given, on application to the Master of the Revels, for their -performance every day, save on the Sabbath, during the winter, and with -no further exception than the Wednesdays and Fridays of Lent, which -were at that time called sermon-days. - -The _Hours of Acting_, during the whole period of Shakspeare's career, -continued to be early in the afternoon. In 1598, we are informed by an -epigram of Sir John Davies, that _one o'clock_ was the usual time for -the commencement of the play:— - - "Fuscus doth rise at ten, and at eleven - He goes to Gyls, where he doth eat till _one_, - Then sees _a play_." - -and, in 1609, when Decker published his Gull's Horn-book, the hour -was thrown back to three, nor did it become later until towards the -close of the seventeenth century. The time visually consumed in the -exhibition appears, from the prologue to _Henry the Eighth_, to have -been only two hours:— - - ——————————— "Those that come— - I'll undertake, may see away their _shilling_ - Richly in _two short hours_."[216:A] - -The mention of payment in this passage, leads to the consideration of -the _Prices of Admission_, and the sum here specified, contemporary -authority informs us, was demanded for entrance into the best rooms -or boxes.[216:B] Sixpence also, and sometimes a shilling, was paid -for seats or stools on the stage. Sixpence was likewise the price of -admission to the pit and galleries of the Globe and Blackfriars; but -at inferior houses, a penny, or at most two-pence, gave access to the -"groundling," or the "gallery-commoner." Dramatic poets, as in the -present day, were admitted gratis. We may also add, that, from some -verses addressed to the memory of Ben Jonson, by Jasper Mayne, and -alluding to his Volpone or the Fox, acted in 1605, it is allowable to -infer, that the prices of admission were, on the first representation -of a new play, doubled, and even sometimes trebled.[217:A] - -There is every reason to suppose, that while Shakspeare wrote for the -stage, the _Number of Plays performed in One Day_, seldom, if ever, -exceeded _one_ tragedy, comedy, or history, and that the entertainment -was varied and protracted, either by the extempore humour and tricks -of the _Clown_ after the play was over, or by singing, dancing, or -ludicrous recitation, between the acts. - -The house appears to have been pretty well supplied with _Lights_; the -stage being illuminated by two large branches; the body of the house -by cresset lights, formed of ropes wreathed and pitched, and placed -in open iron lanterns, and these were occasionally assisted by the -interspersion of wax tapers among the boxes. - -The _Amusements of the Audience before the Play commenced_ seem to have -been amply supplied by themselves, the only recreation provided by the -theatre, during this tedious interval, being the _music_ of the band, -which struck up thrice, playing three flourishes, or, as they were then -called, _three soundings_, before the performance began; but these -were of course short, being principally intended as announcements, -similar to those which we now receive from the prompter's bell. To kill -time, therefore, reading and playing cards were the resources of the -genteeler part of the audience: "Before the play begins," says Decker -to his gallant, "fall to cards; you may win or lose, as fencers do in -a prize, and beat one another by confederacy, yet share the money when -you meet at supper: notwithstanding, to gull the ragamuffins that stand -aloof gaping at you, throw the cards, having first torn four or five of -them, round about the stage, just upon the _third sound_, as though you -had lost."[217:B] - -Of the less refined amusements of these _gaping ragamuffins_, -"the youths that thunder at a play-house, and fight for bitter -apples[218:A]," we find numerous traces in Decker, Jonson, and their -contemporaries, which enable us to assert, that they chiefly consisted -in _smoking tobacco_, _drinking ale_, _cracking nuts_, and _eating -fruit_, which were regularly supplied by men attending in the theatre, -and whose vociferation and clamour, or, as a writer of that time -expresses it, "to be made _adder-deaf_ with _pippin-cry_[218:B]," -were justly considered as grievous nuisances; more especially the use -of tobacco, which must have been intolerable to those unaccustomed -to its odour, and, indeed, occasionally drew forth the execration of -individuals: thus in a work entitled, "_Dyets Dry Dinner_," we find -the author commencing an epigram on the wanton and excessive use of -tobacco, in the following terms:— - - "It chaunc'd me gazing at the _Theater_, - To spie a Dock-Tabacco-Chevalier, - _Clouding the loathing ayr with foggie fume - Of Dock-Tabacco;— — — — - I wisht the Roman lawes severity: - Who smoke selleth, with smoke be done to dy_."[218:C] - -The most rational of the amusements which occupied the impatient -audience, was certainly that of _reading_, and this appears to have -been supplied by a custom of hawking about new publications at the -theatre; at least this may be inferred from the opening of an -address to the public, prefixed by William Fennor, to a production -of his, entitled "Descriptions," and published in 1616. "To the -Gentlemen readers, worthy gentlemen, of what degree soever, I suppose -this pamphlet will hap into your hands, _before a play begin, with -the importunate clamour of BUY A NEW BOOKE, by some needy -companion, that will be glad to furnish you with worke for a turn'd -teaster_."[219:A] - -As soon as the third sounding had finished, it was usual for the -person whose province it was to speak the _Prologue_, immediately to -enter. As a diffident and supplicatory manner were thought essential -to this character, who is termed by Decker, "the _quaking_ Prologue," -it was the custom to clothe him in a _long black velvet cloak_, to -which Shirley adds, a _little beard_, a _starch'd face_, and a _supple -leg_.[219:B] - -On withdrawing the curtain, the stage was generally found strewed with -_rushes_, which, in Shakspeare's time, as hath been remarked in our -first volume, formed the common covering of floors, from the palace to -the cottage[219:C]; but, on very splendid occasions, it was _matted_ -entirely over; thus, Sir Henry Wotton, in a letter which describes the -conflagration of the Globe Theatre, in 1613, says, that on the night of -the accident, "the King's Players had a new play, called _All is true_, -representing some principal pieces of the reign of Henry the Eighth, -which was set forth with many extraordinary circumstances of pomp and -majesty, _even to the matting of the stage_."[219:D] - -The performance of _tragedy_ appears to have been attended with some -peculiar preparations; one of which was _hanging the stage with black_, -a practice which dwelt on Shakspeare's recollection when, in writing -his Rape of Lucrece, he speaks of - - "_Black stage_ for _tragedies_, and murthers fell;"[220:A] - -and is put out of dispute by a passage in the Induction to an anonymous -tragedy, entitled, _A Warning for fair Women_, 1599, where _History_, -addressing _Comedy_, says:— - - "Look, _Comedie_, I mark'd it not till now, - _The stage is hung with blacke_, and I perceive - The auditors prepar'd for _tragedie_:" - -to which _Comedy_ replies:— - - "Nay then, I see she shall be entertain'd; - These _ornaments_ beseem not thee and me."[220:B] - -If the decorations of the stage itself could boast but little -splendour, the _wardrobe_, even of The Globe and Blackfriars, could not -be supposed either richly or amply furnished; in fact, even Jonson, in -1625, nine years after Shakspeare's death, betrays the poverty of the -_stage-dresses_, when he exclaims in the _Induction_ to his _Staple of -News_, "O curiosity, you come to see who wears the new suit to-day; -whose clothes are best pen'd, &c.—what king plays _without cuffs_, -and his queen _without gloves_: who rides post in _stockings_, and -dances in _boots_."[220:C] It is evident, therefore, that the dramas -of our great poet could derive little attraction from magnificence of -attire, though it appears, from a passage in Jonson, that not only -was there a prompter, or _book-holder_, but likewise a property, or -_tire-man_, belonging to each theatre, in 1601.[221:A] _Periwigs_, -which came into fashion about 1596, were often worn on the stage by -male characters, whence Hamlet is represented calling a ranting player, -"a robustious _periwig_-pated fellow[221:B];" _masks_ or _vizards_ were -also sometimes used by those who personated female characters; thus -Quince tells Flute, in the Midsummer Night's Dream, on his objecting to -perform a woman's part, that he "shall play it in a _mask_."[221:C] - -_Female characters_ indeed, were on the old English stage, as they had -been on the Grecian and Roman, _always personated by men or boys_, -a practice which continued with us until near the period of the -Restoration. Italy and France long preceded us in the introduction of -women on the theatric boards; for Coryate writing from Venice in 1608, -and describing one of the theatres of that city, says, "the house is -very beggarly and base, in comparison of our stately play-houses in -England;" and he then adds, what must give us a wretched idea of the -state of the stage at that time in Italy, "neither can their actors -compare with us for apparell, shewes, and musicke. Here," he continues, -"I observed certaine things that I never saw before; for _I saw women -act, a thing that I never saw before_."[221:D] - -The mode of expressing dislike of, or censuring a play, was as decided -in the days of Shakspeare as in the present age, and sometimes -effected by the same means. Decker gives us two methods of expressing -disapprobation; one, by leaving the house with as many in your train -as you can collect, the other, by staying, in order to interrupt the -performance: "you shall disgrace him (the poet) worse," he observes, -"than by tossing him in a blanket, or giving him the bastinado in a -tavern, if, in the middle of his play, be it pastoral or comedy, moral -or tragedy, you rise with a screwed and discontented face from your -stool to be gone;"—and "salute all your gentle acquaintance, that are -spread either on the rushes, or on stools about you; and draw what -troop you can from the stage after you:" but, "if either the company, -or indisposition of the weather bind you to sit it out;—_mew_ at -passionate speeches; _blare_ at merry; find fault with the musick; -_whew_ at the children's action; _whistle_ at the songs[222:A];" modes -of annoyance sufficiently provoking, and occasionally very effectual -toward the final condemnation of a play, as Ben Jonson experienced in -more instances than one.[222:B] - -It was usual also for the critics and coxcombs of the day, either -from motives of curiosity, vanity, or malevolence, to carry to the -theatre _table-books_, made of small plates of slate bound together in -duodecimo, and to take down passages from the play, for the purpose -either of retailing them in taverns and parties, or with the view -of ridiculing and degrading the author; "to such, wherever they sit -concealed," says the indignant Jonson in 1601, "let them know, the -author defies them and their _writing-tables_."[222:C] - -An _Epilogue_, sometimes spoken by one of the _Dramatis Personæ_, and -sometimes by an extra character, was not uncommon at this period; and, -when employed, generally terminated, if in a public theatre, with _a -prayer_ for the king or queen; if, in a private one, for the lord of -the mansion. The prayer, however, was, almost always, a necessary form, -whether an epilogue were adopted or not; and, on these occasions, -whatever may have been the nature of the preceding drama, the players, -kneeling down, solemnly addressed themselves to their devotions: thus -Shakspeare concludes his Epilogue to the Second Part of _King Henry the -Fourth_, by telling his audience, "I will bid you good night: and so -_kneel down_ before you;—but, indeed, _to pray for the queen_[223:A];" -and Sir John Harrington closes his _Metamorphosis of Ajax_, 1596, with -the following sarcastic mention of this custom as retained in _private_ -theatres:—"But I will neither end with sermon nor prayer, lest some -wags liken me to my L. (——) players, who when they have ended a -baudie comedy, as though that were a preparative to devotion, kneele -down solemnly, and pray all the companie to pray with them for their -good lord and maister." Considering the place chosen for its display, -this is, certainly, a custom - - "More honour'd in the breach, than the observance." - -With regard to the _Remuneration of Actors_, during the age of -Shakspeare, it has been ascertained, that, after deducting forty-five -shillings, which were the usual nightly, or rather daily, expenses -at the Globe and Blackfriars, the _net_ receipt never amounted to -more than twenty pounds, and that the _average_ receipt, after making -a similar deduction, may be estimated at about _nine pounds_. This -sum Mr. Malone supposes to have been in our poet's time "divided -into forty shares, of which fifteen were appropriated to the house -keepers or proprietors, three to the purchase of copies of new -plays, stage-habits, &c. and twenty-two to the actors." He further -calculates, that, as the acting season lasted forty weeks, and each -company consisted of about twenty persons, six of whom probably were -principal, and the others subordinate performers, if we suppose _two -shares_ to have been the reward of a principal actor; _one share_ that -of a second class composed of six, and _half a share_ the portion of -the remaining eight, the performer who had _two shares_, would, on the -calculation of nine pounds _clear_ per night, receive nine shillings -as his nightly dividend, and, at the rate of five plays a week, his -weekly profit would amount to two pounds five shillings. "On all these -_data_," adds Mr. Malone, "I think it may be safely concluded, that -the performers of the first class did not derive from their profession -more than ninety pounds a year at the utmost. Shakspeare, Heminge, -Condell, Burbadge, Lowin, and Taylor had without doubt other shares as -proprietors or leaseholders; but what the different proportions were -which each of them possessed in that right, it is now impossible to -ascertain."[224:A] If we consider, however, the value of money during -the reign of Elizabeth, and the relative prices of the necessary -articles of life, it will be found that these salaries were not -inadequate to the purposes of comfortable subsistence. - -The profits accruing to the original source of the entertainment, or, -in other words, the _Remuneration given to the Dramatic Poet_, was -certainly, if we compare the claims of genius between the two parties, -on a scale inferior to that which fell to the lot of the actor. - -The author had the choice of two modes in the disposal of his property; -he either sold the copy-right of his play to the theatre, or retained -it in his own hands. In the former instance, which was frequently had -recourse to in the age of Shakspeare, the only emolument was that -derived from the purchase made by the proprietors of the theatre, -who took care to secure the performance of the piece exclusively to -their own company, and whose interest it was to defer its publication -as long as possible; in the latter instance, not only had the poet -the right of publication and the benefit of sale in his own option, -but he had, likewise, a claim upon the theatre for a benefit. This, -towards the termination of the sixteenth century, took place on the -_second_ day[224:B], but was soon afterwards, as early indeed as 1612, -postponed to the _third_ day.[225:A] - -From a publication of Robert Greene's, dated 1592, it appears, that the -price of a drama, when disposed of to the _public players_, was twenty -nobles, or six pounds thirteen shillings and four pence; but that -_private companies_ would sometimes give double that[225:B] sum. It has -been recorded, indeed, by Oldys, in one of his manuscripts, but upon -what authority is not mentioned, that Shakspeare received but _five -pounds_ for his _Hamlet_![225:C] - -What a _bookseller_ gave for the _copyright_ of a play at this period -is unknown; but we have sufficient foundation, that of the bookseller's -Preface to the quarto edition of our poet's _Troilus and Cressida_ -in 1609, for asserting, that _sixpence_ was the sale price of a play -when published.[225:D] It may also be affirmed, on grounds of equal -security, that _forty shillings_ formed the customary compliment for -the flattery of a dedication.[225:E] - -To these notices concerning the pecuniary rewards of poets and -performers, may be added the conjecture of Mr. Malone, that Shakspeare, -"as author, actor, and proprietor, probably received from the theatre -about two hundred pounds a year."[225:F] - -From this description of the architecture, economy, and usages of -the Shakspearean Stage, it must be evident, how trifling were the -obligations of our great poet to the adventitious aid of scenery, -machinery, and decoration, notwithstanding we have admitted these -to be somewhat more elaborate than is usually allowed. The Art of -Acting, however, had, during the same period, made very rapid strides -towards perfection, and dramatic action and expression, therefore, -coadjutors of infinitely more importance than the most splendid -scenical apparatus, exhibited, we have reason to believe, powers in a -great degree competent to the task of doing justice to the imperishable -productions of this unrivalled bard of pity and of terror. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[168:A] Burton's Anatomy of Melancholy, fol., 8th edit., p. 171. col. i. - -[168:B] "The Pleasant and Stately Morall of the Three Lordes and Three -Ladies of London," &c., London. Printed by Jhones, at the Rose and -Crowne, neere Holburne Bridge, 1590. Vide Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, -Introduct., p. xxviii.; and Beloe's Anecdotes of Literature, vol. i. p. -350, 351. - -[168:C] Anatomy of Melancholy, p. 172. col. i. - -[169:A] "Schoole of Abuse," "Anatomie of Abuses," and "Treatise against -Diceing, Card-playing," &c. - -[169:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. v. p. 170. Act v. sc. 1. - -[169:C] Ibid. vol. v. p. 186, 187. Act iv. sc. 5. - -[170:A] Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, 4to. 1810, p. 291, 292. - -[170:B] Ancient British Drama, vol. i. p. 111. col. 1. - -[170:C] Belman of London, sig. F 2. - -[170:D] Midsummer Night's Dream, act iii. sc. 1. Reed's Shakspeare, -vol. iv. p. 401. Romeo and Juliet, act iv. sc. 5. Reed's Shakspeare -vol. xx. p. 221. - -[170:E] Ancient British Drama, vol. ii. p. 551. col. 1. - -[170:F] In the Compleat Gamester, 2nd edit. 1676, p. 90., may be found -the mode of playing this game. - -[170:G] The first of these games is mentioned in _Eastward Hoe_, -printed in 1605, and written by Ben Jonson, George Chapman, and John -Marston; the second in the _Dumb Knight_, the production of Lewis -Machin, 1608; the third in _A Woman killed with Kindness_, written by -Thomas Heywood, 1617, where are also noticed _Lodam_, _Noddy_, _Post -and Pair_, a species of Brag, _Knave out of Doors_, and _Ruff_, this -last being something like Whist, and played in four different ways, -under the names of _English Ruff_, _French Ruff_, _Double Ruff_, and -_Wide Ruff_.—Vide Ancient British Drama, vol. ii. p. 444, 445. - -[171:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. v. p. 335. note. - -[171:B] Works of Ben Jonson; act v. sc. 4. - -[171:C] Anatomy of Melancholy, p. 172. col. 2. - -[171:D] Sports and Pastimes, 4to. p. 277. - -[171:E] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vii. p. 183. Act v. sc. 2. - -[171:F] Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 243. - -[171:G] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ix. pp. 227, 228. Winter's Tale, act i. -sc. 2. - -[171:H] Ibid. vol. xviii. p. 240. Hamlet, act iii. sc. 4. - -[172:A] Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, p. 272. - -[173:A] Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 217. - -[173:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vii. p. 52. Act iii. sc. 1. - -[173:C] Part II. p. 129 - -[173:D] Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. i. pp. 219, 220. - -[174:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. v. p. 406. - -[174:B] Ibid. vol. v. p. 407. note. - -[175:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vi. pp. 38, 39. - -[175:B] Ibid. vol. viii. p. 260, 261. - -[175:C] Ibid. vol. vii. p. 52. - -[175:D] Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 221. - -[176:A] Chalmers's Apology, p. 380. - -[176:B] Warton's Life of Sir Tho. Pope, sect. iii. p. 85. - -[177:A] Nichols's Progresses of Queen Elizabeth, vol. i. p. 249. - -[177:B] Hentzner's Travels, pp. 29, 30. - -[177:C] P. 147. - -[178:A] Lambarde's Perambulation of Kent, 1570, p. 248. - -[178:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. v. pp. 33, 34. M. W. of Windsor, act i. -sc. 1. - -[179:A] "The Auncient Order, Societie, and Vnitie Laudable, of Prince -Arthure, and his knightly Armoury of the Round Table. With a Threefold -Assertion frendly in favour and furtherance of English Archery at -this day. Translated and Collected by R. R." (Richard Robinson) 4to. -1583.—Vide British Bibliographer, vol. i. p. 125. 127. - -[179:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xii. p. 144. - -[180:A] Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, p. 62., from Strype's London, -vol. i. p. 250.—In 1682, appeared "A remembrance of the worthy -show and shooting by the Duke of Shoreditch and his associates the -worshipful citizens of London, upon Tuesday the 17th of September 1583, -set forth according to the truth thereof, to the everlasting honour of -the game of shooting in the long bow. B. W. M." - -[181:A] Vide British Bibliographer, vol. i. pp. 448. 450. - -[181:B] Ascham's Works apud Bennet, 4to. p. 55. - -[181:C] The Boke named the Governour; the edition of 1553. p. 83. - -[182:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vii. p. 71. Act iv. sc. 1. - -[182:B] Lodge's Illustrations of British History, vol. iii. p. 295. - -[182:C] Stowe's Survey of London, 4to. 1618. p. 162. - -[183:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xii. p. 29. Henry IV. Part ii. act i. -sc. 2. - -[183:B] The Gull's Horn-book, 4to. 1609. Reprint of 1812, p. 99. - -[183:C] Ibid. pp. 101, 102. - -[184:A] Gull's Horn-book, pp. 95, 96. - -[184:B] Ibid. pp. 97, 98. - -[185:A] Gull's Horn-book, p. 97. - -[185:B] They are thus called, from wearing _white surplices_. - -[185:C] Gull's Horn-book, pp. 99, 100. - -[186:A] Gull's Horn-book, pp. 104, 105. - -[186:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vii. p. 26. Act i. sc. 2. - -[186:C] History of the World, First Part, p. 178. - -[186:D] Vide Douce's Illustrations, vol. i. pp. 213, 214. - -[186:E] Ben Jonson's Works, fol. edit. 1640. Epigrammes, p. 46. - -[187:A] Chalmers's English Poets, vol. v. p. 274. col. 2. Satires, book -iv. sat. 2. - -[187:B] Works of Ben Jonson; act v. sc. 4. - -[188:A] The Workes of Benjamin Jonson, folio. 1640. Masques, p. -143.—Of the costly magnificence of this spectacle, an idea may be -formed from that part which relates to the attire of the actors: "that -of the Lords," describes the poet, "had part of it taken from the -_antique Greek_ statue; mixed with some _moderne_ additions: which made -it both gracefull, and strange. On their heads they wore _Persick_ -crowns that were with scroles of _gold-plate_ turned outward, and -wreathed about with a _carnation_ and _silver_ net-lawne; the one end -of which hung carelessly on the left shoulder; the other was tricked up -before, in severall degrees of folds, between the plates, and set with -_rich jewels_, and _great pearles_. Their bodies were of _carnation_ -cloth of _silver_, richly wrought, and cut to expresse the _naked_, in -manner of the _Greek Thorax_; girt under the brests with a _broad belt -of cloth of gold imbroydered, and fastened before with jewels_: Their -Labels were of _white cloth of silver, laced, and wrought curiously -between_, sutable to the upper halfe of their sleeves; whose nether -parts with their bases, were of _watchet cloth of silver, chev'rond -all over with lace_. Their Mantils were of _severall colour'd silkes_, -distinguishing their qualities as they were coupled in paires; the -first, _skie colour_; the second, _pearle colour_; the third, _flame -colour_; the fourth, _tawny_: and these cut in leaves, which were -subtilly tack'd up, and _imbroydered_ with Oo's, and between every -ranck of leaves, a _broad silver lace_. They were fastened on the right -shoulder, and fell compasse down the back in gracious folds, and were -again tyed with a round knot, to the fastening of their swords. Upon -their legs they wore _silver greaves_." P. 143. - -[189:A] Nichols's Progresses of Queen Elizabeth, vol. i. Preface, p. 10. - -[190:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 137. note by Malone, from -Stowe's Annals. - -[190:B] Origines Juridiciales, folio, p. 346, edit. 1671. - -[190:C] Stowe's Annales, by Howes, folio, p. 1006. edit. 1631. - -[191:A] History of English Poetry, vol. ii. p. 365. note. - -[192:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xvii. pp. 235, 236. Act iv. sc. 12. - -[192:B] The Workes of Benjamin Jonson, fol. 164. Masques, p. 135. - -[193:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. pp. 135-137. Act iv. sc. 1. - -[194:A] Progresses of Queen Elizabeth, vol. i. Preface, p. 19. - -[194:B] Ibid. p. 24. - -[196:A] This enumeration is abridged from Laneham's Letter, and the -"Princely Pleasures at Kenelworth Castle," reprinted in Nichols's -Progresses, vol. i. - -[197:A] Hurd's Moral and Political Dialogues, vol. i. p. 160. edit. of -1788. - -[197:B] Ibid. vol. i. p. 150. - -[199:A] Nichols's Progresses, vol. i. Laneham's Letter, p. 81-84. - -[200:A] Hurd's Moral and Political Dialogues, vol. i. pp. 148-150. - -[201:A] Chalmers's Apology, p. 353. - -[202:A] See Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 48. - -[204:A] Anatomie of Abuses, edit. 1583, p. 90. - -[204:B] See Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 363. note. - -[205:A] Apology, p. 393. - -[208:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. pp. 51, 52. - -[208:B] See Malone's Inquiry, p. 87.; Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. -64.; and Chalmers's Apology, p. 115. - -[209:A] Of the perishable materials, and inconvenient construction of -the old theatre, we have some remarkable proofs, in two letters extant, -describing the accident. The first written by Sir Henry Wotton, and -dated July 2. 1613, concludes by asserting that "nothing did perish but -_wood_ and _straw_, and a few forsaken cloaks;" and the second from Mr. -John Chamberlaine to Sir Ralph Winwood, dated July 8. 1613, remarks, -that "it was a great marvaile and fair grace of God that the people had -so little harm, having but _two narrow doors_ to get out."—Reliquiæ -Wotton, p. 425. edit. 1685; and Winwood's Memorials, vol. iii. p. 469. - -[210:A] See Warton's History of English Poetry, vol. ii. p. 394. note. - -[211:A] Gull's Horn-book, Nott's reprint, p. 132. - -[211:B] Ibid. p. 135. - -[212:A] Gull's Horn-book, p. 138. - -[212:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. pp. 106-108. - -[212:C] Ibid. p. 109. note. - -[213:A] Apology for Actors, 1612. sig. D. - -[214:A] Whiter's Specimen of a Commentary on Shakspeare, pp. 157, 158. - -[214:B] Ibid. pp. 178. 183.; and see Prologue to _All Fools_, by -Chapman, 1605, in Old Plays, vol. iv. p. 116. - -[214:C] Whiter's Specimen, p. 184. - -[215:A] Taylor's Works, p. 183.—Mr. Malone is of opinion that to these -play-bills we owe "the long and whimsical titles which are prefixed -to the quarto copies of our author's plays.—It is indeed absurd to -suppose, that the modest Shakspeare, who has more than once apologized -for his _untutored lines_, should in his manuscripts have entitled any -of his dramas _most excellent and pleasant_ performances." Thus:— - - "The _most excellent_ Historie of the Merchant of Venice, 1600." - - "A _most pleasant and excellent conceited_ Comedie of Syr John - Falstaffe and the Merry Wives of Windsor, 1602." - - "The late and _much-admired_ Play, called Pericles Prince of - Tyre, 1609," &c. &c. - Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. pp. 163-165. - -[215:B] Schoole of Abuse.—Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 154. - -[216:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xv. p. 4. - -[216:B] Decker's Gull's Horn-book, reprint, p. 18. note. - -[217:A] Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 175. note. - -[217:B] Gull's Horn-book, reprint, p. 146. - -[218:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xv. p. 205. Henry VIII. act v. sc. 3. - -[218:B] Notes from Black-fryers, by H. Fitz-Jeoffery, 1617. - -[218:C] "Dyets Dry Dinner: consisting of eight several courses. 1. -Fruites. 2. Hearbes. 3. Flesh. 4. Fish. 5. Whitmeats. 6. Spice. 7. -Sauce. 8. Tabacco. All served in after the order of time universall. By -Henry Buttes, Maister of Artes, and Fellowe of C. C. C. in C. - - Qui miscuit utile dulci. - Cicero. - Non nobis solum nati sumus, sed - Ortus nostri sibi vendicant. - -Printed in London by Tho. Creede, for William Wood, and are to be sold -at the West end of Powles, at the signe of Tyme, 1599." Small 8vo. - -[219:A] "Fennors Descriptions, or a true relation of certaine and -divers speeches, spoken before the King and Queene's most excellent -Majestie, the Prince his highnesse, and the Lady Elizabeth's Grace. -By William Fennor, his Majestie's Servant. London, Printed by Edward -Griffin, for George Gibbs, and are to bee sold at his shop in Paul's -Church-yard, at the signe of the Flower-De-luce, 1616." 4to. - -[219:B] Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 120. note. - -[219:C] Vide Decker's Gull's Horn-book, reprint, p. 135. - -[219:D] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 68. note. - -[220:A] Malone's Supplement, vol. i. p. 517.—"The hanging however -was," remarks the editor, "I suppose, no more than one piece of black -baize placed at the back of the stage, in the room of the tapestry -which was the common decoration when comedies were acted." - -[220:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 111. note. - -[220:C] Whalley's Works of Ben Jonson; Prologue in Induction. - -[221:A] Whalley's Jonson; Cynthia's Revels, Induction. - -[221:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 181. Act iii. sc. 2. - -[221:C] Ibid. vol. iv. p. 338. Act i. sc. 2. - -[221:D] Coryate's Crudities, 4to. 1611, p. 247. - -[222:A] Gull's Horn-book, reprint, pp. 147-149. - -[222:B] Sejanus, Catiline, and The New Inn, were all condemned. - -[222:C] "There is reason to believe," remarks Mr. Malone, "that the -imperfect and mutilated copies of one or two of Shakspeare's dramas, -which are yet extant, were taken down by the ear, or in short-hand, -during the exhibition."—Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 151. - -[223:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xii. p. 263. - -[224:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 190. - -[224:B] In Davenant's _Play-house to be Let_, occurs the following -passage:— - - "There is an old tradition, - That in the times of mighty _Tamberlane_, - Of conjuring _Faustus_ and the _Beauchamps bold_, - You poets used to have the _second_ day." - -[225:A] On the authority of Decker's Prologue to one of his comedies -entitled, _If this be not a good Play the Devil's in't_, 1612:— - - ———————— "Not caring, so he gains - A cram'd _third day_." - -[225:B] "Master R. G., would it not make you blush—if you sold -_Orlando Furioso_ to the queenes players for _twenty nobles_, and when -they were in the country, sold the same play to Lord Admirals men, for -_as much more_?"—Defence of Coney-catching, 1592. - -[225:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 172. - -[225:D] "Had I time I would comment upon it, though I know it needs -not, (for so much as will make you thinke your _testerne_ well bestowd) -but for so much worth, as even poore I know to be stuft in it."—Reed's -Shakspeare, vol. xv. p. 226. - -[225:E] "I did determine not to have _dedicated_ my play to any body, -because _forty shillings_ I care not for; and above, few or none will -bestow on these matters."—Dedication to _A Woman's a Weathercock_, a -comedy by N. Field, 1612. - -[225:F] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 191. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - - A BRIEF VIEW OF DRAMATIC POETRY, FROM THE BIRTH OF SHAKSPEARE - TO THE PERIOD OF HIS COMMENCEMENT AS A WRITER FOR THE STAGE, - ABOUT THE YEAR 1590; WITH CRITICAL NOTICES OF THE DRAMATIC - POETS WHO FLOURISHED DURING THAT INTERVAL. - - -It is remarkable that the era of the birth of Shakspeare should occur -in almost _intermediate contact_ with those periods which mark the -first appearance of what may be termed _legitimate_ tragedy and comedy. -In 1561-2, was exhibited the tragedy of _Ferrex and Porrex_, written -by Thomas Norton, and Thomas Sackville, Lord Buckhurst, "the first -specimen," observes Mr. Warton, "in our language of an heroick tale -written in verse, and divided into acts and scenes, and cloathed in all -the formalities of a _regular tragedy_[227:A];" in 1564, as is well -known, the leading object of our work, the great poet of nature, was -born; and, in 1566, was acted at Christ's College, Cambridge, under -the quaint title of _Gammer Gurton's Needle_, the first play, remarks -Wright, "that looks like a _regular comedy_."[227:B] - -Previous to the exhibition of these pieces, the public had been -contented with _Mysteries_, _Moralities_, and _Interludes_; the -first of these, exclusively occupied by miracles and scriptural -narratives, originated with the ecclesiastics so far back as the -eleventh century[227:C]; the second, consisting chiefly of allegorical -personification, seems to have arisen about the middle of the fifteenth -century[227:D]; and the third, a species of farce, or, as Jonson -defines them, _something played at the intervals of festivity_, became -prevalent during the reign of Henry the Eighth. - -The examples, however, which were now furnished by Sackville and -Still, in the production of _Gorboduc_[228:A], and _Gammer Gurton_, -were not lost upon their age; and to the ideas of legitimate fable -emanating from these sources, are also to be added those derived -from the now frequent custom of acting plays in the schools and -universities, in imitation of the dramas of Plautus and Terence. To -these co-operating causes may be ascribed the numerous tragedies and -plays which appeared between the years 1566 and 1590, principally -written by men who had been educated at the universities, and who, in -the serious drama, endeavoured to support the stately and declamatory -style of Gorboduc. - -It is to this period, also, that we must refer for the epoch of the -historical drama, or, what were called, in the language of their times, -_Histories_, a gradual improvement, it is true, on the allegorical -_Dramatis Personæ_ of the moralities, but which, in the interval -elapsing between 1570 and 1590, received a consistency and form, a -materiality and organisation, which only required the animating fire of -Shakspeare's muse to kindle into life and immortality. - -For the prevalence and popularity of this species of play, anterior -to the productions of our poet, we are probably indebted to the -publication of _The Mirrour for Magistrates_, a poetical miscellany, -of which four editions were printed between 1564 and 1590, and where -the most remarkable personages in English history are brought forward -relating the story of their own disasters. - -Another and very popular species of dramatic composition, at this -era, may be satisfactorily deduced from the strong attachment still -existing for the ancient _moralities_, in which the most solemn and -serious subjects were often blended with the lowest scenes of farce and -broad humour; for though the taste of the educated part of the public -was chastened and improved by the classical tragedy of Sackville, -and by the translations also of Gascoigne, who, in 1566, presented -his countrymen with _Jocasta_ from Euripides, and _The Supposes_, a -regular comedy, from Ariosto, yet the lower orders still lingered -for the mingled buffoonery of their old stage, and _tragi-comedy_ -became necessary to catch their applause. This apparently heterogenous -compound was long the most fascinating entertainment of the scenical -world; nor were even the wildest features of the allegorical drama -unrepresented; for the _interlude_ and, subsequently, the _masque_, -were frequently lavish in the creation of personages equally as -extravagant and grotesque as any which the fifteenth century had dared -to produce. - -To this enumeration of the various kinds of dramatic poetry which -preceded the efforts of Shakspeare, one more, of a very singular -nature, must be added, the production of Richard Tarleton, the -celebrated jester and comedian, who, previous to 1589, or during the -course of that year, exhibited a play in two parts, called "The Seven -Deadlie Sins."[229:A] The piece itself has perished, but the Platt, or -groundwork, of the Second Part, having been preserved, we find that -the preceding portion had been occupied in exemplifying the sins of -_Pride_, _Gluttony_, _Wrath_, and _Avarice_, while _Envy_, _Sloth_, and -_Lechery_, were reserved for its successor. The plan which Tarleton -pursued, in illustrating the effects of these sins, was by selecting -scenes and passages from the plays of various authors, and combining -them into a whole by the connecting medium of chorusses, interlocutors, -and pantomimic show. Thus the Second Part is composed from three -plays, namely, Sackville's _Gorboduc_, and two, now lost, entitled -_Sardanapalus_ and _Tereus_, while the moralisation and connection are -introduced and supported by alternate monologues in the persons of -Henry the Sixth, and Lidgate, the monk of Bury. This curious specimen -of scenic exhibition may not unaptly receive the appellation of the -_Composite Drama_. - -After this short _general_ sketch of the progress of dramatic -poetry from 1564 to 1591, it will be necessary to descend to -some _particular_ criticism on the chief productions which graced -the stage during this interval; an attempt which we shall conduct -chronologically, under the names of their respective authors. - -1. SACKVILLE, THOMAS. Though the tragedy of Sackville was exhibited -before Queen Elizabeth at Whitehall, on the 18th of January, 1561-2, -it did not reach the press until 1565, when a spurious edition was -published under the title of _The Tragedie of Gorboduc_. This piracy -brought forth a legitimate copy in 1571, from the press of John Daye, -which was now called _The Tragedie of Ferrex and Porrex_; but the -nomenclature was again altered in a third edition, printed for Edward -Alde, in 1590, reassuming its first and more popular denomination of -_The Tragedie of Gorboduc_. - -The first and third editions inform us in their title-pages, that -"three acts were written by Thomas Norton, and the two last by Thomas -Sackville," a co-partnership which, but for this intimation, would not -have been suspected, for the whole has the appearance, both in matter -and style, of having issued from one and the same pen. - -If the mechanism of this play, which Warton justly calls the "first -genuine English Tragedy[230:A]," approximate in the minor parts of its -construction to a classical type, being regularly divided into acts and -scenes, with a chorus of British sages closing every act save the last, -yet does it evince, in many other respects, the infancy of dramatic art -in this country. Every act is preceded by an elaborate _Dumb Show_, -allegorically depicting the business of the immediately succeeding -scenes, a resource, the crude nature of which sufficiently points out -the stage of poetry that gave it birth. Nor is the conduct of the fable -less inconsistent with the exterior formalities of the piece, the -unities of time and place being openly violated, and the chronological -detail of history, or rather of the fabulous annals of the age, -closely followed. The plot, too, is sterile and uninteresting, and the -passions are touched with a feeble and ineffective hand. - -The great merit, indeed, of Gorboduc, is in its style and -versification, in its moral and political wisdom, qualities which -recommended it to the notice and encomium of Sir Philip Sidney, who -tells us, that "Gorboduc is full of stately speeches, and well sounding -phrases, climbing to the heighth of Seneca his style, and as full -of notable morality, which it doth most delightfully teach."[231:A] -Declamation and morality, however, are not the essentials of tragedy; -the first, indeed, is a positive fault, and the second should only be -the result of the struggle and collision of the passions. We must, -therefore, limit the beneficial example of Sackville to purity and -perspicuity of diction, to skill in the structure of his numbers, and -to truth and dignity of sentiment. If to these virtues of composition, -though occasionally encumbered by a too unbending rigidity of style, -his contemporaries had paid due attention, we should have escaped that -torrent of tumor and bombast which, shortly afterwards, inundated the -dramatic world, and which continued to disgrace the national taste -during the whole period to which this chapter is confined. - -2. EDWARDS, RICHARD. This poet, one of the gentlemen of Queen -Elizabeth's chapel, and master of the children there, was the author -of two plays, under the titles of _Damon and Pithias_, and _Palamon -and Arcite_. The former of these was acted before the Queen, at court, -in 1562, and first published in 1571, by Richard Jones, who terms it -_The excellent comedie of two the moste faithfullest freendes Damon -and Pithias_; it is an early specimen of tragi-comedy, and written in -rhyme, the inferior characters exhibiting a vein of coarse humour, -and the more elevated, some touches of pathos, which the story, -indeed, could scarcely fail to elicit, and some faint attempts at -discrimination of character. The versification is singular, consisting -generally of couplets of twelve syllables, but frequently intermixed -with lines varying upwards from this number, even as far as eighteen. -_Palamon and Arcite_, which was considered as far surpassing his first -drama, had the honour also of being performed before Elizabeth, at -Christ-Church Hall, Oxford, in 1566; it is likewise termed a _comedy_, -and is said to have gratified Her Majesty so highly, that, sending for -the author, after the play was finished, she greatly commended his -talents, thanked him for the entertainment which his muse had afforded -her, and promised to befriend him more substantially hereafter, an -intention, however, which was frustrated by the death of the poet -during the course of that very year. - -Edwards appears to have been very popular, and highly estimated as a -writer. Puttenham has classed him with those who "deserve the highest -price for comedy and interlude[232:A]," and Thomas Twine calls him, in -an epitaph on his death, - - —— "the flowre of all our realme, - And Phœnix of our age," - -assigning him immortality expressly on account of his dramatic -productions.[232:B] - -3. STILL, JOHN, a prelate to whom is ascribed, upon pretty good -foundation, the first genuine comedy in our language. He was Master of -Arts of Christ's College, Cambridge, at the period of producing _Gammer -Gurton's Needle_, and subsequently became rector of Hadleigh, in the -county of Suffolk, archdeacon of Sudbury, master of St. John's and -Trinity Colleges, and lastly bishop of Bath and Wells. - -_Gammer Gurton's Needle_, which, as we have already remarked, had been -first acted in 1566, was committed to the press in 1575, under the -following title:—"A ryght pithy, pleasant, and merie Comedy, intytuled -Gammer Gurton's Nedle; played on the stage not longe ago in Christes -Colledge, in Cambridge. Made by Mr. S. master of art. Imprented at -London in Fleetestreat, beneth the Conduit, at the signe of S. John -Evangelest, by Thomas Colwell." - -The humour of this curious old drama, which is written in rhyme, is -broad, familiar, and grotesque; the characters are sketched with a -strong, though coarse, outline, and are to the last consistently -supported. The language, and many of the incidents, are gross and -indelicate; but these, and numerous allusions to obsolete customs, -mark the manners of the times, when the most learned and polished of -the land, the inmates of an University, could listen with delight to -dialogue often tinctured with the lowest filth and abuse. It must -be confessed, however, that this play, with all its faults, has an -interest which many of its immediate, and more pretending successors, -have failed to attain. It is evidently the production of a man of -talents and observation, and the second act opens with a drinking -song, valuable alike for its humour, and the ease and spirit of its -versification. - -4. GASCOIGNE, GEORGE. At the very period when Still produced his comedy -in _rhyme_, Gascoigne presented the public with a specimen of the same -species of drama in _prose_. This is a translation from the Italian, -entitled, "_The Supposes_. A comedie written in the Italian tongue by -Ariosto, Englished by George Gascoigne of Graies-inn esquire, and there -presented, 1566." - -"The dialogue of this comedy," observes Warton, "is supported with -much ease and spirit, and has often the air of a modern conversation. -As Gascoigne was the _first_ who exhibited on our stage a story from -Euripides, so in this play he is _the first that produced an English -comedy in prose_."[233:A] - -The translation from the _Phœnissæ_ of Euripides, or, as Gascoigne -termed it, _Jocasta_, was acted in the refectory of Gray's Inn, in -the same year with the _Supposes_. It was the joint production of our -poet and his friend Francis Kinwelmersh, the first and fourth acts -being written by the latter bard. Jocasta is more a paraphrase than -a translation, and occasionally aspires to the honours of original -composition, new odes being sometimes substituted for those of the -Greek chorus. The dialogue of this play is given in blank verse, -forming one of the earliest specimens of this measure, and, like -Gorboduc, each act is preceded by a dumb show, and closed by a long -ode, in the composition of which, both Gascoigne and his coadjutor have -evinced considerable lyric powers. - -Shakspeare seems to have been indebted to the _Supposes_ of Gascoigne -for the name of Petruchio, in the _Taming of the Shrew_, and for the -incident which closes the second scene of the fourth act of that -play.[234:A] - -5. WAGER, LEWIS, the author of an Interlude, called _Mary Magdalen, -Her Life and Repentance_, 1567. 4to. This, like most of the interludes -of the same age, required, as we are told in the title-page, only four -persons for its performance. The subject, which is taken from the -seventh chapter of St. Luke, had been a favourite with the writers of -the ancient Mysteries, of which pieces one, written in 1512, is still -preserved in the Bodleian Library.[234:B] - -6. WILMOT, ROBERT, a student of the Inner Temple, the publisher, and -one of the writers of an old tragedy, intitled _Tancred and Gismund_ or -_Gismonde of Salerne_, the composition of not less than five Templers, -and performed before Elizabeth in 1568. Each of these gentlemen, says -Warton, "seems to have taken an act. At the end of the fourth is -_Composuit Chr. Hatton_, or Sir Christopher Hatton, undoubtedly the -same that was afterwards exalted by the Queen to the office of lord -keeper for his agility in dancing."[234:C] - -Wilmot, who is mentioned with approbation in Webbe's "Discourse of -English Poetrie[235:A]," corrected and improved, many years after -the first composition, the united labours of himself and his brother -Templers, printing them with the following title: "_The Tragedie of -Tancred and Gismond_. Compiled by the Gentlemen of the Inner Temple, -and by them presented before Her Majestie. Newly revived and polished -according to the decorum of these daies. By R. W. London. Printed by -Thomas Scarlet, and are to be solde by E. C. R. Robinson. 1592." - -In a dedication to his fellow-students, the editor incidentally fixes -the era of the first production of his drama: "I am now bold to -present Gismund to your sights, and unto your's only, for therefore -have I conjured her by the love that hath been these _twenty-four -years_ betwixt us, that she wax not so proud of her fresh painting, -to straggle in her plumes abroad, but to contain herself within the -walls of your house; so am I sure she shall be safe from the tragedian -tyrants of our time, who are not ashamed to affirm that there can no -amorous poem favour of any sharpness of wit, unless it be seasoned with -scurrilous words." - -From a fragment of this play as _originally_ written, and inserted in -the Censura Literaria, it appears to have been composed in alternate -rhyme, and, we may add, displays both simplicity in its diction, and -pathos in its sentiment. An imperfect copy of Wilmot's revision, and -perhaps the only one in existence, is in the Garrick Collection.[235:B] - -7. GARTER, THOMAS. To this person has been ascribed by Coxeter, _The -Commody of the moste vertuous and godlye Susanna_; it was entered on -the Stationers' books in 1568, and probably first performed about that -period; its being in black letter, in metre, and not divided into acts, -are certainly strong indications of its antiquity. It was reprinted in -4to. 1578. - -8. PRESTON, THOMAS, was master of arts, and fellow of King's College, -Cambridge, and afterwards doctor of laws, and master of Trinity-Hall. -Taking a part in the performance of John Ritwise's Latin tragedy of -_Dido_, got up for the entertainment of the Queen when she visited -Cambridge in 1564, Her Majesty was so delighted with the grace and -spirit of his acting, that she conferred upon him a pension of -_twenty pounds a year_, being rather more than _a shilling a day_; -a transaction which Mr. Steevens conceives to have been ridiculed -by Shakspeare in his _Midsummer-Night's Dream_, where Flute, on the -absence of Bottom, exclaims, "O sweet bully Bottom! Thus hath he lost -sixpence a-day during his life; he could not have 'scaped sixpence -a-day: an the duke had not given him sixpence a-day for playing -Pyramus, I'll be hanged; he would have deserved it: sixpence a-day, in -Pyramus, or nothing."[236:A] - -Nor was this the only sly allusion which Preston experienced from -the pen of Shakspeare. Langbaine, Theobald, and Farmer consider the -following speech of Falstaff as referring to a production of this -writer:—"Give me a cup of sack," says the Knight, "to make mine eyes -look red, that it may be thought I have wept; for I must speak in -passion, and I will do it in king Cambyses' vein."[236:B] - -The play satirised under the name of this monarch, is entitled, "A -Lamentable Tragedy, mixed ful of pleasant Mirth, conteyning the Life of -Cambises, King of Percia, from the beginning of his Kingdome, unto his -Death, his one good deed of execution; after that many wicked deeds, -and tirannous murders committed by and through him; and last of all, -his odious Death, by God's justice appointed. Don in such order as -followeth, by Thomas Preston." Imprinted at London, by Edwarde Allde. -4to. B. L. - -This curious drama, which was written and published about 1570, -being in the old metre, a species of ballad stanza, the allusion in -Shakspeare must have been rather to the effect, than to the form, -of _King Cambyses' vein_, perhaps referring solely, as Dr. Farmer -observes, to the following marginal direction,—"At this tale tolde, -let the queen weep."[237:A] - -From the _Division of the Partes_, as given by Mr. Beloe, this very -scarce tragi-comedy seems to have been partly allegorical, and, from -the specimen produced in the Biographia Dramatica, to have justly -merited the ridicule which it was its fate to excite.[237:B] - -9. WAPUL, GEORGE, the author of a play called "_Tide Tarrieth for -No Man_. A most pleasaunte and merry Comedie, ryght pithy and fulle -of delighte." It was entered on the Stationers' books in October, -1576, and reprinted in 1611, 4to. B. L. This drama appears to be -irrecoverably lost, as we can find no trace of it, save the title. - -10. LUPTON, THOMAS. Of this writer nothing more is known, than that he -wrote one play, which is to be found in the Collection of Mr. Garrick, -and under the appellation of "_A Moral and Pitieful Comedie, entitled -All for Money_. Plainly representing the Manners of Men and Fashion of -the World nowe adaies. Compiled by T. Lupton. At London, printed by -Roger Warde and Richard Mundee, dwelling at Temple Barre. Anno 1578." -It is written in rhyme, printed in black letter, the pages unnumbered, -and the style very antique and peculiar. The characters are altogether -figurative and allegorical, and form one of the most grotesque examples -of _Dramatis Personæ_ extant. We have _Learning with Money_, _Learning -without Money_, _Money without Learning_, and _Neither Money nor -Learning_; we have also _Mischievous Helpe_, _Pleasure_, _Prest for -Pleasure_, _Sinne_, _Swift to Sinne_, _Damnation_, _Satan_, _Pride_, -and _Gluttonie_; again, _Gregoria Graceless_, _William with the two -Wives_, _St. Laurence_, _Mother Crooke_, _Judas_, _Dives_, and _Godly -Admonition_, &c. &c. Like many other dramatic pieces of the same age, -it is evidently the offspring of the old Moralities, an attachment to -which continued to linger among the lower classes for many subsequent -years. - -11. WHETSTONE, GEORGE. To this bard, more remarkable for his -miscellaneous than his dramatic poetry, we are indebted for one -play, viz. "_The right excellent and famous Historye of Promos and -Cassandra_. Devided into two Commicall Discourses." 4to. B. L. 1578. - -An extrinsic importance affixing itself to this production, in -consequence of its having furnished Shakspeare with several hints for -his _Measure for Measure_, has occasioned its re-publication.[238:A] -"The curious reader," remarks Mr. Steevens, "will find that this old -play exhibits an almost complete embryo of _Measure for Measure_; -yet the hints on which it is formed are so slight, that it is nearly -as impossible to detect them, as it is to point out in the acorn the -future ramifications of the oak."[238:B] - -The fable of _Promos and Cassandra_ furnishes little interest, in the -hands of Whetstone; nor are the diction and versification such as can -claim even the award of mediocrity. It is chiefly written in alternate -rhyme, with no pathos in its serious, and with feeble efforts at humour -in its comic, parts. - -12. WOOD, NATHANIEL, a clergyman of the city of Norwich, and only-known -as the producer of "_An Excellent New Comedie_, entitled, _The -Conflict of Conscience_, contayninge a most lamentable example of the -doleful desparation of a miserable worldlinge, termed by the name -of _Philologus_, who forsooke the trueth of God's Gospel for feare -of the losse of lyfe and worldly goods." 4to. 1581. This is another -of the numerous spawn which issued from the ancient Mysteries and -Moralities; the _Dramatis Personæ_, consisting of a strange medley of -personified vices and real characters, are divided into six parts, -"most convenient," says the author, "for such as be disposed either to -shew this Comedie in private houses or otherwise." It is in the Garrick -Collection, and very rare. - -13. PEELE, GEORGE, the first of a train of play-wrights, who made -a conspicuous figure just previous to the commencement, and during -the earlier years, of Shakspeare's dramatic career. Educated at the -University of Oxford, where he took his degree of Master of Arts in -1579, Peele shortly afterwards removed to London, and became the city -poet, and a conductor of the pageants. His dramatic talents, like -those which he exhibited in miscellaneous poetry, have been rated too -high; the latter, notwithstanding Nash terms him "the chief supporter -of pleasance, the atlas of poetrie, and _primus verborum artifex_," -with the exception of two or three pastoral pieces, seldom attain -mediocrity; and the former, though Wood has told us that "his plays -were not only often acted with great applause in his life-time, but -did also endure reading, with due commendation, many years after his -death[239:A]," are now, and perhaps not undeservedly, held in little -estimation. The piece which entitles him to notice in this chapter was -printed in 1584, under the appellation of _The Arraignment of Paris_; -it is a pastoral drama, which was performed before the Queen, by the -children of her chapel, and has had the honour of being attributed, -though without any foundation, to the muse of Shakspeare.[239:B] Peele, -who is supposed to have died about 1597, produced four additional -plays, namely, _Edward the First_, 4to. 1593; _The Old Wive's Tale_, -4to. 1595; _King David and Fair Bethsabe_, published after his death -in 1599, and _The Turkish Mahomet and Hyron the Fair Greek_, which -was never printed, and is now lost. From this unpublished play -Shakspeare has taken a passage which he puts into the mouth of Pistol, -who, in reference to Doll Tearsheet, calls out, _Have we not Hiren -here[239:C]?_ a quotation which is to be detected in several other -plays, _Hiren_ as we find, from one of our author's tracts, named _The -Merie Conceited Jests of George Peele_, being synonymous with the word -courtezan.[240:A] These allusions, however, mark the popularity of the -piece, and his contemporary Robert Greene classes him with Marlowe -and Lodge, "no less deserving," he remarks, "in some things rarer, in -nothing inferior."[240:B] From the specimens, however, which we possess -of his dramatic genius, the opinion of Greene will not readily meet -with a modern assent; the pastoral and descriptive parts of his plays -are the best, which are often clothed in sweet and flowing verse; but, -as dramas, they are nerveless, passionless, and therefore ineffective -in point of character.[240:C] - -14. LILLY, JOHN. This once courtly author, whom we have had occasion -to censure for his affected innovation, and stilted elegance in prose -composition, was, says Phillips, "a writer of several old-fashioned -Comedies and Tragedies, which have been printed together in a volume, -and might perhaps when time was, be in very good request."[241:A] - -The dramas here alluded to, but of which Phillips has given a defective -and incorrect enumeration, are— - - 1. Alexander and Campaspe, 1584, 4to. Tragi-comedy. - 2. Sappho and Phaon, 1584, 4to. Comedy. - 3. Endimion, 1591, 4to. Comedy. - 4. Galatea, 1592, 4to. Comedy. - 5. Mydas, 1592, 4to. Comedy. - 6. Mother Bombie, 1594, 4to. Comedy. - 7. The Woman in the Moon, 1597, 4to. Comedy. - 8. The Maid her Metamorphosis, 1600. - 9. Love his Metamorphosis, 1601. 4to. Pastoral. - -The volume mentioned by Phillips was published by Edward Blount in -1632, containing six of these pieces, to which he has affixed the title -of "Sixe Court Comedies." - -Notwithstanding the _encomia_ of Mr. Blount, the genius of this -"insufferable Elizabethan coxcomb," as he has been not unaptly called, -was by no means calculated for dramatic effect. Epigrammatic wit, -forced conceits, and pedantic allusion, are such bad substitutes -for character and humour, that we cannot wonder if fatigue or -insipidity should be the result of their employment. _Campaspe_ -has little interest, and no unity in its fable, and though termed -a _tragi_-comedy, is written in prose; _Sappho and Phaon_ has some -beautiful passages, but is generally quaint and unnatural; _Endimion_ -has scarcely any thing to recommend it, and disgusts by its gross -and fulsome flattery of Elizabeth; _Galatea_ displays some luxuriant -imagery, and _Phillida_ and _Galatea_ are not bad copies from the -_Iphis_ and _Ianthe_ of Ovid; _Mydas_ is partly a political production, -and though void of interest, has more simplicity and purity both of -thought and diction than is usual with this writer; _Mother Bombie_ is -altogether worthless in a dramatic light; _The Woman in the Moon_ is -little better; _The Maid her Metamorphosis_, the greater part of which -is in verse, is one of the author's experiments for the refinement of -our language,—an attempt which, if any where more peculiarly absurd, -must be pronounced to be so on the stage; _Love his Metamorphosis_, of -which the very title-page pronounces its condemnation, being designated -as "A _Wittie_ and _Courtly_ Pastoral."[242:A] - -Though only two or three of Lilly's earlier dramas fall within the -period allotted to this chapter, yet, in order to prevent a tiresome -repetition of the subject, we have here enumerated the whole of his -comedies; a plan that we shall pursue with regard to the remaining -poets of this era. - -It may be necessary to remark, that we must not estimate the _poetical_ -talents of Lilly from his failure as a dramatist; for in the _Lyric_ -department he has shown very superior abilities, whether we consider -the freedom and melody of his versification, or the fancy and sentiment -which he displays. His plays abound with songs alike admirable for -their beauty, sweetness, and polish.[242:B] - -Lilly, who had received an excellent classical education, and was a -member of both the Universities, died about the year 1600. - -15. HUGHES, THOMAS, the author of a singular old play, entitled "_The -Misfortunes of Arthur_ (Uther Pendragon's sonne) reduced into tragical -notes by Thomas Hughes, one of the Societie of Graye's Inne." 12mo. -1587. - -In conformity with some prior examples, this production has an -argument, a dumb show, and a chorus to each act; "it is beautifully -printed in the black letter," observes the editor of the Biographia -Dramatica, "and has many cancels consisting of single words, half -lines, and entire speeches; these were reprinted and pasted over the -cancelled passages; a practice, I believe, very rarely seen."[243:A] -_Arthur_ was performed before the Queen at Greenwich, on the 28th of -February, and in the thirtieth year of her reign, and exhibits in its -title-page a remarkable proof of the licence which actors at that time -took in curtailing or enlarging the composition of the original author, -informing us that the play "was set downe as it passed from under his -(the poet's) hands, and as it was presented, _excepting certain words -and lines, where some of the actors either helped their memories by -brief omission, or fitted their acting by alteration_." The writer -appears to have been familiar with the Roman classics, but the rarity -of his piece is much greater than its merit.[243:B] - -16. KYD, THOMAS, to whom has been ascribed four plays, viz.: -_Jeronimo_; _The Spanish Tragedy_; _Solyman and Perseda_, and -_Cornelia_. Of these the first, which appeared on the stage about the -year 1588, seems to have been given to Kyd, in consequence of his -resuming the name and story in his Spanish tragedy; it is a short piece -not divided into acts and scenes, of little value, and was printed in -1605, under the title of "_The First Part of Jeronimo_. With the Warres -of Portugal, and the Life and Death of Don Andrea." 4to.[243:C] - -"_The Spanish Tragedy_, or, Hieronimo is mad again, Containing the -lamentable end of Don Horatio and Belimperia. With the pitifull Death -of Hieronimo," is supposed to have been first acted in 1588, or 1589, -immediately following up the elder Jeronimo which had been well -received. - -Though this drama was an incessant object of ridicule to the -contemporaries and immediate successors of its author, it nevertheless -acquired great popularity, and long maintained possession of the stage. -The consequence of this partiality was shown in a perversion of the -public taste, for nothing can exceed the bombast and puerilities of -this play and of those to which it gave almost instant birth. Kyd, -in fact, whilst aspiring to the delineation of the most tremendous -incidents, and the most uncontrolled passions, seems totally -unconscious of his own imbecillity; and the result, therefore, has -usually been, either unqualified horror, unmitigated disgust, or the -most ludicrous emotion. There is neither symmetry, consistency, nor -humanity, in the characters; they are beings not of this world, and -the finest parts of the play, which occur in the fourth act, possess a -tone of sorrow altogether wild and preternatural. The catastrophe is -absurdly horrible. - -Such were the attractions, however, of this sanguinary tragedy, -that Ben Jonson, who, according to Decker, originally performed the -character of Jeronimo, was employed by Mr. Henslow, in 1602, to give it -a fresh claim on curiosity by his additions.[244:A] - -"_The Tragedie of Solyman and Perseda_, wherein is laide open -Love's Constancy, Fortune's Inconstancy, and Death's Triumphs," is -conjectured by Mr. Hawkins to have been the production of [244:B]Kyd. -Like _Jeronimo_, it is not divided into acts, and was entered on -the stationers books in the same year with the _Spanish Tragedy_, a -circumstance which leads us to suppose, that its date of performance -was nearly contemporary with that production. Its style and manner, -too, are such as assimilate it to the peculiar genius which breathes -through the undisputed writings of the tragedian to whom it has been -ascribed. - -_Cornelia_, thus named when first published in 4to. 1594, but reprinted -in 1595, under the enlarged title of "_Pompey the Great his Fair -Cornelia's Tragedy_, effected by her Father and Husband's Downcast, -Death, and Fortune," 4to. This play being merely a translation from -the French of _Garnier_, and consequently an imitation of the ancients -through a third or fourth medium, requires little notice. The dialogue -is in blank verse, and the choruses in various lyric metres.[245:A] - -Kyd died, oppressed by poverty, about the year 1595. - -17. MARLOWE, CHRISTOPHER, as an author, an object of great admiration -and encomium in his own times, and, of all the dramatic poets who -preceded Shakspeare, certainly the one who possessed the most genius. -He was egregiously misled, however, by bad models, and his want of -taste has condemned him, as a writer for the stage, to an obscurity -from which he is not likely to emerge. - -This "famous gracer of tragedians," as he is termed by Greene, in his -Groatsworth of Wit, produced eight plays:— - -1. _Tamburlaine the Great_, or the Scythian Shepherd. _Part the First._ -4to. - -2. _Tamburlaine the Great. Part the Second_. 4to. - -Of this tragedy, in two parts, which was brought on the stage about the -year 1588, though not printed until 1590, it is impossible to speak -without a mixture of wonder and contempt; for, whilst a few passages -indicate talents of no common order, the residue is a tissue of -unmingled rant, absurdity, and fustian: yet strange as it may appear, -the most extravagant flights of this eccentric composition were the -most popular, and numerous allusions to its moon-struck reveries, are -to be found in the productions of its times. That it should be an -object of ridicule to Shakspeare, and of quotation to Pistol, are alike -in character.[245:B] - -3. _Lust's Dominion_, or the _Lascivious Queen_ a Tragedy. 12mo. - -This, like the two former plays, is tragedy run mad, and its spirit may -be justly described in the words of one of its characters; Eleazor the -Moor, who exclaims,— - - "—— Tragedy, thou minion of the night, - ——————— to thee I'll sing - Upon an harp made of dead Spanish bones, - The proudest instrument the world affords; - "Whilst" thou in crimson jollity shall bathe - Thy limbs, as black as mine, in springs of blood - Still gushing." - -Its _horrors_, however, for this is the only epithet its incidents -can claim, are often clothed in poetical imagery, and even luscious -versification; it has also more fine passages to boast of than -Tamburlaine, and it has, likewise, more developement of character; but -all these are powerless in mitigating the disgust which its fable and -conduct inspire. - -4. _The Troublesome Raigne and Lamentable Death of Edward the Second, -King of England._ 4to. - -_Edward the Second_ is a proof, that, when Marlowe chose to drop the -barbarities of his age, and the bombast of "King Cambyses' Vein," -he could exert an influence over the heart which has not often been -excelled. There is a truth, simplicity, and moral feeling in this play -which irresistibly attracts, and would fain induce us to hope, that its -author could not have exhibited the impious and abandoned traits of -character which have usually been attributed to him. The death-scene of -Edward is a master-piece of pity and terror. - -5. "_The Massacre of Paris_, with the Death of the Duke of Guise. -8vo." A subject congenial with the general cast of Marlowe's gloomy -and ferocious style of colouring, nor is it deficient in his wonted -accumulation of horrors. It possesses, however, a few good scenes, and -may be classed midway between the author's worst and best productions. - -6. _The Rich Jew of Malta_, 4to. The prejudice against the Jews, -during the reign of Elizabeth, was excessive; none were suffered to -reside in the kingdom, and every art encouraged that could stimulate -the hatred of the people against this persecuted race. No engine was -better calculated for this purpose than the stage, and no characters -were ever more relished, or more malignantly enjoyed, than the -_Barabas_ of Marlowe, and the _Shylock_ of Shakspeare. The distance, -however, between them, as well with regard to truth of delineation, -as to poetical vigour of conception, is infinite; for whilst the -Jew of Marlowe can be considered in no other light than as the mere -incarnation of a fiend, that of Shakspeare possesses, with all -his ferocity and cruelty, such a touch of humanity as classes him -distinctly with his species, and renders him, if not a very probable, -yet a very possible being. - -7. "_The Tragical Historie of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus._" -4to. This, in point of preternatural wildness, and metaphysical horror, -is the _chef d'œuvre_ of Marlowe. It unfolds not only genius of a -sublimated and exotic cast, but seems to have been the product of a -mind inflamed by unhallowed curiosity, and an eager irreligious desire -of invading the secrets of another world, and so far gives credence -to the imputations which have stained the memory of its author; for -this play breathes not a poetic preternaturalism, if we may use the -expression, but looks like the creature of an atmosphere emerging from -the gulph of lawless spirits, and vainly employed in pursuing the -corruscations which traverse its illimitable gloom. - -The catastrophe of this play makes the heart shudder, and the -hair involuntarily start erect; and the agonies of Faustus on the -fast-approaching expiration of his compact with the Devil, are depicted -with a strength truly appalling. - -Yet amidst all this diabolism, there occasionally occur passages of -great moral sublimity, passages on which Milton seems to have fixed his -eye. Thus, the reply of the Demon _Mephostophilis_ to the enquiry of -Faustus, concerning the locality of Hell, bears a striking analogy to -the descriptions of Satan's internal and ever-present torments at the -commencement of the fourth book of Paradise Lost. "Tell me," exclaims -the daring necromancer, "where is the place that men call Hell?" - - "_Mephostophilis._ Hell hath no limits, nor is circumscribed - In one self place; but _where we are is hell, - And where hell is, there we must ever be_, - And, to be short, when all the world dissolves, - And every creature shall be purified, - All places shall be hell that are not heaven." - -8. _The Tragedie of Dido, Queene of Carthage._—This drama was written -in conjunction with Thomas Nash, and printed in 1594.[248:A] - -Marlowe has been lavishly panegyrised by Jonson, Heywood, Drayton, -Peele, Meres, Nash, &c.; but by none so emphatically as by Phillips, -who, at the very opening of his article on this poet, calls him "a kind -of a second Shakspeare." This seems, however, to have been done rather -with a reference to the similarities arising from his having, like -Shakspeare, been actor, player, and author of a poem on a congenial -subject with Venus and Adonis, namely, his Hero and Leander, than from -any approximation in the value of their dramatic works.[249:A] - -The death of Marlowe, which took place before the year 1593, was -violent and premature, the melancholy termination of a life rendered -still more melancholy by vice and infidelity.[249:B] - -18. LODGE, THOMAS. Two dramatic pieces have issued from the -pen of this elegant miscellaneous poet. Of these the first was written -in conjunction with Robert Greene, and entitled _A Looking-Glass for -London and England_, a tragi-comedy, acted in 1591[249:C], though -not published until 1598. The second is called "_The Wounds of Civil -War_. Lively set forth in the true tragedies of Marius and Scilla," -and probably performed in the year following the representation of the -former play. It was printed in 1594. These dramas, though not the best -of Dr. Lodge's productions, were not unpopular, nor deemed unworthy of -his talents; the _Looking-Glass_ appears to have been acted four times -at the Rose theatre, in about the space of fifteen months. - -19. GREENE, ROBERT. This pleasing, but unfortunate poet, was the author -of six plays, independent of that which he wrote as the coadjutor of -Lodge. 1. "_The Honorable Historie of Frier Bacon and Frier Bongay._" -4to. As Greene died in September, 1592, there can be no doubt that -all his dramas were written, if not all performed, before Shakspeare's -commencement as a writer for the stage; we find, from Henslowe's List, -that _Frier Bacon_ was performed at the Rose theatre, in February, -1591, and repeated thrice in the course of the season[250:A]; it was -printed in 1594, and being founded on a popular story, had considerable -success. 2. "_The Historie of Orlando Furioso_, one of the twelve Peers -of France." This piece was likewise performed at the same theatre, -in February, 1591, and also printed in 1594; the fable is taken, -with little or no alteration, from the Orlando of Ariosto. 3. "_The -Scottish Historie of James the Fourth, slaine at Flodden._ Entermixed -with a pleasant Comedie presented by _Oboram_ King of the Fayeries." -Greene, says Oldys, in plotting plays, was his craft's master, and it -would be curious and interesting to ascertain how he has conducted -a subject which has obtained so much celebrity in our own days, and -more especially in what manner he has combined it with the romantic -superstition attendant on Oberon and his fairies.[250:B] 4. "_The -Comicall Historie of Alphonsus, King of Arragon._" 5. "_The History of -Jobe._" This play, which was never printed, and it is supposed never -performed, although it was entered on the Stationers' books, in 1594, -was unfortunately, with many others, destroyed by the carelessness -of Dr. Warburton's servant. 6. "_Fair Emm_, the Miller's Daughter of -Manchester, with the Love of William the Conqueror," a comedy which has -been ascribed to Greene, by Phillips and Winstanley; the former, after -enumerating some pieces which upon no good grounds had been attributed -to the joint pens of our author and Dr. Lodge, adds, "besides which, -he wrote alone the comedies of Friar Bacon and _Fair Emme_."[251:A] It -is the more probable that this drama was the composition of Greene, as -it was represented at the same theatre and by the same company which -brought forward his avowed productions. - -We must, with Ritson, express our regret, that the dramatic works of -Greene have not hitherto been collected and published together.[251:B] - -20. LEGGE, THOMAS, twice vice-chancellor of Cambridge, and the author -of two plays which, though never printed, were acted with great -applause, not only in the University which gave them birth, but on -the public theatres. The first of these is named _The Destruction of -Jerusalem_, and appears from Henslowe's List to have been performed at -the Rose theatre, on the 22d of March, 1591; the second is entitled, -_The Life of King Richard the Third_, a subject which induces us to -regret, that it should not have been submitted to the press, especially -when the character of Legge for dramatic talent is considered; for -Meres informs us in 1598, that "Doctor Leg of Cambridge" was esteemed -among the "best for tragedie," adding, that "as M. Anneus Lucanus -writ two excellent tragedies, one called Medea, the other de Incendio -Troiæ cum Priami calamitate: so Doctor Leg hath penned two _famous_ -tragedies, y{e} one of Richard the 3, the other of the destruction of -Jerusalem."[251:C] The death of Dr. Legge took place in July, 1607. - -To this catalogue of dramatic writers who preceded Shakspeare, it will -be necessary to annex the names, at least, of those _anonymous_ plays -which, as far as any record of their performance has reached us, were -the property of the stage anterior to the year 1594, under the almost -certain presumption, that they must have been written before Shakspeare -had acquired any celebrity as a theatrical poet. - -These, with the exception of the plays ascribed to Shakspeare, a few -Interludes and Moralities, the tragi-comedy of _Appius and Virginia_, -printed in 1576, and the tragedy of _Selimus, Emperor of the Turks_, -must, and perhaps without danger of any very important omission, be -limited to the following enumeration of dramas performed at the Rose -theatre during the years 1591, 1592, and 1593; from which, however, we -have withdrawn all those pieces that may be found previously noticed -under the names of their respective authors:— - - 1. Muly Mulocco, or the Battle of Alcazar[252:A], 1591. - 2. Spanish Comedy of Don Horatio, —— - 3. Sir John Mandeville, —— - 4. Henry of Cornwall, —— - 5. Chloris and Orgasto[252:B], —— - 6. Pope Joan, —— - 7. Machiavel, —— - 8. Ricardo[252:C], —— - 9. Four Plays in One, —— - 10. Zenobia, —— - 11. Constantine, —— - 12. Brandymer, —— - 13. Titus Vespasian —— - 14. The Tanner of Denmark, 1592. - 15. Julian of Brentford, —— - 16. The Comedy of Cosmo, —— - 17. God Speed the Plough, 1593. - 18. Huon of Bourdeaux, —— - 19. George a Green[253:A], —— - 20. Buckingham, —— - 21. Richard the Confessor, —— - 22. William the Conqueror, —— - 23. Friar Francis, —— - 24. The Pinner of Wakefield[253:B], —— - 25. Abraham and Lot, —— - 26. The Fair Maid of Italy, —— - 27. King Lud, —— - 28. The Ranger's Comedy[253:C], —— - -In order accurately to ascertain how far Shakspeare might be indebted -to his predecessors, it would be highly desirable to possess a printed -collection of all the dramas which are yet within the reach of the -press, from the days of Sackville, to the year 1591. Such a work, so -far from diminishing the claim to originality with which this great -poet is now invested, would, we are convinced, place it in a still -more indisputable point of view; and merely prove, that, without any -servility of imitation, or even the smallest dereliction of his native -talent and creative genius, he had absorbed within his own refulgent -sphere the few feeble lights which, previous to his appearance, had -shed a kind of twilight over the dramatic world. - -The models, indeed, if such they may be called, which were presented -to his view, are, as far as we are acquainted with them, so grossly -defective in structure, style, and sentiment, that, if we set aside -two or three examples, little or nothing could be learned from them. -In the course of near thirty years which elapsed between Sackville -and Shakspeare, the best and purest period was perhaps that which -immediately succeeded the exhibition of Gorboduc, but which was -speedily terminated by the appearance of Preston's _Cambyses_ in -or probably rather before the year 1570. From this era we behold a -succession of playwrights who, for better than twenty years, deluged -the stage as tragic poets with a torrent of bombastic and sanguinary -fiction, alike disgraceful to the feelings of humanity and common -sense; or as comic writers, overwhelmed us with a mass of quaintness, -buffoonery, and affectation. The worthy disciples of the author of -Cambyses, _Whetstone_, _Peele_, _Lilly_, _Kydd_, and _Marlowe_, seem to -have racked their brains to produce what was unnatural and atrocious, -and having, like their leader, received a classical education, -misemployed it to clothe their conceptions in a scholastic, uniform, -and monotonous garb, as far, at least, as a versification modulated -with the most undeviating regularity, and destitute of all variety of -cadence or of pause could minister to such an effect. - -That so dark a picture should occasionally be relieved by gleams of -light, which appear the more brilliant from the surrounding contrast, -was naturally to be expected; and we have accordingly seen that the -very poets who may justly be censured for their general mode of -execution, for the wildness and extravagancy of their plots, now and -then present us with lines, passages, and even scenes, remarkable for -their beauty, strength, or poetical diction; but these, so unconnected -are they, and apart from the customary tone and keeping of the -pieces in which they are scattered, appear rather as the fortuitous -irradiation of a meteor, whose momentary splendour serves but to render -the returning gloom more heavy and oppressive, than the effect of -that sober, steady, and improving light which might cheer us with the -prospect of approaching day. - -Of the twenty poets who have just passed in review before us, Marlowe -certainly exhibits the greatest portion of genius, though debased -with a large admixture of the gross and glaring faults of his -contemporaries. Two of his productions may yet be read with interest; -his _Edward the Second_, and his _Faustus_; though the latter must -be allowed to deviate from the true tract of tragedy, in presenting -us rather with what is horrible than terrible in its incidents and -catastrophe. - -We must not be surprised, therefore, that the dramatic fabrics of -these rude artists should have met with the warmest admiration, when -we recollect, that, in the infancy of an art, novelty is of itself -abundantly productive of attraction, and that taste, neither formed by -good models, nor rendered fastidious by choice, can have little power -to check the march of misguided enthusiasm. - -It is necessary, however, to record an event in dramatic history, -which, coming into operation just previous to the entrance of our poet -into the theatric arena as an author, no doubt contributed powerfully -not only to chasten his muse, but, through him, universally the -national taste. In 1589 commissioners were appointed by the Queen for -the purpose of reviewing and revising the productions of all writers -for the stage, with full powers to reject and strike out all which they -might deem unmannerly, licentious, and irreverent; a censureship which, -it is evident, if properly and temperately executed, could not fail of -conferring almost incalculable benefit on a department of literature -at that time not much advanced in its career, and but too apt to -transgress the limits of a just decorum. - -This regulation ushers in, indeed, by many degrees the most important -period in the annals of our theatre, when Shakspeare, starting -into dramatic life, came boldly forward on the eye, leaving at an -immeasurable distance behind him, and in groupes more or less darkly -shaded, his immediate predecessors, and his earliest contemporaries in -the art. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[227:A] Warton's Hist. of English Poetry, vol. iii. p. 355. - -[227:B] Vide Historia Histrionica. - -[227:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 6. 11. See, also, Percy and -Warton. - -[227:D] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 29; and Warton's Hist. of -English Poetry, vol. ii. p. 199. - -[228:A] See Ancient British Drama, vol. i. both for this play and -Gammer Gurton's Needle, as edited by Walter Scott. - -[229:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 404. - -[230:A] Warton's Hist. of English Poetry, vol. iii. p. 210. - -[231:A] Defence of Poesie, pp. 561, 562.—Vide Countess of Pembroke's -Arcadia, folio, 7th. edit. 1629. - -[232:A] Arte of English Poesie, reprint, p. 51. - -[232:B] Chalmers's English Poets, vol. ii. Turberville's Poems, p. 620. - -[233:A] History of English Poetry, vol. iii. p. 474. - -[234:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ix. p. 144. note by Farmer. - -[234:B] MS. Digb. 133. - -[234:C] Hist. of English Poetry, vol. iii. p. 376. note. - -[235:A] Sign. C 4. - -[235:B] Vide Censura Literaria, vol. vii. p. 305. et seq.; and -Dodsley's Old Plays, by Reed, vol. ii. p. 154. - -[236:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 461. Act iv. sc. 2. - -[236:B] Ibid. vol. xi. p. 301. - -[237:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xi. p. 302. note. - -[237:B] Vide Beloe's Anecdotes of Literature, vol. i. p. 323.; and -Biographia Dramatica apud Reed, vol. i. p. 362. - -[238:A] Among "Six Old Plays, on which Shakspeare founded his Measure -for Measure, Comedy of Errors," &c. &c.; reprinted from the original -editions, 2 vols. 8vo. 1779. - -[238:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vi. p. 184. - -[239:A] Biographia Dramatica, vol. i. p. 351. - -[239:B] Ibid. vol. ii. p. 21. - -[239:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xii. p. 90. - -[240:A] Vide Reprint, 1809, p. 22. - -[240:B] Vide Greene's Groatsworth of Witte bought with a Million of -Repentance, reprint. - -[240:C] Of the sweetness of versification and luxuriancy of imagery -which Peele occasionally exhibits, we shall quote an instance from "The -Love of King David and Fair Bethsabe. With the Tragedie of Absalon;" a -play which Mr. _Hawkins_ has re-printed in his _Origin of the Drama_, 3 -vols.; observing, that the genius of Peele seems to have been kindled -by reading the Prophets, and the Song of Solomon:— - - "_Bethsabe._ Come gentle Zephyr trick'd with those perfumes - That erst in Eden sweetened Adam's love, - And stroke my bosom with thy silken fan: - This shade (sun-proof) is yet no proof for thee, - Thy body smoother than this waveless spring, - And purer than the substance of the same, - Can creep through that his lances cannot pierce. - Thou and thy sister soft and sacred Air, - Goddess of life, and governess of health, - Keeps every fountain fresh and arbor sweet: - No brazen gate her passage can repulse, - Nor bushy thicket bar thy subtle breath. - Then deck thee with thy loose delightsome robes, - And on thy wings bring delicate perfumes, - To play the wantons with us through the leaves." - -[241:A] Theatrum Poetarum, apud Brydges, pp. 199, 200. - -[242:A] For these plays, Blount's republication being scarce, the -reader may consult Dodsley's _Old Plays_, 1780; Hawkins's _Origin of -the English Drama_; _Ancient British Drama_ apud Walter Scott; and Old -Plays, vols. 1 and 2. 8vo. 1814. - -[242:B] Numerous specimens of these Songs, in case the dramas are not -at hand, will be found in Ellis's Specimens of the Early English Poets, -vol. ii.; and in Beloe's Anecdotes of Literature and Scarce Books, vol. -ii. - -[243:A] Biographia Dramatica, vol. ii. p. 237. - -[243:B] See a further account of this play, and a specimen of the -chorus, in Beloe's Anecdotes, vol. i. p. 386. - -[243:C] Vide Ancient British Drama, vol. i. p. 459. - -[244:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 394. - -[244:B] Vol. ii. p. 197. - -[245:A] "There is particularly remembered," remarks Phillips, "his -tragedy Cornelia." Theatrum Poetarum, apud Brydges, p. 206. - -[245:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xii. p. 92. Henry the Fourth, Part II., -act ii. sc. 4.—The passage which Pistol has partially quoted will -afford some idea of the wild and turgid extravagances of this poet. -Tamburlaine is represented in a chariot drawn by captive monarchs with -bits in their mouths; and, holding the reins in his left hand, he is in -the act of scourging them with a whip:— - - "_Tamb._ Holla ye pamper'd jades of Asia: - What, can ye draw but twenty miles a day, - And have so proud a chariot at your heels, - And such a coachman as great Tamburlaine? - But from Asphaltis, where I conquered you, - To Byron here, where thus I honour you? - The horse that guide the golden eye of heaven, - And blow the morning from their nostrils, - Making their fiery gate above the clouds, - Are not so honour'd in their governor, - As you ye slaves in mighty Tamburlaine. - The head strong jades of Thrace Alcides tamed, - That King Egeas fed with human flesh, - And made so wanton that they knew their strengths, - Were not subdued with valour more divine, - Than you by this unconquer'd arm of mine. - To make you fierce and fit my appetite, - You shall be fed with flesh as raw as blood, - And drink in pails the strongest muscadell: - If you can live with it, then live and draw - My chariot swifter than the racking clouds: - If not, then die like beasts, and fit for nought - But perches for the black and fatal ravens." - -[248:A] This rare play was purchased, at the Roxburgh sale, for -_seventeen guineas_! - -[249:A] Theatrum Poetarum, apud Brydges, p. 113. - -[249:B] Two accounts, varying materially, have been given by Wood and -Vaughan, of this poet's untimely fate. That by Vaughan as being little -known, and apparently founded on the writer's own knowledge of the -fact, I shall venture to transcribe. The _Golden Grove_, from which it -is extracted, was first published in 1600. Relating God's judgments on -Atheists, he adds:— - -"Not inferiour to these was one Christopher Marlow, by profession a -play-maker, who, as it is reported, about fourteen yeres a-goe, wrote -a booke against the Trinitie: but see the effects of God's justice; it -so hapned, that at Detford, a litle village, about three miles distant -from London, as he meant to stab with his poynard one named Ingram, -that had invited him thither to a feaste, and was then playing at -tables; hee perceyuing it, so avoyded the thrust, that withall drawing -out his dagger for his defence, he stab'd this Marlow into the eye, -in such sort, that his braynes comming out at the dagger's point, hee -shortly after dyed." - -[249:C] Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 355. - -[250:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 354. - -[250:B] Berkenhout's Biographia Literaria, p. 319. note.—The only -account which I have seen of this play, printed in 1598, is in a note -by Mr. Malone, who tells us that Shakspeare does not appear to have -been indebted to this piece. "The plan of it," he adds, "is shortly -this: Bohan, a Scot, in consequence of being disgusted with the world, -having retired to a tomb where he has fixed his dwelling, is met by -Aster Oberon, king of the fairies, who entertains him with an antick or -dance by his subjects. These two personages, after some conversation, -determine to listen to a tragedy, which is acted before them, and to -which they make a kind of chorus, by moralizing at the end of each -act." Vol. ii. p. 250. - -[251:A] Theatrum Poetarum apud Brydges, p. 193. - -[251:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xxi. p. 37. - -[251:C] Vide Censura Literaria, vol. ix. p. 98. - -[252:A] This play was printed in 1594, and has fallen under the -ridicule of Shakspeare, in a parody on the words, _Feed and be fat_, &c. - -[252:B] The miserable orthography of this catalogue has frequently -disguised the real titles so much as to render them almost -unintelligible, and I suspect _Orgasto_ in this place to be very remote -from the genuine word. - -[252:C] Called in one part of the list, "bendo and Ricardo," and in -another, "Byndo and Ricardo." - -[253:A] This, being the prior part of the title of the Pinner of -Wakefield, mentioned below, is probably one and the same with that -production. - -[253:B] The Pinner of Wakefield, which is in Dodsley's Collection, and -in Scott's Ancient British Drama, was printed in 1599. - -[253:C] Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. pp. 354-358.—Mr. Malone -observes of the play in this catalogue, called "Richard the Confessor," -that it "should seem to have been written by the Tinker, in _Taming of -the Shrew_, who talks of _Richard Conqueror_." - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - - PERIOD OF SHAKSPEARE'S COMMENCEMENT AS A DRAMATIC POET— - CHRONOLOGICAL ARRANGEMENT OF HIS GENUINE PLAYS—OBSERVATIONS - ON _PERICLES_; ON THE _COMEDY OF ERRORS_; ON _LOVE'S LABOUR'S - LOST_; ON _HENRY THE SIXTH, PART THE FIRST_; ON _HENRY THE - SIXTH, PART THE SECOND_, AND ON _A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM_— - DISSERTATION ON THE FAIRY MYTHOLOGY, AND ON THE MODIFICATIONS - WHICH IT RECEIVED FROM THE GENIUS OF SHAKSPEARE. - - -We have, in a former portion of this work[256:A], assigned our reasons -for concluding that, on Shakspeare's arrival in London, about the year -1586 or 1587, his _immediate_ employment was that of an actor; and we -now proceed to consider the much agitated question as to the era of his -_first_ attempts in _dramatic_ poetry. That this was subsequent to the -production of his _Venus and Adonis_, we possess his own authority, -when he informs us that the poem just mentioned was _the first heir -of his invention_; and though we enjoy no testimony of a like kind, -or emanating from a similar source, as to the period of his earliest -effort in dramatic literature, yet, if we be correct in referring the -composition of his Venus and Adonis to the interval elapsing between -the years 1587 and 1590[256:B], the epoch of his _first play_ cannot, -with any probability, be placed either much anterior or subsequent to -the year 1590. That it occurred _not_ before this date, may be presumed -from recollecting, that, in the first place, the _prosecution_ of his -amatory poem and the _acquirement_ of his profession as an actor, -might be sufficient to occupy an interval of two years; and, in the -second place, that no contemporary previous to 1592, neither Webbe in -1586[256:C], nor Puttenham in 1589[256:D], nor Harrington in February, -1591[257:A], has noticed or even alluded to any theatrical production -of our author. - -That it took place, either in 1590, or very soon after that year, must -be inferred both from tradition, and from written testimony. Aubrey -tells us, from the former source, that "he began _early_ to _make -essays in dramatique poetry_, which at that time was very lowe, and -his plays took well[257:B];" and from the nature and extent of the -allusions in the following passage from Robert Greene's _Groatsworth of -Witte bought with a Million of Repentance_, there can be no doubt that, -not only one play, but that several had been written and prepared for -the stage by our poet, anterior to September, 1592. - -It appears that this tract of Greene's was completed a very short -time previous to his death, which happened on the third of the month -of the year just mentioned, and that Henry Chettle, "upon whose -_perill_"[257:C] it had been entered in the Stationers' register on -September the 20th, 1592, became editor and publisher of it before the -ensuing December.[257:D] - -Greene had been the intimate associate of _Marlowe_, _Lodge_, and -_Peele,_ and he concludes his _Groatsworth of Witte_ with an address -to these bards, the object of which is, to dissuade them from any -further reliance on the stage for support, and to warn them against the -ingratitude and selfishness of players: "trust them not;" he exclaims, -"for there is an _upstart crowe BEAUTIFIED WITH OUR FEATHERS_, that -with his _tygres heart wrapt in a player's hide_, supposes hee is -as well able to bombaste out a blank verse as the best of you; and -being an absolute JOHANNES FAC-TOTUM, is in his own conceit the only -SHAKE-SCENE in a countrey."[257:E] - -To Mr. Tyrwhit we are indebted for the first application of this -passage to Shakspeare, who, as might naturally be expected, feeling -himself hurt at Greene's unmerited sarcasm, clearly pointing to him -by the designation of _the only Shake-scene in a country_, and not -well pleased with Chettle's officious publication of it, expressed -his sentiments so openly as to draw forth from the repentant editor, -about three months after his edition of the Groatsworth of Witte, an -apology, which adds further weight to the inferences which we wish to -deduce from the language of Greene. In this interesting little pamphlet -which, under the title of _Kind Harts Dreame_, we have had occasion -to quote more at large in an earlier part of the volume[258:A], the -author, after slightly noticing Marlowe, one of the offended parties, -and speaking highly of the demeanour, professional ability, and moral -integrity of Shakspeare, closes the sentence and the eulogium by -mentioning "HIS FACETIOUS GRACE OF WRITING, THAT APPROVES HIS ART." - -From these passages in Greene and Chettle, combined with the -traditionary relation of Aubrey, we may legitimately infer, first, -that _he had written for the stage before the year 1592_; secondly, -that _he had written during this period with considerable success_, -for Aubrey tells us, that _his plays took well_, and Chettle that his -_grace in writing approved his art_; thirdly, that _he had written -both tragedy and comedy_, Greene reporting, that he was _well able to -bombast out a blank verse_, and Chettle speaking of his "_facetious_ -grace in writing;" fourthly, that _he had altered and brought on the -stage some of the separate or joint productions of Marlowe, Greene, -Lodge, and Peele_; the words of Greene, where he terms Shakspeare -a "_crowe beautified with OUR feathers, that with his tygres heart -wrapt in a player's hide, supposes_," &c. implying, not only that he -had furtively acquired fame by appropriating their productions, but -referring to a particular play, through the medium of quotation, as a -proof of the assertion, the words _tygres heart wrapt in a player's -hide_ being a parody of a line in the _Third Part of King Henry the -Sixth_: or what we, for reasons which will be speedily assigned, have -thought proper to call the _Second Part_,— - - "O, tiger's heart, wrapp'd in a woman's hide;"[259:A] - -fifthly, _that he had already excited, as the usual consequence of -success, no small degree of jealousy and envy_; hence Greene has -querelously bestowed upon him the appellation of _upstart_, and has -taxed him with a monopolising spirit, an accusation which leads us -to believe, sixthly, _that he had written or prepared for the stage -SEVERAL PLAYS anterior to September, 1592_; this last inference, which -we conceive to be fairly deduced from the description of our poet as AN -ABSOLUTE JOHANNES FAC-TOTUM with regard to the stage, will immediately -bring forward again the question as to the precise era of our author's -earliest drama. - -Now to warrant the charge implied by the expression, _an absolute -fac-totum_, we must necessarily allow a sufficient lapse of time before -September, 1592, in order to admit, not only of Shakspeare's altering -a play for the stage, but of his composing either altogether, or in -part, both _tragedy_ and _comedy_ on a basis of his own choice, so -that he might, as he actually did, appear to Greene, in the capacities -of _corrector_, _improver_, and _original writer_ of plays, to be a -perfect _fac-totum_. - -And, if we further reflect, that the composition of the _Groatsworth -of Witte_ most probably, from indisposition, occupied its author one -month, as he complains of _weakness scarce suffering him to write_ -towards the conclusion of his tract, and that we cannot reasonably -conclude less than _two years_ to have been employed by Shakspeare in -the execution of the functions assigned him by Greene; the period for -the production of his first drama, will necessarily be thrown back -to the August of the year 1590; an era to which no objection, from -contradictory testimony, can with any show of probability apply; for, -though Harrington, whose _Apologie for Poetrie_ was entered on the -Stationers' books in February, 1591, has not noticed Shakspeare, yet, -if we consider that this treatise was, in all likelihood, completed -previous to the close of 1590, we shall not wonder that a play, -performed but three or four months before the critic finished his -labours, unappropriated too, there is reason to think, by the public at -that time, and unacknowledged by the author, should be passed over in -silence. - -Having thus endeavoured to fix the era of our poet's commencement -as a dramatic writer, it remains to ascertain which was the _first -drama_ that, either _wholly_ or in _great part_, issued from his -pen; a subject, like the former, certainly surrounded with many -difficulties, liable to many errors, and only to be illustrated by a -patient investigation of, and a well-weighed deduction from, minute -circumstances and conflicting probabilities. - -The reasons which have induced us to fix upon PERICLES, as -the result of a laborious, if not a successful, enquiry, will be -offered, with much diffidence, under the first article of the following -Chronological Arrangement, which, though deviating, in several -instances, from the chronologies of both Chalmers and Malone, will -not, it is hoped, on that account be found needlessly singular, nor -unproductive of a closer approximation to probability, and, perchance, -to truth. - -For the sake of perspicuity, it has been thought eligible to prefix, in -a tabular form, the _order_ which has been adopted, the observations -confirmatory of its arrangement being classed according to the -series thus drawn out; and here it may be necessary to premise, that -the substance of our commentary, with the exception of what may be -requisite to establish a few new dates, will be chiefly confined to -critical remarks on each play, relieved by intervening dissertations on -the super-human agency of the poet. - - -CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE. - - 1. Pericles, 1590. - 2. Comedy of Errors, 1591. - 3. Love's Labour's Lost, 1591. - 4. King Henry the Sixth, Part I. 1592. - 5. King Henry the Sixth, Part II. 1592. - 6. Midsummer-Night's Dream, 1593. - 7. Romeo and Juliet, 1593. - 8. Taming of the Shrew, 1594. - 9. Two Gentlemen of Verona, 1595. - 10. King Richard the Third, 1595. - 11. King Richard the Second, 1596. - 12. King Henry the Fourth, Part I. 1596. - 13. King Henry the Fourth, Part II. 1596. - 14. The Merchant of Venice, 1597. - 15. Hamlet, 1597. - 16. King John, 1598. - 17. All's Well That Ends Well, 1598. - 18. King Henry the Fifth, 1599. - 19. Much Ado About Nothing, 1599. - 20. As You Like It, 1600. - 21. Merry Wives of Windsor, 1601. - 22. Troilus and Cressida, 1601. - 23. King Henry the Eighth, 1602. - 24. Timon of Athens, 1602. - 25. Measure for Measure, 1603. - 26. King Lear, 1604. - 27. Cymbeline, 1605. - 28. Macbeth, 1606. - 29. Julius Cæsar, 1607. - 30. Antony and Cleopatra, 1608. - 31. Coriolanus, 1609. - 32. The Winter's Tale, 1610. - 33. The Tempest, 1611. - 34. Othello, 1612. - 35. Twelfth Night, 1613. - -1. PERICLES, 1590. That the _greater part_, if not the whole, of -this drama, was the _composition of Shakspeare_, and that it is to -be considered as his _earliest_ dramatic effort, are positions, of -which the first has been rendered highly probable by the elaborate -disquisitions of Messrs. Steevens and Malone, and may possibly be -placed in a still clearer point of view by a more condensed and lucid -arrangement of the testimony already produced, and by a further -discussion of the merits and peculiarities of the play itself; while -the second will, we trust, receive additional support by inferences -legitimately deduced from a comprehensive survey of scattered and -hitherto insulated premises. - -The evidence required for the establishment of a high degree of -probability under the first of these positions necessarily divides -itself into two parts; the _external_ and the _internal_ evidence. The -former commences with the original edition of _Pericles_, which was -entered on the Stationers' books by Edward Blount, one of the printers -of the first folio edition of Shakspeare's plays, on the 20th of -May[262:A], 1608, but did not pass the press until the subsequent year, -when it was published, not, as might have been expected, by Blount, but -by one Henry Gosson, who placed Shakspeare's name at full length in the -title-page. - -It is worthy of remark, also, that this edition was entered at -Stationers' Hall together with _Antony and Cleopatra_, and that it, and -the three following editions, which were also in quarto, were styled -in the title-page, _the much admired play of Pericles_. As the entry, -however, was by Blount, and the edition by Gosson, it is probable, -as Mr. Malone has remarked, that the former had been anticipated by -the latter, through the procurance of a play-house copy.[263:A] It -may also be added, that _Pericles_ was performed at Shakspeare's own -theatre, _The Globe_. The next ascription of this play to our author, -is found in a poem entitled _The Times Displayed in Six Sestyads_, by -S. Sheppard, 4to. 1646, dedicated to Philip Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, -and containing, in the ninth stanza of the sixth Sestiad, a positive -assertion of Shakspeare's property in this drama:— - - "See him whose tragick sceans Euripides - Doth equal, and with Sophocles we may - Compare _great Shakspear_; Aristophanes - Never like him his fancy could display, - Witness _the Prince of Tyre, HIS Pericles_."[263:B] - -This high eulogium on _Pericles_ received a direct contradiction very -shortly afterwards from the pen of an obscure poet named Tatham, who -bears, however, an equally strong testimony as to Shakspeare being the -author of the piece, which he thus presumes to censure:— - - "But Shakespeare, the plebeian driller, was - Founder'd in _HIS Pericles_, and must not pass."[263:C] - -To these testimonies in 1646 and 1652, full and unqualified, and made -at no distant period from the death of the bard to whom they relate, -we have to add the still more forcible and striking declaration of -Dryden, who tells us, in 1677, and in words as strong and as decisive -as he could select, that - - "Shakspeare's _own muse, HIS Pericles_ first bore."[264:A] - -The only drawback on this accumulation of external evidence is the -omission of _Pericles_ in the first edition of our author's works; a -negative fact which can have little weight when we recollect, that both -the memory and judgment of Heminge and Condell, the poet's editors, -were so defective, that they had _forgotten Troilus and Cressida_, -until the entire folio and the table of contents had been printed, and -admitted _Titus Andronicus_, and the _Historical Play of King Henry -the Sixth_, probably for no other reasons, than that the former had -been, from its unmerited popularity, brought forward by Shakspeare -on his own theatre, though, there is sufficient internal evidence to -prove, without the addition of a single line; and because the latter, -with a similar predilection of the lower orders in its favour, had, on -that account, obtained a similar, though not a more laboured attention -from our poet, and was therefore deemed by his editors, though very -unnecessarily, a requisite introduction to the two plays on the reign -of that monarch which Shakspeare had really new-modelled. - -It cannot, consequently, be surprising that, as they had forgotten -_Troilus and Cressida_ until the folio had been printed, they should -have also forgotten _Pericles_ until the same folio had been in -circulation, and when it was too late to correct the omission; an error -which the second folio has, without doubt or examination, blindly -copied. - -If the external evidence in support of Shakspeare being the author -of the greater part of this play be striking, the _internal_ must be -pronounced still more so, and, indeed, absolutely decisive of the -question; for, whether we consider the style and phraseology, or the -imagery, sentiment, and humour, the approximation to our author's -uncontested dramas appears so close, frequent, and peculiar, as to -stamp irresistible conviction on the mind. - -The result has accordingly been such as might have been predicted -under the assumption of the play being genuine; for the more it has -been examined, the more clearly has Shakspeare's large property in it -been established. It is curious, indeed, to note the increased tone of -confidence which each successive commentator has assumed in proportion -as he has weighed the testimony arising from the piece itself. _Rowe_, -in his first edition, says, "it is _owned_ that some part of _Pericles_ -_certainly_ was written by him, particularly the last act;" _Dr. Farmer_ -observes that the hand of Shakspeare may be _seen_ in the latter part -of the play; _Dr. Percy_ remarks, that "more of the phraseology used in -the genuine dramas of Shakspeare prevails in _Pericles_, than in any of -the other six doubted plays[265:A]," and, of the two rival restorers -of this drama, _Steevens_ and _Malone_, the former declares;—"I admit -without reserve that Shakspeare, - - ——— "whose hopeful colours - Advance _a half-fac'd sun, striving to shine_," - -is visible in _many scenes throughout the play_;—the _purpurei panni_ -are Shakspeare's, and the rest the productions of some inglorious -and forgotten play-wright;"—adding, in a subsequent paragraph, that -_Pericles_ is valuable, "as the engravings of _Mark Antonio_ are -valuable not only on account of their beauty, but because they are -supposed to have been executed under the eye of _Raffaelle_[265:B];" -while the latter gives it as his corrected opinion, that "the congenial -sentiments, the numerous expressions bearing a striking similitude -to passages in his undisputed plays, some of the incidents, the -situation of many of the persons, and in various places the colour -of the style, all these combine to set the seal of Shakspeare on the -play before us, and furnish us with internal and irresistible proofs, -that a considerable portion of this piece, as it now appears, was -written by him. The greater part of the three last acts may, I think, -on this ground be safely ascribed to him; and his hand may be traced -occasionally in the other two divisions."[266:A] Lastly, Mr. Douce -asserts, that "many will be of opinion that it contains more that _he -might have written_ than either _Love's Labour's Lost_, or _All's Well -that Ends Well_."[266:B] - -For satisfactory proof that the style, phraseology, and imagery of -the greater part of this play are truly Shakspearean, the reader -is referred to the commentators, who have noticed, with unwearied -accuracy, all the numerous coincidences which, in these respects, occur -between _Pericles_ and the poet's subsequent productions; similitudes -so striking, as to leave no doubt that they originated from one and the -same source. - -If we attend, however, a little further to the _dramatic construction_ -of _Pericles_, to its _humour_, _sentiment_, and _character_, not only -shall we find additional evidence in favour of its being, in a great -degree, the product of our author, but fresh cause, it is expected, for -awarding it a higher estimation than it has hitherto obtained. - -However wild and extravagant the fable of _Pericles_ may appear, if we -consider its numerous chorusses, its pageantry, and dumb shows, its -continual succession of incidents, and the great length of time which -they occupy, yet is it, we may venture to assert, the most spirited and -pleasing specimen of the nature and fabric of our earliest romantic -drama which we possess, and the more valuable, as it is the only one -with which Shakspeare has favoured us. We should therefore welcome -this play, an admirable example of "the neglected favourites of our -ancestors, with something of the same feeling that is experienced -in the reception of an old and valued friend of our fathers or -grandfathers. Nay, we should like "it" the better for "its" gothic -appendages of pageants and chorusses, to explain the intricacies of -the fable; and we can see no objection to the dramatic representation -even of a series of ages in a single night, that does not apply to -every description of poem which leads in perusal from the fire-side at -which we are sitting, to a succession of remote periods and distant -countries. In these matters, faith is all-powerful; and, without her -influence, the most chastely cold and critically correct of dramas is -precisely as unreal as the _Midsummer-Night's Dream_, or the _Winter's -Tale_."[267:A] - -Perfectly coinciding in opinion with this ingenious critic, and willing -to give an indefinite influence to the illusion of the scene, we have -found in _Pericles_ much entertainment from its uncommon variety and -rapidity of incident, qualities which peculiarly mark the genius of -Shakspeare, and which rendered this drama so successful on its first -appearance, that the poets of the time quote its reception as a -remarkable instance of popularity.[267:B] - -A still more powerful attraction in _Pericles_ is, that the interest -accumulates as the story proceeds; for, though many of the characters -in the earlier part of the piece, such as _Antiochus_ and his -_Daughter_, _Simonides_ and _Thaisa_, _Cleon_ and _Dionyza_, disappear -and drop into oblivion, their places are supplied by more pleasing -and efficient agents, who are not only less fugacious, but better -calculated for theatric effect. The inequalities of this production -are, indeed, considerable, and only to be accounted for, with -probability, on the supposition, that Shakspeare either accepted a -coadjutor, or improved on the rough sketch of a previous writer; the -former, for reasons which will be assigned hereafter, seems entitled -to a preference, and will explain why, in compliment to his dramatic -friend, he has suffered a few passages, and one entire scene, of a -character totally dissimilar to his own style and mode of composition, -to stand uncorrected; for who does not perceive that of the closing -scene of the second act, not a sentence or a word escaped from the pen -of Shakspeare, and yet, that the omission of a few lines would have -rendered that blameless and consistent, which is now, with reference -to the character of Simonides, a tissue of imbecillity, absurdity, and -falsehood.[268:A] - -No play, in fact, more openly discloses the hand of Shakspeare than -_Pericles_, and fortunately his share in its composition appears -to have been very considerable; he may be distinctly, though not -frequently, traced, in the first and second acts; after which, feeling -the incompetency of his fellow-labourer, he seems to have assumed -almost the entire management of the remainder, nearly the whole of the -third, fourth, and fifth acts bearing indisputable testimony to the -genius and execution of the great master. - -The truth of these affirmations will be evident, if we give a slight -attention to the sentiment and character which are developed in the -scenes before us. It has been repeatedly declared, that _Pericles_, -though teeming with incident, is devoid of character, an assertion -which a little scrutiny is alone sufficient to refute. - -Shakspeare has ever delighted in drawing the broad humour of -inferior life, and in this, which we hold to be, the _first heir of -his DRAMATIC invention_, no opportunity is lost for the -introduction of such sketches; accordingly, the first scene of the -second act, and the third and sixth scenes of the fourth act, are -occupied by delineations of this kind, coloured with the poet's usual -strength and verisimilitude, and painting the shrewd but honest mirth -of laborious fishermen, and the vicious _badinage_ of the inhabitants -of a brothel. Leaving these traits, however, which sufficiently speak -for themselves, let us turn our view on the more serious persons of the -drama. - -Of the _minor_ characters belonging to this groupe, none, except -_Helicanus_ and _Cerimon_, are, it must be confessed, worthy of -consideration; the former is respectable for his fidelity and -integrity, though not individualised by any peculiar attribution, -but in Cerimon, who exhibits the rare union of the nobleman and -the physician, the most unwearied benevolence, the most active -philanthropy, are depicted in glowing tints, and we have only to regret -that he fills not a greater space in the business of the drama. He is -introduced in the second scene of the third act, as having - - "Shaken off the golden slumber of repose," - -to assist, in a dreadfully inclement night, some shipwrecked mariners: - - "_Cer._ Get fire and meat for these poor men; - It has been a turbulent and stormy night. - - _Serv._ I have been in many; but such a night as this, - Till now, I ne'er endur'd." - -His prompt assistance on this occasion calls forth the eulogium of some -gentlemen who had been roused from their slumbers by the violence of -the tempest: - - "Your honour has through Ephesus pour'd forth - Your charity, and hundreds call themselves - Your creatures, who by you have been restor'd: - And not your knowledge, personal pain, but even - Your purse, still open, hath built lord Cerimon - Such strong renown as time shall never—" - -They are here interrupted by two servants bringing in a chest which had -been washed on shore, and which is found to contain the body of Thaisa, -the wife of Pericles, on a survey of which, Cerimon pronounces, from -the freshness of its appearance, that it had been too hastily committed -to the sea, adding an observation which would form an excellent motto -to an Essay on the means of restoring suspended animation: - - "Death may usurp on nature many hours, - And yet the fire of life kindle again - The overpressed spirits." - -The disinterested conduct and philosophic dignity of Cerimon cannot be -placed in a more amiable and striking light, than in that which they -receive from the following declaration, worthy of being inscribed in -letters of gold in the library of every liberal cultivator of medical -science: - - "_Cerimon._ I held it ever - Virtue and "knowledge"[271:A] were endowments greater - Than nobleness and riches: careless heirs - May the two latter darken and expend; - But immortality attends the former, - Making a man a god. 'Tis known, I ever - Have studied physick, through which secret art, - By turning o'er authorities, I have - (Together with my practice) made familiar - To me and to my aid, the blest infusions - That dwell in vegetives, in metals, stones; - And I can speak of the disturbances - That nature works, and of her cures; which give me - A more content in course of true delight - Than to be thirsty after tottering honour, - Or tie my treasure up in silken bags." - -If we now contemplate the two chief personages of the play, _Pericles_ -and _Marina_; and if it can be proved that these occupy, as they -should do, the fore ground of the picture, are well relieved, and -characteristically sustained, nothing can be wanting, when combined -with the other marks of authenticity collected by the commentators, to -substantiate the genuine property of Shakspeare. - -Buoyant with hope, ardent in enterprise, and animated by the keenest -sensibility, _Pericles_ is brought forward as a model of knighthood. -Chivalric in his habits, romantic in his conceptions, and elegant -in his accomplishments, he is represented as the devoted servant of -glory and of love. His failings, however, are not concealed; for the -enthusiasm and susceptibility of his character lead him into many -errors; he is alternately the sport of joy and grief, at one time -glowing with rapture, at another plunged into utter despair. Not -succeeding in his amatory overture at the court of Antiochus, and -shocked at the criminality of that monarch and his daughter, he becomes -a prey to the deepest despondency:— - - "The sad companion, dull-eye'd melancholy, - By me so us'd a guest is, not an hour, - In the day's glorious walk, or peaceful night, - The tomb where grief should sleep, can breed me quiet."[272:A] - -Affliction, however, of a more unequivocal kind soon assails him; he is -shipwrecked on the coast of Greece, and compelled to solicit support -from the benevolence of some poor fishermen. His address to these -honest creatures is truly pathetic:— - - "_Per._ He asks of you, that never us'd to beg.— - What I have been, I have forgot to know; - But what I am, want teaches me to think on; - A man shrunk up with cold: my veins are chill, - And have no more of life, than may suffice - To give my tongue that heat, to ask your help."[273:A] - -From this state of dejection he is suddenly raised to the most sanguine -pitch of hope, on perceiving the fishermen dragging in their net to -shore a suit of rusty armour. Enveloped in this, he determines to -appear at Pentapolis the neighbouring capital of Simonides, as a knight -and gentleman; to purchase a steed with a jewel yet remaining on his -arm, and to enter the lists of a tournament then in preparation, as -a candidate for the hand of Thaisa, the daughter of the king. His -exultation on the prospect, he thus expresses to his humble friends: - - "Now, by your furtherance, I am cloth'd in steel; - And, spite of all the rupture of the sea, - This jewel holds his biding on my arm; - Unto thy value will I mount myself - Upon a courser, whose delightful steps - Shall make the gazer joy to see him tread."[273:B] - -The same rapid transition of the passions, and the same subjection to -uncontrolled emotions mark his future course; the supposed deaths of -his wife and daughter immerse him in the deepest abstraction and gloom; -he is represented, in consequence of these events, as - - "A man, who for this three months hath not spoken - To any one, nor taken sustenance - But to prorogue his grief."[273:C] - -We are prepared therefore to expect, that the discovery of the -existence of these dear relatives should have a proportionate effect on -feelings thus constituted, so sensitive and so acute; and, accordingly, -the tide of rapture rolls in with overwhelming force. Nothing, indeed, -can be more impressively conducted than the _recognition_ of _Marina_; -it is Shakspeare, not in the infancy of his career, but approaching -to the zenith of his glory.—Conviction on the part of Pericles is -accompanied by a flood of tears; why, says his daughter, - - ——————— "Why do you weep? It may be - You think me an impostor.—— - - _Per._ O Helicanus, strike me, honour'd sir; - Give me a gash, put me to present pain; - Lest this great sea of joys rushing upon me, - O'erbear the shores of my mortality, - And drown me with their sweetness. O, come hither,— - Thou that was born at sea, buried at Tharsus, - And found at sea again!—O Helicanus, - Down on thy knees, thank the holy gods."[274:A] - -Nature appeals here to the heart in a tone not to be misunderstood. - -Ecstasy, however, cannot long be borne, the feeble powers of man soon -sink beneath the violence of the emotion, and mark how Shakspeare -closes the conflict: - - "_Per._ ——————— I embrace you, sir. - Give me my robes; I am wild in my beholding. - O heavens bless my girl! But hark, what musick?— - Tell Helicanus, my Marina, tell him - ————————— for yet he seems to doubt, - How sure you are my daughter.—But what musick? - - _Her._ My lord, I hear none. - - _Per._ None? - The musick of the spheres: list, my Marina.— - Most heavenly musick: - It nips me unto list'ning, and thick slumber - Hangs on mine eye-lids; let me rest. (_He sleeps._)"[274:B] - -It might be imagined that the above scene would almost necessarily -preclude any chance of success in the immediately subsequent detail of -the discovery of _Thaisa_; but the poet has contrived, notwithstanding, -to throw both novelty and interest into this the final dénouement of -the play. Pericles, aided by the evidence of Cerimon, recognises his -wife in the character of high Priestess of the Temple of Diana at -Ephesus; the acknowledgment is thus pathetically painted:— - - "_Per._ ——— No more, you gods! your present kindness - Makes my past miseries sport: You shall do well, - That on the touching of her lips I may - Melt, and no more be seen. O come, be buried - A second time within these arms. - - _Marina._ My heart - Leaps to be gone into my mother's bosom. - (_Kneels to THAISA._ - - _Per._ Look, who kneels here! Flesh of thy flesh, Thaisa; - Thy burden at the sea, and call'd Marina, - For she was yielded there. - - _Thaisa._ Bless'd and mine own!"[275:A] - -To the many amiable and interesting female characters with which the -undisputed works of our poet abound, may be added the _Marina_ of -this drama, who, like Miranda, Imogen, and Perdita, pleases by the -gentleness, and artless tenderness of her disposition; though it must -be allowed that _Marina_ can only be considered as a _sketch_ when -compared with the more highly finished designs of our author's maturer -pencil; it is a sketch, however, from the hand of a master, and cannot -be mistaken. - -Pericles commits his infant daughter, accompanied by her nurse -Lychorida, to the protection of Cleon and Dionyza:— - - "_Per._ Good Madam, make me blessed in your care - In bringing up my child. - - _Dion._ I have one myself, - Who shall not be more dear to my respect, - Than your's, my lord. - - _Per._ Madam, my thanks and prayers. - - _Cleon._ We'll bring your grace even to the edge o'the shore; - Then give you up to the mask'd Neptune, and - The gentlest winds of heaven. - - _Per._ I will embrace - Your offer. Come, dear'st Madam.—O, no tears. - Lychorida, no tears: - Look to your little mistress, on whose grace - You may depend hereafter."[276:A] - -The affectionate attachment of Marina to this friend of her infancy, -and her deep-felt sorrow for her loss, advantageously open her -character in the first scene of the fourth act, where she is introduced -strewing the grave of Lychorida with flowers. - - -"_Enter MARINA, with a Basket of Flowers._ - - _Mar._ No, no, I will rob Tellus of her weed, - To strew thy green with flowers: the yellows, blues, - The purple violets, and madrigolds, - Shall, as a chaplet, hang upon thy grave, - While summer days do last. Ah me! poor maid, - Born in a tempest, when my mother died, - This world to me is like a lasting storm, - Whirring me from my friends;"[276:B] - -a passage, the leading idea of which, Shakspeare has transplanted with -the same pleasing effect into his _Cymbeline_.[276:C] - -Scarcely has Marina lamented the decease of her faithful attendant, -when envy and malignity conspire against her life in the bosom of -one who ought to have been her surest safeguard against misfortune. -Dionyza, perceiving her own daughter eclipsed by the beauty and -accomplishments of her ward, resolves upon her destruction, and bribes -a wretch, named Leonine, to the commission of the deed. The dialogue -which takes place on this occasion, between the ruffian and his -intended victim, places the artless simplicity of the latter in a very -pleasing point of view. - - "_Leon._ Come, say your prayers speedily. - - _Mar._ What mean you? - - _Leon._ If you require a little space for prayer, - I grant it: Pray; but be not tedious, - For the gods are quick of ear, and I am sworn - To do my work with haste. - - _Mar._ Why, will you kill me? - - _Leon._ To satisfy my lady. - - _Mar._ Why would she have me killed? - Now, as I can remember, - I never did her hurt in all my life; - I never spake bad word, nor did ill turn - To any living creature: believe me, - I never kill'd a mouse, nor hurt a fly: - I trod upon a worm against my will, - But I wept for it. How have I offended, - Wherein my death might yield her profit, or - My life imply her danger? - - _Leon._ My commission - Is not to reason of the deed, but do it. - - _Mar._ You will not do't for all the world, I hope. - You are well favour'd, and your looks foreshow - You have a gentle heart. I saw you lately, - When you caught hurt in parting two that fought: - Good sooth, it show'd well in you; do so now: - Your lady seeks my life; come you between, - And save poor me, the weaker."[277:A] - -Marina snatched from this villain by the sudden intervention of -pirates, is sold by them to the keeper of a brothel at Mitylene, a -situation which appears to her still more dreadful than that from which -she has so narrowly escaped. She laments that Leonine had not executed -his orders, or that the pirates had not thrown her overboard, and -exclaims in language equally beautiful and appropriate,— - - "——————— O that the good gods - Would set me free from this unhallow'd place, - Though they did change me to the meanest bird - That flies i' the purer air."[278:A] - -Indebted to her talents and accomplishments, which she represents -to her purchasers as more likely to be productive than the wages of -prostitution, she is allowed to quit the brothel uninjured, but under a -compact to devote the profits of her industry and skill to the support -of her cruel oppressors. - -The mild fortitude and resignation which she exhibits during this -humiliating state of servitude, and the simple dignity which she -displays in her person and manners, are forcibly delineated in the -following observations of Pericles, who, roused from his torpor by her -figure, voice, and features, and interested in her narrative, thus -addresses her:— - - "Pr'ythee speak; - Falseness cannot come from thee, for thou look'st - Modest as justice, and thou seem'st a palace - For the crown'd truth to dwell in:—"yea" thou dost look - Like Patience, gazing on king's graves and smiling - Extremity out of act:"[279:A] - -a picture which is rendered yet more touching by a subsequent trait; -for Lysimachus informs us - - "———————— she would never tell - Her parentage; being demanded that, - She would sit still and weep."[279:B] - -To this delightful sketch of female tenderness and subdued suffering, -nearly all the interest of the last two acts is to be ascribed, and we -feel, therefore, highly gratified that sorrows so unmerited, and so -well borne, should, at length, terminate not only in repose, but in -positive happiness. The poet, indeed, has allotted strict retributory -justice to all his characters; the bad are severely punished, while in -Pericles and his daughter, we behold - - "Virtue preserv'd from fell destruction's blast, - Led on by heaven, and crown'd with joy at last."[279:C] - -To whom, may it now be asked, if not to Shakspeare, can this play with -any probability be given? Has not the above slight analysis of its two -principal characters, with the quotations necessarily adduced, fully -convinced us, that in style, sentiment, and imagery, and in the outline -and conception of its chief female personage, the hand of our great -master is undeniably displayed? - -We presume, therefore, both the _external_ and _internal evidence_ -for much the greater part of this play being the _composition of -Shakspeare_ may be pronounced complete and unanswerable; and it now -only remains to enquire, if there be sufficient ground for considering -_Pericles_, as we have ventured to do in this arrangement, as the -_FIRST dramatic production_ of our author's pen. - -It is very extraordinary that the positive testimony of Dryden as to -the _priority_ of _Pericles_, especially if we weigh well the import -of the context, should ever have admitted of a moment's doubt or -controversy. Nothing can, we think, be more plainly declaratory than -the lines in question, which shall be given at length:— - - "Your Ben and Fletcher in their _first young flight_, - Did no _Volpone_, no _Arbaces_ write: - But hopp'd about, and short excursions made - From bough to bough, as if they were afraid; - And each were guilty of some _Slighted Maid_. - _Shakspeare's own muse his Pericles FIRST bore_; - The _Prince of Tyre_ was elder than _The Moor_: - 'Tis miracle to see a _first_ good _play_; - All hawthorns do not bloom on Christmas-day. - A slender poet must have time to grow, - And spread and burnish, as his brothers do: - Who still looks lean, sure with some p— is curst, - But no man can be Falstaff fat at _first_."[281:A] - -This passage, if it mean any thing, must imply, not only from the -bare assertion of one line, but from all the accessory matter, that -_Pericles_ was the first _young flight_ of Shakspeare, that it was -_the first offspring of his dramatic muse_, his _first play_. That -this _was_ the meaning of Dryden, and not merely that _Pericles_ was -produced before _Othello_, will be further evident from recollecting -the occasion of the Prologue whence these lines are taken. It was -written to introduce the _first_ play of Dr. Charles D'Avenant, then -only nineteen years of age, and the bard expressly calls it _"the -blossom of his green years," the "rude essay of a youthful poet, -who may grow up to write,"_ expressions which can assimilate it with -_Pericles_ only on the supposition that the latter was, like _Circe_, a -_firstling_ of dramatic genius. - -That Dryden, who wrote this prologue in 1675, possessed, from -his approximation to the age of Shakspeare, many advantages for -ascertaining the truth, none will deny. When the former had attained -the age of twenty, the latter had been dead but thirty-five years, and -the subsequent connection of the modern bard with the stage, and his -intimacy with Sir William D'Avenant, who had produced his first play -in 1629, and had been well acquainted with Heminge and the surviving -companions of Shakspeare, would furnish him with sufficient _data_ for -his assertion, independent of any reliance on the similar declarations -of Shepherd and Tatham. - -Taking the statement of Dryden, therefore, as a disclosure of the fact, -it follows, of course, from what has been previously said on the epoch -of Shakspeare's commencement as a dramatic writer, that _Pericles_ must -be referred to the autumn of the year 1590, an assignment which the -consideration of a few particulars will tend to corroborate. - -In the first place, it may be remarked, that the numerous _dumb shows_ -of this play, are of themselves a striking presumptive proof of its -antiquity, indicating that Shakspeare, who subsequently laughed at -these clumsy expedients, thought it necessary, at the opening of his -career, to fall in with the fashion of the times, with a fashion which -had reigned from the earliest establishment of our stage, which was -still in vogue in 1590, but soon after this period became an object of -ridicule, and began to decline. - -Mr. Malone has remarked, that from the manner in which _Pericles_ is -mentioned in a metrical pamphlet, entitled _Pimlyco or Runne Red-cap_, -1609, there is reason to conclude that it is coëval with the old play -of _Jane Shore_[282:A]; and this latter being noticed by Beaumont and -Fletcher in conjunction with _The Bold Beauchamps_[282:B], a production -which D'Avenant classes, in point of age, with _Tamburlaine_ and -_Faustus_[282:C], pieces which appeared in or before 1590, he infers, -perhaps not injudiciously, that _Pericles_ has a claim to similar -antiquity, and should be ascribed to the year 1590.[283:A] - -But a still stronger conclusion in favour of the date which, we think, -should be assigned to _Pericles_, may be drawn from a suggestion of -Mr. Steevens, which has not perhaps been sufficiently considered. This -gentleman contends, that Shakspeare's Prince of Tyre was originally -named _Pyroclés_, after the hero of Sidney's Arcadia, the character, -as he justly observes, not bearing the smallest affinity to that of -the Athenian statesman. "It is remarkable," says he, "that many of our -ancient writers were ambitious to exhibit Sidney's worthies on the -stage: and when his subordinate agents were advanced to such honour, -how happened it that _Pyrocles_, their leader, should be overlooked? -Musidorus (his companion), Argalus and Parthenia, Phalantus and -Eudora, Andromana, &c. furnished titles for different tragedies; and -perhaps _Pyrocles_, in the present instance, was defrauded of a like -distinction. The names invented or employed by Sidney, had once such -popularity, that they were sometimes borrowed by poets who did not -profess to follow the direct current of his fables, or attend to the -strict preservation of his characters.—I must add, that the _Appolyn_ -of the Story-book and Gower could have been rejected only to make -room for a more favourite name; yet, however conciliating the name -of _Pyrocles_ might have been, that of _Pericles_ could challenge no -advantage with regard to general predilection.—All circumstances -therefore considered, it is not improbable that our author designed -his chief character to be called _Pyrocles_, not _Pericles_, however -ignorance or accident might have shuffled the latter (a name of almost -similar sound) into the place of the former."[283:B] - -The probability of this happy conjecture will amount almost to -certainty, if we diligently compare _Pericles_ with the _Pyrocles_ of -the _Arcadia_; the same romantic, versatile, and sensitive disposition -is ascribed to both characters, and several of the incidents -pertaining to the latter are found mingled with the adventures of -the former personage, while, throughout the play, the obligations of -its author to various other parts of the romance may be frequently -and distinctly traced, not only in the assumption of an image or a -sentiment, but in the adoption of the very words of his once popular -predecessor, proving incontestably the poet's familiarity with and -study of the _Arcadia_ to have been very considerable.[284:A] - -Now this work of Sidney, commenced in 1580, was corrected and published -by his sister the Countess of Pembroke, in 1590, and the admiration -which it immediately excited would naturally induce a young actor, -then meditating his first essay in dramatic poetry, instantly to avail -himself of its popularity, and, by appropriating the appellation of its -principal hero, fix the attention of the public. That Shakspeare long -preserved his attachment to the _Arcadia_, is evident from his _King -Lear_, where the episode of Gloster and his sons is plainly copied from -the first edition of this romance.[284:B] - -The date assigned to _Pericles_, on this foundation, being admitted, -it follows of course, that Shakspeare could not have had time to -improve upon the sketch of a predecessor; and yet from the texture of -some parts of the composition, we are compelled to infer, that in this -first effort in dramatic poetry, he must have condescended to accept -the assistance of a friend, whose inferiority to himself is distinctly -visible through the greater part of the first two acts, a position -the probability of which seems to have induced Mr. Steevens to yield -his assent to Dryden's assertion. "In one light, indeed, I am ready," -remarks this acute commentator, "to allow _Pericles_ was our poet's -_first_ attempt. Before he was satisfied with his own strength, and -trusted himself to the publick, he might have tried his hand with a -_partner_, and entered the theatre in disguise. Before he ventured to -face an audience on the stage, it was natural that he should peep at -them through the curtain."[285:A] - -The objections which have been made to this _priority_ of _Pericles_ -in point of time, may be reduced to three, of which the first is drawn -from the non-enumeration of the play by Meres, when giving a list -of our poet's dramas, in 1598.[285:B] But if it were the object of -Shakspeare and his coadjutor to lie concealed from the public eye, -of which there can be little doubt, since the former, as hath been -remarked, having never owned his share in it, or supposing it to be -forgotten, was afterwards willing to profit by the most valuable -lines and ideas it contained[285:C], the omission of Meres is easily -accounted for; yet granting that our author had been well known as -the chief writer of _Pericles_, the validity of the objection is not -thereby established, for we find in this catalogue neither the play -of _King Henry the Sixth_, in any of its parts, nor the tragedy of -_Hamlet_, pieces undoubtedly written and performed before the year 1598. - -A second objection is founded on the title-page of the first edition -of _Pericles_, published in 1609, where this drama is termed "the -_late_ and much admired play."[285:D] It is obvious that from a word so -indefinite in its signification as _late_, whether taken adverbially or -adjectively, nothing decisive can result. To a play written eighteen -years before, the lexicographic definitions of the term in question, -namely, _in times past_, _not long ago_, _not far from the present_, -may, without doubt, justly apply; but we must also add, that it is -uncertain whether the word is meant to refer to the period of the -composition of the play, or to the date of its last representation; -_lately performed_ being most probably the sense in which the editor -intended to be understood. - -Lastly, Mr. Douce is of opinion that three of the devices of the -knights in act the second, scene the second, of _Pericles_, are copied -from a translation of the _Heroicall Devises of Paradin and Symeon_, -printed in 1591, which, if correct, would necessarily bring forward the -date of the play either to this or the subsequent year; but from this -difficulty we are relieved even by Mr. Douce himself, who owns that two -out of the three are to be found in _Whitney's Emblems_, published in -1586, a confession which leads us to infer that the third may have an -equally early origin.[286:A] - -From the extensive survey which has now been taken of the merits and -supposed era of this early drama, the reader, it is probable, will -gather sufficient _data_ for concluding that by far _the greater part -of it issued from the pen of Shakspeare_, that _it was his first -dramatic production_, that _it appeared towards the close of the -year 1590_, and that _it deserves to be removed from the Appendix -to the editions of Shakspeare, where it has hitherto appeared, and -incorporated in the body of his works_. - -2. COMEDY OF ERRORS, 1591. That this play should be ascribed to -the year 1591, and not to 1593, or 1596, has, we think, been fully -established by Mr. Chalmers[286:B], to whom, therefore, the reader -is referred, with this additional observation, that, from an account -published in the _British Bibliographer_, of an interlude, named -_Jacke Jugeler_, which was entered in the Stationers' books in 1562-3, -it appears that the _Menæchmi_ of Plautus, on which this comedy is -founded, "was, in part at least, known at a very early period upon the -English stage[286:C]," a further proof that versions or imitations of -it had been in existence long prior to Warner's translation in 1595. - -As the _Comedy of Errors_ is one of the few plays of Shakspeare -mentioned by _Meres_ in 1598, and as we shall have occasion to refer -more than once to the catalogue of this critic, it will be necessary, -before we proceed farther in our arrangement, to give a transcript of -this short but interesting article. It is taken from his "Palladis -Tamia. Wit's Treasury. Being the second part of Wit's Common Wealth," -1598, and from that part of it entitled "A comparative discourse of our -English Poets, with the Greeke, Latine, and Italian Poets." - -"As Plautus and Seneca are accounted the best for comedy and tragedy -among the Latines, so Shakspeare, among y{e} English, is the most -excellent in both kinds for the stage; for comedy, witness his -Gẽtlemẽ of Verona, his Errors, his Love Labor's Lost, his Love Labour's -Wonne, his Midsummer's-Night Dreame, and his Merchant of Venice: for -tragedy, his Richard the 2. Richard the 3. Henry the 4. King John, -Titus Andronicus, and his Romeo and Juliet."[287:A] - -Some of the commentators, and more particularly Ritson and Steevens, -have positively pronounced this play to have been originally the -composition of a writer anterior to Shakspeare, and that it merely -received some embellishments from our poet's pen: "On a careful -revision of the foregoing scenes," says the latter gentleman, "I do not -hesitate to pronounce them the composition of two very unequal writers. -Shakspeare had undoubtedly a share in them; but that the entire play -was no work of his, is an opinion which (as Benedick says) 'fire -cannot melt out of me; I will die in it at the stake.' Thus, as we are -informed by Aulus Gellius, lib. iii. cap. 3. some plays were absolutely -ascribed to Plautus which in truth had only been (_retractatæ_ et -_expolitæ_) retouched and polished by him."[287:B] - -We have frequently occasion to admire the wit, the classical elegance, -and the ingenuity of Mr. Steevens, but we have often also to regret the -force of his prejudices, and the unqualified dogmatism of his critical -opinions. That the business of the _Comedy of Errors_ is better -calculated for farce than for legitimate comedy, cannot be denied; and -it must also be confessed that the doggrel verses attributed to the -two Dromios, contribute little to the humour or value of the piece; -but let us, at the same time, recollect, that the admission of the -latter was in conformity to the custom of the age in which this play -was produced[288:A], and that the former, though perplexed and somewhat -improbable[288:B], possesses no small share of entertainment. - -This drama of Shakspeare is, in fact, much more varied, rich, and -interesting in its incidents, than the _Menæchmi_ of Plautus; and while -in rigid adherence to the unities of action, time, and place, our poet -rivals the Roman play, he has contrived to insinuate the necessary -previous information for the spectator, in a manner infinitely more -pleasing and artful than that adopted by the Latin bard, for whilst -Plautus has chosen to convey it through the medium of a prologue, -Shakspeare has rendered it at once natural and pathetic, by placing it -in the mouth of Ægeon, the father of the twin brothers. - -In a play of which the plot is so intricate, occupied in a great -measure by mere personal mistakes, and their whimsical results, no -elaborate developement of character can be expected; yet is the -portrait of Ægeon touched with a discriminative hand, and the pressure -of age and misfortune is so painted, as to throw a solemn, dignified, -and impressive tone of colouring over this part of the fable, -contrasting well with the lighter scenes which immediately follow, a -mode of relief which is again resorted to at the close of the drama, -where the re-union of Ægeon and Æmilia, and the recognition of their -children, produce an interest in the denouëment, of a nature more -affecting than the tone of the preceding scenes had taught us to expect. - -As to the comic action which constitutes the chief bulk of this piece, -if it be true that to excite laughter, awaken attention, and fix -curiosity, be essential to its dramatic excellence, the _Comedy of -Errors_ cannot be pronounced an unsuccessful effort; both reader and -spectator are hurried on to the close, through a series of thick-coming -incidents, and under the pleasurable influence of novelty, expectation, -and surprise; and the dialogue, so far from betraying the inequalities -complained of by Ritson and Steevens, is uniformly vivacious, pointed, -and even effervescing. Shakspeare is visible, in fact, throughout the -entire play, as well in the broad exuberance of its mirth, as in the -cast of its more chastised parts, a combination of which may be found -in the punishment and character of Pinch the pedagogue and conjurer, -who is sketched in the strongest and most marked style of our author. - -If we consider, therefore, the construction of the fable, the -narrowness of its basis, and that its powers of entertainment are -almost exclusively confined to a continued deception of the external -senses, we must confess that Shakspeare has not only improved on the -Plautian model, but, making allowance for a somewhat too coarse vein of -humour, has given to his production all the interest and variety that -the nature and the limits of his subject would permit. - -3. LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST: 1591. In the first edition of Mr. Malone's -Chronological Essay on Shakspeare's Plays, which was published in -January, 1778, the year 1591 is the date assigned to this drama, -an epoch, which, in the re-impression of 1793, was changed in the -catalogue for the subsequent era of 1594, though the reasons given for -this alteration appeared so inconclusive to the chronologist himself, -that he ventures in the text merely to say,—"I think it probable, -that our author's first draft of this play was written in or _before_ -1594[289:A]," a mode of expression which leaves as much authority -to the former as the latter date. In short, the only motive brought -forward for the present locality of this piece in Mr. Malone's list, -where it appears posterior to _A Midsummer-Night's Dream_, the _Comedy -of Errors_, and _The Taming of the Shrew_, is, that there is more -attempt at delineation of character in it than in either the first -or second of the plays just mentioned[290:A], a reason which loses -all its weight the moment we seriously contrast this comedy with its -supposed predecessors, for who would then think of assigning to the -very slight sketches of Biron and Katharine, any mark of improvement, -either in poetic or dramatic strength, over the imaginative powers -of the _Midsummer-Night's Dream_, or the strong, broad, and often -characteristic outlines of _The Taming of the Shrew_! - -The construction, indeed, of the whole play, the variety of its -versification, the abundancy of its rhymes, and the length and -frequency of its doggrel lines, very clearly prove this comedy to be -one of our author's very earliest compositions; indications which -_originally_ disposed Mr. Malone to give it to the year which we have -adopted, and which induced Mr. Chalmers to assign it to 1592, though -why he prefers this year to the preceding does not appear. - -Of _Love's Labour's Lost_, as it was performed in the year 1591, we -possess no exact transcript; for, in the oldest edition which has -hitherto been found of this play, namely that of 1598, it is said in -the title-page to be _newly corrected and augmented_, with the further -information, that it had been _presented before Her Highness the last -Christmas_; facts which show, that we are in possession not of the -first draft or edition of this comedy, but only of that copy which -represents it as it was _revived_ and _improved_ for the entertainment -of the Queen, in 1597. - -The _original sketch_, whether printed or merely performed, we conceive -to have been one of the pieces alluded to by Greene, in 1592, when he -accuses Shakspeare of being _an absolute Johannes fac-totum_ of the -stage, _primarily_ and _principally_ from the mode of its execution, -which, as we have already observed, betrays the earliness of its -source in the strongest manner; _secondarily_, that, like _Pericles_, -it occasionally copies the language of the _Arcadia_, then with all -the attractive _novelty_ of its reputation in full bloom[291:A], and -_thirdly_, that in the fifth act, various allusions to the Muscovites -or Russians, seem evidently to point to a period when Russia and its -inhabitants attracted the public consideration, a period which we find, -from Hackluyt[291:B], to have occupied the years 1590 and 1591, when, -as Warburton and Chalmers have observed, the arrangement of Russian -commerce engaged very particularly the attention, and formed the -conversation, of the court, the city, and the country.[291:C] - -It may be also remarked, that while no play among our author's works -exhibits more decisive marks of juvenility than _Love's Labour's Lost_, -none, at the same time, is more strongly imbued with the peculiar cast -of his youthful genius; for in style and manner, it bears a closer -resemblance to the _Venus and Adonis_, the _Rape of Lucrece_, and the -_earlier Sonnets_, than any other of his genuine dramas. It presents -us, in short, with a continued contest of wit and repartee, the persons -represented, whether high or low, vying with each other, throughout -the piece, in the production of the greatest number of jokes, sallies, -and verbal equivoques. The profusion with which these are every-where -scattered, has, unfortunately, had the effect of throwing an air of -uniformity over all the characters, who seem solely intent on keeping -up the ball of raillery; yet is _Biron_ now and then discriminated -by a few strong touches, and _Holofernes_ is probably the portrait -of an individual, some of his quotations having justly induced the -commentators to infer, that _Florio_, the author of _First_ and _Second -Fruits_, dialogues in Italian and English, and of a _Dictionary_, -entitled _A World of Words_, was the object of the poet's satire. - -If in dramatic strength of painting this comedy be deficient, and -it appears to us, in this quality, inferior to _Pericles_, we -must, independent of the vivacity of its dialogue already noticed, -acknowledge, that it displays several poetical gems, that it contains -many just moral apophthegms, and that it affords, even in the closet, -no small fund of amusement; and here it is worthy of being remarked, -and may, indeed, without prejudice or prepossession, be asserted, that, -even to the earliest and most unfinished dramas of our poet, a peculiar -interest is felt to be attached, not arising from the fascination of a -name, but from an intrinsic and almost inexplicable power of pleasing, -which we in vain look for in the juvenile plays of other bards, and -which serves, perhaps better than any other criterion, to ascertain the -genuine property of Shakspeare; it is, in fact, a touchstone, which, -when applied to _Titus Andronicus_, and what has been termed the _First -Part_ of Henry the Sixth, must, if every other evidence were wanting, -flash conviction on our senses. - -4. KING HENRY THE SIXTH: PART THE FIRST: 1592; - -5. KING HENRY THE SIXTH: PART THE SECOND: 1592: - -It will be immediately perceived that this arrangement is intended to -exclude what has very improperly, in modern times, been ascribed to -Shakspeare as the _First Part_ of HIS King Henry the Sixth. -The spuriousness of this part, indeed, has been so satisfactorily -proved by Mr. Malone, that no doubt can be supposed any longer to -rest on the subject; and, if any lingered, it would be still further -shaken by what has since transpired; for, from the discovery of Mr. -Henslowe's Accounts, at Dulwich College, it appears that this play -was never entitled, as Mr. Malone had conjectured, to its present -appellation, but was simply styled as it is here entered, _Henry the -Sixth_, and had no connection with the subsequent plays of Peele -and Marlowe on the same reign. The entry is dated the 3d of March, -1591, and the play being the property of Lord Strange's company, and -performed at the Rose theatre, with neither of which Shakspeare had, -at any time, the smallest connection, render the external testimony -still more confirmatory of Mr. Malone's position, as to the antiquity, -priority, and insulated origin of this drama.[292:A] The internal -evidence, however, is quite sufficient for the purpose; for the -hand of Shakspeare is nowhere visible throughout the entire of this -"Drum-and-trumpet-Thing," as Mr. Morgan has justly termed it.[293:A] -Yet that our author, subsequent to his re-modelling _The first Part of -the Contention_, and _The True Tragedy of Richard Duke of Yorke_, might -alter the arrangement, or slightly correct the diction of this play, -is very possible,—an interference, however trivial, which probably -induced the editors of the first folio, from the period in which this -design was executed, to _register_ it with Shakspeare's undisputed -plays, under the improper title of _The Third Part of King Henry the -Sixth_.[293:B] - -As this drama therefore, which we hold to contain not ten lines of -Shakspeare's composition, was, when originally produced, called _The -Play of Henry the VI._, and in 1623, registered _The Third Part of -King Henry the VI._; though, in the folio published during the same -year, it was then for the _first_ time named the _first_ part, would -it not be allowable to infer, that the two plays which our poet -built on the foundations of Marlowe, or perhaps Marlowe, Peele, and -Greene, though not printed before they appeared in the folio, were -yet termed, not as they are designated in the modern editions, the -_second_ and _third_ parts, but as we have here called them, the -_first_ and _second_ parts? Such, in fact, appears to have been the -case; for, since the publication of Mr. Malone's Essay, an entry on -the Stationers' Registers has been discovered[293:C], made by Tho. -Pavier, and dated April, 19th, 1602, of "The 1st and 2d pts of Henry -VI. ij. books[294:A];" which entry, whether it be supposed to apply -to the original _Contention_ and _True Tragedy_, or to an intended -edition of the same plays as altered by Shakspeare, clearly proves, -that this designation of _first_ and _second_ was here given either to -the primary or secondary set of these two plays, and, if applied to one -set, would necessarily be applicable to, and used in speaking of, the -other. - -These two plays then, founded on _The First Part of the Contention of -the Two famous Houses of Yorke and Lancaster_, and on the _Second_, -or _The true Tragedie of Richard Duke of Yorke_, written by Marlowe -and his friends about the year 1590[294:B], we conceive to have been -brought forward by Shakspeare with great and numerous improvements, in -1592. - -The vacillation of the commentators in determining the era of our -author's two parts of _Henry the Sixth_, has been very extraordinary. -The year 1592 was fixed upon in 1778; this, in 1793, was changed to -1593, or 1594; and in 1803, to 1591; while Mr. Chalmers, in 1799, had -adopted the date of 1595! - -That these plays had received their new dress from the hand of -Shakspeare, previous to September, 1592, is, we think, irreversibly -established by Greene's parody, in his _Groatsworth of Wit_, on a -line in the second of these productions, an allusion which, with the -context, can neither be set aside nor misapplied: that they were thus -re-modelled in 1592, rather than in 1591, will appear highly probable, -when we reflect that, in the passage where this parody is found, -Shakspeare is termed, in reference to the stage, _an absolute Johannes -factotum_, an epithet which, as we have before remarked, implies that -our poet had written and altered several pieces before that period, and -had the two parts of _Henry the Sixth_ been early in the series, that -is, immediately subsequent to _Pericles_, the indignation of Greene, -no doubt, had been sooner expressed; for we find him writing with -great warmth, under a sense of recent injury, and under the pressure -of mortal disease; "albeit weakness," says he, "will scarce suffer me -to write;" a time which certainly would not have been chosen for the -annunciation of his anger, had the supposed offence been given, and it -must have been known as soon as committed, a year or two before. We -feel confident, therefore, from this chain of argument, that the _two -parts_ of _Henry the Sixth_ included in our catalogue, were not brought -on the stage before 1592, and then only just in time to enable poor -Greene to express his sentiments ere he left this sublunary scene. - -The plan which Mr. Malone has adopted in printing these plays, that -of distinguishing the amended and absolutely new passages from the -original and comparatively meagre text of Marlowe and his coadjutors, -seems to have been caught from a hint dropped by Mr. Maurice Morgan, -who, speaking of these _two_ parts of Henry VI., observes, that "they -have certainly received what may be called a _thorough repair_.—I -should conceive, it would not be very difficult to feel one's way -through these plays, and distinguish every where the metal from the -clay."[295:A] - -It will not be denied that the task thus suggested, has been carried -into execution with much skill and discrimination, and furnishes -a curious proof of the plastic genius and extraordinary powers of -adaptation with which our poet was gifted in the very dawn of his -career. Compared with the pieces which he had hitherto produced, a -style of far greater dignity, severity, and tragic modulation, was -to be formed, and accordingly those portions of these plays which -emanated solely or in a high degree from the mind of Shakspeare, -will be found in many instances even not inferior to the best parts -of his latest and most finished works, while, at the same time, they -harmonise sufficiently with the general tone of his predecessors, to -preclude any flagrant breach of unity and consistency in the character -of the diction and versification, though, to a practised critic, the -superiority of our author, both in the fluency of his metre, and the -beauty and facility of his expression, may be readily discerned. - -Contrary to the common opinion, a strong and correct delineation of -character appears to us the most striking feature in the two parts of -this historical drama. That sainted, but powerless phantom, Henry of -Lancaster, interests our feelings, notwithstanding the imbecillities -of his public conduct, by the pious endurance of his sufferings, and -the philosophic pathos of his sentiments. How much his patient sorrow -and plaintive morality, depicted as they are amid the desolations of -warfare, arrest and fascinate our attention by the power of contrast, -perhaps no apathy can refuse to acknowledge. Mournfully sweet, indeed, -are the strains which flow from this unhappy monarch, when, for an -instant retired from the horrors of the Field of Towton, he pours forth -the anguish of his soul, and closes his reflections with a picture of -rural repose, glowing with such a mellow and lovely light amid the -shades of regal misery which surround it, as to awaken sensations that -steal through the bosom with a holy and delicious warmth. - -Between this character, and that of Richard of Gloucester in the same -play, what a strength of contrast! so decided is the opposition, -indeed, that not a shadow, not an atom of assimilation exists. The -ferocious wickedness of this hypocritical and sarcastic villain is as -vividly and distinctly drawn in the _Second_ or _Last Part of Henry -the Sixth_ as in the tragedy of _Richard the Third_, the soliloquies -in Acts the third and fifth as clearly developing the structure of his -mind as any scene of the play distinguished by his regal title. - -Nor do the other leading personages of these dramas exhibit less -striking touches of the strong characterisation peculiar to our poet. -The portraits of King Edward, and Queen Margaret, of the Dukes of -York and Warwick, of Humphrey of Gloster and Cardinal Beaufort, are -alike faithful to history and to nature, while the death of the -ambitious prelate is unparalleled for its awful sublimity, its terrific -delineation of a tortured conscience; a scene, of which the impressions -are so overpowering, that, to adopt the language of Dr. Johnson, "the -superficial reader cannot miss them, the profound can image nothing -beyond them."[297:A] - -As these two parts, therefore, whether we consider the original text, -or the numerous alterations and additions of Shakspeare, hold a rank -greatly superior to the elder play of - - "Henry the sixth in swaddling bands crown'd king," - -a production which, at the same time, offers no trace of any finishing -strokes from the master-bard, it would be but doing justice to the -original design of Shakspeare to insert for the future in his works -only the two pieces which he remodelled, designating them as they -are found in this arrangement, and which seems, indeed, merely a -restoration of their first titles. This may the more readily be done, -as there appears no necessary connection between the elder drama, and -those of Shakspeare on the same reign; whereas between the two plays of -our author, and between them and his _Richard the Third_, not only an -intimate union, but a regular series of unbroken action subsists. - -If, however, it should be thought convenient to have the old play of -_Henry the Sixth_ within the reach of reference, let it be placed -in an Appendix to the poet's works, dislodging for that purpose the -disgusting Tragedy of _Titus Andronicus_, which has hitherto, to -the disgrace of our national literature, and of our noblest writer, -accompanied every edition aspiring to be complete, from the folio of -1623 to the re-impression of 1813! - -5. A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM: 1593. In endeavouring to ascertain the -order in which Shakspeare's plays were written, it would seem a duty, -on the part of the chronologist, where no passage positively indicates -the contrary, not to attribute to the poet the composition of several -pieces during the course of the same year; for, admitting the fertility -of our author to have been, what it unquestionably was, very great, -still, without some certain date annihilating all room for conjecture, -it would be a gross violation of probability to ascribe even to him the -production of _four_ or even _three_ of his capital productions, and -such productions too, in the space of but twelve months. This, however, -has been done, in their respective arrangements, twice by Mr. Malone, -and six times by Mr. Chalmers, the latter gentleman having allotted to -our dramatist not less than seventeen plays in the course of only five -years! Surely such an attribution is, of itself, sufficient to stagger -the most willing credulity, particularly when we find that, during the -course of this period, occupying the years 1595, 1596, 1597, 1598, and -1599, four such plays as the following are appropriated to one year, -that of 1597,—_Henry IV. the Second Part_, _Henry V._, _The Merchant -of Venice_, and _Hamlet_. Now as these pieces, so far from resembling -the light and rapid sketches of Lopez de la Vega or of Heywood, are -among the most elaborate of our author's productions, and as no data -with any pretensions to certainty can be adduced for the assignment -in question, we must be allowed, notwithstanding the ingenuity and -indefatigable research of Mr. Chalmers, to doubt the propriety of his -chronological system.[298:A] - -Acting, therefore, on this idea, that where no _decisive_ evidence to -the contrary is apparent, not more than two plays should be assigned -to our bard in the compass of one year, and being firmly persuaded, -from the argument which has been brought forward, that the _two -parts_ of _Henry the Sixth_ were the product of the year 1592, while, -at the same time, we agree with the majority of the commentators in -considering the _Midsummer-Night's Dream_ as an early composition, -it has been thought most consonant to probability to give to the -latter, in lieu of the epoch of 1592, or 1595, or 1598, its present -intermediate station; and this has been done, even though the plays on -Henry the Sixth, being built on the basis of other writers, cannot be -supposed to have occupied so much of the poet's time as more original -efforts. - -The _Midsummer-Night's Dream_, then, is the first play which exhibits -the imagination of Shakspeare in all its fervid and creative power; -for though, as mentioned in Meres's catalogue, as having numerous -scenes of continued rhyme, as being barren in fable, and defective in -strength of character, it may be pronounced the offspring of youth and -inexperience, it will ever in point of fancy be considered as equal to -any subsequent drama of the poet. - -There is, however, a light in which the best plays of Shakspeare -should be viewed, which will, in fact, convert the supposed defects of -this exquisite sally of sportive invention into positive excellence. -A _unity of feeling_ most remarkably pervades and regulates their -entire structure, and the _Midsummer-Night's Dream_, a title in itself -declaratory of the poet's object and aim, partakes of this bond, or -principle of coalescence, in a very peculiar degree. It is, indeed, -a fabric of the most buoyant and aërial texture, floating as it were -between earth and heaven, and tinted with all the magic colouring of -the rainbow, - - "The earth hath bubbles as the water has, - And this is of them." - -In a piece thus constituted, where the imagery of the most wild and -fantastic dream is actually embodied before our eyes, where the -principal agency is carried on by beings lighter than the gossamer, and -smaller than the cowslip's bell, whose elements are the moon-beams and -the odoriferous atmosphere of flowers, and whose sport it is - - "To dance in ringlets on the whistling wind," - -it was necessary, in order to give a filmy and consistent legerity -to every part of the play, that the human agents should partake of -the same evanescent and visionary character; accordingly both the -higher and lower personages of this drama are the subjects of illusion -and enchantment, and love and amusement their sole occupation; -the transient perplexities of thwarted passion, and the grotesque -adventures of humorous folly, touched as they are with the tenderest -or most frolic pencil, blending admirably with the wild, sportive, and -romantic tone of the scenes where - - "Trip the light fairies and the dapper elves," - -and forming together a whole so variously yet so happily interwoven, -so racy and effervescent in its composition, of such exquisite levity -and transparency, and glowing with such luxurious and phosphorescent -splendour, as to be perfectly without a rival in dramatic literature. - -Nor is this piece, though, from the nature of its fable, unproductive -of any _strong_ character, without many pleasing discriminations of -passion and feeling. Mr. Malone asks if "a single passion be agitated -by the faint and childish solicitudes of Hermia and Demetrius, of -Helena and Lysander, those shadows of each other?"[300:A] Now, whatever -may be thought of Demetrius and Lysander, the characters of Hermia and -Helena are beautifully drawn, and finely contrasted, and in much of the -dialogue which occurs between them, the chords both of love and pity -are touched with the poet's wonted skill. In their interview in the -wood, the contrariety of their dispositions is completely developed; -Hermia is represented as - - ————————— "keen and shrewd: - —— a vixen, when she went to school, - And, though but little, fierce," - -and in her difference with her friend, threatens to scratch her eyes -out with her nails, while Helena, meek, humble, and retired, sues for -protection, and endeavours in the most gentle manner to deprecate her -wrath: - - "I pray you, though you mock me, gentlemen, - Let her not hurt me: I was never curst; - I have no gift at all in shrewishness; - I am a right maid for my cowardice; - Let her not strike me:—— - Good Hermia, do not be so bitter with me. - I evermore did love you, Hermia, - Did ever keep your counsels, never wrong'd you;— - And now, so you will let me quiet go, - To Athens will I bear my folly back, - And follow you no further: Let me go: - You see how simple and how fond I am." - -And in an earlier part of this scene, where Helena first suspects that -her friend had conspired with Demetrius and Lysander to mock and deride -her, nothing can more exquisitely paint her affectionate temper, and -the heartfelt pangs of severing friendship, than the following lines, -most touching in their appeal, an echo from the very bosom of nature -itself:— - - "Injurious Hermia! most ungrateful maid!— - Is all the counsel that we two have shar'd, - The sister's vows, the hours that we have spent, - When we have chid the hasty-footed time - For parting us,—O, and is all forgot? - All school-day's friendship, childhood innocence? - We, Hermia, like two artificial gods, - Have with our neelds created both one flower, - Both on one sampler, sitting on one cushion, - Both warbling of one song, both in one key; - As if our hands, our sides, voices, and minds, - Had been incorporate. So we grew together, - Like to a double cherry, seeming parted; - But yet a union in partition, - Two lovely berries moulded on one stem: - So, with two seeming bodies, but one heart;— - And will you rent our ancient love asunder, - To join with men in scorning your poor friend? - It is not friendly, 'tis not maidenly: - Our sex, as well as I, may chide you for it; - Though I alone do feel the injury." - -Of the _Fairy Mythology_ which constitutes the principal and most -efficient part of this beautiful drama, it is the more necessary that -we should take particular notice, as it forms not only a chief feature -of the superstitions of the age, but was, in fact, re-modelled and -improved by the genius of our poet. - -The utmost confusion has in general overshadowed this subject, from -mixing the _Oriental_ with the _Gothic_ system of fabling, the -voluptuous or monstrous Fairies of eastern and southern romance, with -those of the popular superstition of the north of Europe; two races -in all their features remarkably distinct, and productive of two very -opposite styles both of imagery and literature. - -The poets and romance writers of Spain, Italy, and France, have -evidently derived the imaginary beings whom they term _Fairies_, -whether of the benignant or malignant species, from the mythology of -Persia and Arabia. The channel for this stream of fiction was long -open through the medium of the crusades, and the dominion of the Moors -of Spain, more especially when the language of these invaders became, -during the middle ages, the vehicle of science and general information. -Hence we find the strongest affinity between the _Peri_ and _Dives_ of -the Persians, and the two orders of the _Genii_ of the Arabians, and -the _Fairies_ and _Demons_ of the south of Europe. - -The _Peri_, or as the word would be pronounced in Arabic, the _Fairi_, -of the Persians, are represented as females of the most exquisite -beauty, uniformly kind and benevolent in their disposition, of -the human form and size, and, though not limited to our transient -existence, subject to death. They are supposed to inhabit a region of -their own, to play in the plighted clouds, to luxuriate in the hues of -the rainbow, and to live upon the exhalations of the jessamine and the -rose.[303:A] - -Contrasted with these lovely essences, the _Dives_ are described -as males of the most hideous aspect and ferocious temper; in their -stature, monstrous, deformed, and abominable; in their habits, wicked, -cruel, and unrelenting. - -Very similar in their attributes, but with less beauty and brilliancy -in the delineation of the amiable species, were the _good_ and _bad -Genii_ of the Arabians; and, as in Persia, a _Genistan_, or Fairy-land, -was allotted to the benignant class. - -From these sources, then, is to be deduced that tone of fiction which -pervades the romantic and poetical literature of the warmer European -climates, especially in all that relates to the fair and beautiful -of Oriental conception. In the _Fairies_ of BOIARDO and -ARIOSTO, in the metrical and prose romances of France and -Spain, and in the Lays of MARIE; in their _Fata Morgana_, -_Urgande_, and _Mourgue La Faye_, and in the _superhuman mistresses_ -of _Sir Launfale_ and _Sir Gruelan_, we readily discern their Persian -prototype, the Peri, _Mergian Banou_.[303:B] - -And to this cast of fiction, derived through the medium of the -Italians, was _Spenser_ indebted for the form and colouring which he -has appropriated to his Fairies; beings, however, still more aloof -from the Gothic popular elves than even the supernatural agents of -the bards of Italy, as connecting with their orientalism, a continued -allegorical, and, consequently, a totally abstract character. - -For the origin, therefore, or _prima stamina_ of the _Fairies of -Shakspeare_, and of _British popular tradition_, we must turn to a -very different quarter, even so far northward as to _Scandinavia_, -the land of our Gothic progenitors. The establishment of the two -kingdoms of the Ostrogoths and Wisigoths, on the shores of the -Euxine Sea, by colonies from the Scandick peninsula, took place at a -very early period, and the consequence of these settlements was the -speedy invasion and conquest of the southern provinces of the Roman -empire; for Denmark and Germany having submitted to the arms of the -Goths, these restless warriors seized upon Spain in 409, entered -Italy and captured Rome in 410, invaded France in 412, and commenced -their conquest of England in 447. Upon all these countries, but most -permanently upon England, did they impose their language, and a large -portion of their superstitions. Such were their influence and success, -indeed, in this island, that they not only compelled us to embrace -their religious rites, but totally superseded our former manners -and customs, and planted for ever in our mouths a diction radically -distinct from that to which we had been accustomed, a diction which -includes to this day a vocabulary of terms relative to our poetical and -superstitious creeds which is alike common to both nations.[304:A] - -Long, therefore, ere the Arabians began to disseminate their literature -from the walls of Cordova, were the Goths in full possession not only -of the Spanish peninsula, where their empire attained its height in -the year 500, but of the greater part of this island. The Moors, -it is well known, did not enter Spain until 712, consequently the -Scandinavian emigrants had the opportunity of three centuries in that -fine country, for the gradual propagation of their poetical credulity. -Long, also, before the Crusades, the second supposed source of oriental -superstition, could produce their imagined effect, are we able to trace -the Fairy Mythology of the Goths in all its essential features. The -first Crusade, under Godfrey, terminated in the capture of Jerusalem in -July 1099, and the speediest return of any of its adventurers may be -ascribed to the year 1100; but so early as 863 do we find the belief of -the Fairies established in Norway, and even introduced into our own -country at an epoch as remote as the year 1013. The metrical fragments -of Thiodolf, bard to Harold Fairhair, who ascended the throne of Norway -in 863, bear testimony to the first of these assertions. Thiodolf was -an antiquary of such pre-eminence, that on his poetry was founded the -early history of his country, and among the reliques of his composition -is one recording an adventure of Svegder, the fourth King of Sweden, -which clearly proves that _Fairies_ and _Fairy-land_ had even then -become a portion of the popular creed. Svegder is represented as having -made a vow to seek Fairy-land, and Odin, from whom he was descended. -For this purpose he traverses, with twelve chosen companions, the -wastes of the Greater Scythia; but, after consuming five years in vain -in the pursuit, he returns home disappointed. In a second attempt, -however, he is, unfortunately for himself, successful. In the east of -Scythia rises suddenly from the plain so vast a mass of rock, that it -assumes the appearance of an immense structure or palace. Passing by -this pile with his friends, one evening after sunset, having freely -enjoyed the pleasures of the banquet, Svegder was surprised to behold -a _Dwergur_, a _Fairy_ or _Dwarf_, sitting at the foot of the rock. -Inflamed by wine, he and his companions boldly advanced towards the -elf, who, then standing in the gates or portal of the pile, addressed -the king, commanding him to enter if he wished to converse with Odin. -The monarch, rushing forward, had scarcely passed the opening of the -rock, when its portal closed upon him and the treacherous Fairy for -ever![305:A] - -That the diminutive Being here introduced was of the race of Fairies, -subsequently described in the Volupsa of Sæmund under the appellation -of Duergs or _Swart-Elves_, and who were placed under the direction of -two superiors called _Motsogner_ and _Durin_[306:A], is evident from -the Gothic original of Thiodolf's fragment, which opens by declaring -that this being who guarded the entrance of the enchanted cave, was one -of the followers of _Durin_, who shrank from the light of day; and then -immediately classes him with the Dwergs[306:B], an appellative which -the Latin translators have rendered by the terms _pygmæi_ and _nani_, -_pygmies_ and _dwarfs_. - -That the fairy mythology of the Goths must have been known to this -island about the year 1013, appears from a song composed by _Sigvatur_, -who accompanied Canute to England as his favourite bard, on the -invasion of his father Swain at the above era. Sigvatur describes -himself as warned away from a cottage by its housewife, who, sitting at -the threshold, vehemently forbids his approach, as she was preparing -a propitiatory banquet of blood for the Fairies, with the view of -driving the _war-wolf_ from her doors.[306:C] The word in the original -here used for the Fairies, is _Alfa_, _Elves_, a designation which we -shall find in the Edda applied generically to the whole tribe, however -distinct in their functions or mode of existence. - -Not only can we prove, indeed, the priority and high antiquity of the -Gothic fairy superstitions on the unquestioned authority of Thiodolf -and Sigvatur, but we can substantiate also the very material fact, that -the scattered features of this mythology were collected and formed -into a perfect system nearly a quarter of a century before any of the -first crusaders could return to Europe. About the year 1077, _Sæmund_ -compiled the first or Metrical Edda, containing, among other valuable -documents, the "Voluspa," a poem whose language indicates a very remote -origin[307:A], and where we find a minute and accurate description of -the _Duergar_ or Fairies, who are divided into two classes, of which -the individuals are even carefully named and enumerated, a catalogue -which is augmented in the _Prose Edda_ composed by _Snorro_ in -1215[307:B], and still further increased in the "_Scalda_," written, it -is supposed, about a year or two afterwards. - -Having thus endeavoured to show that the _Fairy Superstitions_ of -the Goths were possessed of an antiquity sufficiently great to have -procured their propagation through the medium of Scandinavian conquest -and colonisation, long anterior to any oriental source, and that the -genius of eastern fabling, when subsequently introduced into the south, -was of a character totally distinct from the popular superstition of -the north of Europe, we hasten to place before the reader a short -sketch of the genealogy, attributes, and offices of the Gothic elves, -in order that we may compare them with their poetical offspring, the -popular fairies of Britain, and thence be able to appreciate the -various modifications and improvements which the system received from -the creative imagination of Shakspeare. - -Under the term _Norner_ the ancient Goths included two species of -preternatural beings of a diminutive size, the _Godar Norner_, or -_Beneficent Elves_, and the _Illar Norner_, or _Malignant Elves_. Among -the earliest bards of Scandinavia, in the Voluspa, and in the Edda of -Snorro, these distinctions are accurately maintained, though under -various appellations, either alluding to their habits, their moral -nature, or their external appearance. The most common nomenclature, -or division, however, was into _Liös-alfar_, or _Bright Elves_, and -_Suart-alfar_, or _Dock-alfar Swart_, or _Black Elves_, the former -belonging to the _Alfa-ættar_, or tribe of alfs, fauns, or elves, the -latter to the _Duerga-ættar_, or tribe of _Dwarfs_.[308:A] - -The _Alfs_ and _Dwergs_, therefore, the _Fairies_ and the _Dwarfs_, or, -in other words, the _Bright_ and the _Swart Elves_ of Scandinavia form, -together with a somewhat larger species which we shall have occasion -shortly to mention, the whole of the machinery of whose origin we are -in search. - -Of this _Alfa-folch_, _Elfin-folk_, or _Fairy-people_, the -_Liös-alfar_, or _Bright Elves_, were supposed to be aërial spirits, -of a beautiful aspect, sporting in the purest ether, and inhabiting -there a region called _Alf-heimur_, Elf-ham, or Elf-home. Their -intercourse with mortals was always beneficent and propitious, and -when they presided at a nativity, happiness and prosperity were their -boon.[308:A] They visited the cottages of the virtuous and industrious -poor, blessing and assisting their efforts[309:A], and danced in -mazy rounds by moonlight on the dewy grass, to the sound of the most -enchanting music, leaving on the sward circular and distinct traces -of their footsteps of a beautiful and lively green, vestiges of what -in the Swedish language was called the _Elf-dans_, a word which has -been naturalised in our own tongue.[309:B] The bright elves were -also considered as propitious to women in labour, and desirous of -undertaking all the duties of the cradle[309:C]; in short, wherever a -fairy of this species was found, whether in the palace, the cottage, -or the mine, it was always distinguished by a series of kind or useful -offices. - -In almost every respect the reverse of this benevolent race were the -_Suart-alfar_, or _Swart Elves_, who were neither spirits nor mortals, -but of an intermediate nature, dwelling in the bowels of the earth, -in mountains, caves, or barrows, of the same diminutive size as the -bright elves, but unpleasing in their features, and though sometimes -fair in their complexions, often dark and unlovely.[309:D] They were -the dispensers of misfortune, and consequently their attendance at a -birth became the harbinger of a predominating portion of [310:A]evil; -mischief, indeed, either in sport or anger, seems to have been their -favourite employment. They, like those of the more friendly tribe, -visited the surface of the earth at midnight, but the circular tracery -of their revels was distinguished from the green ringlets of the -beneficent kind, by the ground being burnt and blasted wherever their -footsteps had been impressed.[310:B] - -Among this species was also classed the _Incubus_, by the Scandinavians -termed _Mara_, _Meyar_, or the _Mare_; by the Saxons _Alf_ or _Alp_; -by the Franconians _Drud_[310:C], a fairy who haunted those who slept, -and oppressed them by sitting on their chest. This elf was likewise -considered as exerting a baneful influence at _noon-time_ over those -who heedlessly gave themselves to sleep in the fields, and was deemed -particularly dangerous, at this hour, to pregnant women.[310:D] To the -mischievous power of these _Swart-elves_ was also ascribed, by the -Gothic nations, the loss or exchange of children, who were borne away -from the parental roof previous to the rites of baptism, and oftentimes -an idiotic or deformed bantling was substituted in the place of the -stolen infant.[310:E] Generally were they found, indeed, spiteful and -malicious in all their agency with mankind, whether in a playful or a -serious mood; frequently injuring or destroying the cattle, riding the -horses, plaiting their manes in knots, terrifying and leading wandering -or benighted peasants astray, by voices, cries, by peals of laughter or -delusive lights.[311:A] - -With all these evil propensities, however, they are uniformly -represented by our Northern ancestors as singularly ingenious, and -endowed with great mechanical skill, particularly that variety of -the _Suart-alfar_ termed _Bergmanlein_ or Mountain-dwarfs, who were -believed to inhabit caves and mines and barrows[311:B], and to be -frequently and audibly employed in forging swords and armour of such -excellent temper and strength as to be proof not only against the -usual accidents of warfare, but against all the arts of magic and -incantation.[311:C] This craft was denominated _Duerga Smithi_, or -_Fairy-Smithery_[311:D], and was sometimes exercised in the formation -of enchanted rings, and of automata which by the proper management of -secret springs would transport their conductors through the air.[311:E] -By the Swedes and Germans, also, these subterranean dwarfs, _virunculi -montani_, were supposed to be sometimes busy in the laborious -occupation of excavating the rocks, and to be occasionally useful to -the miners in detecting latent veins of ore; but their agency was more -generally deemed pernicious, and they were held to be the artificers -of accident, the raisers of exhalations, and the exploders of the -fire-damp.[312:A] It should also be added, that, as the frequent -inmates of barrows and sepulchral vaults, they were considered as the -guardians of hidden treasures, which they protected under the form of -diminutive old men with corrugated faces[312:B]; while as the haunters -of the mine, they affected the dress of the workmen, appearing in a -shirt or frock, with a leathern apron.[312:C] - -Beside these two species of the fairy tribe, the _Bright_ and _Swart -Elves_, a larger kind was acknowledged by the ancient Germans, under -the appellations of _Guteli_ and _Trulli_, who were esteemed not only -harmless, but so friendly to mankind, that they delighted in performing -the domestic offices of the household, such as cleaning the dishes, -bringing in wood, grooming the horses, &c.[312:D], labouring chiefly -in the night-time, and often assuming the human stature, form, and -garb.[312:E] - -Such are the leading features of the Fairy Mythology of the Goths, -which appears to have been introduced into Britain as early as the -eleventh century, and to have gradually become a part of the popular -creed, though subsequently modified by the influence of Christianity, -by the intermixture of classical associations, the prevalence of feudal -manners, and other causes. Accordingly, we find Gervase of Tilbury, in -the thirteenth century, detailing, in his _Otia Imperialia_, many of -the peculiar superstitions of the Scandinavian system as common to -this country; and in the following age, Chaucer, impressed with the -high antiquity of these fables, refers even to the age of Arthur as the -period of their full dominion:— - - "In old Dayes of the King Artour - Of which that Bretons speken gret honour, - All was this Lond fulfilled of Faerie, - The Elf-Quene with hire jolie company - Daunsed full oft in many a grene mede, - This was the old opinion as I rede. - I speke of many hundred yeres agoe."[313:A] - -After the death of Chaucer, indeed, who treated these beautiful -credulities with a pleasant vein of ridicule, the fate of the -Gothic System of Fairies seems to have been considerably different -in two opposite quarters of our island; for, while in Scotland the -original character of this mythology, and especially that of its -harsher features, was closely preserved, it received in England, and -principally through the medium of our great dramatic bard, a milder -aspect, and a more fanciful and sportive texture. The dissimilarity -thus resulting has been noticed by a late elegant tourist, who -observes, that "the Scottish Fairy is described with more terrific -attributes than are to be found in the traces of a belief in such -beings in England[313:B];" a remark which is corroborated by Mr. Scott, -who, after noticing this stricter retention of the ancient character -of the Gothic Fairy in North Britain, assigns two causes for its -occurrence, the enmity of the Presbyterian clergy to this supposed -"_light infantry of Satan_," and the aspect of the country, "as we -should naturally attribute," he adds, "a less malicious disposition, -and a less frightful appearance, to the fays who glide by moon-light -through the oaks of Windsor, than to those who haunt the solitary -heaths and lofty mountains of the North."[313:C] In fact, while the -English, through Shakspeare, seem chiefly to have adopted and improved -that part of the Gothic Mythology which relates to the _Bright_ or -_Benignant_ race of Fairies, the Scotch have, with few exceptions, -received and fostered that wilder and more gloomy portion of the -creed which developes the agency and disposition of the _Swart_ or -_Malignant_ tribe. A short detail, therefore, of the two systems, as -they appear to have existed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, -if compared with the features of the Scandinavian Mythology which we -have just enumerated, will exhaust the subject of our present enquiry, -placing the sources of our popular superstitions on these topics, and -the poetical embellishments of Shakspeare, in a perspicuous point of -view. - -Of the _Scottish Elves_, two kinds have been uniformly handed down by -tradition, the _Fair_ and the _Swart_, but both are alike represented -as prone to evil, and analogous therefore to the _Illar Norner_, or -_Evil Fairies_ of the Scandinavians. They were also often termed the -_Good Neighbours_ or _People_, as a kind of deprecatory compliment, in -order to soften and appease the malignancy of their temper.[314:A] In a -rare treatise written towards the close of the seventeenth century, by -Mr. Robert Kirk, minister at Aberfoill, and entitled, "The Nature and -Actions of the Subterranean, and for the most part, Invisible People, -heretofoir going under the Name of _Elves_, _Faunes_, and _Fairies_, -or the lyke, &c. &c.[314:B]," a very curious detail is given of the -_Fairy Superstitions_ of Scotland, as they have prevailed in that -country, from the earliest period to the year 1690, a work which we may -safely take as our text and guide in delineating the character of the -_Scottish Fairy_, as it existed in the days of Shakspeare. - -To the gloomy and unhallowed _nature_ and _disposition_ of these North -British Elves, Mr. Kirk bears the most unqualified testimony:—"These -_Siths_ or Fairies," he observes, "they call _Sleagh Maith_, or the -_Good People_, it would seem, to prevent the dint of their _ill_ -Atempts, (for the Irish use to bless all they fear Harme of;) and are -said to be of a middle Nature betuixt Man and Angel, as were Dæmons -thought to be of old;—they are said to have no discernible Religion, -Love, or Devotion towards God, the blessed Maker of all: they disappear -whenever they hear his Name invocked, or the Name of Jesus, nor can -they act ought at that Time after hearing of that sacred Name.—Some -say their _continual Sadnesse_ is because of their pendulous state, as -uncertain what at the last Revolution will become of them, when they -are locked up into ane unchangeable Condition; and if they have any -frolic Fitts of Mirth, 'tis as the constrained grinning of a Mort-head, -or rather as acted on a stage, and moved by another, ther (than?) -cordially comeing of themselves."[315:A] - -Of their _dress_ and _weapons_ he gives us the following account:— -"Their Apparell is like that of the People and Countrey under -which they live: so are they seen to wear Plaids and variegated -Garments in the Highlands of Scotland, and Suanochs therefore in -Ireland."[315:B]—"Their Weapons are most what solid earthly Bodies, -nothing of Iron, but much of Stone, like to yellow, soft Flint-spa, -shaped like a barbed Arrow-head, but flung like a Dairt, with great -force. These Armes (cut by Airt and Tools it seems beyond humane) have -somewhat of the Nature of Thunderbolt subtilty, and mortally wounding -the vital Parts without breaking the skin."[315:C] - -This description of the weapons, garb, disposition, and nature of -the Gaelic, Highland, or Scoto-Irish Fairies, equally applies to -the more elegant race which haunted the cheerful and cultivated -districts of Caledonia; for Mr. Cromek, painting the character of the -Scottish Lowland Fairies, from the popular belief of Nithsdale and -Galloway, tinges it with the same fearful attributes and mischievous -propensities:—"They were small of stature," he relates, "exquisitely -shaped and proportioned; of a fair complexion, with long fleeces of -yellow hair flowing over their shoulders, and tucked above their brows -with combs of gold. A mantle of green cloth, inlaid with wild flowers, -reached to their middle;—green pantaloons, buttoned with bobs of silk, -and sandals of silver, formed their under dress. On their shoulders -hung quivers of adder slough, stored with pernicious arrows; and -bows, fashioned from the rib of a man, buried where _three Lairds' -lands meet_, tipped with gold, ready bent for warfare, were slung by -their sides. Thus accoutred they mounted on steeds, whose hoofs would -not print the new plowed land, nor dash the dew from the cup of a -hare-bell. They visited the flock, the folds, the fields of coming -grain, and the habitations of men;—and woe to the mortal whose frailty -threw him in their power!—A flight of arrows, tipped with deadly -plagues, were poured into his folds; and nauseous weeds grew up in his -pastures; his coming harvest was blighted with pernicious breath,—and -whatever he had no longer prospered. These fatal shafts were formed of -the bog reed, pointed with white field flint, and dipped in the dew of -hemlock. They were shot into cattle with such magical dexterity that -the smallest aperture could not be discovered, but by those deeply -skilled in fairy warfare, and in the cure of elf-shooting. Cordials -and potent charms are applied; the burning arrow is extracted, and -instant recovery ensues. The fairies seem to have been much attached -to particular places. A green hill;—an opening in a wood;—a burn -just freeing itself from the Uplands, were kept sacred for revelry -and festival. The Ward-law, an ever green hill in Dalswinton Barony, -was, in olden days, a noted Fairy tryste. But the Fairy ring being -converted into a pulpit, in the times of persecution, proscribed the -revelry of unchristened feet. Lamentations of no earthly voices were -heard for years around this beloved hill."[317:A] - -The latter part of this quotation alludes to a very prominent part -of Scottish fairy superstition, the _haunts_ or _habitations_ of the -_Elf-folk_, and their _Court_ or _Fairy-land_, a species of fiction -which, as we have seen, makes a striking figure in the Scandinavian -mythology, and probably furnished Chaucer with his adventure of -[317:B]_Sir Thopas_. The _local appropriation_ of Fairies, however, -though common enough in England, has been more minutely marked and -described in Scotland. Green hills, mountain-lakes, romantic glens, -and inaccessible falls of water, were more peculiarly their favourite -haunts, whilst the wilderness or forest wild was deemed the regular -entrance to _Elf-land_ or the Court of Faery. "There be many Places," -says Kirk, "called Fairie-hills, which the Mountain People think -impious and dangerous to peel or discover, by taking earth or wood from -them;" and, speaking in another place of their habitations, he adds, -they "are called large and fair, and (unless att some odd occasions) -unperceaveable by vulgar eyes, like Rachland and other inchanted -Islands, having fir Lights, continual Lamps, and Fires, often seen -without Fuel to sustain them," confirming the account by the instance -of a female neighbour of his, who, being conveyed to Elf-land, "found -the Place full of Light, without any Fountain or Lamp from whence it -did spring."[318:A] - -"Lakes and pits, on the tops of mountains," remarks Dr. Leyden, were -"regarded with a degree of superstitious horror, as the porches or -entrances of the subterraneous habitations of the fairies; from which -confused murmurs, the cries of children, moaning voices, the ringing -of bells, and the sounds of musical instruments, are often supposed to -be heard. Round these hills, the green fairy circles are believed to -wind, in a spiral direction, till they reach the descent to the central -cavern; so that, if the unwary traveller be benighted on the charmed -ground, he is inevitably conducted, by an invisible power, to the -fearful descent."[318:B] - -That a similar partiality was shown by these fairy people to the -site of secluded waterfalls, is recorded in the Statistical Account -of Scotland, where the minister of Dumfries, after describing a Linn -formed by the water of the Crichup, as inaccessible to real beings, -observes, that it had anciently been "considered as the habitation of -imaginary ones; and at the entrance into it there was a curious Cell or -Cave, called the _Elf's Kirk_, where, according to the superstition of -the times, the imaginary inhabitants of the Linn were supposed to hold -their meetings."[318:C] - -But, independent of these numerous occasional residences of the fairy -tribe, a firm belief in the existence of a fixed court, or _Elf-land_ -peculiarly so denominated, as the centre of their empire and the abode -of their Queen, was so prevalent in Scotland, during the sixteenth -century, as to have been acted upon in a court of justice. A woman -named _Alison Pearson_ having been convicted, on the 28th of May, 1586, -of holding intercourse with and visiting the Queen of Elf-land; "for -hanting and repairing," says the indictment, "with the gude neighbours, -and Queene of Elfland, thir divers years by past, as she had confest; -and that she had friends in that court, which were of her own blude, -who had gude acquaintance of the Queene of Elfland,—and that she was -seven years ill handled in the Court of Elfland[319:A]," and for this -notable crime was the poor creature burnt to death! - -When such was the credulity of a bench of judges, we need not wonder -that Fairy Land had become a professed article of the poetical creed, -and that Lindsay in 1560, and Montgomery in 1584, should allude to it -as a subject of admitted notoriety: thus the former, in his _Complaynt -of the Papingo_, says - - "Bot sen my spreit mon from my bodye go, - I recommend it to the Quene of Fary, - Eternally into her court to tarry - In wilderness amang the holtis hair;"[319:B] - -and the latter, in his _Flyting against Polwart_, speaking of -Hallow'een, tells us, that - - "The king of Pharie and his court, with the elf queen, - With many elfish incubus was ridand that night."[319:C] - -According to the _Tale of the Young Tamlane_, a poem in its original -state coeval with the _Complaynt of Scotland_, and on the authority -of the _Ballad of Thomas the Rhymer_, said also to be of considerable -antiquity[319:D], Elf-land is represented as a terrestrial paradise, -the opening of the road to which was in the desert - - "Where living land was left behind;" - -it is described as a "bonny road" "that winds about the fernie brae," -but the roaring of the sea is heard in the descent, and at length the -traveller wades knee-deep through rivers of blood, - - "For a' the blude that's shed on earth, - Rins thro' the springs o' that countrie;"[320:A] - -yet, when arrived, the land is full of pleasantness, a garden of the -loveliest green, self-illumined, and whose halls have roofs of beaten -gold, and floors of purest chrystal.[320:B] - -In conformity to these Scottish traditionary features of Fairy-land, -and in reference to the popular tale of Thomas the Rhymer, who, daring -to salute the Fairy Queen, was carried off in early life to this region -of enchantment, and there broke the vow of silence enjoined on all who -entered its precincts[320:C], Dr. Leyden has executed the following -glowing picture:— - - "The fairy ring-dance now, round Eildon-tree, - Moves to wild strains of elfin minstrelsy: - On glancing step appears the fairy queen;— - Or, graceful mounted on her palfrey gray, - In robes, that glister like the sun in May, - With hawk and hounds she leads the moon-light ranks, - Of knights and dames, to Huntly's ferny banks, - Where Rymour, long of yore, the nymph embraced, - The first of men unearthly lips to taste. - Rash was the vow, and fatal was the hour, - Which gave a mortal to a fairy's power! - A lingering leave he took of sun and moon; - —Dire to the minstrel was the fairy's boon!— - A sad farewell of grass and green-leaved tree, - The haunts of childhood doomed no more to see. - Through winding paths, that never saw the sun, - Where Eildon hides his roots in caverns dun, - They pass,—the hollow pavement, as they go, - Rocks to remurmuring waves, that boil below; - Silent they wade, where sounding torrents lave - The banks, and red the tinge of every wave; - For all the blood, that dyes the warrior's hand, - Runs through the thirsty springs of Fairy land. - Level and green the downward region lies, - And low the cieling of the fairy skies; - Self-kindled gems a richer light display - Than gilds the earth, but not a purer day. - Resplendent crystal forms the palace wall; - The diamonds trembling lustre lights the hall: - But where soft emeralds shed an umber'd light, - Beside each coal-black courser sleeps a knight; - A raven plume waves o'er each helmed crest, - And black the mail, which binds each manly breast, - Girt with broad faulchion, and with bugle green— - Ah! could a mortal trust the fairy queen! - From mortal lips an earthly accent fell, - And Rymour's tongue confess'd the numbing spell: - In iron sleep the minstrel lies forlorn, - Who breathed a sound before he blew the horn."[321:A] - -No spell, however, could bind the Fairies themselves to their own -domain; an eternal restlessness seems to have been their doom; "they -remove," says Kirk, in a passage singularly curious, "to other -Lodgings at the Beginning of each Quarter of the Year, so traversing -till Doomsday, being imputent and (_impotent of?_) staying in one -Place, and finding some Ease by so purning (_journeying_) and changing -Habitations. Their chamœlion-lyke Bodies swim in the Air near the Earth -with Bag and Bagadge; and at such revolution of Time, SEERS, or MEN OF -THE SECOND SIGHT, (Fœmales being seldome so qualified) have very -terrifying Encounters with them, even on High Ways; who therefoir -uswally shune to travell abroad at these four Seasons of the Year, and -thereby have made it a Custome to this day among the Scottish-Irish to -keep Church duely evry first Sunday of the Quarter to sene or hallow -themselves, their Corns and Cattell, from the Shots and Stealth of -these wandering Tribes; and many of these superstitious People will -not be seen in Church againe till the nixt Quarter begin, as if no -Duty were to be learned or done by them, but all the use of Worship -and Sermons were to save them from these Arrows that fly in the -dark."[322:A] - -Beside these quarterly migrations, an annual procession of the -Fairy Court was supposed to take place on Hallowe'en, to which we -have alluded in a former part of this work (vol. i. p. 342.), when -describing the superstitions peculiar to certain periods of the year. A -similar ceremony, though not upon so large a scale, was also believed, -among the peasantry of Nithsdale, to occur at [322:B]Roodsmass; but -the most common appearance of the Fairy in Scotland, as elsewhere, was -conceived to be by moon-light, dancing in a circle, and leaving behind -either a scorched, or a deep green, ringlet; nor was the period of -noon-day scarcely deemed less dangerous than the noon of night; for, -during both, the Fairies were imagined to exert a baneful power; in -sleep, producing the oppression termed the _Night-mare_[323:A], and, -even at mid-day, weaving their pernicious spells, and subjecting to -their power all who were tempted to repose on the rock, bank, hillock, -or near the tree which they frequented. - -Persons thus unfortunately situated, who had ventured within the -fairy-circle after sunset, who had slept at noon upon a fairy-hill, -or who, in an evil hour, had been devoted to the infernal powers, by -the curses of a parent, were liable to be borne away to Elf-land for a -period of seven years:— - - "Woe to the upland swain, who, wandering far, - The circle treads, beneath the evening star! - His feet the witch-grass green impels to run, - Full on the dark descent, he strives to shun; - Till, on the giddy brink, o'erpower'd by charms, - The Fairies clasp him, in unhallow'd arms, - Doom'd, with the crew of restless foot, to stray - The earth by night, the nether realms by day; - Till seven long years their dangerous circuit run, - And call the wretch to view this upper sun."[324:A] - -Pregnant and child-bed women were considered, as in Germany, -peculiarly in danger of being stolen by the Fairies at noon-day, and -various preventive charms were adopted against this abstraction. "The -Tramontains to this day," says Kirk, speaking of "Women yet alive, who -tell they were taken away when in Child-bed to nurse Fairie Children," -"put bread, the Bible, or a piece of Iron, in Women's Bed when -travelling, to save them from being thus stolen."[324:B] - -Of the capture and subjection of those who had been devoted by -execration, several instances are related both by Scotch and English -writers[324:C]; but the most general mode of abstraction practised by -the Elvish race, was that of stealing or exchanging children, and so -commonly was this species of theft apprehended in the Highlands of -Scotland, that it was customary to watch children until the christening -was over[324:D], under the idea, that the power of the Fairies, owing -to the original corruption of human nature, was chiefly to be dreaded -in the interval between birth and baptism. The Beings substituted -for the healthy offspring of man were apparently idiots, monstrous -and decrepid in their form, and defective in speech; and when the -Fairies failed to purloin or exchange the infant, in consequence of the -vigilance of its parents, it was usually found _breath-blasted_, "their -unearthly breath making it wither away in every limb and lineament, -like a blighted ear of corn, saving the countenance, which unchangeably -retains the sacred stamp of divinity."[325:A] - -The cause assigned for this evil propensity on the part of the Fairies, -was the dreadful obligation they were under, of sacrificing the tenth -individual to the Devil every, or every seventh year; "the teind of -them," says the indictment of Alison Pearson, "are tane to hell everie -year[325:B]," while the hero of the Ballad entitled The Young Tamlane, -exclaims:— - - "And pleasant is the Fairy land; - But, an eiry tale to tell! - Ay, at the end o' seven years, - We pay the teind to hell."[325:C] - -For the recovery of the unfortunate substitutes thus selected for the -payment of their infernal tribute, various charms and contrivances were -adopted, of which one of the most effectual, though the most horrible, -was the assignment to the flames of the supposed changeling, which it -was firmly believed would, in consequence of this treatment, disappear, -and the real child return to the lap of its mother. "A beautiful child, -of Caerlaveroc, in Nithsdale," relates Mr. Cromek from tradition, "on -the second day of its birth, and before its baptism, was changed, -none knew how, for an antiquated elf of hideous aspect. It kept the -family awake with its nightly yells; biting the mother's breasts, and -would neither be cradled or nursed. The mother, obliged to be from -home, left it in charge to the servant girl. The poor lass was sitting -bemoaning herself,—'Wer't nae for thy girning face I would knock the -big, winnow the corn, and grun the meal!'—'Lowse the cradle band,' -quoth the Elf, 'and tent the neighbours, an' Ill work yere wark.' Up -started the elf, the wind arose, the corn was chaffed, the outlyers -were foddered, the hand mill moved around, as by instinct, and the -_knocking mell_ did its work with amazing rapidity. The lass, and her -elfin servant, rested and diverted themselves, till, on the mistress's -approach, it was restored to the cradle, and began to yell anew. The -girl took the first opportunity of slyly telling her mistress the -adventure. '_What'll we do wi' the wee diel?_' said she. 'I'll wirk it -a pirn,' replied the lass. At the middle hour of night the chimney-top -was covered up, and every inlet barred and closed. The embers were -blown up until glowing hot, and the maid, undressing the elf, tossed it -on the fire. It uttered the wildest and most piercing yells, and, in -a moment, the Fairies were heard moaning at every wonted avenue, and -rattling at the window boards, at the chimney head, and at the door. -'In the name o'God bring back the bairn,' cried the lass. The window -flew up; the earthly child was laid unharmed on the mother's lap, while -its grisly substitute flew up the chimney with a loud laugh."[326:A] - -Another efficacious mode of re-possessing either children or adults -who had been borne away by the Fairies, depended upon watching their -great annual procession or _rade_ on Hallowe'en, within a year and -a day of the supposed abstraction, and there seizing by force the -hapless victim of their charms. This enterprise, however, which forms -the chief incident in the _Tale of the Young Tamlane_, and has been -mentioned in the first volume, required much courage and resolution -for its successful performance, as the adventurer, regardless of all -the terrors of the scene, and of all the appalling shapes which the -lost person was compelled to assume, had to hold him fast, under every -transformation, and until the resources of fairy magic were exhausted. -Thus _Tamlane_ exclaims:— - - "They'll turn me in your arms, Janet, - An adder and a snake; - But had me fast, let me not pass, - Gin ye wad be my maik. - - They'll turn me in your arms, Janet, - An adder and an ask; - They'll turn me in your arms, Janet, - A bale[327:A] that burns fast. - - They'll turn me in your arms, Janet, - A red hot gad o' iron; - But had me fast, let me not pass, - For I'll do you no harm.— - - And next they'll shape me in your arms, - A toad, but and an eel; - But had me fast, nor let me gang, - As you do love me weel. - - They'll shape me in your arms, Janet, - A dove, but and a swan; - And last they'll shape me in your arms, - A mother-naked man: - Cast your green mantle over me— - I'll be myself again."—[327:B] - -That part of the Scottish fairy system which relates exclusively to the -abstraction of children, has been beautifully applied by Mr. Erskine, -in one of his supplemental stanzas to Collins's _Ode on the Popular -Superstitions of the Highlands of Scotland_, where, continuing the -Address of Collins to his friend Home, he thus proceeds:— - - "Then wake (for well thou can'st) that wond'rous lay, - How, while around the thoughtless matrons sleep, - Soft o'er the floor the treacherous fairies creep, - And bear the smiling infant far away: - How starts the nurse, when, for her lovely child, - She sees at dawn a gaping idiot stare! - O snatch the innocent from demons vilde, - And save the parents fond from fell despair! - In a deep cave the trusty menials wait, - When from their hilly dens, at midnight's hour, - Forth rush the airy elves in mimic state, - And o'er the moon-light heath with swiftness scour: - In glittering arms the little horsemen shine; - Last, on a milk-white steed, with targe of gold, - A fay of might appears, whose arms entwine - The lost, lamented child! the shepherds bold - The unconscious infant tear from his unhallow'd hold."[328:A] - -Like the _Dwergar_ or _Swart-Elves_ of Scandinavia, the Scottish -Fairies were also endowed with great mechanical powers; were often -mischievously, though sometimes beneficially, active in mines, and -were believed to be the guardians of hidden treasure. "The Swart Fairy -of the Mine," says the Scotch Encyclopedia, "has scarce yet quitted -our subterraneous works[328:B]," and Kirk speaks of "Treasure hid in -a Hill called _Sith-bhruaich_, or Fayrie-hill."[328:C] It is amusing, -indeed, to read the minute account which this worthy minister gives -of the habits and occupations of his _Siths_ or Fairies: thus, with -regard to their _speech_, _food_, and _work_, he informs us that "they -speak by way of whistling, clear, not rough"—"some are fed by only -sucking into some fine spirituous Liquors, that peirce lyke pure Air -and Oyl: others feid more gross on the Foyson or Substance of Corns -and Liquors, or Corne itselfe that grows on the Surface of the Earth, -which those Fairies steall away, partly invisible, partly preying on -the Grain, as do Crowes and Mice:—their Food being exactly clean, and -served up by pleasant children, lyke inchanted Puppets." "They are -sometimes heard to bake Bread, strike Hammers, and to do such lyke -Services within the litle Hillocks they most haunt.—Ther Women are -said to Spine very fine, to Dy, to Tossue and Embroyder: but whither -it be as manuall Operation of substantiall refined Stuffs, with apt and -solid Instruments, or only curious Cobwebs, impalpable Rain-bows, and -a phantastic Imitation of the actions of more terrestricall Mortalls, -since it transcended all the Senses of the Seere to discern whither, I -leave to conjecture as I found it."[329:A] - -It appears, also, from the same author, that the operations of the -Fairies were considered as predictive of future events, and that -those who were gifted with the privilege of beholding the process, -formed their inferences accordingly. Of this he gives us the following -singularly terrific instance:—"Thus a Man of the Second Sight, -perceaving the Operations of these forecasting invisible People among -us, (indulged thorow a stupendious Providence to give Warnings of some -remarkable Events, either in the Air, Earth, or Waters) told he saw a -Winding-shroud creeping on a walking healthful Persons Legs till it -come to the Knee, and afterwards it come up to the Midle, then to the -Shoulders, and at last over the Head, which was visible to no other -Persone. And by observing the spaces of Time betwixt the severall -Stages, he easily guess'd how long the Man was to live who wore the -Shroud; for when it approached his Head, he told that such a Person was -ripe for the Grave."[329:B] - -Among the Scottish Fairies we must not forget to enumerate the _Wee -Brown Man of the Muirs_, "a fairy," says Dr. Leyden, "of the most -malignant order, the genuine _duergar_[329:C]," who dwelt beneath the -heather bell, and whose favourite amusement it was to extract the -brains from the skulls of those who slept within the verge of his -power.[329:D] - -It is evident from the account now given of the Scottish Fairies, that -they assimilate, in a very striking degree, in manners, disposition, -and origin, with the _Duergar_ or _Swart_ tribe of the Scandick Elves; -but that a peculiarly wild, and even terrific malignancy forms and -distinguishes their character and agency, ascribable, in a great -measure, to the intermixture of a severe Christian theology, which -attributes to these poetical little beings a species of demoniacal -nature. It is also not less remarkable, that the only friendly and -benignant Elf in the fairy annals of North Britain, though founded, in -some respects, on the domestic fairy of Germany, and still more nearly -assimilated to the _Portunus_, and the spirit _Grant_ of Gervase of -Tilbury, possesses some features altogether peculiar to the country -of its birth. Kirk, among his "fyve Curiosities in Scotland, not -much observed elsewhere[330:A]," reckons, in the first place, "the -BROUNIES, who in some Families are Drudges, clean the Houses -and Dishes after all go to Bed, taking with him his Portion of Food, -and removing befor Day-break."[330:B] - -Of this singular race there appears to have been two kinds, a -diminutive and a gigantic species. King James, in his Dæmonology, -published in 1597, tells us, that "the spirit called _Brownie_, -appeared like a _rough man_, and haunted divers houses without doing -any evill, but doing as it were necessarie turnes up and downe the -house; yet some were so blinded as to beleeve that their house was -all the sonsier, as they called it, that such spirits resorted -there[330:C];" and Martin, speaking of the Isles of Shetland, remarks, -that "a spirit by the country people called _Browny_, was frequently -seen in all the most considerable Families in these Isles and North of -Scotland, in the shape of a _tall Man_."[331:A] To this description of -Brownie, Milton seems to have been indebted for his "drudging Goblin:"— - - ——————————— "the lubbar-fiend, - 'Who' _stretch'd out all the Chimney's length_, - Basks at the fire his _hairy strength_." - -But the most common tradition with regard to the _Brownie_ is, that, -in point of size, he was similar to the _Fairy_, though in his habits, -temper, and equipment, widely different. He possessed neither the -weapons, nor the hostile inclinations of his brother Elves; he despised -their gay attire, but was notorious for an attachment to dainty food, -being the guardian of the Dairy, the avowed protector of the Bee, and -a constant sharer in the product of its industry. He loved to lurk in -hollow trees during the day, or in the recesses of some old mansion, to -the family of which he would attach himself for centuries, and perform, -for the menials, during the night, the most laborious offices. - -The most ample and interesting account of this kind-hearted elf has -been given to us, from tradition, by Mr. Cromek, who describes the -Scotch Brownie as "small of stature, covered with short curly hair, -with brown matted locks, and a brown mantle which reached to the knee, -with a hood of the same colour." After having finished his nightly -work, which was usually done by the crowing of the first cock, he -would then, relates Mr. Cromek, "come into the farm-hall, and stretch -itself out by the chimney, sweaty, dusty, and fatigued. It would take -up the _pluff_, (a piece of bored bour-tree for blowing up the fire) -and, stirring out the red embers, turn itself till it was rested and -dried. A choice bowl of sweet cream, with combs of honey, was set in an -accessible place: this was given as its hire; and it was willing to be -bribed, though none durst avow the intention of the gift. When offered -meat or drink, the Brownie instantly departed, bewailing and lamenting -itself, as if unwilling to leave a place so long its habitation, from -which nothing but the superior power of fate could sever it. A thrifty -good wife, having made a web of linsey-woolsey, sewed a well-lined -mantle, and a comfortable hood, for her trusty Brownie. She laid it -down in one of his favourite haunts, and cried to him to array himself. -Being commissioned by the gods to relieve mankind under the drudgery -of original sin, he was forbidden to accept of wages or bribes. He -instantly departed, bemoaning himself in a rhyme, which tradition has -faithfully preserved:— - - "A new mantle, and a new hood!— - Poor Brownie! ye'll ne'er do mair gude!" - -"The prosperity of the family seemed to depend on them, and was at -their disposal.—A place, called Liethin Hall, in Dumfriesshire, was -the hereditary dwelling of a noted Brownie. He had lived there, as he -once communicated, in confidence, to an old woman, for three hundred -years. He appeared only once to every new master, and, indeed, seldom -showed more than his hand to any one. On the decease of a beloved -master, he was heard to make moan, and would not partake of his wonted -delicacies for many days. The heir of the land arrived from foreign -parts, and took possession of his father's inheritance. The faithful -Brownie showed himself, and proffered homage. The spruce Laird was -offended to see such a famine-faced, wrinkled domestic, and ordered him -meat and drink, with a new suit of clean livery. The Brownie departed, -repeating aloud and frequently these ruin-boding lines:— - - "Ca, cuttie, ca! - A' the luck o' Liethin Ha' - Gangs wi' me to Bodsbeck Ha'." - -"Liethin Ha' was, in a few years, in ruins, and 'bonnie Bodsbeck' -flourished under the luck-bringing patronage of the Brownie.— - -"One of them, in the olden times, lived with Maxwell, Laird of -Dalswinton, doing ten men's work, and keeping the servants awake at -nights with the noisy dirling of its elfin flail. The Laird's daughter, -says tradition, was the comeliest dame in all the holms of Nithsdale. -To her the Brownie was much attached: he assisted her in love-intrigue, -conveying her from her high-tower chamber to the trysting-thorn in the -woods, and back again, with such light-heeled celerity, that neither -bird, dog, nor servant awoke. - -"He undressed her for the matrimonial bed, and served her so -handmaiden-like, that her female attendant had nothing to do, not -daring even to finger her mistress's apparel, lest she should provoke -the Brownie's resentment. When the pangs of the mother seized his -beloved lady, a servant was ordered to fetch the 'cannie wife,' who -lived across the Nith. The night was dark as a December night could be; -and the wind was heavy among the groves of oak. The Brownie, enraged -at the loitering serving-man, wrapped himself in his lady's fur-cloak; -and, though the Nith was foaming high-flood, his steed, impelled by -supernatural spur and whip, passed it like an arrow. Mounting the dame -behind him, he took the deep water back again, to the amazement of the -worthy woman, who beheld the red waves tumbling around her, yet the -steed's foot-locks were dry. 'Ride nae by the auld pool,' quo' she, -'lest we should meet wi' Brownie.'—He replied, 'Fear nae, dame, ye've -met a' the Brownies ye will meet.'—Placing her down at the hall gate, -he hastened to the stable, where the servant-lad was just pulling on -his boots; he unbuckled the bridle from his steed, and gave him a most -afflicting drubbing.— - -"The Brownie, though of a docile disposition, was not without its -pranks and merriment. The Abbey-lands, in the parish of New Abbey, were -the residence of a very sportive one. He loved to be, betimes, somewhat -mischievous.—Two lasses, having made a fine bowlful of buttered brose, -had taken it into the byre to sup, while it was yet dark. In the haste -of concealment, they had brought but one spoon; so they placed the -bowl between them, and took a spoonful by turns. 'I hae got but three -sups,' cried the one, 'an it's a' done!' 'It's a' done, indeed,' cried -the other. 'Ha, ha!' laughed a third voice, 'Brownie has gotten the -maist o't.' He had judiciously placed himself between them, and got the -spoon twice for their once."[336:A] - -The character and leading features of this benevolent Fairy, have been -concentrated in the following beautiful stanza by Mr. Erskine, who, in -supplying the omissions of Collins, thus supposes himself addressing -the friend of that exquisite poet:— - - "—— See! recall'd by thy resistless lay, - Once more the _Brownie_ shews his honest face. - Hail, from thy wanderings long, my much lov'd sprite, - Thou friend, thou lover of the lowly, hail! - Tell in what realms thou sport'st thy merry night, - Trail'st thy long mop, or whirl'st the mimic flail, - Where dost thou deck the much-disordered hall, - While the tired damsel in Elysium sleeps, - With early voice to drowsy workman call, - Or lull the dame while mirth his vigils keeps? - 'Twas thus in Caledonia's domes, 'tis said, - Thou ply'dst the kindly task in years of yore: - At last, in luckless hour, some erring maid - Spread in thy nightly cell of viands store: - Ne'er was thy form beheld among their mountains more."[336:B] - -From the thirteenth to the close of the sixteenth century, the _Fairy -Mythology of England_, being derived from the same sources, and -through the same medium as the _Scottish System_, which we have just -delineated, the outlines of both will be found very similar. Thus in -_Gervase_ of _Tilbury_, in _Chaucer_, _Lydgate_, &c., even, with the -exception of Spenser, down to R. Scot and _Warner_, whose "Albion's -England" was printed, though not published, in 1586, the same ideas -of fairy-land, the same infernal origin, and variety of species, the -same mischievous and terrific character, and occasionally the same -frolic and capricious wantonness, as the property of one particular -_genus_, may be readily detected.[337a:A] But in 1593, when the -_Midsummer-Night's Dream_ was presented to the public, nearly the whole -of this Mythology which, as founded on the Scandick superstitions, -had been, though with a few modifications, so long prevalent both -in England and Scotland, seems to have received such vast additions -from the plastic imagination of our bard, as, though rebuilt on the -traditions of the "olden time," justly to merit, by their novelty and -poetic beauty, the title of the _English System_, in contradistinction -to that which still lingers in the wilds of Scotland. - -The Fairies of Shakspeare have been truly denominated _the favourite -children of his romantic fancy_, and, perhaps, in no part of his works -has he exhibited a more creative and visionary pencil, or a finer tone -of enthusiasm, than in bodying forth "these airy nothings," and in -giving them, in brighter and ever-durable tints, once more - - "A local habitation and a name." - -Of his unlimited sway over this delightful world of ideal forms, no -stronger proof can be given, than that he has imparted an entire new -cast of character to the beings whom he has evoked from its bosom, -purposely omitting the darker shades of their character, and, whilst -throwing round them a flood of light, playful, yet exquisitely soft -and tender, endowing them with the moral attributes of purity and -benevolence. In fact, he not only dismisses altogether the _fairies -of a malignant nature_, but clothes the milder yet mixed tribe of his -predecessors with a more fascinating sportiveness, and with a much -larger share of unalloyed goodness. - -The distinction between the two species he has accurately marked where -_Puck_, under some apprehension, observes to _Oberon_, that the night -is waning fast, that Aurora's harbinger appears, and that the "damned -spirits all" are flitting to their beds, adding, that - - "For fear lest day should look their shames upon, - They wilfully themselves exile from light, - And must for aye consort with black-brow'd night:" - -to which Oberon immediately replies,— - - "But we are spirits of another sort: - I with the morning's love have oft made sport - And, like a forester, the groves may tread, - Even till the eastern gate, all fiery red, - Opening on Neptune with fair blessed beams, - Turns into yellow gold his salt-green streams."[338a:A] - -Of the originality of Shakspeare in the delineation of this tribe -of spirits, or Fairies, nothing more is required in proof, than a -combination or grouping of the principal features; a picture which, -when contrasted with the Scandick system and that which had been -built upon it in England and Scotland previous to his own time, will -sufficiently show with what grace, amenity, and beauty, and with what -an exuberant store of novel imagery, he has decorated these phantoms of -the Gothic mythology. - -The King and Queen of Faiery, who, in Chaucer, are identified with the -Pluto and Proserpina of hell[338a:B], are, under the appellations of -Oberon and Titania[337b:A], drawn by Shakspeare in a very amiable and -pleasing light; for, though jealous of each other, they are represented -as usually employed in alleviating the distresses of the worthy and -unfortunate. Their benign influence, indeed, seems to have extended -over the physical powers of nature; for Titania tells her Lord, that, -in consequence of their jealous brawls, a strange distemperature had -seized the elements:— - - "The seasons alter; hoary-headed frosts - Fall in the fresh lap of the crimson rose; - And on old Hyem's chin, and icy crown, - An odorous chaplet of sweet summer buds - Is, as in mockery, set: The spring, the summer, - The chiding autumn, angry winter, change - Their wonted liveries; and the 'mazed world, - By their increase, now knows not which is which: - _And this same progeny of evils comes, - From our debate, from our dissention; - We are their parents and original_."[337b:B] - -It appears even that the fairy-practice of purloining children, which, -in every previous system of this mythology, had been carried on from -malignant or self-interested motives, was in Titania the result of -humanity and compassion: thus, when Oberon begs her "little changeling -boy" to be his henchman, she answers— - - "———— ——— ——— Set your heart at rest, - The fairy land buys not the child of me. - His mother was a vot'ress of my order: - And, in the spiced Indian air, by night, - Full often hath she gossip'd by my side; - And sat with me on Neptune's yellow sands, - Marking the embarked traders on the flood; - When we have laugh'd to see the sails conceive, - And grow big-bellied, with the wanton wind: - Which she, with pretty and with swimming gait, - (Following her womb, then rich with my young squire) - Would imitate; and sail upon the land, - To fetch me trifles, and return again, - As from a voyage, rich with merchandize. - But she, _being mortal_, of that boy did die: - _And, for her sake, I do rear up her boy: - And, for her sake, I will not part with him_."[338b:A] - -The expression in this passage "being mortal," as applied to the -changeling's mother, in contradistinction to the unchangeable state of -the Fairies, may be added to Mr. Ritson's instances[338b:B] as another -_decisive proof of the immortality of Shakspeare's elves_; but when -that commentator asserts, that the Fairies of the _common people_ "were -never esteemed otherwise," he has gone too far, at least if he meant to -include the people of Scotland; for Kirk expressly tells us, that the -Scottish Fairies are mortal: "they are not subject," he remarks, "to -sore Sicknesses, but dwindle and decay at a certain Period, all about -ane Age;" and still more decidedly has he remarked their destiny, in -answer to the question, "at what Period of Time do they die?"—"They -are," he replies, "of more refyn'd Bodies and Intellectualls then -wee, and of far less heavy and corruptive Humours, (which cause a -Dissolution) yet many of their Lives being dissonant to right Reason -and their own Laws, and their Vehicles not being wholly frie of Lust -and Passion, especially of the more spirituall and hautie Sins, they -pass (_after a long healthy Lyfe_) into ane Orb and Receptacle fitted -for their Degree, till they come under the general Cognizance of the -last Day."[338b:C] - -Like the _Liös-alfar_ or _Bright Elves_ of the Goths, the Fairies -of Shakspeare delighted in conferring blessings, in prospering the -household, and in rendering the offspring of virtuous love, fortunate, -fair, and free from blemish: thus the first fruit of the re-union of -Oberon and Titania, is a benediction on the house of Theseus:— - - "Now thou and I are new in amity; - And will to-morrow midnight, solemnly, - Dance in duke Theseus' house triumphantly, - And bless it to all fair posterity;"[339:A] - -an intention which is carried into execution at the close of the play, -where this kind and gentle race, entering the mansion at midnight— - - "Hand in hand, with fairy grace,"— - -receive the following directions from their benevolent monarch:— - - "Now, until the break of day, - Through this house each fairy stray. - To the best bride-bed will we, - Which by us shall blessed be; - And the issue, there create, - Ever shall be fortunate. - And the blots of nature's hand - Shall not in their issue stand; - Never mole, hare-lip, nor scar, - Nor mark prodigious, such as are - Despised in nativity, - Shall upon their children be.— - With this field-dew consecrate, - Every fairy take his gait; - And each several chamber bless, - Through this palace with sweet peace."[339:B] - -How different this from the conduct and disposition of their brother -elves of Scotland, of whom Kirk tells us, that "they are ever readiest -to go on hurtfull Errands, but seldom will be the Messengers of great -Good to Men."[339:C] - -But not only were the Fairies of our bard the friends and protectors -of virtue, they were also the punishers of guilt and sensuality; and, -contrary to the then commonly entertained ideas of their infernal -origin, and anti-christian habits, were the avowed patrons of piety -and prayer: "Go you," exclaims the personifier of one of these tiny -moralists, addressing his companions, "black, grey, green and white," - - ———————————— "Go—and where you find a maid, - That, ere she sleep, has thrice her prayers said, - Raise up the organs of her fantasy, - Sleep she as sound as careless infancy; - But those as sleep, and think not on their sins, - Pinch them, arms, legs, backs, shoulders, sides, and shins— - But, stay; I smell a man of middle earth:— - With trial-fire touch me his finger-end: - If he be chaste, the flame will back descend, - And turn him to no pain; but if he start, - It is the flesh of a corrupted heart:" - -on the proof of his iniquity, they proceed to punishment, pinching him, -and singing in scorn, - - "Fye on sinful fantasy! - Fye on lust and luxury!" &c.[340:A] - -This love of virtue, and abhorrence of sin, were, as attributes -of the Fairies, in a great measure, if not altogether, the gifts -of Shakspeare, at least if we regard their mythology at that time -prevalent in Britain, whether we refer to the Scottish system, or to -that which existed among our own poets from Chaucer to Warner, though -our familiarity with the picture is now such, owing to the popularity -of the original artist and the consequent number of his copyists on the -same subject, that we assign it a date much anterior to its real source. - -If the moral and benevolent character of these children of fancy be, -in a great degree, the creation of Shakspeare, the imagery which he -has employed in describing their persons, manners, and occupations, -will be deemed not less his peculiar offspring, nor inferior in beauty, -novelty, and wildness of painting, to that which the magic of his -pencil has diffused over every other part of his visionary world. -Thus, in imparting to us an idea of the diminutive size of his Fairies, -with what picturesque minutiæ has he marked his sketch! Speaking of -the altercation between Oberon and Titania, he mentions, as one of its -results, that - - ————————— "all their elves, for fear, - _Creep into acorn cups_, and hide them there:"[341:A] - -and he delineates Ariel as sleeping in _a cowslip's bell_, as living -merrily "under the blossom that hangs on the bough," and flying after -summer mounted on the _back of the bat_.[341:B] - -In accordance with this smallness of stature, are all their -accompaniments and employments contrived, with the most admirable -proportion and the most vivid imagination. Their dress tinted "green -and white[341:C]," is constructed of the "wings of rear-mice[341:D]," -and their wrappers of the "snake's enamelled skin[341:E];" the -_pensioners_ of their _queen_ are "the cowslips tall[341:F];" her -lacquies, _Peas-blossom_, _Cobweb_, _Moth_, and _Mustard-seed_[341:G]; -her lamps the green lustre of the glow-worm[341:H]; and her equipage, -one of the most exquisite pictures of frolic imagination, is thus -minutely drawn: - - "O, then, I see, queen Mab hath been with you. - —————————————— She comes - In shape no bigger than an agate stone - On the fore-finger of an alderman, - Drawn with a team of little atomies:— - Her waggon-spokes made of long spinner's legs; - The cover, of the wings of grasshoppers; - The traces, of the smallest spider's web; - The collars, of the moonshine's watry beams: - Her whip, of cricket's bone; the lash, of film: - Her waggoner, a small grey-coated gnat, - Not half so big as a round little worm - Prick'd from the lazy finger of a maid: - Her chariot is an empty hazel nut, - Maid by the joiner squirrel, or old grub, - Time out of mind the fairies' coach-makers."[342:A] - -Of the various occupations and amusements assigned to the Fairies, the -most constant which tradition has preserved, has been that of dancing -at midnight, hand in hand in a circle, a diversion common to every -system of this mythology, but which Shakspeare perhaps first described -with graphic precision. The scenery selected for this sport, in which— - - "To dance their ringlets to the whistling wind," - -was, we are told by Titania, - - —— "on hill, in dale, forest, or mead, - By paved fountain, or by rushy brook, - Or on the beached margent of the sea,"[342:B] - -and the _light of the moon_ was a necessary adjunct to their -festivity,— - - "Ye elves —— —— you demy puppets, that - _By moon-shine_ do the green-sour ringlets make - Whereof the ewe not bites."[342:C] - -These _ringlets_, the consequence of the fairy footing, our author -has particularly noticed in the following lines, adding some striking -imagery on the use to which flowers were applied by this sprightly -race:— - - —— "Nightly, meadow-fairies, look, you sing, - Like to the Garter's compass, in a ring: - The expressure that it bears, green let it be, - More fertile-fresh than all the field to see; - And, Hony soit qui mal y pense, write - In emerald tufts, flowers purple, blue, and white; - Like sapphire, pearl, and rich embroidery, - Buckled below fair knight-hoods bending knee: - _Fairies use flowers for their charactery_."[343:A] - -To preserve the freshness and verdure of these ringlets by supplying -them with moisture, was one of the occupations of Titania's train: thus -a fairy in her service is represented as telling Puck— - - "I do wander every where, - Swifter than the moones sphere; - _And I serve the fairy queen - To dew her orbs upon the green_."[343:B] - -The general amusements of the tribe, independent of their moon-light -dance, are very impressively and characteristically enumerated in the -subsequent lines:— - - "Ye elves of hills, brooks, standing lakes, and groves; - And ye, that on the sands with printless foot - Do chase the ebbing Neptune, and do fly him, - When he comes back;—and you, whose pastime - Is to make midnight mushrooms; that rejoice - To hear the solemn curfew."[344:A] - -But the most astonishing display of the sportive and illimitable fancy -of our poet on this subject, will be found in the ministration and -offices ascribed to those Fairies who are employed about the person, -or executing the mandates, of their Queen. It appears to have been -the business of one of her retinue to attend to the decoration of her -majesty's _pensioners, the cowslips tall_; - - "In their gold coats spots you see; - Those be rubies, fairy favours, - In those freckles live their savours: - _I must go seek some dew-drops here, - And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear_."[344:B] - -Another duty, not less important, was to lull their mistress asleep on -the bosom of a violet or a musk-rose:— - - "I know a bank whereon the wild thyme blows, - Where ox-lips and the nodding violet grows; - Quite over-canopied with lush woodbine, - With sweet musk-roses, and with eglantine: - There sleeps Titania, some time of the night, - _Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight_."[344:C] - -And again, with still greater wildness of imagination, but with the -utmost propriety and adaptation of imagery, are they drawn in the -performance of similar functions:— - - "_Titania._ Come, now _a roundel and a fairy song_; - Then, for the third part of a minute, hence; - Some, to kill cankers in the musk-rose buds; - Some, war with rear-mice for their leathern wings, - To make my small elves coats; and some keep back - The clamourous owl, that nightly hoots, and wonders - At our quaint spirits: _Sing me now asleep_: - Then to your offices, and let me rest." - -The song is equally in character, as it forbids, in admirable adherence -to poetical truth and consistency, the approach of every insect or -reptile, that might be deemed likely to annoy the repose of such a -delicate and diminutive being, while Philomel is invoked to add her -delicious chaunt to the soothing melody of fairy voices:— - - "_1 Fai._ You spotted snakes, with double tongue, - Thorny hedge-hogs, be not seen; - Newts, and blindworms, do no wrong; - Come not near our fairy queen: - - Chorus. - - Philomel, with melody, - Sing in our sweet lullaby; - Lulla, lulla, lullaby; lulla, lulla, lullaby: - Never harm, nor spell nor charm, - Come our lovely lady nigh; - So, good night, with lullaby. - - _2 Fai._ Weaving spiders, come not here; - Hence, you long-legg'd spinners, hence: - Beetles black, approach not near; - Worm, nor snail, do no offence. - - Chorus. - - Philomel, with melody, &c. - - _1 Fai._ Hence, away; now all is well: - One, aloof stand sentinel. - [_Exeunt Fairies. Titania sleeps._"[345:A] - -This scene, beautiful and appropriate as it is, is yet surpassed, in -originality and playfulness of fancy, by the passage in which Titania -gives directions to her attendants for their conduct to Bottom, to whom -she had previously offered their assistance, promising that they should -fetch him "jewels from the deep:"— - - "Be kind and courteous to this gentleman; - Hop in his walks, and gambol in his eyes; - Feed him with apricocks, and dewberries, - With purple grapes, green figs, and mulberries: - The honey-bags steal from the humble bees, - And, for night tapers, crop their waxen thighs, - And light them at the fiery glow-worms eyes, - To have my love to bed, and to arise; - And pluck the wings from painted butterflies, - To fan the moon-beams from his sleeping eyes; - Nod to him, elves, and do him courtesies."[346:A] - -The working of Oberon's enchantment on Titania, who "straight-way -lov'd an ass," and led him to "her close and consecrated bower," and -the interview between Bottom, her fairy majesty, and her train, though -connected with so many supernatural imaginings, have been transferred -to the canvas by Fuseli with a felicity which has embodied the very -thoughts of Shakspeare, and which may on this subject be said to have -placed the genius of the painter almost on a level with that of the -poet, so wonderfully has he fixed the illusive creations of his great -original. - -To this detail of fairy occupation, must be added another feature, on -which Shakspeare has particularly dwelt, namely, the attention of the -tribe to cleanliness: thus Puck, on entering the palace of Theseus, -exclaims,— - - "———————— Not a mouse - Shall disturb this hallow'd house: - _I am sent, with broom, before, - To sweep the dust behind the door_:"[346:B] - -and similar care and neatness are enjoined the elves who haunt the -towers of Windsor:— - - "—— About, about; - Search Windsor castle, elves, within and out: - Strew good luck, ouphes, on every sacred room;— - _The several chairs of order look you scour - With juice of balm, and every precious flower_."[347:A] - -No one could aspire to the favour and protection of the Fairies who was -slovenly or personally impure; punishment, indeed, awaited all who thus -offended; even the majesty of Mab herself condescended - - "To bake the elf-locks in foul sluttish hair;"[347:B] - -and _Cricket_, the fairy, being sent on a mission to the chimnies of -Windsor, receives the following injunction:— - - "Where fires thou find'st unraked, and hearths unswept, - There pinch the maids as blue as bilberry: - Our radiant queen hates sluts, and sluttery."[347:C] - -In order to complete the picture of fairy superstition, as given us by -Shakspeare, it remains to consider his description of _Puck_ or _Robin -Good-fellow_, the confidential servant of Oberon, an elf or incubus -of a mixed and very peculiar character. This quaint, frolicksome, -and often mischievous sprite, seems to have been compounded of the -qualities ascribed by Gervase of Tilbury to his Goblin _Grant_, and to -his _Portuni_, two species of dæmons whom he describes, both in name -and character, as denizens of England; of the benevolent propensities -attributed by Agricola to the _Guteli_, _Cobali_, or Brownies of -Germany, and of additional features and powers, the gift and creation -of our bard. - -A large portion of these descriptions of the German writers, and of his -countryman Gervase, Shakspeare would find in Reginald Scot, and from -their union with the product of his own fancy, has arisen the _Puck_ of -the _Midsummer-Night's Dream_, a curious amalgamation of the _fairy_, -the _brownie_, and the _hob-goblin_, whom Burton calls "a bigger kind -of fairy."[348:A] Scot's vocabulary of the fairy tribe is singularly -copious, including not less than nine or ten appellations which have -been bestowed, with more or less propriety, on this _Proteus_ of the -Gothic elves.—"In our childhood," he observes, "our mother's maids -have so terrified us with—_bull-beggers_, spirits, urchens, elves, -hags, fairies, satyrs, pans, faunes, sylens, _kit with the cansticke_, -dwarfes, imps, nymphes, changlings, _incubus_, _Robin Good-fellowe_, -the spoone, the mare, the _man in the oke_, the _hell waine_, the _fier -drake_, the _puckle_ Tom thombe, _hob goblin_, _Tom tumbler_, boneless, -and such other bugs, that we are afraid of our owne shadowes."[348:B] - -It is remarkable, however, that the Puck of Shakspeare is introduced by -a term not found in this catalogue:—"Farewell, thou _Lob of Spirits_," -says the fairy to him in their first interview,—a title which, as we -shall perceive hereafter, could not be meant to imply, as Dr. Johnson -supposed, either inactivity of body or dulness of mind, for Puck was -occasionally swifter than the wind, and notorious, as the immediately -subsequent passage informs us, for his shrewdness and ingenuity:— - - "Either I mistake your shape and making quite," - -says the fairy, after bestowing the above title, - - "Or else you are that _shrewd_ and knavish sprite, - Call'd Robin Good-fellow;" - -and then proceeds to characterise him by the peculiarity of his -functions:— - - —————————————— "Are you not he, - That fright the maidens of the villagery; - Skim milk; and sometimes labour in the quern, - And bootless make the breathless housewife churn; - And sometime make the drink to bear no barm; - Mislead night-wanderers, laughing at their harm? - Those that Hobgoblin call you, and sweet Puck, - You do their work, and they shall have good luck: - Are you not he?"[349:A] - -an interrogatory to which he replies in the following terms:— - - ———————————— "Thou speak'st aright; - I am that merry wanderer of the night. - I jest to Oberon, and make him smile, - When I a fat and bean-fed horse beguile, - Neighing in likeness of a filly-foal: - And sometime lurk I in a gossip's bowl, - In very likeness of a roasted crab; - And, when she drinks, against her lips I bob, - And on her wither'd dew-lap pour the ale. - The wisest aunt, telling the saddest tale, - Sometime for three-foot stool mistaketh me; - Then slip I from her bum, down topples she, - And _tailor_ cries, and falls into a cough; - And then the whole quire hold their hips, and loffe; - And waxen in their mirth, and neeze, and swear - A merrier hour was never wasted there."[349:B] - -The greater part of these frolics, indeed all but the last, may be -traced in _Gervase of Tilbury_, _Agricola_, and _Scot_: the "misleading -night-wanderers," for instance, "laughing at their harm," and "neighing -in likeness of a filly foal," feats which _Puck_ afterwards thus again -enumerates,— - - "I'll follow you, I'll lead you about a round, - Through bog, through bush, through brake, through brier: - _Sometime a horse I'll be_, sometime a hound, - A hog, a headless bear, sometime a fire; - And _neigh_, and bark, and grunt, and roar, and burn, - Like horse, hound, hog, bear, fire, at every turn,"[350:A]— - -are expressly attributed by Gervase to the goblins whom he has termed -_Grant_ and _Portuni_:—"Est _in Anglia_ quoddam dæmonum genus, quod -suo idiomate _Grant_ nominant _adinstar pulli equini anniculi, tibiis -erectum oculis scintillantibus_," &c.—"Cum—inter ambiguas noctis -tenebras _Angli_ solitarii quandoque equitant, _Portunus_ nonnunquam -invisus equitanti sese copulat, et cum diutius comitatur euntem, tandem -loris arreptis equum in latum ad manum ducit, in quo dum infixos -volutatur, _portunus exiens cachinnum facit_, et _sic hujuscemodi -ludibrio humanam simplicitatem deridet_."[350:B] - -The domestic offices and drudgery which Puck delighted to perform -for his favourites, are mentioned by _Lavaterus_ as belonging to his -_Fairies of the Earth_; by _Agricola_ to his _Cobali_ and _Guteli_, -and by _Scot_ to his _Incubi_ and _Virunculi_. Thus the first of these -writers observes, in the words of the English translation of 1572, that -"men imagine there be certayne elves or fairies of the earth, and tell -many straunge and marvellous tales of them, which they have heard of -their grandmothers and mothers, howe they _have appeared unto those of -the house_, _have done service_, have _rocked the cradell_, and (which -is a signe of good luck) _do continually tary in the house_[350:C];" -and he subsequently gives us from Agricola the following -passage:—"There be some (demons) very mild and gentle, whome some of -the _Germans_ call _Cobali_, as the Grecians do, because they be as it -were apes and counterfeiters of men: for they leaping, and skipping for -joy do laughe, and sæme as though they did many things, when in very -dæde they doo nothing.—Some other call them _Elves_;—they are not -much unlike unto those whom the _Germans_ call _Guteli_, bycause they -sæme to beare good affection towards men, for _they keepe horses_, and -do _other necessary businesse_."[351:A] - -The resemblance which these descriptions bear both to the _Brownie_ -of the Scotch and the _Puck_ of Shakspeare are very evident: but the -combination and similitude are rendered still more apparent in the -words of _Scot_; the "_Virunculi terrei_," says he, "are such as was -_Robin good fellowe_, that would supplie the office of servants, -speciallie of maids; as to make a fier in the morning, sweepe the -house, grind mustard and malt, drawe water, &c.[351:B];" and speaking -of the _Incubus_, he adds:—"In deede your grandams maides were wont to -set a boll of milke before him and his cousine _Robin good-fellow_, for -grinding of malt or mustard, and sweeping the house at midnight: and -you have also heard that _he would chafe exceedingly, if the maid or -good-wife of the house, having compassion on his nakednesse, laid anie -clothes for him, beesides his messe of white bread and milke, which was -his standing fee. For in that case he saith; What have we here? Hemten, -hamten, here will I never more tread nor stampen._"[351:C] - -The lines in _italics_ point out one of the most characteristic -features of the Brownie, while the preceding parts, and the last -word of the quotation, are in unison, both with the passages just -transcribed from our poet, and with that expression of _Puck_, where, -describing to Oberon the terror and dispersion of the rustic comedians, -he says— - - "And, at _our stamp_, here o'er and o'er one falls."[351:D] - -It may be also remarked, that the idea of fixing "an ass's nowl" on -Bottom's head, is most probably taken from Scot, who gives us a very -curious receipt for this singular metamorphosis.[351:E] - -So far, then, the _Puck_ of Shakspeare is in conformity with the -tales of tradition, and of preceding writers; he is the "Goblin fear'd -in field and town[352:A]," who loves all things best "that befal -preposterously[352:B]," and who, even when the poet wrote, had not -ceased to excite apprehension; for Scot hath told us, nine years before -the era of the _Midsummer-Night's Dream_, that _Robin Good-fellowe_ -ceaseth now to be _much feared_.[352:C] - -But to these traits of customary character, Shakspeare has added -some which greatly modify the picture, and which have united to the -"drudging goblin," and to the demon of mischievous frolic, duties and -functions of a very different cast. He is the messenger[352:D], and -trusty servant[352:E] of the fairy king, by whom, in these capacities, -he is called gentle[352:F] and good[352:G], and he combines with -all his hereditary attributes, the speed, the legerity, and the -intellectual skill of the highest order of the fairy world. Accordingly -when Oberon says— - - "Fetch me this herb: and be thou here again, - Ere the leviathan can swim a league;" - -he replies, - - "I'll put a girdle round about the earth - In forty minutes;"[353:A] - -and again, on receiving commission from the same quarter:— - - "_Obe._ About the wood go swifter than the wind: - - _Puck._ I go, I go; look, how I go; - Swifter than arrow from the Tartar's bow."[353:B] - -Upon the whole we may be allowed, from the preceding dissertation, -to consider the following series of circumstances as entitled to -the appellation of facts: namely, that the _patria_ of our popular -system of fairy mythology, was the _Scandinavian Peninsula_; -that, on its admission into this country, it gradually underwent -various modifications through the _influence of Christianity_, the -_introduction of classical associations_, and the _prevalence of -feudal manners_; but that, ultimately, two systems became established; -one in Scotland, founded on the wild and more terrific parts of the -Gothic mythology, and the other in England, built, indeed, on the same -system, but from a selection of its milder features, and converted by -the genius of Shakspeare into one of the most lovely creations of a -sportive imagination. Such, in fact, has been the success of our bard -in expanding and colouring the germs of Gothic fairyism; in assigning -to its tiny agents, new attributes and powers; and in clothing their -ministration with the most light and exquisite imagery, that his -portraits, in all their essential parts, have descended to us as -indissolubly connected with, and indeed nearly, if not altogether, -forming, our ideas of the fairy tribe. - -The canvas, it is true, which he stretched, has been since expanded, -and new groupes have been introduced; but the outline and the mode of -colouring which he employed, have been invariably followed. It is, -in short, to his picture of the fairy world, that we are indebted -for the _Nymphidia_ of _Drayton_[354:A]; the _Robin Goodfellow_ -of Jonson[354:B]; the miniatures of Fletcher and Browne[354:C]; -the full-length portraits of Herrick[354:D]; the sly allusions -of Corbet[354:E], and the spirited and picturesque sketches of -Milton.[354:F] - -To Shakspeare, therefore, as the remodeller, and almost the inventor -of our fairy system, may, with the utmost propriety, be addressed -the elegant compliment which Browne has paid to Occleve, certainly -inappropriate as applied to that rugged imitator of Chaucer, but -admirably adapted to the peculiar powers of our bard, and delightfully -expressive of what we may conceive would be the gratitude, were such -testimony possible, of these children of his playful fancy:— - - "Many times he hath been seene - With the faeries on the greene, - And to them his pipe did sound - As they danced in a round; - Mickle solace would they make him, - And at midnight often wake him; - And convey him from his roome - To a fielde of yellow broome, - Or into the meadowes where - Mints perfume the gentle aire, - And where Flora spreads her treasure, - There they would beginn their measure. - If it chanc'd night's sable shrowds - Muffled Cynthia up in clowds, - Safely home they then would see him, - And from brakes and quagmires free him. - There are few such swaines as he - Now a days for harmonie."[355:A] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[256:A] Part II. chapter 1. - -[256:B] Part II. chapter 2. - -[256:C] In his Discourse on English Poetry. - -[256:D] In his Art of English Poesy. - -[257:A] In his Apology for Poetry. - -[257:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 213. - -[257:C] Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 286; and Chalmers's -Supplemental Apology, p. 272. note. - -[257:D] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 237. - -[257:E] Ibid. vol. xiv. p. 217. - -[258:A] Part II. chap. 1. - -[259:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xiv. p. 43. Act i. sc. 4. - -[262:A] "20th May, 1608. - -"Edw. Blunt] Entered under t'hands of Sir Geo. Bucke, Kt. and Mr. -Warden Seton, a book called: The booke of _Pericles Prynce of Tyre_." - -"A book by the like authoritie, called _Anthony and Cleopatra_." -Chalmers's Supplemental Apology, pp. 488, 489. By a somewhat singular -mistake, the _second_ of May is mentioned by Mr. Malone, as the date of -the entry of Pericles; vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xxi. p. 147. - -[263:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xxi. p. 148. The four quarto editions -of Pericles are dated, 1609, 1619, 1630, and 1635. - -[263:B] British Bibliographer, vol. i. p. 533. - -[263:C] Verses by J. Tatham, prefixed to Richard Brome's _Jovial Crew -or the Merry Beggars_, 4to. 1652. - -[264:A] Prologue to the tragedie of _Circe_, by Charles D'Avenant, 1677. - -[265:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xxi. p. 389. - -[265:B] Ibid. p. 403. 404. 411. - -[266:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xxi. p. 390. - -[266:B] Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 144. - -[267:A] Monthly Review, New Series, vol. lxxvii. p. 158. - -[267:B] Thus, in the prologue to a comedy entitled The Hog has lost his -Pearl, 1614, the author, alluding to his own production, says, - - ———— "if it prove so happy as to please, - Well say, 'tis fortunate, like _Pericles_." - -[268:A] As this is the only scene in the play which disgusts from -its _total dereliction of nature_, a result at once decisive as to -Shakspeare having no property in it; and as the mere _omission_ of a -few lines, not a word being either added or altered, will be sufficient -to render the whole probable and inoffensive, I cannot avoid wishing -that such curtailment might be adopted in every future edition. - - -SCENE V. - -PENTAPOLIS. _A Room in the Palace._ - -_Enter SIMONIDES and the KNIGHTS: SIMONIDES reading a letter._ - - _Knights._ May we not get access to her, my lord? - - _Sim._ 'Faith, by no means; it is impossible. - - _Knights._ Though loath to bid farewell, we take our leaves. - (_Exeunt._ - - _Sim._ So— - They're well dispatch'd; now to my daughter's letter: - She tells me here, she'll wed the stranger knight; - Well, I commend her choice; - And will no longer have it be delay'd. - Soft, here he comes:—I must dissemble it. - -_Enter PERICLES._ - - _Per._ All fortune to the good Simonides! - - _Sim._ To you as much, sir! I am beholden to you, - For your sweet musick this last night: my ears, - I do protest, were never better fed - With such delightful pleasing harmony. - - _Per._ It is your grace's pleasure to commend; - Not my desert. - - _Sim._. Sir, you are musick's master. - - _Per._ The worst of all her scholars, my good lord. - - _Sim._ Let me ask one thing. What do you think, sir, of - My daughter? - - _Per._ As of a most virtuous princess. - - _Sim._ And she is fair too, is she not? - - _Per._ As a fair day in summer; wondrous fair. - - _Sim._ My daughter, sir, thinks very well of you; - Ay, so well, that——peruse this writing, sir. - - _Per._ What's here! - A letter, that she loves the knight of Tyre? - 'Tis the king's subtilty, to have my life. (_Aside._ - O, seek not to intrap, my gracious lord, - A stranger and distressed gentleman, - That never aim'd so high, to love your daughter, - But bent all offices to honour her. - - _Sim._ Thou hast bewitch'd my daughter, and thou art - A traitor. - - _Per._ By the gods, I have not, sir. - Never did thought of mine levy offence; - Nor never did my actions yet commence - A deed might gain her love, or your displeasure. - My actions are as noble as my thoughts, - That never relish'd of a base descent. - I came unto your court, for honour's cause, - And not to be a rebel to her state; - And he that otherwise accounts of me, - This sword shall prove he's honour's enemy. - - _Sim._ Now, by the gods, I do applaud his courage. - (_Aside._ - Here comes my daughter, she can witness it. - -_Enter THAISA._ - - Yea, mistress, are you so perémptory? - (_Addressing his daughter._ - Will you, not having my consent, bestow - Your love and your affections on a stranger?— - Hear, therefore, mistress; frame your will to mine,— - And you, sir, hear you.—Either be rul'd by me, - Or I will make you—man and wife.— - And for a further grief,—God give you joy! - What, are you both agreed? - - _Thais._ Yes, if you love me, sir. - (_Addressing Pericles._ - - _Per._ Even as my life, my blood that fosters it. - (_Exeunt._ - -Thus contracted, the scene would no longer excite the "supreme -contempt" which Mr. Steevens expresses for it, adding in reference to -its original state, "such another gross, nonsensical dialogue, would -be sought for in vain among the earliest and rudest efforts of the -British theatre. It is impossible not to wish that the _Knights_ had -horse-whipped _Simonides_, and that _Pericles_ had kicked him off the -stage." - -[271:A] For the sake of perspicuity, I have substituted the word -"knowledge," as synonymous with "cunning," the term in the original. - -[272:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xxi. p. 181. Act i. sc. 2. - -[273:A] Ibid. p. 213, 214. Act ii. sc. 1. - -[273:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xxi. p. 221. Act ii. sc. 1. - -[273:C] Ibid. p. 353. Act v. sc. 1. - -[274:A] Reed's Shakspeare, p. 371. Act v. sc. 1. - -[274:B] Ibid. vol. xxi. p. 374. Act v. sc. 1. - -[275:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xxi. p. 384. Act v. sc. 3. - -[276:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xxi. pp. 284, 285. Act iii. sc. 4. - -[276:B] Ibid. vol. xxi. pp. 297-299. Act iv. sc. 1. - -[276:C] - - —————————— "With fairest flowers, - While summer lasts, and I live here, Fidele, - I'll sweeten thy sad grave. Thou shalt not lack - The flower that's like thy face, pale primrose, nor - The azur'd hare-bell, like thy veins, no nor - The leaf of eglantine, whom not to slander - Out-sweeten'd not thy breath." - -[277:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xxi. p. 305. Act iv. sc. 1. - -[278:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xxi. p. 341. Act iv. sc. 6.—Much of -the dialogue which passes among the worthless inhabitants of this -bagnio, is seasoned with the strong and characteristic humour of -Shakspeare. Boult, a servant of the place, being ordered to cry Marina -through the market of Mitylene, describing her personal charms, is -asked, on his return, how he found the inclination of the people, to -which he replies, - - "'Faith, they listened to me, as they would have hearkened - to their father's testament. There was a Spaniard's mouth so - watered, that he went to bed to her very description. - - "_Bawd._ We shall have him here to-morrow with his best ruff on. - - "_Boult._ To-night, to-night. But, mistress, do you know the - French knight that cowers i' the hams? - - "_Bawd._ Who? Monsieur Veroles? - - "_Boult._ Ay; _he offered to cut a caper at the proclamation; - but he made a groan at it, and swore he would see her - to-morrow_." Act iv. sc. 3. - -"If," says Mr. Malone, alluding to the lines in Italics, "there were no -other proof of Shakspeare's hand in this piece, this admirable stroke -of humour would furnish decisive evidence of it." - -[279:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xxi. pp. 365, 366. Act v. sc. 1. The -similar passage in Twelfth Night will occur to every one. - -[279:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xxi. p 371. Act v. sc. 1. - -[279:C] Ibid. p. 388.—Milton appears to have read Pericles with -attention, and to have caught some of its phraseology, a circumstance -strongly confirmatory of the genuineness of the play: thus Gower, in -the opening lines, speaking of Antiochus, says,— - - "This king unto him took a pheere, - Who died and left a female heir, - _So buxom, blithe, and_ full of face, - As heaven had lent her all her grace;" - -a passage which evidently hung on Milton's ear, when, in his L'Allegro, -he is describing the uncertain origin of Euphrosyne:— - - "Fill'd her with thee a daughter fair, - _So buxom, blithe, and_ debonair." - -Again, in the _first_ edition of Lycidas, v. 157., a very significant -epithet seems to have been copied from the same source:— - - "Where thou perhaps under the HUMMING tide:" - Milton. - - "The belching whale, - And HUMMING water must _o'erwhelm_ thy corpse." - Pericles. - -It is remarkable, that when Milton, in his second edition, altered the -word to _whelming_, he still clung to his former prototype. - -The notice may appear whimsical or trifling, but I cannot help -observing here, that a few lines of the initiatory address of Gower -irresistibly remind me of some of the cadences of The Lay of the Last -Minstrel; for instance, this contemporary of Chaucer, alluding to the -antiquity of his song, says,— - - "It hath been sung at festivals, - On ember-eves, and holy ales; - And lords and ladies of their lives, - Have read it for restoratives:— - If you, born in these latter times, - When wit's more ripe, accept my rhymes, - And that to hear an old man sing, - May to your wishes pleasure bring, - I life would wish, and that I might - Waste it for you, like taper-light." - -[281:A] Prologue to the Tragedy of Circe, by Charles D'Avenant. 1675. - -[282:A] - - "Amazde I stood to see a crowd - Of civil throats stretch'd out so lowd: - (As at a new play) all the roomes - Did swarm with gentiles mix'd with groomes; - So that I truly thought all these - Came to see _Shore_ or _Pericles_." - -[282:B] "I was ne'er at one of these before; but I should have seen -_Jane Shore_, and my husband hath promised me any time this twelvemonth -to carry me to _The Bold Beauchamps_."—The Knight of the Burning -Pestle. - -[282:C] - - —————— "There is an old tradition, - That in the times of mighty _Tamburlaine_, - Of conjuring _Faustus_, and _The Beauchamps Bold_, - Your poets used to have the second day." - A Playhouse to be Let. - -[283:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 249. - -[283:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xxi. pp. 152, 153. - -[284:A] Many instances of this kind have been pointed out by Mr. -Steevens, in his notes on the play; namely, at pages 208. 213. 221. -227, 228. 258. 302.; and the list might be much enlarged by a careful -collation of the two productions. - -[284:B] Where the chapter is entitled "The pitifull state and story of -the Paphlagonian unkinde king and his kinde sonne, first related by the -sonne, then by the blind father." - -[285:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xxi. p. 400. - -[285:B] Vide Censura Literaria, vol. ix. p. 46. - -[285:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xxi. p. 407. note. - -[285:D] Ibid. p. 391. note. - -[286:A] Vide Douce's Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. ii. pp. 127, 128. - -[286:B] Supplemental Apology, pp. 274. et seq. - -[286:C] Vol. i. pp. 398-400. - -[287:A] For this paragraph, the reader is referred to p. 282. of the -original edition, or to p. 46. of the ninth volume of the Censura -Literaria. - -[287:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xx. p. 461. note. - -[288:A] For specimens of the doggrel verse which preceded and -accompanied the era of the Comedy of Errors, see Reed's Shakspeare, -vol. xx. pp. 462, 463. - -[288:B] The addition of the twin servants to their twin masters, -doubles the improbability, while it adds to the fund of entertainment. - -[289:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 262. - -[290:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 264. - -[291:A] Vide Chalmers's Supplemental Apology, pp. 281, 282.; and -Douce's Illustrations, vol. i. p. 238. - -[291:B] Vol. i. p. 498-9, edit. 1598. - -[291:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vii. p. 151. note; and Chalmers's -Supplemental Apology, p. 283. - -[292:A] Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 355. note. - -[293:A] An Essay on the Dramatic Character of Sir John Falstaff. 8vo. -1777, p. 49. - -[293:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 241.—It is conjectured by -Mr. Malone, that Shakspeare, for the advantage of his own theatre, -having written a few lines in The _First_ Part of King Henry VI., -after his own _Second_ and _Third_ Part had been played, the editors -of the first Folio conceived this a sufficient warrant for attributing -it, along with the others, to him, in the general collection of his -works. Vol. xiv. p. 259. His prior supposition, however, "that they -gave it a place as a necessary introduction to the two other parts," -especially if we consider the great popularity which it had enjoyed, -and the general ignorance of the audience in historical lore, will -sufficiently account, in those lax times of literary appropriation, for -its insertion and attribution. - -[293:C] The discovery was made by Mr. Chalmers, vide Supplemental -Apology, p. 292. - -[294:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 126. - -[294:B] Mr. Malone, in his "Dissertation on King Henry VI." was of -opinion, that the _First Part_ of the _Contention_, &c. came from the -pen of Robert Greene; (vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xiv. p. 257.) but -in his "Chronological Order," he inclines to the supposition of Marlowe -being the author of both Parts; (vol. ii. p. 246.) It is more probable, -I think, from the language of the _Groatsworth of Wit_, that _Marlowe_, -_Greene_, and _Peele_, were jointly concerned in their composition. - -[295:A] Essay on the Dramatic Character of Falstaff, p. 49. note. - -[297:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xiii. p. 307. note. - -[298:A] See his Table, in Supplemental Apology, pp. 466, 467, where -he tells us that in making it, he has been governed "rather by the -influence of moral certainty, than directed by any supposed necessity -of fixing some of the dramas to each year;" but where is the evidence -that shall reconcile us to the necessity of passing over the years -1610, 1611, and 1612, without the production of a single play, and then -ascribing to the year 1613, three such compositions, as _The Tempest_, -_The Twelfth-Night_, and _Henry VIII._? - -[300:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 251. - -[303:A] Vide Ouseley's Persian Miscellanies. - -[303:B] The Lays of Lanval and Gruelan have been translated by Way -in his Fabliaux, vol. i. p. 157. 177.; a description also of Mourgue -La Faye may be found in the preceding tale, called The Vale of False -Lovers, taken from the prose romance of Lancelot du Lac, 3 vols. folio. -bl. l. Paris. 1520. - -[304:A] Thus the Gothic terms _Fegur_, _Alfur_, _Uitrur_, _Dwergur_, -_Meyar_, _Pucke_, _Drot_, are without doubt the prototypes of _Fairy_, -_Elf_, _Wight_, _Dwarf_, _Mare_, _Puck_, and _Trot_. - -[305:A] "Votum ille (Svegderus) nuncupavit, de Godheimo, vetustoque -illo Othino quærendo. Duodecim viris comitatus, late per orbem -vagabatur, delatusque in Tyrklandiam et in Svioniam Magnam, plurimos -ibi reperit, sanguinis nexu sibi junctos. Huic peregrinatione quinque -annos impendit, reduxque in Sveciam domi aliquam diu mansit.—Iterum -Gudhemum quæsitum peregre profectus est Svegderus. In orientali plaga -Svioniæ villa est ingens, dicta Stein, ibique positus lapis tantæ -molis; ut domum ingentem magnitudine æquet. Quadam vespera post solis -occasum, a poculis ad lectum progressurus Svegderus, vidit sub ingenti -isto lapide sedentem pygmæum. Ille igitur ejusque comites, vino obruti, -cum cursu lapidem petebant, in janua lapidis stans pygmæus, Svegderum -jubet ingredi, si cum Othino colloqui vellet. Currit Svegderus in -lapidam qui statim clauditur, nec rediit inde Svegderus."—Snor. Sturl. -Hist. Reg. Norv. op. Schöning. vol. i. p. 18. - -[306:A] - - "Thar _Motsogner_ - Mæstur vm ordenn - Dverga allra - En _Durenn_ annar." Volupsa, Stroph. 10. - -There are two who possess sovereign power, _Motsogner_, who ranks -first, and _Durin_, who otherwise acknowledges no peer. - -[306:B] - - "Enn dagsciar, - _Durins_ nithia, - Salvaur dudur, - Svegde velti; - Tha er ei Stein, - Hin storgethi: - Dulsa konur, - Ept _Dvergi_ hliop:" - -a passage which has been thus translated by Peringskiöld:—"At -_lucifuga_, Nanorum domicilii custos, Svegderum decepit, quando -magnanimus ille rex, spe vana delusus, _Nanum_ sequendo, &c."—Yrling. -Sag. cap. xv. p. 15. - -[306:C] The original is thus interpreted by Snorro:—"Ad nos ethnicos -ac iram Odini veritos servule ne ingrediaris, inquit vidua; mulier fœda -me mordacibus verbis impetens, se intus _Alfis_ sacrificare dixit, -foris vero lupis libare sanguinem mactatorum animalium."—Oläf. Helg. -Haroldsons Saga. cap. 92. See also, Snorro apud Schöning, tom. ii. p. -124. Hafn. 1778. - -[307:A] "Sæmundus tantum," says a learned commentator on the Voluspa, -"qui literas Latinos induxit in Islandiam, e literis Runicis, hæc -poëmata in literaturam vulgarem transtulit, _non composuit_, ut ipsa -monumenta testantur."—Gudm. Andr. Not. in Volusp. Stroph. vi. - -[307:B] Two chapters of the Edda of Snorro, Myth. 13. 15. are occupied -by an illustrative enumeration of these Dvergi or Fairies, and the -"Scalda" has catalogued nearly one hundred of the same race. - -[308:A] "Sunt adhuc plures tales _Norner_ ad hominum quemlibet in -mundum natum venientes, ut dies illi determinent; harum quædam sunt -divinæ, quædam ex faunorum (_Alfa ættar_) quædam ex nanorum genere -(_Duerga ættar_).—_Nornæ bonæ_ (_Godar Norner_) felicem tribuunt -vitam, sed si quis sinistris premitur fatis, hoc malæ (_Illar Norner_) -efficiunt.—Alia illic urbs _Alfheimur_ vocatur (sc. faunorum mundus), -quam incolunt illi qui _Liös-alfar_ (sc. lucidi fauni) appellantur, sed -_Döck-alfar_ (sc. nigri fauni) viscera terræ inferiora tenent, et sunt -prioribus illis valde dissimiles re et aspectu. _Liösalfi_ sunt _sole -clariores_; _Döckalfi pice nigriores_."—Resen. Edda Island. Myth. xv. - -[309:A] "Sunt—_Nymphæ albæ_—_Dominæ bonæ_, Itali _Fatas_, Galli -_Fees_ vocant; quarum adventu multum prosperitatis et rerum -omnium copiam putarunt superstitiosæ anus domibus contingere quas -frequentarint, et ideo domi suæ illis epulas instruxere."—Vide -Kornmann Templ. Natur. part iii. cons. 12. p. 113. - -[309:B] "In multis locis _Septentrionalis regionis_, præsertim -nocturno tempore, suum saltatorium orbem cum _omnium musarum consentu_ -versare solent. Sed post ortum solem quandoque roscidis deprehenduntur -vestigiis.—Hunc nocturnum ludum vocant incolæ _Choream Elvarum_."—Ol. -Magn. Gent. Septent. lib. iii. c. 11. p. 107. _Chorea Elvarum_ is here -given as a translation of the _Elf-dans_ of the Swedish language. - -[309:C] "Fæminæ etiam parturientes olim hasce (sc. Godar Norner) -precibus adibant ut facilius dolore ac onere levarentur; quemadmodum -neque aniles fabulæ; desunt vulgo de spectris sub mulierum specie sexui -parturienti opem ferentibus."—Keysler. de Mulierib. Fatid. sect. 23. -p. 394. - -"In the _Northern Regions_," says Loier, speaking of the _Fairies_, -"the report is, that they have a care, and doe diligently attend about -little infantes lying in the cradle; that they doe dresse and undresse -them in their swathling clothes, and doe performe all that which -carefull nurses can doe unto their nurse-children."—Peter le Loier, -Treatise of Strange Sights and Apparitions, chap. ii. p. 19. 4to. - -[309:D] "_Svart-Alfar tenebrarum_ spiritus; verum hæc species _Alforum_ -putata est non esse mere spiritus, nec nudi homines, sed _medium inter -divos et mortales_."—Comment in Volusp. (Str. xv.) ex Biblioth. -Resenii. - -[310:A] Vide note in p. 308. - -[310:B] "Quandoque vero saltum adeo profunde in terram impresserant, -ut locus, cui assueverant, _insigni ardore_ orbiculariter peresus, non -parit arenti redivivum cespite gramen."—Ol. Magn. Gent. Sept. l. iii. -c. 2. - -[310:C] "A Matribus sive _Mair_ descendunt aniles nugæ; _von der -Nachtmar_, fæminei sexus spectrum credunt somniantes pondere suo -gravans, ut arctius inclusus spiritus ægre possit meare. Angli -adpellant _Nightmare_.—_Alp_ et _Alf_ enim veteribus notat dæmonem -montanum. _Suecis_ et _Anglis Elf_ est Franconiæ incolis _Ephialtes_ -etiam est _die Drud_."—Keysler de Mulierib. Fated. sect. 68. p. 497. - -[310:D] "Meridianum adpellabatur, quod meridie magis infestum -credebatur, unde hodie observant, ut puerperas hora meridiana non -sinant esse solas, aut camera exire.—Sæpe tamen etiam pro ephialte vel -Incubo usurpatur."—Keysler, sect. 68. p. 497. - -[310:E] "Eratque hoc larvarum genus apprime infestum—infantibus -lactentibus cunis ad huc inhærentibus."—Wier. De Præstig. Dæm. l. i. -c. 16. p. 104. - -[311:A] "Sese velut umbras—ostendunt, risusque atque inanes cachinnos, -ludicraque præstigia et alia infinita ludibria, quibus infelices -decipiunt, vocali sono confingunt."—Ol. Mag. De Gent. Septent. lib. -vi. cap. 10. - -"Dæmon in forma Viri Ignei, jam maximi, jam _parvi sive Virunculi_, -noctu in campis oberrantis, et brevi hinc inde decurrentis, -apparuit."—Becker. Spectrol. p. 120. - -[311:B] "Inter cætera mira quædam referuntur de _virunculis montanis_, -quos _Bergmanlein_ vocant, _nanorum forma et statura præditis_." Vide -Kircher. Mund. Subter. lib. viii. sect. 4. c. 4. p. 123. - -"Alii nominant _virunculos montanos_—videntur autem esse seneciores, -et vestiti more metallicorum, id est, vittato indusio, et corio circum -lumbos dependente induti."—Vide Agricola de Animant. Sub. c. 37. p. 78. - -[311:C] "Sunt gladii, aliaque arma, omnium præstantissima, ab -_Duergis_ fabricata, quæ omnia penetrare, nec arte magica hebetari -credebantur."—Verel. in Hervar. Sag. cap. 7. - -[311:D] Vide Verel. in Hervar. Sag. voce _Duerga Smithi_. - -[311:E] See, in the Minor Voluspa, the _Hildi-svini_ of Hyndla, a -species of enchanted steed. Stroph. v. et vii. - -[312:A] "Columnas frangendo—vel casu petrarum, fractione scalarum, -provocatione fætorum, suffocatione ventorum, ruptora funiculorum, -opprimunt aut conturbant."—Ol. Magn. de Gent. Septentr. lib. vi. cap. -10. - -[312:B] They are sometimes represented as coining the money -which they conceal or guard, "in pecunia abundant, _quam cudunt -ipsimet_."—Theophr. Philos. Sag. lib. i. p. 591. ed. Gen. 1658. - -[312:C] "Corio circumlumbos dependente."—Vide note B in p. 311. - -[312:D] "Trulli, et Guteli; qui et in famulitio viris et fœminis -inserviunt conclavia scopis purgant, _patinas mundant_, _ligna -portant_, _equos curant_."—Vide Tholossani, lib. vii. cap. 14. - -[312:E] "In _effigie humana_," says Olaus Magnus, "accommodare solent -ministeriis hominum, nocturnis horis laborando, equosque et jumenta -curando."—De Gent. Sept. lib. iii. c. 11. p. 107. - -[313:A] Chaucer apud Chalmers, English Poets, vol. i. p. 51. col. 1. - -[313:B] Stoddart's Remarks on Local Scenery and Manners in Scotland, -vol. ii. p. 66. - -[313:C] Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, 1st edit. vol. ii. p. 213. - -[314:A] "Perhaps this epithet," says Mr. Scott, "is only one example, -among many, of the extreme civility which the vulgar in Scotland use -towards spirits of a dubious, or even a determinedly mischievous -nature. The arch-fiend himself is often distinguished by the softened -title of the "good-man." This epithet, so applied, must sound strange -to a southern ear; but, as the phrase bears various interpretations, -according to the places where it is used, so, in the Scotish dialect, -the _good man of such a place_, signifies the tenant, or life-renter, -in opposition to the laird, or proprietor. Hence, the devil is termed -the good-man, or tenant, of the infernal regions. There was anciently a -practice in Scotish villages, of propitiating this infernal being, by -leaving uncultivated a croft, or small inclosure, of the neighbouring -grounds, which was called the _good-man's croft_. By doing so, it was -their unavowed, but obvious intention, to avert the rage of Satan from -destroying their possessions."—Minstrelsy, vol. ii. p. 216. - -[314:B] Of this curious work, a hundred copies of which have lately -been reprinted, the first title is termed, "An Essay on the Nature," -&c.; and the second "SECRET COMMONWEALTH; or, A Treatise displayeing -the Chiefe Curiosities as they are in Use among diverse of the People -of Scotland to this Day;—SINGULARITIES for the most Part peculiar to -that Nation." 4to. 1691. - -[315:A] Kirk's Essay, pp. 1. 7, 8, 9, reprint. - -[315:B] Ibid. p. 6. - -[315:C] Ibid. p. 10. - -[317:A] Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song, 8vo. 1810. pp. 295, -296, 297. - -[317:B] The resemblance between the search of Svegder for Godheim or -Fairy-land, and the object of Sir Thopas's expedition, cannot but -strike the reader:— - - "In his sadel he clombe anon, - And pricked over stile and ston - An elf quene for to espie; - Til he so long had riden and gone - That he fond, in a _privie wone_, - The _countree of Faërie_. - - Wherein he saughte north and south, - And often spired with his mouth, - In many a _foreste wilde_; - For in that countree nas ther non, - That to him dorst ride or gon, - Neither wif ne childe." - Cant. Tales, apud Tyrwhitt, v. 13726. - -[318:A] Essay, pp. 5. 12. 18. - -[318:B] "Scenes of Infancy: descriptive of Teviotdale," 1st edit. 12mo. -p. 161. - -[318:C] Sir John Sinclair's Statistical Account of Scotland, vol. xiii. -p. 245. - -[319:A] Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, vol. ii. p. 206. 1st edit. - -[319:B] Lindsay's Works, 1592, p. 222. - -[319:C] Watson's Collection of Scots Poems, 1709, part iii. p. 12. - -[319:D] Vide Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. ii. p. 250. note. - -[320:A] Thomas The Rhymer, part i., Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. ii. pp. -253, 254. - -[320:B] Tale of the Young Tamlane, Minstrelsy, vol. ii. p. 235. - -[320:C] - - "If you speak word in Elflyn land, - Ye'll ne'er get back to your ain countrie." - Thomas the Rhymer; Minstrelsy, vol. ii. p. 253. - -[321:A] Scenes of Infancy, book ii. pp. 71-73. This poem abounds in -passages of exquisite pathos and splendid imagination. The book, whence -the lines just quoted are taken, closes with the following apostrophe -to Mr. Scott:— - - "O Scott! with whom, in youth's serenest prime, - I wove, with careless hand, the fairy rhyme, - Bade chivalry's barbaric pomp return, - And heroes wake from every mouldering urn! - Thy powerful verse, to grace the courtly hall, - Shall many a tale of elder time recall, - The deeds of knights, the loves of dames, proclaim, - And give forgotten bards their former fame. - Enough for me, if Fancy wake the shell, - To eastern minstrels strains like thine to tell; - Till saddening memory all our haunts restore, - The wild-wood walks by Esk's romantic shore, - The circled hearth, which ne'er was wont to fail - In cheerful joke, or legendary tale, - Thy mind, whose fearless frankness nought could move, - Thy friendship, like an elder brother's love, - While from each scene of early life I part, - True to the beatings of this ardent heart, - When, half-deceased, with half the world between, - My name shall be unmentioned on the green, - When years combine with distance, let me be, - By all forgot, _remembered yet by thee_!" - -If Mr. Scott, yielding to this appeal, would present us with a complete -edition of the poetical works, together with a life, of his lamented -friend, who was not less remarkable for his learning than his genius, -he would confer no trifling obligation on the literary world. - -[322:A] Kirk's Essay on Fairies, pp. 2, 3. - -[322:B] A remarkable instance of the continuance of this superstition, -even in the present day, is recorded by Mr. Cromek, to whom an old -woman of Nithsdale gave the following detail, "with the artless -simplicity of sure belief." "I' the night afore Roodsmass," said she, -"I had trysted wi' a neeber lass, a Scots mile frae hame, to talk -anent buying braws i' the fair:—we had nae sutten lang aneath the -haw-buss, till we heard the loud laugh o' fowk riding, wi' the jingling -o' bridles, an' the clanking o' hoofs. We banged up, thinking they wad -ryde owre us;—we kent nae but it was drunken fowk riding to the fair, -i' the fore night. We glowred roun' and roun', an' sune saw it was the -_Fairie fowk's Rade_. We cowered down till they passed by. A learn o' -light was dancing owre them, mair bonnie than moon-shine: they were a -wee, wee fowk, wi' green scarfs on, but ane that rade foremost, an' -that ane was a gude deal larger than the lave, wi' bonnie lang hair -bun' about wi' a strap, whilk glented lyke stars. They rade on braw -wee whyte naigs, wi' unco lang swooping tails, an' manes hung wi' -whustles that the win' played on. This, an' their tongue whan they -sang, was like the soun of a far awa Psalm. Marion an' me was in a -brade lea fiel' whare they cam by us, a high hedge o' bawtrees keep it -them frae gaun through Johnnie Corrie's corn;—but they lap a' owre't -like sparrows, an' gallop't into a greene knowe beyont it. We gade i' -the morning to look at the tredded corn, but the fient a hoof mark was -there, nor a blade broken."—Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song, -pp. 298, 299. - -[323:A] Vide Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, vol. ii. p. 214.; and -Tyrwhitt's Note on Canterbury Tales, v. 6437. - -[324:A] Leyden's Scenes of Infancy, p. 24. - -[324:B] Kirk's Essay on Fairies, pp. 5, 6. - -[324:C] Thus Gervase of Tilbury tells us, that one _Peter De Cabinam_ -residing in a city of Catalonia, being teazed by his daughter, wished -in his passion, that the devil might take her, when she was instantly -borne away. "About seven years afterwards, an inhabitant of the -same city, passing by the mountain (adjacent to it), met a man who -complained bitterly of the burthen he was constantly forced to bear. -Upon enquiring the cause of his complaining, as he did not seem to -carry any load, the man related, that he had been unwarily devoted to -the spirits by an execration, and that they now employed him constantly -as a vehicle of burden." As a proof of his assertion, he added, that -"the daughter of his fellow citizen was detained by the spirits, but -that they were willing to restore her, if her father would come and -demand her on the mountain. _Peter de Cabinam_, on being informed of -this, ascended the mountain to a lake (on its summit), and, in the name -of God, demanded his daughter; when a tall, thin, withered figure, with -wandering eyes, and almost bereft of understanding, was wafted to him -in a blast of wind."—Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. ii. pp. 181, 182. - -[324:D] See Pennant's Tour in Scotland, 8vo. 1769. - -[325:A] Cromek on Nithsdale and Galloway Song, p. 307. - -[325:B] Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, vol. ii. p. 208. - -[325:C] Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. ii. p. 238. - -[326:A] Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song, pp. 308, 309. - -[327:A] _Bale._—A Faggot. - -[327:B] Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, vol. ii. pp. 240, 241. - -[328:A] See Collins's Poems, Sharpe's edition, pp. 106, 107, 108. - -[328:B] Encyclopedia Britannica, in verbo. - -[328:C] Essay on Fairies, p. 12. - -[329:A] Essay on Fairies, pp. 1. 5. 7. - -[329:B] Essay, pp. 11, 12. - -[329:C] See Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. ii. p. 356. - -[329:D] - - "Brown dwarf, that o'er the muir-land strays, - Thy name to Keeldar tell."— - - "_The Brown Man of the Muirs_, who stays - Beneath the heather bell." - Scott's Minstrelsy, vol. ii. p. 360. - -Walsingham, says Dr. Leyden, mentions a story of an unfortunate youth, -whose brains were extracted from his skull, during his sleep, by this -malicious being. P. 356. - -[330:A] Essay on Fairies, p. 37. - -[330:B] Kirk, after mentioning as his fifth curiosity, "A being Proof -of Lead, Iron, and Silver," adds the following curious notice of the -strong attachment of the Scotch to music. "Our Northern-Scotish, and -our Athole Men are so much addicted to and delighted with Harps and -Musick, as if, like King Saul, they were possessed with a forrein -Spirit, only with this Difference, that Musick did put Saul's -Play-fellow a sleep, but roused and awaked our Men, vanquishing their -own Spirits at Pleasure, as if they were impotent of its Powers, and -unable to command it; for wee have seen some poor Beggars of them, -chattering their Teeth for Cold, that how soon they saw the Fire, and -heard the Harp, leapt throw the House like Goats and Satyrs." Pp. 37, -38. - -[330:C] The Workes of King James, folio, 1616, p. 127. - -[331:A] Description of the Western Islands of Scotland, p. 334. - -[336:A] Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song, pp. 330, 331. et seq. - -[336:B] Collins's Poems, Sharpe's edition, p. 105. - -[337a:A] That Warner's _Fairy-land_ was in the infernal regions, is -sufficiently proved from the following lines:— - - "The _Elves_, and _Fairies_, taking fists, - Did hop a merrie round: - And _Cerberus_ had lap enough: - And _Charon_ leasure found." - Chalmers's English Poets, vol. iv. p. 458. col. 2. - -[338a:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. pp. 433, 434. Act iii. sc. 2. - -[338a:B] - - "Full often time he Pluto and his quene, - Proserpina, and alle hir Faerie, - Disporten hem and maken melodie."— - - "Pluto, that is the king of Faerie, - And many a ladie in his compagnie - Folwing his wif, the quene Proserpina." - - The Marchantes Tale, vide Chalmers's English Poets, - vol. i. p. 77. col. 1.; p. 78. col. 2. - -[337b:A] _Oberon_, or, more properly _Auberon_, has been derived, by -some antiquaries, from "_l'aube_ du jour;" and _Mab_ his Queen, from -_amabilis_, so that _lucidity_ and _amiability_, their characteristics, -as delineated by Shakspeare, may be traced in their names. - -[337b:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. pp. 363-366. Act ii. sc. 2. - -[338b:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. pp. 367, 368. Act ii. sc. 2. - -[338b:B] The Quip Modest, 8vo. 1788, p. 12. - -[338b:C] Essay on Fairies, p. 8. and p. 44. - -[339:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 448. Act iv. sc. 1. - -[339:B] Ibid. vol. iv. pp. 495, 496. Act v. sc. 2. - -[339:C] Essay on Fairies, pp. 7, 8. - -[340:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. v. pp. 204, 205. 208, 209. Merry Wives -of Windsor, act v. sc. 5. - -[341:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 346. Midsummer-Night's Dream, -act ii. sc. 1. - -[341:B] Ibid. vol. iv. pp. 154, 155. Tempest, act v. sc. 1. - -[341:C] Ibid. vol. v. p. 202. Merry Wives of Windsor, act v. sc. 5. - -[341:D] Ibid. vol. iv. p. 381. Midsummer-Night's Dream, act ii. sc. 3. - -[341:E] Ibid. vol. iv. p. 379. Act ii. sc. 2. - -[341:F] Ibid. vol. iv. p. 344. Act ii. sc. 1. - -[341:G] Ibid. vol. iv. p. 402. Act iii. sc. 1. - -[341:H] Ibid. vol. iv. p. 403. Act iii. sc. 1. - -[342:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xx. pp. 51-56. Romeo and Juliet, act i. -sc. 4. - -[342:B] Ibid. vol. iv. pp. 356, 357. Midsummer-Night's Dream, act ii. -sc. 2. - -[342:C] Ibid. vol. iv. p. 151. Tempest, act v. sc. 1.—Thus Milton, in -conformity with these passages, describes his fairy night-scene:— - - ————————————— "Faery elves, - Whose midnight revels, by a forest side, - Or fountain, some belated peasant sees, - Or dreams he sees, while over-head the moon - Sits arbitress, and nearer to the earth - Wheels her pale course; they, on their mirth and dance - Intent, with jocund musick charm his ear." - Todd's Milton, 2d edit. vol. ii. pp. 368, 369. - -The music here alluded to is beautifully described, as an accompaniment -of the Scottish Fairies, in Sir John Sinclair's Statistical Account -of Scotland:—"Notwithstanding the progressive increase of knowledge, -and proportional decay of superstition in the Highlands, these genii -are still supposed by many of the people to exist in the woods and -sequestered valleys of the mountains, where they frequently appear -to the lonely traveller, clothed in green, with dishevelled hair -floating over their shoulders, and with faces more blooming than the -vermil blush of a summer morning. At night in particular, when fancy -assimilates to its own preconceived ideas, every appearance, and every -sound, the wandering enthusiast is frequently entertained by their -musick, more melodious than he ever before heard." Vol. xii. p. 462. -note. - -[343:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. v. pp. 206, 207. Merry Wives of -Windsor, act v. sc. 5. - -[343:B] Ibid. vol. iv. p. 343. Midsummer-Night's Dream, act ii. sc. 1. - -[344:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. pp. 150, 151. Tempest, act v. sc. 1. - -[344:B] Ibid. vol. iv. pp. 344, 345. Midsummer-Night's Dream, act ii. -sc. 1. - -[344:C] Ibid. vol. iv. p. 379. Act ii. sc. 2. - -[345:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. pp. 380-383. Midsummer-Night's -Dream, act ii. sc. 3. - -[346:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. pp. 402, 403. Midsummer-Night's -Dream, act iii. sc. 1. - -[346:B] Ibid. p. 493. Act v. sc. 2. - -[347:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. v. pp. 205, 206. Merry Wives of -Windsor, act v. sc. 5. - -[347:B] Ibid. vol. xx. p. 59. Romeo and Juliet, act i. sc. 4. - -[347:C] Ibid. vol. v. p. 203. Merry Wives of Windsor, act v. sc. 5. - -[348:A] Burton's account of the Fairies, first published in 1617, is -given with his usual erudition, and the part alluded to in the text, -proceeds thus:—"A bigger kind there is of them (fairies), called -with us _Hobgoblins_, and _Robin Good fellows_, that would in those -superstitious times, grind corn for a mess of milk, cut wood, or do -any manner of drudgery work. They would mend old Irons in those Æolian -Isles of Lypara, in former ages, and have been often seen and heard. -_Tholosanus_ calls them _Trullos_ and _Getulos_, and saith, that -in his dayes they were common in many places of France. _Dithmarus -Bleskenius_, in his description of Island, reports for a certainty, -that almost in every family they have yet some such familiar spirits; -and _Fælix Malleolus_ in his book de crudel. dæmon., affirms as much, -that these _Trolli_ or _Telchines_, are very common in Norway, _and -seen to do drudgery_ work, to draw water, saith _Wierus_, lib. i. cap. -32, dress meat or any such thing." - - Anatomy of Melancholy, fol. 7th edit., 1676, p. 29, col. 1. - -[348:B] The Discoverie of Witchcraft, 4to., 1584, pp. 152, 153. - -[349:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. pp. 347, 348. Midsummer-Night's -Dream, act ii. sc. 1. - -[349:B] Ibid. vol. iv. pp. 350-352. - -[350:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 398. - -[350:B] Vide De Otiis Imperialibus, dec. iii. cap. 61, 62. - -[350:C] Of Ghostes and Spirites walking by nyght, 4to. 1572, p. 49. - -[351:A] Of Ghostes and Spirites walking by nyght, 4to. 1572, p. 75. - -[351:B] Discoverie of Witchcraft, 4to. 1581, p. 521. - -[351:C] Discoverie, p. 85. - -[351:D] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 409. - -[351:E] "Cut off the head of a horsse or an asse (before they be dead), -otherwise the vertue or strength thereof will be the lesse effectuall, -and make an earthen vessell of fit capacitie to conteine the same, and -let it be filled with the oile and fat thereof; cover it close, and -dawbe it over with lome: let it boile over a soft fier three daies -continuallie, that the flesh boiled may run into oile, so as the bare -bones may be seene: beate the haire into powder, and mingle the same -with the oile; and annoint the heads of the standers by, and they shall -seeme to have horsses or asses heads."—Discoverie of Witchcraft, 1584, -p. 315. - -[352:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 434. Midsummer-Night's Dream, -act iii. sc. 2. - -[352:B] Ibid. vol. iv. p. 416. - -[352:C] Discoverie of Witchcraft, 1584.—Epistle to the Readers, in -which he afterwards speaks of "the want of Robin Goodfellowe and the -fairies, which were woont to mainteine chat, and the common peoples -talke in this behalfe." - -[352:D] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 406. Midsummer-Night's Dream, -act iii. sc. 2. - - "_Ob._ Here comes my _messenger_." - -[352:E] Ibid. vol. iv. p. 380. Act ii. sc. 3. - - "_Puck._ Fear not, my lord, your _servant_ shall do so." - -[352:F] Ibid. vol. iv. p. 369. Act ii. sc. 2. - - "_Ob._ My _gentle_ Puck, come hither:" - -[352:G] Ibid. vol. iv. p. 445. Act iv. sc. 1. - - "_Ob._ Welcome, _good_ Robin." - -[353:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 374. Midsummer-Night's Dream, -act ii. sc. 2. - -[353:B] Ibid. vol. iv. p. 415. Act iii. sc. 2. - -[354:A] This beautiful and highly fanciful poem could not certainly -have been written before 1605; for the Don Quixote of Cervantes, which -was first published in Spain during the above year, is expressly -mentioned in one of the stanzas; and Mr. Malone thinks that the -earliest edition of the Nymphidia was printed in 1619.—Vide Reed's -Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 350. - -[354:B] Peck attributes this song to Ben Jonson; and Percy -observes, that it seems to have been originally intended for some -masque.—Reliques, vol. iii. p. 203. ed. 1594. - -[354:C] See Fletcher's Faithful Shepherdess, and Browne's Britannia's -Pastorals. - -[354:D] Herrick, as I have observed in a former work, seems more -particularly to have delighted in drawing the manners and costume of -the fairy world.—He has devoted several of his most elaborate poems -to these sportive creations of fancy. Under the titles of The Fairy -Temple, Oberon's Palace, The Fairy Queen, and Oberon's Feast, a variety -of curious and minute imagery is appositely introduced. Literary Hours, -3d edit. vol. iii. p. 85.—To these may be added another elegantly -descriptive piece, entitled, King Oberon's Apparel, written by Sir John -Mennis, and published in The Musarum Deliciæ, or The Muses Recreation, -1656. - -[354:E] In his political ballad entitled The Fairies Farewell. - -[354:F] Vide L'Allegro, and the occasional sketches in Paradise Lost -and Comus. - -[355:A] See Shepherd's Pipe, Eglogue I. Chalmers's English Poets, vol. -vi. p. 315. col. 2. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - - OBSERVATIONS ON _ROMEO AND JULIET_; ON _THE TAMING OF THE - SHREW_; ON _THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA_; ON _KING RICHARD - THE THIRD_; ON _KING RICHARD THE SECOND_; ON _KING HENRY THE - FOURTH, PARTS I. & II._; ON _THE MERCHANT OF VENICE_, AND - ON _HAMLET_—DISSERTATION ON THE _AGENCY_ OF _SPIRITS_ AND - _APPARITIONS_, AND ON THE _GHOST_ IN _HAMLET_. - - -In endeavouring to ascertain the chronological series of our author's -plays, we must ever hold in mind, that, in general, nothing more than -_a choice of probabilities_ is before us, and that, whilst weighing -their preponderancy, the slightest additional circumstance, so equally -are they sometimes balanced, may turn the scale. It appears to us, that -an occurrence of this kind will be found to point out, more accurately -than hitherto, the precise period to which the _first_ sketch of the -following tragedy may be ascribed. - -7. ROMEO AND JULIET: 1593. The passage in this play on which the -commentators have chiefly relied for the establishment of their -respective dates, runs thus:— - - "_Nurse._ Even or odd, of all days in the year, - Come Lammas-eve at night, shall she (Juliet) be _fourteen_. - That shall she, marry; I remember it well. - 'Tis since _the earthquake_ now _eleven years_; - And she was _wean'd_,—I never shall forget it,— - For then she could _stand alone_; nay, by the rood, - She could have _run_ and _waddled_ all about."[356:A] - -Building on Shakspeare's usual custom of alluding to the events of his -own time, and transferring them to the scene and period of the piece -on which he happened to be engaged, Mr. Tyrwhitt with much probability -conjectured, that the poet, in these lines, had in view the earthquake -which, according to Stowe[357:A] and Gabriel Harvey, took place in -England on the 6th of April, 1580; but then, relying, unfortunately -too much, on the computation of the good nurse, he hastily concludes, -that _Romeo and Juliet_, or a part of it at least, was written in -1591.[357:B] - -Mr. Malone, after admitting the inference of Mr. Tyrwhitt, adds another -conjecture, that the foundation of this play might be laid in 1591, and -finished at a subsequent period[357:C], which period he has assigned in -his chronology to the year 1595.[357:D] - -Lastly, Mr. Chalmers, principally because Shakspeare appears to have -borrowed some imagery in the fifth act, from _Daniel's Complaint -of Rosamond_, which was entered at Stationers' Hall on the 4th of -February, 1592, has ascribed the first sketch of _Romeo and Juliet_ to -the spring-time of the same year.[357:E] - -Now, adopting the opinion of Mr. Tyrwhitt as to Shakspeare's reference -to the earthquake of 1580, a little attention to the lines which the -poet has put into the month of his garrulous nurse, will convince -us that these gentlemen are alike mistaken in their chronological -calculations. - -The nurse in the first place tells us, that Juliet was within little -more than a fortnight of being fourteen years old, an assertion in -which she could not be incorrect, as it is corroborated by Lady -Capulet, who thinks her daughter, in consequence of this age, fit for -marriage. In the next place she informs us that Juliet was weaned on -the day of the earthquake, and as she could then stand and run alone, -we must conceive her to have been at this period at least a twelvemonth -old; and thirdly, and immediately afterwards we are told, with a -contradiction which assigns to Juliet but the age of twelve,— - - "'Tis since the earthquake now eleven years." - -There can be no doubt, therefore, that this miscalculation of _eleven_ -for _thirteen_ years, was intended as a characteristic feature of the -superannuated nurse, and that, assuming the era of 1580 as the epoch -meant to be conveyed in the allusion to the earthquake at Verona, the -composition of _Romeo and Juliet_ must be allotted, not to the years -1591, 1592, or 1595, but to the year 1593. - -It appears somewhat singular, indeed, that Mr. Malone, contrary to -his usual custom, should have given a place in his Chronology, not to -the _first sketch_ of this play, but to a _supposed completion_ of -it in 1595; more especially when we find, from his own words[358:A], -that this, like several other dramas of our bard, was gradually and -successively improved, and that, though first printed in 1597, it was -not filled up and completed as we now have it, until 1599, when a -second edition was published. - -Some surprise also must be excited by the reasons which induced Mr. -Chalmers to date the first sketch of this tragedy in the spring of -1592. Of these the first, he remarks, "is plainly an allusion to the -Faerie Queene, the three first books of which were published in 1590; -and which was continually present in our poet's mind; Mercutio, in his -airy and satiric speech, cries out,— - - "O, then, I see Queen Mab hath been with you. - She is the fairies midwife; and she comes, - In shape no bigger than aggat stone - On the fore-finger of an alderman:"[358:B] - -forgetting, that between the _popular fairies_, the _tiny elves_, of -Shakspeare, and the _allegorical fairies_ of Spenser, there is not the -smallest similarity, not even a point in contact. The second, drawn -from the imitation of Daniel, has been noticed above, and might with as -much, if not more probability be assigned for its date in 1593 as in -the year preceding. - -There is much reason to suppose, from a late communication by Mr. -Haslewood, that this play was not altogether founded on Arthur Broke's -"Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet," but partly on a _theatrical -exhibition_ of the same story which had taken place anterior to 1562; -for in a copy of Broke's poem of this date in the Collection of the -Rev. H. White, of the Close, Lichfield, occurs an address "To the -Reader," not found in Mr. Capell's impression of 1562, and omitted in -the edition of 1587, which closes with the following curious piece of -information:—"_Though I saw_," observes Broke, speaking in reference -to his story, "_the same argument lately set foorth on the stage with -more commendation, then I can looke for_: (_being there much better set -forth then I have or can dooe_) yet the _same matter_ penned as it is, -may serve to _lyke good effect_, if the readers do brynge with them -_lyke good myndes_, to consider it, which hath the more incouraged me -to publishe it, suche as it is."[359:A] - -Here we find three important circumstances announced: that a play on -this subject had, previous to 1562, been _set forth with no little -preparation_; that it contained the _same argument_ and _matter_ -with the Tragical History, and that it had been _well received_ and -productive of a _good effect_! Thirty years, consequently, before -Shakspeare's tragedy appeared, had the stage been familiar with this -pathetic tale.[359:B] - -The play, therefore, as well as the metrical history of Broke, must -have departed, in its catastrophe, from the story of Luigi da Porta in -which Juliet awakens from her trance before the death of Romeo. It is -probable also that the play misled the English translator, and both -Shakspeare; for it is remarkable that Broke, who pretends to translate -from Bandello, has deserted his supposed original, which, with regard -to the denouement, as in every thing else, precisely copies Da Porta, -who, it would seem, had the honour of improving on a preceding writer -by the introduction of this novel and affecting incident. - -"The origin of Shakspeare's _Romeo and Juliet_," observes Mr. Dunlop, -"has generally been referred to the Giuletta of Luigi da Porta. Of -this tale Mr. Douce has attempted to trace the origin as far back as -the Greek romance by Xenophon Ephesius; but when it is considered that -this work was not published in the lifetime of Luigi da Porta, I do -not think the resemblance so strong as to induce us to believe that it -was seen by that novelist. His Giuletta is evidently borrowed from the -thirty-second novel of Massucio, which must unquestionably be regarded -as the ultimate origin of the celebrated drama of Shakspeare, though it -has escaped, as far as I know, the notice of his numerous commentators. -In the story of Massucio, a young gentleman, who resided in Sienna, -is privately married by a friar to a lady of the same place, of whom -he was deeply enamoured. Mariotto, the husband, is forced to fly from -his country, on account of having killed one of his fellow-citizens -in a squabble in the streets. An interview takes place between him -and his wife before the separation. After the departure of Mariotto, -Giannozza, the bride, is pressed by her friends to marry: she discloses -her perplexing situation to the friar, by whom the nuptial ceremony -had been performed. He gives her a soporific powder, which she drinks -dissolved in water; and the effect of this narcotic is so strong that -she is believed to be dead by her friends, and interred according to -custom. The accounts of her death reach her husband in Alexandria, -whither he had fled, before the arrival of a special messenger, who -had been dispatched by the friar to acquaint him with the real posture -of affairs. Mariotto forthwith returns in despair to his own country, -and proceeds to lament over the tomb of his bride. Before this time -she had recovered from her lethargy, and had set out for Alexandria in -quest of her husband, who meanwhile is apprehended and executed for -the murder he had formerly committed. Giannozza, finding he was not in -Egypt, returns to Sienna, and, learning his unhappy fate, retires to a -convent, where she soon after dies. The catastrophe here is different -from the novel of Luigi da Porta and the drama of Shakspeare, but there -is a perfect correspondence in the preliminary incidents. The tale of -Massucio was written about 1470, which was long prior to the age of -Luigi da Porta, who died in 1531, or of Cardinal Bembo, to whom some -have attributed the greater part of the composition."[362:A] - -With the exception of the incident which distinguishes the close of -the story as related by Luigi da Porta, Shakspeare has worked up the -materials which preceded his drama with the most astonishing effect; -and by the beauty of his sentiments, the justness of his delineation, -and the felicity of his language, he has drawn the most glowing, -pathetic, and interesting picture of disastrous love which the world -has yet contemplated. - -We perceive the highest tone of enthusiasm, combined with the utmost -purity, fidelity, and tenderness, pervading every stage of the -intercourse between _Romeo and Juliet_: and, elevated as they are, to -an almost _perfect ideal_ representation of the influence of love, so -much of actual nature is interwoven with every expression of their -feelings, that our sympathy irresistibly augments with the progress -of the fable, and becomes at length almost overwhelming. Indeed, -such is the force of the appeal which the poet makes to the heart in -this bewitching drama, that, were it not relieved by the occasional -intervention of lighter emotions, the effect would be truly painful; -but, with his wonted fertility of resource, our author has effected -this purpose in a manner, which, while it heightens by the power of -contrast, at the same time diversifies the picture, and exhilarates -the mind. Every hue of many-coloured life, the effervescence of hope, -and the hushed repose of disappointment, the bloom of youth, and the -withered aspect of age, the intoxication of rapture, and the bitterness -of grief, the scintillations of wit, and the speechless agonies of -despair, tears and smiles, groans and laughter, are so blended in the -texture of this piece, as to produce the necessary relief, without -disturbing the union and harmony of the whole, or impairing, in the -smallest degree, the gradually augmenting interest which accompanies -the hapless lovers to their tomb. - -What, for instance, can be more opposed to each other, and to the -youthful victims of the drama, than the characters of _Mercutio_, -_Friar Lawrence_, and the _Nurse_; yet the brilliancy and gaiety of -the first, the philosophic dignity of the second, and the humorous -garrulity of the third, while they afford a welcome repose to our -feelings, are essential to the developement of the plot, and to the -full display of those scenes of terror and distress which alternately -freeze and melt the heart, to the last syllable of this sweet and -mournful tale. - -Numerous as have been its relators, who has told it like our matchless -bard? "It was reserved for Shakspeare," remarks Schlegel, in a tone -of the finest enthusiasm, "to unite purity of heart and the glow of -imagination, sweetness and dignity of manners and passionate violence, -in one ideal picture. By the manner in which he has handled it, it -has become a glorious song of praise on that inexpressible feeling -which ennobles the soul, and gives to it its highest sublimity, and -which elevates even the senses themselves into soul, and at the same -time is a melancholy elegy on its frailty, from its own nature, and -external circumstances; at once the deification and the burial of love. -It appears here like a heavenly spark that, descending to the earth, -is converted into a flash of lightning, by which mortal creatures -are almost in the same moment set on fire and consumed. Whatever is -most intoxicating in the odour of a southern spring, languishing in -the song of the nightingale, or voluptuous in the first opening of -the rose, is breathed into this poem. But even more rapidly than the -earliest blossoms of youth and beauty decay, it hurries on from the -first timidly-bold declaration of love and modest return, to the most -unlimited passion, to an irrevocable union; then, amidst alternating -storms of rapture and despair, to the death of the two lovers, who -still appear enviable as their love survives them, and as by their -death they have obtained a triumph over every separating power. The -sweetest and the bitterest, love and hatred, festivity and dark -forebodings, tender embraces and sepulchres, the fullness of life and -self-annihilation, are all here brought close to each other; and all -these contrasts are so blended in the harmonious and wonderful work, -into a unity of impresions, that the echo which the whole leaves behind -in the mind, resembles a single but endless sigh."[364:A] - -8. THE TAMING OF THE SHREW: 1594. Nothing appearing to invalidate the -conclusion of Mr. Malone, that this was one of our author's earliest -plays, we have adhered to his chronology; for the lines quoted by Mr. -Chalmers, in order to establish a posterior date, - - "'Tis death for any one in Mantua - To come to Padua," &c.[364:B] - -would, if there be any weight in this instance, procure a similar -assignment, as to time, for the _Comedy of Errors_, where we find a -like prohibition of intercourse:— - - ——— "If any Syracusan born - Come to the bay of Ephesus, he dies;"[364:C] - -yet no one, in consequence of such a passage, has entertained an idea -of ascribing this comedy to the year 1598. - -The outline of the induction to this drama may be traced, as Mr. Douce -observes[364:D], through many intermediate copies, to the _Sleeper -Awakened_ of the Arabian Nights; but it is most probable, that the -immediate source of this prelude, both to the anonymous author of -the old _Taming of a Shrew_, and to Shakspeare himself, was the -_story-book_ said by Warton to have been once in the possession of -Collins the poet, a collection of short comic tales, "sett forth by -maister Richard Edwards, mayster of her Majesties revels," in the year -1570.[364:E] - -From whatever source, however, this apologue may have been directly -taken, we cannot but feel highly indebted to Shakspeare for its -conversion into a lesson of exquisite moral irony, while, at the same -time, it unfolds his wonted richness of humour, and minute delineation -of character. The whole, indeed, is conducted with such lightness and -frolic spirit, with so many happy touches of risible simplicity, yet -chastised by so constant an adherence to nature and verisimilitude, as -to form one of the most delightful and instructive sketches. - -So admirably drawn is the character of Sly, that we regret to find the -interlocution of the groupe before whom the piece is supposed to be -performed, has been dropped by our author after the close of the first -scene of the play. Here we behold the jolly tinker nodding, and, at -length, honestly exclaiming, '_Would't were done!_' and, though the -integrity of the representation require, that he should finally return -to his former state, the transformation, as before, being effected -during his sleep, yet we hear no more of this truly comic personage; -whereas in the spurious play, he is frequently introduced commenting -on the scene, is carried off the stage fast asleep, and, on the -termination of the drama, undergoes the necessary metamorphosis. - -It would appear, therefore, either that our bard's continuation -of the induction has been unaccountably lost, or that he trusted -the remainder of Sly's part to the improvisatory ingenuity of the -performers; or, what is more likely, that they were instructed to -copy a certain portion of what had been written, for this subordinate -division of the tinker's character, by the author of the elder play. -Some of the observations, indeed, of Sly, as given by the writer of -this previous comedy, are incompatible with the fable and _Dramatis -Personæ_ of Shakspeare's production; and have, consequently, been very -injudiciously introduced by Mr. Pope; but there are two passages which, -with the exception of but two names, are not only accordant with our -poet's prelude, but absolutely necessary to its completion. Shakspeare, -as we have seen, represents Sly as nodding at the end of the first -scene; and the parts of the anonymous play to which we allude, are -those where the nobleman orders the sleeping tinker to be put into his -own apparel again, and where he awakens in this garb, and believes -the whole to have been a dream; the only alterations required in this -_finale_, being the omission of the Christian appellative _Sim_, and -the conversion of _Tapster_ into _Hostess_. These few lines were, most -probably, those which Shakspeare selected as a necessary accompaniment -to his piece, from the old drama supposed to have been written in -1590[366:A]; and these lines should be withdrawn from the notes in all -the modern editions, and, though distinguished as borrowed property, -should be immediately connected with the text.[366:B] - -As to the play itself, the rapidity and variety of its action, the -skilful connection of its double plot, and the strength and vivacity -of its principal characters, must for ever ensure its popularity. -There is, indeed, a depth and breadth of colouring, in its execution, -a boldness and prominency of relief, which may be thought to border -upon coarseness; but the result has been an effect equally powerful and -interesting, though occasionally, as the subject demanded, somewhat -glaring and grotesque. - -_Petruchio_, _Katharina_, and _Grumio_, the most important personages -of the play, are consistently supported throughout, and their peculiar -features touched and brought forward with singular sharpness and -spirit; the wild, fantastic humour of the first, the wayward and -insolent demeanor of the second, contrasted with the meek, modest, and -retired disposition of her sister, together with the inextinguishable -wit and drollery of the third, form a picture, at once rich, varied, -and pre-eminently diverting. - -9. THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA: 1595. There can be little doubt that -the episode of _Felismena_, in the _Diana_ of _George of Montemayor_, -was the source whence the principal part of the plot of this play has -been taken; for, though the Translation of _Bartholomew Yong_, was -not _published_ until 1598, it appears from the translator's "Preface -to divers learned Gentlemen," that it had been completed in the year -1582; "it hath lyen by me finished," he says, "Horace's _ten and six -yeeres more_," a declaration which renders it very probable, that -the manuscript may have been circulated among his friends, and the -more striking parts impressed upon their memory. But we are further -informed, in this very preface, that a partial but excellent version -of the _Diana_, had preceded his labours:—"Well might I," says Yong, -"have excused these paines, if onely _Edward Paston, Esquier_, who -heere and there for his own pleasure, as I understand, hath aptly -turned out of Spanish into English some leaves that liked him best, -had also made an absolute and complete Translation of all the Parts -of _Diana_: the which, for his travell in that countrey, and great -knowledge in that language, accompanied with other learned and good -parts in him, had of all others, that ever I heard translate these -Bookes, prooved the rarest and worthiest to be embraced." We also -learn from Dr. Farmer, that the _Diana_ was translated two or three -years before 1598, by one Thomas Wilson; but, he adds, "this work, I -am persuaded, was never published _entirely_; perhaps some parts of it -were, or the tale might have been translated by others."[367:A] - -These intimations sufficiently warrant the conclusion, that Shakspeare -may have become familiar with this portion of the Spanish romance, -anterior to the publication of Yong's version in 1598; indeed so -closely does the story of Proteus and Julia correspond with the episode -of Montemayor, that Shakspeare's obligations cannot be mistaken. "He -has copied the original," as Mr. Dunlop observes, "in some minute -particulars, which clearly evince the source from which the drama has -been derived. As for example, in the letter which Proteus addresses -to Julia, her rejection of it when offered by her waiting-maid, and -the device by which she afterwards attempts to procure a perusal. (Act -i. sc. 2.) In several passages, indeed, the dramatist has copied the -language of the pastoral."[368:A] - -This play, though betraying marks of negligence and haste, especially -towards its termination, is yet a most pleasing and instructive -composition. There is scarcely a page of it, indeed, that is not -pregnant with some just and useful maxim, and we stand amazed at the -blind and tasteless decisions of Hanmer, Theobald, and Upton, who not -only disputed the authenticity of this drama, but condemned it as a -very inferior production. - -So far are these opinions, however, from having any just foundation, -that we may safely assert the peculiar style of Shakspeare to be -vividly impressed on all the parts of this drama, whether serious or -comic; and as to its aphoristic wealth, it may be truly said, with -Dr. Johnson, that "it abounds with γνωμαι; beyond most of his plays, and -few have more lines or passages, which, singly considered, are eminently -beautiful."[368:B] - -But besides this, justice requires of us to remark, that there is a -romantic and pathetic cast, both of sentiment and character, throughout -the more elevated parts of this production, which has given to them -a peculiar charm. The delineation of _Julia_ in particular, from -the gentleness and modesty of her disposition, the ill requital of -her attachment, and the hazardous disguise which she assumes, must -be confessed to excite the tenderest emotions of sympathy. This is -a character, indeed, which Shakspeare has delighted to embody, and -which he has further developed in the lovely and fascinating portraits -of _Viola_ and _Imogen_, who, like _Julia_, forsaken or despised, -are driven to the same expedients, and, deserting their native -roof, perform their adventurous pilgrimages under similar modes of -concealment.[369:A] - -A portion also of this romantic enthusiasm has thrown an interest -over the characters of _Sir Eglamour_ and _Silvia_, and evanescent as -the part of the former is, we see enough of him to regret that he has -not been brought more forward on the canvas. He is represented as a -gentleman - - "Valiant, wise, remorseful, well accomplished," - -and when Silvia, on the eve of her elopement, solicits his assistance, -she thus addresses him:— - - "Thyself hast loved; and I have heard thee say, - No grief did ever come so near thy heart, - As when thy lady and thy true love died, - Upon whose grave thou vow'dst pure chastity."[369:B] - -Nor are the ludicrous scenes less indicative of the hand of Shakspeare, -the part of Launce, which forms the chief source of mirth in this play, -being supported throughout with undeviating wit and humour, and with -an effect greatly superior to that of the comic dialogue of _Love's -Labour's Lost_ and _The Comedy of Errors_. - -Nor must we forget to remark, that the versification of the _Two -Gentlemen of Verona_ is peculiarly sweet and harmonious, and very -happily corresponds with the delicacy, simplicity, and tenderness of -feeling which have so powerfully shed their never-failing fascination -over many of its serious scenes. How exquisitely, for instance, does -the rhythm of the following lines, coalesce with and expand their -sentiment and imagery:— - - "_Julia._ Counsel, Lucetta; gentle girl, assist me! - —————————— Tell me some good mean, - How, with my honour, I may undertake - A journey to my loving Proteus. - - _Luc._ Alas! the way is wearisome and long. - - _Jul._ A true-devoted pilgrim is not weary - To measure kingdoms with his feeble steps; - Much less shall she, that hath love's wings to fly, - And when the flight is made to one so dear.— - - _Luc._ Better forbear, till Proteus make return.— - - _Jul._ The current, that with gentle murmur glides, - Thou know'st, being stopp'd, impatiently doth rage; - But, when his fair course is not hindered, - He makes sweet musick with the enamel'd stones, - Giving a gentle kiss to every sedge - He overtaketh in his pilgrimage; - And so by many winding nooks he strays, - With willing sport, to the wild ocean. - Then let me go, and hinder not my course: - I'll be as patient as a gentle stream, - And make a pastime of each weary step. - Till the last step have brought me to my love; - And there I'll rest, as, after much turmoil, - A blessed soul doth in Elysium."[370:A] - -10. KING RICHARD THE THIRD: 1595. It is the conjecture of Mr. Malone, -and by which he has been guided in his chronological arrangement, -that this play, and _King Richard the Second_, were _written_, -_acted_, _registered_, and _printed_ in the year 1597. That they were -_registered_ and _published_ during this year, we have indisputable -authority[370:B]; but that they were _written_ and _acted_ within the -same period, is a supposition without any proof, and, to say the least -of it, highly improbable. - -Mr. Chalmers, struck by this incautious assertion, of two such plays -being written, acted, and published in a few months[370:C]; reflecting -that Shakspeare, impressed by the character of Glocester, in his play -of _Henry the Sixth_, might be induced to resume his _national_ dramas -by continuing the _Historie_ of Richard, to which he might be more -immediately stimulated by his knowledge that an enterlude entitled the -_Tragedie of Richard the Third_, had been exhibited in 1593, or 1594; -and ingeniously surmising that _Richard the Second_ was a subsequent -production, because it ushered in a distinct and concatenated series -of history, has, under this view of the subject, given precedence to -_Richard the Third_ in the order of composition, and assigned its -origin to the year 1595. - -The description of a small volume of Epigrams by John Weever, in Mr. -Beloe's Anecdotes of Literature, has since confirmed the chronology of -Mr. Chalmers, so far as it proves that _one_ of Shakspeare's _Richards_ -had certainly been acted in 1595. - -The book in question, in the collection of Mr. Comb, of Henley, and -supposed to be a unique, was published in 1599, at which period, -according to the date of the print of him prefixed by Cecill, the -author was twenty-three years old; but Weever tells us, in some -introductory stanzas, that when he wrote the poems which compose this -volume, he was _not_ twenty years old; that he was one - - "That twenty twelve months yet did _never know_," - -consequently, these Epigrams _must have been written in 1595_, though -not printed before 1599. They exhibit the following title: "Epigrammes -in the oldest Cut and newest Fashion. A twise seven Houres (in so many -Weekes) Studie. No longer (like the Fashion) not unlike to continue. -The first seven, John Weever. - - Sit voluisse sit valuisse. - -At London: printed by V. S. for Thomas Bushell, and are to be sold at -his shop, at the great North doore of Paules. 1599. 12mo." - -Of this collection the twenty-second Epigram of the fourth Weeke, which -we have formerly had occasion to notice, and which we shall now give at -length, is addressed - - -"AD GULIELMUM SHAKESPEARE. - - Honie-Tongd Shakespeare, when I saw thine issue, - I swore Apollo got them, and none other, - Their rosie-tainted features clothed in tissue, - Some heaven-born goddesse said to be their mother. - Rose cheeckt Adonis with his amber tresses, - Faire fire-hot Venus charming him to love her, - Chaste Lucretia, virgine-like her dresses, - Proud lust-stung Tarquine seeking still to prove her, - Romeo, RICHARD, more whose names I know not, - Their sugred tongues and power attractive beauty, - Say they are saints, althogh that Sts they shew not, - For thousand vowes to them subjective dutie, - They burn in love thy children Shakspeare let them - Go we thy muse more nymphish brood beget them."[372:A] - -We have no doubt that by the _Richard_ of this epigram the author -meant to imply the play of _Richard the Third_, which, according to -our arrangement, was the _immediately succeeding tragedy_ to _Romeo_, -and may be said to have been almost promised by the poet in the two -concluding scenes of the _Last Part of King Henry the Sixth_, a promise -which, as we believe, was carried into execution after an interval of -three years.[372:B] - -The character of _Richard the Third_, which had been opened in so -masterly a manner in the _Concluding Part of Henry the Sixth_, is, in -this play, developed in all its horrible grandeur. - -It is, in fact, the picture of a demoniacal incarnation, moulding the -passions and foibles of mankind, with super-human precision, to its -own iniquitous purposes. Of this isolated and peculiar state of being -Richard himself seems sensible, when he declares— - - "I have no brother, I am like no brother: - And this word love, which grey-beards call divine, - Be resident in men like one another, - And not in me: I am myself alone."[373:A] - -From a delineation like this Milton must have caught many of the -most striking features of his Satanic portrait. The same union -of unmitigated depravity, and consummate intellectual energy, -characterises both, and renders what would otherwise be loathsome and -disgusting, an object of sublimity and shuddering admiration. - -Richard, stript as he is of all the softer feelings, and all the common -charities, of humanity, possessed of - - "neither pity, love, nor fear,"[373:B] - -and loaded with every dangerous and dreadful vice, would, were it -not for his unconquerable powers of mind, be insufferably revolting. -But, though insatiate in his ambition, envious, and hypocritical in -his disposition, cruel, bloody, and remorseless in all his deeds, he -displays such an extraordinary share of cool and determined courage, -such alacrity and buoyancy of spirit, such constant self-possession, -such an intuitive intimacy with the workings of the human heart, and -such matchless skill in rendering them subservient to his views, as -so far to subdue our detestation and abhorrence of his villany, that -we, at length, contemplate this fiend in human shape with a mingled -sensation of intense curiosity and grateful terror. - -The task, however, which Shakspeare undertook was, in one instance, -more arduous than that which Milton subsequently attempted; for, in -addition to the hateful constitution of Richard's moral character, -he had to contend also against the prejudices arising from personal -deformity, from a figure - - ————————— "curtail'd of it's fair proportion, - Cheated of feature by dissembling nature, - Deform'd, unfinish'd, sent before it's time - Into this breathing world, scarce half made up;"[374:A] - -and yet, in spite of these striking personal defects, which were -considered, also, as indicatory of the depravity and wickedness of his -nature, the poet has contrived, through the medium of the high mental -endowments just enumerated, not only to obviate disgust, but to excite -extraordinary admiration. - -One of the most prominent and detestable vices indeed, in Richard's -character, his hypocrisy, connected, as it always is, in his person, -with the most profound skill and dissimulation, has, owing to the -various parts which it induces him to assume, most materially -contributed to the popularity of this play, both on the stage, and in -the closet. He is one who can - - —— "frame his face to all occasions,"[374:B] - -and accordingly appears, during the course of his career, under the -contrasted forms of a subject and a monarch, a politician and a wit, -a soldier and a suitor, a sinner and a saint; and in all with such -apparent ease and fidelity to nature, that while to the explorer -of the human mind he affords, by his penetration and address, a -subject of peculiar interest and delight, he offers to the practised -performer a study well calculated to call forth his fullest and finest -exertions. He, therefore, whose histrionic powers are adequate to the -just exhibition of this character, may be said to have attained the -highest honours of his profession; and, consequently, the popularity of -_Richard the Third_, notwithstanding the moral enormity of its hero, -may be readily accounted for, when we recollect, that the versatile and -consummate hypocrisy of the tyrant has been embodied by the talents of -such masterly performers as Garrick, Kemble, Cook, and Kean. - -So overwhelming and exclusive is the character of Richard, that the -comparative insignificancy of all the other persons of the drama may be -necessarily inferred; they are reflected to us, as it were, from his -mirror, and become more or less important, and more or less developed, -as he finds it necessary to act upon them; so that our estimate of -their character is entirely founded on his relative conduct, through -which we may very correctly appreciate their strength or weakness. - -The only exception to this remark is in the person of Queen Margaret, -who, apart from the agency of Richard, and dimly seen in the darkest -recesses of the picture, pours forth, in union with the deep tone of -this tragedy, the most dreadful curses and imprecations; with such -a wild and prophetic fury, indeed, as to involve the whole scene in -tenfold gloom and horror. - -We have to add that the moral of this play is great and impressive. -Richard, having excited a general sense of indignation, and a general -desire of revenge, and, unaware of his danger from having lost, through -familiarity with guilt, all idea of moral obligation, becomes at length -the victim of his own enormous crimes; he falls not unvisited by the -terrors of conscience, for, on the eve of danger and of death, the -retribution of another world is placed before him; the spirits of those -whom he had murdered, reveal the awful sentence of his fate, and his -bosom heaves with the infliction of eternal torture. - -11. KING RICHARD THE SECOND: 1596. Our great poet having been induced -to improve and re-compose the Dramatic History of _Henry the Sixth_, -and to continue the character of Gloucester to the close of his -usurpation, in the drama of _Richard the Third_, very naturally, from -the success which had crowned these efforts, reverted to the prior -part of our national story for fresh subjects, and, led by a common -principle of association, selected for the commencement of a new series -of historical plays, which should form an unbroken chain with those -that he had previously written, the reign of _Richard the Second_. On -this account, therefore, and from the intimation of time, noticed by -Mr. Chalmers, towards the conclusion of the first [376:A]act, we are -led to coincide with this gentleman in assigning the composition of -_Richard the Second_ to the year 1596. - -Of the character of this unfortunate young prince, Shakspeare has -given us a delineation in conformity with the general tone of history, -but heightened by many exquisite and pathetic touches. Richard -was beautiful in his person, and elegant in his manners[376:B]; -affectionate, generous, and faithful in his attachments, and -though intentionally neglected in his education, not defective in -understanding. Accustomed, by his designing uncles, to the company of -the idle and the dissipated, and to the unrestrained indulgence of his -passions, we need not wonder that levity, ostentation, and prodigality, -should mark his subsequent career, and should ultimately lead him to -destruction. - -Though the errors of his misguided youth are forcibly depicted in -the drama, yet the poet has reserved his strength for the period -of adversity. Richard, descending from his throne, discovers the -unexpected virtues of humility, fortitude, and resignation, and becomes -not only an object of love and pity, but of admiration; and there is -nothing in the whole compass of our author's plays better calculated -to produce, with full effect, these mingled emotions of compassion and -esteem, than the passages which paint the sentiments and deportment of -the fallen monarch. Patience, submission, and misery, were never more -feelingly expressed than in the following lines: - - "_K. Rich._ What must the king do now? Must he submit? - The king shall do it. Must he be depos'd? - The king shall be contented: Must he lose - The name of king? o'God's name, let it go: - I'll give my jewels, for a set of beads; - My gorgeous palace, for a hermitage; - My gay apparel, for an alms-man's gown: - My figur'd goblets, for a dish of wood; - My scepter, for a palmer's walking staff; - My subjects, for a pair of carved saints; - And my large kingdom for a little grave, - A little, little grave, an obscure grave:— - Or I'll be buried in the king's highway, - Some way of common trade, where subjects' feet - May hourly trample on their sovereign's head:"[377:A] - -and with what an innate nobility of heart does he repress the homage of -his attendants! - - "Cover your heads, and mock not flesh and blood - With solemn reverence; throw away respect, - Tradition, form, and ceremonious duty, - For you have but mistook me all this while: - I live with bread like you, feel want, taste grief, - Need friends:—Subjected thus, - How can you say to me—I am a king?"[377:B] - -Nor does his conduct, in the hour of suffering and extreme humiliation, -derogate from the philosophy of his sentiments. In that admirable -opening of the second scene of the fifth act, where the Duke of York -relates to his Duchess the entrance of Bolingbroke and Richard into -London, the demeanour of the latter is thus pourtrayed:— - - ————————————— "Men's eyes - Did scowl on Richard; no man cried, God save him; - No joyful tongue gave him his welcome home: - But dust was thrown upon his sacred head; - Which with such gentle sorrow he shook off,— - His face still combating with tears and smiles, - The badges of his grief and patience,— - That had not God, for some strong purpose, steel'd - The hearts of men, they must perforce have melted, - And barbarism itself have pitied him."[378:A] - -In representing Richard as falling by the hand of Sir Piers of Exton, -Shakspeare has followed the Chronicle of Holinshed; but there can be -no doubt but this unhappy monarch either starved himself under the -influence of despair, or was starved by the cruelty of his enemies. -If in the account which Speed has given us of this tragedy, the most -complete that we possess, the relation of Polydore Virgil be correct, -nothing can be conceived more diabolical than the conduct of Henry and -his agents. "His diet being served in," says that historian, "and set -before him in the wonted Princely manner, hee was not suffered either -to taste, or touch thereof." "Surely," adds Speed, in a manner which -reflects credit on his sensibility, "hee is not a man who at the report -of so exquisite a barbarisme, as Richard's enfamishment, feeles not -chilling horror and detestation; what if but for a justly condemned -galley-slave so dying? but how for an annointed King whose character -(like that of holy orders) is indeleble?"[378:B] - -Of the secondary characters of this play, "Old John of Gaunt, -time-honour'd Lancaster," and his son Henry Bolingbroke, are brought -forward with strict attention to the evidence of history; the chivalric -spirit, and zealous integrity of the first, and the cold, artificial -features of the second, being struck off with great sharpness of -outline, and strength of discrimination. - -12. HENRY THE FOURTH; PART THE FIRST: 1596; - -13. HENRY THE FOURTH; PART THE SECOND: 1596: - -That both these plays were written in the year 1596, will, we think, -appear from consulting the arguments and quotations adduced by Mr. -Malone to prove them the compositions of 1597 and 1598, and by Mr. -Chalmers with the view of assigning them to the years 1596 and 1597; -for while the _latter_ gentleman has rendered it most probable, from -the allusions which he has noticed in the play itself, that the _First -Part_ was written in 1596, the authorities and citations produced by -the _former_, for the assignment of the _Second Part_ to the year -1598, almost necessarily refer it, strange as it may appear, with only -one exception[379:A], and that totally indecisive, to the very same -year which witnessed the composition of its predecessor, namely 1596! -Influenced by this result, and by the observation of Dr. Johnson, that -these dramas appear "to be two, only because they are too long to -be one[379:B]," we have placed them under the same year, convinced, -with Mr. Malone, that they could not be written _before_ 1596; and -induced, from the arguments to which he, and his immediate successor in -chronological research have advanced, though with a different object, -to consider them as not written _after_ that period.[379:C] - -The inimitable genius of Shakspeare is no where more conspicuous than -in the construction of these dramas, whether we consider the serious -or the comic parts. In the former, which involve occurrences of the -highest interest in a national point of view, the competition, and -we may say, the contrast between Percy and the Prince of Wales, is -supported with unrivalled talent and discrimination. Full of a fiery -and uncontrollable courage, mingled with a portion of arrogance and -spleen, generous, chivalric, and open, and breathing throughout a -lofty, and even sublime spirit, Hotspur appears before us a youthful -model of enthusiastic and impetuous heroism. - -Yet, noble and exciting as this character must be pronounced, -notwithstanding the very obvious alloy of a vindictive and ungovernable -temper, it is completely overshadowed by that which is attributed to -the Prince of Wales; a result which may, with a perfect conviction -of certainty, be ascribed to the combination of two very powerful -causes,—to the rare union, in fact, of great and varied intellectual -energy, with the utmost amiability of disposition. Percy has but the -virtues and accomplishments of a military adventurer, for in society -he is boisterous, self-willed, and unaccommodating; while Henry, to -bravery equally gallant and undaunted, adds all the endearing arts of -social intercourse. He is gay, witty, gentle, and good-tempered, with -such a high relish for humour and frolic as to lead him, through an -over-indulgence of this propensity, into numerous scenes of dissipation -and idleness, and into a familiarity with persons admirably well -calculated, it is true, for the gratification of the most fertile -and comic imagination, but who, in every moral and useful light, are -altogether worthless and degraded. - -From the contaminating influence of such dangerous connections, he -is rescued by the vigour of his mind, and the goodness of his heart; -for, possessing a clear and unerring conception of the character of -Falstaff and his associates, though he tolerate their intimacy from a -reprehensible love of wit and humour, he beholds, with a consciousness -of self-abasement, the depravity of their principles, and is guarded -against any durable injury or impression from these dissolute -companions of his sport. - -The effect, however, of this temporary delusion is both in a moral and -dramatic light, singularly striking; contemned and humiliated in the -eyes of those who surround him, little expectancy is entertained, not -even by the King himself, of any permanently vigorous or dignified -conduct in his son; for though he has, more than once, exhibited -himself equal to the occasion, however great, which has called him -forth, he has immediately relapsed into his former wild and eccentric -habits. When, therefore, annihilating the gloom which has hitherto -obscured his lustre, and shaking off his profligate companions like -"dew-drops from the lion's mane," he comes forward, strong in moral -resolution, dignified without effort, firm without ostentation, and -consistent without a sense of sacrifice, a denouement is produced, at -once great, satisfactory, and splendid.[381:A] - -If the serious parts of these plays, however, be powerful and -characteristic, the comic portion is still more entitled to our -admiration, being rich, original, and varied, in a degree unparalleled -by any other writer. - -There never was a character drawn, perhaps, so complete and -individualized as that of Falstaff, nor one in which so many contrasted -qualities are rendered subservient to the production of the highest -entertainment and delight. In the compound, however, is to be found -neither atrocious vices, nor any decided moral virtues; it is merely -a tissue, though woven with matchless skill, of the agreeable and the -disagreeable, the former so preponderating as to stamp the result with -the power of imparting pleasurable emotion. - -_Sensuality_, under all its forms, is the _vice_ of Falstaff; _wit_ and -_gaiety_ are his _virtues_. - -As to gratify his animal appetites, therefore, is the sole end and -aim of his being, every faculty of his mind and body is directed -exclusively to this purpose, and he is no further vicious, no further -interesting and agreeable than may be necessary to the acquisition -of his object. Had he succeeded but partially in the attainment of -his views, and consequently by the means usually put in practice, he -would have been contemptible, loathsome, and disgusting, but he has -succeeded to an extent beyond all other men, and therefore by means of -an extraordinary kind, and which have covered the fruition of his plans -with an adventitious and even fascinating lustre. - -The perfect Epicurism, in short, which he cultivates, requires for -the obtention of its gratifications a multitude of brilliant and -attractive qualifications; for, in order to run the full career of -sensual enjoyment, associated as he was with a man of high rank, and -considerable mental powers, it was necessary that he should render -himself both highly acceptable and interesting, that he should assume -the appearance or pretend to the possession of several virtues, -and that he should be guilty of no very revolting or disgustful -intemperance. - -To perform this task, however, with unfailing effect, demanded, on -the part of Falstaff, incessant intellectual vigour, and a perpetual -command of temper, and these Shakspeare has bestowed upon him in -their full plenitude. His wit is inexhaustible, his gaiety and -good-humour undeviating, his address shrewd and discriminating, and, -as the favourable opinion of his associates is, to a certain extent, -essential to his enjoyments, he endeavours to impress the prince with -confidence in his friendship and courage, his gratitude and fidelity, -and to impose on his equals and inferiors a sense of his military and -political importance. It is also requisite that, though an incorrigible -lover of wine, of dainty fare, and of all libidinous delights, he -should exhibit nothing either as the accompaniment or consequence of -these pursuits, which should be beastly or loathsome; he is, therefore, -never represented as in a state of intoxication, nor loaded with more -infirmities than what corpulency produces; but is always himself, -crafty, sprightly, selfish, and intelligent, ever ready to invent and -to enjoy the sport, the revel, and the jest. - -Thus constituted, his social and intellectual qualities so blending -with the dissolute propensities of his nature, that the epicure, and -free-booter, the whore-monger and vain-glorious boaster, lose in -the composition their native deformity, Falstaff becomes the most -entertaining and seductive companion that the united powers of genius, -levity, and laughter have ever, in the most felicitous hour of their -mirth and fancy, created for the sons of men. - -Yet, dangerous as such a delineation may appear, Shakspeare, with his -usual attention to the best interests of mankind, has rendered it -subservient to the most striking moral effects, both as these apply to -the character of Falstaff himself, and to that of his temporary patron, -the Prince of Wales; for while the virtue, energy, and good sense -of the latter are placed in the most striking point of view by his -firm dismissal of a most fascinating and too endeared voluptuary, the -permanently degrading consequences of sensuality are exhibited in their -full strength during the career, and in the fate, of the former. - -It is very generally found that great and splendid vices are -mingled with concomitant virtues, which often ultimately lead to -self-accusation, and to the salutary agonies of remorse; but he who is -deeply plunged in the grovelling pursuits of appetite is too frequently -lost to all sense of shame, to all feeling of integrity or conscious -worth. Polluted by the meanest depravities, not only religious -principle ceases to affect the mind, but every thing which contributes -to honour or to grandeur in the human character is gone for ever; a -catastrophe to which wit and humour, by rendering the sensualist a -more self-deluded and self-satisfied being, lend the most powerful -assistance. - -Thus is it with Falstaff—to the last he remains the same, unrepentant, -unreformed; and, though shaken off by all that is valuable or good -around him, dies the very sensualist which he had lived! - -We may, therefore, derive from this character as much instruction -as entertainment; and, to the delight which we receive from the -contemplation of a picture so rich and original, add a lesson of -morality as aweful and impressive as the history of human frailty can -present. - -In order fully to unfold the extraordinary character of Falstaff, it -was necessary to throw around him a set of familiar associates, who -might, through all the privacies of domestic life, lay open his follies -and knaveries, while, at the same time, they themselves contributed, -in no small degree, to the amusement of the scene. How admirably the -poet has succeeded in this design, the spirited and glowing sketches -of Bardolph, Pistol, and Mrs. Quickly, and of Justices Shallow and -Silence, will bear an ever-during testimony. Than the scenes in -which the two magistrates appear, nothing can be conceived more -characteristically pleasant and original. The garrulity, vanity, and -knavish simplicity of Shallow; the asinine gravity of Silence when -sober, and his irrepressible hilarity when tipsy; Falstaff's exquisite -appreciation of their characters, and his patronage of Shallow, -are presented to us with a naïveté, raciness, and completeness of -conception, which it is in vain to look for elsewhere. - -We have further to remark, that the _fable_ of the _Two Parts of Henry -the Fourth_ is connected with peculiar skill through the intervention -of the _comic_ incidents. It was essential, in fact, for the purposes -of representation, that there should be a satisfactory close to each -Part, while, at the same time, such a medium of communication should -exist between the two, as to form a perfect whole. To effect this, the -serious and the ludicrous departments of these dramas are conducted -in a different way; the former exhibiting two catastrophes while -the latter has but one. Thus the death of Percy in the first play, -and the death of Henry the Fourth in the second, form two judicious -terminations of the tragic portion, while the rich vein of comedy -running through both divisions, is only bounded by the _Reformation_ of -Henry the Fifth, and the _Fall_ of his vicious but facetious companion; -a denouement at once natural and complete, and springing from -intrinsic causes, being the sole result of firmness and penetration in -the prince, and of self-delusion in the knight. - -14. THE MERCHANT OF VENICE: 1597. We are inclined to prefer this date -to that of 1598, in consequence of the two allusions to time noticed -by Mr. Chalmers in his Chronology[385:A]; and which, as the epoch -formerly fixed on by the commentators was founded merely on the fact -of this play being registered on the 22d of July, 1598, a circumstance -perfectly indecisive as to the period of its composition, ought -consequently to possess the privilege of establishing its era. - -Of the _three_ plots which constitute this very interesting drama, -namely that of the _Caskets_, that of the _Bond_, and that of the -_Elopement_ of Jessica, the first two appear to have formed the fable -of a play entitled _The Jew_, long anterior to our author's production. -"The Jew shown at the Bull," says Gosson in his _School of Abuse_, -1579, "representing the _greediness of worldly choosers_, and the -_bloody minds of usurers_——these plays," says he, mentioning others -at the same time, "are goode and sweete plays."[385:B] - -Now, there can be no doubt that Shakspeare, in conformity to his -usual custom, would avail himself of the labours of this his dramatic -predecessor; but it is also evident that he had other resources. -"The author of the old play of _The Jew_," observes Mr. Douce, "and -Shakspeare in his _Merchant of Venice_, have not confined themselves -to one source only in the construction of their plot; but, that the -_Pecorone_, the _Gesta Romanorum_, and perhaps the old _Ballad of -Gernutus_, have been respectively resorted to. It is however most -probable that the original play was indebted chiefly, if not altogether -to the _Gesta Romanorum_, which contained both the main incidents; and -that Shakspeare expanded and improved them, partly from his own genius, -and partly, as to the bond, from the _Pecorone_, where the coincidences -are too manifest to leave any doubt. Thus, the scene being laid at -Venice; the residence of the lady at Belmont; the introduction of a -person bound for the principal; the double infraction of the bond, -viz., the taking more or less than a pound of flesh and the shedding -of blood, together with the after-incident of the ring, are common to -the novel and the play. The whetting of the knife might perhaps have -been taken from the _Ballad of Gernutus_. Shakspeare was likewise -indebted to an authority that could not have occurred to the original -author of the play in an English form; this was, Silvayn's _Orator_, -as translated by Munday. From that work Shylock's reasoning before the -senate is evidently borrowed; but at the same time it has been most -skilfully improved."[386:A] - -The _Orator_ of _Silvayn_, translated by Munday from the French, -was printed by Adam Islip in 1596, and forms one of Mr. Chalmers's -authorities for assigning the composition of the _Merchant of Venice_ -to the year 1597. - -Of the _two English Gesta_ mentioned by Mr. Douce, that containing the -story of the _Bond_ is as old as the reign of Henry the Sixth, and -though now only known to exist in manuscript[386:B], might probably -have been in print in the time of Shakspeare and the author of the -elder play. - -The _Gesta_, including the story of the _Caskets_, there is reason -to think, was translated by _Leland_ and revised by R. Robinson; for -a memorandum relative to the first edition of the improved version, -written by Robinson himself, and occurring in his _Eupolemia_, is -thus worded:—"1577. A record of ancyent historyes intituled in Latin -_Gesta Romanorum_, translated (auctore ut supponitur Johane Leylando -antiquario) by mee perused corrected and bettered. Perused further by -the wardens of the stationer's and printed first and last by Thomas -Easte."[386:C] If the supposition here recorded be correct, it is -highly probable that Leland's translation is identical with that -referred to by Mr. Warton and Dr. Farmer[387:A] as printed by Wynkyn -de Worde without date; though it must be remarked, that neither Mr. -Herbert, nor Mr. Douce, nor Mr. Dibdin has been fortunate enough to -discover such an impression.[387:B] - -As many of the incidents in the Bond story of the _Merchant of Venice_ -possess a more striking resemblance to the first tale of the fourth -day in the _Pecorone_ of _Ser Giovanni_, than to either the Gesta, the -Ballad of Gernutus, or the Orator of Silvayn, the probability is, that -a version of this tale, if not of the entire collection, was extant in -Shakspeare's days. _Il Pecorone_, though written almost two centuries -before, was not published until 1558, when the first edition came forth -at Milan. - -The love and elopement of Jessica and Lorenzo have been noticed by -Mr. Dunlop as bearing a similitude to the fourteenth tale of the -second book of the _Novellino_ of _Massuccio Di Salerno_[387:C]; but -it must be recollected, that until the play alluded to by Gosson can -be produced, it is impossible to ascertain to whom Shakspeare is most -peculiarly indebted for the materials of his complicated plot. - -There is much reason to conclude, however, that the felicitous union of -the two principal actions of this drama, that concatenation of cause -and effect, which has formed them into a whole, is to be ascribed, -almost exclusively, to the judgment and the art of Shakspeare. There -is also another unity of equal moment, seldom found wanting, indeed, -in any of the genuine plays of our poet, but which is particularly -observable in this, that _unity of feeling_ which we have once before -had occasion to notice, and which, in the present instance, has given -an uniform, but an extraordinary, tone to every part of the fable. Thus -the unparalleled nature of the trial between the Jew and his debtor, -required, in order to produce that species of dramatic consistency -so essential to the illusion of the reader or spectator, that the -other important incident of the piece should assume an equal cast of -singularity; the enigma, therefore, of the caskets is a most suitable -counterpart to the savage eccentricity of the bond, and their skilful -combination effects the probability arising from similitude of nature -and intimacy of connection. - -Yet the ingenuity of the fable is surpassed by the truth and -originality of the characters that carry it into execution. Avarice -and revenge, the prominent vices of Shylock, are painted with a pencil -so discriminating, as to appear very distinct from the same passions -in the bosom of a Christian. The peculiar circumstances, indeed, -under which the Jews have been placed for so many centuries, would of -themselves be sufficient, were the national feelings correctly caught, -to throw a peculiar colouring over all their actions and emotions; -but to these were unhappily added, in the age of Shakspeare, the most -rooted prejudices and antipathies; an aversion, indeed, partaking of -hatred and horror, was indulged against this persecuted people, and -consequently the picture which Shakspeare has drawn exhibits not only a -faithful representation of Jewish sentiments and manners, the necessary -result of a singular dispensation of Providence, but it embodies in -colours, of almost preternatural strength, the Jew as he appeared to -the eye of the shuddering Christian. - -In Shylock, therefore, while we behold the manners and the associations -of the Hebrew mingling with every thing he says and does, and touched -with a verisimilitude and precision which excite our astonishment, we, -at the same time, perceive, that, influenced by the prepossessions -above-mentioned, the poet has clothed him with passions which would not -derogate from a personification of the evil principle itself. He is, in -fact, in all the lighter parts of his character, a generical exemplar -of Judaism, but demonized, individualized, and rendered awfully -striking and horribly appalling by the attribution of such unrelenting -malice, as we will hope, for the honour of our species, was never yet -accumulated, with such intensity, in any human breast. - -So vigorous, however, so masterly is the delineation of this Satanic -character, and so exactly did it, until of late years, chime in with -the bigotry of the Christian world, that no one of our author's plays -has experienced greater popularity. Fortunately the time has now -arrived when the Jew and the Christian can meet with all the feelings -of humanity about them; a state of society which, more than any other, -is calculated to effect that conversion for which every disciple of our -blessed religion will assuredly pray. - -There is, also, to be found in this beautiful play a charm for the most -gentle and amiable minds, a vein of dignified melancholy and pensive -sweetness which endears it to every heart, and which fascinates the -more as affording the most welcome relief to the merciless conduct -of its leading character. What, for instance, can be more soothing -and delightful to the feelings, than the generous and disinterested -friendship of Antonio, when contrasted with the hard and selfish -nature of Shylock; what more noble than the sublime resignation of -the merchant, when opposed to the deadly and relentless hatred of his -prosecutor! Never was friendship painted more intense and lovely than -in the parting scene of Antonio and Bassanio; Salarino, speaking of the -former, says,— - - "A kinder gentleman treads not the earth. - I saw Bassanio and Antonio part: - Bassanio told him, he would make some speed - Of his return: he answer'd—'Do not so, - Slubber not business for my sake, Bassanio, - But stay the very riping of the time; - And for the Jew's bond, which he hath of me, - Let it not enter in your mind of love: - Be merry; and employ your chiefest thoughts - To courtship, and such fair ostents of love - As shall conveniently become you there:' - _And even there, his eye being big with tears, - Turning his face, he put his hand behind him, - And with affection wond'rous sensible - He wrung Bassanio's hand, and so they parted_. - - _Salanio._ I think, he only loves the world for him."[389:A] - -Nor do the female personages of the drama contribute less to this -grateful effect: the sensible, the spirited, the eloquent _Portia_, -who has a principal share in the business of both plots, is equally -distinguished for the tenderness of her disposition and the goodness of -her heart, and her pleadings for mercy in behalf of the injured Antonio -will dwell on the ear of pity and admiration to the last syllable of -recorded time. - -With a similar result do we enter into the character of _Jessica_, -whose artlessness, simplicity, and affectionate temper, excite, in -an uncommon degree, the interest of the reader. The opening of the -fifth act, where Lorenzo and Jessica are represented conversing on a -summer's night, in the avenue at Belmont, and listening with rapture to -the sounds of music, produces, occurring as it does immediately after -the soul-harrowing scene in the court of justice, the most enchanting -emotion; it breathes, indeed, a repose so soft and delicious, that the -mind seems dissolving in tranquil luxury: - - "How sweet the moon-light sleeps upon this bank! - Here will we sit, and let the sounds of musick - Creep in our ears; soft stillness, and the night, - Become the touches of sweet harmony."[390:A] - -Shakspeare was an enthusiast in music in a musical age; and though -his subsequent encomium upon it be somewhat extravagant, and his -reprobation of the man who "is not moved with concord of sweet sounds," -undeservedly harsh and severe, yet are they both more applicable -and judicious than the flippant and undiscriminating censure of Mr. -Steevens, whose note on the subject has met with its due castigation -from the pen of Mr. Douce, who, after stigmatising the commentator's -disingenuous effort to throw an odium on this recreation, in -conjunction with the feeble aid of an illiberal passage from Lord -Chesterfield's _Letters_, justly and beautifully adds, that "It is a -science which, from its intimate and natural connexion with poetry -and painting, deserves the highest attention and respect. He that is -happily qualified to appreciate the _better parts_ of music, will never -seek them in the society so emphatically reprobated by the noble lord, -nor altogether in the way he recommends. He will not lend an ear to -the vulgarity and tumultuous roar of the tavern catch, or the delusive -sounds of martial clangour; but he will enjoy this heavenly gift, this -exquisite and soul-delighting sensation, in the temples of his God, -or in the peaceful circles of domestic happiness: he will pursue the -blessings and advantages of it with ardour, and turn aside from its -abuses."[391:A] - -The fifth act of this play, which consists of but one scene, appears -to have been intended by the poet to remove the painful impressions -incident to the nature of his previous plot; it is light, elegant, -and beautifully written, and, though the main business of the drama -finishes with the termination of the fourth act, it is not felt as an -incumbrance, but on the contrary is beheld and enjoyed as a graceful, -animated, and consolatory close to one of the most perfect productions -of its author. - -15. HAMLET: 1597. That this tragedy had been performed before 1598 is -evident from Gabriel Harvey's note in Speght's edition of Chaucer, as -quoted by Mr. Malone[391:B]; and, from the intimations of time brought -forward by Mr. Chalmers[391:C], we are induced to adopt the era of this -gentleman, placing the first sketch of _Hamlet_ early in 1597, and its -revision with additions in 1600.[391:D] Soon after which, namely, on -the 26th of July, 1602, it was entered on the Stationers' book, the -first edition hitherto discovered being printed in the year 1604. - -No character in our author's plays has occasioned so much discussion, -so much contradictory opinion, and, consequently, so much perplexity, -as that of _Hamlet_. Yet we think it may be proved that Shakspeare -had a clear and definite idea of it throughout all its seeming -inconsistencies, and that a very few lines taken from one of the -monologues of this tragedy, will develope the ruling and efficient -feature which the poet held steadily in his view, and through whose -unintermitting influence every other part of the portrait has received -a peculiar modification. We are told, as the result of a deep but -unsatisfactory meditation on the mysteries of another world, on "the -dread of something after death," that - - —— "thus the native hue of resolution - Is sicklied o'er with the _pale cast of thought_; - And enterprises of great pith and moment, - With this regard, their currents turn awry, - And lose the name of action."[392:A] - -Now this _pale cast of thought_ and its consequences, which, had not -Hamlet been interrupted by the entrance of Ophelia, he would have -himself applied to his own singular situation, form the very essence, -and give rise to the prominent defects of his character. It is evident, -therefore, that Shakspeare intended to represent him as variable and -indecisive in action, and that he has founded this want of volition -on one of those peculiar constitutions of the mental and moral -faculties which have been designated by the appellation of _genius_, -a combination of passions and associations which has led to all the -useful energies, and all the exalted eccentricities of human life; and -of which, in one of its most exquisite but speculative forms, Hamlet -presents us with perhaps the only instance on _theatric_ record. - -To a frame of mind naturally strong and contemplative, but rendered by -extraordinary events sceptical and intensely thoughtful, he unites an -undeviating love of rectitude, a disposition of the gentlest kind, -feelings the most delicate and pure, and a sensibility painfully alive -to the smallest deviation from virtue or propriety of conduct. Thus, -while gifted to discern and to suffer from every moral aberration in -those who surround him, his powers of action are paralysed in the -first instance, by the unconquerable tendency of his mind to explore, -to their utmost ramification, all the bearings and contingencies of -the meditated deed; and in the second, by that tenderness of his -nature which leads him to shrink from the means which are necessary -to carry it into execution. Over this irresolution and weakness, the -result, in a great measure, of emotions highly amiable, and which in -a more congenial situation had contributed to the delight of all who -approached him, Shakspeare has thrown a veil of melancholy so sublime -and intellectual, as by this means to constitute him as much the idol -of the philosopher, and the man of cultivated taste, as he confessedly -is of those who feel their interest excited principally through the -medium of the sympathy and compassion which his ineffective struggles -to act up to his own approved purpose naturally call forth. - -It may be useful, however, in order to give more strength and -precision to this general outline, to enter into a few of the leading -particulars of Hamlet's conduct. He is represented at the opening -of the play as highly distressed by the sudden death of his father, -and the hurried and indecent nuptials of his mother, when the awful -appearance of the spectre overwhelms him with astonishment, unhinges -a mind already partially thrown off its bias, and fills it with -indelible apprehension, suspicion, and dismay. For though, on the -first communication of the murder, his bosom burns with the thirst of -vengeance, yet reflection and the gentleness of his disposition soon -induce him to regret that he has been chosen as the instrument of -effecting it, - - "That ever he was born to set it right;" - -and then, under the influence of this reluctance, he begins to question -the validity and the lawfulness of the medium through which he had -received his information, describing with admirable self-consciousness, -the vacillation of his will, and the tendency of his temper:— - - "The spirit that I have seen - May be the Devil, and the Devil hath power - T' assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps, - _Out of my weakness and my melancholy_,— - Abuses me to damn me."[394:A] - -Here, therefore, on a structure of mind originally indecisive as -to volition, on feelings rendered more than usually sensitive and -serious by domestic misfortune, operate causes calculated, in a -very extraordinary degree, to augment the sources of irresolution -and distress. The imagination of Hamlet, agitated and inflamed by -a visitation from the world of spirits, is lost amid the mazes of -conjecture, amid thoughts which roam with doubt and terror through all -the labyrinths of fate and superhuman agency; whilst, at the same time, -indignation at the crime of his uncle, and aversion to the vindictive -task which has been imposed upon him, raise a conflict of passion -within his breast. - -Determined, however, if possible, to obey what seems both a commission -from heaven, and a necessary filial duty; but sensible that the wild -workings of imagination, and the tumult of contending emotions have -so far unsettled his mind, as to render his control over it at times -precarious and imperfect, and that consequently he may be liable to -betray his purpose, he adopts the expedient of counterfeiting madness, -in order that if any thing should escape him in an unguarded moment, it -may, from being considered as the effect of derangement, fail to impede -his designs. - -And here again the bitterness of his destiny meets him; for, with the -view of disarming suspicion as to his real intention, he finds it -requisite to impress the king and his courtiers with the idea, that -disappointed love is the real basis of his disorder; justly inferring, -that as his attachment to Ophelia was known, and still more so the -tenderness of his own heart, any harsh treatment of her, without an -adequate provocation, must infallibly be deemed a proof, not only -of insanity, but of the cause whence it sprang; since though some -reserve on her part had been practised, in obedience to her father's -commands, it could not, without a dereliction of reason, have produced -such an entire change in his conduct and disposition. And such indeed -would have been the result, had Hamlet possessed a perfect command -of himself; but his feelings overpowered his consistency, and the -very part which he had to play with Ophelia, was one of the most -excruciating of his afflictions; for he tells us, and tells us truly, -that - - "'He' lov'd Ophelia; forty thousand brothers - Could not, with all their quantity of love, - Make up 'his' sum;"[395:A] - -consequently what he suffers on this occasion, on this compulsory -treatment, as it were, of the being dearest to his heart, gives him one -of the strongest claims upon our sympathy. With what agony he pursues -this line of conduct, and how foreign it is to every feeling of the -man, appears at the close of his celebrated soliloquy on the expediency -of suicide, and just previous to the rudest and most sarcastic instance -of his behaviour towards Ophelia. That hapless maiden suddenly crosses -him; when, starting at her sight, and forgetting his assumed character, -he exclaims, in an exquisite tone of solemnity and pathos— - - ——————————— "Soft you, now! - The fair Ophelia:—Nymph, in thy orisons - Be all my sins remember'd."[395:B] - -It is impossible, we think, to compare this passage, this burst of -undisguised emotion, with the tenour of the immediately subsequent -dialogue, without the deepest commiseration for the fate of the -unfortunate prince. - -In this play, as in _King Lear_, we have madness under its real -and its assumed aspect, and in both instances they are accurately -discriminated. We find Lear and Ophelia constantly recurring, either -directly or indirectly, to the actual causes of their distress; but it -was the business of Edgar and of Hamlet, to place their observers on -a wrong scent, and to divert their vigilance from the genuine sources -of their grief, and the objects of their pursuit. This is done with -undeviating firmness by Edgar; but Hamlet occasionally suffers the -poignancy of his feelings, and the agitation of his mind, to break -in upon his plan, when, heedless of what was to be the ostensible -foundation of his derangement, his love for Ophelia, he permits his -indignation to point, and on one occasion almost unmasked, towards the -guilt of his uncle. In every other instance, he personates insanity -with a skill which indicates the highest order of genius, and imposes -on all but the king, whose conscience, perpetually on the watch, soon -enables him to detect the inconsistencies and the drift of his nephew. - -It has been objected to the character of Hamlet, whose most striking -feature is profound melancholy, that its keeping is broken in upon -by an injudicious admixture of humour and gaiety; but he who is -acquainted with the workings of the human heart, will be far, very -far indeed, from considering this as any deviation from the truth of -nature. Melancholy, when not the offspring of an ill-spent life, or -of an habitual bad temper, but the consequence of mere casualties and -misfortunes, or of the vices and passions of others, operating on -feelings too gentle, delicate, and susceptible, to bear up against -the ruder evils of existence, will sometimes spring with playful -elasticity from the pressure of the heaviest burden, and dissipating, -for a moment, the anguish of a breaking heart, will, like a sun-beam -in a winter's day, illumine all around it with a bright, but transient -ray, with the sallies of humorous wit, and even with the hilarity of -sportive simplicity; an interchange which serves but to render the -returning storm more deep and gloomy. - -Thus is it with Hamlet in those parts of this inimitable tragedy in -which we behold him suddenly deviating into mirth and jocularity; they -are scintillations which only light us - - ————————— "to discover sights of woe, - Regions of sorrow,"[397:A] - -for no where do we perceive the depth of his affliction and the energy -of his sufferings more distinctly than when under these convulsive -efforts to shake off the incumbent load. - -Of that infirmity of purpose which distinguishes Hamlet during the -pursuit of his revenge, and of that exquisite self-deceit by which -he endeavours to disguise his own motives from himself, no clearer -instance can be given, than from the scene where he declines destroying -the usurper because he was in the act of prayer, and might therefore -go to heaven, deferring his death to a period when, being in liquor -or in anger, he was thoroughly ripe for perdition; an enormity of -sentiment and design totally abhorrent to the real character of Hamlet, -which was radically amiable, gentle, and compassionate, but affording -a striking proof of that hypocrisy which, owing to the untowardness -of his fate, he was constantly exercising on himself. Struck with the -symptoms of repentance in Claudius, his resentment becomes softened; -and at all times unwilling, from the tenderness of his nature, and the -acuteness of his sensibility, to fulfil his supposed duty, and execute -retributive justice on his uncle, he endeavours to find some excuse for -his conscious want of resolution, some pretext, however far-fetched or -discordant with the genuine motive, to shield him from his own weakness. - -One remarkable effect of this perpetual contest in the bosom of Hamlet -between a sense of the duty, enjoined as it were by heaven, and his -aversion to the means which could alone secure its accomplishment, has -been to throw an interest around him of the most powerful and exciting -nature. It is an interest not arising from extrinsic causes, from any -anxiety as to the completion of the meditated vengeance, or from the -intervention of any casual incidents which may tend to hasten or retard -the catastrophe, but exclusively springing from our attachment to the -person of Hamlet. We contemplate with a mixture of admiration and -compassion the very virtues of Hamlet becoming the bane of his earthly -peace, virtues which, in the tranquillity either of public or private -life, would have crowned him with love and honour, serving but, in -the tempest which assails him, to wreck his hopes, and accelerate his -destruction. In fact, the very doubts and irresolution of Hamlet endear -him to our hearts, and at the same time condense around him an almost -breathless anxiety, for, while we confess them to be the offspring of -all that is lovely, gentle, and kind, we cannot but perceive their -fatal tendency, and we shudder at the probable event. - -It is thus that the character of Hamlet, notwithstanding the veil of -meditative abstraction which the genius of philosophic melancholy has -thrown over it, possesses a species of enchantment for all ranks and -classes. Its popularity, indeed, appears to have been immediate and -great, for, in 1604, Anthony Scoloker, in a dedication to his poem, -entitled "Daiphantus," tells us, that his "epistle" should be "like -friendly Shake-speare's tragedies, where the commedian rides, when the -tragedian stands on tiptoe: _Faith it should please all, like prince -Hamlet_."[398:A] - -We should bear in mind, however, that the favour of the public must, -in part, have been attached to this play through the vast variety of -incident and characters which it unfolds, from its rapid interchange of -solemnity, pathos, and humour, and more particularly from the awful, -yet grateful terror which the shade of buried Denmark diffuses over the -scene. - -That a belief in _Spiritual Agency_ has been universally and strongly -impressed on the mind of man from the earliest ages of the world, must -be evident to every one who peruses the writings of the Old Testament. -It is equally clear that, with little but exterior modification, -this doctrine has passed from the East into Europe, flowing through -Greece and Rome to modern times. It is necessary, however, to a just -comprehension of the subject, that it be distinctly separated into two -branches,—into the _Agency of Angelic Spirits_, and into the _Agency -of the Spirits of the Departed_, as these will be found to rest on very -dissimilar bases. - -To the _Agency of Angelic Spirits_, both good and bad, and to their -operation on, and influence over the intellect and affairs of men, the -records of our religion bear the most direct and indubitable testimony; -nor is it possible to disjoin a full admission of this intercourse from -any faith in its Scriptures, whether Jewish or Christian. "That the -holy angels," observes Bishop Horsley, "are often employed by God in -his government of this sublunary world, is indeed clearly to be proved -by holy writ: that they have powers over the matter of the universe -analogous to the powers over it which men possess, greater in extent, -but still limited, is a thing which might reasonably be supposed, if -it were not declared: but it seems to be confirmed by many passages of -holy writ, from which it seems also evident that they are occasionally, -for certain specific purposes, commissioned to exercise those powers -to a prescribed extent. That the evil angels possessed, before the -Fall, the like powers, which they are still occasionally permitted to -exercise for the punishment of wicked nations, seems also evident. -_That they have a power over the human sensory (which is part of the -material universe), which they are occasionally permitted to exercise, -by means of which they may inflict diseases, suggest evil thoughts, and -be the instruments of temptations, must also be admitted._"[399:A] - -Of a doctrine so consolatory as the ministration and guardianship of -benevolent spirits, one of the most striking instances is afforded us -by the Book of Job, perhaps the most ancient composition in existence; -it is where Elihu, describing the sick man on his bed, declares, that— - - "As his soul draweth near to the Grave, - And his life to the Ministers of Death, - Surely will there be over him an _Angel_, - An _Intercessor_, one of _The Thousand_, - Who shall instruct the Sufferer in his duty;"[400:A] - -and from the same source was the awful but monitory vision described in -the fourth chapter of this sublime poem. - -Subsequent poets have embraced with avidity a system so friendly to -man, and so delightful to an ardent and devotional imagination. Thus -Hesiod, repeating the oriental tradition, seems happy in augmenting the -number of our heavenly protectors to _thirty thousand_, Τρὶς γὰρ μύριοί:— - - "Invisible the Gods are ever nigh, - Pass through the midst and bend th' all-seeing eye: - The men who grind the poor, who wrest the right, - Awless of Heaven's revenge, are naked to their sight. - For _thrice ten thousand_ holy Demons rove - This breathing world, the delegates of Jove. - Guardians of man, their glance alike surveys, - The upright judgments, and th' unrighteous ways." - ELTON. - -But, next to the sacred writers, and more immediately derived from -their inspiration, has this heavenly superintendance been best -described by two of our own poets: by Spenser with his customary piety, -sweetness, and simplicity:— - - "And is there care in heaven? and is there love - In heavenly spirits to these creatures bace, - That may compassion of their evils move? - There is:—else much more wretched were the cace - Of men than beasts: But O! th' exceeding grace - Of Highest God that loves his creatures so, - And all his workes with mercy doth embrace, - That blessed Angels he sends to and fro, - To serve to wicked man, to serve his wicked foe! - - How oft do they their silver bowers leave - To come to succour us that succour want! - How oft do they with golden pineons cleave - The flitting skyes, like flying pursuivant, - Against fowle feends to ayd us militant! - They for us fight, they watch and dewly ward, - And their bright squadrons round about us plant; - And all for love and nothing for reward: - O, why should Hevenly God to men have such regard;"[401:A] - -by Milton, in a strain of greater sublimity, and with more philosophic -dignity and grace:— - - "Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth - Unseen, both when we wake, and when we sleep: - All these with ceaseless praise his works behold - Both day and night: How often from the steep - Of echoing hill or thicket have we heard - Celestial voices to the midnight air, - Sole, or responsive each to others note, - Singing their great Creator? oft in bands - While they keep watch, or nightly rounding walk, - With heavenly touch of instrumental sounds - In full harmonick number join'd, their songs - Divide the night, and lift our thoughts to Heaven."[401:B] - -But mankind, not satisfied with this angelic interposition, though -founded on _indisputable authority_, and exercised on their behalf, -has, in every age and nation, fondly clung to the idea, that the -_souls_ or _Spirits of the Dead_ have also a communication with the -living, and that they occasionally, either as happy or as suffering -shades, re-appear on this sublunary scene. - -The common suggestions and associations of the human mind have laid -the foundation for this general belief; man has ever indulged the hope -of another state of existence, feeling within him an assurance, a kind -of intuitive conviction, emanating from the Deity, that we are not -destined as the beasts to perish. It is true, says Homer, - - "'Tis true, 'tis certain, man though dead, retains - Part of himself; th' immortal mind remains;"[402:A] - -but to this mental immortality, which is firmly sanctioned by religion, -affection, grief, and superstition have added a vast variety of -unauthorised circumstances. The passions and attachments which were -incident to the individual in his earthly, are attributed to him in his -spiritual state; he is supposed to be still agitated by terrestrial -objects and relations, to delight in the scenes which he formerly -inhabited, to feel for and to protect the persons with whom he was -formerly connected, to be actuated, in short, by emotions of love, -anger, and revenge, and to be in a situation which admits of receiving -benefit or augmented suffering through the attentions or negligence of -surviving friends. Accordingly the spirit or apparition of the deceased -was supposed occasionally to revisit the glimpses of the moon, and to -become visible to its dearest relatives or associates, for the purpose -of admonishing, complaining, imploring, warning, or directing. - -Now all these additions to the abstract idea of immortality, though -perhaps naturally arising from the affectionate regrets, the conscious -weakness, and the eager curiosity of man, and therefore universal as -his diffusion over the globe, are totally unwarranted by our only safe -and sure guide, the records of the Bible; for though we are taught -that man exists in another state, and disembodied of the organs which -he possessed whilst an inhabitant of this planet, we are also told, -that he is supplied with a new body, of a very different nature, and, -without a miracle, indiscernible by our present senses. We are told by -St. Peter, that even the body of our Saviour after his resurrection -could only be seen through the operation of a miracle: "Him God raised -up the third day, and _gave him to be visible: Et dedit eum manifestum -fieri_. Vulg. He was no longer," observes Bishop Horsley, "in a state -to be naturally visible to any man. His body was indeed risen, but it -was become that body which St. Paul describes in the fifteenth chapter -of his first epistle to the Corinthians, which, having no sympathy with -the gross bodies of this earthly sphere, nor any place among them, must -be indiscernible to the human organs, till they shall have undergone a -similar refinement."[403:A] - -We have no foundation, therefore, in Scripture, nor, according to -its doctrine, can we have, for attaching any credibility to the -re-appearance of the Departed; yet, independent of the predisposition -of the human mind, from the influence of affectionate regret, to think -upon the dead as if still present to our wants and wishes, a state of -feeling which, in Celtic poetry, has given birth to an interesting -system of mythology entirely built on apparitional intercourse[403:B], -the relations which we possess of the apparent return of the dead, are -so numerous, and, in many instances, so unexceptionably attested, that -they have led to several ingenious, and, indeed, partially successful -attempts to account for them. One or two of these attempts, as -terminating in some curious speculations on the character of _Hamlet_, -and on the _apparition of his father_, it will be necessary more -particularly to notice. - -A firm belief in _Visitation from the Spirits of the Deceased_ was -so strong a feature in the age of Shakspeare, and the immediately -subsequent period, and was supported by such an accumulation of -testimony, that it roused the exertions of a few individuals of -a philosophical turn of mind, to account for what they would not -venture to deny; Lavaterus[404:A] and others on the continent, and -Scot[404:B] and Mede[404:C] in our own country, attempting to prove -that these appearances were not occasioned by the return of the dead, -but by the permitted and personal agency of good or evil angels, who, -as we occasionally find in Scripture, and more particularly in the -case of Samuel, before the Witch of Endor, were allowed to assume the -resemblance of the deceased. - -But, though this hypothesis be constructed on a species of spiritual -agency which we know to have existed, yet are the instances for which -it is adopted by these writers much too trivial and frequent to secure -to their solution a rational assent; nor is the presence of these -superior intelligences, as objects of sight, at all necessary to -account for the phenomena in question. - -For it is obvious, that if relying, with Bishop Horsley, on the -evidence of sacred history, we believe that the Deity oftentimes acts -mediately, through his agents, on the human sensory, as a part of the -material universe, thereby producing diseases and morbid impressions, -the same effects will result. Not that we conceive matter can, in any -degree, modify the thinking principle itself, but its organisation -being the sole medium through which the intellect communicates with the -external world, it is evident that any derangement of the structure -of the brain must render the perceptions of the mind, as to material -existences, imperfect, false, and illusory. - -It is remarkable that a doctrine similar to this was produced in the -last century to account for the spectral appearances of second sight, -by a Scotchman too, himself an Islander, who has furnished us with -an ample collection of instances of this singular visitation[405:A]; -this gentleman contending, that these prophetic scenes are exhibited -not to the sight, but merely to the imagination. He adds, with great -sagacity, "as these Representations or waking Dreams, according to the -best Enquiry I could make, are communicated (unless it be seldom) but -to one Person at once, though there should be several Persons, and even -some Seers in Company, those Representations seem rather communicated -to the Imagination (as said is) than the Organ of Sight; seeing it is -impossible, if made always to the latter, but all Persons directing -their sight the same Way, having their Faculty of Sight alike perfect -and equally disposed, must see it in common."[405:B] - -We must refer, however, to the present day for demonstration, founded -on actual experience, that the appearance of ghosts and apparitions -is, in every instance, the _immediate_ effect of certain partial but -morbid affections of the brain; yet, it must be remarked, that the -ingenious physiologists who have proved this curious fact, entirely -confine themselves, and perhaps very justly, to physical phenomena, -professedly discarding the consideration of any higher efficiency in -the series of causation than what appears as the result of diseased -organisation; so that their discovery, though completely overturning -the common superstition as to the return of the departed spirit, or the -visible interference of angelic agency, is yet very reconcileable with -the pneumatology of Bishop Horsley. - -In 1805, Dr. Alderson of Hull read to the Literary Society of that -place, and published in 1811, an Essay on Apparitions, the object -of which is to prove that the immediate cause of these spectral -visitations "lies, not in the perturbed spirits of the departed, -but in the diseased organisation of the living." For this purpose he -relates several cases of this hallucination which fell under his own -observation and treatment, and which, as distinguished from partial -insanity, from delirium, somnambulism, and reverie, were completely -removed by medical means. - -In 1813, Dr. Ferriar of Manchester published, on a more extended scale, -"An Essay towards a Theory of Apparitions," whose aim and result are -precisely similar to the anterior production of Dr. Alderson; both -admitting the reality and universality of spectral impressions, and -both attributing them to partial affections of the brain, independent -of any sensible external agency; it is also remarkable that both have -applied their speculations and experience in illustration of the -character of _Hamlet_, a circumstance which has, in a great measure, -led to these general observations on the progress of opinion as to the -nature of apparitional visitation. - -The state of mind which Shakspeare exhibits to us in _Hamlet_, as the -consequence of conflicting passions and events, operating on a frame -of acute sensibility, Dr. Ferriar has termed _latent lunacy_. "The -subject of _latent lunacy_," he remarks, "is an untouched field, which -would afford the richest harvest to a skilful and diligent observer. -Cervantes has immortalized himself, by displaying the effect of one -bad species of composition on the hero of his satire, and Butler has -delineated the evils of epidemic, religious, and political frenzy; but -it remains as a task for some delicate pencil, to trace the miseries -introduced into private families, by a state of mind, which 'sees more -devils than vast hell can hold,' and which yet affords no proof of -derangement, sufficient to justify the seclusion of the unhappy invalid. - -"This is a species of distress, on which no novelist has ever touched, -though it is unfortunately increasing in real life; though it may -be associated with worth, with genius, and with the most specious -demonstrations (for awhile) of general excellence. - -"Addison has thrown out a few hints on this subject in one of the -Spectators; it could not escape so critical an observer of human -infirmities; and I have always supposed, that if the character of Sir -Roger de Coverley had been left untouched by Steele, it would have -exhibited some interesting traits of this nature. As it now appears, we -see nothing more than occasional absence of mind; and the peculiarities -of an humourist, contracted by retirement, and by the obsequiousness of -his dependants. - -"It has often occurred to me, that Shakspeare's character of _Hamlet_ -can only be understood, on this principle. He feigns madness, for -political purposes, while the poet means to represent his understanding -as really, (and unconsciously to himself) unhinged by the cruel -circumstances in which he is placed. The horror of the communication -made by his father's spectre; the necessity of belying his attachment -to an innocent and deserving object; the certainty of his mother's -guilt; and the supernatural impulse by which he is goaded to an act -of assassination, abhorrent to his nature, are causes sufficient -to overwhelm and distract a mind previously disposed to 'weakness -and to melancholy,' and originally full of tenderness and natural -affection. By referring to the book, it will be seen, that his real -insanity is only developed after the mock play. Then, in place of a -systematic conduct, conducive to his purposes, he becomes irresolute, -inconsequent, and the plot appears to stand unaccountably still. -Instead of striking at his object, he resigns himself to the current of -events, and sinks at length, ignobly, under the stream."[407:A] - -Dr. Alderson, alluding to the common but cogent argument against -a belief in Ghosts, "that only one man at a time ever saw a -ghost, therefore, the probability is, that there never was such -a thing," adds, in reference to the character of Hamlet, and to -Shakspeare's management of his supernatural machinery, the following -observations:—"From what I have related, it will be seen why it should -happen, that only one at a time ever could see a ghost; and here we -may lament, that our celebrated poet, whose knowledge of nature is -every Englishman's boast, had not known such cases, and their causes -as those I have related; he would not then, perhaps, have made his -ghosts visible and audible on the stage. Every expression, every look -in Macbeth and Hamlet, is perfectly natural and consistent with men -so agitated, and quite sufficient to convince us of what they suffer, -see, and hear; but it must be evident, that the disease being confined -solely to the individual, such objects must be seen and heard only by -the individual. That men so circumstanced as Macbeth or Hamlet, Brutus -and Dion, should see phantoms and hold converse with them, appears to -me perfectly natural; and, though the cases I have now related owe -their origin entirely to a disordered state of bodily organs, as may -be evidently inferred by the history of their rise, and the result of -their cure, yet, with the knowledge we have of the effects of mind on -the body, we may be fairly led to conclude, that great mental anxiety, -inordinate ambition, and guilt may produce similar effects."[409:A] - -If Shakspeare, more philosopher than poet, had pursued the plan which -Dr. Alderson has recommended, he would have injured his tragedy, and -wrecked his popularity. We could have spared, indeed, any ocular -demonstration of the mute and blood-boultered ghost of Banquo in -_Macbeth_, but had the ghost in _Hamlet_ been invisible and inaudible, -we should have lost the noblest scene of grateful terror which genius -has ever created. - -Nor was it ignorance on the part of Shakspeare which gave birth to the -visibility of this awful spectre, for he has told us, in another place, -that - - "Such _shadows_ are the _weak brain's forgeries_."[409:B] - -and, even in the very play under consideration, he calls them "the very -coinage of the brain," and adds,— - - "This _bodiless creation ecstacy_ - Is very cunning in;"[409:C] - -but he well knew, that as a dramatic poet, in a superstitious age, it -was requisite, in order to produce a strong and general impression, to -adopt the popular creed, the superstition relative to his subject; and, -as Mrs. Montagu has justly observed, "the poet who does so, understands -his business much better than the critic, who, in judging of that work, -refuses it his attention.—Thus every operation that developes the -attributes, which vulgar opinion, or the nurse's legend, have taught us -to ascribe to 'such a preternatural Being,' will augment our pleasure; -whether we give the reins to our imagination, and, as spectators, -willingly yield ourselves up to pleasing delusion, or, as 'judicious' -Critics, examine the merit of the composition."[410:A] - -That an undoubting belief in the actual appearance of ghosts and -apparitions was general in Shakspeare's time, has been the assertion -of all who have alluded to the subject, either as contemporary or -subsequent historians. Addison, at the commencement of the eighteenth -century, speaking of the credulities of the two preceding centuries, -observes, that "our Forefathers looked upon Nature with reverence and -horror—that they loved to astonish themselves with the apprehensions -of witchcraft, prodigies, charms, and enchantments.—There was not -a village in England that had not a _ghost_ in it—the church-yards -were all _haunted_—every common had a circle of fairies belonging -to it—and there was scarce a shepherd to be met with who had not -seen a _spirit_[410:B];" and Bourne, who wrote about the same period, -and expressly on the subject of vulgar superstitions, tells us, that -formerly "_hobgoblins_ and _sprights_ were in every _city_, and _town_, -and _village_, by every _water_, and in every _wood_.—If a house was -seated on some melancholy place, or built in some old romantic manner; -or if any particular accident had happened in it, such as murder, -sudden death, or the like, to be sure that house had a mark set on it, -and was afterwards esteemed the habitation of a ghost.—Stories of this -kind are infinite, and there are few _villages_, which have not either -had such an house in it, or near it."[410:C] - -Such, then, being the superstitious character of the poet's times, it -was with great judgment that he seized the particulars best adapted to -his purpose, moulding them with a skill so perfect, as to render the -effect awful beyond all former precedent. A slight attention to the -circumstances which accompany the first appearances of the spectre to -Horatio and to Hamlet, will place this in a striking point of view. - -The solemnity with which this Royal phantom is introduced is beyond -measure impressive: Bernardo is about to repeat to the incredulous -Horatio what had occurred on the last apparition of the deceased -monarch to Marcellus and himself, and thus commences his narrative:— - - "Last night of all, - When yon same star, that's westward from the pole, - Had made his course to illume that part of heaven - Where now it burns, Marcellus, and myself, - The bell then beating one:"—— - -This note of time, the traditionary hour for the appearance of a ghost, -and, above all, the mysterious connection between the course of the -star, and the visitation of the spirit, usher in the "dreaded sight" -with an influence which makes the blood run chill. - -A similar correspondence between a natural phenomenon in the heavens, -and the agency of a disembodied spirit, occurs, with an effect which -has been much admired, in a late poem by Lord Byron, where the shade of -Francesca, addressing her apostate lover, and directing his attention -to the orb of night, exclaims,— - - "There is a light cloud by the moon— - 'Tis passing, and will pass full soon— - If, by the time its vapoury sail - Hath ceased her shaded orb to veil, - Thy heart within thee is not changed, - Then God and man are both avenged; - Dark will thy doom be, darker still - Thine immortality of ill."[411:A] - -The adjuration and interrogation of the ghost by Horatio and Hamlet, -are conducted in conformity to the ceremonies of papal superstition; -for it may be remarked, that in many things relative to religious -observances, or to the preternatural as connected with religion, -Shakspeare has shown such a marked predilection for the imposing -exterior, and comprehensive creed of the Roman church, as to lead some -of his biographers to suppose that he was himself a Roman Catholic. -This adoption, however, is to be attributed to the poetical nature of -the materials which the doctrines of Rome supply, and more particularly -to the food for imagination which the supposition of an intermediate -state, in which the souls of the departed are still connected with, and -influenced by, the conduct of man, must necessarily create. - -Such a system, it is evident, would very readily admit some of the -oldest and most prevalent superstitions of the heathen world, and would -give fresh credibility to the re-appearance of the dead, in order to -reveal and to punish some horrible murder, to right the oppressed -orphan and the widow, to enjoin the sepulture of the mangled corse, -to discover concealed and ill-gotten treasure, to claim the aid of -prayer and intercession, to announce the fate of kingdoms, &c. &c. -Thus Horatio, addressing the Spectre, alludes to some of these as the -probable causes of the dreadful visitation which appals him:— - - "Stay, illusion! - If thou hast any sound, or use of voice, - Speak to me! - If there be any good thing to be done, - That may to thee do ease, or grace to me, - Speak to me: - If thou art privy to thy country's fate, - Which, happily, foreknowing may avoid, - O, speak! - Or, if thou hast uphoarded in thy life - Extorted treasure in the womb of earth, - For which, they say, you spirits oft walk in death, - Speak of it."[412:A] - -With a still higher degree of anxiety, curiosity, and terror, does -Hamlet, as might naturally be expected, invoke the spirit of his -father; his address being wrought up to the highest tone of amazement -and emotion, and clothed with the most vigorous expression of poetry:— - - "Angels and ministers of grace defend us! - Be thou a spirit of health, or goblin damn'd, - Bring with thee airs from heaven, or blasts from hell, - Be thy intents wicked, or charitable, - Thou com'st in such a questionable shape, - That I will speak to thee; I'll call thee, Hamlet, - King, father, royal Dane: O, answer me: - Let me not burst in ignorance! but tell, - Why thy canoniz'd bones, hearsed in death, - Have burst their cerements! why the sepulchre, - Wherein we saw thee quietly in-urn'd, - Hath op'd his ponderous and marble jaws, - To cast thee up again! What may this mean, - That thou, dead corse, again, in complete steel, - Revisit'st thus the glimpses of the moon, - Making night hideous; and we fools of nature, - So horridly to shake our disposition, - With thoughts beyond the riches of our souls? - Say why is this? wherefore? what should we do?"[413:A] - -The doubts and queries of this most impressive speech are similar to -those which are allowed to be entertained, and directed to be put, by -contemporary writers on the subject of apparitions. Thus the English -Lavaterus enjoins the person so visited to charge the spirit to -"declare and open what he is—who he is, why he is come, and what he -desireth;" saying,—"Thou Spirite, we beseech thee by Christ Jesus, -tell us what thou art;" and he then orders him to enquire, "What man's -soule he is? for what cause he is come, and what he doth desire? -Whether he require any ayde by prayers and suffrages? Whether by -massing or almes giving he may be released?" &c. &c.[413:B] - -In pursuance of the same judicious plan of adopting the popular -conceptions, and giving them dignity and effect, by that philosophy -of the supernatural which has been remarked as so peculiarly the -gift of Shakspeare[414:A], we find him employing, in these scenes of -super-human interference, the traditional notions of his age, relative -to the influence of approaching light on departed spirits, as intimated -by the crowing of the cock, and the fading lustre of the glow-worm. -One of the passages which have so admirably immortalised these -superstitions, contains also another not less striking, concerning -the supposed sanctity and protecting power of the nights immediately -previous to Christmas-Day. On the sudden departure of the Spirit, -Bernardo remarks,— - - "It was about to speak, when the cock crew. - - _Hor._ And then it started like a guilty thing - Upon a fearful summons. I have heard, - The cock, that is the trumpet to the morn, - Doth with his lofty and shrill-sounding throat - Awake the god of day, and, at his warning, - Whether in sea or fire, in earth or air, - The extravagant and erring spirit hies - To his confine: and of the truth herein - This present object made probation. - - _Mar._ It faded on the crowing of the cock. - Some say, that ever 'gainst that season comes - Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated, - This bird of dawning singeth all night long: - And then, they say, no spirit dares stir abroad; - The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike, - No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm, - So hallow'd and so gracious is the time."[414:B] - - "————————— Fare thee well at once!" - -exclaims the apparition on retiring from the presence of his son, - - "The glow-worm shows the matins to be near, - And 'gins to pale his uneffectual fire."[414:C] - -This idea of spirits flying the approach of morning, appears from -the hymn of _Prudentius_, quoted by Bourne, to have been entertained -by the Christian world as early as the commencement of the fourth -century[415:A]; but a passage still more closely allied to the lines -in Shakspeare, has been adduced by Mr. Douce, from a hymn composed by -Saint Ambrose, and formerly used in the Salisbury service.—"It so -much resembles," he observes, "Horatio's speech, that one might almost -suppose Shakspeare had seen them:— - - "_Preco diei jam sonat_, - Noctis profundæ pervigil; - Nocturna lux viantibus, - A nocte noctem segregans. - _Hoc excitatus Lucifer, - Solvit polum caligine; - Hoc omnis errorum chorus - Viam nocendi deserit. - Gallo canente spes redit_, &c."[415:B] - -"The epithets _extravagant_ and _erring_," he adds, "are highly -poetical and appropriate, and seem to prove that Shakspeare was not -altogether ignorant of the Latin language."[415:C] - -With what awful and mysterious grandeur has he invested the Popish -doctrine of purgatory! a doctrine certainly well calculated for -poetical purposes, and of which the particulars must have been familiar -to him, through the writings of his contemporaries. Thus the English -Lavaterus, detailing the opinions of the Roman Catholics on this -subject, tells us, that "Purgatorie is also under the earth as Hel -is. Some say that Hell and Purgatorie are both one place, albeit the -paines be divers according to the deserts of soules. Furthermore they -say, that under the earth there are more places of punishment in which -the soules of the dead may be purged. For they say, that this or that -soule hath ben seene in this or that mountaine, floud, or valley, where -it hath committed the offence: that there are particuler Purgatories, -assigned unto them for some special cause, before the day of Judgement, -after which time all maner of Purgatories, as well general as -particuler shal cease. Some of them say, that the paine of Purgatorie -is al one with the punishment of Hel, and that they differ only in -this, that the on hath an end, the other no ende: and that it is far -more easie to endure all the paynes of this worlde, which al men since -Adam's time have susteined, even unto the day of the last Judgement, -than to bear one dayes space the least of those two punishments. -Further they holde that our fire, if it be compared with the fire of -Purgatorie, doth resemble only a painted fire."[416:A] - -From this temporary place of torment, he informs us, that, "by Gods -licence and dispensation, certaine, yea before the day of Judgement, -are permitted to come out, and that not for ever, but only for a -season, for the instructing and terrifying of the lyving:"—and -again:—"Many times in the nyght season, there have beene certaine -spirits hearde softely going——who being asked what they were, have -made aunswere that they were the soules of this or that man, and that -they nowe endure extreame tormentes. If by chaunce any man did aske of -them, by what meanes they might be delivered out of those tortures, -they have aunswered, that in case a certaine numbre of Masses were sung -for them, or Pilgrimages vowed to some Saintes, or some other such -like deedes doone for their sake, that then surely they shoulde be -delivered."[416:B] - -Never was the art of the poet more discoverable, than in the use -which has been made of this doctrine in the play before us, and more -particularly in the following narrative, which instantly seizes on the -mind, and fills it with that indefinite kind of terror that leads to -the most horrible imaginings:— - - "_Ghost._ My hour is almost come, - When I to sulphurous and tormenting flames - Must render up myself. - - _Ham._ Alas, poor ghost!—— - - _Ghost._ I am thy father's spirit; - Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night; - And, for the day, confin'd to fast in fires, - Till the foul crimes, done in my days of nature, - Are burnt and purg'd away. But that I am forbid - To tell the secrets of my prison-house, - I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word - Would harrow up thy soul; freeze thy young blood; - Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres; - Thy knotted and combined locks to part, - Like quills upon the fretful porcupine: - But this eternal blazon must not be - To ears of flesh and blood."[417:A] - -In this hazardous experiment, of placing before our eyes a spirit from -the world of departed souls, no one has approached, by many degrees, -the excellence of our poet. The shade of Darius, in the Persians of -Æschylus, has been satisfactorily shown, by a critic of great ability, -to be far inferior[417:B]; nor can the ghosts of Ossian, who is justly -admired for delineations of this kind, be brought into competition with -the Danish spectre; neither the Grecian, nor the Celtic mythology, -indeed, affording materials equal, in point of impression, to those -which existed for the English bard. We may also venture to affirm, that -the management of Shakspeare, in the disposition of his materials, -from the first shock which the sentinels receive, to that which -Hamlet sustains in the closet of his mother, is perfectly unrivalled, -and, more than any other, calculated to excite the highest degree of -interest, pity, and terror. - -It is likewise no small proof of judgment in our poet, that he has -only _once_ attempted to unveil, in this direct manner, the awful -destiny of the dead, and to embody, as it were, at full length, a -missionary from the grave; for the ghost of _Banquo_, and the spectral -appearances in _Julius Cæsar_ and _Richard the Third_, are slight -and powerless sketches, when compared with the tremendous visitation -in _Hamlet_, beyond which no human imagination can ever hope to -pass.[418:A] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[356:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xx. pp. 37-39. Act i. sc. 3. - -[357:A] See Stowe's Chronicle, and Gabriel Harvey's Letter in the -Preface to Spenser's Works, edit. 1679. - -[357:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xx. p. 38. note 2. - -[357:C] Ibid. vol. ii. p. 272. - -[357:D] Ibid. vol. ii. p. 268. - -[357:E] Supplemental Apology, p. 286. - -[358:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 269. - -[358:B] Supplemental Apology, p. 284. - -[359:A] British Bibliographer, vol. ii. p. 115.—The title, which is -wanting in Mr. Capell's copy of 1562, is thus given by Mr. Hazlewood:— - - "The Tragicall His- - torye of Romeus and Juliet, writ- - ten first in Italian by Bandell, - and nowe in Englishe by - Ar. Br. - In ædibus Richardi Tottelli. - Cum Priuilegio. - (Col.) Imprinted at London in - Flete strete within Temble barre, at - the signe of the hand and starre, by - Richard Tottill the XIX day of - November. An. do. 1562." - -[359:B] "Steevens," remarks Mr. Haslewood, "in a note prefixed to the -play, rather prophetically observes, 'we are not yet at the end of -our discoveries relative to the originals of our author's dramatick -pieces:' true: a play founded on the story of Romeo and Juliet, -appearing on the stage 'with commendation,' anterior to the time of -Shakspeare, is a new discovery for the commentators." - -To the notices afforded us by the Commentators on Shakspeare, of -the popularity of the story of Romeo and Juliet, may be added the -following, collected by the industry of Mr. Hazlewood. The first -is from "The Pleasant fable of Hermaphroditus and Salmacis, by T. -Peend, Gent. With a morall in English Verse. Anno Domini 1565, Mense -Decembris. (Col.) Imprinted at London in Flete streat beneath the -Conduyt, at the sygne of S. John Euangelyste, by Thomas Colwell. Oct. -24 leaves." - - "And Juliet, Romeus yonge, - for bewty did imbrace, - Yet dyd hys manhode well agree, - unto hys worthy grace:" - -On which lines occurs the following note, at the end of the -poem:—"Juliet. A noble mayden of the cytye Verona in Italye, whyche -loued Romeus, eldest sonne of the Lorde Montesche, and beinge pryuely -maryed together: he at last poysoned hymselfe for loue of her. She -for sorowe of hys deathe, slewe her selfe in the same tombe, with hys -dagger."—Brit. Bibliographer, vol. ii. pp. 344. 347. 349. - -The second instance is from a work entitled "Philotimus. The Warre -betwixt Nature and Fortune. Compiled by Brian Melbancke Student in -Graies Inne. Palladi virtutis famula. Imprinted at London by Roger -Warde, dwelling neere unto Holborne Conduit at the signe of the Talbot, -1583." 4to. pp. 226. - -"Nowe Priams sone give place, thy Helen's hew is stainde. O Troylus, -weepe no more, faire Cressed thyne is lothlye fowle. Nor Hercules thou -haste cause to vaunt for thy swete Omphale: _nor Romeo thou hast cause -to weepe for Juliets losse_," &c.—Brit. Bibliographer, vol. ii. pp. -438. 444. - -[362:A] The History of Fiction, vol. ii. pp. 339-341. 1st edit. - -[364:A] A Course of Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature. By -Augustus William Schlegel. Translated from the original German, by John -Black. 8vo. 2 vols. 1815. vol. i. pp. 187, 188. - -[364:B] Supplemental Apology, p. 371. - -[364:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xx. p. 349. Act i. sc. 1. - -[364:D] Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 342. - -[364:E] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ix. p. 5. - -[366:A] "I suspect," says Mr. Malone, "that the anonymous _Taming of -a Shrew_ was written about the year 1590, either by George Peele or -Robert Greene."—Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ix. p. 196. - -[366:B] "A very droll print of village society," observes Mr. Felton, -"might be taken" from this interlude. "It might represent this worthy -tinker, at _Marian Hackets_ of Wincot, with _Stephen Sly_, _Old John -Naps o' th' Green_, _Peter Turf_, and _Henry Pimpernell_, not as -smoking their pipes, (as scarce at that day introduced,) but drinking -their ale in _stone-jugs_."—Imperfect Hints towards a New Edition of -Shakspeare, part i. p. 21. - -[367:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 176. - -[368:A] History of Fiction, 1st edit. vol. iii. p. 131. - -[368:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 177. - -[369:A] It is remarkable, that a great poet of the present day has -exhibited, in his poetical romances, an equal attachment to this mode -of disguise. I will here also add, that the compass of English poetry -does not, _in point of interest_, afford any thing more stimulating -and attractive than the _Dramas_ of _Shakspeare_, the _Romances_ of -_Scott_, and the _Tales_ of _Byron_. - -[369:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 277. Act iv. sc. 3. - -[370:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 234. Act ii. sc. 7. - -[370:B] Richard the Second was entered on the Stationers' books, on -August 29. 1597; and Richard the Third on October 20. 1597; and both -printed the same year. - -[370:C] It must be recollected that Mr. Malone's "Chronological -Order of Shakspeare's Plays," is founded, not on the period of their -publication, but on that of their composition; it is "an attempt to -ascertain the order in which the Plays of Shakspeare were _written_." - -[372:A] Anecdotes of Literature and Scarce books, vol. vi. pp. 156. -158, 159. - -[372:B] The lines which seem to imply the future intentions of the -poet, are these:— - - "_Glo._ Clarence, beware: thou keep'st me from the light; - But I will sort a pitchy day for thee: - For I will buz abroad such prophecies, - That Edward shall be fearful of his life; - And then, to purge his fear, I'll be thy death. - King Henry, and the prince his son, are gone: - Clarence, thy turn is next, and then the rest." - Henry VI. Pt. III. act v. sc. 6. - - "_Glo._ I'll blast his harvest, if your head were laid; - For yet I am not look'd on in the world. - This shoulder was ordain'd so thick, to heave; - And heave it shall some weight, or break my back:— - Work thou the way,—and thou shall execute." - Ibid. act v. sc. 7. - -[373:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xiv. p. 206. Henry VI. Pt. III. act v. -sc. 6. - -[373:B] Ibid. vol. xiv. p. 205. - -[374:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xiv. p. 272. Act i. sc. 1. - -[374:B] Ibid. vol. xiv. p. 116. - -[376:A] Supplemental Apology, p. 308. - -[376:B] "This prince," observes Mr. Godwin, "is universally described -to us as one of the most beautiful youths that was ever beheld; and -from the portrait of him still existing in Westminster Abbey, however -imperfect was the art of painting in that age, connoisseurs have -inferred that his person was admirably formed, and his features cast -in a mould of the most perfect symmetry. His appearance and manner -were highly pleasing, and it was difficult for any one to approach him -without being prepossessed in his favour."—Life of Chaucer, vol. iii. -p. 170. 8vo. edit. - -[377:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xi. p. 108. Act iii. sc. 3. - -[377:B] Ibid. vol. xi. p. 98. Act iii. sc. 2. - -[378:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xi. pp. 145, 146. Act v. sc. 2. - -[378:B] Historie of Great Britaine, folio, pp. 766. 777. 2d edit. 1623. - -[379:A] The exception alluded to consists in a quotation from Jonson's -Every Man out of his Humour, first acted in 1599, as an authority for -supposing the Second Part of King Henry IV. to have been written in -1598; and it is a remarkable circumstance, that both Mr. Malone and Mr. -Chalmers have each committed an error in referring to this passage. -It is in Act v. sc. 2. where Fastidius Brisk, in answer to Saviolina, -says,—"No, lady, this is a kinsman to Justice Silence," which Mr. -Malone has converted into Justice Shallow; while Mr. Chalmers tells us, -that "Ben Jonson, certainly, alluded to the Justice Silence of this -play, in his Every Man _in his_ Humour."—Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. -ii. p. 288. and Chalmers's Supplemental Apology, p. 331. - -[379:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xii. p. 3. - -[379:C] I have not the smallest doubt but that Meres, in his List of -our author's Plays, published in September, 1598, meant to include both -parts under his mention of Henry IV.; speaking of the poet's excellence -in both species of dramatic composition, he says, "for comedy, witness -his Gentlemen of Verona, &c. &c.;—for tragedy, his Richard II. Richard -III. Henry IV."; and had he recollected the Parts of Henry the Sixth, -he would have included them, also, under the bare title of Henry VI. - -[381:A] An ingenious Essay has been lately published by Mr. Luders, -in which an attempt is made, with some success, to prove, that the -youthful dissipation ascribed to Henry, by the chroniclers, is without -any adequate foundation. It is probable, however, that Shakspeare, had -he been aware of this, would have preferred the popular statement, from -its superior aptitude for dramatic effect. - -[385:A] Supplemental Apology, p. 348. - -[385:B] Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vii. p. 229. - -[386:A] Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 291. - -[386:B] Preserved in the Harleian Collection, No. 7333, and containing -70 stories. - -[386:C] Vide Douce's Illustrations, vol. ii. p. 424. - -[387:A] Warton's History of English Poetry, vol. ii. p. 18.; vol. iii. -p. lxxxiii.; and Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vii. p. 229. - -[387:B] "I have examined numerous bibliographical treatises and -catalogues for this edition," says Mr. Dibdin, "without effect. It does -not appear to have been in Dr. Farmer's own collection."—Typographical -Antiquities, vol. ii. p. 366. - -[387:C] Dunlop's History of Fiction, 1st edit. vol. ii. p. 336. - -[389:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vii. p. 294, 295. Act ii. sc. 8. - -[390:A] Reed's Shakspeare vol. vii. p. 373. Act v. - -[391:A] Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. i. pp. 269, 270. - -[391:B] This memorandum is as follows:—"The younger sort take much -delight in Shakspeare's Venus and Adonis; but his Lucrece, and his -tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke, have it in them to please the -wiser sort, 1598."—Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 2. - -[391:C] Supplemental Apology, pp. 351, 352. - -[391:D] Ibid. p. 354. - -[392:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 174. Act iii. sc. 1. - -[394:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 162. Act ii. sc. 2. - -[395:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 338. Act v. sc. 1. - -[395:B] Ibid. vol. xviii. p. 175. Act iii. sc. 1. - -[397:A] Paradise Lost, book i. l. 64. - -[398:A] Vide Douce's Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 265. - -[399:A] Sermons, vol. ii. p. 369. - -[400:A] Vide Good's Translation of Job, part v. chap. 33. ver. 22, -23.—I have ventured to alter the language, though I have strictly -adhered to the import of the last line. _Ministers of Death_ have also -been substituted for _Destinies_. - -[401:A] Vide Todd's Spenser, vol. iv. pp. 1, 2, 3. Faerie Queene, book -ii. canto 8. stanz. 1 and 2. - -[401:B] Todd's Milton, vol. iii. pp. 138, 139. Paradise Lost, book -iv. l. 677.—Shakspeare, it may be remarked, occasionally alludes to -the same species of spiritual hierarchy, and, in the very play we are -engaged upon, Laertes says— - - "A _minist'ring angel_ shall my sister be, - When thou liest howling." - Act v. sc. 1. - -[402:A] Pope's Iliad, book xxiii. - -[403:A] Horsley's Nine Sermons on the Nature of the Evidence by which -the Fact of our Lord's Resurrection is established, p. 209. - -[403:B] See an elegant and very satisfactory Dissertation on the -"Mythology of the Poems of Ossian," by Professor Richardson of Glasgow, -in Graham's "Essay on the Authenticity of the Poems of Ossian," 8vo. -1807. - -[404:A] Lavaterus was translated into English by R. H. and printed by -Henry Benneyman, in 1572. 4to. - -[404:B] See his Treatise on Divels and Spirits, annexed to his -Discoverie of Witchcraft, 4to. 1584. - -[404:C] Mede was born in 1586 and died in 1638, and the doctrine in -question is to be found in the fortieth of his fifty-three Discourses, -published after his decease. - -[405:A] "A Treatise on the Second Sight, Dreams, Apparitions, &c. By -Theophilus Insulanus." 8vo. Edinb. 1763. - -[405:B] Reprint of 1815, annexed to Kirk's "Secret Commonwealth," p. 74. - -[407:A] Essay on the Theory of Apparitions, pp. 111-115.—The following -very curious instance of a striking renewal of terrific impressions, -is given by the Doctor in this entertaining little work: it was -communicated to him, he tells us, by the gentleman who underwent the -deception:— - -"He was benighted, while travelling alone, in a remote part of the -Highlands of Scotland, and was compelled to ask shelter for the evening -at a small lonely hut. When he was to be conducted to his bed-room, the -landlady observed, with mysterious reluctance, that he would find the -window very insecure. On examination, part of the wall appeared to have -been broken down, to enlarge the opening. After some enquiry, he was -told, that a pedlar, who had lodged in the room a short time before, -had committed suicide, and was found hanging behind the door, in the -morning. According to the superstition of the country, it was deemed -improper to remove the body through the door of the house; and to -convey it through the window was impossible, without removing part of -the wall. Some hints were dropped, that the room had been subsequently -haunted by the poor man's spirit. - -"My friend laid his arms, properly prepared against intrusion of any -kind, by the bedside, and retired to rest, not without some degree of -apprehension. He was visited, in a dream, by a frightful apparition, -and awaking in agony, found himself sitting up in bed, with a pistol -grasped in his right hand. On casting a fearful glance round the room, -he discovered, by the moon-light, a corpse, dressed in a shroud, reared -erect, against the wall, close by the window. With much difficulty, -he summoned up resolution to approach the dismal object, the features -of which, and the minutest parts of its funeral apparel, he perceived -distinctly. He passed one hand over it; felt nothing; and staggered -back to the bed. After a long interval, and much reasoning with -himself, he renewed his investigation, and at length discovered that -the object of his terror was produced by the moon-beams, forming a -long, bright image, through the broken window, on which his fancy, -impressed by his dream, had pictured, with mischievous accuracy, the -lineaments of a body prepared for interment. Powerful associations -of terror, in this instance, had excited the recollected images with -uncommon force and effect." Pp. 24-28. - -[409:A] Essay on Apparitions, annexed to the fourth edition of his -Essay on the Rhus Toxicodendron, pp. 68, 69. - -[409:B] Rape of Lucrece, vide Malone's Supplement, vol. i. p. 500. - -[409:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 250, 251. - -[410:A] Essay on the Writings and Genius of Shakspeare. 8vo. 5th edit. -pp. 162. 165. - -[410:B] Spectator, No. 419. - -[410:C] Bourne's Antiquities of the Common People, 1725, edition apud -Brand, pp. 119. 122, 123. - -[411:A] The Siege of Corinth, p. 34. - -[412:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 21. - -[413:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xviii. p. 70-74. Act i. sc. 4. - -[413:B] "Of ghostes and spirites walking by nyght," Parte the Seconde, -pp. 106, 107. 4to. B. L., 1572. From the chapter entitled, "The -Papistes doctrine touching the soules of dead men, and the appearing of -them." - -[414:A] Madame De Stael observes, "there is always something -philosophical in the supernatural employed by Shakspeare." The -Influence of Literature on Society, vol. i. p. 297. - -[414:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xviii. pp. 22-25. Act i. sc. 1. - -[414:C] Ibid. pp. 86, 87. Act i. sc. 5. - -[415:A] Antiquitates Vulgares apud Brand, p. 68.—It has been -observed by Mr. Steevens, that "this is a very ancient superstition. -Philostratus, giving an account of the apparition of Achilles' shade -to Apollonius Tyaneus, says that it vanished with a little glimmer as -soon as the _cock crowed_." Vit. Apol. iv. 16. Reed's Shakspeare, vol. -xviii. p. 25. note. - -[415:B] "See Expositio hymnorum secundum usum Sarum, pr. by R. Pynson, -n. d., 4to. fol. vij. b." - -[415:C] Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 201. - -[416:A] "Of ghostes and spirites walking by nyght," 1572. The seconde -parte, chap. ii. p. 103. - -[416:B] The seconde parte, chap. ii. p. 104.; and The first parte, -chap. xv. p. 72. - -[417:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xviii. pp. 77-80. Act i. sc. 5. - -[417:B] See Montagu on the Preternatural Beings of Shakspeare, in her -Essay, p. 160. 165. - -[418:A] It has been asserted by Gildon, but upon what foundation does -not appear, that Shakspeare wrote the scene of the Ghost in Hamlet, -in the church-yard bordering on his house at Stratford.—Vide Reed's -Shakspeare, vol. v. p. 4. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - - OBSERVATIONS ON _KING JOHN_; ON _ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL_; - ON _KING HENRY THE FIFTH_; ON _MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING_; ON - _AS YOU LIKE IT_; ON _MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR_; ON _TROILUS - AND CRESSIDA_; ON _HENRY THE EIGHTH_; ON _TIMON OF ATHENS_; - ON _MEASURE FOR MEASURE_; ON _KING LEAR_; ON _CYMBELINE_; ON - _MACBETH_.—DISSERTATION ON THE _POPULAR BELIEF IN WITCHCRAFT_ - DURING THE AGE OF SHAKSPEARE, AND ON HIS MANAGEMENT OF THIS - SUPERSTITION IN THE TRAGEDY OF _MACBETH_. - - -We are well aware, that, to many of our readers, the chronological -discussion incident to a new arrangement, will be lamented as tedious -and uninteresting; the more so, as nothing absolutely certain can be -expected as the result. That this part of our subject, therefore, may -be as compressed as possible, we shall, in future, be very brief in -offering a determination between the decisions of the two previous -chronologers, reserving a somewhat larger space for the few instances -in which it may be thought necessary to deviate from both. - -Of the plays enumerated by Meres, in September, 1598, only two remain -to be noticed in this portion of our work, namely, _King John_ and -_Love's Labour's Wonne_:— - -16. KING JOHN: 1598. Mr. Chalmers having detected some allusions in -this play to the events of 1597, in addition to those which Mr. Malone -had accurately referred to the preceding year, it becomes necessary, -with the former of these gentlemen, to assign its production to the -spring of 1598.[419:A] - -If _King John_, as a whole, be not entitled to class among the very -first rate compositions of our author, it can yet exhibit some scenes -of superlative beauty and effect, and two characters supported with -unfailing energy and consistency. - -The bastard Faulconbridge, though not perhaps a very amiable personage, -being somewhat too interested and worldly-minded in his conduct to -excite much of our esteem, has, notwithstanding, so large a portion -of _the very spirit of Plantagenet_ in him, so much heroism, gaiety, -and fire in his constitution, and, in spite of his vowed accommodation -to the times[420:A], such an open and undaunted turn of mind, that we -cannot refuse him our admiration, nor, on account of his fidelity to -John, however ill-deserved, our occasional sympathy and attachment. -The alacrity and intrepidity of his daring spirit are nobly supported -to the very last, where we find him exerting every nerve to rouse and -animate the conscience-stricken soul of the tyrant. - -In the person of Lady Constance, _Maternal Grief_, the most interesting -passion of the play, is developed in all its strength; the picture -penetrates to the inmost heart, and seared must those feelings be, -which can withstand so powerful an appeal; for all the emotions of the -fondest affection, and the wildest despair, all the rapid transitions -of anguish, and approximating phrenzy, are wrought up into the scene -with a truth of conception which rivals that of nature herself. - -The innocent and beauteous Arthur, rendered doubly attractive by the -sweetness of his disposition and the severity of his fate, is thus -described by his doating mother:— - - "But thou art fair, and at thy birth, dear boy! - Nature and fortune join'd to make thee great: - Of Nature's gifts thou may'st with lillies boast, - And with the half-blown rose."[420:B] - -When he is captured, therefore, and imprisoned by John, and, -consequently, sealed for destruction, who but Shakspeare could have -done justice to the agonising sorrows of the parent? Her invocation -to death, and her address to Pandulph, paint maternal despair with a -force which no imagination can augment, and of which the tenderness and -pathos have never been exceeded:— - - "Death, death:—O amiable lovely death!— - Come, grin on me; and I will think thou smil'st,— - —————————————— Misery's love, - O, come to me!—— - —— Father cardinal, I have heard you say, - That we shall see and know our friends in heaven: - If that be true I shall see my boy again; - For, since the birth of Cain, the first male child, - To him that did but yesterday suspire, - There was not such a gracious creature born. - But now will canker sorrow eat my bud, - And chase the native beauty from his cheek, - And he will look as hollow as a ghost; - As dim and meagre as an ague's fit; - And so he'll die; and, rising so again, - When I shall meet him in the court of heaven - I shall not know him: therefore never, never - Must I behold my pretty Arthur more. - - _Pand._ You hold too heinous a respect of grief. - - _Const._ He talks to me, that never had a son. - - _K. Phi._ You are as fond of grief, as of your child. - - _Const._ Grief fills the room up of my absent child. - Lies in his bed, walks up and down with me; - Puts on his pretty looks, repeats his words, - Remembers me of all his gracious parts, - Stuffs out his vacant garments with his form; - Then, have I reason to be fond of grief? - Fare you well: had you such a loss as I, - I could give better comfort than you do.— - I will not keep this form upon my head, - (_Tearing off her head-dress._ - When there is such disorder in my wit. - O lord! my boy, my Arthur, my fair son! - My life, my joy, my food, my all the world! - My widow-comfort, and my sorrow's cure!"[421:A] [_Exit._ - -Independent of the scenes which unfold the striking characters of -Constance and Faulconbridge, there are two others in this play which -may vie with any thing that Shakspeare has produced; namely, the -scene between John and Hubert, and that between Hubert and Arthur. -The former, where the usurper obscurely intimates to Hubert his -bloody wishes, is conducted in so masterly a manner, that we behold -the dark and turbulent soul of John lying naked before us in all its -deformity, and shrinking with fear even from the enunciation of its -own vile purpose; "it is one of the scenes," as Mr. Steevens has well -observed, "to which may be promised a lasting commendation. Art could -add little to its perfection; and time itself can take nothing from its -beauties."[422:A] - -The scene with Hubert and the executioners, where the hapless Arthur -supplicates for mercy, almost lacerates the heart itself; and is only -rendered supportable by the tender and alleviating impression which -the sweet innocence and artless eloquence of the poor child fix with -indelible influence on the mind. Well may it be said, in the language -of our poet, that he who can behold this scene without the gushing -tribute of a tear, - - "Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils;— - Let no such man be trusted." - -As for the character of John, which, from its meanness and imbecillity, -seems not well calculated for dramatic representation, Shakspeare has -contrived, towards the close of the drama, to excite in his behalf some -degree of interest and commiseration; especially in the dying scene, -where the fallen monarch, in answer to the enquiry of his son as to the -state of his feelings, mournfully exclaims,— - - "Poison'd,—ill fare;—dead, forsook, cast off." - -17. ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL: 1598. There does not appear any -sufficient reason for altering the date assigned to this play by -Mr. Malone, whom we have, therefore, followed in preference to Mr. -Chalmers, who has fixed on the succeeding year; a decision to which we -have been particularly induced, independent of other circumstances, by -the apparent notice of this drama by Meres, under the title of _Love's -Labour's Wonne_, an appellation which very accurately applies to this, -but to no other of our author's productions with any similar degree -of pertinency. We have reason, therefore, to conclude, as nothing -has hitherto been brought forward to invalidate the assumption, that -Meres's title was the original designation of this comedy, and was -intended by the poet as a counter-title to _Love's Labour's Lost_. What -induced him to dismiss the first, and to adopt the present proverbial -appellation, cannot positively be ascertained; but the probability -is, as Mr. Malone has remarked, that the alteration was suggested -in consequence of the adage itself being found in the body of the -play.[423:A] - -The noblest character in this comedy, which, though founded on a story -somewhat too improbable, abounds both in interest and entertainment, -is the good old _Countess of Rousillon_. Shakspeare seems to have -drawn this portrait _con amore_, and we figure to ourselves for this -amiable woman, a countenance beaming with dignity, sweetness, and -sensibility, emanations from a heart which had ever responded to the -impulses of love and charity. In short, her maternal affection for -the gentle Helen, her piety, sound sense, and candour, call for our -warmest reverence and esteem, which accompany her to the close of the -representation, and follow her departure with regret.[423:B] - -Helen, the romantic, the love-dejected Helen, must excite in every -feeling bosom a high degree of sympathy; patient suffering in the -female sex, especially when resulting from ill-requited attachment, and -united with modesty and beauty, cannot but be an object of interest -and commiseration, and, in the instance before us, these are admirably -blended in - - ————————— "a maid too virtuous - For the contempt of empire," - -but who, unfortunately, has to struggle against the prejudices of -birth, rank, and unfeeling pride, in the very man who is the object of -her idolatry, and who, even after the most sacred of bonds should have -cemented their destiny, flies with scorn from her embraces. - -If in the infancy of her passion the error of indiscretion be -attributable to Helen, how is it atoned for by the most engaging -humility, by the most bewitching tenderness of heart: "Be not -offended," she tells her noble patroness, - - "Be not offended; for it hurts not him, - That he is lov'd of me: I follow him not - By any token of presumptuous suit; - Nor would I have him, till I do deserve him; - Yet never know how that desert should be— - ——————————— thus, Indian-like, - Religious in mine error, I adore - The sun, that looks upon his worshipper, - But knows of him no more."[424:A] - -But when the wife of Bertram, with a resignation and self-devotedness -worthy of the highest praise, she deserts the house of her -mother-in-law, knowing that whilst she is sheltered there her husband -will not return, how does she, becoming thus an unprotected wanderer, a -pilgrim _bare-foot plodding the cold ground_ for him who has contemned -her, rise to the tone of exalted truth and heroism! - - —————————— "Poor lord! is't I - That chase thee from thy country, and expose - Those tender limbs of thine to the event - Of the none-sparing war? and is it I - That drive thee from the sportive court, where thou - Wast shot at with fair eyes, to be the mark - Of smoky muskets?—— - ———————— No, come thou home, Rousillon:— - ——————————— I will be gone: - My being it is, that holds thee hence: - Shall I stay here to do't? no, no, although - The air of paradise did fan the house, - And angels offic'd all: I will be gone; - That pitiful rumour may report my flight, - To consolate thine ear. Come, night,— - For, with the dark, poor thief, I'll steal away."[425:A] - -It was necessary, in order to place the character of Helen in -its most interesting point of view, that Bertram should be -represented as arrogant, profligate, and unfeeling; a coxcomb who to -family-consequence hesitates not to sacrifice all that is manly, just, -and honourable. The picture is but too true to nature, and, since -the poet found such a delineation essential to the construction of -his story, he has very properly taken care, though Bertram, out of -tenderness to the Countess and Helena, meets not the punishment he -merits, that nothing in mitigation of his folly should be produced. - -To the comic portion of this drama too much praise can scarcely be -given; it is singularly rich in all that characterises the wit, the -drollery, and the humour of Shakspeare. The Clown is the rival of -Touchstone in _As You Like It_; and Parolles, in the power of exciting -laughter and ludicrous enjoyment, is only secondary to Falstaff. - -18. KING HENRY THE FIFTH: 1599. The chorus at the commencement of the -fifth act, and the silence of Meres, too plainly point out the era of -the composition of this play, to admit of any alteration depending on -the bare supposition of subsequent interpolation, or on allusions too -vague and general to afford any specific application. - -No character has been pourtrayed more at length by our poet than -that of Henry the Fifth, for we trace him acting a prominent part -through three plays. In _Henry the Fourth_, until the battle of -Shrewsbury, we behold him in all the effervescence of his mad-cap -revelry; occasionally, it is true, affording us glimpses of the -native mightiness of his mind, but first bursting upon us with heroic -splendour on that celebrated field. In every situation, however, he is -evidently the darling offspring of his bard, whether we attend him to -the frolic orgies in Eastcheap, to his combat with the never-daunted -Percy, or, as in the play before us, to the immortal plains of -Agincourt. - -The fire and animation which inform the soul of Henry when he rushes to -arms in defence of his father's throne, are supported with unwearied -vigour, with a blaze which never falters, throughout the whole of his -martial achievements in France. Nor has Shakspeare been content with -representing him merely in the light of a noble and chivalrous hero, he -has endowed him with every regal virtue; he is magnanimous, eloquent, -pious, and sincere; versed in all the arts of government, policy, -and war; a lover of his country and of his people, and a strenuous -protector of their liberties and rights. - -Of the various instances which our author has brought forward for the -exemplification of these virtues and acquirements, it may be necessary -to notice two or three. Thus the detection of the treason of Cambridge, -Gray, and Scroop, who had conspired to assassinate Henry previous -to his embarkation, exhibits a rich display of the mental greatness -and emphatic oratory of this warlike monarch. After reprobating the -treachery of Cambridge and Gray, he suddenly turns upon Scroop, who had -been his bosom-friend, with the following pathetic and soul-harrowing -appeal:— - - ——————————————— "But - What shall I say to thee, lord Scroop!— - Thou, that didst bear the key of all my counsels, - That knew'st the very bottom of my soul!— - May it be possible, that foreign hire - Could out of thee extract one spark of evil, - That might annoy my finger?— - O, how hast thou with jealousy infected - The sweetness of affiance!— - —————————— I will weep for thee; - For this revolt of thine, methinks, is like - Another fall of man."[426:A] - -Nor can we forbear distinguishing the dismissal of these traitors, -as a striking example of magnanimity, and of justice tempered with -dignified compassion:— - - "God quit you in his mercy!—— - Touching our person, seek we no revenge; - But we our kingdom's safety must so tender, - Whose ruin you three sought, that to her laws - We do deliver you. Get you therefore hence, - Poor miserable wretches, to your death: - The taste whereof, God, of his mercy, give you - Patience to endure, and true repentance - Of all your dear offences!"[427:A] - -In the fourth act, what a masterly picture of the cares and solicitudes -of royalty is drawn by Henry himself, in his noble soliloquy on the -morning of the battle, especially towards the close, where he contrasts -the gorgeous but painful ceremonies of a crown with the profitable -labour and the balmy rest of the peasant, who - - ——————————— "from the rise to set, - Sweats in the eye of Phœbus, and all night - Sleeps in Elysium!" - -But the prayer which immediately follows is unrivalled for its power of -impression, presenting us with the most lively idea of the amiability, -piety, and devotional fervour of the monarch:— - - "O God of battles! steel my soldiers' hearts! - —————————— Not to-day, O Lord, - O not to-day, think not upon the fault - My father made in compassing the crown! - I Richard's body have interred anew; - And on it have bestow'd more contrite tears, - Than from it issued forced drops of blood. - Five hundred poor I have in yearly pay, - Who twice a day their _wither'd_ hands hold up - Toward heaven, to pardon blood; and I have built - Two chantries, where the sad and solemn priests - Sing still for Richard's soul."[427:B] - -Of the _picturesque force_ of an epithet, there is not in the records -of poetry a more remarkable instance than what is here produced by -the adoption of the term _withered_, through which the scene starts -into existence with a boldness of relief that vies with the noblest -creations of the pencil. - -The address to Westmoreland, on his wishing for more men from England, -is a fine specimen of military eloquence, possessing that high tone of -enthusiasm and exhilaration, so well calculated to inflame the daring -spirit of the soldier. It is in perfect keeping with the historical -character of Henry, nor can we agree with Dr. Johnson in thinking that -its reduction "to about half the number of lines," would have added, -either to its force or weight of sentiment[428:A]; so far, indeed, are -we from coalescing with this decision, that we feel convinced not a -clause could be withdrawn without material injury to the animation and -effect of the whole. - -Instances of the same impressive and energising powers of elocution, -will be found in the King's exhortation to his soldiers before -the gates of Harfleur[428:B]; in his description of the horrors -attendant on a city taken by storm[428:C]; and in his replies to the -Herald Montjoy[428:D]; all of which spring naturally from, and are -respectively adapted to the circumstances of the scene. - -Nor, amid all the dangers and unparalleled achievements of the Fifth -Henry, do we altogether lose sight of the frank and easy gaiety which -distinguished the Prince of Wales. His winning condescension in -sympathising with the cares and pleasures of his soldiers, display the -same kindness and affability of temper, the same love of raillery and -humour, reminiscences, as it were, of his youthful days, and which, in -his intercourse with Williams and Fluellin, produce the most pleasing -and grateful relief. - -These touches of a frolic pencil are managed with such art and -address, that they derogate nothing from the dignity of the monarch and -the conqueror; what may be termed the truly comic portion of the play, -being carried on apart from any immediate connection with the person of -the sovereign. - -As the events of warfare and the victories of Henry form the sole -subjects of the serious parts of this piece, it was necessary for -the sake of variety and dramatic effect, and in order to satisfy the -audience of this age, that comic characters and incidents should be -interspersed; and, though we are disappointed in not seeing Falstaff, -according to the poet's promise, again on the scene, we once more -behold his associates, Bardolph, Pistol, and Hostess Quickly, pursuing -their pleasant career with unfailing eccentricity and humour. The -description of the death of Falstaff by the last of this fantastic -trio, is executed with peculiar felicity, for while it excites a smile -verging on risibility, it calls forth, at the same time, a sigh of pity -and regret. - -Of the general conduct of this play, it may be remarked, that the -interest turns altogether upon the circumstances which accompany a -single battle; consequently the poet has put forth all his strength -in colouring and contrasting the situation of the two armies; and -so admirably has he succeeded in this attempt, by opposing the full -assurance of victory, on the part of the French, their boastful -clamour, and impatient levity, to the conscious danger, calm valour, -and self-devotedness of the English, that we wait the issue of the -combat with an almost breathless anxiety. - -And, in order that the heroism of Henry might not want any decoration -which poetry could afford, the epic and lyric departments have been -laid under contribution, for the purpose of supplying what the very -confined limits of the stage, then in the infancy of its mechanism, had -no means of unfolding. A preliminary chorus, therefore, is attached -to each act, impressing vividly on the imagination what could not be -addressed to the senses, and adding to a subject, in itself more epic -than dramatic, all the requisite grandeur and sublimity of description. - -19. MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING: 1599. The allusion, in the opening -scene of this comedy, to a circumstance attending the campaign of the -Earl of Essex in Ireland, during the summer of 1599, which was first -noticed by Mr. Chalmers, and which seems corroborated by the testimony -of Camden and Moryson[430:A], has induced us to adopt the chronology -dependent on this apparent reference, the only note of time, indeed, -which has hitherto been discovered in the play. - -This very popular production which appears to have originally had -the title of _Benedick and Beatrice_[430:B], and is, in its leading -incidents, to be traced to one of the tales of Bandello[430:C], -possesses, both with respect to its fable and characters, a vivacity, -richness, and variety, together with a happiness of combination, which -delight as much as they astonish. - -The two plots are managed with uncommon skill; the first, involving the -temporary disgrace and the recognition of Hero, includes a vast range -of emotions, and abounds both in pathos and humour. The accusation of -the innocent Hero by the man whom she loved, and at the very moment -too, when she was about to be united to him for life, excites a most -powerful impression; but is surpassed by the scene which restores her -to happiness, where Claudio, supposing himself about to be united, -in obedience to the will of Leonato, to a relation of his former -beloved, and, as he concludes, deceased mistress, on unveiling the -bride, beholds the features of her whom he had injured, and whom he had -lamented as no more. - -It is no small proof of the ingenuity of our poet, that through the -means by which the iniquity practised against Hero is developed, we -are furnished with a fund of the most ludicrous entertainment; the -charge of Dogberry to the Watch, and the arrest and examination of -Conrade and Borachio, throwing all the muscles of risibility into -action. - -Nor is the second plot in any respect inferior to the first; indeed, -there is reason to believe, that, to the masterly delineations of -Benedick and Beatrice, "the most sprightly characters that Shakspeare -ever drew," and to their mutual entrapment in the meshes of love, a -great part of the popularity which has ever accompanied this comedy, -is in justice to be ascribed. Fault, however, has been found with the -mode by which the reciprocal affection of these sworn foes to love -has been secured: "the second contrivance," observes Mr. Steevens, -"is less ingenious than the first:—or, to speak more plainly, the -same incident is become stale by repetition. I wish some other method -had been found to entrap Beatrice, than that very one which before -had been successfully practised on Benedick[431:A];" an objection -which has been censured with some severity by Schlegel, who justly -remarks, that the drollery of this twice-used artifice "lies in the -very symmetry of the deception."[431:B] It may be added, that the -conversation of the gentleman and the wit, in Shakspeare's days, may -be pretty well ascertained from the part of Benedick in this play, and -from that of Mercutio in _Romeo and Juliet_; both presenting us, after -some allowance for a licence of allusion too broad for the decorum of -the present day, with a favourable picture of the accomplishments of -polished society in the reign of Elizabeth. - -20. AS YOU LIKE IT: 1600. Though this play, with the exception of the -disguise and self-discovery of Rosalind, may be said to be destitute -of plot, it is yet one of the most delightful of the dramas of -Shakspeare. There is something inexpressibly wild and interesting both -in the characters and in the scenery; the former disclosing the moral -discipline and the sweets of adversity, the purest emotions of love -and friendship, of gratitude and fidelity, the melancholy of genius, -and the exhilaration of innocent mirth, as opposed to the desolating -effects of malice, envy, and ambition; and the latter unfolding, -with the richest glow of fancy, landscapes to which, as objects of -imitation, the united talents of Ruysdale, Claude, and Salvator Rosa, -could alone do justice. - -From the forest of Arden, from that wild wood of oaks, - - ——————— "whose boughs were moss'd with age, - And high tops bald with dry antiquity," - -from the bosom of sequestered glens and pathless solitudes, has the -poet called forth lessons of the most touching and consolitory wisdom. -Airs from paradise seem to fan with refreshing gales, with a soothing -consonance of sound, the interminable depth of foliage, and to breathe -into the hearts of those who have sought its shelter from the world, -an oblivion of their sorrows and their cares. The banished Duke, the -much-injured Orlando, and the melancholy Jaques, lose in meditation on -the scenes which surround them, or in sportive freedom, or in grateful -occupation, all corrosive sense of past affliction. Love seems the only -passion which has penetrated this romantic seclusion, and the sigh of -philosophic pity, or of wounded sensibility, (the legacy of a deserted -world,) the only relique of the storm which is passed and gone. - -Nothing, in fact, can blend more harmoniously with the romantic -glades, and magic windings of Arden, than the society which Shakspeare -has placed beneath its shades. The effect of such scenery, on the -lover of nature, is to take full possession of the soul, to absorb -its very faculties, and, through the charmed imagination, to convert -the workings of the mind into the sweetest sensations of the heart, -into the joy of grief, into a thankful endurance of adversity, into -the interchange of the tenderest affections; and find we not here, -in the person of the Duke, the noblest philosophy of resignation; in -Jaques, the humorous sadness of an amiable misanthropy; in Orlando, -the mild dejection of self-accusing humility; in Rosalind and Celia, -the purity of sisterly affection, whilst love in all its innocence -and gaiety binds in delicious fetters, not only the younger exiles, -but the pastoral natives of the forest. A day thus spent, in all the -careless freedom of unsophisticated nature, seems worth an eternity of -common-place existence! - -The nice discrimination of Shakspeare and his profound knowlege -of human nature are no where more apparent than in sketching the -character of Jaques, whose social and confiding affections, originally -warm and enthusiastic, and which had led him into all the excesses -and credulities of thoughtless attachment, being blighted by the -desertion of those on whom he had fondly relied, have suddenly subsided -into a delicately blended compound of melancholy, misanthropy, and -morbid sensibility, mingled with a large portion of benevolent -though sarcastic humour. The selfishness and ingratitude of mankind -are, consequently, the theme of all his meditations, and even tinge -his recreations with the same pensive hue of moral invective. We -accordingly first recognise him in a situation admirably adapted to the -nurture of his peculiar feelings, laid at length - - "Under an oak, whose antique root peeps out - Upon the brook that brawls along the wood," - -and assimilating the fate of an unfortunate stag, who had been wounded -by the hunters, and who - - "Stood on the extremest verge of the swift brook, - Augmenting it with tears," - -to the too common lot of humanity:— - - "_Duke._ But what said Jaques? - Did he not moralize this spectacle? - - _Lord._ O yes, into a thousand similes. - First, for his weeping in the needless stream; - _Poor deer_, quoth he, _thou mak'st a testament - As worldings do, giving the sum of more - To that which had too much._ Then, being there alone, - Left and abandoned of his velvet friends; - _'Tis right_, quoth he; _thus misery doth part - The flux of company._ Anon, a careless herd, - Full of the pasture, jumps along by him, - And never stays to greet him. _Ay_, quoth Jaques, - _Sweep on, you fat and greasy citizens; - 'Tis just the fashion: wherefore do you look - Upon that poor and broken bankrupt there?_"[434:A] - -As might be imagined, music, the food of melancholy as well as of love, -is the chief consolation of Jaques; he tells Amiens, who, on finishing -a song, had objected to his request of singing again, that it would -make him melancholy. "I thank it. More, I pr'ythee more. I can suck -melancholy out of a song, as a weasel sucks eggs: More, I pr'ythee, -more[434:B];" and we can well conceive with what exquisite pleasure he -listened to the subsequent song of the same nobleman: - - "Blow, blow, thou winter wind, - Thou art not so unkind - As man's ingratitude; - Thy tooth is not so keen, - Because thou art not seen, - Although thy breath be rude.— - Freeze, freeze, thou bitter sky, - Thou dost not bite so nigh - As benefits forgot; - Though thou the waters warp, - Thy sting is not so sharp - As friend remember'd not."[434:C] - -From this interesting and finely shaded character, the result of a -false estimate of what is to be expected from human nature and society, -much valuable instruction may be derived; but as a similar delineation -will soon occur in the person of Timon, we shall defer what may be -required upon this subject to a subsequent page. - -21. MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR: 1601. It does not appear to us that Mr. -Chalmers has succeeded in his endeavours to set aside the general -tradition relative to this comedy, as recorded by Mr. Rowe, who says, -that Queen Elizabeth "was so well pleased with the admirable character -of Falstaff in _The Two Parts of Henry the Fourth_, that she commanded -Shakspeare to continue it for one play more, and to show him in -love."[435:A] Rowe adopted this from Dennis, who mentions it as the -tradition of his time; and has also related, that being "eager to see -it acted," she ordered it "to be finished in _fourteen days_[435:B]," -and was highly gratified by the representation. - -A tradition of the seventeenth century thus general in its diffusion, -and particular in its circumstances, cannot, and ought not, to be -shaken by the mere observations that "she (the Queen) was certainly -too feeble in 1601 to think of such toys," and that at this time "she -was in no proper mood for such fooleries[435:C];" more especially when -we recollect, that at this very period, she was guilty of fooleries -greatly more extravagant and out of character, than that of commanding -a play to be written. At a "mask at Blackfriars, on the marriage of -Lord Herbert and Mrs. Russel," relates Lord Orford, on the authority -of the Bacon Papers, "eight lady maskers chose eight more to dance the -measures. Mrs. Fritton, who led them, went to the Queen, and wooed -her to dance. Her Majesty asked, what she was? 'AFFECTION,' she said. -'AFFECTION!' said the Queen;—'_AFFECTION is false._'—Yet her majesty -rose and _danced_.—She was then SIXTY-EIGHT![435:D]" If, at the age of -SIXTY-EIGHT, she was not _too feeble to dance_, nor _too wise to fancy -herself in love_, we may easily conceive, that she had both _strength_ -and _inclination_ to attend and to enjoy a play! - -Another objection of the same critic to the probability of this -tradition, turns upon the extraordinary assumption, that it was not -within the omnipotence of Elizabeth "to bring Falstaff to _real -life_, after being _positively as dead as nail in door_[436:A];" as -if Falstaff had ever possessed a _real_ existence, and the Queen had -been expected to have occasioned his _bodily_ resurrection from the -dead. In accordance with this supposed impossibility, impossible only -in this strange point of view, we are further told, that "whatever a -capricious Queen might have wished to have seen, the audience would -not have borne to see the _dead_ knight on the _living_ stage;" thus -again confounding the _dramatic_ death of an _imaginary_ being, with -the physical dissolution incident to material nature! Surely Shakspeare -had an unlimited control over the creatures of his own imagination, and -had he reproduced the fat knight in half-a-dozen plays, after the death -which he had already assigned him in _Henry the Fifth_, who, provided -he had supported the merit and consistency of the character, would -have charged him with a violation of probability? When Addison killed -Sir Roger de Coverley, in order, as tradition says, to prevent any one -interfering with the unity of his sketch, he could only be certain -of the non-resumption of his imaginary existence in the very work -which had detailed his decease; for if Addison himself, or any of his -contemporaries, had reproduced Sir Roger, in a subsequent periodical -paper, with the same degree of skill which had accompanied the first -delineation, would it have been objected as a sufficient condemnation -of such a performance, that the knight had been previously dispatched? - -We see no reason, therefore, for distrusting the generally received -tradition, and have, accordingly, placed the _Merry Wives of Windsor_, -with Mr. Malone, after the three plays devoted to _Henry the Fourth_, -and _Fifth_. - -In this very entertaining drama, which unfolds a vast display of -incident, and a remarkable number of well-supported characters, we are -presented with an almost unrivalled instance of pure domestic comedy, -and which furnishes a rich draught of English minds and manners, in -the middle ranks of society, during one of the most interesting periods -of our annals. - -Shakspeare has here achieved, perhaps, the most difficult task which -can fall to the lot of any writer; that of resuscitating a favourite -and highly-wrought child of the imagination, and, with a success equal -to that which attended the original production, re-involving him in -a series of fresh adventures. Falstaff has not lost, in this comedy, -any portion of his former power of pleasing; he returns to us in the -fulness of his strength, and we immediately enter, with unabated -avidity and relish, into a further developement of his inexhaustible -stores of humour, wit, and drollery. - -The self-delusion of Sir John, who conceives himself to be an object -of love, and the incongruities, absurdities, and intrigues, into which -this monstrous piece of vanity plunges him, form, together with the -secondary plot of Fenton and Anne Page, the richest tissue of incident -and stratagem that ever graced a stage. The mode, also, in which the -two intrigues are interwoven, the happy termination of the second, -arising out of the contrivance which brings about the issue of the -first, has a just claim to praise both for its invention and execution. - -To the comic characters which had formerly been associated with the -exploits of the Knight, and which, as accessories or retainers, -accompany him in this play, some very laughable and grotesque additions -are to be found in the persons of _Slender_, _Sir Hugh Evans_, and _Dr. -Caius_, who are deeply implicated in the fable, and who, by the most -ludicrous exhibitions of rustic simplicity, provincial accent, and -broken English, contribute in a high degree to the variety and hilarity -of the scene. - -22. TROILUS AND CRESSIDA: 1601. That this play was written and acted before -the decease of Queen Elizabeth, is evident from the manner in which -it is entered on the Stationers' Books, being registered on February -7. 1602-3, "_as acted by my Lord Chamberlen's men_[437:A]," who, in -the year of the accession of King James, obtained a licence for their -theatre, and were denominated "_his majesty's servants_." - -It also appears, from some entries in Mr. Henslowe's Manuscript, that -a drama on this subject, at first called _Troyelles and Cresseda_, -but, before its production, altered in its title to "_The Tragedy of -Agamemnon_," was in existence anterior to Shakspeare's play, and was -licensed by the Master of the Revels, on the 3rd of June, 1599.[438:A] - -From these premises we have a right to infer that our poet's _Troilus -and Cressida_ was written between June, 1599, and February, 1603, and, -accordingly, our two chronologers have thus placed it; Mr. Malone in -1602, and Mr. Chalmers in 1600. But it appears to us, for reasons which -we shall immediately assign, that its more probable era is that of 1601. - -It has been correctly observed by the Commentators, that an incident -in our author's _Troilus and Cressida_, is ridiculed in an anonymous -comedy, entitled _Histriomastix_, "which, though not printed till 1610, -must have been written before the death of Queen Elizabeth, who, in the -last act of the piece, is shadowed, under the character of Astræa, and -is spoken of as then living."[438:B] - -We cannot avoid thinking it somewhat extraordinary that when Mr. Malone -recorded this circumstance, it did not occur to him, that, by placing -the composition of Shakspeare's play in 1602, he allowed scarcely -any time to the author of _Histriomastix_ for the composition of his -work. In order that a parody or burlesque may be successful, it is -necessary that the production ridiculed, should have acquired a certain -degree of celebrity, and however well received by the court, before -which it was at first chiefly performed, this drama of our author may -have been, some time must have elapsed ere it could have acquired a -sufficient degree of notoriety for the purpose of successful satire. -But if Shakspeare wrote his _Troilus and Cressida_ in 1602, and had -even completed it by the middle of the year, scarcely nine months -could intervene between this completion and the death of the Queen -in March, 1603; and during this short interval, the play of our poet -must have been acted, and celebrated so repeatedly and so highly, -as to have excited the pen of envy and burlesque, and the comedy of -_Histriomastix_ must have been written and performed; a space certainly -much too inadequate for these effects and results, more particularly if -we are allowed to conclude, what most probably was the case, that the -anonymous comedy was finished some months anterior to the decease of -Elizabeth. - -On the other hand, it would seem that Mr. Chalmers, by approximating -the date of Shakspeare's play too closely to that of the elder drama, -may be taxed with a similar error. That our poet was in the habit of -adopting subjects which had been previously rendered popular on the -stage, has been acknowledged by all his commentators, and that his -attention was first attracted to the fable under consideration, by the -play exhibited on Mr. Henslowe's theatre, there can be little doubt. -But this production, we find, was not licensed by the Master of the -Revels until June, 1599, and as popularity attached to the performance -would be necessary to stimulate Shakspeare to remodel the subject, we -can scarcely conceive him, both on this account, and from a motive of -delicacy to a rival theatre, to have commenced the composition of his -_Troilus and Cressida_ before the beginning of 1601. - -It was at this period then, that our bard, excited by the success of -the prior attempt in 1599, turned his attention to the subject; and, -referring to his Chaucer, to Caxton's Translation of the _Recuyles or -Destruction of Troy_, from _Raoul le Fevre_, and to the first seven -books of Chapman's Homer, for the materials of his story, presented us -with the most singular, and, in some respects, the most striking, of -his productions. - -This play is, indeed, a most perfect _unique_ both in its construction -and effect, appearing to be a continued sarcasm on the _tale of Troy -divine_, an ironical copy, as it were, of the great Homeric picture. -Whether this was in the contemplation of Shakspeare, or whether it -might not, in a great measure, flow from the nature of the Gothic -narratives to which he had recourse, may admit of some doubt. As -Homer, however, was in part before him, in the excellent version of -Chapman, it appears to us, that it certainly was his design to expose -the follies and absurdities of the Trojan war; the despicable nature -of its origin, and the furious discords which protracted its issue. In -doing this he has stripped the Homeric characters of all their epic -pomp; he has laid them naked to the very heart, but he has, at the -same time, individualised them, with a pencil so keen, powerful, and -discriminating, that we become more intimately acquainted with them, -as mere men, from the perusal of this play, than from all the splendid -descriptions of the Greek poet. - -This unparalleled strength and distinctness of characterisation, as -unfolded in the play before us, has been admirably painted by Mr. -Godwin. "The whole catalogue," he observes, "of the _Dramatis Personæ_ -in the play of _Troilus and Cressida_, so far as they depend upon -a rich and original vein of humour in the author, are drawn with a -felicity which never was surpassed. The genius of Homer has been a -topic of admiration to almost every generation of men since the period -in which he wrote. But his characters will not bear the slightest -comparison with the delineation of the same characters as they stand -in Shakspeare. This is a species of honour which ought by no means to -be forgotten when we are making the eulogium of our immortal bard, a -sort of illustration of his greatness which cannot fail to place it -in a very conspicuous light. The dispositions of men perhaps had not -been sufficiently unfolded in the very early period of intellectual -refinement when Homer wrote; the rays of humour had not been dissected -by the glass, or rendered perdurable by the pencil, of the poet. -Homer's characters are drawn with a laudable portion of variety, and -consistency; but his Achilles, his Ajax, and his Nestor are, each of -them, rather a species than an individual, and can boast more of the -propriety of abstraction, than of the vivacity of a moving scene of -absolute life. The Achilles, the Ajax, and the various Grecian heroes -of Shakspeare, on the other hand, are absolute men, deficient in -nothing which can tend to individualise them, and already touched with -the Promethean fire that might infuse a soul into what, without it, -were lifeless form. From the rest perhaps the character of Thersites -deserves to be selected, (how cold and school-boy a sketch in Homer,) -as exhibiting an appropriate vein of sarcastic humour amidst his -cowardice, and a profoundness and truth in his mode of laying open the -foibles of those about him, impossible to be excelled. - -"Shakspeare possessed, no man in higher perfection, the true dignity -and loftiness of the poetical afflatus, which he has displayed in -many of the finest passages of his works with miraculous success. -But he knew that no man ever was, or ever can be, always dignified. -He knew that those subtler traits of character which identify a man, -are familiar and relaxed, pervaded with passion, and not played off -with an external eye to decorum. In this respect the peculiarities of -Shakspeare's genius are no where more forcibly illustrated than in the -play we are here considering. The champions of Greece and Troy, from -the hour in which their names were first recorded, had always worn -a certain formality of attire, and marched with a slow and measured -step. No poet, till this time, had ever ventured to force them out -of the manner which their epic creator had given them. Shakspeare -first supplied their limbs, took from them the classic stiffness of -their gait, and enriched them with an entire set of those attributes, -which might render them completely beings of the same species with -ourselves."[441:A] - -The great defect of this play, which, in other respects, is highly -entertaining and instructive, and abounding in didactic morality, -expressed with the utmost beauty, vigour, and boldness of diction, is -a want of attachment for its characters. If we set aside Hector, who -seems to have been the favourite hero with Shakspeare, and his Gothic -authorities, there is not a person in the drama, for whom we feel any -sympathy or interest; the Grecian chiefs, though varied and coloured -in the highest style of relief, are any thing but amiable, and of the -persons involved in the love-intrigue, two are proverbially infamous, -whilst the forsaken Troilus appears in too tame and inefficient a light -to call forth any share of admiration or regret. - -23. KING HENRY THE EIGHTH: 1602. Few of the plays of Shakspeare have -occasioned more difference of opinion, with regard to the era of their -production, than this historical drama. Mr. Malone contends that -it was written in 1601 or 1602, and that, after having lain by for -some years unacted, on account of the costliness of its exhibition, -it was revived in 1613, under the title of _All is True_, with new -decorations, and a new prologue and epilogue; and that this revival -took place on the very day, being St. Peter's, on which the Globe -Theatre was burnt down, occasioned, it is said, by the discharge of -some small pieces, called chambers, on King Henry's arrival at Cardinal -Wolsey's gate at Whitehall, one of which, being injudiciously managed, -set fire to the thatched roof of the theatre. He also joins with Dr. -Johnson and Dr. Farmer in conceiving, that the prologue, and even -some part of the dialogue, were, on this occasion, written by Ben -Jonson, to whom he also ascribes the conduct and superintendence of the -representation.[442:A] - -Mr. Chalmers, on the contrary, believes that this piece was neither -represented nor written before 1613, and that its first appearance -on the stage was the night of the conflagration above-mentioned. -He reprobates the folly of supposing "that Ben Jonson, _who was in -perpetual hostility with Shakspeare_, made _adycyons_ to _Henry VIII._, -or even wrote the prologue for our poet."[442:B] - -And, lastly, Mr. Gifford declares it to be his conviction that the -tragedy of our poet was produced in 1601; but that, on the supposed -revival of it in 1613, neither the prologue was written by Jonson, nor -the play by Shakspeare, the piece then performed being a _new play_, -called _All is Truth_, constructed, indeed, on the history of Henry the -Eighth, and, like that, full of shows, but not the composition of our -author. He has here likewise, as every where else, very successfully -combated the prejudice and credulity of the commentators, in their -perpetual assumption of the enmity of Jonson to Shakspeare.[443:A] - -For the arguments by which these conflicting opinions are maintained, -we must refer to the respective writings of the combatants, our -limits only permitting us to state and briefly to support one or two -circumstances which, in our view of them, seem irresistibly to prove, -that, in the first place, the play performed on the 29th of June, 1613, -was _Shakspeare's tragedy of Henry the Eighth_; and, secondly, that it -was _his tragedy revived_, with a new name, and with a _new prologue, -both emanating from himself_. - -Now, if the prologue which has always accompanied our author's drama -from its first publication in 1623, _manifestly_ and _repeatedly -allude_ to the _title_ of the play which was represented on the 29th of -June, 1613, and which we know to have been founded on the history of -King Henry the Eighth, can there be a stronger proof of their identity, -or a more satisfactory reply to the query of Mr. Gifford, who asks, -who would have recognised _Henry the Eighth_ under the name of _All is -Truth_? (or rather, as he should have said, _All is True_?) than what -these intimations afford? That they have, indeed, been noticed both -by Mr. Tyrwhitt and Mr. Malone, as alluding to the title in question, -is true; but they appear to us so important and decisive, as to merit -being brought forward more distinctly, especially as they have escaped -Mr. Gifford's attention. We shall therefore transcribe them, being -convinced that not accident but design dictated their insertion:— - - —————————— "Such, as give - Their money out of hope they may believe, - May here find _truth_ too." - - ——————————— "Gentle readers, know, - To rank _our chosen truth_ with such a show - As fool and fight is," &c.— - - "To make that only _true_ we now intend." - -That the play represented at the Globe in 1613, was merely a _revived_ -play, wants no other proof than the following:—In a MS. letter of Tho. -Lorkin to Sir Tho. Puckering, dated _London, this last of June, 1613_, -Lorkin tells his friend, that "No longer since than YESTERDAY, -while Bourbage his companie were acting at the Globe _THE -play of Hen. VIII._ and there shooting of certayne chambers in way of -triumph, the fire catched," &c.[444:A] - -We would now enquire if it were possible that any rational person -writing from London to his friend in the country, concerning a _new_ -play which had been performed, for the first time, but the day before -the date of his letter, could make use of language such as this? Must -he not necessarily have said, _A play, or A new play, called Hen. -VIII._? And does not the phraseology which he has adopted, namely, -"_THE play of Hen. VIII._," evidently imply that the piece had been -long known? - -So decidedly, in our opinion, do these two circumstances prove, that -it was _Shakspeare's Henry the Eighth REVIVED_, which was performed -at the Globe Theatre on St. Peter's day, 1613, that we no longer -hesitate a moment in admitting, with the principal commentators, that -this tragedy was originally written but a short time anterior to the -death of Elizabeth, to whom some elegant and appropriate praise is -offered; and that the compliment to James the First, rather forcibly -introduced into the closing scene, was composed by our poet expressly -for the revival of 1613; admissions which not only seem warranted by -the internal evidence of the play, but almost necessarily flow from the -establishment of the two inferences for which we have contended. - -There is much reason to conclude that, in the long interval between -the death of Queen Elizabeth, and the year 1613, our author's _Henry -the Eighth_ had never been performed; and it is further probable that, -on this account, and in consequence of its receiving a _new_ name, a -_new_ prologue and epilogue, and _new_ decorations of unprecedented -splendour, the players might, as Mr. Malone has suggested, have called -it in the bills of that time a _new_ play[445:A]; an epithet which we -find Sir Henry Wotton has adopted, when describing the accident at the -Globe Theatre, and which, if writing in haste, or with less attention -to the history of the stage than occurs in the letter of Mr. Lorkin, he -might, from similar causes, naturally be expected to repeat.[445:B] - -In adjusting the chronology of this play Mr. Malone has remarked, that -Shakspeare, having produced so many plays in the preceding years, "it -is not likely that _King Henry the Eighth_ was written _before_ 1601. -It might, perhaps, with _equal propriety_, be ascribed to 1602."[445:C] -We have fixed upon the latter date, for this obvious reason, that our -enquiries, having led us to supply the preceding year with two plays, -it has been thought more consonant to probability to assign it to the -less occupied period of 1602. It appears to us, therefore, to have been -composed about a twelvemonth previous to the death of the Queen, an -event which occurred in March, 1603. - -It need scarcely be added, that, from Mr. Gifford's complete refutation -of the slander which has been so long indulged in against the character -of Ben Jonson, we utterly disbelieve that this calumniated poet had any -concern in the revival of _Henry the Eighth_. - -The entire interest of this tragedy turns upon the characters of _Queen -Katharine_ and _Cardinal Wolsey_; the former being the finest picture -of suffering and defenceless virtue, and the latter of disappointed -ambition, that poet ever drew. The close of the second scene of the -third act, which describes the fall of Wolsey, and the whole of the -second scene of the fourth, which paints the dying sorrows and devout -resignation of the persecuted Queen, have, as lessons of moral worth, -a never-dying value; and of the latter, especially, it may without -extravagance be said, that, in its power of exciting sympathy and -compassion, it stands perfectly unrivalled by any dramatic effort of -ancient or of modern time. - -24. TIMON OF ATHENS: 1602. The existence of a manuscript play on this -subject, to which our author has been evidently indebted, ought, in the -absence of all other direct testimony, to be considered as our guiding -star. Here, says Mr. Malone, our poet "found the faithful steward, -the banquet scene, and the story of Timon's being possessed of great -sums of gold which he had dug up in the woods: a circumstance which he -could not have had from Lucian, there being then no translation of the -dialogue that relates to this subject[446:A];" and, in another place -he remarks, that this manuscript comedy "appears to have been written -after Ben Jonson's _Every Man out of his Humour_, (1599,) to which it -contains a reference; but I have not discovered the precise time when -it was composed. If it were ascertained, it might be some guide to us -in fixing the date of our author's _Timon of Athens_, which I suppose -to have been posterior to this anonymous play."[446:B] - -Now Mr. Steevens, who accurately inspected the manuscript play, tells -us that it appears to have been written about the year 1600[446:C], -whilst Mr. Chalmers has brought forward several intimations which, he -thinks, prove, that Shakspeare's drama was written during the reign of -Elizabeth.[446:D] - -These statements, it is obvious, bring the subject into a small -compass; for as the anonymous comedy must have been composed after -1599, referring, as it does, to a drama of that date, and as some -incidents in Shakspeare's Timon are evidently founded upon it, whilst -the death of Elizabeth took place in March, 1603, the play of our poet -must necessarily, if Mr. Chalmers's intimations be relied upon, have -been completed in the interim. - -Indeed the only argument on the other side for fixing the date of -this play in 1609, is built upon the supposition that Shakspeare -commenced the study of Plutarch in 1605, and that having once availed -himself of this historian for one of his plays, he was induced to -proceed, until _Julius Cæsar_, _Anthony and Cleopatra_, _Timon_, and -_Coriolanus_, had been written in succession.[447:A] But, as it has -been clearly ascertained by Mr. Chalmers, that Shakspeare was perfectly -well acquainted with Plutarch when he wrote his Hamlet[447:B], this -supposition can no longer be tenable. - -We have fixed on the year 1602 rather than 1601, for the era of the -composition of our author's play, as it is equally susceptible of -the illustration adduced by Mr. Chalmers, allows more scope for the -production of the elder drama, and, at the same time, more opportunity -to our poet to have become familiar with a comedy which, there is -reason to think, from its pedantic style, was never popular, and -certainly never was printed. - -_Timon of Athens_ is an admirable satire on the folly and ingratitude -of mankind; the former exemplified in the thoughtless profusion -of Timon, the latter in the conduct of his pretended friends; it -is, as Dr. Johnson observes, "a very powerful warning against that -ostentatious liberality, which scatters bounty, but confers no -benefits, and buys flattery, but not friendship."[447:C] - -But the mighty reach of Shakspeare's mind is in this play more -particularly distinguishable in his delineation of the species and -causes of misanthropy, and in the management of the delicate shades -which diversify its effects on the heart of man. Timon and Apemantus -are both misanthropes; but from very different causes, and with very -different consequences, and yet they mutually illustrate each other. - -The misanthropy of Timon arises from the perversion of what would -otherwise have been the foundation of his happiness. He possesses -great goodness and benevolence of heart, an ardent love of mankind, a -spirit noble, enthusiastic, and confiding, but these are unfortunately -directed into wrong channels by the influence of vanity, and the thirst -of distinction. Rich in the amplest means of dispensing bounty, he -receives, in return, such abundant praise, especially from the least -deserving and the most designing, that he becomes intoxicated with -adulation, craving it, at length, with the avidity of an appetite, and -preferring the applause of the world to the silent approval of his own -conscience. - -The immediate consequence of this delusion is, that he seeks to -bestow only where celebrity is to follow; he does not fly to succour -poverty, misfortune, and disease, in their sequestered haunts, but -he showers his gifts on poets, painters, warriors, and statesmen, on -men of talents or of rank, whose flattery, either from genius or from -station, will find an echo in the world. The next result of beneficence -thus abused, is that Timon possesses numerous _nominal_ but no _real_ -friends, and, when the hour of trial comes, he is, to a man, deserted -in his utmost need. It is then, that having no estimate of friendship -but what reposed on the characters who have left him bare to the storm, -and concluding that the rest of mankind, compared with those whom he -had selected, are rather worse than better, he gives loose to all the -invective which deceived affection and wounded vanity can suggest; -feeling, as it were, an abhorrence of, and an aversion to, his species, -in proportion to the keenness of his original sensibility, and the -agony of his present disappointment. - -The inherent goodness of Timon on the one hand, and his avarice of -praise and flattery on the other, are vividly brought out through the -medium of his servants, and of the Cynic Apemantus. The true criterion, -indeed, of the worth of any individual, is best found in the estimation -of his household, and we entertain a high sense of the value of -Timon's character, from the attachment and fidelity of his dependants. -They, in their humble intercourse with their master, have intimately -felt the native benevolence of his disposition, and, to the disgrace of -those who have revelled in his bounty, are the only sympathizers in his -fate. They call to mind his generous virtues:— - - "Poor honest lord, brought low by his own heart; - Undone by goodness!" - -is the exclamation of his faithful steward; nor are the inferior -domestics less sensible of his worth:— - - "_1 Serv._ So noble a master fallen!—and not - One friend, to take his fortune by the arm!— - - _3 Serv._ Yet do our hearts wear Timon's livery, - That see I by our faces."[449:A] - -When Flavius visits his master in his seclusion, and with the most -disinterested views and the most heart-felt commiseration, offers -him his wealth and his attendance, Timon starts back with amazement -bordering on distraction, afflicted and aghast at the recognition, -when too late, of genuine friendship, and self-convicted of injustice -towards his fellow-creatures:— - - "Had I a steward so true, so just, and now - So comfortable? It almost turns - My dangerous nature wild.[449:B] Let me behold - Thy face.—Surely, this man was born of woman.— - Forgive my general and exceptless rashness, - Perpetual-sober gods! I do proclaim - One honest man,—mistake me not,—but one; - No more, I pray,—and he is a steward.— - How fain would I have hated all mankind, - And thou redeem'st thyself!"[449:C] - -If the constitutional goodness of Timon is to be inferred from the -conduct of his domestics, the errors which overshadowed it are most -distinctly laid open by the unsparing invective of Apemantus. The -misanthropy of this character is not based, like Timon's, on the wreck -of the noblest feelings of our nature, on the milk of human kindness -turned to gall, but springs from the vilest of our passions, from -envy, hatred, and malice. He is born a beggar, and his pride is to -continue such, while his sole occupation, his pleasure and his choice, -is to drag forth the vices, and calumniate the virtues of humanity. -For this task he possesses, in the powers of his intellect, the utmost -efficiency, and seems, indeed, to have been introduced by the poet -for the express purpose of unfolding the conduct of Timon. The two -characters, in fact, reciprocally anatomise each other, and with a -depth and minuteness which leaves nothing undetected. - -The lust of flattery and distinction which burns in the bosom of Timon, -finds, even in the height of his prosperity, a sharp, and therefore a -wholesome reprover in Apemantus, who tells the Athenian to his face, -that "he that loves to be flattered, is worthy of the flatterer," at -the same time exposing his limitless and ill-bestowed bounty in the -strongest terms; but no good man would choose the hour of adversity -and overwhelming distress for a still bitterer torrent of taunts and -reproaches, at a period when nothing but additional misery could accrue -from the experiment. Such, however, is the object of Apemantus, in -his visit to the cave of Timon, and accordingly he experiences the -reception which his motives so richly deserve:— - - "_Tim._ Why dost thou seek me out? - - _Apem._ To vex thee. - - _Tim._ Always a villain's office, or a fool's. - Dost please thyself in't! - - _Apem_. Ay. - - _Tim._ What! a knave too?" - -immediately after which, the unhappy Timon proceeds, with admirable -discrimination, to contrast himself and his persecutor; a description -which, for strength and severity, as well as truth of censure, has -never been exceeded:— - - "_Tim._ Thou art a slave, whom Fortune's tender arm - With favour never clasp'd; but bred a dog. - Had'st thou like us, from our first swath, proceeded - The sweet degrees that this brief world affords - To such as may the passive drugs of it - Freely command, thou would'st have plung'd thyself - In general riot; melted down thy youth - In different beds of lust; and never learn'd - The icy precepts of respect, but follow'd - The sugar'd game before thee. But myself, - Who had the world as my confectionary; - The mouths, the tongues, the eyes, and hearts of men - At duty, more than I could frame employment; - That numberless upon me stuck, as leaves - Do on the oak, have with one winter's brush - Fell from their boughs, and left me open, bare - For every storm that blows;—I, to bear this, - That never knew but better, is some burden: - Thy nature did commence in sufferance, time - Hath made thee hard in't. Why should'st thou hate men? - They never flatter'd thee: What hast thou given? - If thou wilt curse,—thy father, that poor rag, - Must be thy subject; who, in spite, put stuff - To some she-beggar, and compounded thee, - Poor rogue hereditary. Hence! be gone!— - If thou hadst not been born the worst of men, - Thou hadst been a knave, and flatterer."[451:A] - -In revenge for this correct, but tremendous picture of himself, -Apemantus, shortly afterwards, presents Timon with a miniature of his -own character, so faithfully condensed, that it comprises, in about -a dozen words, the entire history of his life; the indiscriminate -generosity of his early, and the extravagant misanthropy, of his latter -days:— - - "The middle of humanity thou never knewest, but the extremity - of both ends."[451:B] - -The widely different fate of these two characters, is, likewise, -decisive of the opposite origin and nature of their misanthropical -conduct. Timon, that - - —————————————— "monument, - And wonder of good deeds evilly betow'd,"[452:A] - -dies broken-hearted, a martyr to self-delusion, and to the ingratitude -of mankind; whilst Apemantus, wrapped up in constitutional apathy, -travels on unscathed, a general and unfeeling railer on the frailty of -his species. - -25. MEASURE FOR MEASURE: 1603. Mr. Malone's reasons for placing -the composition of this play towards the close of 1603, appear -to us perfectly unshaken by the arguments which Mr. Chalmers has -brought forward for the purpose of referring it to the subsequent -year. The validity of the alteration which this gentleman wishes to -establish, turns almost altogether on the cogency of the following -statement:—"Claudio," he says, "complains of '_the neglected act being -enforced against him_.' Isabella laments her being the sister of one -Claudio, condemned, on the _act of fornication_, to lose his head. -Now, the act which was thus alluded to, though not with the precision -of an Old Bailey solicitor, 'was the statute to restrain all persons -from marriage, until their former wives, and former husbands be dead,' -for which such persons, so offending, were to _suffer death_, as in -cases of felony. It was against this act, then, which did not operate -till after the end of the session, on the 7th of July, 1604, that -Shakspeare's satire was levelled."[452:B] - -But this very act, it seems from Mr. Chalmers's reference, was passed -in the second year of James the First, and how, therefore, could -Claudio's complaint of a "_neglected_ act being enforced against him," -apply to a statute thus recently issued, and whose operation had -only just commenced? The objection is insurmountable, and Claudio's -allusion was most assuredly to the act formerly passed on this subject -in the first year of Edward the Sixth. - -The primary source of the fable of _Measure for Measure_, is to be -traced to the fifth novel of the eighth decade of the Ecatommithi of -Giraldi Cinthio, which was repeated in the tragic histories of Belle -Forest; but Shakspeare's immediate original was the play of _Promos -and Cassandra_ of George Whetstone, published in 1578, and of which -the argument, as given by the author, has been annexed by Mr. Steevens -to Shakspeare's production. On this elder drama, and on Shakspeare's -improvements on its plot, the following pertinent remarks have been -lately made by Mr. Dunlop:—"The crime of the brother," he observes, -speaking of Whetstone's comedy, "is softened into seduction: Nor is -he actually executed for his transgression, as a felon's head is -presented in place of the one required by the magistrate. The king -being complained to, orders the magistrate's head to be struck off, -and the sister begs his life, even before she knows that her brother -is safe. Shakspeare has adopted the alteration in the brother's crime, -and the substitution of the felon's head. The preservation of the -brother's life by this device might have been turned to advantage, as -affording a ground for the intercession of his sister; but Isabella -pleads for the life of Angelo before she knows her brother is safe, -and when she is bound to him by no tie, as the Duke does not order him -to marry Isabella. From his own imagination Shakspeare had added the -character of Mariana, Angelo's forsaken mistress, who saves the honour -of the heroine by being substituted in her place. Isabella, indeed, -had refused, even at her brother's intercession, to give up her virtue -to preserve his life. This is an improvement on the incidents of the -novel, as it imperceptibly diminishes our sense of the atrocity of -Angelo, and adds dignity to the character of the heroine. The secret -superintendence, too, of the Duke over the whole transaction, has -a good effect, and increases our pleasure in the detection of the -villain. In the fear of Angelo, lest the brother should take revenge -'for so receiving a dishonoured life, with ransom of such shame,' -Shakspeare has given a motive to conduct which, in his prototypes, is -attributed to wanton cruelty."[454:A] - -Of _Measure for Measure_, independent of the comic characters which -afford a rich fund of entertainment, the great charm springs from the -lovely example of female excellence in the person of Isabella. Piety, -spotless purity, tenderness combined with firmness, and an eloquence -the most persuasive, unite to render her singularly interesting and -attractive. To save the life of her brother, she hastens to quit -the peaceful seclusion of her convent, and moves, amid the votaries -of corruption and hypocrisy, amid the sensual, the vulgar, and the -profligate, as a being of a higher order, as a ministering spirit -from the throne of grace. Her first interview with Angelo, and the -immediately subsequent one with Claudio, exhibit, along with the most -engaging feminine diffidence and modesty, an extraordinary display of -intellectual energy, of dexterous argument, and of indignant contempt. -Her pleadings before the lord deputy are directed with a strong appeal -both to his understanding and his heart, while her sagacity and address -in the communication of the result of her appointment with him to her -brother, of whose weakness and irresolution she is justly apprehensive, -are, if possible, still more skilfully marked, and add another to -the multitude of instances which have established for Shakspeare an -unrivalled intimacy with the finest feelings of our nature. - -The page of poetry, indeed, has not two nobler passages to produce, -than those which paint the suspicions of Isabella as to the fortitude -of her brother, her encouragement of his nascent resolution, and -the fears which he subsequently entertains of the consequences of -dissolution:— - - "_Isab._ O, I do fear thee, Claudio; and I quake, - Lest thou a feverous life should'st entertain, - And six or seven winters more respect - Than a perpetual honour. Dar'st thou die? - The sense of death is most in apprehension; - And the poor beetle, that we tread upon, - In corporal sufferance finds a pang as great - As when a giant dies. - - _Claud._ Why give you me this shame? - Think you I can a resolution fetch - From flowery tenderness? If I must die, - I will encounter darkness as a bride, - And hug it in mine arms. - - _Isab._ There spake my brother; there my father's grave - Did utter forth a voice!"[455:A] - -On learning the terms which would effect his liberation, his -astonishment and indignation are extreme, and he exclaims with -vehemence to his sister,— - - "Thou shalt not do't;" - -but no sooner does this burst of moral anger subside, than the natural -love of existence returns, and he endeavours to impress Isabella, -under the wish of exciting her to the sacrifice demanded for his -preservation, with the horrible possibilities which may follow the -extinction of this state of being, an enumeration which makes the blood -run chill:— - - "_Claud._ O Isabel! - - _Isab._ What says my brother? - - _Claud._ Death is a fearful thing. - - _Isab._ And shamed life a hateful. - - _Claud._ Ay, but to die, and go we know not where; - To lie in cold obstruction, and to rot; - This sensible warm motion to become - A kneaded clod; and the delighted spirit - To bathe in fiery floods, or to reside - In thrilling regions of thick-ribbed ice; - To be imprison'd in the viewless winds, - And blown with restless violence round about - The pendent world; or to be worse than worst - Of those, that lawless and incertain thoughts - Imagine howling!—'tis too horrible! - The weariest and most loathed worldly life, - That age, ach, penury, and imprisonment - Can lay on nature, is a paradise - To what we fear of death. - - _Isab._ Alas! alas!"[456:A] - -"It is difficult to decide," remarks Mr. Douce, "whether Shakspeare is -here alluding to the pains of hell or purgatory. May not the whole be a -mere poetical rhapsody, originating in the recollection of what he had -read in books of Catholic divinity? for it is very certain, that some -of these were extremely familiar to him."[456:B] - -Of our author's predilection for the imposing exterior, and fanciful, -but often sublime, reveries of the Roman Catholic religion, we have -already taken some notice; and, in reference to the very interesting -part which the Duke assumes in this play, under the disguise of a -monk, it is the observation of the learned and eloquent Schlegel, -"that Shakspeare, amidst the rancour of religious parties, takes a -delight in painting the condition of a monk, and always represents -his influence as beneficial. We find in him none of the black and -knavish monks, which an enthusiasm for the protestant religion, rather -than poetical inspiration, has suggested to some of our modern poets. -Shakspeare merely gives his monks an inclination to busy themselves -in the affairs of others, after renouncing the world for themselves; -with respect, however, to pious frauds, he does not represent them as -very conscientious. Such are the parts acted by the monk in _Romeo and -Juliet_, and another in _Much Ado about Nothing_, and even by the Duke, -whom, contrary to the well-known proverb, the cowl seems really to make -a monk."[456:C] - -26. KING LEAR: 1604. Both the chronologers have assigned to this -tragedy the date of 1605; but it appears to us more probable that -its production is to be attributed to the close of the year 1604. -It certainly was written between the publication of Harsnet's -_Declaration of Popish Impostures_, in 1603, and the Christmas of -1606; for Shakspeare undoubtedly borrowed, as the commentators have -justly observed, the fantastic names of several spirits from the -above mentioned work, whilst in the entry of Lear on the Stationers' -Registers, on the 26th of November, 1607, it is expressly recorded to -have been played, during the preceding Christmas, before His Majesty at -Whitehall. - -It is from the following facts, as established by Mr. Chalmers, -together with two or three additional circumstances, that we have -been induced to throw back a few months the era of the composition -of this play. "Lear is ascertained," observes Mr. Chalmers, "to have -been written, after the month of October, 1604; say the commentators: -(or rather says Mr. Malone) For, King James was proclaimed King _of -Great Britain_, on the 24th of October, 1604; and, it is evident, that -Shakspeare made a minute change in an old rhyming saw:— - - ———————————— "Fy, fa, fum, - I smell the blood of an _English_ man;" - -which Shakspeare, with great attention to the times, changed, in the -following manner:— - - "His word was still, Fie, foh, fum, - I smell the blood of a _British_ man." - -But, the fact is, that there was issued from Greenwich a royal -proclamation, on the 13th of May, 1603; declaring that, till a compleat -union, the King held, and esteemed, the two realms, as _presently_ -united, and as one kingdom; and, the poets, Daniel and Drayton, who -wrote gratulatory verses, on his accession, spoke of the two kingdoms, -as united, thereby, into one realm, by the name of Britain; and of the -inhabitants of England and Scotland, as one people, by the denomination -of British." And he then adds, in a note: "Before King James arrived at -London, Daniel offered to him 'A Panegyrike congratulatory, delivered -to the King's most excellent Majesty at Burleigh-Harrington in -Rutlandshire;' which was printed, in 1603, for Blount, with a Defence -of Rhime:— - - "Lo here the glory of a greater day - Than _England_ ever heretofore could see - In all her days. ———— ———— ———— - And now she is, and now in peace therefore - _Shake hands with union_, O thou mightie state, - Now thou art all _great Britain_, and no more, - _No Scot, no English_ now, nor no debate."[458:A] - -We see here, that even before James took possession of his capital, -poetry had adopted the very language which Shakspeare has used in his -Lear: and that, as early as the 13th of May, 1603, a proclamation had -been issued, declaratory of the King's resolution to hold and esteem -the two realms as united, and as forming but one kingdom. - -These two events, therefore, were of themselves, a sufficient ground -for the alteration which our bard thought proper to introduce, and -which, if it occurred, as we suppose, anterior to the definitive -proclamation of October, 1604, must have been considered, by the -monarch, as the greater compliment, on that very account. - -A strong additional argument in favour of this chronology, may be -drawn from the attempt made in 1605, to impose on the public the old -play of _King Leir_ for the successful drama of our author. This -production, which had been entered at Stationers' Hall in 1594, was, -with this view, re-entered on the Stationers' books on the 8th of May, -1605, and the entry terminates with these words, "as it was _lately_ -acted."[458:B] - -Now, as it was intended that the expression _lately_ should be -referred, by the reader, to our author's play, for which this was -meant to be received, it follows, as an almost necessary consequence, -from the common acceptation of the term, that the _Lear_ of Shakspeare -had been acted some months anteriorly, and was not then actually -performing, an inference which agrees well with the date which we have -adopted, but cannot be made to accord with Mr. Malone's supposition -of Shakspeare's tragedy appearing in April, 1605, and the spurious -claimant in May, when there is every reason to conclude that our poet's -drama was then nightly, or, at least, weekly delighting the public. - -Another circumstance in support of the era which we have chosen for -this play, is to be derived from the consideration, that, in Mr. -Malone's arrangement, _Cymbeline_ is assigned, and, in our opinion, -correctly assigned, to the year 1605, while, in consequence of the -removal of _The Winter's Tale_ to the epoch of 1613, a change founded -on apparently substantial grounds, the year 1604 is left perfectly open -to the admission for which we contend. - -To the numerous sources mentioned by the [459:A]commentators, whence -Shakspeare may have drawn the materials of his _Lear_, is to be added -the celebrated French Romance, entitled _Perceforest_, which, next to -the _Gesta Romanorum_, and the _History of Geoffrey of Monmouth_, is -the oldest authority extant. The story of King Leyr, as here related, -corresponds, in all its leading features, with the fable of our -poet.[459:B] - -Of this noble tragedy, one of the first productions of the noblest of -poets, it is scarcely possible to express our admiration in adequate -terms. Whether considered as an effort of art, or as a picture of -the passions, it is entitled to the highest praise. The two portions -of which the fable consists, involving the fate of Lear and his -daughters, and of Gloster and his sons, influence each other in so many -points, and are blended with such consummate skill, that whilst the -imagination is delighted by diversity of circumstances, the judgment -is equally gratified in viewing their mutual co-operation towards -the final result; the coalescence being so intimate, as not only to -preserve the necessary unity of action, but to constitute one of the -greatest beauties of the piece. - -Such, indeed, is the interest excited by the structure and -concatenation of the story, that the attention is not once suffered to -flag. By a rapid succession of incidents, by sudden and overwhelming -vicissitudes, by the most awful instances of misery and destitution, by -the boldest contrariety of characters, are curiosity and anxiety kept -progressively increasing, and with an impetus so strong, as nearly to -absorb every faculty of the mind and every feeling of the heart. - -Victims of frailty, of calamity, or of vice, in an age remote and -barbarous, the actors in this drama are brought forward with a strength -of colouring, which, had the scene been placed in a more civilised -era, might have been justly deemed too dark and ferocious, but is not -discordant with the earliest heathen age of Britain. The effect of this -style of characterisation is felt occasionally throughout the entire -play, but is particularly visible in the delineation of the vicious -personages of the drama, the parts of Goneril, Regan, Edmund, and -Cornwall being loaded, not only with ingratitude of the deepest dye, -but with cruelty of the most savage and diabolical nature; they are the -criminals, in fact, of an age where vice may be supposed to reign with -lawless and gigantic power, and in which the extrusion of Gloster's -eyes might be an event of no infrequent occurrence. - -Had this mode of casting his characters in the extreme, been applied to -the remainder of the _Dramatis Personæ_, we should have lost some of -the finest lessons of humanity and wisdom that ever issued from the pen -of an uninspired writer; but, with the exception of a few coarsenesses, -which remind us of the barbarous period to which the story is -referred, and of a few incidents rather revolting to credibility, -but which could not be detached from the original narrative, the -virtuous agents of the play exhibit the manners and the feelings of -civilisation, and are of that mixed fabric which can alone display a -just portraiture of the nature and composition of our species. - -The characters of Cordelia and Edgar, it is true, approach nearly to -perfection, but the filial virtues of the former are combined with -such exquisite tenderness of heart, and those of the latter with such -bitter humiliation and suffering, that grief, indignation, and pity -are instantly excited. Very striking representations are also given of -the rough fidelity of Kent, and of the hasty credulity of Gloster; but -it is in delineating the passions, feelings, and afflictions of Lear, -that our poet has wrought up a picture of human misery which has never -been surpassed, and which agitates the soul with the most overpowering -emotions of sympathy and compassion. - -The conduct of the unhappy monarch having been founded merely on the -impulses of sensibility, and not on any fixed principle or rule of -action, no sooner has he discovered the baseness of those on whom he -had relied, and the fatal mistake into which he had been hurried by -the delusions of inordinate fondness and extravagant expectation, than -he feels himself bereft of all consolation and resource. Those to whom -he had given all, for whom he had stripped himself of dignity and -power, and on whom he had centered every hope of comfort and repose -in his old age, his inhuman daughters, having not only treated him -with utter coldness and contempt, but sought to deprive him of all the -respectability, and even of the very means of existence, what in a -mind so constituted as Lear's, the sport of intense and ill-regulated -feeling, and tortured by the reflection of having deserted the only -child who loved him, what but madness could be expected as the result? -It was, in fact, the necessary consequence of the reciprocal action -of complicated distress and morbid sensibility; and, in describing -the approach of this dreadful infliction, in tracing its progress, -its height, and subsidence, our poet has displayed such an intimate -knowledge of the workings of the human intellect, under all its -aberrations, as would afford an admirable study for the enquirer into -mental physiology. He has also in this play, as in that of Hamlet, -finely discriminated between real and assumed insanity, Edgar, -amidst all the wild imagery which his imagination has accumulated, -never touching on the true source of his misery, whilst Lear, on the -contrary, finds it associated with every object, and every thought, -however distant or dissimilar. Not even the Orestes of Euripides, or -the Clementina of Richardson, can, as pictures of disordered reason, be -placed in competition with this of Lear; it may be pronounced, indeed, -from its truth and completeness, beyond the reach of rivalry. - -Of all the miseries incident to humanity the apprehension of -approaching loss of reason is, perhaps, the most dreadful. Lear, on -discovering the ingratitude of his eldest daughter, feels compunction -for his treatment of the youngest: "I did her wrong," he exclaims, and -such is the violence of the shock and the keenness of his sufferings, -that, even in this first conflict of resentment and sorrow, he -deprecates this heaviest of calamities:— - - "O let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven!"[462:A] - -But when Regan, following the example of her sister, inflicts upon him -still greater dishonour, the fearful assurance is intimately felt, and -he predicts its visitation in positive terms:— - - —————————— "You think, I'll weep; - No, I'll not weep:— - I have full cause of weeping; but this heart - Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws, - Or ere I'll weep.—_O, fool, I shall go mad!_"[462:B] - -Nothing can impress us with a more tremendous idea of this awful state -of mind, than the feelings of Lear during his exposure to the tempest. -What, under other circumstances, would have been shrunk from with alarm -and pain, is now unfelt, or only so, as a relief from deeper horrors:— - - "_Lear._ Thou think'st 'tis much, that this contentious storm - Invades us to the skin: so 'tis to thee; - But _where the greater malady is fix'd, - The lesser is scarce felt_. Thoud'st shun a bear: - But if thy flight lay toward the raging sea, - Thoud'st meet the bear i' the mouth. When the mind's free, - The body's delicate: _the tempest in my mind - Doth from my senses take all feeling else, - Save what beats there_.—Filial ingratitude! - Is it not as this mouth should tear this hand, - For lifting food to't?—But I will punish home:— - No, I will weep no more.—In such a night - To shut me out!—Pour on; I will endure: - In such a night as this! O Regan, Goneril!— - Your old kind father, whose frank heart gave all,— - O, that way madness lies; let me shun that; - No more of that,— - - _Kent._ Good my lord, enter here. - - _Lear._ Pr'ythee, go in thyself; seek thine own ease; - _This tempest will not give me leave to ponder - On things would hurt me more_."[463:A] - -It is at the close of this scene that the misfortune which he has -dreaded so much, overtakes him: "his wits," as Kent observes, "begin -to unsettle;" but it is not a total dereliction of intellect: Lear is -neither absolutely delirious, nor maniacal; but he labours under that -species of hallucination which leaves to the wretched sufferer a sense -of his own unhappiness: a state of being, beyond all others, calculated -to awaken the most thrilling sensations of pity. - -A picture of more terrible grandeur or of wilder sublimity, than what -occurs, during the exposure of the aged monarch to the impetuous fury -of the storm, was never imagined. Every thing conspires to render -it unparalleled in its powers of impression. On a night, when the -conflicting elements of fire, air, and water, deafen nature itself with -their uproar; on a night, - - ———— "wherein the cub-drawn bear would couch, - The lion and the belly-pinched wolf - Keep their fur dry,"[464:A] - -is the miserable old king driven out by his unnatural daughters, to -wander over a bleak and barren heath in search of shelter, destitute -of even common necessaries, a very beggar on the bounty of his former -subjects, and accompanied only by his fool, and the faithful though -banished Kent. It is with difficulty that they persuade him to -take refuge from the storm; at length, he yields, at the same time -addressing the fool in terms which, perhaps more than any other lines -in the play, unveil the native goodness of his heart:— - - ————————————— "Come, your hovel, - _Poor Fool and knave, I have one part in my heart - That's sorry yet for thee_."[464:B] - -No sooner, however, has the fool entered this hovel, than he returns -horror-struck, followed by Edgar, who rushes on the heath, an almost -naked maniac, and exclaiming, - - "Away! the foul fiend follows me!— - Through the sharp hawthorn blows the cold wind."[464:C] - -The dialogue which now ensues between these extraordinary characters -is, of itself, a proof of the boundless expansion of the poet's mind. -The torrent of agonizing grief and resentment which flows from Lear, -abandoned by his daughters, verging towards insanity, and aware of its -approach; the wild exuberance of fancy which thrills in the phrenzied -accents of Edgar, who, under the disguise of a madman tormented by -demons, is flying from death threatened by a father; and the quaint -mixture of wisdom, pleasantry, and satire in the language of the honest -fool, who yet heightens, while he means to alleviate the distresses of -his master, are elements of mental strife which harmonise with, and add -a kind of illimitable horror to the storm which howls around. - -Nor inferior to this in merit, though of a totally different cast, is -the scene in which the exhausted monarch, having been lulled to sleep -through the effects of an opiate, is awakened by the sound of music, -whilst Cordelia, hanging over him, with an almost breathless anxiety, -at length ventures to address him. The language of the poor old man, -in the moment of partial reminiscence, is, beyond any other effort of -human composition, simple and affecting:— - - "_Cor._ How does my royal lord? How fares your majesty? - - _Lear._ You do me wrong, to take me out of the grave:— - Thou art a soul in bliss; but I am bound - Upon a wheel of fire, that mine own tears - Do scald like molten lead. - - _Cor._ Sir, do you know me? - - _Lear._ You are a spirit, I know; when did you die?— - - _Cor._ O, look upon me, sir, - And hold your hands in benediction o'er me:— - No, sir, you must not kneel. - - _Lear._ Pray, do not mock me: - I am a very foolish fond old man, - Fourscore and upward; and, to deal plainly, - I fear, I am not in my perfect mind. - Methinks, I should know you, and know this man; - Yet I am doubtful: for I am mainly ignorant - What place this is; and all the skill I have - Remembers not these garments; nor I know not - Where I did lodge last night: Do not laugh at me; - For, as I am a man, I think this lady - To be my child Cordelia. - - _Cor._ And so I am, I am. - - _Lear._ Be your tears wet? Yes, 'faith. I pray, weep not: - If you have poison for me, I will drink it. - I know, you do not love me; for your sisters - Have, as I do remember, done me wrong: - You have some cause, they have not. - - _Cor._ No cause, no cause.— - - _Lear._ You must bear with me; - Pray now, forget and forgive: I am old and foolish."[466:A] - -27. CYMBELINE: 1605. This play, if not, in the construction of its -fable, one of the most perfect of our author's productions, is, in -point of poetic beauty, of variety and truth of character, and in -the display of sentiment and emotion, one of the most lovely and -interesting. Nor can we avoid expressing our astonishment at the -sweeping condemnation which Johnson has passed upon it; charging -its fiction with folly, its conduct with absurdity, its events with -impossibility; terming its faults too evident for detection, and too -gross for aggravation.[466:B] - -Of the enormous injustice of this sentence, nearly every page of -_Cymbeline_ will, to a reader of any taste or discrimination, bring -the most decisive evidence. That it possesses many of the too common -inattentions of Shakspeare, that it exhibits a frequent violation of -costume, and a singular confusion of nomenclature, cannot be denied; -but these are trifles light as air, when contrasted with its merits, -which are of the very essence of dramatic worth, rich and full in all -that breathes of vigour, animation, and intellect, in all that elevates -the fancy, and improves the heart, in all that fills the eye with -tears, or agitates the soul with hope and fear. - -In possession of excellences, vital as these must be deemed, cold and -fastidious is the criticism that, on account of irregularities in mere -technical detail, would shut its eyes upon their splendour. Nor are -there wanting critics of equal learning with, and superior taste to -Johnson, who have considered what he has branded with the unqualified -charge of "confusion of manners," as forming, in a certain point of -view, one of the most pleasing recommendations of the piece. Thus -Schlegel, after characterising _Cymbeline_ as one of Shakspeare's -most wonderful compositions, adds,—"He has here connected a novel of -Boccacio with traditionary tales of the ancient Britons reaching back -to the times of the first Roman Emperors, and _he has contrived, by the -most gentle transitions, to blend together into one harmonious whole -the social manners of the latest times with the heroic deeds, and even -with appearances of the gods_."[467:A] It may be also remarked, that, -if the unities of time and place be as little observed in this play, as -in many others of the same poet, unity of character and feeling, the -test of genius, and without which the utmost effort of art will ever be -unavailing, is uniformly and happily supported. - -Imogen, the most lovely and perfect of Shakspeare's female characters, -the pattern of connubial love and chastity, by the delicacy and -propriety of her sentiments, by her sensibility, tenderness, and -resignation, by her patient endurance of persecution from the quarter -where she had confidently looked for endearment and protection, -irresistibly seizes upon our affections; and when compelled to fly from -the paternal roof, from - - "A father cruel, and a step-dame false, - A foolish suitor to a wedded lady, - That hath her husband banished," - -she is driven to assume, under the name of Fidele, the disguise of -a page, we follow her footsteps with the liveliest interest and -admiration. - -The scenes which disclose the incidents of her pilgrimage; her -reception at the cave of Belarius; her intercourse with her lost -brothers, who are ignorant of their birth and rank, her supposed death, -funeral rites, and resuscitation, are wrought up with a mixture of -pathos and romantic wildness, peculiarly characteristic of our author's -genius, and which has had but few successful imitators. Among these -few, stands pre-eminent the poet Collins, who seems to have trodden -this consecrated ground with a congenial mind, and who has sung the -sorrows of Fidele in strains worthy of their subject, and which will -continue to charm the mind and soothe the heart "till pity's self be -dead." - -When compared with this fascinating portrait, the other personages of -the drama appear but in a secondary light. Yet are they adequately -brought out, and skilfully diversified; the treacherous subtlety of -Iachimo, the sage experience of Belarius, the native nobleness of -heart, and innate heroism of mind, which burst forth in the vigorous -sketches of Guiderius and Arviragus, the temerity, credulity, and -penitence of Posthumus, the uxorious weakness of Cymbeline, the -hypocrisy of his Queen, and the comic arrogance of Cloten, half fool -and half knave, produce a striking diversity of action and sentiment. - -Of this latter character, the constitution has been thought so -extraordinary, and involving elements of a kind so incompatible, as to -form an exception to the customary integrity and consistency of our -author's draughts from nature. But the following passage from the pen -of an elegant female writer, will prove, that this curious assemblage -of frequently opposite qualities, has existed, and no doubt did exist -in the days of Shakspeare:—"It is curious that Shakspeare should, in -so singular a character as Cloten, have given the exact prototype of -a being whom I once knew. The unmeaning frown of the countenance; the -shuffling gait; the burst of voice; the bustling insignificance; the -fever and ague fits of valour; the froward tetchiness; the unprincipled -malice; and, what is most curious, those occasional gleams of good -sense, amidst the floating clouds of folly which generally darkened and -confused the man's brain; and which, in the character of Cloten, we are -apt to impute to a violation of unity in character; but in the some -time Captain C——n, I saw that the portrait of Cloten was not out of -nature."[468:A] - -Poetical justice has been strictly observed in this drama; the vicious -characters meet the punishment due to their crimes, while virtue, -in all its various degrees, is proportionably rewarded. The scene of -retribution, which is the closing one of the play, is a master-piece of -skill; the developement of the plot, for its fullness, completeness, -and ingenuity, surpassing any effort of the kind among our author's -contemporaries, and atoning for any partial incongruity which the -structure or conduct of the story may have previously displayed. - -28. MACBETH: 1606. We have now reached what may justly be termed the -greatest effort of our author's genius; the most sublime and impressive -drama which the world has ever beheld. - -Than the conception of the character of Macbeth, it is scarcely -possible to conceive a picture more original and grand? Too great and -good to fall beneath the common temptations to villany, Shakspeare has -called in the powers of supernatural agency, and seizing upon ambition -as the vulnerable part of his hero's character, and placing him between -the suggestions of hell on one side, and those of his fiend-like wife -on the other, he has, in conformity to the letter of the traditions -which were before him, brought about a catastrophe, which, as he has -conducted it, is the most awful on dramatic record. For, whilst the -influence of the world unknown throws a dread solemnity over the -principal incidents, the volition of Macbeth remains sufficiently free -to enable the poet to bring into full play the strongest passions of -the human breast. - -Originally brave, magnanimous, humane, and gentle, - - ——— "not without ambition; but without - The illness should attend it," - -and wishing to do that holily which he would highly; fully sensible -also of the enormous ingratitude and guilt which he should incur by the -assassination of the monarch who had loaded him with honours, and who -was moreover his kinsman and his guest, the struggle would necessarily -have terminated on the side of virtue, had not the predictions of the -weird sisters, in part, instantly accomplished, and assuming the form -therefore of inevitable destiny, concealed from his bewildered senses -the eternal truth, that not from fate, but from his own agency alone -could spring the commission of a crime, whose very suggestion had at -first filled him with horror. But even this delusion, which seemed -for a time to deaden the sense of responsibility, would have failed -in its effect, had not the ferocious and sarcastic eloquence of Lady -Macbeth been called in to its aid: dazzled by the splendour with which -she clothes the expected issue of the deed; indignant at the charge of -cowardice, to which she artfully imputes his irresolution, and allured -by the means which she has planned as a security from detection, he, at -length, rushes into the snare. - -No sooner, however, has the assassination of Duncan been perpetrated, -than the virtuous principles which had slumbered in the bosom of -Macbeth rise up to accuse and condemn him. Conscience-stricken, and -recoiling with horror from the atrocity of his own deed, he becomes the -victim of the most agonising remorse; he feels deserted both by God and -man, and unable even to deprecate the wrath which night and day pursues -him: - - "I have done the deed:—Did'st thou not hear a noise?— - There's one did laugh in his sleep, and one cried, _Murder!_ - That they did wake each other: I stood and heard them.— - One cried, _God bless us!_ and, _Amen!_ the other; - As they had seen me with these hangman's hands - Listening their fear. I could not say, Amen, - When they did say, God bless us.— - But wherefore could not I pronounce, Amen? - I had most need of blessing, and Amen - Stuck in my throat.— - Methought I heard a voice cry, _Sleep no more! - Macbeth doth murder sleep._— - Still it cry'd, _Sleep no more!_ to all the house; - _Glamis hath murdered sleep_; and therefore Cawdor - Shall sleep no more, Macbeth shall sleep no more."[470:A] - -To this dread of vengeance from offended heaven, is soon added the -apprehension of punishment from mankind, his keen abhorrence of his -own iniquity leading him to paint, in the strongest colours, the -detestation and resentment which it must have incurred from others. -This fear of retaliation from his fellow-creatures, together with the -awful prospect of retribution in another world, produce a complete -revolution in his character; he is exhibited distrustful, treacherous, -and cruel, sweeping from existence, without pity or hesitation, all -whose talents, virtues, sufferings, or pretensions seem to endanger a -life, of which, though hourly becoming more wretched and depraved, he -anticipates the close with horror and dismay. - -To the very last, the contest is kept up with tremendous energy, -between the native vigour of a brave mind, and the debilitating effects -of a guilty, and, therefore, a fear-creating conscience. The lesson -is, beyond every other, salutary and important, as it proves that -the dominion of one perverted passion subjugates to its own depraved -purposes the very principles of virtue itself; the sensibility of -Macbeth to his own wickedness, giving birth to terrors which urge him -on to reiterated murder, and finally to irretrievable destruction. - -The management of the fable of Macbeth presents us with a remarkable -instance of the profound art of Shakspeare, in condensing into one -representation, and with an uninterrupted progress of the action, -an extensive and closely concatenated series of events, forming a -perfect cycle of influential incidents and passions, on a scale -commensurate with that of nature, and for which it were in vain to -look, where the unrelaxing unities of time and place have imposed -their fetters on the poet. "Let any one, for instance," observes -Schlegel, "attempt to circumscribe the gigantic picture of Macbeth's -murder, his tyrannical usurpation, and final fall, within the narrow -limits of the unity of time, and he will then see, that, however many -of the events which Shakspeare successively exhibits before us in -such dread array, he may have placed anterior to the commencement of -the piece, and made the subject of after recital, he has altogether -deprived it of its sublimity of import. This drama, it is true, -comprehends a considerable period of time: but in the rapidity of its -progress, have we leisure to calculate this? We see, as it were, the -fates weaving their dark web on the bosom of time; and the storm and -whirlwind of events, which impel the hero to the first daring attempt, -which afterwards lead him to commit innumerable crimes to secure the -fruits of it, and drive him at last, amidst numerous perils, to his -destruction in the heroic combat, draw us irresistibly along with them. -Such a tragical exhibition resembles the course of a comet, which, -hardly visible at first, and only important to the astronomic eye, -when appearing in the heaven in a nebulous distance, soon soars with -an unheard of and perpetually increasing rapidity towards the central -point of our system, spreading dismay among the nations of the earth, -till in a moment, with its portentous tail, it overspreads the half of -the firmament with flaming fire."[472:A] - -But, in fact, as hath been remarked by the same admirable critic, -_Macbeth_, in its construction, bears a striking affinity to the -celebrated trilogy of Æschylus, which included the _Agamemnon_, the -_Choephoræ_, and the _Eumenides_, or _Furies_, pieces which were -successively represented in one day. "The object of the first is the -murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra, on his return from Troy. In the -second, Orestes avenges his father by killing his mother: _facto pius -et sceleratus eodem_. This deed, although perpetrated from the most -powerful motives, is repugnant however to natural and moral order. -Orestes as a Prince was, it is true, entitled to exercise justice -even on the members of his own family; but he was under the necessity -of stealing in disguise into the dwelling of the tyrannical usurper -of his throne, and of going to work like an assassin. The memory of -his father pleads his excuse; but although Clytemnestra has deserved -death, the blood of his mother still rises up in judgment against him. -This is represented in the Eumenides in the form of a contention among -the gods, some of whom approve of the deed of Orestes, while others -persecute him, till at last the divine wisdom, under the figure of -Minerva, reconciles the opposite claims, establishes a peace, and puts -an end to the long series of crimes and punishments which desolated the -royal house of Atreus. - -"A considerable interval takes place between the period of the first -and second pieces, during which Orestes grows up to manhood. The second -and third are connected together immediately in the order of time. -Orestes takes flight after the murder of his mother to Delphi, where we -find him at the commencement of the Eumenides. - -"In each of the two first pieces, there is a visible reference to the -one which follows. In Agamemnon, Cassandra and the chorus prophesy, at -the close, to the arrogant Clytemnestra and her paramour Ægisthus, the -punishment which awaits them at the hands of Orestes. In the Choephoræ, -Orestes, immediately after the execution of the deed, finds no longer -any repose; the furies of his mother begin to persecute him, and he -announces his resolution of taking refuge in Delphi. - -"The connection is therefore evident throughout, and we may consider -the three pieces, which were connected together even in the -representation, as so many acts of one great and entire drama. I -mention this as a preliminary justification of Shakspeare and other -modern poets, in connecting together in one representation a larger -circle of human destinies, as we can produce to the critics who object -to this the supposed example of the ancients."[473:A] - -To these observations of M. Schlegel, the following excellent remarks -have been added by a writer in the Monthly Review:—"Shakspeare's -Macbeth," says this critic, "bears a close resemblance to this -trilogy of Æschylus, which gives, in three distinct acts, a history -of the house of Agamemnon. In Macbeth, also, are three acts or deeds, -distinct from each other, and separated by long intervals of time; -namely, the regicide of Duncan, the murder of Banquo, and the fall -of Macbeth; the first serving to shew how he attained his elevation, -the second how he abused it, and the third how he lost it. A chorus -of supernatural beings, (the witches of Shakspeare operate like the -furies of Æschylus,) in both these tragic poems, hovers over the fate -of the hero; and, by impressing on the spectator the consciousness of -an irresistible necessity, all the extenuation which the atrocities -could admit is introduced. Criticism, in comparing the master-pieces -of these master-poets, may be permitted to hesitate, but not to -draw stakes. To the plot or fable of Shakspeare must be allowed the -merit of possessing, in the higher degree, wholeness, connection, -and ascending interest. The character of Clytemnestra may be weighed -without disparagement against that of Lady Macbeth: but all the -other delineations are superior in our Shakspeare; his characters -are more various, more marked, more consistent, more natural, more -intuitive. The style of Æschylus, if distinguished for a majestic -energetic simplicity, greatly preferable to the mixt metaphors and -puns of Shakspeare, has still neither the richness of thought nor -the versatility of diction which we find displayed in the English -tragedy."[474:A] - -The _supernatural machinery_ of this play, which forms one of its -most striking features, is founded on a species of superstition -that, during the life-time of Shakspeare, prevailed in England and -Scotland in an unprecedented degree. _Witchcraft_ had attracted -the attention of government under the reign of Henry the Eighth, -in whose thirty-third year was enacted a Statute which adjudged -all Witchcraft and Sorcery to be Felony without Benefit of Clergy; -but, at the commencement of the reign of Elizabeth, the evil seems -to have been greatly on the increase, for Bishop Jewel, preaching -before the Queen, in 1558, tells her,—"It may please your Grace to -understand that Witches and Sorcerers within these few last years -are marvelously increased within your Grace's realm. Your Grace's -subjects pine away, even unto the death, their colour fadeth, their -flesh rotteth, their speech is benumbed, their senses are bereft, I -pray God they never practise further then upon the subject."[475:A] -How prevalent the delusion had become in the year 1584, we have the -most ample testimony in the ingenious work of Reginald Scot, entitled -"The Discoverie of Witchcraft," which was written, as the sensible and -humane author has informed us, "in behalfe of the poore, the aged, and -the simple[475:B];" and it reflects singular discredit on the age in -which it was produced, that a detection so complete, both with regard -to argument and fact, should have failed in effecting its purpose. -But the infatuation had seized all ranks, with an influence which -rivalled that resulting from an article of religious faith, and Scot -begins his work with the observation, that "the fables of Witchcraft -have taken so fast hold and deepe root in the heart of man, that fewe -or none can, now adaies, with patience indure the hand and correction -of God. For if any adversitie, greefe, sicknesse, losse of children, -corne, cattell, or libertie happen unto them; by and by they exclaime -uppon witches;—insomuch as a clap of thunder, or a gale of wind is no -sooner heard, but either they run to ring bels, or crie out to burne -witches[475:C];" and, in his second chapter, he declares "I have heard -to my greefe some of the minesterie affirme, that they have had in -their parish at one instant, xvij or xviij witches: meaning such as -could worke miracles supernaturallie[475:D];" a declaration which, in -a subsequent part of his book, he more particularly applies, when he -informs us, that "seventeene or eighteene were condemned at once at St. -Osees in the countie of Essex, being a whole parish, though of no great -quantitie."[475:E] - -The mischief, however, was but in progress, and received a rapid -acceleration from the publication of the "Dæmonologie" of King James, -at Edinburgh, in the year 1597. The origin of this very curious -treatise was probably laid in the royal mind, in consequence of the -supposed detection of a conspiracy of two hundred witches with Dr. -Fian, "Register to the Devil," at their head, to bewitch and drown -His Majesty, on his return from Denmark, in 1590. James attended the -examination of these poor wretches with the most eager curiosity, and -the most willing credulity; and, when Agnis Tompson confessed, that -she, with other witches to the number just mentioned, "went altogether -by sea, each one in her riddle, or sieve, with flaggons of wine, -making merry and drinking by the way, to the kirk of North Berwick, -in Lothian, where, when they had landed, they took hands and danced, -singing all with one voice,— - - "Commer[476:A] go ye before, commer goe yè, - Gif ye will not go before, commer let me:" - -and "that Geilis Duncane did go before them, playing said reel on a -Jew's trump," James immediately sent for Duncane, and listened with -delight to his performance of the witches' reel on the Jew's-harp! - -On Agnis, however, asserting, that the Devil had met them at the Kirk, -His Majesty could not avoid expressing some doubts; when, taking him -aside, she "declared unto him the very words which had passed between -him and his Queen on the first night of their marriage, with their -answer each to other; whereat the King wondered greatly, and swore by -the living God, that he believed all the Devils in Hell could not have -discovered the same."[476:B] - -That the particulars elicited from the confessions of these unfortunate -beings, which, it is said, "made the King in a wonderful admiration," -formed the basis of the Dæmonologie, may be, therefore, readily -admitted. It is also to be deplored, that, weak and absurd as this -production now appears to us, its effects on the age of its birth, -and for a century afterwards, were extensive, and melancholy in -the extreme. It contributed, indeed, more than any other work on -the subject, to rivet the fetters of credulity; and scarcely had a -twelvemonth elapsed from its publication, before its result was visible -in the destruction, in Scotland, of not less than six hundred human -beings at once, for this imaginary crime![477:A] - -The succession of James to the throne of Elizabeth served but to -propagate the contagion; for no sooner had he reached this country, -than his Dæmonologie re-appeared from an English press, being printed -at London, in 1603, in quarto, and with a Preface to the Reader, which -commences by informing him of "the fearefull abounding at this time in -this Countrey, of these detestable slaves of the Divel, the Witches, or -enchanters[477:B];" a declaration which, during the course of the same -year, was accompanied by a new statute against Witches, one clause of -which enacts, that "Any one that shall use, practise, or exercise any -invocation or conjuration of any evill or wicked spirit, or consult, -covenant with, entertaine or employ, feede or reward, any evill or -wicked spirit, to or for any intent or purpose; or take up any dead -man, woman or child, out of his, her, or their grave, or any other -place where the dead body resteth, or the skin, bone, or other part of -any dead person, to be employed or used in any manner of witchcraft, -sorcery, charme, or enchantment; or shall use, practise, or exercise -any witchcraft, enchantment, charme, or sorcery, whereby any person -shall be killed, destroyed, wasted, consumed, pined, or lamed, in his -or her body, or any part thereof, such offenders, duly and lawfully -convicted and attainted, shall suffer death."[478:A] - -We cannot wonder if measures such as these, which stamped the already -existing superstitions with the renewed authority of the law, and -with the influence of regal argument and authority, should render a -belief in the existence of witchcraft almost universal; fashion and -interest on the one hand, and ignorance and fear on the other, mutually -contributing, by concealing or banishing doubt, to disseminate error, -and preclude detection. - -Who those were who, at this period, had the misfortune to be branded -with the appellation of Witches; what deeds were imputed to them, and -what was the nature of their supposed compact with the Devil, are -questions which will be most satisfactorily answered in the words of -Reginald Scot, whose book is not only extremely scarce, but highly -curious and entertaining; and two or three chapters from this copious -treasury of superstition, with a very few comments from other sources, -will exhaust this part of the subject. - -"The sort of such as are said to be witches," writes Scot, "are women -which be commonly old, lame, bleare-eied, pale, fowle, and full of -wrinkles; poore, sullen, superstitious, and papists; or such as knowe -no religion; in whose drousie minds the divell hath gotten a fine seat; -so as, what mischeefe, mischance, calamitie, or slaughter is brought -to passe, they are easilie persuaded the same is doone by themselves; -imprinting in their minds an earnest and constant imagination thereof. -They are leane and deformed, shewing melancholie in their faces, to the -horror of all that see them. They are doting, scolds, mad, divelish, -and not much differing from them that are thought to be possessed with -spirits; so firme and stedfast in their opinions, as whosoever shall -onelie have respect to the constancie of their words uttered, would -easilie beleeve they were true indeed. - -"These miserable wretches are so odious unto all their neighbors, and -so feared, as few dare offend them, or denie them anie thing they aske: -whereby they take upon them; yea, and sometimes thinke, that they can -doo such things as are beyond the abilitie of humane nature. These go -from house to house, and from doore to doore for a pot full of milke, -yest, drinke, pottage, or some such releefe; without the which they -could hardlie live: neither obtaining for their service and paines, nor -by their art, nor yet at the divels hands (with whome they are said to -make a perfect and visible bargaine) either beautie, monie, promotion, -welth, worship, pleasure, honor, knowledge, learning, or any other -benefit whatsoever. - -"It falleth out many times, that neither their necessities, nor their -expectation is answered or served, in those places where they beg or -borrowe; but rather their lewdness is by their neighbors reproved. -And further, in tract of time the witch wareth odious and tedious -to her neighbors; and they againe are despised and despited of hir; -so as sometimes she cursseth one, and sometimes another; and that -from the maister of the house, his wife, children, cattell, &c. to -the little pig that lieth in the stie. Thus in processe of time they -have all displeased hir, and she hath wished evil luck unto them -all; perhaps with cursses and imprecations made in forme. Doubtless -(at length) some of hir neighbors die, or falle sicke; or some of -their children are visited with diseases that vex them strangelie: as -apoplexies, epilepsies, convulsions, hot fevers, wormes, &c. Which -by ignorant parents are supposed to be the vengeance of witches. -Yea and their opinions and conceits are confirmed and maintained by -unskilfull physicians: according to the common saieng; _Inscitiæ -pallium maleficium et incantatio_, Witchcraft and inchantment is the -cloke of ignorance: whereas indeed evill humors, and not strange words, -witches, or spirits are the causes of such diseases. Also some of their -cattell perish, either by disease or mischance. Then they, uppon whom -such adversities fall, weighing the fame that goeth upon this woman -(hir words, displeasure, and cursses meeting so justly with their -misfortune) doo not onlie conceive, but also are resolved, that all -their mishaps are brought to passe by hir onelie means. - -"The witch on the other side expecting hir neighbors mischances, and -seeing things sometimes come to passe according to hir wishes, cursses, -and incantations (for Bodin himself confesseth, that not above two in a -hundred of their witchings or wishings take effect) being called before -a Justice, by due examination of the circumstances is driven to see -hir imprecations and desires, and hir neighbors harmes and losses to -concurre, and as it were to take effect: and so confesseth that she (as -a goddes) hath brought such things to passe. Wherein, not onelie she, -but the accuser, and also the Justice are fowlie deceived and abused; -as being thorough hir confession and other circumstances persuaded (to -the injurie of Gods glorie) that she hath doone, or can doo that which -is proper onelie to God himselfe. - -"Another sort of witches there are, which be absolutelie cooseners: -These take upon them, either for glorie, fame, or gaine, to doo any -thing, which God or the divell can doo: either for fortelling things -to come, bewraieng of secrets, curing of maladies, or working of -miracles."[480:A] - -To this chapter from Scot, which we have given entire, may be added the -admirable description of the abode of a witch from the pen of Spenser, -who, as Warton hath observed, copied from living objects, and had -probably been struck with seeing such a cottage, in which a witch was -supposed to live:— - - "There in a gloomy hollow glen she found - A little cottage built of stickes and reedes - In homely wise, and wald with sods around; - In which a Witch did dwell, in loathly weedes - And wilful want, all carelesse of her needes; - So choosing solitarie to abide - Far from all neighbours, that her divelish deeds - And hellish arts from people she might hide, - And hurt far off unknowne whomever she envide."[480:B] - -This very striking picture for ever fixed the character of the -habitation allotted to a witch; thus in a singularly curious tract, -entitled "Round about our Coal-Fire," published about the close of -the seventeenth century, and which details, in a pleasing manner, the -traditions of the olden time, as a source of Christmas amusement, -it is said that "a Witch must be a hagged old woman, living in a -little rotten cottage, under a hill, by a wood-side, and must be -frequently spinning at the door: she must have a black cat, two or -three broom-sticks, an imp or two, and two or three diabolical teats to -suckle her imps." - -Of the wonderful feats which the various kinds of witches were supposed -capable of performing, Scot has favoured us with the following succinct -enumeration: there are three sorts of witches he tells us, "one sort -can hurt and not helpe, the second can helpe and not hurt, the third -can both helpe and hurt. Among the hurtfull witches there is one sort -more beastlie than any kind of beasts, saving wolves: for these usually -devour and eate yong children and infants of their owne kind. These be -they that raise haile, tempests, and hurtfull weather; as lightening, -thunder, &c. These be they that procure barrennesse in man, woman, and -beast. These can throwe children in waters, as they walke with their -mothers, and not be seene. These can make horsses kicke, till they -cast their riders. These can passe from place to place in the aire -invisible. These can so alter the mind of judges, that they can have -no power to hurt them. These can procure to themselves and to others, -taciturnitie and insensibilitie in their torments. These can bring -trembling to the hands, and strike terror into the minds of them that -apprehend them. These can manifest unto others, things hidden and lost, -and foreshew things to come; and see them as though they were present. -These can alter men's minds to inordinate love or hate. These can kill -whom they list with lightening and thunder. These can take away man's -courage.—These can make a woman miscarrie in childbirth, and destroie -the child in the mother's wombe, without any sensible means either -inwardlie or outwardlie applied. These can with their looks kill either -man or beast.— - -"Others doo write, that they can pull downe the moone and the -starres. Some write that with wishing they can send needles into the -livers of their enemies. Some that they can transferre corne in the -blade from one place to another. Some, that they can cure diseases -supernaturallie, flie in the aire, and danse with divels. Some write, -that they can plaie the part of _Succubus_, and contract themselves to -_Incubus_.—Some saie they can transubstantiate themselves and others, -and take the forms and shapes of asses, woolves, ferrets, cowes, asses, -horsses, hogs, &c. Some say they can keepe divels and spirits in the -likenesse of todes and cats. - -"They can raise spirits (as others affirme), drie up springs, turne -the course of running waters, inhibit the sune, and staie both day -and night, changing the one into the other. They can go in and out at -awger holes, and saile in an egge shell, a cockle or muscle shell, -through and under the tempestuous seas.—They can bring soules out of -the graves. They can teare snakes in pieces.—They can also bring to -pass, that chearne as long as you list, your butter will not come; -_especiallie, if either the maids have eaten up the creame; or the -good-wife have sold the butter before in the market_."[482:A] - -The only material accession which the royal James has made to this -curious catalogue of the deeds of witchcraft, consists in informing us, -that these aged and decrepid slaves of Satan "make pictures of waxe -or clay, that by the roasting thereof, the persons that they beare -the name of, may be continually melted or dried away by continuall -sicknesse[482:B];" and his mode of explaining how the devil performs -this marvel, is a notable instance both of his ingenuity and his -eloquence. This deed he says "is verie possible to their master to -performe: for although that instrument of waxe have no vertue in that -turne doing, yet may he not very well, even by the same measure, -that his conjured slaves melts that waxe at the fire, may hee not, I -say, at these same times, subtily, as a spirit, so weaken and scatter -the spirits of life of the patient, as may make him on the one part, -for faintnesse, to sweat out the humour of his bodie, and on the -other part, for the not concurrence of these spirits, which causes -his digestion, so debilitate his stomache, that this humour radicall -continually, sweating out on the one part, and no newe good sucke being -put in the place thereof, for lacke of digestion on the other, he at -last shall vanish away, even as his picture will doe at the fire? -And that knavish and cunning workeman, by troubling him, onely at -sometimes, makes a proportion, so neere betwixt the working of the one -and the other, that both shall end as it were at one time."[483:A] - -It remains to notice the nature of the compact or bargain, which -witches were believed to enter into with their seducer, and the species -of homage which they were compelled to pay him; and here again we must -have recourse to Scot, not only as the most compressed, but as the most -authentic detailer of this strange credulity of his times. "The order -of their bargaine or profession," says he, "is double; the one solemne -and publike; the other secret and private. That which is called solemne -or publike, is where witches come together at certaine assemblies, at -the times prefixed, and doo not onelie see the divell in visible forme; -but confer and talke familiarlie with him. In which conference the -divell exhorteth them to observe their fidelitie unto him, promising -them long life and prosperitie. Then the witches assembled, commend a -new disciple (whom they call a novice) unto him: and if the divell find -that yoong witch apt and forward in renunciation of Christian faith, -in despising anie of the seven sacraments, in treading upon crosses, -in spetting at the time of the elevation, in breaking their fast on -fasting daies, and fasting on sundaies: then the divell giveth foorth -his hand, and the novice joining hand in hand with him, promiseth to -observe and keepe all the divels commandements. - -"This doone, the divell beginneth to be more bold with hir, telling -hir plainlie, that all this will not serve his turne; and therefore -requireth homage at hir hands: yea he also telleth hir, that she must -grant him both hir bodie and soule to be tormented in everlasting -fire; which she yeeldeth unto. Then he chargeth hir, to procure as -manie men, women, and children also, as she can, to enter into this -societie. Then he teacheth them to make ointments of the bowels and -members of children, whereby they ride in the aire, and accomplish all -their desires. So as, if there be anie children unbaptized, or not -garded with the signe of the crosse, or orisons; then the witches may -and doo catch them from their mothers sides in the night, or out of -their cradles, or otherwise kill them with their ceremonies; and after -buriall steale them out of their graves, and seeth them in a caldron, -until their flesh be made potable. Of the thickest whereof they make -ointments, whereby they ride in the aire; but the thinner potion they -put into flaggons, whereof whosoever drinketh, observing certaine -ceremonies, immediatelie becommeth a maister or rather a mistresse in -that practise and facultie. - -"Their homage with their oth and bargaine is received for a certeine -terme of yeares; sometimes for ever. Sometimes it consisteth in the -deniall of the whole faith, sometimes in part.—And this is doone -either by oth, protestation of words, or by obligation in writing, -sometimes sealed with wax, sometimes signed with blood, sometimes by -kissing the divels bare buttocks. - -"You must also understand, that after they have delicatlie banketted -with the divell and the ladie of the fairies; and have eaten up a fat -oxe, and emptied a butt of malmesie, and a binne of bread at some noble -man's house, in the dead of the night, nothing is missed of all this -in the morning. For the ladie _Sibylla_, _Minerva_, or _Diana_ with -a golden rod striketh the vessel and the binne, and they are fully -replenished againe." After mentioning that the bullock is restored -in the same magical manner, he states it as an "infallible rule, that -everie fortnight, or at the least everie moneth, each witch must kill -one child at the least for hir part." He also relates from Bodin, that -"at these magicall assemblies, the witches never faile to danse, and -whiles they sing and danse, everie one hath a broome in hir hand, and -holdeth it up aloft."[485:A] - -To these circumstances attending the meetings of this unhallowed -sisterhood, King James adds, that Satan, in order that "hee may the -more vively counterfeit and scorne God, oft times makes his slaves to -conveene in those very places, which are destinate and ordained for -the conveening of the servants of God (I meane by churches):—further, -witches oft times confesse, not only his conveening in the church -with them, but his occupying of the pulpit."[485:B] For this piece -of information James seems to have been indebted to the confessions -of Agnis Tompson; but he also relates, that the devil, as soon as he -has induced his votaries to renounce their God and baptism, "gives -them his marke upon some secret place of their bodie, which remaies -soare unhealed, whilst his next meeting with them, and thereafter -ever insensible, however it be nipped or pricked by any;" a seal of -distinction which, he tells us at the close of his treatise, is of -great use in detecting them on their trial, as "the finding of their -marke, and the trying the insensiblenes thereof," was considered as -a positive proof of their craft. His Majesty, however, proceeds to -mention another mode of ascertaining their guilt, terminating the -paragraph in a manner not very flattering to his female subjects, -or very expressive of his own gallantry. "The other is," he tells -us, "their fleeting on the water: for as in a secret murther, if the -dead carkasse bee at any time thereafter handled by the murtherer, -it will gush out of blood, as if the blood were crying to the heaven -for revenge of the murtherer, God having appointed that secret -supernaturall signe, for triall of that secret unnaturall crime, so -it appeares that God hath appointed (for a supernaturall signe of -the monstrous impietie of Witches) that the water shall refuse to -receive them in her bosome, that have shaken off them the sacred -water of Baptisme, and wilfully refused the benefite thereof: No, not -so much as their eyes are able to shed teares (threaten and torture -them as you please) while first they repent (God not permitting them -to dissemble their obstinacie in so horrible a crime) albeit the -women-kind especially, be able otherwayes to shed teares at every light -occasion when they will, yea, although it were dissemblingly like the -Crocodiles."[486:A] - -Such are the chief features of this gross superstition, as detailed by -the writers of the period in which it most prevailed in this country. -_Scot_ has taken infinite pains in collecting, from every writer on -the subject, the _minutiæ_ of Witchcraft, and his book is expanded -to a thick quarto, in consequence of his commenting at large on the -particulars which he had given in his initiatory chapters, for the -purpose of their complete refutation and exposure; a work of great -labour, and which shows, at every step, how deeply this credulity had -been impressed on the subjects of Elizabeth. _James_, on the other -hand, though a man of considerable erudition, and, in some respects, of -shrewd good sense, wrote in defence of this folly, and, unfortunately -for truth and humanity, the doctrine of the monarch was preferred to -that of the sage. - -When such was the creed of the country, from the throne to the cottage; -when even the men of learning, with few [486:B]exceptions, ranged -themselves on the side of the Dæmonologie, it was highly judicious -in Shakspeare, in his dramatic capacity, to adopt, as a powerful -instrument of terror, the popular belief; popular both in his own -time, and in that to which the reign of Macbeth is [487:A]referred. -And, in doing this, he has shown not less taste than genius; for in the -principal authorities to which he has had recourse for particulars; -in the _Discoverie_ of _Scot_, in the _Dæmonologie_ of _James_, and -even in the _Witch_ of _Middleton_, a play now allowed to have been -anterior to his own drama, the ludicrous and the frivolous are blended, -in a very large proportion, with that which is calculated to excite -solemnity and awe. With exquisite skill has he separated the latter -from the former, exalting it with so many touches of grandeur, and -throwing round it such an air of dreadful mystery, that, although the -actual superstition on which the machinery is founded, be no more, -there remains attached to it, in consequence of passing through the -mind of Shakspeare, such a portion of what is naturally inherent in the -human mind, in relation to its apprehensions of the invisible world of -spirits, such a sublime, though indistinct conception of powers unknown -and mightier far than we, that nearly the same degree of grateful -terror is experienced from the perusal or representation of _Macbeth_ -in modern days, as was felt in the age of its production. - -In the very first appearance, indeed, of the Weird Sisters to Macbeth -and Banquo on the blasted heath, we discern beings of a more awful and -spiritualised character than belongs to the vulgar herd of witches. -"What are these," exclaims the astonished Banquo,— - - ——————————— "What are these, - So wither'd, and so wild in their attire; - That look not like the inhabitants o' the earth, - And yet are on't? Live you? or are you aught - That man may question? You seem to understand me, - By each at once her choppy finger laying - Upon her skinny lips:— - - _Macb._ Speak, I charge you. - - _Banq._ The earth hath bubbles, as the water has, - And these are of them:—Whither are they vanish'd? - - _Macb._ Into the air; and what seem'd corporal, melted - As breath into the wind." - -Even when unattended by any human witnesses, when supporting the -dialogue merely among themselves, Shakspeare has placed in the -mouths of these agents imagery and diction of a cast so peculiar and -mysterious, as to render them objects of alarm and fear, emotions -incompatible with any tendency towards the ludicrous. But when, -wheeling round the magic cauldron, in the gloomy recesses of their -cave, they commence their incantations, chanting in tones wild and -unearthly, and heard only during the intervals of a thunder-storm, -their metrical charm, while flashes of subterranean fire obscurely -light their haggard features, their language seems to breathe of hell, -and we shrink back, as from beings at war with all that is good. Yet is -the impression capable of augmentation, and is felt to have attained -its acmé of sublimity and horror, when, in reply to the question of -Macbeth, - - "How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags? - What is't you do?" - -they reply,— - - "_A deed without a name._" - -Much, however, of the dread, solemnity, and awe which is experienced -in reading this play, from the intervention of the witches, is lost in -its representation on the stage, owing to the injudicious custom of -bringing them too forward on the scene; where, appearing little better -than a group of old women, the effect intended by the poet is not only -destroyed, but reversed. Their dignity and grandeur must arise, as evil -beings gifted with superhuman powers, from the undefined nature both -of their agency and of their external forms. Were they indistinctly -seen, though audible, at a distance, and, as it were, through a hazy -twilight, celebrating their orgies, and with shadowy and gigantic -shape flitting between the pale blue flames of their cauldron and the -eager eye of the spectator, sufficient latitude would be given to the -imagination, and the finest drama of our author would receive in the -theatre that deep tone of supernatural horror with which it is felt to -be so highly imbued in the solitude of the closet. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[419:A] Chalmers's Supplemental Apology, p. 357. - -[420:A] Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. x. p. 362. - - "For he is but a bastard to the time, - That doth not smack of observation," &c. - -[420:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. x. p. 413. Act iii. sc. 1. - -[421:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. x. pp. 451. 454-456. Act iii. sc. 4. - -[422:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. x. p. 447. note 9. - -[423:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 290. - -[423:B] "Of all the characters of Shakspeare," remarks Mr. Felton, -"none more resemble his best female advocate (Mrs. Montagu) than the -Countess of Rousillon."—Imperfect Hints, part i. p. 65. - -[424:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. viii. pp. 248, 249. Act i. sc. 3. - -[425:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. viii. pp. 313. 315. Act iii. sc. 2. - -[426:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xii. pp. 336. 338, 339. Act ii. sc. 2. - -[427:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xii. pp. 341, 342. Act ii. sc. 2. - -[427:B] Ibid. vol. xii. pp. 438-441. Act iv. sc. 1. - -[428:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xii. p. 456. note 5. - -[428:B] Ibid. p. 366. et seq. Act iii. sc. 1. - -[428:C] Ibid. p. 378. Act iii. sc. 3. - -[428:D] Ibid. p. 404. et seq. 459. et seq. - -[430:A] Supplemental Apology, p. 381. - -[430:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vi. p. 185. - -[430:C] It is most probable that Shakspeare derived his materials from -a version of Belleforest, who copied Bandello. The story forms the 22d -tale of the first part of Bandello, and the 18th history of the 3d -volume of Belleforest. - -[431:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vi. p. 182. - -[431:B] Schlegel on Dramatic Literature, vol. ii. p. 166. - -[434:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. viii. pp. 43, 44. Act ii. sc. 1. - -[434:B] Ibid. p. 59. Act ii. sc. 5. - -[434:C] Ibid. p. 76, 77. Act ii. sc. 7. - -[435:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 66. - -[435:B] Epistle Dedicatory to _The Comical Gallant_, 1702. - -[435:C] Supplemental Apology, pp. 320. 345. - -[435:D] Royal and Noble Authors, apud Park, vol. i. p. 82. - -[436:A] Supplemental Apology, p. 345. - -[437:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 127. - -[438:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 391. - -[438:B] Ibid. vol. ii. p. 319. - -[441:A] Life of Chaucer, vol. i. pp. 509-512. 8vo. edit. - -[442:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. pp. 312. 316. - -[442:B] Supplemental Apology, p. 446. et seq. - -[443:A] The Works of Ben Jonson, by W. Gifford, Esq. 9 vols. 8vo. 1816. -vol. i. p. cclxxii. - -[444:A] MS. Harl. 7002.—Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xv. p. 6. - -[445:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 317. - -[445:B] Reliq. Wotton. p. 425. - -[445:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 312. - -[446:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xix. p. 3. - -[446:B] Ibid. vol. ii. pp. 355, 356. - -[446:C] Ibid. vol. xix. p. 2. - -[446:D] Supplemental Apology, p. 391. - -[447:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 354. - -[447:B] Supplemental Apology, p. 394. - -[447:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xix. p. 214. note. - -[449:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xix. pp. 125-127. - -[449:B] I conceive that by "_dangerous nature_" in this passage, is -meant a nature, from acute sensibility and sudden misfortune, liable to -be overpowered, to be thrown off its poize, and to suffer from mental -derangement. - -[449:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xix. pp. 182, 183. - -[451:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xix. pp. 159-165. Act iv. sc. 3. - -[451:B] Ibid. vol. xix. p. 166. - -[452:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xix. p. 179. - -[452:B] Supplemental Apology, pp. 411, 412. - -[454:A] History of Fiction, vol. ii. 1st edit. pp. 367, 368.—See Mr. -Douce's enumeration of the sources whence the plot of this play might -have been extracted, in his Illustrations, vol. i. p. 152. et seq. - -[455:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vi. p. 298, 299. Act iii. sc. 1. - -[456:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vi. pp. 303-306. Act iii. sc. 1. - -[456:B] Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 132., where several -passages, which may have suggested the imagery in Claudio's -description, are quoted. - -[456:C] Lectures on Dramatic Literature, vol. ii. p. 169. - -[458:A] Supplemental Apology, pp. 417, 418. - -[458:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 127. - -[459:A] For these consult not only the Variorum edition of Shakspeare, -but Mr. Chalmers's Supplemental Apology, and Mr. Douce's Illustrations. -See also the story of Lear, from Caxton's Chronicle of 1480, extracted -by Mr. Dibdin, in the British Bibliographer, vol. ii. p. 578. - -[459:B] Warton tells us, that Perceforest was originally a metrical -romance, and written about the year 1220. See his History of Poetry, -vol. i. p. 464. - -[462:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xvii. p. 381. Act i. sc. 5. - -[462:B] Ibid. vol. xvii. p. 441. Act ii. sc. 4. - -[463:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xvii. pp. 459-461. Act iii. sc. 4. - -[464:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xvii. pp. 445, 446. Act iii. sc. 1. - -[464:B] Ibid. p. 456. Act iii. sc. 2. - -[464:C] Ibid. p. 463. Act iii. sc. 4. - -[466:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xvii. pp. 564-567. Act iv. sc. 7. - -[466:B] Ibid. vol. xviii. p. 649. - -[467:A] Lectures on Dramatic Literature, vol. ii. p. 183. - -[468:A] Letters of Anna Seward, vol. iii. p. 246. - -[470:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. x. pp. 110, 111, 112. 114. - -[472:A] Lectures on Dramatic Literature, vol. i. pp. 352, 353. - -[473:A] Lectures on Dramatic Literature, vol. i. pp. 95, 96. - -[474:A] Monthly Review, vol. lxxxi. p. 119, 120. - -[475:A] Strype's Annals of Reformation, vol. i. p. 8. The apprehension -expressed at the close of this quotation, was realised some years -afterwards, when a Mrs. Dier was accused of conjuration and witchcraft, -because the Queen had been "under excessive anguish _by pains of her -teeth_: insomuch that she took no rest for divers nights."—Vide -Strype's Annals, vol. iv. p. 7. - -[475:B] Epistle to Sir Roger Manwood, p. 1. - -[475:C] Discoverie of Witchcraft, chap. i. pp. 1, 2. - -[475:D] Ibid. p. 4. - -[475:E] Discourse of Divels and Spirits, p. 543.; annexed to the -Discoverie of Witchcraft. - -[476:A] Gossip. - -[476:B] These extracts are taken from a pamphlet entitled, "Newes from -Scotland," reprinted in the Gent. Magazine, vol. xlix. p. 449. See also -Gent. Magazine, vol. vii. p. 556. - -[477:A] See Nashe's Lenten Stuff, 1599, as quoted by Mr. Reed, in his -Shakspeare, vol. x. p. 5. note. - -[477:B] King James's Works, as published by James, Bishop of Winton, -folio, 1616, p. 91. - -[478:A] This act against witches was not repealed until the year 1736, -being the ninth of George the Second! - -[480:A] Discoverie of Witchcraft, book i. chap. 3. pp. 7-9. - -[480:B] Todd's Spenser, vol. iv. pp. 480, 481. Faerie Queene, book iii. -canto 7. stanza 6. and note. - -[482:A] Discoverie of Witchcraft, book i. chap. 4. pp. 9-11. - -[482:B] James's Works, by Winton, p. 116. - -[483:A] James's Works, by Winton, p. 117. - -[485:A] Discoverie of Witchcraft, book iii. chap. 1, 2. pp. 40-42. - -[485:B] Works apud Winton, pp. 112, 113. - -[486:A] King James's Works apud Winton, pp. 111. 135, 136. - -[486:B] Among these we find the mighty name of Bacon; this great -man attributing, in the Tenth Century of his Natural History, the -achievements and the confessions of witches and wizards to the effects -of a morbid imagination. - -[487:A] To the traditions of Boethius and Holinshed, we may add a -modern authority in the person of Sir John Sinclair, who tells us that -"In Macbeth's time, Witchcraft was very prevalent in Scotland, and -two of the most famous witches in the kingdom lived on each hand of -Macbeth, one at Collace, the other not far from Dunsinnan House, at -a place called the Cape. Macbeth applied to them for advice, and by -their counsel built a lofty Castle upon the top of an adjoining hill, -since called Dunsinnan. The moor where the Witches met, which is in -the parish of St. Martin's, is yet pointed out by the country-people, -and there is a stone still preserved which is called _the Witches -Stone_."—Statistical Account of Scotland, vol. xx. p. 242. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - - OBSERVATIONS ON _JULIUS CÆSAR_; ON _ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA_; - ON _CORIOLANUS_; ON _THE WINTER'S TALE_; ON _THE TEMPEST_; - DISSERTATION ON THE _GENERAL BELIEF_ OF THE TIMES IN THE - _ART OF MAGIC_, AND ON SHAKSPEARE's MANAGEMENT OF THIS - SUPERSTITION, AS EXHIBITED IN _THE TEMPEST_—OBSERVATIONS ON - _OTHELLO_; ON _TWELFTH NIGHT_, AND ON THE _PLAYS ASCRIBED_ TO - SHAKSPEARE—_SUMMARY OF SHAKSPEARE'S DRAMATIC CHARACTER_. - - -The Roman tragedy of Shakspeare, including the three pieces of _Julius -Cæsar_, _Antony and Cleopatra_, and _Coriolanus_, exhibit the poet -under a new aspect. We have seen him dramatise the annals of his own -country with matchless skill and effect; we have beheld him touching -with a discriminative pencil the heroes of ancient Greece, and he now -brings before us, clothed in the majesty of republican greatness, -or surrounded with the splendour of illimitable power, the most -illustrious patriots and warriors of the Roman world. - -The task of combining a faithful adhesion to the records of history -with that grandeur and freedom of conception which characterise the -unfettered poet, could alone have been achieved by the genius of -Shakspeare. He has, accordingly, not only fixed his scene at Rome, -during the days of Coriolanus or of Cæsar, but he has resuscitated the -manners and the modes of thinking of their respective ages. We enter -with enthusiasm into the characters and fortunes of these masters of -the civilised globe, and the patriotism and martial glory, the very -feelings and public life of the eternal city again start into existence. - -The chronology of these three plays having been ascertained with as -much probability, as the subject will admit, it is only necessary to -observe, as a preliminary remark, that the dates of the first and -second are adopted from Mr. Malone, and that of the third from Mr. -Chalmers; and to these critics the reader is referred for facts and -inferences which, not being susceptible as we conceive of further -extension or improvement, it would be useless here to repeat. - -29. JULIUS CÆSAR: 1607. Of this tragedy Brutus is the principal and -most interesting character, and to the developement of his motives, -and to the result of his actions, is the greater part of the play -appropriated; for it is not the fall of Cæsar, but that of Brutus, -which constitutes the catastrophe. Cæsar is introduced indeed -expressing that characteristic confidence in himself, which has been -ascribed to him by history; and his influence over those who surround -him, the effect of high mental powers and unrivalled military success, -is represented as very great; but he takes little part in the business -of the scene, and his assassination occurs at the commencement of the -third act. - -While the conqueror of the world is thus in some degree thrown into -the shade, Brutus, the favourite of the poet, is brought forward, not -only adorned with all the virtues attributed to him by Plutarch, but, -in order to excite a deeper interest in his favour, and to prove, that -not jealousy, ambition, or revenge, but unalloyed patriotism was the -sole director of his conduct, our author has drawn him as possessing -the utmost sweetness and gentleness of disposition, sympathising with -all that suffer, and unwilling to inflict pain but from motives of -the strongest moral necessity. He has most feelingly and beautifully -painted him in the relations of a master, a friend, and a husband; his -kindness to his domestics, his attachment to his friends, and his love -for Portia, to whom he declares, that she is - - "As dear to him, as are the ruddy drops - That visit his sad heart," - -demonstrating, that nothing but a high sense of public duty could have -induced him to lift his hand against the life of Cæsar. - -It is this struggle between the humanity of his temper and his ardent -and hereditary love of liberty, now threatened with extinction by the -despotism of Cæsar, that gives to Brutus that grandeur of character -and that predominancy over his associates in purity of intention, -which secured to him the admiration of his contemporaries, and to which -posterity has done ample justice through the medium of Shakspeare, who -has placed the virtues of Brutus, and the contest in his bosom between -private regard and patriotic duty, in the noblest light; wringing even -from the lips of his bitterest enemy, the fullest eulogium on the -rectitude of his principles, and the goodness of his heart:— - - "_Ant._ This was the noblest Roman of them all. - All the conspirators, save only he, - Did that they did in envy of great Cæsar; - He, only, in a general honest thought, - And common good to all, made one of them. - His life was gentle; and the elements - So mix'd in him, that Nature might stand up, - And say to all the world, _This was a man!_"[492:A] - -In the conduct and action of this drama, though closely pursuing the -occurrences and characters as detailed by Plutarch in his life of -Brutus, there is a great display of ingenuity, and much mechanism in -the concentration of the events, producing that integrity and unity, -which, without any modification of the truth of history, moulds a -small portion of an immense chain of incidents into a perfect and -satisfactory whole. The formation of the conspiracy, the death of the -dictator, the harangue of Antony and its effects, the flight of Brutus -and Cassius, their quarrel and reconcilement, and finally their noble -stand for liberty against the sanguinary and atrocious triumvirate, are -concatenated with the most happy art; and though, after the fall of -Cæsar, nothing but the patriotic heroism of Brutus and Cassius is left -to occupy the stage, the apprehensions and the interest which have been -awakened for their fate, are sustained, and even augmented to the last -scene of the tragedy. - -30. ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA: 1608. Shakspeare has here spread a wider -canvas; he has admitted a vast variety of groups, some of which are -crowded, and some too isolated, whilst in the back ground are dimly -seen personages and events that, for the sake of perspicuity, ought to -have been brought forward with some share of boldness and relief. The -subject, in fact, is too complex and extended, to admit of a due degree -of simplicity and wholeness, and the mind is consequently hurried by a -multiplicity of incidents, for whose introduction and succession we are -not sufficiently prepared. - -Yet, notwithstanding these defects, this is a piece which gratifies us -by its copiousness and animation; such, indeed, is the variety of its -transactions, and the rapidity of its transitions, that the attention -is never suffered, even for a moment, to grow languid; and, though -occasionally surprised by abruptness, or want of connection, pursues -the footsteps of the poet with eager and unabated delight. - -Neither is the merit of this play exclusively founded on the vivacity -and entertainment of its fable; it presents us with three characters -which start from their respective groups with a prominency, with a -depth of light and shade, that gives the freshness of existing energy -to the records of far distant ages. - -The martial but voluptuous Antony, whose bosom is the seat of great -qualities and great vices; now magnanimous, enterprising, and heroic; -now weak, irresolute, and slothful; alternately the slave of ambition -and of effeminacy, yet generous, open-hearted, and unsuspicious, is -strikingly opposed to the cold-blooded and selfish Octavius. The -keeping of these characters is sustained to the last, whilst Cleopatra, -the mistress of every seductive and meretricious art, a compound of -vanity, sensuality, and pride, adored by the former, and despised by -the latter, an instrument of ruin to the one, and of greatness to the -other, is decorated, as to personal charms and exterior splendour, with -all that the most lavish imagination can bestow. - -31. CORIOLANUS: 1609. This play, which refers us to the third century -of the Republic, is of a very peculiar character, involving in its -course a large intermixture of humorous and political matter. It -affords us a picture of what may be termed a Roman electioneering -mob; and the insolence of newly-acquired authority on the part of -the tribunes, and the ungovernable licence and malignant ribaldry of -the plebeians, are forcibly, but naturally expressed. The popular -anarchy, indeed, is rendered highly diverting through the intervention -of Menenius Agrippa, whose sarcastic wit, and shrewd good sense, -have lent to these turbulent proceedings a very extraordinary degree -of interest and effect. His "pretty tale," as he calls it, of _the -belly and the members_, which he recites to the people, during their -mutiny occasioned by the dearth of corn, is a delightful and improved -expansion of the old apologue, originally attributed to Menenius by -Dionysius of Halicarnassus, but taken immediately by Shakspeare from -Plutarch's Life of Coriolanus, and from Camden's Remains. - -The serious and elevated persons of the drama are delineated in colours -of equal, if not superior strength. The unrivalled military prowess of -Coriolanus, in whose nervous arm, "Death, that dark spirit," dwelt; the -severe sublimity of his character, his stern and unbending hauteur, -and his undisguised contempt of all that is vulgar, pusillanimous, and -base, are brought before us with a raciness and power of impression, -and, notwithstanding a very liberal use both of the sentiments and -language of his Plutarch, with a freedom of outline which, even in -Shakspeare, may be allowed to excite our astonishment.[494:A] - -Among the female characters, a very important part is necessarily -attached to the person of Volumnia; the fate of Rome itself depending -upon her parental influence and authority. The poet has accordingly -done full justice to the great qualities which the Cheronean sage has -ascribed to this energetic woman; the daring loftiness of her spirit, -her bold and masculine eloquence, and, above all, her patriotic -devotion, being marked by the most spirited and vigorous touches of -his pencil. - -The numerous vicissitudes in the story; its rapidity of action; its -contrast of character; the splendid vigour of its serious, and the -satirical sharpness and relish of its more familiar scenes, together -with the animation which prevails throughout all its parts, have -conferred on this play, both in the closet, and on the stage, a -remarkable degree of attraction. - -32. THE WINTER'S TALE: 1610. That this play was written after the -accession of King James, appears probable from the following lines:— - - ——— "If I could find example - Of thousands, that had struck anointed kings - And _flourished after_, I'd not do't; but since - Nor brass, nor stone, nor parchment, bears not one, - Let villany itself forswear it."[495:A] - -"If, as Mr. Blackstone supposes," observes Mr. Douce, "this be an -allusion to the death of the Queen of Scots, it exhibits Shakspeare -in the character of a cringing flatterer, accommodating himself to -existing circumstances, and is moreover an extremely severe one. But -the perpetrator of that atrocious murder _did flourish_ many years -afterwards. May it not rather be designed as a compliment to King -James, on his escape from the Gowrie conspiracy, an event often brought -to the people's recollection during his reign, from the day on which it -happened being made a day of thanksgiving?"[495:B] - -Thus Osborne tells us, that "amongst a number of other Novelties, -he (King James) brought a _new Holyday_ into the Church of England, -_wherein God had publick thanks given him for his Majesties deliverance -out of the hands of E. Goury_. And this fell out upon Aug. 5[495:C];" -and from Wilson we learn, the title which this day bore in the -almanacks of the time:—"The fifth of August this year (1603) had a -new title given to it. _The Kings Deliveries in the North_ must resound -here."[496:A] - -From an allusion to this play and to _The Tempest_, in Ben Jonson's -Induction to _Bartholomew Fair_, 1614, there is some reason to -conclude, that these dramas were written within a short period of each -other, and that _The Winter's Tale_ was the elder of the two. "He is -loth," he says, "to make nature afraid in his plays, like those that -beget _Tales_, _Tempests_, and such like drolleries."[496:B] Now, it -will be found in the next article, that we have no trifling _data_ -for attributing the composition of _The Tempest_ to the year 1611; -and, could it be rendered highly probable, that the production of _The -Winter's Tale_ did not occur _before_ 1610, an almost incontrovertible -support would be given to our chronology of both plays. It happens, -therefore, very fortunately, that in a note by Mr. Malone, annexed -to his chronological notice of _The Winter's Tale_, in the edition -of our author's plays of 1803, a piece of information occurs, that -seems absolutely to prove the very fact of which we are in search. It -appears, says this Critic, from the entry which has been quoted in a -preceding page, that _The Winter's Tale_ "had been originally licensed -by Sir George Buck;" and he concludes by remarking, that "though Sir -George Buck obtained a reversionary grant of the office of Master of -the Revels, in 1603, which title Camden has given him in the edition -of his Britannia printed in 1607, it appears from various documents in -the Pells-office, that he did not get complete possession of his place -till August, 1610."[496:C] In fact, Edmond Tilney, the predecessor of -Sir George Buck, died at the very commencement of October, 1610, and -was buried at Leatherhead, in Surrey, on the sixth of the same month; -and it is very likely that, during his illness, probably commencing in -August, Sir George, as his destined successor, might officiate for him. - -We learn from Mr. Vertue's manuscripts, that _The Winter's Tale_ was -acted at court in 1613, a circumstance which, though it may lead us to -infer that its popularity on the public stage had been considerable, -by no means necessarily warrants the supposition which Mr. Malone -is inclined to make, that it had passed through all its stages of -composition, public performance, and court exhibition, during the same -year. - -Instead, therefore, of conjecturing with Mr. Malone that this play -was written in 1594, or 1602, or 1604, or 1613, for such has been the -vacillation of this gentleman in his chronology of the piece, or, -with Mr. Chalmers, in 1601, we believe it to have been _written_, for -the reasons which we have already assigned, and which will receive -additional corroboration from the arguments to be adduced under the -next head, towards the close of 1610, and to have been _licensed_ and -_performed_ during the succeeding year.[497:A] - -"The observation by Dr. Warburton," remarks Mr. Douce, "that _The -Winter's Tale_, with all its absurdities, is very entertaining, though -stated by Dr. Johnson to be just, must be allowed at the same time to -be extremely frigid." Certainly had Warburton said this, or nothing -but this, he had merited the epithet; but Mr. Douce has been misled by -Dr. Johnson, for most assuredly Warburton has not said this, but, on -the contrary, has spoken of the play not only with taste and feeling, -but in a tone of enthusiasm. "This play, _throughout_," says he, "is -written _in the very spirit of its author_. And in telling this homely -and simple, though agreeable country-tale, - - "Our sweetest Shakspeare, fancy's child, - Warbles his native wood-notes wild." - -"This was necessary to observe in mere justice to the play: as the -meanness of the fable, and the extravagant conduct of it, had misled -some of great name into a wrong judgment of its merit; which, _as far -as it regards sentiment and character, is scarce inferior to any in -the whole collection_."[498:A] This, indeed, is all that Warburton -has said on the general character of _The Winter's Tale_, but it is -high praise, and coincides in almost every respect with what Mr. -Douce has himself very justly declared on the same subject, when, in -the passage immediately following that which we have already quoted -from his Illustrations, he adds,—"In point of fine writing it may -be ranked among Shakspeare's best efforts. The absurdities pointed -at by Warburton, together with the whimsical anachronisms of Whitson -pastorals, Christian burial, an emperor of Russia, and an Italian -painter of the fifteenth century, are no real drawbacks on the -superlative merits of this charming drama. The character of Perdita -will remain for ages unrivalled; for where shall such language be found -as she is made to utter?"[498:B] - -As Shakspeare was indebted for the story of _The Winter's Tale_ to -the _Dorastus and Fawnia_ of Robert Greene, which was published in -1588, so it is probable that he was under a similar obligation for -its name to "A booke entitled _A Wynter Nyght's Pastime_," which was -entered at Stationers' Hall on May the 22d, 1594. It is, also, not -unlikely that the adoption of the title might influence the nature -of the composition; for, as Schlegel has remarked, "_The Winter's -Tale_ is as appropriately named as _The Midsummer-Night's Dream_. It -is one of those tales which are peculiarly calculated to beguile the -dreary leisure of a long winter evening, which are even attractive and -intelligible to childhood, and which, animated by fervent truth in the -delineation of character and passion, invested with the decoration of a -poetry lowering itself, as it were, to the simplicity of the subject, -transport even manhood back to the golden age of imagination."[498:C] - -Such indeed is the character of the latter and more interesting part -of this drama, which, separated by a chasm of sixteen years from the -business of the three preceding acts, may be said, in some measure, to -constitute a distinct play. The fourth act, especially, is a pastoral -of the most fascinating description, in which Perdita, pure as - - ——————————— "the fann'd snow - That's bolted by the northern blasts twice o'er,"[499:A] - -ignorant of her splendid origin, yet, under the appearance of a -shepherd's daughter, acting with such an intuitive nobleness of mind, -that— - - ——————— "nothing she does, or seems, - But smacks of something greater than herself,"[499:B] - -exhibits a portrait fresh from nature's loveliest pencil, where -simplicity, artless affection, and the most generous resignation are -sweetly blended with a fortitude at once spirited and tender. Thus, -when Polixenes, discovering himself at the sheep-shearing, interdicts -the contract between Perdita and his son, and threatens the former with -a cruel death, if she persist in encouraging the attachment, the reply -which she gives is a most beautiful developement of the qualities of -mind and heart which we have just enumerated:— - - "_Per._ Even here undone? - I was not much afeard: for once, or twice, - I was about to speak; and tell him plainly, - The selfsame sun, that shines upon his court, - Hides not his visage from our cottage, but - Looks on alike.—Will't please you, sir, be gone? - (_to Florizel._ - I told you, what would come of this: 'Beseech you, - Of your own state take care: this dream of mine,— - Being now awake, I'll queen it no inch further, - But milk my ewes, and weep."[500:A] - -The comic characters of this play, which are nearly confined to the -last two acts, form a striking contrast and relief to the native -delicacy and elegance of manners which distinguish every sentiment and -action of the modest and unaffected Perdita; her reputed father and -brother and the witty rogue Autolycus being drawn with those strong but -natural strokes of broad humour which Shakspeare delighted to display -in his characterisation of the lower orders of society. That "snapper -up of unconsidered trifles," his frolic pedlar, is one of the most -entertaining specimens of wicked ingenuity that want and opportunity -ever generated. - -33. THE TEMPEST: 1611. The dates assigned by the two chronologers, for -the composition of this drama, seem to be inferred from premises highly -inconclusive and improbable. Mr. Malone conceives it to have been -written in 1612, because its title appears to him to have been derived -from the circumstance of a dreadful tempest occurring in the October, -November, and December of the year 1612; and Mr. Chalmers has exchanged -this epoch for 1613, because there happened "a great tempest of thunder -and lightning, on Christmas day, 1612."[500:B] "This intimation," he -subjoins, "necessarily carries the writing of _The Tempest_ into the -subsequent year, since there is little probability, that our poet -would write this enchanting drama, in the midst of the tempest, which -overthrew so many mansions, and wrecked so many ships."[500:C] - -It is very extraordinary that, when all the circumstances which could -lead to the suggestion of the title of _The Tempest_, are to be found -in books, to which, from his allusions, we know our author must have -had recourse, and in events which took place, during the two years -immediately preceding the period that we have fixed upon, and at the -very spot referred to in the play, these critics should have imagined -that a series of stormy weather occurring at home, or a single storm -on Christmas day, could have operated with the poet in his choice of a -name. - -It is scarcely possible to avoid smiling at the objection which Mr. -Chalmers so seriously brings forward against the conjecture of his -predecessor, founded on the improbability of the poet's writing his -_Tempest_ in the midst of a tempest; a mode of refutation which could -only have been adopted one would think under the supposition, that -Shakspeare, during these three stormy months, had wanted the protection -of a roof. The inference, however, which he draws from his own storm, -on Christmas day, namely, that _The Tempest_ must necessarily have -been written in 1613, is still less tenable than the position of Mr. -Malone; for we are told, on the authority of Mr. Vertue's Manuscripts, -"that the Tempest was acted by John Heminge and the rest of the King's -company, before Prince Charles, the Lady Elizabeth, and the Prince -Palatine elector, in _the beginning_ of the year 1613."[501:A] Now we -learn from Wilson the historian, that the Prince Palatine was married -to the Lady Elizabeth _in February_, 1613, her brother Prince Charles -leading her to church; and on this occasion, no doubt, it was, that -_The Tempest_, having been received the preceding season with great -favour and popularity, was re-performed; for Wilson tells us, that -in consequence of these nuptials, "the _feastings_, _maskings_, and -other _Royall formalities_, were as troublesome ('tis presum'd) to the -_Lovers_, as the relation of them here may be to the reader;" and -he adds, in the next page, that they were "tired with _feasting_ and -_jollity_."[502:A] - -But how can this relation be reconciled with the chronology of Mr. -Chalmers? for, if _The Tempest_, as he supposes, was written in 1613, -it must have been commenced and finished in the course of one month! a -rapidity of composition which, considering the unrivalled excellence -of this drama, is scarcely within the bounds of probability. Beside, -were _The Tempest_ the production of January, 1613, it must have been -written on the spur of the occasion, and for the nuptials in question; -and is it to be supposed that no reference to such an event would -be found throughout a play composed expressly to adorn, if not to -compliment, the ceremony? - -If we can, therefore, ascertain, that all the circumstances necessary -for the suggestion, not only of the title of _The Tempest_, but of a -considerable part of its fable, may have occurred to Shakspeare's mind -anterior to the close of 1611, and would particularly press upon it, -during the two years preceding this date, it may, without vanity, be -expected, that the epoch which we have chosen, will be preferred to -those which we have just had reason to pronounce either trivial or -improbable. - -So far back as to 1577, have Mr. Steevens and Dr. Farmer referred for -some particulars to which Shakspeare was indebted for his conception -of the "foul witch Sycorax," and her god Setebos[502:B]; but the -circumstances which led to the name of the play, to the storm with -which it opens, and to some of the wondrous incidents on the enchanted -island, commence with the publication of Raleigh's "Discoverie of the -Large, Rich, and Beautiful Empire of Guiana," a book that was printed -at London in 1596, and in which this great man, after mentioning the -Channel of Bahama, adds,—"The rest of the Indies for calms, and -diseases, are very troublesome; and the _Bermudas_, a hellish sea, for -_thunder_, _lightning_, and _storms_."[503:A] - -From this publication, therefore, our author acquired his first -intimation of the "_still vexed Bermoothes_," which was repeated -by the appearance of Hackluyt's Voyages, in 1600, in which, as Dr. -Farmer observes, "he might have seen a description of Bermuda, by -Henry May, who was _shipwrecked_ there in 1593."[503:B] But the event -which immediately gave rise to the composition of _The Tempest_, was -the _Voyage of Sir George Sommers_, who was _shipwrecked_ on Bermudas -in 1609, and whose adventures were given to the public by Silvester -Jourdan, one of his crew, with the following title:—_A Discovery -of the Bermudas, otherwise called the ISLE OF DIVELS: By -Sir Thomas Gates, Sir Geo. Sommers, and Captayne Newport, and divers -others_. In this publication, Jourdan informs us, that "the Islands of -the Bermudas, as every man knoweth, that hath heard, or read of them, -were never inhabited by any Christian, or heathen, people, but ever -esteemed, and reputed, a most _prodigious_, and _inchanted_, _place_, -affording nothing but _gusts_, _stormes_ and _foul weather_; which made -every navigator and mariner to avoid them, as Scylla and Charybdis, or -as they would shun the Devil himselfe." - -Now these particulars in Jourdan's book, taken in conjunction with -preceding intimations, appear to us to have been fully adequate to the -purpose of suggesting to the creative mind of Shakspeare, without -any reference to succeeding pamphlets on the subject, or to storms at -home, the name, the opening incidents, and the magical portion of his -drama; for, when Mr. Chalmers refers us to _A Plaine Description of the -Bermudas now called Sommer islands_, it should be recollected, that, -even on his own chronology, this work, which was printed in 1613, must, -unless it had appeared on the first days of the new year, have come too -late to have furnished the poet with any additional information.[504:A] - -That _The Tempest_ had been produced anterior to the stormy autumn -of 1612 seems to have been the opinion of Mr. Douce; for, alluding -to the use which the commentators have made of the mere date of -Sommers's voyage, he adds,—"but the important particulars of his -_shipwreck_, from which it is exceedingly probable that the outline of -a considerable part of this play was borrowed, has been unaccountably -overlooked;" and then, after quoting the title, and noticing some of -the particulars of Jourdan's book, and introducing a passage from -Stowe's Annals descriptive of Sommers's shipwreck on the "dreadful -coast of the Bermodes, which island were of all nations said and -supposed to bee _inchanted and inhabited with witches and devills_," he -proceeds thus:—"Now if some of these circumstances in the shipwreck of -Sir George Sommers be considered, it may possibly turn out that _they_ -are 'the particular and recent event which determined Shakspeare to -call his play _The Tempest_,' instead of 'the great tempest of 1612,' -which has already been supposed to have suggested its name, _and which -might have happened after its composition_."[504:B] - -From these circumstances, and this chain of reasoning, we are induced -to conclude, that _The Tempest_ was _written towards the close of -1611_, and that it was brought on the stage early in the succeeding -year. - -_The Tempest_ is, next to _Macbeth_, the noblest product of our -author's genius. Never were the wild and the wonderful, the pathetic -and the sublime, more artfully and gracefully combined with the -sportive sallies of a playful imagination, than in this enchantingly -attractive drama. Nor is it less remarkable, that all these -excellencies of the highest order are connected with a plot which, in -its mechanism, and in the preservation of the unities, is perfectly -classical and correct. - -The _action_, which turns upon the restoration of Prospero to his -former dignities, involving in its successful issue, the union of -Ferdinand and Miranda, the temporary punishment of the guilty, and the -reconciliation of all parties, is simple, integral, and complete. The -_place_ is confined to a small island, and, for the most part, to the -cave of Prospero, or its immediate vicinity, and the poet has taken -care to inform us twice in the last act, that the _time_ occupied in -the representation, has not exceeded three hours.[505:A] - -Yet within this short space are brought together, and without -any violation of dramatic probability or consistency, the most -extraordinary incidents and the most singular assemblage of characters, -that fancy, in her wildest mood, has ever generated. A magician -possessed of the most awful and stupendous powers; a spirit of the air -beautiful and benign; a goblin hideous and malignant, a compound of the -savage, the demon, and the brute; and a young and lovely female who -has never seen a human being, save her father, are the inhabitants of -an island, no otherwise frequented than by the fantastic creations of -Prospero's necromantic art. - -A solemn and mysterious grandeur envelopes the character of Prospero, -from his first entrance to his final exit, the vulgar magic of -the day being in him blended with such a portion of moral dignity -and philosophic wisdom, as to receive thence an elevation, and an -impression of sublimity, of which it could not previously have been -thought susceptible. - -The exquisite simplicity, ingenuous affection, and unsuspicious -confidence of Miranda, united as they are with the utmost sweetness and -tenderness of disposition, render the scenes which pass between her and -Ferdinand beyond measure delightful and refreshing; they are, indeed, -as far as relates to her share of the dialogue, perfectly paradisaical. -Nor is the conception of this singularly situated character less -striking, than the consistency with which, to the very last, it is -supported, throughout all its parts. - -On the wildly-graceful picture of Ariel, that "delicate spirit," whose -occupation it was, - - ——— —— —— "To tread the ooze - Of the salt deep; - To run upon the sharp wind of the north: - To do business in the veins o' the earth, - When it is bak'd with frost; - —— to dive into the fire; to ride - On the curl'd clouds; - ———————— to fetch dew - From the still vex'd Bermoothes;" - -what language can express an adequate encomium! All his thoughts and -actions, his pastimes and employments, are such as could only belong to -a being of a higher sphere, of a more sublimated and ætherial existence -than the race of man. Even the very words which he chants, seem to -refer to "no mortal business," and to form "no sound that the earth -owes." - -Of a nature directly opposed to this elegant and sylph-like essence, is -the hag-born monster Caliban, one of the most astonishing productions -of a mind exhaustless in the creation of all that is novel, original, -and great. Generated by a devil and a witch, deformed, prodigious, and -obscene, and breathing nothing but malice, sensuality, and revenge, -this fearful compound is yet, from the poetical vigour of his language -and ideas, highly interesting to the imagination. Imagery, derived from -whatever is darkly horrible and mysteriously repulsive, clothe the -expression of his passions or the denunciation of his curses; whilst, -even in his moments of hilarity, the barbarous, the grotesque, and the -romantic, alternately, or conjointly, sustain, with admirable harmony, -the keeping of his character. - -That the system of _Magic_ or _Enchantment_, which has given so much -attraction to this play, was at the period of its production an -article in the popular creed of general estimation, and, even among -the learned, received with but little hesitation, may be clearly -ascertained from the writers of Shakspeare's times. Thus, _Howard_, -Earl of Northampton, in his "Defensative against the poyson of supposed -Prophecies," 1583; _Scot_, in his "Discoverie of Witchcraft" and -"Discours of Divels and Spirits," 1584; _James_, in his "Demonologie," -1603; _Mason_, in his "Anatomie of Sorceerie," 1612; and finally, -_Burton_, in his "Anatomie of Melancholy," 1617, all bear witness, -in such a manner to the fact, as proves, that, of the existence of -_The Art of Sorcery_, however unlawful it might be deemed by many, -few presumed to doubt. The very title of Howard's book informs us, -that "invocations of damned spirits" and "judicials of astrology" -were "causes of great disorder in the commonwealth;" and in the -work, speaking of the same arts, he adds,—"We need not rifle in the -monuments of former times, so long as the present age wherein we live -may furnish us with store of most strange examples." Scot declares, -in his "Epistle to the Reader," that "conjurors and enchanters make -us fooles still, to the shame of us all;" and in the 42d chapter of -his 15th book, he has inserted a copy of a letter written to him by a -professor of the necromantic art, who had been condemned to die for his -supposed diabolical practices, but who, through his own repentance, and -the mediation of Lord Leicester with the Queen, had been reprieved. -An extract or two from this curious epistle, will place in a striking -light the great prevalence of the credulity on which we are commenting. -"Maister R. Scot, according to your request, I have drawne out certaine -abuses worth the noting, touching the worke you have in hand; things -which I my selfe have seene within these xxvi yeares, among those -which were counted famous and skilfull in those sciences. And bicause -the whole discourse cannot be set downe, without nominating certaine -persons, _of whom some are dead, and some living, whose freends remaine -yet of great credit_: in respect thereof, I knowing that mine enimies -doo alreadie in number exceed my freends; I have considered with my -selfe, that it is better for me to staie my hand, than to commit that -to the world, which may increase my miserie more than releeve the same. -Notwithstanding, bicause I am noted above a _great many others_ to -have had some dealings in those vaine arts and wicked practises; I am -therefore to signifie unto you, and I speake it in the presence of God, -that _among all those famous and noted practisers, that I have been -conversant with all these_ xxvi _years_, I could never see anie matter -of truth, &c." He then, after exposing the futility of these studies, -and lamenting his addiction to them, adds,—"For mine owne part, I have -repented me five yeares past: at which time I sawe a booke, written in -the old Saxon toong, by one Sir John Malborne, a divine of Oxenford, -three hundred yeares past; wherein he openeth all the illusions and -inventions of those arts and sciences: a thing most worthie the noting. -I left the booke with the parson of Slangham, in Sussex, where if you -send for it in my name, you may have it." - -At the conclusion of this letter, which is dated the 8th of March, -1582, Scot says, as a further proof of the folly of the times,—"I sent -for this booke of purpose, to the parson of Slangham, and procured his -best friends, men of great worship and credit, to deale with him, that -I might borrowe it for a time. But such is his follie and superstition, -that although he confessed he had it; yet he would not lend it; albeit -a friend of mine, being knight of the shire, would have given his word -for the restitution of the same safe and sound."[509:A] - -The reception of James's work on Demonology, which is as copious on -the arts of enchantment as on those of witchcraft, is itself a most -striking instance of the gross credulity of his subjects; for, while -the learned, the sensible, and humane treatise of Scot, was either -reprobated or neglected, the labours of this monarch in behalf of -superstition, were received with applause, and referred to with a -deference which admitted not of question. - -Mason followed the footsteps of Scot, though not with equal ability, -when in 1612 he endeavoured to throw ridicule upon "Inchanters and -Charmers—they, which by using of certaine conceited words, characters, -circles, amulets, and such like vaine and wicked trumpery (by God's -permission) doe work great marvailes: as namely in causing of -sicknesse, as also in curing diseases in men's bodies. And likewise -binding some, that they cannot use their naturall powers and faculties; -as we see in Night-spells. Insomuch as some of them doe take in hand to -bind the Divell himselfe by their inchantments." - -Five years afterwards, Burton, who seems to have been a believer on -the influence which the Devil was supposed to exert in cherishing the -growth of Sorcery, records that Magic is "practised by some still, -maintained and excused;" and he adds, that "_Nero_ and _Heliogabalus_, -_Maxentius_, and _Julianus Apostata_, were never so much addicted to -Magick of old, as some of our modern Princes and Popes themselves are -_now adayes_."[509:B] - -The Art of Magic had, during the reign of Elizabeth, assumed a more -scientific appearance, from its union with the mystic reveries of the -_Cabalists_ and _Rosicrusians_, and, under this modification, has it -been adopted by Shakspeare for the purposes of dramatic impression. -_Astrology_, _Alchemistry_, and what was termed _Theurgy_, or an -intercourse with Divine Spirits, were combined with the more peculiar -doctrines of _Necromancy_ or the _Black Art_, and, under this form, -was a system of mere delusions frequently mistaken for a branch of -Natural Philosophy. Thus Fuller, speaking of _Dr. John Dee_, the Prince -of Magicians in Shakspeare's days, says,—"He was a most excellent -_Mathematician_ and _Astrologer_, well skilled in _Magick_, as the -_Antients_ did, the Lord _Bacon_ doth, and all may accept the sence -thereof, viz., in the lawfull knowledg of Naturall Philosophie. - -"This exposed him, anno 1583, amongst his Ignorant Neighbours, where -he then liv'd, at _Mortclack_ in _Surrey_, to the suspicion of a -_Conjurer_: the cause I conceive, that his Library was then seized -on, wherein were _four thousand Books_, and _seven hundred_ of them -_Manuscripts_."[510:A] - -This singular character, who was born in 1527, and did not die -until after the accession of James, was certainly possessed of much -mathematical knowledge, having delivered lectures at Paris on the -Elements of Euclid, with unprecedented applause; but he was at the -same time grossly superstitious and enthusiastic, not only dealing -in nativities, talismans, and charms, but pretending to a familiar -intercourse with the world of spirits, of which Dr. Meric Casaubon -has published a most extraordinary account, in a large folio volume, -entitled, "_A true and faithful relation of what passed for many years -between Dr. John Dee and some spirits_," 1659: and what is still more -extraordinary, this learned editor tells us in his preface, that he -"never gave more credit to any humane history of former times." - -Dee, who had been educated at Cambridge, and was an excellent classical -scholar, had, as might be supposed, in an age of almost boundless -credulity, many patrons, and among these were the Lords Pembroke and -Leicester, and even the Queen herself; but, notwithstanding this -splendid encouragement, and much private munificence, particularly -from the female world, our astrologer, like most of his tribe, -died miserably poor. His love of books has given him a niche in -Mr. Dibdin's Bibliographical Romance, where, under the title of -the _renowned_ Dr. John Dee, he is introduced in the following -animated manner:—"Let us fancy we see him in his conjuring cap and -robes—surrounded with astrological, mathematical, and geographical -instruments—with a profusion of Chaldee characters inscribed upon -vellum rolls—and with his celebrated _Glass_ suspended by magical -wires.—Let us then follow him into his study at midnight, and view him -rummaging his books; contemplating the heavens; making calculations; -holding converse with invisible spirits; writing down their responses: -anon, looking into his correspondence with _Count a Lasco_, and the -emperors Adolphus and Maximilian; and pronouncing himself, with the -most heart-felt complacency, the greatest genius of his age! In the -midst of these self-complacent reveries, let us imagine we see his -wife and little ones intruding: beseeching him to burn his books and -instruments; and reminding him that there was neither a silver spoon, -nor a loaf of bread in the cupboard. Alas, poor Dee!"[511:A] - -We have some reason to conclude, from the history of his life, of which -Hearne has given us a very copious account[512:A], that Dee was more -of an enthusiast than a knave; but this cannot be predicated of his -associate _Kelly_, who was assuredly a most impudent impostor. "He -was born," says Fuller, whose account of him is singularly curious, -"at _Worcester_, (as I have it from the _Scheame_ of his Nativity, -graved from the original calculation of Doctor Dee), _Anno Domini_ -1555, August the first, at four o clock in the afternoon, the Pole -being there elevated, qr. 52 10—He was well studied in the mysteries -of nature, being intimate with Doctor _Dee_, who was beneath him in -Chemistry, but above him in Mathematicks. These two are said to have -found a very large quantity of _Elixer_ in the ruins of _Glassenbury -Abby_. - -"Afterwards (being here in some trouble) he (Kelly) went over beyond -the seas, with _Albertus Alasco_, a Polonian Baron, who——it seems, -sought to repair his fortunes by associating himself with these _two_ -Arch-chemists of _England_. - -"How long they continued together, is to me unknown. _Sir Edward_ -(though I know not how he came by his knight-hood) with the Doctor, -fixed at _Trebona_ in _Bohemia_, where he is said to have transmuted a -brass[513:A] warming-pan, (without touching or melting, onely warming -it by the fire, and putting the _Elixir_ thereon) into pure silver, a -piece whereof was sent to Queen Elizabeth.— - -"They kept constant intelligence with a Messenger or Spirit, giving -them advice how to proceed in their mysticall discoveries, and -injoining them, that, by way of preparatory qualification for the same, -they should enjoy their wives in common.— - -"This probably might be the cause, why Doctor _Dee_ left _Kelley_, and -return'd into _England_. _Kelley_ continuing still in _Germany_, ranted -it in his expences (say the Brethren of his own art) above the sobriety -befitting so mysterious a Philosopher. He gave away in gold-wyer rings, -at the marriage of one of his Maid-servants, to the value of _four -thousand_ pounds.— - -"Come we now to his sad catastrophe. Indeed, the curious had observed, -that in the Scheme of his Nativity, not onely the _Dragons-tail_ was -ready to promote abusive aspersions against him (to which living and -dead he hath been subject) but also something malignant appears posited -in _Aquarius_, which hath influence on the leggs, which accordingly -came to pass. For being _twice_ imprisoned (for what misdemeanor I know -not) by _Radulphus_ the Emperor, he endeavoured to escape out of an -high window, and tying his sheets together to let him down fell (being -a weighty man) and brake his legg, whereof he died, 1595."[513:B] - -It appears, however, from other sources, that the trouble to which -Kelly was put, consisted in losing his ears on the pillory in -Lancashire; that the credulity of the age had allotted him the post of -descryer, or seer of visions to Dee, whom he accompanied to Germany, -and that one of his offices, under this appointment, was to watch and -report the gesticulations of the spirits whom his superior had fixed -and compelled to appear in a talisman or stone, which very stone, we -are informed, is now in the Strawberry-hill collection, and is nothing -more than a finely polished mass of canal coal! His knighthood was -the reward of a promise to assist the Emperor Rodolphus the Second, -in his search after the philosopher's stone; and the discovery of -his deceptive practices led him to a prison, from which it is said -Elizabeth, to whom a piece of the transmuted warming-pan had been -sent, had tempted him to make that escape which terminated in his -death.[514:A] - -Such were the leaders of the cabalistic and alchemical Magi in the days -of our Virgin Queen; men, in the estimation of the great bulk of the -people, possessed of super-human power, and who, notwithstanding their -ignorance and presumption, and the exposure of their art by some choice -spirits of their own, and the immediately subsequent period, among whom -_Ben Jonson_, as the author of the _Alchemist_, stands pre-eminent, -continued for near a century to excite the curiosity, and delude the -expectations of the public.[514:B] - -The delineation of _Prospero_, the noblest conception of the _Magic_ -character which ever entered the mind of a poet, is founded upon a -distinction which was supposed to exist between the several professors -of this mysterious science. They were separated, in fact, into two -great orders; into those who _commanded_ the service of superior -intelligences, and into those who, by voluntary compact, entered into -a _league with_, or submitted to be the _instruments_ of these powers. -Under the first were ranked _Magicians_, who were again classed into -higher or inferior, according to the extent of the control which they -exerted over the invisible world; the former possessing an authority -over _celestial_, as well as _infernal_ spirits. Under the second -were included _Necromancers_ and _Wizards_, who, for the enjoyment -of temporary power, subjected themselves, like the Witch, to final -perdition. - -Of the highest class of the first order was _Prospero_, one of those -Magicians or Conjurors who, as Reginald Scot observes, "professed an -art which some fond divines affirme to be more honest and lawfull -than _necromancie_, which is called _Theurgie_; wherein they worke -by good angels."[515:A] Accordingly, we find Prospero operating upon -inferior agents, upon elves, demons, and goblins, through the medium of -Ariel, a spirit too delicate and good to "act abhorr'd commands," but -who "answered his best pleasure," and was subservient to his "strong -bidding." - -Shakspeare has very properly given to the exterior of Prospero, several -of the adjuncts and costume of the popular magician. Much virtue -was inherent in his very garments; and Scot has, in many instances, -particularised their fashion. A pyramidal cap, a robe furred with -fox-skins, a girdle three inches in breadth, and inscribed with -cabalistic characters, shoes of russet leather, and unscabbarded -swords, formed the usual dress; but, on peculiar occasions, certain -deviations were necessary; thus, in one instance, we are told the -Magician must be habited in "clean white cloathes;" that his girdle -must be made of "a drie thong of a lion's or of a hart's skin;" that -he must have a "brest-plate of virgine parchment, sowed upon a piece -of new linnen," and inscribed with certain figures; and likewise, "a -bright knife that was never occupied," covered with characters on both -sides, and with which he is to "make the circle, called Salomon's -circle."[516:A] - -Our poet has, therefore, laid much stress on these seeming minutiæ, -and we find him, in the second scene of _The Tempest_, absolutely -asserting, that the essence of the art existed in the _robe_ of -Prospero, who, addressing his daughter, says,— - - ———————— "Lend thy hand, - And pluck my _magick garment_ from me.—So; - (_Lays dawn his mantle._ - LIE THERE MY ART." - -A similar importance is assigned to his staff or wand; for he tells -Ferdinand,— - - —— "I can here disarm thee with this stick, - And make thy weapon drop:"[516:B] - -and, when he abjures the practice of magic, one of the requisites is, -to "break his staff," and to - - "Bury it certain fathoms in the earth."[516:C] - -But the more immediate instruments of power were _Books_, through whose -assistance _spells_ and _adjurations_ were usually performed. Reginald -Scot, speaking of the traffickers in Magic of his time, says,—"These -conjurors carrie about _at this daie_, books intituled under the names -of _Adam_, _Abel_, _Tobie_, and _Enoch_; which _Enoch_ they repute the -most divine fellow in such matters. They have also among them bookes -that they saie _Abraham_, _Aaron_, and _Salomon_ made. They have bookes -of _Zacharie_, _Paule_, _Honorius_, _Cyprian_, _Jerome_, _Jeremie_, -_Albert_, and _Thomas_: also of the angels, _Riziel_, _Razael_, and -_Raphael_."[517:A] - -Books are, consequently, represented as one of the chief sources of -Prospero's influence over the spiritual world. He himself declares,— - - ———————— "I'll to my _book_; - For yet, ere supper time, must I perform - Much business appertaining;"[517:B] - -and, on relinquishing his art, he says, that - - —— "deeper than did ever plummet sound, - I'll drown my _book_;"[517:C] - -whilst Caliban, conspiring against the life of his benefactor, tells -Stephano, that, before he attempts to destroy him, he must - - —————————————— "Remember, - First to possess his _books_; for without them - He's but a sot, as I am, nor hath not - One spirit to command."[517:D] - -Though we perceive the effect of Prospero's spells, the mode by which -they are wrought does not appear; we are only told that silence is -necessary to their success:— - - ——————————— "Hush, and be mute, - Or else our spell is marr'd."[517:E] - -He afterwards assures us, that his "charms crack not," and that his -"spirits obey;" and, in one instance, he commissions Ariel to "untie -the spell" in which he had bound Caliban and his companions.[518:A] - -It is probable that any attempt to represent the forms of adjuration -and enchantment would have been either too ludicrous or too profane for -the purposes of the poet. In the one instance, the mysterious solemnity -of the scene would have been destroyed; and in the other, the serious -feelings of the spectator might have been shocked; at least, such -are the results on the mind of the reader, in perusing the numerous -specimens of adjuration in the fifteenth book of Scot's _Discoverie -of Witchcraft_. One of these, as including an example of the then -fashionable mode of conjuration, that of fixing the spirit in a beryl, -glass, or stone, according to the practice of _Dee_ and _Kelly_, shall -be given; omitting, however, all those invocations and addresses which, -by a frequent use of names and phrases the most hallowed and sacred, -must, on such occasions, prove alike indecorous and disgusting. The -adjuration in question is termed by Scot, "an experiment of the dead," -or, "conjuring for a dead spirit:" it commences in the following -manner, and terminates in obtaining the services of a good and -beautiful spirit of the fairy tribe; and such we may suppose to have -been the process through which Prospero procured the obedience and -ministration of Ariel, for we are expressly told, that "graves" at his -"command" - - "Have waked their sleepers; oped and let them forth." - -"First fast and praie three daies, and absteine thee from all -filthinesse; go to one that is new buried, such a one as killed -himselfe, or destroied himself wilfullie: or else get thee promise of -one that shal be hanged, and let him sweare an oth to thee, after his -bodie is dead, that his spirit shall come to thee, and doe thee true -service, at thy commandements, in all daies, houres, and minutes. -And let no persons see thy doings, but thy fellow. And about eleven o -clocke in the night, go to the place where he was buried, and saie with -a bold faith and hartie desire, to have the spirit come that thou dost -call for, thy fellow having a candle in his left hand, and in his right -hand _a christall stone_, and saie these words following, the maister -having _a hazell wand_ in his right hand, and these names—written -thereupon, _Tetragrammaton_ + _Adonay_ + _Craton_. Then strike three -strokes on the ground, and saie, Arise, Arise, Arise!— - -"The maister standing at the head of the grave, his fellow having in -his hands the candle and the stone, must begin the conjuration as -followeth, and the spirit will appeare to you in the christall stone, -in a faire forme of a child of twelve yeares of age. And when he is in, -feele the stone, and it will be hot; and feare nothing, for he or shee -will shew manie delusions, to drive you from your worke. Feare God, but -feare him not." - -Then follows a long conjuration to constrain the appearance of the -spirit, which being effected, another is pronounced to compell him to -fetch the "fairie Sibylia." - -"This done, go to a place fast by, and in a faire parlor or chamber, -make a circle with chalke:—and make another circle for the fairie -_Sibylia_ to appeare in, foure foote from the circle thou art in, and -make no names therein, nor cast anie holie thing therein, but make a -circle round with chalke; and let the maister and his fellowe sit downe -in the first circle, the maister having the _booke_ in his hand, his -fellow having the _christall stone_ in his right hand, looking in the -stone when the _fairie_ dooth appeare." - -The fairie _Sibylia_ is then seventimes cited to appear:—"I conjure -thee _Sibylia_, O gentle virgine of fairies, by all the angels of -[Symbol: Jupiter] and their characters and vertues, and by all the -spirits of [Symbol: Jupiter] and [Symbol: Venus] and their characters -and vertues, and by all the characters that be in the firmament, and -by the king and queene of fairies, and their vertues, and by the faith -and obedience which thou bearest unto them,—I conjure thee O blessed -and beautifull virgine, by all the riall words aforesaid; I conjure -thee _Sibylia_ by all their vertues to appeare in that circle before -me visible, in the forme and shape of a beautifull woman in a bright -and white vesture, adorned and garnished most faire, and to appeare to -me quicklie without deceipt or tarrieng, and that thou faile not to -fulfill my will and desire effectuallie." - -The spirit in the christall stone having produced Sibylia within -the circle, she is bound to appear "at all times visiblie, as the -conjuration of words leadeth, written in the _booke_," and the ceremony -is wound up in the subsequent terms:—"I conjure thee _Sibylia_, O -blessed virgine of fairies, by the king and queene of fairies, and by -their vertues,—to give me good counsell at all times, and to come by -treasures hidden in the earth, and all other things that is to doo me -pleasure, and to fulfill my will, without any deceipt or tarrieng; nor -yet that thou shalt have anie power of my bodie or soule, earthlie or -ghostlie, nor yet to perish so much of my bodie as one haire of my -head. I conjure thee _Sibylia_ by all the riall words aforesaid, and by -their vertues and powers, I charge and bind thee by the vertue thereof, -to be obedient unto me, and to all the words aforesaid, and this bond -to stand betweene thee and me, upon paine of everlasting condemnation, -_Fiat, fiat, fiat_. Amen."[520:A] - -The _Sibylia_ of this incantation was, therefore, in origin, form, -manners, and potency, very much assimilated to the _Ariel_ of our -author's _Tempest_, being gentle, beautiful, yet possessing great -influence, and exerting high authority over numerous inferior essences -and powers. Thus the spirits employed by Prospero were subservient -to Ariel, and under his immediate direction, partly by his own rank -in the hierarchy of elemental existences, and partly by the aid of -Prospero.[520:B] - -The orders of spirits constituting the miraculous machinery of _The -Tempest_ are in _Hamlet_ ranged under four heads, - - —— "In sea or fire, in earth or air,"— - -a distribution which, though seeming naturally to spring from the usual -nomenclature of the elements, was not the division generally adopted; -for Scot, detailing the opinion of _Psellus_ "De Operatione Demonum," -classes the elementary spirits under six heads, by the addition of -_subterranean spirits_, and _spirits of darkness_, "_subterranei_ -et _lucifugi_;" and the _Talmudists_ and _Platonists_ add to these, -_solar_, _lunar_, and _stellar_ spirits; but our poet was probably -influenced in his enumeration, by the perusal of _Batman uppon -Bartholome_, who tells us, in a manner calculated to make an impression -on the mind, that "spirites are divided one from another, that some are -called _firie_, some _earthly_, some _airie_, some _watrie_. Heereupon -those foure rivers in Hell, are sayd to be of divers natures, to -wit, PHLEGETHON _firie_, COCYTUS _airie_, STYX _watrye_, ACHERON -_earthly_."[521:A] We are the more inclined to believe this to -have been the case, notwithstanding the obvious facility of such a -classification, because it appears to us, that in a prior part of this -book, the germ of _Caliban's_ generation may be detected. "_Incubus_," -observes this commentator on Bartholome, "doth infest and trouble -women, and _Succubus_ doth infest men, by the which wordes (taken from -Augustine "De Civitate Dei") it is manifest, that the godly, chast, and -honest minded, are not free from this gross subjection, although more -commonly the _dishonest_ are molested therewith. Some hold opinion, -that _Marline_ in the time of _Vortiger_ king of great _Britaine_ 470 -yeres before Christ, was borne after this manner. _Hieronimus Cardanus_ -in his tretise _De rebus contra naturam_, seemes to be of opinion that -spirits or divells may beget and conceive but not after y{e} common -manner, yet he reciteth a storie of a young damoisell of _Scotland_ -which was got with child of an inchaunted divell, thinking that he had -bene a fayre young man which had layen with hir, whereupon _she brought -foorth so deformed a monster, that he feared the beholders_." He then -proceeds to observe, that the spirits thus procreating are not of a -"subtill Materia," "but a more grose and earthie cause, as _Nymphæ_, -_Dryades_, _Hobgoblins_, and _Fairies_," adding, that two instances -of such connection, "it is no straunge secret to disclose," had taken -place "in fewe yeares heere in _Englande_."[522:A] - -We find Prospero, in fact, employing these four classes of spirits in -succession, but in every instance, through the immediate or remote -agency of _Ariel_. Those of _fire_ are thus described:— - - ——————— "Now on the beak, - Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin, - I flam'd amazement: Sometimes, I'd divide, - And burn in many places; on the top-mast, - The yards and bowsprit, would I flame distinctly, - Then meet, and join: Jove's lightnings, the precursors - O' the dreadful thunder-claps, more momentary - And sight-out-running were not:— - - —————————— "All, but mariners, - Plung'd in the foaming brine, and quit the vessel, - Then all a-fire with me: the king's son, Ferdinand, - With hair up-staring (then like reeds, not hair,) - Was the first man that leap'd; cried, _Hell is empty, - And all the devils are here_."[522:B] - -The spirits of the _water_ are divided into _sea-nymphs_, or _elves -of brooks_ and _standing lakes_. Under the first of these characters -they are most exquisitely introduced as solacing Ferdinand, after the -terrors of his shipwreck:— - - "Come unto these yellow sands, - And then take hands - Court'sied when you have, and kiss'd, - (The wild waves whist,) - Foot it featly here and there; - And, sweet sprites, the burden bear." - -Nothing, indeed, can be more appropriately wild than the imagery of the -ensuing song, which arrests the ear of Ferdinand whilst he is uttering -his astonishment at the previous melody:— - - "Where should this musick be? i' the air, or the earth? - It sounds no more:——Sitting on a bank, - Weeping again the king my father's wreck, - This musick crept by me upon the waters; - Allaying both their fury, and my passion, - With it's sweet air: thence I have follow'd it, - Or it hath drawn me rather:—But 'tis gone. - No, it begins again." - - "Full fathom five thy father lies; - Of his bones are coral made; - Those are pearls that were his eyes: - Nothing of him that doth fade, - But doth suffer a sea-change - Into something rich and strange. - _Sea-nymphs_ hourly ring his knell: - Hark! now I hear them,—ding—dong, bell."[523:A] - -Well may Ferdinand exclaim, "This is no mortal business!" - -The spirits of _earth_, or _goblins_, were usually employed by -Prospero as instruments of punishment. Thus Caliban, apprehensive of -chastisement for bringing in his wood too slowly, gives us a fearful -detail of their inflictions:— - - ——————————— "His spirits hear me— - For every trifle are they set upon me: - Sometime like apes, that moe and chatter at me, - And after bite me; then like hedg-hogs, which - Lie tumbling in my bare-foot way, and mount - Their pricks at my foot-fall: sometime am I - All wound with adders, who, with cloven tongues, - Do hiss me into madness."[524:A] - -They are afterwards commissioned, in the shape of hounds, to hunt this -hag-born monster, and his friends Trinculo and Stephano, Prospero -telling Ariel,— - - "Go, charge _my goblins_ that they grind their joints - With dry convulsions; shorten up their sinews - With aged cramps; and more pinch-spotted make them, - Than pard, or cat o'mountain."[524:B] - -Lastly, the spirits of _air_, as beings of a more delicate and refined -nature, are appointed by our magician to personate, under the direction -of Ariel, a "most majestic vision;" "spirits," says their great -task-master, - - ———————————— "which by mine art - I have from their confines call'd to enact - My present fancies;"[524:C] - -and which, on the fading of this "insubstantial pageant," melt "into -air, into thin air." - -It appears, also, that these etherial forms were occupied night and -day in chanting the most delicious melodies, or in suggesting the most -delightful dreams. The isle, says Caliban, - - ————————————— "is full of noises, - Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. - Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments - Will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices, - That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, - Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming, - The clouds, methought, would open, and shew riches - Ready to drop upon me; that, when I waked, - I cry'd to dream again."[524:D] - -But of the filmy texture, the tiny dimensions, and fairy recreations -of these elegant beings, we have the most exquisite description in the -song which the poet puts into the mouth of Ariel on the prospect of his -approaching freedom:— - - "Where the bee sucks, there suck I; - In a cowslip's bell I lie: - There I couch when owls do cry. - On the bat's back I do fly, - After summer merrily: - Merrily, merrily, shall I live now, - Under the blossom that hangs on the bough."[525:A] - -That all these elementary spirits were agents only on compulsion, and -their obedience the result solely of magic power, is evident from the -conduct of Ariel, and the language of Caliban; the former repeatedly -asking for liberty, and the latter declaring, that "they all do hate -him, as rootedly as I." - -It is equally clear, from various parts of this play, that each class -had a period prescribed for its operations: thus Prospero threatens -Caliban, that - - ———————————————— "urchins - Shall for that _vast of night that may work_, - All exercise on thee;"[525:B] - -and, in invoking the various elves, he speaks of those - - "that rejoice - To hear the solemn curfew;"[525:C] - -a doctrine which is still more minutely expressed in other dramas of -our poet. In _Hamlet_, for instance, we are told that, at "the _crowing -of the cock_," - - "The extravagant and erring spirit hies - To his confine;"[525:D] - -and in _King Lear_, that the foul "fiend Flibbertigibbet _begins at -curfew, and walks till the first cock_."[526:A] - -One principal reason for the reluctancy expressed by Ariel and his -associates was, that they were driven, by the irresistible control -of the magician, to perform deeds often alien to their dispositions, -and to which, if left to themselves, they were either partially or -totally inadequate, and, indeed, for the most part utterly averse. -We accordingly find Prospero, in his celebrated invocation to these -various ministers of his art, addressing them in a tone of high -authority; "by 'your' aid," he exclaims, - - "(Weak masters though ye be) I have be-dimm'd - The noon-tide sun, call'd forth the mutinous winds, - And 'twixt the green sea and the azur'd vault - Set roaring war: to the dread rattling thunder - Have I given fire, and rifted Jove's stout oak - With his own bolt: the strong bas'd promontory - Have I made shake; and by the spurs pluck'd up - The pine and cedar: graves, at my command, - Have wak'd their sleepers; oped, and let them forth - By my so potent art."[526:B] - -This is a passage, in which, with its immediately preceding context, -Shakspeare has been indebted, as Dr. Farmer observes, to Gelding's -translation of the Medea of Ovid; having evidently, in many parts, -adopted the very language of that version. But it is also strictly -conformable to the powers with which the magicians of his own day were -invested. "These," says Scot, "deale with no inferiour causes: these -fetch divels out of hell, and angels out of heaven; these raise up -what bodies they list, though they were dead, buried, and rotten long -before; and fetch soules out of heaven or hell.—These, I saie, take -upon them also the raising of tempests, and earthquakes, and to doo as -much as God himselfe can doo. These are no small fooles, they go not to -worke with a baggage tode, or a cat, as witches doo; but with a _kind -of majestie_, and with _authoritie_ they call up by name, and have at -their commandement—divells, who have under them, as their ministers, a -great multitude of legions of petty divels."[527:A] - -We may finally remark, that over the popular creed relative to the Art -of Magic, and which, as detailed in the common books and traditions -on the subject, presents us with little but what is either ridiculous -or revolting, Shakspeare has exerted a species of enchantment which -infinitely surpasses that of the most profound _Magi_ of classic or -of Gothic lore; eliciting from materials equally crude, gigantic, and -extravagant, the elements of beauty, sublimity, and awful wonder; and -unfolding such a picture of what _may be conceived_ within the reach -of human skill and science, and so much of the philosophy of poetry in -his glimpses of the spiritual world, that while we are spell-struck by -the creations of a fancy beyond all others glowing and romantic, we yet -feel ourselves in the presence, and bow before the throne, of Nature. - -34. OTHELLO: 1612. Mr. Malone has assigned the composition of this play -to the year 1611, though, as he confesses, with little satisfaction -to himself, in consequence of Dr. Warburton having considered the -following passage, in the third act of this play, as an allusion to the -institution of the order of Baronets, created by James the First, in -1611:— - - —————— "the hearts of old gave hands, - But our new heraldry is hands, not hearts."[527:B] - -The baronets, remarks Warburton, "had an addition to their paternal -arms, of an hand _gules_ in an escutcheon argent. And we are not -to doubt but that this was _the new heraldry_ alluded to by our -author."[527:C] - -That the text contains a sly allusion to the _new heraldry of hands_ -in the baronet's arms, there cannot, as Mr. Douce has justly observed, -be a doubt[528:A]; but, unfortunately for Mr. Malone's chronology, Dr. -Warburton was mistaken as to the _period_ of the grant of arms, Mr. -Chalmers having clearly proved, that "the additional armorial bearing, -of the bloody hand, was not given by the patent of creation.—But the -King, wishing to _ampliate_ his favour towards the baronets, granted -them, by a _second_ patent, dated the _28th of May 1612_, among other -preheminences, 'the arms of Ulster, that is, in a field argent, a hand -_geules_, or a _bloudie hand_.'"[528:B] - -Now, as we have it recorded, on the authority of Mr. Vertue's MS., that -_Othello_ was acted at court _EARLY in the year 1613_[528:C], -it might have been imagined that Mr. Chalmers's discovery would -have led him to the adoption of the epoch which we have chosen. -But, strange as it may appear, this is not the case; for, finding -Iago, in the subsequent act, remarking to Othello, in reference to -Desdemona, "If you are so fond over her iniquity, give her _patent_ -to [528:D]offend," he immediately disputes the testimony of Vertue, -which had been allowed in every other instance, and because a clamour -had occurred in the House of Commons against patents of monopoly, in -May, 1614, places _Othello_ in this very year[528:E], when, but three -pages before, he had spoken of "the _audience_" knowing, "from their -feelings, how much vexation had arisen from the _patents of monopoly_, -which _Queen Elizabeth_, and King James, had so frequently granted;" -and referring, in a note, to a declaration of Sir Francis Bacon to the -House of Commons, in which he tells them, "if you make a penal statute, -the _Queen_ will dispense with it, and grant a _patent_ with a _non -obstante_."[528:F] - -Convinced that an allusion so indeterminate, and which might have been -as much relished by an audience before, as after, the year 1614, ought -not to weigh against a positive and respectable testimony, we feel -no hesitation in expressing our belief that _Othello_ was written in -the interval elapsing between the 28th of May, 1612, and the 1st of -January, 1613. - -The tragedy of _Othello_, certainly _one_ of the first-rate productions -of its author, is yet, in our opinion, inferior, in point of -originality and poetic wealth, to _Macbeth_, to _Lear_, to _Hamlet_, -and _The Tempest_, though superior, perhaps, to every other play. It -is, without doubt, an unrivalled representation of the passion of -jealousy, in all its stages and effects; but the incidents, if we -except the catastrophe, are pretty closely copied from the novel of -_Giraldi Cinthio_, who, as Mr. Steevens has observed, "supplied our -author with a regular and circumstantial outline." It has also been -remarked by Mr. Dunlop, and with some truth, that "the characters of -Iago, Desdemona, and Cassio, are taken from Cinthio with scarcely -a shade of difference[529:A];" a declaration, however, which, with -respect to Desdemona, cannot be admitted without great qualification; -for with what beauty, with what pathetic impressiveness, is her part -filled up, when compared with the sketch of the Italian novellist! We -must also recollect, that although the incidents in which Othello is -concerned be nearly the same in both productions, the _character_ of -the Moor has no prototype in Cinthio, but is exclusively the property -of Shakspeare. - -But the most extraordinary criticism which was probably ever passed on -the general cast and execution of _Othello_, has fallen from the pen -of Mr. Steevens. "Should readers," says this gentleman, "who are alike -conversant with the appropriate excellences of poetry and painting, -pronounce on the reciprocal merits of these great productions, -(_Othello_ and _Macbeth_,) I must suppose they would describe them as -of different pedigrees. They would add, that one was of the school of -Raphael, the other from that of Michael Angelo; and that if the steady -Sophocles and Virgil should have decided in favour of _Othello_, the -remonstrances of the daring Æschylus and Homer would have claimed the -laurel for _Macbeth_."[530:A] - -That _Othello_, being more regular in the construction of its fable -than _Macbeth_, might, on that account, be preferred by Sophocles -and Virgil, will readily be granted; but that it has, in its general -style of composition, any pretensions to be classed as a production -of the school of Raffaelle, the leading features of which, according -to Sir Joshua Reynolds, are, in conception, _beauty_, _dignity_, and -_grace_, and in execution, _correctness of drawing_ and _purity of -taste_[530:B], is an imagination alike extravagant and unfounded. Were -we disposed to carry on the allusion to the art of painting, it might -be said with a much greater approximation to truth, that this very -impressive drama was _designed_ in the school of _Spagnuoletto_, and -tinted in that of _Rembrandt_; the dark strong manner of the former, -and the bold pencil and distinct colouring of the latter, being -infinitely more analogous to the strength of its characterisation, and -the forcible and often contrasted tone of its composition. - -What, for instance, can be more opposed in structure, or contrasted in -manner, more partaking of the rapid transition of light and shade which -distinguish the school of Rembrandt, than the characters of Othello -and Desdemona. From the one we involuntarily retire, appalled by the -storm of vindictive passion which agitates his breast; while the other, -all tenderness, gentleness, and humility, is entwined about our hearts -by the most fascinating ties of simplicity and spotless purity. The -prevailing tone of the picture is, nevertheless, gloomy and terrific in -the extreme, and the denouement such, as not even Spagnuoletto, though -remarkable for the direful nature of his subjects, has ever exceeded. - -We must acknowledge, however, that there is a grandeur and sublimity -in the delineation of Othello, of which the painter just mentioned had -no conception; for though in his jealousy he is sensual and ferocious, -apart from this horrid phrenzy which burns within him quenchless as -the fervors of his native climate, he exhibits many of the noblest -virtues of humanity, being open, magnanimous, and brave, confiding, -grateful, and affectionate; and, considering the subtlety with which -his suspicions are fostered and inflamed, he becomes at length, from -the intensity of his sufferings, an object both of pity and admiration. - -Iago, the artful instrument of his ruin, the most cool and malignant -villain which the annals of iniquity have ever recorded, would, -from the detestation which accompanies his every action, be utterly -insupportable in the representation, were it not for the talents, for -the skill and knowledge in the springs and principles of human thought -and feeling, which he constantly displays, and which, fortunately -for the moral of the scene, while they excite and keep alive an -eager interest and curiosity, shield him not from our abhorrence and -condemnation. - -Amid this whirlwind and commotion of hatred and revenge, the modest, -the artless, the unsuspicious Desdemona, seems, in the soothing but -transient influence which she exerts, like an evening star, that beams -lovely, for a moment, on the dark heavings of the tempest, and then is -lost for ever! - -35. TWELFTH NIGHT: 1613. When Mr. Malone adopted the following passage, -on the suggestion of Mr. Tyrwhitt[531:A], as a sufficient basis for -the assignment of this play to the year 1614, he appears to have been -easily and egregiously misled. Antonio, addressing Sir Toby Belch, -says,— - - ——————— "If this young gentleman - Have done offence, _I take the fault on me_:" - -to which the knight replies:—"Nay, if you be an _undertaker_, I am -for you[532:A];" a retort which Mr. Tyrwhitt imagined to contain an -allusion to some persons who, in 1614, "had _undertaken_, through -their influence in the House of Commons, to carry things according -to His Majesty's wishes;" and who, in consequence of this conduct, -were stigmatised with the invidious name of _undertakers_.[532:B] But -we find, from a reference to the Journals of the House of Commons, -that the terms _Takers_ and _Undertakers_ had been frequently used in -King James's parliaments, anteriorly to 1614[532:C], and Mr. Ritson -pertinently observes, that "_Undertakers_ were persons employed by -the King's purveyors to take up provisions for the royal household, -and were no doubt exceedingly odious[532:D];" so that an allusion to -this epithet, in a _political_ sense, if one were here intended, could -not serve to appropriate the date of 1614. This being the case, there -can be no hesitation in adopting the opinion of Ritson and Mason, who -conceive Sir Toby intended a mere quibble on the word, of which the -simple meaning is, that of one man taking upon himself the quarrel of -another.[532:D] - -Having set aside, therefore, any chronological inference from this -source, let us turn to Mr. Chalmers, who seems to have determined the -date of this drama on better grounds. Yet of the three intimations -on which he has formed his conclusion, the _first_, derived from a -supposed reference to the British Undertakers for the plantation of -Ulster, we believe to be entitled to as little credit as the kindred -hypothesis of Mr. Malone. The _second_, which is founded on the evident -intention of our poet to place in a ludicrous light the then very -fashionable rage for duelling, is exclusively his own, and carries -with it no inconsiderable weight. "In _Twelfth Night_," he remarks, -"Shakspeare tried to effect, by ridicule, what the state was unable -to perform by legislation. The duels, which were so incorrigibly -frequent in that age, were thrown into a ridiculous light by _the -affair_ between Viola and Sir Andrew Ague-cheek. Sir Francis Bacon -had lamented, in the House of Commons, on the 3d of March, 1609-10, -the great difficulty of redressing the evil of duels, owing to the -corruption of man's nature.[533:A] King James tried to effect what the -Parliament had despaired of effecting; and, in 1613, he issued 'An -Edict and Censure against Private Combats[533:B],' which was conceived -with great vigour, and expressed with decisive force; but, whether with -the help of Bacon, or not, I am unable to ascertain. This is another -remarkable event in 1613, which the commentators have overlooked, -though it may have caught Shakspeare's eye."[533:C] - -The _third_, common to both chronologers, but which has only received -its due influence, in the chronological scale, from the statement -of Mr. Chalmers, turns on the declaration of Fabian to Sir Toby, -that he would not give his part of the sport, alluding to the plot -against Malvolio, "for a pension of thousands to be paid from the -Sophy[533:D];" and on the assertion of Sir Toby to Sir Andrew -Ague-cheek, that Viola had been "fencer to the Sophy."[533:E] Now it -appears from Mr. Chalmers, that "in 1613, Sir Anthony Shirley published -his travels into Persia; with his _dangers_ and _distresses_, and his -_strange_ and _unexpected deliverances_;" that "Sir Robert Shirley, the -brother of Sir Anthony, arrived in October, 1611, as Ambassador from -_the Sophy_; bringing with him a Persian Princess, as his wife;" that -"he remained here, through the whole of the year 1612, at an expence -to King James of four pounds a day," and that "he departed in January, -1613."[533:F] - -These intimations induced Mr. Chalmers to infer, "that _Twelfth Night_ -was written in 1613, while these various objects were in the eye, or -in the recollection of the public;" a conclusion which we see no reason -to dispute. - -The dramatic career of our immortal poet could not be closed with a -production, in its kind, more exquisitely finished, than the comedy -of _Twelfth Night_. The serious and the humorous scenes are alike -excellent; the former - - ——————— "give a very echo to the seat - Where love is thron'd,"[534:A] - -and are tinted with those romantic hues, which impart to passion the -fascinations of fancy, and which stamp the poetry of Shakspeare with -a character so transcendently his own, so sweetly wild, so tenderly -imaginative. Of this description are the loves of Viola and Orsino, -which, though involving a few improbabilities of incident, are told -in a manner so true to nature, and in a strain of such melancholy -enthusiasm, as instantly put to flight all petty objections, and leave -the mind rapt in a dream of the most delicious sadness. The fourth -scene of the second act more particularly breathes the blended emotions -of love, of hope, and of despair, opening with a highly interesting -description of the soothing effects of music, in allaying the pangs of -unrequited affection, and in which the attachment of Shakspeare to the -simple melodies of the olden time is strongly and beautifully expressed. - -From the same source which has given birth to this delightful portion -of the drama, appears to spring a large share of that rich and -frolic humour which distinguishes its gayer incidents. The delusion -of Malvolio, in supposing himself the object of Olivia's desires, -and the ludicrous pretensions of Sir Andrew Ague-cheek to the same -lady, fostered as they are by the comic manœuvres of the convivial -Sir Toby, and the keen-witted Maria, furnish, together with the -professional drollery of Feste the jester, an ever-varying fund of -pleasantry and mirth; scenes in which wit and raillery are finely -blended with touches of original character, and strokes of poignant -satire. - -To these _thirty-five genuine_ plays[535:A], as they may be termed, a -large number, when we consider that the life of their author extended -very little beyond half a century, interest and unauthorised rumour -have added a long list of spurious productions. Among these, we -have assigned our reasons for placing what has been commonly called -the _First Part of King Henry the Sixth_, but which, in Henslowe's -catalogue of plays performed at the Rose theatre, is simply designated -by the title of _Henry the Sixth_. In the same catalogue, also, is to -be found _Titus Andronicus_, which, though printed like _Henry_, in the -first folio, has, if possible, still fewer pretensions to authenticity, -having been clearly ascertained by the commentators, both from external -and internal evidence, to possess no claim to such distinction, and to -hold no affinity with the undisputed works of Shakspeare.[536:A] - -In a new edition of the _Supplement_, therefore, which Mr. Malone -published in 1780, it is our recommendation that these two pieces be -inserted, as proper companions for _Locrine_, _Sir John Oldcastle_, -_Lord Cromwell_, _The London Prodigal_, _The Puritan_, and _A Yorkshire -Tragedy_. Of these wretched dramas, it has been now positively -proved, through the medium of the Henslowe Papers, "that the name of -Shakspeare, which is printed at length in the title-pages of _Sir -John Oldcastle_, 1600, and _The London Prodigal_, 1605, was affixed -to those pieces by a knavish bookseller, without any foundation," the -following entry occurring in the manuscript, on the 16th of October, -1599:—"Received by me Thomas Downton, of Philip Henslowe, to pay Mr. -Monday, Mr. Drayton, Mr. Wilson, and Hathway, for _The first part of -the Lyfe of Sir Jhon Ouldcastell_, and in earnest of _the Second Pte_, -for the use of the company, ten pound, I say received 10lb."[536:B] - -Not content with this ample addition, which first appeared in the -folio of 1664, the public has been further imposed upon by another -illegitimate group, principally derived from a blind confidence in -the accuracy of catalogues, and the fabrication of booksellers. From -these sources, and from the authority of a volume formerly in the -possession of King Charles the Second, and lettered on the back, -SHAKSPEARE, Vol. I., the subsequent enumeration has been given -by Mr. Steevens, viz.:—1. _The Arraignment of Paris_; 2. _The Birth -of Merlin_; 3. _Edward III._; 4. _Fair Emm_; 5. _The Merry Devil of -Edmonton_; and 6. _Mucedorus_; to which may be added, from Warburton's -Collection of Old Dramas, where they are said to have been entered -on the books of the Stationers' Company, as written by Shakspeare, -7. _Duke Humphrey_, a Tragedy; and 8. The History of _King Stephen_, -both registered, June 29. 1660.[537:A] George Peele, it appears, was -the author of _The Arraignment of Paris_[537:B], and a writer, who -signs himself T.B., of _The Merry Devil of Edmonton_[537:C], while the -ascription of the plays, once in Warburton's library, was probably -owing, at that distance of time, either to the ignorance, credulity, or -fraud, of some heedless or mercenary trader. - -To enter into any critical discussion of the merits or defects of these -pieces, would be an utter abuse of time. We do not believe that, either -in the play of _Henry the Sixth_, or _Titus Andronicus_, twenty lines -can be found of Shakspeare's composition; and, in the residue of this -first group, consisting of six more, we decidedly think not so many. -In the second, including also eight dramas, the only production now -extant, of any worth, is _The Merry Devil of Edmonton_, which contains -a few pleasing and interesting passages expressed with ease and -simplicity. - -We have still to notice some vague reports relative to our poet's -occasional junction with his contemporaries in dramatic composition: -thus, we are told, that he assisted Ben Jonson in his [537:D]_Sejanus_; -Davenport, in his _Henry the First_[537:E], and Fletcher, in his _Two -Noble Kinsmen_.[537:F] Of these traditional stories, the first has been -very deservedly given up, as "entirely out of the question[538:A];" -the second rests merely on the unsupported assertion of a Stationers' -Register[538:B], and the third, though more express and distinct, has -been completely refuted by Colman and Steevens.[538:C] Indeed, there -is much reason to suppose that _The Two Noble Kinsmen_ was not written -until after the death of Shakspeare.[538:D] - -From what has been said, under each article of the preceding -chronology, perhaps no very inadequate idea may be formed of the -DRAMATIC CHARACTER of our poet; but, it will be expected -here, and it is indeed essential to a just and facile comprehension -of the subject, that a summary or condensed view of this character be -attempted, in order, by collecting the scattered rays into a focus, to -throw upon it a due degree of brilliancy and strength. - -With the view of ascertaining the peculiar GENIUS OF HIS DRAMA, it -is necessary that we should attend to a distinction, which has been -very correctly and luminously laid down by some late German critics, -particularly by _Herder_ and _Schlegel_, who oppose the modern to the -ancient drama, under the appellation of the _Gothic_ or _romantic_, -assimilating the _antique_ or _classical_ theatre to _a group in -sculpture_, and the _Gothic_ or _romantic_ to _an extensive picture_, -_separation_ being the essence of the _former_, and _combination_ of -the latter; or, in other words, that the spirit of the Grecian drama is -_plastic_, and that of the English _picturesque_. - -In fact, the _Romantic_ Drama is the result of that great change which -took place in society on the extinction of the western empire, when the -blended influence of Christianity and Chivalry, operating on the stern -virtues of the Teutonic tribes, gave birth to a spirit of seriousness -and sentiment, of love and honour, of enterprise and adventure, which -led to a constant aspiration after the great, the wonderful, the -wild, and, by mingling the melancholy of a sublime religion with an -enthusiastic homage for female worth, threw an anxious but unparalleled -interest over all the relations of existence, and all the products of -intellectual effort. - -The effect of this combination on the poetry of the middle ages, and -more especially on that of the immediately subsequent centuries, -in impressing it with an awful and mysterious character, has been -beautifully sketched by Schlegel, particularly where, as in the -following passage, he accounts for the solemn and contemplative cast -of its structure, by tracing its dependency on the genius of our -faith. "Among the Greeks," he observes, "human nature was in itself -all-sufficient; they were conscious of no wants, and aspired at no -higher perfection than that which they could actually attain by the -exercise of their own faculties. We, however, are taught by superior -wisdom that man, through a high offence, forfeited the place for which -he was originally destined; and that the whole object of his earthly -existence is to strive to regain that situation, which, if left to his -own strength, he could never accomplish. The religion of the senses -had only in view the possession of outward and perishable blessings; -and immortality, in so far as it was believed, appeared in an obscure -distance like a shadow, a faint dream of this bright and vivid -futurity. The very reverse of all this is the case with the Christian; -every thing finite and mortal is lost in the contemplation of infinity; -life has become shadow and darkness, and the first dawning of our real -existence opens in the world beyond the grave. Such a religion must -waken the foreboding, which slumbers in every feeling heart, to the -most thorough consciousness, that the happiness after which we strive -we can never here attain; that no external object can ever entirely -fill our souls; and that every mortal enjoyment is but a fleeting -and momentary deception. When the soul, resting as it were under the -willows of exile, breathes out its longing for its distant home, the -prevailing character of its songs must be melancholy. Hence the poetry -of the ancients was the poetry of enjoyment, and ours is that of -desire: the former has its foundation in the scene which is present, -while the latter hovers betwixt recollection and hope. Let me not be -understood to affirm that every thing flows in one strain of wailing -and complaint, and that the voice of melancholy must always be loudly -heard. As the austerity of tragedy was not incompatible with the joyous -views of the Greeks, so the romantic poetry can assume every tone, even -that of the most lively gladness; but still it will always, in some -shape or other, bear traces of the source from which it originated. The -feeling of the moderns is, upon the whole, more intense, their fancy -more incorporeal, and their thoughts more contemplative."[540:A] - -Who does not perceive that this reference to futurity, this -apprehension of the possible consequences of death, which chills the -blood with awful emotion, and mingles fear even with the energies of -hope, is peculiarly characteristic of the serious drama of Shakspeare? -In what poet, for instance, shall we find the terrors of dissolution -painted with such appalling strength? where nature recoiling with such -involuntary horror from the thoughts of extinction? and where those -blended feelings which, on the eve of our departure, even agitate -the good, ere the forms of earthly love sink into night, and a world -unknown receives the disembodied spirit? Need we point to _Henry the -Sixth_, to _Hamlet_, to _Measure for Measure_, to _Macbeth_, and -to many others, for proofs of this continual appeal to life beyond -the grave, this perpetual effort to unite, with influential power, -these two states of our existence, certainly one of the most striking -distinctions which separate the _romantic_ from the _antique_ style -of dramatic fiction, and in which, as in every other feature of this -species of poetry, Shakspeare was the first who, in our own or any -other country, exhibited such unrivalled excellence, as to constitute -him, in every just sense of the term, the founder of this species of -the drama. - -For have we not, in his productions, the noblest model of that -comprehensive form which, including under one view all the varieties -and vicissitudes of human being, presents us with a picture in which -not only the virtues and the vices, but the follies and the frailties, -the levities and the mirth of man, are harmonised and blended into a -perfect whole, connected too, and that intimately, with a vast range -of surrounding circumstances which, both in the foreground and in the -distance, are so managed, as, by the illusory aid of tinting, grouping, -and shadowing, to assist in the production of a great and determinate -effect. To evince the superiority of this mode of composition over that -which prevailed on the Grecian stage, it is only necessary to reflect, -that the concatenated series of events which is unfolded, with so -much unity of design, in the single drama of _Macbeth_, could only be -represented, on the simple and confined plan of the school of Athens, -by a trilogy, or succession of distinct tragedies! Can a system, thus -necessarily broken into insulated parts, be put into competition with -the rich and full evolution of the _romantic_ or Shakspearean drama? - -It is evident, therefore, that the _romantic_ or _picturesque_ drama -should be judged by laws and regulations of its own; that it is a -distinct order of art, displaying great originality and invention, -and a much more perfect and profound view of human life and its -dependencies, than any anterior effort in the same department of -literature; and as all the productions of our poet are exclusively -referable to this order, of which he is, without dispute, the greatest -master, a brief enquiry into the CONDUCT OF HIS DRAMA cannot fail to -throw some light on the subject. - -Of the three unities, upon which so much stress has been laid by the -French critics, Shakspeare has in general, and, for the most part, -very judiciously, rejected two. One of these, the _unity of place_, -was, indeed, indissolubly connected with the tragedy of the Greeks; -for as the chorus was continually on their stage, no curtain could -be dropped, nor was any change of scene therefore possible; but the -_unity of time_ was, most assuredly, neither rigidly observed by -them, nor did it constitute any essential part of their system; on -the contrary, Aristotle, after remarking, "that the dramatic fable -should have such a length that the connexion of the circumstances -may easily be remembered," immediately afterwards declares of this -very length, that "as far as regards the time of the performance -and the spectators, it has no relation to the poetic art," and that -"as to the natural boundary of the action, _the greater it is the -better, provided it be perspicuous_."[542:A] In fact, as to _unity -of place_, no rule was required, this limitation, as we have seen, -being the inevitable consequence of the defective and insulated -construction of their dramatic fable; and as to _unity of time_, the -observation which we have just quoted from Aristotle is decisive, the -circumstances attending both these _supposed_ laws being such, as -fully to warrant the assertion of Mr. Twining, who, commenting on the -Stagyrite, observes, that "with respect to the _strict_ unities of -_time_ and _place_, no such rules were imposed on the Greek poets by -the critics, or by themselves; nor are imposed on _any_ poet, either -by the _nature_, or the _end_, of the dramatic imitation itself;" and -we may add, that, in as far as both have been simultaneously reduced -to practice, either by the Greeks themselves, or by their still more -scrupulous imitators the French, have interest and probability been -proportionably sacrificed. - -Whether Shakspeare, therefore, acting solely from his own judgment, -rejected, or, guided merely by the usage of his day, overlooked, these -unities, a great point was gained for all the lovers of nature and -verisimilitude. For, omitting regulations which, though generally or -partially observed by the ancients, were either altogether arbitrary, -or only locally necessary, he has adopted two of which it may be -said, that neither time, circumstance, nor opinion, can diminish the -utility. To _unity of action_, the indispensable requisite of every -well-constituted fable, he has added, what in him is found more perfect -than in any other writer, _unity of feeling_, as applicable not only to -individual character, but to the prevailing tone and influence of each -play. Thus, while it must be confessed that the former is, in a few -instances, broken in upon, by the admission of extraneous personages or -occurrences, in no respect is the latter, throughout the whole range of -his productions, forgotten or violated. - -It is to this sedulous attention in the preservation of _unity of -feeling_, that Shakspeare owes much of his fascination and powers of -impression over the hearts and minds of his audience. It has been -duly panegyrised by the critics with respect to his delineation of -character; but as referable to the expression and effect of an entire -drama, it has been too much overlooked. What, for example, can be more -distinct than the tone of feeling which pervades every portion of -_Romeo and Juliet_ and _Macbeth_, and how consistently is this tone -preserved throughout each! Through the first, from its opening to its -close, breathe the freshness and the fragrance of youth and spring, -their sweetness, their innocency, and alas! their transiency; while in -the second, a tempest of more than midnight horror, and the still more -turbulent strife of human vice and passion, howl for ever in our ears! -Again, how delightful is the tender and philosophic melancholy, which -steals upon us in every scene of _As You Like It_, and how contrasted -with the bustle and vivacity, the light and effervescent wit which -animate, and sparkle in, the dialogue of _Much Ado about Nothing_!—We -consider this _unity_, by which the separate parts of a drama are -rendered so strictly subservient to a single and a common object, -namely, the production of a combined and uniform impression, as one of -the most remarkable proofs of the depth and comprehensiveness of the -mind of Shakspeare. - -This excellence is the more extraordinary, as no part in the _conduct -of his drama_ is perhaps so prominent, as that mixture of seriousness -and mirth, of comic and tragic effect, which springs from the very -structure itself of the _romantic drama_. But this interchange of -emotion serves only to place the intention of the poet, and the -fulness of his success, more completely in our view; for he has almost -always contrived, that the ludicrous personages of his play should -give essential aid to the pre-determined effect of the composition -as a whole; and this co-operation is even most apparent, where the -impression intended to be excited is the most tragic: thus the anguish -which lacerates the bosom of Lear, when deserted by his children, and -driven forth amid the horrors of the tempest, is augmented almost to -madness by the sarcastic drollery of the fool; developed, indeed, with -an energy and strength which no other expedient could have accomplished. - -These contrasts, which are, in fact, of the very essence of the -_romantic drama_, as requiring richer and more varied accompaniments -than the _antique_ species, form, in their whole spirit and effect, -a sufficient apology, were one in the least necessary, for the -_tragi-comic_ texture of our author's principal productions. - -By embracing in one view the whole of the checkered scene of human -existence, its joys and sorrows, its perpetually shifting circumstances -and relations, and by blending these into one harmonious picture, -Shakspeare has achieved a work to which the ancient world had nothing -similar, and which, of all the efforts of human genius, demands -perhaps the widest and profoundest exertion of intellect. It demands a -knowledge of man, both as a genus and a species; of man, as acting from -himself, and of man in society under all its aspects and revolutions: -it demands a knowledge of what has influenced and modified his -character from the earliest dawn of record; and, above all, it demands -a conversancy of the most intimate kind with his constitution, moral, -intellectual, and religious; so that in detaching a portion of history -for the purposes of dramatic composition, the philosopher shall be as -discernible in the execution as the poet. - -It is this depth and comprehension of design in the conduct of his -drama, this amplitude of "a mind reflecting ages past[545:A]," which, -while it has rendered Shakspeare an object of admiration to the -intelligent student of nature, has occasioned him to be so often and so -grossly misinterpreted by the narrow critic and the careless reader. - -To these brief remarks on the _Genius_ and _Conduct_, it will -be necessary to add a few observations on the _Characters_, the -_Passions_, the _Comic Painting_, and the _Imaginative Powers_, of his -drama. - - "To give a stage, - Ample, and true with life,—voice, action, age, - To story coldly told— - To raise our ancient sovereigns from their herse, - To enliven their pale trunks," - -and to make us - - "Joy in their joy, and tremble at their rage," - -is, indeed, a task of the utmost magnitude and difficulty, but one in -which our poet has succeeded with a felicity altogether unparalleled. -His _characters_ live and breathe before us; we perceive not only what -they say and do, but what they feel and think; and we are tempted -to believe, that like some magician of old, he possessed the art of -transfusing himself into the frame, and of speaking through the organs, -of those whom he wished to represent; so exactly has he drawn, without -deviation from the general laws and broad tract of life, each class and -condition of mankind. - -Whether he delineate the possessor of a throne, or the tenant of a -cottage; the warrior in battle, or the statesman in debate; youth in -its fervour, or old age in its repose; guilt in agony, or innocence -in peace; the votaries of pleasure, or the victims of despair; we -behold each character developing itself, not through the medium of -self-description, but, as in actual experience, through the influence -and progression of events, and through the re-action of surrounding -agents. Thus, from the mutual working of conflicting interests and -emotions, from their various powers of coalescence and repulsion, the -characters of Shakspeare are, like those in real life, evolved with -an energy and strength, with a freedom and boldness of outline which -will, probably for ever, stamp them with the seal of unapproachable -excellence. - -Nor is he less distinguished for an illimitable sway over the -_Passions_:— - - ——————————— "To move - A chilling pity— - To strike—both joy and ire; - To steer the affections; and by heavenly fire - Mold us anew,— - Yet so to temper passion, that our ears - Take pleasure in their pain, and eyes in tears - Both weep and smile"— - -are some of the noblest attributes of the dramatic poet, and more -peculiarly characteristic of Shakspeare than of any other writer. The -birth and progress of the numerous passions which awaken _pity_ and -_terror_, he has unfolded, indeed, with such minute fidelity to nature, -that it is scarcely possible, as Madame De Stael has observed, to -sympathise thoroughly with Shakspeare's sufferers, without tasting also -of the bitter experience of real life. - -The _pathos_ of Shakspeare is either simple or figurative, in -accordancy with the character, and in proportion to the intensity of -the feeling, from which it emanates. The sigh of suffering merit, -or the pang of unrequited love, affects us most when clothed in the -language of perfect simplicity; but the energy, the paroxysm of extreme -sorrow, naturally bursts into figurative language, nay often demands -that very play of imagery and words, for which our bard has been -ignorantly condemned, but which, like laughter amid the horrors of -madness, can alone impress us with an adequately keen sense of the -overwhelming agony of the soul. Of these two modes of exciting pity, we -possess very striking examples in the sufferings of Katherine in _Henry -the Eighth_, and in the parental afflictions of Constance in _King -John_. - -The excitement, indeed, of unallayed pity must necessarily either be -very short, or very painful, and it has therefore been the endeavour -of our dramatist, according to the language of the fine old bard just -quoted, - - ———— "so to temper passion, that our ears - Take pleasure in their pain;" - -and this he has effected, and often with great skill and judgment, by -a transient intermixture of playful fancy or comic allusion, of which, -instances without number are to be found dispersed throughout his plays. - -Yet great as we acknowledge the influence of Shakspeare to have been, -in eliciting the tears of pity and compassion, he has surpassed not -only others, but himself, in the power and extent of his dominion -over the sources and operation of _terror_. "It may be said of crimes -painted by Shakspeare," remarks an accomplished critic, "as the Bible -says of Death, that he is the KING OF TERRORS[547:A];" an assertion -fully warranted by an appeal to _Richard_, to _Lear_, to _Hamlet_, to -_Macbeth_, where this soul-harrowing emotion, as derived from natural -or supernatural causes, from remorseless cruelty, from phrenzy-stricken -sorrow, from conscious guilt or withering fear, is depicted with an -energy so awful and appalling as to blanch the cheek and chill the -blood of every intellectual being. More especially do we pursue his -creations with trembling hope and breathless apprehension, when he -traces the wanderings of despair, when he presents to our view that -"shipwreck of moral nature," in which "the storm of life surpasses its -strength."[548:A] - -The scenes which are necessarily required for the developement of -villany and its artifices, must, of course, disclose many deeds -of atrocity and vice, from which the unpolluted mind recoils with -shuddering astonishment; but vividly, and justly too, as these have -been portrayed by our poet, in all their native deformity, he has, -with only one or two exceptions, so managed the exhibition, that, -unless to very feeble minds, the impression never becomes too painful -to be borne. Some qualifying property in the head or heart of the -offender, or some repose from the intervention of more amiable or more -cheerful characters, occurs to subdue to its proper tone what would -otherwise amount to torture. Thus the disgust which would be apt to -arise from contemplating the gigantic iniquity of _Richard the Third_, -is corrected by an almost involuntary admiration of his intellectual -vigour; and the merciless revenge of Shylock, being perpetually broken -in upon by the alleviating harmonies of love and pity in the characters -of those who surround him, passes not beyond the due limits of tragic -emotion.[548:B] - -The inimitable felicity, indeed, with which Shakspeare has -intermingled the finest chords of _pity_ and of _terror_, such as we -listen to, with unsated rapture in his _Romeo_, his _Lear_, and his -_Othello_, has been a subject of eulogium to thousands, but never can -it meet, from mortal tongue, with praise of corresponding worth. For -who shall paint the beauty of those transitions, when on a night of -horror breaks the first bright ray of heaven, the dawn of light and -hope; when, like the sounds of an Æolian harp amid the pauses of a -tempest, the still soft voice of love succeeds the tumult of despair, -and whispers to the troubled spirit accents of mercy, peace, and -pardon? - -It is perhaps only of Shakspeare that it can be said with truth, -that his _comic_ possesses the same unrivalled merit as his _tragic_ -drama. The force and versatility of his _painting_ in this department, -its richness, its depth, and its expression, and, more than all, the -originality and fecundity of invention which it every where exhibits, -astonish, and almost overwhelm the mind in its endeavour to form -an estimate of powers so gigantic, and which may not be altogether -incommensurate with its scope and comprehensiveness. Whether we -consider his delineations of this kind as the product of pure fiction, -or founded on the costume of his age, they alike delight us by their -novelty and their adhesion to nature. _Falstaff_ and _Parolles_ are, -in many respects, as much the birth of fancy as _Caliban_ or _Ariel_; -but being strictly confined within the pale of humanity, and displaying -all its features with living truth and distinctness, the _inventive -felicity_ of their _combination_ is apt to escape us through our -familiarity with its component parts. His _Fools_, or Clowns, on the -contrary, were, in his time, of daily occurrence, and not only to be -found in the court of the monarch, and the castle of the baron, but in -the hall of the squire, and even beneath the roof of the churchman; -yet, from comparing what history has recorded of this motley tribe -with the spirited sketches of our author, how has he heightened their -wit and sarcasm!—to such a degree, indeed, that they have frequently -become in his hands personages of poetic growth, wild and grotesque, it -is true, yet powerfully original. - -This pre-eminence of Shakspeare in the characterisation of his fools -probably led to their dramatic extinction; for it must have been found -very difficult to support their tone and spirit after such a model. -Beaumont and Fletcher, it has been observed, have but rarely introduced -them; Ben Jonson and Massinger never[550:A]; and yet the _court_-fool -had not ceased to exist in the reign of Charles the First, nor the -_domestic_ until the commencement of the eighteenth century.[550:B] - -Another of the great distinctions which have elevated Shakspeare so -completely above the _dramatic_ class of poets, is the splendour and -infinity of his _imagination_— - - "To out-run hasty time, retrieve the fates, - Roll back the heavens, blow ope the iron gates - Of death and Lethe——by art to learn - The physiognomy of shades, and give - Them sudden birth—'and' from 'his' lofty throne, - Create and rule a world, and work upon - Mankind by secret engines," - -was deemed, even by his contemporaries, the peculiar destiny of our -bard; a destination that has been still more thoroughly felt and -acknowledged by succeeding ages, and by which, without sacrificing -any of the more legitimate provinces of the drama, he has acquired -for his poetry that stamp of glowing inspiration, which more than -places it on a level with the daring flights of Homer, of Dante, or of -Milton; while, at the same time, there exclusively belongs to him an -insinuating loveliness of fancy that endears him to our feelings, and -brings with it a recognition of that visionary happiness which charmed -our earliest youth, when all around us breathed enchantment, and the -heart alone responded to the fairy melodies of love and hope. - -What contrast, for instance, of poetic power has ever exceeded that -which we experience in passing from the mysterious horrors of _Hamlet_ -and _Macbeth_, from the visitations of the midnight spectre, and the -unhallowed rites of witchcraft, to the sportive revelry of the tripping -elves, and the exquisite delights of Ariel; from the fiend-like -character of Iago, from the soul-harrowing distraction of Lear, and -the unearthly wildness of Edgar, to that music of paradise which falls -melting from the tongue of Juliet or Miranda! - -Were we to lengthen this summary by any dissertation on the _morality_ -of our author's drama, it might justly be considered as a work of -supererogation. So completely, indeed, does this, the most valuable -result of composition, pervade every portion of his dramatic writings, -that we can scarcely open a page of his best plays without being -forcibly struck by its lessons of virtue and utility; such as are -applicable, not only to extraordinary occasions, but to the common -business and routine of life; and such as, while they must make every -individual better acquainted with his own nature and conditional -destiny, are calculated, beyond any other productions of unrevealed -wisdom, to improve that nature, and to render that destiny more happy -and exalted. - -Still less is it necessary to comment on the _faults_ of Shakspeare, -for they lie immediately on the surface. When we add, that some -coarsenesses and indelicacies which, however, as they excite no -passion and flatter no vice, are, in a moral light, not injurious; -some instances of an injudicious play on words, and a few violations, -not of essential, but merely of technical, costume, form their chief -amount, no little surprise, it is possible, may be excited; but let us -recollect, that many of the defects which prejudice and ignorance have -attributed to Shakspeare, have, on being duly weighed and investigated, -assumed the character of positive excellences. Among these, for -example, it will be sufficient to mention the composite or mixed nature -of his drama, and his general neglect of the unities of time and place, -features in the conduct of his plays which, though they have for a long -period heaped upon his head a torrent of contemptuous abuse, are, at -length, acknowledged to have laid the foundation, and to have furnished -the noblest model of a dramatic literature, in its principles and -spirit infinitely more profound and comprehensive than that which has -descended to us from the shores of Greece. - -It was in reference to the narrow and mistaken views which were once -entertained of the genius of Shakspeare; it was in refutation of the -calumnies of Rymer, and the senseless invective of Voltaire, who had -charged us with an extravagant admiration of this _barbarian_, that -Mr. Morgan, forty years ago, stood forward the avowed champion, and, we -may add, one of the most eloquent defenders which his country has yet -produced, of _England's_ calumniated _Bard_. - -Speaking of the magic influence which our poet almost invariably exerts -over his auditors, he remarks, that "on such an occasion, a fellow, -like _Rymer_, waking from his trance, shall lift up his Constable's -staff, and charge this great Magician, this daring _practicer of -arts inhibited_, in the name of _Aristotle_, to surrender; whilst -_Aristotle_ himself, disowning his wretched officer, would fall -prostrate at his feet and acknowledge his supremacy.—'O supreme -of Dramatic excellence! (_might he say_) not to me be imputed the -insolence of fools. The bards of _Greece_ were confined within -the narrow circle of the Chorus, and hence they found themselves -constrained to practice, for the most part, the precision, and copy -the details of nature. I followed them, and knew not that a larger -circle might be drawn, and the drama extended to the whole reach of -human genius. Convinced, I see that a more compendious _nature_ may be -obtained; a nature of _effects_ only, to which neither the relations -of place, or continuity of time, are always essential. Nature, -condescending to the faculties and apprehensions of man, has drawn -through human life a regular chain of visible causes and effects: But -Poetry delights in surprize, conceals her steps, seizes at once upon -the heart, and obtains the sublime of things without betraying the -rounds of her ascent: True Poesy is _magic_, not _nature_; an effect -from causes hidden or unknown. To the Magician I prescribed no laws; -his law and his power are one; his power is his law.—If his end is -obtained, who shall question his course? Means, whether apparent or -hidden, are justified in Poesy by success; but then most perfect and -most admirable when most concealed.'— - -"'Yes,' whatever may be the neglect of some, or the censure of others, -there are those, who firmly believe that this wild, this uncultivated -Barbarian has not yet obtained one half of his fame; and who trust that -some new Stagyrite will arise, who, instead of pecking at the surface -of things, will enter into the inward soul of his compositions, and -expel, by the force of congenial feelings, those foreign impurities -which have stained and disgraced his page. And as to those _spots_ -which still remain, they may perhaps become invisible to those who -shall seek them thro' the medium of his beauties, instead of looking -for those beauties, as is too frequently done, thro' the smoke of some -real or imputed obscurity. When the hand of time shall have brushed -off his present Editors and Commentators, and when the very name -of _Voltaire_, and even the memory of the language in which he has -written, shall be no more, the _Apalachian_ mountains, the banks of the -_Ohio_, and the plains of _Sciola_ shall resound with the accents of -this Barbarian: In his native tongue he shall roll the genuine passions -of nature; nor shall the griefs of _Lear_ be alleviated, or the charms -and wit of _Rosalind_ be abated by time."[554:A] - -Since this eloquently prophetic passage was written, how has the -fame of Shakspeare increased! Not only in England has the growth -of a more enlightened criticism operated in his favour, but on the -continent an enthusiasm for his genius has been kindled, which, we may -venture to say, will never be extinguished. In Germany, the efforts -of Herder[554:B], of Goethe[554:C], of Tieck[554:D], and, above -all, of Augustus William Schlegel, the "_new Stagyrite_," as he may -justly be termed, the best critic on, and the best translator, of our -author[554:E], have, as it were, naturalised the poet; and if in France -the labours of Le Mercier and Ducis have failed to produce a similar -effect, yet a taste for Shakspeare in the original has been very -powerfully heightened by the nervous and elegant compositions of De -Stael. - -Nor has Europe alone borne testimony to the progress of his reputation; -not twenty years had passed over the glowing predictions of Morgan, -when the first transatlantic edition of Shakspeare appeared at -Philadelphia[555:A]; nor is it too much to believe that, ere another -century elapse, the plains of Northern America, and even the unexplored -wilds of Australasia, shall be as familiar with the fictions of our -poet, as are now the vallies of his native Avon, or the statelier banks -of the Thames. - -It is, indeed, a most delightful consideration for every lover and -cultivator of our literature, and one which should excite, amongst -our authors, an increased spirit of emulation, that the language in -which they write, is destined to be that of so large a portion of -the new world; a field of glory to which the genius of Shakspeare -will assuredly give an imperishable permanency; for the diffusion and -durability of his fame are likely to meet with no limit save that which -circumscribes the globe, and closes the existence of time. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[492:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xvi. p. 422. - -[494:A] The representation of the character of Coriolanus by Mr. -Kemble, which realises the very conception of the poet, and which in -spirit, manner, and costume, can scarcely be deemed susceptible of -improvement, has rendered this drama very popular in our own day. - -[495:A] Winter's Tale, act i. sc. 2. - -[495:B] Illustrations, vol. i. p. 347. - -[495:C] Osborne's Works, 9th edit. 8vo. 1689, p. 477. - -[496:A] History of Great Britain, folio, 1653, p. 12. - -[496:B] "I am inclined to think," says Mr. Malone, "that he (Jonson) -joined these plays in the same censure, in consequence of their having -been produced at no great distance of time from each other."—Reed's -Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 326. note. That this passage was intended, -however, as a censure on Shakspeare remains doubtful. - -[496:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 326. - -[497:A] It appears, from Mr. Malone, that the copy of The Winter's -Tale, licensed by Sir George Buck, had been lost.—Vide Reed's -Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 326. note. - -[498:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ix. p. 209. - -[498:B] Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 364. - -[498:C] Lectures on Dramatic Literature, vol. ii. p. 181.—That -Shakspeare considered the romantic incidents of this play as properly -designated by the appellation of _an old tale_, is evident from his -own application of the phrase to several parts of the plot. Thus, in -the second scene of the fifth act, we find it used in the following -passages:— - - "How goes it now, sir? this news, which is called true, is so - like _an old tale_." - - "_2d Gent._ What, pray you, became of Antigonus, that carried - hence the child? - - _3d Gent._ Like _an old tale_ still." - -And again, in the next scene:— - - "_Paul._ That she is living, - Were it but told, you should be hooted at, - Like _an old tale_." - -[499:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ix. p. 362. Act iv. sc. 3. - -[499:B] Ibid. vol. ix. p. 343. Act iv. sc. 3. - -[500:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ix. pp. 366, 367. Act iv. sc. 3. - -[500:B] Winwood's Memoirs, vol. iii. p. 422. - -[500:C] Supplemental Apology, pp. 438, 439. - -[501:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 363. - -[502:A] Wilson's Historie of Great Britain, pp. 64, 65. - -[502:B] The idea of the witch, says Mr. Steevens, might have been -caught from Dionyse Settle's _Reporte of the Last Voyage of Captaine -Frobisher_, 12mo. bl. l. 1577. He is speaking of a woman found on one -of the islands described:—"The old wretch, whome divers of our Saylers -supposed to be a Divell, or a _Witche_, plucked off her buskins, to see -if she were clouen footed, and for her ougly hewe and deformitie, we -let her goe."—Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 33. STEEVENS. - -Eden tells us in his History of Travayle, 1577, that "the giantes, -when they found themselves fettered, roared like bulls, and cried upon -_Setebos_ to help them."—Ibid. vol. iv. p. 43. note by Farmer. - -Mr. Douce thinks that the name of Caliban's mother, Sycorax, was -probably taken by Shakspeare from the following passage in _Batman -uppon Bartholome_, 1582:—"The raven is called _corvus_ of _Corax_ -. . . . . . it is said that _ravens birdes_ be fed with _deaw_ of -heaven all the time that they have no black _feathers_, by benefite of -age." Lib. xii. c. 10.—Illustrations, vol. i. p. 8. - -[503:A] Vide Chalmers's Apology, p. 578. - -[503:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 3. - -[504:A] As the passage which we have just quoted from Jourdan's -pamphlet is, as Mr. Chalmers confesses, in the first edition of 1610, -what necessity was there for referring us, for Shakspeare's obligation, -to little more than a second edition of it, under the title of "A -Plaine Description," &c.?—Vide Chalmers's Apology, p. 580. - -[504:B] Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. i. pp. 5-7. - -[505:A] - - "_Alon._ If thou beest Prospero, - Give us particulars of thy preservation: - How thou hast met us here, who _three hours since - Were wreck'd upon this shore_." - Act v. sc. 1. Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. pp. 160, 161. - - "_Alon._ What is this maid, with whom thou wast at play? - Your eld'st acquaintance cannot be _three hours_." - Act v. p. 163. - -[509:A] Discoverie of Witchcraft, edit. of 1584. pp. 467-469. - -[509:B] Anatomy of Melancholy, p. 33. - -[510:A] Worthies of England, Part II. p. 116. - -[511:A] Dibdin's Bibliomania, pp. 313-346. Mr. Dibdin has given us the -following account of _Dee's Library_, "as drawn up by our philosopher -himself." - -"_400 Volumes_—printed and unprinted—bound and unbound—valued at -2000 lib. - -"1 Greek, 2 French, and 1 High Dutch, volumes of MSS., alone worth 533 -lib. 40 years in getting these books together. - -"Appertaining thereto. - -"_Sundry rare and exquisitely made Mathematical Instruments._ - -"_A radius Astronomicus_, ten feet long. - -"_A magnet stone, or Load stone_: of great virtue—which was sold out -of the library but for v shill. and for it afterwards (yea piece-meal -divided) was more than xx lib. given in money and value. - -"_A great case or frame of boxes_, wherein some hundreds of very rare -evidences of divers Irelandish territories, provinces, and lands, were -laid up. Which territories, provinces, and lands, were therein notified -to have been in the hands of some of the ancient Irish princes. Then, -their submissions and tributes agreed upon, with seals appendant to -the little writings thereof in parchment: and after by some of those -evidences did it appear, how some of those lands came to the Lascies, -the Mortuomars, the Burghs, the Clares, &c. - -"_A Box of Evidences_ antient of some Welch princes and noblemen—the -like of Norman donation—their peculiar titles noted on the forepart -with chalk only, which on the poor boxes remaineth. This box, with -another containing similar deedes, were embezzled. - -"_One great bladder_ with about 4 pound weight, of a very sweetish -thing, like a brownish gum in it, artificially prepared by thirty -times purifying of it, hath more, than I could well afford him for 100 -crownes; as may be proved by witnesses yet living. - -"To these he adds his three _Laboratories_, 'serving for Pyrotechnia,' -—which he got together after twenty years labor. 'All which furniture -and provision, and many things already prepared, is unduly made -away from me by sundry meanes, and a few spoiled or broken vessels -remain, hardly worth 40 shillings.' But one feature more in poor Dee's -character—and that is, his unparalleled serenity and good nature under -the most griping misfortunes—remains to be described: and then we may -take farewel of him with aching hearts. - -"In the 10th chapter, speaking of the wretched poverty of himself and -family ('having not one penny of certain fee, revenue, stipend, or -pension, either left him or restored unto him')—Dee says that 'he has -been constrained now and then to send parcels of his little furniture -of plate to pawn upon usury; and that did he so oft till no more could -be sent. After the same manner went his wive's jewels of gold, rings, -bracelets, chains, and other their rarities, under the thraldom of the -usurer's gripes: 'till _non plus_ was written upon the boxes at home.' - -"In the 11th chapter, he anticipates the dreadful lot of being brought -'to the stepping out of doors (his house being sold). He, and his, with -bottles and wallets furnished, to become wanderers as homish vagabonds; -or, as banished men, to forsake the kingdom!' Againe: 'with bloody -tears of heart, he, and his wife, their seven children, and their -servants, (seventeen of them in all) did that day make their petition -unto their honors,' &c. Can human misery be sharper than this—and to -be the lot of a philosopher and bibliomaniac? But VENIET FELICIUS -ÆVUM."—Bibliomania, pp. 347-349. - -[512:A] "In his edition of _John Confrat. Monach. de. rebus. gestis -Glaston._, vol. ii., where twelve chapters (from whence the above -note is partly taken) are devoted to the subject of our philosopher's -travels and hardships." Bibliomania, p. 343. note. - -[513:A] Vide Theatrum Chemicum, p. 481. - -[513:B] Worthies of England, Pt. III. pp. 172, 173. - -[514:A] Vide Weaver's Funeral Monuments, p. 45., and Wood's Athenæ -Oxon. vol. i. col. 279. - -[514:B] In what estimation Kelly was held in 1662, is evident from the -opinion of Fuller, who closes his account of this daring impostor with -the following sentence:—"If his pride and prodigality were severed -from him, he would remain a person, on other accounts, for his industry -and experience in practical Philosophy, worthy recommendation to -posterity." Worthies, p. 174. - -That Shakspeare was exempt from the astrological mania of his age, we -learn from his fourteenth sonnet, where he tells us,— - - "Not from the stars do I my judgment pluck; - And yet methinks I have astronomy, - But not to tell of good, or evil luck, - Of plagues, of dearths, or season's quality: - Nor can I fortune to brief minutes tell, - Pointing to each his thunder, rain, and wind; - Or say with princes if it shall go well, - By oft predict that I in heaven find." - -[515:A] Discoverie of Witchcraft, book xv. chap. 42. p. 466. - -[516:A] Discoverie of Witchcraft, p. 415. - -[516:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 53. Act i. sc. 2. - -[516:C] Ibid. p. 152. Act v. sc. 1. - -[517:A] Discoverie of Witchcraft, p. 451. - -[517:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 100. Act iii. sc. 1. - -[517:C] Ibid. p. 152. - -[517:D] Ibid. vol. iv. p. 106. Act iii. sc. 2. - -[517:E] Ibid. p. 134. Act iv. sc. 1. - -[518:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 148. 167. - -[520:A] Discoverie of Witchcraft, pp. 401, 402. 404-407. - -[520:B] "Go," says Prospero, addressing Ariel, - - ———————————— "Go, bring the rabble, - _O'er whom I give thee power_, here, to this place." - Act iv. sc. 1. - -[521:A] "Batman uppon Bartholome, His Booke, _De Proprietatibus -Rerum_," &c. folio, 1582, p. 168. col. 4.—He tells us, however, in -another place, that "in the region of the sunne, the spirits of the -sunne are of more force than the rest. In the region of the moone, -those spirites of the moone, and so of the residue." P. 170. col. 4. - -[522:A] Batman uppon Bartholome, p. 84. col. 3, 4. - -[522:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 28. Act i. sc. 2. - -[523:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. pp. 43-46. Act i. sc. 2.—This song -has been admirably imitated by Kirke White in the opening of his fine -fragment, entitled "The Dance of the Consumptives."—Vol. i. p. 295. -1st edit. - -[524:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 81. Act ii. sc. 2. - -[524:B] Ibid. p. 147. Act iv. sc. 1. - -[524:C] Ibid. p. 134. Act iv. sc. 1. - -[524:D] Ibid. p. 109. Act iii. sc. 2. - -[525:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iv. p. 154. Act v. sc. 1. - -[525:B] Ibid. pp. 38, 39. Act i. sc. 2. - -[525:C] Ibid. p. 151. Act v. sc. 1. - -[525:D] Ibid. vol. xviii. pp. 24, 25. Act i. sc. 1. - -[526:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xvii. p. 471. Act iii. sc. 4. - -[526:B] Ibid. vol. iv. pp. 151, 152. Act v. sc. 1. - -[527:A] Discoverie of Witchcraft, p. 377. - -[527:B] Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xix. p. 414. and note. - -[527:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xix. p. 415. and vol. ii. p. 359. - -[528:A] Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 270. - -[528:B] Supplemental Apology, p. 460. - -[528:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 359. - -[528:D] Supplemental Apology, p. 459. - -[528:E] Ibid. p. 162. - -[528:F] Ibid. p. 459. - -[529:A] History of Fiction, 1st edit. vol. ii. p. 365. - -[530:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xix. pp. 528, 529. - -[530:B] Reynolds's Works apud Malone, vol. i. p. 129., and vol. iii. p. -173., where this - - "Unrivall'd sovereign of the realms of grace" - -is characterized in a most masterly manner. - -[531:A] Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 366. - -[532:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. v. p. 373. Act iii. sc. 4. - -[532:B] Ibid. vol. v. p. 374. - -[532:C] Chalmers's Supplemental Apology, p. 442. - -[532:D] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. v. p. 374. note. - -[533:A] Howe's Chronicle, 1004, under the year 1613. - -[533:B] It was printed by Barker, the King's Printer, the same year. - -[533:C] Supplemental Apology, pp. 443, 444. - -[533:D] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. v. p. 334. Act ii. sc. 5. - -[533:E] Ibid. vol. v. p. 372. Act iii. sc. 4. - -[533:F] Supplemental Apology, pp. 444, 445. - -[534:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. v. p. 306. Act ii. sc. 4. - -[535:A] Of these, _twenty_ were published in 4to., (including -_Pericles_, and omitting _Titus Andronicus_,) and the rest in the -first folio, 1623. On this, the earliest complete collection of our -author's plays, Mr. Steevens has given us, with the wit and humour -which so peculiarly distinguished him, the following interesting _jeu -d'esprit_:— - -"Of all volumes, those of popular entertainment are soonest injured. It -would be difficult to name four folios that are oftener found in dirty -and mutilated condition, than this first assemblage of Shakspeare's -plays—God's Revenge against Murder—The Gentleman's Recreation—and -Johnson's Lives of the Highwaymen. - -"Though Shakspeare was not, like Fox the Martyrologist, deposited in -churches, to be thumbed by the congregation, he generally took post -on our hall tables; and that a multitude of his pages have 'their -effect of gravy,' may be imputed to the various eatables set out -every morning on the same boards. It should seem that most of his -readers were so chary of their time, that (like Pistol, who gnaws -his leek and swears all the while,) they fed and studied at the same -instant. I have repeatedly met with thin flakes of pie-crust between -the leaves of our author. These unctuous fragments, remaining long in -close confinement, communicated their grease to several pages deep on -each side of them.—It is easy enough to conceive how such accidents -might happen;—how aunt Bridget's mastication might be disordered at -the sudden entry of the Ghost into the Queen's closet, and how the -half-chewed morsel dropped out of the gaping Squire's mouth, when the -visionary Banquo seated himself in the chair of Macbeth. Still, it is -no small eulogium on Shakspeare, that his claims were more forcible -than those of hunger.—Most of the first folios now extant, are known -to have belonged to ancient families resident in the country. - -"Since our breakfasts have become less gross, our favourite authors -have escaped with fewer injuries; not that (as a very nice friend of -mine observes) those who read with a coffee-cup in their hands, are to -be numbered among the contributors to bibliothecal purity. - -"I claim the merit of being the first commentator on Shakspeare who -strove, with becoming seriousness, to account for the frequent stains -that disgrace the earliest folio edition of his plays, which is now -become the most expensive single book in our language; for, what other -English volume without plates, and printed since the year 1600, is -known to have sold, more than once, for thirty-five pounds fourteen -shillings?"—Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. pp. 146, 147. - -Since this note was written, a copy of the first folio has produced the -enormous price of ONE HUNDRED POUNDS. See Roxburghe Catalogue, p. 112. -No. 3786. - -[536:A] Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xxi. pp. 4, 5, 6. - -[536:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 390, 391. - -[537:A] See Gentleman's Magazine, vol. lxxxv. p. 219., and Reed's -Shakspeare, vol. ii. pp. 154, 155. - -[537:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 154. note. - -[537:C] Ibid. p. 129. - -[537:D] Capell's School of Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 479. See also -Gifford's Ben Jonson, vol. i. p. lxx. - -[537:E] Gentleman's Magazine, vol. lxxxv. p. 219. - -[537:F] On the authority of the title of the first quarto, printed in -1634, eighteen years after the death of Shakspeare. - -[538:A] For proof of this, see Gifford's Jonson, vol. i. p. lxx. note. - -[538:B] See Gent. Magazine, vol. lxxxv. p. 219., and Biographia -Dramatica, 1782, vol. i. p. 118. article _Davenport_. - -[538:C] Colman's Beaumont and Fletcher, vol. i. p. 118., and Reed's -Shakspeare, vol. xxi. p. 401. et seq. - -[538:D] "_The Two Noble Kinsmen_," observes Steevens, "could not have -been composed till after 1611, nor perhaps antecedent to the deaths -of Beaumont and our author, when assistance and competition ceased, -and the poet, who resembled the latter most, had the fairest prospect -of success. During the life of Beaumont, which concluded in 1615, it -cannot well be supposed that Fletcher would have deserted him, to write -in concert with any other dramatist. Shakspeare survived Beaumont -only by one year, and, during that time, is known to have lived in -Warwickshire, beyond the reach of Fletcher, who continued to reside -in London till he fell a sacrifice to the plague in 1625."—Reed's -Shakspeare, vol. xxi. p. 407. - -[540:A] Lectures on Dramatic Literature, vol. i. pp. 15, 16. - -[542:A] Pye's Aristotle, 4to. 1792, p. 22. - -[545:A] This expression, and the verses which open some of the leading -subjects of this summary, are taken from a poem "On worthy Master -Shakspeare," supposed to have been the composition of Jasper Mayne, but -which Mr. Godwin, if we recollect aright, for the book is not before -us, is desirous of attributing, on account of its singular excellence, -to the pen of Milton.—See his Lives of E. and J. Philips, 4to. - -[547:A] "The Influence of Literature upon Society," by Madame De -Stael-Holstein, vol. i. p. 294. Translation, 2d. edit. 1812. - -[548:A] "The Influence of Literature upon Society," by Madame De -Stael-Holstein, vol. i. p. 305. Translation, 2d edit. 1812. - -[548:B] Of the soothing and delightful effect of this _contrasted -repose_, Homer, more than any other writer, affords us abundant -examples; perpetually introducing, in the midst of slaughter and -contention, similes fraught with pathetic incident or picturesque -description. One of these, for the purpose of being followed by an -imitation which, in my opinion, greatly transcends the original, I -shall now transcribe. The Grecian bard, after mentioning the fall -of Simoisius, slain by Ajax, in the bloom of youth and beauty, thus -proceeds:— - - "——————————— Him, what time she went - From Ida, with her parents to attend - Their flocks on Simois' side, his mother bore, - And thence they named him. But his days were few, - Too few to recompense the care that rear'd - His comely growth; for Ajax, mighty Chief, - Received him on his pointed spear, and, pierced - Through breast and shoulder, in the dust he fell. - So, nourish'd long in some well-water'd spot, - Crown'd with green boughs, the smooth-skinn'd poplar falls, - Doom'd by the builder to supply with wheels - Some splendid chariot, on the bank it lies, - A lifeless trunk, to parch in summer airs." - Cowper, Iliad IV. - -Tender and beautiful as this must be deemed, greatly am I mistaken, -if the following lines be not preferred. They are taken from an -_unpublished_ poem, entitled _Alfred_, the composition of Mr. _John -Fitchett_ of Warrington, whom I have the pleasure of personally -knowing, and who, I trust, will pardon the liberty thus assumed, -of endeavouring to accelerate the publication of his work, by the -production of one of its numerous beauties. Alfred consists of twenty -books, ten of which, in a printed form, lie now before me. In the -eighth book, Berthun, a brave and youthful thane, is slain by the pagan -Amund:— - - "—————————— Down the hero fell, - Riv'n through the brain. Sleep overcast his eyes. - Full many a tear his early fate shall mourn - Where on the woody side of Axham's vale - His pleasant dwelling stands. In vain shall look - At dawn or eve his tender wife to hail - His glad return, but hopeless to her heart - Press his fair image in her smiling babe. - He fell, as by some murm'ring riv'let's side - The tow'ring poplar, whose broad branches shade - A rural cottage, guardian of its peace, - Sinks crashing, and uptears the flow'ry bank, - Whelm'd by the tempest; the defenceless cot - Howls to the moaning wind: the birds behold - Their nests, their young, in ruin lost: the brook - Rolls o'er the tree whose image long it loved." - -[550:A] Douce's Illustrations of Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 327. - -[550:B] Of court-fools, it is observed by Mr. Douce, that "Muckle John, -the fool of Charles the First, and the successor of Archee Armstrong, -is perhaps the last regular personage of the kind."—Illustrations, -vol. ii. p. 308. - -We also find an epitaph by Dean Swift, on Dicky Pierce, the Earl of -Suffolk's fool, who was buried in Berkeley church-yard, June 18. 1728, -in the same ingenious essay. Vide Dissertation on the Clowns and Fools -of Shakspeare,—Illustrations, vol. ii. p. 309. - -[554:A] Essay on the Dramatic Character of Falstaff, pp. 69, 70, 71. -and 64, 65. - -[554:B] In his _Blättern von deutscher Art und Kunst_. - -[554:C] In his _Wilhelm Meister_. - -[554:D] _Poetisches Journal_, 1800. - -[554:E] For just and discriminative characters of Schlegel and his -writings, see the Germany of Madame De Stael, and the Monthly and -Edinburgh Reviews. - -[555:A] In the year 1795. Printed and sold by Bioren and Madan.—Vide -Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. p. 149. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - - A BRIEF VIEW OF DRAMATIC POETRY AND ITS CULTIVATORS, DURING - SHAKSPEARE'S CONNECTION WITH THE STAGE. - - -That the master-spirit which Shakspeare exhibited in the eyes of his -contemporaries; that the great improvements which he had made on the -drama of Peele and Marlowe, and their associates, should excite the -wonder, and call forth the emulation of his age, were events naturally -to be expected. He was accordingly the founder of a school of dramatic -art which continued to flourish until extinguished by those convulsions -that destroyed the monarch, and overturned the government of the -country,—a school to which we have since had nothing similar, or even -approximating in excellence. - -The fate, however, of the leader and his disciples has been widely -different. During the life-time of Shakspeare, the spirit of -competition forbade an open acknowledgment of his pre-eminence, and -those who had run the race of glory with him, and outlived his day, -had influence sufficient, either from personal interest, or the -charm of novelty, to procure a more frequent representation of their -own productions, however inferior, than of those of their departed -luminary. But, when the grave had closed alike on their great exemplar -and on themselves, apart, indeed, was their allotment in the estimation -of the living; for while the former sprang from the tomb with fresh -energy and beauty, over the latter dropped, comparatively, the mantle -of oblivion! Yet, not for ever! - -Though lost, for a time, in the effulgence of that lustre which -has continued to brighten ever since its revivescence, they have -nevertheless, through an intrinsic though more subdued brilliancy of -their own, begun, at length, to emerge into day, and their demand upon -the justice of criticism, for their station and their fame, is loud and -imperative. - -Let us, therefore, as far as our brief limits will permit, and in -furtherance of what has been so judiciously commenced, co-operate -in the endeavour to apportion to these immediate successors of our -matchless bard, the honour due to their exertions. If correctly -attributed, it cannot be trifling, and may assist in forming a just -notion of the most valuable period of our dramatic poesy. - -We shall commence with those who, in their own age, were deemed the -rivals, and followed, indeed, fast upon the footsteps of Shakspeare, -hesitating not to give priority of notice to the name of JOHN FLETCHER, -who, though hitherto inseparably united in fame and publication with -his friend Francis Beaumont, deserves, both from the comparative number -and value of his pieces, a separate and exclusive consideration. - -Of the fifty-three plays which have been ascribed to these poetical -friends, it appears that not more than nine or ten were the joint -productions of Beaumont and Fletcher; in still fewer was he assisted -by Massinger, Rowley, and Field, and the ample residue, independent of -two pieces now lost, and known to have been his sole composition, was -therefore the entire product of Fletcher's genius.[557:A] With this -curious fact we were first made acquainted by Sir Aston Cokain, who, -speaking of the thirty-four plays of these poets, as published in the -folio of 1647, informs us, that - - —— "Beaumont of those many writ in few; - And Massinger in other few: the main - Being sole issues of sweet Fletcher's brain."[557:B] - -In fact, as Sir Aston has elsewhere told us[557:C], the bulk of the -collection was written after Beaumont's death, which took place in -1615; the fecundity of Fletcher being so great, that in the interval -between that event and his own decease in 1625, he had produced nearly -forty dramas, besides some which were left in an unfinished state, and -completed by Shirley. - -It is also necessary to add, that the ten plays which issued from the -firm of Beaumont and Fletcher are, by no means, the best of the entire -series: they are _Philaster_,—_The Maids Tragedy_,—_King and No -King_,—_The Knight of the Burning Pestle_,—_Cupid's Revenge_,—_The -Coxcomb_,—_The Captain_,—_The Honest Man's Fortune_,—_The Scornful -Lady_, and _The False One_[558:A]; productions, in allusion to which it -has been said, and perhaps with no great injustice, that "if the plays -of Beaumont were thrown out of the collection by Beaumont and Fletcher, -the remainder would form a richer ore."[558:B] - -Warrantable, therefore, upon this statement, must it be deemed, should -we now drop the name of Beaumont, after observing, that a portion of -the merits and defects of Fletcher may be attributed to his friend, -and that, in the estimation of Ben Jonson, (on this subject the most -unexceptionable testimony,) he possessed, beyond all others of his age, -a sound and correct judgment.[558:C] - -The characteristic of Fletcher, in the serious department of his art, -was a peculiar mastery in the delineation of the softer passions, -especially of love. There is a sweetly pensive tone in many of his -pictures of this kind, which steals upon the mind with the most -insinuating charm, producing that species of pathos which soothes while -it gently agitates the soul; a feeling too sad and melancholy for the -genius of comedy, and too mild and subdued for that of tragedy, but -admirably adapted to an intermediate style of composition, of which -he has given us some happy instances under the title of tragi-comedy. -It must be confessed, however, that an impression of feebleness and -effeminacy, a sickliness of sentiment, and a want of dignity in -the pity which he endeavours to excite, but too often accompany his -efforts, even in this his favourite province. - -Yet not unfrequently did Fletcher aspire to the loftiest heights -of the dramatic muse; to the terrible, to the wildly awful, to the -agony of grief. But here he sank beneath the genius of Shakspeare; -in his endeavour to be great, there is a labour and contortion which -frequently betrays the struggle to have been painfully arduous; an -impression which we never receive from the drama of his predecessor, -who seems to attain the highest elevation with an ease and spontaneity -of movement, which suggests an idea, approaching to sublimity, of the -fulness and extent of his resources. But, as an elegant critic has -observed, Fletcher was "too mistrustful of Nature; he always goes a -little on one side of her. Shakspeare chose her without a reserve: -and had riches, power, understanding, and long-life, with her, for a -dowry."[559:A] - -Very different, however, was the result of his efforts, when he touched -the gaieties of life; for in this path, he moves with a grace and -legerity which has not often been equalled. He displays, it is true, -little humour, and consequently not much strength of character; but -we are told, on good authority[559:B], that no poet before him had -painted the conversation of the gentlemen of his day with such fidelity -and truth; a declaration which impresses us with an high opinion of -the vivacity and intellectual smartness of the dialogue of that age; -for there is in the representation of Fletcher an almost perpetual -effervescency and corruscation of wit and repartee. - -The imagination of Fletcher, when not straining after the eagle wing -of the bard of Avon, was fertile and felicitous in an extraordinary -degree. The romantic, the fanciful, the playful, are epithets -peculiarly descriptive of its range and tone, within which he -frequently emulates with success the excellence of his great master. -There appears, indeed, in several of his pieces, an evident intention -of entering the lists with Shakspeare. Thus the exquisitely pleasing -character of Euphrasia, under the disguise of a page, in _Philaster_, -was undoubtedly intended to rival the similar concealments in _The -Two Gentlemen of Verona_, in _As You Like It_, in _Cymbeline_, and in -_Twelfth Night_. Amoret, in _The Faithful Shepherdess_, is a delightful -counterpart of Perdita, in _The Winter's Tale_, and throughout _The -Two Noble Kinsmen_, and especially in the character of the Jailor's -daughter, there is a striking, and, in general, a very happy effort -made, to copy the express colouring of Shakspeare's style, and his mode -of representing the wanderings of a disordered intellect. - -But when, regardless of the hazardous nature of the experiment, he -attempts, in his _Sea Voyage_, to emulate the magic structure and wild -imagery of _The Tempest_, his ambition serves but to show, that he had -formed a very inadequate estimate of his own powers. - -Yet the failure in such an enterprise can reflect no disgrace, and from -what has been said, it must necessarily be inferred, that we consider -Fletcher as holding a very high, if not the highest rank, in the school -of Shakspeare. - -How much is it to be lamented then, that excellence such as this should -have been polluted by the grossest spirit of licentiousness; for it -would appear, from the tenour of many of our author's plays, that, in -his vocabulary, sensuality and sensibility were synonymous terms; so -nakedly and ostentatiously has he brought forward the most immodest -impulses of sexual appetite. Shakspeare may be, and is, occasionally, -coarse and unreserved in his language; but, if compared with Fletcher, -the nudity of his expressions is like the marble statue of a vestal, -when contrasted with the wanton exposure of a prostitute. - -As we wish to be spared the pain of reverting to such a subject, for -which the age of Fletcher and his successors offers, unfortunately, -but too many opportunities, it shall here be closed with a single -expression of regret, that a department of poetry which, in itself, -seems better calculated than any other to serve the cause of virtue, -should be degraded to a purpose thus base and unworthy.[561:A] - -On a level with, if not one degree above the writings of Fletcher, -follow the purer and more chastised productions of PHILIP MASSINGER, -a poet of unwearied vigour and consummate elegance. That he had, in -conjunction with others, composed for the stage some years anterior -to the death of Shakspeare, there is every reason to conclude; -for his first arrival in London, in 1606, was, we are told, under -necessitous circumstances, and with the view of dedicating his -talents to dramatic literature; and, though his _Virgin Martyr_, his -earliest _publication_, did not appear until 1622, it was a notorious -fact, that he had written in conjunction both with _Beaumont_ and -_Fletcher_.[561:B] It is almost certain, indeed, from what Mr. Gifford -has stated, that, in the interval just mentioned, he had brought on the -stage not less than eight or ten plays.[561:C] - -The English drama never suffered a greater loss, (for all Shakspeare's -pieces have descended to us,) than in the havoc which time and -negligence have committed among the works of Massinger; for of -thirty-eight plays attributed to his pen, only eighteen have been -preserved! - -Massinger, like Fletcher, pursued the path in which Shakspeare had -preceded him with such imperishable glory; but he wants the tenderness -and wit of the former, and that splendour of imagination and that -dominion over the passions, which characterise the latter. He has, -however, qualities of his own, sufficiently great and attractive, to -gift him with the envied lot of being contemplated, in union with these -two bards, as one of the chief pillars and supporters of the _Romantic -drama_. - -He exhibits, in the first place, a perfectibility, both in diction -and versification, of which we have, in dramatic poesy at least, no -corresponding example. There is a transparency and perspicuity in -the texture of his composition, a sweetness, harmony, and ductility, -together with a blended strength and ease in the structure of his -metre, which, in his best performances, delight, and never satiate the -ear. - -To this, in some degree technical merit, must be added a spirit of -commanding _eloquence_, a dignity and force of thought, which, while -they approach the precincts of sublimity, and indicate great depth and -clearness of intellect, show, by the nervous elegance of language in -which they are clothed, a combination and comprehension of talent of -very unfrequent occurrence. - -These qualities are, it must be allowed, not peculiar to dramatic -poetry; but when we find, that to their possession are added a powerful -discrimination and marked consistency of character, no inconsiderable -display of humour, much fertility of invention in the preparation -and developement of his incidents, and an unprecedented degree of -grace and amenity in the construction of several of his comic scenes, -together with a fund of ethic knowledge, an exquisite sense of moral -feeling, and above all, a glow of piety, in many instances amounting to -sublimity, we willingly ascribe to Massinger originality and dramatic -excellence of no inferior order. - -But when Dr. Ferriar, closing his _Essay on the Writings of Massinger_, -asserts that he "ranks immediately under Shakspeare himself[562:A]," -we must crave permission to hesitate for a moment, in reference to the -enchanting tenderness of Fletcher. - -"If there be a class of writers, of which, above all others," observes -Mr. Gilchrist, "England may justly be proud, it is of those, for the -stage, coeval with and immediately succeeding Shakspeare[563:A];" an -observation which the names alone of Fletcher and Massinger would -sufficiently justify; but when to these we are enabled to add such -fellow-artists as Ford, Webster, Middleton, &c. we are astonished that -even the talents of Shakspeare should, for so long a period, have -eclipsed their fame. - -FORD'S first appearance as an author, was in a copy of verses -to the memory of the Earl of Devonshire, in 1606, and his earliest play -of which we have the date of performance, was "A Bad Beginning makes a -Good Ending," acted at court, in 1613[563:B]; but it is probable that -the three plays mentioned with this, in Mr. Warburton's Collection, and -like it, never published, and now lost[563:C], were likewise early, and -perhaps anterior compositions. - -As it was the fashion, at this period, for dramatic writers to commence -their course in conjunction with others, we find Ford accepting -frequent assistance from his friends: thus _The Sun's Darling_, _The -Fairy Knight_, and _The Bristowe Merchant_, were written in conjunction -with Decker; and _The Witch of Edmonton_, with the aid of both Decker -and Rowley. - -Of the pieces which were exclusively the product of his own genius, -_'Tis Pity She's a Whore_, though not published the first, was the -first written, and was succeeded by _The Lover's Melancholy_, _The -Broken Heart_, _Love's Sacrifice_, _Perkin Warbeck_, _The Fancies Chast -and Noble_, and _The Ladies Tryal_. - -Ford possesses nothing of the energy and majesty of Massinger, and -but little of the playful gaiety and picturesque fancy of Fletcher, -yet scarcely Shakspeare himself has exceeded him in the excitement of -pathetic emotion. Of this, his two Tragedies of _'Tis Pity She's a -Whore_, and the _Broken Heart_, bear the most overpowering testimony. -Though too much loaded in their fable with a wildness and horror often -felt as repulsive, they are noble specimens of dramatic genius; and who -that has a heart to feel, or an eye to weep, can, in the first of these -productions, view even the unhallowed loves of Giovanni and Annabella; -or in the second, the hapless and unmerited fates of Calantha and -Penthea, with a cheek unbathed in tears! - -JOHN WEBSTER, whom we shall place immediately after Ford, as next, -perhaps, in talent, resembled him in a predilection for the terrible -and the strange, but with a cast of character still more lawless and -impetuous. Of the six plays which he produced, two were written in -conjunction with William Rowley, and are comedies; the remaining four, -containing three tragedies, and a tragi-comedy, are the issue of his -unaided pen. The tragedies, especially _The White Devil, or Vittoria -Corombona_, first printed in 1612, and _The Dutchesse of Malfy_, in -1623, are very striking, though, in many respects, very eccentric -proofs of dramatic vigour. - -It appears, however, from the dedication to the "_White Devil_," that -our author was well acquainted with the laws of the ancient drama, -and that "willingly, and not ignorantly," he adopted the Romantic or -Shakspearean form. The last paragraph of this address is a pleasing -instance of his diffidence, liberality, and good sense:—"For mine own -part," says he, "I have ever truly cherished my good opinion of other -men's worthy labours, especially of that full and heightened stile of -master Chapman; the laboured and understanding works of master Jonson; -the no less worthy composures of the both worthily excellent master -Beaumont, and master Fletcher; and lastly, (without wrong last to be -named,) the right happy and copious industry of master Shakspeare, -master Decker, and master Heywood, wishing what I write may be read by -their light; protesting that, in the strength of mine own judgment, I -know them so worthy, that though I rest silent in my own work, yet to -most of their's I dare (without flattery) fix that of Martial:— - - —— "non norunt hæc monumenta mori."[565:A] - -The silence which modesty dictated to Webster, ought long ago to have -been broken, by a declaration, that he was fully entitled to a niche in -the same temple of Fame with those whom he has here commemorated. In -his pictures of wretchedness and despair, he has introduced touches of -expression which curdle the very blood with terror, and make the hair -stand erect. Of this, the death of _The Dutchesse of Malfy_, with all -its preparatory horrors, is a most distinguishing proof. The fifth act -of his _Vittoria Corombona_ shows, also, with what occasional skill -he could imbibe the imagination of Shakspeare, particularly where its -features seem to breathe a more than earthly wildness. The danger, -however, which almost certainly attends such an aspiration after, what -may be called inimitable excellence, Webster has not escaped; for, -where his master moves free and etherial, an interpreter for other -worlds, he but too often seems laboriously striving to break from -terrestrial fetters; and, when liberated, he is, not unfrequently, -"an extravagant and erring spirit." Yet, with all their faults, his -tragedies are, most assuredly, stamped with, and consecrated by, the -seal of genius. - -Not less than twenty-four plays are ascribed to THOMAS MIDDLETON, of -which, sixteen at least, appear to owe their existence entirely to -himself: the rest are written in conjunction with Jonson, Fletcher, -Massinger, Decker, and Rowley. Middleton, it is probable, began to -compose for the stage shortly after Shakspeare[565:B], for one of his -pieces was _published_ as early as 1602, and eight had passed the press -before 1612. His talents were principally directed towards comedy, only -two tragedies, _The Changeling_, and _Women beware Women_, and two -tragi-comedies, _The Phœnix_ and _The Witch_, being included in the -list of his productions. - -Humour, wit, and character, though in a degree inferior to that which -distinguishes the preceding poets, are to be found in the comedy of -Middleton; and, occasionally, a pleasing interchange of elegant imagery -and tender sentiment. His tragedy is not devoid of pathos, though -possessing little dignity or elevation; but there is, in many of his -plays, and especially in the tragi-comedy of _The Witch_, a strength -and compass of imagination which entitle him to a very respectable rank -among the cultivators of the _Romantic_ drama. - -A more than common celebrity has attached itself to this last-named -composition, in consequence of the conjecture of Mr. Steevens, that it -preceded _Macbeth_, and afforded to Shakspeare the _prima stamina_ of -the supernatural machinery of that admirable play. This may readily -be granted, without aspersing the originality of the Bard of Avon; -for if we except the mere idea of the introduction of such an agency -into dramatic poetry, there is little beside a few verbal forms of -incantation, and two or three metrical invocations, of singular -notoriety perhaps at the period, which can be considered as betraying -any marks of imitation. In every other respect, affinity or resemblance -there is none; for the Witches of Middleton and of Shakspeare are -beings essentially distinct both in origin and office. The former are -creatures of flesh and blood, possessing power, indeed, to inflict -disease, and to execute more than common mischief, but very subordinate -instruments of evil, when compared with the spiritual essence and -mysterious sublimity of the _Weird Sisters_, who are the authors not -only of nameless deeds, but who are nameless themselves, who float upon -the midnight storm, direct the elemental strife, and, more than this, -who wield the passions and the thoughts of man. - -The hags of Middleton are, however, drawn with a bold and creative -pencil, and seem to take a middle station between the terrific -sisterhood of Shakspeare, and the traditionary witch of the -country-village. They are pictures full of fancy, but not kept -sufficiently aloof from the ludicrous and familiar. - -On the same elevation with Middleton, as to dramatic merit, may we -place the name of THOMAS DECKER, who, if he has not equalled -his contemporary in the faculty of imagination, has, in some instances, -exceeded him, in the vigorous conception of his characters, and the -skilful management of his fable. So early as 1600, had he published -one of his best dramas, under the title of _Old Fortunatus_, which, -together with _The Honest Whore_, printed in 1604, very adequately -prove that his talents were of no inferior class; the character of -_Orleans_ in the first of these plays, and that of _Bellafront_ in the -second, exhibiting not only many beautiful ideas in richly poetical -language, but many indications of an original and discriminative mind. - -The fertility of Decker was great; for independent of numerous pieces -of a miscellaneous kind, he wrote or contributed to write, not fewer -than thirty-two plays. Several of these, however, were never printed, -and are not now, probably, in existence; and two which were once in Mr. -Warburton's possession, perished with his ill-fated collection. There -is reason to suppose that twelve, if not fifteen, originated solely -with himself, and for the remainder, his associates were Middleton, -Massinger, and Ford, Webster, Day, and Rowley. With the latter and -Ford, he wrote _The Witch of Edmonton_, the execution of which shows, -that, though he has availed himself, with much effect, of the common -superstitions connected with his subject, he was, in point of fancy, -inferior to Middleton, the Witch of this triumvirate being little more -than the ignorant and self-deluded victim of the folly of the times, -then, under the shape of decrepid and female old age, to be found in -almost every hamlet in the kingdom. - -Decker has been more known to posterity by his connection and quarrel -with Ben Jonson, than by his own works, a fate which has also obscured -the writings and reputation of JOHN MARSTON, who, in his -life-time, was not undeservedly celebrated both as a dramatic and a -satiric poet. In the former capacity he produced eight plays, of which -the two parts of _Antonio and Mellida_, _The Insatiate Countess_, and -_The Malcontent_, published as early as 1602, 1603, and 1604, reflect -great credit on his abilities. These, and indeed all his dramas, give -evidence of great wealth and vigour of description, of much felicity -in expression, and of much passionate eloquence; nor are his characters -raw or indistinct sketches, but highly coloured and well supported. -The compliment, however, which some modern writers have paid him, on -the score of chastity of thought and style, is, we are sorry to say, -most unmerited; for neither is it supported by the opinion of his -contemporaries, nor by the testimony of his own writings. So greatly -was he a sinner in this respect, that an old satirist says of him,— - - "Tut, what cares he for modest, close couched terms, - Cleanly to gird our looser libertines? - Give him plain-naked words, stripped from their shirts, - That might beseem plain-dealing Aretine."[568:A] - -If fecundity were a test of genius, no writer, with the exception -of Lopez de Vega, would stand upon such elevated ground as THOMAS -HEYWOOD, who tells us, in the Preface to his _English Traveller_, a -tragi-comedy, that it was "one reserved amongst 220 in which he had -either an entire hand or at the least a main finger;" a degree of -industry and fertility which may justly excite our astonishment. - -It is perhaps equally extraordinary, that, in periods so late as the -reigns of Elizabeth, James, and Charles, and when the art of printing -was in full activity, only twenty-six of this prodigious number should -have issued from the press, a paucity for which their author accounts, -in the preface just quoted, in the following manner: "One reason," he -avers, "is that many of them, by shifting and change of companies, have -been negligently lost; others of them are still retained in the hands -of some actors, who think it against their peculiar profit to have them -come in print; and a third, that it never was any great ambition in me, -to bee, in this kind, voluminously read." - -This apathy or modesty has, no doubt, deprived us of some interesting -plays; for though Heywood had little of the enthusiasm or fancy of -the genuine poet, there are in several of the pieces which remain, an -unaffected ease and simplicity, and a power of touching the heart, -which merit preservation in no common degree. He abounds, too, in -pictures of domestic life very minutely finished, correct without being -cold, and effective without being overcharged. To his skill in exciting -pathetic emotion, his tragedy entitled _A Woman killed with Kindness_ -bears the most impressive testimony. - -Heywood, as may be conceived, began early, and continued long to write. -Of the dramas which are left us, the first published, was his _Death of -Robert Earle of Huntington_, dated 1601, and the last, the tragi-comedy -of _Fortune by Land and Sea_, dated 1655. He was occasionally assisted -by Rowley, Brome, &c. - -Greatly superior in poetic force and vigour to Heywood, but equally -inferior as to truth of dramatic imitation, we have now to mention the -venerably epic name of GEORGE CHAPMAN, the translator of Homer, and the -friend of Shakspeare and Jonson, with whom, as a writer for the stage, -he was nearly coeval. - -Though the author of more comedies than tragedies, the genius of -Chapman was infinitely better calculated for the latter province. Many -beauties, it must be granted, are to be found in some of his comedies, -especially in his _All Fooles_, and _Widdowe's Tears_, but they stand -aloof from the character of the department, in which they are included. -It is, in fact, in the lofty and heroic drama, in the more elevated -and descriptive parts of tragedy, that he excels; in a grandeur often -wild and irregular, but highly animated and striking. Thus the two -tragedies, entitled _Bussy D'Ambois_, breathe a chivalric spirit truly -inspiring, and, however censured by Dryden[569:A] for tumour and -incorrectness of style, excite in the reader a sensation of involuntary -transport. It will readily be admitted, however, that such a mode of -composition is by no means adapted to dramatic purposes, and presents -no safe or legitimate model. Chapman wrote sixteen plays, besides -assisting Jonson and Marston in _Eastward Hoe_, and Shirley in at least -two of his productions. - -With nearly all the poets whom we have hitherto mentioned did WILLIAM -ROWLEY unite in the composition of various pieces for the stage; -namely, with Massinger, Middleton, and Heywood, Ford, Decker, and -Webster, and, it has even been said, with Shakspeare, in a play -entitled _The Birth of Merlin_. For this last association, however, -there appears to be no other foundation than the bookseller's -assertion, who printed this play in 1662, and which is totally -unsupported by any other evidence external or internal. - -But Rowley wanted not talent and originality for independent exertion, -and five dramas out of nine which have been attributed solely to his -pen, have reached us from the press. That a writer who was deemed -a worthy assistant in such plays as _The Witch of Edmonton_, _The -Thracian Wonder_, and _The Spanish Gipsey_, must have possessed no -very inferior abilities, can admit of little doubt, and is confirmed -indeed by his own exclusive compositions; for _A Match at Midnight_, -and _All's Lost by Lust_, the former in the comic, and the latter in -the tragic, department of his art, evince, in incident and humour, in -character and in pathos, powers which repel the charge of mediocrity. -Upon the whole, however, we consider him as ranking last in the roll of -worthies who have thus far graced our pages. - -Among the crowd of poets who commenced writers for the stage during the -dramatic life-time of Shakspeare, and who were peculiarly disciples -of the same school, we have now, in our opinion, noticed the most -eminent; and if we add to the list, the names of TAILOR, TOMKIS, and -TOURNEUR, the first the author of _The Hog hath lost his Pearl_, the -second of _Albumazar_, and the third of _The Revenger's Tragedy_, _The -Atheist's Tragedy_, and _The Nobleman_, productions in which some very -beautiful passages are to be found, and some entire scenes of great -merit, we shall not probably be charged with the omission of any thing -which could materially serve to heighten our idea of this unrivalled -period of the _Romantic_ drama. Beyond the limits, indeed, to which we -are confined, one great name, that of _Shirley_, meriting, in many -respects, the celebrity which _now_ accompanies the memory of Massinger -and Fletcher, would require particular attention; but we must hasten -to conclude this branch of the subject, by a simple enumeration, in -alphabetical order, of those who, in any degree, contributed to fill -the school of Shakspeare whilst its founder was in existence:— - - Armin, Robert. - Barnes, Barnaby. - Barry, Lodowick. - Bird, William. - Borne, William. - Boyle, William. - Brandon, Samuel. - Brewer, Anthony. - Campion, Thomas. - Carey, Elizabeth. - Chettle, Henry. - Cook, John. - Dauborn, Robert. - Day, John. - Downton, Thomas. - Drayton, Michael. - Field, Nathaniel. - Goff, Thomas. - Hathway, Richard. - Haughton, William. - Hawkins, —— - Jubey, William. - Machin, Lewis. - Massey, Charles. - Mason, John. - Munday, Anthony. - Pett, —— - Porter, Henry. - Rankins, William. - Ridley, Samuel. - Robinson, —— - Rowley, Samuel. - Sharpman, Edward. - Shawe, Robert. - Singer, John. - Slaughter, Martin. - Smith, William. - Smith, Wentworth. - Stephens, John. - Taylor, John. - Wadeson, Anthony. - Wilkins, George. - Wilson, Robert. - Wilson, ——[571:A] - -In this long list, the only name of celebrity is that of _Michael -Drayton_, and it is a circumstance very extraordinary, and much to be -regretted, that, although we find, from the manuscripts of Dulwich -College, this great poet had written an entire play, under the title -of _William Longsword_, and had contributed towards the composition of -not less than twenty others, whilst we learn, at the same time, from -Meres[571:B], that he was well known as a writer of tragedy, not a -particle of his authenticated poetry, in this province, should have -reached posterity. - -After this concise view of the contemporaries of Shakspeare, whom we -conceive to have in general adopted, either tacitly or avowedly, and -with an approximation nearly proportioned to their talents, the style -and structure of _his_ drama, we have now to bring forward the mighty -leader of another school, which, if not equally excellent with that -established by Shakspeare, possesses the most undoubted originality, -and, in its peculiar walk, a degree of merit which neither in its own -day, nor in any subsequent period, has encountered any successful -rivalry. To this description is it necessary to add the name of BEN -JONSON? - -Some attempts at a more classical construction of our drama had been -made about the period when Jonson began to write: _Daniel_, for -instance, had published his _Cleopatra_, in 1594, after the models of -antiquity, and _Alexander_ Earl of Stirling, printed, in 1603 and 1604, -his _Monarchic_ Tragedies, in which a regular chorus is introduced; but -these were abortive efforts, unsupported by the requisite abilities for -dramatic composition, and it remained for Jonson to impress upon his -own age, and upon posterity, the conviction that an equally correct -form of art might be combined with some of the striking excellences of -the Romantic school. - -It is probable that when Jonson first began to write for the theatre, -which we find, from Mr. Henslowe's memorandums, was as early as 1593, -and in conjunction with Decker, Marston, Chettle, &c., he conformed -himself to their mode of composition; but no sooner had he ventured on -the stage with a comedy exclusively his own, than he aspired to the -establishment of a Dramatic Literature in this province, which, while -it should adhere to the structure of the classical model, might exhibit -various and extensive views of human nature, and uniformly have for its -object the correction of vice and folly through the medium of unsparing -satire. - -Success, in a very extraordinary degree, accompanied this first -adventure of laudable ambition, which under the title of _Every Man -in his Humour_ made its appearance, at The Rose theatre, in 1596, and, -with material alterations and improvements, at The Globe, in 1598. This -was followed, at various periods, and almost to the very close of his -life, by thirteen more pieces in the same department, of which ten are -comedies, and the remaining three, as their author chose to designate -them, comical satires. - -That these productions, though in the line peculiarly adapted to -his genius, should be equally excellent, it would be extravagant to -expect. The best, and, we may add, the most incomparable in their -kind, are the play just mentioned, _Volpone, or The Fox_, _Epicœne, -or The Silent Woman_, and _The Alchemist_. As much inferior to these, -but yet possessed of considerable merit, we may next enumerate _The -Case is Altered_, _The Devil is an Ass_, and _The Staple of News_; and -lastly, though not devoid of interesting and well written passages, -_Bartholomew Fair_, _The New Inn_, _The Magnetic Lady_, and _A Tale of -a Tub_. The _comical satires_, entitled _Every Man out of his Humour_, -_Cynthia's Revels_, and _The Poetaster_, are, especially the last, -composed in a tone of indignant strength; and, as their appellation -might lead us to suppose, are personal and severe; but probably not -more so than the occasion warranted. - -The fair fame of Jonson which, both in a moral and dramatic light, -has, for more than a century, been overwhelmed by a cloud of ignorance -and prejudice, now brightens with more than pristine lustre, through -the liberal and generous efforts of some accomplished scholars of -the present day; and if ever it be permitted to departed spirits to -witness the transactions of this sublunary sphere, with what delight -and gratitude must the spirit of the injured bard look down upon the -labours of his learned friends, upon the noble and disinterested -protection of a _Gilchrist_, a _Godwin_, and a _Gifford_! - -Under such circumstances, and with such a triumvirate in his support, -it were needless, and, indeed, it were unjust, to do more than repeat -in this place their own summary of his merit as a comic poet, to -which we will now add, once for all, however unimportant it may be, -the expression of our conviction of the general justness of their -sentiments with regard to his writings, and of the unanswerable nature -of their defence with regard to his moral character; a tribute which -we are, beyond measure, gratified in paying, as whilst they have -impartially brought forward the great talents of Jonson, they have -paid a full and frank acknowledgment to the superior comprehensiveness -of the genius of Shakspeare; and have, at the same time, placed in a -striking point of view the _steady friendship_ which subsisted between -these two luminaries of the dramatic world. - -It is, however, only with the literary character of Jonson that we are -now occupied; and on the topic immediately before us, the consideration -of his _comic_ powers, Mr. Godwin has cursorily, but very justly -remarked, that "these, perhaps, compose his strongest claim to the -admiration of all posterity. He excels every writer that ever existed, -in the article of humour; and it is a sort of identical proposition -to say, that humour is the soul of comedy. Even the caustic severity -of his turn of mind aided him in this. He seized with the utmost -precision the weaknesses of human character, and painted them with a -truth that is altogether irresistible. Shakspeare has some characters -of humour marvellously felicitous. But the difference between these -two great supporters of the English drama, in the point of view we -are considering, lies here. Humour is not Shakspeare's mansion, the -palace wherein he dwells; there are many of his comedies, where the -humorous characters rather form the episode of the piece; poetry, the -manifestation of that lovely medium through which all creation appeared -to his eye, and the quick sallies of repartee, are the objects with -which his comic muse more usually delights herself. But Ben Jonson is -all humour; and the fertility of his muse, in characters of this sort, -is wholly inexhaustible."[574:A] - -With a fuller elucidation of the subject, which laid more directly -before him, Mr. Gifford, after commenting on the inutility of the -common practice of contrasting the two poets, and after observing -that "Shakspeare wants no light but his own; 'for' as he never has -been equalled, and in all human probability never will be equalled, -it seems an invidious employ, at best, to speculate minutely on the -precise degree in which others fell short of him," proceeds to state, -that "the judgment of Jonson was correct and severe, and his knowledge -of human nature extensive and profound. He was familiar with the -various combinations of the humours and affections, and with the nice -and evanescent tints by which the extremes of opposing qualities melt -into one another, and are lost to the vulgar eye: but the art which he -possessed in perfection, was that of marking in the happiest manner -the different shades of the same quality, in different minds, so as to -discriminate the voluptuous from the voluptuous, the covetous from the -covetous, &c. - -"In what Hurd calls 'picturing,' he was excellent. His characters -are delineated with a breadth and vigour, as well as a truth, that -display a master hand; his figures stand prominent on the canvas, bold -and muscular, though not elegant; his attitudes, though sometimes -ungraceful, are always just; while his strict observation of -proportion, (in which he was eminently skilled,) occasionally mellowed -the hard and rigid tone of his colouring, and by the mere force of -symmetry, gave a warmth to the whole, as pleasing as it was unexpected. -Such, in a word, was his success, that it may be doubted whether he has -been surpassed, or even equalled, by any of those who have attempted to -tread in his steps. - -"In the plots of his comedies, which were constructed from his own -materials, he is deserving of undisputed praise. Without violence; -without, indeed, any visible effort, the various events of the story -are so linked together, that they have the appearance of accidental -introduction; yet they all contribute to the main design, and support -that just harmony which alone constitutes a perfect fable. Such, in -fact, is the rigid accuracy of his plans, that it requires a constant, -and almost painful attention, to trace out their various bearings and -dependencies. Nothing is left to chance: before he sat down to write, -he had evidently arranged every circumstance in his mind; preparations -are made for incidents which do not immediately occur; and hints are -dropped, which can only be comprehended at the unravelling of the -piece. The play does not end with Jonson, because the fifth act is come -to a conclusion; nor are the most important events precipitated, and -the most violent revolutions of character suddenly effected, because -the progress of the story has involved the poet in difficulties from -which he cannot otherwise extricate himself. This praise, whatever be -its worth, is enhanced by the rigid attention paid to the unities; to -say nothing of those of place and character, that of time is so well -observed in most of his comedies, that the representation occupies -scarcely an hour more on the stage, than the action would require in -real life."[576:A] - -Mr. Gifford then goes on to explain, why Jonson, "with such -extraordinary requisites for the stage, joined to a strain of poetry -always manly, frequently lofty, and sometimes sublime," should not have -retained his popularity; accounting for this result by the assignment -of three causes, of which the first was, his dismissing "the grace -and urbanity which mark his lighter pieces whenever he approached the -stage, putting on the censor with the sock;" the second sprung from -the circumstance, that "Jonson was the painter of humours, not of -passions," and aiming less to excite laughter in his hearers, "than to -feast their understanding, and minister to their rational improvement," -he frequently brought forward unamiable and uninteresting characters, -pests which he wished to extirpate from society, not only by rendering -them ridiculous, but by exhibiting them in an odious and disgusting -light; and the third was, "a want of just discrimination. He seems -to have been deficient," observes Mr. Gifford, "in that true tact or -feeling of propriety which Shakspeare possessed in full excellence. -He appears to have had an equal value for all his characters, and he -labours upon the most unimportant, and even disagreeable of them, with -the same fond and paternal assiduity which accompanies his happiest -efforts."[577:A] This laboured and indiscriminate finishing may be -termed, indeed, one of the prominent characteristics of Jonson's -composition; and has, perhaps, more than any thing else, contributed to -obscure his reputation. - -The genius of Jonson seems to have forsaken him, when he touched the -tragic chords. Neither pity nor terror answered to his call, and -_Sejanus_ and _Catiline_ are valuable, principally, for their correct, -though cold and hard, delineations of Roman character and costume. It -is remarkable, that, in the construction of these tragedies, Jonson -has deserted his Athenian masters, and, adopting the licence of the -Romantic school, he has laid aside the unities of time and place; but -without acquiring that breadth and freedom in the execution of his -subjects, with which such deviations ought to have been accompanied. - -The devotion of the poet to this high department of his art was not -confined, however, to these two Roman dramas; he had planned a tragedy -on the Fall of _Mortimer_, of which only a small fragment remains; -and we find, from the Dulwich Manuscripts, that, the year preceding -the first performance of _Sejanus_, he had actually been engaged in -writing a play on the subject of _Richard the Third_:—"Lent unto -Benjemy Johstone," says Henslowe's memorandum, "at the appoyntment -of E. Alleyn and Wm. Birde the 22 June 1602, in earnest of a boocke -called _Richard Crook-back_, and for new adycions for Jeronymo, the -some of x lb."[577:B] The _Richard_ of _Jonson_, and the _Macbeth_ -of _Milton_!—would that time had spared the one and witnessed the -execution of the other! How delightful, how interesting might have been -the labour of comparison! - -If Jonson failed, as he must be allowed to have done, in communicating -pathos and interest to his tragic productions, he has made us ample -amends by the unrivalled excellence of his numerous _Masques_, a -species of dramatic poetry, to which he, and he alone, put the seal -of perfection. Here his imagination, which, in the peculiar line of -comedy he cultivated, had but little scope for expansion, and was, in -his tragedies, altogether repressed, by an undeviating adhesion to the -letter of history, expatiated as in its native element. "No sooner," -remarks Mr. Gifford, "has he taken down his lyre, no sooner touched on -his lighter pieces, than all is changed as if by magic, and he seems a -new person. His genius awakes at once, his imagination becomes fertile, -ardent, versatile, and excursive; his taste pure and elegant; and all -his faculties attuned to sprightliness and pleasure."[578:A] - -No greater honour, however, has been paid to the memory of Jonson, -than the proof which Mr. Godwin has brought forward of his being -the favourite author of Milton, "the predecessor that he chiefly -had in his eye, and whom he seems principally to resemble in his -style of composition."[579:A] Among the numerous passages by which -he has substantiated this fact, none are more conspicuous than those -that breathe the spirit of the lyrical portion of the Masques; for -"Milton," as he observes, "will certainly be found to have studied -his compositions in this kind more assiduously, than those of any of -his contemporaries.—It would be strange indeed, if the poet, who in -early youth composed the Mask of Comus, had not diligently studied -the writings of Ben Jonson."[579:B] Can there be a test of merit more -indisputable than this? for _Comus_, though by no means faultless as a -Masque, has to boast of a poetry more rich and imaginative than is to -be found in any other composition, save _The Tempest_ of Shakspeare. - -"It is not however," proceeds Mr. Godwin, "in lighter and incidental -matters only, that Milton studied the great model afforded him by -Jonson: we may find in him much that would almost tempt us to hold -opinion with Pythagoras, and to believe that the very spirit and souls -of some men became transfused into their poetical successors. The -address of our earlier poet to the two universities, prefixed to his -most consummate performance, the comedy of _The Fox_, will strike every -reader familiar with the happiest passages of Milton's prose, with its -wonderful resemblance.—They were both of them emphatically poets who -had sounded the depths, and formed themselves in the school, of classic -lore. - -"The difference between 'them' may perhaps best be illustrated from the -topic of religion. They had neither of them one spark of libertine and -latitudinarian unbelief. But Jonson was not, like Milton, penetrated -with his religion. It is to him a sort of servitude—it is not the -principle that actuates, but the check that controls him. But in -Milton, it is the element in which he breathes, a part of his nature. -He acts, 'as ever in his Great Task-master's eye:' and this is not his -misfortune; but he rejoices in his condition, that he has so great, so -wise, and so sublime a Being, to whom to render his audit."[580:A] - -The labours of Jonson closed with a species of dramatic poetry in which -he had made no previous attempt, and we have only to regret that it was -left in an unfinished state; for had the _Sad Shepherd_ been completed -in the style of excellence in which it was commenced, it would have -been superior not only to the _Faithful Shepherdess_ of Fletcher, but -perhaps to any thing which he himself had written. - -When Jonson, in his noble and generous eulogium on Shakspeare, tells -us, that - - "He was not of an age, but for all time," - -he seized a characteristic of which the reverse, in some degree, -applies to himself; for had he paid less attention to the _minutiæ_ -of his own age, and dedicated himself more to universal habits and -feelings, his popularity would have nearly equalled that of the poet -whom he loved and praised. Yet his fame rests on a broad and durable -foundation, and we point, with pride and triumph, to that matchless -constellation of dramatic merit, where burn, with inextinguishable -glory, the mighty, names of SHAKSPEARE, JONSON, FLETCHER, MASSINGER. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[557:A] Vide Malone's Dryden, vol. i. part ii. p. 101. - -[557:B] Verses addressed to Mr. Humphrey Mosely, published in his -Poems, Epigrams, &c. 1658. - -[557:C] Verses addressed to Mr. Charles Cotton. - -[558:A] See Malone's Dryden, vol. i. part ii. p. 101. note. - -[558:B] Monthly Review, new series, vol. lxxxi. p. 126. - -[558:C] Malone's Dryden, vol. i. part ii. p. 100.—Fuller tells us, in -his quaint but emphatic manner, that Beaumont brought "the _ballast_ of -judgment," and Fletcher "the _sail_ of phantasie."—Worthies, part ii. -p. 288. - -[559:A] Lamb's Specimens of English Dramatic Poets, p. 409. - -[559:B] Dryden on Dramatic Poesy. - -[561:A] Would that the Commentators on Shakspeare had pursued the -plan which Mr. Gifford has adopted in his edition of Massinger, who, -speaking of the freedoms of his author, declares, that "those who -examine the notes with a prurient eye, will find no great gratification -of their licentiousness. I have called in no 'one' (he adds) to drivel -out gratuitous obscenities in uncouth language; no 'one' to ransack the -annals of a brothel for secrets 'better hid:' where I wished not to -detain the reader, I have been silent, and instead of aspiring to the -fame of a licentious commentator, sought only for the quiet approbation -with which the father or the husband may reward the faithful -editor."—Massinger, vol. i. pp. lxxxiii. lxxxiv. - -[561:B] Gifford's Massinger, vol. i. pp. xii. xiv. Introduction. - -[561:C] Ibid. vol. i. pp. xviii.-xx. - -[562:A] Gifford's Massinger, vol. i. Essay on the Writings of -Massinger, p. cxxvi. - -[563:A] Letter to William Gifford, Esq. on the late edition of Ford's -Plays, 8vo. 1811, p. 7. - -[563:B] Vide Chalmers's Biographical Dictionary, vol. xiv. p. 465. - -[563:C] Gentleman's Magazine, vol. lxxxv. p. 219. - -[565:A] Vide Ancient British Drama, vol. iii. p. 3. - -[565:B] _The Old Law_, in which he assisted Rowley, was acted in its -original state, and before it was re-touched by Massinger, in 1599. - -[568:A] Returne from Parnassus, act i. sc. 2.—Vide Ancient British -Drama, vol. i. p. 49. - -[569:A] In his Dedication to the Spanish Fryer. - -[571:A] This writer is mentioned by Meres in 1598, and praised for his -skill in comedy. - -[571:B] Vide Witt's Treasury, p. 281. - -[574:A] Jonson's Works by Gifford, vol. i. pp. ccxcix. ccc. - -[576:A] Gifford's Jonson, vol. i. Memoirs of Jonson, pp. ccxiii.-ccxv. - -[577:A] Gifford's Jonson, vol. i. Memoirs, pp. ccxvi.-ccxix. - -[577:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 394. - -[578:A] Gifford's Jonson, vol. i. Memoirs, p. ccxxx. After the -passage which we have inserted in the text, follow these admirable -observations:— - -"Such were the Masques of Jonson, in which, as Mr. Malone says, 'the -wretched taste of those times found amusement.' That James and his -court delighted in them cannot be doubted, and we have only to open -the Memoirs of Winwood and others to discover with what interest they -were followed by the nobility of both sexes. Can we wonder at this? -There were few entertainments of a public kind at which they could -appear, and none in which they could participate. Here all was worthy -of their hours of relaxation. Mythologues of classic purity, in which, -as Hurd observes, the soundest moral lessons came recommended by the -charm of numbers, were set forth with all the splendour of royalty, -while Jones and Lanier, and Lawes and Ferrabosco, lavished all the -grace and elegance of their respective arts on the embellishment of the -entertainment. - -"But in what was 'the taste of the times _wretched_?' In poetry, -painting, architecture, they have not since been equalled; in theology, -and moral philosophy, they are not even now surpassed; and it ill -becomes us, who live in an age which can scarcely produce a Bartholomew -Fair farce, to arraign the taste of a period which possessed a cluster -of writers, of whom the meanest would now be esteemed a prodigy. -And why is it assumed that the followers of the court of James -were deficient in what Mr. Malone is pleased to call taste? To say -nothing of the men, (who were trained to a high sense of decorum and -intellectual discernment under Elizabeth,) the Veres, the Wroths, the -Derbys, the Bedfords, the Rutlands, the Cliffords, and the Arundels, -who danced in the fairy rings, in the gay and gallant circles of these -enchanting devices, of which our most splendid shows are, at best, but -beggarly parodies, were fully as accomplished in every internal and -external grace as those who, in our days, have succeeded to their names -and honours."—Memoirs, pp. ccxxx. ccxxxi. - -[579:A] Gifford's Jonson, vol. i. p. ccxcvii. - -[579:B] Ibid. vol. i. pp. ccciii.-cccv. - -[580:A] Gifford's Jonson, vol. i. p. cccvii. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - - THE BIOGRAPHY OF SHAKSPEARE CONTINUED TO THE CLOSE OF HIS - RESIDENCE IN LONDON. - - -Various particulars relative to the personal history of Shakspeare, -in addition to those which terminated his biography in the country, -having been detailed in the chapters that record his commencement as -an actor[581:A], the composition of his poems[581:B], and his first -efforts as a dramatic writer[581:C], we have now to collect the few -circumstances of his life which time has spared to us, during the most -active season of its duration, resuming our narrative at a period when -the capital was under considerable alarm from the prevalence of the -plague, and from the numerous conspiracies which were entered into -against the life of the Queen. Shakspeare had been exposed, during the -year of his birth, to great risk from the plague at Stratford, and its -recurrence in 1593 seems to have made so deep an impression upon him, -that he has alluded to it in more than one of his plays; particularly -in his _Romeo and Juliet_ written in this very year, where he mentions -the practice of sealing up the doors of houses, in which "the -infectious pestilence did reign."[581:D] It is probable that the effect -on his mind might have been rendered more powerful, by the recollected -narrative of those who had tended his infancy, and who, no doubt, had -often told him of the danger which threatened the dawn of his existence. - -We have found that, on his arrival in London, his first employment was -that of an actor, a profession which, we certainly know, he continued -to exercise for, at least, seventeen years. That he was by no means -partial, however, to this occupation, nay that he bitterly regretted -the necessity which compelled him to have recourse to it, as a mode of -procuring subsistence, may be fairly deduced from the language of his -ninety-first sonnet:— - - "O for my sake do you with fortune chide, - The guilty goddess of my harmful deeds, - That did not better for my life provide, - _Than publick means, which publick manners breeds_. - Thence comes it that my name receives a brand, - And almost thence my nature is subdu'd - To what it works in." - -It appears strongly indeed, from the best of all evidence, that of -his own words, that his early progress in life was thwarted by many -obstacles, and accompanied by severe struggles, by poverty, contumely, -and neglect. This he has emphatically told us, not only in one, but in -several places, and in terms so expressive as to make us sympathize -acutely with his sorrows. Yet we perceive him bearing up under his -difficulties with a noble and independent spirit, and contrasting the -world's oppression with the solace of private friendship. Thus, in that -beautiful sonnet, the twenty-ninth, which has been noticed in another -place, the transition from despair to hope is finely painted:— - - "When _in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes_, - I all alone beweep my out-cast state, - And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries, - And look upon myself and curse my fate, - Wishing me like to one more rich in hope, - Featur'd like him, like him with friends possess'd, - Desiring this man's art, and that man's scope.— - Yet in these thoughts _myself almost despising_, - Haply I think on thee,—and then my state - (Like to the lark at break of day arising - From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven's gate:" - -and again, in sonnet the thirty-seventh,— - - "As a decrepit father takes delight - To see his active child do deeds of youth, - So, I _made lame by fortune's dearest spite_ - Take all my comfort of thy worth and truth;— - _So then I am not lame, poor, nor despis'd_, - Whilst that this shadow doth such substance give, - That I in thy abundance am suffic'd, - And by a part of all thy glory live." - -That, by the salutary though severe lessons of adversity, he had -learnt to conquer his misfortunes, and to despise the shafts of vulgar -scandal, will be evident from the two subsequent passages:— - - "Then hate me when thou wilt; if ever, now; - Now _while the world is bent my deeds to cross_, - Join with the _spite of fortune_, make me bow, - And do not drop in for an after-loss: - Ah! do not, when my heart hath scap'd this sorrow, - Come in the rearward of a _conquer'd woe_." - Sonnet 90. - - "Your love and pity doth the impression fill - Which _vulgar scandal stamp'd upon my brow_; - For what care I who calls me well or ill, - So you o'er-green my bad, my good allow?— - In so profound abysm I throw all care - Of other's voices, that _my adders sense - To critick and to flatterer stopped are_." - Sonnet 112. - -These complaints and consolations were, no doubt, written during the -first _ten_ years of his residence in London, while his reputation, as -a poet, was yet assailable, and while the patronage of Lord Southampton -was his only shield against the jealousy and traduction of illiberal -competitors, whether off or on the stage. But the fame arising from his -poems, and from the dramas of _Romeo and Juliet_, and _King Richard the -Third_, had, in 1596, most assuredly secured him from any apprehensions -of permanent injury; more especially as, soon after this period, the -encouragement and support of _William, Earl of Pembroke_, and _Philip, -Earl of Montgomery_, who, as the players tell us, in their dedication -of the first folio, _had prosecuted our poet's plays, and their author -living, with so much favour_[583:A], were added to the protecting -influence of Southampton. - -It was in this year, namely 1596, that Shakspeare's feelings as a -father were put to a severe trial, by the loss of his only son Hamnet, -who died in the month of August, at the age of twelve—a deprivation -which, however sustained with fortitude, must have been long deplored. - -He was now residing, it would appear from evidence referred to by Mr. -Malone[584:A], near the Bear-Garden in Southwark, and in the following -year (1597) purchased of William Underhill Esquire, one of the best -houses in his native town of Stratford, which, having repaired and -improved, he denominated New Place.[584:B] Whether this was the -purchase in which he is said to have been so materially assisted by -Lord Southampton, cannot positively be affirmed; but as he had not long -emerged from his difficulties, it is highly probable that on this, as -well as on subsequent occasions, he was indebted to the bounty of his -patron.[585:A] - -To the year 1598 has been commonly assigned the commencement of -the intimacy between our author and Ben Jonson. This epoch rests -upon the authority of Mr. Rowe, who informs us, that "Shakspeare's -acquaintance with Ben Jonson began with a remarkable piece of humanity -and good-nature. Mr. Jonson, who was at that time _altogether unknown -to the world_, had offered one of his plays to the players to have it -acted; and the persons into whose hands it was put, after having turned -it carelessly and superciliously over, was just upon the point of -returning it to him with an ill-natured answer, that it would be of no -service to their company, when Shakspeare luckily cast his eye upon it, -and found something so well in it, as to engage him first to read it -through, and afterwards to recommend Mr. Jonson and his writings to the -public."[586:A] - -That this kind office was in perfect unison with the general character -of Shakspeare, will readily be admitted, yet there is much reason to -believe that the whole account is without foundation; for, as we have -related, in the last chapter, _Every Man in his Humour_, which is -supposed by all the editors and commentators to be the play alluded -to by Rowe, was first performed at the Rose theatre; and "that Jonson -was 'altogether unknown to the world,'" remarks Mr. Gifford, "is a -palpable untruth. At this period," (1598) he continues, "Jonson was as -well known as Shakspeare, and perhaps better. He was poor indeed, and -very poor, and a mere retainer of the theatres; but he was intimately -acquainted with Henslowe and Alleyn, and with all the performers at -their houses. He was familiar with Drayton and Chapman, and Rowley, -and Middleton, and Fletcher; he had been writing for three years, in -conjunction with Marston, and Decker, and Chettle, and Porter, and -Bird, and with most of the poets of the day: he was celebrated by Meres -as one of the principal writers of tragedy; and he had long been rising -in reputation as a scholar and a poet among the most distinguished -characters of the age. At this moment he was employed on _Every Man out -of his Humour_, which was acted in 1599, and, in the elegant dedication -of that comedy to the 'Gentlemen of the Inns of Court,' he says, 'When -I wrote this poem, I had _friendship with divers_ in your Societies, -who, as they were _great names_ in learning, so were they no less -examples of living. Of them and _then_, that I say no more, it was not -despised.'—And yet, Jonson was, at this time, 'altogether unknown to -the world!' and offered a virgin comedy (which had already been three -years on the stage) to a player in the humble hope that it might be -accepted."[586:B] - -The presumption is, that our poet and Jonson were acquainted anterior -to 1598, probably as early as 1595, and that the dramatic reputation of -Ben was the chief motive which induced the company at the Black Friars -to procure the alterations in, and to secure the property of, _Every -Man in his Humour_. Such even is the opinion of Mr. Malone himself, -when he has once forgotten the preposterous charge of _ingratitude_, on -the part of Jonson, for this _imaginary introduction_ to the stage by -Shakspeare; for in a note, on an entry of Mr. Henslowe's, which runs -thus:—"11 of Maye 1597, at the comedy of umers (humours) 11," that is, -acted eleven times since November, 1596, he observes,—"Perhaps Ben -Jonson's _Every Man in his Humour_." It will appear hereafter, that he -had money dealings with Mr. Henslowe, the manager of this theatre, and -that he wrote for him. The play might have been _afterwards purchased -from this company by the Lord Chamberlain's Servants_ (that is, by -Shakspeare, Burbage, Heminge, &c.) by whom it was acted in 1598[587:A]; -an inconsistency which has been keenly and justly animadverted upon by -Mr. Gifford.[587:B] - -Two domestic circumstances mark the next year of our author's life; for -in 1599, his father obtained from the Heralds' Office a confirmation -of his Coat of Arms, and his sister Joan married Mr. William Hart, a -hatter in Stratford, occurrences which, in the great dearth of events -unfortunately incident to our subject, are of some importance. - -If an inference, however, made by Sir John Sinclair, could be -considered as legitimately drawn, this year might be esteemed one of -the most important in the poet's life; for, in the twentieth volume -of his Statistical Account of Scotland, when speaking of the local -traditions respecting Macbeth's castle at Dunsinnan, he infers, from -their coincidence with the drama, that Shakspeare, "in his capacity -of actor, travelled to Scotland in 1599, and collected on the spot -materials for the exercise of his imagination." "Every attempt," -remarks Mr. Stoddart, who has introduced this anecdote into his -interesting Tour, "to illustrate the slightest circumstance, concerning -such a mind, deserves our gratitude; but in this instance, conjecture -seems to have gone its full length, if not to have overstepped the -modesty of nature. The probability of Shakspeare's ever having been in -Scotland, is very remote. It should seem, by his uniformly accenting -the name of this spot Dunsináne, that he could not possibly have taken -it from the mouths of the country-people, who as uniformly accent -it Dunsínnan. Every one knows, with what ease local tradition is so -modified, as to suit public history; and it is probable, that what Sir -John heard in 1772, was a superstructure raised upon the drama itself. -Amid the blaze of Shakspeare's genius, small praise is lost; but it -is, perhaps, more honourable to his intellectual energies to suppose, -that so much minute information was collected from books, or from -conversation, than from an actual acquaintance with the place."[588:A] - -Though we by no means contend for the validity of the inference, yet -we must observe, that one of the principal objections of Mr. Stoddart -is unfounded; for Shakspeare certainly was familiar with both modes of -pronunciation, and has given us a specimen of the popular accent in the -following well-known passage:— - - "Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be, until - Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill - Shall come against him." - -Neither do we think, that his genius would have suffered any -deterioration, nor his drama any loss of interest, had he actually -painted from local observation.[588:B] - -If we be correct in attributing _Much Ado about Nothing_ to the year -1599, it is here that some notice should be taken of an anecdote -recorded by Aubrey, who, meaning to allude to the character of Dogberry -in this play, though by mistake he refers to the _Midsummer-Night's -Dream_, says, that "the humour of the constable he (Shakspeare) -happened to take at Grendon, in Bucks, which is the roade from London -to Stratford, and there was living that constable about 1642, when I -first came to Oxon. Mr. Jos. Howe is of that parish, and knew him. -Ben Jonson and he did gather humours of men dayly, wherever they -came."[589:A] - -That Shakspeare was accustomed to visit Stratford annually, has -been already noticed[589:B]; and we learn from Antony Wood, that in -performing these journeys, he used to bait at the Crown-Inn, in Oxford, -which was then kept by John Davenant, the father of the poet. Antony -represents Mrs. Davenant as both beautiful and accomplished, and her -husband as a lover of plays, and a great admirer of Shakspeare.[589:C] -The frequent visits of the bard, and the charms of his landlady, appear -to have given birth to some scandalous surmises; for Oldys, repeating -Wood's story, adds, on the authority of Betterton and Pope, that "their -son, young Will. Davenant, (afterwards Sir William,) was then a little -school-boy in the town, of about seven or eight years old, and so fond -also of Shakspeare, that whenever he heard of his arrival, he would -fly from school to see him. One day, an old townsman observing the -boy running homeward almost out of breath, asked him whither he was -posting in that heat and hurry. He answered, to see his _god_-father -Shakspeare. There's a good boy, said the other, but have a care that -you don't take _God's_ name in vain."[589:D] It has also been said, -that Sir William had the weakness to feel gratified by the publicity of -the supposition.[589:E] - -It is very probable that, in 1600, Shakspeare might so time his annual -visit to Stratford, as to be present at the christening of his nephew, -William Hart, his sister's eldest son; who, according to the Register, -was baptized on the 28th of the August of this year, and who, together -with his two brothers, Thomas and Michael, is remembered in the poet's -will, by a legacy of five pounds. - -The subsequent year exhibits our bard in great favour at court. The -Queen had been delighted with the _Two Parts of Henry the Fourth_, -and honoured their author with a command to bring forward Falstaff in -another play. Tradition says, this was executed in a fortnight, and -afforded Her Majesty the most entire satisfaction. The approbation and -encouragement, indeed, of the two sovereigns under whose reigns he -flourished, was a subject of contemporary notoriety; for Jonson, in his -celebrated eulogy, thus apostrophises his departed friend:— - - "Sweet swan of Avon, what a sight it were, - To see thee in our waters yet appear: - And make those flights upon the banks of Thames, - _That so did take Eliza, and our James_." - -That Elizabeth "gave him many gracious marks of her favour," has been -mentioned by Rowe as a matter of no doubt; and he elsewhere observes, -that "what grace soever the Queen conferred upon him, it was not to -_her_ only he owed the _fortune_ which the reputation of his wit -made[590:A];" an observation which ushers in the acknowledgment of -Southampton's well-known generosity. - -The pleasure arising from this tide of success must have been, in no -slight degree, damped by the sorrow which a son so truly great and -good, must have felt on the loss of his father. This worthy man, of -whom, in the opening of our work, some account will be found, expired -on the 8th of September, 1601, leaving a name immortalised by the -celebrity of his offspring. - -In 1602, no other trace of our author is discoverable, independent -of his literary exertions, than that, on the 1st day of May, he -purchased, in the town and parish of Stratford, one hundred and seven -acres of land, for the sum of 320_l._, which lands appear to have been -indissolubly connected with his former purchase of New Place, and to -have descended with it, until the extinction of the latter by Mr. -Gastrell.[591:A] - -The year following, however, brought an accession of dignity and power; -for no sooner had James gotten possession of the English throne, than -he granted a Licence to the Company at the Globe, which bears date -the 19th of May, 1603, and being entitled "Pro Laurentio Fletcher et -Willielmo Shakespeare et aliis," gives us reason to conclude, that -the persons thus distinguished were, if not joint managers, at least -leaders in the concern.[591:B] - -It was about this period also that Shakspeare may, upon good grounds, -be supposed to have taken his farewel of the stage _as an actor_; -relinquishing this profession of which he appears not to have been -very fond, for the purpose of more closely superintending the general -concerns of the theatre, of which his writings continued to be the -chief support. One strong motive for this deduction has arisen from the -circumstance, that his name, as a performer, is no where visible beyond -the era of Jonson's _Sejanus_, in which play, first acted in 1603, it -is found in the list of the principal comedians, while in _The Fox_, -published only two years afterwards, performed at the same theatre, and -by the same company, he is not mentioned, though the list of players -is, as usual, inserted. That the term _fellow_, which continued to be -mutually used by Shakspeare and the comedians of the Globe, cannot -indicate a contrary conclusion, is evident from the language of the -poet himself, who, in his will, though written three years after all -connection, on his part, with the theatre had been given up, still -speaks of Hemynge, Burbage, and Condell as _his fellows_. - -To nearly the same epoch we may attribute the _friendly_ association -of Shakspeare and Jonson in the celebrated club at the Mermaid, a form -of society to which, from its ease and independency, Englishmen have -always been peculiarly partial. The institution in question originated -with Sir Walter Raleigh, and, as Mr. Gifford has well observed, -speaking of Jonson's resort to it about the year 1603, "combined -more talent and genius, perhaps, than ever met together before or -since;—here," he adds, "for many years, he (Jonson) regularly repaired -with Shakspeare, Beaumont, Fletcher, Selden, Cotton, Carew, Martin, -Donne, and many others, whose names, even at this distant period, call -up a mingled feeling of reverence and respect. Here, in the full flow -and confidence of friendship, the lively and interesting 'wit-combats' -took place between Shakspeare and our author; and hither, in probable -allusion to them, Beaumont fondly lets his thoughts wander, in his -letter to Jonson, from the country:— - - ——————— "What things have we seen, - Done at the MERMAID! heard words that have been - So nimble, and so full of subtle flame, - As if that every one from whom they came, - Had meant to put his whole wit in a jest, &c."[592:A] - -For the expression "wit-combats," in this interesting passage, we must -refer to Fuller, who, describing the character of the bard of Avon, -says: "Many were the wit-combates between Shakspeare and Ben Jonson. I -behold them like a Spanish great galleon, and an English man of war. -Master Jonson, like the former, was built far higher in learning, solid -but slow in his performances, Shakspeare, like the latter, lesser in -bulk, but lighter in sailing, could turn with all tides, tack about, -and take advantage of all winds by the quickness of his wit and -invention."[592:B] - -With what delight should we have hung over any well authenticated -instances of these "wit-combats!" but, unfortunately, nothing, upon -which we can depend, has descended to us. How much is it to be -regretted that Fuller, who, no doubt, from the manner in which he has -mentioned the subject, had many of these lively sallies fresh in his -recollection, has not been more communicative! What tradition, however, -or rather, perhaps, what fabrication, has left us, of this kind, will -be found in the notes.[593:A] - -It would appear that Shakspeare was now rapidly accumulating property; -he had purchased, we have seen, New Place in 1597, a hundred and seven -acres of land in 1602, and in 1605 he became the purchaser of the lease -of the moiety of the great and small tithes of Stratford, for the sum -of 440_l._[594:A], a pretty strong proof of the success which had -accompanied the exercise of his talents, both as an _actor_ and a poet, -and a complete one of his having overcome the difficulties which, for -some years after his arrival in London, had so oppressively encumbered -his efforts. - -We may add, that he was gratified this year by the affectionate -remembrance of his former associate Augustine Phillips, who, in his -Will, proved on the 13th of May, 1605, gives and bequeaths to his -"Fellowe Wīllm Shakespeare a thirty shillings piece in gould."[594:B] - -It was the fashion at this period among the poets, to compliment a -monarch, who was peculiarly open to flattery, especially on the subject -of his genealogy, and on the union of the three kingdoms in his own -person; a species of panegyric in which our author had been preceded -by Daniel, Drayton, and Ben Jonson, and even by such grave characters -as Dugdale and Wake.[595:A] It was natural, therefore, for Shakspeare, -who had been under some obligation to James, to express his sense -of it in a similar way, and he has accordingly, through the medium -of his _Macbeth_, which we conceive to have been performed in 1606, -represented James as descended from Banquo, a character which, for this -purpose, he has drawn, contrary to his historical authorities, noble -and blameless. James, as Dr. Farmer[595:B] thinks, was so delighted -with the line which painted him as carrying "two-fold balls and treble -sceptres," that it was on this occasion he was induced to acknowledge -the compliment by a letter to the bard from his own hand; an anecdote -which seems entitled to full credit, as it originated, Oldys tells us, -with Sheffield, Duke of Buckingham, who had it immediately from Sir -William D'Avenant, in whose hands the letter long remained.[595:C] - -This year has been also rendered memorable in the biography of our -poet by the publication of a drama called "The Return from Parnassus," -which had been acted by the students of St. John's College, Cambridge, -as early as 1602. To a passage in this very curious production is to -be ascribed all the idle tales which have been circulated with so much -industry and avidity relative to a supposed quarrel between our author -and Ben Jonson, in doing which, though the principal object has been -to substantiate a charge of envy and malignancy against the latter, -the mode in which the attempt is executed has been such as would, were -the premises true, reflect no credit on the former. But the whole is a -tissue of the most groundless and indefensible scandal, and we stand -aghast at the motives which could induce such persevering hostility -against the very man who, more than all others, had been the steady and -professed eulogist of the poet whom these commentators sally forth to -protect. - -The passage, however, as equally applicable and important to both -these great men, it will be necessary to transcribe. Burbage and Kempe, -Shakspeare's fellow-comedians, are introduced conversing about the -histrionic powers of the students of Cambridge, the latter ridiculing -and the former defending their attempts, by observing, "that a little -teaching will mend their faults; and it may be, besides, they will be -able to pen a part;" to which Kempe, who seems here an object of irony, -replies,— - -"Few of the university pen plays well; they smell too much of that -writer Ovid, and that writer _Metamorphosis_, and talk too much of -Proserpina and Juppiter. Why here's our fellow Shakspeare put them (the -University poets) all down, ay, and Ben Jonson too. O that Ben Jonson -is a pestilent fellow; he brought up Horace, giving the poets a pill, -but our fellow Shakspeare has given him a purge that made him bewray -his credit."[596:A] - -"When an object is placed too near to the eye," observes Mr. Gilchrist, -commenting on this quotation, "the vision is strained and impaired, -and the object obscured or distorted: if the commentators had viewed -this passage 'as others use,' they would have found in the numerous -dramas published anterior to the above passage, the instruments by -which he put Ben down; and, in their various excellence, the means by -which he threw the claims of his competitor into the shade. The passage -has no reference to _personal_ animosity; it was a just testimony to -the superior merit of 'the poet of nature,' over the writings of more -'learned candidates for fame;' and the well-merited compliment is very -appropriately put into the mouth of Will Kempe, one of Shakspeare's -fellows."[596:B] - -It is remarkable, that with the exception of Rowe, who, however, soon -retracted the accusation, none of the editors of, and commentators on, -Shakspeare had, previous to Steevens, attempted to prove Jonson the -libeller of his friend. It remained therefore for his commentators of -the last half century to undertake the noble task of heaping a thousand -groundless calumnies on the defenceless head of Shakspeare's dearest -friend, on him whom he most admired, and by whom he was best beloved! -The iteration of these charges, under every form and shape, and -connected with a commentary rendered popular by the text to which it -was appended, had totally poisoned the public mind, when Mr. Gilchrist, -and, still more amply, Mr. Gifford, by hunting these gentlemen through -all their windings and doublings, through all the channels to which -they had recourse for defamation, have produced a refutation of their -charges, and a detection of their practices, more complete, perhaps, -than any other instance of the kind on literary record.[597:A] - -Truly delightful must it be to every lover of Shakspeare and of human -nature, to find that the affectionate confidence of our bard was not -thrown away, was not placed on a man worthless and insensible of the -gift, but was returned by honest Ben, however occasionally rough in his -manner and temper, with an attachment amounting to enthusiasm, with a -steadiness which neither years nor infirmities could shake.[598:A] - -On the last day of the year 1607, our poet buried at the church of St. -Saviour's, Southwark, his brother Edmond, who, with singular precision, -is entered in the register of that parish as "Edmond Shakspeare, a -_player_," so that, as Mr. Chalmers has observed, "there were two -Shakspeares on the stage during the same period."[598:B] - -He had likewise married, on the fifth of June of this year, his -favourite daughter Susanna, to Dr. John Hall, a physician of -considerable skill and reputation in his profession, which he exercised -at Stratford, residing during his father-in-law's life-time in the old -town, but, on his death, removing to New Place, which, with the chief -part of his property, had been left by the poet to Mrs. Hall. Susanna -was, on her nuptials with Dr. Hall, twenty-five years of age, and there -can be little doubt but that her father was present at the celebration -of an event so materially affecting the happiness of his child.[599:A] - -It is highly probable, that, independent of his regular annual visit, -family-occurrences frequently drew Shakspeare from London to the purer -atmosphere of his native fields; for, in the year succeeding the -marriage of his daughter, two events of this kind took place, of which -one required his personal attendance. On the 21st of February, 1608, -his grandaughter Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. Hall, was baptized[599:B]; -and, on the 16th of the October following, he _stood_ godfather for -William Walker, the son of Henry Walker of Stratford, remembering the -child in his will, with twenty shillings in gold, under the title of -his "godson William Walker."[599:C] - -The year 1609 is sufficiently commemorated by the general opinion, -that, at this period, Shakspeare planted the _Mulberry Tree_, whose -premature fate has been recorded in a preceding note. - -"That Shakspeare planted this tree," observes Mr. Malone, "is as -well authenticated as any thing of that nature can be. The Rev. Mr. -Davenport informs me, that Mr. Hugh Taylor, (the father of his clerk,) -who is now eighty-five years old, and an alderman of Warwick, where he -at present resides, says, he lived, when a boy, at the next house to -New Place; that his family had inhabited the house for almost three -hundred years; that it was transmitted from father to son during the -last and the present century; that this tree (of the fruit of which he -had often eaten in his younger days, some of its branches hanging over -his father's garden,) was planted by Shakspeare; and that till this -was planted, there was no mulberry-tree in that neighbourhood. Mr. -Taylor adds, that he was frequently, when a boy, at New Place, and that -this tradition was preserved in the Clopton family, as well as in his -own."[600:A] - -That it was planted in the year above-mentioned, seems established by -the facts, that, previous to the epoch in question, mulberry-trees, -though not absolutely unknown in this country, were extremely scarce; -and that, in 1609, King James, with a view to the encouragement of -the silk manufacture, imported many hundred thousand of these trees -from France, dispersing them all over England, accompanied by circular -letters, written to induce the inhabitants to cultivate so useful, and -at the same time so ornamental a production of the vegetable world. - -It may safely be inferred, therefore, that our poet, on his visit this -year to Stratford, had, in deference to the recommendation of his -sovereign, as well as from his own taste and inclination, embellished -his garden with this elegant tree. - -With the exception of a Writ, issued out of the Stratford Court of -Record, in June, 1610, for a small debt due to our author, scarcely a -vestige of his existence, apart from his works, can be found for the -next three years. This writ, and another issued the preceding year for -a similar purpose, have the subjoined signature of _Greene_, being that -of Thomas Greene, Esq., a cousin of the poet's; who, though resident in -Stratford, and clerk to its corporation, had at the same time chambers -in the Middle Temple, and was a barrister in Chancery. He is entitled -to this notice, as being not only the relation, but the intimate friend -of Shakspeare.[600:B] - -We now approach the last year of Shakspeare's abode in London, which, -there is every reason to suppose, continued to be in that part of -it where we found him in 1596; where he assuredly was, according to -Malone, in 1608, and where he no doubt remained, until, as a resident, -he quitted the capital for ever.[601:A] Before he took this step, -however, he became the purchaser of a tenement in Blackfriars, for -which, according to a deed still extant[601:B], he agreed to give one -Henry Walker the sum of 140_l._, of which he paid 80_l._ down, and -mortgaged the premises for the remainder. The property acquired by this -transaction, which took place on the 10th of March, 1613, is in his -will bequeathed to his daughter Susanna, and being there described as -"that messuage or tenement, with the appurtenances, wherein one John -Robinson dwelleth, situate, lying, and being, in the Blackfriars in -London, near the Wardrobe," was probably let to this tenant soon after -the purchase. - -Among the arrangements which such a change of situation would almost -necessarily require, it is reasonable to imagine, that his property -in the Globe theatre would not be forgotten; but as this is neither -mentioned in his will, nor he himself once noticed in the transactions -of the theatre for 1613, we are entitled to infer, that he disposed of -his interest in the concern previous to his leaving London. - -That this event took place before the close of 1613, in all probability -during the summer of the year, not only this circumstance relative to -the theatre, and the general tradition, that a few years anterior to -his death, he had left the metropolis for "ease, retirement, and the -conversation of his friends" at Stratford, but two other circumstances -of importance, will lead us to conclude. For, in the first place, it -has been calculated that, at this period, his income from real and -personal property was such, as to enable him to live handsomely in the -country, independent of any profit from the stage[601:C]; and secondly, -we have found sufficient _data_ for believing, that his literary -career was terminated by the production of _The Twelfth Night_, and -that this play was written in 1613. - -These considerations, when united, impress us with a perfect -conviction, that when Shakspeare bade adieu to London, he left it -predetermined to devote the residue of his days exclusively to -the cultivation of social and domestic happiness in the shades of -retirement. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[581:A] Vide Part II. Chap. 1. - -[581:B] Part II. Chaps. 2. & 5. - -[581:C] Part II. Chap. 9. - -[581:D] Act v. sc. 2. Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. xx. p. 236. See also -The Two Gentlemen of Verona, act ii. sc. 1. - -[583:A] Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 164.; and Chalmers's -Apology, p. 599. - -[584:A] See his "Inquiry," p. 215. - -[584:B] Of this mansion, which Dugdale informs us was originally built -by Sir Hugh Clopton in the time of Henry the Seventh, and was then "a -fair-house, built of brick and timber," and continued in the Clopton -family until 1563, when it was purchased by William Bott, and resold in -1570 to William Underhill, Esq., Mr. Wheler has given us the following -account, subsequent to the decease of our poet:—"On Shakspeare's -death, it came to his daughter Mrs. Hall, for her life; and then to her -only child Elizabeth, afterwards Lady Barnard; after whose death New -Place was sold, in 1675, to Sir Edward Walker, Knt. Garter, King at -Arms, who died the 20th of February, 1676-7; and under his Will, dated -the 29th of June, 1676, it came to his only child, Barbara, the wife of -Sir John Clopton, Knt. of Clopton, in this parish. Their younger son, -Sir Hugh Clopton, Knt. a barrister at law, and one of the heralds at -arms, afterwards became possessed of New Place, which he modernised by -internal and external alterations; and in 1742, entertained Macklin, -Garrick, and Dr. Delany, under Shakspeare's mulberry tree. By Sir -Hugh's son-in-law and executor, Henry Talbot, Esq. brother to the -Lord Chancellor Talbot, it was sold to the Rev. Francis Gastrell, -vicar of Frodsham in Cheshire; who, if we may judge by his actions, -felt no sort of pride or pleasure in this charming retirement, no -consciousness of his being possessed of the sacred ground which the -muses had consecrated to the memory of their favourite poet. The -celebrated mulberry-tree planted by Shakspeare's hand became first an -object of his dislike, because it subjected him to answer the frequent -importunities of travellers, whose zeal might prompt them to visit it, -and to hope that they might meet inspiration under its shade. In an -evil hour, the sacrilegious priest ordered the tree, then remarkably -large, and at its full growth, to be cut down; which was no sooner -done, than it was cleft to pieces for fire-wood: this took place in -1756, to the great regret and vexation, not only of the inhabitants, -but of every admirer of our bard. The greater part of it was, however, -soon after purchased by Mr. Thomas Sharp, watch-maker, of Stratford; -who, well acquainted with the value set upon it by the world, turned -it much to his advantage, by converting every fragment into small -boxes, goblets, tooth-pick cases, tobacco-stoppers, and numerous other -articles. Nor did New Place long escape the destructive hand of Mr. -Gastrell; who, being compelled to pay the monthly assessments towards -the maintenance of the poor, (some of which he expected to avoid, -because he resided part of the year at Lichfield, though his servants -continued in the house at Stratford during his absence,) in the heat -of his anger declared, _that_ house should never be assessed again; -and to give his imprecation due effect, and wishing, as it seems, to -be "damned to everlasting fame," the demolition of New Place soon -followed; for, in 1759, he rased the building to the ground, disposed -of the materials, and left Stratford amidst the rage and curses of -its inhabitants. Thus was the town deprived of one of its principal -ornaments, and most valued relics, by a man, who, had he been possessed -of a true sense, and a veneration for the memory of our bard, would -have rather preserved whatever particularly concerned their great and -immortal owner, than ignorantly have trodden the ground which had been -cultivated by the greatest genius in the world, without feeling those -emotions which naturally arise in the breast of the generous enthusiast. - -"The site of New Place was afterwards added to the adjoining garden, -by its illiberal proprietor; under whose Will, made on the 2d of -October, 1768, it came to his widow, Mrs. Jane Gastrell; who, in -1775, sold it to William Hunt, Esq. late of this town; from whose -family it was purchased by Messrs. Battersbee and Morris, bankers, -of Stratford."—Wheler's History of Stratford, p. 135.; and Guide to -Stratford, pp. 45. 47. - -[585:A] It is more probable that he was assisted on various occasions -by His Lordship, than that the large sum, mentioned by tradition, was -bestowed at once, and at a period, too, when it was less required. - -[586:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. pp. 67, 68. - -[586:B] Gifford's Jonson, vol. i. Memoirs, pp. xliii. xliv. -xlv.—Shakspeare, whose name stands at the head of the principal -performers in Every Man in his Humour, is supposed to have acted the -part of Knowell. - -[587:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. p. 365. - -[587:B] Gifford's Jonson, vol. i. p. cclxxix. - -[588:A] Remarks on Local Scenery and Manners in Scotland, 8vo. vol. ii. -pp. 197, 198. - -[588:B] It is a remarkable circumstance, however, that James is said, -during this very year (1599), to have solicited Queen Elizabeth to send -a company of English comedians to Edinburgh.—Vide Reed's Shakspeare, -vol. iii. p. 51. - -[589:A] Bodleian Letters, vol. iii. p. 307. - -[589:B] Vide Part II. Chapter 1. - -[589:C] Athenæ Oxon. vol. ii. p. 292. edit. 1692. - -[589:D] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 124. - -[589:E] Ibid. vol. iii. p. 209. - -[590:A] Vide Rowe's Life of Shakspeare, in Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. -pp. 65, 66. - -[591:A] Wheler's Guide to Stratford upon Avon, p. 18. - -[591:B] See this Licence given at length in our History of the Stage, -Part II. Chapter 7. - -[592:A] Gifford's Jonson, vol. i. Memoirs, pp. lxv. lxvi. - -[592:B] Worthies, folio edition, part iii. p. 126. - -[593:A] Were the repartees, however, of which time has deprived us, -no better than those that we have now to communicate, it must be -confessed, that the two bards have no great reason to complain of the -loss. "Shakspeare," relates Capell, "was god-father to one of Ben -Jonson's children, and after the christening, being in deep study, -Jonson came to cheer him up; and asked him why he was so melancholy? No -faith, Ben, says he, not I; but I have been considering a great while -what should be the fittest gift for me to bestow upon my god-child, -and I have resolved at last. I prithee what, says he? I'faith, Ben, -I'll e'en give her a dozen good Latin (latten) spoons, and thou shalt -_translate_ them."—Notes on Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 94. - -The second of these _morceaux_ is, if possible, still worse than the -preceding: "Mr. Ben Jonson and Mr. William Shakspeare being merrie at a -tavern, Mr. Jonson begins this for his epitaph, - - "Here lies Ben Jonson - Who was once one— - -he gives it to Mr. Shakspeare to make up, who presently writte, - - "That, while he liv'd was a _slow_ thing, - And now, being dead, is _no_-thing." - -"This stuff," adds Mr. Gifford, "is copied from the Ashmole MS. -38."—Gifford's Ben Jonson, vol. i. Memoirs, p. lxxx. note. - -The next may be said to be rather of a "better leer." - -"Verses by Ben Jonson and Shakspeare, occasioned by the motto to the -Globe Theatre—_Totus mundus agit histrionem_. - - -JONSON. - - "If, but _stage actors_, all the world displays, - Where shall we find _spectators_ of their plays?" - - -SHAKSPEARE. - - "Little, or much, of what we see, we do; - We are all both _actors_ and _spectators_ too." - -"Poetical Characteristicks, 8vo. MS. vol. i., some time in the Harleian -Library; which volume was returned to its owner."—Vide Reed's -Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 130. - -"That Shakspeare and Ben Jonson were intimate," observes Dr. -Berkenhout, "appears from the following letter, written by G. Peel, a -dramatic poet, to his friend Marle:— - - 'Friend Marle, - - 'I never longed for thy company more than last night, we were - all very merrye at the Globe, when Ned Alleyn did not scruple - to affyrme pleasantely to thy friend Will, that he had stolen - his speeche about the qualityes of an actor's excellencye, in - Hamlet hys tragedye, from conversations manyfold whych had - passed between them, and opinyons given by Alleyn touchinge the - subject. Shakespeare did not take this talke in good sorte; - but Jonson put an end to the strife, wittylie remarking, This - affaire needeth no contentione; you stole it from Ned, no - doubt; do not marvel: have you not seen him act tymes out of - number? - G. PEEL.' - -"Whence I copied this letter, I do not recollect; but I remember -that at the time of transcribing it, I had no doubt of its -authenticity."—Biographia Literaria, pp. 399, 400. 4to. 1777. - -I believe the first appearance of this letter was in the Annual -Register for 1770, whence it was copied into the Biographia Britannica, -and in both these works it commences in the following manner: "I must -desyre that my syster hyr watche, and the cookerie book you promysed, -may be sente bye the man.—I never longed, &c." Of the four, this is -the only anecdote worth preserving; but I apprehend it to be a mere -forgery. - -[594:A] Wheler's Guide to Stratford, p. 18. - -[594:B] See his Will, in Chalmers's Apology, p. 433. - -[595:A] Wake, in his "Rex Platonicus, sive de potentiis, principis -Jacobi regis ad Acad. Oxon. adventu, anno 1605," speaking of the -prophecy of the Weird Sisters, says, _Vaticinii veritatem rerum eventus -comprobavit; Banquonis enim e stirpe potentissimus Jacobus oriundus_. - -[595:B] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. x. p. 300. - -[595:C] Ibid. vol. i. p. 130. - -[596:A] Ancient British Drama, vol. i. p. 64. Act iv. sc. 3. - -[596:B] Gilchrist's Examination, pp. 15, 16. - -[597:A] One of these refutations, as including a complete detection -of the fallacious grounds on which a well-known anecdote relative to -Shakspeare and Jonson has been founded, it will be useful as well as -entertaining to transcribe. - -"Hales of Eaton," observes Mr. Gifford, "was reported to have said -(though the matter was not much in Hales of Eaton's way), 'that there -was no subject of which any person ever writ, but he would produce it -much better done by Shakspeare,' p. 16.—Shakspeare, vol. i. edit. -1593. This is told by Dryden, 1667. The next version is by Tate, -1680. 'Our learned Hales was wont to assert, that since the time of -Orpheus no common place has been touched upon, where Shakspeare has -not performed as well.' Next comes the illustrious Gildon (of Dunciad -memory), and he models the story thus, from Dryden, as he says, with -a salvo for the accuracy of his recollection! 'Mr. Hales of Eaton -affirmed, that he would shew all the poets of antiquity outdone by -Shakspeare.—The _enemies_ of Shakspeare would by no means yield to -this; so that it came to a trial of skill. The place agreed on for the -dispute was Mr. Hales's chamber at Eton. A great many _books were sent -down_ by the enemies of this poet, and on the appointed day my lord -Falkland, sir John Suckling, and _all the persons of quality_ that had -wit and learning, met there, and upon a thorough disquisition of the -point, the judges chosen out of this assembly unanimously gave the -preference to Shakspeare, and the Greek and Roman poets were adjudged -to vail at least their glory in that to the English poet.' P. 17. - -"The story now reached Rowe; and as it was discovered about this -time, that the praise of Shakspeare was worth nothing unless coupled -with the abuse of Jonson, it puts on this form. 'Mr. Hales, who had -sate still some time, hearing Ben reproach Shakspeare with the want -of learning, and ignorance of the antients, told him, at last,' &c. -Thus it stood in the first edition: but Mr. Rowe was an honest man, -and having found occasion to change his mind before the appearance of -the second edition, he struck the passage out, and inserted in its -stead,—'sir John Suckling, who was a professed admirer of Shakspeare, -had undertaken, with some warmth, his defence against Ben Jonson, when -Mr. Hales,' &c. &c.— - -"Thus we have the Fable of the _Three Black Crows!_ and thus a simple -observation of Mr. Hales (which in all probability he never made), is -dramatised, at length, into a scene of obloquy against our author! A -tissue of mere dotage scarcely deserves unravelling; but it may be just -observed, that when Jonson was seized with his last illness, (after -which he certainly never went 'to Mr. Hales's chamber, at Eton,' or -elsewhere), the two grave judges, Suckling and Falkland, who sat on -the merits of all the Greek and Roman poets, and decided with such -convincing effect, were, the first in the twelfth, and the second in -the fifteenth year of their ages!—But the chief mistake lies with -Dryden, whose memory was always subservient to the passion of the -day; the words which he has put into the mouth of Mr. Hales being, -in fact, the property of Jonson. Long before Suckling and Falkland -were out of leading-strings, he had told the world, that Shakspeare -surpassed not only all his contemporary poets, but even those of -Greece and Rome:—and if Mr. Hales used these words, without giving -the credit of them to Jonson, he was, to say the least of it, a bold -plagiarist."—Vol. i. p. cclxii. - -[598:A] "It is my fixed persuasion," says Mr. Gifford, "(not lightly -adopted, but deduced from a wide examination of the subject,) that -they (Jonson and Shakspeare) were friends and associates till the -latter finally retired—that no feud, no jealousy ever disturbed their -connection—that Shakspeare was pleased with Jonson, and that Jonson -loved and admired Shakspeare."—Vol. i. p. ccli. - -[598:B] This fact, relative to Edmond Shakspeare, has been mentioned -before, at some length; but the chronological form of the present -detail required its brief re-admission here. - -[599:A] Vide Wheler's Guide, p. 27. - -[599:B] Vide Stratford Register; Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 138. - -[599:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 158. and note. - -[600:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 77. - -[600:B] Wheler's History of Stratford, p. 144. - -[601:A] Malone's Inquiry, p. 216. - -[601:B] Vide Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 150. - -[601:C] Gildon says that Shakspeare left behind him an estate of -300_l._ per annum, equal to at least 1000_l._ per ann. at this -day; but Mr. Malone doubts "whether all his property, real and -personal, amounted to much more than 200_l._ per ann. which yet was -a considerable fortune in those days." "If," he adds, "we rate the -_New Place_ with the appurtenances, and our poet's other houses in -Stratford, at 60_l._ a year, and his house, &c. in the Blackfriars, -(for which he paid 140_l._) at 20_l._ a year, we have a rent-roll of -150_l._ per ann. Of his personal property it is not now possible to -form any accurate estimate; but if we rate it at 500_l._, money then -bearing an interest of 10_l._ per cent. Shakspeare's total income was -200_l._ per ann."—Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. pp. 73, 74. - - - - -PART III. - -_SHAKSPEARE IN RETIREMENT._ - - - - -CHAPTER I. - - ANECDOTES RELATIVE TO SHAKSPEARE, DURING HIS RETIREMENT AT - STRATFORD. - - -Yes, high in reputation as a poet, favoured by the great and -accomplished, and beloved by all who knew him, Shakspeare, after a long -residence in the capital, to the rational pleasures of which he had -contributed more than any other individual of his age, at length sought -for leisure and repose on the banks of his native stream: perhaps -wisely considering, that, as he had acquired a competency adequate to -the gratifications of a well-regulated mind; life had other duties to -perform, to the discharge of which, while health and vigour should -remain, he was now called upon to dedicate a larger portion of his time. - -The Genius of dramatic poetry may sigh over a determination thus early -taken! but who shall blame what, from our knowledge of the man, we may -justly conceive to have been his predominating motive, the hope that in -the bosom of rural peace, aloof from the dissipations and seductions of -the stage, he might the better prepare for that event which awaits us -all, and which talents, such as his were, can only, from the magnitude -of the trust, render more awfully responsible. - -That he was greatly honoured and respected at Stratford, we are -induced to credit, not only from tradition, but from the tone and -disposition of heart and intellect which his works every-where evince; -and accordingly, Rowe has told us, that "his pleasurable wit and -good-nature engaged him in the acquaintance, and entitled him to the -friendship of the gentlemen of the neighbourhood."[604:A] - -He had scarcely, however, settled in the place, when his property, and -that of all his neighbours, was threatened with utter extinction; for, -on the 9th of July, 1614, a fire broke out in the town, which according -to a brief shortly afterwards granted for its relief, "within the space -of lesse than two houres consumed and burnt fifty and fowre Dwelling -Howses, many of them being very faire Houses, besides Barnes, Stables, -and other Howses of Office, together with great Store of Corne, Hay, -Straw, Wood and Timber therein, amounting to the value of Eight -Thowsand Pounds and upwards: the force of which fier was so great (the -Wind sitting full upon the Towne) that it dispersed into so many places -thereof, whereby the whole Towne was in very great danger to have beene -utterly consumed."[604:B] Shakspeare's house fortunately escaped. - -On the 10th of July, 1614, our poet was deprived of his neighbour and -acquaintance Mr. John Combe, a character whose celebrity is altogether -founded on the epitaph which Shakspeare is said to have written upon -him. The story, however, as related by Rowe, is injurious to the memory -of its supposed author, by representing him as wantonly inflicting pain -at the moment when his friendship and forbearance were most required. -"In a pleasant conversation amongst their common friends," relates -Rowe, "Mr. Combe told Shakspeare, in a laughing manner, that he fancied -he intended to write his epitaph, if he happened to out-live him; and -since he could not know what might be said of him when he was dead, he -desired it might be done immediately; upon which Shakspeare gave him -these four verses:— - - '_Ten in the hundred_ lies here engrav'd; - 'Tis a hundred to ten his soul is not sav'd: - If any man ask, Who lies in this tomb? - Oh! ho! quoth the Devil, 'tis my John-a-Combe.' - -But the sharpness of the satire is said to have stung the man so -severely, that he never forgave it."[605:A] - -That Shakspeare, the gentle and unoffending Shakspeare as he is -always represented, should have violated the hour of confidential -gaiety by this sarcastic and condemnatory sally, is of itself -sufficiently improbable; but we are happily released from weighing the -inconsistencies accompanying such an anecdote, by the discovery of a -prior and more authentic statement, which completely exonerates the -bard, as it proves that the epitaph in question was written after the -death of its object: "One time as he (Shakspeare) was at the taverne -at Stratford," narrates Aubrey, "Mr. Combes, an old usurer, was to be -buried; he makes then this extemporary epitaph upon him:— - - 'Ten in the hundred the devill allowes, - But Combes will have twelve, he swears and he vowes; - If any one aske, who lies in this tomb, - Hoh! quoth the devill, 'tis my John-a-Combe.'"[605:B] - -Mr. Combe, who, it appears, was buried two days after his -[605:C]decease, was by no means a popular character, having amassed -considerable wealth, through the medium of _usury_, a term then -uniformly applied to the practice of all who took any _interest_ or -_usance_ for money. The custom, though now honourable and familiar, was -then deemed so odious, and even criminal, that to be a _money-lender_, -on such a plan, was considered as an indelible reproach. - -That Shakspeare, therefore, though intimate with the family, should, -after the death of Mr. Combe, have uttered this impromptu (which the -reader will observe is in Aubrey, without the condemnatory clause) as -a censure on his well-known rapacity, may, without any charge of undue -severity on his part, or even any breach of his customary suavity of -temper, readily be granted. - -It is certain that he continued on good terms with the relatives of the -deceased, as in his Will he bequeaths to Mr. Thomas Combe, the nephew -of the usurer, his sword, as a token of remembrance. - -Nor is this the only epitaph which Shakspeare is said to have written; -two others have been ascribed to him, one of which, as being given -on the authority of Sir William Dugdale, "a testimony," observes Mr. -Malone, "sufficient to ascertain its authenticity," and possessing -besides strong internal marks of being genuine, requires admission into -our text. - -It is written in commemoration of Sir Thomas Stanley, Knight, who died -some time after the year 1600, and is thus described by Sir William:— - -"On the north side of the chancell (of Tongue church, in the county of -Salop) stands a very stately tombe, supported with Corinthian columnes. -It hath two figures of men in armour, thereon lying, the one below the -arches and columnes, and the other above them, and this epitaph upon -it:— - -"'Thomas Stanley, Knight, second son of Edward Earle of Derby, Lord -Stanley and Strange, descended from the famielie of the Stanleys, -married Margaret Vernon of Nether-Hadden, in the county of Derby, -Knight, by whom he had issue two sons, Henry and Edward. Henry died an -infant; Edward survived, to whom those lordships descended; and married -the lady Lucie Percie, second daughter of the Earle of Northumberland: -by her he had issue seaven daughters. She and her foure daughters, -Arabella, Marie, Alice, and Priscilla, are interred under a monument -in the church of Waltham, in the county of Essex. Thomas her son, died -in his infancy, and is buried in the parish church of Winwich in the -county of Lancaster. The other three, Petronilla, Frances, and Venesia, -are yet living.' - -"These following verses were made by WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE, the -late famous tragedian:— - - -"_Written upon the east ende of this tombe._ - - 'ASKE who lyes here, but do not weepe; - He is not dead, he doth but sleepe. - This stony register is for his bones, - His fame is more perpetual than these stones: - And his own goodness, with himself being gone, - Shall live, when earthly monument is none.' - - -"_Written upon the west ende thereof._ - - 'NOT monumental stone preserves our fame, - Nor skye-aspiring pyramids our name. - The memory of him for whom this stands, - Shall out-live marble, and defacer's hands. - When all to time's consumption shall be given, - Stanley, for whom this stands, shall stand in heaven.'"[607:A] - -It has been well remarked by Mr. Malone, that the fifth and last lines -of this epitaph "bear very strong marks of the hand of Shakspeare." - -As every circumstance relative to our author is, however minute, -possessed of interest, the following particulars and conversation -concerning a negociation for the enclosure of some land near Stratford -in 1614, and which were first communicated to the public by Mr. Wheler, -shall be given in that gentleman's own words. - -"About the year 1614," he relates, "there was an intention of inclosing -Welcombe field, in this parish, where part of Shakspeare's landed -property lay, which he had purchased in 1602 of William and John -Combe, and over which field the tithes extended, of which he purchased -a moiety in 1605. Shakspeare was therefore doubly interested in this -inclosure; and from some memorandums or notes commenced in London, but -concluded at Stratford, by Thomas Green, Esq. (the owner of part of the -tithes, perhaps the other moiety,) a relation of Shakspeare's,—the -following particulars of his conversation with Shakspeare are extracted. - -"'Rec. 16. No. 1614, at 4 o'clock afr. noon, a Lre. from Mr. Bayly, and -Mr. Alderman, (the Bailif and chief Alderman of Stratford-upon-Avon,) -dated 12. No. 1614, touchyng the inclosure busynes.' - -"'Jovis 17. No. (1614) My Cosen Shakspeare comyng yesterday to town, -I went to see him how he did. He told me that they (the parties -wishing to inclose) assured him they ment to inclose no further than -to Gospel bush, and so upp straight (leaving out pt. of the Dyngles -to the field,) to the gate in Clopton hedg and take in Salisbury's -peece; and that they mean in Aprill to svey. the land and then to -gyve satisfaccion and not before: and he and Mr. Hall, (Shakspeare's -son-in-law, probably present) say they think yr. (there) will be -nothyng done at all.' - -"Mr. Green, (the common clerk to this corporation, who were adverse to -the inclosure) returned to Stratford at the latter end of November, or -beginning of December, 1614, and continued his notes until the 23d of -December; upon which day it appears that letters were written by the -corporation to Shakspeare and to Mr. Manwaring, (another proprietor, -resident in London,) both of whom seem to have been desirous of -inclosing. Mr. Green's memorandum, as far as it can be transcribed, -being almost illegible and the paper somewhat damaged, is as follows:— - -"'23. Dec. (1614.) a Hall. Lres. wrytten, one to Mr. Manyring—another -to Mr. Shakspeare, with almost all the company's hands to eyther. -I also wrytte myself to my Csn. (Cousin) Shakspear, the coppyes of -all our . . . then also a note of the inconvenyences wold . by the -inclosure.' - -"From a copy of the corporations letter to 'Arthur Mannering, Esq.' -(then residing at the Lord Chancellor's house, perhaps in some official -capacity) as noticed by Green to have been written on the 23d of -December, 1614, it appears that he was apprized of the injury to be -expected from the intended inclosure; reminded of the damage that -Stratford, then 'lying in the ashes of desolation,' had sustained -from recent fires; and entreated to forbear the inclosure. The letter -written to Shakspeare, the author has not been sufficiently fortunate -to discover; but it was probably to the same effect. A petition was -presented from the corporation to the Lords of the Privy Council, -requesting their injunction to William Combe, Esq. of Stratford -College, then High Sheriff of this County; who, being proprietor -of considerable estates at Welcombe, was desirous of an inclosure. -Nothing, however, was done, as Shakspeare had surmised; and the fields -remained open until the year 1774."[609:A] - -Early in 1616 our poet married his youngest daughter Judith to Mr. -Thomas Quiney, a vintner in Stratford. The ceremony took place on -February the 10th, 1616, the bridegroom being four years older than the -bride, who had, however, completed her thirty-second year. - -The daughters of Shakspeare appear to have been, like those of Milton, -ignorant of the art of writing; Judith, at least, in attesting a -deed still extant, being under the necessity of making her mark, -which is accompanied by the explanatory appendage of "_Signum Judeth -Shakspeare_."[610:A] The omission, however, is less extraordinary -in the days of Shakspeare than in those of his great successor; the -education of women, during the reigns of Elizabeth and James, being in -general calculated, with a few splendid exceptions, principally in the -upper classes of society, for the discharge of mere domestic duties; -and when, to be able to read was considered as a very distinguishing -accomplishment. - -The fruit of this marriage was three sons, Shakspeare, Richard, and -Thomas Quiney; the first dying in his infancy, the second in his -twenty-first year, and the third in his twentieth year; so that, as -_Elizabeth_, the daughter of _Susanna_, by Dr. Hall, had no issue by -her two husbands, Thomas Nash, Esq. and Sir John Barnard, she proved -the last lineal descendant of her grandfather. - -It was very shortly after the marriage of Judith, that our author, -being in _perfect health and memory_, deemed it necessary to make his -Will; a document which appears to have been drawn up on the 25th of -February, 1616, though not executed until the 25th of the following -month.[610:B] - -That the event, for which this was a proper preparatory act, should so -_rapidly_ have followed, could be little in the contemplation of one -who had not reached his fifty-second year, and who, according to his -own account, was _in perfect health and memory_. Yet we may venture to -infer, from what tradition has left us of his life and character, that -few were better prepared for the transition, that few could be found, -over whom, when the event had occurred, with more justice might it be -said,— - - "After life's fitful fever, he sleeps well!" - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[604:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. pp. 74-76. - -[604:B] Wheler's History and Antiquities of Stratford, p. 15. - -[605:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. pp. 78-80. - -[605:B] Letters by Eminent Persons, &c. 1813, vol. iii. p. 307. - -[605:C] On the 12th of July, 1614.—See Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. -82. - -[607:A] "Preserved," says Mr. Malone, "in a collection of Epitaphs, at -the end of the Visitation of Salop, taken by Sir William Dugdale in the -year 1664, now remaining in the College of Arms, chap. xxxv. fol. 20.; -a transcript of which Sir Isaac Heard, Garter Principal King at Arms, -has obligingly transmitted to me."—Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 90. - -The other epitaph alluded to in the text, is from "a Manuscript volume -of Poems by William Herrick and others, in the hand-writing of the time -of Charles I., among Rawlinson's Collections in the Bodleian Library. - - -'AN EPITAPH. - - 'When God was pleas'd, the world unwilling yet, - Elias James to nature pay'd his debt, - And here reposeth: as he liv'd, he dyde; - The saying in him strongly verifide,— - Such life, such death: then, the known truth to tell, - He liv'd a godly life, and dyde as well. - WM. SHAKSPEARE.'" - -It appears from Mr. Malone's researches, that the James's were a family -living at Stratford both during and after our poet's time. Vide Reed's -Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 90. - -[609:A] Wheler's Guide to Stratford, pp. 22-25. - -[610:A] Vide Wheler's Guide, p. 21. - -[610:B] "_February_," says Mr. Malone, "was first written, and -afterwards struck out, and _March_ written over it."—Reed's -Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 154. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - - THE DEATH OF SHAKSPEARE—OBSERVATIONS ON HIS WILL—ON THE - DISPOSITION AND MORAL CHARACTER OF SHAKSPEARE—ON THE MONUMENT - ERECTED TO HIS MEMORY, AND ON THE ENGRAVING OF HIM PREFIXED TO - THE FIRST FOLIO EDITION OF HIS PLAYS—CONCLUSION. - - -The death of Shakspeare, of which the closing paragraph of the last -chapter had afforded us an intimation, took place on Tuesday, the 23d -of April, 1616, on his birth-day, and when he had exactly completed his -fifty-second year. It is remarkable, that on the same day expired, in -Spain, his great and amiable contemporary, Cervantes; the world being -thus deprived, nearly at the same moment, of the two most original -writers which modern Europe has produced. - -That not the smallest account of the disease which terminated so -valuable a life, should have been transmitted to posterity, is perhaps -equally singular; and the more so, as our poet was, no doubt, attended -by his son-in-law, Dr. Hall, who was then forty years of age; and -who should have recollected, that the circumstances which led to the -dissolution of such a man, had, whether professionally important or -not, a claim to preservation and publicity. But the age was a most -incurious one, as to the personal history of literary men; and Hall, -who left for publication a manuscript collection of cases, selected -from not less than a thousand diseases, has omitted the only one which -could have secured to his work any permanent interest or value.[611:A] - -On the second day after his decease, the remains of Shakspeare were -committed to the grave; being buried on the 25th of April, on the north -side of the chancel of the great church of Stratford. - -Fortunately, some light has been thrown upon the domestic circumstances -of the poet, by the preservation of his Will, yet extant in the -Prerogative Court, and which, though often published, we have again -introduced, as a necessary appendage to our work. - -The most striking features in this document, are the apparent neglect -of his wife, and the favouritism exhibited with regard to his eldest -daughter. Mrs. Shakspeare, indeed, was so entirely forgotten in the -original Will, that the only bequest which her husband makes her, -of his "second best bed, with the furniture," is introduced by an -interlineation. - -This omission, and the trifling nature of the legacy, have given birth -to some conjectures on the part of his biographers and commentators. -Oldys, misapplying the language of one of his sonnets, has hinted, that -the poet entertained some doubts as to the fidelity of his beautiful -wife; an intimation which soon after occasioned a curious controversy -between Messrs. Steevens and Malone; the latter impeaching, and the -former defending the conjugal affection of their bard. "His wife had -not wholly escaped his memory," observes Mr. Malone; "he had forgot -her,—he had recollected her,—but so recollected her, as more strongly -to mark how little he esteemed her; he had already (as it is vulgarly -expressed,) cut her off, not indeed with a shilling, but with an old -bed." "That our poet was jealous of this lady," remarks Mr. Steevens, -"is an unwarrantable conjecture. Having, in times of health and -prosperity, provided for her by settlement, (or knowing that her father -had already done so,) he bequeathed to her at his death, not merely _an -old piece of furniture_, but perhaps, as a mark of peculiar tenderness, - - "The very bed that on his bridal night - Received him to the arms of Belvidera."[612:A] - -In fact, we do know that Shakspeare married for love, but we do not know -of any the smallest intimation or hint, previous to the wild conjecture -of Oldys, that coolness or estrangement had subsisted between the poet -and his wife. We have every right, therefore, to conclude, that Mrs. -Shakspeare had been previously and amply provided for, either by her -husband, or by her father, whose circumstances are represented by Rowe, -as having been "substantial." We may, at least, rest satisfied, as well -from the known integrity of Shakspeare, as from the humanity of his -disposition, that nothing harsh or unjust had been committed by him on -this occasion. Indeed, had the case been otherwise, the love of mankind -for propagating what tends to deteriorate superior characters, would, -doubtless, have protected such a family-anecdote from oblivion. - -Why the executorship was intrusted to Dr. Hall and his lady, may be -readily conceived to have originated, independent of their being the -persons principally concerned, in the knowledge of the poet that the -former, who was a man of business, was much better calculated, than -Mrs. Shakspeare could possibly be, for carrying the will into execution. - -That superior qualities of the head and heart, more especially -when united, are entitled, even under the parental roof, to marked -distinction, who will deny? and that such were the blended qualities -which rendered Susanna the favourite of her father may be certainly -inferred from the circumstance that, while we hear nothing of Judith, -but that she is supposed to have married contrary to her father's -wishes, of Susanna we are told that she was "witty above her sex;" that -she had "something of Shakspeare" in her, and, above all, that she was -"wise to salvation," that she "wept with all that wept, yet set herself -to chear them up with comforts." To a child thus great and good, we -need not wonder that Shakspeare paid a delighted deference.[613:A] - -It may be objected that, however superior the elder daughter might be -in point of intellect and moral sensibility, if the younger had done -nothing worse than marry without her father's approbation, no great -difference should have been made between them in the distribution of -his property. But we must recollect, that they moved in different -circles, that whilst Susanna was united to a physician, who being -in great practice, and intimate with the first families in the -neighbourhood, was obliged to support an establishment of much expense, -Judith was the wife of a vintner, a station comparatively inferior, -and not necessarily requiring such an expenditure. Under these -considerations we shall probably be induced to acquit the poet of any -undue partiality, and to view the provisions of his Will as neither -disproportioned to the stations nor inadequate to the necessities of -the parties concerned. - -To the disposition and moral character of Shakspeare, tradition has -ever borne the most uniform and favourable testimony. And, indeed, had -she been silent on the subject, his own works would have whispered -to us the truth; would have told us, in almost every page, of the -gentleness, the benevolence, and the goodness of his heart. For, though -no one has exceeded him in painting the stronger passions of the -human breast, it is evident that he delighted most in the expression -of loveliness and simplicity, and was ever willing to descend from -the loftiest soarings of imagination, to sport with innocence and -beauty. Though "the world of spirits and of nature," says the admirable -Schlegel, "had laid all their treasures at his feet: in strength a -demi-god, in profundity of view a prophet, in all-seeing wisdom a -protecting spirit of a higher order, he yet lowered himself to mortals -as if unconscious of his superiority, and was as open and unassuming as -a child."[614:A] - -That a temper of this description, and combined with such talents, -should be the object of sincere and ardent friendship, can excite -no surprise. "I loved the man," says Jonson, with a noble burst of -enthusiasm, "and do honour his memory on this side idolatry as much as -any. He was, indeed, honest; and of an open and free nature;" and Rowe, -repeating the uncontradicted rumour of times past, has told us,—"that -every one, who had a true taste of merit, and could distinguish men, -had generally a just value and esteem for him;" adding, "that his -exceeding candour and good-nature must certainly have inclined all the -gentler part of the world to love him."[615:A] - -No greater proof, indeed, can be given of the felicity of his temper, -and the sweetness of his manners, than that all who addressed him, -seem to have uniformly connected his name with the epithets _worthy_, -_gentle_, or _beloved_[615:B]; nor was he backward in returning this -esteem, many of his sonnets indicating the warmth with which he -cherished the remembrance of his friends. Thus the thirtieth opens with -the following pensive retrospect:— - - "When to the sessions of sweet silent thought - I summon up remembrance of things past, - I sigh—— - For precious friends hid in death's dateless night;" - -and in the thirty-first he tenderly exclaims,— - - "How many a holy and obsequious tear - Hath dear religious love stolen from mine eye, - As interest of the dead!" - -Another very fascinating feature in the character of Shakspeare, -was the almost constant cheerfulness and serenity of his mind: -he was "verie good company," says Aubrey, "and of a very ready, -and _pleasant_, and _smooth_ witt."[615:C] In this, as Mr. Godwin -has justly observed, he bore a striking resemblance to Chaucer, -who was remarkable for the placidity and cheerfulness of his -disposition[616:A]; nor can there, probably, be a surer indication of -that peace and sunshine of the soul which surpasses all other gifts, -than this habitual tone of mind. - -That Shakspeare was entitled to its possession from his _moral_ -virtues, we have already seen; and that, in a _religious_ point of -view, he had a claim to the enjoyment, the numerous passages in his -works, which breathe a spirit of pious gratitude and devotional -rapture, will sufficiently declare. In fact, upon the topic of -religious, as upon that of ethic wisdom, no profane poet can furnish us -with a greater number of just and luminous aphorisms; passages which -dwell upon the heart and reach the soul, for they have issued from lips -of fire, from conceptions worthy of a superior nature, from feelings -solemn and unearthly. - -To these observations on the disposition and moral character of -Shakspeare, we must add a few remarks on the _taste_ which he seems to -have possessed, in an exquisite degree, for all the forms of beauty, -whether resulting from nature or from art. No person can study his -writings, indeed, without perceiving, that, throughout the vast range -of being, whatever is lovely and harmonious, whatever is sweet in -expression, or graceful in proportion, was constantly present to his -mind; that - - ——————————— "on every part, - In earth, or air, the meadow's purple stores, - The moon's mild radiance, or the virgin's form, - ——————————— he saw pourtray'd - That uncreated beauty, which delights - The mind supreme."[616:B] - -Nor was he a less delighted worshipper of the imitative efforts of art. -With what taste and enthusiasm, he has spoken of the effects of music, -has been already observed; but it remains to notice in what a sublime -spirit of piety he refers this concord of sweet sounds, to its source -in that transcript of Almighty, "the world's harmonious volume:—" - - "There's not the smallest orb, which thou behold'st, - But in his motion like an angel sings, - Still quiring to the young-eye'd cherubins: - Such harmony is in immortal souls; - But, whilst this muddy vesture of decay - Doth grossly close it in, we cannot hear it."[617:A] - -Of the beauties of painting and sculpture he appears to have had a keen -and lively discernment. On Julio Romano, the most poetical, perhaps, -of painters, he has pronounced, that "_had he himself eternity, and -could put breath into his work, 'he' would beguile Nature of her -custom_[617:B];" and of his masterly appreciation of the art of -sculpture, the following lines from the _The Winter's Tale_, where -Paulina unveils to Leontes the supposed statue of Hermione, afford -evidence beyond all praise:— - - "_Paul._ ——————————— Here it is: prepare - To see the life as lively mock'd, as ever - Still sleep mock'd death: behold; and say, 'tis well. - (_Paulina undraws a curtain, and discovers a statue._ - I like your silence, it the more shews off - Your wonder: but yet speak;— - Comes it not something near? - - _Leont._ Her natural posture!— - —————————————— Oh, thus she stood, - Even with such life of majesty,— - —————— when first I woo'd her!— - Would I were dead, but that, methinks already— - What was he, that did make it? See, my lord, - Would you not deem it breath'd? and that these veins - Did verily bear blood? - - _Paul._ Masterly done: - The very life seems warm upon her lip. - - _Leont._ The fixure of her eye has motion in't, - As we are mock'd with art:— - ———————————— Still methinks, - There is an air comes from her: what fine chizzel - Could ever yet cut breath?— - - _Paul._ —————————— Shall I draw the curtain? - - _Leont._ No, not these twenty years."[618:A] - -To the memory of a poet who, independent of the matchless talents which -he has exhibited in his own peculiar province, had shown such proofs of -his attachment to the sister arts, some tribute, from these departments -of genius, might naturally be expected, and was certainly due. Nor was -it long ere the debt of gratitude was paid; _before_ the year 1623, a -monument, containing a bust of the poet, had been erected in Stratford -Church, immediately above the grave which inclosed his hallowed relics. -The tradition of his native town is, that this bust was copied from a -cast after nature.[618:B] It is placed beneath an arch, and between -two Corinthian columns of black marble, and represents the poet in -a sitting posture, with a cushion spread before him, holding a pen -in his right hand, whilst his left rests upon a scroll of paper. The -entablature exhibits the arms of Shakspeare surmounted by a death's -head, with an infantine form sitting on each side; that on the right -supporting, in the same hand, a spade, and the figure on the left, -whose eyes are closed, reposing its right hand on a skull, whilst the -other holds an inverted torch.[618:C] - -On a tablet below the cushion are engraved the two following -inscriptions: - - "Judicio Pylivm, genio Socratem, arte Maronem, - Terra tegit, popvlvs mœret, Olympvs habet." - - "Stay passenger, why goest thov by so fast, - Read, if thov canst, whom envious death hath plast - Within this monument, Shakspeare; with whome - Quick natvre dide; whose name doth deck ys tombe - Far more than cost; sieth all yt. he hath writt, - Leaves living art, bvt page to serve his witt. - Obiit Ano. Doi. 1616. Ætatis 53. Die 23. Ap." - -A flat stone which covers his grave, presents us with these singular -lines, said to have been written by the bard himself, and which were -probably suggested, as Mr. Malone has remarked, "by an apprehension -that 'his' remains might share the same fate with those of the rest -of his countrymen, and be added to the immense pile of human bones -deposited in the charnel-house at Stratford:—[619:A] - - "Good frend, for Jesvs sake forbeare - To digg the dvst encloased heare; - Blese be ye. man yt. spares thes stones, - And cvrst be he yt. moves my bones." - -We view the monumental bust of Shakspeare, observes Mr. Britton, "as a -family record; as a memorial raised by the affection and esteem of his -relatives, to keep alive contemporary admiration, and to excite the -glow of enthusiasm in posterity. This invaluable 'effigy' is attested -by tradition, consecrated by time, and preserved in the inviolability -of its own simplicity and sacred station. It was evidently executed -immediately after the poet's decease; and probably under the -superintendance of his son-in-law, Dr. Hall, and his daughter; the -latter of whom, according to her epitaph, was 'witty above her sexe,' -and therein like her father. Leonard Digges, in a poem praising the -works and worth of Shakspeare, and published within seven years -after his death, speaks of the Stratford monument as a well-known -object. Dugdale, in his 'Antiquities of Warwickshire,' 1656, gives a -plate of the monument, but drawn and engraved in a truly tasteless -and inaccurate style, and observes in the text, that the poet was -_famous_, and thus entitled to such distinction. Langbaine, in his -'Account of English Dramatic Poets,' 1691, pronounces the Stratford -bust Shakspeare's 'true effigies.' These are decided proofs of its -antiquity; and we may safely conclude that it was intended to be a -faithful portrait of the poet.— - -"The Bust is the size of life; it is formed out of a block of soft -stone; and was originally painted over in imitation of nature. The -hands and face were of flesh colour, the eyes of a light hazle, and the -hair and beard auburn; the doublet or coat was scarlet, and covered -with a loose black gown, or tabard, without sleeves; the upper part -of the cushion was green, the under half crimson, and the tassels -gilt.[620:A] Such appear to have been the original features of this -important, but neglected or insulted bust. After remaining in this -state above one hundred and twenty years, Mr. John Ward, grandfather -to Mrs. Siddons and Mr. Kemble, caused it to be 'repaired,' and the -original colours preserved[620:B], in 1748, from the profits of -the representation of Othello. This was a generous, and apparently -judicious act; and therefore very unlike the next alteration it was -subjected to in 1793. In that year, Mr. Malone caused the bust to be -covered over with one or more coats of white paint; and thus at once -destroyed its original character, and greatly injured the expression -of the face.[621:A] Having absurdly characterized this expression -for 'pertness,' and therefore 'differing from that placid composure -and thoughtful gravity so perceptible in his _original_ portrait, -and his best prints,' Mr. M. could have few scruples about injuring -or destroying it. In this very act, and in this line of comment, -our zealous annotator has passed an irrevocable sentence on his own -judgment. If the opinions of some of the best sculptors and painters -of the metropolis are entitled to respect and confidence on such a -subject, that of Mr. Malone is at once false and absurd. They justly -remark, that the face indicates cheerfulness, good humour, suavity, -benignity and intelligence. These characteristics are developed by -the mouth and its muscles—by the cheeks—eye-brows—forehead—and -skull; and hence they rationally infer, that the face is worked from -nature."[621:B] - -With these observations, which seem the result of a just and -discriminating judgment, we feel happy in coinciding; having had an -opportunity, in the summer of 1815, of visiting this celebrated -monument, for the purpose of gratifying what we conceive to be a -laudable curiosity. When on the spot, we felt convinced, from the -circumstances which have been preserved relative to the erection of -this bust; from the period of life at which the poet died, and above -all, from the character, distinctness and expression of the features -themselves, that this invaluable relique may be considered as a correct -resemblance of our beloved bard. - -That he was "_a handsome well shaped man_," we are expressly informed -by Aubrey, and universal tradition has attributed to him _cheerfulness_ -and _good temper_. Now the Stratford effigy tells us all this, together -with the character of his age, in language which cannot be mistaken; -and it once superadded to the little which has been recorded of his -person, what we have no doubt was accurately given by the original -painter of his bust, the colour of his eyes and the beautiful auburn of -his hair. - -But it tells us still more; for the impress of that mighty mind which -ranged at will through all the realms of nature and of fancy, and -which, though incessantly employed in the personification of passion -and of feeling, was ever great without effort, and at peace within -itself, is visible in the exquisite harmony and symmetry of the whole -head and countenance, which, not only in each separate feature, in the -swell and expansion of the forehead, in the commanding sweep of the eye -brow, in the undulating outline of the nose, and in the open sweetness -of the lips, but in their combined and integral expression, breathe of -him, of whom it may be said, in his own emphatic language, that - - "We ne'er shall look upon his like again." - -Very shortly after the erection of this monument, appeared the first -folio edition of our author's plays, in the title-page of which, -bearing the date of 1623, is found the earliest print of Shakspeare, an -engraving by Martin Droeshout, with the following attestation of its -verisimilitude from the pen of Ben Jonson: - - -"TO THE READER. - - "THIS figure that thou here seest put, - It was for gentle Shakspeare cut; - Wherein the graver had a strife - With nature, to out-do the life. - O, could he but have drawn his wit, - As well in brass, as he hath hit - His face, the print would then surpass - All that was ever writ in brass; - But since he cannot, reader, look, - Not on his picture, but his book." - -Between the wretched engraving, thus undeservedly eulogised, and the -monumental bust at Stratford, there is certainly such a resemblance as -to prove, that the assertion of Jonson with regard to its likeness, -was not _altogether_ without foundation; but, as Mr. Steevens has well -remarked, "Shakspeare's countenance deformed by Droeshout, resembles -the sign of Sir Roger de Coverley, when it had been changed into -a Saracen's head; on which occasion The Spectator observes, that -the features of the gentle Knight were still apparent through the -lineaments of the ferocious Mussulman."[623:A] - -There is, however, a much greater, nay, a very close and remarkable -similitude, between the engraving, from the Felton Shakspeare, and -the bust at Stratford. What basis Mr. Gilchrist may have had for -his observation, that _Mr. Steevens failed in communicating to the -public his confidence in the integrity of Mr. Felton's picture_, we -know not[623:B]; but, if the most striking affinity to the monumental -effigy, be deemed, as we think it ought to be, a proof of authenticity, -this picture _is_ entitled to our confidence; for whether we consider -the general contour of the head, or the particular conformation of -the forehead, eyes, nose, or mouth, the resemblance is complete; the -only perceptible deviation being in the construction of the eye-brows, -which, instead of forming nearly a perfect arch, as in the sculpture, -have an horizontal direction, and are somewhat elevated towards the -temples.[624:A] - - * * * * * - -We have now reached the termination of a work, of which, whatever shall -be its reception with the public, even Diffidence itself may say, that -it has been prosecuted with incessant labour and unwearied research; -with an ardent desire to give it a title to acceptance, and with an -anxiety, which has proved injurious to health, that it should be -deemed, not altogether unworthy of the bard whose name it bears. - -It has also been a labour of love, and, though much indisposition -has accompanied several of the years devoted to its construction, it -is closed with a mingled sensation of gratitude, regret, and hope; -of gratitude, for what of health and strength has been spared to its -author; of regret, in relinquishing, what, with all its concomitant -anxieties, has been often productive of rational delight; and of hope, -that, in the inevitable hour which is fast approaching, no portion -of its pages shall suggest a thought, which can add poignancy to -suffering, or bitterness to recollection. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[611:A] These Cases were afterwards translated from the original -Latin by James Cooke, a Surgeon at Warwick, under the title of -"Select Observations on English Bodies; or Cures, both empericall and -historical, performed upon very eminent persons in desperate diseases." -London, 1657. 12mo. - -[612:A] Malone's Supplement, vol. i. pp. 653. 657. 655. - -[613:A] I recollect an engraving, from a picture by Westall, of Milton -composing Paradise Lost, in which he is attended by his two daughters. -Shakspeare and his favourite Susanna might furnish a pleasing subject -for the same elegant artist. - -[614:A] Lectures on Dramatic Literature, vol. ii. p. 138. - -[615:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 67. - -[615:B] "My gentle Shakspeare" is the language of Jonson, in his Poem -to the memory of our bard: and see the Commendatory Poems prefixed to -the old editions of our author's works, in Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ii. - -[615:C] Letters by Eminent Persons, from the Bodleian Library, vol. -iii. p. 307. - -[616:A] Life of Chaucer, vol. iv. p. 175. - -[616:B] Akenside's Pleasures of Imagination, book i. - -[617:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. vii. p. 374. Act v. sc. 1. - -[617:B] Ibid. vol. ix. p. 408. Act v. sc. 2. - -[618:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. ix. pp. 412-416. Act v. sc. 3. - -[618:B] Wheler's Guide to Stratford, p. 87.—"If Shakspeare's and Lord -Totness's tombs," says Mr. Wheler, "were erected by one and the same -artist, circumstances not at all improbable, it would not appear that -he (Thomas Stanton, the sculptor) had any want of skill in preserving -a resemblance; for the monumental likeness of Lord Totness strongly -resembles the capital paintings of him in Clopton House, and at -Gorhambury, in Hertfordshire, as well as the engraving of him prefixed -to his '_Hibernia Pacata_,' a posthumous publication in 1633."—Vide p. -89. - -[618:C] The arms on this monument, are,—_Or, on a bend sable, a -tilting spear of the first, point upwards, headed argent_.—Crest, _A -falcon displayed argent, supporting a spear in pale or_. - -[619:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 90. - -[620:A] "Although the practice of painting statues and busts to -imitate nature, is repugnant to good taste, and must be stigmatized as -vulgar and hostile to every principle of art, yet when an effigy is -thus coloured and transmitted to us, as illustrative of a particular -age or people, and as a record of fashion and costume, it becomes an -interesting relic, and should be preserved with as much care as an -Etruscan vase, or an early specimen of Raffael's painting; and the man -who deliberately defaces or destroys either, will ever be regarded as -a criminal in the high court of criticism and taste. From an absence -of this feeling, many truly curious, and, to us, important subjects -have been destroyed. Among which is to be noticed a vast monument of -antiquity on Marbrough Downs, in Wiltshire; and which, though once the -most stupendous work of human labour and skill in Great Britain, is now -nearly demolished." Britton. - -[620:B] "Wheler's Guide, p. 90." - -[621:A] "Mr. Wheler, in his interesting Topographical Vade Mecum, -relating to Stratford, has given publicity to the following stanzas, -which were written in the Album, at Stratford church, by one of the -visitors to Shakspeare's tomb." - - "Stranger, to whom this Monument is shown, - Invoke the Poet's curses on Malone; - Whose meddling zeal his barbarous taste displays, - And daubs his tomb-stone, as he marr'd his plays." - -[621:B] "Britton's Remarks on the Monumental Bust of Shakspeare." These -Remarks, which were published on April 23. 1816, "The Anniversary of -the Birth and Death of Shakspeare, and the Second Centenary after -his Decease," are accompanied by an admirably executed Mezzotinto of -Shakspeare from the Monumental Bust; engraved by William Ward, from -a Painting by Thomas Phillips, Esq. R. A. after a Cast made from the -original Bust by George Bullock. - -Mr. Britton had previously expressed a similar opinion of the merits -and fidelity of this Bust, in some very ingenious and well-written -"Remarks on the Life and Writings of Shakspeare," prefixed to an -edition of the Poet's Plays, by Whittingham and Arliss. - -[623:A] Reed's Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 19. - -[623:B] Gifford's Jonson, vol. i. p. ccclviii. - -[624:A] These observations are founded upon the fidelity of the -engraving prefixed to Reed's edition of Shakspeare, 1803. - - - - -APPENDIX. - - - - -SHAKSPEARE'S WILL. - -(_From the Original, in the Office of the Prerogative Court of -Canterbury._) - - _Vicesimo quinto die Martii, Anno Regni Domini nostri Jacobi - nunc Regis Angliæ, &c. decimo quarto, et Scotiæ quadragesimo - nono. Anno Domini, 1616._ - - -In the name of God, Amen. I WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE of Stratford-upon-Avon, -in the county of Warwick, gent. in perfect health and memory[627:A], -(God be praised!) do make and ordain this my last will and testament in -manner and form following; that is to say: - -_First_, I commend my soul into the hands of God my Creator, hoping, -and assuredly believing, through the only merits of Jesus Christ my -Saviour, to be made partaker of life everlasting; and my body to the -earth whereof it is made. - -_Item_, I give and bequeath unto my daughter Judith, one hundred and -fifty pounds of lawful English money, to be paid unto her in manner and -form following; that is to say, one hundred pounds in discharge of her -marriage-portion within one year after my decease, with consideration -after the rate of two shillings in the pound[627:B] for so long time -as the same shall be unpaid unto her after my decease; and the fifty -pounds residue thereof, upon her surrendering of, or giving of such -sufficient security as the overseers of this my will shall like of, -to surrender or grant, all her estate and right that shall descend -or come unto her after my decease, or that she now hath, of, in, or -to, one copyhold tenement, with the appurtenances, lying and being in -Stratford-upon-Avon aforesaid, in the said county of Warwick, being -parcel or holden of the manor of Rowington, unto my daughter Susanna -Hall, and her heirs for ever. - -_Item_, I give and bequeath unto my said daughter Judith one hundred -and fifty pounds more, if she, or any issue of her body, be living at -the end of three years next ensuing the day of the date of this my -will, during which time my executors to pay her consideration from my -decease according to the rate aforesaid: and if she die within the said -term without issue of her body, then my will is, and I do give and -bequeath one hundred pounds thereof to my niece[628:A] Elizabeth Hall, -and the fifty pounds to be set forth by my executors during the life -of my sister Joan Hart, and the use and profit thereof coming, shall -be paid to my said sister Joan, and after her decease the said fifty -pounds shall remain amongst the children of my said sister, equally to -be divided amongst them; but if my said daughter Judith be living at -the end of the said three years, or any issue of her body, then my will -is, and so I devise and bequeath the said hundred and fifty pounds to -be set out by my executors and overseers for the best benefit of her -and her issue, and the stock not to be paid unto her so long as she -shall be married and covert baron; but my will is, that she shall have -the consideration yearly paid unto her during her life, and after her -decease the said stock and consideration to be paid to her children, if -she have any, and if not, to her executors or assigns, she living the -said term after my decease: provided that if such husband as she shall -at the end of the said three years be married unto, or at any (time) -after, do sufficiently assure unto her, and the issue of her body, -lands answerable to the portion by this my will given unto her, and to -be adjudged so by my executors and overseers, then my will is, that the -said hundred and fifty pounds shall be paid to such husband as shall -make such assurance, to his own use.[628:B] - -_Item_, I give and bequeath unto my said sister Joan twenty pounds, -and all my wearing apparel, to be paid and delivered within one year -after my decease; and I do will and devise unto her the house, with the -appurtenances, in Stratford, wherein she dwelleth, for her natural -life, under the yearly rent of twelve-pence.[629:A] - -_Item_, I give and bequeath unto her three sons, William Hart, —— -Hart[629:B], and Michael Hart, five pounds a-piece, to be paid within -one year after my decease. - -_Item_, I give and bequeath unto the said Elizabeth Hall all my plate -(except my broad silver and gilt bowl) that I now have at the date of -this my will.[629:C] - -_Item_, I give and bequeath unto the poor of Stratford aforesaid ten -pounds; to Mr. Thomas Combe[629:D] my sword; to Thomas Russel, esqr. -five pounds; and to Francis Collins[629:E] of the borough of Warwick, -gent. thirteen pounds six shillings and eight-pence, to be paid within -one year after my decease. - -_Item_, I give and bequeath to Hamlet (_Hamnet_) Sadler[629:F], -twenty-six shillings eight-pence, to buy him a ring; to William -Reynolds, gent. twenty-six shillings eight-pence, to buy him a ring; -to my godson William Walker twenty shillings in gold; to Anthony -Nash[630:A], gent. twenty-six shillings eight-pence; and to Mr. John -Nash[630:B] twenty-six shillings eight-pence; and to my fellowes, John -Hemynge[630:C], Richard Burbage[630:D], and Henry Cundell[630:E], -twenty-six shillings eight-pence a-piece, to buy them rings. - -_Item_, I give, will, bequeath, and devise, unto my daughter Susanna -Hall[630:F], for better enabling of her to perform this my will, -and towards the performance thereof, all that capital messuage or -tenement, with the appurtenances, in Stratford aforesaid, called -the New Place, wherein I now dwell, and two messuages or tenements, -with the appurtenances, situate, lying, and being in Henley-street, -within the borough of Stratford aforesaid; and all my barns, stables, -orchards, gardens, lands, tenements, and hereditaments whatsoever, -situate, lying, and being, or to be had, received, perceived, or -taken, within the towns, hamlets, villages, fields, and grounds of -Stratford-upon-Avon, Old Stratford, Bishopton, and Welcombe, or in any -of them, in the said county of Warwick; and also all that messuage or -tenement, with the appurtenances, wherein one John Robinson dwelleth, -situate, lying, and being, in the Blackfriars in London near the -Wardrobe[631:A]; and all other my lands, tenements, and hereditaments -whatsoever; to have and to hold all and singular the said premises, -with their appurtenances, unto the said Susanna Hall, for and during -the term of her natural life; and after her decease to the first son -of her body lawfully issuing; and to the heirs males of the body of -the said first son lawfully issuing; and for default of such issue, to -the second son of her body lawfully issuing, and to the heirs males of -the body of the said second son lawfully issuing; and for default of -such heirs, to the third son of the body of the said Susanna lawfully -issuing, and to the heirs males of the body of the said third son -lawfully issuing; and for default of such issue, the same so to be -and remain to the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh sons of her body, -lawfully issuing one after another, and to the heirs males of the -bodies of the said fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh sons lawfully -issuing, in such manner as it is before limited to be and remain to the -first, second, and third sons of her body, and to their heirs males; -and for default of such issue, the said premises to be and remain to my -said niece Hall, and the heirs males of her body lawfully issuing; and -for default of such issue, to my daughter Judith, and the heirs males -of her body lawfully issuing; and for default of such issue, to the -right heirs of me the said William Shakspeare for ever. - -_Item_, I give unto my wife[631:B] my second best bed, with the -furniture. - -_Item_, I give and bequeath to my said daughter Judith my broad silver -gilt bowl. All the rest of my goods, chattels, leases, plate, jewels, -and houshold stuff whatsoever, after my debts and legacies paid, and -my funeral expences discharged, I give, devise, and bequeath to my -son-in-law, John Hall[631:C], gent. and my daughter Susanna his wife, -whom I ordain and make executors of this my last will and testament. -And I do entreat and appoint the said Thomas Russel, esqr. and Francis -Collins, gent. to be overseers hereof. And do revoke all former wills, -and publish this to be my last will and testament. In witness whereof I -have hereunto put my hand, the day and year first above written. - - By me, - WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE. - - _Witness to the publishing hereof_, - FRA. COLLYNS. - JULIUS SHAW. - JOHN ROBINSON. - HAMLET SADLER. - ROBERT WHATTCOTT. - -_Probatum fuit testamentum suprascriptum apud London, coram Magistro -William Byrde, Legum Doctore, &c. vicessimo secundo die mensis Junii, -Anno Domini 1616; juramento Johannis Hall unius ex. cui, &c. de bene, -&c. jurat. reservata potestate, &c. Susannæ Hall, alt. ex. &c. eam cum -venerit, &c. petitur, &c._ - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[627:A] From the short period which elapsed between the date of this -Will and the death of the poet, we must infer, that the "malady -which at so early a period of life deprived England of its brightest -ornament," was sudden in its attack, and rapid in its progress. - -[627:B] _Ten per cent._, we find from this passage, was the usual -interest of money in our author's days; and in the epitaph on Mr. -Combe, as preserved by Aubrey, this old gentleman is censured for -taking twelve per cent.:— - - "But Combes will have twelve, he sweares and he vowes." - -[628:A] —— _to my niece_—) "Elizabeth Hall was our poet's -grand-daughter. So, in Othello, act i. sc. 1., Iago says to -Brabantio: 'You'll have your _nephews_ neigh to you;' meaning his -grand-children."—Malone. - -[628:B] Judith died at Stratford, aged 77, and was buried there Feb. -9th, 1662. - -[629:A] Joan Hart, the poet's sister, was buried at Stratford, Nov. -4th, 1646. - -[629:B] "It is singular that neither Shakspeare nor any of his family -should have recollected the Christian name of his nephew, who was -born at Stratford but eleven years before the making of his will. His -Christian name was _Thomas_; and he was baptized in that town, July 24, -1605."—Malone. - -[629:C] Elizabeth Hall, the poet's grand-daughter, was married at -Stratford, on April 22d, 1626, to Thomas Nash, Esq., and after the -decease of this gentleman on April 4th, 1647, she again entered -into the marriage-state with Sir John Barnard of Abington, in -Northamptonshire. The ceremony took place at Billesley near Stratford, -on the 5th of June, 1649, and Lady Barnard died, without issue by -either of her husbands, at Abington, and was buried there on the 17th -of February, 1669-70. - -"If any of Shakspeare's manuscripts," remarks Mr. Malone, "remained -in his grand-daughter's custody at the time of her second marriage, -(and some _letters_ at least she surely must have had,) they probably -were then removed to the house of her new husband at Abington. Sir -Hugh Clopton, who was born two years after her death, mentioned to -Mr. Macklin, in the year 1742, an old tradition that she had carried -away with her from Stratford many of her grandfather's papers. On the -death of Sir John Barnard they must have fallen into the hands of Mr. -Edward Bagley, Lady Barnard's executor; and if any descendant of that -gentleman be now living, in his custody they probably remain."—Reed's -Shakspeare, vol. i. p. 98. - -[629:D] "Mr. Thomas Combe was baptized at Stratford, Feb. 9, 1588-9, -so that he was twenty-seven years old at the time of Shakspeare's -death. He died at Stratford in July 1657, aged 68; and his elder -brother William died at the same place, Jan. 30, 1666-7, aged 80. Mr. -Thomas Combe by his will, made June 20, 1656, directed his executors -to convert all his personal property into money, and to lay it out in -the purchase of lands, to be settled on William Combe, the eldest son -of John Combe, of All-church, in the county of Worcester, gent., and -his heirs male; remainder to his two brothers successively. Where, -therefore, our poet's sword has wandered, I have not been able to -discover."—Malone. - -[629:E] _Francis Collins_—) "This gentleman, who was the son of Mr. -Walter Collins, was baptized at Stratford, Dec. 24, 1582."—Malone. - -[629:F] "_Hamnet Sadler_ was godfather to Shakspeare's only son, who -was called after him. Mr. Sadler, I believe, was born about the year -1550, and died at Stratford-upon-Avon, in October, 1624. His wife, -Judith Sadler, who was god-mother to Shakspeare's youngest daughter, -was buried there, March 23, 1613-14. Our poet probably was god-father -to their son _William_, who was baptized at Stratford, Feb. 5, -1597-8."—Malone. - -[630:A] "_Anthony Nash_ was father of Mr. Thomas Nash, who married -our poet's grand-daughter, Elizabeth Hall. He lived, I believe, at -Welcombe, where his estate lay; and was buried at Stratford, Nov. 18, -1622."—Malone. - -[630:B] "Mr. John Nash died at Stratford, and was buried there, Nov. -10, 1623."—Malone. - -[630:C] John Hemynge died in October, 1630. - -[630:D] Burbage died in March, 1619. - -[630:E] Cundell died in December, 1627. For accounts of these three -celebrated performers, see Reed's Shakspeare, vol. iii. pp. 228. 232. -245., as drawn up by Mr. Malone. - -[630:F] Susanna Hall, the poet's favourite daughter, died on the 11th -of July, 1649, aged 66, and was buried in Stratford church on the 16th -of the same month. On her tomb-stone were formerly the following lines -preserved by Dugdale:— - - "Witty above her sexe, but that's not all, - Wise to salvation was good Mistriss Hall. - Something of Shakspeare was in that, but this - Wholy of him with whom she's now in blisse. - - Then, passenger, hast ne're a teare, - To weepe with her that wept with all: - That wept, yet set her selfe to chere - Them up with comforts cordiall. - - Her love shall live, her mercy spread, - When thou hast ne're a teare to shed." - -[631:A] This messuage or tenement was the house which was mortgaged to -Henry Walker. - -[631:B] The poet's wife died on the 6th of August, 1623, and was buried -between her husband's grave and the north wall of the chancel. A brass -plate affixed to her tomb-stone exhibits the following inscription:— - - "Ubera, tu mater, tu lac vitamq. dedisti, - Væ mihi; pro tanto munere Saxa dabo! - Quam mallem, amoveat lapidem, bonus Angel' ore - Exeat ut Christi Corpus, imago tua - Sed nil vota valent, venias cito Christe resurget, - Clausa licet tumulo mater, et astra petet." - -[631:C] John Hall, M.D. died Nov. 25. 1635, aged 60. His grave-stone in -Stratford church is thus inscribed:— - - "Hallius hic situs est medica celeberrimus arte, - Expectans regni gaudia lœta Dei - Dignus erat meritis qui Nestora vinceret annis, - Interris omnes, sed rapit æqua dies; - Ne tumulo, quid desit adest fidissima conjux, - Et vitæ comitem nunc quoq. mortis habet." - - - - -INDEX. - - -*.* _The Roman Numerals refer to the Volumes; the Figures to the Pages -of each Volume._ - - -A - - _Acheley_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 676. - - _Acting_, art of, consummately known to Shakspeare, i. 423. - Parts chiefly performed by him, 424, 425. - - _Actors_, companies of, when first licensed, ii. 202. - Placed under the superintendence of the masters of the revels, 203. - Their remuneration, 204. - Patronized by the court, 205, - and also by private individuals, whose names they bore, 205, 206. - Days and hours of their performance, 215, 216. - Their remuneration, 223, 224. - - _Admission_ to the theatre, in the time of Shakspeare, prices of, ii. - 216, 217. - - _Adonis_, beautiful address of Venus to, ii. 25, 26. - See _Venus and Adonis_. - - _Ægeon_, exquisite portrait of, in the Comedy of Errors, ii. 288. - - _Æschylus_, striking affinity between the celebrated trilogy of, and - Shakspeare's Macbeth, ii. 472, 473. - - _Affection_ (maternal), exquisite delineation of, ii. 421. - - _Affections_ (sympathetic), account of, i. 373, 374. - - _Agate_ stone, supposed virtue of, i. 368. - - _Agnus Dei_, a supposed charm against thunder, i. 364. - - _Air_, spirits of, introduced into the Tempest, ii. 524. - - _Akenside_'s "Pleasures of the Imagination" quoted, i. 321, 322. - - _Alchemistry_, a favourite pursuit of the age of Shakspeare, ii. 154. - - _Alderson_ (Dr.), opinion of, on the cause of spectral visitations, - ii. 405, 406. - His application of them to the character of Hamlet, 408. - - _Ale_, synonymous with merry making, i. 175. - Different kinds of Ales, 176. - Leet-ale, 176. - Clerk-ale, _ibid._ - Church-ales, 177-179. - - _Alehouses_, picture of, in Shakspeare's time, ii. 216-218. - - _Alfs_, or bright and swart elves of the Scandinavians, account of, - ii. 308, 309. - - _All-Hallow-Eve_, festival of, i. 341. - Fires kindled on that eve, _ibid._ - Prayers offered for the souls of the departed, 342. - Supposed influence of fairies, spirits, &c. 342-344. - Spells practised on that eve, 344-347. - - _Alliterations_, in the English language, satirised by Sir Philip - Sidney, i. 444. - - _All's Well that Ends Well_, probable date of, ii. 422. - Analysis of its characters,—the Countess of Rousillon, 423. - Helen, _ib._ 424, 425. - Remarks on the minor characters, 425. - - _Passages of this drama, which are illustrated in this work._ - - Act i. scene 3., ii. 424. - Act ii. scene 1., i. 108. 175. ii. 434. - scene 2., i. 143. 159. - scene 5., ii. 434. - scene 7., ii. 434. - Act iii. scene 2., ii. 107. 425. - Act iv. scene 10., i. 362. - scene 12., ii. 192. - - _All Saints' Day_, festival of, i. 341. - Superstitious observances on its vigil, 341-347. - - _Allot_ (Robert), "English Parnassus," i. 723. - List of contributors to this collection of poems, 724. - Critical remarks on the merits of his selection, _ibid._ 725. - - _Amadis of Gaul_ (Romance of), popularity of, i. 515. - Notice of English translations of it, 546, 547. - - _Amusements_ of the fairies, ii. 342-345. - - _Amusements_, national, in the age of Shakspeare, enumerated, i. 246, - 247. - Account of the itinerant stage, 247-252. - The Cotswold games, 252-254. - Hawking, 255. - Hunting, 272. - Fowling, 287. - Bird-batting, 289. - Fishing, 289. - Horse-racing, 297. - The Quintaine, 300. - Wild-goose chace, 304. - Hurling, 305. - Shovel-board, 306. - Shove-groat, 307. - Juvenile sports, 308-312. - Amusements of the metropolis and court, ii. 168. - Card playing, 169. - Tables and dice, 171. - Dancing, 172. - Bull-baiting and bear-baiting, 176. - Archery, 178. - Frequenting of Paul's Walk, 182. - Sagacious horses, 186. - Masques and pageants, 187. - Royal progresses, 193. - Dramatic performances, 201-226. - - _Anderson_ (James), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 676. - - _Andrewe_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 676. - - _Angels_, different orders of, i. 335. - Account of the doctrine of guardian angels prevalent in Shakspeare's - time, 336. - Supposed number of angels, 337-339. - Remarks on this doctrine by Bishop Horsley, 339, 340. - The supposed agency of angelic spirits, as believed in Shakspeare's - time, critically analysed, ii. 399-405. - And applied to the introduction of the spirit in Hamlet, 407-416. - Superiority of Shakspeare's angelic spirits over those of all other - dramatists, ancient or modern, 417, 418. - - _Angling_, notice of books on the art of, i. 290, 291. - Contemplations of an angler, 292, 293. - His qualifications described, 294-296. - Encomium on, by Sir Henry Wotton, 297. - Beautiful verses on, by Davors, 614. - - _Anglo-Norman_ romances, account of, i. 523-531. - - _Animals_, sagacious, in the time of Shakspeare, notice of, ii. 186, - 187. - - _Anneson_ (James), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 676. - - _Ante-suppers_, when introduced, ii. 128. - - _Anthropophagi_, supposed existence of, i. 385, 386. - Allusions to by Shakspeare, 385. - - _Antony and Cleopatra_, date of, ii. 492. - Character and conduct of this drama, 493. - - _Passages of this drama which are illustrated in the present work._ - - Act i. scene 4., i. 129. - Act ii. scene 3., i. 338. - Act iii. scene 9., i. 138. - Act iv. scene 10., i. 308. - - _Apemantus_, remarks on the character of, ii. 451, 452. - - _Apes_, kept as companions for the domestic fools, ii. 146. - - _Aphorisms_ of Shakspeare, character of, i. 517. - - _Apparitions_, probable causes of, ii. 406. - Application of them to the character of Hamlet, 406-408. - - _Arcadia_ of Sir Philip Sidney, critical notice of, i. 548-552. - Alluded to by Shakspeare, 573, 574. - - _Archery_, a favourite diversion in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 178. - The knights of Prince Arthur's round-table, a society of archers, - instituted by Henry VIII., 179. - Encouraged in the reign of Elizabeth, 179, 180. - Decline of archery, 181, 182. - - _Arden_ or _Ardern_ family, account of, i. 3. - Shakspeare probably descended from, by the female line, _ibid._ - - _Ardesoif_ (Mr.), terrific death of, i. 146. note. - - _Ariel_, analysis of the character of, ii. 506. 522, 523. - - _Ariosto_'s Orlando Furioso, as translated by Sir John Harington, - remarks on, i. 629. - His "Supposes," a comedy, translated by Gascoigne, ii. 233. - - _Armin_ (Thomas), complaint of, against the critics of his day, i. - 456. - - _Arms_, supposed grant of, to John Shakspeare, i. 1. - Real grant and confirmation of, to him, 2, 3. - - _Arras Hangings_, an article of furniture, in the age of Shakspeare, - ii. 114, 115. - - _Arthington_ (Henry), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 676. - - _Arthur_ and Hubert, beautiful scene between, in the play of King - John, ii. 422. - - _Arthur's Chase_, account of, i. 377, 378. - - _Arthur's Round Table_, a society of archers, account of, i. 562, 563. - - _Arval_, or Funeral Entertainment, account of, i. 238. - - _Ascham_ (Roger), complaint of, on the little reward of schoolmasters, - i. 27. _note_, 94. - Improved the English language, 439. - Remarks of, on the cultivation of classical literature in England, - 450.; - and of Italian literature, 452. - Notice of his "Scholemaster," 454. - His censure of the popularity of "La Morte d'Arthur," 524, 525. - Design of his "Toxophilus," ii. 181. - - _Aske_ (James), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 676. - - _Asses' Heads_, absurd recipe for fixing on the shoulders of man, ii. - 351, 352. - - _As You Like It_, date of, ii. 431. - Remarks on the general structure of its fable, 431, 432. - Analysis of the character of Jaques, 433, 434. - - _Passages of this drama which are illustrated in the present work._ - - Act i. scene 2., i. 301. - Act ii. scene 1., i. 367. 403. - scene 7., i. 55. ii. 102. - Act iii. scene 2., ii. 115. - scene 3., i. 580. - scene 4., i. 556. - Act iv. scene 1., i. 580. ii. 157. - Act v. scene 4., i. 288. ii. 159. - The Epilogue, i. 218. - - _Aubrey_, statement of, respecting Shakspeare's being a butcher, i. - 36. - Probability of his account that Shakspeare had been a schoolmaster, - 45. - His character of the poet, ii. 615. - - _Avale_ (Lemeke), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 676. - - _Autolycus_, remarks on the character of, ii. 500. - - -B - - _Bacon_ (Lord), character of his Henry VII., i. 476., - and of his "Essays," 512. 517. - - _Bag-Pipe_, the ancient accompaniment of the morris-dance and - May-games, i. 164, 165. - - _Baldwyne_'s "Myrrour for Magistrates," account of, i. 708, 709. - - _Ballads_, early English, notice of a collection of, i. 574-576. - Quotations from and allusions to them by Shakspeare, 577-593. - - _Balnevis_ (Henry), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 676. - - _Bandello_, principal novels of, translated by Paynter, i. 541. - His novels wholly translated by Warner or Webbe, 543. - - _Banquets_, where taken, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 144. - - _Barksted_ (William), encomiastic verses of, on Shakspeare's Venus and - Adonis, ii. 30. - - _Barley-Break_, verses on, i. 309. - How played, 310. - Poetical description of, 311. - Scottish mode of playing, 312. - - _Barnefielde_ (Richard), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, works - of, i. 676, 677. - Character of his affectionate shepherd, 677. _note_ [677:A]. - Verses of, on Shakspeare's Venus and Adonis, and Lucrece, ii. 29. - - _Barnes_ (Barnabe), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 677. - Character of his Sonnets, _ibid._ _note_ [677:B]. - - —— (Juliana), the book of St. Alban's of, reprinted by Markham, i. - 70. _note_. - Dedication of it, _ibid._ - Account of the edition, with extracts, 71, 72. _notes_. - The treatyse of Fishing not written by her, 290. and _note_. - Different editions of this work, 291. - - _Baronets_, order of, when created, ii. 527. - Their arms, 528. - - _Barry's_ "Ram Alley," illustrated, i. 224. - - _Barson_ or Barston, village, allusion to by Shakspeare, i. 51. - - _Bastard_ (Thomas), notice of the epigrams of, i. 677. and _note_. - - _Batman_ (Stephen), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 677. - - _Batman_'s translation of "Bartholome de Proprietatibus Rerum," well - known to Shakspeare, i. 485. - - _Bear-baiting_, a fashionable amusement in the age of Elizabeth, ii. - 176. - Prices of entrance to the bear-gardens, 178. - - _Beards_, fashions of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 102, 103. - - "_Beards Wag all_," the proverb of, explained, i. 143, 144. - - _Beaufort_ (Cardinal), dying scene of, i. 390. - - _Beaumont_ (Sir John), critical notices of, as a poet, i. 601, 602. - His elegiac tribute to the memory of the Earl of Southampton, ii. - 17, 18. - How far he assisted Fletcher, 558. - - _Beaumont and Fletcher_, illustrations of the plays of, - Custom of the Country, i. 477. - Fair Maid of the Inn, i. 329. - Knight of the Burning Pestle, i. 477. ii. 282. _note_. - Playhouse to Let, ii. 282. _note_. - Scornful Lady, i. 224. - Woman Pleased, act iv. sc. 1. i. 172, 173. - - _Beauty_, exquisite taste for, discoverable in Shakspeare's works, ii. - 616-618. - - _Bedchambers_, furniture of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 117. - - _Belemnites_, or Hag-Stones, supposed virtues of, i. 367. - - _Belleforest_'s and _Boisteau_'s "Cent Histoires Tragiques," a - collection of tales, notice of, i. 544. - - _Bells_, why tolled at funerals, i. 232-234. - Worn by Hawks, 268. - - _Beltein_, or rural sacrifice of the Scotch Highlanders on May-day, i. - 152. - - "_Bel-vedere_, or the Garden of the Muses," a collection of poems, - critical notice of, i. 725, 726. - List of contributors to it, 726, 727. - - _Benefices_ bestowed in Elizabeth's time on menial servants, i. 92. - - _Betrothing_, ceremony of, i. 220-223. - - _Betterton_ (Mr.), visits Stratford, in quest of information - concerning Shakspeare, i. 34. - - _Beverley_ (Peter), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 677. - - _Bevis_ (Sir), of Southampton, notice of, i. 565. - Allusions by Shakspeare to the romance of, 565, 566. - - _Bezoar_ stones, supposed virtues of, i. 367. - - _Bibliography_, cultivated by Queen Elizabeth, i. 428. - Influence of her example, 433. - Account of eminent bibliographers and bibliophiles of her court, - 433-436. - - _Bidford Topers_, anecdote of them and Shakspeare, i. 48-50. - - _Bieston_ (Roger), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 677. - - _Biographical Writers_, during the age of Elizabeth, notice of, i. - 482. - - _Birds_, different modes of taking in the 16th century, i. 287. - By means of stalking-horses, 288. - Bird-batting described, 289. - - _Blackfriars_, theatre in, account of, ii. 209, 210. - - _Black Letter_ books, chiefly confined to the time of Elizabeth, i. - 438. - - _Blenerhasset_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. - 677. - Additions made by him to the "Mirrour for Magistrates," 709. - - _Boar's-head_, anciently the first dish brought to table, i. 76. - Ceremonies attending it, 201. - Verses on, _ibid._ 202. - - _Boccacio_, principal novels of, translated by Paynter, i. 541. - - _Bodenham's_ (John), "Garden of the Muses," a collection of poems, i. - 725. - Critical notice of, 726. - List of contributors to it, 726, 727. - - _Bodley_ (Sir Thomas), an eminent book collector, notice of, i. 433. - Observation of King James I. on quitting the Bodleian library, 434. - - _Bolton_ (Edward), critical notice of his "_Hypercritica_: or Rule of - Judgment for writing or reading our Historys," i. 465, 470-471. - - _Bond_ (Dr. John), an eminent Latin philologer, i. 454. - - _Booke of St. Albans_, curious title and dedication of Markham's - edition of, i. 70. _note_. - Rarity of the original edition, 71. _note_. - extract from, _ibid._, 72. _note_. - - _Book of Sports_, account of, i. 173, 174. - - _Books_, taste for, encouraged by Queen Elizabeth, i. 428. 433-435. - Were anciently placed with their leaves outwards, 436. - Were splendidly bound in the time of Elizabeth, 432. and _note_, - 436. - Hints on the best mode of keeping books, 436, 437. - Remarks on the style in which they were executed, 437, 438. - - _Boors_, or country clowns, character of, in the 16th century, i. - 120-122. - - _Boots_, preposterous fashions of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 106, - 107. - - _Bourcher_ (Arthur), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 677. - - _Bourman_ (Nicholas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 677. - - _Boys_ (Rev. John), an eminent Grecian, notice of, i. 454. - - _Bradshaw_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 677. - - _Brathwait_'s English Gentleman cited, i. 258, 259. - - _Brathwayte_ (Richard), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 677. - - _Brawls_, a fashionable dance in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 173. - Different sorts of, _ibid._ - - _Bread_, enumeration of different kinds of, in the age of Shakspeare, - ii. 127. - - _Breeches_, preposterous size of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 104. - and _note_. - - _Breton_ (Nicholas), critical notice of the poems of, i. 602, 603. - - _Brewer_'s "Lingua," illustration of, i. 477. - - _Brice_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 678. - - _Bridal Bed_, why blessed, i. 226. - - _Bride_, custom of kissing at the altar, i. 225. - Supposed visionary appearances of future brides and bridegrooms, on - Midsummer-Eve, 332-334. - and on All-Hallow-Eve, 344-347. - - _Bride Ale_ (Rustic), description of, i. 227-229. - - _Britton_ (Mr.), remarks of, on the monumental bust of Shakspeare, ii. - 619, 620. - - _Broke_ (Arthur), account of his "Tragicall Historye of Romeus and - Juliet," ii. 359. and _note_. - - _Brooke_ (Christopher), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 678. - - _Brooke_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 678. - - _Broughton_ (Rowland), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 678. - - _Browne_'s (William), Britannia's Pastorals, quotations from, - illustrative of ancient customs:—on May-day, i. 155. - Critical notice of his merits as a poet, 603, 604, 605. - Causes of his being neglected, 605. - - _Brownie_, a benevolent Scottish fairy, account of, ii. 330-336. - Resemblance between him and Shakspeare's Puck, 351. - - _Brutus_, character of, ii. 492. - - _Brydges_ (Sir Egerton), on the merits of Lodge, as a poet, i. - 633-635. - Estimate of the poetical character of Sir Walter Raleigh, 640-642. - Critical observations of, on the "Paradise of Daintie Devises," 714, - 715. - And on "England's Helicon," 721-723. - - _Bryskett_ (Lodowick), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, notice - of, i. 678. and _note_. [678:B] - - _Buck_ (Sir George), a minor poet in the time of Shakspeare, i. 678. - - _Buchanan_'s "Rerum Scoticarum Historia," character of, i. 477. - - _Bull-baiting_, a fashionable amusement in the age of Shakspeare, ii. - 176, 177. - - _Bullokar_'s "Bref Grammar for English," notice of, i. 455, 456. - His innovations in English spelling, satirised by Shakspeare, 472. - - _Burbadge_, the player, notice of, i. 417. - - _Burial_, ceremony of, i. 232. - Tolling the passing-bell, _ibid._ 233, 234. - Lake wakes, described, 234-236. - Vestiges of, in the north of England, 237. - Funeral entertainments, 238. - Garlands of flowers sometimes buried with the deceased, 240, 241. - Graves planted with flowers, 242-244. - - _Burns_, poetical description by, of the spells of All-Hallow-Eve, i. - 346. - - _Burton_ (William), critical notice of his "History of - Leicestershire," i. 481. - - _Burton_'s apology for May-games and sports, i. 174. - Invective against the extravagance at inns, 219. - His list of sports pursued in his time, 247. - Portrait of the illiterate country gentlemen of that age, 430, 431. - Eulogium on books and book collectors, 434, 435. - The popular song of "Fortune my Foe," cited by him, 577. - - _Burton on the Heath_, allusion to, by Shakspeare, i. 50. - - _Bust_ of Shakspeare, in Stratford church, originality of, proved, ii. - 620. - Its character and expression injured through Mr. Malone's - interference, 621. - - _Buttes_ (John), "Dyets Dry Dinner," curious extract from, ii. 218. - - _Byrd_'s (William), collection of "Tenor Psalmes, Sonets, and Songs, - of Pietie," &c. account of, i. 731. - - _Byron_'s (Lord), "Siege of Corinth" illustrated, ii. 411. - - -C - - _Cæsar_. See _Julius Cæsar_. - - _Caliban_, remarks on the character of, ii. 506. 523. 525. - - _Camden_ (William), character of his "Annals," i. 477. - - _Campbell_'s "Pleasures of Hope," character of, i. 599. - - _Campion_ (Thomas), critical notice of his "Observations on the Art of - English Poesie," i. 468, 469. - - _Canary Dance_, account of, ii. 175. - - _Candlemas-day_, origin of the festival, i. 138. - Why called "Wives' Feast Day," _ibid._ - Ceremonies for Candlemas-eve and day, 139, 140, 141. - - _Capel_ (Mr.), Erroneous notions of, concerning Shakspeare's marriage, - i. 62. - His text of Shakspeare, one of the purest extant, ii. 48. _note_. - - _Caps_ worn by the ladies, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 95. - - _Carbuncle_, imaginary virtues of, i. 396. - Allusions to it, _ibid._ 397-399. - - _Cards_, fashionable games of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 169, 170. - Were played in the theatre by the audience before the performance - commenced, 217. - - _Carew_ (Richard), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 679. - - _Carew_'s "Survey of Cornwall," notice of, i. 481. - - _Carols_ (Christmas), account of, i. 197-202. - - _Carpenter_ (John), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 679. - - _Castiglione_'s "Cortegiano" translated into English, i. 453. - - _Chair_ of Shakspeare, purchased by Princess Czartoryskya, i. 22, 23. - - _Chalkhill_ (John), critical notice of the poems of, i. 605. 607. - Singular beauty of his pastorals, 606. - - _Chalmers_ (Mr.), probable conjecture of, on the authenticity of - Shakspeare's will, i. 15, 16. - His hypothesis, concerning the person to whom Shakspeare addressed - his sonnets, disproved, ii. 61, 62. - Examination of his conjectures respecting the date of Romeo and - Juliet, 357, 358. - Of Richard III. 370, 371. - Of Richard II. 376. - Of Henry IV. Parts I. and II. 379. - Of the Merchant of Venice, 385. - Of Hamlet, 391. - Of King John, 419. - Of All's Well that Ends Well, 422, 423. - His opinion on the traditionary origin of the Merry Wives of Windsor - controverted, 435, 436. - His conjecture on the date of Troilus and Cressida, 438. - Of Henry VIII. 442. - Of Timon of Athens, 444. - Of Measure for Measure, 452. - Of King Lear, 457. - Of the Tempest, 500-503. - Of Othello, 528. - Of Twelfth Night, 532, 533. - - _Chapman_ (George), critical merits of as a poet, i. 607, 608. - His tribute to the memory of the Earl of Southampton, ii. 17. - Estimate of his merits as a dramatic poet, 569, 570. - - _Characters_, notice of writers of, in the age of Elizabeth, i. - 509-511. - Sketch of the public and private character of Queen Elizabeth, ii. - 146-151. - and of James I. 151, 152. - Of Shakspeare's drama, remarks on, ii. 545. - - _Charlcott-House_, the seat of Sir Thomas Lucy, notice of, i. 402. - - _Charms_ practised on Midsummer-Eve, i. 331-333. - On All-Hallow-Eve, 344-347. - Supposed influence of, 362-365. - - _Chaucer_, poetical description of May-day by, i. 153. - Illustration of his "Assemblie of Fooles," 379, 380, 381. - Description of the carbuncle, 396. - Alluded to, by Shakspeare, ii. 79. - Allusions by Chaucer to fairy mythology, 313. 317. - - _Chester_ (Robert), a minor poet, of the age of Shakspeare, i. 679. - Critical notice of his "Love's Martyr," 728. - - _Chettle_ (Henry), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 679. - - _Children_, absurdity of frightening by superstitious tales, i. 317. - Notice of legendary tales, of their being stolen or changed by - fairies, ii. 325-327. - - _Chivalric Amusements_ of Shakspeare's age, described, i. 553-556. - - _Chivalry_, influence of, on the poetry of the Elizabethan age, i. - 596. - Allusion to it, by Shakspeare, ii. 79. - - _Chopine_ or Venetian stilt, notice of, ii. 98. - - _Chrismale or Chrism-Cloth_, account of, i. 231. - - _Christenings_, description of, i. 230, 231. - - _Christian_ IV. (King of Denmark), drunken entertainment given to, ii. - 124, 125. - - _Christian Name_, the same frequently given to two successive children - in the age of Queen Elizabeth, i. 4. _note_. - - _Christmas Brand_, superstitious notion concerning, i. 140. - - _Christmas_, festival of, i. 193. - Of Pagan origin, 194. - Ceremony of bringing in the Christmas block, _ibid._ 195. - Houses decorated with ivy, &c. on Christmas-Eve, 195, 196. - Origin of this custom, 196. - Custom of singing carols in the morning, 197. - Gambols, anciently in use at this season, 202-205, 206. _note_. - Poetical description of, by Herrick, 206. - and by Mr. Walter Scott, 207, 208. - At present how celebrated, 208. _note_. - - _Church-Ales_, account of, i. 177, 178. - - _Churles_ and gentlemen, difference between, i. 71, 72. - - _Church-yard_ (Thomas), critical notice of the poems of, i. 608, 609. - - _Chute_ (Anthony), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 679. - - _Chronological list_ of Shakspeare's plays, ii. 261, 262. - - _Cinthio_ (Giraldi), principal novels of, translated in the time of - Shakspeare, i. 543. - - _Citizens_ of London, dress of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 110, - 111. - - _Clapham_ (Henoch), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 679. - - _Classical literature_, diffusion of, in the reign of Elizabeth, i. - 28. - Fashionable among country gentlemen, 82. - Cultivated generally, 449, 450, 451. - The knowlege of Greek literature greatly promoted by Sir Thomas - Smith, and Sir Henry Savile, 453.; - and Dr. Boys, 454. - Latin literature promoted by Ascham, Grant, Bond, Rider, and others, - 454, 455. - - _Claudio_, remarks on the character of, in Measure for Measure, ii. - 455. - - _Cleanliness_, attention of Shakspeare's fairies to, ii. 346, 347. - - _Cleaton_ (Ralph, a clergyman), character of, i. 92. - - _Cleopatra_, remarks on the character of, ii. 493. - - _Clergymen_, anciently styled _Sir_, i. 87-90. - Picture of country clergymen in the age of Elizabeth, 90, 91. - Their degraded state under James I. 92, 93. - The younger clergy, chiefly schoolmasters, 94. - Bishop Hall's picture of their depressed state, 95. - Prohibited from hawking, 259. _note_. - - _Clerk-ale_, notice of, i. 176. - - _Cloten_, remarks on the character of, in Cymbeline, ii. 468. - - _Clothes_, materials of, in the age of Elizabeth, ii. 91. - How preserved, _ibid._ 92. - - _Clown_ (country), character of in the 16th century, i. 120-122. - - _Coaches_, when first introduced into England, ii. 146. - Extravagant number of, used by the great, 147. - - "_Cock and Pye_," explanation of the phrase, i. 554. - - _Cockayn_ (Sir Aston), epigram of, on Wincot-ale, i. 48, 49. - - _Cock-fighting_, a favourite sport in Shakspeare's age, i. 145. - Awful death of a cock-fighter, 146. _note_. - - _Cocks_, throwing at, a barbarous sport on Shrove-Tuesday, i. 145. and - _note_. - Ridiculed by Hogarth, _ibid._; - and now completely put down, 146. - - _Colet_'s (Dean), Grammatical Institutes, notice of, i. 26. - - _Combe_ (Mr. John), satyrical epitaph on, by Shakspeare, ii. 605. - His character, _ibid._ - - _Combe_ (Mr. Thomas), notice of, ii. 629. _note_. - Bequest to him by Shakspeare, 629. - - _Comedy_, "_Gammer Gurton's Needle_," the first ever performed in - England, ii. 227. - - _Comedy of Errors_, probable date of, ii. 286. - Mr. Steevens' opinion that this drama was not wholly Shakspeare's, - controverted and disproved, 287, 288. - Superior to the Menæchmi of Plautus, whence its fable is borrowed, - 286-288. - Exquisite portrait of Ægeon, 288. - General observations on this drama, 288, 289. - - _Passages of this drama, which are cited and illustrated in the - present work._ - - Act i. scene 1., ii. 364. - Act ii. scene 2., i. 394. - Act iv. scene 2., i. 556. - - _Comic Painting_, exquisite, of Shakspeare's dramas, ii. 550. - - _Commentators_ in the age of Shakspeare, notice of, i. 470. - - _Compact_ of witches with the devil, account of, ii. 183-185. - - _Compliments_, extravagant, current in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 161, - 162. - - _Composition_ of the poetry of the Elizabethan age considered, i. 597, - 598. - - _Compton_ (Lady), moderate demands of, from her husband, ii. 145. - - _Conduct_ of Shakspeare's drama considered, ii. 541-544. - - _Conjurors_ and schoolmasters, frequently united in the same person in - the 16th century, i. 95, 96. - - _Constable_ (Henry), critical notice of the poems of, i. 609, 610. - Particularly of his sonnets, ii. 55. - - _Constance_, remarks on the character of, ii. 420, 421. - - _Cooks_, in Shakspeare's time, overlooked by their masters, i. 74. - Were better paid than clergymen, 93. - - _Cooper_'s Latin and English Dictionary, used by Shakspeare, i. 26. - The author preferred by Queen Elizabeth, 27. - - _Copley_ (Anthony), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 679. - - _Copyholder_, character of a poor one, in the time of Elizabeth, i. - 120. - - _Copyrights_ of plays, how disposed of in Shakspeare's time, ii. 224, - 225. - - _Cordelia_, beautiful character of, ii. 465. - - _Coriolanus_, date of the tragedy of, ii. 493. - Critical remarks on its conduct and the characters introduced, 494. - - _Passages of this drama illustrated in the present work._ - - Act i. scene 4., i. 397. - Act ii. scene 1., i. 554. - - _Cornwall_, May-day how celebrated in, i. 153. - Observance of Midsummer-eve there, 334. - - _Corpse-Candles_, superstitious notions concerning, i. 358-360. - - _Coryate_'s "Crudities," critical notice of, i. 478. - - _Cotswold games_, account of, i. 252-254. - Revived by Dover, 253. - Similar sports in other places, 255. - - _Cottages_ of farmers or yeomen, in the time of Elizabeth, described, - i. 99, 100. - Their furniture and household accommodations, 102, 103. - - _Cottesford_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 679. - - _Cotton_ (Sir Robert), an eminent book collector, i. 438. - - _Cotton_ (Roger), a minor poet, of the age of Shakspeare, i. 680. - - _Country inns_, picture of, i. 216-218. - - _Country life_, manners and customs during the age of Shakspeare, i. - 68-122. - Description of its holidays and festivals, amusements, 123-313. - Superstitions, 314-400. - Literature but little cultivated, 430, 431. - - _Country squires_, rank of, in Shakspeare's age, i. 68. - Description of their mansion houses, 72, 73. - And halls, 74, 77-79. - Distinctions observed at their tables, 74, 75. - Their diet, 75, 76. - But little skilled in literature, 430, 431. - Portrait of a country squire in the reign of Queen Anne, 88. _note_ - [86:B]. - - _Courtiers_ of Elizabeth, sometimes wrote lyrics, for music, i. 731. - Instances of her rough treatment of them, ii. 150, 151. - - _Courting chair_ of Shakspeare, notice of, i. 61. - - _Courtship_, how anciently conducted, i. 220. - - _Cox_ (Captain), an eminent book collector, i. 434. - List of romances in his library, 518, 519. - Remarks on it by Mr. Dibdin, 520. - - _Crab-tree_, Shakspeare's, still remaining at Bidford, i. 49. - Roasted crabs and ale a favourite mess, 105, 106. - - _Credulity_ of the age of Shakspeare, instances of, i. 314-400. ii. - 154. - - _Criticism_, state of, in the age of Elizabeth and James I., i. 456. - Severity of controversial criticism, 457. - Lampooning critics, 459. - Notice of the critical labours of Gascoigne, 461. - Of James I. _ibid._ 462, 463. - Of Webbe, 463, 464. - Of Spenser, 464. - Of Fraunce, 464. - Of Hake, _ibid._ 465. - Of Puttenham, 465, 466. - Of Sir John Harrington, 466. - Of Sir Philip Sidney, 467. - Of Meres, 468. - Of Campion, _ibid._ - and of Bolton, 470. - - _Crocodiles_, legendary tales concerning, noticed, i. 389. - - _Cromek_ (Mr.), accounts by, of the fairy superstitions in Scotland, - ii. 325, 326. - - _Cross-bow_, chiefly used for killing game, ii. 182. - - _Culrose_ (Elizabeth), a minor poetess of the age of Shakspeare, i. - 680. - - _Curiosity_ of the age of Shakspeare, illustrations of, ii. 155. - - _Cutwode_ (T.), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 680. - - _Cymbeline_, probable date of, ii. 466. - Beauty of its fable, _ibid._ - Remarks on the character of Imogen, 467. - And of Cloten, 468. - - _Passages of this drama, illustrated in the present work._ - - Act ii. scene 2., ii. 115. 117. - scene 4., ii. 113. - Act iii. scene 2., i. 297. - scene 4., ii. 91. - Act iv. scene 1., i. 243. - scene 2., i. 214. 395. - Act v. scene 3., i. 308. - scene 5., i. 397. - - _Czartoryska_ (Princess), the purchaser of Shakspeare's chair, i. 22, - 23. - - -D - - "_Damon and Pythias_," illustration of, i. 106. - - _Dancing_, a favourite amusement in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 174. - Notice of different kinds of dances, The Brawl, 175. - The Pavin, _ibid._ 176. - Canary Dance, 177. - Corantoes, _ibid._ 178. - - _Dancing Horse_, in the time of Shakspeare, notice of, ii. 186. - - _Danes_, massacre of, i. 149, 150. - - _Danger_, supposed omens of, i. 351-354. - - _Daniel_ (Samuel), critical notice of his "Defence of Ryme," i. 169, - 470. - And of his poems, 611. - Causes of the unpopularity of his poem on the "Civil Wars between - the Houses of York and Lancaster," _ibid._ - General observations on his style and versification, 612. - Notice of his sonnets, ii. 55. - Was the prototype of Shakspeare's amatory verse, 57, 58. - - _Daniel_'s History of England, character of, i. 176, 477. - - _Darwin's_ (Dr.), poetical description of the night-mare, i. 348. - _note_. - - _Davenant_ (Sir William), anecdote of his attachment to Shakspeare, - ii. 589. - - _Davidstone_ (John), a minor poet of the age of Elizabeth, i. 680. - - _Davies_ (Sir John), notice of, i. 613. - Critical merits of his poem, entitled "Nosce Teipsum," _ibid._ - - _Davies_ (John), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, list of the - pieces of, i. 680. and _note_ [680:B]. - - _Davison_ (Francis and Walter), minor poets in the time of Shakspeare, - i. 680, 681. - Critical notice of their "Poetical Rapsodie," i. 728-730. - - _Davors_ (John), critical remarks on the poems of, i. 614. - - _Days_ (particular), superstitious notions concerning, i. 323. - St. Valentine's-Day, 324. - Midsummer-Eve, 329. - Michaelmas-Day, 334. - All-Hallow-Eve, 341. - - _Dead_, bodies, frequently rifled of their hair, ii. 92, 93. - - _Death_, account of supposed omens of, i. 351-362. - Delineation of, ii. 455, 456. - - _Decker_ (Thomas), character of as a miscellaneous writer, i. 486. - Notice of his "Gul's Horn Booke," 487. - Of his "Belman in London," _ibid._ - Of his "Lanthern and Candlelight," _ibid._ - His quarrel with Ben Jonson, _ibid._ - Probable time of his death, 488. - Estimate of his merits, as a dramatic poet, ii. 566, 567. - Extract from his "Gul's Horn Book," on the fashions of that age, ii. - 102. - - _Passages of his Plays, which are illustrated or explained._ - - The Honest Whore, i. 75. - More Dissemblers besides Women, ii. 147. - Seven Deadly Sinnes of London, i. 251. - Villanies Discovered by Lantorne and Candle-light, i. 273. 396. - - _Dedications_ of plays, customary reward for, ii. 225. - - _Dee_ (Dr. John), an eminent book-collector, i. 434. - And magician, ii. 510. - Account of his singular character, 510-513. - Catalogue of his library, 511, 512. _notes_. - - _Deer-stealing_, Shakspeare punished for, i. 404, 407, 408. - - _De la Casa_ (John), the "Galatea" of, translated into English, i. - 453. - - _Delone_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 681. - Notice of his "Ballads," _ibid._ _note_ [681:A]. - - _Demoniacal_ voices and shrieks, superstitious notions concerning, i. - 355. - The presence of demons supposed to be indicated by lights burning - blue, 358. - - _Dennys_, or Davors, (John), "Treatyse on Fishing," notice of, i. 291. - Beautiful quotation from, 292, 293. - His book translated into prose by Markham, 293, 294. - - _Derricke_ (John), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 681. - - _Descriptions_, exquisite, in Shakspeare's "Venus and Adonis," ii. - 21-26, 27. - - _Desdemona_, beautiful ditty quoted by, i. 592. - Remarks on her character, ii. 531. - - _Desserts_, where taken, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 144. - - _Devil_, supposed compact with, of witches, account of, ii. 483-485. - - _Dibdin_'s (Rev. T. F.), "Bibliomania," notice of, i. 432. - His character of "Stubbes's Anatomie of Abuses," 502. - Account of Dr. Dee's library, ii. 511, 512. _notes_. - - _Dicer's Oaths_, falsehood of, illustrated, ii. 171, 172. - - _Dictionaries_, list of, in use in Shakspeare's time, i. 25. _note_. - Cooper's Latin and English Dictionary used by him, 26. - - _Diet_ of country squires in the age of Shakspeare, i. 75, 76. - Of country gentlemen, 79, 80. - Of farmers or yeomen, on ordinary occasions, 103-108. - On festivals, 109. - Of the sovereigns and higher classes during the age of Shakspeare, - ii. 120-129. - - _Digby_ (Sir Kenelm), marvellous properties ascribed to his - sympathetic powder, i. 375, 376. - - _Dinner_, hour of, in the time of Shakspeare, ii. 125. - Account of the dinners of the higher classes, 126-129. - Hands, why always washed before dinner, 145. - - _Dionysius_'s angelic hierarchy, account of, i. 335. - - _Distaff's_ (Saint) _Day_, festival of, i. 135. - Verses on, _ibid._ 136. - - _Diversions_, in the age of Shakspeare, enumeration of, i. 246, 247. - Account of the itinerant stage, 247-252. - Cotswold games, 252-254. - Hawking, 255. - Hunting, 272. - Fowling, 287. - Bird-batting, 289. - Fishing, 289. - Horse-racing, 297. - The Quintaine, 300. - Wild-goose chace, 304. - Hurling, 305. - Shovel-board, 306. - Shove-groat, 307, 308. - Juvenile sports, 308. - Barley breake, 309. - Whipping a top, 312. - Diversions of the metropolis and court, ii. 168. - Card-playing, 169. - Tables and dice, 171. - Dancing, 172. - Bull-baiting and bear-baiting, 176. - Archery, 178. - Frequenting of Paul's Walk, 182. - Sagacious horses, 186. - Masques and Pageants, 187. - Royal Progresses, 193. - The stage, 201-226. - - _Dives_, or evil genii of the Persians, ii. 303. - - _Dogberry_, origin of the character of, ii. 589. - - _Donne_ (Dr.), critical notice of the poems of, i. 615. - - _Doublets_, fashion of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 104, 105. - - _Douce_ (Mr.), beautiful version of a Christmas carol by, i. 200. - On the source of Shakspeare's Merchant of Venice, ii. 385, 386. - His vindication of Shakspeare's love of music, against Mr. - Steevens's flippant censures, 390. - Conjectures on the probable date of Shakspeare's Tempest, 504. - His "Illustrations of Shakspeare" cited, _passim_. - - _Dowricke_ (Anne), a minor poetess of the age of Shakspeare, i. 681. - - _Dragon_, introduction of, into the May-games, i. 166. - - _Drake_ (Sir Francis), costly new year's gift of, to Queen Elizabeth, - ii. 99. _note_. - Tobacco first introduced into England by him, 135. - - _Drake_ (Lady), beautiful sonnet to, i. 621. - - _Drama_, patronized by Elizabeth and her ministers, ii. 202. 205. - By private individuals, whose names they bore, 205. - And by James I., 206. - - _Dramatic Poets_, remuneration of, in the time of Shakspeare, ii. 224, - 225. - - _Dramatic Poetry_, sketch of, from the birth of Shakspeare to the - period of his commencing a writer for the stage, i. 227. - Mysteries, moralities, and interludes, the first performances, - _ibid._ - Ferrex and Porrex, the first regular tragedy, _ibid._ - Gammar Gurton's Needle, the first regular comedy, _ibid._ - Dramatic Histories, 228. - Composite drama of Tarleton, 229. - Account of eminent dramatic poets during this period, 230-251. - Conjectures as to the extent of Shakspeare's obligation to his - predecessors, 253-255. - Brief view of dramatic poetry, and its principal cultivators, during - Shakspeare's connection with the stage, ii. 556. - Account of the dramatic works of Fletcher, 557. - Massinger, 561. - Ford, 563. - Webster, 564. - Middleton, 565. - Decker, 566. - Marston, 567. - Heywood, 568. - Chapman, 569. - Rowley, 570. - Other minor dramatic poets, 570, 571. - Ben Jonson, 572-580. - - _Drant_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 681. - - _Drayton_ (Michael), notice of, i. 615. - Critical remarks on his historical poetry, 615, 616. - On his topographical, epistolary, and pastoral poems, 616, 617. - And on his miscellaneous poetry, 617. - Poetical description by him of the dress, &c. of young women, i. 83, - 84. - Of Robin Hood, 159. - Of Tom the Piper, 164. - Sheep-shearing, 182. - Of the carbuncle, 397. - Encomium on Lilly's Euphues, 442. - Commendatory verses by, on Shakspeare's Rape of Lucrece, ii. 39. - His tragedies, totally lost, 571. - Character of his Sonnets, ii. 56. - - _Dreams_, considered as prognostics of good or evil, i. 354, 355. - - _Dress_ of country gentlemen, in Shakspeare's time, i. 82, 83. - Of farmers or yeomen, 110. - Wedding dress of a rustic, 229. - Proper for anglers, 293. _note_. - Of the inhabitants of London, during the age of Shakspeare, ii. - 87-89. - Of Queen Elizabeth, 89, 91. - Of the ladies of that time, 91, 92. 100. - Of the gentlemen, 87, 88, 89. 101-109. - Of the citizen, 110, 111. - Of servants, 138. - - _Drinking_ of healths, origin of, i. 127, 128. - - _Drummond_ (William), biographical notice of, i. 617. - His merits as a poet, considered, 618. - - _Drunkenness_, propensity of the English to, in the age of Shakspeare, - ii. 128, 129. - - _Dryden_'s testimony to the priority of Shakspeare's Pericles, - considered, ii. 280, 281. - - _Duelling_, prevalence of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 158. - - _Dunlop_ (Mr.), opinion of on the source of Shakspeare's Romeo and - Juliet, ii. 360-362. - And of Measure for Measure, 453. - - _Durham_, Easter gambols at, i. 148. _note_. - - _Dyer's_ "Fleece," illustration of, i. 183. - - _Dying_, form of prayers for, i. 233. - Superstitious notions concerning the last moments of persons dying, - i. 390, 391. - - -E - - _Earle_ (Bishop), character of his "Microcosmography," i. 511. - His portrait of an upstart country squire or knight, i. 84. - Of a country fellow, or clown, 120-122. - - _Earthquake_ of 1580, alluded to by Shakspeare, i. 52. - Account of, _ibid._ 53. - - _Easter-tide_, festival of, i. 146. - Early rising on Easter Sunday, _ibid._ - Amusements, _ibid._ - Handball, 147, 148. - Presenting of eggs, 148. - - _Edgar_, remarks on the assumed madness of, i. 588. - Contrast between his insanity and the madness of Lear, ii. 462. 464. - - _Education_, state of, during Shakspeare's youth, i. 25-28. - - _Edwardes_ (C.), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 681. - - _Edward_ (Richard), specimen of the poetical talents of, i. 713, 714. - Character of his dramatic compositions, ii. 231, 232. - - _Eggs_, custom of giving, at Easter, i. 148. - - _Elderton_ (William), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 681. - - _Elizabeth_ (Queen), school books commanded by, to be used, i. 26. - Visit of, to the Earl of Leicester, at Kenelworth Castle, 37, 38, - 39. ii. 191-199. - Account of presents made to her on New-Year's Day, i. 125, 126. - Magnificent reception of her, at Norwich, 192. _note_. - Her wisdom in establishing the Flemings in this country, 192. - _note_. - A keen huntress, 285, 286. - Touched persons for the evil, 371. - Cultivated bibliography, 428. - The ladies of her court skilled in Greek equally with herself, 429. - Classical literature encouraged at her court, _ibid._ 431, 432. - Notice of her Prayer-book, 432. - Influence of her example, 433. - Notice of her works, 451. - Deeply skilled in Italian literature, _ibid._ - Notice of her poetical pieces, 704. _note_. - Proof that Shakspeare's Sonnets were not, and could not be addressed - to her, ii. 61, 73. _note_. - Instances of her vanity and love of dress, 90, 91. - Description of her dress, 89, 90. - Amount of her wardrobe, 91, 92. - Silk stockings first worn by her, 98. - Costly New-Year's gifts made to her, 99. - Furniture of her palaces, 111, 112. - Description of the mode in which her table was served, 122, 123. - Her character as a sovereign, 145, 146. - Her industry, 146. - Instances of her vanity and coquetry, 147. - Affectation of youth, 148. - Artfulness, 149. - Extreme jealousy, 150. - Ill treatment of her courtiers, 150, 151. - Excelled in dancing, 172. - Delighted with bear-baiting, 176. - Account of her progresses, 193-199. - Passionately fond of dramatic performances, 202, 205. - Ordered Shakspeare's "Merry Wives of Windsor," 435. - And bestowed many marks of her favour upon him, 590. - - _Elfland_ or Fairy Land, description of, ii. 318, 319. - - _Elves_ or fairies of the Scandinavians, ii. 308. - Account of the Bright Elves, or benevolent fairies, 308, 309. - Of the Swart Elves, or malignant fairies, 309, 310. - And of the Scottish Elves, 314-336. - - _Elviden_ (Edmond), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 681. - - "_England's Helicon_," a collection of poems, critical notice of, i. - 721-723. - - _English Language_ but little cultivated prior to the time of Ascham, - i. 439. - Improved by the labours of Wilson, 440. - Corrupted by Lilly, in the reign of Elizabeth, 441. - And by the interlarding of Latin quotations in that of James I., - 442. - This affectation satyrised by Sir Philip Sidney, 444, 445. - And by Shakspeare, 445, 446. - The English language improved by Sir Walter Raleigh and his - contemporaries, 446, 447. - Remarks on the prose writers of the reign of James I., 447, 448. - Notice of Mulcaster's labours for improving it, 455. - And of Bullokar's, _ibid._ 456. - - _English Mercury_, the first newspaper ever published, i. 508. - Specimen of, _ibid._ - - _English nation_, character of, ii. 154. - - "_Epicedium_," a funeral song on the death of Lady Branch, ii. 38. - _note_. - Extract from, in commendation of Shakspeare's Rape of Lucrece, 39. - _note_. - - _Epilogue_, concluded with prayer in the time of Shakspeare, ii. 222, - 223. - - _Epitaph_ on Shakspeare, in Stratford church, ii. 619. - - _Epitaphs_ by Shakspeare:—a satirical one on Mr. Combe, ii. 605. - On Sir Thomas Stanley, 607. - And on Elias James, 607. _note_. - - _Erskine_ (Mr.) exquisite poetical allusions of, to fairy mythology, - ii. 327, 328, 336. - - _Espousals_, ceremony of, i. 220-223. - - _Essays_, critical account of the writers of, in the age of Elizabeth, - i. 511-517. - - _Evans_ (Lewes and William), minor poets of the age of Shakspeare, i. - 682. - - _Evergreens_, why carried at funerals, i. 239. - - _Evil spirits_, supposed to be driven away by the sound of the - passing-bell, i. 232, 233. - - -F - - _Facetiæ_, notice of writers of, during the age of Shakspeare, i. - 515-517. - - "_Faerie Queene_" of Spenser, critical remarks on, i. 646-649. - - _Fairefax_ (Edward), biographical notice of, i. 619. - Examination of his version of Tasso, _ibid._ - His original poetry lost, 620. - - _Fairies_, superstitious traditions concerning, i. 320. - Their supposed influence on All-Hallow-Eve, 333. - Supposed to haunt fountains and wells, 392. - Critical account of the fairy mythology of Shakspeare, ii. 302. - Oriental fairies, 302, 303. - The knowledge of the oriental fairy mythology introduced from the - Italians, 303. - Origin of the Gothic system of fairy mythology, 304. - Known in England in the eleventh century, 306. - Scandinavian system of fairy mythology, 308-312. - Scandinavian system current in England in the thirteenth century, - 313. - Scottish elves, _ibid._ 314. - Their dress and weapons, 315. - Lowland fairies, 316. - Allusions to fairy superstitions by Chaucer, 313. 317. - Description of Elf or Fairy-land, 318, 319. - Allusions to it by various poets, 319-321. - Fairy processions at Roodsmass, 322. - Fairies in Scotland supposed to appear most commonly by moonlight, - 323. - Their supposed influence on pregnant women, 324. - Children said to be stolen and changed by them, 325, 326. - Expedients for recovering them, 326, 327. - Their speech, food, and work, 328, 329. - Account of the malignant fairy called the _Wee Brown Man of the - Muirs_, 329, 330. - Traditions relative to the benevolent sprite, Brownie, 330-336. - The fairy mythology of Shakspeare, though partly founded on Scottish - tradition, yet, from its novelty and poetic beauty, meriting the - title of the _English System_, 337, 338. - Critical illustrations of his allusions to fairies and Fairy-land, - 337-353. - Scandinavia the parent of our popular fairy mythology, which has - undergone various modifications, 353-355. - - _Fairs_, how celebrated antiently, i. 214-216. - - _Falconer_, an important officer in the households of the great, i. - 265, 266. - His qualifications, 266. - - _Falconry_, when introduced into England, i. 255. - Universal among the nobility and gentry, _ibid._ 256. - Notices of books on, 257. _note_. - Falconry an expensive diversion, 257-259. - Prohibited to the clergy, 259. _note_. - Remarks on this sport, 260-262. - Poetical description of it by Massinger, 262, 263. - A favourite diversion of the ladies, 265. - - _Falcons_, different sorts of, i. 263, 264. - Account of their training, 266-271. - - _Falstaff_, analysis of the character of, as introduced in - Shakspeare's plays of Henry IV., Parts I. and II., ii. 381-384. - And in the Merry Wives of Windsor, 436. - - _Fans_, structure and fashion of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 98, - 99. - - _Fare_ of country squires in the age of Shakspeare, i. 73, 76. - Of country gentlemen, 79, 80. - And of the sovereign and higher classes, ii. 120-129. - - _Farmers_, character of, in the time of Edward VI., i. 100, 101. - In Queen Elizabeth's time, 98. - Description of their houses or cottages, 99, 100. - Their furniture and household accommodations, 101. 103. - Their ordinary diet, 103-108. - Diet on festivals, 109. - Dress, 110. - Qualifications of a good farmer's wife, 111, 112. - Occupations, &c. of their servants, 113. - Manners, &c. of Scottish farmers during the same period, 117, 118. - Progress of extravagance among this class of persons, 119. - - _Farmer_ (Dr.), conclusion of, as to the result of Shakspeare's school - education, i. 29, 30. - His conclusion controverted, 30, 31. - His opinion as to the extent of Shakspeare's knowledge of French and - Italian literature considered, 54-56, 57. - - _Faulconbridge_, analysis of the character of, ii. 120. - - _Feasts_ (ordinary), curious directions for, i. 80. _note_. - - _Felton_'s portrait of Shakspeare, authenticity of, ii. 623. - - _Fenner_ (Dudley), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 682. - - _Fenton_'s (Geffray), account of his "Certain Tragicall Discourses," a - popular collection of Italian novels, i. 542. - - _Fern-seed_, supposed to be visible on Midsummer-Eve, i. 329. - - "_Ferrex and Porrex_," the first regular tragedy ever performed in - England, i. 227. - - _Ferrers_ (George), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 682. - - _Ferriar_ (Dr.), theory of apparitions of, ii. 406. - Application of it to the character of Hamlet, 407. - His opinion of the merits of Massinger as a dramatic poet - controverted, 562. - - _Festivals_, account of those observed in Shakspeare's time, i. 123. - New-Year's Day, 123-126. - Twelfth Day, 127-134. - St. Distaff's Day, 135. - Plough Monday, 136-138. - Candlemas Day, 138-140. - Shrove Tide, 141-145. - Easter Tide, 146-148. - Hock Day, 149-151. - May Day, 152-174. - Whitsuntide, 175-180. - Sheep-shearing, 181-185. - Harvest-home, 185-190. - Martinmas, 192. - Christmas, 193-208. - Wakes or fairs, 209-249. - Weddings, 219-229. - Christenings, 230, 231. - Burials, 232-245. - - _Fete_, magnificent, at Kenelworth Castle, given to Queen Elizabeth, - i. 37-39. - - _Fetherstone_ (Christopher), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. - 682. - - _Fires_ kindled on Midsummer-Eve, of Pagan origin, i. 328, 329; - and on All-Hallow-Eve, 341. - - _Fire Spirits_, machinery of, introduced in the Tempest, ii. 521, 522. - - _Fishing_, pursued with avidity, in the 16th century, i. 289. - Account of books on this sport, 290, 291. - Poetical description of, 292, 293. - Qualifications requisite for, 294-297. - - _Fitzgeffrey_ (Charles), Biographical notice of, i. 620. - Specimen of his poetical talents, 621. - - _Fitzherbert_ (Sir Anthony), notice of his agricultural treatises, i. - 115. _note_. - His precepts to a good housewife, 116, 117. _notes_. - - _Fleming_ (Abraham), a miscellaneous writer, account of, i. 504. - Character of his style, 505. - Poems of, 682. - - _Fletcher_ (Robert), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 682. - - _Fletcher_ (Giles), critical remarks on the poetry of, i. 621, 622. - - _Fletcher_ (Phineas), notice of, i. 622. - Critical observations on his "Purple Island," 623.; - and on his "Piscatory Eclogues," _ib._ - - _Fletcher_ (John), the chief author of the plays extant under his - name, ii. 557. - How far he was assisted by Beaumont, 558. - Critical estimate of his character as a dramatic poet, 558-560. - His feeble attempts to emulate Shakspeare, 560, 561. - His Faithful Shepherdess (act v. sc. 1.) illustrated, i. 130. - See also _Beaumont_, in this index. - - _Floralia_ (Roman), perpetuated in May-Day, i. 152. - - _Florio_ (John), pedantry of, satyrised by Shakspeare, i. 415. - Appointed reader of the Italian language to the Queen of James I., - 451. - - _Flowers_, antiently scattered on streams at sheep-shearing time, i. - 185. - Garlands of flowers carried at funerals, and buried with the - deceased, 240-242. - Graves in Wales still decorated with flowers, 242-244. - Allusions to this custom by Shakspeare, 243. - - _Fools_ of Shakspeare's plays, &c. remarks on, i. 587. ii. 550. - Description of their apparel and condition, ii. 141, 142. - Apes or monkies kept as companions for them, 145, 146. - - _Ford_, merits of, as a dramatic poet, considered, ii. 563, 564. - - _Forks_, when introduced into England, ii. 126. - - _Fortescue_'s (Thomas), "Forest of Historyes," a popular collection of - novels, notice of, i. 543. - - "_Fortune my Foe_," a popular song, quoted by Shakspeare, i. 477. - - _Fountains_ and wells, why superstitiously visited, i. 391. - Supposed to be the haunts of fairies and spirits, 392. - Pilgrimages made to them, 393. - - _Fowling_, how pursued in the sixteenth century, i. 287-289. - - _Fox_'s "Acts and Monuments," character of, i. 482. - - _Fraunce_ (Abraham), notice of his "Arcadian Rhetoricke," i. 464. - List of his poetical works, 682, 683. - - _Freeman_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 683. - - _French Language_, Shakspeare's knowledge of, when acquired, i. 53, - 54. - Proofs that he had some acquaintance with it, 55, 56. - List of French grammars which he might have read, 57. - - "_Friar of Orders Grey_," a beautiful ballad, notice of, i. 579, 580. - Quoted by Shakspeare, 589, 590. - - _Friend_, absence from, exquisitely pourtrayed by Shakspeare, ii. 78. - - _Friendship_, beautiful delineation of, ii. 389. - - _Fulbeck_'s account of Roman factions, i. 476. - - _Fulbroke Park_, the scene of Shakspeare's deer-stealing, i. 402, 403. - - _Fuller_ (Thomas), character of Shakspeare, i. 29.; - and of Dr. Dee, and his assistant Kelly, ii. 512, 513. - - _Fullwell_ (Ulpian), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 683. - - _Funeral ceremonies_ described, i. 232-237. - Entertainments given on those occasions, 238. - - _Furniture_, splendid, of Queen Elizabeth's palaces, ii. 111, 112. - Of the inhabitants of London, 112-120. - Of the halls of country gentlemen, i. 77-79. - - _Fuseli_'s picture of the night-mare, description of, i. 348. _note_ - [348:B]. - - -G - - _Gale_ (Dunstan), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 683. - - _Gamage_ (William), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 684, - and _note_ [684:A]. - - _Games_ (Cotswold), account of, i. 252-254. - - _Gaming_, prevalence of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 157, 158. - - "_Gammer Gurton's Needle_," illustration of, i. 106. - The earliest comedy ever written or performed in England, ii. 227. - Critical remarks on, 233. - - _Garlands_, anciently used at funerals, and buried with the deceased, - i. 240-242. - - _Garnier_'s Henriade probably seen by Shakspeare, i. 54, 55. - - _Garter_ (Barnard), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 684. - - _Garter_ (Thomas), a dramatic poet in the reign of Elizabeth, - character of, ii. 235. - - _Gascoigne_ (George), notice of the "Posies" of, i. 461. - Biographical sketch of, 623, 624. - Remarks on his poetry, 624, 625. - Character of, as a dramatic poet, ii. 233, 234. - - _Gastrell_ (Rev. Francis), purchases Shakspeare's house at Stratford, - ii. 584. _note_. - Cuts down his mulberry tree, _ibid._ - And destroys the house itself, 585. _note_. - - _Gay_'s Trivia, quotation from, on the influence of particular days, - i. 323. _note_. - Poetical description of spells, 332. - - _Genius_ of Shakspeare's drama considered, ii. 536-541. - - _Gentlemen_, different sorts of, in the age of Shakspeare, i. 69. - Their virtues and vices, _ibid._ 70. - Description of the mansion houses of country gentlemen, 72-74. - Their usual fare, 79, 80-82. - Employments and dress of their daughters, 83, 84. - Character of country gentlemen towards the commencement of the 17th - century, 84, 85. - When they began to desert their halls for the metropolis, 85. - Portraits of, in the close of the 17th, and at the beginning of the - 18th century, 86, 87. _notes_. - Dress of gentlemen in the metropolis, ii. 87, 88, 89. 101-109. - - _Gerbelius_ (Nicholas), rapturous declamation of, on the restoration - of some Greek authors, i. 435. - - _Gerguntum_, a fabulous Briton, notice of, i. 192. _note_. - - _Germans_, fairy mythology of, ii. 312. - - _Gesta Romanorum_, a popular romance in Shakspeare's time, i. 534. - Different translations of the _continental Gesta_, _ibid._ 535. - Critical account of the _English Gesta_, 535, 536. ii. 386. - Notice of its different editions, i. 537, 538. - Long continuance of its popularity, 538. - - _Ghosts_, superstitious notions concerning, prevalent in the age of - Shakspeare, i. 318, 319. - Remarks on the supposed agency of ghosts, as received at that time, - ii. 399-405. - Considerations on the introduction of the ghost in Hamlet, and its - strict consonance to the popular superstitions shewn, 411-417. - Its superiority over all other ghostly representations, ancient or - modern, 417, 418. - - _Gifford_ (Humphrey), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 684. - - _Gifford_ (Mr.), conjecture of, on the date of Shakspeare's Henry - VIII. ii. 442, 443. - Observations on the excellent plan of his notes on Massinger, 561. - _note_. - His estimate of the merits of Ben Jonson, as a dramatic poet, 575, - 576. - Vindicates Jonson from the cavils of Mr. Malone, 578. _note_. - - _Gilchrist_ (Mr.) on the character of Puttenham's "Arte of English - Poesie," i. 466. - - _Gleek_, a fashionable game at cards, notice of, ii. 170. - - _Glen Banchar_, anecdote of a peasant of, i. 233, 234. - - _Globe_ Theatre, license to Shakspeare for, ii. 207, 208. - Account of it, 208, 209. - Description of its interior, 210-214. - - _Gloves_, costly, presented to Elizabeth, ii. 99. - - _Goblins_ and spectres, superstitious notions concerning, i. 316, 317. - Machinery of goblins or spirits of earth, introduced into the - Tempest, ii. 523, 524. - - _Goder Norner_, or beneficent elves of the Goths, notice of, ii. 308. - - _Godwin_ (Mr.), remarks of, on Shakspeare's Troilus and Cressida, ii. - 440, 441. - His estimate of the merits of Ben Jonson, as a dramatic poet, - 574-579. - - _Golding_ (Arthur), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 684. - - _Googe_ (Barnaby), description of Midsummer-Eve superstitions, i. 328. - Notice of his poetical works, 684. - - _Gorboduc_, critical remarks on Sackville's tragedy of, ii. 230, 231. - - _Gordon_ (Patrick), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 684. - - "_Gorgeous Gallery of Gallant Inventions_," a collection of poems, - critical account of, i. 715-717. - - _Gorges_ (Sir Arthur), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 684, - 685. and _notes_. - - _Gossipping_, prevalence of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 159, 160. - - _Gosson_ (Stephen), a Puritanical wit, in Shakspeare's time, account - of, i. 500, 501. - Notice of his "_Speculum humanum_," 685. and _note_ [685:C]. - - _Gowns_, materials and fashions of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 97, - 98. - - _Grammars_ and dictionaries, list of, in use in Shakspeare's time, i. - 25. _note_. - Henry VII.'s grammar learned by Shakspeare, 26. - The English grammar but little cultivated, previous to the time of - Ascham, 439. - Improved by him, _ibid._; - and by Wilson, 440. - Notice of eminent Latin grammarians, 454, 455. - English grammar of Ben Jonson, 456. - - _Grange_ (John), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 685. - - _Grant_ (Edward), an eminent Latin philologer, notice of, i. 454. - - _Graves_, why planted with flowers, i. 242-244. and _note_. - Allusions to this custom by Shakspeare, 243. - - _Grave-digger_ in Hamlet, songs mis-quoted by, probably by design, i. - 591. - - _Greek_ literature, cultivated and encouraged at the court of Queen - Elizabeth, i. 429-431, 432. - Promoted essentially by the labours of Sir Thomas Smith, Sir Henry - Savile, and Dr. Boys, 453, 454. - List of Greek authors, translated into English in the time of - Shakspeare, 483. - - _Greene_ (Thomas), the barrister, an intimate friend of Shakspeare's, - ii. 600. - - _Greene_ (Thomas), the player, notice of, i. 417. - Character of, _ibid._ - Whether a townsman and relation of Shakspeare, 420. - - _Greene_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 685. - - _Greene_ (Robert), a miscellaneous writer in the time of Shakspeare, - biographical account of, i. 486. - Studies and dissipations of his early years, 486, 487. - His marriage, 487. - Pleasing sketch of his domestic life, 488. - Returns to the dissipations of the metropolis, 489. - Affectionate demeanour of his wife, 490. - His beautiful address, "By a Mother to her Infant," 492, 493. - Becomes a writer for bread, 494. - Character of Greene as a prose writer, 494. - List of his principal pieces, 495. - Poetical extract from his "Never Too Late," 496. - Extract entitled "The Farewell of a Friend," 497. - His death, _ibid._ - Miserable state of his latter days, 498. - Satirical sonnet addressed to him, 499. - Critical notice of his poetry, 627. - List of his dramatic productions, with remarks, ii. 249-251. - - "_Green Sleeves_," a popular song, quoted by Shakspeare, i. 477. - - _Greepe_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 686. - - _Greville_ (Sir Fulke), list of the poems of, i. 686. - - _Griffin_ (B.), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 686. - - _Griffith_ (William), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 686. - - _Grove_ (Matthew), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 686. - - _Grymeston_ (Elizabeth), a minor poetess of the age of Shakspeare, i. - 686. - - _Guardian angels_, superstitious notions concerning, i. 336-339. - Observations on, by Dr. Horsley, 339, 340. - - _Guests_, ranks of, how distinguished at table, i. 74. - - _Guteli_, or benevolent fairies of the Germans, notice of, ii. 312. - - _Guy of Warwick_, allusions by Shakspeare to the legend of, i. 566. - - -H - - _Haggard-Hawk_, notice of, i. 270. - - _Hair_, fashion of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 92. - The dead frequently plundered for, _ibid._ 93. - The hair thus obtained, dyed of a sandy colour, 93. - Hair of unmarried women, how worn, _ibid._ - Various coverings for, 94. - The fashions for dressing hair, imported from Venice and Paris, - _ibid._ 95. - - _Hake_ (Edward), notice of his "Touchstone of Wittes," i. 464, 465. - List of his poetical pieces, 686, 687. - - _Hakluyt_'s Collection of Voyages and Travels, critical notice of, i. - 477. - - _Hall_ (Arthur and John), minor poets of the age of Shakspeare, i. - 687. - - _Hall_ (Bishop), portraits by, of a domestic chaplain and tutor, i. - 95. - Of an extravagant farmer's heir, 119. - Of a poor copyholder, 120. - Of horse-racing, 298. - List of his poems, 627. - Critical remarks on his satires, ii. 6. - - _Hall_ (Dr.), marries Shakspeare's daughter Susanna, ii. 598, 599. - Birth of his daughter Elizabeth, 599. - Notice of her, 629. _note_. - The executorship of Shakspeare's will, why intrusted to Dr. Hall, - 613. - Epitaph on him, 631, 632. _notes_. - - _Halls_ of country squires and gentlemen, in Shakspeare's age, i. 73, - 74. - Of the nobility, how illuminated, ii. 116. - - _Hamlet, Prince of Denmark_, date of, ii. 391. - Analysis of the character of Hamlet, 392-398. - Remarks on the agency of spirits, as connected with the Ghost in - this play, 399-405. - On the nature of Hamlet's lunacy, 406-409. - The introduction of the Ghost critically considered, 411. - Its strict consistency with the superstition of the times, 412-417. - Superiority of Shakspeare's introduction of spirits over ancient and - modern dramatists, 417, 418. - - _Passages of this drama illustrated in this work._ - - Act i. scene 1., i. 352. ii. 414. - scene 2., i. 238. - scene 4., i. 129. ii. 412, 413. - scene 5., i. 379. 394. ii. 414. 417. - Act ii. scene 2., i. 250. 397. 582. ii. 394. - Act iii. scene 1., i. 571. ii. 392. 395. - scene 2., i. 171. 583. ii. 106. 221. - scene 3., ii. 114. - scene 4., i. 424. ii. 409. - Act iv. scene 5., i. 224. 240. 326. 590, 591. - Act v. scene 1., i. 242, 243. ii. 395. - scene 2., i. 35, 36. - - _Hand-ball_, playing at, a favourite sport at Easter, i. 146, 147. - Tansy cakes the constant prize, 147. - - "_Handfull of Pleasant Delites_," a collection of poems, critical - notice of, i. 717, 718. - - _Hands_, why always washed before dinner, ii. 145. - - _Harbert_ (Sir William), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. - 687. - - _Harbert_ (William), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 687. - - _Harington_ (Sir John), critical notice of his "Apologie of Poetry," - i. 466, 467. - His "New Discourse of a stale Subject," 515. - And of his "Metamorphosis," 516. - Remarks on his poetry, 629, 630. - Ludicrous account of a carousal given to the King of Denmark, ii. - 124, 125. - The inventor of water-closets, 135. _note_. - His "Orders for Household Servantes," 139, 140. - - _Harmony of the spheres_, doctrine of, a favourite source of - embellishment, i. 381. - Allusions to, by Shakspeare, 381, 382. - And Milton, 382. - - _Harrison_ (Rev. William), character of his "Description of England," - i. 475. - Picture of rural mansions in the time of Elizabeth, 73. - Delineation of country-clergymen, 90, 91. - Of farmers, 99, 100. - And of their cottages and furniture, 101-103. - Of country-inns and ale-houses, 216-218. - Of the fashionable mode of dress in the age of Shakspeare, ii. - 87-89. - Of the hospitality and style of eating and drinking in the higher - classes, 120-122. - - _Hart_ (Joan), Shakspeare's sister, bequest to, ii. 629. - - _Harte_ (William), Shakspeare's nephew, not the person to whom his - sonnets were addressed, ii. 60. - - _Harvest-Home_, festival of, how celebrated, i. 185. - Distinctions of society then abolished, 186. - The last load of corn accompanied home with music and dancing, 187. - Alluded to by Shakspeare, _ibid._ - Poetical description of, by Herricke, 188, 189. - Thanksgivings offered in Scotland for the safe in-gathering of the - harvest, 341. - - _Harvey_ (Gabriel), notice of, i. 457. - His quarrel with Nash, 458. - Rarity of his works, _ibid._ - His account of Greene's last days, 498. - Satirical sonnet, addressed by him to Greene, 499. - Notice of his sonnets, 687. _and note_ [687:C]. - - _Hastings_ (Henry), account of, i. 86, 87. _note_. - - _Hathaway_ family, account of, i. 60. - Their cottage still standing at Shottery, 61. - - _Hathaway_ (Anne), the mistress of Shakspeare, spurious sonnet - ascribed to, i. 58. _note_. - Married to Shakspeare with her parents' consent, 62, 63. - His bequest to her, ii. 631. - Remarks thereon, 613. - Her epitaph, 631. _note_. i. 60. _note_. - - _Hats_, fashion of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 102. - - _Hatton_ (Sir Christopher), promoted for his skill in dancing, ii. - 172. - - _Haunted houses_, superstitious notions concerning, in the sixteenth - century, i. 320, 321. - - _Hawking_, when introduced into England, i. 255. - Universal among the nobility and gentry, 255, 256. - Notice of books on Hawks and Hawking, 257. and _note_. - Expense attending this pursuit, 257-259. - Forbidden to the clergy, 259. _note_. - Observations on this sport, 260-262. - Poetical description of, 262, 263. - Land and water hawking, 264. - A favourite pursuit of the ladies, 265. - Allusions to hawking by Shakspeare, 270, 271. - - _Hawks_, different sorts of, i. 263, 264. - Penalties for destroying their eggs, 264. - Account of their training, 265-270. - - _Hazlewood_ (Mr.), character of, i. 71. _note_. - Notice of his edition of Puttenham's "Arte of English Poesie," 465. - His character of that work, 466. - And of Wright's Essays, 511-513. - Account of the "World's Folly," a collection of ballads, 574-576. - Bibliographical notice of "Polimanteia," ii. 39. _note_ [39:B]. - Account of Brokes' "Tragicall Historie of Romeus and Juliet," 359. - and _note_. - - _Hayward_ (Sir John), character of his Histories, i. 476. - - _Healths_, origin of drinking, i. 128. - - _Helen_, analysis of the character of, in All's Well that Ends Well, - ii. 423-425. - - _Hell_, legendary punishments of, i. 378-381. - The lower part of the stage so called in Shakspeare's time, ii. 214. - - _Heminge_, the player, notice of, and of his family, i. 417. - Probably a countryman of Shakspeare's, _ibid._ - - _Hemp-seed_, why sown on Midsummer Eve, i. 332. - - _Henry_ IV., Parts I. and II., probable date of, ii. 379. - Critical analysis of its principal characters, 380. - Contrast between Hotspur and Prince Henry, 380. - Analysis of the character of Falstaff, 381-384. - And of the general construction of the fable of these plays, 384, - 385. - - _Illustrations of King Henry IV. Part I. in the present work._ - - Act i. scene 2., i. 570. - Act ii. scene 3., i. 329. 556. - scene 4., ii. 105. 114. 131. - Act iii. scene 1., i. 354. ii. 117. - Act iv. scene 1., i. 298. - Act v. scene 3., i. 581. - scene 4., i. 406. - - _Illustrations of King Henry IV. Part II._ - - Act i. scene 1., i. 232. - scene 2., i. 338. - Act ii. scene 2., i. 193. - scene 4., i. 308. 338. 585. ii. 107. - Act iii. scene 2., i. 254. 562. - Act v. scene 1., i. 156. 201. 554. - scene 2., i. 74. - scene 3., i. 585, 586. - The epilogue, ii. 222, 223. - - _Henry_ V. Prince of Wales, character of, ii. 380. - Probable date of the play of, 425. - Analysis of the admirable character of the King, 426-428. - Remarks on the minor characters and general conduct of the play, - 429. - - _Passages of Henry V. illustrated in the present work._ - - Act ii. scene 2., ii. 426, 427. - scene 3., i. 231. - scene 4., i. 175. - Act iii. scene 1., ii. 428. - scene 3., ii. 428. - Act iv. scene 1., ii. 427. - scene 2., ii. 116. - Act v. scene 1., i. 567. - scene 2., i. 308. - - _Henry_ VI., Parts I., II., and III.—The First Part of Henry VI., - usually ascribed to Shakspeare, spurious, ii. 292. - Alterations probably made in it by him, 293. - Date of these two Parts, 294, 295. - Exquisite contrast between the characters of Henry VI. and Richard - of Gloucester, 296. - The spurious play fit only for an appendix to Shakspeare's works, - 297. - Illustrations of Henry VI. Part I. act i. scene 4., ii. 259. - - _Illustrations of Henry VI. Part II._ - - Act i. scene 2., ii. 183. - Act ii. scene 1., i. 389. - scene 3., i. 565. - Act iii. scene 1., i. 164. - scene 2., i. 374. - Act iv. scene 2., i. 406. - Act v. scene 3., i. 583. _note_. - - _Illustrations of Henry VI. Part III._ - - Act i. scene 1., ii. 374. - scene 2., i. 372. - Act iii. scene 5., i. 423. - Act v. scene 3., i. 363. - scene 6., i. 354. ii. 372. _note_. 373. - scene 7., ii. 372. _note_. - - _Henry_ VIII.'s Latin Grammar, exclusively taught in schools, i. 26. - - _Henry_ VIII., probable date of the play of, ii. 442-445. - Remarks on its characters, 445, 446. - - _Illustrations of this drama in the present work._ - - Act i. scene 1., i. 289. - scene 3., ii. 99. - Act ii. scene 3., i. 397. - Act iv. scene 1., i. 156. - Act v. scene 1., ii. 169. - scene 2., i. 74. - - _Hentzner_'s (Paul), description of the dress of Queen Elizabeth, ii. - 89, 90. - Of the manner in which her table was served, 122, 123. - And of the dress of servants, 138. - Character of the English nation, 154. - Description of an English bull-baiting and bear-whipping, 177. - - _Herbert_ (Mary), a minor poetess of the age of Shakspeare, i. 687. - - _Herrick_, verses of, on Twelfth Night, i. 133, 134. - On Rock or St. Distaff's Day, 135, 136. - On Candlemas Eve, 139-141. - And on Candlemas Day, 140. - On May Day, 156, 157. - On Harvest-home, 188, 189. - On Christmas, 195-206. - - _Hesiod_, beautiful passage of, on the ministry of spirits, ii. 400. - - _Heywood_ (Jasper), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 687. - - _Heywood_ (Thomas), complaint of, against the critics of his day, i. - 456. - Notice of his _Troia Britannica_, a poem, 688. ii. 44. - Vindicates Shakspeare from the charge of plagiarism, 44, 45. - Notice of his apology for actors, 44. - Estimate of his merits as a dramatic poet, ii. 568, 569. - Illustration of his "Woman killed with Kindness," i. 213. 269. - - _Higgins_ (John), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 688, and - _note_ [688:B]. - Additions made by him to the "Mirrour for Magistrates," 709. - - _Historical Writers_ of the age of Shakspeare, notice of, i. 475, 476. - - _Hobby horse_, when introduced into the May games, i. 166. 170. - _note_. - - _Hock Cart_, poem on, i. 188, 189. - - _Hock Day_, or _Hoke Day_, origin of, i. 149. - Amusements of this festival, _ibid._ - Derivation of the term _Hock_, _ibid._ 150. - Diversions of, continued at Coventry, till the end of the 17th - century, 150, 151. and _note_. - - _Holinshed_'s description of the earthquake of 1580, i. 52, 53. - Proof that Shakspeare was conversant with his history, 56. - Character of his "Chronicle", 475. - - _Holland_ (Robert), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 688. - - _Holme_ (Randal), list of sports by, i. 246. - - _Homer_, as translated by Chapman, critical observations on, i. 607, - 608. - - _Hooding_ of Hawks, i. 267, 268. - - _Hoppings_, or country dances at wakes, i. 213, 214. - - _Horse_, beautiful poetical description of, ii. 24. - - _Horsemanship_, directions for, i. 299, 300. - - _Horse-racing_, a fashionable sport in the age of Shakspeare, i. 297, - 298. - - _Horsley_ (Bishop), remarks of, on the ministry of angels, i. 339, - 340. ii. 399. - And on the resurrection, 403. - - _Hospitality_ of the English in the age of Elizabeth, ii. 120-122. - - _Hotspur_, contrast between the character of, and that of Henry V., - ii. 380. - - _Hounds_, different kinds of, in the 16th century, i. 283, 284. - Beautiful allusions to, by Shakspeare, 284. - - _House_, where Shakspeare was born, described, i. 21, 22. - - _Household Servants_, economy of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. - 138-140. - - _Housewife_, portrait and qualifications of a good English one, i. - 110, 111. - Precepts for the regulation of her conduct, 112, 113. 116. _note_, - 117. _note_. - - _Howard_ (Lady), rude treatment of, by Queen Elizabeth, ii. 91. - - _Howel_ (Mr.), marvellous cure of, by sympathetic powder, i. 375, 376. - - _Howell_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 688. - - _Hubbard_ (William), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 688. - - _Hudson_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 689. - - _Hughes_ (Thomas), a dramatic writer of the Elizabethan age, notice - of, ii. 242, 243. - - _Hughes_ (William), not the person to whom Shakspeare's sonnets were - addressed, ii. 60. - - _Hume_, (Alexander), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 689. - - _Hundred Merry Tales_, a popular collection of Italian novels, - translated in the reign of Elizabeth, i. 539. - Alluded to by Shakspeare, 540. - - _Hunnis_ (William), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 689. - Specimen of his contribution to the "Paradise of Daintie Devises," - 714, 715. - - _Hunting_, account of, in the time of Elizabeth and James I., i. 272, - 273. - Description of hunting in inclosures, 274-276. - Stag-hunting, 278, 279. - Frequently attended with danger, 280. - Explanation of hunting-terms, 278. _note_, 279. _note_. - Frequently practised after dinner, 285. - - _Huntsman_, character and qualifications of, in the 16th century, i. - 281, 282. - - _Huon of Bourdeaux_, allusions by Shakspeare to the romance of, i. - 564. - - _Hurling_, a rural sport, account of, i. 305. - - _Husbands_, supposed visionary appearance of future, on Midsummer Eve, - i. 331-333. - And on All Hallow Eve, 344-347. - Advice to them, 513. - - -I - - _Iago_, remarks on the character of, ii. 531. - - _Illar Norner_, or malignant elves of the Goths, ii. 308. - - _Imagination_, brilliant, displayed in Shakspeare's dramas, ii. 551. - - _Imogen_, analysis of the character of, ii. 467. - - _Incubus_, or night-mare, poetical description of, i. 348. _note_. - Supposed influence of Saint Withold against, 347-349. - - _Indians_, exhibited in England as monsters, i. 387. - - _Inns_ (country), picture of, in Shakspeare's time, i. 216-218. - - _Inns of Court_, account of a splendid masque given by the gentlemen - of, ii. 190. - - _Interest_, exorbitant, given for money in the age of Shakspeare, ii. - 156. - - _Ireland_ (Mr. Samuel), his description of the birth-place of - Shakspeare, i. 21, 22. - Anecdote of Shakspeare's toping, preserved by him, 48-50. - - _Isabella_, remarks on the character of, in Measure for Measure, ii. - 454, 455. - - _Italian_ language and literature, considerations on Shakspeare's - knowledge of, i. 53, 54. - List of Italian grammars and dictionaries, which he might have read, - 57. - Greatly encouraged in the age of Elizabeth and James I., 451-453. - Account of Italian Romances, 538-544. - The Italian Sonnet, the parent of English Sonnets, ii. 53. - - _Itinerant Stage_, and players, account of, i. 247-252. - - _Ivory Coffers_, an article of furniture, in the age of Shakspeare, - ii. 118. - - -J - - _Jack o'Lantern_, superstitious notions concerning, i. 399. - Probable causes of, 400. - - _Jackson_ (Richard), notice of his battle of Flodden, i. 689. and - _note_ [689:A]. - - _Jaggard_'s editions of the "Passionate Pilgrim," published without - Shakspeare's privity or consent, ii. 43. 45. - Vindication of the poet from the charge of imposing on the public in - these editions, 46-48. - - _James_ I., book of sports, issued by, i. 173. - Partiality of, for hunting, 287. - Exclamation of, on quitting the Bodleian library, 434. - Account of his treatise on "Scottish Poesie," 461, 462. - Notice of his Poetical Works, i. 702. and _notes_ [702:B], [702:C]. - Expense in dress, encouraged by him, though niggardly in his own, - ii. 101, 102. - Drunken excesses of the King, and his courtiers, 124, 125. - His philippic against tobacco, 135. 137. - Sketch of his character, 151, 152. - Cruel act passed by him against witchcraft, 477. - His description of the feats of supposed witches, 483. 485. - Wrote a letter of acknowledgement to Shakspeare, 595. - - _James_ (Dr.), an eminent bibliographer, notice of, i. 433, 434. - - _James_ (Elias), epitaph on, by Shakspeare, ii. 607, _note_. - - _Jaques_, analysis of the character of, in As You Like It, ii. 433, - 434. - - _Jeney_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 689. - - _Jenynges_ (Edward), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 689. - - _Jerome_ (St.), doctrine of, concerning angels, i. 336. - - _Jestours_, or minstrels, in the age of Elizabeth, account of, i. - 556-560. - Deemed rogues and vagabonds by act of parliament, 561. - - _Jewels_, fashions of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 103. - - _Job_, beautiful passage from, on the agency and ministry of spirits, - ii. 400. - - _John_ (King), probable date of, ii. 419. - Its general character, _ibid._ - Analysis of the particular characters of Faulconbridge, 420. - Of Arthur, 420. 422. - Of Constance, 421. - Exquisitely pathetic scene of Hubert and the executioners, 422. - - _Passages of this drama illustrated in the present work._ - - Act i. scene 1., i. 566. ii. 161. - Act ii. scene 2., i. 222. - Act iii. scene 1., i. 351. ii. 420. - scene 2., ii. 421. - Act iv. scene 1., ii. 414. - scene 2., i. 384. - - _John's Eve_ (St.), superstitious observances on, i. 328. - Fires lighted then, of Pagan origin, 328, 329. - Fern seed supposed to be visible only on that eve, 329. - Spirits visible, of persons who are to die in the following year, - 330, 331. - Visionary appearances of future husbands and wives on that eve, 332. - - _Johnson_ (Richard), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 689. - - _Johnson_ (Dr.), his unjust censure of Cymbeline, ii. 466. - - _Jones_ (Rev. William), sermon of, on the death of the Earl of - Southampton, i. 19. _note_. - - _Jonson_ (Ben), notice of the Latin Grammar of, i. 456. - Critical remarks on his minor poems, 631. - His account of a splendid masque, ii. 188. - Began to write for the stage in conjunction with other dramatic - poets, 572. - Enumeration of his pieces, 573. - Critical estimate of his merits as a dramatic poet, by Mr. Godwin, - 574. - By Mr. Gifford, 575, 576. - Causes of Jonson's failure in tragedy, 577. - Unrivalled excellence of his masques, 578. - Jonson, the favourite model, studied by Milton, 579, 580. - Repartees ascribed to Jonson and Shakspeare, 593, 594. _notes_. - The story of their quarrel, disproved, 595-598. - Verses of Jonson on Shakspeare's engraved portrait, 623. - - _Passages of Ben Jonson's works illustrated or explained._ - - Bartholomew Fayre, i. 173. 252. - Christmas, a masque, i. 130. 203. - Cynthia's Revells, Act i. sc. 2., i. 75. - —— Act ii. sc. 5., ii. 120. - Devil is an Ass, ii. 126. - Entertainment of the Queen and Prince at Althorpe, i. 172. - Epigrammes, i. 130. ii. 186. - Every Man in his Humour, Act i. sc. 1., i. 82. 256. 308. - Every Man out of his Humour, Act v. sc. 10., i. 441. - —— Act ii. sc. 3., ii. 156. - Masque of Queens, i. 179. - New Inn, i. 329. - Poetaster, i. 250. - Sad Shepherd, i. 281. - Staple of Newes, i. 96. 508, 509. - Sejanus, i. 366. - Silent Woman, ii. 126. - Tale of a Tub, i. 229. - - _Julia_, remarks on the character of, in the Two Gentlemen of Verona, - ii. 368, 369. - - _Julio Romano_, Shakspeare's eulogium on, ii. 617. - - _Julius Cæsar_, date of, ii. 491. - Remarks on the character of Cæsar, 491. - And of Brutus, 492. - General conduct of this drama, 492. - - _Passages of this drama illustrated in the present work._ - - Act ii. scene 2., i. 352. - Act v. scene 2., i. 230. - scene 3., i. 230. - scene 5., ii. 492. - - _Justices_ of the peace, venality of, in the time of Elizabeth, ii. - 166. - - -K - - _Kelly_, the magical associate of Dr. Dee, account of, ii. 512, 513. - His death, 513. - And character, 514, and _note_. - - _Kellye_ (Edmund), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 689. - - _Kempe_ (William), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 689. - - _Kendal_ (Timothy), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 690, and - _note_. - - _Kenelworth Castle_, visit of Queen Elizabeth to, i. 37. - Account of her magnificent reception there, 38, 39. ii. 195-197. - Quaint description of the castle and grounds, i. 40-42, _notes_. - Observation of Bishop Hurd on, ii. 200. - - _King and Queen_, origin of chusing, on Twelfth Night, i. 127. - Still retained, 134, _note_. - Anciently chosen at sheep-shearing, 184, _note_. - - _Kings_, supposed omens of the death or fall of, i. 353, 354. - - _King's Evil_, supposed to be cured by royal touch, i. 370, 371. - - _Kirk_ (Mr.), notice of his "Nature, &c. of fairies," ii. 314. and - _note_. - Extracts from it, relative to the fairy superstitions of Scotland, - 315, 316. 322. 324. - - _Kirke White_ (Henry), poetical description of a Winter's Evening - Conversation, i. 322. - - _Kiss_, beautiful sonnet on one, ii. 54, 55. - - _Knell_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 690. - - _Knights_, tournaments of, in the 16th century, i. 553. - Their vows how made, 554. - Tilting at the ring, 555. - - _Knights of Prince Arthur's Round Table_, a society of archers, - account of, ii. 178-180. - - _Knives_, when introduced into England, ii. 126. - - _Knolles_'s History of the Turks, character of, i. 476. - - _Kyd_ (Thomas), a dramatic writer, in the reign of Elizabeth, notice - of, ii. 243, 244. - - _Kyffin_ (Maurice), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 690. - - -L - - _Ladies_, dress of, in the time of Queen Elizabeth, ii. 92-100. - Their accomplishments, 153. - Manually corrected their servants, _ibid._ - - _Lake Wakes_, derivation of, i. 234. - Description of, 235, 236. - Vestiges of, in the North of England, 237. - - _Lamb Ale_, account of, i. 181. - Poetical description of, by Tusser, _ibid._ - By Drayton, _ibid._ - Allusions to it by Shakspeare, 183-185. - - _Lambarde_'s "Archaionomia," critical notice of, i. 480. - - _Lane_ (John), a poet of the Elizabethan age, critical notice of, i. - 673. - - _Laneham_'s description of Kenelworth castle and grounds, i. 40-42. - _notes_. - Cited, 371. - Description of the shews exhibited to Queen Elizabeth, 518, 519. ii. - 195, 196. - Account of his mode of spending his time, 198, 199. - - _Latin literature_, promoted in the age of Elizabeth, by the labours - of Ascham and others, i. 454, 455. - List of Latin writers translated into English in the time of - Shakspeare, 483. - - _Lavaterus_, remarks of, on the absurdity of terrifying children, i. - 317, 318. - On the ministry of angels, 336, 337. - On corpse candles, 358. - And sudden noises, as forerunners of death, 361. - - _Law terms_, collection of, found in Shakspeare's plays, i. 43, 44. - _notes_. - - _Lear_ (King), probable date of, ii. 457-459. - And sources, 459. - Observations on the general conduct of the play, 460, 461. - Analysis of the character of Lear, 461-463. - Of Edgar, 462, 464. - And of Cordelia, 465. - - _Passages of this drama illustrated in the present work._ - - Act i. scene 2., i. 384. - scene 5., ii. 462. - Act ii. scene 4., ii. 462. - Act iii. scene 1., ii. 462. - scene 2., ii. 464. - scene 4., i. 347. 566. 588. ii. 463, 464. - scene 6., i. 588, 589. - Act iv. scene 3., i. 592. - scene 6., i. 308. - scene 7., ii. 465, 466. - - _Leet Ale_, account of, i. 176. - - _Legge_ (Thomas), a dramatic writer in the Elizabethan age, character - of, ii. 251. - - _Leicester_ (Robert Dudley, Earl of), his magnificent reception of - Queen Elizabeth, i. 37-39. ii. 195-199. - - _Leighton_ (Sir William), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. - 691. - - _Lever_ (Christopher), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 691. - - _Lexicographers_, but little rewarded, i. 27. _note_. - - _Leyden_ (Dr.), beautiful poetical allusions of, to Scottish - traditions concerning fairies, ii. 320, 321. 323. - Fine apostrophe to Mr. Scott, 321. _note_. - - _Lhuyd_ (Humphry), notice of his topographical labours, i. 479, 480. - - _Libel_ of Shakspeare on Sir Thomas Lucy, i. 405, 406. - - _Library_, hints for the best situation of, i. 437. - Notice of Captain Cox's library of romances, 518, 519, 520. - And of Dr. Dee's library of magical and other books, ii. 511, 512. - _notes_. - - _Lights_, burning blue, a supposed indication of the presence of - spirits, i. 358. - - _Lilly_ (John), notice of his "_Euphues_," a romance, i. 441, 442. - Encomiums on it, 442. - Estimate of its real character, 443. - His style corrupted the English language, _ibid._ - Satirised by Shakspeare, 445, 446. - Character of his dramatic pieces, ii. 240-242. - - _Lilye_, a dextrous repairer of old books, i. 433. - - _Linche_ (Richard), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 691. - Specimen of his verses, _ibid._ _note_. - - _Lisle_ (William), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 691. - - _Literature_ (polite), outline of, during the age of Shakspeare, i. - 428. - Encouraged by Queen Elizabeth, 428-432. - Influence of her example, 433-437. - State of philological or grammatical literature, 439. - Innovations in the English language by Lilly, 442-445. - Improvements in the language, by the great writers in the reigns of - Elizabeth and James, 446-448. - Classical literature greatly encouraged, 449. 453-455. - Modern languages then cultivated, 451, 452. - State of criticism, 456-460. - Of history, 475. - Voyages and travels, 477-479. - Topography and antiquities, 479-481. - Biography, 481, 482. - Translations of classical authors extant in this period, 483. - Natural history, 484, 485. - Miscellaneous literature:—of the wits of that age, 485-499. - Of the Puritans, 500-502. - Sober writers, 503-507. - Origin of newspapers, 508. - Writers of characters, 509-511. - Essayists, 511-514. - Writers of facetiæ, 515-517. - State of romantic literature, 518-593. - Of poetry in general, 461-474. 594-675. - Table of miscellaneous minor poets during the age of Shakspeare, - 676-707. - Collections of poetry and poetical miscellanies, 708-731. - State of literature in the Elizabethan age highly favourable to the - culture of poetic genius, 596. - - _Literature_ (juvenile), state of, during Shakspeare's youth, i. - 25-28. - - _Lithgow_ (William), critical notice of his "Travels," i. 478. - - _Littlecote House_, description of, and of its ancient furniture, i. - 77-79. - - _Little John_, the companion of Robin Hood, account of, i. 163. - - _Lloyd_ (Lodowick), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 691. - - _Lobeira_ (Vasco), the author of "Amadis of Gaul," i. 545. - Popularity of his romance, 545, 546. - - _Lodge_ (Dr. Thomas), a miscellaneous and dramatic writer, account of, - i. 503. - His principal works, _ibid._ - Defects in his literary character, _ibid._ 504. - Remarks of, on the quarrelsome temper of Nash, 459, 460. - Remarks on his poetry, 632-635. - Character of his dramatic productions, ii. 249. - - _Lofft_ (Mr. Capel), opinion of, on the sources of Shakspeare's - wisdom, i. 32. _note_. - On the extent of his knowledge of Italian literature, 54. _note_. - Notice of his edition of Shakspeare's "Aphorisms," 517. - - _Lok_ (Henry), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 691, 692, and - _note_ [692:A]. - - _London_, when first resorted to by country-gentlemen, i. 85, 86. - Dress of the inhabitants of the metropolis, ii. 87-111. - Their houses, how furnished, 111-120. - Food and drinking, 120-137. - Servants, 138-142. - Miscellaneous household arrangements, 143-145. - Peculiarities in their manners, 145-162. - Police of London during the age of Shakspeare, 162-167. - Their manners, 153. - Credulity and superstition, 154. - Curiosity for seeing strange sights, 155. - Passion for travelling, 156. - Love of gaming, 157. - Duelling, 158. - Love of quarrelling, _ibid._ 159. - Lying, 159. - Gossipping, _ibid._ - Swearing, 160. - Complimentary language, 160, 161. - Ceremonies of inaugurating the Lord Mayor, 162-164. - Regulation of the police of the city, 164-166. - Diversions of the court and city, 168-200. - Account of a splendid masque given by the citizens, 189, 190. - - _Lord Mayor_, ceremony of inaugurating described, ii. 162-164. - - _Lovell_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 692. - - _Lovelocks_ worn by gentlemen in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 103. - - "_Lover's Complaint_," a minor poem of Shakspeare, critical analysis - of, ii. 82-84. - - _Love's Labour's Lost_, date of this drama of Shakspeare's, ii. 289. - Proofs that it is one of Shakspeare's earliest compositions, 290, - 291. - The first edition of it lost, 290. - Critical remarks on it, 291, 292. - - _Passages of this drama illustrated in the present work._ - - Act i. scene 2., ii. 186. - Act iii. scene 1., i. 171. 580. ii. 173. 175. - Act iv. scene 1., i. 580, ii. 182. - scene 2., i. 27. _note_. 445, 446. - Act v. scene 1., i. 96. 308. - scene 2., i. 105. 130. 515. 556. ii. 171. - - _Lucrece_, beautiful picture of, ii. 36, 37. - See _Rape of Lucrece_. - - _Lucy_ (Sir Thomas), biographical notice of, i. 402. - His deer stolen by Shakspeare, 403. - Whom he reprimands and exposes, 404. - Is libelled by Shakspeare, 404-407. - Prosecutes him, 407, 408. - Ridiculous portrait of Sir Thomas, 409. - - _Luders_ (Mr.), notice of his essay on the character of Henry V., ii. - 381. - - _Luigi da Porta_, the Giuletta of, the source of Shakspeare's Romeo - and Juliet, ii. 360-362. - - _Lunacy_ (latent), philosophical and medical remarks on, ii. 406, 407. - Application of them to the character of Hamlet, 407, 408. - - _Lupton_ (Thomas), a dramatic writer in the time of Elizabeth, notice - of, ii. 237. - - _Luring_ of Hawks, i. 266, 267. _note_. - - -M - - _Mab_, queen of the fairies, exquisite picture of, ii. 341, 342. - - _Macbeth_, date of, ii. 469. - Analysis of the character of Macbeth, 469-471. - Remarks on the management of the fable, 471. - Its striking affinity to the tragedy of Æschylus, 472-474. - Critical remarks on the supernatural machinery of this play, 474. - Account of the popular superstitions concerning witchcraft, current - in Shakspeare's time, 475-486. - Instances of his admirable adaptation of them to dramatic - representation in Macbeth, 487, 488. - - _Passages of this drama, illustrated in the present work._ - - Act i. scene 3., ii. 299. 488. - scene 7., i. 129. - Act ii. scene 1., i. 82. - scene 2., ii. 470. - scene 3., i. 354. - Act iii. scene 1., i. 388. - scene 5., i. 386. - Act iv. scene 3., i. 371. - - _Machin_ (Lewis), "The Dumb Knight" of, illustrated, ii. 31. _note_. - - _Madmen_, in Shakspeare's plays, remarks on, i. 587. - Characteristic madness of Edgar, in the play of Lear, 588. - Affecting madness of Ophelia in Hamlet, 589-591. - Contrast between the madness of Lear and Ophelia, ii. 396. - The madness of Edgar and Lear considered, 462-464. - - _Madrigals_, collections of, in the time of Shakspeare, i. 730-733. - - _Magic_, state of the art of, in the time of Queen Elizabeth, ii. 509, - 510. - Notice of eminent magicians at that time, 511-514. - Different classes of magicians, 515. - Prospero, one of the higher class, _ibid._ - Description of his dress and spells, 515-517. - Mode of conjuring up the spirits of the dead, 518-520. - Different orders of spirits under magical power, 521-526. - - _Maid Marian_, origin of, i. 161. - One of Robin Hood's associates in the May-games, _ibid._ 162. - - _Malone_ (Mr.), opinion of, on the authenticity of John Shakspeare's - will, i. 15. - On the probability of William Shakspeare's being placed with an - attorney, 43-45. - His conjecture as to the person to whom Shakspeare's sonnets were - addressed, ii. 61. - Refuted, 62-73. - Strictures on his inadequate defence of Shakspeare's sonnets, - against Mr. Steevens's censure, 74, 75. - Conjecture of, as to the amount of Shakspeare's income, 225. - Ascribes Pericles to him, 265. - His opinion on the date of Love's Labour's Lost, 289. - On the spuriousness of Henry VI. Part I., 293. - His able discrimination of genuine from the spurious passages, 295. - On the probable date of Romeo and Juliet, 357, 358. - Of the Taming of the Shrew, 364. - Of Richard III. 370. - Of Henry IV. Parts I. and II., 379. - Of Hamlet, 391. - Of King John, 419. - Of All's Well That Ends Well, 422, 423. - On the date of Troilus and Cressida, 438. - Of Henry VIII. 442-445. - Of Timon of Athens, 446, 447. - Of Measure for Measure, 452. - Of King Lear, 457-459. - Of The Tempest, 500-503. - Of Othello, 527, 528. - Of Twelfth Night, 535. - Strictures on his splenetic censure of Ben Jonson, 578. _note_. - Remarks of, on the epitaphs ascribed to Shakspeare, 607. and _note_. - Character and expression of the poet's bust injured through his - interference, 621. - His illustrations of Shakspeare cited, _passim_. - - _Malory_ (Sir Thomas), account of his translation of the romance of - "La Morte D'Arthur," i. 524. - - _Mandrake_, fable concerning, i. 374. - - _Manners_ of the metropolis during the age of Shakspeare, ii. 149. - Influence of Elizabeth and James I. upon them, 153, 154. - Credulity and superstition, 154. - Love of strange sights, 155. - Passion for travelling, 156. - Love of Gaming, 157. - Duelling and quarrelling, 158, 159. - Lying and gossipping, 159, 160. - Complimentary language, 160-162. - - _Manning_ of hawks, i. 266, 267. _note_. - - _Manningtree_, celebrated for its fairs and stage plays, i. 251. - - _Mansions_ of country squires and gentlemen, in Shakspeare's age, - description of, i. 72-74. - - _Mantuanus_, Eclogues of, probably one of Shakspeare's school books, - i. 27. _note_. - Quoted and praised by him, _ibid._ - Translations of them noticed, 28. _note_. - - _Marbeck_ (John), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 692. - - _Marlow_ (Christopher), character of, as a poet, i. 635, 636. - And as a dramatic writer, with specimens, ii. 245-248. - His wretched death, 249, and _note_. - His "Passionate Shepherd," cited by Shakspeare, i. 578. - - _Marston_ (John), biographical notice of, i. 636. - Character of his satires, 637. - Estimate of his merits as a dramatic poet, ii. 567, 568. - His "Scourge of Villanie," cited and illustrated, ii. 160. - - _Mark's Day_ (St.), supposed influence of, on life and death, i. 323. - - _Markham_ (Gervase), a miscellaneous writer in the time of Shakspeare, - biographical account of, i. 505. - List of his works, 506, 507. _notes_. - Their great popularity, 506, 507. - Notice of his "Gentleman's Academie, or Book of St. Alban's," i. 70. - _note_. 257. _note_. - Dedication to, 70. - His difference between churles and gentlemen, 71, 72. _note_. - His edition seen by Shakspeare, 71. _note_. - Directions of, for an _ordinary_ feast, 80. _note_. - His explanation of terms in hawking, 267-269. _note_. - On different sorts of hounds, 283, 284. - Description of the qualifications of an angler, 294-296. - Notice of his "Discource of Horsemanshippe," 299. _note_. - Precepts for learning to ride, 299, 300. - List of his poems, 692, 693. - His address to the Earl of Southampton, ii. 17. _note_. - - _Marriage_, ceremony of, in Shakspeare's time, i. 223. - Procession, _ibid._ 224. - Rosemary strewed before the bride, 224. - Ceremonies in the church, 225. - Drinking out of the bride cup, _ibid._ 226. - Blessing the bridal bed, _ib._ - Description of a rustic marriage, 227-229. - How celebrated in the North of England in the 18th century, 229. - _note_. - - _Martial_, epigram of, happily translated, i. 690. _note_. - - _Martinmas_, or the festival of St. Martin, i. 190. - Winter provision then laid in, _ibid._ - Poetical description of, 191-193. - Universally observed throughout Europe, 191. - Allusion to this day, by Shakspeare, 193. - - _Martin Mar-Prelate_, notice of, i. 457. - - _Mascall_'s (Leonard), "Booke of Fishing," notice of, i. 291, and - _note_. - - _Masks_ generally used in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 95. - - _Masques_, splendid, in the age of Shakspeare, account of, ii. - 187-190. - Allusions to them by Shakspeare, 191-193. - Unrivalled excellence of Ben Jonson's masques, 578. - - _Massinger_ (Philip), merits of, as a dramatic poet, considered, ii. - 561, 562. - - Illustrations of several of his plays, viz. - - City Madam, i. 75. - ——, Act ii. scene 1., i. 180. - Guardian, i. 262, 263. - Virgin Martyr, i. 310. - - _Master of the Revels_, office of, when instituted, ii. 202. - The superintendance of the stage and of actors, committed to them, - 203. - Players sometimes termed children of the revels, 204. - - _Maxwell_ (James), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 693. - - _May-Day_, anciently observed throughout the kingdom, i. 152. - A relic of the Roman Floralia, _ibid._ - Poetical description of, in Henry VIII.'s time, 153. - Cornish mode of celebrating, _ibid._ - How celebrated in the age of Shakspeare, 154, 155. - Allusions to it by the poet, 155, 156. - Verses on, by Herrick, 156, 157. - Morris-dances, the invariable accompaniment of May-day, 157, 158. - Robin Hood and his associates, when introduced, 159-163. - Music accompanying May-games, 164, 165. - Introduction of the hobby-horse and dragon, 156. - Description of the May-games, as celebrated in Shakspeare's time, - 167-171. - Opposition made to them by the Puritans, and their consequent - decline, 171-173. - Revived by King James's "Book of Sports," 173, 174. - Their gradual disuse, 174, and _note_. - - _Maying_, custom of going a Maying, i. 155. - Verses on, 156, 157. - - _Mayne_'s "City Match," illustration of, i. 388. - - _Maypole_, ceremony of setting up described, i. 154. - - _Measure for Measure_, probable date of, ii. 452. - Its primary source, 453. - Analysis of its characters, 454-456. - - _Passages of this drama illustrated in the present work._ - - Act ii. scene 1., ii. 125. - Act iii. scene 1., i. 378. ii. 455, 456. - Act v. scene 1., i. 222. - - _Menæchmi_ of Plautus, the basis of Shakspeare's Comedy of Errors, ii. - 286-288. - - _Merchant of Venice_, date of, ii. 385. - Probable source of its fable, 385, 386. - Analysis of it, 387, 388. - And of its characters, 388-390. - Particularly that of Shylock, 388, 389. - - _Illustrations of this drama._ - - Act ii. scene 8., ii. 389. - Act iii. scene 2., ii. 93. - Act iv. scene 1., i. 374. - Act v. scene 1., i. 187. 381. ii. 390. - - _Meres_ (Francis), critical notice of his "Comparative Discourse of - our English Poets, with the Greeke, Latine, and Italian Poets," i. - 468. - His censure of the popularity of "La Morte D'Arthur," 525. - Encomium on Shakspeare's Venus and Adonis, ii. 29. - And on several of his dramas, 287. - - _Merry Pin_, explanation of the term, i. 131. _note_. - - _Merry Wives of Windsor_, tradition respecting the origin of, ii. 435, - 436. - Analysis of its characters, 436, 437. - - _Passages of this drama illustrated in the present work._ - - Act i. scene 1., i. 252. 307. 409, ii. 178. - scene 4., i. 82. - Act ii. scene 1., i. 577. - scene 2., ii. 134. - Act iii. scene 3., i. 271. 577. ii. 94. 114. - scene 5., ii. 132. - Act iv. scene 2., i. 362. - scene 5., ii. 117. 169. - Act v. scene 5., i. 82. ii. 340. 341. 343. 347. - - _Metrical Romances_, origin of, i. 522, 523. - - _Michael_ (St.) _and All Angels_, festival of, i. 334. - Superstitious doctrine of the ministry of angels, 334-340. - Michaelmas-geese, 340, 341. - - _Middleton_ (Christopher), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. - 693. - - _Middleton_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 693. - Wrote several pieces for the stage, in conjunction with other - dramatic poets, ii. 565. - Estimate of his merits as a dramatist, 565, 566. - Illustrations of his "Fair Quarrel," i. 224. - And "No Wit, No Help like a Woman's," i. 226. - - _Midsummer-Eve_, superstitious observances on, i. 328. - Midsummer-Eve fire, of Pagan origin, _ibid._ 329. - Fern-seed only visible on that eve, 329. - Spirits visible of persons, who are to die in the following year, - 330, 331. - Recent observance of Midsummer-Eve in Cornwall, 331. - Visionary appearance of future husbands and wives supposed to take - place on this Eve, 332, 333. - Plays and masques performed then, 333, 334. - - _Midsummer-Night's Dream_, composed for Midsummer-Eve, i. 333, 334. - Its probable date, ii. 298, 299. - One of Shakspeare's earlier pieces, 299. - Critical remarks on some of its characters, 300-302. - And on the fairy mythology of this play, 302. 337-355. - (_See also the article "Fairies," in this Index._) - - _Passages of this drama illustrated in this work._ - - Act i. scene 1., i. 155. - scene 2., ii. 221. - Act ii. scene 1., i. 106. ii. 341. 343, 344. 349. - scene 2., i. 308. 384. ii. 337, 338. 341, 342. 344. 354, - 355. - scene 3., ii. 341. 355. - Act iii. scene 1., ii. 170. 341. 346. - scene 2., i. 158. ii. 301. 354. - Act iv. scene 1., i. 156. 284. 324. ii. 339. 352. - scene 2., ii. 353. - Act v. scene 2., i. 226. ii. 329. 346. - - _Milan Bells_ for hawks, notice of, i. 268, 269. - - _Milk Maids_, procession of, on May-day, i. 155. _note_ [155:A]. - - _Milton_'s "Comus," illustration of, i. 131. - Illustrations of "Paradise Lost," i. 339, 381. - Proof that he imitated Shakspeare's Pericles, ii. 279, 280. _note_ - [279:C]. - Exquisite passage from his "Paradise Lost," on the ministry of - angels, 401. - Ben Jonson the favourite model studied by Milton, 578, 579. - Whether he and Shakspeare were acquainted with each other, 672. - - _Ministry of Angels_, superstitious notions concerning, i. 334-339. - Remarks of Bishop Horsley on, 339, 340. - - _Minstrels_ better paid than clergymen, i. 93. - Their condition in the age of Elizabeth, 557. - Their costume described, 558, 559. - Dissolute morals of, 559, 560. - Allusions to them by Shakspeare, 560, 561. - Their profession annihilated by act of parliament, 561. - Allusions to their poetry by Shakspeare, 574-593. - - _Miranda_, remarks on the character of, ii. 506. - - "_Mirrour for Magistrates_," a collection of poetical legends, planned - by Sackville, i. 708. - Account of its various editions, 709, 710. - Its character, 710. - Influence on our national poetry, _ibid._ - - _Monkies_, kept as the companions of the domestic fool, ii. 145, 146. - - _Monsters_, supposed existence of, i. 384-389. - - _Montgomery_ (Alexander), notice of the poems of, i. 693, and _note_. - - _Monument_ of Shakspeare, in Stratford church, described, ii. 618. - Remarks on the bust erected on it, 619-622. - - _Moon_, supposed influence of, i. 382-384. - Exquisite picture of moonlight scenery, ii. 390. - - _Morality_ of Shakspeare's dramas, ii. 552. - - _Morgan_ (Mr.), vindicates Shakspeare from the calumnies of Voltaire, - ii. 553, 554. - - _Morley_'s (Thomas), Collection of Madrigals, quotations from, - illustrative of May-games, i. 165, 166. - Account of his "Collections," 731-733. - - _Morris-dance_, origin of, i. 157. - Dress of the Morris-dancers, 158. - Morris dances performed at Easter, i. 147. _note_. - And especially at May-day, 158, 159. - Music by which these dances were accompanied, 164, 165. - Morris-dances introduced also at Whitsuntide, 175. - - "_Morte D'Arthur_," a celebrated romance, account of, i. 524. - Its popularity censured by Ascham and Meres, 524, 525. - Notice of its principal editions, 526, 527. - Specimen of its style, 528. - Furnished Spenser with many incidents, 528, 529. - Allusions to it by Shakspeare, 562. - - _Moseley_ (Mr.), discovers John Shakspeare's will, i. 9. - - _Moryson_ (Fynes), critical notice of his "Itinerary," i. 479. - His character of "Amadis of Gaul," 546. - - _Much Ado about Nothing_, date of, ii. 430. - Strictures on its general character, and on the conduct of its - fable, _ibid._ 431. - Original of the character of Dogberry in this play, 589. - - _Passages of this drama illustrated in the present work._ - - Act i. scene 1., i. 308. - scene 3., ii. 114. - Act ii. scene 1., i. 540. 564. ii. 175. - scene 3., i. 288. 472. ii. 92. - Act iii. scene 1., i. 296. - scene 2., i. 573. - Act v. scene 2., i. 580. - - _Mufflers_, an article of female dress in the age of Shakspeare, ii. - 95. - - _Mulberry-tree_, when planted by Shakspeare, ii. 599, 600. - Cut down, ii. 584. _note_. - - _Mulcaster_ (Richard), notice of the grammatical labours of, i. 455. - - _Muncaster_ (Richard), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 693. - - _Munday_ (Anthony), notice of his Versions of "Palmerin of England," - i. 547. - "Palmerin d'Oliva," and "Historie of Palmendo," 548. - List of his poems, 693, 694. - - _Murdered_ persons, blood of, supposed to flow on the touch or - approach of the murderer, i. 372, 373. - - _Murray_ (David), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 694, and - _note_. - - _Music_ of the Morris-dance and May-games, i. 164, 165. - Description of the music of the fairies, ii. 342, and _note_. - Shakspeare passionately fond of music, 390. - - "_Myrrour of Knighthood_," a popular romance, alluded to by - Shakspeare, i. 570. - - _Mythology_ of the ancients, a favourite study in the time of - Elizabeth and James I., i. 419. - Critical account of the fairy mythology of Shakspeare, ii. 302-337. - - -N - - _Name_ of Shakspeare, orthography of, ascertained, i. 17-20. - - _Nash_ (Thomas), "Quarternio" of, cited, i. 260-262. - His quarrel with Harvey, 458. - His books, why scarce, _ibid._ - Character of him, 459. 486. - - _Nashe_'s "Choosing of Valentines" cited, i. 251. - - _Natural History_, works on, translated in the time of Shakspeare, i. - 485. - - _Needlework_, admirable, of the ladies, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. - 146. and _note_, 153. - - _Newcastle_, Easter amusements at, i. 149. - - _Newspapers_, origin of, i. 506. - - _Newton_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 694. - - _Newton_'s "History of the Saracens," notice of, i. 476. - - _New-Year's Day_, ceremonies observed on, i. 123. - Presents usually made then, 124. - Account of those made to Queen Elizabeth, 125, 126. - - _Nicholson_ (Samuel), a minor poet in the time of Shakspeare, i. 694. - - _Niccols_ (Richard), critical notice of the poetical works of, i. 637, - 638. - Additions to the "Mirrour for Magistrates," 709, 710. - - _Nightmare_, poetical description of, i. 348, _note_. - Supposed influence of St. Withold, against it, 347-349. - - _Nixon_ (Anthony), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 694. - - _Noises_, sudden and fearful, supposed to be forerunners of death, i. - 361. - - _Norden_ (John), notice of the topographical works of, i. 480, 481. - And of his poetical productions, 694. - - _Novels_ (Italian), account of, translated in Shakspeare's time, i. - 538-544. - List of those most esteemed in the 15th and 16th centuries, 544, - _note_. - - _Nutcrack Night_, i. 341. - - -O - - _Oberon_, the fairy king of Shakspeare, derivation of his name, ii. - 337, _note_. - Analysis of his character, 337-340. - - _Ockland_'s ΕΙΡΗΝΑΡΧΙΑ _sive Elizabetha_, a school-book in - Shakspeare's time, account of, i. 26. - - _Omens_, prevalence of, in Shakspeare's time, i. 349-351. - Warnings of danger or death, 349-354. - Dreams, 354. - Demoniacal voices, 355. - Corpse-candles, and tomb-fires, 358. - Fiery and meteorous exhalations, 360. - Sudden noises, 361, 362. - - _Ophelia_, remarks on the affecting madness of, i. 589-591. - And also on Hamlet's passion for her, ii. 394-396. - - _Ordinaries_, account of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 134, 135. - - _Oriental_ romances, account of, i. 531-538. - Allusions to them by Shakspeare, 568, 569. - - _Orthography_ of Shakspeare's name, i. 17-20. - Instances of want of uniformity in, 19. _note_. - - _Othello_, probable date of, ii. 527, 528. - General remarks on this drama, 529. - Vindication of it from the extraordinary criticism of Mr. Steevens, - 529, 530. - On the execution of the character of Othello, 530. - Iago, 531. - And Desdemona, _ibid._ - - _Passages of this tragedy illustrated in the present work._ - - Act i. scene 3., i. 385. ii. 155. - Act ii. scene 3., i. 583. ii. 128. - Act iii. scene 3., i. 270. - scene 4., ii. 527. - Act iv. scene 1., i. 389. - Act v. scene 2., i. 384. - - _Overbury_ (Sir Thomas), the first writer of "Characters," i. 509. - Character of his productions, _ibid._ - Especially his poem on the choice of a wife, 510. - Imitation of it, _ibid._ - Notice of editions of it, 694, and _note_ [694:D]. - Mrs. Turner executed for his murder, ii. 96. - - _Owls_, superstitious notions concerning, i. 393, 394. - - -P - - _Pageants_, splendid, in the age of Shakspeare, account of, ii. - 187-190. - Allusions to them by the poet, 191-193. - - _Paint_, used by the ladies in Shakspeare's time, ii. 95. - - _Palaces_ of Queen Elizabeth, account of the furniture of, ii. 111, - 112. - - "_Palmerin d'Oliva_," romance of, translated by Munday, i. 548. - Alluded to by Shakspeare, 571. - - "_Palmerin of England_," a popular romance, critical notice of, i. - 547. - - _Palmistry_, allusions to by Shakspeare, i. 363. - - _Pancake Bell_, account of, i. 143. _note_. - - _Pancakes_, the invariable accompaniment of Shrove-Tuesday, i. 141, - 142. - - "_Paradyse of Daynty Devises_," account of the different editions of, - i. 711, 712. - And of the different contributors to this collection of poems, - 713-715. - - _Paris_, fashions of, imported into England, in the age of Shakspeare, - ii. 94. - - _Park_ (Mr.), remarks of, on the style of our elder poetry, i. 719, - 720. - - _Parish Tops_, notice of, i. 312. - - _Parker_ (Archbishop), a collector of curious books, i. 433. - - _Parkes_ (William), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 695. - - _Parnassus_—"The Great Assizes holden in Parnassus," &c. cited, i. - 19. _note_. - - _Parrot_ (Henry), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 695. - - _Partridge_ (John), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 695. - - _Pasche Eggs_, given at Easter, i. 148. - - _Pasquinade_ of Shakspeare, on Sir Thomas Lucy, i. 405, 406. - - _Passing Bell_, supposed benefit of tolling, i. 232, 233, 234. - - _Passions_, exquisite delineations of, in Shakspeare's dramas, ii. - 546-549. - - "_Passionate Pilgrim_," a collection of Shakspeare's minor pieces, - when first printed, ii. 41. - Probable date of its composition, 42. - An edition of this work published by Jaggard, without the poet's - knowledge or consent, 43-45. - Shakspeare vindicated from the charge of imposing on the public, in - this edition, 45-48. - Critical remarks on the Passionate Pilgrim, 49. - - _Pastoral_ romances, account of, i. 548-552. - - _Paul's_ (St.) Day, supposed influence of, on the weather, i. 323. and - _note_. - - _Paul's Walk_, a fashionable lounge in St. Paul's Cathedral, during - the age of Shakspeare, ii. 182-185. - - _Pavin_ or _Pavan_, a fashionable dance in the time of Shakspeare, - account of, ii. 173, 174. - - _Payne_ (Christopher), "Christmas Carrolles" of, i. 695. - - _Paynter_'s (William), "Pallace of Pleasure," a popular collection of - romances, i. 541. - Probable cause of its being discontinued, _ibid._ 542. - Constantly referred to by Shakspeare, 542. - - _Peacham_ (Henry), a minor poet in the time of Shakspeare, i. 695. - - _Peacham_'s description of country-schoolmasters, i. 97, 98. - Instruction on the best mode of keeping books, and on the best scite - for a library, 436, 437. - And on the choice of style, 447, 448. - - _Peacock Pies_, anciently eaten at Christmas, i. 200. - - _Pearson_ (Alison), executed for supposed intercourse with fairies, - ii. 318, 319. - - _Peasantry_, or Boors, character of, in the age of Elizabeth, i. - 120-122. - - _Peele_ (George), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 695, 696. - Character of his dramatic productions, ii. 239, 240. - - _Peend_ (Thomas de la), a minor poet in the age of Shakspeare, i. 696. - - _Peg Tankard_, origin of, i. 131. _note_. - Explanation of terms borrowed from it, _ibid._ - - _Percy_ (Bishop), notice of his "Friar of Orders Grey," i. 579, 580. - Ascribes Pericles to Shakspeare, ii. 265. - - _Percy_ (William), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 696. - - _Perdita_, remarks on the character of, in the Winter's Tale, ii. 499, - 500. - - _Peri_, or benevolent fairies of the Persians, notice of, ii. 302. - - _Periapts_, a sort of spell, supposed influence of, i. 364. - - _Pericles_, the first of Shakspeare's plays, ii. 262. - Proofs, that the greater part, if not the whole of it, was his - composition, 262, 263. 265, 266. - Its omission in the first edition of his works, accounted for, 264. - Its inequalities considered, 265-267. - In what parts his genius may be traced, 268. - Examination of the minor characters, 270, 271. - Of the personage of Pericles, 272, 273. - Admirable scene of his recognition of Marina, 274. - And of his wife Thaisa, 275. - Character of Marina, examined, 276-279. - Strict justice of the moral, 279. - This play imitated by Milton, _ibid._ _note_. - Dryden's testimony to the genuineness and priority of Pericles, 281. - Internal evidences to the same effect, 282. - This play probably written in the year 1590, 282, 283. - Objections to its priority considered and refuted, 285, 286. - Probability of Mr. Steevens's conjecture that the hero of this drama - was originally named Pyrocles, after the hero of Sidney's - Arcadia, 283, 284. - - _Passages of this drama illustrated in the present work._ - - Act i. scene 2., ii. 272. - Act ii. scene 1., ii. 273. - scene 5., ii. 268, 269. _notes_. - Act iii. scene 2., ii. 270, 271. - scene 4., ii. 276. - Act iv. scene 1., ii. 276, 277. - scene 3., ii. 278. _note_. - scene 6., ii. 278. - Act v. scene 1., ii. 273, 274. 279. - scene 3., ii. 275. - - _Periwigs_, when introduced into England, ii. 93. - - _Petowe_ (Henry), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 696. - - _Pett_ (Peter), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 696. - - _Pewter_, a costly article in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 118. - - _Phillip_ (John), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 696. - - _Phiston_ (William), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 697. - - "_Phœnix Nest_," a collection of poems, in the time of Elizabeth, - critical notice of, i. 718-720. - - _Pictures_, an article of furniture in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 119. - - _Pilgrimages_ made to wells, i. 393. - - _Pilpay_, notice of the fables of, i. 533, 534. - - _Pipe and Tabor_, the ancient accompaniment of the Morris-dance and - May-games, i. 164, 165. - - _Plautus_, the Menæchmi of, the basis of Shakspeare's Comedy of - Errors, ii. 286-288. - - _Pits_ (John), the biographer, character of, i. 482. - - _Plague_, ravages of, at Stratford, i. 24. - - _Plantain roots_, why dug up on Midsummer Eve, i. 333. - - _Plat_ (Hugh), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 697. - - _Players_ (strolling), state of, in the sixteenth century, i. 248-250. - Difference between them and licensed performers, 250. - Exhibited at country fairs, 251. - Companies of players, when first licensed, ii. 202. - Placed under the direction of the Master of the Revels, 203. - Patronized by the court, and also by private individuals, 205, 206. - The amount of their remuneration, 204. - Days and hours of their performance, 215. - Concluded their performances always with prayers, 222, 223. - How remunerated, 223, 224. - - _Play-bills_, notice of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 214, 215. - - _Plays_, number of, performed in one day, ii. 217. - Amusements of the audience, prior to their commencement, 217-219. - Disapprobation of them, how testified, 221, 222. - Authors of, how rewarded, 224, 225. - List of anonymous plays extant previously to the time of Shakspeare, - 252, 253. - Chronological list of his genuine plays, 261, 262. - Observations on each, 263-534. - (_And see their respective titles in this Index._) - Humorous remark of Mr. Steevens on the value and high price of the - first edition of Shakspeare's plays, 535. _note_. - Remarks on the spurious plays attributed to him, 536, 537. - - _Plough Monday_, festival of, i. 136. - Sports and customs usual at that season, 137. - - "_Poetical Rapsodie_," a collection of poems of the age of Shakspeare, - account of, i. 728-730. - - _Poets_, list of, who were rewarded by English sovereigns, i. 514, - 515. - Table of English poets, classed according to the subjects of their - muses, 734. - - _Poetry_ (English), notice of treatises on, during the age of - Shakspeare, i. 461-470. - Allusions to or quotations from the poetry of the minstrels, with - remarks, 574-593. - State of poetry (with the exception of the drama) during the time of - Shakspeare, 594, _et seq._ - Influence of superstition, literature, and romance on poetical - genius, 595, 596. - Versification, economy, and sentiment of the Elizabethan poetry, - 597-599. - Defects in the larger poems of this period, 599-601. - Biographical and critical notices of the more eminent poets, - 601-674. - Table of miscellaneous minor poets, exhibiting their respective - degrees of excellence, mediocrity, or worthlessness, 676-707. - Critical notices of the collections of poetry, and poetical - miscellanies, published during this period, 708-731. - Brief view of dramatic poetry from the birth of Shakspeare to the - year 1590, ii. 227-255. - - _Police_ of London, neglected in the time of Elizabeth, ii. 165. - Regulations for it, 166. - - "_Polimanteia_," or the means to judge of the fall of a commonwealth, - bibliographical notice of, ii. 39. _note_ [39:B]. - - _Porta_ (Luigi da), the "Giuletta" of, the source of Romeo and Juliet, - ii. 360-362. - - _Portuguese_ romances, account of, i. 545-548. - - _Possessed_, charm for, i. 364. - - _Possets_, prevalence of, in Shakspeare's time, i. 82. - - _Powder_ (sympathetic), marvellous effects ascribed to, i. 375, 376. - - _Powell_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 697. - - _Prayer Book_ of Queen Elizabeth, i. 432. - - _Pregnant women_, supposed influence of fairies on, ii. 324. - - _Presents_, anciently made on New-Year's Day, i. 124. - Account of those made to Queen Elizabeth, 125, 126. - - _Preston_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 697. - Character of his dramatic pieces, ii. 236, 237. - - _Prices_ of admission to the theatre, ii. 216, 217. - - _Pricket_ (Robert), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 697. - - _Primero_, a fashionable game of cards in Shakspeare's time, how - played, ii. 169. - - _Printing_, observations on the style of, in Queen Elizabeth's reign, - i. 437, 438. - - _Proctor_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 697. - Notice of his "Gorgeous Gallery of Gallant Inventions," 715-717. - - _Prologues_, how delivered in the time of Shakspeare, ii. 219. - - _Prose writers_ of the age of Shakspeare, observations on, i. 439-447. - Causes of their defects, 448. - - _Prospero_, analysis of the character of, ii. 505. 515. - - _Provisions_, annual stock of, anciently laid in at fairs, i. 215. - - _Prudentius_, passage of, supposed to have been imitated by - Shakspeare, ii. 415. - - _Puck_, or Robin Goodfellow, analysis of the character of, ii. 347. - Probable source of it, 348-350. - Description of his functions, 349, 350. - Resemblance between Puck and the Cobali or benevolent elves of the - Germans, 350. - And to the Brownie of the Scotch, 351. - Other functions of Puck, 352, 353. - - _Puppet-shows_, origin of, i. 253. - - _Purchas_'s "Pilgrimage," critical notice of, i. 477. - - _Purgatory_, Popish doctrine of, ii. 415, 416. - Seized and employed by Shakspeare with admirable success, 416, 417. - 455, 456. - - _Puritans_ opposition to May-games, ridiculed by Shakspeare, i. 171. - By Ben Jonson, 172, 173. _note_. - And Beaumont and Fletcher, 172. - - _Puttenham_ (George), remarks of, on the corruptions of the English - language, i. 441. - Critical notice of his "Arte of English Poesie," 465, 466. - And of his smaller poems, 697. and _note_. - - -Q - - _Quarrelling_ reduced to a system in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 159. - - _Quiney_ (Mr. Thomas), married to Shakspeare's daughter Judith, ii. - 609. - Their issue, 610. - - _Quintaine_, a rural sport in the sixteenth century, i. 300. - Its origin, 301. - Description of, 301-304. - - "_Quippes for upstart newfangled Gentlewomen_," cited and illustrated, - ii. 95, 98. - - -R - - _Race-horses_, breeds of, highly esteemed, i. 298. - - _Raleigh_ (Sir Walter), improved the English language, i. 416, 417. - Character of his "History of the World," 476. - His "Nymph's Reply to the Shepherd," cited by Shakspeare, 578. - Notice of his poetical pieces, 639. - Remarks on them, _ibid._ 640. - Estimate of his poetical character, 640-642. - - _Ramsey_ (Laurence), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 698. - - _Rankins_ (William), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 698. - - _Rape of Lucrece_, a poem of Shakspeare's, when first printed, ii. 32. - Dedicated to the Earl of Southampton, 3. - Construction of its versification, 33. - Probable sources whence Shakspeare derived his fable, _ibid._ - Exquisite specimens of this poem, for their versification, - descriptive, pathetic, and sublime excellences, 34-38. - Complimentary notices of this poem by contemporaries of the poet, - 38-40. - Notice of its principal editions, 41. - - _Rapiers_, extraordinary length of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 108, - 109. - - _Ravenscroft_ (Thomas), hunting song preserved by, i. 277. - - _Reynolds_ (John), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 698. - - _Reed_ (Mr.), his Illustrations of Shakspeare cited, _passim_. - - _Register_ (parochial), of Stratford-upon-Avon, extracts from, i. 4. - Births, marriages, and deaths of Shakspeare's children recorded - there, 414, 415. _note_. - - _Remuneration_ of actors and dramatic poets in the time of Shakspeare, - ii. 223-225. - - _Repartees_ of Shakspeare and Tarleton the comedian, i. 66. - Ascribed to Shakspeare and Ben Jonson, ii. 593. _note_. - - _Rice_ (Richard), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 698. - - _Richard_ I. (King), why surnamed _Cœur de Lion_, i. 566, 567. - - _Richard_ II., probable date of, ii. 375, 376. - Analysis of his character, 377, 378. - Remarks on the secondary characters of this play, 378. - Performed before the Earl of Southampton in 1601, ii. 10, 11. - Illustration of act ii. scene 4. of this drama, i. 384. - - _Richard_ of Gloucester, exquisite portrait of, in Shakspeare's Henry - VI. Part II., ii. 297. - - _Richard_ III., date of, ii. 370-372. - Analysis of Richard's character, 373-375. - - _Illustrations of passages of this drama in the present work._ - - Act iii. scene 2., ii. 377. - scene 3., ii. 377. - Act v. scene 2., ii. 378. - scene 3., i. 358. - - _Rickets_, singular cures of, i. 371, 372. - - _Rider_ (Bishop), an eminent philologer, notice of, i. 455. - - _Riding_, art of, highly cultivated in the sixteenth century, i. 298. - Instructions for, 299, 300. - - _Rings_, fairy, allusions to, by Shakspeare, ii. 342, 343. - - _Robin Hood_ and his associates, when introduced in the gambols of - May Day, i. 159. - Account of them and their dresses, &c., 160-164. - - _Robin_, why a favourite bird, i. 394, 395. - - _Robinson_ (Clement), critical notice of his "Handefull of Pleasant - Delites," i. 717, 718. - - _Robinson_'s (Richard), "Auncient Order, &c. of the Round Table," - account of, i. 562, 563., ii. 178-180. - Notice of his poems, i. 698. and _note_ [698:B]. - - _Rock Day_ festival, account of, i. 135. - Verses on, _ibid._, 136. - - _Rolland_ (John), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 698. - - _Roman literature_, progress of, during the reign of Elizabeth, i. - 454, 455. - List of Roman classic authors translated into English in - Shakspeare's time, 483. - - _Romances_, list of popular ones in the age of Shakspeare, i. 519-522. - Origin of the metrical romance, 522, 523. - Anglo-Norman romances, 523-531. - Oriental romances, 531-538. - Italian romances, 538-544. - Spanish and Portuguese romances, 545-548. - Pastoral romances, 548-552. - Influence of romance on the poetry of the Elizabethan age, 596. - Observations on the romantic drama, ii. 539-541. - - _Romeo and Juliet_, probable date of, ii. 356-358. - Source whence Shakspeare derived his plot, considered, 359-361. - Analysis of the characters of this drama, 362, 363. - Eulogium on it by Schlegel, 363, 364. - - _Passages of this drama illustrated in the present work._ - - Act i. scene 3., i. 52. 436. ii. 356. - scene 4., i. 368. ii. 118. 342. 347. 358. - scene 5., ii. 116. - Act ii. scene 1., i. 583. - scene 2., i. 271. - scene 4., i. 304. 583. _note_. ii. 116. - Act iii. scene 1., i. 556. - scene 2., i. 272. - Act iv. scene 3., i. 374. - scene 5., i. 240. 243. 583. _note_. ii. 170. - Act v. scene 1., i. 355. - scene 2., ii. 581. - scene 3., ii. 107. - - _Roodsmass_, procession of fairies at the festival of, ii. 322. - - _Rosemary_ strewed before the bride at marriages, i. 224. - - _Rosse_ (John), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 698. - - _Rous_ (Francis), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 699. - - _Rousillon_ (Countess), exquisite character of, ii. 423. - - _Rowe_ (Mr.), mistake of, concerning the priority of Shakspeare's - birth, corrected, i. 4, 5. - His conjecture concerning the trade of Shakspeare's father, 7. - Disproved, _ibid._, _note_. - - _Rowena_ and Vortigern, anecdote of, i. 127, 128. - - _Rowland_ (Samuel), list of the poems of, i. 699, 700. and _note_ - [700:A]. - - _Rowley_ (William), wrote several pieces in conjunction with Massinger - and other dramatists, ii. 570. - Estimate of his merits as a dramatic poet, _ibid._ - - _Ruddock_, or red-breast, popular superstitions in favour of, i. 395. - - _Ruffs_ worn in the age of Elizabeth, account of, ii. 90. 95-97. 103. - - _Ruptures_, singular remedies for, i. 371, 372. - - _Rushes_, anciently strewed on floors, ii. 119, 120. - - -S - - _Sabie_ (Francis), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 700. and - _note_ [700:B]. - - _Sack_, a species of wine much used in the time of Shakspeare, ii. - 130. - Different kinds of, 131. - The sack of Falstaff, what, _ibid._ 132. - Sack and sugar much used, 132. - And frequently adulterated, _ibid._ - - _Sackville_ (Thomas), Lord Buckhurst, character of the poetical works - of, i. 642, 643. - The model adopted by Spenser, 643. - The "Myrrour for Magistrates," planned by him, 708. - Character of his dramatic performances, ii. 230, 231. - - _Saker_ (Aug.), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 700. - - _Sampson_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 700. - - _Sandabar_, an oriental philosopher, i. 531. - Account of his "Book of the Seven Counsellors," _ibid._ - Numerous versions of it, _ibid._, 532. - English version exceedingly popular, 531. - Scottish version, 532, 533. - - _Sandford_ (James), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 700. - - _Satires_ of Bishop Hall, remarks on, i. 628, 629. - - _Savile_ (Sir Henry), greatly promoted Greek literature, i. 453. - Notice of his works, _ibid._, 454. - - _Scandinavian_ mythology of fairies, account of, ii. 308-312. - - _Schlegel_ (M.), eulogium of, on Shakspeare's Romeo and Juliet, ii. - 363, 364. - On his Cymbeline, 466, 467. - Macbeth, 471-473. - On the romantic drama of Shakspeare, 539, 540. - And on his moral character, 614. - - _School-books_, list of, in use in Shakspeare's time, i. 25. _note_. - Account of those most probably used by him, 26-28. - French and Italian grammars and dictionaries, 57. - - _Schoolmasters_ but little rewarded in Shakspeare's time, i. 27. _note_ [27:A]. - 94. - In the sixteenth century were frequently conjurors, 95, 96. - Picture of, by Shakspeare, 96. - Their degraded character and ignorance in his time, 97. - - _Scoloker_ (Anthony), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 700. - - _Scot_ (Reginald), account of the doctrine of angelic hierarchy and - ministry, i. 337, 338. - On the prevalence of omens, 349, 350. - Recipe for fixing an ass's head on human shoulders, ii. 351. _note_. - His account of the supposed prevalency of witchcraft in the time of - Shakspeare, 475. - And of the persons who were supposed to be witches, 478-480. - And of their wonderful feats, 481, 482. - - _Scot_ (Gregory), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 700. - - _Scott_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 700. and - _note_ [700:D]. 701. and _note_ [701:A]. - - _Scott_ (Mr. Walter), beautiful picture of Christmas festivities, i. - 207, 208. - Picture of rustic superstition, 322, 323. - Illustrations of his Lady of the Lake, i. 356-358. - Causes of his poetical excellence, 600, 601. - - _Scottish_ farmers, state of, in the sixteenth century, i. 118. - Late wakes of the Highlanders described, 234-236. - Thanksgivings offered by them on getting in the harvest, 341. - Account of the Scottish system of fairy mythology, ii. 314-336. - - _Sculpture_ highly valued by Shakspeare, ii. 617, 618. - - _Seed-cake_, a rural feast-day in the time of Elizabeth, i. 190. - - _Selden_ (John), notice of his Commentary on Drayton, i. 471. - - _Sentiment_ of the Elizabethan poetry considered, i. 598, 599. - - _Servants_, pursuits, diet, &c. of, in the time of Shakspeare, i. - 113-115. - Benefices bestowed on them in the reign of Elizabeth, 92. - Their dress, ii. 138. - Regulations for, 139, 140. - Prohibited from entering the kitchen till summoned by the cook, 143. - Were corrected by their mistresses, 153. - - "_Seven Champions of Christendome_," a popular romance in Shakspeare's - time, account of, i. 529, 530. - - "_Seven Wise Masters_," a popular romance of Indian origin, i. 531. - Notice of its different translations, _ibid._, 532. - Translated into Scottish rhyme, 533. - - _Sewell_ (Dr.), conjecture of, respecting Shakspeare's sonnets, ii. - 59. - - _Shakspeare Family_, account of, i. 1. - Supposed grant of arms to, _ibid._ - Examination of the orthography of their name, 17-20. - - _Shakspeare_ (Edmund), a brother of the poet, buried in St. Saviour's - Church, i. 416. ii. 598. - - _Shakspeare_ (Mrs.), wife of the poet, epitaph on, ii. 631. _note_. - His bequests to her, 631. - Remarks on it, 613. - - _Shakspeare_ (John), father of the poet, supposed grant of property - and arms to, i. 1. - Account of, 2. - Arms confirmed to him, _ibid._ - His marriage, 3. - List of children ascribed to him in the baptismal register of - Stratford-upon-Avon, 4. - Correction of Mr. Rowe's mistakes on this point, 5. - Declines in his circumstances and is dismissed from the corporation, - 6, 7. - Supposed to have been a wool-stapler, 7. 34. - But not a butcher, 36. - Discovery of his confession of faith or will, 8. - Copy of his will, 9-14. - Its authenticity doubted by Mr. Malone, 15. - Supported by Mr. Chalmers, _ibid._ - Circumstances in favour of its authenticity, 16. - John Shakspeare probably a Roman Catholic, _ibid._ - His death, _ibid._ ii. 590. - - _Shakspeare_ (William), birth of, i. 1. - Description of the house where he was born, 21, 22. - His chair purchased by the Princess Czartoryska, 22, 23. - Escapes the plague, 24. - Educated for a short time at the free-school of Stratford, 25. - Account of school-books probably used by him, 26, 27. - Taken from school, in consequence of his father's poverty, 28. - Probable extent of his acquirements as a scholar, 29-33. - On leaving school, followed his father's trade as a wool-stapler, - and probably also as a butcher, 34. - Proofs of this, 35, 36. - Probably present, in his twelfth-year, at Kenelworth Castle, at the - time of Queen Elizabeth's visit there, 37, 38. - Probably employed in some attorney's office, 43-47. and _notes_, 48. - Whether he ever was a school-master, 45. - Anecdote of him at Bidford, 48, 49. - Whether and when he acquired his knowledge of French and Italian, - 53, 54. - Probable that he was acquainted with French, 55, 56. - And Italian, 56, 57. - Probable estimate of his real literary acquirements, 57, 58. - His courting-chair, still in existence, 61. - Marries Anne Hathaway, 59. 62, 63. - Birth of his eldest daughter, 64. - And of twins, 65. - Repartee of Shakspeare, _ibid._ 66. - He becomes acquainted with dissipated young men, 401. - Caught in the act of deer-stealing, 402. - Confined in Daisy Park, 403. - Pasquinades Sir Thomas Lucy, 404-406. 409. - By whom he is prosecuted, 407, 408. - Is obliged to quit Stratford, 410. - And departs for London, 411, 412. - Visits his family occasionally, 414. - Was known to Heminge, Burbadge, and Greene, 417. - Introduced to the stage, 419. - Though with reluctance, ii. 582. - Was not employed as a waiter or horse-keeper at the play-house door, - i. 519. - Esteemed as an actor, 421, 422. - Proofs of his skill in the histrionic art, 423. - Performed the character of Adam in his own play of As You Like It, - 424. - Appeared also in kingly parts, 425. - Excelled in second rate characters, _ibid._ - Struggles of Shakspeare with adversity, ii. 583. - Loses his only son, 584. - Purchases a house in Stratford, _ibid._ - History of its fate, 584, _note_. - His acquaintance with Ben Jonson, 585-587. - Improbability of his ever having visited Scotland, 587, 588. - Annually visited Stratford, 589. - Receives many marks of favour from Queen Elizabeth, 590. - Obtains a licence for his theatre, 591. - Purchases lands in Stratford, 591. - And quits the stage as an actor, 591. - Forms a club of wits with Ben Jonson and others, 592. - Flatters James I. who honoured him with a letter of acknowledgement, - 593. - The story of Shakspeare's quarrel with Ben Jonson, disproved, - 595-598. and _notes_. - Birth of his grand-daughter Elizabeth, 599. - Planted the celebrated Mulberry Tree in 1609, 599, 600. - Purchases a tenement in Blackfriars, 601. - And prepares to retire from London, 601, 602. - - Account of Shakspeare in retirement, ii. 603. - Origin of his satirical epitaph on Mr. Combe, ii. 604-606. - His epitaph on Sir Thomas Stanley, 606, 607. - And on Elias James, 607, _note_. - Negociations between Shakspeare and some of his townsmen relative to - the inclosure of some land in the vicinity of Stratford, 608, - 609. - Marries his youngest daughter to Mr. Thomas Quincey, 609. - Makes his will, 610. - His death, 611. - Funeral, 612. - Copy of his will, 627-632. - Observations on it, 612-614. - And on the disposition and moral character of Shakspeare, 614. - Universally beloved, 615. - His exquisite taste for all the forms of beauty, 616, 617. - Remarks on the monument erected to his memory, 618-620. - And on the engraving of him prefixed to the folio edition of his - plays, 622-624. - - Account of Shakspeare's commencement of poetry, i. 426. - Probable date of his Venus and Adonis, 426, 427. - Proofs of his acquaintance with the grammatical and rhetorical - writers of his age, 472-474. - With the historical writers then extant, 484. - With Batman's "Bartholome de Proprietatibus Rerum," 485. - With the Facetiæ published in his time, 516, 517. - And with all the eminent romances then in print, 562-573. - And with the minstrel-poetry of his age, 574-593. - Dedicates his Venus and Adonis, and Rape of Lucrece, to the Earl of - Southampton, ii. 3. - Analysis of this poem, with remarks, 21-32. - Analysis of the Rape of Lucrece, 33-37. - Intimate knowledge of the human heart displayed by Shakspeare, 38. - Account of his "Passionate Pilgrim," 41-49. - Elegant allusions of Shakspeare to his own age, in his Sonnets, - 50-52. - Critical account of his Sonnets, 53-82. 84-86. - And of his Lover's Complaint, 82-84. - Licence to Shakspeare for the Globe Theatre, 207. - Probable amount of his income, 225. - And of his obligations to his dramatic predecessors, 253-255. - - The commencement of Shakspeare's dramatic career, considered and - ascertained, ii. 256-260. - Chronological Table of the order of his genuine plays, 261. - Observations on them. 262-534. - (_And see their respective Titles in this Index._) - Remarks on the spurious pieces attributed to Shakspeare, 536, 537. - Whether he assisted other poets in their dramatic composition, 537, - 538. - Considerations on the genius of Shakspeare's drama, 538-541. - On its conduct, 541-544. - Characters, 545. - Passions, 546-549. - Comic painting, 550. - And imaginative powers, 551. - Morality, 552. - Vindication of his character from the calumnies of Voltaire, - 552-554. - Popularity of Shakspeare's dramas in Germany, 554. - Reprinted in America, 555. - - _Shakspeare_ (Judith), youngest daughter of the poet, birth of, i. 65. - Her marriage, ii. 609. - And issue, 610. - His bequests to her, and her children, 627-629. - - _Shakspeare_ (Susannah), eldest child of the poet, birth of, i. 64. - Marriage of, to Dr. Hall, ii. 598, 599. - Her father's bequests to her, 630, 631. - Why her father's favourite, 613. - Probable cause of his leaving her the larger portion of his - property, 614. - - _Sheep-shearing Feast_, how celebrated, i. 181. - Description of, by Tusser, 182. - By Drayton, _ibid._ - Allusions to, by Shakspeare, 183-185. - - _Shepherd King_, elected at sheep-shearing, i. 181. 184. _note_. - - _Shepherd_ (S.), commendatory verses of, on Shakspeare's Rape of - Lucrece, ii. 40. - On his Pericles, 263. - - _Ship-tire_, an article of head-dress, notice of, ii. 91. - - _Shirley's_ Play, the "Lady of Pleasure," illustrated, Act i., i. 179. - - _Shivering_ (sudden), superstitious notion concerning, i. 375. - - _Shoes_, fashion of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 98. 105, 106. - - _Shot-proof_ waistcoat, charm for, i. 364. - - _Shottery_, cottage of the Hathaways at, still in existence, i. 61. - - _Shovel-board_, or Shuffle-board, account of, i. 306. - Mode of playing at, 306, 307. - Its origin and date, 307. - - _Shove-Groat_, a game, notice of, i. 307, 308. - - _Shrewsbury_ (Countess of), termagant conduct of, ii. 153. - - _Shrove Tuesday_ or _Shrove Tide_, origin of the term, i. 141. - Observances on that festival, 142. - Threshing the hen, _ibid._ - Throwing at cocks, 144, 145. - - _Shylock_, analysis of the character of, ii. 384, 385. - - _Sidney_ or _Sydney_ (Sir Philip), biographical notice of, i. 652. - Satire of, on the affected style of some of his contemporaries, i. - 444, 445. - Notice of his "Defence of Poesie," 467. - Critical account of his "Arcadia," 548-552. - Alluded to by Shakspeare, 573, 574. - Remarks on his poetical pieces, 652, 653. - Particularly on his Sonnets, ii. 54. - The Pyrocles of his Arcadia, probably the original name of - Shakspeare's Pericles, 283. - - _Sign-posts_, costly, of ancient inns, i. 217. - - _Silk-Manufactures_, encouraged by James I., ii. 600. - - _Silk Stockings_, first worn by Queen Elizabeth, ii. 98. - - _Similes_, exquisite, in Shakspeare's Venus and Adonis, ii. 26. - - _Sir_, title of, anciently given to clergymen, i. 88-90. - - _Sly_, remarks on the character of, in the Taming of the Shrew, ii. - 365. - - _Smith_ (Sir Thomas), greatly promoted Greek and English literature, - i. 453. - - _Snuff-taking_ and _Snuff-boxes_, when introduced into England, ii. - 137. - - _Sommers_ (Sir George), shipwreck of, ii. 503, 504. - - _Songs_ (early English), notice of a curious collection of, i. - 574-576. - Quotations from, and allusions to the most popular of them, by - Shakspeare, with illustrative remarks, 577-593. - - _Sonnet_, introduced into England from Italy, ii. 53. - Brief notice of the sonnets of Wyat, _ibid._ - Elegant specimen from those of the Earl of Surrey, _ibid._ - Notice of the Sonnets of Watson, i. 66. ii. 54. - Of Sir Philip Sidney, _ibid._ - Of Daniel, 55. - Of Constable, _ibid._ - Of Spencer, _ibid._ - Of Drayton, 56. - And of other minor poets, _ibid._ - Beautiful sonnet, addressed to Lady Drake, i. 621. - An exquisite one from Shakspeare's Passionate Pilgrim, ii. 49. - On a kiss, by Sidney, 54. - - _Sonnets of Shakspeare_, when first published, ii. 50. - Probable dates of their composition, _ibid._ 51. - Daniel's manner chiefly copied by Shakspeare, in the structure of - his sonnets, 57, 58. 77. - Discussion of the question to whom they were addressed, 58-60. - Proofs that they were principally addressed to the Earl of - Southampton, 62-73. - Vindication of Shakspeare's sonnets from the charge of affectation - or pedantry, 75. 80. - Circumlocutory they are to a certain extent, 76. - But this less the fault of Shakspeare than of his subject, _ibid._ - 77. - Specimens, illustrating the structure and versification of - Shakspeare's sonnets, with remarks, 77-82. - Vindication of them from the hyper-criticism of Mr. Steevens, 60. - 74. 84-86. - - _Soothern_ (John), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 701. _and - note_ [701:B]. - - _Southampton_, (Earl of), See _Wriothesly_. - - _Southey_'s (Mr.), translation of "Amadis of Gaul," notice of, i. 546. - - _Southwell_ (Robert), biographical notice of, i. 643, 644. - List of his poetical works, with critical remarks, 644, 645. - - _Spanish_ romances, account of, i. 545-548. - Allusions to them by Shakspeare, 570, 571. - - _Spectral Impressions_, probable causes of, philosophically - considered, ii. 406-408. - Singular instance of a supposed spectral impression, 407. _note_. - See _Spirits_. - - _Speed_'s "History of Great Britain," character of, i. 476. - - _Spells_, account of, on Midsummer-Eve, i. 331-333. - On All-Hallows-Eve, 344-347. - Supposed influence of, 362-365. - - _Spenser_'s "English Poet," notice of, i. 463. - Critical notice of, commentary on his "Shepheards Calender," 471. - Many incidents of his "Faerie Queene" borrowed from the romance of - "La Morte d'Arthur," 529. - And from "The Seven Champions of Christendom," _ibid._ - Sackville's "Induction" the model of his allegorical pictures, 643. - Critical remarks on his "Shepheard's Calendar," 644. - And on his "Faerie Queene," 644-647. - The portrait prefixed to his works, probably spurious, 649. _note_. - Critical notice of his, "Amoretti," a collection of sonnets, ii. 55, - 56. - Beautiful quotation from his "Faerie Queene" on the agency of - Spirits, 400, 401. - Admirable description of a witch's abode, 480. - - _Spirits_, different orders of, introduced into the Tempest, ii. - 521-526. - Critical analysis of the received doctrine in Shakspeare's time, - respecting the supposed agency of angelic spirits, 399-405. - And of its application to the introduction of the ghost in Hamlet, - 407-416. - Superiority of Shakspeare's spirits over those introduced by all - other dramatists, ancient or modern, 417, 418. - - _Spoons_, anciently given by godfathers to their godchildren, ii. 230, - 231. - - _Sports_ (Rural), in the age of Shakspeare, Enumeration of, i. 246, - 247. - Cotswold Games, 252-254. - Hawking, 255. - Hunting, 272. - Fowling, 287. - Bird-batting, 289. - Horse-racing, 297. - The Quintaine, 300. - Wild Goose Chace, 304. - Hurling, 305. - Shovel-board, 306. - Shove-groat, 307, 308. - Juvenile sports, 308. - Barley-Breake, 309. - Parish Whipping-top, 312. - - _Spurs_, prohibited in St. Paul's Cathedral, during divine service, - ii. 185. - - "_Squire of Low Degree_," allusions to the romance of, i. 567. - - _Stag-hunting_, description of, in the time of Shakspeare, i. 276-280. - Ceremony of cutting up, 280, 281. - Part of, given to the ravens, 281. - Beautiful picture of a hunted stag, 403. - - _Stage_, state of, in the time of Shakspeare, ii. 201-206. - Resorted to by him, on his coming to London, i. 419. - Employed in what capacity there, _ibid._ 420. - Esteemed there as an actor, 421, 422. - Proofs of his skill in the management of the stage, 423. - Excelled in second-rate parts, 425. - Divisions of the stage, in Shakspeare's time, ii. 214-215. - Was generally strewed with rushes, 217. - Its decorations, 218. - - _Stalking-horses_, account of, and of their uses, i. 287, 288. - - _Stanyhurst_'s (Richard), translation of Virgil, i. 701. - Strictures on, _ibid._ _note_ [701:C]. - - _Starch_, use of, when introduced into England, ii. 96. - Dyed of various colours, _ib._ - - _Steevens_ (Mr.), his "Illustrations of Shakspeare," cited, _passim_. - Remarks of, on Shakspeare's Sonnets, ii. 60. 74-76. 84-86. - Ascribes Pericles to Shakspeare, 265. - Probability of his conjecture, that Pericles was originally named - Pyrocles, after the hero of Sidney's "Arcadia," 283, 284. - His opinion that the Comedy of Errors was not wholly Shakspeare's, - controverted and disproved, 287, 288. - Remarks on his flippant censure of Shakspeare's love of music, 390. - His opinion on the date of Timon of Athens, 446. - Humorous remarks of, on the value and price of the first edition of - Shakspeare, 535. _note_. - - _Still_ (Bishop), character of, as a dramatic writer, ii. 232, 233. - - _Stirling_ (William Alexander, Earl of), biographical notice of, i. - 649. - Critical notice of his "Aurora," a collection of sonnets, 650. - Of his "Dooms-day," 651. - And of his other poems, _ib._ - - _Stockings_, fashions of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 105. - Silk stockings first worn by Queen Elizabeth, 98. - - _Stomacher_, an article of female dress, notice of, ii. 90. - - _Stones_, extraordinary virtues ascribed to, i. 366. 369, 370. - Particularly the Turquoise stone, 366, 367. - Belemnites, 367. - Bezoar, _ibid._ - Agate, 368. - - _Storer_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 702. - - _Stowe_'s "History of London," notice of, i. 480. - - _Stratford-upon-Avon_, the native place of William Shakspeare, i. 1. - His father a member and officer of the corporation of, 2. - Dismissed from it, 6. - Probable causes of such dismission, _ibid._ 7. - Extract from the baptismal register of the parish, 4. - Description of the house there, where Shakspeare was born, 21, 22. - Ravages of the plague there, 24. - Visited by Mr. Betterton, for information concerning Shakspeare, 34. - Allusions to scenery, and places in its vicinity, 50, 51. - Quitted by Shakspeare, 410-416. - Whose family continued there, 412. - New Place, purchased there by Shakspeare, ii. 584. - History of its demolition, _ib._ _note_. - Additional land purchased there by the poet, 591. - And also tithes, 594. - Proceedings relative to the inclosure of land there, by Shakspeare, - 608, 609. - Description of his monument and epitaph, in Stratford church, 618, - 619. - Remarks on his monumental bust, 619-622. - - _Strolling Players_, condition of, in the age of Shakspeare, i. - 247-252. - - _Strutt_ (Mr.), accurate description by, of May-day and its amusements - i. 167-171. - Of Midsummer-eve superstitions, 332. - - _Stubbes_ (Philip), account of his "Anatomie of Abuses," i. 501. - Extreme rarity of his book, _ibid._ - Quotations from, against Whitsun and other ales, i. 179. - On the neglect of "Fox's Book of Martyrs," 502. - General character of his book, _ibid._ - His "View of Vanitie," 702. - Philippic against masques, ii. 95. - And ruffs, 96, 97. - - _Sturbridge Fair_, account of, i. 215, 216. - - _Summer_'s "Last Will and Testament," illustration of, i. 106. - - _Sun_, beautiful description of, in its course, ii. 77. - - _Superstitions_ of the 16th century, remarks on, i. 314, 315. - Sprites and goblins, 316. 321, 322. - Ghosts and apparitions, 320. - Prognostications of the weather from particular days, 323. - Rites of lovers on St. Valentine's Day, 324. - On Midsummer-Eve, 329. - Michaelmas, 334. - All-Hallow-Eve, 341. - Superstitious cures for the night-mare, 347. - Omens and prodigies, 351. - Demoniacal voices and shrieks, 355. - Fiery and meteorous exhalations, 360. - Sudden noises, 361. - Charms and spells, 362. - Cures, preventatives and sympathies, 366. - Stroking for the king's evil, 370. - Sympathetic powders, 375. - Miscellaneous superstitions, 377-400. - Influence of superstition on the poetry of the Elizabethan age, 595, - 596. - Account of the fairy superstitions of the East, ii. 302, 303. - Of the Gothic and Scandinavian fairy superstitions, 304-312. - And of the fairy superstition prevalent in Scotland, 314-336. - The fairy superstition of Shakspeare, of Scottish origin, 336, 337. - Account of the superstitious notions then current respecting witches - and witchcraft, 474-489. - - _Suppers_ of country gentlemen, in Shakspeare's time, i. 81. - - _Suppertasse_, a species of female dress, notice of, ii. 96. - - _Surrey_ (Earl of), quoted and illustrated, i. 380. - Character of his "Sonnets," with an exquisite specimen, ii. 53. - - _Svegder_ (King of Sweden), fabulous anecdotes of, ii. 305. - - _Swart-Elves_, or malignant fairies of the Scandinavians, account of, - ii. 309, 310. - Their supposed residence, 311, 312. - - _Swearing_, prevalence of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 160. - - "_Sweet Swan of Avon_," an appellation given to Shakspeare by his - contemporaries, i. 415. - - _Swithin_ (St.), supposed influence of, on the weather, i. 328. - And on the night-mare, 349. - - _Sword-dance_ on Plough-Monday, notice of, i. 137. - - _Sydney_. See _Sidney_ (Sir Philip). - - _Sylvester_ (Joshua), furnished Milton with the _prima stamina_ of his - "Paradise Lost," i. 653. - Poetical works of, 653. - Specimen of them, with remarks, 654. - - _Sympathies_, extraordinary, accounts of, i. 372-376. - - -T - - _Tables_, a species of gambling in Shakspeare's time, notice of, ii. - 171. - - _Tables_, form of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 118. - - _Tales_, relation of, a favourite amusement, i. 107. - - _Taming of the Shrew_, probable date of, ii. 364. - Source of its fable, 364, 365. - Remarks on the character of Sly, 365. - And on the general character of the play, 366. - - _Passages of this drama illustrated in the present work._ - - The Induction, scene 1., i. 248, 249. - Act i. scene 1., i. 556. - scene 2., i. 50, 176. - scene 3., i. 581. - Act ii. scene 1., i. 69. ii. 117, 118. - scene 2., i. 225. - Act iv. scene 1., i. 271. 581. ii. 118. 138. 143. - - _Tansy Cakes_, why given at Easter, i. 147. - - _Tapestry Hangings_, allusions to, by Shakspeare, ii. 114, 115. - - _Tarlton_ (Richard), the comedian, repartee of, i. 66. - His influence over Queen Elizabeth, 702. _note_ [702:D]. - Notice of his poems, 702. - Plan of his "Seven Deadlie Sins," a composite drama, ii. 229. - - _Tarquin_, beautiful soliloquy of, ii. 35. - - _Tasso_'s "Jerusalem Delivered," translated by Fairefax, notice of, i. - 619. - - _Tatham_'s (J.), censure of Shakspeare's Pericles, ii. 263. - - _Taverner_'s (John), "Certain Experiments concerning Fish and Fruit," - notice of, i. 291. and _note_. - - _Taverns_, description of, in Shakspeare's time, i. 218. - List of the most eminent taverns, ii. 133. - Account of their accommodations, 134, 135. - - _Taylor_ (John), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 703. - - _Tempest_, conjectures on the probable date of, ii. 500. 502. 504. - Sources whence Shakspeare drew his materials for this drama, 503. - Critical analysis of its characters: Prospero, 505. 515. - Miranda, 506. - Ariel, 506, 522, 525. - Caliban, 506. 523. 525. - Remarks on the notions prevalent in Shakspeare's time respecting - magic, 507-514. - Application of magical machinery to the Tempest, 515-526. - Superior skill of Shakspeare in this adaptation, 527. - - _Passages of this drama illustrated in the present work._ - - Act i. scene 1., ii. 525. - scene 2., i. 358. 386. ii. 506. 516. 522, 523. 525. - Act ii. scene 1., i. 576. - scene 2., i. 383. ii. 155. 524. - Act iii. scene 1., ii. 517. - scene 2., ii. 517. 524. - scene 3., i. 252. 385. ii. 156. - scene 4., ii. 526. - Act iv. scene 1., i. 377, 378. 400. ii. 192, 193. 517. 524. - Act v. scene 1., ii. 341, 342. 344. 505. 516. 525, 526. - - _Theatre_, the first, when erected, ii. 203. - List of the principal play-houses during the age of Shakspeare, 206. - Licence to him for the Globe Theatre, from James I., 207. - Account of it, 208. - And of the theatre in Blackfriars, 209. - Interior economy of the theatre in Shakspeare's time, 210. - Divisions of the stage, 211-214. - Hours and days of acting, 215, 216. - Prices of admission, 216. - Number of plays performed in one day, 217. - Amusements of the audience previously to the commencement of plays, - 217-219. - Tragedies, how performed, 220. - Wardrobe of the theatres, _ibid._ - Female characters personated by men or boys, 221. - Plays, how censured, _ibid._ 222. - - _Thomson_'s "Winter," quoted, i. 321. - - _Threshing the Hen_, custom of, explained, i. 142. - - _Tilting at the Ring_, and in the water, description of, i. 555. - Allusions to this sport by Shakspeare, 556. - - _Time_, effects of, exquisitely portrayed by Shakspeare, ii. 78. - - _Timon of Athens_, probable date of, ii. 446, 447. - Analysis of his character, 448-452. - - _Passages of this drama illustrated in this work._ - - Act ii. scene 2., i. 285. - Act iii. scene 3., ii. 451. - Act v. scene 1., ii. 449. - - _Tire-valiant_, an article of female head-dress, account of, ii. 94. - - _Titania_, the fairy queen of Midsummer-Night's Dream, analysis of the - character of, ii. 337-345. - - "_Titus Andronicus_," illustration of, act 2., scene iv., i. 397. - This play evidently not Shakspeare's, ii. 536. - - _Tobacco_, the taking of, when first introduced into England, ii. 135. - Philippic of James I. against it, _ibid._ 138. - Prejudices against it, 136, 137. - - _Tofte_ (Robert), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, list of the - pieces of, i. 703. - - _Tolling_ the passing-bell, supposed benefit of, i. 232-234. - - _Tombfires_, superstitious notions concerning, i. 360. - - _Tompson_ (Agnis), a supposed witch, confessions of, ii. 476. 485. - - _Topographers_ (English), account of, during the age of Shakspeare, i. - 479-481. - - _Torments_ of hell, legendary accounts of, i. 378-381. - - _Tottel_'s "Poems of Uncertaine Auctors," i. 708. - - _Touch_ (royal), a supposed cure for the king's evil, i. 370, 371. - - _Tournaments_ in the reign of Elizabeth, account of, i. 553. - Allusions to by Shakspeare, 554. - - _Tragedy_, how performed in the time of Shakspeare, ii. 220. - "Ferrex and Porrex," the first tragedy ever acted in England, 227. - - "_Tragique History of the Fair Valeria of London_," cited and - illustrated, i. 238. - - _Translations_ into English from Greek and Roman authors in the time - of Shakspeare, list of, i. 483. - - _Travelling_, passion for, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 156, 157. - - _Treego_ (William), a minor poet of the age of Elizabeth, i. 704. - - _Troilus and Cressida_, probable date of, ii. 437, 438. - Source of its fable, 439, 440. - Analysis of its characters, 440, 441. - Its defects, 441. - - _Illustrations of this drama in the present work._ - - Act ii. scene 3., ii. 162. - Act iii. scene 2., ii. 117. - Act iv. scene 3., i. 582. - scene 4., i. 355. - Act v. scene 3., i. 355. - - _Trulli_, or benevolent fairies of the Germans, notice of, ii. 312. - - _Trump_, a fashionable game of cards in Shakspeare's time, i. 270. - - _Tuck_ (Friar), the chaplain of Robin Hood, account of, i. 162, 163. - - _Tumours_, cured by stroking with a dead man's hand, i. 370. - - _Turberville_ (George), biographical sketch of, i. 655. - Notice of his "Booke of Faulconrie," i. 257. _note_. - His description of hunting in inclosures, 275, 276. - List of his poetical works, 655. - Critical estimate of his poetical character, 656. - - _Turner_ (Mrs.), executed for the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury, ii. - 96. - The inventress of yellow starch, _ibid._ - - _Turner_ (Richard), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 704. - - _Turquoise Stone_, supposed virtues of, i. 366, 367. - - _Tusser_ (Thomas), biographical notice of, i. 656. - Critical remarks on his "Five Hundreth Good Points of Husbandry," - 657. - His character as a poet, 657, 658. - Quotations from Tusser, illustrative of old English manners and - customs, i. 100. 108. 110. 112-115. 136. 142. 182. 188. 190. - 202. 215. - - _Twelfth-Day_, festival of, i. 127. - Its supposed origin, _ibid._ - The twelfth-cake accompanied by wassail-bowls, _ibid._ 128-130. - Meals and amusements on this day, 132, 133. - - _Twelfth-Night_ observed with great ceremony in the reigns of - Elizabeth and James I., i. 131, 132. - Verses on, by Herrick, 133, 134. - - _Twelfth-Night_, the last of Shakspeare's dramas, probable date of, - ii. 531-533. - Its general character, and conduct of the fable, 534. - - _Illustrations of this drama in the present work._ - - Act i. scene 4., i. 436. - scene 5., ii. 117. - Act ii. scene 3., i. 578. - scene 4., i. 574. ii. 534. - scene 5., ii. 533. - Act iii. scene 1., i. 270. - scene 4., i. 334. ii. 118. 532, 533. - Act iv. scene 3., i. 221. - Act v. scene 1., i. 221. - - _Two Gentlemen of Verona_, date of, ii. 367. - Probable source of its fable, _ibid._ 368. - Remarks on the delineation of its characters, particularly that of - Julia, 368, 369. - - _Illustrations of this drama in the present work._ - - Act i. scene 2., ii. 360. - Act ii. scene 1., i. 341. ii. 581. - scene 2., i. 220. - scene 6., i. 175. - scene 7., ii. 370. - Act iii. scene 1., ii. 97. - Act iv. scene 1., i. 163. ii. 369. - scene 4., ii. 93. - - _Twyne_ (John), the topographer, notice of, i. 480. - - _Twyne_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 704. - - _Tye_ (Christopher), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 704. - - _Typography_, remarks on the style of, in Queen Elizabeth's reign, i. - 437. - Beautiful specimens of decorative printing, 438. - - _Tyrwhitt_ (Mr.), conjecture of, respecting the date of Shakspeare's - Romeo and Juliet, ii. 356, 357. - And of Twelfth-Night, 531, 532. - - -U - - _Underdonne_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 704. - - _Upstart_ country-squire or knight, character of, i. 81. - - -V - - "_Valentine and Orson_," romance of, cited by Shakspeare, i. 572. - Notice of a curious edition of, 571, 572. - Its extensive popularity, 572. - - _Valentine's Day_, origin of the superstitions concerning, i. 324. - Custom of choosing lovers ascribed to Madame Royale, 324, 325. - Supposed to be of pagan origin, 325. - Modes of ascertaining Valentines for the current year, 326. - The poor feasted on this day, 327. - - _Vallans_ (William), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 705. - - _Vaughan_'s (W.) "Golden Grove," a collection of essays, i. 513. - Character of, with specimens of his style, 514. - - _Vaux_ (Lord), specimen of the poems of, i. 713. - - _Vennard_ (Richard), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 705. - - _Venice_ one of the sources of English fashions in the age of - Shakspeare, ii. 94. - - _Venus and Adonis_, a poem of Shakspeare, probable date of, i. 426, - 427. - Notice of the "Editio Princeps," ii. 20, 21. - Dedicated to the Earl of Southampton, 3. - Proofs of its melody and beauty of versification, 21-23. - Singular force and beauty of its descriptions, 24-26. - Similes, 26. - And astonishing powers of Shakspeare's mind, 27. - This poem inferior to its classical prototypes, _ibid._ - Complimentary verses on this poem, addressed to Shakspeare, 28-30. - Its meretricious tendency censured by contemporary writers, 31. - Popularity of this poem, 31. _note_ [31:A]. - Notice of its principal editions, 32. - - _Versification_ of the poetry of the Elizabethan age examined, i. 597. - Remarks on the versification of Sir John Beaumont, 601. - Of Browne, 603. - Of Chalkhill, 606. - Of Chapman, 608. - Of Daniel, 612. - Of Davies, 613. - Of Davors, 614. - Of Donne, 615. - Of Drayton, 616, 617. - Of Drummond, 618. - Of Fairefax, 619. - Of the two Fletchers, 620, 621. - Of Gascoigne, 626. - Of Bishop Hall, 628, 629. - Of Dr. Lodge, 632-635. - Of Marston, 637. - Of Spenser, 648. - Of the Earl of Stirling, 651. - Of Sylvester, 653. - Of Watson, 661. - Of Willobie, 665, 666. - Of Shakspeare's Venus and Adonis, ii. 21-23. - Of his Rape of Lucrece, 33-36. - Of Spenser's sonnets, 55. - Of Shakspeare's sonnets, 77-82. - Of Peele, 240. _note_. - Of the Two Gentlemen of Verona, 369. - - _Verstegan_ (Richard), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 705. - - _Vincent_ (St.), supposed influence of his day, i. 350. - - _Virtue_ loved and cherished by Shakspeare's fairies, ii. 339, 340. - - _Virtus post funera vivit_, whimsical translation of, i. 238, 239. - - _Voltaire_'s calumnies on Shakspeare refuted, ii. 553, 554. - - _Volumnia_, remarks on the character of, ii. 494, 495. - - _Vortigern and Rowena_, anecdote of, i. 127, 128. - - _Vows_, how made by knights in the age of chivalry, i. 552. - - _Voyages and Travels_, collections of, published in the time of - Shakspeare, i. 477-479. - - -W - - _Wager_ (Lewis), a dramatic poet, notice of, ii. 234. - - _Waists_ of great length, fashionable in the age of Shakspeare, ii. - 97. - - _Wakes_, origin of, i. 209. - Degenerate into licentiousness, 210. - Verses on, by Tusser, _ibid._ - And by Herrick, 211, 212. - Frequented by pedlars, 212. - Village-wakes still kept up in the North, 213. - - _Walton_'s "Complete Angler," errata in, i. 293. _note_. - Encomium on, 297. _note_. - - _Wapul_ (George), a dramatic writer in the time of Elizabeth, ii. 237. - - _Wardrobes_ (ancient), account of, ii. 91, 92. - Notice of theatrical wardrobes, in the time of Shakspeare, 220, 221. - - _Warner_ (William), biographical notice of, i. 658. - Critical remarks on his "Albion's England," 659, 660. - Quotations from that poem illustrative of old English manners and - customs, i. 104, 105. 118, 119. 135. 143. _note_. 147. _note_. - - _Warnings_ (preternatural) of death or danger, i. 351-354. - - _Warren_ (William), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 705. - - _Warton_ (Dr.), observations of, on the "Gesta Romanorum," i. 536, - 537. - On Fenton's collection of Italian novels, 542. - On the satires of Bishop Hall, 628, 629. - On the merits of Harington, 629. - On the satires of Marston, 637. - - _Washing_ of hands, why necessary before dinner in the age of - Elizabeth, ii. 145. - - _Wassail_, origin of the term, i. 127. - Synonymous with feasting, 129. - - _Wassail-bowl_, ingredients in, i. 127. - Description of an ancient one, 128. - Allusions to, in Shakspeare, 129, 130. - And by Milton, 131. - The peg-tankard, a species of wassail-bowl, 131. _note_. - - _Watch-lights_, an article of furniture in Shakspeare's time, ii. 117. - - _Water-closets_, by whom invented, ii. 135. _note_. - - _Water-spirits_, different classes of, ii. 522, 523. - - _Watson_ (Thomas), a poet of the Elizabethan age, critical notice of - his works, particularly of his sonnets, i. 660-662., ii. 54. - Said by Mr. Steevens to be superior to Shakspeare as a writer of - sonnets, i. 663. - List of his other poems, _ibid._ - - _Weather_, prognostications of, from particular days, i. 323. - - _Webbe_ (William), account of his "Discourse of English Poetrie," i. - 463, 464. - Its extreme rarity and high price, 463. _note_. - First and second Eclogues of Virgil, 705. - - _Webster_ (William), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 705. - - _Webster_ (John), estimate of the merits of, as a dramatic poet, ii. - 564, 565. - Illustrations of his plays, viz.: - Vittoria Corombona, i. 233, 234. 237, 238. 396. - Dutchess of Malfy, i. 351. - - _Wedderburn_, a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 705. - - _Weddings_, how celebrated, i. 223-226. - Description of a rustic wedding, 227-229. - - _Weever_ (John), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 705. - Bibliographical notice of his "Epigrammes," ii. 371. - Verses of, on Shakspeare's Venus and Adonis, ii. 28. - Epigram of, on Shakspeare's poems and plays, 372. - - _Wells_, superstitious notions concerning, i. 391-393. - - _Wenman_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 706. - - _Wharton_'s "Dreame," a poem, i. 706. - - _Whetstone_'s (George), collection of tales, notice of, i. 543. - His "Rocke of Regard," and other poems, 706. - Account of the prevalence of gaming in his time, ii. 157, 158. - Notice of his dramatic productions, 238. - His "Promos and Cassandra," the immediate source of Shakspeare's - Measure for Measure, 453. - - _Whipping-tops_ anciently kept for public use, i. 312. - - _Whitney_ (George), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 706. - - _Whitsuntide_, festival of, how celebrated, i. 175-180. - Morris-dance, its accompaniment, _ibid._ - With Maid Marian, 179. - Whitsun plays, 181. - - _Wieland_'s "Oberon," character of, i. 564. _note_. - - _Wild-goose-chace_, a kind of horse race, notice of, i. 304, 305. - - _Wilkinson_ (Edward), a minor poet of the age of Shakspeare, i. 706. - - _Will_ of John Shakspeare, account of the discovery of, i. 8, 9. - Copy of it, 9-14. - First published by Mr. Malone, _ibid._ - Its authenticity subsequently doubted by him, 15. - Confirmed by Mr. Chalmers, _ibid._ - Additional reasons for its authenticity, 16. - Its probable date, _ibid._ - - _Will_ of William Shakspeare, ii. 627-632. - Observations on it, 612-614. - - _Willet_ (Andrew), "Emblems" of, i. 706. - - _Willobie_ (Henry), a poet of the Elizabethan age, critical notice of, - i. 663, 664. - Origin of his "Avisa," 665. - Character of that work, 665, 666. - Commendatory verses in, on Shakspeare's Rape of Lucrece, ii. 40. - - _Will-o'-wisp_, superstitious notions concerning, i. 399, 400. - - _Willymat_'s (William) "Prince's Looking Glass," i. 706. - - _Wilmot_ (Robert), a dramatic poet in the reign of Elizabeth, - character of, ii. 234, 235. - - _Wilson_ (Thomas), observations of, on the corruptions of the - English language, in the time of James I., i. 440, 441. - Proofs that his "Rhetoricke" had been studied by Shakspeare, - 472-474. - - _Wincot_ ale celebrated for its strength, i. 48. - Epigram on, 48, 49. - Allusions to this place in Shakspeare's plays, 50. - - _Wine_, enormous consumption of, in the age of Shakspeare, ii. 129. - Foreign wines then drunk, 130-132. - Presents of, usually sent from one room in a tavern to another, 134. - - _Winter evening's conversations_ of the sixteenth century, - superstitious subjects of, i. 316-322. - - _Winter's Tale_, probable date of, ii. 495-497. - Its general character, 497-500. - And probable source, 498. - - _Passages of this drama illustrated in the present work._ - - Act i. scene 2., i. 223. ii. 171. 495. - Act ii. scene 1., i. 107. 316. - Act iv. scene 2., i. 35. 183. 582. - scene 3., i. 165. 181. 184. 212. 213. 582-584. ii. 499, - 500. - Act v. scene 2., i. 584. ii. 499. - scene 3., ii. 99. - - _Wit-combats_ of Shakspeare and Jonson, and their associates, notice - of, ii. 592, 593. - - _Witchcraft_ made felony by Henry VIII., ii. 474. - Supposed increase of witches in the time of Queen Elizabeth, ii. - 474, 475. - General prevalence of this infatuation, 475. - Increased under the reign of James I., 476. - Cruel act of parliament against witches, 477. - Description of the wretched persons who were ordinarily supposed to - be witches, 478-480. - Exquisite description of a witch's abode by Spenser, 480. - Enumeration of the feats witches were supposed to be capable of - performing, 481-483. - Nature of their supposed compact with the devil, 483-485. - Application of this superstition by Shakspeare to dramatic purposes - in his Macbeth, 487-489. - - _Wither_ (George), biographical notice of, i. 666. - Critical observations on his satires, 667. - And on his "Juvenilia," 668, 669. - List of his other pieces, with remarks, 669-671. - Verses of, on Hock-Day, i. 151. _note_. - - _Withold_ (St.), supposed influence of, against the nightmare, i. - 347-349. - - _Wives_, supposed appearance of future, on Midsummer-Eve, i. 332-334. - And on All-Hallow-Eve, 344-347. - - _Wives' Feast Day_, Candlemas Day, why so called, i. 138. - - _Wolsey_'s (Cardinal) _Rudimenta Grammatices_, notice of, i. 26. - - _Women_, employments and dress of the younger part of, in Shakspeare's - time, i. 83, 84. - Characters of women, personated by men and boys, 221. - - _Wood_ (Nathaniel), a dramatic writer in the reign of Elizabeth, - notice of, ii. 238. - - _Wool-trade_, allusions to, i. 35. - Promoted by Queen Elizabeth, 192. _note_. - - "_World's Folly_," a collection of old ballads, notice of, i. 474-476. - - _Wotton_ (Sir Henry), encomium of, on angling, i. 297. - Character of his poetical productions, 672, 673. - - _Wright_ (John), character of his "Passions of the Minde," a - collection of essays, i. 511. - - _Wright_ (Leonard), character of his "Display of Dutie," i. 512, 513. - - _Wriothesly_ (Thomas), Earl of Southampton, biographical notice of, - ii. 1, 2. - A passionate lover of the drama, 2. - Shakspeare's Venus and Adonis, and Rape of Lucrece, dedicated to - him, 3. - His liberality to the poet, 4. - Joins the expedition to the Azores, 5. - In disgrace with Queen Elizabeth, 6. - Goes to Paris, and is introduced to King Henry IV., 7. - Marries Elizabeth Vernon without consulting the Queen, 7, 8. - Who imprisons them both, 8. - Goes to Ireland with the Earl of Essex, who promotes him, _ibid._ - Is recalled and disgraced, 8, 9. - Quarrels with Lord Gray, 9, 10. - Joins Essex in his conspiracy against the Queen, 10. - And is sentenced to imprisonment, _ibid._ - Released by James I., 11. - Who promotes him, 12, 13. - Birth of his son, 12. - Embarks in a colonising speculation, 13. - Patronises literature, 14. - Opposes the court, 15. - Dies in Holland, 16. - Review of his character, _ibid._ - Tributes to his memory by the poets and literary men of his time, - 17-19. - Shakspeare's sonnets principally addressed to him, 62-73. - - _Wyat_ (Sir Thomas), character of his sonnets, ii. 53. - - _Wyrley_ (William), notice of the biographical poems of, i. 707. - - -Y - - _Yates_ (James), "Castle of Courtesie," i. 707. - - _Yeomen_. See _Farmers_. - - _Yong_ (Bartholomew), notice of his "Version of Montemayer's Romance - of Diana," i. 707. and _note_ [707:C]. - - _Yule-clog_, or Christmas-block, i. 194. - - -Z - - _Zouche_ (Richard), notice of his "Dove," a geographical poem, i. 707. - - -THE END. - - Printed by A. Strahan, - Printers-Street, London. - - - - -THE FOLLOWING WORKS - -MAY ALSO BE HAD OF - -_T. CADELL AND W. DAVIES, STRAND_. - - -1. THE PLAYS OF WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE, in 21 Volumes 8vo.; with the -Corrections and Illustrations of various Commentators. To which are -added, Notes by Samuel Johnson and George Steevens, revised and -augmented by Isaac Reed; with a Glossarial Index. The sixth Edition, -Price 12l. 12s. in Boards, or in Royal Octavo, Price 18l. 18s. in -Boards. - -2. THE PLAYS OF WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE, accurately printed from the Text -of the corrected Copy left by the late George Steevens, Esq.: with a -series of Engravings from the original Designs of Henry Fuseli, Esq. -Professor of Painting; and a Selection of Explanatory and Historical -Notes, from the most eminent Commentators; a History of the Stage, a -Life of Shakspeare, &c. By Alexander Chalmers, A.M. A new Edition, in -Nine Volumes, 8vo. Fine Paper, Price 5l. 8s. in Boards. Without the -Plates, 4l. 14s. 6d. in Boards. On Common Paper, without the Plates, -3l. 12s. in Boards. - -3. THE WORKS OF BEN JONSON, in Nine Volumes 8vo.; with Notes Critical -and Explanatory, and a Biographical Memoir. By W. Gifford, Esq. Price -6l. 6s. in Boards, or in Royal 8vo. Price 9l. in Boards. - -4. THE PLAYS OF PHILIP MASSINGER, in Four Volumes 8vo.; with Notes -Critical and Explanatory, by W. Gifford, Esq. Price: 2l. 12s. in -Boards, or in Royal 8vo. Price 4l. 4s. in Boards. - -5. THE WORKS OF THOMAS OTWAY, in Two Volumes 8vo., with a Portrait of -the Author. Consisting of his Plays, Poems, and Letters, with a Sketch -of his Life, enlarged from that written by Dr. Johnson. Price 1l. 4s. -in Boards. - -6. THREE PLAYS, with a PREFACE; including Dramatic Observations of the -late Lieut.-General Burgoyne. By William Hayley, Esq. Elegantly printed -in 8vo. Price 9s. in Boards. - -POEMS and PLAYS, by the same Author, in Six Volumes, Small 8vo. Price -18s. in Boards. - -7. BIOGRAPHICA DRAMATICA, or a Companion to the Playhouse; containing -Historical and Critical Memoirs and original Anecdotes of British -and Irish Dramatic Writers, from the Commencement of our Theatrical -Exhibitions; among whom are some of the most celebrated Actors. Also -an Alphabetical Account and Chronological Lists of their Works, the -Dates when printed, and Observations on their merits, together with -an introductory View of the Rise and Progress of the British Stage. -Originally compiled to the Year 1764 by David Erskine Baker, continued -thence to 1782 by Isaac Reed, F.A.S., and brought down to the End of -1811, with very considerable Additions and Improvements throughout, by -Stephen Jones. In 4 Volumes 8vo. Price 2l. 8s. in Boards. - -8. THE WORKS OF WILLIAM MASON, M. A., Precentor of York, and Rector of -Aston; consisting of The English Garden, a Poem; the Dramatic Poems -of Elfrida and Charactacus; Miscellaneous Poems; Translation of Du -Fresnoy's Art of Painting, with Notes by Sir Joshua Reynolds; Sermons, -&c. Published under the direction of his Executors. Elegantly printed -in Four Volumes, 8vo., with Portraits of Mr. Mason, Lord Holdernesse, -and Dr. Burgh, from original Pictures. Price 2l. 2s. in Boards. - -9. THE WORKS OF THE RIGHT HON. JOSEPH ADDISON, with Notes by the late -Richard Hurd, D.D., Lord Bishop of Worcester. Elegantly printed in Six -Volumes 8vo., and illustrated with a Portrait of Mr. Addison, from an -original Picture by Dahl. Price 3l. 12s. in Boards, or in Royal 8vo., -Price 5l. 8s. in Boards. - -10. ANECDOTES OF DISTINGUISHED PERSONS, chiefly of the last and Two -preceding Centuries. Illustrated by Engravings. By William Seward. The -Fifth Edition, in Four Volumes 8vo. Price 1l. 16s. in Boards. - -11. THE WORKS OF THE ENGLISH POETS, from Chaucer to Cowper; including -the Series edited, with Prefaces, Biographical and Critical, by Dr. -Samuel Johnson: and the most approved Translations. The additional -Lives by Alexander Chalmers, Esq. F.S.A. In 21 Volumes Royal 8vo. Price -25l. in Boards. - -12. THE LIVES OF THE ENGLISH POETS, with Critical Observations on their -Works. In Three Volumes 8vo. Price 1l. 4s. in Boards, or in Three -Pocket Volumes, Price 12s. in Boards. - - - - -The Reader is requested to correct the three following ERRATA in the -_Index_. - - - Vol. II. page 644. col. 1. line 32. For "_As You Like It_," - read "_Merry Wives of Windsor_." - - —— page 667. col. 1. line 52. For "and probably also," read - "but not." - - —— page 676. col. 2. line 46. The following passage, as - referring to our great Epic Poet, should have been placed under - the article _Milton_ instead of _Wotton_:—"Whether he and - Shakspeare were acquainted with each other." - - - - -TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: - - -Page numbers 332 and 333 are not used in the original. A comparison -with other editions of the book show that no text is missing. Page -numbers 337 and 338 were used twice. The numbers have been changed to -337a, 338a, 337b, and 338b. There are two pages numbered 354 and no -page numbered 352. The first page 354 has been renumbered to 352. - -Corrections listed in the Errata have been made. - -In the Index, symbolic references to footnotes have been replaced with -the correct footnote designation. - -On page 223, there was a large white space inside parentheses. The -white space has been replaced by four dashes. - -The following corrections have been made to the text: - - Page iv: the page reference for CHAP. IX was changed from 258 - to 256. - - Page 26: Whose ridges with the meeting clouds - contend."[quotation mark missing in original] - - Page 27: As mountain snow melts with the mid-day - sun."[quotation mark missing in original] - - Page 36: "Of skilful painting, made for Priam's - Troy,"[quotation mark missing in original] - - Page 59: "W. H.,"[quotation mark missing in original] he - continues - - Page 66: virtuous wish _would bear you living - flowers_."[quotation mark missing in original] - - Page 67: That due of many now is thine alone:"[quotation mark - missing in original] - - Page 68: _The very part was consecrate to thee_."[quotation - mark missing in original] - - Page 69: That every word doth almost tell my name."[quotation - mark missing in original] - - Page 74: Pomfret and——but[original has "and ——, but"] the name - - Page 87: by and by the Turkish[original has "Turkisk"] maner is - generallie best liked - - Page 106: Had falsely thrust upon contrary feet:"[quotation - mark missing in original] - - Page 111: That, rifling _thee_, have rob'd at least a - _score_.""[quotation mark missing in original] - - Page 117: all night like a _watching-candle_?"[quotation mark - missing in original] - - Page 119: would often shew to his friends.'"[single quote - missing in original] - - Page 131: [original has extraneous quotation mark]to speak - first of the election of _sweet_ wines - - Page 139: 8. "_Item_, [original has extraneous quotation - mark]That no man waite at the table - - Page 145: defray all the chardges for me."[quotation mark - missing in original] - - Page 149: "[quotation mark is missing in original]he did never - come to deliver any - - Page 161: "[quotation mark missing in original]O, how blessed - do I take mine eyes - - Page 163: lxx or lxxx[original has "Ixx or Ixxx"] poore men - marchinge - - Page 165: his dagge w{th} II.[original has "11"] bulletts - - Page 168: with _Masks_, _Shews_, _Fireworks_, &c."[quotation - mark missing in original] - - Page 168: _triumphes_, _cresset lights_[original has "_triumphes - cresset_, _lights_"] - - Page 184: worthless class of the nineteenth century:[original - has extraneous quotation mark] - - Page 194: who tells us, that "[quotation mark missing in - original]she was _twelve_ times at Theobald's - - Page 211: commoner, buying his sport by the penny."[quotation - mark missing in original] - - Page 229: _tragi-comedy_ became necessary to[original has "so"] - catch their applause - - Page 240: "[quotation mark missing in original]_Bethsabe._ Come - gentle Zephyr - - Page 246: Still gushing."[quotation mark missing in original] - - Page 247: horror, is the _chef d'œuvre_[original has - "d'æuvre"] of Marlowe - - Page 257: Aubrey[original has "Aubery"] tells us - - Page 258: and moral integrity[original has "in-integrity" split - across a line break] of Shakspeare - - Page 271: Such strong renown as time shall never—"[quotation - mark missing in original] - - Page 274: _Per._ ——————— [original has extraneous - quotation mark]I embrace you, sir. - - Page 276: Whirring me from my friends;"[quotation mark missing - in original] - - Page 279: Waste it for you, like taper-light."[quotation mark - missing in original] - - Page 288: be confessed that the doggrel[original has - "droggrel"] verses - - Page 303: in the _superhuman mistresses_[original has "misioesses"] - - Page 328: the nurse, when, for her lovely child,[original has a - period] - - Page 334: cried the one, 'an it's a' done!'[original has a - double quote] - - Page 339: And bless it to all fair posterity;"[quotation mark - missing in original] - - Page 347: With juice of balm, and every precious - flower."[quotation mark missing in original] - - Page 350: "[quotation mark missing in original]Cum—inter - ambiguas noctis - - Page 350: _do continually tary in the house_;"[quotation mark - missing in original] - - Page 368: it abounds with γνωμαι;[original has "γνομαι" without a - semi-colon] - - Page 373: envious, and hypocritical[original has - "hyprocritical"] in his disposition - - Page 379: because they are too long to be - one[379:B],"[quotation mark missing in original] - - Page 379: to which he, and his immediate[original has - "immeditate"] successor - - Page 384: spirited[original has "spririted"] and glowing - sketches of Bardolph - - Page 402: the living, and[original has "and and"] that they - - Page 403: till they shall have undergone a similar - refinement."[quotation mark missing in original] - - Page 411: The bell then beating one:"——[quotation mark - missing in original] - - Page 421: _K. Phi._ You are as fond of grief, as of your - child.[original has a comma] - - Page 423: For the contempt of empire,"[quotation mark missing - in original] - - Page 437: 22.["22." missing in original]TROILUS AND CRESSIDA: - 1601. - - Page 443: May here find _truth_ too."[quotation mark missing in - original] - - Page 479: diseases that vex[original has "ver"] them strangelie - - Page 503: Farmer observes, "[quotation mark missing in - original]he might have seen - - Page 520: _Fiat, fiat, fiat_. Amen."[quotation mark missing in - original] - - Page 531: Have done offence, _I take the fault on - me_:"[quotation mark missing in original] - - Page 567: the skilful management of his fable.[original has a - comma] - - Page 573: _Epicœne,[original has "Epicæne"] or The Silent - Woman_ - - Page 586: Mr. Jonson and his writings to the public."[quotation - mark missing in original] - - Page 608: "[double quote missing in original]'Rec. 16. No. - 1614, at 4 o'clock - - Page 608: "[double quote missing in original]'Jovis 17. No. - (1614) - - Page 617: [original has extraneous quotation mark]_Leont._ Her - natural posture!— - - Page 636, under "Bolton": i. 465, 470-471 [original has - "476-471"] - - Page 636: Booke of St. Albans[original has "Albons"]. In the - same entry: extract from, _ibid._[period missing in original], - 72. - - Page 637: _Bride Ale_ (Rustic), description of, i.[volume number - missing in original] 227-229. - - Page 637, under Broke: "Tragicall Historye of Romeus and Juliet," - ii. 359.[original has "357."] and _note_. - - Page 637: _Brooke_ (Christopher),[comma was after the last name - in the original] a minor poet - - Page 640: _Cottesford_ (Thomas),[comma was after the last name - in the original] a minor poet - - Page 643, under "Dramatic Poetry": Conjectures as to the extent - of Shakspeare's[original has "Shakpeare's"] obligation - - Page 644: _Elves_ or fairies of the Scandinavians, ii. - 308.[original has a comma] - - Page 646: under "_Fletcher_ (John)": His Faithful Shepherdess - (act[original has extraneous period] v. sc. 1.) - - Page 646, under "_Fuller_ (Thomas)": of Dr. Dee, and his - assistant[original has "asssistant"] Kelly, ii. 512, 513. - - Page 654, under "Lamb Ale": Poetical description[original has - "decription"] of, by Tusser - - Page 655, under "Law Terms": plays, i.["i." missing in - original] 43, 44. _notes_. - - Page 656: _Lovell_ (Thomas), a minor poet of the age of - Shakspeare, i.[period missing in original] 692. - - Page 657: _Machin_ (Lewis), "The Dumb Knight[original has - "Kinhgt"]" - - Page 660, under "Much Ado About Nothing": Act[original has - extraneous period] ii. scene 1. - - Page 661, under "Omens": Corpse-candles[orginal has "Corpse, - candles"], and tomb-fires, 358. - - Page 661, under "Paradyse of Daynty Devises": this collection - of poems, 713-715[hyphen missing in original]. - - Page 663, under "Plays": Disapprobation of them,[comma missing - in original] how testified - - Page 663, under "Poetry": and poetical miscellanies, published - during this period, 708-731[hyphen missing in original]. - - Page 663, under "Polimanteia": bibliographical notice of, ii. - 39[original has "49"]. _note_ [39:B]. - - Page 666: _Schoolmasters_ but little rewarded in Shakspeare's - time, i.[volume number missing in original] 27 - - Page 666, under Scot (Reginald):Recipe for fixing an ass's head - on human shoulders, ii. 351.[original has "349."] _note_ - - Page 667: _Shakspeare_ (Edmund), a brother of the poet, buried - in St. Saviour's Church, i. 416.[original has a dash] ii. 598. - - Page 668: _Shakspeare_ (Judith), youngest daughter of the poet, - birth of, i. 65[original has "1" without a volume number]. - - Page 669, under "Sonnet": Notice of the Sonnets of Watson, i. - 66. [original has extraneous hyphen] ii. 54. - - Page 669, under "Spenser": borrowed from the romance of "La - Morte d'Arthur[original has "d' Arthur"]," 529 - - Page 669, under "Spenser": The Seven[original has "Seven - Seven"] Champions of Christendom - - Page 670, under "Spirits": received doctrine in - Shakspeare's[original has "Shaksspeare's"] time - - Page 671: _Svegder_[original has "Sveggler"] (King of Sweden) - - Page 672: _Tatham_'s (J.),[comma missing in original] censure - of Shakspeare's Pericles, ii. 263. - - Page 672: _Taverner_'s (John),[comma missing in original] - "Certain Experiments concerning Fish and Fruit," notice of, i. - 291.[original has "199."] and _note_. - - Page 674, under "Valentine's Day": Supposed to be of pagan - origin[original has "original"], 325. - - Page 675: _Wieland_'s "Oberon," character of, i. 564.[original - has "365."] _note_. - - Page 676: _Wit-combats_ of Shakspeare and Jonson, and - their associates, notice of, ii.[volume number missing in - original] 592, 593. - - [28:A] Malone's Supplement to[original has "Supplementto"] - Shakspeare, 1780, vol. i. p. 463. - - [169:A] Treatise against[original has "againt"] Diceing, - Card-playing - - [294:B] vide Reed's Shakspeare[original has "Shakspear"], vol. - xiv. p. 257. - - [311:C] nec arte magica hebetari credebantur[original has - "crdebantur"] - - [347:C] Ibid. vol.[period missing in original] v. p. 203. - - [351:A] Of Ghostes and Spirites walking by nyght, 4to. - 1572[original has "1752"], p. 75. - - [447:C] Reed's Shakspeare, vol.[period missing in original] - xix. p. 214. - - [511:A] written upon the boxes at home.'[quotation mark missing - in original] - - [511:A] petition unto their honors,'[quotation mark missing in - original] - - [514:B] By oft predict that I in heaven find."[quotation mark - missing in original] - - [520:B] "Go," says Prospero, addressing Ariel,[original has - extraneous quotation mark] - - [598:A] says Mr. Gifford, "[original has quotation mark after - "Gifford"](not lightly - - [629:E] [original has extraneous quotation mark]_Francis - Collins_—) "This gentleman, - - [631:C] Expectans regni gaudia[original has "guadia"] lœta Dei - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Shakspeare and His Times [Vol. II. of -II.], by Nathan Drake - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SHAKSPEARE AND HIS TIMES *** - -***** This file should be named 53626-0.txt or 53626-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/6/2/53626/ - -Produced by Jonathan Ingram, Lisa Reigel, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net. 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