And in fact, there is such an old anonymous play in Mr. Pope's list. "A pleasant conceited History, called, The Taming of a Shrew-sundry times acted by the Earl of Pembroke his Servants." Which seems to have been republished by the remains of that company in 1607, when Shakspeare's copy appeared at the Black-Friars or the Globe.-Nor let this seem derogatory from the character of our poet. There is no reason to believe, that he wanted to claim the play as his own; it was not even printed till some years after his death: but he merely revived it on his stage as a manager.-Ravenscroft assures us, that this was really the case with Titus Andronicus; which, it may be observed, hath not Shakspeare's name on the title page of the only edition published in his life-time. Indeed, from every internal mark, I have not the least doubt but this horrible piece was originally written by the author of the lines thrown into the mouth of the player in Hamlet, and of the tragedy of Locrine :

"They wrestled togyther thus they two,
"So long that the clothes asunder went.

"And to the ground he threwe her tho, kivih a
"That cleane from the backe her smock he rent. 41
"In every hand a rod he gate,

"And layd upon her a right good pace:

Asking of her what game was that,

"And she cried out, Horeson, alas, alas.” A

Et pag. 42:

"Come downe now in this seller so deepe,
"And morels skin there shall you see:
"With many a rod that hath made me to weepe,
"When the blood ranne downe fast by my knee.
"The mother this beheld, and cryed out, alas:
"And ran out of the seller as she had been wood.
"She came to the table where the company was,

And sayd out, horeson, I will see thy harte blood."

which likewise from some assistance perhaps given to his friend, hath been unjustly and ignorantly. charged upon Shakspeare.

But the sheet-anchor holds fast: Shakspeare himself hath left some translations from Ovid. "The Epistles," says one," of Paris and Helen, give a sufficient proof of his acquaintance with that poet:" "And it may be concluded," says another," that he was a competent judge of other authors, who wrote in the same language."

This hath been the universal cry, from Mr. Pope himself to the criticks of yesterday. Possibly, however, the gentlemen will hesitate a moment, if we tell them, that Shakspeare was not the author of these translations. Let them turn to a forgotten book, by Thomas Heywood, called, Britaines Troy, printed by W. Jaggard in 1609, fol. and they will find these identical Epistles," which being so pertinent to our historie," says Heywood, "I thought necessarie to translate."-How then came they ascribed to Shakspeare? We will tell them that likewise. The same voluminous writer published an Apology for Actors, 4to. 1612, and in an Appendix directed to his new printer, Nic. Okes, he accuses his old one, Jaggard, of "taking the two Epistles of Paris to Helen and Helen to Paris, and printing them in a less volume, and under the name of another:-but he was much offended with Master Jaggard, that altogether unknowne to him, he had presumed to make so bold with his name."i

1 It may seem little matter of wonder, that the name of Shakspeare should be borrowed for the benefit of the bookseller; and by the way, as probably for a play as a poem: but modern criticks may be surprised perhaps at the complaint of John Hall, that" certayne chapters of the Proverbes, translated by him into

In the same work of Heywood are all the other translations, which have been printed in the modern editions of the poems of Shakspeare.

You now hope for land: We have seen through little matters, but what must be done with a whole book?-In 1751, was reprinted, "A compendious. or briefe Examination of certayne ordinary Complaints of diuers of our Countrymen in these our Days: which although they are in some Parte unjust and friuolous, yet are they all by way of Dialogue, throughly debated and discussed by William Shakspeare, Gentleman." 8vo.

This extraordinary piece was originally published in 4to. 1581, and dedicated by the author, "To the most vertuous and learned lady, his most deare and soveraigne princesse, Elizabeth; being inforced by her Majesties late and singular clemency in pardoning certayne his unduetifull misdemeanour." And by the modern editors, to the late King; as "a treatise composed by the most extensive and fertile genius, that ever any age or nation produced."

Here we join issue with the writers of that excellent, though very unequal work, the Biographia Britannica: "If," say they," this piece could be

2

English metre, 1550, had before been untruely entituled to be the doyngs of Mayster Thomas Sternhold."

I must, however, correct a remark in the Life of Spenser, which is impotently levelled at the first criticks of the age. It is observed from the correspondence of Spenser and Gabriel Harvey, that the plan of The Fairy Queen, was laid, and part of it executed in 1580, three years before the Gierusalemme Liberata was printed: "hence appears the impertinence of all the apologies for his choice of Ariosto's manner in preference to Tasso's !"

But the fact is not true with respect to Tasso. Manso and Niceron inform us, that his poem was published, though imperfectly, in 1574; and I myself can assure the biographer, that I

written by our poet, it would be absolutely decisive in the dispute about his learning; for many quotations appear in it from the Greek and Latin classicks,'

The concurring circumstances of the name, and the misdemeanor, which is supposed to be the old story of deer-stealing, seem fairly to challenge our poet for the author: but they hesitate.-His claim may appear to be confuted by the date 1581, when Shakspeare was only seventeen, and the long experience which the writer talks of. But I will not

have met with at least six other editions, preceding his date for its first publication. I suspect, that Baillet is accountable for this mistake: who in the Jugemens des Scavans, Tom. III. p. 399, mentions no edition previous to the quarto, Venice, 1583.

It is a question of long standing, whether a part of The Fairy Queen hath been lost, or whether the work was left unfinished: which may effectually be answered by a single quotation. William Browne published some Poems in fol, 1616, under the name of Britannia's Pastorals, "esteemed then," says Wood, "to be written in a sublime strain, and for subject amorous and very pleasing."-In one of which, Book II. Song 1, he thus speaks of Spenser:

"He sung th' heroicke knights of faiery land
"In lines so elegant, of such command,

"That had the Thracian plaid but halfe so well,
"He had not left Eurydice in hell.

"But e're he ended his melodious song,

"An host of angels flew the clouds among,

"And rapt this swan from his attentive mates,
"To make him one of their associates

"In heauens faire quire: where now he sings the praise
"Of him that is the first and last of daies."

It appears, that Browne was intimate with Drayton, Jonson, and Selden, by their poems prefixed to his book: he had therefore good opportunities of being acquainted with the fact abovementioned. Many of his poems remain in MS. We have in our library at Emmanuel, a masque of his, presented at the Inner Temple, Jan. 13, 1614. The subject is the story of Ulysses and Circe.

keep you in suspense: the book was not written by Shakspeare.

Strype, in his Annals, calls the author SOME learned man, and this gave me the first suspicion. I knew very well, that honest John (to use the language of Sir Thomas Bodley) did not waste his time with such baggage books as plays and poems; yet I must suppose, that he had heard of the name of Shakspeare. After a while I met with the original edition. Here in the title-page, and at the end of the dedication, appear only the initials, W. S. Gent. and presently I was informed by Anthony Wood, that the book in question was written, not by William Shakspeare, but by William Stafford, Gentleman: which at once accounted for the misdemeanour in the dedication. For Stafford had been concerned at that time, and was indeed afterward, as Camden and the other annalists inform us, with some of the conspirators against Elizabeth; which he properly calls his unduetifull behaviour.

3

I hope by this time, that any one open to conviction may be nearly satisfied; and I will promise to give you on this head very little more trouble.

The justly celebrated Mr. Warton hath favoured us, in his Life of Dr. Bathurst, with some hearsay particulars concerning Shakspeare from the papers of Aubrey, which had been in the hands of Wood; and I ought not to suppress them, as the last seems to make against my doctrine. They came originally, I find, on consulting the MS. from one Mr. Beeston and I am sure Mr. Warton, whom I have the

fiz

3 Fasti, 2d edit. v. 1, 208.-It will be seen on turning to the former edition, that the latter part of the paragraph belongs to another Stafford. I have since observed, that Wood is not the first who hath given us the true author of the pamphlet.