Menæchmi, put out by one W. W. in 1595, quarto, This tranflation-in which the writer profeffes to have us'd fome liberties, which he has diftinguish'd by a particular mark,—is in profe, and a very good one for the time: it furnifh'd Shakspeare with nothing but his principal incident; as you may in part fee by the tranflator's argument, which is in verfe, and runs thus:

"Two twinborne fonnes, a Sicill marchant had,
"Menechmus one, and Soficles the other;
"The firft his father loft a litle lad,

"The grandfire namde the latter like his brother:
This (growne a man) long travell took to feeke,
"His brother, and to Epidamnum came,

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Where th' other dwelt inricht, and him so like, "That citizens there take him for the fame,

..

Father, wife, neighbours, each mistaking either, "Much pleafant error, ere they meet togither."

It is probable, that the last of these verfes fuggefted the title of Shakspeare's play.

Cymbeline.

Boccace's story of Bernabo da Ambrogivolo (Day 2, Nov. 9,) is generally fuppos'd to have furnish'd Shakspeare with the fable of Cymbeline: but the embracers of this opinion feem not to have been aware, that many of that author's novels (tranflated or imitated,) are to be found in English books, prior to, or contemporary with, Shakfpeare: and of this novel in particular, there is an imitation extant in a ftory-book of that time, intitl'd-Weftward for Smelts: it is the fecond tale in the book; the fcene and the actors of it are dif

ferent from Boccace, as Shakspeare's are from both; but the main of the ftory is the fame in all. We may venture to pronounce it a book of those times, and that early enough to have been us'd by Shakspeare, as I am perfuaded it was; though the copy that I have of it, is no older than 1620; it is a quarto pamphlet of only five fheets and a half, printed in black letter: fome reafons for my opinion are given in another place; (v. Winter's Tale) though perhaps they are not neceffary, as it may one day be better made appear a true one, by the difcovery of fome more ancient edition.

Hamlet.

About the middle of the fixteenth century, Francis de Belleforeft, a French gentleman, entertain'd his countrymen with a collection of novels, which he intitles-Hiftoires Tragiques; they are in part originals, part tranflations, and chiefly from Bandello: he began to publifh them in the year 1564; and continu'd his publication fucceffively in feveral tomes; how many I know not; the dedication to his fifth tome is dated fix years after. In that tome, the troifieme Hiftoire has this title;"Avec quelle rufe Amleth, qui depuis fut roy de Dannemarch, vengea la mort de fon pere Horvuendille, occis par Fengon fon frere, & autre occurrence de fon hiftoire." Painter, who has been mention'd before compil'd his Palace of Pleasure almost entirely from Belleforeft, taking here and there a novel as pleas'd him, but he did not tranflate the whole: other novels, it is probable, were tranflated by different people, and publifh'd fingly; this, at

least, that we are speaking of, was fo, and is intitl'd-The Hiflorie of Hamblet; it is in quarto, and black letter: there can be no doubt made, by perfons who are acquainted with these things, that the tranflation is not much younger than the French original; though the only edition of it that is yet come to my knowledge, is no earlier than 1608: that Shakspeare took his play from it, there can likewife be very little doubt.

1 Henry IV.

In the eleven plays that follow,-Macbeth, King John, Richard II. Henry IV. two parts, Henry V. Henry VI. three parts, Richard III. and Henry VIII. -the hiftorians of that time, Hall, Holinfhed, Stow, and others, (and, in particular, Holinfhed,) are pretty closely follow'd; and that not only for their matter but even fometimes in their expreffions: the harangue of the Archbishop of Canterbury in Henry V. that of Queen Catharine in Henry VIII. at her trial, and the king's reply to it, are taken from those chroniclers, and put into verfe: other leffer matters are borrow'd from them; and fo largely fcatter'd up and down in these plays, that whoever would rightly judge of the poet, must acquaint himself with thofe authors, and his character will not fuffer in the enquiry.

Richard III. was preceded by other plays written upon the fame fubject; concerning which, fee the conclufion of a note in this Introduction, at p. 284. And as to Henry V.-it may not be improper to obferve in this place, that there is extant another old play, call'd-The famous Vidories of Henry the

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Fifth, printed in 1617, quarto; perhaps by fome tricking bookfeller, who meant to impofe it upon the world for Shakspeare's, who dy'd the year before. This play-which opens with that prince's wildness and robberies before he came to the crown, and fo comprehends fomething of the ftory of both parts of Henry IV. as well as of Henry V.—is a very medley of nonfenfe and ribaldry; and, it is my firm belief, was prior to Shakspeare's Henries ; and the identical displeasing play" mention'd in the epilogue to 2 Henry IV.; for that fuch a play fhould be written after his, or receiv'd upon any flage, has no face of probability. There is a character in it call'd-Sir John Oldcastle; who holds there the place of Sir John Falftaff, but his very antipodes in every other particular, for it is all dulinefs and it is to this character that Shakspeare alludes, in thofe much-difputed paffages; one in his Henry IV. p. 184, and the other in the epilogue to his fecond part; where the words "for Oldcastle dy'd a martyr" hint at this miferable performance, and it's fate, which was damnation,

King Lear,

Lear's diftrefsful flory has been often told in poems, ballads, and chronicles: but to none of thefe are we indebted for Shakspeare's Lear; but to a filly old play which made it's first appearance in 1605, the title of which is as follows:-"The True Chronicle Hi- ftory of King LEIR, and his three daughters, Gonorill, Ragan, | and Cordella, As it hath been divers and fundry | times lately aced. | LONDON, | Printed by Simon Stafford for

John | Wright, and are to bee fold at his fhop at Chriftes Church dore, next Newgate-market. 1605. (4° I. 4.)-As it is a great curiofity, and very fcarce, the title is here inferted at large: and for the fame reafon, and alfo to fhew the ufe that Shakspeare made of it, fome extracts fhall now be added.

The author of this Leir has kept him close to the chronicles; for he ends his play with the reinftating King Leir in his throne, by the aid of Cordella and her hufband. But take the entire fable in his own words. Towards the end of the play, at fignature H. 3. you find Leir in France: upon whofe coaft he and his friend Perillus are landed in fo neceffitous a condition, that, having nothing to pay their paffage, the mariners take their cloaks, leaving them their jerkins in exchange: thus attir'd, they go up further into the country; and there, when they are at the point to perifh by famine, infomuch that Perillus offers Leir his arm. to feed upon, they light upon Gallia and his queen, whom the author has brought down thitherward, in progrefs, difguis'd. Their difcourfe is overheard by Cordella, who immediately knows them; but, at her husband's perfuafion, forbears to discover herfelf a while, relieves them with food, and then afks their flory; which Leir gives her in thefe words:

Leir. Then know this firft, I am a Brittayne borne,
"And had three daughters by one loving wife:
And though I fay it, of beauty they were fped;
Ffpecially the youngeft of the three,

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"For her perfections hardly matcht could be: On thefe I doated with a jelous love,