. ' Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/accountofenglishOOIang A N ACCOUNT OF THE Englifh Dramatick POET S. : Q R, • , Some OBSERVATIONS •" 'And • -• • R E'MAR K S On the Lives and Writings, of all thole that have Publifh’d either Comedies, Trage- dies,Tragi-Comedies,Paftorals,Mafques, Interludes, Farces, or Opera’s in the ENGLISH TONGUE, By Gerard Langbaine. O X F 0 R *5, Printed by L.L. for GEORGE WEST, and HENRY CLEMENTS. An. Dorn. i6qi. 1 To The RIGHT HONOURABLE JAMES, Earl of HB ING TO N, Baron NORREYS, ofRicoTT; Their Majesties Ld Lieutenant o{ OXFORDSHIRE. My Lord,, I Should not have prefumd to have prefix'd Jo Great a Name to fo mean a IVorh, had I not been fufficiently affurd that Candour and Good- nefs, are not the ieaft of thofe Excellent Qualities, which have acquir'd Tou the Love and Efleem of all that have the Honour to know Tou. ' Tis this Confedera- tion, joy rid with the Experience of Tour Lor dfhip' s former Fa- vours, which rais'd me to the Con- fidence of expreffing my Obliga- tions to Tour Honour, by dedica - . a % tin? The Epistle Dedicatory. ting not fo much the following Sheets, as My Self, the Compiler of them , to Tour Lord/hip s Ser- vice. But Jam afraid loth the Tiece aud its Author, are fo in- confiderable in them} elves, and fo unworthy of Tour Lord/hif s Eye & Regard; that my Offering will Jeem to moft Men, to have more of Trefumption than Gratitude in it. And truly, My Lord, lam fo fenfible of the Objection, That tho ’ I would willingly Jhroud my felf under Tour Lord/hif s Ta- tronage, yet I dare not in the leaf implore it for the Effay it felf ; which hath fo many faults, that fome may be apt to cen- fure the whole Undertaking as an unpardonable One : and lam unwilling that Tour Lord/hif s Name flooud be ufed, in the de- fence of a Trifle, which it ?night have The Epistle Dedicatory. have been perhaps more for thb Author's Credit to have conceal'd than publi/h'd. And now having [aid thus much in Excufe of my [elf, I muftcon- fefi I was never under a greater Temptation , to fay fame thing, ac- cording to the Modern Cuftome of Dedicat ions , in Traife of Tour LP; hut that I fear Ifoould need ano- ther kind of Apology , Jhould I at- tempt to give a Char after of Tour Terfonal Worth and Excellency ; or enlarge upon thofe Eminent Ser- vices,with which Tou have obligd both Tour Trince and Country, in the mo ft hazardousT ryals of Tour Loyalty fyAff eft ion to each, when either the Rights of the Or own, or the Liberties of the Teople call d for Tour AJJiJlance : Tour Lord) hip beingjlill one of iheV\xft.,that was content to have thefe Tour Obliga - a 3 tions The Epistle Dedicatory. lions cancell d and forgotten; and who never faffed d either the Ca- refjes of theCourt,or the Applauje of the Populac e/o tempt Tou from Tour'Dutj/yOrlburTofl: But having adorn'd theGreatOfficeTou under- took, and nobly defended the Re- ligion Tou profejldfby fleering be- twixt the hot bla/ls of Zeal the colder calms of Indifferency ) Tou generoufly declin d to make Tour Services appear mercenary > or by raifing Tour Self to a higher Sta- tion , give the IVorld occafion to fu- fpeCt that Tou courted Virtue and Religioner any other than their own Rewards : IVhich that Tour JLord/hip may happily enjoy is the Conflant and Affectionate JVi/h of Your Lordship’s Moft Oblig’d, F aithful and Humble Servant, GERARD LANGBAINE. The PREFACE. MY former Catalogue of Plays, in fpite of the Malice and poor De- fignes of fome of the Poets and their Agents, to deftroy its Reputation, (by printing a Spurious Title-page, and an uncorre&ed Preface) has notwithftand- ing found fo kind a Reception from the Generality of Unbyafs’d Judges; that I thought my lelf oblig’d by Gratitude, as well as Promife, to revife it : tho’ it were only to purge it of thole Errata’s contrafted in the former Edition. I am fo far from relenting what I have en- terprise, ( as fome have been pleas’d to report) that I am only forry that my Pow- er is not equal to the Zeal I have for the Memory of thole Illuftrious Authors, the Clafficks, as well as thole later Wri- ters of our own Nation, Mr ShakeJJxar , Fletcher , John f on, Cotv ley, &c. that 1 might be capable of doing them better Service, in vindicating Their Fame, and in expo- ling our Modern Plagiaries , by detecting Part of their Thefts. I fay Part , becaufe I cannot be fuppos’d to have trac’d them a 4 in The Treface. in All: And having no Partners in my Bifcovery, it cannot be expected but that many things .will efcape my Obfervation. However, this may ferve for a Hint to o- thers ; who being better vers’d in Books, may build upon the Foundation which is here laid. And who ever perufes the fol- lowing Sheets, will find the Obfervation of Paulus Jovius , to be very applicable to mod of the Poets of* this Age ; CaJIrant alios , lit Libros fuos per ft gracilesyalieno adi - pe ftjfarciant. But how juft loever my Defign may feem to un prejudic’d dreaders, I muft ex- pert to be loudly exclaim’d againft, if not openly a {faulted by thofe Poets , who may think themfelves injur’d in their Reputar tion by the following Remarks: But I am already prepar’d for the worft ; having learnt from the Author of Abfalom and Achitopbel (*), i That how honeft foever ‘ the Delign be, he who draws his Pen for * One Party, muft expect to make Ene- ■ inies of the Other ; and every Man is a ‘ Knave or an Afs to the contrary fide. I iliall therefore leave the Poets to their own Management, whilft I addrefs my felf to my difingag’d Reader, whom I hope to find (*$) It the Epi/ilt • . ; Fa- The Treface. Favourable, to One who aims only at his Diverfion ; and intends never to trouble the World again on this Subject. I have endeavour’d to make this Piece as uleful as the Subject wiould bear, or my Abilities reach ; and I am almoft confi- dent, that they who were fatisfied with my former Catalogue , will be much more favourable to This Account of the Drama- tick Poets : fi nee they will find This fo dif- ferent from That , both in Form and Mat- ter, that it may juftly be ftil’d A New Book. In the Firft place then I have given a fuecin£t Account of the Time in which moft of the Ancient Poets liv’d ; the place of their Nativity, Quality, Death, Writ- ings, &c. in a larger manner than either Mr. Philips or Mr. Winftanley ; and have collected all the material Paffages of their Lives, which I found fcattered in Doctor Puller , Lloydd , d ‘Woody &c. into One Vo- lume, for the greater Eafe of the Rea - dery and Advantage to the Work. I have not indeed always cited my Autho- rities, to avoid loading the Page ; tho’I here once for all make my ^publick Ac- knowledgment to the Fore-mention’d, as well as other worthy Writers, to whom I have The Treface. have been oblig’d in the compiling this Treatife. Neither have I omitted to ap- ply my felf to feveral Perfons now living for Information, feme of which promis’d me great matters ; which occafioned my deferring the Publication for lome time : but I found that the Memoires I expected from London , were like to arrive with Cardinal Perron's Manufcripts from Rome; which he was to make ufe of in his Vindi- cation of Henry le Grand: and that fhould I have flay’d for the completion of thefe Promifes, the Louvre would have fooner been finifbt than my Book. Secondly, I have in this Edition, given the Reader a large Account of the Title- page of each Play which I have feen, as the Double Titles ; the Place where a&ed, the Date when printed, and the Perfon to whom Dedicated; with other Obferva- ons, which might obiter occur or relate more immediately to each Play. Thirdly, As to thofe Plays founded on Hiftory, inlfead of One or Two, ( as for- merly) I have cited moft of the Hiftori- ans that have treated on that Subje£fc, that the Reader might compare the Play, with the Original Story . I have not mention’d fo many Authors, out of hopes of being count- The Preface. counted Induftrious, or to beget an Opi- nion in the World of my Reading : Tho* as an Ingenious Author obferves *, ‘ This ‘Humor poffelfeth many Men, that brag ‘of many Books Coming under their Dil- ‘ covery : as if not only with the Mice they ‘had crept through the Crannies of all ‘ Libraries ; but alio with the Mothes , had ‘ got betwixt the Leaves of all Treatifes * therein. I am fo far from affeCling Title- Learning, in which every Bookfeller would perhaps excel me, that I am willing to acknowledge to the Reader, that I am owing to the Compendious Collections of Historians and Chronologers, for their Di- rections,to find any Story or ACtion in the Original Author ; and therefore fhall ac- count it no leflening to my Reputation to be trac’d in Calvifius , Spondanus , Lloyd, Mo- reri, and the like. Fourthly, As to the Drammas , which are founded on Romances or Forreign Plays, I have much enlarg’d my Remarks ; hav- ing employ’d a great p rt(if not too much) of my Time in reading Plays and Novels, in feveral Languages ; by which means I have difcovered many more Thefts than thole in the former Catalogue ; and have (*) Fuller’; cbr* Hip* f. 43* 1 (for The T rtf ace . ( for the Readers Eafe, as well as my own Vindication) cited the particulars of each Plagiary, to obviate an Objection of a certain Poet, who profefles he has not ftollen half of what I then accufed him of. What Reception this Piece may find in the World, I am not very follicitous, nor greatly concern’d : fince (as the Judicious Sr. Robert Howard has obferv’d *) ‘Things ‘ of this Nature, tho’ never fo Excellent, or * never fo Mean, have feldome prov’d the * Founda tion of Men’s New- built Fortunes, ‘ or the Ruineof their Old. I am fo far from valuing my felf upon this Performance, that if there be any thing in it worth Commendation, the Poets are at liberty to father it upon whom they pleafe,or claim it as their own , without my taking any offence at it : And if I can but be fo happy as to obtain a Pardon from the more folid part of Mankind,for having mif-fpent my Time in thefe Lighter Studies, I promife for the future, , to imploy my felf on Sub- jects pf more Weight and Importance. (*) FwfHo 4 Flays FoL GER. LAKGBAIKE. The Authors Names. A. William Alexander E.ofSterline. i Robert Armin. 6 B. Abraham Baily. 6 John Banckroft. 6 John Banks. 7 Barnaby Barnes. 9 Robert Baron. 1 o Lodowick Barrey. 14 Francis Beaumont. 14 Capt. Will. Bedloe. ly Mrs.AJlraa Behn. 17 D abridge c. Belch ier. 24 Richard Bernard. 2.4 A?.Boyle E.Orrery. 2,7 Mrs. Fran. Boothby. 2 .6 Samuel Brandon. 3 o Anthony Brewer. 30 Alexander Brome. 31 Richard Brome. 3 3 Fulk Lord Brook. 3 8 Henry Burkhead. 41 Henry Burnel. 42 C. Lady Eliz. Carew. 43 Thomas Carew. 43 Lodowic^CarlclL 45- James Carlifle. 49 Richard Carpenter, jo Will. Carthwright. jri Rob. Chamberlain, $6 Will. Chamberlain. y6 George Chapman. 57 Sir AJlon Cockain. £7 Edward Cook. 7 1 John Cook. 72 John Corey. 73 Charles Cotton. 74 Abraham Cowley. 77 Robert Cox. 89 John Crown. 90 Z>. John Dancer. 97 Samuel Daniel. 100 Dr. Ch. Davenant ir<» Sr. Will. Davenant. 106 Robert Davenport. ii(> Robert Dabourn 117 John Day. 1 1 8 Thomas Decker. 121 Sr. John Denham. 1 2$- Jjohn Dover. 129 John Dryden. 130 Thomas Duffet, 177 Thomas Durfey. 1 79 E. Edw. Eccleflon. r8>“ Sr. Geo. Etheridge. 186 F. The Authors Names. F. Sr. Fr. F ane, Jun. 1 8 8 Sr. Rich. F ranfhaw. 190 L. Fife. Falkland, 197 /Nathaniel Field. 198 Richard Fleknoc. 199 "John Fletcher. 203 Jihn Ford. 219 Thomas Ford. 222 John Fountain. 223 Atraham Fraunce. 223 Sr. Ralph Freeman. 226 Ulpian Fulwel. 227 G. Gecrge Gafcoigne. 228 Htrtry Glapthorn. 231 Thmas Goff! 233 Rolert Gomerfal. 237 Franc. Goldfmith. 238 Alex. Green. 241 Robert Green. 241 H. Will. Habington. 243 Peter Hauflead. 244 Rickard Head. 246 Will Hemtnings. 247 Jafper Heywood. 248 John Hey wood. 273 Thomas Heywood. 25- <5 Bar ten Hollyday. 270 Charles Hool. 272 Edw. Howard. 274 James Ho ward. 27 s >ir. Floward. 276 James Howel. 277 Thomas Jevorn. 280 Thomas Ingeland. 280 Benjamin Joh nfon . 280 Thomas Jordan. 306 William Joyner. 3 08 Henry Killegrew . 3 09 Thomas Killegrew. 311 xST./^/ZKiilegrew. 314 Thomas Kirke. 3 iy Ralph Knevet. 315 Thomas Kyd. 3 id L. John Lacy. 317 John Leanard. 319 Nathaniel Lee. 320 John Lilly. 3 27 Thomas Lodge. 330 Sr. William Lower. 332 Thomas Lupon. 334 M. Lewis Machin. 334 John Maidwell. 3 3^ Br.Jafper Main. 33d Cofmo Manuch. 338 Gervafe Markham. 340 Chrijloph. Marloe. 342 Shaker leyMo. rmion. 345- Marfton. 347 Mafon. 35-2 Thil. Maffinge r. 3^2 Thomas May. 360 Re-. Robert Mead. %6$- Mattb. Medbourn 366 Thomas Meriton. 367 Tho. Middleton 370 John Milton. 3 75- Walt. Mountague. 377 #77/ Mountfort. 3 78 A': Thomas Nabbes. 3 79 Thomas Nafh. 381 Alex. Nevile. Ib. Robert Nevile. 384. Duke o/"Newcaflle. 3 8.5- Dutch. Newcaflle. 390 Thomas Newton. 394 Thomas Nuce. 39^ O. Thomas Otway. 39^ T. John Pallgrave. 400 GVorge Peel. 401 Tjjfy Pembroke. 402 The Authors Names, y — Mrs.Kath. Philips. 403 Sam. Pordage Henry Porter. Thomas Porter. George Powel. Thomas Prefton. Edm. Preftwith. Francis Quarks. R. Thomas Randolph. 411 £V«?.Ravcnfcroft. 417 4o5 /*. 407 Ib. 408 409 409 Thomas Rawlins. Edward Revet. Nath. Richards. William Rider. William Rowley. Samuel Rowley. Jofeph Rutter. Thomas Rymer. £ Tho.St. Serf. William Sampfbn. George Sandy s. Charles Saunders. Elkanah Settle. Tho. Shadwell. W <11. Shakefpear. Lewis Sharpe. Edw. Sharpham. S. Shepheard. Ed. Sherbourn. Tho. Shipman. Hen. Shirley. James Shirley. Sir Charles Sidky. 48* John Smith. 488 Will. Smith. Ibid. Tho. Southern. 489 Tho. Stanley. Ibid. Sir Rob. Stapleton. 49 r John Stephens. 49 ; Will. Strode. Ibid. JohnSiwdXty. 494 Sir John Suckling. 496 Gilbert Swinhoe. 499 Na- 4H W 42,6 417 428 43® Ib. 432 434 43^ 435 438 439 442 4H 4^9 47o 47t 472, 472 Ibid 474 The jftithorsltf ames. r. Nathaniel T ate. 500 John Tateham. yo2. Robert Taylour. 503 ‘Tho. Thomfon. Ibidx Mich. Trott. 504 Rich. Tuke. Ibid. Coll. S. Tuke. 505 Cyi/Turneur. Ibid. John Tutchin. 50 6 tV. Lewis Wager. 5-06 Edm. Waller. 507 Geo.WapuI. 508 Will. Wayer. “> .A*. Weaver. >508 Webfter. \ Watlon 51 o Whitaker. 511 Dr. Rob. Wild. lb. Leon. Willan. Ib. George Wilkins. 51a Rob. Wilmot. Ibid. John Wilfon. Ibid. Rob Wright 514 mil. Wytcherley. Ib. r. Rob. Y arrington. 516 The Names of the Authors in the Appendix. Jofeph Harris. Tho. Sack vile, and Tho. Norton Mr. Wilfon. t * ] y ACCOUNT OF THE Dramatick Poets. A. William Alexander., Earl of Sterline. OU R Alphabet begins with this wor- thy Nobleman, who was a Scot by Birth ; and liv’d in the Time of King James the Firft of England \ and the Sixth of Scotland. All that I am able to ac- quaint my Readers with, concerning his pri- vate Affairs, or Family, is only this fhort ac- count ; that he was much in Favour with his Sovereign, and Father to the prefent Earl of Sterline. The Occafion of his being mention’d in our Catalogue, is, from four Monarchic k Tragediesy (as he ftiles them,) which are in Print under his Name, viz. The Alexandrian Tragedy , Crcef'us, T)axmsy znd Julius Cat far. Thefe Plays feem to be writ with great A Judg~ 2 An Account of the Judgment, and (if I miftake not) the Author Jtas propos’d the Ancients, for his Pattern ; hv bringing in the Chorus between the Ads. They are grave, and lententious, throughout, like the Tragedies of Seneca \ and yet where the foft.er,and more tender Paflions are touch ’t , they feem as moving, as the Plays lo much in vogue with the Ladies of this Age. The greateff objedion that I know againlfc them, is the Choice the Author has made of his Verfe, which is alternate, like the Quatrains of the French Poet Pibroch; or Sr. tVilliam ‘Davenant's Heroick Poem , call’d Gondibert. This meafure of Verfe has lately been found fault with by an Eminent Critick ( a ) not- withflandmg what Sr. JViUiam ( b ) has urg’d in its Defence. I (hall not pretend to decide the Controverfy, blit leave it to my Reader, to perufe both their Arguments at leifure. It may poffibly be objegled that his Stile is not pure, but as the Author has already pleaded his Country, (c) fo he ought to be excus'd by all Englilh Cmicks, having given the pre- ference to our Tongue, as exceeding the Scotch '2}m/ci%boih in Elegance and Perfection. His Tragedies, are all df'them founded on Hiftory, and he basic flndlyty’d himfelf to it, that even his Epijodes , (which ufually, are the foie Invention of every Author) are found- ed on Truth like wile. The Alexandrian Tragedy is a proof of this ; (a) Mr. KymAi Pref. to Kapi>i'i IV.H:£liOcns on Anftr.U’s Trettife of Poetry, (b) Prcfzce to Go4dibarl. (cj Epiflle to Viths ' accomplices , attempted to poyfon her husband. This Book is in quarto, printed in Tondoni6oy. B. Abraham Baily. ( * V* * A uJlv. -*•*.». * V. As \ x . A Gentleman of whom I can give no other Information, than that he has extant a Play called The Spightful S/Jler , printed in 4©; but where or when, I am not able to give an Account; the Title-page, Dedication and Pre- face ( if there be any ) being deficient in my Copy. But if I may be permitted to fpeak my Sentiments of the Play it felf, I believe the Author has ftollen neither his Chara£ters nor Language from any other; and I prefume, thofe that have read the Character of My Lord Occus in particular ; JVhiifredpxi& the reft in general, will be of my opinion. John Bancroft. A Gentleman, who is the Author of a Tra- gedy called Ser torms j a£ted at the Tbeatre- , ' : t Royal Dramatick Poets . 7 Royal by their Majejlies Servants; printed in quarto Lond. 1 679. ’Tis dedicated to Cap. tain Richard Savage ; and the Epilogue was w ri t by Mr. Ravenfcrof't. The Elder Corneille lias writ a Play on the fame fubje£t, which I have read ; but fhall leave it to the decilion of bet- ter judgments to ' determine which is bell. Thole who would read the foundation of this Play may confult Tlut arch y$ Life of Ser forms : Velleius "Paterculus lib. a. Florus lib. z.c. zi. &c. John Banks. A Perfon now living, and if I miffake not, a Member ol the Honourable Society of JSfew- Inn : One whole Genius to Poetry led him to make feveral Attempts on the Stage, with diffe- rent fuccdfs : but of whom I may fay with ju- ftice, that if he be not accounted a Poet of the firfl form, yet he bears up with his Contempo- raries of the fecond. His Genius lays wholly to Tragedy; and he has had the Fortune to pleafe the fair Sex in the Earl of EJfex , and Anna Button. He has five Plays in print, of which in their Alphabetical Order. DeJlruElion of Trey, a Tragedy, acted at his Royal Highnels the T)uhe> $ Theatre, printed in quarto Lond. 1679. and dedicated to the Right Honourable the Lady Katherine Roos. If this Play fall fhort of Shah [pear's Troijus and CreJJida , at lealt it furpafles Htywood’ s Iron Age ; and how unkind foever the Criticks were to it, I believe they have feen worfe Tragedies on the Stage. Various are the Authors that have toucht on this fubjeft, as Homer } Virgil , A Olid, 8 An Account of tht Ovid, fee. but none more fully than DaresThry - gins, and 'Dibits Cretenjis : though Learned Men fuppofe thofe pieces we have under their Names, to be ipurious : yet Natalis Cowes has turned 2 iares into Latin Verle : and our Coun- tryman Lydgate into old Englijh Meetre. IJland Queens, or The TeaUl) e/ Mary Queen of Scotland, a Tragedy : publilhed only in defence of the Author and the Play, againll fome mi£ taken Cenfnres occalioned by us being prohi- bited the Stage, printed in Quarto Lond. 1684. and dedicated to the Illuftrious Princefs, Mary Dutchefs of Norfolk. Molt Hiltorians of thole Times have written her Story, as well For- reigners, as our own : See Buchanan , Speed, in , the Reign of Q ^Elizabeth, Camden, T>u chefne , Brantome $ Memoirs, Caufin' s Holy Court. Nay even Writers of Romances have thought her Story an ornament to their Work ; witnefs the Princefs Cloria, where part a. her Story is fuc- cinilly related, and Ihe pourtrayed under the title of Minerva Queen of Myfia. Rival Kings , or The Loves o/’Oroondates and Statira ; a Tragedy in Heroick Verfe, ailed at the Theatre-Royal; printed in quarto 1 6*7^7. and dedicated to the Right Honourable the Lady Katherine Herbert. The Play is founded chiefly on CaJJ’andra, a lamed Romance in Fol. As to what concerns Alexander , I refer you to Cur- tius, andjujlin. Ter t tie betrayed, or Anna BuUen ; a T ragedy, ailed at his RoyalHighnefs the2>»^6or of thatjhas nude his * leem quite another Story from this* Mr .Baron has follow’d not only the Honourable Sr. Tho • mas Herbert's printed Account in his Travels, but likewife made ufe of a Manufcript Letter, which Sr. Dodmore Cotton, (Embaflador to sib* has King of Terfia, from King Charles the Firft in the Year 1 6x6. ) lent to a Friend of his in Cambridge, according to which Letter, he pro- fecuted the Story throughout. The Author leems to have propos’d for his pattern the fa mou s Catiline, writ by Ben. John- fon: and has in feveral places not only hit the model of his Scenes : but even imitated the Language tolerably, for a young Writer. Who- ever pleafes to compare the Ghofl of Emir* batnze-mirza, with that of Scilla , may eafily fee his Imitation, but that being too long to tranferibe, I {hall fet down the firft words of Catiline , in that admirable Play ; and after- wards thole of Abbas, and then fubmit my opi- nion to my Reader’s judgment. Catiline , A<5t firft. Jt is decreed: Nor dull thy fate, 0 Rome Bejijl my Toxu. Though hills were fet on hills, Andfeas met fe as, to guard thee ; 1 would thro': I'll plough up Bocks, deep as the Alpes,z« dujl : Ana lave the Tyrhene waters into clouds ; But I would reach thy he ad, thy headproudCiiy. (■) Eptftlc io:hc Reader, M‘irzai Dramatick Poets. 1} t jMirza, A&. firft. The vow is made , nor Jha/l thy flattering Fate, O Mirza, contradiSi it ; though thy 7 roops Stood like a wall about thee , nay tho' Jove Prefs all the gods to guard thee , and fhould arm Them every one with thunder ,/ would through : I'll tear the groundjells of thy Towers up\ And make their nodding Spires kjfs the centre. But I will reach thy heart, thy heart , proud \ViBor. This is the firft Author taken notice of, ei- ther by Mr. Phillips (fa) in his Theatrum Poe- tarum , or his Tranfcriber Mr. IVinjlanley, in his Lives of the Englijh Poets : (c) and though neither of them give any other Account of our Author, but what they colle&ed from my for- mer Catalogue printed 1680. yet through a miftake in the method of that Catalogue, they have aferib’d many Anonymous Plays to the fore- going Writers, which belonged not to them : and thus have committed miftakes in almoft all the Dramatick Writers they have handled. To give an Inftance in this Author : they both alcnbe to him ‘Don Quixote, or The Knight of the ill-favoured Countenance, a Comedy ; I know not whence they had their Intelligence : but I never heard or read any inch Play, nor do I believe there is any other Book which bears that title, except the fam’d Romance, written by the admirable Pen of that famous Spanijh Author, Miguel de Cervantes. They have like- wife aferibed feveral other Dramatick Pieces to this Author, which I dare be confident, are pV 16 Wpag- ' not 14 An Account of the not of his W tiring ; as ‘Dick Sc'orner, DeflruFlion of Jertifulem, Marriage of JVit and Science , CMa/fues, and Interludes ; ana have omitted two oth^r Pieces written by him. viz. Toems , octavo, and a Book intituled , An Apology for laris. Neither do I believe Mr. ‘Phillips % Ac- count, that any of his Pieces appear’d on the Stage. I (hall conclude all with the following Anagram, written by his Friend Mr .John % uaxlesy fometitnes of St. Refers College in Cambridge. , 5ROBERTUS BARONUS. 7 iaia' JRARUS AB ORBE NOTUS.J§ialn* Rarus, hand cuiquam peperit Natura fecundmn . Mottos esy & fcriptis (Baron) ab orbe tuis. Lodowick Barrey. • An Author that liv’d in the middle of the Reign of King fames the Firft: who writ a Play call’d Ram- Alley , or Merry Tricks , a Comedy, divers times heretofore Afted : by the Children of the Kings Revels ; and printed in quarto, Lond. 161 1. The Plot of Will Small- fbavh, decoying the Widow Taffeta into Mar- riage, is borrow’d (as I fuppofe) from the fame Author, from whence Kirfman took the Story which is to be found in the Fnghjh Rogue , Part the IV, Chap. ip. and is an Incident in other Plays betides this ; particularly in Killegrevd s Tarjons Wedding. Francis Beaumont. See Fletcher. Cap- Dramatick Poets. 1 5 Captain William Bedloe. A Perfon fo remarkable in this Nation not many years fince, on the Account of the Popilh Plot ; that few are ignorant of his part of the difcovery. I Ihall not pretend here, to give you an account of his Life, but refer you to that which was written by an Unknown Hand, intituled, The Life and Death of Captain tVilli- am Bedloe , printed in otStavo, Lond. 1681. The Reafon why we mention him in our Catalogue is, on account of a Play writ by him, called, The Excommunicated ‘Prince : or. The falfe Relick : a Tragedy Ailed by his Ho- linefs’s Servants : being The Popifo Plot , in a Play? printed in folio, Lond. 1679. Dedicated to nis Grace the Duke of Buckingham. I muft confefs, I was very defirous to read this Piece for the hike of the Title-page, and came to it with great expeditions; but found them al- together fruitrated, and only a Story which I had formerly read in Dr. Heylin\ Geography •, deferibed in it. But afterwards when his Life came out, I was fatisfied with the Account the Publifher gave of it : which for the Readers Information, and the Juflification of the De- ceafed, I lhall quote word for word. (d ) ‘In the next place, I delire leave to ‘ fpeak fomething of his Dramatick Poem , call’d iThe Excommunicated Prince , or, The Falfe c Relick. As to the worth of the Play, I do own ‘my lei f fo unskilful in Poetry, that I will ‘not ralhly pretend to give my opinion of it. ( d ) bee nis Lite, pag, j 10. 1 6 An Account of the ‘But that which I know, let me ailert in its ‘vindication, viz. That it was both began and ‘ fimfht in the fpace of two Months, which ‘ every one muft needs acknowledge was but a ‘ very fhort time, confidering the great bufi- ‘ nefs that then more earnellly imploy’d his ‘ thoughts, which mull neceflarily be a weighty ‘clog to the ablelt Mufe. Whereas fome of ‘ the chiefefl Poets of this Age have thought it ‘ no difparagement to confefs, that a correct ‘ Play to be perfected, will require at leaft ‘twelve Months time. And I remember in ‘fome Prologue, I think in that to the Eirtuojbj *1 have read this Diltick to the fame purpofe. Si ! 'Play , like Ground ’ mufl a. Tear Fallow lyef Ere it can ripen to good Comedy. ‘This conlider’d, (and it being the firft * EBay he ever fini fil’d of this Nature) what ‘ few miffcakes are found in his Play, may be ‘ eafily excus’d. But belides its real faults, the ‘ errors of the Prcfs, and what it fuffers thro’ 4 the prejudice and malice of the Author’s ‘ Adverf tries, I do not at all wonder if even ‘ the mo ft impartial Reader too, fliould look ‘feverelyon it, feeing he is promis’d in the ‘ Title-page, what he can never find in the ‘Book. It would fain cozen him to believe ‘ that he flu 11 meet with the Popifh Plot re- ‘prefented in that Play, though I have heard ‘ Mr. Bedloe often fay he never intended any ‘ fuch thing. The Hiftory he defigned, may, ‘as I am inform’d, be read in feveral Aufhen- ‘ ti k Authors ; but in Heyliris Geography 1 re- ‘membcr I met with it my fclf. So may any ‘ that Drttmatick Poets. i j t that will perufe his Hiftory of Georgia. Mr. t Bedloe well knew it was againft his Intereft < fo for to ridicule the Plot, as to compofe a < Play of it; and he had more judgment in. c Poetry, than to imagine that fuch a new < thing would pleafe in T ragedy. And leaf! any < one fhould fufpeil that hisdefigndid in the i leall incline that way, he writ an Epiftle to < allure his Reader of the contrary. Which c the Stationer, (fuppofing under that pretence , or Sr. Timothy Treat- Ally a Comedy Ailed at his Royal Highnefs his Theatre, printed in quarto, Lond. 1682. and Dedicated to the Right Honourable Henry Earl of Arundely and Lord Mowbray. This Play had the luck to be well receiv’d in the Town: yet I cannot but take notice that mofl of the Charailers are borrow’d ; as thole of Sir Timothy Treat-all and his Nephew, from Sir Bounteous Trogrefs , and Folly-wit , in 0 "Middle- ton's dMad IVorld my Majlers : and thole of Sir Anthony MerrywellynA his Nephew Sr.Charlesf from Durazzo and CaldorOy in MaJJenger's Guar- dian. Part of the Language in each Play is likewile tranferib’d. As for the Plot of Sir Timothy ’s endeavouring to fupplant his Ne- phew of his Millrifs, ’tis the fame Defign with other Plays, as Ram- Alley , and Trick to Catch the Old One. ‘Dutch Lover y a Comedy Ailed at the Duke’s Theatre, printed in quarto, Lond. 1673. The Plot of this Play is founded on a Spanilh Ro- mance, written by the ingenious Don Fran - eifeo delas Cover as fliled Don Fenifey fee the Stories of Eufemiey and Theodore , DonJamCy and Frederick. Emperor of the Moony a Farce, Ailed by Their Majefly’s Servants, at the Queen’s Theatre, printed in quarto, Lond. 1687. and Dedicated to the Lora Marquefs of Worcejter. This Farce was originally Italian and Ailed in France Eighty odd times without inter- million, under the Title of Harlequin l 'Em- 'S x percur 20 An Account of the pereur dans k Monde de la Lune : but much al- ter’d, and adapted to our Englifh Theatre. Forc'd Marriage , or 'The Jealous Bridegroom , a Tragi-Comedy ; Ailed at his Highneis the Duke of Tork'% Theatre, and printed in quarto, Lond. 1671. This, if I miftake not, was the firft Play that our Authrefs brought on the Stage. Falj'e Count , or A Neva IV ay to play an Old Game, a Comedy Ailed at the Duke’s Theatre, and printed in quarto, Fond. j68a. The Hint of JfabeUa being deceiv’d by Guillaume the Chimney-fweeper, is borrow’d from Molliere' s Les ‘Preaeufes Ridicules. Feign'd Courtezans , or a Nights Intrigue , a Comedy, ailed at the Duke s Theatre, printed in quarto, Lond. 1679. and Dedicated to Mrs. Ellen Guin. This Comedy I take to be One of the bell {he has written. Luc !(ey Chance , or an Alderman's, Bargain ; a Comedy ailed by Their Ma jellies? Servants, printed 40, Lond. 1687. and Dedicated to theR* Hon Laurence Ld Hyde , E.of Rochejler. Tho’ fome Criticks decry a this Play, yet whoever will confult the Author’s Preface, will find the Objcihcns fully anfwer’d : however I mull obferve that the Incident of Gayman’s enjoy- ing the Lady Fulbanck , and taking her for the Devil, is copied from Mr. Alexander Kickjhavo and the Lady Aretina , in the Lady of Tkafure. Rover, or The Banijht Cava leers , in Two parts, both of them Comedies, Ailed at the Duke’s Theatre, and printed in quarto, Lond. 1677, and 1681. the Second Part being Dedi- cated to his Royal Highnefs the Duke. Thefe Dramatick Poets. 2 1 are the only Comedies, for the Theft of which, I condemn this ingenious Authorefs ; they be- ing fo excellent in their Original, that ’tis pity they fhould have been alter’d : and notwith- ftanding her Apology in the Poftlenpt to the firfl part; I cannot acquit her of prevarica- tion, lince Angelica, is not the only Jlol’n Objecty as flie calls it: flie having borrow’d largely throughout. The truth is, the better to dii- guife her Theft, flie has (as the ingenious Scarron oblerves of the W riters of Romances,) ( « ) Fledd the Eel by beginning at the Tail; yet notwithfl:anding,what Ihe has omitted of worth in her firfl: part, (he has taken into the fecond; and therefore could not juflly call thefe Plays her own. Round-heads , or The good Old Caufe , a Co- medy ailed at the Duke’s Theatre, printed in quarto, Lond. 1682,. and Dedicated to the Molt Illufirious Prince, Henry Fitz-Roy , Duke of Grafton. A great part of the Language of this Play, is borrow’d from Tateham’s Rump , or a Mirror of the Times; but yet flie has a better Ti- tle to this Play, than the former, having much improv’d the Humor of the Round-heads . Sr Patient Fancy, a Comedy Ailed at the Duke’s Theatre ; printed in quarto, Lond. 16^8. The Hint of Sr. Patient Fancy , is borrow’d from a F rench Play called Le Malade imagi- naire : and the Charailers of pag. 2. ~ B 5 Town An Account of the Town Fop, or .Sr. Timothy Tawdrey , a Co- medy, ailed at his Royal Highnefs the Duke’s Theatre, printed in quarto, Lond. itfyy. The foundation of this Play, is a Comedy writ by George JVilkins , call’d The Miferies of inforc’d Marriage ; from which not only the Plot, but a great part of the Language is Rol’n. Widbw Ranter , or 'The Hiftory of Bacon in Virginia, a Tragi-Comedy ailed by Their Ma- jeflies Servants, printed in quarto, Lond. i6po. and dedicated to the Much Honored Madam W eldon by G. J. a Friend to the Authrefs, by whom this Play was publifht after her Deceale. I refer the Reader to this Epiffcle for the Plays jollification : only I cannot but obferve, that the Prologue was written Ten years lince,and publifht before Mr. Shadwell’sTrue JVidow : and if I millake not the Epilogue is Old like j wife. For the Story of Bacon I know no HiRor_, that relates it, but his CataRrophe is founded on the known Rory of CaJJius , who periihed by the Hand of his freed-Man Dandorus , be- lieving his Friend Brutus vanquiflied. Toting King, or The <3TJtake, a Tragi-Co- xnedy ailed at the Duke’s Theatre, printed in quarto, Lond. 1683. and dedicated to iome Gentleman her particular Friend, under the Name of ‘Philafter. The Defign of this Play is borrow’d from Monfieur Calpranede' s Cleo- patra, fee the Hillory of Alcamenes and Me- na'd a, Part VIII. ides thefe Plays this Ingenious Woman has publiflit fevera] other Works, both in Verfe and Profe. As a Colkition of Poems in Dramatic i k Poets . 2 $ in oftavo, Lond, 1684. and a Collection of fe- veral Others in oftavo, Lend. i68y. Another Volume in oftavo, Lond. 1688. amongft all which are many of her own Compoi'ures. Her le veral Verfions from the French are com- mended by thofewho think themfelves Judges of Wit; amongft which the chiefelt are, A Noyage to the IJlandof Love ; Lycidas , or The Lover in Fafhion ; and The Lover s W 2/rAThefe Pieces in the Original may be found in the iecond and third Tomes of LeReceueil desRieces Gall antes, en Trofe £y en Fers, 8° ‘Paris 1684. Thofe who will take the pains to compare them, will find theEnglifh rather Paraph rales, than juft Tranflations : but which fufticiently Ihew the Fancy and excellent Abilities of our Au th refs. She has written other Pieces in profe, which have had the fortune to pleafe, as The Love Letters between a Nobleman and his Sifter , in Three Volumes, oftavo Lond. 1684. fyc. Three Hiftories, printed in ofta vo, Lond. 1688. viz. Oroonoko , or The Royal Slave. 7 he fair Jilt, or Tar quin and Miranda. Agnes.de Cajlro , or The Force of Generous Love. There are two other fmall Novels under her Name, viz. Hiftory of the Nun , or The fair Now-breaker, iz° London 1689. The Lucky Miftake, ia« Lond. 1 689. What Opinion the Wits of the Age had of her, may appear from feveral Copies of Vcrfes written before her Tranllation of Monfipur Bonnecorfd s La Montreal The Watch ; amongft whom Mr. Charles Cotton , who was no con- temptible Poet, gives her the following Cha* rafter. B 4 Some 24 An Account of the Sme hands write fi me things wellbore elfewhere But on all T beams your power is the fame, [lame: Of Buskin, and of Sock, you know the Pace ; And tread in both with equal Skill and Grace. But when you write of Love, Affcrca then Love dibs his Arrows, where you wet your Ten. Such charming Lines did never Taper grace ; Soft asyour Sex ; and fmooth as Beauty's Face . Dawbridge-court Belchier. An Eriglifh-man, who liv’d in the Reign of King James the Firfl, but one, who was an In- habitant of the Town of Utreicht in the Low Countries ; at the time of his writing an In- terlude, called Hans Beer-pot , his invifible Co- medy of See me, and fee me not ; ailed by an honeft Company of Health-Drinkers, printed in quarto, Lond.1618. and dedicated to the Ho- nourable Sr. John Ogle, Colonel of our Englifh Regiment ofFoot,under the Lords, the Eftatcs General of the United Provinces, and Lord Governor of the Town and Garifon of Utreicht. 4This Piece (h) is neither Comedy nor Tra- gedy, as wanting Firft the juft number of < Speakers ; Secondly, thofe Farts or Ails it * fhould have, which fhould be at the leaflFive; ‘ but a plain Conference . of fo many Perfons? ‘ confiRing of Three Ails, and no more. Richard Bernard. This Perfon flourifh’d at Epworth in Lin- coln fire, in the time of Queen Elizabeth, and (1\) ike Eotllls Dedicatory. was Dr am At kk Poets. 2 5 was (as I fuppofe) the fir ft Tranflator of Te- rences Comedies entire : which tho’ not fo well tranflated into Englifh, as into French, by the famous Abbot de /%//?/£>/#, Monfieur deMaroUesy or by Monfieur de Martignac \ yet certainly it is paflable for the time in which he liv’d. Be- fides the bare Tranflation of the whole Six Comedies, viz. Andreea , Adelphi , &c. he has taken notice in each Scene of the moll remark- able forms of Speech, Thefes, and moral Sen- tences, in imitation pollibly of an old French Tranflation, printed at Paris in o£lavo, 15-74. This Verfionis printed with the Latine, 40. Cambridge 15-98. and dedicated to Mr. Chrijto- pher fV raj. Son and Heir to Sr. JViUiam HTajy and his Brothers. Having given this fhort ac- count of the Tranflator and his Work, give me leave to fpeak fomewhat of the Author. Publius Terentiusy was a Native of Carthage; but being taken Prifoner, when he was very young he was lent to Rome. He was brought up in Literature, and all good Education, by his Patron Terentius Seneca , and afterwards freed by him, on account of his Wit, and good Meen. He luckily found the bed way of wri- ting Comedy, and he left fo me Pieces in that kind, that few Perfons have been able to imi- tate. He was in great Efteem, not only with the People in general, by reafon of his Dra- matick Performances ; but particularly belov’d and cherifh’d by Men of the bed Quality, as Publius ScipioyLceliuSy and others. His purity of Stile, was fo conspicuous, that his Adver- faries endeavour’d to perfwade the People, 26 An Account of the that he was aflifted in his Plays by great Men, which he handfotnely takes notice of, in his Prologue to the Adelphi. JSlatn quod Hit dicunt malevoli , homines nobiks Eum adjutare , afjidaeque una fer there ; Quod tUi malediElum vehemens effe exijlimant. Earn laudehic duett maxunu ; cum tilts placet , Out vobts univerjis , spy populo placent ; Quorum opera in hello , in otto, in negotio, Suo quifque tempore ufus ejl fine Juperbia. The Plots of thefe Comedies he borrow’d from the Greeks, the Four firffc from the Co- medies of Menander ; and the Two laft from Apollodorus. He was beholding to Menander Jikewife, for fome other Comedies, which in his Return from Greece , by Sea, were loft with himfelf : in the Year of Rome, ypy, and the fe- cond year of the ij-ytb Olympiad. Some fay that he Died in Arcadia ; but the former Ac- count is confirm'd by Eokatius , in the follow- ing Verfes. Sed ut Afer fex populo edidit Comcedias , Iter bine in Afiant fecit : navim cum Jhnel Confcendit, vifus nnnquam ef,Jic vita vac at. Coniult further Crinitus de Poetis Latinis, Scaliger in ‘Poetic . Lilius Gyraldus Hift. Poet. ToJJuis de ‘Poetis Latinis, &c. Mrs. Frances Boothby. The Authrefs of a Play called Marcelia, or The Treacherous Friend, aTragi-Comedy a<5ted at the Theatre-Royal, by His Majeflies Ser- vants^: cated to nnted in quarto, Lond. 1670. and dedi- the Honourable, and moll Accomplifht Dramatick Poets. 27 Lady Tate, of Harvington in. WorceJler-Jhire : to whom {he was related. Roger Boyle, Earl of Orrery. An Irifh Nobleman, whole Abilities in Arts and Arms, have render’d him better known to this Nation, than any Character I can give him, fo that I may juflly fay of him with Ma- dam Phillips ; (') Of him I cannot which is hardejl tell ’ Or not to praife him , or to praife him well. However I mult oblerve, that he is not only a Poet himlelf^ but a Patron of Poets likewife, as Mr. ‘Dryden , and Mr. Crown mult acknow- ledge : lo that methinks his Lordfhip’s Repu- tation,joyn’d with the Earl of Jlofcomons, might be {iifEcient to attone for their Country’s Cha- racter in point of Wit. He has publifht Four Plays in Heroick Verfe ; wherein not only the true Englifli Courage is delineated to the Life: but likewife the very Infidels and Barbarians, are taught by his Pen, not only Humanity, but the HigheR Morality and Virtue. But his Wit is as far above my Abilities to defcribe, as to imitate ; and therefore I fhall haften to give an Account of his Plays, viz. Black Prince , a T ragedy, aCted at the Theatre Royal, printed at Lond. folio, ibya. Tho’ this Play in the Title-page be call’d a Tragedy , yet it ends fuccefsfully : and therefore I prefiune was rather Riled fo by the Author, from the Quality and Grandeur of the Perfons in the Drarrima, than from any unfortunate CataRro- (!) Pom-) psg, 1 si.'- 2 8 An Account of the phe. For the foundation of this Play, as far as it concerns Hiflory confult IV aljinghami Hi- fi or ia Anglia;. Florentii Monach. tVigornienfis Chronicon.Tol Vergilu Hfioria Anglia. Frojfard Croniques de France , /y d' Angle t err e. Du CheJ'ne , Speed ' and other Englifh Biitorians in the Reign of Edward the Third. Tryphon, a Tragedy ailed by his Royal High- nefs the Duke of Tork' s Servants, and printed in folio, Lmd. i 672. Of this Ufurper you have an account in Maccabees lib. i. See befides^o- fephus lib. i g . Appian de Beilis Syriacis &c. Thefe two Plays are printed together. Henry the Fifth , a Hiftory, ailed at his High- nefs the Duke of Tork s Theatre, printed in folio, Loud, i 677. For the Plot fee the Chro- nicles of England in the Reign of that King filch as fValJingham, Toly dor e Vergil, Holling - /head, Speedy Sec. and the French Chronicles in the Reign of King Charles the Sixth, as Les Chroniques dEnguerrand de Monfir elet. Jean Juvenal des Ur jins. L' Hifioire de Charles VI. F. de Belleforejl , Id Hifioire de neuf Roys Charles de France , Mezeray , See. Mujlapha Son of So ly man the Magnificent , a Tragedy, ailed at the Dukes Theatre, printed in folio, Fond. 1677. See Taulusjovius lib. 40. Thuanus lib. 12. Tho. Artus la Continuation de l' Hifioire des Turcs. Fno lies’ s jurkjh Hifiory. Befides thefe Plays, there is a Comedy lately publifht, tho’ writ as I fuppofe fome years ago, under the Title of Mr. Anthony , a Comedy ailed by Their Ma- jeffcies Servants, and printed in quarto, Lond. 1690. Dramatick Poets . 29 1 690. This Play I believe was a&ed formerly, at the Dukes Theatre in Lincolns- Inn- Fields^ becaufe I find Mr. Angela and Mrs. Long a- mongfl: the A£lors Names, who if I miftake not, have been dead fome years. The Prologue to this Play, is the fame with that of The Foot turn'd Critic k : but whether it be borrow’d, or genuine, I know not. Befides thefe Plays our Author has writ a Romance, called T artheniffa ; which yields not either in Beauty, Language, or Delign to the Works of the famous Scuaery , or Calpranedey however Eminent they may be amongfl the French, for Pieces of this Nature: and what Mr. Davis of Kidwelly fays of Scarron s Co- mical Romance, may with more Juftice be ap- plied to our Illuftrious Author, and this Work. i(k ) ’Tis a thoufand pities, That the Author ‘ (prevented by death) hath left the Work i imperfect ; fo that we are, and ever fhall be- ‘ at a lofs, to know, what period he might bring ‘fo many noble Adventures to. He has writ- ten aTreatifc in Folio, call’d The Art of JVar. I have been told, it has been commended by many expert Captains, for the beft Piece ex- tant in Englifh : hut this I mult leave to the judgment of others, more experienced in the Art Military. I know not where, or when, our Noble Author Died : but thofe who would view his Character more at large, mult read Sr. William Davenant'% Poem to his Lordfhip^1) which will make them regret the Lofs of fo great a Man. (k) Fief, to Sczrr Oils Kovels. (\) D*v emits Poemtp 17s- Sans, go An Account of the Samuel Brandon. This Author liv’d in the later part of Queen Elizabeths Reign, and publifht a Play called The Tragi -Comedy of the Virtuous Oft avia, ne- ver a 61ed, but printed ia°. Lond. 13-98. and dedicated by a Copy of Verfes, to the Right Honourable, and truly Virtuous Lady, the Lady Lucia Audelay : accompanied with two other Copies in commendation of the Play. It is writ in alternate Verfe, with a Chorus at the end ot each A<51. For the Ground of this Play read Suetonius' s Life of Auguftus. ‘Plu- tarch's Life of M. Anthony . Dion. Cajfuts, &c. At the End ol this Play are printed two Epi- files between Oftavia , and her Husband M. An- thony, in imitation of Ovid's Stile, but writ in long Alexandras. They are dedicated to the Honourable, Virtuous and Excellent Mrs .Mary T. bin. The Author had that good Opinion of his Play, that befides his Profopopeia al Libro, at the beginning of his Book, he has concluded with this Italian Sentence. Id aqua non temo de l' eterno oblio. Anthony Brewer. A Writer in the Reign of King Charles the Firfl, to whom is aferib’d by Mr. Kirkynan, two Plays , viz. The Country Girl, and The Love-Jicf Kn:g: tho’ I quefhon whether the former be- long to him, it being aferib’d to T. B. in the Title-page. However I am lure Mr .lVinJlanleyy is much railtakcn in the Account that he gives Dramatick Poets. J I of our Author, (m) * That he was One who in ' his time contributed much towards the Eng- *■ li Hi Stage by his Dramatick Writings, efpeci- 1 ally, in that noted One of his call’d Lingua: for neither was that Play writ by him, nor Love’s Load ft one, Landagartba , or Love's Do- minion, as he and Mr. Phillips affirm : Landa - gartha being writ by Henry Burnel Efq; and Love's Dominion , by Flecknoe. But 1 fhall pro- ceed to give an Account of thofe Plays, wnich are afcnb’d to him by Mi. Kirkman , who was better vers’d in Writings of this Nature. Country Girl , a Comedy often ailed with much applaufe, and printed in quarto, Lond. 164-7. This Play has been reviv’d on the Stage under the Title of Country Innocence, or I he Chamber-maid turn'd Quaker. Love -ftck King , an Engliffi Tragical Hiftory, with the Life and Death of Cartefmunda the fair Nun oilVinchefler, printed in quarto, Lond. 16s S'. This Play was likewife reviv’d by the A (Stars of the King’s Houfe in the Year 1680. and ailed by the Name of the Perjur'd Nun. The Hiftorical part of the Plot is founded on the Invafion of the Danes , in the Reign of K. Ethelred ’ and Alfred ; which the Author calls Etheldred and Alured. See the Writers of Eng- lifh Affairs, as Polydore , Vergil, Mat hocus LVeJl- monajlerienf. Gul. Malmfburienjis, Inguljus , Ra- nulphus Htgden , Du Chefne, Speed , Sec. Alexander Brome. This Author flourifht in the Reign of King (m) Lives oi die Posis. p. 114 Charles 3 2 An Account of the Charles the Martyr, and was an Attorney in the Lord Mayor’s Court. He was Eminent in the word of Times for Law, and Loyalty, and yet more for Poetry. Though his Genius led ium rather to Lyriek than Dramatick Poetry, yet we have One Play of his extant, viz. Cunning Lovers , a Comedy, a£led with great applaufe, by Their Majefties Servants at the private Houfe iirDrury'Une, printed in quarto. Lend. itfyq.. Part of the Plot is borrow’d ; as the Duke of Mantu* s (hutting up his Daugh- ter in the Tower,and his being deceiv’d by her, and Prince ' ‘Pr of per o , is taken from a Story in the Old Book of the Seven Wife Mafiery, but which the Reader may find better related in the Fortunate Deceiv d,and Unfortunate Lovers: in the Fifth Novel of the Deceiv'd Lovers. Although our Author, has himfelf made but one Attempt in this Kind, yet we are indebted to him for two Volumes of Mr. Richard Bromes Plays in oftavo, cfpecially One of them, fince ’twas by his Care, that after the Author’s Death they were oreferv’d and publifht. On which account One. T.S. (") amongd other Commen- dations given our Author in Verfe, fays thus ; Nor cun I tell to whom we are more bound , Or to Bromch JVit,or You that have it found. Our Poet is chiefly famous for his Odes, and Dithyrambs* which he compos’d during the late Troubles, together with his Epiflles, and Epigrams tranflated from feveral Authors, all which were printed together at the King’s Re- turn in ociavo, and a Second Edition, Lend. (n j Volume the Second.- 1664. Dramdtick Poets. 3$ 1664. Nor was Tie lefs eminent for his Verfion of Horace ; which tho’ not wholly his own, yet having {implied his Verfe from the Stores of Sr. Richard Fanjhaw, Dr- Holliday , Sr. Tho. Hawkins , the Ingenious Mr. Cowley , the Ad- mirable Benjohnfon , from which great Mailer, 'he borrow’d the Verfion of the laifcEpiftle, De Arte Toetica , to crown the reft (tho’ it is fince left out for anew Tranflatiori, done by S. T. Efq; which I take to be Samuel Tordage) he has gain’d to himfelf a Reputation, which will not lpeedily decay : tho’ the late Verfion ofMr. Creech , feems fomewhat to obfeure its Luflre. I cannot but inform the Reader, that he had once an Intention to tranflate Lucretius ; (°) as I learn from an Epigram writ by Sr. AJlon Cockain; but this great Work notwithfland- ing what he defign’d, and Mr. Evelyn perform’d, was relerv’d for the management of a nobler Pen, that of the much Admired Mr. Creech . Richard Brome. This Author liv’d in the Reign ofK .. Charles the Firfl, and tho’ of mean Extra&ion (being Servant to the fam’d Benjohnfon ) Writ him- felf into much credit. His Subjeft for the mofl part was Comedy, according to the ufual Motto out of Martial^ which he placed before mofl of his Plays. Hie totus volo rideat IJhellus. As to his worth in Comtek Writing, it is not only afierted by the Teltimony of ieveral Poets of that Age, in their commendatory (°) CecKtiiiii foeins, o. X04. C Vcr- 54 din Account of the Verfes before many of bis Plays, as Shirley , Decker, Ford. \ Chamberlain , Sr. Ajlon Cock&in , Alexander Bronte , and others : but even Ben Johnfon. himfelf (who was not over-lavifh of of Praile)1 bellowed the following Copy on his Northern Lafs, which will weigh againll all the Calumnies of his Enemies. To my Faithful Servant, and (by his continu’d Virtue) my Loving Friend the Author of this Work, Mr. Richard Brome. I had you for a Servant, once, Dick Brome ; And you perform'd a Servants faithful parts , Now you are got into a nearer Room Of Fell 'ow, (hip, profejfmg my old Arts. Ana you do do them well, with good ApplauJ'e, IFhichyou have jufily gain'd r from the Staget By obfervation of thofe Comic f Laws IVhtch 1 , your Majler, firjl did teach the Age, Tou learnt it well, and for it fervdyour time A Trentice-fhip, which Jew do now a days : No w each Court Hobbihorfe will wince in Rime ; Both ■ learned, ynd unlearned, all write Flays. Jt was not fo, of Old: Men took up Trades That knew theCrafts they hadbin bred in right,’ An honejl Bilboe-Smith would make good B lades t And the Fhyfitidn teach men J'pue and Jh — The Cobler kept him to his Aul ; but now He' 'll be a Foet , fcarce can guide a Flow. Tho’ the later part of this Copy be r. i imita- tion of the following Lines of Horace , yet I doubt not but the Reader will pardon Ben for his ingenious Application, Hortu Dramtick Touts'. 3S Fhratii Epiltolarum, Lib. x. Eplft. I. Navemagere ignarUs navis timet: abrotonum agro Non audetyiifi qui didicit,dare. Quod Me die or u ejl fromittunt Medici : traSiant fabilia fabri. Scribimus indoEti doEiique Toemata pqjjim. In imitation of his Mailer Mr. Johnfon, he fludied Men and Humor, mope than Books ; and his Genius affe&ing Comedy, his Province was more Obfervation than Study. His Plots were his own, and he forg’d all his various Charatters from the Mint of his own Experi- ence, and Judgment. ’Tis not therefore to be expelled, that I fhould be able to trace him, who was fo excellent an Imitator of his Mailer, that he might truly pafs lor an Original : fo that all that I can inform my Reader of his Plays, is that he has Fifteen in print, moll of which were a6ted with good Applaufe, and that feveral of them have been thought wor- thy to be revived by the Players, (to their own Profit, and the Author’s Honor) in this Critical Age. Nor are feveral of his other Plays lefs worthy of Commendation : of which Alphabetically. . Antipodes, a Comedy a£led in the year 1 6 $3. by the Queen’s Majclties Servants, at Salijbmy Court in Fleetjireet , printed in quarto 1640. and dedicated to the Right Honourable Wil- liam Earl of Her >rd. City Wit , or 7 Woman wears the Breeches, a Comedy printed in o£lavo Lond. 16?$. Covent-Garden weeded , or The MiddJefex offence, printed in o&ayo Lend, 16 qS, G » Court I S Art Account of the Court Beggar, a Comedy ailed at the Cock-pit by His Majeflies Servants, Anno 1632. and printed in odlavo, Lond. 165-3. Damoifette , or The Neva Ordinary , a Comedy printed in oibavo Lond. 165- 3. EngliJIj Moor , or The Mock Marriage , a Co- medy often ailed with general applaufe, by her Majeflies Servants, printed in oilavo Lon.i6$9. 'jovial Crew , or The Merry Beggars , a Co- medy prefented at the Cock-pit in Drury -lane, in the year 1641, printed in quarto Lond. \Gyx: and dedicated to the Right Noble, Ingenious and Judicious Gentleman Thomas Stanley Efq; This Play was reviv’d by the Ailors at the Duke’s Theatre, and reprinted 1686. Love- fie k Court , or The Ambitious To li tick l, a Comedy printed in oilavo Lond. 16$ 8. What Opinion the Author himfelf had of this Co- medy may be gathered by the followingDiflick, prefixt in his Title-page. Nil me a, ceu mos eji , comendes carmina euro , Se niji comendent carmina Hifpereant. Mad Couple well Matcht ; a Comedy printed in o£lavo Lond. 165-3. This Play was reviv’d on the Stage by the Duke’s A6lors, under the Title of The Debauchee , ox The Credulous Cuckold ; and reprinted in quarto Lond. 1677. New Academy, or The New Exchange, a Co- medy printed in o£lavo Lond. i6y8. Northern Lafs , a Comedy acted with great * Applaufe at the Theatre Royal, by His Maje- flies Servants, printed in quarto Lond. 1663. and dedicated to the Right Worthy, and no lefs Judicious than Ingenious Gentleman Rich,. NT Dr amatick Poets. 57 Ho If or d Efquire. This Play is commended not only by the above-mentioned Benfohnjon , but by Five other Copies of Verfes printed before the Play; This Play was reviv’d by the Play- ers, lince the Union of the Two Houfos, and reprinted in quarto Lond. 1684. with anew Prologue and Epilogue, the former written by Jo. Haynes the Comedian. Novella , a Comedy ailed at the Blackgfriars , by His Ma jellies Servants Anno 1632.. and prin- ted in oilavo Lond. 1.65-3. This I take to ex- ceed many of our modern Comedies. Queen and Concubine , a Comedy printed in oilavo Lond. i6yp. Queen's Exchange , a Comedy ailed with ge- neral applaufe at the Blxckzfrydrs, by His Ma- jelties Servants, and printed in quarto i6yi- Sparagus Garden , a Comedy ailed in the year 1635-. by the then Company of Revels, at Sa- lisbury -Court , printed in quarto Lond. 1640. and dedicated to the Right Honourable Wil- liam Earl of Nevccajlle,&.c. Governor to the Prince hisHighnefs. This Comedy is applauded by Two Copies of Verfes writ by two of the Author’s Friends. He joyn’d with Thomas Hey wood, in a Play called The late Lancajhire Witches : an Account of which foe in that Author. Ten ofthefo Plays are printed in two Vo- lumes in oilavo, each under the Title of Five New Plays by Richard Brome. Mr. PhilhpSj(p) I know not for what Reafon, has omitted leverai of our Authors Plays, viz. (p) Jbtatrw Poet&mm-) p*e. 157, r , C 3 2? 58 An Account of the ‘Jdamoyfelle , New Academy , Queeen and Con - cubine , Queens Exchange , and Lancajhire PFitches. Fulk Grevile Lord Brook. This Honourable Perfon was Son to St. Fulk Grevile the Elder, of Beauchamp-Court in War- wickshire ; and after having been Educated fome time at Cambridge , he removed to Court in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth: and in the Seventeenth year of King James the Firlt, he was made a Baron. He was eminently F amous for Learning and Courage. He was bred up with the Fam’d Sr. Thilip Sidney , and in his youth writ feveral Poems of different Kinds, araongft which are two Dramatick Pieces, viz. Alaham , a Tragedy printed in Folio 1633. This Play feems an Imitation of the Ancients. The Prologue is fpoken by a Ghoft, one of the Old Kings of Ormus , (an Ifland Scituate at the Entrance of the Ter/ian Gulf) where the Scene of the Dramma lies. This Spe£tre gives an Account of each Character ; which is poflibly done in Imitation of Euripides , who ufually int roduced one of the chief A£tors, as the Pro- logue whole bufinefs was to explain all thole Circurnftances which preceded the opening of the Stage. The Author has been fo careful in obferving the Rules of Arijlotle and Horace 9 that whereas Horace ( An Account of the Bafe ; 'which the Italians call Sejline. Ccelica containing One Hundred and Nine Sonnets of different Meafures, on different Subje&s.There are in this Volume two Letters, the One to an Honourable Lady ; the Subject of which is, how to behave her felf in a Married State : The other written to his Cofen Grevil Varney then in France ; containing Dire£tions for Travel. His Lordfhip has other Pieces aferibed to him, beffdes thefe publifht under his Name ; as the Life of his Friend and Companion, Sir Philip Sidney , printed at the beginning of the Mrcadia , under the name of His Remains, or Poems of Monarchy and Religion , printed in o<5tavo Lond. id^o. and other Pieces which becaufe of their uncertainty I omit. Only, I cannot pafs by a Miftake committed by Mr. ‘Phillips , and Mr. JVinJlanley ; who aferibe another Play to him called Marcus Tullius Cicero's Tragedy, This Play was not written, at lealt not printed, as I fuppofe, till long after his Lordfhips Death, who was unhappily kill’d by an ungrateful Servant, who afterwards to avoid the Sentence of the Law', made his own Hand the Executioner of Juftice, making Death his Choice, which fhould have been his Pun- ifliment. 4 This Worthy Nobleman lies Buried (as Dr. 4 Fuller if) fays) in PVarvcick^ Church, under *a Monument of black and white Marble, 4 whereon he is (tiled, Servant to §!peen Eliza- beth, Councellor to King James , and Friend to ( vvuxth its, iruiiviiK-pue. pag. 127. Sr, Dramatick Poets. 41 Sr. Philip Sidney : Dying Anno 1 6 — without IlTue and unmarried. Thofe who would read his Character more at large, may have recourfe to that excellent Author above-mentioned. Henry Burkhead. This Author liv’d in the Reign of K .Charles the Martyr, being a Merchant in Brijlol. He writ a Play in the year iCkpy. called Colds Furie , or Lirendds Mifery , a Tragedy, dedi- cated to the Right Honourable Edward Somer- fet, Lord Herbert. The Subject of this Play, is the Irifh Rebellion , which broke out the twenty-third day of OElober 1641. Tis couch’d under feign’d Names ; as OJirus for the late Duke of Ormond , Berofus , for Sr. John Bor- lace, fyc. the other Characters are eafily diR covered by reading Sr. John Temple's Hiflory of the Irifh Rebellion, printed Land. 1 646. and Sr. JohnBorlace his Hiflory on the fame Sub- ject, Folio Lond. 16 — . This Play was never aCted, but introduc’d into the world by two Re- commendatory Copies of Verfes, written by his Friends: both which may feem to the Reader, to be too partial in their Judgments ; as may be judg’d by the following Lines, which are part of a Copy writ by Mr. Paul Ay Iwar 'd. What thd of Terence, Seneca, we hear, And other modern Scenic ks, in our Sphere ; Ton I prefer. Johnfon for all his Wit Could never paint out Times as you have hit The 42 An Account of the The Manners of our Slge : The Fame declines Of ne're enough prais'd Shake Ipear if thy lines Come to he publifht : Beaum' & Fletcher’.? [kill Submits to yours , and your more learned QuiU. Henry Burnel* Efq; This Gentleman liv’d in Ireland in the Reign of King Charles the Firfl. He writ a Play called Landgartha, a- Tragi-Comedy, pre- fented in the New Theatre in Dublin , with good applaufe, being an ancient Story, printed in quarto, Dublin 1641. and dedicated To all Fair , indifferent Fair , Virtuous that are not Fair , and magnanimous Ladies , This Play is ufher’d into the world with Four Copies of Verfes, three Latine and oneEnglifh, but be- ing guilty of the lame partiality with the for- mer, I fhull omit to infert any. The Play it 1'elf was firlt ailed on St. Patrick' s-day 1639. with allowance of the Mailer ol the Revels. The Author it feetns, mifearried in a former Play, and therefore in imitation of Benjohn - foil (u) (whom he Biles The Bejl of Enghjb Poets) he has introduc’d his Play, by a Pro- logue fpoken by an Amazon, with a Battle-Ax in her Hand ; which fucceeded to the Author’s fatisfailion. The Plot is founded on the Con- queft of Fro , (which the Author calls Frollo) King of Suevia, or Sue th land Regner (or as the Author calls him Reyner) King of Denmark : with the Repudiation of Landgertha Queen to Regner. See Krantzius , lib. 4. c. 6. Saxo Gram- maticus,lib. 9. Jo. Magnus, lib. 17. c. 4,5-. aut de Tmone Britanno Excidet Arviragus, — But in this he is miflaken, for Arviragus was dead before the Reign of Domitian , fo that the Sycophant could not mean that he fhould over- come Him , but fome Britijb or Foreign War- ner, as llout as that Arviragus fubdued by his his Father Vejpajtan. (c) Sec Dryden’s Mifc. Poems, p.181. (d) Ltj. c.6. (e)Sit. 4. ‘Dc- Dramatic k Poets: 47 ! Deferving Favourite, a Tragi-Comedy, prc- fented before the King and Queen’s Majellies at White hall, and very often at the Private Houfe in Blachfriars , with great Applaufe, by King Charles the Firithis Servants, printed in odtavo Lond. 1 6yp. and dedicated to his very Noble and Approved Friends Mr. Thomas Cary Son to the Earl of Monmouth ; and Mx. William Murrey: both of the Bed-chamber to His Majelty. Fool vcould he a Favourite , or The Difcreet Lover , often adted by the Queen’s Majefties Servants with great /applaufe, and printed in odtavo Lond. iGy']. Ofmond the Great Turk , otherwife called The Noble Servant his Tragedy ; a died by the Queens Ser\ ants with great applaufe, and prin- ted with the former, odtavo Lond. i6yq. The Adtion of this Play, is the taking of Conjlanti- nople , in the year 14^3. I know not why the Author has alter’d his Scene, from Greece , to Barb ary ; or the Names of Mahomet , and Irene , for Me/chofus, and Uefpina : except in imita- tion of Beaumont , and Fletcher , who have transfer ’d the Names of Rollo, and Otto , on Antoninus and Get a, and degraded thole Em- perors of Rome , by Creating them Dukes of Normandy. Many Authors have treated of this Story, in the Life of Mahomet the Second, confult Chalcocondylus lib. 8. cap. 6. Knolles't TurkjJh Hiftory. This Story is likewife in Ban- deUo’s Novels ; fee the French Tranflation by Belief or eB, Tome 1. Hift. a. See Painter's Pa- lace of T leaf are, a Book of Novels, printed in quarto, 48 'An Account of the quarto Lond. i?66. Nov. 4$. For the Under- plot of Or canes, Calibeus, and Ozaca , ’tis found- ed on the Story of ^JMuJiapha, Son to Maho~ met the Second, Achmet Bajja, and his Wife. See Lipfii Monita. lib. a. cap. p. pag. iay. Artus le Contin. de l' Hist, des Turcs. L. 11. Knolles , &c. Tajjionate Lover , a Tragi-Comedy in two parts, twice prefented before the King and Queen’s Majefties at Somerfet-houJ'e , and very often at the Private-houfe in Black-friars , with great applaufe,by King Charles the FirlFs Servants, printed in oclavo Lond. idyy, and Dedicated to the Illuftrious Princefs fMary Dutchefs of Richmond, , and Lenox , by the Pub- liflier Mr. Alexander Goughe. On this Play the ingenious Alexander Brome has writ a Copy of Verfes, which feem to refleft on the Cha- r after of the Tajjionate Lover , and may be found by the Curious, in his Toems 8°. pag. ay 5. Edition the Second. Her ac Hus Emperor of the Eajl, a Tragedy tranflated from the French of Monfieur T. Cor- neille, and printed in quarto Lond. 1664. This Play was never afted, tho’ intended by the Tranflator for the Stage : but another Tranfla- rion formerly defign’d, (after this feem’d to be accepted) being perfected was prefer’d by the Players, and this not return’d tp the Author until the very day the other was Afted. But notwithflanding the Preference given to the other, certainly this Verfton is not contempti- ble ; at leaf! if" the Author’s Reafons in the Prologue make take place : All Dramatick Poets. 49 All things have proper Idioms of their own, Their Elegance in Ours is hardlyjbown ; This, but a Copy, and all fuch go /e/s, Great Beauties may be altered by the Brefs. Having given you the Author’s Excufe for hi$ Translation, let me give you his Opinion of Tranflauons in general in the following Diftielc. 1 6 T hope who tranflate , hope but a Labourer's praife, 1C bo well invent , contrive ; deferve the Bays. In the defign of this Play, the French Au- thor follows Baronius's Eccldialtical Annals, but does not (as he himfelf acknowledges in hisExamen ot this Play )ltriclly follow truth in many things. See Le Theatrede Corneille, tom. 3 Je nay conjh ve icy pour toute verite Hijio * rifue que I’ordre de la SucceJJion des Empereurs, T there, Maurice , ‘Phocas, fy Heraclms , &c. Many are the Hiftorians that have treated on this Story, as Nicephorus Qaliftus Eccl. lift. Cedreni Annul Zonaras, Annal. Baronins, &c. tAs. Phillips has omitted Three of thefe Plays, viz. Bejervmg Favourite , Fool would be a Fa- vourit e, and Heraclius : the later is forgot like- wife by Mr. PEinJlanley , who has in requital Father’d another Piay on him, which belongs to Dr. Lodge, viz. Marius and Scylla. James, Carlile. A young Author now living, who has late- ly publifht a Play, call’d The Fortune Hunters, or Two Fools well met : a Comedy acted by his Majellies Servants, printed in quarto Lond. D 5

- And take for once the Good-will, for the Deed. \ Richard Carpenter. The Author of a Play, called The Tragma- tical Jefuit new leaven'd ; printed .in quarto, but when, or where I know not through the deleft of my Copy. All that I can acquaint the Reader with, is that it is a very inftruftive Play, chiefly tending to Morality ; fhewing the difference between true Religion, and Hy- poclirify. The Author has made-, it his bufi- nefs to cxpofe all the Subtleties and inventions of the Rornifh Clergy to gain Profelites, and promote their Religion. I know not whether or no, it might not be writ by a Divine of that Name, tire Author of federal Sermons, par- ticularly Three, of keeping a good Confcience, printed in quarto Lond. 16x3. £.pilogus 10 che l’ lay. WiK Dr a m a tick- ' Poets. - 5 1 William Carthwright. A Perfon as Eminent for Royalty and Learn- ing, (his years confider’ d) as any tli Is- Age has produc’d. One, whofe-GlMiaCtei' has been ’Writ- ten by feveral Pens ; and therefore has afforded me, (who fetch my ’knowledge from Books, more thin verbal Information) the larger lub- jeCl to expatiate on. • 1 • *- The Place off this Author’s Nativity, the time, and his Fathers 'Name, ate differently reprefented by thofe *Au then's that have men- tion'd him. Mr. ) lavs that he was the Son of Thomas Carthvcright of Burford in Ox- ford Jhire, and Born Aug, if?.' in the year i6i?. Mr. JVood {%) fays thit he'was the Son of Wil- liam Carthivright, and Born at Nortbway near Tewsfbury in Gloucejler-fhire , in Sept: idii. and Chfiftned the i6t5,day of the fame Month. That his Father had diffipated k fair Inheri- tance, lie knew not howy and as his laff Refuge turn’d -Inn-keeper at Girencefter. This Account contradicts the Publiflier:of his Poems, who fays that he Died at Thirty. But however uncertain the place aind %ime off his Birth be ; certain it is, thathe was’ bred a Ring’s-Scholar under the Reverenda-nd Learned Dr. Oldbafton : 3nd in the year 1631 was chofe Student of Chrijl -Church College' in' Oxford, and plac’d un- der the care of Mr. Terrent. He took his feve- ral Degrees, of Bachelor and Maffer of Arts, and afterwards was chofen by the Houfe as (f ) Mmqiui , pag. 411, (g) Anctq. Owwenf. p. 174. D i Pro- 52 An Account of tht ProCtor, and admitted as Junior to Mr. JVake of tSMagdalen College by the Univerlity, the Twelfth of April 1643 . and the lame year, 'viz. on the xpth of November , he Died of a Malig- nant Feaver, which then raign’d, and was that year Fatal to others of his Contemporaries, as Mr. Mafters of Nevo-College, Mr. Diggs of All-Souls , and others both Men of the Gown and Sword. He was Buried the firit of ‘Decem- ber in the South-IJle , being lamented not only by all good and learned Men, but even by Ma- jelly it felf : the King and Queen having anxi- oufly enquir’d after him all the time of his Sick- nefs, ana fhewed themfelves much affli&ed at his Death. On the Ninth of December Mr. Maplet of the fame Houle, was chofe to fupply his Place the remaining part of the year. He was extreamly remarkable both for his outward, and inward Endowments ; his Body being as handfome as his Soul. He was an ex- pert Linguill, underllanding not only Greek and Latine, but French ana Italian, as per- fectly as his Mother-tongue. He was an ex- cellent Orator, and yet an admirable Poet, a Quality which Cicero with all his pains could not attain to. Nor was Ariftotle lefs known to him than Cicero and Virgil: and thofe who heard his Metaphylical LeCtures, gave him the Preference to all his Predeceflors, the prefent Bilhop of Lincoln excepted. His Sermons were as much admired as his other Compofures, and One fitly applied to our Author, that Saying of Ariftotle concerning and that of King James. I can give him no greater Commendation, than that he was fo intimate with the famous Johnfon , as to engage in a Triumvirate with Him, and Marjhn in a Play called Eajl ward- Hoe : a Favour which the haughty lien could feldome be perfwaded to. X might add to this, that he was fo much va- lued 5 8 An Account of the Iwed in his 'time, by the Gentlemen of the 'MiddleAemple and Lincolns -Inn, that when thofe two Honourable Societies agreed to Pre- lent Their Majefties with a Mafque at White:- ball , oil th£ joyful Occafion of the Marriage be- tween the Princeft Elizabeth , only Daughter to King Jaines the Firft, and Frederick the Fifth of that Name, Count Talatme of the Rhine, and afterwards King 'of Bohemia: they chofe Mr. Chapman for their Poet, to IriitLant gnage t6 the Occafion, and Mr .Inigo ’Jones for their Ingineer, to' order the Machines, and Decoration of the Scenes. He has writ many Dramatick Pieces, to -the number of Eighteen : befides feveral other Poems and Tranflations : of all which his Tra- gedy o { Buj]y d Amboife has the Preference^ I know not how Mr. Dry den (h) came to be fb pofleft with Indignation againft this Play, as to refolve to burn One annually to the Me- mory of Ben Johnfon: but I know very well that there are. feme who allow it a juft Com- mendation ; and others (*) thatlince have ta- ken the liberty to promife a folemn annual Sa- crifice of The Hind and R anther, to the Me- mory of Mr. Quarles, and John Bunyan ; fo that fhould this laft Humour continue, The Hind and T anther would grow as fcarce, as this Old Tragedy is at preferit. But I leave this Digreffion to give the Reader an ■ Account of his Plays in order. All Took, a- Comedy prefented at the Black - (a) Ptef. to Spanish Fri.tr. (i) Pref. to Reuftns for Buys Changing his Religion. friars,, Dramatick Poets, 5 9 friars , and afterwards before his Majcfly King James the Firfl, in the Begining ofhis Reign : and printed in quarto Lond. idcy. This was in thofe days accounted aivExcellent Comedy, and will Itill bear Reading : it feenis to be built in part upon the lame Fabrick with 7V- rence’s Heautontimorumenos , as thofe who will compare the Characters of the two Fathers Gojtanzo , and Mar. Antonio , with Chremes , and Menedemus ; and their Sons Valerio , Portunioy and jRynaldo, with C'linia , Antipho , and Syrusy may eafily perceive. The Prologue and E- pilogue ( writ in Blank Verfe) Ihew that in thole days, Perfons of Quality, and thole that thought themfelves Judges of Wit, 'in- Read of fitting in Boxes, as now in ufe, lat on the Stage : what influence thofe Sparks had on the meaner Auditors, maybe feen by the fol- lowing Lines; (k) Great are the Gifts given to united Heads ; , To Gifts , Attire, to fair Attire the Stage Helps much ; for if our other Audience fee Tou on the Stage depart before we end , OurlVitsgo with you attend we are Fools ;&c Alphonfus Emperor of Germany , a Tragedy, very often a Humourous days Mir thy a Comedy printed as lam told in quarto, and a paflable Play.: but this I mull leave to thofe who have read.it. Mafque of the .T wo Honourable Houles or Inns of Court; xhg.' Middle -Temple and Lincolns Inn : Perform’d -before the Kihg/at White-had^ on.Shrove-xnonday at. Night, beMgbhe fifteenth of February 1 6 i 3. ’ at, the Princely Celebration of the Moll Royal Nuptials of the Paljgravey and his. thrice Gracious Princefs Eliszabethylkc* With a delcription of their whole- Shew ; in the manner of their March on Horlc-back to the Court from the Majler of the Polls his Houle: with alP their Right Noble Confer ts, and fhewful Attendants. Invented; and Fa- Ihion’d, with the ground and Ipecial flruflure of the whole WQrk by.'our Kingdoms moll Art- full and Ingenious At chiteil Inigo f ones. Sup- plied, applied, digested, and written by George Chapmany printed in quarto iond 1614. and dedicated to the moll Noble and conflant Com- biner of Honor and Virtue, Sr .EdihardEhillipSy Majier of the Rolls: At the end ’of theMafque is printed an Epithalamiwn called a Hymns t© Hymen for the mbit time-fitted Nuptials of our Thrice 'Gracious, Princefs [Elizabeth, &c, I leave it to their Judgments who haye perus’d 64 An Account of the this Piece, to determine whether it anfwer the fwelling Title-page, or whether the Authors Defence before the Mafque, be juflandfolid. May-day, a Witty Comedy, divers times ailed at the Black fr tars ; and printed in quarto Lond. 1 81 1. Monjieur d' Olive, a Comedy fundry times ailed by her Majeflies Children at the Black Friars , printed in quarto Lond. 1606. Revenge for Honor , a Tragedy printed in quarto Lond. 163-4 This Play I have feen ailed many years ago at the Nurj'ery in barbican. Temple , a Mafque which I never faw. Two IViJe Men , and all the reft Fools , or a Comical Moral, cenlunng the Follies of that Age, divers times ailed, and primed in quarto Lond. 1619. The Prologue and Epilogue to this Play are writ in Profe, which was prailic’d formerly by feveral of the Poets, as IVilliam Lilly , in his Court Comedies, and others. But there is One thing in this Play, far more re- markable ; that it is extended to Seven Ails : a thing which I never faw in any other, either in our own, or Foreign Languages, and which is direitly contrary to that Rule of Horace (~) Neve minor, neu jit quint 0. produftior aft ti Fahula , qua; pofei vult jy Jp eft at a reponi. But I fuppofe this might rather be the Prin- ter’s Ignorance, than the Poets Intention ; for certainly Mr. Chapman better underflood the Rules of theDramma: tho’ I am led only by Tradition to believe this Play to be his; lince • • '- < 1 ■■■ (oj Ut At It P«e lieu, rt is Dramatick Poets. 6 5 ’tis publifhed without any mention of the Au- thor, or the Place where ’t was printed. IVi dow s Tears, a Comedy often prefented in the Black and JVbite Friars : printed in quarto Lond, i6iz. and dedicated to the right Virtuous and truly Noble Gentleman John Reed of Mitten , in the County of Gloucejler , Efq. The Plot of Lyf under and Cynthia is borrow’d from Tetronius /. Irbyters -Satyr icon, being die Story of the Matron of Ephefus related by Eumolpus : a Story fince handled by feveral other Pens, as Janus Doufa the Father, in his Notes on this Story, , and Gabbema in the lad Edition of Tetronius : who obferve, That it •was tranflated into Latine Verfe by Romulus , an Antique Gramarian; that it was tranflated from the German Language into Latine : and into French Rhime by Hebertns. We have it not only in the Seven Wife Maftcrs, a Book vulgarly known, and which, if I may believe my Author, is a tranflation of Mod/us, who new modell’d the Story, and publifht his Ver- iion under this Title Ludus Jeptem Sapientum , de Aftrei regii adolefcentis , educatione , periculis, &c. But alfo I have read the fame Story with little alteration in the Cento Move He Antiche di Carlo Gualteruzzi , Nov. fi. We have it like- wife much improv’d, with a Philofophical Com- ment upon it, by a Countryman of our own, under the Title of the Ephejian Matron , prin- ted ino&avo Lond. i<5<58. and others. Thefc are all the Plays which I know of, that are publifht under our Authors name, ex- cept a Play which I have already mention’d, tvs. E EajU 46 An Account of the Eajiward-Hoe, a Comedy play’d in the Black Friars, by the Children of her Majefties Revels: made by George Chapman, Ben Johnfon^nA John Marjlon, printed in quarto Lond. idoy. This Play was writ fhortly after Pecker's JVefiycard Hoe as you may fee by the Prologue which is writ in Blank Verfe. The Play it felf hath lately appear’d on the prefent Stage, being re- viv’d by Mr* Fate under the Title of Cuckold s H«wn. J Mr. ThiUips, I know not why, has omitted half this Authors Plays* as you may fee in his Account of the GModernToets , p. si- Having given an Account of his Plays, I am now to lpeakof his other Works, which were not in thofe days accounted lefs eminent : par- ticularly his Verfiom of all Homer's Works ; viz. His I Iliads, Odyjfcs , and what he calls The Craven of ad his JVovks, his Batracomyomachia, or The Battle of Frogs and Mice , together with his Hymns and Epigram^ If it be urg’d by fome that he has been fince out-done by Mr. Ogleby in the Two former, it is chiefly to be af cub'd to the ill choice of his meafure of Verfe, and the obfolete Expreflions in ufe in his time, and belides T ranflation was then, as I may fay, in its - Infancy. However I think Mr. Ogleby himfelf has lince been as far exceeded by the exa£t and curious Pen of Mr. Hobbs: and for for his Minor Toems , they have never been at- tempted by any other Pen that I know of. To thefe I muff add his Tranflation of Hefiod ; his finifhing Mufeushis Erotopagnion, or The Loves of Hero and Le under , a Piece begun by Chru tyrant at ick Poets. 67 Chrijlopher Mafhe ; his Andromeda liberata with a Vindication of the fame ; all which fpcak his Induftry at lead, if not his Ingenuity : and how flight an Opinion foever this Age may entertain of his Tranflations, I find the’m highly extoll’d in an Old Copy call’d aCenfure of the Poets: which having Ipoke of the Emi- nent' Dramatick Poets^ as ShakeJ'pear} fohnfon , Daniel, &c. it adds of Tranflators as fallows, placing our Author in the firft Rank. Others again there lived in my days. That have of us dej'erved tio lefs Praife For their Tranflations , than the daintiejl JVity Thai on Parnafliis thinks he high doth fit) And for a Chun may ' mongfi the Mufes calf As the moft curious dfflaker of them all ; Firjl reverend Chapman, who hath brought tons Mufleus, Homer, and Hefiodus, Out of the Greek ; and by his skill hath rear'd Them to that height ynd to our tongue indear' d7 That were thofe Poets at this day alive ; To fee their Books, that with us thus jurvive ; They'd think , having negleSted them fo long. They had been written in the Englifo Tongue. Sir Alton Cokain. A Gentleman that in the Reign of K. Charles the Second, liv’d at Afhbourn, a Market-town in Darby fhire, ( fi tu ate between the River Dove and. Compton). He was of an Ancient Family, as Mr. Cambden oblerves in the Entrance ox his Defcription of Darby fkire. Nay further Mr .John Cokain of Rufhton (our Authors Kinf- E 2. man 68 An Account of the man and Coufin-Gertnan to the Lord Obrian Cokain, Vifcount Cullen in Ireland ) had an An- cient Evidence to prove that Sr. Cokain their Predeceflor was anciently allyed to King William the Conqueror, and. in thofe days lived at Hemmingbam-Caftlc in EJfex. (p) But whether our Author fetchthis Pedigree from fo Ancient a Stock or no ; certain it is, that he was well defccnded, and had a Liberal Edu- cation bellowed on him, being in his youth bred in Trinity College, in Cambridge , and when he was about Four and Twenty years of Age, he was fent to make a Journey through France and Italy , which he compleated in a Twelve- months Ipace, An. 1631. an Account of which he has writ to his Son ( but I can inform the Reader, that it is commended by Thomas Heywood^ho * purpofely writ an Epiftle to gratulate (as he 1 fays) the Love and Memory of his Worthy ‘ Friend the Author, and his intirely beloved ‘ Friend the Actor. He fays further, That it * paft the Teft of the Stage with general Ap- ‘plaufe: And I have feen it afted fince the King’s Return, at the Play-houfe (as I think) in little JJncolns -Inn- Fields with good fuccefs : tho’ the printed Copy be not divided into Aft?. The Plot of Spend-alls gaining the Widow Rayshy, has a near refemblance with that of JViU. Small Jhan is and Widow Tajfety : tho’ J think the Defign is better wrought up in this Play, becaufe the Widow by a Counter-plot frees her felf from Spend- aU, and after having made a Tryal of the Sincerity of his Love, con- ferns of her own accord to Marry him. This Play had its Title given it by the Au* /thor, in refpeft of the admirable Comedian, Thomas Green, who afted the part of Bubble , whofc univerfal Repartee to all Complement is Dr am stick Poets. 7$ is Tu Quoque ; Mr. Heywood (l) gives him this Character, ‘ That there was not an ACtor of ‘his Nature in his Time of better ability in 4 performance of what he undertook, more ap- ‘ plauded by the Audience, of greater Grace at ‘ the Court, or of more general Love in theCity. At the Entrance of this Play is a Difticlc, which Mr. IVinftanley applies to Mr. Robert Green , (of whom I {hall give an account in his proper place : ) tho’ had he put on his Specta- cles he would have found it printed thus ; Upon the Death of Thomas Green. How f aft bleak^Autumn change th Flora’s dye9 lVhatyefterday was (Green) now’s fear and dry. IF. R. John Corey. A Gentleman who is pleas’d to ftile himlelf the Author of a Play call’d The Generous Ene- mies, or The Ridiculous Lovers , a Comedy aCted at the Theatre-Royal by his Majefties Servants, and printed in quarto Lond. 167a. Tho’ he has fo little {hare in it ; that we may juftly fay of him, as Appolodorus the Athenian faid of the Books of Chryfippus : If a Man fhould extra# the things which he hath borrow’d from others, the Paper would be left blank. To prove this I am to acquaint the Reader, that this Play, like a Botcher’s Culhion is made out of feveral Pieces ; he having ftollen from Four Eminent Poets; Fletcher , and Randolph; Th. Corneille , and Quinault. The chid Defign of (*) (*) Epiftlc to the Reader. the 74 An Account of the the Play, that of the Generous Enemies , is bor- row’d from Qumault's La Genereufe Ingrati- tude, as will be evident to thofe who will compare the Characters of Don Alvarez, and Signior Flaminio , with thofe of the French legry and Abencerage; Semena in Difguifc under the Name of Lif under, with lelinda under the Name of Ormin,&.c. For the Ridiculous Lo- vers ; ’tis chiefly borrow’d from a Comedy of Ih. Corneille's call’d D. Bertran de Cigarral y which Play is founded on a Spanifh Comedy written by D. FranciJ'co de Roxas, and filled, Entre bohos anda el juegor The Quarrel be- tween Bertran and Rabat zy in the fifth A£t, is ftollen verbatim from Love's Pilgrimage, Aft 2. Sc, £. 5fed A6t 3. Sc. 3. The teliy Humour of Bertran to his Servants in the third A£t, is part of it taken from the Mufes Looking-glafs. Aft 2. Sc. i. Act. 3. Sc. 3. and 4. Charles Cotton Efq; An Ingenious Gentleman lately (aslant inform’d) Deceas’d, who fometimes dwelt at Beresford in the County of Stafford. He was an excellent Lyrick Poet* but particularly fa- mous for Burlefque Verfe r but mention’d here on account of a Tranflation of his call’d, Horace, a French Tragedy of Monfieur Cor- neille, printed in quarto Lond. 16-71. and dedi- cated to his Dear Sifter Mrs. Stanhope Hutchin - fort. . This Play was firffc fimfhed in i66y. (*) ‘ JBu't neither at that time, nor of feveral years (3) Seethe Ejiftte to tbs Rcider. ‘after Dramatick Poets, 75 * after, was it intended for the publick view ; f it being writ for the private divertifementof ‘a fair young Lady, and ever fince it had the c honor firft tokifs her Hands, fo intirely hers, 1 that the Author did not referve fo much as ‘ the BxohiUon to himfelf. However fhe being ‘ prevail’d upon tho’ with fome difficulty to ‘give her confent, it was printed in Offo.1670. I fhall not extol, or particularife the Excel- lencies of this Play in the Original ; his fuffici- ent to tell you, that the FrenchAuthor thought it might pafs for the beffc of his Productions if the three lafl ACls had been equal to the two Firfl: and this he fays was the general Opini- on, as you may read in the beginning or his Examen of this Play. (b) As to the Perfor- mance of this our Countryman, notwithfland- ing his Modefly, and Generofity in giving the preference to Mzdatii Phillips her Tranflation, I think it no ways inferior to it, at leafl, I dare aver that it far tranfeends thatVerfion publilht by Sr. LVilliam Lower. The Plot of this Play, as far as it is founded on Hiitory, may be read in feveral Authors, See Livy, lib. 1 . Flouts, lib. 1 . c. 3. Z)ionyJiu$ FFlliCarnafJtCUs, &c. There are other Works of this Authors writing, which fpeak him a great Wit, and Mailer of an excellent Fancy and Judgment : Such as his Poem call’d Fhe W index s of the Feah, printed in oCtavo Lond. 1681. His Bur- lefque Poems call’d, Scarronides , or Virgil Tra - veflie , a ntock Poem, on the firfl and fourth (b,) SicTtyeatrede Camille, 10m, 1, Books 7 6 An Account of the Books of Virgil s », who has tranflated Eight Books oi Virgil in the Tame manner : yet thofe who will compare both theTe Pieces, will poffibly find that he has not only exceeded the French, but all others that have attempted in that kind, to the reTerve of the incomparable Butler , the fam’d Author of Hudibras : and I think we may with little va- riation apply the following Tetraftick written by Scarron's Uncle to this our Author. Si pun Hum omne tulit , qui mifeuit utile dulcit JLudendo feribens Jena, quid meruit ? Virgilii miranda legens , rtdere jubetur, Hoc debet , Cotton, Anglica Mufa tibi. There are feveral of Lucian’s Dialogues put into Burlelque Verfe, printed in o£lavo Lond. 16*75-. under the Title of The Scoffer Scofty which are Taid to be writ by our Author, but whether this be true, I muft leave to thofe who were better acquainted with him. How- ever I muft acquaint the Reader, that there was not longfince publifht a Volume of Poems on Teveral Occafions, with his Name prefixt, which was printed in a large o Nof Dramatic!? Poets. 79 Nor is the Character he gives of himfefflefs full of Admiration ; ( *)■ ‘ That even when he ‘ was a very young Boy at School, inftead of ‘ running about on Holidays, and playing with ‘his Fellows, he was wont to Ileal from them, ‘and walk into the Fields, either alone with ‘a Book ; or with fome One Companion, if he ‘ could find any of the fame Temper. His firfl: Inclinations to Poetry, proceeded from his falling by chance on Spencer's Fairy Qgeen, («) ‘With" which he was fo infinitely ‘delighted, and which by degrees fo fill’d his ‘ head with the tinkling of the Rhime, and ‘ dance of the Numbers, that he had read him ‘all over before he was Twelve years old, and ‘was thus made a Poet as immediately as a ‘ Child is made an Eunuch. Thus liegradualy ‘grew up to that maturity both of Fancy and ‘Judgment, that (in the opinion of a great.Man now living, (h) ‘ Whoever would do him right, ‘ fhould not only equal him to the principal An- cient Writers of our own Nation, but fhould * alfo rank his Name amonglt the Authors of ‘ the true Antiquity, the belt of the Greeks, ‘and Romans. Nor is this the fence only of" this Worthy Perfon, and Excellent Poet, but the general Opinion of the Wits of both Uni- verlities, and which will appear obvious to All that {hall diligently read his Works: moll of which were writ, or at leaf!: defign’d whilft he was of Trinity <_ ol ledge in Cambridge , and of which I fhall give a fu.ccindl Account, begin- (f) Ettay of Hsmfelf, p?g. 145. fg) idem p. 144. (h) br. Sprat, See his Life $ in etc laft page. ing 8o An Account of the ing firft with his Englifli Plays, which are Three in Number, viz. Guardian, , a Comedy printed in quarto Lond. l6fo. ‘Made (lays the Author (*) ) and a<5ted ‘before the Trince , or rather neither made nor ‘ailed, but rough -dr awn only, and repeated; for ‘the haft was io great, that it could neither ‘be revifed ' or perjelied by the Author, nor ‘ learned without Book^ by the Adlors, nor fet ‘ forth in any Meafure tolerably by the Officers ‘ of the Colledge. This Mr. Cowley thought fit to acquaint the Trince with, in the Prologue which was fpo- ken to him at that time : as the Reader may fee by the following Lines, being part of it. Accept our hajly Zeal ; a thing that's play'd Eire 'tis a T lay, and ailed e' re ’tis made. Our Ignorance , hut our Duty too , we fliow : I would all ignorant Teople would do Jo. At other times, exp ell our IVit and Art ; This Comedy is ailed hy the Heart. ‘ After the Reprefentation (the Author tells ‘us (k) he began to look it over, and changed ‘ it very much, ftriking out fome whole Parts, ‘as that of the Toet, and the Souldier ; but he ‘having loft the Copy, durft not think it de. ‘ lerv’d the pains to write it again, which made ‘ him omit it in the publication of his Works ‘in Folio; though (at that time he acknow- ‘ ledg’d) there were lome things in it, which ‘ he was not alhatn’d of, taking the Excufe of ‘ his Age when he made it. But as it was he (i) Preface to his Works, Vag. 2. (k) Idem, ‘ac- Dramatick Po£Ps\ 8a 4 accounted it only the hafly fir ft -Jit- ting of' a ‘Picture, and therefore like to referable him i accordingly; > vk This Comedy, notwithllanding Mr.Co-wkj's hiodeft Opinion of it, was ailed not only at • Cambridge, butfeveral times after that private- ly, during the prohibition of the Stage, and after the King’s Return, publickly at ZMtrjin, and never fail’d of Applaufe. This T fuppofe put our Author upon reviling it ; and there being many things in it which he diflik’ty and finding himfelfat leifurein the Conntrypfie Tell upon altring .it almofl. throughout:; v.-and then per* mitted it to appear publickly on the Stage, un-~ ^er a new Title, as. indeed \’twas in, a manner a .new Play, calling it i But both in him fo equal are , None kno ws which bears the happy 'ft Jhare ; To him no Author was unkno wn) > Tet what he wrote was a/l his own ; He melted not the ancient Gold, Nor with Ben Johnfon did make bold To plunder all the Roman Stores Of Toe Is, and of Orators : Horace his Wit, and Virgil's- State , He did not fleal , but emulate, And when he would like them appear , Their Garb , but not their Cloaths , did wear. As to his other Works in Englifh, they con- flft both of Verfeand Profe; amongft which are his Love Verfes, call’d The Miflrefs ; which were firft printed in oCtavo fond, x 64 7. from a Correct Copy written by the Author himfelf, and fince they are printed in Folio, with feve- ral of his other Pieces. Thefe Poems are high- ly applauded by the generality of judicious Men, and notwithftanding the nice fcrup'cs of fome, it is an undeniable Truth which the knowing Writer of his Life lays down, (") ‘ That never yet fo much was written on a Sub- *■ jeCt fo Delicate, that can lefs offend the fe- * ve reft rules of Morality. I dare npt prefume to give a particular Cha- racter of his Works: therefore I fhall refer F a ics hi* Life, j>. n. them S4 -An Account of the them to the large Account of his Life, written by the exa£l and ingenious Author above- mentioned, or to the Readers own judgment. They confiflof Mifcellanies, Anacreontiques, and Pindariques ; or fome Copies of Verfes tranflated Paraph raftically out of Anacreon and ‘Pindar : on the later he has writ Notes, as re- plete with Learning, as his Odes with Wit and Fancy, and which moft admirably explain the moll difficult and abftrufe Pafiages. Befides thefe he has publiffit an Epique Poem call’d Davideis , a Sacred Poem of the Troubles of Davidr in Four Books : tho’ defign’d by the Author to be continu’d and extended toTwelvc; not for the Tribes fake, but in imitation of Virgil. 'As it is a great grief to the Lovers of Poetry, that he liv’d not to finiffi the Work ; io ’tis the Opinion of an eminent Critick, (°) 4 That as it may be lamented, that he carried ‘ not on the Work fo far as he defign’d, fo it ‘ might be wifht that he had liv’d to Revife ‘ what he did leave us : I think the Troubles ‘ of ‘David is neither Title nor Matter proper ‘ for an Heroick Poem ; feeing it is rather the f A£Uons than his Sufferings, that make an ‘ Heroe A nor can it be defended by Homer s ‘■QdyfeisfmctUlyJfes'% Sufferings conclude with ‘one great and perfect A£tion. Yet notwithA flanding, this judicious Author allows, ‘That . ‘in the Davideis (Fragment and imperfect as ‘it is) there ffimes fomething of a more fine, ‘ more free, more new, and more noble air, than ■ ( o) Mr. Rymei^ Prtf, to Ardtmlti Treadle oF Veefy. ap- Dramatick Poets . 8 5 ‘ appears in the HteruJ'alem ofTajJ'oy which for ‘ all his care, is fcarce perfectly purg’d from ‘ Pedantry. And after all fays, ‘ That in the ‘ Lyrick way however Covoley far exceeds him, ‘and all the reft of the Italians. Tho’ Jacobus. Tbilippus Tomafinus, Laur. CraJJo, and other great Men give TaJJ'o an extraordinary Cha- racter. But to return to our Author, what- ever faults Mr. Covoley may have committed in the Oeconomy of his Poem, (as Mr. Rytner reckons up others) if it be confider’d, ‘That ‘he writ the greateft part of it, (as the Au- thor of his Life obferves) whilft he was a ‘ young Student in Trinity Colledge in Cam- ‘ bridge , and withal reflect on the vaftnefs of ‘ the Argument, and his manner of Handling ‘it, he may feem like one of the Miracles he ‘ there adorns, like a Boy attempting Goliab. The reft of his Verfes are written on feveral Occafions, and for what remains unfpoken of in his Second Volume, they are Verfes which he made when he was a King’s Scholar, and to which he gave the Title of Sylva. As to his Pieces in Englifh Profe,' they are Difcourles byway of Ellays, upon grave and ferious SubjeCts ; where he gives the trueft and belt Character of himfelf, and his thoughts during his Retirement. Thefe, with feveral others which he defign’d to add ; he intended had not Death prevented him, to have dedica- ted to his old Patron the Earl of St. Albans ^ ‘ As a Teftimony of his entire RefpeCts to him: ‘and a kind of Apology for having left hu- - mane Affairs in the ftrengthofhis Age, while F 3 > ‘he 86 A* Account of the 1 he might ftiU have been ferviceable to his ( Country. But notwith Handing his Death, his intentions are made good by his worthy Friend the careful Overfeer of his Writings, who has paid in this. Legacy according to the will and intention of the deceafed Teftator. His Latinc Works contain the two former Books of his ‘Davideis ; a Latine Comedy call’d Naufragitun Jocular c, which was ailed before the Univerfity of Cambridge by the Members of Trinity Colledge, the fecond day of February 1638. and his Toemata Latina , printed in octa- vo 1668. confifting of Six Books of Plants, and One of Mifcellanies ; of whofe feveral Character, you will find an account in his Life : where you may likewile find a defeription of his Temper, Converfation, fee. which would fwell this Volume beyond its defign’d Bulk, to relate. All that I (hall acquaint you further with is, that this belt of Poets, that ever our Nation produc’d, and a Man of fo excellent a Temper, in the Opinion of King Charles the Second, that he was pleas’d to lay of him upon the news of his death, that Mr. Cowley had \ not left a better Man behind him in England. This Excellent Man I lay, Died after a Fort- nights Sicknefs, of a Stoppage in his Breaffc and Throat, accompanied with a violent De- finition. He was Buried at hFeJiminfler Abby, near Two of our molt eminent Englilh Bards, Chaucer , and Spencer ; his Corps being attend- ed with a numerous Train or Perlons of the moll eminent Rank, both for Birth and Virtue. The late Duke of Buckingham his Noble Friend and Dramxtkk Poets. 87 and Patron, has erected a Magnificent Monu- ment over his Afhes in teftimony of his Af- fection ; whofe Sculpture you may fee at the beginning of his Second Volume. Tho’ I take it for granted that every Lover of Poetry hath the Works of this Worthy Ornament of our Nation: (fince in my weak judgment, what was faid of d'Urffe'% Aftrata, by the great Car- dinal Richlieu , may more truly be faid of our Authors Works, That he was not fit to be ad- mitted into the Academy, who had not been before well read in Africa :) yet fince his Epi- taph may prove an Embellifhment to this Work, I fhall tranicribe it. ABRAHAMUS COWLEIUS, Anglorum TihdarUs, Flaccus , Maroy 2)elibiay Ziecus, ‘Defiderium Courteous Spectators, we are your Relators , Neither Tylers, nor Slat or r, nor your Vexators: But J'uch as will Jt rive topleafe, willyoujit at Ft. your Eafe , And 9® An Account of the And [peak fuch 'words as may he fpakcn. And not by any he fhfjioken ; &c. Brfj mil 'J'lnefe Drolls were printed in quarto Lond. t 6s 6. Second Edition, but firit printed by Tho. Newcomb for the ufe of the Author. They are^ fine e , printed in a Collection of Drolls , call Id Sport upon Sport, for Kirkrnati, in cCtavo Loud, 1674. John Crown. APerfon now living, who has attempted all forts of Drama tick Poetry, with different fuc- ccls. If I may be allow’d to Ipeak my Senti- ments, I thinly his Genius feems fitted: for Co* mt'dy ; poffibl ? his Tragedies are no ways contemptible ; of all which, in my weak judg- ment, his ‘Dejhuftton of Jetufalem feems the belt He has written Fifteen Plays, of which Alphabetically. Andromache, a Tragedy a died at the Duke’s Theatre, and printed in quarto Lond. i6yy. This Play Mr. Crown claims no farther fhare in, than the turning it into Prole, it being tfaifflated from the French ofMonfieur Racine, hy a young Gentleman, who had a great efieem for all French Plays, and particularly for this ; hut whofe Genius in Verfe, it feems was not vety fortunate. In a word, Mr. Crowd has written an Epiffle to clear himfelf of the Sean* dal (as he terms it) of fo poor a Tranllatioff. This Play tho wefl efteeni’din the O riginal, had not its expe&cd fuecefs on ourEnglifh Stage. The French Author has followed Fitgil, in ' d\ his Dramatick Poets. 91 his Story. See Lib. 3. He tranfcribes the Pa£ fage begining at Vefie 191. Lit for apse Epiri legimus,por tuque [ubimus Chaonio,py c elf am Buthroti ajcendimus urbem. And then skipping (even Verfes which relate to her Marriage with Hellenus , he ends with the death of Tyrrhus by Orejtes at the Altar of Apollo, or as i'ome would have it, One which he ereCted in memory of his Father Achilles. The Author has followed Euripides his in the Character of Hermione , and her jealous Tranfports : but in that of Andromache , he rather chufes to (hew her on the Stage, as the Widow of Hector, than Tyrrhus, and lol- licitous to prelerve the Life of AJlyanax , than Molojfus : this being conformable to the gene- ral Idea which People have of Andromache. Ambitious St at ef man, or The Loyal Favorite , a Tragedy ailed at the Theatre Royal, by his Majelties Servants, printed in quarto Lond. 1 6”](). and dedicated to her Grace the Dutchels of Albermarle. This Play is in the Poets 0- pinion, the moll vigorous of all his Labours, but born in a time fo unhealthy to Poetry, that it met not with the Applaufe which lome peo- ple thought it deferv’d. I know not what Au- thor Mr. Crown has follow’d, or whence he hath taken his Plot : but I fuppofe by lus Am- bitious Statefman, he means Bernard d'Armag- nac the feventh, Comte d’ Armagnac, and Con- f table of France in the Reign of King Charles the Sixth. My Realon for this Conjecture is, that he (peaks of Henry the Fifth’s Landing in France , which was in the time of that King. Thole 92 Aft Account of the 7’hofe Authors who have treated of his Reign, arc J de Labour euryHiJi. deCb. VI. Enguerand de Monjirekl Chron. J. Froijfard. Chron. de Fr. ft de Angle ter re. Ale mo ires de Mart, du Bell ay , ■Jean Juvenal des Ur/ins Hi ft. de Ch VI. I)e Serves , Mezera y, &c. to which I refer the Reader for better fatisfa&ion. Cali/to, (Q r The Chaji Nymph ; a Mafque at Court, frequently prelented there by Perfons of great .Quality, with the Prologue, and the Songs between, the Aits : printed in quarto Land. and dedicated to her Highnefs, the Lady dMary, Eldcll Daughter of his Royal Highncis, the Duke. This Mafque was writ at the Command of her prefent Majefty : and was rehearled near Thirty times, all the Re- prefentations being follow’d by throngs of Per- sons of the greatelt Quality, and very often grac’d with their Majesties and Royal fligh.- nefles Prefence. The Play was alter’d by the Poet from what it was at firfl ; that which re- mains of the firfl defign, may be known by its being written in the Pindarick way : that which has been alter’d being in Heroick Verfe. The Plot is founded on a Story in Ovid's Me - tamorpho/isj fee Lib. a. Fab. y, 6. Charles the Eighth of France , or The Inva- ficu of Naples by the French , a Hiftory writ in Heroick,' Verfe, acted at his Highnefs the Duke of Torfs Theatre ; printed in quarto Lend. i ripn’d in the Account of the.Eari of pag.^. as Qy Curtins, JufiinJLc- - - y:-t ][- jDeJiruSi.on of 'Jerufatety by in Two Parts ; ailed at the Theatre Loyal; printed in quarto Lend. i6rii. and radicated toiler Grace the Dutcheis o 1 Tor -{/me n th .Tide Tragedies are [written in Heroick Verify M4 were ailed with good Applet yie. As to tlie Au- thors Chara.iler pi Thraat?tp$c 1 1 mw it fo the Crfticksj., and refe? the Reader to hi$vEpiftle for fitisfailion- The Hutorical part of these Plays*, may bje readtat large in Jojephusde Bella Judaico. Other Authors haye iikewke touehc upon it.* as djSaronius AnmlTom. x. A. B. g'i.. Xtyebius-. X. ( 3 , d o.:6. Xiphilinus Epitome- Dion, in Pip. Xeffia/ianiy Suetonius Life of. X, jfefppf. Tacitus Xliji. /.y. &o. Englijh Friar or The Sparks a Co- medy ailed by their Majefjnps Servants, prin- ted in quarto Lond. 1630. and dedicated to the :Right Honourable IViUmn Earl of Devonfhire. WhatSuccefs this Play, met, with, the objeili- ons againll it, and the. Authors defence ,. the Preface will inrorm you. Henry the Sixth the Firfl Part, with the Death of the Duke of Gloucejter ; a Tragedy ailed at the Duke’s Theatre, printed in quarto. Lond. 1 £8 1, and dedicated to Sr. Charles Sidley. This 96' An Account of the This Play is (if 1 miftake not) very much bo'r- row’d from the Second Part of Shakefpears Henry the Sixth ; tho’ Mr. Crown with a little too much afliirance affirms, that be has no Ti- tle to the Fortieth part of it. This Play was oppos’d by the Popiffi Fadtion, who by their Power at Court got it fupprelt : however it was well receiv’d by the Refl of the Audience. v Henry the Sixth the Second Part , dr the Mifery of Civil-War ; a Tragedy adled at the Duke’s Theatre, printed in quarto Lond.\oy. and was Chriftned on the Third of March following. He was the Mercurial Son of a Saturnine Father, Mrfohn jD’ Avemnty.2. Vintner by Profeffion : who liv’d in the fame Houfe, which is now known by the Sign of the Crown. He was formerly of Lincoln College, and inftrudted in Logick and Phylicks, by his Tutor Mr. Daniel Hough, Fel- low of th&t Society ; tho’ his Genius rather inclin’d him to walk in the more dowry Fields of Poetry, in which he made a Prodigious dif- covery : advancing eveh without any Guide, but his own Wit, and Ingenuity, as far as the Herculean Pillars (if any Inch bounds are to be fet) of Poetry. He was Poet Laureat to Two Kings, whole Meknory will always be Sa- cred to all good, loyal, and witty Men ; I mean King Charles the Fird, the Martyr for, and King Charles the Second, the Reftorer of the Proteflant Religion, according to the Church Dramatick Poets. 107 of England. During this Honour, of which his Wit and Parts render’d him Worthy, he writ (as I fuppofe) his Dramatick Pieces, of which I fhal! give iome Account. To {peak of them in general, I need only fay, that moll: of them have appear’d on the Stage with good applaule, and been receiv’d with like fuccefs in Print : the greateft part pubhfht in the Authors Life time in Quarto, and all {ince his Death collected into one Vo- lume, with his other Works, printed in Folio Lond. 1673. and dedicated by his Widow to his Royal Highnefs, the late King fames. Albov ine King of the Lombards his Tragedy , printed fir ft in quarto, and dedicated to the Right Honourable the Duke of Somerfet. This Play is commended by Eight Copies of Verfes. For the Defign, it is founded on Hilfcory. You may read the Story in leveral Hillorians : See TauJus Diaconus deGeftis Langobardorumftb.i. c. 2.8. Gregorius Epifc. Turonenfis Hift- Fran - corum , lib. 2. c. 28. Heylins Cof mography Part 1 . Book 1. p. 5-7. This Story is like wife related at large in a Novel by BandeUo , which is tran- slated by Bell for eft ■; ■ See Hiftoires Tragiques Tome 4. Nov. up. Cruel Brother , a Tragedy printed firft in quarto, and dedicated to the Right Honour- able-. the Lord IV fon} Lord High Treafurer of England. T):iftrefJ'es1 a Tragi-Comedy printed in folio, Lond. 1673. 1 Firft-days Entertainment at Rutland-houfey ehy Declamation, and Mufick, after the manner ‘ of ioS An Account of the * of the Ancients. The fubjeCt of the former of thefc Declamations is concerning Publick En- tertainment by Moral Reprefentations ;the Di- iptitants being ‘Diogenes the Cy nick, and Arijio- f banes the Poet. The later Difpute is between a Tarifian , and a Londoner , who declaim con- cerning the Preheminence o {‘Paris and London. The Vocal and Inftrumental Mufick was com- pos'd by Dt. Charles Coleman , Capt. Henry Cooky Air. Henry Laws, and Mr. George Hudfon. Fair Favourite , a Tragi-Comedy printed in folio, 1675. Juki Italian , a Tragi-Comedy printed firli an quarto, and dedicated to the Right Honour- able the Earl of Dorfety and commended by the Verfes of his F nendsyMr. kFiHiam HophnSy and Mr. Thomas Carew. Law again ft Lover Sy a Tragi-Comedy made tip of two Plays written by Mr. ShakeJpeaTy viz. Meafure for Meafwey and Much Ado about No- thing. Tho’ not only the Characters, but the Language of the whole Play almoft, be bor- row’d from Shahejpear : yet where the Lan- guage is rough or obfolete, our Author has taken care to polilh it: as to give, inftead of many, one Inftance. Shakefpear s Duke of Fi' enna lays thus (*) ; 1 love the Teople ; But do not like to Stage me to their Eyes : 7 hough it do welly T do not relifh well Their loud Applaufe^ and Aves vehement : Nor do I think the Man of fafe difcretioKy That does affefi it. (l,> Mcr this Old Hobbs. Write on (jeer ATill) and write inTaniofle, That's over Tump -ho. And for W ill Crofts his baffle , Thou may'Jt long write , That writ' ft to them that pit e. Many other Railleries were broacht againft him by his Enemies, as thofe Lines in St.John Sucklin’ s SeJJion of the Toets; the Ballad entitled How 'Daphne pays his Debts (a), and others which I might infert ; but I think ’tis time to leave thefe trifles, and acquaint my Readers, who are delighted with Criticifmes, that they may find more ferious Animadverlions on this. Poem, in the Englifh Preface written by that admirable Critick Mr. Rymer , to his Tranfla- tion of Monlieur Rapin' s Reflexions on Art- folk's Treatife of 'Toejy, printed 8° Lond.i6’~^.. This great Man Died on the Seventh day of Apt if 166S. Aged 63, and was Buried amongfl (0) Fag. 14. (9) tlmirrml) 8°* p. zo» t\k Dramatick Poctf. tt§ the Poets in WeBminjler-^bhy, near to his old Antagonift, and Rival for the Bays, Wit. Thomas i3fay. ’Twas obferv’d, that at his Funeral his Collin wanted the Ornament of his Laureats Crown, which by the Law of Heraldry julfcly appertain’d to him : but this omiffion is fuf- ficiently recompenc’d by an Eternal Fame , which will always accompany his Memory ; he having been the firft Introducer of all that is fplendid in our Englxlh Opera’s, and ’tis by his means and induftry, that our Stage at pre- sent rivals the Italian Theatre. I fiiall con- clude his Character, with that Account which Mr. 2)ry den has formerly given of him, which is the more valuable, becaufe the commenda- tion of his Predeceflbrs is feldome the Subje££ ol his Pen. 4 In the time(r) (fays he) that I 4 writ with Sr. William ‘Davenant, I had the 4 opportunity to obferve fomewhat more near- 4 ly of him, than I had formerly done, when 4 1 had only a bare acquaintance with him. I 4 found him then of fo quick a Fancy, that no- 4 thing was propos’d to him on which he 4 could not fuddenly produce a Thought ex- 4 treamly pleafant and furprifing : and thole 4 firft Thoughts of his, contrary to the old 4 Latine Proverb, Were not always the least 4 happy. And as his Fancy was quick, fo like- 4 wife were the Products of it remote and new. 4 He borrow’d not of any other ; and his Imagi- nations were fuch, as could not enter into 4 any other Man. His Corrections were fober 4 and judicious : and he corrected his owh (r) Preface to Temp eft. ii 6 An Account of the 4 Writings much more feverely than thofe of ( another Man ; bellowing twice the labour and c time in Polilhing, which he us’d in Inven- c tion. Si Jic omnia dixijfet , Dr. Charles Davenant. This Gentleman (as I fuppofe) is now liv- ing : being Son of the above-mention’d Sx.WiH Ham 'Davenant, and Dr. of Laws. He has (as I have been inform’d) a fliare in the prefent Theatre, in right of his Father ; and is jointly impower’d with the Mailer of the Revels, to infpeil the Plays defign’d for the Stage, that no Immoralities may be prefented. This Gen- tleman has writ a Play call’d Circe , a Tragedy ailed at his Royal Highnels the Duke of Torkj, Theatre, printed in quarto Loud. 1677. The Prologue was writ by Mr. Dryden , and the Epilogue by the late Earl of Rochefter. This Play, I have feen ailed with good applaule : The Plot is founded on Poeti- cal Hiltory. Sec Ovid’s Metamorph. lib. 14.. See befides Boccace , 'Phil. Bergomenfis , Nat. Comesy &c. The Scenes and Machines may give it a Title to that Species of Dramatick Poetry 3 call’d an Opera. Robert Davenport* The Author of Two Plays in the Reign of King Charles the Martyr ; tho’ not publifht till the Reign of King Charles the Second : viz. City Night -Cap] or Crede %wd habesfe babes. . aTra- Dramatick Potts, 1 1 7 a Tragi-Cotnedy, ailed with great applaufe, by her Majeflies Servants at the “Phoenix in “Drury Lane ; printed in quarto Lond. 1661. The Plot of Lorenzo , Philippo , and Abjlemia , is borrow’d from the Novel or the Curious Impertinent in the Romance of Don Quixot, Part 4. Ch.6,7,8, and that of Lodovico, Francifco , and Dorothea , from Boccace' s Novels , Day 7. Novel 7. on which likewile part of Mr. Ravenf croft s Lon- don Cuckolds is built. King John, and Matilda , a Tragedy ailed with great applaufe, by her Majeflies Servants at the Cock-pit in Drwy-lane , printed in quarto Lond. 16??. and dedicated to the Right Ho- nourable Mountague Bertie Earl of Lindfey; by the Publifher Andrew Penny cuickp, who acled the part of Matilda , Women in thofe times not having appear’d on the Stage. For the Plot read the Englifh Chronicles that have given an account of the Reign of King John ; as Mathew Paris , Poly don Vergil , Hottingfhead. \ Grafton , Danyel, Martin , Stow, Speed, Baker a Churchil, &c. Robert Daborn yctlias Dauborne > This Gentleman liv’d in the Reign of King James the Firfl, and was a Mafler of Arts, tho’ of which Univerfity I am uncertain. He writ Two Plays, viz. Chrijlian turn’d Turk, or The Tragical Lives and Deaths of the two Famous Pirates Ward and Danfiker : a Tragedy printed in quarto Lond. ifaz. For the Story I refer you to a H 5 Piece 1 18 An Account of the Piece call’d Barker s Overthrow of Captain Ward and Danfiker, two Pirates i printed in quarto Land. 1609. from which Narrative, I fuppofe pur Author borrow’d the Story. Poor Mans Comfort , a Tragi-Comedy divers times ailed at the Cockpit in Drury -lane ^ with great applaufe, and printed in 4 0 Lond. i6t>y. Tho’ this Author in his Epiflle to his Chri- stian turn'd Turk, fpeaks of his former Labours ; It has not been my fortune to have feen any of them. There is a Sermon written by One Ro- bert Ddborn , on Zach. 11. *7. printed in oilavo Lond. 1618. whether this were the fame with pur Author I know not, but ’tis probable it might be, and that he was a Divine, by thi$ Piftick which I find in an old Copy on the Time Poets ; Daw bourn I had forgot , and let it be , Tie dyd Amphibion by the Minify, John Day. This Author liv’d in the Reign of Ring fames the Firft, and was fometime Student of Caius-Colledge in Cambridge. He has written SiXvPlays, if his Parliament of Bees may pafs pnder that Species ; as the Authors of all for- mer Catalogues have plac’d it. 4 Blind Beggar of Bednal-Green , with the merry Humour of Tom Stroud the Norfolk Yeoman, divers times publickly ailed by the princes Servants, printed in quarto London 1 6s 9- For the Plot as far as it concerns, Hiilory, confult the Writers on the Reign of King Dramatick Poets7. 1 19 King Henry the Sixth : as Fabian , Caxton , Du Cheque , ?V. ?rgi/, Grafton , Stow, Speedy Sec. Humour out of Breath , a Comedy laid to be writ by our Author, but which I never law, and therefore can fay nothing of it. IJle of Gulls p, Comedy often ailed in the Black Fryars , by the Children of the Revels, printed in 40 Lond. 163 3. This is a good Play, and is founded on the incomparable Sr. 'Philip Sidney’ % Arcadia: A Romance of that elleem, that belides the frequent Editions of it in Englilh, I have feen it tranflated for the ufe of Foreigners, both in the French and Dutch Tongues. Law Tricks , or JVho would have thought itf a Comedy divers times ailed. by the Children of the Revels, and printed in quarto Lend 1 60S. Parliament of Bees , with their propet Cha- racters , or A Bee-hive furnifht with Twelve Honey-combs, as pleafant as prof table : being an allegorical defcription of the Aitions of good and bad men in thefe our days, printed in quarto Lond. 1641. and dedicated to the Worthy Gen- tleman Mr. George Butler , Profeflor of the Arts Liberal, and true Patron of negleiled Poefy. Travels of the Three Englif) Brothers , Sr. Thomas , Sr. Anthony, and Mi. Robert Shirleys a Hiliory play’d by her Majelties Servants, printed in quarto Lond. i6op. and dedicated to Honors Favourites, and the intire Friends of the Family of the Shirleys. In the Compofure of this Play our Author was affiflsd by Mr Wil- liam Rowley , and Mr. George Wilkins. The foundation of it may be read in feveral Englifh "Writers, and. Chronicles: particularly I have IU feen 1 20 An Account of tfo fcen it in Dr. Fuller ’s JV or t hies, in his Dcicrip^ tion of Sujj'ex (f). Where the Author fpeak- ing of the fubjedt of this Comedy fays thus : 4 As to the Performances of thefe Three Bre- 4 thren, I know the Affidavit of a Poet carries ? but a finall credit in the Court of Hiftory, 4 and the Comedy made of them is but a Friend- ly Foe to their Memory, as fufpeftcd more 4 accommodated to pleafe the prefent Spedta- 4 tors, than to inform Poflerity. However as 4 the belief of Mitio (when an Inventory of 4 his adopted Sons Mildemeanors was brought 4tp him) embrac’d a middle and moderate 4 way, nec omnia credere, nec nihil; neither to ‘believe all things, nor nothing of what was t told him : fo in the Lift of their Atchievements , 4 we may fafeiy pitch on the fame Proportion, 4 and when abatement is made for Toetical Em- 4 belijhments, the remainder will fpeak them 4 worthy in their Generations. When our Author Died I know not, but I have read an Elegy written on him by his Friend Mr. Tateham (‘), which begins thus ; Don Phoebus now hath loft his Light , And left his Rule unto the Night ; And Cynthia Jhe hath overcome The day, arid darkned the Sun : JVherehy we now have loft our hope, Of gaining Day ins Horofcope , &c. At this jingling rate he runs on to the end, much after the rate of a Gentleman of Lincolns Inn, who writ a more ingenious Poem, upon. (\) fag. 107. &(. (r) Fancy’s ibeetxu Dramatick Poets. 121 the Tranfa&ions between a Landlord and his Tenant T>ay, who privately departed from him by Night ; printed in a Angle Sheet, Lond. 1584. Tolhew the Parallel give me leave to tranferibe the firft fix Lines, by which the Reader may guefs at the Reft. Here Night, and Day confpire a fecret flight ; For Day they fay is gone a way by Night. TheDzy is paflflut Landlord vohere's your Rent , Tou might ha'Jeen, that Day was aimojl [pent. Day fold, and did put off what ere he mighty Tho it was ne're Jo Dark , Day would be Light. Thomas Decker. A Poet that liv’d in the Reign of King James the Firft, and was Contemporary with that admirable Laureate Mr. Benjamin Johnfon. He was more ramous for the contention he had with him for the Bays, than for any great Re- putation he had gain’d by his own W ritings. Yet even in that Age, he wanted not his Ad- mirers, nor his Friends amongft the Poets : in which number I reckon the Ingenious Mr. Richard Rrome ; who always fill'd him by the Title of Father. He clubb’d with Webfter in writing Three Plays; and with Rowley zndFord in another : and I think I may venture to fay, that thefe Plays as far exceed thofe of his own Brain, as a platted Whip-cord exceeds a finglc Thread in ftrength. Of thofe which he writ alone, I know none of niuch Efteem, except The Untrulfmg the Humourous Toet, and that v ; chiefly 222 An Account of the chiefly on account of the Subjeil of it, which was the Witty Ben Johnfon. He has had a Hand in T vvelve Plays, Eight whereof were of his own Writing. Of all which I fhall give an account, in their Alphabetical Order, as follows; Fortunatus , a Comedy ; of which I can give no other account than that I once barely law it and is printed in quarto. Honeft JVhore , the Firft Part; a Comedy, with the Humours of the Tatient Man , and the longing Wife, ailed by her Ma jefti.es Servants with great applanfe ; printed in 40 Lond.i6^s^ Honejl Whore , the Second Part ; a Comedy, with the Humours of the Tatient Man , the Im- patient Wife ; the Honejl Whore, perfwaded by ilrong Arguments to turn Curtizan again : her brave refuting thofe Arguments ; and laflly the Comical paflage of an Italian Bridewel , where the Scene ends : printed in quarto Lond. 1630. This Play I believe was never ailed, neither is it divided into Ails. The paflage between the Tatient Man , and his Impatient Wife's go- ing to fight for the Breeches, with the happy Event, is exprefl by Sr. John Harrington in Verfe. See his Epigrams at the end of Orlando Furiofo, Book 1. Epigr. 16. If this be not a good Tlay , the IP evil is in it, a Comedy ailed with great applaufe, by the Queen’s Majeflies Servants, at the Red Bull ; printed Lond. 1 6— and dedicated to his loving, and loved Friends and Fellows, the Queens Majeflies Servants: by which he means the Ailors. The beginning of his Play, feems to be writ in imitation of Matchiavd'% Novel of Bel- Dramatick Poets. ' 1 2 $ Belphegor : where SP/w/o fummons the Devils to Councel. Match me in London , a Tragi-Comedy often prefented, firft at the Bull in St. John's Street , and lately at the Private-houfe in Drury -lane', call’d the Thcenix ; printed in quarto Lond 163 1. and dedicated to the Noble Lover (and de- fervedly Beloved ) of the Mufes, Lodowick Carlel Efquire. Some account this a tolerable pld Play. Northward-Mo, a Comedy fundry times a£led by the Children of Tends, printed in quarto Lond. 1607. This Play was writ by our Au~ thor, and John IVebfter. The Plot of Green - Jhield and Featherjlone’ s pretending to May- berry that they had both lain with his Wife, and how they came to the knowledge of each other by her Ring, AB 1. Sc. 1. is founded on a Novel which is in the Ducento NoveUe del Signior Celio Malefpini , Par. 1. Nov. 2. Satyr omajtix, or The Untrujjing the Humour- ous Toet, a Comical Satyr prefented publickly by the Right Honourable the Lord Chamber - latns Servants, and privately by the Children of Tauls , printed in quarto Lond. 1602. and dedicated to the World. This Play was writ on the occalion of Ben JohnJons Toet after, where under the Title of ChriJ'pinus , Ben lafh’d our Author, which he endeavour’d to retaliate by Untruffing Ben under the Title of Horace Junior. This Play is far inferior to that of Mr .Johnfon, as indeed his abilities in Poetry were no ways comparable to his : but this may be laid in pur Author’s behalf that 1 ’twas I 24 An Account of the ’twas not only lawful, but excufable for him to defend himfelf : pray therefore hear part of his Defence in his own language, and then cenfureas you pleafe. ( Horace (fays he (u) ) •* trail’d his Toet afters to the Bar, the Voetafters 4 Untrufs’d Horace ; how worthily either, or 4 how wrongfully, ( World ) leave it to the Jury: 4 Horace (queflionlefs) made himfelf believe 4 that his Burgonian-voit might defperately chal- 4 lenge all Comers, and that none durlfc take 4 up the Foyles again!! him. Its likely, if he 4 had not fo believ’d, he had not been fo 4 deceiv’d, for he was anfwer’d at his own 4 Weapon : And if before Apollo himfelf (who 4 is Coronator Toetarum) an Inquifttion fliould 4 be taken touching this lamentable merry 4 murdering of Innocent Poetry : all Mount 4 He llic on to Bun-hill, would find it on the 4 Toet afters fide /i? defendendo. Weft-ward- Ho, a Comedy divers times ailed by the Children of Tauls, and printed in quarto Bond. 1607. This was writ by our Author and Mr. Webfter. Whore of Babylon , an Hiflory, ailed by the Prince’s Servants, and printed in quarto Lond. 1 607. The defign of this Play is under feign’d Names to fat forth the admirable Virtues of Queen Elizabeth , and the Dangers which fhe efcap’d, by the happy difcovery of thofe De- ligns againfl her Sacred Perfon by the Jefuites, and other Biggoted Papifis. The Queen is fha- dow’d under the Title of Titania ; Rome under that of Babylon ; Campian the Jefuite is repre- (w) Sec E.'iiUc Dedicatory* fented Dramatick Poets, 125 feu ted by the Name of Campeius ; Dr. Parry by Tarridel , &c. Wyat's Hiflory, a Play faid to be writ by Him and Webfier , and printed in quarto. Tho* I never faw this flay, yet I fuppofe the fubje£fc of it is Sr. Thomas Wyat of Kent, who made an Infurre£lion in theFirft year of Queen Mary to prevent her Match with Philip of Spain : but as this is only conjeilure, I mull reft in fufpence till I can fee the Play. Befides thefe Plays he joyn’d ^ith Rowley and Ford in a Play call’d The Witch oj Edmonton, of which you will find an account in William Rowley.. There are Four other Plays aferib’d to our Author, in which he is faid hy Mr. Philips (*) and Mr. Winjlanley (*) to be an Aflociate with 'John Webfier ; viz. Noble Stranger ; New Trick, to Cheat the T)evil ; IVeakeJl goes to the Wall; Woman mil have her Will In all which they are miftaken; for the firft was written by Lewis Sharp, and the otl\cr by anonymous Authors. Sir John Denham, Knight ' of the B ATH. A Poet of thefirftForm, whofe Virtue and Memory will ever be as dear to all Lovers of Poetry, as his Perfon was to Majefty it felf ; I mean, King Charles the Firft, and Second. (n) Modem Volts', p, n6. (3) Lives of the Peetsp.t 37. He 126 An Account of the He was the only Son of Sir John 'Denham of little Horejly in EJfex, but Born at Dublin in Ireland. His Father being at the time of his Nativity a Judge of that Kingdome, and Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. But before the Foggy Air of that Climate, could influence, or any way adulterate his Mind, he was brought from thence his Father being prefer’d to be One of the Barons of the Exchequer in England, At Sixteen years of Age, in the Year 1631. he was taken from School, and fent to the Uni- verfity of Oxford \ where he became a Member of Trinity Colledge. In this Society he fpent fome years ; after he was remov’d again to Lon - don , and follow’d the Study of the Civil Law. The Civil War breaking out, this Honour- able Perfon exerted his Loyalty fo far, that upon the voluntary offer of his Service, he was intrufted by the Queen, to deliver a Met- fage to his Majefty, (?) 4 Who at that time {viz. 4 in 1647.) was in the hands of the Army. By 4 Hugh 'Peters's Affiftance he got admittance 4 to the King, who was then at Caufham , and 4 having deliver’d his Inftru&ions, his Majefty 4 was pleafed to difcourfe very freely with him 4 of the whole ftate of Affairs ; and at his de~ 4 parture from Hampton - Court ^ he was pleas’d 4 to command him to ftay privately in London , 4 to fend to him, and to receive from him all 4 his Letters from and to all his Correfpon- 4 dents at Home and Abroad ; and he was fur- 4ther furnifht with Nine Cyphers in order to 4 it: which Truft he performed with great. VzJ See nis Epittis to Jung 'GhUrles the Second, f, fa ft- Dramdtick Poets. 127 4 fefety to the Perfons with whom he corre- 4 fponaed ; but about Nine Months after, being 4difcover’d by their knowledge of Mr .Cowley % 4 Hand, he happily efcap’d beyond-Sea both for 4himfelf, and thofe that held Correfpondence 4 with hnn. He got fafe to His Majefty King 4 Charles the Second, and during his Attend- ance on the King in Holland and France , His 4 Majefty was pleas’d fometimes to give him 4 Arguments, to divert and’ put off the evil 4 Hours of their Bamlhment, which (as he 4 modeftly exp relies himfelf) now and then 4 fell not fhort of His Majefty ’s Expectation. At His Majefty’s departure from St .Germains to Jerjejr, he was pleas’d without any Pollicita- tion, to confer upon Sir John , the office of Sur- veyor General of all His Majefties Royal Build- ings; and at his Coronation, created him Knight of the Bath. This Honor he enjoy’d Eight years, and then fur render’d up his Honor with his Soul, on the Tenth day of March in the Year 1668. at his Houfe near White-hall, and was Buried the Twenty-third Inftant at Wejt- minfter , amongft thofe Noble Poets, Chaucer „ Spencer , and Cowley. After this Abridgment of his Life, I am next to give you a Summary of his Works, They confift of Poems, part of which are Tran- flations ; as The ‘DefiruEhon of Troy , an EJfay on the Second Book of Virgil’r Asneis, The Tafflon of Dido for ./Eneas, being the later parr, of the Fourth Hook\Sarpedon s Speech to Glaucus 7 being part of the Twelfth Book of Homer ; Two Pieces from the Italian, of Mancinij upon. izS An Account of tbs the two fir ft Cardinal Virtues, ‘Prudence, arid JuBice , &c. Others, are his own Productions, among!! which his Coopers Hill is molt com- mended ; A Poem , which (in the Opinion of Mr. ‘Dry den (a), who is without contradiction a very able Judge in Poetry) for the Majefty of the Stile , is, and ever will be, the exaSl Standard of good IV siting. His Verfes on Sir William . fiat fbaw's Tranflation of IlPaflor Fido , and his Preface to the ‘Deftruliion of Troy, (hew fufficiently his Judgment, and his Tranflations / themfelves his Genius, for Peformances of that nature : and admitting it true, that few Ver- fions defer ve praife ; yet His are to be excepted from the general Rule. His Elegy on Mr, Cowley , (part of which we have tranferibed already in the Account of that great Man (b), •will make his Name famous to Poflerity : and there wants nothing to eternife his Name, but a Pen equal to his, (if any fuch were to be found) to perform the like Friendly office to his Manes. He has writ but one Play, but by that Speci- men we may judge of his ability in Dramatick, . as well as Epick Poefy ; this Play being gene- rally commended. ’Tis call’d 'The Sophy, a Tra- gedy, aCled at tliePrivate-houfe in Blackfriars with good applaufe: ’Twas firffc printed in quarto Lond. i6q,x. but fince publiffit with his Poems and Tranflations; all which are dedi- cated to King Charles the Second. The lafl Edition being printed in oCtaVo Lond. idyi. For the Plot of this Play, it is the fame with (a J fcp. Lied, to l{ival Lidia, (b) Sec Pig- 83, that BrAmtiuk Fbetsl 129 that of Baron s iSMirza, (which Story you may find in Herberts Trjtif ls) tho’ differently hancU led by each Poet : and tho’ it has been objected by Mr. Baron, that.Qi.if. Author kiilsAbbas in this Tragedy, wh6' really furviv’d Lome years after the Murther of his Son; it may be an- fwer’d, That he did only Poetical Juftice, and took no other Liberty thail what is fallow’d by HorMe (c): TiBoribus atque Toetis Quidlibet audendi femperfmt . front fWels, : witnefs The 4 Chan.ce-sy: 7 h&Spanijh-, Gw ait y Mi*l$ <*. fFtfe and .The \liitle^Ennc% Eayyer, and fo 4 many othejjsrol tktm. a& compofe the greateft 4part;|Q,f thexr Vohnne in Kolio. • As;tA the great Ben-jfohnfon he deeds not iJHtch , better with hj my, -though he, wduld be th.owgi^t .toadinire hint - and if he praiife him in one Ppcgiyhe wipes it out in another ; ithus tho’ '^cisaf^.him TbfrjmJl Judic.iQm:afM\ets (ft), ^•m&TTirttitaMe Written yet, he fays, his Exc'el- 4lene"y\l% indhe. low Charadlers ol -yiee,.and 4 Folly. When at.anb ; time, (.tays-rhc) Ben 5'aim’dxiat WitiA the ffribletc ibnoep that is ffHarpuftfehl Cohctit,(hf wasltorc’d to' borrow 4 from the Ancients, (as, -to my Knowledge he 4 diet ver?y much ixtxmSSbttttits- ;■), voariiwhen he 4 truffcedhimfclf aloneyoften lell ,inuto .rheannefs 4 of expreliion. Nay he.tVas not free from the -dowiemaflid moftgro'sreiing Kimdof vWitywhich 4 we.call Clenches ; of which Every Man in his 4 fTtotitwy is infinitelylfullj and which isworie, 4 the, wittiefl; PeflunsFi'n the Etoaanma fpeak 5 thetwJ >; ■ r:r.c:i\ i u ion ^oU; Thelu are his own; Words, atidi his Judg- mental' thefe three Great Men in particular, nowi take his Opinion of them dllvin general, which is as follows ; (r) 4 But Malice and Par- . (p) trei. Asirol. B. 4. (q) i'oft:cripc> />, 146. (r) Pbft- fenpt, pag, I 4tiali- Dr amatick Poets. 1 57 ‘tiality fet apart, let any Man, who under- ‘ Hands Englilh, read diligently the Works of ‘ Shake f pear and Fletcher. ; . and I dare u ndertake ‘that lie will find in:, every Page, either fome ‘ Svkcifmem Speech, or fome notorious flaw in ‘Sence. In the next Page, fpeaking of their Sence and Language, he lays, ‘ I dare aim oil 4 challenge any Man to Ihew me a Page toge- ‘ the which is coVreft in both. As for Bert . 14S. (y) Ib,d. p. 144- W Ibid, p.149* Dramatick Poets. 139 procedure feems exactly agreeable to the Cha- racter which an ingenious Perfon draws of a Malignant Wit, ( a) ‘Who contcious of his own * Vices, and ftudious to conceal them, en- deavours by Detraction to make it appear that 1 others aifo of greater Eftimation in the 1 world, are tainted with the fame or greater : fas Infamous Women generally excufe their e perfonal Debaucheries, by incriminating up- e on their whole Sex, callumniating the molt * Chafl and Virtuous, to palliate their own dif- 1 honour. But ’tis not the Poets only that Mr. 'Dryden attacks, for had I time, I could eafily prove he has Almanzor-like fell foul upon almoft all Re- ligions, Parties, and Orders of Mankind ; fo that whilfi: he was Apollo's Subflitute, he has play’d as odd Tricks, and been as Mad as his own Wild-Bull which he turn’d loofe in Sierra Honda (b ) / JVhtlJl Monarch-like he rang’d the lifted Fieldy Some tofs'd ' fome gor'd, fome trampling down he kill'd. And as if by being Laureat, he were as In- fallible as St. Teter's Succeflor; and had as large a Defpotick Power as Pope Stephanas the Sixth to damn his Predeceflors ; he has aflault- ed with all the Bitternefs imaginable not only the Church of England ’ but alfo ridicul’d the feveral Profeffions of the Lutherans , Calvinifts , Socinians, Treshyterians , Hugonots, Anabaptijlsy (a) Dr. Cb&rtetori $ Different Wits of Men* p • 110. (b) jSonqueftof Granada, part 1. Ad. x. Sc. 1, Inde- S40, An Account of the independent sy Quakers, &c. thoT mult obferve by the way,, that forae people among the Pep- Iwafiohs here mention1 a might juftly have ex- pelled better ufage from him on Account of old Acquaintance in the Year 1 6yp. But this being at prelent Foreign to my Subject, I fnall riot after an Adtof Oblivion revive forgotten Crimes, but go on with the Thing I have un- dertook, (to wit) The Defence of the Poets of the lall Age. Were Mr. 'Dry den really asgreat a, Scholar, as he would have the World believe him to be ; he would have call’d to mind, that Homer , whom he profelleth to imitate, had let him a better pattern of Gratitude, who mentions with Refpeift andEindncfs his Mailer ‘Phemis, Mentor bfi Ithaca, and even Tychius, the ho- riefl Leatiier-drelTe'r. Had he follow’d F’irgth Wriomne would be thought to exteem ; inltead of Reproaches, he had heap’d Panegvricks, oil the Afttes oi- his |Ih*ft*io^j&*<^ and rather than.hawetex’d them' wkh'thh'k Errors in fuch a rude manner, would have ehdea- vour’d to fix them in the Temple of Fame, as he did Muffiis, and the Ancient Poets in Elijiuniy amdnglL.the. Magnanimous Heroes^ and TeuUfs ‘6ff fpf injg ; ififingthem, , ---“•rjtt f ate's , fyPIcebo digna locuti. Had lie' oblerv’d Ovid' s -Elegy ad Invidos (f j he might have found that good humour’d Gen- tleman,nor only commending his Predeceflofs, but even liis Cotemporaries. But it fee ms he has follow’d Horace, whom he boalts tP have_ v£t leid, lib, 6. (d) Amoium, i. 1. El, 1/, fludi- Dramatick Poets,. 143: ftudiecl (e), and whom lie has imitated in hts greateft Weakness, 'I mean his Ingratitude : if at lealt chat excellent Wit could be guilty of a Crime, fo much below his Breeding; for the very fufpicion of which, Scaliger ( who like Mr. Dryden leldome Ipares anjr manjt has term’d him Barbarous ( 1 ). Ingratus Horatius, atque animo bar bar 0 atq.ue fervili ; qui ne a Me- cenate quidern abdinere potuit : ftquidem quod aiunt , verum eft , Malthinum ab eo appeUatumr cujus demijfas notaret tunic da (s). Mr. Drydett having imitated the fame Fa£t, certainly he deferves the fame punifhraent : and if we may not with Scaliger call him Barbarous, yet all ingenious Men, that know how he has dealt with Shakefpear, will count him ungrateful ; who by furbifhing tip an Old Play, witnefs The Tempeji , and Troilus and Crejfida , has got more on the third Day, than its probable, ever Ho- race receiv’d from his Patron for any One Poem in all his Life. The like Debt he Hands engag’d for to the French for feveral of the Plays, he has publilht ; which if they exceed Mr. Shakefpear in Oeconomy, and Contrivance, ’tis that Mr. Dry den % Plays owe their Advantage to his skill in the French Tongue, or to the Age, rather than his own Conduct, or Performances. Honell Shakefpear was not in thole days ac- quainted with thofe great Wits, Sender y^ Cal- pranede , Scarron , Corneille , See. He was as much a Stranger to French as Latine, (in which, if we believe Benjohnfon, he was a very fmall (e) Pref. Relig. Ltici. laft Paragraph. (fj Poet. L.3.C.97. (sj mitbim cunicis dcmiffis ambuht : Sitymr. L.i. Sa-.i. Pro- 142 An Account of the Proficient ; ) and yet an humble Story of t>o- radus and Favonia^ ferv’d him for A Winter's Tale , as well as The Grand Cyrus , or The Cap- tive Qpeen, could furnilh out a Laureat for a Conquejl of Granada. Shahefpear’s Meafure for Meafure, however defpis’d by Mr. 2 iryden with his Much Ado about Nothing , were believ’d by Sr. William Tavenant , (who I prefume had as much judgment as Sir Tofitive At-all h ) to have Wit enough ,in them to make one good Play. To conclude, if Mr. Shakefpear's Plots are more irregular than thofe of Mr. Try den's (which by fome will not be allow’d) ’tis be- caufe he never read Ariflotley or Rapin ; and I think Taffo's Arguments to Apollo in defence of his Gierufalemme Liber ata may be pleaded incur Author’s behalf (') Che folo haveaub- hidito al talent 0, che gli have a dato la Natura , <(y al infpiratione della J'uafereniJJima Calliope ; che per cio li pareva di compitamenie haver fodis - fatto a gli obblighi tutti deUa Toetica , nella quale fua Maejla non havendo preferitto legge alcunaf non fapea veder con qual autoritd Arilfcotile ha- veJJ'e publicato le Regale di ejja : e ch' egli non mat havendo udito dire , che in Parnaflo ft deffe altro Signore , che fua Maefla , e le fue Sereniffme Dive , ilfuo Teccato di non haver e ubbidito a' commandamenti d' Ariffcotile era proceduto da tnera ignoranza , non da malitia alcuna. The (h! See Sullen Lovers , p. y. (i) I Raggua%li di Turnajfo di Boctali.ii, Ragg. 28. Or Boccali/ii’s .ftdvercifcments from Parna/fus Advert f. 28. Sencc Dyamatick Poets. 145 Sence of which is thus ; That he had- only obferv’d the Talent which Nature had given him, and which his Calliope had inlpi red into him : Wherein he thought he had fulfill’d all the duties of Poetry, and that his Majelly ha- ving prefcrib’d no Laws thereunto, he knew not with what Authority Arijlotle had pub- lilhed any Rules to be obferved in it : and that he never having heard that there was any o- ther Lord in TarnaJJus but his Majelly, his fault in not having oblerv’d Ariftoi.le'% Rules, was, an Error of Ignorance, and not of any Malice. As to Mr. Fletcher, Ihould we grant that he underllood not the "Decorum of the Stage, as Mr. Dry den, and Mr. Fleck&oe before him in his Difcourfe on the Englilh Stage, obferve ; his Errors on that account, are more pardona- able than thole of the former, who pretends lo well to know it, and yet has offended againft lome of its moll obvious and ellablilhed Rules. Witnefs Torphirius (k) his attempt to kill the Emperor whole Subject he was, and who offer’d to adopt him his Son, and give him his Daugh- ter in Marriage. Thilocles ( 1 ) joining with Prince Lajimantes in taking the Queen Pri- foner, who rais’d him to be her chief Fa- vourite (m). If to wound a Woman be an In- decency and contrary to the Charailer of Man- hood, of which he accufes Thilajler , * and Terigot : * than Mr.Drfdenhis equally offended with Mr. Fletcher , fince he makes Ahdelmelech (k) Tyranick Love, (l! Maiden Queen, (n) Pofii'crsp:, pag. 144. * Phi* after. * Faithful ShpoherLt. kill 144 -An -Account of tfe kill Lyndaraxa ( n ). If it be contrary to the ' Decorum of the Stage for 'Demetrius and Leon- tius to Ifcay in the midll of a routed' Army, to hear the cold Mirth of The Humourous Lieu- tenant (°) ’tis certainly no lei's, to hay the Queen and her Court, to hear the cold Mirth of Ce- ladon and Florimel about their Marriage Cove- nants, whilfl the mainAdlion is depending (P). If Mr. Fletche t be tax’d by Mr. Dryden ( q ) for introducing Demetrius with a Piftol in his Hand (in the Humourous Lieutenant) in the next Age to Alexander the Great : I think Mr. Dryden committed as great a Blunder in his Zamhra Dance (r), where he brought in the Mahometans bowing to the I mage of Jupiter. I could give you feveral other Inflances , but thefe are enough to fhew, that Mr.. Dryden is no more Infallible than his Predeceffars; As to his failing in the two laffc A 24- K % what 148 An Account of tbs what they have borrow’d from the Ancients* J fliall leave to the decilion of the abler Cri- ticks : only this I mull fay, in behalf of the later, that he has no ways endeavour’d to con- ceal what he has borrow’d, as the former has generally done. Nay, in his Play call’d Sejanus he has printed in the Margent throughout, the places from whence he borrow’d : the fame he has practic'd in feveral of his Mafques, (as the Reader may find in his Works ; ) a Pat- tern, which Mr. ‘Dry den would have done well to have copied, and had thereby fav’d me the trouble of the following Annotations. There is this difference between the Pro- ceedings of thefe Poets, that Mr. JohnJ'on has by Mr. Dry dens Confeffion (b) Defign'd his ‘Plots himfelf ; whereas I know not any One Play, whofe Plot may be faid to be the Product of Mr. Dry dens own Brain. When Mr. John- Jon borrow’d, ’twas from theTreafury of the - Ancients, which is fo far from any diminution of his Worth, that I think it is to his Honor; at leaf-wife I am lure he is juftified by his Son Carthwright, in the following Lines (c) : IV hat tho ’ thy fe arching Mufe did rake the dujl~ Of Time , (Jr purge old Mettals from their Ruji ? Is it no Labour , no Art , think they , to Snatch Shipwracks from the Deepens Divers do ? And ref cue Jewels from the covetous Sand , Making the Seas hid IVealth adorn the Land ? IV hat tho thy culling Mufe did rob the ft ore Of Greek and Latine Gardens , to bring o' re ibj Pr.f. Mufk .‘ifrvL (cj Cmlvwrighc’j Poems, p. j 1 5. Plants Dramatick Poets. 149 * 'Plants to thy Native Soil ? their Virtue were Improv'd far more , by being planted here : If thy Still to their EJfence doth refine So many Drugs , is not the Water thine ? ‘Thefts thus become juft W -irks ; they and their Grace Are wholly thine; thus doth the Stamp and Face Make that the Kings that's ravijh'd from the dFline ; In others then Us Oar , in thee ’ tis Coin. On the contrary, tlio’ Mr. Dry den has like- wife borrow’d from the Greek and Latine Poets, as Sophocles , Virgil Horace , Seneca , &c. which I purpofely omit to tax him with, as thinking what he has taken to be lawful prize : yet I cannot but obferve withal ; that he has plunder’d the chief Italian , Spanifi, \ and French Wits for Forage, notwithstanding his pretend- ed contempt of them : and not only fo, but even his own Countrymen have been lore ’d to pay him tribute, or to fay better, have not been exempt from being Pillag’d. This I fliall fuf- ficiently make out in the Examen of his Plays ; in the mean time, give me leave to fay a word, or two, in Defence of Mr. Johnfon’s way of Wit, which Mr. Dry den calls Clenches . There have been few great Poets which have not propos’d fbme Eminent Author for their Pattern , ( Examples of this would be needle!^ and endlefs.) Mr. Johnfon propos’d Plautus for his Model, and not only borrow’d from him, but imitated his way of Wit in Eng- lifli. There are none who have read him, but K 3 are 150 An Account of the are acquainted with his way of playing with Words : .1 will give one Example for all, which the Reader tnay find in the very entrance of his Works ; I mean the Prologue to Amphitruo. Juftam rem & facilem or at pm a vobis volo : Platn jufte abjujiis jmtus fum Orator datus. Nam injujia ab jujiis tmpet) are non decet : Juftd'auiem ab injuftis petere injipientia'ji. Nor might- this be the foie Realbn for Mr. Johnforis, Imitation, for poflibly ’twas his Com-, pliance with the Age that induc’d him to this Wa^' of writing, it being then as Mr. T)ryden oblervesj(d) the Mode of Wit, the Vice of the Age, aftdhot Benjobnfdn’s: and befides Mr. JDryderis taxing Sir Tbihp Sidney for playing with his- Words, I may add that I find it pra- ctis’d by fevferal. Dramatick Poets, who were Mr. yd/Mfon' s CoteiTiporaries : and notwith- llanding the advantage which this Age claims over the -laft, we find Mr. T>ryden himlelf as well as Mt.JohnJon , not only given to Clinches ; but fometimes a Carwichet , a Quarter -quibble y or a bare Tun ferves his turn, as well as his Friend Burin his Wild Gallant j and there- fore he might have fpar’d this Reflection, if he had given himlelf the liberty of Thinking. As to his Reflections on this Triumvirate in general : I might ealily prove, that his Im- proprieties in Grammar, are equal to theirs: and that He himlelf hits been guilty of Sole- cifms in Speech, and Flaws in Sence, as well, as Shakejpeary Fletcher^ and JohnJ'on : but this (dj Fofticrjpt to Graitadiy p. 148. would Dr m At kk Poets. 151 ■would be to waft Paper and Time : and befides* I confider that Apollos Laws like thofe of our own Nation, allow no Man to be try’d twice for the fame Crime ; and Mr. "Dry den having already been arraign’d before the Wits upon the Evidence of the Rota , and found Guilty by Mr. Clifford the Foreman of the Jury : I fhall fupprels my further Evidence, till I am ferv’d with a Subpoena, by him, to appear before that Court, or have an AClion clapp’d upon me by his Proftor, as guilty of a Scandalum Archi- Roeta ; and then I fhall readily give in my De- pofitions. For thefe, and the like Reafons, I fhall at prefent pafs by his dif-obliging Reflections on feveral of his Patrons, as well as the Poets his Cotemporaries : his little Arts to fet up him- felf, and decry others ; his dexterity in alter- ing other Mens Thoughts, fo as to make them pafs for his own ; his Tautologies ; his Petty- Larcenies, which notwithftanding his ftiling of himfelf Saturnine , fhew him fufficiently Mercurial \ at leaft, if Plagiaries may be ac- counted under the Government of that Planet. In fine, (if Old Moody will allow me to borrow that word) he refembles Vulgar Painters, who can tolerably copy after a good Original, but. either have not judgment, or will not take the pains themfelves to defign any thing of value. This will eafily appear in the follow- ing Account of his Plays, of which I come now to fpeak. Viz. Albion and Albanius, an Opera perform’d at the Queen’s Theatre in Dorfet-Garden, and K 4 prin- 1^2 An Account of the printed in Folio, Lond. i68y. ‘The Subject ‘of it (as the Author lays) is wholly Alle- ‘ gorical ; and the Allegory it felf fo very ob- i vious, that it will no fooner be read, than ‘ underltood. I heed not therefore take the pains to acquaint my Reader, that by the Man on the Pedeltal,who is drawn with a long, lean, pale Face, with Fiends Wings, and Snakes twilled round his Body : and incompalt by fe- veral Phanatical Rebellious Heads, who fuck Poyfonfrom him, which runs out of a Tap in his Side, is meant the late Lord Shaftsbury , and his Adherents. I lhall not pretend to pal's my cenfure whether he deferv’d this ulage from our Author, or no; but leave it to the ■judgments of Statefmen and Polititians. How well our Author has drawn his other Cha- racters, I fhall leave to the decilion ol the Cnticks: as alfo whether Monlieur Grabut , or our Poet dele rves the preference; or either of them merit thofe Applaufcs which Mr AJrydefi in both their Names challenges as their due; lince I find an Author ol a different Opinion, who thtfs deferibes them. . p'rabut bis Toft -mate ne'rejhallbe forgot , Whom th' God of Tunes upon a Mufe begot. Bays on a double fcore to him belongs : As well for writing as for fetting Songs. Tor fome have fvpQrnftl) Intrigue fo od is laid)') That. Bayes (ind He mifiook each others 7 rade>- Grabut the Lines , and He (he Mu fickjnade . j All for Love , or The World well Loft ; a Tra- gedy adted at the Theatre Royal; and written ; • '{ . in Dramatick Poets. 15$ 111 imitation of Shakefpear's (tile, printed in quarto Lond. 1678. and dedicated to the Right Honourable Thomas Earl of ‘Dauby. That our Author has nearly imitated Shakefpear is evi- dent by the following Inflance. In the Co- medy call’d Much Ado about Nothing (e) the .Ballard accufes Hero of Difloyalty before the Prince, and Claudio her Lover : who (as fur- pris’d at the News,) asks, Who ! Hero ? Baji. Even (lie, Leonatd-s Hero , your Hero, every Mans Hero. In this Play, ( f) on the like oc- calion, where Hentidius accufes Cleopatra , An- tony fays, Not Cleopatra ! Hen.. Even fhe my Lord! Ant. My Cleopatra} Hen. Your Cleo- patra ; Dollabella’s Cleopatra : Every Mans Cleo- patra. Ex homine hunc natum die as. Our Au- thor with juftice prefers the Scene betwixt An - tonius and Hentidius in the firll A£t, to any thing he has written in that kind : but as to his defence of the Scene between Offavia and Cleopatra , in the. end of the third Ait, there are fome Criticks who are not yet fatisfied, that it is agreeable to the Rules of Decency and Decorum , to make Perlons of their Cha- raiter demean themfelves contrary to the Mo- delly of their Sex. For the Plot fee ‘Plutarch in Hit. M. Ant. Suetonius in Aug. Dion CaJJius , Lib. 48. $ 1 . Grofms , Lib. 6. Cap. 7. Florus, L. 4. C.i r. Appian de Beilis Civilibus, L.y. . Amboyna , a Tragedy ailed at the Theatre Royal; printed in quarto Lond. 1673. and dedi- cated to the Right Honourable the Lord Clif- ford of Chudleigh. The Plot of this Play is (?) Aft 5. p. ioi. (f) Aft 4. p. 54. found- 1^4 An Account of the founded chiefly on Hiflory, being an Account of the Cruelty of the Dutch to ourGountry- Men in Amboyna, An.Dom. 1618. There was u Book pubhfht by the Eaji-India Company, which I never faw, but I have read a Relation extracted from thence by Mx.Turchas^sxd. prin- ted in his ‘pilgrimage, Vol. II. L. io. Ch. 1 6. There are feveral other Authors that have mention’d this Story, as SanderJ'ons Hillory of fames, pag. 5-77. Stubb's Relation of the Dutch Cruelties to the Engltjh at Amboynay •printed in quarto Lond. i6?a. Wanley s Hi- story of Lib. 4. Ch. 10. Ex. 1. The Plot •of the Rape of Ifabinda , by Harman Junior, -is founded on a Novel in Cynthio Gyraldi , Deca HoVi 10. ■ - < Afjignation , or Love in a Nunnery , a Comedy ailed at the Theatre Royal, printed in quarto Lond. 1678. and dedicated to his molt Honour’d Friend Sir Charles Sidley Baronet. This Play was Damn’d on the Stage, or as the Author phrafes it ( «), it Jucceeded-ill in the Reprefenta- tion. I fhall not pretend to determine, any •more than the Author, L Whether the fault 4 was in the Play it felfj or in the lamenefs of 4 the Aition, or in the number of its Enemies, 1 who came refolv’d to damn it for the Title : but this I know, that his Refleilions on Mr. Ravencrofts Play , call’d Mamamouchi , pro- vok’d him to a retort in another Prologue (h) to a new Play of his ailed the Vaca- tion following, part of which as relating to this Play, I fhall tranfcribe. (g) Epiftle Dedicatory! (h) car clefs Lovers. An Dramatick Poets. *55 An Author did to pleafe you, let his Wit run Of late , much on a SerVing-man, Cittern j And yet you would not like the Serenade, Nay, and you damn'd his Nuns in Mafquerade. Tou did his Spanilh Sittg-fong too abhor. Ah ! que locura con tanto rigor. In fine, the whole by you fo much was blam'd. To aft their parts the Players were afham’d ; Ah l how fever e your Malice was that Day ; To damn at once the Poet and his Play. But why, was your Rage juft at that time Jhown , When what the Poet writ, was all his own ? [late. And thafe Plays found a more indulgent Fate. But in this Mr. Ravencroft is very much de- ceiv’d, for moll; of the Characters, as well as the Incidents are borrow’d from French Ro- mances ; as for inllance, The Characters of the Duke of Mantua, Prince Frederick and Lu± cretia, are borrow’d from The Annals of Love, 8° in the Story of Conjlance the fair Nun, pag. 81. but as to the Scene of the Petticoat and Belly Ake if) fo much commended by Mr. Bayes (k), I believe ’twas Mr. Dry den's own Contrivance. The Characters of Aurelian , Camitto , Laura, and Violetta , are taken from Scarrons Comical Bomance, in the Hillory okDejtiny and Madam Star. See Ch. 1 3 . pag. 43 . The Humour of Be- nito's, affeCting Mufick, to the prejudice of his Caicafs ('), is borrow’d from Quinault’s Cha* raCter of ffodolet, in the begining of his La Comedie, fans Comedie. The paffage of Fron- r~Ii) Aa4o' 5c.r. (10 Rthearfal) [°33» (0 A&.j. 5c. i. 1 Iona’s 1 56 An Account of the tonds throwing water upon Laura and Violetta (m) is taken from Les Contes de M. de la Fon- taine, premiere par tie, Nov. 1 1 . p. 74. There are other French Authors that have handled the fame Story, as Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvelles. La Damoifelle a Cceur ouvert &c. Aureng-zebe , a Tragedy acted at the Theatre Royal, printed in quarto Lond. 1 676. and dedi- cated to the Right Honourable John Earl of Mulgrave. The Plot of this Play is related at large in Tavernier % Voyages into the Indies. Vol. I. Part a. Ch.2. Our Author is not wholy iree from Thefts in this Play, and thofe who have ever read Seneca's Hippolitus , will allow that Aureng-zebe has fome refemblance with his Charader, and that Nourmahal, is in part copied from Thaidra, which will the better ap- pear, if the Reader will compare the follow- ing Lines. (") Hip. Thefei vultus atm Jllos prior es , quos tulit quondam puer ; Cumprima pur as barbajignaret genas , Aur.ip) I am not chang’d, I love myHusband Hill; RutLove him as he was when youthful Grace And the firffc bloom began to {hade his Face. Hi pi Magne re gnat or Dehm, Tam lentus audis feeler a ? tarn lent us vides ? Ecquando Saeva fulmen emittes manu , Si nunc J'erenum ejl ? Me velox cremet TranfaSlus ignis. Sum nocens ; merui mori , Tlacui novercal. (m) Aft ;.p. iz. (n) HppoliUli, Aft z. Sc. 3- (0) Aureng - %".hh 'Aft 4 . Sc. 1 . Anr> Dramatic k Poets. 1 57 Aur. Heavens can you this without juft ven- geance hear, When will you Thunder, if it now be clea r \ Yet Her alone let not your Thunder feize : I too delerve to dye, beeaule I pleafe. I could cite other paflages in this Play bor- row’d from Seneca , but this is enough to con- vict our Author of borrowing from the Latine Poets, now give me leave to give you one In- ftance likewife of his borrowing from Mr.. Miltons Sampfon Agoniftes. (p) cDal. I fee thou art implacable, more deaf (Teas To Prayers than winds and feas, yet winds to Are reconcil’d at length, and fea to fhore : Thy anger unappeafable ftill rages. Eternal Tempell never to becalm’d. * Emp. Unmovd floe fioodyfr deaf to all my prayers , As Seas and Winds to finking Mariners , But Seas grow Calm^and Winds are reconcil'd: Her Tyrant Beauty never grows more mild. There are many other Hints from this Poem,, that are inferted in this Play by Mr. IDryden > and which I fhould not have laid to his Charge had he not accus’d Ben Johnfon of the fame Crime. Conyuejlof Granada , by the Spaniards , in two Parts, ailed at the Theatre-Royal, printed in quarto Bond. 1678. (* *1) and dedicated to his Royal Highnefs the Duke. Thefe Plays I have feen ailed with great Applaufe, which fo pufft up our Author with vanity, that he could not (p) Sumpfo! t Agonifies, p. 108. * Am* p. 8. (<]) Third Edic. • * re. x $8 An Account of the refrain from abufing his Predecefiors, not only in the Poftfcript already mention’d ; but even in a detracting Epilogue to the fecond Part, which I fhall leave to the Readers perufaL I have already hinted, that not only the Epi- fodes and main Plot, but even the Characters are alp borrow’d from French and Spanifh Ro- mances, as Almahide, Grand Cyrus , Ibrahim , and Gufman : fo that Mr. Dry den may be laid to have made a Rod for himfelf, in the follow- ing Lines; (') And may thofe drudges of the Stage, vehofe Fate Is damn'd dull Farce more dully to Tranjlate , Fall under that Exctfe the State thinks fit To fet on ^//French JVaresyohoj'e worfl is JVit. F rench Farce worn out at home , is fent abroad; And pat cht up here is made our Englijh Mode. How much Mr. Dry den has borrow’d from the French in this Play, cannot be comprehend- ed in the compafs to which I confine my felf; and therefore I fhall only mention fome of the nioft remarkable Paflages which are flollen. I am therefore in the firlt place to begin with the Perfons reprefented : The Character of Alman- zor is chiefly taken from Tonce de Leon in Al- mahide ; from Ozmin in Gufman, and Artaban in Cleopatra. His other Characters of Boab- delin, Almahide, Ferdinand and Ifabella, Duke of Arc os, Ozmin, Hamet, Gomel, &c. are taken from Almahide. The Characters of Ozmin and Benzaida, are borrow’d from Ibrahim, in the Story of Ozmin and Alibech, and Lyndaraxa 9 (rj Prologue, Firfl part. are Dramatick Poets. 159 are copied from Prince Ariantes,Agathirfis, and Elibejis ; See Grand Cyrus, Part IX. Book I. I am now to give fome Inltances that may make good my AlTertion, That Mr. "Dry den has borrow’d moil of his Thoughts, as well as his Characters from thole Authors abovemention’d, tho’ he has new cloath’d them in Rime. In the beginning of the Firft A Ct, he has borrow’d the Defcription of his Bull-jeajl , from Guzman s Juego de Toros Cannas : See the Story of Oz « min and Bar ax a , part 1 . pag. 82,. and By. The Defcription of the Factions pag. 4. is borrow’d from Almahide p. 1. The next four Lines fpo- ken by the King is taken from Prince Muj]d% advice in Almahide , p. 6. The King’s Speech in going between the Factions, y. is bor- row’d from Almahide , Part 3. Book 3. p. 63, The Defcription of the Quarrel between Ta- rtf a and Ozmin , is founded on Abindarrays his Speech in Aim. p. 2,. The Rile of the Fami- lies, p. 6. ' from the lame. Almanzor' s killing Gomel , from Aim. p .64. His quelling the Facti- ons, from Aim. p. 64, 6y. In the Second ACt, Almanzor' s ViCtory, and his taking the Duke of Arcos Prifoner, p, 12. is copied from Alma - hide , p. 6y. The Scene between Abdalla and Lyndaraxa, p. 13. is llollen from Aim. p. 62. and from the Story of Elibefis in Cyrus , Part 9. Book 1. p. 2,0. Zulema’s Plea for Abdalla s right to the Crown, p. 17. is copied from Alm.p.62. His tempting him to Rebellion, from Cyrus in the place abovC-mention’d. In the Third Act, Almanzor % going o-verto Abdalla , on the Kings refnfal to gram: the Diuke of Arcos his Liberty, pag.1%. I 160 An Account of the pag. 18. is taken from Aim. p. yy. fyc. The Alarm after the Zambia Dance from the fame page. The firfl meeting of Almanzor and Al- m abide ^ p. 2 '7. from Aim. p. <5p. 0's Abdalla and Almanzor, p. go. from Aim. p.71. TheContro- verfy between Almanzor and Zulema , p. 3 1. from the lame Column. In the Fourth Act, Alman- zor’s going over to Boabdelin' s Party, p. 34. is taken from Aim. p. 72. Abdelmelech his coming to vifit Lyndaraxa in Difguife,/). gy. is ftollen from the former Story of Elibefis in Cyrus , p. ay. .gp. from the fame,p.(>7, Almanzor' s freeing Almahide from Abdallah Captivity, p. is copied from Aim. p. 73. The beginning of the Fifth Ait, we;. The Scene between Abdalla , and Lyndaraxa , under the Walls of the Albayzin , immediately after his Defeat,/). 48. is ftollen from Cyrus in the Story aforefaid,/). 61. His flying to the Chriftians, p. yo. from Aim. p. 72. Ozmin and Benzaida' s flight yp.6 2. from Ibrahim, p. 8. I might proceed through the Second Part, did I not fear the Reader to be already as tir’d as my felf. I {hall therefore only acquaint him, that moft of that Play is borrow’d as well as the former : So that had our Author ftollen from others, in none of his Labours, yet thefe Plays alone argue him guilty of the higliefl Confidence, that durfl prefume to arraign the Ancient Englifli Poets as Plagiaries, in a Poft- fcript to two Plays, whofe Foundation and Lan- guage are in a great meafure ftollen from the '.Beginning to the End. I would therefore de- Dr am At kk Poets. i6i fire lAt.Dryden henceforth to ponder Upon the following Epigram, which feems to give him better Advice. (f) Cum fueris Cenfor ,primum te ermine purga, Nec tna te damnent fait a nefimda reum. Pie tua contemnas ahena negotia curans ; An tibi te quijjmm junltior ejjje potejt. There ire fevhral Author's thit have giveii ah' Account of this famous Adioir, as Mariana, 32 ay. C.18. May erne Turquet, L. 23. Thuanus , 32. 48. Guicciardihe , E2 fa. Luc. Marinxus Sic . 12. 10. Car. Verardus. “Domingo Balt anas, &c. ' Don Sebdjlian, King of Portugal: a Tragedy aded at the Theatre-Royal, printed in quarto^ Cond- i6<)o. artdc; dedicated to the Right Ho- nourable' ‘Pbi/ip'F.atl of Leicejler. This Play is accounted by ieveral One of the befi of Mr. Dry dens, and was as I have heard aded with great Applaufe. The Foundation of it is built upon a French Novel call’d Don Sebajlian, How far our Author has followed the French-man , I leave to the Readers of both to judge. Only give me leave to take notice of that paflage in his Epiftle. to this Play, where he endeavours to clear hitnfelf from the charge of Plagiarie. He fays, ‘ The Ancients were never accus’d imv-l w\Tii Hhe^Gbfttvi- ‘ vahce, the -hew- turn , and ‘new Characters c which alter the Property, and fti&hb ifhura. I have hotctf hat* ac- cus’d ,tl}e,Ppefs ingcmgyal, .‘JDtyden, in pa r ticula r, joe. ho r ro w§. ng, thex pP'Ia$ % j , J* po-wi i}g thatitis-allotv’d by Scah^ty^. Hedefyi^ and other. Writers- v^ruq I ,J\aye flre^d Whe- ther they were founded op ^Hiftory^jor .ilo- Kiance? andca^ca the Authors tli,a^j^at §^he SubjAjj;, qjf- ea^Q j^amuja,, tEjat 'Reader, by comparing them, might he able to judge the better .of the^e.t^abiliues,, and ;>h-is. skill in Scenical; Perfoftma/i^g) ] ,Bu$ yjibj yae^Bpqt . hp allow’d to .borrow Write/s, r I prefmnq tp be his oway andAvhenj^Piaoy.t^r^e woijptjl g P^e't tranilatiug whole Scenes trom.othersWntings, I hope we iv ay without offepce cal] him a Pla- giary : -which -if, granted, 1 may accufe Mr.. ‘Dryden .of 'Theft, notw-ithHanding this De- fence^gad inform.tl)ey(j^^{ier, thathe equivo- cates in this Ini. lance of Oedipus :: for thp’ he Hole not from Corn(il{e^m that Play,,, yep he has, borrow’d very; much from the- Oedipus Ty- r omits -.of 1 Sophocles., as. dikewife frpm that, of Seneia. , • , Wwidw ( 4 ' For the Plot read the French Novel call’d ‘ Don Sebaflian Roy de ‘Portugal ,t\:d.n{\sted into Engl) Ih. Fajconcejhs his Anacephaltfofis, Jive . . r - ‘ Jumma 'Dramati'ck Potts- -,i 6% fumtnd Capita Aft or urn Return Lu fit anile y Ana- Cctp/y. ao. See befidesothCr Writers ot the Af- fairs of Portugal about iy'78', in which year Sebaftian asiulfd. ' " \ Luke- -of Cuife^ a Tragedy adied by Their Ma]elfie's''Se'rvants, Vfrit¥eii pby Mr. iDrftdeny and Mr.* -printeti ‘in gu'arto Land. -i<58'j; and dedicated’ to the Ri^ht Honourable Lau- rence Earl of Rochefter. This Play touiid fe- ver al Enemies ail ics^firlt appearance on the Stkge :• the Nation at ^fotytiftYe being in -a fer- ment about the Succelfion, which occafion'd feveral Pamphlets, /rc iaii\ rs. <9. L. 7. Ogkby' s -America Chap.3. Seit.-»i o. de Bek, -.Hlfp. L.a 5. Cap. 3,; Four L^tjt^rSiprinted ini fev.eral Lan- guages. Marriage A-la-niode^ a Comedy ailed at the Theatre-Royal by. Their. tNJajellies .Servants ; printed in quarter Ipw4- 11673/ andAdedicated to the Right Honourable' the Laid ofi Rochejier. This Play tho’ lfil’4 . ih\the Title-page a Co- medy, is rat her atTmgi-Comcd yy and confifts of, two different Actions; the one Serious^ the ether Cotfiic:^ bo.th borrow’d from two Stories which the Author has taekt together. The Serious Part is founded on .the Story of Sefo- dr is and 1 imareta 411 [the Grand Cyrus , Part 9. Rook 3. and the Characters 0f Talamede .and from tjje lathe Romance, Pair .<5. Bki. See the .Hillary of Tmian.tes and Parthenia. I might mention, affb. the Story of Nogaret in The Annals of Arctf,. front whence part, of the Character of $Dqi afaf was, poUibly borrow'd ; gnd LesContep di'QHvjlk par tie premiere p. 1 3, from whence the Fancy 01 Melmthdy making Court to her fell in'BbodophiTs Name is taken \ 'but this is ufual without Poet. Mijtaken Husband) a .Comedy ailed by His Ma jellies Servants .at the TheatresRoyaf and printed m quarto Fond. 1 This Play Mr. IPryden was not the Author ofj trio hwas a- dopted by him, as an Orphan, which might well deferve the Charity of a Scene which he bellowed on it. It jisof the nature of Farce , of .as. the French term it Byffc Comedie ? as Mr. • • } , Bent- Dramatic!: Potts. 167 Bentley the ttooI^Felleir ha's pbfeily ’d ’Tis writ on the 'Model of ‘Plautus's MRn&fttni : and I have read a S^r^^ftraewhat like 'it in L' Amant Of/if. Tonie in- rf'A'Ar :: Oedipus, a T ragedy a&ecl at1 his Royal’ High- nefs the Duke’s Theatre,' written by Mr.'Dy- den and Mr. Lee , printed in q u a r to :Lond. 1 6 qg. This Play is certainly otic 'of the belt Trage- dies We'haVe extant ; die Ahthofs having bor,- row’d many Ornaments not only froth ^ppectes9 but alfo from Seneca V though in requital Mr. ‘Dry den has been pleas’d to ar raign the Memory, of the later by taxinghinT(*) of Running after 1 Philofophical Notions more proper for the ( Study than the Stage. Ay" for Corneille, lie has fcouted him for failing in the Character of his Hero, which he calls ah’ Error in the firff Concodlioh : tho’ poflibly ’twas fo in him to fall upon two liich Great Men, without tiny provocation, and to whom he has been more than once oblig’d for beautiful Thoughts. As to the 'Plot ’tis founded on the Tragedies of Sophocles and Seneca. Rival Ladies, a T ragi-Comcdy, a died at the Theatre-Royal, printed in quarto Lond. ,167.9. and dedicated to the Right Honourable Roger Earl of Orrery. This Dedication is in the Na- ture of a Preface written in Defence of Englifh Verfe. The Authors Sentiments were after- wards controverted by Sr. Robert Howard, in the Preface to his Plays : to which Arguments Mf dOrydyn reply ’d, towards the end of his At' Bp.ftk to Reader* fxj Preface, L 4 Diiii 168 An Account of the Dramatick Fifty. Sc.. Robert made a Rejoynder, when he publifht his Duke of Lerrna : arid Mr. 'Jdryden anfwer’d him again in the Preface to ]iis Indian Etnperourys I nave already obferv’d. I beg leave of my Reader, to make one Re- mark on this Preface, to Rectify the following miflake committed by our Author. He fays, 4 That Tlje Tragedy pf ggeen Gorbuduc was writ- ten in Englifh Verfe and confequently that 4 Verfe was not fo much a new way among!! us, 4 as an old way new reviv'd : and that this Play 4 was written by the late Lord Buckhurjl , after- 4 wards Earl of 'Dorfet. Mr. ibrydcKj as well as Sr. Fopltnp , notwith- standing his Smattering in the Mathematicks, is out in his Judgment at Tennis : forfirfl (tho’ His Ma jellies late Hifbnographer) he is mi- staken in the Title-page .* and I muft crave leave to tell him by the by, that 1 never heard of any Such Queen of Brittain , any more than he, of any King that was in Rhodes. Nay fur- ther had he confplted Milton % Jhllory of Eng- land \ or any other Writers of Brute’s Hiflory, nav, even the Argument of that very Play, he would have found Gorbuduc to have been the lafl King of that Race, at lealt the Father of Eerex and Torrex , in whom terminated the Line of Brute : and consequently would not have permitted fo grofs an Error to have efcapt his Pen for Three Editions: tho’ it may be Mr. T)rydens Printer was as much to blame to print (Iueen for Ring, as he ironically accufes Sr. Robert’s for Setting (hut for open. There are other Errata’s in Hiflory, which I might im- 1 pute Dramatick Poets. 1 6y fute at leafl to Mr. Dtydens Negligence ; but Hull at prefent wave them. In the mean time I mult acquaint the Reader, that however Mr. Dryden alledges that this Play \yas writ by the Lord Buckhurjl , I can allure him that the three firll Aits were writ by Mr. Thomas Norton : and that the Play it fell was not writ- ten in Rime,, but blank Verfe, or if he will have it, in profe mefuree , fo that Mr. Sbakefpear notwithllanding our Author’s Allegation, was not the firll beginner of that way ot Writing. As to his Oeconomy, and working up of his Play, our Author is not wholly free from Pil- lage, witnefs the lallAit; where the Difpute between Amideo , and Hippolito; with Gonjalvd% fighting with the Pirates,, is borrow’d from Te~ tronius Arbyter, as the Reader may fee by read- ing the Story pf EncoJpius , Giton, Eumolpusy and Try p ban a, aboard Licas s Vellel (y). To fay nothing of the Refemblance of the Cata~ Jirophe with that of Scarron’s Rival Brothersy Novel the. Fifth. Secret Love, or The Maiden Queen ; a Tragi- comedy ailed by His Majellies Servants at the Theatre-Royal, printed m quarto Lond. 1679. I have already made fome obfervations on his Preface,/). 145. and cannot pafs by his making ule of Bayes's Art of Tranfverfing, as any One may oblerve by comparing the Fourth Stanza ofhis Firll Prologue, with the lafl Paragraph of the Preface to Ibrahim. As to the Contrivance of the Plot, the ferious part of it is founded on the Hiftory of Cleobuline Queen of Corinth, (y) Nut. Vm. p, 360. &c. Part 1 7ro 'jtri Acifviihi 6f the Part *. Book a. The Chara&drs of 'Celadon, Fibrirriel, OUnda,pr\A Shbzria, are borrow'd from thcStoVy;ofj Vjfijlates arid Cerintha in the- Grand Cyrus., Tart 9. Book 3 . and from the Story of the French ' MftVquejFm Ibrahim , Part 2. Book 1. Sir Martin Mar -all, o r The Feign’d Innocence , d Comedy a&ed 'at His Highnels the Duke of Torris Theatre, printed in quarto /. ahtf anil:. - ; ■ a wiVrnkr. fit Kdi 'fro/ _ brother ^Triungs hnd;Tranfa<5tions, a* far ay they, are come tq, my .Knowdfdge,,- be^inAylth thofe in yirfe^ becaufe ‘^eajpB a£ ^¥ASPBif P refp?Vt SiibjeAb- . There printed in quarto Lot}/ x 6sfi- , Annus Mira* hil'iSy The Tectr &f PP^ondtYs. 1 6/6, An Hiftorical ! Poem defejubing thfe d&yteff’Urjfce, the Author of the Excellent 4Jlr. 7. Roy a- Dramatic k Poets. ,8} Koyalijl, a Comedy ailed at the Duke’s The- atre, and printed in quarto Lond. 1682. This Comedy was well receiv’d on the Stage, but patcht up from Novels, as the former from Plays. Witnefs the Try a] s which Camilla put upon her Husband Sir Oliver Old-cut , for the Love of Sir Charles King-love ; which the Au- thor borrow’d from Boccace , Day 7. Nov.p. Les Contes de M. de la Fontaine pag. 47. and other Hints. Nay our Author who fets up himfelf for Madrig;als, has ftoln the Song of Hey Boys up go &c. in the fourth Ait, from The Shep- herds Oracle , an Eclogue printed in quarto Lond. 1644. Siege of t3femphis, or The Ambitious Queen, a Tragedy ailed at the Theatre-Royal, printed in quarto Lond. 1676. This Play is writ in Heroick Verfe, and dedicated to the Truly Ge- nerous Henry Chivers Efq; who Ihew’d him- felf truly fuch, in defending a Play lo full of Bombaft, and Fuftian. There goes more to the making of a Poet, than capping Verfes, or tag- ing Rimes, ’tis not enough concludere verfum , as Horace (k) calls it, but a Poet mufi be fuch a One, Ingenium cui jit , cut mens divinior, atque os Magna fonatyrum, des nominis hujus honorem. I would therefore advife all thefe Poetafters in the words of a Modem Prologue (') ; Rimejlers,get Wit e'reye pretend to fhevo it. Nor think a game at Crambo makes a Toet. Squire Old-fqp , or The Night Adventurers , a (k) 5<*f. L.i, Sat. 4, (1) Prol. to Mhcift. M4 'HJ- Co- 184 An Account of the Comedy afted at his Royal Highnefs the Duke s Theatre, printed in quarto Lond. i< 5 >79. This Comedy is very much beholding to Romances ■fop ieveral Incidents ; as the Character of Squire Old-ftp, and Fnnpo's tying him to a Tree, Aft 1. is borrow’d from the begimng of the Romance call’d the Comical Hiftory of Franc ion. Tricky Jove's cheating Old-fap with the Bell, and Pimpo s Handing in Henry s place, Aft 4. Sc. ?. is bor- row’d from Boccace s Novels , Day p, Nov. 8. The fame is related in Les Contes dex J7ff. de la Fontaine in the Story intituled La Gageure des trois Commeres Tom. 1, pag.. 47. . • frjpi-loye'& contrivance with Wclford , to have Old-fap beaten in her Habit, Aft 4. Sc. the laft, is bor- row’d from Boccace Day y. Nov. 7. tho’ the fame is an incident in other Plays, as in Fletch- ers Women Fleas' d, London Cuckolds, cpcl\ here are other paflages borrow’d likewife, which I purpofely omit to repeat. Sir Barnaby Whig , or No Wit like a Womansr a Comedy acted by their Majeflies Servants at the Theatre-Royal, printed in quarto Lond. 3t58 1 . and dedicated to the Right Honourable George Earl of Berkley. This Play is founded on a Novel of Monlieur S. Bremond, call’d The Double Cuckold ; and part of the Humor of Cap- tain ForpuJ's is borrow’d from a Play called The Tine Companion. " Trick for Trick , or T he D eb auch' d Hypocrite, a Comedy afted at the Theatre-Royal by his At a jefties Servants, printed in quarto Lond. 1 6 -ft. This Play is only Fletcher's ClMonJieur Thomas reviv’d : tho’ fcarceat all acknowledg’d by pur Author. Fir- Dramatiek Poets. 185 Virtuous Wife, ox Good luck at lajl ; a Comedy afted at the Dukes Theatre by His Royal High- nefehis Servants, printed 4,0. Lond.1680. This Comedy is one of the moft entertaining of his; tho’ there are many little hints borrow’d from other Comedies, as particularly the Fawn ; and the Humor of Beaufort , is copy’d from Tala-, mede , in tJMarriage A-la-mode. Befides thefe Plays, he has written leveral Songs, which (if I miftake not) were colle&ed into one entire Vol.and printed 80. Z,o»ay 7. Nov. 7. Sacrifice , a Tragedy printed 4,0. 1686, and dedicated to the Right Honourable Charles Earl of Dor Jet and Middlefex. There are two Copies of Verfes that I have feen writ in Com- mendation of this Play ; one writ by Mr. Tate , to the Author, and printed with the Play ; the other writ by the late Mrs. A. Behn; fee the Mifcellany Poems printed with Lycidas , or the Lover in Fafhion 8°. p. loz. The Plot of this admirable Tragedy is founded on the Story of Tamerlane and Bajazet. Many are the Hiito- rians that have given an Account of the Affairs of thefe Great Men. Read Chalcocondylas lib. j. Leunclavius lib.6. The Life of Tamerlane by Wlt.D’AJfigny, the fame by T. Terondini ; Knolls his Turkijh Hiftory, in the Life of Bajazet the Firft. This Play, the Author ( •) (wanting pa- tience to attend the leifure of the Stage) pub- lilhed without Action. How much all Lovers of Poetry are indebted to him for it, I mull leave to thofe that are Poets to deteribe I that am none, am glad to fet my hand to an Add refs drawn up by Mr. Tate, in the following Lines, Accept our Thanks , t ho you decline the Stage, That yet you condefcena the Trejs t’ engage : Far while we, thus pojfefithe precious ft ore. Our Benefits the fame, your Glory more ; Thus for a Theatre, the World you find. And your Applauding Audience, All Mankind. ( a ) Eyift. Ucdic. 'Tis 390 An Account of the ’Tis not in Dramatick Poetry, alone that our Author is a Mailer, but his Talent is equal alfo in Lyricks : Witnefs three Copies or Verfes printed in Mr. Tate's Collection of Poems 80. One to the Earl of Rochejier , upon the Report ©f his Sicknefs in Town, ( b) in allufion to an Ode in Horace. A fecond to a great Lord invi- ting him to Court, or elle to write a Hillory in the Country : (c) being a Paraphrafe upon Horace Lib. 2. Ode 12. A third to a perjur’d Miftrefs, ( d)in imitation of another Ode of Ho- race Lib. i> Ode 8. TheHonblt Sir Richard Fanshaw. This Excellent Man was Brother to the Right Honourable Thomas Lord Fanfliaw, of IVare-Tark in Hertfordjhire. He had his Breeding in his younger Years in Cambridge : and was lo good a Proficient in Latin , French , Italian , Spaniflj , and Tortugefe ; that he under- flood them as well as his Mother-tongue. He removed from Cambridge to Court, where he ferv’d his Majelly with all imaginable Fidelity, and Dutiful AffeCtion. He was his Secretary in Holland ’ France , and Scotland; and at IVor- cejler Fight was wounded, and taken prifoner in Defence of the Royal Caufe. His Loyalty and Abilities, were fo confpicuous to His Majelly King Charles the II. that at His happy Rellau- ration, He preferr’d him to be one or the Ma- ilers of the Requells; and afterwards fent him into Tortuga^ with the worthy Title of Lord ( b ) '/ale's Mifc. p.it. (cjp.ij. (d)p.KS. ui Em- Drumtttick Poets. I91 Embaflador of Honour, to court the prefent Queen Dowager, for his Mailer ; where he re- main’d three Years, and difeharg’d his Employ- ment with Honour. In the Year 1544. he was fent Embaflador into Spain , to compleat a Trea- ty of Commerce, and to flrengthen the League between the two Crowns: which Affair he managed with great Prudence, and Integrity. He died at Madrid in July 1666. leaving be- hind him the Chara£ter of an able Statefman ; a great Scholar ; and a fincere, fweet natur’d, and pious Gentleman. At prefent we are only to confider his Scholarlhip, which will fuffici- ently appear by the feveral Tranflations which, he has publimt, particularly thofe which are Dramatick : the nrfl of which in Order, and the moft Eminent, is flil’d II Tajlor Fido , The Faithful Shepherd, a Pa- floral, printed 40. Lond. 1646. and dedicated to the Hope and Luftre of three Kingdoms, Charier Prince of Wales. This Piece is tranflated from the Italian of the Famous Guar ini; of whofe Life, by way of Digreffion, give me leave to fpeak fuccinilly. He was a Native of Ferrara , and Secretary to Alphonfus the II, Duke of that Principality ; who fent him into Germany , To- ladd&vA Feme, in the time of Pope Gregory the XIII, After the death of Alphonfus , he was Se- cretary to Vincent de Gonzaga Duke of Mantua, to Ferdinand de Medicis Great Duke of Tufcany, who created him Knight of the Order of Saint Stephen, and to Francis Maria de la Rover a Duke of Urhin in all thefe Stations, he was as much admir’d foi Jus Politicks, as Poetry. How much 192 An Account of the he was efteem’d for this laft, the feveral Aca- demies of Italy are a fufficient proof ; moft of which ele&ed him a Member into their feve- ral Societies ; as Git Humorifli of Rome, 2>, which may give the Reader a Talte of his Vein in both thefe Languages; and therefore may not be improper for me to tranfcribe, or unpleafont to the Reader to per- ufe. 1 (hall give the preference to the Latin Verfes, Learning and Learned Men being, I think, to bepreferr’d before Vulgar Readers. IUe ego,qui [dubiis quondam j aflat us in Undis, Qui,dum nunc NAx, nunc mihiCallra Jlrepunt) Lent impor tunas mulcebam Carmine Curas , In quo PASTORIS Flamma FIDELIS erat. At nunc Caftris, Aulifq; ejeflus & Undis, (Nam mihi Naufragium Tortus, fair a § nice profellofos audire ex Lit ore flu fit us ! Eq; truci Terr am dulce videre Mari. In Englijh thus. Time was when /, a Pilgrim of the Seas, IVhen Imidjinoife of Camps, ^Courts difeafe j Purloin'd fome Hours, to charm rude Cares with Which Flame of FAITHFUL SHEPHERD did rehearfe : But now refrain'd from Sea, from Camp, from And by a Tempeft blown into a Port ; [Court, I raife my Thoughts to mufe on higher things , AndEccho Arms <£y Loves o/Queens^Kings.* Which Queens ( defpifing Crowns and Hymen’s Band) Would neither Men Obey , nor Men Command. (*) Great Pleafure,from rough Seas, to fee the Shore ! Or from firm Land to hear the Billows rore. Tho’ this Play was during the Author’s Im- Jirifonment tranflated , ’twas not printed till ong after his Death, viz. 40. Lond. 1671. to which is added, Fiejlas de Aranjuez, Fefivals reprefented at Aranjuez , written by the fame Author, and on the lame Occafion ; and tranfla- ted by the fame Hand. The Play it felf confifk but of three A£ts (which the Spaniards call Jor- nadas ) according to the Spanijh Cuftom : their Poets feldom or never exceeding that number. LntrtUm L. ». N z As 19 <5 . An Account of the As to his other Works, he writ feveral Poems in Latin , as a Copy on the Efcurial; an- other on the Royal Sovereign ; and a third on Mr. May’s Tranflation of^ and Supplement to Lucan. He tranflated other Pieces into that Learned Tongue, as two Poems written by Mr. Thomas Carevo: Several Pieces he tranflated out of Latin into Englijh , as the fourth Book of Virgil’s cVEneids, an Epigram out of Martial Lib.io.Epig.47. Two Odes out of Horace, rela- ting to theCivilWars of Rome , (the Firft,Carm, Lib. 3. Ode 24. The fecond,Epod.i6.)with fome Sonnets tranflated from the Spanijh , and other Poems writ in his Native Language, with feve- ral Pieces, which you will find bound up with Raft or Fido, printed 8°. Lond. 1671. Nor was it out of thefe Languages only that he tranflated what pleas’d him; but even fo uncourted a Language as he terms that of Portugal, employ’d his Pen during his Con- finement : For he tranflated Luis de Camoens (whom the Portugals call their Virgil) his Lu- Jiad, or Portugal’s Hiftorical Poem. This Poem was printed fol. Lond. i66y. and dedicated to the Right Honourable William Earl of Straf- ford, Son and Heir to that Glorious Proto- martyr of Monarchy, the Noble Thomas Earl of Strafford, Lord Deputy of Ireland ; on whole Tryal our Author writ a Copy of Verfes, print- ed amongfthis Poems, p.302. Befides thefe Pieces, Mr. Philips (f) and Mr. Wmftanky{ e)attribute to him the LatinVe rfion of Mr. Edmund Spencers Shepherds Calendar, ( f) Modern Poets, p, (g j Ate. of the Poets, p.196. which Dramatick Poets. 1 97 which I take to be a mi flake of Mr. 'Philips * whofe Errors Mr. JVinfianley generally copies » not having heard of any other Tranflation than that done by Mr. Theodore BatkurB , fometime Fellow of Pembroke- Hall in Cambridge , and printed at the end of Mr. Spencer’s Works in fol. Lond. 1679. Henry L* Kifcount Faulkland. This Worthy Perlon was (as I fuppofe) Fa- ther of the prefent Right Honourable Cary Vif- count Faulkland. A Perfon Eminent for his Extraordinary Parts, and Heroick Spirit. He was well known and refpe6ted at Court, in the Parliament, and in Oxfordjhire , his Country, of which he was Lord Lieutenant. When he was firfl ele£ted to ferve in Parliament, fome of the Houfe oppos’d his Admiffion, urging That he had not fowl’d his Wild-oats : he reply ’d. If / have not, / may Jow them in the Houfe, •where there are Geefe enough to pickjhem up. And when Sir J. N. told him, That He was a little too wild for fo grave a Service ; he reply ’d, Alas ! I am wild. \ and my Father was fo before me , and I am no Baftard. \ as , fee. Eut what need I fearch for Wit, when it may be fuffi- ciently feen in a Play which he writ, (the oc- cafion of our making mention of him) call’d The Marriage Night , a Tragedy, printed 40 Lond. 1664. I know not whether this Play ever appear’d on the Stage, or no. He was cut off in the prime of his Years, as much mifs’4 when dead, as belov’d when living. N 1 Natha- I9S An Account of the Nathaniel Field. An Author that liv’d in the Reigns of King James, and King Charles the Firlt; who was not only a Lover of the Mufes,but belov’d by them, and the Poets his Contemporaries. He was adopted by Mr. Chapman for his Son, and call’d jn by Old Majjinger, to his Afliflance, in the Play call’d The fatal Dowry , of which play more hereafter. He writ himfelf two Plays, which will (till bear Reading, viz. Amends for Ladies ; with the merry Pranks of Moll Cut-purfe , or The Humour of Roaring ; a Comedy full of honelt Mirth and Wit. Afted at the Blac f Friars, both by the Prince’s Ser- vants, and the Lady Elizabeth' ’3; and printed 40 fond. 1 639. The Plot of Subties tempting the married Wife, at her Husbands intreaty, feems to be founded on Don Quixote’s Novel of the Cu- rious Impertinent , and has been the Subject of many Plays, as The City Night-cap , Amourous Trine e, or The Curious Husband, Jyc. This Play was writ by our Author as Amends to the Fair Sex, for a Play which he had writ fome Years before, and whofe very Title feem’d a Satyr pn Womankind ; viz. If Oman’s ffeather-coch , a Comedy a#ed be- fore the King in JVhite-haU, and feveral times privately at the IVhite- Friars, by the Children of her Majefly’s Revels, printed 40. Lpnd.x6xz. and dedicated to anv Woman that hath been no ffeather-cocL This Play is commended by a Copy ot Veries writ by Mr. Chapman. There is one thing reniarkable in this Play ;and which for Dramatick Poets. 199 the Author’s Credit, I mult take notice of, that the Time of the Adtion is circumfcrib’d within the cotnpafs of twelve Hours ; as the Author himfelf obferves in the Conclufion of his Play. Neve was fo ?nuch(what cannot Heavenly Powers) Done and undone , and done in twelve Jhort hours. Richard Flecknoe, Efq; This Gentleman liv’d in the Reigns of King Charles the Firft and Second; and was as Fa- mous as any in his Age , for indifferent Metre. His Acquaintance with the Nobili- ty, was more than with the Mufes ; and he had a greater propenfity to Riming, then a Genius to Poetry. He never could arrive with all his Induftry, to get but one Play to be ailed, and yet he has printed feveral. He has publilht fundry Works, ( as he ftiles them ) to continue his Name to Pofterity ; tho’ poffibly an Enemy has done that for him, which his own Endeavours would never have perfected : For whatever be- come of his own Pieces, his Name will continue whiHt Mr. Dry dens Satyr call’d Mack Flecknoe , fhall remain in Vogue. He has publilht feveral Pieces both in Profe and Verfe, which I have feen ; and he hath others in print , which I could never obtain a view of : as in particular, that Epiltle Dedicatory, to a Nobleman, which Mr. Dryden raillys fo ieverely in his Dedica- tion of Limherham. A* to what Works I have feen of his, I fhall give the Reader a particular Account, beginning firft with his Plays. N 4 Da* sop Aft Account of the ID amoif tiles ala mode, a Comedy printed in o£bivo Lond. 166*1. and dedicated to their Graces the Duke and Dutchefs of NevocaJlkj more humbly than by way of Epiftle. This Comedy was defign a by the Author to have beenatted by the Kings Servants, as the Reader Jnay fe.e by the Scheme drawn by the Poe thiev- ing how he call: the feveral Parts : but I know not for what reafon they refus’d it. The Poet indeed fee ms to give one, which whether true , pr falfe, is not much material ; but methinks it will ferve to Ihew the Reader his Humour. ‘ For the ailing this Corned , (fays he) (**) thofe _‘ who have the Governing of the Stage, have 4 their Humours, and would be intreated ; and ‘ I have mine, and won’t intreat them : and ‘ were all Dramatick Writers of my mind, they ‘fhould wear their OldTlays Thread-bare, ere ‘ they fliould have any New, till they better ‘ underltood their own Intereft, and how to di- ‘ fhnguifh betwixt good and bad. I know not whether the late Duke of Buckingham thought of Mr. Flecknoe when he drew the Character of Mr, Bayes ; but methinks there is fome re- femblance between his Anger at the Players being gone to Dinner without his leave, and Mr. Flecknoe' s Indignation at their Refilling his Play : Mr. Bays Teeming to me to talk much at the fame rate. ‘How! are the Players ‘gone to Dinner? If they are, I’ll make them ‘know what ’tis to injure a Perfon that doe^ ‘ them the Honour to write for them ; and .all 4 that, A Company of Proud, Conceited, Hu? (h) Preface to hit Play. : *■' ( morous? Dramatick Poets . 201 ‘morous, CrcL-grain’d Perfons ; and all that* ‘ I’ll make them the molt Contemptible, DeL ‘picable, Inconfiderable Perfons, and all that? ‘in the whole World for this Trick. This Play ( as the Author in his Preface ac- knowledges) ‘ is taken out of feveral Excellent ‘Pieces of Mottieie. Thi main Plot of the Da~ i moifelles , out of his Les Trecieujes Ridicules ; ‘ the Counterplot of Sganarelle , out of his L’Ef- ‘ cole des Femmes, and the Two Naturals , out ‘of his Id EJ' cole des Maris. Erminia , or TheChaJl Lady , printed 8° Lond. i66p and dedicated to the Fair and Virtuous Lady, the Lady Southcot. This Play ( tho* the Aitors Names defign’d by the Authors, be printed over againfl the Dramatis Perfon^vtas never ailed. Love s Dominion, a Dramatick Piece, full of Excellent Morality ; written as a Pattern for the Reformed Stage, printed 8° Lond. 163-4. and dedicated to the Lady Elizabeth Claypole. In this Epiltle, the Author infinuates the ufe of Plays, and begs her Mediation to gain Li- cenfe to ail them. Whether the Play anfwer the Title-page, or whether Mr. Flecknoe have fo regularly obferv’d the three Unities, I {hall leave to the Criticks. Love's Kingdom , a Pafloral-Tragi-comedy ; not as it was ailed at the Theatre near Lincolns- Inn , but as it was writteiljpknd fince correiled ; printed 8° Lond. 16(54. and dedicated to his Ex- cellency William, Lord Marquefs of Newcajile. This Play is but the former Play a little alter’d, with a new Title ; and after the King’s Return it 202 An Account of the it teems, the Poet got leave to have it ailed ; but it had the misfortune to be damn’d by the Audience, ( which Mr. Flecknoe ftiles The people, and calls them Judges without Judgment) tor want of its being rightly repre- fented to them. He owns that it wants much of the Ornament of the Stage; but that ( he lays ) by a lively Imagination may eafily be fupply’d. To the fame purpofe he fays of his Damoifelles a Ja mode , (') 1 That together with ‘the Perfons reprefented, he had fet down the 1 Comedians that he defign’d fhould reprefent * them ; that the Reader might have half the * pleafure of teeing it ailed, and a lively Ima- * gination might have the pleafure of it all en- ‘ tire. I fancy Mr. Flecknoe would have been much pleas’d with Readers of the Argive Gentlemans Humour deferib’d by Horace ; ( k) QuJ fe ere dehat miros audire Tragoedos , In vacuo Letus fejfor^plauforq; Theatro. Who fancy’d he law Plays ailed in the empty Theatre ; but to others in their right Sences, all his Rhetorick could not have been able to perfwade them, that a Play ^^(notwithfland- ing the utmoft force of Imagination) can afford half the pleafure with that of aPlayy^SWyfince the former wants tne Greatefl Ornament to a Play, Gracefulnefsbf Action. But Mr. Flecknoe -was to make the bell of a Bad-market ; and fince he could not get his Plays ailed, he was to en- deavour to get them to be read ; by labour- (i) Pietace, (V ) Ep«d, L.i. Ep.». >ng D ram at ick Poets. 205 ing to perfwade people, that Imagination would fupply the defeat of Action. Marriage ofOceanus and Britannia , a Mafque, which I never faw, and therefore am not able to give any Account of it. Whether our Author have any more Plays in print, I know not ; but I remember a Pro- logue amongft his Epigrams, intended for a Play, call’d The Thyfician againjl his will , which I believe might be a Tranflation of Molliere'% Le Medecin malgre 1uy\ but it was never publiiht that I know of. As to his other Works, they confifl of Epigrams and Enigmatical Chara- cters, which are ufually bound up with his Love's Dominion ; at the end of which is a fhort Difcourfe of the Enghfh Stage, which I take to be the belt thing he has extant; There is another Book of his Writing, call’d Diariumr ox The Journal, divided into twelve Jornadas , jnBurlefque Verfe; with fome other Pieces, printed n° Lond. 1 6?6 John Fletcher, and Francis Beaumont, Efq; l am now arriv’d at a brace of Authors, who like the Diofcuri , Cajlor and Tottux , fucceed- ed in Conjunction more happily than any Poets of their own, or this Age, to the referve of the Venerable Shahefpear , and the Learned and Judicious JohnJ'on. ’Tis impoflible for me to reach their Characters; and therefore, as the Witty Dr. Fuller (') cites Bale's, faying of 0)che(hire, p. Randal 204 dn Account of the Randal Fiigden , (m) That 'tis no fhame to crave aid in a Work too weighty for' any ones back to bear ; I mufl have recourfe to others Afli- fb nee, for the Characters of this worthy pair of Authors. To fpeak firffc of Mt. Beaumont fic was Mailer of a good Wit, and a better Judgment ; he fo admirably well underflood the Art of the Stage, that even JobnJ'on himfelf thought it no difparagement to fubmit his Writings to his Correction. What a great Veneration Ben. had for him, is evident by thofe Verfes he writ to him when living (”). Mr. Fletcher' % Wit was equal to Mr. Beaumont' % judgment, and was fo luxuriant, that like fuperfiuous Branches, it was frequently prun’d by his Judicious Partner. Thefe Poets perfectly underftood Breeding, and therefore fuccefsfully copy’d the Converlation of Gentlemen. They knew how to deferibe the Manners of the Age ; and Fletcher had a peculiar tallent in expreffing all his thoughts, with Life and Brisknefs. No Man ever under- flood, or drew the Pafiions more lively than he; and his '.witty Raillery was fo dreft, that it ra- ther pleas’d than difgufted the modeffc part of his Audience. In a word, Fletcher % Fancy, and Beaumont' % Judgment combin’d, produc’d fuch Plays, as will remain Monuments of their Wit to all Pofterity. Nay, Mr. Fletcher himfelf after Mr. Beaumont' ’s Deceafe, compos’d feveral Dra- matick Pieces, which were well worthy the Pen of fo great a Mafter. Of this, the following Lines, writ by that Excellent Poet Mr. Carth- wiighty are a proof. pn, Uv.cript.bnuCjsnu6.iNu.ii. ^nj See bifvu ibeigjt Fait. Thd Dramatick Poets. 203 Tho when .^-Fletcher writ, and the entire tjMan was indulg 'd unto that f acred fire , [fuch. His thoughts/*? his thoughts dr efi, appear'd both That ’twas his happy fault to do too much ; Who therefore wifely did fuhmit each Birth To knowing Beaumont, e’re it did come forth ; IVorking again , until he faid ’twas fit , And made him the J'obriety of his Wit ; Tho ’ thus he call'd his Judge into his Fame , Arid for that aid allow'd him half .he Name, ’ Tis known , that fome times he did ft and alone , That both the fpunge and pencil were his own ; That himfelf judg’d himfelfi could fingly do. And was at loft Bean mont and F letcher too. Fife we had loft his Shepherdeis, a piece , Even , and f moot h,fpr mg from a finer fleece , Where Softnefs reigns , where VaJJions Paffions Gentle fy high ,as floods of Balfam meet: [greet. Where, dr eft in white Exfrejfionsflit bright Loves, Dr awn,, like their fair eft §fieen,by milky Doves; A Piece , which Johnfon, in a Rapture bid. Come up a glorify d Work, and fo it did. They who would read more of thefe admi- rable Poets worth, may perufe at their leifure thole excellent Copys of Verfes printed with their Works, written by the prime Wits of the Age, as Waller , Denham, Sir John Berkenhead, Dr. Main, /yc. I am extreamly forry, that I am not able to give any Account of the Affairs of thefe Great Men ; Mr. Beaumont’s Parentage, Birth, County, Education, and Death, being wholly unknown to me : And as to Mr. Fletcher, all I know of him is, That he was Son to the Emi- m, \ 20 6 An Account of the Eminent Richard Fletcher , created Bifhop of Brijloly by Queen Elizabeth An. iyyp. and by her preferr’d to London^ iypj. He died in Lon- don of the Plague in the Firft Year of King Charles the Martyr, i<5xy. being Nine and fourty Years of Age, and was bury’d in St. Mary Ove- ries Church in Southvoarke. I beg my Reader’s Leave to infert the Infcri- ption, which I find writ under his Piflure, by that well known Wit, Sir John Berkenheaa ; •which will give the Reader a fuller Know- ledge of his Abilities and Merit, than I am able to exprefs. Felicis dSvi , ac Praefulis Nat us ; comes Beau montio > Jic^quippe ‘ParnaJJus, Biceps; F LETC HERDSunam in Pyramtdaf, ureas agens. Struxit chorum plus fimplicem Hates Duplex ; Tlus Duplicem jolus : nec ullum tranjlulit ; Nec transferrendus : Dramatum on jayme pag. gyo. As to the Plot of Otrante s feizing Florimel the Millers fup- pofed Daughter, and attempting her Chaftity ; tis borrow’d from an Italian Novel writ by BandeUo ; a Tranflation of which into Fretichy the Reader may find in Les Hidoires Tragiques par M. Belleforejl , Tom. i . Hijl. 1 2. The fame Story is related by M. Goufart ; fee Les Hi- Jioires admirables de nbtre temps fi>.Tom. 1 p.2.11. Maids Tragedy^ Play which has always been ailed with great Applaufe at the King’s Thea- tre ; and which had ftill continu’d on the Eng- lifh Stage, had not King Charles the Second, for fome particular Real'ons forbid its further Appearance during his Reign. It has fince been reviv’d by Mr. frailer , the laft Ail having been wholly alter’d topleafe the Court : as the Author of the Preface to thefecond partof his Poems informs us, and give us further the fol- lowing Account: ‘Tis not to be doubted, who * fat for the Two Brothers Charailers. ’Twas ‘agreeable to the Sweetnefs of Mr. Waller's ‘Temper, to foften the Rigor of the Tragedy, ‘ as he exprefles it ; but whether it be agree- ‘ able to the Nature of Tragedy it felf, to make ‘ every thing come offeafily, I leave to the Cri- ‘ ticks. This laft Ail is publifht in the Second Part of Mr. Watted % Poems , printed in quarto Lond. 1690. TMaJque of Grays-Inn Gentlemen , and the Inner-Temple. This Mafque was written by Mr. Beaumont alone, and prefented before the King Dramatick Poets. 213 King and Queen in the Banqueting-houfe of Whitehall, at the Marriage of the Illultrious Frederick and Elizabeth , Prince and Princefs Palatine of the Rhine. Monfieur Thomas , a Comedy, which not long fince appear’d on the prefent Stage under the Name of Trick for Tricf Nice Valour , or The Vajfionate tJMad-man, a Comedy. Night Walker , or The Little Thief y a Comedy, which I have feen a£ted by the King’s Servants, with great Applaufe , both in the City and Country. Noble Gentleman , a Comedy which was late- ly reviv’d by Mr. Durfey, under the Title of The Fools Preferment , or The Three Dukes of Dunftable. Philajler , or Lovelies a Bleeding: a Tragi** Comedy which has always been a£ted with Suc- cefs ; and has been the diverfion of the Stage, even in thele days. This was the firfl; Play that brought thele Excellent Authors in E- fteem ; and this Play was One of thole that were reprefented at the oldTheatre in Lincolns- Inn-Fields 7 when the Women a£ted alone. The Prologue and Epilogue were fpoken by Mrs. tSWarJhaljaxidi printed in Covent-garden Drollery t pag. 18. About this Time there was a Pro- logue written on purpole for the Women by Mr. Dry den, and is printed in his t fflifceMatiy Poems in o£tavo, p. 2.8^. Pilgrim , a Comedy which was reviv’d fome years fince, and a Prologue fpoke, which the Reader may find in Covent-gar den Do^ery, p.ix. O % Pro » 1 1 4 An Account of the Trophetefs , a Tragical Hiftory, which has lately been reviv’d by Mr. Dryden , under the Title of TheTrophetefs , or The Hijlory of Dio- de fian, with Alterations and Additions after the mariner of ail Opera , rep re fen ted at the Queens Theatre, and printed 40 Lond. 1690. For the Plot confult Eufebius Lib. 8. Ntcephorus Lib. <5. and 7. Fopifc. far. & Carin. Aur.Filio- 7 is Epitome. Eutropius L. p. Baronius An. 104. &c. Orofius L. 7- C. t-<5. Cceffeteau L.ao. fyc. Qiieenof Corinth , a'Tragi-Comedy. Rule a Wife , and have a IVife , a Tragi-Co- medy which within thefe few years has been added, with applatife at the Queens Theatre in Dorfet-KIarden. ' Scofifal-Laafp, -al'feoraedy'afted with good Ap- plaufe even in thefe times, at the Theatre in Dorfet-G'arden. Mr. Dryden has condemn’d the Coriclufion of this Play in reference to the Converlion of TMoor-craft the Ufurer (p); but whether this Cataflrbplhe be excufable, I molt leave to the Cnticks. : Sea Foyage, a Comedy lately reviv’d by Mr. Durfey , tinder the Title-of The Common-wealth of PFomen. This Play i'sTuppofed by Mr. Z hy- den, (as I have obferv’d) to be copied from Shake (pear's Tempejl. (V) The Storm which yantfht. on the neighbringfhoret VVas taught by Shakdpears Tempdlyft// to roary That Innocence and Beauty which did (mile In Fletcher, grew on this Enchanted IJle. Spdnijh Curate , a Comedy frequen tly reviv’d (p) Drain. C.jjay, p. jj. ( q) pro), to the tempe/i. . with Dramatick Poets. 21 «jj -with general Applaufe. The Plot of Z)ot& Henrique, Afcanio, Violante , and Jacintha, is borrow’d from Gerardos Hijlory of ‘Don John, pag. .2,02. and that of Leandro , Bartolm , Ama- ranth a and Lopez, from the Spanijh Curate of the feme Author, pag. 214. &c. Thirry and Theodor et , a Tragedy. This Play is accounted by fome an excellent old Play; and therefore ’tis pitty the Compofitor was i'o earelefs in this new Edition as to omit a great part of the fell Abt, which contains the King’s behaviour during the Operation of the Poifon given him by his Mother' ; and which is as moving as any part of the Play. This Imper- fection may be fupply’d from the Copy printed in quarto, and I hope the Proprietors of the Copy, will take care in the next Impreflion to do juftice to thefe admirable Authors. (*) 1 For BeaumontT Works and FletcherT Jhould come forth , * With all the Right belonging to their Worth. The Plot of this Play is founded on Hiftory. See the , French Chronicles in the Reign of Clotaire the Second. See Fredeganus Scholajlu cusy Aimoinus Monachus Floriacenfis , De Serres, Mezeray , Crifpiny &c. Two Noble Ktnfmen, a Tragi-Comedy. This Play was written by Mr. Fletcher, and Mr. Shakefpear. \ T xlentinian, a Tragedy reviv’d not long ago by that Great Wit, the Earl of Rochejler ; a bled at the Theatre-Royal, and printed in quarto < ^IpOCkAi'i -bfigr. L.%: E’.. V. v ‘ O 4 i6Sf> 2 1 6 An Account of the 1685% with a Preface concerning the Author and his Writings.A'LFor the Plot fee the Writers of thofe'Kftnes; as Cajfidori Chron. ; Slmm. dMarcell. Hid. Evagrius Lib. 2. 'Proco- pius, &c. Wife for a Month y a Tragi-Comedy. This Play is in my poor Judgment well worth revi- ving, and with the alteration of a judicious Pen, would be an excellent Dramma. The Cha- racter and Story of Alphonfo , and his Brother Frederick's Carriage to him, much refembles the Hiltory of Sane ho the Eighth, King of Leon. I leave the Reader to the perufal of his Story in Mariana, and Louis de CM ay erne Turquet. Wtld-Goofe Chafe , a Comedy valued by the belt Judges of Poetry. Wit at- [ever al Weapons, a Comedy which by fome is thought very diverting ; and poflibly was the Model on which the Characters of the Elder Tallatine and Sr. LMorglay Thwack were built by Sr. William D' Avenant, in his Comedy call’d The Wits. Wit without Money, a Comedy which I have feen aCted at the Old Houle in little Lincolns - Inn-Fields with very great Applaufe ; the part of Valentine being play’d by that compleat ACtor Major (jMohun deceas’d. This was the firft Play that was aCted after the Burning the King’s Houfe in Drury -lane : a New Prologue being writ for them by Mr. Dry den, printed in his •AMifcellany Poems in oCtavo, p. 2.85-. Woman Hat er, a Comedy. This Play was reviv’d by Sr. William D' Avenant, and a new Prologue (inftead of the old One writ in prole) Dramdtick Poets. 21 7 •was fpoken, which the Reader may perufe in Sir Williams Works in Fol.p. 249. This Play was one of thofe writ by Fletcher alone. Women pleas' d, a Tragi -comedy. The Comi- cal parts of this Play throughout between Bar- tetto , Lopez, Ifabella, and Claudio, are founded on feveral of Boccace' s Novels : See Day 7. Nov. 6. and 8. Day 8. Nov. 8. Womans Prize, or the Tamer tanid, a Come- dy, written on the fame foundation with Shake - [pear's Taming of the Shrew ; or which we may better call a Second part or counter-part to that admirable Comedy. This was writ by Mr. Fletcher's Pen likewife. I wifh I were able to give the Reader a perfect Account what Plays He writ alone ; in what Plays he was aflifted by the Judicious Beaumont, and which were the Plays in which Old Phil. MaJJinger had a hand : but Mr. Charles Cotton being dead, I know none but Sir Ajlon Cockain (if he be yet alive) that can fatisfy the World in this particular : all that I can fay, is that moll of thefe Plays were a6led at the Globe and Blac[ Friars, in the Time of thole ACtors Taylor, Lovoin, Burbage, fee. This Ac- count I receiv’d from Sir Ajlon Cockain' s Poems, who writ an Epiftle to his Cofen Charles Cotton , (r) concerning thefe excellent Authors, part of which I fhall tranferibe for the Reader’s bet- ter Satisfaction, and becaufe his Poems are not very common. (t) Poems QFiavq, f. 91. Tis 2 1 8 An Account of the ’Tis true, Beaumont «» Queen 244 An Account of the S’ ueen o/’Arragon, a Tragi-comedy, a£led at Court, and the Black: Ft jars ; and printed fol. Lond. 1640. Tho’ the Author’s Name be not prefix’d to the Title-page, yet I have that confi- dence in Mr. Kirkmaris Judgment as to believe this Play to be writ by him. His other Poems are all printed together 80. and go under the Title of Cajlara: they are divided into three parts:, under a different Title fuitable to their Subjedt The firlt, which was writ when he was a Suitor to bis Wife, is ufher’d in, by a Chara&er writ in Prole, of a Miftrefs : The fecond, being Copies writ to her after Marriage, by a Character of a Wife: After which is a Character of a Friend, before feve- ral Funeral Elegies. The third part confifls of Divine Poems, fbme of tvhicn are Para- ph rales on feveral Texts out of Job and the Book of TJalms : before which is the Portrait of a Holy Man. I know not when thole Poems were firlfc printed, but the lafi Edition which I have by me augmented and corre<5ted, was printed 8°. Lond. 164c. and his Poetry is com- mended by his Friend and Kinfman, Mf. John Talbot. I know nothing that he has writ in Prole, except his Chronicle of YL.Edward the Fourth, printed fol. Lond. 1640. Of what efteem it is in the World, is well known to Hiflorians. Peter Haustead. A Gentleman that was born at Ound/e , a Mar- ket Town in Northamptonjhire, and flourifht in Dramatick Poets. 24$ in the Reign of King Charles the F irft of Blefled Memory, He was after forne Years fent to the Univerlity of Cambridge : where in Queens Col- ledge he took the Degree of Matter of Arts. He challenges a Place in our Catalogue, on Account of his Play, call’d Rival Friends , a Comedy, a died before the King and Queens Majellies, when out of their Princely Favour they were pleas’d to vifit the Univerlity of Cambridge, upon the nineteenth day of March idji. Cry ’d down by Boys, Fa- ction, Envy, and confident ignorance, approv’d by the Judicious, and Expos’d to the publick Cenfure by the Author ; . printed 40 Lond. 1632,. and dedicated by a Copy of Verfes to the Right Honble, Right Reverend, Right Worlhipful, or whatfbever he be, {hall be, or whom he hereafter may call Patron. The Play is commended by a Copy of Latin Yerles, and Two writ in Englijh. The Prologue is a Dialogue betwixt Venus ,1 he- tis, and Phoebus, [\ ung by two Trebles, and a Bafe. V °nvs (being Phofphorus as well as Vefper') ap- pearing at a window above, as rifen, calling to Sol, who lay in Thetis Lap, at the Eafl-fide of the Stage, canopy’d with an Azure Curtain. Our Author feems to me to be much of the Humor of Benjohnfon, (whofe greateR weaknefs was that he could not bear Cenfure ;) and has lo great a Value fori?un- tnow by the King ; and printed 40. Lond. 1601. Both thefe Plays are printed in Black-Letter, but neither of them are divided into Aits. The firli part is introduc’d by John Shelton, Poet Laureat to King Henry the Eighth ; and the the fecond, by Fryar Tuck. For the Plot, lee our Englifh Chronicles in the Reign of King Richard the Firlt, as Du Chefne, Speed, Baker , &c.Scc belides Fullers Worthies 111 the Account of Nottinghamjhire , p. 3 iy. Draytons Polyolbion , Song a6. Royal King, and Loyal SubjeB ; a Tragi-co- medy, ailed with great applaufe by the Queens Majellies Servants, and printed^. Lond. 1637. The Plot of this Play,extreamly refembles that of Fletcher’s Loyal SubjeB. Wife-Woman of Hoglden, a Comedy fundry times ailed with good applaufe, printed quarto Lond.1618. This Play is commended by a Copy of Verfes, printed at the End, writ by his Friend Mr. Samuel King. \ Woman kill'd with Kindnefs, a Comedy often- times ailed by the Queens Majellies Servants 3 and printed quarto Lond. 1 6 iy. Thefe are all the Plays that our Author has extant, except we will reckon his Dialogues, under the Species of Dramatick Poetry ; fuch. as urnmAtick Pott Si 2 69 as Jupite^ and Io ; Apollo and Daphne ; Amphrifey or The Forfaken Shepherdefs ; gyc. all which with feveral Tranflations above-mention’d the Reader may perufe in a Book intituled, Tlea- fant “Dialogues and Drammas , c bile tied out of Lucian, Erafmus, Textor, Ovid, &c. printed o£tavo Land. 1637. There may be another Reafon added to thole already mention’d, why no more of our Au- thor’s Plays have been publilhed, which he himfelf gives us in his Epiftle to The Rape of Lucrece ; ‘ That he ufea to fell his Copy to ‘ the Players, and therefore fuppos’d he had no ‘further right to print them, without their ‘Content ; which is the Reafon that lb few ‘ are in print ; and that fome of thefe Plays that ‘ are fo, have been copy’d by the Ear, and print- ‘ed uncorre£l without his Knowledge. As to his other Pieces, he has publilht fe- veral in Verfe and Profe. In the former he has written a Poem, called The Hierarchy of the Blejfed Angels , with Notes, printed amet«s to Clinias , drawn, by the Pen of the Admirable Sir Philip Sidney. He has feveral other Pieces of Poetry, which tho’ 272 Aft Account of the tlto’ Transitions, have gain’d him a confide- Table Reputation, as the Tranflation of the Sa- tyrs of Juvenal, and Terfius ; Illuflrated with Notes and Sculptures, printed Fol. Oxon.i6q^. His Verfion of the Odes of Horace , mention’d by Mr. Wood, (u) to have been printed Lond. 1 65-2. He has likewife publifht feveral Ser- mons, as Three Sermons preach’d at Oxford, and two Sermons at St. Pauls-Crofs , printed 1 6164 A Sermon of the Nature of Faith, print- ed 4°- Lond. 165-4. Motives to a godly Life, printed 4°. Oxon.i6y^. In Latin , he has print- ed two Pieces, viz. Thilofophia Tolitico-barbara Specimen , de Anima. 40. Oxon. 1635-. Or bis ter- rarum JnfpeSiio, lib. 1 o. Oxon. 1661. Charles Hool. A Gentleman living in the Reigns of King Charles the Firll and Second, and poflibly Rill in Being. He was born at Wakefield mTorkfhire; and at eighteen Years of Age, came up to the Univerfity of Oxford, and was enter’d of Lin- coln Colledge. After having taken his Degree of Mailer of Arts, he withdrew into his own Countrey, where he took upon him the Pro- feffion of a School Mailer : he taught in feveral places, particularly at Rotheram , ( a Market- Town in the Well Riding in Torkfhire \ ) and afterwards, being fent for up to London by fe- veral Eminent Citizens, he taught School in Red-Crop-Jlreet, near Alderf-gate Parifh; and afterwards remov’d to Arunael-Buildings , not (u )Antiq. Lib,j, p. 179. far Dramatick Poets. 273 far from the Royal-Exchange. At the King s Return, he left the City, and remov’d into Wales, where poffibly he ftill follows that ufe- ful Profeflion. He has been very laborious, not only in Inflru£ling Youth, but alfo in pub- lifhing many Books to their Advancement. One of which, is the Subje6t of his being men- tion’d in our Catalogue ; viz. Six Comedies of that Excellent Poet Tublius Terentius , an African of Carthage , in Englijh and Latin ; for the ufe of Young Scholars, that they may the more readily obtain the purity of the Latin Tongue, for common Difcourfe ; printed 8°. 1676. This Tranflatiou was un- dertaken by our Author, at the Requeft of the Company of Stationers , for whom it was print- ed ; and was caffrated in fome places; as in par- ticular, fee Eunuchus A£f 3. Sc. q., y. to fpare the Modefly of the Youth under his Tuition. Thole who would know more of Terence , and his Works, let them turn back to Richard Bernard. The reft of his Works confift chiefly in Tranflations of Books for the ufe of young Scholars, as Corderius , Cato, . Lond. 1 685. and dedicated to his Friends, that frequent Locket' s Ordinary. This Farce is founded on a Tale as well known as that of Mopfa , in Sir Fhilip Sidney s Arcadia ; tho’ I think if compar’d with our French Farces lb frequent on our Englijh Stage, it may deferve the Preheminence. Thoms Ingeland. A Student in Cambridge in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth : The Author of a Play, which he fHIes, A Pretty and Merry Interlude, call’d The T) if obedient Child. ’Tis writ in old Vcrfe of Ten Syllables, and printed 4°. in an old Black Letter, (without any Date ) by 'Thomas Colwell in Fleet-Jlreet. John 2%t ; Dramatick Poets. John Jones. An Author who liv’d in the Reign of King Charles the Firfl, and writ a Play nam’d Adrafia , or The IV imans Spleen , and Loves Conquejl, a Tragi-comedy, printed 40. Lond. 163;-. and dedicated to Eugenius, by which Name he defires to comprehend all his Friends, fubfcribing himfelf Mujophilu's. This Play the A&ors refus’d, and 1 think with Juflice ; it be- ing very indifferently written. The Intrigue between ‘Damafippus, Frail-ware, and their Wives, in the third A£l, is borrow’d from Boccace'% Novels Day 8. Nov.8. However the Author was of Opinion it deferved to appear in publick ; and therefore prefix’d the follow- ing Saying of Horace, in his Title-page : ■ volet hac fuh' luce videri, Judicis argutum qua non formidat acumen. Benjamin Johnson. I have already drawn fome ftrokes of this Great Man’s Character, in my Defence of him againff the Attempts of Mr. Dryden ; and there- fore fhall lefs need to make a curious and exa6l Defcription of all his Excellencies ; which otherwife are very Great, Noble, and Various ; and have been remark’d in parcells by feveral Hands, but exceed my fmall Capa- city to collecl them into one full View'. I fhall therefore rather let them lye difpers’d, as Scaliger did Virgil' s Praifes, thro’ his whole Bool^, of Poetry; contenting my felf at prefent „ with 2 S 2 An Account of the with giving the 'Reader an Account of the pri- vate Qccurrencies of his Life. To begin then with his Nativity: He was born in the City of Pt'ejiminfler ; and tho’ he fprang from mean Parents, yet his Admirable. Parts have made him more Famous than thole of a more Confpicuous Extraction. Nor do I think it any Diminution to him, that he was Son-in-law to a Bricklayer , and work’d at that Trade; fince if we take a Survey of the Re- cords of Antiquity, we fhall find the Greatejl Poets of the meandf Birth ; and moft lyable to the Inconveniencies of Life. Witnefs Homer , who begg’d from door to door ; Euripides , tra- ded in Herbs with his Mother ; Tlautus was forc’d to ferve a Baker ; Neuius was a Captain’s Man ; Terence was a Slave to the Generous Lucan ; JEirgil, was the Son of a Basket-maker : and yet thefe thought the Oblcurity of their Extraction no Diminution to their Worth ; nor will any Man of Sence refled on Ben. John- son on this Account, if he ferioufly call to Mind that faying of Juvenal ( a )• a Nobilitas Jola ejl , atq; mica Virtus. He was Bred firft at a Private-School, in St. Martin’s Church, then plac’d at IE ?JlminJiery under the Famous Mr. Cambden , (to whom in Gratitude he dedicated his Fourteenth Epi- gram ) afterwards he was fent to Saint Johns Colledge in Cambridge ; from thence he remo- v’d to Oxford ’ and was enter’d of Chrijl-Church Colledge; wheie in the Year 1619. ( as Mr. (a) batyr. 8. W ood Dramatick Poetf. 28^ Wood (6) fays) he took his Mafler of Arts De- gree: tho’ Dr. Fuller fays, (c) ‘ He continu’d ‘ there but few Weeks, for want of Mainte- nance, being fain to return to the Trade of ‘his Father-in-law; where he affifted in the New Building of Lincolns Inn , with a Trowel in his Hand, and a Book in his Pocket. But this Englijh Maro, was not long before he found a Maecenas and a Earns , to manumit him from an Employment fo painful, and furnifht hint with means to enjoy his Mufe at liberty, in pri- vate. ’Twas then that he writ his Excellent Plays, and grew into Reputation with the molt Eminent of our Nobility and Gentry. ’Twas then, that Carthwright , Randolph , and others of both Univerfities, fought his Ado- ption ; and gloried more in his Friendfhip, and the Title of his Sons , than in their own Well- deferv’d Chara&ers. Neither did he lefs love, or was lefs belov’d by the Famous Poets of his Time, Shakfpear , Beaumont , and Fletcher : wit- nefs his Copy which he writ on Shakfpear , after his Death, (d) and his Verfes to Fletcher when living (e). He was a Man of a very free Temper , and withal blunt, and fomewhat haughty to thole, that were either Rivals in Fame , or Enemies to his Writings : (witnefs his Toet after, where- in he falls upon Decker , and his anfwer to Dr. Gill, who writ agairift his eSMagnetick Lady,') otherwife of a good Sociable Humour, when amongfl his Sons and Friends in the slpollo : (b) Antiq . L. 2. p. 243. (c) worthies , we(lminfter , p. 243* (jd) See bis Works at ibe beginning, (ej See Flctcher’i Works. from 284 An Account of the from whole Laws the Reader may pollibly bet- ter judge of his Temper; a Copy of which I have tranfc rib’d for the Learn ’d Readers per- wfal. Leges Convivales, quod foelix fauftumque Convivis in Apolline fit. Nemo afymboluSy nifi umbra hue venito, Idiot a, inj'ultus, trijtis , turpis abejlo. Eruditi , Urbani, Hilar.es ^ Modejli adfcifcuntur , Nee left a Fceminx repudiantur. [!, t»Sc4, LC. -t. U buried go 6 An Account of the buried in St. ‘Peter's Church in Weflminfter, on the Weft-fide near the Belfry ; having only a plain Stone over his Grave, with this Infcri- ption ; . O RARE BEN. JOHNSON ’Tis manifeffc, that a better Monument was defign’d him, by fome F riends ; but the Civil Wars breaking out, hindred their good Inten- tions : tho’ it fhall not prevent me from tran- fcribing an Elegy written by a Studious Friend and Admirer of Ben. Johnjon ; which I wilh were fet upon his Grave. Hie Johnfonus nojter Lyricorum , 'Dramatico- rttm Coryphaeus, qui Ballade aufpice laurum a Gracia ipfa% Roma rapuit , jy faujlo Omine in Brittaniam tranjlulit nojiram , nunc irnidia major, fato , nee tamen amulis cejjit. An. Dorn, i £>3 7. Id. Nov. (*} Thomas Jordan. An Author that liv’d in the Reign of King Charles the Firll, who could both write and a& Plays ; as appears from three Drammas he has publifht, and from a Tragedy, call’d MeJJalina , in which he a<5led the part of Lepida, Mother to that lhamelefs Emprefs. His Plays are two Comedies, and a Mafque ; viz. Fancies Fejlivals , a Mafque, printed aj.Lond. 1 6-. — This, I have not at prefent, but have formerly read it with fatisfa£tion, and ftill re- tain the following Lines fpoken by a Souldier ; (*) mad, At'.ciq. Oxon. Dramatick Poets , 507 God, and the Souldier, Men alike adore , JuJl at the brink of danger , and no more : The danger paft both are alike requited ’ God. is forgotten, and the Souldier flighted. CMoneyis an Afs, a Comedy adted with good applaufe printed^. Lond. 1668. I fuppole by the Stile, this was writ (and pollibly publilh’d) dome Years before ; it being a common thing with tAx.Kirkrnan , to publifh old Plays ; as, Any thing for a Quiet Life ; Cure for a Cuckold ; Gammer Gurtons Needle , and many others. Walks of Illington, and Hogfdon, with the Humors of Woodflreet-Compter ; a Comedy* publickly adled Nineteen Days together, with extraordinary applaufe • printed 40. Lond. id y 7. and dedicated to the true Lover of Ingenuity, the much Honour’d Richard Cheynyfi Hackney , Elq; This Play in thofe days was commended by a Copy of Verfes, written by R. C. Mailer of Arts ; part of which are thus : Thefe Walks ’twixt Illington fy Hogfdon, to/',#’ {Like thofe 'twixt Tempe and Parnalfus Hill) Show, how the CMufes in their f port full Rage , Set all the Town a walking toy our Stage, With fo much Wit, and Art, andjudgment laid, That Nineteen dayes together they were play’d. Now by the bounty of the Trefs we be f off eft’ d of that which we before did fee. Not pie tying only Nineteen times read ore. But Nineteen Ages, or till Times no more. • U % William 308 An Account of the V illiam Joyner. A Gentleman born in Oxfordjhire , and Edu- cated in Magdalen Colledge, where he was ibmetime Fellow; but upon the Change ofhis .Religion, or in order to it, he voluntarily quitted his Place, in the beginning of the Wars. After he left the Colledge, he betook liimfelf to a retir’d Life, never intennedling with the Controverfies of Religion, or the Af- fairs of State : which prudent Demeanor, jovn- ed with the Sweetnefs of his Difpofition, con- tinued him in the Favour and Good-will of the Society; till the New-modelling of the Col- ledge,under the Ecclejiajlical CommiJJioners ; by whom he was re-placed in his former Station : but did not long enjoy it, the Colledge being Ihortly after again rellored to its former Settle- ment. That he did not wholly bid Adieu to the Mufesj when he firlt withdrew from the Univeriity, may appear by a cDramma that he publish'd under the Name of The Roman EmpreJ's , a Tragedy ailed at the Royal Theatre by his Majeflies Servants ; printed 40. Lond. i6qi. and dedicated to the Honourable Sir Charles Sidley. This Play in ipight of a dead Vacation, and fome other Im- pediments, found the applaufe and approba- tion of the Theatre, as oft as it appear’d. The Author has propos’d the Oedipus and Hippolitus for his pattern ; and I think it may jullly de- ferve to be obferv’d, That his Tragedy is writ in a more Mafculine, and lofty Stile than moffc Plays of tliis Age ; and Terror and Compaflion Dramatic k Poets. 309 being the chief hinges on which he defign’d his Tragedy fhould turn ; he has judicioufly rejected what he calls the Gingling Antithefes of Love and Honour. By the Advice of Friends, he tells us, that he hath difguis’d theNames : yet that this Emperour was One of the Greateffc that ever Pome boafled. I am apt to believe, that under the Character of Falentiusy the Au- thor means Conjlantine the Great ; and that CrifpuSy and his Mother-in-law Faujlina , are fhadow’d under the Characters of Floras and Fulv'ta: but this being only Conjecture, I mull leave it to the Criticks Decifion. Our Author has nothing elfe in print that I know of, except a little Book entituled Some Obfervations on the Life of Cardinal Reginaldus Polus; where he difguifes his Name under thefe two Letters, G. L. which I take to be GuilieU mus Lyde , the Ancient Name of that Family : ’Tis printed 8°. Lond. 1686. In this Book, the Reader is made acquainted not only with the Authors Reading, Stile, and Judgment ; but his skill in the French , and Italian , Languages. K. Henry Killegrew. AN Author who liv’d in the Reign of King Charles the Fir ft, and writ a Plav, call’d Confpiracjj a Tragedy printed 4,0. Iond.1618. This Play was defign’d for an Entertainment of the King and Queen at Jor^Houfe, at the Nuptials of the Lady Mary Fillers, and the U 1 Lord 3 io An Account of the Lord Charles Herbert. ’Twas afterwards a<5ted on the B lack -fry ars Stage, ( a ) and found the ap- probation of the molt Excellent Perfons of this kind of Writing which were in that time, if there were ever better in any time ; Ben John- Jon , being then alive, who gave a Teflimony of this Peice even to be envy’d. Some Cavillers at its firll Representation at 'Blackfryars,exc\a\ m’d againll the Indecorum that appear’d in the part ot Cle andcr, wTho being reprefented as a Perfon of feventeen years old, is made to fpeak words, that would better fute with the Age of Thirty; faying, It was monflrous and impoffible : but the Author was Sufficiently vindicated by the Lord Viicount Faulk land, who made the following Repartee, to One of thefe Hypercri- tkhs ‘Sir, ’tis not altogether fo monflrous, ‘and impollible, for One of Seventeen Years ‘to fpeak at fuch a rate ; when He that made ‘him fpeak in that manper,and writ the whole : Play, was Himfelf no Older. This Imprefiion was printed without the Authors confent,from a falfe and an imperfect Tranfcript, the Ori- ginal Copy being (with the Author) in Italy ; io that it might rather be call’d the Firll De- fign, or Foul Draught, than a True Copy. 1 his occafioned a new Edition, and the Pub- lisher impos’d on it a New Title, that it might fhew as little Affinity as poflible, to (what he calls) its Anti-type ; fliling it, T allmius and. JLudora , a Tragedy, printed fol. Lond. i <5yg, . To this Edition, I recom- mend the Reader, remembring that of Martial i 3 ) iJickcc. ’ ■ tSMut- Dramatick Poets. x!Multum crede mihi, refert , a fonte bibatur Qua? fluit , an pigro qux Jlupet undo, lacu. Thomas Killegrew. A Gentleman well known at Court, having been Page of Honour to King Charles the Firft, ahd Groom of the Bed-chamber to King Charles the Second, with whom he endur’d twenty Years Exile. During his abode beyond Sea, took a view of Franco , Italy , and Spain’, and was Honoured by his Majefty wit\ the Credi- table Employ of Refident at the State of Ve- nice, whither he was fent in Augujl i6yi. Du- ring his Abfence from his Country, he di- verted himfelf with the Mufes, writing fe- veral Playes, of which Sir John 2)enham (in a jocular way) takes notice in his Copy of Ver- les on our Author’s Return from his Embaffie from Venice ( bJ. Oar Refident Tom, From Venice is come , And hath left the St at ef man behind him : Talks at the fame pitchy Is as wife , is as rich , And juft where you left him you find him. But who fays he was not A man of much Tlot t3fay repent thatfalfe Accufation ; Having plotted and pend’d Six Plays to attend The Farce of his Negotiation. I. (b) Deibtin\ Posiris, p. Tho’ 3 1 2 An Account of the Tho’ Sir John Denham mentions but fix, our Author writ nine Plays in his Travells, and two at London^ mongfl which his Don Thomafo , in two parts, and his TarJ'ori s Weddings will al- ways be valu’d by the belt Judges and Admirers of Dramatick Poetry. Of the fe Eleven Plays, I (hall fpeak in their Order. Bellamira her Dream, or Love of Shadows , a Tragi-comedy, the firltParr, printed fol. Lond. 1 663. written in Venice, and dedicated to the Lady Mary V tillers, Dutchefs of Richmond and Lenox. Bellamira her Dream , the fecond Part, a Tragi-comedy, written in Venice ; printed fol. Lond. 1 66 3 • and dedicated to the Lady Anne Villiers , Countefs of Effex. Cicilia and Clorinda , or Love iti Arms , a Tra- gi-comedy, the firf t Part, printed fol. Lond. 1 66%. written in Turin , and dedicated to the Lady Anne Villiers , Countefs of Morton. Cicilia and Clorinda , the fecond Part, a Tragi- comedy printed fol. Lond.1663. written in Flo- rence in Augv.fi 1 65 1 .and dedicated to the Lady Dorothy Sidney , Countefs of Sunderland. The firff Scene between Amadeo , Lucius , and Man litts , fee-ms copied from the Characters of Agla- tidas , Ai tabes, and MegabiJ'es , in the Grand Cyrus ; fee the Hiftory of Aglatidas and Ame- Jlris, Part 1. Pc ok 3. Chirac ilia , a Tragi-comedy, printed Folio Lond. 1663. written in Rome , and dedicated to his Dear Sifter the Lady Shannon. On this P't ' , and T he Trif oners, Mr. Carthvoright has t ingenious Copy of Verfes, which the Reader, Dramatick Poets . 31} Reader may find among!! his Poems, p. ayS. Parfons IV edd'mg, a Comedy printed Folio Lond. 1663. written at Bajil in Switzerland, and dedicated to the Lady Urfula Bartu, Widow. This Play was reviv’d at the Old Theatre, in little Lincolns- Inn-fields, and adled all by Wo- men, a new Prologue and Epilogue being fpo- ken by Mrs. Marjhal in Man’s Cloaths, which the Reader may find printed in Covent-Gardgp. drollery, 80. pag. 3. borrow’d Strings. The Rea- der therefore is only to expert a fhort Account of his Titles Alphabetically. Alexander and Campafpe , a T ragical-Comedy play’d before the Queens M a jelly, on Twelfth- day at Night, by her Majefiies Children, and the Children of Taul' r, and afterwards at the Black-fryars ; printed i x°. land. 1632,. The Story of Alexander's bellowing Campafpe on the Enamour’d Apelles , is related by Pliny in his his Natural Hiflory, Lib. jy. L.io. Endymion, a Comedy prefented before Queen Elizabeth , by the Children of her Majefiies Chappel, and the Children of Pautpj printed ii°. Lond. 1 632,. For the Story of Endimion s being belov’d by the Moon , with Comments upon it, may be met with in mofl of the My- thologijls : See Lucian ?, Dialogues between Ee- nus and the Moon ; Natalis Comes > Lib,. 4. C 8. ffygmi Toeticon Aftronomicon ; Fulgenth My- thologia ; Galtruchius's Hiftory of the Heathen Gods, Lib. i.C.p. M. Goryibauld has writ a Ro- 1 ‘ ‘ ' mance, Dramatick Poets. 329 mance, call’d Endymion , tranflated in Englijh, printed oCtavo 16 39. Galathea , a Comedy play’d before tlie Queens Majefly at Greenwich , on New-Tears Day at Night, by the Children of Taul's ; printed 120. Land. 1632. In the Characters of Galathea and Thillidia , the Poet has copy ’d the Story of Iphis and Jan the, which the Reader may find at large in Ovid’s \JMetamorphofis, Lib.p.Cap. 1 a. Love's Metamorphojis , a Witty and Courtly Pafloral, firfl play’d by the Children ofTaul's, and now by the Children of the Chappel; printed 40. Lond. 1601. iJMaid’s Metamorphojis , a Comedy , fundry times acted by the Children of Taul's ; printed 40. Lond. 1600. The firfl ACt is wholly writ in Verfe, and fo is the greateft part of the Play. rJMother Bombie , a Pleafant Coriceited Co- medy, fimdry times play’d by the Children of Taul's ; printed 12°. 1632. \jMydaSy a Comedy; play’d before the Queens Majefty upon Twelfth-day at Night; printed 12°. Lond.\6ii. For the Story, fee Ovid’s Me- tamorphojis, Lib. 1 1 . Fab.4. Natalis Comes , Lib. 5). Cap.i 5. Galtruchius , Book 2. Ch,y. Apuleius has writ the Story at large in his Aureus Aji- nus, fyc. Sapho and Thao , a Comedy, play’d before the Queens Majefly on Shrove-Tuejday, by her Ma- kefiles Children, and the Children of Taul’s , and afterwards at the Black-fryars ; printed 120. Lond. 1 <53 2. This Story the Reader may learn from Ovid’s Epiftle o\ Sapho, to Thaon} Ep.21. m- j/t® & count of the }V man in the Moon, a Comedy, prefented be- fore Her Highnefs, printed 40. Land. 1667. Six of thefe Plays, viz. Alexander and Cam- paj'pe , Endymion, Galathea , Mother Bombie , My- das, Sapho and P hao, are printed together, under the Title of Six Court Comedies, 1 2°. Lond. 163 2. and dedicated by the above mention’d Mr. Blount , to the Right Honourable Richard Burn- ley, Vifcount Lumley of W iter ford. The other three are printed Angle in 40. By which it appears how much Mr. Philips (m) and hisTran- fcriber Mr. Win/lanky (n) are miftaken, in af- firming, That all Mr. Lilly’s Plays are printed together in a Volume : Nor are they lels mifta- ken in afcribing to him a Play call’d Warning for fair Women , it being writ by an Anonymous Author. I prefume our Author may have other Pieces in print, thoOI have not been fo happy to fee them : Mr .Blount feems to mention a Book fti- led Euphues , (o) i Our Nation (fays he) are in 4 his Debt for a new Englifj which he taught ‘ them ; Euphues and his England began firft, 4 that Language : All our Ladies were then his ‘Schoilars ; and that Beauty in Court, which ‘could not Parley Eupheifme , was as little re- ‘ garded, ai-She which now there, fpeaks not ‘ French. Thomas Lodge. A Podlor of Phyfick in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth ; who was not fo entirely devoted to (rajl’ag.u j. Cn, (o) Efiftle to the Reader. WEJcu- Dramatick Poets. 33 1 sMEfculapius, but that during his Refidence in the Univerfity of Cambridge, he fometimes fa- crificed to Apollo, and the Nine Sifters. Mr. Thilips fays (?), ‘That he was One of the Wri- ters of thofe pretty old Pafloral . Songs and ‘ Madrigals, which were very much the Strain ‘of thofe Times. But ’tis not in Lyrick Poe- try alone that he exercis’d his Pen, but fome- times he exercis’d it in Dramatick} ikewife, in which way he has publifh two Pieces, viz. Looking-Glafs for London and England, a Tragi-comedy, printed 40. Lond. 15-98. in an old Black-Letter. In this Play our Author was affiflec; by Mr. Robert Green, of whom we have given an Account p. 241. This ‘Drama is founded op Holy Writ , being the Hiftory of Jonas and the Ninevites , form’d into a Play. I fuppofe theychofe this Subject in Imitation of others who had writ Dramas on Sacred Sub- jects long before them ; as Ezekiel, a Jewifh Dramatick Poet, writ the Deliverance of the IJ'raelites out of Egypt ; Gregory Hazianzen, or as fome fay, ylpollinaris of Laodicea, writ the. Tragedy of Chrift' s Paflion : as I learn from the Learned Hojfius (s). To thefe I might add Hugo Grotius , 7 heodore Beza, Tetavius, fyc. all which have built upon the Foundation of Sa- cred Hiftory. Wounds of Civil War, lively fet forth in the true Tragedies of Marius and Silla, publickly play’d in London, by the Right Honourable the Lord High Admiral his Servants ; printed 40. Lond. 15-94. For the Plot, confult Plutarch in ■ (l) 178. (qj Addend. Lib. a Inft. Pcec. the 3 1 2 An Account of the the Lives of Marins and S'tlla ; Velleius Rater- culas, Lib. 2. Salujl. de Bello Jugurth. T.Liviusy Lib.65. Brev. Florus, Lib. 3. C.3. Aurelius Vt- Bor ; EutropiuSyt&c. This Author (as Mr. JVinftanley fays) ( r)was an Eminent Writer of Pallor al Songs, Odes, and Madrigals ; of which he cites a pretty Son- net, which is faid to be of his Compofure : and he has tranfcrib’d another in praife of Ro- jalinde , out of his Euphues’s Golden-Legacy. This Book I never faw; and know nothing elfe of our Author’s W riting, except a Treatife of the Plague, printed 40. Lond. 1600. As to the Plays afcrib’d to him by Mr. Philips and Mr. PVinjlanley , in which he is made an Aflb- ciate with Mr. Robert Green , I have already •lhewed their miftake in the Account of that Author, to which I refer the Reader. Sir William Lower. A Gentleman that liv’d in the Reign of King Charles the Firft, who during the heat of our Civil Wars, took San£tuary in Holland ’ where an peace and privacy he enjoy’d the Society of the Mnfes. He was a great Admirer of the French Poets , and bellowed fome times and pains in dreffing fome Plays in an Englijh Garb : belides what, he has writ himfelf in hxs Mother-Tongue. So that we are obliged to him for. fix Plays, viz. Amorous Vhantafm , a Tragi-comedy printed at the Hague ia°. idj-8. and dedicated to her Pag. 7*. Highnels Dramatick Poets* 333 Highnefs If he Trincefs Royal. This Play is tranflated from the French of M. Quinault’s Le Fantome Amoureux , which appear'd with fuc- cefs on the French Stage. Enchanted Lovers , a Paftoral ; printed at the Hague 12.0. 1 6x8. Horatius, a Roman Tragedy; printed 4®. Lond. 1 6$6. This Play is Tranflated from the French of Mr. Corneille ; and as it is the firfl: Verfion we had of that Admirable Play, I think it ought to be excufed, if it come fliort of the Excellent Tranflation of Mr. Cotton, and the Incomparable Orinda. For the Story, confult Livy, Lib. 1. Florus, Lib.i. C.3. Dionyfius Hal- UcarnaJJieus, CaJJiodorus, fyc. Noble Ingratitude, a Paftoral Tragi-comedy, printed at the Hague n°. i6y8. and dedicated to Her Majefly the Queen of Bohemia. Our Author is fully perfwaded, that this (f) Play is in the Original One of the beft Dramatick Pieces, that has been prefented on the French Stage : and undoubtedly M. ^mnault is an Ex- cellent Poet, notwithflanding the Raillery of the Sharp-witted Boileau (c). Sijepenfe exprimer un Auteur fans default. La Raijon dit Virgile, la Rime Quinault. Thcenix in her Flames, a Tragedy, printed 4® Land. 1679. and dedicated to the Right Wor- fliipful, his moll Honoured Coufin, Thomas Lower Efquire. This Play was written before our Author was Knighted, and I take it to be the firfl he writ. / fj Bpjft. Dedic. ( ij iau a. $24 ^ccouni °f the PolyeuBes, a Tragedy; printed 40. Lond. 1 6yy. For the true Story, confult Coeffeteau Hift. Rom. Surius de Vitis San Bor um. As to the Incidents of the Dream of Paulina, the Love of Sever us, the Effectual Baptifm of PolyeuBes , the Sacrifice for the Emperours Victory, the Dignity of Felix, the Death of Nearchus, the Converfion of Felix and Taulina , they are all of them the Author’s Invention. Three of thcre Plays ; viz. Amorous Than- iafm , Enchanted Lovers , Noble Ingratitude , were printed together at the Hague, during the Author’s Exile ; and at His Majelty’s Return, the Remainder of the Copies were purchas’d by Mr .Kirktnan, who printed new Titles in the Year -1661. Thomas Lupon. I am able to recover nothing of this Author* either as to the time of his-Birth, the Place where he liv’d, or any thing he writ, befides a Tragedy mention’d in former Catalogues, called All for Money , which I never faw. M. Lewis Machin. A Gentleman that liv’d in the Reign of King Charles the Martyr ; the Author of a fin- gle Play, called Dumb Knight , an Hillorical Comedy, a&ed fun- Drxmatick Poets. 3 5 $ fundry times by the Children of his Ma jellies Revels ; printed 40. Lond. 1 d 3 3 . Our Author has borrow’d feveral Incidents from Novels ; as the Story of Mariana, her Swearing Prince Thilocles to be Dumb, Act 2. is borrow’d from Bandellos No veils, as I have read the Story, tranflated by Belle foreji Tom. 1 . Nov. 1 3 . The fame Incident is in a Play, called The §tueenf or 7~/6% Excellency of her Sex. Alfonfos Cuck- olding Prate the Oratour, A£t 3. and the latter appearing before the Council, and pleading in Stlfonjo's Cloathes, whilffc he is brought before the King in the Orator’s Habit, A£t y. is. bor- row’d ( as I remember ) from another of Ban- dellds Novels ; and the Englifli Reader may meet with the fame Story in The Complaifant Companion , octavo p. 24 6. John Maxdwel. An Ingenious Perfon, ftill living ( as I fup- pofe) in London ; where fome time ago he un- dertook the Care and Tuition of young Gentle- men, and kept a Private School ; during which Employment, befides fome other Performances, ( with which he has obliged the World) he has borrow’d fo much time as to write a Play, (tiled Loving Enemies , a Comedy a6ted at his Highneis the Duke of York’s Theatre ; print- ed 40. Lond. i) Jn Jpite of Malice , venture I dare thus far , Tack not a fury , and TUf and the Bar. Loyal Lover s, a Tragi-comedy printed 40. Lond. 165-2,. In this Play our Author lalhes the old Committee-men, and their Informers, in the Perfons of Gripeman and Sodom , and I believe he meant to expole Hugh Peters’s Ad- venture with the Butcher’s Wife of St. Sepul- chers, with his Revenge thereupon, under the Cha rafters of Phanaticus and Fly-hlow. If mv Conjecture prove true I hope no fober man will be angry, that Peters Ihould be perfonated on the Stage, who himfelf had ridicul’d others, when he afted the Clown’s part in Shake - fpear's Company of Comedians, as I have read in Dr. Toungs Relation of his Life. If it be conlider’d that our Author’s Mule i was travefe enCavileer ; that he made Writing his Diverlion, and not his Bufinefs ; that what, he writ was not borrow’d but propria Minerva , I hope the Criticks will allow his Plays to pals Muller amonell thofe of the third Rate. (b) Prologue to 'the uer Y 2, 34° An Account of the Gervale Markham. A Gentleman who flourilht under the Reigns of Queen Elizabeth , King James , and King Charles the F irfl : for the later of whom he took up Arms, in the time of the Rebellion: being honour’d by His Ma jelly with a Captain’s Com- iniflion. He was the Son of Robert Marhha?n of Cot ham , in the County of Nottingham Efq,; and was eminently Famous for his numerous Volumes of Husbandry, and Horfemanlhip : befides what he has writ on Rural Recreations, and Military Difcipline. He underllood the PraCtick as well as the Theory of the Art of War : and was elleem'd a good Scholar, and an excellent Lingmfl, undemanding perfectly the French , Italian , and Spatiifh Languages, from all which he collected Notes of Husbandry. In the enumeration of his Works the Reader will be fatisfied of his excellent Parts and Abilities ; and that he was tarn clMarti quam dMercurio , vers’d in the Employments of War and Peace : and One piece of Dramatick Poetry which he has publifht, will (hew that he Sacrific’d to A polio, and the c 3fufes, as. well as to rjMars and Valias . This Play is extant under the Title of Herod and Antipater , a Tragedy printed 40. Lend. 1622,. where, or when this Play was a&ed the imperfection of my Copy hinders my information. For the Foundation ’tis built on Hifiory. See Jofephus Ant. Jud. Lib. 14, iy, 16, & 17. Torniel , Salian , Spondanus , Baronii Ann. & c I Dramatic/: Poets. 341 I {hall now mention his Works, and firft thofe which treat of Horfemanfhip , which have made him Famous all over England. Oi thefe he has writ A ‘Difcourfe of Horfemanfhip, printed 4°. without Date , and dedicated to Prince Henry Eldeft Son to King James the Fait. Cure of all ‘Difeafes incident to Horfes, 40. 1610. Englifj Farriar, 40. 1649. Majhr- piece , 40. 1667.. Faithful Farriar , 8°. 1667. PerfeEl Horjeman, ix°. 1671. For Husbandry he publifht Liebaulf s Le Maifon Ruflique , or The Country Farm, Fol. Lond. 1616. This Treatife (which was at firft tranflated by Mr. Richard Surflet , a Phyfitian) our Author en- larg’d with feveral Auditions from the French Books of Serves and Einet , the Spanijh of Al~ biterio , and the Italian of Grilli , and others. The Art of Husbandry , firft tranflated from the Latine oi'Conr.Heresbachius , by Barnahy Googe , he revis’d and augmented, 4.0. 1631. He writ befides, Farewelto Husbandry , 40. idao. Wealth , wherein is compris’d his Coun- try Contentments, printed 40. 1668. To this I may add Hungers Prevention , or his yfr/ of Fowling , 8°. His Epitome, 12.0. In Mili- tary Difcipline, he has publifht The Souldiers Accidence , Grammar , 40. 163^. Befides thefe the fecond part of the Firft Book of Englijh Arcadia is faid to be writ by him : info- much that he may be accounted if not Unus in Omnibus , at leaft a Benefactor to the Publick, by thofe Works he left behind him, which will (without doubt) eternife his Memory. y i Chri- l 342 An Account ofitfie Chriltopher Marloe. An Author that was Cotemporary with the Incomparable Shake] pear, and One who trod the Stage with Applaule both from Queen E- lizabethy and King James. Nor was he ac- counted a lefs Excellent Poet by the Judicious Johnfon : and Heyvoood his Fellow After, lilies him, the Bell of Poets. In what efteem he was m his time may be gathered from part of a Copy of Verfes writ in that Age, call’d a Cenjure of the Toets , where he is thus Cha- rafteriz’d. fifext Marlo w bathed in the Thefpian Springs^ Had m him thofe brave Sublunary things y That your Fir ft -Toets had ; his Raptures were j All Air and Fire , which made his F ? rfes clear ; For that fine AladneJ's fill he did retain , Which rightly Jhould poffef r a Toet's Brain. His Genius inclin’d him wholly to Tragedy, and he has obliged the world with Seven Plays of this kind, of his own Compofure, befides One, in which he join’d with JVafh, call’d "Dido Queen of Carthage , which I never law. Of the others take the following Account. cDr. Fauflus his Tragical Hfiory, printed 4". Land. 1661. There is an old Edition which 1 never faw, but this is printed with new Addi- tions of feveral Scenes. The Plot, or the Foundation of this Play, may be read in feveral Authors, as Camerarei Hot\ Subcifiv. Cent. 1, Wierps de Tryfiigiis 7)tfmonum} Lib. a. Cap. 4, /..cm cents, Dramatkk Poets. 34$ Edward the Second. \ a Tragedy printed 4°. Lond. I know not the Date, or the Stage where this Play was a£ted, thro’ the defeat of my Title-page. For the Plot confult the Hi- ftorians , that have writ on thofe Times, as Ranulphus Higden , Walfingham, fltath: Wefi- minjler. Efpecially thofe that have more par* ticularly writ his Life, as Thomas de la More. Sr. Fr. Hubert , &c. Jew of Malta, a Tragedy play’d before the King and Queen, in her Majefties Theatre, at Whitehall, and by her Majefties Servants at the Cockpit, printed 40. Lond. 1633. (after the Author’s Deceafe) and dedicated (by Mr. Tho- mas Heywood the Publifher) To his Worthy Friend Mr. Thomas Mammon of Grcy’s-Inn. This Play was in much efleem, in thofe days the Jew’s Part being play’d by Mr. Edward Al- len, that Ornament both to Black-friars Stage, and to his Profeflion ; to the One on Account of of his excellent Action, to the Other of his exemplary Piety in founding Dulwich Hofpital in Surrey. What Opinion Mr. Heywood had of the Author and A£lor, may be feen by the beginning of his Prologue fpoke at the Cock-pit. We knm not how our Play may pafs this Stage ? But by the bejlof Poets * in that Age The Malta Jew had being, and was made : And He, then by the beB of * AElors play d : In Hero and Leander, (c) on$ did gain A lafting Memory : in Tamberlain, * Mar he, * Mien, (c) A Poen'. Y 4 This 344 An Account of the This Jew, with others many : th’ other wan The Attribute ofpeerlefs ; being a Man Whom we may rank with ( doing no one wrong ) Proteus for Shapes , and Rofcius for a Tongue, Lift's Dominion , or The Lafcivious Queen, a Tragedy publifht byblr. Rirkman 8j.Lond.i66i. and dedicated to his worthily honour’d Friend William Carpenter Efquire. This Play was al- ter’d by Mrs. Behn , and ailed under the Title of Abdelazer, or The Moors Revenge. GMaJJ'acre of Paris, with the Death of the Duke of Guife ; a Tragedy, play’d by the Right Honourable the Lord Admiral’s Servants, print- ed oilavo Lond. This Play is not divided into Ails ; it begins with that fatal Marriage between the King of Navarre and Marguerite de Valois , Siller to King Charles the Ninth, the Occafion of the Maflacre f and ends with the Death of Lfenry the Third of France. For the Plot, fee the Writers of thofe times, in the Reigns of thefe two Kings, Ch. IX. and Henry III. ThuanuSyDavilatf. Tierre Matthieu,Dupleix , , Mezeray , fyc. Tamburlain the Great, or The Scythian Shep- herd, a Tragedy in two parts; fundry times ailed by the Lord Admiral’s Servants, printed in an old Black-Letter oilavo Lond. iyp j. Had I not Mr. Heywood's Word for it, In the fore- mention’d Prologue, 1 fhould not believe this Play to be h is ; it being true, wjtat an ingenious Author faid (d), That whoever was the Author, he might tv u keep it t ,'pi in 352 An Account of the in the Account of 'Daniel and Johnfon , writ in theirComraendation the followingHexaftick(“), Ad Johannem Marftonem. Gloria Marftoni Satyr arum proxima prima, Trimaque , fas primas fi numerare duas ; Sin primam duphcare nefas , tua gloria faltem Marftoni primte proxima femper eri. Nec te p. 133. which Dramatick Poets . l6i which are extant, and poffibly his other Pieces. Dr. Fuller fays of him ( r), 4 That fome Difguft 4 at Court was given to, or taken by him, ( as ‘Tome would have it) becaufe his Bays were 4 not guilded richly enough, and his Verfes re- 4 warded by King Char /^according to expecta- 4 tion. Mr. Philips (f) and M r.WinJtanley (*) infi- nuate, That being Candidate with Sir William Z>’ Avenant, for the Honourable Title of the Queen’s Poet, and being fruflrate in his Expe- ctations , out of meer Spleen, as it is thought, for his Repulfe, he vented his Spite in his Hi- flory of the late Civil Wars of England; where- in, Mr .Winjlanley fays, he fhew’d all the Spleen of a Male-contented Poet, making thereby his Friends his Foes, and rendring his Name odi- ous to Pofferity. Whether this Accufation be true, or no, I know not; but I am fure his Enemies mult allow him to be a good Poet, tho’ pollibly he fell fliort of Sir William ‘D’ Avenant : and tho’ I no ways abet his felf Opinion, yeti learn from Horace , that even 111 Poets, fet a value on their Writings, tho’ they are defpis’d by others; Ridentnr mala qui componunt Carmina., verum Gaudent Scribentes , fe verier antur ultroy Si t ace as , laudant, quicquid feripfere beati. And therefore I hope the moderate Critick will bear with the Frailty of our Author: and I doubt not but if they will read his Works with Candor, and efpecially his Plays, they will find he had iome Reaion for his Opinion of what (r ) Worthies Sulla, p.i io. (l ) Pag 179. (t) Pag. 164. 362 An Account of the he writ, I fhall firfl give the Reader a fbc- cin£i Account of his Plays as follows : {Agrippina Emprefs of Rome , her Tragedy, jrinted 120. Lend. 1639. Our Author has fol- ow’d Xiphiiinus , Tacitus, and Suetonius , in the Defigning his Tragedy : and befides has trans- lated and inferted above 30. Lines from Tetro- nius Arbyters Satyricon (u), being a Tranflation of thole Verfes recited by Eumolpus, beginning Orbemjam to turn viStor Romanus habebat,Scc. and concluding with Siculo fear us tcquore merfus Ad menjdm vivus perducitur , — Now altho’ this is patly enough apply’d by our Author, he having introduced Nero at a Ban- quet, commanding Tetronius to write a Satyr again!! thofe Pleafures he us’d to commend ; yet methinks Mr. May, having fuch a particu- lar Value for Lucan , as to tranflate his Tharfa- ha, he Ihould not have inferted what was pur- pofely writ again!! this particular Work; as may be gather’d from the foregoing Speech, Ecce Belli Civilis ingens Opus, dye. but rather have left it to fuch a Man as T)ouza, who (as a French Author has obferv’d ) could no longer endure the Fire and Tempefl of Lucan, when he read the*Taking of Troy, or that *little Effay of the War of Tharfalia, which he declar’d to love much better quam trecenta Corduben/is il- lius Tharfalicorum verfuum Ft dumiua. The firft Afl of this Play has been ill correfted, four ( u ) A£t. 4. * I take the hr ft to be [poke of V ogii s * The fecond ot Fetronhs Iris Poem above* mention'd. pages Dramatick Potts. & pages of it being printed twice over. Antigone , the Thebane Princefs her Tragedy, printed %%Ljond.\6\ i.and dedicated to the molt Worthil y Honoured Endymion Tor ter Efquire. Our Author in the Contexture of this Tragedy has made ufe of the Antigone of Sophocles , and the Thebais of Seneca. The Reader may fee be- fides Statius's Thebais , fee. Cleopatra Queen or t^Adgypt her Tragedy, a£ted 162.6. and printed i2J. Lond. 1659. and dedicated to the Accomplifh’d Sir Kenehne Digby. The Author has follow’d the Hiflo- rians of thole times, as Appian de Beilis Civi - libus lib. 5. Plutarch's Life of AM Anthony , Sue- tonius's Life ot Augujlus. I-' lor us liby. L)ion,&c. He has borrow’d betides feveral other Embe- liffiments, as Calimaccus's Epigram upon Timon the Mijanthropijl ; an Account of the Ancient Lybian TJylls , fo famous for curing the Vene- mous Bites of Serpents, by fucking the wound, related by Tliny, lib. 7. c. 2. and by Solinus^fec. Heir , a Comedy adted by the Company of Revels 1620. printed 40. Lond. 1633. This Comedy is extreamly commended by the al- ready mention’d Mr. Thomas Carew , in a Copy of Verfes affix’d to the Play; where amongfl other Commendations beltow’d on the Stile, and the Natural working up of the Paffions, he fays thus of the Oeconomy of the Play : The whole Tht doth alike it J'elf difclofe , Thro' the Five ASis, as doth a Lock, that goes With Letters, for till every one be known. The Lockls as f aft, as if you hadfoumbme. I 364 An Account of the I believe there are few Perfons of Judgment that aretrue lovers of Innocent and inoffenfive Comedy, but will allow this to be an Excellent Play. Old Couple , a Comedy printed 40. Lond.i6$i. This Play is not much Ihort of the former, and is chiefly defign’d an Antidote again!! Cove- toufnefs. Mr. Philips (x) and Mr. IV'mjianky (?) afcribe two other Plays to our Author, viz. The Old LTrues Tale , and Orlando FurioJ'o ; the firfl; of thefe I never faw, but for the latter, I afl'ure my Reader, it was printed long before our Au- thor was born, at leafl: before he was able to guide a Pen, much lefs to write a Play, it be- ing printed ^°. Lond. 1^94. But tho’ he has no more Plays, he has other pieces extant in print; as the Tranflation of Lucans Tharfaha 80. Lond. 1635-. which Poem oar Author has continued down to the Death of Julius Cnefaryi n VII Books both in Latin and JEngliJl) Verfe. I have already given you T)ou~ za’s Chara£ter of this Poem, to which I might add that of Scaliger , Lapin, and other Criticks ; but this being fomewhat forreign to my pre- fent Subjebt, I fhall wave it, and content my felf with acquainting my Reader, That how- ever pompous and fplendid the French Verfion of Brebeuf\xx% appear’d in France , our Englijh Tranflation is little inferiour to it; and is ex- treamly commended by our Famous Johnfon , in a Copy of Verfes prefix’d before the Book well worth the Reader’s perufal. He tranflated be- (*) (*) Pag. 179. (y) Pag. 164. Drantatick Poets. 365 fides Virgil's Georgicks, printed with Annota- tions 8°. Lond. 1 62.2. Mr. ‘Philips mentions a Hiflory of' Henry the Second, writ by him in Verfe, and a Hiliory of the late Civil Wars of England in Profe ; neither of which have I feen, and therefore pretend not to determine whether he were a partial Writer or no. Only give me leave to conclude in the Words of D# Fuller ; ‘ That if he were a byafjed and par- ‘ tial Writer, yet that he lyeth buried near a ‘ good and true Hiftorian indeed, viz. Mr.Camb- 1 den. in the Weft-fide of the North-Ifle of i1Vejiminjler Abbey , dying fuddenly in the ‘Night, A. Z>. idya. in the yyth Year of his ‘ Age. I know not how Mr. IVinftanley hap- pened to omit the Tranfcript of fo memorable a paflage, fince he has elfewhere borrow’d fo largely from this Worthy Author, as well as Mr. Philips , without either of them acknow- ledging the leaft obligation to him. Robert Mead. An Author that liv’d in the Reigns of King James, and King Charles the Firft, and was fometime a Member of ChriJl-Church Colledge in Oxford; as I learn from the Title-page of a Play, call’d , Combat of Love and Friendjhip , a Comedy, formerly prefented by the Gentlemen of Chrijl- Churcb in Oxford, and printed op. Lond. idy^. This Play was publifhed after the Authors de- i ceafe, at that time when the Mufes were ba- I nifh’d the Theatre. I wifh I were able to give %66 An Account of the the Reader a better Account of our Author: But being deflitute of other Information, this Gentleman having wholly elcaped the Indu- flry of Mr .W W, I mult be beholding for what I have borrow d, to the Stationer’s Epillle to the Reader; where he tells us, 4 That he 4 had been a Perfon, whole Eminent and ‘General Abilities, have left him a Chara- ‘ iter precious and honourable to our Nati- on; and therefore the Reader is not to look ‘ upon this Compofition, but as at a Ifoop, when ‘his youth was willing to defcend from his ‘ then higher Contemplation. He tells us, that ‘ he could fay more in his Honour, but that he ‘ was fo great a lover of Humility in his Life, ‘ that he was almoll afraid, being dead, he might ‘be difpleas’d to hear his own worth re- ‘membred. Mr. T https thro’ his old Miflake afcribes to him The Cojily fVhore • tho’ I am almoll confi- dent the Play is not of his Writing : and that thofe that believe it fo, have taken up their Opinion upon Conjecture. Matthew Medbourn. An ACtor belonging to the Duke’s Theatre, in the Reign of King Charles the Second. One, whofe good parts deferv’d a better fate than to die in Prifon, as he did in the time of the late Topijh-Tlot ; thro’ a too forward andiudifcreet Zeal for a miltaken Religion. Ten Years be- fore the Difcovery of that Confpiracy, our Au- thor publilht a Play, call’d Tar* Dramatic}: Poets. 367 Tartuffe , or The F rench Puritan, abled at the Theatre-Royal, written in French by MoUiere, and rend red into Englifh , with much Addition and Advantage ; printed 40. Lond. 1670. and dedicated to the Right Honourable Henry, Lord Howard of Norfolk . This Play was recceiv’d with univerfal Applaufe on our En- glifh Stage, if we believe our Author, and is accounted by him the Mafter-piece of Molliere\ Produ&ions, or rather that of all French Come- dy. I prefume the Tranflator, (who was a great Bigot) efteem’d this Play the more, it being design’d as a Satyr againfl the French Hugonots ; tho’ at the fame time it mull be acknowledg’d, that the French Author has made an Admirable Defence for the Chara&er of his Protagonili Tartuffe , in his Preface, to which I refer the Reader w’ho is vers’d in the French Tongue. Thomas Meriton, A Gentleman that liv’d in the Reign of King Charles the Second, and is certainly the meaneffc ‘Dramatick W riter that ever England produc’d. I may with Juftice apply to his Stupidity what rjMenedemus the Eretriacf Philofopher, faid of Perfeus’s wickednefs : He is indeed a Poet ; hut of all Men that are , were , or tver / hall be, the dullejl. Never any Man’s Stile was more Bombaft, fo that undoubtedly he deferv’d to have been under Ben. Johnforis Hands ; and had he liv’d in that Age, had without queftion underwent the trouble of a Vomit, as well as Crifpinus in Poet after, till he had (to borrow One 1 68 An Account of the One of his lofty Expreffions) difgorg’d the ob- dure Faculty of his Sence. I pretend not to that Quicknefs of Apprehenfion, as to under- ftand either of his Plays, and therefore the Reader will not expedt that I fhould give any further Account of them, than that they are two in number, viz. Love and War , a Tragedy, printed 4,0 .Lond. i6y8. and dedicated to the Truly Noble, Judi- cious Gentleman, and his moll Elleemed Bro- ther, Mr. George Merit on. I am apt to believe thefe two Brothers adted the Counterpart of thofe German Brethren that dwelt at Rome , the Orator and the Rhetorician mentioned by Horace (*}, whofe bufinefs it was, .-I ut alter Alter ins fermone trier os audiret honor es : Gracchus ut hie illi foret, hie ut Mutius illi. Wandrihg Lover , a Tragi-comedy adled fe- veral times privately at fundry places by the Author and his Friends with great Applaufe; printed 40. Lond. i6y8. and dedicated to the Ingenious, Judicious, and much Honoured Gentleman, Francis W nght Efquire. This Au- thor’s Works being very fcarce, and moft of the Impreffion bought up by Chandlers and Grocer s, I may poffibly oblige my Reader, by giving him a Tafte of his Stile, and juflify my lelf from the Imputation of Scandal. I fhall therefore tranferibe part of his Epiftle, which runs thus : (l) Efift. lib, z. Ep. 2. ' ._ v Dramatick Poets. 369 To the Ingenious, Judicious, and much Ho- ’ noured Gentleman, Francis IF right Efq; • Sir : My Intentions wandring upon the limits @f vain Cogitations , was at the iajl arrived at the propitious brinks of an Anglicis of Performance; where feeing Diana and Venus in a Martial com- bat, and fuch rare Atchievements performed by two fuch Ininimate Goddejfes , did lend to the Afpehl of their Angelical Eyes , my f elf to be the foie Spectator of their foregoing Valour : where then their purpofe was to choofe me their Arbi- trator ; the which I perceiving, did with a mild Completion ( knowing my f elf impotent ) relent backwards , thinking thereby to lofe lefs Credit , and gain more Honour , to fet Ten to Taper , and to relate fame certain ana harmlefs Dialogues , that while I was prefent, betwixt them pajl , which is This Poem; fee. By this time I fuppofe my Reader is fuffici- ently tired, and will take my Word that the Play is-of the fame piece, without giving him- felf the trouble to difprove me : and I allure him that His Love and fFar is yet more fwelling and unintelligible, than this Play. He tells his Patron above-mentioned, That certain it is he writ two Books of the fame Nature, viz. The fever al Affairs , a Comedy, and The Chaft Virgin, a Romance; but they were his Pocket-Companions, and but {hewn 10 feme private Friends. Happy certainly were thofe Men, who were not reckoned in the number of his Friends; fince they were obliged to hear fuch an Author’s ampullous Fuflian, which like * A a an 370 At t Account of the an empty Cask, makes a great Sound, but yields at belt nothing but a few Lees. Tho’ to all Men generally fuch Authors are troublefome, if not odious, and to be Ihunn’d by them, as Horace fays (a): IndoBum , doBumq; fugat recitator acerbus. §>uem veto arripttit , tenet, occiditf\ legendo, Non mijjura cittern nifi plena cruoris hirudo . Thomas Middleton. An Author of good Efteem in the Reign of King Charles the Firft, He was Contemporary with thole Famous Poets Joknfon , Fletcher , t SMaJJiuger and Rowley, in whole Friendlhip he had. a large Share ; and tho’ he came fhort of the two former in parts, yet like the Ivy by the Affiftance of the Oak , (being joyn’d with them in leveral Plays ) he clim’d up to fome conliderable height of Reputation. He joyn’d with Fletcher and Johnfon, in a Play called The Widow, of which we have already fpoken, p. 2.98. in the Account of Johnfon ; and certainly moll Men will allow, That he that was thought fit to be receiv’d into a Triumvirate , by two fuch Great Men, was no common Poet. He club’d with (jMajfinger and Rowley in Writing the Old Law, as before I have remarked al- ready: See pag. 3^2. He was like wife affilt- ed by Rowley in three Plays, of which we fhall prefently give an Account ; and in thofe Plays which lie writ alone, there are feveral ih Art t Vsu/ea. Co- Dramatick Poets. 37 1 Comedies ; as LMichaelmafs-Term, LMayor of Qmnboroughfyc. which fpeak him a Dramatick. Poet of the Second Rank. The fiiil Play we are to begin with, is call’d Any thing for a Qyiet Life , a Comedy for- merly adled at the B lack fry ars , by his late Ma- jefties Servants ; printed 40. Lond.\66i. Tins Play being One of thofe Manufcripts published by Kirkman , I fuppofe was in Elteem on the Stage, before the Breaking out of the Civil .Wars. Blurt Mr. Conftable , or The Spaniard’^ Might- walk ; a Comedy fundry times privately adted by the Children oi Paul’s, printed Lond. 1602. There is no Name affix’d to this Play, and fe- veral others, which are afcribed to our Author by yix.Kirkman ; as The Phoenix , Game at Chefs , and The Family of Love ; but knowing his Ac- quaintance with Plays to have been very con- siderable, I have plac’d them to their Reputed Author. Changling , a Tragedy, adted with great ap- plaufe, at the Private-Houfe in Drury -Lane, and Salisbury -Court ; printed 40. Lond. 165-3. in this Play our Author was a Hided by Mr. Rowley. The Foundation of the Play may be found in Reynold’s God's Revenge againft LMur- ther. See the Story of Alfemero, and Beatrice Joanna, Book i.Hift. 4. Chaft Maid in Cheap-fide , a pleafant conceit- ed Comedy , often adted at the Swan on the Bank fide , by the Lady Elizabeth her Servants; printed 4°. Lond. 1620. Pair Quarrel, a Comedy, printed 4°. Lond . A a 2 N 1622, 572 An Account of the i6zz. and dedicated to the Nobly difpos’d, and Faithful-breafled Robert Grey Elq; one of the Grooms of his Highnefles Chamber. The Plot of Fitz-allen , RuJ/el and Jane, is founded, as I fuppofe,on fome Italian Novel, and may be read in Englijh in tke Complaifant Companion , oCtavo p. 2,80. That part of the Phyfitian tempting lane, and then accufing her, is founded on a Novel df Cynthio Gita/di : See Dec. 4. Nov. $. la this Play Mr. Rowley joyn’d with our Au- thor. Family of Love , a Comedy aCled by the Chil- dren of his Majelfies Revels ; printed of. Lond. 1608. This Play is mentioned by Sir Thomas Bornwel , in The Lady ofTleafure , ACt 1. Sc. 1. Game at Chefs ; 1 undry times ailed at the Globe on the B an f fide, printed 40. Lond. 1 6 — This Play is confonant to the Title, where the Game is play’d between the Church of England \ and that of Rome ; Ignatius Loyola being Spe- ctator, the former in the End, gaining the Vi- ctory. Inner -Temple Mafque, or Mafque of Heroes ; prefented (as an Entertainment tor many wor- thy Ladies) by Gentlemen of the fame Ancient and Noble Houle , printed dp.Lond. 164c. This Play was writ twenty Years before it was print- ed ; and yet fo well efleem’d by Mss. Behn, that file has taken part of it into the City Heirefs. tSMayor of Quinborough, a Comedy often aCted with much applaufe, by his Majeflies Servants, printed 40- Lond. 1661. In this Play are feve- ial Dumb Shews, explained by Rainulph Monk of Chejler, and the Author has chiefly followed his Dr amatick Poets. 37 3 his Poly chronic on : See befides Stow, Speed, Tu Chefne , ^c\ in the Reign of Tor tiger. TM.ichaelma[s-Term , a Comedy, printed in quarto, but where or when, I know not, thro’ the imperfection of my Copy. rjMore TiJJ'emblers bejides Women , a Comedy printed 80. Lond. 16.77. No Wit, no Help , like a W Oman's, a Comedy printed 8°. Lond. 167-7. Phoenix , a Tragi-comedy, fundry times acted by the Children of Paul’s, and presented before his Majefty ; printed 40. Lond. 1607. Roaring Girl, a Comedy which I never faw, Spanijh Gypfie , a Tragi-comedy a£led ( with great applaufe) at the Private-Houfe in "Drury - Lane, and Salisbury -Court, written by our Au- thor and Mr. Rowley ; printed 40. Lond. 1661. The Story of Roderigo and Clara, has a near refemblance with (if it be not borrow’d from) a Spanijh Novel, writ by TMignel de Cervantes , call’d The Force of Blood. Trick^to catch the Old One , a Comedy often in ACtion, both at Paul' s, the Blacffryars , and before their Majeflies ; printed 40. Lond.1616. This is an Excellent Did Play. Triumphs of Love and Antiquity, an Honour- able Solemnity performed thro’ the City, at the Confirmation and Eflablifhment of the Right Honourable, Sir William Cockaine KX in the Office of His Majeflies Lieutenant, the Lord Mayor of the Famous City of London: Taking beginning in the Morning at his Lord- fliip’s Going, and perfecting it felf after his Re- turn from Receiving the Oath of Mayoralty at A a 1 Wejl- 374 Account of the Weftminfler , on the Morrow after Simon and Jude's Day, OBob. 2.9 1619. printed 4®. Lond. and dedicated to the Honour of him to whom the Noble Fraternity of Skinners , his Worthy Brothers have dedicated their Loves in Coftly Triumphs, The Right Honourable Sir William Cockaine Knight, Lord Mayor of this Renowned City, and Lord General of his Military Forces. This Piece confills only of Speeches, addreft to his Lordfhip, at his Cavalcade thro’ the City, and I think no ways deferv’d either the Title of a Mafque , under which Species it has been hitherto rank’d ; nor fo pompous a Title, as the Author has prefix’d. Women beware Women , a Tragedy, printed 8°. Lond. i6yr"j. This Play with two others, viz. rjMore Difjemblers bejides W omen , and, No Wit like a Womans , are all in one Volume. The Foundation of this Play, is borrow’d from a Romailc'e called Hyppolito and Ifabella,oclavo. This Drama, if we give Credit to PAx. Richards, a Poet of that Age, was ailed with extraordi- nary applaufe, as he fays in his Verfes on that Play : I that have feent , can fay, having juft caufe, Ne re Tragedy came off with mare Applaufe. World loft at Tennis, a Mafque divers times prefented to the Contentment of many Noble and Worthy Spectators, by the Princes Ser- vants; printed 40. Lond. 162.0. and dedicated to the truly Noble Charles , Lord Howard. ’ Ba- ron of Effingham, and to his Virtuous and Wor- thy the Right Honourable Mwy, Lady Effing- Dramatick Poets . 575 ham, Eldefi Daughter of the truly Generous and Judicious Sir W.Cockain Knight, LA Mayor of the City of London , and Lord General of the Military Forces. Tour Five Gallants , a Comedy often in A&ion at the B lack-fry ars, and imprinted at Londm 40. This Play has no Date, and I believe was One of the firffc that our Author publifhd. John Milton. An Author that liv’d in the Reign of King Charles the Martyr. Had his Principles been as good as his Parts, he had been an Excellent Perfon; but his demerits towards his Sovereign, has very much fullied his Reputation. He has writ feveral Pieces both in Verfe and Profe : affd amongfl others two Dramas,oi which we fhall firfl give an Account, viz. Samfon Agomdes, a Di'amatick Poem ; print- ed 8°. Lond. 1680. Our Author has endea- vour’d to imitate the Tragedy of the An- cient Greek Poets ; ’tis writ in Blank Verfe of ten Syllables^ which the Author prefers to Rime. His Reafons are too long to be tran- fcribed ; but thofe who have the Curiofity, may read them at the Entrance of his Par adice loji. The Chorus is introduced after the Greek Man- ner,and (fays my Author) ‘The Meafure of its i Verfes is of all forts, called by the Greeks 'Mo - 4 nojlrophic , or rather Apolelymenon , without re- 1 gard had to Strophe, Antiftrophe, or Epod; which ‘ were a kind of Stanzas fram’d only for the 4 Mufick, than ufed with the Chorus that fung ; A a 4 ‘not I~j6 An Account of the 4 n^t efiential to the Poem, and therefore not 4 material : or being divided into Stanzas, or 4 PauJ'es , they may be called Allaojlropha. Di- ‘ vilion into ACl and Scene, referring chiefly 4 to the Stage, (to which this Work never was 4 intended ) is here omitted. In this the Au- ~ thor feems to follow Sophocles, whofe Plays are not divided into ACts. I take this to be an* Excellent Piece; and as an Argument of its Excellency, I have before taken Notice, that Mr. "Dry den has transferred feveral Thoughts to his Aurengzehe. The Foundation of the Hi- ftovy js in Holy Writ : See fudges Ch.13,^. JoJephus Antiq. 1. y. Torniel, Salian , ! - . ^ Injur'd Lovers , or The Ambitious Father , a ' Tragedy, .aCted by their Majeflies Servants at the Theatre-Royal; printed 40. London 1688. and dedicated to the Right Honourable James Earl of Arran , Son to his Grace the Dnke of Hamilton. There are lo me Surlyesy who think that in this Play, Sir Courtly writ for his cDiverJiony but never regarded IV it. Succefsful Str anger s7 a Tragi-cotnedy, aCted hj Dramatick Poets. 379 by their Majefhes Servants, at the Theatre- Royal ; printed qP.R0nd.169o. and dedicated to the Right Honourable Thomas Whartonj^om^t- roller of his Majefly’s Houlhold. This Play far exceeds the Other : tho’ the Author as well as his predeceffors, is beholding to others fof part of his Plot; he having made ufe of Scar- rons Novel, call’d The Rival Brothers , in work- ing up the Cataftrophe of his Comedy. I have leen lome Copies of Verfes in Ma- nufcript writ by our Author, but not being in print, that I know of, I forbear to mention them. N. Thomas Nabbes. A Wri ter in the Reign of Charles the Fir.fl, who we may reckon amongft Poets of the Third-rate ; and One who was pretty much re- fpebted by the Poets of thofe Times ; Mr. Ri- chard Bromc, and Mr. Robert Chamberlain , (be- fore mention’d)having publickly profell thera- felves his Friends; and Sir John Suckling being his Patron. He has Seven Plays and Mafques extant, be- fides other Poems : of which we may fay, That if they are not to be compar’d with lome Dra- rnatick Pieces of this Age, at leallwife what our Author Ms publilhed is His own, and not borrow’d from others ; and in that Refpebt de- feryes Pardon, if not Applaufe from the Can- did 2 So An Account of the did Reader. This he averrs in his Prologue to Covent Garden , and which I believe may be urged for the reft of his Labours ; viz. Hejujlifi.es that ' tis no borrow d Strain, From the Invention of another's Brain. Nor did he fteal the Fancy. 7 is the fame He firjl intended by the Proper Name. [ forth ’ Twasnota Toy l o/' Years ; few Weeks brought This Rugged Iffaepnight have been more worth If he had lick'd it more. Nor doth he raife From th' Imitation of Authentick Plays, Matter or IF ords to height : nor bundle up Conceits at Taverns , where the IV its dofup. His Mule is folitary , and alone Toth practice her low Speculation, t&c. The Reader therefore is to expeil little more from me, than a bare Account of the Titles of his Works, as followss. Bride , a Comedy ailed in the Year 1638. at the Private-Houle in Trury-Lane , by their Majefties Servants ; printed af.Lond. 1640. and dedicated to the Generality of his Friends, Gentlemen of the feveral Honourable Houfes of the Inns of Court. Covent Garden , a pleafant Comedy, ailed in the Year 1631. by the Queen’s Ma jelly’s Ser- vants; and printed 40. Lond.1638. and dedica- ted to the Right Worthy of his Honour, Sir John Suckling. Hannibal and Scipio , an Hiflorical Tragedy, ailed in the lrear 1 63s. by the Queen’s Maje- llies Servants at their Private-Houle in Trury- Lane ; printed Lond.iCir. The Play is addrell in Dramatick Poets. $8* in Verfe by the Author, to the Ghofts of Han- nibal and Scipio, with an Anfwer printed m their Names, dire&ed to our Author. It was ailed before Women came on the Stage; the part of Sophonisba being play’d by one Ezekiel Feme. For the Plot, the Title-page fpeaks the Foundation to be Hiflory : fee the Life of of Hannibal , writ, by Cornelius Nepos ; that of Scipto by Tlutarch : fee befides Livy, Florm , and other Authors mention’d p.3 26. (JMtcrocofmusi, a Moral Mafque, prefented with general liking at the Private-Houfe in Salisbury-Court, and here fet down according to the Intention of the Author ; printed 40. Lond. 1611. and dedicated to the Service and Delight of all Truly Noble, Generous, andHo- nefl Spirits. This Mafque is introduc’d by two Copies, One of which was writ by Mr. Ri- chard Brome. Springs Glory, vindicating Love by Tempe- rance, againfl the Tenet, Sine Cerere & Baccho friget Venus ; Moralized in a Mafque with other Poems, Epigrams, Elegies, and Epitha- lamiums of the Author’s; printed 40. Lond. 1638. and dedicated to Peter Balle Efq; At the end of thefe Poems is a piece call’d, A Prefen- tation, intended for the Prince his Highnefs s Birth-day, the ap. of May 1638. annually cele- brated ; this in former Catalogues was filled an Interlude. Thefe Mafques and Poems are com- mended by two Copies, one of which was pen- ned by Mr. Robert Chamberlain . Tottenham-Court , a pleafant Comedy, acted in the Year 1633. at the Private-Houfe in Sa- . hsbmy- 382 An Account of the li sb my -Court ; printed q.°. Lond. 163 8. and de- dicated to the Worfhipfu \ William Mills Efcj; Unfortunate Lover , a Tragedy never ailed but let down according to the Intention of the Author ; printed q,0. Lond.x6^.o. and dedicated to the Right Worlhipful Richard Brathwaite Efq; This Play is attended by three Copies •written in its Commendation, by feveral of our Author's Friends, and a Proeme in Verle by the Author, wherein he juftifies it to be writ according to the Rules of Art. A Conjlant Scene ; the buifinefs it intends , The t wo Hours of Time of A&ion comprehends. Mr. philips (b) and Mr. Winjlanley (c), ac- cording to their old Cuftom, have aferib’d two other Anonymous Plays to our Author, The Wo- man-Hater arraigned ' a Comedy ; and Charles the Firjl , a Tragedy: the Realbn of their Mi- ftake, has been already given p. 13. and more at large, in the Preface to my former Cata- logue. Thomas Nash. A Gentleman that liv’d about the time with the foremention’d Author, and was lometime educated in the Univerlity of Cambridge. His Genius was much addicted to Dramatick Poe- try and Satyr; and he writ fome things in Profe ; all which gain’d him the Reputation of a Sharp W it. In an Old Copy of V eries, I find his Chara&er thus drawn. (b) Pag. 1 3 1 . (c) Pag. I4S. Dramatkk Poets y 385 And furely Nadi, tho he a Vrofer were, A Branch of Laurel yet deferves to bear. Sharply Satyrickywas he ; and that way He went, fince that his being , to this day. Few have attempted ; and / Jurely think, Thofe IV irds fhall hardlybe Jet down in Ink Shall l t orch, and blcj t, Jo as his could, when he Would infliB Vengeance. — As to his Plays, he has publifht only two that I have heard of, viz. Dido Queen of Car- thage, in which he joyn’d with Marloe ; and. Summer s lajl Will andTejlament , a Comedy : I could never procure a Sight of either of theffe ; hut as to that Play call’d See me and fee me not, afcribed to him 4y Mr .Thilips and Mr. Winjlan- ley, I have it by me, and have plac’d it to the right Author, TAx.Dawbridgecourt Belchier ; fee page 44. He writ feveral other Pieces ; fome Satyri- cal , as Tierce Tennilejs his Supplication to the Devil; Have withye to Safron-Walden ; Four Letters Confuted: A Poem called The White- Herring and the Red ; and anotlie-r Piece in Profe, which I take to be the fame Tho?nas Naflo , called A Fourfold JVay to a Happy Life , in a Dialogue between a Countryman, Citizen, Divine, and Lawyer, printed 40. Lond.vS^\. Alexander Nevile. An Author in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, that early addicted himlelf to Poetry, and was one of thofe that the Eminent f of per Hey wood made choice of to joy nr with him and others, in 3*4 An Account of the in the Tranflation of Seneca. Our Author un- dertook the Task, and at fixteen Years of Age he tranflated Oedipus , a Tragedy, which he Englifhed in the Year 15-60. and was printed with the reft dp.Lond.if8i> and more immediately dedicated by the Author, To the Right Honourable Mr. Dr. Wotton, One of the Queens Ma jellies Privy Council. Many were the Authors of Antiquity that writ on this Subjeft ; tho’ but two Plays writ by Sophocles , viz. o'lti-mvt and o<- cm k oXorw, have defcended to our Times ; •from the which Seneca is laid to have borrow’d part of this Play. Our T ranllator acknowledges m his Epiltle to his Patron and God-Father, 4 That he has not been precile in following the 4 Author word for word ; but fometimes by Ad- 4 dition, fometimes by Subllraicion, to ufe the 4 aptell Phrafes, in giving the Senle, that he 4 could invent. There are other Pieces which I fuppofe were writ by our Author, publilhed in Latin ; as Oratio in Obitum Sydney printed 4 V Lond. if 8"]. *De Furoribus Norfolcienftum Ketto 'Duce, printed 40. 15-75-. Norvicus, ibid, all which be- ing printed about the time that he lived, make me imagine them to be his. Robert Nevile. An Author that liv’d in the Reign c?f King Charles the Firll, and in his younger Years was educated in the Univerlity of Cambridge, where he became a fell© 6x.tthe others in Folio, Lond. 1 668. under the Title of Plays never before, •printed. ■’:> , E' 1 {hall not prefume to pals my Judgment on the Writings of this Admirable Dutchefs; but rather imitate the Carriage of Julius Sca- Hger? to the Roman Sulpitia \ by concluding with Dramatick Poets . 391 with him (*), Igitur ut tam laudibilis Heroina Ratio habealur , non aujim objicere ei judicii fe- veritatem. I know there are fome that have but a mean Opinion of her Plays ; but if it be confider’d that both the Language and Plots of them are all her own : I think {he ought with Juftice to be prcferr’d to others of her Sex, which have built their Fame on other People's Foundations: fure I am, that whoever will confide r well the feveral Epiftles before her Books, and the General Prologue to all her Plays, if he have any fpark of Generality, 01 Good Breeding, will be favourable in his Cen- fure. As a proof of my Affertion, it may be proper in this place, before I give an Account of her Plays, to tranfcribe part of that gene- ral Prologue, the whole being too long to be here inierted. But Noble Reader s, do not think my Plays sire fuch as have been writ informer Days ; sis Johnlon, Shakelpear, Beaumont, Fletcher writ ; Mine want their Learning , Reading, Language, The Latin Phrafes I could never tell , [ Wit; -Ba/Johnfon couldyvhich made him mite Jb well, Greek, Latin Poets , I could never read. ’ Nor their Hiftorians , but our Englijh Speed : Icould not fteal their Wit , nor Plots out take ; All my Pltys Plots , my own poor Brain did make\ From Plutarch j Story , / nere took a Plot , Nor from Romances , nor from Don Quixot, ( i) 7ov.\,.6.Q.6. B b 4 As 39? An Account of the As others have , fox to ajjifl their W it. But I upon my own Foundation writ ; <$-c. I haften now to give an Account of the Ti- tles of her Plays, according to our accuftomed order; viz. apocryphal Ladies , a Comedy. This Play contifls of three and twenty Scenes, but is not divided into Adis. Bell in Campg , a Tragedy in two parts : In thefecond Play, are feveral Copies of Verfes writ by the Duke of Newcajlle. Blajing IVi. or Id ’ a Comedy : Tho’ this be {til'd a Play in former Catalogues, yet it is but a Fragment ; the Authrefs before fhe had finilht the fecond Adi defifted, not finding her Ge- nius tend to the profecution of it. Bridals , a Comedy, Comical Hajh , a Comedy : This. Play has not been in any Catalogue before. Convent of Pleafure, a Comedy. Female Academy , a Comedy. Lady Contemplation , a Comedy in two parts, Three Scenes in the firfHand two in the fecond ' ' ’\ f i' ! part, Avere writ by the Duke. Loves Adventures , in two parts, a Comedy. The Song, and the Epithalamium , in the lafl Scene in the fecond part, was likewife writ by the Duke. ^Matrimonial Trouble y in two parts ; the fe- cond being a Tragedy, or as the Authrefs fliles it, a Tragi-comedy. Natures three ^Daughters , Beauty, Love , and Wit ; a Comedy, in two parts. Tre- Dramatick Poets. $9$ Prefence , a Comedy. To this are added twenty nine fingle Scenes, which the Dutchefs defign’d to have inferred into this Play, but find- ing it would too much lengthen it, {he printed them feparately. Publick Wooing , a Comedy, in which the Duke writ feveral of the Suitors Speeches ; as that of the Souldier, the Countryman, the Spokefman for the Bafhful Suitor; befides two other Scenes, and the two Songs at the End of the Comedy. Religious, a Tragi-comedy. Several Wits, a Comedy. Sociable Companions, or The Female Wits, a Comedy. Unnatm al Tragedy. The Prologue and Epi- gue, Were of the Duke’s making. A£l 2. Sc. 3. the Dutchefs inveighs againft.Mr. Camb den’s Brittannia : tho’ whether with Juftice, I leave it to the Determination of others. Wits Cabal, a Comedy in two parts : His Grace writ the Epilogue to the firft part. Touth' s Glory , andT)eattis Banquet ; a Tra- gedy in two parts. Tw6 Scenes with the Speeches at the firft part, in commendation of 'dMiU Sans pareille, were writ by his Grace; fo were all the Songs and Verfes in thelecond part. The Blazing World, Bridal, Convent of Plea' fare, Prefence, and Sociable Companions, are printed together in one Volume ; and the reft in another. As to her other Works, I {hall only mention the Titles, and the Dates when printed ; and I {hall £94 An Account of the Shall begin with the Crown of her Labours, f The Life of the ‘Luke of Newcaftle, in Englifh, printed Folio Lond. 1667. and in Latin Folio Lend. 1 6(58 Nature's ViSlure drawn by Fancy's "Pencil to the Life , printed Fol. Lond. 16 $6. at the End of it fhe has writ her own Life. Philofophical Fancies, printed Fol. Lond. i6y%. Philofophical and Phyfical Opinions , Fol. Lond. 16 yy. Philofophical Letters , Fol. Lond. 1664. Two Hundred and Eleven Sociable Letters, Fol. Lond. 1664. Orationsy Fol. i66a. Poemsy FoL 16^3. Thomas Newton. An Author that liv’d in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth 1 and joyn’d with J of per Heywood> and Alexander Nevil above-named and. others, .613 the Tranflation oi Seneca's Tragedies. Tho’ our Author' itranflated but one Play, .yet he pub- lifhed all the Ten ; and dedicated them to Sir Ihomas Henage, Treafurer of her Ma jellies Chamber. The Play which our Author has render’d into Englifh , is intituled Thebaisj a Tragedy. This by fome is be- lieved not to be Senecas-, becaufe in this Tra- gedy Joe if a appears alive, and in Oedipus Ihe is kill’d :and it is not likely that he would write two 'Drammas, that fhould fo very much differ in the Cataftrophe. But if it be Seneca's, ’tis she Ihorteli of his Tragedies, and has no Chorus; anti is fa id by One, * to be Perpetuum Canticum , mtUis diverbiis mcorruptum. I know not how Mr. Philips (e) came to Cg) fag. t82. * Thyfit Collett. Comm. in Ttag. Se^ec._ ^ aferibe Dramatick Poets, 39$ a {cribe Tamburlame the Great to this Author ; for tho’ Marloe' s Name be not printed in the Title-page, yet both in Mr. Kirkmans and my former Catalogue printed 1680. his Name is prefix’d. Thomas Nuce. An Author of the fame Time, and joyn’d in the fame Defign with the former. We are owing to his pains for the Verfion of One Play of Seneca’s , called Off avia, a Tragedy. This is the only Tra- gedy of the Ancients that I know of, that is rounded on Hiftory fo near the time of the Au- thor. I {hall not pretend to determine, whe- ther it was writ by Seneca , or no : tho’ ‘Delrio and others deny it. For the Hiflory, fee Sue- tonius in Vit. Claud. Nero. Tacitus , L.12,. C.14. Tdion , . Cap i > * of Dramatick Poets. 397 of Halifax . The Plot between Beatigard and ‘Portia , is founded on Arrow’s Novel of The Invifible Miftrejs. Cheats of Scapin, a Farce a&ed at the Duke’s Theatre, printed 40. Lond. 1677. ’Tis printed with Titus and Berenice , and dedicated to the Right Honourable John , Earl of Ro- chejier. This Play is tranllated from a French Comedy of TMolhere ; though ’tis not printed amonglt his Plays of the Amflerdam Edition in $ Tomes, which I have by me ; yet that it is his, I colled from M.Boileaus Art of Poetry ; where fpeaking of Molliere in the third Canto, he fays thus : Efludiez la Coury & connoiffez la Ville ; L'une were more fit it Jhould impaled lye Within the walls of Jome great Library ; That if by chance through Injury of Time, Plautus, and Terence, and that {ft} Fragrant Thyme Of Attick-Wit Jhould perijh , we might fee fill thofe reviv'd in his own Comedy. The Jealous Lover , Tander , Gulf and Whore , The Doting Father , Shark , and many more Thy Scene doth reprejent unto the Life, Bejides the Character of a curft Wife ; So truly given in fo proper Stile , As if thy Active Soul had dwelt a while In each Mans Body ; and at length hadfeen How in their Humors they themf elves demean. dMufes Looking-Glafs, a Comedy, which by the Author was tidl called The Entertainment ; as I learn from Sir Afton Cock a in's Works, who writ an Encomiqftick Copy on it. See his Works, p. 98. As to this Play, it anfwers both the Defigns of Poetry, Profit, and Delight: and what a Student of Chrift-churcb , Mr. Rich. Weft , faid of it, will be found true by every Reader. Who looks within his dearer Gluts, will fay. At once he writ an Ethick Trail, and Play. (c) Mr. Ed’iV. Fratince. (d) Ariftoplnnrs, / All V 41 6 An Account of the All fhefe Dramatick Pieces, and his Poems, were publifhed by his Brother, Mr .Thomas Ran* dolphj of Chrijl-church Colledge in Oxon. and are now printed the j-th Edit. Oxon. 1668. I know not when our Author died ; tho’ I prefume he liv’d to no great Age, being too much addicted to the Principles of his Pre- deceflor Arijhppus , Pleafure, and Contempt of Wealth. My Readers are not to expert any Difco- veries of Thefts, for this Author had no occa- fion to practice Plagiary, having lo large a Fond of Wit of his own, that he needed not to borrow from others ; and therefore I may juftly fay, with a Friend of his, With what an Extafie pall we behold [ This Book 1 which is no Ghojl of any old Worm-eaten Author : here’s nojejf or Hint , But had his Head both for its Oar , and Mint. Wer t not for J'omeTranJlations none could know Whether he had ere look’d in Book or no. Of this Nature, are not only his feveral Ver- (ions, as the Second Epod of Horace , feveral Pieces out of Claudian , fyc. but likewife a Dra- mafick Piece from Arijlophanes , called in the Original n/ioJl©-, but by our Tranflator, Hey for HoneJlyfDown with Knavery; a plea- fant Comedy, printed ap.Lond. i<5yi. This Play was firft tranflated by our Author ; and after- wards augmented and publifhed by F.J. I fhall not pretend to determine, whether this Tranf- lation, or that publifhed in o&avo be better ; but leave it to thofe more vers’d in the Ori- ginal Dramatic k Poets , 417 ginal than I pretend to. Permit me therefore to conclude all with the following Lines, writ by One of St. John’ s, in Memory of our Author. Immortal Ben is dead , and as that Ball On Ida tofl'd , fo is his Crown, by all The Infantry of Bit. Tain Priefis ! That Chair Is only fit for his true Son and Heir. { pratfe : Reach here thy Laurel : Randolph, ’tls thy Thy naked Shull J, hall well become the Bays. See, Daphne courts thyGhofi:and fpite of Fat e, Thy Poems Jhallhe ‘Poet Laureate. Edward Ravenscroft. A Gentleman now living, and One that was fometime a Member of the ^Middle -Temple. One who with the Vulgar paffes for a Writer: tho’ I hope he will pardon me, if I rather .Rile him in the Number of Wit-Colle<5tors ; for I cannot allow all the Wit in his Plays to be his own : I hope he will not be angry, for tran- feribihg the Chara&er which he has given of Mr. Try den, aiid which mutato nomine belongs to himfelf. ’Tis not that I any ways abet Mr. Tryden for his falling upon his iSMamamoiichi; but that I may maintain the Chiara6ter of Im- partial, to which I pretend, I niuR pull off' iris' Difguife, and difeover the Politick Plagiary,' that lurks under it. I know he has endeavour- ed to fhew himfelf 'Maffer of the- Art'dfSWi-ft’ writing ; and would perfwade the World, that what’he writes ispx tempore Wit, and written curreWe calamo. But Fdoubt not' to flte'\V,ThaP tho’ he would be thought to imitate the Silk worn, that fpins its Web from Bowels ; - D d vec 41 8 An Account of the yet I {hall make him appear' like the Leech, that lives upon the Elood of Men , drawn from the Gums; and when he is rubb’d with Salt, fpues it up again- To prove this, I {hall only give an Account of his Plays; and by that little of my own Knowledge which I fhall difcover, ’twill be manifeft, that this Ricketty-Poet ( tho’ of fo many Years) cannot go without others Ailiflance : For take thisProphecy,from your humble Servant, or Mr. Ravenfcroft' s Mamamouchi , which you pleafe, When once our Poets tr (inflating Vt fin is pajl. From him you can't expert new Plays in haft. To prove this, I need only give you anAccount of what he has already publilh’d; and from thence you may judge, according to the old Adage, Ex pede Herculem , what is like to follow. Carelefs Lovers , a Comedy ailed at the Duke’s Theatre, and printed 40. Lond. 1 673 • The Epi- (lle to this Play was written againfl Mr. 'Dry- den, and his Prologue levell’d againfl Alrnan- zor ; aiyd his Play, call’d Love in Nunnery. The truth is, Mr. Dryden had fallen firfl upon his zfflamamouchi, as we have laid; and therefore on that Account, our Poet was exc'ufable ; but to accufe him for borrowing, and tranflating, as he faith: Till then he borrowed from Romance , and did tranjlate , was unreafonable, when our Poet knew his own Guilt; for notwithftanding he writes in the fame Prologue, 1 That all that's in it is ex tempore Wit. Yet Dramatic!: Poets. 419 Yet I muft take the Liberty to contradict him, and acquaint my Reader, That the Sham-Scene in the 4. Afl, which is the moft diverting in the Play ; where Mrs. Breedvaell ', and Clap ham bring in their Children, and challenge Marri- age of the Ld De Bo aft ado, is ftollen from Mot- her e\ CM. IDe Tourceaugnac. Adi a. Sc. 7. and 8. As to the reft of the French Play, he has inferted it into his CMamamouchi. The Author in his Epiftle acknowledges, That the Reafon why there are fuch continual Picques amongft the Poets, is the fame with that oi Whores, Two of a Trade can never agree : and therefore Mr. Dryderl and Mr . Ravenf croft, being profeft Pla- giaries, and having both laid claim to Mother e, no wonder if they fell out, like the two Tra- vellers in c yBfop about the Afs ; tho’ at the fame time a third Poet ran away with the prize; at leaf!: the greateft part. Dame Dobjon, or 7 he Cunning JV iman; a Co- medy afled at the Duke’s Theatre, and printed 4°. Lond. 1684. This Play is tranflated from a French Comedy, call’d La Devinereffe, on Les faux Enchantements. Notwithftanding this Play was fo followed and applauded in France , as the Epiftle to the Original informs me ; yet it was damned in its Aflion at the The- atre at London. I pretend not to give the Rea- fon of it; only I have Mr. Dryden's (e) Tefti- rnony, That Corneille’s, Le Menteur,( fincepub- lifhed under the Title of 7 he CMiftaken Beauty t ox The Lyes') was notwithftanding Mr. Hart's, a fling Dorant to Admiration, judg’d far Infe. (cj Dram. Elhy, p.37. D d % riour 420 An Account of the riour to many Plays writ by Fletcher, and Ben Johnfon : and I quell ion not but this lalt will obtain the preference from the other, if they are read by unbyafs’d Judges. Engl 7 ft Lawyer , a Comedy a£led at the The- atre-Royal, and printed 4 Lond. 16-78. This Play was written originally in Latin , by Mr. R. Buggies , fometime Mailer of Arts in Clare Hall in Cambridge; and was a£led feveral times with extraordinary applaufc, before King James the Firjffc by the Gentlemen of that Univerlity. There was a Verlion done by a Mailer of Arts of (Magdalen Colledge in Oxford ’ printed near thirty Years ago, tho’ tranllated fome Years before: and I believe Mr. Ravenfcroft made more ufe of that, than the Original : at leaft- wile they who underlland not the Latin , and yet would fee a true Copy, (this of our Author being drawn in Miniature ) may read it, under the Title of Ignoramus. King Edgar, and Alphreda 7 a Tragi-comedy a£led at the Theatre-Royal, and printed 40. Lond. 1677. This Play I fuppofe (if any) to be of the Author’s own (Minerva; tho’ the Story of it be fufficiently F amous, not only in Novels both French and Italian: but inalmollall the Hiflorians of thofe Times. For Novels, fee;the Annals of Love o£tavo : For Hiltorians, fee IV. Malmesbury , H. Huntingdon , Bog. Hove den, In - gulf us, Ranulph Higdert, tM. IV eftminfler , Tol. Virgil. Grafton, Stow , Speed, Baker , fyc. Ubah dino Le Vite delle Donne Illujlri, p. 2.8. London Cuckolds, a Comedy a£ted at the Duke’s Theatre, and printed 40. Lond. 1683 I This Dr am At ick Poets. 421 This Play, tho’ the moil: diverting of any that he has writ, is patcht up from feveral Novels. I may truly aver, that WiJ'e-acre and Peggy, are borrowed from S carton’s Fruit lefs Precaution , Nov. firlb ; at leafl that part of it where Peggy in Armour watcheth her Husband’s Night-cap. Tho’ poffibly thefe two Chara&ers were drawn from Arnolphe and Agnes , in Molliere' s L'Efcole des Femmes : Love day's Difcovering Eugenia s Intrigue, and pretending to conjure for a Sup- per,is borrowed from Les Contes d'Ouville, part, x.pag.xis- Eugenia's Contrivance to have Jane 'lye in her place by her Husband, whilft fhe went to Ramble ; is borrowed poflibly from the Me- fcolanza dolce Cap. 16. at the End of Tor nano's Grammar : or elfe from Scarron's Fruitlefs Pre- caution, where is fuch a like paflage. The Con- trivance of Eugenia to bring off Ramble , and Loveday, by obliging the former to draw his Sword, and counterfeit a Paffion, is borrowed from Les Contes d'Ouville, x.part. page xy-j. or from Boccace Day 7. Nov. 6. Doodle's Obli- ging his Wife Arabella to anfwer nothing but No in his Abfence , and the Confequence of that Intrigue with Townly, is borrowed from Les Contes d'Ouville , x part, page 121 Eugenia % making a falfe Confidence to her Husband Da/hwell, and fending him into the Garden to Loveday, in her Habit, where he is beaten by him, is borrowed from Les Contes d'Ouville , x. part, pagexyo. The fame Story is in Boccace , Day 7. Nov. 7. and in Les Contes de M. de la, Fontaine, Nov.a.p.21. and is the Subject of feve- ral Plays ; as City Night -cap, &c. This is fuffi- Dd 1 dent 422 An Account of the cient to (hew how much our Author borrows in his Plots, and that his own Genius is either lazy, or very barren of Invention. tSHamamouchi, or The Citizen turn'd Gentle- man ; a Comedy ailed at the Duke’s Theatre, and printed 40. Land. 167?. This Play is dedi- cated to his Highnefs Prince Rupert. Our Au- thor had that good Opinion of Molliere' s Mon- fieur de Pourceaugnac , that what he left un- toucht in that Play when he writ The CareleJ's Lovers, he has taken into this : So that his Sir Simon Soft-head \ is M. de Tourceaugnac in an Englifh Drefs; and the reft of his Play is ftollen from Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme , a Co- medy writ by the fame Author. So that here is a whole Play borrow’d, and yet nothing own’d by the Author ; a procedure which favours of the higheft Ingratitude, and which (as I have clfewhere obferv’d) has been long ago thus in- veigh’d againft by the Excellent Pliny[f),Obnoxii profe&o Animi , fy infelicis Ingenii eft, deprehen- di in fhrto malie , quam mutuum redder e} cum pratfertim for s fiat ex ufurd. ✓ Scaramouch a Ph ilfopher, Harlequin a School- Boy, Bravo , Merchant, and Magician ; a Come- dy after the Italian Manner, ailed at the The- atre-Royal, and printed 40. Lond. 167*7. This Play was fore-ftall’d in the Ailion , by the Duke’s Houfe, they having brought upon the Stage the Cheats of Sc apin ; as the Author com- plains in the Prologue. Our Author would be thought to have taken a great deal of pains in (f) Epift. ad T.V. this Dramatick Poets. 42 5 this Play, and to have brought a new fort of Comedy on our Stage : as he fays, The Toet does a dangrous tryal make , And all the common ways of Plays for fake. Upon the Aft or s it depends too much ; “) And who can hope ever to fee two juchy C As the fanid Harlequin, and Scaramouch. \ This he well knew Tet rather chofe in New Attempts to failt Than in the Old indifferently prevail . But notwithflanding our Author’s Boafling, he is but a Dwarf dreft up in a Giant’s Coat flufft out with Straw : for I believe he cannot ju- flly challenge any Part of a Scene as the Ge- nuine Off-fpring of his own Brain ; and may rather be reckon’d the Midwife than the Pa- rent of this Play. This Author has followed his old Cultom of fweeping clean, and leaving nothing behind him ; for what he left of Le Bourgeois Gentilhommey he has taken into this Play ; as will appear to them that will compare the firft Ail with that Dramma. Almofl all Le Marriage force , is taken into this Play like- wife ; and for the Cheats of Scapin, I fuppofe our Author has not only feen that Play, but borrow’d from thence ; I have already taken notice , that part of it refembles Terence" s Thormio. IV) r, angling Lovers , or The Invifible Mijlrefs ; a Comedy ailed at the Duke’s Theatre, and printed 40. Lond. 1 677. This Play is founded upon a Spanijh Romance in 8°. tranflated and D d 4 called. 4 24 An Account of the called Deceptio vifus, or Seeing and Believing are two things. 7 h. Corneille has a Play writ on the fame Subject, called Les Engagements du Ha- zard. I know nothing elfe of our Author’s Writing, without I fhould reckon his Alteration of Titus' Andronicus ; of which I lhall fpeak by and by, in the Account ol Shakej'pear, Thomas Rawlins. A Gentleman that liv’d in the Reign of King Charles the Firft, who wras well acquainted with molt of the Poets of his time. He was the Cheif Graver of the c Stfint to both King Charles the Firft and Second, and died in that Employment in 1670. He writ a Play for his Diverfion only, not for profit; as he tells the Reader in his Preface : L Take no notice of < mv Name, for a fecond Work of this Nature i ihallhardly bear it. I have no defire to be ‘ known by a Thread-bare Cloak, having a Call- ing that will maintain it Woolly. His Play is called. Rebellion , a Tragedy aided Nine Days toge- ther; and divers times fince with good ap- plaule, by his Majefty’s Company of Revels ; and printed 40. Lond.16^0. ’Tis dedicated to his kinfman, Robert ‘Ducie of Ajlon , in the County of Stafford Efq; and is accompanied with Verles, to the number of eleven Copies ; amongR which are feveral writ by the Drama- tick Poets his Contemporaries. He was very young when he writ this Tragedy, as appears from Dramatick Poets. 42 5 from the following Lines of Mr. Chamberlain , publifht with the Play. To fee a Spr ingot of thy tender slge. With fuch a lofty Straine to word a Stage ; To fee a Tragedy from thee in Trint, With juch a World of fine Meanders in't , Tufies my wondringfoul : for there appeares Such dfproportion ’twixt thy Lines, and Teares: That when I read thy Lines , me thinks I fee The fweet tongud Ovid fall upon his Knee , With Parce precor ; The Scene of this Play lyes in Sevile ; but I cannot direct you to any particular Hiflory, becaufe I know not in what King of Spains Reign this Ailion happened : All I can tell you is, That I believe this Taylor was fitted upon Crifpin's Lafl ; and that Wehfter’s Shoo- maker gave Birth to our Poet’s Don Sebafiiano. Mr. Winfianley fpeaks of other fmall Pieces that he wrote, tho’ I know of none, except fome commendatory Verfes, publifht with his Friends Plays ; as with Mr. Chamberlain s Swaggering PDamfeT, Mr. Richards' % dMeffali- na, fyc. Edward Revet. An Author of our Time, who publifhed a Play, called Town Shifts, or Suburb Juft ice ; a Comedy ailed at his Royal Highnefs the Duke of Tork’s Theatre, printed 40. Lond. i6yi. and dedica- ted to Stephen Mofedelf Efq; Give me leave fo 426 An Account of the jo far to commend this Comedy, to fay that it is InffruCtive ; and that the Author’s Protagonift Lovewel, tho’ reduced to poverty, yet enter- tains not only an Innate Principle of Honefty, hut advifes his two Comrades, Friendly and Faithful , to the pra&ice of it ; and it fucceeds happily to them. I mention this, becaufe few of our Modern Characters are fo nicely drawn. Nathaniel Richards. An Author that lived in the Reign of King Cherries the F irft; of whom I can give no further Account, than that he writ one Tragedy, pub- lifhtin the beginning of our late Troubles; viz. 'JMeffalim the Roman Emprefs , her Tragedy, aCted with general applaufe divers times, by the Company of his Majeffcy’s Revels, and printed 8°. Lond. 1640. This Play is dedicated to the Right Honourable John Cary , Vifcount Roch- ford: and is ufliered into the Light by fix Co- pies of Verfes ; two of which were writ by our Dramatick Authors, Davenport and Raw- lins ; two by two AClors in his Play, Rohinfon and Jordan ; and a fifth Latin Copy, by One Thomas Combes, which may deferve a place in our Account : after having acquainted the Reader, that for the Story he may confultTii- citus, Suetonius , Pliny , Plutarch, and Juvenal ; all which have given a Character of the Infa- tiate t3lejfalina ; as the following Verfes do of her Vices, and the Virtues of her Mother Le- pida. Cariffi- Dramatick Poets. 427 Cariflimo Amico Auilori in eximiam tSMiJfa- lin Shoo- Dr am at kk Poets. 429 Shoemaker's a Gentleman , a Comedy printed 40. Lond. Not having this Play by me at prelent; I cannot inform my Reader where it was a<5led, or when printed. But this I know, that it has not many Years fince been revived at the Theatre in Dorfet-Garden , and been for- merly a£led abroad in the Country: and the Comical part of it, is an ufual Entertainment at Bartholomew and Sonthvcarke Fairs ; it be- ing a Copy to which all Stroiing Companies lay claim to. The Play is founded on a liitcht Pamphlet in quarto, called The Hiftory of the Gentle -Craft . The Reader may find an Epi- logue printed in Duffed s Poems, p. bo. writ for this Play, when ’twas revived. Hew IVonder , a IVoman never vext ; a plea- fant Comedy, fund ry times ailed, and printed 40. Lond. 1632. That paflage of the Widows finding her Wedding-Ring, which Ihe dropp’d an eroding the Thames , in the Belly of a Fifti which her Maid bought accidentally in the Market, is founded either, upon the Story of Toly crates oil Samos, as the Author may read at large in Herodotus , Lib. 3. five Thalia; or upon the like Story related v of one Anderfon of Hewcaffle, by Doitor Fuller, in his IV ft hies of England. ... • I know of nothing elfe written by our Au- thor, neither can I tell the time of his Death, and therefore I muft leave it to Perfons of better Information to acquaint the World, with more .particulars of his Life, whilft X hafien to an Account of liis Names fake. ..A ' ' Samuel 4 Jo An Account of the Samuel Rowley. Whether this Author was related to as well as Contemporary with the former, I know not : • only this I know, that he writ himfelf a Ser- vant to the Prince of JVi lies. Pie is the Au- thor of two Hillorical Plays, of which we are to give an Account in their Alphabetical Or- der; viz. Noble Spanifn Souldier, ox A Contract broken juftly revenged ; a Tragedy, printed 40. Lond. 1634. This is a Pofthumous Piece ; and if we believe the Printer s Preface, has received ap- plaule in A61ion. Where it was a&ed, I know not, nor the Foundation of the Story, it not being mentioned what King of Spain it was, that committed that a6t of Perjury with Ona- lia. When you fee me, you knovb me • or The Fa- mous Chronical Hiftory of Henry the Eighth; with the Birth, and Virtuous Life of Edward Prince of Wales : being play’d by the High and Mighty Prince of Wale ’s Servants, and printed 40. Lond. 163a. For the Plot, fee the Ld Herbert's Life of Hen. the VIII. and other Writers of his Life, as Toly dor e Virgil ’ Hol- lingjhead \ Hall, Graft on , Stow, Speed, Martin, Baker, dye. Jofeph Rutter. An Author that liv’d in the Reign of King Charles the Firfl. He belong’d to the Earl of 2) or Jet' s Family ; and attended on his Son, the Fa- Dramatick Poets. 4 51 Father of the prefent Earl. At the Command of the Right Honourable Edward Earl of Dor- fety and Lord Chamberlain to the Queen, he undertook the Tranflation of the Cidy out of French : and Mr .Kirkman afcribes another Play to him befides ; of both which 1 {hall fpeak in their Order. Cidy a Tragi-comedy a£led before their Ma- jefties at Court, and on the Cockpit Stage in 2)rury-Laney by the Servants to both their Ma- jeftiesj and printed 8°, Lond. 1637. This firfl Part is dedicated to Edward Earl of Dorfet aforefaid, part of it being tranflated by the young Lord his Spn, on whom our Author at- tended Cidy Part the fecond, printed 40. L ond. 1640. and dedicated to the Lady Eheophila Cbok^ This Part was undertaken by our Author, at his Ma- iefties Command, who was pleas’d to think it worth the tranflating ; and commanded it to be put into our Author’s Hands. Both thefe Plays are ufually bound together in o&avo. As to thefe Plays in the Original, they are much commended, tho’ I never Law but the firft Part in French. I fliall not here tranfcribe the Author’s own Sentiments of it; but leave it to thofe who underftand the French to perufe the Examen of the Second Part; it being too long for this place. But what M. Bode an fays of it, in his 9th Satyr, may be fufficient to {hew the Sentiments of the publick in its Favour : His Words are thefe • En 4} 2 An Account of the En vain contre k Cid m ( s)Miniftre fe ligue , Tout Paris pour (h) Climene a les yeux de (') Rodrigue. (k)Z,’Aeademie en Corps a beau le cenfurer} Le Public revoke s'objline a l' admirer. To fpeak of the Tranflation in general, I think, if the Time be confidered when it was undertaken, it may. pafs muiler with candid Readers : The Author having at leatt fo far im- prov’d it, as to bring feveral things in Action, which in the Original are delivered in Nar- ration ; an Excellencv commended by Horace , in thofe Lines fo well knowfi to all Scholars. Aut agititr res in Scenis aut API a refer tur : Segnius irritant animos demiff a per aurem ; Quam qua funt oculis fubjePla fidelibus , and was the Author of a Play, call’d Vow-breaker , or The Fair Maid of Clifton, in Nottinghamfhirfe ; divers times a£ted by feve- ral Companies with great applaufe, printed 40. Land. 1633. and dedicated to Mrs. Anne Wil- loughby, Daughter to Sir Henry : in which E- piftle, the Author concludes thus ; ‘Heaven ‘keep you from Fawning Parafites, and bufie * Gonips, and lend you a Husband \ and a Good cOne ; or elfe may you never make a Holyday ‘for Hymen. As much Happincfs as Tongue ‘can fpeak, Pen can write, Heart think, or ‘Thoughts imagine,' ever attend on you, your ‘Noble Father, and all his Noble Family; to 1 whom I ever reft, as my bounden Duty, a ‘Faithful Servant, Will. Sampfon. This Play fecms founded upon Truth ; I have likewife,in Ee 1 my An Account of the my younger Years, read a Ballad compos’d up- on the fame Subject. Our Author befides this Play, joyned with Mr Markham in Herod and Antipater , which I forget before. But as for the Valiant Scot, and How to chvfe a Good tVife from a Bad \ they are in my Judgment none of our Author’s writing; tho’Mr. Philips and his. Follower tAx.JVinfian- leyy have afcribed them to him. George Sandys, Efq; A Gentleman who flourifh’d in the Reign of ' King Charles the Martyr ; if one may fo lay, of a Perfon, who fympathiz’d fo deeply with his Prince and Country in their misfortunes. He was Son to his Grace Arch-bifh.of Tork : and was born in theYear iyyyat Bifhops-Thorp7 . in the fame County, being his Father’s youngeit Child. He was fent to the Univerfity that me- morable Year iy88: being then eleven Years of Age; and was enter’d of St .Mary Hall in Oxford. How long he Hay’d, I know not : but in the Year 1610. nremorable for the Murder of that Great Hero Henry the Fourth of France 7 by that Villain Ravaillac , he began his Travels thro’ France , Italy , T urhy, t^/Egypt, Palejline , fyc. an Account of which you may read in his Travels, printed Fol. Lond. i<5y8. But ’tis not on this Account, but his Poetry, that he is here men- tioned ; and therefore I {hall haften to fpeak of his Writings in that kind, and firli of that excellent Piece of Dramatick Poetry, which he has left us ; and chiefly in this Account chal- lenees a particular place ; viz. ChriJTs Dramatic k Poets. 45? Chrijl's TaJJion , a Tragedy, with Annota- tions, printed 80. Lond. 1640. and dedicated to King Charles the Firft. This Play is tranflated from the Latin Original writ by Hugo Gr otitis. This Subject was handled before in Greek, by that Venerable Perfon, Apolltnarius of Laodi- cea1 Bilhop of Hierapolis ; and after him by Gregory Nazianzen : tho’ this of Hugo Grotius) (in our Author’s Opinion) tranfcends all on this Argument As to the Tranflator, I doubt not but he will be allow’d an Excellent 4rtift> hy Learned Judges ; and as he has follow’d Ho- race’s Advice of Avoiding a fervile Tranf- lation, Hec verbum verbo cur obis redder e fidus Interpres : ' 1 So he comes lb near the Sence of the Author, that nothing is loft, np Spirits evaporate in the decanting of it into Englijh ; and if there be any Sediment, it is left behind. This Booh was reprinted with Figures, 8°. Lond. 1688. Nor are his other Tranflations left valu’d, fo much efteem’d in former times, that I find two old Copies of Verfes, fpeaking th plaice of our Author. In the firft, called As CenJ'ure of the Toetsy are thefe Lihe£:-'^ ■ 1 ! t Then dainty Sand s', that hath to Englifh done Smooth Jlidtng O vid, and hath wade him Onet With fo{ much fmetnefs, add udufudl GracL As tho’ the neatnefs of the Englifh' Face uvia s metamorphofis , printed with Oxon. 1 62 a. This Tranftation was Should 4 3 S An Account of the Should telly our Jetting Latin, that it came But Jlowly after , as though ft iff or lame . The other on the Time Poets , fayes thus. Sands Metamorphos'd fo into another , We kno w not Sands, and Ovid from each other. ■ To this I may add the Tranflation of the firft Book of Virgil's WEneis ; by which Spe- cimen, we may fee how much he has excell’d Mr .Ogilby. For his other Divine Pieces, as his Taraohrafe on the Tf alms fob yEccleJiaftes, La- mentations f ] e r e tu i ah, Jyc. I have heard them much admired by Devout and Ingenious Per- fons, and I believe very defervingly. Having done with his Tranflations, give tne leave to conclude with His to another World, which happen’d at his .Nephew, Mr. Wiat’s, Houle, at Boxley- Abbey in Kent : in the Chan- cel of which Parifli-Ghurch he lyes buried, tho’ without a Monument ; and therefore I £hall follow my Author, from whence I col- lected this Account, by tranicribing what de- serves to be infcrib’d on a Monument ; viz. Georgius Sandy sy Poet arum Anglorum fui feculi Trinwps fepultys fmt Martii Stilo Anglico. A. 21. 1,043 . ■' CKSe$‘l&DNDERS. A Young Gentleman, whofe Wit., began to bud a% early, as that\pf the Incomparable Cow- ley • and was like him H King’s Scholar, when; he writ a Play, call’d . Dramatkk Poets. 439 T amber lane the Great , a Tragedy ailed by their Majefties Servants, at the Theatre-Royal; as likewife at Oxford \ before his late Ma jelly King] Charles the Second, at his meeting the Parliament there. ’Twas printed in quarto Lond. 1681. and the Delign was drawn (as the Author owns ) from the Novel of Tamerlane and AJleria , in oilavo : I have fo great a value for this Author’s Play, that I cannot but wiih well to his Mufe ; but being no Poet, I mult fet my Hand to another Man’s Wifhes : I mean Mr. Banks , who has writ a Copy of Verfes on this Play, part of which are as follow : Launch out young Merchant flew fet up of Wit9 The World's before thee , and thy Jlock is gr eat 9 Sail by thy Mufe fut never let her guide , Then without danger you may fafely glide By happier Studiesjleer'd \ and quickly gain The promifed Indies of a hopeful Brain , Bring home a Man betimes , that may create His Country's Glory in the Churchy or State. Elkanah Settle, An Author now living, whole Mufe is chiefly addiiled to Tragedy ; and has been tragically dealt withal by a Tyranical Laureat ; which has fomewhat eclips’d the glory he at firli ap- peared int But Tune has her viciflitudes ; and he has lived to fee his Enemy humbled, if not juflly punilhed ; for this Reafon, I lhall not afrefli animadvert upon his fault, but rather bury them in Oblivion ; and without any Re- flections on his Poetry, give a fuccinCfc Account Ee 4 of 440 An Account of the cf thofe Plays, which he has publifhed, being Nine in Number ; viz. Cambyfes King o/Terfia, a Tragedy ailed at the Duke’s Theatre ; printed 4.0. 5 d Edit. Lond. 1 67$. and dedicated to the Illuflrious Princefs Anne, DiTtcheis of Monmouth. This Tragedy is written m Heroick Verle, and founded on Hiflory. For the Plot, fee Juft in , Herodotus , Ammianus MarceUmus, fyc. Conqueji of China by the Tartars , a Tragedy ailed at the Dukes Theatre ; printed 40. Lond. i6~]6. and dedicated to the Lord Caftle-Rizing. This is alfo writ in Heroick Verfc, and founded on Hiflory. See Signior Talafax his Hiflory of China , tranflated in oitavo ; John Gonzales de xjMendoza , Lewis de Guzman , fee. EmpreJ's of Morocco, a Tragedy in Heroick Verfe ; ailed at the Duke’s Theatre , printed with Sculptures 40. Lond. 167 3. and dedicated to the Right Honourable Henry , Earl of Nor- wich., and Earl-Marfhal of England. This Play Mr. Try den writ particularly againfl, in a Pamphlet called, Notes and Qbfervations on the Emprefs of Morocco ; or fome few Erratas to be printed inftead of the Sculptures with the fe- cond Edition of that Tlay ; printed 4°. Lond. 1674. This (as 1 have already obferv’d) was anfwered by another Pamphlet, which fhewed Mr. Try den was not Infallible ; but- that not- 1 withflanding his Bravadoes , he himfelf was as faulty as others : and that he had verified the Spanijh Proverb, No es tan bravo el Leon come ie pint an ; The Lyon is not fo fierce as they paint him . , I Fata! Dramatick Poets. 441 Fatal Love , or The forc'd Inconjlancy ; a Tra- gedy acted at the Theatre-Royal; printed 40. Lond. 1680. and dedicated to Sir Robert Owen. This Play is founded on Achilles Tatius his Ro- mance, called Cii tiphon and Leucippe ; fee Book the fifth. The Englijh Reader may perufe it tranflated m oitavo printed Oxon. 1638. Female Tr elate ; being the Hiflory of the Life and Death of Pope Joan : a Tragedy ailed at the Theatre-Royal, printed 40. Lond. 1680. and dedicated to the Right Honourable, the late Earl of Shaftsbary. This Play being founded on Hiflory, fee tJMarianus Scotus, Sigibert,Sa- bellicus : and for the Englijh , he may read Tla- tina tranflated in Fol. by Sir Paul Ricault ; and the Life and Death of Pope Joan, written herer tofore in a Dialogue, by Mr. Alexander Cooke , a Gentleman formerly a Fellow of Univerjity Colledge in Oxford: a Piece fo much cry’d up, and admir’d in thole Times, that it was tranfla- ted into French by J- T>e la Montaigne. ’Tis now publifhed iti a fet Difcourfe 8°. Lond. 16-]?. The Reader will find there a Lift of thofe Au- thors who affirm; and thofe who deny the truth of this Story. Heir ^/'Morocco, with the Death of Gayland\ ailed at the Theatre-Royal, printed 40. Lond. 1682. and dedicated to the Lady Henrietta Wentworth, Baronefs of Nettlejled. Ibraim , the Idujlrious Bajfa; a Tragedy in Heroick Verfe, ailed at the Duke’s Theatre, printed 4'>. Lond. 1677. and dedicated to the Dutchefs of Albermarle. The Play is founded on M. Scuderys Romance fo called. Love 442 An Account of the Love and Revenge , a Tragedy a£led at the Dnkc’s Theatre; printed 4°. Lond. 1 6n?. and dedicated to the Late Duke of Nevocajlle. Tis a great part borrowed from a Play called The Fatal Contrail ; and is founded on the French Chronicles : fee that the Subject he there to much expoles and ridicules, ihould have ever lived to have fucceeded him in wearing the Bays. But I am willing to fay the lefs of Mr. Shad- m#, becaule I have publickly profefs’d a Friendlhip for him : and tho’ it be not of lo long date, as fome former Intimacy with others ; fo neither is it blemilhed with fome unhandfome Dealings, I have met with from Perfons', where I leall expeCced it. I lhall therefore Ipeak of him with the Impartiality that becomes a Critick ; and own I like His Comedies better than Mr. Dryden's ; as having more Variety of Characters, and thofe drawn from the Life ; I mean Men s Converfe and Manners, and not from other Mens Ideas, co- pyed out of their publick Writings : tho’ in- deed I cannot wholly acquit our Prefent Lau- rent from borrowing ; his Plagiaries being in fome places too bold and open to be dilguifed, of which I lhall take Notice, as I go along ; tho’ with this Remark, That leveral of them - ' are 444 An Account of the are obferved to my Hand, and in a great mea- fure excufed by himfelf, in the publick Ac- knowledgment he makes in his leveral Pre- faces, to the Perfons to whom he was obliged for what he borrowed. That N.$.Shadvoell has propos’d B.Johnfon for his Model, I am very certain of ; and thofc who will read the Preface to the Humorijis, may be fuificiendy latisfied what a value he has for that Great Man ; but how far he has fueceeded in his Defign, I Hull leave to the Reader’s Ex- amination. So far only give me leave to pre- mile in our Laureat’s Defence, that the Rea- der is not to tneafure his Merit by Mr. ‘Dry* denT s Standard ; fince Socrates , never was more perfecuted by the Inhumane Arijtophanes , than Mr. Shadwell by Mr. Dry den’s Pen ; and with the la'me irijuflice : tho’ I think, whoever fhall perule the Modefl: Defence of the former, in »ns Epiftle' tp the tenth Satyr of Juvenal , will not only acquit him, but love him for his good Humour and gentle Temper, to One who en- deavour’d to deftroy his deputation, fo dear to AH 'MeVfbut the very 'Darling of Poets ; as Ovid fays(*)> Quid peiitur facris,niji tanium fama Toetis? Hoc vo turn nojlri ft utnma lab or is habet. Mr. Shadvoedl has Fourteen Plays in print, which we fhall give an Account of in the Or- der we have begun, viz. Alphabetically tho’ by this means his lafl Play comes fil'd: upon our Stage, viz. A J (k) l)c Arte Anundij Lib. 3. Amo* Dr amatick Poets. 445 - Amorous Bigot te, with the Second Part of ‘feme 0 Uivelly ; a Comedy ailed by their Ma- jesties Servants, printed 40. Lond. 1690. and de- dicated to the Right Honourable Charles, Earl of Shrewsbury. Bwy Fair, a Comedy ailed by his prefent Majeflies Servants, printed 40. Lond.1689.znQ. dedicated to the R'.Honourable Charles, Earl of tDorJet and MiddleJ'ex, the prefent Lord Chart*- berlain of his Majefty’s Houfhold. How diffi- cult it is for Poets to find a continual Supply of new Humour, this Poet has fufficiently fhew’ti in his Prologue ; and therefore he ought to be excus’d, if Old Wit, and Sir Humphry Noddy, have fonie relemblance with Juftice fpoil IV it, and Sr .John Noddy ; in the Triumphant Widow. Skilfull Poets refemble excellent Cooks , whole Art enables them to drefs one Dilh of Meat fi- ve ral ways ; and by the Affiftance of proper Sawces, to give each a different Relilh, and yet all grateful to the Palate. Thus the Charailer of La Roche, 680 firfl drawn by Molliere, in Les Precieufes ridicule j,and’afterwards Copy ’d by Sir W. D Avenant, Mr. Betterton , and Mrs. Behn ^ yet in this Play has a more taking Air than in any other Play, and there is fomething in his Jargon, more diverting than in the Original it felf. Epjom W ills , a Comedy a£led at the Duke s Theatre ; printed 4° Lond. \ 6q6. and dedicated to his Grace the Duke of Newcastle. This is fo diverting, and withal fo true a Comedy, that even Foreigners, who are not generally the kindeft to the Wit of our Nation, have ex- treamly 446 An Account of tbt treamly commended it : and it is no final! ere* dit to our Author, that the Sieur T)e Saint Euvremont, fpeaking of our Englifh Comedies in his E/faySj has ranked this Play with Ben jfohnfods Bartholmew Fair , as two of our moll diverting Comedies. ’Tis true that fome en- deavoured to fix a Calumny upon our Author, alledging that this Play was not Ingenious : but this Stain was quickly wip’d off, by the Plea he makes for himfelf in the Prologue, Ipoken to the King and Queen at Whitehall) where he fays, If this for him had been by others done , After this Honour fur e they'd claim their own. Humorifts , a Comedy ailed by his Royal Highnefles Servants ; printed 40. Lond. 1671. and dedicated to the moll Illultrious Margaret , Dutchels of Newcajile. The Delign of this Play was, To reprehend fome of the Vices and Follies of the Age , which is certainly the mojl proper and mojl ufeful way of writing Comedy. But notwithllanding the Author’s good Delign, it met with implacable Enemies, who refolv’d to damn it right or wrong ; and the Author was forc’d to mutilate his Play, by expunging the chief Delign, to prevent giving Offence. Thefe and other Difadvantages ( the particu- lars of which you may read in the Preface) the Poet met with : and yet I think a Candid judge wojild let it pafs without much Cenfure ; and pardon the faults of the Play, for that Repa* ration that is made for it in the Preface. Lancafhire Witches , and Teague 0 Bivelly , the 1 I) ram stick Poets. 447 the Irifh Trieji ; a Comedy aXed at the Duke’s Theatre, and printed 40. Lond. i<58x. This Play was written in the Times of JVhtg and Tory , therefore was oppofed by Tapifls and their Ad- herents, for the fake of their Dear-Joy, Teague O Divelly : but neverthelefs there appeared fo numerous a party in the Play’s Defence, that the Play lived in IpigHt of all their Malice. However, I ,wifh our Author for his own fake, had left out the CharaXer of Smirk , notwith- ftanding the Defence he makes for it in the Preface, and his Proteftation of having a true value lor the Church of England: for ’tis evi- dent that her Sons, the Clergy, are abufed in that Character ; particularly in the firft Scene of the fecond AX : and therefore Mr. Shadwell mull: allow me a little to diftruft his fincerity, when he makes fuch large Profeffions of Re- fpeX to Gowns-men ; to whom I believe his Obligations are greater than Kindnefs : other- wile, he would not have fuffer’d fuch reflexi- ons to have palled his Pen, as are to be met with in his Squire of Alfatia, and the Epilogue to the Amorous Bigotte , <{yc. If Mr. Shadvoell would therefore take a Friend’s Counfel, I would advife him to treat ferious things with due RefpeX; and not to make the Tulpit truckle to the Stage ; or Preface a Play, with a a Treatife of Religion : every Man has his Pro- vince, and I think the Stating of Paflive Obe- dience, and Non-Refiftance, is none of Mr. Shadvoell’ s : He may remember, that Mr. 2) ry den never mifearried moref than when he inter- meddled with Church Matters j and that all the 44$ *dn Account of the the Art and Beauty of his AbJ'alom and Achu tophel, will hardly make Amends for the Spots andBlemifhes that are to be found in his Hind andTanther. But to return to our Subjeil: Mr. Heyvoood and Mr. Brome have writ a Play on the fame Story with our Author ; but how much this exceeds it, will be evident to unbyaflcd Judges. As to the Magic k in the Play, our Author has given a very good Ac- count in his Notes, from the Writings of Z )el- rio , Bodinus , JVierus , fyc. and I know nothing that we have in this Nature, in Dramatick Po- etry, except Ben. Johnforis MaJ'que of Queens, •which is likewife explained by Annotations. Libertine , a Tragedy ailed by his Royal Highnefles Servants ; printed 40. Lond. 1 676. and dedicated to William Duke of Newcajlle. This Play, if not regular, is atleafl diverting : which according to the Opinion of fome of our Firft-Rate Poets, is the End of Poetry. The Play is built upon a Subjeil which has been handled by Spanijh, Italian , and French ' Authors : there being four Plays extant (fays my Author) on this Story. I have never feen but one, viz. Molliere’s V Athee F oudroye^hich. it appear’d our Author has read. There is a Character in Sir Ajlon Cochins Ovid; I mean that of Captain Hannibal , whole Cataffcrophe is like that of Donfobny/hich (as I havt faid) may poffibly be borrowed from II Atheijh fuU minato. MiJ’er , a Comedy ailed by his Majeflies Ser- vants, at the Theatre-Royal ; printed q\Lond. 1671. and dedicated to the Right Honourable Charles, Dramatick Poets. 449 Charles, Ld Buckhurji , the prefent Earl of T)or- fet. This Play the Author confefles is founded on Molliere' s L Avar ' for; his flitisfailion. Squire of Alfatia, a Comedy ailed by their Majeflies Servants; printed 4°. Lond. 1688. and dedicated to the Earl of ‘Dor fet and Mid dlefex. . The Ground of this Play, is from Te I rence his Adelphi ; efpecially the two Chara- iters of Mitio and Demea , which I think are improv’d. If he has not taken notice of hav- j ing borrowed thefe Charaiters, ’tis becaufe he is not beholding to the French , or Englifj for his Model ; and that thofe for whom he chiefly 1 writes, are Perfons that are well acquainted with Poets of Antiquity, and need not be in- formed. ’Tis fufficient for the vulgar Audi- ence, that the Play is taking and divertive, without troubling their Heads whence ’tis borrowed : and all People mult allow that no ■; Comedy has found better fuccefs than this, lince the Reffauration of the Theatre. Sullen Lovers , or The Impertinents ; a Come * ^ dy a£ted by his Highneis the Duke of fork's, Servants; printed 40. Lond. 1670. anddedica- - ted Dyamatick Poets. 45 i ted to the late Duke ok Newcaflle. The Au- thor owns that he receiv’d a hint from the Re- port of Molhere' s Les Fdcheuxj upon which he wrote a great part of his Play, belore he law it. The Play is regular and diverting, and the Author himfelf has better defended it than I am able to do, ilor doth he at any time need a Second; and therefore I refer you to his Pre- face for Satisfaction. Timon of Athens , the Man-hater , his Hiflory, aCted at the Duke’s Theatre ; made into a Play, firinted 40. Lond. i6y8. and dedicated to the ate Duke of Buckingham. The Play is origi- nally Shake f pear s ; but fo imperfectly printed, that ’tis not divided into ACts. How much our Author has added, or expung’d, I mull leave to the Examination of the lefs bufie Reader ; I not having time at prefent to enquire into par- ticulars. True Widow , a Comedy aCted at the Duke s Theatre ; printed 4° .Lond.16'79. and dedicated to Sir Charles Stdley. This Play I take to be as true Comedy ; and the Characters and Hu* incurs to be as well drawn, as any of this Age. Firtuojo, a Comedy aCted at the Duke’s The- atre; printed of. Lond. 16^6. and dedicated to his Grace the late Duke of Newcajile. I think there is no Body will deny this Play its due Applaufe ; at leaft I know, that the Univerfity of Oxford \ who may be allowed Competent judges of Comedy, (efpecially of fuch Chara- cters, as Sir Nicholas Ghncrach , and Sir Formal Trifle ) applauded it : and as no Man ever un- dertook to difcoverthe Frailties of fuch Pie-, F f 3. tenders 4 5 2 An Account of the tenders to this kind of Knowledge, before Mr. Shad-well ; lb none lince Mr. JohnJ'oris Time, ever drew fo many different Characters of Hu- mours, and with fuch Succefs. Woman-Captain , a Comedy aCted at his Royal Highnefies Servants; printed 40 . Lond. 167 — and dedicated to Henry, Lord Ogle , Son to his Grace Henry , Duke of Newcaftle. If this Play falls fhort of the former, at leaft it wants not variety of Characters, which have gained ;it a Reputation above what is written by pitiful Toets of the Fourth-Rate, our Author’s perpe- tual Enemies, who are no more to be regard- ed, than the buzzing of Flies, and InfeCts in hot Weather ; which tho’ troublefome, are in- offenfive , and without Stings : and for his greatefl Enemy ; he has imitated the Bee , that with his Malice, has left his Sting behind him. I hope now, our Author is advanced to a Sta- tion , wherein he will endeavour to exert his Mufe ; and having found Encouragement from Majelty it felf,aim at writing Dramatick Pieces, equal to thofe of Antiquity: which however applauded, have been paralelled ( I was about to fay excelled) by the Comedies of the Admi- ' rable fohnfon. I muff do Mr. cDryden fo much Juffice, as to acknowledge, that in EpiclyPoetry, he far ex- ceeds not only Mr. Shadwell , but moft, if not 1 all the Poets of our Age : and I could wilh our prefent Laureat, would not give his predecef for fuch frequent Advantages over him ; but rather confine himfelf within his own Sphere of Comedy. He Dramatick Poets. 455 He lias feveral Poems extant, but becaufe his Name is not affix’d to them, I fliall mention but Three; viz.The tenth Satyr 0/J11 venal, tranf- lated with Notes, printed 40. Lond. 1687. A Congratulatory Poem on his Highnefs the Prince of Orange, coming into England : and another to the rnoft IlluflrioUs QyJMary, upon her Ar- rival ; both printed 4°. Lond. i68p. William Shakespear. One of the moll Eminent Poets of his Time; he was born at Stratford w^onAvon 'mlVarwick- Jhire ; and flouriffied in the Reigns of Queen Elizabeth , and King James the Firlt. His Na- tural Genius to Poetry was fo excellent, that like thole Diamonds (*), which are found in Cornwall , Nature had little, or no occafion for the Aflillance of Art to polilli it. The Truth is, ’tis agreed on by moll, that his Learning was not extraordinary; and 1 am apt to be- lieve, that his Skill in the French and Italian Tongues, exceeded his Knowledge in the Ro- man Language : for we find him not only be- holding to Cynthio Giraldi and Bandelloy for his Plots, but likewife a Scene in Henry the Fifth, written in French , between the Princefs Cathe- rine and her Governante : Befides Italian Pro- verbs fcatter’d up and down in his Writings. Few Perlbns that are acquainted with "Drama- tick Poetry , but are convinced of the Excel- lency of his Compolitions, in all Kinds of it: and as it would be fuperfluous in me to endea- ( 1 ) Dr. Falter In his Account of ib*k efpcar. F f 3 vour 454 An Account of the vour to.particularife what moft deferves praife in him, after fo many Great Men that have given him their feveral Teftimonials of his Merit ; fo I fhould think I were guilty of an Injury beyond pardon to his Memory, fhould I fo far difparage it, as to bring his Wit in com- petition with any of our Age. ’Tis true Mr. Tdryden (m) has cenTured him very leverely, in his Pofticript to Granada\ but in cool Blood, and when the Knthujiajtick Fit was pall, he has ac- knowledged him [ in his ‘Drarnatick EJJ'ay ] Equal at leaf!, if not Superiour, to M r. John- fon in Poejie. I (hall not here repeat what has been before urged in his behalf, in that Com-, mon Defence of the Poets of that Time, againft Mr. ‘Dry den's Account of Ben. John] on ; but fhall take the Liberty to fpeak my Opinion, as my predeceflors have done, of his Works; which is this, That I efleem his Plays beyond any that have ever been publifhed in our Lan- guage : and tho’ I extreamly admire JohnJ'on, and Bietcher ; yet I mull Bill aver, that when -in competition with Shakefpear , Tmufl apply to them wha tjufttis %ipfius writ in his Letter to Andfieas Schottus * concerning Terence and l Plautus , when compar’d; Terentium atm, ad- miror, fedPlautum tnagis. >" ' ' ?1 He has writ about Forty fix Plays, all which except- three, are bound in one Volume in Fol, printed Loud. i68y. The whole Book is de- dicated to the Earls of ‘Pembroke and Montgo- mery i being ufher’d into the World with fe- veral Copies of Verfes; but none more valued {m) 5se O/ydet s Accent. o 7 - ; *; j i that? Dr amatick Poets* 455 than thole Lines made by BenJohnfon\ which being too long to be here tranfcribcd, I fhall leave them to be perus’d by the Reader, with his Works, of which I fhall give fome Account as follows. All's well, that ends well ; a Comedy. This Play is founded on a Novel written by Jean Boccacio ; fee his Nov. Day the 3. Nov. the p. concerning Juliet of JVarbona , and Bertrand Count of RoJJilion. Anthony and Cleopatra , a Tragedy.^ . The Ground: of this Play is founded on Hiftory : fee Plutarch's Life of Anthony ; Appian,‘Dion Caf- Jius, ‘Diodorus, F lot us, As you like it, a Comedy. Comedy of Errors. This Play is founded on Plautus . his ChLenechmi : and if it be not a juft Tranflation, ’tis at leaft a Paraphrafo t and I think far heyond the Tranflation, call’d Me- nechmus, which was printed 40. Lond. rypy. Coriolanus, a Tragedy. This is founded on Hiftory : fee Livy, ‘Dionyfius HallicarnaJJieus ; ‘Plutarch's Life of Coriolanus,. 79. I'm 4 5 8 An Account of the l in, fuch a King of ‘Denmark , as Claudius. AH that I can inform the Reader, is the Names of thole Authors that have written of the Affairs of Denmark and Norway ; and muff leave it to their further fearch : .fuch are Saxo-Gramma- ticus, Idacius, Crantzius , Pontanus , fee. This, Play was not many Years ago printed in quar- to; all being mark’d, according to the Cuftom of the Stage, which was cut out in the A£tion. John King of England ', his Life and Death. For the Plot, fee Matth'. Pans, R. Hidden, Wal- Jingham, fVeftminfler, Fabian, Pol. Virgil , Hol- Imgjhead, Grafton, Stow, Speedy fee. Julius Cyfar his Tragedy. This Play is founded on Hiflory ; fee Livy, Plutarch, Sue- toniusy fee. This Play was reviv’d at the Theatre-Royal, about fifteen Years ago ; and printed 40. Loud., 1 684. There is an Excellent Prologue to it, printed in Covent Garden Drol > kr/y-p.c). Lear King of Englandy his Tragedy. This Play is founded on Hiflory ; fee fuch Authors as have written concerning Brutes Hiflory, as Lelandy Glocejler, Huntingdon, Monmouth^ fee. Butrthe Subject1 of this Story may be read fuc- cindlly in ej ‘Milton's Hiflory of England \ 40. Book 1. p. 17. fee . This Play about eight Years fince was reviv’d with Alterations, by Mr. Tate. Locrine Eldefl Son to King Brutus, his Tra- gedy. This Tragedy contains his Reign, with the lofs of FJlrildis and Sabra; which accord- ing to ffaacfon’s Chronology, was twenty Years. For the Authors, confult tliofe afo remention’d, par- Dramathk Poets . 459 particularly Milton , Book 1. p. 14. Supple- ment to Theatre of Gods Judgment sffi.6. {Jbal- dino Le vite delle Tonne Illuftri , p. 7. London Prodigal, a Comedy. This is One of the Seven Plays which are added to this Volume ; which tho’ printed all of them in 40. were never in Folio, till 1685-. Two of thefe, viz. Cromwell and Locrine , we have already handled ; the Remaining four, viz. Old-cajlle , : Ter icles , TuritanWidow , and Torkfhire Tragedy , fhall be treated in their order. Loves Labour loft, a Comedy : the Story of which I can give no Account of. ■JJfeafure for Meafure , a Comedy, founded on a Novel in Cynthio Giraldi : viz. Teca Otta- va, Novella si The like Story is in Goulards Hijtoires Admirabks de notre temps, Tome 1. page ai 6. and in Lipjii Monita L.x. C.p.p. 1 if. This Play, as I have obferved, was made ufe of with the Comedy TMuch ado about nothing , by Sir JVilliam T' Avenant, in his Law againji Lovers. * ! iJMerchant o/'Ve nice, a Tragi-comedy. GMerry IVives 0/ Windfor, a Comedy; which Mr. Try den (°) allows to be exactly form’d; and it was regular before any of Ben.Johnfori s. This is not wholly without the Affiftance of Novels ; witnefs'Mrs. Fork’s conveying out Sir •John Falftajfiw the Basket of Foul Clothes; and his declaring all thfcv Intrigue to her Hufo band, under the Name of Mr. Broom ; which Story is related in the fuff Novel of The For- tunate Teceivedy and Unfortunate Lovers: which Oram, Ejf. pj 47. ' r'““™ S " ' Book, 460 An Account of tbs Boyk, tho’ wi-Itten lince Shake [pears Time, I am able to prove feveral of thofe Novels are tranflated out of Cynthia Giraldi , others from dMallejpini ; and I believe the whole to be a Collection from old Novelifls. dMackbeth, a Tragedy ; which was reviv'd by the Dukes Company, and re-printed with Alterations, and New Songs, 40. Lond. 1674. The Play is founded on the Hiflory of Scotland. The Reader may confult thefe Writers for the Story : viz. Heft or Boetius, Buchanan, 2) u chefue7 Hollingfhead, , (yc. The fame Story is fuccinclly related in Verfe, in Hey wood's Hierarchy of Angels y B. 1. p. yo8. and in Profe in Heyhns Colinography,Book 1. in the Hift o£ Brittain, where he may read the Story at large. At the A£ting of this Tragedy, on the Stage, I faw a real one adted in the Pit; I mean the Death of Mr.Smw/>,who received his death’s wound from the late Sir Thomas Armftrong, and died pre- sently after he was remov’d to a Houle oppo- fite to the Theatre, in jDorfet-Garden. clMidfummer Nights [bream, a Comedy. ■The Comical part of this Play, is printed fe- parately in, 40. and ufed to be a£ted at Bartholo- mew Fair, and other Markets in the Country by Strolers, under theTitleof Bottom the fTeaVer. fJMuch ado about nothing, a Comedy. I have already fpoke of Sir IVilliam 2)' Avenant's making u.le of this Comedy. All that I have to remark is, That the contrivance of Borachio, in behalf o£ John the Ballard to make Claudio jealous of Hero, by the Affiflance of her Wait- ing-Woman Margaret , is borrowed from Art- Dramatick Poets. 46 1 sfds Orlando FurioJ'o: fee Book the fifth in the Story of Lurcanio , and Geneuza'. the like Story is in Spencer's Fairy Queen, Book 2. Canto 4. Oldcaftle, the good Lord Cobham his Htjiory. The Protagonifl: in this Play, is Six John Old- cajlle , who was executed in the Reign of King Henry the Fifth : See his Life at large in Fox his Marty rology ; Dr. Fuller , and other Wri- ters of Church Hiftory, as well as Chrono- logers. Othello, the Moor of Venice his Tragedy. This is reckoned an Admirable Tragedy ; and was reprinted 4 o.Lond. 1^80. and is ftillan En- tertainment at the Theatre-Royal. Our Atu thor borrowed the Story ixom Cynthio's Novels, Dec. 3. Nov. 7. The truth is, SaluJlioTicolommi in his Letter to the Author, extreamly ap- plauds thefe Novels, as being moft of them fit Subjects for Tragedy; as you may fee by the following Lines. lGli Heccatomithi vojlri , Sig- ( norCynthio,mi Jono maravigliofa mente piaciuti. 4 Et fra le altre cofe to ci ho veduti 1 pin belli argo- 4 mente di Tragedie, che [i pojfano imaginare , 4 quanto a i nodi , tfy quanto alle folutioni, tanto fe- 4 licemente ho vijle legate le difficult d, che pure 4 ano imptffibili ad effere fegate. Mr. Dry den fays (?),’That moll of Shake] "pears Plots, he means the Story of them, are to be found in this Author. I mull: confefs, that having with great difficulty obtained the Book from Lon- don, I have found- but two of thofe mentioned by him, tho’ I have read the Book carefully over, ip) rtekc; Atate-slftruL Pc.. .avila} M. Girard 2). of Ef per non’ s Life, c Ire. Bendes this Play, he has a Book call’d Caro- lina, or Loyal Poems , printed octavo Lond. 1683. which fufficiently evince the Ingenuity and Parts of the Author. Henry Shirley. A Gentleman who flourifht in the time of King Charles the Martyr : of whom I can give ( t) Mr. F latmii’i Epiftle to his Tomu no 474 Account of the no further Account, than that he way the Au- thor of One Play, call’d tSHartyred Souldier , a Tragedy fundry times afted with great Applaufe, at the private Houfe in TirwyjanepxA at other publick The- atres, by Her Majefties Servants ; printed 49. Fond. 1638. and dedicated to the Famous Sir Kenelm IDigby : by the Publilher J. K. who gave it to the Prefs, after the Author’s De- ceale; and in his Epiflle to the Reader, (peaks thus of both. 1 For the Man, his Mujc was 1 much courted, but no common Miftrefs ; and 4 tho’ but feldom abroad, yet ever much admi- tted at. This Work not the nreaneft of his 4 Labours, has much adorned not only One, * but many Stages, with fuch general Applaufe ; 4 as it has drawn even the Rigid Stoicks of the 4Time; who tho’ not for pleafure, yet for pro- 4 fit, have gathered fomething out of his plen- tiful Vineyard. This Play is founded on Hi- ftory, during the time of the Eighth Perfec- tion; fee Vi&or Epifc. Uticenjls de f mdalica Terfecutione^lfodorus Hifpalen/is, Baronms:fyc. James Shirley. A Gentleman, of the fame Name and Age with the former ; and was ( if not Toet Lau~ seat, yet) Servant to her Majefty. One of fuch Incomparable parts, that he was the Chief of the Second-rate Poets : and by fome has been thought even equal to Fletcher himfelf. He had a great Veneration for his Predeceffors, as may be feen by his Prologue to the Sifters } and particularly for Mr. Johnfon , whom in an Dramatick Poets. 475 Epiftle to the Earl of Rutland , he biles, Our , acknowledg'd Mafter,the Learned Johnfon : and in all his Writings fhews a Modeby unufnal, feldom found in our Age ; and in this, I can- not refrain from comparing his Carriage, to the Civil and Obliging Gentleman of Rome ; I mean Ovid, who fpeaking of Virgil, in the firft of his two Epigrams ( if at lealt they arc his which Heinfms quebions) fays thus : Quantum Virgilius magno concejjit Homero : T ant um ego Virgilio Nafo Poet a meo. . • Nec me preclatum cupio tibi f err e poet am : Ingenioji te fubfequor , hoc fatis ejt. I need not take pains to fliew his Intimacy,not only with the Poets of his Time ; but even the Value and Admiration that Perfons of the firfl Rank had for him ; fince the Verfes before fe- veral of his Works, and his Epibles Dedica- tory fufficiently fhew it. He has writ feveral ' Dramatick Pieces, to the Humber of 30. which are in print befides others which are in Ma- nufcript. Of thefe I have feen four fince my Remembrance, two of which were a£ted at the King’s Houfe ; and the other two prefented at the Duke’s Theatre, in Little Liricolns-Inn Fields : viz. Court Secret, Chances, Grateful Ser- vant, School of Compliments : with what fuc- cefs, I leave it to the Players now in being. Permit me to bring you the Tejlimonium of an Old Writer on the Time-Poets, in behalf of our Author , who delivers this Dibich in his praife ( u), (u)Cboice Ehoilery) p, 6. Shirley 47 6 An Account of the Shirley {the Morning Child ) the Mufes hredy And fent him horn with Bays upon his Head. But I fhall ceafe any further Enlargement on his Commendation, and leave you to the per- ufal of his Works, which will fhew him in his Native Excellence, far better than I am able to delcribe him, or them : however, take the following Account, for want of a better ; and firft of thole in Quarto, which are Twenty Nine. Arcadia , a Paftoral ailed by Her Ma jellies Servants, at the Thcenix in Drury -lane, printed 40. Lond. 1 640. This Play is founded on the Incomparable Romance written by Sir Thtlip Sidney, and call’d The Arcadia. Ball, a Comedy prefented by Her Majellies Servants, in the private Houfe in Drury-lane, printed 40. Lond. iygp. In this Play our Au- thor was a Hi fled by Geo. Chapman , as likewife another ( which in its Order ) I forgot in his Account to take notice of. Bird in a Cage , a Comedy prefented at the Thoenix, in Drury -lane, ana printed 40. Lond. 16- — . This Play is an Excellent Old Comedy, and is dedicated by an Ironical Epiltle, to the Famous Mr. IVittiam Prime, that Great Anta- gonift to Plays. Amongfl other Sentences, give me leave to tranfcribe One, which may give the Reader a talle of the whole. ( Pro- ‘ceed {Inimitable Mecanas,') and having fuch ‘convenient Leifure, and an indefatigable Te- tgafus, I mean your Trofe (which fcorneth the * Road of Common Sence, and defpifeth any iStile Dramatick Poets. 477 * St ile in his Way) travel flill in the purfuit of *New Difcoveries; which you may publifh, if * you pleafe, in your next Book of DigreJJions. ( If you do not happen prefently to convert the f Organs, you may in time confute the Steeple ; ( and bring every Parifh to one Bell. Changes, or Love in a Maze ; a Comedy pre- fented at the private Houfe in Salisbury Court, by the Company of His Majcfty’s Revels ; printed 4". Lond. 1 632. This Play is dedica- ted to the Honourable the Lady Dorothy Shir- ley, by a Copy of Verfes. The paflage in the firft Ail , where Goldfworth examining his Daughters Chryfolina and Aurelia, find them both in Love with Gerard, is better manag’d in the dMaiden §lueen : tho’ this Play has been received with Succefs (as I faid) in our Time; and as I remember, the deceas’d Mr. Lacy ailed Jonny Thump, Sir Gervafe Simple' % Man, with general Applaufe. Chabot {Philip') Admiral o/France his Trage- dy ; prefented by Her Majeflies Servants, at the private Houfe in Drury -lane ; printed 4°. Lond. 161s ?. This is the Second Play in which Mt.Chapman joyn’d with our Author. For the Plot, fee the French Chronologers, and Hiffo- rians in the Reign of Francis the Firfl; fuch as Vaulus Jovius , Arnoldus his Continuation of Taulus (Mdmilius, Mart. Longeus , De ferres, Mezeray, fee. Conjlant Maid \ or Love will find out the way; a Comedy ailed at the New Play-houfe, called The Nurfery, in Hatt on-Gar den ; printed 40. Lond. 166 Har dwell Courting Mrs. Bellamy the 47» An Account of the the Widow, by the Advice of his Friend Thy. fair , is the Subject of feveral Plays Old and New ; as I might inllance, were it material : tho’ I mention it here, becaufe it occafions moll of the bulinefs in the Play. Contention for Honour and Riches ; printed op- Lond. 1635. I know not what to call this, whether Interlude, or Entertainment ; but I think I may call it A Ufeful Moral ; and which being enlarged under the Title of Honoria and Mammon , I fhall fpeak more of anon. ’Tis de- dicated to Edward Goldihg t of Coljion in Mot- tinghanfhire , Efq; Coronation , a Comedy, which tho’ printed in the Folio Edition of Fletcher s Works, was writ by Shirley ; as the Reader may lee by the Catalogue of his Six Plays, o£tavo Lond. 16^3. Cupid and Deaths a private Entertainment, reprefented with Scenes and Mulick, Vocal and Inftrumental; printed 40. Lond i6yr>. I cannot call to Mind at prelent, whence the Poet took originally his Hiftory, which is the Changing of Arrows between them , which produce difmal Effe&s : but the Englijh Reader* may read the fame Story in Ogilby’s cAEfofs Fables, Vol. 1. Fab. 3.9. Dukes Miftrefs, a Tragi-comedy prefented by Her Majefty’s Servants , at the Private - houfe in Drury -lane ; and printed 40. Lond. 16:38. Example , a Tragi-comedy, prefented by Hyr ^ « a J - O x a A _ Am a. 1 M 1 1 r~x -j Majelty’s Servants, at the Pfivate-houfe in Drury -lane ; and printed 40. Lond. 163';. Gamefler , a Comedy prefented by Her Ma- jefty’s Dramatiek Poets* 479 jelly’s Servants, at the Private-houfe in Drury - lane. ; and printed ^.Lond.\6\r]. The Intrigue between Wilding and his Kinfwoman , nis Wife and Hazard, is borrow’d from Ducento Hovelle del Signor Celio Malejpim feennda parte , Nov. p6. The fame Story in CL Margate ik Novels Day firft , Nov. 8. tho’ manag’d to greater Advantage by our Poet; and I muft do Mr. Shirley this Juftice, to fay in his behalf That whatever he borrowes from Novels, Lofes nothing in his Hands , any more than in in Mr.Z )ryden{x), tho’ our model!; Author would never have laid lo much, were he living. Gentleman of Venice, a Tragi-comedy, pre- fen ted at the Private-houfe, in Salisbury Court, by Her Majeliy’s Servants ; and printed quarto Lond. 1 6s S- This Play is dedicated to the Ho- nourable Sir Thomas Nightinghale, Baronet ; and the Intrigue between Florelli , Cornaripad Clau- diana , is borrowed (as I fuppofe) from a Novel out of Gay ton's Fejlivous Notes on “Don Quixote. lee Book 4. Chap. 6, 7, 8. Grateful Servant , a Comedy prelented with good Applaufe, in the Private, noufe in Drury lane , by Her Majeliy’s Servants. This Play is dedicated to the Right Honourable Francis , Earl of Rutland; and printed 4°. Lond. — Lodowik's Contrivance to have Tiero, tempt his Wife Artella , that he might be Divorced, is the fame with Contarini s Humour and Con- trivance Giotto , in the Humorous Courtier. Hide Tark, a Comedy prefented by Her Ma- jeliy’s Servants, at the Private-houfe in Drury - (x) Pref. M )ck Aftrologcr. — — — - ^ lane; 4^o An Account of the lane} and printed 40. Lond.,161 7. This Play is dedicated to the Right Honourable Henry Earl of Holland. This was the fu\fl Earl of that Name, created in 23 Jac.Apr. 3. and was Beheaded with Duke Hamilton , and the Lord Capel, March the ninth, dying a Martyr to re- trive his former forfeited Loyalty to his Prince. To this Earl, I prefume, Hide Parf once might belong, fince the Title was occafion’d by his Command to the Author. Humorous Courtier , a Comedy prefented Wkh good Applaufe, at the Private-houfe in IDrury-lanc ; and printed 4®. Lond. 1640. Lady of Pleafure , a Comedy ailecl by Her Majeity’s Servants, at the Private-houfe in Thury-lane ; and printed 40. Lond. 163 7. This Play is dedicated to the Right Honourable Ri * , chard} Lord Lovelace of Hurley. The Plot of Alex. Kickjhaw his Enjoying of Arctina , and thinking her the Devil, refembles Lodowick , la. Grateful Servant. Love Tricks , or The School of Compliments ; ailed by His Royal Highnefs the Duke oiTorfs Servants, at the Theatre in Little Lincolns-Intt Fields ; and printed 40. Lotid 16(17. Love’s Cruelty , a Tragedy prefented by Her Majefly’s Servants, at the Private-houle in Drury -lane ; printed 40. Lond. 1640. and dedi- cated to Cornet George ‘Porter , and Mr. Charles Porter. The Concealment of Hyppolito, and Chariana's Adultery from her Servant by her Husband BeUamente' s Contrivance, is borrow’d from Queen Margaret’ % Novels, Day 4. Nov. 6e Dramatick Poets. 481: The like Story is related in Cynthios Hecca- t omit hi, "Dec. terza , Novella J'eJl a. GMaid's Revenge, a Tragedy a<5ted with good Applaufe, at the Private-houfe in Drury-lane , hy Her Ma jelly’s Servants ; printed 40. Lond. 1 639. and dedicated to Henry Osborn , Efquire. The Play is founded on a Hiftory, in Mr. Rey- nolds his God's Revenge againjl Mur t her ; fee Book 2. Hill. 7. Opportunity, a Comedy prefented by her Ma- jelly’s Servants, at the Private-houfe in Drury* lane ; printed Lond. — and dedicated to Captain Richard Owen. The Refemblance of Aurelia to Borgia , is founded on the fame, with GMeafure for meafure , and other Englijh Plays ; all which, as I have obferv’d, took their Ori- ginal from Plautus. Politician , a Tragedy prefented at Salisbury Court, by Her Majetly’s Servants ; and printed 40. Lona. 1 S- This Play is dedicated to JValter Moyle , Efquire. A Story refembling this, I have read in the firfl Book of the Coun- tefs of ^Montgomery's Urania , concerning the King of Romania , the Prince AntiJJius , and his Mother-in-Law. Royal Mafter; a Tragi-comedy a£led in the New Theatre in Dublin ; and before the Right. Honourable the Lord Deputy of Ireland, in the Caflle ; and printed 4°. Lond. 161%. This Play is dedicated to the Right Honourable George , Earl of Kildare ; and is accompanied with Ten Copies of Verfes, in its Commendation. Traytor, a Tragedy adted by Her Majelly’s Servants ; printed ap.Lond.iC^s- and dedicated H h t» 482 An Account of the to the Right Honourable William , Earl of NevocajUe ; afterwards Marquefs, and Duke. This Play is recommended by a Copy of Verfes, writ by Mr. William Atkins , a Gentleman of the Worthy Sociery of Grays-Inn. Triumph of Peace, a Mafque prefented by the Four Honourable Houfes, or Inns of Court , before the King and Queen’s Majefties, in the Banquetting-houfe at Whitehall, Feb. the third 1(533. . The Scene and Ornament \vas the Con- trivance of Mr. Inigo Jones : the Mufick was Compofed by Mr. William Laws, and Mr. Simon Ives. The Mafque is dedicated to the Four Equal Honourable Societies of the Inns of Court ; Mr. Sim ley being at that time of Grays - Inn. The Mafquers went in a Solemn Caval- cade, from Ely Houle to Whitehall; and the Au- thor himfelf fays, That this Mafque, for the Variety of the Shews, and the Richnefs of the Habits, was the mo R Magnificent that hath been brought to Court in his Time. ’Tis printed 40. Lond. 1633. I have a little Piece by me, call’d The Inns of Court Anagrammatijl , or The Mafquers mafqued in Anagrammes ; written by Mr. Francis Lenton , One of Her Ma jelly’s Poets; and printed^0. Lond. 1634. This Piece not only names the Mafquers, and of what Houfe they were ; but commends each in an Epigram. Saint Patrick for Ireland, the Firjl part ; printed 4.0. Lond. i<5q.o. Tho’ our Title-page calls it theFirll part, I know not whether there was ever a Second part printed ; tho’ the Pro- logue fee ms to promife one, in the following Lines : Saint Dramatick Poets. 4S3 Satnt Patrick, vohoj'e large Story cannot be Bound in the limits of One Play , if Ye Firjl welcome this , you lg) ace our Poets At /, And give him courage for a Second Part. For the Story, fee Bede’s Life of St. Patrick ; Sigebert , Baronius , Bal •> li tered, 498 An Account of the tered, that ’tis at the pleafure of the A6lors, to make it a Tragedy, or Tragi-comedy : which was fo well approv’d of by that Excellent Poet Sir Robert Howard ’ that he has followed this prefident, in his Fcjial Virgin. Brenoralt , or The Difcontented Colonel ; a Tragedy prefented at the Private-houfe in Blackfryars , by His Majefty’s Servants. Gob lings, a Tragi-comedy prefented at the Private-houfe in Blackfryars , by His Majefty’s Servants. Sad One, a Tragedy. This Piece was never ftnifh’d. 'Tis not to be expe&ed thatlfhould give any Account of the Plots, or Thefts in this Author’s Works ; forhis Mufe was Young, and Vigorous enough, had Ihe not fo foon been cut off by Death, to have brought forth many more Children, withput any Alliftance, but that of the proper Parent : All that I have further to fay is, That thefe Plays, with the reft of his Works, are printed tinder the Title of Frag- ment a Aurea ; or A Colic Elion of aU the Incom- parable Pieces , written by Sir John Suckling, 8°. There are feveral Editions of his Works : and the laft (as I think) was printed %°.Lond.i6-]6. to which are added feveral Poems, and other Pieces, which were by his Sifters Permillion allowed to be publiflied. I fhali not pretend to give a Character of his Works, but fub- fcribeto One already printed (*); viz. That his Poems are Clean, Sprightly, and Natural ; his Difeoutr.fes Full and Convincing; his Plays well humor'd and Taking; his Letters Fragrant, L:oyd\ Memoires, p. 15 and Dramatick Poets. 499 and Sparking : only his Thoughts were not lo Joofe as his Exprenion , witnefs his Excellent Difcourfe to My Lord Dorfety about Religion. This Ingenious Gentleman died of a Reaver, A. D. 164 — being about ap. Years of Age ; What Excellent Advice he left to his Friends about him, may be read in Mr. Lloyd’s Memoirs ; nor can . I forbear tranfcribing what tjiat Au- thor writ upon that Subject. Ne h<£ ze /antis animal facr lores Scintillula ipfum unde decider ant J’pir antes Caelum , Author magnus ipfa quam Aliis dedit careret memoria ; Inter eJJ'e Tofleris putavimus brevem Honor attjji?ni Firi Johannis Sucklingii vitam Hifloria eJJ'e perennandam. Vtpote qui NobiliJJima Sucklingiorum f amiiiu Oriundusy cui tantum reddidit , quantum ac- cept t honor em ; Nat. Cal. kps. 1613. Witha- mise in Agro UMiddlef. Renatus ibid. Maii 7°. and Denatus 164 baud jam TrigeJJimus , dy Scriptu dignijjima fecit dy fa&u dignijfvna fcripfit. Calamo pariter dy Gladio Celebris y pads artium gnarus fo? belli. Gilbert Swinhoe^ Efq; A Gentleman, who jiv’d in the Reigns of King Charles the Firlt and Second ; a North- country Man by Birth, (being Born in North- umberland) the Author of a Play, call’d Unhappy fair Irene her Tragedy ; printed 40 Land. i<5y8. This Play is accompany ’d with three Copies of Verfes in its Commendation ; I i % thor 500 An Account of the tho’T think it fcarce deferve them. The Play is founded on Hiflory : fee Knoll 'es his Turk/Jh Hiftdry, in the Life of iSMahomet the Firifc ; which Story is the Subjedt of a Novel in Ban- dello, which is tranflated into French by Tier re Boifteau ; fee Hiftoir es Tragic ques, tome premier Nov. z. The fame is tranflated into Englijh, by IVil, Taint er in his Talace ofTleaJure , in quarto, Nov. 40. T. Nathaniel Tate. ... ;.\ \ • . > , r, j .r ■' ‘ AN Author now living ; who tho’ he be allow'd to be a Man of Wit and Parts, yet for Dramatick Toetry , he is not above the com- mon Rank : What he has extant, for the moffc part is borrow’d ; at lealt we may fay, That ge- nerally he follows other Mens Models, and builds upon their Foundations : for of Eight Plays that are printed under his Name, Six of them owe their Original to other Pens ; as we fhall fliew in the following Account. Brutus of Alb a, or The enchanted Lovers ; a Tragedy a died at the Duke’s Theatre, printed 40. Lond. i6qS. and dedicated to the Right Ho* nourable Charles , Earl of ‘DorJ'ei and dMiddle- fex. This Play is founded on Firgil' s syFneids, Book the 4th ; and was finifhed under the Names of Dido and ALneas, but by the Advice of Jome Friends , was tr an formed to the ‘D refs it now woars. Dramatkk Poets. 501 Cuckold's Haven , or An Alderman no Conju- rer ; a Farce ailed at the Queen’s Theatre, in Dorfet Garden ; printed 4y.Lond:\68y.' and de- dicated to Colonel Edmund Afoton. This Play is borrow’d from Johnfons Eajlward-hoe, and 'Devil is an Af. Duke and no Duke, a Farce acted by their Majefties Servants ; with the feveral Songs fet to Mufick, with Thorough-Bafles for the The- orbo, or Bafs-Viol ; printed 4 .Lond.i68y. and dedicated to the Right Honourable Sir George Hewyt. This Play is founded on Sir Ajton Cockain’s Trappolin fuppos'd a Prince. Ingratitude of a Common-wealth , or The FaU of Caius Martius Coriolanus; ailed at the Thea- tre-Royal, printed qp.Lond. 1 (58a. and dedicated to the Right Honourable Charles , Lord Her- bert, Marquefs ol Worcefter. This Play is bor- rowed from Shakefpear s Coriolanus. IJland Prime fs , a Tragi-comedy ailed at the Theatre-Royal : revived with Alterations ; printed 40. Band. 1687. and dedicated to the Right Honourable Henry , Lord Walgrceve. This Play is Fletcher s Originally. Loyal General , a Tragedy ailed at the Duke’s Theatre ; printed 4P.L0nd.168o. and dedicated to Edward Taylor Efquire. Lear King of England his Hiftory ; ailed at the Dukes Theatre : revived with Alterations ; printed sp.Lond.\68r'\. and dedicated to Thomas Boteler Efq; This Play in the Original, was writ by JV. Shakefpear. Richard the Third, a Hiftory ailed at the Theatre-Royal, under the Name of The Ski- ll l li an 502 An Account of the lian Ufnrper : with a Prefatory Epiftle, in Vin- dication of the Author ; occafioned by the Pro- hibition of this Play on the Stage : printed 40. Land. 1 (58 1. and dedicated to George Raynford , Efq; This Play owns its Birth likewile to Shakefpear. Belides thefe Plays, our Author has two Vo- lumes ol Poems in print. One wholy writ by him, caU’dPoems writ on fever al Occafions, fe- cond Edit, enlarg dprinted 80.Loud.1684. The other call’d Poems by fever al Hands , and on feveral Occafwns > collected by our Author, and printed o£tavo Lond, i68y. John Tateham. An Author that flourilh’d in the Reign of King Charles the Firffc \ and was (fays Mr .fVin^ Jlanley') the City Poet. If he was not an Ex- traordinary Wit, at leafl: he was Loyal in the highf ft Degree , as may: appear by his Plays ; and equally hated the Rump and the Scots. He has Four Plays in print ; Three in quarto, and One printed with his Poems in octavo. ‘Dijiratied State, a Tragedy, written in the Year 1641. but not printed till \6fi. 40. and ded icated to John Sidley. This Play fuited well with the Times ; ana his Hatred to the Scots appears in this Play, where he introduces a Scotch Mountebank ( in the fourth A6t ) to poyfon Archias the Elected King, at the I ne- gation of Cleander. This I take to be the bell of our Author’s Writings. Rump, Dramatick Poets. 50$ Rump , or The Min our of the late Times ; & Comedy ailed many times with great applaufe,, at the Private-houfe in Dorfet Court ; printed, ( the fecond Edit. ) 40. Lond. 1661. and dedicated to Walter James, of Rambden-Houfe , in Smar- den, in the County of Kent, Efq; This Play has lately been reviv’d on our Stage, under the. Name ' of The Roundheads. Scots Figaries , or A Knot of Knaves; a Co- medy, printed 40 Lond. 165-2,. and dedicated to Robert Donne?, Elq; Moll of this Play is w rit in the Scotch Dialect, and difplays them to the Life. >- Love crowns the End \ a Tragi-comedy ailed by the Scholars of Bingham, in the County of Nottingham. This Play is not divided into Ails, and is much fhorter than nioft ulually are ; being fitted purpofely, as I fuppofe, for thofe Youths that ailed it. ’Tis printed with his Poems, call’d The tgMirrour of Fancies fm oitavo Lond. 1 65-^. and dedicated to Sir John Winter 9 Secretary of State to his Ma jelly in his Exile, Robert Taylour. An Author, to whole Perfon and Writings 1 am wholy a Stranger ; only I find in former Catalogues a Comedy alcribed to him, call’d Hog-hut h loft, his Tearl. Thomas Thomson. Another Author of the meanell Rank, and a great Plagiary; if One of the Plays be li 4 own’d 5 04 An Account of the x own'd by him, which Slt.Kuhnan has aicribed to him ; viz. , p ' Enghjh Rogue, a Comedy aSed before leve-. ral Peplbns of Honour with great applaufe ; printed 4°. Land. i<568. and dedicated to Mrs. Alice Barret. ifMother Shipton her Life, a tiled Nine Days together with great applaufe ; printed 40 .Lond, I fuppofe the Occafion of the Succefs of this Play, was from what he Hole ; for all the Characters, except what relate to Shipton , are borrow’d; as the Characters of Shift-hoje,Mony- lack , Sir Oliver, Whore-hound, David, jyc. are Hollen verbatim from Majfmger\ City Madam , and Middle ton\ Chaft Maid in Cheapjide. This Play has not the Author’s Name to it, but the two fir ft Letters : .it, may be he was afham’d to fet his Name to other Mens Labours. As, to the Story of Shipton , J know not howto direbl the Reader, except to. an old Book in quarto, call’d The Life and'.Death of Mother hipton. Nicholas Trott. An Author, who writ' a Tragedy, call’d Ar- thur, which I never law : neither can I give any Account of the Author himfelf, or the time he liv’d in. . - , _ ; ' , \ ' N , ' „ . .0i Richard Tuke. An Author, of whom I can give no further Account, than that he writ a Play, call’d Divin? Comedian , or The Right Ufe of Plays, im- Dramatick Poets. 5°S improved in a Sacred Tragi-comedy; printed 40. Land. if>:7&.:;and; dedicated: to. the. RighEHo- naurable, and no lefs Virtuous A&^iCpwntels of JVarwich^ This Play was caH’d firft by the. Author, The Soul's IVarfare ; and is grounded on the Danger of the Soul in this World. n . S. Tuke. A Collonel nowdiving (as I have been in- form'd) in SuJJex : the Author of One of the BeE Plays now extant, for Oeconomy and Con- trivance; viz. Adventures of five Hours, a Tragi-com.e.dy, the iecond Edition ; printed af-Eond. 1 66i. and dedicated to the Right Honourable, Henry Howard \ oT Norfolk : attended with Eight Copies of Verfes, writ by very Eminent Per- fons ; as Mr. Cowley , Evelyn , Carlijle, and others. This Play, I believe, ows its Foundation to one in Spanifh. Cyril Turneur. This Author liv’d in the Reign of King James the Fir ft; and publilhed Two Trage- dies ; viz. Atheijl' s Tragedy : Of the Date of this Play, or to whom dedicated, I can give no Account, the Title-page and Epiftle,( if there were any) ot my Copy being loft. The Plot of Levldulciay her Conveying Sehaftian and Frefco out of her Chamber, when fhe was furpris’d by her HuR band BeBeforreJl' s Coming, is borrow’d from B occacey Day the 7. Nov. the 6. Aft Account of the Revengers Tragedy , fun dry times a fted by she Kings Ma jellies Servants ; and printed ^ Tompey the Great , a Tragedy. a£led by the Servants of His Royal Highnefs the Duke of Tork ; printed 40. Lond. 1 664. Befides this Play, he has a Volume of Poems extant, which have been feveral times reprint- ed; the Fourth Edition, was printed o£tavo Lond. i68x. There is newly publifh’d a Se- cond part, containing his Alteration of The Maid's Tragedy , and whatfoever of his was Jeft unprinted, publifht oflavo Lond. 1690. George 5©S sift Account of the. * : v a George W apul. An Author, whofe Writings arc as unknown as any of the former ; to whom is aferibed a Comedy, call’d* Tide tarrietb for no Man, r. william Wayer. An Author, of , whole Time and Writings i can give fto further 'Account, than that he is aeppunted the Author of a Comedy, which I ppver faw, called ; , • t , : , A The mqre thou livjl, the more Fool thou art. Th^re are two other Plays (whofe Authors are ■unknown) aferibed by Mr. Phi lips and Win- funky, to ounAuthor; viz. Tryal of Chivalry , and Tom Tyler ; and his JV'ife : tho’ I believe they were, never writ by him. lo J'IJiC arfi aid R. Waver. -(.The Author of a Play, which I have never f$*n, call’d Lujiy juventus ; who, or whence this Author was, I know not. JhU ; John Webster. An' Author that liv’d in the Reign of King fames the Firft ; and was in thofe Days ac- counted an Excellent Poet. He joyn’d with Decker j TMurfion, and Rowley , in feveral Plays ; and was like wife Author of others, which have even in our Age gain’d Applaufe : As for In- ftance, Appius and Firginiafbwichtfe o{-Malfy, and Vittorio. Corrombona ; but I fhall fpeak of thefe in their Order. Dramatick Posts. Appius and Virginia, a Tragedy* printed (ac- cording to my Copy) 4°. Lond. 16?$. I iiip- pofe there may be an older Edition than mine; but this is that which was acted at theDuk&js Theatre, and was alter’d (as 1 have heard by Mr. Carthwright ) by Mr. Betterton : For the Plot, confult Livy, Florusf.fye., -Jhiro Devil's Law-cafe , or IVhen Women go to the Devil is full of bufmefs ; %cT ?agi-c$«iedy, approvedly well a£ted by He;r; Majefty’shS^r vants ; printed 40. Lond. 1623. and dedicated to Sir Thomas Finch ■ An Accident ' like that of Romelio s ftabbing Contarino , out of .Malice, which turned to his prefervation, is (iff mif- takenot) in Skenkius his Obfervations:,' At leaf IT am furc, the like happened to Phtereup Jafon , as you may fee in §fVal. Maximus, lib. 1, cap. 8. The like Story is related in Goularf- s Htf loires Admirables, tome i, page 178. Dutchefs of Malfy, a Tragedy prefented privately at the Blackfryars , and publick- Jy at the Globe , by the King’s Majefty’s Ser- vants; and I have feen it lince acted at the Duke of Tor If 3 Theatre. ’Twas firfl printed 4- Lond. 1613. and dedicated to the Right Ho- nourable George, Lord Barkeley, and fince re- printed 40. Lond. 1678. For the Plot, confult Bandellos Novels in Frencbfy Belief oreJIJB. ip. Beard’s Theatre of God' s Judgments, Book a.Ch. 24. The like Stqry is related' by Geulart, in his Hijloires admirables de nottf -temps, p: sfefc ■ White Devil, ox The Tragedy inf. £ aulo Gjory dano Urfini, Dukc'tf Br ach i a no fvoi&h the Life and Death of Vittoria Corqmbona* ■the FamotB . . Yene- 5 is An Account of the Venetian Curtezan : ailed by the Queen’s Ma" jelly's Servants, at the Phoenix in "Drury -lane / printed 4°. Lond. 1612. and fince ailed at the Theatre-Royal, and reprinted 1 66$. Belides thele Plays, our Author has been af- fixed by Mr. Rowley in two others ; which be- caule he had the lea ft part in their Compoff- tion, I place to our Author ; viz. Cure for a Cuckold ’ a Comedy leveral times ailed with great applaufe ; printed a*. Lond. 1661. Thracian Wonder , a Comical Hillory leveral times ailed with great applaufe ; printed quar- to Lond. 1661. Mr. 'Philips has committed a great Millake, in afcribing feveral Plays to our Author, and his Aflociate Mr. Decker ; One of which be- long to another Writer, whofe Name is an- nexed, and the reft are Anonymous : As for Inftance, The Noble Stranger, was writ by Lewis Sharpe ; and The New Trick to cheat the Devil, Weakeft goes to the wall, and Woman will have her will, to unknown Authors. John Watson, Efq; An Author, who in the Reign of King Charles the Second, writ a Play in Heroick Verfe, call’d Amazon Qgeen, or The Amours of Thalellris to Alexander the Great ; a Tragi-comedy in He- roick Verfe ; and printed 40. Lond. 1 c6 '7. The Story of Thaleftris may be read in %Curtius, lib. 6. c. S'- Jujl. lib. 3. Strabo lib. s- &c- Tho’ our Author makes her lomewhat nice in her Amours. Dramatick Foetf. 531 Amours. This Play was never afted, by rea- fon of the Author’s hearing of two Plays be- fides on the fame Subject, that were intended for the Stage. — — Whitaker. The Author of a Play, call’d Conspiracy ± or The Change of Gover nment a Tragedy adecta* His Royal Highnefs the Duke of Fork's The* atre ; and printed 4°. Lond. 1680. This Tfey is written in Hero tck Verfe: as *0 its Cfyara- £ler, I (hall leave it to the Judgment of ahl$i[ Criticks. Dr. Robert Wild. A Doctor of the Presbyterian Le ven but yfcf (who it feems) in his Juvenile Years, Was the Author of a Comedy, call’d The Benefice ; which was printed 4°. Lond. 1689. His Opinion of the Orthodox Clergy, may eafily be collected from this Play; tho’ he is beholding to ano- ther Play, call’d The Return from Ternajj'm, of The Scourge of Simony , for his Defign. His Poems are well known, o&avo i6oy. Leonard Will an. A Gentleman that flourifh’d in the Reign of King Charles the Second. This Author pubi lifh’d a Play, call’d jiftrrca, or True Loves Mirrour ; a Pa flora l in Verfe ; printed &.Lond.i6?i. and dedicated to the Uluftrious Princefs dMary, Dutchels of Richmond and Lemx, This Play is founded ©)! i . i the 512 \Ah ' Account of the the Romance of AJiraea, writ by Mr. TTUrfe. 4 On this Author, Mr Herrick Has writ a Copy of Verfes; Which the Reader may per nfe at leifure, p. 35-4. oi his ‘Poems in odlaVo. George Wilkins. Ail Author that liv’d in the lleign of Ring Charles, the FifR, who was thV-^riter of a fitigle Comedy; befi.de s that ip which lie joyn-d With 2 Jay and Rowley ; I mean The Travels of three Englifh Brothers. The Play' I am fpeak- ing of, is call’d dMiJ'eries of Inforced Marriage , play’d by his Ma jellies Servants printed. 4°. fond. 1 tfjy. This Comedy has been a great part of it re- viv’d by Mrs. Behn, under the Title of The Town Fop, or Sir Timothy Tawdry. Robert Wilmot. Qentr J i An Author now living, who is fujipoled to write a Play, call’d The MocfDuellift-, or The French Tallet ; ailed at the Theatre-Royal, by His Majefly’s Servants; printed quarto Lond. 1 dyy. and dedicated to the Virtuous Accom- plifht Lady, Madam S. C. j.c. The Author of a pleafant Comedy, call’d The two Merry Milkmaids , or The hejl W trds wear the Garland ; ailed before the King with Ge- neral approbation, by the Company of the Re- vels ; printed quarto Lond.16 Part of the Plot of this Play, viz. D or ige tie's promife to Doridusy of Enjoyment when he prefentedher with a Garland that Ihould contain all forts of Flowers in January , and the Confequence, is founded on Zf 'occace Day 10. N. 7. and is the Foundation of other Plays ; as Fletchers Four Plays in one} &c. Kk 3 R. 518 An Account of the R. C. There arc two Plays, which no otherwile difcover the Author, than by thele two Let- ters : The firft call’d' Alphonjfus King of Arra- gon^u. Hiftory which I never Law the other nam'd Ignoramus, ii Comedyfeveral times added with extraordinary appiaufe, before the Maje.- fhy of King James ; With a Supplement which (out of Refpedk to the Students of the Common Law\ was hitherto wanting : W rittejn in La- tin by' R . Kuggles , lometimes Mailer of Arts in Glare MAI in Cambridge, and tranllated by R. C. lb tile times Mailer of Arts in Magdalen Golledge in Oxford; printed 40. Lond.1662.. The Author of a Comedy, call’d The Mall or The Modijh Lovers'; added by his Ma jelly’s Servants ; printed aI.Lond.i6^. and dedicated to William Whitcovi Junior, Eftp This Play is afcribed by The. Hyde (the ‘Proto - Bibliothecarius to the Univerfity') to Mr. Dryden ; tho’ me-1 thinks the Stile of the Epiftle Dedicatory, is' not like the reft of his Writings. •'"'1 f [ R.D. The Author of a Play, call’d Metso Trick to cheat the ‘Devil \ a Comedy, printed Lond. 163 9. The Plot of Fryar John's DilcQvering the Conftable and the Woman’s Intrigue, and pretending to conjure for Vidluals at the Hill- band’s Return, Adi 3. Sc. 1. is the fame with that Dramatick Poets, 519 that made ufe of in the London Cuckolds ; and which is related fietce the Writing of this Play, by M. T>'Ouv 'ille in his Tales, part, z.pageif-]. Slight-all's teaching the Art of Love, to the two Gentlemen, in the fecond Scene of the fir ft A 61, is borrow’d from Ovid De Arte Amandf Lib. x. T.D. Under thefe Letters, is a Play in print, call’d The Bloody Banquet, a Tragedy ; printed 162.0. This Play by fome old Catalogues, is afcri b’d to Thomas Busier, S. H. / . V Concerning this Author was, I know no more, than that he was a Batchelor of Arts, of Exe- ter Colledge in Oxford ; and writ a Play, call’d Sicily and Naples, or The Fatal Unioy; a Tra- gedy, printed 4°. Oxon. 1640. This Play is commended by Seven Copies of Verfes, which are prefix’d, tnoftof them being writ by Young Academics. B.J. The Author of a Tragedy, call’d Guy of Warwick , which I have once feen in quarto Lond. — — and the Gentleman that (hew’d it me, told me it was writ by Ben Johnfon \ tho’ by that little I read, I guefs’d it to be writ by a Pen far inferiour to that Great Mafter in Toe try. 520 An Account of the E.M. The Author of a Tragedy, call'd Saint Cc~ cilie, or The Converted Twins ; printed quarto Lond. 1667. This Play was publilh’d by Mr. Medbourn , the Comedian, and dedicated to Queen Katherine. For the Plot, confult Ec- clefiaftical Writers, as Epiphanius , Eufebiusy Bar owns, 2? An Account of the Queen. A Pafloral, call’d Phillis of Scyrot , tranflated from the Italian of C. Guiduhaldo di Bonarelli; and printed 4 v.Land. i6yy. A Tra- gedy, whole Name is Andromana , or The Mer- chant's Wife ; printed af.L0nd.166o. This Play is founded on Sr. Thil. Sidney ’s Romance, call’d Arcadia , in Fol. fee the Story of Tlangus,^.x$ f. And a Comedy, call'd The Prince of Priggs Be- vels, or The Trallices of that Grand Thief Cap- tain Janies Hinde ; printed af.Lond. 1 6 — The Author of a Play, call’d The Honejl Lawyer , a Comedy ailed by the Queens Ma- jefiy’s Servants, and printed af.Lond. 1616. Under thefe Letters, are two Plays ; the firfl call’d Grim the Collier of Croyden, or 7 he De- vil and his Dame , with the Devil and iV.Dunflan; printed oilavo Lond.\66i. This Play is bound with two others, viz. Thorpy Ahhy , or dMar- riage Broker , under the Title of Gratia Thea- t rales, or A Choice of Ternary o/'Englifh Plays, The fecond Play is, L. Annaeus Seneca’s Troas , a Tragedy tranflated from the Latin , and print- ed-Jlo. Lond.i6B6. C. W. i.e. Chriftopher Wase. An Ingenious Perfon, lately deceas’d y being one of the Squire Bedles in the Univerfity.of Oxford. His Skill in Languages, particularly in Latin and Greek, is fufficiently known to the s. s. A Learn- D ra matick Poets. 525 Learned World. He tranflated out of Greek the EleSira of Sophocles , artd prelented it to Her Highnefs the Lady Elizabeth; printed 120. at the Hague 1649. Several Tranflations be- fides he has publifh’d, as Gratius his Cynegeti- con, printed 8°. Lond. 165-4. and Triad's Hijfl. of France : fome of Tullys Orations , and his La- tin Dictionary, befides pther School-Books ; fe- veral of which have been often reprinted, and all of them fhew his Great Induflry and Parts. E. W. A Perfon who was(tho’ not the Author, yet) the Occafion of the Publication of a Comedy, call’d Apollo Shroving, compos’d for the Scholars of the Free-Schpol of Hadleigh, in Suffolk, and ailed by them on Shrove-T uefday, Feb. 6. \6i6. written by the School-Mafter of Hadleigh, and printed difavo i6%n. j. w. The Author of a Play, call’d The Valiant Scot ; which was printed 4° Lond. 1637. and dedicated to the Right Honourable James, Mar- quels Hamilton, by the Publilher or Promoter of the Copy to the Prefs, Mr .William Bo layer. L. W. The Author of a Play, call’d Orgula, or The Fatal Error ; a Tragedy, wherunto is annexed a Preface, discovering the true Nature of Toefie , with the proper ufe and Intention of fiich pub- Jick Divertilements ; printed 40, Lond. i6yS. and 5 *4 4n Account of the and dedicated to the moffc accomplifh’d Lady, the Lady Frances WildegoJ's. UM.. W. Mafter of Arts. Another Author, whole Play is bound in the Ternary of Plays : ’tis call’d 7 he Marriage Bto- kery or The Pander , a Comedy printed 1 662. T. w. The third Author concern’d 111 that Volume, having writ a Tragedy, call’d Thornby-Abby , or The London Maid. All thefe Plays are dedi- cated to William Aujlin Efq; by R. T>. the Puh- li flier. w. w. The Tranflator of a Comedy writ by Tlau- tmy call’d i3tandchmiy printed 4?., Tond.ifiy. This Author had tranflated feveral others in Manufcript, tho’ they were never permitted to come abroad in the World. Unknown Authors. WE are now come to the lad: Divifion of Authors, I mean thofe whofe Mode- fly, or other Reafons, have hinder’d the pub- lication of their Names : and as we have Decy- phered fome Authors in th.e foregoing Divifion, upon Con jecture, fo we {hall not pretermit to take Notice of fuch Plays, whofe Authors we can any ways guels at in this. I {hall Rank thefe , as I did the former, in an Alphabetical Method. A. / 1 / Dramatick Poets. 525 Abdicated Prince, or The Adventures of Fom Tears ; a Tragi-comedy, lately a£ted at Alba- Regalis , by feveval Perfons of Great Quality ; and printed Lond. of i6po. This Play contains the Tranfa&ions of the Court and Nation, du- ring the Reign of the late King James, under feigned Names : there needs no Clavis , the Per- fons, being obvious to all Intelligent Perfons- The time of the A6!ion is from the Coronation of King James , to the Landing of his prefent Ma jetty. Abrahams Sacrifice , a Play which I never law, but do believe that it may poffibly be a Tranflation from Theodore Beza. Alarum for London, or 7 he Siege of An- twerpe ; with the Venturous ASis, and Valiant T>eedsof the Lame Souldier; play’d by the Right Honourable, the Lord Chamberlain his Ser- vants, printed Land. 1601. Albion , an Interlude mention’d by Kirkman , which I never faw. Albion's Triumph , perfbnated in a Mafque at Court, by.the King and Queens Majefties, and the Loras, the Sunday after Twelfth-Night , idji. printed 40. Lond. 1631. Mr. Inigo jones had a Share in the Contrivance of this Maftjue. Albumazar , a Comedy prefented before the King’s Majefty at Cambridge, by the Gentlemen of Trinity Colledge; printed 42 Lond. 1634. This was reviv’d at the King’s Houfe, and a Prologue writ by Mr. Dryden : fee i3iifcellan. Poems publifh’d by him 8°. p. 279- Aminta , 526 An Account of the Aminta , a Paftoral, tranflated from the Ita- lian of Torquato TafJ'o ; to which is added Ar- riadne’s Complaint, in Imitation of Anguilaray written by our Tranflator; both printed in quarto Lond. 162.8. Amorous Gallant , or Love in Eaflriort ; a Co- medy in Heroick Verfe, as it was ailed, and printed 4.°. Lond. 16 ’if. This Play has appeared abroad, under the Title of The- Amorous Or on- tus : It is tranflated from a French Play, written by Th. Corneille , and call’d L' Amour a la mode. It is founded on a Spanifj Play, writ by Ant. de Solis , call’d by the lame Name,(towit) El Amor al ufo. Amorous Old W iman , or ’Tis well if it take ; a Comedy ailed by their Majefties Servants, and printed 4. Load. 1684. I have been told this Play was writ by Tho.Dujfet : ’tis printed with a New Title-page, call’d The Fond Lady. Arden of Feverfham his True and Lament- able Tragedy , who was mojl wickedly murthered by the means of his dijloyal Wife ; who for the love Jhe bare to one Mofebie, hired two dejperate Ruffins^ Black- will and Shah-bag, to kill him : printed 4 °.Lond. 1^99. in a Black Letter. The Story is to be found in theRe gn of Edward the Sixth; fee Hollingjhead ’ Goodwin , Hayward \ Baker , Beard's Theatre of God's Judgment * .Book a. Ch. 10. Edit. 4. and the fecond part Chap- 6. added by Dr. Tho. Taylour. Arraignment of Paris, a Paftoral, which I ne- ver faw ; but it is aferibed by Kirkman to Mr. W. Shakefpear. B . Ekamatick Poets. 527 B. Battle of Aliaiar, f ought in Barbary, between Sebaflian King of Portugal, and Abdelmelech King of Morocco ; with the ‘Death of Captain Stukeley : play’d fundry times by the Lord HighAdmiral’s Servants,printed op. Lond. 1^94. For the Plot, feveral Authors mention the Story : the Englifh Reader may find it in Hey - bin's Cofmography, and Fuller % JV or t hies. Band Ruff-, and Cuff; an Interlude, which other Catalogues mention, but which I never faw. Baflard, a Tragedy; printed 4°. Lond. iCyi. The Plot of this Tragedy, and part of the Lan- guage, concerning Chare, Rodriguez. , Balthazar and Mariana , is borrow’d from the Loves of Schiarra and Florelia , in the Englifh Lovers: and Catilinas Supplying her Miflrels Marianas, Room on the Wedding Night, is founded on the Story of Roberto and IJdaura , in Gerardo the Unfortunate Spaniard ’ p. 87. Bloody Duke, or The Adventures for a Crown ; a Tragi-comedy, a died at the Court of Alba Re- galls, by feveral Perfons of Great Quality ; by the Author of the Abdicated Prince , printed 4° Lond. 1690. This Play comprifes the publick Affairs, from the firfl Difcovery of the Topijh - plot , to the Death of King Charles the Second The Perfons are as eafily known as in the for- mer. c. / Cafars Revenge , a Tragedy which I never faw. Charles 528 An Account of the Charles the Fir ft King of England his Tra- gedy ; printed 40. Lond. 1649. and dedicated to King Charles the Second,' commended by a Copy of Verfes. Combat of Caps , a Mafque of which I can give no Account. Commons Condition , a Comedy which I ne- ver law. Conjlant Nymph , or The Rambling Shepheard ; a Paftoral ailed at the Duke’s Theatre, printed 40. Lond. 1678. Cojily Whore , a Comical Hiflory ailed by the Company of Revels ; printed a.0. Lond. 163 3. Contention between York and Lancafter, with the Death of the Good Duke Humphrey, and the Bani[hment and Death of the Duke of Suf- folk ; and the tragical End of the proud Cardinal of Winchelter; with the notable Rebellion of jack Cade, and the Duke of York’s- fiijl Claim to theCrown: printed 40. Lond. i<5oc. This Play is only the Second part of Shakejpear’s Henry the Sixth , with little or no Variation. Counterfeits , a Comedy ailed at the Duke’s Theatre ; printed 4 9.Lond.t6’is>- This Comedy is aferibed by feme to Leanard ; but I believe it too good to be his Writing : ’tis founded on a tranflated Spanijh Novel, call’d The Trapan - ner trapann'dj oitavo Lond. 1677. and I pre- fume the Author may have feen a Trench Comedy, writ by ' ho. Corneille , oil the fame Subjeil, call’d D. Cafar D' Avalos. Counterfeit Bridegroom , ox The Defeated Wi- dow ; a Comedy ailed at His Royal Highnels the Duke’s Theatre, printed 4°. Lond. 1(577. This Dramat/ck Poets . 529 *This Play is only an Old Play of Middleton s# call’d No JVit like a fV vnan's, printed odtavo. Cromwell's Conf piracy , a Tragi-comedy, which I never faw. Cruel ‘Debtor , a Play only nam’d by Mn Kirkrnan. Cupid's IV kith gig, a Comedy fundry times a£ted by the Children of his Majelly's Revels ; printed 40. JLond. 1616. and dedicated by the Publilher, to Mr. Robert Hayman. This Play is part founded on Boccace ; as for Inftance, the Conveyance of the Captain , and Exhibition out of the Lady’s Chamber, is founded on the Sixth Novel, of the Seventh Day ; and is the Ground-work of many other Plays. Cyrus King of Perfia, a Tragedy mention’d by Kirkinan , which I never law. 2X Damon and "Pythias , a Hiftory, of which t can give no Account. Debauchee , or 2 he Credulous Cuckold; a. Co- medy a6ted at his Highnefs the Duke of Tories. Theatre, and printed 40. Lond. i6lq. This Play is by fome afcrib’d to Mrs. Behn; but is indeed only a Play of Brome s reviv’d, call’d A mad Couple well matcht. DeJlruBion of Jerufalem, a Play which l never faw ; but in the Catalogue printed with the Old Law, ’tis afcnb’d to one Thomas Legge. Dick Scorner, a Play mention’d in Mr. Kirk, mans Catalogue, but which I never faw : nor Li do 5 $o An Account of the do I know what fpecies of Dramatic! L Toe try it is. Divine tSMafque, printed in quarto Lond- — The Title-page of mine is lolt, but ’tis dedi- cated to General tSMonk, by One Anthony Sad- ler, who I take to be the Author. E. Edward the Third his Reign , a Hiftory fun- dry times play’d about the City of London ; printed 4°. Lond. 1 5-99. The Plot is founded on Enghjh Chronicles : See Walfingham , CM.- Wejlmin/ter , Fabian , FroiJJ'art, Tol. Virgil, Hol- lingfhead, Stow, Speed, fee. See befides o ALJ'cha- Jius Major, and a Novel call’d The Countefs of Salisbury o£tavo, tranflated from the French. Elvira , or The worjl not always true ; a Co- medy written by a Perfon of Quality, (fuppos’d to be the Lord Digby) and printed 40. Lond. 1667. Emprefs of Morocco, a Farce a&ed by His Majefty’s Servants ; faid to be writ by Thomas '. Dujfet , and printed 40. Lond. 1674. Engliflj Trincefs , or The Death of Richard the Third ; a Tragedy in Heroick Verle, aferi- bed to Mr. John Car el, and printed 40. Lond. 1 <57 3. For the Plot, fee Fabian , Tol. Virgil, Hoilingfhead, Grafton , Stow, Speed, Baker, fee. Englijh men for Money, or A Woman will have her Will ; a pleafant Comedy divers times a&ed with great app?aufe; printed 40. Lond. 1 616- , - . Enough's as good as a Feajl, a Comedy,which I never law, but mentioned by Mr . Kirkman. Every Dramatick Poets. 531 Every Woman in her Humour ; a Comedy, printed quarto Lond. 1609. F. Factious Citizen , or The Melancholy Hijioner ; a Comedy a<5ted at the Duke’s Theatre ; and printed quarto Lond. i68y. Fair Em, the Miller s Daughter of Manche- fler ; with the Love of William the Conqueror; a pleafant Comedy fundry times publickly adted in the Honourable City of London fq the Right Honourable, the Lord Strange his Servants \ printed quarto Lond. 1631. Fair Maid of Briltow, a Comedy play’d at Hampton , before the King and Queen’s molt Excellent Majefties; printed quarto Lond. 160^. in a Black Letter. Falfe Favourite dif grac'd,, and the Reward of Loyalty ; a Tragi-comedy never adted, printed oftavo Lond. 165-7. This Play is afcribed to George Gerbier D'Ouvilly. F at aljealoujie, a Tragedy acted at the Duke’s Theatre, and afcribed by fome to Mr. Pane; printed quarto Lond.i6~ji. Part of the Plot is in Johannes Gigas’s Toft ills : See befides The- atre of God's Judgments, part p. yy. Unfor- tunate Lovers , Nov. 1. Feigned Ajlrologer , a Comedy tranflated front the French of UMonjieur Corneille ; and printed of. Lond. 1668. The Plot of this Play [which is borrow’d from Calderon % El Ajirologo fingido ] is made ufe of in the Story of the French Man quefs , in the Illujlrious FaJJ'a, when he play’d the part of the Feigned Ajlrologer. L 1 % Fide/e I - / K Z' > , 5$2 Ah Account of the Ftdele and Fortunatus : I know not what fort of Play it is, whether Comedy or Tragedy, hav- ing never feen it ; but in Old Catalogues ’tis aferibed to Thomas Barker. Flora’s Vagaries , a Comedy ailed at the The- atre-Royal, by His Majefty’s Servants : aferibed to Mr. Rhodes , and printed quarto Lond. 16^0. This Plot of Or ante 5 making ufe of the Fryar, to carry on her Intrigue with Ludovico , is founded on Boccace , Day 3. Nov. 3. Free-Will, a Tragedy, which I know not where or when printed, the Title-page of Mine being loft. ’Twas written Originally in Ita- lian by F. N B. which I take to be Francifcus Niger BaJJ'entinus , and was tranflated into F.n- glifh by H. C. that is Henry Cheek . ’Tis print- ed in an Old Englijh Character. Fulgius and Lucre lie, a Piece of which I can give no Account having never feen it. G. Ghojl , or The Woman wears the Breeches ; a Comedy writ in the Year 1640. and printed quarto Lond. itfyo. H. Heir s Higher Court of Jujlice, or The Tryal of the Three Tolitick Ghojls , viz. Oliver Crom- well, King of Sweden, and Cardinal Mazarine ; printed quarto Lond. 1661. Hijlrtomaflix , or The T layer whipt ; printed quarto Lond. 1610. This Play was writ in the time of Queen Elizabeth, tho’ not printed till afterwards; as appears by the laft Speech, fpoken Dramatick Poets . 5 j | fpoken by to Ajlraa, under which Name the Queen is lhadowed. Henry the Fifth his ViElories, containing the Honourable Battle of Agin-court; a Hiltory, ailed by the Kings Majellies Servants, printed quarto Lond. 1617. For the Plot, lee the En~ glifb Chronicles, as Hollingjhead \ Stow , Speedy &c. He El or, or The Falfe Challenge ; a Comedy written in the Year 1 6s S- and printed quarto Lond. x 6?6. I know not the Author of this Play ; but I think it may vye with many Co- medies writ fince the Reftauration of the Stage. Hyppolitus , a Tragedy, which ( as I have been told) is printed in oilavo, and tranllated from Seneca by Edmund Tr eft with. For the Plot, fee the Poets, as Ovid’s Epiflle of CP hat- dr a to Hyppolitus : his Metamorphofis, Lib. 6. Virgil. f/En. Lib. 7. (Ere. Hoffman his Tragedy, or A Revenge for a Fa- ther ; ailed divers times with great applaufe, at the Phoenix in Drury-lane ; and printed 40. Lond. 1631. This Play was adopted by One Hugh Terry, and by him fent to the Prefs, and dedicated to his Honoured Friend Mr. Richard Kilvert. How a Man may chufe a Good Wife from a Bad ; a pleafant conceited Comedy, fundry times ailed by the Earl of Worcefter s Servants; and printed 4 °. Lond. 1634. The Story of An- felme’s laving of Young Arthur’s Wife, by tak- ing her out of the Grave, and carrying her to his Mother’s Houle, is the Subjeit of other Ll 3 Plays ; 554 An Account of the Plays : and fuch a Story is related in feveral Kovels ; fee the 9. Nov. of the P leaf ant Com- panion (printed oitavo Lond. 1684. ) call’d Love in the Grave. But the Novel which I take to be the foundation of this Play, is in Cynthio Giraldi , Dec. 3. Nov. y. 1 Jacob and Efau , an Interlude mentioned in former Catalogues, which I never law; tho’ ’tis eafy to guefs that ’tis founded on Scripture Story ; fee Genejis Ch. xy, 2 .6, <&c. See befides Jofephus Lib. 1. Tornetti Annals, fee. Jack Drums Entertainment , or The Comedy of Taj quit and Katherine ; fundry times ailed by the Children of Paul's, and printed of. Lond. 1616. tSM.ammon\ poyfoning Katherine's Face, -relembles the Ufage of Demagoras to Earthen iat in Argalus and Parthenia. Jacf Juggler, filled a Comedy by Old Cata- logues ; of which (having never leen it) I can give no Account. Jack Straw's Life and Death , a Notable Re- bel in England ; who was killed in Smith-fields by the Lord Mayor of 'London : printed quarto Lond. 15-93. This Play', I know not lor what realon, is divided into but four Ails. For the Plot, fee the Englijh Chronicles, as Pol. Kirgil, HoUinglhead. ’ Stow , Speed. ’ fyc. in the Reign of King Richard the Second. James the Fourth , a Hillory mentioned in former Catalogues, which I never faw; but I fuppofe the Play is founded on the Story of the King of Scotland of that Name. Jero- Drumstick Poets. 535 Jeronymo, the Firftpart ; with the Wars of Portugal , or The Sparufh Tragedy ; containing the Life and Death of 2>on Andraa : a Tra- gedy, printed 40. Lond. 1 605-. Jeronymo is mad again , or The Spanifh Tra- gedy; containing the Lamentable End of T). Ho- ratio, and Bettimperin ; with the pittiful Death of Jeronymo : printed quarto Lond.iGxi. This Play has been divers times a£ted, and feveral Lines have been quoted out of it, by feveral Authors ; as thofe may fee that will read over Every man ia his Humour , Bird in a Cage , Love will find out the way, <&c. Impatient Poverty , {tiled a Comedy by fome Catalogues. This Play I never faw. Imperial Tragedy ; taken out of a Latin Play, and very much altered, by a Gentleman for his own DiverGon; who on the importunity of Friends, confented to have it publifhed, but without his Name: Becaufe many (fays he ) do cenfure Plays according to their Opi- nion of the Author. This Play was printed Fol.LeW.166p. and has been a<5ted (if I miftake not) at the Nurfery in Barbican. For the Story, fee cZMarceUinus , and Cajfiodorus, in their Chro- nicles concerning Zenon. See befides Zonaras9 Bdronius, Godeau , tfyc. Interlude of Touth , an Old, Serious, Infini- tive Piece*, written in Verfe, and printed at London in quarto, in an Old Character: As to the Date hereof, or the Title-page, I am igno- rant, mine being loft. John the Evangelifi, a Piece which I never faw. LI 4 > 5 1 6 Ah Account of the ~ Jofeph’s Afflictions , another: tho’ the Title- page of both fhew the Subject Divine. Jovial Crew, or The ‘Devil turned Ranter ; an Interlude which I never faw; tho’ being mentioned in Mr. Kirkman' s Catalogue, I could not omit it. K. . King and Queens Entertainment at Rich- mond, after their Departure from Oxford ; in a Mafque prefented by the mojl Illujtyious Prince , Triuce Charles,Sept.i2. 1636, printed 4 °.Lond, 1 63 6. and dedicated to the Majefly of the Queen of Great Britain, by a Copy of Verfes of Ten Lines. The Occafion of the Mafque w&s the Queen’s Defire to fee the Trine e ( not much a- bove fix Years of Age)dance. The Dances were compos’d by Simon Hopper ;jthe Mufick by Mr. Charles Hopper : and the parts of the Captain and Druya, were a£ted fo well by the then Ld. Buckhurjl, and Mr. Edward Sackyile, that it proved that Genuine A&ion was not fo much confined to the Stage, but that a Gentleman might reach it, if not tranfeend it. Knackjoow to know an Honejl Man , a Comedy which I could never meet with. Knatfhow to know a Knave, a molt pleafant and merry Corned y,fundry times play’d by Edw. Allen i with Kemp' s Applauded Merriments of the Men of Gotepam , in Receiving the King into Gpteham : printed quarto Lond.ip 94. The Serious part of this Play is the Story of King Edgar, Ethenwald xnAAlfreda. See Malmef pury, ToIKirgiljfFaJfingham , Grafton, Stow, Vr tint stick Poets. 537 The Play is printed in Old Black Letter, and lays open the Vices of the Age, being deteiled lay Honeffcy. Knave in grain fie w vampt; a Comedy ailed at the Fortune , many Days together, with great applaufe; and printed 4°. Lond. 1640. This Play has given Subject to the late Novels, as Juno’s Cheating his Drunken Guefls (Ail 3 d) is repeated by Kirkman , in the Third part of the Fngltjh Rogue Ch. 13. His Cheating the Countryman ot the piece of Gold, Ail yth is re- vived in the Account of the laid Froft 1684. in o'ilavo p. 4 6. Knavery in all Trades , or The Coffee-Houfe ; a Comedy ailed in the Chrijlmas Holy-days, by feveral Apprentices with great Applaufe; printed quarto Lond. 1664. I know not with what Applaufe it might be ailed privately; but I prefume it would not meet with Succefs on the Stage in 2 Jorfet Garden , nay nor in the Nurfery, for I can find no Plot in it. L. Lady Alimony , or The Alimony-Lady ; an Ex- cellent pleafant Comedy ; duly autho riled, dai- ly ailed, and frequently followed : printed 40. Lond. 16} 9. Late Revolution , or The Happy Change ; a Tragi-comedy ailed throughout the Englijh Dominions, m the Year 1688. Written by a Perfon of Quality, and printed Lond. 1690. This Play begins from the Birth of the late Prince of IVales , to the Arrival of Our prefent 5$ S Ah Account of the Majefly at Exeter ; and concludes the whole Cataftrophe of our late Affairs. Laws of Nature , a Play which I never faw. Levellers levelled ' or The Independents Con- f piracy to root out Monarchy ; an Interlude writ- ten by c SMercurius Tragmaticus ; printed quarto 164*7. Who this Author is, under this Dif- fuife, I know not : but ’tis eafy to difeover im a Royalijl , by his Dedication to King Charles the Second; and an Enemy to Lilly, the Almanack-maker, whom he lafhes under the Name of Or lotto. Liberality and Trodigality , a Comedy which I can give no Account. Lingua, or The Combat of the Tongue , and the Five Senfes for Superiority ; a plealant Comedy, printed quarto Lond. Mr. JVinflanley fays, That the late Ufurper Oliver , ailed the part of La&us, in Cambridge , which firfl in- fpired him with Ambition : See his Account of Ant. Brewer, to whom ( through miftake ) he aferibes this Play, London Chanticleers , a Witty Comedy, full of Various and Delightful Mirth ; often ailed with great applaufe, and printed quarto Lond. 165-9. This Play, or rather Interlude, for ’tis not divided into Ails, is of the Bafle Comedy, writ by the French ; the Scene lying entirely amongfl Perfons of the lowefb Rank. Look about you, a pleafant Comedy, played by the Right Honourable, the Lord High Ad- mirals Servants, and printed 40. Lond. 1600. For the Hillorical part, fee the Chronicles in the Reign of King Henry the Second ; viz ■ Tol. V'trgSpeed, Baker, Daniel, &c. Love Dramatick Poets. $39 Love in its Extafie , or The large Prerogative ; a kind of Royal-Tajioral, written long lince by a Gentleman [fuppofed by yix.Kirk.fnan, I know not on what ground, to be One Teaps\ Student at Eaton ; and printed quarto Lond. 1 649. The Author was not feven teen Years of Age when this was writ ; on which Account I think the Play may pafs Muller, with others of thole Times. Lojl Lady , a Tragi-comedy, which I never read, or faw but once, and which I remember was printed in Folio. Love a-la-mode , a Comedy a6led with great applaufe, at Middlefex Houfe ; written by a Perfon of Honour, and printed 4°. Lond. 1663. This Play is juftified by the Author, in his Pre- face, and ufhered into the World by three Co- pies of Verles ; nor is the Play altogether un- defervmg Commendation. Luminalia, or The Fejlival of Light ; per- lonated in a Mafque at Court, by the Queen’s Majelly and Her Ladies, on Shrove-Tuefday Night 163 7. and printed 40. Lond. 1637. The Famous Mr. Inigo Jones, Surveyor of Her Ma- jelly’s Works, had a Hand in the Contrivance of this Mafque, by Her Majelly ’s Command. The Invention conlilling of Darknefs and Light: the Night prefented the firll Anti- mafque, and the Subject of the Main-mafque, is Light. But for the clearer Information of the Reader, I refer him to the Malque it felf. M idManhood and kVifdom, a Play mentioned by other 54® Account of the other Authors, of which I( can give no Ac- count, never having feen it. dMarcas Tullius Cicero , that Famous Ro- man Orator, his Tragedy; printed quarto Lond. i6?i. I know not whether ever this Play was ailed; but it feems to me to be written in Imitation of Ben. Johnfon'% Cataline. For the Plot, fee Tlutarch in his Life : See likewife his own Works, Hft- Ciceroniana, Lambin ; as al£b Dion, Appian, rint- ed quarto Lond- In this Play, the Poets of thofe times are cenfured : and this * is the Original of Dr. Wild'*-, Benefice, which is now in print. Revenge, or A Match in Neve-gate ; a Come- dy ailed at the Duke’s Theatre, and printed quarto Lond. 1680. This Play is afcribed to Mrs. Behn ; but is indeed a Play of Marfloris revived, and called The lJutcb Curtezan. Rivals , a Tragi-comedy in quarto, which at prefent I have not ; but have heard Mr. Cade- man, for whom ( as I think ) it was printed, fay it was writ by Sir Will. TV Avenant. Robin Hood's ‘Taft oral May Games ; which I know not. Robin Hood, and his Crew of Souldiers ; of the fame Stamp, and which I never faw. Romulus and Herfilia, or The Sabine War; a Tragedy ailed at the Duke’s Theatre, and printed quarto Lond. 1683. For the Plot, fee Livy, lib. x. Ovidii Met. lib. 14. Tint, in Vit.Ro- muli ; Floras fDionyfius Hallicarnajfccus, Velleius Vaterculus, Eutrop. &c. Royal MaJ'que at Hampton-Court, prefented Mm % .on 548 An Account of the on Sunday Night, being the Eighth of January 1604.. and perfonated by the Queen’s Moft Ex- cellent Majefty; attended by Eleven Ladies of Honour; panted quarto Lond. 1604. Royal Hoy age, or The Irilh Expedition ; a Tragi-comedy,printed quarto Lond. 16 go. The Subject of this Play is known by the Title. s. Sahnacida Spolia , a Mafque prefented by the King and Queen’s Majefties, at Whitehall on Tuefday, the 2ift of January 1639. and printed quarto Lond. 163 9. The Invention, Orna- ment, Scenes, and Machines, with their De- fcriptions, were made by Mr. Inigo Jones , Sur- veyor General of His Ma jelly’s Works. What was fpoken, or fung, by Sir Will. £>’ Avenant ; and the Mulick was compos’d by Mr. Lewis Richard ' Mailer of Her Majefties Mulick. Sicelides , a Tifcatory , ailed in Kings Colledge in Cambridge ; and printed quarto Lond. 163 1. The Serious parts of this Play, are moft writ in Verfe; with Chorus’s between the Ails. ferindus , telling to ArmiUus the Story of Glau- cus, Scylla, and Circe, Ail 1. Sc. 4. is taken from Ovids Met. lib. 13. Atycbus fighting with, and killing the Ork, that was to have devoured Olynda , is an Imitation of Perfeus & Andro- meda, Ovid. Met. lib. 4. or elfe Orlando Furiofo , Book eleventh. Shoemaker s Holy day, or The Gentle -Craft ; with the Humorous Life of Simon Eyre, Shoo- rrnker, and Lord Mayor of London: a Comedy ailed Drumstick Poets. 549 ailed before theQueen’s mofl Excellent Majefly, on New-Year’s Day at Night, by the Right Ho- nourable the Earl of Nottingham , Lord High Admiral his Servants *, printed 40. Lond. 165^. This Play is dedicated, To all Good Fellows, Profeflors of the Gentle-Craft , of what Degree foever. For the Plot, I can direil you to no other, but the Book of the Gentle-Craft , in Quarto. Siege of Conftantinople, a Tragedy ailed at the Duke’s Theatre ; and printed quarto Lond 1 6qy. For the Plot fee Chalcocondylas , Con- fiantinopolis a Mahammada , Secund. Expugnaia. ‘ Tauhs-Jovius , Hen. Tan tale on, Knolles , &c. Sir Clyomon, Knight of the Goledn-Jhield \ Son to the King of Denmark ; and Clamydes , the White Knight , Son to the King e/’Swavia, {both Valiant Knights') their Hiftory : printed quart© Lond. is 99- This Play is written in Old Fa- Ihion’d Verfe, and is very heavy in Reading. Sir Gyles Goofe-capne, Knight ; a Comedy ailed with great applaufe, at the Private-houfe in Salisbury Court ; printed quarto Lond. 6^6, and dedicated by the Publilher Hugh Terry , to Rich. Young Efq; of IV ooley-Farm, in the Coun- ty of Berks. Sir Salomon, or The Cautious Coxcomb ; a Comedy ailed at his Royal Highnefs the Duke of Torkj Theatre ; printed op .Lond. 1671. This Play is Originally trench , being a Tranflation from Moliere’ s Id Ec ole des Femmes . It was tranflated (as I have heard) by John Car ell s and own’d in the Epilogue as a Tranflation. Mm j What 55© An Account of the What we have brought before you was not meant For a New Tlayfbut a new Tre cedent ; For we with modefty our Theft avow , ( There is fome ConJ'cience fhew n in Jiealing too) And openly declare , that if our Che ere Doth hit your Pafatesyoa mujl thank Molliere. This Play was frown’d and pelted at, (to ufe the Author’s own Expreflion)by many Perfons, who thought themfelves Criticks : but not- withflandmg it met with Succefs in the Acti- on : And the Author has fufficiently jollified his Play, in his La Critique de L’Ecole des Femmes , to whom I refer the Reader. Solyman and Perfeda , their Tragedy ; wherein is laid open Love’s Confancy , Fortune’s 2 neon. - fancy , and Death’s Triumphs : printed quarto Lond. 15-99. This Play, I prefuine was never ailed, neither is it divided into Ails. Sophifer , a Comedy printed 4°. 1 6 3 8. I know not where this was ailed, or printedjthe Title- page of my Play being loft. Sfanifo Bawd , reprefented in Celefina ; or Calif 0 and Mehbea ; a Tragi- comedy, wherein is contained, befides the Pleafantnefs and Sweetnefs of the Stile, many Philofophical Sen- tences, and profitable Inflruilions, fit for the Younger Sort : Shewing the Deceits and Sub- tilties boufed in the Bofbm of falfe Servants, and Cunny-catching Bawds : printed Fol. Lond. ttfji. This Play is Originally Spanifh, and tranflated into Englijh by a Spaniard, One Don Diego Tuede-fer ; and by him dedicated to Sir Thomas Richardfon : the fame Author tranflated Dramatick Poets. 551 Miguel de Cervantes his Exemplary Novels, Fol. Lond. 1664.. Step-mother , a Tragi-comedy a died with great applaufe, at the Theatre in Little Lin - coins- Inn- Fields, by his Highnefs the Duke of Pork's Servants ; printed quarto Lond. 1664. Strange Difcovery , a Tragi-comedy, printed in quarto. I know not when this Play was ailed, or where printed, mine having not the Title-page : but I know very well that both the Plot and the Language is borrowed from Heliodorus his t the Mafque, with the Defcriptions and Apparatus of the Scenes, were invented by Mr. Inigo Jones , Surveyor of His Majeflies Works. Therfites , an Interlude, which I never faw. Torn Efjence , or The Modijh Wife ; a Co- medy a£led at the Duke’s Theatre ; printed 40. Lond. 1677. This Play is founded on two French Plays, viz. M oilier e’s Sganarelle , ou Le Cocu Imaginaire ; and Tho. Corneille's D. Co-Jar D' Avalos , in the part of Love-alls Intrigue with Luce : without the Reader will fuppofe that he follow’d a Spanifo Novel, call’d The Trapanner trapannd : and for the Bufinefs of Tom EJJ'ence and his Wife, copyed Six William D' Avenant's Tlay-Houfe to he Let , A£l fifth, which is a Tranflation from the former. This Play is faid to be writ by One Mr. Rawlins. Tiberius ( Claudius Nero ) his Tragical Life and Death ; a Tragedy in quarto. This Play ufed to be placed under the Title of Nero’s Life and Death ; which made People miftake it for the Life of Nero Cthe Eighth of France. 92 s Chaffc Maid in Cheap- fide. 371 Cheats. 5-13 of Scapin. 397 Chrill’s Paffion. 437 Chriftian turn’d Turk. 117 ChriftmafsMalque. 288 Cicilia and Clorinda. , 312 Cid. 431 Circe. 1 1 6 Citizen turn’d Gentle- man. City Heirels. - — Madam. Match. — Night-cap. • Politicks. —Wit. Claricilla. Cleopatra. Cloridia. Clouds. 422 19 3*4 337 116 93 U 312 10.1,363 288 490 Cobler’s Prophecy. 5-13 Coelum Britannicu. 43 Colas Fury. 41 Combat of Caps. y^8 of Love and Friendfhip. 36/ Comedy ofErrors. 4$-y Committee. 27 6 Committee-man cur- ried. 471 Com- ■tin Index of the Plays. Commons condit. ^28 j Common-wealth of! Women. 180; Conflict ol Confidence. . . ' j-13 Conquefl of China. 440 -of Granada. i$y Confpiracy. 3 09,5- 1 1 Conflant Maid. 477 Nymph. ^28 Conflantine the Great. 322 Contention betw. Y ork and Lancafte r. 5-28 ■ of Ajax and U- lyfles. 483' for Honour and Riches. 478 Coriolanus. Cornelia. 316 Coronation. 208,478 Coftly Whore. j28j Covent Garden. 380 ! Covent Garden weed- ed. IS Covent of Pleaf 3 pa CouterfeitBridegr.yaS Counterfeits. lb. Countefs ofPembroke’s Ivy-church. 224 Country Captain. 3 86 * Girl. 3 1 * Innocence. 319 Wife. 5-14 Wit. 94 CouragiousTurk. 234 Court Beggar. 3 6 ~ — Secret. 484 Coxcomb. 208 Crcefus. 3 Cromwell’s Hill. 5-29 Cruel Brother. 107 Debtor. ^29 Cuckolds Haven, yoi Cunning Lover. 32 Cupid and Death. 478 Cupid’s Revenge. 208 — — Whirligig. 5-29 Cure for a Cuckold yio Cuftom of the Country.. 208 Cutter of Coleman- ftreet. 81 Cymbeline. 4^6 Cynthia’s Revels. 289 Revenge. -493 Cyrus K. of Perfia. 5-29 Cytherea. 488 T>- DAmeDobfon. 419 Damoifelle. 31? Damoifelles a-la-mode. 200 Damon & Pythias. ^29 Darius his Tragedy 3 — : K.of Perfia. 94 David and Bethfabc. 401 An Index of the Plays. Debauchee. yap Deorum Dona. 1 1 Deferving Favourite. 4 / Definition of Jerufa- lem. 99, $29 DeftrutionofTroy. 7 Devil’s an Afs. 28 9 Devil’s Charter. p Devil’s Law-cafe, yo 9 Devil of a Wife. 280 Dick Scorner. y2p Dido CL of Carthage. __ . 383 Disappointment. 489 Difobedient Child.280 Difl rated State. yoa Diftrefles. I07 Divine Comedian. ^04 Divine Mafque. yjo DotorDodipole. yytf Dotor F auftus . 3 42 Don Carlos. 398 Don Sebaflian. 161 Double Marriage. 208 Doubtful Heir. 484 Duke & no Duke, yoi Duke of Guile. 163 Duke of Lerma. 276 Duke of Millain. 3 yy Duke’s Miftrels. 478 Dumb Knight. 334 Dumb Lady. 318 Dutch Courtezan. 348 Dutch Lover. . ip Dutchefs of Mai fy. 6 op Dutchefs of Suff. 262 E. E Aft ward- hoe. 66 Edgar. 434 Edward the Firft. 401 Second. 343 — — Third. ygo -Fourth. 262 Elder Brother. 208 Eletra. 522 Elizabeth’s Troubles. 2 6y Elvira. yjo Emperor of the Eaft. ISS' —Moon. 440 Emprefs oi Morocco. ^30 Enchanted Lovers. 3 3 3 Endymion. 228 EnglifliFryar. py — — Lawyer. 420 Monfieur. 276' Moor. 3 6' Princefs. ^30 — ~ — Rogue. y 04 -Traveller. 2.6% Enough’s as good as a Feaft. y-30 Entertainment at King James’s Coronat 289 — — atRutiandH. 107 JSJ n En- Entertainment of King An Index of the Plays. — - Weft. James andQ_Anne at Theobalds. 2,8.9 of the K. and CL at High-gate. Ibid. — ol the K. of Engl. and Denmark at The- obalds. 2,90 of the Q^and Pr- at Althrop. Ibid. Epfom Wells. 44 $■ Erminia. 201 Evening’s Love. 1P3 Every man in his Hu- mour. 290 - - out of his Hu- mour. Ib. - Woman in her Humour. ^31 Eunuchus. 2^,213 Example. 478 Excommunicated Prin. - 1 S Extra vagantShepherd. } 21 F FAitious Citiz. 5-31 Fair Emm. Ib. — Favourite. 108 -Irene. 499 Maid of Brill. ^31 of the Exchange. 262 * Inn. 208 263 Fair Quarrel. 3-71 Faithful Shepheard- efs. Falfe Favourite, grac’d. Count. One. Family of Love. Fancies. Fancies Fellivals. Fatal Contrail. Dowry. 208 diF SI* 20 -Jealoufie. -Love. 209 320 3 ,06 247 ISS Si I 441 ISO Fawn. Feign’d Allrologer.y 3 1 Courtezans. 20 Female Academy. 392 Prelate. 441 346 4ir 494 SI 2. 180 Fidele and Fortunatus. Si% Fine Companion. Fleire. Floating Illand. Flora’s Vagaries. FondHusband, Fool turn’d Critick. Ib. — would be a Favou- rite. Fools Preferment. Forc’d Marriage. Fortunate Illes. Fortunatus. 47 Ib. 20 291 122 For- An Index of the Plays. Fortune by Land and Sea. 2by Fortune-Hunters. 49 Four Lond. Prentices. 2 6$ P s. 294 Plays in one. 209 Fox. 297 Free-will. 5-32 French Conjurer. ^20 Friendship in Falhzon. 3P8 Fryar Bacon. 242 Fulgius a'nd Lucrelle. G. GAlathea. 3 29 GameatChefs.372 Gamefter. 478 Gam. Gurton’s Needle. y-2i Generous Enemies. 72 jHeir Gentle-Craft. J48 Gentleman Dancing- Mailer. ^14 * of Venice. 479 — of Verona 466 Ulher. 62 Gholt. y-32 Glafs of Government. 228 Gloriana. 322 Goblins. 498 Golden Age. 279 Golden Age relforcd. 291 Grateful Servant. 479 Great Duke of Flo- rence. Green’s Tu quoyue. 72 Grim the Colier of Croyden. 5-22 Gripus and Hegio. 1 1 Guardian. 80, $$6 Guy of Warwick. 5*19 H HAmlet Prince of Denmark. 45-7 Hannibal and Scipio. 380 Heautontimorumenos. 2^,273 HeaorofGermany.488 Hedlors. Hecyra. 29,2 73 363 of Morocco. 441 Hell’s High Court of Juftice. ^33 Henry the Third of France. 473 Henry the Fourth. 45A — 17 Ik 45-7 Ik 4.8 « i$o .49 Pompey. 40^,507 Poor Man’s Comf. 1 1 8 — — Scholar. 38^ Pragmatical Jefuite .y o Presbyterian Lalh.y^ Prefence. 393 Prince of Prigg’s Re- vels. 522 Princefs. 3 1 3 of Cleves. 324 Prifoners. 313 Proje£tors. 5-13 Promiles of God mani- felled. 54^ Promus &Caflandra .Ib. ; Queen’s Arcadia, j — - — Exchange. Mafque of Beau ty. 2 .9s — ! — of Blacknefs. Ib * Querer per folo querer. 193 R. Aging Turk. 23^ Ram Alley- 14 Rambling Jullice. 230 Rampant Alderman. 5 46 Rape of Lucrece, Rebellion. Reformation. . Rehearfal. Religious Rebel. 267 424 n6 Ib. 39 3 Hi U8 Renegado. Return fromParnaffus. HI Revenge. Ibid. Re- An Index of the VUys. Revengers Tragedy. yo6 Reward of Virtue. 2,2.3 Rhodon and Iris. 3T6 Richard the Second. 462 Rival F riends. 245- Kings. 8 Ladies. 167 Queens. 325 Rivals. 447 Roaring Girl. 37 3 Robert Earl of Hunt- ingdon’s Downfal and Death. ' 267 Hood’s Palloral ; May-games. 447 ? and his Crew | of Souldiers. Ibid. j Roman A<5tor. 35-8 ! Emprels. 3 08 1 * — — Generals. 129 Rmneo and Juliet. 462 Romulus and Herlilia. Roundheads. 21 Rover. • 20 RoyaJift. 183 Royal King and Loyal Subjebt. 268 • Mafque atHamp- ton-Court. 447 Mailer. 481 Shepherdels. 450 Slave. 43 Voyage. *4.8 Rule a Wile, and have a Wife. 214 Rump. jo 3 £ SAcriiice. 184 Sad One. 498 Sheplieard. 295- Saint Cicely. 5-20 Salmacida Spolia. 5-48 Sam plon Agonifles. 3 7 j Sapho and Phaott. 329 Scaramouch, &c. 429 School of Comple- ments. 480 Scornful Lady. 214 Scots Figaries 503 Sea Voyage. 214 Seven Champions of Christendom. 315- See me, and fee me not. • 2+ Sejanus. '295- Selimus. 31? Sertorius. 6 Several Wits. 393 Sforza Duke of Millain 237 Shepheards Holyday. 433 — Paradice. 3 77 Shoomaker’s a Gentle- man. 429 Sice- An Index of the Plays. Sicelides. 5-48 Sicily and Naples, y 19 Siege. 54,i 10 of Babylon. 406" .-of Conftantino- ple. 549 — . — —of Memphis. 183 of Rhodes, no ofUrbm. 315- Silent Woman. 296 Silver Age. 2 59 Sir Barnaby Whig. 184 — Courtly Nice. 96 — GilesGoofe-cap. ^49 — Hercules Buftbn. 318 — Martin Mar-all. 1 70 — Patient Fanc^. 21 — Solomon. 549 Sifter. ' 484 Six Days Adventure. 274 Slighted Maid. 492 Sociable Companions. 393 Soliman and Perfeda. ?So Sophifter. Ibid. Sophonisba. 325-, gyr Sophy. 128 Souldiers Fortune. 399 SpanifliBawd. 550 Curate. 214 Fryar. 170 Gypfies. 375 Rogue. 1 78 Sparagus Garden. 37 Speeches at Pr.Henry s Barriers. 296 Spightful Sifter. 6 Sport upon Sport. 90 Springs Glory. 381 Squire of Alfatia. 45- o Old Sap. 183 Staple oi News. 296 State of Innocence. 1 72 Step-mother. yyi Strange Difcovery. lb. Succefsful Strangers. 378 Sullen Lovers. 450 Summers’s laftWilland *Teftament. 383 Sun’s Darling. 221 Suppofes. 23 1 Surprifal. 277 Sulanna’s Tears, yyi Swaggering Damoif.yd Sweetnam the Woman- hater arraigned. 551 T. T Ale of a Tub. 297 Tamberlain the Great. 344 Taming of the Shrew. 463 Tancred and Gifmond. 512 Tar- An Index of the P/ays . 508 394 326 SS a 3X3 5H 510 Tartuff 3 67 Tarugo’s Wiles. 434 Tcmpe reftor’d. yyi Tempeft. 172,4^3 Temple. 64 of Love. 1 10 The longer thou liv ft, the more fool thou art. Thebais. Theodofius, Therfytes. Thomafo. Thornby Abby. Thracian Wonder. Three Lords and La- dies of London. 521 Thyerry and Theodo- ret. 2iy T ime vindicated tp himfelf, and to his Honours. 297 Timon of Athens. 45-1 Titus Andronicus.4^4 Titus and Berenice. 399 Tom Eflence. 5T2 — Tyler and his Wife. ' yo8 Tottenham Court. 381 Town Fop. 22 Shifts. 42 y Trapolin fbppofed a Prince. 70 Travels of 3 Englifh Brothers. up Tray tor. 481 to himfelf 5-53 Treacherous Brother. 407 Trick for Trick. 184 to catch the Old One. 37 3 Triumph of Beauty. 48T Love and Antiquity. 373 Peace. 482. u-the Prince D’Amour. in Triumphant Widdow 387 Troades. 472,5-21 Troas. . ayt Troylus and Creflida. 173 True Trojans. s^l Widdow. 451 Tryal of Chi valry. 508 Treafure. 554 Tryphon.- 28 Tunbridge Wells. 554 Twelfth Night. 466 Twins. 427 Two Angry Women of Abington. 407 Noble Kinfmen. 21 s Two An Index of the Flays. Two Tragedies in One. ! 516:' -- — Wife Men and all the reft Fools. 6 4 Tide tarrieth for no Man. 508 TyranicalGovernment' 554 Tyranick Love. 173 V. ■“C 7 Alentinian. 215 V Valiant Scot. 523 Welchman. 5 16 Varieties. 387 Venice preferv’d. 400 Very Woman. 359 Veftal Virgin. 2.7 7 Vilain. 407 Virgin Martyr. 3 59 ,_.T Widow. 410 Virtuofo. 45-1 Virtuous O&avia. 30 -Wife. 185 Virtue betray’d. 8 Vifion of Delight. 29 7 the Twelve Goddefles. 103 Unfortunate Lovers. 112 Mother. 382 - Shepheard. 506 .. Ufurper.'s 54 UngratefulFavorite lb. Unhappy FairOne,499 — Favorite. 9 Unnatural Combat.3 59 —Tragedy. 393 UntruHing the Humo- rous Poet. 123 Vow-breaker. 437 Ufurper. 274 JV. W Alks of Iifling- ton and Hogf- den. 307 Wandring Lover. 368 Warning for fair Wo- men. 55$ Weakefl goes to the wall. Ib, Wealth and Health. Ib, Wedding. 483 Well ward-hoe. 124 What you will. 351 When you fee me, you know me. ^30 White Devil. 509 Whore of Babylon. 1 24, Wiat’s Hiflory. 125 Widow. 298 Ranter. 22 ’s Tears. 6 5 Wife for a Month. 2 id Wild Gallant. 174 Goofe-chafe. 21 <5 Wily beguil’d. 55s Wine, An Index of the Plays. Wine, Beer, Ale, and Tobacco. 5-55 Winters Tale. Wile Women of Hogf- den. 268 Wit at leveral Weap- ons. 2.1 6 of a Woman. 55 6 in a Conllable. 133 without Money 2 i£> Wits. hi Cabal. 393 — — led by the Nole Witty Combat. y20 — - — Fair One. 483 Woman Captain. 451 -Hater. 2.16 in the Moon 1 33o -kill’d with Kind- nefs. 268 turn’d Bully. 556 Woman’s a Weather- cock. 198 Conqueft. 374 Prize. 217 Women beware Wo- men. 1 374 pleas’d. 21 7 Wonder a Woman ne- ver vex’d. 429 World loft at Tennis. 374 W ranglingLovers.42 3 r. YOrklhire Tragedy. 46$ Young Admiral. 483 -King. 22 Your five Gallants. 37J Youths Glory &Deaths Banquet. 393 The The Tlays in the appendix. ALphonfo King of Naples. Amphytryon. Banilh’d Duke. Belphegor. Bragadocio. Diftrefled Innocence. Edward the Third. Ferrex and Porrex. Folly of Prieftcraft. Gorboduc. Mad World myMalters. Miftakes. Robin Confcience. Royal Flight. Scowrers. Sir Anthony Love. Unfortunate Lovers. Witch of Edmonton. Woman will have her will. Wonder of a Kingdom. The oAT P E NT) 1 X. THe Occafionof adding this following Ap- pendix, is to compleat the Account of all the Plays that have been printed as far as this prefent Time : lince feveral new Ones have been publilht after the Fore-going Sheets were fent to the Prefs, andfome others thro’ over- fight omitted in the Body of the Bookj I have chole rather to place them here, than leave the whole imperfect I fhall follow the fame Me- thod,as before ; beginning firli with the Known Authors , in an Alphabetical Order ; and after- wards mention thofe, whofeAuthors are con- ceal’d. 1 begin with Sir William Davenant. I have already given an Account of this Au- thor, p. i o 6, &c. to which I refer my Reader ; only beg his Pardon for the Omiffion of a Play to be found in the Body of his Works, nam’d Unfortunate Lovers , a Tragedy, printed in Folio. Thomas Decker. An Author already mention’d, p. nz. to have a hand in Twelve Plays ; tho’ thro’ mi- ftake, I have giver!' an Accotint but cf Ten ol them. 'Tis true, I refer r’d the Reader p. ray. * Oo to The appendix. to the Account of Will. Rowley , for The Witch of Edmonton ; but quite forgot a Play, which was writ wholly by our Author, ftil’d Wonder of a Kingdom , a Tragi-comedy ; printed 4°. Lond. 1635. This I take t@ be a very diverting old Play. John Dryden, hfq; The Reader will find an Account of this Au- thor’s Writings,/*. 1 30,$^. but he having late- ly publilht a new Play, I am here to give the Reader fome Account of it. Amphytryon , or The Two Sodas ; a Comedy 3 fled at the Theatre-Royal, to which is added the Mufick of the Songs, compos’d by Mr. Hen- ry Purcel; printed 40. Lond. 1691. and dedi- cated to the Honourable Sir Levifon Gower , Baronet. This Play is founded on ‘Plautus’s, Amphytruo , and Mollieres Amphytryon , as the Author himfelf acknowledges in his Epiftlc Dedicatory. The Reader that will take the pains to compare them, will find that Mr. ‘Dry den has more clofely followed the French „ than the Latin Poet : but however It mult with Juftice be allowed, that what he has bor- rowed, he has improv’d throughout ; and Mol- Here is as much exceeded by Mr. Dryden^ as Rotrou is outdone by Molliere. The truth is,, our Author fo polifhes and improves other Mens Thoughts, that tho’ they are mean in themfclves, yet by a New f urn which he gives them, they appear Beautiful and Sparkling : Herein relcmbxing Skillful Lapidaries, that by their The Jppendix. their Art, make a Brijtol Stone appear with alrnolt the fame Luftre;as a Natural Diamond, Jofeph Harris A New Author, who being infected with' the Contagion of Pqetryy fpread amongft his Fellow A6tors,is fetting up for an Author ; but with what Succefs, I leave to thofe who fre- quent the Theatre to decide. He has lately publiflit a Play, call’d tSMJiakes, or The FaJfe Report ; a Tragi- comedy, adted by their Majefties Servants ; printed quarto Lond. i6po. and dedicated to Godfrey Kneller This Young Author is beholding to the Poets to rig him out ; Mr. jDryden having bellowed a Prologue on his ©Play, and Mr. Tate an Epilogue ; and the ever Obliging and Compaffionate Mr. Montford (as the Author with Gratitude acknowledges ) ‘ Not only corre&ed the Tedioufnefs of the ‘Fifth Adt, by cutting out a whole Scene ; but * to make the Plot more clear,has put in one of ‘his own, which heightens his own Character, ‘and was very pleafing to the Audience. This Play feems to me to be of the fame Stamp with feveral others lately written by his Fellow-Comedians ; tho’ in my Opinion, they had better confine themfelves within their own Sphere of Adlion. Tho O Q & The Appendix. Thomas Middleton. An Author of feveral Plays already men- tioned p. 3 70. but particularly One, which by chance was omitted, viz. tSMad World my Majhrs , a Comedy often ailed at the Private-Houfe in Salisbury Court, by her Majefty’s Servants, and printed quarto Lond.1640. This Play was writ twenty Years before 'twas publifh’d, as the Trinter and Sta- tioner inform the Reader ; and appeared with Applaufe on the Stage. The Language and Plot of this Comedy are very diverting ; and the former is fo little obfolete,that Mrs. Behn has tranfplanted part of it into her* City Heirefs. George Powell. An Author and Poet already mention'd, p. 107. who has publilht a new Play, call’d Alphonfo King of Naples, a Tragedy, ailed at the Theatre-Royal , printed quarto Lond. 1 690. and dedicated to Her Grace the Dutchefs of Ormond. The Prologue was written by Mr. , John Haynes , and the Epilogue by Mr. jDurfey , William Rowley. An Author of whom I have already given an Account, p. 4-2.8. but forgot to fpeak of a Play, in which ne was chiefly concern’d, viz. Witch of Edmonton , a Known True Story, compos’d into a Tragi-coniedy, by divers well efleera’d Poet William Rowley fT/x mas ^Decker, and The Appendix. and John Ford ; ailed by the Prince's Servants often at the Cock-pit in Drury -lane once at Court with Angular Applause ; printed quarto Lond. idj-8. Tho.SACKViLE, ^ Tho. Norton. Two Authors that liv’d in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth ; the former of which was Ld Buckhurjl, and in the firffc Year of K..J antes the Firft,ws. March 13. 1603. created Earl of Dorfet : He was Ld Treafurer, and Chancellor of the Univerfity of Oxford. He joyn’d with Mr. Norton in writing a Tragedy, which in thole Days was in much repute. It was thrice printed : the firft Edition was publilhed under the Title of Ferrex and Torrex , printed 8° Lond. 1 ?6$-. by W. G. This Edition was printed from a furreptitious Copy, when the Ld Buchhurjl was beyond Sea, and Mr. Norton far diflant from London. The fecond Edition was print- ed with Content of the Authors ; the Title- page being as follows : ‘The Tr.gedy of Ferrex and Torrex let ‘ forth without Addition or Alteration, but al- ‘ together as the lame was Ihewed on the Stage £ before the Queen's Majefty, about nine Years ‘ pall, viz. the Eighteenth Day of January £ by the Gentlemen of the Inner -Temple ; print- ed 8° Lond.— -is — . The laft Edition is foil’d ‘ The Tragedy of Gorhoduc, whereof three ‘ Ails were written by Thomas Norton ; and O 0 3 ‘the The Appendix. 1 the two laffc by Thomas Sackvile ; fet forth as ‘ the fame was {hewed before the Queen’s moft ‘ Excellent Majefty, in Her Highnefs’s Court * of the Inner -Temple ; printed 40 Lond. 15-90. I have already given fome Account of this Play in Mr. ‘Dry dens Char after, p. 168. I fhall here add the Opinion of that Great Judge of Wit, Sir Philip Sidney , in his Excellent De- fence of Toe fie : (?) ‘Our Tragedies and Co- ‘ medies, are not without caufe cry’d out ‘ againll; obferving Rules neither of Honell Ci- ‘ vility, nor Skilful Poetry ; excepting Gorbo- ‘ due, (again I fay of thole I have feen) which ‘ notwithstanding , as it is full of {lately ‘ Speeches, and well-founding Phrafes, climb- ‘ ing to the height of Seneca's Stile; and as full ‘of notable Morality, which it does moil de- ‘ lightfully teach, and fo obtain the very End ‘ of Poe fie : Yet in truth, it is defeftuous in the ‘ Circumftances ; which grieves me, becaufe it ‘ might not remain an exaft Model of all Tra- ‘ gedies. For the Plot, confult Neniusy Lelandy A’- of Gloucejler , H. of Huntingdon Jeo. of Monmouth , Du Chefne , fyc. I know not whether My Lord Buckhurjl writ any thing befides, or no ; but I have feen two little Pieces writ by Mr. Horton in oftavo : One intituled, To the Queens Majeflies poor de- ceived SubjeEls in the North Country , drawn into Rebellion by the Earls of Northumberland and Wefltnorland : printed oftavo Lond. 15-69. A Second, filled A fHarning againji the dangerous (*) (*) Pra- The Appendix ': Trail tees of Papills, and efpeciatty the Partners of the late Rebellion : printed %°Lond. ij--— Elkanah Settle. An Author v/ho has forlaken the Banners of Mars and T alias, to return to the Theatre , the Seat of the Mufes : One, (to ufe his own Ex- preffion ) ‘Who after all his repented Follies, ‘is relolv’d to quit all Pretentions to State- * craft, and honeltly skulk into a Corner of the ‘ Stage, and there dye contented. This Refo- folution our Author has begun to put in Pra- ctice, by publilhing a Play, whole Title is T>tjlrej Ted Innocence , or The Princef of Per- lia ; a Tragedy aCted at the Theatre-Royal, by their Majelties Servants, printed Lond. 1690. and dedicated to the Right Honourable, John Lord Cutts, Baron of G over am. This Tragedy was kindly receiv’d by the Audience, as the Poet gratefully acknowledges, and owns like- wife his Obligations to Mr. Betterton , for his feveral extraordinary Hints, to the heightning of his bell Characters ; and to Mr. dMontford, for the lall Scene of his Play, which he was fo kind to write for him: To which may be added the Epilogue. The Author likewile owns, That whatever FiCtion he has elfewhere interwoven, the Diltrefles of Hormidas and Cleomira, are true Hillory. I have not lei- fure at prefent to make Enquiry after this Paliage ; but poflibly the Reader may find lome- what of it in Socrates , Z ozomen, or Nicephorus , all which ( if I miflake not ) mention the Af- fairs of ffdegerdets King of Perjia . Tho. The Appendix. Thomas Shadwell; Our prefent Laure at having publifht a New Play, I am bound to take Notice of it : viz. Scowers, a Comedy adled by Their Maje- ities Servants ; printed 40. Lond. i6po. How this Play fucceeded on the Stage, I know not; but I think ’tis far from the worfl of his Co- medies : and I believe is wholy free from Tla- giary. Thomas Southern. An Author that has contributed three Plays to the Stage, which have gain’d him no fmall Reputation : Two of them i have already men- tion’d, p. 4.89. This lalt Play is Ifcil’d Sir Anthony Love , or The Rambling Lady ; a Comedy, a died at the Theatre-Royal, by their Ma jellies Servants, printed quarto Lond. 1690. and dedicated to his Friend, Thomas Skipwith Efcj; This Play was a died with extraordinary Applaufe ; the Part of Sir Anthony Love being mofl Mailer jy play’d by Mrs. Montfort : and certainly, who ever reads it, will nrid it fraught with true Wit and Humour; and in the Characters of M. IT Abb t , and T aimer the Pilgrim, our Author has given ns fome Sketches of the Hypocrifie of thofe pretended Saints. \ Mr. Wilson. I am apt to believe this Writer is the fame with the Author of the Cheats ; I mean John tVilfon, The Appendix* fTtlfott, already mention’d, p. ft%. "Whoever he is, he has publifht a New Play, call’d Be/phegor, or The Marriage of the "Devil ; a Tragi-comedy, lately acted at the Queen’s The- atre in Dorjet Garden ; printed quarto Land. i(5po. This Play notwithffanding it was de- creed on the Stage, I think far furpafles many others, that have lately appear’d there. For the Foundation of the Play, the Author has di- re$ed the Reader to Matchiavel and Straparolat both which have played with the fame Story : And I may add, That thofe who delight in French Poetry, may read it ingenioufly tranfla- ted in Les Contes de M. de la Fontaine, ottavo, i. par tie, page 180. dernier e Edit, and the Englijh Reader may find it pleafantly related, not only in the Folio Tranflation of Matchiavel \ but likewiie at the end of Quevedo' s Novels Engl. o&avo. Unknown Authors . I Am in the laft place to give an Account of thofe Plays wliofe Authors are unknown ; do in the former Method, beginning with a Play call’d Banijh'd Duke , or The Tragedy of fnfortu • natus ; a£ted at the Theatre-Royal, printed op. Lend. 1690. The Reader will eafily find that under the Character of Infortunatus , the "Poet defign’d to portray the late Unfortunate Duke of Monmouth : under that of Romanus and Ta- piJF*> the late Ring and Queen. v; Brag The appendix: Braggadocio, or The Bawd turn'd Puritan ; * New Comedy, by a Per fon of Quality, print- ed 4°. Loud. 1690. This Comedy I take to be indru&ive ; and undoubtedly in the Chara&er of Flujh , he has hit fome Features, which be- ' long to fome private Enemies of Univerfities. Edward the Third \ with the Fall of Morti- mer, Earl of March ; an Hidorical Play, a&ed at the Theatre-Royal, by their Majefties Ser- vants ; printed quarto Land. 1690. and dedi- cated to the Right Honourable Henry Lord Vifcount Sidney , of Sheppey ; by Mr. Momtfort to whom the Play was made a Prefent. This Play I take to exceed mod of the Plays that have been lately publilht ; and I think in the CharaClers of T ark ton, Chancellor of England \ and Serjeant Etherfide , he has fomewhat de- tected the Misdemeanours of fome Great Men in the lad Reign. For the Plot, as far as con- cerns Hidory, conduit Harpsfield ’ IV dfingham , Tol. Vigil \ Froiffardy Du Chefne , Math. W rjl- minjler , Hottingfbeady Grafton , Stow , Daniel Speed, tfcyc. Englijhmen for Money , or a plealant Comedy, call’d A Woman will have her Witt ; divers times added with great Applaule; printed 40. Land. 162.6. This Comedy is not divided in- to Ads. Folly of Triejlcrafty a Comedy printed quarto Lond. 1690. Though the Modedy, or Pru- dence of this Author, will not permit him to to be known; yet I think he deferves a place amongd the Elded Sons of Apollo : and if I may prefume to fpeak my Judgment, I believe no The Appendix. Satyr fince The Tlain Dealer, has been more ju- dicioufly or ingenioufly penn’d : and I queftion not but it will defervc a good Character from all Readersyxcc^t the Triejts and Bigots of the Romifh Religion. Robin Conscience , a Play which I never could obtain the fight of : tho finding it mentioned in former Catalogues, I was unwilling to omit it. Royal Flight , or The Conqueji of Ireland; a New Farce> printed quarto Lond. 1690. The Subject of this Play, is evident from its Title- page ; and the Author has no ways dilguiled his Characters : Tho’ had he treated fome Per- fons in his Farce with more Modeltie, it had been no lefs for his Reputation. Thus I have finilh’d My ACCOUNT of Our Englifh ‘DramatickfPoets , and their Writ- ings : and having laid a Foundation, I fhall leave it to Others ( who may think it worth their while) to perfeCt the Edifice: hoping thole that will attempt it, will alter or fupply what ever they diflike or find defective in the whole EJJ'ay. 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