ftrange opinion obtained credit for half a century. He might with just as much propriety have fuppofed that our author wrote the old King Henry IV. and V. and The Hiftory of King Leir and his three daughters, as that he wrote two plays on the fubject of Taming a Shrew, and two others on the ftory of King John.-The error prevailed for fuch a length of time, from the difficulty of meeting with the piece, which is fo extremely scarce, that I have never seen or heard of any copy exifting but one in the collection of Mr. Steevens, and another in my own: and one of our author's editors [Mr. Capell] fearched for it for thirty years in vain. Mr. Pope's copy is fuppofed to be irrecoverably loft.

I fufpect that the anonymous Taming of a Shrew was written about the year 1590, either by George Peele or Robert Greene. MALONE.

The following are the obfervations of Dr. Hurd on the Induction to this comedy. They are taken from his Notes on the Epifle to Auguftus: "The Induction, as Shakspeare calls it, to The Taming of the Shrew, deferves, for the excellence of its moral defign and beauty of execution, throughout, to be fet in a juft light.

"This Prologue fets before us the picture of a poor drunken beggar, advanced, for a fhort feason, into the proud rank of nobi- lity. And the humour of the fcene is taken to confift in the furprize and aukward deportment of Sly, in this his strange and unwonted fituation. But the poet had a further defign, and more worthy his genius, than this farcical pleafantry. He would expofe, under cover of this mimic fiction, the truly ridiculous figure of men of rank and quality, when they employ their great advantages of place and fortune, to no better purposes, than the foft and felfish gratification of their own intemperate paffions: Of thofe, who take the mighty privilege of defcent and wealth to live in the freer indulgence of thofe pleasures, which the beggar as fully enjoys, and with infinitely more propriety and confiftency of character, than their lordships.

"To give a poignancy to his fatire, the poet makes a man of quality himself, juft returned from the chace, with all his mind intent upon his pleafures, contrive this metamorphofis of the beggar, in the way of sport and derifion only; not confidering, how feverely the jeft was going to turn upon himself. His first reflections, on feeing this brutal drunkard, are excellent :

O! monftrous beaft! how like a swine he lies!

• Grim death! how foul and loathfome is thy image!' "The offence is taken at human nature, degraded into beftiality; and at a state of ftupid infenfibility, the image of death. Nothing can be juster, than this reprefentation. For thefe lordly fenfualifts have a very nice and faftidious abhorrence of fuch ignoble bru

tality. And what alarms their fears with the profpect of death, cannot choose but prefent a foul and loathfome image. It is, alfo, faid in perfect confiftency with the true Epicurean character, as given by thefe, who understood it beft, and which is, here, fuftained by this noble difciple. For, though thefe great masters of wifdom made pleasure the fupreme good, yet, they were among the firft, as we are told, to cry out against the Afotos; meaning fuch grofs fenfualifts, " qui in menfam vomunt & qui de conviviis auferuntur, crudique poftridie fe rurfus ingurgitant." But as for the "mundos, elegantes, optumis cocis, piftoribus, pifcatu, aucupio, venatione, his omnibus exquifitis, vitantes cruditatem," these they complimented with the name of beatos and fapientes. [Cic. de Fin. lib. ii. 8.]

"And then, though their philofophy promised an exemption from the terrors of death, yet the boafted exemption confifted only in a trick of keeping it out of the memory by continual diffipation; fo that when accident forced it upon them, they could not help, on all occafions, expreffing the moft dreadful apprehenfions,

of it.

"However, this tranfient gloom is foon fucceeded by gayer profpects. My lord bethinks himself to raise a little diverfion out of this adventure:

Sirs, I will practise on this drunken man :'

And, fo, propofes to have him conveyed to bed, and bleffed with all thofe regalements of coftly luxury, in which a selfish opulence is wont to find its fupreme happinefs.

"The project is carried into execution. And now the jeft begins. Sr, awakening from his drunken nap, calls out as ufual for a cup of ale. On which the lord, very characteristically, and (taking the poet's defign,* as here explained) with infinite fatyr, replies:

O! that a mighty man of fuch defcent, • Of fuch poffeffions, and fo high esteem, Should be infufed with fo foul a fpirit!'

"And again, afterwards:

Oh! noble Lord, bethink thee of thy birth,

Call home thy ancient thoughts from banishment;
And banish hence thefe lowly abject themes.'

For, what is the recollection of this bigh defcent and large poffef fions to do for him? And, for the introduction of what better thoughts and nobler purpofes, are thefe lowly abject themes to be difcarded? Why the whole inventory of Patrician pleasures is

To apprehend it thoroughly, it may not be amifs to recollect what the fenfible Bruyere obferves on a like occafion. "Un Grand aime la Champagne, abhorre la Brie; il s'enyvre de meillieure vin, que l'homme de peuple: fele difference, que la crapule laiffe entre les conditions les plus difproportionées, entre le Seigneur, & l'Esaffier. [Tom. ii. p. 12.]

PET. Twenty crowns!

I'll venture fo much on my hawk, or hound,
But twenty times fo much upon my wife.

"Kate. Then, you that live thus by your pampered wils,
"Now lift to me, and marke what I fhall fay.-
"Th' eternal power, that with his only breath,
*Shall cause this end, and this beginning frame,

"Not in time, nor before time, but with time confus'd,
"For al the courfe of yeares, of ages, months,
"Of feafons temperate, of dayes and houres,
"Are tun'd and ftopt by measure of his hand.
"The first world was a forme without a forme,
"A heape confus'd, a mixture al deform'd,
"A gulfe of gulfes, a body bodileffe,
"Where al the elements were orderleffe,
"Before the great commander of the world,
"The king of kings, the glorious God of heaven,
"Who in fix daies did frame his heavenly worke,
"And made al things to ftand in perfect course.
"Then to his image he did make a man,
"Olde Adam, and from his fide asleepe,
"A rib was taken; of which the Lord did make
"The woe of man, so term'd by Adam then,
"Woman, for that by her came finne to us,
"And for her finne was Adam doom'd to die.
"As Sara to her husband, so should we
"Obey them, love them, keepe and nourish them,
"If they by any meanes do want our helpes:

Laying our hands under their feet to tread, "If that by that we might procure their ease; And, for a prefident, Ile firft begin,

46

"And lay my hand under my husband's feet.

[She laies her hand under her husband's feet. "Feran. Inough fweet; the wager thou haft won; "And they, I am fure, cannot deny the fame.

Alfon. I, Ferando, the wager thou haft won;

"And for to fhew thee how I am pleas'd in this, "A hundred pounds I freely give thee more,

"Another dowry for another daughter,

"For fhe is not the fame she was before.

"Feran. Thanks, fweet father; gentlemen, good night; *For Kate and I will leave you for to-night:

BION. I go.

[Exit.

your miftrefs come to me,

BAP. Son, I will be your half, Bianca comes.
Luc. I'll have no halves; I'll bear it all myself.

Re-enter BIONDELLO.

How now! what news?

BION.
Sir, my mistress fends
That she is bufy, and fhe cannot come.

'Tis Kate and I am wed, and you are fped : "And fo farewell, for we will to our bed.

[Exeunt Ferando, Kate, and Sander. Alfon. Now Aurelius, what fay you to this? "Aurel. Beleeve me, father I rejoyce to fee Ferando and his wife fo lovingly agree.

man?

[Exeunt Aurelius and Phylema, and Alfonfo and Valeria. Emel. How now, Polidor? in a dumpe? What faift thou

"Pol. I fay, thou art a fhrew.

"Emel. That's better than a fheepe.

"Pol. Well, fince 'tis done, come, let's

goc.

[Exeunt Polidor and Emilia. Then enter two, bearing of Slie in his own apparell againe, and leaves him where they found him, and then goes out: then enters the Tapfter.

"Tapfter. Now that the darkefome night is overpaft, And dawning day appeares in christall skie,

"Now muft I hafte abroade: but foft! who's this?

What Slie? o wondrous! hath he laine heere all night?

"Ile wake him; I thinke hee's ftarved by this,

"But that his belly was fo ftufft with ale:

What now Slie! awake for fhame."-&c. STERVENS.

most likely to work upon the great, by fhowing their pride, that it was fit only to conftitute the fummum bonum of one

No better than a poor and loathfome beggar.' Sc. iii. "Nor let the poet be thought to have dealt too freely with his betters, in giving this reprefentation of nobility. He had the highest authority for what he did. For the great master of life himself gave no other of Divinity.

66

Ipfe pater veri Doctus Epicurus in arte

66

Jufit& hanc vitam dixit habere Deos."

Petron. c. 132. STEEVENS,

The circumftance on which the Indu&tim to the anonymous play, as well as that to the prefent comedy, is founded, is related (as Langbaine has obferved) by Heuterus, Rerum, Burgund. Lib IV. The earliest English original of this story in profe that I have met with, is the following, which is found in Goulart's ADMIRABLE AND MEMORABLE HISTORIES, tranflated by E. Grimstone, quarto, 1607; but this tale (which Goulart tranflated from Heuterus) had undoubtedly appeared in English, in fome other shape, before 1594:

PHILIP called the good Duke of Bourgundy, in the memory of our ancestors, being at Bruxelles with his Court, and walking one night after fupper through the streets, accompanied with fome of his favorits, he found lying upon the ftones a certaine artifan that was very dronke, and that flept foundly. It pleafed the prince in this artifan to make trial of the vanity of our life, whereof he had before difcourfed with his familiar friends. He therefore caufed this fleeper to be taken up, and carried into his palace: he commands him to be layed in one of the richelt beds; a riche night-cap to be given him; his foule fhirt to be taken off, and to have another put on him of fine Holland. When as this dronkard had digefted his wine, and began to awake, behold there comes about his bed Pages and Groomes of the Dukes chamber, who drawe the curteines, and make many courtefies, and, being bareheaded, afke him if it please him to rife, and what apparell it would pleafe him to put on that day.They bring him rich apparell. This new Monfieur amazed at fuch courtefie, and doubting whether he dreampt or waked, fuffered himfelfe to be dreft, and led out of the chamber. There came noblemen which faluted him with all honour, and conduct him to the Maffe, where with great ceremonie they gave him the booke of the Gofpell, and the Pixe to kiffe, as they did ufually to the Duke. From the Maffe, they bring him backe unto the pallace; he wafhes his hands, and fittes downe at the table well furnished. After dinner, the great Chamberlaine commandes cardes to be brought, with a greate fumme of money. This Duke in imagination playes with the chiefe of the court. Then they carry him to walke in the gardein, and to hunt the