When he talked of Shakspeare's papers, he was probably thinking of what Heminge and Condell have faid in their preface," we have scarce received from him a blot in his papers." But by his papers they meant nothing more than the old copies of his plays which had lain long in their house, from which they printed part of their edition. Whatever other papers our poet left, without doubt devolved to his family at Stratford. The four encomiaftick lines figned "Thomas May," and the elegant verfes afcribed to Endymion Porter, now alone remain to be confidered. Endymion Porter, whom Sir William Davenant, Shakspeare's fuppofed fon, calls "lord of his muse and heart," being mentioned by Mr. Rowe in his Life of Shakspeare, as a great admirer of our poet, his name naturally prefented itself to the writer of this letter, as a proper one to be fubscribed to an eulogy on him and Ford; and he found, or might have found, in Langbaine's Account of the Dramatick Poets, that May lived in the ftricteft intimacy with Endymion Porter, to whom he has dedicated his Antigone, publifhed in 1631; a play which probably, when this letter was written, was in Mr. Macklin's poffeffion. Thomas Randolph and Thomas Carew having each of them written verfes to Jonfon after the publication of the celebrated ode annexed to his unfortunate New Inn, requesting him not to leave the stage, as the letter-writer might alfo have learned from Langbaine, who has given Randolph's Ode at length, he naturally would read over their lines; and Randolph having written "A gratulatory Poem to Ber Jonfon for his adopting of him to be his Son," in which we find the following hyperbolical couplet, But if heaven take thee, envying us thy lyre, "'Tis to pen anthems for an angel's quire; he is not improperly ftyled by the letter-writer, Jonfon's ZANY."3 The four lines to which May's name is affixed, are inscribed, “To my worthy friend John Ford;" and it is obfervable that a copy of verfes written by William Singleton, and prefixed to The Lover's Melancholy, are also inscribed, "To my worthy friend, the author, Mafter John Ford." But why, we fhall be told, might not May, as well as Mr. Singleton, addrefs Ford as his worthy friend? Be it fo then; but unluckily, May, precisely when he is fuppofed to have made this panegyrick upon Ford, and to have informed the publick, that, even fuppofing The Lover's Melancholy was from Shakspeare's treasury reft, "That plunderer Ben ne'er made fo rich a theft;' unluckily, I fay, at this very time, May was living in the ftrictest friendship with Jonfon; for to May's tranflation of Lucan, publifhed in 1630, is prefixed a commendatory poem by Jonfon,-addreffed “To his chofen friend, the learned tranflator of Lucan, Thomas May, Efquire," and fubfcribed, “ Your true friend in judgment and choife, Benjamin Jonfon.” 66 3 Randolph's attachment to Ben Jonfon was alfo noticed in the letter printed in the preceding month, in The General Advertifer, (the Theatrical Gazette of that time,) by way of prelude to Mr. Ryan's benefit. "He was, fays the writer, a man of pregnant wit, gay humour, and of excellent learning; which gained him the efleem of the town, and particularly recommended him to Ben Jonfon, who adopted him one of his fons, and held him in equal efteem with the ingenious Mr. Cartwright, another of the laureat's adopted fons." VOL. II. R The verfes fubfcribed, Thomas May, are as follows: "'Tis faid, from Shakspeare's mine your play you drew; 66 That plunderer Ben ne'er made fo rich a theft." I have already observed, that, Randolph having written a reply to Jonfon's ode, the writer of this letter would naturally look into his works. In a poem addreffed to Ben Jonson, speaking of the works of Ariftotle, (the writer by the way, to whom that fentence of Greek which is found in the title-page of the prefent edition was originally applied,) he "Under a willow covert, and repeat "Those deep and learned lays, on every part "The matter, form, fense, motion, place, and measure, As Shakspeare's" vaft treafury" may have been borrowed from this writer, fo the "rich thefts of that plunderer Ben" might have been fuggested to Mr. M. by the following lines addreffed by Thomas Carew" to Ben Jonfon, upon occafion of his ode of defiance annext to his play of the New Inn:" "Let them the dear expence of oil upbraid, 66 Suck'd by thy watchful lamp, that hath betray'd 66 Repine not at the taper's thrifty wafte, 86 "Nor think it theft, if the rich spoils fo torn I have traced the marked expreffions in this tetraflick to Randolph and Carew; they might, however, have been fuggefted by a book ftill more likely to have been confulted by the writer of it, Langbaine's Account of the Dramatick Poets; and particularly by that part of his work in which he fpeaks of Ben Jonfon's literary thefts, on which I have this moment happened to caft my eye. "To come laftly to Ben Jonfon, who, as Mr. Dryden affirms, has borrowed more from the ancients than any; I crave leave to say in his behalf, that our late laureat has far out-done him in thefts. -When Mr. Jonfon borrowed, 'twas from the treasury of the Ancients, which is so far from any diminution of his worth, that I think it is to his honour, at least-wise I am sure he is juftified by his fon Cartwright, in the following lines: "What though thy fearching Mufe did rake the duft t Making the feas hid wealth adorn the land? "What though thy culling Muse did rob the store Thefts thus become juft works; they and their grace as "On the contrary, though Mr. Dryden has likewife borrowed from the Greek and Latin poets,which I purposely omit to tax him with, thinking what he has taken to be lawful prize, yet I can not but observe withal, that he has plunder'd the chief Italian, Spanish, and French wits for forage, notwithflanding his pretended contempt of them; and not only fo, but even his own countrymen have been forced to pay him tribute or, to say better, have not been exempt from being pillaged. Here we have at once-the mine, the treafury, the plunderer, and the rich thefts, of this modernantique compofition." 4 Account of the Dramatick Poets, 8vo. 1691, pp. 145. 148, 149. Mr. Macklin tells us, that the pamphlet from which he pretends to quote, mentions, that among other depreciating language Jonson had said of Shakspeare, that "the man had imagination and wit none could deny, but that they were ever guided by true judgment in the rules and conduct of a piece, none could with justice affert, both being ever fervile to raise the laughter of fools and the wonder of the ignorant." Being guided by judgment in the conduct of a piece," is perfectly intelligible; but what are we to underfland by being guided by judgment in the rules of a piece? However, every part of this fentence alfo may be traced to its fource. Mr. Pope has faid in his preface, that "not only the common audience had no notion of the rules of writing, but few of the better fort piqued themselves upon any great degree of knowledge or nicety that way, till Ben Jonfon getting poffeffion of the ftage, brought critical learning into vogue :" and Jonfon himself in his Difcoveries, fpeaking of Shakspeare, fays, "his wit was in his power, would the rule of it had been fo." In Mr. Pope's Preface we are told, that "in tragedy nothing was fo fure to furprife, and create admiration, as the most frange, improbable, and confequently moft unnatural, incidents, and events. In comedy, nothing was fo fure to |