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f reading, which I am afraid is more Than half your shrewdest judges had before. Fr. Bbaumokt. 11. To the worth}/ Juthor Mr, John Fletcher, upon his Faithful Shepherdess. The wise, and many-headed lench, that sits Upon the life and death of plays, and wits, (Compos'd of gamester, captnin, knight, knighfs man, iMdy, or PucJlle, that wears mask or fan. Velvet, or tnffata cap, rank'd in the dark With the shop's fonnnan, or some such hrave spark, That may judge for his slv-pencej had, before Tliey saw it half, damn'd thy whole play ; and, more. Their motives were, since it had not to do With vices, which they Icok'd for, and came to. I, that am glad thy innocence was thy guilt.And wish that all the viuses' blood were spiltIn such a martyrdom, to vok their eyes,Do crown thy murder'd poem ; which shall riseA glorified work to time, when fire.Or moths, shall eat what all these fools admire. Ben. Jonsow. making perfect sheets, the editor, to avoid leaving a blank leaf in the body of the book, thervinserted this letter; and hence, undoubtedly, originated the situation of Uie poem, whichought (did its title desene attention) to have been placed at the end of the whole work ; forhad any specification been intended, we should not have had the vague expression, * two qfthe precedent,*' but *' the two precedent comedies.'* Seward says, Shirley supposes the Himiorous Lieutenant to be one of the plays referredto by the verses : Shirley thought nothing of the matter, knew nothing of the arrangement,did nothing but write tne preface: It were unjust to believe he did more.— It is not alwayseasy to discover Seward's meaning ; but he seems, however, to have distrusted Shirlev*s sup^position, and to have relied on the subsequent editor^ by saying the verses "were published atthe end of the Nice Valour and Woman-Hater, in the second folio." This proves nodiing;that editor continued theiji with the play to which he found them annexed. The title to these verses runs, "Mr. Francis fieaumout*s Letter to Ben. Jonson, writtenbefore he and Master Fletcher came to London, with two of the precedent comedies then notfinished, which deferred their merry meetings at the Mermaid." If this tide and the situa-tion afford proof of aiiy kind, it wdl be directly opposite to Seward's opinion : First, as thetitle mentions " two oi the precedent comedies,' the Woman-Hater could not be one, hav-ing no place in the first folio. S>econdly, Seward says, " Fletcher could not be with Beau«mont; out what says the title? *' Written before he AND Master Fletcher came,** &c.And, thirdly, if Beaumont AND Fletcher were together, Nice Talour and the HumoroutLieutenant must be looked on as joint productions. But, besides the title and situation failing to prove which the comedies were, the poeaitself afibrds no proof that Beaumont was then writing any play at all. The words TFhen these scenes are Ph rfect, are all which cc«i lead to such a supposition; and may we not understand those words tomean only, ** When I change the scene,'* or, •* when the time for my stay herb is com-pleted ?" with this sense of the word perfect every reader of old books must be acquainted.Whether this explanation is admitted, or not, it at least seems clear that no such extemaievidence as Seward supposes, b deducible from either the tide or situation of the poem inquestion. J. N.
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