prompt action of the leader of the orchest reached over and smothered the flaming with his pocket handkerchief.

On another occasion during our Souther Mr. McVicker called me on one side prio beginning of the last act of Hamlet, an pered in my ear, "Watch me when I hand the skull to-night." I watched.

It appeared that our property-man ha unable to obtain even turnips with w fashion skulls for the grave-yard scene, so procured a couple of very large Bermuda cut and perforated them as he had d turnips, colored, and placed them in the Mr. McVicker alone being cognizant of t acter of the remains. The grave-digge them out at the proper cue, and the d passed unnoticed, but, when the old sexton the supposed skull of poor dead Yorick Booth, who had a particular aversion to o any form, the aroma of that mutilated mingled with the odor of the paint, be offensive to him that he was seized with

and with difficulty completed the delivery of his tender apostrophe to the remains of his dead friend. However, his final questions to Horatio, as he handed, with unusual alacrity the repulsive vegetable to that gentleman: "Dost thou think Alexander looked o' this fashion i' the earth? And smelt so? pah!" had a significance that heretofore had not been in evidence. Subsequently Mr. Booth joined in a hearty laugh at the incident, and shortly afterwards two human skulls were purchased for the performance.

LAUNCE AND SPEED

IN

THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA

T

HERE seems to be little doubt but that the

comedy of "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" was one of the earliest of the poet's dramatic works. There is no authentic record of its first presentation, but it is the general impression among the commentators that it occurred in 1591 or 1592. Sidney Lee, probably the most accurate and reliable authority on Shakespeareana, places it second in order of production. It was not printed in the author's lifetime, nor was it published till it was included in the First Folio edition of collected plays that appeared in 1623, seven years after the poet's death.

There is a crude conventionality in the construction of the plot, inexperience in the develop

ment of the characters, and immaturity in its deductive philosophy. These conditions confirm the view-point taken above, and are entirely consistent with the known facts. Shakespeare was at this time but twenty-seven years of age, had been in London but six or seven years, and though study and observation had given him some idea of dramatic composition, it was on conventional lines only; experience had not yet developed his powers or given him any marked individuality.

Mrs. Cowden Clarke goes so far as to suggest that the comedy was probably one of the MSS. that Shakespeare took with him to London. This is disproved, I think, by his references in the play to historical and mythological characters, with which he would hardly be familiar before his advent into the metropolis.

I doubt if Shakespeare did any literary work of a dramatic character before he went to London. It was his association with a company of professional actors, in a varied repertory of plays, with the environment of a regularly equipped

theater, that revealed to him the possibilities of the drama, inspired his ambition, and developed his genius.

There is no originality in the story of "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," nor in any of the incidents of the comedy. The characters are but prototypes of those which appear, elaborated and completed, in his later plays, after experience had matured his powers and given him a deeper insight into human nature.

This is particularly true of Launce and Speed, the two clownish servants in the comedy, who are reproduced as the two Dromios, in "The Comedy of Errors"; as Peter, in "Romeo and Juliet," and as Launcelot Gobbo, in "The Merchant of Venice"; but with far more consistency of purpose and detail of character.

Launce and Speed are servants: born to serve, contented to serve, with little or no ambition beyond it. They are personal attendants on Valentine and Proteus, two young noblemen, and accompany their respective masters on their travels, obeying their orders without question,