doubted that such expulsion greatly operated against the nation's prosperity " (p. 196).

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III. The third dramatic period lasts from Lopez de Vega to Calderon; and from that we have our Romeo and Juliet.' Of this we need say but little, as its original is identified as one of De Vega's comedies, translated into English about the middle of the last century-such translation being entitled "Romeo and Juliet,' a comedy, written in Spanish by Lopez de Vega," London, 1770. In this comedy Juliet wakes when Romeo enters the tomb, and all ends happily. And it is remarkable that our tragedy, according to Downes, the prompter, was converted into a comedy, when the play-houses were reopened after the Restoration. Thus he tells us that

It was made, some time after 1662, into a tragi-comedy by Mr. James Howard, he preserving Romeo and Juliet alive; so that when it was revived 'twas played alternately tragical one day and tragi-comical another, for several days together. (Johnson's Preface, Steevens' Note, p. xxxiv.)

CHAPTER VII.

ITALIAN ORIGINALS.

'Midsummer Night's Dream;' 'Twelfth Night.'

He,

IT is remarkable that Dr. Johnson had no suspicion that some of Shakespeare's plays were adaptations of Italian dramas. He knew, and has recorded the fact, that such of the Elizabethan scholars, as "united elegance with learning, studied the Spanish and Italian poets with great diligence;" but there he stops short, influenced, probably, by the consideration that William Shakespeare was not a scholar. however, seems to have been very near stumbling on the fact, while remarking on Shakespeare's disregard of the distinctions of different times. and place. "He gives," he says, "to one age or nation the customs, institutions and opinions of another. We need not wonder to find Hector quoting Aristotle (Troilus and Cressida '), when we see the loves of Theseus and Hippolyta com

bined with the Gothic mythology of fairies (‹ Midsummer Night's Dream")." (Preface, p. xxxix.) Now leaving Aristotle out of the question, the peculiarity he notices in A Midsummer Night's Dream,' is the peculiarity of most of the early Italian dramas. And it is quite natural it should be so. The Goths having become masters of Italy towards the close of the sixth century, would, like true barbarians, have insisted on those they spared adopting their rude superstitions, in which fairies occupied a conspicuous place. When, therefore, their slaves—and all the Romans spared had been absorbed either in marriage or servitude-began to compose plays for their entertainment, they naturally combined the Roman dramas of their recollection with the fairy legends they had been compelled to accept, and as the former were all imitated from the Greek, that combination arose which is seen in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.'

And here we must admit that we have been unable to find any Italian comedy, which can be given as the original of A Midsummer Night's Dream.' Hence we are inclined to think, it was an imitation of one of the Italian extemporal plays exhibited in England in 1578, and to

If

which we referred in our second chapter. our thought be correct, Tarleton may have been the Bottom of the first English adaptation, and his extemporal wit is the occasion of Gabriel Harvey's applause. In its original state, we are inclined to believe that the summoning of the Athenian artisans and the tricks of the fairies, constituted the whole of the piece, and that no more was presented to its English audience while it remained an extemporal play.

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But if the origin of A Midsummer Night's Dream' rests on conjectural grounds, we can identify Twelfth Night' with an Italian comedy, entitled Gli Ingannatori (The Cheats), printed in 1585. And not only we do soShakespeare's contemporaries did the same. Thus we read in the Diary of John Manningham of the Middle Temple as follows:

2 Feb. 1601. At our feast we had a play called Twelve Night, or, What You Will, much like the Comedy of Errors or the Menechmi of Plautus, but most like and near to that in Italian called Inganni.

CHAPTER VIII.

ENGLISH ORIGINALS.

'Henry IV.;' 'Henry VI.;' 'Henry VIII. ;'Richard III.;''King John;''King Lear.'

No doubt an abundance of historical information existed when the Shakespearian drama appeared. It was not, however, very trustworthy and did not commend itself to scholars, even at that period. Most of the chroniclers were monks, who coloured events according as they affected the church, and characters according as they were hostile or subservient to the clergy. The principal historians were Julius Cæsar the Roman Emperor, the Venerable Bede, Gildas and John Scotus; Peter of Blois, Ingulph, Endmerus, Turgot, Robert White, William of Malmesbury, Roger de Hovenden, Gervase of Canterbury, Benedict of Peterborough, Henry of Huntingdon, John of Salisbury, and Geoffrey of Monmouth, William Little and Ralph du