dramatick pieces.

See No. I. II. and III. The originals are in my poffeffion.

There is reason to fuppofe that these curiofities once belonged to the collection of Alleyn, the founder of Dulwich College; nor am I left without expectation that at fome future period I may derive more important intelligence from the difperfed remains of that theatrical repofitory.

The Dead Man's Fortune and Tamar Cam, will not, I believe, be found in any catalogues of dramatick performances. At leaft they are not enumerated among fuch as have fallen within Mr. Reed's obfervation, or my own.

That the play of Frederick and Bafilea was acted, by the Lord Admiral's Company, four times in the year 1597. may be afcertained from Mr. Malone's Additions, p. 374.

In these three "Plotts" the names of feveral ancient players, unregister'd in vulgar fame,' are preferved. But to luckier and more induftrious antiquaries of the fcene I muft refign the task of collecting anecdotes of their lives: fo that "Pigg, Ledbeter, White and Black Dick and Sam, Jack Gregory, Little Will Barne, and the red-faced

The lofs of a number of fuch early plays is perhaps to be lamented only as far as they would have ferved to throw light on the comick dialogue of Shakspeare, which, (as I fufpect,) is in fome places darkened by our want of acquaintance with ridiculous fcenes at which his allufions, during his own time, might have been both obviously and fuccefsfully pointed: for as Dr. Johnson, in his comprehenfive preface, has obferved, "Whatever advantages our author might once derive from perfonal allufions, local cuftoms, or temporary opinions, have for many years been loft; and every topick of merriment, or motive of forrow, which the modes of artificial life afforded him, now only obfcure the fcenes which they once illuminated," STEEVENS.

fellow," &c. appear at prefent with lefs celebrity than their brethren who figured in the plays of Shakspeare.

Notwithstanding the reader muft obferve that the drift of the foregoing dramatick pieces cannot be collected from the mere outlines before us, he may be ready enough to charge them with abfurdity. Juftice therefore requires me to add, that even the fcenes of our author would have worn as unpromifing an afpect, had their skeletons only been difcovered.

For several reasons I suspect that thefe "Plotts" had belonged to three diftinct theatres, in which at different periods Alleyn might have held fhares. The names of the performers in each company materially difagree; the "Plotts" themfelves are

6

6 No. I. The dead Man's Fortune.

1. Burbage. 2. Darlowe, 3. Robert Lee. 4. B. Sam.

man.

5. Tyre

Not one of the foregoing names occurs in the two following

dramas.

No. II. Tamar. Cam.

1. Allen. * 2. Dick Jubie. * 3. Mr. Towne. * 4. Mr. Sam.* 5. Mr. Charles.* 6. W. Cartwright. 7. Mr. Denyghten. 8. Tho. Marbeck. 9. W. Part. 10. Tho. Parfons. 11. George. 12. H. Jeffs. 13. A. Jeffs. 14. Mr. Burne. 15. Mr. Singer. + 16. Jack Jones. 17. Jack Gregory. 18. Mr. Denyghten's little Boy. dion. 20. Gibbs. 21. Little Will. 22. Tho. Rowley. 23. Refter. 24. Old Browne. 25. Ned Browne. 26. Jeames. 27. Gil's Boy. 28. Will. Barne. 29. The red-faced fellow.

19. Ge

+ Singer.] Perhaps he was author of a dramatick entertainment entitled Singer's Voluntary See p. 398.

Other memoranda of feveral of thefe actors, will be found in preceding pages, among Mr. Malone's notes to his Additions.

STEEVENS.

written out in very different hands; and (though the remark may feem inconfiderable) their apertures are adapted to pegs of very different dimenfions. See the second paragraph in p. 411.

No. III. Frederick and Bafilea.

STEEVENS.

1. Richard Allen.* 2. Dick Jubie.* 3. Mr. Towne.* 4. Mr. Sam. 5. Mr. Charles.* 6. Dick. 7. Black Dick. 8 Mr. Dunstan.

9. Griffen. 10. Tho. Hunt. 11. Will. 12. Mr. Martyn. 13. Ed.

Dutton. 14. Ledbeter. 15. Pigg. 16. E. Dutton's Boy.

The plays No. II. and III. have no performers in common, except fuch as are diftinguished by afterifks. STEEVENS.

Mufique.

kfpeare alludes to this perfonage, as habited time. STEEVENS.

Burbage.] Of the three Plotts this appears, circumftances, to be the moft ancient: and rbage here introduced was meant the celedian of that name, he muft have acted in the y before he had rifen to excellence, or he ely have condefcended to perform so trivial as that of a Meffenger. As the MS. however, ny ftops for our guides, it is not always eafy the precife arrangement it was defigned to STEEVENS.