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the Naile o’the Head—The Marriage of Wit and Wiſdom—Sir Thomas More—{Harl. Mſ. 7368) The Iſle of Dogs, by Thomas Naſhe—The comedy of Fidele and Fortunatus—The famous tragedy of The Deſtruction of Jeruſalem, by Dr. Legge—The Freeman’s Honour, by William Smith—Mahomet and Irene the Faire Greek—The Play of the Cards—Cardenio—The Knaves—The Knot of Fools—Raymond Duke of Lyons—The Nobleman, by Cyril Tourneur—[the five laſt, acted in the year 1613] The honoured Loves—The Parliament of Love—and Nonſuch, a comedy; all by William Rowley—The Pilgrimage to Parnaſſus, by the author of the Return from Parnaſſus—Believe as you Liſ, by Maſſinger—The Pirate, by Davenport—Roſania or Love’s Victory, a comedy by Shirley, (ſome of whoſe plays were extant in Mſ. in Langbaine’s time)—The Twins, a tragedy, acted in 1613—Tancredo, a tragedy, by Sir Henry Wotton—Demetrius and Marſina, or the imperial Impoſtor and unhappy Heroine, a tragedy—The Tyrant, a tragedy—The Queen of Corſica—The Bugbears—The Second Maid’s Tragedy—Timon, a comedy, &c. &c. Soon after the Reſtoration, one Kirkman a bookſeller, printed many dramatick pieces that had remained unpubliſhed for more than ſixty years; and in an advertiſement ſubjoined to “ A true, perfect, and exact catalogue of all the comedies, tragedies, &c. that were ever yet printed and publiſhed, till this preſent year 1671,” he ſays, that although there were, at that time, but eight hundred and ſix plays in print, yet many more had been written and acted, and that “ he himſelf had ſome quantity in manuſcript.”—The reſemblance between Macbeth and this newly diſcovered piece by Middleton, naturally ſuggeſts a wiſh, that if any of the unpubliſhed plays, above enumerated, be yet in being, (beſides Timon and Sir Thomas More, which are known to be extant) their poſſeſſors would condeſcend to examine them with attention; as hence, perhaps, new lights might be thrown on others of our author’s plays.
35. The Taming of the Shrew, 1606.
The Taming of the Shrew, which, together with Romeo and Juliet, and Love’s Labour Loſt was entered at Stationers’ hall by Nich. Ling, Jan. 22, 1606—7, was not, I believe, Shakſpeare’s play, but the old comedy of the ſame name, on which our author’s piece was manifeſtly formed. Nich. Ling never printed either Romeo and Juliet, or Love’s Labour Loſt; though in the books of the Stationers’ company they were entered by him. The old Taming of the Shrew, which
