Italian book, intitl'd-Il Pecorone: the author of which calls himself, --Ser Giovanni Fiorentino; and writ his book, as he tells you in fome humourous verses at the beginning of it, in 1378, three years after the death of Boccace: it is divided into giornata's, and the story we are speaking of is in the first novel of the giornata quarta ; edit. 1565, octavo, in Vinegia. This novel Shakspeare certainly read; either in the original, or (which I rather think) in some translation that is not now met with, and form’d his play upon it. It was translated a-new, and made publick in 1755, in a small octavo pamphlet, printed for M. Cooper : and, at the end of it, a novel of Boccace: (the first of day the tenth) which, as the translator rightly judges, might possibly produce the scene of the caskets, substituted by the poet in place of one in the other novel, that was not proper for the stage.

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Merry Wives of Windsor. Queen Elizabeth,” says a writer of Shakspeare's life, was so well pleas'd with that adinirable cha+ racter of Falstaff, in the two parts of Henry the Fourth, that she commanded him to continue it for one play more, and to shew him in love.

This is said to be the occasion of his writing The Merry Wives of Windfor.” As there is no proof brought for the truth of this story, we may conclude — that it is either some playhouse tradition, or had its rise from Sir William D'Avenant, whose authority the writer quotes for another fingular anecdote, relating to lord Southampton. Be this as it may; Shak

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speare, in the conduct of Falstaff's love-adventures, made use of some incidents in a book that has been mention'd before, callid - Il Pecorone; they are in the second novel of that book. It is highly probable, that this novel likewise is in an old English dress somewhere or other; and from thence tranfplanted into a foolish book call d— The fortunate, the deceiv’d, and the unfortunate Lovers ; printed in 1685, octavo, for William Whittwood; where the reader may see it at p. 1. Let me add too, that there is a like story in the —"Piacevoli Notti, di Straparola, libro primo ; at Notte quarta, Favola quarta; edit. 1567, octavo, in Vinegia.

Midsummer Night's Dream.

The history of our old poets is so little known, and the first editions of their works become so very scarce, that it is hard pronouncing any thing certain about them: but, if that pretty fantastical poem of Drayton's, callid-Nymphidia, or The Court of Fairy, be early enough in time, (as, I believe, it is; for I have seen an edition of that author's pastorals, printed in 1593, quarto,) it is not improbable, that Shakspeare took from thence the hint of his fairies : a line of that poem, “Thorough bush, thorough briar," occurs also in his play. The rest of the play is, doubtless, invention: the names only of Theseus, Hippolita, and Theseus' former loves, Antiopa and others, being historical; and taken from the translated Plutarch, in the articleTheseus.

Much Ado about Nothing.

"Timbree de Cardonne devient amoureux à Messine de Fenicie Leonati, & des divers, & estranges accidens qui advindrent avant qui'l l'espousast.”—is the title of another novel in the Hisoires Tragiques of Belleforest; Tom. 3, Hist. 18: it is taken from one of Bandello's, which you may see in his first tome, at p. 150, of the London edition in quarto, a copy from that of Lucca in 1554. This French novel comes the nearest to the fable of Much Ado about Nothing, of any thing that has yet been discovered, and is, (perhaps) the foundation of it. There is a story something like it in the fifth book of Orlando Furioso: (v. Sir John Harrington's translation of it, edit. 1591, folio) and another in Spencer's Fairy Queen.

Othello.“

Cinthio, the best of the Italian writers next to Boccace, has a novel thus intitl'd:-“Un Capitano Moro piglia per mogliera una cittadina venetiana, un suo Alfiere l'accusa di adulterio al [read, il, with a colon after -- adulterio] Marito, cerca, che l'Alfiere uccida colui, ch'egli, credea l’Adultero, il capitano uccide la Moglie, è accusato dallo Alfiere, non confessa il Moro, ma essendovi chiari inditii, è bandito, E lo fcelerato Alfiere, credendo nuocere ad altri, procaccia à fe la morte miseramente.” Hecatommithi, Dec. 3, Nov. 2; edit. 1565, 2 tomes, octavo. If there was no translation of this novel, French or English; nor any thing built upon it, either in prose or verse, near

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enough in time for Shakspeare to take his Othello from them; we must, I think, conclude that he had it from the Italian; for the story (at least, in all it's main circumstances) is apparently the same.

Romeo and Juliet,

This very affecting story is likewise a true one; it made a great noise at the time it happen'd, and was soon taken up by poets and novel-writers. Bandello has one; it is the ninth of tome the fecond; and there is another, and much better, left us by some anonymous writer; of which I have an edition, printed in 1553 aţ Venice, one year before Bandello, which yet was not the first. Some small time after, Pierre Boisteau, a French writer, put out one upon the same subject, taken from these Italians, but much alter'd and enlarg'd: this novel, together with five others of Boisteau's penning, Belleforest took; and they now. stand at the beginning of his Histoires Tragiques, edition beforemention d. But it had some prior edition; which falling into the hands of a countryman of ours, he converted it into a poem; altering, and adding many things to it of his own, and publish'd it in 1562, without a name, in a small octavo volume, printed by Richard Tottill; and this poem, which is call'd — The Tragical Hisorie of Romeus and Juliet, is the origin of Shakspeare's play: who not only follows it even minutely in the conduct of his fable, and that in those places where it differs from the other writers; but nas also borrow'd from it some few thoughts, and expressions. At the end of a small poetical miscellany, publish'd by one George Tur

berville in 1570, there is a poem-"On the death of Maister Arthur Brooke drownde in passing to New-haven;" in which it appears, that this gentleman, (who, it is likely, was a military man,) was the writer

of Romeus and Juliet. In the second tome of The Palace of Pleasure, (Nov. 25. } there is a profe translation of Boisteau's novel; but Shakspeare made no use of it.

Taming of the Shrew. Nothing has yet been produc'd that is likely to have given the poet occasion for writing this play, neither has it (in truth) the air of a novel, so that we may reasonably suppose it a work of invention; that part of it, I mean, which gives it it's title. For one of it's underwalks, or plots --- to wit, the story of Lucentio, in almost all it's branches, (his love-affair, and the artificial conduct of it: the pleasant incident of the Pedant; and the chara&ters . of Vincentio, Tranio, Gremio, and Biondello,) is form'd upon a comedy of George Gascoigne's, callid ---Supposes, a translation from Ariosto's I supposti: which comedy was acted by the gentlemen of Grey's-Inn in 1566; and may be seen in the - translator's works, of which there are several old

editions: and the odd induction of this play is taken from Goulart's Histoires admirables de notre Temps; who relates it as a real fact practis d upon a mean artisan at Brussels by Philip the good, duke of Burgundy Goulart was translated into

, English, by one Edw. Grimeston: the edition I have of it, was printed in 1607, quarto, by George Eld; where this story may be found at p. 587: but, for any thing that there appears to the contrary, the book might have been printed before.