all the minute directions to the property man, without one tenth of such as are necessary to give the reader an idea, of what is absolutely wanted for the understanding of the progress of the scene. Another evidence, if another can be wanting, may be discovered in the Notes: in the two first numbers we have little more than the various readings of the quartos *; whereas the four or five following are absolutely overburthened with them. It must be quite unnecessary, we think, to inform the reader that "coz'ned" means "cheated," (vol. i. p. 206;) that "fond" is sometimes used "foolish," (p. 207 ;) that " to cog" has two meanings, (p. 210;) that "stauch" means "stop," (p. 244;) or to give an explanation of such words as "brewish," (p. 248 ;) "cotton," (p. 256;) gascoyns," (p. 259 ;)"pose," (p. 266;) and this last with two extracts from Chaucer, one from Beaumont and Fletcher, and a reference to Hollingshed; "natural," (p. 269;)" bruited," (p. 274 ;)" giglot," (p. 277) but we will not tire our reader's patience; and to do the editor justice we must confess he has somewhat corrected this minute humour, and began, soon after our last reference, to think it probable that his reader as well as himself might, in their younger days, have had a peep into an old black letter work, written by one Maister Dillworth. This trifling however is principally spent on Lilly; and it may serve as some sort of apology for the editor, that his mind was weakened down by the minute perusal of the milk and water of the original: many of his Notes afterwards exhibit some research, aud throw a light on the manners, customs, superstitions, and particularly the peculiarities of the dress of that age. We must at the same time give it as our opinion, that some few passages are erroneously explained, that some opinions are not sufficiently supported and confirmed, and that some difficulties are passed over without the necessary elucidation. Of the first class the observation of Tellus (vol. ii. p. 38.) might have taught him that his explanation of the word "cammock" (vol. i. p. 214.) was certainly erroneous; and if he had inquired of any " skincker" (which he learnedly explains cupbearer) at any public-house in the neighbourhood of London, he would have learnt, that the plant called "burrage” is referred to by Quadratus, vol. ii. p. 266: again (p. 279.) he explains" ingle" to mean " darling" or " favorite," adding "it is however sometimes used in a much more objectional sense;" when the fact is he has confounded it with the word enghle which differs from it altogether, in derivation, as well as mean

* The first edition of Faustus was certainly never seen by the editor: we speak positively from having collated some pages of that edition.

ing. There is a note also (p. 218.) on dress, the conclusion of which may mislead the reader, if the editor himself was not misled by it:

"I have before mentioned the extravagant adornment of a hatband; gloves and hats were sometimes equally expensive; and if we may take the devil's word for it, they had

"Garters and roses, fourscore pounds a pair."
The Devil is an Ass.

Now the truth is, that Jonson in keeping up the character has made him exaggerate confoundedly; and the editor might ve discovered a more sober elucidation of the passage from .a Stow (who talks of "garters, and shoe-roses of more than five pounds price," and enough in all conscience! On our second assertion, that some want further confirmation and explanation, we may observe, that his note on the Chevalier Bayard does not sufficiently explain the allusion in the text: Bayard, like Hector, was afterwards used as a term of contempt; in proof of this take the following from "The World runs on Wheels," &c. a work by Taylor the Water Poet,

"A rakehell, a makeshift, a scribling fool,

A famous Bayard in citty, and school."

The Note upon "squibs runing upon lines" might have been further, and better elucidated from a stage direction in another play of the same author's: "If it be not a good play the Devil is in it," where Ruffman says

"You shall see

At opening of this hand, a thousand balls,

Of wild fire, flying round about the air-there!

[Fireworks upon lines."

Again, vol. iii. p. 56, Prince Henry's speech to Bardolph when the latter talks of blushing, might have been adduced, "O villain, thou stol'st a cup of sack eighteen years ago, and wert taken with the maner; and ever since thou hast blush'd extempore and (p. 129,) but we speak here from memory, we believe "Prestor John" was not a name "commonly given to the King of India," but to a supposed Christian King in India: and lastly he might have shewn the point of one part of D'Olive's admirable description of the puritanic weaver:

by adducing a similar play on the word from the "Merry Devil of Edmonton," and Massinger's "Duke of Millain."

The

Note

VOL. III. MARCH, 1815.

Note also, p. 257, required all the support that could be brought forward; and though we have no objection to it as it now stands, we are surprised the editor did not produce an evidence so conclusive, and so much within his reach, as the preface prefixed to the Folio of 1647, of Beaumont and Fletcher, when the Stationer, in allusion to "The Wild Goose Chase" supposed lost, concludes "therefore now I put up this Si Quis, that whosoever hereafter happily meets with it shall be thankfully satisfied if he please to send it home." Of the general sense of Shadow's speech, (vol. iii. p. 145,) we confess we have not a much clearer idea than the editor, but he might have found his conjecture confirmed, that the right reading is "pyes" and not pipes," in Middleton's " Any Thing for a Quiet Life,” where old Frank says, in allusion to George's mistress, "I have heard she's a terrible woman;" to which George replies, "Yes, and the miserablest! her sparing in house-keeping has cost him somewhat, the dagger-pyes can testify." In confirmation of the last assertion, that some difficulties are passed over altogether without elucidation, we shall produce the following from "What you Will," (vol. ii. p. 248,) where Lampatho observes

"Now is my fury mounted! fix your eyes,

Intend your senses, bend your listening up,
For I'll make greatness quake.”

It is evident that "intend" is here used in a peculiar sense. It was not however uncommon at that time, as he might have shewn by a reference to "The Four Prentices of London," (Act I. Sc. I. ;)" The Poetaster," of Ben Jonson, (Act. I. Sc. I. ;) and Massinger's "Emperor of the East," (Act. I. Sc. I.) The same may be observed of the word" purchase," in Bidet's speech in the same play, (p. 282;) "Thou shalt loose thy share for it in our purchase," where it means the spoil about to be got by the fraud practised on Simplicius. It is commonly used In this sense by the dramatic writers of the age; see Bartholomew Fair, (Act. H. Se. I.;) The Alchemist, (Act. IV. Sc. VII. ;) The Second part of the Honest Whore, a Mad World; my Masters and Green in his Notable discovery of Cozenage, where he observes, on "Cony Catching Law," (Sign E. 3,) that "the money that is won," is called " the pur chuse." We have now done with this division of the work, and we believe we have satisfactorily proved our assertions: we will not however mislead, our readers; these are almost things of course in publications of this nature; and we are willing in jus tice to give the editor praise for his notes, which generally do him great credit.

There remains for us now only to speak of the biographical

notices

notices prefixed to the plays of each author: on this subject the editor justly observes in his life of Marston, that "biography was so little attended to in the reign of Elizabeth, that it would be in vain to seek among contemporary writers for a connected life of a dramatic author; a few sentences scattered by accident must alone repay the labours of research :" this is all very true; but we trust the editor does not intend to tell us that he has generally bestowed much research on this portion of the work at least; nor can he mean that research is useless; for on this very life of Marston he certainly has bestowed some pains, and though he has added very little to our previous stock of knowledge, he has removed a huge mass of error that disfigured it. It cannot however be expected, that we should review each life separately. To take the first as a specimen of the whole will abridge our labours, and will do the editor full justice as it may be considered altogether the best. In the enumeration of the few passages relating to Marlow to be found in the writings of his contemporaries, we certainly expected to have found the following from the Return from Parnassus, an anonymous play, acted by the Students of St. John's College, Cainbridge.

"Jud. Marlow was happy in his buskine muse,
Alas! unhappy in his life, and end;

Pity it is, that wit so ill should dwell,

Wit lent from heaven, but vices sent from hell.
"Ing. Our Theatres have lost, Pluto hath got,
A Tragick penman for a dreary plot."

Gabriel Harvey too, in his "Four Letters and certain Sonnets," &c. 1592, has the following allusion,

"Thou Green were a Julian, and Marlow a Lucian."

and from the date of that pamphlet we are inclined to believe that Marlow died before 1592. Upon the subject of his death some minute particulars might have been collected from "The Golden Grove," by W. Vaughan, 1608; and Mr. D'Israeli in his Calamities of Authors, observing upon the personal courage of Ben Jonson, writes, "another time he [Ben Jonson] killed his man in a fray; and this, as Sir Egerton Bridges notices, in one of those curious volumes, of which only a few copies issue from his private press, was Marlow the poet." When Mr. D'Israeli was writing this we wish he had informed us in which of the curious volumes the information might be found; we do not recollect it, but the opinion will receive strong confirmation from a passage in the Satiro-mastix of Dekker, where Tucca says to Horace (under which name it is almost unnecessary to inform the reader Jonson was satirised.) "Art not famous

U 2

enough

enough vet, my mad Horastratus, for killing a player, but you must eat men alive?" In the list of Marlow's works also the editor might have inserted the following extract from the books of the Stationers Company: " Lucan's first booke of the famous cvill warr betwixt Pompey and Cæsar. Englished by Christopher Marlow."

The encreasing interest shewn by the public of late years, towards the literature of the reign of Elizabeth, and our own veneration for it, incline us to give immediate attention to any work tending to facilitate, and enlarge our general knowledge on the subject, and notwithstanding the imperfections of the present publication which our duty has compelled us to point out, we cannot conclude without assuring the reader it has many good points to counterbalance them, and returning our sincere thanks to the editor for having undertaken it.

ART. VI. Researches into the Physical History of Man, by J. Cowles Prichard, M. D. &c. 8vo. 560 pp. 15s.

Arch. 1813.

THE nature and causes of the physical varieties which appear in the frame and constitution of MAN, are indeed both a curious and an interesting subject of enquiry; but these, like all other specuJations, which cannot be brought to any reasonable conclusion, nor can be made to serve any purpose of practical utility, are too apt to be frittered down into hypothetical theories, and wire-drawn conceits. The cause of Dr. Prichard entering so deeply into these enquiries was neither idle amusement, nor impotent curio sity, but a desire to reconcile in his own mind, the history contained in the books of Moses, with the phenomena displayed in the natural world by the diversified characteristics of the several races of mankind. So far all is well. Against the latter sentence, however, of the preface, we must enter a very strong protest.

"In the course of this essay I have maintained the opinion that all mankind constitute but one race or proceed from a single family, but I am far from wishing to interest any religious predilections in favour of my conclusions. On the contrary I am ready to admit, and shall be glad to believe, if it can be made to appear, that the truth of the Scriptures is not involved in the decision of this question. I have made no reference to the writings of Moses, except with relation to events concerning which the authority of those most ancient records may be received as common historical sestimony, being aware that one class of persons would refuse to