considerable portion of the MS. Lear. In the title-page, the great bard professes to have taken the story from Holingshed, and has, in the true spirit of modesty, apologised for the liberty he took in departing from the exact statements of the Chronicle.-There is a letter from Queen Elizabeth to Shakspeare, when the poet was manager of the Globe, commanding him, with his best players, to perform before her, and thanking him for some verses which her majesty much admired.-We think it will be clearly proved that all the degrading nonsense, of his holding horses, &c. will be found utterly fictitious, and that this great man was the Garrick of his age, caressed for his powers by every one great and illustrious, the gentle friend of genius, and most excellent in the quality he professed.'"

"On the 23rd of April, this paragraph appeared :—

"The Shaksperiana, which have been so luckily discovered, are now considered as genuine by all but those who illiberally refuse to be convinced by inspection." "

In pages 44 and 45, in order to expose the wonderful change so speedily effected in Mr. Boaden's opinions, Mr. Wy*tt contrasts his sentiments on the papers of the two different periods named in the title.

lord Southampton, reflecting once perceives the modern coimmortal honour on the bounty louring of diction and flow of the one, and the modesty of language.' Page 42.”

"Of Mr. Wy*tt's pamphlet I shall only further add, that it was at the time deemed a very spirited defence, and proved highly gratifying to every advocate for the validity of the Shaksperian manu-. scripts."

At page 102, Mr. Boaden observes, "It is not incurious, that Mr. Steevens should have allowed

my friend, Mr. G. Nicol, to purchase the head from Mr. Felton at forty guineas, rather than secure it at any price for himself; he was not much in the habit of weighing money against peculiar gratifications; but, in this instance, he chose to retain merely a copy of it, made for him by the late Josiah Boydell, Esq. a man whom to name, is praise enough. That artist worked upon it, until no discoverable difference remained; and the fac-simile was before Mr. Steevens constantly till he died.”

In consequence of the above misconception, I requested Mr. Nicol to inform me the reason, that Mr. Steevens did not purchase the picture of Mr. Felton; to which he answered, "At the time Mr. Boydell made the copy from it, which Mr. Steevens afterwards possessed, Mr. Felton was not inclined to part with the original, but, as I expressed a wish to possess it, I was induced to offer the sum of forty guineas, which he accepted, and what I certainly should not have given, did I not think it the most genuine portrait of Shakspeare." As to Mr. Boaden's remarks, that "the fac-simile was before Mr. Steevens constantly till he died," I think is sufficient confirmation, that, that gentleman believed the original, was a genuine portrait of the bard; and is surely a complete answer to the story told by Mr. Boswell, of his (Mr. Steevens's) smile, upon Mr. Bindley's attesting its authenticity, (see

page 101 of Boaden's,) and (at page 100,) he asserts, "Mr Steevens inferred, that all who subscribed to Trotter's engraving from it, were sincere believers, a matter to which I myself can give a decided negative; many subscribed, who only wished it genuine." After what is here said, it is singular to perceive in the list of subscribers to the above print, Mr. Boaden's name is among them, and which is rather evident, that at one time his opinions was opposite to his present arguments. Setting aside the opinions of Mr. Boaden, as to the validity of the Felton picture, I do think, that the ignominy he has attempted to throw on the good character of Mr. Steevens, (page 102,) is both ungenerous and unfeeling, as the man is dead.* "His having heard also, various tales of the wanton pleasantries of this ingenious person," (among friends,) as to stile him "the puck of commentators," has aught to do with what that gentleman gave to the world, as his belief, for to establish truth, was the basis of his intentions, there can be no doubt.

Having gone over the whole of Mr. Boaden's

* Dr. Johnson says, "the dead, it is true, can make no resistance; they may be attached with great security; but, since they can neither feel, nor mend, the safety of mauling them seems greater than the pleasure. Nor, perhaps, would it much misbeseem them to remember, that amidst all our triumphs over the nonsensical and the senseless, that we likewise are men," and as Swift observed to Burnet, "shall soon be among the dead ourselves."

M

statements, I have selected those parts to comment upon, principally connected with my main object, (the Felton picture,) and flatter myself to have produced such evidence, as must prove, to demonstration, its originality beyond the shadow of a doubt, as the initials and date on the back, records it to have been done by Richard Burbage, when the poet was in the thirty-third year of his age, and in mourning for his only son, who died at the age of twelve, and this being supported by the account given by Granger, that Burbage had painted a picture of the poet, is to be credited, as the verses by John Davies, of Hereford, clearly prove he handled the pencil, within eight years after the date on the above portrait, and which I think is sufficient evidence, to set it down as the original of Shakspeare, by that celebrated performer, and must be considered one of the most valuable gems in the world.