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MYSTERY OF AUTHORSHIP.

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sword reared up thus, and with these words, 'What noise is this? Who calls Hieronymo?' May it be done?

Pain. Yea, sir.

Hier. Well, sir, then bring me forth-bring me through alley and alley, still with a distracted countenance going along, and let my hair heave up my night cap. Let the clouds scowl; make the moon dark, the stars extinct, the winds blowing, the bells tolling, the owls shrieking, the toads croaking, the minutes jarring, and the clock striking twelve. And then at last, sir, starting, behold a man hanging, and tottering, and tottering, as you know the wind will wave a man, and with a trice to cut him down. And looking upon him by advantage of my torch, find it to be my son Horatio. There you may show a passion; there you may show a passion. Draw me like old Priam of Troy, crying, 'The house is a-fire, the house is a-fire,' and the torch over my head; make me curse, make me rave, make me cry, make me mad, make me well again; make me curse hell, invocate, and in the end leave me in a trance, and so forth.

Pain. And is this the end?

Hier. O no, there is no end; the end is death and madness.

And I am never better than when I am mad.

Then methinks, I am a brave fellow;

Then I do wonders; but reason abuseth me ;
And there's the torment, there's the hell.

At last, sir, bring to me one of the murderers;
Were he as strong as Hector,

Thus would I tear and drag him up and down.

[He beats the PAINTER in.

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After all has been said and suggested, impenetrable mystery hangs over the authorship of this scene. Henslowe's Diary and certain allusions to The Spanish Tragedy' in Jonson's comedies, point to Ben Jonson as the writer. But it is almost impossible to conceive that Ben Jonson, if he had composed this scene to order while yet a prentice in the playwright's craft, should have afterwards abandoned a style which he commanded with such gust and passion. How came he to exchange it for that scholastic mannerism

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which, except for the romantic passages of 'The Cas: is Altered,' we discern as second nature in his genius Had Shakspere a hand in these additions? Or was he perhaps, thinking of Hieronymo's hyperbolical retor upon the Painter, when he penned for Hamlet':

I loved Ophelia; forty thousand brothers
Could not with all their quantity of love
Make up my sum?

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Had the author of Titus Andronicus' anything to do with them? Or, in the lunacies of Titus, did he simply imitate and dilute the concentrated frenzy of Hieronymo? Such queries and surmises are idle. But they have at least the effect of keeping vividly before our minds the extraordinary potency of scenes which tempt us to ever new unprofitable guess-work.

CHAPTER XIII.

JOHN LYLY.

I. The Publication of 'Euphues '-Its Two Parts-Outline of the Story.— II. It forms a Series of Short Treatises-Love-Conduct-Education -A Book for Women. III. Its Popularity-The Spread of Euphuism-What we Mean by that Word.-IV. Qualities of Medieval Taste-Allegory - Symbolism - The Bestiaries-Qualities of Early Humanism-Scholastic Subtleties-Petrarchistic Diction-Bad Taste in Italy-Influence of Italian Literature-The Affectation of the Sixteenth Century-Definition of Euphuism-Illustrations.-V. Lyly becomes a Courtier-His Want of Success-The Simplicity of his Dramatic Prose-The Beauty of the Lyrics-The Novelty of his Court-Comedies.-VI. Eight Pieces ascribed to Lyly-Six Played before Elizabeth--The Allegories of their Classic Fables-Endimion' -Its Critique.-VII. 'Midas'-Political Allusions —‘Sapho and Phao-Elizabeth and Leicester'-Details of this Comedy.-VIII. 'Alexander and Campaspe'-Touch upon Greek Story-Diogenes— A Dialogue on Love-The Lyrics.-IX. 'Gallathea '--Its Relation to 'As You Like It'-'Love's Metamorphosis'-Its Relation to Jonson -'Mother Bombie'—'The Woman in the Moon.'-X. Lyly as a Master of his Age-Influence on Shakspere-His Inventions.

I.

In the year 1579 a book appeared in London which was destined to make an epoch in English literary history, and to win for its author fame and fashion almost unparalleled among his contemporaries. This book bore the title of 'Euphues, the Anatomy of Wit.' It was written by John Lyly, a member of Magdalen College, Oxford, Master of Arts, then in his twentyseventh year. In the spring following, a sequel, called 'Euphues, his England,' issued from the press. The

two parts formed one work, conceived and executed after the Italian style of moral dissertation and romantic story. 'Euphues' is, in fact, a collection of essays, tales, letters, and meditative disquisitions, 'sowed,' to use the author's own words, 'here and there like strawberries, not in heaps like hops.' In planning this book Lyly had a clearly didactic intention. It was his purpose to set forth opinions regarding the formation of character by training and experience; to criticise social conduct; to express his views upon love and friendship, religion and philosophy; to discuss the then so favourite topic of foreign travel; and to convey this miscellaneous instruction in a form agreeable to his readers.

The story, with which Lyly interwove his weightier discourses, may be briefly told. The book opens with a minute description of the hero's character and person. Euphues, who is meant to embody the qualities denoted by his Greek name, is an Athenian youth of good fortune, comely presence, and quick parts, somewhat too much given to pleasure. He comes to Naples, where he makes acquaintance with an old man named Eubulus, and a young man called Philautus. Eubulus gives him abundance of good counsel, both as regards the conduct of his life in general and the special dangers he will have to meet in Naples. Euphues receives it kindly, but prefers to buy wisdom by experience, arguing that it ill beseems a young man to rule himself by the precepts of the aged, before he has tasted of life for himself. With Philautus he strikes up a romantic friendship. This new comrade brings him into the society of Lucilla, a Neapolitan lady, to whom Philautus is already paying his addresses with her father's sanc

STORY OF 'EUPHUES?

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tion. In their first interview, Lucilla and Euphues fall in love, each with the other. Euphues tries to conceal his passion from his friend by pretending to admire another woman, Livia; but, in the absence of Philautus, he declares his love to Lucilla, and receives the confession of hers in return. Lucilla, when urged by her father to accept her former suitor, openly avows her new fancy for Euphues. This leads to a rupture between the two friends. But it soon appears that the fickle fair has thrown over Euphues for a fresh adorer, named Curio. Euphues falls into a fever of fury, shame, and disappointed passion. He and Philautus shake hands again, consoling themselves with the reflection that friendship is more stable and more durable than love. Then they separate-Euphues returns to study moral and physical philosophy at Athens ; "Philautus remains to cure himself, as best he can, at Naples. Euphues, in his own university, applies himself with zeal to serious learning, and is soon so strengthened against passion that he writes 'a cooling card for Philautus and all fond lovers.' This he sends his friend, together with a discourse upon the education of young men, a refutation of atheism, and other products of his fruitful brain-in short, epistolary essays. These terminate the first part of the book. In the second, Lyly brings Euphues and Philautus to England. He describes the discourse they held on shipboard, to keep off seasickness and ennui; their landing, and their visit to Fidus, an old bee-master of Kent. Fidus has a longwinded love story, tale within tale, of his own to tell. After hearing this the friends reach London, where Philautus falls in and out of love two or three times,

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