these tales has no better foundation than the vanity of our degener Neoptolemus, (see Vol. III. p. 344.) * and the latter originates from modern conje&ure. The present age will probably allow the vintner's ivy to Sir William, but with equal justice will withhold from him the poet's bays. - To his pretensions of descent from Shakspearé, one might almost be induced to apply a ludicrous passage uttered by Fielding's Phaeton in the Suds :

by all the parish boys I'm flamm’d: " You the sun's son, you rascal! you be ded."

About the time when this pi&ure found its way into Mr. Keck's hands,t the verification of portraits

was so little attended to, that both the Earl of Oxford, and Mr. Pope, admitted a juvenile one of King James I. as that of Shakspeare.* Among the heads of illustrious persons engraved by Houbraken, are feveral imaginary ones, beside Ben Jonson's and Otway's; and old Mr. Langford positively asserted that, in the same collection, the grandfather of Cock the auctioneer had the honour to personate the great and amiable Thurloe, secretary of state to Oliver Cromwell.

From the price of forty guineas paid for the supposed portrait of our author to Mrs. Barry, the real value of it should not be inferred. The poffeffion of somewhat more animated than canvas, might have been included, though not specified, in a.. bargain with an actress of acknowledged gallantry.

Yet allowing this to be a mere fanciful infinuation, a rich man does not easily miss what he is ambitious to find. At least he may be persuaded he has found it, a circumstance which, as far as it

affects his own content, will answer, for a while, the same purpose. Thus the late Mr. Jennens of Gopsal in Leicestershire, for many years congratulated himself as owner of another genuine portrait of Shakspeare, and by Cornelius Jansen; nor was disposed to forgive the writer who observed that, being dated in 1610. it could not have been the work of an artist who never saw England till 1618. above a year after our author's death.

So ready, however, are interested people in aslifting credulous ones to impose on themselves, that we will venture to predict, - if some opulent dupe to the flimsy artifice of Chatterton, should advertise a considerable sum of money for a portrait of the Pseudo-Rowley, such a desideratum would soon emerge from the tutelary crypts of St. Mary Redcliff at Bristol, or a hitherto unlıeard of repository in the tomb of Syr Thybbot Gorges at Wraxal.* It would also come attested as a strong likeness of our archæo

logical bard, on the faith of a parchment exhibiting the hand and seal of the dygne Master Wyllyam Canynge, setting forth that Mayster Thomas Rowlie was so entyrely and paslynge wele belovyd of himself, or our poetick knight, that one or the other causyd hys semblaunce to be ryght conynglye depeynčten on a merveillouse fayre table of wood, and ensevelyd wyth hym, that deth mote theym not clene departyn and putte afunder. - A similar imposition, however, would in vain be attempted on the editors of Shakspeare, who, with all the zeal of Rowleiaus, are happily exempt from their credulity.

A former plate of our author, which was copied from Martin Droeshout's in the title-page to the folio 1623. is worn out; nor does so “abominable an imitation of humanity” deserve to be restored. The smaller head, prefixed to the Poems in 1640.* is merely a reduced and reversed copy by Marshall from its predecessor, with a few flight changes in attitude and dress. We boast therefore of no exterior ornaments,t except those of better print

I

gross for even these gentlemen to swallow._Mr. Barrett, however, in the yeer 1776 assured Mr. Tyrwhitt aud Mr. Steevens, that he received the aforesaid scrawl of Canynge from Charterion, who described it as having been found in the prolifick chest secured by six, or fix-andtwenty keys, no matter which.

See Vol. I. p. 33. # They who wish for decorations adapted to this edition of Shake speare, will find them in Silvester Harding's Portraits and Views, &c. &c. (appropriated to the whole suite of our author's Historical Dramas, &c.) published in thirty numbers.

and paper than have hitherto been allotted to any octavo edition of Shakspeare.

Justice nevertheless requires us to subjoin, that had an undoubted picture of our author been attainable, the Booksellers would most readily have paid for the best engraving from it that could have been produced by the most skilful of our modern artifis; but it is idle to be at the charge of perpetuating illufions : and who shall offer to point out, among the numerous prints of Shakspeare, any one that is more like him than the rest ?

The play of Pericles has been added to this collection, by the advice of Dr. Farmer. To make room for it Titus Andronicus might have been omitted; but our proprietors are of opinion that some ancient prejudices in its favour may fill exist, and for that reason only it is preserved.

We have not reprinted the Sonnets, &c. of Shakspeare, because the strongest act of Parliament that could be framed, would fail to compel readers into their service ; notwithsanding these miscellaneous Poems have derived every poslible advantage from the literature and judgement of their only intelligent editor, Mr. Malone, whose implements of criticism, like the ivory rake and golden spade in Prudentius, are on this occasion disgraced by the objects of their culture. - Had Shakspeare produced

no other works than there, his name would have reached us with as little celebrity as time has