deny that an unblushing act of mere piracy seemed
to have been committed, of which I never could bring myself to believe
that Shakspeare had been guilty. The readiness to impute this act to
him was to me but an instance of the unworthy manner in which he had
almost universally been treated; and, without at the time having any
suspicion of what I now take to be the fact, {346} I determined, if
possible, to find it out. The first question I put to myself was, Had
Shakspeare himself any concern in the older play? A second glance
at the work sufficed for an answer in the negative. I next asked
myself on what authority we called it an "older" play. The answer I
found myself obliged to give was, greatly to my own surprise, On no
authority whatever! But there was still a difficulty in conceiving
how, with Shakspeare's work before him, so unscrupulous an imitator
should have made so poor an imitation. I should not have felt this
difficulty had I then recollected that the play in question was not
published; but, as the case stood, I carefully examined the two plays
together, especially those passages which were identical, or nearly
so, in both, and noted, in these cases, the minutest variations. The
result was, that I satisfied myself that the original conception was
invariably to be found in Shakspeare's play. I have confirmed this
result in a variety of ways, which your space will not allow me to
enter upon; therefore, reserving such circumstances for the present
as require to be enforced by argument, I will content myself with
pointing out certain passages that bear out my view. I must first,
however, remind your readers that while some plays, from their
worthlessness, were never printed, some were withheld from the press
on account of their very value; and of this latter class were the
works of Shakspeare. The late publication of his works created the
impression, not yet quite worn out, of his being a later writer than
many of his contemporaries, solely because their printed works are
dated earlier by twenty or thirty years. But for the obstinate effects
of this impression, it is difficult to conceive how any one could miss
the original invention of Shakspeare in the induction, and such scenes
as that between Grumio and the tailor; the humour of which shines,
even in the feeble reflection of the imitation, in striking contrast
with those comic(?) scenes which are the undisputed invention of the
author of the _Taming of a Shr