and exemplify their influence on human fate; "Penelopes web,"
1587, containing a succession of short stories; "Perimedes," 1588,
imitated from Boccaccio; "Pandosto," a tale of Bohemian and Sicilian
kings and shepherds, which had an immense success, much greater
according to appearances than the exquisite drama of a "Winter's Tale,"
that Shakespeare drew from it. "Alcida," a story of the metamorphosis of
three young love-stricken princesses of an island "under the pole
antartike," was apparently published in the same year; "Menaphon," a
charming pastoral tale, appeared in 1589, and several others followed.
His popularity was soon considerable; his books were in all the shops;
several went through an extraordinary number of editions; his name was
better known than any: "I became," says he, "an author of playes, and a
penner of love pamphlets, so that I soone grew famous in that qualitie,"
and who then "for that trade" was there "so ordinarie about London as
_Robin Greene_?"[113]

As for his beginning to write plays, he has left a lively account of the
casual meeting which led to his becoming attached to a company of
players and to be for a time their playwright in ordinary. It was at a
moment when his purse was empty; for as he quaintly puts it in one of
his stories: "so long went the pot to the water, that at last it came
broken home; and so long put he his hand into his purse that at last the
emptie bottome returned him a writt of _non est inventus_; for well
might the divell dance there for ever a crosse to keepe him backe."[114]
In this difficulty he met by chance a brilliantly dressed fellow who
seemed to be a cavalier, and happened to be a player. It is a well-known
fact that if scenery was scanty in Elizabethan play-houses, the players'
dresses were very costly, and if need there was, this would be an
additional proof that no monetary consideration would have induced the
young man who played, for example, the part of Shakespeare's Cleopatra,
to appear in less than queenly ruffs and farthingales, such as Rogers
has represented in his portrait of Elizabeth.

"What is your profession? said Roberto [that is, Robert Greene].[115]

"Truely, sir, said he, I am a player.

"A player, quoth Roberto; I tooke you rather for a gentleman of great
living, for if by outward habit men should be censured, I tell you, you
woud be taken for a substantiall man.

"So am I, where I dwell, quoth the player, reputed able at my proper