t
d'Amour"[134] of Louise Labe, to imitate (as he thought) Cicero's style,
while describing (as he thought) the great orator's loves,[135] his turn
of mind was as little critical as can be imagined, and his wide
popularity served to spread geographical and historical absurdities,
some of which were preserved by Shakespeare himself, for the amusement
of a learned posterity. Greene's picture of Ulysses' Penelope is not
more Greek than the exquisite painting by Pinturicchio at the National
Gallery, where the wise king of Ithaca appears under the guise of a
red-hosed Italian youth with flowing hair; while his wife sits at her
"web" in a Florentine blue dress. In Greene, Penelope is represented
telling stories to while away the time, which, unless we endow her with
a prophetical gift, are impossibilities. Her first story begins thus:
"Saladyne the Souldan of AEgipt, who by his prowesse had made a generall
conquest of the south-east part of ye world tooke to wife Barmenissa,
the onely daughter and heire of the great chan." No wonder that such
tales could chain the attention and awaken the curiosity of her maids,
and keep them quiet till the time when "a messenger came hastily rushing
in, who tolde Penelope that Ulisses was arryved that night within the
port of Ithaca.... Penelope called for her sonne and that night sent him
post to the sea."[136]

Not less wonderful are the stories of "Arbasto," King of Denmark, or of
"Pandosto," King of Bohemia. They may be taken as typical specimens of
the sort of romantic novel the Elizabethan public enjoyed, and which was
sure to make an author popular. We must remember when reading these
tales that they were the fashion, the craze, at a time when "Midsummer
Night's Dream" and "Romeo and Juliet" were being played. Chaotic,
improbable, and in some parts ridiculous as they appear to us, they
would have made their author wealthy if anything could, so much so that,
as we have seen, the publishers, according to Nash, considered
themselves "blest to pay Greene deare for the very dregs of his wit." He
was, if anything, an author that sold. What were his wares?

In "Arbasto" Greene represents himself reaching in his travels the
island of Candia. He meets in a cell a solitary old man, and without any
ceremony makes bold to ask him for his story. The old man is at first
somewhat shocked at this inquisitiveness, and gets very angry; but he
grows calmer and complies. He is Arbasto, late King of Denm