out in 1621 a volume of "Courtly Masquing
Ayres," but published nothing later,--although, of course, he may have
continued writing long afterwards. Hawkins and Mr. Chappell are
altogether silent about Adson's achievements.

Gerard Langbaine tells us that Shirley left at his death some plays in
manuscript: I have little doubt, or rather no doubt at all, that Captain
_Underwit_ is one of them. In the notes I have pointed out several
parallelisms to passages in Shirley's plays; and occasionally we find
actual repetitions, word for word. But apart from these strong proofs,
it would be plain from internal evidence that the present piece is a
domestic comedy of Shirley's, written in close imitation of Ben Jonson.
All the characters are old acquaintances. Sir Richard Huntlove, who
longs to be among his own tenants and eat his own beef in the country;
his lady, who loves the pleasures of the town, balls in the Strand, and
masques; Device, the fantastic gallant,--these are well-known figures in
Shirley's plays. No other playwright of that day could have given us
such exquisite poetry as we find in Captain _Underwit_. The briskness,
too, and cleverness of the dialogue closely recall Shirley; but it must
be owned that there are few plays of Shirley's written with such
freedom, not to say grossness.

[CAPTAIN UNDERWIT, A COMEDY.]

_Act the First_.

_Enter Captaine Underwit and his man Thomas_.

_Un_. Come, my man _Thomas_, and my fathers old man _Thomas_; reioyce,
I say, and triumph: thy Master is honourable.

_Tho_. Then wee are all made.

_Un_. No, tis only I am made.

_Tho_. What, and please your worship?

_Un_. I am made a Captaine of the traind band,[214] _Thomas_, and this
is my Commission, this very paper hath made me a Captaine.

_Tho_. Are you a paper Captaine, Sir? I thought more had gone to the
makeing up of a Captaine.

_Un_. They are fooles that thinke so, provided he have the favour of the
Livetenant of the County.

_Tho_. Which it seemes you have.

_Un_. The honour of it is more then the thing, _Thomas_, since I did
not bribe the Secretarys steward or what servant else so ever hath the
government of his Lordship therein.

_Tho_. This is very strange.

_Un_. Not so much as transitorie wicker bottles to his Deputy
Livetenant, no fewell for his winter, no carriages for his summer, no
steple sugarloaves to sweeten his neighbours at Christmas, no robbing my
brave tennants of their fatt