. Frank. Oh! that my example

Might teach the world hereafter what a curse
Hangs on their heads, who rather choose to marry
A goodly portion than a dower of virtues!-
Are you there, gentlemen? there is not one
Amongst you whom I have not wrong'd; you
[To CARTER.
I robb'd you of a daughter;-but she is
In heaven; and I must suffer for it willingly.

most,

Car. Ay, ay, she's in heaven, and I am glad to see thee so well prepared to follow her. I forgive thee with all my heart; if thou hadst not had ill counsel, thou would'st not have done as thou didst; the more shame for them!

Som. Spare your excuse to me, I do conceive What you would speak; I would you could as easily

Make satisfaction to the law, as to

My wrongs: I am sorry for you.

War. And so am I,

And heartily forgive you.

Kath. I will pray for you,

For her sake, who, I'm sure, did love you dearly. Sir Ar. Let us part friendly too; I am asham'd Of my part in thy wrongs.

Frank. You are all merciful,

And send me to my grave in peace. Sir Arthur, Heaven send you a new heart!-lastly, to you,

sir;

And though I have deserv'd not to be call'd

Your son, yet give me leave upon my knees,

To beg a blessing.

Thor. Take it; let me wet

[Kneels.

Thy cheeks with the last tears my griefs have left

me.

O Frank, Frank, Frank!

you;

Frank. Let me beseech you, gentlemen,
To comfort my old father, keep him with
Love this distressed widow; and as often
As
you remember what a graceless man
I was, remember likewise that these are
Both free, both worthy of a better fate,
Than such a son or husband as I have been.

All help me with your prayers. On, on; 'tis

just

lust.

That law should purge the guilt of blood and [He is led off by the Officers. Cur. Go thy ways; I did not think to have shed one tear for thee, but thou hast made me water my plants spite of my heart. Master Thorney, cheer up man; whilst I can stand by you, you shall not want help to keep you from falling: we have lost our children both on's the wrong way, but we cannot help it; better or worse, 'tis now as 'tis.

Thor. I thank you, sir; you are more kind than I Have cause to hope or look for.

Car. Master Somerton, is Kate yours or no? Som. We are agreed.

Kath. And but my faith is pass'd, I should fear

to be married, husbands are so cruelly unkind. Excuse me that I am troubled.

Som. Thou shalt have no cause.

Just. Take comfort, mistress Winnifrede. Sir
Arthur,

For his abuse to you and to your husband,
Is by the bench enjoin'd to pay you down
A thousand marks.

Sir Ar. Which I will soon discharge.

Win. Sir, 'tis too great a sum to be employ'd Upon my funeral.

Car. Come, come; if luck had serv'd, Sir Arthur, and every man had his due, somebody might have tottered ere this, without paying fines; like it as you list. Come to me, Winnifrede, shalt be welcome. Make much of her, Kate, I charge you; I do not think but she's a good wench, and hath had wrong as well as we. So let's every man home to Edmonton with heavy hearts, yet as merry as we can, though not as we would.

Just. Join friends in sorrow; make of all the

best:

Harms past may be lamented, not redrest.

[Exeunt.

In the title-page of this drama the name of Ford is placed after those of his coadjutors, Rowley and Decker. It seems to have been a trick of the trade, in their distress, to accumulate a number of names in the title-page, to catch as many readers as possible; and Rowley's was deservedly a very marketable name.

Not

content with the trio, they add after Ford, an &c. With these we need not meddle, and I presume, we may venture to dismiss Rowley, with the allowance of an occasional passage, since the drama seems fairly to divide itself between the other two, whose style is well understood, and here strongly marked.

It is very easy to sneer at the supernatural portions of this play; and it is done with exquisite justice by those who run night after night to witness the deviltries of Faust and the Freischutz, a thousand times more contemptible and absurd than anything to be found in the Witch of Edmonton; a drama which, I am not ashamed to confess, (though aware of the ridicule that will follow it,) I consider creditable to the talents and feelings of both poets. I believe in witchcraft no more than the critics; neither, perhaps, did Ford and Decker; but they dealt with those who did; and we are less concerned with the visionary creed of our forefathers, than with the skill and dexterity of those who wrote in conformity to it, and the moral or ethical maxims which they enable us to draw from it.

The serious part of this drama is sweetly written. The character of Susan is delineated in Ford's happiest manner; pure, affectionate, confiding, faithful and forgiving; anxious, as a wife, to prove her love, but fearful to offend, there is a mixture of warmth and pudency in her language, particularly in the concluding scene of the second Act, which cannot fail to please the most fastidious reader. Winnifrede is only second to her unfortunate rival; for, though highly culpable before marriage, she redeems her character as a wife, and insensibly steals upon our pity and regard. Even Katharine, with any other sister, would not pass unnoticed.

Carter is no unfair representative of the respectable yeoman (freeholder) of those days; and his frank and independent conduct is well contrasted with that of Banks, a small farmer, as credulous and ignorant as his labourers, positive, overbearing, and vindictive. Of Frank enough has been already said; and the rest require no particular notice; only it may be observed, that the character of Sir Arthur Clarington is sustained with care and ability. Terrified, but not reclaimed, from his profligacy, by the law, he is everywhere equally odious; and ends the same mean, heartless, avaricious wretch he showed himself at first.

EPILOGUE.

Spoken by WINNifrede.

I AM a widow still, and must not sort
A second choice, without a good report;
Which though some widows find, and few deserve,
Yet I dare not presume; but will not swerve
From modest hopes. All noble tongues are free;
The gentle may speak one kind word for me.