Some Account of the Life of Mr. William Shakespear (1709) | Page 7

immediately approv'd by an impartial Judgment
at the first sight. Mr. Dryden seems to think that Pericles is one of his
first Plays; but there is no judgment to be form'd on that, since there is
good Reason to believe that the greatest part of that Play was not
written by him; tho' it is own'd, some part of it certainly was,
particularly the last Act. But tho' the order of Time in which the several
Pieces were written be generally uncertain, yet there are Passages in

some few of them which seem to fix their Dates. So the Chorus in the
beginning of the fifth Act of Henry V. by a Compliment very
handsomly turn'd to the Earl of Essex, shews the Play to have been
written when that Lord was General for the Queen in _Ireland_: And
his Elogy upon Q. Elizabeth, and her Successor K. James, in the latter
end of his Henry VII, is a Proof of that Play's being written after the
Accession of the latter of those two Princes to the Crown of England.
Whatever the particular Times of his Writing were, the People of his
Age, who began to grow wonderfully fond of Diversions of this kind,
could not but be highly pleas'd to see a Genius arise amongst 'em of so
pleasurable, so rich a Vein, and so plentifully capable of furnishing
their favourite Entertainments. Besides the advantages of his Wit, he
was in himself a good-natur'd Man, of great sweetness in his Manners,
and a most agreeable Companion; so that it is no wonder if with so
many good Qualities he made himself acquainted with the best
Conversations of those Times. Queen Elizabeth had several of his Plays
Acted before her, and without doubt gave him many gracious Marks of
her Favour: It is that Maiden Princess plainly, whom he intends by
_--A fair Vestal, Throned by the West._
_Midsummer Night's Dream_, Vol. 2. p. 480.
And that whole Passage is a Compliment very properly brought in, and
very handsomly apply'd to her. She was so well pleas'd with that
admirable Character of Falstaff, in the two Parts of Henry the Fourth,
that she commanded him to continue it for one Play more, and to shew
him in Love. This is said to be the Occasion of his Writing The Merry
Wives of Windsor. How well she was obey'd, the Play it self is an
admirable Proof. Upon this Occasion it may not be improper to observe,
that this Part of Falstaff is said to have been written originally under
the Name of _Oldcastle_; some of that Family being then remaining,
the Queen was pleas'd to command him to alter it; upon which he made
use of Falstaff. The present Offence was indeed avoided; but I don't
know whether the Author may not have been somewhat to blame in his
second Choice, since it is certain that Sir John Falstaff, who was a
Knight of the Garter, and a Lieutenant-General, was a Name of

distinguish'd Merit in the Wars in France in Henry the Fifth's and
Henry the Sixth's Times. What Grace soever the Queen confer'd upon
him, it was not to her only he ow'd the Fortune which the Reputation of
his Wit made. He had the Honour to meet with many great and
uncommon Marks of Favour and Friendship from the Earl of
Southampton, famous in the Histories of that Time for his Friendship to
the unfortunate Earl of Essex. It was to that Noble Lord that he
Dedicated his Venus and Adonis, the only Piece of his Poetry which he
ever publish'd himself, tho' many of his Plays were surrepticiously and
lamely Printed in his Lifetime. There is one Instance so singular in the
Magnificence of this Patron of _Shakespear_'s, that if I had not been
assur'd that the Story was handed down by Sir _William D'Avenant_,
who was probably very well acquainted with his Affairs, I should not
have ventur'd to have inserted, that my Lord Southampton, at one time,
gave him a thousand Pounds, to enable him to go through with a
Purchase which he heard he had a mind to. A Bounty very great, and
very rare at any time, and almost equal to that profuse Generosity the
present Age has shewn to French Dancers and Italian Eunuchs.
What particular Habitude or Friendships he contracted with private
Men, I have not been able to learn, more than that every one who had a
true Taste of Merit, and could distinguish Men, had generally a just
Value and Esteem for him. His exceeding Candor and good Nature
must certainly have inclin'd all the gentler Part of the World to love
him, as the power of his Wit oblig'd the Men of the most delicate
Knowledge and polite Learning