A. H. C.: I find no trace of Massinger. Neither the plot is lucid nor the expression. The commercial scenes and the beggars' slang are both unlike anything in Massinger, and alien to his courtly mind.
14. The False One. (Massinger, Fletcher.)
M.: Act I.; Act V.
A. H. B. agrees.
A. H. C.: Massinger wrote Act I., a good deal of Act IV., and Act V. There is hardly a scene except the Masque in Act III., 4 which reads like Fletcher's unaided work. The dignified rhetoric throughout the play has the stamp of Massinger; more than that, the character-drawing is like his. The outspoken Sceva reminds us of the old courtier Eubulus in The Picture. The rudeness of Eros to Septimius in Act III., 2, reminds us of Donusa in The Renegado. The continual changes of mind on the part of Septimius are an effect which Massinger loves. (Cf. also Arsinoe and Photinus in Act V., 4.)
15. The Prophetess. (Massinger and Fletcher.)
M.: Acts II., IV., V., 1, 2.
A. H. B. thinks Massinger's share “very considerable.”
A. H. C.: Fletcher wrote Act I., 1, 2, and the Geta scenes (Act I., 3; Act III., 2; Act IV., 3, 5; Act V., 3). Perhaps some hack wrote the choruses (Act IV., 1; Act V., 1) or are they inherited from an old play? The main part of the play is due to Massinger. He certainly had a hand in Act III., 1. Maximinian is a skilfully drawn character on his lines.
16. The Little French Lawyer. (Massinger and Fletcher.)