The second edition of 1592 would seem, from the many variations, to have been printed from a different manuscript to that used for the edition of 1584, and in some respects it was an improvement. Still, as we have stated, the name of Paul Bucke is at the termination of both; and it is a somewhat remarkable indication of the care displayed in bringing out the second edition, that whereas in the first edition an event is spoken of as having occurred in the reign of Queen Mary, "not much more than twenty-six years" before, in the second edition printed seven or eight years afterwards, the figures 26 are altered to 33. Such proofs of attention to comparative trifles were unusual in the reprints of old plays; and it may be doubted whether in this instance it would have been afforded, had not "The three Ladies of London" continued such a favourite with the town as to occasion its frequent repetition at the public theatre. A piece of evidence to show the popularity of the drama long after its original publication is to be found in Edward Guilpin's "Skialetheia, or a Shadowe of Truth," 8vo, 1598, where it is thus distinctly alluded to—
"The world's so bad that vertue's over-awde,
And forst, poore soule, to become vices bawde;
Like the old morall of the comedie,
Where Conscience favours Lucar's harlotry."
These lines are contained in the first satire of this very curious and interesting work, and the readers of the drama will at once be aware of their application.[13]
"The three Ladies of London" recommended itself to our notice for the present volume, on account of the peculiarity of its construction: Guilpin, we see, speaks of it as "the old moral of the comedy," and this, in truth, is the exact description of it. It is neither entirely a "moral," nor entirely a "comedy," but a mixture of both, differing from the drama that stands first in our volume, because the real characters introduced are not known or historical personages. Most of the dramatis personae are indisputably allegorical or representative, the embodiments of certain virtues and vices; but individuals are also employed, such as Gerontus a Jew, and Mercadore a merchant, besides a Judge who is called upon to determine a dispute between them. This portion of the piece may be said to belong to a more advanced period of our stage, and distinguishes it, as far as we are aware, from anything of the kind known anterior to the date when the production first came from the press. The name Gerontus can hardly fail to bring to mind that of the hero of the old ballad of "Gernutus, the Jew of Venice;"[14] but there is a remarkable difference between the two persons: in the play before us Gerontus is represented in a very favourable light, as an upright Jew, only anxious to obtain his own property by fair means, while his antagonist, a Christian merchant, endeavours to defeat the claim by fraud, perjury, and apostacy. So far the drama of "The three Ladies of London" contradicts the position, founded mainly upon Marlowe's Barabas[15] and Shakespeare's Shylock, that our early dramatists eagerly availed themselves of popular prejudices against the conscientious adherents to the old dispensation.
The construction of "The three Ladies of London" in other respects will speak for itself, but we may be allowed to give Wilson credit for the acuteness and political subtlety he evinces in several of his scenes; for the severity of many of his touches of satire; for his amusing illustrations of manners; for his exposure of the tricks of foreign merchants, and for the humour and drollery which he has thrown into his principal comic personage. The name of this character is Simplicity, who is the fool or clown of the performance, and who, in conformity with the practice, not only of our earlier but sometimes of our later stage, makes several amusing appeals to the audience. We may pretty safely conclude, although we are without any hint of the kind, that this arduous part was sustained by the author himself.
The original copy of this production, to which we have resorted, is among the Garrick Plays: we recollect to have met with no other copy of the edition of the year 1584; but at least three of the later impression have come under our notice: one is in the library of the Duke of Devonshire, another in that of the Earl of Ellesmere, and a third at Oxford. Of all these we have more or less availed ourselves in our reprint.
The fourth play in the ensuing pages, "The three Lords and three Ladies of London," is connected in subject with the third, and, as stated already, is by the same author, who placed his initials, R.W., upon the title-page. The reprint is made from a copy in the possession of the Editor, compared with two others of the same date which in no respect vary: it may be right to mention this fact, because, as all who have been in the habit of examining the productions of our early stage are aware, important alterations and corrections were sometimes introduced while the sheets were going through the press. Our title-page, including the wood-cut, may be considered a facsimile. It will be seen that it was printed in 1590, and it was probably written by Robert Wilson about two years before, as a sort of second part to his "Three Ladies of London," which had met with such decided success. That success was perhaps in some degree revived by the frequent performance of "The three Lords and three Ladies of London," and the consequence seems to have been the publication of the new edition of the former in 1592.
The author called his new effort "The pleasant and stately Moral of the three Lords and three Ladies of London," and it bears, in all its essential features, a strong resemblance to the species of drama known as a Moral or Moral-play. This resemblance is even more close and striking than that of "The three Ladies of London;" for such important characters as Gerontus and Mercadore are wanting, and as far as the dramatis personae are concerned, there is little to take it out of the class of earlier dramatic representations, but the characters of Nemo and the Constable, the latter being so unimportant that Wilson did not include him in the list of "the Actor's names" which immediately follows the title. Had the piece, however, made a still more remote approach to comedy, and had it possessed fewer of the mixed features belonging to its predecessor, we should unhesitatingly have reprinted it as a necessary sequel.
Towards the conclusion of the drama, as well indeed as in the introductory stanzas, the allusions to the Armada and to the empty vaunts of the Spaniards are so distinct and obvious, that we cannot place the composition of it earlier than 1588; but it must have remained in manuscript for about two years, since it was not published until after July 1590, the following entry in the Stationers' Registers bearing date the 31st of that month:—
"Richard Jones. Entered for his copie, under thandes of doctor Wood and the wardens, a comedie of the plesant and statelie morrall of the Three lordes of London."[16]