as wild and imaginary a being as Caliban; but I now perceive, by the help of these difcoveries, that the character is made up in great part of abfurd and fuftian paffages from many plays, in which Shakespear was versed and perhaps had been a performer: Piftol's dialogue is a tiffue of old tags of bombast, like the middle comedy of the Greeks, which dealt in parody. I abate of my aftonishment at the invention and originality of the poet, but it does not leffen my refpect for his ingenuity. Shakespear founded his bully in parody, Jonfon copied his from nature, and the palm feems due to Bobadil upon a comparison with Piftol; Congreve copied a very happy likeness from Jonfon, and by the fairest and moft laudable imitation produced his Noll Bluff, one of the pleasantest humourists on the comic ftage.

Shallow and Silence are two very strong auxiliaries to this fecond part of Falstaff's humours, and though they do not abfolutely belong to his family, they are nevertheless near of kin, and derivatives from his ftock: Surely two pleasanter fellows never trode the stage; they not only contrast and play upon

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upon each other, but Silence fober and Silence tipfy make the most comical reverse in nature; never was drunkenness fo well introduced or fo happily employed in any drama : The dialogue between Shallow and Falstaff, and the description given by the latter of Shallow's youthful frolicks, are as true nature and as true comedy as man's invention ever produced: The recruits are alfo in the literal fense the recruits of the drama. These perfonages have the further merit of throwing Falstaff's character into a new caft, and giving it the seasonable relief of variety.

Dame Quickly alfo in this fecond part refumes her rôle with great comic spirit, but with some variation of character, for the purpofe of introducing a new member into the troop in the perfon of Doll Tearsheet, the common trull of the times. Though this part is very strongly coloured, and though the scene with her and Falstaff is of a loofe as well as ludicrous nature, yet if we compare Shakespear's conduct of this incident with that of the dramatic writers of his time, and even fince his time, we must confefs he has managed it with more than common care, and exhibited his comic hero

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in a very ridiculous light, without any of thofe grofs indecencies which the poets of his age indulged themselves in without re-straint.

The humour of the Prince of Wales is not fo free and unconftrained as in the first part; though he ftill demeans himself in the course of his revels, yet it is with frequent marks of repugnance and felf-confideration, as becomes the conqueror of Percy, and we fee his character approaching faft towards a thorough reformation; but though we are thus prepared for the change that is to happen, when this young hero throws off the reveller and affumes the king, yet we are not fortified against the weakness of pity, when the disappointment and banishment of Falitaff takes place, and the poet executes juftice upon his inimitable delinquent, with all the rigour of an unrelenting moralift. The reader or fpectator, who has accompanied Falstaff through his dramatic story, is in debt to him for fo many pleasant moments, that all his failings, which should have raised contempt, have only provoked laughter, and he begins to think they are not natural to his character, but affuined

for his amufement. With thefe impreffions we see him delivered over to mortification and difgrace, and bewail his punishment with a fenfibility, that is only due to the fufferings of the virtuous.

As it is impoffible to afcertain the limits of Shakespear's genius, I will not prefume to fay he could not have fupported his humour, had he chofen to have prolonged his existence thro' the fucceeding drama of Henry the Fifth; we may conclude, that no ready expedient prefented itself to his fancy, and he was not apt to fpend much pains in fearching for fuch: He therefore put him to death, by which he fairly placed him out of the reach of his contemporaries,, and got rid of the trouble and difficulty of keeping him up to his original pitch, if he had attempted to carry him through a third drama, after he had removed the Prince of Wales out of his company, and feated him on the throne. I cannot doubt but there were refources in Shakespear's genius, and a latitude of humour in the character of Falftaff, which might have furnished scenes of admirable comedy by exhibiting him in his difgrace, and both Shallow and Silence would have been acceffaries to his pleafan

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try: Even the field of Agincourt, and the diftrefs of the king's army before the action, had the poet thought proper to have produced Falstaff on the fcene, might have been as fruitful in comic incidents as the battle of Shrewsbury: this we can readily believe from the humours of Fluellen and Pistol, which he has woven into his drama; the former of whom is made to remind us of Falstaff, in his dialogue with Captain Gower, when he tells him that-As Alexander is kill his friend Clytus, being in his ales and his cups, fo alfo Harry Monmouth, being in his right wits and his goot judgements, is turn away the fat Knight with the great pelly-doublet: He was full of jefts and gypes and knaveries, and mocks; I am forget his name.-Sir John Falstaff. That is he.This paffage has ever given me a pleasing sensation, as it marks a regret in the poet to part with a favourite character, and is a tender farewel to his memory: It is alfo with particular propriety that these words are put into the mouth of Fluellen, who ftands here as his fubftitute, and whofe humour, as well as that of Nym, may be faid to have arisen out of the afhes of Falstaff.