Moreover, thou hast placed among these my
trifles, four plays to which I never put a finger, and others in
which I had no more than a thumb. The Seneschal, Mr. Jonson, will
pay thee what is due to thee; thy fardels shall be sent whithersoever
thou wilt, and, Mary! Mr. Jonson, I bid thee never more be officer
of mine."
This painful discourse must have been held at Gorhambury,--if Ben
edited the Folio--for Francis.
It is manifest, I hope, that about the Folio Mr. Greenwood speaks
with two voices, and these very discordant. It is also manifest
that, whoever wrote the plays left his materials in deep neglect, and
that, when they were collected, some one gathered them up in extreme
disorder. It is extraordinary that the Baconians and Mr. Greenwood
do not see the fallacy of their own reasoning in this matter of the
Folio. They constantly ridicule the old view that the actor, Will
Shakspere (if, by miracle, he were the author of the plays), could
have left them to take their fortunes. They are asked, what did
other playwrights do in that age? They often parted with their whole
copyright to the actors of this or that company, or to Henslowe. The
new owners could alter the plays at will, and were notoriously
anxious to keep them out of print, lest other companies should act
them. As Mr. Greenwood writes, {231a} "Such, we are told, was the
universal custom with dramatists of the day; they 'kept no copies' of
their plays, and thought no more about them.
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