Editor's Preface xvii 



Masques entitled Love's Welcome at Wclbeck, and Love's Welcome 

 at Bolsover, for his entertainments to the Kins: and Oueen. 

 Three of the poet's letters have been printed. In one he 

 offers his patron ' the faith of a fast friend with the duties of 

 an humble servant, and the hearty prayers of a religious 

 bedesman '. In another, which probably accompanied Love's 

 Welcome at Welbeck, he thanks the Earl for ' a timely gratuity, 

 which fell like the dew of heaven on my necessities '. ' God 

 sends you ', he continues, ' these chargeable and magnificent 

 honours of making feasts, to mix with your charitable succours, 

 dropt upon me your servant ; who have nothing to claim of 

 merit but a cheerful undertaking whatsoever your lordship's 

 judgment thinks me able to perform.' 1 



James Shirley also addressed a poem to Newcastle, and 

 dedicated to him in 1638 his play of The Traitor. When the 

 Civil War broke out, and Shirley was forced to leave London, 

 ' he was invited ', says Wood, ' by his most noble patron, 

 William, Earl of Newcastle, to take his fortune with him in 

 the wars ; for that Count had engaged him so much by his 

 generous liberality towards him, that he thought he could not 

 do a worthier act than to serve him, and consequently his 

 Prince '. According to the same author, ' Shirley did much 

 assist the Duke in the composure of certain plays, which the 

 Duke afterwards published.' On which Dyce remarks : 

 ' The style of his Grace's dramas would certainly have induced 

 me to suspect the truth of this statement, if I had not dis- 

 covered that a drinking song which is inserted in the Duke's 

 comedy called The Country Captain is printed amongst our 

 author's poems.' 2 



Since Dyce published his edition of Shirley new evidence 

 has come to light. In 1883 Mr. A. H. Bullen published in 

 volume II of his ' Collection of Old English Plays ' an anony- 

 mous comedy called Captain Underwit. ' Gerard Langbaine ', 

 he says in the introduction, ' tells us that Shirley left at his 

 death some plays in manuscript : I have little doubt, or 

 rather no doubt at all, that Captain Underwit is one of them. 

 In the notes I have pointed out several parallelisms to passages 



t Cunningham's Jonson, vol. iii, p. 459, Preface, pp. lvii-lix, and Underwood's Epi- 

 grams, 72 and 89. See also pp. 2, 4, 105, and 112 of these Memoirs. 



2 Wood, Athence Oxonienses, ed. Bliss, iii, 737. Dyce's Shirley, Preface, p. xliii. 

 The song referred to is in act iv of The Country Captain, and commences Come let us 

 throw the dice. 



