now to be found; but it does not therefore follow that it never existed. Many dramatic pieces are referred to by old writers, which are not now extant, or even mentioned in any list 3. In the infancy of the stage, plays were often exhibited that were never printed.

It is probably in allusion to the same play, that Ben Jonson says in his Comedy of Every Man in his Humour, act iii. sc. 4.

"I have not the heart to devour thee, an' I might be made as rich as King Cophetua."

At least there is no mention of King Cophetua's riches in the present ballad, which is the oldest I have met with on the subject.

It is printed from Rich. Johnson's Crown Garland of Goulden Roses, 1612, 12mo (where it is entitled simply, A Song of a Beggar and a King): corrected by another copy.

I READ that once in Affrica
A princely wight did raine,
Who had to name Cophetua,
As poets they did faine:

From natures lawes he did decline,
For sure he was not of my mind,
He cared not for women-kinde,
But did them all disdaine.

But, marke, what hapned on a day,
As he out of his window lay,

He saw a beggar all in gray,

The which did cause his paine.

The blinded boy, that shootes so trim,

From heaven downe did hie;

He drew a dart and shot at him,

In place where he did lye:

3 See Mere's Wits Treas. fol. 283. Arte of Eng. Poes. 1589, pp. 51, 111,

143, 169.

Which soone did pierse him to the quicke,
And when he felt the arrow pricke,

Vouchsafe to give your charity
Our childrens food to buy.

The king to them his pursse did cast,

And they to part it made great haste;
This silly woman was the last

That after them did hye.

The king he cal'd her back againe,
And unto her he gave his chaine;

And said, With us you shal remaine
Till such time as we dye:

For thou, quoth he, shalt be my wife,
And honoured for my queene;
With thee I meane to lead my life,

As shortly shall be seene:

Our wedding shall appointed be,
And every thing in its degree:

Come on, quoth he, and follow me,

Thou shalt go shift thee cleane.

What is thy name, faire maid? quoth he.
Penelophon, O king, quoth she:
With that she made a lowe courtsèy;

A trim one as I weene.

4 Shakspeare (who alludes to this ballad in his Love's Labour Lost, act iv. sc. 1,) gives the Beggar's name Zenelophon, according to all the old editions: but this seems to be a corruption; for Penelophon, in the text, sounds more like the name of a woman. The story of the King and the Beggar is also alluded to in King Rich. II. act v. sc. 3.

At last she spake with trembling voyce,
And said, O king, I doe rejoyce

Ver. 90, i. e. tramped the streets.

110

V. 105, Here the poet addresses him

self to his mistress. V. 112, sheweth was anciently the plur. numb.

The lords they tooke it grievously,
The ladies tooke it heavily,
The commons cryed piteously,

Their death to them was paine,
Their fame did sound so passingly,
That it did pierce the starry sky,

And throughout all the world did flye
To every princes realme 5.

115

120

5 An ingenious friend thinks the two last stanzas should change place.

VII.

Take the Old Cloak about Thee,

Is supposed to have been originally a Scottish ballad. The reader here has an ancient copy in the English idiom, with an additional stanza (the 2d) never before printed. This curiosity is preserved in the Editor's folio MS. but not without corruptions, which are here removed by the assistance of the Scottish edit. Shakspeare in his Othello, act ii. has quoted one stanza, with some variations, which are here adopted: the old MS. readings are however given in the margin.

THIS winters weather itt waxeth cold,
And frost doth freese on every hill,
And Boreas blowes his blasts soe bold,
That all our cattell are like to spill;
Bell my wife, who loves no strife,
She sayd unto me quietlie,
Rise up, and save cow Crumbockes life,
Man, put thine old cloake about thee.

HE.

O Bell, why dost thou flyte 'and scorne?'
Thou kenst my cloak is thin:
very