The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-11-19
SHAKEsPEARHS ORCHARD IL"

Mr.. Edward Edwards, in Life Of Sir Wal
ter Raleigh, recently published in London by
Macmillan & Co., discusses the question
whether the play Of Richard the Second, per-
formed at Blackfriars Theatre on the eve Of
Essex's revolt, was Shakespeare's work or the
older drama which is now LOST -
sI. In July, 1897, Raleigh writes to Cecil
that the Earl of Bssex wSs wonderful merry
att Cecil's oOnsait Of Richard the Second. -
ii. In August, 1897, Andrew Wyse entered at
Ststioners' Hall his copyright IN Shakespesre's
'Tragedye of Richard the Seoonde;' and pre-
sently afterwards Published (withOut the au-
thor's Dame) an edition of it, printed by Val
entine Symmes.-lII. Early in 1898, Andrew
Wyse entered and published a new edition,
with the authors name, and from the press Of
the same printer. Neither OF these printed edi-
tons contains what is called the Deposition
Scene But there is ample reason to
believe that the omitted scene was
performed, though not printed.-lV. Be-
tween July, 1897, and February, 1901,
several new plays by Shakespeare-and
many other new plays, OF course, by other
authors-were produced and repeatedly psr
formed in London.-V. On the 7th OF February,
1601, Sir Gily Meyrick-ope Of the most con-
spicuous partisans and personal followers of
the Earl of Essex, as well as an officer Of his
househod-desired the players of Shake
speare's company TO perform The Play of The
Deposition of King Richard the Second. Angus
tyne Phillips, one of that company, objected
to the choice, hclding,' as he afterwards told
the Lords of the Council, on his oath-that
play to be SO old and SO long out OF yous,
that they should 1tave small or no oumpsny
at vt Whereupon, to remove the objection,
Meyrick gave the players forty shillings, and
the play was performed. There is no evil
dence that Essex saw IL, although he was
charged by the Crown lawyers-after their
manner--with having feasted his eyes, by
way of foretaste, on the show of that which he
hoped afterwards to execute-the deposition
of his sovereign. Can the merry 'conceit of
Richard the Second Of this letter written by
Sir W. Raleigh in July, 1897, refer to the
tragedy known to have been about that very
time in course of performance at the Globe
Theatre in London2 II it probably does so
refer, what passage or incident in the play
can, at that date, have turned Cecil s thou ghts
towards the Earl of Essex? As we all know,
king Richard the Second abounds in pas
sages which glorify the Amounting balm, and
denounce the hands that impiousy dare
to 'grpe the sacred handle of the sceptre.'
Yet Shakespeare's deposition scene' was
never printed, SO long as Queen Elizabeth
lived. 1t appeared first, in print, in the edi-
tion of 1908. And finally, To what perform
ance was it that the Queen herself alluded,
when, in her curious conversation about the
II Pandects of the Records, with William Lam
i barde, on the 4th of August, 1901, she sud
denly startled him, by exolsiming Il am
"Richaid the Second" know you not that p
and was answered, Such wicked imagina-
tion was, indeed, attempted by most unkind
gentleman, the most adorned creature that
ever your Majesty made'-the Queen herself
presently adding-'That tragedy was played
forty times in open streets and houses"