Chapter IX: Act II: to him, must have been guided solely by metrical considerations

There is not a trace of his style in the Act. No doubt it is true that Hippolyta is a type familiar in Massinger’s plays; and her sudden change of mind in the last act reminds us of him. Again, the mental treatment to which Duarte owes his cure (Act IV., 1), and the praises of the medical profession (Act V., 4), recall _A Very Woman_ (II., 2, 26).

But we have to set a good deal against these facts. The plot is more elaborate, bustling, and improbable than we expect from Massinger. It is improbable that the young men (Act II., 2) should leap into the sea and leave Zenocia in the lurch. It is improbable that they should swim a league to shore with their swords erect in the air, though swords no doubt they must have if they are to behave as Fletcher’s gentlemen behave. It is improbable that Rutilio in his flight (Act II., 4) should take refuge in a palace and find himself in the bedroom of the lady of the house. Difficulties of this kind are familiar enough in Fletcher. It need scarcely be said that Sulpicia and her establishment are due to Fletcher alone.

To sum up, if Massinger had any share in this play, he may have given hints or added touches in connexion with Hippolyta and Duarte. The simplest supposition is that he edited the play for a revival. The Prologue and Epilogue “at a revival” contain expressions which remind us of him. The Prologue ends thus (lines 18-20):

You may allow
(Your candour safe) what’s taught in the old schools,
“All such as lived before you were not fools.”

The parenthesis is in Massinger’s manner.

Again, in the second Epilogue, line 7, we find “qualification,” with which compare “fortification” in _A New Way_, I., 2, 25.

10. _The Elder Brother._ (Fletcher (?), Beaumont; probably revised generally by Massinger.)

M.: Act I., 1, 2; Act V., 1, 2.

A. H. B. thinks that Massinger revised and completed it after Fletcher’s death, but says nothing about Beaumont.

A. H. C.: There are traces of Massinger in Act I., 1 and Act V., 1, in which scenes we find careful metre and a good many parentheses. While Act I., 2 resembles Massinger, it seems to me to have a lighter touch than his. In Act V., 1 we find a speech or two very much in his manner, and characteristic also is the skill with which an ambiguity is prolonged for some time in this scene, and then dissipated. I doubt if he wrote Act V., 2.

11. _The Sea Voyage._ (Massinger, Fletcher.)

M.: Act II., 1, 2; Act III., 1, from “Enter Rosellia”; Act V., 1, 2, 3, 4.

A. H. B. says nothing about Massinger here. Macaulay doubts if he had any share in the play.

A. H. C.: The metre is throughout too rough for Massinger. The plot does not recall his work in any way.

12. _The Double Marriage._ (Massinger, Fletcher.)

M.: Act I., 1; Act III., 1; Act IV., 1, 2; Act V., 2, to “Enter Pandulfo.”

A. H. B. agrees.

Macaulay assigns all Act I. to Massinger.

A. H. C: I find no trace of Massinger in this improbable play.

13. _The Beggars’ Bush._ (Massinger, Fletcher.)

M.: Act I., 1, 2, 3; Act V., 1, latter part; V., 2, lines 1-110.

A. H. B. does not think Massinger’s part is clearly marked.

Macaulay assigns to Massinger Acts I., II., III., and V.

A. H. C.: I find no trace of Massinger. Neither the plot is lucid nor the expression. The commercial scenes and the beggars’ slang are both unlike anything in Massinger, and alien to his courtly mind.

14. _The False One._ (Massinger, Fletcher.)

M.: Act I.; Act V.

A. H. B. agrees.

A. H. C.: Massinger wrote Act I., a good deal of Act IV., and Act V. There is hardly a scene except the Masque in Act III., 4 which reads like Fletcher’s unaided work. The dignified rhetoric throughout the play has the stamp of Massinger; more than that, the character-drawing is like his. The outspoken Sceva reminds us of the old courtier Eubulus in _The Picture_. The rudeness of Eros to Septimius in Act III., 2, reminds us of Donusa in _The Renegado_. The continual changes of mind on the part of Septimius are an effect which Massinger loves. (_Cf._ also Arsinoe and Photinus in Act V., 4.)

15. _The Prophetess._ (Massinger and Fletcher.)

M.: Acts II., IV., V., 1, 2.

A. H. B. thinks Massinger’s share “very considerable.”

A. H. C.: Fletcher wrote Act I., 1, 2, and the Geta scenes (Act I., 3; Act III., 2; Act IV., 3, 5; Act V., 3). Perhaps some hack wrote the choruses (Act IV., 1; Act V., 1) or are they inherited from an old play? The main part of the play is due to Massinger. He certainly had a hand in Act III., 1. Maximinian is a skilfully drawn character on his lines.

16. _The Little French Lawyer._ (Massinger and Fletcher.)

M.: Act I.; Act III., 1; Act V., 1, from “Enter Cleremont,” with traces of his hand in other scenes.

A. H. B. agrees.

A. H. C.: Massinger can be traced at the beginning of Act I., 1 and in Act III., 1 and Act IV., 5. The resemblances are rather slight, and it is possible that they are due to the fact that Fletcher occasionally imitated Massinger.

17. _The Lover’s Progress._ (Massinger and Fletcher.)

M.: Act I., 1, 2 (to “Enter Malefort”); Act II., 2; Act III., 4, 6 (last two speeches); Act IV.; Act V.

A. H. B. thinks it is “by Fletcher, with large alterations by Massinger.” He refers to the explicit statement in the Prologue where the reviser declares himself to be—

ambitious that it should be known
What’s good was Fletcher’s, and what ill his own,

a statement in harmony with Massinger’s well-known modesty.

A. H. C.: Massinger wrote Act I., 1, Act II., 2. There are traces of his work in Act III., 4, 6; Act IV., 2, 4; Act V., 1, 3. The improbabilities of the plot—_e.g._, the action of Clarangé—are due to Fletcher. It is clear from the Prologue that the original play was too long. Massinger probably cut it down, by leaving out, among other things, scenes in which Lisander killed his two foes. The play is probably to be identified with _The __ Wandering Lovers_ or _The Picture_, entered as by Massinger in the Stationers’ Register, September 9th, 1653.

18. _The Spanish Curate._ (Massinger and Fletcher.)

M.: Act I.; Act III., 3; Act IV., 1, 4; Act V., 1, 3.

A. H. B. agrees.

Macaulay adds Act IV., 2 to Massinger.

A. H. C.: Massinger can be clearly traced in Act I., 1, Act V., 1; not in