ot always fully to comprehend his
own design."

"It may be observed that in many of his plays the latter part is
evidently neglected. When he found himself near the end of his work, and
in view of his reward, he shortened the labor to snatch the profit. He
therefore remits his efforts where he should most vigorously exert them,
and his catastrophe is improbably produced and imperfectly represented."

And so it may be said that in England, after Shakspere's death, the
Drama was devoted to the imitators of ancient models, under the
leadership of Ben Jonson, and later, beyond the middle of the
seventeenth century, to the imitators of French taste, for the amusement
of Charles the Second, "Defender of the Faith," and the correct Nell
Gwynn. Under the guidance of such imitators, from Davenant to Cibber,
many of Shakspere's plays were reconstructed for the stage, until _The
Tatler_ quotes lines from Davenant's mangled version of "Macbeth," and
N. Tate, in his edition of "Lear" "revived with alterations, as acted at
the Duke's Theatre," refers to the original play as "an old piece with
which he had become acquainted through a friend." Davenant and Dryden in
1670 improved "The Tempest"; Davenant corrected the errors of "Measure
for Measure" and "Much Ado" in 1673; Sedley cut out the immorality from
"Antony" in 1677; Shadwell, in the following year, reformed the
character of "Timon"; Tate restored "Lear" to his kingdom and Cordelia
to life, and even made "Henry VI.," "Richard II.," and "Coriolanus"
conform to the rules of dramatic art which Shakspere had so defiantly
violated. Durfey corrected the imperfect plot, characterization, and
diction of "Cymbeline," and administered just punishment to Iachimo; and
finally, Betterton and Cibber, in 1710, added elegance to the wit of
Falstaff and refinement to the bloody cunning of Richard.

"All these versions," as Ulrici says, "were essentially the same in
character; as a rule, only such passages as were most effective on the
stage were left unaltered, but in all cases the editors endeavored to
expunge the supposed harshnesses of language and versification; powerful
passages were tamed down and diluted, elegant passages embellished,
tender passages made more tender; the comic scenes were provided with
additional indelicacies, and it was further endeavored to make the aim
of the action more correct by the removal of some supposed excrescences,
or by the alteration of the scenic arrange