thority,
Mr. Littledale. Moreover, the play was not included among Shakspere's
works in the folio of 1632, and did not appear among them until, with
six other doubtful plays, the editions of 1664 and 1685. In view of this
proof, it is admitted that the question of collaboration is likely to
remain forever unsettled, "because it does not admit of complete
demonstration." Nevertheless, collaboration is assumed, and the
"em-them" test is applied to the text so as to credit 1034 lines to
Shakspere, 1486 to Fletcher.

German criticism has taken up the subject with minute care, and, we may
assert with confidence, has settled beyond doubt that Shakspere never
wrote a single line of "The two Noble Kinsmen." And it may be added with
equal certainty that if the citations from that play are correctly
credited to Fletcher, he never wrote a line of "Henry VIII." Professor
Thorndike is not consistent with himself. On one page he calls his
theory conjectural, on another, a "reasonable conclusion." The play
itself ought to convince any fair mind that Shakspere had no share in
it, for it contains an obvious imitation of Ophelia's madness in
"Hamlet," which in some points "is a direct plagiarism." But it was
important for Professor Thorndike to show what he calls a "probability"
that Shakspere and Fletcher collaborated, in order to establish his
theory that Fletcher "influenced" Shakspere. With the vanishing of the
"probability" the "influence" vanishes.

The second step in the argument is a review of the chronology of the
plays of Beaumont and Fletcher, among which only _seven_ are
immediately important. "The Woman Hater," licensed 20th May, 1607,
published in quarto 1607, as lately acted, again in 1648, and assigned to
Beaumont and Fletcher. Its first representation is put by Mr. Fleay on
April 5th, 1607. Professor Thorndike conjectures that this play was
produced in 1606. "Philaster," the most important in connection with our
subject, was first published in 1620. Mr. Fleay dates its composition in
1611; Professor Thorndike, in 1608. The "Four Plays in One" he likewise
assigns conjecturally to the same year. The fact is, it was first
printed in the folio of 1647, and no authority fixes the date of its
production. "Thiery and Theodoret" was first published in 1621, without
giving the name of any author. The quarto of 1648 credits Fletcher as
the sole author; that of 1649, Beaumont and Fletcher as the joint
authors. Fleay places the da