John Charlwood, &c. n.d. B.L. 8vo. This work is in verse, and is the original from which Robert Greene, the Dramatist, took his "Quip for an Upstart Courtier," 1592, 4to.

6. THE PLEASANT COMEDY OF PATIENT GRISSELL. BY THOMAS DEKKER, HENRY CHETTLE, and WILLIAM HAUGHTON. 1603. With an introduction on the origin of the story, and its application to the Stage in various countries of Europe.

7. EXTRACTS FROM THE ACCOUNTS OF THE REVELS AT COURT IN THE REIGNS OF QUEEN ELIZABETH AND KING JAMES I., from the original Office Books of the Masters and Yeomen. With an Introduction and Notes, by PETER CUNNINGHAM, Esq.

Upon the manner in which these publications contribute, both immediately and incidentally, to the illustration of the Life and Writings of Shakespeare, it is unnecessary to enlarge; and to the preceding enumeration of Works already delivered to Members, may be added a list of those at present in the printer's hands, or which the Council has ordered for press, without more delay than is consistent with the convenience of the respective Editors.

1. NOTES OF BEN JONSON'S CONVERSATIONS WITH DRUMMOND OF HAWTHORNDEN, in the year 1619. Edited by DAVID LAING, Esq.,

F.S.A.

2. THE OLD PLAY OF TIMON OF ATHENS, which preceded that of Shakespeare, and from which he adopted the banquet scene, and other circumstances in his drama. Edited by the Rev. ALEX. DYCE, from the original manuscript in his possession.

3. A COLLECTION OF ALL THE DOCUMENTS which have reference to the Events of Shakespeare's Life. The Will edited by SIR FREDERICK MADDEN, F.R.S., F.S.A., Keeper of the MSS. in the British Museum, with Fac-similes of the Signatures. The Marriage Licence, transcripts from the Registers at Stratford-upon-Avon, and all the other Documents, edited by JOHN BRUCE, Esq., F.S.A.

4. THE FIRST SKETCH OF SHAKESPEARE'S MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, printed in 1602, 4to., which has never been reprinted. To which will be added a collection of early tales, upon which the play is supposed to have been founded. Edited, with an introduction and notes, by J. O. HALLIWELL, Esq., F.R.S., F.S.A., &c.

5. The DIARY AND ACCOUNT BOOK OF PHILIP HENSLOWE, between the years 1590 and 1610, in which he entered his various Transactions relating to Plays, Players, and Dramatic Authors, (parts only of which were imperfectly printed by Malone), from the original MS. at Dulwich College. By permission of the Master, Warden, and Fellows. Edited by J. PAYNE COLLIER, Esq., F.S.A.

6. DIE SCHÖNE SIDEA. An early German Drama, thought to be a translation of an English Drama from which Shakespeare derived the plot of "The Tempest." Edited, with an English translation, by WILLIAM J. THOMS, Esq., F.S.A. To be followed by translations of three other German Plays, supposed to contain similar versions of Dramas on which Shakespeare founded "Much ado about Nothing," "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," and "Titus Andronicus."

7. EDWARD THE FOURTH: a Historical Play, in two parts, by THOMAS HEYWOOD. To be edited by BARRON FIELD, ESQ., from the earliest impression of 1600, in the library of Lord Francis Egerton, collated with the later impressions in 1605, 1613, 1619, and 1626.

To these fourteen Works already issued, or in progress, the Council begs leave to subjoin a list of such as have been recommended to the Society, and all of which, having been approved, will make their appearance with a rapidity proportioned to the means at the disposal of the Council.

1. SIR THOMAS MORE: an unprinted Historical Play, on the Life and Death of that great Statesman and Lawyer: written and licensed for the Stage about the year 1590, and preserved in the original manuscript in the British Museum. To be edited by the Rev. ALEX. DYCE.

2. THE DIARY of a Barrister of the NAME OF MANNINGHAM, preserved in the British Museum, containing Anecdotes and Notices of Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Spenser, Marston, Sir W. Raleigh, Sir John Davys, &c., with some curious Historical particulars in the years 1601 and 1602.

3. TRANSLATIONS OF TWO ITALIAN COMEDIES, GL'INGANNI AND GL' INGANNATI, the plots of which bear a strong resemblance to Shakespeare's Twelfth Night.

4. A Volume of BALLADS UPON WHICH OLD PLAYS WERE FOUNDED, OR WHICH WERE FOUNDED UPON OLD PLAYS; including, of course, all those employed by Shakespeare. To be edited by W. D. COOPER, Esq., F.S.A.

5. THE TRUE TRAGEDIE OF RICHARD THE THIRD, which preceded Shakespeare's play. From a complete copy of the 4to. of 1594, in the Library of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire, supplying the omitted leaves, and correcting many important errors in the imperfect copy in Malone's Shakespeare by Boswell.

6. THE CHESTER WHITSUN-PLAYS: a Collection of Early Dramatic Representations by the Incorporated Trades of Chester. From a MS. in the British Museum, collated with two other transcripts in the same institution, and with the oldest MS. yet discovered, in the Library of his Grace the Duke of Devonshire. To be edited by THOMAS WRIGHT, Esq., M.A., F.S.A., &c.

7. FUNEBRIA FLORE. The Downfal of May-Games, &c. By THOMAS HALL, B.D. 1668, 4to. To be edited (with an Introduction and Notes) by W. B. D. D. TURNBULL, Esq., F.S.A., &c.

8. Honour Triumphant, or THE PEER'S CHALLENGE, BY ARMS DEFENSIBLE AT TILT, TURNEY, AND BARRIERS, &c. Also, THE MONARCH'S Meeting, or the King of DENMARK'S WELCOME INTO ENGLAND. BY JOHN FORD. 1606. A totally unnoticed production, in prose and verse, by the celebrated Dramatic Poet.

9. AN ACCOUNT of and extracts from the OLD PLAYS, (Some of them unique) in the Library of the Right. Hon. Lord Francis Egerton, M.P.: accompanied by remarks historical, bibliographical, critical, and biographical, illustrative of our early Stage and Dramatic Poetry. By J. PAYNE COLLIER, Esq., F.S.A.

10. A NEST OF NINNIES, SIMPLY WITHOUT COMPOUNDS. By ROBERT ARMIN, the celebrated Actor in Shakespeare's Plays. From the only known edition of 1608. It contains anecdotes, in verse and prose, of various celebrated Fools and Jesters.

11. TARLTON'S NEWS OUT OF PURGATORY: only such a Jest as his Jig, fit for Gentlemen to laugh at an hour, &c.; published by an old companion of his, Robin Goodfellow. From the earliest edition, printed by Edward White about 1590, compared with the impression of 1630.

12. AN ANSWER TO STEPHEN GOSSON'S SCHOOL OF ABUSE. BY THOMAS LODGE. This work was printed about the year 1580; but, as the writer informs us, it was "suppressed by authority," and the only copies known are without title-pages.

13. PIERCE PENNYLESS, HIS SUPPLICATION TO THE DEVIL. By THOMAS NASH. To be printed from the first edition of 1592, compared with the two other impressions in the same year.

14. A COLLECTION OF BROADSIDES AND MANUSCRIPT PIECES, in prose and verse, principally relating to Authors, Plays, Actors, and Theatres, during the Reigns of Elizabeth, James I., and Charles I.

15. A ROYAL ARBOUR OF LOYAL POESIE, consisting of Poems and Songs. By THOMAS JORDAN. 1664. It contains various Dramatic Ballads, particularly those founded upon Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing, Winter's Tale, Merchant of Venice, &c.

16. PASQUIL'S JESTS, mixed with Mother Bunch's Merriments. Whereunto is added a dozen of Gulls. Pretty and pleasant to drive away the tediousness of a Winter's Evening. From the earliest edition of 1604, compared with later impressions.

17. A volume of the Names, Lives, and Characters of the Actors in the Plays of MARLOWE, GREENE, PEELE, SHAKESPEARE, Lodge, BEN JONSON, CHAPMAN, MASSINGER, FORD, WEBSTER, MIDDLETON, DEKKER, HEYWOOD, &c., alphabetically arranged, and embracing various particulars hitherto unknown.

18. A TRANSLATION OF ECHTERMEYER'S INTRODUCTION TO THE QUELLEN DER SHAKESPEARE," Containing an account of the sources of the Plots of Shakespeare's Plays.

In this, as in other literary societies, it has been found expedient to appoint Local Secretaries for the management of its affairs in distant situations; and the following gentlemen have kindly consented to act in that capacity in the different places to which their names are attached. To their services the Society at large is greatly indebted.

BRISTOL-Robert Lang, Esq.

CAMBRIDGE-W. A. Warwick, Esq.
DUBLIN-Sir William Betham, Ulster.
DUCKINFIELD-Rev. R. B. Aspland.
EDINBURGH-W. B. D. D. Turnbull,
Esq., F.S.A.

GAINSBOROUGH - John Mozly Stark,
Esq.

GLASGOW-R. Malcolm Kerr, Esq.
IPSWICH-W. Stevenson Fitch, Esq.
MANCHESTER-James Crossley, Esq.

NORWICH-Robert Fitch, Esq., F.G.S.
OXFORD - Rev. Philip Bliss, D.C.L.,
F.S.A.

PARIS--Rev.H. Longueville Jones, M.A.
PORTSMOUTH-Henry Slight, Esq.
READING-John Richards, Jun., Esq.,
F.S.A.

SOUTHWOLD-Jonathan Gooding, Esq.
WARWICK-John Twamley, Esq.
WORCESTER-J.M. Gutch, Esq.
LEAMINGTON SPA-J. Sharp, Jun., Esq.

The Council with great pleasure adverts to the prosperous state of the finances of the Shakespeare Society. At the end of the year which closed on the 31st December, 1841, there was a considerable balance in the hands of the Treasurer, as will appear by the annexed Report of the Auditors; and there is every reason to believe that the sum to be placed, in the present year, at the disposal of the Council now to be elected will, by the addition of Members, be greater than that obtained in the first year of the existence of the Society, when its design and character were less known and understood. There is already at the Bankers of the Society a larger amount than the total expenditure of the last year.

In the commencement, various expences were also unavoidable, which it will not be necessary again to incur; and the whole of the Subscriptions will thus in future be applicable to the payment for transcripts of manuscripts or printed books, and to the cost of printing and paper, which, with some trifling incidental charges, will henceforward constitute the whole expenditure of the Society.

The Council cannot conclude without calling the attention of the admirers of Shakespeare, and of our early Dramatic Literature, to the fact that this Society is the only one existing for the purpose of illustrating the character and works of our great National Poet: if the undertaking be followed up in the manner hitherto pursued, it is hoped that some honour may be done to the Members, although it is impossible to add any thing to the universal admiration which adheres to the name of Shakespeare.

By order of the Council,

J. PAYNE COLLIER, Director,

F. G. TOMLINS, Secretary.