upon

the Earl of Morton, a peer of that country, and by the Earl of Pembroke, to assist them in their designs Sidanen and Marian. These designs are perfectly honourable, and are zealously seconded by the fathers of the ladies; but in the end they and their coadjutor are outwitted and defeated: the weapons employed by John a Cumber are turned against himself, and he becomes, through the instrumentality of John a Kent, an object of contempt and ridicule with the very persons who expected to profit by his success. There is a great deal of genuine comedy both in the situations and dialogue, where insults of the most provoking kind are heaped upon the unfortunate John a Cumber, who at length, at the moment when he is most looking for a favourable issue to his schemes and contrivances, is mortified by being clothed in motley, and compelled to act as the Fool in a rustic morris-dance.

It would be a waste of time, to enter into any detailed account of the plot: neither would it be very easy to make our narrative perfectly intelligible, in consequence of the numerous and amusing changes of situation and circumstances in the progress of the performance, which in all probability rendered it popular. It will be observed that the manuscript is furnished with no list of the Dramatis Persona, and perhaps it may be as well here to supply the deficiency, in order that our readers may become acquainted with the names of

y Kymro, or John the Cambrian ;" but this is hardly consistent with the statement in the play that he was from Scotland.

the different characters before they commence the perusal of the drama.

Servant to the Earl of Chester. Antics, Peasants, &c.

We are not aware that we are called upon to say more than we have already stated regarding these characters, with the exception, perhaps, of Sidanen, who seems to have been a Welsh heroine of considerable beauty and celebrity, in praise of whom, according to this play, poems had been written; for she herself in one place (p. 42) exclaims

"Ay, poor Sidanen! let no more sweet song

Be made by Poet for Sidanen sake;"

and among

the entries in the Stationers' Registers for the year 1579 we read the following, under date of 13th August:

"Rd of him (Richard Jones) for printing a ballad of British Sidanen, applied by a Courtier to the praise of the Queen."

The meaning appears to be, that some courtier had applied to Elizabeth a ballad which had been written in praise of Sidanen, as if she were a known subject of English verse at that period.'

The scene is laid throughout in and near the city of Chester, but in what way some of the principal persons engaged in the action of the piece are brought there, we have no distinct information: it is, however, to be borne in mind that Munday was addressing himself to an audience previously well acquainted with the names of most of the characters he introduces, and with the principal incidents he employs. Thus, when we are first brought acquainted with John a Kent (p. 5), he enters with Sir Gosselen Denville, and addresses Prince Griffin and the Earl of Powis (whose interests are similar) rather in the language of a highwayman than of a magician :—

"Be not offended at my salutations,

That bade ye stand before I say God speed;

For, in plain terms, speed what your speed may be,

Such coin you have both must and shall with me."

It deserves remark, also, in connexion with these expressions, that John a Kent calls Sir Gosselen

We again refer our readers with much pleasure to the communication from Mr. T. Stephens, in "Notes and Queries," for some curious and interesting particulars regarding Sidanen, or Senena, whom he states to have been the daughter-in-law, and not the daughter, of Prince Llwellen.

Denville his "master;" and that in Captain C. Johnson's "Lives of the Highwaymen," (copied from Captain A. Smith's previous work of the same kind, published in 1714 and again in 1720) fol. 1734, p. 15, is inserted the Life of a Sir Gosselen Denville, who was accustomed to rob travellers, and who is said to have flourished in the reign of Edward II: Munday may have transferred the scene of this hero's adventures to North Wales, though it does not at all appear in the course of the piece that Sir Gosselen was concerned in predatory transactions: on the contrary, he lives like a nobleman, in a castle, where passes much that is important to the plot.

Our earliest acquaintance with John a Cumber is even more abrupt, and very possibly for the same reason; namely, that the Author relied upon the recollection of his hearers, to whom particulars of the story were known that have not reached our time. On p. 22, (Act II., for the drama is divided into acts, though the scenes are not marked) John a Kent mentions his rival, and expresses a wish for his presence, in order that he (John a Kent) might be compelled to try the utmost of his magical skill, and display "the glory of his art," in defeating him; and on p. 26, John a Cumber introduces himself, and (having previously become acquainted with the relative position of the parties) immediately adopts the cause of

In his "Watchword for England," 1584, Munday introduces the name of Sir Goceline Deynvile (Sign. B iii. b.) as one of the rebels under the Earl of Lancaster, in the reign of Edward II; and adds that he was drawn and quartered at York.

the Earls of Morton and Pembroke in their suit to Sidanen and Marian. How or why he had come from Scotland, excepting that his aid was required by Morton in his emergency, is not explained. Compared with John a Kent, John a Cumber cuts but a sorry figure as a conjuror, considering the high character he had received.

As to the name of John a Kent, we are not to suppose that it has any connexion with the county of Kent; because it is distinctly stated that he is a Welshman, and various traditions are current in Herefordshire respecting the exercise of his profession, and the display of his abilities. There is a village called Kentchurch, not far from Hereford, and it was in that part of the kingdom that our magician acquired most celebrity: it is possible, therefore, that the name of John a Kent may in some way have relation to Kentchurch,' but the editor has no local knowledge upon the point, and he has not succeeded in procuring from others the necessary information. It is certain, however, that the neighbourhood of Kentchurch was the chief scene of his exploits; and

A correspondent of "Notes and Queries," (August 16, 1851) under the signature of Seleucus (Silurius?), has favoured us with information regarding John a Kent, which shows that he was a Welsh Bard in the beginning of the 15th century, and that some of his poems are published in the "Iolo MSS." In a note to those poems it is stated that the author was "a priest of Kentchurch in Herefordshire," and "is said to have lived in the time of Wicliffe, and to have been of his party." What was most needed, for the purpose of illustrating the play in our hands, was tidings (if they could have been procured) of some early published and popular history of John a Kent and his achievements; but these we can hardly hope to obtain.