Page:Biographical and critical studies by James Thomson ("B.V.").djvu/124

108 Devil is an Ass." a capital comedy, satirising mono- polists and projectors, and exposing pretended de- moniacs and witch-finders. Neither of these is in the excellent folio of 1616, which was carefully revised by the author, and contains, in addition to the other dramas already mentioned, several masques and entertainments, the Epigrams, and the collection of poems called the " Forest." The two last-named comedies may have been excluded by the fact that the volume was carried through the press some con- siderable time before its publication. Gifford says : " He seems to have meditated a complete edition of all his works ; but he apparently grew weary towards the conclusion of the volume, and never (unless peculiarly called upon) had recourse to the press afterwards. The second folio is a wretched con- tinuation of the first, printed from MSS. surrepti- tiously obtained during his life, or ignorantly hurried through the press after his death. It bears a variety of dates, from 1631 to 1641 inclusive. It is probable that he looked forward to a period of retirement and ease, when he might be enabled to collect, revise, and publish his works at leisure ; but the loss of all his MSS. by fire, and the fatal illness which almost immediately afterwards seized him, rendered all such views abortive. It is remarkable that he calls his Epigrams ' Book the First : ' he had, therefore, others in his hand ; but they have perished." On which it may be observed that in the course of the nine years following, during which he produced nothing for the stage proper, though he wrote some masques, it seems likely that he had leisure enough for carrying out such a plan, if he had been bent upon doing so. It