the printer's hands. Such is the case with Heywood's "Pardoner and
Friar," and the anonymous interlude of "New Custom;" as well as with
"Ralph Roister Doister," and "Gammer Gurton's Needle," all of which may
be taken to belong to a period some time anterior to their publication.

A leading characteristic of the collection as now reconstructed is the
great preponderance of pieces, of which the authors are not known, or by
authors who have not left more than one or two dramatic productions. It
was judged expedient, in the interest of purchasers, to give a preference
to these single or anonymous plays, as it will probably not be long
before the works of every voluminous writer are collected. Those of
Jonson, Shirley, Peele, Greene, Ford, Massinger, Middleton, and Chapman,
have already been edited, and Brome's, Deckers, Heywood's, and
Glapthorne's will follow in due course. To all these the new DODSLEY will
serve as a supplement and companion.

The editor felt himself in a position of somewhat special difficulty and
delicacy, when it became necessary to consider the question of retaining
or excluding the prefatory matter attached to the impressions of this
work in 1744 and 1780. A careful and impartial perusal of that matter
made it evident that the prudent course, on the whole, was to reject
these prolegomena. There was no alternative but their entire preservation
or their entire suppression; for any arbitrary alterations or
curtailments would have been liable to objection or censure. In the first
place, there was Dodsley's own preface, chiefly occupied by a sketch of
the history of our stage, but based on the most imperfect information,
and extremely unsatisfactory, if not misleading. Then there was, like
Pelion heaped on Ossa, Isaac Reed's introduction, more elaborate and
copious than Dodsley's, yet far from complete or systematic, and not
improved by the presence of an appendix or sequel. Reed, of course, went