On his release, he thought proper to marry. He was now only in his 20th year, and his means of support cannot be supposed to have been affluent. It is not indeed, per fectly clear, whether he was at this period merely an actor, or whether he wrote for the stage, in conjunction with other dramatic poets, who had been longer in the employ ment of the managers. The latter supposition seems to be very probable. It was at that time the custom for theatri cal managers to have writers in regular and permanent hire, who frequently united their talents in the fabrication of the same piece, and to whom money was advanced upon the credit of their abilities, and the progress of their work, as it was shewn or reported. It has been found impossi ble to ascertain the names of the dramas in which Jonson exerted his earliest efforts for the stage, either singly or in partnership. The first piece that can he appropriated in the list of his plays is, the comedy of Every Alan in his Humour. The play had been popular, and had been acted eleven times by Henslowe's company of players, between the 25th of Nov 1596, and the loth of May in the succeed ing year. Before this period, however, he must have writ ten for the stage, both alone and with others. The comedy of his youth was successful in its first production. The lofty tone of defiance to criticism which the author as sumes in the prologue, and his subsequent alterations and high improvements of the piece, are eminently characteris tic of Janson. The prologue breathes all his personal pride, and discloses the energetic ideas of poetry which he early entertained. His changes of the piece announce the still ripening progress of his taste and his patience, to ela borate and finish even that had satisfied the public judg ment, though not his own. The scene of Every Man in his Humour, had at first been laid in the neighbourhood of Florence, and the characters were Italian. Jonson. in alter ing the piece, made the scene and characters English, and rendered the whole effect more congruous and native. The play, thus re-modelled, was acted in 1598 at the Black Fri ars, and Shakspeare's name stands at the head of the prin cipal performers in it. This period, the year 1598, is that which the commentators of Shakspeare have fixed upon as the era ofJonson's acquaintance with Shaltspeare,an acquain tance which, according to their account,commenced with an act of kindne.ss on the part of Shakspeare,which was returned with ingratitude by Jonson. Mr. Gilchrist and Mr. Gifford have on this subject answered all the charges of ingratitude brought against the memory of Jonson, with a shcw of facts which appeals to us to be decisive. Ben Jonson was not altogether unknown to the world in 1598, as Mr. Malone has asserted ; he was, on the contrary, very well known, and ranked among the most eminent dramatic geniuses of the time. As such a pre-eminent genius, he is expressly men tiohed by Meares t this very pet iod. He had not, indeed, as his censurers tell us, (at the very time when they de scribe him as a person altogether unknown,) he had not killed Nlarlo•e tie poet in a duel. and he had not been young Raleigh's tutor; but he was well known already as an able w riter for the drama ; and there is not a shadow of proof that he was indebted to Shakspeare, either for his in troduction to the players, or fur the extension of his popu latity. To anticipate something in our account of this eminent man, we conceive the readers of Mr. Gilchrist's and 'Air. respective vindications of him will be lel( without a doubt upon their minds, that the proofs of malice towards Shakspeare, which Jonson's writings are supposed to contain, have been as falsely and gratuitously assumed as those of Shakspcare's ideal services to Jon son.
his next piece was entitled, Every Man out of his Hu mour, which was exceedingly well received. Three dis tinct notices of Joison appear in Henslowe, the theatrical manager's memorandum book for the year 1599, which are nearly contemporary with the appearance of this comedy. The sum of 40 shillings was advanced to him and Decker for a play, watch they were writing in conjunction; a like sum lot another, in which Chem' was joined with them ; and a third sum for a tragedy, which he was probably writ ing alone. None of these arc now extant. His " Comical Satin (as he entitles of Cynthia's Revels," was acted in 1600. Its chief objects of ridicule seem to have been the ceremonious fopperies of courtiers ; and the offence •h ch it excited, we should have expected to have been in that quarter ; but the real enemies which it raised up to Jonson, were his fellow labourers for the theatre, Marston and Decker, who conceived that the principal personages in the pieces were designed to ridicule themselves. His
angry rival, were concerting a plan of revenge for this in jury, how tar it was real or imaginary we have now no means of ascertaining, w hen Je nson anticipated their attack, by hi inging out his •• Poe taste r." This attack upon Decker and Marston was favourably received ; and its only disagreeable consequence to the au thor the accidental offence which it gave to some of the militaly ;old legal profession, who chose to consider their callings as satirized by the poet. It appears, that from the pet sec.utions of the latter he had some difficulty in getting free. The Satironiastix, in which Decker re plied to the Poetaster, was rather an angry than an amus ing attack, and though its bitterness excited a tempori.ry interest, it cannot be considered as having formed any re verse in the tide ofJonson's popularity.
About this time, says his biographer already quoted, Junson began to acquire that turn for convie iality, for which he was afterwards noted. Sir Walter Raleigh had tu • d a meeting of" choice spirits" at the Mermaid, a ial ern in Friday-street. Of this club, which bitt more talent than perhaps ever met together hefore or sinee. Jonson was a member, and here for many years he repaired, with Shakspeare, Beaumont, Fletcher, Selden, Cotton, Care", Martin, Donne, and many others, whose names even at this distant period call up a mingled feeling of reverence and respect. Here were Jonson's wit com bats with Shakspeare ; and in allusion to those joyous scenes of coma Nation, Beaumont breaks out in raptures in his letter to Jonson : What things have we seen Done at the Mermaid—heard words that have been So nimble and so full of subtle flame, As if that every one from whom they came Had meant to put his whole wit in a jest.
Upon the accession of James, he was one of the earliest poets who were employed to grace the public festivities that were exhibited in honour of the new sovereign, with appropriate compositions. In those times, the visit of the sovereign to any public corporate body, or to any of his gentry or nobility, was genet ally received with an enter tainment, in which the pageantry was emblematic, and often accompanied with poetry.
Even when the sovereign was not present, there was a poetical play of imagination in public festivities, which is altogether unknown to the colder manners of later times. Jonson's reputation stood so high, that few public solemni ties were thought perfect without his assistance. For this assistance, it is well known that our poet received periodi cal sums, not only from public bodies, but from several of the nobility and gentty. A year seldom passed without some royal progress, and corporate bodies were frequently encouraged to feast their sovereign. As these visits were irregular, and without much previous notice, it became an object of no small importance to have a person always at command, on whose abilities they could rely for an enter tainment that should neither disgrace themselves nor their guests. Hence sprung the several pensions which were regularly paid to Jonson, and which may be considered in the light of retaining fees. His pension from the city alone amounted to an hundred nobles a year. King James seems to have looked with no ordinary degree of favour on the learning and ingenuity of Janson ; but, at an early period of the reign, our poet was accidetally involved in a disa greeable affair, which did not seem to augur that he should ever he the favourite poet of the court. He had taken some slight share, along with Marston and Chapman, in the comedy of Eastward Hoe ; a play in which some sati rical expressions about the Scotch gave so much offence, that Chapman and Marston were committed to prison as its authors. Jonson, though he had no share in the offen sive passage, thought himself bound in honour to share the fate of his associates, and voluntarily accompanied them to prison. They were all speedily liberated, hut not before a report had gone abroad, that it was intended to punish them by slitting their ears and noses. Had this barbarous sentence been passed, the mother of our poet intended to have given him a poison, and to have drank it along with him. From such a parent, it has been justly observed, that he must have derived no small share of that resolution which so strongly marked his character.