ADVERTISEMENT OF THE EDITOR.
It appears from a note, in the hand writing of our
author, that the following Tale was principally compiled
from an old Manuscript Drama, the spelling and style of
which were of the age of King James the first. The
note also states that it was never printed nor played,
having been rejected by the manager of the “Red Bull
Theatre,” in London, to whom the author transmitted a
copy. In revenge he turned Puritan, and published a satire
upon the theatres, entitled, “The School of Abuse; or
a Pleasant Invective against Poets, Pipers, Players,
Jesters, and such like Caterpillars of the Commonwealth.”
Our author says the manuscript was given
him by an officer of Lee's Legion, a descendant of
one of the first settlers of James Town, with whom
he became intimate about the close of the Revolutionary
War. I thought it best to advise the reader
of these facts, which account for some peculiarities of
style, as well as the highly dramatic cast of the story.
