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I IN 1986 was discovered in muniments room at Melbourne Hall, Derbyshire, manuscript fragment of play apparently written during early decades of seventeenth century. A single sheet of paper, folded once, contains 144 lines of text covering its four pages. It had been wrapped around packet of Sir John Coke's correspondence. Coke had been Charles I's secretary of state. (1) The dialogue of dramatic remnant involves Alessandro de' Medici, Duke of Florence (here Duke Alexander), his favorite, Lorenzino de' Medici (here Lorenzo). After duke has dismissed Alphonso his other courtiers, he confronts his dear cousin with letter in which banished Castruccio accuses Lorenzo of being traitor who has avowed Alexander's death and alteration of government. (2) Lorenzo first responds with disingenuous admission that Whoso'er writ this caveat had infallible intelligence, offers duke his own sword with which to run quite through traitor. He goes on to remind duke--who is duly flummoxed by this ambiguous acknowledgment of guilt--of his many services in discovering conspiracies against state, claims to have been acting as kind of double agent in interests of Alexander's safety. The whole exchange is managed with considerable flair. The intricacies of Lorenzo's obfuscatory self-defense are matched by duke's conflicting emotions sheer puzzlement. The historical Alessandro de' Medici was indeed assassinated by Lorenzino. Since are abundant signs that Melbourne MS is not scribal but authorial, with alterations made currente calamo, Melbourne MS evidently represents fragmentary foul of talented dramatist, who is likely to have written for professional theater. Manuscript consultant Felix Pryor compiled lengthy sale catalog for Bloomsbury Book Auctions, in which he argued for John Webster's authorship within period 1606-9. Webster is one of few prominent playwrights of Shakespeare's era for whom no known sample of handwriting exists. Richard Proudfoot wrote brief account of Jacobean dramatic fragment, finding Pryor's proposition tempting but regarding evidence as inconclusive. In letter to Times Literary Supplement, where Proudfoot's piece had appeared, I. A. Shapiro next identified Melbourne MS as a rejected early version of second scene of [James] Shirley's The in Shirley's handwriting, which can be studied in his corrections revisions to transcript of his The Court Secret, of which an early draft is preserved in library of Worcester College, Oxford. (3) To Pryor's protestation that there is virtually no similarity between Shirley's handwriting in The Court Secret that of Melbourne MS, Shapiro responded that The Court Secret was composed at least ten years later than The Traitor, that Shirley was evidently trained in writing variety of scripts, that examples of Shirley's hand more nearly contemporary with The Traitor--especially some notes, among papers of Bulstrode Whitelocke at Longleat, made in connection with masque The Triumph of Peace--put beyond doubt Shirley's responsibility for Melbourne MS. (4) The Melbourne MS was then examined by Antony Hammond Doreen DelVecchio, who provided an invaluable transcription. (5) They surveyed controversy, weighed up evidence, concluded that Shapiro was wrong. Direct examination of manuscript of The Court Secret convinced them that the handwriting of secretary additions to The Court Secret is not same as that of Melbourne. (6) Though duly cautious, they considered it likely that Webster was author of newly discovered fragment promised that it would be included, as possible work, in Cambridge Webster. Antony Hammond died before The Works of John Webster could be completed, I took over his role as textual editor. …
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