a revision by Ford of earlier work by Dekker, and the latter regards the last page of Act I, Acts II and III, and the prose of Acts IV and V as substantially Dekker's. It is perhaps a step from this to the theory
of Fleay and Greg (Henslowe, ii. 190) that the play represents the Phaethon, which Dekker wrote for the Admiral's in Jan. 1598 and afterwards altered for a Court performance at Christmas 1600. There are allusions to 'humours' and to 'pampered jades of Asia' (ed. Pearson, pp. 316, 318) which look early, but Phaethon is not a character, nor is the story his. A priest of the Sun appears in Act I: I am surprised that Fleay did not identify him, though he is not mad, with the 'mad priest of the sun' referred to in Greene's (q.v.) Epistle to Perimedes. The play is not a 'masque' in the ordinary sense.
The Noble Soldier > 1631
With Day and S. Rowley? S. R. 1631, May 16 (Herbert). 'A Tragedy called The noble Spanish Souldier by Thomas Deckar.' John Jackman (Arber, iv. 253). 1633, Dec. 9. 'Entred for his Copy vnder the handes of Sir Henry Herbert and Master Kingston warden Anno Domini 1631. a Tragedy called The Noble Spanish soldior written by master Decker.' Nicholas Vavasour (Arber, iv. 310). 1634. The Noble Souldier, Or, A Contract Broken, justly reveng'd. A Tragedy. Written by S. R. For Nicholas Vavasour.
Editions by A. H. Bullen (1882, O. E. P. i) and J. S. Farmer (1913, S. F. T.). The printer tells us that the author was dead in 1634. The initials may indicate Samuel Rowley of the Admiral's and Prince Henry's. Bullen and Hunt, 187, think that Dekker revised work by Rowley. But probably Day also contributed, for II. i, ii; III. ii; IV. i; V. i, ii, and parts of I. ii and V. iv are drawn like scenes in The Wonder of a Kingdom from his Parliament of Bees (1608-16). Fleay, i. 128, identifies the play with The Spanish Fig for which Henslowe made a payment on behalf of the Admiral's in Jan. 1602. This Greg (Henslowe, ii. 220) thinks 'plausible', regarding the play as 'certainly an old play of about 1600, presumably by Dekker and Rowley with later additions by Day'. He notes that the King is not, as Fleay alleged, poisoned with a Spanish fig, but a Spanish fig is mentioned, 'and it is quite possible that such may have been the mode of poisoning in the original piece'. Henslowe does not name the payee for The Spanish Fig, and it was apparently not finished at the time.
Lost and Doubtful Plays
It will be convenient to set out all the certain or conjectured work by Dekker mentioned in Henslowe's Diary.
(a) Conjectural anonymous Work before 1598
(i) Philipo and Hippolito.
Produced as a new play by the Admiral's on 9 July 1594. The ascription to Dekker, confident in Fleay, i. 213, and regarded as
