Shakespeare's _Merchant of Venice_ is known to have been played before 1598, and there is some reason to believe that it was produced as early as 1594. The resemblance in many particulars between the play and the narrative in the _Pecorone_ is conclusive to the fact that Shakespeare was acquainted with the Italian novel, directly or by a translation. In Gosson's _School of Abuse_, (1579,) mention is made of a play called _The Jew_, in which was represented "the greediness of worldly choosers, and bloody minds of usurers." It is possible that Shakespeare may have made use of the incidents of this forgotten piece in the construction of his plot, but as our knowledge of the older play amounts literally to the description of it given by Gosson, nothing positive is to be said on that point. Silvayn's _Orator_, translated from the French by Anthony Munday in 1596, affords the earliest discovered _printed_ notice, in English, of the bond and forfeiture, in a "Declamation, Of a Jew, who would for his debt have a pound of flesh of a Christian;" and a striking coincidence between the Jew's plea for the execution of the contract, and the reasoning of Shylock before the Senate, may be regarded by some as of weight sufficient to offset the evidence presented to show that the _Merchant of Venice_ was on the stage in 1594. No dated copy of the ballad of _Gernutus_ is known. It is on the whole more likely that the ballad is older than Shakespeare's comedy, but it _may_ have been called forth by the popularity of that very piece. To judge by the first stanza alone, the writer had derived his materials from an Italian novel. We give in the Appendix another ballad, presenting considerable diversity in the incidents, which we presume to be the one mentioned by Douce under the title of _The Cruel Jews Garland_. In 1664, we are informed by Mr. Collier, Thomas Jordan made a ballad out of the story of the Merchant of Venice, in his _Royal Arbor of Loyal Poesie_, taking some liberties with the original plot. The following was printed from an ancient black-letter copy in the Pepys collection, (compared with the Ashmole copy,) entitled, "A new Song, shewing the crueltie of 'Gernutus, a Jewe,' who, lending to a merchant an hundred crowns, would have a pound of his fleshe, because he could not pay him at the time appointed. To the tune of _Black and Yellow_." THE FIRST PART. In Venice towne not long agoe A cruel Jew did dwell, Which lived all on usurie, As Italian writers tell. Gernutus called was the Jew, 5 Which never thought to dye, Nor ever yet did any good To them in streets that lie. His life was like a barrow hogge, That liveth many a day, 10 Yet never once doth any good, Until men will him slay.