Tarlton's News out of purgatory (1590) : a modern-spelling edition ...

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area of his ballad-writing has been further complicated by
John Payne Collier's crediting Tarlton with some of his own
fabrications. The ballad that seems to be most significant,
PP
though it is no longer extant, is Tarltons Toyes (c.1576).
This is the one most frequently mentioned by other writers.
The author of Tarltons Newes Out of Purgatorie refers to his
work as f a toy of Tarltons'. In the Epistle to The Terrors of
the Night Nashe talks of 'Martin Momus and splaiefooted Zoylus
that in the eight and sixt age of Poetrie and first yere of the
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reigne of Tarltons toies ...'. 'J.M.' tells us that 'the
Clowne, the Sloven, and Tom althummes, are as farre unfit for
this profession, as Tarletons toyes for Paules Pulpit'.
The most important piece that can be credited to Tarlton
with any degree of certainty is the play The Seven Deadly Sins,
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of which only the plat of the second part remains. The
evidence of Tarlton 1 s authorship comes from Harvey and Nashe,
and seems to be reliable in that in the course of their
argument neither contests the a-scription to Tarlton. Harvey's
reference to the work is interesting apart from this question
of authorship in that- it tells of his acquaintance with Tarlton,
and provides another glimpse of the clown's personality. The
mention of the play occurs in a charge of plagiarism made
against Nashe in Foure Letters and certaine Sonnets,
To the high, and mighty Prince of Darkenesse:
not Dunsically botched-up, but right-formally
coveied, according to the stile, and tenour
of Tarletons president, his famous play of
the seaven Deadly sinnes: which most-dea[d]ly,
but most lively playe, I might have seene in
London: and was verie gently invited thereunto
at Oxford, by Tarleton himselfe, of whome I
merrily demaunding, which of the seaven, was
his owne deadlie sinne, he bluntly aunswered
after this manner; By God, the sinne of other