THe: PLAYS AND POEMS WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE. VOLUME THE FIRST. PART II. THY PLAYS AND POEMS WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE. VOLUME THE FIRST. PARTE ih CONTAINING HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. THE TEMPEST. THE TWO GENTLEMEN OF VERONA. THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, LONDON: PRINTED BY H. BALDWIN, For J. Rivington and Sons, L. Davis, B. White and Son, T. Longman, B. Law, H. S. Woodfall, C. Dilly, J. Robſon, J. Johnſon, T. Vernor, S. G. J. and J. Robinſon, T. Cadell, J. Murray, R. Baldwin, H. L. Gardner, J. Sewell, J. Nichols, J. Bew, T. Payne, jun. S8. Hayes, R. Faulder, W. Lowndes, G. and T. Wilkie, Scatcherd and Whitaker, T. and J. Egerton, C. Stalker, J. Barker, J. Edwards, Ogilvie and Speare, J. Cuthell, J. Lackington, and E. Newbery. M DCC XC, r oy 2 2 AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT o THE RISE AND PROGRESS | EXT Hi | ENE EIER STA. | 4 o F THE ECONOMY AND US AGES OF OUR ANCIENT THEATRES. Tür drama before the time of Shakſpeare was ſo little cultivated, or ſo ill underſtood, that to many it may appear unneceſſary to carry our theatrical reſearches higher than that period. Dryden has truly obſerved, that he: found not, but created firſt the ſtage; of which no one can doubt, who conſiders, that of all the plays iſſued from the preſs antecedent to the year 1592, when there is reaſon to believe he commenced a drama- tick writer, the titles are ſcarcely known, except to antiquaries; nor is there one of them that will bear a ſecond peruſal. Vet theſe, contemptible and few as they are, we may ſuppoſe to have been the moſt popular productions of the time, and the beſt that had been exhibited before the appearance of Shakſpeare“. I There are but thirty-eight plays, (excluſive of myſteries, moralities, interludes, and tranſlated: pieces,) now extant, written antecedent to, or in, the year 1592. Their titles are as follows: | Acolaſtus - — 1540 | Appius and Virginia | 23 and Porrex = 175 = foi . inf, Needle [ 1575 Damon and Pytbias 1562 | Promos and Caſſandra = 1578 Tancred and Giſmund - 1568 Arraignment of Paris | Cambyſes, no date, but pro- | Sapphbo and Pbao 8 1584 bably written before - 1570 Alexander and Campaſpe | Misfortunes of Arthur, 1587 Vor. I, Part II. T0” A minute 2 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT A minute inveſtigation, therefore, of the origin and progreſs of the drama in England, will ſcarcely repay the labour of the inquiry. However, as the beſt intro- duction to an account of the internal economy and uſages of the Engliſh theatres in the time of Shakſpeare, (the principal object of this diſſertation, ) 1 ſhall take a curſory view of our moſt ancient dramatick exhibitions, though I fear 1 can add but little to the reſearches which ha already been made on that ſubject. Feronimo Spaniſh Tragedy, or Hieronimo is mad again | Tamburlaine Titus Andronicus - Ling Henry V. in or before Contention between the Houſes of Yorke and Lan- caſter, in or before = King John, in two as Endymion - Soliman and Perſeda Midas Galathea { Arden of Fever ſham Alpbonſus king of Arra- gon James IV. king of Scot- 1 589 avg” ones | I ookinglaſs for T, London 25 Ealing Friar Bacon and Friar 1590 Bungay Few of Malta 1591 Pr. auſtus yp OO IF. [Euft's Dominion „ Me, cre of Paris © © PO Di 0 4 1588 * c Furioſo TJ "" Between the years 1592 and 1600, the following plays were printed or exhibited; the greater part of which, probably, were written before our author commenced play-wright. Cleopatra = Edward I, Battle of Alcazar 1 Wounds of Civil War Selymus, Emperor of the urks Cornelia Mother Bombie The Cobler's Prophecy Y% The Wars of Cyrus King Eeir © Taming of a Shrew An old wives Tale Maid's Metamorp hoſes Love's Metamorp hoſes J Pealer's Prophecy Antonius Edward III. Fily Beguiled — wy 1593] Mucedorus - The wirtuous Octavia Blind Beggar of Alex- andria | EveryMan in bis Humour Pinner of Wakefield © Warning for fair Women 1594| David and Bethſabe Two. angry women of A- bingdon _ The Caſe is altered Every Man out of bis Humour + The Trial of Chevalry Humorous day's mirtb Summer's laſt Will and 1595] Teftament 3 „ =. 2 2. Woman in the Moon =» » * 1597 159 1599 Mr. 8 . 8 ET INI W 0 . 8 $ EARS c EF Ee I A I GLEN 1 HOG _ —— 1 1 f f!fkſt.lO .... ee Ren Re ITT To TIT Eg Lads 23 8 *, LEST FT 9 rt EY, Wes n 53 bo FA A r n n 5 1 po de Yes at N 2 n 25 n N 1 F r n 8 4 3 OT SER er IT CC TN ot OR 45 * 1 N * : - . . +} . : FEA 8 S 3 Re Es ET Nee _ 2 8 OY * I 2 3 ORE Eons 8 7 N . a * * WG. FX Fe pf LM * * * 24 2 — * Ko WE. - 7 8 » EG K. 25 1 1 * EXE, BK SEEM * — _ <0 BS bs. 0D = oY * 72 3 4 2 » = I FE « JM 9 2:0 by”. BS 4214.90 Ph . - a BK 1 -& + EY L238 * * * 1 We * i EA. = nn xn 200 FM 3 be: Fo, "IN 50 i% 4, bs, < 5 IF of 1% * bs pd 3 2 422 WW OD. Oe, MONROE IS oe RTE Eres 8 * * OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 3 Mr. Warton in his elegant and ingenious Hiſtory of Engliſh Poetry has given ſo accurate an account of our earlieſt dramatick performances, that I ſhall make no apology for extracting from various parts of his valuable work, ſuch particulars as ſuit my preſent pur- oſe. | f The earlieſt dramatick entertainments exhibited in England, as well as every other part of Europe, were of a religious kind. So early as in the beginning of the _ twelfth century, it was cuſtomary in England on holy feſtivals to repreſent, in or near the churches, either the lives and miracles of ſaints, or the moſt important ſtories of Scripture. From the ſubje& of theſe ſpectacles, which, as has been obſerved, were either the miracles of ſaints, or the more myſterious parts of holy writ, ſuch as the incarnation, paſſion, and reſurrection of Chriſt, theſe ſcriptural plays were denominated Miracles, or Myfteries., At what period of time they were firſt exhibited in this country, I am unable to aſcertain. Undoubtedly, however, they are of. very great antiquity ; and Riccoboni, who has: contended that the Italian theatre is the moſt ancient in Europe, has claimed for his country an honour to which it is not entitled. The era of the earlieſt repreſentation in Italy *, founded on holy writ, he has placed in the year 1264, when the fraternity del Gonfalone was eſtabliſhed ; but we had fimilar exhibitions in England above 150 years before that time. In the year 1110, as Dr. Percy and Mr. Warton have obſerved, the Miracle-play of Saint Catha- rine, written by Geoffrey, a learned Norman, (afterwards Abbot of St. Alban's,) was acted, probably by his ſcholars, in the abbey of Dunſtable; perhaps the firſt ſpectacle of this kind exhibited in Englands. William Fitz-Stephen, a monk of Canterbury, who according 2 'The French theatre cannot be traced higher than the year 1398, when the Myſtery of the Paſſion was repreſented at St. Maur. 3 C Apud Duneſtapliam—quendam ludum de ſancta Katerina (quem Mrrxacur a vulgariter appellamus) fecit. Ad que decoranda, petiit a ſacriſta ſancti Albani, ut fibi capz chorales accommodarentur, et obtinuit.“ Vitæ Abbat, ad calc. = Mat. Paris, folio, 1639. p+ 56. 5 2 t 0 4 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT. to the beſt accounts compoſed: his very curious work in 1174, about four years after the murder of his patron Archbiſhop Becket, and in the twenty-firſt year of the reign of King Henry the ſecond, mentions, that London, for its theatrical exhibitions, has religious plays, either the repreſentations of miracles wrought by holy confeſſors, or the ſufferings of martyrs . | | Mr. Warton has remarked, that in the time of Chaucer Plays of Miracles appear to have been the common reſort of idle goſſips in Lent:“ | 4 cc Lundonia pro ſpectaculis theatralibus, pro ludis ſcenicis, ludos habit ſanctiores, repræſentationes miraculorum quæ ſancti con- feſſores operati ſunt, ſeu repræſentationes paſſionum, quibus claruit conſtantia martyrum.“ 3 nobiliſimæ civitatis Lundonie. Fitz-Stephen's very curious deſcription of London is a portion of a larger work, entitled Vita ſandti Tbomæ, Archiepiſcopi et Martyris, i. e. Thomas a Becket. It is aſcertained to have been written after 8 the murder of Becket in the year 1170, of which Fitz-Stephen was 8 an ocular witneſs, and while King Henry II. was yet living. A bi modern writer with great probability ſuppoſes it to have been compoſed in 1174, the author in one paſſage mentioning that the church of 4 Saint Paul's was formerly metropolitical, and that it was thought it 1 would become ſo again, „ ſhould the citizens return into the iſland.” 1 In 1174 King Henry II. and his ſons had carried over with them a conſiderable number of citizens to France, and many Engliſh had in that year alſo gone to Ireland. See Diſſertation prefixed to Fitz- Stephen's. Deſcription of London, newly tranſlated, &c, 4to. 1772, p. 16,—Near the end of his Deſcription is a paſſage which aſcertains 1 it to have been written before the year 1182: © Lundonia et modernis | temporibus reges illuſtros magnificoſque peperit; imperatricem Ma- tildam, Henricum regem tertium, et beatum Thomam” [Thomas Becket}. Some have ſuppoſed that inftead of tertium we ought to read« ſecundum, but the text is undoubtedly right; and by tertium, Fitz. Stephen muſt have meant Henry, the ſecond fon of Henry the Second, who was born in London in 1156-7, and being heir apparent, after the death of his elder brother William, was crowned king of England in his father*s life-time, on the 15th of July, 1170. He was frequently ſtyled rex filius, rex juvenis, and ſometimes he and his father were - denominated Reges Angliæ. The young king, who occaſionally exerciſed all the rights and prerogatives of royalty, died in 1182. Had he not been living when Fitz-Stephen wrote, he would probably have added nuper defunfium. Neither Henry II. nor Henry III. were born in London, See the Diſſertation above - cited, p. 12. e 0 rr n n N 5 e Therefore OF THE ENGLISH STAGE, 8 «© Therfore made I my viſitations 4 Tovigilies and to proceſſions; «© To prechings eke, and to thiſe pilgrimages, «© To playes of miracles, and mariages*, &c. „„ And in Pierce Plowman's Creed, a piece perhaps prior to Chaucer, a friar Minorite mentions theſe Miracles as not leſs frequented than market-towns and fairs: „ c We haunten no taverns, ne hobelen about, At markets and Miracles we meddle us never.“ The elegant writer, whoſe words I have juſt quoted, has given the following ingenious account of the origin of this rude ſpecies of dramatick entertainment: «© About the eighth century trade was principally carried on by means of fairs, which laſted ſeveral days. Charlemagne eſtabliſhed many great marts of this ſort in France, as did William the Conqueror, and his Norman ſucceſfors, in England. The merchants who frequented theſe fairs in numerous caravans or compa- nies, employed every art to draw the people together. They were therefore accompanied by jugglers, min- ſtrels, and buffoons; who were no leſs intereſted in giving their attendance, and exerting all their {kill on theſe occaſions. As now but few large towns exiſted, no publick ſpectacles or popular amuſements were eſta- bliſhed ; and as the ſedentary pleaſures of domeſtick life and private ſociety were yet unknown, the fair-time was the ſeaſon for diverſion. In proportion as theſe ſhews were attended and encouraged, they began to be ſet off with new decorations and improvements: and the arts of buffoonery being rendered {till more attrac- tive, by extending their circle of exhibition, acquired an importance in the eyes of the people. By degrees the clergy obſerving that the entertainments of dancing, muſick, and mimickry, exhibited at theſe protracted annual celebrities, made the people leſs religious, by promoting idleneſs and a love of feſtivity, proſcribed - 5 The Wif of Bathes ProJogue, v. 61 37. Tyrwhitt's edit. * 3 theſe — "4 HfSTORICAL ACCOUNT | theſe ſports, and excommunicated the performers. But finding that no regard was paid to their cenſures, they changed their plan, and determined to take theſe recrea- tions, into their own hands. They turned actors; and inſtead of profane mummeries, preſented ſtories taken from legends or the bible. This was the origin of ſacred comedy. The death of Saint Catharine, acted by the monks of ſaint Dennis, rivalled the popularity of the profeſſed players. Muſick was admitted into the churches, which ſerved as theatres for the repreſen- tation of holy farces. The feſtivals among the French, called La fete de Foux, d PAne, and des Innocens, at length became greater favourites, as they certainly were more capricious and abſurd, than the interludes of the buffoons at the fairs. Theſe are the 1deas of a Judicious French writer now living, who has inveſti- gated the hiſtory of human manners with great com- prehenſion and ſagacity.”? | | «© Voltaire's theory on this ſubject is alſo very inge- nious, and quite new. Religious plays, he ſuppoſes, came originally from Conſtantinople ©; where the old Grecian ſage continued to flouriſh in ſome degree, and the _ tragedies of Sophocles and Euripides were repreſented, till the fourth century. About that period, Gregory Nazianzen, an archbiſhop, a poet, and one of the fathers of the church, baniſhed pagan plays from the ſtage at Conſtantinople, and introduced ſtories from the old and new Teſtament. As the ancient Greek tragedy was a religious ſpectacle, a tranſition was made on the ſame plan; and the choruſſes were turned into Chriſtian hymns. Gregory wrote many ſacred dramas Se At Conſtantinople” (as Mr. Warton has elſewhere obſerved,) * it ſeems that the ſtage flouriſhed much, under Juſtinian and Theo- dora, about the year 540: for in the Baſilica] codes we have the oath of an actreſs, an avaywptiy vn Topveiags, Tom. VIIe p. 682, edit. Fabrot. Græco-Lat. The ancient Greek fathers, particularly ſaint Chryſoſtom, are full of declamation againft the drama; and complain, that the people heard a comedian with much more pleaſure than a preacher of the goſpel.'* Warton's H of E. P. I. 244 Ns i for OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 7 For this purpoſe, which have not ſurvived thoſe inimi- table compoſitions over which they triumphed for a time: one, however, his tragedy called Xpiglog T&oxor, or Chrift*s Paſſion, is ſtill extant. In the prologue it is ſaid to be an imitation of Euripides, and that this 1s the firſt time the Virgin Mary had been introduced on the ſtage. The faſhion of acting ſpiritual dramas, in which at firſt a due degree of method and decorum was preſerved, was at length adopted from Conſtantinople by the Italians; who framed, in the depth of the dark ages, on this foundation, that barbarous ſpecies of theatrical repreſentation called MySsTERIESs, or ſacred comedies, and which were ſoon after received in France. This opi- nion will acquire probability, if we conſider the early commercial intercourſe between Italy and Conſtan- tinople: and although the Itahans, at the time when they may be ſuppoſed to have imported plays of this nature, did not underſtand the Greek language, yet they could underſtand, and conſequently could imitate, what they ſaw.” | « In defence of Voltaire's hypotheſis, it may be further obſerved, that The feaſt of fools and of the Aſs, with other religious farces of that fort, ſo common in Europe, originated at Conſtantinople, They were in- ſtituted, although perhaps under other names, in the Greek Church, about the year 990, by Theophylact, patriarch of Conſtantinople, probably with a better deſign than is imagined by the eccleſiaſtical annaliſts; that of weaning the minds of the people from the pagan ceremonies, by the ſubſtitution of chriſtian ſpectacles partaking of the ſame ſpirit of licentiouſneſs.— To thoſe who are accuſtomed to contemplate the great picture of human follies which the unpoliſhed ages of Europe hold up to our view, it will not appear ſurpriſing, that the people who were forbidden to read the events of the ſacred hiſtory in the bible, in which they were faithfully and beautifully related, ſhould at the ſame time be per- mitted to ſee them repreſented on the ſtage, diſgraced with the groſſeſt improprieties, corrupted with inventions and additions of the moſt ridiculous kind, ſullied with | „ impurities, 3 * — pa 2 PE en - 2 —_—_ ——ů— — — — . OGDEN 8 HTS TORICAL ACCOUNT impurities, and expreſſed in the language of the loweft farce.“ «© On the whole, the Myſteries appear to have origi- nated among the eccleſiaſticks; and were moſt proba- bly firſt ated with any degree of form by the monks. This was certainly the caſe in the Engliſh Monaſteries?, IT have already mentioned the play of Saint Catharine performed at Dunſtable Abbey by the novices in the eleventh century, under the ſuperintendance of Geoffrey a Pariſian eccleſiaſtick: and the exhibition of the Paſſion by the mendicant friers of Coventry and other places. Inſtances have been given of the like practice among the French. The only perſons who could now read, were in the religious ſocieties; and various circumſtances, peculiarly ariſing from their ſituation, profeſſion, and inſtitution, enabled the Monks to be the ſole performers of theſe repreſentations.“ 4 As learning encreaſed, and was more widely diſſe- minated, from the monaſteries, by a natural and eaſy tranſition, the practice migrated to ſchools and univer- ſities, which were formed on the monaſtick plan, and in many reſpects reſembled the eccleſiaſtical bodies *.” Candlemas Day, or The Slaughter of the Innocents, writ- ten by Ihan Parfrein 1512, Mary Magdalene, produced in the ſame year“, and The Promiſes of God, written by John Bale, and printed in 1538, are curious ſpeci- mens of this early ſpecies of drama. But the moſt ancient as well as moſt complete collection of this kind is, The Cheſter Myſteries, which were written by Ralph Higden, a Monk of the Abbey of Cheſter, about the year 13285, of which a particular account will be found below. 7 © In ſome regulations given by Cardinal Wolſey to the monaſteries of the Canons regular of Saint Auſtin, in the year 1519, the brothers are forbidden to be l ſores aut mimici, players or mimicks. But the prohibition means that the monks ſhould not go abroad to exerciſe theſe arts in a ſecular and mercenary capacity.SeeAnnal, Burtonenſes, p.437. In 1589, however, an injunction made in the Mexican Covuxcir was ratified at Rome, to prohibit all clerks from playing in the Myſteries even on Corpus Chriſti day. See HisT. or E. P. II. 201. 3 Warton's HIS Tou YO ENGLIS POETRY, II. pp. 366, et ſeg. 2 Mſs. Digby, 133. Bibl. Bodl. | 3 Mſs, Harl. 2013, &c. © Exhibited at Cheſter in the year 1327, 9 OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 9 below, I am tempted to tranſcribe a few lines from the third of theſe pageants, The Deluge, as a ſpecimen of of the ancient Myſteries, | at the expence of the different trading companies of that city. The Fall of Lucifer, by the Tanners, . The Creation, by the Drapers. The Deluge, by the Dyers. Abraham, Melchiſedech, and Lot, by the Barbers. Moſes, Balak, and Balaam, by the Cappers. The Saluta- tion and Nativity, by the Wrightes, Zhe Shepherds feeding their flocks by night, by the Painters and Glaziers. The three Kings, by the Vintners. The Oblation of the three Kings, by the Mercers. The killing of the Innocents, by the Goldſmiths. The Purification, by the Blackſmithss The Temptation, by the Butchers, The laſt Supper, by the Bakers. The b/ind Men and Lazarus, by the Glovers. Feſ«s and the Lepers, by the Corveſarys. Chyift's Paſſion, by the Bowyers, Fletchers, and Ironmongers. Deſcent into Hell, by the Cooks and Innkeepers. The Reſurrection, by the Skinners. The Aſcenſion, by the Taylors. The Election of S. Mathias, ſending of the Holy Ghoſt, &c. by the Fiſhmongers. Anticbriſ, by the Clothiers. Day of Fudge- ment, by the Webſters. The reader will perhaps ſmile at ſome of theſe combinations. This is the ſubſtance and order of the former part of the play. God enters creating the world; he breathes life into Adam, leads him into Paradiſe, and opens his fide while ſleeping. Adam and Eve appear naked, and not aſhamed, and the old ſerpent enters lamenting his fall. He converſes with Eve, She eats of the forbidden fruit, and gives part to Adam. They propoſe, according to the ſtage- direction, to make themſelves ſubligacula a foliis guibus tegamus pudenda. Cover their nakedneſs with leaves, and converſe with God. God's curſe. The ſerpent exit hiſſing. They are driven from Para- diſe by four angels and the cherubim with a flaming ſword. Adam appears digging the ground, and Eve ſpinning. Their children Cain and Abel enter: the former kills his brother. Adam's lamentation. Cain is baniſhed,” &c. Warton's HIS T. or E. P. I. 243. Mr. Warton obſerves in a note in his firſt volume, p. 180, that „ if it be trug that theſe Myſteries were compoſed in the year 1328, and there was ſo much difficulty in obtaining the Pope's permiſſion that they might be preſented in Engliſh, a preſumptive proof ariſes, that all our Myſteries before that period were in Latin. Theſe plays will . therefore have the merit of being the firſt Engliſh interludes.” Polydore Virgil mentions in his book de Rerum Inwentoribus, Lib. v. c. 2, that the Myſteries were in his time in Engliſh. & Solemus vel more priſcorum ſpectacula edere populo, ut ludos, venationes , —recitare comedias, item in templis vitas divorum ac martyria repræ- ſentare, in quibus, ut cunctis par ht voluptas, gui recitant, vernaculam linguam tantum uſur pant. The firſt three books of Polydore's work were publiſhed in 1499; in 1517, at which time he was in England, he added five more, | PE | The — mm—__—_— wm ꝗ . ˙˙¹ — òꝛ ů!j̃—˙Ä.w w 10 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT The firſt ſcenical direction 15,—** Et primo in aliqus ſupremo loco, five in nubibus, fi fieri poterat, loquatur Dx vs ad Noe, extra archam exiſtente cum tota familia ſua. Then the ALMIGHTY, after expatiating on the fins of mankind, is made to ſay: Man that I made I will deſtroye, Beaſt, worme, and fowle to fley, For one earth the doe me nye, The folke that are herone, It harmes me ſore hartefully The malice that doth nowe multiplye, 'That ſore it greeves me inwardlie That ever I made man. 'Therefore, Noe, my ſervant free, That righteous man arte, as I ſee, A ſhipp ſoone thou ſhalt make thee Of trees drye and lighte. | Litill chambers therein thou make, And byndinge ſlytche alſo thou take, Within and without ney thou flake To anoynte yt through all thy mighte, &c. After ſome dialogue between Noah, Sem, Ham, Japhet, and their wives, we find the following ſtage- direction: Then Noe with all his family ſhall make a ſigne as though the wrought uppon the ſhippe with divers inſtruments, and after that God ſhall ſpeake to | Noe, take thou thy meanye, And in the ſhipp hie that ye be, For non ſo righteous man to me Is nowe on earth hivinge. Of clean beaſtes with the thou take Seven and ſeven, or thou ſlake, | He and ſhe, make to make, By live 1n that thou bring, &c. « Then Noe ſhall goe into the arke with all his familye, his wife excepte, The arke muſt be boarded = | round oy fk bs * 7 7% ** WY: 1. 1 > 0 * 1 r 5,5, # * 1 +: _ 3 . 5 $4 +357 4388 2 0 2 8 18 3 BY 8 7:5 3 „ 5 OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 11 round aboute, and uppon the bordes all the beaſtes and fowles hereafter rehearſed muſt be painted, that there wordes maye agree with the pictures.“ SEM. Sier, here are lions, libardes, in, Horſes, mares, oxen and ſwyne, Neates, calves, ſneepe and kyne, Here ſitten thou maye ſee, &c. After all the beaſts and fowls have been deſcribed, Noah thus addreſſes his wife: No. Wife, come in, why ſtandes thou there ? Thou art ever froward, that dare I ſwere, Come in on Godes halfe ; tyme it were, For fear leſt that wee drowne. WIE. Yea, fir, ſet up your ſaile, And rowe forth with evil haile, For withouten anie faile I wil not oute of this toune; But I have my goſſepes everich one, One foote further I will not gone: 'They ſhal not drown by St. John, And I may fave ther life. They loved me full well by Chrift: But thou will let them in thie chiſt, Ellis rowe forth, Noe, when thou liſt, And get thee a newe wife. At length Sem and his brethren put her on board by force, and on Noah's welcoming her, Welcome, wife, into this boate,” ſhe gives him a box on the ear: adding, Take thou that for thy note.“ Many licentious pleaſantries, as Mr. Warton has obſerved, were ſometimes introduced in theſe religious repreſentations, ** This might imperceptibly lead the way to ſubjects entirely profane, and to comedy; and perhaps earlier than is imagined. In a Myſtery of 2 It is obvious that the tranſcriber of theſe ancient Myfteries, which appear to have been written in 1328, repreſents them as they were exhibited at Cheſter in 1600, and that he has not adhered to the original orthography, the FF HISTORICAL ACCOUNT . The Maſſacre of the Holy [nnocents 3, part of the ſubject of a ſacred drama given by the Engliſh fathers at the famous Council of Conſtance, in the year 1417, a low buffoon of Herod's court is introduced, deſiring of his lord to be dubbed a knight, that he might be properly qualified to go oz the adventure of killing the mothers of the children of Bethlehem. This tragical buſineſs is treated with the moſt ridiculous levity. The good women of Bethlehem attack our knight-errant with their ſpinning-wheels, break his head with their diſtaffs, abuſe him as a coward and a diſgrace to chivalry, and ſend him to Herod as a recreant champion with much ignominy,—lt is certain that our anceſtors intended no ſort of impiety by theſe monſtrous and unnatural mixtures. Neither the writers nor the ſpectators ſaw the impropriety, nor paid a ſeparate attention to the comick and the ſerious part of theſe motley ſcenes; at leaſt they were perſuaded that the ſolemnity of the ſubject covered or excuſed all incongrui- ties. They had no juſt idea of decorum, conſequently but little ſenſe of the ridiculous: what appears to us to be the higheſt burleſque, on them would haye made no ſort of impreſſion. We muſt not wonder at this, in an age when courage, devotion, and ignorance, compoſed the cha- racter of European manners; when the knight going to a tornament, firſt invoked his God, then his miſtreſs, and afterwards proceeded with a ſafe conſcience and great reſolution to engage his antagoniſt, In theſe Myſteries I have ſometimes ſeen groſs and open obſceni- ties. In a play of The Old and New Teftament Adam and Eve are both exhibited on the ſtage naked, and converſing about their nakedneſs; this very pertinently introduces the next ſcene ; in which they have coverings of fig-leaves. This extraordinary ſpectacle was beheld by a numerous aſſembly of both ſexes with great com- poſure: they had the authority of ſcripture for ſuch a 3 Mſs. Digby 134. Bibl. Bodl. > | 4 This kind of primitive exhibition was revived in the time of King James the Firſt, ſeveral perſons appearing almoſt entirely naked in one of the Maſks, which was repreſented before him, his queen, and a large aſſembly of the ladies of the court. It is, if I reccolle& right, deſcribed by Winwood. : 4 repreſentation \ "RY Re 12.7% Xs = > 2 =”. LE 4s - = 5 2 — ff OF THE ENGLISH STAGE r3 repreſentation, and they gave matters juſt as they found them in the third chapter of Geneſis, It would have been abſolute hereſy to have departed from the ſacred text in perſonating the primitive appearance of our firſt parents, whom the ſpectators ſo nearly reſembled in timplicity ; and if this had not been the caſe, the dra- matiſts were ignorant what to reje& and what toretains,”? «© ] muſt not omit,”” adds Mr. Warton®, an anecdote entirely new, with regard to the mode of playing the Myſteries at this period, [the latter part of the fifteenth century, ] which yet is perhaps of much higher anti- quity. In the year 1487, while Henry the ſeventh kept his reſidence at the caſtle of Wincheſter, on occaſion of the birth of prince Arthur, on a Sunday, during the time of dinner, he was entertained with a religious drama called Chriſti Deſcenſus ad inferos, or Chriſt's deſcent into Hell. It was repreſented by the Pueri Eleemoſynarii, or choir- boys, of Hyde Abbey, and Saint Swithin's priory, two large monaſteries at Wincheſter. This is the only proof I have ever ſeen of choir - boys acting in the old Myſteries : nor do I recolle& any other inſtance of a royal dinner, even on a feſtival, accompanied with this fpecies of diverſion 7. The ftory of this interlude, in which the chief characters were Chriſt, Adam, Eve, Abraham, and John theBaptiſt, was not uncommon in the ancient religious drama, and I believe made a part of what 1s called the Lupus PascHAL1s, or Eafter Play. It occurs in the Coventry Plays acted on Corpus Chriſti day®, and in the | 20 . Whitſun 5 Warton's HIS T. or ENGLISR POETRY. I. pp. 242, et ſeg. 6 HIS T. or E. P. II. p. 206. N : 7 ««Except,that on the firſt ſunday of the magnificent marriage of king James of Scotland with the princeſs Margaret of England, daughter of Henry the ſeventh, celebrated at Edinburgh with high ſplendour, « after dynnar a MorRaLiTE was played by the ſaid Maſter Inglyſhe and hys companions in the preſence of the kyng and qweene. On one of the preceding days, * after ſoupper the kynge and qweene beynge togader in hyr grett chamber, John Inglyſh and hys companions plaid.“ Fm was in the year 1503. Apud Leland, coll. iii. p. 300. Append. edit. 1770.“ | a 8 Fa account of the Coventry Plays in Stevens's Monaſticon, pol, I, p. 238. © Sir W. Dugdale, ſpeaking of the Gray-friars or 5 : | F ranciſcans 14 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT Whitſun-plays at Cheſter, where it is called the Har- ROWI NG OF HELL. The repreſentation is, Chriſt entering hell triumphantly, delivering our firſt parents, Franciſcans at Coventry, ſays, before the ſuppreſſion of monaſteries this city was very famous for the pageants that were played therein upon Corpus-Chriſti day; which pageants being acted with mighty ſtate and reverence by the friers of this houſe, had theatres for the ſeveral ſcenes, very large and high, placed upon wheeles, and drawn to all the eminent parts of the city, for the better advantage of the ſpectators.— An ancient manuſcript of the ſame is now to be ſeen In the Cottonian Library, ſub. effig. Veſp. D. 8. Sir William cites this manuſcript by the title of Ludus Coventriæ; but in the printed catalogue of that library, p. 113, it is named thus: A collection of plays in old Engliſh metre; h. e. Dramata ſacra, in quibus exhibentur biftoriee Veteris & N. Teftamenti, introductis quaſi in ſcenam perſonis lic memoratis, quas ſecum invicem colloguentes pro ingenio fingit poctas Videntur olim cor am populo, five ad inſtruendum, five ad placendum, a fratribus mendicantibus reprœſentata. It appears by the latter end of the prologue, that theſe plays or interludes were not only played at Coven- try, but in other towns and places upon occaſion» And poſſibly this may be the ſame play which Stow tells us was played in the reign of King Henry IV. which laſted for eight days. The book ſeems by the character and language to be at leaſt 300 years old. It begins with a general prologue, giving the arguments of forty pageants or geſti- cularions, (which were as ſo many ſeveral acts or ſcenes,) repreſenting all the hiſtories of both teſtaments, from the creation to the chuſing of St. Matbias to be an apoſtle, The ftories of the New Teſtament are more largely expreſſed, viz. The Annunciation, Nati- vity, Viſitation; but more eſpecially all matters relating to the Paſſion very particularly, the Reſurrection, Aſcenſion, the choice of St, Mathias : after which is alſo repreſented the Aſſumption, and laſt Judgment. All theſe things were treated of in a very homely ſtile, as we now think, infinitely below the dignity of the ſubject: But it ſeems the guſt of that age was not nice and delicate in theſe matters; the plain and incurious judgment of our anceſtors, being prepared with favour, and taking every thing by the right and eaſieſt handle; For example, in the ſcene relating to the Viſitation : Maria. But huſband of on thyng pray you moſt mekeley, I have knowing that our coſyn Elizabeth with childe is, That it pleaſe yow to go to her haſtyly, If ought we myth comfort her, it wer to me blys, Joſepb. A Gods ſake, is ſhe with child, ſche? ; Than will her huſband Zachary be mery. In Montana they dwelle, fer hence, ſo mory the, In the city of Juda, I know it verily; * they were thought to contribute ſo much to the informa- OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 15 and the moſt ſacred characters of the old and new teſta- ments, from the dominion -of Satan, and conveying them into paradiſe.— The compoſers of the Myſteries did not think the plain and probable events of the new teſtament ſufficiently marvellous for an audience who wanted only to be ſurpriſed. They frequently ſelected their materials from books which had more of the air of romance. The ſubject of the Myſteries juſt mentioned was borrowed from the P/eudo-Evangelium, or the fabulous Geo/pel, aſcribed to Nicodemus : a book, which together with the numerous apocryphal narratives, containing, infinite innovations of the evangelical hiftory, and forged at Conſtantinople by the early writers of the Greek church, gave birth to an endleſs variety of legends con- cerning the life of Chriſt and his apoſtles ; and which, in the barbarous ages, was better eſteemed than the genuine goſpel, on account of its improbabilities and abſurdities.“ Ea « But whatſoever was the ſource of theſe exhibitions, tion It is hence, I trowe, myles two a fifty; We arlike to be wery or we come at the ſame, I wole with a good will, bleſſyd wyff Mary; Now go we forth then in Goddys name, &c. A little before the reſurrection. Nunc dormient milites, & weniet anima Chriſti de inferno, cum Adam & Eva, Abraham, John Baptiſt, et aliis. Anima Chriſti. Come forth, Adam, and Eve with the, And all my fryndes that herein be, In paradys come forth with me In blyſſe for to dwelle. The fende of hell that is yowr foo, He ſhall be wrappyd and woundyn in woo Fro wo to welth now ſhall ye go, With myrth ever mor to melle. Adam, I thank the, Lord, of thy grete grace, That now is forgiven my gret treſpace, Now ſhall we dwellyn in blyſsful place, &c. The laſt ſcene or pageant, which repreſents the day of Judgment, begins thus; | | | | Michael, — 16 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT tion and inſtruction of the people on the moſt important ſubjects of religion, that one of the popes granted a pardon of one thouſand days to every perſon who reſorted peaceably to the plays performed in the Whitſun week at Cheſter, beginning with the creation, and ending with the general judgment; and this indulgence was ſecond- ed by the bithop of the dioceſe, who granted forty days of. pardon : the pope at the ſame time denouncing the ſentence of damnation on all thoſe incorrigible ſinners who'preſumed to diſturb or interrupt the due celebration of theſe: pious ſports*. It is certain that they had their uſe, not only in teaching the great truths of ſeripture to men who could not read the bible, but in aboliſhing the barbarous attachment to military games, and the bloody contentions of the tornament, which had ſo long pre- vailed as the ſole ſpecies of popular amuſement. Rude and even ridiculous as they were, they ſoftened the manners of the people, by diverting the public attention to ſpectacles in which the mind was concerned, and by creating a regard for other arts than thoſe of bodily. ſtrength and ſavage valour.“ TT I may add, that theſe repreſentations were ſo far from being conſidered as indecent or profane, that even a ſupreme pontiff, Pope Pius the Second, about the year 1416, compoſed and cauſed to be acted before him on Corpus Chriſti day, a Myſtery, in which was repreſented the court of the king of beavenꝰ. | Theſe religious dramas were uſually repreſented on holy feſtivals in or near churches. *©* In ſeveral of our old fcriptural plays,” ſays Mr, Warton, „ we ſee Michael. Surgite, All men aryſe, Venite ad Fudicium ; . For now is ſet the High Juſtice, And hath aflignyd the day of dome; Kepe you redyly to this grett allyſe, Both gret and ſmall, all and ſum, And of your anſwer you now adviſe, What you ſhall ſay when that yow com,“ &c, - Hiſtoria Hiſtrionica, 8v0. 1699, pp. 15, 17, 18, 19. ** MA. Harl. 2124. 2013. 9 Hiſtriomaſtix, to. 1633, p. 112» ſome 2 1 2 ix br £ Lk og BY * 3 3 Ky. "= 1 # 1 2 RR 1 1 TO Wwe Yr, 1 RE

N 2 — 4 * C Hh — 1 1 — 9 So A 70 = 5 26 _ HISTORICAL ACCOUNT known by the name of the Cheſter Myſteries, which had been originally compoſed in 1328, were revived in the time of king Henry the Eighth, (1533,) and again per- formed at Cheſter in the year 1600. The laſt Myſtery, I believe, ever repreſented in England, was that of Chriffs Paſſion, in the reign of king James the Firſt, which Prynne tells us was performed at Elie-Houſe in Holborne, when Gundomar lay there, on Good- friday at night, at which there were thouſands preſent .“ In France the repreſentation of Myſteries was forbid in the year 1548, when the fraternity aſſociated under the name of The A#ors of our Saviour's Paſſion, who had received letters patent from king Charles the Sixth in 1402, and had for near 150 years exhibited religious plays, built their new theatre on the ſite of the duke of Burgundy's houſe ; and were authoriſed by an Arret of parliament to act, on condition that“ they ſhould med- dle with none but profane ſubjects, ſuch as are lawful and honeſt, and not repreſent any ſacred Myſteries 7.“ Re- preſentations founded on holy writ continued to be ex- hibited in Ita'y till the year 1660, and the Myſtery of Chriſt's Paſſion was repreſented at Vienna ſo lately as the early part of the preſent century. Having thus occaſionally mentioned foreign theatres, J take this opportunity to obſerve, that the ſtages of France ſo lately as in the beginning of queen Elizabeth's reign were entirely unfurniſhed with ſcenery or any kind of decoration, and that the performers at that time re- mained on the ſtage the whole time of the exhibition ; in which mode perhaps our Myſteries in England were repreſented. For this information we are indebted to the elder Scaliger, in whoſe Poeticks is the following curious paſſage, *©* Nunc in Gallia ita agunt fabulas, ut ſial writers. They play” (ſays one of them,) „“ and counterfeite the whole Paſſion ſo trimly, with all the ſeven ſorowes of our lady, as though it had been nothing elſe but a ſimple and plain enterlude, to make boyes laugh at, and a little to recreate ſorowful harts.“ Bec- hive of the Romiſhe Churche, 1 580, p. 207. See alſo ſupra, p. 19, n. 5. 6 Hiſftriomaſtix, quarto, 1633, p. 117. n. 1 7 Riccoboni's Account of the Theatres of Europe, Byo. 1741, p. 124. 5g « Omnia T 2 pa r n AS TE FFC 2 * S nn ln Wo OE IBB RIS as 5 Safes . ns og 361 RS . * L088. 2 I 5 2 o 8 — %s 5 pk, * 7 bl 8 3 8 8 E EN OI LES r 5 3 my I | n 28 . n G Ae . 4 7 $205 A 2 . oO A <3 ed A pet, 2 he hy; 3 8 T PG * r 888 F THE ENGLISH STAGE. 27 omnia in conſpectu ſint; uUnNivERSUS APPARATUS di poſitis ſublimibus ſedibus. Perjone ipſæ nunquam diſce- dunt : qui filent pro abſentibus habentur. At enimvero perridiculum, ibi ſpectatorem videre te audire, et te vi- dere teipſum non audire quæ alius coram te de te lo- quatur; quaſi ibi non ſis, ubi es: cum tamen maxi- ma poetæ vis ſit, ſuſpendere animos, atque eos facere ſemper expectantes. At hic tibi novum fit nihil; ut prius ſatietas ſubrepat, quam obrepat fames. Itaque recte objecit Æſchylo Euripides apud Ariſtophanem in Ranis, quod Niobem et Achillem in ſcenam introduxiſſet capite co-operto; neque nunquam ullum verbum qui ſint lo- quuti*,”” That is, © At preſent in France [about the year 1556] plays are repreſented in ſuch a manner, that nothing is withdrawn from the view of the ſpectator. The whole apparatus of the theatre conſiſts of ſome high ſeats ranged in proper order. The perſons of the ſcene never _ depart during the repreſentation : he who ceaſes to ſpeak, is conſidered as if he were no longer on the ſtage. But in truth it is extremely ridiculous, that the ſpectator ſhould ſee the actor liſtening, and yet he himſelf ſhould not hear what one of his fellow- actors ſays concerning him, though in his own preſence and within his hear- ing: as it he were abſent, while he is preſent, It is the great object of the dramatick poet to keep the mind in a conſtant ſtate of ſuſpence and expectation. But in our theatres, there can be no novelty, no ſurpriſe : inſo- 8 Jul. Cæſ. Scaligeri Poetices Libri Septem. Folio, 1561. I. 1. c. 21. Julius Cæſar Scaliger died at Agen, in the province of Guienne in France, on the 21ſt of October, 1558, in the 75th year of his age. He wrote his Poeticks in that town a few years before his death. Riccoboni gives us the ſame account in his Hiſtory of the French Theatre. In the repreſentations of the Myfteries, the theatre re- preſented paradiſe, hell, heaven, and earth, all at once; and though the action varied, there was no change of the decorations. Aſter an actor had performed his part, he did not go off the ſtage, but retired to a corner of it, and fate there in full view of all the ſpeQators.” Hiſ- torical and Critical Account of the Theatres in Europe, octavo, 1741, P- 118, We ſhall preſently ſee that at a much later period, and long after the Myſteries had ceaſed to be exhibited, „ though the action 2 there was no change of decoration, either in France or Eng- nd. | much — = - 1 r . — — — a — * — ooo | | iy — * Furr — — * 28 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT much that the ſpectator is more likely to be ſatiated with what he has already ſeen, than to have any appetite for what is to come. Upon this ground it was, that Euri- pides objected to Æſchylus, in The Frogs of Ariſtophanes, for having introduced Niobe and Achilles as mutes upon the ſcene, with a covering which entirely concealed their heads from the ſpectators.“ | Another practice, equally extraordinary, is mentioned by Bulenger in his treatiſe on the Grecian and Roman theatres. In his time, ſo late as in the year 1600, all the actors employed in a dramatick piece came on the ſtage in a troop, before the play began, and preſented themſelves to the ſpectators, in order, ſays he, to raiſe the expectation of the audience. Putem tamen (quod hodieque fit ) omnes actores antequam ſinguli agerent, confeſtim et in turba in proſcenium prodiiſſe, ut ſui ex- pectationem commoverent ?.”' I know not whether this was ever practiſed in England, Inftead of. raiſing, it ſhould ſeem more likely to repreſs, expectation. I ſup- poſe, however, this writer conceived the audience would be animated by the zumber of the characters, and that this diſplay would operate on the gaping ſpectators like ſome of our modern enormous play-bills ; in which the length of the ſhow ſometimes conſtitutes the principal merit of the entertainment. Mr. Warton obſerves that Moralities were become ſo faſhionable a ſpectacle about the cloſe of the reign of Henry the Seventh, that John Raſtall, a learned typo- grapher, brother- in- law to Sir Thomas More, extended its province, which had been hitherto confined either to moral allegory, or to religion blended with buffoonery, and conceived a deſign of making it the vehicle of ſci. ence and philoſophy. With this view he publiſhed A new INTERLUDE and a mery, of the nature of the iiij. Ele- ments, declaring many proper 3 of philoſophy naturall, and dywvers ftraunge lanays, Ic. In the colmographical part of the play, in which the poet profeſſes to treat of 9 Bulengeri de Theatro, 8 vo. 1600. I. 1. p. 60. b. | | dyvers OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 29 dywers ftraunge landys, and of the new-found landys, the tracts of America recently diſcovered, and the manners of the natives, are deſcribed. The characters are, a Meſ- ſenger, who ſpeaks the prologue, Nature, Humanity, Studious Deſire, Senſual Appetite, a Taverner, Expe- rience, and Ignorance *.*? As it is uncertain at what period of time the ancient Myſteries ceaſed to be repreſented as an ordinary ſpecta- cle for the amuſement of the people, and Moralities were ſubitituted in their room, it is equally difficult to aſcer- tain the preciſe time when the latter gave way to a more legitimate theatrical exhibition. We know that Mora- lities were exhibited occaſfonally during the whole of the reign of queen Elizabeth, and even in that of her ſuc- ceitor, long after regular dramas had been preſented on the ſcene ?; but I ſuſpect that about the year 1570 (the 13th year of queen Elizabeth) this ſpecies of drama be- gan to loſe much of its attraction, and gave way to ſome- thing that had more the appearance of comedy and tragedy, Gammer Gurton's Needle, which was written by Mr. Sill, (afterwards biſhop of Bath and Wells,) in the 23d year of bis age, and acted at Chriſt's College, Cambridge, in 1566, is pointed out by the ingenious writer of the tract entitled Hiforia Hiftrionica, as the firſt piece that looks like a regular comedy ;?? that is, the firſt play that was neither Myſtery nor Morality, and in which ſome humour and diſcrimination of charaQter may be found. In 1561-2 Thomas Sackville lord Buck- hurft, and Thomas Norton, joined in writing the tragedy 1 HisT, or E. P. Vol. II. p. 364. © Dr. Percy ſuppoſes this play to have been written about the year 1510, from the following lines: 66 —— Within this xx yere cc Weſtwarde he found new landes © That we never harde tell of before this.“ | | The Weſt- Indies were diſcovered by Columbus in 1492.“ Ibid. 2 The licence granted in 1603 to Shakſpeare and his fellow-come= dians, authoriſes them to play comedies, tragedies, hiſtories, inter- ludes, morals, paſtorals, &c. See alſo The Guls Hornebooke, 1609: «& — if in the middle of his play, (bee it paſtoral or comedie, morall or tragedie,) you riſe with a ſhrewd and diſcontented face, &c. of 30 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT of Ferrex and Porrex, which was exhibited on the 18th of January in that year by the Students of the Inner Temple, before queen Elizabeth at Whitehall. Neither of theſe pieces appears to have been acted on a publick theatre, nor was there at that time any building in London conſtructed ſolely for the purpoſe of repreſenting plays. Of the latter piece, which, as Mr. Warton has obſerved, is perhaps the firſt ſpecimen in our lan- guage of an heroick tale written in verſe, and divided in- to acts and ſcenes, and cloathed in all the formalities of a regular tragedy,” a correct analyſis may be found in the HISTORY or ENGLISH PotTRYS®, and the play itſelf within theſe few years has been accurately re- printed. | | | It has been juſtly remarked by the ſame judicous wri- ter, that the early practice of performing plays in ſchools and univerſities greatly contributed to the improvement of our drama. While the people were amuſed with Skelton's Trial of Simony, Bale's God's Promiſes, and Chriſt's Deſcent into Hell, the ſcholars of the times were compoſing and acting plays on hiſtorical ſubje&s, and in imitation of Plautus and Terence. Hence ideas of legi- timate fable muſt have been imperceptibly derived ta the popular and vernacular drama #+.*? + | In confirmation of what he has ſuggeſted, it may be obſerved, that the principal dramatick writers, before Shakſpeare appeared, were ſcholars, Greene, Lodge, Peele, Marlowe, Naſhe, Lily, and Kyd, had all a re- gular univerſity education. From whatever cauſe it may have ariſen, the dramatick poetry about this period certainly aſſumed a better, though ftill an exception- able, form. The example which had been furniſhed by Sackville was quickly followed, end a great number of tragedies and hiſtorical plays was produced between the years 1570 and 1590; ſome of which are fill extant, though by far the greater part is loſt, This, I appre- 3 Vol. III. pp. 355, et ſeq. 4 HisT. or E. P. II. Po 388. | hs hend, OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 31 hend, was the great era of thoſe bloody and bombaſtick pieces, which afforded ſubſequent writers perpetual to- picks of ridicule : and during the ſame period were ex- hibited many Hiſtories, or hiſtorical dramas, formed on our Engliſh Chronicles, and repreſenting a ſeries of events {imply in the order of time in which they hap- pened. Some have ſuppoſed that Shakſpeare was the firſt dramatick poet that introduced this ſpecies of dra- ma; but this is an undoubted error. I have elſewhere obſerved that every one of the ſubjects on which he con- ſtructed his hiſtorical plays, appears to have been drama- tized, and brought upon the ſcene, before his time?. 5 See Vol. VI. p · 426. Goſſon in his Plays Confuted in five actions, printed about the year 1580, ſays, © In playes either thoſe things are fained that never were, as Cupid and Pſyche, plaid at Paules; [he means, in Paul's ſchool, ]J— or if a true hiftorie be taken in hand, it is made like our ſhavelings, longeſt at the riſing and falling of the ſunne.” From the ſame writer we learn, that many preceding dramatick poets had travelled over the ground in which the ſubjects of ſeveral of Shakſpeare's other plays may be found, © I may boldly ſay it, (ſays Goſſon) becauſe I have ſeene it, that the Palace of Pleaſure, the Golden Aſſe, the Æthiopian Hiſto- rie, Amadis of Fraunce, the Round table, bawdie comedies in Latin, French, Italian, and Spaniſh, have beene thorongbly ranſackt to fur- niſh the playe-houſes in London.“ Signat. D 5. b. | Lodge, his antagoniſt in this controverſy, in his Play of plays and paſtimes, a work which I have never ſeen, urges, as Prynne informs us, in defence of plays, that * they dilucidate and well explain many darke obſcure bifteries, imprinting them in men's minds in ſuch inde- lible characters that they can hardly be obliterated.” Hiſtriomaſtiæ, P- 940. See allo Heywood's Apology for Actors, 1612: Plays have made the ignorant more apprehenſive, taught the unlearned the know- ledge of many famous bhiftories 3 inſtructed ſuch as cannot reade, in the diſcovery of our Engliſh Chronicles : and what man have you now of that weake capacity that cannot diſcourſe of any notable thing record- ed, even from William the Congueror, nay from the landing of Brute, untill this day, being poſſeſt of their true uſe?” —In'Florio's dialogues in Italian and Engliſh, printed in x591, we have the following dialogue: « G. After dinner we will goe ſee a play, H. The plaies that they play in England are not right comedies. T. Yet they do nothing elſe but plaie every daye. H. Yea, but they are neither right comedies, nor right tragedies, G. How would you name them then ? H. Repreſentations of hiſtories, without any decorum.“ The O . . EPI Ae os E Par RE ESI —M. . ² .. ir > IE WE neo ——— ä —-V—ͤ —ũðZꝛ new —— "4 32 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT The hiſtorical drama is by an elegant modern writer ſuppoſed to have owed its riſe to the publication of The Mirrour for Magiſtrates, in which many of the moſt diſ- tinguiſhed characters in Engliſh hiſtory are introduced, giving a poetical narrative of their own misfor- | tuues . Of this book three editions, with various al- terations and improvements, were printed between 1563 and 1587. I At length (aboat the year 1591) the great lumi- nary of the dramatick world blazed out, and our poet produced thoſe plays which have now for two hun- dred years been the boaſt and admiration of his country- men. | Our earlieſt dramas, as we have ſeen, were repreſent- g ed in churches or near them by ecclefiaſticks : but at a very early period, I believe, we had regular and eſta- blithed players, who obtained a livelihood by their art, So early as in the year 1378, as has been already noticed, the ſinging-boys of St. Pauls repreſented to the king, that they had been at conſiderable expence in preparing a ſtage repreſentation at Chriſtmas, Theſe, however, can- not properly be called comedians, nor am I able to point out the time when the profeſſion of a player became common and eſtabliſhed, It has been ſuppoſed that the licenſe granted by queen Elizabeth to James Burbage and others, in 1574, was the firſt regular licenſe ever granted to comedians in England; but this is a miſtake, for Heywood informs us that ſimilar licenſes had been granted by her father king Henry the Eighth, king Ed- ward the Sixth, and queen Mary. Stowe records, that * « when king Edward the Fourth would ſhew himſelf in ſtate to the view of the people, he repaired to his palace at St. John's, where he was accuſtomed to ſee the City * Afors7.” In two books in the Remembrancer's-office in | the N > — — — > 6 ITS 2 — — — n * v — — * —... ß eA N — — — — ma — — rr — — b — bf 2 K . = 6 Walpole's Royal and Noble Authors, Vol. I. p. 166. ; 7 Apology for Actors, to. 1612, Signat. E 1. b. „ Since then, adds Heywood, „that houſe by the princes free gift hath be- longed to the office of the Revels, where our court playes have ben in late dayes yearely rehearſed, perfected, and corrected, before they : come to the publike view of the prince and the nobility.” This houſe RE mult * , 3... * . Lad 5 * fore us. OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 33 the Exchequer, containing an account of the daily ex- pences of king Henry the Seventh, are the following articles ; from which it appears that at that time players, both French and Engliſh, made a part of the appendages of the court, and were ſupported by regal eſtabliſhment. Item, to Hampton of Worceſter for making of ba- lades, 20s. Item, to my ladie the kings moders poete, | 66s. 8d. Item, to a Welſh Rymer, in reward, 13s. 4d. Item, to my Lord Privie-Seals fole, in rew. 105, Item, to Pachye the fole, for a rew. 6s. Sd. Utem, to the fooliſh duke of Lancaſter, 3s. Item, to Dix the foles maſ- ter, for a months wages, 10s. Item, to the King of Frances fole, in rew. 4l. Item, to the Frenjhe players, in rew.20s. Item, to the tumbler upon the ropes, 208. Item, for heling of a ſeke maid, 6s. 8d. | Probably the piece of gold given by the king in touching for the evil. } Iiem, to my lord princes organ-player, for a quarters wages at Michell. 10s. Item, to the players of London, in reward, 10s. Iten, to Maſter Barnard, the blind poete, 100s. Item, to a man and woman for ſtrawber- ries, 85, 4d. Item, to a woman for a red roſe, 28. The foregoing extracts are from a book of which almoſt every page is ſigned by the king's own hand, in the 13th year of his reign. The following are taken from a book which contains an account of expences in the gth year of his reign, ** Item, to Cart for writing of a boke, 6s, 8d. Item, payd for two playes in the hall, 26s, 8d. Item, to the kings players for a reward, 1008. Item, to the king to play at cardes, 100s. Item, loſt to my lord Morging at buttes, 6s. 8d. Item, to Harry Pyning, the king's godſon, in reward, 20s. Iten, ta the players that begged by the way, 6s. 8d *.”? Some of theſe articles I have preſerved as curious, though they do not relate to the ſubje& immediately be- This account aſcertains, that there was then not only a regular troop of players in London, but alſo muſt have been choſen on account of its neighbourhood to Whitehall, where the royal theatre then was. The regular office of the Revels at that time was on St. Peter's hill, near the Blackfriars' playhouſe. For theſe extracts I am indebted to Francis Groſe, eſq. to whom every admirer of the venerable remains of Engliſh antiquity has the higheſt obligations. © D Vor. I. PAR II. 2 royal 34 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT a royal company. The intimate knowledge of the French language and manners which Henry muſt have acquired during his long ſojourn in foreign courts, (from 1471 to 1485,) accounts for the article relative to the company of French players. Fe | In a Manuſcript in the Cottonian library in the Muſeum, a narrative is given of the ſhews and ceremonies exhi- bited at Chriſtmas in the fifth year of this king's reign, 1490. This Criſtmaſs I ſaw no diſgyſyngs, and but right few pleys; but ther was an abbot of miſ-rule, that made muche ſport, and did right well his office. On Candell Maſs day, the king, the qwen, my ladye the kings moder, with the ſubſtance of al the lordes temporell preſent at the parlement, &c.. wenten a proceſſion from the chapell into the hall, and ſoo intoWeſtmynſter Hall ;— Thekyng was that day in a riche gowne of purple, pirled withe gold, furred wythe ſabuls.— At nyght the king, the qwene, and my ladye the kyngs moder, came into the Whit hall, and ther had a pley. — On New-yeeres day at nyght, (ſays the ſame writer, ſpeaking of the year 1488,) ther was a goodly diſgyſing, and alſo this Criſtmaſs ther wer many and dywvers playes s. A proclamation which was iſſued out in the year 1547 by king Edward the Sixth, to prohibit for about two months the exhibition of any kind of interlude, play, dialogue, or other matter ſet forth in the form of a play, in the Engliſh tongue, deſcribes plays as a familiar entertainment, both in London, and in the country“, and the profeſſion of an actor as common and eftabliſhed. 4 Foraſmuch as a great number of thoſe that be common 8 Leland. Collect. Vol. IV. Append. pp. 235, 256, edit. 1774. 9 Itinerant companies of aQors are probably coeval with the firſt riſe of the Engliſh ſtage. King Henry the Seventh's bounty to ſome ſtroll- ing players has been mentioned in the preceding page. In 1556, the fourth year of queen Mary, a remonſtrance was iſſued from the privy- council to the lord Preſident of the North, ſtating, “ that certain lewd {wicked or diſſolute] perſons, namipg themſelves to be the ſervants of Sir Francis Lake, and wearing his livery or badge on their ſleeves, have wandered, about theſe north parts, and repreſenting certain plays and interludes, reflecting on the queen and her conſort, and the for- malities of the maſs." Strype's Memorials, Vol. III. Append, III. p. 185. 2 | players 2. = 2 6 Py ia BD - SS / F Ee 8 - > SN ee yt EL LN ern ONES. + V Sie S336 00" MEE. 88 n OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 35 players of interludes and playes, as well within the city of London as elſewhere within the realme, doe for the moſt part play ſuch interlcdes as contain matter tending to {edition *,” &c. By common players of interludes here mentioned, I apprehend, were meant the players of the city, as contradiſtinguiſhed from the king's own ſer- vants. In a Manuſcript which I ſaw ſome years ago, and which is now in the Library of the Marquis of Lanſdown, are ſundry charges for the players belonging to king Edward the Sixth; but I have not preſerved the arti- cles. And in the houſehold-book of queen Mary, in the Library of the Antiquarian Society, is an entry which ſhews that ſhe alſo had a theatrical eſtabliſhment : ** Eight players of interludes, each, 665. 8d.— 261. 13s. 4d.“ It has already been mentioned that originally plays were performed in churches. Though Bonner biſhop of London iſſued a proclamation to the clergy of his dioceſe in 1542, prohibiting “ all manner of common plays, = games, or interludes, to be played, ſet forth, or declared within their churches, chapels,” &c. the practice ſeems to have been continued occaſionally during the reign of queen Elizabeth; for the author of The Third Blaſt of retrait from plays and players complains, in 1580, that „the players are permitted to publiſh their mammetrie in every temple of God, and that throughout England ;?? &c, and this abuſe is taken notice of in one of the Canons of King James the Firſt, given ſoon after his acceſſion in the year 1603. Early however in Queen Elizabeth's reign the eſtabliſhed players of London be. 1 gan to act in temporary theatres conſtructed in the yards of inns *; and about the year 1570, I imagine, one or two 1 Fuller's Church Hift. B. VII. p. 390. | 2 © In proceſs of time it [playing] became an occupation, and many there were that followed it for a livelihood, and, what was worſe, it became the occaſion of much fin and evil; great multitudes of people, eſpecially youth, in queen Elizabeth's reign, reſorting to theſe plays : and being commonly ated on ſundays and feſtivals, rhe churches were forſaken, and the playhouſes thronged. Great inns were uſed for this purpoſe, which had ſecret chambers and places, as well as open ſtages and galleries.” Strype's Additions to Stoxve's Survey, folio, 1720, Vol. I. p. 247. "IF 2 | regular 36 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT regular playhouſes were erecteds. Both the theatre in Blackfriars and that in Whitefriars were certainly built before 1580; for we learn from a puritanical pamphlet publiſhed in the laſt century, that ſoon after that year, % many goodly citizens and well diſpoſed gentlemen of London, confidering that play-houſes and dicing-houſes were traps for young gentlemen, and others, and per- ceiving that many inconveniences and great damage would enſue upon the long ſufering of the ſame,—ac- quainted ſome pious magiſtrates therewith, - who there- upon made humble ſuite to Queene Elizabeth and her privy-councell, and obtained leave from her majeſty to thruſt the players out of the citty, and to pull down all playhouſes and dicing-houſes within their liberties ; which accordingly was effected, and the playhouſes in Gracious-ſtreet, Biſhopſgate-ſtreet, that nigh Paul's, that on Ludgate-hill, and the White-friers, were quite pull- ed down and ſuppreſſed by the care of theſe religious ſenators “.“ The theatre in Blackfriars, not being within the liberties of the city of London, eſcaped the fury of theſe fanaticks. Elizabeth, however, though ſhe yielded in this inſtance to the frenzy of the time, was during the whole courſe of her reign a favourer of the ſtage, and a frequent attendant upon plays. So early as in the year 1569, as we learn from another puritanical writer, the children of her chapel, (who are deſcribed as her ma- Jeſty's unfledged minions,””) „ flaunted it in their filkes and ſattens, and acted plays on profane ſubjects in 3 c In playes either thoſe thinges are fained that never were, as Cupid and Pſyche, played at Paules, [the ſchool-room of St. Paul's,] and a great many comedies more at the ane u and in every playhouſe in London, which for brevity ſake I over-ſkippe; or,” &c. Plays 3 in five Adlinns, by Stephen Goſſon, no date, but printed about the year 1580. | | . > Richard Reulidge's Monſter lately found out and diſcovered, or the ſeourging of Tipplers, 1628, pp. 2, 3, 4. What he calls the theatres in Gracious-ſtreet, Biſhopſgate-ſtreet, and Ludgate-hill, were the temporary ſcaffolds erected at the Croſs-Keys Inn in Gracechurch- ſtreet, the Bull in Biſhopſgate-ſtreet, and the Bell-Savage on Ludgate- hill. That nigh Paul's, was St. Paul's ſchgol-room, behind the Convocation-houſe, the Ll 1 OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 37 the chapel-royal5. In 1574 ſhe granted a licence to > James Burbage, probably the father of the celebrated tragedian, and four others, ſervants to the earl of Lei- ceſter, to exhibit all kind of ſtage- plays, during pleaſure, in any part of England, as well for the recreation of her loving ſubjects, as for her own ſolace and pleaſure * when ſhe ſhould think good to ſee them“; and in the year 1583, ſoon after a furious attack had been made On 5 « Even in her majeſties chapel do theſe pretty upſtart youthes pro- phane the Lordes-day by the laſcivious writhing of their tender limbs, E and gorgeous decking of their apparell, in feigning bawdie fables, ga- tthered from the idolatrous heathen poets,” &c. The Children of the * Chapel ftript and whipt, 1569, fol. xiii. b. Theſe children acted fre- quently in Queen Elizabeth's reign at the theatre in Whitefriars. 5 For the notice of this ancient theatrical licence we are indebted to Mr. Steevens. It is found among the unpubliſhed collections of Ry- mer, which were purchaſed by parliament, and are depoſited in the Britiſh Muſeum. Aſcough's Catalogue of Sloanian and other manu- ſcripts, N®. 462 5. N &« Pro Jacobo Burbage et aliis, de licentia ſpeciali. „Elizabeth by the grace of God, quene of England, &c. To all juſtices, mayors, ſheriffes, baylyffes, head conſtables, under conſtables, and all other oure officers and myniſters, gretinge. : Know ye, that we of our eſpeciall grace, certen knowledge, and mere motion, have licenſed and auctoriſed, and by theſe preſents do lycenſe and auRoriſe our lovinge ſubjectes James Burbage, John Perkyn, John Lanham, William Johnſon, and Robert Wilſon, ſervaunts to our truſtie and well beloved coſen and counſeyllour the Earle of Leyceſter, to uſe, exercyſe and occupie the arte and facultye of playenge commedies, tragedies, enterludes, ſtage-playes, and ſuche other like as they have alredie uſed and ſtudied, or hereafter ſhall uſe and ſtudie, as well for the recreation of our lovinge ſubjectes as for our ſolace and pleaſure when we ſhall thinke good to ſee them, as alſo to uſe and occupie all ſuche inſtrumentes as they have alredie praiſed or hereafter ſhall prac- tife, for and duringe our pleaſure ; and the ſaid commedies, tragedies, enterludes, and ftage-plaies, together with their muſicke, to ſhew, pub- liſhe, exerciſe aud occupie to their beſt commoditie, during all the terme aforeſaide, as well within the liberties and freedomes of anye our cities, townes, bouroughs, &c. whatſoever, as without the ſame, thorough- oute our realme of England. Wyllinge and commaundinge yowe and | every of you, as ye tender our pleaſure, to permit and ſuffer them herein = withoute anye lettes, hynderaunce, or moleſtation, duringe the terme : aforeſaide, any acte, ſtatute, or proclamation or commaundement here- tofore made or hereafter to be made notwythſtandynge; provyded that the ſaide commedies, tragedies, enterludes and ftage-playes he by the Maſter of our Revells for the tyme beynge before ſene and allowed; and that the ſame be not publiſhes or 3 in the tyme of common prayer, 3 or | 4 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT on the ſtage by the puritans, twelve of the principal comedians of that time, at the earneſt requeſt of Sir Francis Walſingham, were ſelected from the companies then ſubſiſting under the licence and protection of vari- ous noblemen 7, and were {worn her majeſty's ſervants *. | | Eight or in the tyme of greate and common plague in our ſaide citye of London. In wytnes whereof, &c. 1 Wytnes our ſelfe at Weſtminſter the Toth daye of Maye. [ 1574.] Per breve de privato ſigillo. | Mr. Steevens ſuppoſed that Mr. Dodſley was inaccurate in ſaying in the preface to his Collection of Old Plays, p. 22, that © the firſt com- any of players we have any account of in hiſtory are the children of Paul's in 55785 four years ſubſequent to the above licence. But the figures 1578 in that page are merely an error of the preſs for 1378, as may be ſeen by turning to a former page of Mr, Dodſley's preface, to Which, in page 22, he himſelf refers. 7 The ſervants of the earls of Derby, Pembroke, and Eſſex ; thoſe of the Lord Chamberlain; the ſervants of the Lord Admiral (Notting- ham); thoſe of Lord Strange, Lord Suſſex, Lord Worceſter, &c.— By the ſtatute 39 Eliz. c. 4. noblemen were authoriſed to licenſe play- ers to act both in town and country; the ſtatute declaring © that all common players of interludes wandering abroad, other than players of interludes belonging to anie baron of this realme, or anie other honour- able perſonage of greater degree, to be authoriſed to play under the hand and ſeale of arms of ſuch baron or perſonage, ſhall be adjudged and deemed rogues and vagabonds. : | | This ſtatute has been frequently miſ-ſtated, by Prynne and others, as if it declared all players (except noblemen's ſervants) to be rogues and vagabonds : whereas it was only made againſt ftrel/ing players. Long after the playhouſes called the Theatre and the Curtain had been built, and during the whole reign of Elizabeth, the companies belonging to different noblemen, acted occaſionally at the Croſs-Keys in Gracechurch-ſtreet, and other inns, and alſo in the houſes of noble- men at weddings and other feſtivals, s cc Comedians and ſtage-players of former time were very poor and ignorant in reſpect of theſe of this time; but being now ſin 1583] growne very ſkilfull and exquiſite actors for all matters, they were en- tertained into the ſervice of divers great lords; out of which companies there were twelve of the beſt choſen, and, at the requeſt of Sir Francis Walſingham, they were ſworne the queenes ſervants, and were allow- ed wages and liveries as groomes of the chamber: and untill this yeare 1583, the queene had no players. Among theſe twelve players were two rare men, viz. Thomas Wilſon, for a quicke, delicate, refined, extemporall witt, and Richard Tarleton for a wondrous plentiful! plea- ſant extemporall wit, he was the wonder of his tyme. He lieth buried in Shoreditch church.“ He was ſo beloved,” adds the writer in a : note, OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 39 Eight of them had an annual ſtipend of 31. 6s. 8d. eachꝰ. At that time there were eight companies-of comedians, each of which performed twice or thrice a week“. King James the Firſt appears to have patronized the tage with as much warmth as his predeceſſor. In 1599, while he was yet in Scotland, he ſolicited queen Elizabeth (if we may believe a modern hiftorian) to ſend a com- pany of Engliſh comedians to Edinburgh; and very ſoon after his acceſſion to the throne, granted the following licence to the company at the Globe, which 1s found in Rymer's Fædera. note, ce that men uſe his picture for their fignes." Stowe's Chron, publiſhed by Howes, ſub, ann. 1583, edit. 1615. The above paragraph was not written by Stowe, not being found in the laſt edition of his Chronicle publiſhed in his life-time, 4to. 1605 2 and is an interpolation by his Continuator, Edmund Howes, Richard Tarleton, as appears by the regiſter of St. Leonard's, Shore- ditch, was buried there, September the third, 1588. The following extract from Strype ſhews in how low a ſtate” the ſtags was at this time: | «© Upon the ruin of Paris Garden, [| the fall of a ſcaffold there in January 1583-4] ſuit was made to the Lords | of the Council] to ba- nith plays wholly in the places near London: and letters were ob- tained of the Lords to banith them on the Sabbath days. | Upon theſe orders againft the players, the Queen's players petitions ed the Lords of the Councel, That whereas the time of their ſervice drew very near, ſo that of neceſſity they muſt needs have exerciſe to enable them the better for the ſame,. and alſo for their better keep and relief in their poor liuings, the ſeaſon of the year being paſt to play at any of the houſes without the city: Their humble petition was, that the Lords would vouchſafe to read a few articles annexed to their ſup- plication, and in conſideration | that] the matter contained the very ftay and ſtate of their living, to grant unto them confirmation of the ſame, or of as many as ſhould be to their honours good liking z and withal, their favourable letters to the Lord Maior, to permit them to exerciſe within the city; and that their letters might contain ſome orders to the juſtices of Middleſex in their behalf.“ Strype's Additions to-Stowe's Survey, Vol. I. p. 248. 9 Houſehold-book of Queen Elizabeth in 1584, in the Muſeum, Miſs. Sloan. 3194. The Continuator of Stowe ſays, ſhe had no players before, (ſee n. 8,) but I ſuſpe& that he is miſtaken, for Q. Mary, and K. Edward the Sixth, both had players on their eſtabliſhments. See p. 35. „ For reckoning with the leaſte the gaine that is reaped of eighe ordinarie places in the citie, (which I know) by playing but once a weeke, (whereas many times they play twice, and ſometimes thrice,) it amounteth to two thouſand pounds by the year, A Sermon preached at Paules Croſſe, by John Stockwood, 1578. LY — ——— On EE * of Maye. 40 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT «© Pro LAUREN TIO0 FLETCHER & WILLIEL MO SHAKESPEARE & aliis. 8 | | A. D. 1603. Pat. | FI 1. Jac. P. z, m. 4. James by the grace of God, &c. to all juſtices, maiors, ſheriffs, conſtables, headboroughs, and other our officers and loving ſubjects, greeting. Know you that wee, of our ſpecial grace, certaine know- _—_ and meer motion, have licenſed and authoriſed, and by theſe preſentes doe licence and authorize theiſe our ſervaunts, Laurence Fletcher, WILLIAM SHAEKESPEARE, Richard Burbage, Auguſtine Philippes, John Hemings, Henrie Condel, William Sly, Robert Armin, Richard Cowly, and the reſt of their aſſociates, freely to uſe and exerciſe the arte and faculty of playing comedies, tragedies, hiſtories, interludes, morals, paſtorals, ſtage- lates, and ſuch like other as theie have alreadie ſtudied or hereafter ſhall uſe or ſtudie, as well for the recreation of our loving ſubjects, as for our ſolace and pleaſure when we ſhall thincke good to ſee them, during our ' pleaſure: and the ſaid comedies, tragedies, hiſtories, en- terludes, morals, paſtorals, ſtage-plaies, and ſuch like, to ſhew and exerciſe publiquely to their beſt commoditie when the infection of the plague ſhall decreaſe, as well within theire nowe uſuall houſe called the Globe, within our county of Surrey, as alſo within anie toune-halls or moute-halls, or other convenient places within the liberties and freedom of any other citie, univerſitie, toun, or boroughe whatſoever, within our ſaid realmes and dominions. Willing and commanding you and everie of you, as you tender our pleaſure, not onlie to 23 and ſuffer them herein, without any your letts, indrances, or moleſtations, during our pleaſure, but alſo to be aiding or aſſiſtinge to them if any wrong be to them offered, and to allow them ſuch former curteſies as hathe bene given to men of their place and quallitie; and alſo what further favour you ſhall ſhew to theiſe our ſervaunts for our ſake, we ſhall take kindlie at your handes. -In witneſs whereof, &c. | Witneſs our ſelfe at Weſtminſter, the nynteenth daye LO Per Breve de privato figillo,” ES C0 CE K n , _—_— FI EL Alte 1 8 5 — t S 7 77 oe 0 et W 3 FF n 3 PIN 3 c ͤ . 2 S 2 S * rn EEC IO TINY ton OA ages wh SEG 8 N r FF. e WF. 85 d g HER 7 . od Me " IRS 4k - . 0 TEES: DNR AD . = « £ \ il \\ l Ul | — — ) i l . nn nor rn ——————————_ — rr I rr ry — — — — — — — . ͤ ͤ en . ˙ — Z . m — — ͤ—!. r 2 — T —ĩĩͤů—————;ð5,ęↄ :ỹ . — LN ä R — — — — — — — —— RD ——— 1 ͤ oo . ͤ os F — — —— — a— —ñ —ͤ D70h — . — — 1 ²— . w . 3 ä —— 0 10 fl _ 4x a * 52 HIS T ORTE AI. Account „ The Globe wis a publick theatre, and of conſidorahle ſizes, and there they always acted by day-light“. On; the roof of this and the other publick theatres a 12 Ate erected, to whilth a flag was affixed5. ,. Theſe flags were probably diſplayed only during the hours of exh;bitith * and it ſhould ſeem from one of the old comedies that they were taken down in Lent, in which time, das? ring the early part of King James's reign playg were , not allowed to be repreſented ®, though at a ſablequgnt period this prohibition was diſpenſed with“. Ef : | I formerly 3 The Globe, we learn from Wright's Hiſtoria flrtonica, W * nearly of the ſame ſize as the une, which has been already deſcribed. | EE + 4 Hiſteria Hifirionica, 8vo. 1699, p- 7. £8 W & 5 So, in, The Curtain-Drawer of the World, 1612: „ Each play- bouſe zar Meth his flagge in the aire, whither quickly at che Waving thereof are ſummoned whole troops of men, women, and children.“ Again, in A Mad World, my Maſters, a comedy by Middleton, 1608 „the hair about the hat is as good as a flag upon the pole, at a common play-houſe, to waft company.“ See a Soth View of the City of London as it appeared in 1599, in which are dee e of the Globe and Swan theatres. From the words, „a common play- houſe, in the paſſage laſt quoted, we may be leg, to ſuppoſe that flags 1 ore mw diſplayed on the roof of Blackfriars, and the other priuate © playhouſes. A | , ND : 5 This cuſtom perhaps took its riſe from a miſconception of a line in Ovid EE | 2 „ FTunc neque marmoreo pendebant vela theatro,. ... which Heywood, in a tract publiſhed in 1612, thus tranſlates; „ In thoſe days from the marble houſe did waive TE No fail, no ſilken flag, or enſign brave.” N „ From the roof (ſays the ſame author, deſcribing a Roman ' amphitheatre,) grew a loover or turret, of exceeding altitude, from Which an enjign of lk waved continually; — pendebant vela thegtro.” he miſinterpretation might, however, have ariſen from the " Engliſh cuſtom. | | „ *Tis Lent in your cheeks ;—tbe flag is dewwn.” A Mad Werld, my Maſters, a comedy by Middleton, 1608. . Again, in Earle's Characters, 7th edit. 1638: © Shrove-tueſda hee [a player] feaſts as much as the bawdes, and Lent is more da- rous to him than the butchers.” | : 7 66 +4964: Ha the King's players for a lenten diſpenſation, the _ other companys Promiſing to doe as muche, 448. March 23,4,1616.” -* Ke” | Ph | Þ * N a .* „ a _ *. i ns i ' : 55 5 „ 8 ; *_ by e - . e "A 7 _” * 4 Wo 4 7 83 5 * * G | | 5 8 * * * P OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 53 1 I formerly conjectured that The G „ though hexa- nal at the outſide, was perhaps a N 4 within, and that it might have derived its name from its circular form !. B eee mw part appropriated to the audi- 4 « Of John- Hemminges, in Sk name of the four c6mpanys, for « ®toleration 3 in the holydayes, 445. eee 29, 1618. * Extras from the office-bgok of Sir George Buc. MAT. Herbert. p | Theſe diſpenſations did not extend to the ſermon- days, as they ore: then called; that is, Wedneſday and Friday in each week. | After Sir Henry Herbert became poſſeſſęd of the office of Maſter of 7 perf Lent appear to have been eatr he managers however did not always perform plays during t ſeaſons Some of the theatre, par- ticularly the Red- Bull and the une, Were then let to prize-fighters, tumblers, and rope-dancers, who ſometimes added a Maſque to the other exhibitions. Theſe facts are aſcertained by the following entries: EY, bs ie or a priſe at the Red Bull, for the howſe; the 6 $ the Revels, fees for permiſſions | Wear by each of fenchrs would give nothing. 108.“ Mil. Aſtley. „ From Mr, Gunnel, mr of the Fortune, 10 the name of * the dancers of the ropes for Lent, this 15 March, 1624. £1, Oo. ©.” f « From Mr. Gunnel, to allowe of a 88 the dancers of $ the ropes, this 19 March, 1624. 11 o. O.“ * * We ſee here, by thy way, that Microcoſmus, whi wiagexhibited ; in @4 1637, was not (as Dr. Burney ſuppoſes in his ingenious Hiſlory of » t MufickyV ol, III. p. 385,) the firſt malque exhibited on theſpublick ſtage. „From Mr. Blagrave, in the name of the. Cockpit rn for * this Lent, this 30th March, 1624. £2. 0. 0. % 6 March 20, 1626, From Mr. Hemmi ses, for this Lent allowanſe, £2. 9. Os?! MT, Herbert. Prynne takes notice of this relaxation in bis Hi ftriomaſtix, 4t0.16g3: 2 « There are none ſo addicted to ſtage-playes,/ but when they go unto laces where they cannot have them, or when as they are ſuppreſſed Fn publike authority, (as in times of peſtilence, andi in Lent, till now * of late, ),can well ſubſiſt without them.“ p. 784. F. s ”u 1 After theſe” (ſays Heywood} ſpeaking of the buildings at Rene; appropriate ſcenick exhibitions,) they compoſed others, but dif- * fering in forfn from the theatre or amphitheatre, and every ſuch was called circus; the frame globe- like, and merely round.” Apology for 2 1612. See alſo our author's 3 to apes V. 1 < —S or ay we cram | N # cc Within this wooden O, . But as we find in the prologue to Marſton's Antonios Kr wien was acted by the Children of Paul's in 1602, « If any ſpirit breathes within this round. N no inference reſpecting the denomination of the c can be drawn + . from this expreſſion. 4 + E 3 . © ence * _ 4 * # * ». 2 ö 8 of — „ — the year 1545] had ſignes on their frontes towards the T. as with what ig happened this week at the Banks fide. The * a * * * 5 } . 0 5 En ** | Th 8 | 54 HIS TORIC AL ACCOUNT ence was probablp ircular, I now believe that the houſe was denominated only from its ſign; which was a figure of Hercules ſupporting the Globe, under which was written, Totus mundus agit hiftrionem *. This tre was burnt down on the 29th of June, 161333 but it was rebuilt in 2 Stowe informs us, that © the allowed Stewhouſes"[ antecedent to * Hanggd out, but painted on the walles; as a Boares head, The Croſs Keyes, The Gunne, The Caſtle, the Crane, the Cardinals Hat, the >», houſes which continued t on the ſame trade. after the ancient and privileged edifices had put down obably were diſtifiguiſhed by the old ſigns; and the fign gf the "Globe, which theatre was in their neighbourhood, was perhaps, in.imi of them, painted on its * Bell, the Swanne, &c, Syrvey of London, 4to, 1603, p. 409, The ** 3 The following account of this accident is given by Sir Henry | ton, in a letter dated July 2, 1613, Relig. Wotton, p. 425, edit. 1685 25 | c& Now to leg matters of ſtate ſleep, I will enteffai you, e at 6 2 ngs Players had 4 new play called All is Frue, repreſenting ſome principal pieces of the reigmof Henry the Eighth, which was ſet forth with many extrgordinarycircumſtances of pomp and majeſty, eyen th the matting of che ſtage ; the knights of the order with their Georges and Garter, the guards with their embroidered coats, and the like: ſufficient in truth within a while to make greatneſs Very familiar, if not ridiculous. 3 ay Pe 59 * FO Now King Henry making a Maſque at the Cardinal Wolſeys houſe, and * certain cannons being ſhot off at his entry, ſome of the paper or other ſtuff, wherwith one of them was ſtopped, did light on the thatch, where being thought at firſt but, an idle ſmoak; and their eyes more attentive to the ſhow, it kindted inwardly, and ran round like à train, "conſuming within leſs than an hour the whole houſe to the very ground. This was the fatal period of that virtuous fabrick, e yet nothing did periſh but oed and fra, and a few forſaken cloaks.“ K From a letter of Mr. John Chamberlaine's to Sir Ralph Winwood,® - dated July 8, 1613, in Which this accident is likewiſe mentioned, we learn that this theatre had only fo doors. The burning of the ® Globe or playhouſe on the Bankfide on St. Peter's day HMnnot eſcape you; which fell out by a peal of chambers, (that I know not upon what occaſion werg to be uſed in the play,) the tampin or ſtopple of one of them ligMing in the thatch that covered the houſe, burn'd it down to the griund in leſy than two hours, with a dwelling-hbuſe adjoyning; and it was a great mafyaile and fair grace of God that te people hd fo little harm, having but t2vo narrow doors to get out.” Winwood's Memcrials, Vol. III. p. 469. Not a ſingle life was loſt. In 1613 was entered on the Stationers“ books A doleful ballad of the | general conflagration of the famous theatre on the Bankſide, called the Globes I have never met with it. | | - , the 85 | * . * 4 % + & p - | 2 8 * - 5 > * 2 # * {As audi OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 58 the following year, and decorated with more ornament than had been originally beſtowed upon 1 12 The exhibitions at 2% Globe ſeem to have been calcu- lated chiefly for the lower claſs of n thoſe at 4 See Taylor's Staller, p. 3 , Ep. 22. + * . As gold is better that's in fier try'd, « So is the Bank- ſide Globe, that late was burn d; 4 << For where before it had a thatched hide, & Now to a ſtately theator tis turn d.“ be See alſo Stowe's Chronicle, p. 1003. $M 5 The Globe theatre, being contiguous to the B ee, when the ſports of the latter were over the ſame ſpectators probably reſort- ed to the former. The audits at the Bull and the Fortune were, it may be preſumed, of a claſs ſtill-nferiorto that of the Globe, The latter, being the theatre of his” ajeſty's ſervants, muſt neceffarily have had a ſuperior degree of reputation. At all of them, how- ever, it appears, that Nas and ſhew were what chiefly attracted an e. Our author ſpeaks in Hamlet of © berattling the\ mon Li. e. the e theatres. — alſo A rologue.ſpgken by a company of play- ers Wiko had ſeceded from the Fortune, p. 64, note 7; from whien we learn that the performers at that theatre, “ zo ſplit "the ears of the ground lings, "Wſed 6e to tear a paſſion to tatter:. - In ſome verſes addreſſed by Thomas Carew to Mr. faſterwardb bir ery + Avenant, “Upon his excellent Play, "The Fuſt Tralian, 2 1630, J a ſimilar character of the Bull theatre: 6 Now noiſe prevails ; and he is tax d for drowth ec Of wit, that with the cry ſpends not his mouth. „ thy ſtrong fancies, raptures of the braift® _ © Dreſs'd in poetick flames, they entertain 5 As a bold impious reach; for they'll ſtill ſlight 46 All that exceeds RED But. and Cockpit flight. » + -- #& Theſe are the men in crowded heaps that throng ' « To that adulterate ſtage, where not a tongue 6 Of the untun'd kennel can a line repeat 44 Of ſerious ſenſe; but lik e lips meet like meat: C66 Whilſt the true Ftood of Den, that alone « Keep natura unſtrain'd action in her throne, ce Behold their benches bare, though they rehearſe ce The tiber Beaumont's or great Jonſon's verſe. | ith The true brood , actors were the pena at! Machfriars, i K The; uftTtali an Was acted. 8 | Ses alſo The Careleſs Shephberd:ſs, relates ae Salibury-court3 3 4tos 3656 : And J will haſten to the money-box, * „ And take my Pilling out again; — « I'll goto TRE Burr, or FoxTuNE, and a ſee 3 * A play for π-π⁹Ʒ˖-pence, and a jig to boot.“ a E4+ a Black-' #4 20 s HISTORICAL ACCOUNT. Blackfriars, for a more ſelect and judicious audience. This appears from the follgwing prologue to Shirley's Doubtful Heir, which is Inſerted among his Pg. | printed in 1646, with this title: Prologue at e GLOBE, to his Comedy called wa « | Doubtful Heir, which ſhould have been 3 22 at he wo” Blackfriars % | Gentlepen, I am only ſent to &, 8 + | Our ior did not calculate his play Ge a For hi5 meridian, The Ban ſide, he knows, * „ f 4 ls far more ſxilful at the ebbs and flows FE —_ 30 . For water than of wi ; 1. did not mean . 1 For the elevation of your poles, this ſcene. a e No ſhews,—no ange,—and what you moſt de- % 25 light in, * 2 { . Ste uriderſtanders?, here's no tar ergeht g pot the ſtage; all work for cutlers Dare A. . | 7 A vary: nor no ballads ; d es ha . "1 ut language clean, and, what: you not, | | | ithout impoſſibilities the ple? : ,; +, t , Ac „ No clown, mo ſquibs, no devil N . n «© Yo \qrels.that want nuts, what will vod dor 7 Pra) do not crack the benches} and we may «« Hereafter fit your palates with a play. | But you that can contract yourſelves, and fit, 1 As you were in the Blackfriars pit, r“ And will not deaf us with lewd noiſe and ee, hHecauſe we have no heart to break our Iungs, ö '$ «« Will pardon our waſt ſtage,» and not- diſgrace * „This play, meant for Jour perſons, not the 4 8 : * / The ſuperior diſcernment of the Blackfriars audfence may be likewiſe collected from a paſſage in the preface In the printed play, theſe words are omitted; want of whick renders the prologue perfectly unintelligible. - This Comedy Wesir. 1 for the firſt time at the Globe, June 1, 1640. 5 2 | common people ſtood in the Globe theatre, in that part of the 3 „ 5 B75 ＋ ry we now call the pit; which being lower than, the ſtage, Shirley calls them underſtanders. In the private playhouſes, it ap- pears from the ſubſequent lines, there were ſeats in the pit. Ben Jonſon has the ſame * * — we 6 5278 3 of the 1 2 „ _ pref ed - * 3 8 „5 © ä 6 1 hoy: " ; w | . © - „ ö N | + +» of Tur ENGLISK STAGE. "s7 * prefixed by Heminge and Condell to the firſt folio edi- tion of our author's Works: = And though you be a magiſtrate of vb, and fit on the ſtage at Blacſiſrurs or the Cockpit, to arraigne plays dailie, know theſe plays have had their tryal y, and tod out all * appeales.. 1 A writer alrgady quoted? NG us that one of theſe theatres was a Maler, and the other a ſummer, houſe ?. As the Globe was partly e {ed to the 1 and they 3 * 1 there uſually by day light 3 It appeared gy me probals (when this Eſſay wag rig inahy 5 ubliſh was the ſumme heatre egal have te The kings ompany,t 18 he month of May. . ng 4 8 = than at Bona,” 1 e Bankfede appears 339 hecbm 2 ' 3 — ae 4 leſs nene bs an 1 2 1 ns Ms. 7 E.. „ Mad been ., ee neee 922 W +0 : TA by PAs in a 0. 1632: „ She was Bend 2 tha 0 hree famoug amp N den hich ropes t her eye 4 take vie ee — e Fas *, +? == Continent H thy N, Ms Yes 54% be yeere World of beautſts 4 d L yyy: + reſorted-unto it. The other was a Building of en ele 7 hg dthoughywilg beaſts and gladifors did moſt poſſeſſe it | F Lears in, the title-page ef. the original Fos, print in 3 4 1608, is laid to have been perforqed by his majeſty's ſeryants, pla 1 uſually at the Seen 8 Banlefle.— geg alſo the licence granted Þy king James in 1603: * and the ſaid — 1. 5 4 22 ſhew—as well within their now pLhouſe called the 0 mention is made of their theatre in a . ; from which circum=,, Nance I ſuſpett that antecedent to that time dur poet's company played | only at the Globe, A dpurchaſed the Blackfriars theatre afterwg | the licenes grfinte by pom Qharles the Firſt to John He inge . his affociates in rhMhggr 26 25s they are authorized to exhibit plays, c. «as well within theſe zxvo their moſt uſual houſes called the os $ 6% in the county of Surrey, and their private houſes ſimatts withig pPrecinct of the Blatkfryers,—as alſo,” &c. Had they poſſe dad. t e Blackfriars eatre in 1603, it would probably have been mentioned in the former licence. In the following yt ar they certainly had poſ- # ſeſſion of it, for Marſton's Malecontent was acted chere! in 1604. * hes bs. Horkfof Taylor the Rn p. 171. edit. 1633. Ma 0 oo thy SV. - \ 1 i * 8 8 * * N Tg ; | 4 * & a 4 ; " 898 ® 58 Hfs TOMCAL ACCOUNT 3 Many of our ancient dramatick pieces (as has been already obſerved) were perſormkd in the yards of carri · ers inns, in which, in the beginning of queen Eliza. 4 beth's reign, the comedians; who then firſt united them: ſelves in egthpanies, erected an occaſional ftage*, The form of theſe temporary, playhouſes ons to be pre- ſeryed in dur modern theatre. The galleries, in both, are ranged over each other on three of the build- * i. The ſmall rooms $1 nder the loweſt of theſe galle- mes ent, our preſe boxes; and it is r ®8 a that theſe, Wen in theatres which were built in a ſabſe- ſer expreſsly for dramatick exhibitions, {till re- their old name, and are frequently called ro] ,, t writers, The yard bears a Ment 55 „ 0% * the pit, as in uſe e may f | e c have Ken raked n chjs area LY Dich its back 40 the ae 1 F K nd at "hg 5 ney. for admiſſion, Was taken. Thus, in | rere not ee might have > PMenee, in the fm Globe, un ts Ser the * her publi- „in 5 time of deare,, Ea ee * * N 7 77 ikea de erg . em E nge the = af 0 bs Jo's, 14 2 TEEN 25s Mp — of 12 5 2 er eatres W e at that 227 ſays, ſome mains e e ancient 7 ſeen in 77 n-yards of the. Croſs-key in LY op be Ball in ſgate· ſtreet. « In the ſeventeen playhopſ@ ere ates between fb a £ 1570 and N on ile reckon te hong or o, the ontinuator of Stowe's Chr e mmon offeries turne into pla My SIP 1 See a prologue to If thigghe not 4 good Play, t wes is ity quoted , 2 60, n. 1. Theſe roo ar to have been ſo ws, Ges A em oed, in 0 Mfancy of the age, for a purpoſes of A, « Theſe plays“ * of 4s Strype in his additions to Stowe's 1 Surve being commo ated on ſundays and feſtivals, the charge wed: forſaken, and t + y-houſes thronged. Great inns were uſed for this, purpoſe, which f | t Uhathbers and places as well as ope es and galleries. * * ids and good citizens“ children were inveigled agd allured to * _ private unmeet contracts. He is ſpeaking of the yea 1574. | I s & In the playchoies at London, it is the faſhion of youthes to es firſt into the yarde, and to carry their eye through every gallery; en hs unto ravens, TE they v1 the cation, thither thew#ye, 2 3 and * " 43 * * + . * 5 * * 4 _ *®oF THE ENGLISH#STAGE?» 59 5 ſod to fee the exhibition; from which circumſtance they bare called by our author ro dlings, and by Ben Jonſon 2 4 „ „ the underſtanding gentlemen of the ground.” | The galleries, or Hon as they are ſometimes called, „ _ and that part of the houſe which in private theatres was * named the pit®, ſeem to have been at the ſame price; and probably in houſes ob reputation, ſuch as the Globe, and that in Blatiftiars, the price of admiſſion into thoſe parts of the theatre was ſix-pence 7, while in ſome meaner „3 . | and preſs as near to t e faĩreſt as they can. Play: Cin futed in Five | * ſeveral Actions, by Stephen Goſſon, 1580. Again, in keys Grls , Hor nebooke, 1609 : ** The ſtage, like time, will bring you to moſt | perfect light, and lay you open; neither are you to be hunted from 1 thence, though the ſcar-crowwes in the yard hoot at you, hiſs at you, * 12 * 4 at you.“ So, in the proldgu to an old comedy called The Hog b £ $ | E Pearl, 16142 1 | > av" . = We may be pelted off for what We know, / . 6 With apples, eggs, or ſtones, from thoſe belgw,” * 0g See alſo the prologue to The Dgubtful Heir, ante, pe BY x „ ard what ou moſt delight in, i bs | „Grave underftanders, ——: \" » 9 . 65 The pit, Dr. Percy ſuppoſes to have recti xc its name from one of the playhouſes having been formerly a e account of the term, however, ſeems to be ſomewhat queſtignable, - The place where the ſeats are ranged in St. Mary's at Cambridge, is ſtill called the pit; and no one can ſuſpect that venerable fabrick of having ever _ 8 been a cock-pit, or that the phraſe was borrowed from a playhouſe to pF #* applied to a church, A pit is a place low in its relative ſituatiga, and ſuch is the middle part of a theatre, © " . 9 | Shakſpeare himſelf uſes cock-pit to expreſs a ſmall confined fituationg ? without any particular reference: W 6c Can this cock-pit hold . % OI | C The vaſty fields of Frangg,—or may wg cram, ® | « Within this wooden Q, ghE'very caſqſues * 6c That did affright the air at Agincourt?“ | : 9 7 See an old collection of tales, entitled Mis, Elegy and Fancles, We: 595: „ When the great man had read the actors letter, he pre- tly, in anſwere to At, took a ſheet of paper, and folding fixpence up init, fealed it, ſubſcri8% „and ſent it to his brother; intimati „ thereby, that though his brother had vowed not in ſgyen;years ts ſhe bim, yet he for his fxpence could come and ſee him upon the tage at his pleaſure® ., 5 OR, + | So, in the induction to The Magnetick Lady, by Ben Jonſon, which was firſt repreſented in October, 1632: Not the fæces or grounds of your'people, that fit in the oblique caves and wedges of your houſe, Joaliflaful fixpenny mechanicks.” 8 5 * F >» % " £ wy E 2 . Ws > 2 = 5 f : * * 7 1 7 4 * 42 * * 2 60® « HISTORICAL ACCounT'® F> layhouſes it was only a penny.5, in others two; bende. 2 The price of en ind the eſt; rooms Or Nes * was * See below, Verſes gddrefied to Fletcher on his Faithful Shephetdeſre That there were ſixpenny places at the Blackfriars playhouſe, ap- | pears from the- epilogue to Mayne's Ciry Match, which was 95 at that theatre in 1637, being licenſed on the 17th of W In that year: «© Not that he fears his name can ſuffer wrack | « From them, who fixpence pay, and fi ncegrick ; 3 1 6 To ſuch he wrote not, though ſome Parts have been 3 ce So like here, that they to themſelves came in.“ S ; "ll. 5 s 80; in Wit witbout Money, by Fletcher: “ — break in cf plays like | N | prentices for three a groat, and crack nuts with 8 ſcholars, in penny — — - — — - =- - - þ _— > * — * — * - _ - 8 V. — — — _ 2 IS ax? * A * - - © bo p q bl og —— — — * —— — po —_— 5 — — - — — —— 5 3 — oe wo "- AAS; — — — — 8 * 88 . — ro ren ww * * A 7 4 —__ o teach ſtage-parrots ſpeale for Penny pleaſure ?'* | 9 m Por thy t2po-pence to a player, in this gallery you may ſit * a 1k | rooms again. 4 6 ll Again, in Decker's Guls Hornebioke,. 1 9 40 You groundlin Fo 4 l , 254 gallery commoner buys his ſport by the . * 9 | Again, in Humours CO where a Man may be ver merric and | I} a evell uſed for bis Sixpence, no date 2 8 | | 1 Win you ſtand ſpending your, invention's treaſure, # | 1 | harlot.“ 'Bell-ma#'s Night- wall, by Decker, 1616. 5 it Again, in the prologue to the Woman-bater, by Beatmont and : Fletcher, 1607 : #6 * the utter diſcomfiture of all e gal- lery men. = « It appears fem a — * in The Roaring Girl, a comedy by Mid- 9 dleton and Decker, 1611, that there was a teuo-penny gallery in the 8 91 Fortune playhouſe: © One of them is Nip; I took him onte at the 1 abo - penny gallery at the Fortune. See alſo above, p. 55, n, 5. 28 „ 1 The boxes in the theatre at Blackfriars were probably ſmall, and appear to have been encloſed in the ſame manner as at preſent. See a letter from Mr. Garrard, dated January 25, 1635, Straff. Letters, | Vol, I. p. $5: A little pique happened betwixt the duke of Lenox * and the lord chamberlain, about a 60 7 at a new play in the Blackfri« e * e ars, of which the duke had got the key; which if it had come to be + K& ? debated betwixt them, as it was once intended, ſome heat or ere — 7 other inconvenience micht have happened.“ | In the Globe and the other publick theatres, the boxes were of con- : fiderable fize. See the prologue to IF this. be not a good Play, the Devil _ " is in it, by Decker, ated at the Red Ball 6 E FR | EE ey — Give me that man, ; a 92 «© Who, when the plague of an impoſthum'd brains, 4 Breaking out, infects a theatre, and hotly reigns, « Killing the hearers' hearts, that the vaſt rooms c Stand empty, like ſo many dead men's tombs, « Can call the baniſh'd auditor Wanne dec. is 5 4 Ye oy 1 & | | F * * 2 61 F rom - to be here deſcribing his N B. 3 whoſe plays were generally performed to a thin audience. See #erſes on our au- by Leonard Digges, Vol. I. Part I. p. 213. 2 If he have but zavelvepence in his purſe, he will give it for the As in a playhouſe,” Sir Thomas Overbury's Characters, 1614. „. the prologue to our author's Xing Henry VIII: Thoſe that come to ſee 5 4 < Only a ſhew or two, and fo agree Wl play may pals, if they be ſtil] and willing, | undertake may | ſee away their ſpilling wo ſhort hours.” wm a gopy of verſes prefixed to Maſlinger's Baden, 1624: 0 * eader, if you have diſburs'd a ſpilling o ſee this worthy ſtory,” 1 in; in the Gals Hornebooke, 1609 : (c At a new play you take up 1 room next the ſtage, becauſe the lords and you may | 25 . to be hail fellow Well met.“ # o lafe as in the year 4655 we find the following advertiſement at 5 end of a piece called The Cruelty of the Spaniards in Peru, by Sir illiam D* Avenant? « Notwithſtanding the great expence neceſſary ® ta 1 and other ornaments, in this entertainment, there is good provifieh"made of places for a ſpilling, and it ſhall 3 begin at three in the afternoon.” In the Scornful Lady, which was acted by the children of the Re- vels at Mackfriars, and printed in 1616, one- and ſix- penny places are mentioned. * 3 See the prologue to The Queen of Arragon, a tragedy b Ha ing- ton; acted at Blackfriars in Me = n * & Ere we en that no man may repent * &« Two ſhilli ings and his time, the author ſent. „ e The prologue, with the errors of his play, 6 That who will May take his money, and away.” Again, in the epilogue to Mayne's City Match, acted at Blackfriars, in Never, 1637: @ Whothi who callt Fa rt to make a face, o think they judge, when they frown i* the wrong place, ho, if theyelpealg t ill o' the poet, doubt 1 ey loofe by the play, nor have their 228 Hillings out, 66 He ſays, & c. 4 See Wit ⁊uitbout pong a comedy, acted at The Pheenix | in Drury- lane before 1620: : « And who extoll'd You into the balf-crown bg « Where you might fit and muſter all the bea _ In 3s; 7 5 * P's 8 22 3 EE 9 62 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT. , ,*%*. From ſeveral paſſages in our old plays we learn, th * ſpectators were admitted on the ſtages, and that e criticks and wits of the time ufually fat there F Joe ” > % | 5 % nh, Were placed on the ground 7; others ſat on 01 of . which the price was either fixpence *, or a ſhilling@acs © © - > co i z. 1 In the play-houſe called the, Hope on the Bankſide, there 2 different- priced ſeats, from ſixpence to half a crown, See the « tion to Bartholomewv Fair, by Ben Jonſon, 1614. „R . 5 So, in A Mad World by Maſters, by Middleton, 1608: “ TR actors have been found in a morning in leſs compaſs than thes age, though it were ne'er ſo full of gentlemen.” See allo p. i a | 6 cc to fair attire the ſtage . 1 bo «« Helps much; for if our other Midience ſee hp k cc You on the flage depart, before we end, * +. ; go — 2 3 " i. Io « Our wits go with you all, and we are fools,” ®: | 5 Prologue to All Fools, a comedy, acted at Blackfriars, 16052 * 5 « By ſitting on the ſtage, you have a ſign'd patent to Engrofle the © # whole commoditie of cen/ure ; may lawfully preſume to b&a girdpr, and ſtand at the helm to fteer the paſſage of ſcenes.” Guls reel * 2609. & 5 if 3 1 »h 2 0 + See alſo the preface to the firſt folio edition of our author works: $, | And though you be a magiftrate of wit, and it on thaftage at Blackfriars, to arraigne plays dailie,—.“ * a 1 * 7 & Being on your feet, ſneake not away like a coward, but ſalyte © all your gentle acquaintanceſgbat are ſpred eitber on the or on 2 F ſtooles about you; and draw what troope you can from the ſtage after 5 vou. Decker's Guls Hor nebocke, 1609. So allo, in Fletcher's Queen _. of Corinth: | 35 | L N & I would not yet be pointed at as he is, @ ®* « For the fine courtier, the woman's man, $ cc That tells my lady ſtories, diſſolves riddles, * % Ulhers her to her coach, lies at ber feet & At ſolemn maſgues.'? From —— in Eng Henry IV. P. J. it may be preſume thas this was no uncommon practice in private Aſſemblies alſo: | 4 « She bids you on the wanton ruſhes lay you down, & And reſt your gentle head upon her la, «©: And ſhe willging the ſong that . ? 5 * This accounts for Hamlet's ſitting on the ground a Ophem's feet, #, during the repreſentation of the play hefore the king and court of x Denmark. Our author has only placed the young prince in the fame fituation in which probably his patrons Eſſex and Southampton were often ſeen at the feet of ſome celebrated beauty. What ſome choſe from economy, gallantry might have recmmended to others. s « By Sitipg on the ftagey you may with ſmall coſt purchaſe the ol | . = OBA? deere 1 5 — i he Globe and the other publick 8 FP 5 LE * n THE ENGLISH STAGE 63 cording, I ſuppoſe, to the commodiovineſs of the fitua- «tions And they were attended by pages, who furniſhed them with pipes and tobacco, which was ſmoked herè as well as in other aue the houſe. Yet it ſhould ſeem that perſons were ſuffered to fit on the ſtage only in the private playhouſes, (ſuch as Blackfriars, &c.) where the audience was more ſelect, and of a higher claſs; and that gene was permitted“. 3 8 | The Ke cquaintance of the boyes, have a good foo! for Fxperce,” . | Again, ibidem 7 * Preſent not your ſelfe on the ſtage, (eſpecially at a new play,) untill the quaking prologue—is ready to enter; for then it is time, as though you 4 one of the properties, or that you dropt of [i. e. off] the hanging, to creep from behind the arras, with your tripos, orthree-legged ſtoole, in one hand, and a zefion mounted be- tween a fore- finger and a thumbe, in the yl 9 5 Theſe are moſt worne and moſt in ion % 46 Amongſt the bever gallants, the ſtone- riders, | „„ Phe private ftage's audjencey the rwelwepenny-floole gentlemdb ; » The Roaring Girl, a comedy by Middleton and Decker, 1611, So, in the Induction to Marſtog's Malcontent, 1604: © By God's wn you but ſfixpence for youf ſtool.“ and the price of the moſt commo- Lid if you had, I would have gi This therefore was the loweſt tate dious ſtools on the ſtage was a ill. - 1 66 When young Roper: goes to ſee a play, „His pleaſure is, you place him on the flage, « The better to demonſtrate his array, cc And how he fits attended by bis page, c That only ſerves to fill thoſe pipes with ſmoke, « For which he pawned hath his riding - cloak... [i $ vSpringes for Woodcocks, by Henry Parrot, 1513. Again, in Skialetheia, a collection of Epigrams and Satftes, 1598; 6% See you him yonder who fits o'er the ſtage, & With the robacco-pipe now at his mouth?“ This, however, was accounted * a cuſtom more honoured in the breach than the obſervance z?* as appears from a fſatiricalepigram by Sir John Davies, 1598: % | C Who dares affirm that Sylla dares not fight? «© He that dares take tobacco on the Rage; d 66 Dares man a whoore at noon-day through the ſtreet z% 6 Dares dance in Pauls; &c. 1 2 2 See the induction to Marſton's ed by his majeſty's ſervants at &lackfriars 5 ® * % Tyreman ag # theatres, no ſuch li- * Malecontent, 1604, which was act. 2 * * & I {i * PE 8 # . : 3 33 | 7 7 . „ israel ACCOUNT . - , The ſtage was ſtrewed with raſhes s, which, we learti © þ, from Hentzner and Caius de Ephemera, was in the c time of Shakſpeare the qſual ebe es floors in Eng-. land“. On ſome occaſions it was entirely matted over? but this was probably very rare, The curtain which hangs in the front ef the preſent ſlage, drawn up by lines and pullies, though not a modern invention, (for it was uſed by Inigo Jones in the maſques at court,) was yet Ar apparatus to Which the ſimple mechaniſm of our aneie theatres had not arrived; for in them the curtains open- * ed in the middle, and were drawn backwards and fof wards on an iron rod s. In ſome playhouſes they were woollen, in others, made of ſilk 7. Towards the rear of | hs the # * * X # * » ? : « Tyreman. Sir, the gentlemen will be 8 if you fit here, * Sly. Why, we may ſit upon the ſtage at the private houles Thou doſt not take me for a Winery gentleman, doſt? Doeſt thou think I fear hifling? Let them that have ſtale ſuits, fit in the galleries, hils A a, > «- | ; E: alſo The Roaring G'rl, „y lighten „he private ſagt's audience. — Ante, p. 63, n. 9. 8 3 6 On the very ruſhes where the comedy is to daunce, yea, and un- der the Trate of Cambyſes himſelfe, muſt our feather'd eftridge, like a piece of ordnance, be plante&valjantly, becauſe impudently, beating down the mews and hiſſes of the oppoſed raſcality.“ Decker's Guls« | Hor nebookee = 8 4 See alſo Ben Jonſon's Every Man out of his Humour, 1600: « Fore G-, ſweet lady, believe it, I do honour the meaneſt rufp in this chamber for your love.” | | See p. 54, n. 3. E | The epilogue to Tancred and Giſmund, a traged$ 1 592, concludes us * 56 Ne draw the curtaines, for our ſcene is done,” : Again, in Lady Alimony, 1659 : Be your ſtage-curtains artificially drawn, and ſo covertly ſhrowded, that the ſquint-eyed groundling may not peep in. 1 . See alſo a ſtage- direction in The Firſt Day's Entertainment at Rutland Houſe, by Declamation and Muſick, after the manner of the Ancients, by Sir William D'Avenant, 1658: ; „ The ſong ended, theTurtains are dratmun open again, and the epi- logue enters. 5 ö 5 | 7 See A Prologue upon removing of the late Fortune Players to the Bull, by J. Tatham; Fancies Theatre, 1640: . 1 * 5 6 Here ** OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 65 the ſtage there appears to have been a balcony*®, or up- per ſtage; the platform of which was probably eight or nine feet from the ground. I ſuppoſe it to have been ſupported by pillars. From hence, in many of our old plays, part of the dialogue was ſpoken ; and in the front of it curtains likewiſe were hung“, fo as occaſionally to conceal the perſons in it from the view of the audience. Here gentlemen our anchor's fixt z and we, 4 Diſdaining Fortunes mutability, «© Expect your kind acceptance; then we'll ſing, „ (Protected by your ſmiles, our ever-ſpring,) | (c As pleaſant as if we had ſtill poſſeſt 6 Our lawful portion out of Forrune's breaſt. „ Only we would requeſt you to forbear & Your wonted cuſtom, banding tile and pear ce A gainſt our curtgins, to allure us forth; cc ] pray, take north, theſe are of more worth; « Pure Naples filk, not wworfted. —We have ne'er c An actor here has mouth enough to tear & Language by the ears. This forlorn hope ſhall be By us refin'd from ug groſs injury: 2 C And then let your judicious loves advance < Us to our merits, them to their ignorance.” 8 See Nabbes's Covent Garden, a comedy, 1639 : «© Enter Dorothy and Suſan, in the balcone. So, in The Virgin Martyr, by Maſſinger and Decker, 1622 : « They whiſpeting below, Enter, above, Sapritius ;——with him Ar- temia the princeſs, Theophiius, Spungius, and Hercius.” And theſe - five perſonages ſpeak from this elevated ſituation during the whole ſcene, Again, in Mariton's Fazone, 1606: | | «« Whilſt the act [i. e. the muſick between one act and another] is a playing, Hercules and Tiberio enters; Tiberio climbs the tree, and is received above by: Dulcimel, Philocalia and a prieſt z Hercules ſtays beneath,” | | See alſo the early quarto edition of our author's Romeo and Fuliet, where we meet“ Enter Romeo and Juliet, aloft. So, in The Ta- ming of a Shrew (not Shakſpeare's play): - Enter aloft the drunkard.”” —Almoſt the whole of the dialogue in that play between the tinker and his attendants, appears to have been ſpoken in this balcony. In Middleton's Family of Leve 1608, ſignat. B 2. b. it is called the upper ſtage. | = 9 This appears from a ſtage- direction in Maſſinger's Emperor of the Eaſt, 1632 : The curtaines drawn above: Theodofius and his eu- nuchs diſcovered.” Again, in King Henry VIII. c Let them alone, and draw the curtain cloſe." Henry here ſpeaks from the balcony, Vor. I. PART II. 17 8 At 6. HISTORICAL ACCOUNT At each ſide of this balcony was a box, very incon» veniently ſituated, which ſometimes was called the privare Box. | In theſe boxes, which were at a lower price, ſome perſons ſate, either from economy or ſingularity *. How little the imaginations of the audience were aſſiſt- g ed by ſcenical deception, and how much neceſſity our author had to call on them to piece out imperfections with their thoughts, may be collected from Sir Philip Sidney, who, deſcribing the ſtate of the drama and the ſtage, in his time, (about the year 1583, ) ſays, ** Now vou ſhall have three ladies walk to gather flowers, and then we mult beleeve the ſtage to be a garden. By and by we heare news of ſhipwrack in the ſame place; then we are to blame, if we accept it not for a rock. Upon the back of that, comes out a hidious monſter with fire and ſmoke ; and then the miſerable beholders are bound to take it for a cave; while in the mean time two cc Whether therefore the gatherers of the publique or private play- houſe ſtand: to receive the afternoons rent, let our gallant, having paid It, preſently advance himſelf to the throne of the ſtage. I mean not into tbe lords roome, which is now but the ſtages ſuburbs. No, thoſe boxes, by the iniquity of cuſtom, conſpiracy. of waiting-women, and gentlemen-uſhers,. that there ſweat together, and the covetous ſharers, Lare contemptibly. thruſt into the reare, and much new ſatten is there dambd, by being ſmother'd to death in darkneſs. Decker's Gul: Hornebooke, 1609. So, in the prologue to an old comedy, of which I have loſt the title: | | „„The private box took up at a new play, 66 For me and my retinue; a freſh habit « Of a faſhion never ſeen before, to draw. | 6 The gallants? eyes, that fit upon the ſtage.” | See alſo Epigrams by Sir John Davies, no date, but printed at Middleburgh, about 1598 : | | | &. Rufus, the courtier, at the theatre, Leaving the beſt and moſt conſpicuous place, c Doth either to the ſtage himſelf transfer, Or through à grate doth ſhew his double face, “ For that the clamourous fry of innes of court, „ Fills up the private roomes of greater price; & And ſuch a place where all may have reſort, 4“ He in his ſingularity doth deſpiſe.” ET It is not very eaſy to aſcertain the preciſe ſituation of theſe private boxes. A print prefixed to Kirkman's Dro/ls, 1673, induces me to think that they were at each ſide of the ſtage-balcony. : 2 = | __ armies OF THE ENGLISH STAGE, 67 armies fly in, reprefented with four ſwords and bucklers, and then what hard hart wil not receive it for a pitched field ?.*? | | The firſt notice that I have found of any thing like moveable ſcenes being uſed in England, is in the narrative of the entertainment given to king James at Oxford in Auguſt 1605, when three plays were per- formed in the hall of Chriſt Church, of which we have the following account by a contemporary writer. «© The ſtage” (he tells us) was built cloſe to the upper end of the hall, as it ſeemed at the firſt ſight z but indeed it was but a falſe wall faire painted, and adorned with ſtately pillars, which pillars would turn about; by reaſon whereof, with the help of other painted clothes, their ſtage did vary three times in the acting of one tragedy: that is, in other words, there were three ſcenes employed in the exhibition of the piece. The ſcenery was contrived by Inigo Jones, who is deſeribed as a great traveller, and who undertook to“ further his employers much, and furniſh them with rare devices, but produced very little to that which was expected. It is obſervable that the writer of this account was not acquainted even with the term, /cene, having uſed painted clothes inſtead of it: nor indeed 1s this ſurprifing, it not be- ing then found in this ſenſe in any dictionary or vocabu- lary, Engliſh or foreign, that I have met with. Had the common ſtages been furniſhed with them, neither this writer, nor the makers of dictionaries, could have been ignorant of it“. To effect even what was done at Chriſt- 2 Defence of Poeſie, 1595. Signat. H 4. 3 Leland. Collec. Vol. II. pp - 631, 646. Edit. 1770. See alſo P- 639: „The ſame day, Auguſt 28, after ſupper, about nine of the clock they began to act the tragedy of Ajax Flagellifer, wherein the ſtage varied three times. They had all goodly antique apparell, but for all that, it was not acted ſo well by many degrees as I have ſeen it in Cam- bridge. The king was very wearie before he came thither, but much more wearied by it, and ſpoke many words of diſlike.” 4 Florio, who appears to have diligently ſtudied our cuſtoms, illuſtrating his explanations on many occaſions by Engliſh proverbs, ſay- ings, local deſcriptions, &c. in his Italian Dictionary, 1598, defines Scena, in theſe words: „ A ſcene of a comedie, or tragedie. Alſo a ſtage in a theatre, or playhouſe, whereon they play; a ſkaffold, a a F 2 pavillion, | {! 9 1 PPP — —— —— — — —— "a RES ORs > P ² ec. ̃7˙b ... . —⏑%⏑ 6—ßÜ ee « —ͤ——öd2—b— —ʃ CE DCE CS, _ | | . f 1 68 .HISTORICAL ACCOUNT Chriſt-Church, the Univerſity found it neceſſary to employ two of the king's carpenters, and to have the advice of the controller of his works. The Queen's Maſque, which was exhibited in the preceding January, was not much more ſucceſsful, though above /. 3000 was expended upon it. At night,“ ſays Sir Dudley pavillion, or fore part of a theatre, —ä— — rn — — A. an cat contin n — — —— Ine Re > WAS ———— — n * — —— ets. — — 2 2 — ——— 72 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT A paſſage which has been produced from one of the old comedies *, proves that the common theatres were furniſhed with ſome rude pieces of machinery, which were uſed when it was neceſſary to exhibit the deſcent of ſome god or ſaint; but it is manifeſt from what has been already ſtared, as well as from all the contemporary accounts, that the mechaniſm of our ancient theatres ſeldom went beyond a tomb, a painted chair, a ſinking cauldron, or a trap-door, and that none of them had - Moveable ſcenes. When king Henry VIII. is to be diſ- covered by the dukes of Suffolk and Norfolk, reading in his ſtudy, the ſcenical direction in the firſt folio, 1623, (which was printed apparently from playhouſe copies, ) is, The king draws the curtain, li. e. draws it open | and fits reading penſi wely ;” for, beſide the principal g curtains that hung in the front of the ſtage, they uſed j others as ſubſtitutes for ſcenes?, which were denomi- nated _ — Sn 9 =” > — — —— 2 2 5 . — — N — — . - ”% — — ” — — — —— — * = Will! < Let us for the future, Mr. Baldwin, be told with leſs confidence of the want of proper Scenes and dreſſes in our ancient theatres,” '—Let- | ter in The St. Fames's Chronicle, May, 1780. To all this I have only to ſay, that it never has been aſſerted, at | leaſt by me, that in Shakſpeare's time a tomb was not repreſented on 3 | | the ſtage. The monument of the Capulets was perhaps repreſented h in Romeo and Juliet, and a wooden ſtructure might have been uſed for | { | — ____—_— = —— — — = — — 8 * — — { this purpoſe in that and other plays; of which when the door was once opened, and a proper quantity of lamps, falſe ſtones, and black cloth diſplayed, the poet might be as Juxuriant as he pleaſed in deſcribing | the ſurrounding inviſible marble monuments. This writer, it ſhould | ſeem, was thinking of the epigram on Butler the poet; we aſk for ſcenes, and he gives us only a ſtone. s «© Of whyche the lyke thyng is uſed to be ſhewed now adays in | ſtage- playes, when ſome god or ſome ſaynt is made to appere forth of a | cloude ; and ſuccoureth the parties which ſeemed to be rowardes ſome great danger, through the Soudan's crueltie.” The author's mar- ginal abridgment of his text is—““ The lyke manner uſed nowe at our days in ſtage-playes.“ Accolaſtus, 5 comedy by T. Palſgrave, chaplain | to king Henry VIII. 1540. | 9 See Webſter's Dutcheſs of Malfy, ated at the Globe and Black- —— — — —P friars, and printed in 1623: Here is diſcovered behind a traverſe the artificial figures of Antonio and his children, appearing as if they were dead.“ In The Devil's Charter, a tragedy, 1607, the following ſtage- di- rection is found: Alexander draweth [that is, draws open] the cur- | reine of bis Hude, where he diſcovereth the devill ſitting in his pontifi- | | | | cals.“ OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 73 nated zraver/es, If a bed-chamber is to be repreſented, no change of ſcene 1s mentioned ; but the property- man is ſimply ordered to thruſt forth a bed, or, the curtains being opened, a bed is exhibited. So, in the old play on which Shakſpeare formed his King Henry VI. P. II. when Cardinal Beaufort is exhibited dying, the ſtage- direction is—““ Enter King and Saliſ- bury, and then he curtaines be drawn, [i. e. drawn open, ] and the Cardinal is diſcovered in his bed, raving and ſtaring as if he were mad.“ When the fable re- quires the Roman capitol to be repreſented, we find two officers enter, * to lay cuſhions, as it were in the capi- rol.” So, in King Richard II. Act IV. ſc. i. “ Boy lingbroke, &c. enter as to the parliament “.“ Again, in Ser John Oldcaftle, 1600; ** Enter Cambridge, Scroop, and Gray, as in a chamber.“ When the Citi- 'zens of Angier were to appear on the walls of their town, and young, Arthur to leap from the battlements, I ſup- poſe our anceſtors were contented with ſeeing them 1n the Balcony already deſcribed ; or perhaps a tew boards were tacked together, and painted ſo as to reſemble the rude diſcoloured walls of an old town, behind which a platform might have been placed near the top, on which cals.” Again, in Satiremaſtix, by Decker, 1602: „ Horace ſitting in his f.dy, behind à curtaine, a candle by him burning, books lying confuſedly,“ &c. In Marſton's What you will, a com. 1607, the fol- lowing ſtage- direction till more decifively proves this point: Enter a School-maiſter, draws [i. e. draws open] the curtains behind, with Battus, Nows, Slip, Nathaniel, and Holiternes Pippo, ſchool-boyes, ſitting with bookes in their handes.” Again, in Albovine, by Sir William D'Avenant, 1629: „ He drawes the Arras, and diſcovers Albovine, Rhodolinda, Valdaura, dead in chaires.” Again, in The Woman in the Mon, by Lily, 1597: „ They draw the curtins from before Natures ſhop, where ftands an image clad, and ſome unclad, They bring forth the cloathed image.” Again, in R:meo and Juliet, 1597, Juliet, after ſhe has ſwallowed the ſleepy -potion, is ordered to * throw herſelfe on the bed, — 2 2 m 2 » -£. — TIS | 5 2 2 — — x" = —— — a So » 3% Y % 3 * = - = — — — — —— 2 — —— =_ = | = 4 76 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT in 1656 invented a new ſpecies of entertainment, which was exhibited at Rutland Houſe, at the upper end of Alderſgate dtreet. The title of the piece, which was Printed in the ſame year, is, 7 he)Szege of Rhodes, made a repreſentation by the art of proſpective in ſcenes ; and the ory ſung in Recitative muſicth. The original of this mu- fick,” ſays Dryden, and of the ſcenes which adorned his work, he had from the Italian operas 5 ; but he heighten- ed his characters (as I may probably imagine) from the examples of Corneille and ſome French poets.** If, fixty years before, the exhibition of the plays of Shak- ſpeare had been aided on the common ſtage by the ad- vantage of moveable ſcenes, or if the term ſcene had been. familiar to D*Avenant's audience, can we ſuppoſe that he would have found it neceſſary to uſe a periphraſtick de- ſcription, and to promiſe that his repreſentation ſhould be aſſiſted by the art of proſpetive in ſcenes? It has been often wiſhed,” ſays he in his Addreſs to the Rea- der, that our /cenes (we having obliged ourſelves to the variety of five changes, according to the ancient drama- tick diſtinctions made for time,) had not been confined to about eleven feet in the height and about fifteen in depth, including the places of paſſage reſerved for the muſicx,. From theſe words we learn that he had in that piece five ſcenes. In 1658 he exhibited at the old theatre calted the Cockpit, in Drury-lane, The e learn that Captain Bethan was appointed (13 Dec. 1648,) Provoſt Martial, “with power to ſeize upon all ballad-ſingers, and to ſuppreſs Hage- plays. 5 % 20 Dec. 1649. Some ſtage- players in Saint John's.ſtreet [the Red Bull theatre was in this ſtreet, ] were apprehended by troopers, their cloaths taken away, and themſelves carried to priſon.“ Ibidem. 419 5 5 « Jan. 1655. [165 5-6. ] Players taken in Newcaſtle, and whipt for rogues. I bid. 619. & Sept. 4, 1656. Sir William D'Avenant printed his Opera, not- withſtanding the nicety of the times.“ Ibidem, p. 639. 5 Fleckno in the preface to his comedy entitled Demoiſelles a- la- Mode, 1667, obſerves, that « one Italian ſcene with four doors will do” for the repreſentation, | Cruelty OF THE ENGLISH STAGE 77 Cruelty of the Spaniards in Peru, expreſs*d by vocal and inſtrumental mufich, and by art of perſpective in ſcenes®.”? In Spring 1662, having obtained a patent from King Charles the Second, and built a new playhouſe in Lin- colns-Inn-Fields, he opened his theatre with The Firſt Part of the Siege of Rhodes, which ſince its firſt exhibi- tion he had enlarged, He afterwards in the fame year exhibited the Second Part of the Siege of Rhodes, and his comedy called The Wits ; „ theſe plays, ſays Downes, who himſelf acted in The Siege of Rhodes, having new ſcenes, and decorations, being the firt that ever were in- troduced in England.”” Scenes had certainly been uſed before in the maſques at Court, and in a fo private exhibitions, and by D*Avenant himſelf in his attempts at theatrical entertainments ſhortly before the death of Cromwell: Downes therefore, who is extremely inaceu- rate in his language in every part of his book, muſt have © In „e The Publick Intelligencer, communicating the chief occur- rences and proceedings within the dominions of England, Scotland, and Wales, from Monday, December 20, to Monday, December 27, 1658,” I find the following notice taken of D* Avenant's exhibition by the new Protector, Richard: | «© Whitehall, December 23. A courſe is ordered for taking into conſideration the Opera, ſhewed at the Cockpitt in Drury Lane, and the perſons to whom it ſtands re- ferred, are to ſend for the poet and actors, and to inform themſelves of the nature of the work, and to examine by what authority the ſame is expoſed to publick view ; and they are alſo to take the beſt information they can concerning the acting of ſtage-playes, and upon the whole to make report, &c, | . The Saints were equally adverſe to every other ſpecies of feſtivity as well as the Opera, and conſidered holydays, the common prayer-book, and a play-book, as equally pernicious; for in the ſame paper I tind this notification: « It was ordered by his Highneſs the Lord Protector and the Coun- cil, that effectual letters be written to the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of the city of London, and to the Juſtices of peace for Weſtminſter and the liberties thereof, Middleſex and Borough of Southwark, to uſe their endeavour for aboliſhing the uſe of the feſtivals of Chriſtmas, Eaſter, and other feaſts called holydales; as alſo for preventing the uſe of the common prayer-book.,” meant— — WM Oo at a ge" — * — | Z | 78 HISTORIFCAL ACCOUNT meant—the firſt ever exhibited in a regular drama, on a publick theatre. I have ſaid that I could produce the teſtimony of Sir William D* Avenant himſelf on this ſubject. His pro- logue to The Wits, which was exhibited in the ſpring of the year 1662, ſoon after the opening, of his theatre in Lincoln's-Inn Fields, if every other document had eriſhed, would prove deciſively that our author's plays ad not the aſſiſtance of painted ſcenes. There are ſome, ſays D'Avenant, ; 4 who would the world perſuade, 6 That gold is better when the ſtamp is bad; c And that an 2gly ragged piece of eight « Is ever true in metal and in weight; «« As if a guinny and louis had lefs 4 Intrinſick value for their handſomeneſs. «© So diverſe, who outlive the former age, c Allow“ the coarſeneſs of the plain old tag, «< And think rich veſts and cenes are only fit 4 Difguiſes for the want of art and wit.” And no leſs deciſive is the different language of the licence for erecting a theatre, granted to him by King Charles I. in 1639, and the letters patent which he obtained from his ſon in 1662. In the former, after he is authorized << to entertain, govern, privilege, and keep ſuch and fo many players to exerciſe action, muſi- cal preſentments, ſcenes, dancing, and the like, as he the ſaid William Davenant ſhall think fit and approve for the ſaid houſe, and ſuch. perſons to permit and con- tinue at and during the pleaſure of the ſaid W. D. to act plays in ſuch houſe ſo to be by him erected, and exerciſe muſick, muſical preſentments, ſcenes, dancing, or other the like, at the ſame or other hours, or times, or after plays are ended, —the clauſe which empowers him to take certain prices from thoſe who ſhould reſort to his theatre runs thus : «© And that it ſhall and may be lawſul to and for the ſaid W. D. &c. to take and receive of ſuch our ſubjects as #* i, e. approves | W x fg Ri 907,57 24 PTE Aims, r * » 3 1 E Apo 8 OF THE ENGLISH STAGE 79 as ſhall reſort to ſee or hear any ſuch plays, ſcenes, and entertainments whatſoever, ſuch ſum or ſums of money, as is or hereafter from time to time ſhall be accuſtomed to be pom or taken in other playhouſes and places for the like plays, ſcenes, preſentments, and entertain- ments.“ : | | Here we ſee that when the theatre was fitted up in the uſual way of that time without the decoration of ſcenery, (for /cenes in the foregoing paſſages mean, not paintings, but ſhort ſtage-repreſentations or preſent- ments,) the ufual prices were authorized to be taken : but after the Reſtoration, when Sir W. D*Avenant fur- niſhed his new theatre with ſcenery, he took care that the letters patent which he then obtained, ſhould ſpeak a different language, for there the correſponding clarks is as follows: «© And that it ſhall and may be lawful to and for the faid Sir William D'Avenant, his heirs, and aſſigns, to take and receive of ſuch our ſubjects as ſhall reſort to ſee or hear any ſuch plays, ſcenes, and entertainments whatſoever, ſuch ſum or ſums of money, as either have accuſtomably been given and taken in the like kind, or as ſhall be thought reaſonable by him or them, in regard of the great expences of sc ES, muſick, and ſuch new decorations as have not been formerly uſed.” Here for the firſt time in theſe letters patent the word ſcene is uſed in that ſenſe in which Sir William had em- ployed it in the printed title-pages of his muſical enter- tainments exhibited a few years before. In the former letters patent granted in 1639, the word in that ſenſe does not once occur. | | To the teſtimony of D' Avenant himſelf may be added that of Dryden, both in the paſſage already quoted, and in his prologue to The Rival Ladies, performed at the King's Theatre in 1664 : 5 15 — in former days | << Good prologues were as ſcarce as now good plays. 6 You now have habits, dances, /cenes, and rhymes High language often, ay, and ſenſe ſometimes.” | And pot þþ + t 54 — — 8 — rr a K * * 2 —— — a — — © — i ed * 0 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT And ftill more expreſs is that of the author of 77 Generous Enemies, exhibited at the King's Theatre in 1672: 55 I cannot chooſe but laugh, when I look back and =_ --: | RE Rs „ The ſtrange viciſſitudes of poetrie. | « Your aged fathers came to plays for wit, « And fat knee-deep in nutſhells in the pit; % Courſe hangings then, inſtead of ſcenes, were worn, % And Kidderminſter did the ſtage adorn : «© But you, their wiſer offspring, did advance LJ 0 plot of jigg, and to dramatick dance 7,” &c. . | Theſe 7 This explains what Dryden means in his prologue to The Rival Ladies, quoted above, where, with ſcenes and the other novelties in- troduced after the Reſtoration, he mentions dance. A dance by a bey was not uncommon in Shakſpeare's time; but ſuch dances as were ex- hibited at the Duke's and King's theatre, which are here called dra- matick dances, were unknown, | ; The following prologue to Tunbridge Wells, ated at the Duke's theatre, and printed in 1678, is more diffuſe upon this ſubject, and confirms what has been ſtated in the text: cc The old Engliſh tage, confin'd to plot and ſenſe, «© Did hold abroad but ſmall intelligence; cc But fince the invaſion of the foreign ſcene, 60 e farce, and thundering machine, 6 Dainties to your grave anceſtors unknown, ce Who never diſlik'd wit becauſe their own, cc There's not a player but is turn'd a ſcout, C And every ſcribbler ſends his envoys out, 46 To fetch from Paris, Venice, or from Rome; c Fantaſtick fopperies, to pleaſe at home. ce And that each act may riſe to your deſire, 4 Devils and witches muſt each ſcene inſpire ; cc Wit rowls in waves, and ſhowers down in fire. «© With what ftrange eaſe a play may now be writ! «© When the beſt half's compos'd by painting it, « And that in the air or dance lies all the wit. cc True ſenſe or plot would fooleries appear & Faults, I ſuppoſe, you ſeldom meet with here, C For 'tis no mode to profit by the ear. cc Your ſouls, we know, are ſeated in your eyes; c An actreſs in a cloud's a ftrange ſurpriſe, „ And you ne er pay'd treble prices to be wiſe.”? 8 OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 8x "Theſe are not the ſpeculations of ſcholars concerning a cuſtom of a former age, but the teſtimony of perſons ho were either ſpectators of what they deſcribe, or daily converſed with thoſe who had trod our ancient Rage: for D'Avenant's firſt. play, The Cruel Brother, was acted at the Blackfriars in January, 1626-7, and Mohun and Hart, who had themſelves aQed before the civil wars, -were employed in that company, by whoſe immediate ſucceſſors 7 he Generous Enemies was exhibited ; 1 mean the King's Servants. Major Mohun acted in the piece before which the lines laſt quoted were ſpoken. I may add alſo, that Mr. Wright, the author of H. toria Hiſtrionica, whole father had been a ſpectator of ſeve- ral plays before the breaking out of the civil wars, expreſsly ſays, that the theatres had then 20 /cenes®, The French theatre, as we learn from Scaliger, was not furniſhed with ſcenes, or even with the ornament of tapeſtry, in the year 1567. See Scaliger. Poetices, folio, 1561, lib. 1. c. 21. Both it, however, and the Italian ſtage, appear to have had the decoration of ſcenery before the Engliſh. In 1638 was publiſhed at Ravenna - Pratica di fabbricar Scene e machine ne'teatri, di Nicola Sabbatini da Peſaro. With reſpect to the French ſtage, ſee D' Avenant's Prologue to the Second Part of the Siege of Rhodes, 1663 | | 6c many travellers here as.judges come, <6 From Paris, Florence, Venice, and from Rome; © Who will deſcribe, when any ſcene wwe draw, 4 By each of ours all that they ever ſaw: «© Thoſe praiſing for extenſive breadth and height, C And inward diſtance to deceive the ſight,” It is faid in the Life of Betterton, that „ he was ſent to Paris by 'King Chatles the Second, to take a view of the French theatre, that he might better judge of what might contribute to the improvement of our own.“ He went to Paris probably in the year 1665, when both the London theatres were ſhut. | s c Shakſpeare, (who, as I have heard, was a much better poet than player,) Burbage, Hemmings, and others of the older ſort, were dead before I knew the town; but in ray time, before the wars, Lowin uſed to act Falſtaffe,”” &c.— “ Though the town was then not much more han half ſo populous as now, yet then the prices were, ſmall, (there being no ſcenes,) and better order kept among the company that came.“ Hiſtoria Hiftrionica, 8vo. 1699, This Eflay is in the form of a Dia- logue between Trueman, an old Cavalier, and Lowewwit, his friend. The account of the old ſtage, which is given by the Cavalier, Wright probably derived from his father, who was born in 1611, and was himſelf a dramatick writer, Vol. I. PART II. ä * | But, 32 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT But, ſays Mr. Steevens, (who differs with me in opi- nion on the ſubje& before us, and whoſe ſentiments J ſhall give below,) “how happened it, that Shakſpeare Himſelf ſhould have mentioned the act of /ifting ſcenes, if in his time there were no ſcenes capable of being ſhifted ? Thus in the Chorus to King Henry V. i « Unto Southampton do we /bift our ſcene,” «© This phraſe?” (he adds) “ was hardly more ancient than the cuſtom it deſcribes ?,”? | | 5 Who does not ſee, that Shakſpeare in the paſſage here quoted uſes the word /cexe in the ſame ſenſe in which it was uſed two thouſand years before he was born ; that is, for the place of action repreſented by the ſtage ; and not for that moveable hanging or painted cloth, ſtrained on a wooden frame, or rolled round a cylinder, which is now called a scENnE ? If the ſmalleſt doubt could be entertained of his meaning, the following lines in the ſame play would remove it:: | «© The king is ſet from London, and the ſcene cc Ts now tranſported to Southampton.“ This, and this only, was the Shifting that was meant; a movement from one place to another in the progreſs of the drama; nor is there found a ſingle paſſage in his plays in which the word ſcene is uſed in the ſenſe re- quired to ſupport the argument of thoſe who ſuppoſe that the common ſtages were furniſhed with moveable ſcenes in his time. He conſtantly uſes the word either for a ſtage-exhibition in general, or the component part of a play, or the place of action repreſented by the ſtage? £ | | | «© For 9 See Mr. Steevens's Shakſpeare, 1785, K. Jobn, p. 56, n. 7. 1 And ſo do all the other dramatick writers of his time. So, in Heywood's Downfall of Robert earl of Huntington, 1601: cc I only mean— | «« Myſelf in perſon to preſent ſome ſcenes F5 Of tragick matter, or perchance of mirth,"? A 8 ain OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. gg = wk « For all my life has been but as a ſcene, | : 4 Acting that argument.” K. Henry IV. P. II. | BY «© At your induſtrious cenes and acts of death.“ q Wy K. John. Fl « What ſeene of death hath Roſcius now to act ?” | 57 K. Henry VI. P. III. "A «© Thus with imagin'd wing our ſwift ſcene flies, —.” . K. Henry. 2 15 To give our /cene ſuch growing, —.“ IId. «© Ando our ſcene mult to the battle fly.—. „„ 45 That he might play the woman in the ſcene. Coriolanus. « A queen in jeſt, only to fill the ſcene. K. Rich. III. I ſhall add but one more inſtance from All“, awell that ends dell «© Our ſcene 1s alter'd from a ſerious thing, «© And now chang'd to the Beggar and the King.“ from which lines it might, I conceive, be as reaſonably inferred that /cenes were changed in Shakſpeare's time, as from the paſſage relied on in K. Henry Y,: and per- haps by the tame mode of reaſoning it might be proved, from a line above quoted from the ſame play, that the technical modern term, wings, or ſide-ſcenes, was not unknown to our great poet. Again, in the prologue to Ram Alley, or Merry T7. ricks, a comedy, 1611: 6 But if conceit, with guick-turn'd ſceanes,— « May win your favours,,” Again, i 1 the prologue to Late Lancaſhire Witches, 1634: e are forc'd from our own nation « To ground the ſcene that's now in agitation,” Again, | . the prologue to Shirley's School of Compliments, 1629: —— This play is | & The firſt fruits of a muſe, that before this C Never ſaluted audience, nor doth meane | 4 To ſwear himſelf a factor for the ſcene.” Again, in the prologue to Hannibal and Scipio, 1637: Ihe places ſometimes chang'd too for the ſcene, % Which is tranſlated as the muſick plays,“ &c. Ho tranſlating a ſcene means juſt the ſame as ſhifting a ſcene in X. enry V. I ' oth to add more inſtances, though almoſt every one of our old plays would furniſh me with many- G 2 The 84 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT The various circumſtances which I have ſtated, and the accounts of the contemporary writers?, furniſh us, in | my 2 All the writers on the ancient Engliſh Rage that J have met with, - concur with thoſe quoted in the text on this ſubje&: * Now for the difference betwixt our theatres and thoſe of former times,” (ſays Fleckno, who lived near enough the time to be accurately informed, ) & they were but plain and ſimple, with no other ſcenes nor decorations of the flage, but only old tapeſtry, and the ſtage ſtrewed with ruſhes 3 with their habits accordingly.” Short Diſcourſe of the Engliſh Stage, 1664. In a ſubſequent paſſage indeed he adds, „For ſcenes and ma- chines, they are no new invention; our maſques, and ſome of our playes, in former times, (though not ſo ordinary,) having had as good or rather better, than any we have now.“ To reconcile this paſſage with the foregoing, the author muſt be ſuppoſed to ſpeak here, not of the exhibitions at the publick theatres, but of maſques and private plays, performed either at court or at noblemen's houſes, He does not ſay, c ſome of our theatres,” —but, © our maſques, and ſome of our playes | having had,” &c. We have already ſeen that Lowe's Miſtreſs or the Queen : Maſque was exhibited with ſcenes at Denmark-houſe in 1636. In the reign of king Charles I. the performance of plays at court, and at private houſes, ſeems to have been very common; and gentlemen went to great expence in theſe exhibitions. See a letter from Mr. Garrard to lord Straftord, dated Feb. 7, 1637 ; Strafford's Letters, Vol. II. p. 150: & Two of the king's ſervants, privy-chamber men both, have writ each of them a play, Sir John Sutlin [Suckling] and Will. Barclay, which have been acted in court, and at the Black- friars, with much applauſe, Sutlin's play coft three or four bundred pounds ſetting out; eight or ten ſuits of new cloaths he gave the players; an unheard-of prodigality.” The play on which Sir John Suckling expended this large ſum, was Aglaura. | . 0 | To the authority of Fleckno may be added that of Edward Phillips, who, in his Theatrum Poetarum, 1674, | article, D'Avenant, ] praiſes that poet for © the great fluency of his wit and fancy, eſpecially for what he wrote for the Engliſh ſtage, of which, having laid the founda- tion before by his muſical dramas, when the uſual plays were not ſuffered to be acted, e wvas the fir reviver and improver, by painted ſcenes.“ Wright alſo, who was well acquainted with the hiſtory of our ancient ſtage, and had certainly converſed with many per- ſons. who had ſeen theatrical performances before the civil wars, expreſsly ſays, as I have obſerved above, that ** ſcenes were firſt introduced by Sir William D'Avenant, on the publick ſtage, at the Duke's old theatre in Lincoln's-Inafields,”” „ Preſently after the Reſtoration, this writer informs us,“ the king's players acted publick- ly at the Red Bull for ſome time, and then removed to a new-built playhouſe in Vere-ſtreet, by Clare-market. There they continued for a year or two, and then removed to the theatre-royal in Drury-lane, where they fi made uſe of SCENES, which bad been a little before _ uce OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 8 my apprehenſion, with deciſive and incontrovertible proofs 3, that the ſtage of Shakſpeare was not furniſhed | | with duced UPON THE PUBLICK STAGE By Sir W. D' Avenant at the Duke's old theatre in Lincoln's-Innfields, but afterwards very much improved, with the addition of curious machines, by Mr. Betterton, at the new | theatre in Dorſet Gardens, to the great expence and continual charge of the players.” Hift:ria Hiftrionica, Svo. 1699, p. 10. Wright calls it the Duke's old theatre in Lincoln's Inn fields, though in fact in 1663 it was a new building, becauſe when he wrote, it had become old, and a new theatre had been built in Lincoln's Inn fields in 1695, He is here ſpeaking of plays and players, and therefore makes no account of the muſical entertainments exhibited by D*Avenant a few years be- fore at Rutland Houſe, and at the Cock-pit in Drury-lane, in which a little attempt at ſcenery had been made. In thoſe pieces, I believe, no ſtage- player performed. 3 I ſubjoin the ſentiments of Mr. Steevens, who differs with me in opinion on this ſubje&t ; obſerving only that in general the paſſages to which he alludes, prove only that our author's plays were not exhibited without the aid of machinery, which is not denied; and that not a ſingle paſſage is quoted, which proves that a moveable painted ſcene was employed in any of his plays in his theatre. The lines quoted from The Staple of News, at the bottom of p. 88, mult have been tran- ſcribed from ſome incorrect edition, for the original copy printed in 1631, reads—$SCENE, not SCENES; a variation of ſome importance. The words“ the various ſhifting of their SCENE,” denote, in my apprehenſion, nothing more than frequent change of place in the proe greſs of the drama: and even if that were not the caſe, and theſe words were uſed in the modern ſenſe, they would not prove that ſcenes were employed on the ſtage in Shakſpeare's time, for 7 be Staple of News was not exhibited till March, 162 5-6. © Tt muſt be acknowledged,” ſays Mr Steevens, “ that little more is advanced on this occaſion, than is fairly ſupported by the teſti- mony of contemporary writers. &© Were we, however, to reaſon on ſuch a part of the ſubject as is now before us, ſome ſuſpicions might ariſe, that where machinery was diſcovered, the leſs complicated adj unct of ſcenes was ſcarcely want= ing. When the column is found ſtanding, no one will ſuppoſe but that it was once accompanied by its uſual entablature. If this inference be natural, little impropriety can be complained of in one of the ſtage- directions above mentioned. Where the bed is introduced, the ſcene of a bed-chamber (a thing too common to deſerve deſcription) would of courſe be at hand. Neither thould any great ſtreſs be laid on the words of Sir Philip Sidney. Are we not till obliged to receive the ſtage alter- nately as a garden, as an ocean, as a range of rocks, or as a cavern? With all our modern advantages, ſo much of vraiſemblance is wanting in a theatre, that the apologies Which Shakſpeare offers for ſcenical G 3 | deficiency, <. ——— — — — — . ERTIES A. At - 1 —— — — : = 2 On. — —_S CR ——-—_—- — 74 s WES 5 = - af = 1 3 Ta” Si v 2 . — — — — — — 5 P 26 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT with moveable painted ſcenes, but merely decorated with curtains, and arras or tapeſtry hangings, which, when decayed, deficiency, are ſtill in ſome degree needful; and be it always remembered that Sir Philip Sidney has not poſitively declared that a0 painted ſcenes were in uſe. Who that mentions the preſent flage, would think it neceſ- ſary to dwell on the article of ſcenery, unleſs it were peculiarly ſtriking and magnificent ? Sir Philip has not ſpoken of ſtage-habits, and are we therefore to ſuppoſe that none were worn? Beſides, between the time when Sir Philip wrote his Defence of Poeſy, and the period at which the plays of Shakſpeare were preſented, the ſtage in all probability had received much additional embelliſhment. Let me repeat, that if in 2529 (the date of Acolaſtus) machinery“ is known to have exiſted, in 2592 (when Shakſpeare commenced a play-wright) a greater number of ornaments might naturally be expected, as it is uſual for one im- provement to be ſoon followed by another. That the plays of Shak- Jpeare were exhibited with the aid of machinery, the following ſtage- directions, copied from the folio 1623, will abundantly prove. In The Tempeſt, Ariel is ſaid to enter like a harpey, claps his wings on the table, and with a quaint device the banquet vaniſhes,” In a ſubſequent ſcene of the ſame play, Juno © deſcends; and in Cymbeline, Jupiter « deſcends likewiſe, in thunder and lightning, fitting upon an eagle.“ In Macbeth, the cauldron finks, and the apparitions riſe.” It may be added that the dialogue of Shakſpeare has ſuch perpetual reference to objects ſuppoſed viſible to the audience, that the want of ſcenery could not have failed to render many of the deſcriptions uttered by his ſpeak - ers abſurd and laughable.— Macduft examines the outſide of Inverneſs caſtle with ſuch minuteneſs, that he diſtinguiſhes even the neſts which the martins had built under the projecting parts of its roof, —Romeo, Nanding in a garden, points to the tops of fruĩt- trees gilded by the moon. — The prologue-ſpeaker to the ſecond part of XK. Henry IV. expreſsly ſhews the ſpectators this worm-eaten hold of ragged ſtone,” in which Northumberland was lodged. Jachimo takes the moſt exact inventory of every article in Imogen's bed-chamber, from the filk and filver of of which her tapeſtry was wrought, down to the Cupids that ſupport. her andirons. Had not the infide of this apartment, with its proper fur- niture, been repreſented, how ridiculous muſt the action of Jachimo have appeared ! He muſt have ſtood looking out of the room for the particu- Lars ſuppoſed to be viſible within it. In one of the parts of K. Hen. VI. : a cannon What happy deceptions could be produced by the aid of framework and painted canvas, we may learn from Holinſhed, and yet more ancient hiſtorians. The pageants and tournaments at the beginning of Henry VIIIch's reign very frequently required that the caſtles of imaginary beings ſhould be exhibited, Of ſuch contrivances ſome deſcriptions re- main, Theſe extempore buildings aftorded a natural introduction ts ſeenery on the ſtages 55 N 72 C OF THE ENGLISH STAGE 27 decayed, appear to have been ſometimes ornamented | | | with a cannon is diſcharged againſt a tower; and converſations are held in almoſt every ſcene from difterent walls, turrets, and battlements. Nor is my belief in ancient ſcenery entirely founded on conjecture. In the folio editions of Shakſpeare's plays, 1623, the following traces of it are preſerved. In King Fobn: Enter, before Angiers, Philip king of France, &c.— “ Enter a citizen «pon the walls.” 0 Enter the he- rald of France with trumpets to the gates.“ Enter Arthur on the walls. In X. Hen. J. Enter the king, &c. with ſcaling ladders at Har fleur.“ Enter the king with all his train before rhe gates.” In. Hen. VI. « Enter to the protector at the Tower gates,” &c,—« Enter Saliſbury and Talbot on the 2valls.'*—* The French leap over the walls in their ſhirts. “ Enter Pucelle on the top of the tower, thruſting out a torch burning.“ Enter lord Scales _ the toxwer walking, Then enter two or three citizens below.“ Enter king and queen and So- merſet on the terrace,” “ Enter three watchmen to guard the king's tent. In Cori-lanus : . Marcius follows them to the gates, and is ſhut in.“ In Timon: Enter Timon in the woods. — 4 Enter Timon from bis cave. In Julius Ceſar : - Enter Brutus in bis orchard,”” &Cc. &c,—In ſhort, without charaQteriftick diſcriminations of place, the hiſtorical dramas of Shakſpeare in particular, would have been wrap- ped in tenfold confuſion and obſcurity z nor could the ſpeRator have felt the poet's power, or accompanied his rapid tranſitions from one fituation to another, without ſuch guides as painted canvas only could ſupply. The audience would with difficulty have received the cataſ- trophe of Romeo and Juliet as natural and affecting, unleſs the decep- tion was confirmed to them by the appearance of a tomb. The mana- gers who could raiſe ghoſts, bid the cauldron fink into the earth, and then exhibit a train of royal phantoms in Macbeth, could with leſs difficulty ſupply the flat paintings of a cavern or a grove, The artiſts who can put the dragons of Medea in motion, can more eaſily repreſent. the clouds through which they are to paſs. But for theſe, or ſuch aſſiſtances, the ſpectator, like Hamlet's mother, muſt have bent his gaze on mortifying vacancy z and with the gueſt invited by the Barme- 0 | | | cide, * Apemantus muſt have pointed to the ſcenes as he ſpoke the fol- lowing lines: CO ſhame not theſe woods, | « By putting on the cunning of a carper.“ Again: cc will ebeſe moiſt trees | ; 66 That have outliv'd the eagle, &c. : A piece of old tapeſtry muſt have been regarded as a poor ſubſtitute for theſe towering ſhades, G 4 38 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT” with pictures “: and ſome paſſages in our old dramas in- cline cide, in the Arabian tale, muſt have furniſhed from his own imagination the entertainment of which his eyes were ſolicited to partake, & Tt ſhould likewiſe be remembered, that the intervention of civil war would eafily occafion many cuſtoms of our early theatres to be ſilently forgotten. The times when Wright and Downes produced their reſpective narratives, were by no means times of exactneſs or curioſity. What they heard, might have been heard imperfectly; it might have been unſkilfully: related; or their own memories might have deceived them: «&- Ad nos vix tenuis famæ perlabitur aura.“ tc One affertion made by the latter of theſe writers, is chronologically. diſproved. We may remark likewiſe, that in private theatres, a part of the audience was admitted on the ſtage, but that this licence was re- fuſed in the publick play-houſes, To what circumſtance ſhall we im- pute this difference between the cuſtoms of the one and the other? Per- haps the private theatres had no ſcenes, the public had; and a crowded ſtage would prevent them from being commodiouſly beheld, or con- veniently ſhifted F. The freſb pictures mentioned by Ben Jonſon in the induction to his Cynthia's Rewels might be properly introduced to cover old tapeſtry ; for to hang picturers over faded arras, was then and is ſtill ſufficiently common in antiquated manſions, ſuch as thoſe in which the ſcenes of dramatic writers are often laid. That Shakſpeare himſelf was no ſtranger to the magick of theatrical ornaments, may bs inferred from a paſſage in which he alludes to the ſcenery of pageants, the faſhionable thews of his time: «© Sometimes we ſee a cloud that's dragoniſhy CC A vapour ſometimes like a lion, a bear, C A towred citadel, a pendent rock, «« A forked mountain, or blue promontory 6- With trees upon't, that nod'unto the world, « Ant To ſhift a ſcene is at leaſt a phraſe employed by Shakſpeare him-- ſelf in X. Henry V. Se 6464 and not till then &« Unto Southampton do we ſhift eur ſcene.” | : and by Ben Jonſon, yet more appoſitely, in The Staple of News ; &«& Lic. Have you no news o' the ſtage ? - & Tho, O yes; c There is a legacy left to the king's players, c Both for their various ſhifting of their ſcenes, &« And dextrous change of their perſons to all ſhapes 6c And all diſguiſes,” & c. OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 39 eline me to think, that when tragedies were performed, the ſtage was hung with black 3, In the early part, at leaſt, of our author's acquaint- ance with the theatre, the want of ſcenery ſeems to have been ſupplied by the fimple expedient of writing thæ « And mock our eyes with air: theſe thou haſt ſeen, 6 They are black Veſper's pageants *. Antony and Cleopatra. & To conclude, the richeſt and moſt expenſive ſcenes had been intro- duced to dreſs up thoſe ſpurious children of the Muſe called Maſquesz nor have we ſufficient. reaſon for believing that Tragedy, her legiti- mate offspring, continued to be expoſed in rags, while appendages more ſuitable. to her dignity were known to be within the reach of our anci- ent managers. Shakſpeare, Burbage, and Condell, muſt have had frequent opportunities of being acquainted with the mode in which | both maſques, tragedies, and comedies, were repreſented in the inns of court, the halls of noblemen, and in the palace icſelf,” 4 Sir Crack, Tam none of your freſli' pictures, that uſe to beautify the decayed old arras, in a publick theatre,” Induction to Cynthia's Revels, by Ben Jonſon, 1601. +5 In the induction to an old tragedy called A warning for fair Wie men, 1599, three perſonages are introduced, under the names of Tra- gedy, Comedy, and Hiflory, After ſome conteſt for ſuperiority, Tragedy prevails 3 and Hiſtory and Comedy retire with theſe words: 54 Hift.** Look, Comedie, 1. mark'd it not till now, « The ſtage is bung vith blacke, and I perceive: 4 The auditors prepar'd for tragedie. | Com. Nay then, I fee ſhe ſhall be entertain'd. 2 «© Theſe ornaments beſeem not thee and me; «© Then Tragedie, kill them to-day with ſorrow, «© We'll make them laugh with mirthful jeſts to-morrow.” So, in Marſton's Inſatiate Counteſs, 1613: « The fage of heaven is bung with ſolemn Blacks & A time, beſt fitting to act tragedies.“ Again, in Daniel's Civil Warres, B. V. 1602: | « Let her be made the ſable tage, whereon < Shall firſt be ated bloody tragedies.” Again in X. Henry UT. P, | &« Hung be the heavens with Black,“ &c. Again, more appoſitely, in The Rape of Lucrece, 1594: « Black ſtage for tragedies, and murthers fell.“ After a pageant had paſſed through the ſtreets, the characters that compoſed it were aſſembled in ſome hall or other ſpacious-apartment, where they delivered their reſpective ſpeeches, and were finally ſet gut to view with the advantages of proper ſcenery and decoration. Names. go HISTORICAL ACCOUNT names of the different places where the ſcene was Jaid in the progreſs of the play, which were diſpoſed in ſuch a manner as to be viſible to the audience ®, Though the apparatus for theatrick exhibitions was 4105 ſcanty, and the machinery of the ſimpleſt kind, the invention of trap-doors appears not to be modern; for in an old Morality, entitled, All for Money, we Bud a marginal direction, which implies that they were very early in uſe”. We learn from Heywood's Apology for Ackorss, that the covering, or internal roof, of the ſtage, was ancients ly termed the heavens. It was probably painted of a fty-blue colour; or perhaps pieces of drapery tinged with blue were ſuſpended acroſs the ſtage, to repreſent the heavens, It appears from the tage- directions ꝰ given in The Spaniſh Tragedy, that when a play was exhibited within a play, , 6 « What child is there, that coming to a play and ſeeing Thebes written upon an old door, doth believe that it is Thebes ? ?” Defence of Poefie, by Sir Philip Sidney. Signat. G. 1595. When D Avenant introduced ſcenes on the publick ſtage, this ancient practice was ftill followed. See his Introduction to his Siege of Rhodes, 1656: In the middle of the freeſe was a compartement, wherein . was written —RHODES.' 7 « Here——with ſome fine conveyance, Pleaſure ſhall appeare from beneathe.” All for Money, 1578. * So, in Marſton's Antonio's Revenge, 1602: « Enter Balurdo from under the tage. In the fourth a& of Macbeth, ſeveral apparitions ariſe from _—_—— the ſtage, and again deſcend. —The cauldron likewiſe ſinks: 6c Why. finks that cauldron, and what noiſe is this?“ In the Roaring Girl, a comedy by Middleton and Decker, 16115, there is a character called Trap- door. 8 Apol. for Actors, 1612. Signat, D. 9 Spaniſb Tragedy, 1610, Act IV. Signat. L. ‚ « Enter Hieronimo. He knocks up the Curtains Enter the duke of Caſtile. „Caf. How now Hieronimo, where's your ewes « That you take all this pains ? c Hiero. O, ſir, it is for the author's credit 6 To look that all things may go well. | — — = 6c But OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 91 a play, (if I may ſo expreſs myſelf,) as is the caſe in that Piece and in Hamlet, the court or audience before whom the interlude was performed ſat in the balcony, or upper ſage, already deſcribed ; and a curtain or traverſe be- ing hung acroſs the ſtage for the nonce, the performers entered between that curtain and the general audience, and on its being drawn, began their piece, addreſſin themſelves to the balcony, and regardleſs of the ſpecta- tors in the theatre, to whom their backs muſt have been turned during the whole of the performance. From a plate prefixed to Kirkman's Drolls, printed in 1672, in which there is a view of a theatrical booth, ir ſhould ſeem that the ſtage was formerly lighted by two large branches, of a form ſimilar to thoſe now hung in churches; and from Beaumont's Verſes prefixed to Fletcher's Faithful Shepherdeſs, which was acted before the year 1611, we find that wax lights were uſed *. Theſe branches having been found incommodious, as they obſtructed the fight of the ſpectatorsꝰ, gave 44 But, good my lord, let me entreat your grace, « To give the king the copy of the play. This is the argument of what we ſhew, 6 Cat. I will, Hieronimo. ce Hiero, Let me entreat your grace, that when & The train are paſt into the gallery, 6 You would vouchſafe to throw me down the key. & Caſt. I will, Hieronimo. « Enter Balthazar, with a chair. « Hiero. Well done, Balthazar ;z hang up the tilt: c Our ſcene is Rhodes. What, is yourtheard on?“ Afterwards the tragedy of So/yman and Perſeda is exhibited before the king of Spain, the duke of Caſtile, &c. 1 « Some like, if the wax lights be new that day.“ 2 Fleckno in 1604, complains of the bad lighting of the ſtage, even at that time: . Of this curious art [ſcenery] the Italians (this latter age) are the greateſt maſters; the French good proficientsz and we in England only ſcholars and learners yet, having proceeded no farther than to bare painting, and not arrived to the ſtupendous wonders of your great ingeniers ; eſpecially not knowwing yet bow to placeour lights, for the more edvantage and illuminating of the ſcenes." Short Diſcourſe of the En- gliſb ſtages 1 | ä 5 8 ; place — — — — — — — ͥꝗꝙꝓ—äͤö—ꝙ — —UdH— —äwäͤ— .. m ̃ ²v! 5mm W ˙ M'’ ¼w· n CO OO COOOCOTCG —— —ñä——ü— — 92 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT place at a ſubſequent period to ſmall circular wooden frames, furniſned with candles, eight of which were hung on the ſtage, four at either ſide: and theſe within a few years were wholly removed by Mr. Garrick, who, on his return from France in 1765, firſt introduced the preſent commodious method of illuminating the ſtage by lights not viſible to the audience. _ The body of the houſe was illuminated by creſſets“, or large open lanterns of nearly the ſame ſize with thoſe which are fixed in the poop of a ſhip. . = If all the players whoſe names are enumerated in the firſt folio edition of our author's works, belonged to the Tame theatre, they compoſed a numerous company; but it is doubtful whether they all performed at the ſame period, or always continued in the ſame houſe *# Many of the companies, in the infancy of the ſtage, certainly were ſo thin, that the ſame perſon played two or three arts; and a battle on which the fate of an empire was | Juppoſed to depend, was decided by half a dozen com- 3 See Cotgtave*s French Dictionary, 1611, in v. Falot : © A ereſſet light, (ſuch as they uſe in play bouſes,) made of ropes wreathed, pitched, and put into ſmall and open cages of iron.” | The Watchmen of London carried ereſſets fixed on poles till 1539 (and perhaps later). Stowe's Survey, p. 160, edit. 1618. 4 An actor, who wrote a pamphlet againſt Mr. Pope, ſoon after the publication of his edition of Shakſpeare, fays, he could prove that they belonged to ſeveral different companies. It appears from the MS. Re- giſter of lord Stanhope, treaſurer of the chamber to king James J. that Foſepb Taylor, in 1613, was at the head of a diſtin company from that of Heminge, called the lady Elizabeth's ſervants, who then acted at the Hope on the Bankſide. He was probably however, before that period, of the king's company, of which afterwards he was a principal ornament. Some of the players too, whoſe names are prefixed to the firſt folio edition of our author, were dead in the year 1600, or ſoon after; and others there enumerated, might have appeared at a ſubſequent period, to ſupply their loſs. See the Catalogue of Actors, ſt. P's In the InduQion to Marſton's Antonio and Mellida, 1602, Piers aſks Alberto, what part he acts. He replies, - the neceſſity of the play forceth me to act rwvo parts. See allo the Dramatis Perſonæ of many of our ancient plays; and below, p. 98, n. 2. batants. OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 93 batants . It appears to have been a common practice in their mock engagements, to diſcharge ſmall pieces of ordnance on or behind the {tage 7. Before the exhibition began, three flouriſhes were played, or, in the ancient language, there were three ioundings*. Muſick was likewiſe played between the acts?, The inſtruments chiefly uſed, were trumpets, 6 «© And ſo our ſcene muſt to the battle fly, « Where, O for pity! we ſhall much diſgrace « With four cr five moſt vile and ragged foils, « Right ill diſpos'd, in brawl ridiculous, & The name of Agincourt.“ K. Henry V. Act IV. 7 & Much like to ſome of the players that come to the ſcaffold with drumme and trumpet, to proffer ſkirmiſhe, and when they have ſound- ed alarme, off go the pieces, to encounter a ſhadow, or conquer a paper-monſter.** Schoole of Abuſe, by Stephen Goſſon, 1579. So, in The True Tragedie of Richarde Duke of of Yorke, and the Death of good King Henrie the Sixt, 1600 : * Alarmes to the battaile.— Vork flies; then the chambers be diſcharged; then enter the king, &c, 8 „„ Come, let's bethink ourſelves, what may be found & To deceive time with, till the ſecond ſound.” Notes "ng Black-fryars, by H. Fitz-Jeoffery, 1617. See alſo the Addreſs to the readers, prefixed to Decker's Satiro- moſtix, a comedy, 1602 : © Inſtead of the trumpets ſounding thrice be- fore the play begin, &c, | 9 See the Prologue to Hannibal and Scipio, a tragedy, 1637 66 The places ſometimes chang'd too for the ſcene, & Which is tranſlated, as the muſick plays | & Betwixt the acts.“ SO; The practice appears to have prevailed in the infancy of our ſtage, See the concluding lines of the ſecond act of Gammer Gurton's Needle, 1575 8 ae cc In the towne will I, my frendes to vyſit there, « And hether ſtraight again, to ſee the end of this gere: « In 8 mean time, felowes, pipe upp your fiddles, I lay take them, cc * let your freyndes here ſuch mirth as ye can make them.“ It has been thought by ſome that our author's dramas were exhibit- ed without any pauſes, in an unbroken continuity of ſcenes. But this appears to be a miſtake. In a copy of Romeo and Juliet, 1599, now before me, which certainly belonged to the play-houſe, the endings of the acts are marked in the margin; and directions are given for mu- ſick to be played between each act. The marginal directions in this copy appear to be of a very old date, one of them being in the ancient kyle and hand Play muſiche,” 8 | * 1 1 — — " _ . - 5 — eg n eigen" ee äM—— — — — —-̃ —— — —ezi — n= — . — — ——— —— — i ⁵¶ hEE — „A 04 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT cornets, hautboys, lutes, recorders, viols, and organs“. The band, which, I believe, did not conſiſt of more than eight or ten performers, ſat (as I have been told by a very ancient ſtage-veteran, who had his information from Bo- man, the contemporary of Betterton,) in an upper bal- cony, over what is now called the ſtage-box 2. From Sir Henry Herbert's Manuſcript I learn, that the muſicians belonging to Shakſpeare's company were obliged to pay the Maſter of the Revels an annual fee for a licence to play in the theatre 3. Not very long after our poet's death the Blackfriars” band was more numerous“; and their reputation was ſo high as to be noticed by Sir Bulſtrode Whitelocke, in an account which he has left of the ſplendid Maſque given by the four Inns of Court on the ſecond of Febru- _ ary, 1633-4, entitled The Triumph of Peace, and intend- ed, as he himſelf informs us, “ to manifeſt the differ. ence of their opinion from Mr. Prynne's new learning, and to confute his Hiſtriomaſtiæ againſt interludes.“ x See the ſtage · directions in Marſton's Sophoniſha, ated at the Blackfriars theatre, in 1606 : | | 6 The ladies draw the curtains about Sophoniſha z—the corners and ergans playing loud full muſicke for the act. Signat. B 4. « Organ mixt with recorders for this act. Signat. D 2. «© Organs, wiols, and voices, play for this act. Signat. E 2. cc A baſe lute and a treble viol play for this act.“ Signat. F 2. 2 In the laſt ſcene of Maſſinger's City Madam, which was firſt ated at Blackfriars, May 25, 1632, Orpheus is introduced chanting thoſe raviſhing ſtrains with which he moved « Charon and Cerberus, to give him way & To fetch from hell his loſt Eurydice.“ The following ſtage- direction, which is found in the preceding ſcene, fupports what has been ſuggeſted above, concerning the ſtation of the muſicians in our ancient theatres : “ Muſicians come dozon, [i. e. are to come down, ] to make ready for the ſong at Arras.“ This ſong was to be ſung behind the arras. | | 3 4% For a warrant to the Muſitions of the king's company, this th of Aprill, 1627,.— C. 1. o. o.“ MY. Herbert, * In a warrant of protection now before me, ſigned by Sir Henry Herbert, and dated ſrom the Office of the Revels, Dec. 27, 1624, Nicholas Underhill, Robert Pallant, John Rhodes, and ſeventeen others, are mentioned as being „ all imployed by the kings Ma. ties ſervants in theire quallity of playinge as muſitions, and other neceſlary attendants,” ren | A very HISTORICAL ACCOUNT 95 A very particular account of this maſque is found in his Memorials; but that which Dr. Burney has lately given in his very curious and elegant Hifory of Muſick, from a manuſcript in the poſſeſſion of Dr. Moreton, of the Britiſh Muſeum, contains ſome minute particulars not noticed in the former printed account, and among others an eulogy on our poet's band of mulicians. « For the Muſicke,”” ſays Whitelocke, ©* which was particularly committed to my charge, 1 gave to Mr. Ives, and to Mr. Lawes, 10ol. a piece for their rewards : for the four French gentlemen, the queen's ſervants, I thought that a handſome and liberall gratifying of them would be made known to the queen, their miſtris, and well taken by her, I therefore invited them one morn- ing to a collation att St. Dunſtan's taverne, in the great room, the Oracle of Apollo, where each of them had his plate lay'd by him, covered, and the napkin by it, and when they opened their plates, they found in each of them forty pieces of gould, of their maſter's coyne, for the firſt diſh, and they had cauſe to be much pleaſed with this ſurpriſall. 2 «© The reſt of the muſitians had rewards anſwearable to their parts and qualities; and the whole charge of the muſicke came to about one thouſand pounds. The clothes of .the horſemen reckoned one with another at . 100 a ſuit, att the leaſt, amounted to L. 10, 00. The charges of all the reſt of the maſque, which were borne by the ſocieties, were accounted to be above twenty thouſand pounds. 4 ] was ſo converſant with the muſitians, and ſo will. ing to gain their favour, eſpecially at this time, that [ compoſed an aier my ſelfe, with the aſſiſtance of Mr. Ives, and called it Whztelocke's Coranto; which being cried up, was firſt played publiquely by the Blackefryars Muſicke, who were then eſteemed the beſt of common muſs- tians in London. Whenever I came to that houſe, (as I did ſometimes in thoſe dayes, though not often,) to ſee a play, the muſitians would preſently play Whitelocke*s Coranto ; and it was fo often called for, that they would have it played twice or thrice in an afternoone. The | queen 4 Vol, III. p. 376. 95 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT queen hearing it, would not be perſuaded that it was made by an Engliſhman, bicauſe ſhe ſaid it was fuller of life and ſpirit than the Engliſh aters uſed to be; butt Me honoured the Coranto and the maker of it with her majeſtyes royall commendation. It grew to that requeſt, that all the common muſitians in this towne, and all over the kingdome, gott the compoſition of itt, and played it _ publiquely in all places for above thirtie years after.“ The ſtage in Shakſpeare's time ſeems to have been Leparated from the pit only by pales 5. Soon after the Reſtoration, the band, I imagine, took the ſtation which they have kept ever ſince, in an orcheſtra placed be- tween the ſtage and the pit®. The perſon who ſpoke the prologue, who entered 1m- mediately after the third ſounding 7, uſually wore a long black velvet cloak , which, I ſuppoſe, was conſidered | ay S “ And now that I have vaulted up ſo hye, «& Above the fage-rayles of this earthen globe, 4 J muſt turn actor.“ Black Bocke, 4to. 1604. See alſo D'Avenant's Playhouſe to be let: «© Monſieur, you may draw up your troop of forces 4“ Within the pales.” See the firſt direction in The Tempeſt, altered by D'Avenant and Dryden, and acted at the Duke's Theatre in Lincoln's-Inn Fields, in 1667 «© The front of the ſtage is opened, and the band of twenty-four violins, with the harpſicals and theorbos, which accompany the voices, are placed between the pit and the tage. If this had not been a novel regulation, the direction would have been unneceſſary. Cotgrave in his Dictionary, 1611, following the idea of ancient Rome, defines Orcbeſ re, «The ſenators? or noblemen's places in a theatre, between the ſtage and the common ſeats. Alſo the ſtage it- ſelf. If muſicians had ſet in this place, when he wrote, or the term orcheftre, in its preſent ſenſe, had been then known, there is reaſon to believe that he would have noticed it. See his interpretation of Falot, above, in p. 92, n. 3. | The word orcheftre is not found in Minſheu's Di. nor Bullokars | . Expoſitor. i In Cockeram's Interpreter of bard words, 1655, it is defined æ Scaffold. l N 7 & Preſent not your ſelfe on the ſtage, (eſpecially at a new play) untill the quaking prologue hath by rubbing got cullor into his cheeks, and is ready to give the trumpets their cue, that he's upon the point to enter.“ Decker's Guls Hornebook, 1609. See the InduRtion to Cynthia's Revell, 1601 | 1. Child. OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 97 as beſt ſuited to a ſupplicatory addreſs. Of this cuſtom, whatever may have been its origin, ſome traces re- mained till very lately; a black coat having been, if I miſtake not, within theſe few years, the conſtant ſtage= habiliment of our modern prologue-ſpeakers. The com- ' plete dreſs of the ancient prologue-ſpeaker is till retained in the play exhibited in Hamlet, before the king and court of Denmark. An epilogue does not appear to have been a regular appendage to a play in Shakipeare's time ; for many of his dramas had none ; at leaſt, they have not been preſerv- ed. In Alls Well that Ends Well, A Mid/ummer-Night's Dream, As you like it, Troilus and Creſſida, and The Tem- peſt, the epilogue is ſpoken by one of the perſons of the drama, and adapted to the character of the ſpeaker; a circumſtance that I have not obſerved in the epilogues of any other author of that age. The epilogue was not always ſpoken by one of the performers in the piece ; for that ſubjoined to The Second Part of King Henry IV. ap- pears to have been delivered by a dancer. | The performers of male characters frequently wore peri- wigs?, which in the age of Shakſpeare were not in com- e mon 1. Child. © Pray you, away; why children, what do you mean? 2. Child. © Marry, that you ould not ſpeak the prologue. 1. Child. Sir, I plead poſleflion of the c/aak, Gentlemen, your ſuffrages, for God's ſake.” | So, in the prologue to The Coronation, by Shirley, 1640 6& Since 'tis become the title of our play, c A woman once in a coronation may ce With pardon ſpeak the prologue, give as free 4 A welcome to the theatre, as he | & That with a little beard, a long black cloak, v With a ftarch'd face and ſupple leg, hath ſpoke « Before the plays this twelvemonth, let me then « Preſent a welcome to thefe gentlemen,” | Again, in the prologue to The Woman-Hater, by B. and Fletcher, 1607: © Gentlemen, inductions are out of date, and a prologue in verſe is as ſtale as a black velvet cloake, and a bay garlande,” See Hamlet, Act III. ſc. ii. © O, it offends me to the ſoul, to hear 2 robuſtious periwig- pated fellow tear a paſſion to tatters,” Vo. I. PART II. | * So, { 98 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT mon uſe", It appears from a paſſage in Puttenham's Arte of Engliſh Poefie, 1589, that vizards were on ſome occaſions uſed by the actors of thoſe days*; and it may be inferred from a ſcene in one of our author's comedies, that they were ſometimes worn in his time, by thoſe who performed female characters s. But this, I imagine, was very rare. Some of the female part of the audience likewiſe appeared in maſks#, 5 es | Bot So, in Every Woman in her Humour, 1609: „ As none wear hoods but monks and ladies, —and feathers but fore-horſes, &c. none periwigs but players and pictures. | | i In Hall's Virgidemiarum, 1597, Lib. III. Sat. 5, the faſhion of wearing periwigs is ridiculed as a novel and fantaſtick cuſtom: _ « Late travailing along in London way, « Mee met, as ſeem'd by his Fſguis'd array, «& A luftie courtier, whoſe curled head cc With abron locks was fairely furniſhed ; « I him ſaluted in our laviſh wiſe ; & He anſwers my untimely courteſies. cr His bonnet vail'd,—or ever he could think, „ The unruly winde blowes off his 1 <« He lights and runs, and quickly hath him ſped, 4 'Toover-take his over- running head. | cc Is't not ſweet pride, when men their crownes muſt ſhade 6 With that which jerks the hams of every jade; 6 Or floor-ſtrow'd locks from off the barber's ſhears ? © But waxen crownes well gree with borrowed haires.” 2 c —partly (ſays he) to ſupply the want of players, when there were more parts than there were perſons.” 3 In A Midſummer-Night's Dream, Flute objects to his playing a woman's part, becauſe he has „a beard a coming.” But his friend Quince tells him, that's all one; you ſhall play it in a maſk, and you may ſpeak as ſmall as you will.” 4 * In our aſſemblies at playes in London, (ſays Goſſon, in hie Schoole of Abuſe, 1579, Signat. C.) you ſhall ſee ſuch heaving and ſhoving, ſuch ytching and ſhould'ring to fitte by women, ſuch care for their garments, that they be not trode on ; ſuch eyes to their lappes, that no chippes light in them ; ſuch pillows to their backes, that they take no hurte; ſuch maſking in their ears, I know not what; ſuch giving them pippins to paſs the time; ſuch playing at foot-ſaunte without cardes; ſuch licking, ſuch toying, ſuch ſmiling, ſuch wink- ing, ſuch manning them home when the ſports are ended, that it is a right comedie to mark their behaviour,” 80 OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 99 Both the prompter, or book-holder, as he was ſome- times called, and the property-man, appear to have been regular appendages of our ancient theatres*, The ſtage-drefles, it is reaſonable to ſuppoſe, were much more coſtly in ſome playhouſes than others. Yet the wardrobe of even the king's ſervants at The Globe and Blackfriars was, we find, but ſcantily furniſhed ; and So alſo the prologue to Marſton's Fazpne, 1606: 66 — nor doth he hope to win c Your laud or hand with that moſt common ſin « Of vulgar pens, rank bawdry, that ſmells © Even through your maſks, uſque ad nauſeam."? Again, in his Scourge of Villainie, 1599: cc ——— Diſguiſed Meſſaline, 4 ]'ll teare thy maſke, and bare thee to the eyne & Of hiſſing boyes, if to the theatres 6 I find thee once more come for lecherers.“ | Again, in B. Jonſon's verſes, addreſſed to Fletcher on his Faithful Sbepberdeſs: a « The wiſe and many-headed bench that fits «© Upon the life and death of plays and wits, & Compos'd of gameſter, captain, knight, knights man, % Lady or puſil, that wears maſke or fan, ce Velvet or taffata cap, rank'd in the dark & With the ſhops foreman, or ſome ſuch brave ſparke, & (That may judge for his fixpence) had, before cc They ſaw it half, damn'd thy whole play.“ After the Reſtoration, maſks, I believe, were chiefly worn in the theatre, by women of the town. Wright complains of the great num- ber of maſks in his time: * Of late the play-houſes are ſo extremely peſtered with vizard-maſts and their trade, (ocgafioning continual quar- rels and abuſes) that many of the more civilized part of the town are uneaſy in the company, and ſhun the theatre as they would a houſe of ſcandal.” Hiſt. Hiſftrion. 1699, p. 6. ; Ladies of unblemiſhed character, however, wore maſks in the boxes, In the time of Congreve, In the epilogue to Durfey's comedy called The old mode and the new, (no date) the ſpeaker points to the maſks in the fde boxes : but 1 am not ſure whether what are now called the balconies were not meant. * | 5 „J aſſure you, fir, we are not ſo officiouſly befriended by him, Ithe author, ] as to have his preſence in the tiring- houſe, to prompt us aloud, ſtamp at the Bock- holder, ſwear for our properties, curſe the poor tire- man, rayle the muſicke out of tune,” &c, Induction to Cynthia's Revels, 1601, Ee Re | ns 2 H 2 our — — — [ —6U— — —— 100 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT our author's dramas derived very little aid from the ſplendour of exhibition ©. _ It is well known, that in the time of Shakſpeare, and for many years afterwards, female charaQers were repreſent- ed ſolely. by boys or young men. Naſhe in a pamphlet ubliſhed in 1592, ſpeaking in defence of the Engliſh age, boaſts that the players of his time were not as the players beyond ſea, a ſort of ſquirting bawdie comedians, that have whores and common curtizans to play women's parts 7.“ What Naſhe conſidered as an high eulogy on his country, Prynne has made one of his principal ages againſt the Engliſh ſtage; having em- ployed ſeveral pages in his bulky volume, and quoted many hundred authorities, to prove that thole playes wherein any men act women's parts in woman's apparell muſt needs be ſinful, yea, abominable unto chriftians .““ The grand baſis of his argument is a text in ſcripture ; Deuteronomy, Ch. xxii. v. 7. The woman ſhall not wear that which pertaineth unto man, neither ſhall a man put on a woman's garment :** a precept, which Sir Richard Baker has juſtly remarked, is no part of the moral law, and ought not to-be underſtood literally. Where (ſays Sir Richard) finds he this precept ? 3 in the ſame place where he finds alſo that we muſt not weare cloaths of ' 6 See the induction to Ben Jonſon's Staple of News, acted by the | | King's ſervants, in 162 5: « © Curioſity, you come to ſee who wears the new ſuit to-day ; whoſe cloaths are beſt pen'd, whatever the part be; which actor has the beſt leg and foot; what king plays without cuffs, and his queen Without gloves: who rides poſt in ſtockings, and dances in boots.” It is, however, one of Prynne's arguments againſt the ſtage, in the in vective which he publiſhed about eight years after the date of this piece, that © the ordinary theatrical interludes were uſually ated in 7 effeminate, fantaſtick, and gatody apparel.” Hiftriomaſt. p- 216. But little credit is to be given to that voluminous zealot, on a queſtion of this kind. As the frequenters of the theatre were little better than incarnate devils, and the muſick in churches the bleating o Brute beaſts, ſo a piece of coarſe ſtuff trimmed with tinſel was probably in his opinion a moſt ſplendid and wngodly dreſs. | | 7 Pierce Pennileſs bis Supplicatien to the Devil, 4to, 1592. '$ Hiftriomaſtix, 4to. 1633 p · 179+ hs - = | linſey- OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 101 linſey-woolſey : and ſeeing we lawfully now wear cloaths of linſey-woolſey, why may it not be as lawful for men to put on women's garments 9?”* | It may perhaps be ſuppoſed that Prynne, having thus vehemently inveighed againſt men's repreſenting female characters on the ſtage, would not have been averſe to the introduction of women in the ſcene ; but ſinful as this zealot thought it in nen to aſſume the gar- ments of the other ſex, he conſidered it as not leſs abo- minable in women to tread the ſtage in their own proper dreſs: for he informs us, that ſome Frenchwomen, or monſters rather, in Michaelmas term, 1629, attempt- ed to act a French play at the playhouſe in Blackfriers, which he repreſents as an impudent, ſhameful, unwo- maniſh, graceleſs, if not more then æoheriſb attempt.“ L 1 | There 9 Theatrum Triumphans, 8vo. 1670, p. 16. Martin Luther's comment on this text is as follows: Hic non prohibetur quin ad vitandum peri- culum, aut ludendum joco, vel ad fallendum hoſtes, mulier poſſit ge- rere arma viri, et vir uti, veſti muliebri; ſed ut ſerio et uſitato habitu talia non fiant, ut decora utrique ſexui ſervetur dignitas. And the learned Jeſuit, Lorin, concurs with him: „ Diſſimulatio veſtis poteſt interdum fine peccato fieri, vel ad repreſentandam comice tragiceve per- ſonam, vel ad effugiendum periculum, vel in caſu ſimili.“ Ibid. p. 19. 1 Hiftriomaſtix, p. 414. He there calls it only an attempt, but in a former page (215) he ſays, ** they have now their female players in Italy and other foreigne parts, as they had ſuch French women actors in a play not long ſince perſonated in Blackfriers playhouſe, to wwbjch there was great reſort.” In the margin be adds“ in Michaelmas terme, 1629. His account is confirmed by Sir Henry Herbert's Of. fice-book, in which I find the following notice of this exhibition: cc For the allowinge of a French company to playe a farſe at Black. fryers, this 4 of November, 1629,—L£.2. o. o.“ The ſame company attempted an exhibition both at the Red Bull and the Fortune theatres, as appears from the following entries: cc For allowinge of the Frenche [company] at the Red Bull for a daye, 22 Novemb. 1629,—[£{.2. O. o.] | For allowinge of a Frenche companie att the Fortune to play one afternoone, this 14 of Decemb. 1629,—F£.1. o. o. tc T ſhould have had another peece, but in reſpect of their ill fortune, T was content to beſtow a peece back.” MY, Herbert. Prynne, in conformity to the abſurd notions which have been ſtated in the text, inſerted in his Index —_ words: „ Women actors notori- 5 ous 12 _ HISTORICAL ACCOUNT. Soon after the period he ſpeaks of, a regular French theatre was eſtabliſhed in London, where without doubt women actedꝰ. They had long before appeared on the Italian as well as the French ſtage. When | | Coryate ous wwhbores :” by which he ſo highly offended the king and queen, that he was tried in the Star-chamber, and ſentenced to be impriſoned for life, fined C. 5000, expelled Lincoln's Inn, diſbarred and diſquali- fied to practiſe the law, degraded of his degree in the univerſity, to be ſet on the pillory, his ears cut off, and his book burnt by the hands of the common hangman, ** which rigorous ſentence,” ſays Whitelocke, «© was as rigoroully executed. I quote theſe words as given by Dr. Burney from Whitelocke's Manuſcript. It is remarkable that in his printed MEMORIAL Ss the word rigorous is omitted; from which there is reaſon to believe that the editor in 1682 took ſome liberties with the manuſcript from which that book wis printed. The words there are, « ew-wbich ſentence was as ſeverely executed. In p. 708 of Prynne's book is the following note, the inſertion of which probably incenſed their majeſties, who often performed in the court-maſques, not leſs than what has been already mentioned: © It is infamous in this author's judgment [Dion Caſſius] for em- perors or perſons of quality to dance upon a ſtage, or act a play.“ 2 In the Office-book of Philip Earl of Pembroke and Montgome- ry, I find a warrant for payment of C. 10. “ to Jofias Floridor for him- ſelfe and the reſt of the French players, for a tragedy by them acted before his Majeſtie in Dec. laſt.” Dated Jan. 8, 1635-6, Their houſe had been licenſed, April 18, 1635. I find alſo & C. 10. paid to John Navarro for himſelf and the reſt of the company of Spaniſp players, for a play preſented before his Majeſtie, Dec. 23, 1635. We have already ſeen that Henrietta Maria had a precedent for in- troducing the comedians of her own country into England, King Henry the Seventh having likewiſe had a company of French players. Sir Henry Herbert's manuſcript furniſhes us with the following no- tices on this ſubject: | « On tueſday night the 17 of February, 1634, [ 1634-5] a Frenche company of players, being aproved of by the queene-at her houſe too nights before, and commended by her majeſty to the kinge, were ad- . mitted to the Cockpitt in Whitehall, and there preſented the king and ueene with a Frenche comedy. called Meliſe, with good aprobation: for which play the king gives them ten pounds, & This day being friday, and the 20 of the ſame monthe, the kinge tould mee his pleaſure, and commanded mee to give order that this Frenche company ſhould playe the too ſermon daies in the weeke, during their time of playinge in Lent, and in the houſe of Drury-lane, where the queenes players uſually playe. “The kings pleaſure I fignifyed to Mr. Beeſton, [the Manager of Drury- lane theatre] the ſame day, who obeyd readily, By : 66 £ OF THE ENGLISH STAGE, 103 Coryate was at Venice, [July 1608, ] he tells us, he was at one of their playhouſes, and ſaw a comedy acted. The ce The houſe-keepers are to give them by promiſe the benefit of their intereſt for the too days of the firſt weeke. | « They had the benefitt of playinge on the ſermon daies, and gott two hundred pounds at leaſt ; . beſides many rich clothes were given em. . A « They had freely to themſelves the whole weeke before the weeke before Eaſter, which I obtaynd of the king for them. c Rhe 4 Aprill, on Eaſter monday, they playd the Trompeur puny, with better approbation than the other. On Wenſday night the 16 Aprill, 1635, the French playd Aci- medor with good aprobation.“ | In a marginal note Sir Henry Herbert adds, *© The Frenche offered mee a preſent of £.10; but I refuſed itt, and did them many other curteſys, gratis, to render the queene my miſtris an acceptable ſer. vice. 8 5 It appears from a ſubſequent paſſage, that in the ſollowing month 2 theatre was erected expreſsly for this troop of comedians, « A warant granted to Joſias d'Aunay, Hurfries de Lau, and others, for to act playes at a new houſe in Drury-lane, during pleaſure, 5e 5 may, 1635. | © The king was pleaſed to commande my Lord Chamberlain to di- rect his warrant to Monfieur Le Fevure, to give him a power to contract with the Frenchemen for to builde a playhouſe in his manage-houſe, which was done accordinglye by my adviſe and allowance.” & Thes Frenchmen,” Sir Henry adds in the margin, ““ were com. mended unto mee by the queene, and have paſt through my handes, ratis. They did not however paſs quite free, for from a ſubſequent entry it appears, that © they gave Blagrave [Sir Henry's deputy] three pounds for his paines.“ In the following, December the French paſtoral of Florimene was ated at court by the young ladies who attended the queen from France. „ The paſtorall of Florimene, (ſays Sir Henry) with the deſcription of the ſceanes and interludes, as it was ſent mee by Mr. Inigo e I allowed for the preis, this 14 of Decemb. 1635. The paſtorall is in French, and tis the argument only, put into Engliſh, that I have allowed to be printed. | Le paſtorale de Florimene fuſt repreſente devant le roy et la royne, le prince Charles, et le prince Palatin, le 21 Decem. jour de St. Thomas, par les filles Frangoiſe de la royne, et firent tres bien, dans la grande ſale de Whitehall, aux depens de la royne.“ Mi. Herbert, | H 4 houſe, TT — — * _ > — — 4 +3 11 if *Yy : _ — ES — 2 * 8 > — — — 5 a eee ͤv—ik— ——— —— — — 104 + HISTORICAL ACCOUNT houſe, (he adds) is very beggarly and baſe, in compariſon of our ſtately playhouſes in England ; neither can their actors compare with us for apparell, ſhewes, and mu- ſicke. Here obſerved certaine things that I never ſaw before; for I ſaw women act, a thing that I never ſaw before, though I have heard that it hath been ſome times uſed in London ; and they performed it with as good a grace, action, geſture, and whatſoever conve- nient for a player, as ever I ſaw any maſculine actors.“ The practice of men's performing the parts of women In the ſcene 1s of the higheſt antiquity. On the Grecian ſage no women certainly ever aded. From! Plutarch's Lite of Phocion, we learn, that in his time (about three hundred and eighteen years before the Chriſtian era) the performance of a tragedy at Athens was interrupted for ſome time by one of the actors, who was to perſonate a queen, refuſing to come on the ſtage, becauſe he had not a ſuitable maſk and dreſs, and a train of attendants richly habited ; and Demoſthenes in one of his orations“ mentions Theodorus and Ariſtodemus as having often repreſented the Antigone of Sophocles 5, This fact is alſo 4. | aſcertained 3 Coryate's Crudities, to. 1611, p. 247. I have found no ground for this writer's aſſertion, that female performers had appeared on the Engliſh ſtage before he wrote. ; 4 De fals. leg. tom. ii. p. 199, edit. Taylor. | s See alſo Lucian. de Salt. II. 285, edit. Hemſterhuſii. Be. cauſe” (ſays that lively writer) „ at firſt you preferred tragedy and comedy and vagrant fidlers and finging to the harpe, before dancing, calling them truly exerciſes, and therefore commendable, let us, I pray, compare them ſeverally with dancing. Where, if it pleaſe you, we will paſs the pipe and harpe as parts and inftruments of dancing, and conſider tragedy as it is; firſt, according to its propertyes and dreſs. What a deformed and frightfull fight is it, to ſee a man raiſed to a prodigious length, ſtalking upon exalted buſkins, his face diſguiſed with a grimme vizard, widely gaping, as if he meant to devour the ſpectators? I forbear to ſpeake of his ſtuft breſts, and fore-bellyes, which make an adventitious and artificial corpulency, left his un- natural length ſhould carry diſproportion to his ſlenderneſſe: as alſo his clamour from within, when he breakes open and unlockes himſelfe; when he howles iambicks, and moſt ridiculouſly fings his own ſuf- ferings, and renders himſelf by his very tone odious. For as for the reſt, they are inventions of ancient poets, Yet as long as he perſo- | nates only ſome Andromache and Hecuba, his finging is tolerable, _ or OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. oz aſcertained by an anecdote preſerved by Aulus Gellius. A very celebrated actor, whoſe name was Polas, was appointed to perform the part of Electra in Sophocles's play; who in the progreſs of the drama appears with an urn in her hands, containing, as ſhe ſuppoles, the aſhes of Oreſtes. The actor having ſome time before been deprived by death of a beloved ſon, to indulge his grief, as it ſhould ſeem, procured the urn which contained the aſhes of his child, to be brought from his tomb; which affected him ſo much, that when he appeared with it on the ſcene, he embraced it with unfeigned ſorrow, and burſt into tears ®. | That on the Roman ftage alſo female parts were repreſented by men in tragedy, 1s aſcertained by one of Cicero's letters to Atticus, in which he ſpeaks of Antiphos, who performed the partof Andromache; and by A ure 91 in Horace, who informs us, that Fuſius Phocæus being to perform the part of Ilione, the wife of Polym- neſtor, in a tragedy written either by Accius or Pacuvius, for a Hercules to enter dolefully ſinging, and to forget himſelf, and neither to regard his lyons ikinne, nor clubbe, muſt needs appear to any judging man a ſoleciſme. And whereas you diſlike that in dan- cing men ſhould act women; this 25 reprehenſion, which holds for tragedies and comedyes too, in which are more womens parts, then mens.“ Dialogue on dancing, tranſlated by Jaſper Mayne, folio, 1664. 6s Hiſtrio in terra Grzcia fuit fama celebri, qui geſtus et vocis cla- ritudine et venuſtate ceteris anteſtabat. Nomen fuiſſe aiunt Polum tragedias poetarum nobilium ſcite atque aſſeverate actitavit. Is Polus unice amatum filium morte amiſit, Eum luctum quum ſatis viſus eſt eluxiſſe, rediit ad quæſtum artis. In eo tempore Athenis Electram Sophoclis acturus, - geſtare urnam quaſi cum Oreſti offibus debebat. Ita compoſitum fabulæ argumentum eſt, ut veluti fratris reliquias ferens Electra comploret commiſeraturque interitum ejus, qui per vim extinctus exiſtimatur. Igitur Polus lugubri habitu Electræ in- dutus oſſa atque urnam a ſepulchro tulit filii, et quaſi Oreſti amplex- us opplevit omnia non ſimulachris neque imitamentis, ſed luctu at- que lamentis veris et ſpirantibus. Itaque quum agi fabula videretur, dolor actus eſt,” Aul. Gel. Lib. VII. c. 7. Olivet in a note on one of Cicero's letters to Atticus, (I. iv. c. 15.) mentions a ſimilar anecdote of an actreſs called Seia, for which he quotes the authority of Plutarch; but no ſuch perſon is mentioned by that writer, Seia, according to Olivet, performed the part of Andro- mache. I ſuſpect he meant to cite Petrarch, 6 Epiſtol. ad Atticum, Lib. IV. c. 15. and 106 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT and being in the courſe of the play to be awakened out of ſleep by the cries of the ſhade of Polydorus, got ſo drunk, that he fell into a real and profound ſleep, from which no noiſe could rouſe him?. Horace indeed mentions a female performer, call- ed Arbuſcula®; but as we find from his own authority that men perſonated women on the Roman ſtage, ſhe probably was only an embo/iaria, who performed in the interludes and dances exhibited between the acts and at the end of the play. Servius? calls her ima, but that may mean nothing more than one who aQed in the mimes, or danced in the pantomime dances“; and this ſeems the more probable from the manner in which ſhe is mentioned by Cicero, from whom we learn that the part of Andromache was performed by a male aQor on that very day when Arbuſcula exhibited with the higheſt applauſe “. The ſame practice prevailed in the time of the emper- ors; for in the liſt of parts which Nero, with a prepoſter- ous ambition, acted in the publick theatre, we find that of Canace, who was repreſented in labour on the ſtage *. In the interludes exhibited between the acts undoubt- edly women appeared. The elder Pliny informs us that a female named Lucceia acted in theſe interludes for an hundred years; and Galeria Copiola for above ninety years; having been firſt introduced on the ſcene in the fourteenth year of her age, in the year of Rome 672, when Caius Marius the younger and Cneius Carbo were conſuls, and having performed in the 104th year of her age, ſix years before the death of Auguſtus, in 7 6 Non magis audivit quam Fuſius ebrius olim, . 6 Cum llionam edormit, Catienis mille ducentis, « Mater te appello, clamantibus. Sat. Lib. II. Sat. 3. Compare Cicero, Tuſculan. I. 44. | 1 3 * ſatis eſt equitem mihi plaudere, ut audax | 6 Contemptis aliis exploſa Arbuſcula dixit.“ Lib. I. Sat. 10. 9 In Eclog. x. | * Sunt Mimi, ut ait Claudianus, qui lætis ſalibus facete riſum mo- vent; Pantomimi vero, ut idem ait, “ nutu manibuſque loquaces.“ Vet. Schol. : 1 Epiſtol. ad Atticum, l. iv. c. 15. 2 Sueton. in Nerone, c. 21. / the OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. toy the conſulate of C. Poppzus and Quintus Sulpicius, A. U. C.:762*. | Eunuchs alſo ſometimes repreſented women on the Roman ſtage, as they do at this day in Italy; for we find that Sporus, who made ſo conſpicuous a figure in the time of Nero, being appointed in the year 70, [A. U.. C. 823] to perſonate a nymph, who, in an interlude exhibited before Vitellius, was to be carried off by a raviſher, rather than endure the indignity of wearing a female dreſs on the ſtage, put himſelf to death“: a ſin- gular end for one, who about ten years before had been ublickly eſpouſed to Nero, in the hymeneal veil, and had been carried through one of the ſtreets of Rome by the ſide of that monſter, in the imperial robes of the empreſſes, ornamented with a profuſion of jewels. | Thus ancient was the uſage, which, though not adopted in the neighbouring countries of France and Italy, pre- vailed in England from the infancy of the 7 The prejudice againſt women appearing on the ſcene con- tinued ſo ſtrong, that till near the time of the Reſto- ration boys conſtantly performed female characters; and, ſtrange as it may now appear, the old practice was not deſerted without many apologies for the indecorum of the novel uſage. In 1659 or 1660, in imitation of the foreign theatres, women were firſt introduced on the ſcene. In 1656, indeed, Mrs. Coleman, the wife of Mr. Edward Coleman, repreſented {anthe in the Firſt Part of D*Avenant's, Siege of Rhodes; but the little ſhe had to ſay was ſpoken in recitative. The firſt woman that ap- peared in any regular drama on a publick ſtage, per- formed the part of Deſdemona; but who the lady was, I am unable to aſcertain. The play of Othello is enume- rated by Downes as one of the ſtock-plays of the king's company on their opening their theatre in Drury-lane in April 1663; and it appears from a paper found with Sir Henry Herbert's Office-book, and indorſed by him“, 3 Plin. Hiſt. Nat. Lib. VIII. c. 48. | 4 Xiphilini Vitel. p. 209, edit. H. Stephani, folio, 1592. 5 See the liſt of plays belonging to the Red Bull, in a ſubſequent page, ad ann. 1660. — that — — —ämüän en 108 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT that it was one of the ſtock-plays of the ſame company from the time they began to play without a patent at the Red Bull in St. John-ftreet. Mrs. Hughs performed the part of Deſdemona in 1663, when the company re- moved to Drury-lane, and obtained the title of the king's ſervants; but whether ſhe performed with them while they played at the Red Bull, or in Vere-ftreet near Claremarket, has not been aſcertained. Perhaps Mrs. Saunderſon made her firſt eſſay there, though ſhe after- wards was enliſted in D'Avenant's company. The re- ceived tradition is, that ſhe was the firſt Engliſh aQtreſs 3, The verſes which were ſpoken by way of introducing a female to the audience, were written by Thomas Jordan, and being only found ina very ſcarce miſcellany !“, I ſhall here tranicribe them : | « 4 Prologue, to introduce the firſt woman that came to act on the ftage, in the tragedy called The Moor of Venice. «« I come, unknown to any of the reſt, 4 To tell you news; I ſaw the lady dreſt: 4 The woman plays to day: miſtake me not, «© No man in gown, or page in petticoat: « A woman to my knowledge; yet I can't, 44 If I ſhould die, make affidavit on't, 5 Mrs, Saunderſon (afterwards Mrs. Betterton) played Juliet, Ophelia, and, I believe, Cordelia. It ſhould ſeem from the 22d line of the Epilogue ſpoken on the eccaſion, that the lady who performed Deſdemona was an unmarried woman. Mrs. Hughs was married. The principal unmarried actreſs in the King's company appears to have been Mrs. Marſhall, who is faid to have been afterwards ſeduced under a pretence of marriage by Aubrey de Vere, earl of Oxford, and who might have been the original female performer of Deſdemona. At that time every unmarried woman bore the title of Miſtreſs. | It is ſaid in a book of no authority, (Curl's Hiftory of the Stage,) and has been repeated in various other compilations, that Mrs. Norris, the mother of the celebrated comedian known by the name of Jubilee Dick, was the firſt actreſs who appeared on the Engliſh tage : but this 3s highly improbable. Mrs. Norris, who was in D*Avenant's com- pany, certainly had appeared in 1662, but ſhe was probably not young for ſhe played Goody Tell in Town Shifts, a comedy acted in 1671, and the Nurſe in Reformation, acted in 1675. | 4 Al Royal Arbour of Loyal Poefie, by Thomas Jordan, no date, but printed, 1 believe, in 1662. Jordan was an actor as well as a poet. «« Do OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. . Do you not twitter, gentleman ? I know «© You will be cenſuring: do it fairly though. «c *Tis po/fble a virtuous woman may | 4 Abhor all ſorts of looſeneſs, and yet play; « Play on the ſtage, - where all eyes are upon her: « Shall we count that a crime, France counts an honour? In other kingdoms huſbands ſafely truſt em; «© The difference lies only in the cuſtom. «<< And let it be our cuſtom, I adviſes; «© I'm ſure this cuſtom's better then th? exciſe, «<< And may procure as cuſtom : hearts of flint Will melt in paſſion, when a woman's in't. «© But gentlemen, you that as judges fit << In the ſtar- chamber of the houſe, the pit, Have modeſt thoughts of her; pray, do not run << To give her viſits when the play is done, „With © damn me, your moſ humble ſervant, lady; 5 She knows theſe things as well as you, it may be: Not a bit there, dear gallants, ſhe doth know «© Her own deſerts, —and your temptations too.— «© But to the point: In this reforming age «© We have intents to civilize the ſtage. Our women are defective, and fo ſiz d, | «© You'd think they were ſome of the guard diſguis'd ; <« For, to ſpeak truth, men act, that are between Forty and fifty, wenches of fifteen ; | «© With bone ſo large and nerve ſo incompliant, «© When you call DzsDEMoNa, enter GIANT. «© We ſhall purge every thing that is unclean, « [aſcivious, ſcurrilous, impious, or obſcene ; «© And when we've put all things in this fair way, « BAREBONES himſelf may come to ſee a plays. 3 5 See alſo the Prologue to The Second Part of the Siege of Rhodes, (acted in April, 1662,) which was ſpoken by a woman: « Hope little from our poet's wither'd wit, «« From infant players, ſcarce grown puppets yet; « Hope from our women leſs, whoſe baſhful fear « Wonder'd to ſee me dare to enter here: « Each —Uñ— A 2 — wo HISTORICAL ACCOUNT: The Epilogue which conſiſts of but twelve lines, is in the ſame ſtrain of apology : | * And how do you like her? Come, what is't ye drive at? «« She's the ſame thing in publick as in private; «© As far from being what you call a whore, «© As Deſdemena, injur'd by the Moor: c Then he that cenſures her in ſuch a caſe, « Hath a foul blacker than Othello's face. « But, ladies, what think you? for if you tax «« Her freedom with diſhonour to your ſex, « She means to act no more, and this ſhall be * Na other play but her own tragedy. « She will ſubmit to none but your commands, « And take commiſſion only from your hands.“ From a paper in Sir Henry Herbert's handwriting I find that Ozhe/lo was performed by the Red-Bull com- pany, (afterwards, his Majeſties ſervants,) at their new theatre in Vere-ſtitet, near Claremarket, on Saturday December 8, 1660, for the firſt time that winter. On that day therefore it is probable an actreſs firſt appeared on the Engliſh ſtage. This theatre was opened on Thurſ- day November 8, with the play of K. Henry the Fourth, Moſt of Jordan's prologues and epilogues appear to have been written for that company. B? It is certain, however, that for ſome time after the Reſtoration men alſo ated female parts*; and Mr. ran LoRER | Kynaſton ce Each took her leave, and wiſh'd my danger paſt, 44 And though I come back ſafe and undiſgrac'd, C Yet when they ſpy the wits here, then I doubt 4 No amazon can make them venture out; .«« Though I advis'd them not to fear you much, c For I preſume not half of you are ſuch.” “ In a prologue to a play repreſented before King Charles the Se- gond very ſoon after his Reſtoration, of which I know not the title, are theſe lines, from which it appears that ſome young men acted the b parts of women in that piece : | 464 — we are ſorry : c We ſhould this night attend on ſo much glory 4 With ſuch weak worth; or your clear ſight engage 4 To view the remnants of a ruin'd ſtage : « For doubting we ſhould never play again, & We have play's all our women into men cc That OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 115 Kynaſton even after women had aſſumed their proper rank on the ſtage, was not only endured, but admired, if we may believe a contemporary writer; who aſſures us, « that being then very young, he made a complete ſtage beauty, performing his parts ſo well, (particularly Arthiope and Aglaura) that it has ſince been diſputable among the judicious, whether any woman that ſucceeded him, touched the audience ſo ſenſibly as he 7.” In D' Avenant's company, the firſt actreſs that appeared was probably Mrs. Saunderſon, who performed /anthe in The Siege of Rhodes on the opening of his new theatre in Lincoln's-Inn Fields, in April 16625. It does not appear from Downes's account, that while D*Avenant's company performed at the Cockpit in Drury-lane during the years 1659, 1660 and 1661, they had any female performer among them: or that Othello was acted by them at that period. | In the infancy of the Engliſh ſtage it was cuſtomar in every piece to introduce a Clown, “ by his ke geſtures to breed in the leſs capable mirth and laughter?,”” The privileges of the Clown were very extenſive; for, between the acts, and ſometimes between the ſcenes, he claimed a right to enter on the ſtage, and to excite mer- riment by any ſpecies of buffoonery that ſtruck him. Like the Harlequin of the Italian Comedy, his wit was c That are of ſuch large ſize for fleſh and bones, „ They'll rather be taken for amazons & Than tender maids ; but your mercy doth pleaſe « Daily to paſs by as great faults as theſe : cc If this be pardon'd, we ſhall henceforth bring « Better oblations to my lord the king.” | | | A Royal Arbour, &c. p. 12, The author of Hiftoria Hiftrionica ſays, that Major Mohun played Bellamente in Shirley's Lowe's Cruelty, after the Reſtoration; and Cibber mentions, that Kynaſton told him he had played the part of Evadne in the Maid's Tragedy, at the ſame period, with ſucceſs, The apology made to King Charles the Second for a play not beginning in due time, (“, that the gueen was not paved,” )is well known, The queen is ſaid (but on no good authority) to have been Kynaſton. 7 Roſcius Anglicanus, p. 19. 8 In the following year ſhe married Mr. Betterton, and not in 1670, as is erroneouſly aſſerted in the Biograpbia Britannica. She acted by the name of Mrs. Betterton in The Sligbted Maid, in 1663. 9 Heywood's Hiſt. of Women, 1624. often an — O n K— ——xꝛñů——ů——— —vuL— 1 — — — _— — —— — — - ——— —— ——— 2 —ä—ͤͤ — - 112 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT often extemporal, and he ſometimes. entered into 2 con- teſt of raillery and ſarcaſm with ſome of the audience l. He generally threw his thoughts into hobbling doggrel verſes, which he made ſhorter or longer as he found convenient ; but, however irregular his metre might be, or whatever the length of his verſes, he always took care to tag them with words of correſponding ſound : like Dryden's Dogo, 81 N «© He fagotted his notions as they fell, 4 And if they rhym'd and rattled, all was well.“ Thomas Wilſon and Richard Tarleton, both ſworn ſervants to Queen Elizabeth, were the moſt popular performers of that time in this department of the drama, and are highly praiſed by the Continuator of Stowe's Annals, for “their wondrous, plentiful, pleaſant, and extemporal wit. Tarleton, whoſe comick powers were ſo * In Brome's Antipodes, which was performed at the theatre in Sa- Iitbury-court, in 1638, a by-play, as he calls it, is repreſented in his comedy; a word for the application of which we are indebted to this writer, there being no other term in our language that I know of, which ſo properly expreſſes that ſpecies of interlude which we find in our poet's Hamlet and ſome other pieces. The actors in this by-play being called together by Lord Letoy, he gives them ſome inſtructions concerning their mode of acting, which prove that the clowns in Shak- ſpeare's time frequently held a dialogue with the audience: | 6 Let. Go; be ready. — « But you, fir, are incorrigible, and & Take licence to yourſelf to add unto BY ce Your parts your own free fancy; and ſometimes 4 To alter or diminiſh what the writer & With care and ſkill compos'd, and when you are 4 To ſpeak to your co-aftors in the ſcene, « You bold interlocution with the audients. | & Bip. That is a way, my lord, hath been allow'd « On elder ſtages, to move mirth and laughter, & Let, Ves, in the days of Tarleton and Tempe, e Before the ſtage was purg'd from barbariſm, | é And brought to the perfection it now ſhines with. 4 Then fools and jeſters ſpent their wit, becauſe d The poets were wife enough to ſave their own « For profitabler uſes.” _ | 2 Howes's edition. of Stowe's Chronicle, 1631, p. 698. | 5 See alſo Gabriel Harvey's Four Letters, to. 1592, 77 3 c Who in London hath not heard of — his fond diſguiſinge of a er of 17 8 4 8 : - with OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 113 fo great, that, according to Sir Richard Baker, “ he delighted the ſpectators before he had ſpoken a word,“ is thus deſcribed in 4 very rare old pamphlet: The | next, by his ſute of ruſfet, his buttoned cap, his taber, | his ſtanding on the toe, and other tricks, I knew to be E either the body or reſemblance of Tarlton, who living. for his pleaſant conceits was of all men liked, and, dying, | for mirth left not his like.” In 1611 was publiſhed a book entitled his Feafts, in which ſome ſpecimens are as of the extempore wit which our anceſtors thought o excellent. As he was performing ſome part at the Bull in Biſhops-gate-ſtreet, where the Queenes players oftentimes played, while he was kneeling down to aſke his fathers bleſſing, a fellow in the gallery threw an apple at him, which hit him on the cheek. He imme- diately took up the apple, and advancing to the audience, addreſſed them in theſe lines: 1 « Gentlemen, this fellow, with his face of mapple “, 3 e Inſtead of a pippin hath throwne me an apple; 14 7 But as for an apple he hath caſt a crab, & So inſtead of an honeſt woman God hath ſent him a | drab. 75 8 | || | —— —— — — — — — — n 6 The with ruffianly haire, unſeemely apparell, and more unſeemely com- pany; his vaineglorious and Thraſonicall bravery; his piperly eætempo- riſing and Tarletonixing? &c. e | 3 Kind- Hartes Dreame, by Henry Chettle, 4to. no date, but pub- | liſhed in Dec. 1592 | 3 5 4 This appears to have been formerly a common ſarcaſm. There E is a tradition yet preſerved in Stratford, of Shakfpeare's comparing || | the carbuncled face of a drunken blackſmith'to a maple, The black- {| {ſmith accoſted him, as he was leaning over a-mercer's door, with - - | | c Now, Mr. SHAKSPEARE, tell me, if you can, | | „„The difference between a youth and a young man.“ — to which our poet immediately replies. '1 I « Thou fon of fire, with thy face like a maple, N Y | „ The ſame difference as between a ſcalded and a coddled :{ | apple. ; | 2 | = This 5 was related near fifty years ago to a gentleman at s | Stratford by a perſon then above eighty years of age, 'whoſe father 1 might have been contemporary with Shakſpeare. It is obſervable that | a fimilar imagery may be traced in the Comedy of Errors: «© Though now this grained face of mine be hid,” &. The bark of the maple is uncommonly rough, and the grain of one = Vor, I. PazxT II. | *I of j 114 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT The people,” ſays the relater, laughed heartily ; for the fellow had a quean to his wife,” | Another of theſe ſtories, which I ſhall give in the author's own words, eſtabliſhes what I have already mentioned, that it was cuſtomary for the clown to talk to the audience or the actors ad libitum. | At the Bull at Biſhops-gate, was a play of Henry the V. | the performance which preceded Shakſpeare's, | wherein the judge was to take a box on the eare; and becauſe he was abſent that ſhould take the blow, Tarlton himſelfe, ever forward to pleaſe, tooke upon him to play the ſame judge, beſides his own part of the clowne; and Knel, then playing Henry the Fifth, hit Tarlton a ſound box indeed, which made the people laugh the more, becauſe it was he: but anon the judge goes in, and immediately Tarlton in his clownes cloaths comes out, and aſks the actors, What news ? O, ſaith one, had'ſt thou been here, thou ſhouldeſt have ſeen Prince Henry hit the judge a terrible box on the eare. What, man, ſaid Tarlton, ſtrike a judge! It is true, Pfaith, ſaid the other. No other like, ſaid Tarlton, and it could not be but terrible to the judge, when the report fo terrifies me, that methinks the blowe remains ſtill on my cheeke, that it burnes again. The people laught at this mightily, and to this day I have heard it commended for rare; but no marvel, for he had many of theſe. But I would ſee our clownes in theſe days doe the like. No, I warrant ye; and yet they thinke well of themſelves too. | The laſt words ſhew that this practice was not diſcon- tinued in the time of Shakſpeare, and we here ſee that he had abundant reaſon for his precept in Hamlet- % Let thoſe that play your clowns, ſpeak no more than is ſet down for them ; for there be of them, that will them- ſelves laugh, to ſet on ſome quantity of barren ſpectators to laugh too; though i the mean time ſome neceſſary queſ= tion of the play be then to be conſider d. ; of the ſorts of this tree (according to Evelyn) is (c undulated and T his criſped into variety of curls,”* 1 — — . — a. ei OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. ung This practice was undoubtedly coeval with the Eng- {iſh ſtage ; for we are told that Sir Thomas More, while he lived as a page with Archbiſhop Moreton, (about the year 1490,). as the Chriſtmas plays were going on in the palace, would ſometimes ſuddenly ſtep upon the ſtage, without ſtudying for the matter, and exhibit a part of his own, which gave the audience much more entertain- ment than the whole performance beſides 5. But the peculiar province of the Clown was to enter- tain the audience after the play was finiſhed, at which time themes were ſometimes given to him by ſome of the ſpectators, to deſcant uponꝰ; but more commonly the audience were entertained by a jig. A jig was a lu- dicrous metrical compoſition, often in rhime, which was ſung by the Clown, who likewiſe, I believe, occaſion- ally danced, and was always accompanied by a tabor and pipe?. In theſe jigs more perſons than one . | | Were 5 Roper's Life and Death of More, 8 vo. 1716, p. 3. 6 6 I remember I was once at a play in the country, where, as Tarlton's uſe was, the play being done, every one ſo pleaſed to throaeo vp bis theame amongſt all the reſt one was read to this effect, word by word : | N « Tarlton, I am one of thy friends, and none of thy foes, «© Then I pr'ythee tell how thou cam'ſ by thy flat noſe,” &c. To this challenge Tarleton immediately replied in four lines of looſe verſe. Tarlton's Feaſts, 4to. 1611. | 7 ce Out upon them, [ the players, ] they ſpoile our trade, they open our croſſe-biting, our conny-catching, our traines, our traps, our Zins, our ſnares, our ſubtilties; for no ſooner have we a tricke of de- ceipt, but they make it common, ſinging gigs, and making jeaſts of us, that every boy can point out our houſes as they paſſe by”. 5 Kind- Hartes Dreame, Signat. E 3. b. See allo Pierce Pennileſſe, &c. 1 592: = like the queint comedians of our time, «© That when the play is done, do fall to rhime, &c. So, in A firange Horſe-race, by Thomas Decker, 1613: ; £6 Now as after the cleare ſtream hath glided away in his one cur- rent, the bottom is muddy and troubled ; and as I have often ſeen after tbe finiſhing of ſome wortby tragedy or cataſtrophe in the open theatres, that the ſceane, after the epilogue, hath been more black, about a naſty bawdy jigge, then the moſt horrid ſcene in the play was; the ſtinkards ſpeaking all things, yet no man underſtanding any thing; a mutiny being amongſt them, yet _ in danger; no tumult, and yet 2 Ee | — — — — — EE % ·² . 6 ˙ f ] ͥiuꝑBABbB ³˙·- EE „ EE_E_COAGRT IE I ED CO SE TI... LoL an ads " CCC — ——— U ⏑— —·˙ ä K —— — — K 116 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT were ſometimes introduced. The original of the en- tertainment which this buffoon afforded our anceſtors s between no quietneſs; ; no miſchiefe begotten, and yet miſchiefe borne z the ſwiftneſs of ſuch a torrent, the more it over-whelms, breeding the more pleaſure; ſo after theſe worthies and conquerors had left the Held, another race was ready to begin, at which, though the perſons in it were nothing equal to the former, yet the ſhoutes and noyle at theſe was as great, if not greater. The following lines in Hall's Satires, 1 5975 "be alſo to allude to the ſame cuſtom: C One higher pitch'd, doth ſet his ſoaring banks « On crowned kings, that fortune hath low brought, cc Or ſome upreared high-aſpiring ſwaine, ce As it might be, the Turkiſh Tamburlaine. «« Then weeneth he his baſe drink-drowned ſpright % Rapt to the three-fold loft of heaven hight, e When he conceives upon his fained ſtage ' 4 The ſtalking ſteps of his great perſonage; «© Graced with huft-cap termes and thund' ring threats, << That his poor hearers' hayre quite upright ſets. «© Such ſoone as ſome brave-minded hungrie youth ec Sees fitly frame to his wide-ſtrained mouth, % He yaunts his voyce upon an hyred ſtage, cc With high-ſet ſteps, and princely carriage: 4 There if he can with termes Italianate, 4 Big-ſounding ſentences, and words of ſtate, « Faire patch me up his pure jambick verſe, cc He raviſhes the gazing ſcaffolders.— cc Now leaſt ſuch frighttul ſhowes of fortunes fall, «© And bloudy tyrants' rage, ſhould chance appall % The dead-ſtruck audience, midf# the filent rout „Comes leaping in a ſelfe-misformed leut, | & And laughes, and grins, and frames his mimick face; e And juſtles firaight into the princes place: & Then deth the theatre eccho all alou « With gladſome noyſe of that applauding croud. « A goodly boch-poch, when wile ruſſettings « Are matcht with monarchs and with migktis kings !” & c. The entertainments here alluded to were probably «« the fond and frivolous jeſtures,” deſcribed in the preface to Marlowe's Tamburlaine, 1590, which the printer ſays, he omitted, “ as farre unmeete for the matter, though they have been of ſome vaine conceited fondlings greatly gaped at, what times they were thewed upon the ſtage in their acted deformities.” 1 t ſhould fem from D' Avenant's prologue to The Wits, when ated 2 OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 117 between the acts and after the play, may be traced to the ſatyrical interludes of Greece*, and the Atellans and Mimes of the Roman ſtage? The Exodiarii and | Emboliarie at the Duke's theatre, in 1662, that this ſpecies of entertainment was not even then entirely diſuſed: 2 « So country jigs and farces, mixt among | c Heroick ſcenes, make plays continue long.“ Blount in his Gloſſograpbia, 1681, 5th edit. defines a farce, © A fond and diſſolute play or comedy. Alſo the jig at the end of an inter- lude, wherein ſome pretty knavery is ated,” | Kempe's Figg of the Kuchin-fluffe-woman, and Philips his Figg of tbe Slyppers, were entered on the Stationers' books in 1595; but [ know not whether they were printed, There is, I believe, no Jig now extant in print, 8 „ Carmine gui tragico vilem certavit ob hircum, C Mox etiam agreſtes Satyros nudavit, et aſper « Incolumi gravitate jocum tentavit, eo quod ce Illecebris erat et grata novitate morandus « Spectator, functuſque ſacris, et potus et exlex.“ | a | Hor. de Arte Poetica. 9 e Urbicus exodio riſum movet Atellanæ « Geſtibus Autonoes; —— Juv. Sat. VI. 71. & Exodiarius in fine ludorum apud veteres intrabat, quod ridiculug foret; ut quicquid lacrymarum atque triſtitiæ coegiſſent ex tragicis affectibus, hujus ſpectaculi riſus detergeret.“ Vet. Schol, „ As an old commentator on Juvenal affirms, the Exodiarii, which were ſing- ers and dancers, entered to entertain the people with light ſongs and mimical geſtures, that they might not go away oppreſſed with melan- choly from theſe ſacred pieces of the theatre.” Dryden's Dedication to his Tranſlation of Juvenal. See alſo Liv. lib. vii. c. 2. Others contend that the Exodia did not ſolely fignify the ſongs, &c. at the concluſion of the play, but thoſe alfo which were ſung in the middle of the piece; and that they were ſo called, becauſe they were introduced £05, that is, Incidentally, and unconnected with the principal en- tertainment. Of this kind undoubtedly were the S or epiſodes, introduced between the acts, as the z:o0J;a were the ſongs ſung at the opening of the play. The Atellan interludes were ſo called from Atella, a town in Italy, from which they were introduced to Rome : and in proceſs of time they were ated ſometimes in the middle, and ſometimes at the end, of more ſerious pieces. Theſe, as we learn from one of Cicero's letters, gave way about the time of Julius Cæſar's death to the Mimes, which conſiſted of a groſſer and more licentious pleaſantry than the Atellan interludes. “ Nunc venio,” ſays Cicero, „ ad jocationes tuas, cum tu ſecundim Oenomaum Accii, non ut olim 4 | ſolebat it 1 ö \ , 4 OO ES OSS * I *— OS WET i | | | f | | 318 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT Emboliariz of the Mimes are undoubtedly the remote progenitors of the Vice and Clown of our ancien: dramas *.- | No ſolebat, Atellanum, ſed at nune fit, mimum introduxiſti.” Epi. 2 Fam. IX. 16. The Atellan interludes, however, were not wholly "AS diſuſed after the introduction of the Mimes; as is aſcertained by a paſſage in Suetonius's Life of Nero, c. 39. | 4 Mirum et vel præcipue notabile inter hæc fuit, nihil eum patientius quam maledicta et convitia hominum tulifle ; neque in ullos leniorem quam qui ſe dictis ante aut carminibus laceſſiſſent, extitiſſe.— Tran- ſeuntem eum Iſidorus Cynicus in publico clara voce corripuerat, quod Nauplii mala bene cantitaret, ſua bona male diſponeret. Et Datus Atellanarum hiſtrio, in cantico quodam, uyiaiys 7drep, vyiaive prep, ita demonſtraverat, ut bibentem natantemque faceret, exitum ſcilicet Claudii Agrippinæque ſignificans; et in noviſſima clauſula, Orcus vo- Bit ducit pedes, ſenatum geſtu notaret. Hiſtrionem et philoſophum Nero nihil amplius quam urbe Italiaque ſubmovit, vel contemptu om- nis infamiæ, vel ne fatendo dolorem irritaret ingenia.“ See alſo Galb. c. 13. I do not find that the ancient French theatre had any exhibition ex- actly correſponding with this, for their Sor 1E rather reſembled the Atellan farces, in their original ſtate, when they were performed as a diſtinct exhibition, unmixed with any other interlude. An extract given by Mr. Warton from an old ART or Porr publiſhed in 1548, furniſhes us with this account of it: „ The French farce con- tains nothing of the Latin comedy. It has neither acts nor ſcenes, which would ſerve only to introduce a tedious prolixity : for the true ſubject of the French farce or Sor IE is every fort of foolery, which has a tendency to provoke laughter,—The ſubje& of the Greek and Latin comedy was totally different from every thing on the French ſtage ; for it had more morality than drollery, and often as much truth as fiction. Our Mox ATL ITIESs hold a place indifterently beg tween tragedy and comedy, but our farces are really what the Romans called Mimes or Priapees, the intended end and effect of which was exceſſive laughter, and on that account they admitted all kind of | Hecentiouſneſs, as our farces do at preſent, In the mean time their leaſantry. does not derive much advantage from rhymes, however owing, of eight ſyllables.” HisT. or ENG. Pot TRY, Vol. III. p. 350. Scaliger expreſsly mentions the two ſpecies of drama above deſcribed, as the popular entertainments of France in his time. “ Sunto our duo genera, quz etiam vicatim et oppidatim per univerſam alliam mirificis artificibus circumferuntur; Mox ATE, et Rivi- 2 EVLUM.” Poetices lib. 1. c. x. p. 17, edit. 1561. x The exact conformity between our Clowns and the Exodiarii and Emboliaria of the Roman ſtage is aſcertained, not only by what 1 | 4 : have OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 110 No writer that I have met with, intimates that in the time of Shakſpeare it was cuſtomary to exhibit more than a ſingle dramatick piece on one day*. Had any ſhorter pieces, of the ſame kind with our modern farces, (beſide the jigs already mentioned,) been preſented after the principal performance, ſome of them probably would | have been printed; but there are none extant of an earlier date than the time of the Reftoration 3. The practice therefore of exhibiting two dramas ſucceſſively in the ſame afternoon, we may be aſſured, was not eſtabliſhed before that period. But though our ancient audiences were nor gratified by the repreſentation of more than one drama. in the ſame day, the entertain- ment in the middle of the reign of Elizabeth was diver- fified, and the populace diverted, by vaulting, tumbling, ſlight of hand, and morrice-dancing*; and in the time | | of have ſtated in the text, but by our author's contemporary Philemon Holland, by whom that paſſage in Pliny which is referred to in a former page,“ Lucceia mima centum annis in ſcena pronuntiavit. Galeria Copiola, emboliaria, reducta eſt in ſcenam,—annum centeſſi- mum quartum agens,” —is thus tranſlated : „ Lucceia, a common V1ce in a play, followed the ſtage, and acted thereupon 100 yeeres. Such another Vicx, that plaied the foole, and made ſporte betzusene wwhiles in interludes, named Galeria Copiola, was brought to act on the ſtage, — when ſhe was in the 104th yeere of her age. 2 The Yorkſhire Tragedy, or All's One, indeed, appears to have been one of four pieces that were repreſented on the ſame day; and Fletcher has alſo a piece called Four Plays in One; but probably theſe were either exhibited on ſome particular occaſion, or were ineffectual eftorts to introduce a new ſpecies of amuſement; for we do not find any other inſtances of the ſame kind. 3 In 1663, as I learn from Sir Henry Herbert's Mſs. Sir William D'Avenant produced The P/aybouſe to be let. The fifth act of this heterogeneous piece is a mock tragedy, founded on the actions of Czſar, Anthony, and Cleopatra, This, Langbaine ſays, uſed to be acted at the theatre in Dorſet Garden, (which was not opened till November 1671,) after the tragedy of Pompey, written by Mrs. Catharine Phillips; and was, I believe, the firſt farce that appeared on the Engliſh ſtage. In 1677, The Cheats of Scapin was performed, as a ſecond piece, after Titus and Berenice, a play of three acts, in order to furniſh out an exhibition of the uſual length : and about the ſame time farces were produced by Duffet, Tate, and others. 4 % For the eye, beſides the beautie of the houſes and the ſtages, I 4 he — ——ꝛ— — pe — —— — — —_ a ER. ee. EE. 2 S . eo x — — —— — Io Oo — „ 2 120 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT of Shakſpeare, by the extemporaneous buffoonery of the | Clown, whenever he choſe to ſolicit the attention of the audience; by ſinging and dancing between the acts, and either a ſong or the metrical jig already deſcribed at the end of the piece: a mixture not more heterogene- | aus he [the devil] ſendeth in gariſh apparell, maſques, waulting, tumbling, dauncing of gigges, galiardes, moriſces, bobby-borſes, ſhewing of juggling caſtes, — nothing forgot, that might ſerve to ſet out the matter with pompe, or ravith the beholders with variety of pleaſure.” Playes Confuted in five ations. By Stephen Goſſon. Signat. E. 5 See Beaumont's Verſes to Fletcher on his Faithful Shepberdeſs : «© Nor want there thoſe, who, as the Bey does dance ; «© Between the acts, will cenſure the whole play.” So alſo, in Sir John Davies's Er16R ams, no date, but printed in 1598: | it « For as we ſee at all the play-houſe doores, 6 When ended is the play, the dance, and ſong, « A thouſand townſmen,”” &c. Hentzner obſerves, that the dances, when he was in London in 1598, were accompanied with exquiſite muſick. See the paſſage quoted from his ITINERARY, in p. 45, n. I. | That in the ſtage-dances boys in the dreſs of women ſometimes Joined, appears to me probable from Prynne's invective againſt the theatre: «© Stage-playes,” ſays he, © by our own modern experience are commonly attended with mix: efteminate amorous dancing.” Hiſtriomaſtix, p. 259. From the ſame author we learn that ſongs were frequently ſung between the acts. By our owne moderne experience there is nothing more frequent in all our ſtage-playes then amorous paſtoral or obſcene laſcivious love-ſongs, moſt melodioufly chanted out upon the ſtage betweene each ſeveral action; both to ſupply that chaſme or vacant interim which the tyring-houſe takes up in changing the aors? robes, to fit them for ſome other part in the enſuing ſcene, as likewiſe to pleaſe the itching cares, if not to inflame the outrageous luſts, of lewde ſpeRators,”* Ibidem, p. 262. In another place the author quotes the following paſſage from Euſebius. What ſeeth he who runnes to play-houſes ? Diabolical ſongs, dancing wenches, or, that I may ſpeake more truely, girles toſſed up and downe with the furies of the devil.” [© A good de ſcription (adds Prynne) of our dancing 1 « For what doth this dancereſle ? She moſt impudently uncovers her head, which Paul hath commanded to be always covered; the tur nes about her necke the wrong way; ſhe throweth abeut her haire hither and thither. Even theſe things verily are done by her whom the Devill hath poſ- ſeſſed.” Ibidem, p. 534 It does not appear whether the puritanical writer of. this IIs 1 | alludes OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 121 ous than that with which we are now daily preſented, a tragedy and a farce. In the dances, I believe, not only men, but boys in women's dreſſes, were introduced: a practice which prevailed on the Grecian ſtage ®, and in France till late in the laſt century 7. The amuſements of our anceſtors, before the com- mencement of the play, were of various kinds, While ſome part of the audience entertained themſelves with reading *, or playing at cards?, others were employed in leſs refined occupations; in drinking ale“, or ſmok- ing alludes in the obſervation inſerted in crotchets to boys dancing on the ſtage in women's cloaths, or to female dancers in private houſes, The ſubject immediately before him ſhould rather lead ta the former interpretation. Vomen certainly did not dance on the ſtage in his time. | ; © SEC p. 104, n. 5. 7 6 Dans le ballet de Triompbe de P Amour en 1681, on vit pour la premiere fois de danſeuſes ſur le theatre de Opera: auparavant c'etojent deux, quatre, fix, ou huit danſeurs qu'on habilloit en fem- mes.” Oeuvres de M. De Saint-Foix, tom. iii. p. 416. s So, in Fitz-Jeoffery's Satires, 1617: «© Ye worthy worthies! none elſe, might I chuſe, «© Doe I deſire my poefie peruſe, «© For to ſave charges ere the play begin, « Or when the lord of liberty comes in.“ Again, in a ſatire at the concluſion of The Maſtive, or young Whelpe of the old Dogge, —Epigrams and Satires, printed by Thomas Creede : | | The author is ſpeaking of thoſe who will probably purchaſe his book. J c Laſt tomes my ſcoffing friend, of ſcowring wit, 6 Who thinks his judgment *bove all arts doth ſit. « He buys the booke, and haſtes him to the play; 6c Where when he comes and reads, ce here's ſtuff,” doth ſay: „ Becauſe the lookers on may hold him wiſe, « He laughs at what he likes, and then will riſe, ce And takes tobacco; then about will looke, « And more diſlike the play than of the booke c At length is vext he ſhould with charge be drawne & For ſuch flight fights to lay a ſute to pawne. 9 cc Before the play begins, fall to cardes. Guls Horne-bork, 1609. 1 See The Woman-Hater, a comedy, by B. and Fletcher, 1607 : 6 There is no poet acquainted with more ſhakings and quakings _ N wards =» , - wo. OLI "— — — 122 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT ing tobacco *: with theſe and nuts and apples they were furniſhed by male attendants, of whoſe clamour » ſati- rical writer of the time of James I. loudly complains 3. In 1633 when Prynne publiſhed his Hiſtriomaſtix, wo- men ſmoked tobacco in the playhouſes, as well as men“. It was a common practice to carry table- books“ to the theatre, and either from curioſity, or enmity to the au- thor, or ſome other motive, to write down paſſages of wards the latter end of his new play, when he's in that caſe that he ſtands peeping between the curtains, ſo fearfully, that a bottle of ale cannot be opened, but he thinks ſome body hiſſes.“ 2 © Now, fir, I am one of your gentle auditors that am come in ;— T have my three ſorts of tobacco in my pocket; my light by me and thus I begin. InduCtion to Cynebia's Revels, by Ben Jonſon, 1601. So, in Bartbolometo Fair, 1614: „He looks like a fellow that I have ſeen accommodate gentlemen with tobacco at our theatres.” Again, in Decker's Guls Horne-book : By fitting on the ſtage, you may with ſmall coſt purchaſe the deare acquaintance of the boyes ; have a good ſtool for ſixpence —get your match lighted," &c. 3 © —Prythee, what's the play? 6 I'll ſee't, and fit it out whate'er.— cc Had Fate fore-read me in a crowd to die 6 To be made adder-deaf with pippin-cry.” Notes from Black. fryers, by H. Fitz-Jeoffery, 1617. . 1 In a note on a paſlage in Goſſon's Schoole of Abuſe, 1579, In- ſtead of pomegranates they give them pippins,”” &c. quoted by Prynne, he informs us, Now they offer them [the female part of the au- dience] the tobacco-pipe, which was then unknowne.”* Hiftriomaſtix, 363. 5 : See the induction to Marſton's Malecontent, a comedy, 1604: 4 J am one that hath ſeen this play often, and can give them [Heminge, Burbage, &c.] intelligence for their action; I have moſt of the jeſts here in my table- book. So, in the prologue to Hannibal and Scipio, 1637: 46 — Nor ſhall he in pluſh, & That, from the poet's labours, in the pit & Informs himſelf, for the exerciſe of his wit 6 At taverns, gather notes. $ Again, in the prologue to The Woman-Hater, a comedy, 1607 : cc If there be any lurking among you in corners, with table-books, who have ſome hopes to find fit matter to feed his malice on, let them claſp them up, and ſlink away, or ſtay and be converted.” Again, in Every man in bis Humour, 1601: « But to ſuch, wherever they fit concealed, let them know, the author defies them and their zoriting-tables.” . tac o THE ENGLISH STAGE. 123 the play that was repreſented ; and there is reaſon to believe that the imperfect and mutilated copies of one or two of Shakſpeare's dramas, which are yet extant, were taken down by the ear or in ſhort-hand during the ex- hibition. | | At the end of the piece, the actors, in noblemen's houſes and in taverns, where plays were frequently per- formed, prayed for the health and proſperity of their patrons ; and in the publick theatres, for the king and queen”. This prayer ſometimes made part of the epi- logue*, Hence, probably, as Mr. Steevens has ob- ſerved, the addition of Yivant rex et regina, to the modern play-bills. | Plays in the time of our author, began at one o'clock in the afternoon? ; and the exhibition was ſometimes finiſhed 6 See A Mad World, my Maſters, a comedy, by Middleton, 1608 : et Some ſherry for my lord's players there, ſirrah; why this will be a true feaſt z—a right Mitre ſupper jz— play and all.” The night before the inſurrection of the gallant and unfortunate earl of Eſſex, the play of King Henry IV. (not Shakſpeare's piece) was acted at his houſe. ES 7 See the notes on the epilogue to The Secend Part of K. Henry IV. Vol. V. p. 443. | 3 See Cambyſes, a tragedy, by Thomas Preſton; Locrine, 15955 and K. Henry IV. P. II. 9 6 Fuſcus doth riſe at ten, and at eleven « He goes to Gyls, where he doth eat till one, «& Then ſees a play. | Epigrams by Sir John Davies, no date, but printed about 1 598. Others, however, were actuated by a ſtronger curioſity, and, in order to ſecure good places, went to the theatre without their dinner. See the prologue to The Unfortunate Lovers, by Sir William D' Ave- nant, firſt performed at Blackfriars in April, 1638: 4 — You are grown exceſſive proud, 46 Since ten times more of wit than was allow'd « Your filly anceſſors in twenty year, « You think in zoo /Hor? hours to ſwallow here. « For they to theatres were pleas'd to come, «« Eve they bad din'd, to take up the beſt room; «© There ſat on benches not adorn'd with mats, c And graciouſly did vail their high-crown'd hats « To every half-dreſs'd player, as he till « Through hangings peep'd, to ſee the galleries fill. | % Good 124 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT finiſhed in two hours*. Even in 1667, they com- menced at three o'clock*, About thirty years after- . wards, (in 1696,) theatrical entertainments began an hour later 3. We have ſeen that in the infancy of our ſtage Myſ- teries were uſually acted in churches; and the practice of exhibiting religious dramas in buildings appropriated to the ſervice of religion on the Lord's-day certainly continued after the Reformation. ec Good caſy-judging ſouls, with what debght & They would expect a jig or target-fight ! 4 A furious tale of Troy, which they ne'er thought ce Was weakly writ, if it were ſtrongly fought; © Laugh'd at a clinch, the ſhadow of a jeſt, & And cry'd=a paſſing good one, I proteſt.” From the foregoing lines it appears that, anciently, places were not taken in the beſt rooms or boxes, before the repreſentation. Soon after the Reſtoration, this practice was eſtabliſhed, See a prologue to 2 zevived play, in Covent Garden Drellery, 1672: &« Hence tis, that at new plays you come ſo ſoon, & Like bridegrooms hot to go to bed ere noon 3 « Or if you are detain'd ſome little ſpace, «« The ſtinking footman's ſent to keep your place. & But if a play's reviv'd, you ſtay and dine, c And drink till three, and then come dropping in.“ Though Sir John Davies, in the paſſage above quoted, mentions one clock as the hour at which plays commenced, the time of beginning the entertainment about eleven years afterwards (1609) ſeems to have been later; for Decker in his Guls Horne-booke makes his gallant go to the ordinary at #wwo o'clock, and from thence to the play. When BenſJonſon's Magnetick Lady was acted, (in 1632,) plays ap- pear to have been over at five o'clock. They probably at that time did not begin till between two and three o'clock. | * See p. 123, n. 9. See alſo the prologue to King Henry VIII. and that to Remeo and Juliet. | : 2 See The Demoiſelles a la Mode, by Fleckno, 1667: 1. Actor. Hark you, hark you, whither away ſo fait ? 2. Ager. © Why, to the theatre, tis paſt Fhree o'clock, and the play is ready to begin.“ See alſo note 9, above. | After the Reſtoration, (we are told by old Mr. Cibber) it was a frequent practice of the ladies of quality, to carry Mr. Kynaſton the par in his female dreſs, after the play, in their coaches to Hyde ark. | | 3 See the Epilogue to The She Gallants, printed in that year. 0 = During OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 125 During the reign of Queen Elizabeth plays were ex- hibited in the publick theatres on Sundays, as well as on other days of the week. The licence granted by that queen to James Burbage in 1574, which has been already printed in a former page 5, ſhews that they were then repreſented on that day, out of the hours of prayer. | : g : We are told indeed by John Field in his Declaration of God's Fudgment at Paris Garden, that in the year 1580 * the magiſtrates of the city of London obtained from Queene Elizabeth, that all heatheniſh playes and enterludes ſhould be baniſhed upon ſabbath dayes.“ This prohibition, however, probably laſted but a ſhort time; for her majeſty, when ſhe viſited Oxford in 1592, did not ſcruple to be preſent at a theatrical exhibition on Sunday night, the 24th of September in that year 6. During the reign of James the Firſt, though dramatick 4 ce Theſe, the players] becauſe they are allowed to play every Sunday, make four or five Sundays, at leaſt, every week.” Schoole of Abuſe, 1579. 8 | % In former times, (ſays Strype in his Additions to Stowe's Sur. ey of London,) ingenious tradeſmen and gentlemen's ſervants would ſometimes gather a company of themſelves, and learn interludes, to expoſe vice, or to repreſent the noble actions of our anceſtors. Theſe they played at feſtivals, in private houſes, at weddings, or other en- tertainments. But in proceſs of time it became an occupation, and theſe plays being commonly acted on Sundays and other feſtivals, the churches were forſaken, and the playhouſes thronged.“ See alſo A Sermon preached at Paules Croſſe on St. Bartholomeaw day, being the 24.,of Auguſt, 1578, By Fobn Stockwood : Will not a fylthie playe with the blaſt of a trumpette ſooner call thyther [ro the country] a thouſande, than an houres tolling of a bell bring to the ſermon a hundred? Nay, even heere in the citie, without it be at this place, and ſome other certaine ordinarie audience, where ſhall you find a reaſonable company? Whereas if you reſorte to the Theatre, the Curtaine, and other places of playes in the citie, you ſhall on the Lord's day have theſe places, with many other that I can reckon, ſo full as poſſible they can throng.” See alſo Stubbes's Anatomie of Abuſes, 1583, in pref. ; and The Mirrour of Magiſtrates for Cities, 1584, p. 24+ | S P. 6 Peck's Memoirs of Cromevell, No. IV. p. 15. 5 . | entertainments | | | | | — — m ES 226 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT entertainments were performed at court on Sundays 7, I believe, no plays were pudblickly repreſented on that day“; and by the ſtatute 3 Car. I. c. i. their exhibi- . | tion 7 This is aſcertained by the following account of © REVELLSs and Pr AYEs performed and acted at Chriſtmas in the court at Whitehall, 1622; for the preſervation of which we are indebted to Sir John Aſtley, then Maſter of the Revels : 6 Upon St. Steevens daye at night The Spaniſh Curate was acted by the kings players. | «© Upon St. Johns daye at night was ated The Beggars Buſh by the Kings players. : Upon Childermas daye no playe. “ Upon the Sonday following The Pilgrim was acted by the kings layers. : «© Upon New-years day at night The Alchemiſt was acted by the kings players. | % Upon Twelfe night, the Maſque being put off, the play called A Powe and à good one was acted by the princes ſervants. « Upon Sonday, being the 19th of January, the Princes Maſque ap- pointed for Twelfe daye, was performed. The ſpeeches and ſongs compoſed by Mr. Ben. Johnſon, and the ſcene made by Mr. Inigo Jones, which was three times changed during the tyme of the maſque z where in the firſt that was diſcovered was a proſpective of Whitehall, with the Banqueting Houſe; the ſecond was the Maſquers in a cloud and the third a forzeft, The French embaſſador was preſent. «© The Antemaſques of tumblers and jugglers. «© The Prince did leade the meaſures with the French embaſſadors wife. «© The meaſures, braules, corrantos, and galliards, being ended, the Maſquers with the laoyes did daunce 2 contrey daunces, namely The Soldiers Marche, and Huff Hamukin, where the French Embaſſadors wife and Mademoyſala St. Luke did [daunce]. «© At Candlemas Malvolio was ated at court, by the kings ſervants. 4 At Shrovetide, the king being at Newmarket, and the prince out of England, there was neyther maſque nor play, nor any other kind of Revells held at court,” Mi. Herbert. : s In the Refutation of the Apologie for Adors, by J. G. quarto, 1615, it is aſked, ** If plays do ſo much good, why are they not ſuf- fered on the Sabbath, a day ſelect whereon to do good? From hence It appears that plays were not permitted to be publickly ated on Sun- days in the time of James J. | EP Yet Beard in his Theatre of God's Judgment, p. 212, edit. 1631, tells us, that in the year 1607, „ at a towne in Bedfordſhire called Riſley, the floore of a chamber wherein many were gathered together to OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 127 tion on the Sabbath day was abſolutely prohibited: yet, notwithitanding this a& of parliament, both plays and maſques were performed at court on ſundays, during the firit ſixteen years of the reign of that kingꝰ, and cer- tainly in private houſes, if not on the publick tage, | It to ſee a ſtage- play on the ſabbath day, fell downe.” But this was a private exhibition.—From a paſlage alſo in Prynne's Hiſtriomaſlix, p. 243, it appears that plays had been ſometimes repreſented on Sun- days in the time of James the Firſt, though the practice was then not common. „ Dancing therefore on the Lords day is an unlawful paſ- time puniſhable by the ſtatute 1 Caroli, c. 1. which intended to ſup- preſſe dancing on the lords day, as well as beare-bayting, bull- bayting, enterludes and common playes, which were not ſo rife, ſo common, as dancing, when this law was firſt enatted.” It is uncertain whether this writer here alludes to publick or private exhibitions. 2 9 May, in his Hifory of the Parliament of England, 1646, taking a review of the conduct of king Charles and his miniſters from 1628 to 1640, mentions that plays were uſually repreſented at court on Sundays during that period. 5 | There were during this period fimilar exhibitions on Sundays elſe- where as well at court, notwithſtanding the ſtatute made in the be- ginning of this reign; but whether they were permitted then in the publick theatres, I am unable to aſcertain. Prynne in his Hiftrio- maſtix, p. 645, has the following paſſage: “ Neither will it here- upon follow, that we may dance, dice, fee maſques or playes on Lordi- day nights, (as too many do, ) becauſe the Lords day is then ended,” &c. and in p. 717, he inſinuates that the ſtatute 3 Car. I. c. 4. (which prohibited the exhibition of any interlude or ſtage · play on the Lord's- day,) was not very ſtrictly enforced : „If it were as diligently exe- cuted as it was piouſly enacted, it would ſuppreſſe many great abuſes, that are yet continging among us, to Gods diſhonour and good chriſ- tians' grief in too many places of our kingdom z which our juſtices, our inferiour magiſtrates, might ſoon reforme, would they but ſet themſelves ſeriouſly about it, as ſome here and there have done.“ See alſo Withers's Britaines Remembrancer, Canto VI. p. 197, b. edit. 1628: | E % And ſeldom have they leiſure for a play « Or maſque, except upon God's holiday.“ In John Spencer's CI of diverſe petitions, &c. 4to. 1641, (as T learn from Oldys's Manuſcript notes on Langbaine, ) it is ſaid, that « JohnWilſon, a cunning muſician, contrived a curious comedy, which being acted on a Sunday night after that John biſhop of Lincoln had conſecrated the earl of Cleaveland's ſumptuous chapel, the ſaid John | | | Spencer 2 8 128 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT It has been a queſtion, whether it was formerly a com- mon practice to ride on horſeback to the playhouſe ; a circumſtance that wonld ſcarcely deſerve conſideration, if it were not in ſome ſort connected with our author's hiſtory *, a plauſible ſtory having been built on this foundation, relative to his firſt introduction to the tage. 7 | The modes of conveyance to the theatre, anciently, as at preſent, ſeem to have been various; ſome go- ipg in coaches *, others on horſeback 3, and many by Spencer (newly made the biſhop's commiſſary general) did preſent the faid biſhop at Huntingdon for ſuftering the ſaid comedy to be ated in his houſe on a Sunday, though it was nine o'clock at night; alſo Sir Sydney Montacute and his lady, Sir Thomas Hadley and his lady, Maſter Wilſon, and others, actors of the ſame : and becauſe they did not appear, he ſentenced the biſhop to build a ſchool at Eaton, and endow it with 20l. a year for a maſter 3 Sir Sydney Montacute to give five pounds and five coats to five poor women, and his lady five pounds and five gowns to five poor widows; and the cenſure, (ſays he) ſtands yet unrepealed.“ | 1 See Vol. I. Part I. p. 154. | 2 « A pipe there, firrah ; no ſophiſticate cc Villaine, the beſt, —whate'er you prize it at. 66 Tell yonder lady with the yellow fan, | « J ſhall be proud to uſher her anon; & My coach ſtands ready. ——— Motes from Black: 4 Though it be a player's vice to be unjuft « To verſe not yielding coyne, let players know, 6 'They cannot recompence your labour, though 16 They grace you with a chayre upon the ſtage, & Ard take no morty of you, nor your page. 144 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT It appears from Sir Henry Herbert's Office-book that the king's company between the years 1622 and 1641 produced either at Blackfriars or the Globe at leaſt four new plays every year. Every play, before it was repreſented on the ſtage, was licenſed by the Maſter of the Revels, for which he received in the time of Queen Elizabeth but a noble, though at a ſubſequent period the ſtated fee on this occaſion roſe to two pounds. | Neither Queen Elizabeth, nor King James the Firſt, nor Charles the Firſt, I believe, ever went to the pub- lick theatre; but they frequently ordered plays to be performed at court, which were repreſented in the royal theatre called the Cockpit, in Whitehall: and the actors of the king's company were ſometimes commanded to attend his majeſty in his ſummer's progreſs, to perform before him in the country. Queen Henrietta Maria, | however, So, in The Play- bouſe to be let, by Sir W. D*Avenant : & Poet. Do you let up for yourſelves, and profeſs wit, & Without help of your authors? Take heed, firs, &« You'll get few cuſtomers, & Houſckeeper. Yes, we ſhall have the poets. « Poet. *Tis becauſe they pay nothing for their entrance. s ce Whereas William Pen, Thomas Hobbes, William Trigg, William Patrick, Richard Baxter, Alexander Gough, William Hart, and Richard Hawley, together with ten more or thereabouts of their fellows, his majeſties comedians, and of the regular company of play- ers in the Blackfryers, London, are commaunded to attend his ma- jeſtie, and be nigh about the court this ſummer progreſs, in readineſs, when they thall be called upon to act before his majeſtie: for the better enablipg and encouraging them whereunto, his majeſty is gra- ciouſly pleaſed that they ſhall, as well before his majeſties ſetting forth on his maine progreſſe, as in all that time, and after, till they ſhall have occaſion to returne homewards, have all freedome and liberty to repayre unto all towns corporate, mercate townes, and other, where they ſhall thinke fitt, and there in their common halls, mootehalls, ſchool-houſes or other convenient roomes, act playes, comedyes, and interludes, without any lett, hinderance, or moleſtation whatſoever (behaving themſelves civilly). And herein it is his majeſties pleaſure, and he does expect, that in all places where they come, they be trea- ted and entertayned with ſuch due reſpect and courteſie as may become his majeſties loyal and loving ſubjects towards his ſervants, In teſti- mony whereof I have hereunto ſet my hand and ſeale at arms. Dated at Whitehall, the 17th of May, 1636. 5 To all Mayors, &c. | | P. and M.“ MC, in the Lord Chamberlain's office. This . eee ce LR ala OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 145 however, went ſometimes to the publick theatre at Blackfriars*. I find from the Council-books that in the time of Elizabeth ten pounds was the payment for a play. performed before her; that is, twenty nobles, or tix pounds, thirteen ſhillings, and four-pence, as the regular and ſtated fee; and three pounds, fix ſhillings, and eight-pence, by way of bounty or reward. The ſame ſum, as 1 learn from the manuſcript notes of lord Stanhope, Treaſurer of the Chamber to king James the Firſt, continued to be paid during his reign : and this was the ſtated payment during the reign of his ſucceſſor alſo. Plays at court were uſually Peres at night, by which means they did not interfere with the This is entitled in the margin -A Player's Paſs. William Hart, whoſe name occurs in the foregoing liſt, and who undoubtedly was the eldeſt ſon of Joan Hart, our poet's ſiſter, is men- tioned in another warrant, with ten others, as a dependant on the players, —* employed by his Majeſties ſervants of the Blackfryers, and of ſpecial! uſe unto them, both on the ſtage and otherwiſe.” This paper having eſcaped my memory, when a former part of this work was printing, {ſee Vol. I. P. I. p. 162, n. I. and p. 179, n. 1. J ſuggeſted that Michael Hart, our poet's youngeſt nephew, was pro- bably the father of Charles Hart, the celebrated tragedian; but with- out doubt his father was William, (the elder brother of Michael,) who, we find, ſettled in London, and was an actor. It is highly probable that he leſt Stratford before his uncle Shakſpeare's death, at which time he was fixteen years old; and in confequence of that connexion found an eaſy introduction to the ſtage. He probably married in the year 1625, and his fon Charles was, I ſuppoſe, born in 1626. Be- fore the acceſſion of Charles the Firſt, the chriſtian name of Charles was ſo uncomtnon, that it ſcarcely ever occurs in our early pariſh-re- giſters. Charles Hart was a lieutenant under Sir Thomas Dalliſon in Prince Rupert's regiment, and fought at the battle of Edgehill, at which time, according to my ſuppofition, he was but ſeventeen years old; but ſuch early exertions were not at that time uncommon. Wil- liam Hart, who has given occaſion to the preſent note, died in 1649, and was buried at his native town of Stratford on the 28th of March in that year. |, 6 ce The 13 May, 1634, the Queene was at Blackfryers, to ſee Meſ- ſengers playe.” — The play which her majeſty honoured with her pre- ſence was The Tragedy of Cleander, which had been produced on the 7th of the ſame month, and is now loſt, with many other pieces of the ſame writer. | „ HY regular 146 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT regular exhibition at-the publick theatres, which was early in the afternoon; and thus the royal bounty was for ſo much a clear profit to the company: but when a play was commanded to be performed at any of the royal palaces in the neighbourhood of London, by which the actors were prevented from deriving any profit from a publick exhibition on the ſame day, the fee, as appears from a manuſcript in the Lord Chamberlain's office, was, in the year 1630, and probably in Shakſpeare's time alſo, twenty pounds 7; and this circumſtance | for- merly ſtated, as ſtrongly indicating that the ſum laſt men- tioned was a very conſiderable produce on any one re- preſentation at the Blackfriars or Globe playhouſe. The office-book which I have ſo often quoted, has fully con- firmed my conjecture. The cuſtom of paſſing a final cenſure on plays at their firſt exhibition *, is as ancient as the time of our author; | for 7 ct Whereas by virtue of his majeſties letters patent bearing date the 16th of June, 1625, made and. graunted in confirmation of di- verſe warrants and privy ſeales unto you formerly directed in the time of our late ſoveraigne king James, you are authorized (amongſt other things) to make payment tor playes acted before his majeſty and the queene. Theis are to pray and require you, out of his majeſties trea- iure in your charge, to pay or cauſe to be payed unto hn Lowing, in the behalfe of himſelfe and the reſt of the company his majeſties play- ers, the ſum of two hundred and ſixty pounds; that is to ſay, bent? pounds apiece for foure playes acted at Hampton Court, in reſpect and conſideration of the travaile and expence of the whole company in dyet and lodging during the time of their attendance there; and the like ſomme of twenty pounds for one other play which was acted in the day- time at Whitehall, by meanes whereof the players loſt the benefit of their houſe for that day; and zen pounds apiece for ſixteen other playes acted before his majeſty at Whitehall: amounting in all unto the ſum of two hundred and fixty pounds for one and twenty playes his majeſties ſervaunts ated before his majeſtie and the queene at ſeverall times, between the zoth of Sept. and the 2 iſt of Feb. laſt paſt, As it may appeare by the annexed ſchedule. «© And theis, &c. March 17, 1630-1.“ - Mf. in the Lord Chamberlain's office. 8 The cuſtom of expreſſing diſapprobation of a play, and interrupt- ing the drama, by the noiſe of catcals, or at leaſt by imitating the tones of a cat, is probably as ancient as Shakſpeare's time; for Necker in his Guls Horne-book, counſels the gallant, if he wiſhes to diſgrace the poet, * . T PF $ . * rs e e M IS OR SB ee ue Fs OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 147 for no leſs than three plays? of his rival, Ben Jonſon, ap- ear to have been deſervedly damned“; and Fletcher's Faithful Shepherdeſs *, and The Knight of the Burning _ Peftle, written by him and Beaumont, underwent the ſame fate. | It is not eaſy to aſcertain what were the emoluments of a ſucceſsful actor in the time of Shakſpeare. They poet, „ to bew at the children's action, to whiſtle at the ſongs, and mew at the paſſionate ſpeeches.” See alſo the induction to The Iſle of Gulli, a comedy, 1606: „ Either ſee it all or none; for *tig grown into a cuſtom at plays, if any one riſe, {eſpecially of any faſhion- able ſort,) about what ſerious buſinefs ſoever, the reſt, thinking it ia diſlike of the play, (though he never thinks it,) cry“ new, - by Jeſus, vile, —and leave the poor heartleſs children to ſpeak their epi- logue to the empty ſeats.” GSejanus, Catiline, and The New Inn. Of the two former Jon- ſon's Gboſt is thus made to ſpeak in an epilogue to Every Man in his Humour, written by Lord Buckhurſt, about the middle of the laſt century: «© Hold, and give way, for I myſelf will ſpeak; «© Can you encourage ſo much inſolence, c And add new faults ſtill to the great offence 6 Your anceſtors ſo raſhly did commit, | 4 Againſt the mighty powers of art and wit, © When they condemn'd thoſe noble works of mine, c Sejanus, and my beſt-lov'd Catiline? The title-page of The New Inn, is a ſufficient proof of its condem- nation. Another piece of this writer does not ſeem to have met with a very favourable reception; for Mr. Drummond .of Hawthornden (Jonſon's friend) informs us, that 46 when the play of The Silent Woman was firſt ated, there were found verſes, after, on the ſtage, againſt him, [the author, ] concluding, that that play was well named The Silent Woman, becauſe there was never one man to ſay plaudite to it.“ Drummond's Works, fol. p. 226. 1 The term, as well as the practice, is ancient. See the epilogue to The Unfortunate Lovers, by Sir W. D*Avenant, 16433: 6 nn— O ur poet c will never wiſh to ſee us thrive, « If by an humble epilogue we ſtrive « To court from you thar privilege to-day, % Which you ſo long have had, to damn a play. 2 See in p. 99 (n. 4.) Verſes addreſſed to Fletcher on his Faith- Ful Sbepberdeſs, 3 See the epiſtle prefixed to the firſt edition of The Knight of the Burning Peſtle, in 1613. | CNC. 3 had 1438 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT had not then annual benefits, as at preſent * The clear emoluments of the theatre, after deducting the nightly expences ſor lights, men occaſionally hired for the evening, &c. which in Shakſpeare's houſe was but forty-five ſhillings, were divided into ſhares, of which part belonged to the proprietors, who were called houſekeepers, and the remainder was divided among the actors, according to their rank and merit, I ſuſpect that the whole clear receipt was divided into forty ſhares, of which perhaps the houſe-keepers or proprietors had fifteen, the actors twenty-two, and three were devoted to the purchaſe of new plays, drefſes, &c. From Ben Jonſon's Poctaſter, it ſhould ſeem that one of the perfor- mers had ſeven ſhares and a half“; but of what integral ſum 1s not mentioned. The perſon alluded to, (if any perſon was alluded to, which is not certain,) muſt, [ think, have been a proprietor, as well as a principal actor. Our poet in his Hamlet ſpeaks of a whole ſhare, as no contemptible emolument; and from the ſame play we learn that ſome of the performers had only half a ſhare*. Others probably had ſtill leſs, It 4 Cibber ſays in his Apology, pe 96, © Mrs. Barry was the firſt per- ſon whoſe merit was diſtinguiſhed by the indulgence of having an annual benefit-play, which was granted to her alone, if I miſtake not, firſt in king James's time; and which became not common to others, till the diviſion of this company, after the death of king William's veen Mary,” BED | But in this as in many other facts he is inaccurate ; for it appears from an agreement entered into by Dr. D*Avenant, Charles Hart, Thomas Betterton, and others, dated Octoher 14, 1681, that the actors had then benefits. By this agreement five ſhillings, apiece, were to be paid to Hart and Kynaſton the players, “for every day there ſhall be any tragedies or comedies or other repreſentations ated at the Duke's theatre in Saliſbury Court, or wherever the company ſhall act, during the reſpective lives of the ſaid Charles Hart and Edward Kynaſton, excepting the days the young men or young women play for tbeir own ee ends.” Gitdon's Life of e H 8. 7 F 5 % Tucca, Fare thee well, my honeſt penny-biter : commend me to ſeven ſhares and a balf, and remember to-morrow. If you lack a ſer vice, you ſhall play in my name, raſcals; [alluding to the cuſtom of actors calling themſelves the ſervants of certain noblemen, ] but you ſhall buy your own cloth, and I'll have evo ſhares for my counte- nance.” Poetaſter, 1602. o « Would not this, fir, and a foreſt of feathers, (if the reſt, o my » f — — — . 1 — oy * 3 ; | and queen's players, were by agr e OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 149 It appears from a deed executed by Thomas Killigrew and others, that in the year 1666, the whole profit ariſing from acting plays, maſques, &c. at the king's theatre, was divided into twelve ſhares and three quar- zers 7, of which Mr. Killigrew, the manager, had two ſhares my fortunes turn Turk with me,) with two Provencial roſes on my razed ſhoes, get me a fellowſhip in a cry of players, fir ? « Har. Half a ſhare. | « Ham. A whole ſhare, I.“ Hamlet, Act III. ſc. ii. In a poem entitled I would and I would not, by B. N. 1614, the writer makes a player utter a wiſh to poſſeſs five ſhares in every play but I do not believe that any performer derived ſo great an emolument from the ſtage, unleſs he were alſo a proprietor, The ſpeaker ſeems to wiſh for excellence that was never yet attained, (to be able to act every part that was ever written,) that he might gain an emolument ſuperior to any then acquired by the moſt popular and ſucceſsful actor: & J would I were a player, and could act As many partes as came upon a ſtage, & And in my braine could make a full compact « Of all that paſſeth betwixt youth and age; 6 That I might have five ſhares in every play, & And let them laugh that bear the bell away.” The actors were treated with leis reſpect than at preſent, being ſometimes interrupted during their performance, on account of ſup- poled perſonalities; for the ſame author adds C And yet I would not; for then do I feare, « If I ſhould gall ſome gooſe-cap with my ſpeech, 66 That he would freat, and fume, and chafe, and ſwear, «© As if ſome flea had bit him by the breech; & And in ſome paſſion or ſtrange agonie « Niſturb both mee and all the companie.” On ſome occaſions application was made by individuals to the Maſ., ter of the Revels, to reſtrain this licentiouſneſs of the ſtage z as ap- pears from the following note: | „ Octob. 1633. Exception was taken by Mr. Sewſter to the ſecond part of The Citty Shuffler, which gave mee occaſion to ſtay the play, till the company [ot Saliſbury Court] had given him ſatisfaction; which was done the next day, and under his hande he did certifye mee that he was ſatisfyed.”* Mf. Herbert. 7 In an indenture tripartite, dated December 31, 1666, (which L have ſeen) between Thomas Killigrew and Henry Killigrew, his ſon and heir, of the firſt part, Thomas Porter, Eſq. of the ſecond part, and Sir John Sayer and Dame Catharine Sayer, his wife, of the third part, it is recited, (inter alia,) that the profits ariſing by acting of plays, maſques, &c. then performed by the company of actors called the king eement amongſt themſelves and | Thomas L 3 — — — —ͤ—ẽv—— — — 4 — — 259 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT ſhares and three quarters; and if we may truſt to the ſtatement in another very curious paper, inſerted below, (which however was probably exaggerated,) each ſhare produced, at the loweſt calculation, about 250l. 5 per ann. zet; and the total clear profits conſequently were about 31871. 10s. od. "Theſe ſhares were then diſtributed among the proprie- tors of the theatre, who at that time were not actors, the performers, and the dramatick poets, who were retain- ed in the ſervice of the theatre, and received a part of the annual produce as a compenſation for the pieces which they produced, In Thomas Killigrew, divided into twelve ſhares and three quarters, and that Thomas Killigrew was to have two ful! ſhares and three quarters. And by agreement between Henry and Thomas, Henry was to have four pounds per week, out of the two ſhares of Thomas, except ſuch weeks when the players did not act. ; | In 1682, when the two companies united, the profits of acting, we are told by Calley Cibber, were divided into reventy ſhares, ten of which went to the proprietors or patentees, and the other moiety to the actors, in different diviſions proportioned to their merit. s Wright ſays in his Hiſforia Hiftrionica that he had been aſſured by an old actor, that © for ſeveral years next after the Reſtoration every whole ſharer in Mr. Hart's company, | that is, the King's ſervants, } - got 1000l. fer ann. But his informer was undoubtedly miſtaken, as is proved by the petition or memorial printed below, (ſeen. 9.) and by Sir Henry Herbert's ſtatement of Thomas Killigrew's profits. If every whole ſharer had got 1000l. per ann. then the annual receipts muſt have been near 13000l. In 1743, after Mr. Garrick had ap- | peared, the theatre of Drury-lane did not receive more than 1 5000l. er ann. | '9 Gildon in his Laws of Poetry, vo. 1721, obſerves, that “after the Reſtoration, when the two houſes ſtruggled for the favour of the town, the taking poets were ſecured to either kouſe by a ſort of re- taining fee, which ſeldom or never amounted to more than forty ſhillings a week, nor was that of any long continuance.” He appears to have under-rated their profits; but the fact to which he alludes is inconteſtably proved by the following paper, which remained long in the hands of the Killigrew family, and is now in the poſſeſſion of Mr. Reed of Staple-Inn, by whom iz was obligingly communicated to me ſome years ago. The ſuperſcription is loſt, but it was probably ad- dreſſed to the Lord Chamberlain, or the King, about the year 1678 : « Whereas upon Mr. Dryden's binding himſelf to write three playes a yeere, hee the ſaid Mr, Dryden was admitted and continued as a ſharer in the king's playhouſe for diverſe years, and received for his | ſhare and à quarter three or four hundred pounds, communibus annis; but 1 — ape rg * OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 157 In a paper delivered by Sir Henry Herbert to Lord Clarendon and the Lord Chamberlain, July 11, 1662, which will be found in a ſubſequent page, he ſtates the but though he received the moneys, we received not the playes, not one in a yeare. After which, the houſe being burnt, the company in building another contracted great debts, ſo that ſhares fell much ſhort of what they were formerly, Thereupon Mr. Dryden complaining to the company of his want of proffit, the company was ſo kind to him that they not only did not preſſe him for the playes which he ſo engaged to write for them, and for which he was paid beforehand, but they did alſo at his earneſt requeſt give him a third day for his laſt new play called A for Leue; and at the receipt of the money of the ſaid third day, he acknowledged it as a guift, and a particular kindnefle of the company. Yet notwithſtanding this kind proceeding, Mr. Dryden has now, jointly with Mr. Lee, (who was in penſion with us to the laſt day of our playing, and ſhall continue,) written a play called Oedipus, and given it to the Duke's company, contrary to his ſaid agreement, his promiſe, and all gratitude, to the great prejudice and almoſt un- doing of the company, they being the only poets remaining to us. Mr, Crowne, being under the like agreement with the duke's houſe, writt a play called The Deftruftion of Feruſalem, and being forced by their refuiall of it, to bring it to us, the ſaid company compelled us, after the ſtudying of it, and a vaſt expence in ſcenes and cloathes, to buy oft their clayme, by paying all the penſion he had rcceived from them, amounting to one hundred and twelye pounds paid by the king's com- pany, beſides neere forty pounds he the ſaid Mr. Crowne paid out of his owne pocket, « Theſe things conſidered, if, notwithſtanding Mr. Dryden's faid agreement, promiſe, and moneys freely given him for his ſaid laſt new play, and the many titles we haye to his writings, this play be judged away from us, we muſt ſubmit, | Charles Killigrew, . (Signed) | Charles Hart, Rich. Burt. Cardell Goodman, Mic. Mohun,” It has been thought very extraordinary that Dryden ſhould enter in- to a contract to produce three new plays every year; and undoubtedly that any poet ſhould formally ſtipulate that his genius ſhould be thus productive, is extraordinary. But the exertion itſelf was in the laſt age not uncommon. In ten years, from the death of Beaumont in 1615 to the year 1625, I have good reaſon to believe that Fletcher produced near thirty plays. Maſſinger between 1623 and 1638 brought out nearly the ſame number; and Shirley in fifreen years furniſhed various theatres with forty plays. Thomas Heywood was ſtill more prolifick, | | EE Tio" L4 emolument 1322 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT emolument which Mr. Thomas Killigrew then derived (from his two ſhares and three quarters,) at Z19. 6. o. per week; according to which ſtatement each ſhare in the king's company produced but two hundred and ten pounds ten ſhillings a year. In Sir William D' Avenant's company, from the time their new theatre was opened in Portugal-row near Lincoln's Inn fields, (April 1662,) the total receipt (after deducting the nightly charges of «© men hirelings and other cuſtomary expences, ) was divided into fifteen ſhares, of which it was agreed by articles previouſly entered into“, that ten ſhould belong to D* Avenant; viz. two towards the houſe-rent, build- ings, ſcaffolding, and making of frames for ſcenes ; one for a proviſion of habits, properties, and ſcenes, for a ſupplement of the ſaid theatre; and ſeven to maintain all the women that are to perform or repreſent women's parts, in tragedies, comedies, &c. and in conſideration of erecting and eſtabliſhing his actors to be a company, and his pains' and expences for that purpoſe for many years.” The other . ſhares were divided in various proportions among the reſt of the troop. In the paper above referred to it is ſtated by Sir Henry Herbert, that D*Avenant drew from theſe ten ſhares two hundred pounds a week ;*? and if that ſtatement was correct, each ſhare in his playhouſe then produced annu- ally ſix hundred pounds, ſuppoſing the acting ſeaſon to have then laſted for thirty weeks. | Such were the emoluments of the theatre ſoon after the Reſtoration ; which I have ſtated here, from authentick documents, becauſe they may aſſiſt us in our conjectures concerning the profits derived from ſtage- exhibitions at a more remote and darker period. | From the prices of admiſſion into our ancient theatres in the time of Shakipeare, which have been already noticed, I formerly conjectured that about twenty pounds was a conſiderable receipt at the Blackfriars and Globe theatre, on any one day; and my conjecture is now con- firmed by indiſputable evidence. In dir Henry Her- 1 Theſe articles will be found in a ſubſequent page. +, | bert's OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 153 bert's Office- book I find the following curious notices on This ſubject, under the year 1628: „The kinges company with a generall conſent and alacritye have given mee the benefitt of too dayes in the yeare, the one in ſummer, thother in winter, to bee taken out of the ſecond daye of a revived playe, att my owne choyſe. The houſekeepers have ike given their ſhares, their dayly charge only deducted, which comes to ſome 21. 58. this 25 May, 1628. The benefitt of the firſt day, being a very unſea- ſonable one in reſpect of the weather, comes but unto „ | 2 2 * A ns ſubſiſted for five years and a half, during which time Sir Henry Herbert had ten benefits, the moſt profitable of which produced ſeventeen pounds, and ten fillings, net, on the 22d of Nov. 1628, when Fletcher's Cu/tom of the Country was performed at Black- friars ; and the leaſt emolument which he received was on the repreſentation of a play which is not named, at the Globe, in the ſummer of the year 1632, which pro- duced only the ſum of one pound, and five ſhillings, after deducting from the total receipt in each inſtance the nightly charge above mentioned. I ſhall give below the receipt taken by him on each of the ten perfor- mances ; from which it appears that his clear profit at an average, on each of his nights, was C. 8. 19. 4. and the total nightly receipt was at an average C. 11. 4» 4» 2 1628. May 25, [the play not named, ]—F. 16. 0. 60 es Ln? of the winters I * 8 ſecond day of an old play called The Cuflome of the Cuntrye, came to L. 17. 10. o. this 22 of Nov, 1628. From the Kinges company att the Blackfryers, | 1629. © The benefitt of the ſummers day from the kinges company being brought mee by Blagrave, upon the play of The Propbereſs, comes to, this 21 of July, 1629,.— FC. 6. 7. o. The benefite of the winters day from the kinges company being brought mee by Blagrave, upon the play of he Moore of — comes, this 22 of Nov. 1629, unto—£.9. 16, ©... 2630. [No play this ſummer, on account of the plague. « Received of Mr. Taylor and Lowins, in the name of their company, for the benefitt of my winter day, upon the ſecond Vor. I, PART ll, | *L 5 day . 3 N PAIN s 5 5 — s ” —_ El | A - , _- ; A e = 2 FISH, * . 1 * . . > 3 n . OW K 2 £ IAN ee e Saw ti ORG ee 8 * oy 7 - U — -- OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 181 were no other evidence, it might be plauſibly inferred that Mr, Aubrey's information concerning our poet's powers on the ſtage was not leſs accurate, But in this inſtance I am not under the neceſſity of reſting on ſuch an inference ; for I am able to produce the teſtimony of a contemporary in ſupport of Shakſpeare's hiſtrionick merit. In the preface to a pamphlet entitled Kinde- Hartes Dreame, publiſhed in December 1592, which L have already had occaſion to quote for another purpoſe, the author, Henry Chettle, who was himſelf a dramatick writer, and well acquainted with the principal poets and players of the time, thus ſpeaks of Shakſpeare: The other5, whom at that time I did not ſo much | ſpare, as ſince I wiſh I had, for that as I have moderated the hate of living writers, and might have uſed my own diſcretion, (eſpecially in ſuch a caſe, the author [Robert Greene] being dead,) I am as ſorry as if the original fault had been my fault; becauſe my ſelfe have ſeen his demeanour no leſs civil than he EXCELLENT in the quali- tie he profeſſes : beſides, divers of worſhip have reported his uprightneſs of dealing, which argues his honeſtie, and his facetious grace in writing, that approves his -- art; ** To thoſe who are not converſant with the language of our old writers, it may be proper to obſerve, that the words, ** the qualitie he profeſſes,” particularly denote his profeſſion as an a#or. The latter part of the para- graph indeed, in which he is praiſed as a good man and an elegant writer, ſhews this: however, the following _ paſſage in Stephen Goſſon's Schoole of Abuſe, 1579, in which the very ſame words occur, will put this matter beyond a doubt. Over-laſhing in apparell (ſays Goſ- ſon) is ſo common a fault, that the verye hyerlings of ſome of our plaiers, which ſtand at the reverſion of vi. s. by the weeke, jet under gentlemen's noſes in ſutes of ſilke, exerciſing themſelves in prating on the ſtage, and 5 That by the words The ether, was meant Shakſpeare, has been already ſhewn in the Eſſay en the order of bis plays, Vol. I. Part I, p. 274» | 5 N 3 common | 182 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT common ſcoffing when they come abrode ; where they looke aſkance at every man of whom the ſonday before they begged an almes. I ſpeak not this, as though every one that profeſſeth the qualitic, fo abuſed him ſelfe; for it is wel knowen, that ſome of them are ſober, diſ- creet, properly learned, honeſt houſeholders, and citi- zens well thought on amonge their neighbours at home, though the pride of their ſhadowes (I meane thoſe hange- byes whome they ſuccour with ſtipend) cauſe them to bee ſomewhat talked of abrode®,”” | Thus early was Shakipeare celebrated as an actor, and thus unfounded was the information which Mr. Rowe obtained on this ſubject. Wright, a more diligent in- quirer, and who had better opportunities of gaining theatrical intelligence, had ſaid about ter years before, that he had“ heard our author was a better poet than an actor; but this deſcription, though probably true, may ſtill leave him a conſiderable portion of merit in the latter capacity: for if the various powers and peculiar excellencies of all the actors from his time to the preſent, were united in one man, it may well be doubted, whether they would conſtitute a performer whoſe merit ſhould entitle him to bench by the fide”? of Shakſpeare as a oct. 4 A paſſage indeed in Lodge's Incarnate Dewvills of the age, 1596, has been pointed out, as levelled at our poet's performance of the Ghoſt in Hamlet. But this in my apprehenſion 1s a miſtake. The ridicule intended to be conveyed by the paſſage in queſtion was, 1 have no doubt, aimed at the actor who performed the part of the Ghoſt in ſome miſerable play which was produced before Shakſpeare commenced either actor or writer. That ſuch a play once exiſted, I have already ſhewn to be high- iy probable ; and the tradition tranſmitted by Betterton, that our poet's performance of the Ghoſt in his own Hamlet was his chef d'oeuvre, adds ſupport to my Opinion. F | In the margin this cautious puritan adds“ Some players modeſt, That if Le not deceiued. * E I + 2 _ 4 5 3 I 7 2 1 4 1 * % = 1 ke F OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 183 That Shakſpeare had: a perfe& knowledge of his art, is proved by the inſtructions which are given to the player in Hamlet, and by other paſſages in his works; which, in addition to what I have already ſtated, Incline me to think that the traditional account tranſ- mitted by Mr. Rowe, relative to his powers on the ſtage, has been too haſtily credited. In the celebrated ſcene 1 Hamlet and his mother, ſhe thus addreſſes Im: | 1 — Alas, how 1s't with you ? « That you do bend your eye on Vacancy, | © And with the incorporeal air do hold diſtourſe ? «© Forth at your eyes your ſpirits wildly peep ; «© And, as the ſleeping ſoldiers in the alarm, «© Your bedded hair, like life in excrements, «« Starts up, and ſtands on end,—Whereon do you look ? | « Ham. On him! on him! look you, how pale he lares ! a : ce. Fas | and cauſe conjoiv*d, preaching to ſtones, „Would make them capable. Do not loo upon me, « Leſt with zh:s piteous action, you convert «« My ſtern effects: then what I have to do «« Will want true colour; tears perchance for blood.“ Can it be imagined that he would have attributed theſe lines to Hamlet, unleſs he was confident that in his own part he could give efficacy to that piteous action of the Ghoſt, which he has ſo forcibly deſcribed ? or that the preceding lines ſpoken by the Queen, and the deſcrip. tion of a tragedian in King Richard III. could have come from the pen of an ordinary actor ? Rich. Come, couſin, can*ſt thou quake and change Thy colour? «« Murther thy breath in middle of a wword? % And then again begin, and ſtop again, * As if thou wert diſtraught, and mad with terror? N 4 ; 69 Buck, 184 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT % Buck, Tut, I can counterfeit the deep tragedian; <« Speak, and look big, and pry on every fade, Fremble and ſtart at wagging of a ftraw, % [ntending deep ſuſpicion : ghaſtly Icoks „Are at my ſervice, like enforced ſmiles ; % And both are ready in their offices, «© At any time, to grace my ſtratagems.“ I do not, however, believe, that our poet played parts of the firſt rate, though he probably diſtinguiſhed him- ſelf by whatever he performed. If the names of the actors prefixed to Every Man in his humour were arran- ged in. the ſame order as the perions of the drama, he muſt have repreſented Old Knowell; and if we may give credit to an anecdote related in a former page, he was the Adam in his own As you like it. Perhaps he excelled in repreſenting old men. The following contemptible lines written by a contemporary, about the year 1611, might lead us to ſuppoſe that he alio ated Duncan in Macbeth, and the parts of King Henry the Fourth, and King Henry the Sixth: 4 To our Engliſh Terence, Mr. William Shakeſpeare. „ Some ſay, good Will, which I in ſport do fing, *£ Hadfſt thou not play'd ſome Aingly parts in ſport, % Thou hadſt been a companion for a king, «© And been a king among the meaner ſort. «© Some others raile, but raile as they think fit, «© Thou haſt no railing but a raigning wit; © And honeſty thou ſow'ſt, which they do reape, 0“ So to increaſe their ſtock which they do keepe.“ The Scaurge of Folly, by John Davies, of Here« ford, no date. | | RICHARD BOURBAD GE, the moſt celebrated tragedian of our author's time, was the ſon of James Burbadge, who was alſo an actor, and In writing this performer's name I have followed the ſpelling uſed by his brother, who was a witneſs to his will; but the name ought rather to be written Burbidge, (as it often formerly was,) being mani- 2 feſtly an abbreviation or corruption of Borougb- bridge. | perhaps OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 18g perhaps a countryman of Shakſpeare, He lived in Hood from in the pariſh of St. Leonard, Shoreditch, from which circumſtance I conjecture that he had origi- nally played at the Curtain theatre, which was in that neighbourhood ; for he does not appear to have been born in that pariſh; at leaſt I ſearched the regiſter from its commencement in 1558, in vain, for his birth. It is ſtrange, however, that he ſhould have continued to live from the year 1600 to his death, in a place which was near three miles diſtant from the Blackfriars play- houſe, and fill further from the Globe, in which thea- tres he acted during the whole of that time, He appears to have married about the year 1600; and if at that time we ſuppoſe him thirty years old, his birth muſt be placed in 1570. By his wife, whoſe chriſtian name was Winefrid, he had four daughters; Juliet, or Julia, (for the name is written both ways in the regiſter,) who was baptized Jan. 2, 1602-3, and died in 1608; Frances, | baptized Sep. 16, 1604; Winefrid, baptized Octob. 5, 1613, and buried in October, 1616; and a ſecond Juliet, (or Julia,) who was baptized Dec. 26, 1614, This child and Frances appear to have ſurvived their father. His fondneſs for the name of Juliet, perhaps aroſe from his having been the original Romeo in our author's play, EE es | Camden has placed the death of Burbadge on the gth of March, 16197. On what day he died, .is now of little conſequence ; but to aſcertain the degree of credit due to hiſtorians is of ſome importance; and it may be worth while to remark how very ſeldom minute accu- racy is to be expected even from contemporary writers. The fact is, that Burbadge died ſome days later, proba- bly on the 13th of that month; for his will was made on the lzth, and he was buried in the church of St. Leo- nard, Shoreditch, on the 16th of March, 1618-19. His laſt will, extracted from the regiſtry of the Prerogative court, is as follows. 7 «© 1619. Martii 9. Richardus Burbadge, alter Roſcius, obiit.“ . Regni regis Jacobi I, Annalium Apparatus, 4to. 1691, i 1 . 5 : 6c Mr Mos 186 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT „ Memoranpum, That on Frydaye the twelfth of March, Anno Domini, one thouſand fix hundred and eigh- teen, Richard Burbage of the pariſh of Saint Leonard, Shoreditch, in the county of Middleſex, gent. being ſick in body, but of good and perfect remembrance, did make his laſt will and teſtament, nuncupative, in manner and form following; viz, He the ſaid Richard did nominate and appoint his well beloved wife Winifride Burbage to be his ſole executrix of all his goods & chattels what- ſoever, in the preſence and hearing of the perſons un- dernamed : | N Cuthbert Burbadge, brother to the teſtator. + The mark of Elizabeth, his wife. Nicholas Tooley. | Anne Lancaſter. Richard Robinſon. | + The mark of Elizabeth Graves. Henry Jackſonne. | Probatum fuit teſtamentum ſupraſcriptum apud London, coram judice, 220 Aprilis, 1619, uramento Mi- nifride Burbadge, relifte dicti defuncti et execu- tricis in eodem teſtamento nominat. cui commiſſa fuit adminiſtratio de bene, Sc. jurat. | Richard Rurbadge is introduced in perſon in an old play called The Returne from Parnaſſus, (written in or about 1602,) and inſtructs a Cambridge ſcholar how to play the part of King Richard the Third, in which Burbadge was greatly admired. 'That he repreſented this character, is aſcertained by Biſhop Corbet, who in his [ter Boreale, ſpeaking of his hoſt at Leiceſter, tells us, « — when he would have ſaid, King Richard died, « And call'd a horſe, a horſe, he Burbage cry*d.?? He probably alſo performed the parts of King John, Richard the WT Henry the Fifth, Timon, Brutus, Coriolanus, Macbeth, Lear, and Othello, He was one of the principal ſharers or proprietors of the Globe and Blackfriars theatres; and was of ſuch. eminence OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 187 eminence, that in a letter preſerved in the Britiſh Mu- ſeum, written in the year 1613, (Mſs. Harl. 7002,) the actors at the Globe are called Burbadge's Company®, The following character of this celebrated player is given by Fleckno in his Short Diſcourſe of the Engliſh Stage, 1664. | He was a delightful Proteus, ſo wholly transform- ing himſelf into his parts, and putting off himſelf with his cloaths, as he never (not ſo much as in the tyring houſe) aſſumed himſelf again, untill the play was done. -— He had all the parts of an excellent orator, ani- mating his words with ſpeaking, and ſpeech with action; his auditors being never more delighted than when he ſpake, nor more ſorry than when he held his peace : yet even then he was an excellent actor fill ; never fail- ing in his part, when he had done ſpeaking, but with his looks and geſture maintaining it ſtill to the height.?? It ſhould not, however, be concealed, that Fleckno had previouſly printed this character as the portrait of An eu- cellent actor, in general, and there is reaion to believe that this writer never ſaw Burbadge : for Fleckno did not die till about the year 1682 or 1683, and conſequently, ſup- oſing him then ſeventy-five years old, he mult have ae a boy when this celebrated player died. The teſti- mony of Sir Richard Baker is of more value, who pro- nounces him to have been “ ſuch an actor, as no age muſt ever look to ſee the like.” Sir Richard Baker was born in 1568, and died in 1644-5 ; and appears, from various paſſages in his works, to have paid much atten- tion to the theatre, in defence of which he wrote a treatiſe, In Philpot's additions to Camden's Remains, we find an epitaph on this tragedian, more conciſe than even that on Ben Jonſon ; being only, Exit Burbidge,” 8 In Jonſon's Maſque of Chriſtmas, 1616, Burbadge and Heminge are both mentioned as managers: I could ha' had money enough for him, an T would ha' been tempted, and ha? ſet him out by the week to the king's players: Maſter Burbadge hath been about and — with me, and ſo has old Mr. Heminge too; they ha' need of im.“ | The , 183 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT The following old epitaph on Burbadge, which is found in a Mͤſ. in the Muſeum, (Miſs. Sloan. 1786,) is only worthy of preſervation, as it ſhews how high the reputation of this actor was in his own age: % Epitaph on Mr. Richard Burbage, the player *. « This life's a play, ſcean'd out by natures arte, „Where every man hath his allotted parte. «© This man hathe now (as many more can tell) 5 Ended his part, and he hath acted well. «© The play now ended, think his grave to be & The detiring howſe of his ſad tragedie ; « Where to give his fame this, be not afraid, «« Here lies the beſt tragedian ever plaid.“ JOHN HEMINGE 15 ſaid by Roberts the player to have been a tragedian, and in conjunction with Condell, to have followed the buſineſs of printing? ; but it does not appear that he had any authority for theſe aſſertions. In ſome tract of which I forgot to preſerve the title, he 1s ſaid to have been the original performer of Falſtaff. I ſearched the regiſter of St. Mary's Aldermanbury, (in which pariſh this actor lived,) for the time of his birth, in vain. Ben Jonſon in the year 1616, as we 8 J did not till lately diſcover that there is an original picture of this admired actor in Dulwich College, or his portrait ſhould have been engraved for this work. However, the defect will very ſpeedily be remedied by Mr. Sylvveſter Harding, the ingenious artiſt whom 1 employed to make a copy of the picture of Lowin at Oxford, which he executed with perfect fidelity; and who means to give the publick in twenty numbers, at a very moderate price, not only all ſuch portraits as can be found, of the actors who perſonated the principal characters in our author's plays, while he was on the ſtage, but alſo an aſſemblage of genuine heads of the real perſonages repreſented in them; together with various views of the different places in which the ſcene of his hiſtorical dramas is placed. Each plate will be of the ſame ſize as that of Lowin, ſo as to ſuit the preſent edition. | | 9 Anſwer to Pope, 1729. £ have OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 189 have juſt ſeen, calls him o Mr. Heminge: if at that time he was ſixty years of age, then his birth muſt be placed in 1556. I ſuſpect that both he and Burbadge were Shakſpeare's countrymen, and that Heminge was born at Shottery, a village in Warwickſhire at a very ſmall diſtance from Strattord-upon- Avon ; where Shak= ſpeare found his wife. I find two families of this name ſettled in that town early in the reign of Queen Eliza- beth. Elizabeth, the daughter of John Heming of Shot- tery, was baptized at Stratford-upon- Avon, March 12, 1567. This John might have been the father of the actor, though I have found no entry relative to his bap- tiſm : for he was probably born before the year 1558, when the Regiſter commenced. In the village of Shot- tery alio lived Richard Hemyng, who had a ſon chriſtened by the name of John, March 7, 1570. Of the Bur- badge family the only notice |1 have found, is, an entry in the regiſter of the pariſh of Stratford, October 12, 1565, on which day Philip Green was married in that town to Urſula Burbadge, who might have been ſiſter to James Burbadge, the father of the ator, whoſe mar- riage I ſuppoſe to have taken place about that time. If this conjecture be well founded, our poet, we ſee, had an eaſy introduction to the theatre. John Heminge appears to have married in or before the year, 1589, his eldeſt daughter, Alice, having been bap- tized October 6, 1590. Beſide this child, he had four ſons g John, born in 1598, who died an infant; a ſecond John, baptized Auguſt 7, 1599; William, baptized October 3, 1602, and George, baptized February 11, 1603-4 ; and eight daughters; Judith, Thomaſine, Joan, Re- becca, Beatrice, Elizabeth, Mary, (who died in 1611,) and Margaret. Of his daughters four only appear to have been married; Alice to John Atkins in January 1612-13; Rebecca to Captain William Smith; Mar- garet to Mr. Thomas Sheppard, and another to a perſon of the name of Merefield. The eldeſt ſon, John, pro- bably died in his father's life-time, as by his laſt will he conſtituted his fon William his executor. 1 William, ” ee —ĩ ED EE ů RE or ing — 2 re — x F.! Ps AE wo HISTORICAL ACCOUNT William, whoſe birth Wood has erroneouſly placed in 1605, was a ſtudent of Chriſt-church, Oxford, where he took the degree of a Maſter of Arts in 1628. Soon after his father's death he, commenced a dramatick poet, having produced in March 1632-3 a comedy entitled The Courſinge of a Hare, or the Madcap *, which was rformed at the Fortune theatre, but 1s now loſt. He was likewiſe author of two other plays which are extant ; The Fatal Contra, publiſhed in 1653, and The Jews Tragedy, 1662. : | From an entry in the Council-books at Whitehall, I find that John Heminge was one of the principal pro- prietors of the Globe playhouſe, before the death of Queen Elizabeth. He 1s joined with Shakſpeare, Bur- badge, &c. in the licence granted by King James im- mediately after his acceſſion to the throne in 1603; and all the payments made by the Treaſurer of the Chamber in 1613, on account of plays performed at court, are to John Heminge and the reſt of his fellows.” So alſo in ſeveral ſubſequent years, in that and the follow- ing reign. In 1623, in conjunction with Condell, he pub- liſhed the firſt complete edition of our author's plays; ſoon after which 1t has been ſuppoſed that he withdrew from the theatre; but this is a miſtake. He certainly then ceaſed to act“, but he continued chief director of the king's company of comedians to the time of his death. He died at his houſe in Aldermanbury, where he had long lived, on the 1oth of October 1630, in, as I conjecture, the 74th or 75th year of his age, and was buried on the 1 Mſ. Herbert, * That he and Condell had ceaſed to act in the year 1623, is aſcer- tained by a paſſage in their Addreſs © to the great varietie of readers,“ prefixed to our poet's plays. Reade him therefore, and againe, and againe : and if then you do not like him, ſurely you are in ſome ma- nifeſt danger not to underſtand him. And ſo we leave you to other f bis friends, whom if you need, can be your guides.“ 1, e. their fel. low-comedians, who ftill continued on the ſtage, and, by repreſenting our author's plays, could elucidate them, and thus ſerve as guides to the publick, | OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 191 2 2th, as appears by the Regiſter of St. Mary's Alderman- bury, in which he is ſtyled, “ John Heminge, player.“ I ſuſpe& he died of the plague, which had raged fo violently that year, that the playhouſes were ſhut up in April, and not permitted to be opened till the 12th of November, at which time the weekly bill of. thoſe who died in London of that diſtemper, was diminiſhed to twenty-nine*. His ſon William, into whoſe hands his papers mult have fallen, ſurvived him little more than twenty years, having died ſome time before the year 1653: and where thoſe books of account of which his father ſpeaks, now are, cannot be aſcertained. One cannot but entertain a wiſh that at ſome future period they may be diſcovered, as they undoubtedly would throw ſome light on our ancient ſtage-hiſtory. The day before his death, John Heminge made his will, of which I ſubjoin a copy, extracted from the Regiſtry of the Prerogative Court, In this inftrument he ſtyles himſelf @ grocer, but how he obtained his freedom of the grocers' company, does not appear. « FN the name of God, Amen, the gth day of Octo- ber, 1630, and in the ſixth year of the reign of our ſovereign Lord, Charles, by the grace of God king of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, &c. I John Heminge, citizen, and grocer of London, being af perfect mind and memory, thanks be therefore given unto Almighty God, yet well know- ing and confidering the frailty and incertainty of man's life, do therefore make, ordain, and declare this my laſt will and teſtament in manner and form following. Firſt, and principally, I give and bequeath my ſoul into the hands of Almighty God, my Maker and Creator, hoping and aſſuredly believing through the only merits, death and paſſion, of Jeſus Chriſt my ſaviour and redeem- er, to obtain remiſſion and pardon of all my ſins, and to enjoy eternal happineſs in the kingdom of heaven; and 2 Mi. Herbert. that — — . — — a — ——— — — — x ＋Vu—ũ — 1 — — — —ä 2 AY 2 ͤ ' — — — — 9; —— 192 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT my body I commit to the earth, to be buried in chriſtian manner, in the pariſh church of Mary Aldermanbury in London, as near unto my loving wife Rebecca Heminge, who lieth there interred, and under the ſame ſtone which lieth in part over her there, if the ſame conveni- ently may be: wherein I do defire my executor herein after named carefully to ſee my will performed, and that my funeral may be in decent and comely manner performed in the evening, without any vain pomp or _ Coſt therein to be beſtowed. Item, My will is, that all ſuch debts as I ſhall happen to owe at the time of my deceaſe to any perſon or perſons, (being truly and properly mine own debts,) ſhall be well and truly ſatisfied and paid as ſoon after my deceaſe as the ſame conveniently may be; and to that intent and purpoſe my will and mind is, and I do hereby limit and appoint, that all my leaſes, goods, chattles, plate, and houſehold ſtuffe whatſoever, which I leave or ſhall -be poſſeſſed of at the time of my deceaſe, ſhall immediately after my deceaſe be fold to the moſt and beſt benefit and advan- tage that the ſame or any of them may or can, and that the monies thereby raiſed ſhall go and be employed to- wards the payment and diſcharge of my ſaid debts, as ſoon as the ſame may be converted into montes and be received, without fraud or covin; and that if the ſame leaſes, goods, and chattels, ſhall not raiſe ſo much mo- ney as ſhall be ſufficient to pay my debts, then my will and mind is, and I do hereby will and appoint, that the moiety or one half of the yearly benefit and profit of the ſeveral parts which I have by leaſe in the ſeveral play-houſes of the Globe and Black-fryers, for and du- ring ſuch time and term as I have therein, be from time to time received and taken up by my executor herein after named, and by him from time to time faithfully employ- ed towards the payment of ſuch of my ſaid own proper debts which ſhall remain unſatisfied, and that propor- tionably to every perſon and perſons to whom I ſhall then remain indebted, until by the ſaid moiety or one half of the OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 193 the ſaid yearly benefit and profit of the ſaid parts they ſhall be ſatisfied and paid without fraud or covin. And if the ſaid moiety or one half of the ſaid yearly benefit of my ſaid parts in the ſaid play-houſes ſhall not in ſome convenient time raiſe ſufficient moneys to pay my ſaid own debts, then my will and mind is, and I do hereby limit and appoint, that the other moiety or half part of the benefit and profit of my ſaid parts in the ſaid play- houſes be alſo received and taken up by my ſaid executor herein after named, and faithfully from time to time em- ployed and paid towards the ſpeedier ſatisfaction and payment of my ſaid debts. And then, after my ſaid debts ſhall be ſo ſatisfied and paid, then I limit and ap- point the ſaid benefit and profit ariſing by my ſaid parts in the ſaid play-houſes, and the employment of the ſame, to be received and employed towards the payment of the legacies by me herein after given and bequeathed, and to the raiſing of portions for ſuch of my ſaid children as at the time of my deceaſe ſhall have received from me no advancement. And I do hereby deſire my executor herein after named to ſee this my will and meaning herein to be well and truly performed, according to the truſt and confidence by me in him repoſed. Item, I give, deviſe, and bequeath, unto my daugh- ter Rebecca Smith, now wife of Captain William Smith, any beſt ſuit of linen, wrought with cutwork, which was her mother's; and to my ſon Smith, her huſband, his wife's picture, ſet up in a frame in my houſe. Item, I give and bequeath unto my daughter Mar- garet Sheppard, wife of Mr. Thomas Sheppard, my red cuſhions embroidered with bugle, which were her mother's; and to my ſaid ion Sheppard, his wife's pic. ture, which is alſo ſet up in a frame in my houſe. Item, I give and bequeath unto my daughter Eliza- beth, my green cuſhions which were her mother's. Item, I give and bequeath unto my daughter Mere- field my clothe-of-filver ſtriped cuſhions which were her mother's, | Item, I give and bequeath unto ſo many of my daughter Merefield's, and my daughter Sheppard's Vor. 15 PART Tho *(). children, — — — 194 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT children as ſhall be living at the time of my deceaſe, fifty ſhillings apiece. | | | | | Item, I give and bequeath unto my grandchild, Richard Atkins, the ſum of five pounds of lawful money of England, to buy him books. Item, I give and bequeath unto my ſon-in-law John Atkins, and his now wife, if they ſhall be living with me at the time of my deceaſe, forty ſhillings, to make them two rings in remembrance of me. Iten, I give and bequeath unto every of my fellows and ſharers, his majeſties ſervants, which ſhall be living at the time of my deceaſe, the ſum of ten ſhillings apiece, to make them rings for remembrance of me. Item, I give and bequeath unto John Rice, Clerk, of St. Saviour's in Southwark, (if he ſhall be living at the time of my deceaſe,) the ſum of twenty ſhillings of lawful Engliſh money, for a remembrance of my love unto him. Item, I give and bequeath unto the poor of the pariſh of Saint Mary, Aldermanbury, where I long lived, and whither I have bequeathed my body for burial, the ſum of forty ſhillings of lawful Engliſh money, to be diftri- | bated by the churchwardens of the ſame pariſh where moſt need ſhall be. | | Item, My will and mind is, and I do hereby limit and appoint, -that the ſeveral legacies and ſums of money by me herein before bequeathed to be paid in money, be raiſed and taken out of the yearly profit and benefit which ſhall ariſe or be made by my ſeveral parts and ſhares in the ſeveral playhouſes called the Globe and Blackfriers, after my ſaid debts ſhall be paid, with as much ſpeed as the ſame conveniently may be; and I do hereby will, require, and charge my executor herein after named eſpecially to take care that my debts, firſt, and then thoſe legacies, be well and truly paid and diſ- charged, as ſoon as the ſame may be ſo raiſed by the ſale of my goods and by the yearly profits of my parts and ſhares; and that my eſtate may be ſo ordered to the beſt profit and advantage for the better payment of my debts and diſcharge of my legacies before mentioned with as much ſpeed as the ſame conveniently may be, according 2 ] ↄ]A 3 * 7 PR A eee RAS EY OR be HEN OA OR OR Era rea ata inn ga $0623) ANSD A Ace 2 4 OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. agg according as I have herein before in this will directed and appointed] the ſame to be, without any leſſening, . diminiſhing, or undervaluing thereof, contrary to my true intent and meaning herein declared. And for the better performance thereof, my will, mind,*and deſire is, that my ſaid parts in the ſaid play-honſes ſhould be em- ployed in playing, the better to raiſe profit thereby, as formerly the ſame have been, and have yielded good yearly profit, as by my books will in that behalf appear. And my will and mind is, and I do hereby ordain, limit, and appoint, that after my debts, funerals, and legacies ſhall be paid and ſatisfied out of my eſtate, that then the reſidue and remainder of my goods, chattels, and credits whatſoever ſhall be equally parted and divided to and amongſt ſuch of my children as at the time of my deceaſe ſhall be unmaried or unadvanced, and ſhall not have re- ceived from me any portion in mariage or otherwiſe, further than only for their education and breeding, part and part like; and I do hereby ordain and make my ſon William Heminge to be the executor of this my laſt will and teſtament, requiring him to ſee the ſame performed in and by all things, according to my true meaning here- in declared. And I do deſire and appoint my loving friends Mr. Burbage * and Mr. Rice to be the overſeers of this my Jaſt will and teſtament, praying them to be aiding and aſſiſting to my ſaid executor with their beſt advice and council in the execution thereof: and I do hereby utterly revoke all former wills by me heretofore made, and do pronounce, publiſh, and declare this to be my laſt will and teſtament. In witneſs whereof I have hereunto put my hand and ſeal the day and year firſt above written. 7 Probatum fuit teflamentum ſupraſcriptum apud London coram venerabili viro, magiſtro Willielmo Fames, legum doctore, Surrogato, undecimo die menfis Octobris, Anno Domini, 1630, juramento Willielmi Heminge filii naturalis et legitim. dicti defundti, et executoris, cui, Sc. de bene, c. jurat. * Cuthbert Burbadge, brother to the actor. „ AUGUs- 196 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT | AUGUSTINE PHILIPS. This performer is likewiſe named in the licence grant- ed by king James in 1603. It appears from Heywood's Apology for Actors, printed in 1612, that he was then dead. In an extraordinary exhibition, entitled The Seven Deadly Sins, written by 'Tarleton, of which the ML. plot or ſcheme is in my poſſeſſion, he repreſented Sardanapalus, I have not been able to learn what parts he performed in our author's plays; but believe that he was in the ſame claſs as Kempe, and Armine; for he appears, like the former of theſe players, to have pub- liſhed a ludicrous metrical piece, which was entered on the Stationers? books in 1595. Philips's production was entitled The Figg of the Slippers. - WILLIAM KEMPE was the ſucceſſor of Tarle ton. Here I muſt needs re- member Tarleton, (ſays Heywood, in his Apology for Actors, ) in his time gracious with the queen his ſove- raigne, and in the people's general applauſe ; whom ſucceeded Vill. Kemp, as well in the favour of her ma- Jeſtie, as in the opinion and good thoughts of the gene- ral audience. From the quarto editions of ſome of our author's plays, we learn that he was che original per- former of Dogberry in Much Ado about Nothing, and of Peter in Romeo and Fuliet. From an old comedy called The Returne from Parnaſſus, we may collect, that he was the -original Juſtice Shallow; and the contemporary writers inform us that he uſually ated the part of a Clown; in which character, like Tarleton, he was cele- brated for his extemporal wit * Launcelot in the Mer- chant of Venice, Touchſtone in As you like it, Launce in The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and the Grave-digger in Hamlet, were probably alſo performed by this 4 See p. 112, n. 1. 85 | comedian. OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 197 comedian. He was an author as well as an actor. So early as in the year 1589 Kempe's comick talents appear to have been highly eſtimated, for an old pam- hlet called An Almond for a Parrot, written, I think, y Thomas Naſhe, and publiſhed about that time, is dedicated * to that moſt comicall and conceited Cava- leire Monfieur du Kempe, Jeſtmonger, and vice-gerent generall to the Ghoſt of Dicke Tarleton.“ From a paſſage in one of Decker's tracts it may be preſumed that this comedian was dead in the year 1609 *, | | ; In Braithwaite's Remains, 1618, he is thus com- memorated ; 5 See The Returne from Parnaſſus, a comedy, 1606: © Indeed, M. Kempe, you are very famous, but that is as well for wvorkes in print as your part in cue.” Kempe's New Figg of the Kite ben - uf Woman was entered on the books of the Stationers' company in 1595; and in the ſame year was licenſed to Thomas Goſlon, ** Kempes New Figge betwixt a ſouldier and a miſer and Sym the clown.” Sept. 7, 1593, Was entered on the Stationers* Books, by R. Jones, 6 A comedieentitled A knack bow to know a knave, newly ſet forth, as it hath been ſundrye times plaied by Ned Allen and his company, with Xempes applauded merryment of the Men of Gotham.” In the Bodleian Library, among the books given to it by Robert Burton, is the following tract, bound up with a few others of the ſame ſize, in a quarto volume marked L, 62d. art. % Kemps nine daies wonder performed in a daunce from London to & Norwich. Containing the pleaſure, paines and kind entertainment 6 of William Kemp between London and that city, in his late mor- cc rice. Wherein is ſomewhat ſet downe worth note; to reprooue the « fJaunders ſpred of him: many things merry, nothing hurtfull, « Written by himſelfe, to ſatis e his friends.” (Lond. E. A. for Nicholas Ling. 1600. b. l. With a wooden cut of Kempe as a morris- dancer, preceded by a fellow with a pipe and drum, whom he (in the book) calls Thomas Slye, his taberer,) It is dedicated to © The true cc ennobled lady, and his moſt bountifull miſtris, miſtris Anne % Fitton, mayde of honour to the moſt ſacred mayde royall queene & Elizabeth.” | | 6 « Tuſh, tuſh, Tarleton, Kempe, nor Singer, nor all the litter of fooles that now come drawling behind them, never played the clownes part more naturally than the arranteſt ſot of you all. "= : Guls Horneboocke, 1609. 07 _ Urox 198 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT % Uron Kur Ax D His MoRiCE, WITH E18 EPITAPH, | « Welcome from Norwich, Kempe: all Joy to ſee „Thy ſafe return moriſcoed luſtily. «© But out alas ! how ſoone's thy morice done, 4 When pipe and tabor, all thy friends be gone; « And leave thee now to dance the ſecond part 6 With feeble nature, not with nimble art! 5 Then all thy triumphs fraught with ſtrains of mirth, — ER — _ SS T RDU — . ²˙ ü. ⅛ͤῳ¹ulllt.. . —U˙uU een by FHioloway,} Ns” an: cam Py Uhmoler Hauoum, god Publiched as the Act directs by SHiington Za 2June 4 8g 6 : OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 205 Signed, ſealed, pronounced and declared, by the ſaid Henry Cundall, the teſtator, as his laſt will and teſta- ment, on the day and year above written, in the preſence of us whoſe names are here under written : Robert Yonge. | Hum. Dyſon, Notary Publique. | And of me Ro. Dickens, ſervant unto the ſaid Notary. . . Probatum fuit teftamentum ſupraſcriptum apud Lond. coram magiſtro Ricbardo Louche, legum doctore, Sur- rogato, 24 die Februarii, 1627, juramento Ali. zabethe Cundall, relictæ dicti defuncti et executr. cui, c. de bene, c. jurat. WILLIAM SLY was joined with Shakſpeare, &c. in the licence granted in 1603,—He is introduced, perſonally, in the induction to Marſton's Malecontent, 1604, and from his there uſing an affected phraſe of Oſrick's in Hamlet, we may collect that he performed that part, He died before the year 16129. | Nos i RICHARD COWLEY appears to have been an actor of a low claſs, having performed the part of Verges in Much ado about Nothing. He lived in the pariſh of St. Leonard, Shoreditch, and had two ſons baptized there; Cuthbert, born in 1597, and Richard born in 1599. 1 know not when this actor died. | | «6 | JOHN LOWIN was a principal performer in theſe plays. If the date on his picture in the Aſhmolean Muſeum at Oxford, is 9 Heywood's Apology for Actors. 1 This date, which the engraver of the annexed portrait has inad- vertently omitted, is“ 1640, /Etat. 64. a 4 accurate, 4 206 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT accurate, he was born in 1576. Wright mentions in his Hiſtoria Hiſtrionica that before the wars he uſed to act the part of Falſtaff with mighty applauſe ;*”” but without doubt he means during the reign of king Charles the Firſt, from 1625 to 1641. When our poet's King Henry IV. was firſt exhibited, Lowin was but twenty- one years old ; it 1s therefore probable that Heminge, or ſome other actor, originally repreſented the fat knight, and that ſeveral years afterwards the part was N to Lowin. e is ſaid by Roberts the player to have alſo perform vans Beſide the parts already mentioned, this actor re- preſented the following characters: Moroſe, in The Silent Woman ;Volpone, in The Fox;—Mammon, in The Alchymift ;—Melantius, in The Maid's Tragedy ;— Aubrey, in 7 be Bloody Brother ;—Boſola, in The Dutche/5 o Malfy ; —Jacomo, in The. Defſerving Favourite; — zubulus, in Maſſinger's Pickure;—Domitian, in The Roman Ator ;—and Belleur, in The Wild Gooje Chace. Though Heminge and Condell continued to have an intereſt in the theatre to the time of their death, yet about the year 1623, I believe, they ceaſed to adi; and that the management had in the next year devolved on Lowin and Taylor, is aſcertained by the following note * Hiftor, Hiſtrion. and Roſcius Anglicanus. made * | £ 4 OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 207 made by Sir Henry Herbert in his office-book, under the year 1633. 1 «© On friday the 19th of October3, 1633, I ſent a warrant by a meſſenger of the chamber to ſuppreſs TY Tamer Tamd, to the Kings players, for that afternoone, and it was obeyd; upon complaints of foule and offen- five maters conteyned therein. «© They ated The Scornfull Lady inftead of it. I have enterd the warrant here. © Theſe are to will and require you to forbeare the actinge of your play called The Tamer tamd or the Taminge of the Tamer, this afternoone, or any more till you have leave from mee; and this at your perill. On friday morninge the 18 Octob. 1633. X To Mr. Taylor, Mr. Lowins, or any of the Kings players at the Blackfryers. | e On ſaterday morninge followinge the booke was brought mee, and at my Lord of Hollands requeſt I re- turned it to the players ye monday morninge after, purgd of oaths, prophaneſs, and ribaldrye, being y*® 21 of Octob. 1633. 85 | | | % Becauſe the ſtoppinge of the acting of this play for that afternoone, it being an ould play, hath rayſed ſome diſcourſe in the players, thogh no diſobedience, I have chought fitt to inſert here ther ſubmiſſion upon a former diſobedience, and to declare that it concernes the Maſ- ter of the Revells to bee carefull of their ould revived playes, as of their new, ſince they may conteyne offen- five matter, which ought not to bee allowed in any time. = «© The Maſter ought to have copies of their new playes left with him, that he may be able to ſhew what he hath allowed or diſallowed, | | % All ould plays ought to bee brought to the Maſter of the Revells, and have his allowance to them, for 380 the Mſ. though afterwards Sir Henry Herbert calls it“ friday the 18th.“ | ; which PP ˙ A tn ES. —— ————— . ˙¹ ö ͤ¶‚Rwm . IIS 208 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT | which he ſhould have his fee, fince they may be full of offenſive things againſt church and ſtate; ye rather that. in former time the poetts tooke greater liberty than is allowed them by. mee. The players ought not to ſtudy their parts till I have allowed of the booke. '* To Sir Henry Herbert, K. t mailer of his Ma. ies Revels.” | e After our humble ſerviſe+ . unto your ood worſhip, Whereas not long ſince we acted a play called The Spaniſbe Viceroy, not being licenſed under your worſhips hande, nor allowd of: wee doe confeſs and herby acknowledge that wee have offended, and that it is in your power to puniſhe this offenſe, and are very ſorry for it; and doe likewiſe promiſe herby that wee will not act any play without your hand or ſubſti- tuts hereafter, nor doe any thinge that may prejudice the authority of your office: So hoping that this humble ſubmiſſion of ours may bee accepted, wee have ther- unto ſett our hands. This twentiethe of * 1624. Joſeph Taylor. John Lowen. Richard Robinſon, John Shancke. Elyard Swanſton. John Rice. Thomas Pollard. Will. Rowley. Robert Benfeilde. Richard Sharpe. George Burght, | c Mr. Knight, « In many things you have ſaved mee labour; yet wher your judgment or penn fayld you, I have made boulde to ufe mine. Purge ther parts, as I have the booke. And I hope every hearer and player will thinke that 1 have done God good ſerviſe, and the quality no wronge; who hath no greater enemies than oaths, prophaneſs, and publique ribaldry, weh for the future I doe abſolutely forbid to bee preſented unto mee in any 4 In the margin here Sir Henry Herbert has added this note, © "Tis entered here for a remembrance againſt their diſorders,” play- OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 2809 playbooke, as you will anſwer it at your perill. 21 Octob. 1633. 5 | 1 „This was ſubſcribed to their play of The Tamer Tamd, and directed to Knight, their book-keeper. The 24 of Octob. 1633, Lowins and Swanſton were ſorry for their ill manners, and craved my pardon, which J gave them in preſence of Mr. Taylor and Mr. Benfeilde:“ | | or : After the ſuppreſſion of the theatres, Lowin became very poor. In 1652, in conjunction with Joſeph Tay- lor, he publiſhed Fletcher's comedy called The Wild Gooſe Chaſe, for bread; and in his latter years, he kept an inn (Te Three Pidgeons) at Brentford, in which town, Wright ſays, he died very olds, But that writer was miſtaken with reſpe& to the place of his death, for he died in London at the age. of eighty three, and was buried in the ground belonging to the pariſh of St. Martin in the Fields, March 18, 1658-9. On the 8th of the following October adminiſtration of the goods of John Lowin was granted to Martha Lowin, I ſuppoſe the actor's widow. In the Regiſter of perſons buried in the pariſh of Brentford, which I carefully examined, no per- _ 5 on name is mentioned between the years 1650, and 1660, | SAMUEL CROSS.. © This actor was probably dead before the year 1600; for Heywood, who had himſelf written for the ſtage before that time, ſays he had never ſeen him. ALEXANDER COOKE. From The Platt of the Seven Deadly Sinns, it appears, that this ator was on the ſtage before 1588, and was the ſtage-heroine. He acted ſome woman's part in Jon- ſon's Sejanus, and in The Fox; and we may preſume, performed all the principal female characters in our au- thor's plays, | 5 Hiftor. Hiftrion. p. 10. | Vor. I. Pa RT II. e SAMUEL 210 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT SAMUEL GILBURNE. Unknown. ROBERT ARMIN performed in T he Alchemiſt in 1610, and was alive in 1611, ſome verſes having been addreſſed to him in that year by John Davies of Hereford; from which he appears to have occaſionally performed the part of the Fool or Clown ©. 1 6 | : ; | He was author of a comedy called The Two Maids of More-clacke, f Mortlake it ought to be.] 1609, I have alſo a book, called A Ne /t of Ninnies frmply of theme ſelves, without compound, by Robert Armin, publiſhed in 1608. And at Stationers' Hall was entered in the ſame year, a book called Phanta/m the Italian Tay- lor and his Boy, made by Mr. Armin, ſervant to his majeſy. ; ; Mr. Oldys, in his Mſ. notes on Langbaine, ſays, that « Armin was an apprentice at firſt to a goldſmith in Lombard-ftreet.”* He adds, that the means of his becoming a player is recorded in Tarleton's jeſts printed in 1611, where it appears, this prentice going often to a tavern in Gracechurch-ſtreet, to dun the keeper thereof, who was a debtor to his maſter, Tarleton, who of the maſter of that tavern was now only a lodger in it, ſaw ſome verſes written by Armin on the wainſcot, upon his maſter's ſaid debtor, whoſe name was Charles Tarle- ton, and liked them ſo well, that he wrote others under them, prophecying, that as he was, ſo Armin ſhould be: therefore, calls him his adopted ſon, to wear the Clown's ſuit after him. And fo it fell out, for the boy was ſo pleaſed with what Tarleton had written of him, ſo re- 56 4 To honeſt; gameſome, Reber: Ar mine, cc Who tickles the ſpleene like a harmleſs vermin.” c Armine, what ſhall I ſay of thee,” but this, & Thou art a fool and knave z—both ?—fie, I miſs, C And wrong thee much; ſith thou indeed art neither, « Although in ſbezo thou playeſt both together,” | ſpected OF THE ENGLISH STAGE, 211 ſpected his perſon, ſo frequented his plays, and ſo learned his humour and manners, that from his private practice he came to publick playing his parts; that he was in great repute for the ſame at the Globe on the Bank- ſide, &c. all the former part of king James's reign.“ WILLIAM OSTLER had been one of the children of the Chapel; having ated in Jonſon's Poetafter, together with Nat. Field and John Underwood, in 1601, and is ſaid to have performed wo- men's parts. In 1610 both he and Underwood acted as men in Ben Jonſon's Alchemift, In Davies's Scourge Folly, there are ſome verſes addreſſed to him with this title: To the Reſcius of theſe times, William Oſtler.“ He acted Antonio in Webſter's Dutche/s of Maljy, in 1623, Iknow not when he died, | | | NATHANIEIL FIELD. JOHN UNDERWOOD. Both theſe actors had been children of the chapel ?, and probably at the Globe and Blackfriars theatres perform- ed female parts, Field, when he became too manly to repreſent the characters of women, played the part of Buſfſy d Ambois in Chapman's play of that name. From the preface prefixed to one edition of it, it appears that he was dead in 1641. There is a good portrait of this performer in Dul- wich college, 1n a very fingular dreſs. Fleckno in his little tract on the Engliſh Stage, ſpeaks of him as an actor of great eminence. A perſon of this name was the author of two comedies, called 4 Woman's a Weathercack, and Amends for Ladies, and aſſiſted Maſ- ſinger in writing The Fatal Dowry, but he ſcarcely could have been the player; for the firſt of the comedies 7 See Cynthia's Revels, 1601, in which they both afted. - 7 P 2 above 212 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT abovementioned was printed in 1612, at which time this actor muſt have been yet a youth, having performed as one of the Children of the Revels, in Jonſon's Silent Wo- mans in 1609. The only intelligence I have obtained of John Under- wood, beſide what I have already mentioned, is, that he performed the part of Delio in The Dutcheſs of Malfy, and that he died either in the latter end of the year 1624 or the beginning of the following year, having firſt made his will, of which the following is a copy: In the name of God, Amen. I John Underwood, of the pariſh of Saint Bartholomew the Leſs in London, gent. being very weak and ſick in body, but, thanks be given to Almighty God, in perfect mind and memo- ry, do make and declare my laſt will and teſtament, in manner and form following: viz. Firft, I commend - and commit my ſoul to Almighty God, and my body to the earth, to be buried at the diſcretion of my executors ;_ and my worldly goods and eſtate which it hath pleaſed the Almighty God to bleſs me with, I will, bequeath, and diſpote as followeth ; that is to ſay, to and amongſt my five children, namely, John Underwood, Elizabeth Underwood, Burbage Underwood, Thomas Under- wood, and Iſabell Underwood, (my debts and other legacies herein named paid, and my funeral and other Juit dues and duties diſcharged) all and ſingular my goods, houſehold ſtuff, plate and other things whatſo- ever in or about my now dwelling houſe, or elſewhere ; and alſo all the right, title, or intereſt, part or ſhare, that I have and enjoy at this preſent by leaſe or other. wiſe, or ought to have, poſſeſs and enjoy in-any manner or kind at this preſent or hereafter, within the Black- fryars, London, or in the company of his Mties ſervants, my loving and kind fellows, in their houſe there, or at the Globe on the Bankſide; and alſo that my part and ſhare or due in or out of the playhouſe called the Cur- taine, ſituate in or near Holloway in the pariſh of St. Leonard, London, or in any other place; to my _ Ne N . ea ne ILAN OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 213 : | five children, equally and proportionably to be divided amongſt them at their ſeveral ages of one and twenty years; and during their and every of their minorities, for and towards their education, maintenance, and pla- Cing in the world, according to the diſcretion, direction, and care which I repoſe in my executors. Provided always and my true intent and meaning is, that my {aid executors ſhall not alienate, change or alter by ſale or otherwiſe, directly or indirectly, any my part or ſhare which I now have or ought to hold, have, poſſeſs and enjoy in the ſaid play-houſes called the Blackfryars, the Globe on the Bancke-ſide, and Curtaine aforementioned, or any of them, but that the increaſe and benefit out and from the ſame and every of them ſhall come, accrue and ariſe to my ſaid executors, as now it is to me, to the uſe of my ſaid children, equally to be divided amongſt them. Provided alſo that if the uſe and in- creaſe of my ſaid eſtate given (as aforeſaid) to my ſaid children, ſhall prove inſufficient or defectivdè, in reſpect of the young years of my children, for their education and placing of them as my ſaid executors ſhall think meet, then my will and true meaning 1s, that when the eldeſt of my ſaid children ſhall attain to the age of one and twenty years, my ſaid executors ſhall pay or cauſe to be paid unto him or her ſo ſurviving or attaining, his or her equal ſhare of my eſtate ſo remaining undiſburſed or undiſpoſed for the uſes aforeſaid in their or either of their hands, and ſo for every or any of my faid children attaining to the age aforeſaid: yet if it ſhall appear or ſeem fit at the completion of my ſaid children every or any of them at their ſaid full age or ages, which ſhall firſt happen, my eſtate remaining not to be equally ſhared or diſpoſed amongſt the reſt ſurviving in minority, then my will is, that it ſhall be left to my executors to give unto my child ſo attaining the age as they ſhall judge will be equal to the reſt ſurviving and accompliſhing the aforeſaid age; and if any of them ſhall die or depart this life before they accompliſh the ſaid age or ages, I will and bequeath their part, ſhare or portion to them, 1 | | him 214 © HISTORICAL ACCOUNT him or her ſurviving, at the ages aforeſaid, equally to be divided by my executors as aforeſaid. And J do here- by nominate and appoint my loving friends (in whom I repoſe my truſt for performance of the premiſes) Henry Cundell, Thomas Sanford, and Thomas Smith, gentle- men, my executors of this my laſt will and teſtament; and do intreat my loving friends Mr. John Heminge, and John Lowyn, my fellowes, overſeers of the ſame my laſt will and teſtament: and I give to my ſaid execu- tors and overſeers for their pains (which I intreat them to accept) the ſum of eleven ſhillings apiece to buy them rings, to wear in remembrance of me. In witneſs whereof I have hereunto ſet my hand and ſeal the fourth day of October, in the year of our Lord one thouſand - fix hundred twenty four. JOHN UNDERWOOD. A Codicil to be annexed to the laſt will and teſtament of John Underwood, late of the pariſh of Little St. Bar- tholomew, London, deceaſed, made the tenth day of the month of October, Anno Domini one thouſand ſix hundred twenty four or thereabouts, viz. his intent and meaning was, and ſo he did will, diſpoſe, and bequeath (if his eſtate would thereunto extend, and it ſhould ſeem convenient to his executors,) theſe particulars following in manner and form following: /cz/z. to his daughter Elizabeth two ſeal rings of gold, one with a death's | head, the other with a red ſtone in it. To his ſon John Underwood a ſeal ring of gold with an A anda ; in it. To Burbage Underwood a ſeal ring with a blue ſtone in it. To Iſabell one hoop ring of gold. To his ſaid ſon John one hoop ring of gold. To his ſaid daughter Eli. zabeth one wedding ring. To his ſaid ſon Burbage one hoop ring, black and gold. To his ſaid ſon Thomas one hoop ring of gold, and one gold ring with a knot. To his ſaid daughter Iſabell one blue ſaphire and one joint ring of gold. To John Underwood one. half dozen of filver ſpoons and one gilt ſpoon. To — * | ilver OF. THE ENGLISH STAGE. 21g filver ſpoon and three gilt ſpoons. To Burbage Under. wood, his fon aforenamed, one great gilt ſpoon, one plain bowl and one rough bowl. To Thomas Under- wood his ſon, one ſilver porrenger, one ſilver taſter, and one gilt ſpoon, To Iſabell his ſaid daughter, three ſilver ſpoons, two gilt ſpoons, and one gilt cap. Which was ſo had and done before ſufficient and credible wit- neſs, the ſaid teſtator being of perfect mind and me- mory. Probatum fuit teftamentum ſupraſcriptum una cum codicillo eidem annex. apud London, coram judice, primo die menſis Februarii, Anno Domini 1624, juramento Henrici Cundell, unius executor, cui, Cc. de bene, &c. jurat. reſervata poteſtate ſimilem com- miſſionem faciendi T home Sandford et I home Smith, executoribus etiam in hujuſmodi teſtamento nominate. cum venerint eam petitur. | | NICHOLAS TOOLEY acted Foroboſco in The Dutcheſs of Malfy. From the Platt of the Seven Deadly Sinns, it appears, that he ſome- times repreſented female characters. He performed in The Alchemiſt in 1610. | WILLIAM ECCLESTONHDB This performer's name occurs for the firſt time in B. Jonſon's Alchemift, 1610. No other ancient piece (that 1 have ſeen) contains any memorial of this actor. JOSEPH TAYLOR appears from ſome verſes already cited, to have been a celebrated actor. According to Downes the prompter, he was inſtructed by Shakſpeare to play Hamlet; and Wright in his Hiſtoria ä ſays, He * 4 at 216 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT that part incomparably well.” From the remem- brance of his performance of Hamlet, Sir William D'A+ venant 1s ſaid to have conveyed his inſtructions to Mr. Betterton. Taylor likewiſe played Iago. He alſo performed True-wit in The Silent Woman, Face in The Alchymift*, and Moſca in Volpone; but not originally ?. He repreſented Ferdinand in The Dutche/s of Malfy, after the death of Burbadge. He acted Mathias in The Picture, by Maſſinger; Paris in The Roman Actor; the Duke in Carlell's Dęſerwving Favourite; Rollo in The Bloody Brother; and Mirabel in The Wild Gooſe Chaſe. There are verſes by this performer prefixed to Maſſin- ger's Roman Actor, 1629. N In the year 1614, Taylor appears to have been at the head of a diſtinct company of comedians, who were diſtinguiſhed by the name of The Lady Elizabeth's Ser- wants *, However, he afterwards returned to his old friends; and after the death of Burbadge, Heminge and Condell, he in conjunction with John Lowin and Eliard Swanſton had the principal management of the king's company, In Sept. 1639 he was appointed Yeoman of the Revels in ordinary to his Majeſty, in the room of Mr. William Hunt. There. were certain perquiſites annexed to this office, and a ſalary of ſixpence a day, When he was in attendance on the king he had 31. 6s. 8d. per month. | I find from Fleckno's Characters, that Taylor died either in the year 1653 or in the following year“: and according to Wright he was buried at Richmond. The Regiſter of that pariſh antecedent to the. Reſtoration, being loſt, I am unable to aſcertain that fact. He was 8 Hift. Hiſtrion. 9 Taylor's name does not occur in the liſt of actors printed by Jon- ſon at the end of Volpone. | * Mf. Virtue, | 1 « He is one, who now the ſtage is down, acts the paraſite's part at table; and, ſince Taylor's death, none can play Moſca ſo vell as he.” Cbaracter of one who imitates the good companion another wway. In the edition of Fleckno's Characters, printed in 1665, he ſays, this charac-” ter was written in 1654. Taylor was alive in 1652, having publiſhed The Wild Gooſe Chaſe in that year. probably OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 217 probably near ſeventy years of age at the time of his * * death. He is ſaid by ſome to have painted the only original icture of Shakſpeare now extant, in the poſſeſſion of the duke of Chandos. By others, with more probability, Richard Burbadge is reported to have been the painter: for among the pictures in Dulwich college is one, which, in the catalogue made in the time of Charles the Second by Cartwright the player, 1s ſaid to have been painted by Burbadge. 5 ROBERT BENFIELE appears to have been a ſecond-rate ator. He performed Antonio in The Dutcheſs of Malfy, after the death of Oſtler. He alſo aQed the part of the King in The De- ſerving Favourite; Ladiſlaus in The Pi&ure; Junius Ruſticus in The Roman Actor; and De-gard in The Wild Gooſe Chaſe. „ 3 He was alive in 1647, being one of the players who ſigned the dedication to the folio edition of Fletcher's plays, publithed in that year. | ROBERT GOUGHE, This actor at an early period performed female cha. racters, and was, I ſuppoſe, the father of Alexander Goughe, wno in this particular followed Robert's ſteps. In The Seven Deadly Sins, Robert Goughe played Aſpatia; but in the year 1611 he had arrived at an age which entitled him to repreſent male characters; for in The Second Mai dens Tragedie*, which was produced in that year, he performed the part of the uſurping tyrant. | RICHARD ROBINSON is ſaid by Wright to have been a comedian. He acted in Jonſon's Catiline in 1611; and, it ſhould ſeem from 2 paſſage in The Devil is an As, [Act II. fc, viii. ] 1616, 2 MC, in the collection of the Marquis of Lanſdown. See p. 77. 83 | 7 nat ks 218 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT that at that time he uſually repreſented female charac. ters. In The Second Maidens Tragedie, he repreſented the Lady of Govianus, I have not learned what parts in our author's plays were performed by this actor. In The Deſerving Favourite, 1629, he played Orlinio ; and in The Wild Gooſe Chaſe La-Caſtre. In Maſſinger's Roman Actor, he. performed Æſopus; and in T he Dutcheſs of Malfy, after the retirement of Condell, he played the Cardinal. Hart, the celebrated actor, was originally his boy or apprentice. Robinſon was alive in 1647, his name being ſigned, with ſeveral others, to the dedica- tion prefixed to the firſt folio edition of Fletcher's plays. In the civil wars he ſerved in the king's army, and was killed in an engagement, by Harriſon, who was after- wards hanged at Charing-Croſs. Harriſon refuſed him quarter, after he had laid down his arms, and ſhot him in the head, ſaying at the ſame time, Curſed is he that doth the work of the Lord negligently .“ JOHN SHANCKE was, according to Wright, a comedian. He was but in a low claſs, having performed the part of the Curate in Fletcher's Scornful Lady, and that of Hillario (a ſervant) in The Wild Gooſe Chaſe. He was a dramatick author as well as an actor, having produced a comedy entitled Shanke's Ordinary, which was acted at Blackfriars in the year 1023-4 *, | | JOHN RICE. The only information I have met with concerning this player, is, that he repreſented the Marquis of Peſcara, an inconſiderable part in Webſter's Dutche/5 of Malfy, He was perhaps brother to Stephen Rice, clerk, who 1s mentioned in the will of John Heminge. 7 The foregoing lift is ſaid in the firſt folio to contain the names of the principal actors in theſe plays. 3 Hip. Hiftriows p. 8. LR x 4 % For the kings company. Shankes Ordinarie, written by Shankes himſelfe, this 16 Maich, x623,—L£. 1. O. 0,” Mſ. Herbert. | | Beſide OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 219 Befide theſe, we know that John Wilſon played an in- ſignificant part in Much ado about nothing. Gabriel was likewiſe an inferior actor in theſe plays, as appears from the Third Part of King Henry VI., p- 150, edit. 1623, where we find“ Enter Gabriel.“ In the correſponding place in the old play entitled The True Tragedie of Richarde Duke of Yorke, &c. we have * Enter a Meſenger.“ Sinkler or Sinclo, and Hum- phrey 5, were likewiſe players in the ſame theatre, and of the ſame claſs. William Barkfted ©, John Dake, and Chriſtopher Beeſton?, alſo belonge to this company. The latter from the year 1624 to 1638, when he died, was manager of the Cockpit theatre in Drury- lane. In a book of the laſt age of no great authority, we are told that the infamous Hugh Peters, after he had been expelled from the Univerſity of Cambridge, went to London, and enrolled himſelf as a player in Shak- ſpeare's company, in which he uſually performed the part of the Clown.” Hugh Peter (for that was his name, not Peters, as he was vulgarly called by his contemporaries,) was born at Fowey or Foye in Corn- wall in 1599, and was entered of Trinity College, in Cambridge, in the year 1613. In 1617 he took the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and that of Maſter of Arts in 1622. On the 23d of December 1621, as 1 find from the Regiſtry of the Biſhop of London, he was or- dained a deacon, by Dr. Mountaitie then biſhop of that ſee; and on June 8, 1623, he was ordained a prieſt. During his reſidence at Trinity college, he behaved fo improperly, that he was once publickly whipped for his inſolence and contumacy* ; bat I do not find that he was 5 In The Third Part of King Henry VI, p. 158, firſt folio, the following ſtage-direQtion is found; „ Enter Sinklo and Humphrey. In the old play in quarto, entitled The true tragedie of Richarde duke of Yorke, © Enter i400 keepers.” © He was one of the children of the Revels. See the Dramatis Per- on of Ben Jonſon's Silent Woman, 7 Dramatis Perſoræ of Every man in his humour, # Warton's Milton, p. 432. 4 expelled. 220 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT expelled. It is, however, not improbable that he was ruſticated for a time, for ſome miſconduct; and perhaps in that interval, inſtead of retiring to his parent's houſe In Cornwall, his reſtleſs ſpirit carried him to London, and induced him to tread the ſtage. If this was the caſe, it probably happened about the time of our author's death, when Hugh Peter was about eighteen years old. | Langbaine was undoubtedly miſtaken in ſuppoſing that Edward Alleyn was “an ornament to Blackfriars. Wright, who was much better acquainted with the an- cient ſtage, ſays, he never heard that Alleyn acted there: and the liſt in the firſt folio edition of our au- thor's plays proves deciſively that he was not of his com- pany ; for ſo celebrated a performer could not have been overlooked, when that liſt was forming. So early as in 1593, we find“ Ned Alleyn's company mentioned *.“ Alleyn was ſole proprietor and manager of the Fortune theatre, in which he performed from 1599 (and perhaps before) till 1616, when, I believe, he quitted the ſtage. He was ſervant to the Lord Admiral (Nottingham) : all the old plays therefore which are ſaid to have been per- formed by the Lord Admirals Servants, were repreſented at the Fortune by Alleyn's company *. - THE P. 197, n. 5. 3 In a former edition I had ſaid, on the authority of Mr. Oldys, that ( Edward Alleyn, the player, mentions in his Diary, that he once had ſo ſlender an audience in his theatre called the Fortune, that the whole receipt of the houſe amounted to no more than three pounds and ſome odd ſhillings.” But I have fince ſeen Alleyn's Diary, (which was then miſlaid,) and find Mr, Oldys was miſtaken, The memoran- dum on which the intelligence conveyed by the Librarian of Dulwich College to that Antiquary, was founded, is as follows: e Oct. 3, 1617. J1 went to the Red Bull, and rd. for The Younger Brother but * 4. 6, 4. DE, 452 appears from one of Lord Bacon's Letters that Alleyn had in 1618 left the ſtage. Allen that was the player, he calls him. The money therefore which he mentions to have received for the play of The Younger Brother, muſt have been the produce of the ſecond day's repreſentation, in conſequence of his having ſold the property of that piece to the ſharers in the Red Bull theatre, or being in ſome | : | other OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 221 TX hiſtory of the ſtage as far as it relates to Shak- ſpeare, naturally divides itſelf into three periods: the period which preceded his appearance as an actor or dramatick writer; that during which he flourithed ; and the time which has elapſed fince his death. Having now gone through the two former of theſe periods, I ſhall take a tranſient view of the ſtage from the death of our great poet to the year 1741, ftill with a view to Shak. ipeare, and his works, Soon after his death, four of the principal companies then ſubſiſting, made a union, and were afterwards call- ed the United Companies; but I know not preciſely in what this union conſiſted, I ſuſpect it aroſe from a penury of actors, and that the managers contracted to permit the performers in each houſe occaſionally to aſſiſt their brethren in the other theatres in the repreſentation of plays. We have already ſeen that John Heminge in 1618 pay'd Sir George Buck, ** in the name of the four companys, for a lenten diſpenſation in the holydaies, 448.; and Sir Henry Herbert obſerves that the play called Come ſee a Vonder, written by John Daye for a company of ſtrangers,”” and repreſented Sept. 18, 1623, was „ acted at the Red Bull, and licenſed without his hand to it, becauſe they [i. e. this company of ſtrangers] were none of the four companys.” The old comedy en- titled Amends for Ladies, as appears from its title-page, was ated at Blackfriars before the year 1618, both by the Prince's ſervants and Lady Elizabeth's,” though other way entitled to a benefit from it. Alleyn's own play-houſe, the Fortune, was then open, but I imagine, he had ſold of his raperty in it to a kinſman, one Thomas Allen, an actor likewiſe, In his Diary he frequently mentions his going from Dulwich to London after dinner, and ſupping with him and ſome of “ ebe Fortune's men. From this Mſ. I expected to have learned ſeveral particulars relative to our ancient ſtage; but unluekily the Diary does not commence till the year 1617, (at which time he had retired to his College at Dulwich,) and contains no theatrical intelligence whatſoever, except the article already quoted, | | ; — the 222 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT the theatre at Blackfriars then belonged to the king's ſervants. | | | After the death of Shakſpeare, the plays of Fletcher appear for ſeveral years to have been more admired, or at leaſt to have been more frequently acted, than thoſe of our poet. During the latter part of the reign of James he Firſt, Fletcher's pieces had the advantage of novelty to recommend them. TI believe, between the time of Beaumont's death in 1615 and his own in 162 5, this poet produced at leaſt twenty-five plays. Sir Aſton Cokain has informed us, in his poems, that of the thirty- five pieces improperly aſcribed to Beaumont and Fletcher in the folio edition of 1647, much the greater part were written after Beaumont's death?; and his account is partly confirmed by Sir Henry Herbert's Manuſcript, from which it appears that Fletcher produced eleven new plays in the laſt four years of his life. If we were poſſeſſed of the Regiſter kept by Sir George Buck, we ſhould there, I make no doubt, find near twenty dramas written by the ſame author in the interval between 161 and 1622. As, to aſcertain the ſhare which each of theſe writers had in the works which have erroneouſly gone under their joint names, has long been a defideratum in dramatick hiſtory, I ſhall here ſet down as perfect a lift as I have been able to form of the pieces produced by Fletcher in his latter years. | For what a foul cc And jnexcuſable fault it is, (that whole & Polume of plays being almoſt every one « After the deatb of Beaumont writ, ) that none & Would certifie them ſo much?“ Verſes addreſſed by Sir Aſton Cokain to Mr. Charles Cotton. 2 CE — See alſo his verſes addreſſed to Mr. Humphry Moſeley and Mr, Hum» phry Robinſon : | 5 | 6& In the large book of playes you late did print ”. © In Beaumont and in Fletcher's name, why in't cc Did you not juſtice ? give to each his due? 46 For Beaumont of thoſe many writ in few; cc And Maſlinger in other few; the main Being ſole iflues of ſweet Fletcher's brain.“ The OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 223 The Honeſt Man's Fortune, though it appeared firſt in the folio 1647, was one of the few pieces in that collec- tion, which was the joint production of Beaumont and Fletcher. It was firſt performed at the Globe theatre in the year 1613, two years before the death of Beaumont *. he Loyal Subject was the ſole production of Fletcher, and was firſt repreſented in the year 1618. It appears from Sir Henry Herbert's Manuſcript that the new plays whieh Fletcher had brought out in the courſe of the year, were generally preſented at court at Chriſtmas, As therefore The land Princeſs, The Pil- grim, and The Wild Gooſe Chaje are found among the court exhibitions of the year 1621, we need not helitate to aſcribe theſe pieces allo to the ſame poet, The Wild- Goo/e Chaſe, though abſurdly 3 under the joint names of Beaumont and Fletcher, is expreſsly aſcribed to the latter by Lowin and Taylor, the actors who pub- liſhed it in 1652. The Beggar's Bufh, being alſo ated at court in 1622, was probably written by Fletcher, The Tamer tamed is expreſsly call'd his by Sir Henry Her- bert, as is the Mad Lower by Sir Afton Cokain: and it appears from the manuſcript ſo often quoted that The Night-Walker and Love's Pilgrimage, having been left imperfect by Fletcher, were corrected and finiſhed by Shirley. | | I have now given an account of nine of the pieces in which Beaumont appears to have had no ſhare ; and ſub- join a liſt of eleven other plays written by Fletcher, (with the aſſiſtance of Rowley in one only,) preciſely in the order in which they were licenſed by the Maſter of the Revels. - | 1622, May 14, he produced a new play called The Propheteſs. | June 22, The Sea Voyage, This piece was ated at the Globe. October 24, The Spaniſh Curate. Acted at Blackfriars. * A Manuſcript copy of this play is now before me, marked 13. LE NT” 1023. br 17 224 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT 1623. Auguſt 29, The Maid of the Mill, written by Fletcher and Rowley; ated at the Globe. October 17, The Dewill of Dowgate, or Ujury put to uſe, Acted by the king's ſervants. This | is loſt, 1 | ecemb. 6. The Wandering Lovers; acted at | Blackfriars. This piece is alſo loſt. 1624. May 27, A Wife for a Month. Acted by the King's ſervants. Octob. 19. Rule a Wife and have a Wife. 1625-6, January 22. The Fair Maid of the Inn. Acted at Blackfriars. : | | Feb. 3. The Noble Gentleman. Acted at the ſame theatre. In a former page an account has been given of the court-exhibitions in 1622. In Sir Henry Herbert's Office-book I find the following Note of ſuch playes as were acted at court in 1623 and 1624, which con- firms what I have ſuggeſted, that the plays of Shak - ſpeare were then not ſo much admired as thoſe of the poets of the day. . | «© Upon Michelmas night att Hampton court, TheMayd of the Mill by the K. Company. | «© Upon Allhollows night at St. James, the prince being there only, The Mayd of the Mill againe, with re- formations. 1 Upon the fifth of November att Whitehall, the prince being there only, The Giphhe, by the Cockpitt company. * Upon St. Stevens daye, the king and prince being there, The Mayd of the Mill by the K. company. Att Whitehall. | | | Upon St. Johns night, the prince only being there, The Bondman by the queene [ot Bohemia's] company. Att Whitehall. ; | «© Upon Innocents night, falling out upon a Sonday, The Buck is a theif, the king and prince being there. By the kings company, Att Whitehall. « Upon New-years might, by the K, * 8 0 vn . OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 225 The Wandering Lowers, the prince only being there. Att Whitehall. pon the Sonday after, beinge the 4 of January 1623, by the Queene of Bohemias company, The Changes linge; the prince only being there. Att Whitehall. % Upon Twelfe night, the maſke being putt of, More diſſemblers befides Nomen, by the kings company, the prince only being there, Att Whitehall. To the Ducheſs of Richmond, in the kings abſence, was given The Winters Tale, by the K. companys the 18 Janu. 1623. Att Whitehall. Upon All-hollows night, 1624, the king beinge at Roiſton, no play. The night after, my Lord Chanaticelts had Rule à wife and have a wife for the ladys, by the king's com- | pany. w Upon St. Steevens night, the prince only being there, [was ated] Rule a wife and have a wife, by the King's company. Att Whitehall. | «© Upon St. Johns night, [the prince] and the duke of | Brinfwick being there, The Fox, by the Att Whitehall. «© Upon Innocents night, the 8 and the duke of Brunſwyck being there, Cupids Revenge, by the Queen of Bohemias Servants, Att Whitehall, 1624. Upon New-years night, the prince only being there, The firſt part of Sir John Falſtaſf, by the king's company. Att Whitehall, 1624. - ++ Upon Twelve night, the Maſque being putt of; and the prince only there, Tu 2uoque, by the Queene of Bohemias ſervants. Att Whitehall, 1624. Upon the Sonday night following, being the ninthe of January, 1624, the Maſque was performd. * On Candlemas night the 2 Fe ruary' no play, tlie king being att Newmarket.” dy From the time when Sir Henry Herbert came itito the office of the Revels to 1642, when the theatres were ſhut up, hs Manuſcript does not furniſh us with a regular * cc The worſt play that etre I ſaw,” ſays the writer, in a marginal note. Vol. I. PAR II. "a account 226 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT account of the plays exhibited at court every year. Such, however, as he has given, I ſhall now ſubjoin, together with a few anecdotes which he has preſerved, relative to ſome of the works of our poet and the dramatick writers who immediately ſucceeded him. . For the king's players. An olde playe called Win- ters Tale, formerly allowed of by Sir George Bucke, and likewyſe by mee on Mr. Hemmings his worde that there was nothing prophane added or reformed, thogh the allowed booke was miſſinge; and therefore I returned itt without a fee, this 19 of Auguſt, 1623. | «« For the king's company. 7% Hiftorye of Henry the Firſt", written by Damport [Davenport]; tkis 10 April, * 1624,—L. I. o. o. % For the king's company. An olde play called The | Honeſt Mans Fortune, the originall being loſt, was re- allowed by mee at Mr. Taylor's iatreaty, and on con- dition to give mee a booke [The Arcadia], this 8 Februa. 1624. | The manuſcript copy of the Honeſt Man's Fortune is now before me, and is dated 1613. It was therefore probably the joint production of Beaumont and Fletcher. Tais piece was acted at the Globe, and the copy which Had boen licenſed by Sir George Buc, was without doubt deſtroyed by the fire which conſumed that theatre in the year 1613. The allowed copy of The Winter's Tale was probably deſtroyed at the ſame time. | | & 17 July, 1626. [Received] from Mr. Hemmings for a courteſie done him about their Blackfriers hous, . 3 ©, O. : £ «© [Received] from Mr. Hemming, in their com- pany's name, to forbid: the playing of Shakeſpeares plays, to the Red Bull Company, this 11 of Aprill, 1627, 4. Fo O. O. ; « This day, being the 11 of Janu. 1630, I did re- fuſe to allow of a play of Meſſinger's , becauſe itt did 5 contain 1 This play in a late entry on the Stationers books was aſcribed by # fraudulent bookſeller to Shakſpeare. : l 2 Maſſinger's Duke of Millaine and Virgin Martyr were printed in 1623. It appears from the office-book of Sir Henry Herbert that + his other plays were produced in the following order; The P Eee 8 N (1887 5 en . . N ES AE r 5 — 8 D ee eee Mt . - * D N. ee —＋ OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 227 contain dangerous matter, as the depoſing of Sebaſtian king of Portugal, by Phillip the [ Second, ] and ther being a peace N The Bondman, Dec. 3, 1623. Acted at the Cockpit in Drury ane. | : | The Renegado, or the Gentleman of Venice, April 17, 1624. Acted at the Cockpitt. | | The Parliament of Live, Nov. 3, 1624. Acted at the Cockpit. Of this play the laſt four acts are yet extant in manuſcript. The Spaniſh Viceroy, acted in 1624. This play is loſt. . The Roman Actor, October 11, 1626. Acted by the king's Company. | 8 | | The Judge, June 6, 1627. Acted by the king's company, This lay is loſt. | l 7 he Great Duke was licenſed for the Queen's Servants, July 5, 1627. This was, I apprehend, the Great Duke of Florence, which was acted by that company. : The Honour of Women was licenſed May 6, 1628. I ſuſpe& that this was the original name of The Maid of Honour, which was printed in 1631, though not entered for the ſtage in Sir Henry Herbert's book. a The Picture, June 8, 1629. Acted by the king's company. Miner vat Sacrifice, Nov. 3, 1629. Acted by the king's companys This play is loſt, Os - | The Emperor of the Eaſt, March 11, 1630-31. Acted by the king's company. Believe as you lift, May 7, 1631. Acted by the king's company. This play is loſt. Yael „ The Unfortunate Piety, June 13, 1631. Acted by the king's com- pany. This play is loſt. | The Fatal Dowry does not appear to have been licenſed for the ſtage under that title, but was printed in 1632. It was acted by the king's company. | | | The City Madam, May 25, 1632. Acted by the king's company. A newy way to pay old debts does not appear to have been licenſed for the ſtage; but was printed in Nov. 1632. The Guardian was licenſed, Octob. 31, 1633. Acted by the king's company. — The Tragedy of Cleander, May 7, 1634. Acted by the king's com- pany. This play is loſt, _ A Very Woman, June 6, 1634, Acted by the king's company. The Orator, Jan. 10, 1634-5. Acted by the king's company. This play is loſt, The Baſbful Lover, May q, 1636. AQted by the king's company. The King and the SutjeR, June 5, 1638. Adted by the ſame com- pany. This title, Sir Henry Herbert ſays, was changed, I ſuſpect it was new named The Tyrant. The play is lot. - Qs Several 228 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT a peace ſworen twixte the kings of England and Spayne. I had my fee notwithſtandinge, which belongs to me for the reading itt over, andought to be brought always with the booke. % Received of Knights, for allowing of Ben Johnſons play called Humours reconciÞd, or the Magnetick Lady, to bee acted, this 12th of Octob. 1632, C. 2. 0. 0. «© 18 Nov. 1632. In the play of The Ball, written b Sherley*, and acted by the Queens players, ther were | divers Alexius, or the Cbaſte Lower, Sept. 25, 1639. Acted by the king's company. The Fair Anchoreſs of Paufilippo, Jan. 26, 1639-40. Acted by the king's company. . Several other pieces by this author were formerly in poſſeſſion of John Warburton, Eſq. Somerſet Herald, but I know not when they were written. Their titles are, Antorio and Vallia, The Woman's Plot, Philenzo and Hippolita, Taſte and Welcome. 3 The book-keeper of Blackfriars' playhouſe. The date of this piece of Ben Jonſon has hitherto been unaſcertained. Immediately after this entry is another, which accounts for the defect of ſeveral leaves in the edition of Lord Brooke's Poems, 1633 : © Received from Henry Seyle for allowinge a booke of verſes of my lord Brooks, entitled Re- \ ligion, Humane Learning, Warr, and Honor, this 17 of October 1632, in mony, C. 1. o. o: in books to the value of C. 1. 4. o.”—In all the publiſhed copies twenty leaves on the ſubje& of Religion, are want- ing, having been cancelled, probably by the order of Archbiſhop Laud. The ſubſequent entry aſcertains the date of Cowley's earlieſt pro- duction: | | 6. More of Seyle, for allowinge of two other ſmall peeces of verſes for the preſs, done by a boy of this town called Cow L Ex, at the ſame time, C. o. 10. o.“ 4 Such of the plays of Shirley as were regiſtered by Sir Henry Her- bert, were licenſed in the following order: f Love Tricks, with Complements, Feb. 10, 1624-5, Mayds Revenge, Feb. 9, 1625-6. | The Brothers, Nov. 4, 1626. The Wity Fair one, Octob. 3, 1628. The Faitt ful Servant, Nov. 3, 1629. The Trayt:r. May 4, 1631. The Duke, May 17, 1631. Loves Cruelty, Nov. 14, 1631. The Changes, Jan. 10, 1631-2. Hyde Park, April 20, 1632. The Ball, Novæ 16, 1632. The Bewwties, Jan. 21, 1632 · 3. Tbe | . OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 229 divers perſonated ſo naturally, both of lords and others of | the court, that I took it ill, and would have forbidden the play, but that Biſton [Chriſtopher Beeſton] promiſte many things which I found faulte withall ſhould be left out, and that he would not ſuffer it to be done by the poett any more, who deſerves to be puniſht ; and the firſt that offends in this kind, of poets or players, ſhall be ſure of publique puniſhment. «6 R. for allowinge of The Tale of the Tubb, Vitru Hoop's parte wholly ſtrucke out, and the motion of the tubb, by commande from my lord chamberlin ; excep- tions being taken againſt it by Inigo Jones, ſurveyor of the kings workes, as a perſonal injury unto him, May 7, 1633. L. 2. . 0.” | In this piece, of which the preciſe date was hitherto un- known, Fitru Hoop, 1. e. Vitruvius Hoop, undoubtedly was intended to repreſent Inigo Jones. | The comedy called The Yonge Admirall, being free from oaths, prophanels, or obſceanes, hath given mee much delight and ſatisfaction in the readinge, and may | | ferve for a patterne to other poetts, not only for the bet- f tring of maners and language, but for the improvement | ol the quality, which hath received ſome bruſhings of late. «© When Mr. Sherley hath read this approbation, I know it will encourage him to purſue this beneficial and cleanly way of poetry, and when other poetts heare and ſee his good ſucceſs, I am confident they will imitate The Young Admiral, July 3, 1633, The Gameſicr, Nov. 11, 1633. 5 | The Example, June 24, 1634. The Opportunity, Nov. 29, 1634. The Coronation, Feb. 6, 1634-5. | Chabot, Admiral of France, April 29, 1635. The Lady of Pleaſure, Octob. 15, 1635. The Dukes M ſtreſs, Jan. 18, 1635-6, The Royal Maſter, April 23. 1638. The Gentleman of Veniſe, 30 Octob. 1639. Roſania, 1 June, 1640, | The Impoſtor, Nov. 10, 1640. The Politique Father, May 26, 16474 | The Cardinall, Nov. 25, 1641 E - j The Siſters, Apr l 26, 1642. | 2 22 tas | 230 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT the original for their own credit, and make ſuch copies in this 3 way, as ſhall ſpeak them maſters in their art, at the firſt ſight, to all judicious ſpectators. It may be acted this 3 July, 1633. | oP „ have entered this allowance, for direction to my ſucceſſor, and for example to all poetts, that ſhall write after the date hereof. «© Received of Biſton, for an ould play called Hymens Holliday, newly revived at their houſe, being a play given unto him for my uſe, this 15 Aug. 1633, C. 3. o. o. Received of him for ſome alterations in It, „ 1. o. ©. Meetinge with him at the ould exchange, he gave my wife a payre of gloves, that coſt him at leaſt twenty Millings. 3 | | | Upon a ſecond petition of the players to the High Commiſſion court, wherein they did mee right in my care to purge their plays of all offenſe, my lords Grace of Canterbury beſtowed many words upon mee, and diſcharged mee of any blame, and layd the whole fault of their play called The Magnetick Lady, upon the players. This happened the 24 of Octob. 1633, at Lambeth. In their firſt petition they would have excuſed them- ſelves on mee and the poett.“ 5 « On Saterday the 17th of Novemb. 5, being the Queens birth day, Richard the Thirde was acted by the K. players at St. James, wher the king and queene were preſent, it being the firſt play the queene ſawe ſince her M. ys delivery of the Duke of York. 1633. « On tuſday the igth of November, being the king's birth-day, The Yong Admirall was acted at St. ames by the queen's players, and likt by the K. and ueen. 7. The Kings players ſent mee an ould booke of Fletchers called The Loyal Subject, formerly allowed by Sir George Bucke, 16 Novemb. 1618, which according to their deſire and agreement I did peruſe, and with ſome s This is a miſtake, It ſhould be the 16th of November. She was born Nov. 16, 1609. | | * 5 +; Toformations OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 231 reformations allowed of, the 23 of Nov. 1633, for which they ſent mee according to their promiſe C. 1. o. o. On tuſday night at Saint James, the 26 of No- vemb. 1633, was acted before the King and Queene, The 989 the Shrew. Likt. 1 5 | „ On thurſday night at St. James, the 28 of Novemb. 1533, was acted before the King and Queene, The Tamer Tamd, made by Fletcher. Very well likt. On tuſday night at Whitehall the 10 of Decemb, 1633, was acted before the King and Queen, The Loyal Sulject, mode by Fletcher, and very well likt by the king. FL Monday night the 16 of December, 1633, at Whitehall was acted before the King and Queen, Hy- mens Holliday or Cupids Fegarys, an ould play of Row- leys. Likte. | © On Wenſday night the firſt of January, 1633, Cym- beline was acted at Court by the Kings players. Well likte by the kinge. | „ On Monday night the ſixth of January and the Twelfe Night, was preſented at Denmark-houſe, before the King and Queene, Fletchers paſtorall called The Faithfull Shepheardeſſe, in the clothes the Queene had given Taylor the yeare before of her owne paſtorall. The ſcenes were fitted to the paſtorall, and made, by Mr. Inigo Jones, in the great chamber, 1633. „This morning being the gth of January, 1633, the kinge was pleasd to call mee into his' withdrawinge chamber to the windowe, wher he went over all that I had croſte in Davenants play-booke, and allowing of fairh and /ighr to bee aſſeverations only, and no oathes, markt them ta ſtande, and ſome other few things, but in the greater part allowed of my reformations. This was done upon a complaint of Mr. Endymion Porters in December. “ The kinge is pleasd to take faith, death, flight, for aſſeverations, and no oaths ), to which I doe humbly 5 In the margin the writer adds The firſt ould play ſent mee ta be peruſed by the K. players“ 7 In a ſmall tract of the laſt age, of which I have forgot the title, we are told, that Charles the Second, being reprimanded by one of his biſhops for frequently introducing profane oaths in his diſcourſe, gefended himſelf by ſaying, “ Your To ſwore twice more wa r do,” = ubmit 232 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT ſubmit as my maſters judgment ; but under favour con- ceive them to be oaths, and enter them here, to declare my opinion and ſubmiſſion. „ The 10 of January, 1633, I returned unto Mr. — his play-booke of The Witts, corrected by the nge. | 1 *The kinge would not take the booke at Mr. Por- ters hands; but commanded him to bring it unto mee, which he did, and likewiſe commanded Davenant to come to mee for it, as I believe; otherwiſe he would not have byn ſo civill. „„ *«. The Guardian, a play of Mr. Meſſengers, was ated at court on Sunday the 12 January, 1633, by the Kings players, and well likte. | « The Tale of the Tub was ated on tuſday night at Court, the 14 Janua. 1633, by the Queenes players, and not likte. | | h OS « The Winters Tale was ated on thurſday night at Court, the 16 Janu. 1633, by the K. players, and likt. % The Witis was ated on tuſday night the 28 Janu- _ ary, 1633, at Court, before the Kinge and Queene. Well likt. It had a various fate on the ſtage, and at court, though the kinge commended the language, but diſlikt the plott and characters. « The Night-walkers was acted on thurſday night the 30 Janu. 1633, at Court, before the King and Queen, Likt as a merry play. Made by Fletcher. „The Inns of court gentlemen preſented their maſque . at court, before the kinge and queene, the 2 February, 1633, and performed it very well. Their ſhew through the ſtreets was glorious, and in the nature of a triumph. — Mr. Surveyor Jones invented and made the ſcene ; Mr. Sherley the poett made the proſe and verſe. «© On thurſday night the 6 of Febru, 1633, The Game- fer was acted at Court, made by Sherley, out of a plot of the king's, given him by mee; and well likte. The king ſayd it was the beſt play he had ſeen for ſeven years. 8 In a former page the following entry is found: | « For a play of Fletchers corrected by Sherley, called The Nigb: #alkers, the 21 May, 1633, C. 2. o. o. For the queen's n v»- A - . . "Hae 5 , - 4 3 5 8 . S CC n — — - Pe — — — * ace OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 233 6 On Shrovetuſday night, the 18 of February, 1633, the Kinge dancte his Maſque, accompanied with 11 lords, and attended with 10 pages. It was the nobleſt maſque _ of my time to this day, the beſt poetrye, beſt ſcenes, and the beſt habitts. The kinge and queene were very well pleasd with my ſervice, and the Q was pleasd to tell mee before the king, Pour les habits, elle n'avoit jamais rien veu de ſi brave.“ | « Buſſy d' Amboyſe was playd by the king's players on Eaſter-monday night, at the Cockpitt in court. « The Paſtorall was playd by the king's players on Eaſter-tuſday night, at the Cockpitt in court. « I committed Cromes, a broker in Longe Lane, the 16 of Febru. 1634, to the Marſhalley, for lending a church-robe with the name of I Es us upon it to the play- ers in Saliſbury Court, to preſent a Flamen, a prieſt of the heathens. Upon his petition of ſubmiſſion, and acknowledgment of his faulte, I releasd him, the 17 Febr. 1634. 1 «© The Second part of Arwviragus and Philicia playd at court the 16 Febru. 1635, with great approbation of K. and Queene. « The Silent Woman playd at Court of St. James on thurſday ye 18 Febr. 1635, «© On Wenſday the 23 of Febru. 1635, the Prince d'Amours gave 2 maſque to the Prince EleQor and his brother, in the Middle Temple, wher the Queene was pleaſd to grace the entertaynment by putting of ma- zeſty, to putt on a citizens habitt, and to ſett upon the ſcaffold on the right hande amongſt her ſubjects. «© The queene was attended in the like habitts by the Marques Hamilton, the Counteſs of Denbighe, the Counteſs of Holland, and the Lady Elizabeth Feildinge. Mrs. Baſſe, the law-woman *, leade in this royal citizen and her company. - « The Earle of Holland, the Lord Goringe, Mr. Percy, and Mr. Jermyn, were the men that attended. The Prince Elector ſatt in the midſt, his brother * i.e, the woman who had the care of the hall belonging to the Middle Temple. Robert 234 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT Robert on the right hand of him, and the Prince ; d' Amours on the left. % The Maſque was very well performd in the dances, ſcenes, cloathinge, and muſique, and the Queene was pleasd to tell mee at her going away, that ſhe liked it very well. Henry Lauſe « William Lauſe 5 «« Mr. Corſeilles made the ſcenes, ce Lowes Aftergame®?, played at St. James by the Sa- liſbury Court players, the 24 of Feb. 1635. « The Dukes Miſtres played at St. James the 22 of Feb. 1635. Made by Sherley. 5 „ The ſame day at Whitehall J acquainted king : made the muſique. Charles, my maſter, with the danger of Mr. Hunts fick- neſs, and moved his Majeſty, in caſe he dyed, that he would bee pleasd to give mee leave to commend a fitt man ta ſucceede him in his place of Yeoman of the Revells. The kinge tould mee, that till then he knew not that Will Hunt held a place in the Revells. To my re- al he was pleasd to give mee this anſwer. Well, ſays the king, I will not diſpoſe of it, or, it ſhall not be diſpoſed of, till I heare you. 1p/{imis verbis. hich I enter here as full of grace, and for my better remembrance, finſe my maſter's cuſtom affords not /0 many words, nor fo fignificant. | « The 28 Feb. The Knight of the Burning Peſtle playd by the Q. men at St. James. '* The firſt and ſecond part of Arviragus and Phili- cia were acted at the Cockpitt, [Whitehall] before the Kinge and Queene, the Prince, and Prince Elector, the 18 and 19 Aprill, 1636, being monday and tuſday in Eaſter weeke. | . 5 „ At the increaſe of the plague to 4 within the citty and 54 in all.— This day the 12 May, 1636, I received a warant from my lord Chamberlin for the ſuppreſſing of playes and ſhews, and at the ſame time delivered my. ſeverall warants to George Wilſon for the four com- panys of players, to be ſerved upon them. 9 The Proxy, or Love's Aftergame, was produced at the theatre at Saliſbury Court, November 24, 1634. | N « Ay OF THE ENGLISH STAGE, 255 s* At Hampton Court, 1636, «« The firſt part of Arviragus, Monday Afternoon, 26 Decemb. „ «© The ſecond part of Arviragus, tuſday 27 Decemb. Love and Honour, on New-years night, ſonday. «© The Elder Brother, on thurſday the 5 Janua. «© The Kinge and no Kinge, on tuſday ye 10 Janua. «© The Royal Slave, on thurſday the 12 of Janu. —Ox- ford play, written by Cartwright, The king gave him forty pounds. | : Kollo, the 24 Janu. «© Julius Cæſar, at St. James, the 31 Janu. 1636. «© Cupides Revenge, at St. James, by Beeſton's boyes, the 7 Febru, | | « 4 Wife for a monthe, by the K. players, at St, James, the g Febru. | | « Wit without money, by the B. boyes, at St. James, the 14 Feb. | | «© The Governor, by the K. players, at St. James, the 17 Febru. 1636. 8 «© Philaſter, by the K. players, at St. James, ſhrov- tuſday, the 21 Febru. 1636, «« On thurſday morning the 23 of February the bill of the plague made the number at forty foure, upon which decreaſe the king gave the players their liberty, and they began the 24 February 1636. [1636-7.] « The plague encreaſinge, the players laye till untill the 2 of October, when they had leave to play. c Mr. Beeſton was commanded to 3 a company of boyes, and began to play at the Cockpitt with them the ſame day. | «« 1 diſpoſed of Perkins, Sumner, Sherlock and Tur- ner, to Salſbury Court, and joynd them with the beſt of that company, Received of Mr. Lowens for my paines about Meflinger's play called The King and the Subject, 2 June, 1038, „„ On: | 0. | | «© The name of The King and the Subject is alterd, and I allowd the play to bee acted, the reformations moſt ſtrictly obſerved, and not otherwiſe, the 5th of june, 1638, MR bh . | 40 Ar — —— — —. 236 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT «© At Greenwich the 4 of June, Mr. W. Murray gave mee power from the king to allowe of the play, and tould me that hee would warant it. ; | « Monys? Wee'le rayſe ſupplies what ways we pleaſe, | ce And force you to ſubſcribe to blanks, in which « We'le mul& you as wee ſhall thinke fitt. The Cæſars 5 «© In Rome were wiſe, acknowledginge no lawes «© But what their {words did ratifye, the wives «© And daughters of the ſenators bowinge to «© Their wils, as deities,” &c. „ This is a peece taken out of Phillip Meflingers play, called The King and the Subject, and enterd here for ever to bee rememberd by my ſon and thoſe that caſt their eyes on it, in honour of Kinge Charles, my maſter, who, readinge over the play at Newmarket, ſet his marke upon the place with his own hande, and in thes words : & This is too inſolent, and to bee changed. e Note, that the poett makes it the ſpeech of a king, Don Pedro king of Spayne, and ſpoken to his ſub- Jes. ö 8 Th On thurſday the 9 of Aprill, 1640, my Lord Chamberlen beſtow'd a play on the Kinge and Queene, call*'d Cleodora, Queene of Arragon, made by my cozen | Abington. It was performd by my lords ſervants out of his owne family, and his charge in the cloathes and ſceanes, which were very riche and curious. In the hall at Whitehall. «© The king and queene commended the generall entertaynment, as very well acted, and well ſett out. « It was acted the ſecond tyme in the ſame place be- fore the king and queene. | e At Eaſter 1640, the Princes company went to the Fortune, and the Fortune company to the Red Bull. «© On Monday the 4 May, 1640, William Beeſton was taken by a meſſenger, and committed to the Mar- fhalſey, by my Lord Chamberlens warant, for playinge 2 playe without licenſe. The ſame day Ny "a OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 237 the Cockpitt was commanded by my Lord Chamberlens warant to forbeare playinge, for playinge when they were forbidden by mee, and for other diſobedience, and laye ſtill monday, tuſday, and wenſday. On thurſday at my Lord Chamberlens entreaty I gave them their liberty, and upon their petition of ſubmiſſion ſubſcribed by the players, I reſtored them to their liberty on thurſday. | The play I cald for, and, forbiddinge the play- Inge of it, keepe the booke, becaule it had relation to the paſſages of the K.s journey into the Northe, and was complaynd of by his M. ve to mee, with commande to puniſhe the offenders. | «© On Twelfe Night, 1641, the prince had a play called The Scornful Lady, at the Cockpitt, but the kinge and queene were not there; and it was the only play acted at courte in the whole Chriſtmas, 1642. June.] Received of Mr. Kirke, for a new play which I burnte for the ribaldry and offenſe that was in i, 2-01-06 Received of Mr. Kirke for another new play called The Iriſpe Rebellion, the 8 June, 1642, C. 2. O. o. «© Here ended my allowance of plaies, for the war began in Aug. 1642. | | Sir William D*Avenant, we have already ſeen “, about ſixteen months after the death of Ben Jonſon, obtained from his majeſty (Dec. 13, 1638) a grant of an annuity of one hundred pounds per ann. which he enjoyed as poet laureat till his death. In thefollowing year (March 26, 1639) a patent paſſed the great ſeal authorizing him to erect a playhouie, which was then intended to have been built behind The Three Kings Ordinary in Fleet-ſtreet: but this ſcheme was not carried into execution. I find from a Manuſcript in the Lord Chamberlain's Office, that after the death of Chriſtopher Beeſton, Sir W. D'Avenant was appointed by the Lord Chamberlain, (June 27, 1639,) „Governor of the King and Queens 1 2 acting at the Cockpit in Drury Lane, during the le Vol. I. P. I. p. 401, n. 6. 5 which * nat z.n— f CC eee... eee eee \ 233 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT which Mrs. Elizabeth Beeſton, alias Hutcheſon, hath or doth hold in the ſaid houſe:“ and I ſuppoſe he appointed her ſon Mr. William Beefton his deputy, for from Sir Henry Herbert's office-book, he appears for a ſhort time to have had the management of that theatre. In the latter end of the year 1659, ſome months before the Reſtoration of K. Charles II. the theatres, which had been ſuppreſſed during the uſurpation, began to revive, and ſeveral plays were performed at the Red Bull in St. John's-ſtreet, in that and the following year, before the return of the king. In June 1660, three companies ſeem to have been formed; that already mentioned; one under Mr. William Beeſton in Saliſbury Court, and one at the Cockpit in Drury Lane under Mr. Rhodes, Who had been wardrobe-keeper at the theatre in Blackfriars be- fore the breaking out of the Civil Wars. Sir Henry Herbert, who ſtill retained his office of Maſter of the Revels, endeavoured to obtain from theſe companies the ſame emoluments which he had formerly derived from the exhibition of plays; but after a long ſtruggle, and after having brought feveral actions at law againſt Sir William D' Avenant, Mr. Betterton, Mr: Mohun, and others, he was obliged to relinquiſh his claims, and his office ceaſed to be attended with either authority or profit. It received its death's wound from a grant from King Charles Il, under the privy ſignet, Auguſt 21, 1660, authorizing Mr. Thomas Killigrew, one of the grooms of his Ma- jeſty's bedchamber, and Sir William D* Avenant, to ere& two new playhouſes and two new companies, of which they were to have the regulation; and prohibiting any other theatrical repreſentation in London, Weſtminſter, or the ſuburbs, but thoſe exhibited by the ſaid two com- panies. 8 Do Among the papers of Sir Henry Herbert ſeveral are preſerved relative to his diſputed claim, ſome of which I ſhall here inſert in their order, as containing ſome curious and hitherto unknown particulars relative to the ſtage at this time, and alſo as illuſtrative of its hiſtory at a precedent period. | Js For 1 OF THE ENGLISH STAGE, 239 - I. | c For Mr. William Beeſton. 4 Whereas the allowance of plays, the ordering of play- ers and playmakers, and the permiſſion for erecting of playhouſes, hath, time out of minde whereof the memory of man is not to the contrary, belonged to the Maſter of his Ma. ties office of the Revells; And whereas Mr. William Beeſton hath deſtred authority and lycence from mee to continue the houſe called Saliſbury Court playhoaſe in a playhouſe, which was formerly built and erected into a Playhouſe by the permiſſion and lycence of the Maſter of the Revells. «© 'Theſe are therefore by virtue of a grant under the greate ſeal of England, and of the conſtant praQtice thereof, to continue and conſtitute the ſaid houſe called Saliſbury Court playhouſe into a playhouſe, and to authorize and lycence the ſaid Mr. Beeſton to ſett, lett, or uſe 1t for a playhouſe, wherein comedies, tragedies, tragicomedies, paſtoralls aud interludes, may be acted. Provided that noe perſons be admitted to act in the ſaid playhouſe but ſuch as ſhall be allowed by the Maſter of his Ma. ties office of the Revells. Given under my hand and ſeale at the office of the Revells, this [This paper appears to be only a copy, and is not dated nor ſigned; ending as above. I believe, it was written in June 1660. ] | : II. 5 To the kings moſt excellent Majeſty, 4c The humble petition of John Rogers, 4e Moſt humbly ſheweth, | % That your petitioner at the beginning of the late ealamitys loft thereby his whole eſtate, and during the warr ſuſteyned much detriment and impriſonment, and loſt his limbs or the uſe thereof; who ſerved his Excel- lency the now Lord General, both in England and Scot- land, and performed good and faithtull ſervice ; in confideration 2410 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT conſideration whereof and by being ſoe much decreapitt as not to act any more in the wars, his Excellency was favourably pleaſed, for your petitioners future ſubſiſtance without being further burthenſome to this kingdom, or to your Majeſty for a penſion, to grant him a tollera- tion to ere& a playhouſe or to have a ſhare out of them already tollerated, your petitioner thereby undertaKing to ſuppreſs all riots, tumults, or moleſtations that may thereby ariſe. And for that the ſaid graunt remains imperte& unleſs corroborated by your majeſty, «© He therefore humbly implores your moſt ſacred Majeſty, in tender compaſiion, out of your kingly clemency to confirm unto him a ſhare out of the profitts of the ſaid playhouſes, or ſuch allowance by them to be given as formerly they uſed to alow to perſons for to keep the peace of the ſame, that he may with his wife and family be thereby preſerved and re- Hheved in his maimed aged years; and he ſhall daily pray.“ % At the Court at Whitehall, the 7th of Auguſt, 1660. « His Majeſtyis gracioully pleaſed to refer this petition to Sir Henry Herbert, Maſter of his Majeſties Revells, to take ſuch order therein, as ſhall be agreable to equity, without further troubling his majeſty, (A true Copye.) 7 J. HOLLIS,” 4e Auguſt 20, 1660. From the office of the Revells. cc In obedience to his M. ties command [ have taken the matter of the Petitioners requeſt into conſideration, and doe thereuppon conceive it very reaſonable that the petitioner ſhould have the ſame allowance weekly from you and every of you, for himſelfe and his men *, for guarding your playhouſes from all moleſtations and It appears from another paper that his men were ſoldiers. . | | injuries, Oo eee, — . — Ll 88 a - = NEED eee er ws OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 241 injuries, which you formerly did of doe allow or pay to other perſons for the ſame or ſuch like ſervicesz and that it be duly and truely paid him without denial. And the rather for that the Kings moſt excellent Ma.tie upon the Lord General Monks recommendation, and the conſideration of the Petitioners loſſes and ſufferings, hath thought fitt to commiſſerate the Pe- titioner John Rogers his ſaid condition, and to refer unto me the relief of the ſaid petitioner. Given at his Ma. ties oſſice of the Revells, under my hand and the ſeale of the ſaid office, the twentieth day of Auguſt, in the twelve yeare of his Ma. ties raigne. 6 To the Actors at the Playhouſes called the Red Bull, Cockpit, and theatre in Saliſbury Court, and to every of them, in and about the citties of London and Weſtminſter,?? III. « To the kings moſt excellent Majeſtie. «© The humble petition of Sir Henry Herbert, Knight, Maſter of your Majeſties office of the Revels. 4 Sheweth, « That whereas your Petitioner by vertue of ſeverall Grants under the great ſeale of England hath executed the ſaid office, as Maſter of the Revells, for about 40 yeares, in the times of King James, and of King Charles, both of bleſſed memory, with exception only to the time of the late horrid rebellion, | « And whereas the ordering of playes and playmakers and the permiſſion for erecting of playhouſes are pecu- liar branches of the ſaid office, and in the conſtant practice thereof by your petitioners predeceſſors in the ſaid office and himſelfe, with exception only as before except- ed, and authorized by grante under the ſaid greate ſeale of England; and that no perſon or perſons have Vor. I. Part Il, "Rx erected 242 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT _ erected any playhouſes, or rayſed any company of players, without licence from your petitioners ſaid pre- deceſſors or from your petitioner, but Sir William D' Avenant, Knight, who obtained leave of Oliver and Richard Cromwell to vent his operas, at a time when your petitioner owned not their authority. And whereas your Majeſty hath lately ſigni fied your leaſure by warrant to Sir Jeffery Palmer, Knight and ar. your Majeſties Attorney General, for the drawing of a grante for your Majeſties ſignature to paſs the greate ſeale, thereby to enable and empower Mr. Thomas Killegrew and the ſaid Sir William D* Avenant to erect two new playhouſes in London, Weſtminſter, or the ſubburbs thereof, and to make choice of two companies of players to bee under theire ſole regulation, and that noe other players ſhall be authorized to play in London, Weſtminſter, or the ſubburbs thereof, but ſuch as the ſaid Mr. Killegrew and Sir William D'Avenant ſhall allow of. , | | % And whereas your petitioner hath been repreſented to your Ma.ty as a perſon conſenting unto the ſaid powers expreſſed in the ſaid warrant, Your petitioner utterly denies the leaſt conſent or fore-knowledge thereof, but looks upon it as an unjuſt ſurprize, and deſtructive to the power granted under the ſaid greate ſeale to your petitioner, and to the conſtant practice of the ſaid office, and exerciſed in the office ever fince players were admitted by authority to act playes, and cannot legally be done as your petitioner is adviied; and it may be of very ill conſequence, as your petitioner is adviſed, by a new grante to take away and cut of a branch of your ancient powers, granted to the ſaid office under the great ſeale. | | « Your petitioner therefore humbly praies that your Ma. ty would be juſtly as graciouſly pleaſed to revoke the faid warrant from your Ma. ties ſaid Attorney Generall, or to refer the. premiſes to the conſideration of your Ma. ties ſaid Attorney Generall, to certify your Ma. ty of the truth. of them, and his judgement. on the whole : ; matters OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 243 matters in queſtion betwixt the ſaid Mr. Killegrew, Sir William D'Avenant, and your petitioner, in relation to the legality and conſequence of their demands and your petitioners rights. N « And your petitioner ſhall ever pray.“ «© At the Court at Whitehall, 4 Auguſt, 1660, His Ma. tie is pleaſed to refer this petition to Sir Jeffery Palmer, Knight and Baronet, his Ma. ties Attor- ney Generall ; who haveing called before him all perſons concerned, and examined the petitioners right, 1s to cer- tify what he finds to be the true ſtate of the matters in difference, together with his opinion thereupon. And then his M. tie will declare his further pleaſure. | | EDW. NICHOLAS,” ce May it pleaſe your moſt excellent Ma. ty. « Although I have heard the parties concerned in this petition ſeverally and apart, yet in reſpe& Mr. Killigrew and Sir William D'Avenant, having notice of a time ap- pointed to heare all parties together, did not come, I have forborne to proceed further; having alſo receaved an intimation, by letter from Sir William D*Avenant, that I was freed from further hearing this matter. *© 14 Sept. 1660, J. PALMER.” IV. «© From Mr. Moſely concerning the playes, &c. Auguſt 30, 1660 *. cz Gov; | t J have beene very much ſolicited by the gentlemen actors of the Red Bull for a note under my hand to cer- tifie unto your worſhp. what agreement I had made with Mr. Rhodes of the Cockpitt playhouſe. Truly, Sir, I am fo farr from any agreement with him, that I never ſo much as treated with him, nor with any from him, ne1- 3 is the indorſement, written by Sir Henry Herbert's own R 2 | ther 244 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT 5 red. And the ſame alſo I doe certify concerning the Whitefryers playhouſe * and players, Sir, this is all IJ have to trouble you withall att preſent, and therefore I ſhall take the boldneſſe to remaine, | Your Worſh.* moſt humble Servant, - a HUMPHREY MOSEL. Auguſt 30. 60% | V. | | On the 21ſt of Auguſt, 1660, the following grant, againſt which Sir Henry Herbert had petitioned to be heard, paſſed the privy ſignet. «« Charles the Second by the grace of God, of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, King, defender of the fayth, &c. to all to. whome theſe preſents ſhall come greeting. Whereas wee are given to underſtand that certain perſons in and about our citty of London, or the ſuburbs thereof, doe frequently aſſemble for the perform- ing and acting of playes and enterludes for rewards, to which divers of our ſubjects doe for their entertainment reſort ; which ſaid playes, as we are informed, doe con- raine much matter of prophanation and ſcurrility, ſoe that ſuch kind of entertainments, which, if well managed, might ſerve as morall inſtructions in humane life, as the ſame are now uſed, doe for the moſt part tende to the debauchinge of the manners of ſuch as are preſent at them, and are very ſcandalous and offenſive to all pious and well diſpoſed perſons. We, takeing the premiſes into our princely conſideration, yett not holding it ne- ceſlary totally to ſuppreſſe the uſe of theaters, becauſe wee are aſſured, that, if the evill and ſcandall in the playes that now are or haue bin ated were taken away, * i. e. the playhouſe in Saliſbury Court. 2 The date inſerted by Sir Henry Herbert. the i L , " / OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 245 the ſame might ſerue as innocent and harmleſſe diuer- tiſement for many of our ſubjects; and haneing expe- rience of the art and ſkill of our truſty and well beloued Thomas as. $4 eſq. one of the Groomes of our Bed- | | chamber, and of Sir William Dauenant, knight, for the purpoſes hereafter mentioned, doe hereby giue and 1 grante vnto the ſaid Thomas Killegrew and Sir William Dauenant full power and authority to erect two com- panies of players, conſiſtinge reſpectively of ſuch per- ſons as they ſhall chuſe and appoint, and to purchaſe, builde and erect, or hire at their charge, as they ſhall thinke fitt, two houſes or theaters, with all convenient roomes and other neceſſaries thereunto appertaining, for the repreſentation of tragydies, comedyes, playes, operas, and all other entertainments of that nature, in convenient places: and likewiſe to ſettle and eſtabliſh ſuch payments to be paid by thoſe that ſhall reſort to ſee the {aid repreſentations performed, as either haue bin accuſtomely giuen and taken in the like kind, or as ſhall be reaſonable in regard of the great expences of sc EN ES, / muſick, and ſuch new decorations as haue not bin for- merly uſed ; with further power to make ſuch allowances out of that which they ſhall ſo receiue, to the actors, and other perſons employed in the ſaid repreſentations in both houſes reſpectively, as they ſhall think fitt : the ſaid companies to be under the gouernement and authority of them the ſaid Thomas Killigrew and Sir William Dauenant. And in regard of the extraordinary licen- tiouſneſs that hath been lately ufed in things of this nature, our pleaſure 1s, that there ſhall be noe more places of repreſentations, nor companies of actors of playes, or operas by recitative, muſick, or repreſenta- tions by danceing and ſcenes, or any other entertain- ments on the ſtage, in our citties of London and Weſt- minſter, or in the liberties of them, then the two to be now erected by vertue of this authority, Nevertheleſs wee doe hereby by our authority royal ſtrictly enjoine 1 the ſaid Thomas Killegrew and Sir William Dauenant, 8 that they doe not at any hereafter cauſe to be acted * 3 | or = —— RUS —ͤ—ę6-ͤ — ——— —-—- 246 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT or repreſented any play, enterlude, or opera, containing any matter of prophanation, ſcurrility or obſcenity: And wee doe further hereby authorize and command them the ſaid Thomas Killegrew and Sir William Dauenant to peruſe all playes that haue been formerly written, and to expunge all prophaneſſe and ſcurrility from the ſame, before they be repreſented or acted. And this our grante and authority made to the ſaid Thomas Killegrew and Sir William Dauenant, ſhall be effectuall and remaine in full force and vertue, notwithſtanding any former order or direction by us given, for the ſup- preſſing of 154.45 ng and playes, or any other enter- tainments of the ſtage, Given, &c. Auguſt 21, 1660.” VI. The following paper is indorſed by Sir Henry Herbert: „ Warrant ſent to Rhodes, and brought backe by him the 10 of Octob. 60, with this anſwer That the Kinge did authorize him. «© Whereas by vertue of a grante under the great ſeale of N playes, players and playmakers, and the permiſſion for erecting of playhouſes, have been allowed, ordered and permitted by the Maſters of his Maties office of the Revells, my predeceſſors ſucceſſively, time out of minde, whereof the memory of man is not to the con- trary, and by mee for almoſt forty yeares, with exception only to the late times: Theſe are therefore in his Maties name to require you to attend mee concerning your playhouſe called the ym vr playhouſe in Drury J. ane, and to bring with ou ſuch authority as you have for erecting of the ſaid . houſe into a playhouſe, at your perill. Given at - — pd office of the Revells the 8th day of Octob. 1 * | a HENRY HERBERT.“ « To Mr. John Rhodes at the Cockpitt 8 playhouſe in Drury Lane.“ OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 247 VIE Copy of the Warrant ſent to the actors at the Cockpitt in Drury Lane by Tom Browne, the 13 Octob. 60. «« Whereas ſeverall complaints have been made againſt you to the Kings moſt excellent Majeſty by Mr. Kille- grew and Sir William D' Avenant, concerning the un- uſuall and unreaſonable rates taken at your playhouſe- doores, of the reſpeCtive perſons of quality, that defire to refreſh or improve themſelves by the ſight of your morrall entertainments which were conſtituted for profitt and de- light. And the ſaid complaints made uſe of by the ſaid r. Killegrew and Sir William Davenant as part of their ſuggeſtions for their pretended power, and for your late reſtrainte, And whereas complaints have been made thereof formerly to mee, wherewith you were acquainted, as innovations and exactions not allowed by mee; and that the like complaints are now made, that you doe practice the ſaid exactions in takeing of exceſſive and unaccuſtom- ed rates uppon the reſtitution of you to your liberty. „ Thele are therefore in his Ma. ties name to require you and every of you to take from the perſons of qualitie and others as daily frequent your play-houſe, ſuch uſuall and accuſtomed rates only as were formerly taken at the Blackfryers by the late company of actors there, and noe more nor otherwiſc, for every new or old play that ſhall be allowed you by the Maſter of the Revells to be acted in the ſaid playhouſe or any other playhouſe, And you are hereby further required to bringe or ſende to me all ſuch old plaies as you doe intend to act at your ſaid playhouſe, that they may be reformed of prophanes and ribaldry, at your perill, Given at the office of the Revells3, | HENGY HERBERT.“ TO Mr. Michael Mohun, and the reſt of the actors of the Cockpitt playhouſe in Drury Lane. The 13th of October, 1660.“ 3 The words in Italick characters were added by Sir Henry Her- bert's own hand. 248 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT VIII. « To the Kings moſt excellent Majeſtie. 4 The bhamble Petition of Michael Mohun, Robert Shat- terel, Charles Hart, Nich. Burt, Wm. Cartwright, Walter Clun, and William Winterſell. 7 Humbly ſheweth, “ That yourMajeſties humble petitioners, having been ſuppreſt by a warrant from your Majeſtie, Sir Henry Herbert informed us it was Mr. Killegrew had cauſed it, and if wee would give him ſoe much a weeke, he would prote& them againſt Mr. Killegrew and all powers. 'The complaint againſt us was, ſcandalous plays, raiſing the price, and acknowledging noe authority ; all which end- ed in ſve much per weeke to him; for which wee had leave to play and promiſe of his protection: the which your Majeſty knows he was not able to performe, ſince Mr. Killegrew, having your Majeſties former grante, ſup- preſt us, untill wee had by covenant obliged ourſelves to act with wo z uE N, a new theatre, and habitts accord- ing to our sc EANES. And according to your Majeſties approbation, from all the companies we made election of one company; and ſo farre Sir Henry Herbert hath bene from protecting us, that he hath been a continual diſtur- bance unto us, who were [united] by your Majeſties commande under Mr. Killegrew as Maſter of your Ma- jeſties Comedians; and wee have annext unto our peti- tion the date of the warrant by which we were ſuppreſt, and for a protection againſt that warrant he forced from us ſoe much a weeke. And if your majeſtie be graci- ouſly pleaſed ta caſt your eye upon the date of the war- rant hereto annext, your majeſtie ſhall find the date to our contract ſucceeded; wherein he hath broke the covenants, and not your petitioners, haveing abuſed your majeſtie in giveing an ill character of your petition- ers, only to force a ſum from theire poore endeavours; Who never did nor ſhall refuſe him all the reſeits and juſt 5 — ¶ — — - - — —o * | OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 249 Juſt profitts that belong to his place ; hee having now obtained leave to arreſt us, only to give trouble and vex- ation to your petitioners, hopeing by that meanes ta force a ſumme of money illegally from us. | «© The premiſes conſidered, your petitioners hum- bly beſeech your majeſtie to be gratiouſly pleaſed to ſignify your royal pleaſure to the Lord Chamberlaine, that your petitioners may not bee moleſted in their calling. And your petitioners in duty bound ſhall pray, &c. | 8 5 4 Nich. Burt. | «© Robt. Shatterel 4,”? William Winterſhall. | | Charles Hart.” Mr. Thomas Betterton, having been a great admirer of Shakſpeare, and having taken the trouble in the be- ginning of this century, when he was above ſeventy years of age, of travelling to Stratford-upon- Avon to collect materials for Mr. Rowe's life of our author, is entitled to particular notice from an editor of his works. Very inaccurate accounts of this actor have been given in the Biographia Britannica and ſeveral other books, It is obſervable that biographical writers often give the world long diſſertations concerning facts and dates, when the fact conteſted might at once be aſcertained by viſiting a neighbouring pariſn- church: and this has been particu- larlythe caſe of Mr. Betterton. He was the ſon of Matthew Betterton (under- cook to King Charles the Firſt) and was | baptized, as I learn from the regiſter of St. Margaret's pariſh, Auguſt 11, 1635. He could not have appeared on the ſtage in 1656, as has been aſſerted, no theatre being then allowed. His firſt appearance was at the Cockpit, in Drury Lane, in Mr. Rhodes's company, who played chere by a licenſe in the year 1659, when Better- P + Michael Mohun, William Cartwright, and Walter Clun did not 8s | | ton — — — Ee > 1 en ee een owe 250 _ HISTORICAL ACCOUNT ton was twenty-four years of age. He married Mrs. Mary Saunderſon, an actreſs, who had been bred by Sir William D*Avenant, ſome time in the year 1663, as appears by the Dramatis Perſonæ of The Slighted Maid, printed in that year-. From a paper now before me which Sir Henry Herbert has entitled a Breviat of matters to be proved on the trial of an action brought by him againſt Mr. Betterton in 1662, I find that he con- tinued to act at the Cockpit till November 1660, when he and ſeveral other performers entered into articles with Sir William D'Avenant; in conſequence of which they began in that month to play at the theatre in Saliſ- bury Court, from whence after ſome time, I believe, they returned to the Cockpit, and afterwards removed to a new theatre in Portugal-Row near Lincoln's Inn Fields. Theſe Articles were as follows: ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT tripartite, in- dented, made, and agreed upon this fifth day of Novem- ber in the twelfth yeere of the reigne of our ſovereigne Lord king Charles the Second, Annoque Domini 1660, between Sir Wm. Davenant of London, Kt. of the firſt art, and Thomas Batterton, Thomas Sheppey, Robert Noakes, James Noakes, Thomas Lovell, John Moſeley, Cave Underhill, Robert Turner, and Thomas Lilleſton, of the ſecond part; and Henry Harris of the citty of London, painter, of the third part, as followeth. S This celebrated actor continued on the ſtage fifty years, and died inteſtate in April 1710. No perſon appears to have adminiſtered to him. Such was his extreme modeſty, that not long before his death cc he confeſſed that he was yet learning to be an actor.“ His wife ſurvived him two years. By her laſt will, which was made, March 10, 1711-12, and proved in the following month, ſhe be- queathed to Mrs. Mary Head, her ſiſtet, and to two other perſons, 20l. apiece, ©* to be paid out of the arrears of the penſion which her Majeſty had been graciouſly pleaſed to grant her;“ to Mrs. Anne Betterton, Mr. Wilks, Mr. Dent, Mr. Dogget, and Mrs. Brace- girdle, twenty ſhillings each for rings, and to her reſiduary legatee Mrs. Frances Williamſon, the wife of —— Williamſon, „ her dearly - beloved huſband's picture.“ | Mrs. Mary Head muſt have been Mr, Betterton's ſiſter; for Mrs, Betterton's own name was Mary. Fo Imprimis, OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 2351 Imprimis, the ſaid Sir William Davenant doth for himſelf, his executors, adminiſtrators and aſſigns, cove- nant, promiſe, grant, and agree, to and with the ſaid Thomas Batterton, Thomas Sheppey, Robert Noakes, James Noakes, Thomas Lovell, John Moſeley, Cave Underhill, Robert Turner, and Thomas L.illeſton, that he the ſaid Sir William Davenant by vertue of the authority to him derived for that purpoſe does hereby conſtitute, ordeine and erect them the ſaid Thomas Batterton, Thomas Sheppey, Robert Noakes, James Noakes, Thomas Lovell, John Moſeley, Cave Under- hill, Robert Turner, and Thomas Lilleſton and their aſſociates, to bee a company, publiquely to act all manner of tragedies, comedies, and playes whatſoever, in any theatre or playhouſe erected in London or Weſtminſter or the ſuburbs thereof, and to take the uſual rates for the ſame, to the uſes hereafter expreſt, untill the ſaid Sir William Davenant ſhall provide a newe theatre with scEN Es. : | Item, it is agreed by and between all the ſaid parties to theſe preſents, that the ſaid company (untill the ſaid theatre bee provided by the ſaid Sir William Davenant) be authorized by him to act tragedies, comedies, and playes in the playhouſe called Saliſbury Court play- houſe, or any other houſe, upon the conditions only here- after following, vizt. . | That the generall receipte of money of the ſaid play- houſe ſhall (after the houſe-rent, hirelings“, and all other accuſtomary and neceſſary expences in that kind be defrayed) bee divided into fowerteene proportions or ſhares, whereof the ſaid Sir William Davenant ſhall have foure full proportions or ſhares to his own uſe, and the reſt to the uſe of the ſaid companie. That dureinge the time of playing in the ſaid play- houſe, (untill the aforeſaid theatre bee provided by the ſaid Sir Wm. Davenant,) the ſaid Sir Wm. Davenant * i. e. men hired occaſionally by the night: in modern language, ſupernumeraries. ſhall 252 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT ſhall depute the ſaid Thomas Batterton, James Noakes, and Thomas Sheppey, or any one of them particularly, for him and on his behalfe, to receive his proportion of thoſe ſhares and to ſurvey the accompte conduceinge thereunto, and to pay the ſaid proportions every night to him the ſaid Sir Wm. Davenant or his aſſignes, which they doe hereby covenant to pay accordingly, N That the ſaid Thomas Batterton, Thomas Sheppey, s and the reſt of the ſaid company ſhall admit ſuch a con- | ſort of muſiciens into the ſaid playhouſe for their neceſ- ſary uſe, as the ſaid Sir William ſhall nominate and provide, duringe their playinge in the ſaid playhouſe, not exceedinge the rate of 3os. the day, to bee defrayed out of the generall expences of the houſe before the ſaid fowerteene ſhares bee devided. | | That the ſaid Thomas Batterton, Thomas Sheppey, and the reſt of the ſaid companie ſoe authorized to play in the playhouſe in Saliſbury Court or elſewhere, as aforeſaid, thall at one weeks warninge given by the ſaid Sir Wm. Davenant, his heires or aſſignes, diſſolve and conclude their playeing at the houſe and place aforeſaid, or at any other houſe where they ſhall play, and ſhall remove and joyne with the ſaid Henry Harris, and with other men and women provided or to bee provided by the ſaid Sir Wm, Davenant, to performe ſuch tragedies, comedies, playes, and repreſentations in that theatre to be provided by him the ſaid Sir William as afore- ſaid, Item, It is agreed by and betweene all the ſaid parties to theſe preſents in manner and form followinge, vizt. That when the ſaid companie, .together with the ſaid Henry Harris, are joyned with the men and women to be provided by the ſaid Sir William Davenant to act and performe in the ſaid theatre to bee provided by the ſaid Sir Wm. Davenant, that the generall receipte of the ſaid theatre (the generall expence firſt beinge deduc- ted) ſhall bee devided into fifteene ſhares or proportions, whereof two ſhares or proportions ſhall bee paid to the ſaid Sir Wm, Davenant, his executors, adminiſtrators, or | aflignes, q ee U —²˙N. ˙mm ̃;m'e! EOS — — OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 253 aſſignes, towards the houſe- rent, buildinge, ſcaffoldinge, and makeing of frames for sCzNnEes, and one other ſhare or proportion ſhall likewiſe bee paid to the ſaid Sir William, his executors, adminiſtrators and aſſignes, for proviſion of habitts, properties, and scENEs, for a ſup- plement of the ſaid theatre. That the other twelve ſhares (after all expences of men hirelinges and other cuſtomary expences deducted) ſhall bee devided into ſeaven and five thares or propor- tions, whereof the ſaid Sir Mm. D' Avenant, his executors, adminiſtrators, or aſſigns, ſhall have ſeaven ſhares or proportions, to mainteine all the women that are to performe or repreſent womens parts in the aforeſaid tragedies, comedies, playes, or repreſentations; and in conſideration of erectinge and eſtabliſhinge them to bee a companie, and his the ſaid Sir Wms. paines and expences to that purpoſe for many yeeres. And the other five of the ſaid ſhares or proportions is to bee devided amongſt the reſt of the perſons parties] to theis preſents, whereof the ſaid Henry Harris 1s to have an equal ſhare with the greateſt proportion in the ſaid five ſhares or proportions. | That the generall receipte of the ſaid theatre (from and after ſuch time as the ſaid Companie have performed their playeinge in Saliſbury Court, or in any other play- | houſe, according to and noe longer than the tyme allow- ed by him the ſaid William as aforeſaid) ſhall bee by ballatine, or tickets ſealed for all doores and boxes. That Sir Wm. Davenant, his executors, adminiſtra- tors or aſſignes, ſhall at the generall chardge of the whole receipte provide three perſons to receive money for the ſaid tickets, in a roome adjoyning to the ſaid theatre; and that the actors in the ſaid theatre, nowe parties to . theſe preſents, who are concerned in the ſaid five ſhares or proportions, ſhall dayly or weekely appoint two or three of themſelves, or the men hirelings deputed by them, to fit with the aforeſaid three perſons appointed by the ſaid Sir William, that they may ſurvey or give an accompt of the money received for the ſaid tickets: | That D 254 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT That the ſaid ſeaven ſhares ſhall bee paid nightly by the ſaid three perſons by the ſaid Sir Wm. deputed, or by anie of them, to him the ſaid Sir Wm, his executors, adminiſtrators, or aſſignes. : | That the ſaid Sir William Davenant ſhall appoint half the number of the door-keepers neceſſary tor. the receipt of the ſaid tickets for doores and boxes, the wardrobe-keeper, barber, and all other neceſſary per- | ſons as hee the ſaid Sir Wm. ſhall think fitt, and their | ſallary to bee defrayed at the publique chardge, | That when any ſharer amongſt the actors of the aforeſaid ſhares, and parties to theſe preſents, ſhall dye, that then the ſaid Sir Wm. Davenant, his executors, adminiſtrators or aflignes, ſhall have the denomination and appointment of the ſucceſſor and ſucceſſors. And likewiſe that the wages of the men hirelings ſhall be . appointed and eſtabliſned by the ſaid Sir Wm. Dave- nant, his executors, adminiſtrators, or aſſignes. That the ſaid Sir Wm. Davenant, his executors, adminiſtrators, or aſſignes, ſhall not bee obliged out of the ſhares or proportions allowed to him for the ſupplye- inge of cloathes, habitts, and ſcenes, to provide eyther hatts, feathers, gloves, ribbons, ſworde-belts, bands, ſtockings, or ſhoes, for any of the men actors aforeſaid, unles it be a propertie. *; That a private boxe bee provided and eſtabliſhed for the uſe of Thomas Killigrew, Eſq. one of the groomes of his Ma. ties bedchamber, ſufficient to conteine ſixe perſons, into which the {aid Mr. Killigrew, and ſuch as he ſhall appoint, ſhall have liberty to enter without any ' fallary or pay for their entrance into ſuch a place of the ſaid theatre as the ſaid Sir Wm. Davenant, his heires, executors, adminiſtrators, or aſſignes, ſhall appoint. | HAS | That the ſaid Thomas Batterton, Thomas Sheppey, Robert Noakes, James Noakes, Thomas Lovell, ſohn Moſeley, Cave Underhill, Robert Turner, and Tho- mas Lilleſton, doe hereby for themſelves covenant; promiſe, grant and agree, to and with the * _ | Ly a 4 | | | OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 255 W. D. his executors, adminiſtrators, and aſſignes, by theſe prefents, that they and every of them ſhall become bound to the ſaid Sir Wm. Davenant, in a bond of 50001. conditioned for the performance of theſe preſents. And that every ſucceſſor to any part of the ſaid five ſhares or proportions ſhall enter into the like bonds before hee or they ſhall bee admitted to ſhare anie part or proportion of the ſaid ſhares or proportions. | And the ſaid Henry Harris doth hereby for himſelf his executors, adminittrators, and affignes, covenant, 8 grant and agree, to and with the ſaid Sir Wm. avenant, his executors, adminiſtrators, and aſſignes, by theſe preſents, that hee the faid Henry Harris ſhall within one weeke after the notice given by Sir Wm, Davenant for the concludinge of the playeinge at Saliſbury Court or any other houſe elſe aboveſaid, become bound to the ſaid Sir Wm. Davenant in a bond of ʒoool. conditioned for the performance of theſe [preſents]. And that evey ſucceffor to any of the ſaid five ſhares ſhall enter into the like bond, before hee or they ſhall bee admitted to have any part or proportion in the ſaid five ſhares, | Item, it is mutually agreed by and betweene all the. parties to theſe preſents, that the ſaid Sir William Davenant alone ſhall bee Maſter and Superior, and ſhall from time to time have the ſole government of the ſaid Thomas Batterton, 'Thomas Sheppey, Robert Noakes, James Noakes, Thomas Lovell, John Moſeley, Cave Underhill, Robert Turner and Thomas Lilleſton, and _ alſo of the ſaid Henry Harris, and their aſſociates, in re- lation to the playes | play-houſe] by theſe preſents agreed to bee erected. 8 —— — On the 15th of Nov. 1660, Sir William D' Avenant's company began to act under theſe articles at the theatre in Saliſbury Court, at which houſe or at the Cockpit they continued to play till March or April 1662. In October 1660, Sir Henry Herbert had brought an action on the 4 caſe — I —— —_— ain _— — x — — — — —ͤ——ͤB— 256 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT caſe againſt Mr. Mohun and ſeveral others of Killigrew's company, which was tried in December 1661, for repre- ſenting plays without being licenſed by him, and obtained a verdict againſt them, as appears from a paper which I ſhall inſert in its proper place. Encouraged by his ſuc- ceſs in that ſuit, ſoon after D'Avenant's company opened their new theatre in Portugal Row, he brought a ſimilar action (May 6, 1662,) againſt Mr. Betterton, of which I know not the event“. In the declaration, now before me, it is ſtated that D* Avenant's company, between the 15th of November 1660, and the 6th of May 1662, pro- duced ten new plays and 100 revived plays ; but the latter number being the uſual ſtyle of declarations at law, may have been inſerted without a ſtrict regard to the fact. Sir Henry Herbert likewiſa brought two actions on the ſame ground againſt Sir William Davenant, in one of which he failed, and in the other was ſucceſsful. To put an end to the conteſt, Sir William in June 1662 beſought the king to interfere. | | « To the Kings moſt Sacred Majeſty. *« The humble petition of Sir William Davenant, Knight. 5 Sheweth, e That your petitioner has bin moleſted by Sir Henry 1 Harbert with ſeveral proſecutions at law. * From a paper which Sir Henry Herbert has entitled “ A Brjvear” of matters to be proved on this trial, it appears that he was poſſeſſed of the Office-books, of his predeceſſors, Mr. Tilney and Sir George Buc ; for, among other points of which proof was intended to be pro- duced, he ſtates, that © Several plays were allowed by Mr. Tilney in 1598, which is 62 years ſince: The Fair Maid of London Richard Cordelion. | | King and no King allowed to be ated in . 1611, and the ſame to be printed. Hogg —_—_ . 4 - 55 bath loft its pearle, and hundreds more. . See the bookes. 4 As 155 eee fevord Allowed to be acted in 1598. That * x {2 + pl » . 5 _ * 75 0 => * My 5 774 * * . =: 5 . . * * 2 OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 247 * That thoſe proſecutions have not proceeded by your petitioners default of not paying the ſaid Henry Harbert his pretended fees, (he never having ſent for any to your petitioner,) but becauſe your petitioner hath publiquely preſented plaies ; notwithſtanding he is authoriz'd there- unto by pattent from your Majeſties moſt royall Father, and by ſeveral warrants under your Majeſties royal hand and ſignet. | | That your petitioner (to prevent being out-law*d) has bin inforc*d to anſwer him in two tryals at law, in one of which, at Weſtminſter, your petitioner hath had a verdi& againſt him, where it was declar'd that he hath no juriſdiction over any plaiers, nor any right to demand fees of them. In the other, (by a London jury) the Maſter of Revels was allow'd the correction of plates, and fees for ſoe doing; but not to give plaiers any licence or authoritie to play, it being prov'd that no plaiers were ever authoriz'd in London or Weſtminſter, to play by the commiſſion of ye Maſter of Revels, but by autho- ritie immediately from the crowne. Neither was the proportion of fees then determin'd, or made certaine; be- cauſe ſeverall witneſſes affirm'd that variety of payments had bin made; ſometimes of a noble, ſometimes of twenty, and afterwards of forty ſhillings, for correcting a new play; and that it was the cuſtome to pay nothing for ſuperviſing reviv'd plaies. „That without any authoritie given him by that laſt verdict, he ſent the day after the tryall a prohibition under his hand and ſeale (directed to the plaiers in Little Lincolnes Inn fields) to forbid them to act plaies any more. ; «© Therefore your petitioner humbly praies that your Majeſty will graciouſly pleaſe (two verdicts having paſs'd at common law con- tradicting each other) to referr the caſe to the examination of ſuch honourable perſons as may ſatisfy your Majeſty of the juſt autho- ritie of the Maſter of Revells, that ſo his | fees (if any be due to him) may be made Vol. I. Paxr II. 18 certaine, 238 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT certaine, to prevent extorſion ; and time pre- ſcribed how long he ſhall keep plaies in his hands, in pretence of correcting them; and whether he can. demand fees for reviv'd plaies; and laſtly, how long plaies may be lay'd — ere he ſhall judge them to be reviv «© And your petitioner (as 5 in duty bound) ſhall ever pray,“ &c, | 4 At the Court at Hampton 8 the 3oth of June, 1662. « His Majeſty, being graciouſly inclin'd to have a juſt and friendly agreement made betweene the petitioner and the ſaid Sir Henry Harbert, is pleas'd to referr this petition to the right honorable the Lord high Chan- cellor of England, and the Lord Chamberlaine, who are to call before them, as well the petitioner, as the ſaid Sir Henry Harbert, and upon hearing and examin- ing their differences, are to make a faire and amicable accomodation between them, if it may be, or otherwiſe to certify his Majeſty the true ſtate of this un. to- gether with their Lord. opinions. EDWARD NICHOLAS. «« Wee appoint Wedneſday morning next before tenn of the clock to heare this buſineſſe, of which Sir Henry Harbert and the other parties concern'd are to have notice, my Lord Chamberlaine hav- ing agreed to that hour. « July 7, 1662. | CLARENDONE.” On the feference to the Lord Chancellor and Lord Chamberlain, Sir Henry Herbert 8 the follow- ang ſtatement of his claims. ＋ | | «To OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 2359 t To the R.t Honn. ble Edward Earle of Clarendon, Lord High Chancellor of England, and Edward Earle of Manchefter, Lord Chamberlain of his Ma. ties Houſehold, | In obedience to your lordſhips comandes ſignifyed unto mee on the ninth of this inftant July, do make a remembrance of the fees, profittes, and incidents, belongeing to ye office of the Reuells. They are as followeth : | "£5 So d. « For a new play, to bee brought with the booke - 002-00: 08 “For an old play, to be brought with) the booke 5 = : o For Chriſtmaſſe fen - 003 oo oo c For Lent fee $7 - - 003 oO oo «© The profittes of a ſummers day play at the Black fryers, valued at 4 The profitts of a winters day“, at Blackfryers - = - «© Beſides ſeuerall occafionall gratuityes from the late K.s company at B. fryers. For a ſhare from each company of four companyes of players (beſides the late Kinges Company) valued at a 1col. a þ 400 Oo 09 yeare, one yeare with another, be- ſides the uſuall fees, by the yeare 66e That the Kinges Company of players couenanted the 11th of Auguſt, 60, to pay Sir Henry Herbert per week, from that tyme, aboue the uſual fees - - oo OO Oo 059 08 oo” 004 oo oO It is extraordinary that the Maſter of the Revels ſhould have ven- tured to ſtate fifty pounds as the produce of each of the benefits given him by the King's company. We have ſeen (p. 153, ) that at an average they did not produce nine pounds each, and after a trial of ſome years he compounded with that company for the certain ſum of ten pounds for his winter's day, and the like ſum for his ſummer benefit. S 2 4 That 266 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT «© That Mr. William Beeſton couenanted to pay weekly to Sir Henry Herder 004 o oo the ſumme of — | © That Mr. Rhodes promiſed the like STR per weeke be - ; 35 © That the 121. per weeke from the three forenamed companyes hath been totally deteyned from Sir Henry Herbert ſince the ſaid 11h Aug. 60, by illegal and un- juſt means; and all uſuall fees, and obedience due to the offite of the Revells. | «© That Mr. Thomas Killegrew drawes 191. 68. per week from the Kinges Company, as credibly informed. « That Sir William Dauenant drawes 10 ſhares of 1 5 ſhares, which is valued at zool. per week, cleer profitt, one week with another, as credibly informed. « Allowance for charges of ſuites at law, for that Sir Henry Herbert is unjuſtly putt out of poſſeſſion and profittes, and conld not obtaine an appearance gratis, « Allowance for damages ſuſteyned in creditt and pro- fittes for aboue two yeares ſince his Ma. ties happy Re- ſtauration. | « Allowance for their New Theatre to bee uſed as a playhouſe. „ Allowance for new and old playes ated by Sir William Dauenantes pretended company of players at Saliſ- bery Court, the Cockpitt, and now at Portugall- Rowe, from the 5th Novemb. 60. the tyme of their firſt conjunction with Sir William Dauenant. te Allowance for the fees at Chriſtmaſſe and at Lent from the ſaid tyme. c A boxe for the Maſter of the Reuells and his company, gratis ;—as accuſtomed, e A ſubmiſlion 0 4 | N 9 *DY 158 þ LF 8 5 z I 4 F F-4 en 5 * 2 2 3 3 BA 5 » * IS 4 N 1 he © 8 3 IE 5 25 os >» 5 N 5 Fa Ky IP in 4 '5 4 N LE n - 1 ; . a 1 A N * 3 W. 2 ” © a e 1 8 PE EO OS Wa IJ * . $ 1 = 0 OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 201 © A ſubmiſſion to the authority of the Revells for the future, and that noe playes, new or old, bee acted, till they are allowed by the Maſter of the Reuells. 4 That rehearſall of plays to be aQed at court, be made, as hath been accuſtomed, before the Maſter of the Reuells, or allowance for them. «© Wherefore it is humbly pray'd, that delay being the ſaid Dauenants beſt plea, wen he hath exerciſed by illegall actinges for almoſt two yeares, he may noe longer keep Sir Henry Herbert out of poſſeſſion of his rightes ; but that your Lordſhippes would ſpeedily aſſert the rights due to the Maſter of the Reuells, and aſcer- taine his fees and damages, and order obedience and Payment accordingly. And in caſe of diſobedience by the ſaid Dauenant and his pretended company of play- ers, that Sir Henry Herbert may bee at liberty to purſue his courſe at law, in confidence that he ſhall have the benefitt of his Ma. /s juſtice, as of your lord- ſhippes fauour and promiſes in ſatis faction, or liberty to proceed at law. And it may bee of ill conſequence that Sir Henry Herbert, dating for 45 yeares meniall ſervice to the Royal Family, and hauing purchaſed Sir John Aſnleys intereſt in the ſaid office, and obtained of the late Kings bounty a grante under the great ſeale of England for two liues, ſhould have noe other compenſa- tion for his many yeares faithfull ſervices, and conſtant adherence to his Ma.) intereſt, accompanyed with his great ſufferinges and loſſes, then to bee outed of his juſt poſſeſſion, rightes and profittes, by Sir William Daue- nant, a perſon who exerciſed the office of Maſter of the Reuells to Oliver the Tyrant, and wrote the Fir/# and Second Parte of Peru, ated at the Cockpitt, in Oliuers tyme, and ſoly in his fauour; wherein hee ſett of the juſtice of Oliuers actinges, by compariſon with the Spaniards, and endeavoured thereby to make Oliuers crueltyes appeare mercyes, in reſpect of the Spaniſh crueltyes; but the mercyes of the wicked are cruell. That the ſaid Dauenant publiſhed a poem in vindi- cation and juſtification of Oliuers actions and gouern- | 8 3 | ment, —— — _ a — — — — — — — — — 4 BY - — — — — —— — 262 HIS TORICAL ACCOUNT ment, and an Epithalamium in praiſe of Olivers daughter Ms. Rich ;—as credibly informed“. | | „The matters of difference betweene Mr. Thomas Killigrew and Sir Henry Herbert are upon accomo- « My Lordes, | « Your Lordſhippes very humble Servant, „% Cary-houſe. HENRY HERBERT.“ Another paper now before me will explain what is meant by Sir Henry Herbert's concluding words. « ARTICLES of agreement, indented, made and agreed upon, this fourthe day of June, in the 14 yeare of the reigne of our 3 lord Kinge Charles the Second, and in the yeare of our Lord, 1662, betweene Sir Henry Herbert of Ribsford in the county of Worceſter, knight, of the one part, and Thomas Killegrew of Couent Garden, Eſq. on the other parte, as fol- lowethe: &« DImprimis, It is agreed, that a firme amity be con- cluded for life betweene the ſaid Sir Henry Herbert and the ſaid Thomas Killegrew. © [tem, The ſaid Thomas Killegrew doth for himſelfe couenant, promiſe, grant, and agree, to paye or cauſe to be pay*'d unto Sir Henry Herbert, or to his aſſignes, on or before the fourthe day of Auguſt next, all monies due to the faid Sir Henry Herbert from the Kinge and Queens company of players, called Mychaell Mohun, William Winterſhall, Robert Shaterell, Wil- liam Cartwright, Nicholas Burt, Walter Clunn, Charles Hart, and the reſt of that company, for the new plaies at fortie ſhillings a play, and for the old reuiued plaies at twentie ſhillings a play, they the ſaid players haue acted ſince the eleuenthe of Auguſt, in the yeare of our Lord, 1660, | b | Item, The ſaid Thomas Killegrew, Eſq. doth for him- ſelfe couenant, promiſe, grante, and agree, to paye or * This poem Sir William D'Avenant ſuppreſſed, for it does not appear in his works, | cauſe OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 263 cauſe to be pay'd unto the ſaid Sir Henry Herbert, or to his aſſignes, on or before the fourthe day of Auguſt next, ſuch monies as are due to him for damages and loſſes obteyned at law ag.* Mychaell Mohun, William Win- terſhall, Robert Shaterell, William Cartwright, Nicho- las Burt, Walter Clunn, and Charles Hart, upon an action of the caſe brought by the ſaid Sir Henry Herbert in the courte of Comon Pleas ag. t ye ſaid Mychael Mohun, William Winterſhall, Robert Shaterell, William Cart- wright, Nicholas Burt, Walter Clunn, and Charles Hart, wherupon a verdict hath been obtayned as aforefaid ag.- them. And likewiſe doe promiſe and agree that the coſtes and charges of ſuite upon another action of the caſe brought by the ſaid Sir Henry Herbert ag.* the ſaid Mychaell Mohun & y* reft of ye players aboue named, ſhall be alſo payd to the ſaid Sir Henry Herbert or to his aſſignes, on or before the ſaid fourthe day of Auguſt next. Item, The ſaid Thomas Killegrew doth for himſelfe couenant, promiſe, grante and agree, that the ſaid Michaell Mohun and the reſt of the Kinge and Queenes company of players ſhall, on or before the ſaid fourthe day of Auguſt next, paye or cauſe to be pay*d unto the ſaid Sir Henry Herbert, or to his aflignes, the ſum of fiftie pounds, as a preſent from them, for his damages ſuſteyned from them, and by their means. | Item, That the ſaid 'Thomas Killegrew, Eſq. doth couenant, promiſe, grante, and agree, to be aydinge and aſſiſtinge unto the ſaid Sir Henry Herbert in the due exe- cution of the Office of the Reuells, and neither directly nor indirectly to ayde or aſſiſte Sir William Dauenant, Knight, or any of his pretended company of players, or any other company of players to be rays'd by him, or any other company of players whatſoever, in the due execution of the ſaid office as aforeſaide, foe as ye ayd ſoe to bee required of ye ſaid Thomas Killegrew extend not to ye ſilencing or oppreſſion of ye ſaid King and Queenes company. | | And the ſaid Sir Henry Herbert doth for himſelfe couenant, promiſe, grante, and agree, not to moleſt ye ſaid Thomas Killegrew, Eſq. or his heirs, in any ſuite at lawe or otherwiſe, to the preiudice of the grante made unto ; I 4 * him 264 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT. him by his Ma. tie, or to diſturbe the receiuinge of ye profits aryſing by contract from the Kinge and Queens . company of players to him, but to ayde and aſſiſte the ſaid Thomas Killegrew, in the due execution of the legall powers granted unto him by his Ma.** for the orderinge of the ſaid company of players, and in the levyinge and receiuinge of ye monies due to him the ſaid Thomas Killegrew, or which ſhall be due to him from ye ſaide company of players by any contract made or to be made between them or amongſt the ſame ; and neither directly nor indirealy to hinder the payment of ye ſaid monies to be made weekly or otherwiſe by y* ſaid company of players to ye ſaid Thomas Killegrew, Eſq. or to his aſſignes, but to be ayding and aſſiſtinge to the ſaid Thomas Killegrew, Eſq. and his aſſignes therein, if there be cauſe for it, and that the ſaid Thomas Kil- Jegrew deſire it of ye ſaid Sir Henry Herbert. © And the ſaid Sir Henry Herbert doth for himſelfe couenant, promiſe, grante, and agree, upon the per- formance of the matters which are herein contayned, and to be performed by the ſaid Thomas Killegrew, accordinge to the daies of payment, and other things lymited and expreſſed in theſe articles, to deliver into the hands of y*® ſaid Thomas Killegrew the deede of couenants, ſealed and delivered by the ſaid Mychaell Mohun and ye others herein named, bearing date the 11 Auguſt, 1660; to be cancelled by the {aid Thomas Killegrew, or kept, as he ſhall thinke fitt, or to make what further advantage of the ſame in my name or right as he ſhall be aduiſed*,”” The actors who had performed at the Red Bull, acted under the direction of Mr. Killigrew during the years 1660, 1661, 1662, and part of the year 1663, in Gib- bon's tennis- court in Vere-{reet, near Clare- market; during which time a new theatre was built for them in * On the back of this paper Sir Henry Herbert has written— Copy of the Articles ſealed and delivered the 5th June, 62, between Sir H. H. and Thomas Killegrew, Bonds of 5oocl., for the per- formance of covenants." e Cy CO of Drury 4 og ———_—_— - ——— — OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 265 Drury Lane, to which they removed in April 1663, The following liſt of their ftock-plays, in which it is ob- ſerveable there are but three of Shakſpeare, was found among the papers of Sir Henry Herbert, and was probably furniſhed by them ſoon after the Reſtoration, Names of the plays acted by the Red Bull actors. The Humorous Lieutenant, Elder Brother. Beggars Buſhe. The Silent Woman. Tamer Tamed. The Wedainge. The Traytor. . Henry the F ourthe. Lowes Cruelty, Merry Wives of Windſor. Wit witbout money. Kinge and no Kinge. Maydes Tragedy. „„ Philaſter. | Dumboys. Rollo Duke of Normandy. The Unfortunate Lovers. Claricilla. 1 The Widow. ; — Downes the prompter has given a lift of what he calls the principal old ſtock plays acted by the king's ſervants, (which title the performers under Mr. Killi- grew acquired,) between the time of the Reſtoration and the junction of the two companies in 1682; from which it appears that the only plays of Shakſpeare per- formed by them in that period, were K. Henry IF. P. I. The Merry Wives of Windſor, Othello, and Fulius Cæſar. Mr. Hart repreſented Othello, Brutus, and Hotſpur ; ' Major Mohun Iago, and Caſſius; and Mr, Cartwright Falſtaff. Such was the lamentable taſte of thoſe times that the plays of Fletcher, Johnſon and Shirley were much oftner exhibited than thoſe of our author. OF this the following liſt furniſhes a melancholy proof. It appears to have been made by Sir Henry Herbert in order to enable him to aſcertain the fees due to him, whenever he ſhould eſtabliſh his claims, which however he never accompliſhed. Between the play entitled Ar- galus and Parthenia, and The Loyal Subject, he has drawn a line; from which, and from other circumitances, I imagine that the plays which I have printed in Italicks were exhibited by the Red Bull actors, who afterwards bzcame the king's ſervants, | TD | pt | 1660, 266 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT 1660. Monday the 5 Nov. Wit without money. Tueſday the 6 Nov. The Traytor. Wenſday the 7 Nov. The Beggars Buſhe. Thurſday the 8 Nov. Henry the Fourth. | | [ Firft play acted at the new - theatre. ] Friday the 9g Nov. The Merry Wives of Windſor. Saturday the 10 Nov. The Sylent Woman. Tuſday the 13 Nov. Love lies a bleedinge, Thurſday the 15 Nov. Lowes Crucl:y, Friday the 16 Nov. The Wa. Saterday the 17 Nov. The Mayds Tragedy. Monday the 19 Nov. 7 he Unfortunate Lowers, Tuſday the 20 Nov. The Beggars Buſbe. Wenſday the 21 Nov. The Scornfull Lady. Thurſday the 22 Nov. The Traytor. Friday the 23 Nov. The Elder Brother. Saturday the 24 Nov. The Chances. Monday the 26 Nov. The Opportunity. Thurſday the 29 Nov. The Humorous Lieutenant. Saterday the 1 Dec, Clarecilla. Monday the 3 Dec. A Kinge and no Kinge. Thurſday the 6 Dec. Rollo, Date of Normandy. Saterday the 8 Dec. The Moore of Veniſe. Monday the 9 Jan. The Weddinge. Saterday the 19 Jan. The Loft Lady. Thurſday the 31 Jan. Argalus and Parthenia. | Loyal Subject. Feb. Mad Lover. | The Wild-gooſe Chaſe. f W All's Loſte by Luſte. r F Tube yd is the Mill A Wife for a Monthe. The Bondman. Decemb. 10 - A Dancing Maſter. Decemb. 11 = Vittoria Corombona. | Decemb. 12 The Country — : | | 1652. | ö OF THE ENGLISH STAGE, 267 1661. Decemb. 16 The Alchymiſt. Decemb. 17 - Bartholmew Faire. Decemb. 20 - - "The Spaniſh Curate, Decemb. 23, - - 'The Tamer Tamed. Decemb. 28 - - Aglaura. Decemb. 30 - - Buſly D'ambois. Janu. 6 - - Mery Devil of Edmonton. | = 1 - - - The Virgin Martyr. an, 11 - - - Philaſter, | Jan. 21 = - - FJovial Crew. | rn 28 - - Rule a wife and have a wife. Feb. 15 - - EKinge and no Kinge. Feb. 5 The Mayds Tragedy. Feb. 27 - - - Aglaur; the tragical way. March! - Humorous Lieutenant. March 3 - - Selindra—a new play. March Ii! The Frenche Dancinge Ma- March 15 - - The Little Theef. [ iter, 1662, April a Northerne Laſſe. April ig - - - Fathers own ſon. April 25 - - - "The Surpriſal—a new play. May 5 - - Kt. of the Burning peſtle, May 12 =- - - Brenoralt. May 17 - - - Love ina maze. Loves Miſtreſs, Diſcontented Collonell. Love at firſt ſight. 1662, June 1. Cornelia, a new play.—Sir W. Bartleys, June 6 -= - Renegado. July 6 -= = - 'The Brothers. The Antipodes, - - The Cardinall. 1661, Octob. 26 July 23 From another liſt, which undoubtedly was made by Sir Henr: Herbert for the purpoſe I have mentioned, I learn that Macbeth was revived in 1663 or 1664 I ſuppoſe as altered by D'Avenant. 4 >, << ea 268 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT «© Nov, 3. 1663. Flora's Figaries - L. 2. A paſtoral called The Expoſure - 2. «© 8 more - =. A new play - - - LE -- 5 Henry the 5th „„ WES 4 Revived play. Taming the Shrew 1 «© The Generall FF i j= Oy oe „ Parſons Wedinge 5 5 . 4 Revived play. Macbeth > = K. Henry 8. Revived play 1. «« Houſe to be let — — - 2, More for plays, whereof Elvira the laſt — 5 - as 9. 4 For playes Coats” Sir William D'Avenant's Company, after having played for ſome time at the Cockpit in Drury Lane, and at Saliſbury Court, removed in March or April 1662, to a new theatre in Portugal Row near Lin- coln's Inn Fields. Mr. Betterton, his principal actor, we are told by Downes, was admired in the part of Pericles, which he frequently performed before the opening of the new theatre; and while this company continued to act in Portugal Row, they repreſented the following plays of Shakſpeare, and it ſhould ſeem thoſe only: Macbeth and The Tempeſt, altered by D'Avenant; King Lear, Ham- let, King Henry the Eighth, Romeo and Fuliet, and Tavelfth Night. In Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark was repreſented by Mr. Betterton; the Ghoſt by Mr. Richards; Horatio by Mr. Harris; the Queen by Mrs. Davenport; and Ophelia by Mrs. Saunderſon. In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo was repreſented by Mr. Harris, Mercutio by Mr. Betterton, and Juliet by Mrs. Saun- derſon. Mr, Betterton in Twelfth Night performed Sir Toby Belch, and in Henry the Eighth, the King. He was without doubt alſo the performer of King Lear. Mrs. Saunderſon repreſented Catharine in King Henry the Eighth, and it may be preſumed, Cordelia, and Miranda. She OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 265 She alſo performed Lady Macbeth, and Mr. Betterton Macbeth. | | The theatre which had been erected in Portugal Row, being found too ſmall, Sir William D' Avenant laid the foundation of a new playhouſe in Dorſet Garden, near Dorſet Stairs, which however he did not live to ſee com- pleted ; for he died in May 1668, and it was not opened till 1671. There being ſtrong reaſon to believe that he was our poet's ſon, I have been induced by that circum- ſtance to inquire with ſome degree of minuteneſs into his hiſtory, I have mentioned in a preceding page that the account given of him by Wood, in his 4thene Oæonienſes, was taken from Mr. Aubrey's Manuſcript. Since that ſheet was printed, Mr. Warton has obligingly furniſhed me with an exact tranſcript of the article re- lative to D*Avenant, which, as it contains ſome par- ticulars not noticed by Wood, I ſhall here ſubjoin : MS. Aubrey. Mus. Asnmor. Lives. SIR WILLIAM DAVENANT, Kntcar, PoeT-LauReaT.*, was borne about the end of February in ſtreet in the city of Oxford, at the Crowne Taverne ; baptized 3 of March A. D. 1605-6. His father was John Dave- nant, a vintner there, a very grave and diſcreet citizen: his mother was a very beautifull woman, and of a very good witt, and of converſation extremely agreable. They had 3 ſons, viz. Robert, William, and Nicholas; (Robert was a fellow of St. John's Coll. in Oxon. then preferd to the vicarage of Weſtkington by Bp. Davenant, whoſe chaplain he was; Nicholas was an attorney :) and 2 handſome daughters; one m. to Gabriel Bradly, B. D. of C. C. C. beneficed in the vale of White Horſe ; an- other to Dr. Sherburne, miniſter of Pembordge [ bridge] in Heref. and canon of that church. Mr. Wa Shake. 6 Mr. Warton informs me, that © it appears by Aubrey's letters that this Life of Davenant was ſent to Wood, and drawn up at his requeſt,” | ſpeare 270 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT ſpeare was wont to goe into Warwickſhire once a yeare, and did comonly in his journey lie at this houſe in Oxon. where he was exceedingly reſpected. Now Sir Wil- ham would ſometimes, when he was pleaſant over a glaſſe of wine with his moſt intimate friends, (e. g. Sam Butler, author of Hudibras, etc. etc.) ſay, that it ſeem'd to him, that he writt with the very ſpirit that Shakeſpeare wrote with], and was contentedenough to bee thought his fon: he would tell them the ſtory as above. He went to ſchoole at Oxon. to Mr. Silveſter; Charles Wheare, F. LAlius] Degorii W., was his ſchoolfellow : but I feare, he was drawne from ſchoole, before he was ripe enoughe. He was preferred to the firſt Dutcheſs of Richmond, te wayte on ber as a page. I remember, he told me, ſhe ſent him to a famous apothecary for ſome unicorne's Horne, which he was reſolved to try with a ſpyder, which he empaled in it, but without the expected ſucceſs : the ſpider would goe over and through and thorough, unconcerned, He was next a ſervant (as I remember, a Page alſo) to Sir Fulke Grevil Ld. Brookes, with whom e lived to his death ; which was, that a ſervant of his that had long wayted on him, and his lor— [lordſhip] had often told him, that he would doe ſomething for him, but did not, but ſtill put him off with delay; as he was truſſing up his lord's pointes, comeing from ftoole, [for then their breeches were faſtened to the doubletts with pointes ; then came in hookes and eies, which not to have faſtened was in my boyhood a great crime, ] ſtabbed him. This was at the ſame time that the duke of Buckingham was ſtabbed by Felton; and the great noiſe and report of the duke's, Sir W. told me, quite drown'd this of his lord's, that was ſcarce taken notice of. This Sir Fulke G. was a good wit, and had been a good poet in his youth: he wrote a poeme in folio, which he print- ed not, till he was old, and then, as Sir W. ſaid, with too much judgement and refining ſpoiled it, which was at firſt a delicate thing. He [Dav.] writt a play, or plays, and verſes, which he did with ſo much ſweetneſſe and grace, that by it he got the love and friendſhip of his two Mæcenaces, Mr. Endymion Porter, and Mr. | | Henry OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 271 Henry Jermyn, [| ſince E. of St. Albans] to whom he has dedicated his poem called Madegaſcar. Sir Fohn Suck- ling was his great and intimate friend. After the death of Ben Johnſon, he was made in his place Poet Laureat. He gott a terrible c—p of a black handſome wench, that lay in Axe-Yard, Weſtm.: whom he thought on, when he ſpeaks of Dalga, [in Gondibert] which coſt him his noſe; with which unlucky miſchaunce many witts were ſo cruelly bold, e. g. Sir John Menis, Sir John Denham, etc. etc. In 1641, when the troubles began, he was faine to fly into France, and at Canterbury he was ſeized . on by the Mayor. For Will had in his face the flaws And markes received in country's cauſe, They flew on him like lyons paſſant, And tore his noſe, as much as was on't ; And call'd him ſuperſtitious groome, And Popiſh dog, and cur of Rome, —— *rwas ſurely the firſt time, That Will's religion was a crime, In the Civill Warres in England, he was in the army of William Marqueſſe of Newcaſtle, [ ſince Duke] where he was generall of the ordinance. I have heard his brother Robert ſay, for that ſervice there was owing to him by King Charles the Firſt 100col. During that warre *twas his hap to have two Aldermen of Yorke his priſoners, . who were ſomethinge ſtubborne, and would not give the tanſome ordered by the councill of warre. Sir William uſed them civilly, and treated them in his tent, and ſate them at the upper end of his table & /a mode de France. And having done ſo a good while to his charge, told them (privately and friendly) that he was not able to keepe ſo chargeable gueſts, and bade them take an op- portunity to eſcape; which they did ; but having been gon a little way, they conſidered with themſelves, that in gratitude they ought to goe back, and give Sir William their thankes, which they did: but it was like to have been to their great danger of being taken by the ſoldiers; but they happened to gett ſafe to Vorke. The 272 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT | The king's party being overcome, Sir W. Davenant, (who had the honour of knighthood from the D. of New- caſtle by commiſſion) went into France, and reſided in Paris, where the prince of Wales then was. He then began to write his romance in verſe, called Gondibert ; and had not writt above the firſt booke, but being very fond of it printed it, before a quarter finiſhed, with an epiſtle of his to Mr. Th. Hobbes, and Mr. Hobbes“ excellent epiſtle to him printed before it. The courtiers, with the Prince of Wales, could never be at quiet about this piece, which was the occaſion of a very witty but fatirical little booke of verſes in 8vo. about 4 ſheets, writt by G. D. of Bucks, Sir John Denham, etc. etc, «© That thou forſak' d thy ſleepe, thy diet, « And what is more than that, our quiet “.“ This laſt word, Mr. Hobbes told me, was the occaſion of their writing. a 5 Here he lay'd an ingenioſe deſigne to carry a conſider- able number of artificers (chiefly weavers) from hence to Virginia ; and by Mary the Q's. mother's meanes he got, favour from the K. of France to goe into the priſons, and pick and chuſe: ſo when the poor dammed wretches underſtood, what the deſigne was, they cryed ano ore, tout tfſeran, we are all weavers, Well, 36, as I remember, he got, if not more, and ſhipped them ; and as he was in his voyage towards Virginia, he and his fran were all taken by the ſhips then belonging to the parliament of England. The flaves, I ſuppoſe, they fold, but Sir William was brought priſoner into England. Whether he was firſt a priſoner at Careſbroke Caſtle in the Iſle of Wight, or at the Towr of London, I have forgott; he was priſoner at both: his Gondibert was finiſhed at Careſbroke Caſtle. He expected no mercy from the par- liament, and had no hopes of eſcaping with his life. It pleaſed God, that the two aldermen of Yorke aforeſaid, * Theſe lines are inaccurately quoted by memory from Certain Perſes written by ſeveral of the author's friends, to be re-printed with the ſecond edition of Gondibert, 1653, | hearing c * SOIT nn 7 - OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 273 hearing that he was taken and brought to London to be tryed for his life, which they underſtood was in extreme danger, they were touched with ſo much generoſity and goodnes, as upon their own accounts and mere motion to try what they could to ſave Sir William's life, who had been ſo civill to them, and a means of ſaving theirs ; to come to London ; and acquainting the parliament with it, upon their petition, etc. Sir William's life was ſaved 7. Twas Harry Martyn, that ſaved Sir William's life in the houſe : when they were talking of ſacrificing one, then ſaid Hen, that in ſacrifices they always offered pure and without' blemiſh; now ye talk of making a ſacrifice of an old rotten raſcal,” Vid. H. Martyn's life, where by this rare jeſt, then forgot, the L.4 Falkland ſaved H. Martyn's life, Being freed from impriſonment, becauſe plays (ſcil. trage. and comedies) were in theſe preſbyterian times ſcandalous, he contrives to ſet up an opera, „lo recitativo wherein Sergeant Maynard and ſeveral citizens were engagers: it began in Rutland Houſe in Charter-houſe- yard: next, ſcilicet anno — at the Cock-pit in Drury Lane, where were acted very well, ylo recitativo, Sir Francis Drake, and the Siege of Rhodes, iſt and 2nd part. It did affect the eie and eare extremely, This firſt brought sCENEs in faſhion in England: before, at plays was only an hanging. | Anno Domini 1660, was the happy reſtauration of his Majeſty Charles [Ind ; then was Sir William made — — — — — and the Tennis-Court in Little Lincoln's Inn Fields was turned into a playhouſe for the Duke of York's players, where Sir William had lodgings, and where he dyed, Aprill 166—. 1 was at his funeral: he had a coffin of walnut tree: Sir 7 Mr. Warton obſerves to me, that © Aubrey does not ſay here that Wilton (with the two aldermen) was inſtrumental in ſaving D'Avenant's life. Dr. Johnſon is puzzled on what authority to fix this anecdote, Life of Milton, p. 181, $vo. edit. I believe that anecdote was firſt retailed in print by Wood, Ath. Oxon. II. 412.” % Here we have another and a decifive confirmation of what has been ſtated in a former page on the ſubject of ſcenes. See p. 72, et ſeq. Vo. I. ParTll. * John 42 bs * ne . a m_ 294 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT John Denham ſaid, that it was the fineſt coffin that he ever ſaw. His body was carried in a hearſe from the playhouſe to Weſtminſter Abbey, where at the great weſt dore he was received by the ſing [ing] men and choriſ- ters, who ſang the ſervice of the church (I am the Re- ſurrection, etc. etc.) to his grave, which is near to the monument of Dr. Iſaac Barrow, which 1s in the South Croſſe aiſle, on which in a paving ſtone of marble is writt, in imitation of that on Ben. Johnſon, O rare Sir William Davenant. His firſt lady was Dr. *'s daughter, phyſitian, by whom he had a very beautiful and 1 ſon, that dyed above twenty years ſince. His ſecond lady was daughter of ——, by whom he had ſeveral children. I ſaw ſome very young ones at the funerall. His eldeſt is Charles Davenant, the Doctor, who inherits his father's beauty and phancy. He practices at Doctor's Com- mons. He writt a play called Circe, which has taken very well. Sir William hath writt about 25 plays, the Romance called Gondibert, and a little poem called Madagaſcar. 8 ö His private opinion was, that religion at laſt [e. g. a hundred years hence] would come to ſettlement; and that in a kind of ingenioſe Quakeriſme ?, | | | . s The following plays, written by Sir William D' Avenant, were licenſed by the Maſter of the Revels in the following order: The Cruel Brother, Jan. 12, 1626-7, - The Colonel, July 22, 1629. The Fuft Italian, Octob. 2, 1629. ; The Wits, Jan. 19, 1633-4. Love and Honour, Nov. 20, 1634. News from Plymouth, Aug. 1, 1635. Platonick Lovers, Nov. 16, 1635. | Brittannia Triumphans, licenſed for preſs, Jan. 8, 1637. Unfortunate Lovers, April 16, 1638, 50 Fair Favourite, Nov. 17, 1638. — The Spaniſh Lovers, Nov. 30, 1639. - This piece is probably the play which in his works is called The Diftreſſes. | | ; Tove and Honour was originally called The Courage of Love. It was afterwards named by Sir Henry Herbert, at D*Avenant's requeſt, The Nonpareilles, or the Matchleſs Maids, | 12 OF THE ENGLISH STAGE. 275 On the gth of Novemb. 1671, D*'Avenant's company removed to their new theatre in Dorſet Gardens, which wes was In 1668 was publiſhed Sir William D. Avenant's Voyage to the other world, —6— —— — — ¶ ͤ nn — —— — — — —— Im — * —— — 28s EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS. Pag. 409! 1. 19.] For the children of the queens chapel, r. the finging boys of St. Paul s. Pag. 310. I. 20.] For among the children of the chapel, | r. by the younger brood of players. Pag. 331. l. 6.] Add That they were inſtituted about the year 1603, when King James acceded to the Engliſh throne, may be collected from the account given of them by Wood in his Athen. Oxon. Vol. II. P- 812: The ſaid games were begun, and continued at a certain time of the year for 40 years, by one Robert Dover, an attorney of Burton on the heath in Warwick- ſhire ; who did, with leave from King Janes I. ſelect a place on Cotſwold-hills ia Glouceſterſhire, whereon thoſe games ſhould be acted. Dover was conftantly there in perſon, well mounted and accoutred, and was the chief director and manager of thoſe games, even till the raſcally rebellion was begun by the Prefbyterians, which gave a ſtop to their proceedings, and ſpoiled all that was generous and ingenious elſewhere.” _ Pag. 348. The Winter's Tale.) I have obſerved in a note that Ben Jonſon has ridiculed this play and the Tempeſt, in his Bartholomew Fair, which firſt appeared in the year 1614, and that he might have been induced to do ſo from their having been ated at court in the rogers year. But IJ am now inclined to think that de rather joined theſe plays in the ſame cenſure, in con- ſequence of their having been produced at no great diſtance of time from each other; and that The Winter's - Tale ought to have been aſcribed to the year 1613. In the office-book of Sir Henry Herbert I obſerve, that among the court-plays performed at Chriſtmas were generally included the laſt new pieces which had been exhibited on the publick ſtage. Several of Fletcher's latter plays were performed at court in the ſame year in which thay were firſt repreſented. But the entry which has been quoted in a preceding page“, relative to The Winter's Tale, furniſhes a ſtill ſtronger reaſon for 6 P. 226, referring n TOP eee N A K PORTER. EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS. 287 referring it to this year; for it appears that it had been originally licenſed by Sir George Buck, and that the licenſed copy had been loſt. The licenſed copy of The Honeſt Man's Fortune, which was produced in the year 1613, was likewiſe loſt, and afterwards re-licenſed by Sir Henry Herbert on its revival in 1624-5. It is highly probably that T be Winter's Tale was firit exhibited at the Globe in the ſame year, and that both theſe pieces were deſtroyed by the fire which conſumed that theatre, June 3o, 1613. Though Sir George Buck obtained a reverſionary grant of the office of Maſter of the Revels, in 1603, which title Camden has given him in the edition of his Bri- tannia printed in 1607, it appears from various docu- ments in the Pells-office that he did not get complete poſſeflion of his place till Auguſt 1610. Pag. 376. Coriolanus.] I have ſome doubts concerning the concluding remark on the date of this play. The tree which is fit for breeding filk-worms, is the awhzte mulberry, of which great numbers were imported into England in the year 1609: but perhaps we had the other ſpecies, which produces the beſt fruit, before that time. If that was the caſe, my hypotheſis concerning the time when our poet planted the celebrated mulberry tree, may be controverted. Valeat quantum walere poſfſit. Pag. 406. I. 6.] One of the leaves of Sir Henry "Herbert's Manuſcript, which was miſſing, having been recovered ſince this page was printed, I find that The Ladies Trial was performed for the firſt time at the Cockpit theatre in May 1638, on the 3d of which month it was licenſed by the Maſter of the Revels. s EMENDATIONS 55 „ r ns * * 5 F x 24 4 & SER 14 (2 Aas —_— ws % 4 : + Þ1 Wo: | wh | bo i n . | EMENDATIONS AND ADDITI&N:S:i Vor. ' | PART II. py 2 20 2 HIS TORICAL Accouxr or THE ENOLISH STAGE, Juſt as this work was iſſuing from the preſs, ſome curious Manuſcripts relative to the ſtage, were found at Dalwich College, and obligingly tranſmitted to me from thence. One of theſe is a large folto volume of accounts kept by Mr. Philip Henſlowe, who appears to have been proprietor of the Roszs Theatre near the Bank ſide in Southwark. Pi ES, The celebrated player, Edward Alleyn, who has erro- neouſly been ſuppoſed by Mr. Oldys, the writer of his life in the Biographia Britannica, to have had three wives, was married, as appears from an entry in this book, to Joan Woodward, on the 22d of October, 1592, at which time he was about twenty-ſix years old. This lady, who died in 1623, was the daughter of Agnes, the _ widow of Woodward, whom Mr. Philip Henſlowe, after the death of Woodward, married: fo that Mr, Henſlowe was not, as has been ſuppoſed, Alleyn's father- in-law, but only ſtep-father to his wife. — = Tins Mſ. contains a great number of curious notices _ relative to the dramatick poets of the time, and their productions, from the year 1597 to 1603, during which time Mr, Henſlowe kept an exact account of all the money which he diſburſed for the various companies of which he had the management, for copies of plays and the apparel which he bought for their repreſentation. L. find here notices of a great number of plays now loſt, with the authors? names, and ſeveral entries that tend to throw a light on various particulars which have been diſcuſſed in the preceding Hiftory of the Engliſh Stage, as well as the hay on the order of time in which Shak- fpeare's plays were written, A ſtill more curious 28 of | | EE 13 EM END ATIONS AND ADDITIONS. 289 this MI, is a regiſter of all the plays performed by the ſervants of Lord Strange, and the Lord Admiral, and by other companies, between the 19th of February 1591-2, and November 5, 1597. This regiſter ſtrongly confirms the conjectures that have been hazarded re- lative to the firſt part of King Henry VI., and the play which I have ſuppoſed to have been written on the ſubject of Hamlet. In a bundle of looſe papers has alſo been found an exact Inventory of the Wardrobe, play- books, properties, &c. belonging to the lord Admiral's ſervants. | | Though it is not now in my power to arrange theſe very curious materials in their proper places, I am un- willing that the publick ſhould be deprived of the infor- mation and entertainment which they may afford ; and therefore ſhall extract from them all ſuch notices as ap- pear to me worthy of preſervation, | In the regiſter of plays the ſame piece is frequently repeated: but of theſe repetitions I have taken no notice, haviag tranſcribed only the account of the firſt repreſen. tation of each piece, with the ſum which Mr. Henſlowe gained by it “. reg By T It is clear from ſubſequent entries made by Mr. Henſlowe that the ſums in the margin oppoſite to each play, were not the total receipts of the houſe, but what he received as a proprietor from either Half or the whole of the galleries, which appear to have been appropri- ated to him to reimburſe him for expences incurred for dreſſes, copies, Sc. for the theatre. The profit derived from the rooms or boxes, &c. was divided among ſuch of the players as poſſeſſed ſhares. In a ſubſe. quent page I find Here I begynne to receve the whole gallereys from this day, beinge 29 of July, 1593,” At the bottom of the account, which ends Oct. 13, 1599, is this note: Received with the company of my lord of Nottinghams men, to this place, being the 13 of October 1599, and yt doth apeare that I have received of the deate which they owe unto me, ij hundred fiftie and eyght pounds.“ | Again: Here I begane to receive the gallereys agayne, which they received, begynninge at Mihellmas weeke, being the 6 of October, 1599, as followeth.“ | Vo. I. PAR II, 1 1 Again: ; | | . .

"omg 25 of febre- 2 ary 1591, | o. xxxii. o. — Zhe Few s e (Malta) the 6 26 of febreary 1591, [10] o. 1 6 — clorys and orgaſto the 28 of fe- a breary 1591, fili! o. xviii. o. *. hoope Fone, the 4 of marche | WED [1] 5 o. xv. o. Again: y lord of Pembroſes men EEK to playe at the Rake the 28 of Ocobery 1660, as followeth ; | „ tv. c R. at /icke unto licke 11. 6. ce R. at Raderi cl v. Eise ſhillings could not poſſibly have been the total receipt of the houſe, and therefore muſt have been that which the en; received on his ſeparate account. 2 Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay, by 79 Greene. 3 In a ſubſequent entry called Mulamulluco. The play meant Was probably The Battle of Alcaxar. See the firſt ſpeech : | | « This brave barbarian lord, Muly Molocco, &c. 4 Orlando Furioſe, by Robert Greene, ac in 1599. „At. * . i EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS. 291 : R. at matchavell, the 2 of marche 1. & | 1591, [3] 92 im =: 0/7 1% — henery the vi. the 3 of marche | 1591, [133 - - ti vi. — bendo® and Richardo, the 4 of marche 1591, [3] + - — iii playes in one, the 6 of | marche 1591, [4] . — Zhe looking-glaſs *, the 8 of marche 1591, - — /enobia, Cunt the 9 of Os - 34% 6 Ul, xi. o. O. VII. O. marche 1591, [i o. Xxii. vi. — Feronimo, the 14 of marche | | 1701, [147 > - iii. xi. o. — coftanine, the 21 of marche VV - Os Kii. o. — Feruſalemò, the 22 of marche [; | 1591, [z] - - - o. XVII. o. tf — brandymer, the 6 of aprill 1591, } [2] — * - - o. xxii. o. 5 — the comedy of Feronimo, the 10 : I of April 1591, f4] = = o. xxviii. o. 5 In the Diſfertation on the three parts of K. Henry VT. I conjectured that the piece which we now call The firſt part of K. Henry YI. was, when fuſt performed, called The play of King Henry VI, We find here 1 that ſuch was the fat, This play, which I am confident was not VP originally the production of Shakſpeare, but of another poet, was ex- | tremely popular, being repreſented in this ſeaſon between March 3 and June 19, [1592] no leſs than thirteen times. Hence Naſhe in a pamphlet publiſhed in this year ſpeaks of ten thouſand ſpectators tha: had ſeen it. See Diſſertation, &c. Vol. VI. p. 390. | nf 6 Afterwards written Byndo. | $1 7 This could not have been the piece called All's one, or four plays is 3 | one, of which the Yorkſhire Tragedy made a part, becauſe the fact on 4 _ which that piece is founded happened in 1665. | F 3 The Locking glaſs for London and England, by Robert Greene and 3! T Thomas Lodge, printed in 15998. Boks T5 9 Probably The Deffruction of Feru ſalem, by Dr. Thomas Legge, To See Wood's Faß. Oxon. Vol. I. p. 133. 3825 1 Us it: { R. at 3 292 EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS, R. at Titas and Yeſpafrian, (Titus J. 5. d. Veſpaſian) the 11 of April! JJC i — e ſecond pte of tamberzanne, | (Tamberlane) the 28 of A ONSET — april 1592, [5] - 1. o. — be tanner of Denmarke, the 28 N of maye 1592, [1] a . - Os — 2 tnacke to know a knave*, 10 day [of June] 1592, [3] iii. 8. I the name of God Amen, 1592, beginning the 29 of Deſember. | | R. at he gelyons comedey (Julian of J. So d. Brentford) the 5 of Jenew- | „ 11] „ o . wn the comedy of coſino, the 12 of Jenewary 1592, [2]J - O. XXXxX. iiii. mn the tragedey of the guyes *, 30 of Jenewary *, [1] en gt In the name of God, Amen, beginning the 27 of Deſember 1593, the earle of Suſſex his _ Hy 3 „„ R. at God ſpede 2he plough, [2] „„ cums [IVC of Burdocks, (Huon of Bourdeaux) the 28 of De- 0 ſember 1593, [3] - iii. *. 0. — george a-green 3, the 29 of De- | | ſember 1593, [4] = . — Guckingham, the 30 of Deſem- 5 | ber 1593, F3 Ga. = Os on Wy 0. S - 5 2 Probably The Maſſacre of Paris, by Chriſtopher Marlowe. 2 In conſequence of the great plague in the year 1593, all theatri- cal entertainments were forbid. 3 This play is printed. | f | "Re at TTTTT— SO rn * r e — 4 3 NN 2 E 3 : - * —— | Sn e q . 2 Eh as ade IT N - EMENDATIONS AND ADDLTTING 293 R. at Richard the Confeffor *, the 31 4 d. of Deſember 1593, [2] o. 8 — liam the conkerer, the 4 of Jenewary 1593, [1] „ 88 xxii. o. — FO Ne the 7 of vans | 6 ; 3s 5 iii. 1. O. — ht; 3 of ele WITT 5 the 8 of | Jenewary 1593, [1] 0. ©. — abrame & lotte, the g of Jo” ary 1593, [3]. o. lit. o. — Zhe faire mayd of * (Italy) the 12 of Jenewary 1593, [2] o. ix. Os — King lude, (Lud) the 18 of je- ä newary 1593, [1] - f li Os — ius and andronicus®, the 23 of | Jenewary, [3] = — iii. viii. o. Ia the name of God, Amen, beginninge at eaſter, the queenes men and my lord of Suſſex together. R. at the Rangers . 2 of * 1593. iii. o. o. — kinge leare?, 7 the 6 5 April 1593, [2]* - o. XXXVHI. o. 4 This piece ſhould ſeem to have been written by the tinker in The Taming of the Shrew, who talks of Richard Conquerors 5 This play was printed in 1599. 6 The manager of this theatre, who appears to have been extremely illiterate, has made the ſame miſtake in the play of Titus and Peſpaſian. There can be no doubt that this was the original piece, before our poet touched it. At the ſecond repreſentation Mr. Henſlowe' s ſhare was forty ſhillings ; at the third, the ſame ſum. 7 This old play was entered on the Stationers? books in the following year, and publiſhed in 1605; but the bookſeller, that it might be miſtaken for Shakſpeare's, took care not to mention by whoſe ſervants it had been performed. 8 Five other old plays were repreſented, whoſe titles have been already given. U 3 « In 294 EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS. % In the name of God, Amen, beginninge the 14 of mays 1594, by my lord admiralls men. R. at Cutlacke, the 16 of my 1 91 *. 1 - OM 2 > xxxxXIi. 0. & [n the name of God Fog: beginning at newington ", my lord admirell men and my lord chamberten men; as followeth, 1 594. R. the 3 of june 1 594. at Heaſter and . 5 aſheweros *, [2 - - Do Yi. Or ——— 5 of June 1594, at andronicus, 5 | " " > + +, Oq XII. Os — 6 = 8 594, at ecke | 4 - ©, Xl. o- — 8 5 Than: at blobs [17] o. xvii. 0. . * * - * — 11 of June 1594, at the taminge of a fhrewe*, [1] =» o. R. o. 9 Two other old playes, whoſe titles have been already given, on the 14th and 15th of May. 1 Howes in his Continuation of StoWe's Chronicle, 1631, mentions among the ſeventeen theatres, which had been built within ſixty ears, one in former time at Newington Buts. 2 Hefter and Abaſuerus. 3 In the Foy on the Order of Shakſpeare's plays 1 have ſtated my opinion, that there was a play on the ſubject of Hamlet, prior to our author's; and here we have a full confirmation of that conjecture, It cannot be ſuppoſed that our poet's play ſhould have been per- formed but once in the time of this account, and that Mr. Henſlowe ſhould have drawn from fuch a piece but the ſum of eight ſhillings, when his ſhare in ſeveral other plays came to three and ſometimes four pounds. It is clear that not one of our author's plays was played at Newington Buts; if one had been performed, we ſhould certainly have found more. The old Hamlet had been on the ſtage before 1 55525 z and to the performance of the ghoſt in this piece in the ſummer of 1594, without doubt it is, that Dr. Lodge alludes, in his Vit: Miſerie, &c. 4to. 1596, when he ſpeaks of & a foul lubber, who Jooks as pale as the vizard of the ghoſt, who cried ſo ny at the theatre, Hamlet, revenge.” 4 The play which preceded Shakſpeare's. It was printed i in = WY There is a ſlight variation between the titles; our poet's piece being called The Taming et the Shrew, + R. the 1 EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS. 295 R. the 12 of June 1594, at the Few JU. N 4. of malta, [18) = 8 Oo. Os — 15 of June 1594, at he rangers | comedy, [10 - - Os xxii. o. — 19 ct June, at the guzes 5, |. I Os hit. o. — 260t June 1594, at valiaſes [9] iii. o. o. —— 9 of July 1594, at phillipo and hewpolyta !, 121 - Lit, o. o. — Ig of July 1594, at the 2 pre | of Godfrey of Bullen, [11] ith 6. 0. — 30 of July 1594, at the mar- | chant of camaew *, [1] - iii. viii. o. — 12 of Auguſt 1594, at 7afſoes mellencoley ?, | 13] - 111. o. o. — 15 of Auguſt 1594, at ma- | homett , [8] - iii. v. o. — 25 Of Auguſt 594, at the ve- | neſyan N 3 | [11] - o. * vi. — 28 of Auguſt 1 594. at ranber- es | len, [23] - n. i Os — 17 of ſeptember 1 £94, at pa- lamon & arſett*, [4] - 0. li. o. — 24 of ſeptember 1594, at Ve- | nefyon & the love of and 5 [an] Laglzlbe lady, II d. XXXXVIL, ©. - 3 TheGuiſe. It is afterwards called The Myſecre, i i. e. The je Maſſacre w Fate, by Chriſtopher Marlowe, © Q. Julius Ceſar. . 7 This is probably the play which a knaviſh bookſeller above ſixty years afterwards entered on the Stationers' books as the prodyQion of Philip Maſſinger. See p. 228, Ne 2. a 8 Q. — of Candia. 9 Tad Melancholy. J father ſpited tht pitied him, (ys old Montagne ) when I ſaw him at Ferrara, in ſo pitious a plight, that he ſurvived himſelfe, mis-acknowledging both himſelfe and his la- bours, which, unwitting to him and even to his face, have been Publiſhed both uncorrected and maimed.” Florio's tranſlation, 1603. Probably Peele's play, entitled Mabomet and Hiren, the Jun Greeks See Vol. V. p. 332. n. . 2 Palamon and Arcite, On this old play The Two noble 2 was probably founded, U 4 R. the 295 EMENDATIONS//AND | ADDITIONS: R. the 30 of ſeptember Igo, at doen s. to den A. tier froſtofe ®, [24 ii. Hi. o. — 4 of october 1594, at the love EA — F a greſan lady, [12] ii. - Os —— 13 of. october. 1594, at 1% to 5 ——— frenjhe docter, [11] 8. xii o. . 22 of october 1 $94-at a knacke - 3 350 know a wonefte*, [19] - o. 8, — 8 of november 1594, at — 8 & pompie®, [8] VV „ Os — 16 of november 1594, at deo- | cleſyan, [ 2 — S. ii. o. — 30 of november 1594, at - rt... | lam chefter, [7] = . Os — 2 of delember 1594, at the N | ewiſe men of cheſter, [20] =, 0. xxviii. o. —— 14 of deſember 1 594» at the 601% maaue *, [4] o, KKXXUU, o. — 19 of deſember 1894. At: t ohe | 2 pre of tamberlen, [11] % Nui. o. — 256 of deſember 1 594». at the ji fege of london, [12 iii. 0. — 11 of febreary 1594, at the | 1 frenſhe comedey, 721 K "IE 1. o. — 14 of febreary 1594, at long | mnnaege of weſtmeſter, [18] = Ml. 9. — 21 of febreary 1594, at the — mnuacſes, 1 - *\ Mpc Oo: Os — 5 of marché 1594, at Jeles es 5 E 1 Ne eren y Chriſtopher Aber 2 A knack. to know an honeſt man. This play was printed in 1596. 3, Stephen Goſſon mentions a play entitled The Hiſtory of Ceſar and Pompey, which was acted before 1580. | 4 The mat was a game at cards. hs play. "he is afterwards calle The feut (ſuit) at mawwe. S This alſo was a game at cards. s Soleq is afterwards written Selys, and the play is is in a ſubſequent entry called Olimpo and Hengenga. | R. the EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS. 297 R. the 7 of maye 1595, at the firſt l. . 0 pte of Herculous ', [10] | = ii. XU Os — 23 of maye 1595, at the 2 p. : / Hercolaus, 183 2. i. *. ——- 3 of June 1595, at the vii dayes | of the weeke, [19] = = Uk. 8. —— 18 of June 1595, at the 2 pte of fefore, (Cr f , 19 — 20 of June 1594, at antony & | | wallea 9, [3 | - =; Os: . 29 of auguſt 1595, at /onge- | | ſhancke*, [14] - = 0, 0. 5 of of ſeptember 1595, at | cracke mee this notte, 16] ii. o. o. 17 of ſeptember 1505, at 25e | eworldes tragedy, [II] ——_ W 9. 2 of october 1595, at the deſ= gyſes, [6] — - — O. xxxxiii. O. 15 of october 1595, at the wons c 5 der of a Wanda, [10] - O. wy 1111. = 75 29 of october 1595, at barnar- do & fiamata, (7. 14 of november 1595, at a oye to pleaſe my ladye*, [7] 28 of november 1595, at harry | the v. „ [13] - i, 1 29 of november 1595, at zhe OE F avelſheman, [1] - - 0. | vii. O. 7 Hercules, written by Martin Slaughter. 8 Probably · on the ſubject of Shakſpeare's play. # 9 This piece was entered in the Stationers' books by Humphrey" | Moſely, June 29, 1660, as the production of Philip Maſlinger, Probably Peele's play, entitled The famous Chronicle of King . Edward I. firnamed Edward Long-ſharkes, printed in 1593. 2 Afterwards called A toy to pleaje chaſte ladies. 3 I ſuppoſe, the play entitled The famous victories of K. Henry A* containing the honourable battel of Agincourt, 1598; in which may be found the rude outlines of our poet's two parts of X. Henry IV. and X. Henry L. | ' X R. the by * — — ⁵ſ : — — ——— — ——— —ÿ—ẽ SS» OO ono ES — — — — — — p —— — —- — „298 EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS. R. the 3 of ſenewary 1595, at chinon l. . 4. e Ingland, [11] — Cs LE Op — 15 of Jenewary-I595,at petha 5 fe 8 gerus , [13] - 0 XVI o. — 3 of febreary 1595, at the 15. Eb >» of Porteunatus 3, [7] — iii. Os Os — 12 of febreary 15065 at the | blind 2 og of Alexandria, 125 13 = iii. Do: 0. — 209 of aprill 1596, at Soba and apoſtata, [3] — 8. Nui. o. 19 of maye 1596, at he tra- ; gedie of ffacaſſt?, [7] = o. xxXxV. o. — 22 of June 1596, at Troye, [4] iii. D. Os — 1 of July 1596, at paradox, [1] o. xxxxv. o. —— 15S of July 1596, at the owt wel of totnes,. SET a 9 Do O. 15 1 the name of Git, „ blk, beginning one [on] Simone and Fewads day, my lord admeralles men, as followethz 1596. Here twenty plays are ſet down as having been per- formed between October 27, and November 15, 1 * but their titles have all been already e ö % Tn the name of Ged, Amen, beginninge the 25 of november 3590, as Followeth, the lord admerall players : | '£ . R. the 4 of deſember 1596, at Valte- | | r o. — 11 of ddeſember 1 596. 1 oo Senke L 1] — — . m. o. 4 Patbderias; written by Martin Slaughter, y Thomas Dekker. This play is printed. 5 By George Chapman. Printed in 1598. 7 Phocas, by Martin Slaughter. A © This play was printed in black letter in 1663. ED | Gs R. the EMENDATIONS ' AND ADDITIONS. 299 R. the 19 of deſember 1596, at nebu- A 32" cadonixer, [8] «12 6 8. zo of deſember 1596, at what | 30 of June 1597, at life and death of Martin Swarte, [3] a . 14 of July 1597, at the auiche [witch] of Iſiyngton *, [2] — „ 9 The fums received by Mr. Henſlowe from this place are ranged in five columns, in ſuch a manner as to furniſh no preciſe information. 1 Perhaps Ben Jonſon's Every man in his bumcur. It will appear hereafter that he had money dealings with Mr. Henſlowe, the manager of this theatre, and that he wrote for him. The play might have been afterwards purchaſed from this company by the Lord Chamberlain's Servants, by whom it was aCted in 1598. 2 This could not have been the play already mentioned, becauſe in that Henry does not die; nor could it have been Shakſpeare's play. 3 Afterwards written— Baſelia. 3 4 This piece was performed a ſecond time on the 28th of July, when this account was cloſed. 1 : «& In 29) awill be ſhall be, [12] = o. 8 — 14 of Jenewary 1597, at alex- os | ander & ledæwicꝶe, [15] O. Iv. o. — 27 of Jenewary 1597, at womar hard to pleaſe, [12] = 6. + . — of febreary 1597, at O/e- 8 | ryck, [2] 05:5 MW — 3. 8 2. 1. — 19 9 marche 1597, at guido, 9 | 2 5 Pa 8 —7 i aprill 1597, at o plays in one, [10 - - w— — 13 of aprill 1597, at times tri- umph and foztus, [1] — - — a — 29 ot aprill 1597, at Cter pen- * dragon, [5] — — 8 0 — 11 of maye 1597, at the comedy | of amers, (humours?) [11] n — 26 of maye 1597, at harey the I fifte life and death *, [6] 3 8 — 3 of June 1597, at frederycke 3 | and baſellers*, [4] = . 25. — 22 of June 1597, at Henges, [I] — 8299-4 300 EMENDATIONS” AND Abprrroxs. « In the name of Gd, Auen, the 11 of octoben, begann my lord admeralls and my lord of f men fo playe at my Howe; 2997-35155 HINT LIE) bat y October 11, at Feranymo, . 12, at the comedy of umers, 16. at doger foftes, 19. at hardacnute, | 31. at frier /pendelton, November 2. at Bourbon, oh 'The e IT curious paper furniſhes us with more accurate knowledge of the properties, &c., of a theatre in Shakſpeare's time, than the refearches of the moſt induſtrious antiquary could have attained. « The booke of the Inventary of the n of my Tord Admeralles men, fachen the 10 * Marche in the yeare 1 * 15 ! Gone and loſte. len, j orenge taney ſatten dublet, layd 8 . gold lace; Item, ; blew tafetie ſewt. | Teen, j payr of carnatyon ſatten Veneſyons, layd with 8 gold lace. Item, j longe-ſhanckes ſewte. Y Item, j Sponnes dublet pyncket. Item, j Spanerds gyrcken, Item, Harey the fyftes dublet. Item, Harey the fyftes vellet gowne. Ny ; Item, j fryers gowne, | Item, ] Iyttell dublet for boye. & The Enventary of the Clowwnes Ibs! and W Seaotes, with dievers other fewtes, 4 as en, 1 85 the $0.of March. 1 | RIS Item, j ſenetores gowne, 4 hoode, and 5 ſenetores capes. 8 | From, J Bb for Nepton; Fiettrackes ſewtes for obe. | Trey *111] geneſareyes omnes, and * torchberers ſewtes. 1 EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS. 30 . {:em, 11j payer of red ſtraſers, I ſtroſſers] and 11 fares — gone of buckrome. | Item, iiij Herwodes cottes, and 11 ſogers cottes, and j green gown for Maryan, Item, vj grene cottes for Roben Hoode, and 111j knaves . lewtes. Item, ij payer of grene hoſſe, and Anderſones ſewte. j whitt ſhepen clocke. Item, ij roſſet cottes, and j black freſe cotte, and 113 preſtes cottes. | Item, ij whitt ſheperdes cottes, and ij Danes ſewtes, | and j payer of Danes hoſſe. Item, The Mores lymes*, and Hercolles lymes, and | Will. Sommers ſewtte. ; Iten, ij Orlates ſewtes, hates and gorgetts, and vij | anteckes cootes. „ Iiem, Cathemer ſewte, j payer of cloth whitte ſtockens, iiij Turckes hedes. | Item, ilij freyers gownes and 111 hoodes to them, and - . j fooles coate, cape, and babell, and bran- 1 howlttes bodeys, [bodice] and merlen [Mer- | lin's] gowne and cape. _ 1 Item, ij black ſaye gownes, and ij cotton gownes, and j rede ſaye gowne. | Item, j mawe gowne of calleco for the quene s, j car- nowll [card inal's] hatte. „ Item, j red ſewt of cloth for pyge [Pſyche], layed with whitt lace. 53 „ Item, v payer of hoſſe for the clowne, and v gerkenes | for them. | 78 þ 5 | Tem, ij payer of canvas hoſſe for aſane, ij payer of black ſtrocers. | Item, j yelow leather dublett for a clowne, j Whitt- 2 comes dublett poke. | N 51 'ſuſpect that theſe were the limbs of Aaron the Moor in Tiens Andronicus, who in the original play was probably tortured on the ſtage. This ancient exhibition was ſo much approved of by Ravenſ. croft, that he introduced it in his play.—In The Battle of Alcazar there is alſo a Moor, whoſe dead body is brought on the ſtage, but not in a diſlocated ſtate. In the play called Mary, | | Item, 302 EMENDATIONS/ AND ADDITIONS. __ 11 donnes hattes. 0 tem, j payer of yelow cotton ſleves, j goſtes ſewt, and j goſtes bodeyes. Iten, xviij copes and hattes, Verones ſonnes hoſſe. Item, iij trumpettes and a drum, and a trebel viall, a baſſe viall, a bandore, a ſytteren, j an- ſhente, [ancient] j whitt hatte. Item, j hatte for Robin Hoode, j hobihorſe. Item, v ſhertes, and j ſerpelowes, [ſurplice] iiij fer- Item, Eves bodeyes, [bodice] j pedante truſſer, and dingalles. | he 6g Item, vj head-tiers, j fane, [fan] iiij rebatos, ij gyrke- truſes. 3 Item, j longe ſorde. «© The Enventary of all the aparell for my Lord Admeralles men, tacken the 10 of marche 1598,—Leaft above in the tier=houſe in the cheaſt. | | Tem, My Lord Caffes [ Caiphas?] gercken, & his hooſſe. Item, ] payer of hoſſe for the Dowlfen [Dauphin]. Iten, j murey lether gyrcken, & j white lether gercken. Item, j black lether gearken, & Nabeſathe ſewte. Item, j payer of hoſſe, & a gercken for Valteger. Item, ij leather anteckes cottes with baſſes, for Faye- ton [Phaeton]. 55 | Dem, j payer of bodeyes for Alles [Alice] Pearce. « The Enventary tacken of all the properties for my Lord | Admeralles men, e 10 of Marche 1598. Item, j rocke, j cage, j tombe, j Helle mought [Hell- mouth]. ; | 11050 | Item, j tome of Guido, j tome of Dido, j bedſteade. Item, viij lances, j payer of ſtayers for Fayeton. Item, ij ſtepells, & j chyme of belles, & j beacon. Item, j hector for the playe of Faeton, the limes dead. Item, I globe, & j golden ſcepter; iij elobes clubs]. Item, ij marchepanes, & the ſittie of RRame. Item, j gowlden flece; ij rackets; j baye tree. Item, j wooden hatchett; j lether hatchete. Item, EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS. 303 Jem, j wooden canepie; owld Mahemetes head. 2 5 j lyone ſkin ; j beares ſkyne; & Faetones lymes, & Faeton charete; & Argoſſe [ Argus's] heade. Item, Nepun | Neptune 81 forcke & garland. Item, j crolers ſtafe; Kentes woden leage [leg]. | Item, Ieroſſes [Iris's] head, & raynbowe zj litteil alter. Item, viij viſerdes; Tamberlyne brydell ; j wooden matook. | Item, Cupedes bowe, & quiver; the clothe of the Sone & Mone). Item, j bores heade & Serberoſſe [ Cerberus] iij heades. liem, j Cadeſeus; ij moſe [ moſs] banckes, & j ſnake. Item, ij fanes of feathers; Belendon ſtable; j tree of gowiden apelles; Tantelouſe tre; Jx eyorn iron] targates. liem, j copper targate, & xvij foyles. | liem, 111) wooden targates; j greve armer. Item, j ſyne [ſign] for Mother Readcap ; j buckler. {tem, Mercures wings; Taſſo picter; 3 helmet with a dragon; j ſhelde, with 1 11 1yones ; J elme bowle. | Tem, j chayne of dragons ; j gylte ſpeare. | Item, 1j coffenes; J bulles head ; and j vylter. Item, 11] tymbrells; ; } dragon in foſtes [ Fauſtus.] Item, j N ij lyon heades; j great horſe with his f leages [legs]; j fack-bute. 3 Item, j whell & frame in the Sege of 8 „ diem, j paire of row ghte gloves. | Item, ] poopes miter. | Item, 11) Imperial erownes; j playne crowne. Item, J goſtes crown; j crown with a fone. Item, j frame for the heading in Black Jone. Iiem, j black dogge. X Item, J cauderm tor the Jewe . ; 7 3 we "Es the enly attempt which this Inventory furnithes of any thing like ſcenery, and it was undoubtedly the ne plus ultra of thoſe days. To exhibit a ſun or moon, the art of peiſpective Was not neceſſary. : | be Fewof Mitte. 838 | N 75 on” | | 7 he „er 4 n 2 — Anas — = _ UC PIR £ — — . 2 _ — — 9 _ I — ines * 304 EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS. « The Enventorey of all the aparell of the Lord Admeralles men, taten the 13th of March 1598, as followeth : Item, j to of whitte ſaten Veneſons cut with coper 5 ace. Item, j aſh coller ſatten doublett, lacyd with gold lace. Item, j peche coller ſatten doublett. Item, j owld whitte ſatten dublette. Item, ] bleu tafitie ſewtte. Item, j Mores cotte. Lem, Pyges [Pſyches] damaſk gowne. Item, j black ſatten cotte. Lem, j harcoller tafitie ſewte of pygges. Item, j white tafitie ſewte of pygges. Item, Vartemar ſewtte. Item, j great pechcoller dublet, with Gylver lace. Item, j white ſatten dublet pynckte. Item, j owld white ſatten dublet pynckte. Item, j payer of ſatten Veneſyan ſatten ymbradered. Item, j payer of French hoſſe, cloth of gowld. Item, j payer of cloth of gowld hoſſe with ſylver paines, Item, j payer of cloth of ſilver hoſſe with ſatten and ſylver panes. Lem, Tamberlynes cotte, with coper lace. Ttem, j read clock with white coper lace. Lem, j read clocke with read coper lace, Item, j ſhorte clocke of taney ſatten with ſleves. Item, j ſhorte clocke of black ſatten with ſleves. Lem, Labeſyas clocke, with gowld buttenes. Item, j payer of read cloth hoſſe of ans gc with ſylver lace of coper. Tres, Valteger robe of rich tafitie. Hiem, Junoes cotte. Nem, J hode for the wech [ witch. ] Item, j read ſtamel clocke with whitte coper lace, Item, } read ſtame] clocke with read.coper lace. Item, j cloth clocke of ruſſete with coper lace, called Guydoes clocke. I, 3 3 ſhort clocke of black velvet, with ſleves faced with ſhagg. Item, — EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS. zog Ttem, j ſhort clocke of black vellet, faced with white fore [ fur}. 125 8 Item, j manes gown, faced with whitte fore. Item, Dobes cotte of cloth of ſylver. | Item, j payer of pechecoler Veneſyones uncut, with read coper lace, Item, j read ſcarllet clocke with ſylver buttones. Item, j 5 3 velvet clock, layd with brod lace lack. Item, j black ſatten ſewtte. f | Item, j blacke velvet clocke, layed with twyſt lace bdlacke. | | Item, Perowes ſewt, which Wm, Sley were. Item, j payer of pechcoler hoſſe with ſylver corlled anes. Item, j payer of black cloth of ſylver, hoſſe, drawne owt with tufed tafittie. Item, Tamberlanes breches, of crymſon vellvet. Item, j payer of ſylk howſe with panes of ſylver corlled - lace, | Item, j Faeytone ſewte, : Item, Roben Hoodes ſewtte. | Item, j payer of cloth of gowld hoſe with gowld corlle | panes. | Item, j oe: of rowne hoſſe buffe with gowld lace. Item, j payer of mows | mouſe] coller Veneſyans with R. brode gowld lace. Item, j flame collerde dublet pynked. Item, j blacke ſatten dublet, layd thyck with blacke | and gowld lace. ; Item, j, carnacyon dabled cutt, layd with gowld lace. Item, j white ſatten dublet, faced with read tafetie. Item, j grene gyrcken with ſylver lace. Item, j black gyrcken with ſylver lace, „ Item, j read gyrcken with ſylver lace. | Item, j read Spanes | Spaniſh] dublett ſtyched. Item, j peche coller ſatten caſſe. Item, Iaſoes robe. Item, j murey robe with ſleves. Vor. I. Pak r II. *X Lem, Wl 2 » * e . n 7 - , 3 722 * Du Py „ > 19+ er —— 8 8 e 2 2 p D n e | PR * — — Wms, DIne Tee EY Ws. A . | 306 EMENDATIONS/ AND ADDITIONS, Item, i blewe robe with ſleves. Tem, j oren taney orange tewnyT' robe with deve. Item, j pech ſieve hallf robe. Iten, ö lane [long] robe with . 8 Item, I white & orenge taney ſkarf pang, T Lien, Dides Dido 5 robe. ang oibis E Item, 11j payer of baſſes. 8 Item, j white tafitie ſherte with gowld frenge. Item, the fryers truſſe in Roben Hoode. ä 8 Item, j littell gacket for Pygge [Pſyche]. Item, j womanes gown of cloth of gowld. | ; Item, ] orenge taney vellet gowe [gown] with Oler lace, for women. Item, 5 — velvet gowne ymbradered with gowld ; lim, j yelowe 3 gowne ppb wich 0 & gowld lace, for women ans 1 T | Item, j greve armer. | Ttem, Harye the v. velvet gowne. | | llama) j payer of crymſon ſatten Venyſiones, leyd with LOR gowld lace. A | 8 J blew tafitie ſewte, layd with ſylver Meese | Item, J Longeſhankes ſeute. Item, j orange: er ſatten dublett, layd with gow | > Jram, = the v.“ ſatten dublet, layd with, gowld acc... 5 Iten, j Spanes caſſe dublet of cry .mſon pyncked. 170 9 3 nes gearcken la . ſylver lace. Item, J. wattſhode [watcher] tafitie dublet for a boye. Item, ij payer. of baſſes, j whitte, ieee of. ſaſnett. Item, j ffeyers gowne of rays. A 0k maoy E H, õ 2 Aoig; bs 19478? iw, 40 3191dob 8 Hg wot wo! to 19y8q e ban OST I g 3100 } £9089 207 Qq9vivt lg 00D to Ron . 1 0 238 DIO 1 * b bysI © 0% | vat van 10] vm 10 1igwod vs N © 7 | 31710} VI 10 112 Bod ore Oe 1 N . 8 5 8 n iy 1 — * 6 — we OP : ORE! WI US nin... 2 * ** EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS. 407 Note. ef all ſueh boockss. as belong ” the Stocke, and fach as have bought foro the 3d of March, 1598. Black Jſonne Woman will have her will. The Umers. Wielchmaps price: Faves, | King Arthur, life and death. Borbonne. 1 pt of Hercules. Sturgflatect 7). 2 pð of Hereoles, Brunhowlle. Pethagores. Cobler quen hire. Focaſſe. Frier Pendelton. EFElexſander and Lodwicke, Alls Perce. | Blacke Battman. Read Cappe. 2 p. black Battman. Roben Hode, 1. 2 pt of Goodwine. Roben Hode, 2. Mad mans morris. Phaeyton. Perce of Wincheſter. Treangell cockowlls. VIyToges 7 Goodwine, | A Note of all ſuche a as 1 We bought for as Obes paney of my Lord Admirals men, ſence the 3 of 4prell, 1598, as followeth : g F | wy „1. ds Bowght a damaſſce caſock garded with Ar 0 18 0 Bowght a payer of paned rownd hoſſe of cloth 10 iped with ſylk, drawne out with tafitie, I © . 0 Bowght j payer of long black wollen ſtockens, Bowght j black ſatten dublett Bou ght J payer of 155 howfle paned of vellevet Bowght a robe for te g0⁰ Snviſebelt © [0 Bowght a gown for Nembia © = Bowght a dublett of whitt ſatten layd =| 2 415 © with gowld lace, and a payer of rowne pandes hoſſe of cloth of . the panes layd with gowld lace — Bowght of my ſonne v ſewtes — | | Bowght of my ſonne iiij ſewtes - = 17 © % 2 In 308 EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS, In the folio manuſcript already mentioned I have found . of the following plays, , and "Hoi ſeveral authors: . 1397+, Mather Redcap, by Ants Mundy “, and Jan. Michael Pray ton. "rn Dido and Eneas, 7791192” (Phaeton, by Thomas Dekker 5. De World runs upon Wheels, by G. Chapman. 97. Thi Cobler. Nes. is Feb. The frft gore of Robin Hood, by Anthony | 1597-89 Mundys T, be ſecond, part of the downfall of earl Hun- "tington, firnamed Robinhood, by Anthony * Mundy, and Henry Chettle. 4 8 avill haue her auill 7, by William _- *Haoghton 5. 1 The Miller, by Robert Lee. 4 The beſt for comedy amongſt us bee, Edward Earle of Oxforde, Doctor Gager of Oxforde, Maiſter Rowleye, once a rare ſcholler of learned Pembroke Hall in Cambridge, Maiſter Edwardes, ont of her Majeſties happell, eloquent and witty John Lily, Lodge, Gaſeoyne, 'Greenc, Shakſpeare, Thomas Naſhe, Anthony Mundye our beſt plotter, Chapman, Porter, Wilſon, Hathw and Henry Chettle.” Wu Treaſury, being the Second Part of Vn Common- Wealth, by Francis Meres, 1 598, pe 283. The latter writer, Henry Chettle, is the perſon whoſe teſtimony with reſpect to our poet's exit as an actor has _ already ſproduced, Chettle, it appears, wrote 92505 or in ag lo ion with others, not leſs than Le, rg, of Ich one onl . 1 5 s Tragedy) is now extant. 15 In the folts wing month I find this entrys = « Lent unto 7p company, the 4 of Febreary 1 398, to Gehen Mr. Dicker owt of the cownter in the powltrey, the ſome of fortie ſhillinges, I tay dd [delivered to Thomas Downton, Xxxxs. SS 205 6 In a ſubſequent page is the following entry: : © Lent . Shawe, the 18 of Novemb. 1598, to lend unto Mr. Cheattle, ch t mending of Abe art of Robert Hoode, the ſum of xs. , And afterwards—* For mending of Robin Hood for the corte.“ This piece and Its fecond ore have hitherto, on the ee Kirkman, been falfely afcribed to Thomas Heywood. 7 Printed in 1616, under the title of E ngliſÞmen For ny mend, or 4 Woman will bave ber will. The only notice of this poet that I have met with, except what is contained in theſe ſheets, is the following: “ Lent unto Robert Shawe, the 10 of Marche 1 5997 [1600] to lend Mr, Ne out of 9 A 3051 tbe be che ſome of 1 83 . 5 Fa ? ks. 5 > : 9. j 6 t þ 4 A 2 . 3 DJ ; & N 7 3 by 1 * * TA 4 EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS.. 30g A booke; wherein is a part of. @ Welchman,”? by Michael Drayton and Henry Chettle?, Mar. 1 598. T he T riplicity of Cuckolds, by Thomas Dekker. The famous wars of Henry the Firſt and the Prince of W ales, by Michael Dray ton and Thomas Dekker. | Kors Goodwin and his three ſons 2, by Michael Drayton, Henry Chettle, Thomas Dek- ker, and Robert Wilſon... The ſecond Part of Goodwin, & c. by Michael Drayton. - 8 Pierce of HEætons, by the ſame four authors. April The Life of Arthur king af England, by 1598. Richard Hathwaye. The firſt part of Black Batman of the North, by Henry Chettle. ©. ,, The ſecond part of Black Batman, by Henry rd Chettle, and Robert Wilſon. | May The firſt part of Hercule, (by Martin 1598. The ſecond part of Hercules, bod Phocas, N 1 Pythagoras, . aughter. LD Alexander and Lodowick *, : 9 Perhaps The Valiant Welehman, printed in 161 N 2 There was a play on this ſubject written by R. dee and acted by the king's company in 1624; as appears by Sir Henry Herbert's Manuſcript. Perhaps it was only the old play new-mo-, delled, It was afterwards (1660) entered on the Stationers books by a K aviſh bookſeller, and aſcribed to Shakſpeare.. Ap ubjoined to the account of this play is the. following ae : ce Lent at that time unto the companys for to ſpend at the reading of that booclcę at the ſonne [Sun] in new Fiſh Street, vs.” 2 © Lent unto Thomas Dowton the 11 of April}. 1598, to bye tafitie to macke a rochet for the biſhoppe in earle Gaodwine, xzilij s.“ 3 1 ſuppoſe a play on the ſubje& of X. Richard II. | 4 © Lent unto the company, the 16 of Maye 15 2 to bye v boockes of Martin Stather, called 2 ptes of Hercolus, & focas, & pethagores, and alyxander and lodieck, which laſt boocke he hath not yet delyver- ed, the fome of viili.” He afterward received 20s. more on delivering the play laſt named, —He was a player, and one of the Lord dmiral's Servants. Theſe plays, we have already ſeen, had been ated ſome years. before It appears from various entries in this book, that the price of an old play, when transferred from one theatre to another, was two pounds, X 3 Lowe. — —2 — — — 310 EMEND ATTONS AND ADDITIONS. Toe Prewented, by Henry Porter. 1 Fbe r of Richard Cordblion, by Robert 119. 0.» WiHfon, Henry Chettle, Anthony Mun- dy, and Michael Drayton. June The Will of a Woman, by Geory Chapmall 1598. oy * Mad Man's Morris, by * Wilſon, Michael Drayton, and Thomas Dekker. \S KI Reads, and Hermes, by Robert Wilſon, Michael Drayton, and Thomas Dekker. 7 Valentine and Orfon, by Richard Hathwaye, 15 3. and Anthony Mundy. „ eee e mnchefler, by Thos. Dekker, I Robert Wilſon, and Michael Drayton. | "RY The Play, of a Waeman, by Henry Chettle. NMI ny? ae Congueſt HF Brute, this, Anthor 7 Mo da * Willia Bor S, a bri 18 0 er, Omas . Richard 1 — * Richard Alen. William Borne, alias, Bird, a dramatic bet, whoſe name fre- quehtly gecurs in this manuſèeript, Was RIA ireting, as'i9ſcer- * tained by a memorandum, worth tranſeribing on another account} Memarandum, thet the 10 of cayguſt, 15g ?Wair Borne came and ofered him ſealfe to come and play with:my, lord admiralles men at m ſe called by the name of the Roſe, fete wate one [on] the bande Abd ld o Ng ge. Te Weit de me d. deen and [an] aſſumſett to forfett unto me A hundeeth marckes, of lafull maney of Ingland, ayf he do not performe thes\thinges following; that is, preſentley after libertie beinge granted for playinge, to come & with my lorde admiralles men at ſſe aforſayd, S 5 Sher howfſe publick abow 100 08 e ſpace of iij eares being imediatly after this reſtraynt is receiled by the, lardes,of ' Ge count which frame e he ne fe, 1770 of Dooges ide of age]. If he do 1 0 he. Loſs s, th if «ſump et afore, or ells not. Witneſs to « Alleyn-& Robſones „ $39 — X 4 The « - — tool — =o — 2 —U—U—äʒ ¹d-ꝰ!!. r 312 EMENDATIONSS AND ADDITIONS: nei „Fri, Fox an Gillian 2 Brentford, by Thos, | Dovaton, and Lane Kal, . 2128 e KReuenge, with the. t 457 o oly- pbemus, by Henry Chettle. Wl rigfh:i; be Tevo. Merry i om - 3 15 79 ths Henry Forte. O07 The Four Kings. l March he Sperceri, 15 Henry 3 : 1598-9. Oreſtes furies, by Thomas Dekker. June Agamemnon, by Henry Chettle and 'Thomas 1599. Dekker. e Gentle Craft, by hows Dekker. Bear a brain, by Thomas ooh | Aug. he Paar man's Paradiſe, by Wm. Haughton. 1599. The Stepmather's Tragedy, by Henry Chettle. nod uct! Thedammitable tragedy of Peg of Plymouth, by | F — — Bird, Thos. Downton, and Wie 03d 18 H be Nov. The Ti ragedy of John Cox of alain by 0 1599. aughton and John Day. Ans H as The Hecond part of Henry Richmond, by Ro- g bert Wilſon !. | "The. tragedy of Thomas Merry, by William Haughton, and John ö BW va, e ee . hireling is aſcertained / by the following 1. $95 mora dom, that the 27, of Jewley, 15975 75 1 5 Thomas Heatne with ij pence for to ſerve me ij yeares in the qualetie of playenge, for gau Hillinges a weeck for one yeare, and vis. viii d- for the other ys ere, which - hath; cotenanted hime ſealfe to ſerve me, 8c not to epart from my company N thes ij cares is ended. Witneſs to this, John Synger, James Non Thomas Towne. - . The note relative" to this. play 3 is worth preſervi Ig. © Lent unto Harey Porter, at the requeſt of the company, in carneſt of his booke called ij merey wemen of abington, the ſome of forty ſhellengs, and 2 Ne e af that money he gave me his faythfull promiſe: that I have alle his bookes which he writte ether him ſelſ or with: au etz Whi ſome was dd. 1 the 28ch wok febreary; 1898. n + #* $14 „ Ty 1335 e ſpelling of the wordw=receip rds af th l in — 3 * cy) — O, N. Jo * piece the poet received eight pounds The common price | Dec. was ſix pounds. EMENDATIONS/ AND ADDITIONS: 313 Dee. e by Thomas Dekker, Henry 2599. Chettie, — William Haughton. 75 be Arcadian' Virgin, by Henry Chettle, and William Haughton," Jan. Oer Tudor; by Michael Drayton, Richard 1 1509-1600, Hathwaye, ee N and Rt. Wilſon. 148A wad? The Ttalion Tragedh, by John Day. Jugaruba, by William Boyle. Truth Supplication' to Candlelight, by Tho, Dekker. The Spaniſh Morris, by Thomas Dekker, Wm. Haughton, and John Day. Damon and Pythias, by Henry Chettle. | March, The Seven Wiſe Maſters\"by Henry Chettle, 1 1599-1600. Thomas Doktor)" nam Haughton, mW Dae and Joha Day A it April Ferrex and Porrex3, by * Haughton. 1600. The Engliſh Fugitives, by the ſame. 1. Ph As and Cupid and Pſyche, by Tlc,hlhomas Dekker, John Daye, and Henry | Chettle. Type Wooing of Death, by Henry Chettle. Alice Pierce. © Strange news out of Poland, by William HFaughton, and Pett. „ Be Blind Beggar of 700 Green, by Henry 3 Chettle, and John Day. June ge Fair Conſtance o, Rome, by Anthony 1600. Mundy, Richard Hathwaye, Michael PDrayton, and Thomas Dekker. Sind 8. 1 . The e ſecqnd part of the 1 — 5 of, Aome 92ood gift to Rot 11 BY o&RE: Aan. 012 10 % moe en! bns 22 malt” Hey e I Here and above, (fee Dawn wad Ping) FH © Yap Inks joſtances of old plays being re- written. There was à dramatick picte by Lord Buciehurſt and Thomas Norton, with the title of Ferre a Porrex, printed in 1570. 1 97 and Pythiars 10 ichard Edwards, Was printed in 1 _ cat 7 ia 4 - w% 9 1 Nuo 9934 mails . . #4 = 4 F461 "£ ® © Diels 314 EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS. December Robinhood*s Penn orths,. by Wm. Haughton. 1600. Hannibal and Scipio, by: Ric hard Hathwaye, and William Rankinss. Feb. Scogan and Shelton, by the ſame. | 1600-1. The: Second Part of 7. _ Strowat , by = William Haughton, and John Day 7, March The conqueſt of Spain by Fohn of Gaunt, by Richard Hathwaye, —— Hawkins, Jann Day, and Wm. Haughton. | All is nt gold that glifters, by Samnel "WO Rowley, and Henry Chettle. April The Conqueſt of the Weſt Indies, by Wentworth 1601. Smith, William Haughton, and Joon [! ; To » Day Wo v0 8 | | Sebaſtian king ** Pertogal, by Henry Chettle, and Thomas Dekker. ' The Six Teomen of the. Weſt, by William | Haughton, and John Day. The Third Part of Thomas Strowde, by Wm. _. Haughton, and John Day. | The honourable life of the humorous earl of | Gloſter, auith his conqueſt 7 ee ; Ange: 12. by: Anthony Wadeſon. 1601. Cardinal Molſeys, by Henry Chettle. 25 The proud woman of Antwerp, by William ty *,- - "Haughton, and John Day. fr. 5s This = appears to have been K called Themes vanes: and 2 Toe Blind Beggor of Naubna Greene, See the title page Of that play. i gie „1 flo: 4 > pd Paid unto John Daye, at the apoyntment 3, the,company, 905 2 of Hae 1601, after s playing of the 2 Pe Stroud the ſome of as. 100 Up „ edLXXXX fi on 8 40 Layd out at the canes of my . and the companys unto; harey cheitle, for the 3 of the booke of carnowlle Woll ſey the 23 of June 160, the ſome. G MAI 1 FR thug eg was, (be witten rien, by Chettle. = 2 Of iff 3, 60 ji 0 208 d: (B93 Nov 0109 Gen No viel ia 4 2 "IT is 80 19 t ES $i Jo EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS. 318 Nov. 12. The Rifng of Cardinal Molſey o, hy Anthony 1601. Mundy,Michael Drayton, Henry Chettle, and Wentworth Smith. CL he” Six Clothiers" of ib cue, by Richard a Wentworth _— and Wm. "Th Stednd" Part of rhe Six Chebiers, by the 1G} , ame- "Ma 27 00 good to be true, by Henry Chettle, 14601. Nich Hathwaye, and Wentworth Smith. | Judas, by William Haughton, Samuel ow Jan. ley and William Borne. | 414 1601-2. The Spaniſh Fig. Apr. 1602. Malcolm king > Scots, by Charles Maſly.. May Love parts friend/bhip, by Henry Chettle, 1602. and Wentworth Smith. 0e Second Part of Cardinal WA ofe 2y Þ by Henry Chettle. | The Briſtol Tragedy, by John Day? . Tobyas, by Henry Chettle. * 1 by Henry Chettle. 3 $0 called in one place; in another The Fir Part of Carditial Wilſey, It was not produced till ſome months after the play written orgaltered by Chettel. Thirty-eight pounds were expended in the dreſſes, &c. for Chettel's play; of which ſum twenty-five ſhillings were paid ** for velvet and mackynge of the docters gowne. The two parts of Cardinal Welſey were performed by the earl of Worceſter's ſervants. © 2 This aurhor was likewiſe a player, and in the ſame fituation with Heywood, as appears from the following entry : «© Memorandum, that the 16 of november, 1598, I hired Charles M affey and Samuel Rowley, for a year and as muche'as to ſraftide, [ ShrovetideJ begenynge at the day above written, after the ſtatute of Wincheſter, with ij ſyngell pence ; and forther they have covenanted with me to playe in my howfle and in no other howſle (dewringe the time) publick but in mine: yf they do withowt my conſent to forfite unto me xxxxlb. a Fete. Witneſs Thomas Dowton, Ropers „ Edw. Jubey."” 2 4 Lent unto Thomas Downtvh, the 18th of wan 1602] to bye maſkynge antycke ſewts for the 2 parte of 'Carnowlle Wollſey, the ſome of jy Ib. vs. — ““ 27 of may, to bye Wm. Somers cotte, and other thinges, the ſome of iij Ib.“ 3 Probably The Fair Maid of Bri Aol, Hinte! in 1605. Two Nr — —— — 316 EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS. ee Nahe Harpies, by Dekker, Drayton, Mid- ben das lilleton, Webſter, and Mundy. EE Daniſßb Tragedy; by Henry Chettle. 1602. TheHidow's Charm , by Anthony Mundy, A Medlidine for a Curt Nite, by T. Dekker. boo Sarpfon, by Samuel Rowley, and Edw. Jubye. Sept Milam Cartwright, by William Haughton. 1602. F knees by i nn and — men sſtänſon . | „Smog Jeliaa, by Samuel Rowley. M5 Oct. 16020Randall earl: of Cheſter, by T. Middleton“. Nov. Ai merry us may be, [ated at court] by J. Daye, 1602. Wentworth Smith, and R. Hathwaye. Allbete Galles, by Thomas Heywood, and Nel ado! bn: Wentworth Smith. | Marſhal Ojrick, by: Thomas Heywood, and Wentworth Smith. he Three B Tekker, © ee by Wentworth U „lug Smith. 81998 f „il 100 ady! Jane, hy . Chetile, . 0 zi faite, 916 Dekker, Thomas Heywood, 2p eee Ms eee Smith, and John Webſter. 5 box The Second part of Lady Fane, du N uc yo :Cbriſtmas comes but once a year, by I. Dekker. i 5 N Kere een. John Webiter, n ail p61 and Thomas Dekker. un 2 — Rabe ooo yions goiwolls? The Black Dog of Newgate, by Richard) of T 5m vd thiathwaye, John: Day,Weatwantk Smith, UM, ,qcboolſaalfancither poetii HI gilidd Yo notmvurot? ang v.14, The ſecond: part of the ume, Dy che ſume. 00 2810 a to 1190129 he: Blind cats many. H, by T. Heywood. +. bog Ne — — GEtneral, a: French Hiſtory, by tworth Smith, . Day, and it 10) ol-:{Radfard Hathwaycy : DAI bort Deca «The Cet at, Teumi c by Anthony Mundy. boyulf 1602. The: London Flarem ius, by Kuen Heywood, | % ghe eds 107 and Henty Chettle. 29] byvigno A $7189 Bas N Id: ot nos Af SG 0G? 20; 4 1. 5 he play afterwards called The ITY Widow. PL 5 8 his play « called Tbe Mayer of Revenborough,, * = The- EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS, 31 , The ſecond part 125 the London Florentine, by by Thomas e and Henry Chettle. De T ragedy of Hoffman *, by Henry Chetzle. | _ Voluntary, by John Singer. The four ſons of Amon, by Robert Shawe. Feb. 'A A Woman hilFd with kindneſs, by T. Heywood. 1602. 3. The Boaft of Billinsgate, by youu Days * March Richard Hathwayͤe. 8 1602-3. The Siege of Dunkerk, by Chatles Maſly. The patient man and honeſt whore, by Thomas Dekker, and Thomas Middleton. The Italian 7 ragedy, by Wentworth —_ and John Day. Pontius Pilate. Fane Shore, by Henry Chertle, and ad John Day. Baxter's Tragedy. The following notices, which I 155 reſerved for this place, relate more immediately to our author. have mentioned in a former page, that I had not the ſmalleſt doubt that the name of Shakſpeare, which is printed at length in the title - pages of Sir John Oldcaſtle, 1600, and T he London Prodigall, 1605, was aſfixed to thoſe pieces by a knaviſh bookſeller without any foun- dation; and am now furniſhed with indubitable evi- dence on this ſubject; for under the year 1599 the following ral en in Mr. nnen 8 folio Manu- ſcriptꝰ 4 a; The 26th of October, 99. | Recvinicd by me Thos, Downton of Philip Henſlowe, to pay Mr. Monday, Mr, Dra omg Mr. Wilſon, and Hathway, for J frf# part of hook Z, Sir hon Ouldcuſtell, and in earneit of the deconu for the uſe of the ee e ten pound, I ſay received 10 lb.! ?! Received | Nov. 1599] 4. Mr. Hinchelo for Mr. Munday and the reſte of the poets, at the playinge '6f Sir Sobu Uldcaſtell the firſte tyme, x 8.45 a gifte. ? Received [ Dec. 1599] of Mr. Henſlowe, for the uſe of | the pn to pay Mir: Drayton for the ſecond parte 518 * s v i H 20 141% 2 * 7 daran Fm in Uegted * d Felis. (% 19 yodeger 7 * f © 318 EMBNDATIONS/AND' ADDITIONS. of Sir Fh6n Owldcaſell, foure pound, I ſay received per me Thomas Downton; iiij li)“ We have here an indiſputable proof of a fact which has been doubted, and can now pronounce- with cer- tainty that our poet was entirely careleſs about literary ame; and could patiently endure tobe made anſwerable for compoſitions which were not his 6wn, without uſin any means to undeceive the publick. achigg 205% The bookſeller for whom the firſt part of Sz John Olucaſtle was printed, as it hath bene lately acted by the Right Honorable the earl of Notingham Lord High Admirall of England his ſervants,”” was Thomas Pawier, who however had the modeſty to put only the initial letters of his chriſtian and ſurname (T. P.) in the ſpurious title-page which he prefixed to it. In 1602, he entered the old copy of Titus Andronicus on the Stationers books, with an intention (no doubt) to affix the name of Shakſpeare to it, finding that our poet had made ſome additions to that piece. dl 145 10 To this perſon we are likewiſe indebted for the iniſ- take which has ſo long prevailed5, relative to the th old plays entitled The Firſt Part of the Contention beter the two famous houſes of Yorke and Lancaſter; and The true tragedie of Richard Duke of Yorke, which were'printed anonymonſly in 1600, as atted by the earl of Pembub fe Servants, and have erroneouſly been aſctibed to our poet, in conſequence of Pavier's reprinting them in the year 1619, and then for the firſt time frauduſently afſixking Shakipeare's name to them. || To: thoſe plays, as to Olacaſtle, he put only the initial letters of his chriſtian and ſurname. For him likewiſe he York/bire Tragedy, was printed in the year 1608, and our potrt's name affixed to itt. d Smot 9113 „eswe The Life and Death of Lord Cromavell, publiſh ed i 1602, and afcribed to W. S. and The Purim Widow, Ne Nd d e l 933001 & 10 gANIn so 4 That this ſecond Part of Sir Fobn Oldeaſtla was perſutmed ds che ſtage, as well as the former, is aſcertained by the following entry: „ Dd. [delivered] unto the littel taylor, at the oyntment of Robert Shawe, the 12 of marche, 1599, [1600] to matke* thiinges for'the 2 pte of owldcaflell, ſome of xxx s. | s See the Diſſertation on the Three Parts of K. Henry VI, in Vol. VI. | 2 which EMENDATIONS/ AND ADDITIONS. 319 which was publiſhed in 1607, with: the ſame initial letters, were probably written by Wentworth: Smith, ia dramatick writer whole! name has ſo often occurred in the, Me with perhaps the aid of Anthony Mundy, or ſome other of the ſame fraternity, Laarine, Which was printed in 1595, as neguly /et forth, o enſcem, and corrected e S. Was dae reviſed by the ſame perſon. 265M Cu It is extremely prebable frown the regiſter of drama- tick pieces in a former page, that Cardinal Wolkey.had been exhibited on the ſtage before our poet produced him in K. Henry VIII. Jo the lift of plays written by Shakſpeare upon ſubjects which had already been brought upon the ſcene , muſt alſo be added Troilus and e e as appfars from the following entries % Aprel 7. 1599. Lent unto Thomas Downton to lende unto Mr. Deckers, & harey cheattel, in earneſt 98515 boocke called Troyeles and Creafſedaye,' the mom of iii Ib.“ Lent unto harey cheattell, & Mr. Dickeess? in pte | of. payment of their booke called Troyelles & n * 16 of Aprell, 1599, xx s.“ I ſuſpect the authors changed the name of this piece before it was produced, for in a been Page are the following entries: ee Pent unto. Mr. Deckers and Mr. Chettel as 26 of maye, 1599, in earneit of a booke called Fraylles and Creſeda, the ſome of xx s. In this entry a line is drawn; through! the words Troplles and Creſeda,' and ** the\tragedie'of Agamemnon written over tùhgem. Lent unto Robart Shawe, the 30 of maye 1599, in fulle payment of the boocke called the tragedie of ors memnon, the ſome of iii li. W to Nu. ie r harey Chetell. Not J NA N Paid unto the Maſter of \the Revells | man fer Iycenſyng of a boocke called 0 Teen 97 Ames this pab-gandesr 2590 vii. to 11811 Þ - ” s ; 144818 41 28 . 7 4 3 * 4 10 — Ani 08 14 I £2 — T - * 241214 10 1 4 „ * il 4 $1 dS < 148 l : * | | , ; / & 44 1 533138911341 * 3 Vol EVI. $3.45 S 2 114 37 - kd 12771180 2 4 a 5 " " ; N 8 Ses e | . ot 8 y © of 4 en? „ana! J. p. . \ 2 * 4 £ 21 18 141 10 : LS | 2 -./ Litas A #4 — k 7 — . N 7 \ \ * * T% $ ** 24 — U * 1 W „ 1 ; „ © 0 n 1 Facts ai Y quot A NG 259 Na 30 EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS. We have ſeen in the lift of plays performed in 1593-4 by the fervants of the earl of Suſſex, the old play of Titus Andronicus, in which on its revival by the king's ſervants, our author was induced, for the advantage of his own theatre, to make ſome alterations, and to add a few lines, The old play ef X. Henry VI. which was played with ſuch ſucceſs in 1591, he with- out doubt touched in the ſame manner, in conſequence of which it appeared in his works under the title of the Vir Part of King Henry VJ. How common this ice was, 15 proved by the following entries made by r. Henſlowe. | | « Lent unto the companye, the 17 of Auguſt, 1602, to pay unto Thomas Deckers, for new adycions to Oauldcaſtell, the ſome of xxxx s. | „ Lent unto John Thane, the 7 of ſeptember, 1602, to geve unto Thomas Deckers for his adicions in Owld- caftel}, the ſome of xs.“ 28 « Lent unto Samuel Rowley, the 14 of deſember, 1600, to geve unto Thomas Deckers for his paynes in Fayeton, [ Phaeton} ſome of xs. For the corte. «« Lent unto Samuel Rowley, the 22 of deſember, 1601, to geve unto Thomas Decker, for alktering of Fayten | Phaeton] for the corte, xxx s ë— * Pd. unto Thomas Deckers, at the apoyntment of the company, the 16 of janeuary 1601, towards the altering of Tafſo, the ſome of xxs. * Lent unto my ſonne E. Alleyn, the 7 of november, 1602, to geve unto Thomas Deckers for mendizg of the playe of 7a, the ſome of xxxxs, TY Os «© Lent unto Mr. Birde, the 4 of Deſember, 1602, to paye.unto Thomas Deckers, in pt of payment for Ta, the ſome of xx s. | JV Theſe two old playes of Phaeton and Taſo's Melzn- eholy, we have ſeen in a former page, had been ex- hibited ſome years before. | « Lent unto the company, the 22 of november, 60a, to paye unto William Birde, and Samuel Rowley, for ther adycions in Docter Foftes, the ſome of iiiĩ lb. 10 | | | b pd. ; . >» * * 4 L * nn 3 — - - W „ va * N 3 EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS. 321 d& Pd. unto Thomas Hewode, the 20 of ſeptember, [1602] for the new adycions of Cutting Dick, the ſome of XX Ss. 1 | $9531 Peg, | | The following curious notices occur, relative to our poet's old (antagoniſt, Ben Jonſon ; the laſt two of which furniſh a proof of what 1 have juſt obſerved with reſpect to Titus Andronicus, and the Firſt Part of King Henry VI.; and the laſt article aſcertains that he had the audacity to write a play, after our author, on the ſubject of K. Richard Ill. 5 „ Lent unto Bengemen Johnſon, player, the 22 of July, 1597, in redy mony, the .ſome of fower poundes, to be payd yt again whenſoever ether or my ſonne [Edw. Alleyn] ſhall demand yt. I faye iiij lb, | “ Witneſs E. Alleyn, & John Synger.”” „ Lent unto Bengemen Johnſone, the 3 of deſember, 1597, upon a booke which he was to writte for us befote cryimas next after the date hereof, which he ſhowed the. plotte unto the company: I ſaye, lent in redy mony unto hime the ſome of xx s. r Lent Bengemyn Johnſon, the 5 of Jenewary, 1597, _ [1597-8] in redy mony, the ſome of vs. 8 Lent unto the company, the 18 of aguſt, 1598, to bye a boocke called Hoate anger ſone cosuld, of Mr. Porter, Mr. Cheattell, & Bengemen Johnſon, in fall payment, the ſome of vi Ib. | 88 _.* Lent unto Robart Shawe, & Jewbey, the 23 of octob. 1598, to lend unto Mr. Chapman, one [on] his playe -boocke, & ij actes of a tragedie of Bengemen's Plott, the ſome of 113 lb. „ Lent unto Wm. Borne, alias Birde, the 10 of aguſt, 1599, to lend unto Bengemyn Johnſon and Thomas Dekker, in earneſt of ther booke which they are a writing, called Pagge of Plim?, the ſome of xxxx . | | "0 | „ Lent 7 Thefe three words are ſo blotted, that they can only be gueſſed at. I find in the next page Lent unto Mr. Birde, Thomas Down- ton, and William Jube, the 2 of September 1599, to paye in full ment for a boocke called the lamentable tragedie of Pagge of Ply- Vor, I. Pax II. oY mouth, _ expreſsly bore that name, See the title-page to 322 EMENDATONS AND | ADDITIONS» „ Lent unto Thomas Nownton, the 3 of ſeptember, 1599, to lend unto Thomas Deckers, Bengemen Johnſon, Harey Cheattell, and other jentellmen, in earneſt of a playe called Robart the ſecond kinge of Scottes tragedie, the ſome of xxxx s. % en Oo 11 90 A Lent unto Wm. Borne, the 23 of ſeptember, 1599, to lend unto Bengemen Johnſone, in earneſt of a boocke called the ſcottes tragedie, the ſome of xx s. Wo Lent unto Mr. Alleyn, the 25 of ſeptember, 1601, to lend unto Bengemen Johnſon, upon his writing of is adyciaus in Feronymo®*, xxxx s. Lent unto Bengemy Johnſone, at the apoyntment of E. Alleyn, and Wm. Birde, the 22 of june, 1602, in earneſt of a boocke called Richard Crook-back, and for new adycions for Jeronymo, the ſome of x Ib.“ T inſert the following letter, which has been lately found at Dulwich College, as a literary curiofity, It Mews how very . op reve the player was eſtimated. What the wager alluded to was, it is now impoſſible to aſcertain, It probably was, that Alleyn would equal his predeceſſors Knell and Bently, in ſome part which they had performed, and in which his contemporary, George Peel, had likewiſe been admired, _ % Your anſwer the other plght ſo well pleaſed the rentlemen, as I was ſatisfied therewith, though to the Fazarde of the wager: and yet my meaning was not to mouth, the ſome of vi Ib.“; which ſhould ſeem to be the fame lay ; but fix pounds was the full price of a play, and the authors are differ- ent.—Bird, Downton, and Jubey, were all adtors. s The Spaniſh Tragedy, written by Thomas Kyd, is meant, which was frequently called Feronymo, though the former ou of this play | e edition of the Spaniſb Tragedy in 16 10, where theſe new additions are particularly mentioned. Jonſon himſelf alludes to them in his Cynthia's Revels, 1602: © Another ſwears down all that are about him, that the / Hieronymo, as it was at firſt acted, was the only beſt and judiciouſly enned play in Europe. — Mr. Hawkins, when he republiſhed this tece in 1773, printed moſt of Jonfon's additions to it, at the bottom of the page, as * foiſted in by the players. in £47 Fe prejudice by WS n 8 1615-16. Þ W x EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS. 323 prejudice Peele's credit, neither wolde it, though ic pleaſed you ſo to excuſe it, But beinge now growen farther in queſtion, the partie affected to Bently ſcorn- ynge to win the wager by your deniall, hath now given you libertie to make choyce of any one play that either Bently or Knell plaide; and leaſt this advantage agree not with your mind, he 1s contented both the plaie and the tyme ſhalbe referred to the gentlemen here preſent. I ſee not how you canne any waie hurt your credit by this action: for if you excell them, you will then be famous; if equall them, you win both the wager and credit; if ſhort of them, wee mult and will ſaie, NR o ALLEN STILL. | | Your friend to his power, Deny mee not, ſweet Ned; the wager's downe, And twice as muche commaunde of me or myne ; « And if you wynne, I ſwear the half is thine, And for an overplus an Engliſh crowne : «« Appoint the tyme, and ſtint it as you pleas, «© Your labor's gaine, and that will prove it eaſe.“ The two following letters, which were found among Mr. Henſlowe's papers, aſcertain the low ſtate of the dramatick poets in his time. From the former of them it ſhould ſeem, that in a few years after the acceſſion of James the Firſt, the price of a play had conſiderably riſen. Neither of them are dated, but I imagine they were written ſome time between the years 1612 and 1618. Mr, Henſlowe died about the Sth of January, F Mr. Hinchlow, | have ever ſince I ſaw you kept my bed, being ſa lame that I cannot ſtand, I pray, Sir, goe forward with that reaſonable bargayn for The Bellman. We will have but twelve pounds, and the overplus of” the ſecond day; whereof I have had ten ſhillings, and deſyre but twenty ſhillings more, till you have three ſheets of my papers. 15170 e Y 2 | Good \ £ 324 EMENDATIONS AND ADDITIONS. Good Sir, conſider how for your ſake I have put myſelf out of the aſſured way to get money, and from tæbeny pounds a Play am come to twelve. Thearfor in my ex- tremity foriake me not, as you ſhall ever comand me. My wife can aquaint you how infinit great my occaſion is, atid this all be ſufſeient for the receipt, till I come a to Tet my hand to the booke. | Yours at comand, | "AO 1-1 ROBERT DABORNE.” At the bottom of this letter Mr. Henſlowe has written the following memorandum : _ | | | 5 Lent Mr. Daborne upon this note, the 23 of aguſt, in earneſt of a play called T he Bellman of London, xxs,”” Jo our moſt loving friend, 10 i ELF, Mr. Phillip Hinchlow, beg t 92514 +: Eſquire, Theſe. . Mr. Hinchlow, : Dee Vo underſtand our unfortunate extremitie, and I doe not thincke you ſo void of chriftianitie but that you would throw ſo much money into the Thames as wee requeſt now of you, rather then endanger ſo many in- ent lives. You know there is xl. more at leaſt to be reteaved of you for the play. We deſire you to lend us V. of that; which ſnall be allowed to you; without wach wee cannot be bayled, nor I play any more till this be diſpatch'd. It will loſe you xxl. ere the end of the next weeke, beſide the hinderance of the next new. play. Pray, Sir, conſider our caſes with humanity, and no give us cauſe to acknowledge you our true freind in time of neede. Wee have entreated Mr. Daviſon, t0 de liver this note; as well to witneſſe your love as Out + + Your moſt thanckfull and loving freinds, th: 10 msi 91 5181 01 5 oo mio Dae The money ſhall he abated out of the money, re- mayns for the play af Mr. Fletcher and ours. 1. - / ROB, DABORN E.“ eh « I have 4 a> 3 * 1 . by. 2