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Serve as many of thefe as could be recovered, and that they might be the more eafily found, to exhibit them in one collective view. This SECOND BOOK is therefore fet apart for the reception of fuch ballads as are quoted by SHAKESPEARE, or contribute in any degree to illuftrate his writings: this being the principal point in view, the candid reader will pardon the admiffion of fome pieces, that have no other kind of merit. The defign of this BOOK being of a Dramatic tendency, it may not be improperly introduced with a few obfervations ON THE ORIGIN OF THE ENGLISH STAGE, and ON THE CONDUCT OF OUR FIRST DRAMATIC POETS: a fubject, which though not unsuccessfully handled by feveral good writers already, will yet perhaps admit of fome further illuftration.

ON

THE ORIGIN OF THE ENGLISH STAGE,

&c.

It is well known that dramatic poetry in this and most other nations of Europe owes its origin, or at least its revival, to those religious shows, which in the dark ages were ufually exhibited on the more folemn feftivals. At those times they were wont to reprefent in the churches the lives and miracles of the faints, or fome of the more important ftories of fcripture. And as the most myfterious fubjects were frequently chofen, fuch as the Incarnation, Paffion, and Refurrection of Chrift, &c. thefe exhibitions acquired the general name of MYSTERIES. At first they were probably a kind of dumb fhews, intermingled, it may be, with a few short speeches; at length they grew into a regular series of connected dialogues, formally divided into acts and fcenes. Specimens of thefe in their most improved

*Bp. Warburton's Shakelp. vol. 5. p. 338.-Pref. to Dodfley's Old Plays.-Riccoboni's Acct, of Theat, of Europe, &c. &c.

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proved ftate (being at beft but poor artlefs compo fitions) may be feen among Dodfley's OLD PLAYS and in Ofborne's HARLEYAN MISCEL. How they were exhibited in their moft fimple form, we may learn from an ancient novel (often quoted by our old dramatic poets (a)) intitled . . . a merye Test of a man that was called Howleglas (b) &c. being a tranflation from the Dutch language, in which he is named Ulenspiegle. Howleglas, whofe waggish tricks are the subject of this book, after many adventures comes to live with a priest, who makes him his parifh-clark. This priest is defcribed as keeping a LEMAN or concubine, who had but one eye, to whom Howleglas owed a grudge for revealing his rogueries to his mafter. The story thus proceeds, "And than in the meane feason, "while Howleglas was paryfh clarke, at Eafter they "fhould play the refurrection of our lorde: and for "because than the men wer not learned, nor could "not read, the priest toke his leman, and put her in "the grave for an Aungell: and this feing Howleglas, "toke to hym iij of the fympleft perfons that were in "the towne, that played the iij Maries; and the Per"fon [i. e. Parfon or Rector] played Chrifte, with a "baner in his hand. Than faide Howleglas to the

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fymple perfons. Whan the Aungel aketh you, "whome you feke, you may saye, The parfons leman "with one iye. Than it fortuned that the tyme was come that they must playe, and the Aungel afked "them whom they fought, and than fayd they, as Howleglas had thewed and lerned them afore, and "than answered they, We feke the priests leman with one iye. And than the prieste might heare that he was mocked. And whan the priestes leman herd 66 that,

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(a) See Ben Jonfon's Poetafter, Act 3. fc. 4. and his Mafque of the Fortunate Ifles. Whalley's Edit, vol. 2. p. 49, vol. 6. p. 190.

(b) Howleglafs is faid in the Preface to have died in M. cccc. L. At the end of the book, in M. ccc. L.

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"that, fhe arofe out of the grave, and would have fmyten with her fift Howleglas upon the cheke, but "fhe miffed him and fmote one of the fimple perfons "that played one of the thre Maries; and he gave "her another; and than toke fhe him by the heare [hair]; and that feing his wyfe, came running haf"tely to fmite the prieftes leaman; and than the

66

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prieft feeing this, cafte down hys baner and went to "helpe his woman, fo that the one gave the other "fore ftrokes, and made great noyse in the churche. "And than Howleglas feyng them lyinge together by "the eares in the bodi of the churche, went his way "out of the village, and came no more there (c)."

As the old Mysteries frequently required the reprefentation of fome allegorical perfonage, fuch as Death, Sin, Charity, Faith, and the like, by degrees the rude poets of those unlettered ages began to form compleat dramatic pieces confifting intirely of such personifications. These they intitled MORAL PLAYS, or MoRALITIES. The Mysteries were very inartificial, reprefenting the fcripture ftories fimply according to the letter. But the Mcralities are not devoid of invention; they exhibit outlines of the dramatic art: they contain fomething of a fable or plot, and even attempt to delineate characters and manners. I have now before

me two that were printed early in the reign of Henry VIII; in which I think one may plainly discover the feeds of Tragedy and Comedy; for which reafon I fhal! give a fhort analysis of them both.

One of them is intitled Every Man (d). The fubject of this piece is the fummoning of man out of the world by death; and its moral, that nothing will then avail him but a well-spent life and the comforts of religion. This fubject and moral are opened in a monologue

I

(c) C. Impronted... by Wyllyam Copland: without date, in 4to. bl. let. among Mr. Garrick's Old Plays, K. vol. 1o. (d) See a farther account of this play in Vol. II. Book II. page 112.

nologue spoken by the MESSENGER (for that was the name generally given by our ancestors to the prologue on their rude stage:) then GoD (e) is reprefented; who, after fome general complaints on the degeneracy of mankind, calls for DETH, and orders him to bring before his tribunal EVERY-MAN, for fo is called the perfonage who reprefents the human race. EVERYMAN appears, and receives the fummons with all the marks of confufion and terror. When death is withdrawn, Every-man applies for relief in this diftress to FELLOWSHIP, KINDRED, GOODS, or Riches, but they fucceffively renounce and forfake him. In this difconfolate ftate he betakes himself to GOOD-DEDES, who, after upbraiding him with his long neglect of her (f), introduces him to her fifter KNOWLEDGE,. and the leads him to the "holy man CONFESSION," who appoints him penance: this he inflicts upon himself on the stage, and then withdraws to receive the facraments of the priest. On his return he begins to wax faint, and after STRENGTH, BEAUTY, DISCRETION, and FIVE WiTs (g) have all taken their final leave of him, gradually expires on the ftage; Good-dedes ftill accompanying him to the laft. Then an AUNGELL defcends to fing his requiem: and the epilogue is spoken by a perfon, called DocTOUR, who recapitulates the whole, and delivers the moral,

«. This memoriall men may have in mynde, "Ye herers, take it of worth old and yonge, "And forfake pryde, for he difceyveth you in thende, "And remembre Beautè, Five Witts, Strength and "They all at laft do Every-man forfake; [Difcrecion, "Save his Good Dedes there dothe he take:

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(e) The fecond perfon of the Trinity feems to be meant. (f) Thofe above-mentioned are male characters.

"But

(g) i. e. the Five Senfes. Thefe are frequently exhibited as five diftinct perfonages upon the Spanish ftage; (fee Riccoboni, p. 98.) but our moralift has reprefented them all by one character,

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"But beware, for and they be small,

"Before God he hath no helpe at all." &c.

From this short analyfis it may be obferved, that Every man is a grave folemn piece, not without fome rude attempts to excite terror and pity, and therefore may not improperly be referred to the clafs of tragedy. It is remarkable that in this old fimple drama the fable is conducted upon the stricteft model of the Greek tragedy. The action is fimply one, the time of action is that of the performance, the fcene is never changed, nor the stage ever empty. EVERY-MAN, the hero of the piece, atter his first appearance never withdraws, except when he goes out to receive the facraments, which could not well be exhibited in public; and during his abfence KNOWLEDGE defcants on the excellence and power of the priesthood, fomewhat after the manner of the Greek chorus. And indeed, except in the circumftance of Every-man's expiring on the stage, the Sampfon Agoniftes of Milton is hardly formed on a feverer plan.

The other play is intitled Wick-Scorner (b), and bears no diftant refemblance to comedy: its chief aim feems to be to exhibit characters and manners, its plot being much less regular than the foregoing. The prologue is fpoken by PITY reprefented under the character of an aged pilgrim, he is joined by CONTEMPLACYON and PERSEVERANCE, two holy men, who, after lamenting the degeneracy of the age, declare their refolution of ftemming the torrent. Pity then is left upon the stage, and prefently found by FREWYLL, reprefenting a lewd debauchee, who, with his diffolute companion IMAGINACION, relate their manner of life, and not without humour describe the stews and other places of base refort They are prefently joined by HICK

(b) Emprynted by me Wynkyn de Worde, no date; in 4to, bh Let.

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