The people however ftill retained a relish for their old Myf teries and Moralities †, and the popular dramatic poets feem to have made them their models. The graver fort of Moralities appear to have given birth to our modern TRAGEDY; as our COMEDY evidently took its rife from the lighter interludes of that kind. And as most of these pieces contain an absurd mixture of religion and buffoonery, an eminent critic || has well deduced from thence the origin of our unnatural TRAGICOMEDIES. Even after the people had been accustomed to Tragedies and Comedies, Moralities ftill kept their ground: one of them intituled The New Customt was printed fo late as 1573 at length they affumed the name of MASQUES +, and with fome claffical improvements, became in the two following reigns the favourite entertainments of the court. As for the old Myfteries, which ceafed to be acted after the reformation, they feem to have given rife to a third species of ftage exhibition, which, though now confounded with Tragedy. or Comedy, were by our firft dramatic writers confidered as quite diftinct from them both: thefe were Hiftorical Plays, or HISTORIES, afpecies of dramatic writing, which resembled the old Myfteries in representing a series of hiftorical events fimply in the order of time in which they happened, without any regard to the three great unities. These pieces Jeem to differ from Tragedy, just as much as Hiftorical poems do from Epic: as the Pharfalia does from the Eneid. What might contribute to make dramatic poetry take this turn was, that Soon after the Myfteries ceafed to be exhibited, there was publifhed a large collection of poetical narratives, called Che Mirrour for Magistrates §, wherein a great number of the moft The general reception the old Moralities had upon the ftage will account for the fondness of all our firft poets for allegory. Subjects of this kind were familiar to every body. Bp. Warburt. Shakefp. V. 5. In Dodf. Old Plays, V. 1. + In fome of thefe appeared characters full as extraordinary as in any of the old Moralities. In Ben. Jonson's masque of Christmas 1616, one of the perfonages is MINCED PYE. § The first part of which was printed in 1559– moft eminent characters in English history are drawn relating their own misfortunes. This book was popular and of a dramatic caft, and therefore, as an elegant writer || has well obferved, might have its influence in producing Hiftoric Plays. Thefe narratives probably furnished the subjects, and the ancient Myfteries fuggefted the plan. That our old writers confidered Hiftorical Plays as fomewhat diftinct from Tragedy and Comedy, appears from numberless paffages of their works. "Of late days, fays Stow, inftead of thofe ftage playes have been used Comedies, Trage"dies, Enterludes, and HISTORIES both true and fained." Survey of London †.· -Beaumont and Fletcher, in the prologue to The Captain, say, "This is nor Comedy, nor Tragedy, Polonius in Hamlet commends the actors, as the best in the world" either for Tragedie, Comedie, HISTORIE, Paftorall," &c. And Shakespeare's friends, Heminge and Condell, in the first folio edit. of his plays, in 1623, have not only intitled their book "Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, "HISTORIES, and Tragedies:" but in their Table of Contents have arranged them under thofe three feveral beads: placing in the class of HISTORIES, "K. John, Richard II. Henry IV. 2 pts. Henry V. Henry VI. 3 pts. Richard III. and Henry VIII. This diftinction deferves the attention of the critics: for if it be the first canon of found criticism to examine any work by thofe rules the author prefcribed for his obfervance, then we ought not to try Shakespear's HISTORIES by the general laws of Tragedy or Comedy. Whether the rule itself be vicious or not, is another inquiry: but certainly we ought to examine a work only by thoje principles according to which it was compofed. This would fave a deal of impertinent criticijm. We Catal. of Royal and Noble authors, vol. 1. p. 166, 7. The Creation of the world, acted at Skinners-well, in 1409. + See Mr. Warton's Obfervations, vol. 2. p. 109. We have now brought the inquiry as low as was intended, but cannot quit it without remarking the great fondness of our forefathers for dramatic entertainments: not fewer than NINETEEN play-houses had been opened before the year 1633, when Prynne published his Hiftriomaftix*. From this writer we learn that "tobacco, wine, and beer +" were in those days the ufual accomodations in the theatre, as now at Sadlers Wells. With regard to the ancient prices of admission; That play-house called the HOPE had five different priced feats from fix-pence to half-e-crown ‡. Some Houles had PENNY benches. The "two-penny gallery" is mentioned in the Prol. to Beaum. and Fletcher's Woman Hater: And feats of threepence and a groat in the paffage of Prynne last referred to. But the general price of what is now called the Pir seems to bave been a filling +. The time of exhibition was early in the afternoon, their plays being generally acted by day-light‡. All female parts were performed by men, no actress being ever feen on the public ftage before the civil wars. And as for the play-boufe furniture and ornaments, they had no other "Scenes nor decorations of the stage, but only old tapestry, and "the ftage firewed with rufhes, with habits accordingly § :” as we are affured in A fhort Difcourfe on the English Stage, fubjoined to Flecknoe's LOVE'S-KINGDOM, 1674. 12mo. *He speaks in p. 492, of the play-boufes in Bifopfgate-Street, and on Ludgate-Hill, which are not among the SEVENTEEN enumerated in Pref. to Dodfley's Old Plays. +P. 322. Induct. to Jonjon's Bartholomew-Fair. So a MS. of Oldys, from Tom Nash, an old pamphlet-writer. +Shakefp. Prol. to Hen. viij.-Beaum. and Fletch. Prcl. to the Captain, and to the Mad-lover. The PIT probably had its name from one of the Play houfes having been a Cock-pit. 66 Biogr. Brit. I. 117. n.-Overbury's Charact. of an actor.Even in the reign of Cha. II. plays began at 3 in the afternoon. § Puttenham tells us they used Vizards in his time, “partly to Supply the want of players, when there were moe parts then there "were perfons, or that it was not thought meet to trouble ..... princes chambers with too many folkes." [Art of Eng. Poes. 1589. p. 26.] From the laft claufe, it should feem that they were chiefly used in the MASQUES at Court. I. ADAM I. ADAM BELL, CLYM OF THE CLOUGH, AND WILLIAM OF CLOUDESLY, -were three noted outlaws, whofe skill in archery rendered them formerly as famous in the North of England, as Robin Hood and his fellows were in the midland counties. Their place of refidence was in the foreft of Englewood, not far from Carlisle, (called in the ballad English-wood, which is probably the true etymology.) When they lived does not appear. The author of the common ballad on "THE PEDI"GREE, EDUCATION, AND MARRIAGE OF ROBIN "HOOD," makes them contemporary with Robin Hood's father, in order to give him the honour of beating them. This Seems to prove that they were generally thought to have lived before the popular hero of Sherwood. Our northern archers were not unknown to their fouthern countrymen, their excellence at the long-bow is often alluded to by our ancient poets. Shakespeare, in his comedy of "MUCH adoe about nothing," Act 1. makes Benedicke confirm bis refolves of not yielding to love, by this proteftation, “If "I do, bang me in a bottle like a cat*, and shoot at me, and "be that hits me, let him be clapt on the shoulder and called "ADAM :" meaning ADAM BELL, as Theobald rightly obVOL. III. ferves K *Bottles formerly were of leather; though perhaps a wooden bottle might be here meant. It is ftill a diversion in Scotland to hang up a cat in a small cafk or firkin, half filled with foot: and then a parcel of clowns on horfeback try to beat out the ends of it, in order to fhew their dexterity in escaping before the contents fall upon them. Jerves, who refers to one or two other passages in our old poets wherein he is mentioned. The Oxford editor has also well conjectured that " Abraham Cupid" in Romeo and Juliet, A. 2. fc. 1. fhould be "ADAM Cupid," in allufion to our arther. Ben Jonson has mentioned CLYM O' THE CLOUGH in his Alchemist, A&t 1. Sc. 2. And Sir William Davenant, in a mock poem of his, called "THE long "vacation in London," defcribes the Atorneys and Proctors, as making matches to meet in Finfbury fields, "With loynes in canvas bow-cafe tyde; Works, p. 291. fol. 1673. The following fianzas will be judged from the ftile, orthography, and numbers, to be very ancient: they are given from an old black-letter quarto, Imprinted at London in Lothburge, by Wyllyam Copland (no date): corrected in fome plaIn that volume ces by another copy in the editor's folio MS. this ballad is followed by another, intitled YOUNGE CLOUDESLEE, being a continuation of the prefent ftory, and recit ing the adventures of William of Cloudefly's fon: but greatly inferior to this, both in merit and antiquity. M PART THE FIRST. ERY it was in grene forèft Wheras men hunt east and west Wyth bowes and arrowes kene e; To ryfe the dere out of theyr denne; 5 The |