our author's dramas derived very little aid from the fplendour of exhibition.

It is well known, that in the time of Shakspeare, and for many years afterwards, female characters were represented folely by boys or young men. Nafhe in a pamphlet publifhed in 1592, fpeaking in defence of the English itage, boasts that the players of his time were not as the players beyond fea, a fort of fquirting bawdie comedians, that have whores and common curtizans to play women's parts"." What Nafhe confidered as an high eulogy on his country, Prynne has made one of his principal charges against the English ftage; having employed feveral pages in his bulky volume, and quoted many hundred authorities, to prove that "thofe playes wherein any men act women's parts in woman's apparell muft needs be finful, yea, abominable unto chriftians "." The grand bafis of his argument is a text in fcripture; Deuteronomy, ch. xxii. v. 5. The woman fhall not wear that which pertaineth unto man, neither fhall 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 underflood literally. "Where (fays Sir Richard) finds he this precept? Even in the fame place where he finds also that we must not weare cloaths of

See the induction to Ben Jonfon's Staple of News, acted by the king's fervants, in 1625:

"O Curiofity, you come to fee who wears the new fuit to-day; whofe cloaths are beit 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 poft in ftockings, and dances in boots."

It is, however, one of Prynne's arguments against the stage, in the invective which he published about eight years after the date of this piece, that "the ordinary theatrical interludes were usually acted in over-coftly, effeminate, fantaftick, and gawdy apparel." Hiftriomaft. p. 216. But little credit is to be given to that voluminous zealot, on a queftion of this kind. As the frequenters of the theatre were little better than incarnate devils, and the mufick in churches the bleating of brute beafts, fo a piece of coarfe ftuff trimmed with tinfel was probably in his opinion a most splendid and ungodly drefs.

7 Pierce Penniless bis Supplication to the Devil, 4to. 1592.

Hifiriomaflix, 4to, 1633, p. 179.

linfey

linfey-woolfey and feeing we lawfully now wear cloaths of linfey-woolfey, why may it not be as lawful for men to put on women's garments"?"

It may perhaps be fuppofed that Prynne, having thus vehemently inveighed against men's reprefenting female characters on the ftage, would not have been averfe to the introduction of women in the scene; but finful as this zealot thought it in men to affume the garments of the other fex, he confidered it as not lefs abominable in women to tread the ftage in their own proper drefs: for he informs us, that fome Frenchwomen, or monsters rather, in Michaelmas term, 1629, attempt. ed to act a French play at the playhoufe in Black friers," which he reprefents as "an impudent, fhameful, unwomanith, graceless, if not more then whorish attempt."

There

9 Theatrum Triumphans, 8vo. 1670, p. 16. Martin Luther's.comment on this text is as follows: "Hic non prohibetur quin ad vitandum periculum, aut ludendum joco, vel ad fallendum hoftes, mulier poffit gerere arma viri, et vir uti, vefti muliebri; fed ut ferio et ufitato habitu talia non fiant, ut decora utrique fexui fervetur dignitas." And the learned Jefuit, Lorin, concurs with him: "Diffimulatio veftis poteft interdum fine peccato fieri, vel ad reprefentandam comice tragiceve perfonam, vel ad effugiendum periculum, vel in cafu fimili." Ibid. p. 19. 1 Hiftriomeftix, 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 fuch French women actors in a play not long fince perfonated in Blackfriers playhoufe, to zubich there was great refert." In the margin he 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 : "For the allowinge of a French company to playe a farfe at Blackfryers, this 4 of November, 1629,- £.2.0. o."

The fame company attempted an exhibition both at the Red Bull and the Fortune theatres, as appears from the following entries: "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,-£.1. 0. 0.

"I fhould have had another peece, but in refpect of their ill fortune, I was content to bestow a peece back." Mf. Herbert.

Prynne, in conformity to the abfurd notions which have been stated in the text, inferted in his Index thefe words: "Women actors notori

Soon after the period he speaks of, a regular French theatre was established in London, where without doubt women acted. They had long before appeared on the Italian as well as the French stage. When Coryate

ous whores :" by which he fo highly offended the king and queen, that he was tried in the Star-chamber, and fentenced to be imprifoned for life, fined £5000, expelled Lincoln's Inn, difbarred and difqualified to practife the law, degraded of his degree in the univerfity, to be fet on the pillory, his ears cut off, and his book burnt by the hands of the common hangman, "which rigorous fentence," fays Whitelocke,

was as rigorously executed." I quote these words as given by Dr. Burney from Whitelocke's Manufcript. It is remarkable that in his printed MEMORIALS the word rigorous is omitted; from which there is reafon to believe that the editor in 1682 took fome liberties with the manufcript from which that book was printed. The words there are, "which fentence was as feverely executed."

In p. 708 of Prynne's book is the following note, the infertion of which probably incenfed their majeflies, who often performed in the court-mafques, not less than what has been already mentioned:

"It is infamous in this author's judgment [Dion Caffius] for emperors or perfons of quality to dance upon a fiage, or act a play."

2 In the Office-book of Philip Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, I find a warrant for payment of £10. "to Jofias Floridor for himfelfe and the rest of the French players, for a tragedy by them acted before his Majeftie in Dec. laft." Dated Jan. 8, 1635-6. Their houfe had been licensed, April 18, 1635. I find alfo ". 10. paid to John Navarro for himself and the rest of the company of Spanish players, for a play prefented before his Majeftie, Dec. 23, 1635."

We have already feen that Henrietta Maria had a precedent for introducing the comedians of her own country into England, King Henry the Seventh having likewife had a company of French players.

Sir Henry Herbert's manufcript furnishes us with the following notices on this fubject:

"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 majefty to the kinge, were admitted to the Cockpitt in Whitehall, and there prefented the king and queene with a Frenche comedy called Melife, with good aprobation : for which play the king gives them ten pounds.

"This day being friday, and the 20 of the fame monthe, the kinge tould mee his pleafure, and commanded mee to give order that this Frenche company should playe the too fermon daies in the weeke, during their time of playinge in Lent, and in the houfe of Drury-lane, where the queenes players ufually playe.

"The kings pleafure I fignifyed to Mr. Beefton, [the Manager of Drury-lane theatre] the fame day, who obeyd readily.

"The

Coryate was at Venice, [July 1608,] he tells us, he was at one of their playhouses, and faw a comedy acted. "The

"The house-keepers are to give them by promise the benefit of their intereft for the too days of the first weeke.

"They had the benefitt of playinge on the fermon daies, and gott two hundred pounds at leaft; befides many rich clothes were given them.

"They had freely to themfelves the whole weeke before the weeke before Eafter, which I obtaynd of the king for them.

"The 4 Aprill, on Eafter monday, they playd the Trompeur puny, with better approbation than the other.

"On Weniday night the 16 Aprill, 1635, the French playd Alcimedor with good aprobation."

In a marginal note Sir Henry Herbert adds, "The Frenche offered mee a prefent of £.10; but I refufed itt, and did them many other curtefys, gratis, to render the queene my miftris an acceptable fer

vice."

It appears from a fubfequent paffage, that in the following month a theatre was erected exprefsly for this troop of comedians.

"A warant granted to Jofias d'Aunay, Hurfries de Lau, and others, for to act playes at a new house in Drury-lane, during pleasure, ye 5 may, 1635.

"The king was pleased to commande my Lord Chamberlain to direct 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 advife and allowance."

"Thes Frenchmen," Sir Henry adds in the margin, "were com mended unto mee by the queene, and have paft through my handes, gratis."

They did not however pafs quite free, for from a fubfequent entry it appears, that they gave Blagrave [Sir Henry's deputy] three pounds for his paines."

In the following December the French paftoral of Florimene was acted at court by the young ladies who attended the queen from

France.

"The paftorall of Florimene, (fays Sir Henry) with the defcription of the fceanes and interludes, as it was fent mee by Mr. Inigo Jones, I allowed for the prefs, 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 paftorale de Florimene fuft representé devant le roy et la royne, le prince Charles, et le prince Palatin, le 21 Decem. jour de St. Thomas, par les filles Françoife de la royne, et firent tres bien, dans la grande fale de Whitehall, aux depens de la royne." Mí. Herbert.

house, (he adds) is very beggarly and bafe, in comparison of our itately playhouses in England; neither can their actors compare with us for apparell, fhewes, and muficke. Here I obferved certaine things that I never faw before; for I faw women act, a thing that I never saw before, though I have heard that it hath been some times ufed in London; and they performed it with as good a grace, action, gefture, and whatsoever convenient for a player, as ever I faw any masculine actor 3.”

The practice of men's performing the parts of women in the fcene is of the higheft antiquity. On the Grecian flage no women certainly ever acted. From Plutarch's Life of Phocion, we learn, that in his time (about three hundred and eighteen years before the Chriftian era) the performance of a tragedy at Athens was interrupted for fome time by one of the actors, who was to perfonate a queen, refufing to come on the stage, because he had not a fuitable mafk and drefs, and a train of attendants richly habited; and Demofthenes in one of his orations + mentions Theodorus and Ariftodemus as having often reprefented the Antigone of Sophocles 5. This fact is alfo afcertained

3 Coryate's Crudities, 4to. 1611, p. 247. I have found no ground for this writer's affertion, that female performers had appeared on the English flage before he wrote.

4 De fals. leg. tom. ii. p. 199, edit. Taylor.

5 See alfo Lucian. de Salt. II. 285, edit. Hemsterhufi. "Becaufe" (fays that lively writer)" at firft you preferred tragedy and comedy and vagrant fidlers and finging to the harpe, before dancing, calling them truly exercifes, and therefore commendable, let us, I pray, compare them feverally with dancing. Where, if it please you, we will pafs the pipe and harpe as parts and inftruments of dancing, and confider tragedy as it is; firft, according to its propertyes and drefs. What a deformed and frightfull fight is it, to fee a man raifed to a prodigious length, ftalking upon exalted bufkins, his face difguised with a grimme vizard, widely gaping, as if he meant to devour the fpectators? I forbear to speake of his stuft brests, and fore-beliyes, which make an adventitious and artificial corpulency, left his unnatural length fhould carry difproportion to his flenderneffe: as also his clamour from within, when he breakes open and unlockes himselfe when he howles iambicks, and most ridiculously fings his own fufferings, and renders himself by his very tone odious. For as for the reft, they are inventions of ancient poets. Yet as long as he personates only fome Andromache and Hecuba, his finging is tolerable. But

for