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purpose. What, his Anatomie of Abuses for all that will serue very fitly for an antispast before one of Egertons Sermons. I would see the best of your Trauerses write such a treatise as he hath done against short-heeld pantofles. But one thing, it is a great pity for him, that being such a good fellow as he is he should speake against dice as he doth." He here means to ridicule the trifles against which most of the puritanical writers and preachers directed their vehemence.

MORTON. Nash is the man, who, according to Mr. D'Israeli, by his wit and satire wrote down Martinmarprelate and his associates, when all their serious assailants produced no effect.

BOURNE. That he silenced them for a time, is, I believe, certain, and so far he wrote them down. The piece from which I just quoted is dedicated to Kempe, a celebrated actor and humorist of that time, who is called "Jestmonger and Vice-gerent general to the ghost of Dicke Tarlton," also a most notorious performer, whose name has previously occurred, and will again be mentioned.

ELLIOT. I see that Stubbes's work is conducted in the form of a dialogue between two abstract personages, Messrs. Spudeus and Philoponus. He touches upon many kind of abuses in Ailgna, or Anglia, but mainly, in the commencement, upon pride of apparel, the excess of which, both in men and women, seems to put him into a violent and unrestrainable passion.

BOURNE. He is so furious in his assault, and so coarse in his epithets regarding plays and players, that it would not be easy to quote him in all companies. Referring to the stage, he maintains that actors are the authors of sensual vices of all kinds, "For proofe whereof (he adds) but marke the flocking and running to Theaters and Curtens daylie and hourelie, night and daie, tyme and tide, to see Plaies and Enterludes, where suche wanton gestures, suche bawdie speeches, such laughing and flearyng, suche kissyng and bussyng, suche clippyng and culling, such wincking and glauncing of wanton eyes, and the like is vsed, as is wonderfull to beholde. Then these goodly Pageantes beyng ended, euery mate sortes to his mate, euery one bringes an other homewarde of their waie very freendly, &c. * * And whereas you saie, there are good Examples to be learned in them, truely so there are: if you will learne falshood; if you will learne cosenage; if you will learne to deceiue; if you will learne to plaie the hipocrite, to cogge, to lye, and falsifie; if you will learne to iest laugh and fleere, to grinne to nodde and mowe; if you will learne to plaie the vice, to sweare, teare and blaspheme both Heaven and Earth."

ELLIOT. A most eloquent and forcible reduplication: it must have cost the author not a little trouble to collect so many terms of abuse, and to apply them as he has done.

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MORTON. One would really suppose, if one took these representations for granted, that our ancestors, who frequented theatres, were much more immoral than ourselves.

BOURNE. Another short extract will, I dare say, satisfy you it is Stubbes's conclusion, in which he formally denounces plays, acting, and actors. "Awaie therefore with this so infamous an arte, for goe they neuer so braue yet are they couted and taken but for beggers. And is it not true? Liue they not vppon begging of euery one that comes? Are they not taken by the Lawes of the Realme for roagues and vacabounds? (I speake of such as trauaile the Countries with Plaies and Enterludes, making an occupation of it) and ought so to bee punished, if they had their deserts. But hopyng that they will be warned now at the last, I will say no more of them; beseeching them to cansider what a fearefull thing it is to fall into the handes of God, and to prouoke his wrath and heauie displeasure against themselues and others. Which the Lorde of his mercie tourne from vs."

ELLIOT. Milton, in the preface to his " Doctrine, &c. of Divorces," asserts that "the greatest burden in the world is superstition, not only of ceremonies in the Church but of imaginary and scare crow sins at home." The latter kind seems mightily to have troubled the writers against the stage.

BOURNE. Having bestowed as much time as we can afford on Stubbes's "Anatomie of Abuses," we

will proceed to another production, not so long nor so celebrated: I shall be very brief with it, because I have mentioned it before. I mean a small tract appended by Whetstone to his "Mirror for Magistrates of Cities," 1584, and called "An Addition or Touchstone for the Time: exposyng the daingerous Mischiefes that the Dicyng Howses (comonly called) Ordinarie Tables, and other (like) Sanctuaries of Iniquitie, do dayly breede within the Bowelles of the famous Citie of London."

MORTON. You read from it, I remember, a curious anecdote of Judge Chumley.

BOURNE. I did, and some matter personally relating to Whetstone. I shall now only quote a very short notice by him of theatrical performances: it is included in that part of his work which is called "A Remembrance of the disordered State of the Commonwealth, at the Queenes Maiesties commyng to the Crowne," and the passage is as follows: "The godly Diuines in publique Sermons, and others in printed Bookes haue (of late) uery sharply inuayed against Stage-playes (vnproperly called Tragedies, Comedies and Moralles) as the Sprynges of many vices and the stumblyng-blockes of Godlynesse and Vertue: Truely the vse of them vpon the Saboth day, and the abuse of them at all times with scurilytie and vnchaste cōueiance, ministred matter sufficient for them to blame, and the Maiestrate to reforme."

ELLIOT. He seems very measured in his reproba

tion of stage-plays: he only censures the "abuse of them."

MORTON. He might well be cautious and scrupulous on this point, when we recollect that he had himself written two plays, or one play in two parts, called "Promos and Cassandra," printed in 1578. You do not mean that what you have just read is all that Whetstone says upon the subject of Theatres?

BOURNE. Very nearly: he goes on, however, to remark: " But there are within the Bowels of this famous Citie farre more daungerous Playes and little reprehended; that wicked Playes of the Dice, first inuented by the Deuyll (as Cornelius Agrippa writeth) and frequented by vnhappy men: the detestable Roote vpon which a thousand villanies growe." It is against the last that his enmity is directed, and to them all his details relate; he only touches upon theatrical performances by the way.

ELLIOT. When he speaks of the " printed books" in which stage-plays were inveighed against, he refers of course to Gosson, Northbrooke, and Stubbes: to whom does he allude when he says that stageplays had been abused in " public sermons?"

BOURNE. You have reminded me of a tract I had forgotten to notice in its proper place, and yet it is precisely in point here.

MORTON. Do you mean a Sermon on the subject? BOURNE. A production of that class, and a work, I can assure you, that is not often met with. I will

VOL. II.

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