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PERKINS LIBRARY 
 
 Duke University 
 
 Kare Dooks 
 
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II £j\ ~mt v7u i f UpetterturL 
 
THE 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 English Stage, 
 
 FROM THE 
 
 Reftauration to the Prefent Time. 
 
 INCLUDING THE 
 
 Lives, Characters and Amours^ 
 
 Of the moll Eminent 
 
 ACTORS and ACTRESSES, 
 
 WITH 
 
 Inftrucrions for Public Speaking; 
 
 WHEREIN 
 
 The Action and Utterance of the Bar, 
 Stage, and Pulpit are Diftin&ly confidered. 
 
 By Mr. Thomas Betterton. 
 Adorned with Cuts, 
 
 LONDON: 
 Printed for E. Curll, at Pcpe's-Head in R&fe-Street, 
 CoytntrGarden, Mdccxii, Price 5 s. Bound, 
 
 115411 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 Duke University Libraries 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/historyofenglishOObett 
 
2&a.o^ 
 
 To His GRACE the ^ g-£$" H 
 
 Duke of Grafton, 
 
 LORD-CHAMBERLAIN 
 
 F 
 
 His Majesty's Houlhold, 
 
 AND 
 
 SUPER- INTENDANT 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 THEATRES. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 WERE the Hifiory of the 
 Englifo Stage to bear any- 
 other Inscription, than that of Your 
 Grace, the Compiler would be juftly 
 charged both with Want of Duty and 
 Refpedt 
 
 TO 
 
 1 1 K All 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 TO avoid thefe Imputations, I beg 
 Your GRACE'sAcceptance of this Work, 
 and humbly hope Your Grace will 
 permit Me, on all Occasions, to fub- 
 fcribe M)fclf 
 
 Your Grace's 
 Moft Obedient 
 
 AND 
 
 Moft Devoted, 
 
 Humble Servant, 
 
 Covtnt'Garden, 
 May 29, 1741* 
 
 E. CURLL. 
 
A N 
 
 Alphabetical Table 
 r 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 N. B. In this Table the Letters O. M. after the Name of an? 
 Perfon, or Article, refer to Mrs. OldfieldV Memoirs, 
 
 A. 
 
 CT 10 N and Utterance, 
 to be obferved in pub- 
 lick Speaking, zg, 47, 82, 
 ■94, IOO. 
 Aubrey de Ve.re, Earl of Ox- 
 ford, his Amour with Rox- 
 alana, 24. 
 
 B. 
 
 Barry, Elizabeth, 13, I2l,&c. 
 Betterton, Thomas, 5, 27, 92, 
 120, &V. 
 
 — His Son, William, 77; 
 
 Bignall, Mrs. 763. 
 
 Booth, Barton , 141. 
 
 Boman, fohn, 31. 
 
 Boutel, Mrs. 2 1 . 
 
 Biacegirdle, Anne, 19, 26, 93. 
 
 Brad/haiv, Mrs. 62. 
 
 c. 
 
 Campion, Mi fs, O. J/. 3, 5J,&c. 
 Clive, fee Ra/tor 
 €rofs,Mi&,G. At. 13. 
 
 D. 
 jy A'venant, Mrs. 91. 
 Divovfhire t Duke of, his A- 
 
 ' mour with Mifs Campion? 
 
 0. M. 57, 60, bV. 
 Dogget, Mr, 119. 
 
 Drama, its Origin in England,, 
 
 1. Its Character, 49. 
 
 E. 
 Examiner^ who were the 
 Authors of that Paper, O, 
 M35. 
 
 F. 
 Elrington, Thomas, 1 50. 
 Fatality, obferved in Murders,, 
 O. J/. 5. 
 
 G. 
 Gefture, fee Jefuifs Rules. 
 Giffard, Henry, 156. 
 Goodman, Mr. his Amours 
 with the Duchefs of Cleve- 
 land, 79. 
 Griffin, Benjamin, ici. 
 G«j«, £//?», 55, 1 1 j . 
 
 H. 
 Haines, fofcph, 78. 
 Harris, Mr. 32. 
 Hay-Market Theatre opened,, 
 117. 
 
 -Hfl ri 
 
N D E X. 
 
 Hart, Charles, 5, 10, 30, go. 
 Holden, Mrs. 91. 
 Hoi ton, Chrijliana. 163. 
 Hulett, Charles, 158. 
 
 I. 
 Jefuit, his Treatife on Gejlure, 
 
 64, 82. 
 7»/?/V* and Modefty, an Eflay 
 
 thereon, O. J/. 38. 
 K. 
 KynaJlon,Edtvard, \o,<)\, 116. 
 
 L. 
 
 z,ag, 7<>£«, 77. 
 
 Z,ff, Anthony, 3 2. 
 
 Lincoln's- bin-Fields Theatre ope- 
 ned, 93. 
 
 Lonven, Mr. 76. 
 M. 
 
 Marjhall, Mrs. 23. 
 
 Maynvoaring, Arthur, Efq; his 
 Amour, O. M 4. his Death, 
 26. his Will, 78. 
 
 Mihuard, William, 154. 
 
 Mountfort, Major, 5. 
 
 Mohun, William, 32. 
 N. 
 
 Noies, James, 32. 
 
 Norris, Henry, 140. 
 
 o. 
 
 Oldfield, Anne, her Memoirs, 
 being Part II. of this Work, 
 Her Will and Codicil, 81. 
 P. 
 
 Pantomimes defcribed, 38. 
 
 /W, William, 33. 
 
 Pet-rival, Mrs. fee Verhruggen, 
 O. M. 50. 
 
 P/rf>*r, the Duty of him, 36. 
 
 Pleader and Preacher, 75, 106 
 
 Po/r, Mr. his Account of Mr. 
 Wycherleys Marriage and 
 Death, O. M. 66. hi» 
 Will. 
 
 Porter, Mary, 59. 
 
 Povjel, George, 33. 
 
 J^a/'», James, 152 
 R. 
 
 Pa f tor, Catharine, 165. 
 Rochejier, Earl of, his Amour 
 
 with Mrs. Barry, 14. 
 TJojwj, Mrs. O. M. 20. 
 Roxalana, fee Marjhall. 
 Ryan, Lacey, 160. 
 
 S. 
 Sandford, Mr. 92. 
 Saunders, Margaret, 161. 
 Saunderfon,i. e. Mrs. Betterton,<) 
 Smith, William, IO, 32, 149. 
 
 T. 
 Taylor, Mr. 76. 
 V. 
 
 Yerbruggen, Mrs. 
 
 Underbill, Cave, 33. 
 W. 
 
 Walker, Thomas, 160. 
 
 Walpole, Sir Robert, his De- 
 fence of Mr. Mapncaring 
 O.M. 31. 
 
 JiT/Tfo, Robert, 129. 
 
 Williams, Jofeph, 32. 
 
 Y. 
 
 Younger, Mrs. 162. 
 
 N. B. Erratum. Page 40, at Line 8, read thus, viz. I remember 
 a Pajfage in one of Air. Pope'.* Letters to Henry Cromwell 2t/£; 
 
 T H F. 
 
THE 
 
 HISTORY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 O 
 
 W STAGE. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 'HE Drama did not lb much 
 as- grow into any Form in 
 England, till the Reign of 
 King Henry the VIII. It met, 
 indeed, with fome kind of Ef- 
 tablijhment in the Reign of 
 Queen Elizabeth ; but flourifhed in That 
 of King James I. Arts were cultivated, 
 till the Beginning of our Inteftine Broils 
 in the Reign of King Charles I, when the 
 Dramatic Mufe was baniihed, and all the Arts 
 degraded. 
 
 The Defign of this Work is to give a 
 faithful Account of the Stage and its Pro- 
 
 B erefs ; 
 
2 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 grefs ; and to convey the Names of fome of 
 our mod eminent Players, to a little longer 
 Date, than Nature has given their Bodies. 
 
 But, before we defcend to Particulars, let 
 us, with a noble Peer, take a general View 
 of that Period when Monarchy was Re- 
 stored } under which Adminiftration the 
 Drama was railed to its higheft Degree of 
 Perfection. 
 
 " I behold (fays Lord Lanfdowne)* King, 
 " with a guilty Nation at his Feet, railing 
 u his Enemies from the Ground, taking them 
 " by the Hand as if they had never offend- 
 " ed : Sour hypocritical Zeal and Grimace 
 " turned, as by Inchantment, all at once 
 u into good Humour and open-hearted Chear- 
 " fulnefs: Majefty and Splendor in the Court, 
 " Decency and Difcipline in the Church, Dig- 
 " nity and Condefcenilon in the Nobility, 
 u Plenty and Hofpitality in the Country, 
 M Opulence in the City, good Nature and 
 " good Manners amonglt all Ranks and Con- 
 u ditions of Men ; Trade flourifhing, Na- 
 u vigation extended, Manufactures rmproved, 
 " Arts and Sciences encouraged, Wit abound- 
 u ing, the Mufes reftored, the Gown refpecr- 
 " ed; and above all, Liberty, real Liberty 
 " fecured to Perpetuity, by that great Bul- 
 " wark the Habeas Corpus Act. This is 
 " the Scene which then prefented it felf, and 
 " I look back' with Pleafure upon it/'* 
 
 The 
 
 * See Lord L.infciowne's Letter to the Atthor of Remarks, 
 &v. 173a, 4C0. pag. 20. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 The Stage having been always accounted a 
 moft rational and inftructive Entertainment ♦ 
 has therefore met with all proper En- 
 couragement in the wifeft Governments, and 
 been fupported by the wifeft Men. The 
 Englifb Theatre has rifen for a Series of many 
 Years under the Patronage of Princes, and 
 appeared in greater Luftre than any other ; 
 and, what itill feems more extraordinary, is, 
 that fome of the molt eminent Writers in the 
 Dramatic way, have been themfelves Play- 
 ers j of which Shakespeare and Otway are 
 immortal Inftances. 
 
 I believe, no Nation in the World can 
 boaix of having produced fo many excellent 
 Writers for the Stage, nor fo many inimita- 
 ble Terformers, as our Own. The Memory 
 of Mr. Betterton, Mr. Booth, Mr. Wilks ; 
 Mrs. Barry, Mrs. Bracegirdle, and Mrs. Old' 
 field's Performances are ftill frefh among us * 
 And as their Merit rendered them univerfal- 
 ly admired, their Lofs is now as univerfally 
 lamented. 
 
 But, here it ought to be obferved, that as 
 Wit, good Senfe, and Politenefs were abfo- 
 lutely necelfary to fupport the Character and 
 Dignity of the Scene ; it was always thought 
 proper to intruft the Management of the 
 Theatre, to Perfons who were fuppofed to be 
 juftly qualified to judge of all Performances 
 fit to be introduced in that Place ; that 
 Works of Genius might meet with fuitable 
 B 2 -Encou" 
 
4 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Encouragement, and Dullnefs and Immorality 
 be effectually excluded. 
 
 Mr. Betterton long had the Stage under 
 his Direction; and he, undoubtedly, wanted no 
 Abilities to dijiingnijb Merit; nor have I ever 
 heard that he wanted Inclination to regard 
 it. And as eminent as he was allowed to be, 
 yet he thought it advifeable, and no way un- 
 worthy of him, to join with thofe who were 
 profefied Players. And of late Years Mr. 
 Booth, Mr. WHkSj and Mr. Gibber, as they 
 were all eminent in their Profeffions, as Ac- 
 tors ; their own Tntereft, as well as the Hon- 
 our of the Sta^e, made them induftrious to 
 fupport it in full Credit. The two former of 
 thcie Patentees are dead ; and fo is that Envy 
 which purfued them in their Lives. We 
 have now no Memory for their Failings, and 
 only retain the pleafing Remembrance of their 
 various Excellencies. 
 
 From thefe general Obfervations then, we 
 may perceive, that it hath been always 
 thought effential to the Prefervation of the 
 Stage, and the Encouragement of Authors, 
 to have the management of the Theatre com- 
 mitted to proper Peribns, who had given 
 fome Public Proof of their Capacity to judge, 
 what would be moll: inftru&ive or agreeable 
 to the Tafte of an Englifo Audience ; as will, 
 in the Courfc of this Undertaking, be fully 
 
 Jhewn. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
The History of, &c. 5 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 
 Of the Duke of Y o r k'j Company under Sir 
 William D'Avenant, 1662; and the 
 Union betwixt the King'j- and Duke'j 
 Company, 1682. 
 
 WE fhall begin thefe Memoirs of 
 Players, with an Account of, our 
 Englijb Roscius, Mr. Thomas Better ton, 
 whom we may fuppofe in his own particular 
 Perfon, on a Foot with that Uluitrious Ro- 
 man ; efpecially when we confider that Mr. 
 Betterton was excellent both in Tragedy and 
 Comedy ; whereas, by all we can difcoyer, 
 Roscius was famous for Comedy only. 
 
 As to his Defcent, he was the Son of Mr. 
 Thomas Betterton, Under-Cook to King 
 Charles the lit, born in Tothill-ftreet, Weft- 
 minfier, in the Year 1637. He had a very 
 good Education, and when he was come to 
 Years fufficient, by his own Choice, his Fa- 
 ther put him to Mr. Rhodes, a Bookfeller at 
 Charing-Crofs ; Mr. Edward Kynafion was 
 Fellow-'Prentice with him. 
 
 I mull not here pafs by Mr. Betterton 's 
 Loyalty and Courage -, who, tho' but a 
 mere Stripling, went a Volunteer into the 
 King's Service, as Mr. Hart, Mr. Smith and 
 Mr. Mohun, had done, before him. They 
 were all Four engaged at the Battle of Edge- 
 Hill, in JVarwickfoire, and Mr* Mohun fo re- 
 £ 3 mark ably 
 
6 The History of 
 
 markably fignalized himfelf in this Engage* 
 ment, that the Major, who commanded our 
 young Cavaliers, being fhot, his Commiffion 
 was given to Him. 
 
 After the Murder of the Kins;, thefe 
 
 Or 
 
 Gentlemen all became Players ; but what 
 more immediately brought Mr. Betterton and 
 Mr. Kynafton upon the Stage, was their Mas- 
 ter's having, formerly, been Wardrobe-Keener 
 to the King's Company of Comedians in Black- 
 Fryars. And upon the March of General 
 Monck with his Army, from Scotland to Lon- 
 don, in the Year 1659, Mr. Rhodes obtained 
 from the Powers then in being, a Licence 
 to fet up a Company of Players in the Cock- 
 fit, in Drury-Lane, and foon made it com- 
 pleat ; his two Apprentices, Betterton for 
 Men's Parts, and Kynafton for Women's, be* 
 ing the Head of them. 
 
 Mr. Betterton, tho' now but twenty-two 
 Years of Age, acquired very great Applaufe 
 by his Performances in The Loyal SubjecJ. 
 The Wild-Goofe-Chace. The Sfanijh Curate ; 
 and feveral other Plays of Beaumont and 
 Fletcher. But, while our young Aclor was 
 thus rifing, under his Mafter Rhodes, Sir 
 William U Avenant procured a Patent of 
 King Charles the lid, for erecting a Com- 
 pany under the Title of The Duke of Yokk's 
 Servants, and took Mr. Betterton, and all 
 who acted under Mr. Rhodes, into his Com- 
 pany ; and in the Year 1662, opened a Thea- 
 tre in Lincoln' s-lnn-Fields y with the fir It 
 
 and 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 7 
 
 and fecond Parts of The Siege of Rhodes, 
 having new Scenes, and Decorations of the 
 Stage, which were then firft ufcd in England. 
 
 Altho' this be affirmed by Some, Others 
 have laid it to the Charge of Mr. Betterton, 
 as a Crime that he was the firft Innovator on 
 our rude Stage - y and that fuch Innovations 
 were the Deftruction of good Playing ; but I 
 think with very little Shew of Reafon, and 
 very little Knowledge of the Stages of Athens 
 and Rome, where, I am apt to believe, was, 
 in their flourifhing Times, as great Actors, as 
 ever played here, before Curtains. For how 
 that which helps the Reprefentation, by a£- 
 fifting the pleafing Delufion of the Mind in 
 regard of the Place, fhould fpoil the Acting, 
 I cannot imagine. 
 
 The Athenian Stage was fo much adorned, 
 that the very Ornaments or Decorations coft 
 the State more Money, than their Wars a- 
 gainft the Ter/lans and the Romans \ tho* 
 their Dramatic Poets were much inferior to 
 the Greeks, (if we may guefs at thofe, who 
 are perifhed, by thofe who remain) were yet 
 not behind them, in the Magnificence of the 
 Theatre to heighten the Pleafure of the Re- 
 prefentation. If this was Mr. Betterton's 
 Thought, it was very juft ; (ince the Audi- 
 ence mult be often puzzled to find the Place 
 and Situation of the Scene, which gives great 
 Light to the Play, and helps to deceive us 
 agreeably, while they faw nothing before them 
 but fome Linfey-PFoljey Curtains^ or at beftfome 
 
 B 4 Piece 
 
8 "The History of 
 
 Piece of old Tapeftry filled with aukvvard Fi- 
 gures,fuch as were difagreeable to theAudience. 
 This therefore I muft urge as his Praife, Mr. 
 Betterton endeavoured to compleat thatRepre- 
 fentation which was before but imperfect. 
 
 At what time his Grace the Right Ho- 
 nourable George Villiers Duke of Bucking- 
 ham began to write his Rehearsal, we can- 
 not exactly learn; but thus much may be 
 certainly gathered from the Plays fatirized in 
 it, that it was before the End of the Year 
 160^3, and it is demonftrable that it was ri- 
 mmed before the End of 1664, becaufe it had 
 been feveral times Rehearfed, the Players 
 were perfect in their Parts, and all things 
 were in readinefs for its Acting before the 
 great Plague in io'o'j, which prevented its 
 being played. What was then intended be- 
 ing very different from what now appears. In 
 That the Poet was called Bilboa, bv which 
 Name Sir Robert Howard was the Perfon 
 pointed at. During this Interval, many Plays 
 were brought upon the Stage written in He- 
 roic Rhime 5 and on the Death of Sir William 
 D y Avenant in 1668, whom Mr. Dry den fuc- 
 ceeded as Poet-Laureat, it became ftill in 
 greater Vogue : This moved the Duke to 
 change the Name of the Hero from Bilboa 
 to Bays, directly levelling his Bolt at Mr. 
 Dryden. It was brought upon the Stage in 
 1 67 1 , acted with univerfal Applaufe, and is the 
 jufteft and trueit Satire upon a vitiated and 
 Dramatic Tafte, the World ever raw ; as it 
 
 will 
 
the Englijb STAGE. 9 
 
 will be an everlafting Proof of the Author's 
 Wit and Judgment. 
 
 Mr. Betterton, now making, among the 
 Men, the foremoft Figure in Sir William 
 D'Avenanfs Company, he caft his Eyes on 
 Mrs. Saunderfon, who was no lefs eminent 
 among the Women, and married her. She 
 was bred in the Houfe of the Patentee, im- 
 proved herfelf daily in her Profeilion, and 
 having, by Nature, all the Accomplifhments 
 required to make a perfect Aclrefs, fhe add- 
 ed to them the diftinguifhing Characleriftick 
 of a virtuous Life. 
 
 But notwithftanding the Induftry of the 
 Patentee and Managers, it feems the King's 
 Houfe then carried the Vogue of the Town, 
 and the Lincoln' s-lnn-Yields Theatre be- 
 ing not fo commodious, the Players and 
 other Adventurers built a much more magni- 
 ficent one in Dorfet-Gardens, Fleet-jireet y 
 and adorned it with all the Machines and De- 
 corations the Skill of thofe Times could af- 
 ford. This likewife proving lefs effectual 
 than they hoped, other Arts were employed, 
 and the Political Maxim of Divide & Im- 
 per a, (Divide and Govern) being put in prac- 
 tice, the Feuds and Animofities of the King's 
 Company were fo well improved, as to pro- 
 duce an Union betwixt the two Patents. 
 To bring this Defign about, the following 
 Agreement was executed, <vi&, 
 
 Ms- 
 
i o The History of 
 
 Memorandum, Qttob. 14, 1681. 
 
 IT is hereby agreed upon, between Dr. 
 Charles D'Avenant, Thomas Betterton, 
 Gent, and Willi am Smith, Gent, of the one 
 Part \ and Charles Hart, Gent, and Edward 
 Kynafton, Gent, on the other Part. That, 
 the faid Charles D'Avenant, Thomas Better- 
 ton and William Smith, do pay, or cauie to 
 be paid, out of the Profits of Acting, unto 
 Charles Hart and Edward Kynafton, five 
 Shillings a-piece for every Day there fhall be 
 any Tragedies, or Comedies, or other Repre- 
 fentations acted at the Duke's Theatre in 
 Salisbury-Court ; or wherever the Company 
 fhall act during the refpe&ive Lives of the 
 faid Charles Hart, and Edward Kynafton, 
 excepting the Days the young Men or young 
 Women play for their own Profit only ; but 
 this Agreement to ccafe, if the laid Charles 
 Hart or Edward Kynafton fhall at any time 
 play among or effectually affift the King's 
 Company of A&ors • and for as long as this is 
 payed, they Both covenant and promife not 
 to play at the King's Theatre. 
 
 If Mr. Kynafton fhall hereafter be free to 
 act at the Duke's Theatre, this Agreement 
 with him, as to his Penfion, fhall alio ceafe. 
 
 In Confederation of this Penfion, Mr. Hart 
 and Mr. Kynafton do promife to make over, 
 within a Month after the Sealing of this, un- 
 to Charles UAvenant, Thomas Betterton 
 
 and 
 
the Englijh STAGE. n 
 
 and William Smith, all the Right, Title and 
 Claim which they or either of them may 
 have to any Plays, Books, Cloaths, and 
 Scenes in the King's Tlayhoufe. 
 
 Mr. Hart and Mr. Kynafton do Both alfo 
 promife, within a Month after the Sealing 
 hereof, to make over to the faid Charles 
 D'Avenant, Thomas Betterton and William 
 Smith, all the Title which they, or each of 
 them, have to fix Shillings and three Pence a- 
 piece for every Day there fhall be any Play- 
 ing at the King's Theatre. 
 
 Mr. Hart and Mr. Kynafton do Both alfo 
 promife to promote with all their Power and 
 Intereft an Agreement between both Play- 
 houfes ; and Mr. Kynafton for himfelf, pro- 
 mifes to endeavour, as much as he can, to get 
 free, that he may a£fc at the Duke's Play- 
 houfe, but he is not obliged to play unlefs he 
 have ten Shillings fer Day allowed for his 
 Acting, and his Penfion then to ceafe. 
 
 Mr. Hart and Mr. Kynafton promife to go 
 to Law with Mr. Killigrew to have thefe 
 Articles performed, and are to be at the Ex- 
 pence of the Suit. 
 
 In Witnefs of this Agreement, all the Par- 
 tics have hereunto fet their Hands, this 14th 
 Day of Offober, 168 1. 
 
 Charles D'Avenant. 
 Thomas Betterton. 
 William Smith. 
 Charles Hart. 
 Edward Kynafton. 
 
i 2 77je History of 
 
 This private Agreement hath been reflected 
 on as tricking and unfair, but then it is by 
 thole, who have not fufficiently confidered 
 the Matter ; for, an dolus, an virtus, quis 
 in hojle reqtiir'it ? All Stratagems are allowed 
 betwixt Enemies ; the two Houfes were at 
 War \ Conduct and Action were to decide the 
 Victory ; and whatever the Duke's Com- 
 pany might fall fhort of in Action, it is plain 
 they won the Field by their Conduct. For 
 Mr. Hart and Mr. Kynafton performed their 
 Promifes fo well, that the Union was effected 
 the very next Winter 1682. 
 
 We muft now leave thefe Gentlemen for 
 fome time, in the ufeful Province of their 
 Profeflion, both to Inftruct and Divert the 
 Public, (which was the original Inftitution 
 of Dramatic Toefa) to give an Account of 
 Mrs. Barry. Some particular Memoirs, re- 
 lating to her, we have been favoured with 
 by a Gentlewoman, her molt intimate Friend, 
 which is the Subject of our next Chapter. 
 
theEngliJh STAGE. 
 
 T i 
 1 3 
 
 CHAP. II. 
 
 MEMOIRS of Mrs. BJRRT, &c. 
 
 ELizabeth Barry was the Daughter of 
 Robert Barry, Efq; Barrifter at Law ; 
 a Gentleman of an ancient Family, and good 
 Eftate. 
 
 At the Beginning of the Civil Wars, when 
 King Charles invited all his Loyal Sub- 
 jects to take up Arms in his Defence, Mr. 
 Barry raifed a Regiment for his Majefty's 
 Service, compofed of his Neighbours and 
 Tenants, equipping and maintaining them a 
 confiderable Time at his own Expence. This, 
 
 as 
 
1 4 The History of 
 
 as it ever after, made him known by the 
 Title of Colonel Barry, it alfo fo far incum- 
 bered his Eitate, as to oblige his Children, 
 when grown up, to make their own For- 
 tunes in the World. 
 
 The Lady D * Avenant, who had been fe- 
 veral Years a Widow, and a particular Friend 
 of Sir WtlltamD\Ao6nant , having the greater! 
 Friendihip for Col. Barry, took his Daughter, 
 when young, and gave her a good Edui ition. 
 Lady lYAccnant made her not only her 
 Companion, but carried her wherever fhe 
 vifited. Mrs. Barry by frequently conver- 
 ting with Ladies of the firft Rank and belt 
 Senfe, became foon Miflrefs of that Behaviour 
 which lets off the well-bred Gentlewoman. 
 
 What firft recommended Mrs. Barry to the 
 Stage, was her Voice ; her good Air, tho' no 
 Beauty, made Sir William take her } but as 
 fhe had a very bad Ear, they found it fo diffi- 
 cult to teach her, that they thought it would 
 be impoilible to make her fit for the meaneft 
 Part. Three times fhe was rejected; and Three 
 times, by the Intcreft of her Lady, they were 
 prevailed on again to try her, but with fo 
 little Succeis, that feveral Perfons of Wit and 
 Quality being at the Play, and obferving 
 how ill fhe performed, pofitively gave their 
 Opinion fhe never would be capable of any 
 Part of Acting. But the Earl of Rochejler, 
 to fhew them he had a Judgment fu peri our, 
 entered into a Wager, that by proper Instruc- 
 tions, in lefs than fix Months, he would en- 
 gage 
 
the Englijh STAGE, 15 
 
 gage ihe fhould be the fined Player on the 
 Stage. He was oppofed by them all, and tho' 
 they knew him to be a Perfon of excellent 
 Senfe, yet they thought, on this Subject, he 
 had ftarted beyond the Bounds of his Judg- 
 ment j and fo many poignant Things were 
 faid to him on this Occafion, that they piqued 
 him into a Refolution of taking fuch Pains 
 with Mrs. Barry, as to convince them he 
 was not miflaken. 
 
 From the Moment he had this Dis- 
 pute, he became intimately acquainted with 
 her, but to the World he kept it private, 
 efpecially from thofe he had argued with 
 about her. He foon, by talking with her, 
 found her Miftrefs of exquifite Charms j and it 
 was thought that he never loved any Perfon 
 fo iincerely as he did Mrs. Barry. Whoever 
 has a mind to fee him in the Form of a Lover, 
 may find him fhine in the Letters annexed 
 to his Poems (bound up with the Tragedy of 
 Valentitiian) Mrs. Barry being the Perfon 
 to whom thofe Letters were AddrefTed. 
 
 The firft Parts Lord Rochejferchofe to teach 
 Mrs. Barry, were the Little Gipfy, in the Co- 
 medy of the Rover, by Mrs. Behn : and Isa- 
 bella, the Hungarian Queen, in the Tragedy of 
 Mujiapha, by the E. of Orrery: which (befides 
 the private Inftru&ions he gave her) he made 
 her Rehearfe near 30 times on the Stage, and 
 about 1 2 in the Drefs (he was to AcT: it in. He 
 took fuch extraordinary Pains with her, as 
 not to omit the leaft Look or Motion, nay, 
 
 I 
 
1 6 The History of 
 
 I have been allured from thole who were 
 prefent, that her Page was taught to manage 
 her Train, in fuch a Manner, fo as to give each 
 Movement a peculiar Grace. 
 
 But before I mention what Succefs the 
 Peer had with his Pupil, to give the Reader 
 a clearer Idea, it was certain Mrs. Barry 
 was Miftrefs of a very good Underftanding, 
 yet fhe having little, or no Ear for Mufic, 
 which caufed her to be thought dull when fhe 
 was taught by the Actors, becaufe fhe could 
 not readily catch the Manner of their found- 
 ing Words, but run into a Tone, the Fault 
 of mod young Players • this Defed my 
 Lord perceiving, he made her enter into the 
 Nature of each Sentiment ; perfectly chang- 
 ing herfelf, as it were, into the Peribn, not 
 merely by the proper Strefs or Sounding of 
 the Voice, but feeling really, and being in 
 the Humour, the Peribn ilie reprefented, was 
 fuppoied to be in. 
 
 As no Age ever produced a Perfon better 
 skilled in the various PafTlons and Foibles of 
 Mankind than my Lord Rochefter, fo none 
 was more capable of inftru&ing her to give 
 thofe heightening Strokes which furprized 
 and delighted all who law her. 
 
 The firft Night fhe played the Hungarian 
 Queen, my Lord brought the King, and 
 the Dufo and Dutchefs to the Play, befides 
 the Perfons he had dilputed withal about her. 
 The very Air fhe appeared with, in that di- 
 ftrelTed Character, moved them with Pity, 
 
 pre- 
 
the EngliJJj S TA G E. 17 
 
 preparing the Mind to greater Expectations, 
 but when fhe fpoke thefe Words to the in^ 
 iulting Cardinal, 
 
 My Lord, my Sorrow feeks not: your Relief; 
 You are not fit- to judge a Mother's Grief: 
 You have no Child for an untimely Grave, 
 Nor can you lcfe what I dtfire to favc. 
 
 Here, Majefty dinreflTed by the hoitile Foe, 
 theWidow Queen forlorn, infulted by her Sub- 
 jects, feeling all an afflicted Mother could fuffer 
 by a ftern Counfellor's forcing her to yield her 
 only Son to be facriflced to the Enemy to 
 fave themfelves and City, thefe Paffions were 
 fo finely exprelTed by her, that the whole 
 Theatre reibunded with Applaufes; the Dut- 
 chefs of Tork was fo pleafed, that from Mrs. 
 Barry fhe learned to improve in the Engli/b 
 Language, made her a Prefent of her Wed- 
 ding-Suit, and favoured her in fo particular a 
 Manner, not only whilft Dutchefs, but when 
 Queen, it is faid, Ihe gave Her her Coronation 
 Robes to ad Queen Elizabeth^ in the Earl of 
 Effex, In this Part, though the Play is but 
 indifferently wrote, and ituft with Bombaft, 
 yet Mrs. Barry fo happily hit it, fhe made 
 that Queen, which was fo much beloved, re- 
 vive again, and become idolized in her : that 
 little Speech of 
 
 What means my giving Subjects ? 
 
 C was 
 
1 8 The History of 
 
 was fpoken with fuch a Grace and Emphafis 
 as was never before, or fince, to be imitated ; 
 her Performance giving the Audience an Idea 
 of that Princefs in many important Paffages 
 of her Life. The Air with which me looked 
 when {he penetrated into the Thoughts of 
 the CountefTes of Rutland and Nottingham 
 (on their endeavouring to hide the different 
 PaiTions of Hate and Love) fhevved, more 
 than the Language, the piercing Genius of 
 that great Lady ; but when Cecil is recount- 
 ing the Seizure of the Earls, and mourns 
 EJfex's fallen State, no Imagination can form, 
 that has feen her Look, and Air,when flie fays 
 
 EJfex thou art fallen Indeed ! 
 
 See ! the Crocodile weeps over his Prey. 
 
 As thofe who are acquainted with Hiftory 
 know, that Queen Elizabeth notwithstanding 
 her Indulgence to her Favourites, had a quick 
 Penetration into their Faults ; fo, it is cer- 
 tain, at the fame time her Eyes flowed with 
 Pity, for the Follies and Mifmanagements 
 which drew on their Fates. The Sword itill 
 executed Juftice on the Traytors. This Mrs. 
 Barry reprefented fo finely, that Love, Dif- 
 dain, Hate, Severity and Pity, were fo blend- 
 ed together in this Politic Queen, one could 
 not fay which had the Maftery, and gave 
 that Age greater Lights into Queen Eliza" 
 foth's Temper than Hiftory itfelf 
 
 r jHex~ 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 19 
 
 Alexander the Great : Or, The Rival 
 J^ueens, was a Play in which Mrs. Barry by 
 her admirable A&ing ieemed to have new- 
 formed the Character ; to read the Play one 
 would think the Poet had been in a Rage 
 the whole Time he was writing it, yet there 
 are fome Strokes in it which have the true 
 Fire of Poetry. The Players, when this 
 Tragedy firft appeared, made it a Favourite 
 one to the World, but for want of a Barry 
 and a Bracegirdle, the Characters of Roxana 
 and Statira are perfect burlefque on the 
 Dignity of Majefty, and good Manners, 
 Roxana is haughty, malicious, inflnuating ; 
 with this Compound, fhe is made deiperately 
 in Love with Alexander. On her firft enter- 
 ing, what Mifery did fhe feem to feel, tor- 
 tured with Jealoufy, when fhe fays, 
 
 Madnefs but meanly reprefents my Toil. 
 Roxana and Statira ! they are Names 
 That muft for ever jar ; eternal Difcord, 
 Fury, Revenge, Difdain, and Indignation, 
 Tear my fwoln Breaft, make way for Fire and 
 
 Tempefl •, 
 My Brain is burft, Debate and Reafon quench'd, 
 The Storm is up, and my hot bleeding Heart, 
 Splits with the Rack, 
 
 I have heard this Speech fpoken in a Rage 
 that run the A&or out of Breath ; but Mrs. 
 Barry when fhe talked of her hot bleeding 
 Heart, feemed to feel a Fever within, which 
 
 C 1 by 
 
20 The History of 
 
 by Debate and Reafon fhe would quench. 
 This was not done in a ranting Air, but as 
 if fhe were ftrugling with her Paffions, and 
 trying to get the Maftery of them ; a peculiar 
 Smile fhe had, which made her look the mod 
 genteely malicious Pcrfon that can be imagin- 
 ed ; when (lie meets Statira and iniults her, 
 in thefe Words : 
 
 I hope your Mnjefty will give me Leave 
 To wait you to the Grove, where you would grieve. 
 Where like the Turtle, you the Lofs will moan 
 Of that dear Mate, and murmur all alone. 
 
 Then with what a Softnefs did fhe look and 
 fpeak when ihe takes Alexander by the 
 Hand, laying, 
 
 . now for a laft. Look, 
 
 And that fhe Memory of Roxam's Wrongs 
 May be for ever printed in your Mind. 
 
 In the following Scene Roxana's Cha- 
 racter riles • no Rage, no Revenge, nor even 
 the Fear of fy'/igdm&is, who by her Policies 
 was ful peeled fo aim at her, and the Infant's 
 Deftru&ion with which (lie was with Child, 
 could make her admit aThoughtagainft Alex- 
 ander's Life,nay the Indignation fhe is in with 
 Cafavder for tempting her, joined with his 
 profered I^ove, is fo great, that heightened 
 at it, he is forced as in Alton ifhment, to looth 
 her Rage 2 and to contrive the getting Sta- 
 tira 
 
tbeEngliJb STAGE. 21 
 
 tlra into her Power. Once at the afting the 
 laft Scene of this Play Mrs. Barry wounded 
 Mrs. Boutel (who firft played the Part of 
 Statira) the Occalion of which I {hall here 
 recite. 
 
 Mrs. Boutel was likewife a very confi- 
 derable Actrefs ; fhe was low of Stature, 
 had very agreeable Features, a good Com- 
 plexion, but a Childifh Look. Her Voice 
 was weak, tho' very mellow j fhe generally 
 a&ed the young Innocent Lady whom all the 
 Heroes are mad in Love with j me was a 
 Favourite of the Town \ and, befides what 
 fhe faved by Playing, the Generofity of fome 
 happy Lovers enabled her to quit the Stage 
 before fhe grew old. 
 
 It happened thefeTwo Perfons before they 
 appeared to the Audience, unfortunately had 
 fome Difpute about a Veil which Mrs. Boutel 
 by the Partiality of the Property-Man ob- 
 tained \ this offending the haughty Roxana, 
 they had warm Difputes behind the Scenes, 
 which fpirited the Rivals with fuch a natu- 
 ral Refentment to each other, they were fb 
 violent in performing their Parts, and acled 
 with fuch Vivacity, that Statira on hear- 
 ing the King was nigh, begs the Gods to 
 helf her for that Moment \ on which Roxana 
 haftening the defigned Blow, ftruck with fuch 
 Force, that tho' the Point of the Dagger was 
 blunted, it made way through Mrs. Boutel's 
 Stayes, and entered about a Quarter of an- 
 Inch in the Flefh. 
 
 C 3 This 
 
2 2 "The History of 
 
 This Accident made a great Buttle in the 
 Houfc, and alarmed the Town ; many differ- 
 ent StdHes were told ; fome affirmed, Mrs. 
 Barry was jealous of Mrs. Boutel and Lord 
 Rochejiet'y which made them fuppofe fhe did 
 it with Defign to deftroy her ; but by all 
 that could be difcovered on the ftri&eft Exa- 
 mination of both Parties, it was only the Veil 
 thefe two Ladies contended for, and Mrs. 
 Barry being warmed with Anger, in her 
 Part, fhe (truck the Dagger with lefs Caution, 
 than at other times. 
 
 Tho' I have mentioned feveral PafTages of 
 this Play in which Mrs. Barry fhined, I 
 cannot conclude without taking notice that 
 tho' before our Eyes we had juft feen Rox- 
 ana with fuch Malice murder an innocent 
 Perfon, becaufe better beloved than herfelf; 
 yet, after Statira is dead, and Roxana is 
 following Alexander on her Knees, Mrs. 
 Barry made this Complaint in fo Pathetic a 
 Manner, as drew Tears from the greateft 
 Part of the Audience, 
 
 O! fpeak not fuch harfli Words, my Royal Matter: 
 But take, dear Sir, O ! take me into Grace i 
 By the dear Babe, the Burden of my Womb, 
 That weighs me down when I would follow fatter. 
 My Knees are weary, and my Force is fpent ; 
 O ! do not frown, but clear that angry Brow ; 
 Your Eyes will blaft me, and your Words are Bolts 
 
 That 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 23 
 
 That ftrike me dead : the little Wretch I bear, 
 Leaps frighted at your Wrath, and dies within me. 
 
 €*#€>##€*€*^€*#€*€*##€*€^€*€^^###^# 
 
 Here end the Memoirs communicated to 
 us concerning Mrs. Barry. But to the fame 
 Hand we are obliged for the followingAccount 
 of that celebrated A&refs, Mrs. Marshall. 
 
 Dr. D'Avenanfs Company falling under 
 Mr. Betterton's Direction, as to the Women, 
 he employed himfelf in vifiting, and over- 
 looking their A&ions as a Guardian, or Fa- 
 ther, and feveral Ladies fo far bufied thcm- 
 felves as often to enter into Quarrels with 
 Nephews, Sons and Husbands, about attempt- 
 ing to corrupt them. The private Behaviour 
 of thefe young Women were frequently talk- 
 ed of by the Ladies, extolling their virtuous 
 Refiftance of thofe dangerous Seducers, Man, 
 to the Clouds ; and comparing fallen Nymphs, 
 with the Fiends finking to the Shades below. 
 
 Mrs. Betterton, encouraged by the Pub- 
 lic, joined with her own good Inclinations, 
 trod the Stage without the leaft Re- 
 proach ; but the firft Thing that gave a 
 Damp to thefe Endeavours, and caufed her to 
 find the guarding thefe Ladies Virtues a Task 
 more laborious, and difficult, than any Hercules 
 had impofed on him by his Step-Dame, was 
 what happened to the famous Mrs. Marjball> 
 more known by the Name of Roxalana 
 from her A&ing that Part. This Lady po£ 
 C 4 fcffcd 
 
2f The History of 
 
 fefTed a Mind which fhone with a haughty and 
 
 levere Virtue according to the Haughtinefs 
 
 of that Age. She was attacked by, and had 
 
 withftood the Earl of Oxford* in every Form 
 
 an artful Gallant could put on. Growrwnad 
 
 with Love, and her Repulfes, he forms a Plot 
 
 to get her by Force ; intending to fcize her 
 
 as fhe went from the Houfe after fhe had been 
 
 acting this Part • which being made known 
 
 to her, by fome real Friend, fhe obtained a 
 
 Party of the King's Guards to protect her. 
 
 When her Chair appeared, the Nobleman 
 
 began his Aflault, but was valiantly repuifed, 
 
 and fhe was fafely conducted Home. 
 
 This Adventure was the whole Talk of*thc 
 Court and Town ; the Ladies applauded her 
 Refolution fecretly, not a little plealed to fee 
 their Sex's refolute Behaviour in Roxalana. 
 Many Parties were formed both for and againji 
 her. The Fanatics cried out, laying, it was a 
 Shame they mould bring upGirls in the School 
 of Venus, teaching them fuch Airs and Tricks 
 to tempt Mankind. The Gentry liked the 
 Divcrfion, alledging, the greater the Temp- 
 tation, the greater the Glory to refill:, fay- 
 ing that Ladies were bred up in virtuous 
 Sentiments, their Minds improved by high 
 Ideas, and encouraged by the Patronage of 
 the Good and Great. 
 
 However, in this Affair, the King himfelf 
 having the Story reprefented to him in the 
 blackeft Light, interpofed ; and his Majeft y, 
 
 with 
 
 * At T ERtY DE VjERE. 
 
the Englijb STAGE. 25 
 
 with a Freedom natural to one of the beft tem- 
 pered Princes, told the Earl, he thought the 
 Vice (though perhaps he gave too much 
 Countenance to it by his own Irregularity) 
 bad enough with the Confent of the Fair, 
 but where Force or Violence was ufed, it was 
 fo heinous, he would not, though a Soveraign, 
 indulge the Thought of fuch an Action, 
 much more permit it to be done by a Subject. 
 This Reproof caufed the Earl to anfwer 
 with fome Referve, he faid he would think 
 no more of her • but foon after he renewed his 
 AfTault, telling her it was impoffible to live 
 without her. That, her exalted Virtue had 
 infpired him with other Sentiments, propo- 
 fing to Marry her in private. This Bait 
 Roxalana greedily fwallowed, her Vanity 
 inclining her to believe the Earl fincere. In 
 fhort, the Earl comes, brings his Coachman 
 dreffed like a Minifter, Marries her, and 
 took her down to one of his Country- 
 Seats, where foon growing weary of her, he 
 pulled off the Mask, and, with Scorn, bid 
 her return to the Stage. Upon this, me 
 threw herfelf at the King's Feet, who coun- 
 tenanced her fo far, that he made the Earl 
 allow her 500 /. a Year ; and, as long as her 
 Son lived would not fuffer him to Marry any 
 other Lady ; but, on the Child's Death, the 
 Concern for fo ancient a Family's becoming 
 extinct (the Earl being the laft of it) his 
 Majefty through great Interceflion was pre- 
 vailed on, to permit of the Earl's Re-Marriage. 
 
 We 
 
26 The History of 
 
 WE are, in this Place, obliged, in Juftice 
 to her Merit, to introduce, a Lady 
 now living, Mrs. Anne Bracegirdle. She was 
 the Daughter of Jufitnian Bracegtrdle of 
 Northampton/litre, E% where fhe was born. 
 
 It is not any Matter of our Enquiry by 
 what Means a Gentlewoman of fo good an 
 Extraction came upon the Stage, fince the beft 
 Families have been liable to the greateft Mif- 
 fortunes, amongft which was that of her Fa- 
 ther, in being bound, and fuffering for Others. 
 But it may be fome kind of Alleviation to fay, 
 that in the Scene, wherein Providence had con- 
 signed her Fate, fhe had the good Fortune to 
 be well placed, when an Infant, under the Care 
 of Mr. Betterton and his Wife, whole Ten- 
 dernefs fhe always acknowledges to have been 
 Paternal • Nature formed her for the Stage, 
 and it was to the Admiration of all Specta- 
 tors that fhe performed the Page in The Or-> 
 fhatiy at the Duke's Theatre in Dorfet-Gar^ 
 den, before fhe was fix Years old. 
 
 Here we rauft leave her for the prefent, 
 and return to Mr. Betterton. For, with him, 
 we muft obferve that the Difregard for the 
 Tragic Poem, is at all times chiefly to be at- 
 tributed to a Defect in the Aft ion when re- 
 prefented on the Stage. 
 
 Nor 
 
the Engli/h STAGE. 27 
 
 Nor is there any greater Proof of the Vir- 
 tue or Corruption of the People, than their 
 Pleafures. Thus in the Time of the Vigour 
 of the Roman Virtue, Tragedy was very- 
 much efteemed, its Dignity kept up, and the 
 Decorum of the Stage fo very nicely obfer- 
 ved, that a T layer's ftanding out of his Or- 
 der , or fpeaking a falfe Quantity y was fuf- 
 ficient for him to be hiffed off the Stage. This 
 Cicero affures us, Hi/trio Jbpaulo movit extra 
 Numerum, aut fi Verfus pronunciatus eft Syl- 
 laba una brevior aut longior exfibilatur & 
 exploditur. (Paradox iii.) 
 
 And when they gave us the moft noble 
 Examples of Virtue in their real Life, they 
 were moft pleafed with the Reprefentation of 
 noble Examples on the Stage ; for People are 
 delighted with what bears the greateft Like- 
 nefs to the Turn and Temperament of their 
 own Minds. Thus when the Roman Virtue 
 decayed, or indeed was loft with their Li- 
 berty, and they fubfifted and fpread their 
 Dominions more by the Merit of their An- 
 ceftors, and the Roman Name made terri- 
 ble by them, than by their own Bravery, 
 then Effeminacy and Folly fpread thro* the 
 People, which immediately appeared in their 
 Sports or Spectacles - y zndTragedy was flighted. 
 
 Now Farce on the One hand,with itsMimes 
 and TantomimeSy and Of era on the Other, 
 with its emafculating Sounds, invade and van- 
 quiih the Stage, and draw the Ears and Eyes 
 
 of 
 
2& The History of 
 
 of the People ; who care only to laugh, or 
 to fee things extravagant and monftrous. 
 
 I rather at prefent attribute the Decay of 
 Tragedy to our want of Tragedians, and in- 
 deed Tragic Toets, than to the Corruption of 
 the People ; which, tho' great enough, yet is 
 not fo defolate, as what we have mentioned 
 in the Roman State. 
 
 I have often heard Mr. Retterton fay, 
 that when he firft Played under Sir ////- 
 Ham D'Avenant, the Company was much 
 better regulated, and they were obliged to 
 make their Study their Bufinefs, which our 
 young A&ors do not think it their Duty now 
 to do ; for they fcarce ever mind a Word of 
 their Parts but only at Rehearfals, and come 
 thither too often fcarce recovered from their 
 laft Night's Debauch ; when the Mind is not 
 very capable of meditating ib calmly and 
 judicioufly on what they have to fludy, as to 
 enter thoroughly into the Nature of the Part, 
 or to confider the Variation of tire Voice, 
 Looks and Geftures which mould give them 
 their true Beauty, many of them thinking 
 that making a Noife renders them agreeable 
 to the Audience, becaufe a few of the Upper 
 Gallary clap the loud Efforts of their Lungs, 
 in which their Underftanding has no Share. 
 They think it a fuperfluous Trouble to ftudy 
 real Excellence, which might rob them of 
 what they fancy more, Midnight, or indeed 
 whole Nights Debauches, and a lazy Remifs- 
 nefs in their Bufinefs. 
 
 Another 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 29 
 
 Another Obftacle to the Improvement of 
 our young Players, is, that when they have 
 not been admitted above a Month or two 
 into the Company, though their Education 
 ana 1 former Bnfinefs were ever fo Foreign to 
 AB'ing, they vainly imagine themfelves Ma- 
 ilers of an Art, which perfectly to attain, re- 
 quires a ftudious Application of a Man's 
 whole Life. They take it therefore amifs to 
 have the Poet give them any Inftruclion ; 
 and tho' they hardly know any thing of the 
 Art of Poetry, will pais their Cenfure, and 
 neglect or mind a Part as they think the Au- 
 thor and his Part deferves. Tho' in this they 
 are led by Fancy as blind as Ignorance can 
 make it ; and fo wandering without any cer- 
 tain Rule of Judgment, generally favour the 
 bad, and flight the good. Whereas, faid he, it 
 has always been Mine and TsArs.Barry's Prac- 
 tice to confult even the moft indifferent Poet 
 in any Part we have thought fit to accept of; 
 and I may fay it of Her, fhe has often fo ex- 
 erted herfelf in an indifferent Part, that her 
 A&ing has given Succefs in fuch Plays, as 
 to read, would turn a Man's Stomach \ and 
 tho' I could never pretend to do fo much 
 Service that way, as She has done, yet I 
 have never been wanting in my Endeavours. 
 But while young Actors will think them- 
 felves Matters before they underftand any- 
 one Point of their Art, and not give them- 
 felves Leifure and Time to ftudy the Graces 
 of Action and Utterance, it is impoflible 
 
 that 
 
30 The History of 
 
 that the Stage fhould flourifh and advance in 
 Perfection. 
 
 Every one muft be fenfible of the Juftnefs 
 of thefe Sentiments, but fome are apt to be- 
 lieve many of Them proceed from want of 
 Judgment in the Managers, in admitting 
 People unqualified by Nature, and not pro- 
 viding fuch Perfons to direct them, as un- 
 derftand the Art they fhould be improved 
 in. All other Arts People are taught by 
 Matters skilful in them, but here Ignorance 
 teaches itfelf, or rather confirms it felf into 
 the Confidence of Knowledge, by going on 
 without any Rebuke. 
 
 From thefe Obfervations, and the inftilling 
 of them, into All under his Care, were owe- 
 ing that juft ABion which appeared on the 
 Stage under Mr. Betterton's Conduct. 
 
 We fhall next give the Sentiments of a ri- 
 gid Critic upon the Action of that Period ' y 
 " Mr. Hart (fays *bAr.Rymer) always pleafes, 
 " and, what he delivers, every one takes up- 
 iC on Confent ; their Eyes are prepoffeffed 
 <l and charmed by his Action, before aught 
 iC of the Poet's can approach their Ears ; and 
 ^ to the moll: wretched of Characters he gives. 
 *' a Luftre and Brilliant, which dazzles the 
 " Sight, that the Deformities in the Poe- 
 " try cannot be perceived. * 
 
 « Both 
 
 * See his Letter to Sir Fleetwood Sftepbard 1677, Svo. p. J. 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 31 
 
 " Both our yjSfopus and Rofcius (in the 
 " Maid's Tragedy) are on the Stage toge- 
 " ther } Mr. Hart and Mr. Mohun are want* 
 " ing in Nothing. To thefe we owe for what 
 " is Pleating in every Scene wherein they 
 " appear, * 
 
 We fhall now proceed to fome brief No- 
 tices, communicated to us by Mr, Boman> 
 of Himfelf and Contemporaries. 
 
 CHAP. III. 
 
 Some Account of Mr. Boman, Mr. Nokes, 
 Mr. Smith, Mr. Harris, Mr. Lee, Air. 
 Mountfqrt, Mrs. Guyn, &c. 
 
 JO h n Boman, Son of John Boman y 
 of King-ftreet, Wefiminfier^ was born at 
 Tillerton in fflarwickjhire (in the fame Houfe, 
 Chamber and Bed wherein his Mother was 
 Born on the 27th of December^ St. John's 
 Day, 1664.) 
 
 He was brought into the Duke's .Theatre 
 to Sing at Seven Years old. 
 
 Mr. Boman married Elizabeth >, Daugh- 
 ter of Sir Francis Watfon, Bart. She was 
 born in the Parilh of St. Martin in the Fields 
 1677, an d was a very pretty Player both 
 in her Perfon and Performances • particularly 
 remarkable, for A&ing the Part of Eurydice 
 \n Oedipus, 
 
 That 
 
 * Ibid. 138. & 195; 
 
3 2 The History of 
 
 That famous Comedian Mr. 'James Nokes 
 was a Toyman in Coruhill. From his La- 
 bours on the Stage, he acquired and left to a 
 Nephew at his Death, an Eftate of 400 /. 
 fer Annum, at Totteridge near Barnet. 
 
 Upon his commencing Player, King Charles 
 the Second firft difcovered his Excellencies as 
 he was Acting the Duke of Norfolk in Shake- 
 fpeare's Henry VIII. 
 
 Mr. Dryden wrote Gomez in the Sfanifh 
 Fryar in Compliment to Mr. Nokes. 
 
 Mr. Smith was a Barrifter at Law of the 
 Society of Grays Inn. 
 
 Mr. Harris was bred a Seal-Cutter, and 
 he made Mr. Jofefh Williams a Player. 
 
 Mr. Anthony Lee was of a good Family, 
 and born in Northamponjhire. 
 
 Mr. William Mount fort was a Gentleman 
 defcended of a very good Family. The firft 
 particular Notice taken of him on the Stage 
 was in Acting the Part of Tall-Boy \ loon after 
 which his Salary was advanced, and he became 
 more famous in Playing Sir Courtly Nice. 
 
 He was taken off the Stage, and made 
 one of the Gentlemen to Lord Chancellor 
 ^ejjhiss, " who at an Entertainment of the 
 
 Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen in the 
 u Year 16S5, called for Mr. Mount fort to di- 
 u vert the Company (as his Lordfhip was 
 " pleafed to term it) he being an excellent 
 " Mimic, my Lord made him Plead before 
 " him in a Feigned Caufe, in which he 
 a Aped all the great Lawyers of £he Age in 
 
 « their 
 
 c< 
 
c< 
 
 the Englijh STAGE. 33 
 
 their Tone of Voice, and in their Action 
 " and Gefture of Body, to the very great 
 " Ridicule not only of the Lawyers, but of 
 " the Law itfelf ; which to me (fays the Hi- 
 " ftorian) did not feem altogether prudent in 
 " a Man of his lofty Station in the Law : 
 " Diverting it certainly was ; but prudent, in 
 " the Lord High Chancellor, I mail never 
 " think it. * 
 
 We muft leave Mr. Mountfort, for fome 
 time, performing his Duty in the Service of 
 Lord Chancellor Jefferies, and proceed to 
 others his Cotemporaries, among whom was 
 Mr. George Towel, an excellent Tragedian. 
 With him may be mentioned that memora- 
 ble Comedian Mr. Cave Underbill, with many 
 more who will be mentioned in the Courfe of 
 thefe Memoirs. 
 
 But this Chapter fhall be concluded with 
 a few Remarks, made by Mr Addifon, rela- 
 ting to a very peculiar Player. \ 
 
 " Mr. William Teer was an A dor at the 
 <c Reftoration, and took his Theatrical De- 
 " gree with Betterton, Kynafton and Harris. 
 " Tho' his Station was humble, he performed 
 " it well j and the common Comparifon with 
 " the Stage and Human Life which has 
 " been fo often made, may well be brought 
 " out upon this Occalion. It is no matter, 
 " fay the Moralifts, whether you aff a Prince, 
 
 D or 
 
 * See Sir John Rerrsby's Memoirs from the Refipration to 
 the Revolution. Odtavo, p 250. 
 f See Guardian, Numb. Si, 
 
34 T^ e History of 
 
 " or a Beggar, the Bufinefs is to do your Tart 
 " welt." Mr. Peer diitinguimed himiclf parti- 
 cularly in Two Characters, which no Man 
 ever could touch but himiclf- One of them 
 was the Speaker of the 'Prologue to the Play, 
 which is contrived in the Tragedy of Ham- 
 let, to awake the Conferences of the Guilty 
 Princes. Mr. Peer ipoke this Prologue with 
 iuch an Air as represented him an A&or, and 
 with fuch an inferior manner as only act- 
 ing an Aft or ) as made the Others on the 
 Stage appear real great Perfons, and not 
 Representatives. This was a Nicety in Afi- 
 ing that none but the moft fubtile Player 
 could lb much as conceive. 1 remember his 
 fpeaking thefe Words, in which there is no 
 great matter but in the right Adjuftment of 
 the Air of the Speaker, with univerfal Ap- 
 plaufe. 
 
 For Us, and for cur Tragedy, 
 Here Hooping to year Clemency, 
 We beg your hearing patiently. 
 
 Hamlet fays very archly upon the pronoun- 
 cing of it, Is this a Prologue or a Poefie of 
 a Ring ? However the fpeaking of it got 
 Mr. Peer more Reputation, than thofe who 
 fpeak the Length of a Puritan's Sermon eve- 
 ry Night will ever attain to. Befides this, 
 he got great Fame on another little Occafion. 
 He played the Apothecary in Romeo and 
 Juliet^ it will be neceflary to recite more 
 
 out 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 3s 
 
 but of the Play than Teer fpoke, to have a 
 right Conception of what he did in it. Ro- 
 meo, weary of Life, recollects Means to be 
 rid of it after this manner : 
 
 I do remember an Apothecary 
 That dwelt about this rendezvous of Death ; 
 Meagre and very rueful were his Looks, 
 Sharp Mifery had worn him to the Bones. 
 
 When this Spectre of Poverty appeared} 
 Romeo addrelTes him thus j 
 
 I fee Thou art very poor. 
 
 Thou may'ft do any thing, here's fifty Drachmas, 
 Get me a Draught of what will fooneff. free 
 A Wretch from all his Cares. 
 
 When the Apothecary obje&s that it is un- 
 lawful, Romeo urges ; 
 
 Art Thou fp bafe and i\\\\ of Wretchednefs, 
 Yet fear'fv. to Die ? Famine is in thy Cheeks, 
 Need and Oppreffion itareth in thy Eyesj 
 Contempt and Beggary hang on thy Back ; 
 The World is not thy Friend, nor the World's Laws, 
 Then be not Poor, but break it, and take This, 
 
 Without thefe Quotations the Reader could 
 not have a juft Idea of the Vifage and Man- 
 ner which Teer affumed, when in the moft 
 lamentable Tone imaginable ; and delivering 
 the Poifon, like a Man ^reduced to the drink- 
 
 D 2 ing 
 
3 6 "The History of 
 
 ing it himfelf, if he did not vend it, fays to 
 Romeo , 
 
 My Poverty, but not my Will, conlcnts. 
 Take this and drink it off, the Work is done. 
 
 It was an odd Excellence, and a very par- 
 ticular Circumftance this of Peer's, that his 
 whole Action of Life depended upon fpeak- 
 ing five Lines better than any Man elfe. 
 
 We fhall farther proceed to fhew, from 
 Mr. Better ton's Papers, what the Duty of a 
 Player is. 
 
 CHAP. IV. 
 
 Of the Duty of a Player. 
 
 "TT^ROM his very Name we may derive 
 Jj his Duty, he is called an ABor, and his 
 Excellence confifts in Ailing and Speaking : 
 The Mimes and 'Pantomimes did all by Ge- 
 fture, and the Action of Hands, Legs and 
 Feet, without making ufe of the Tongue in 
 uttering any Sentiments or Sounds ; fo that 
 they were lbmething like our Dumb-Show s> 
 with this Difference, one Pantomime ex- 
 prefled feveral Perlbns, and that to the Tunes 
 of Mufical Inftruments. The Dumb-Shows 
 made ufe of feveral Perfons to exprefs the 
 
 Defign 
 
the Englifh STAGE. 37 
 
 Defign of the Play as a filent A&ion. The 
 Nature of this is beft feen in Hamkt before 
 the Entrance of his 'Players. 
 
 \Enter a King and a Queen very lovingly, 
 the Queen embracing him \ Jhe kneels, and 
 makes Shew of Troteftation unto him ', he 
 takes her up, and reclines his Head on her 
 Neck. Lays him down on a Bed of Flow- 
 ers ; jhe feeing him afleep, leaves him. 
 Anon comes in a Fellow, takes off his 
 Crown, kijfes it, and pours Toifon into the 
 Kings Ear, and Exit. The Queen returns, 
 finds the King dead, and makes pa/Jionate 
 ABion. The Poifoner, with two or three 
 Mutes, comes in again, feems to lament 
 with her \ the dead Body is carried away. 
 The Poifoner courts the £>ueen with Gifts-, 
 Jhe feems loath and unwilling awhile, but 
 in the end accepts his Love.~\ 
 
 I only repeat this to mew the manner of 
 the old Time, and what they meant by 
 Dumb-Shows , which Shake fpeare himfelf 
 condemns in this very Play, when Hamlet 
 fays to the Tlayers, " O ! it offends me to 
 u the Soul to fee a robuftuous Perriwig-pated 
 " Fellow tear a Paflion to Tatters, to very 
 tc Rags, to fplit the Ears of the Ground- 
 u lings, who (for the moil part) are capable 
 li of nothing but inexplicable Dumb-Shows 
 {< and Noife — — . 
 
 D 3 But 
 
3 8 The Hi story of 
 
 But the Tautomimes or Roman Dancers 
 expreiTed all this in one Perfon, as we have it 
 in Mr. Maynes Lucian • where Demetrius 
 the Cynic Philoibpher railing againft Dancing, 
 is invited by one of them in the Time of 
 Nero, to fee him perform without cither 'Pipe 
 or Flute, and did fo • " for having impoied 
 tc Silence on the Inftruments, he by himielf 
 41 danced the Adultery of Mars and Venus, 
 " the Sun betraying them, and Vulcan piot- 
 " ing, and catching them in a Wire-Net ; 
 l< then every xGod, who was feverally Specta- 
 *' tor ; then Venus bin filing, and Mars be- 
 a fecching •♦ in a Word, he Acted the whole 
 " Fable fo well, that Demetrius much 
 " plcafed with the Spectacle, as the grcatefl 
 a Praife that could be. beftowed upon him, 
 cc crved cut in a loud Voice, I bear my 
 *' Friend, what you att \ nor do 1 only fee 
 lt them, but methinks you /peak with your 
 " Hands. 
 
 This Inilance not only (hews the Differ- 
 ence between thefe 'Pantomimes from our old 
 Dumb-Shows ; but the Power of ABion, 
 -which a Placer ought to iludy with his ut- 
 moft Application. The Orator at the Bar, 
 and in the Pulpit, ought to underftand the 
 Art of Speaking perfectly well j but Action 
 can never be in its Perfection but on the 
 Stage, and in our Time the Pulpit and the 
 Bar have left off even that graceful Action, 
 which was neceflary to the Bufinefs of thofe 
 Places, and gave a jult Weight and Grace to 
 
 the 
 
the Eitglijh STAGE. 39 
 
 the Words they uttered. And I wonder that 
 our Clergy do not a little more confider this 
 Point, and reflect, that they fpeak to the 
 People as much as the Orators of Greece and 
 Rome ; and what Influence Action had on 
 them, will be evident from fome Inftances we 
 fhall give in their proper Places. 
 
 Action indeed has a natural Excellence 
 in it, fuperior to all other Qualities \ Action 
 is Motion, and Motion is the Support of Na- 
 ture, which without it would again fink into 
 the fluggifh Mafs of Chaos. Motion in the 
 various and regular Dances of the Planets 
 furprizes and delights : Life is Motion, and 
 when that ceafes, the human Body fo beau- 
 tiful, nay, fo divine when enlivened by Mo- 
 tion, becomes a dead and putrid Coarfe, from 
 which all turn their Eyes. The Eye is 
 caught by any thing in Motion, but pafTes 
 over the fluggifh and motionlefs things as not 
 the pleating Object of its View. 
 
 This natural Power of Motion or Action is 
 the Reafon, that the Attention of the Au- 
 dience is fixed by any irregular or even fanta- 
 flic Action, on the Stage, of the molt indif- 
 ferent Player ; and fupine and drowfy, when 
 the beft Actor fpeaks without the Addition 
 of Action. 
 
 It was the Skill the ancient Players of 
 Athens and Rome had in this, which made 
 them not only fo much admired by the 
 Great Men of thofe Times and Places, but 
 jrajfed them to the Reputation of being Ma-. 
 
 D 4 iters 
 
4-0 77)e History of 
 
 fters of Two of the greateft Orators that 
 Athens or Rome ever faw • and who, had it 
 not been for the Inftruclions of the A&ors 
 Satyrus, Rofcius and sEfopus, had never 
 been able to convey their admirable Parts to 
 the World. 
 
 Demojihenes being, after many fuccefsful 
 Attempts, one Time exploded the Aflembly, 
 went Home with his Head muffled up in his 
 Cloak, very much affected with the Dis- 
 grace ; in this Condition Satyr us the A&or 
 followed him, being his intimate Acquaint- 
 ance, and fell into Difcourfe with him. De- 
 mojihenes having bemoaned himfelf to him, 
 told his Misfortune, that having been the 
 moll induftrious of the Pleaders, and having 
 fpent almoit the whole Strength and Vigour 
 of his Body in that Employment, yet could 
 he not render himfelf acceptable to the Peo- 
 ple ; that Drunkards, Tarpaulins, Sots and 
 illiterate Fellows, found lb favourable a Hear- 
 ing, as to poffefs the Pulpit, while he him- 
 felf was dclpifed. What you fay (replied 
 Satyrus) is very true, but I will foon re- 
 move the Caufe of all this, if you will re- 
 peat lbme Verfes to me out of Sophocles, or 
 Euripides. When Demoilhenes had pronoun- 
 ced after his Way, Satyrus presently repeat^ 
 ing the lame Verfes with their proper Tone, 
 Mien and Gefrure, gave luch a Turn to 
 them, that Demojihenes himfelf perceived 
 they had quite another Appearance. By 
 which being convinced how much Grace and 
 
 Orna« 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 4.1 
 
 Ornament accrues to Speech by a proper and 
 .due Action, he began to think it of little 
 Confequence for a Man to exercife himfelf in 
 declaiming, if he negle&ed the juft Pronunci- 
 ation or Decency of Speaking. Upon this he 
 built himfelf a Place under Ground (which 
 remained in the Time of Tlutarch) whither 
 he retired every Day to form his Aclion, and 
 exercife his Voice. To fhew what Pains this 
 Great Man took, as an Example to our 
 young Aclors, who do not think themfelves 
 obliged to take any at all, I fhall proceed 
 with Tlutarch. In his Houfe he had a great 
 Looking-Glafs, before which he would ftand 
 and repeat his Orations, by that Means ob^ 
 ferving how far his AB'ion and Gefiure were 
 graceful or unbecoming. 
 
 The fame Demofthenes, when a Client came 
 to him on an AfTault and Battery, he at 
 large gave him an Account of what Blows he 
 had received from his Adverfary, but in fo 
 calm and unconcerned a Manner, that De- 
 mofthenes faid, Surely, my good Friend, thou 
 haft not fuffered any one thing of what thou 
 makeft thy Complaint : Upon which his 
 Client warmed, cryed aloud How, Demof- 
 thenes ? Have I fuffered nothing p Ay marry, 
 replies he, now I hear the Voice of a Man 
 who has been injured and beaten. Of fo great 
 Confequence did he think the Tone and Ac- 
 tion of the Speaker towards the gaining Be- 
 lief 
 
 This 
 
4 2 The History of 
 
 This was the Cafe of Demojlhenes, as T In- 
 farct allures us, and that of Cicero was not 
 
 much different At firft (lays C P hit arch) he 
 
 was, as well as Demojlheues, very defective 
 in Action, and therefore he diligently applied 
 himielf to Rofcius the Comedian fomctimes, 
 and fometimes to sEfopus the Tragedian. And 
 fuch afterwards was the Action of Cicero, 
 that it did not a little contribute to make his 
 Eloquence perfuafive ; deriding the Rhetori- 
 cians of his Time, for delivering their Ora- 
 tions with lb much Noife and Bawling, fay- 
 ing, that it was their want of Ability to 
 fpeak, which made them have Recourfe to 
 bellowing. 
 
 The fame might be faid to many of our 
 bawling Actors, of which Number jEfoftts 
 was not, yet fo poffeffed with his Part, that 
 he took his a&ing to be fo real, and not a 
 Reprefentation, that whilft he was on the 
 Stage reprefenting Jit reus deliberating on the 
 Revenge of Thyefies, he was fo tranlported 
 beyond himielf, that he fmotc one of the 
 Servants haftily crolTing the Stage, and laid 
 him dead on the Place. 
 
 Lord Bacon, in his Advancement of Learn- 
 ing, gives us a Hiitory from the Annals of 
 Tacitus, of one Vibulenus, formerly an A&or 
 on the Stage, but at that time a common 
 Soldier in the Tauuoniau Garrifons •, which 
 is a wonderful Inltance of the Tower of 
 ABion, and what Force it adds to the Words, 
 The Account is as follows, 
 
 V'lbu* 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 43 
 
 Vibnlenus, on the Death of jdiigufius Ca^ 
 far, had raifed a Mutiny, fo that Blafus 
 the Lieutenant committed fome of the Muti- 
 neers to Prifon ; but the Soldiers violently- 
 broke open the Prifon-Gates, and fet their 
 Comrades at Liberty ; and this Vibulenus, in 
 a Tribunitial Speech to the Soldiers, begins 
 
 in this manner " You have given Life and 
 
 " Light to thefe poor innocent Wretches • 
 
 Cc but who reftores my Brother to me, or 
 a Life to my Brother ? who was fent hither 
 u with a Meifage from the Legions of Ger- 
 " many to treat of the common Caufe ; and 
 " this very laft Night has he murdered him 
 " by fome of his Gladiators, fome of his 
 " Bravoes, whom he keeps about him to be 
 u the Murderers of the Soldiers. Anfwer, 
 " BUfus, where halt thou thrown his Body ; 
 '• the moll: mortal Enemies deny not Burial 
 a to the dead Enemy : When to his Corps 
 <c I have performed my laft Duties in Kilfes, 
 c£ and flowing Tears, command me to be flam 
 " at his Side, lb that thefe our Fellow-Sol- 
 " diers may have leave to bury us. 
 
 He put the Army into fuch a Ferment 
 and Fury by this Speech, that if it had not 
 immediately been made appear, there was 
 no inch Matter, and that he never had any 
 Brother, the Soldiers would hardly have 
 fpared the Lieutenant's Life ; for he acted as 
 if it had been fome Interlude on the Stage. 
 
 There is not fo great a Pathos in the 
 Words uttered bv the Soldier, as to ftir the 
 
 Army 
 
44 The History of 
 
 Army into fo very great a Ferment, they 
 rauft therefore receive almoft • their whole 
 Force from a moft moving and pathetic Ac- 
 tion, in which his Eyes, Hands and Voice 
 joined in a moft lively Expreflion of his Mi- 
 sery and of his Lofs. It is true, that when 
 an Army is tumultuous in itfelf, it is no dif- 
 ficult matter to run them into Madnefs ; 
 but then it muft be done by fome, who ei- 
 ther by their former Intereft there, had pur- 
 chafed an Opinion among them, or.ibme one 
 who by the Artfulnefs of his Addrefs fhould 
 touch their Souls, and fo engage them to 
 what he pleafes. The latter I take to be our 
 Cafe in V'ibulenus, who by the Advantage of 
 his Skill in A&ion recommended himlelf and 
 his fuppofititious Gaufe fo effectually to them, 
 as to make the General run a great hazard of 
 his Life for an imaginary Murder. 
 
 This has made ibme of the old Orators 
 give the fole Power in Speech to Aft'ion, as I 
 have read in fome of thofe learned Men 
 who have treated of this Sribjeft in Englijh 
 and French. And I am perfuaded that the 
 Clergy would move their Hearers far more, 
 if they added but graceful AB'ion to loud 
 Speaking. This often lets oif indifferent Mat- 
 ter, and makes a Man of little Skill in any 
 other Part of Oratory, pais for the moft 
 eloquent j this, I have read, was the Cafe of 
 Trachallus, who tho' none of the beft Ora- 
 tors of his Time for the Compofition and 
 Writing-part, yet excelled all the Pleaders of 
 
 that; 
 
the Englifh STAGE. 45 
 
 that Age, his Appearance and Delivery was 
 lb plauftble and pleafing. The Statelinds 
 of his Peribn and Port, the Sparkling of 
 his Eyes, the Majefty of his Looks, the 
 Beauty of his Mien and his Voice, added 
 to thefe Qualities, which not only for Gra- 
 vity and Compofednefs came up to that of a 
 Tragedian, but even excelled any A&ors, 
 that ever yet trod the Stage, as ^uintilian 
 allures us. Thiliftus, on the other hand, for 
 want of thefe Advantages of Utterance, loll 
 all the Beauty and Force of his Pleadings, tho 
 for Language and the Art of Compofition he 
 excelled all the Greeks of his Time. 
 
 The fame Advantage had Tericles and 
 Hortenfius, with this Difference, Hortenfms 
 afcribed all the Succefs of his Pleadings to 
 the Merit of the Writing, and convinced the 
 World of his Error by publifhing his Ora- 
 tions 5 Tericles, tho' it is fa id he had the 
 Goddefs Terfuaflon on his Lips, and that he 
 thundered and lightened in an Affembly, and 
 made all Greece tremble when he fpoke, yet 
 would never publifh any of his Orations, be- 
 caufe their Excellency lay in the Action. 
 
 What I have faid here of Action in ge- 
 neral, and the particular Examples I have 
 given, is I believe fufficient to fatisfy any 
 one that is ftudious of Excellence on the 
 Stage, that it ought to be his chief Aim and 
 Application. But next to this is the Art of 
 Speaking, in which alfo a Player ought to be 
 perfectly skilled ; for, as an eminent Writer 
 
 obferves, 
 
46 "The History of 
 
 obfervcs, " The Operation of Speech is 
 ftrong, not only for the Reafon or Wit 
 therein contained, bat by its Sound. For 
 in all good Speech there is a fort of Ma- 
 fic, with rcipefr to its Mealure, Time and 
 Tune. Every well-meafured Sentence is 
 proportional ThreeWays, in all its Parts to 
 the Sentences, and to what it is intended 
 to exprefs, and all Words that have Time 
 allowed to their Syllables, as is fui table 
 to the Letters whereof they confiit, and 
 to the Order in which they itand in a Sen- 
 tence. Nor are Words without their 
 Tune or Notes even in common Talk, 
 which together compofe that Tune, which 
 is proper to every Sentence, and may be 
 pricked down as well as any mufical Tune : 
 only in the Tunes of Speech the Notes 
 have much lefs Variety, and have all a 
 fhort Time. With refpect alfo to Time 
 and Mealure, the Poetic is lets various, 
 and therefore lefs powerful, than that of 
 Oratory • the former being like that of a 
 fhort Country Song repeated to the End 
 of the Poem, but that of Oratory is va- 
 ried all along, like the Divifions which a 
 skilful Mufician runs upon a Lute. 
 He proceeds to our former Confideration, 
 
 faying, ■" The Behaviour and Gefture is 
 
 " alio of Force ; as in Oratory lb in Con- 
 " verfe, confirming of almoft as many Moti- 
 " ons, as there are moveable Parts of the 
 " Body, all made with a certain agreeable 
 
 " Mea- 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 47 
 
 a Meafure between one another, and at the 
 <c fame time anfwerable to that of Speech, 
 " which when eafy and unaffected is becom- 
 * ing. 
 
 A Maftery in thefe Two Parts is what 
 compleats an Actor : And I hope the Rules I 
 fhall give for both will be of Ufe to Inch as 
 have truly a Genius for this Art \ the Rules 
 of which like thofe of Toetry y are only for 
 thofe who have a Genius, and are not per- 
 fectly to be underftood by thofe who have 
 not. 
 
 To begin therefore with Affiion, the Player 
 is to conlider, that it is not every rude and 
 undefigning ABion which is his Bufinefs, for 
 that is what the Ignorant as well as the Skil- 
 ful may have, nor can indeed want : But 
 the Action of a Player is, what is agreeable 
 to Perfonation, or the Subject he reprefents. 
 Now what he reprefents is Man in his various 
 Characters, Manner and Paflions, and to thefe 
 Heads he mull: adjuft every Action; he 
 muft perfectly exprefs the Quality and Man- 
 ners of the Man whofe Peribn he affumes, 
 that is, he mult know how his Manners are 
 compounded, and from thence know the fe- 
 veral Features, as I may call them, of his 
 Paflions. A Patriot, a Prince, a Beggar, a 
 Clown, &c. mull each have their Propriety, 
 and Diftinction in Action as well as Words 
 and Language. An Aftor therefore muft 
 vary with his Argument, that is, carry the 
 Perfon in ail his Manners and Qualities with 
 
 him 
 
48 The History of 
 
 him in every Action and Pafllon ; he muft 
 transform himielf into every Peribn he repre- 
 fents, fince he is to act all forts of Actions 
 and Paffions. Sometimes he is to be a Lover, 
 and know not only all the foft and tender 
 AddrefTes of one, but what arc proper to the 
 Character of Him who is in Love, whether he 
 be a Prince or a Peafant, a hot or fiery Man, 
 or of more moderate and flegmatic Confti- 
 tution, and even the Degrees of the Paffion 
 he is polTeiTed with. Sometimes he is to re- 
 prefent a choleric, hot and jealous Man ; 
 then he mull be thoroughly acquainted with 
 all the Motions and Sentiments productive of 
 thofe Motions of the Feet, Hands and Looks 
 of fuch a Peribn in fuch Circumftanccs. Some- 
 times he is a Peribn all dejected and bending 
 under the Extremities of Grief and Sorrow } 
 which changes the whole Form and Appear- 
 ance of him in the Reprefentation, as it does 
 really in Nature. Sometimes he is diffract- 
 ed, and here Nature will teach him, that his 
 Action has always ibmething wild and irre- 
 gular, tho' even that regularly ; that his 
 Eyes, his Looks or Countenance, Motions 
 of Body, Hands and Feet, be all ©f a Piece, 
 and that he never falls into the indifferent 
 State of Calmnefs and Unconcern. As he now 
 reprefents Achilles , then ALneas, another 
 time Hamlet, then Alexander the Great, and 
 Oedipus, he ought to know perfectly well 
 the Characters of all thefe Heroes, the very 
 fame Paffions differing in different Heroes as 
 
 their 
 
the EitgHJh STAGE. 49 
 
 their Characters differ : The Courage of 
 jEneas, for .Example, of itfelf was fed ate 
 and temperate, and always attended with 
 good Nature ; that of Turnus joined with 
 Fury, yet accompanied with Generofity and 
 Greatnefs of Mind. The Valour of Mezen- 
 tius was favage and cruel ; he has no Fury 
 but Fiercenefs, which is not a Paflion but 
 Habit, and nothing but the Effed of Fury 
 cooled into a very keen Hatred, and an in- 
 veterate Malice. Turnus feems to fight to 
 appeafe his Anger, Mezent'ius to fatisfy his 
 Revenge, his Malice and barbarous Thirft 
 of Blood. Turnus goes to the Field with 
 Grief, which always attends Anger, where- 
 as Me&ent'uts deftroys with a barbarous Joy ; 
 he is fo far from Fury, that he is hard to be 
 provoked to common Anger ; who calmly 
 killing Ondes, grows but half angry at his 
 Threats ; 
 
 At whom Mezentius fmil'd with mingled Ire. 
 
 Thus, it is plain, he has not the Fury of 
 Turnus, but a Barbarity peculiar to himfelf, 
 and a favage Fiercenefs, according to his 
 Character, V'irg. B. i'o. 
 
 To know thefe different Characlers of efta- 
 blifhed Heroes, the Aclor need only be ac- 
 quainted with the Poets, who write of them ; 
 if the Poet who introduces them in his Play 
 have not fufficiently diflinguifhed them. But 
 to know the different Compofitions of the 
 
 E Manners, 
 
50 The History of 
 
 Manners, and the Paflions fpringing from 
 thofe Manners, he ought to have an Infight 
 into Moral Philoibphy, for they produce va- 
 rious Appearances in the Looks and Actions, 
 according to their various Mixtures. For that 
 the very fame Paflion has various Appear- 
 ances, is plain from the Hiftory-Painters who 
 have followed Nature, vig, 
 
 Jordan oi Antwerp, in a Piece of our Savi- 
 our's being taken from the Crofs, which is now 
 in his Grace the Duke of Marlborough's Hands, 
 the Paflion of Grief is expreiTed with a won- 
 derful Variety } the Grief of the Virgin-Mo- 
 ther is in all the Extremity of Agony, that is 
 confiftent with Life ; nay, indeed, that fcarce 
 leaves any Signs of remaining Life in her ; 
 that of St. Mary Magdalen is an extreme 
 Grief, but mingled with Love and Tender- 
 nefs, which fhe always expreiTed, after her 
 Converllon, for our blelTed Lord ; then the 
 Grief of St. John the Evangelift is ftrong but 
 manly, and mixed with the Tendernefs of 
 perfect Friendfhip ; and, that of -^ofeph of 
 Arimathea, fuitable to hisYears and Love for 
 Chrijl, more lblemn, more contracted in him- 
 felf, yet forcing an Appearance in his Looks. 
 
 Coypel's Sacrifice of Jeptha's Daughter has 
 very luckily exprclfed a great Variety of this 
 fame Paflion. 
 
 The Hi flory-T ah iters indeed have obferved 
 a Decorum in their Pieces, which wants to be 
 introduced on our Stage j for they never place 
 
 any 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 51 
 
 any Perfon on the Cloth, who has not a Con- 
 cern in the Atlion. 
 
 All the Slaves in Le Brun's Tent of Darius 
 participate of the grand Concern of Sifigambis, 
 Statyra, SCc. This would render the Repre- 
 fentation extremely folemn and beautiful • 
 but on the Stage, not only the Supernumera- 
 ries, as they call them, or Attendants, feem 
 regardlefs of the great Concern of the Scene, 
 and, even the AcJors themfelves, who are on 
 the Stage, and not in the very principal 
 Parts, will be whifpering to one another, or 
 bowing to their Friends in the Pit, or gazing 
 about. But if they made Playing their Study, 
 (or had indeed a Genius to the Art) as it 
 is their Bufinefs, they would not only, not 
 be guilty of thefe Abfurdities, but would, 
 like Le Brun, obferve Nature wherever they 
 found her offer any thing that could contribute 
 to their Perfe&ion. For this great Matter 
 was often feen to obferve a Quarrel in the 
 Street betwixt various People, and therein 
 not only to regard the feveral Degrees of the 
 Paflions of Anger rifing in the Fray, and their 
 different Recefs, but the diftinct. Expreffions 
 of it in every Face that was concerned. 
 
 Our Stage y indeed at the beft, is but a very 
 cold Representation, when fupported by loud 
 ^Prompting, to the great Difguft of the Au- 
 dience, and fpoiling the Decorum of what 
 is Reprefented ; for an imperfect Actor af- 
 fronts the Audience, and betrays his own De- 
 merits. I muft fay this in the Praife of Ma- 
 
 E 2 jor 
 
5 2 The History of 
 
 jor Mohun, he is generally perfect, and gives 
 the Prompter little Trouble, and never 
 wrongs the Poet by putting in any thing of 
 his own j a Fault, which fome applaud them- 
 felves for, tho' they deferve a fevere Punifh- 
 ment for their equal Folly and Impudence. 
 They forget Hamlet's Advice to the Players. 
 
 Let thofe who flay your Clowns 
 
 ffeak no more than is fet down for them ; for 
 there be of them that will of themfelves 
 laugh, to fet on fome Quantity of barren 
 Spectators to laugh too \ tho* in the mean 
 time fome nccejjary ghieflion of the Tlay be 
 then to be conjidered. That's Villainous, 
 and fhews a mofl Pitiful Ambition in the 
 Fool that ufes it. This is too frequently 
 done by fome of our Comedians. But it is, 
 I think, an unpardonable Fault in a Trage- 
 dian, who through his Imperfectnefs in his 
 Part fhall fpeak on, any Stuff that comes in 
 his Head, which muft infallibly prejudice the 
 true Expreflion of the Bufinels of the Play, 
 let it be Paflion,' Defcription, or Narration. 
 Tho' notwithstanding this Supinity in gene- 
 ral of too many of our modern Players, there 
 are fome among them who are in earneft ; as 
 may, from many Inftances be pointed out in 
 their refpectrve Parts. Among thofe Players, 
 who feem always to be in earneft, I muft not 
 omit the Principal, thofe incomparable Per- 
 formers Mrs. Barry and Mrs. Bracegirdle j 
 their Affion is always juft, and produced 
 naturally by the Sentiments of the Part they 
 
 Act, 
 
theEnglijh STAGE. SZ 
 
 Ad, every where obferving thofe Rules pre- 
 ferred to the Poets by Horace, and which 
 equally reach the Players. 
 
 We weep and laugh as we fee others do, 
 He only makes me fad, who fhews the way, 
 And firft is fad himfelf ; then Telephus 
 I feel the Weight of your Calamities, 
 And fancy all your Miferies my own ; 
 But if you Act them ill ! I fleep or laugh. 
 Your Look muft alter as your Subject does, 
 From kind to fierce, from wanton to ferene. 
 For Nature forms and foftens us within, 
 And writes our Fortune's Changes in our Face. 
 Pleafure inchants, impetuous Rage tranfports, 
 And Grief dejects and wrings the tortur'd Soul ; 
 And thefe are all interpreted • by Speech. 
 But he, whofe Words and Fortunes difagree 
 Abfurd, unpity'd grows a public Jeir. 
 
 Roscom. 
 
 The Ladies juft mentioned always entered 
 into their Parts. How often have I heard Mrs. 
 Barry fay, that fhe never fpoke thefe Words in 
 the Orphan,-- Ah ! poor Castalio ! — without 
 weeping. Nay, I have frequently obferved her 
 to change her Countenance feveral Times as 
 the Difcourfe of others on the Stage have aC- 
 fe&ed her in the Part fhe acted. This is be- 
 ing thoroughly concerned, this is to know 
 one's Part, this is to exprefs the Paffions in 
 the Countenance and Gefture, 
 
 E 3 The 
 
54 7#£ History of 
 
 The Stage ought to be the Seat oiTaJfton 
 in its various Kinds, and therefore the Attors 
 ought to be thoroughly acquainted with the 
 whole Nature of the Affections, and Habits 
 of the Mind, or elfe they will never be able 
 to exprefs them juftly in their Looks and 
 Geftures, as well as in the Tone of their 
 Voice, and Manner of Utterance. They 
 mull know them in their various Mixtures, 
 as they are differently blended together 
 in the different Characters they reprefent ; 
 and then that excellent Rule, in the Lffay on 
 c Foetry, will be of equal Ufe to the Toet and 
 the T Layer , 
 
 * WIjo muft look Within to find 
 
 Thofe fecret Turns of Nature in the Mind ; 
 
 "Without this Part in vain would be the Whole y 
 
 And but a Body All, without a Soul. 
 
 Buck. 
 
the Engli/h STAGE. 55 
 
 CHAP. V. 
 
 Some Account of Mrs. Guyn, Mr s. Porter 
 Mrs. Brad sh aw, &c. 
 
 MRS. Ellen Guyn y tho' Miftrefs to a 
 Monarch, was the Daughter of a 
 Fruiterer in Covent-Garden. 
 
 This fhews that Sultans, Emperors and Kings, 
 When Blood boils high will ftoop to meaneft things. 
 
 Nelly y for by that Name fhe was univerfally 
 known, came into the Theatre in the way 
 of her Profeflion, as a Fruiterefs, viz* 
 
 E 4 The 
 
5 6 The History of 
 
 The Ordwgr-Basket her fair Arm did fuit, 
 Laden with Pippins and Hefperian-F ru'it, 
 This firft Step rais'd, to th' wond'ring Pit Ihe fold 
 The lovely Fruit fmiling with Streaks of Gold. 
 Fate now for her did its whole Force engage, 
 And from the Pit flie's mounted to the Stage : 
 There in full Luftie did her Glories mine, 
 And long eclips'd, fpread forth their Light divine : 
 There Hart's and Rowley's Soul /he did infnare, 
 And made a King the Rival to a Play'r. 
 
 Such is Lord Rochefter's Account^ and Mr. 
 Langbain * tells us that Mrs. Ellen Guyn 
 fpoke a New Prologue, to an Old Play cal- 
 led the Knight of the Burning Teftle. f We 
 find her afterwards Acting the Parts of Queen 
 Almahide in the Conqueft of Granada. 
 Florimel in the Maiden Queen. Donna 
 Jacinth a, in the Mock- Aft rologer. Vale- 
 ria, in the Royal Martyr ; in which Tra- 
 gedy Mrs. Boutel played the Part of Saint 
 Catharine. Mifs Guyn befides her own Part 
 of Valeria, was likewiie appointed, in that 
 Character, to fpeak the Epilogue ; in perform- 
 ing which, fhe lb captivated the King, who 
 was prefent the firft Night of the Play, by 
 the humorous Turns fhe gave it, that his 
 Majefty, when lhe had done, went behind the 
 
 Scenes 
 
 * See bis Account of the Dramatick Poets, Svo, p. 210. 
 I Written by Beaumont and Fletcher. A Comedy, 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 57 
 
 Scenes and carried her off to an Entertaiment 
 that Night. 
 
 In the Tragedy of Tyrannick Love : Or, 
 The Royal Martyr, Valeria is Daughter 
 to the Roman Emperor Maximin ; ftie be- 
 ing forced by her Father to marry Tlac't- 
 dius y ftabs herfelf for Love of Torphyrms, 
 who thus condoles her Lofs, 
 
 Our Arms no more let Aquileia fear, 
 But to her Gates our peaceful Enfigns bear. 
 "While I mix Cyprefs with my Myrtle Wreath ; 
 Joy for my Life, and mourn Valeria's Death. 
 
 As Valeria is carrying off the Stage 
 dead, ftie thus accofts the Bearer, 
 
 Hold, are you mad ? You damn'd confounded Dog, 
 I am to rife, and fpeak the Epilogue. 
 
 [She then Addrejfes herfelf to the Audience, .] 
 
 I come, kind Gentlemen, ftrange News to tell ye, 
 I am the Ghoft of poor departed Nelly. 
 Sweet Ladies be not frighted, I'll be civil, 
 I'm what I was, a little harmlefs Devil. 
 For, after Death, we Sprites have juft fuch Natures 
 "We had, for all the World, when human Creatures : 
 And therefore I, that was an Aflrefs here, 
 Play all my Tricks in Hell, a Goblin there. 
 Gallants, look to't, you fay there are no Sprites ; 
 But I'll come Dance about your Beds at Nights. 
 
 And 
 
5 8 The History of 
 
 And faith you'Jl be, in a fweet kind of taking, 
 When I furprize you between Sleep and Waking. 
 To tell you true, I Walk, becaufe I Dye 
 Out of my Calling, in a Tragedy. 
 O Poet, damn'd dull Poet, who could prove 
 So fenfelefs ! to make Nelly die for Love ; 
 Nay, what's yet worfe, to kill me in the Prime 
 Of Eajler-Term, in Tart and Cheefe-Cake Time ! 
 I'll fit the Fop ; for I'll not one Word fay, 
 T* excufe his Godly out-of-Fafhion Play. 
 A Play, which if you dare but twice fit out, 
 You'll all be flander'd, and be thought devout. 
 But farewell, Gentlemen, make hade to me, 
 I'm fure ere long to have your Company. 
 As for my Epitaph when I am gone,~ 
 I'll truft no Poet, but will write my own. 
 Here Nelly lies, who, tbo* Jhe liv'd a Slattern, 
 Yet dfd a Princefs, afting in Saint Cattern. 
 
 Befides the Parts fhe acted in the forego- 
 ing Plays of Mr. Dryden, fhe performed a 
 little Song (in his Comedy called the AJfigna- 
 tion : Or, Love in a Nunnery) with great 
 Archnefs. The Song in this Comedy is in- 
 troduced by a young Lady's being asked this 
 
 Queftion Are you fit, at Fifteen, to be 
 
 trufled with a Maidenhead ? y Tis as much, 
 Child, as your Betters can manage at full 
 Twenty y 
 
 For 
 
the Engli/h STAGE. 59 
 
 I. 
 
 For 'tis of a Nature fo fubtile, 
 
 That if 'tis not luted with Care, 
 The Spirit will work thro' the Bottle, 
 
 And vani/h away into yf/>. 
 
 II. 
 
 To &•<?/> it, there nothing fo hard is, 
 
 'Twill go, between Waking and Sleeping? 
 
 The Simple, too wft*& for a Guard is, 
 
 And no /^7, would be plagu'd with the keeping, 
 
 Nelly was eafed of her Virginity by Mr. 
 Hart ', at the fame time that Lord Euckhurfi, 
 fighed for it. But his Majefty carry- 
 ing off the Prize, we mull leave her under 
 the Royal Trotetlion. 
 
 The following Letter is juft Come to our 
 Hands, viz. 
 
 SIR, * , 
 
 AF T E R the painful Warfare of a pub- 
 lie Life, Mrs. Torter hoped the Re- 
 mainder of it might have been paffed in Si- 
 lence, But fince {he finds other wife, and 
 
 that 
 
60 The History of 
 
 that your Hiftory of the Stage is intended to 
 do Honour both to the Dead and the Living, 
 the following faithful Account of her is trans- 
 mitted, <u/,s. 
 
 Mrs. Mary Torter, was the Daughter of 
 Mr. Samuel Torter, but as fhe loft her Father 
 too early to have any Knowledge of him, 
 and being feparated from her Mother when 
 very young, fhe did not care to revive fo ten- 
 der an Incident, as giving her the greateft 
 Concern, being able to give no farther Ac- 
 count of a Parent than barely his Name. 
 
 Her Mother marrying Mr. Porter private- 
 ly, without her Parents Confent, her Father, 
 Mr. Nicholas Mercator, being a German, 
 and a Man of Letters, went, foon after his 
 Daughter's Marriage, diigufted into France, 
 and died there. He took with him all his 
 Family except his New-married Daughter and 
 his eldeft Son, Mr. David Mercator, who 
 was then one of the Clerks belonging to 
 the Office of Ordnance in the Tower of Lon- 
 don. This Gentleman, after the Death of 
 his Father, took care of his Niece without 
 correfponding with his Sifter. For which 
 Reafon Mrs. 'Porter's Mother removed her 
 from her Uncle, and put her into Bartholo- 
 mew Fair ; where, the very firft time of her 
 Appearance, in Acting the Part of the Fairy 
 ^ueen, Mrs. Barry and Mrs. Bracegtrdle 
 took fo great a liking to her, that, upon their 
 Reprefentation of her Performance, Mr. Bet- 
 
 terton 
 
the Englijh STAGE, 61 
 
 terton admitted her into the Theatre, and 
 they treated her with the moll tender Indul- 
 gence. 
 
 Our young Fairy gHieen was boarded 
 with Mrs. Smith, Sifter to the Treafurer of 
 the Playhoufe, whofe Care of her was Ma- 
 ternal, from the particular Recommendation 
 of her Friends, more efpecially of Mrs. Brace- 
 girdle. 
 
 The Death of Mrs. Smith, in a few Years, 
 and the Marriage of her Daughter, who was 
 Mifs 'Porter's Companion, fhe being then not 
 above fifteen Years of Age, yet thought it 
 proper to take the Management of her Af- 
 fairs into her own Hands ; and accordingly, 
 as I have often heard her moft gratefully ex- 
 prefs, difcharged her Debts, tho' not her Ob- 
 ligations, to Mr. Smith, for his Paternal Care 
 of her. 
 
 The Veracity of thefe Informations, Sir, 
 you may depend on, tho' coming from a 
 Friend ; for, as Mrs. Torter is not able to 
 give gft particular Account of her Family, 
 fo fhe would not by any means appear to be 
 the Author of her own Hiftory. 
 
 Thus heartily wifhing you Succefs in your 
 prefent Undertaking, and all others, for the 
 public Good, I am, 
 
 SIR, 
 Tour moft humble Servant, 
 
 J "r 3 6 4 " p. m. 
 
 We 
 
62 The History^ 
 
 We find by this Letter, that the Pub- 
 lic ftand indebted to Mrs. Barry and Mrs. 
 Bracegtrdle, for this excellent A&refs ; the 
 only living Ornament of the Tragic Scene. 
 
 It was the Opinion of a very good Judge 
 of Dramatical Performers, that another Gen- 
 tlewoman, now living, was one of the great- 
 eft, and moft promifing Genij of her Time. 
 This was Mrs. Bradfbaw, who was taken 
 off the Stage, for her exemplary and prudent 
 Conduct, by Martin Folkes, Efq; a Gentle- 
 man of a very conliderable Eftate, who mar- 
 ried her • and fuch has been her Behaviour 
 to him, that there is not a more happy 
 Couple. Mrs. Bradjhaw, difcourfing with a 
 Friend, who was giving her fome Inftruc- 
 tions in her ProfeiTion, told him, that fhe 
 did all in her Power to obferve a Rule laid 
 down by Mrs. Barry, " to make herfelf 
 " Miftrefs of her Part, and leave the Figure 
 " and ABion to Nature, " Now tho' a 
 great Genius may do this, yet Art mi^l be 
 confulted in the Study of the larger Share of 
 the ProfeiTors of Oratory ; for, as Mr. Bet- 
 terton moft judicioufly remarks, fb great a 
 Man as Demojihenes perfected himfelf by con- 
 futing the Gracefulnefs of the Figure in his 
 Glafs : For to exprefs Nature juftly, one 
 muft be Mafter of Nature in all its Appear- 
 ances, which can only be drawn from Obfer- 
 vation, which will tell us, that the Pailions 
 
 and 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 63 
 
 and Habits of the Mind difcover themfelves 
 in our Looks, Actions and Geftures. 
 
 Thus we find a rolling Eye, which is quick 
 and inconftant in its Motion, argues a quick 
 but light Wit ; a hot and choleric Complex- 
 ion, with an inconftant and impatient Mind ; 
 and in a Woman it gives a ftrong Proof of 
 Wantonnefs and Immodefty. Heavy dull 
 Eyes, a dull Mind, and a Difficulty of Con- 
 ception. For this Reafon we obferve, that 
 all or moft People in Years, fick Men, and 
 Perfons of a flegmatic Conftitution are flow 
 in turning of their Eyes. 
 
 That extreme Propenfion to Winking in 
 fome Eyes, proceed from a Soul very fubjecl: 
 to Fear, arguing a Weaknefs of Spirit, and 
 a feeble Difpofition of the Eye-lids. 
 
 A bold flaring Eye, which fixes on a Man, 
 proceeds either from a blockifh Stupidity, as 
 in Rufticks ; Impudence, as in malicious Per- 
 fons \ Prudence, as in thofe in Authority, or 
 Incontinence, as in lewd Women. 
 
 Eyes inflamed and fiery, are the genuine 
 Effed of Choler and Anger ', Eyes quiet and 
 calm with a fecret kind of Grace and Plea- 
 fantnefs are the Offspring of Love and 
 Friendfhip. 
 
 Thus the Voice, when loud, difcovers 
 Wrath and Indignation of Mind, and a fmall 
 trembling Voice proceeds from Fear. 
 
 In like manner, to ufe no ABions or Ge- 
 flures in Difcourfe, is a fign of a heavy and 
 flow Difpofition, as too much Gefticulation 
 
 pro- 
 
64 The History of 
 
 proceeds from Lightnefs ; and a Mean be- 
 twixt both is the Effect of Wifdom and Gra- 
 vity ; and if it be not too quick, it denotes 
 Magnanimity. Some are perpetually fidling 
 about their Cloaths, fo that they are fcarce 
 dreffed till they go to Bed, which is an Ar- 
 gument of a childifh and empty Mind. 
 
 Some call: their Heads from one fide to 
 the other wantonly and lightly, the true 
 Effed of Folly and Inconftancy. Others 
 think it efTential to Trayer, to writh and 
 wreft their Necks about, which is a Proof of 
 Hypocrify, Superftition or Foolifhnefs. Some 
 are wholly taken up in viewing themfelves, 
 the Proportion of their Limbs, Features of 
 their Faces, and Gracefulnefs of Mien ; 
 ■which proceeds from Pride, and a vain Com- 
 plaifance in themfelves y of this Number are 
 Coquets. 
 
 In this manner we might examine all the 
 natural Actions, which are to be found in Men 
 of different Tempers. Yet not to difmifs 
 the Point without a fuller Reflection, we 
 fhall here give the Signification of the Na- 
 tural Geftures from a Manufcrift of a learn- 
 ed Jefuit who wrote on this Subject. 
 
 Every Tajfion or Emotion of the Mind, 
 fays he, has from Nature its peculiar and 
 proper Countenance, Sound, and Gefture ; 
 and the whole Body of Man, all his Looks, 
 and every Tone of his Voice, like Strings 
 on an Inftrument, receive their Sounds from 
 the various Impulfe of the Paflions. 
 
 The 
 
the Englifi STAGE. 6$ 
 
 The Demiffion or hanging down of the 
 Head is the Confequence of Grief and Sor- 
 row. And this therefore is a Pofture and 
 Manner obferved in the Deprecations of the 
 Divine Anger, and on fuch Occafions ought 
 to be obferved in the Imitations of thofe 
 things. 
 
 A lifting or t offing tip of the Head is the 
 Gelture of Tride and Arrogance. Carrying 
 the Head aloft is the fign of Joy, Victory 
 and Triumph. 
 
 A hard and bold Front or Forehead is 
 looked on as a Mark of Obftinacy, Contu- 
 macy, Perfidioufnefs and Impudence. 
 
 The Soul is the moft vifible in the Eyes, 
 as being, according to fome, the perfect Ima- 
 ges of the Mind ; and as Tliny fays, they 
 burn, yet diffolve in Floods ; they dart their 
 Beams on Obje&s, and feem not to fee them ; 
 and when we kifs the Eyes, we feem to 
 touch the very Soul. 
 
 Eyes lifted on high, fhew Arrogance and 
 Pride, but cafl down, exprefs Humblenefs of 
 Mind : Yet we lift up. our Eyes when we, 
 addrefs ourfelves in Prayer to God, and ask 
 any thing of him. 
 
 Lifting in vain his burning Eyes to Heaven. 
 
 VlRG. 
 
 Denial, Averfion, Naufeating, Diffimula- 
 
 tion, and Negled, are exprelTed by a turn- 
 ing away of the Eyes. 
 
 F A 
 
66 The History of 
 
 A frequent Winkings or tremulous Motion 
 of the Eyes, argues malicious Manners, and 
 pervcrfe and noxious Thought and Inclina- 
 tions. 
 
 Eyes drowned in Tears difcover the moft 
 vehement and cruel Grief, which is not capa- 
 ble of Eafe even from Tears themfelves. 
 
 To raije our Eyes to any Thing or Perfon, 
 is an Argument of our Attention to them 
 with'Defire. 
 
 The Hand put on the Mouth is a Token 
 of Silence by Convidion, and is a Ceremony 
 of the Heathen Adoration. 
 
 The Contraction of the Lips, and the 
 fcauut Look of the Eyes, exprelfes the Ge- 
 fhire of a deriding and malicious Perfon. 
 Shewing the Teeth, and ftraitening the Lips 
 on them, fhews Indignation and Anger. 
 
 Turning the whole Face to any thing, is the 
 Gefture of Him, who attends and has a pe- 
 culiar Regard to that one thing. To bend 
 the Countenance downward argues Confciouf- 
 nefs and Guilt ; and, on the contrary, to lift 
 up the Face is a Sign of a good Confcience 
 or Innocence, Hope and Confidence. 
 
 The Countenance, indeed, is changed into 
 many Forms, and is commonly the moft cer- 
 tain Index of the Paffions of the Mind. 
 When it is pale it betrays Grief, Sorrow and 
 Fear : and Envy, when it is very ftrong. A 
 louring and dark Vifage is the Index of Mi- 
 fery, Labour and vehement Agitations of the 
 Soul. 
 
 The 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 67 
 
 The Countenance, as Quintilian obferves, 
 is of very great Power and Force in all that 
 we do. In this we difcover when we are fup- 
 pliant, when menacing, when kind, when 
 fbrrowful, when merry \ in this we are lifted 
 up and caft down ; on this Men depend, this 
 they behold, and this they firft take a View 
 of before we lpeak ; by this we love fome, 
 and hate others ; and by this we underftand 
 a Multitude of things. 
 
 The Arm extended and lifted up, fignifies 
 the Power of doing and accomplifhing fome- 
 thing ; and is the Gefture of Authority, Vi- 
 gour and Victory. On the contrary, the hold- 
 ing your Arms clofe is a Sign of Bafhfulnefs, 
 Modefty and Diffidence. 
 
 As the Hands are the molt habil Members 
 of the Body, and the moft eafily turned to 
 all Sides, fo are they the Indexes of many 
 Habits. 
 
 As we have two Hands, the Right and 
 the Left, we fometimes make ufe of one, 
 fometimes of the other, and fometimes of 
 both, to exprefs the Paflion and Habit. The 
 chief Forms of which I fhall mention. 
 
 Lifting of one Hand upright, or extending 
 it, exprefTes Force, Vigour and Power. The 
 Right Hand is alio extended upwards as a 
 Token of Swearing, or taking a folemn Oath ; 
 and this Extenfion of the Hand fometimes 
 lignifies' Pacification, and Defire of Silence. 
 
 Tutting of the Hand to the Mouth, is the 
 Habit of one that is filent, and acting Mo- 
 
 F a defty ; 
 
6 8 The History of 
 
 deity ; of Admiration and Confideration. The 
 giving the Hand is a Gefture of ftriking a 
 Bargain, continuing an Alliance, or of deli- 
 vering ones felf into the Power of another. 
 To take hold of the Hand of another ex- 
 preffes Admonition, Exhortation and Encou- 
 ragement. The reaching out an Hand to 
 another implies Help and Afliftance. The 
 lifting up both Hands on high is the Habit 
 of one who implores, and exprelTes his Mi- 
 fcry. And the lifting up of both Hands fome- 
 times flgniries Congratulation to Heaven for 
 a Deliverance, as in Virgil • 
 
 His Hands, now free from Bands, he lifts on high, 
 In grateful Action to th' indulgent Gods. 
 
 Holding the Hands in the Bofom is 
 the Habit of the Idle and Negligent. Clap- 
 ping the Hands, among the Hebrews, figni- 
 fied deriding, infulting, and exploding ; but 
 among the Greeks and the Romans, it was, 
 on the contrary, the Exprefllon of Applaufe. 
 The Impofition of Hands fignifies the im- 
 parting a Power in confecrating of Victims. 
 
 u It is a difficult Matter, fays £>uintilian, 
 iC to relate what a Number of Motions the 
 " Hands have, without which all Action 
 <c would be maimed and lame, fince thefe 
 " Motions are almoft as various as theWords 
 " we ipeak. For the other Parts may be 
 " laid to help a Man when he fpeaks, but 
 " the Hands (as 1 may fay) fpeak themfelves. 
 
 « Do 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 69 
 
 " Do we not by the Hands defire a thing ? 
 " Do we not by thefe promife ? call? dill 
 " mifs? threaten? act the Suppliant? ex- 
 " prefs our Abomination or Abhorrence ? 
 " our Fear ? By thefe do we not ask Que- 
 " ftions ? deny ? fhew our Joy, Grief, Doubt, 
 " Confeffion, Penitence, Moderation, Plenty, 
 " Number and Time ? Do not the fame 
 " Hands provoke, forbid, make Supplication, 
 a approve, admire, and exprefs Shame ? Do 
 " they not in fhevving of Places and Perfons, 
 " fupply the Place of the Adverbs and Pro- 
 " nouns ? Infomuch that in fo great aVariety 
 <c or Diverfity of the Tongues of all Nati- 
 " ons, this feems to remain the univerfal 
 " Language common to all. 
 
 It were to be wifhed that this Art were a 
 little revived in our Age, when fuch ufeful 
 Members, which of old contributed fo much 
 to the Expreffion of Words, fhould now 
 puzzle our Players what to do with them, 
 when they feldom or never add any Grace to 
 the Action of the Body, and never almoft 
 any thing to the Explanation or fuller Ex- 
 preffion of the Words and Paffions. To pro- 
 ceed a little farther. 
 
 Stamping of the Feet, among the Hebrews 
 fignified Derifion and Scoffing. Among the 
 Greeks, &x. Imperioufnefs. A conftant and 
 direcl: Foot, is the Index of a fteady, certain, 
 conftant and right Study and Aim of our 
 Defigns, 
 
 F 3 On 
 
jo The History of 
 
 On the contrary, Feet, full of Motion, 
 are the Habit of the inconftant and fluctua- 
 ting in their Counfels and Refolves. And the 
 Greeks thought this in Women a fign of a 
 flagitious Temper. 
 
 Thus have I recited the Jefuit's Obferva- 
 tions on the Geftures and Poiitions of the fe- 
 veral Parts and Members of the Body. And 
 tho' ibme of them may feem too particular, yet 
 I am perfuaded, that a Perfon of true Judg- 
 ment may find many Excellencies in them, 
 which may afford him great Helps in the 
 rendering his Geftures beautiful and expref- 
 five. There is no greater Proof of this, than 
 the Example I have already urged of The 
 'Pantomime and Demetrius the Cynic Philo- 
 fopher, who cried out to him, / hear, my 
 Fr'tend, what you acJ ; nor do I only fee them y 
 hit methinks you Jfieak with your Hands. 
 But this Speaking with the Hands, (as it is 
 here called) I find contain a great deal of the 
 Reprefenting of the Dancing Dumb-Shows 
 of the Mimes and 'Pantomimes. It may be 
 perhaps objected, that thefe Motions of the 
 Hands were fo well known to the Frequent- 
 ers of the Theatres, that, like our talking 
 on our Fingers with thofe, who underftand 
 it, there would be no Difficulty in the Repre- 
 fentation ; but that if any Stranger or Fo- 
 reigner fhould have been there, it would have 
 been nothing but an unintelligible Gefticula- 
 tion, and what Shakeffeare calls it, unexfli* 
 cable dumb Shews - } whereas if thefe Actions 
 
 and 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 71 
 
 and Geftures were drawn from their Natural 
 Significancy, according to thofe Marks I have 
 already given, or others referred to by my 
 Quotation of ^uintilian, they muft be intel- 
 ligible to all Nations, on firft Sight to Bar- 
 barians, who never law them before, as well 
 as to Greeks and Romans, who converfed 
 with them every Day. 
 
 I allow the Objection, but fhall remove it 
 by a farther Account of the very fame Tan* 
 tomime, who lived in the Time of Nero : 
 
 The Story is this a A Banbarian Prince 
 
 " who came from Tontus to Rome, on a Vi- 
 " fit to Nero, among other Entertainments 
 " faw this Dancer perfonate fo lively, that 
 " tho he knew nothing of what was fung, 
 u being half a Grecian, yet he underftood 
 " all. Being therefore to return to his Coun- 
 u try after this Entertainment of Nero's, and 
 " bid ask what lie would and it fhould be 
 " granted, replied, give me the Dancer, and 
 " you will infinitely oblige me. Nero ask- 
 " ing him of what ufe he would be to him ? 
 " My Neighbour Barbarians (fays he) are 
 " of different Languages, nor is it eafy for 
 u me to find Interpreters for them ', this Fel- 
 " low, therefore, as often as I have need, 
 " mail expound to me by his Geitures." So 
 clear and intelligible were his Actions and 
 Geftures, and fo derived from the Nature of 
 the thing reprefented • which is a Proof, that 
 there are certain Natural Significations of the 
 Motions of the Hands, and other Members 
 
 F 4 of 
 
7 2 "The History of 
 
 of the Body, which are obvious to the Un- 
 derftanding of the fenfible Men of all Na- 
 tions. If thofe which I have given you from 
 my Jeju/t be not, yet I am very fure, that 
 many of them are explained by him, which 
 will be plain to a ferious Obfcrver. 
 
 Gefture has therefore this Advantage above 
 mere Speaking, that by this we are under- 
 ftood by thofe of our own Language, but by 
 Action and Gelture (I mean juft and regular 
 Action) we make our Thoughts and Paflions 
 intelligible to all Nations and Tongues. It is, 
 as I have obferved from £>utntilian, the com- 
 mon Speech of all Mankind, which ftrikes 
 our Underftanding by our Eyes, as effectual- 
 ly as Speaking does by the Ears ; nay, per- 
 haps, makes the more effedhial Impreffion, 
 that Scnfe being the moft vivacious and 
 touching, according to Horace in his Art of 
 'Poetry ; 
 
 But what we Hear moves lefs, than what we See •, 
 Spectators only have their Eyes to Truft. 
 
 Roscom. 
 
 I think we have already affigned tolerable 
 Reafons why Movement and Acliou lhould 
 teach us ib ienfibly ; nay, the very Repre- 
 fentation of them in Tainting often ftrikes 
 the Paflions, and makes ImprefEcns on our 
 Minds more ftrong and vivid, than all the 
 Force of Words. The chief Work is cer- 
 tainly done by Speech in moft other ways 
 
 pf 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 73 
 
 of Public Difcourfe, either at the Bar, or 
 in the Tulpt ; where the Weight of the 
 Reafon and the Proof are firft and moft to be 
 eonfidered : But on the Stage, where the Paf- 
 fions are chiefly in View, the beft Speaking 
 deftitute of AB'ion and Gefture (the Life of 
 all Speaking) proves but a heavy, dull, and 
 dead Difcourfe. 
 
 This, in fome meafure, will likewife reach 
 all things delivered in Public, fince we find 
 Tliny the Tounger talking of People in his 
 Days reciting of their Speeches, or Poems, 
 either by reading them themfelves, or by ha- 
 ving them read by others, tell us, that this 
 reading them was a very great Disadvantage 
 to the Excellence of their Performance either 
 way, lefTening both their Eloquence and Cha- 
 racter, fince the principal Helps of "Tronun- 
 ciation, the Eyes and the Hands, could not 
 perform their Office, being otherwife em- 
 ployed to read, and not adorn the Utterance 
 with their proper Motions ; infomuch that it 
 was no manner of wonder, that the Attention 
 of the Audience grew languid on fb unaclive 
 an Entertainment. On the contrary, when 
 any Difcourfe receives Force and Life, not 
 only from the Propriety and Graces of fpeak- 
 ing agreeable to the Subject, but from a pro- 
 per Afi'ton and Gefture for it, it is truly 
 moving, penetrating, tranfporting ; it has 
 a Soul, it has Life, it has Vigour and Ener- 
 gy not to be refilled. For then the Tlayer, 
 |be Treacher or Tlsader, holds his Audience 
 
 by 
 
74 The History of 
 
 by the Eyes, as well as Ears, and engrofTcs 
 their Attention by a double Force. This 
 feems to be well rcprefented in fome Words 
 of Cicero to Cacilius a young Orator, in his 
 firft Caufe, who would needs undertake the 
 Aflion againft Verres, in Oppofition to Hor- 
 tenjius. After he has fhovvn his Incapacity 
 in many Points to accufe Verres, both in 
 Ability, and in not being free from a Sufpi- 
 eion of a Share in the Guilt, he comes at laft 
 to the Power and Art of his Adverfary. Hor- 
 tenfius, fays he, reflect, confider, again and 
 again, what you are going to do I for there 
 feems to me to be fome Danger not only of his 
 ofprefmg you with his Words, but even of 
 his confounding and dazling the Eyes of your 
 Under -/landing with his Gesture, and the 
 Motion of his Body, and fo entirely drive 
 you from your Defign, and from all your 
 "Thoughts. 
 
 Cicero, in his Books of Oratory, tells us, 
 that Crajfus pleading againft Brutus, deliver- 
 ed his W ords with fuch an Accent and fuch a 
 Gefture, that he perfectly confounded the 
 latter, and put him out of Countenance, fix- 
 ing his Eyes ftedfaftly on him, and addref- 
 fing all his Action to him, as if he would 
 devour him with a Look and a Word. 
 
 But to make thefe Motions of the Face 
 and Hands eafily underftood, that is, ufeful 
 in moving the Paflions of the Auditors, 
 or rather Spectators, they muft be properly 
 faited to the thing you fpeak of, your 
 
 Thoughts 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 75 
 
 Thoughts and Defign ; and always refembling 
 the TaJJion you would exprefs or excite. Thus 
 you muft never fpeak of mournful Things 
 with a gay and brisk Look, nor affirm any- 
 thing with the A&ion of Denial ; for that 
 would make what you fay of no manner of 
 Authority or Credit ; you would gain neither 
 Belief nor Admiration. You muft alfo have 
 a peculiar Care of avoiding all manner of 
 Affetfation in your Atfion and Gefture, for 
 that is molt commonly ridiculous and odious, 
 unlefs where the A&or is to exprefs fome Af- 
 fectation in the Charader he reprefents, as in 
 Melantha in Marriage Ala-mode^ and Mil- 
 limant in the Way of the World. But even 
 then that very Affectation muft be unaffeded, 
 as thofe two Parts were admirably performed 
 by Mrs. Mountfort and Mrs. Bracegirdle* 
 But your Affion muft appear purely natural, 
 as the genuine Offspring of the things you 
 exprefs, and the Tajfion which moves you to 
 fpeak in that manner. 
 
 In fine, the Tlayer, Tleader or ^Preacher 
 muft have fuch nice Addrefs in the Manage- 
 ment of his Geftures, that there may be no- 
 thing in all the various Motions and Difpofi- 
 tions of his Body which may be offenfive to 
 the Eye of the Spectator ; as well as nothing 
 grating and difobliging to the Ears of his Au- 
 ditors, in his Pronunciation ; elfe will his 
 Perfon be lefs agreeable, and his Speech lefs 
 efficacious to both, by wanting all that Grace, 
 Virtue and Power it would otherwife obtain. 
 
7 6 iTje History of 
 
 It is true, it muft be confeiTed, that the 
 Art of Gefture feems more difficult to be ob- 
 tained, than the Art of Speaking \ becaufe a 
 Man's own Ear may be judge of the Voice 
 and its feveral Variations, but cannot fee his 
 Face at all, and the Motion of the other 
 Parts of the Body but very imperfectly. De- 
 mofihenes, as we have faid, to make a true 
 Judgment how far his Face and Limbs 
 moved and kept to the Rules of good Aft ion 
 and Gefture, fet before him a large Looking- 
 glafs fufficient to reprefent the whole Body at 
 one View, to direct him in diitinguiming be- 
 twixt Right and Wrong, decent and indecent 
 Actions -, but yet, tho' this might not be 
 unufeful, it lies under this Difad vantage, that 
 it reprefents to the Right what is on the 
 Left, and on the Left what is on the Right 
 Hand, fo that when you make a Motion 
 with your Right Hand y the Reflection makes 
 it feem as done by the Left, which confounds 
 the Gefture, and gives it an aukward Ap- 
 pearance : But to re&ify thefe erroneous 
 Motions from the Glafs, by changing Hands, 
 might contract fuch an ill Habit, as ought 
 with the utmolt Caution to be avoided. 
 
 Gefture on the Stage, was never better ob- 
 ferved, than by that excellent Comedian Mr. 
 Lacy. And in this very particular Adion 
 Mr. Betterton ufed often to acknowledge his 
 Obligations to Mr. Taylor of the Black Fry- 
 ers Company, and to Mr, Lowcn y Sen. the 
 
 former, 
 
theEnglijh STAGE. 77 
 
 former, being inftru&ed in the Chara&er of 
 Hamlet, and the latter in that of Henry 
 the Eighth, by Shakeffeare himfelf : thefe, 
 fays he, being my two ever-honoured Matters 
 in thole Parts. Bat here we mull lament the 
 great Lofs our Englijh Stage fuftained in the 
 untimely Death of Mr. William Betterton, 
 who was drowned in fwimming at Walling- 
 ford in Berk/Jjire, otherwife the Merits of his 
 Father might have longer continued amonglt 
 us. 
 
 We fhall clofe this Chapter with the fhort 
 Account left us of that memorable Comedian 
 above mentioned, fyig, 
 
 Mr. John Lacy was a Native of Torkjhire, 
 bom near Doncajler. He was bred in the 
 Profeflion of a Dancing-Mafter, but purfuing 
 fome military Views, he became a Lieute- 
 nant and Quarter-Mafter under Colonel Ger- 
 rard. He was a well-fhaped Man, of a no- 
 ble Stature, and juftly proportioned. What 
 brought him upon the Stage, we cannot 
 determine • but a reputable Writer allures us, 
 that, as Mr. Betterton has obferved, * " He 
 " was a Comedian whofe Abilities in Action 
 " were fufficiently known to all who fre- 
 4< quented the King's Theatre. He per- 
 " formed all the Parts he undertook to a 
 " Miracle, in fo much that as the Age he 
 " lived in never had, fo, I am apt to be- 
 " lieve, no other will ever have his Equal, 
 
 " at 
 
 * Lattghaine, in his Account of the Eng. Dram. Poets. 
 Pag. 517, 
 
j8 The H i s t o r y (?/ 
 
 <c at leaft not his Super iour. He was fo well 
 " approved of by King Charles II. an un- 
 " deniable Judge in Dramatic Arts, that he 
 a caufed his Picture to be drawn in three 
 ** Characters in one and the fame Piece (viz. 
 " league, in the Committee ; Mr. Scruple, in 
 a the Cheats ; and Monfieur Galliard, in 
 " the Variety) now in the Royal Palace of 
 " IVindfor-Caftle. Nor did his Talent whol- 
 " ly lie in A&ing, he knew both how to 
 " judge and write Plays, and is the Author 
 " of three Comedies, viz. 
 
 I. The Dumb Lady : Or, The Farrier 
 4C made Thyfician. Taken from Le Median 
 <c malgre luy. Whoever will compare them 
 u together, will find that Mr. Lacy has 
 u greatly improved Moliere. 
 
 II. " The Old Troop : Or, Monfieur Ra- 
 iC gou. Taken likewife, as I conje&ure, from 
 " the French. Both thefe Plays were A&- 
 u ed with univerfal Applaufe. 
 
 III. Sir Hercules Buffoon : Or, The Toe- 
 " tkal 'Squire. This Play was brought 
 " upon the Stage, after the Author's De- 
 iC ceafe, 1684. In the Trologue, fpoken by 
 " Jo. Haines, were thefe Lines, 
 
 Know, that fam'd Lacy, Ornament o' th' Stage, 
 That Standard of Comedy, in our Age j 
 Wrote this Play : 
 
 And if it takes not, all that we can fay on't, 
 Is, we've his Fiddle, not his Hand to play on*t. 
 
 This Comedy was very well received. 
 
the Englijh STAGE, 79 
 
 CHAP. VI. 
 
 The Amour of the Duchefs of Cleveland, 
 and Mr. Goodman, Mc. 
 
 AS Mr. Hart was Rival to Lord Buck- 
 hurft, and the King, in the firft Af- 
 fections of Mrs. Guyn ; it like wife fo hap- 
 pened, that Mr. Goodman the Player, was 
 another of his Majefty's Rivals in the Efteem 
 of the Duchefs of Cleveland. 
 
 The late famous Mrs. Manley, Author of 
 the Atalantis, has in the Account of her 
 Life *, given a Relation of her Own Adven- 
 tures under the Name of Rivella, and drawn 
 the Character of the Duchefs of Cleveland 
 under that of Hilaria. The Duchefs was 
 paflionately fond of new Faces, of which 
 Sex foever ; and ufed a thoufand Arguments 
 to difluade Rivella from wearing away her 
 Bloom in Grief and Solitude. She read her 
 learned Lectures upon the Ill-nature of the 
 World, that would never reftore a Woman's 
 Reputation, how innocent foever me really 
 were, if Appearances proved to be againft 
 her ; therefore Hilaria gives Rivella this 
 Advice, which Ihe did not difdain to prac- 
 tice } viz. To make herfelf as happy as fhe 
 could, without valuing or regretting thofe y 
 by whom it was impojf/tble to be valued. 
 
 Ri- 
 
 * See Mrs. ManUy's Life, 8vo. v. %i. &c. printed for 
 E, Curll 
 
So The History of 
 
 Rivella has often declared, that from Hi- 
 laria fhe received the firft ill Impreflions of 
 Count Fortunatus * touching his Ingratitude, 
 Immorality and Avarice j being herfelf an 
 Eye-witnefs when he denied Hilaria, (who 
 ha i given him Thouiands) the common Civi- 
 lity of lending her Twenty Guineas at Buf- 
 fet ; which, together with betraying his Ma- 
 tter, and raifing himfelf by his Sifter's Dif- 
 honour, fhe had always efteemedajuft and 
 flaming Subjed for Satire, 
 
 Ri ella had now reigned fix Months in 
 Htla; ia's Favour, an Age to one of her in- 
 conftant Temper ; when that Lady found out 
 a newFace, to which the old muft give place ; 
 and fuch a one of whom fhe could not juitly 
 have any Jealoufy in point of Youth or 
 Agrecablenefs ; the Peribn I fpeafc of was 
 the pretended Madam Beam lair , a Kitchen- 
 Maid, married to her Matter, who had been 
 refuged with King James in France. 
 
 This pretended frrench Lady Beauclair 
 plyed at Madam Mazarin's Ballet-Table, 
 and was alfo of uie to her in Love-Affairs. 
 
 As to the Character of Hilar ia, fhe was 
 Querilous, Fierce, Loquacious ; exceflively 
 Fond, or infamoufly Rude : The Extreams 
 of Prodigality, and Covetoufnefs ; of Love 
 and Hatred ^ of Dotage and Averfion, were 
 joined together in her Soul. 
 
 * Late Duke of Ji****** 
 
 The 
 
the Englijh STAGE, Si 
 
 The whole Court and City knew that the 
 Man HHaria was in Love with was Mr. 
 Goodman the Player, for his fine Perfon and 
 graceful Mien ; he being the fecond Rival 
 in the Favour of Two of the Royal MiftrefFes. 
 As Mr. Goodman and Mr. Hart equally cap- 
 tivated the Ladies on the Stage, it is not 
 matter of any Admiration, that they mould 
 equally charm in more delightful RecefTes : 
 For, 
 
 In Love, and Death, fuch is the human Frame, 
 The Monarch and the Mimic are the fame. 
 
 Mr. Tope has thus recorded Female Luxury 
 and its Extravagancies ; not forgetting Hi- 
 laria. 
 
 Con Philips cries, A fnedking Dog I hate, 
 That's all three Lovers have for their Eftate ! 
 Treat on, Treat on, is her eternal Note, 
 And Lands and Tenements go down her Throat. 
 Not fo who of Ten Thoufand gull'd her Knight, 
 Then afk'd Ten Thoufand for a fecond Night*, 
 The Gallant too, to whom She paid it down, 
 Liv'd to refufe that Mijlrefs Half a Crown. || 
 
 The Gallant here referred to by the Saty- 
 rift was the fame Perfon fhadowed by Ri- 
 vella under the Character of Count Fortttna- 
 tusy whofe predominant Vices of Ingratitude 
 and Avarice will never be obliterated. 
 
 G From 
 
 j| Th: Duchcfs of Ckiehmd and Duke of M***** 
 
82 . Tlje History of 
 
 Frorii theie Scenes of Love and Gallan- 
 try, let ns return once more to the Scenes of 
 the Drama. 
 
 We fhall here lay down fome particular 
 Rules of Action ; which juftly weighed, will 
 be of uie to the Bar and the 'Pulpit, as well 
 as the Stage, provided, that the Student al- 
 lows a moreitrong, vivid and violent Gefture 
 to the Plays, than to either of the other. 
 
 We mail therefore begin with the Govern- 
 ment, Order and Balance, of the whole Bo- 
 dy -, and thence proceed to the Regiment 
 and proper Motions of the Head, the Eyes, 
 the Eye-brows, and indeed the whole face ', 
 then conclude with the Afiions of the Hands, 
 more copious and various than all the other 
 Parts of the Body. 
 
 The Place and Pofture of the Body ought 
 not to be changed every Moment, fince fo 
 fickle an Agitation is trifling and Light : 
 Nor, on the other hand, mould it always 
 keep the lame Pofition, fixt like a Pillar or 
 Marble Statue. For this, in the firft place, 
 is unnatural, and mult therefore be diiagree- 
 able, fince God has lb formed the Body with 
 Members difpofing it to Motion, that it 
 mult move either as the Impulfe of the Mind 
 directs, or as the necelTary Occafions of the 
 Body require. This heavy Stability, or 
 thoughtlels Fixednefs, by lofing that Variety,. 
 which is fo becoming of, and agreeable in, 
 the Change and Diverfity of Speech and Dif- 
 <courfe, and give Admiration to every thing 
 
 it 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 8j 
 
 it adorns, lofes likewife that Genteelnefs and 
 Grace, which engages the Attention by plea- 
 fing the Eye. Being taught to Dance will 
 very much contribute in general to the grace- 
 ful Motion of the whole Body, efpecially 
 in Motions, that are not immediately em- 
 barraffed with the Pailions. 
 
 That the Head has various Geftures and 
 Signs, Intimations and Hints, by which it is 
 capable of expreffing Conjent, Refujal, Con- 
 firmation, Admiration and Anger, 6vc. is 
 what every one knows, who has ever con- 
 fidercd at all. It might therefore be thought 
 fuperfluous to treat particularly of them* 
 But this Rule may be laid down on this 
 Head in general, firtt that it ought not to 
 be lifted up too high, and llretched out ex- 
 travagantly, which is the Mark of Arrogance 
 and Haughtiness ', but an Exception to this 
 Rule will come in for the Tlayer, who is to 
 ad a Perfon of that Character. Nor on the 
 other fide mould it be hung down upon the 
 Breaft, which is both dilagreeable to the 
 Eye, in rendering the Mien clumfy and 
 dull • and would prove extreamly 'prejudicial 
 to the Voice, depriving it of its Clearnefs, 
 Diftinffion, and that Intelligibility, Which it 
 ought to have : Nor mould the Head always 
 lean towards the Shoulders, which is equally 
 ruftic and affected, or a great Mark of In- 
 difference, Languidnefs, and a faint Inclina- 
 tion. But the Head, in all the calmer 
 Speeches at leaft, ought to be kept in its juft 
 
 G i natural 
 
84. The History of 
 
 natural State and uptight Tofition. In the 
 Agitation indeed of a 'Pajfion, the Pofition 
 will naturally follow the feveral Accefles 
 and Recedes of the Paflion whether Grief, 
 Anger, £tc. 
 
 We mud farther obferve, that the Head 
 mull not be kept always like that of a Sta- 
 tue without Motion •,. nor muft it on the con- 
 trary be moving perpetually, and always 
 throwing itfelf about on every different 
 Expredion. It mult therefore fhun thefe ri- 
 diculous Extreams, turn gently on the Neck, 
 as often as Occafion requires a Motion, ac- 
 cording to the Nature of the thing, turning 
 now to one fide, and then to another, and 
 then return to fuch a decent Pofition, as your 
 Voice may beft be heard by all or the gene- 
 rality of the Audience. The Head ought 
 alwavs to be turned on the fame Side, to 
 which the Actions of the reft of the Body 
 are directed, except when they are employed 
 to exprefs our Averfion to things, we refufe ; 
 or on Things we deteft and abhor : For thefe 
 Things we reject with the Right Hand, at the 
 fame time turning the Head away to the Left. 
 
 But the greateft Life and Grace of Atlion 
 derive themlelves from the Face. For this 
 Reafon, Crajfus in Cicero remarks, that RoJ- 
 cius, tho' fo excellent a Player, loft his Ad- 
 miration among the Romans on the Stage, 
 becaufe the Mafque he wore denied the Audi- 
 ence the Sight of thofe Motions and Attrac- 
 tive Charms which were to be difcovered in 
 
 the 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 85 
 
 the Countenance. Some have been extremely 
 furprized at the Ancients Ufe of thofe Masks 
 on the Stage, which they called the e Perfoti£\ 
 nor is it eafy to imagine how they were made, 
 not to deftroy that Grace and Beauty of Act- 
 ing in the Management of the Lineaments of 
 the Face, which by all that we have of that 
 kind mult be entirely hid ; and yet what 
 Plutarch tells us of Demojihenes and Cicero, 
 is a Proof, that the Players of Athens and 
 Rome were abfolute Matters of Speaking and 
 Action. It is true, there is much in the Voice 
 to exprefs the Paffion artfully, yet certainly 
 the feveral Figurations of the Countenance, 
 as of the Eyes, Brow, Mouth, and the like, 
 add the moft touching and the mod moving 
 Beauties. But this Obfervation before men- 
 tioned diffidently proves, that thofe were 
 entirely loft by the c Pcrfoua ; which is a 
 Proof, that in whatever they excelled our 
 Actors, we have the Advantage in the mak- 
 ing the Reprefentation perfect, by enjoying 
 the Benefit of expofing all the Motions of 
 the Face. 
 
 The Character which Lucian gives of thofe 
 c Per[on£ makes them extremely ridiculous, 
 and by his Defcription of the reft of the Tra- 
 gic Equipage, would make us very much doubt 
 their Excellence in other Parts of Acting. * 
 ** What a deformed and frightful Sight is it. 
 " to fee a Man raifed to a prodigious Length, 
 " ftalking on exalted Buskins, • his Face dif- 
 
 G 3 " guifed 
 
 * See Dr. Wayne's Tranflat. of Lucian. 
 
8 6 Hoe History of 
 
 u guifed with a grim Vizor, widely gaping, 
 " as if he meant to devour the Spectators ; I 
 li forbear to ipeak of his ftuffed Breath and 
 " Fore-bellies, which make an adventitious 
 u and artificial Corpulency, left his unnatu- 
 " ral Length ihould carry a Diipropoition to 
 u his Slendernefs. 
 
 Surely fiich a Figure as Luc'tan gives the 
 tragedian, muft not only render him incapa- 
 ble of giving the Body all its juft Motions 
 and graceful Geftures, of which we are talk- 
 ing, and which the great Writers celebrate 
 fo much ; but mull be ridiculous to a Farce. 
 But tho' what Luctan reprefents, may be 
 looked upon as in the Time of the Corrup- 
 tion of the Roman Stage, yet the Cothunit 
 and the i Perfona were in ufe among the 
 Greeks, and mull have been extremely preju- 
 dicial to the Beauty of the Representation. 
 The Reafon given for the firft was the com- 
 mon Opinion, that the Heroes of former 
 Times were larger and taller than our Cotem- 
 poraries ; and it is probable that the firft Ufe 
 of the Vizor, which fucceeded the befmeer- 
 ing the Face with l_,ees of Wine in tfae Time 
 of T/:e[pis, was chiefly to exprefs the Looks 
 and Countenance of the ieveral Heroes repre- 
 iented, according to their Statues and Por- 
 traitures, which made the Players always 
 new to the Audience ; whereas we coming 
 always on the Stage with the lame Face, put 
 a Force on the Imagination of the Audience 
 to fancy us other than the fame Perfons. But 
 
 there 
 
the Englijb STAGE. 8 7 
 
 there is a Method, which, if maturely ftu- 
 died, would obtain this Variety of Counte- 
 nance more artfully, and at the fame time in-- 
 fpire the A&or better with the Nature and 
 Genius of his Part. In a French Book writ- 
 ten by one Gafferel a Monk, he tells us, that 
 when he was at Rome he went to fee'Campa- 
 nella in the Inqwft'wn, and found him ma- 
 king abundance of Fates \ which he at firffc 
 imagined, proceeded from the Torments he 
 had undergone \ but he foon undeceived him 
 by enquiring what fort of Countenance fuch 
 a Cardinal had, to whom he had juft before 
 fent; for he was forming his Countenance, as 
 much as he could, to what he knew of his, 
 that he might know what his Anfwer would 
 be. 
 
 If therefore a Player was acquainted with 
 the Character of his Hero, fo far as to have 
 an Account of his Features and Looks-, or 
 of any one living of the fame Character, he 
 would not only vary his Face fo much by 
 that means, as to appear quite another Face, 
 by railing, or falling, contracting, or ex- 
 tending the Brows • giving a brisk or fullen, 
 fprightly or heavy Turn to his Eyes; fhar- 
 pening or fwelling his Noftrils, and the va- 
 rious Pofitions of his Mouth, which by Prac- 
 tice would grow familiar, and wonderfully 
 improve the Art of Acting, and raife the no- 
 ble Diverfion to greater Efteem. The ftudy- 
 ing Hiftory-Painting would be very ufeful 
 on this Occafion, becaufe the Knowledge of 
 
 Q 4 the 
 
88 f^ History 0/ 
 
 the Figure and Lineaments of the Perfons re- 
 prefented will teach the Actor to vary and 
 change his Figure, which would make him 
 not always the fame in all Parts, but his very 
 Countenance fo changed, that they would not 
 only have other Thoughts themfelvcs, but 
 raife others in the Audience. Some carry 
 their Heads aloft and ttately, others pucker 
 their Brows, look with a piercing Eye ; as 
 we have laid j and thefe things thoroughly 
 confidered by the Player, would in every 
 Part make him a new Man ; and with more 
 Beauty liipply the Terfona of the Ancients, 
 and raife our Stage to a greater Merit, than 
 theirs could pretend to, which deprived the 
 Audience of the nobleit and moft vivacious 
 Part of the Reprefentation, in the Lois of 
 the Motions of the Face ; of which we 
 ought to take a peculiar Care, fince it is on 
 that, which the Audience or Spectators ge- 
 nerally fix their Eyes the whole Time of 
 the Action. 
 
 Exercife and frequent Practice ought to 
 reform the leait Error in this Particular, be- 
 ciufe in the Performance every one prelently 
 difcovers it, tho' the Actor fees it not him- 
 felf. The fureft Way of correcting this is 
 cither a Looking-Glafs, or a judicious Friend, 
 who can and will let you know what Coun- 
 tenance is agreeable, and what the contrary. 
 Bat this is a general Rule, without any Ex- 
 ception, that you zidjuft all the Lines and 
 Motions of the Face to the Subject of your 
 
 Dif- 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 89 
 
 Difcourfe, the Paflion you feel within you, or 
 ftiould according to your Part feel, or would 
 raife in thofe who hear and fee you. You 
 muft likewife confider the Quality you repre- 
 fent, as well as the Quality of thofe to whom 
 you fpeak \ for even in great Degrees of the 
 Paflions the Difference and Diftance of that 
 has a greater or lefs Awe upon the very Ap- 
 pearance of the Paflion. The Countenance 
 muft be brightened with a pleafant Gayety 
 on things that are agreeable, and that ac- 
 cording to the Degrees of their being fo ; and 
 likewife in Joy, which muft ftill be heighten- 
 ed in the Paflion of Love ; tho' indeed the 
 Countenance in the Expreffion of this Paflion 
 is extremely various, participating fometimes 
 of the Tranfports of Joy, fometimes of the 
 Agonies of Grief; it is fometimes mingled 
 with the Heats of Anger, and fometimes 
 fmiles with all the pleating Tranquility of 
 an equal Joy. Sadnefs or Gravity muft pre- 
 vail in the Countenance, when the Subject is 
 grave, melancholy or forrowful ; and Grief is 
 to be expreffed according to its various De- 
 grees of Violence. Hate has its peculiar Ex- 
 preffion compofed of Grief, Envy and Anger y 
 a Mixture of all which ought to appear in 
 the Eye. When you bring or offer Com~ 
 fort, Mildnefs and Affability ought to be 
 feen in your Countenance, as Severity mould, 
 when you cenfure or reprehend. 
 
 It is not in the leaft to be doubted, but 
 that feveral other Gentlemen of the Stage 
 
 have 
 
90 The History of 
 
 have taken their Turns among the Court- 
 Ladies, as well as Mr. Hart and Mr. Good- 
 man. However, we fhall drop that En- 
 quiry, and refume the Subject of their The- 
 atrical Excellencies. 
 
 I have heard Mr. Betterton mention thefe 
 Parts as fome of Mr. Hart's mining Charac- 
 ters ; Arbaces, in King and no King. Amin- 
 tor, in the Maid's Tragedy. Rollo Duke of 
 Normandy. Brutus, in Julius Ctcfar. O- 
 thello and Alexander the Great. In this laft 
 Character he appeared with fuch Majefty in 
 his Looks and Gefture, that a Courtier of 
 the firft Rank was pleafed to honour him 
 with this Commendation, Hart, fays he, 
 might teach any King on Earth ho r ja to com- 
 fort htmfelf. He was no lefs inferior in Co- 
 medy. In the Parts of Mofca in Volfone, 
 Don 'John in the Chances, Wildblood in the 
 Mock- Aft rologer, five. In all the Tragic and 
 Comic Parts he performed, he arrived to a 
 Pitch not equalled by any of his Cotempo-* 
 raries, nor attainable by his SuccefTors. But 
 Mr. Betterton, and Major Mohun may be 
 faid to have been the Two Socias. Tar No- 
 bile Fratrum as to their Juftnefs of Acling. 
 The latter (hone in the Parts of Votyone. Face 
 in the Alchymijl. Melantius in the Maid's 
 Tragedy. Mordonius in King and no King. 
 Cajjhs in Julius Cafar. Clytus in Alexan- 
 der the Great. Mithridates King ofTontus^ 
 in performing which Part, Mr. Lee cried out, 
 in the greateft Extacy, O Mohun, Mohun ! 
 
 Thou 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 91 
 
 Thou little Man of Mettle, were I to write 
 a hundred Tlays thou Jhould'ft be in 'em all. 
 
 Many were the good A&ors of thole Days, 
 whofe Excellencies to enumerate won id be an 
 endlefs Task, for which reafon it is iufficicnt 
 to have mentioned fome of the Principal. Mr. 
 Eetterton likewife fucceeded in Major Mo- 
 bun's Parts. 
 
 Mr. Kynafton was fo famous for Womens 
 Tarts, that he played Arthiofe, in the Un- 
 fortunate Lovers. The Trincejs in the Mad 
 Lover. Jfmenia in the Maid in the Mill. 
 ' Aglaura, SCc. being Parts fo greatly moving 
 Companion, that it has been difputed among 
 the Judicious, whether any Woman could 
 have more fenfibly touched the Paffions. 
 
 The Play called Love and Honour, written 
 by Sir William D'Avenant, was A&ed be- 
 fore the Court, and very richly Dreft. The 
 King gave Mr. Betterton, who played Prince 
 Alvaro, his Coronation Suit. And to Mr. 
 Harris, who played Prince Troffero, the 
 Duke of Tork gave his Suit. And to Mr. 
 Trice who acted Lionel Duke of Tarma, the 
 Lord Oxford gave his Cloaths. Mrs. Daven- 
 fort an excellent Attrefs played Evandra. 
 
 A fhort time afterwards Mr. Betterton, 
 Mr. Harris, and Mr. Trice, all appeared 
 again, in the Revival of Shakefpe are's Romeo 
 and Juliet, when a very merry Incident 
 happened. There being a Fight in this Play 
 between the Houfe of Cafulet and the Houfe 
 of Taris. Mrs. Holden, a good A&refs, who 
 
 was 
 
9 2 T/je History of 
 
 was the Wife of \Paris, entering in a violent 
 Hurry, and crying out, my dear Count, 
 inadvertently omitted the Letter o, and lay- 
 ing a vehement Accent on the Word, put 
 the Houfe into the loudeft Fit of Laughter 
 and Merriment. 
 
 Among the many fine Players of this Age 
 Mr. Sandford muft be remembred, and for- 
 ty we are, that we can obtain no other No- 
 tices of him than what we find among the 
 Dramatis Terfontf prefixed to the Plays 
 wherein he acted. 
 
 Mr. Betterton brought three Plays, him- 
 felf, upon the Stage. 
 
 I. The Woman made a Jnftice. In this 
 Comedy Mrs. Long, a fine A&refs, played 
 the Part of the Justice. 
 
 II. The Utijuft Judge : Or, jiff ins and 
 Virginia. A Tragedy. Mr. Betterton played 
 Virginius, and his Wife Virginia. 
 
 III. The Amorous Widow : Or, The 
 Wanton Wife. In this Comedy Mr. Nokes 
 played Sir Barnaby Brittle, and Mrs. Long 
 Mrs. Brittle, in which Part Mrs. Brace- 
 girdle iucceeded her. 
 
 All thefe Plays were well received ; but 
 the Lafl only is preferved, the Firft and Se- 
 cond being loft. 
 
 We mull here obferve, that notwithstand- 
 ing Mr. Otway and Mr. Lee had very ftrong 
 Inclinations to come upon the Stage, yet both 
 thefe Gentlemen found Writing and Playing 
 
 io 
 
the Englijh STAGE. 93 
 
 fo widely different, that they were each of 
 them darned in their firft Attempt. 
 
 The Stage having worn out the Reign of 
 its Royal Matter King Charles II. and the 
 Kingdom having undergone the Grand Revolu- 
 tion occasioned by the Abdication of King 
 James, we.fhall now give an Account of the 
 State of the Theatre under King William and 
 Queen Mary, 
 
 A great Difference happening between the 
 United Patentees of King Charles's and the 
 Duke of Tor lis Companies after the Revolu- 
 tion, the chief Actors, viz. Mr. Betterton 
 and his Friends, together with Mrs. Barry, 
 Mrs. Bracegirdle, c!>c. Reprefented the great 
 Oppreffion they lay under, in a Petition to 
 the Right Honourable Charles Earl of Dor- 
 jet, cCc. then Lord Chamberlain of the 
 Houfhold. This generous Nobleman believ- 
 ing their Complaints to be jult, did, with the 
 Afliftance of Sir Robert Howard, procure for 
 them of their Majefties a feparate Licenfe, 
 conftituting Mr. Congreve, Mr. Betterton, 
 Mrs. Barry and Mrs. Bracegirdle Patentees. 
 By this Authority they formed a feled Com- 
 pany, and Metamorphofing the Tennis-Court 
 in Lincolns-Inn-Fields, opened their new 
 Theatre the laft Day of A^ril 1605, with a 
 Comedy written by Mr. Congreve called, 
 Love for Love. 
 
 In this Company were Mr. Smith, Mr. 
 Sandford, Mr. Underbill, Mr. Dogget, Mr. 
 Verbrugegen, Mr. To well, Mr, Mount fort, 
 
 Mr. 
 
94 tte H i s t o r y <?/ 
 
 Mr. John foil, Mr. Tenkethman, Mr. Bullock, 
 Mr. Booth, &tc. 
 
 We mall, for fome time, leave thefe Gen- 
 tlemen in the Discharge of their Profeflion, 
 and refume the farther Inftruclions of Mr. 
 Betterton for attaining the Oratory of the 
 Stage y the Bar, and the Tulpt. 
 
 The Management of the Eyes in an Or a- 
 tor at the Bar, or in the *Bulj>tt y feems 
 fomething different from what they mult be 
 in a 'Player, tho' if we make the reft of the 
 ABors on the Stage with him at the fame 
 time, his Auditors, the Rules for one will 
 reach the other ; for lb indeed they are, for 
 all the Regard that is to be had to the Au- 
 
 ncc is that they fee and hear diitinctly, 
 what we act and what we fpeak ; that they 
 may judge juitly of our Pofitions, Geftures 
 and Utterance, in regard to each other. 
 
 The Ore or therefore muft always be call- 
 ing i: : Fyes on lome or other of his Audi- 
 tors, \\\& turning them gently from fide to 
 f vvith an Air of Regard, fometimes on 
 ( e Perion, and fometimes on another, and 
 not fix them immoveably on one Part of the 
 Audience, which is extremely unaffcc~ting and 
 dnil, much lefs moving, than when we look 
 them decently in the Face, as in common Di£« 
 courfe. This will hold good in Tlayiig, if 
 applied according to my former Rule , for in- 
 deed I have o 1 r uved frequently fome Play- 
 ers, who pafs for great ones, have their Eyes 
 lifted up to the Galleries, or Top of the 
 
 Houfe ? 
 
the Englijh ST 1 AGE. 95 
 
 Houfe, when they are engaged in a Difcourle 
 of fome Heat, as if indeed they were con- 
 ning a Leffon, not acting a Part. Tbeophra- 
 ftus himfelf condemned Tamarijcus^ a : P layer 
 of his Time, who, whenever he fpoke on the 
 Stage, tamed his Eyes from thole who were 
 to hear him, and kept them fixt all the while 
 on one fingle and infenfibk Object. But Na- 
 ture a£ta directly in a contrary manner, and 
 yet fhe ought to be the Player's as well as 
 the Poet's Miftrefs. No Man is engaged in 
 Difpute, or any Argument of Moment, but 
 his Eyes and all his Regard are fixt on the 
 Perfon he talks with ; not but that there are 
 Times according to the Turn or Crifis of a 
 Paffion, where the Eyes may with great 
 Beauty be turned from the Object we addrefs 
 to feveral Ways, as in Appeals to Heaven, 
 imploring Affillance, to join in your- Addref- 
 fes to any one, and the like. 
 
 When we are free from Paffion, and in any 
 Difcourfe which requires no great Motion, 
 as our modern Tragedies too frequently fuffer 
 their chief Parts to be, our Afpect mould be 
 pleafant, our Looks direct, neither fevere 
 nor afide, unlefs we fill into a Paffion, which 
 requires the contrary. For then Nature, if 
 we obey her Summons, will alter our Looks 
 and Gelrures. Thus when a Man fpeaks in 
 Anger, his Imagination is inflamed, and kin- 
 dles a fort of Fire in his Eyes, which fpar- 
 kles from them in fuch a manner, that a 
 Stranger, who underftood not a Word of the 
 
 Lan- 
 
96 Tlje History of 
 
 Language, or a deaf Man,who could not hear 
 the loudeft Tone of his Voice, would not fail 
 of perceiving his Fury and Indignation. And 
 this Fire of their Eyes will eafily ftrike thofe 
 of their Audience which are continually fixt 
 on yours ; and by a ftrange fympathetic In- 
 fection, it will fet them on fire too with the 
 Very lame Paffion. 
 
 I would not be mifunderftood, when I fay 
 you muft wholly place your Eyes on the 
 Peri'on or Perfons you are engaged with on 
 the Stage ; I mean, that at the lame time 
 both Parties keep fuch a Pofition in regard 
 of the Audience, that even thefe Beauties 
 efcape not their Obfervation, tho' never fo 
 juftly directed. As in a Piece of Hiitory- 
 Painting, tho* the Figures fix their Eyes ever 
 fo dire&ly to each other, yet the Beholder, 
 by the 'Advantage of their Pofition, has a 
 full View of the Exprefljon of the Soul in 
 the Eyes of the Figures. 
 
 The Looks and juft Expreffion of all the 
 other Paffions has the fame EfFed, as this we 
 have mentioned of Anger For if the Grief 
 of another touches you with a real Compaf- 
 fion, Tears will flow from your Eyes, whe- 
 ther you will or not. And this Art of Weep- 
 ing was ftudied with great Application by 
 the ancient Players ; and they made fo extra- 
 ordinary a Progrefs in it, and worked the 
 Counterfeit to near a Reality, that their 
 Faces ufed to be all over bedewed with Tears 
 when they came off the Stage, 
 
 They 
 
the Englifh Stage. 97 
 
 They were likewife fo much affected by 
 acting thefe mournful Parts, rhat they for fome 
 time, when off the Stage, feemed, as I have ob- 
 ferved, ftruck by a real Sorrow to the Heart. 
 
 This Behaviour juftifies what the Antients 
 praclifed in heightning their Theatrical Sor- 
 row, by fixing the Mind on real Objects ; orby 
 working the Actor up by a flrong Imagination, 
 that he is the very Perfon, and in the very fame 
 Circum fiances, which will make the Cafe fo 
 very much his own, that he will not want Fire 
 in Anger, nor Tears in Grief: And then he 
 need not fear affecting the Audience ; for Paf- 
 fions are wonderfully conveyed ; the Tears of 
 one melting the Heart of the other, by a very 
 vifible Sympathy between their Imaginations 
 and Afpects. 
 
 You mull lift up, or caft down, your Eyes, 
 according to the Nature of the Things you 
 fpeakof :Thus if of Heaven, your Eyes natur- 
 ally are lifted up j if of Earth, or Hell, or any 
 thing Terreftrial, they are as naturally caft 
 down. Your Eyes muft alfo be directed ac- 
 cording to the Paffions ; as to deject them on 
 Things of Difgrace, and which you are amam'd 
 ofj and raife them on Things of Honour, which 
 you can glory in with Confidence and Reputa- 
 tion. In Swearing, or taking a folemn Oath, 
 or Atteftation of any Thing, to the Verity of 
 what you fay, you turn your Eyes, and in 
 the fame Action lift up your Hand to the 
 Thing you fwear by, or atteft, 
 
 H Your 
 
98 The HISTORY of 
 
 Your Eye-brows mud neither be immove- 
 able, nor always in Motion : Nor muft they 
 both be rais'd on every thing that is fpoken 
 with Ejgernefs and Confent j and much lefs 
 muft one be rais'd, and the other caft down ; 
 but generally they muft remain in the fame 
 Pofture and Equality, which they have by Na- 
 ture, allowing them their due Motion when the 
 Paffions require it ; that is, to contract them- 
 felves, and frown inSorrow, to fmooth and di- 
 late themfelves in Joy ; to hang down in Hu- 
 mility, Sec. 
 
 The Mouth muft never be writh'd, nor the 
 Lips bit or lick'd, which are all ungenteel and 
 unmannerly Actions, and yet what fome are 
 frequently guilty of; yet in fome Efforts or 
 Starts of PafTion, the Lips have their Share of 
 Action, but this more on the Stage, than in 
 any other public Speaking, either in the Pul- 
 pit, or at the Bar ; becaufe the Stage is, or ought 
 to be, an Imitation of Nature in thofe Actions 
 and Diicourfes, which are produced betwixt 
 Man and Man by any Paffion, or on any Bufi- 
 nefs, which can afford Action ; for all other 
 has in reality nothing to do with the Scene. 
 
 Tho' to fhrug up the Shoulders be no Gefture 
 allow'd in Oratory, yet on the Stage the Cha- 
 racter of the Peribn, and the Subject of 
 his Difcourfe, may render it proper enough ; 
 tho' I confefs, it feems more adapted to Come- 
 dy, than Tragedy, where all mould be great 
 andfolemn, and with which the graveft of the 
 
 Orators 
 
the Englifh Stage. 99 
 
 Orators Actions will agree. I have read of a 
 pleafantMethod, that Dtmojlhenes took to cure 
 himfelfof thisVice ofAction, for heat firft was 
 mightily given to it : He ufed to exercife him- 
 felf in declaiming in a narrow and ftreight 
 Place, with a Dagger hung juft over his Shoul- 
 ders -, fo that as often as he {hrugg'd them up, 
 the Point, by pricking his Shoulders, put him 
 in mind of his Error; which in time remov'd 
 the Defect. 
 
 Others thruft out the Belly, and throw back 
 the Head, both Gefmres unbecoming and in- 
 decent. 
 
 We come now to the Hands, which, as they 
 are the chief Inftruments ofAction, varying 
 themfelvesas many Ways, as they are capable of 
 expreffing Things, fois it a difficulc Matter to 
 give fuch Rules as are without Exception. 
 Thofe Natural Significations of particular Ge- 
 fmres, and what I fhall here add, will, I 
 hope, be fome Light to the young Actor in 
 this Particular. Firft, I would have him re* 
 gard the ABicn of the Hands, as to their 
 Expreflion of Accujation^ Deprecation^ Threat s % 
 Defire, &c. and to weigh well what thofe 
 Actions are, and in what manner expreffed; 
 and then confidering how large a Share thole 
 Actions have in all Manner of Difcourfe, he 
 will find that his Hands need never be idle, or 
 employed in an infignificant or unbeautiful 
 Gefture. 
 
 H 2 In 
 
ioo The HISTORY of 
 
 In the Beginning of a folemn Speech, or O- 
 ration, as in that of Anthony on the Death of 
 Ccefar, or of Brutus on the fame Occafion, 
 there is no Geftnre, at leaft of any Confiderati- 
 on, nnlefs it begin abruptly, as O Jupiter, O 
 H civ ns ! is this to be borne ? the very Ships then 
 in our Eyes, which I prefervd, &c. extending 
 here his Hands firft loHeaven, and then to the 
 Ships. In all regular Geftures of the Hands, 
 they ought perfectly to correfpond with one 
 another 5 as in ftarting in a Maze, on a fudden 
 Fright, & Hamlet in the Scene betwixt him and 
 his Mother, on the Appearance of his Father's 
 Ghoft 
 
 Save me, and hover der me with your Wings , 
 2ou Heavenly Guards ! 
 
 This is fpoke with Arms and Hands extend- 
 ed, and exprefling his Concern, as well as his 
 Eyes, and whole Face. If an Action comes to 
 be ufed by only one Hand, that muft be by 
 the Right, it being indecent to make a Gef- 
 ture with the Left alone ; except you mould 
 fay any fuch thing as, 
 
 Rather than be guilty of Jo foul a Deed, 
 Td cut this Right Hand off y &c. 
 
 For here the Actions muft be exprefTed by 
 the heft Hand, becaufe the Right is the Mem- 
 ber to fuffer. When you fpeak of yourfelf, 
 
 the 
 
the Englifh Stage. ioi 
 
 the Right not thtLeft Hand muft beapply'd to 
 the Bofom, declaring your own Faculties, and 
 Paffions ; your Heart, your Soul, or your Con- 
 ference: But this Action, generally fpeaking, 
 fhould be only apply 'd or exprefs'd by laying 
 the Hind gently on the Bread:, and not by- 
 thumping it as fome People do. The Ges- 
 ture muft pafs from the Left to the Right, and 
 there end with Gentlenefs and Moderation, at 
 lead not ftretch to the Extremity of Vio- 
 lence: You muft be fure, as you begin your 
 Action with what you fay, fo you muft end 
 it when you have done fpeaking; for Action 
 either before or af r er Utterance is highly ridi- 
 culous. The Movement or Geftures of your 
 Hands muft alwavs be agreeable' to the Na- 
 ture of the Words, that you fpeak j for when 
 you fay Come ifi, or Approach, you muft not 
 ftretch out your Hand wirh a repulfive Ge{- 
 ture ; nor, on the contrary, when you fay, 
 Stand back, muft your Gefture be inviting; 
 nor muft you join your Hands, when you 
 command Separation ; nor open them, when 
 your Order is cl.fmg ; nor hang them down, 
 when you bid raife /itch a 'Thing, or Per/on ; 
 nor lift them up, when you fay throw them 
 down. For all thefe Geftures would be fo vi- 
 libly againft Nature, that you would be laugh'd 
 at by all that fiw or heard you. By thefe In- 
 ftances of faulty Action, you may eafily fee 
 the right, and gather this Rule, that as much 
 as poftible every Gefture you ufe mould exprefs 
 the Nature of the Words you utter, which 
 H 3 would 
 
io2 The HI STORY of 
 
 would fufficiemly and beautifully employ your 
 Hands. 
 
 It is impoflible to have any great Emotion or 
 Gefhire of the Body, without the Action of the 
 Hands, to anfwer the Figures of Difcourfe, 
 which are made ufe of in all Poetical, as well 
 as Rhetorical Diction ; for Poetry derives its 
 Beauty in that from Rhetoric, as it does its 
 Order and Juftnefs from Grammar ; which fur- 
 prizes me, that feme of our modern taking 
 Poets value themfelves on that, which is not 
 properly Poetry, but only made ufe of as an 
 Ornament, and drawn from other Arts and 
 Sciences. 
 
 Thus when Medea fays, 
 
 The /? Imagfs cf Jason 
 
 With my own Hands Fit fir angle, Sec. 
 
 'tis certain the Action ought to be exprefs'd 
 by the Hands, to give it all its Force. 
 
 In the lifting up the Hands, to preferve the 
 Grace, you ought not to raife them above the 
 Eyes; to flrctch them farther might difordtr 
 and diftort the Body; normufl they be very lit- 
 tle lower, becaufe that Pofition gives a Beauty 
 to the Figure: Bcfides, this Pofture being ge- 
 nerally on fome Surprize, Admiration, Abhor- 
 rence, &c. which proceeds from the Object, 
 that affects the Eye, Nature by a fort of Me- 
 chanic Motion throws the Hands out as Guards 
 to the Eyes on fuch an Occalion. 
 
 You 
 
the Englifh. Stage. 103 
 
 You muft never let either of your Hands 
 hang down, as if lame or dead -, for that is ve- 
 ry difagreeable to the Eye, and argues no Paf- 
 fion the in Imagination. In (hort, your Hands 
 muft always be in View of your Eyes, and fo 
 correfponding with the Motions of the Head, 
 Eyes, and Body, that the Spectator may fee 
 their Concurrence, every one in its own Way 
 to fignify the fame Thing, which will make a 
 more agreeable, and by Confcquence a deeper 
 Impreffion on their Senfes, and their Under- 
 ftanding. 
 
 Your Arms you mould not ftretch out 
 fide-ways, above half a Foot from the Trunk 
 of your Body : You will otherwife throw 
 your Gefture quite out of your Sight, unlefs 
 you turn your Head alfo afide to purfue it, 
 which would be very ridiculous. 
 
 In Swearing, Atteftation, or taking any fo- 
 lemn Vow or Oath, you muft raife your Hand. 
 An Exclamation requires the fameAction : But 
 fo that the Gefture may not only anfwer the 
 Pronunciation, or Utterance, but both the Na- 
 ture of the Thing, and the Meaning of the 
 Words. In public Speeches, Orations, and Ser- 
 mons, it is true your Hands ought not to be 
 always in Motion, a Vice which was once call'd 
 thzBabbling of theHands -, and, perhaps, it may 
 reach fome Characters, and Speeches in Plays ; 
 but I am of Opinion, that the Hands in Acting 
 ought very feldom to be wholly quiefcenr, and 
 that if we had the Art of the Pantomimes, of 
 H 4 exprefling 
 
io4 The HI STORY of 
 
 exprefling Things fo clearly with their Hands, 
 as to make the Geftures fupply Words, the 
 joining thefe fignificant Actions to the Words 
 and PaiTions juftly drawn by the Poet, would 
 be no contemptible Grace in the Player, and 
 render the Diverfion infinitely more entertain- 
 ing, than it is at prefent. For indeed ABion 
 is the Bufinefs of the Stage, and an Error is 
 more pardonable on the right, than the wrong 
 Side. 
 
 There are fome ABions or Geftures, which 
 you muft never make ufe of in Tragedy, any 
 more than in Pleading, or Sermons, they be- 
 ing low, and fitter forComedy or Burlefque En- 
 tertainments. Thus you muft not put .your- 
 felf into the Pofture of one bending a Bow, pre- 
 fenting a Mnfquet y or playing on any Muiical 
 Jnftrument, as if you had it in your Hands. 
 
 You muft never imitate any lewd, obfeene 
 or indecent Poftures, let your Difcourfe be on 
 the Debaucheries of the Age, or any Thing of 
 that Nature, which the Defcription of an An- 
 thony and Verm might require our Difcourfe 
 of. ' 
 
 When you fpeak in a Profopopaia, a Figure 
 by which you introduce any Thing or Perfon 
 fpeaking, you muft be fure to ufe fuch Actions 
 only, as are proper for the Character that you 
 fpeak for. I can't remember at prefent one in 
 Tragedy; but in Comedy Melantha> when (he 
 fpeaks for a Man, and anfwers him in her 
 own Perfon, may give you fome Image of 
 
 it. 
 
the Englifh Stage. 105 
 
 it. But thefe feldcm happen in Plays, and in 
 Orations not very frequently. 
 
 Thus I have gone through the Art of Action 
 or Gefture, which tho"* I have directed it chiefly 
 For the Stage, and there principally forTrage- 
 dy, yet the Bar^ and the Pulpit may learn 
 fome Ltfibns from what I have laid, that 
 would be of mighty ufe to make their Plead- 
 ing and Sermons of more Force and Grace : 
 But, I think, the Pulpit chiefly has need of 
 this Doctrine, becaufe that converfes more 
 with the Paffions, than the Bar, and treats 
 of more fnblime Subjects, meritorious of all 
 the Beauty and Solemnity of Action. I am 
 perfuaded, that if ourClergy would apply them- 
 felves more to this Art, what they preach 
 would be more efficacious, and themfelves more 
 refpected ; nay, have a greater Awe on their 
 Auditors. But then it muft be confefs'd, it is 
 next to impofTible for them to attain this Per- 
 fection, while that Cuftom prevails of read- 
 ing of Sermons, which no Clergy in the World 
 do but thofe of the Church of England. For 
 while they read, they are not perfect enough 
 in what they deliver, to give it its proper Ac- 
 tion and Emphafis, either in Pronunciation or 
 Gefture. But the Tatler has handled this 
 Particular very well j and if what he has faid 
 will have no Influence upon them, it will be 
 much in vain for me to attempt it. 
 
 The Comedians, I fear, may* take it amifs, 
 that I have had little or no Regard to them in 
 
 thefe 
 
106 The HISTORY of 
 
 thefe Rules. But, I muft confefs, tho' I have at- 
 tempted two or three Comical Parts, which the 
 Indulgence of the Town to an old Fellow has 
 given me fome Applaufe for; yet Tragedy is, 
 and has always been, my Delighr. Befides, as 
 fome have obierv'd, that Comedy is lefs diffi- 
 cult in the Writing; fo I am apt to believe, it 
 is much eafier in the Acting ; not that a good 
 Comedian is to be made by every one that at- 
 temps it, but we have had, almoft ever fince 
 I knew the Stage, more and better Comedians^ 
 than Tragedians ; as we have better Comedies 
 than Tragedies writ in our Language, as the 
 Cri ticks and knowing Judges tell us. But be- 
 ing willing to raife Tragedies from their prefent 
 Neglect, to the Efteem they had in the moft 
 polite Nation that ever Europe knew, I have 
 endeavour'd to contribute my Part towards 
 the ifnproving of the Reprefentation, which 
 has a mighty Influence on the Succefs and 
 Efteem of any Thing of this Nature. 
 
 We will now proceed to the other Duty of 
 a Player, which is the Art of Speaking ; which, 
 tho' much theleaft coniiderable, yet, accord- 
 ing to our modern Tragedies, I mean thofe, 
 •which have been beft receiv'd, is of moft 
 Ufe. For thofe Poets have very erroneously 
 apply 'd themfelves to write more what re- 
 quires ju ft Speaking, than juft Acting: And 
 our Players, generally fpeaking, fall very much 
 fhort of that Excellence, ev'n in this which they 
 ought to aim or arrive at; which but too plainly 
 
 proves 
 
the Englifli Stage. 107 
 
 Proves what Rofeneraus defcribes An Airy 
 
 of 'Children , little Yafes, they cry out on the Top 
 of the Queflion^ and are mofl tyrannically 
 clap t for t ; thefe are now the Fajhion, and Jo 
 berattle the common Stages (fo they call 'em) 
 that many wearing Rapiers are afraid of 
 Goo/e-^uillsj and dare Jcarce come thither. And 
 tho' what I have before quoted from Ham- 
 let (in this Account of the Actor's Action 
 and Behaviour) does happily exprefs the Soul 
 and Art of Acting, which Shake/pear has drawn, 
 the compleat Art ofGefture in Miniature in the 
 quoted Speech, yet all the Directions, which 
 he gives, relate (except one Line) wholly to 
 Speaking. 
 
 Hamlet. " Speak the Speech, I pray 
 <c you, as I pronounced it, trippingly on the 
 <£ Tongue. But if you mouth it, as many of 
 ci our Players do, I had as lieve the Town- 
 " Cryer had fpoke my Lines. Nor do not 
 " faw the Air too much with your Hand thus, 
 '* but ufe all gently : For in the very Torrent, 
 '< Tempefl, and I may fay the Whirlwind of Paf- 
 ct fon, you mujl acquire and beget aTemperance, 
 1 ' that may give it Smoothne/s. Oh ! it of- 
 " fends me to the Soul to fee a robuftous, per- 
 <{ riwig-pated Fellow tear a Paffion to Tat- 
 " ters, to very Rags, to fplit the Ears of the 
 " Groundlings, who for the moft part are 
 " capable of nothing but inexplicable dumb 
 ct Shows and Noife. I could have fuch a Fel- 
 " low whipt for o'erdoing Termagant : It out- 
 
 " Herod's 
 
io8 Ihe HISTORY of 
 
 M Herod's Herod. Pray you avoid it Be 
 
 " not too tame neither, but let your own 
 *' Difcretion be your Tutor. Suit the Ac- 
 <c tion to the Word, the Word to the Action, 
 <{ with this fpecial Obfervance, that you o'er- 
 <c top not the Modefty of Nature. For any 
 <c thing To overdone is from the Purpofe of 
 " Playing, whole End, both at the firft and 
 " now, was and is to hold as 'twere the Mir- 
 c< ror up to Nature ; to (hew Virtue her own 
 " Feature; fcorn her own Image, and the 
 " very Age and Body of the Time, his Form 
 u and PrerTure. Now this over-done, or come 
 " tardy oft", tho' it make the Unskilful laugh, 
 " cannot but make the Judicious grieve: The 
 " Cenfure of which One, mufl in your Allow- 
 ct ance derfwaya WholeTheatre of others. 
 " Oh ! there be Players, that I have feen play, 
 ct and heard others praife, and that highly, 
 " (not to fpeak it prophanely) that neither hav- 
 V ing the Accent of Chriftians, nor the Gait of 
 " Chriftian, Pagan, or Norman, have fo ftrut- 
 " ted and bellow d, that I have thought J ome of 
 u Nature's Journey-Men had made Men, and 
 " not made them well, they imitated Humanity 
 " fo abominably. 
 
 Player. " I hope we have reformed that in- 
 '' differently with us, Sir. 
 
 Ham. " Oh ! reform it altogether. And let 
 " thofe, who play the Clowns, fpeak no more 
 " than is let down for 'em ; for there be of 
 " them, who will themfelves laugh, to fet 
 
 on 
 
the Englifh Stage. 109 
 
 cc on fome Quantity of barren Spectators to 
 <c lau2,h too j tho' in the mean Time, fome ne- 
 " ce&ry Queftion of the Play be then to be 
 <£ confioer'd : Thai's villainous, and mews a 
 <c mofl pitiful Ambition in the Fool that ufes it."- 
 If wc fh'.uld confider and weigh thefe Dire- 
 ctions well, I am perfuaded they are fuffi- 
 cient to inftruct a youngPlayer in all the Beau- 
 ties of Utter LtKce> and to correct all the Errors 
 he might, for want of the Art of Speaking, 
 have incurr'd. By pronouncing it trippingly 
 on the 'Tongue, he means a clear and difem- 
 barrafs'd Pronunciation, fuch as is agreeable 
 to Nature and the SubjecT: on which he fpeaks. 
 His telling the Actor, that he had as lieve the 
 Town-Cryer mould fpeak his Lines, as one 
 that mouth'd them, is very juft ; for if Noife 
 were an Excellence, I know not who would 
 bear away the Palm, the Cryer, or the Player; 
 I'm fure theTown-Cryer would be ltfs faulty; 
 his Buiinels requiring Noife. Nor do not faw 
 the Air with your Rand thus, but ufe all Gen - 
 T ly : This is the onlyPrecept ofAction, which 
 is extremely juft, and agreeable to the No- 
 tions of all, that I have met with on my full 
 Enquiry among my learned Friends, who 
 have read all that has been wrote upon Action, 
 and who reckon rude and boijlerous Geftures 
 among the faulty : Art always directing a mo- 
 derate and gentle Motion, which. Shake/pear 
 expreffes by ufe all gently. Befides, this /aw- 
 ing of the Air, expreffes one who is very much 
 at a Lofs how to dipofe of his Hands, but 
 
 know- 
 
no The HISTORY of 
 
 knowing that they mould have fome Motion, 
 gives them an aukward Violence. The next 
 
 Obfervation is extremely mafterly. For 
 
 in the very Torrent, Tempest, and 1 may 
 ■fay the Whirlwind of Pafljon, you muft acquire 
 and get a Temperance, that may give it 
 Smoothness. I remember, among many, 
 an Inftance in the Madnefs of Alexander 
 the Great, irt Lee's Play. Mr. Goodman al- 
 ways went through it with all the Force 
 the Part requir'd, and yet made not half the 
 Noife as fome who fucceeded him; who 
 were fure to bellow it out in fuch a man- 
 ner, that their Voice would fail them before 
 the End, and lead them to fuch a languid 
 and ennervate Hoarfenefs, as entirely wanted 
 that agreeable Smoothnef, which Shakefpear 
 requires, and which is the Perfection of beau- 
 tiful Speaking ; for to have a juft Heat, and 
 Loudneft, and yet a Smoothnefs, is all that 
 can be dehr'd. O ! it offends me to the Soul, 
 
 he goes on. Methinks fome of our young 
 
 Gentlemen, who value themlelves for great 
 Players, nay, and Judges too of the Drama, 
 fet up for Critics, and who cenfure and re- 
 ceive or reject Plays, mould be afham'd of 
 themfelves, when they read this in Shakefpear, 
 whofe Authority they feem fo fond on other 
 Occafions. 
 
 CHAP. 
 
the Englifli Stage. hi 
 
 CHAP. VII. 
 
 Some farther Memoirs of Nell Guyn. 
 
 ELLENGUYN, or Qn iN,*as^. Wood 
 calls her ; was born of obfcure Parents ; 
 and, as it is written by the Author of her Life, 
 in a Cellar, in the Cole-Yard in Drury-Lane. 
 Some reported, that a Battalion of Soldiers 
 begot her, and that her Mother died Drunk 
 with Brandy in a Common-Sewer. They add, 
 that fhe was at firlt no better than a Cinder- 
 Wench ; but that fhe fold Oranges, when 
 firft taken notice of, is generally agreed on j 
 and then one Mr. Duncan, a Merchant, tak- 
 ing a Fancy to her (mart Wi% fine Shape, and 
 Foot, the leaft of any Woman's in England, 
 kept her about two Years, then recommended 
 her into the King's Play-houfe, where {lie be- 
 came an Actrefs in great Vogue, and Miftrefs 
 both to old Lacy and young Hart, two fa- 
 mous Players at that Time. In a Satire 
 afcribed to -j- Lord Rochefter, her firft Employ- 
 ment is faid to be Selling of Herrings; next was 
 expofed by Madam Rofs, a noted Procurefs, 
 co thofe who would give half a Crown; laftly 
 took her Degrees in the Play-houfe ; where, 
 it is reported, this Lord himfelf, as alfo the 
 
 * Fafti. Vol. 2. p. 154. See Capt. Smith's Court of Venus, 8vo. 
 17 16. Vol. 1. in her Life. 
 
 f State Poems, 2d Vol. p. 193. 
 
 Duke 
 
us The HISTORY of 
 
 Duke of Buckingham, paid their AddrefTes to her. 
 She is mentioned to have come into the Royal 
 Company of Comedians in Drury-Lane, a few 
 Years after the firft Opening of that Houfe, in 
 1663. * And the Parts (he acted in fome of 
 Mr. Drydens Plays, Sir Robert Howard's, and 
 the Earl of Orrery's, are alfo diftinguifhed. 
 At length, by her fine Dancing, fhe is laid to 
 have won her Sovereign's Heart, and fo rofe to 
 be one of his principal Ladies of Pleafure, in 
 fpite of all the Charms which Cleveland, Portf- 
 mouth, or Mifs Davis could exert. There 
 are many Comical Paffages reported of 
 Nell Guyn ; fhe being of a Gay, Frolickfome, 
 and Humorous Dilpofition ; but fome are a lit- 
 tle too loofe, and others a little too long to be 
 here inferred. This Story may however perhaps- 
 beexcufed;: That having once by an unlucky 
 Run of ill Luck at Gaming, loft allher Money, 
 and run in Debt with Sir John Germain, he 
 took the Advantage of making fuch a Propo- 
 fal for the eafy Payment thereof, as may be 
 well guefled at, by herAnfwer, when fhe replied, 
 with equal Smartnefs and Fidelity to her Roy- 
 al Keeper, That truly, She was no fuch Sportf- 
 woman, as to lay the Dog where the Deer 
 Jhould lie. . -f Many Sharp Satires were 
 
 * See J. Dowries' s Rofcius Anglican, or Hill of the Stage. 8vo. 
 1708. p. 2. 
 
 -f- See the Duke of Norfolk's Charge againft Mary his Dutche/s ; 
 for Adultery with Sir J. Germain, with the Dutcbefs's Anfwer, 
 Fol. 1692 
 
 written 
 
the Englifh Stage. 113 
 
 written on her ; rather through Envy at her 
 fudden Advancement from fuch a mean Origin, 
 than any Unworthinefs in her of the Station to 
 which (he was advanced. One thereof is af- 
 cribed to Sir George Etheridge, in Dryden's 
 Mifcellanies ; of which fomeUfe has here been 
 made. And the Lord Shaftesbury has this Re- 
 flection, in his Speech Anno 1680, upon the 
 King's Concubines in General. c< A Wile 
 " Prince, when he hath need of his People, 
 " will rather part with his Family and Coun- 
 * £ cillors, than difpleafe his Friends for them. 
 cc This Noble Lord near me, hath found 
 <c fault with that Precedent which he faid I 
 cc offered to your Lordfhips concerning the 
 <c Chargeable Ladies at Court. I remember 
 <e no fuch Thing I faid : But if I muft fpeak of 
 tC them, I (hall fay, as the Prophet did to 
 <{ King Saul-, What means the Bleating of this 
 " Kind of Cattle ? And I hope the King will 
 a make the fame Kind of Anfwer : That he 
 cC preferves them from Sacrifice ; and means to 
 c< deliver them up to pleafe the People. For 
 <£ there muft be a Change : We muft neither 
 «• have Popifh Favourites, nor Popifh MiftrefTes 
 <c nor Popifh Councillors at Court ; nor any 
 il New Convert. What I fpoke was about 
 <c another Lady, that belongs not to the Court ; 
 " but, like Sempronia in Confpiracy, Catiline's 
 ic does more Mifchief than Cethegus,"* Yet 
 
 * Gapt. Smith's Cturtai Venus, &c. as above, 
 
 I that 
 
H4- 'the HISTORY of 
 
 that any of this was meant leaft againft Nell 
 Guyn is manifeft: For (he troubled not her 
 Head with Religion, and was no Popim Mif- 
 trefs-, nor with Politicks, and did noMifchief: 
 And though me might be alike charge- 
 able with the reft to his Majefty, neverthe- 
 lefs, as me had more Spirit, Wit, and Pleafan- 
 try ; fo had (he morejuftice, Charity, and Ge- 
 nerofity in her, than all the King's other Mif- 
 trelTes. The haughty and imperious Air, (he 
 left to them ; hers was free and degagee ; which 
 rendered her more amiable becauie lefs awful. 
 There is a Picture of her in being, which was 
 taken by Sir Peter Lely ; but one Copy of it in 
 Mezzotinto, does not exprefs that agreeable 
 Vivacity which brightened every Feature. His 
 Majefty had Iftue by her, Charles, (urnamed 
 Beauclerc,* born about the Middle of May, 
 1670, who was created Earl of Bur ford, and 
 afterwards Duke of St. Albans; for whofe 
 Uie, hbMother is faid to have bought Colonel 
 Richard higoldsbys Eftate at Lethenborough in 
 Buckinghamjhire. -f She had alfo by his Ma- 
 jefty another Son, named James, born about 
 Chrijlmas-Day 1671, who died in France a- 
 bout Michaelmas 1680. As for herfelf, (he di- 
 ed at her Houfe in Pall-Mail, in 169 1, and 
 was pompouily interred in the Pari(h Church 
 of St. Martin's in the Fields, where Dr. Tho- 
 mas Tenijon, then Vicar thereof (and late Arch- 
 
 * DugdalesBaron. and Athen. Oxon. in Fafti. V. 2 Fol. 154. 
 •f Athen. O.x on. in Fafti. Vol. 77. 
 
 bifhop 
 
the Englifh Stage. 115 
 
 bifhop of Canterbury) preached her Funeral 
 Sermon, or a Panegyrick rather upon her and 
 her Profeffion, as fome thought it, giving a 
 more mild and favourable Character offucha 
 Woman than was then deemed to become his 
 Cloth. This Sermon the Earl oijerfey, who 
 wanted to prefer Dr. Scot, of St. Giles's object- 
 ed to Queen Mary, againft her preferring Dr. 
 Tenifon to the See of Lincoln j which, a few 
 Weeks after he preached it, became vacant by 
 the Death of Dr. Thomas Barlow ; and had 
 probably loft it him, had not her Majefly con^ 
 ceived a very fteddy Opinion of his Deferts; 
 when me anfwered, It was a Sign that this 
 poor unfortunate Woman died -penitent : For if 
 I can read a Man's Heart through his Locks, 
 had fie not made a truly pious andChriftian End, 
 the DoBor could never have been induced tofpeak 
 well of her. \ Among her Donations, one was, 
 a Sum of Money for a weekly Entertainment 
 of the Ringers at St. Martin's aforefaid; which 
 they enjoy to this Day. There is a Pamphlet, 
 entitled, An Account of theT'ragedy of old Madam 
 Quyn drowned near the Neat-Houfes, printed 
 in Quarto 1679. Whether the Mother or 
 any other Relation of Nell Guyn, I know not. 
 Wefhall conclude this Chapter with the fol- 
 lowing Letter. 
 
 f The Life of Dr. Tenifon Octavo p. 20. 
 
 I 2 To 
 
n6 TheHISTOR Y of 
 
 To the Author of the Hijiory of 
 the Stage. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 THAT excellent Actor, Mr. Edward 
 Kynafton, was well defended. 
 
 The Kynajlons were anciently poflefled of a 
 genteel Eftate at Oteley in Shropjhire. 
 
 Mr. Kynafton, to whom we have more im- 
 mediate Relation, acquired a handfome For- 
 tune by the Stage. He left an only Son, whom 
 he bred a Mercer. He liv'd in Covent-Garden y 
 greatly improved his Patrimony, and in that 
 Parifh both Father and Son lie interr'd. 
 
 Mr. Kynafton, the Merce,r, left likewife an 
 only Son, whom he bred a Clergyman, who 
 by Means of his Father's dying inteftate, and 
 a lucky Marriage 3 was enabled to purchafe 
 the Impropriation of Aldgate. 
 
 He looks upon himfelf as the Top of his Fa- 
 mily, and therefore thinks it beneath him to 
 give any Account of it. But, 
 
 Survey the Globe, and ev'ry where you'll find, 
 'Pride and Prunella both in one conjoin'd. 
 
 You may, Sir, depend on the Truth of thefc 
 Particulars, 
 
 1 am 9 &c. 
 
 WUH Coffee-Houfe, Ph IL AL E T H ES. 
 
 Aug. i. 1736. 
 
 The 
 
the Englifli Stage. 117 
 
 CHAP. VIII. 
 
 The Opening of the New Theatre in the Hay-Mar- 
 ket. Death of Mr. Betterton and Mrs. Barry. 
 
 WE now come to give an Account of 
 another Stage Revolution, which is the 
 Removal of the Lincoln s-Inn-Fields Compa- 
 ny to a New Theatre erected for them in the 
 Hay-Market, which was opened 1705, with 
 the following Prologue, written by Sir Samuel 
 Garth, and fpoken by Mrs. Bracegirdle, 
 viz. 
 
 Such was our Builder's Art, that foon as nam'd, 
 This Fabric, like the Infant-World, was fram'd. 
 The Architect muft on dull Order wait, 
 But 'tis the Poet only can create.* 
 Noneelfe, at Pleafure,can Duration give: 
 "When Marble faiis, the Mufes Structures live. 
 The Cyprian Fane is now no longer feen, 
 Tho' facred to the Name of Love's fair Queen. 
 Ev'n Athens fcarce in pompous Ruin Hands, 
 Tho' finifh'd by the learn'd Minerva's Hands. 
 More fure Prefages from thefe Walls we find, 
 By Beauty founded, and by Wit defign'd. 
 In the good Age of ghoftly Ignorance, 
 How did Cathedrals rife, and Zeal advance ! 
 
 * The Builder of this Fabric Sir John Vanbrugb, was both 
 Poet and Architect. 
 
 fLady Harriot Godofyhin, one of the Duke of Ma /borough's 
 Daughters, 
 
 I 3 The 
 
n8 The HI STORY of 
 
 The merry Monks faid Orifons at Eafe •, 
 Large were their Meals, and light their Penances: 
 Pardon for Sins was purchas'd with Eftates, 
 And none but Rogues in Rags dy'd Reprobates. 
 But now that pious Pegeantry's no more, 
 And Stages thrive, as Churches did before. 
 Your own Magnificence you here furvey, ~\ 
 
 Majeftick Columns lland, where Dunghills lay,V 
 And Cars triumphal rife from Carts of Hay. J 
 Swains here are taught to hope, and Nymphs to fear, 
 And b\gAlmanzor\ Fighr,*mock — Blenheim* $ here. 
 Defcending Goddeffes adorn our Scenes, 
 And quit their bright Abodes for gilt Machines. 
 Shou'd Jove, for this fair Circle, leave his Throne, 
 He'd meet a Lighning fiercer than his own. 
 Tho' to the Sun his tow'ring Eagles rife, 
 They fcarce could bear the Luftre of thefe Eyes. 
 
 Tho' the Revolters feemed to fet up their 
 iStandard here with great Satisfaction, and con- 
 ftinued their Refidence for about four Years,yet 
 t was but in a Kind of fluctuating State ; for 
 everal of them were frequently deferring from 
 one Company to another backwards and for- 
 wards from each of the fubfifting Theatres. 
 
 To repair fome very great Lofles, which Mr. 
 Betterton had fuftained, in the Years 1706, 
 1 707, and 1708 fucceflively, on Tburfday the 
 
 * Almanv>r and Almatide y Characters in Mr. Drydetis 
 Conqueft of Granada. 
 
 7th 
 
the Engli£h Stage. 119 
 
 7th of April 1709 the celebrated Comedy of 
 Love for Loi^was acted at Drury-Lane Theatre 
 for his Benefit. Thofe excellent Players Mrs. 
 Barry, Mrs. Bracegirdle, and Mr. Dogget, (then 
 not concerned in the Houfe) acted on this Oc- 
 cafion. There had not been known fo great 
 a Concourfe of Perfons of Diftinclion, as at 
 that Time : The Stage itfelf was covered with 
 Gentlemen and Ladies, and when the Curtain 
 was drawn up, it difcovered even there a very 
 fplendid Audience. This unnufual Encou- 
 ragement, which was given to a Play, for 
 the Advantage of fo great an Actor, gave an 
 undeniable Inftance, that the true Relifh for 
 manly Entertainment and rational Pleafures 
 was not then wholly loft. All the Parts were 
 acted to Perfection ; the Actors were care- 
 ful of their Carriage, and no one was guilty 
 of the Affectation to infert Witticifms of his 
 own, but a due Refpect was had to the Au- 
 dience, for encouraging this admirable Player. 
 It was not then doubted but Plays would re- 
 vive, and take their ufual Place in the Opinion 
 of Perfons of Wit and Merit, and not degene- 
 rate into an Apoftacy in Favour of Drejs and 
 Sound. 
 
 We mud not omit to obferve farther, 
 that a Prologue written by Mr. Congreve 
 was, on this Occafion, fpoken by Mrs. 
 Bracegirdle ; and an Epilogue, written by Mr. 
 Rowe, was fpoken by Mrs. Barry. The for- 
 mer the Public were, not obliged with 
 
 I 4 but 
 
120 The HISTORY of 
 
 but the latter was printed and difperfed in the 
 Home the very Night it was fpoken. It was 
 as follows, viz. 
 
 AS fome brave Knight who once with Spear and 
 Shield, 
 Had fought Renown in a many a well fought Field, 
 But now no more with facred Fame infpir'd, 
 Was to a peaceful Hermitage retir'd •, 
 There, if by Chance difalVrous Tales he hears, 
 Of Matrons Wrongs and Captive Virgins Tears, 
 He feels foft Pity urge his gen'rous Bread, 
 And vows once more to fuccour the Diftreft : 
 Buckled in Mail he fallies on the Plain, 
 And turns him to the Feats of Arms again. 
 
 So we, to former Leagues of Friendfhip true,} 
 Have bid once more our peaceful Homes adieu, > 
 To aid old Thomas, and to pleafure you. J 
 
 Like Errant Damfels boldly we engage, 
 Arm'd, as you fee, for the defencelefs Stage. 
 Time was, when this good Man no Help did lack, 
 And fcorn'd that any She mould hold his Back. 
 But now, fo Age and Frailty have ordain'd, 
 By two at once he's fore'd to be fuftain'd.* 
 You fee, what failing Nature brings Man to, ") 
 And yet let none infult ; for aught we know, > 
 She may not wear fo well with fome of you : J 
 Tho' old, you find his Strength is not clean paft, 
 But true as Steel, he's Mettle to thelaft. 
 
 * Mrs. Barry flood on his Right, and Mrs. Braeegbdle on 
 his Left Hand. 
 
 If 
 
the Englifli Stage. 121 
 
 If better he perform'd in Days of Yore, ~) 
 
 Yet now he gives you all that's in his Pow'r ; > 
 What can the youngeft of you all do more ? J 
 What he has been, tho' prefent Praife be dumb,^ 
 Shall haply be a Theme in Times to come, S. 
 
 As now we talk of Rofcius and of Rome. j 
 
 Had you with-held your Favours on this Night, 
 Old Shake/pear's Ghoft had ris'n to do him Right : 
 With Indignation had you feen him frown, 
 Upon a worthlefs, witlefs, taftelefs Town -, 
 Griev'd and repining you had heard him fay, 
 Why are my famous Labous caft away ? 
 Why did I only write, what only he could play ? 
 But fince, like Friends to Wit, thus throng'd you 
 
 meet, 
 Go on and make the gen'rous Work complete ; 
 Be true to Merit, and ftill own his Caufe, 
 Find fomething for him more than bare Applaufe. 
 In juft Remembrance of your Pleafures paft, 
 Be kind, and give him a Difcharge at laft. 
 In Peace and Eafe Life's Remnant let him wear, 
 And hang his Confecrated Buskin here. 
 
 In the Month of September ioWovimg^Mr.Bet- 
 terton performed thePart oiHamkt; and in him 
 every Spectator beheld the Force of Action in 
 Perfection : He behaved himfelf fo well, that 
 though above Seventy, he acted Youth j and by 
 the prevalent Power of proper Manner, Ge{- 
 ture,andVoice,appeared through the whole-Dra. 
 ma a young Man of great Expectation, Vivaci- 
 ty, 
 
122 The HISTORT of 
 
 ty, and Enterprize. The Soliloquy where he be- 
 gan the celebrated Sentence of — To be, or not 
 to be j the Expojlulation where he explains 
 with his Mother in her Clofet ; the noble Ar- 
 dour, after feeing his Father s Ghoft, and his 
 generous Diftrefs for the Death of Ophelia; 
 are each of them Cirrcumftances which dwell 
 ftrongly upon the Minds of the Audience, and 
 would certainly affect their Behaviour on any 
 parallel Occafions in their own Lives. 
 
 Such were the properOrnaments,with which 
 this great Man represented Virtue on the Stage. 
 
 But yet the indolent,emafculating Sing-Song 
 of 7/tf/y,had gained fo much Ground mEngland, 
 that Mr. Betterton, weary of the Fatigues and 
 Toil of Theatrical-Government, delivered his 
 Company over to Mr Vanbrugh\ new Licence. 
 But they again giving way to the Operas, 
 the Companies were once more united 
 in Drury-Lane, and the Operas, con- 
 fined to the Hay-Market, However, Revolu- 
 tions became fo frequent in this Dramatic 
 State, that Mr. Swinny got the chief Players 
 over to him and the Opera-Houfe ; among 
 whom was Mr. Bet terton, who being very much 
 afflicted with the Gout, acted but feldom ; yet 
 at this Juncture, upon the Separation of the 
 Houfes, when Mufical Performances were con- 
 fined to 0tf<? Theatre,and Dramatic to the other, 
 the Britifi Enchanters ; or, No Magick 
 like Love, written by Lord Lanfdowne, was 
 brought on at the Queen's Theatre in the Hay- 
 Market > 17 10. Among the Dramatis Ferfona 
 
 of 
 
the Englifh Stage. 123 
 
 of this truly polite Englifh Opera, were (Men) 
 Mr. Betterton, Mr. Booth, Mr. Verbruggen, &c. 
 {Women) Mrs. Barry, Mrs. Bracegirdle, Mrs. 
 Porter, &c. 
 
 The fole Defign of this excellent Perfor- 
 mance was a Portraiture of the Virtues of the 
 immortal Queen Anne. The lajl Scene of it, re- 
 prefented the Queen (and all the triumphs of her 
 Majefty's Reign) 
 
 Surveying round her, with impartial Eyes, 
 Whom to protect, or whom fhe fhould chaftife. 
 Inev'ry Line of her aufpicious Face, 
 Soft Mercy fmil'd, adorn'd with ev'ry Grace. 
 Sure Hope of all who dire Oppreflion bear, 
 For all th'Opprefs'd become her inftant Care. 
 Nations, of Conqueft proud, fhe tam'd to free, 
 Denouncing War, prefenting Liberty ; 
 The Victor to the Vanquifh'd yields a Prize, 
 For in her Triumph, their Redemption lies. 
 Freedom and Peace for ravilh'd Fame fhe gave ; 
 Invades to blefs, and conquers but to fave. 
 So the Sun fcorches, and revives by turns, 
 Requiting with rich Metals, where he burns. 
 
 Taught by this great Example to bejuft, 
 Succeeding Kings fhall well fulfil their Truft ; 
 Difcord and War, and Tyranny fhall ceafe, 
 Andjarring Nations be compell'd to Peace ; 
 Princes and States, like Subjects, fhall agree, 
 To truft her Power, fafe in her Piety. 
 Great Britain's Glory was this Royal Dame, 
 From Stuart's Race fhe rofe,andytoz was her Name. 
 
 The 
 
124 The HlSTORTof 
 
 The chief Performers in this Opera, from 
 theirDeferts juftly gained an univerfalApplaufe ; 
 but the fame Year of its Reprefentation, de- 
 prived the World of Mr. Betterton, who died 
 fhortly after. His true Character follows, 
 viz. -f- 
 
 ' S U C H an Actor as Mr. Betterton 
 ought to be Recorded with the fame Re- 
 fpect as Rofcius among the Romans. The 
 greateft Orator has thought fit to quote his 
 Judgment, and celebrate his Life. Rofcius 
 was the Example to all that would form 
 themfelves into proper and winning Beha- 
 viour. His Action was fo well adapted to 
 the Sentiments he exprefled, that the Youth 
 of Rome thought they wanted only to be vir- 
 tuous to be as graceful in their Appearance as 
 Rofcius. The Imagination took a lovely Im- 
 preffion of what was great and good j and 
 they who never thought of fetting up for the 
 Art of Imitation, became themfelves ini- 
 mitable Characters. 
 
 * There is no human Invention fo aptly 
 calculated for the forming a free-born People 
 as that of a Theatre. Tul/y reports, That 
 the celebrated Player of whom I am fpeak> 
 ing, ufed frequently to fay, Ihe Perfection of 
 an ABor is only to become what he is doing. 
 Young Men, who are too unattentive to re- 
 ceive Lectures, arc irrefiflibly taken with Per- 
 
 f See, tht latkr. No. 167. 
 
 for- 
 
the Englifh Stage. 125 
 
 ' formances. Hence it is, that I extremly la- 
 : ment the little Relifh the Gentry of this Na- 
 ; tion have at prefent for the juft and noble 
 ; Reprefentations in fome of our Tragedies. 
 The Operas, which are of late introduced, 
 : can leave no Trace behind them that can be 
 of Service beyond the prefent Moment. To 
 fing and to dance are Accomplifhments ve- 
 ry few have any Thoughts of practifing ; but 
 to fpeak juftly and move gracefully, is what 
 every Man thinks he does perform, or wifhes 
 he did. 
 
 ' I have hardly a Notion, that any Perform- 
 er of Antiquity could furpafs the Action of 
 Mr. Betterton in any of the Occasions in 
 wLich he has appeared on our Stage. The 
 wonderful Agony which he appeared in, 
 when he examined the Circumftance of the 
 Handkerchief in Othello ; the Mixture of 
 Love that intruded upon his Mind upon the 
 innocent Anfwers Defdemona makes, betrayed 
 in his Gefture fuch a Variety and Viciffitude 
 of Paflions, as would admonifh a Man to 
 be afraid of his own Heart, and perfectly 
 convince him, that it is to ftab it, to admit 
 that worft of Daggers, Jealoufy. Whoever 
 reads in his Clofet this admirable Scene, will 
 find that he cannot, except he has as warm an 
 Imagination as Shake/pear himfelf, find any 
 but dry, incoherent and broken Sentences : 
 But a Reader that has feen Betterton act ir, 
 
 i obferves 
 
126 The HISTORY of 
 
 obferves there could not be a Word added ; 
 that longer Speeches had been unnatural, nay 
 impoflible, in Othello's Circumftances. The 
 charming PafTagein the fame Tragedy, where 
 he tells the Manner of winning the Affection 
 of his Miftrefs, was urged with (o moving 
 and graceful an Energy, that while I walked 
 in the Cloyfters, I thought of him with the 
 fame Concern as if I waited for the Remains 
 of a Perfon who had in real Life done all 
 that I had feen him represent. The Gloom 
 of the Place, and faint Lights before the Ce- 
 remony appeared, contributed to the melan- 
 choly Difpofition I was in j and I began to 
 be extreemly afflicted, that Brutus and Caf- 
 ^"whad any Difference; that Hot/pur's Gal- 
 lantry was fo unfortuante ; and that the Mirth 
 and good Humour of Falftqff could not ex- 
 empt him from the Grave. Nay, this Oc- 
 cafion in me, who look upon the Diftinclions 
 amongft Men to be meerly fcenical, raifed 
 Reflections upon the Emptinefs of all hu- 
 man Perfection and Greatnefs in general ; 
 and I could but regret, that the facred Heads 
 which lie buried in the Neighbourhood of 
 this little Portion of Earth in which my 
 poor old Friend is depofited, are returned to 
 Duff as well he, and that there is no Differ- 
 ence in the Grave between the imaginary and 
 the real Monarch. This made me fay of 
 human Life it felf with Mackbcth : 
 
 To- 
 
the English Stage. 127 
 
 To-morrow, To-morrow, and To-morrow, 
 Creeps in a flealing Pace from Day to Day, 
 To the Iaft Moment of recording Time ! 
 And all your Yefterdays have lighted Fools 
 To the eternal Night ! Out, out Ihort Handle ! 
 Life's but a walking Shadow, a poor Player 
 That ftrutsand frets his Hour upon the Stage, 
 And then is heard no more. 
 
 Mr. Betterton was interred in the Cloyfter of 
 Wefiminjler- Abbey. 
 
 We are now to return to Mrs. Barry, who 
 did not long furvive him ; for fhe found fuch an 
 inward Decay, that (he was obliged to quit the 
 Stage above feven Years before (lie died, which 
 was on the 7thDay of November, 17 13. She was 
 interred at Afton, in the County of Middle/ex. 
 She had a Daughter by the celebrated John 
 Earl of Rochester y who by Will 1680, left her 
 an Annuity of 40 /. per Annum. She died at 
 about 13 Years of Age, and lies interred at the 
 fame Place. The Love-Letiers which we have 
 in Print by his Lord (hip, were all written to 
 Mrs. Barry 3 the firft of them opens thus, viz. 
 
 Madam, 
 
 SO much Wit and Beauty as you have, 
 fhould thinkof nothing lefs than doing Mi- 
 racles j and there cannot be a greater, than to 
 continue to love me: Affecting every thing 
 is mean, as loving Pleafure, and being fond, 
 where you find Merit; but to pick out the 
 wildeft, and moft fantaftical, odd Man, alive, 
 
 and 
 
i28 The HI STORY of 
 
 and to place your Kindnefs there, is an Act 
 fo brave and daring, as will fhew the Great- 
 nefs of your Spirit, and diftinguifh you in Love, 
 as you are in all things elfe, from Womankind. 
 
 On her being brought to Bed, he thus 
 
 compliments her " Your Safe Delivery has 
 
 delivered me too from Fears for your Sake, 
 which were, I'll promife you, as burdenfom 
 to me, as your great Belly could be to 
 you. Every thing has fallen out to my Willi, 
 for you are out of Danger, and the Child 
 is of the foft Sex I love." 'This Daugh- 
 ter was chriflened by her Mother s Name y 'Eliz- 
 abeth - y and he thus, in another Letter, exprefles 
 
 himfelf 5 '* I love Betty fo well, that you 
 
 need not apprehend any Neglect, from thofe I 
 employj and 1 hope very fhortly to reftore Her 
 to you a finerGirl,than ever." The wholeCourfe 
 of his Lordlhip's Letters to Mrs. Barry, are fo 
 elegantly polite, that every Reader muft be 
 charmed with them. They were fubjoined to 
 the Collection of his Poems (which contains the 
 Tragedy of Valentinian.) Printed in Twelves, 
 1714. 
 
 In the Church-yard of Acton, is the following 
 Memorial for Mrs. Barry \ viz. 
 
 Near this Place 
 
 Lies the Body of Elizabelh Barry, 
 
 Of the Parifh of St. Mary le Savoy, 
 
 Who departed this Life the 7th of Novem, 1713. 
 
 Aged $£ Years. 
 
the Englifli Stage. 129 
 
 Mem ot rt^ofMr. #1 lk s. 
 
 MR. Wilks was defcended from a very good 
 Family in Warwickfiire ; in which 
 County all his PredecefTors were born. His Fa- 
 ther, Edward Wilks, Efq; was obliged to leave 
 England through Misfortunes, and iome Friends 
 he had in Ireland procured him the Poft of be- 
 ing one of the Purfuivants to the Lord Lieute- 
 nant of that Kingdom. He had three Sons, Ed- 
 ward, Robert, and William. The Second of 
 which, our late excellent Comedian, was born 
 at a little Village c&Mz&Rathfarnam, near Dublin, 
 1665. He was bred up under Mr Secretary 
 Southwell, and had for fome Years a Seat in his 
 Office ; being an excellent Clerk, and wrote a 
 
 K fine 
 
i 3 o The HISTORY of 
 
 fine Hand. Upon the Breaking-out of King 
 James's, Wars in Ireland, Mr. WUks was for- 
 ced into the Army by Capt. Bourk, and was 
 exempted from Military Duty, being made 
 Clerk to the Camp. But the natural Propenfi- 
 tyofhis Genius was wholly turned towards the 
 Stage, and hearing fo much of the juft Praifes 
 of Mr. Bettertons Merit, he was noteafy till he 
 came over, and privately by a Stratagem efcap- 
 ed from his Military Clerkmip; 
 
 At his Arrival in England, he was indeed en- ' 
 tertained by Mr. Chrtftopher Rich ; but on no 
 higher Terms than fifteen Shillings per Wetk, 
 out of which he was to allow ten Shillings per 
 Month for learning to dance; 
 
 Mr. Harris was the Mailer of whom he 
 learnt; and at whofe School, after Mr. Wilks 
 had been above a Year in England, he faw a 
 young Gentlewoman of about 20 Years of Age, 
 with whom he fell in Love; This was Mrs. 
 Elizabeth Knapton, youngeft Daughter of Fer- 
 dinando Knapton Efq; Town-Clerk of South- 
 ampton, and Steward of thcNew Forejl. In due 
 Time (he brought Mr. Wilks a Son, who was 
 chriftened Robert. The Child was put to Nurfe, 
 and committed to the Guardianfhip of Mr; 
 Bowen the Player, upon Mr: Wilks\ Return 
 to Ireland, who took his Wife with him, upon 
 the following Occafion. 
 
 Mr. Afibury, Matter of the Dublin Theatre, 
 coming over to recruit his Stage, Mr. Bettertm 
 thinking Mr. Rich did not give Mx.JVilks fuffici- 
 ent Encouragement, efpecially fince he had now 
 
 an 
 
the Englifla Stage. 131 
 
 an increafing Family to provide for, earnestly 
 recommended Mr. Wilks to Mr. Afobury, as a 
 young Man of very growing Hopes, and deferv- 
 ing of Favours. From this Character given of 
 him, Mr. AJhbury contracted with Mr. Wilks 
 for 50/. a Year certain, and a Benefit-Play; 
 Upon thefe Terms was Mr. Rich deprived of 
 Mr. Wilks. But it was not long before he was 
 made fenfible of his Lofs, and forced to fend a 
 fpecial Meflenger to Ireland to regain him: 
 The Perfon deputed to go was Mr, Swinney, 
 who with great Privacy got Mr. Wilks and his 
 Wife back, after contracting to allow him 4 /. 
 per Week; the Duke of Ormond having if- 
 fued a Warrant that Mr. Wilks fhould not de- 
 part the Kingdom, fo much was he beloved in 
 Ireland. However, Mr. Rich was rightly ferv- 
 ed ; and Mr. Wilks but juftly rewarded. 
 
 Upon this, Mr. Wilks'?, dear Friend Mr. Far- 
 quhar left the Irifi Stage, and came over 
 with him, which was owing to a melancholy 
 Accident. 
 
 Mr. Farquhar was alfo extremely beloved in 
 Ireland, and had indeed the Advantage of a ve- 
 ry good Perfon* though his Voice was weak; 
 but as he never met with the lead: Repulfe from 
 the Audience in any of his Performances, he 
 was refolved to continue on the Stage, till forne- 
 thing better mould offer ; but this Refolution 
 was foon broke by an Accident, viz. 
 
 Mr. Farquhar being to play the Part of 
 Guyomar, (in the Indian Emperor) who kills 
 
 K 2 Vafi 
 
i 3 2 The HISTORY of 
 
 Vaf'quez (one of the SpanifJj Generals,) and for 
 getting to exchange his Sword for a Foyl in 
 the Engagement, he wounded his Brother Tra- 
 gedian, who acted Vafqiicz, very dangeroully ; 
 and tho' it proved not mortal, yet it fo (hocked 
 the natural Tendernefsof Mr. Farquhars Tem- 
 per, that it put a Period to his Acting ever after. 
 But in a fhort Time the Earl of Orrery , in Re- 
 gard to his particular Merit, gave him a Lieu- 
 tenancy in his Regiment then in Ireland. 
 
 Mr. Wilks, well knowing the Abilities of Mr. 
 Farquhar, after their Arrival in England, he 
 never ceafed his Importunities with him, till 
 he had prevailed on him to write a Play ; augur- 
 ing him that he would gain much more Re- 
 putation by writing for the Stage, than appear- 
 ing on it. 
 
 The King, in the ljland Princefs, was the 
 firft Part Mr. IVilks played at his Return to 
 England \ upon which Occalion he thus addreiT- 
 ed the Audience. 
 
 As a poor Stranger wreckt upon the Coafl, 
 
 With Fear and Wonder views the Dangers paft ; 
 
 So I, with dreadful Apprehenfions ftand, 
 
 And thank thofe Pow'rs that brought me fafe to 
 
 Land. 
 
 With Joy I view the fmiling Country o'er, 
 
 And find, kind Heav'ns ! an hofpitable Shore. 
 
 'Tis England This your Charities declare 
 
 But more the Charms to Brittjh Beauties there: 
 
 Bea- 
 
the Englifh Stage. 133 
 
 Beauties that celebrate this Ifle after, 
 
 They by their Smiles, as much as You by War 
 
 True Love, true Honour, I can't fail to play, 
 
 Such lively Patterns you before me lay. 
 
 Void of Offence, tho' not from Cenfure free, 
 
 I left a diftant Ifle too kind to me •, 
 
 Loaded with Favours I was forc'd away, 
 
 'Caufe I wou'd not accept, what I cou'd never pay. 
 
 There I cou'd pleafe i but here my Fame muft 
 
 end, 
 For hither none muft come to boaft, but mend. 
 Improvement muft be great, fince here I find 
 Precepts, Examples, and my Mafters kind*. 
 
 In the Year 1698, Mr. Farquhar, having ta- 
 ken Mr. Wilks's Advice, had a Comedy brought 
 upon the Stage, called Love and a Bottle. To 
 which there was a very humorous Prologue and 
 Epilogue, both written by Jo. Haynes, the lat- 
 ter fpoken by him in Mourning. Mr: Wilks had 
 not any Part in this Play ; but Mrs. Rogers 
 (of whom more hereafter) acted Luchida, a 
 Lady of confiderable Fortune, and Mr. Milk 
 Lovewell, her Gallant. 
 
 About this Time the Englifi Theatre was 
 not only peftered with Tumblers, and Rope- 
 Dancers from France, but likewife Dancing- 
 Mafters, and Dancing-Dogs j Shoals of Italian 
 Squallers were daily imported and the Drury- 
 Lane Company almoft broke. Upon this Oc- 
 
 * Thefe Verfes were by Mr. Farquhar. 
 
 K 3 calion 
 
i 3 4 lie HISTORY of 
 
 cafion it was, that the facetious Jo. Haynes com- 
 pofcd this Epilogue, and ("poke it in Mourning, 
 
 viz, 
 
 I Come not here your Poet's Fate to fee, ") 
 
 He, and his PJay, may both be damn'd for me j ■> 
 No, Royal Theatre, I come to mourn for Thee* j 
 And mud thefe Structures then untimely tall, 
 Whilfl: t'other Houfe (lands, and gets the Devil 
 
 and All ? 
 Mult flill kind Fortune thro' all Weathers fleer 'em, 
 And Beauties bloom there, 'fpite of Edax Rerum ? 
 Vivitur Ingenio \ Thatdamn'd Motto There, 
 Seduc'd me nrft to be a wicked Player f : 
 Hard Times indeed ; O Tempora ! O Adores ! 
 I know that Stage muft down, where not one Whore 
 
 is. 
 But can ye have the Hearts tho' — pray now fpeak, 
 After all our Services, to let us break ? 
 Ye cannot do't, unlefs the Devil's in ye : 
 What Art, what Merit, ha'n't we us'd to win ye ? 
 Firft, to divert ye with fome new French Strollers, 
 We brought ye Bona Seres Barba Colers. * 
 When their MaJe-Throats no longer drew your 
 
 Money, 
 We got y' an Eunuch Pipe, Signior Rompony. 
 That Beardlefs Songfter we cou'd ne'er make much 
 
 on, 
 The Females found a damn'd Blotch in his Scut- 
 cheon. 
 
 -f- Looks up at the Motto over the Stage in Drury-Lanc. 
 * Mimicks French Singing. 
 
 An 
 
z&Englifli Stage. 135 
 
 •An Italian now we've got of mighty Fame, 
 Don Sigifmondo Fide It --There's Mufick in his Name : 
 His Voice is like the Mufick of the Spheres •, 
 It fhou'd be Heav'nJy for the Price ft bears, \ 
 He's a handfome Fellow too, looks brisk and trim, 
 If he don't take you, then the Devil take him. 
 Befides, left our white Faces mayn't always delight 
 
 ye,_ 
 We've pick'd up Gipfies now, to pleafe, or fright ye. 
 
 Laftly, to make our Houfe more courtly mine, 
 As travel does the Man of Mode refine ; 
 To mend the Manners and coarfe Englifh Feeding, 
 They went to Ireland, to improve their Breeding: 
 Yet for all This, we {till are at a Lofs : 
 O Collier, Collier, Thou'ft frighted away Mifs Crofs. 
 She, to return our Foreigners Complaifance, 
 At Cupid's Call, has made a Trip to France. 
 Love's Fire-Arms here are fince not worth a Soufe ; 
 We've loft the only Touch -hole of our Houfe. 
 Lofing that Jewel, gave Us a fatal Blow : 
 Well, if thin Audiences muft Jo. Haynes una©! 
 Well, if 'tis decreed, nor can thy Fate, O Stage! 
 Refill the Fate of this obdurate Age, 
 I'll then grow wifer, leave orTplaying the Fool, 
 And hire this Play- Houfe for a Boar ding- School. 
 D'ye think theMaids won't be in a fweet Condition, 
 When they're under Jo. Haynesh grave Tuition •, 
 They'll have no Occafion then, I'm fure, to play, 
 They'll have fuch Comings-in, another Way. 
 
 f Twenty Pound per Night. 
 
 K 4 This 
 
136 The HISTORY of 
 
 This Epilogue was many times fpoken with 
 Univerfal Applaufe, not only to This, but feveral 
 other Plays, as a juft Rebuke of the vitiated 
 Tafle of the Town. And it might now be 
 revived with the greatefl Juftice, in oppofition 
 to our prefent Polite 7a/le J when nothing will 
 go down but Ballad-Operas and Mr. Lim's 
 Buffoonery. Such are our Stage Entertainments; 
 and what we are ftill to expect from the Thea- 
 tres of Bow-Street and Lincoln s-Inn-Fields. 
 
 Mr. FLayness Lafh on the Drury-Lane Actors, 
 who went to Ireland to learn Breeding, was le- 
 velled at Tbofe that accompanied Mr. fVilks 
 back, with Mr. Afobury, on the Occofion be- 
 fore mentioned, and a very juft; one, Want of 
 Encouragement. 
 
 Mr, Wilks's Son Robert, whom he left 
 under the Care of Mr Bowen y as has been men- 
 tioned, died an Infant. He had nine more Chil- 
 dren, who underwent the fame untimely Fate; 
 but one Daughter, whofe Name was Frances, 
 lived to be married to Capt. Price in the Eigh- 
 teenth Year of her Age. She unhappily died of 
 the Small Pox^ at her Father-in-Law's Houfe, 
 at Tiptry, near Colchefter in EJex, before fhe 
 was Twenty. And in one and the fame Year 
 Mr. Wilks had the Misfortune to lofe both his 
 Wife, and his only Child. 
 
 Mrs. Wilks was buried in the Parifti Church 
 of St. Paul Covent-Garden. There is erected, to 
 herdeferving Memory, a very handfome Monu- 
 ment, whereon is the underwritten Infcription, 
 viz-- Beneath 
 
the Englifh Stage. 137 
 
 Beneath this Marble, 
 LksElizabethWilks, late Wife of Robert Wilks, 
 Of thisParifh, Gent. 
 The Purity of her Mind, 
 Which appeared in all theDuties of a virtuous Life, 
 Made her a good Wife, 
 Daughter, Mother, and Friend. 
 Her Affection was, like her Piety, 
 Conftant, as unfeigned, to her laft Moment. 
 In Memory of her Virtues, 
 This was erected by her Husband. 
 She died the 2 ift Day of March, 17 13- 14, 
 In the 42 d Year of her Age, 
 
 Mr. JVilks was' a fecond Time married "to 
 Mrs; Mary Fell, Relict of Charles Fell, Efq; of 
 Swarthmore in Lancajhire, whom, fuitable to 
 her Deferts, he conftituted his fole Execu- 
 trix. 
 
 This excellent Comedian died at his own 
 Ho\ife,inBow-Street Covent-Garden^on the 27th 
 Day of September I732,and was very genteelly 
 interred at his Parifh Church on the 4th Day 
 of OBober. Here follows a true Copy of 
 his Laft Will and Teftament, viz. 
 
i 3 8 The HISTORY of 
 
 A true Copy of the Lafl Will and 
 Te/lame7it ^Robert Wilks, Eiq; 
 
 IN the Name of God, Amen. I Robert Wilks, 
 of the Parifh of St. Paul Cogent-Garden , 
 in the County of Middle/ex, Gent, being found 
 and perfect in rny Mind and Memory, and 
 therefore willing at this Time to difpofe my 
 Affairs in the beft and moll: prudent Manner 
 I am able, do make and conftitute this my laft 
 Will and Teftament in Manner and Form 
 following. 
 
 Fir fly I refign my Soul to Almighty God 
 my Creator, and hope (through his Mercy) 
 Forgivenefs of my Sins and eternal Life. I 
 commit my Body to the Earth, and defire it 
 may be decently interred at the Difcretion of 
 my Executrix herein after named. And as to 
 all the worldly Eftate of which I (hall die pof- 
 felTed, I difpofe the fame in Manner follow- 
 ing. 
 
 Imprimis, I Will that all my Debts and Fu - 
 neral Expences (hall be fully paid and fatisfied 
 by my Executrix herein after named. 
 
 Item, I do hereby give, devife, and bequeath 
 all my Right, Title, and Intereft in the Patent, 
 granted by his prefent Majefty King GEORGE 
 the Second, to Robert Wilks, Colley Cibber, and 
 Barton Booth, their Executors, Adminiftrators, 
 
 and 
 
the Englifti Stage. 139 
 
 and Affigns, for the Term of One and Twen- 
 ty Years, to commence from the ift Day of 
 September, 1732, to my dear Wife Mary 
 Wilks. 
 
 And I do likewifegive, devife, and bequeath, 
 
 my Houfe fituate in Bow-Street^ Covent-Gar- 
 
 den, wherein I now dwell, together with the 
 
 Back-houfe, Brew-houfe, Laundry, and all the 
 
 Appurtenances thereunto belonging,with all my 
 
 Right,Title,andInterefttherein; andalfo allmy 
 
 Houfhold Goods and Furniture, of whatNature 
 
 or Kind foever ; and alfo all my Jewels, Plate, 
 
 Linnen, Bedding, and perfonal Eftate whatfo- 
 
 ever, to my dear Wife Mary Wilks. And I 
 
 do hereby recommend it to my faid Wife, to 
 
 leave to my Daughter-in-law Mary-Frances 
 
 Shaw (if me be living at the Time cf her De- 
 
 ceafe) fuch Part of what I have hereby given 
 
 and bequeathed unto my faid Wife, as fhe 
 
 mall think fitting. 
 
 And Lajily, I do hereby nominate confli- 
 tute, and appoint my faid dear Wife, Mary 
 Wilks, fole Executrix of this my Laft Will and 
 Teftament, written with my own Hand. In 
 Witnefs whereof I have hereunto fet my Hand 
 and Seal, in the Sight and Prefence of three 
 Witneffes, whofe Names are hereunto fubfcii- 
 bed, this 30th Day of May, in the Year of 
 our Lord 1732. 
 
 Robert Wilks. 
 
 Signed 
 
140 TheHlSTOR Yof 
 
 Signed, Sealed, and Publifhcd by the faid 
 Robert Wilks, the Teftator, as his Laft Will 
 and Teftament, in the Sight and Prefence 
 of us whofe Hands are here-under written, 
 and who figned our Hands as WitnefTes to 
 the fame, in the Sight and Prefence of the 
 Teftator. 
 
 Jo. Birkhead, fen. 
 
 D. Birkhead, jun. 
 
 Wm. Hemming. 
 
 Mr. HENRY N O R R I S, 
 
 COmmonly called Jubilee-Dicky (for his 
 excellent Performance in Mr. Farquhar's 
 *Irip to the Jubilee) was born in Salisbury- 
 Court, Fleet-Street, 1665. His Mother was 
 the nrft Woman who ever appeared on the 
 Stage as an Actrefs; for, till fome Time 
 after the Refioration of King Charles II. the 
 Women's Parts were performed by Men, among 
 whom the celebrated Mr. Kynajlon made a very 
 fine Lady, and occafioned a very good Jeft, 
 viz. His Majefty being at a Reprefentation of 
 Hamlet, and thinking the Entry of the Htyeen % 
 in that Play, a little too tedious, one of the 
 Actors moft humbly acquainted the Audi- 
 ence that the Queen * was not quite Jhaved. 
 
 Mr. Norris became Brother-in-law to Mr. 
 Wilks y by marrying Mrs. Sarah Knapton his 
 Wife's Sifter. 
 
 * Mr. Kynapn then played the Queen. 
 
 Me- 
 
the Englifh Stage. 141 
 
 r. 1500TH. 
 
 BARTON BOOTH, Efq ; was very well 
 defcended, and nearly related to the 
 Earls of Warrington ; nay, he has affured me 
 that his Family always looked upon themfelves 
 as the Eldeft Branch of the Houfe of Booth. 
 This excellent Tragedian, was the Son of John 
 Booth, Efq; born 168 1. 
 
 Lancajhire was the County of his Nativity, 
 from whence his Father, with his whole Fami- 
 ly, removed to Town, and fettled at Weftmin- 
 fter, 1684. Mr. Booth (the youngefl of Three 
 Sons) was at nine Years of Age put under 
 the Tuition of the Celebrated Dr. Busby under 
 whom he became an excellent Scholar. He 
 (hewed, while at School, his great Inclination 
 
 to 
 
H2 7he H ISTORT of 
 
 to Poetry ; and was very fond of repeating Po- 
 etical Performances and Parts of Plays, in all 
 which he difcovered a very promiiing Genius 
 for the Stage. But Mr. Booth's firfr. Encourage- 
 ment in Acting came from his Mafter at 
 the Rehearfal of a Latin Play in which he 
 performed with general Applaufe. 
 
 The following Part of a Prologue was fpoken 
 at Wejlminfter-School, which will evidently dis- 
 cover their high Efleem for Mr. Booth, as an 
 Actor viz. 
 
 Your Antique Actors, as we read, 
 
 No more than Anticks were indeed : 
 
 With wide-mouth'd Masks their Babes to /right, 
 
 They kept the Countenance from Sight. 
 
 Now Faces on the Stage are fhown j 
 
 Nor fpeak they with their Tongues alone, 
 
 But in each Look a Force there lies, 
 
 That fpeaks the Paflion to the Eyes. 
 
 See then, which bed deferves our Praife, 
 
 The Vizard, or the Human Face? 
 
 Old Rofcius to our Booth muft bow ; 
 
 'Twas then but Art, 'tis Nature Now. 
 
 Mr. Booth was at that time defigned by his 
 Father for Orders ; but as he had received fuch 
 early Praifes of his blooming Qinlificauons 
 for an ABor y and that from Perfons of iuch 
 Importance, it was not to be wondered at, that 
 his Inclination led him to the Stage j in pur- 
 fuance of which, and to avoid being fent to the 
 
 Univer- 
 
the Englifli Stage. 143 
 
 Univerfity, he .ran away from School at 17 
 Years old, and went to Ireland, where he en- 
 tered him felf with Mr. AJJobury y Mafter of the 
 Theatre at Dublin. 
 
 He remained there Two Years, and acquired 
 the Reputation of a very good Player. He re- 
 turned ioEnglandm 170 1, and applied himfelf 
 to Lord Fitzharding, a Lord of the Bedcham- 
 ber to Prince George of Denmark. His Lord- 
 fhip recommended him to Mr. Betterton as a 
 very promifing Genius, who took him under 
 his Care, and made him what he was. The 
 Part of Maximus in Valentinian was chofen 
 for his firft Appearance. Mr. Verbruggen play'd 
 Valentinian, Mr. Betterton Etius, and Mrs. 
 Barry Lucina. There never was more Applaufe 
 expFeffed by any Audience, then was given to 
 Mr. Booth on that Occafion. 
 
 Soon after he again appeared with univer- 
 fal Applaufe, in the Character of Art ab an 
 in the Ambitious Step-Mother. 
 
 In the Year 1704, he married Mrs. Fran- 
 ces Barkham, Second Daughter to Sir William 
 Barkham, Bart, of Norfolk, who died in 17 10. 
 without IfTue. 
 
 Cato greatly augmented both Mr. Booth's 
 Fame and Intereft, by procuring him the Fa- 
 vour of Lord Bolingbrcke^ thenSecretary of State; 
 who, within a Year after, as a Reward for fo 
 much fingular Merit, got him added to the 
 Number of the Martagefs, by procuring him 
 a fpecial Licehfe from Queen Anne. 
 
 Mrs. 
 
144 Ttbe HlSTOKTof 
 
 Mr. Booth performed many of Mr. Better- 
 ton's Parts in fuch a Manner, as demonstrated 
 both Tutor and Pupil Mortality deprived us 
 of him, 10 May 1733. 
 
 A true Copy of Mr. Booth's Lafl Will 
 and*! eft anient, drawn up by himfelf 
 
 WHOLLY refigned, and fubmitted to 
 the Will of God, I Barton Booth, of 
 the Parifh of St» Paul, Covent -Garden, do 
 make and ordain this my laft Will and Tes- 
 tament, as follows. 
 
 I bequeath to Chrijlian Hannah the Sum of 
 5 /: an old Servant to my Father. 
 
 All and lingular my Eftate, as well Real as 
 Perfonal, Ready-Money, Bonds, Notes, Plate, 
 Jewels, Goods and Chattels of what Kind or 
 Nature foever, I give and bequeath abfolutely to 
 my deareft and well-beloved Wife, Hef- 
 ter Booth, *her Heirs, Executors, and Afligns 
 for ever ; and I appoint and conftitute my 
 laid Wife, Hefter Booth, full and fole Execu- 
 trix of this my laft Will andTeftament, here- 
 by revoking and making void all other Wills by 
 me made, 
 
 It is my earned Defire to be buried 
 privately, without Oftentation> Hatchment, 
 Efcutcheon, &c. m Cowley Church near 
 Ux bridge. 
 
 * Mr. Booth married a fecond time 17 19, the celebrated, 
 Mifs Santhtv- He had no Illae by her, but flic ^ had fbmc of 
 her own; a Daughter of Her's being lately married. 
 
 As 
 
the Englifh Stage. 14.5 
 
 As I have been a Man much known an^ 
 talk'd of, my not leaving Legacies to my Re- 
 lations may give Occafion to cenforious Peo- 
 ple to reflect upon my Conduct in this latter 
 Act of my Life : Therefore I think it necef- 
 fary to declare, that I have considered my 
 Circumftanaes, and finding, upon a ftrict 
 Examination, that all I am now pofTefTed 
 of, does not amount to two Thirds of the For- 
 tune my faid Wife brought me on the Day 
 of our Marriage, together with the yearly 
 Additions and Advantages fince arifing from 
 her laborious Employment upon the Stage, 
 during twelve Years paft, I thought myfelf 
 bound by that Honefty,Honour, and Gratitude, 
 due to her conftant Affection, not to give away 
 any Part of the Remainder of her Fortune at 
 my Death, having already beftowed in free 
 Gifts upon my Sifter, Barbara Rogers, upwards 
 of 1300/. out of my Wife 's Subftance j and 
 full 400 /. of her Money upon my undeferv- 
 ing Brother, George Booth (befides the Gifts 
 they received before my Marriage; ) and all 
 thefe Benefits were conferred on my faid Bro- 
 ther and Sifter, from Time to Time, at the 
 earneft Solicitation of my Wife, who was per- 
 petually intreating me to continue the Allow- 
 ances I gave my Relations before my Marriage. 
 The inhuman Return that has been made my 
 Wife for thefe Obligations, by my Sifter, I 
 forbear to mention. Once more renouncing 
 and making void all former Wills, I declare 
 
 L this 
 
i+6 The HISTORY of 
 
 this prefent Teftament to be my true and laft 
 Will. In witnefs whereof I have hereunto fet 
 my Hand and Seal this 2d of June, 173 1. 
 All written with my own-Hand: 
 
 B. Booth. 
 
 A Char after o/Mr.BOOT H, 
 by Aaron Hill, Efq\ 
 
 TW O Advantages diftinguifhed him, in 
 the ftrongeft Light, from the reft of his 
 Fraternity: He had Learning to underftand per- 
 fectly whatever ic was his Part to fpeak j and 
 Judgment to know how far it agreed or difa- 
 greed with his Character. Hence arofe a pe- 
 culiar Grace, which was vifible to every Spec- 
 tator; tho' few were at the Pains of examin- 
 ing into the Caufc of their Pleafure. He could 
 foften and Aide over, with a kind of elegant 
 Negligence, the Improprieties in a Part he act- 
 ed, while, on the contrary, he would dwell 
 with Energy upon the Beauties; as if he ex- 
 erted a latent Spirit, which had been kept back 
 for fuch an Occafion, that he might alarm, a- 
 waken, and tranfport, in thofe Places only, 
 where the Dignity of his own good Senle 
 could be fupported by that of his Author. 
 
 A little Reflection upon this remarkable 
 Quality, will teach us to account for that mani- 
 
 feft 
 
the Englifli Stage. 147 
 
 feft Languor which has fometimes been 6b- 
 ferv'd in his Action, and which was generally, 
 tho' I think falily, imputed to the natural In- 
 dolence of his Temper. 
 
 For the fame Reafon, tho' in the cuftomary 
 Rounds of his Bufinefs he would condefcend 
 to fome Parts in Comedy, he feldom appear'd 
 in any of them with much Advantage to his 
 Character. The Paflions which he found in 
 Comedy were not ftrong enough to excite his 
 Fire ; and what feem'd Want of Qualification, 
 was only Abfence of Impreffion. 
 
 He had a Talent at difcovering the Paflions, 
 where they lay hid in fome celebrated Parts, by 
 the injudicious Practice of other Actors. When 
 he had difcover'd, he foon grew able to exprefs 
 them : And his Secret for attaining this great 
 LefTon of the Theatre, was an Adaption of 
 his Look to his Voice ; by which artful Imita- 
 tion of Nature, the Variations in the Sound of 
 his Words gave Propriety to every Change in 
 his Countenance. So that it was Mr. Booth's 
 peculiar Felicity to be Heard and Seen the 
 fame, whether as the Pleased, the Grievd, the 
 Pitying, the Reproachful, or the Angry. 
 
 One would almoft be tempted to borrow the 
 Aid of a very bold Figure, and, to exprefs this 
 Excellence the more fignificantly, beg Permif- 
 fion to affirm, that the Blind might have (ccn 
 him in his Voice, and the Deaf have heard 
 him in his Vifage. 
 
 His Gefture, or, as it is commonly call'd, his 
 
 Action was but the Refult and neceffary Con- 
 
 L 2 fequence 
 
148 The HISTORY of 
 
 fequence of this Dominion over his Voice and 
 Countenance : For having, by a Concurrence of 
 two fuch Caufcs, impreiTed his Imagination with 
 fuch a Stamp and Spirit of ParTion, his Nerves 
 obeyed the Impulie by a kind of Natural De- 
 pendency, and relaxed or braced fucceilively in- 
 to all that fine Expreffivenels, with which he 
 painted what he i'poke, without Reftraint or 
 Affectation. 
 
 A. H I L L. 
 
 Mr. Booth was a Man of ftrong, clear, and 
 lively Imaginations. His Converfation was 
 engaging and inftructive. He had the Ad- 
 vantage of a finimed Education, to improve and 
 illuftrate the bountiful Gifts of Nature ; as will 
 appear by the following Inicription, which he 
 wrote under the Picture of that celebrated Ac- 
 tor Mr. Smith, which has been greatly admired 
 for the claffical Stile and Sentiment. 
 Scenicus eximius, 
 Regnante Carolo Secundo : 
 Bettertono Cocetaneus & Amicus, 
 nee non propemodum ELqualis. 
 Hand ignobili Stirpe oriundys, 
 nee hit er arum rudis humaniorum> 
 rem Scenicam 
 per mult of 'J r licit er Annos admzniftravit j 
 Juftoque moder amine & morum Juavitate, 
 
 Omnium intra Theatrum 
 Ob/irvantiam, extra Theatrum Laudem, 
 Vbique Benevokntiam &Atnorem,Jibi conciliavit. 
 
 i. e. 
 
the Englifh Stage. 149 
 
 An excellent Player, 
 In the Reign of Charles the Second : 
 The Cotemporary and Friend of Betterton, 
 and almoft his Equal. 
 Defcended of no ignoble Family, 
 nor deftitute of polite Learning, 
 the Bufinefs of the Stage 
 He for many Years happily managed, 
 And by his juft Conduct, and Sweetnefsof Manners, 
 He obtained 
 the Refpect of all within the Theatre, 
 the Good-will and Love of all Mankind. 
 
 Mr. Booth had a very pretty Poetical Genius, as 
 appears from fome Tranflations and Imitations 
 of his beloved Horace. And his beautiful Song 
 of Sweet are the Charms of her I love, &c. may 
 juftly be reckoned a Mafter-piece in its kind. 
 
 He was interred at Cowley ; but we do 
 not hear that his mofi beloved Wife hath, as yet, 
 erected any Monument to his Memory. He 
 many Years himfelf talked of putting up fome 
 Memorial at Wejlminfler, for Mr. Better ton; 
 but thefe Promifes were merely Aerial. He 
 has indeed, by the Denomination of three Streets 
 in Weftminjler, viz. I. Cowley- S 'treet ; 2 Barton- 
 Street y and 3. Booth-Street, perpetuated the Me- 
 mory of Mr. Cowley, (whofe Writings he profeil- 
 ed a Value for beyond any other Englijh Poet) 
 and the Name of Himfelf and Family. 
 
 L 3 Mr 
 
i 5 o The HISTORY of 
 
 Mr. Thomas Elrington. 
 
 WA S born about the Year 1690, near 
 Golden-Square. His Father had the Ho- 
 nour to ferve the late Duke of Montagu. He 
 put this Son Apprentice to an Upholder in 
 Covent-Garden, who, at the Expiration of his 
 Time, immediately entered himfelf with the 
 Company of Comedians in Drury-Lane, and 
 appeared in the Character ofOroonoko, in which 
 he gave evident Proofs of a rifing Genius j but 
 not meeting with the Encouragement from the 
 Direclors his Merit demanded, he went over 
 to Ireland, and became one of the Managers 
 of that Theatre. 
 
 About the Year I7i6,he married, the Daugh- 
 ter of Jofeph AJhbury Efq; then Mafler of the 
 Revels, by whom he had feveral Children. His 
 Reputation as an Actor daily incrt-afing, he was 
 fent for over to England, and performed, in the 
 Theatre in Lincoln 's- Inn-Fields, mod of the 
 confiderable Characters in Tragedy ; for which 
 Nature had very happily adapted him, hisPei fon 
 being very proportionable, and his Gait very 
 genteel : He had likewife a moft harmonious 
 Voice, with great Spirit and Fire, and wanted 
 only a more Liberal Education, to have become 
 one of the greateft Tragedians this Age has 
 produced. He returned back to his Family, in 
 Ireland, in which Kingdom he died, about the 
 Year 1733, univerfally beloved and lamented. 
 
 Mr. 
 
the Englifh Stage. 151 
 
 Mr. Benjamin Griffin. 
 
 THIS ufeful Comedian, of the humorous 
 Oafs, was the Son of the Reverend Mr. 
 'Benjamin Griffin, Rector of Buxton and Oxnead 
 in the County of Norfolk j the Seats of the 
 Paftons, Earls of Yarmouth; to which Honour- 
 able Family he was many Years Chaplain. 
 
 Our Actor was Born at Oxnead, and Edu- 
 cated at the Free-School of NortbwalJJjam, 
 founded by the noble Family beforemen- 
 tioned. 
 
 He was put Apprentice to a Glafier at Nor- 
 wich ; but Playing running more in his Head, 
 than Glazing, he run away from his Mafter, and 
 got initiated among aPack of Strollers, who fre- 
 quented the City, in the Year 1712. 
 
 He came to London 17 15, and was taken 
 into the Lincoln s- Inn-Fields Company ; and, 
 after fome Years Experience, he was accepted of 
 at the Theatre-Royal in Drury-Lane, where 
 he continued to the Time of his Death, 1739. 
 
 By miftaking his Talents, he attempted to 
 
 commence Dramatic-Poet, by vamping up an 
 old Play or two of Maffmger and Decker , and 
 fcribbling a few Farces, all which met with the 
 deferved Contempt of fuch trifling Perform- 
 ances. 
 
 Mr. 
 
152 The HISTORY of 
 
 Mr. James Qui n. 
 
 r ~|H HIS worthy SucceiTor of Mr. Booth, 
 
 was born in King-flreet, Covert Gar den , 
 24th of Feb, 1692. He is the Son of James 
 £>iiin Gent, who was bred at Trinity-Co/kge y 
 Dublin; came into England, and entered Him- 
 ielf of the Society of Lincoln s- Inn; but his 
 Father ^Mr. Mark Quin, Apothecary, and 
 Lord Mayor of Dublin, 1676J dying foon af- 
 ter, he was called to the Bar, and leaving him 
 a confiderable Fortune, he declined the Prac- 
 tice of the Law. 
 
 Our excellent Tragedian, being carried by 
 his Father inro Ireland 'in the Year 1700, then 
 but Eight Years old, was educattd under 
 that eminent School-Mafter, the Reverend Dr. 
 yonts of Dublin. 
 
 On the Death of his Father 1710. he was 
 obliged to commence a Suit in Chancery, for 
 the Right and PcffeJJion of his Patrim&ny; but 
 being unable to iupport the great Expence 
 of that Court, he was obliged to leave his 
 Right undermined, and for a Time to drop 
 his Claim. 
 
 From this Difappointment at Law, he was 
 advifed by his Friends, to cultivate a Natural 
 Propenfity, and apply himfelf to the Stage, 
 which he did with fome Succefs in that King- 
 dom. But the Irijh Theatre then labouring 
 under great Difcouragement, he returned to 
 
 Eng~ 
 
the Englifh Stage. 153 
 
 "England 17 14, and was immediately received 
 into the Company of his Majefty's Servants be- 
 longing to the Drury-Lane Theatre. 
 
 He continued in that Company about Three 
 Years ; bu' upon fome unkind Treatment from 
 Oneoi the Manager s y he changed his Situation, 
 and was received with great Satisfaction by Mr. 
 Rich, then acting at the Theatre in Lincoln's- 
 Inn- Fields. In that Company he continued 
 Sixteen Years. 
 
 In 1734 Charles Fleetwood Efq; having pur- 
 chafed the Drury-Lane Patent, made Mr. ^um 
 fome very advantageous Propofals, which he 
 would not, on any Terms, except, till he had 
 previoufly acquainted Mr. Rich therewith, and 
 given him the Preference of his Services. But, 
 on Mr. Rich's Refufal, he, in Juftice to him- 
 felf, accepted the Overtures made him by 
 Mr. Fleetwoods Mr. ^uin performs the follow- 
 ing Parts, with Univerfal Applaufe, viz. 
 
 Appamantus, in Timon of Athens. Biron, 
 in Fatal Marriage". Brutus* in Julius Ccefar* 
 BenediB, in Much ado about Nothing . The 
 Duke, in Meafure for Meafure. Dorax, in 
 Don Sebajlian. Therfites^ in Troilus and Cref* 
 fda. Faljlaff. Volfone. King Lear. Richard 
 III. Henry VIII. The Plain Dealer, The 
 Double Dealer. Pinchwife. Old Batchelor. 
 The Spanifo Fryar. Othello. Tamerlane. Cato.&c- 
 
 In regard to Mr. Quins Dramatic Character, 
 it may be thus juftly comprized, viz. 
 
 He from due Merit his Applaufe obtains ; 
 
 He wants no Judgment, and he fpares no Pains. 
 
 Mn 
 
iS4 Tie HISTORT of 
 
 Mr, William M i l w a r d. 
 
 THIS Gentleman is a Native of the City 
 of Litchfield, where he was born on the 
 29th of September 1702. His Father was an 
 eminent Attorney at Law, at that Time refi- 
 ding there. The Milwards are defcended from 
 an ancient Family in the County of Derby, well 
 known for theirLoyalty and fteady Attachment 
 to their Prince ; as a Proof of which, in the 
 Troubles of King Charles I. Great Grand- 
 father of our Player, Sir ThomasMilward Knight, 
 Chief Juftice of Chefter, at his own Expence 
 raifed and maintained a Troop of Horfe in 
 Defence of his King and Country : Among 
 whom were likewifc his Grandfather, and 
 Several other Relations of Mr. Milward,to who 
 I will now return. His Father (when he was 
 very young,) removing from Litchfield to Ut- 
 toxeter, a Market Town in the fame County, 
 he had his Education in the Grammar School 
 there ; which School is always fupplied with 
 Matters from Trinity-College \n Cambridge, and 
 an yearly Stipend from the laid College allowed 
 for their Support. Before the Age of Sixteen, 
 he came with his Father to London, and was 
 put Apprentice to an Apothecary* in Norfolk- 
 Street, in the Strand, 1717, with whom he con- 
 tinued near eight Years ; but being accquainted 
 with fome young Gentlemen, fometimes acted 
 Plays privately for the Diver lion of themfelves 
 and Friends, he was prevailed on to join them, 
 
 and 
 
the Englifh Stage. 155 
 
 and accordingly performed feveral Parts among 
 them, in a fmall private Theatre made at the 
 Hoop Tavern in St. Allans-Street. Being flat- 
 tered by fomeFriends that he would make a con- 
 fiderable Figure on a publick Stage, to which 
 •his Genius ftrongly led him, he refolv'd to quit 
 the Study of Phyfick for that of the Drama, 
 and accordingly, in the Year 1724 commenced 
 at the New Theatre in the Hay-market, with 
 a young Company who had never appear'd on a 
 publick Stage ; whofe Incapacity and Inexpe- 
 rience foon gave way to Two eftabliflied Thea- 
 tres, and obliged them to provide other ways 
 for themfelves, according to their different Ca- 
 pacities. Some quitted theThoughts of the Stage ; 
 others, by Flattery and their own Inclinations, 
 refolved to purfue that way of Life $ among 
 whom Mr. Milward was one, and in the Year 
 1725, engaged in Mr. Rich's Company at the 
 Theatre in Lincoln* s-Inn-Fields, where he con- 
 tinued till the Opening of the Theatre in Co- 
 vent-Garden, and all that Seafon; at the End of 
 which he had Overtures from the Company 
 of Comedians who badjuft feparated themfelves 
 from theManagers of theTheatre Royal inDru- 
 ry-Lane y with whom (after he had received a 
 Meffage from Mr. Rich that the Salary he ex- 
 pected would not be complied with, and giv- 
 ing him proper Notice) he again agreed to per- 
 form at the New Theatre in the Hay-market^ 
 where he continued till the Company agreed 
 with Mr. Fleetwood to return again to Dru- 
 ry-Lane y under whofe Direction they now are. 
 
 The 
 
t 5 6 The HISTORY of 
 
 The Parts Mr. Milward is pofTefTed of being 
 too numerous to be recited, the Town are the 
 beffc Judges of his Daily Improvement ; and 
 he may be juftly thought to be the moft pro- 
 per Succeflbr of Mr. $uin, who has now left 
 this Stage and Kingdom. 
 
 Mr, Henry Giffard. 
 
 THIS Gentleman is the youngeft of Eight 
 Sons of Wi lh amGiffard, of the County of 
 Bucks Efq; he was born inLincolri s-lmi-Fields in 
 the Year 1699, anc ^ educated at a Private Gram- 
 mar-School in London. At about Sixteen Years 
 of Age, thro' the Intereft of his Father, he was 
 appointed one of the Clerks of the South-Sea 
 Company, in which Poft he continued near 
 Three Years ; but having a ftronger Propen- 
 fuy to the Martial Ads of the Stage than the 
 Mercantile Accompts of the State, he made 
 an Excurfion, and entered himfelf among the 
 Bath Strolling Company of Comedians, 17 19, 
 whole Fortunes he followed two Years, whol- 
 ly unknown to all his Friends. Returning to 
 Town, and hoping to atone for this Excurfion 
 with his Father, who was then in London in a 
 very declining State of Health, he was difap- 
 pointed in thefe Hopes by his Father's Death, 
 which happened in about fix Months after. 
 Being thus left wholly deftitute and deprived of 
 his Fortune as a fevere Punifhment for his Fault, 
 he was obliged to make the beft of that Inclina- 
 tion which prompted him to the Commiffion 
 
 of 
 
the Englifh Stage. 157 
 of it. He was taken into Mr. Rich's Company. 
 Here he ftaid about two Years, and then went 
 to Ireland. In the Dublin Theatre he was very 
 readily accepted , and in a very fhort time was 
 admitted one of the Sharers. Soon after he Mar- 
 ried a young Gentlewoman of that Theatre, 
 who died before me was Twenty Years of Age, 
 in Childbed of a Daughter ; but, as fome Com- 
 penfation for fo great a Lofs, (he left him a Son 
 now about her Age. She had a very promifing 
 Genius to have (hone in her Profeffion ; was 
 verv amiable in her Perfon, and in her Affection 
 as aWife every way deferving Praife. 
 
 About fix Years afterwards he married ano- 
 ther Gentlewoman of the fame Theatre ; by 
 whom he has had IfTue one Daughter, who di- 
 ed an Infant of but two Years old. 
 
 Mr. Gtffard and his Wife came to England 
 1730. Here it mufl beobferved, that he had fome 
 Hopes of Succefs, from an Invitation made him, 
 with great Shew of Friendfhip, by Mr. Wilks. 
 But Mr. Giffard not brooking too long a De- 
 lay, and the Project of the Goodman 's-Ft 'elds 
 Theatre juft then opening, he clofed in with 
 that Undertaker ; who not fucceeding therein, 
 Mr. Giffard from a different Conduct became 
 the fole Proprietor, and in 173 3 rebuilt it in a ve- 
 ry commodious Manner, giving Univerfal Sa- 
 tisfaction to the Town,as he does at prefenr, by 
 his Regularity and prudent Behaviour. 
 
 Under thisArticle of Mr. Giffard's Fortunes, 
 we cannot omit mentioning one of hisCompany, 
 for whom he had thegreateftand mofi Friendly 
 Regard, viz. Mr. 
 
158 7be H ISTORT of 
 
 Mr. Charles Hulett. 
 
 HE was the Son of Mr. John Hulett (Yeo- 
 man of the Guards, a Warder of the Tow- 
 er \ and One- Steward to the Earl of Northamp- 
 ton,) and born in Rujfel- Street Bloomsburyiyoi. 
 Having had a tolerable Education, he was put 
 Apprentice to Mr. Curll, Bookfdkr, in the Year 
 ly 1 8. After he had ferved about two Years, he 
 took it into his Head, that there was more to 
 be got by acting of Plays, than by felling of them. 
 His Matter very generouily advifed his Father to 
 let him proiecute the Bent of his Genius, and 
 very amicably lurrendered him up to the Stage. 
 He trod theTheatres of Lincoln 's-Inu-Fields and 
 Dublin ; but found the mod hofpitable Enter- 
 tainment with his valuable Friend Mr. Giffdrd. 
 He was taken off in the Vigour of his Age, 
 in a mod: fudden and furprizing manner. Be- 
 ing very fond of fhewing the Strength and 
 Soundnefs of his Lungs, as he imagined, by 
 loudHemming, one Day, as he was in ihtGreen- 
 R oom at Goodman s- Fields t to (hew the Clear- 
 nefs of his Pipes, as he expreifed himfelf, he 
 fetched a very hearty Hem^ with fuch Violence, 
 that he broke fome confiderable Blood-Feffel j for 
 in a fhort time he found himfelf Giddy, Sick, and 
 turned Pale. He went behind the Scene and a 
 latge Quantity of Blood iffuing from his Mouth, 
 almoft unknown to him, he was advifed to 
 
 go 
 
the Englifh Stage. 159 
 
 go home. Mr. Giffard fent for Dr. Beaufort, 
 and another Eminent Phyfician ; but the Flux 
 of Blood continuing in fo large a Quantity 
 from his Mouth, as was computed in the whole 
 to be near two Gallons, they thought it in vain 
 to prefcribe, and he died the 24th Hour after 
 his Hemming. An Accident of this kind, was 
 looked on as unheard of before. 
 
 Both Nature and Inclination had formed him 
 for a very excellentPlayer, had he lived; and what 
 he was at the Time of his Death, will be feen 
 from the following juft Character given of 
 him by Mr. Giffard, who buried him in a ve- 
 ry genteel Manner, at his own Expence, at St. 
 Mary White-Chap el y in the 35th Year of his 
 Age. He has left a Son about Eight Years old. 
 
 " Mr. Charles Hulett was endowed with great 
 Abilities for a Player ; but laboured under the 
 Difadvantage of a Perfon rather too Corpulent 
 for the Hero or the Lover ■, but his Port well be- 
 came Henry VIII, Falftaff, Othello^ and many 
 other Characters both in Tragedy and Comedy, 
 in which he would have been equally excellent, 
 had his Application and Figure been proporon- 
 able to his Qualifications ; which had he du- 
 ly cultivated, he would undoubtedly have be- 
 
 ome a very confiderable Performer." 
 
 Mr. 
 
160 7/jeHlSTORr of 
 
 Mr. Lacey Ryan. 
 
 HE is the Son of Mr. Daniel Ryan, a 
 Taylor, of the Parifh of St. Margaret 
 Wejtminflcr^ and was born in the Year 1700: 
 He had his Education at St, Pants-School-, 
 after which it was intended to breed him to 
 the Law, and he was a fhort time with Mr. 
 Lacey, an Attorney, his Godfather. He 
 had once feme Thoughts of going to the 
 Eajl- Indies, with his Brother, (who died there 
 1719.) but a fhonger Propenilty to the Stage 
 prevaiiii g by the Friendship of Sir Richard 
 Steels he was introduced into the Hay- Market 
 Company 1710, In that Company he continu- 
 ed ib »ut feven Years, and afterwards went to 
 the ! Lincoln' 's-Inn- Fields Company under Mr. 
 Gkrifiofber Bullock. Among all the Parts per- 
 formed by him, Hamlet is looked upon as his 
 M aiter- piece. 
 
 jMr. Thomas Walker. 
 
 HE is the Son of Francis Walker, of the 
 Parifh of St. Anne Soho t and was born 
 in the Year 1698. He was bred under Mr. 
 Midon, who kept a private Academy. 
 
 Having an Inclination to the Stage, he firft 
 tried his Succefs in Mr. Sheppard's Company; 
 and was found by Mr. Booth Acting the 
 Part of Paris in the Droll of The Siege of 
 Troy, 
 
 The 
 
the Englifti Stage. 161 
 
 The firft Theatre whereon he appeared, was 
 that of Lincoln s-Inn- Fields, where he played 
 the Part of Lorenzo in The yew tf Venice \ 
 about the Year 171 6. But Capt. Mackheath, in 
 the Beggar's Opera is his Top Dramatic Cha- 
 racter; iothat as Mr. Booth found him a Hero, 
 Mr. Gay dubbed him a Highwayman. 
 
 Sic tranfit Glor ia Mundi, 
 
 Mrs. Margaret Saunders, 
 
 IS the Daughter of Mr.yonathan Saunders^ an 
 eminent Wine-Cooper. She was born atlVey- 
 ?noutb, in the Year 1686. Her Mother was the 
 Daughter of Captain Wallis, an experienced 
 Sea-Officer of Diftin&ion in that Place. 
 
 She was fent by her Parents to a Boarding- 
 School vxSteeple-Afoton in lViltJhire> where hav- 
 ing had a genteel Education, (he w^s put Ap- 
 p entice to Mrs. Fane, an eminent Milliner in 
 Catherine-Street in the Strand- 
 
 After the Expiration of herTime, me was, at 
 the earneft Requeft of her hearty Friend Mrs. 
 Oldfield, tho' but 16 Years of Age, brought 
 on the Drury-Lane Theater; but was obliged to 
 quit it, occafioned by a very mo\tv\tAjlhmatical 
 Indifpofition, as has been before obferved in 
 the Memoirs of Mrs. Oldfield> Pag. 74, fub- 
 joined to this Work. 
 
 M Mrs. 
 
i6* The HI STORYof 
 
 Mrs. Younger and Mrs. Bignall. 
 To the Author of the Hiftory of the Stage. 
 
 Watford, June the 2ld, 1736. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I Had the Pleafure of yours when at Bujhye. 
 At the fame time Mrs. Younger received 
 one; fhe defired her Service, and begs to be ex- 
 cufed writing ; but it matters not ; for I being 
 converfant with her many Years, can give you 
 a juft Account of her Family, and as for her 
 Merit on the Stage, you are a much better 
 Judge than myfelf. It ever was the Opinion 
 of the Town that both fhe and her Sifter * were 
 excellent in their Way. 
 
 Her Father and Mother, James and Mar- 
 garet Younger, were born in Scotland. Her 
 Mother was a Keithy nearly related to the 
 late Earl Marfhal : Her Father rode in the 
 Third Troop of Guards, and ferved feveral 
 Years in Flanders under King William, 
 
 She was born Sept. 2d, 1699, and came 
 into the Houle, as near as I can guefs, at 
 feven Years old, and has ever behaved with the 
 greateft Prudence. 
 
 Her Firfi Part was Princefs Elizabeth. This is 
 all 1 can fay of Mrs. Younger-, but fince you are (o 
 good to have an Opinion of my Sincerity, you 
 may be allured of the Veracity of thefe Fadts. 
 
 * Mrs. Bignall. 
 
 lean- 
 
the Englifli Stage. 163 
 
 I cannot give you any more Particulars of 
 myfelf or Friends; nor do I think there wants 
 any Amendment in Mrs. Oldfield's Life, only 
 this, that /he was brought on the Stage by the 
 Intereji of Sir John Vanbrugh, who was her 
 great Friend in the Bujtnefs cf the Houfe. There 
 is an Error about the Child. He was no more 
 than Three Years old when his Father died. 
 Tour very humble Servant, 
 
 M. Saunders. 
 
 In the Character of the Country Wife Mrs. 
 Bignall, thro' the whole Action, made a very 
 pretty Figure, and exactly entered in theNature 
 of the Part. She had a certain Grace in her 
 Rufticity, which gave us Hopes of feeing her 
 a very fkilful Player, and in fome Parts fupply 
 our Lofs of Mrs. Verbruggen. -f* 
 
 Mrs. Christiana Horton. 
 
 THIS Gentlewoman is defcended from a 
 very good Family in Wiltfiire : She was 
 born in theYear 1696. When but a Child, (he 
 was bent upon trying the Fate of a Dramatic 
 Life, and accordingly engaged herfelf with Mr. 
 Booker, Mafter of a Strolling-Company of Play- 
 ers. Mr. Booth feeing her a£t the Part 
 of Cupid, in a Droll called Cupid and Pfyche, 
 in Southwark-Fair, 17 14, and being pleafed 
 f See the Tatler, No. 3. 
 
 M 2 with 
 
.164. The HISTORY of 
 
 with her Performance, he brought her on Dru- 
 ry-Lane Theatre the Year after. The ntft 
 Part fhe appeared in was Mclinda, in the Re- 
 cr ai ting Officer. She remained on that Stage 
 till it was tortured with fevcrul Revolut'ons, 
 and was, at laft, perfuaded to leave it for 
 Covent-Garden Theatre, in the Year 1734, 
 where flic now remains. 
 
 She played the moll considerable Parts in feve- 
 ral Plays with Succefs, even when Mrs. Old- 
 Jie Id and Mrs. Porter were in their h"ghcft Per- 
 fection j particularly, the Part of Lady Brump- 
 ton in the Funeral, for which fhe received fhe 
 higheft Compliments from Sir Richard Stetfe, 
 the An hor, and Mr. Booth often declared that 
 no one was fo capable of playing Mrs. Oldfield's 
 Parts, after her Deceafe, as Mrs. Horton. Mr. 
 Wilks was of the fame Opinion, and proved it, 
 by chufing her to play with him in llveral Co- 
 medies, where (lie appeared in Mrs. Oldfield's 
 Characters. The Part of Miliamav.t, in the 
 Way of the World, was one of the foremoft, 
 and my Intimacy with Mr. Wilks, at that Time, 
 gave me an Opportunity to be afTured, that 
 jhe acquitted herfelf in this Character to the 
 Satisfaction of that celt 'brated Aflor^ as well as 
 to the Delight of the Audience. 
 
 That fhe remains, now. in the full PofTeffion 
 of Mrs. Oldfield's Parts, in Comedy, without a 
 Rivals is obvious to every one who frequents 
 the Theatre , and is almoft the only Copy that 
 
 can 
 
the Englifli Stage. 165 
 
 can remind us of the excellent Original ; fo 
 much is the Bufinefs of Acting reduced from 
 its former Glory. I fhall only add one Obfer- 
 vation more, which is, that in the Meridian 
 of Life fhe retains her Beauty^ even without 
 the entire Lofs of her Bloom, and is, by far, 
 the beft Figure on either Stage. 
 
 Mrs. Catharine Raftor. 
 
 THIS Gentlewoman was born in London in 
 the Year 1711. She is the Daughter of 
 William Raftor, Son of James Raftor, Efq; 
 of the City of Kilkenny, in the Kingdom oi Ire- 
 land ; a Gentleman of a very Ancient Roman 
 Catholick Family, and pofTefTed of a consider- 
 able Eftate, which, at the late Revolution, was 
 forfeited to the Crown, by his Sons being all en- 
 gaged in the Service of King James. After 
 the Battle of the Boyne, her Father attended 
 his Majefty to France, and obtained a Cap- 
 tain's CommifTion in the French King's Service : 
 But growing weary of a Military Life, came 
 to London^ obtained a Pardon of King William, 
 and afterwards married Mrs. Elizabeth Daniel, 
 Daughter of Edward Daniel, an eminent Lea- 
 ther-feller on Fijh-Street-Hilly with whom he 
 had a handfome Fortune. He was bred 
 to the Law? but, being of the Romijh 
 
 Per- 
 
i66 7be H I STORY of 
 
 Perfuafion, practifed under fuch Reftrictions as 
 prevented his doing any Thing more for his Fa- 
 mily (which was very large) than bellowing a 
 genteel Education on them. 
 
 Mifs Raft or came on the Stage in the 
 Year 1728, and mairied Mr. George Cllve, an 
 Attorney at Law, in 1732. 
 
 This excellent Actrefs, was firft diftinguifhed 
 in the Character of Dorinda, in the Tempefl, 
 Bit fo extenfive has been her Genius in the 
 Drama, that it may be faid, without the 
 leaft Tincture of Flattery, no Woman, at her 
 Age, ever (hone, in fo great a Variety of Cha- 
 racters, the Truth of which AlTertion, the 
 numerous hi ft of her Parts, would, if recited, 
 demonjlrate, 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 WE (hill clofe thefe our Dramatic Me- 
 moirs with the Sentiments of Mr. Se- 
 cretary Addlfon^ in relation to Theatrical-En- 
 tertainments, viz. 
 
 "I cannot, fays he, be of thefameOpinion with 
 the Reformers of Manners, in their Severity 
 towards Plays j but muft allow, that a good 
 Play, acted before a well-bred Audience, muft 
 raife very proper Incitements to good Beha- 
 viour, and be the moft quick and molt pre- 
 vailing Method of giving young People a 
 Turn of Senle and Breeding. 
 
 ' << When 
 
the EngliQi Stage. 167 
 
 <c When the Character, drawn by a judicious 
 Poet, is prefented by the Perfnn, the Manner, 
 the Look and the Motion of an accomplished 
 Player, what may not be brought to pafs by 
 feeing generous Things performed before 
 our Eyes ? T'he Stage is the bejl Mirrour of 
 human Life ; let me therefore recommend 
 the apt Ufe of a Theatre as the moft agree- 
 able and eafy Method of making a polite and 
 moral Gentry, which would end in rendering 
 the reft of the People regular in their Beha- 
 viour, and ambitious of laudableUndertakings." 
 
 FINIS. 
 
M,