Jack. My Lantern and my Candle waits thee. Are Reapers who have loft their way; Chorus. Let the Men ware the Ditches; we'l fcratch them with Briars and Thilles : we are a-dry; Pond-water fhall wet their whiftles. [Exeunt Evening, Winds, & Jack. SIR R. STAPYLTON. The Slighted Maid. Act iii., pp. 48, 49. Abraham Ivory had formerly been a confiderable Actor of Womens Parts; but afterwards stupify'd himfelf fo far, with drinking ftrong Waters, that, before the firft Acting of this Farce, he was fit for nothing, but to go of Frrands; for which, and meer Charity, the Company allow'd him a Weekly Sallary. Key 1794. Thun. I ftrike men down. Light. I fire the Town. Thun. Let the Critiques take heed how they grumble, For then begin I for to rumble. Light. Let the Ladies allow us their graces, Or I'l blaft all the paint on their faces, Thun. Let the Critiques look to't. Gallants, I'l finge your Feather. Thun. I'l Thunder you together. Both. Look to't, look to't; we'l do't, we'l do't: look to't, we'l do't. [Twice or thrice repeated. [Exeunt ambo. BAYES. That's all. 'Tis but a flash of a Prologue : a Droll. SMI. 'Tis fhort, indeed; but very terrible. BAYES. Ay, when the fimile is in, it will do to a Miracle, I gad. Come, come; begin the Play. Enter firft Player. 1 Play. Sir, Mr. Ivory is not come yet; but he'l be here presently, he's but two doors off. BAYES. Come then, Gentlemen, let's go out and take a pipe of Tobacco. [Excunt. Finis Actus primi. 1 (a) Drake Sen. Draw up our Men; and in low Whispers give our Orders out. [SIR W. D'AVENANT.] Play-Houfe to be Lett, p. 100. (b) See the Amorous Prince, pag. 20, 22, 39, 60, where you will find all the chief Commands, and Directions, are given in Whispers. Key 1704. As I have been unable to fee a Copy of the firft of thefe Plays, I infert GERARD LANGBAINE'S defcription of it. Play-Houfe to be Let. I know not under what Species to place this Play, it confifting of feveral Pieces of different Kinds handfomely tackt together, feveral of which the Author writ in the times of Oliver, and were acted feparately by stealth; as the Hiftory of Sr Francis Drake expreft by Inftrumental, and Vocal Mufick, and by Art of Perspective in Scenes, &c. The Cruelty of the Spaniards in Peru. These two Pieces were firft printed in quarto. They make the third and fourth Acts of this Play. The fecond Act confifts of a French Farce, tranflated from Moliere's Sganarelle, on Le Cocu Imaginaire, and purposely by our Author put into a fort of Jargon common to French-men newly come over. The fifth Act confifts of Tragedie travestie, or the Actions of Cafar Antony and Cleopatra in Verfe Burlefque. This Farce I have seen acted at the Theatre in Dorsetgarden fome Years ago, at the end of that excellent Tragedy of Pompey, tranflated by the incomparable Pen of the much admired Orinda. pp. 109-110. Ed. 1691. BIBLIOGRAPHY. KEYS TO THE REHEARSAL.' Then appear'd such plays as these; THE SIEGE OF RHODES, Part 1. acted at the Cockpit, before the Restoration ; THE PLAY-HOUSE TO BE LETT; THE SLIGHTED MAID; THE UNITED KINGDOMS; THE WILD GALLANT; THE ENGLISH MONSIEUR; THE VILLAIN; and the like. You will meet with several passages out of all these, except the UNITED KINGDOMS, (which was never printed) in the following notes; as you will out of several other plays, which are here omitted. Our most noble author, to manifest his just indignation and hatred of this fulsome new way of writing, used his utmost interest and endeavours to stifle it at its first appearing on the stage, by engaging all his friends to explode, and run down these plays, especially the United Kingdoms; which had like to have brought his life into danger. The author of it being nobly born, of an ancient and numerous family, had many of his relations and friends in the Cock-pit, during the acting it; some of them perceiving his Grace to head a party, who were very active in danining the play, by hissing and laughing immoderately at the strange conduct thereof, there were persons laid in wait for him as he came out: but there being a great tumult and uproar in the house and the passages near it, he escaped; But he was threaten'd hard: however the business was composed in a short time, tho' by what means I have not been informed. Concluded at page 48. BAYES. ACTUS II. SCENA I. BAYES, JOHNSON and SMITH. Ow, Sir, because I'l do nothing SMI. A very notable design, for a Play, indeed. BAYES. Instead of beginning with a Scene that difcovers fomething of the Plot, I begin this with a whisper.1 SMI. That's very new. BAYES. Come, take your feats. Begin Sirs. Enter Gentlemen-Ufher and Phyfician. Phys. Sir, by your habit, I should ghefs you to be the Gentleman-Ufher of this fumptuous place. Ufh. And, by your gait and fashion, I should almost fufpect you rule the healths of both our noble Kings, under the notion of Physician. Phys. You hit my Function right. Ush. And you, mine. Phys. Then let's imbrace. Ufh. Come then. Phys. Come. JOHNS. Pray, Sir, who are those two so very civil perfons ? BAYES. Why, Sir, the Gentleman-Ufher, and Phyficians of the two Kings of Brentford. JOHNS. But how comes it to pass, then, that they know one another no better? BAYES. Phoo! that's for the better carrying on of the Intrigue. JOHNS. Very well. Concluded from page 46. After this, our author endeavoured by writing to expose the follies of these new-fashioned plays in their proper colours, and to set them in so clear a light, that the people might be able to discover what trash it was, of which they were so fond, as he plainly hints in the prologue; and so set himself to the composing of this farce. When his Grace began it, I could never learn, nor is it very material. Thus much we may certainly gather from the editions of the plays reflected on in it, that it was before the end of 1663, and finished before the end of 1664; because it had been several times rehears'd, the players were perfect in their parts, and all things in readiness for its acting, before the great plague 1665; and that then prevented it. But what was so ready for the stage, and so near being acted at the breaking out of that terrible sickness, was very different from what you have since seen in print. In that he called his poet BILBOA; by which name, the town generally understood SIR ROBERT HOWARD to be the Person pointed at. Besides, there were very few of this new sort of plays then extant, except these before mentioned, at that time; and more, than were in being, could not be ridiculed. The acting of this farce being thus hindered, it was laid by for several years, and came not on the public theatre, till the year 1671. During this interval, many great Plays came forth, writ in heroick rhyme; and, on the death of Sir WILLIAM D'AVENANT, 1669, MR. DRYDEN, a new laureat appeared on the staget, much admired, and highly applauded: which moved the Duke to change the name of his poet from BILBOA to BAYES, whose works you will find often mentioned in the following KEY. Thus far, kind reader, I have followed the direction of my new acquaint ance, to the utmost extent of my memory, without transgressing the bounds he assigned me, and I am free from any fear of having displeased him: I wish I could justly say as much, with relation to the offences I have committed against yourself, and all judicious persons who shall peruse this poor address. I have nothing to say in my own defence: I plead guilty, and throw myself at your feet, and beg for mercy; and not without hope, since what I have here writ did not proceed from the least malice in me, to any person or family in the world; but from an honest design to enable the meanest readers to understand all the passages of this farce, that it may sell the better. 1 am, with all submission, Your most obliged, humble Servant. 5. A real Key should confine itself to the identical plays and dramatists satirized, nothing more nor less. Bp. Percy searching through all the antecedent dramatic literature, may find, did find many parallel passages, but he could adduce nothing to prove these were in the minds of the authors in writing The Rehearsal. Indeed it is improbable that they had in view the 40 or 50 plays to which he refers. His references but illustrate the extent of the mock heroic drama. In the Illustrations of the present work Langbaine and the first Key have been principally followed; it being noted that the Text is, as first acted on 7 Dec. 1671. Subsequent additions and their illustrations therefore, (such as ridicule Dryden's The Assignation, or Love in a Nunnery, produced in 1672) are, with two exceptions, not found in it. At the same time, the vacant spaces on the alternate pages will enable enquirers to note the results of further researches. * Very small signs appear of this at present: But when the Duke altered the name, he might also suppress the more offensive passages. Before the Rehearsal was acted Sir Robert Howard was upon such good terms with our noble author, that he dedicated to him his Duel of the Stags, Lond. 1688, 870. Ep. Percy. + Mr. Dryden became Poet-laureat upon the Death of Sir William Davemant; but he had appeared as a Dramatic Writer before. Bp. Percy. |