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The angels then enter, finging from the Church Service,' To Thee all angels cry aloud, the heavens and all the powers therein. To Thee Cherubim and Seraphim continually do cry, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Hofts.' Lucifer next makes his appearance, and defires to know if the hymn they fang was in honour of God, or in honour of him? The good angels readily reply, ' In honou of God;' the evil angels incline to worship Lucifer, and he prefumes to feat himself on the throne of the Deity, who commands him to depart from heaven to hell, which dreadful fentence he is compelled to obey, and with his wicked affociates descends to the Lower Regions."

Despite the serious and facred character of the dramas, something of the comic element was generally introduced, to fatisfy the defire to be merry among the spectators. Upon Beelzebub generally devolved the task of raising the pleasant laugh, and this, too, notwithstanding the fevere punishment to which he was the victim. He was affifted by a merry troop of under-devils, whose variety of strange noises, diftortions, and grimaces, made the fun grow faft and furious. It was especially agreeable to see his Satanic Majesty well belaboured with clubs or cudgels, or hear him howl with pain, as he limped off maimed by the blow of some unusually vigorous faint. It was a fine feat, too, to fee the application of the red-hot pincers by St. Dunstan to the nose of Beelzebub; to fee other faints of leffer reputation and lefs refinement, fpit in his face, or cut off pieces of his tail, which always replaced themselves with the vitality of the Polypi. When miracle-plays and mysteries gave place to

the newer entertainment of "Moralities," the populace were made merry at the rebuffs or punishments which the allegorical characters of Pride, Avarice, and other vices or iniquities, received from Good Doctrine, Faith, Prudence, Charity, or fome other of the Christian virtues. "Iniquity," it is faid in the Staple of Newes, "came in like Hokos-pokos in a juggler's jerkin, with false skirts like the knave of clubs;" and complaint is made because "Here is never a fiend to carry the Vice away; befides he has never a wooden dagger; I'd not give a rush for a Vice that has not a wooden dagger to fnap at every one he meetes."

A stage direction in one of the old plays fays that Vice is to lay about him luftily with a great pole, and tumble the characters one over the other with "great noise and riot, for dysport fake." There was uncouthness in all this merriment, no doubt; and our fathers were fadly ignorant of the "genteel comedy" of the present day; but they went to their al fresco plays to laugh, and not, as their children too often go to the modern theatre, to yawn. Old Goffe, in his play of "The Careless Shepherdefs," shows us that in his day they would not endure a piece on the stage that had not fome food for laughter. Several characters are introduced upon the stage in the prologue, as waiting for the commencement of the performance. One of them fays

Why, I would have a fool in every act,

Be't comedy or tragedy: I've laugh'd

Until I cry'd again, to see what faces

The rogue will make. Oh! it does me good

To see him hold out's chin, hang down his hands,

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And twirle his bawble.

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I heard a fellow

Once on the stage cry doodle doodle dooe
Beyond compare; I'd give th' other shilling
To see him act the Changling once again.

His companion replies

And so would I; his part has all the wit,

For none speakes, carps, and quibbles beside him;
I'd rather see him leap, or laugh, or cry,
Than hear the gravest speech in all the play.

I never saw Rheade peeping through the curtain,

But ravishing joy entered into my heart.

Then comes a boy upon the stage; the first speaker inquires of him for the "Fool," and is told he will not perform that night, whereupon he fays

Well, since there will be ne'er a fool i' the play,

I'll have my money again; the comedy

Will be as tedious to me as a sermon.

Dearly did the merrie men of England love to see strange fights; the taste is not yet quite extinct among their descendants. Shakespeare knew the weakness of his countrymen in this respect, for Stephano, when meeting with Caliban on Profpero's ifland, uncertain whether he is fifh or man, is made to fay, "Were I in England now as once I was, and had this fish painted, not a holiday fool there but would give me a piece of filver. There would this monster make a man,- any strange beast there makes a man." The place of mysteries, and miracle-plays, and moralities, was supplied

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