and, at the fame time, was a skilful performer on the organ, and a judge of mufick." Perhaps the praife and judgement of Milton (I speak with fubmiffion) may not then be confidered as the conceffions of jealous fuperiority, or as the effufions of hafty admiration. I muft not omit to mention, that, at the Concert of Ancient Mufick, the "artful ftrains" of Henry Lawes have lately been revived. TODD. Origin of Comus. IN Fletcher's Faithful Shepherdefs, an Arcadian comedy, s recently published, Milton found many touches of paftoral and fuperftitious imagery, congenial with his own conceptions. Many of thefe, yet with the highest improvements, he has transferred into Comus; together with the general cast and colouring of the piece. He catched alfo from the lyrick rhymes of Fletcher, that Dorique delicacy, with which Sir Henry Wotton was fo much delighted in the Songs of Milton's drama. Fletcher's comedy was coldly received the first night of its performance. But it had ample revenge in this confpicuous and indifputable mark of Milton's approbation. It was afterwards reprefented as a Mask at court, before the king and queen on twelfth-night, in 1633. I know not, indeed, if this was any recommendation to Milton; who, in the Paradife Loft, fpeaks contemptuously of these interludes, which had been among the chief diverfions of an elegant and liberal monarch. B. iv. 767. "court-amours, "Mix'd dance, and wanton mask, or midnight ball, &c.” t • recently published,] The third edition of Fletcher's play was published in 1633. The first quarto was published during his life-time; the fecond is dated 1629, four years after his decease. See Colman's Beaumont and Fletcher, vol. iii. pp. 113, 145. The Faithful Shepherdefs is commended in Davies's Scourge of Folly, 1611. pp. 98, 99. TODD. Mix'd dance, and wanton mask, &c.] I muft add to Mr. Warton's re. mark, that these lines are written in the manner of Joshua Sylvester, who thus fueers at these interludes, Du Bart. 1621, p. 221. "And, quaffing deeply of the court-delights, "Vs'd nought but tilts, turneis, and masks, and fights, &c," V And in his Ready and eafy Way to establish a free Commonwealth, written in 1660, on the inconveniencies and dangers of readmitting Kingship, and with a view to counteract the noxious humour of returning to Bondage, he fays, "A King muft be adored as a demigod, with a diffolute and haughty court about him, of vast expence and luxury, Masks and Revels, to the debauching our prime gentry, both male and female, not in their pastimes only, &c." Pr. W. i, 590. I believe the whole compliment was paid to the genius of Fletcher. But in the mean time it should be remembered, that Milton had not yet contracted an aversion to courts and court-amufements; and that, in L'Allegro, Masks are among his pleafures. Nor could he now difapprove of a fpecies of entertainment, to which as a writer he was giving encouragement. The royal Masks, did not, however, like Comus, always abound with Platonick recommendations of the doctrine of chastity. The ingenious and accurate Mr. Reed has pointed out a rude out-line, from which Milton feems partly to have sketched the plan of the fable of Comus. See Biograph. Dramat. ii. p. 441. It is an old play, with this title, "The old Wives Tale, a pleafant conceited Comedie,plaied by the Queenes Maiefties players. Hence it is a fhining distinction in Judith's character, (ib. p. 988.) because "Shee, ever modeft, never vs'd to stay "Abroad till midnight at a mask or play!" Milton, when he wrote L'Allegro, and Arcades, and Comus, probably smiled at this commendation; and disregarded also the folemn warning, given against thefe and fimilar entertainincnts by a very precife fon of Galen: "There are fome kinds of exercife, and recreations, altogether dangerous; as-muficke, playing upon the violl, lute, or any other inftruments: but the most dangerous of all are plaies, revels, mafques, and dancing." Treatife of Love Melancholy, by J. Ferrand, Dr. of Phyfick, Oxford 1640, 12mo. p. 251. Compare, with the extract above cited from Milton's Profe-Works, Wither's account of Charles the fecond's return, Speculum Speculativum, 1160, p. 70. "Some looked for encrease "Of trading, or of making Taxes lefs; "And other fome (another way affected) Together with a King, returns expected "Of Masks, and Revels, Turnaments, and Plays, Written by G. P." [i. e. George Peele.] Printed at London by John Danter, and are to be fold by Ralph Hancocke and John Hardie, 1595." In quarto. This very scarce and curious piece exhibits, among other parallel incidents, two Brothers wandering in queft of their Sifter, whom an Enchanter had imprisoned. This Magician had learned his art from his mother Meroe, as Comus had been inftructed by his mother Circe. The Brothers call out on the Lady's name, and Echo replies. The Enchanter had given her a potion which suspends the powers of reason, and fuperinduces oblivion of herself. The Brothers afterwards meet with an Old Man who is alfo fkilled in magick; and, by liftening to his foothfayings, they recover their loft Sifter. But not till the Enchanter's wreath had been torn from his head, his fword wrefted from his hand, a glafs broken, and a light extinguished. The names of fome of the characters, as Sacrapant, Chorebus, and others, are taken from the Orlando Furiofo. The hiftory of George Peele, the author of the Old Wives Tale, was a native of Devonfhire; and a Student of Chrift-Church, Oxford, where he became a Mafter of Arts in 1579. At the university, he was much esteemed for his poetical talents. Going to London, he was made conductor of the city pageants. Hence he feems to have got a connection with the ftage. He was one of the wits of the town, and his "Merrie Iefts" appeared in 1607. Reprinted 1627. Mr. Setevens justly supposes, that the character of George Pieboard, in the Puritan, was defigned for George Peele. See Malone's Suppl. Shaksp. ii. 587. He has fome few pastoral pieces in Englands Helicon. He dedicated a poem, called the Honour of the Garter, to the Earl of Northumberland, by whom he was patronised in 1593. He wrote alfo among other things, Polyhymnia, the defcription of a Tylt exhibited before the queen, 1590. As to his plays, befide the Old Wives Tale, 1595, he wrote The Arraignment of Paris, 1584.—Edward the First, 1593.—King David and Fair Bethsabe, 1599. (See Note on Comus, v. 934.)—And the Turkish Mahomet and Hyren [Irene] the faire Greeke, never printed. See Malone, ut fupr. vol i. 191. Of his popularity, and in various kinds of poetry, fee Meres's Wits Treafury, 1598. 12mo. viz. p. 232, 283, 285. And Nath's Epiftle to the Gentlemen Students of both univerfities, prefixed to Greene's Arcadia, 4to. Bl. Let. He lived on the Bank-fide, oppofite to Black Friars: and died in want and obfcurity, of a a disease, which Wood fays is incident to poets, about the year 1597. He was a favourite dramatick poet: and his plays continued to be acted with applause long after his death. A man of Pecle's profession, fituation, and character, must have left many more plays, at least interludes, than are now remembered even by name only. His Old Wiues Tale, which is unrecited by Wood, and of which the induftrious Langbaine appears to have known nothing more than the title, had funk into total oblivion. T. Warton. ✓ Meroe a witch, may be seen in "The xi Bookes of the Goldeti Affe, containing the Metamorphofie of Lucius Apuleius, intérlaced with fundrie pleasant and delectable Tales, &c." Tranflated out of Latin into English by William Adlington. Lond. 1566." See Chap. iii. "How Socrates in his returne from Macedony V to Lariffa was fpoyled and robbed, and how he fell acquainted with one Meroe a witch." And Chap. iv. "How Meroe the witch turned divers perfons into miferable beafts." Of this book there were other editions, in 1571, 1596, 1600, and 1639. All in quarto and the black letter. The tranflator was of Univerfity College. See alfo Apuleius in the original. A Merve is mentioned by Aufonius, Epigr. xix. Peele's Play opens thus. Anticke, Frolicke, and Fantafticke, three adventurers, are loft in a wood, in the night. They agree to fing the old Song, "Three merrie men, and three merrie men, "And three merrie men be wee; "I in the wood, and thou on the ground, They hear a dog, and fancy themselves to be near fome village. 66 "When as the rie reach to the chin, "And chop cherrie, chop cherrie ripe within; "And fchoole-boyes playing in the streame, &c." * This old Ballad is alluded to in Twelfth Night, A. ii. S. iii. Sir Toby fays, My Lady's a Cataian, we are politicians, Malvolio's a Peg a Ramfay, and “three merry men be we." Again, in the Comedy of Ram-Alley, 1611. See Reed's Old Pl. vol. v. p. 437. And in the Preface to the Shoemaker's Holiday, 1610. 4to. Bl. Let. "The merriments that pafled in Eyre's houfe and other accidents; with two merry three mens fongs." And in the Comedy Laugh and Lie down, 1605. "He plaied fuch a fong of the "three merry men, &c." Many more inftances occur. T. WARTON. 66 ✔ At length, to pass the time trimly, it is proposed that the wife fhall tell a merry winters tale," or, an old wiues winters tale," of which fort of ftories fhe is not without a fcore. She begins, There was a king, or duke, who had a most beautiful daughter, and fshe was stolen away by a necromancer, who turning himself into a dragon, carried her in his mouth to his castle. The king fent out all his men to find his daughter; "at laft, all the king's men went out fo long, that hir Two Brothers went to feeke hir." Immediately the two Brothers enter, and speak, "1 Br. Vpon thefe chalkie cliffs of Albion, "We are arriued now with tedious toile, &c. A foothfayer enters, with whom they converfe about the loft lady. Sooths. Was the fayre? 2 Br. The fayreft for white and the pureft for redde, as the blood of the deare or the driven fnowe, &c." In their fearch, Echo replies to their call. They find too late that their Sister is under the captivity of a wicked magician, and that she had tafted his cup of oblivion. In the clofe, after the wreath is torn from the magician's head, and he is difarmed and killed, by a Spirit in the shape and character of a beautiful page of fifteen years old, she still remains fubject to the magician's enchantment. But in a subsequent scene the Spirit enters, and declares, that the Sifter cannot be delivered but by a Lady, who is neither maid, wife, nor widow. The Spirit blows a magical horn, and the Lady appears; the diffolves the charm, by breaking a glafs, and extinguishing a light, as I have before. recited. A curtain is withdrawn, and the Sifter is seen seated and afleep. She is difenchanted and restored to her fenfes, having "And tell us a tale. M. Merry or fad fhall't be? "A fad tale's beft for winter: "I have one of fprights and goblins- There is an entry in the Regifter of the Stationers, of A Book intitled A Wynter Nyghts paftyme, May 22, 1594." This is not Shakspeare's Winter's Tale, which perhaps did not appear till after 1600. T. WARTON. z See the note on Comus, v. 243. And Reed's Old Pl. vol. vi. 426, vol xii. 421. T. WARTON. VOL. VI. |