in which he is named Ulenspiegle. Howleglass, whose waggish tricks are the subject of this book, after many adventures comes to live with a priest, who makes him his parish-clerk. This priest is described as keeping a LEMAN or concubine, who had but one eye, to whom Howleglass owed a grudge for revealing his rogueries to his master. The story thus proceeds,.... "And than in the meane season, while Howleglas was parysh clarke, at Easter they should play the "Resurrection of our Lorde: and for because than "the men wer not learned, nor could not read, the

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priest toke his leman, and put her in the grave for "an Aungell: and this seing Howleglas, toke to hym "iij of the symplest persons that were in the towne, "that played the iij Maries; and the person [i. e. "Parson or Rector] played Christe, with a baner in "his hand. Than saide Howleglas to the symple per"sons, Whan the Aungel asketh you, whome you "seke you may saye, The parsons leman with one "iye. Than it fortuned that the tyme was come that "they must playe, and the Aungel asked them whom "they sought, and than sayd they, as Howleglas had "shewed and lerned them afore, and than answered "they. We seke the priests leman with one iye. And "than the prieste might heare that he was mocked. "And whan the priests leman herd that, she arose "out of the grave, and would have smyten with her "fist Howleglas upon the cheke, but she missed him "and smote one of the simple persons that played one "of the thre Maries; and he gave her another; and "than toke she him by the heare [hair;] and that "seing his wyfe, came running hastely to smite the "priestes leaman; and than the priest seeing this, "caste down hys baner and went to helpe his woman, "so that the one gave the other sore strokes, and "made great noyse in the churche. And than Howle"glas seyng them lying together by the eares in the

"bodi of the churche, went his way out of the vil"lage, and came no more there." (c)

As the old Mysteries frequently required the representation of some allegorical personage, such as Death, Sin, Charity, Faith, and the like, by degrees the rude poets of those unlettered ages began to form complete dramatic pieces consisting entirely of such personifications. These they entitled MORAL PLAYS, or MORALITIES. The Mysteries were very inartificial, representing the Scripture stories simply according to the letter. But the Moralities are not devoid of invention: they exhibit outlines of the dramatic art: they contain something of a fable or plot, and even attempt to delineate characters and manners. I have now before me two that were printed early in the reign of Henry VIII; in which I think one may plainly discover the seeds of Tragedy and Comedy; for which reason I shall give a short analysis of them both.

One of them is intitled Every Ban (d.) The subject of this piece is the summoning of Man out of the world by death; and its moral, that nothing will then avail him but a well-spent life and the comforts of religion. This subject and moral are opened in a monologue spoken by the MESSENGER (for that was the name generally given by our ancestors to the Prologue on their rude stage:) then GoD (e) is represented; who, after some general complaints on the degeneracy of mankind, calls for DETH, and orders him to bring before his tribunal EVERY-MAN, for so is called the personage who represents the Human Race. EVERY-MAN appears and receives the summons with all

(c) 1. Imprynted by alyllyam Copland: without date, in 4to. bl. let. among Mr. Garrick's Old Plays, K. vol. X. (d) This play has been reprinted by Mr. HAWKINS in his 3 vols. of Old Plays, entitled, The ORIGIN OF THE English DraMA. 12mo. Oxford, 1773. See vol. i. p. 27.

(e) The second person of the Trinity seems to be meant.

the marks of confusion and terror. When Death is withdrawn, Every-man applies for relief in this distress to FELLOWSHIP, KINDRED, GOODS, or Riches, but they successively renounce and forsake him. In this disconsolate state he betakes himself to GooDDEDES, who, after upbraiding him with his long neglect of her, (f) introduces him to her sister KNOWLEDGE, and she leads him to the "holy man CoNFESSION," who appoints him penance: this he inflicts upon himself on the stage, and then withdraws to receive the sacraments of the priest. On his return he begins to wax faint, and, after STRENGTH, BEAUTY, DISCRETION, and FIVE WITS (g) have all taken their final leave of him, gradually expires on the stage; Good-dedes still accompanying him to the last. Then an AUNGELL descends to sing his Requiem; and the Epilogue is spoken by a person, called DocTour, who recapitulates the whole, and delivers the moral: "This memoriall men may have in mynde, "Ye herers, take it of worth old and yonge, "And forsake Pryde, for he disceyveth you in thende, "And remembre Beautè, Five Witts, Strength and "They all at last do Every-man forsake; [Discretion, "Save his Good Dedes there dothe he take; "But beware, for and they be small, "Before God he hath no help at all," &c.

From this short analysis it may be observed, that Every Man is a grave solemn piece, not without some rude attempts to excite terror and pity, and therefore may not improperly be referred to the class of Tragedy. It is remarkable that in this old simple drama the fable is, conducted upon the strictest model of the Greek tragedy. The action is simply one, the

(f) The before-mentioned are male characters.

(g) i. e. The Five Senses. These are frequently exhibited as five distinct personages upon the Spanish stage; (see Riccoboni, p. 98.) but our moralist has represented them all by one character.

time of action is that of the performance, the scene is never changed, nor the stage ever empty. EVERYMAN, the hero of the piece, after his first appearance never withdraws, except when he goes out to receive the sacraments, which could not well be exhibited in public; and during his absence KNOWLEDGE descants on the excellence and power of the priesthood, somewhat after the manner of the Greek chorus. And indeed, except in the circumstance of Every-man's expiring on the stage, the Sampson Agonistes of Milton is hardly formed on a severer plan. (h)

The other play is entitled hick-Scorner (i) and bears no distant resemblance to Comedy: its chief aim seems to be to exhibit characters and manners, its plot being much less regular than the foregoing. The Prologue is spoken by Piry represented under the character of an aged pilgrim; he is joined by CONTEMPLACYON and PERSEVERANCE, two holy men, who, after lamenting the degeneracy of the age, declare their resolution of stemming the torrent. Pity then is left upon the stage, and presently found by FREWYLL, representing a lewd debauchee, who, with his dissolute companion IMAGINACION, relate their manner of life, and not without humour describe the stews and other places of base resort. They are presently joined by HICK-3CORNER, who is drawn as a libertine returned from travel, and, agreeably to his name, scoffs at religion. These three are described as extremely vicious, who glory in every act of wick edness: at length two of them quarrel, and PITY endeavours to part the fray; on this they fall upon him, put him in the stocks, and there leave him. Pity, thus imprisoned, descants in a kind of lyric measure on the profligacy of the age, and in this situation is found by Perseverance and Contemplacion, who set (h) See more of EVERY-MAN, in vol. ii. Pref. to B. ii. Note. (1) Imprynted by me TMynkyn de Morbe no date; in 4to. This play has also been reprinted by Mr. HAWKINS in his "Origin of the English Drama," vol. i. p. 69.

bl. let.

him at liberty, and advise him to go in search of the delinquents. As soon as he is gone, Frewill appears again; and, after relating in a very comic manner some of his rogueries and escapes from justice, is rebuked by the two holy men, who, after a long altercation, at length convert him and his libertine companion Imaginacioun from their vicious course of life: and then the play ends with a few-verses from Perseverance by the way of Epilogue. This and every Morality I have seen conclude with a solemn prayer. They are all of them in rhyme; in a kind of loose stanza, intermixed with distichs.

It would be needless to point out the absurdities in the plan and conduct of the foregoing play: they are evidently great. It is sufficient to observe, that, bating the moral and religious reflection of Prry, &c. the piece is of a comic cast, and contains a humourous display of some of the vices of the age. Indeed the author has generally been so little attentive to the allegory, that we need only substitute other names to his personages, and we have real characters and living manners.

We see then that the writers of these Moralities were upon the very threshold of real Tragedy and Comedy; and therefore we are not to wonder that Tragedies and Comedies in form soon after took place, especially as the revival of learning about this time brought them acquainted with the Roman and Grecian models.

II. Ar what period of time the Moralities had their rise here, it is difficult to discover. But plays of miracles appear to have been exhibited in England soon after the Conquest. Matthew Paris tells us that Geoffrey, afterwards Abbot of St. Albans, a Norman, who had been sent for over by Abbot Richard to take upon him the direction of the school of that monastery, coming too late, went to Dunstable, and taught in the abbey there; where he caused to be acted (probably by his scholars) a MIRACLE-PLAY of ST. CATHA