PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 

 PUBLISHED UNDER THE 
 
 AUSPICES OF THE ELIZABETHAN CLUB 
 OF YALE UNIVERSITY 
 
^'^CVR.K.T.VC.A^ 
 
 
PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION 
 STAGE 
 
 BY 
 HELEN McAFEE 
 
 NEW HAVEN: YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS 
 
 LONDON: HUMPHREY MILFORD 
 
 OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 
 
 MDCCCCXVI 
 
1 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1916 
 BY YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS 
 
 First published October, 1916 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 One would scarcely have the temerity to add to 
 the already copious literature inspired by the immor- 
 tal Diary of Samuel Pepys were it not that a sepa- 
 rate presentation of the highly valuable and inter- 
 esting passages relating to the Restoration stage 
 would seem to serve a useful purpose. These pas- 
 sages, it is true, have been widely cited by literary 
 historians from Genest down, and many of them 
 have been commented upon by the several editors 
 and critics of the Diary. Different writers have, 
 however, used different, and in many cases incom- 
 plete editions Genest, for example, basing his con- 
 clusions on that of Lord Braybrooke, first published 
 in 1825. Moreover, since the appearance of the last 
 and fullest edition by Henry B. Wheatley, 1893- 
 1899, works elucidating many of Pepys's statements 
 have been brought out. Now, therefore, that we have 
 a version of the Diary in which we may be sure no 
 detail of importance has been omitted, the time would 
 seem to be ripe for a complete selection of all pas- 
 sages relating to the theatre and the drama in the 
 decade Pepys covers one of the most decisive in the 
 history of the English stage and for a re-annotation 
 of this material in the light of recent researches as 
 well as seventeenth-century sources. Since the latter 
 are more or less difficult of access, the plan has been 
 
 3435C3 
 
viii FOREWORD 
 
 to include in the notes the accounts of such writers 
 as Downes, Langbaine, and John Evelyn, where they 
 parallel Pepys. With these ends in view, and in the 
 interest of both the student reader and the lover of 
 the stage, this volume is presented. 
 
 Originally undertaken in partial fulfillment of the 
 requirements for the degree of Master of Arts at 
 Smith College, the work has been somewhat en- 
 larged in size and in scope for purposes of publica- 
 tion. The author desires to acknowledge here indebt- 
 edness to Professor George Henry Nettleton of 
 Yale University and others who have by their criti- 
 cism and interest generously assisted in its prepara- 
 tion. It is also a pleasure to thank Mr. Robert Gould 
 Shaw for his courtesy in permitting the reproduc- 
 tion of a quaint print of a Restoration actor from the 
 invaluable Theatre Collection in the Harvard Uni- 
 versity Library. 
 
 HELEN MCAFEE. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 FOREWORD vii 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 I. The Critics and Pepys's Material on the 
 
 Stage 5 
 
 II. Pepys as a Dramatic Historian . . 17 
 
 III. Pepys and the Restoration Theatre . . 37 
 
 REFERENCES IN PEPYS'S DIARY TO THE 
 RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 PART ONE 
 
 Chapter I. Shakespeare's Plays N . . .65 
 
 Chapter II. Other Pre-Restoration PlaysN . . 81 
 
 Chapter III. Plays of Uncertain Date . . 133 
 
 Chapter IV. Contemporary Restoration Plays \ . 137^ 
 
 Chapter V. Foreign Plays and Translations . 197 
 
 Chapter VI. Drolls and Puppet-Plays . . 205 
 
 PART Two 
 
 Chapter VII. The Actors . . . .211 
 
 Chapter VIII. The Actresses .... 237 
 Chapter IX. The Playwrights . . . .263 
 
 Chapter X. The Audiences . . . .277 
 
 PART THREE 
 
 Chapter XI. The Theatres . . . .289 
 
 Chapter XII. Stage Productions . . .315 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY .... .327 
 
 INDEX . 339 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Samuel Pepys Frontispiece 
 
 Thomas Betterton .... Opposite p. 45 
 
 Scene from The Island Princess . . Opposite p. 89 
 
 Joe Haines Speaking a Prologue . . Opposite p. 217 
 
 Nell Gwyn ..... Opposite p. 243 
 
 Stage of the So-called Red Bull Theatre . Opposite p. 300 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
THE CRITICS AND PEPYS'S MATERIAL 
 ON THE STAGE 
 
THE CRITICS AND PEPYS'S MATERIAL 
 ON THE STAGE 
 
 In his Preface to the first edition of the Memoirs 
 of Samuel Pepys, Esq. (1825), Lord Braybrooke 
 endeavored to forestall objections to the number of 
 theatrical "notices" which the work contained. For 
 including so many of them, he offered the twofold 
 excuse that little was previously known "from authen- 
 tic sources of the History of the Stage about the 
 period of the Restoration," and that many of the inci- 
 dents recorded by Pepys were "not to be met with 
 elsewhere." He therefore thought himself justified, 
 he says, "in retaining them, at the risk of fatiguing 
 those readers who have no taste for the concerns of 
 the Drama." In view of its subsequent reception, 
 Lord Braybrooke's solicitude for the theatrical intel- 
 ligence in the Diary was unnecessary. Few readers 
 have appeared to find Pepys's accounts of his visits 
 to the playhouse fatiguing. And from the very be- 
 ginning, critics delighted to honor the information 
 which the Diarist gives us about the Restoration 
 stage. Unlike so many famous works, Pepys's jour- 
 nal, after being hidden away for a century and a half, 
 acceded immediately on its appearance to a place in 
 the minds and affections of the reading public. And 
 
6 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 the entries relating to the stage were welcomed with 
 especial warmth. 
 
 Ample evidence of this may be found in the reviews 
 of the Braybrooke edition of the Memoirs, which 
 continued to appear in the literary magazines 1 all 
 through the latter part of 1825 and the early part 
 of 1826. With few exceptions, contemporary re- 
 viewers were quick to acknowledge both the value 
 and the interest of the references to the stage. 
 Nearly a century has elapsed since these critics wrote; 
 but in the main their verdicts have stood the test of 
 time. In the long line of commentators who have 
 succeeded them, are many distinguished names Sir 
 Walter Scott, Francis Jeffrey, Robert Louis Steven- 
 son, William Archer, R. W. Lowe, Henry B. Wheat- 
 ley, and Sir Sidney Lee, 2 to mention only a few. 
 Their impressions, as well as the criticisms of cer- 
 tain anonymous writers, are well worth reviewing not 
 only for their intrinsic interest but also for the light 
 they throw on the attitude taken from time to time 
 towards Pepys's material on the stage. Hence, by 
 way of introduction to the present work, a brief 
 account of the more significant of these will be 
 presented. 
 
 The unfavorable comments, because of their ex- 
 treme rarity, should perhaps be considered first. 
 Such comments, of sufficient bulk and import to war- 
 rant notice, appeared in reviews of the Memoirs in 
 
 1 A list of British periodicals in which the more important 
 reviews discussing this aspect of the Memoirs appeared, will be 
 found on pp. 327-328 of the Bibliography. 
 
 2 See under these names in the Bibliography for titles. 
 
THE CRITICS AND PEPYS'S MATERIAL 7 
 
 three periodicals of the year 1825. All were ob- 
 viously written by men who had "no taste for the 
 concerns of the Drama" in the concrete form in which 
 Pepys recorded them. Of these three criticisms the 
 most impatient is that of an anonymous contributor 
 to the July issue of The Eclectic Review published 
 when the Diary had not yet been out a month. He 
 dismisses thus curtly Pepys's "insipid and weari- 
 some notices relating to the theatrical performances" 
 in order to devote the remaining thirteen pages of 
 his essay to other sides of the Memoirs that, frankly, 
 engage him more. In the same vein writes another 
 anonymous author of a lengthy notice, which has first 
 place in the contents of The Monthly Repository of 
 Theology and General Literature for August, 1825. 
 "Few," he confidently asserts, "besides those that 
 have studied the history of the drama will take any 
 interest in his [Pepys's] descriptions of the number- 
 less performances that he witnessed." As might be 
 expected from the somewhat special nature of his 
 medium, this reviewer finds the Diarist's accounts of 
 sermons more interesting than his records of plays. 
 
 Of a different order, though like these notices in 
 unfavorable tone, is Francis Jeffrey's trenchant 
 criticism which appeared, also in 1825, in the Novem- 
 ber number of The Edinburgh Review. After a 
 relentlessly severe examination of Pepys's charac- 
 ter his "ignoble taste for dress," his "want of manli- 
 ness," his "penuriousness," and his many other frail- 
 tiesthe critic proceeds to the dramatic comment in 
 the Diary; and one cannot help feeling that Lord 
 Jeffrey's disapproval of the man unduly colored his 
 
8 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 view of the informal chronicler of the early Restora- 
 tion stage. His concern for the moral throughout the 
 theatrical material seems invariably to encroach upon 
 his estimate of the value of the evidence. Of his gen- 
 eral method the handling of the following passage is 
 typical. In an entry of October 5, 1667, Pepys had 
 noted in connection with a certain performance that 
 \ it was "pretty" to see how Nell Gwyn "cursed for 
 having so few people in the pit." "Now, whether it 
 (was strange or not," remarks Jeffrey, "it was cer- 
 tainly very wrong in Nell to curse so unmercifully, 
 even at a thin house"; and he chastises Pepys roundly 
 for seeming to approve. Hence the spirit of the 
 whole criticism must be taken into account in ap- 
 proaching its final conclusions. "There is," declares 
 Jeffrey at the end of the essay, "no literary intelli- 
 gence of any value to be gained from this work. 
 Play collectors will probably find the names of many 
 lost pieces but of our classical authors there are no 
 notices worth naming." 
 
 Over against Lord Jeffrey's arraignment, it is 
 instructive to set Sir Walter Scott's appreciation in 
 The Quarterly Review for March, 1826, in an article 
 on Pepys 's Memoirs, about which he wrote to Lock- 
 hart, "The subject is like a good sirloin, which re- 
 quires only to be basted with its own drippings." 
 Scott is in agreement with the critic of the Edinburgh 
 on one important point, the lack of literary taste dis- 
 played by Pepys in his comments on Shakespeare. 
 In most other matters, the two reviewers differ in 
 nothing more widely than in general temper. Scott 
 cannot mention the name of Nell Gwyn without be- 
 
THE CRITICS AND PEPYS'S MATERIAL 9 
 
 traying his greater humanity. "Pepys," writes the 
 novelist, "in his love of wit and admiration of beauty 
 finds room to love and admire Nell Gwynn, whose 
 name still carries an odd fascination with it after so 
 many generations." The Diary Scott regards as rich 
 "in every species of information concerning the 
 author's century." In short, he believes that it con- 
 tains annotations "for a new edition of the Roscius 
 Anglicanus," 3 and he concludes that "if the curious 
 affect dramatic antiquities, no book published in our 
 time has thrown so much light upon plays, play- 
 wrights, and playactors." Thus highly does the past 
 master of the art of the novel rate the past master of 
 the unpremeditated art of the diary. 
 
 But before Scott's estimate appeared, anonymous 
 reviewers had already emphasized over and over again 
 in the current periodicals the importance of Pepys's 
 picture of the Restoration stage. Perhaps the most 
 interesting of the favorable comments are those in 
 The Gentleman's Magazine (September and Octo- 
 ber, 1825), The New Monthly Magazine and Liter- 
 ary Journal (Part II, 1825), and The London 
 Literary Gazette (June 18- August 13, 1825). Al- 
 though the reviewer for The Gentleman's Magazine 
 does not wax enthusiastic over the Diary as a whole, 
 he readily grants that Pepys "has thrown light on 
 the dramatic history of his age." The New Monthly 
 Magazine is more outspoken in its praise. "Those 
 who are well read in the dramatic works of Shake- 
 speare, Ben Jonson, Dryden, Killigrew, Sedley, 
 
 3 Roscius Anglicanus, or An Historical Review of the Stage 
 . . . from 1660 to 1706. [By John Dowries.] 1708. 
 
10 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 Beaumont and Fletcher, &c.," writes its critic, "will 
 receive great pleasure from the frequent notices of 
 the reception their works met with from the polite 
 audiences of King Charles's day." He then proceeds 
 to remark that the names of the famous players of 
 the period occur in the Diary "as frequently as those 
 of the heads of the treasury and exchequer, and this 
 passion of our author has perhaps thrown more light 
 upon the history of the stage, than is to be obtained 
 even in Gibber's Apology, or any other contemporary 
 work on the subject." 
 
 No writer of that day, however, made more of the 
 Diary, or, indeed, of the theatrical material it con- 
 tains, than the anonymous author of the nine extended 
 notices which appeared between June 18 and August 
 13, 1825, in "the most influential of the purely liter- 
 ary weeklies" The London Literary Gazette, edited 
 by William Jerdan. In the second of these notices, 
 the reviewer prefaces a long series of quotations deal- 
 ing with the stage, with the following prophecy: "Mr. 
 Pepys was a great playgoer, and his remarks on the 
 first nights of plays, which now constitute our ancient 
 drama, will be read with much interest ; they also inci- 
 dentally serve happily to illustrate the manners of 
 the times." That the readers of this weekly took an 
 even livelier interest in the material in question than 
 the reviewer anticipated, may be inferred from the 
 frequency with which he recurs to this theme in suc- 
 ceeding notices. In the Gazette of July 2 he is ready 
 to "resume upon the generally pleasing topic of the 
 drama and stage" with another copious selection of 
 quotations. Again, in the next issue, he thinks it 
 
THE CRITICS AND PEPYS'S MATERIAL 11 
 
 worth while "to follow our last week's discourse, and 
 set out with the drama." Indeed, not until the eighth 
 installment, does he at length "beg leave to resume 
 and wind up the notices connected with the Drama 
 and state of dramatic representations in the time of 
 Pepys." In so doing, he manages to quote about 
 forty more passages, which added to the number of 
 those previously cited, bring the sum total of excerpts 
 touching the stage to over a hundred. As they are 
 confessedly heaped up in proportion to popular relish 
 for them, there is here eloquent testimony to the 
 appreciation they received from the readers of 1825. 
 As for the reviewer, it appears that he was con- 
 sciously attempting to do in The London Literary 
 Gazette > in an informal way, what the author of this 
 work has attempted to do formally in the present vol- 
 ume. "With this we close our dramatic extracts," 
 he comments after his final group, "which being put 
 together, make in our opinion, a very valuable addi- 
 tion to the history of the stage." 
 
 Thus exploited, the dramatic and theatrical mate- 
 rials contained in the Diary pass out of the hands of 
 the reviewer of new books into the hands of the liter- 
 ary historian and biographer, whose permanent pos- 
 session they have long since become. Among the lit- 
 erary chroniclers, John Genest was the first to make 
 use of them, on a large scale, in that landmark in 
 the history of our drama, Some Account of the Eng- 
 lish Stage, published in 1832. For this reason, rather 
 than because of what is added to the discussion, it 
 may be of interest to recall his terse remarks: "The 
 theatrical intelligence contained in two large 4to. 
 
12 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 Vols. is not very great in quantity, but it is highly 
 valuable, on account of dates and because Pepys 
 mentions the revival of several old plays not noticed 
 by Downes or Langbaine as having been revived." 4 
 From Genest to The Cambridge History of English 
 Literature, which asserts that "the Diary contains a 
 mine of information respecting the theatres," com- 
 ment on the subject is so frequent and so widely scat- 
 tered as to make further quotation from the histories 
 and biographies impracticable. Suffice it to say that 
 from 1825 down, no important work bearing upon 
 the stage of this period has failed to testify to the 
 value of Pepys's journal as documentary evidence. 
 It "remains," says Sir A. W. Ward, "of course the 
 standard authority as to the history of the Restora- 
 tion stage." But even more striking than such 
 acknowledgments is the silent tribute that has been 
 paid to it by Continental as well as by English and 
 American writers in innumerable citations from its 
 pages. 
 
 Special mention, however, may well be made of 
 certain studies, impetus to which has in part been 
 given by the fuller editions of the Diary by Rev. 
 Mynors Bright (1875-1879) and Mr. Henry B. 
 Wheatley (1893-1899). It was the Bright edition 
 that called forth Robert Louis Stevenson's character- 
 istic paper on Samuel Pepys, now included in Famil- 
 iar Studies of Men and Books. Stevenson did not 
 hesitate to affirm that Pepys both "warmly loved and 
 understood" the stage, or to defend the Diarist in his 
 
 4 Some Account of the English Stage . . . , Bath, 1832, I, 39. 
 
THE CRITICS AND PEPYS'S MATERIAL 13 
 
 fine, spirited way against some of the aspersions that 
 have been cast upon Pepys's attitude towards Shake- 
 speare. In further discussion of the Diarist's entries 
 relating to this topic, has appeared still more recently 
 Sir Sidney Lee's notable study of Pepys and Shake- 
 speare? 
 
 But to Henry B. Wheatley belongs the honor in 
 our day of having added most to our knowledge and 
 potential appreciation of the parts of Pepys's Diary 
 dealing with the stage. The results of his scholarly 
 researches are incorporated not only in the excellent 
 notes to his edition, but also in a chapter on the theatre 
 in Samuel Pepys and the World He Lived In (1880) 
 and in the sections in his Pepysiana (1899) on Actors 
 and Actresses and The Stage. Mr. Wheatley 's sig- 
 nificant conclusions are too numerous and too detailed 
 to admit of quotation here. They will, however, fre- 
 quently be cited in the notes on the material from 
 Pepys contained in this book, which follows the text 
 of the admirable and now, at last, practically com- 
 plete version of the Diary that we owe to its latest 
 editor. 
 
 The two following introductory chapters will take 
 up more specifically the chief facts in Pepys's account 
 of the drama and the theatre of his day. 
 
 5 Included in Shakespeare and the Modern Stage, with other 
 Essays, New York, 1906. 
 
II 
 
 PEPYS AS A DRAMATIC HISTORIAN 
 
II 
 
 PEPYS AS A DRAMATIC HISTORIAN 
 
 If, as has been said, Pepys's Diary is "a mine of 
 information respecting the history of the stage," no 
 one can complain that it has been indifferently 
 worked. Ever since its first appearance in the incom- 
 plete edition of 1825, specialists in Elizabethan plays 
 and in Restoration plays, students of the theatre 
 of its music and its manners, of the art of staging and 
 the art of acting have ransacked its pages, each for 
 his particular purpose. As a result, the Diarist's 
 name is today inseparably linked with the names of 
 the actors, the managers, and the dramatists of his 
 time. His casual comments have become a part of 
 the traditio of the English stage. 
 
 To be specific, what Pepys has given us is a body 
 of closely dated, firsthand evidence as to the history 
 of the theatre in the first decade of Charles the Sec- 
 ond's reign. Its value is enhanced by the critical 
 importance of the time it covers. For two reasons 
 the early years of the Restoration period are of espe- 
 cial interest to the student of the stage : first, because 
 with the reopening of the playhouses after the Puri- 
 tan interregnum, during which they had remained 
 officially closed, the drama and theatre entered upon 
 a new life; and, secondly, because during the decade 
 of 1660-1670, as so seldom has happened, the two arts 
 
f 
 
 18 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 developed side by side. Fortunately for us, our 
 informal historian was interested in both aspects of 
 the contemporary stage, in the production of plays as 
 \ well as in the plays themselves. Thus we find in his 
 ^journal accounts not only of the rise of rhymed heroic 
 tragedy and the new "society comedy," but also of 
 the innovations in the employment of actresses and 
 movable scenery. He contributes alike to our knowl- 
 edge of the continued popularity of pre-Restoration 
 plays, the contemporary attitude towards Shake- 
 speare, the minor as well as the major dramatists of 
 the period, the vogue of French and Spanish plays in 
 translation ; and to our information about the reopen- 
 ing of the theatres, the personalities of the well- 
 known people in the theatrical world many of whom 
 he knew intimately and the manners and customs of 
 the Restoration playhouses. Especially important 
 
 Care his accounts of the years from 1660 to 1663, of 
 which there is elsewhere scant reliable record. 
 
 Yet certain objections have been raised from time 
 to time to Pepys as a dramatic historian. There is, 
 first of all, the question, Is he accurate? It cannot, 
 of course, be shown that he invariably is. Besides, it 
 would be too much to expect from the Diary scrupu- 
 lous exactness in all things, for in this, no less than in 
 other matters, standards have changed since Charles 
 the Second's reign. Occasionally, there is a discon- 
 certing divergence between the account of an event 
 recorded by Pepys and that recorded by some other 
 supposedly good authority. Thus, in referring to 
 the opening of the Duke of York's playhouse in Lin- 
 coln's Inn Fields as having taken place late in June, 
 
PEPYS AS A DRAMATIC HISTORIAN 19 
 
 1661, the Diarist conflicts seriously with John 
 Downes, who states that it occurred in the spring of 
 1662 and who had reason to know since he was 
 prompter at this theatre. Again, Pepys twice refers 
 to May 7, 1663, as the date of the first performance 
 at the new King's theatre in Drury Lane, whereas 
 according to this same Downes and a playbill which 
 R. W. Lowe terms "a not very astute forgery" this 
 performance took place on April 8. In both these 
 cases, it looks as if either Pepys or Downes must have 
 been misinformed, though facts may yet be brought 
 to light which will reconcile the conflicting state- 
 ments. Moreover, as rumor did not travel rapidly in / 
 an age when there were no daily newspapers, it would 
 be strange if Pepys's information were not at times 
 stale. We know this to be the case, for instance, with 
 his report of Abraham Cowley's death, which he first 
 enters under August 10, 1667, when, as a matter of 
 fact, the poet had been dead thirteen days. 
 
 But in how many instances the Diarist's dates are 
 actually wrong, the investigator may well-nigh de- 
 spair of determining; the difficulty is that nearly all 
 the clues, in the external evidence at least, lead in a 
 circle and so eventually back to Pepys. This is the 
 case with many of the statements about the early 
 Restoration performances made by Genest. Downes 
 and Langbaine cover the same period, it is true, but 
 their material is rarely closely dated. Some slight 
 basis for comparison is, however, afforded by the 
 Diary of John Evelyn and a list found among the 
 papers of Sir Henry Herbert then Master of the 
 Revels of plays acted by Killigrew's company. In 
 
20 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 several instances statements in them corroborate 
 Pepys, and in no case do they definitely conflict with 
 him. Pepys saw five performances at the King's 
 theatre which are also mentioned under the same 
 dates in the list just referred to, and records two per- 
 formances of plays which are also recorded by Eve- 
 lyn. It is interesting to find both the diarists giving 
 accounts of the presentations of Tuke's The Adven- 
 tures of Five Hours, on January 8, 1663, and of 
 Dry den's An Evening's Love, or The Mock Astrol- 
 oger, on June 19, 1668; and it is instructive to com- 
 pare their respective comments. Few as they are, 
 these corroborations cannot but confirm the student in 
 the tendency to accept the dates of Pepys's journal, 
 in the main, without question. 
 
 Another charge that has been brought against the 
 Diarist as a dramatic historian is that he does not 
 always give names and titles correctly even allow- 
 ing for the laxity of the age in matters of spelling. 
 There is a reference, for example, on September 14, 
 1667, to a play which he calls The Northern Castle. 
 No such play is known, and it seems probable that 
 the title as Pepys gives it may have been a slip for 
 The Northern Lass, a comedy by Richard Brome. 
 Possibly, too, in certain instances, the Diarist ascribes 
 plays to the wrong authors. He mentions on Sep- 
 tember 15, 1668, a play translated "out of French by 
 Dryden called 'The Ladys a la Mode,' ' which may 
 have been a mistake for Richard Flecknoe's Damoi- 
 selles a la Mode; and in his entry under December 10, 
 1663, he refers to Shakespeare's Henry VIII be- 
 fore he has seen it, to be sure as Sir William 
 
PEPYS AS A DRAMATIC HISTORIAN 21 
 
 D'Avenant's "story of Henry the Eighth with all his 
 wives." But anyone who examines into the matter, 
 will soon discover that inaccuracies such as these are, 
 so far as can be judged, the exception. 
 
 The unique value of Pepys's comment on the 
 Restoration stage lies, as has been said, as much in 
 the kind as in the mere bulk of material he presents. 
 His was indeed a many-sided interest. In intellectual 
 and moral tolerance, where the theatre is concerned, 
 he stands in striking contrast to his fellow- diarist 
 Evelyn, who speaks of "very seldom going to the pub- 
 liq theaters for many reasons," his chief complaint 
 being against the "foule and undecent women now 
 (and never till now) permitted to appear and act." 
 Evelyn flattered himself on one occasion that he was 
 "far from Puritanisme" ; but he was not so far from 
 it that moral scruples did not stand between him and 
 a whole-hearted appreciation of what the contem- 
 porary theatre had to offer. As for Pepys, he could 
 enjoy without let or hindrance everything about it, 
 from Betterton's Hamlet to the orange-girls. "It 
 is in virtue of his own desires and curiosities," says 
 Stevenson, "that any man ... is charmed by the 
 look of things anol people." Thus it was with Pepys 
 at the playhouse. His curiosity was unbounded here 
 as elsewhere. He liked to read plays on his trips to 
 and from Deptford on Admiralty business as well 
 as to see them at the theatre. Hence everything and 
 everybody on the stage appealed to him. His 
 accounts of performances are, of course, for this rea- 
 son peculiarly satisfactory; if there was a single 
 novel or exceptional fact about the play, the players, 
 
22 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 the scenery, the music, the dancing, the audience, or 
 the theatre itself, we feel certain that he has noted it. 
 Whatever may be said of Pepys's critical acumen, re- 
 marks a recent writer, "no one has ever impeached his 
 powers of observation." 
 
 The Diarist was not, to be sure, equally competent 
 to judge in all these matters. It has been frequently 
 charged that his criticisms of the plays are not so 
 satisfactory as his criticisms of the acting, which seems 
 often to have mattered to him more. In a cer- 
 tain instance, Pepys realized this himself. When 
 Young, "but a bad actor at best," took Thomas Bet- 
 terton's famous part in one of Pepys's favorite plays, 
 Macbeth, the Diarist exclaims: "Lord! what a preju- 
 dice it wrought in me against the whole play!" But 
 this does not mean that he was without literary taste 
 or that he invariably judged a piece solely on its act- 
 ing qualities. He could thoroughly appreciate a play 
 like Jonson's Catiline,, which he insisted had "much 
 good sense and words to read," even though it ap- 
 peared "the worst upon the stage, I mean, the least 
 diverting, that ever I saw any." At any rate, he had 
 his own theories of what was justifiable in tragedy, 
 and of what was proper material for comedy, dis- 
 tinguishing between true "wit" and mere "fooling" 
 or, as he calls it, "mirth fit for clowns." From his 
 criticism of Etherege's She Would if She Could, it 
 is evident that "witty" and "roguish" dialogue did 
 not wholly blind him to deficiencies of plot; while in 
 the case of Lord Orrery, whom he admired as a dram- 
 atist in many ways, he recognized the limitations 
 which made one of his plays of "just the very same 
 
PEPYS AS A DRAMATIC HISTORIAN 23 
 
 design, and words, and sense, and plot" as every 
 other. 
 
 Pepys's literary judgment has been questioned 
 mainly on the ground of his attitude towards Shake- 
 speare, which is betrayed in certain "delicious bits of 
 criticism," as Professor Lounsbury has called them, 
 "whose impudent inappreciativeness later critics have 
 occasionally equalled, but whose charm they have 
 never been able even remotely to rival." In this con- 
 nection, his wholesale condemnation of A Midsum- 
 mer-Night's Dream as "the most insipid ridiculous 
 play that ever I saw in my life," and his disparaging 
 comparison of Othello with Tuke's The Adventures 
 of Five Hours have usually been cited. Now, 
 although, as Stevenson says, the Diarist's failure to 
 appreciate these and other plays of Shakespeare on 
 the stage is not "without either parallel or excuse," 
 there is no need to minimize its import. Yet in pass- 
 ing judgment, two modifying circumstances must at 
 the same time be borne in mind on the one hand, 
 the nature of the record Pepys kept, which attempted 
 to do no more than jot down among a thousand other 
 matters first impressions of plays, and, on the other 
 hand, the nature of the Shakespearean productions 
 he saw. Some of these were redeemed, we know, by 
 the acting of the Bettertons, but others must have ^ 
 been hopelessly inadequate. Besides, it should not be 
 forgotten in any final appraisal that Pepys never 
 tired of seeing Hamlet even trying at one time to 
 get "To bee or not to bee" "without book"; that he 
 held Henry IV "a good play"; and that he was 
 "mightily pleased" with Henry Fill. In short, 
 
24 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 although it may be true that, as Sir Sidney Lee says, 
 he "lived and died in complacent unconsciousness of 
 Shakespeare's supreme excellence," there is little in 
 his references to signify that Pepys wholly shared 
 what has sometimes been assumed to be the conven- 
 tional Restoration attitude towards Shakespeare, 
 based upon such views as that expressed by Evelyn 
 after seeing Hamlet: "Now the old plays began to 
 disgust this refined age since his Majestie's being so 
 long abroad." 
 
 As a dramatic historian, it should also be men- 
 tioned that Pepys was in two respects free from the 
 prejudices of his time or possibly, one should say, 
 of the Court circle of his time. There is, first of all, 
 his standpoint on the morality of the stage. This 
 question, like the question of his feeling for Shake- 
 speare, cannot fairly be considered apart from the 
 general theory and practice of the Diary as a whole. 
 It must be remembered that Pepys never aims at any- 
 thing like such completeness or finality in his picture 
 of a play on the stage as we are accustomed to expect 
 from the modern dramatic reviewer. Neither is he 
 writing for the edification of the public. He is only 
 noting for his own private benefit the particular 
 aspects of the production that for one reason or 
 another stood out to him as of especial interest. 
 Hence, quite naturally, we do not find the Diarist 
 putting every play he sees, or indeed every play 
 which might well be examined on this ground, 
 to a rigid moral test. On the other hand, from 
 the comments that Pepys makes from time to 
 time on the moral issue, it would seem hardly 
 
PEPYS AS A DRAMATIC HISTORIAN 25 
 
 justifiable to conclude, as does a recent writer, that 
 "Pepys criticises the plays he so loved to frequent 
 from almost every other point of view than the 
 moral," or yet to assert that he is never "distressfully 
 disturbed by the improprieties afterward discovered 
 by Collier and his successors in the theatre." 1 For 
 one thing, he looked with disapproval upon the gross 
 immorality of Thomas Killigrew's The Parson's 
 Wedding. Even though all the world commended 
 Dry den's Mock Astrologer, he did "not like it, it 
 being very smutty." He came out positively in favor 
 of Brome's Jovial Crew as "merry and the most inno- 
 cent play that ever I saw"; while of Sir Samuel 
 Tuke's Adventures of Five Hours he enthusiastically 
 writes : "The play in one word, is the best . . . that 
 ever I saw, or think ever shall, and all possible, not 
 only to be done in the time, but in most other respects 
 very admittable, and without one word of ribaldry." 
 This testimony of Pepys, along with that of Evelyn, 
 would seem to indicate that while the Court of the ^ 
 Merry Monarch countenanced gross immorality on 
 the stage, and even fathered it as Dryden later 
 charged the "City" was never wholly reconciled to 
 it. 
 
 Again, Pepys's opinion differed from that which J 
 the Restoration Court is generally held to have im- ; 
 posed upon the contemporary stage, on the merits! 
 of the rhymed couplet for heroic plays. In a refer- 
 ence to The Indian Queen, by Dryden and Sir 
 Robert Howard, the Diarist appears emphatically 
 
 1 Cf, John Palmer, The Comedy of Manners, 1913, pp. 5-6. 
 
26 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 against its use. "The play good," he writes, "but 
 spoiled with the ryme, which breaks the sense." 
 
 One habit of Pepys as a playgoer works to the 
 especial good fortune of the modern student. This 
 is his practice of going to see the same play several 
 times over, at intervals varying from two or three 
 days to two or three years. And since he is more con- 
 cerned with fidelity to the immediate fact than with 
 consistency to former statements, we are thus enabled 
 to see one play from several different angles. Often 
 he did not come to any definite conclusion about it 
 until the second or third performance, meantime test- 
 ing his preconceived prejudices, if he had any, noting 
 the implication of new impressions, and, in general, 
 keeping an open mind. This is well illustrated in his 
 various accounts of a contemporary tragedy by 
 Thomas Porter called The Villain. The first time 
 Pepys saw it, he was "never less pleased with a play 
 in my life"; the second time, he was "better pleased 
 with the play than I was at first, understanding the 
 design better than I did"; and the third time he 
 records, "The more I see it, the more I am offended 
 at my first undervaluing the play, it being very good 
 and pleasant, and yet a true and allowable tragedy." 
 With Dryden's popular comedy, Sir Martin Mar-all, 
 his experience was just the reverse. He first saw it 
 on August 16, 1667, the day after its premiere, and 
 "never laughed so in all my life" ; then on August 19 
 and 20, still finding it "a very ingenious play, and 
 full of variety." Six weeks later he witnesses another 
 performance "with great delight, though I have seen 
 it so often"; then once more before the year is out, 
 
PEPYS AS A DRAMATIC HISTORIAN 27 
 
 and three times in 1668. His enjoyment of it never 
 lessens; the last time he mentions it, he writes: 
 "Though I have seen it, I think, ten times, yet the 
 pleasure I have is yet as great as ever." New de- 
 tails, if not fresh impressions, were generally gath- 
 ered with each performance, and to his habit of see- 
 ing plays repeated, Pepys's record owes much of its 
 value. Indeed, we are in so far indebted to the Diar- 
 ist for this persistence in attending the theatre that 
 we must even forgive him the absurd casuistry with 
 which he manipulates his frequent vows to stay 
 away. 
 
 In short, i^cannot be said that Pepys was either a 
 professed literary critic or a typical Restoration play- 
 goer. Beyond the average man, he was open-minded 
 and sincere in his appreciation of various types of 
 plays, and many-sided and indefatigable in his inter- 
 est in the theatre. Yet while he was too individual to 
 subscribe in every matter to the stage conventions of 
 the period, his power of observing closely others as 
 well as himself, enabled him to body forth with pecu- 
 liar realism the attitude of his age. 
 
 The intrinsic worth and unique interest of the evi- 
 dence, as a whole, that Pepys has preserved for us 
 can be grasped only by an examination of its full 
 content. But perhaps the significance of a few of 
 the comments on certain important groups of plays 
 should be pointed out in advance. 
 
 At first glance, the entries in the Diary for the 
 dramas of the pre-Restoration period point to the 
 overwhelming popularity, during the decade suc- 
 ceeding the King's return, of the romances of Beau- 
 
28 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 mont and Fletcher, over twenty-five of which Pepys 
 saw at one time or another. A reading of his criti- 
 cisms in full will show, however, that he, at least, did 
 not admire them as he did the plays of Jonson. The 
 Maid's Tragedy he found on first hearing "too sad 
 and melancholy," though later he thought it "a good 
 play"; and Philaster was "far short of my expecta- 
 tions." But when it came to Jonson, his praise was 
 not thus tempered. The Alchemist he held to be "a 
 most incomparable play"; he declared that The Silent 
 Woman had "more wit in it than goes to ten new 
 plays"; Volpone was "the best I think I ever saw." 
 For Shirley, more of whose plays (nine in all) are 
 referred to as being produced than any other drama- 
 tist of his period excepting Beaumont and Fletcher 
 and Shakespeare, Pepys cared less, admiring only 
 The Traitor, as "a very good Tragedy." Along with 
 this should be mentioned Massinger's The Bondman, 
 which from the Diary would seem to have been among 
 the most successful plays of the time, perhaps because 
 it provided Betterton with one of his best parts. "To 
 the Opera," writes Pepys after a certain perform- 
 ance, "where we saw 'The Bondman/ which of old we 
 both did so doat on, and do still" ; and again, "There is 
 nothing more taking in the world with me than that 
 play." Qf the twelve plays of Shakespeare which 
 Pepys saw staged, at least eight seem to have been 
 acted substantially unaltered, four being given in 
 contemporary versions. From the Diary we learn 
 that the general popularity of Hamlet, Henry VIII, 
 and Othello, which were among the unaltered plays, 
 should be set over against the success of D'Avenant's 
 
PEPYS AS A DRAMATIC HISTORIAN 29 
 
 Macbeth and Dry den and D'Avenant's The Tempest 
 in any consideration of the Restoration view of 
 Shakespeare. 
 
 Pepys also supplies us with significant evidence as 
 to the brief day of rhymed heroic drama. He ap- 
 plauds at length the success of the Earl of Orrery's 
 plays said to have been written at the instigation of 
 Royalty The Black Prince, Henry the Fifth, and 
 Mustapha, this last, "a most admirable poem, and 
 bravely acted." At the same time he dissents from 
 the general opinion about other plays of this type. 
 Besides feeling that The Indian Queen was "spoiled 
 with the ryme," he calls the sequel, Dryden's The 
 Indian Emperor, "a good play, but not so good as 
 people cry it up." Moreover, on April 16, 1669, he 
 notes a bit of gossip, which in its tone would seem to 
 presage the coming of Buckingham's Rehearsal and 
 the beginning of the end of heroic drama: "I did meet 
 with Shadwell, the poet, who, to my great wonder, 
 do tell me that my Lord of [Orrery] did write this 
 play [Guzman], trying what he could do in comedy, 
 since his heroique plays could do no more wonders." 
 To certain of the dramatists, that is, it was already 
 clear that the tide had turned. 
 
 With contemporary comedy, Pepys was perhaps 
 more in sympathy. He describes among the earliest 
 comic successes Cowley's satirical Cutter of Coleman 
 Street, under December 16, 1661, and D'Avenant's 
 The Wits, under August 15, 1661. Dryden's Sir 
 Martin Mar-all, or The Feign 3 d Innocence ( 1667) , he 
 esteems "the most entire piece of mirth, a complete 
 farce from one end to the other, that certainly ever 
 
30 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 i 
 
 was writ"; he records that Secret Love, or The 
 Maiden Queen is "mightily commended for the regu- 
 larity of it, and the strain and wit," though its success 
 was doubtless due in a measure to the "comical part" 
 of Florimel, done by Nell Gwyn. He has a long 
 notice of Etherege's first play, The Comical Revenge, 
 or Love in a Tub, January 4, 1665, which he calls 
 "very merry"; and of his second, She Would if She 
 Could, February 6, 1668, from the first performance 
 of which "there was 1,000 people put back that could 
 not have room in the pit," and about which the audi- 
 ence thought, so Pepys says, "there was something 
 very roguish and witty." It is especially interesting 
 to see from these entries in regard to Etherege the 
 attitude of his contemporaries towards this first 
 important writer of Restoration "society comedy." 
 
 If it is true that we do not understand a period 
 until we know its minor in addition to its major writ- 
 ers, we must acknowledge a still further debt to 
 Pepys's journal; for it has much to say of the lesser 
 contemporary dramatists. The fact is that the work 
 of mediocre men bulks as large in the Diary as it 
 usually does in the estimation of the contemporary 
 public. The plays mentioned by Pepys of the three 
 Howards Edward, James, and Sir Robert of the 
 Duke of Newcastle, Sir Charles Sedley, Thomas 
 Killigrew, John Lacy the actor, Thomas Porter, 
 Richard Rhodes, Sir Robert Stapylton, and Thomas 
 Shadwell all are cases in point. 
 
 The most notable seem to have owed their suc- 
 cess largely to contemporary allusions. Such was 
 Edward Howard's The Change of Crowns (1667), 
 
PEPYS AS A DRAMATIC HISTORIAN 31 
 
 in which John Lacy acted the part of the country 
 gentleman who had the effrontery to attack "the 
 Court with all the imaginable wit and plainness about 
 selling places, and doing every thing for monejr." 
 The King, who attended its first performance, was, 
 we are told, so incensed at thus being abused to his 
 face that he ordered the theatre closed and Lacy im- 
 prisoned. Finally, another actor got permission to 
 reopen the theatre on condition that this play should 
 not be repeated. Pepys pronounced The Change of 
 Crowns "bitter indeed, but very true and witty." 
 Curiously enough, Sir Robert Howard's The Duke 
 of Lerma (1668), which, according to the Diarist, 
 was "designed to reproach our King with his mis- 
 tresses," did not arouse similar resentment in the royal 
 spectator. Pepys fully expected that the first per- 
 formance would be stopped, but although the whole 
 Court was present, the play was allowed to take its 
 course, and fortunately it "ended well, which salved 
 all." Other plays, like Sedley's The Mulberry Garden 
 (1668), drew crowded houses because of their author 
 being "so reputed a wit"; and still others because, like 
 James Howard's All Mistaken (1667), with its two 
 "mad parts" immortalized by Hart and Nell Gwyn, 
 they provided roles that suited stage favorites. If v - 
 these plays themselves have not stood the test of time, 
 it is nevertheless instructive to learn from Pepys on 
 what their popularity in their own day rested. 
 
 And here may be mentioned in passing the transla- 
 tions and adaptations referred to in the Diary, many 
 from the Spanish, but most from the French, which 
 flourished on the Restoration stage. Of the plays 
 
32 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 from Pierre Corneille, alone, Pepys saw five, each 
 performed several times over, The Cid, Heraclius 
 ("an excellent play, to my extraordinary content"), 
 Horace, The Mistaken Beauty, and Pompey the 
 Great. The Adventures of Five Hours, based upon 
 a Spanish play now ascribed to Antonio Coello, was, 
 in Pepys's judgment, "the best, for the variety and 
 the most excellent continuance of the plot to the very 
 end, that ever I saw, or think ever shall." "And the 
 house," he concludes, "by its frequent plaudits, did 
 show their sufficient approbation." 
 f Pepys and his companions also frequently attended 
 ^puppet-shows. Of these Polichinello (the Italian 
 Punch], mentioned nine times in all, seems to have 
 been the most popular. One performance at least 
 was graced by "Young Killigrew" and "a great many 
 young sparks." After seeing The Surprisal at the 
 King's theatre, Pepys went one day "to Polichinello, 
 and there had three times more sport than at the 
 play." Other puppet-plays referred to in the Diary 
 are The Modern History of Hero and Leander (in 
 Bartholomew Fair, Act V) ; "the story of Holo- 
 f ernes"; "Patient Grizill"; and the "show of Whit- 
 tington." Of the last-named, Pepys remarks: "How 
 that idle thing do work upon people that see it, and 
 even myself too!" 
 
 Among the dramatists of the day, we read two or 
 three times of Abraham Cowley, who was at his 
 death "mightily lamented" as "the best poet of our 
 nation, and as a good man"; of Sir William D'Ave- 
 nant and his difficulties as manager of the Duke's 
 company; and of "Dryden the poet," whom Pepys 
 
PEPYS AS A DRAMATIC HISTORIAN 33 
 
 knew at Cambridge, and whom he saw "at the great 
 Coffee-house," where "all the wits of the town" fore- 
 gathered. The Diarist furnishes us with portraits 
 of the unpopular Sir Robert Howard, ridiculed by 
 Shadwell in The Sullen Lovers; of the popular and 
 profligate Sir Charles Sedley, examples of whose 
 witty repartees as a theatre-goer are carefully set 
 down; of Tom Killigrew "the King's Foole or 
 Jester," with his love of music and his managerial 
 ambitions, his "raillery" and his "merry stories." 
 Thus are the literary "lions" of the Restoration 
 playhouse exhibited in Pepys's pages. 
 
 The next chapter will take up the conditions, as 
 Pepys describes them, under which plays were pro- 
 duced by D'Avenant and Killigrew, and the informa- 
 tion which the Diary gives us on the general subject 
 of the Restoration theatre. 
 
Ill 
 
 PEPYS AND THE RESTORATION 
 THEATRE 
 
Ill 
 
 PEPYS AND THE RESTORATION 
 THEATRE 
 
 Historically, the decade covered by Pepys's Diary 
 is one of the most important in the development of 
 the English theatre. During the first few years after 
 the Restoration, improvements were introduced that 
 took from the stage its essentially Elizabethan aspect 
 and gave it those general features by which it is 
 known today. From this standpoint, Pepys may be 
 said to have witnessed the virtual modernization of 
 the English theatre. To be sure, the stage itself, 
 as in the pre-Restoration period, still projected in 
 the shape of a platform into the pit. But on account 
 of the regular employment of actresses for the 
 women's parts, the general use of movable scenery, 
 the elaboration of costumes and mechanical devices, 
 the illumination of the stage by chandeliers of can- 
 dles, and the cutting off of the front of the stage at 
 the proscenium by flats or curtains, the Restorations 
 theatre resembles that of our own day more closely 
 than that of Shakespeare's. The placing in front of 
 the pit of a regular band of musicians, with the grow- 
 ing tendency towards more ambitious music both 
 during and between the acts, also contributed to 
 "this transformation," as Professor Thorndike has 
 called it, "from a half -medieval to a nearly modern 
 
38 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 stage." 1 As for the auditorium of the Restoration 
 playhouse, its plan was in general similar to that of 
 the typical London theatre of the present time. 
 There was the pit somewhat curtailed, to be sure, 
 by the protrusion of the stage; above it the first tier 
 of boxes with the King's box occupying the centre; 
 then the so-called "middle gallery" with a few boxes 
 also, perhaps, in the centre ; and finally above that the 
 shilling gallery with benches for the poorer class of 
 playgoers. 
 
 On nearly every one of the essential features of 
 the contemporary theatre, Pepys touches at some 
 point in his record. Thus from the pages of the 
 Diary, it is possible to reconstruct in their main out- 
 lines the important playhouses of the period as well 
 as the productions that took place in them. 
 
 The first time that Pepys refers to the perform- 
 ance of a play is on June 6, 1660; he is still on board 
 The Charles the ship which had just brought over 
 the King and was lying off Dover when he hears in 
 a letter from London that "The two Dukes [York 
 and Gloucester] do haunt the Park much, and that 
 they were at a play, Madame Epicene, the other 
 day." It is not clear where this performance of 
 Jonson's comedy was given perhaps at the Red 
 Bull where the company of "old actors," to whose 
 repertory it belonged, was then playing. On Novem- 
 ber 8 of this year, a company containing recruits from 
 the Red Bull removed to a theatre in Vere Street, 
 Clare Market, where in all probability Pepys saw the 
 
 1 A. H. Thorndike, Tragedy, p. 244. 
 
PEPYS AND THE RESTORATION THEATRE 39 
 
 same play on December 4. The Diarist's statements 
 throw much light upon the early history of the 
 theatres opened immediately before the Restoration. 
 Besides the Red Bull in St. John's Street, there is 
 valuable information about the Cockpit in Drury 
 Lane, and the rebuilt Salisbury Court theatre, White- 
 friars as well as about the companies of actors that 
 gathered in them though not enough to solve satis- 
 factorily all the problems connected with these sub- 
 jects. After the Royal grant of August 21, 1660, to 
 Thomas Killigrew and Sir William D'Avenant of 
 "full power and authority to Erect two Companies of 
 Players" and the consequent formation of "the 
 King's company" by Killigrew, and of "the Duke 
 of York's" by D'Avenant the comments upon them 
 are more frequent. Thereafter the reader may follow 
 somewhat closely their movements until they were 
 established in the quarters they were to occupy 
 throughout the period covered by the remainder of 
 the Diary the King's players in the Royal theatre, 
 Drury Lane, the Duke's in the "Opera" in Portu- 
 gal Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields. 
 
 Pepys also adds substantially to our knowledge of 
 the Royal private theatre in Whitehall Palace. As 
 this is a subject which has been generally passed over 
 by stage historians, it is important to summarize the 
 information he supplies. On November 20, 1660, 
 he refers to the Cockpit, Whitehall, which stood, 
 according to Edgar Sheppard, author of The Old 
 Royal Palace of Whitehall, on the site "now occupied 
 by the Privy Council Office." Pepys saw several 
 plays acted here by both the Duke's and the King's 
 

 40 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 companies, who, since the performances at the public 
 theatres were in the afternoon, were free to appear 
 at Court in the evening. He mentions this Cockpit 
 for the last time by name on January 5, 1663. 
 On February 23, 1663, and October 17, 1664, he 
 speaks of plays given "at Court," without indicating 
 definitely the place of performance. On April 20, 
 1665, he remarks: "I am told the first play is played 
 in Whitehall noon-hall, which is now turned to a 
 house of playing" ; and in his next entry on the Court 
 plays, which is in 1666, after the great plague, he 
 says: "To Whitehall and into the new playhouse 
 there, and the first time I was ever there." From 
 these references, it is clear that the "theatre-room" 
 in the palace was moved about. Sheppard has noth- 
 ing to say on the subject except that the location of 
 the "noon-hall" (which seems to be the "new play- 
 house" Pepys mentions) is not known. H. B. 
 Wheatley, in his London, Past and Present, asserts 
 that "Charles built a new playhouse at Whitehall to 
 which Pepys went." From this evidence, we may at 
 least infer that the Court plays were given in the 
 Cockpit adjoining the old palace (not to be confused 
 with the Cockpit in Drury Lane) for the first three 
 or four years of Charles the Second's reign, and also 
 that from 1665 on they were probably given in what 
 ad previously been known as the "noon-hall." 
 
 Pepys first saw professional actresses at the King's 
 theatre, Vere Street, on January 3, 1661, soon after 
 the initial appearance of women on the English stage, 
 if we except a few sporadic pre-Restoration per- 
 formances. "To the Theatre," he records of the 
 
 " 
 
PEPYS AND THE RESTORATION THEATRE 41 
 
 performance of this date, "where was acted 'Beggar's 
 Bush,' it being very well done ; and here the first time L - 
 that ever I saw women come upon the stage." That 
 their advent was not wholly pleasing to the actors of 
 this company is suggested in the following reference 
 in their petition of October 13, 1660, addressed to 
 Sir Henry Herbert. Killigrew, they assert, "sup- 
 prest us untill we had by covenant obleiged ourselves 
 to Act with Woemen." Boys, however, still appeared 
 in female roles in the same company, as we learn from IS 
 the Diarist's entry for January 7, which praises 
 Edward Kynaston's acting of Epicoene in Jonson's 
 Silent Woman. The second time Pepys mentions 
 seeing women on the stage, which was on January 8 
 again at the King's theatre the play was The 
 Widow, and his pleasure in it was lessened because 
 the women were "to seek in their parts." But after / 
 his third experience, February 12, he thought the I 
 acting of a woman, in The Scornful Lady, made "the 
 play appear much better than ever it did to me." 
 Some five years later in an account of The English 
 Monsieur, his chief praise is reserved for the actresses 
 who performed in it "the women," he concludes, i/ 
 "doing better than ever I expected, and very fine 
 
 women." 
 
 Unfortunately, Pepys does not furnish us with 
 a clue to the name of the first English profes- 
 sional actress to take a speaking part ; but through his 
 descriptions, we become more or less intimately ac- 
 quainted with the principal actresses of both the 
 Duke's and the King's companies, who were soon 
 afterward employed. Among these were Mrs. Corey, 
 
42 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 Mrs. Betterton, the two Davenports, "Moll" Davis, 
 Gosnell (who is not known outside the Diary), the 
 famous Nell Gwyn, Mrs. Knepp (of whom little is 
 otherwise known), the Marshall sisters, and Mrs. 
 Norton. 
 
 It was Mrs. Corey, or "Doll Common" as Pepys 
 calls her from her part in Jonson's Alchemist who 
 deeply offended Lady Harvey by her "acting of 
 Sempronia in 'Catiline' to imitate her." "For which," 
 continues Pepys, "she got my Lord Chamberlain, 
 her kinsman, to imprison Doll: when my Lady 
 Castlemayne made the King to release her, and to 
 order her to act it again, worse than ever, the other 
 day, where the King himself was: and since it was 
 acted again, and my Lady Harvy provided people to 
 hiss her and fling oranges at her." As for the sequel, 
 we are told that there were "real troubles at Court 
 about it." 
 
 Mary Saunderson, who became in 1662 the wife of 
 Betterton prince of Restoration actors is almost 
 invariably mentioned in the same breath with her 
 husband in terms of the highest praise. She first 
 appears in the Diary in an account of a performance 
 of Massinger's The Bondman, as "acting Cleora's 
 part very well now Roxalana is gone." The original 
 Roxalana was Elizabeth Davenport, whose imper- 
 sonation of this role in the famous production of 
 The Siege of Rhodes, lingered in Pepys's memory 
 long after the impersonator had been "by force of 
 love," as Downes says, "crept the stage." Of Moll 
 Davis, "the pretty girle that sang and danced so well 
 at the Duke's house," and "pretty witty Nell at the 
 
PEPYS AND THE RESTORATION THEATRE 43 
 
 King's house," there is abundant gossip. Pepys 
 gives us glimpses of the latter off the stage as well 
 as on it "standing at her lodgings' door in Drury- 
 Lane in her smock sleeves and bodice," and also in 
 the "women's shift where Nell was dressing herself, 
 and was all unready, and is very pretty, prettier than 
 I thought." Her own opinion of her abilities as an 
 actress seems largely to have been shared by the 
 Diarist. He asserts, apropos of her spoiling the 
 part of Samira in The Surprised and then two days 
 later playing to perfection Mirida in The Mad 
 Couple, that it is a miracle to him "to think how ill 
 she do any serious part, as, the other day, just like 
 a fool or changeling; and, in a mad part, do beyond 
 all imitation almost." But pretty, "mad-humoured" 
 Mrs. Knepp, whom Killigrew, her manager, thought 
 "like to make the best actor that ever come upon the 
 stage," figures even more often in these gossipy pages 
 in her double capacity of successful actress and inti- 
 mate friend. 
 
 Pepys's accounts of the visits back and forth be- 
 tween the audience and the women players suggest 
 that the but recently initiated actresses felt themselves I 
 from the first at home both on the stage and in the pit. ; 
 The "gallants" and the women of the company were 
 upon a most informal footing. On one occasion, Mrs. 
 Knepp took the Diarist after a play up into "the 
 tireing-rooms" at the King's theatre, where he pro- 
 ceeded to hear Knepp say "all her part of Flora's 
 Figarys"; another time, she spied him "out of the 
 tiring-room and come to the pit door." Again, Pepys 
 records that Knepp "come, after her song in the 
 
44 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 clouds, to me in the pit." And at all times, "Orange 
 Moll/' the head orange-girl, acted as a go-between 
 for the men in the auditorium and the actresses on the 
 stage. 
 
 Pepys also testifies that the managers of the Res- 
 toration theatres soon learned to exploit the women 
 of their companies in ways calculated to add a new 
 zest to playgoing for the vulgar-minded. As early 
 as October 28, 1661, we read of a woman who "acted 
 Parthenia" in Ar gains and Parthenia, and "came 
 afterwards on the stage in men's clothes" probably 
 to recite a coarse epilogue. And on October 4, 1664, 
 Pepys hears of Killigrew's The Parson's Wedding, 
 which he calls a "bawdy loose play," about to be 
 "acted all by women." 
 
 To turn from the women to the men of the com- 
 panies by the end of February, 1661, hardly two 
 years after the reopening of the theatres, we find 
 Pepys already observing that "the gallants do begin 
 to be tyred with the vanity and pride of the theatre 
 actors who are indeed grown very proud and rich." 
 How difficult they were to deal with appears from the 
 following story. Under July 22, 1663, we read of 
 the versatile comedian, Henry Harris, a member of 
 D'Avenant's company: "He demanded 20 for him- 
 self extraordinary, more than Betterton or anybody 
 else, upon every new play, and <lO upon every re- 
 vive ; which with other things Sir W. Davenant would 
 not give him, and so he swore he would never act 
 there more in expectation of being received in the 
 other House; but the King will not suffer it." Fin- 
 ally, as Pepys tells us on December 10, Harris was 
 
PEPYS AND THE RESTORATION THEATRE 45 
 
 forced to go back to his old place. But it was doubt- 
 less as much the fault of the public as his own that 
 he was thus spoiled, to judge by an entry for April 
 29, 1668: "After the play done, I stepped up to 
 Harris's dressing-room, where I never was, and there 
 I observe much company come to him, and the Witts, 
 to talk, after the play is done, and to assign meet- 
 ings." 
 
 Another crisis arose when the popular comedian 
 Lacy insulted Edward Howard for acting in whose 
 play he had been thrown into prison telling 
 him "he was more a fool than a poet," and giving 
 him "a blow over the pate." An artist like Better-^ 
 ton, who was always dignified, and was universally \ 
 respected and admired, lived apparently in peace and 
 quiet. But there were other more turbulent spirits 
 who not infrequently became involved in quarrels 
 that necessitated the temporary closing of their play- 
 houses. That the actors did not always triumph over 
 their opponents, we may infer from the fact that 
 after Kynaston had taken a part in a play called 
 The Heiress "in abuse to Sir Charles Sedley," he 
 was "exceedingly beaten with sticks by two or three 
 that assaulted him." The Diarist also records a 
 sinister-sounding threat made by Sir William Cov- 
 entry, when it was rumored that he was to be mim- 
 icked on the stage. He immediately "told Killigrew 
 that he should tell his actors whoever they were, that 
 offer any thing like representing him . . . that he 
 would cause his nose to be cut." 
 
 Of all the actors mentioned in the Diary, Thomas 
 Betterton of the Duke's company seems most to have 
 
46 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 impressed Pepys, and in no role so much as in Ham- 
 let. "Betterton did the prince's part beyond imagina- 
 tion" is a typical comment. Next to him stands 
 ^ Henry Harris in the estimation of the Diarist, who 
 knew him personally perhaps better than any of the 
 others. Besides inviting him frequently to his house, 
 Pepys had his portrait painted as Henry V in 
 Orrery's play of that name. Not only did he admire 
 Harris's acting, but again and again he praises his 
 intelligence, his wit, and his personal charm. "I do 
 not know another better qualified for converse," we 
 read, "whether in things of his own trade, or of other 
 kinds, a man of great understanding and observation 
 and very agreeable in the manner of his discourse, 
 and civil as far as is possible." Of the actors in the 
 King's company (which, on the whole, is not rated 
 as high as its rival) we hear most about the versatile 
 John Lacy. Lacy seems to have excelled in "char- 
 acter parts" such as a rustic "clown" in Love in a 
 Maze and the "country-gentleman come up to Court" 
 in The Change of Crowns. He appears also to have 
 had a special gift for portraying national character- 
 istics, for we read of his taking such diverse parts as 
 "the French Dancing Master," an "Irish footman," 
 and "Sawney the Scot." How much French and 
 Irish he managed to speak is not told, but we know 
 that he at least attempted Scotch, since as Sawney 
 he succeeded in making himself quite unintelligible 
 to Pepys. Edward Kynaston, of the King's com- 
 pany, also frequently receives honorable mention. 
 He was one of the last of the "boy-actresses," and 
 immediately after the Restoration Pepys twice 
 
PEPYS AND THE RESTORATION THEATRE 47 
 
 praises him in women's parts. As Olympia in The 
 Loyal Subject, he made so the Diarist assures us 
 "the loveliest lady that ever I saw in my life, only her 
 voice not very good." As Epicoene in The Silent 
 Woman, he was "clearly the prettiest woman in the 
 whole house." 
 
 Several times Pepys speaks of children on the 
 stage, but does not give their names. In The Slighted 
 Maid, he saw a little girl dance in boy's apparel ; and 
 in The Sullen Lovers "a little boy, for a farce, do 
 dance Polichinelli the best that ever anything was 
 done in this world." During the performance of 
 All Mistaken, or The Mad Couple occurred an inci- 
 dent which must have been as embarrassing to Nell 
 Gwyn and the rest of the company as it was enter- 
 taining to the Diarist. "It pleased us mightily," he 
 writes, "to see the natural affection of a poor woman, 
 the mother of one of the children brought on the 
 stage: the child crying, she by force got upon the 
 stage, and took up her child and carried it away." 
 
 Pepys usually notices the staging of plays, if there 
 is anything novel or interesting about it. During 
 the first two or three years after the Restoration, 
 when movable scenery was practically an innovation 
 in the London theatres for regular productions, the 
 Diarist often puts down the mere presence of scenes 
 as a noteworthy fact. The historically important set- 
 ting for D'Avenant's Siege of Rhodes, Part II, which 
 he saw on July 2, 1661, at the new "Opera" in Lin- 
 coln's Inn Fields, he describes as "very fine and mag- 
 nificent." On August 15 he attended a performance, 
 also at this theatre, of The Wits, "never acted yet 
 
48 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 with scenes" ; and there, on the twenty- fourth of this 
 month, a performance of Hamlet, "done with scenes 
 very well." Only in commenting upon Henry Fill 
 among .the other plays of Shakespeare which were 
 revived at this time with elaborate settings, does 
 Pepys mention the scenery, in two of them his atten- 
 tion being taken up by the music. But he, was 
 "mightily pleased" with the "shows" of Henry VIII. 
 He admired in Jonson's Catiline the scene "of the 
 Senate," and in Fletcher's Island Princess, the "good 
 scene of a town on fire." He listened, with great 
 interest in August, 1664, to the ambitious plan which 
 Thomas Killigrew divulged to him for a new theatre 
 which was to "have the best scenes and machines, the 
 best musique, and every thing as magnificent as is in 
 Christendome; and to that end hath sent for vpices 
 and painters and other persons from Italy." But 
 the contemporary interest in this side of theatrical 
 production may perhaps best be gauged from the 
 Diarist's entry for June 13, 1663, after he had seen 
 The Faithful Shepherdess, which he says was "much 
 thronged after, and often shown, but it is only for 
 the scene's sake, which is very fine indeed and worth 
 seeing." In spite of these ambitious efforts of 
 D'Avenant and Killigrew, Restoration scenery was, 
 of course, artistically crude, and it is therefore not 
 surprising that distance should have lent it enchant- 
 ment. When forced to sit in an "upper box," Pepys 
 observes with some interest, that "from this place the 
 scenes do appear very fine indeed, and much better 
 than in the pit." 
 
 One day in 1666, when the theatres were closed on 
 
PEPYS AND THE RESTORATION THEATRE 49 
 
 account of the great fire, which followed on the heels 
 of the great plague, Pepys consoled himself by going 
 behind the scenes at the King's playhouse and view- 
 ing at close range the stage properties. There he saw 
 the "machines," the "paintings," and various other 
 appurtenances "here a wooden leg, there a ruff, 
 here a hobby-horse, there a crown, would make a man 
 split himself to see with laughing." But the actors 
 at this time did not always have to ride hobby-horses ; 
 in Shirley's Hyde Park, at the King's theatre, Pepys 
 saw real horses brought on the stage. 
 
 As for costumes, the Diarist particularly com- 
 mends the richness of those in The Tempest, and in 
 Catiline; for the latter play, he notes that the King 
 was to give five hundred pounds, and that there were 
 to be "sixteen scarlett robes." But when he visits the 
 tiring-rooms at the Royal theatre, and sees there , 
 "Lacy's wardrobe and Shotrell's," he is amazed "to 
 think how fine they show on the stage by candlelight 
 and how poor things they are to look now." It has 
 been said that "such costumes as Pepys saw made no 
 pretension whatever to historical accuracy." Of 
 course, the point of view towards historical accuracy 
 is shifting ground, and "the garments" Pepys 
 thought "like Romans very well" would probably not . 
 satisfy a modern theatre-goer's sense of archaeologi- 
 cal fitness. But pretension to historical accuracy 
 there certainly was when the Diary was written. To 
 substantiate this it is only necessary to quote further 
 from the account of the performance of March 8, 
 1664, in which the "Romans" appeared (the play - , , 
 was a translation of Corneille's Heraclius) : "At the 
 
50 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 drawing up of the curtaine, there was the finest scene 
 of the Emperor and his people about him, standing in 
 their fixed and different postures in their Roman 
 habitts, above all that ever I yet saw at any of the 
 theatres." And we read in the description of a piece 
 called Queen Elizabeth's Troubles that it "shews the 
 true garbe of the Queen in those days just as we see 
 Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth painted." 
 
 But Pepys was probably more genuinely inter- 
 ested in the music than in the costuming of plays. 
 "That which di3~pTease me beyond anything in the 
 whole world," he writes after seeing The Virgin 
 Martyr at the King's theatre, "was the wind musique 
 when the angel comes down, which is so sweet that it 
 ravished me." He often comments on the rendering 
 of the songs, which were as frequent a feature of 
 Restoration performances as the dances, and he was 
 enough of a musician to write his own score for one 
 of them, "Beauty Retire," from The Siege of Rhodes. 
 When the theatre in Drury Lane was opened, in 
 1663, Pepys remarks on the new arrangement of 
 
 / having the music down in front of the pit instead of 
 up in a gallery. But at first at least, this did not seem 
 
 * to work well. "The musique being below," he says, 
 "and most of it sounding under the very stage, there 
 is no hearing of the bases at all, nor very well, of the 
 trebles, which sure must be mended." Apparently 
 D'Avenant did not adopt this arrangement, for as 
 late as 1669 Pepys refers to "the side balcony" at the 
 Duke's theatre "over against the musick." 
 
 About the musicians, we learn from various entries 
 that the most popular of them were foreigners. 
 
PEPYS AND THE RESTORATION THEATRE 51 
 
 Thomas Killigrew, who was so fond of music that 
 he had been several times to Rome to hear it, led the 
 way in importing them. He once told Pepys that 
 before his time " 'Hermitt poore' and 'Chevy Chese' 
 was all the musique we had; and yet no ordinary fid- 
 dlers get so much money as ours do here, which speaks 
 our rudenesse still." In his effort to improve this state 
 of things, he had "gathered our Italians from several 
 Courts in Christendome, to come to make a concert 
 for the King." According to his own account, the 
 orchestra in his theatre contained "nine or ten, of the 
 best" fiddlers; while from Pepys's remarks on Killi- 
 grew's production of The Virgin Martyr, we infer 
 that it also contained wind instruments. It appears 
 from the Diary as well as from other sources that 
 Sir William D'Avenant did his full share in his 
 operatic productions towards bettering the music in 
 the Restoration theatre. 
 
 As Pepys pictures the stage to us, so too he pic- 
 tures the audjtoriunLof the contemporary playhouse, 
 peopling pit and gallery with the quaintly interesting 
 figures of the day. Especially does he rejoice in the 
 presence of "all the great ladies of the Court." "The 
 sight of the ladies, indeed," he remarks of a particular 
 audience, "was exceedingly noble." When it is "full 
 of citizens," the theatre does not please him as much 
 as it does when it is "full of gallants." He takes 
 solid satisfaction when there are "many fine faces" 
 in the pit, and is somewhat disturbed when he notices, 
 as on January 1, 1668, at the Duke's playhouse, "that 
 when I begun first to be able to bestow a play on 
 myself, I do not remember that I saw so many by 
 
52 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 half of the ordinary 'prentices and mean people in the 
 pit at 2s. 6d. a-piece as now ; I going for several years 
 no higher than 12<#. . . . places, though I strained 
 hard to go in them when I did : so much the vanity and 
 prodigality of the age is to be observed in this partic- 
 ular." In view of the relations of Charles the Sec- 
 ond's Court with the Continent, it is not surprising 
 to read that Pepys's box at the theatre was once 
 invaded by a company of Frenchmen who could 
 understand no English and were forced to depend 
 on "a pretty lady that they got among them" for 
 a translation of the play. 
 
 /" The subject of dress at the theatre is also intro- 
 ( duced. On May 8, 1663, Pepys goes home "a little 
 ashamed that my wife and woman were in such a 
 \ pickle, all the ladies being finer and better dressed in 
 \ the pitt than they used" to be. About a month after- 
 ward, he and his wife notice at a play that Lady Mary 
 Cromwell put on her vizard "when the House began 
 to fill," and "so kept it on all the play; which of late 
 is become a great fashion among the ladies, which 
 hides their whole face" ; whereupon nothing would do 
 but immediately afterward they should go, as Pepys 
 adds, "to the Exchange to buy things . . . with my 
 wife; among others a vizard for herself." To what 
 unfortunate consequences the revival of this custom 
 of mask-wearing led, the Diarist suggests in an ac- 
 count of an experience at the King's theatre during 
 a performance of The Maid's Tragedy; here he sat 
 behind "two talking ladies and Sir Charles Sedley, 
 ... he being a stranger. And one of the ladies 
 would and did sit with her mask on, all the play." 
 
PEPYS AND THE RESTORATION THEATRE 53 
 
 More than once Pepys records the fact that people 
 in the audience talked throughout the play so loud 
 that others were prevented from understanding it. 
 On July 22, 1667, he hears of a fray at the Duke's 
 playhouse, in which the Duke of Buckingham "did 
 soundly beat [Henry Killigrew] and take away his 
 sword." And in general, the behavior of Restoration 
 playgoers appears to have been most informal. Once, 
 he says, when I was sitting "in a dark place, a lady 
 spit backward upon me by a mistake, not seeing me, 
 but after seeing her to be a very pretty lady, I was not 
 troubled at it at all." Yet another time at the pri- 
 vate theatre in Whitehall Palace, Pepys thought the 
 Duke of York and his Duchess overstepped the 
 mark in informality they "did show," he says, "some 
 impertinent, and, methought, unnatural dalliances 
 there, before the whole world, such as kissing, and 
 leaning upon one another." 
 
 Apparently the Diarist never missed seeing the 
 distinguished people-in the theatre, and he somehow 
 managed to watch them and the play at the same 
 time. He was always interested in the effect pro- 
 duced by the play upon prominent spectators. "The 
 King I did not see laugh," he notes with evident sur- 
 prise at the first performance of the much-heralded 
 Mulberry Garden by Sir Charles Sedley, "nor 
 pleased the .whole play from beginning to end, nor the 
 company." And again this time at The Valiant 
 Cid "Nor did the King or Queen once smile all the 
 whole play, nor any of the company seem to take any 
 pleasure but what was in the greatness and the gal- 
 lantry of the company." 
 
54 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 Here is a glimpse he gives of a brilliant audience 
 gathered at the Duke's house for a performance of 
 Macbeth on December 21, 1668: "The King and 
 Court there; and we sat just under them and my 
 Lady Castlemayne, and close to the woman that 
 comes into the pit, a kind of loose gossip, that pre- 
 tends to be like her, and is so, something. . . . The 
 King and Duke of York minded me, and smiled upon 
 me, at the handsome woman near me: but it vexed 
 me to see Moll Davis, in the box over the King's and 
 my Lady Castlemayne's head, look down upon the 
 King, and he up to her; and so did my Lady Castle- 
 mayne once, to see who it was, but when she saw her, 
 she looked fire." Pepys recognized the Queen of 
 Bohemia at one performance, "the German Baron 
 with his lady who is envoy e from the Emperour" at 
 another, and at still anbther, the picturesque Duchess 
 of Newcastle, who at the end of her husband's play, 
 The Humourous Lovers, "made her respects to the 
 players from her box." 
 
 When a new piece was on, the audience was sure to 
 be a distinguished one, and the theatre was usually 
 crowded. But there was this drawback about first 
 days at the playhouse, that the would-be spectator 
 must needs go hours beforehand to get a seat. Al- 
 though at that time the plays at the public theatres 
 did not begin before three or half past three in the 
 afternoon, Pepys found on February 25, 1669, the 
 Duke of York's playhouse "infinite full" at one 
 o'clock on the occasion of the first presentation of 
 Shadwell's Royal Shepherdess. For the premiere of 
 another play, Shadwell's The Sullen Lovers, Pepys 
 
PEPYS AND THE RESTORATION THEATRE 55 
 
 had the foresight to go "at a little past twelve, to 
 get a good place in the pit, against the new play, and 
 there setting a poor man to keep my place, I out, and 
 spent an hour at Martin's, my bookseller's, and so 
 back again, where I find the house quite full. But I 
 had my place." For another play, however, even 
 his arrival at the theatre before the doors were 
 opened did not guarantee him first choice of seats. ^ 
 "To the King's playhouse," he notes, "where the \ 
 doors were not then open, but presently they did 
 open; and we in, and find many people already come 
 in, by private ways, into the pit, it being the first day 
 of Sir Charles Sidly's new play, so long expected, 
 The Mullberry Guarden.' " 
 
 For these first performances, we learn from an 
 entry about Cowley's Cutter of Coleman Street,, 
 under December 16, 1661, the prices of seats were 
 increased "It being the first time, the pay was 
 doubled, and so to save money, . . . went up into 
 the gallery, and there sat and saw very well." The 
 "gallery" here referred to was the middle gallery 
 where the seats were ordinarily eighteen pence. 
 From the reference to a "box over the King's and 
 my lady Castlemayne's head," in which the actress 
 Moll Davis sat on December 21, 1668, we infer that 
 this gallery also contained boxes, which would seem 
 from this reference to have been in the centre rather 
 than on the sides. Probably "the half-crown box" 
 of Pepys's comment of January 19, 1661, was among 
 them. Above this middle gallery in which Pepys 
 sometimes sat, as he says, to hide himself, was the 
 "upper gallery," chiefly frequented by servants and 
 
\ 
 
 56 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 "the vulgar herd," while just under it was the main 
 tier of boxes, including the King's. Here, too, at 
 least in the Duke's theatre, was the box set aside for 
 the manager of the rival company "sufficient" so 
 runs D'Avenant's stipulation "to conteine sixe per- 
 sons," who had "Liberty to enter without any Sallery 
 or pay, for their entrance." On October 19, 1667, 
 Pepys tells us that he paid four shillings for a box 
 seat ; the seats were sold singly and this was the regu- 
 lar price. But for the most part, Pepys sat in the 
 pit just below the tier of boxes; and he finds no 
 fault with it except when the only seat to be had is 
 "almost out of sight at one end of the lower forms." 
 This part of the auditorium, in which the seats were 
 mere benches or "forms," was largely frequented by 
 "gallants" and "ladies of quality," though by 1668, 
 according to the Diarist, a good many "ordinary 
 'prentices and mean people" could afford the "2s. 6d." 
 it cost to sit there. 
 
 Restoration playgoers are reported to have found 
 various ways of getting around the regular charges. 
 One was to go in late and take advantage of the rule 
 that a gentleman could enter free towards the end of 
 a play if he had friends whom he wished to meet 
 afterward. Thus Pepys records on February 11, 
 1668, "Sent my wife and Deb. to see Mustapha acted, 
 . . . so to the Duke of York's playhouse, and there 
 saw the last act for nothing." Upon another custom 
 which led to even greater abuse, Pepys looked with 
 disapproval, as appears from the following story told 
 under the date of December 30, 1667: "Sir Philip 
 Carteret would fain have given me my going in to 
 
PEPYS AND THE RESTORATION THEATRE 
 
 a play; but yet, when he come to the door, he 
 had no money to pay for himself, I having refused to 
 accept of it for myself, but was fain; and I perceive 
 he is known there, and do run upon the score there 
 for plays, which is a shame." 
 
 But the expense of an afternoon at the playhouse 
 in Charles the Second's time did not end with the 
 payment for seats. There were the refreshments. 
 Once when Pepys took a party of people to the thea- 
 tre, he states that it cost him "8s. upon them in 
 oranges at 6d. a-piece." A sixpence was the regular 
 price for an orange, which was evidently considered a 
 part of the afternoon's pleasure. The fruit was 
 peddled by so-called "orange-women," who stood 
 in front of the pit with their backs to the stage and 
 "broke jests" with the men during the progress of 
 the play, and carried messages for them between the 
 acts. That, however, they were not above black- 
 mailing their patrons at times is to be seen from one 
 of Pepys's own experiences. At the Duke's theatre, 
 he writes on May 11, 1668, "there happened one 
 thing which vexed me, which is, that the orange 
 woman did come in the pit, and challenge me for 
 twelve oranges, which she delivered by my -order at 
 a late play, at night, to give to some ladies in a box, 
 which was wholly untrue, but yet she swore it to be 
 true. But, however, I did deny it, and did not pay 
 her ; but for quiet did buy 4s. worth of oranges of her, 
 at d. a-piece." "Orange Moll," as the head orange- 
 woman was called, was indeed an important person 
 in the Restoration theatre. Of the various offices 
 which we hear of her performing, perhaps the most 
 
58 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 extraordinary is the following, described on Novem- 
 ber 2, 1667: "A gentleman of good habit, sitting just 
 before us, eating of some fruit in the midst of the 
 play, did drop down as dead, being choked; but with 
 much ado Orange Moll did thrust her finger down 
 his throat, and brought him to life again." 
 
 After the play was over, one of the players came 
 out and announced what the bill would be for the 
 following day. Thus we read under March 7, 1667: 
 "Little Mis. Davis did dance a jig after the end of 
 the play, and there telling the next day's play." In 
 this way and by the posting of playbills upon the 
 theatres and the street-posts a custom to which 
 Pepys several times refers plays were advertised at 
 this time. But even when the arirroTmcement of the 
 next performance had been made, the audiences, of 
 which the Diarist made one, did not always leave the 
 theatre at once. After She Would if She Could on 
 February 6, 1668, Pepys remarks that "it being dark 
 and raining" he and the rest of the spectators stayed 
 at the Duke's theatre an hour and a half "till the rain 
 was over, and to talk." 
 
 The Diary leaves no room for doubt that Pepys 
 made good use of his ample opportunities to famil- 
 iarize himself with the details of the playhouses he 
 frequented. We have seen that he knew from expe- 
 rience the advantages and disadvantages of every 
 part of the auditorium, and that he had inspected 
 "the inside of the stage and all the tiring-rooms and 
 machines." At the King's theatre he was once 
 ushered into the "women's shift." From here he 
 walked "all up and down the house above, and then 
 
PEPYS AND THE RESTORATION THEATRE 59 
 
 below into the scene-room." The intimate knowledge 
 thus gained gives a certain weight to his criticisms 
 of the various houses. In one theatre that in White- 
 hall Palace he was annoyed by the poor acoustics. 
 "The House," he says, "though very fine, yet bad for 
 the voice, for hearing." Hence it is not surprising to 
 find that he does not like "a play so well here as at 
 the common playhouse." In another, he is tried by 
 the light of the candles, set in loops or branches which 
 hung from the ceiling over the stage especially so 
 when he sits in a side balcony, a bad place indeed for 
 the eyes, since the lights must have been about on a 
 level with it and directly in front. The most detailed 
 criticism which the Diarist has left us concerns the 
 King's theatre in Drury Lane, built in 1663 at what 
 was then considered the enormous expense of 1500. 
 "The house," he informs us, "is made with extraor- 
 dinary good contrivance, and yet hath some faults, 
 as the narrowness of the passages in and out 
 of the pitt, and the distance from the stage to the 
 boxes, which I am confident cannot hear, but for all 
 other things it is well." Evidently the stage of this 
 theatre proved too small, for only three years later 
 Pepys found the interior "all in dirt, they being alter- 
 ing of the stage to make it wider." 
 
 From the Diary we learn that improvements in the 
 conduct and construction of the theatre were made 
 between 1660 and 1670. What some of these were 
 may be gathered from an interview which Pepys had 
 in 1667 with Thomas Killigrew, who contrasted the 
 King's house under his management with the stage 
 before his day. "The stage," he tells Pepys, "is by 
 
60 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 his pains a thousand times better and more glorious" 
 than before. "Now, wax-candles, and many of them; 
 then, not above 3 Ibs. of tallow: now, all things civil, 
 no rudeness anywhere; then, as in a bear-garden: then 
 two or three fiddlers; now nine or ten of the best: 
 then, nothing but rushes upon the ground, and every- 
 thing else mean; and now, all otherwise: then, the 
 Queen seldom and the King never would come; now 
 not the King only for state, but all civil people." 
 Whether Killigrew was justified in taking to himself 
 the credit for all these changes, the Diarist does not 
 say. However that may be, his account may well 
 stand as our final glimpse of the playhouse of his time. 
 
 Thus does Pepys bring vividly before us the inte- 
 rior of the Restoration theatre the play, the players, 
 and the playgoers. Many similar passages might be 
 cited that help to make the decade the Diary covers 
 stand out in a high light in English stage history. 
 But it is not the author's intention to rob the reader 
 of the pleasure of picking out for himself all the most 
 diverting and illuminating of the details from the 
 mass that is presented. Pepys's journal has always 
 been a favorite with those who delight in seeing the 
 people and events of a past age live again before 
 their eyes. And it is hoped that in thus taking out 
 of it a considerable portion dealing with one of its 
 primary topics, little of its charm will have escaped 
 for such readers, while much will have been gained 
 for those more especially interested in the stage. 
 Enough has perhaps been said to suggest the value 
 of this material to the student, and to indicate how 
 
PEPYS AND THE RESTORATION THEATRE 61 
 
 even its hastiest comment, its sheerest gossip, serves 
 today to enhance our knowledge of English drama 
 and of conditions under which it has evolved. In- 
 deed, there can be no doubt that the following assem- 
 blage of excerpts from Pepys's Diary constitutes a 
 body of information on the Restoration stage as 
 significant as it is racy. 
 
REFERENCES IN PEPYS'S DIARY TO 
 THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 PART ONE 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS 
 
[NOTE: For convenience of reference, certain works which must 
 be frequently cited in the notes in this book will be mentioned as 
 follows: John Downes's Roscius Anglicanus, or An Historical 
 Review of the Stage from 1660 to 1706, Facsimile Reprint of 
 the Rare Original of 1708, with an Historical Preface by Joseph 
 Knight, London, 1886, briefly, as "Roscius Anglicanus"; John 
 Genest's Some Account of the English Stage from the Restora- 
 tion in 1660 to 1830, 10 volumes, Bath, 1832, as "Genest"; 
 Gerard Langbaine's An Account of the English Dramatic Poets, 
 Oxford, 1691, as "Langbaine," and Edmond Malone's edition 
 of the Plays and Poems of William Shakspeare, London, 
 1790, as "Malone's Shakspeare" In every case, the page 
 numbers given for these works apply to these editions. 
 
 Fuller entries and notes upon the actors, actresses, play- 
 wrights, and theatres mentioned in Part I, will be found under 
 special chapters in Parts II and III.] 
 
CHAPTER I 
 SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS 
 
 HAMLET, PRINCE or DENMARK 
 
 August $4, 1661. To the Opera, 1 and there saw 
 *JIamlet, Prince of Denmark," 2 done with scenes 
 very well, but above all, Betterton did the prince's 
 part beyond imagination. 
 
 November 27, 1661. To the Theatre, 3 and there 
 saw "Hamlett" very well done. 
 
 1 The "Opera" was the Duke of York's theatre in Lincoln's 
 Inn Fields, built in 1660 and managed by Sir William D'Ave- 
 nant until his death in 1668. 
 
 2 Hamlet appears to have been performed unaltered. Downes 
 (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 21) says: "No succeeding Tragedy for 
 several Years got more Reputation, or Money to the Company 
 than this/' "Hamlet, being Perform'd by Mr. Betterton, Sir 
 William [D'Avenant] (having seen Mr. Taylor of the Black- 
 Fryars Company Act it, who being Instructed by the Author, 
 Mr. Shaksepeur) taught Mr. Betterton in every Particle of it; 
 which by his exact Performance of it, gain'd him Esteem and 
 Reputation Superlative to all other Plays." Harris acted 
 Horatio; Mrs. Davenport ("Roxalana"), the Queen, and Mrs. 
 Saunderson (later Mrs. Betterton), Ophelia. 
 
 3 Pepys generally uses the term "the Theatre" to refer to the 
 House occupied by the King's company managed by Thomas 
 Killigrew. At this time, this company was playing in a theatre 
 in Vere Street, Clare Market. Evelyn had seen Hamlet on the 
 preceding day, and comments thus upon the performance: "I 
 
66 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 December 5, 1661. To the Opera, and saw "Ham- 
 lett" well performed. 
 
 May 28, 1663. To the Royall Theatre; 4 but that 
 was so full they told us we could have no room. And 
 so to the Duke's House; and there saw "Hamlett" 
 done, giving us fresh reason never to think enough 
 of Betterton. Who should we see come upon the 
 stage but Gosnell, my wife's maid? but neither spoke 
 danced, nor sung; which I was sorry for. But she 
 becomes the stage very well. 
 
 November 13, 1664. Spent all the afternoon with 
 my wife, within doors, and getting a speech out of 
 Hamlett, "To bee or not to bee," without book. 
 
 August 31, 1668. To the Duke of York's play- 
 house, . . . and saw "Hamlet," which we have not 
 seen this year before, or more; and mightily pleased 
 with it; but, above all, with Betterton, the best part, I 
 believe, that ever man acted. 
 
 HENRY IV, PART I 
 
 December 31, 1660. In Paul's Churchyard I 
 bought the play of "Henry the Fourth," 1 and so went 
 to the new Theatre . . . and saw it acted; but my 
 
 saw Hamlet Prince of Denmark played, but now the old plays 
 began to disgust this refined age, since his Majestie's being so 
 long abroad" (Diary of John Evelyn, Wheatley ed., II, 139). 
 
 4 The new theatre in Drury Lane occupied by Killigrew's 
 company from April or May of this year throughout the period 
 covered by Pepys. 
 
 1 The cast for Henry IF, Part I, presumably the part seen 
 
SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS 67 
 
 expectation being too great, it^didjigt please, me, as 
 otherwise I believe it would; and my having a book, t 
 I believe did spoil it a little. 
 
 June 4, 1661. From thence to the Theatre and 
 saw "Harry the 4th" a good play. 
 
 November 2, 1667. To the King's playhouse, and 
 there saw "Henry the Fourth"; and contrary to 
 expectation, was pleased in nothing more than in 
 Cartwright's speaking of Falstaffe's speech about 
 "What is Honour?" 2 The house full of Parliament- 
 men, it being holy day with them. 
 
 January 7 , 1667-68. Into the pit, to gaze up and 
 down to look for them, and there did by this means, 
 for nothing, see an act in ... "Henry the Fourth" at 
 the King's house. 
 
 September 18, 1668. To the King's house, and saw 
 a piece of "Henry the Fourth." 
 
 HENRY VIII 
 
 December 10, 1663. He [Wotton] tells me ... 
 of a rare play to be acted this week of Sir William 
 
 by Pepys on this date, as it certainly was on November 2, 
 1667 is given by John Downes (Roscius Anglwanus, p. 7) 
 as follows: "King, Mr. Wintersel; Prince, Mr. Burt; Hotspur, 
 Mr. Hart; Falstaff, Mr. Cartwright; Poyns, Mr. Shotterel." It 
 was doubtless acted "as Shakespeare wrote it/' as the only altera- 
 tion known is Betterton's, which was used later at the Duke's 
 playhouse and was printed in 1700. The "new theatre" was 
 the King's in Vere Street. 
 
 2 The last speech in Sc. 1, Act V, of Henry IV, Part I, 
 
68 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 Davenant's : the story of Henry the Eighth 1 with all 
 his wives. 
 
 December 22, 1663. I perceive the King and Duke 
 and all the Court was going to the Duke's playhouse 
 to see "Henry VIII" acted, which is said to be an 
 admirable play. 
 
 December 24, 1663. By and by comes in Captain 
 Ferrers to see us, arid, among other talke, tells us of 
 the goodness of the new play of "Henry VIII," 
 which makes me think [it] long till my time is out. 2 
 
 January 1, 1663-64. To the Duke's house, the 
 first play I have been at these six months, according 
 to my last vowe, and here saw the so much cried-up 
 play of "Henry the Eighth"; which, though I went 
 with resolution to like it, is so simple a thing made up 
 of a great many patches, that, besides the shows and 
 processions in it, there is nothing in the world good 
 or well done. Thence mightily dissatisfied. 
 
 in which Sir John asks himself this question on the battlefield 
 of Shrewsbury. 
 
 1 Kilbourne {Alterations and Adaptations of Shakespeare, p. 
 112) says: "No alteration of this play appears ever to have been 
 made." Perhaps Pepys simply mistook producer for author. 
 Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 24) gives a full account of this 
 production. The play was "all new Cloath'd in proper Habits" 
 and had "new scenes." "It continu'd Acting 15 Days together 
 with general Applause." Betterton acted the King, having been 
 coached in the part by D'Avenant, "who had it from old Mr. 
 Lowen, that had his Instructions from Mr. Shakespear himself" ; 
 Harris was Wolsey; Mrs. Betterton, Queen Catherine. 
 
 2 According to the terms of a vow to stay away from the 
 theatre referred to again under January 1, 1664. 
 
SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS 69 
 
 January 27, 1663-64. In the way observing the 
 streete full of coaches at the new play, "The Indian 
 Queene"; 3 which for show, they say, exceeds "Henry 
 the Eighth." 
 
 December 30, 1668. To the Duke's playhouse, and 
 there did see "King Harry the Eighth"; and was 
 mightily pleased, better than I ever expected, with the 
 history and shows of it. 
 
 THE LAW AGAINST LOVERS 
 (D'Avenant's Alteration of Measure for Measure) 
 
 February 18, 1661-62. There 1 saw "The Law 
 against Lovers," 2 a good play and well performed, 
 especially the little girl's (whom I never saw act be- 
 fore) dancing 3 and singing; and were it not for her, 
 the loss of Roxalana would spoil the house. 
 
 3 A tragedy by Dryden and Sir Robert Howard. 
 
 1 At the Duke of York's playhouse. 
 
 2 An alteration (1662) of Measure for Measure, with Bene- 
 dick and Beatrice taken over from Much Ado about Nothing, 
 printed in 1673. Evelyn saw it "acted before ye King" on 
 December 17, 1662 (Diary, Wheatley ed., II, 156). 
 
 3 Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 26) mentions The Law 
 against Lovers among the plays acted at the Duke's theatre 
 between 1662 and 1665, but does not give the cast. It has been 
 suggested that the actress here referred to was Mrs. Norton. 
 "Roxalana" was Mrs. Davenport. 
 
70 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 MACBETH 
 ( D ' Avenant 's Alteration ? ) 
 
 November 5, 1664. To the Duke's house to a play, 
 "Macbeth," 1 a pretty good play, but admirably 
 acted. 
 
 December 28, 1666. From hence to the Duke's 
 house, and there saw "Macbeth" most excellently 
 acted, and a most excellent play for variety. 
 
 January 7, 1666-67. To the Duke's house, and 
 saw "Macbeth," which, though I saw it lately, yet 
 appears a most excellent play in all respects, but espe- 
 cially in divertisement, though it be a deep tragedy; 
 which is a strange perfection in a tragedy, it being 
 most proper here, and suitable. 
 
 1 It is not certain what version of Shakespeare's tragedy Pepys 
 saw, though it was probably that of D' Avenant printed in 1673. 
 Downes, after describing "the Tragedy of Macbeth, alter'd by 
 Sir William Davenant" as it was given later, at the Dorset 
 Garden theatre (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 33) "drest in all it's 
 Finery, as new Cloath's, new Scenes, Machines, as flyings for 
 the Witches; with all the Singing and Dancing in it . . .it 
 being all Excellently perform'd being in the nature of an 
 Opera" notes that "this Tragedy/' and two others, "were 
 Acted in Lincolns-Inn-Fields." In a remark once passed by 
 Charles the Second as it is repeated by Gibber, there is a sug- 
 gestion as to the make-up of the Murderers in Macbeth at this 
 time: "Turning to his People, in the Box about him, Pray what 
 is the Meaning, said he, that we never see a Rogue in a Play, 
 but Gods fish! they always clap him on a black Perriwig?" 
 {Apology for the Life of Mr. Colley Gibber, Lowe ed., I, 133). 
 Betterton played Macbeth; Harris, Macduff; Smith, Banquo; 
 Mrs. Betterton, Lady Macbeth; Sandford, Banquo's Ghost, in 
 the later performances (Genest, I, pp. 139-140). 
 
SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS 71 
 
 April 19, 1667. So to the playhouse, not much 
 company come, which I impute to the heat of the 
 weather, it being very hot. Here we saw "Macbeth" 
 which, though I have seen it often, yet it is one of the 
 best plays for a stage, and variety of dancing and 
 musique, that ever I saw. So, being very much 
 pleased, thence home. 
 
 October 16, 1667. To the Duke of York's house. 
 ... I was vexed to see Young (who is but a bad 
 actor at best) act Macbeth in the room of Betterton, 
 who, poor man! is sick: but, Lord! what a prejudice 
 it wrought in me against the whole play, and every- 
 body else agreed in disliking this fellow. 
 
 November 6, '1667. To a play, . . . "Macbeth," 
 which we still like mightily, though mighty short of 
 the content we used to have when Betterton acted, 
 who is still sick. 
 
 August 12, 1668. To the Duke of York's house, 
 and saw "Mackbeth," to our great content. 
 
 December 21, 1668. Thence to the Duke's play- 
 house, and saw "Macbeth." The King and, Court 
 there. 
 
 January 15, 1668-69. My wife to the Duke of 
 York's house, to "Macbeth." . . . And having done 
 my own business . . . I to the Duke of York's house, 
 and saw the last two acts. 
 
 THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR 
 
 December 5, 1660. After dinner I went to the new 
 Theatre and there I saw "The Merry Wives of 
 
72 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 Windsor" 1 acted, the humours of the country gentle- 
 man and the French doctor 2 very well done, but the 
 rest but very poorly, and Sir J. Falstaffe as bad as 
 any. 
 
 September 25, 1661. Hence much against my 
 nature and will, yet such is the power of the Devil 
 over me I could not refuse it, to the Theatre, and saw 
 "The Merry Wives of Windsor," ill done. 
 
 August 15, 1667. To the King's, and there saw 
 "The Merry Wives of Windsor": which did not 
 please me at all, in no part of it. 
 
 A MIDSUMMER-NIGHT'S DREAM 
 
 September 29, 1668. Then to the King's Theatre, 
 where we saw "Midsummer Night's Dream," 1 which 
 I had never seen before, nor shall ever again, for it 
 is the most insipid ridiculous play that ever I saw in 
 my life. I saw, I confess, some good dancing and 
 some handsome women, which was all my pleasure. 
 
 1 Shakespeare's comedy unaltered. 
 
 2 William Cartwright presumably acted the part of Falstaff, 
 as he did in Henry IV, Part I, but neither Downes nor Genest 
 gives the names of the actors who took the parts of Justice 
 Shallow or Dr. Caius. 
 
 1 "This seems to be the only mention of the acting of Shake- 
 speare's play at the time" (Pepys's Diary, Wheatley ed., II, 
 326 n). It was probably acted unaltered. 
 
SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS 73 
 
 OTHELLO, THE MOOR or VENICE 
 
 October 11, 1660. To the Cockpit to see "The 
 Moore of Venice," 1 which was well done. Burt acted 
 the Moore; by the same token, a very pretty lady 
 that sat by me, called out, to see Desdemona 
 smothered. 
 
 August 20, 1666. To Deptford by water, reading 
 "Othello, Moore of Venice," which I ever heretofore 
 esteemed a mighty good play, but having so lately 
 read "The Adventures of Five Houres," it seems a 
 mean thing. 
 
 February 6, 1668-69. To the King's playhouse, 
 and there ... did see "The Moor of Venice": but ill 
 acted in most parts; Mohun, which did a little sur- 
 prise me, not acting lago's part by much so well as 
 Clun used to do; nor another Hart's which was Cas- 
 sio's; nor, indeed, Burt doing the Moor's so well as 
 I once thought he did. 
 
 ROMEO AND JULIET 
 
 March 1, 1661-62. Thence to the Opera, and there 
 saw "Romeo and Juliet," the first time it was 
 
 1 Othello does not appear to have been altered. Downes 
 (Roscius Anglicanus, pp. 6-7) gives the cast as follows: 
 "Brabantio, Mr. Cartwright; Moor, Mr. Burt; Cassio, Mr. 
 Hart; Jago, Major Mohun; Roderigo, Mr. Beeston; Desdemona, 
 Mrs. Hughs; Emilia, Mrs. Rutter." The Cockpit theatre here 
 referred to was probably the old playhouse in Drury Lane. 
 
74 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 ever acted; 1 but it is a play of itself the worst that 
 ever I heard in my life, and the worst acted that ever 
 I saw these people do, 2 and I am resolved to go no 
 more to see the first time of acting, for they were all 
 of them out more or less. 
 
 SAWNEY THE SCOT,, OR THE TAMING or THE SHREW 
 (Lacy's Alteration of The Taming of the Shrew] 
 
 April 9 3 1667. To the King's house, . . . and there 
 we saw "The Tameing of a Shrew," 1 which hath some 
 very good pieces in it, but generally is but a mean 
 play: and the best part, "Sawny," done by Lacy, 
 hath not half its life, by reason of the words, I sup- 
 pose, not being understood, at least by me. 
 
 November 1, 1667. To the King's playhouse and 
 there saw a silly play and an old one, "The Taming 
 of a Shrew." 
 
 1 Pepys means, of course, since the Restoration. This was 
 Shakespeare's play probably unaltered, as James Howard's 
 version was "made some time later" and was used "when the 
 Tragedy was Revived again." (Cf. Roscius Anglicanus, p. 22.) 
 
 2 According to Downes (Ibid.), Harris acted Romeo; Better- 
 ton, Mercutio; Mrs. Saunderson, Juliet. R. W. Lowe (in his 
 Thomas Betterton, 1891 ed., p. 89) suggests "that this distribu- 
 tion of the two parts [Romeo and Mercutio] is somewhat curious 
 in view of Pepys's opinion" inferring that Harris should have 
 made the better Mercutio and Betterton the better Romeo. 
 
 1 "This was Lacy's alteration of Shakespeare's play. Lacy 
 acted Sauny" (Genest, I, 69). It was printed in 1698. Saw- 
 ney is Grumio turned into a coarse, officious Scotch servant to 
 Petruchio. 
 
SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS 75 
 
 THE TEMPEST, OR THE ENCHANTED ISLAND ^ 
 
 (Alteration of The Tempest by D'Avenant and 
 Dry den) 
 
 November 7, 1667. Resolved with Sir W. Pen to 
 go to see "The Tempest," an old play of Shake- 
 speare's, 1 acted, I hear, the first day ; . . . and forced 
 to sit in the side balcone over against the musique- 
 room at the Duke's house, close by my Lady Dorset, 2 
 and a great many great ones. The house mighty full; 
 and the King and Court there : and the most innocent 
 play that I ever saw; and a curious piece of musique 3 
 in an echo of half sentences, the echo repeating the 
 former half, while the man goes on to the latter; 
 which is mighty pretty. The play [has] no great 
 wit, but yet good, above ordinary plays. 
 
 November 13, 1667. To the Duke of York's house, 
 and there saw the Tempest again, which is very pleas- 
 ant, and full of so good variety that I cannot be more 
 pleased almost in a comedy, only the seamen's part 4 
 a little too tedious. 
 
 1 In D'Avenant and Dryden's version (1667), with elaborate 
 scenery, dancing, and music, as Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, 
 p. 33) confirms: "This Tragedy, King Lear, and The Tempest, 
 were Acted in Lincolns-Inn-Fields; . . . the Tempest alter'd by 
 Sir William Davenant and Mr. Dryden before t'was made into 
 an Opera." 
 
 2 The wife of the fifth Earl of Dorset and mother of Lord 
 Buckhurst. 
 
 3 In Sc. 4, Act III, of this version, where Ferdinand sings 
 to himself and Ariel echoes him. The music was by John 
 Bannister. 
 
 4 What Dryden called "the comical parts of the sailors," 
 written by D'Avenant. 
 
76 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 December 12, 1667. To the Duke of York's house, 
 and saw "The Tempest," which, as often as I have 
 seen it, I do like very well, and the house very full. 
 
 January 6, 1667-68. To the Duke's house; and, 
 the house being full, was forced to carry them to a 
 box, which did cost me 20s.., besides oranges, which 
 troubled me, though their company did please me. 
 Thence, after the play, stayed till Harris was un- 
 dressed, there being acted "The Tempest." 
 
 February 3, 1667-68. To the Duke of York's 
 house, to the play, "The Tempest," which we have 
 often seen, but yet I was pleased again, and shall be 
 again to see it, it is so full of variety, and particularly 
 this day I took pleasure to learn the time of the sea- 
 man's dance, 5 which I have much desired to be perfect 
 in, and have made myself so. 
 
 March 25, 1668. To see "The Storme" 6 ... but 
 a mean play compared with "The Tempest," at the 
 Duke of York's house. 
 
 April 30, 1668. To the Duke of York's playhouse, 
 and there saw "The Tempest," which still pleases me 
 mightily. 
 
 May 11, 1668. To the Duke of York's playhouse, 
 and there saw "The Tempest," and between two acts, 
 I went out to Mr. Harris, and got him to repeat to 
 me the words of the Echo, while I writ them down, 
 having tried in the play to have wrote them ; but, when 
 I had done it, having done it without looking upon 
 my paper, I find I could not read the blacklead. But 
 
 5 In Act V. 
 
 6 A comedy by Fletcher and Massinger. 
 
SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS 77 
 
 now I have got the words clear, and, in going thither, 
 had the pleasure to see the actors in their several 
 dresses especially the seamen and monster, 7 which 
 were very droll: so into the play again. 
 
 January 21, 1668-69. There 8 saw "The Tempest" ; 
 but it is but ill done by Gosnell in lieu of Moll Davis. 
 
 TWELFTH NIGHT, OR WHAT You WILL 
 
 September 11, 1661. He and I walking through 
 Lincoln's Inn Fields observed at the Opera a new 
 play, "Twelfth Night," 1 was acted there, and the 
 King there; so I, against my own mind and resolu- 
 tion, could not forbear to go in, which did make the 
 play seem a burthen to me, and I took no pleasure at 
 all in it ; and so after it was done went home with my 
 mind troubled for my going thither, after my swear- 
 ing to my wife that I would never go to a play with- 
 out her. 
 
 January 6, 1662-63. To the Duke's house, and 
 there saw "Twelfth Night" acted well, though it be 
 but a silly play, and not related at all to the name or 
 day. 
 
 7 Probably Caliban. 
 
 8 At the Duke's playhouse. 
 
 1 Without alterations. It "had mighty Success by its well 
 Performance," says Downes, who, however, seems to be describ- 
 ing the occasion noted in Pepys's entry of January 6, 1663, as 
 he adds, "It was got up on purpose to be Acted on Twelfth 
 Night" (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 23). Betterton played Sir Toby 
 Belch; and Harris, Sir Andrew Aguecheek. 
 
78 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 January 20, 1668-69. To the Duke of York's 
 house, and saw "Twelfth Night," as it is now revived; 
 but, I think, one of the weakest plays that ever I saw 
 on the stage. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 
 
CHAPTER II 
 OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 
 
 Berkeley, Sir William THE LOST LADY 
 
 January 19, 1660-61. Myself went to the Theatre, 
 where I saw "The Lost Lady," 1 which do not please 
 me much. Here I was troubled to be seen by four of 
 our office clerks, which sat in the half-crown box and 
 I in the Is. 6d. 
 
 January 28, 1660-61. To the Theatre, where I 
 saw again "The Lost Lady," which do now please me 
 better than before ; and here I sitting behind in a dark 
 place, a lady spit backward upon me by a mistake, not 
 seeing me, but after seeing her to be a very pretty 
 lady, I was not troubled at it at all. 
 
 [Beaumont and] Fletcher and Massinger (?) 
 
 THE BEGGARS'' BUSH 
 
 November 20, 1660. To the new Play-house near 
 Lincoln's-Inn-Fields (which was formerly Gibbon's 
 
 X A tragi-comedy (1637?) by Sir William Berkeley, subse- 
 quently governor of Virginia. It is also mentioned in Sir Henry 
 Herbert's list of plays produced by Killigrew's company, given 
 in Malone's Shakspeare, Vol. I, Part II, p. 266, as having been 
 acted on this date. 
 
82 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 tennis-court), where the play of "Beggar's Bush" 1 
 was newly begun ; and so we went in and saw it, it was 
 well acted : and here I saw the first time one Moone, 2 
 who is said to be the best actor in the world, lately 
 come over with the King, and indeed it is the finest 
 play-house, I believe, that ever was in England. 
 
 January 3, 1660-61. To the Theatre, where was 
 acted "Beggar's Bush," it being very well done; and 
 here the first time that ever I saw women come upon 
 the stage. 3 
 
 October 8, 1661. Carried her 4 to the Theatre in a 
 frolique, to my great expense, and there shewed her 
 part of the "Beggar's Bush," without much pleasure, 
 but only for a frolique. 
 
 April 24, 1668. Thence to the King's playhouse, 
 and there saw a piece of "Beggar's Bush," which I 
 have not seen some years. 
 
 [Beaumont and] Fletcher THE CHANCES 
 
 April 27, 1661. To the Theatre to see "The 
 Chances." 1 
 
 *A comedy (1622) by [Beaumont and] Fletcher and Mas- 
 singer (?) acted at the King's theatre, Vere Street. It is men- 
 tioned in the list of plays produced by Killigrew's company, 
 given in Malone's Shakspeare, Vol. I, Part II, p. 266, as having 
 been acted on this date. 
 
 2 Michael Mohun probably played the part of Goswin, 
 according to Genest (I, 377). 
 
 3 Neither Downes nor Genest gives the cast of this perform- 
 ance. 
 
 4 Martha, daughter of Sir W. Batten. 
 
 1 A comedy (1615?) adapted by John Fletcher from Cer- 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 83 
 
 October 9, 1661. Took them to the Theatre, and 
 shewed them "The Chances." 
 
 February 5, 1666-67. To the King's house, to 
 show them a play, "The Chances." A good play I 
 find it, and the actors most good in it, 2 and pretty to 
 hear Knipp sing in the play very properly, "All night 
 I weepe"; 3 and sung it admirably. The whole play 
 pleases me well: and most of all, the sight of many 
 fine ladies. 
 
 Beaumont (?) and Fletcher THE COXCOMB 
 
 March 17, 1668-69. To the King's playhouse, and 
 saw "The Coxcomb," 1 the first time acted, but an old 
 play, and a silly one, being acted only by the young 
 people. 2 
 
 vantes's La Senora Cornelia, acted probably "with the altera- 
 tions made in it by Villiers, Duke of Buckingham." Genest 
 notes further (I, 67) : "This is perhaps the happiest material 
 alteration of any old play ever made." 
 
 2 Downes mentions the play in the list of the "Principal Old 
 Stock Plays" of the King's company (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 8), 
 but does not give the cast, though he states that Don John was 
 among the best parts of the actor Hart. 
 
 3 Mrs. Knepp's song does not occur in this or in other known 
 versions of the play. 
 
 X A comedy by Beaumont (?) and Fletcher (circa 1610). 
 Langbaine (p. 208) says it "was reviv'd at the Theatre-Royal, 
 the Prologue being spoken by Jo. Hains." 
 
 2 That is, the company without the "stars." 
 
84 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 [Beaumont and] Fletcher 
 
 CUPID'S REVENGE, OR LOVE DESPISED 
 
 August 17, 1668. Thence to the Duke of York's 
 house, and there saw "Cupid's Revenge," under the 
 new name of "Love Despised," 1 that hath something 
 very good in it, though I like not the whole body of 
 it. This day the first time acted here. 
 
 [Beaumont and] Fletcher and Massinger ( ?) 
 
 THE CUSTOM OF THE COUNTRY 
 
 September 25, 1664. Then I to read another play, 
 "The Custome of the Country," 1 which is a very poor 
 one, methinks. 
 
 January 2, 1666-67. To the King's House, and 
 there saw "The Custome of the Country," the second 
 time of its being acted, wherein Knipp does the 
 Widow 2 well; but of all the plays that ever I did see, 
 the worst having neither plot, language, nor any- 
 thing in the earth that is acceptable ; only Knipp sings 
 a little song admirably. But fully the worst play 
 that ever I saw or I believe shall see. 
 
 August 1, 1667. Upon a motion of the women, I 
 was got to go to a play with them, the first I have 
 
 *A tragedy (1612) by John Fletcher. Downes (Roscius 
 Anglicanus, p. 29) merely states that it was acted subsequent 
 to Etherege's She Would if She Could. 
 
 1 A coarse comedy (1619-1622) by Fletcher and Massinger 
 (?). Langbaine (p. 208) mentions its revival. 
 
 2 The "widow" was Guiomar, mother of Duarte. 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 85 
 
 seen since before the Dutch coming upon our coast, 
 and so to the King's house, to see "The Custome of 
 the Country." The house mighty empty more than 
 ever I saw it and an ill play. 
 
 [Beaumont and] Fletcher THE ELDER BROTHER 
 
 September 6, 1661. I went to the Theatre, and saw 
 "Elder Brother," 1 ill-acted. 
 
 [Beaumont and] Fletcher 
 
 THE FAITHFUL SHEPHERDESS 
 
 June 13, 1663. To the Royall Theatre. . . . 
 Here we saw "The Faithful Sheepheardesse," 1 a most 
 simple thing, and yet much thronged after, and often 
 shown, but it is only for the scene's sake, which is very 
 fine indeed and worth seeing; but I am quite out of 
 opinion with any of their actings, but Lacy's, com- 
 pared with the other house. 
 
 October 12, 1668. To the King's playhouse, . . . 
 and there we did hear the Eunuch (who, it seems, is 
 a Frenchman, but long bred in Italy) sing, which 
 
 1 A comedy by John Fletcher, revised by Massinger (1626?). 
 The cast as given by Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 6) included 
 Burt as Charles, Kynaston as Eustace, and Mrs. Rutter and 
 Mrs. Boutel in the women's parts. 
 
 *A pastoral drama by John Fletcher, acted in 1608, and 
 revived with a setting by Inigo Jones in 1634. The cast is not 
 given by Downes. 
 
86 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 I seemed to take as new to me, though I saw him on 
 Saturday last, but said nothing of it; but such action 
 and singing I could never have imagined to have 
 heard. 
 
 October 14, 1668. To the King's playhouse, and 
 there saw "The Faythful Shepherdess" again, that 
 we might hear the French Eunuch sing, which we did, 
 to our great content; though I do admire his action 
 as much as his singing, being both beyond all I ever 
 saw or heard. 
 
 February 26, 1668-69. To the King's playhouse, 
 to shew them that, and there saw "The Faithfull 
 v Shepherdesse." But, Lord! what an empty house, 
 there not being, as I could tell the people, so many as 
 to make up above .10 in the whole house ! The being 
 of a new play 2 at the other house, I suppose, being 
 the cause, though it be a silly play, that I wonder how 
 there should be enough people to go thither two days 
 together, and not leave more to fill this house. The 
 emptiness of the house took away our pleasure a 
 great deal, though I liked it the better; for that I 
 plainly discern the musick is the better by how much 
 the house the emptier. 
 
 [Beaumont and] Fletcher FATHER'S OWN SON 
 
 September 28, 1661. I and my wife to the Theatre, 
 and there saw "Father's Own Son," 1 a very good 
 play and the first time I ever saw it. 
 
 2 Shadwell's The Royal Shepherdess at the Duke's house. 
 1 This play has been identified as Fletcher's Monsieur Thomas, 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 87 
 
 November 13, 1661. From thence to the Theatre, 
 and there saw "Father's Own Son" again. 
 
 [Beaumont and] Fletcher 
 
 THE HUMOUROUS LIEUTENANT 
 
 April 20, 1661. So back to the Cockpitt, and there 
 by the favour of one Mr. Bowman, he 1 and I got in, 
 and there saw the King and the Duke of York and his 
 Duchess (which is a plain woman, and like her 
 mother, my Lady Chancellor). And so saw "The 
 Humersome Lieutenant 2 acted before the King, but 
 not very well done. But my pleasure was great to 
 see the manner of it, and so many great beauties, but 
 above all Mrs. Palmer, 3 with whom the King do dis- 
 cover a great deal of familiarity. 
 
 May 7, 1663. This day the new Theatre Royal 
 
 originally acted at the Cockpit and Blackfriars, and printed in 
 1639. W. C. Hazlitt (A Manual for the Collector and Amateur 
 of Old English Plays, p. 160) states that "about 1660, it was 
 reissued under the title of Father's Own Son, by which it is 
 mentioned in the Lord Chamberlain's Accounts, as early as 
 1639." Father's Own Son, from the list of plays in Malone's 
 Shakspeare (Vol. I, Part II, p. 267), appears to have been 
 acted by the King's company on April 19, 1662. 
 
 1 John Creed (? 1701?), a friend of Pepys, of humble 
 origin, frequently mentioned in the Diary; he was made Secre- 
 tary to the Commissioners for Tangier in 1662. 
 
 2 A tragi-comedy (1619) by John Fletcher, performed in 
 Whitehall Palace. 
 
 3 Referred to later as Lady Castlemaine. Cf. p. 278 n. 
 
88 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 begins to act 4 with scenes the Humourous Lieutenant, 
 but I have not time to see it. 
 
 May 8, 1663. To the Theatre Royall, being the 
 second day of its being opened. . . . The play was 
 "The Humerous Lieutenant," a play that hath little 
 good in it, nor much in the very part 5 which, by the 
 King's command, Lacy now acts instead of Clun. In 
 the dance, the tall devil's actions was very pretty. 
 
 January 23, 1666-67. Thence to the King's house, 
 and there saw "The Humerous Lieutenant"; a silly 
 play, I think; only the Spirit in it that grows very 
 tall, and then sinks again to nothing, having two 
 heads breeding upon one, and then Knipp's singing, 
 did please us. ... Knipp took us all in, and brought 
 to us Nelly, a most pretty woman, who acted the part 
 of Coelia 6 to-day very fine, and did it pretty well: 
 I kissed her, and so did my wife; and a mighty pretty 
 soul she is. We also saw Mrs. Hall, which is my 
 little Roman- nose black girl, that is mighty pretty: 
 she is usually called Betty. Knipp made us stay in 
 a box and see the dancing preparatory to to-morrow 
 for "The Goblins," 7 a play of Suckling's not acted 
 these twenty-five years. 
 
 4 On the authority of Dowries (Roscius Angllcanus, p. 3) and 
 a playbill which R. W. Lowe characterizes as "a not very astute 
 forgery/' it has also been asserted that the opening took place 
 on April 8. 
 
 5 The title part. 
 
 6 According to Downes, in the original cast Mrs. Marshall was 
 Celia. Mohun took the part of Leontius; Hart, Demetrius; 
 Burt, Seleucus; and Wintersell, Antigonus. The play was 
 "Acted Twelve Days successively" (Ibid., p. 3). 
 
 7 A comedy (1638?) by Sir John Suckling. 
 
- -. , 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 89 
 
 [Beaumont and] Fletcher 
 
 THE ISLAND PBINCESS, on THE GENEROUS 
 
 PORTUGAL 
 
 January 7 , 1668-69. To the King's playhouse, and 
 there saw "The Island Princesse," 1 the first time I 
 ever saw it; and it is a pretty good play, many good 
 things being in it, and a good scene of a town on fire. 2 
 
 February 9, 1668-69. To the King's playhouse, 
 and there saw "The Island Princesse," which I like 
 mighty well, as an excellent play: and here we find 
 Kinaston 3 to be well enough to act again, which he do 
 very well, after his beating by Sir Charles Sedley's 
 appointment. 
 
 April 23, 1669. Thence to the King's playhouse, 
 and saw "The Generous Portugalls," a play that 
 pleases me better and better every time we see it. 
 
 Beaumont and Fletcher A KING AND NO KING ^ 
 
 March 14, 1660-61. To the Theatre, and there saw 
 "King and no King," 1 well acted. 
 
 September 26, 1661. With my wife by coach to 
 
 *A tragi-comedy (1621?) by John Fletcher, revived with 
 alterations and additions, and published in 1669. According 
 to Genest (I, 93), Kynaston (as King of Tidore), Cartwright 
 (Governor of Ternata), Mrs. Marshall (Quisara), Hart (Armi- 
 sia), and Mohun (Ruy Bias) were in the cast. 
 
 2 Act II, Sc. 3, where the chief town in Ternata burns. 
 
 3 Edward Kynaston in the role of the King. 
 
 1 A tragi-comedy by Beaumont and Fletcher, licensed in 1611. 
 In the cast of a later performance, were Hart as Arbaces; 
 
90 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 the Theatre to shew her "King and no King," it being 
 very well done. 
 
 Beaumont and Fletcher (?) 
 
 THE KNIGHT OF THE BURNING PESTLE 
 
 May 7, 1662. To the Theatre, where I saw the last 
 act of the "Knight of the Burning Pestle," 1 which 
 pleased me not at all. 
 
 [Beaumont and] Fletcher and Shirley 
 
 THE NIGHT WALKER, OR THE LITTLE THIEF 
 
 April 2, 1661. So to White-fryars and saw "The 
 Little Thiefe," 1 which is a very merry and pretty 
 play, and the little boy do very well. 
 
 March 31, 1662. Thence to the play, where com- 
 ing late, and meeting with Sir W. Pen, 2 who had got 
 room for my wife and his daughter in the pit, he and 
 
 Mohun, Mardonius; Burt, Tygranes; Nell Gwyn, Panthea; and 
 Mrs. Corey, Arane. (Cf. Roscius Anglicanus, p. 5.) 
 
 *A comedy (before 1613) by Francis Beaumont and John 
 Fletcher (?). It is mentioned in the list of plays produced by 
 Killigrew's company, given in Malone's Shakspeare, Vol. II, 
 Part II, p. 267, as having been acted two days before, on May 5. 
 
 *A comedy by John Fletcher corrected by Shirley (1634). 
 Langbaine (p. 213) mentions having seen it "acted by the 
 King's Servants, with great applause." 
 
 2 Sir William Penn (1621-1670), the distinguished naval 
 officer and later Commissioner of the Navy. He was the father 
 of William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania. 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 91 
 
 I into one of the boxes, and there we sat and heard 
 "The Little Thiefe," a pretty play and well done. 
 
 May 19, 1662. To the Theatre, and there in a box 
 saw "The little Thief" well done. 
 
 [Beaumont and] Fletcher THE LOYAL SUBJECT 
 
 August 18, 1660. After dinner ... to the Cock- 
 pitt play, the first that I have had time to see since 
 my coming from sea, 1 "The Loyall Subject," 2 where 
 one Kinaston, a boy, acted the Duke's sister, 3 but 
 made the loveliest lady that ever I saw in my life, 
 only her voice not very good. After the play done, 
 we three went to drink, and by Captain Ferrers' 
 means, Kinaston and another 4 that acted Archas, the 
 General, came and drank with us. 
 
 [Beaumont and] Fletcher THE MAD LOVER 
 
 February 9, 1660-61. Creed and I to White- 
 friars 1 to the Play-house, and saw "The Mad Lover," 2 
 
 1 After his voyage to Holland on the ship that brought over 
 the King. 
 
 2 A tragi-comedy (1618) by John Fletcher, performed at the 
 Cockpit in Drury Lane. 
 
 3 Olympia. 
 
 4 Lowe suggests that this was probably Betterton. (Cf. 
 Thomas Betterton, 1891 ed., p. 61.) 
 
 1 That is, to the Salisbury Court theatre, Whitefriars. 
 
 2 A tragi-comedy (before 1619) by John Fletcher, mentioned 
 
92 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 the first time I ever saw it acted, which I like pretty 
 well. 
 
 December 2, 1661. To the Opera to see "The Mad 
 Lover," but not much pleased with the play. 
 
 September 25, 1664. I spent all the morning read- 
 ing of "The Madd Lovers," a very good play, 
 
 February 18, 1668-69. To the Duke of York's 
 house, to a play, and there saw "The Mad Lover," 
 which do not please me so well as it used to do, only, 
 Betterton's part 3 still pleases me. 
 
 Beaumont and Fletcher THE MAID'S TRAGEDY 
 
 May 16, 1661. So went away to the Theatre, and 
 there saw the latter end of "The Mayd's Tragedy," 1 
 which I never saw before, and methinks it is too sad 
 and melancholy. 
 
 December 7 , 1666. To the King's playhouse, 
 where two acts were almost done when I come in ; and 
 there I sat with my cloak about my face, and saw the 
 remainder of "The Mayd's Tragedy"; a good play, 
 
 in the list of plays produced by Killigrew's company, given in 
 Malone's Shakspeare, Vol. I, Part II, p. 266, as acted in Feb- 
 ruary of this year. 
 
 3 Memnon, the lunatic lover. 
 
 X A tragedy (1610?) by Beaumont and Fletcher. The usual 
 cast was, according to Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 5) : 
 Amintor, Hart; Melantius, Mohun; the King, Wintersell; 
 Calianax, Shotterel; Evadne, Mrs. Marshall [Rebecca] ; Aspatia, 
 Mrs. Boutel. 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 93 
 
 and well acted, especially by the younger Marshall, 2 
 who is become a pretty good actor, and is the first 
 play I have seen in either of the houses, since before 
 the great plague, 3 they having acted now about four- 
 teen days publickly. But I was in mighty pain, lest 
 I should be seen by anybody to be at a play. 
 
 February 18, 1666-67. To the Duke of York's 
 play-house, expecting a new play, and so stayed not 
 more than other people, but to the King's house, to 
 "The Mayd's Tragedy"; but vexed all the while with 
 two talking ladies and Sir Charles Sedley. 
 
 April 15, 1668. To the King's playhouse, into a 
 corner of the ISd. box, and there saw "The Maid's 
 Tragedy," a good play, . . . play and oranges 2s. 6d. 
 
 May 9, 1668. Into the King's house, and there 
 "The Mayd's Tragedy," a good play, but Knepp not 
 there. 
 
 2 Rebecca Marshall. 
 
 3 The last play that Pepys mentioned seeing at a public 
 theatre before the plague was Love's Mistress, at the King's 
 house, May 15, 1665. R. W. Lowe (Thomas Betterton, 1891 
 ed., p. 103) states that the edict requiring the closing during the 
 plague "remained in force for about a year and a half." Appar- 
 ently the reason why Pepys did not wish to be seen at the 
 theatre was that he felt that his presence there was owing to his 
 weakness for plays, which he had reason to think might still be 
 dangerous to the public. On November 20, he refers to "the 
 thanksgiving-day for the cessation of the plague; but Lord! 
 how the towne do say that it is hastened before the plague is 
 quite over, there dying some people still, but only to get ground 
 for plays to be publickly acted, which the Bishop would not 
 suffer till the plague was over." 
 
94 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 [Beaumont and] Fletcher and Rowley 
 
 THE MAID IN THE MILL 
 
 January 29, 1660-61. Went to Blackfryers 1 (the 
 first time I ever was there since plays begun), and 
 there after great patience and little expectation, from 
 so poor beginning, I saw three acts of "The Mayd in 
 ye Mill," 2 acted to my great content. 
 
 April 1, 1662. To the playhouse, the Opera, and 
 saw "The Mayde in the Mill," a pretty good play. 
 
 September 10, 1668. At the Duke's play-house, 
 and there saw "The Maid in the Mill," revived a 
 pretty, harmless old play. 
 
 Beaumont and Fletcher 
 
 PHILASTER, OR, LOVE LIES A-BLEEDING 
 
 November 18, 1661. To the Theatre to see 
 "Philaster," 1 which I never saw before, but I found 
 it far short of my expectations. 
 
 May 30, 1668. To the King's playhouse, and there 
 
 1 To the theatre on the site of Apothecaries' Hall, Black- 
 friars. 
 
 2 A comedy (1623) by Fletcher and William Rowley. "This 
 Play," says Langbaine (p. 211), "amongst others has likewise 
 been reviv'd by the Duke's House." 
 
 1 A tragi-comedy (1609?) by Beaumont and Fletcher. Lang- 
 baine notes (p. 213): "This Play was One of those that were 
 represented at the old Theatre in Lincolns-Inn-Fields, when the 
 women acted alone." 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 95 
 
 saw "Philaster" ; 2 where it is pretty to see how I 
 could remember almost all along, ever since I was a 
 boy, Arethusa, 3 the part which I was to have acted at 
 Sir Robert Cooke's; and it was very pleasant to me, 
 but more to think what a ridiculous thing it would 
 have been for me to have acted a beautiful woman. 
 
 [Beaumont and] Fletcher 
 
 THE BLOODY BROTHER, OR HOLLO, DUKE OF 
 
 NORMANDY 
 
 March 28, 1661. Then ... to the Theatre and 
 saw "Rollo" 1 ill acted. 
 
 April 17, 1667. To the King's playhouse . . . 
 and saw a piece of "Rollo," a play I like not much, 
 but much good acting in it; 2 the house very empty. 
 
 September 17, 1668. To the King's playhouse, 
 and saw "Rollo, Duke of Normandy," which for old 
 
 2 In this year Hart played Philaster, and Nell Gwyn, Bel- 
 lario according to Genest (I, 82). 
 
 3 The Princess Arethusa, with whom Philaster is in love. 
 
 1 The Bloody Brother, or Rollo, Duke of Normandy, a tragedy 
 by Fletcher and, perhaps, William Rowley, Jonson, and others, 
 was printed in 1639. 
 
 2 In the cast (Roscius Anglicanus, pp. 5-6) were Hart (in the 
 title part), Kynaston (as Otto), Mohun (Aubrey), Burt (La 
 Torch), Mrs. Marshall (Edith), and Mrs. Corey (the Duchess). 
 From James Wright's Historia Histrionica, 1699 (in Dodsley's 
 Old English Plays, Hazlitt ed., XV, 409), we learn that Hart 
 and Burt were in the cast of the surreptitious performance of 
 this play at the Cockpit in 1648, when the theatre was attacked 
 by a "party of foot-soldiers who arrested the actors." 
 
96 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 acquaintance, pleased me pretty well, and so home 
 and to my business. 
 
 [Beaumont and] Fletcher 
 
 RULE A WIFE AND HAVE A WIFE 
 
 April 1, 1661. Then to Whitefryars, and there saw 
 part of "Rule a wife and have a wife, 1 which I never 
 saw before, but do not like it. 
 
 February 5 y 1661-62. I and my wife to the Thea- 
 tre . . . and there saw "Rule a Wife and have a 
 Wife" very well done. 
 
 Beaumont and Fletcher THE SCORNFUL LADY 
 
 November 27, 1660. To a play, "The Scornfull 
 Lady," 1 and that being done, I went homewards. 
 
 January 4, 1660-61. Mr. Moore and I to the 
 Theatre, where was "The Scornful Lady," acted very 
 well. 
 
 1 A comedy (1624) by John Fletcher. Genest (I, 45) states 
 that the cast as given by Downes (Don Leon, Mohun; Perez, 
 Hart; Cacafago, Clun; Don John, Burt; Estifania, Mrs. Boutel; 
 Margareta, Mrs. Marshall) "must be that of 1663 or 1664," 
 but does not note earlier performances. 
 
 1 A comedy (1609) by Beaumont and Fletcher, acted probably 
 by the King's company as in4he later references. Evelyn saw 
 it soon afterwards. Under January 25, 1660-61 he writes as 
 follows: "After divers yeares since I had seen any play, I went 
 to see acted 'The Scornful Lady' at a new theater in Lincoln's 
 Inn Fields" (Diary, Wheatley ed., II, 122). 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 97 
 
 February 12, 1660-61. By water to Salsbury 
 Court playhouse, where not liking to sit we went out 
 \ again, and by coach to the Theatre, and there saw 
 "The Scornfull Lady," now done by a woman, 2 which 
 makes the play appear much better than ever it did to 
 me. 
 
 > November 17, 1662. To the Cockpitt [White- v 
 hall], and we had excellent places and saw the King, 
 Queen, Duke of Monmouth, his son, and my Lady 
 ^- Castlemaine, and all the fine ladies; and "The Scorn- 
 full Lady," well performed. They had done by 
 eleven o'clock. 
 
 December 27, 1666. To the King's playhouse, and 
 meeting Creed took him up, and there saw "The 
 Scornfull Lady" well acted; Doll Common doing 
 Abigail most excellently, and Knipp the widow very 
 well, and will be an excellent actor, I think. In other 
 parts the play not so well done as used to be by the 
 old actors. 
 
 September 16, 1667. To the King's play-house, to 
 see "The Scornfull Lady"; but it being now three 
 o'clock 3 there was not one soul in the pit, whereupon, 
 , for shame, we would not go in, but, against our wills, 
 went all to see "Tu Quoque" 4 again . . i Thence to 
 the King's house, upon a wager with my wife, that 
 there would be no acting there to-day, there being no 
 
 2 Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 6) gives the cast of the 
 women's parts, probably for the 1666 performance: "The Lady, 
 Mrs. Marshal; Martha, Mrs. Rutter; Abigail, Mrs. Corey." 
 
 3 Plays at the public theatres began at three-thirty, according 
 to the Prologue to Dryden's The Wild Gallant (1663). 
 
 4 See p. 104 for a description of this performance. 
 
98 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 company ; so I went in and found a pretty good com- 
 pany there, and saw their dance at the end of the 
 play. 
 
 June S 3 1668. To the King's house and there saw 
 good part of "The Scornfull Lady." 
 
 [Beaumont and] Fletcher and Massinger (?) 
 
 THE SPANISH CURATE 
 
 March 16, 1660-61. So to Whitefriars and saw 
 "The Spanish Curate," 1 in which I had no great 
 content. 
 
 January 1 3 1661-62. Seeing that the "Spanish 
 Curate" was acted, . . . sent to young Mr. Pen to 
 go with my wife and I to the Theatre, . . . and by 
 and by came the two young Pens, and after we had 
 eat a barrel of oysters we went by coach to the play, 
 and there saw it well acted, and a good play it is, 
 only Diego the Sexton did overdo his part too much. 
 From thence home, and they sat with us till late at 
 night at cards very merry, but the jest was Mr. 
 W. Pen 2 had left his sword in the coach. 
 
 May 17, 1669. To the King's playhouse, 3 and saw 
 "The Spanish Curate" revived, which is a pretty good 
 play, but my eyes troubled with seeing it mightily. 
 
 1 A comedy (1622) by Fletcher and Massinger (?). The cast 
 is not given by Downes or Genest. 
 
 2 This was William Penn, the Quaker, founder of Pennsyl- 
 vania. 
 
 3 For the last performance mentioned in the Diary, which 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 99 
 
 [Beaumont and] Fletcher and Massinger (?) 
 
 THE STORM (THE SEA VOYAGE) 
 
 ' September 25, 1667. To the King's playhouse. 
 . . . The play was a new play; and infinitely full; 
 the King and all the Court almost there. It is "The 
 Storme," 1 a play of Fletcher's; which is but so-so, 
 ..methinks ; only there is a most admirable dance at the 
 end, of the ladies, in a military manner, which indeed 
 did please me mightily. 
 
 September 26, 1667. With my wife abroad to the 
 ; King's playhouse, to shew her yesterday's new play, 
 jwhich I like as I did yesterday, the principal thing 
 extraordinary being the dance, which is very good. 
 
 March 25, 1668. To the King's playhouse, to see 
 "The Storme," which we did, but without much pleas- 
 ure, it being but a mean play compared with "The 
 Tempest," at the Duke of York's house, though 
 Knepp did act her part 2 of grief very well. 
 
 May 16, 1668. To the King's playhouse and there 
 saw the best part of "The Sea Voyage," where Knepp 
 I see do her part of sorrow very well. 
 
 Pepys brought to a close on May 31, from the fear that he was 
 losing his eyesight. Happily, his fears for his eyes proved to 
 be groundless. 
 
 X A comedy (1622) by Fletcher and Massinger (?) with 
 superficial resemblances to The Tempest called by Pepys on 
 May 16, 1668, The Sea Voyage. For The Widow, in which 
 Fletcher is said to have collaborated with Jonson and Middleton, 
 see p. 119. 
 
 2 "Mrs. Knipp acted Aminta" (Genest, I, 81). 
 
100 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 [Beaumont and] Fletcher THE WILD GOOSE CHASE 
 
 January 11, 1667-68. To the King's house, there 
 to see "The Wild-goose Chase," 1 which I never saw, 
 but have longed to see it, being a famous play, but as 
 it was yesterday I do find that where I expect most I 
 find least satisfaction, for in this play I met with 
 nothing extraordinary at all, but very dull inventions 
 and designs. 
 
 { [Beaumont and] Fletcher WIT WITHOUT MONEY 
 
 ^October 16, 1660. And so ... to the Cockpit, 
 where, understanding that "Wit without money" 1 
 was acted, I would not stay. 
 
 April 22, 1663. To the King's Playhouse, where 
 we saw but part of "Witt without mony," which I 
 do not like much, but coming late put me out of tune, 
 and it costing me four half-crowns for myself and 
 company. 
 
 1 A comedy (1621) by John Fletcher. It is mentioned in the 
 list of plays performed by Killigrew's company, given in 
 Malone's Shakspeare, Vol. I, Part II, p. 266, as having been 
 acted in February, 1661. 
 
 *A comedy (1614) by John Fletcher. Langbaine (p. 216) 
 mentions having seen it "acted at the Old House in little Lin- 
 colns-Inn-Fields with very great applause; the part of Valentine 
 being play'd by that compleat Actor Major Mohun deceas'd." 
 This performance Was probably at the Drury Lane Cockpit. 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 101 
 
 [Beaumont and] Fletcher 
 
 THE WOMAN'S PRIZE, OR THE TAMER TAMED 
 
 October 30, 1660. In the afternoon, to ease my 
 mind, I went to the Cockpit all alone, and there saw 
 a very fine play called "The Tamer tamed"; 1 very 
 well acted. 
 
 July 31, 1661. In the afternoon I went to the 
 Theatre, and there I saw "The Tamer Tamed" well 
 done. 
 
 [Beaumont and] Fletcher WOMEN PLEASED 
 
 December 26, 1668. To a play, at the Duke of 
 York's house, the house full of ordinary citizens. The 
 play was "Women Pleased," 1 which we had never 
 seen before; and, though but indifferent, yet there is 
 a good design for a good play. 
 
 Brome, Richard THE ANTIPODES 
 
 August 26, 1661. To the Theatre, and saw the 
 "Antipodes," 1 wherein there is much mirth, but no 
 great matter else. 
 
 *A comedy (1606?) in continuation of The Taming of the 
 Shrew, by John Fletcher, acted probably at the Cockpit, Drury 
 Lane, as plays at the Whitehall Cockpit were performed in the 
 evening. It is also in the list of plays acted at the Drury Lane 
 Cockpit given in Roscius Anglicanus, p. 18. 
 
 1 A loosely constructed tragi-comedy (1620?) by John 
 Fletcher. 
 
 1 A comedy (1630) by Richard Brome. 
 
102 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 Broirie, Richard 
 
 THE JOVIAL CREW, OR THE MERRY BEGGARS 
 
 July 25, 1661. To the Theatre, and saw "The 
 Jovial Crew," 1 the first time I saw it, and indeed it 
 is as merry and the most innocent play that ever I 
 saw, and wel} performed. 
 
 r August 27, 1661. Hence my wife and I to the 
 Theatre, and there saw "The Joviall Crew," where 
 th'e^King, Duke and Duchess, and Madame Palmer, 
 were, and my wife, to her great content, had a full 
 sight of them all the while. The play full of mirth. 
 
 November 1, 1661. To the Theatre, to "The 
 Joviall Crew." 
 
 January 11, 1668-69. To the King's playhouse, 
 and there saw "The Joviall Crew"; but ill acted to 
 what it was heretofore, in Chin's time, and when Lacy 
 could dance. 
 
 Brome, Richard THE NORTHERN CASTLE [LASS?] 
 
 September 14, 1667. To the King's playhouse to 
 see "The Northerne Castle," 1 which I think I never 
 
 1 A comedy (1641) by Richard Brome, listed by Dowries 
 (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 8) among the "Principal Old Stock 
 Plays" of the King's theatre. 
 
 1 No play so called is known. The play which is nearest to 
 it in point of title is Richard's Brome's comedy, The Northern 
 Lass, printed in 1632; it has a pathetic heroine, Constance (the 
 Northern Lass). That this was in the repertory of the King's 
 company, we know from the list of plays given in Malone's 
 Shakspeare, Vol. I, Part II, p. 267, according to which it was 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 103 
 
 did see before. Knipp acted in it, and did her part 
 very extraordinary well; but the play is but a mean, 
 sorry play; but the house very full of gallants. It 
 seems, it hath not been acted a good while. 
 
 Chapman, George BTJSSY D'AMBOIS 
 
 December 30, 1661. My wife has been at a play 
 to-day and saw "D'Ambois," 1 which I never saw. 
 
 November 15, 1662. After reading part of Bussy 
 d'Ambois, a good play I bought to-day, to bed. 
 
 Cooke, John Tu QUOQUE, OR THE CITY GALLANT 
 
 September 12, 1667. At the Duke's house, where 
 "Tu Quoque" 1 was the first time acted, with some 
 
 acted on April 4, 1662; and also from Langbaine, who says 
 (p. 36) that The Northern Lass was "acted with great Applause 
 at the Theatre Royal, by his Majestie's Servants, printed in 
 quarto, Lond. 1663." W. C. Hazlitt states (A Manual for the 
 Collector and Amateur of Old English Plays, p. 168) that "the 
 4to of 1663 describes it as acted with great applause at the 
 Theatre Royal; and it seems to be the piece intended by Pepys, 
 where he speaks of the Northern Castle, under the date of 
 September 14, 1667." 
 
 *A tragedy (1595-1600) by George Chapman "since the 
 Restauration of King Charles the Second," says Langbaine (pp. 
 60-61), "acted at the Theatre-Royal with good applause." In 
 the list of plays performed by Killigrew's company, in Malone's 
 Shakspeare, Vol. I, Part II, p. 267, this play is mentioned as 
 having been given on this date. According to Genest (I, 351), 
 Hart usually took the title part. 
 
 1 A comedy by John Cooke, in which the role of Bubble was 
 
104 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 alterations of Sir W. Davenant's; but the play is a 
 very silly play, methinks: for I, and others that sat 
 by me, Mr. Povy and Mr. Progers, were weary of it ; 
 but it will please the citizens. 
 
 September 16, 1667. Against our wills, went all to 
 see "Tu Quoque" again, where there is pretty store 
 of company, and going with a prejudice the play 
 appeared better to us. Here we saw Madam More- 
 land, 2 who is grown mighty fat, but is very comely. 
 But one of the best parts of our sport was a mighty 
 pretty lady that sat behind us, that did laugh so 
 heartily and constantly that it did me good to hear 
 her. 
 
 Ford, John THE LADY'S TRIAL 
 
 March 3, 1668-69. To the Duke of York's play- 
 house, and there saw an old play, the first time acted 
 these forty years, called "The Lady's Tryall," 1 acted 
 only by the young people of the house ; but the house 
 very full. But it is but a sorry play, and the worse 
 by how much my head is out of humour by being a 
 little sleepy. 
 
 4 
 
 immortalized by Thomas Greene, printed in 1614; it is men- 
 tioned by Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 26) as having been 
 acted at the Duke's theatre between 1662 and 1665. It was 
 revived in 1667 with "alterations" by D'Avenant. (Cf. A Man- 
 ual for the Collector and Amateur of Old English Plays, by 
 W. C. Hazlitt, p. 99.) 
 
 2 The wife of Sir Samuel Moreland, and daughter of the Baron 
 of Boissay. 
 
 X A tragi-comedy (1638) by John Ford. 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 105 
 Ford, John 'Tis PITY SHE'S A WHORE 
 
 September 9, 1661. Thence to Salisbury Court >' 
 playhouse, where was acted the first time " 'Tis pity 
 Shee's a Whore," 1 a simple play and ill acted, only 
 it was my fortune to sit by a most pretty and 
 most ingenious lady, which pleased me much. 
 
 Glapthorne, Henry ARGALUS AND PARTHENIA 
 
 January 31, 1660-61. To the Theatre and there 
 sat in the pit among the company of fine ladys, &c.; 
 and the house was exceeding full, to see Argalus and 
 Parthenia, 1 the first time it hath been acted; and 
 indeed it is good, though wronged by my over great 
 expectations, as all things else are. 
 
 February 5, 1660-61. I went by coach to the play- 
 house at the Theatre, our coach in King Street break- 
 ing^ and so took another. Here we saw Argalus and 
 Parthenia, which I lately saw, but though pleasant 
 for dancing and singing, I do not find good for any 
 wit or design therein. 
 
 October 28, 1661. To the Theatre, and there saw 
 "Argalus and Parthenia," where a woman acted 
 Parthenia, 2 and came afterwards on the stage in 
 
 1 A tragedy (1626?) by John Ford. 
 
 1 A pastoral drama (1638?) by Henry Glapthorne, based upon 
 an episode in Sidney's Arcadia (Book III). This performance 
 is also mentioned in the list of plays acted by Killigrew's com- 
 pany, given in Malone's Shakspeare, Vol. I, Part II, p. 266. 
 
 2 Downes does not record the cast for this play. 
 
106 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 men's clothes, and had the best legs that ever I saw, 
 and I was very well pleased with it. 
 
 Glapthorne, Henry WIT IN A CONSTABLE 
 
 May 23, 1662. To the Opera, where we saw "Witt 
 in a Constable," 1 the first time that it is acted; but 
 so silly a play I never saw I think in my life. 
 
 Habington, William 
 
 CLEODORA, THE QUEEN OF ARRAGON 
 
 October 19, 1668. To the Duke of York's play- 
 house; and there saw, the first time acted, "The 
 Queene of Arragon," an old Blackfriars' play, 1 but 
 an admirable one, so good that I am astonished at it, 
 and wonder where it hath lain asleep all this while, 
 that I have never heard of it before. 
 
 October 20, 1668. So to my tailor's, and the New 
 Exchange, and so by coach home, and there, having 
 this day bought "The Queene of Arragon" play, I 
 did get my wife and W. B atelier to read it over this 
 night by 11 o'clock. 
 
 1 A comedy (1639) by Henry Glapthorne, mentioned by 
 Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 26) among the plays performed 
 by the Duke's company between 1662 and 1665. 
 
 1 A tragi-comedy by William Habington, staged with great 
 expense at Blackfriars in 1640. Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, 
 p. 29) merely notes that it was acted at the Duke's house subse- 
 quent to Etherege's She Would if She Could. 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 107 - 
 
 Heywood, Thomas 
 
 LOVE'S MISTRESS, OR THE QUEEN'S MASQUE 
 
 March 2, 1660-61. After dinner I went to the 
 Theatre, where I found so few people (which is 
 strange, and the reason I did not know) that I went 
 out again, and so to Salsbury Court, where the house 
 as full as could be; and it seems it was a new play, 
 "The Queen's Maske," 1 wherein there are some good 
 humours: among others, a good jeer to the old story 
 of the Siege of Troy, making it a common country 
 tale. But above all it was strange to see so little a 
 boy as that was to act Cupid, which is one of the 
 greatest parts in it. 
 
 March 11 , 1660-61. To the Theatre, and there saw 
 "Love's Mistress" done by them, which I do not like 
 in some things as well as their acting in Salsbury 
 Court. 
 
 March 25, 1661. To Salisbury Court by water, 
 and saw part of the "Queene's Maske." 
 
 May 15, 1665. To the King's playhouse, all alone, 
 and 'saw "Love's Maistresse." Some pretty things 
 and good variety in it, but no or little fancy in it. 
 
 August 15, 1668. To the King's playhouse, and 
 there saw "Love's Mistresse" revived, the thing 
 pretty good, but full of variety of divertisement. 
 
 1 An allegorical drama (1634) by Thomas Heywood, origi- 
 nally produced by Inigo Jones. 
 
108 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 Heywood, Thomas 
 
 IF You KNOW NOT ME, You KNOW NOBODY, 
 OR THE TROUBLES OF QUEEN ELIZABETH 
 
 August 17, 1667. To the King's playhouse, where 
 the house extraordinary full ; and there was the King 
 and Duke of York to see the new play, "Queen Eliza- 
 beth's Troubles, and the History of Eighty Eight." 1 
 I confess I have sucked in so much of the sad story 
 of Queen Elizabeth, from my cradle, that I was ready 
 to weep for her sometimes; but the play is the most 
 ridiculous that sure ever come upon the stage; and, 
 indeed, is merely a shew, only shews the true garbe 
 of the Queen in those days, just as we see Queen 
 Mary and Queen Elizabeth painted; but the play is 
 merely a puppet play, acted by living puppets. Nei- 
 ther the design nor language better; and one stands 
 by and tells us the meaning of things: only I was 
 pleased to see Knipp dance among the milkmaids, 
 and to hear her sing a song to Queen Elizabeth ; and 
 to see her come out in her night-gowne with no lockes 
 on. 
 
 *An historical play in two parts (1604-1605) by Thomas 
 Heywood. W. C. Hazlitt comments with reference to this entry 
 that the play "was probably altered by some later hand, and 
 the recent Dutch invasion had doubtless suggested its revival" 
 (A Manual for the Collector and Amateur of Old English Plays, 
 p. 113). 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 109 
 Jonson, Ben THE ALCHEMIST 
 
 June 22, 1661. Then to the Theatre, "The^" 
 Alchymist," 1 which is a most incomparable play. 
 
 August 14, 1661. To the Theatre, and there saw 
 "The Alchymist." 
 
 August 4, 1664. We hear that Chin, one of their 
 best actors, was, the last night, going out of towne 
 '(after he had acted the Alchymist, wherein was one 
 of his best parts) ... set upon and murdered. ^J^ 1 
 
 April 17, 1669. Learning that "The Alchymist," 
 was acted, we did go, and took him [Pierce] with us 
 to the King's house ; and it is still a good play, having 
 not been acted for two or three years before; but I 
 do miss Clun, for the Doctor. 2 
 
 Jonson, Ben BARTHOLOMEW FAIR 
 
 June 8, 1661. To the Theatre and there saw 
 "Bartholomew Faire," 1 the first time it was acted 
 now-a-days. It is a most admirable play and well 
 acted, but too much prophane and abusive. 
 
 X A comedy (1610) by Ben Jonson. 
 
 2 Clearly, Subtle, the alchemist. The cast given by Downes 
 (Roscius Anglicanus, pp. 4-5) was probably the cast of this 
 revival, and not, as Genest hazards, that of the 1664 perform- 
 ance. In it Wintersell acted Clun's old part of Subtle, and 
 Mohun, Lacy, Cartwright, Burt, and Mrs. Corey (in the part 
 of Doll Common), were in the cast. 
 
 1 A comedy (1614) by Ben Jonson, which was popular on its 
 revival after the Restoration partly because of its abuse of the 
 Puritans. To Pepys, "the Puritan tailor's son," it was natural 
 that it should have seemed too "prophane." 
 
110 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 June 27, 1661. We went and saw "Bartholomew 
 Fayre" acted very well. 
 
 September 7 ' , 1661. I having appointed the young 
 ladies at the Wardrobe 2 to go with them to the play 
 to-day, . . . my wife and I took them to the Theatre, 
 where we seated ourselves close by the King, and 
 Duke of York, and Madame Palmer, which was great 
 content; and, indeed, I can never enough admire her 
 beauty. And here was "Bartholomew Fayre," with 
 the puppet-show, 3 acted to-day, which had not been 
 these forty years, (it being so satyricall against Puri- 
 tanism, they durst not till now, which is strange they 
 should already dare to do it, and the King to counte- 
 nance it ) , but I do never a whit like it the better for 
 the puppets, but rather the worse. Thence home with 
 the ladies, it being by reason of our staying for the 
 King's coming, and the length of the play, near nine 
 o'clock before it was done. 
 
 August 2, 1664. Thence to the King's play-house, 
 and there saw "Bartholomew Fayre," which do still 
 please me; and is, as it is acted, the best comedy in 
 the world, I believe. I chanced to sit by Tom Killi- 
 grew. 
 
 September 4, 1668. To the Fair: ... my wife 
 having a mind to see the play "Bartholomew-Fayre," 
 with puppets. Which we did, and it is an excellent 
 play ; the more I see it, the more I love the wit of it ; 
 
 2 The daughters of Pepys's patron, Lord Sandwich. 
 
 3 The Modern History of Hero and Leander, in Act V. From 
 Pepys's comment on this occasion, we infer that the puppet-show 
 had been omitted from the presentations of the play on June 
 8 and June 27 of this year. 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 111 
 
 only the business of abusing the Puritans begins to 
 grow stale, and of no use, they being the people that, 
 at last, will be found the wisest. 
 
 February 22, 1668-69. To White Hall, ... and 
 there by and by come the King and Queen, and they 
 begin "Bartholomew Fayre." But I like no play 
 here so well as at the common playhouse. 
 
 Jonson, Ben CATILINE,, HIS CONSPIRACY 
 
 December 18, 1664. Then to my chamber to read 
 Ben Jonson's Cataline, 1 a very excellent piece. 
 
 December 7, 1667. She tells us that Catelin is 
 likely to be soon acted, which I am glad to hear, but 
 it is at the King's house. But the King's house is at 
 present and hath for some days been silenced upon 
 some difference [between] Hart and Moone. 
 
 December 11, 1667. I met Rolt and Sir John 
 Chichly, and Harris, the player, and there we talked 
 of many things, and particularly of "Catiline," which 
 is to be suddenly acted at the King's house ; and there 
 all agree that it cannot be well done at that house, 
 there not being good actors enow: and Burt acts 
 Cicero, 2 which they all conclude he will not be able to 
 
 *A tragedy (1611) by Ben Jonson. Evelyn saw it on De- 
 cember 19, 1668. He records: "I went to see ye old play of 
 Cataline acted, having ben now forgotten almost 40 yeares" 
 (Diary, Wheatley ed., II, 233). 
 
 2 Cicero became, however, one of Burt's most popular parts. 
 Hart was Catiline; Mohun, Cethegus; and Mrs. Corey, Sem- 
 pronia. (Genest, I, 84.) 
 
112 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 do well. The King gives them 500 for robes, there 
 being, as they say, to be sixteen scarlett robes. 
 
 January 11, 1667-68. She [Knepp] told me also 
 of ... "Catelin," which she thinks, for want of the 
 clothes which the King promised them, will not be 
 a^ted for a good while. 
 
 ^December 19, 1668. To the King's playhouse, and 
 there, the pit being full, sat in a box above, and saw 
 "Catiline's Conspiracy," yesterday being the first 
 day: a play of much good sense and words to read, 
 but that do appear the worst upon the stage, I mean, 
 the least diverting, that ever I saw any, though most 
 in fine clothes ; and a fine scene of the Senate, and of 
 a fight, that ever I saw in my life. But the play is 
 only to be read. 
 
 Jonson, Ben THE DEVIL is AN Ass 
 
 July 22, 1663. So down to Deptford, reading Ben 
 Jonson's "Devil is an asse." 1 
 
 Jonson, Ben EPICOENE, OR THE SILENT WOMAN 
 
 June 6, 1660. My letters tell me ... that the two 
 Dukes [York and Gloucester] . . . were at a play, 
 Madame Epicene, 1 the other day. 
 
 *A comedy (1616) by Ben Jonson, mentioned among the 
 "Principal Old Stock Plays" of the King's company in Roscius 
 Anglicanus, p. 8. 
 
 1 Epicoene, or The Silent Woman, a comedy (1610) by Ben 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 113 
 
 December 4, 1660. After dinner Sir Tho. [Crew] 
 and my Lady to the Playhouse to see "The Silent 
 Woman." 
 
 January 7 , 1660-61. Tom and I and my wife to 
 the Theatre, and there saw "The Silent Woman," the 
 first time that ever I did see it, and it is an excellent 
 play. Among other things here, Kinaston, the boy, 
 had the good turn to appear in three shapes : first as a 
 poor woman in ordinary clothes, to please Morose; 
 then in fine clothes, as a gallant, and in them was 
 clearly the prettiest woman in the whole house, 2 and 
 , lastly, as a man; and then likewise did appear the 
 handsomest man in the house. 
 
 May 25, 1661. To the Theatre, where I saw a 
 piece of "The Silent Woman," which pleased me. 
 
 June 1, 1664. To the King's house, and saw "The 
 Silent Woman"; but me-thought not so well done 3 
 or so good a play as I formerly thought it to be, or 
 else I am now a-days out of humour. Before the play 
 was done, it fell such a storm of hayle, that we in the 
 middle of the pit were fain to rise ; and all the house 
 in a disorder. 
 
 April 16, 1667. In haste to carry my wife to the 
 
 Jonson, mentioned in the list of plays "acted by the Red Bull 
 Actors" given in Malone's Shakspeare, Vol. I, Part II, p. 265. 
 2 Epicoene was one of Kynaston's famous parts. 
 
 "The cast which Downes gives was probably the cast of 
 this day/' says Genest (I, pp. 49-50). It included Cartwright 
 as Morose; Mohun as Truewit; Wintersell, Sir Amorous; Shot- 
 terel, Daw; Lacy, Captain Otter; Burt, Clerimont; Kynaston, 
 Sir Dauphine; Mrs. Knepp, Epicoene; and Mrs. Corey, Mrs. 
 Otter. 
 
114 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 new play I saw yesterday, 4 she not knowing it. But 
 there, contrary to expectation, find "The Silent 
 Woman." However, in. ... I was never more taken 
 with a play than I am with this "Silent Woman," as 
 old as it is, and as often as I have seen it. There is 
 more wit in it than goes to ten new plays. 
 
 September 18, 1668. At the end of the play, 
 thinking to have gone abroad with Knepp, but it was 
 too late, and she to get her part against to-morrow, in 
 "The Silent Woman." 
 
 September 19, 1668. To the King's playhouse, 
 and there saw "The Silent Woman," the best comedy, 
 I think, that ever was wrote; and sitting by Shad- 
 well the poet, he was big with admiration of it. . . . 
 Knepp did her part mighty well. 
 
 Jonson, Ben EVERY MAN IN HIS HUMOUR 
 
 February 9, 1666-67. Read a piece of a play, 
 "Every Man in his Humour," 1 wherein is the great- 
 est propriety of speech that ever I read in my life. 
 
 4 Edward Howard's The Change of Crowns. 
 
 X A comedy (1598) by Ben Jonson; according to Downes 
 (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 8) one of the "Principal Old Stock 
 Plays" at the King's theatre. 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORAT1ON PLAYS 115 
 Jonson, Ben VOLPONE, OR THE Fox 
 
 January 14, 1664-65. To the King's house, there 
 to see "Vulpone/' 1 a most excellent play; the best I 
 think I ever saw, and well acted. 2 
 
 Kyd, Thomas 
 
 THE SPANISH TRAGEDY, OR HIERONIMO Is 
 
 MAD AGAIN 
 
 February 24, 1667-68. To the Nursery, where 
 none of us ever were before ; where the house is better 
 and the musique better than we looked for, and the 
 acting not much worse, because I expected as bad as 
 could be : and I was not much mistaken, for it was so. 
 However, I was pleased well to see it once, it being 
 worth a man's seeing to discover the different ability 
 and understanding of people, and the different 
 growth of people's abilities by practise. Their p 
 was a bad one, called "Jeronimo is Mad Again," 1 a 
 tragedy. Here was some good company by us, who 
 did make mighty sport at the folly of their acting, 
 which I could not neither refrain from sometimes, 
 though I was sorry for it. 
 
 1 A comedy (1605-1606) by Ben Jonson. On October 16, 
 1662, Evelyn "saw 'Volpone' acted at Court before their Maties" 
 (Diary, Wheatley ed., II, 153). 
 
 2 Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 4) gives the following cast: 
 Volpone, Mohun; Mosca, Hart; Corbaccio, Cartwright; Corvino, 
 Burt; Sir Politique Would-be, Lacy; Peregrine, Kynaston; Lady 
 Would-be, Mrs. Corey; Celia, Mrs. Marshall. 
 
 1 A tragedy (1586) by Thomas Kyd. It was performed per- 
 haps at the "Nursery" for actors in Hatton Garden. 
 
116 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 Marlowe, Christopher 
 
 THE TRAGICAL HISTORY or DOCTOR FAUSTUS 
 
 May 26, 1662. To the Redd Bull, where we saw 
 "Doctor Faustus," 1 but so wretchedly and poorly 
 done, that we were sick of it, and the worse because 
 by a former resolution it is to be the last play we are 
 to see till Michaelmas. 2 
 
 Massinger, Philip THE BONDMAN 
 
 March 1, 1660-61. To Whitefryars, and saw "The 
 Bondman" 1 acted; an excellent play and well done. 
 But above all that ever I saw, Betterton do the Bond- 
 man 2 best. 
 
 March 19, 1660-61. To White-Fryars, where we 
 saw "The Bondman" acted most excellently, and 
 though I have seen it often, yet I am every time more 
 and more pleased with Betterton's action. 
 
 March 26, 1661. To Salisbury Court, where com- 
 ing late ... I and my wife sat in the pit, . . . and 
 saw "The Bondman" done to admiration. 
 
 1 Marlowe's tragedy (1588) probably as printed in the edi- 
 tion of 1663, which contained "several new scenes and the 
 actors' names" (J. O. Halliwell [Phillipps], Dictionary of Old 
 English Plays, p. 76). 
 
 2 It may be of interest to note that on September 29 (Michael- 
 mas), Pepys writes: "This day my oaths for drinking of wine 
 and going to plays are out, and so I do resolve to take a liberty 
 to-day, and then to fall to them again." 
 
 1 A tragi-comedy (1623) by Philip Massinger. 
 
 2 Marullo. 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 117 
 
 May 25, 1661. In my way bought "The Bond- 
 man" in Paul's Churchyard. 
 
 November 4, 1661. To the Opera where we saw 
 "The Bondman," which of old we both did so doat 
 on, and do still; though to both our thinking not so 
 well acted here (having too great expectations) as 
 formerly at Salisbury- court. But for Betterton, he 
 is called by us both the best actor in the world. 
 
 November 25, 1661. After dinner to the theatre, 
 and there saw "The Country Captain"; and that 
 being done . . . went to the Opera, and saw the last 
 act of "The Bondman." 
 
 April 2, 1662. To the Opera and there saw "The 
 Bondman" most excellently acted; and though we had 
 seen it so often, yet I never liked it better than to-day, 
 lanthe 3 acting Cleora's part very well now Roxalana 
 is gone. 
 
 July 28, 1664. Seeing "The Bondman" upon the 
 posts, 4 I consulted my oath and find I may go safely 
 this time without breaking it. . . . There I saw it 
 acted. It is true, for want of practice, they had many 
 of them forgot their parts a little ; but Betterton and 
 my poor lanthe outdo all the world. There is noth- 
 ing more taking in the world with me than that play. 
 
 November 2, 1666. And so home, 5 I reading all 
 the way to make an end of the "Bondman" (which 
 the oftener I read the more I like). 
 
 3 Mrs. Betterton ("lanthe") succeeded Elizabeth Davenport 
 ("Roxalana") in this and other important parts. 
 
 4 Where the playbills were placed. 
 
 5 From Deptford where he frequently went on business for 
 the Admiralty. 
 
118 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 Massinger and Dekker THE VIRGIN MARTYR 
 
 February 16, 1660-61. To the Theatre, where I 
 saw "The Virgin Martyr," 1 a good but too sober a 
 play for the company. 
 
 February 27, 1667-68. To the King's House, to 
 see "The Virgin Martyr," the first time it hath been 
 acted a great while: and it is mighty pleasant; not 
 that the play is worth much, but it is finely acted by 
 Becke Marshal. 2 But that which did please me be- 
 yond anything in the whole world was the wind 
 musique when the angel comes down, which is so 
 sweet that it ravished me. 
 
 March 2, 1667-68. To the King's house to see the 
 "Virgin Martyr" again, which do mightily please me, 
 but above all the musique at the coming down of the 
 angel, 3 which at this hearing the second time, do still 
 commend me as nothing ever did, and the other 
 musique is nothing to it. 
 
 May 6, 1668. To the King's playhouse, and there 
 saw "The Virgin Martyr," and heard the music that 
 I like so well. 
 
 Mayne, Jasper THE CITY MATCH 
 
 September 28, 1668. Knepp's maid comes to me, 
 to tell me that the women's day 1 at the playhouse is 
 
 1 A tragedy by Massinger and Dekker, licensed in 1620. 
 
 2 Rebecca Marshall played the part of St. Dorothea. (Cf. 
 Genest, I, 80.) 
 
 8 The angel entertained by St. Dorothea as her page. 
 1 The women's benefit. 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 119 
 
 to-day, and that therefore I must be there, to encrease 
 their profit. . . . Towards the King's playhouse, . . . 
 and there saw "The City Match"; 2 not acted these 
 thirty years, and but a silly play; the King and 
 Court there ; the house, for the women's sake, mighty 
 full. 
 
 Middleton, Thomas THE MAYOR OF QUINBOROUGH 
 
 June 16, 1666. All the way down and up 1 read- 
 ing of "The Mayor of Quinborough," 2 a simple play. 
 
 Jonson (?), Fletcher (?), and Middleton 
 
 THE WIDOW 
 
 January 8, 1660-61. To the Theatre, and shewed 
 them "The Widdow," 1 an indifferent good play, but 
 wronged by the women being to seek in their parts. 
 
 2 A farcical comedy by Jasper Mayne, acted in 1639. 
 
 1 To and from Deptford. 
 
 2 An historical play (1596?) by Thomas Middleton, printed 
 in 1661. Langbaine (p. 372) says that it was "often acted with 
 much applause, by his Majesties Servants." 
 
 1 A comedy by "Jonson, Fletcher, Middleton," acted between 
 1616 and 1625. Evelyn mentions a performance of it on Jan- 
 uary 16, 1661-62: "This night was acted before his Maty, 
 'The Widow/ a lewd play" (Diary, Wheatley ed., II, 143). 
 Langbaine (p. 298) says it "Was reviv'd not many Years ago, 
 at the King's House, with a new Prologue and Epilogue." 
 
120 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 Middleton and W. Rowley THE CHANGELING 
 
 February 23, 1660-61. Then by water to White- 
 friars to the Play-house, and there saw "The Change- 
 ling," 1 the first time it hath been acted these twenty 
 years, and it takes exceedingly. Besides, I see the 
 galjants do begin to be tyred with the vanity and 
 pride of the theatre actors who are indeed grown very" 
 proud and rich. 
 
 Middleton and W. Rowley THE SPANISH GYPSY 
 
 June 16, 1661. This afternoon ... I spent in 
 reading "The Spanish Gypsey," 1 a play not very 
 good, though commended much. 
 
 March 7, 1667-68. To the King's playhouse, and 
 there saw "The Spanish Gipsys," the second time of 
 acting, and the first that I saw it. A very silly play, 
 only great variety of dances, and those most excel- 
 lently done, especially one part by one Hanes 2 only 
 lately come thither from the Nursery. 
 
 1 A tragedy (1623) by Middleton and W. Rowley; its success 
 was undoubtedly due in part to the acting of Betterton in the 
 role of De Flores. 
 
 1 A tragi-comedy (1623) by Middleton and W. Rowley. 
 
 2 Joseph Raines's name occurs in Downes's list (Roscius 
 Anglicanus, p. 2) of actors who joined the King's company 
 "after they had begun in Drury-Lane." 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 121 
 
 Riley, Thomas (?) CORNELIANUM DOLIUM 
 
 November 15, 1660. So to Paul's Churchyard and 
 bought "Cornelianum dolium." 1 
 
 December 3, 1660. I fell a reading Cornelianum 
 doMum till 11 o'clock at night with great pleasure. 
 
 Rowley, William ALL'S LOST BY LUST 
 
 March 23, 1660-61. At last into the pitt 1 where I 
 think there was not above ten more than myself, and 
 not one hundred in the whole house. And the play, 
 which is called "All's lost by Lust," 2 poorly donej and 
 with so much disorder, among others, in the musique- 
 room, the boy that was to sing a song, not singing 
 it right, his master fell about his ears and beat him so, 
 that it put the whole house into an uprore. 
 
 Shirley, James THE CARDINAL 
 
 October 2, 1662. Hearing that- there was a 'play 
 at the Cockpit, 1 . . . I do go thither, and by very 
 great fortune did follow four or five gentlemen who 
 
 1 A Latin comedy (1638) "probably by Thomas Riley of 
 Trinity College, Cambridge," asserts W. C. Hazlitt (A Manual 
 for the Collector and Amateur of Old English Plays, p. 50). 
 
 1 At the Red Bull Playhouse. 
 
 2 A tragedy (1619?) by W. Rowley, mentioned in the list of 
 plays performed by Killigrew's company, in Malone's Shak- 
 speare, Vol. I, Part II, p. 266, as having been acted in March, 
 April, and May of this year. 
 
 1 In Whitehall Palace. 
 
122 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 were carried to a little private door in a wall, and so 
 crept through a narrow place and come into one of the 
 boxes next the King's, but so as I could not see the 
 King or Queene, but many of the fine ladies, who yet 
 are really not so handsome generally as I used to take 
 them to be, but that they are finely dressed. Here 
 we saw "The Cardinall," 2 a tragedy I had never seen 
 before, nor is there any great matter in it. The com- 
 pany that came in with me into the box, were all 
 Frenchmen that could speak no English, but, Lord! 
 what sport they made to ask a pretty lady that they 
 got among them that understood both French and 
 English to make her tell them what the actors said. 
 
 August 24, 1667. Saw "The Cardinall" at the 
 King's house, wherewith I am mightily pleased; but, 
 above all, with Becke Marshall. 3 
 
 April 27, 1668. To the King's playhouse, and 
 there saw most of "The Cardinall," a good play. 
 
 Shirley,, James THE CHANGES, OR LOVE IN A MAZE 
 
 May 22, 1662. To the Theatre and saw "Love in a 
 Maze." 1 The play hath little in it but Lacy's part of 
 a country fellow, 2 which he did to admiration. 
 
 June 10, 1663. To the Royal Theatre by water, 
 
 2 A tragedy by James Shirley licensed in 1641, mentioned by 
 Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 8) among the "Principal Old 
 Stock Plays" of the King's company. 
 
 3 Rebecca Marshall doubtless acted the part of the Duchess 
 Rosaura. 
 
 *A comedy (1632) by James Shirley. 
 
 2 Langbaine records (p. 477) : "As I remember, the deceas'd 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 123 
 
 and ... we saw "Love in a Maze." The play is 
 pretty good, but the life of the play is Lacy's part, 
 the clown, which is most admirable; but for the rest, 
 which are counted such old and excellent actors, in 
 my life I never heard both men and women so ill pro- 
 nounce their parts, even to my making myself sick 
 therewith. 
 
 May 1, 1667. Thence away to the King's play- 
 house, . . . and saw "Love in a Maze": but a sorry 
 play: only Lacy's clowne's part, which he did most 
 admirably indeed ; and I am glad to find the rogue at 
 liberty again. Here was but little, and that ordinary 
 company. 
 
 February 7, 1667-68. To the King's playhouse, 
 and there saw a piece of "Love in a Maze," a dull, 
 silly play, I think. 
 
 April 28, 1668. To the King's house, and there did 
 see "Love in a Maze," wherein very good mirth of 
 Lacy, the clown, and Wintersell, the country- knight, 
 his master. 3 
 
 Shirley, James THE COURT SECRET 
 
 August 18, 1664. My wife going to-day to see a 
 new play, "The Court Secret." 1 . . . My wife says the 
 play she saw is the worst that ever she saw in her life. 
 
 Mr. Lacy acted Jonny Thump, Sir Gervase Simple's man, with 
 general Applause." 
 
 3 Sir Gervase Simple was impersonated by William Wintersell. 
 
 1 A tragi-comedy by James Shirley, written before 1642 but 
 not acted, according to Langbaine (p. 484), "till after it 
 appeared in print, . . . 1653." Genest states (I, 351) that it 
 "was brought out by the King's company." 
 
124 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 Shirley, James THE GRATEFUL SERVANT 
 
 February 20, 1668-69. To the Duke of York's 
 house, and there saw "The Gratefull Servant," 1 a 
 pretty good play, and which I have forgot that ever 
 I did see. 
 
 Shirley, James HYDE PARK 
 
 July 11, 1668. After dinner to the King's play- 
 house, to see an old play of Shirly's, called "Hide 
 Parke"; 1 the first day acted; where horses are brought 
 upon the stage: 2 but it is a very moderate play, only 
 an excellent epilogue spoke by Beck Marshall. 
 
 1 A tragi-comedy (licensed in 1629) by James Shirley. 
 Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 27) mentions the production 
 of this play, which he says was "well Perform'd; especially 
 Dulcino the Grateful Servant, being Acted by Mrs. Long; and 
 the first time she appear'd in Man's Habit, prov'd as Beneficial 
 to the Company, as several succeeding new Plays." 
 
 1 A comedy of contemporary London life by James Shirley, 
 licensed in 1632. 
 
 2 Doubtless during the scene at the races laid in Hyde Park 
 in Act IV. Mr. Edmund Gosse, in commenting upon this entry 
 in Pepys's journal, remarks that "it would not appear that this 
 was attempted by Shirley, since the stage directions . . . 
 together with the fact that the personages enter to inform their 
 friends of their luck, seem to show that the horses were kept out 
 of sight of the audience." (Cf. James Shirley, in The Mermaid 
 Series, [1888] ed., Introduction, p. 22.) 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 125 
 Shirley, James LOVE'S CRUELTY 
 
 December 30, 1667. To the King's playhouse, 
 there to see "Love's Cruelty," 1 an old play, but which 
 I have not seen before, . . . and it proves to me a 
 very silly play, and to everybody else, as far as I could 
 judge. 
 
 April 14, 1668. Thence to a play, "Love's 
 Cruelty." . . . Play part 2s. Oranges Is. 
 
 Shirley, James 
 
 LOVE TRICKS, OR THE SCHOOL OF COMPLIMENT 
 
 August 5, 1667. To the Duke of York's house, 
 and there saw "Love Trickes, or the School of Com- 
 pliments," 1 a silly play, only Mis's [Davis's] dancing 2 
 in the shepherds clothes did please us mightily. 
 
 January 7, 1667-68. To look for them, and there 
 by this means, for nothing, see an act in "The Schoole 
 of Compliments" at the Duke of York's house. 
 
 1 A tragedy (1631) by James Shirley, evidently one of the 
 earliest plays to be revived after the Restoration, as it occurs 
 in the list of "plays acted by the Red Bull Actors/' given in 
 Malone's Shakspeare, Vol. I, Part II, p. 265. Mohun played 
 the part of Bellamente. 
 
 1 A comedy (1625) by James Shirley; its revival is noted by 
 Downes, Roscius Anglicanus, p. 27. 
 
 2 In the part of Selina, who disguised as a shepherd dances 
 with Antonio, who is in women's clothes. 
 
126 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 Shirley, James THE TRAITOR 
 
 November 22, 1660. I to the new playhouse and 
 saw part of the "Traitor," 1 a very good Tragedy; Mr. 
 Moon did act the Traitor 2 very well. 
 
 October 10, 1661. To the Theatre . . . where 
 the King came to-day, and there was "The Traytor" 
 most admirably acted ; and a most excellent play it is. 
 
 January 13, 1664-65. To the King's house, to a 
 play, "The Traytor," where, unfortunately, I met 
 with Sir W. Pen, so that I must be forced to confess 
 it 3 to my wife, which troubles me. 
 
 October 2, 1667. To the King's house to see "The 
 Traytour," which still I like as a very good play. 
 
 Suckling, Sir John AGLAURA 
 
 September 24, 1662. Bird 1 hath lately broke his 
 leg, while he was fencing in "Aglaura." 2 
 
 X A tragedy (1631) by James Shirley, mentioned in the list 
 of plays performed by Killigrew's company, given in Malone's 
 Shakspeare, Vol. I, Part II, p. 266, as having been acted on 
 this date. 
 
 2 Lorenzo, "Kinsman and Favourite" of the Duke of Florence; 
 "Mr. Moon" is Michael Mohun. 
 
 3 His playgoing in violation of a vow. 
 
 1 R. W. Lowe mentions in this connection an actor named 
 Theophilus Bird. (Cf. Thomas Betterton, 1891 ed., p. 78.) 
 
 2 A pseudo-historical tragedy by Sir John Suckling, first acted 
 as a tragedy in 1636, later acted as a tragi-comedy in 1637, with 
 a new fifth act giving a happy ending to the intricate and sinister 
 plot. 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 127 
 
 September 5, 1664. To Deptford, and so home, all 
 the way reading Sir J. Suck [1] ing's "Aglaura," 
 which, methinks, is but a mean play, nothing of design 
 in it. 
 
 January 10, 1667-68. To the King's house, to see 
 "Aglaura," which hath been always mightily cried 
 up; and so I went with mighty expectation, but do 
 find nothing extraordinary in it at all, and but hardly 
 good in any degree. 
 
 Suckling, Sir John 
 
 BRENNORALT, OR THE DISCONTENTED COLONEL 
 
 July 23, 1661. I went to the Theatre, and saw 
 "Brenoralt," 1 I never saw before. It seemed a good 
 play, but ill acted. 
 
 August 12, 1667. To the King's playhouse, and 
 there . . . the play is "Brenoralt," which I do find 
 but little in, for my part. 
 
 October 18, 1667. To the King's house, and saw 
 "Brenoralt," which is a good tragedy that I like 
 well. 
 
 March 5, 1667-68. To the King's house, and there 
 saw part of "The Discontented Colonel," but could 
 take no great pleasure in it, because of our coming 
 in in the middle of it. 
 
 1 A tragi-comedy (printed 1646) with a pseudo-historical back- 
 ground, by Sir John Suckling. 
 
128 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 Suckling, Sir John THE GOBLINS 
 
 January 23, 1666-67. Knipp made us stay in a box 
 and see the dancing preparatory to to-morrow for 
 "The Goblins," 1 a play of Suckling's not acted these 
 twenty-five years ; which was pretty. 
 
 January 24, 1666-67. But it was she [Knepp] 
 coming off the stage just as she acted this day in "The 
 Goblins." 
 
 May 22, 1667. To the King's house, where I did 
 give ISd., and saw the last two acts of "The Goblins," 
 a play I could not make any thing out of by these two 
 acts, but here Knipp spied me out of the tiring-room, 
 and come to the^it door. 
 
 Tomkis, Thomas ALBUMAZAR 
 
 February 22, 1667-68. To the Duke's playhouse, 
 and there saw "Albumazar," 1 an old play, this the 
 second time of acting. It is said to have been the 
 ground of B. Jonson's "Alchymist"; but, saving the 
 ridiculousnesse of Angell's part, which is called Trin- 
 kilo, I do not see anything extraordinary in it, but was 
 
 1 A comedy (1638?) by Sir John Suckling. Neither Downes 
 nor Genest gives the cast. 
 
 1 A comedy (1614) by a "Mr. Tomkis," erroneously referred 
 to, on its revival, by Dry den in the prologue he wrote for it as 
 being the f model" of The Alchemist: 
 
 "Subtle was got by our Albumazar, 
 
 That Alchymist by this Astrologer. ..." 
 (Cf. The Works of John Dryden, Scott-Saintsbury ed., X, 418.) 
 
OTHER PRE-RESTORATION PLAYS 129 
 
 indeed weary of it before it was done. The King 
 here, and, indeed, all of us, pretty merry at the 
 mimique tricks of Trinkilo. 
 
 Webster, John THE DUCHESS OF MALFI 
 
 September 30, 1662. To the Duke's playhouse, 
 where we saw "The Duchess of Malfy" 1 well per- 7 
 formed, but Betterton and lanthe to admiration. 2 
 
 November 2, 1666. Begun "The Duchess of 
 Malfy," which seems a good play. 
 
 November 6, 1666. To Deptford, reading 
 "Duchesse of Malfy," the play which is pretty good. 
 
 November 25, 1668. To the Duke of York's house, 
 to see "The Duchesse of Malfy," a sorry play .,*__ 
 
 Webster, John 
 
 ,/r 
 
 THE WHITE DEVIL, OR VITTORIA COROMBONA 
 
 October 2, 1661. We went to the Theatre, but 
 coming late, and sitting in an ill place, I never had so 
 little pleasure in a play in my life, yet it was the first 
 
 1 A tragedy (printed 1623) by John Webster. 
 
 2 Betterton played the part of Bosola, and "lanthe" (Mrs. 
 Betterton), the Duchess of Malfi; Harris, Duke Ferdinand; 
 Smith, Antonio; and Young, the Cardinal, according to Downes 
 (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 25), who adds: "This Play was so ex- 
 ceedingly Excellently Acted in all Parts; chiefly, Duke Ferdi- 
 nand and Bosola: It fill'd the House 8 Days Successively, it 
 proving one of the Best of Stock Tragedies." 
 
130 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 time that ever I saw it, "Victoria Corombona." 1 Me- 
 thinks a very poor play. 
 
 ' October 4, 1661. To the Theatre, and there came 
 too late, so we staid and saw a bit of "Victoria," 
 which pleased me worse than it did the other day. 
 
 Unknown Author 
 
 THE MERRY DEVIL or EDMONTON 
 
 August 10, 1661. To the Theatre, and shewed 
 them "The merry Devill of Edmunton," 1 which is a 
 very merry play, the first time I ever saw it, which 
 pleased me well. 
 
 *A tragedy (1607-1608) by John Webster, mentioned in 
 Downes's list (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 9) of "Principal Old 
 Stock Plays" of the King's company. 
 
 1 A comedy ascribed by Coxeter to Michael Dray ton ; nothing 
 definite is known of its authorship. C. F. Tucker Brooke makes 
 the following statement about it (The Tudor Drama, p. 276): 
 "Registered for publication in 1607, it is known to have enjoyed 
 marked popularity on the stage three years earlier and was pre- 
 sumably composed shortly before the end of Elizabeth's reign." 
 It was one of the "Principal Old Stock Plays" of the King's 
 company. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 PLAYS OF UNCERTAIN DATE 
 
CHAPTER III 
 PLAYS OF UNCERTAIN DATE 
 
 Unknown Author LOVE'S QUARREL 
 
 April 6, 1661. To Salisbury Court and there saw 
 "Love's Quarrell" 1 acted the first time, but do not like 
 the design or words. 
 
 Unknown Author MERRY ANDREW 
 
 August 29, 1668. To Bartholomew Fair, and 
 there did see a ridiculous, obscene little stage-play, 
 called "Marry Andrey"; 1 a foolish thing, but seen 
 by everybody. 
 
 Unnamed Plays 
 
 November 20, 1660. I found my Lord Sandwich 
 in bed late, he having been with the King, Queen, and 
 Princesse, at the Cockpit 1 all night, where after 
 supper a play. 
 
 1 "The play is not known otherwise than by this notice'' 
 (Pepys's Diary, Wheatley ed., II, 3n). 
 
 1 Probably the old folk play of The Vagaries of Merry 
 Andrew, often acted by puppets. 
 
 1 In Whitehall Palace. 
 
\ 
 
 1 
 
 134 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 February 20, 1662-63. I met Madam Turner, she 
 and her daughter having been at the play to-day at 
 the Temple, it being a revelling time with them. 
 
 December 6, 1666. After dinner my wife and 
 brother ... go out to see a play. . . . My wife not 
 pleased with the play, but thinks that is it [sc] be- 
 cause she is grown more critical than she used to be, 
 but my brother she says is mightily taken with it. 
 
 December 26, 1666. I put the women into a coach, 
 and they to the Duke's house, to a play which was 
 acted, "The - ." It was indifferently done, but 
 was not pleased with the song, Gosnell not singing, 
 but a new wench, that sings naughtily. 
 
 February IS, 1666-67. Dr. Clerke 2 fell to reading 
 a new play, newly writ, of a friend's of his; but, by 
 his disclosure and confession afterwards, it was his 
 own. 
 
 July 22, 1667. Creed tells me of the fray between 
 the Duke of Buckingham at the Duke's playhouse 
 the last Saturday (and it is the first day I have heard 
 that they have acted at either the Duke's or the King's 
 houses this month or six weeks) and Henry Killi- 
 grew. 
 
 April 13, 1668. So with Creed to a play. Little 
 laugh, 4s. 
 
 July 17, 1668. To the King's House, to see a play 
 
 revived called The ; a sorry mean play, that 
 
 vexed us to sit in so much heat of the weather to hear 
 it. 
 
 2 Timothy Clarke, appointed physician-in-ordinary to Charles 
 the Second in 1667. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION 
 PLAYS 
 
 \ 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION 
 PLAYS 
 
 [NOTE: In a few instances pre-Restoration works by authors, 
 certain of whose plays were produced after 1660, are included in 
 this section.] 
 
 Betterton, Thomas 
 
 THE ROMAN VIRGIN, OR THE UNJUST JUDGE 
 
 May 12, 1669. To the Duke of York's playhouse, 
 and there, in the side balcony, over against the 
 musick, did hear, but not see, a new play, the first 
 day acted, "The Roman Virgin," 1 an old play, but 
 ordinary, I thought : but the trouble of my eyes with 
 the candles did almost kill me. 
 
 Bristol, Earl of WORSE AND WORSE 
 
 July 20, 1664. Went to a play, only a piece of it, 
 which was at the Duke's house, "Worse and Worse"; 1 
 
 1 A tragedy adapted from Webster's Appius and Virginia 
 (printed 1654) by Thomas Betterton, the actor, and published 
 as altered in 1679. Betterton acted the part of Virginius; Har- 
 ris, Appius; and Mrs. Betterton, Virginia; "and all the other 
 Parts Exactly perform' d, it lasted Successively 8 Days," records 
 Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 30). 
 
 1 A lost adaptation from a comedy of Calderon, probably Peor 
 
138 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 just the same manner of play, and writ, I believe, by 
 the same man, as "The Adventures of Five Hours" ; 2 
 very pleasant it was, and I begin to admire Harris 
 more than ever. 
 
 Caryl, John 
 
 THE ENGLISH PRINCESS, OR RICHARD THE THIRD 
 
 March 7, 1666-67. Thence to the Duke's play- 
 house, and saw "The English Princesse, or Richard 
 the Third/' 1 a most sad, melancholy play, and pretty 
 good, but nothing eminent in it, as some tragedys are ; 
 only little Mis. Davis did dance a jig after the end 
 of the play, and there telling the next day's play; so 
 that it come in by force only to please the company 
 to see her dance in boy's clothes; and, the truth is, 
 there is no comparison between Nell's 2 dancing the 
 other day at the King's house in boy's clothes and 
 this, this being infinitely beyond the other. 
 
 Estd que Estaba, by George Digby, Earl of Bristol, acted be- 
 tween 1662 and 1665. (Cf. A. W. Ward, A History of English 
 Dramatic Literature, 2d ed., Ill, 305.) 
 
 2 An adaptation (1663) by Sir Samuel Tuke from a play 
 ascribed to Antonio Coello. 
 
 1 A tragedy (published 1667) by John Caryl. Downes states 
 (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 27) that it was "Excellently well Acted 
 in every Part; chiefly King Richard by Mr. Betterton; Duke of 
 Richmond, by Mr. Harris; Sir William Stanly, by Mr. Smith," 
 and that it "Gained them an Additional Estimation, and the 
 Applause from the Town, as well as profit to the whole Com- 
 pany." 
 
 2 Nell Gwyn's dancing in The Maiden Queen. 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 139 
 Cowley, Abraham CUTTER OF COLEMAN STREET 
 
 December 16, 1661. To the Opera, where there 
 was a new play ("Cutter of Coleman Street" 1 ) made 
 in the year 1658, with reflections much upon the late 
 times; and it being the first time, the pay was 
 doubled, and so to save money, my wife and I went 
 up into the gallery, and there sat and saw very well; 
 and a very good play it is. It seems of Cowly's 
 making. 
 
 August 5, 1668. To the Duke of York's play- 
 house, and there saw "The Guardian"; formerly the 
 same, I find, that was called "Cutter, of Coleman 
 Street"; a silly play. 
 
 Cowley, Abraham NAUFRAGIUM JOCULARE 
 
 February 19, 1660-61. Spent the evening in read- 
 ing of a Latin play, the "Naufragium Joculare." 1 
 
 *A comedy (1661), by Abraham Cowley, based on his play 
 first acted at Cambridge in 1641 under the title of The Guardian, 
 "and several times after privately during the Troubles. . . . 
 The scene lies in London in the year 1658." (Cf. Preface to 
 1663 ed.) Betterton was Colonel Jolly; Harris, Truman Junior; 
 "Mrs. Betterton/' Aurelia in a later performance, perhaps, as 
 she was not then married. It "was Acted so perfectly Well and 
 Exact/' that according to Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 25), 
 "it was perform'd a whole Week with a full Audience." 
 
 1 A comedy in Latin by Abraham Cowley, acted at Trinity 
 College, Cambridge, in 1638. 
 
140 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 D'Avenant, Sir William 
 
 THE FIRST DAY'S ENTERTAINMENT AT 
 
 RUTLAND HOUSE 
 
 February 7, 1663-64. With great mirth read Sir 
 W. Davenant's two speeches in dispraise of London 
 and Paris, by way of reproach to one another. 1 
 
 D'Avenant, Sir William LOVE AND HONOUR 
 
 October 21, 1661. And so against my judgment 
 and conscience (which God forgive, for my very heart 
 knows that I offend God in breaking my vows herein) 
 to the Opera, 1 which is now newly begun to act again, 
 after some alteracion of their scene, which do make it 
 much worse; but the play, "Love and Honour," 2 
 
 1 These two speeches form the second part of The First Days 
 Entertainment at Rutland-House, by Declamations and Mustek, 
 after the Manner of the 4 n dents (1656), immediately following 
 "a concert of instrumental musick, after the French composi- 
 tion.'* The Entertainment is important historically as being the 
 first notable step towards the revival of regular theatrical pro- 
 ductions taken during the latter part of the dramatic inter- 
 regnum. For D'Avenant's alteration of Measure for Measure 
 (The Law Against Lovers), see p. 69; of Macbeth, see p. 70; 
 of The Tempest (with Dryden), see pp. 75-77. 
 
 1 The Duke of York's playhouse in Lincoln's Inn Fields, 
 had been opened, according to Pepys, in June, 1661. 
 
 2 A pre-Restoration heroic play (1634) by Sir William 
 D'Avenant. Evelyn saw it on November 11, 1661. "I was so 
 idle," he records, "as to go to see a play call'd 'Love and 
 Honour' "(Diary, Wheatley ed., II, 153). Downes describes it 
 as follows: "This Play was Richly C[l]oath'd; The King giving 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 141 
 
 being the first time of their acting it, is a very good 
 plot, and well done. 
 
 October 23, 1661. So back to the Opera, and there 
 I saw again "Love and Honour," and a very good 
 play it is. 
 
 October 25, 1661. After dinner my wife and I to 
 the Opera, and there saw again "Love and Honour," 
 a play so good that it has been acted but three times 
 and I have seen them all, and all in this week; which 
 is too much, and more than I will do again a good 
 while. 
 
 D'Avenant, Sir William THE MAN'S THE MASTER 
 
 March 26, 1667-68. To the Duke of York's house, 
 to see the new play, called "The Man is Master," 1 
 where the house was, it not being above one o'clock, 
 very full. But my wife and Deb. being there before, 
 . . . they made me room; and there I sat, it costing 
 me Ss. upon them in oranges, at 6d. a-piece. By and 
 
 Mr. Betterton his Coronation Suit, in which, he Acted the Part 
 of Prince Alvaro; the Duke of York giving Mr. Harris his, who 
 did Prince Prospero; And my Lord of Oxford, gave Mr. Joseph 
 Price his, who did Lionel, the Duke of Parma's Son; The Duke 
 was acted by Mr. Lilliston; Evandra by Mrs. Davenport, and 
 all the other Parts being well done; The Play having a great 
 run, Produc'd to the Company great Gain and Estimation from 
 the Town" (Roscius Anglicanus, pp. 21-22). 
 
 1 The Man's the Master (1668) was D'Avenant's last play. 
 It is based upon two plays by Scarron Jodelet, ou le Maitre 
 Valet, and L'Heritiere Ridicule. 
 
142 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 by the King come; and we sat just under him, so that 
 I durst not turn my back all the play. The play is a 
 translation out of French, and the plot Spanish, but 
 not anything extraordinary at all in it, though trans- 
 lated by Sir W. Davenant, and so I found the King 
 and his company did think meanly of it though there 
 was here and there something pretty : but the most of 
 the mirth was sorry, poor stuffe, of eating of sack 
 posset and slabbering themselves, and mirth fit for 
 clownes ; the prologue but poor, and the epilogue little 
 in it but the extraordinariness of it, it being sung by 
 Harris 2 and another in the form of a ballet. 
 
 April 3, 1668. To the Duke's playhouse, and there 
 saw the latter part of "The Master and the Man." 
 
 May 7, 1668. To the Duke of York's house, and 
 there saw "The Man's the Master," which proves, 
 upon my seeing it again, a very good play. 
 
 D'Avenant, Sir William THE RIVALS 
 
 September 10, 1664. To the Duke's house, and 
 there saw "The Hi vails," 1 which is no excellent play, 
 
 X > -*-^ ^^** f *~~* 
 
 2 Harris's part was Don John; "another" was Sandford. 
 Genest (I, $5) states that The Man's the Master was revived in 
 1726 and 1775, and "is the only one of Davenant's 16 plays 
 which has been acted for many years." 
 
 1 An alteration (1664) by Sir William D'Avenant of The Two 
 Noble Kinsmen. Harris played the part of Theocles ; Betterton 
 that of Philander. Gosnell is not mentioned by Downes in his 
 cast of the play (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 23) ; he notes, however, 
 of the women's parts that they were "admirably Acted; chiefly 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 143 
 
 but good acting in it; especially Gosnell comes and 
 sings and dances finely, but, for all that, fell out of the 
 key, so that the musique could not play to her after- 
 wards, and so did Harris also go out of the tune to 
 agree with her. 
 
 December 2, 1664. To the Duke's house, and there 
 saw, "The Rivalls," which I had seen before; butJthe 
 play not good nor anything but the good actings of 
 -Betterton and his wife and Harris. 
 
 D'Avenant, Sir William THE SIEGE OF RHODES 
 
 July 2, 1661. Went to Sir William Davenant's 
 Opera; this being the fourth day that it hath begun, 
 and the first that I have seen it. To-day was acted the 
 second part of "The Siege of Rhodes." 1 We staid 
 a very great while for the King and the Queen of 
 
 HI 
 
 Celia, a Sheperdess being Mad for Love; especially in Singing 
 several Wild and Mad Songs." "Moll" Davis was the Celia 
 (should be Celania) here referred to. 
 
 1 The first English opera Part I, 1656. Evelyn mentions 
 seeing "the Third [should be second] Part of the Siege of 
 Rhodes," on January 9, 1661-62; "it was in recitaviva musiq" 
 (Diary, Wheatley ed., II, 141). Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, 
 pp. 20-21) describes it as "having new Scenes and Decorations, 
 being the first that were e're Introduced in England." Betterton 
 acted Solyman ; Harris, Alphonso ; Mrs. Saunderson, lanthe ; and 
 Mrs. Davenport, Roxalana. In referring later (ibid., p. 33) to 
 the initial performance "on the very first Day of opening the 
 House/' Downes states that in the audience were "the King, 
 Duke of York, and all the Nobility, . . . and the first time the 
 King was in a Publick Theatre." 
 
144 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 Bohemia; 2 and by the breaking of a board over our 
 heads, we had a great deal of dust fell into the ladies' 
 peeks and the men's hair, which made good sport. 
 Te King being come, the scene opened ; which indeed 
 'is very fine &nd magnificent, and well acted, all but 
 tke Eunuch, who was so much out that he was hissed 
 off the stage. 
 
 November 15, 1661. To the Opera . . . and there 
 did see the secqnd part of "The Siege of Rhodes" very 
 well done. 
 
 May 20, 1662. My wife and I by coach to the 
 Opera, and there saw the 2nd part of "The Siege of 
 Rhodes," but it is not so well done as when Roxalana 3 
 was there, who, it is said, is now owned by my Lord 
 of Oxford. 
 
 December 27, 1662. To the Duke's Theatre, and 
 saw the second part of "Rhodes," done with the new 
 Roxalana; 4 which do it rather better in all respects 
 for person, voice, and judgment, than the first 
 Roxalana. 
 
 September 23, 1664. So home, and late reading 
 "The Siege of Rhodes" 5 to my wife. 
 
 2 Elizabeth, daughter of James I, widow of Frederick, Elector 
 Palatine. 
 
 3 Elizabeth Davenport. The story of the mock marriage into 
 which the Earl of Oxford entrapped her is given in the Memoirs 
 of the Count de Gramont, Vizetelly ed., II, 101. 
 
 4 Mrs. Norton. 
 
 5 From this reference as well as from the references of October 
 1, 1665, and December 19, 1668, it is, of course, impossible to 
 say whether both parts of the play are meant or, if not, which 
 part. 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 145 
 
 October 1, 1665. We spent most of the morning 
 talking and reading of "The Siege of Rhodes," which 
 is certainly (the more I read it the more I think so) 
 the best poem that ever was wrote. 
 
 December 6, 1665. I spent the afternoon upon a 
 song of Solyman's words to Roxalana 6 that I have 
 set. 
 
 August 5, 1666. A fine day, reading over the sec- 
 ond part of the "Siege of Rhodes," with great delight. 
 
 February 13, 1666-67. I do think and he [Dr. 
 Clarke] confesses, "The Siege of Rhodes" as good as 
 ever was writ. 
 
 May 21, 1667. But, Lord! how it went against 
 my heart to go away from the very door of the Duke's 
 play-house, and my Lady Castlemayne's coach, and 
 many great coaches there, to see "The Siege of 
 Rhodes." 7 
 
 December 19, 1668. My wife read to me out of 
 "The Siege of Rhodes." 
 
 D'Avenant, Sir William 
 
 THE UNFORTUNATE LOVERS 
 
 March 7, 1663-64. To the Duke's house, where we 
 saw "The Unfortunate Lovers"; 1 but I know not 
 
 k ^ 6 The song beginning "Beauty retire; thou doest my pity 
 move," from The Siege of Rhodes, Part II, Act IV, Sc. 2. 
 
 7 This was probably a revival of the second part of the play, 
 first produced in 1661. 
 
 *A tragedy by Sir William D'Avenant, licensed in 1638. 
 
146 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 whether I am grown more curious than I was or no, 
 but I was not much pleased with it, though I know 
 not where to lay the fault, unless it was that the house 
 was very empty, by reason of a new play at the other 
 house. 
 
 September 11, 1667. To the Duke of York's play- 
 house, and there saw part of "The Ungrateful 
 Lovers." 2 
 
 April 8, 1668. To the Duke of York's playhouse, 3 
 where we saw "The Unfortunate Lovers," no extraor- 
 dinary play, me thinks. 
 
 December 3, 1668. To the Duke of York's play- 
 house, and saw "The Unfortunate Lovers"; a mean 
 play, I think, but some parts very good, and excel- 
 lently acted. 
 
 D'Avenant, Sir William THE WITS 
 
 August 15, 1661. Thence to the Opera, which 
 begins again to-day with "The Witts," 1 never acted 
 yet with scenes ; and the King and Duke and Duchess 
 were there; . . . and indeed it is a most excellent 
 play, and admirable scenes. 
 
 2 No play of this title has been discovered. It was perhaps 
 The Unfortunate Lovers. 
 
 3 This was on the day after D'Avenant's death. 
 
 *A comedy (1634) by Sir William D'Avenant. According 
 to Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 21) Betterton played "Elder 
 Pallatine"; Harris, "Younger Pallatine"; Mrs. Davenport, 
 Lady Ample; and it "continu'd 8 Days Acting Successively." 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 147 
 
 August 17, 1661. To the Opera, and saw "The 
 Witts" again, which I like exceedingly. The Queen 
 of Bohemia was here brought by my Lord Craven. 
 
 August 23, 1661. I took her [Mrs. Pepys] to the 
 Opera, and shewed her "The Witts," which I had 
 seen already twice, and was most highly pleased 
 with it. 
 
 April 18, 1667. To the Duke of York's house, and 
 there saw "The Wits," a play I formerly loved, and is 
 now corrected and enlarged; 2 but though I like the 
 acting, yet I like not much the play now. 
 
 April 20, 1667. Went to the Duke of York's 
 house, and there saw "The Witts" again, which likes 
 me better than it did the other day, having much wit 
 in it. 
 
 January 18, 1668-69. To the Duke of York's 
 playhouse, and there saw "The Witts," a medley of 
 things, but some similes mighty good, though ill 
 mixed. 
 
 Dryden, John 
 
 AN EVENING'S LOVE, OR THE MOCK ASTROLOGER 
 
 June 19, 1668. By and by comes my wife and Deb. 
 home, have been at the King's playhouse to-day, 
 thinking to spy me there; and saw the new play, 
 
 2 "These alterations are not material but the dialogue is 
 considerably improved, and two short scenes are added" (Genest, 
 I, 40). 
 
148 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 "Evening Love," 1 of Dryden's, which, though the 
 world commends, she likes not. 
 
 June 20, 1668. To the King's house, and there I 
 saw this new play my wife saw yesterday, and do not 
 like it, it being very smutty, and nothing so good as 
 "The Maiden Queen," or "The Indian Emperour," 
 of his making, that I was troubled at it, and my wife 
 tells me wholly (which he confesses a little in the 
 epilogue) taken out of "Illustre Bassa." 2 
 
 June 21, 1668. After dinner she to read in the 
 "Illustre Bassa" the plot of yesterday's play, which 
 is most exactly the same. 
 
 June 22, 1668. Saw an act or two of the new play 
 again, but like it not. Calling this day at Herring- 
 man's 3 he tells me Dryden do himself call it but a 
 fifth-rate play. 
 
 March 8, 1668-69. To the King's playhouse, and 
 there saw "The Mocke Astrologer," which I have 
 often seen, and but an ordinary play. 
 
 1 An Evening's Love, or the Mock Astrologer (1668) "coarsens 
 materials drawn from the younger Corneille and from Moliere's 
 Le Depit Amoureux" (G. H. Nettleton, English Drama of the 
 Restoration and Eighteenth Century, p. 57). Evelyn saw this 
 performance and writes feelingly: "To a new play with several 
 of my relations, 'The Evening Lover/ a foolish plot, and very 
 prophane; it afflicted me to see how the stage was degenerated 
 and polluted by ye licentious times" (Diary, Wheatley ed., II, 
 130). Hart played Wildblood; Mohun, Bellamy; Wintersell, 
 Don Alonzo; Burt, Don Lopez; Nell Gwyn, Jacinta; Mrs. 
 Knepp, Beatrix. 
 
 2 Ibrahim ou I'illustre bassa (1641), by Mme. de Scuderi. 
 
 3 The well-known bookseller and publisher at the "Blue 
 Anchor" in the New Exchange. 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 149 
 Dryden, John THE INDIAN EMPEROR 
 
 January 15, 1666-67. Here my Lord Bruncker 
 would have made me promise to go with him to a 
 play this afternoon where Knipp acts Mrs. Weaver's 
 part 1 in "The Indian Emperour," 2 and he says is 
 coming to be a great actor. But I . - . will not go. 
 V August 22, 1667. To the King's playhouse, and 
 there saw "The Indian Emperor"; where I find Nell 
 come again, which I am glad of; but was most infi- 
 nitely displeased with her being put to act the Em- 
 perour's daughter; which is a great and serious part, 
 which she do most basely. The rest of the play, 
 though pretty good, was not well acted by most of 
 them, methought, so that I took no great content in it. 
 
 October 28, 1667. At the New Exchange, and 
 there buying "The Indian Emperour," newly printed. 
 
 November 11, 1667. To the King's playhouse, and 
 there saw "The Indian Emperour," a good play, but 
 not so good as people cry it up, I think, though above 
 all things Nell's ill-speaking of a great part made me 
 mad. 
 
 January 14, 1667. They fell to discourse of the 
 
 > last night's work at Court, where the ladies and the 
 
 Duke of Monmouth and others acted "The Indian 
 
 1 Downes (Roscius Anglwanus, p. 9) states that Mrs. Marshall 
 f played Almeria and Nell Gwyn, Cydaria. It is not clear to 
 
 which part Pepys is here referring. Mohun was Montezuma; 
 Hart, Cortez; Burt, Vasquez; Wintersell and Kynaston, Odmar 
 and Guyomar; and Cartwright, the High Priest. 
 
 2 A sequel (1665), also in heroic couplets, to The Indian 
 Queen. 
 
150 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 Emperour"; wherein they told me these things most 
 remarkable: that not any woman but the Duchess of 
 Monmouth and Mrs. Cornwallis did any thing but 
 like fools and stocks, but that these two did do most 
 extraordinary well: that not any man did anything 
 well but Captain O 'Bryan, who spoke and did well, 
 but, above all things did dance most incomparably. 
 
 March 28, 1668. To the King's house, and there 
 saw the "Indian Emperour," a very good play indeed. 
 
 April 21, 1668. To the King's house, and saw 
 "The Indian Emperour." 
 
 Dryden, John 
 
 SECRET LOVE, OR THE MAIDEN QUEEN 
 
 March 2, 1666-67. After dinner with my wife, to 
 the King's house to see "The Mayden Queene," 1 a 
 new play of Dryden's, mightily commended for the 
 regularity of it, and the strain and wit ; and the truth 
 is, there is a comical part done by Nell, 2 which is 
 Florimell, that I never can hope to see the like done 
 again, by man or woman. 
 
 March 25, 1667. To the King's playhouse. . . . 
 Sir W. Pen and I in the pit, and here saw "The 
 
 1 An heroic drama (1667) with comic under-plot. Evelyn saw 
 this play to which he refers as "The Virgin Queene, a play 
 written by Mr. Dryden," on March 14 of this year (Diary, 
 Wheatley ed., II, 215). 
 
 2 Florimel, beloved of Celadon, was one of Nell Gwyn's most 
 popular impersonations. 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 151 
 
 Mayden Queene" again; which indeed the more I see 
 the more I like, and is an excellent play, and so done 
 by Nell, her merry part, as cannot be better done in 
 nature, I think. 
 
 May 24, 1667. To the King's playhouse, and there 
 saw "The Mayden Queene," which, though I have 
 often seen, yet pleases me infinitely, it being impos- 
 sible, I think, ever to have the Queen's part, which is 
 very good and passionate, and Florimel's part, which 
 is the most comicall that was ever made for woman, 
 ever done better than they two are done by young 
 Marshall 3 and Nelly. 
 
 August 23, 1667. To the King's house, and saw 
 "The Mayden Queene," which pleases us mightily. 
 
 January 18, 1667-68. I bought "The Mayden 
 Queene," a play newly printed, which I like at the 
 King's house so well, of Mr. Dryden's, which he him- 
 self, in his preface, seems to brag of, 4 and indeed is 
 a good play. 
 
 January 24, 1667-68. I to the King's playhouse, 
 to fetch my wife, and there saw the best part of "The 
 Mayden Queene," which, the more I see, the more I 
 love, and think one of the best plays I ever saw, and 
 is certainly the best acted of any thing ever the House 
 did, and particularly Becke Marshall, to admiration. 
 
 3 Rebecca Marshall played the heroic Queen of Sicily. The 
 other principal parts were taken as follows, according to Roscius 
 Anglicanus (p. 7): Philocles by Mohun; Lysimantes, Burt; 
 Celadon, Hart; Asteria, Mrs. Knepp; Melissa, Mrs. Corey. 
 
 4 In his dedication of the play to the King, Dryden remarks 
 that he has "ever valued" it "above the rest of my follies of this 
 kind/' and proceeds to defend it against the critics. 
 
152 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 January 1, 1668-69. To the King's playhouse, and 
 there in a box saw "The Mayden Queene." 
 
 January IS, 1668-69. To the King's playhouse, 
 and there saw, I think, "The Mayden Queene." 
 
 Dryden, John 
 SIR MARTIN MAR- ALL, OR THE FEIGNED INNOCENCE 
 
 August 16, 1667. To the Duke's playhouse, where 
 we saw the new play acted yesterday, "The Feign 
 Innocence, or Sir Martin Marr-all"; 1 a play made 
 by my Lord Duke of Newcastle, but as everybody 
 says, corrected by Dryden. It is the most entire piece 
 of mirth, a complete farce from one end to the other, 
 that certainly ever was writ. I never laughed so in 
 all my life. I laughed till my head [ached] all the 
 
 1 Sir Martin Mar-all, or The Feign'd Innocence, an adaptation 
 of Moliere's L'Etourdi, which was entered on the books of the 
 Stationers' Company as the production of the Duke of Newcastle, 
 was published in 1668. Downes says (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 
 28) : "The Duke of Newcastle giving Mr. Dryden a bare Trans- 
 lation of it, out of a Comedy of the Famous French Poet Mon- 
 sieur Moleiro; he Adapted the Part purposely for the Mouth of 
 Mr. Nokes, curiously Polishing the Whole. . . . This and Love 
 in a Tub got the Company more Money than any preceding 
 Comedy." The part of Sir Martin was taken by Nokes; Harris 
 was Warner; Smith, Sir John Swallow; Young, Lord Dart- 
 mouth; and Mrs. Davis, Mrs. Millicent. Downes makes the 
 further statement that the Dorset Gardens theatre was opened 
 November 9, 1671, with Sir Martin Mar-all "notwithstanding 
 it had been Acted 30 Days before in Lincolns-Inn Fields, and 
 above 4 times at Court." Langbaine and later dramatic his- 
 torians ascribe this play to Dryden. 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 153 
 
 evening and night with the laughing; and at very 
 good wit therein, not fooling. The house full. 
 
 August 19, 1667. To the Duke of York's house, 
 all alone, and there saw "Sir Martin Marr-all" again, 
 though I saw him but two days since, and do find it 
 the most comical play that ever I saw in my life. 
 
 August 20, 1667. Thence, ... to the Duke's 
 Playhouse, . . . and there saw "Sir Martin Marr-all" 
 again, which I have now seen three times, and it hath 
 been acted but four times, and still find it a very 
 ingenious play, and full of variety. 
 
 September 28, 1667. To the Duke of York's play- 
 house, and there saw a piece of "Sir Martin Marrall," 
 with great delight, though I have seen it so often, and 
 so home. 
 
 October 8, 1667. Some other pleasant simplicities 
 of the fellow did give occasion to us to call him Sir 
 'Martin Marrall. . . . Away to Cambridge, it being 
 foul, rainy weather, and there did take up at the Rose 
 for the sake of Mrs. Dorothy Drawwater, the vint- 
 ner's daughter, which is mentioned in the play of Sir 
 Martin Marrall. 2 
 
 October 14, 1667. To the Duke of York's House, 
 and there went in for nothing into the pit, at the last 
 act, to see Sir Martin Marr-all, still being pleased 
 with the humour of the play, almost above all that 
 ever I saw. 
 
 January 1, 1667-68. To the Duke of York's 
 playhouse, and there saw "Sir Martin Mar-all"; 
 which I have seen so often, and yet am mightily 
 
 2 Cf . Act. V, Sc. 1 : "Her name was Dorothy, daughter to one 
 Draw-water, a vintner at the Rose." 
 
154 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 pleased with it, and think it mighty witty, and the 
 fullest of proper matter for mirth that ever was 
 writ; and I do clearly see that they do improve in 
 their acting of it. Here a mighty company of citi- 
 zens, 'prentices, and others. 
 
 April 25, 1668. To the Duke of York's playhouse, 
 and there saw "Sir Martin Marr-all," which, the 
 more I see, the more I like. 
 
 May 22, 1668. Thence to the Duke of York's 
 house to a play, and saw Sir Martin Marr-all, where 
 the house is full; and though I have seen it, I think, 
 ten times, yet the pleasure I have is yet as great as 
 ever, and is undoubtedly the best comedy ever was 
 wrote. 
 
 Dry den, John THE RIVAL LADIES 
 
 August 4, 1664. He [Sir W. Pen] did carry me 
 to a play, and pay for me at the King's house, which 
 is "The Rivall Ladys," 1 a very innocent and most 
 pretty witty play. I was much pleased with it, and it 
 being given me, I look upon it as no breach to my 
 oathe. 
 
 July 18, 1666. To Woolwich, reading "the Rivall 
 Ladys" all the way, and find it a most pleasant and 
 fine writ play. 
 
 August 2, 1666. To Woolwich, reading and 
 making an end of the "Rival Ladys," and find it a 
 very pretty play. 
 
 1 A tragi-comedy (1664) by John Dryden, based on a Spanish 
 plot. Genest (I, 50) says of this play under this date, "Not 
 first time." 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 155 
 
 Dry den, John THE WILD GALLANT 
 
 February 23, 1662-63. We took coach and to 
 Court, and there got good places, and saw "The 
 Wilde Gallant," 1 performed by the King's house, but 
 it was ill acted, and the play so poor a thing as I never 
 saw in my life almost, and so little answering the 
 name, that from beginning to end, I could not, nor 
 can at this time, tell certainly which was the Wild 
 Gallant. The King did not seem pleased at all, all 
 the whole play, nor any body else, though Mr. Clerke 
 whom we met here did commend it to us. 
 
 Dryden and Sir Robert Howard 
 
 THE INDIAN QUEEN 
 
 V 
 
 January 27 , 1663-64. In the way observing the 
 streete full of coaches at the new play "The Indian 
 Queene"; 1 which for show, they say, exceeds "Henry 
 he Eighth." 
 
 February 1, 1663-64. To the King's Theatre, it 
 
 1 Dryden's first comedy (1663). Evelyn had seen its first 
 performance on February 5 of this year. (Cf. Diary, Wheatley 
 ed., II, 158.) Genest (I, 35) asserts that "it was unsuccessful 
 at this time^ and was brought out again in 1667." For Dryden's 
 alteration of The Tempest (with D'Avenant), see pp. 75-77 of 
 this book. 
 
 1 A rhymed heroic tragedy (1664) by Sir Robert Howard and 
 Dryden. Evelyn saw it acted on February 5 of this year. He 
 calls it "a tragedie well written, so beautified with rich scenes 
 as the like had never ben seen here, or haply (except rarely) 
 elsewhere on a mercenary theater" (Diary, Wheatley ed., II, 
 163). 
 
156 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 being a new month, and once a month I may go, 2 and 
 there saw "The Indian Queene" acted; which indeed 
 is a most pleasant show, and beyond my expectation; 
 the play good, but spoiled with the ryme, which 
 breaks the sense. 3 But above my expectation most, 
 the eldest Marshall 4 did do her part most excellently 
 well as I ever heard woman in my life; but her voice 
 not so sweet as lanthe's ; but, however, we came home 
 mightily contented. 
 
 2 According to the terms of one of his several "vows against 
 plays." 
 
 3 It will be seen from this entry that Restoration spectators 
 did not without exception welcome the heroic couplet in tragedy. 
 
 4 Anne Marshall, doubtless in the title part. Mrs. Aphra 
 Behn gives the following interesting description of the Queen's 
 realistic costume in The History of OroonoJco: Or, The Royal 
 Slave, in an account of the trade with the natives of Surinam: 
 "We trade for Feathers, which they order into all Shapes, make 
 themselves little short Habits of 'em, and glorious Wreaths for 
 their Heads, Necks, Arms and Legs, whose Tinctures are incon- 
 ceivable. I had a set of these presented to me, and I gave 'em 
 to the King's Theatre; it was the Dress of the Indian Queen, 
 infinitely admir'd by Persons of Quality; and was inimitable." 
 Like other statements made by Mrs. Behn which would seem 
 to show that she had actually visited Oroonoko, this has been 
 challenged by Mr. Ernest Bernbaum, who thus laughs it out of 
 court: "To think of Nell Gwynn in the true costume of a Carib 
 belle is indeed ludicrous" (Mrs. Eehn's Oroonoko, in The George 
 Lyman Kittredge Anniversary Papers, p. 432). The matter 
 cannot, however, be so briefly dismissed. It is improbable that 
 Mrs. Behn would have gone out of her way to expose herself to 
 contradiction upon so easily verifiable a statement. And we may 
 infer from the play itself that there was some attempt at realism 
 in the costumes, however slight or "ludicrous" it may have been. 
 The stage direction before Act V reads: "Four Priests in habits 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 157 
 
 June 27 , 1668. To the King's playhouse, and saw 
 "The Indian Queene," but do not doat upon Nan 
 Marshall's acting therein, as the world talks of her 
 excellence therein. 
 
 Etherege, Sir George 
 
 THE COMICAL REVENGE, OR LOYE IN A TUB 
 
 January 4, 1664-65. To "Love in a Tubb," 1 which 
 is very merry, but only so by gesture, not wit at all, 
 which methinks is beneath the [Duke's] House. 
 
 October 29, 1666. To White Hall and into the 
 new play-house there, the first time I ever was there, 
 and the first play I have seen since before the great 
 plague. 2 ... By and by the King and Queene, Duke 
 and Duchesse, and all the great ladies of the Court; 
 which, indeed, was a fine sight. But the play being 
 "JLove in a Tub," a silly play, and though done by 
 the Duke's people, yet having neither Betterton nor 
 his wife, 3 and the whole thing done ill, and being ill 
 
 of white and red Feathers"; and in the Epilogue, spoken by 
 Montezuma, there is this reference to the play: 
 
 "Our naked Indians then, when Wits appear, 
 Would as soon chuse to have the Spaniards here." 
 
 1 The Comical Revenge, or Love in a Tub (1664), Etherege's 
 first play. Evelyn mentions it on April 27, 1664: "Saw a 
 facetious comedy called 'Love in a Tub' " (Diary, Wheatley ed., 
 II, 164). 
 
 2 Since May 15, 1665, to be exact, when he had seen Love's 
 Mistress at the King's theatre. 
 
 3 Betterton usually acted Lord Beaufort. Mrs. Betterton (as 
 
158 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 also, I had no manner of pleasure in the play. Be- 
 sides, the House, though very fine, yet bad for the 
 voice, for hearing. The sight of the ladies, indeed, 
 was exceedingly noble; and above all my Lady 
 Castlemayne. The play done by ten o'clock. I 
 carried them all home, and then home myself, and- 
 well satisfied with the sight, but not the play, we with 
 great content to bed. 
 
 April 29, 1668. To the Duke of York's playhouse, 
 and there saw "Love in a Tubb"; and, after the play 
 done, I stepped up to Harris's dressing-room, where 
 I never was, and there I observe much company come 
 to him, and the Witts, to talk, after the play is done, 
 and to assign meetings. 
 
 Etherege, Sir George SHE WOULD IF SHE COULD 
 
 February 6 3 1667-68. To the Duke of York's 
 playhouse; where a new play of Etherige's, called 
 "She Would if she Could," 1 and though I was there 
 by two o'clock, there was 1000 people put back that 
 ^ould not have room in the pit : and I at last, because 
 my wife was there, made shift to get into the 18d. 
 box and there saw ; but, Lord ! how full was the house, 
 and how silly the play, there being nothing in the 
 world good in it, and few people pleased in it. The 
 
 Graciana), Harris (as Sir Frederick Frolic), Smith, Nokes, 
 Sandford, and Mrs. Davis (as Aurelia) were in the cast. 
 According to Roscius Anglicanus (pp. 24-25), the play brought 
 the house < 1,000 in a month. 
 
 1 The second comedy (1668) by Sir George Etherege. 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 159 
 
 King was there ; but I sat mightily behind, and could 
 see but little, and hear not all. The play being done, 
 I into the pit. . . . There I found . . . Sidly, and 
 Etherige, the poet; the last of whom I did hear 
 mightily find fault with the actors, 2 that they were 
 out of humour, and had not their parts perfect, and 
 that Harris did do nothing, nor could so much as 
 sing a ketch in it; and so was mightily concerned; 
 while all the rest did, through the whole pit, blame 
 the play as a silly, dull thing, though there was some- 
 thing very roguish and witty; but the design of the 
 play, and end, mighty insipid. 
 
 February 1, 1668-69. To the Duke of York's 
 playhouse, and there saw "She Would if She Could." 
 
 Evelyn, John THYRSANDER (?) 
 
 November 5, 1665. By water to Deptford, and 
 there made a visit to Mr. Evelyn. . . . He read me 
 part of a play 1 or two of his making, very good, but 
 not as he conceits them, I think, to be. 
 
 2 Harris was Sir Joslin Jolly; Nokes, Sir Oliver Cockwood; 
 Smith, Courtall; Young, Freeman; Mrs. Shadwell, Lady Cock- 
 wood; Mrs. Davis, Gatty. "It took well/' says Downes (Roscius 
 Anglicanus, pp. 28-29), "but Inferior to Love in a Tub." 
 
 1 In a letter of February 9, 1664-65, to Lord Cornebery, 
 Evelyn writes: "You know, my Ld, that I (who have written a 
 play & am a scurvy poet too some times) am far from Puri- 
 tanisme" (Diary, Wheatley ed., Ill, 302). The play here re- 
 ferred to and one of those later read to Pepys was probably 
 "Thyrsander" a "Tragy-Comedy," mentioned in one of the 
 MSS. at Wotton in a list entitled "Things I would write out 
 faire and reform if I had leasure" (Ibid., Ill, 194). 
 
160 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 Falkland, Lord THE MARRIAGE NIGHT 
 
 March 21, 1666-67. I alone out and to the Duke of 
 York's playhouse, where unexpectedly I come to see 
 only the young men and women of the house act ; they 
 having liberty to act for their own profit on Wednes- 
 days and Fridays this Lent: and the play they did 
 yesterday, being Wednesday, was so well-taken, that 
 they thought fit to venture it publickly to-day; a 
 play of my Lord Falkland's called "The Wedding 
 Night" 1 a kind of tragedy, and some things very 
 good in it, but the whole together, I thought, not so. 
 I confess I was well enough pleased with my seeing it : 
 and the people did do better, without the great actors, 
 than I did expect, but yet far short of what they do 
 when they are there, which I was glad to find the 
 difference of. 
 
 Flecknoe, Richard (?) THE LADIES A LA MODE 
 
 September 15, 1668. To the King's playhouse, to 
 see a new play, acted but yesterday, a translation out 
 of French by Dryden, called "The Ladys a la 
 Mode" r 1 so mean a thing as, when they come to say 
 
 1 Should be The Marriage Night, a tragi-comedy by Henry 
 Gary, Viscount Falkland, published in 1664. (Cf. Genest, I, 
 75.) It has been generally stated that this play was never acted. 
 
 1 Pepys appears to have been wrongly informed. The play 
 which seems best to fit the requirements of date, title, and sug- 
 gestion of French origin is Richard Flecknoe's Damoselles a la 
 Mode, printed in 1667, which according to the preface was 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 161 
 
 it would be acted again to-morrow, both he that said 
 it, Beeson, 2 and the pit fell a-laughing, there being 
 this day not a quarter of the pit full. 
 
 Green, Alexander THE POLITICIAN CHEATED 
 
 July 29, 1663. To see Sir W. Pen at Deptford, 
 reading by the way a most ridiculous play, a new one, 
 called "The Politician Cheated." 1 
 
 Holden, T. THE GHOSTS 
 
 April 17, 1665. We all to a play, "The Ghosts," 1 
 at the Duke's house, but a very simple play. 
 
 "taken out of several Excellent pieces of Moliere." Langbaine, 
 on the authority of this preface,, states (p. 201) that it was 
 designed "to have been acted by the King's Servants . . . but 
 I know not for what reason they refus'd it." Langbaine's state- 
 ment would, however, have no bearing upon the performance 
 described by Pepys, which took place the year after Flecknoe's 
 Damoselles a la Mode was printed. 
 
 2 William Beeston. 
 
 *A comedy by Alexander Green, published in 1663, is men- 
 tioned by Genest (X, 138) in his chapter on plays "printed but 
 never acted." 
 
 1 Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 26) attributes this comedy 
 (1665?) to Holden. Hazlitt (A Manual for the Collector and 
 Amateur of Old English Plays, p. 95) states that it was by T. 
 Holden and was "not printed." 
 
162 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 Howard, Edward THE CHANGE OF CROWNS 
 
 April 15, 1667 . To the King's house by chance, 
 where a new play: so full as I never saw it; I forced 
 to stand all the while close to the very door till I took 
 cold, and many people went away for lack of room. 
 The King, and Queene, and Duke of York and 
 Duchesse there, and all the Court, and Sir W. Cov- 
 entry. 1 The play called "The Change of Crownes"; 2 
 a play of Ned Howard's, the best that ever I saw at 
 that house, being a great play and serious ; only Lacy 
 did act the country-gentleman come up to Court, 
 who do abuse the Court with all the imaginable wit 
 and plainness about selling of places, and doing 
 everything for money. The play took very much. 
 . . . Then home, . . . mightily pleased with the new 
 play. 
 
 April 16, 1667. Knipp tells me the King was so 
 angry at the liberty taken by Lacy's part to abuse 
 him to his face, that he commanded they should act 
 no more, till Moone 3 went and got leave for them to 
 act again, but not this play. 
 
 Howard, Edward THE USURPER 
 
 January 2, 1663-64. To the King's house, and 
 there met Mr. Nicholson, my old colleague, and saw 
 
 1 Sir William Coventry (1628-1686), Commissioner of the 
 Navy, and Privy Councillor, often mentioned in the Diary in 
 terms of praise. 
 
 2 "This play/' says Genest (I, 69), "is not printed it seems 
 to have been a T.C. by E. Howard." 
 
 8 Michael Mohun. 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 163 
 
 > 
 
 "The Usurper," 1 which is no good play, though better 
 than what I saw yesterday. 
 
 December 2, 1668. To the King's playhouse, . . . 
 and there saw "The Usurper"; a pretty good play, in 
 all but what is designed to resemble Cromwell and 
 Hugh Peters, 2 which is mighty silly. 
 
 Howard, James 
 
 ALL MISTAKEN, OR THE MAD COUPLE 
 
 September 20, 1667. To the King's playhouse, 
 and there saw "The Mad Couple," 1 which I do not 
 remember that I have seen; it is a pretty pleasant 
 play. 
 
 December 28, 1667. To the King's house, and 
 there saw "The Mad Couple," which is but an ordi- 
 nary play; but only Nell's and Hart's mad parts 2 
 are most excellently done, but especially her's : which 
 makes it a miracle to me to think how ill she do any 
 serious part, as, the other day, just like a fool or 
 changeling; and in a mad part, do beyond all imita- 
 tion almost. It pleased us mightily to see the natural 
 
 1 A tragedy (1664) by Edward Howard, printed in 1668. 
 Pepys had seen Henry VIII on January 1. 
 
 2 The character supposed to resemble Cromwell was Damocles, 
 while Hugo de Petra was intended for Hugh Peters, and "Cleom- 
 enes probably for General Monck" (Genest, I, 72). 
 
 1 All Mistaken, or The Mad Couple (1667), was a comedy by 
 James Howard. 
 
 2 The "mad couple" were Philidor and Mirida, acted by Hart 
 and Nell Gwyn respectively. 
 
164 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 affection of a poor woman, the mother of one of the 
 children 3 brought on the stage: the child crying, she 
 by force got upon the stage, and took up her child 
 and carried it away off of the stage from Hart. 
 Many fine faces here to-day. 
 
 July 29, 1668. To the King's house, and saw "The 
 Mad Couple," a mean play altogether. 
 
 Howard, James THE ENGLISH MONSIEUR 
 
 December 8, 1666. To the King's playhouse, which 
 troubles me since, and hath cost me a forfeit of 105., 
 which I have paid, and there did see a good part of 
 "The English Monsieur," 1 which is a mighty pretty 
 play, very witty and pleasant. And the women do 
 very well; but, above all, little Nelly, 2 that I am 
 mightily pleased with the play, and much with the 
 House, more than ever I expected, the women doing 
 better than ever I expected, and very fine women. 
 
 April 7, 1668. To the King's playhouse, and there 
 saw "The English Monsieur"; sitting for privacy 
 sake in an upper box : the play hath much mirth in it 
 as to that particular humour. 
 
 3 In an attempt to collect money from their father, Philidor, 
 several babes in arms, his illegitimate offspring, are brought on 
 the stage by their nurses at various times during the play. 
 
 1 A comedy by James Howard, printed in 1674. The forfeit 
 was paid in accordance with one of Pepys's vows. 
 
 2 Nell Gywn played the part of Lady Wealthy. This is 
 the year following her debut in the role of Cydaria in The 
 Indian Emperor, and is the first time Pepys mentions seeing her 
 on the stage. 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 165 
 Howard, Sir Robert THE COMMITTEE 
 
 June 12, 1663. To the Royall Theatre, and there 
 saw "The Committee," 1 a merry but indifferent play, 
 only Lacey's part, an Irish footman, 2 is beyond imagi- 
 nation. 
 
 August 13, 1667. To the King's house, and there 
 saw "The Committee," which I went to with some 
 prejudice, not liking it before, but I do now find it a 
 very good play, and a great deal of good invention in 
 it ; but Lacy's part is so well performed that it would 
 set off anything. 
 
 October 28, 1667. To the King's house, and there 
 saw "The Committee," a play I like well. 
 
 May 15, 1668. To the King's house, and there saw 
 the last act of "The Committee," thinking to have 
 seen Knepp there, but she did not act. 
 
 1 The Committee (1662) was Sir Robert Howard's most popu- 
 lar comedy. Evelyn had seen this play on November 29, 1662, 
 at the "Queene Mother's Court." He calls it "a ridiculous play 
 of Sir R. Howard, where ye mimic Lacy acted the Irish footeman 
 to admiration" (Diary, Wheatley ed., II, 155). The Cambridge 
 History of English Literature (VIII, 121) gives the date of its 
 production as 1665, which Pepys and Evelyn show is an error, 
 as Professor Nettleton has recently pointed out (English Drama 
 of the Restoration, and Eighteenth Century, p. 111). 
 
 2 "Teague, an early Irish comic character, if deficient in 
 dialect, has Irish wit enough to 'take the Covenant' by stealing 
 a copy of it from a bookseller" (Ibid.). For The Indian Queen, 
 in which Sir Robert Howard collaborated with Dryden, see p. 
 155 of this book. 
 
166 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 Howard, Sir Robert 
 
 THE GREAT FAVOURITE, OR THE DUKE or LERMA 
 
 January 11, 1667-68. She [Knepp] told me also 
 of ... another play called, "The Duke of Lerma." 1 
 
 February 20, 1667-68. By one o'clock to the 
 King's house: a new play, "The Duke of Lerma" of 
 Sir Robert Howard's : where the King and the Court 
 was; and Knepp and Nell spoke the prologue most 
 excellently, especially Knepp, who spoke beyond any 
 creature I ever heard. The play designed to re- 
 proach our King with his mistresses, that I was 
 troubled for it, and expected it should be interrupted ; 
 but it ended all well, which salved all. The play a 
 well-writ and good play, only its design I did not 
 like of reproaching the King, but altogether a very 
 good, and most serious play. 
 
 April 18, 1668. To the King's playhouse, Is.., and 
 to the play of the "Duke of Lerma," 2s. Qd., and 
 oranges Is. 
 
 Howard, Sir Robert THE SURPRISAL 
 
 April 8, 1667. To the King's house, and saw the 
 latter end of the "Surprisall," 1 wherein was no great 
 matter, I thought, by what I saw there. 
 
 August 26, 1667. To the King's playhouse, . . . 
 
 1 The Great Favourite, or the Duke of Lerma (1668), is a 
 tragedy with "some scenes in blank Verse, others in Rhime." 
 
 1 A comedy by Sir Robert Howard, previously published in 
 Foure New Plays (1665). 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 167 
 
 and saw "The Surprizall," a very mean play, I 
 thought : or else it was because I was out of humour, 
 and but very little company in the house. 
 
 December 26, 1667. To the King's playhouse, and 
 there saw "The Surprizall"; which did not please me 
 to-day, the actors not pleasing me; and especially 
 Nell's acting of a serious part, 2 which she spoils. 
 
 April 17, 1668. To the King's house, and saw 
 "The Surprizall," where base singing, only Knepp, 3 
 who come, after her song in the clouds, to me in the 
 pit, and there oranges, 2s. 
 
 May 1, 1668. To the King's play-house, and there 
 saw "The Surprizall": and a disorder in the pit by its 
 raining in, from the cupola at top. 
 
 Killigrew, Thomas CLARACILLA 
 
 July 4, 1661. In the afternoon I went to the 
 Theatre, and there saw "Claracilla," 1 (the first time 
 I ever saw it), well acted. But strange to see this 
 house, that used to be so thronged, now empty since 
 the Opera begun; 2 and so will continue for a while, 
 I believe. 
 
 January 5, 1662-63. To the Cockpitt, 3 where we 
 
 2 This "serious part" was Samira. 
 
 3 Mrs. Knepp played the part of Emelia. 
 
 1 A tragi-comedy by Thomas Killigrew, which had been acted 
 before the Restoration in 1636. 
 
 2 The Opera had "begun" towards the end of June, 1661, 
 according to Pepys. 
 
 3 In Whitehall Palace. 
 
168 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 saw "Claracilla," a poor play, done by the King's 
 house (but neither the King nor Queen were there, 
 but only the Duke and Duchess . . . ) ; but to my 
 very little content, they not acting in any degree like 
 the Duke's people. 
 
 March 9, 1668-69. Towards the King's playhouse, 
 and ... to see "Claricilla," which do not please me 
 almost at all, though there are some good things in it. 
 
 Killigrew, Thomas 
 \ THE PRINCESS, OR LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT 
 
 4- , November 29, 1661. To the Theatre, but it was so 
 full that we could hardly get any room, so he went 
 up to one of the boxes, and I into the ISd. places, and 
 ^fehere saw "Love at first sight," 1 a play of Mr. Killi- 
 grew's, and the first time that it hath been acted since 
 before the troubles, and great expectation there was, 
 but I found the play to be a poor thing, and so I per- 
 ceive everybody else do. 
 
 Killigrew, Thomas THE PARSON'S WEDDING 
 
 October 4, 1664. To-morrow they told us should 
 be acted, or the day after, a new play, called "The 
 Parson's Dreame," acted all by women. 1 
 
 October 11, 1664. He [Luellin] tells me what a 
 
 1 The Princess, or Love at First Sight, a tragi-comedy by 
 Thomas Killigrew, acted before the Restoration in 1637-1638. 
 
 1 Evidently The Parson's Wedding (1640), referred to on 
 October 11, 1664. 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 169 
 
 bawdy loose play this "Parsons Wedding," 2 is, that is 
 acted by nothing but women at the King's house, 
 and I am glad of it. 
 
 Lacy, John THE OLD TROOP, OR MONSIEUR RAGGOU 
 
 July 31, 1668. To the King's house, to see the 
 first day of Lacy's "Monsieur Ragou," 1 now new 
 acted. The King and Court all there, and mighty 
 merry a farce. v 
 
 August 1, 1668. To the King's house again, com- 
 ing too late yesterday to hear the prologue, and do 
 like the play better now than before; and, indeed, 
 there is a great deal of true wit in it, more than in the 
 common sort of plays. 
 
 Newcastle, Duke of THE COUNTRY CAPTAIN 
 
 October 26, 1661. My wife and I to the Theatre, 
 and there saw "The Country Captain," 1 the first time 
 
 2 A comedy by Thomas Killigrew acted before the Restora- 
 tion and chiefly distinguished for ribaldry and obscenity of 
 dialogue. Lovewit, in James Wright's Historia Histrionica, 
 1699 (in Dodsley's Old English Plays, Hazlitt ed., XV, 412), 
 remarks that at this time it was "presented by all women as 
 formerly by all men"; and Langbaine (p. 313), commenting 
 upon this revival of the play, adds "a new Prologue and Epi- 
 logue being spoken by Mrs. Marshal in Man's Cloaths." 
 
 1 The Old Troop, or Monsieur Raggou (1664?), the best play 
 by this well-known actor. Lacy probably acted the title part. 
 For his alteration of The Taming of the Shrew, see p. 74. 
 
 1 A comedy by William Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle, acted 
 
170 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 it hath been acted these twenty-five years, a play of 
 my Lord Newcastle's, but so silly a play as in all my 
 life I never saw, and the first that ever I was weary 
 of in my life. 
 
 November 25, 1661. To the Theatre, and there 
 saw "The Country Captain," a dull play. 
 
 August 14, 1667. To the King's playhouse, and 
 there saw "The Country Captain," which is a very 
 ordinary play. Methinks I had no pleasure therein 
 at alL_ 
 
 May 14, 1668. Then into the [King's] playhouse 
 again, and there saw "The Country Captain," a very 
 dull play, that did give us no content, and besides, 
 little company there, which made it very unpleasing. 
 
 Newcastle, Duke of (?) THE HEIRESS 
 
 February 1, 1668-69. To the King's playhouse, 
 thinking to have seen "The Heyresse," 1 first acted on 
 Saturday last; but when we come thither, we find no 
 play there; Kinaston, that did act a part therein, in 
 
 at Blackfriars about 1639; Pepys's damning of the play has 
 been deemed unjust. Among modern critics, Professor F. E. 
 Schelling says of it: "The Country Captain is far from a con- 
 temptible performance, and its lively scenes of contemporary 
 English country life must have proved readily actable by the 
 King's Company at Blackfriars" (Elizabethan Drama, II, 184). 
 1 " 'The Heiress' does not appear in the list of the Duke of 
 Newcastle's works, nor has any play of that name and date 
 been traced" (Pepys's Diary, Wheatley ed., VIII, 204). It 
 would seem from the reference to the part in abuse to Sedley to 
 have been a contemporary play. 
 
.> CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 171 
 
 abuse to Sir Charles Sedley, being last night exceed- 
 ingly beaten. 2 
 
 February 2 3 1668-69. To the King's playhouse, 
 where "The Heyresse," notwithstanding Kinaston's 
 being beaten, is acted : and they say the King is very 
 angry with Sir Charles Sedley for his being beaten, 
 but he do deny it. But his part is done by Beeston, 
 who is fain to read it out of a book all the while, and 
 thereby spoils the part, and almost the play, it being 
 one of the best parts in it ; and though the design is, 
 in the first conception of it, pretty good, yet it is but 
 an indifferent play, wrote, they say, by my Lord 
 Newcastle. But it was pleasant to see Beeston come 
 in with the others, supposing it to be dark, and yet he 
 is forced to read his part by the light of the candles : 
 and this I observing to a gentleman that sat by me, 
 he was mightily pleased therewith, and spread it up 
 and down. But that, that pleased me most in the 
 play is, the first song that Knepp sings, she singing 
 three or four ; and, indeed, it was very finely sung, so 
 as to make the whole house clap her. 
 
 Newcastle, Duke of THE HUMOUROUS LOVERS 
 
 March 30, 1667. Did by coach go to see the silly 
 play of my Lady Newcastle's, called "The Humour- 
 ous Lovers" ;* the most silly thing that ever come upon 
 
 this story, see Doran's Annals of the English Stage, 
 Lowe ed., I, 71-72. 
 
 1 W. C. Hazlitt describes The Humourous Lovers as "A com- 
 edy by the Duke of Newcastle, acted at the Duke's Theatre" 
 
172 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 a stage. I was sick to see it, but yet would not but 
 have seen it, that I might the better understand her. 
 
 April 11, 1667. To White Hall, thinking there to 
 have seen the Duchess of Newcastle. . . . [She] was 
 the other day at her own play, "The Humourous 
 Lovers"; the most ridiculous thing that ever was 
 wrote, but yet she and her Lord mightily pleased 
 with it; and she, at the end, made her respects to the 
 players from her box, and did give them thanks. 
 
 Orrery, Earl of THE BLACK PRINCE 
 
 October 19, 1667. Full of my desire of seeing my 
 Lord Orrery's new play this afternoon at the King's 
 house, "The Black Prince," 1 the first time it is acted; 
 where, though we come by two o'clock, yet there was 
 no room in the pit, but we were forced to go into one 
 of the upper boxes, at 4s. a piece, which is the first 
 time I ever sat in a box in my life, . . . and this 
 pleasure I had, that from this place the scenes do 
 appear very fine indeed, and much better than in the 
 pit. The house infinite full, and the King and Duke 
 of York was there. By and by the play begun, and in 
 it nothing particular but a very fine dance for variety 
 of figures, but a little too long. But, as to the con- 
 
 (A Manual for the Collector and Amateur of Old English Plays, 
 p. 111). He gives the date of publication as 1677. Langbaine, 
 who also attributes the play to the Duke, not the Duchess, 
 comments (p. 387) that it "equals most of the Comedies of this 
 Age." 
 
 1 A tragedy (1667) with a happy ending, written in rhyme. 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 173 
 
 ^trivance, and all that was witty (which, indeed, was 
 much, and very witty), was almost the same that had 
 been in his two former plays of "Henry the 5th" 2 
 and "Mustapha," 3 and the same points and turns of 
 wit in both, and in this very same play often re- 
 peated, but in excellent language, and were so excel- 
 lent that the whole house was mightily pleased with it 
 all along till towards the end he comes to discover the 
 chief of the plot of the play by the reading of a long 
 letter, 4 which was so long and some things (the peo- 
 ple being set already to think too long) so unneces- 
 sary that they frequently begun to laugh, and to hiss 
 twenty times, that, had it not been for the King*s 
 being there, they had certainly hissed it off the stage. 
 But I must confess that, as my Lord Barkeley says 
 behind me, the having of that long letter was a thing 
 so absurd that he could not imagine how a man of 
 his parts could possibly fall into it; or, if he did, if 
 he had but let any friend read it, the friend would 
 have told him of it; and, I must confess, it is one of 
 the most remarkable instances that ever I did or 
 expect to meet with in my life of a wise man's not 
 being wise at all times, and in all things, for 
 nothing could be more ridiculous than this, though 
 
 2 The History of Henry the Fifth (1664). 
 
 3 Mustapha, the Son of Solyman the Magnificent (1665). 
 
 4 Read by Hart in Act V, and afterwards omitted as will be 
 seen from Pepys's entry for October 23. According to Downes 
 (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 14), Hart acted the part of Lord Dela- 
 ware; Mohun, Edward III; Kynaston, the Black Prince; Winter- 
 sell, King John of France; Burt, Count Guesclin; Mrs. Marshall, 
 Plantagenet; Nell Gwyn, Alizia. 
 
174 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 the letter of itself at another time would be 
 thought an excellent letter, and indeed an excellent 
 Romance, but at the end of the play, when every body 
 was weary of sitting, and were already possessed with 
 the effect of the whole letter, to trouble them with a 
 letter a quarter of an hour long, was a most absurd 
 thing. After the play done, and nothing pleasing 
 them from the time of the letter to the end of the 
 play, people being put into a bad humour of disliking 
 (which is another thing worth the noting) , I home by 
 coach, and could not forbear laughing almost all the 
 way home, and all the evening to my going to bed, at 
 the ridiculousness of the letter. 
 
 October 23, 1667. To the King's playhouse, and 
 there saw "The Black Prince," again: which is might- 
 ily bettered by that long letter being printed and so 
 delivered to every body at their going in, and some 
 short reference made to it in heart in the play, which 
 do mighty well; but, when all is done, I think it the 
 worst play of my Lord Orrery's. ... The play done 
 I . . .to my chamber, to read the true story, in 
 Speed, 5 of the Black Prince. 
 
 April 1, 1668. To the King's house, and there sat 
 in an upper box, to hide myself, and saw "The Black 
 Prince," a very good play; but only the fancy, most 
 of it, the same as in the rest of my Lord Orrery's 
 plays; but the dance very stately; ... I did fall 
 asleep the former part of the play, but afterwards 
 did mind it and did like it very well. 
 
 5 John Speed's Historic of Great Britaine, book IX, chapter 
 XII. 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 175 
 Orrery, Earl of THE GENERAL 
 
 September 28, 1664. To a play, and so we saw, 
 coming late, part of "The Generall"; 1 my Lord 
 Orrery's (Broghill) second play; but Lord! to see 
 how no more either in words, sense, or design, it is 
 to his "Henry the 5th" is not imaginable, and so 
 poorly acted, though in finer clothes, is strange. 
 
 October 4, 1664- After dinner to a play, to see 
 "The General"; which is so dull and so ill-acted, that 
 I think it is the worst I ever saw or heard in all my 
 days. I happened to sit near to Sir Charles Sidly; 
 who I find a very witty man, and he did at every line 
 take notice of the dullness of the poet and badness of 
 the action, and that most pertinently; which I was 
 mightily taken with; and among others where by 
 Altemire's command Clarimont, the General, is com- 
 manded to rescue his Rivall, whom she loved, Lucidor, 
 he, after a great deal of demurre, broke out, "Well, 
 I'll save my Rivall and make her confess, that I 
 deserve while he do but possesse." "Why, what, 
 
 1 A play entitled The General appears in the list of pieces per- 
 formed by Killigrew's company, given in Malone's Shakspeare, 
 Vol. I, Part II, p. 268, as having been acted about this time. 
 In Rufus Chetwood's British Theatre (Dublin, 1750) "Altemira, 
 a Tragedy. 1685" is mentioned among the anonymous plays (p. 
 137). This was doubtless the "Altemira, Trag. in rhyme, by 
 Roger Boyle, Earl of Orrery," described by the Biographia 
 Dramatica (1812 ed., II, 21-22) as having been "left unfinished" 
 and later drastically revised and curtailed by the grandson of 
 the poet, Charles Boyle, Earl of Orrery. In the revision of the 
 play (1702) Altemire is Altemira; Clarimont, the General, is 
 Clorimon; and Lucidor, his rival, Lycidor. 
 
176 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 pox," says Sir Charles Sydly, "would he have him 
 have more, or what is there more to be had of a woman 
 than the possessing her?" 2 
 
 April 24, 1669. After dinner to the King's house, 
 and there saw "The General" 3 revived a good play, 
 that pleases me well. 
 
 Orrery, Earl of GUZMAN 
 
 April 16, 1669. My wife being gone ... to see 
 the new play to-day at the Duke of York's house, 
 "Guzman," 1 ... I thence presently to the Duke of 
 York's playhouse, and there, in the ISd. seat, did get 
 room to see almost three acts of the play, but it seemed 
 to me but very ordinary. After the play done, I into 
 the pit, and . . . here I did meet with Shadwell, 2 the 
 poet, who, to my great wonder, do tell me that my 
 
 2 In the 1702 version, the first part of Act III comes very 
 close to this description. The lines, as Pepys remembered them, 
 on which Sedley comments, were published practically unaltered. 
 Clorimon says: 
 
 "I'll save my Rival, and make her Confess 
 'Tis I Deserve what he does but Possess." 
 
 3 Either a revival of Orrery's tragedy, or, as W. C. Hazlitt 
 asserts, a tragi-comedy with the same title by James Shirley, 
 printed from a MS. in 1853. (Cf. A Manual for the Collector 
 and Amateur of Old English Plays, p. 93.) 
 
 1 A comedy (1669). This entry is of particular interest as 
 indicating how fleeting was the popularity of the heroic drama 
 of the Restoration. According to Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, 
 p. 28), Guzman "took very well." 
 
 2 Thomas Shadwell. 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 177 
 
 Lord of [Orrery] did write this play, trying what 
 he could do in comedy, since his heroique plays could 
 do no more wonders. This do trouble me; for it is 
 a mean thing, and so he says, as hath been upon the 
 stage a great while; and Harris, who hath no part 
 in it, did come to me, and told me in discourse that 
 he was glad of it, it being a play that will not take. 
 
 Orrery, Earl of 
 
 THE HISTORY or HENRY THE FIFTH 
 
 August 13, 1664. Mr. Creed dining with me I got 
 him to give my wife and me a play this afternoon, 
 lending him money to do it, which is a fallacy that I 
 have found now once, to avoyde my vowe with, but 
 never to be more practised I swear, and so to the new 
 play, at the Duke's house, of "Henry the Fifth"; 1 a 
 most noble play, writ by my Lord Orrery, wherein 
 Betterton, Harris, and lanthe's 2 parts are most in- 
 comparably wrote and done, and the whole play the 
 most full of height and raptures of wit and sense, that 
 ever I heard ; having but one incongruity, or what did 
 
 *A rhymed heroic drama (1664), "Splendidly Cloath'd," 
 according to Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, pp. 27-28), "The 
 King in the Duke of York's Coronation Suit: Owen Tudor, in 
 King Charle's: Duke of Burgundy, in the Lord of Oxford's, and 
 the rest all New. It was Excellently Performed, and Acted 10 
 Days Successively." 
 
 2 Betterton played Owen Tudor; Harris, King Henry; 
 "lanthe" (Mrs. Betterton), Princess Katherine; and Mrs. Davis, 
 Anne of Burgundy. 
 
178 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 not please me in it, that King Harry promises to 
 plead for Tudor to their Mistresse, Princesse Kath- 
 erine of France, more than when it comes to it he 
 seems to do; and Tudor refused by her with some 
 kind of indignity, not with a difficulty and honour 
 that it ought to have been done in to him. 
 
 August 17, 1664- Very merry discoursing of the 
 late play of Henry the 5th, which they conclude the 
 best that ever was made, but confess with me that 
 Tudor's being dismissed in the manner he is is a great 
 blemish to the play. 
 
 December 28, 1666. To White Hall, and got my 
 Lord Bellasses to get me into the playhouse; and 
 there, after all staying above an hour for the players, 
 the King and all waiting, which was absurd, saw 
 "Henry the Fifth" 3 well done by the Duke's people, 
 and in most excellent habits, all new vests, being put 
 on but this night. But I sat so high and far off, that 
 I missed most of the words, and sat with a wind com- 
 ing into my back and neck, which did much trouble 
 me. The play continued till twelve at night. 
 
 February 13, 1666-67. But what I wondered at, 
 Dr. Clerke did say that Sir W. Davenant is no good 
 judge of a dramatick poem, finding fault with his 
 choice of Henry the 5th and others for the stage. 
 
 July 6, 1668. My wife and company to the 
 [Duke's] house, to see "Henry the Fifth." . . . 
 Thence I to the playhouse, and saw a piece of the 
 play, and glad to see Betterton. 
 
 3 It seems probable that in this and the following entries Pepys 
 is again referring to Orrery's and not Shakespeare's play. 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 179 
 
 Orrery, Earl of 
 
 MUSTAPHA,, THE SON OF SOLYMAN THE 
 
 MAGNIFICENT 
 
 April 3, 1665. To a play at the Duke's, of my 
 Lord Orrery's, called "Mustapha," 1 which being not 
 good, made Betterton's part and lanthe's 2 but ordi- 
 nary too, so that we were not contented with it at 
 all. . . . All the pleasure of the play was, the King 
 and my Lady Castlemayne were there; and pretty 
 witty Nell, at the King's house, and the younger 
 Marshall 3 sat next us; which pleased me mightily. 
 
 1 Mustapha, the Son of Solyman the Magnificent (1665). 
 Evelyn saw this play three days later and again on October 18, 
 1666. Under the latter date he makes the following interesting 
 comment: "This night was acted my Lord Broghill's tragedy 
 called 'Mustapha' before their Majesties at Court, at which I was 
 present, very seldom going to the publiq theaters for many '" 
 reasons, now as they were abused to an atheistical liberty, 
 fowle and undecent women now (and never till now) permitted 
 to appear and act, who inflaming severall young noblemen and 
 gallants, became their misses, and to some their wives; witness 
 ye Earl of Oxford, Sir R. Howard, P. Rupert, the Earl of 
 Dorset, and another greater person than any of them, who fell 
 into their snares, to ye reproch of their noble families, and ruine 
 of both body and soule. I was invited by my Lo. Chamberlaine 
 to see this tragedy, exceedingly well written, tho' in my mind I 
 did not approve of any such pastime in a time of such judgments 
 and calamities" (Diary, Wheatley ed., II, pp. 210-211). The 
 "judgments and calamities" were the fire, which was just over, 
 and the plague not yet abated. 
 
 2 For the complete cast, see Roscius Anglicanus, p. 26. Better- 
 ton played Solyman; Harris, Mustapha; W. Smith, Zanger; 
 Sandf ord, Rustan ; Mrs. Davenport and later Mrs. Betterton 
 Roxalana; and Mrs. Davis, Queen of Hungaria. 
 
 3 Nell Gwyn and Rebecca Marshall. 
 
180 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 January 5, 1666-67. To the Duke's house, and 
 there saw "Mustapha" a most excellent play for 
 words and design as any ever I did see. I had seen 
 it before but forgot it, so it was wholly new to me, 
 which is the pleasure of my not committing these 
 things to my memory. 
 
 September 4, 1667. To the Duke of York's play 
 house, and there saw "Mustapha," which, the more I 
 see the more I like; and is a most admirable poem, 
 and bravely acted; only both Betterton and Harris 
 could not contain from laughing in the midst of a 
 most serious part, from the ridiculous mistake of one 
 o' 3ie men upon the stage; which I did not like. 
 
 February 11, 1667-68. Sent my wife and Deb. to 
 see "Mustapha" acted, . . . and so to the Duke of 
 York's playhouse, and there saw the last act for noth- 
 ing, where I never saw such good acting of any crea- 
 ture as Smith's part of Zanger ; and I do also, though 
 
 it [Solyman] was excellently acted by , do yet 
 
 want Betterton mightily. 
 
 June 15, 1668. My wife pleased with all, this even- 
 ing reading of "Mustapha" to me till supper. 
 
 June 16, 1668. To Reading, and then heard my 
 wife read more of "Mustapha." 
 
 Orrery, Earl of TRYPHON 
 
 December 8, 1668. My wife tells me of my Lord 
 Orrery's new play "Tryphon," 1 at the Duke of 
 
 *A tragedy (1668). Evidently the Earl of Orrery felt the 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 181 
 
 York's house, which, however, I would see . . . and 
 therefore . . . went thither, where, with much ado, at 
 half -past one, we got into a blind hole in the ISd. 
 place, above stairs, where we could not hear well, but 
 the house infinite full, but the prologue most silly, 
 and the play, though admirable, yet no pleasure 
 almost in it, because just the very same design, and 
 words, and sense, and plot, as every one of his plays 
 have, any one of which alone would be held admir- 
 able, whereas so many of the same design and fancy 
 do but dull one another; and this, I perceive, is the 
 sense of every body else, as well as myself, who there- 
 fore showed but little pleasure in it. 
 
 December 9 y 1668. To the Duke of York's house 
 where mighty full again, but we come time enough to 
 have a good place in the pit, and did hear this new 
 play again, where, though I better understood it than 
 before, yet my sense of it and pleasure was just the 
 same as yesterday, and no more, nor any body else's 
 about us. 
 
 Porter, Thomas (?) THE GERMAN PRINCESS 
 
 April 15, 1664. To the Duke's house, and there 
 saw "The German Princess" 1 acted, by the woman 
 
 force of such criticism. It is interesting to note that in his next 
 dramatic venture, the comedy of Guzman (1669), he broke away 
 from the rhymed heroic tragedy. 
 
 1 Genest states (I, pp. 51-52) that the play referred to here 
 was A Witty Combat, or the Female Victor, a T rage-Comedy, "as 
 it was acted by persons of quality in Whitsun-week with great 
 
182 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 herself; but never was anything so well done in 
 earnest, worse performed in jest upon the stage; and 
 indeed the whole play, abating the drollery of him 
 that acts her husband, is very simple, unless here and 
 there a witty sprinkle or two. 
 
 Porter, Thomas THE VILLAIN 
 
 October 20 f 1662. Among other discourse young 
 Killigrew did so commend "The Villaine," 1 a new 
 play made by Tom Porter, and acted only on Satur- 
 day at the Duke's house, as if there never had been 
 any such play come upon the stage. The same yester- 
 day was told me by Captain Ferrers ; and this morn- 
 ing afterwards by Dr. Clerke, who saw it. ... To 
 the Duke's house, and there was the house full of 
 company: but whether it was in over-expecting or 
 what, I know not, but I was never less pleased with 
 
 applause . . . written by T. P. [Thomas Porter ?] Gent." 
 (1663). It was obviously based upon the adventures of a notori- 
 ous impostor, Mary Moders, who masqueraded about this time 
 under the name of "the German princess." After D'Avenant had 
 exploited her on the stage, she returned to her former occupa- 
 tions, and in 1673 was executed for theft. Pepys refers to her 
 again on May 29 and June 7, 1663. On the latter occasion, he 
 defends "her wit and spirit" against Lady Batten. For an 
 account of the publications based upon her career, see Ernest 
 Bernbaum, The Mary Carleton Narratives, 1663-1678. 
 
 1 A tragedy by Thomas Porter, published in the following 
 year. 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 183 
 
 a play in my life. Though there was good singing 
 and dancing, yet no fancy in the play, but something 
 that made it less contenting was my conscience that I 
 ought not to have gone by my vow, and, besides, my 
 business commanded me elsewhere. 
 
 October 27, 1662. Here [at Whitehall] we staid 
 some time, thinking to stay out the play before the 
 King to-night, but it being "The Villaine," ... I 
 had no mind. 
 
 December 26, 1662. To the Duke's house and saw 
 "The Villaine," which I ought not to do without my 
 wife, but that my time is now out that I did under- 
 take it for. But, Lord! to consider how my natural 
 desire is to pleasure, which God be praised that he 
 has given me the power by my late oaths to curb so 
 well as I have done, and will do again after two or 
 three plays more. Here I was better pleased with the 
 play than I was at first, understanding the design 
 better than I did. 
 
 January 1, 1662-63. To the Duke's House, where 
 we saw "The Villane" again; and the more I see it, 
 the more I am offended at my first undervaluing the 
 play, it being very good and pleasant, and yet a true 
 and allowable tragedy. The house was full of citi- 
 zens, and so the less pleasant, but that I was willing to 
 make an end of my gaddings, and to set to my busi- 
 ness for all the year again to-morrow. 
 
 September 7, 1665. Thence to Brainford, reading 
 "The Villaine," a pretty good play, all the way. 
 
 October 24, 1667. To the Duke of York's play- 
 house; but there Betterton not being yet well, we 
 
184 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 would not stay, though since I hear that Smith do act 
 his part 2 in "The Villaine," which was then acted, as 
 well or better than he, which I do not believe. 
 
 Rhodes, Richard FLORA'S VAGARIES 
 
 August 8, 1664^ So my wife and I abroad to the 
 King's playhouse, she giving me her time of the last 
 month, she having not seen any then; so my vowe 
 is not broke at all. . . . Here we saw "Flora's 
 Figarys." 1 I never saw it before, and by the most 
 ingenuous performance of the young jade Flora, it 
 seemed as pretty a pleasant play as ever I saw in my 
 life. 
 
 October 5, 1667. Here 2 I read the questions to 
 Knepp, while she answered me, through all her part 
 of Flora's Figary's 3 which was acted to-day. . . . By 
 
 2 Better-ton's part was Monsieur Brisac. In the original cast 
 were also Sandford (Maligni, the Villain) ; Harris (Beaupres) ; 
 Young (Bontefeu), Mrs. Betterton, "late Saunderson," (Bel- 
 mont). "This Play," says Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 23), 
 "by its being well perform'd, had Success Extremely beyond the 
 Company's Expectation. ... It Succeeded 10 Days with a full 
 House, to the last." 
 
 1 A comedy (1663) by Richard Rhodes, previously acted, 
 according to the list of plays performed by Killigrew's company, 
 given in Malone's Shakspeare, Vol. I, Part II, p. 268, on Novem- 
 ber 23, 1663. The part of Flora was later played by Nell Gwyn. 
 
 2 In the greenroom at the King's theatre, which like the "tiring- 
 room" of the Restoration playhouse was accessible to the friends 
 of the players. 
 
 3 Mrs. Knepp played the part of Otrante. The other principal 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 185 
 
 and by into the pit, and there saw the play, which is 
 pretty good, but my belly was full of what I had 
 seen in the house. 
 
 February 18, 1667-68. To the King's house, and 
 there, in one of the upper boxes saw "Flora's 
 Vagarys," which is a very silly play; and the more, 
 I being out of humour, being at a play without my 
 wife. 
 
 Sedley, Sir Charles 
 
 THE MULBERRY GARDEN (THE WANDERING 
 
 LADIES (?)) 
 
 January 11, 1667-68. She [Knepp] told me also 
 of a play shortly coming upon the stage, of Sir 
 Charles Sidly's, which, she thinks, will be called "The 
 Wandering Ladys," 1 a comedy that, she thinks, will 
 be most pleasant. 
 
 May 7, 1668. Thither comes Bannister with a song 
 of her's [Knepp's], that he hath set in Sir Charles 
 Sidley's play for her. 2 
 
 May 18, 1668. To the King's playhouse, where 
 the doors were not then open, 3 but presently they did 
 open; and we in, and find many people already come 
 
 actors were Beeston as Ludovico; Mohun, Alberto; Burt, 
 Francisco; Cartwright, Grimani. (Cf. Genest, I, 70.) 
 
 1 Probably The Mulberry Garden. No play of this name is 
 known. 
 
 2 The song beginning, "Ah, Cloris, that I now could sit," 
 Bannister's music to which has not been discovered. 
 
 3 This was at twelve o'clock, when the doors of the theatre 
 were usually opened. 
 
186 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 in, by private ways, into the pit, it being the first day 
 of Sir Charles Sidly's new play, so long expected, 
 "The Mullberry Guarden," 4 of whom, being so re- 
 puted a wit, all the world do expect great matters. I 
 having sat there a while . . . did slip out, getting a 
 boy to keep my place ; and to the Rose Tavern. . . . 
 And so to the play again, where the King and Queen, 
 by and by, come, and all the Court; and the house 
 infinitely full. But the play, when it come, though 
 there was, here and there, a pretty saying, and that 
 not very many neither, yet the whole of the play had 
 nothing extraordinary in it, at all, neither of language 
 nor design, insomuch that the King I did not see 
 laugh, nor pleased the whole play from the beginning 
 to the end, nor the company ; insomuch that I have not 
 been less pleased at a new play in my life, I think. 
 And which made it the worse was, that there never 
 was worse musick played that is, worse things com- 
 posed, which made me and Captain Rolt, who hap- 
 pened to sit near me, mad. So away thence, very 
 little satisfied with the play, but pleased with my 
 company. 
 
 May 20, 1668. Thence walked to the King's play- 
 house, and saw "The Mulberry- Gar den" again, and 
 cannot be reconciled to it, but only to find here and 
 there an independent sentence of wit, and that is all. 
 
 June 29, 1668. With my wife to the King's play- 
 house "The Mulberry Garden," which she had not 
 seen. 
 
 4 A comedy (1668) which met with great success in spite of 
 Pepys's disapproval. 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 187 
 
 St. Serfe, Sir Thomas 
 
 TARUGO'S WILES, on THE COFFEE HOUSE 
 
 October 5, 1667. To the Duke of York's play- 
 house, but the house so full, it being a new play, "The 
 Coffee House," 1 that we could not get in, so to the 
 King's house. . . . But to see how Nell cursed, for 
 having so few people in the pit, was pretty; the other 
 house carrying away all the people at the new play. 
 
 October 15, 1667. To the Duke of York's house, 
 where, after long stay, the King and Duke of York 
 come, and there saw "The Coffee-house," the most 
 ridiculous, insipid play that ever I saw in my life, and 
 glad we were that Betterton had no part in it. 
 
 Shadwell, Thomas THE ROYAL SHEPHERDESS 
 
 February 25, 1668-69. To the Duke of York's 
 house, and there before one, but the house infinite full, 
 where, by and by, the King and Court come, it being 
 a new play, or an old one new vamped by Shadwell, 
 called "The Royall Shepherdesse," 1 but the silliest 
 
 1 Tarugo's Wiles, or The Coffee House (1667), a comedy based 
 upon Moreto's No puede ser, which "Expir'd the third Day" 
 (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 31). John Dennis {Original Letters, 
 Familiar, Moral, Critical, I, 51) remarks of the Spanish play 
 that it was "translated and acted and damned, under the title of 
 Tarugo's Wiles, or the Coffee House." 
 
 *A pastoral tragi-comedy (1669) based upon John Foun- 
 tain's The Rewards of Virtue, which "liv'd Six days" according 
 to Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 31). 
 
188 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 for words and design, and everything, that ever I saw 
 in my whole life, there being nothing in the world 
 pleasing in it, but a good martial dance of pikemen, 
 where Harris and another do handle their pikes in a 
 dance to admiration; but never less satisfied with a 
 play in my life. 
 
 Shadwell, Thomas 
 
 THE SULLEN LOVERS, OR THE IMPERTINENTS 
 
 May 2, 1668. To the Duke of York's playhouse, 
 at a little past twelve, to get a good place in the pit, 
 against the new play, and there setting a poor man 
 to keep my place, I out, and spent an hour at Mar- 
 tin's, my bookseller's, and so back again, where I find 
 the house quite full. But I had my place, and by and 
 by the King comes and the Duke of York; and then 
 the play begins, called "The Sullen Lovers; or, The 
 Impertinents," 1 having many good humours in it, but 
 the play tedious, and no design at all in it. But a 
 little boy, for a farce, do dance Polichinelli, the best 
 that ever anything was done in this world, by all 
 men's report: most pleased with that, beyond any- 
 thing in the world, and much beyond all the play. 
 
 May 4, 1668. To the Duke of York's house, and 
 there saw "The Impertinents" again, and with less 
 
 1 Shadwell's first comedy (1668), based upon Moliere's Les 
 Facheux. Smith acted the part of Stanford; Harris, Sir Positive 
 At-all; Nokes, Ninny; and Mrs. Shadwell, Emilia. "This Play/' 
 Downes records (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 29), "had wonderful 
 Success, being Acted 12 Days together." 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 189 
 
 pleasure than before, it being but a very contemptible 
 play, though there are many little witty expressions 
 in it ; and the pit did generally say that of it. 
 
 May 5, 1668. To the Duke of York's playhouse; 
 and there coming late, he and I up to the balcony- 
 box, where we find my Lady Castlemayne and sev- 
 eral great ladies; and there we sat with them, and I 
 saw "The Impertinents" once more, now three times, 
 and the three only days it hath been acted. And to 
 see the folly how the house do this day cry up the 
 play more than yesterday! and I for that reason like 
 it, I find, the better, too; by Sir Positive At-all, I 
 understand is meant Sir Robert Howard. 
 
 May 6, 1668. Among other things understand that 
 my Lord St. John is meant by Mr. Woodcocke in 
 "The Impertinents." 
 
 May 8, 1668. But Lord! to see how this play of 
 Sir Positive At- All, in abuse of Sir Robert Howard, 
 do take, all the Duke's and everybody's talk being 
 of that, and telling more stories of him, of the like 
 nature, that it is now the town and country talk, and, 
 they say, is most exactly true. The Duke of York 
 himself said that of his playing at trap-ball is true, 
 and told several other stories of him. 
 
 June 24, 1668. To the Duke of York's playhouse, 
 and there saw "The Impertinents," a pretty good 
 play. 
 
 August 29, 1668. Thence carried Harris to his 
 playhouse, where, though four o'clock, so few people 
 there at "The Impertinents," as I went out, and do 
 believe they did not act though there was Lord 
 Arlington and his company there. 
 
190 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 April 14, 1669. To the Duke of York's play- 
 house, and there saw "The Impertinents," a play 
 which pleases me still. 
 
 Southland, Thomas (?) LOVE A LA MODE 
 
 July 19, 1663. Then I fell to read over a silly play 
 writ by a person of honour (which is, I find, as much 
 as to say a coxcomb) , called "Love a la Mode." 1 
 
 Stapylton, Sir Robert THE SLIGHTED MAID 
 
 February 23, 1662-63. Walked out to see what 
 play was acted to-day, and we find it "The Slighted 
 Mayde." 1 But, Lord! to see that though I did know 
 myself to be out of danger, yet I durst not go 
 through the street, but round by the garden into 
 Tower Street. By and by took coach, and to the 
 Duke's house, where we saw it well acted, though the 
 play hath little good in it, being most pleased to see 
 the little girl dance in boy's apparel, she having very 
 fine legs, only bends in the hams, as I perceive all 
 women do. 
 
 May 29, 1663. To the Roy all Theatre, but they 
 not acting to-day, then to the Duke's house, and there 
 saw "The Slighted Mayde," wherein Gosnell acted 
 
 1 Love a la Mode, a comedy by "T. S." supposedly Thomas 
 Southland was printed in 1663. 
 
 1 The Slighted Maid (1663), a comedy by Sir Robert Stapyl- 
 ton. 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 191 
 
 Pyramena, 2 a great part, and did it very well, and I 
 believe will do it better and better, and prove a good 
 actor. The play is not very excellent, but is well 
 acted, and in general the actors, in all particulars, are 
 better than at the other house. 
 
 July 28, 1668. To the Duke of York's playhouse, 
 and there saw "The Slighted Maid," but a mean play; 
 and thence home, there being little pleasure now in a 
 play, the company being but little. Here we saw 
 Gosnell, who is become very homely, and sings 
 meanly I think, to what I thought she did. 
 
 Tatham, John 
 
 THE RUMP, OR THE MIRROUR or THE LATE 
 
 TIMES 
 
 November 10, 1660. After reading of ... the 
 comedy of the Rump, 1 which is also very silly, I went 
 to bed. 
 
 Taylor, Captain Silas 
 
 THE SERENADE, OR DISAPPOINTMENT 
 
 May 7 ' , 1669. So home, and there met with a letter 
 from Captain Silas Taylor, and, with it, his written 
 
 2 According to Genest (I, 46), Mrs. Betterton had taken the 
 part of Pyramena on May 28. Betterton was Iberio; Harris, 
 Salerno; Smith, Lugo; Young, Corbulo; Sandford, Vindex. 
 
 1 The Rump, or the Mirrour of the Late Times, a satire of the 
 Cromwellian regime, was privately produced in 1660 at Dorset 
 Court, and published later in the same year. 
 
192 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 copy of a play that he hath wrote and intends to have 
 acted. It is called "The Serenade or Disappoint- 
 ment," 1 which I will read, not believing he can make 
 any good of that kind. He did once offer to show 
 Harris it, but Harris told him he would judge by one 
 Act, whether it were good or no, which is indeed a 
 foolish saying. . . . This made Taylor say he would 
 not shew it him, but is angry, and hath carried it to 
 the other house, and he thinks it will be acted there, 
 though he tells me they are not agreed upon it. 
 
 Tuke, Sir Samuel 
 
 THE ADVENTURES OF FIVE HOURS 
 
 January 8, 1662-63. There being the famous new 
 play acted the first time to-day, which is called "The 
 Adventures of Five Hours," 1 at the Duke's house, 
 being, they say, made or translated by Colonel Tuke, 
 I did long to see it, ... and so we went; and though 
 early, were forced to sit almost out of sight at one 
 end of the lower forms, so full was the house. And 
 
 1 This play does not seem to be otherwise known. The author 
 (? 1688), who had been made keeper of the King's stores at 
 Harwich in 1665, was a well-known antiquary and something of 
 a musician. 
 
 1 An adaptation from a Spanish comedy of intrigue, Los 
 Empenos de Seis Horas, ascribed to Antonio Coello. Evelyn 
 had already seen it. His entry for December 23, 1662, reads: 
 "I went with S r George Tuke to hear the comedians con and 
 repeate his new comedy, 'The Adventures of 5 Hours,' a play 
 whose plot was taken out of the famous Spanish poet Calderon" 
 
CONTEMPORARY RESTORATION PLAYS 193 
 
 the play, in one word, is the best, for the variety and 
 the most excellent continuance of the plot to the very 
 end, that ever I saw, or think ever shall, and all possi- 
 ble, not only to be done in the time, but in most other 
 respects very admittable, and without one word of 
 ribaldry; and the house, by its frequent plaudits, did 
 show their sufficient approbation. 
 
 January 17, 1662-63. To the Duke's playhouse, 
 where we did see "The Five Hours" entertainment 
 again, which indeed is a very fine play, though 
 through my being out of order, it did not seem so 
 good as at first, but I could discern it was not any 
 fault in the play. 
 
 June 1, 1663. Begun again to rise betimes by 4 
 o'clock, and make an end of "The Adventures of Five 
 Houres," and it is a most excellent play. 
 
 August 15, 1666. So down the river, reading 
 "The Adventures of Five Houres," which the more I 
 read the more I admire. 
 
 August 17 , 1666. I walking alone from Green- 
 
 (Diary, Wheatley ed., II, 156). Evelyn saw the play again on 
 the day on which Pepys first saw it. It is interesting to compare 
 his record of the performance with the above: "I went to see my 
 kinsman Sir Geo. Tuke's comedy acted at ye Duke's Theatre, 
 which took so universally, that it was acted for some weekes 
 every day, and 'twas believ'd it would be worth to the comedians 
 4 or <500. The plot was incomparable but the language was 
 stiffe and formal" (Ibid., II, 157). Downes, who ascribes the 
 play to the Earl of Bristol and Sir Samuel Tuke, adds: "It took 
 Successively 13 Days together"; "Mr. Betterton, Acting Don 
 Henriq; Mr. Harris, Antonio; Mr. Young, Octavio; . . . Mrs. 
 Davenport, Camilla; Mrs. Betterton, Portia" (Roscius Angli- 
 canus, p. 22). 
 
194 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 wich thither, making an end of the "Adventures of 
 Five Hours," which when all is done is the best play, 
 that ever I read in my life. 
 
 August 20, 1666. Reading "Othello, Moore of 
 Venice," which I ever heretofore esteemed a mighty 
 good play, but having so lately read "The Adven- 
 tures of Five Houres," it seems a mean thing. 
 
 January 27, 1668-69. To the Duke of York's 
 playhouse, and there saw "The Five Hours' Adven- 
 ture," which hath not been acted a good while before, 
 but once, and is a most excellent play, I must confess. 
 
 February 15, 1668-69. To White Hall; and there, 
 by means of Mr. Cooling, did get into the play, the 
 only one we have seen this winter: it was "The Five 
 Hours' Adventure": but I sat so far I could not 
 hear well, nor was there any pretty woman that I did 
 see, but my wife, who sat in Lady Fox's pew, with 
 her. The house very full; and late before done, so 
 that it was past eleven before we got home. But we 
 were well pleased with seeing it. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 FOREIGN PLAYS AND TRANSLATIONS 
 
CHAPTER V 
 FOREIGN PLAYS AND TRANSLATIONS 
 
 Comenius, Johann Amos SCHOLA LUDUS 
 
 June 25, 1666. All this day on the water enter- 
 tained myself with the play 1 of Commenius. 
 
 Corneille, Pierre THE CID 
 
 December 1, 1662. To the Cockpitt, with much 
 crowding and waiting, where I saw "The Valiant 
 Cidd," 1 acted, a play I have read with great delight, 
 but is a most dull thing acted, which I never under- 
 stood before, there being no pleasure in it, though 
 done by Betterton and by lanthe, and another fine 
 
 1 Schola Ludus sen Encyclopaedia Viva (hoc est) Januce Lin- 
 guarum Praxis Scenica (1655), a. school drama in 5 acts and 21 
 scenes, by Johann Amos Comenius, or Komensky (1592-1671), 
 the noted Moravian educator and theologian. The Schola Ludus 
 was written for the instruction of the boys of the author's school 
 at Patak, chiefly in natural history; among its 52 characters are 
 a chemist, a geographer, and personifications of the elements. 
 
 1 A translation of Le Cid (1637) presumably by Joseph 
 Rutter. D. F. Canfield (Corneille and Racine in England, 
 p. 13) cites Pepys's statement as evidence that "Rutter's trans- 
 lation held the stage as late as 1662." 
 
198 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 wench that is come in the room of Roxalana; 2 nor did 
 the King or Queen once smile all the whole play, nor 
 any of the company seem to take any pleasure but 
 what was in the greatness and the gallantry of the 
 company. 
 
 Corneille, Pierre HERACLIUS., EMPEROR or THE EAST 
 
 March 8, 1663-64- "Heraclius" being acted, 1 | 
 (which my wife and I have a mighty mind to see). I 
 ... The play hath one very good passage well man- 
 aged in it, about two persons pretending, and yet 
 denying themselves, to be son to the tyrant Phocas, 
 
 2 < Jhat is, by Betterton and his wife ("lanthe") and an actress 
 who succeeded Elizabeth Davenport ("Roxalana"). 
 
 1 A translation of Corneille's Heraclius , brought out at the 
 Duke's theatre. It has been attributed to Lodovick Carl ell, 
 author of the only known printed version. This is, however, 
 expressly denied by Carlell in "The Author's Advertisement" 
 to "Heraclius, Emperour of the East. A Tragedy. Written in 
 French by Monsieur de Corneille. Englished by Lodpvick . 
 Carlell, Esq. London. 1664" a copy of which is in the library 
 of the Elizabethan Club, Yale University. The "Advertise- 
 ment" begins: "Another Translation formerly design'd (after 
 this seem'd to be accepted of) was perfected and acted, this, 
 not returned to me until that very day." It is noteworthy that 
 Carlell's translation bears the date of "March 9, 1664," the 
 day following the performance Pepys describes. It also cdn- 
 tains a "Prologue Intended for the Play." 
 
 The scene of the tragedy is laid in Constantinople, and the 
 plot is based upon the struggle of Heraclius against the usurper 
 Phocas for the throne of the Eastern Empire. 
 
FOREIGN PLAYS AND TRANSLATIONS 199 
 
 and yet heire of Mauricius to the crowne. The gar- 
 ments like Romans very well. The little girle is come 
 to act very prettily, and spoke the epilogue most 
 admirably. But at the beginning, at the drawing up 
 of the curtaine, there was the finest scene of the 
 Emperor and his people about him, standing in their 
 fixed and different postures in their Roman habitts, 
 above all that ever I yet saw at any of the theatres. 
 
 February 4, 1666-67. To the Duke's playhouse, 
 and there saw "Heraclius," an excellent play, to my 
 extraordinary content; and the more from the house 
 being very full, and great company. . . . Mightily 
 pleased with the play. 
 
 - September 5, 1667. To the Duke of York's house, 
 
 and there saw "Heraclius," which is a good play; but 
 
 they did so spoil it with their laughing, and being all 
 
 ( of them out, and with the noise they made within the 
 
 theatre, that I was ashamed of it, and resolve not to 
 
 s come thither again a good while, believing that this 
 
 negligence, which I never observed before, proceeds 
 
 only from their want of company in the pit, that they 
 
 have no care how they act. 
 
 Corneille, Pierre HORACE 
 
 K 
 
 January 19, 1668-69. To the King's house, to see 
 
 "Horace" ;* this is the third day of its acting a silly 
 
 1 A translation of Pierre Corneille's tragedy left "unfinished" 
 by Mrs. Katharine Philips at her death, the last act being "after- 
 ward translated by Sir John Denham" before 1668. (Cf. Can- 
 
200 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 tragedy; but Lacy hath made a farce of several 
 dances between each act, one: but his words are but 
 silly, and invention not extraordinary, as to the 
 dances; only some Dutchmen come out of the mouth 
 and tail of a Hamburgh sow. 
 
 Corneille, Pierre 
 
 THE MISTAKEN BEAUTY, OR THE LIAR 
 
 November 28, 1667. To the King's playhouse, and 
 there sat by my wife, and saw ."The Mistaken 
 Beauty," 1 which I never, I think, saw before, though 
 an old play ; and there is much in it that I like, though 
 the name is but improper to it at least, that name, it 
 being also called "The Lyer," which is proper enough. 
 
 field, Corneille and Racine in England, pp. 45-48.) Evelyn saw 
 the play on February 4, 1667-68 and on February 15, 1668-69. 
 The entry of February 4 reads: "I saw ye tragedy of 'Horace' 
 (written by ye virtuous Mrs. Phillips) acted before their Maties. 
 'Twixt each act a masq and antiq daunce" (Diary, Wheatley ed., 
 II, 229). 
 
 1 A translation of Le Menteur by an unknown author, printed 
 in 1685. The Biographia Dramatica (1812 ed., Ill, 48) states 
 that "there is an earlier edition of it, under the latter title alone, 
 in 1661." In comparing Corneille with native dramatists in his 
 Essay of Dramatic Poesy, 1668, Dryden comments: "What has 
 he produced except The Liar, and you know how it was cried 
 up in France; but when it came upon the English Stage, though 
 well translated, and that part of Dorant acted [by Mr. Hart] 
 to so much advantage as I am confident it never received in its 
 own country, the most favourable to it would not put it in 
 competition with many of Fletcher's or Ben Jonson's" (The 
 Works of John Dryden, Scott-Saintsbury ed., XV, 330). 
 
FOREIGN PLAYS AND TRANSLATIONS 201 
 Corneille, Pierre POMPEY THE GREAT 
 
 June 23, 1666. Down to Deptford, all the way 
 reading Pompey the Great (a play translated from 
 the French by several noble persons; among others, 
 my Lord Buckhurst) / that to me is but a mean play, 
 and the words and sense not very extraordinary. 
 
 Corneille, Thomas (?) 
 
 THE LABYRINTH, OR THE FATAL 
 
 E MB ARRASSMENT 
 
 May 2, 1664. To the King's play-house to ... 
 "The Labyrinth," 1 the poorest play, methinks, that 
 ever I saw, there being nothing in it but the odd 
 accidents that fell out, by a lady's being bred up in 
 man's apparel, and a man in a woman's. 
 
 1 A translation (1663) of Corneille's La Morte de Pompee, by 
 "certain Persons of Honour" Waller, Earl of Dorset; Sir 
 Charles Sedley; Sidney Godolphin; and Sir Edward Filmore. 
 
 1 Neither Downes, nor Genest, nor Langbaine, throws light 
 on this piece. The only play of this name recorded is a trans- 
 lation of Ariane, by Thomas Corneille, by Rev. M. Stratford, 
 published in 1795. The Biographia Dramatica (1812 ed., II, 
 660) gives it as "The Labyrinth, or The Fatal Embarrassment. 
 Trag. from Corneille. Dublin printed, 8vo. 1795." 
 
202 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 Unknown Author "FRENCH COMEDY" 
 
 August 30, 1661. Then my wife and I to Drury 
 Lane 1 to the French comedy; 2 which was so ill done, 
 and the scenes and company and everything also so 
 nasty and out of order and poor, that I was sick all 
 the while in my mind to be there . . . There being 
 nothing pleasant but the foolery of the farce, we went 
 home. 
 
 Guarini, Battista THE FAITHFUL SHEPHERD 
 
 February 25, 1667-68. To the Nursery, where I 
 was yesterday, and there saw them act a comedy, a 
 pastorall, "The Faythful Shepherd," 1 having curios- 
 ity to see whether they did a comedy better than a 
 tragedy; 2 but they do it both alike, in the meanest 
 manner, that I was sick of it, but only for to satisfy 
 myself once in seeing the manner of it, but I shall see 
 them no more, I believe. 
 
 1 Evidently the Cockpit theatre in Drury Lane. 
 
 2 In Act I of D'Avenant's A Playhouse to be Let (1663?), 
 there is a Frenchman who has brought over a troupe of his 
 countrymen to act a farce. Dr. Doran {Annals of the English 
 Stage, 1865 ed., pp. 15-16) refers thus to such a company: "In 
 1661, .300 was given to M. Channoyeux, as the King's bounty 
 to the French Comedians, and in 1663, a pass was granted to 
 them to bring over new scenes and decorations." 
 
 1 A pastoral drama from Battista Guarini's II Pastor Fido, the 
 first English translation of which appeared anonymously in 
 1602. (Cf. Tucker Brooke, The Tudor Drama, p. 289, for an 
 account of the several translations.) 
 
 2 He had recently seen them act The Spanish Tragedy, by 
 Thomas Kyd. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 DROLLS AND PUPPET-PLAYS 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 DROLLS AND PUPPET-PLAYS 
 
 Drolls THE FRENCH DANCING MASTER 
 
 May 21, 1662. We went to the Theatre to "The 
 French Dancing Master." 1 . . . The play pleased r. ; s 
 very well; but Lacy's part, the Dancing Master, the 
 best in the world. 
 
 Puppet-ShoWS POLICHINELLO 
 
 August 22, 1666. By coach to Moorfields, and 
 there saw "Polichinello," 1 which pleases me mightily. 
 
 1 A "droll" according to W. C. Hazlitt (A Manual for the Col- 
 lector and Amateur of Old English Plays, p. 91) based on 
 the Duke of Newcastle's comedy The Variety. Malone, Shak- 
 speare, Vol. I, Part II, p. 267, mentions a piece of this title 
 acted on March 11, 1662, in the list of plays performed by 
 Killigrew's company. 
 
 1 The most popular of the puppet-plays of Italian origin, 
 widely known in France in the reign of Louis XIV, is first heard 
 of in England soon after the Restoration. (Cf. Charles Magnin, 
 Histoire des Marionettes en Europe.) It seems to have been 
 much patronized by the Court at this time, but is more frequently 
 alluded to after 1688. Probably this was the "Italian puppet 
 play" Pepys saw on May 9, 1662; Evelyn saw it on August 21, 
 1667 (Diary, Wheatley ed., II, 223). 
 
206 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 August 29, 1666. To Moorfields, and shewed 
 Batelier, with my wife, "Polichinello," which I like 
 the more I see it. 
 
 September 1, 1666. To "Polichinelly," but were 
 there horribly frighted to see Young Killigrew come 
 in with a great many young sparks; but we did hide 
 ourselves, so as we think they did not see us. 
 
 March 20, 1666-67. To Polichinelli at Charing 
 Crosse, which is prettier and prettier, and so full of 
 variety that it is extraordinary good entertainment. 
 
 April 8, 1667. Thence away to Polichinello, and 
 there had three times more sport than at the play. 2 
 
 September 4, 1667. To Bartholomew fayre, and 
 there Polichinelli. 
 
 October 24, 1667. To Charing Cross, there to s~ee 
 Polichinelli. But, it being begun, we in to see a 
 Frenchman. 
 
 May 2, 16&8. But a little boy, for a farce do dance 
 Polichinelli, 3 the best ever anything was done in the 
 \Vorld, by all men's report: most pleased with that, 
 beyond anything in the world, and much beyond all 
 the play. 
 
 August 31, 1668. Thence to the Fayre, and saw 
 "Polichinelle." 
 
 2 Sir R. Howard's The Surprisal. 
 
 3 At the Duke's theatre in a performance of The Impertinents, 
 or The Sullen Lovers. 
 
DROLLS AND PUPPET-PLAYS 207 
 
 Puppet- Shows MISCELLANEOUS 
 
 September 7, 1661. Here [at the "Theatre"] was 
 "Bartholomew Fayre," with the puppet-show, 1 acted 
 to-day, . . . but I do never a whit like it the better 
 for the puppets, but rather the worse. 
 
 November 12, 1661. To "Bartholomew Fayre," ' 
 with puppets, which I had seen once before, and the 
 play without puppets often, but though I love the 
 play as much as ever I did, yet I do not like the 
 puppets at all, but think it to be a lessening to it. 
 
 May 9, 1662. Thence to see an Italian puppet 
 play, 2 that is within the rayles there [Covent Garden] 
 which is very pretty, the best that ever I saw, and, 
 great resort of gallants. 
 
 1 Shows by puppets had been popular f roni the time when* 
 like the contemporary drama for the "legitimate" stage they 
 were based on stories from the Bible. Jonah and the Whale and 
 The Prodigal Son were popular sixteenth-century puppet-plays. 
 Jonson's Bartholomew Fair, containing in Act V the puppet- 
 show of The Modern History of Hero and Leander, had been 
 acted with puppets as early as 1641. Popular plays of this 
 period were The Sorrows of Griselda, Dick Whittington, and' 
 The Vagaries of Merry Andrew. From The Actor's Remon- ' 
 strance, 1643 (reprinted in The English Drama and Stage under 
 the Tudor and Stuart Princes, 1543-1 664, Roxburghe Library, 
 p. 262), we learn that puppet-plays were "still up with uncon- 
 trolled allowance" during the dramatic interregnum. And they 
 held their own with the regular theatre after the actors were 
 permitted to play again: in Etherege's She Would if She Could 
 (1668), Act III, Sc. 3, Courtall says to Sir Joslin Jolly: "How 
 the people would throng about you if you were but mounted on 
 
 a few deal boards in Covent Garden now!" 
 
 2 Probably Polichinello. 
 
208 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 May 23, 1662. To the puppet play in Covent 
 Garden, which I saw the other day, and indeed it is 
 very pleasant. 
 
 October 8, 1662. He [Lord Sandwich] is at 
 White Hall with the King, before whom the puppet 
 plays I saw this summer in Covent-garden are acted 
 this night. 
 
 November 10, 1662. To Charing Cross, and there 
 showed her the Italian motion, much after the 
 nature of what I showed her a while since in Covent 
 Garden. Their puppets here are somewhat better, 
 but their motions not at all. 
 
 August 6, 1663. Having in our way, though nine 
 o'clock at night, carried them into a puppet play in 
 Lincolnes Inn Fields, where there was the story of 
 Holof ernes, and other clockwork, well done. 
 
 August 30, 1667. To Bartholomew fayre, to walk 
 up and down ; and there, among other things, find my 
 Lady Castlemayne at a puppet-play, "Patient 
 Grizill." 
 
 September 4, 1668. To the Fair, ... my wife 
 having a mind to see the play "Bartholomew-Fayre" 
 with puppets. Which we did. 
 
 September 21, 1668. To Southwarke-Fair, very 
 dirty, and there saw the puppet-show of Whitting- 
 ton, which was pretty to see ; and how that idle thing 
 do work upon people that see it, and even myself too ! 
 
PART TWO 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 THE ACTORS 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 THE ACTORS 
 
 [NOTE: In order to avoid unnecessary repetitions in Parts II 
 and III of material already presented in Part I, all details in 
 the following Chapters not falling under their respective special 
 topics e.g., Actors, Actresses, etc. have been as far as possi- 
 ble suppressed. It will be noted that a full account of each play 
 mentioned has been given in Part I. Minor details in regard 
 to individuals, not bearing upon the history or the literature of 
 the stage, have, also, generally been omitted.] 
 
 Angel, 
 
 February 22, 1667-68. Saving the ridiculousnesse 
 AngellV part, which is called Trinkilo, 2 I do not see 
 anything extraordinary in it. 
 
 1 Angel's name appears in Downes's list (Roscius Anglicanus, 
 p. 18) of original actors of the Duke's company who "Commonly 
 Acted Women's Parts" immediately after the Restoration. 
 Genes t (I, 158) states that he "originally played female parts, 
 and became in time an actor of consequence"; also that no men- 
 tion of his name occurs after 1673 when he played De Boastado 
 in Ravenscroft's The Careless Lovers. 
 
 2 In Albumazar, at the Duke's theatre. 
 
212 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 Beeston, William 
 
 September 15, 1668. When they come to say it 
 would be acted again to-morrow, both he that said it, 
 Beeson, 1 and the pit fell a-laughing. 
 
 February 2, 1668-69. But his part 2 is done by 
 Beeston, who is fain to read it out of a book all the 
 while, and thereby spoils the part, and almost the 
 play. . . . But it was pleasant to see Beeston come 
 in with others, supposing it to be dark, and yet he is 
 forced to read his part by the light of the candles. 
 
 Betterton, Thomas 
 
 March 1, 1660-61. But above all that ever I saw, 
 Betterton do the Bondman best. 1 
 
 March 19, 1660-61. Saw "The Bondman" acted 
 most excellently, and though I have seen it often, yet 
 
 1 William Beeston (?-1682) was according to Downes (Roscius 
 Anglicanus, p. 2) among those who "come not into the [King's] 
 Company, till after they had begun in Drury-Lane." The refer- 
 ence is to The Ladies a la Mode at the King's theatre. 
 
 2 Kynaston's part in The Heiress. 
 
 1 The title part in Massinger's play, performed on this date 
 at the Salisbury Court theatre. Thomas Betterton (1635?- 
 1710) was easily the greatest actor of the Restoration period. 
 He was distinguished in comic as well as tragic characters, 
 "created" some one hundred and thirty parts, of which his 
 Hamlet seems most to have impressed the public of this period 
 as, according to Gibber, his Falstaff did that of a later time. 
 Steele, Pope, and Gibber are among those who delighted to 
 praise him. 
 
THE ACTORS 213 
 
 I am every time more and more pleased with Better- 
 ton's action. 
 
 August 24, 1661. Betterton did the prince's part 2 
 /[in Hamlet] beyond imagination. 
 
 November 4, 1661. But for Betterton [in The 
 Bondman} he is called by us both the best actor in the 
 world. 
 
 September 30, 1662. Saw the "Duchess of Malfy" 
 well performed, but Betterton 3 and lanthe to admira- 
 tion. 
 
 December 1, 1662. There being no pleasure in it 
 [The Cid] though done by Betterton and by lanthe, 
 and another fine wench that is come in the room of 
 Roxalana. 
 
 May 28, 1663. And so to the Duke's House; and 
 there saw "Hamlett" done, giving us fresh reason 
 never to think enough of Betterton. 
 
 July 22, 1663. He 4 grew very proud and de- 
 manded 20 for himself extraordinary, more than 
 Betterton or any body else, upon every new play. 
 
 July 28, 1664. Betterton and my poor lanthe [in 
 The Bondman] outdo all the world. 
 
 August 13, 1664. Wherein Betterton, 5 Harris, 
 
 2 Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 21) says: "Sir William 
 [D'Avenant] (having seen Mr. Taylor of the Black-Fryars 
 Company Act it, who being Instructed by the Author, Mr. 
 Shakespeur) taught Mr. Betterton in every Particle of it; which 
 by his exact Performance, gain'd him Esteem and Reputation 
 Superlative to all other plays." 
 
 3 As Bosola. 
 
 4 Henry Harris. 
 
 5 Betterton's part was Owen Tudor. 
 
214 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 and lanthe's parts [in Orrery's Henry V] are most 
 incomparably wrote and done. 
 
 December 2, 1664. Saw "The Rivalls," which I 
 had seen before; but the play not good, nor anything 
 but the good actings of Betterton 6 and his wife and 
 Harris. 
 
 April 3, 1665. To a play . . . called "Mustapha," 
 which being not good, made Betterton's part 7 and 
 lanthe's but ordinary too. 
 
 September 4, 1667. Saw "Mustapha" . . . bravely 
 acted; only both Betterton and Harris could not con- 
 tain from laughing in the midst of a most serious 
 part . . . which I did not like. 
 
 October 15, 1667. To the Duke of York's house, 
 . . . and there saw "The Coffee-house," 8 the most 
 ridiculous, insipid play that ever I saw in my life, 
 and glad we were that Betterton had no part in it. 
 
 October 16, 1667. I was vexed to see Young . . . 
 act Macbeth in the room of Betterton, who, poor 
 man! is sick. 
 
 October 24, 1667. Betterton not being well yet. 
 
 November 6, 1667. Mighty short of the content 
 [in Macbeth] we used to have when Betterton acted, 
 who is still sick. 
 
 February 11, 1667-68. Do yet want Betterton 
 mightily [in Mustapha]. 
 
 July 6, 1668. Here comes Harris, and first told us 
 
 6 As Philander. 
 
 7 Solyman the Magnificent. 
 
 8 Tarugo's Wiles, or The Coffee House (1667), by Sir Thomas 
 St. Serfe. 
 
THE ACTORS / 215 
 
 how Betterton is come again upon the stage: where- 
 upon my wife and company to the [Duke's] house 
 to see "Henry the Fifth." . . . I to the playhouse, 
 and saw a piece of the play, and glad to see Betterton. 
 
 August 31, 1668. Mightily pleased with it [Ham- 
 let] ; but, above all, with Betterton, the best part, I 
 believe, that ever man acted. 
 
 February 18, 1668-69. Only Betterton's part 9 still 
 pleases me. 
 
 Bird, Theophilus 
 
 September 24, 1662. He told me how Bird 1 hath 
 lately broke his leg, while he was fencing in 
 "Aglaura," upon the stage. 
 
 Burt, Nicholas 
 
 October 11, 1660. To see "The Moore of Venice," 
 which was well done. Burt 1 acted the Moore. 
 
 9 Memnon, in The Mad Lover. 
 
 1 Theophilus Bird, who "belonged to the former race of actors, 
 and did not long survive the Restoration." (Cf. P. Cunning- 
 ham, The Story of Nell Gwyn, Wheatley ed., p. 14.) 
 
 1 Nicholas Burt was one of the original actors of principal 
 roles in the King's company. Before the Restoration he had 
 played women's parts. According to Thomas Davies, he after- 
 ward soon "resigned the part of Othello to Hart, who had pre- 
 viously acted Cassio when Burt took the Moor" (Dramatic 
 Miscellanies, 1785 ed., I, 221). 
 
16 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 December 11, 1667. And Burt acts Cicero, 2 which 
 they all conclude he will not be able to do well. 
 
 February 6, 1668-69. Nor, indeed, Burt doing 
 the Moor's [part] so well as I once thought he did. 
 
 Cart wright, William 
 
 November 2, 1667. To the King's playhouse, and 
 there saw "Henry the Fourth": and contrary to 
 expectation, was pleased in nothing more than in 
 Cartwright's speaking of Falstaffe's speech about 
 "What is Honour?" 1 
 
 Clun, Walter 
 
 May 8, 1663. The play was "The Humerous 
 Lieutenant" [at the King's Theatre], a play that 
 hath little good in it, nor much in the very part which, 
 by the King's command, Lacy now acts instead of 
 Clun. 1 
 
 2 Burt was, however, well liked in this part in Jonson's Cati- 
 line when the play was produced. 
 
 x The last speech in Act V, Sc. 1, of Henry IV, Part I. 
 William Cartwright (P-1687) had been a player before the Civil 
 War. After the Restoration he became one of the original mem- 
 bers of the King's company and was known as a "respectable" 
 actor. Among his other roles were Morose in The Silent Woman, 
 Brabantio in Othello, Major Oldfox in The Plain Dealer, and 
 Thunder in The Rehearsal. (Cf. Genest, I, 378-379.) 
 
 1 Walter Clun (?-1664), one of the original members of the 
 King's company, had acted female characters before the Civil 
 War. His best parts after the Restoration were those which 
 Pepys praises Subtle in The Alchemist and lago in Othello. 
 
THE ACTORS 217 
 
 August 4j 1664- We hear that Clun, one of their 
 best actors, was, the last night, going out of towne 
 (after he had acted the Alchymist, wherein was one 
 of his best parts that he acts ) to his country-house, set 
 upon and murdered ; one of the rogues taken, an Irish 
 fellow. It seems most cruelly butchered and bound. 
 The house will have a great miss of him. 
 
 August 5, 1664. In the way, at Kentish-towne, he 
 showing me the place and manner of Chin's being 
 killed and laid in a ditch, and yet he was not killed by 
 any wounds, having only one in his arm, but bled to 
 death through his struggling. He told me, also, the 
 manner of it, of his going home so late [from] drink- 
 ing with his whore, and manner of having found it 
 out. 
 
 February 6, 1668-69. Mohun, which did a little 
 surprise me, not acting lago's part by much as well as 
 Clun used to do. 
 
 April 17, 1669. It [The Alchemist] is still a good 
 play, having not been acted for two or three years 
 before ; but I do miss Clun for the Doctor. 
 
 Haines, Joseph 
 
 March 7, 1667-68. The dances . . . excellently 
 done, especially one part by one Hanes, 1 only lately 
 come thither from the Nursery, an understanding 
 
 1 Joseph Haines (P-1701), the popular comedian, dancer, and 
 coffee-house wit, had just joined the King's company. "Joe 
 Haines," says Anthony Ashton in his Brief Supplement to 
 Colley Gibber's Apology (Lowe ed., II, 314), "is more remark- 
 
218 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 fellow, but yet, they say, hath spent 1000 a year 
 before he come thither. 
 
 May 7, 1668. Here [at Knepp's lodgings] was 
 also Haynes, the incomparable dancer of the King's 
 house, and a seeming civil man, and sings pretty well. 
 
 Harris, Henry 
 
 July 22, 1663. At Wotton's, the shoe-maker's, 
 who tells me the reason of Harris's 1 going from Sir 
 Wm. Davenant's house, that he grew very proud 
 and demanded <20 for himself extraordinary, more 
 than Betterton or any body else, upon every new play, 
 and <lO upon every revive; which with other things 
 
 able for the witty, tho' wicked, Pranks he play'd, and for his 
 Prologues and Epilogues, than for Acting." His best parts, 
 such as Sparkish in The Country Wife and Captain Bluff in 
 Corigreve's Old Bachelor, were created after Pepys had brought 
 his Diary to a close. The reference here is to a performance of 
 The Spanish Gypsy at the King's theatre. 
 
 1 Henry Harris (P-1681), originally a "painter," appears to 
 have been the "matinee idol" of his day and was somewhat 
 spoiled, according to Pepys's entries concerning him for this 
 date and for February 6, 1667-68. It is expressly stated in 
 the Letters Patent issued to D'Avenant, January 15, 1662, that 
 an actor who withdrew from either one of the two companies 
 could not be received into the other. Harris proved, however, 
 to be an accomplished comedian, playing Sir Andrew Aguecheek 
 and Sir Joslin Jolly, and was also successful in such parts as 
 Romeo and Orrery's Henry the Fifth. According to the list of 
 his roles given by Genest (I, pp. 388-389), his first was Alphonso 
 in The Siege of Rhodes, 1661, his last Cardinal Beaufort in 
 Crowne's Henry VI, 1681. 
 
THE ACTORS 219 
 
 Sir W. Davenant would not give him, and so he 
 swore he would never act there more, in expectation 
 of being received in the other House; but the King 
 will not suffer it, upon Sir W. Davenant's desire that 
 he would not, for then he might shut up house, and 
 that is true. He tells me that his going is at present 
 a great loss to the House, and that he fears he hath a 
 stipend from the other house privately. He tells me 
 that the fellow grew very proud of late, the King and 
 every body else crying him up so high, and that above 
 Betterton, he being a more ayery man, as he is indeed. 
 But yet Betterton, he says, they all say do act some 
 parts that none but himself can do. 
 
 December 10, 1663. Calling at Wotton's, my shoe- 
 maker's, to-day, he tells me . . . that Harris is come 
 to the Duke's house again. 
 
 February 3, 1663-64. In Covent Garden tonight, 
 ... I stopped at the great Coffee-house there, where 
 ... all the wits of the town, and Harris the player. 
 
 July 20, 1664. Very pleasant it was [Worse and 
 Worse~\ and I begin to admire Harris more than ever. 
 
 August 13, 1664. Wherein Betterton, Harris, and 
 lanthe's parts [in Henry F] are most incomparably 
 wrote and done. 
 
 September 10, 1664. [Gosnell] fell out of the key 
 [in The Rivals'] . . . and so did Harris 2 also go out 
 of the tune to agree with her. 
 
 December 2, 1664. The play [The Rivals'] not 
 good, nor anything but the good actings of Betterton 
 and his wife and Harris. 
 
 2 His role in this play by D'Avenant was Theocles. 
 
218 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 fellow, but yet, they say, hath spent 1000 a year 
 before he come thither. 
 
 May 7, 1668. Here [at Knepp's lodgings] was 
 also Haynes, the incomparable dancer of the King's 
 house, and a seeming civil man, and sings pretty well. 
 
 Harris, Henry 
 
 July 22, 1663. At Wotton's, the shoe-maker's, 
 who tells me the reason of Harris's 1 going from Sir 
 Wm. Davenant's house, that he grew very proud 
 and demanded 20 for himself extraordinary, more 
 than Betterton or any body else, upon every new play, 
 and 10 upon every revive; which with other things 
 
 able for the witty, tho' wicked, Pranks he play'd, and for his 
 Prologues and Epilogues, than for Acting." His best parts, 
 such as Sparkish in The Country Wife and Captain Bluff in 
 Corigreve's Old Bachelor, were created after Pepys had brought 
 his Diary to a close. The reference here is to a performance of 
 The Spanish Gypsy at the King's theatre. 
 
 1 Henry Harris (P-1681), originally a "painter/' appears to 
 have been the "matinee idol" of his day and was somewhat 
 spoiled, according to Pepys's entries concerning him for this 
 date and for February 6, 1667-68. It is expressly stated in 
 the Letters Patent issued to D'Avenant, January 15, 1662, that 
 an actor who withdrew from either one of the two companies 
 could not be received into the other. Harris proved, however, 
 to be an accomplished comedian, playing Sir Andrew Aguecheek 
 and Sir Joslin Jolly, and was also successful in such parts as 
 Romeo and Orrery's Henry the Fifth. According to the list of 
 his roles given by Genest (I, pp. 388-389), his first was Alphonso 
 in The Siege of Rhodes, 1661, his last Cardinal Beaufort in 
 Crowne's Henry VI, 1681. 
 
THE ACTORS 219 
 
 Sir W. Davenant would not give him, and so he 
 swore he would never act there more, in expectation 
 of being received in the other House; but the King 
 will not suffer it, upon Sir W. Davenant's desire that 
 he would not, for then he might shut up house, and 
 that is true. He tells me that his going is at present 
 a great loss to the House, and that he fears he hath a 
 stipend from the other house privately. He tells me 
 that the fellow grew very proud of late, the King and 
 every body else crying him up so high, and that above 
 Betterton, he being a more ayery man, as he is indeed. 
 But yet Betterton, he says, they all say do act some 
 parts that none but himself can do. 
 
 December 10, 1663. Calling at Wotton's, my shoe- 
 maker's, to-day, he tells me . . . that Harris is come 
 to the Duke's house again. 
 
 February 3, 1663-64. In Covent Garden tonight, 
 ... I stopped at the great Coffee-house there, where 
 ... all the wits of the town, and Harris the player. 
 
 July 20, 1664. Very pleasant it was [Worse and 
 Worse] and I begin to admire Harris more than ever. 
 
 August 13, 1664. Wherein Betterton, Harris, and 
 lanthe's parts [in Henry V\ are most incomparably 
 wrote and done. 
 
 September 10, 1664. [Gosnell] fell out of the key 
 [in The Rivals] . . . and so did Harris 2 also go out 
 of the tune to agree with her. 
 
 December 2, 1664. The play [The Rivals] not 
 good, nor anything but the good actings of Betterton 
 and his wife and Harris. 
 
 2 His role in this play by D'Avenant was Theocles. 
 
220 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 January 24, 1666-67. Harris I first took to my 
 closet ; and I find him a very serious and understand- 
 ing person in all pictures and other things, and a man 
 of fine conversation. 
 
 February 20, 1666-67. When we come to the 
 Duke of York here, I heard discourse how Harris of 
 his play-house is sick, and everybody commends him, 
 and, above all things, for acting the Cardinall. 3 
 
 February 27, 1666-67. Here I find Harris's pic- 
 ture, done in his habit. 
 
 September 4, 1667. Both Betterton and Harris 
 could not contain from laughing in the midst of a 
 most serious part [in Mustapha], from the ridiculous 
 mistake of one of the men upon the stage. 
 
 December 11, 1667. Here [in Westminster Hall] 
 I met . . . Harris, the player, and there we talked 
 of many things, and particularly of "Catiline," which 
 is to be suddenly acted at the King's house ; and there 
 all agree that it cannot be well done at that house, 
 there not being good actors enow. . . . Thence home 
 to dinner, and would have had Harris home with me, 
 but it was too late for him to get to the playhouse 
 after it. 
 
 January 6, 1667-68. Did go home to dinner, and 
 there find Mr. Harris, by the like mistake, come to 
 dine with me. However, we did get a pretty dinner 
 ready for him; and there he and I to discourse of 
 many things, and I do find him a very excellent per- 
 son, such as in my whole [acquaintance] I do not 
 know another better qualified for converse, whether 
 
 3 Probably Cardinal Wolsey in Henry VIII. 
 
THE ACTORS 221 
 
 in things of his own trade, or of other kinds, a man of 
 great understanding and observation, and very 
 agreeable in the manner of his discourse, and civil as 
 far as is possible. . . . To the Duke's house. . . . 
 Thence, after the play, stayed till Harris was un- 
 dressed, there being acted "The Tempest," and so he 
 withall, all by coach, home. 
 
 February 6, 1667-68. I did hear [Etherege] 
 mightily find fault with the actors, . . . that Harris 
 did do nothing 4 [in She Would if She Could], nor 
 could so much as sing a ketch in it. 
 
 March 23, 1667-68. We are defeated of Knepp, 
 by her being forced to act to-day, and also of Harris, 
 which did trouble me, they being my chief guests. . . . 
 By and by Mr. Harris. 
 
 March 24, 1668. To prick out my song, "It is De- 
 creed," intending to have it ready to give to Mr. 
 Harris on Thursday, when we meet, for him to sing, 
 believing that he will do it more right than a woman 
 that sings better, unless it were Knepp. 
 
 March 26, 1668. The epilogue [The Man's the 
 Master] little in it but the extraordinariness of it, it 
 being sung by Harris and another in the form of a 
 ballet. Thence to ... the Blue Balls . . . and anon 
 comes . . . Harris ; . . . and mighty merry we were 
 till about eleven or twelve at night. 
 
 March 29, 1668. At home to dinner, . . . and by 
 invitation Mr. Harris. . . . Harris do so commend 
 my wife's picture of Mr. Hale's, that I shall have him 
 draw Harris's head, i / 
 
 4 He played Sir Joslin Jolly. 
 
222 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 March 30, 1668. I away with Harris and Hales to 
 the Coffee-house, . . . and there resolve for Hales 
 to begin Harris's head for me, which I will be at the 
 cost of. 
 
 April 26, 1668. Thence with Hales to his house, 
 and there did see his beginning of Harris's picture, 
 which I think will be pretty like, and he promises a 
 very good picture. 
 
 April 29, 1668. After the play done [Love in a 
 Tub], I stepped up to Harris's dressing-room, 5 where 
 I never was, and there I observe much company come 
 to him, and the Witts, to talk, after the play is done, 
 and to assign meetings. 
 
 May 11, 1668. Between two acts [of The Temp- 
 est], I went out to Mr. Harris and got him to repeat 
 to me the words of the Echo, while I writ them down. 
 
 May 20, 1668. To Hale's, and there saw the be- 
 ginnings of Harris's head which he draws for me, 
 which I do not yet like. 
 
 May 30, 1668. And here I first understood by 
 their talk the meaning of the company that lately 
 were called Bailers; Harris telling how it was by a 
 meeting of some young blades, where he was among 
 them and my Lady Bennet 6 and her ladies. 
 
 June 1, 1668. I met with Harris and Rolt, and 
 carried them to the Rhenish wine-house. . . . Here 
 I did get the words of a song of Harris, that I wanted. 
 
 July 19, 1668. Come Mr. Cooper, Hales, Harris, 
 
 5 Harris's part in this play was Sir Frederick Frolic. 
 
 6 A notorious procuress, to whom Wycherley dedicated The 
 Plain Dealer (1674). 
 
THE ACTORS 223 
 
 Mr. Butler, that wrote Hudibras . . . and there we 
 dined. 
 
 August 26, 1668. To Mr. Batelier's . . . where I 
 find my wife and Knepp and Harris; . . . and here 
 danced all night long, with a noble supper. 
 
 August 29, 1668. Thence carried Harris to his 
 playhouse, where, though four o'clock, so few people 
 there at "The Impertinents," as I went out. 
 
 September 5, 1668. To Mr. Hales's new house, 
 . . . and here I find Harris's picture, done in his 
 habit of "Henry the Fifth"; 7 mighty like a player, 
 but I do not think the picture near so good as any yet 
 he hath made for me: however it is pretty well. 
 
 September 20, 1668. To dinner, staying till past 
 one o'clock for Harris, whom I invited, and to bring 
 Shadwell the poet with him ; but they come not. 
 
 February 25, 1668-69. A good martial dance of 
 pikemen [in The Royal Shepherdess'} where Harris 
 and another do handle their pikes in a dance to 
 admiration. 
 
 April 16, 1669. Harris, who hath no part in it 
 [Guzman}, did come to me, and told me in discourse 
 that he was glad of it, it being a play that will not 
 take. 
 
 May 7, 1669. He [Silas Taylor] did once offer to 
 show Harris it [his play], but Harris told him he 
 would judge by one Act whether it were good or no, 
 which is indeed a foolish saying. 
 
 7 In the Earl of Orrery's play of that name. 
 
226 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 with sticks by two or three that assaulted him, so as 
 he is mightily bruised, and forced to keep his bed. 
 
 February 2, 1668-69. They say the King is very 
 angry with Sir Charles Sedley for his being beaten, 
 but he do deny it. But his part is done by Beeston. 
 
 February 9, 1668-69. Here [in The Island Prin- 
 cess] we find Kinaston to be well enough to act again, 
 which he do very well, after his beating. 
 
 Lacy, John 
 
 May 21, 1662. Lacy's 1 part [in The French Danc- 
 
 of Mr. Colley Gibber, Lowe ed., II, 341), "of which he was so 
 proud, that he endeavored to display it by the most particular 
 expedients." Then follows a different story in the same vein. 
 
 1 John Lacy (P-1681), who is said to have been taught danc- 
 ing by John Ogilby, was a member of the King's company. 
 Langbaine (pp. 317-318) gives a glowing account of him: "A 
 Comedian whose Abilities in Acting were sufficiently known to 
 all that frequented the King's Theatre, where he was for many 
 years an Actor, and perform'd all Parts that he undertook to a 
 miracle: in so much that I am apt to believe that as this Age 
 never had, so the next never will have his Equal, at least not 
 his Superior. He was so well approv'd of by King Charles the 
 Second, an undeniable Judge in Dramatick Arts, that he caus'd 
 his Picture to be drawn, in three several Figures in the same 
 Table, viz. that of Teague in the Committee, Mr. Scruple in 
 The Cheats, and Mr. Galliard, in The Variety: which piece is 
 still in being in Windsor Castle: nor did his Talent wholly ly in 
 Acting, he knew both how to judge and to write Plays." Lang- 
 baine then proceeds to discuss Lacy's four plays, of which The 
 Old Troop, or Monsieur Raggou is the most notable. 
 
 Evelyn refers to Lacy under the date of October 14, 1662, 
 
THE ACTORS 227 
 
 ing Master], the Dancing Master, the best in the 
 world. 
 
 May 22, 1662. The play [Love in a Maze] hath 
 little in it, but Lacy's part of a country fellow, which 
 he did to admiration. 
 
 May 8, 1663. The play was "The Humerous 
 Lieutenant," a play that hath little good in it, nor 
 much in the very part which, 2 by the King's command, 
 Lacy now acts instead of Clun. 
 
 June 10, 1663. The play [Love in a Maze] is 
 pretty good, but the life of the play is Lacy's part, 
 the clown, which is most admirable. 
 
 June 12, 1663. Saw "The Committee," a merry 
 but indifferent play, only Lacey's part, an Irish foot- 
 man, 3 is beyond imagination. 
 
 June 13, 1663. I am quite out of opinion with any 
 of their actings, but Lacy's [in the King's company] 
 compared with the other house. 
 
 April 9, 1667. The best part, "Sawny," [in 
 Sawney the Scot] done by Lacy, hath not half its life, 
 by reason of the words, I suppose, not being under- 
 stood, at least by me. 
 
 April 15, 1667. Lacy did act the country-gentle- 
 man [in The Change of Crowns'] come up to Court, 
 who do abuse the Court with all the imaginable wit 
 and plainness about selling of places, and doing every 
 thing for money. 
 
 as "the famous Roscius or comedian/' and on November 27 
 records seeing The Committee, "where ye mimic Lacy acted the 
 Irish footeman to admiration" (Diary, Wheatley ed., II, 155). 
 
 2 The Lieutenant was Clun's part in the original cast. 
 
 3 Teague. 
 
228 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 April 16, 1667. Knipp tells me the King was so 
 angry at the liberty taken by Lacy's part to abuse 
 him to his face, that he commanded they should act 
 no more, till Moone [Mohun] went and got leave for 
 them to act again, but not this play [The Change of 
 Crowns] . The King mighty angry ; and it was bitter 
 indeed, but very true and witty. 
 
 April 20, 1667. Here [at the Duke's theatre] met 
 with Mr. Holt, who tells me the reason of no play to- 
 day at the King's house. That Lacy 4 had been com- 
 mitted to the porter's lodge for acting his part in the 
 late new play [The Change of Crowns], and that 
 being thence released he come to the King's house, 
 there met with Ned Howard, the poet of the play, 
 who congratulated his release; upon which Lacy 
 cursed him as that it was the fault of his nonsensical 
 play that was the cause of his ill usage. Mr. Howard 
 did give him some reply; to which Lacy [answered] 
 him, that he was more a fool than a poet ; upon which 
 Howard did give him a blow on the face with his 
 glove; on which Lacy having a cane in his hand, did 
 give him a blow over the pate. Here Holt and others 
 that discoursed of it in the pit this afternoon did 
 wonder that Howard did not run him through, he 
 being too mean a fellow to fight him. But Howard 
 did not do anything but complain to the King of it; 
 so the whole house is silenced, and the gentry seem 
 to rejoice much at it, the house being become too 
 insolent. 
 
 4 It is said that Lacy was noted for showing his contempt of 
 courtiers, both on and off the stage. 
 
THE ACTORS 229 
 
 May 1, 1667. To the King's playhouse, . . . and 
 saw "Love in a Maze": but a sorry play: only Lacy's 
 clowne's part, 5 which he did most admirably indeed; 
 and I am glad to find the rogue at liberty again. 
 Here was but little, and that ordinary, company. 
 
 July 13, 1667. Yesterday Sir Thomas Crew told 
 me that Lacy lies a-dying of the pox. 
 
 August 13, 1667. Lacy's part [in The Committee] 
 is so well performed that it would set off anything. 
 
 April 28, 1668. Did see "Love in a Maze" wherein 
 very good mirth of Lacy, the clown. 
 
 January 11, 1668-69. Saw "The Joviall Crew"; 
 but ill acted to what it was heretofore, in Clun's time, 
 and when Lacy could dance. 
 
 January 19, 1668-69. Lacy hath made a farce of 
 several dances between each act [of Horace] one: 
 but his words are but silly, and invention not extraor- 
 dinary, as to the dances; only some Dutchmen come 
 out of the mouth and tail of a Hamburgh sow. 
 
 Mohun, Michael 
 
 November 20, 1660. And here I saw [in The 
 Beggar's Bush] the first time one Moone, 1 who is 
 
 5 Johnny Thump. 
 
 1 Michael Mohun (1620P-1691 ?), whose name is variously 
 spelled by Pepys, was one of the best actors of emotional parts 
 in the King's company; according to Downes, "An Eminent 
 Poet/' Nathaniel Lee, is once said to have remarked: "Oh, 
 Mohun, Mohun! Thou little Man of Mettle, if I should Write a 
 100 Plays I'd Write a Part for thy Mouth" (Roscius Anglicanus, 
 p. 17). 
 
230 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 said to be the best actor in the world, lately come over 
 with the King. 
 
 November 22, 1660. I to the new playhouse and 
 saw part of the "Traitor," a very good Tragedy; Mr. 
 Moon did act the Traitor very well. 
 
 December 7 , 1667. But the King's house is at 
 present and hath for some days been silenced upon 
 some difference [between] Hart and Moone. 
 
 February 6, 1668-69. Mohun, which did a little 
 surprise me, not acting lago's part by much so well 
 as Clun used to do. 
 
 Sandford, Samuel 
 
 March 26, 1668. To the Duke of York's house, to 
 see the new play, called "The Man is the Master" 
 . . . translated by Sir W. Davenant, . . . the pro- 
 logue but poor, and the epilogue little in it, but 
 the extraordinariness of it, it being sung by Harris 
 and another 1 in the form in a ballet. 
 
 1 This was Samuel Sandford (P-1704?), who belonged to the 
 Duke's company. He is described by Colley Gibber (Apology, 
 Lowe ed., I, pp. 130-131) as "an excellent Actor in disagree- 
 able Characters." "Sandford upon the Stage/' continues Gibber, 
 "was generally as flagitious as a Creon, a Maligni, an I ago, or a 
 Machiavil could make him. . . . But poor Sandford was not the 
 Stage- Villain by Choice, but from Necessity; for having a low 
 and crooked Person, such bodily Defects were too strong to be 
 admitted into great or amiable Characters, so that whenever in 
 any new or revived Play there was a hateful or mischievous 
 Person, Sandford was sure to have no competition for it." 
 
THE ACTORS 231 
 
 Smith, William 
 
 November 14, 1666. She [Knepp] tells me how 
 Smith, 1 of the Duke's house, hath killed a man upon a 
 quarrel in play; which makes every body sorry, he 
 being a good actor, and, they say, a good man, how- 
 ever this happens. The ladies of the Court do much 
 bemoan him, she says. 
 
 October 24, 1667. I hear that Smith do act his 
 [Betterton's] part in "The Villaine," which was then 
 acted as well or better than he, which I do not believe. 
 
 February 11, 1667-68. I never saw such good 
 acting of any creature as Smith's part of Zanger. 2 
 
 Wintersell, William 
 
 April 28, 1668. Very good mirth of Lacy, the 
 clown, and Wintersell, 1 the country-knight, his 
 master. 
 
 1 William Smith (P-1696?) often played in the same cast 
 with Sandford, to whom he was a great contrast, being tall and 
 handsome. He was the original Sir Fopling Flutter, and the 
 Chamont of Otway's The Orphan. Downes (Roscius Angli- 
 canus, p. 44) states in connection with Banks's The Grand Cyrus 
 (1696) that "Mr. Smith having a long part in it, fell Sick upon 
 the Fourth Day and Dy'd." 
 
 2 In the Earl of Orrery's Mustapha. 
 
 1 William Wintersell (?-1679) was one of the original actors 
 of the King's company. "Mr. Wintersell," says Downes 
 (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 17), "was good in Tragedy, as well as 
 in Comedy, especially in Cokes in 'Bartholomew Fair.' " He 
 played the part of the King in The Humorous Lieutenant at 
 
232 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 Young, - 
 
 October 16, 1667. I was vexed to see Young 1 (who 
 is but a bad actor at best) act Macbeth in the room 
 of Betterton. 
 
 Gfeneral References to Actors 
 
 February 23, 1660-61. Besides, I see the gallants 
 begin to be tyred with the vanity and pride of the 
 theatre actors who are indeed grown very proud and 
 rich. 1 
 
 March 2, 1660-61. But above all it was strange to 
 see [in The Queen's Masque at Salisbury Court] so 
 little a boy as that was to act Cupid, which is one of 
 the greatest parts in it. 
 
 the opening performance of the Drury Lane Theatre, May 7 (?), 
 1663. The part here referred to is Sir Gervase Simple in Love 
 in a Maze. 
 
 1 Young was apparently a lesser member of the Duke's 
 
 company. 
 
 1 See H. B. Baker's English Actors from Shakespeare to 
 Macready, II, Appendix, Note D, for a statement as to the 
 salaries of prominent actors at this time. Baker gives Hart's 
 salary as <3 a week, and Betterton's and Mrs. Betterton's 
 together as 5. From Pepys's statement about Harris under 
 July 22, 1663, it appears that there was also an extra bonus for 
 every new play and every old play revived, and we hear occa- 
 sionally of benefit performances. But even so, the actor's life 
 was not all beer and skittles. Pepys refers later to actors who 
 were cruelly beaten, and even slit in the nose, by playgoers whom 
 their acting had disgruntled. 
 
THE ACTORS 233 
 
 March 23, 1660-61. The actors [at the Red Bull] 
 but common fellows. 2 
 
 December 11, 1667 . Here I met . . . Harris, the 
 player, and there we talked of many things, and par- 
 ticularly of "Catiline," which is to be suddenly acted 
 at the King's house; and there all agree that it can- 
 not be well done at that house, 3 there not being good 
 actors enow. 
 
 2 The Duke's and the King's* theatres had attracted all the 
 good actors away from the Red Bull where a company had 
 promptly assembled after the issuing of the permit for the 
 opening of the theatres in 1659. 
 
 3 It should be, of course, noted that the speaker belonged to 
 the rival company. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 THE ACTRESSES 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 THE ACTRESSES 
 
 Betterton, Mary Saunderson ("lanthe") 
 
 April 2, 1662. Though we had seen it [The Bond- 
 man'] so often, yet I never liked it better than to-day, 
 lanthe 1 acting Cleora's part very well now Roxalana 2 
 is gone. 
 
 September 30, 1662. Saw the "Duchess of Malfy" 
 
 1 "lanthe" was Mary Saunderson (P-1712), one of the prin- 
 cipal actresses of the Duke's company, who married Thomas 
 Betterton in December, 1662. Of her marriage and subsequent 
 career, the author of The History of the English Stage (1741) 
 writes as follows: "Mr. Betterton, now making, among the Men, 
 the Foremost Figure in Sir William D'Avenant's Company, he 
 cast his Eyes on Mrs. Saunderson, who was no less eminent 
 among the Women, and married her. She was bred in the House 
 of the Patentee, improved herself daily in her Profession, and 
 having, by Nature, all the Accomplishments required to make 
 a perfect Actress, she added to them the distinguishing Char- 
 acteristick of a virtuous Life" (p. 9). In the same vein, the 
 Biographia Dramatica (1812 ed.) comments: "Both as an 
 actress and as a woman [Mrs. Betterton] was everything that 
 human perfection was capable of arriving at" (Vol. I, Part II, 
 p. 37). The appeal of her impersonations of Shakespeare's 
 heroines from Juliet to Lady Macbeth is said to have been due 
 in part to her remarkably clear and graceful reading of the lines. 
 
 2 Mrs. Davenport. 
 
238 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 well performed, but Betterton and lanthe 3 to admira- 
 tion. 
 
 October 22, 1662. Benier, . . . being acquainted 
 with all the players, do tell me that Betterton is not 
 married to lanthe, as they say. 
 
 December 1 3 1662. There being no pleasure in it 
 [The Cid], though done by Betterton and by lanthe. 
 
 February 1, 1663-64. Her [Anne Marshall's] 
 voice not so sweet as lanthe's. 
 
 July 28, 1664. But Betterton and my poor lanthe 
 outdo all the world [in The Bondman']. 
 
 April 13, 1664. Betterton, Harris, and lanthe's 
 parts 4 [in Orrery's Henry V] are most incomparably 
 wrote and done. 
 
 December 2 3 1664. The play [The Rivals] not 
 good, nor anything but the good actings of Better- 
 ton and his wife and Harris. 5 
 
 April 3, 1665. To a play . . . called "Mustapha," 
 which being not good, made Betterton's part and 
 lanthe's but ordinary too. 6 
 
 Coleman, Mrs. 
 
 October 31, 1665. Anon comes Mr^ Coleman with 
 her husband . . . But, for singing, among other 
 
 3 Mrs. Saunderson played the Duchess. 
 
 4 Betterton played Owen Tudor ; Harris, King Henry ; and 
 Mrs. Betterton, Princess Katherine. 
 
 5 Betterton was Philander ; and Harris, Theocles. Mrs. Bet- 
 terton's name does not appear in the cast. (Cf. Genest, I, 54.) 
 
 6 Betterton's part was Solyman ; Mrs. Betterton's, Roxalana. 
 
THE ACTRESSES 239 
 
 things, we got Mrs. Coleman 1 to sing part of the 
 Opera, though she won't owne that ever she did 
 get any of it without book in order to the stage ; but, 
 above all, her counterfeiting of Captain Cooke's part, 
 in his reproaching his man with cowardice "Base 
 slave," etc. she do it most excellently. 
 
 Corey, Mrs. ("Doll Common") 
 
 December 27, 1666. To the King's playhouse, and 
 meeting Creed took him up, and there saw "The 
 ,Scornfull Lady" well acted; Doll Common 1 doing 
 Abigail most excellently. 
 
 January 15, 1668-69. It [the stir at Court] is 
 about my Lady Harvy's being offended at Doll 
 Comman's acting of Sempronia [in Catiline] to 
 imitate her ; for which she got my Lord Chamberlain, 
 her kinsman, to imprison Doll : when my Lady Castle- 
 mayne made the King to release her, and to order her 
 to act it again, worse than ever, the other day, where 
 the King himself was: and since it was acted again, 
 
 1 The wife of Edward Coleman, the musician. It has been 
 said that in 1656 Mrs. Coleman played lanthe in the first part 
 of D'Avenant's Siege of Rhodes, in which she spoke in recita- 
 tive. If, as Pepys seems to think, she did take part in the play, 
 this was probably her only appearance on the stage. 
 
 1 Mrs. Corey "the mimic," so called from the part of Doll 
 Common in Jonson's The Alchemist, which she acted, was one 
 of the chief actresses of the King's company, remaining in it, 
 according to Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 39), as late as 
 1682. 
 
240 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 and my Lady Harvy provided people to hiss her and 
 fling oranges at her: but it seems the heat is come to 
 a great height, and real troubles at Court about it. 
 
 Davenport, Francis 
 
 April 7, 1668. The eldest Davenport 1 is, it seems, 
 gone from this house, to be kept by somebody; which 
 I am glad of, she being a very bad actor. 
 
 Davis, Mary 
 
 April 17, 1666. This day I am told that Moll 
 Davis, 1 the pretty girle that sang and danced so well 
 at the Duke's house, is dead. 
 
 March 7, 1666-67. Only little Mis. Davis did 
 dance a jig after the end of the play [The English 
 Princess] and there telling the next day's play; so 
 that it come in by force only to please the company to 
 
 1 Not to be confused with her younger sister, Elizabeth Daven- 
 port, the famous "Roxalana." Francis seems to have been 
 a minor member of the King's company. 
 
 1 Mary Davis, a popular actress of the Duke's company. 
 Downes (Roscius Anglwanus, pp. 23-24) says that she was very 
 pleasing in the part of "Celia" in D'Avenant's The Rivals 
 "especially in Singing several Wild and Mad Songs My Lodging 
 it is on the Cold Ground, &c. She perform'd so Charmingly that 
 not long after, it Rais'd her from her Bed on the Cold Ground, 
 to a Bed Royal." Soon afterward she was "by force of Love" 
 "crept the Stage." 
 
THE ACTRESSES 241 
 
 see her dance in boy's clothes ; and, the truth is, there 
 is no comparison between Nell's dancing the other 
 day at the King's house 2 in boy's clothes and this, this 
 being infinite^ beyond the other. 
 
 January 11, 1667-68. Knepp come and sat by us, 
 and her talk pleased me a little, she telling me how 
 Mis Davis is for certain going away from the Duke's 
 house, the King being in love with her. 
 
 January 14, 1667-68. She did sit near the players 
 of the Duke's house [at The Indian Emperor at 
 Court] ; among the rest Mis Davis, who is the most 
 impertinent slut, she says, in the world ; and the more, 
 now the King do show her countenance ; and is reck- 
 oned his mistress, even to the scorne of the whole 
 world ; the King gazing on her, and my Lady Castle- 
 maine being melancholy and out of humour, all the 
 play, not smiling once. The King, it seems, hath 
 given her a ring of 700, which she shews to every 
 body, and owns that the King did give it her; and he 
 hath furnished a house for her in Suffolke Street 
 most richly, which is a most infinite shame. It seems 
 she is a bastard of Colonell Howard, my Lord Berk- 
 shire; 3 . . . Pierce says that she is a most homely jade 
 as ever she saw, though she dances beyond any thing 
 in the world. 
 
 April 7, 1668. She [Knepp] tells me mighty news 
 that my Lady Castlemayne is mightily in love with 
 
 2 In The Maiden Queen on March 2, in which Nell Gwyn 
 played Florimel. 
 
 3 Another story was that she was the daughter of a Wiltshire 
 blacksmith. The truth of the matter is not known. * 
 
242 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 Hart of their house: . . . and by this means she is 
 even with the King's love to Mrs. Davis. 
 
 May 31, 1668. I hear that Mrs. Davis is quite gone 
 from the Duke of York's house. ... At the play 
 at Court the other night, Mrs. Davis was there; and 
 when she was come to dance her jigg, 4 the Queene 
 would not stay to see it, which people do think it was 
 out of displeasure at her being the King's whore. 
 
 December 21, 1668. It vexed me to see Moll 
 
 Davis, in a box 5 over the King's and my Lady Castle- 
 
 \ ^^inayne's head, look down upon the King and he up 
 
 to her, and so did my Lady Castlemayne once, to see 
 
 who it was, but when she saw, she looked fire. 
 
 January 21, 1668-69. Saw "The Tempest," but it 
 is but ill done by Gosnell, in lieu of Moll Davis. 6 
 
 February 15, 1668-69. Here in Suffolk Street lives 
 Moll Davis; and we did see her coach come for her, 
 a mighty pretty fine coach. 
 
 Gosnell, Mrs. 
 
 A 
 
 May 28, 1663. Who should we see come upon the 
 i jstage [in Hamlet] but Gosnell, 1 my wife's maid? but 
 
 4 Perhaps as Celania in The Rivals. 
 
 5 At the Duke's theatre, where Macbeth was being given. 
 
 6 Probably in the part of Miranda the cast is not given by 
 Downes. 
 
 1 Under the date of December 5, 1662, Pepys writes: "I find 
 Gosnell come, who, my wife tells me, is likely to prove a pretty 
 companion, . . . and who sings exceedingly well." She stayed, 
 however, only a few days in the Diarist's household. From 
 
THE ACTRESSES 243 
 
 neither spoke, danced nor sung; which I was sorry 
 for. But she becomes the stage very well. 
 
 May 29, 1663. To the Duke's house, and there saw 
 "The Slighted Mayde," wherein Gosnell acted Pyra- 
 mena, a great part, and did it very well, and I believe 
 will do it better and better, and prove a good actor. 
 
 September 10, 1664. Gosnell comes and sings and 
 dances finely [in The Rivals'] but, for all that, fell 
 out of the key. 
 
 May 31, 1668. I hear that Mrs. Davis is quite gone 
 from the Duke of York's house, and Gosnell comes in 
 her room which I am glad of. 
 
 July 28, 1668. To the Duke of York's playhouse, 
 and there saw "The Slighted Maid." . . . Here we 
 saw Gosnell, who is become very homely, and sings 
 meanly, I think, to what I thought she did. 
 
 January 21, 1668-69. Saw "The Tempest"; but 
 it is but ill done by Gosnell, in lieu of Moll Davis. 
 
 Gwyn, "Nell" 
 
 April 3, 1665. All the pleasure of the play 
 [Mustapha] was, the King and my Lady Castle- 
 mayne were there; and pretty witty Nell, 1 at the 
 
 Pepys's later accounts, "Gosnell" would seem to have become 
 one of the important actresses at the Duke's house, in fact, 
 a successor to Moll Davis. Wheatley says: "There does not 
 appear to be any record of Mrs. Gosnell as an actress outside 
 the Diary" (Pepys's Diary, III, 139n). 
 
 1 Ellen, or Eleanor, Gwyn (1650-51 to 1687), a much praised 
 comedienne of the King's company, and the most popular of 
 
244 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 King's house, and the younger Marshall sat next 
 us; which pleased me mightily. 
 
 December 8, 1666. And the women do very well 
 [in The English Monsieur] ; but, above all, little 
 Nelly. 2 
 
 January 23, 1666-67. Knipp took us all in, and 
 brought us to Nelly, a most pretty woman, who acted 
 the part of Coelia [in The Humourous Lieutenant} 
 to-day very fine, and did it pretty well: I kissed her, 
 and so did my wife; and a mighty pretty soul she is. 
 
 March 2, 1666-67. To the King's house to see 
 "The Mayden Queene," a new play of Dryden's . . . 
 and, the truth is, there is a comical part done by Nell, 
 which is Florimell, that I never can hope ever to see 
 the like done again, by man or woman. The King 
 and Duke of York were at the play. But so great a 
 performance of a comical part was never, I believe 
 in the world before as Nell do this, both as a mad 
 girle, then most and best of all when she comes in like 
 a young gallant; and hath the motions and carriage 
 of a spark the most that ever I saw any man have. It 
 makes me, I confess, admire her. 
 
 March 7, 1666-67. The truth is, there is no com- 
 parison between Nell's dancing the other day at the 
 King's house in boy's clothes and this, 3 this being 
 infinitely beyond the other. 
 
 Charles the Second's mistresses, made her first appearance on 
 the stage at about this time in the part of Cydaria in Dryden's 
 The Indian Emperor. 
 
 2 She played Lady Wealthy, the principal woman's part. 
 
 3 That is, between Nell Gwyn's dancing in The Maiden Queen 
 and Moll Davis's in The English Princess. 
 
THE ACTRESSES 245 
 
 March 25, 1667. So done by Nell, her merry part 
 [Florimell], as cannot be better done in nature I 
 think. 
 
 May 1, 1667. Saw pretty Nelly standing at her 
 lodgings' door in Drury-lane in her smock sleeves 
 and bodice, looking upon one: she seemed a mighty 
 pretty creature. 
 
 May 24, 1667. Saw "The Mayden Queene," which, 
 . . . yet pleases me infinitely, it being impossible, I 
 think, ever to have the Queen's part, which is very 
 good and passionate, and Florimel's part, which is the 
 most comicall that ever was made for woman, ever 
 done better than they two are by young Marshall and 
 Nelly. 
 
 July 13, 1667. [Mr. Pierce] tells us what troubles 
 me, that my Lord Buckhurst hath got Nell away 
 from the King's house, lies with her, and gives her 
 100 a year, so as she hath sent her parts to the house, 
 and will act no more. 
 
 July 14, 1667. To the King's Head [Epsom], 
 . . . and hear that my Lord Buckhurst and Nelly 
 are lodged at the next house and Sir Charles Sidly 
 with them: and keep a merry house. Poor girl! I 
 pity her; but more the loss of her at the King's house. 
 
 August 1, 1667. [Knepp] told us the story how 
 Nell is gone from the King's house and is kept by my 
 Lord Buckhurst. 
 
 August 22, 1667. To the King's playhouse, and 
 there saw "The Indian Emperour"; where I find Nell 
 come again, which I am glad of; but was most infi- 
 nitely displeased with her being put to act the Em- 
 
246 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 perour's daughter; which is a great and serious part 
 which she do most basely. 4 
 
 August 26, 1667. Sir W. Pen and I had a great 
 deal of discourse with Moll ; 5 who tells us that Nell is 
 already left by my Lord Buckhurst, and that he 
 makes sport of her ; swears she hath had all she could 
 get of him; and Hart, her great admirer, now hates 
 her ; and that she is very poor, and hath lost my Lady 
 Castlemayne, who was her great friend also: but she 
 is come to the House, but is neglected by them all. 
 
 October 5, 1667. To the women's shift, where Nell 
 was dressing herself, and was all unready, and is very 
 pretty, prettier than I thought. . . . But to see how 
 Nell 6 cursed, for having so few people in the pit, was 
 pretty. 
 
 October 26, 1667. Mrs. Pierce tells me ... that 
 Nelly and Beck Marshall, falling out the other day, 
 the latter called the other my Lord Buckhurst's 
 whore. Nell answered then, "I was but one man's 
 whore, though I was brought up in a bawdy-house 
 
 4 Successful as she was in light comedy, it seems to be the 
 general opinion in which Nell herself shared that she was a 
 failure in "serious parts"; witness the lines in the epilogue to 
 The Duke of Lerma, which she spoke, 
 
 . . . "I know you in your hearts, 
 
 Hate serious plays, as I hate serious parts"; 
 
 and also the following from the epilogue to Dryden's Tyrannic 
 Love, 
 
 "... I die 
 Out of my calling in a tragedy." 
 
 5 "Orange Moll/' head orange-woman at the King's theatre. 
 
 6 She had acted Flora in Flora's Vagaries. 
 
THE ACTRESSES 247 
 
 to fill strong waters to the guests ; and you are a whore 
 to three or four, though a Presbyter's praying daugh- 
 ter!" which was very pretty. 
 
 November 11, 1667. Above all things Nell's ill 
 speaking of a great part [in The Indian Emperor] 
 made me mad. 
 
 December 26, 1667. The actors not pleasing me 
 [in The Surprised] ; and especially Nell's acting of 
 a serious part, 7 which she spoils. 
 
 December 28, 1667. Nell's and Hart's mad parts 8 
 [in The Mad Couple] are most excellently done, but 
 especially her's: which makes it a miracle to me to 
 think how ill she do any serious part, as, the other 
 day, just like a fool or changeling; and, in a mad part, 
 do beyond all imitation almost. 
 
 January 11, 1667-68. [Knepp says] that the King 
 did send several times for Nelly, and she was with 
 him, but what he did she knows not ; this was a good 
 while ago . . . and I am sorry for it, and can hope 
 for no good to the State from having a Prince so 
 devoted to his pleasure. 
 
 February 20, 1667-68. Knepp and Nell spoke the 
 prologue [in The Duke of Lerma] most excellently. 
 
 May 7, 1668. I did see ... Nell, in her boy's 
 clothes, mighty pretty. But Lord! their confidence! 
 and how many men do hover about them as soon as 
 they come off the stage, and how confident they are in 
 their talk! 9 
 
 7 Samira. 
 
 8 Mirida was Nell's "mad part." 
 
 9 This was in the greenroom of the King's theatre, after a 
 performance of The Man's Master. 
 
248 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 January 7, 1668-69. We sat in an upper box [at 
 The Island Princess], and the jade Nell 10 come and 
 sat in the next box ; a bold merry slut, who lay laugh- 
 ing there upon people; and with a comrade of hers 
 of the Duke's house, that come in to see the play. 
 
 Knepp, M 
 
 V 
 
 December 6, 1665. Here the best company for 
 musique I ever was in, in my life, . . . Mrs. Pierce, 
 and my wife and Knipp, 1 who is pretty enough; but 
 the most excellent mad-humoured thing, and sings the 
 noblest that ever I heard in my life. 
 
 December 8, 1665. By water down to Greenwich, 
 and there found all my company come; that is, Mrs. 
 Knipp, and an ill, melancholy, jealous-looking fel- 
 low, her husband, that spoke not a word to us all the 
 night. . . . Most excellent musique we had in abund- 
 ance, and a good supper, dancing, and a pleasant 
 scene of Mrs. Knipp's rising sicke from table, but 
 whispered me it was for some hard word or other her 
 husband gave her just now when she laughed and 
 was more merry than ordinary. But we got her in 
 
 10 Nell left the stage soon after this, in 1670, her last part 
 being Almahide in Dryden's The Conquest of Granada. Her 
 son Charles, afterward made Duke of St. Albans, was born in 
 May of this year. 
 
 1 Mrs. Knepp (or Knipp) "probably made her debut on the 
 stage of the Theatre Royal as Epicene in Ben Jonson's 'Silent 
 Woman' on 1 June, 1664" (Dictionary of National Biography, 
 XXXI, 273). She disappears from the stage in 1678, and noth- 
 ing is known of her subsequent history. 
 
THE ACTRESSES 249 
 
 humour again, and mighty merry; spending the night, 
 till two in the morning, with most complete content 
 as ever in my life. 2 
 
 February 23, 1665-66. She [Knepp] also enter- 
 tained me with repeating many of her own and others' 
 parts of the play-house, which she do most excel- 
 lently; and tells me the whole practices of the play- 
 house and players. 
 
 December 27, 1666. Saw "The Scornfull Lady" 
 well acted; [Knipp] doing . . . the widow very well, 
 and will be an excellent actor, I think/ 
 
 January 2, 1666-67. Saw "The Custome of the 
 Country" . . . wherein Knipp does the Widow well ; 
 . . . sings a little song admirably. 
 
 January 15, 1666-67. To a play . . . where 
 Knipp acts Mrs. Weaver's great part in "The Indian 
 Emperour," and he [Lord Brouncker] says is coming 
 on to be a great actor. 
 
 January 23, 1666-67. Saw "The Humerous Lieu- 
 tenant": . . . and then Knipp's singing did please us. 
 
 January 24, 1666-67. Comes Mr. Harris of the 
 Duke's playhouse, and brings Mrs. Pierce with him 
 and also one dressed like a country mayde with a 
 straw hat on; which, at first, I could not tell who 
 it was, though I expected Knipp : but it was she com- 
 ing off the stage just as she acted this day in "The 
 Goblins"; ajnerrv jade. 
 
 February 5, 1666-67. A good play [The Chances] 
 
 2 The Diary abounds in accounts of similar social gatherings, 
 to which Mrs. Knepp was party, and also in brief references to 
 her private life, which will not be quoted except where they bear 
 upon stage history. 
 
250 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 I find it, and the actors most good in it ; and pretty to 
 hear Knipp sing in the play very properly, "All night 
 I weepe"; and sung it admirably. 
 
 February 12, 1666-67. [T. Killigrew] says that 
 Knipp is like to make the best actor that ever come 
 upon the stage, she understanding so well: that they 
 are going to give her 30 a year more. 
 
 May 22, 1667. Saw the last two acts of "The Gob- 
 lins," . . . but here 3 Knipp spied me out of the tiring- 
 room, and come to the pit door. 
 
 August 1, 1667. To see "The Custome of the 
 Country." . . . After the play, we went into the 
 house and spoke with Knepp. 
 
 August 17, 1667. I was pleased to see Knipp 
 dance [in Queen Elizabeth's Troubles'] among the 
 milkmaids and to hear her sing a song to Queen Eliza- 
 beth ; and to see her come out in her night-go wne with 
 no lockes on, but her bare face and hair only tied up 
 in a knot behind. 
 
 August 22, 1667. Saw "The Indian Emperour." 
 . . . Knipp sent by Moll to desire to speak to me 
 after the play; and she beckoned to me at the end of 
 the play. 
 
 September 9, 1667. [T. Killigrew] says that 
 Knepp wont take pains enough, but that she under- 
 stands her part so well upon the stage that no man or 
 woman in the house do the like. 
 
 September 14, 1667. Knipp acted in it [The 
 Northern Castle], and did her part very extraordi- 
 nary well. 
 
 3 At the King's theatre. 
 
THE ACTRESSES 251 
 
 October 5, 1667. Met with Knepp and she took 
 us up into the tireing-rooms [at the King's theatre] : 
 . . . here I read the questions to Knepp, while she 
 answered me, through all her part 4 of "Flora's 
 Figarys" which was acted to-day. . . . But, Lord! 
 to see how they were both painted. 5 
 
 February 20, 1667-68. Knepp and Nell spoke the 
 prologue most excellent^, especially Knepp [in The 
 Duke of Lerma] who spoke beyond any creature I 
 ever heard. 
 
 March 25, 1668. Knepp did act her part of grief 6 
 very well. 
 
 April 7, 1668. Saw "The English Monsieur"; 
 . . . the play done, I down to Knipp, and did stay 
 her undressing. 
 
 April 17, 1668. Saw "The Surprizall," where base 
 singing, only Knepp, who come, after her song in the 
 clouds, to me in the pit. 
 
 May 6, 1668. Saw "The Virgin Martyr," ... and 
 intended to have seen Knepp, but I let her alone. 
 
 May 16, 1668. Saw the best of "The Sea Voyage," 
 where Knepp I see do act her part of sorrow very 
 well. 
 
 June 3, 1668. Saw good part of "The Scornfull 
 Lady," and that done, would have taken Knepp out, 
 but she was engaged. 
 
 September 18, 1668. Saw a piece of "Henry the 
 Fourth" ; at the end of the play, thinking to have gone 
 
 4 Otrante. 
 
 5 Mrs. Knepp and Nell Gwyn. 
 
 6 Aminta in The Storm. 
 
252 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 abroad with Knepp, but it was too late, and she to get 
 her part against to-morrow, in "The Silent Woman." 7 
 
 September 19, 1668. Saw "The Silent Woman." 
 . . . Knepp did her part mighty well. 
 
 January 1, 1668-69. Saw "The Mayden Queene." 
 Knepp 8 looked upon us. 
 
 February 2, 1668-69. "The Heyresse" ... is 
 acted. . . . But that, that pleased me most in the 
 play is, the first song that Knepp sings, she singing 
 three or four; and, indeed, it was very finely sung, so 
 as to make the whole house clap her. 
 
 Marshall, Anne 
 
 February 12, 1660-61. To the Theatre and there 
 saw "The Scornfull Lady," 1 now done by a woman, 
 which makes the play appear much better than ever 
 it did to me. 
 
 February 1, 1663-64. The eldest Marshall 2 did do 
 
 7 Epicoene. 
 
 8 In this play Mrs. Knepp played the part of Asteria. 
 
 1 Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 6) mentions in the cast for 
 this play a "Mrs. Marshal" as having acted "the Lady"; this 
 may have been for a later performance. 
 
 2 Anne Marshall was, according to Genest (I, 379), "for many 
 years the principal actress in the King's company," and was 
 probably the more gifted of the two sisters, generally reported 
 to have been the daughters of Stephen Marshall, an eminent 
 Presbyterian minister. In regard to this story, Wheatley says 
 (Pepys's Diary, IV, 28 n.) : "Colonel Chester proved conclu- 
 sively that this was not the case." Anne Marshall's part in this 
 play was Zemboalla, the Queen. Downes does not usually dis- 
 
THE ACTRESSES 253 
 
 her part [in The Indian Queen] most excellently well 
 as I ever heard woman in my life; but her voice not 
 stf sweet as lanthe's. 
 
 October 26, 1667. Mrs. Pierce tells me that the 
 'two Marshalls at the King's house are Stephen Mar- 
 shall's, the great Presbyterian's daughters. 
 
 June 27, 1668. To the King's playhouse, and saw 
 "The Indian Queene," but do not doat upon Nan 
 Marshall's acting therein, as the world talks of her 
 excellence therein. 
 
 Marshall, Rebecca 
 
 April 3, 1665. Pretty witty Nell, at the King's 
 house, and the younger Marshall 1 sat next us ; which 
 pleased me mightily. 
 
 December 7, 1666. Saw the remainder of "The 
 Maid's Tragedy" ; a good play, and well acted espe- 
 cially by the younger Marshall, 2 who is become a 
 pretty good actor. 
 
 May 24,1667. Saw "The May den Queene," which, 
 though I have often seen yet pleases me infinitely, it 
 
 tinguish between the two sisters, and it is evident from Pepys 
 that several of the roles ascribed by Genest (I, pp. 379-380) to 
 the elder were created by the younger Marshall. 
 
 1 Rebecca Marshall, younger sister of Anne, wrongly said to 
 have been the daughter of Stephen Marshall, the Presbyterian 
 minister ; she was one of the most popular actresses of the King's 
 company. This was at a performance of Mustapha at the Duke's 
 theatre. 
 
 2 In the part of Evadne. 
 
254 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 being impossible, I think, ever to have the Queen's 
 part which is very good and passionate, 'and Flori- 
 mel's part, which is the most comicall that ever was 
 made for woman, ever done better than they two are 
 by young Marshall and Nelly. 
 
 August 24, 1667. Saw "The Cardinall" at the 
 King's house, wherewith I am mightily pleased; but, 
 above all, with Becke Marshall. 3 
 
 September 11, 1667. Sat by Becke Marshall [at 
 the Duke's theatre], who is very handsome near hand. 
 
 October 26, 1667. Mrs. Pierce tells me that the 
 two Marshalls at the King's house are Stephen Mar- 
 shall's, the great Presbyterian's daughters: 4 and that 
 Nelly and Beck Marshall, falling out the other day, 
 the latter called the other my Lord Buckhurst's 
 whore. Nell answered then, "I was but one man's 
 whore, though I was brought up in a bawdy-house to 
 fill strong waters to the guests ; and you are a whore 
 to three or four, though a Presbyter's praying daugh- 
 ter!" 
 
 January 24, 1667-68. [The Maiden Queen] is 
 certainly the best acted of anything ever the House 
 did, and particularly Becke Marshall, 5 to admiration. 
 
 February 27, 1667-68. It [The Virgin Martyr] 
 is finely acted by Becke Marshall. 6 
 
 3 Probably as the Duchess Rosaura. 
 
 4 See p. 252, n. 2. 
 
 5 As the Queen of Sicily. 
 
 6 Genest (I, 80) says: "No doubt she acted the Virgin Martyr" 
 that is, St. Dorothea. 
 
THE ACTRESSES 255 
 
 Norton, Mrs. 
 
 December 1, 1662\ To the Cockpitt, with much 
 crowding and waiting where I saw "The Valiant 
 Cidd," . . . there being no pleasure in it though done 
 by Betterton and lanthe, and another fine wench 
 that is come in the room of Roxalana. 1 
 
 December 27 3 1662. To the Duke's Theatre, and 
 saw the second part of "Rhodes," done with the new 
 Roxalana; which do it rather better in all respects 
 for person, voice, and judgment, than the first Roxa- 
 lana. 
 
 July 2, 1666. Called by Pegg Pen to her house, 
 where . . . Mrs. Norton, the second Roxalana, a fine 
 woman, indifferent handsome, good body and hand, 
 and good mine, and pretends to sing, but do it not 
 excellently. 
 
 "Roxalana" (Elizabeth Davenport) 
 
 February 18, 1661-62. A good play and well per- 
 formed [The Law against Lovers], especially the 
 little girl's (whom I never saw before) dancing and 
 singing ; and were it not for her the loss of Roxalana 1 
 would spoil the house. 
 
 1 Mrs. Norton was probably one of the lesser actresses of the 
 Duke's company; her name rarely appears in Downes's casts. 
 
 1 Elizabeth Davenport (1642-?) one of the principal actresses 
 of the Duke's company, was so called from the part she created 
 in The Siege of Rhodes. 
 
256 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 April 2, 1662. Saw "The Bondman" most excel- 
 lently acted ; and though we had seen it so often, yet I 
 never liked it better than to-day, lanthe 2 acting 
 Cleora's part very well now Roxalana is gone. 
 
 May 20, 1662. Saw the 2nd part of "The Siege of 
 Rhodes," but it is not so well done as when Roxalana 
 was there, who it is said, is now owned by my Lord 
 of Oxford. 3 
 
 December 1, 1662. Saw "The Valiant Cidd," . . . 
 done by Betterton and lanthe, and another fine wench 
 that is come in the room of Roxalana. 
 
 December 27, 1662. Saw the second part of 
 "Rhodes," done with the new Roxalana; which do it 
 rather better in all respects for person, voice, and 
 judgment, than the first Roxalana. 
 
 January 1 3 1662-63. Here [at the Duke's theatre] 
 we saw the old Roxalana in the chief box, in a velvet 
 gown, as the fashion is, and very handsome, at which 
 I was glad. 
 
 2 Mrs. Betterton. 
 
 , 3 The story is told in the Memoirs of the Count de Gramont 
 (Vizetelly ed., II, 101). Evelyn refers to it in the following 
 entry for January 9, 1661-62: "I saw acted 'The Third [sic] 
 Part of the Siege of Rhodes.' In this acted ye faire and famous 
 comedian call'd Roxalana from ye part she perform'd, and I 
 think it was the last, she being taken to be the Earle of Oxford's 
 Misse (as at this time they began to call lewd women)" (Diary, 
 Wheatley ed., II, 141). This actress, whom Gramont called 
 "very virtuous and very modest," left the stage soon afterwards 
 as Pepys's reference of February 18, 1661-62, attests to be 
 enticed into a mock marriage with Aubrey de Vere, Earl of 
 Oxford. 
 
THE ACTRESSES 257 
 
 Weaver, Mrs. 
 
 January 15, 1666-67. My Lord Bruncker would 
 have made me promise to go with him to a play this 
 afternoon, where Knipp acts Mrs. Weaver's 1 great 
 part in "The Indian Emperour." 
 
 January 11, 1667-68. She [Knepp] says that the 
 King first spoiled Mrs. Weaver, which is very mean, 
 methinks, in a prince, and I am sorry for it. 
 
 General References to Women on the Stage 
 
 January 3, 1660-61. Here the first time that ever 
 I saw women come upon the stage. 1 
 
 January 8 3 1660-61. To ... "The Widdow" an 
 indifferent good play, but wronged by the women 
 being to seek in their parts. 
 
 1 Mrs. Weaver was evidently one of the lesser actresses of 
 the King's company. 
 
 1 In The Beggar's Bush at the King's theatre, Vere Street. 
 This was not the first time that actresses had appeared on the 
 English stage. In 1629 a French company in which there were 
 women (denounced as "monsters" by Prynne in his Histrio- 
 mastrix, 1633), played at Blackfriars, the Red Bull, and the 
 Fortune theatres; and before the Restoration a few English 
 women are mentioned as having acted. Lady Strangelove in 
 R. Brome's Court Beggar (1632), Act V, Sc. 2, says: "Women- 
 Actors now grow in request." In 1656 Mrs. Coleman, wife of 
 Edward Coleman, was lanthe in D'Avenant's Siege of Rhodes; 
 and on November 5, 1660, in his Articles of Agreement with 
 the actors of his company, D'Avenant had definitely arranged 
 for the maintenance of actresses at his theatre. But Killigrew 
 seems to have anticipated him in bringing professional actresses 
 on the stage. The woman who played the part of Desdemona 
 with Killigrew's company, December 8, 1660, has been called, 
 
258 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 February 12, 1660-61. Saw "The Scornful! Lady" 
 now 'done by a woman which makes the play appear 
 much better than ever it did to me. 2 
 
 'October 28, 1661. To the Theatre . . . where a 
 woman 3 acted Parthenia, and came afterwards on the 
 stage in men's clothes, and had the best legs that ever 
 
 .. October 4, 1664. To-morrow they told us should 
 be acted, or the day after, a new play, called "The 
 Parson's Dreame" acted all by women. 4 
 ' October 11, 1664. He [Luellin] tells me what a 
 bawdy loose play this "Parson's Wedding" is, that is 
 acted by nothing but women at the King's house, and 
 I am glad of it. 
 
 the "first English actress." Her name remains unknown, though 
 the quaint "Prologue to introduce the first woman that came to 
 act on the stage" has been preserved. The speaker thus pre- 
 pares the audience: 
 
 "I come unknown to any of the rest, 
 To tell you news ; I saw the lady drest ; 
 The woman plays to-day: mistake me not 
 No man in gown, or page in petticoat. ..." 
 (Cf. Malone's Shakspeare, 1821 ed., Ill, 128.) 
 
 It was therefore only about a month after their formal intro- 
 duction that Pepys records seeing women on the stage. 
 
 2 Downes states (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 6) that the following 
 women appeared in this play, probably at a later date: Mrs. 
 [Anne] Marshall ("The Lady"), Mrs. Rutter ("Martha"), and 
 Mrs. Corey ("Abigail"). This performance was at the Salisbury 
 Court theatre. 
 
 3 It is not known what women acted in Ar gains and Parthenia. 
 
 4 This was, of course, done to heighten the effect of grossness 
 and obscenity, which in this comedy certainly needed no empha- 
 sis. The practice of having plays entirely acted by women is 
 

 THE ACTRESSES 259 
 
 
 
 October 5, 1667. To the King's house, and there, 
 going in, met with Knepp, and she took us up into 
 the tireing-rooms : 5 and to the women's shift, where 
 Nell was dressing herself. . . . And so walked all up 
 and down the house above, and then below into the 
 scene-room, and there sat down, and she gave us 
 fruit. . . . But, Lord! to see how they were both 
 painted would make a man mad, and did make me 
 loath them; and what base company of men comes 
 among them, and how lewdly they talk! . . . But to 
 see how Nell cursed, for having so few people in the 
 pit, was pretty ; the other house carrying away all the 
 people at the new play [The Coffee House] and is 
 said now-a-days, to have generally most company, as 
 being better players. By and by into the pit. 
 
 September 28, 1668. Knepp's maid comes to me, 
 to tell me that the women's day at the playhouse is 
 to-day. . . . There saw "The City Match." 
 
 thus defended in an epilogue to Dryden's Secret Love, tfr The 
 
 Maiden Queen, spoken by "Mrs. Reeve in man's clothes":. 
 
 f 
 
 "What think you, sirs, was't not all well enough? 
 Will you not grant that we can strutt and huff? 
 Why should not then we women act alone? 
 Or whence are men so necessary grown ?'\ 
 
 (Cf. The Works of John Dryden, Scott-Saintsbury ed., II, 510.) 
 5 In April, 1667, as a result of a quarrel between Rebecca 
 Marshall and Sir Hugh Middleton described by Dr. Doran in 
 his Annals of the English Stage (Lowe's ed., I, 262-263), "A 
 royal decree was issued," which prohibited gentlemen from 
 entering the "tiring rooms of the ladies of the King's theatre" 
 to what avail may be judged from. this entry for October of the 
 same year ! 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 THE PLAYWRIGHTS 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 THE PLAYWRIGHTS 
 
 Brome, Alexander 
 
 April 10, 1663. To the Royall Oak Tavern in 
 Lumbard Street, where Alexander Broome 1 the poet 
 was, a merry and witty man, I believe if he be not a 
 little conceited. 
 
 July 3, 1666. Alexander Broome, the great song- 
 maker is lately dead. 
 
 Cowley, Abraham f^*** 
 
 November 18, 1663. Walked home again reading 
 of a little book of new poems of Cowley's, 1 given me 
 by his brother. Abraham do lie, it seems, very sicke 
 still, but like to recover. 
 
 August 10, 1667. Cowley, he [Herringman] tells 
 me, is dead, 2 who, it seems, was a mighty civil, serious 
 man ; which I did not know before. 
 
 1 Alexander Brome (1620-1666) was the author of one play, 
 The Cunning Lovers (1639), besides many songs and epigrams. 
 
 1 Abraham Cowley (1618-1667), the poet, was the author of 
 Cutter of Coleman Street, and several minor plays. 
 
 2 Compare Evelyn's entry for August 1, 1667: "I receiv'd the 
 sad newes of Abraham Cowley's death, that incomparable poet 
 
264 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 August 12, 1667. Do hear Mr. Cowley mightily 
 lamented his death, by Dr. Ward, the Bishop of 
 Winchester, and Dr. Bates, who were standing there 
 [at Herringman's] as the best poet of our nation, 
 and as a good man. v 
 
 D'Avenant, Sir William 
 
 July 22, 1663. At Wotton's, the shoemaker's, who 
 tells me the reason of Harris's going from Sir Wm. 
 Davenant's 1 house, that he grew very proud and 
 demanded 20 for himself extraordinary, . . . upon 
 every new play and <lO upon every revive; which 
 with other things Sir W. Davenant would not give 
 him, and so he swore he would never act there more, 
 in expectation of being received at the other House; 
 but the King will not suffer it, upon Sir W. Dave- 
 nant's desire that he would not, for then he might 
 shut up house, and that is true. 
 
 and virtuous man, my very deare friend, and was greately de- 
 plored" (Diary, Wheatley ed., II, 222). Evelyn further records 
 that on August 3, he "went to Mr. Cowley's funerall, whose 
 corps lay at Wallingford House, and was there conveyed to 
 Westminster Abbey in a hearse with 6 horses and all funeral 
 decency, neere an hundred coaches of noblemen and persons of 
 qualitie following; among these all the witts of the towne, divers 
 bishops and cleargymen. He was interr'd next Geoffry Chaucer 
 and neere to Spenser" (Ibid.). 
 
 1 Sir William D'Avenant (1605-1668), poet, dramatist, and 
 patentee of the Duke of York's company after 1660, had paved 
 the way for the reinstatement of the theatre towards the close 
 of the Interregnum by operatic productions as early as 1656. 
 
THE PLAYWRIGHTS 265 
 
 \ 
 
 February 13, 1666-67. Captain Cooke, 2 had the 
 arrogance to say that he was fain to direct Sir W. 
 Davenant in the breaking of his verses into such and 
 such lengths, according as would be fit for musick, 
 and how he used to swear at Davenant, and command 
 him that way, when W. Davenant would be angry, 
 
 <and find fault with this or that note but a vain 
 coxcomb I perceive he is. 
 
 . April 7, 1668. Here I hear that Sir W. Davenant 
 is just now dead; 3 and so who will succeed him in the 
 
 ^mastership of the house is not yet known. 
 
 April 9 f 1668. Up and down to the Duke of 
 
 y York's playhouse, 4 there to see, which I did, Sir W. 
 Davenant's corpse carried out towards Westminster, 
 there to be buried. 
 
 Dryden, John 
 
 February 3, 1663-64. In Covent Garden to-night, 
 ... I stopped at the great Coffee-house 1 there, 
 
 2 Henry Cooke, a well-known musician and composer, made 
 Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal. He probably 
 refers to D'Avenant's "opera/' The Siege of Rhodes. 
 
 3 Sir William D'Avenant was "Bury'd," according to Downes 
 (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 30), "in Westminster- Abbey, near Mr. 
 Chaucer's Monument, Our whole Company attending his 
 Funeral." Pepys heard the news at the King's theatre, where 
 The English Monsieur had been played. 
 
 4 D'Avenant's house adjoined the theatre. 
 
 1 "The Rose," afterwards "Will's" at the corner of Bow and 
 Russell streets. 
 
266 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 where I never was before; where Dryden 2 the poet 
 (I knew at Cambridge) , and all the wits of the town, 
 . . . there, I perceive, is very witty and pleasant dis- 
 course. 
 
 February 2, 1666-67. I am very well pleased this 
 night with reading a poem 3 I brought home with me 
 last night from Westminster Hall, of Dryden's upon 
 the present war; a very good poem. 
 
 July 29, 1667. Tom Porter went out, and meeting 
 Dryden the poet, told him of the business,* . . . and 
 desired Dryden to let him have his boy to bring him 
 notice which way Sir H. Bellasses goes. 
 
 September 20, 1668. Having since church heard 
 the boy read over Dryden's Reply to Sir R. Howard's 
 Answer, 5 about his Essay of Poesy, and a letter 6 in 
 answer to that; the last whereof is mighty silly, in 
 behalf of Howard. 
 
 2 John Dryden (1631-1700), poet and critic and dramatist, 
 took his B. A. degree at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1654. 
 
 3 Annus Mirabilis; the Year of Wonders, 1666, an Historical 
 Poem. 
 
 4 His impending duel with H. Bellasses. 
 
 5 Dryden's reply to "Sir R. Howard's Answer" (the preface 
 to The Duke of Lerma) was a Defence of an Essay of Dramatic 
 Poesy (1668). 
 
 6 For a discussion of the letter probably referred to here, 
 printed by Thomas Newcomb, 1668, and signed R. F. (Richard 
 Flecknoe (?)), see an article by Peter Cunningham in The 
 Gentleman's Magazine for December, 1850, Vol. XXXIV, pp. 
 597-599. 
 
THE PLAYWRIGHTS 267 
 
 Howard, Edward 
 
 April 20, 1667. [Mr. Rolt tells me] that Lacy 
 had been committed to the porter's lodge for his 
 acting his part in the late new play, and that being 
 thence released he come to the King's house, there 
 met with Ned Howard, 1 the poet of the play, 2 who 
 congratulated his release; upon which Lacy cursed 
 him as that it was the fault of his nonsensical play 
 that was the cause of his ill usage. Mr. Howard did 
 give him some reply; to which Lacy [answered] him, 
 that he was more a fool than a poet, upon which 
 Howard did give him a blow on the face with his 
 glove; on which Lacy, having a cane in his hand, did 
 give him a blow over the pate. Here Rolt and others 
 that discoursed of it in the pit this afternoon did 
 wonder that Howard did not run him through, he 
 being too mean a fellow to fight with. But Howard 
 did not do anything but complain to the King of it; 
 so the whole house is silenced, and the gentry seem to 
 rejoice much at it, the house being become too 
 ' insolent. 
 
 1 Edward Howard (1624?-1669?), brother of Sir Robert 
 Howard, was the author of several plays. "Lacy's opinion of 
 his abilities was shared by many of his contemporaries," says 
 Wheatley (Pepys's Diary, VI, 258 n). 
 
 2 The Change of Crowns. 
 
268 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 Howard, Sir Robert 
 
 December 8, 1666. Sir Robert Howard, 1 who is 
 one of the King's servants, at least hath a great office, 
 and hath got, they say, 20,000 since the King come 
 in. 
 
 May 5, 1668. By Sir Positive At-all, I under- 
 stand, is meant Sir Robert Howard. 2 
 
 May 8, 1668. But, Lord! to see how this play of 
 Sir Positive At-all in abuse of Sir Robert Howard, 
 do take, all the Duke's and every body's talk being of 
 that, and telling more stories of him, of the like 
 nature, that it is now the town and country talk, and, 
 they say, is most exactly true. The Duke of York 
 himself said that of his playing at trap-ball is 
 true, and told several other stories of him. 
 
 September 20, 1668. Heard the boy read over 
 Dryden's Reply to Sir R. Howard's Answer, 3 about 
 his Essay of Poesy, and a letter in answer to that; 
 the last whereof is mighty silly, in behalf of Howard. 
 
 1 Sir Robert Howard (1626-1698) was prominent both as a 
 politician and a playwright at Charles II's court. He was 
 Auditor of the Exchequer. 
 
 2 Evelyn has this entry for February 16, 1685: "I din'd at 
 Sr Robt Howard's, Auditor of the Exchequer, a gentleman pre- 
 tending to all manner of arts and sciences, for which he had ben 
 the subject of comedy, under the name of Sir Positive; not ill^ 
 natur'd, but insufferably boasting" (Diary, Wheatley ed., II, 
 450). Sir Positive At-all is a character in Shadwell's The 
 Sullen Lovers, or The Impertinents. 
 
 3 In his preface to The Duke of Lerma, 1668. "Dryden's 
 Reply" was a Defense of an Essay of Dramatic Poesy (1668). 
 
THE PLAYWRIGHTS 269 
 
 Killigrew, Thomas 
 
 May 24, 1660. Walking upon the decks, 1 where 
 persons of honour all the afternoon, among others, 
 Thomas Killigrew 2 (a merry droll, but a gentleman 
 of great esteem with the King), who told us many 
 merry stories. 
 
 October 30, 1662. Thos. Killigrew's way of get- 
 ting to see plays when he was a boy. He would go 
 to the Red Bull, and when the man cried to the boys, 
 "Who will go and be a devil, and he shall see the play 
 -for nothing?" then would he go in, and be a devil 
 upon the stage, and so get to see plays. 
 
 February 12, 1666-67. Here [at -Lord Brounck- 
 er's house] we met Tom Killigrew. . . . T. Killi- 
 grew and I to talk : and he tells me how the audience 
 at his house is not above half so much as it used to 
 be before the late fire. . . . That the stage is now 
 by his pains a thousand times better and more glori- 
 1 ous than ever heretofore. . . . He tells me that he 
 hath gone several times, eight or ten times, he tells 
 me, hence to Rome to hear good musique; so much 
 he loves it, though he never did sing or play a note. 
 i September 9, 1667. I fell in talk with Tom Killi- 
 grew about musick. 
 
 February 13, 1667-68. Tom Killigrew hath a fee 
 
 1 Of The Naseby, later The Charles, on its return voyage from 
 Holland, on which it was bringing over the King. 
 
 2 Thomas Killigrew (1612-1683), dramatist and, as Pepys 
 attests, court fool to Charles II, had followed the fortune of 
 his royal patron in exile; he became in 1660 patentee of the 
 King's theatre. 
 
270 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 out of the Wardrobe for cap and bells, under the title 
 of the King's Foole or Jester; and may with privilege 
 revile or jeere any body, the greatest person, without 
 offence, by the privilege of his place. 
 
 July 6, 1668. Hear many pretty stories of ... 
 Tom Killigrew, in his being bred in Ram Ally. 
 
 January 24, 1668-69. I to talk with Tom Killi- 
 grew, who told me and others, talking about the play- 
 house, that he is fain to keep a woman on purpose at 
 205. a week to satisfy 8 or 10 of the young men of 
 his house. 
 
 March 6, 1668-69. He [Sir W. Coventry] told 
 me the matter of the play that was intended for his 
 abuse. 3 . . . But that, that he is offended with, is his 
 being made so contemptible, as that any should dare 
 to make a gentleman a subject for the mirth of the 
 world : and that therefore he had told Tom Killigrew 
 that he should tell his actors, whoever they were, that 
 did offer at anything like representing him -that he 
 would not complain to my Lord Chamberlain, which 
 was too weak, nor get him beaten, as Sir Charles Sed- 
 ley is said to have done; but that he would cause his 
 nose to be cut. 
 
 3 Wheatley says (Pepys's Diary, IX, pp. 164-165): "He was 
 informed that the Duke of Buckingham and Sir R. Howard were 
 contemplating a caricature of him on the stage, so he at once 
 sent a challenge to the duke, with the result that he found himself 
 in the Tower." 
 
THE PLAYWRIGHTS 271 
 
 Sedley, Sir Charles 
 
 October 4, 1664. I happened to sit near to Sir 
 Charles Sidly; 1 who I find a very witty man, and he 
 did at every line take notice of the dullness of the poet 
 and badness of the action, that most pertinently; 
 which I was mightily taken with; and among others 
 where by Altemire's command Clarimont, the Gen- 
 erall, is commanded to rescue his Rivall, whom she 
 loved, Lucidor, he, after a great deal of demurre, 
 broke out, "Well, I'll save my Rivall and make her 
 confess, that I deserve, while he do but possesse." 
 "Why, what, pox," says Sir Charles Sydly, "would 
 he have him have more, or what is there more to be 
 had of a woman than the possessing her?" 
 
 February 18, 1666-67. To the King's house, to 
 "The Mayd's Tragedy"; but vexed all the while with 
 two talking ladies and Sir Charles Sedley; yet pleased 
 to hear their discourse he being a stranger. And one 
 of the ladies would, and did sit with her mask on, all 
 the play. . . . He was mighty witty. . . . But by 
 that means lost the pleasure of the play wholly, to 
 which now and then Sir Charles Sedley's exceptions 
 against both words and pronouncing were very 
 pretty. 
 
 July 14, 1667. Hear that my Lord Buckhurst and 
 
 x Sir Charles Sedley (1639P-1701) enjoyed a threefold repu- 
 tation in his own day as wit, rake, and playwright. This 
 account of his conversation at a performance of The Generall at 
 the King's theatre is typical of the man, and also of the attitude 
 of his contemporaries towards him. 
 
 
272 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 Nelly [Gwyn] are lodged at the next house, 2 and Sir 
 Charles Sidly with them: and keep a merry house. 
 
 February 6, 1667-68. There 3 I found him [the 
 Duke of Buckingham] with my Lord Buckhurst, and 
 Sidly, and Etherige, the poet. 
 
 February 1, 1668-69. To the King's playhouse, 
 thinking to have seen "The Heyresse," first acted on 
 Saturday last; but when we come thither, we find no 
 play there; Kinaston 4 that did act a part therein, in 
 abuse to Sir Charles Sedley, being last night exceed- 
 ingly beaten with sticks, by two or three that 
 ' assaulted him. 
 
 February 9, 1668-69. We find Kinaston to be well 
 ^enough to act again, . . . after his beating by Sir 
 Charles Sedley 's appointment. 
 
 Shadwell, Thomas 
 
 September 19, 1668. To the King's playhouse, and 
 there saw "The Silent Woman" ; . . . and sitting by 
 Shadwell the poet, 1 he was big with admiration of it. 
 
 2 This was at Epsom, where Pepys was staying at the King's 
 Head inn. 
 
 3 In the pit at the Duke's theatre for the premiere of She 
 Would if She Could. 
 
 4 Edward Kynaston. 
 
 1 Thomas Shadwell (1642.M692), the poet, was also the 
 author of comedies of contemporary life ; among them is A True 
 Widow (1679), the fourth act of which is laid in a theatre and 
 gives a lively picture of the inside of a Restoration playhouse. 
 
THE PLAYWRIGHTS 273 
 
 April 16, 1669. But here I did meet with Shad- 
 well, the poet, who, to my great wonder, do tell me 
 that my Lord of [Orrery] did write this play. 2 . . . 
 This do trouble me, for it is a mean thing, and so he 
 says. 
 
 2 Guzman. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 THE AUDIENCES 
 
CHAPTER X 
 THE AUDIENCES 
 
 Dress 
 
 May 8, 1663. The play 1 being done, we home by 
 water, having been a little ashamed tiiat iy wife and 
 woman were in such a pickle, all the ladies being finer 
 and better dressed in the pitt than they used, I think, 
 to be. 
 
 June 12, 1663. Here 2 I saw my Lord Falcon- 
 bridge, and his Lady, my Lady Mary Cromwell, who 
 looks as well as I have known her, and well clad ; but 
 when the House began to fill she put on her vizard, 3 
 and so kept it on all the play ; which of late is become 
 a great fashion among the ladies, which hides their 
 whole face. So to the Exchange, to buy things with 
 my wife ; among others, a vizard for herself. 
 
 1 The Humourous Lieutenant at the new Theatre Royal in 
 Drury Lane. 
 
 2 At the King's theatre. 
 
 3 This fashion had unfortunate consequences ; witness the 
 following reference in James Wright's Historia Histrionica, 
 1699, (in Dodsley's Old English Plays, Hazlitt ed., XV, 409): 
 "Whereas of late the Play-houses are so extreamely pestered with 
 Vizard-masks and their Trade (occasioning continual Quarrels 
 and Abuses) that many . . . shun the Theater as they would a 
 House of Scandal. 
 
\ 
 
 278 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 '-February 18, 1666-67. And one of the ladies would 
 and did sit with her mask on, all the play, and, being 
 exceedingly witty as ever I heard a woman, did talk 
 most pleasantly with him [Sir Charles Sedley], 
 
 December 12, 1667. To the Duke of York's house, 
 and saw "The Tempest." . . . Here I saw a French 
 lady in the pit, with a tunique, just like one of ours, 
 only a handkercher about her neck; but this fashion 
 for a woman did not look decent. 
 
 Prominent Spectators \^^~ 
 
 April 20, 1661. To the Cockpitt [Whitehall], 
 and there by the favour of one Mr. Bowman, he 
 and I got in and there saw the King and the Duke of 
 York and his Duchess (which is a plain woman, and 
 like her mother, my Lady Chancellor). And so saw 
 "The Humersome Lieutenant" acted before the 
 King, but not very well done. But my pleasure was 
 great to see the manner of it, and so many great beau- 
 ties, but above all Mrs. Palmer, 1 with whom the King 
 do discover a great deal of familiarity. 
 
 August 17, 1661. The Queen of Bohemia 2 was 
 here brought by my Lord Craven. 
 
 1 Barbara Villiers (1640-1709), who married Roger Palmer in 
 1659. The latter was created Earl of Castlemaine in 1661. His 
 wife, mistress of Charles II, later bore the titles of Baroness 
 Nonsuch, Countess of Southampton, and Duchess of Cleveland. 
 
 2 At the Duke's playhouse. She was Elizabeth, daughter of 
 James I, widow of Frederic, Elector Palatine. 
 
THE AUDIENCES 279 
 
 November 17, 1662. At Whitehall by appoint- 
 ment, Mr. Creed carried my wife and I to the Cock- 
 pitt, and we had excellent places, and saw the King, 
 Queen, 3 Duke of Monmouth, 4 his son, and my Lady 
 Castlemaine, and all the fine ladies. 
 
 February 12, 1666-67. This done, T. Killigrew 
 and I to talk, and he tells me how the audience at his 
 house is not above half so much as it used to be be- 
 fore the late fire. 5 . . . Then, the Queen seldom and 
 the King never would come ; now, not the King only 
 for state, but all civil people do think they may come 
 as well as any . . . He tells ,me plainly that the City 
 audience was as good as the Court, but now they are 
 most gone. 
 
 July 22, 1667. Creed tells me of the fray between 
 .the Duke of Buckingham at the Duke's playhouse 
 the last Saturday . . . and Henry Killigrew, whom 
 the Duke of Buckingham did soundly beat and take 
 ^away his sword, and make a fool of, till the fellow 
 prayed him to spare his life. 
 
 August 12, 1667. Here 6 was many fine ladies 
 among others, the German Baron, with his lady, who 
 is envoye from the Emperour, and their fine daughter. 
 
 February 6, 1667-68. I to the Duke of York's 
 playhouse ; where a new play of Etherige's, called 
 
 3 Katherine of Braganza (1638-1705), who had married 
 Charles II, May 21, 1662. 
 
 4 James Crofts (1649-1685), son of Charles II by Lucy 
 Waters, created Duke of Monmouth February 4, 1662-1663, 
 and Duke of Buccleuch in 1673. 
 
 5 The great fire of 1666. 
 
 6 At the King's theatre where Brennoralt was being given. 
 
280 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 "She Would if She Could." ... The King was 
 there. . . . And among the rest, here was the Duke of 
 Buckingham to-day openly sat in the pit; and there 
 I found him 7 with my Lord Buckhurst, and Sidly, 
 and Etherige, the poet. 
 
 December 21, 1668. Thence to the Duke's play- 
 house, and saw "Macbeth." The King and Court 
 there; and we sat just under them and my Lady 
 Castlemayne, and close to the woman that comes into 
 the pit a kind of loose gossip, that pretends to be like 
 her, and is so, something. . . . The King and Duke 
 of York minded me, and smiled upon me, at the hand- 
 some woman near me: but it vexed me to see Moll 
 Davis, 8 in the box over the King's and my Lady 
 Castlemayne's head, look down upon the King, and 
 he up to her; and so did my lady Castlemayne once, 
 to see who it was, but when she saw her, she looked 
 fire. 
 
 Manners 
 
 January 28, 1660-61. And here 1 I sitting behind in 
 a dark place, a lady spit backward upon me by a 
 
 7 George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham who had been 
 recently accused of high treason Charles Sackville (Lord Buck- 
 hurst) Sir Charles Sedley, and Sir George Etherege, the drama- 
 tist. 
 
 8 Mary Davis, the actress who had left the Duke's company 
 to become mistress to the King. 
 
 1 At the King's theatre during a performance of The Lost 
 Lady. 
 
THE AUDIENCES 281 
 
 mistake, 2 not seeing me, but after seeing her to be a 
 very pretty lady, I was not troubled at it at all. 
 
 October 2, 1662. Into one of the boxes next the 
 King's, 3 but so as I could not see the King or Queene, 
 but many of the fine ladies, who yet are really not so 
 handsome generally as I used to take them to be, but 
 that they are finely dressed. . . . The company that 
 came in with me into the box, were all Frenchmen 
 that could speak no English, but Lord! what sport 
 they made to ask a pretty lady that they got among 
 them that understood both French and English to 
 make her tell them what the actors said. 
 
 January 5, 1662-63. To the Cockpitt [Whitehall], 
 where we saw "Claracilla." . . . (Neither the King 
 nor Queen were there, but only the Duke and 
 Duchess, who did show some impertinent and, me- 
 thought, unnatural dalliances there, before the whole 
 w r orld, such as kissing, and leaning upon one 
 another. ) 
 
 February 18, 1666-67. To the King's house to 
 "The Mayd's Tragedy"; but vexed all the while with 
 two talking ladies and Sir Charles Sedley, yet pleased 
 to hear their discourse, he being a stranger. And one 
 of the ladies would and did sit with her mask on, all 
 the play, and, being exceedingly witty as ever I heard 
 woman, did talk most pleasantly with him; but was, 
 
 2 For further information on the manners and customs in the 
 Restoration theatre, see Doran's Annals of the English Stage, 
 Lowe ed., Vol. I, Chapter XII (Audiences of the Seventeenth 
 Century). 
 
 3 At The Cardinal at the Cockpit. 
 
282 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 I believe, a virtuous woman, and of quality. He 
 would fain know who she was, but she would not tell ; 
 yet did give him many pleasant hints of her knowl- 
 edge of him, by that means setting his brains at work 
 to find out who she was, and did give him leave to 
 use all means to find out who she was but pulling 
 off her mask. He was mighty witty, and she also 
 making sport of him very inoffensively, that a more 
 pleasant recontre I never heard. By that means lost 
 the pleasure of the play wholly, to which now anoV 
 then Sir Charles Sedley's exceptions against both 
 words and pronouncing were very pretty. 
 
 August 12, 1667. All alone to the King's play- 
 house, and there did happen to sit just before Mrs. 
 Pierce, and Mrs. Knepp, who pulled me by the hair; 
 nd so I addressed myself to them, and talked to them 
 all the intervals of the play, and did give them fruit. 
 
 February 6, 1667-68. I to the Duke of York's 
 playhouse; where a new play of Etherige's called 
 "She Would if she Could," and though I was there 
 by two o'clock, there was 1000 people put back that 
 could not have room in the pit. . . . The play being 
 done, I into the pit to look [for] my wife, and it being 
 dark and raining, I to look my wife out but could not 
 find her; and so staid going between the two doors 
 and through the pit an hour and a half, I think, afte^ 
 the play was done; the people staying there till th 
 rain was over, and to talk with one another. 
 
 tne 
 
 ' 
 
THE AUDIENCES 283 
 
 Refreshments 
 
 ^ March 26, 1668. And there 1 I sat it costing me 
 8$. upon them in oranges at 6d. 2 a-piece. 
 * April 15, 1668. Saw "The Maid's Tragedy," 3 a 
 good play . . . play and oranges 2s.6d. 
 
 April 14, 1668. To a play, "Love's Cruelty." . . . 
 Play part 2*. Oranges Is. 
 
 April 17, 1668. Knepp . . . come after her song 
 in the clouds 4 to me in the pit, and there oranges 2s. 
 
 May 11, 1668. But there 5 happened one thing 
 
 which vexed me, which is, that the orange-woman did 
 
 come in the pit, and challenge me for twelve oranges, 
 
 which she delivered by my order at a late play, at 
 
 night, to give to some ladies in a box, which was 
 
 ^ wholly untrue, but yet she swore it to be true. But, 
 
 A however, I did deny it, and did not pay her; but for 
 
 quiet did buy 4s. worth of oranges of her, at 6d. 
 
 a-piece. 
 
 1 At the King's theatre. 
 
 2 This was the usual price of oranges as instanced in this line 
 from the prologue to Aphra Behn's Young King (1698): 
 
 "Half-Crown my Play, Sixpence my Orange Cost." 
 
 3 At the King's theatre. 
 
 4 In The Surprisal. 
 
 5 At the Duke's theatre. The following statement is cited by 
 P. Cunningham (The Story of Nell Gwyn, Wheatley ed., pp. 22- 
 23) from The Young Gallant's Academy (1674): "The next 
 step is to give a turn to the China orange wench, and give her 
 her own rate for her oranges (for 'tis below a gentleman to stand 
 haggling like a citizen's wife), and then to present the fairest 
 to the next vizard-mask." 
 
284 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 Orange Moll 
 
 August 29, 1666. Found Sir W. Pen talking to 
 Orange Moll, 1 of the King's house, who, to our great 
 comfort, told us that they begun to act on the 18th of 
 this month. 
 
 August 22, 1667. Knipp sent by Moll to desire to 
 speak to me after the play. 
 
 August 26, 1667. Sir W. Pen and I had a great 
 deal of discourse with Moll; who tells us that Nell 
 fGwyn] is already left by my Lord Buckhurst. 
 
 November 2, 1667. A gentleman of good habit, 
 sitting just before us, eating of some fruit in the midst 
 of the play, did drop down as dead, being choked ; but 
 with much ado Orange Moll did thrust her finger 
 down his throat, and brought him to life again. 
 
 December 30, 1667. In the first act ["Love's 
 Cruelty"] Orange Moll 2 come to me, with one of our 
 porters by my house, to tell me that Mrs. Pierce and 
 Knepp did dine at my house to-day, and that I was 
 desired to come home. So I went out presently, and 
 by coach home, and they were just gone away; so ... 
 to the King's playhouse again, and come in in the 
 
 1 The head "orange-woman" was generally so-called. The 
 orange-women stood during the play in the front of the pit with 
 their backs to stage; before the play and between the acts they 
 went about crying "Oranges ! will you have any oranges ?" 
 (Shadwell's A True Widow, 1679, Act IV, Sc. I) and selling 
 their wares at sixpence apiece. The men about town "broke 
 jests" and gossiped with them in Restoration fashion, and used 
 them as messengers. 
 
 2 This was perhaps the head orange-woman of the rival theatre, 
 the Duke's house. "Orange Moll" belonged to the King's theatre. 
 
THE AUDIENCES 285 
 
 fourth act. . . . But the jest is, that here telling Moll 
 how I lost my journey, she told me that Mrs. Knepp 
 was in the house, and so shews her to me, and I went 
 to her and sat out the play. 
 
PART THREE 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 THE THEATRES 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 THE THEATRES 
 
 Blackfriars 
 
 January 29, 1660-61. Went to Blackfryers 1 (the 
 first time I was ever there since plays begun), and 
 there ... I saw three acts of "The Mayd in ye Mill" 
 acted to my great content. 
 
 October 19, 1668. To the Duke of York's play- 
 house; and there saw, the first time acted "The 
 Queene of Arragon," an old Blackfriar's play. 2 
 
 1 Probably to a theatre in what was known as Cobham House, 
 which stood in Water Lane, Blackfriars, on the site of Apothe- 
 caries' Hall before the Great Fire. Downes (Roscius Angli- 
 canus, p. 20) states that D'Avenant's company acted for a time 
 at Apothecaries' Hall before moving into the new "Opera" in 
 Lincoln's Inn Fields in 1662. It has, however, been pointed 
 out by Joseph Knight in his edition of Roscius Anglicanus 
 (Preface, pp. XXIV-XXV) that Apothecaries' Hall was not 
 built until after the Fire until 1670, in fact. Its site had been 
 occupied up to that time by Cobham House. "To this," he con- 
 cludes, "which seems to have been devoted to the same pur- 
 poses as the present building, Downes assumably refers." 
 Knight's statement would, of course, apply to this entry of 
 Pepys, who, however, gives us to understand that D'Avenant 
 moved into his new "Opera" as early as June, 1661. 
 
 2 This play by William Habington had been staged at the old 
 Blackfriars theatre of Elizabethan fame, pulled down on August 
 5, 1655, according to Wheatley's London Past and Present 
 (I, 201). 
 
290 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 "Chyrurgeons' Hall" 
 
 February 27, 1662-63. I walked to Chyrurgeon's 
 Etall, 1 we being all invited thither, and promised to 
 dine there, where we were led into the theatre. 
 
 August 29, 1668. To Chyrurgeon's-hall, where 
 they are building it new, very fine; and there to see 
 their theatre, which stood all the fire. 
 
 The Cockpit, Drury Lane 
 
 February 20, 1659-60. I heard Mr. Harrington, 
 and my Lord Dorset and another Lord, talking of 
 getting another place as the Cockpit, 1 and they did 
 believe it would come to something. 
 
 1 Barber-Surgeons' Hall, Monkwell Street. In London Past 
 and Present (I, p. 102), Wheatley says of it: "The Theatre, 
 1636-1637, called by Walpole, 'one of the best of Inigo's works/ 
 was pulled down in 1783." Pepys attended a lecture 6n this 
 occasion. 
 
 1 The Cockpit in Drury Lane had been used as a theatre as 
 early as 1617-18. In 1658 Sir William D'Avenant's so-called 
 "opera," The Cruelty of the Spaniards in Peru, was brought out 
 here. Later a company of actors assembled at the Cockpit, 
 at one time under the management of John Rhodes, to whom 
 Sir Henry Herbert sent a warrant dated October 8, 1660, de- 
 manding his authority for "Erecting of said House, Into a Play- 
 house." (Cf. A Collection of Ancient Documents respecting the 
 Office of Master of the Revels, compiled by J. O. Halliwell- 
 Phillips, p. 26.) H. B. Baker, in A History of the London Stage 
 and its Famous Players (p. IX), gives 1661 as the probable date 
 of its destruction. 
 
 There has been great confusion between this public theatre 
 in Drury Lane and the royal private theatre of the same name 
 
THE THEATRES 291 
 
 August 18, 1660. To the Cockpitt play, the first 
 that I have had time to see since my coming from sea, 
 "The Loyall Subject," where one Kinaston, a boy, 
 acted the Duke's sister. 
 
 October 11, 1660. To the Cockpit to see "The 
 Moore of Venice," which was well done. Burt 2 acted 
 the Moore. 
 
 October 16, 1660. To the Cockpit, where, under- 
 standing that "Wit without money" was acted, I 
 would not stay. 
 
 October 30, 1660. In the afternoon ... to the 
 Cockpit all alone, and there saw . . . "The Tamer 
 Tamed." 
 
 The Cockpit, Whitehall Palace 
 
 November 20, 1660. I found my Lord [Sandwich] 
 in bed late, he having been with the King, Queen, and 
 Princesse, at the Cockpit 1 all night, where ... a 
 play, where the King did put a great affront upon 
 Singleton's musique. 
 
 adjoining Whitehall Palace. These four entries would seem to 
 refer to the Drury Lane playhouse. References in the Diary 
 to "the Cockpit" after November 15, 1660, appear from the 
 context to point definitely to the Whitehall theatre. 
 
 2 Nicholas Burt, who had been one of the prominent actors of 
 this company as early as August 14, 1660, when his name 
 appears in an agreement with Sir Henry Herbert, was drafted 
 into the King's company. 
 
 1 This was evidently the royal private theatre adj oining White- 
 hall Palace, as the plays at the Cockpit in Drury Lane and all 
 other public theatres were acted in the afternoon, the com- 
 panies being therefore free to perform before the King in the 
 
292 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 April 20, 1661. Then with my Lady [Sandwich] 
 ... to Whitehall. . . . That being done ... I 
 carried my Lady back ... So back to the Cockpitt^ 
 and there by the favour of one Mr. Bowman, he and 
 I got in ... and so saw "The Humersome Lieuten- 
 ant" acted before the King, but not very well done. 
 . . . The play being done went to Mrs. Harper's and. 
 there sat and drank, it being about twelve at night. 
 
 October 2, 1662. At night by coach towards White- 
 hall . . . hearing that there was a play at the Cock- 
 pit . . . I do go thither, and by very great fortune, 
 did follow four or five gentlemen who were carried to 
 a little private door in the wall, and so crept through 
 a narrow place and come into one of the boxes next 
 the King's, but so -as I could not see the King or 
 Queene, but many fine ladies. . . . Here we saw "The 
 Cardinall." 
 
 November 17, 1662. At Whitehall by appoint- 
 ment, Mr. Creed carried my wife and I to the Cock- 
 pitt, and ... saw ... "The Scornfull Lady" well 
 performed. They had done by eleven o'clock. 
 
 December 1, 1662. To the Cockpit ... I saw 
 "The Valiant Cidd" . . . done by Betterton and 
 lanthe. 
 
 January 5, 1662-63. To the Cockpitt, where we 
 saw "Claracilla," a poor play, done by the King's 
 house. 
 
 evening. "The site is now occupied by the Privy Council Office." 
 (Cf. Edgar Sheppard, The Old Royal Palace of Whitehall, p. 67, 
 and also Fisher's plan at end of the volume, showing the exact 
 location of Cockpit.) 
 
THE THEATRES 293 
 
 'The Court Theatre, Whitehall Palace 
 
 February 23, 1662-63. To Court, and there got 
 good places, and saw "The Wilde Gallant," per- 
 formed by the King's house, but it was ill acted. . . . 
 But it being . . . the last play that is likely to be 
 acted at Court before Easter, because of the Lent 
 coming in, I was the easier content to fling away so 
 'much money. 1 
 
 October 17, 1664- Went early home to bed, my 
 wife not being come home from my Lady Jemimah, 
 with whom she hath been at a play at Court to-day. 
 
 April 20, 1665. This night I am told the first play 
 is played in White Hall noon-hall, which is now 
 turned to a house of playing. I had a great mind, 
 but could not go to see it. 
 
 October 29, 1666. To White Hall and into the 
 new play-house 2 there, the first time I ever was 
 there, and the first play I have seen since before the 
 great plague . . . the play being "Love in a Tub," 
 a silly play. . . . Besides, the House, though very 
 fine, yet bad for the voice, for hearing. 
 
 December 28, 1666. To White Hall, and got my 
 Lord Bellasses to get me into the playhouse; and 
 
 "The Court theatre was so far public that persons could get 
 in by payment" (Pepys's Diary, Wheatley ed., Ill, 48). 
 
 2 "Charles built a new playhouse at Whitehall, to which Pepys 
 went" (Wheatley, London Past and Present, III, 512). Shep- 
 pard in his The Old Royal Palace of Whitehall mentions no 
 theatre there except the Cockpit, and states that the location of 
 the "noon-hall" referred to is not known. There is a warrant 
 appointing Henry Glover "Keeper of the Royal Theatre at 
 Whitehall, with scenes, engines, etc." dated November 21, 1666. 
 (Cf. Calendar of State Papers, 1666-67, p. 278.) 
 

 294 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 there . . . saw "Henry the Fifth" well done by the 
 Duke's people, and in most excellent habits, all new 
 vests, being put on but this night. But I sat so high 
 and far off, that I missed most of the words, and sat 
 with a wind coming into my back and neck, which did 
 much trouble me. 
 
 November 16, 1667. To White Hall; and there 
 got into the theater-room, and there heard both the 
 vocall and instrumentall musick. 
 
 January 14, 1667-68. Thence by coach to Mrs. 
 Pierce's, where my wife and Deb. is; and there they 
 fell to discourse of the last night's work at Court, 
 where the ladies and Duke of Monmouth and others 
 acted "The Indian Emperour." 
 
 February 15, 1668-69. To White Hall; and there, 
 by means of Mr. Cooling, did get into the play, the 
 only one we have seen this winter: it was "The Five 
 Hours' Adventure"; but I sat so far that I could 
 not hear well, nor was there any pretty woman that I 
 did see, but my wife, who sat in Lady Fox's pew with 
 her. 
 
 February 22, 1668-69. To White Hall, and there 
 did without much trouble get [the ladies] into the 
 playhouse, there in a good place among the Ladies of 
 Honour, and myself also sat in the pit, and there 
 by and by come the King and Queen, and they be- 
 gun "Bartholomew Fayre." But I like no play here 
 so well as at the common playhouse ; besides that, my 
 eyes being very ill since last Sunday and this day 
 se'n-night, with the light of the candles, I was in 
 mighty pain to defend myself now from the light of 
 the candles. 
 
THE THEATRES 295 
 
 The Duke's Playhouse ("The Opera"), Lincoln's 
 Inn Fields 
 
 July 2, 1661. To Sir William Davenant's Opera; 
 this being the fourth day that it hath begun, 1 and the 
 first that I have seen it. ... And by the breaking 
 of a board over our heads, we had a great deal of 
 dust fell into the ladies' necks and the men's hair, 
 which made good sport. The King being come, the 
 scene opened; which indeed is very fine and mag- 
 nificent. 
 
 August 15, 1661. To the Opera which begins 
 again to-day with "The Witts" never yet acted with 
 
 1 In spite of the fact that Dowries (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 20) 
 gives the spring of 1662 as the date of the opening of D'Ave- 
 nant's theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields, and that Maidment and 
 Logan (The Dramatic Works of Sir William D'Avenant, III, 
 245) state that this performance of The Siege of Rhodes "ap- 
 pears from Pepys" to have taken place at Salisbury Court, this 
 evidence to the contrary would seem to be weighty, if not final. 
 It will be noted that Pepys refers again on November 4, 1661, 
 to the removal of the Duke's company from Salisbury Court. 
 In the "Articles of Agreement" between D'Avenant and his 
 company, headed by Betterton and Harris, dated November 5, 
 1660 (in J. O. Halliwell-Phillipps's A Collection of Ancient 
 Documents respecting the Office of the Master of the Revels, pp. 
 27-31), several interesting stipulations with regard to the new 
 theatre are made: D'Avenant is to nominate "a Consort of Musi- 
 ciens" "not exceeding the rate of 30*. the day"; provision is 
 made for the "making of frames for Scenes," as well as for 
 scenes, properties, and costumes; seven of the fifteen shares of 
 the "receipts" are to go to D'Avenant "to mainteine all the 
 Women"; and admission is to be by "Ballatine or tickettes." 
 
296 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 scenes; ... a most excellent play and admirable 
 scenes. 
 
 October 21, 1661. To the Opera which is now 
 newly begun to act again, after some alteracion of 
 their scene, 2 which do make it very much worse; but 
 the play "Love and Honour" . . . well done. 
 
 November 4, 1661. To the Opera, where we saw 
 "The Bondman," which of old we both did so doat on, 
 and do still ; though to both our thinking not so well 
 acted here ... as formerly at Salisbury- Court. 
 
 July 22, 1663. [Wotton] tells me the reason of. 
 Harris's going from Sir Wm. Davenant's house, that 
 he grew very proud and demanded 20 for himself 
 extraordinary, more than Betterton or any body else, 
 upon every new play, and 10 upon every revive; 
 which with other things Sir W. Davenant would not 
 give him. 
 
 October 24, 1663. By the Duke of York's persua- 
 sion Harris is come again to Sir W. Davenant upon 
 his terms that he demanded. 
 
 October 25, 1666. Mrs. Williams says, the Duke's 
 house will now be much the better of the two, because 
 of their women ; which I was glad to hear. 
 
 March 21, 1666-67. Unexpectedly I come to see 
 only the young men and women of the house act; 
 they having liberty to act for their own profit on 
 Wednesdays and Fridays this Lent, and the play 
 [The Marriage, Night~\ they did yesterday, beting 
 
 2 Downes does not mention this "alteration of their scene/' 
 but describes (Roscius Anglicanus, pp. 21-22) the costumes 
 worn by the various actors in this play, which was "Richly 
 C[l]oath'd." 
 
THE THEATRES 297 
 
 Wednesday, was so well taken, that they thought 
 fit to venture it publickly to-day. 
 
 July 22, 1667. Creed tells me of the fray between 
 the Duke of Buckingham at the Duke's playhouse the 
 last Saturday (and it is the first day I have heard 
 that they have acted at either the King's or Duke's 
 houses this month or six weeks) and Henry Killi- 
 grew. 
 
 The King's Theatre, Vere Street, Clare Market 
 
 November 20, 1660. Mr. Shepley and I to the new 
 Play-house 1 near Lincoln's-Inn-Fields (which was 
 formerly Gibbon's tennis-court), where the play of 
 "Beggar's Bush" was newly begun; . . . and indeed 
 it is the finest play-house, I believe, that ever was in 
 England. 
 
 March 11, 1660-61. After dinner I went to the 
 Theatre, and there saw "Love's Mistress" done by 
 them, which I do not like in some things as well as 
 their acting 2 in Salsbury Court 
 
 July 4, 1661. But strange to see this house, that 
 used to be so thronged, now empty since the Opera 
 begun; and so will continue for a while, I believe. 
 
 June 1, 1663. Walked to the New Theatre, which, 
 since the King's players are gone to the Royal one 
 
 1 This was the theatre, in Vere Street, occupied by the King's 
 company, managed by Thomas Killigrew, from November 8, 
 1660, until May 7 (?), 1663. 
 
 2 The Duke's company. 
 
298 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 *v 
 
 >is this day begun to be employed by the fencers to 
 play prizes at. 3 
 
 April 23, 1669. My wife ... at the New Nur- 
 sery, which is set up at the house in Lincoln's Inn 
 Fields which was formerly the King's house. 
 
 The King's Theatre, Drury Lane 
 
 September 24, 1662. Thence to Mr. Wotton, the 
 shoemaker's, . . . and he told me . . . that the new 
 theatre of all 1 will be ready against term. 
 
 February 6, 1662-63. Thence to Lincoln's Inn 
 Fields, and it being too soon to go to dinner, I walked 
 up and down, and looked upon the outside of the new 
 theatre, now a-building in Covent Garden, which 
 will be very fine. 
 
 May 7, 1663. This day the new Theatre Royal 2 
 
 3 According to Pepys, the King's company had removed to the 
 theatre in Drury Lane on May 7 of this year. A similar fate 
 overtook the Red Bull Playhouse. 
 
 1 Evidently the theatre being built, at a cost of < 1,500, for the 
 King's company in Drury Lane. 
 
 2 April 8, 1663, is the date generally given for the opening 
 performance at this Drury Lane theatre on the authority of 
 Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 3), and an alleged playbill 
 bearing this date reproduced in facsimile in H. B. Baker's 
 English Actors (I, 37). Pepys's statement may, however, still 
 stand. He not only asserts definitely twice that the theatre was 
 opened on May 7, but on April 22 he saw at the "King's Theatre" 
 Wit without Money, and did not comment on the playhouse as he 
 surely would have done had it been the new one in Drury Lane. 
 R. W. Lowe (Thomas Betterton, 1891 ed., pp. 100-101) calls 
 
THE THEATRES 299 
 
 begins to act with scenes the Humourous Lieutenant, 
 but I have not time to see it. ^ 
 
 May 8, 1663. Thence to the new playhouse, but 
 could not get in to see it. ... Thence to my brother's, 
 and there took up my wife and Ashwell to the 
 Theatre Royall, being the second day of its being 
 opened. The house is made with extraordinary good 
 contrivance, 3 and yet hath some faults, as the nar- 
 rowness of the passages in and out of the pitt, and 
 the distance from the stage to the boxes, which I am 
 confident cannot hear, but for all other things it is- 
 well, only, above all, the musique being below, 4 and 
 most of it sounding under the very stage, there is no 
 hearing of the bases at all, nor very well of the trebles, 
 which sure must be mended. The play was "The 
 Humerous Lieutenant." 
 
 attention to inconsistencies in Downes's statement that the open- 
 ing was on Thursday of Easter week in 1663, April 8 not being 
 "Thursday in Easter week" and not Thursday at all but Wednes- 
 day. He regards the playbill as a "not very astute forgery." 
 All authorities are agreed that the play given at the opening per- 
 formance was Fletcher's The Humourous Lieutenant. 
 
 3 H. B. Baker, in A History of the London Stage and its 
 Famous Players, p. 46, quotes the following account of the thea- 
 tre written by the French traveler, Balthasar de Monconys, who 
 visited it about two weeks later, on May 22, 1663: "Le theatre est 
 le plus propre et le plus bien que j'ai jamais vu, tout tapisse 
 par le bas de bayette verte; aussi bien que toutes les loges qui ' 
 en sont tapisses avec des bandes de cuir dore. Tous les banes 
 du parterre, oii toutes les personnes de condition se mettent 
 aussi, sont ranger en amphitheatre les uns plus hauts que les ^ j 
 autres. Les changements de theatre, et les machines sont fort 
 ingenieusement inventees et executees." 
 
 4 Up to this time the musicians had occupied a gallery. 
 
\ 
 
 500 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 'March 19, 1665-66. After dinner we walked to the 
 King's play-house, all in dirt, they being altering of 
 the stage to make it wider. But God knows when 
 they will begin to act again ; but my business here was 
 to see the inside of the stage and all the tiring-rooms 
 and machines; and, indeed, it was a sight worthy 
 
 'seeing. 
 
 ^December 11, 1667. All agree that it [Catiline] 
 cannot be well done at that house, there not being 
 
 *good actors enow. . . . The King gives them 500 
 for robes, there being, as they say, to be sixteen scar- 
 
 le^t robes. 
 
 ;; January 11, 1667-68. Catelin ... for want of 
 
 clothes which the King promised them, will not be 
 
 acted for a good while. 
 
 May 1, 1668. To the King's playhouse, and . . . 
 
 a disorder in the pit by its raining in, from the cupola 
 
 at top, it being a very foul day. 
 
 September 28, 1668. Knepp's maid comes to me, 
 
 to tell me that the women's day at the playhouse is 
 
 to-day. 5 
 
 The Red Bull 
 
 August 3, 1660. I could not do as I had intended, 
 that is to return to them and go to the Red Bull Play- 
 house. 1 
 
 5 The women's benefit. 
 
 1 The Red Bull Playhouse, in St. John's Street, was one of the 
 pre- Restoration theatres of the poorer class. Here a company 
 
STAGE OF THE SO-CALLED RED BULL THEATRE 
 
THE THEATRES 301 
 
 March 23, 1660-61. Then out to the Red Bull 
 (where I had not been since plays come up again), 
 but coming too soon I went out again. . . . At last 
 came back again and went in, where I was led by a 
 seaman that knew me, but is here as a servant, up to 
 the tireing-room, where strange the confusion and 
 disorder that there is among them in fitting them- 
 selves, especially here, where the clothes are very 
 poor, and the actors but common fellows. At last into 
 the pitt, where, I think there was not above ten more 
 than myself, and not one hundred in the whole house. 
 And the play, which is called "All's lost by Lust," 
 poorly done; and with so much disorder, among 
 others, that in the musique-room the boy that was to 
 sing a song, not singing it right, his master fell about 
 his ears and beat him so, that it put the whole house 
 in an uprore. 
 
 October SO, 1662. Thos. Killigrew's way of get- 
 ting to see plays when he was a boy. He would go 
 to the Red Bull, and when the man cried to the boys, 
 "Who will go and be a devil, and he shall see the play 
 for nothing?" then he would go in and be a devil upon 
 the stage. 
 
 May 26, 1662. To the Redd Bull, where we saw 
 Dr. Faustus wretchedly and poorly done. 
 
 April 25, 1664. To the Red Bull, and there saw 
 the latter part of a rude prize fought. 2 
 
 of "old actors" was assembled as soon as Monck declared for the 
 King in 1659; before March 23, 1660-61, when Pepys went there, 
 the best actors had gone over to Killigrew. (Cf. H. B. Baker, 
 A History of the London Stage . . . , p. 36.) 
 
 2 That the Red Bull still further degenerated is shown by an 
 
302 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 The Salisbury Court Theatre, Whitefriars 
 
 February 9, 1660-61. Creed and I to Whitefriars 1 
 to the Play-house and saw "The Mad Lover." 
 
 February 12, 1660-61. By water to Salsbury 
 Court play-house, where not liking to sit, we went out 
 again. 
 
 February 23, 1660-61. Then by water to White- 
 friars to the Play-house and there saw "The Change- 
 ling." 
 
 March 1, 1660-61. To Whitefryars and saw "The 
 Bondman" acted. . . . But above all that ever I saw, 
 Betterton do the Bondman best. 
 
 March 2, 1660-61. To Salsbury Court, where the 
 house as full as could be; and it seems it was a new 
 play "The Queene's Maske." 
 
 allusion in D'Avenant's The Playhouse to be Let (1663?). The 
 Player says (Act I) : 
 
 "Tell 'em the Red Bull stands empty for fencers: 
 There are no tenants in it but old spiders. 
 Go, bid the men of wrath allay their heat 
 With prizes there." 
 
 1 It is usually understood that here and elsewhere the term 
 "Whitefriars" is used to designate the quarter so-called (be- 
 tween Fleet Street and the Thames, east of the Temple), in 
 which stood the Salisbury Court theatre, rebuilt in 1660, and 
 not to designate the old Whitefriars theatre of the pre-Restora- 
 tion period. It will be noted from a comparison of the entries 
 for March 19 and March 26 that Pepys used the terms "White- 
 friars" and "Salisbury Court" interchangeably. D'Avenant's 
 company, to which Betterton belonged, probably played here from 
 November, 1660, to the time the Lincoln's Inn Fields house was 
 
THE THEATRES 303 
 
 March 16, 1660-61. To Whitefriars and saw "The 
 Spanish Curate." 
 
 March 19, 1660-61. To White-Fryars, where we 
 saw "The Bondman" acted most excellently. 
 
 March 25, 1661. To Salisbury Court by water, 
 and saw part of the "Queene's Maske." 
 
 March 26, 1661. To Salisbury Court, . . . and 
 saw "The Bondman" done to admiration. 
 
 April 1, 1661. To White-Fryars and there saw 
 part of "Rule a wife and have a wife." 
 
 April 2, 1661. To White-fryars and saw "The 
 Little Thiefe." 
 
 April 6, 1661. To Salisbury Court and there saw 
 "Love's Quarrell." 
 
 September 9, 1661. To Salisbury Court play 
 house where was acted the first time " 'Tis pity Shee's 
 a Whore," a simple play and ill acted. 
 
 The Projected Nursery for Actors, Moorfields 
 
 August 2, 1664. Thence to the King's play-house, 
 and there saw "Bartholomew Fayre." . . . I chanced 
 to sit by Tom Killigrew who tells me that he is 
 setting up a Nursery; 1 that is, is going to build a house 
 
 opened,, June, 1661,, except for rehearsals, and performances in 
 January, at Apothecaries' Hall (?), Blackfriars. 
 
 1 This reference is either to the proposed "Nursery" which 
 William Legg was granted a license to build in March of this 
 year "For breeding players in London or Westminster under 
 the oversight and approbation of Sir William Davenant and 
 Thos. Killigrew" (Cf. Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, 
 
304 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 in Moorefields, wherein he will have common plays 
 acted. But four operas it shall have in the year, to 
 act six weeks at a time ; where we shall have the best 
 scenes and machines, the best musique, and every 
 thing as magnificent as is in Christendome ; and to 
 that end hath sent for voices and painters and other 
 persons from Italy. 
 
 February 12, 1666-67. He [Killigrew] do intend 
 f o have some times of the year these operas to be per- 
 formed at the two present theatres, since he is de- 
 feated in what he intended in Moorefields on purpose 
 for it. 
 
 "The Nursery" 
 
 January 7, 1667-68. To the Nursery, 1 where I 
 never was yet, and there to meet my wife, . . . but 
 the house did not act to-day. 
 
 1663-64, p. 539), or to one planned by Killigrew for the sole 
 benefit of the King's company in Moorfields, but, as Pepys 
 attests, never built. It is probable that Killigrew afterwards 
 made use of a Nursery in Hatton Garden, and later, of the old 
 "King's theatre" in Lincoln's Inn Fields for similar purposes. 
 The location of the various "Nurseries" is one of the still vexed 
 questions of Restoration stage history. 
 
 1 Either the one in Golden Lane, Barbican, ridiculed by Dry- 
 den in his McFlecknoe 
 
 "Near there a Nursery erects its head 
 Where queens are formed, and future heroes bred," 
 
 as H. B. Baker asserts (A History of the London Stage and its 
 Famous Players, pp. 39-40) ; or the Nursery in Hatton Garden 
 built by Captain Bedford, probably managed by Killigrew. 
 
THE THEATRES 305 
 
 V . 
 
 February 24, 1667-68. To the Nursery, where 
 none of us ever were before ; where the house is better 
 and the musique better than we looked for, and the 
 acting not much worse, because I expected as bad as 
 could be : and I was not much mistaken, for it was so. 
 However, I was pleased well to see it once. . . . Their 
 play was a bad one, called " Jeronimo is Mad Again," 2 
 a tragedy. Here was some good company by us, who 
 did make mighty sport at the folly of their acting. 
 
 February 25, 1667-68. I took my wife and Deb. 
 up, and to the Nursery, where I was yesterday, and 
 there saw them act a comedy, a pastorall, "The Fayth- 
 ful Shepherd," 3 having curiosity to see whether they 
 did a comedy better than a tragedy; but they do it 
 both alike, in the meanest manner, that I was sick of 
 it, but only for to satisfy myself once in seeing the 
 manner of it, but I shall see them no more, I believe. 
 
 March 7 ' , 1667-68. One Hanes, 4 only lately come 
 thither from the Nursery. 
 
 March 27, 1668. So up and down to the Nursery, 
 where they did not act. 
 
 2 Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy, or Hieronymo is Mad Again. 
 
 3 A translation of Guarini's II Pastor Fido. 
 
 4 Joseph Haines, who had just joined the King's company. 
 The author of The Life of the Famous Comedian, Jo. Haynes, 
 containing his Comical Exploits and Adventures both at Home 
 and Abroad, asserts that he had acted under Captain Bedford 
 "whilst the playhouse in Hatton Garden lasted." "This," says 
 Wheatley, "would seem to be the Nursery alluded to by Pepys" 
 (Pepys's Diary, VII, 33 n.). And Pepys's entry for April 23, 
 1669, seems rather to confirm than to contradict this. 
 
308 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 The Nursery, Lincoln's Inn Fields 
 
 April 23, 1669. [My wife] seeing a play at the 
 New Nursery, 1 which is set up at the house in Lin- 
 coln's Inn Fields, which was formerly the King's 
 house. 
 
 Details of the Buildings 
 
 July 2, 1661. By the breaking of a board above 
 our heads 1 we had a grat deal of dust fell into the 
 ladies' necks and the men's hair whicK made good 
 sport. 
 
 February 6, 1662-63. Thence to Lincoln's Inn 
 Fields ; . . . I walked up and down, and looked upon 
 the outside of the new theatre, 2 now a-building, in 
 Covent Garden. 
 
 May 8, 1663. To -the Theatre Roy all 3 being the 
 second day of its being opened. The house is made 
 
 1 Probably used by Killigrew after the Nursery in Hatton 
 Garden, which gave Haines to his company, was closed or de- 
 stroyed. At least, the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields would 
 naturally have been used by Killigrew, as his company had 
 previously played there. , 
 
 1 At Sir William D'Avenant's "opera," otherwise known as 
 the Duke of York's theatre, on "the fourth day" after it had 
 been opened. 
 
 2 The "new Theatre in Drury Lane" was opened, according 
 to Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 3), on "Thursday in Easter 
 Week, being the 8th, Day of April 1663, With the Humorous 
 Lieutenant"; according to Pep^wi May 7, 1663. 
 
 3 The Silent Woman at the ' ? Royal. 
 
THE THEATRES 307 
 
 with extraordinary good contrivance, and yet hath 
 some faults, as the narrowness of the passages in and 
 out of the pitt, and the distance from the stage to the 
 boxes, which I am confident cannot hear; but for all 
 other things it is well, only, above all, the musique 
 being below, and most of it sounding under the very 
 stage, there is no hearing of the bases at all, nor very 
 well of the trebles, which sure must be mended. 
 
 June 1, 1664* Before the play was done, it fell such 
 a storm of hayle, that we in the middle of the pit were 
 fain to rise; and all the house in a disorder, and 
 so ... out. 
 
 March 19, 1665-66. Walked to the King's play- 
 house, all in dirt, they being altering of the stage to 
 make it wider. But God knows when they will 
 begin to act again ; 4 but my business 4^ere was to see 
 the inside of the stage and all the tiring-rooms and 
 machines. . . . The machines are fine, and the paint- 
 ings very pretty. 
 
 February 12, 1666-67. [T. Killigrew tells me] 
 that the stage is now by his pains a thousand times 
 better and more glorious than, ever heretofore. Now, 
 wax candles 5 and many of them; then, not above 3 
 Jbs. of tallow: now all things civil, no rudeness any- 
 where; then, as in a bear-garden: then two or three 
 fiddlers; now, nine or ten of the best; then, nothing 
 
 1 4 After the plague. It was the following November before 
 the theatres were regularly open. 
 
 5 "At this time the stage was lighted from above, by branches 
 or loops of candles suspended from the ceiling" (R. W. Lowe, 
 Thomas Betterton, 1891 ed., p.; 54). 
 
308 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 but rushes upon the ground, and every thing else 
 mean; and now, all otherwise. 
 
 May 1, 1668. To the King's playhouse, and there 
 fcaw "The Surprizall": and a disorder in the pit by 
 its raining in, from the cupola at top, it being a very 
 foul day. 
 
 The Seats 
 
 January 19, 1660-61. Here 1 I was troubled to be 
 seen by four of our office clerks, which sat in the half- 
 crown box and I in the Is. 6d. 2 
 
 1 At the King's theatre. 
 
 2 The prices of seats in the theatre in Pepys's day, as we 
 learn from the Diary, were as follows: seats in boxes (just above 
 the pit), four shillings; pit, two shillings, six pence; middle 
 gallery, eighteen pence ; upper gallery, one shilling. Pepys often 
 sat in the middle gallery during the earlier years of his theatre- 
 going. It appears from this statement and also from the com- 
 ment about Moll Davis (December 21, 1668), who sat "in a 
 box over the King's and my lady Castlemayne's head," that 
 there were boxes in the middle gallery as well as just above 
 the pit. These upper boxes were probably situated at the centre 
 of the middle gallery. From the Articles of Agreement, dated 
 November 5, 1660, drawn up between Sir William D'Avenant 
 and the members of his company headed by Betterton and 
 Harris (in J. O. Halliwell-Phillipps, A Collection of Ancient 
 Documents respecting the Office of Master of the Revels, pp. 27- 
 31), we learn that admission to the projected theatre, later 
 called the Duke's house, was to be "by Ballatine or tickettes 
 soulled for all doores and boxes." D'Avenant was to appoint 
 "three persons to receive money for said Tickettes in a room 
 adjoining to said Theatre," while the actors had the privilege 
 
THE THEATRES 309" 
 
 January 31, 1660-61. To the Theatre, and there 
 sat in the pit among the company of fine ladys, etc.; % 
 and the house was exceeding full, to see Argalus and 
 Parthenia. 
 
 November 29, 1661. To the Theatre, but it was so 
 full that we could hardly get any room, so he went 
 up to one of the boxes, and I into the ISd. places, and 
 there saw "Love at first sight." 
 
 December 16, 1661. To the Opera 3 . . . and it 
 being the first time, the pay was doubled, and so to 
 save money my wife and I went up into the gallery, 
 and there sat and saw very well. 
 
 April 22, 1663. It 4 costing me four half-crowns 
 for myself and company. 
 
 i October 19, 1667. We were forced to go into one 
 
 _of the upper boxes, at 4s. a piece, which is the first 
 
 time I ever sat in a box in my life. And in the same 
 
 box come, by and by, behind me, my Lord Barkeley 
 
 [of Stratton] and his lady. 
 
 December 30, 1667. Sir Philip Carteret would fain 
 have given me my going into a play, but yet, when he 
 come to the door, he had no money to pay for himself, 
 I having refused to accept of it for myself, but was 
 
 of appointing two or three "watchers" of the money-taking. 
 D'Avenant reserved to himself the nomination of "half the 
 number of the doore keepers necessary for the receipt of the said 
 Tickettes for doores and Boxes, the Wardrobe Keeper, barber" 
 etc. ; and he also stipulated that the theatre should maintain a 
 private box for Thomas Killigrew, the rival manager, "sufficient 
 to conteine sixe persons" who were to use it free of charge. 
 
 3 Cutter of Coleman Street was being played there. 
 
 4 Wit without Money at the King's theatre. There were four 
 in the "company." 
 
310 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 fain ; and I perceive he is known there, and do run 
 upon the score for plays, 5 which is a shame. 
 
 January l,jl667-68. Here 6 a mighty company of 
 citizens, 'prentices, and others; and it makes me 
 observe, that when I begun first to be able to bestow 
 a play on myself, I do not remember that I saw so 
 many by half of the ordinary 'prentices and mean 
 people in the pit at 2s.6d. a-piece as now; I going for 
 several years no higher than the I2d. and then the ISd. 
 places, though I strained hard to go in them when I 
 did : so much the vanity and prodigality of the age is 
 to be observed in this particular. 
 January 6, 1667-68. The house 7 being full, was 
 
 5 There is a passage in Shadwell's A True Widow (1679), 
 Act II, Sc. I, wffich shows how this and other customs compli- 
 cated the duties of the playhouse door-keeper. Several ladies 
 are entering the theatre accompanied by men.: 
 
 "Door-keeper: Pray, Sir, pay me; my Masters will make me 
 pay it. 
 
 3 Man: Impertinent Rascal! do you ask me for money? Take 
 that, Sirrah ! 
 
 Door-Keeper: Will you pay me, Sir? 
 
 4 Man: No I don't intend to stay. 
 
 Door-Keeper: So you say every Day, and see two or three 
 Acts for nothing. 
 
 4 Man: I'll break your Head, you Rascal! 
 
 Door-keeper: Pray, Sir, pay me! 
 
 3 Man : Set it down ; I have no silver about me ; or bid my man 
 pay you. 
 
 Theodosia: What, do Gentlemen run on Tick for Plays? 
 
 Carlos: As familiarly as with their Taylors." 
 
 6 At Sir Martin Mar-all at the Duke's playhouse. 
 
 7 The Duke's for a performance of The Tempest. 
 
THE THEATRES 311 
 
 forced to carry them to a box, which did cost me 20s., 
 besides oranges. 
 
 . January 7, 1667-68. To look for them and there by 
 this means, for nothing, see an act in "The Schoole of 
 Compliments" at the Duke of York's house. 
 
 March 26, 1667-68. To the Duke of York's house, 
 to see the new play, called "The Man is the Master." 
 . . . By and by the King come ; and we sat just under 
 him, 8 so that I durst not turn my back all the play. 
 
 May 2, 1668. To the Duke of York's playhouse, at 
 ja little past twelve, to get a good place in the pit, 
 against the new play, and there setting a poor man to 
 keep my place, 9 I out . . . and so back again, where 
 I find the house quite full. 
 
 May 18, 1668. To the King's playhouse, where the 
 doors were not then open; but presently they did 
 open; and we in, and find many people already come 
 in, by private ways into the pit. 
 
 February 15,1668-69. To White Hall ; and . . . 
 did get into the play, . . . "The Five Hours' Adven- 
 ture" ; but I sat so far I could not hear well, nor was 
 there any pretty woman that I did see, but my wife, 
 who sat in my Lady Fox's pew 10 with her. 
 
 8 That is, in the pit, just below the King's box. 
 
 9 It became soon after this a common custom among people of 
 fashion to send their servants to do this office for them. 
 
 10 Evidently a current name for a seat or box in this theatre. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 STAGE PRODUCTIONS 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 STAGE PRODUCTIONS 
 
 Scenery 
 
 July 2, 1661. The scene 1 opened; which is indeed 
 very fine and magnificent. 
 
 1 In The Siege of Rhodes at the Duke's house. The scenes 
 were designed and executed by John Webb. Of this production 
 Downes (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 20) says there were "New 
 Scenes and Decorations, being the first that e're were Intro- 
 duc'd in England" It is interesting to compare with Pepys's 
 statements the following comment by Richard Flecknoe in A 
 Short Discourse of the English Drama and Stage (1660?), 
 attached to Love's Kingdom, A Pastoral Comedy (1664): "Now 
 for the difference betwixt our Theatres and those of former 
 times, they were but plain and simple, with no other scenes, 
 nor Decorations of the Stage, but onely old Tapestry, and had 
 as good or rather better than any we have now ... Of this 
 curious Art [stage decoration] the Italians (this latter age) 
 are the greatest masters, the French good proficients, and we in 
 England only Schollars and Learners yet, having proceded no 
 further than to bare painting, and not having arrived to the 
 stage strewd with Rushes (with their Habits accordingly) 
 whereas ours now for cost and ornament are arrived at the 
 height of Magnificence. . . . For Scenes and Machines, they 
 are no new invention, our Masks and some of our Playes in 
 former times (though not so ordinary) having stupendious won- 
 ders of your great Ingeniers, especially not knowing yet how to 
 place our Lights, for the more advantage and illuminating of 
 
316 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 August 15, 1661. To ... "The Witts," never 
 acted yet with scenes. 2 
 
 August 24, 1661. To the Opera, and there saw 
 "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark," done with scenes very 
 well. 
 
 June 13, 1663. To the Royall Theatre. . . . Here 
 we saw "The Faithful Sheepheardesse," a most simple 
 thing, and yet much thronged after, and often shown, 
 but it is only for the scene's sake, which is very fine 
 indeed and worth seeing. 
 
 March 19, 1665-66. To the King's play-house, all 
 in dirt, they being altering of the stage. . . . The 
 machines are fine, and the paintings very pretty. 
 
 October 19, 1667. At the King's house, . . . forced 
 to go into one of the upper boxes ; . . . from this place 
 the scenes do appear very fine indeed, and much 
 better than in the pit. 
 
 December 19, 1668. A fine scene of the Senate, 3 
 and of a fight that ever I saw in my life. 
 
 January 7, 1668-69. To the King's playhouse and 
 there saw "The Island Princesse," . . . and a good 
 scene of a town on fire. 
 
 the Scenes" (Richard Flecknoe's A Short Discourse of the Eng- 
 lish Drama and Stage (circa 1660) reprinted in The English 
 Drama and Stage under the Tudor and Stuart Princes 1543- 
 1664 in the Roxburghe Library, pp. 280-281). 
 
 2 This was D'Avenant's second production at the "Opera." 
 
 3 In Catiline at the King's theatre. 
 
STAGE PRODUCTIONS 317 
 
 Costumes 
 
 March 23, 1660-61. To the Red Bull . . . up to 
 the tireing-room, where strange the confusion and 
 disorder that there is among them in fitting them- 
 selves, especially here, where the clothes are very 
 poor. 
 
 March 8, 1663-64. The garments like Romans 1 
 very well. . . . But at the beginning, at the drawing 
 up of the curtaine, there was the finest scene of the 
 Emperor and his people about him, standing in their 
 fixed and different postures in their Roman habitts, 
 above all that ever I yet saw at any of the theatres. 
 
 March 19, 1665-66. But to see their clothes, 2 and 
 the various sorts, and what a mixture of things there 
 was; here a wooden-leg, there a ruff, here a hobby- 
 horse, there a crown, would make a man split him- 
 self to see with laughing; and particularly Lacy's 
 wardrobe, and Shotrell's. But then, again, to think 
 
 1 In D'Avenant's production of Heraclius at the Duke's house. 
 Downes frequently praises the costuming of plays here, particu- 
 larly of The Adventures of Five Hours, The Impertinents, or 
 The Sullen Lovers, Macbeth, Love and Honour and Henry V 
 [Orrery's'] ; for the last two he says that the King and Duke of 
 York loaned the actors their Coronation suits. In the "Articles 
 of Agreement" between himself and his company, D'Avenant 
 stipulates that he shall not be obliged to provide out of the share 
 of receipts allowed to him for the costumes "eyther Hattes, 
 feathers, Gloves, ribbons, sworde beltes, bandes, stockinge, or 
 shoes for any of the men Actors" (J. O. Halliwell-PhiJlipps, A 
 Collection of Ancient Documents respecting the Office of Master 
 of the Revels, p. 31). 
 
 2 In the "tiring room" at the King's theatre. 
 
318 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 how fine they show on the stage by candlelight and 
 how poor things they are to look now too near hand, 
 is not pleasant at all. 
 
 August 17, 1667. "Queen Elizabeth's Troubles" 
 ... is merely a shew, only shews the true garbe of 
 the Queen in those days just as we see Queen Mary 
 and Queen Elizabeth painted. 
 
 December 11, 1667. The King gives them 500 
 for robes, 8 there being, as they say, to be sixteen 
 scarlett robes. 
 
 May 11, 1668. Had the pleasure to see the actors* 
 in their several dresses, especially the seamen and 
 monster which were very droll. 
 
 December 19, 1668. The least diverting 5 that ever 
 I saw any, though most in fine clothes. 
 
 Music MACBETH 
 
 April 19, 1667. It is one of the best plays for a 
 stage, and variety of dancing and musique, 1 that ever 
 I saw. 
 
 3 For Catiline at the King's theatre. 
 
 4 In The Tempest at the Duke's. 
 
 5 Catiline. 
 
 1 Downes states (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 33) that the music 
 for D'Avenant's version of Macbeth, to which Pepys is here pre- 
 sumably referring, was written by Lock. Maidment and Logan 
 note (The Dramatic Works of Sir William D'Avenant, III, 237- 
 238) that "the music in Macbeth, of which the rude and wild 
 excellence cannot be surpassed, has been attributed by some to 
 Henry Purcell and not to Matthew Lock, whose productions 
 
STAGE PRODUCTIONS 319 
 
 Music THE TEMPEST 
 
 November 7, 1667. The most innocent play that 
 I ever saw ; and a curious piece of musique 2 in an echo 
 of half sentences, the echo repeating the former half, 
 while the man goes on to the latter; which is mighty 
 pretty. 
 
 Music THE SIEGE OF RHODES 
 
 June 28, 1660. Among other things I was pleased 
 that I could find out a man by his voice, whom I had 
 never seen before, to be one that sang behind the 
 curtaine formerly at Sir W. Davenant's opera. 1 
 
 December 6, 1665. I spent the afternoon upon a 
 song 2 of Solyman's words to Roxalana that I have 
 set. 
 
 January 22, 1666-67. There come to me Darnell 
 the fiddler, one of the Duke's house, and brought me 
 a set of lessons. ... I did give him a crowne for 
 
 otherwise are far inferior, while to Purcell's peculiar style it 
 bears a closer resemblance" though the fact that Purcell was 
 born in 1658 would seem to conflict with this even if D'Avenant's 
 Macbeth should be assigned to a date as late as 1672. 
 
 2 Evidently Ferdinand's song in Act III, Sc. 4>, of the version 
 by Dryden and D'Avenant, the one Pepys saw, the music 
 for which was written by John Bannister. 
 
 1 This "opera" might be either The Siege of Rhodes (1656) or 
 The Cruelty of the Spaniards in Peru (1658). 
 
 2 The song beginning "Beauty retire," in The Siege of Rhodes, 
 Part II, Act IV, Sc. 2. 
 
320 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 them, and did enquire after the musique 3 of "The 
 Siege of Rhodes," which, he tells me, he can get me, 
 which I am mighty glad of. 
 
 February 13, 1666-67. Discoursed most about 
 plays and the Opera, where, among other vanities, 
 Captain Cooke, 4 had the arrogance to say that he was 
 fain to direct Sir W. Davenant in the breaking of 
 his verses into such and such lengths, according as 
 would be fit for musick, and how he used to swear at 
 Davenant, and command him that way, when W. 
 Davenant would be angry, and find fault with this or 
 that note but a vain coxcomb I perceive he is, 
 though he sings and composes so well. . . . I do think, 
 and he [Dr. Clerke] confesses, "The Siege of 
 Rhodes" as good as ever was writ. 
 
 Music THE VIRGIN MARTYR 
 
 February 27, 1667-68. But that which did please 
 me beyond any thing in the whole world was the wind- 
 musique when the angel comes down, 1 which is so 
 
 3 The music for The Siege of Rhodes, in which Lock, Lawes, 
 Cooke, and Coleman each had a hand, has unfortunately dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 4 Henry Cooke, who had been a captain in the Royal army, 
 became prominent in music after the Restoration, and was made 
 Master of the Children of the Chapel Royal. 
 
 1 The reference is apparently to Sc. 1, Act V, of this play by 
 Massinger and Dekker. Sir Frederick Bridge states that the 
 instrument here used was evidently the flageolet. (Cf. Samuel 
 Pepys, Lover of Musique, pp. 7-8.) 
 
STAGE PRODUCTIONS 321 
 
 sweet that it ravished me, and indeed, in a word, did 
 wrap up my soul so that it made me really sick, just 
 as I have formerly been when in love with my wife; 
 that neither then, nor all the evening going home, and 
 at home, I was able to think of any thing, but re- 
 mained all night transported, so as I could not believe 
 that ever any musick hath that real command over 
 the soul of a man as this did upon me ; and makes me 
 resolve to practice wind-musique, and to make my 
 wife do the like. 
 
 March 2, 1667-68. To the King's house to see the 
 "Virgin Martyr" again, which do mightily please me, 
 but above all the musique at the coming down of the 
 angel, which at this hearing the second time, do still 
 commend me as nothing ever did, and the other 
 musique is nothing to it. 
 
 Music GENERAL REFERENCES 
 
 November 20, 1660. I found my Lord [Sandwich] 
 in bed late, he having been with the King, Queen, and 
 Princesse at the Cockpit all night, where . . . 
 the King did put a great affront upon Singleton's 
 musique, 1 he bidding them stop and bade the French 
 musique play, which, my Lord says, do much outdo 
 all ours. 
 
 May 8, 1663. Above all, the musique being below, 2 
 
 1 John Singleton (p-1686), performer on the sackbut, violin, 
 and flute. 
 
 2 At the recently opened Theatre Royal in Drury Lane. 
 
322 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 and most of it sounding under the very stage, there is 
 no hearing of the bases at all, nor very well of the 
 trebles, which sure must be mended. 
 
 February 12, 1666-67. He 3 tells me that he hath 
 gone several times, eight or ten times, . . . hence to 
 Rome to hear good musique; so much he loves it, 
 though he never did sing or play a note. That he 
 hath endeavoured in the late King's time, and in this, 
 to introduce good musique, but he never could do it, 
 there never having been any musique here better than 
 ballads. Nay, says "Hermitt poore" and "Chevy 
 Chese" 4 was all the musique we had ; and yet no ordi- 
 nary fiddlers get so much money as ours do here, 
 which speaks our rudenesse still. That he hath gath- 
 ered our Italians from several Courts in Christen- 
 dome, to come to make a concert for the King. 
 
 February 26, 1668-69. The emptiness of the house 5 
 took away our pleasure a great deal, though I liked 
 it the better, for that I plainly discern the musick is 
 the better by how much the house the emptier. 
 
 3 Thomas Killigrew, manager of the King's theatre. 
 
 4 The ballads referred to are Like hermit poor in pensive 
 place obscure (before 1593), music for which was written by 
 Alfonso Ferrabosco, the younger, and published in his Ay res 
 (1609); and Chevy Chase (1500?), printed in 1719 by Thomas 
 Hearne in an edition of William of Newbury's Chronicle. 
 
 5 The King's theatre, at which Fletcher's The Faithful Shep- 
 herdess was being given. Cf. p. 86 for Pepys's praise of the 
 performance of a "French Eunuch," one of Killigrew's imported 
 musicians in this play. Pepys also commends the singing of 
 Gosnell, Mrs. Knepp, and Henry Harris in various plays. 
 
STAGE PRODUCTIONS 323 
 
 Advertising 
 
 March 24, 1662. I went to see if any play was 
 acted, and I found none upon the post, 1 it being Pas- 
 sion week. 
 
 July 28, 1664. Seeing "The Bondman" upon the 
 posts, ... I went thither. 
 
 December 25, 1666. Walked alone on foot to the 
 Temple . . . thinking to have seen a play all alone; 
 but there missing of any bills, concluded there was 
 none. 
 
 March 7, 1666-67. Little Mis. Davis did dance a 
 jig after the end of the play, 2 and there telling the 
 next day's play. 
 
 April 20, 1667. To King's house, but there found 
 the bill torn down and no play acted. 
 
 Theatres and Fasts 
 
 February 23, 1662-63. To Court . . . and saw 
 "The Wilde Gallant" ... the last play that is likely 
 to be acted at Court before Easter because of the 
 Lent coming in. 
 
 1 At this time performances at the theatres were advertised in 
 playbills displayed on the outside of the theatres and on the 
 posts in the streets. A facsimile of the playbill for the perform- 
 ance of The Mourning Bride, February 27, 1700, is given in 
 R. W. Lowe's Thomas Betterton, 1891 ed., p. 14. 
 
 2 The English Princess at the Duke's house. It was customary 
 to announce the second performance of a play which had suc- 
 ceeded at the end of the first day's performance. 
 
324 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 March 24, 1662-63. I went to see if any play was 
 acted, and I found none upon the post, it being Pas- 
 sion week. 1 
 
 October 15, 1666. She [Lady Carteret] cries out 
 of the vices of the Court, and how they are going to 
 set up plays already; and how the next day after the 
 late great fast, the Duchesse of York did give the 
 King and the Queene a play. Nay, she told me that 
 they have heretofore had plays at Court the very 
 nights before the fast for the death of the late King. 
 
 March 1, 1666-67. That it were not Friday (on 
 which in Lent there are no plays) I had carried her 
 to a play. 
 
 March 21, 1666-67. To the Duke of York's play- 
 house where unexpectedly I come to see only the 
 young men and women of the house act ; they having 
 liberty to act for their own profit on Wednesdays and 
 Fridays this Lent. 2 
 
 1 In a letter to Lord Cornebery, from London, February 9, 
 1664-65, Evelyn deplores "The frequency of our theatrical 
 pastimes during that indiction [Lent] . . . so as the ladys & 
 the gallants come reaking from the play late on Saturday night to 
 their Sonday devotions" (Diary, Wheatley ed., II, pp. 301-302). 
 
 2 Evidently in spite of the custom, noted above, of having no 
 plays on Fridays in Lent. Genest (I, 152) comments: "It 
 appears from Pepys . . . that the young actors of the Duke's 
 Company were allowed to act for their own advantage on 
 Wednesdays and Fridays in Lent and from the Epilogue to 
 the Rival Kings that the young performers of the King's Theatre 
 had a similar privilege." 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 THE CHIEF BRITISH PERIODICALS CONTAINING 
 REVIEWS COMMENTING ON THE THEATRI- 
 CAL MATERIAL IN LORD BRAYBROOKE'S 
 EDITION (1825) OF THE MEMOIRS OF 
 SAMUEL PEPYS, ESQ. 
 
 The Eclectic Review (July, 1825), Vol. XXIV, pp. 75-88. 
 
 The Edinburgh Review (November, 1825), Vol. XLIII, pp. 
 23-54. Review by Francis Jeffrey. 
 
 The Gentleman's Magazine (September, 1825), Vol. XCV, 
 pp. 233-240. 
 
 The Ladies Magazine, or Mirror of the Belles-Lettres (July, 
 1825), Vol. VI, pp. 394-397. 
 
 The London Literary Gazette (June 18- August 13, 1825), 
 Nos. 439-447. 
 
 The London Magazine (December, 1825), New Series, Vol. 
 Ill, pp. 536-540. 
 
 The Monthly Repository of Theology and General Litera- 
 ture (August, 1825), Vol. XX, pp. 449-454. 
 
 The Museum of Foreign Literature and Science (July-De- 
 cember, 1825), Vol. VII, pp. 247-262 (from The 
 Monthly Review) ; (March, 1826), New Series, Vol. I, 
 pp. 231-242 (from The British Critic). 
 
 The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal (Part 
 II, 1825), Vol. XIV, pp. 97-110. 
 
328 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 The Quarterly Review (March, 1826), Vol. XXXIII, pp. 
 
 281-314. Review by Sir Walter Scott. 
 The Westminster Review (October, 1825), Vol. IV, pp. 408- 
 
 456. 
 
 II 
 EDITIONS OF PEPYS'S DIARY 
 
 Memoirs of Samuel Pepys, Esq., F.R.S., Secretary to 
 the Admiralty in the Reigns of Charles II and James 
 II, comprising his Diary from 1659 to 1669 deciphered 
 by the Rev. John Smithy A.B., from the Original Short- 
 hand MS. in the Pepysian Library, and a Selection from 
 his private Correspondence. Edited by Richard, Lord 
 Braybrooke. 2 vols. 1825. 2d ed. 5 vols. 1828. 1 
 3d ed., with additions and corrections, 5 vols. 1848-49. 
 4th ed., with considerable additions, 4 vols. 1853. 5th 
 ed. 4 vols. 1854. 6th ed., with additions and im- 
 provements (Bohn's Historical Library), 4 vols. 1858. 
 An illustrated reproduction of Lord Braybrooke's edi- 
 tion by Charles Curtis Bigelow, 4 vols. Philadelphia. 
 1906. Lord Braybrooke's edition, with a note by 
 Richard Garnett (Everyman's Library), 2 vols. Lon- 
 don and New York. 1906. (Several re-issues.) 
 
 Diary and Correspondence of Samuel Pepys, Esq., F.R.S. 
 from his MS. cypher in the Pepysian Library, with a 
 Life and Notes by Richard, Lord Braybrooke. De- 
 ciphered with additional notes by Rev. My nor s Bright, 
 M.A. 6 vols. 1875-79. Limited ed. 10 vols. New 
 York. 1884. 
 
 i If not otherwise stated, the place of publication is London. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 329 
 
 The Diary of Samuel Pepys, M.A., F.R.S., Transcribed from 
 the Shorthand MS. in the Pepysian Library, Magda- 
 lene College, Cambridge, by Rev. Mynors Bright, with 
 Lord Braybrooke's Notes. Edited with additions by 
 Henry B. Wheatley. 8 vols. 1893-96. Vol. IX, 
 Index. 1899. Supplementary volume, Pepysiana or 
 Additional Notes on the Particulars of Pepys's Life 
 and on Some Passages in the Diary, with Appendixes. 
 1899. Smaller edition in 8 vols., 1904-05 (without 
 Pepysiana). 
 
 A Bicentenary (St. Olave) edition, a reproduction of the 
 above, with an introduction by H. B. Wheatley. 18 
 vols. New York. 1903. 
 
 Ill 
 
 WORKS RELATING TO PEPYS AS A DRAMATIC 
 HISTORIAN 
 
 Anonymous. Pepys at the Play. In The Theatre, April 1, 
 
 1884, Vol. Ill, pp. 201-206. 
 Bridge, Sir Frederick. Samuel Pepys, Lover of Musique. 
 
 1903. 
 Hadden, J. Cuthbert. Samuel Pepys. In The Fortnightly 
 
 Review, May 1, 1903, Vol. LXXIII, pp. 911-917. 
 Hueffer, Francis. Mr. Pepys the Musician. In Italian and 
 
 Other Studies. 1883. 
 Hunt, Leigh. Dramatic Essays. Ed. with notes and an 
 
 introduction by William Archer and Robert W. Lowe. 
 
 1894. 
 Johnson, Charles F. Shakespeare and his Critics. Boston. 
 
 1909. 
 
330 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 Lee, Sidney. Pepys and Shakespeare. In Shakespeare and 
 the Modern Stage, with other Essays. New York. 
 1906. 
 
 Lounsbury, Thomas R. Shakespeare as a Dramatic Artist. 
 New York and London. 1901. 
 
 Moorhouse, E. Hallam. Samuel Pepys, Administrator, 
 Observer, Gossip. 1909. 
 
 Palmer, John. The Comedy of Manners. 1913. 
 
 Stevenson, Robert Louis. Samuel Pepys. In Familiar 
 Studies of Men and Books. 1882. 
 
 Wheatley, Henry B. Evelyn and Pepys. In The Cam- 
 bridge History of English Literature, Vol. VIII. Cam- 
 bridge. 1912. 
 
 Wheatley, Henry B. Samuel Pepys and the World he Lived 
 In. 1880. Several re-issues. 
 
 IV 
 
 WORKS DEALING WITH THE STAGE IN THE 
 DECADE COVERED BY PEPYS'S DIARY 
 
 Adams, W. Davenport. A Dictionary of the Drama . . . 
 Vol. I, A-G. 1904. 
 
 Adams, W. H. Davenport. The Merry Monarch, or Eng- 
 land under Charles II: Its Art, Literature, and Society. 
 2 vols. 1885. 
 
 Albright, Victor E. The Shales perian Stage [Chapter IV, 
 Some Principles of Restoration Staging]. New York. 
 1909. 
 
 Arber, E. The Term Catalogues, 1668-1709. . . . A Con- 
 temporary Bibliography of English Literature in the 
 reigns of Charles II, James II, William and Mary, and 
 Anne. Ed., E. Arber. 3 vols. 1903-06. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 331 
 
 Baker, H. Barton. History of the London Stage and its 
 Famous Players (1576-1903). London and New 
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 Beljame, Alexandre. Le Public et les Hommes de Lettres en 
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 Besant, Sir Walter. London in the Time of the Stuarts. 
 1903. 
 
 Betterton, Thomas. The History of the English Stage 
 from the Restauration to the Present Time, including 
 the Lives, Characters and Amours of the most Eminent 
 Actors and Actresses. 1741. 
 
 Biographia Dramatica; or, A Companion to the Playhouse. 
 . . . Originally compiled, to the year 1764*, by David 
 Erskine Baker. . . . Continued thence to 1782, by 
 Isaac Reed, F.A.S. And brought down to the End of 
 November 1811 ... by Stephen Jones. 3 vols. 1812. 
 
 Boulton, William B. The Amusements of Old London. 2 
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 Brooke, C. F. Tucker. The Tudor Drama. Boston. 1911. 
 
 The Cambridge History of English Literature. Ed., A. W. 
 Ward and A. R. Waller. Vol. VIII [Chapters V, VI, 
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 Canfield, Dorothea Frances. Corneille and Racine in Eng- 
 land: a Study of the English Translations of the two 
 Corneilles and Racine, with especial reference to their 
 Presentation on the English Stage. New York and 
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 Charlanne, L. L' Influence Francaise en Angleterre au dix- 
 septieme Siecle. Paris. 1906. 
 
 Chase, L. N. The English Heroic Play. New York. 1903. 
 
 [Chetwood, William Rufus.] The British Theatre, contain- 
 ing the Lives of the English Dramatic Poets, with an 
 
332 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 Account of all their Plays, together with the Lives of 
 most of the Principal Actors, as well as Poets. To 
 which is prefixed a Short View of the Rise and Progress 
 of the English Stage. Dublin. 1750. 
 
 Cibber, Colley. An Apology for the Life of Mr. Colley 
 Gibber. A new edition, with notes and supplement by 
 Robert W. Lowe. 2 vols. 1889. 
 
 [Collier, John Payne.] Punch and Judy, accompanied by 
 ... an Account of its Origin, and of Puppet Plays in 
 England. 6th ed. 1873. 
 
 Cunningham, Peter. The Story of Nell Gwyn and the Say- 
 ings of Charles the Second. . . . With introduction, 
 additional notes, and a life of the author, by Henry 
 B. Wheatley. 1903. 
 
 D'Avenant, Sir William. The Dramatic Works of Sir Wil- 
 liam D'Avenant, with prefatory memoir and notes [by 
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 burgh and London. 1872-74. 
 
 Davies, Thomas. Dramatic Miscellanies: Consisting of 
 Critical Observations on several Plays of Shakspeare 
 . . . with Anecdotes of Dramatic Poets, Actors, fyc. 
 3 vols. 1784. [Vol. II dated 1783.] 
 
 Dibdin, C. A Complete History of the English Stage. 5 
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 Dictionary of National Biography. Ed., Leslie Stephen and 
 Sidney Lee. Revised ed. 22 vols. London and New 
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 Dobson, Austin. Miscellanies [Chapter VIII, Old White- 
 hall]. New York. 1899. 
 
 Doran, Dr. "Their Majesties 9 Servants" Annals of the 
 English Stage from Thomas Betterton to Edmund 
 Kean. Edited and revised by Robert W. Lowe. 3 vols. 
 1888. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 333 
 
 [Downes, John.] Roscius Anglicanus, or, An Historical 
 Review of the Stage, from 1660 to 1706. A Facsimile 
 Reprint of the Rare Original of 1708. With an his- 
 torical preface by Joseph Knight. 1886. 
 
 Dryden, John. The Works of John Dryden, illustrated with 
 Notes, historical, critical, and explanatory, and a Life 
 of the Author, by Sir Walter Scott, Bart. Revised and 
 corrected by George Saintsbury. 18 vols. Edinburgh 
 [Vols. XV-XVIII, London]. 1882-93. 
 
 Evelyn, John. Diary of John Evelyn, Esq., F.R.S. . . . 
 Edited from the original MSS. by William Bray, F.S.A. 
 Ed., Henry B. Wheatley. 4 vols. 1906. 
 
 Fitzgerald, Percy. A New History of the English Stage 
 from the Restoration to the Liberty of the Theatres in 
 Connection with the Patent Houses. 2 vols. 1882. 
 
 Fleay, Frederick Gard. A Biographical Chronicle of the 
 English Drama, 1559-1642. 2 vols. 1891. 
 
 Gait, John. The Lives of the Players. 2 vols. 1831. 
 
 [Genest, John.] Some Account of the English Stage, from 
 the Restoration in 1660 to 1830. 10 vols. Bath. 
 1832. 
 
 [Halliwell-Phillipps, J. O.] A Collection of Ancient Docu- 
 . ments respecting the Office of the Master of the Revels, 
 and other Papers relating to early English Theatres. 
 1870. 
 
 Halliwell [-Phillipps], J. O. A Dictionary of Old English 
 Plays, existing either in Print or in Manuscript, from 
 the earliest Times to the Close of the Seventeenth Cen- 
 tury; including also Notices of Latin Plays written by 
 English Authors during the same Period. 1860. 
 
 Hamilton, Count Anthony. Memoirs of the Count de Gra- 
 mont, containing the Amorous History of the English 
 Court under the Reign of Charles II. Ed., Henry 
 Vizetelly. 2 vols. 1889. 
 
334 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 Hazlitt, W. C. Collections and Notes. 1876. 
 
 [Hazlitt, W. C.] The English Drama and Stage under the 
 Tudor and Stuart Princes, 1543-1664, illustrated by a 
 Series of Documents, Treatises, and Poems. The Rox- 
 burghe Library. 1869. 
 
 Hazlitt, W. C. A Manual for the Collector and Amateur 
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 Halliwell-Phillipps, with extensive additions and correc- 
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 Ingleby, C. M. Shakespeare 9 s Centurie of Prayse, being 
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 his Works, Culled from Writers of the first Century 
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 Kilbourne, Frederick W. Alterations and Adaptations of 
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 Langbaine, Gerard. An Account of the English Dramatick 
 Poets, or, some Observations and Remarks on the Lives 
 and Writings, of all Those that have published 
 either Comedies, Tragedies, Tragi-Comedies, Pastorals, 
 Masques, Interludes, Farces, or Opera's in the English 
 tongue. Oxford. 1691. 
 
 Langbaine, Gerard. The Lives and Characters of the Eng- 
 lish Dramatick Poets. . . . Improved and continued 
 ... by a careful hand [Charles Gildon]. [1699.] 
 
 Lowe, Robert W. Thomas Betterton. 2d ed. 1891. [Vol. 
 II of Eminent Actors series.] 
 
 Lowe, Robert W. A Bibliographical Account of English 
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 Magnin, Charles. Histoire des Marionettes en Europe depuis 
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BIBLIOGRAPHY 335 
 
 Malone, Edmond. Historical Account of the Rise and Pro- 
 gress of the English Stage and the Economy and 
 Usages of our Ancient Theatres. In Malone's edition 
 of The Plays and Poems of William Shakspeare, Vol. 
 I, Part II. 1790. 
 
 Mantzius, Karl. A History of Theatrical Art, in Ancient 
 and Modern Times. With an introduction by William 
 Archer. Authorized translation by Louise von Cossel. 
 Vol. V [pp. 306-337, The Betterton Period]. 1909. 
 
 Molloy, J. F. Famous Plays, with a Discourse by Way of 
 Prologue on the Playhouses of the Restoration. 1886. 
 
 Nettleton, George Henry. English Drama of the Restora- 
 tion and Eighteenth Century ( 1 642-1 780 ) . New York. 
 1914. 
 
 de Neuville, Lemercier. Histoire Anecdotique des Mario- 
 nettes Modernes. Avec une preface de Jules Claretie. 
 Paris. 1892. 
 
 Oliver, D. E. The English Stage: its Origins and Modern 
 Developments: A Critical and Historical Study. 2d 
 ed. 1912. 
 
 Parry, C. Hubert H. The Music of the Seventeenth Cen- 
 tury. In The Oxford History of Music, Vol. III. 
 Oxford. 1902. 
 
 Schelling, Felix E. Elizabethan Drama, 1558-1642. 2 
 vols. Boston. 1908. 
 
 Schelling, Felix E. English Drama. New York. 1914. 
 [In The Channels of English Literature series.] 
 
 Shadwell, T. Works. With a prefatory memoir by his 
 son. 4 vols. 1720. 
 
 Sharp, R. Farquharson. A Short History of the English 
 Stage from its Beginnings to the Summer of the Year 
 1908. London and New York. 1909. 
 
 Sheppard, Edgar. The Old Royal Palace of Whitehall. 
 1902. 
 
336 PEPYS ON THE RESTORATION STAGE 
 
 Thorndike, Ashley H. Tragedy. Boston. 1908. [In The 
 Types of English Literature series.] 
 
 Ward, Adolphus William. A History of English Dramatic 
 Literature to the Death of Queen Anne. New and re- 
 vised ed. 3 vols. London and New York. 1899. 
 
 Wheatley, Henry B. London Past and Present. 3 vols. 
 1891. 
 
 Wilkes, [Saul Derrick]. A General View of the Stage. 
 1759. 
 
 [Wright, James.] Historia Histrionica: An Historical 
 Account of the English Stage, shewing the Ancient 
 Uses, Improvement, and Perfection of Dramatic Repre- 
 sentations, in this Nation. In a Dialogue of Plays and 
 Players. 1699. Reprinted in Dodsley's A Select Col- 
 lection of Old English Plays, ed., W. C. Hazlitt, vol. 
 XV. 1876. 
 
INDEX 
 
INDEX OF NAMES AND TITLES 
 
 Actor's Remonstrance, The, 207 
 
 Adventures of Five Hours, The, 20, 23, 25, 32, 73, 138, 192-4 
 
 Aglaura, 127 
 
 Albumazar, 128-9 
 
 Alchemist, The, 28, 42, 109, 128 
 
 All Mistaken, or The Mad Couple, 31, 43, 47, 163-4 
 
 All's Lost by Lust, 121 
 
 Angell, 128, 211 
 
 Annals of the English Stage, see under Doran 
 
 Annus Miribilis, 266 
 
 Antipodes, The, 101 
 
 Apology for the Life of Mr. Colley Gibber, see under Gibber 
 
 Appius and Virginia, 137 
 
 Arcadia, 105 
 
 Archer, William, 6 
 
 Argalus and Parthenia, 44, 105-6 
 
 Arlington, Lord, 189 
 
 Baker, H. B., 232, 290, 298, 299, 301, 304 
 
 Banks, John, 231 
 
 Bannister, John, 75, 185, 319 
 
 Bartholomew Fair, 32, 109-11, 207-8 
 
 Batten, Martha, 82 
 
 Beaumont, Francis, 10, 27, 28, 81-101 
 
 Bedford, Captain, 304, 305 
 
 Beeston, William, 73, 161, 171, 212 
 
 Beggars' Bush, The, 41, 81-2 
 
 Behn, Aphra, 156 
 
 Bellasses, H., 266, 293 
 
340 INDEX 
 
 Bennet, "Lady," 222 
 
 Berkeley, Sir William, 81 
 
 Berkshire, Lord, 241 
 
 Bernbaum, Ernest, 156, 182 
 
 Betterton, Mary Saunderson, 42, 65, 68, 70, 71, 74, 117, 129, 
 
 134, 139, 143, 156, 157, 177, 179, 184, 191, 193, 197, 232, 
 
 237-8 
 Betterton, Thomas, 21, 22, 23, 28, 44, 45, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70, 
 
 74, 77, 91, 92, 116, 117, 120, 129, 137, 138, 139, 141, 142, 
 
 143, 146, 157, 177, 178, 179, 180, 184, 187, 191, 193, 197, 
 
 212-5, 232, 295, 308 
 
 Biographia Dramatica, 175, 200, 201, 237 
 Bird, Theophilus, 126, 215 
 Black Prince, The, 29, 172-4 
 
 Bloody Brother, The, or Rollo, Duke of Normandy, 95-6 
 Bondman, The, 28, 42, 116-7 
 Boutel, Mrs., 85, 92, 96 
 Braybrooke, Lord, 5, 6 
 
 Brennoralt, or The Discontented Colonel, 127-8 
 Bridge, Sir Frederick, 320 
 Bright, Mynors, 12 
 Bristol, Earl of, 137-8, 193 
 Brome, Alexander, 263 
 Brome, Richard, 20, 25, 101-3, 257 
 Brooke, C. F. Tucker, 130, 202 
 Brouncker, Lord, 149, 249, 256 
 Buckhurst, Lord, 75, 201, 245, 246, 280 
 Buckingham, Duke of, 29, 53, 83, 134, 270, 280 
 Burt, Nicholas, 67, 73, 85, 88, 95, 96, 109, 111, 113, 115, 148, 
 
 151, 173, 185, 215-6 
 Bussy D'Ambois, 103 
 Butler, Samuel, 223 
 
 Calderon, 137, 192 
 
 Cambridge History of English Literature, The, 12, 165 
 
 Canfield, D. F., 197, 199 
 
 Cardinal, The, 121-2, 224 
 
INDEX 341 
 
 Careless Lovers, The, 211 
 
 Carlell, Lodovick, 198 
 
 Carteret, Sir Philip, 56, 309 
 
 Cartwright, William, 67, 72, 73, 89, 109, 113, 115, 185, 216 
 
 Caryl, John, 138 
 
 Castlemayne, Lady, 42, 54, 55, 87, 97, 102, 110, 145, 158, 179, 
 189, 246, 278 
 
 Catiline, His Conspiracy, 22, 42, 48, 111-2 
 
 Cervantes, 82-3 
 
 Chances, The, 82-3 
 
 Change of Crowns, The, 30, 31, 46, 114, 162 
 
 Changeling, The, 120 
 
 Changes, The, or Love in a Maze, 46, 122-3 
 
 Chapman, George, 103 
 
 Charles II, 10, 17, 18, 31, 40, 42, 44, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 70, 71, 
 75, 81, 87, 97, 99, 102, 108, 110, 111, 112, 119, 122, 126, 
 129, 133, 140, 141, 143, 146, 151, 155, 157, 162, 166, 169, 
 172, 173, 177, 178, 179, 183, 186, 187, 188, 198, 226, 228, 
 241, 247, 257, 269, 293 
 
 Chaucer, Geoffrey, 264 
 
 Cheats, The, 226 
 
 Chetwood, Rufus, 175 
 
 Gibber, Theophilus, 10, 70, 212, 226, 230 
 
 Cid, The, 32, 53, 197-8 
 
 City Match, The, 118-9 
 
 Claracilla, 167-8 
 
 Clarke, Timothy, 134, 145, 155, 178, 182 
 
 Cleodora, or The Queen of Arragon, 106 
 
 Chin, Walter, 73, 88, 96, 102, 109, 216-7 
 
 Coello, Antonio, 32, 138, 192 
 
 Coleman, Edward, 239, 320 
 
 Coleman, Mrs. Edward, 238-9, 257 
 
 Collection of Ancient Documents respecting the . . . Revels, A, 
 see under Halliwell-Phillipps 
 
 Collier, Jeremy, 25 
 
 Comical Revenge, The, or Love in a Tub, 30, 157-8, 159 
 
 Commenius, Johann A., 197 
 
342 INDEX 
 
 Committee, The, 165 
 
 Conquest of Granada, The, 248 
 
 Cooke, Henry, 239, 265, 320 
 
 Cooke, John, 103-4 
 
 Cooke, Sir Robert, 95 
 
 Corey, Mrs. ("Doll Common"), 41, 42, 95, 97, 109, 111, 113, 
 
 115, 151, 239-40 
 
 Corneille, Pierre, 32, 49, 148, 197-201 
 Corneille, Thomas, 201 
 Cornelianum Dolium, 121 
 Cornwallis, Mrs., 150 
 Country Captain, The, 117, 169-70 
 Country Wife, The, 218 
 Court Beggar, The, 257 
 Court Secret, The, 128 
 Coventry, Sir William, 45, 162, 270 
 Cowley, Abraham, 19, 29, 32, 55, 139, 263-4 
 Coxcomb, The, 83 
 Creed, John, 87, 97, 134, 177 
 Cromwell, Lady Mary, 52, 277 
 Cromwell, Oliver, 163 
 
 Cruelty of the Spaniards in Peru, The, 290 
 Cunning Lovers, The, 263 
 Cunningham, Peter, 215, 266, 283 
 Cupid's Revenge, or Love Despised, 84 
 Custom of the Country, The, 84-5 
 Cutter of Coleman Street, 29, 55, 139 
 
 Damoiselles a la Mode, 20, 160-1 
 
 D'Avenant, Sir William, 21, 28, 29, 32, 39, 44, 48, 50, 56, 65, 
 
 69, 70, 75, 104, 140-7, 155, 178, 182, 202, 213, 257, 264-5, 
 
 290, 295, 296, 298, 302, 303, 306, 308, 317, 318 
 D'Avenant, Dramatic Works of (Maidment and Logan ed.), 
 
 318-9 
 Davenport, Elizabeth ("Roxalana"), 42, 65, 69, 117, 141, 143, 
 
 144, 146, 179, 193, 198, 255-6 
 Davenport, Francis, 42, 240 
 
INDEX 343 
 
 Davies, Thomas, 215 
 
 Davis, Mary ("Moll"), 42, 54, 55, 58, 77, 125, 138, 143, 152, 
 158, 159, 177, 179, 240-2 
 
 Dekker, Thomas, 118 
 
 Denham, Sir John, 199 
 
 Dennis, John, 187 
 
 Depit Amour eux, Le, 148 
 
 Devil is an Ass, The, 112 
 
 Dick Whittington, 207-8 
 
 Dictionary of National Biography, 248 
 
 Doran, Dr. John, 171, 202, 259, 281 
 
 Dorset, Lady, 75 
 
 Dorset, Lord, 179 
 
 Downes, John, 9, 12, 19, 42, 65, 67-70, 73-5, 77, 83-5, 88, 92, 
 95-7, 101-2, 104, 106, 109, 111, 113-5, 120, 122, 124-5, 
 129-30, 134, 138-43, 146, 151-2, 158-9, 161, 173, 176-7, 
 184, 187-8, 193, 211-3, 224, 226, 229, 231, 239-40, 252, 
 255, 258, 289, 298-9, 306, 315, 317-8 
 
 Drayton, Michael, 130 
 
 Drawwater, Dorothy, 153 
 
 Dryden, John, 9, 20, 25, 26, 32, 69, 75, 97, 128, 147-57, 200, 
 246, 248, 259, 265-6, 304 
 
 Duchess of Half,, The, 129 
 
 Duke of Lerma, The (The Great Favorite}, 31, 166, 246, 266 
 
 Eclectic Review, The, 7 
 
 Edinburgh Review, The, 7, 8 
 
 Elder Brother, The, 85 
 
 Elizabeth, Queen, 50, 108 
 
 Elizabeth of Bohemia, 54, 143, 147, 278 
 
 Elizabethan Club, 198 
 
 English Monsieur, The, 41, 164 
 
 English Princess, The, or Richard the Third, 138 
 
 Epicoene, or The Silent Woman, 28, 38, 41, 47, 112-4 
 
 Etherege, Sir George, 22, 30, 84, 106, 157-9, 207, 280 
 
 L'Etourdi, 152 
 
 Evelyn, John, 21, 24, 25, 159 
 
344 INDEX 
 
 Evelyn, John, Diary of, 19, 66, 69, 96, 111, 115, 119, 140, 143, 
 148, 150, 155, 157, 159, 165, 179, 192-3, 200, 205, 226-7, 
 256, 263-4, 268, 324 
 
 Evening's Love, An, or The Mock Astrologer, 20, 25, 147-8 
 
 Fdcheux, Les, 188 
 
 Faithful Shepherd, The, 202 
 
 Faithful Shepherdess, The, 48, 85-6 
 
 Falkland, Lord, 160 
 
 Familiar Studies of Men and Books, 12 
 
 Father's Own Son (Monsieur Thomas), 86-7 
 
 Faustus, Doctor, The Tragical History of, 116 
 
 Ferrabosco, Alfonso, 322 
 
 Ferrers, Captain, 68, 91, 182 
 
 Filmore, Sir Edward, 201 
 
 First Day's Entertainment at Rutland House, The, 140 
 
 Flecknoe, Richard, 20, 160, 266, 315-6 
 
 Fletcher, John, 10, 28, 48, 76, 81-101, 119, 200 
 
 Flora's Vagaries, 43, 184-5 
 
 Ford, John, 104-5 
 
 French Dancing Master, The, 205 
 
 Fountain, John, 187 
 
 Fox, Lady, 194, 311 
 
 General, The, 175-6 
 
 Genest, John, 11, 12, 19, 70, 74, 83, 89, 95, 96, 99, 103, 109, 
 111, 114, 123, 142, 147, 154, 155, 160, 161, 162. 163, 181-2, 
 185, 191, 211, 216, 218, 238, 252, 253, 254, 324 
 
 Gentleman's Magazine, The, 9, 266 
 
 German Princess, The, 181-2 
 
 Ghosts, The, 161 
 
 Glapthorne, Henry, 105-6 
 
 Gloucester, Duke of, 112 
 
 Goblins, The, 88, 128 
 
 Godolphin, Sidney, 201 
 
 Gosnell, Mrs., 42, 66, 77, 134, 142, 143, 190, 191, 242-3 
 
 Gosse, Edmund, 124 
 
INDEX . 345 
 
 Gramont, The Count de, Memoirs of, 144, 256 
 
 Grand Cyrus, The, 231 
 
 Grateful Servant, The, 124 
 
 Green, Alexander, 161 
 
 Greene, Thomas, 104 
 
 Guardian, The, 139 
 
 Guarini, Battista, 202 
 
 Guzman, 29, 176-7, 181 
 
 Gwyn, "Nell," 8, 9, 30, 31, 42, 43, 47, 88, 95, 138, 148, 149, 
 
 150, 151, 156, 163, 164, 166, 167, 173, 184, 187, 224, 243-8, 
 
 251 
 
 Habington, William, 106 
 
 Haines, Joseph, 83, 120, 217-8, 305 
 
 Hale, John, 221, 223 
 
 Hall, "Betty," 88 
 
 Halliwell-Phillipps, J. O., 290, 308, 317 
 
 Hamlet, 21, 23, 24, 28, 46, 48, 65-6 
 
 Harris, Henry, 44, 45, 46, 65, 68, 70, 74, 76, 77, 111, 129, 137, 
 138, 139, 141, 142, 143, 146, 152, 158, 159, 177, 179, 180, 
 184, 188, 189, 191, 192, 193, 218-23, 295, 296 
 
 Hart, Charles, 31, 67, 73, 83, 88, 89, 92, 95, 96, 103, 111, 115, 
 148, 151, 163, 164, 173, 200, 224, 232, 246 
 
 Harvey, Lady, 42 
 
 Hazlitt, W. C., 87, 103, 104, 108, 121, 161, 171-2, 176, 205 
 
 Hearne, Thomas, 322 
 
 Heiress, The, 45, 170-1 
 
 Henry IV, Part I, 23, 66-67 
 
 Henry V (Orrery's), 29, 173, 175, 176-8 
 
 Henry VI, 218 
 
 Henry VIII, 20, 23, 28, 48, 67-9, 155, 163 
 
 Heraclius, 32, 49, 198-9 
 
 Herbert, Sir Henry, 19, 41, 81, 290 
 
 Heritiere Ridicule, 141 
 
 Hey wood, Thomas, 107-8 
 
 Historia Histrionica, 95, 169, 277 
 
 History of the English Stage, The, 237 
 
346 INDEX 
 
 Histriomastrix, 257 
 
 Holden, T., 161 
 
 Holof ernes, 208 
 
 Horace, 82, 199-200 
 
 Howard, Edward, 80, 45, 114, 162-3, 267 
 
 Howard, James, 30, 31, 74, 163-4 
 
 Howard, Sir Robert, 25, 30, 31, 33, 69, 155-7, 165-7, 179, 189, 
 
 206, 268, 270 
 Hudibras, 223 
 Hughs, Mrs., 73 
 
 Humourous Lieutenant, The, 87-8 
 Humourous Lovers, The, 54, 171-2 
 Hyde Park, 49, 124 
 
 Ibrahim, ou I'illustre Bassa, 148 
 
 // You Know not Me You Know Nobody, or The Troubles of 
 
 Queen Elizabeth, 50, 108 
 Indian Emperor, The, 29, 148, 149-50, 164 
 Indian Queen, The, 25, 29, 69, 155-7, 165 
 Island Princess, The, or The Generous Portugal, 48, 89 
 
 Jeffrey, Lord, 6, 7, 8 
 
 Jerdan, William, 10 
 
 Jodelet, ou le Maitre Valet, 141 
 
 Jonah and the Whale, 207 
 
 Jones, Inigo, 85, 107 
 
 Jonson, Ben, 9, 22, 28, 38, 41, 42, 95, 109-15, 119, 128, 200 
 
 Jovial Crew, The, 25, 102 
 
 Katherine (of Braganza), Queen, 53, 97, 110, 122, 133, 157, 
 
 162, 186, 198, 242, 279 
 Kilbourne, F. W., 68 
 Killigrew, Henry, 53, 134 
 Killigrew, Thomas, 9, 19, 25, 30, 33, 39, 41, 43, 44, 45, 48, 51, 
 
 59-60, 65, 81, 92, 100, 105, 110, 121, 126, 167-8, 175, 184," 
 
 205, 257, 269-70, 303, 306, 309 
 
INDEX 347 
 
 King and no King, A, 89-90 
 
 Knepp, Mrs., 42, 43, 83, 84, 88, 93, 97, 99, 108, 112, 113, 114, 
 
 118, 128, 148, 149, 151, 165, 166, 167, 171, 184, 185, 248- 
 
 52 
 
 Knight, Joseph, 289 
 Knight of the Burning Pestle, The, 90 
 Kyd, Thomas, 115, 305 
 Kynaston, Edward, 41, 45, 46, 85, 89, 91, 95, 113, 114, 115, 170, 
 
 171, 173, 212, 225-6 
 
 Labyrinth, The, or The Fatal Embarrassment, 201 
 
 Lacy, John, 30, 31, 45, 46, 49, 74, 85, 88, 102, 109, 113, 115, 
 
 122, 123, 162, 165, 169, 205, 226-30 
 Ladies a la Mode, The, 20, 160-1 
 Lady's Trial, The, 104 
 Langbaine, Gerard, 12, 19, 83, 84, 94, 100, 103, 119, 122, 162, 
 
 101, 169, 172, 226 
 Law against Lovers, The, 69, 140 
 Lee, Nathaniel, 229 
 Lee, Sir Sidney, 6, 13, 24 
 Legg, William, 303 
 Lilliston, 141 
 Lock, Matthew, 318, 320 
 Lockhart, John, 8 
 
 London Literary Gazette, The, 9-11 
 London Past and Present, 40, 289, 290, 293 
 Long, Mrs., 124 
 
 Los Empenos de Seis Horas, 192 
 Lost Lady, The, 81 
 Love a la Mode, 190 
 Love and Honour, 140-1 
 
 Love Tricks, or The School of Compliment, 125 
 Love's Cruelty, 125 
 Love's Kingdom, 315 
 Love's Mistress, 93, 107, 157 
 Love's Quarrel, 133 
 Lounsbury, Thomas R., 23 
 
348 INDEX 
 
 Lowe, Robert W., 6, 19, 74, 88, 91, 93, 126, 298, 307, 323 
 Loyal Subject, The, 47, 91 
 
 Macbeth, 22, 29, 54, 70-1, 140 
 
 MacFlecknoe, 304 
 
 Mad Lover, The, 91-2 
 
 Magnin, Charles, 205 
 
 Maid's Tragedy, The, 28, 52, 92-3 
 
 Maid in the Mill, The, 94> 
 
 Malone, Edmond, 81, 82, 87, 92, 100, 102, 103, 105, 113, 121, 
 
 125, 175, 184, 205, 258 
 Man's the Master, The, 141-2 
 
 Manual . . . of Old English Plays, see under Hazlitt 
 Marlowe, Christopher, 116 
 Marriage Night, The, 160 
 Marshall, Anne, 42, 156, 157, 252-3 
 
 Marshall, Rebecca, 42, 92-3, 118, 122, 124, 151, 179, 253-4, 259 
 Marshall, Stephen, 252-4 
 Martin Mar-all, Sir, 26, 29, 152-4 
 
 Massinger, Philip, 28, 42, 76, 81-2, 84, 85, 98, 99, 116-8 
 Mayne, Jasper, 118-9 
 Mayor of Quinborough, The, 119 
 
 Measure for Measure, see under The Law against Lovers 
 Menteur, Le, 200 
 Merry Andrew, 133, 207 
 Merry Devil of Edmonton, The, 130 
 Merry Wives of Windsor, The, 71-2 
 Middleton, Sir Hugh, 259 
 Middleton, Thomas, 119-20 
 Midsummer Night's Dream, A, 23, 72 
 Mistaken Beauty, The, or The Liar, 32, 200 
 Modern History of Hero and Leander, The, 32, 110, 207 
 Moders, Mary, 182 
 Mohun, Michael, 73, 81, 88, 89, 92, 95, 96, 100, 109, 111, 113, 
 
 115, 125, 126, 148, 151, 162, 173, 185, 229-30 
 Moliere, 148, 152, 161, 188 
 Monmouth, Duchess of, 150 
 
INDEX 349 
 
 Monmouth, Duke of, 97, 149, 274 
 
 Monthly Repository of Theology and General Literature, The, 7 
 
 Moreland, Lady, 104 
 
 Moreto, 187 
 
 Mourning Bride, The, 323 
 
 Much Ado about Nothing, see under The Law Against Lovers 
 
 Mulberry Garden, The, 31, 53, 55, 185-6 
 
 Mustapha, 29, 56, 173, 179-80 
 
 Naufragium Joculare, 139 
 
 Nettleton, George Henry, 148, 165 
 
 New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal, The, 9 
 
 Newcastle, Duchess of, 54, 171-2 
 
 Newcastle, Duke of, 30, 54, 152, 169-72, 205 
 
 Night Walker, The, or The Little Thief, 90-1 
 
 No puede ser, 187 
 
 Nokes, Charles, 152, 158, 188 
 
 Northern Castle, The, 20, 102-3 
 
 Northern Lass, The, 20, 102-3 
 
 Norton, Mrs., 42, 69, 144, 255 
 
 O'Bryan, Captain, 150 
 
 Ogilby, John, 226 
 
 Old Bachelor, The, 218 
 
 Old Royal Palace of Whitehall, The, 39, 292, 293 
 
 Old Troop, The, or Monsieur Raggou, 169 
 
 "Orange Moll," 44, 57-8, 284-5 
 
 Oroonoko, 156 
 
 Orphan, The, 231 
 
 Orrery, Earl of, 22, 29, 46, 172-81 
 
 Othello, 23, 28, 73, 194 
 
 Otway, Thomas, 231 
 
 Oxford, Earl of, 141, 144, 177, 179, 256 
 
 Palmer, John, 25 
 
 Palmer, Mrs. Roger, see under Castlemayne 
 
 Parson's Wedding, The, 25, 44, 168-9 
 
350 INDEX 
 
 Patient Grizill, 32, 208 
 
 Perm, Sir William, 75, 90, 126, 150, 154, 161 
 
 Perm, William, 98 
 
 Peor Estd que Estaba, 138 
 
 Pepys, Elizabeth (Mrs. Samuel), 52 and passim 
 
 Pepys, Samuel, 5 and passim 
 
 Pepys, Samuel, Diary of (Wheatley ed.), 5 and passim 
 
 Pepys, Samuel, Memoirs of (Braybrooke ed.), 5, 6, 7, 8 
 
 Pepys, Samuel, and the World He Lived In, 13 
 
 Pepysiana, 13 
 
 Peters, Hugh, 163 
 
 Philaster, 28, 94-5 
 
 Philips, Katharine, 199-200 
 
 Plaindealer, The, 222 
 
 Playhouse to be Let, A, 202, 302 
 
 Polichinello, 32, 188, 205-7 
 
 Politician Cheated, The, 161 
 
 Pompey the Great, 32, 201 
 
 Pope, Alexander, 212 
 
 Porter, Thomas, 26, 30, 181-4 
 
 Price, Joseph, 141 
 
 Princess, The, or Love at First Sight, 168 
 
 Prynne, William, 257 
 
 Prodigal Son, The, 207 
 
 Purcell, Henry, 318-9 
 
 Quarterly Review, The, 8 
 
 Rehearsal, The, 29 
 
 Rewards of Virtue, The, 187 
 
 Rhodes, John, 225, 290 
 
 Rhodes, Richard, 30, 184-5 
 
 Riley, Thomas, 121 
 
 Rival Ladies, The, 154 
 
 Rivals, The, 142-3, 242 
 
 Roman Virgin, The, or The Unjust Judge, 137 
 
 Romeo and Juliet, 73-4 
 
INDEX 351 
 
 Royal Shepherdess, The, 54, 86, 187-8 
 
 Roscius Anglicanus, see under Dowries 
 
 Rowley, William, 94, 95, 120, 121 
 
 "Roxalana," see under Elizabeth Davenport 
 
 Rule a Wife and Have a Wife, 96, 226 
 
 Rump, The, or The Mirrour of the Late Times, 191 
 
 Rupert, Prince, 179 
 
 Rutter, Mrs., 73, 85, 97 
 
 St. Serfe, Sir Thomas, 187 
 
 Sandford, Samuel, 70, 142, 158, 179, 184, 191, 230 
 
 Sandwich, Lord, 110, 133 
 
 Sawney the Scot, or The Taming of the Shrew, 74, 169 
 
 Scarron, Paul, 141 
 
 Schelling, Felix E., 170 
 
 Schola Ludus, 197 
 
 Scornful Lady, The, 41, 96-8 
 
 Scott, Sir Walter, 6, 8, 9 
 
 Scuderi, de, Mme., 148 
 
 Secret Love, or The Maiden Queen, 30, 138, 150-2, 259 
 
 Sedley, Sir Charles, 9, 30, 31, 33, 45, 52, 53, 54, 89, 93, 159, 
 
 170, 171, 175, 176, 185-6, 201, 245, 271-2 
 Senora Cornelia, La, 83 
 
 Serenade, The, or The Disappointment, 191-2 
 Shadwell, Thomas, 29, 30, 33, 54, 114, 176, 187-90, 223, 272-3, 
 
 284, 309 
 
 Shadwell, Mrs., 159, 188 
 Shakespeare, William, 8, 9, 13, 20, 23, 24, 28, 37, 65-78, 178, 
 
 213 
 Shakspeare, William, The Plays and Poems of (Malone ed.), see 
 
 under Malone 
 
 Sheppard, Edgar, 39, 40, 292-3 
 She Would if She Could, 22, 30, 58, 84, 106, 207 
 Shirley, James, 28, 49, 90, 121-6, 176 
 Shotterel, 49, 67, 92, 113 
 Siege of Rhodes, The, 42, 47, 50, 143-5 
 Singleton, John, 321 
 
352 INDEX 
 
 Slighted Maid, The, 47, 190-1 
 
 Smith, William, 70, 129, 138, 152, 159, 179, 184, 188, 191, 231 
 
 Some Account of the English Stage, see under Genest 
 
 Sorrows of Griselda, The, 207 
 
 Southland, Thomas, 190 
 
 Spanish Curate, The, 98 
 
 Spanish Gypsy, The, 120 
 
 Spanish Tragedy, The, or Hieronimo is Mad Again, 115, 202 
 
 Speed, John, 174 
 
 Spenser, Edmund, 264 
 
 Stapylton, Sir Robert, 30, 190-1 
 
 Steele, Sir Richard, 212 
 
 Stevenson, Robert Louis, 6, 12, 21, 23 
 
 Storm, The (The Sea Voyage), 76, 99 
 
 Story of Nell Gwyn, The, see under Cunningham 
 
 Stratford, M., 201 
 
 Suckling, Sir John, 88, 126-8 
 
 Sullen Lovers, The, or The Impertinents, 33, 47, 54, 188-90, 206 
 
 Surprisal, The, 32, 43, 166-7, 206 
 
 Taming of the Shrew, The, see under Sawney the Scot 
 
 Tarugo's Wiles, or The Coffee House, 187 
 
 Tatham, John, 191 
 
 Taylor, Silas, 191-2 
 
 Taylor, 213 
 
 Tempest, The, 29, 49, 75-7, 99, 140, 155 
 
 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, 105 
 
 Thorndike, Ashley, H., 37, 38 
 
 Thry sander, 159 
 
 Tomkis, Thomas, 128-9 
 
 Traitor, The, 28, 126 
 
 True Widow, A, 272, 284, 309 
 
 Tryphon, 180-1 
 
 Tu Quoque, or The City Gallant, 103-4 
 
 Tuke, Sir Samuel, 20, 23, 25, 138, 192-4 
 
 Twelfth Night, 77-8 
 
 
INDEX 353 
 
 Two Noble Kinsmen, The, 142 
 Tyrannic Love, 246 
 
 Unfortunate Lovers, The, 145-6 
 Usurper, The, 162-3 
 
 Variety, The, 205, 226 
 Villain, The, 26, 182-4 
 Virgin Martyr, The, 50, 51, 118 
 Volpone, 28, 115 
 
 Ward, Sir A. W., 12, 138 
 
 Waters, Lucy, 279 
 
 Weaver, Mrs. 149, 257 
 
 Webb, John, 315 
 
 Webster, John, 129-30, 137 
 
 Wheatley, Henry B., 6, 12, 13, 40 
 
 White Devil, The, or Vittoria Corombona, 129-30 
 
 Whittington, DicJc, 207-8 
 
 Widow, The, 41, 99, 119 
 
 Wild Gallant, The, 97, 155 
 
 Wild Goose Chase, The, 100 
 
 Wintersell, William, 67, 88, 92, 113, 123, 173, 231-2 
 
 Wit in a Constable, 106 
 
 Wit without Money, 100 
 
 The Wits, 29, 47, 146-7 
 
 Witty Combat, A, 181-2 
 
 Woman's Prize, The, or The Tamer Tamed, 101 
 
 Women Pleased, 101 
 
 Wright, James, 95, 169, 277 
 
 Wycherley, William, 222 
 
 York, Duchess of, 53, 87, 102, 146, 157, 159, 162, 168 
 
 York, Duke of, 53, 54, 87, 102, 108, 110, 112, 141, 143, 146, 
 
 157, 163, 168, 172, 177, 187, 188, 189, 220 
 Young, 22, 71, 129, 152, 184, 191, 193, 232 
 Young Gallant's Academy, The, 283 
 
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