Among the pastimes exhibited for the entertainment of queen Elizabeth during her stay at Kenelworth Castle, Warwickshire, was a kind of historical play, or old storial show, performed by certain persons who came for that purpose from Coventry. It was also called the old Coventry play of Hock-Tuesday, but must not be confounded with the Ludus de Corpus Christi, or Coventry Mystery, mentioned before, to which it did not bear the least analogy. The subject of the Hock-Tuesday show was the massacre of the Danes, a memorable event in the English history, on St. Brice's night, November 13, 1002, which was expressed "in action and in rhimes." It is said to have been annually acted in the town of Coventry, according to ancient custom; but that it was suppressed soon after the reformation, at the instance of some of their preachers, whose good intention the towns-people did not deny, but complained of their severity; urging in behalf of the show, that it was "without ill example of manners, papistry, or any superstition." [564] The rhimes originally belonging to the play, I presume, were omitted upon the above-mentioned occasion; [565] for it appears to have been performed without any recitation in mere dumb show, and consisted of hot skirmishes and furious encounters between the English and the Danish forces: first by the launce knights on horseback, armed with spears and shields, who being many of them dismounted fought with swords and targets. Then followed two "host of foot men," one after the other, first marching in ranks, then, turning about in a warlike manner, they changed their form from ranks into squadrons, then into triangles, then into rings, and then "winding out again they joined in battle; twice the Danes had the better, but at the last conflict they were beaten down, overcome, and many of them led captive for triumph by our English women." Her majesty was much pleased with this performance, "whereat," says my author, "she laughed well," and rewarded the actors with two bucks, and five marks in money; and with this munificence they were highly satisfied. [566]
XVI.—DECLINE OF SECULAR PLAYS.
The secular plays, as we have seen, consisted of a medley of different performances, calculated chiefly to promote mirth without any view to instruction; but soon after the production of regular plays, when proper theatres were established, the motley exhibitions of the strolling actors were only relished by the vulgar; the law set her face against them, the performers were stigmatised with the names of rogues and vagabonds, and all access was denied them at the houses of the opulent. They depended of course upon the precarious support derived from the favours of the lower classes of the people, which was not sufficient to enable them to appear with their former credit; their companies were necessarily divided, and their performances became less worthy of notice, every one of them endeavouring to shift for himself in the best manner that he could; or a few of them uniting their abilities as occasion might serve, exhibited at wakes and fairs, and lived upon the contributions of rustics and children. The tragitour now became a mere juggler, and played a few paltry tricks occasionally, assisted by the bourdour, or jester, transformed into a modern jack-pudding. It is highly probable, that necessity suggested to him the idea of supplying the place of his human confederates by automaton figures made of wood, which, by means of wires properly attached to them, were moved about, and performed many of the actions peculiar to mankind; and, with the assistance of speeches made for them behind the scenery, produced that species of drama commonly distinguished by the appellation of a droll, or a puppet-play; wherein a facetious performer, well known by the name of Punchinello, supplied the place of the Vice, or mirth-maker, a favourite character in the moralities. In modern days this celebrated actor, who has something to say to the greater part of his auditory, is called plain Punch. In the moralities, the Devil usually carried away the Iniquity, or Evil, at the conclusion of the drama; [567] and, in compliance with the old custom, Punch, the genuine descendant of the Iniquity, is constantly taken from the stage by the Devil at the end of the puppet-show. Ben Jonson, by way of burlesque, in the comedy entitled "The Devil is an Asse," reverses the ancient usage, and makes the Iniquity run away with the Fiend, saying—
The Divell was wont to carry away the Evill,
But now the Evill out-carries the Divell.—Act v. scene 6.
The first appearance of a company of wooden actors excited, no doubt, the admiration of the populace, and the novelty of such an exhibition was probably productive of much advantage to the inventor. I cannot pretend to determine the time that puppet-plays were first exhibited in England. I rather think this species of entertainment originated upon the continent. Cervantes has made Don Quixote a spectator at a puppet-show, and the knight's behaviour upon this occasion is described with great humor. The puppets were originally called motions: we find them mentioned in Gammer Gurton's Needle, which is supposed to have been written in 1517; and there the master of the puppet-show seems to have been considered as no better than an idle vagrant. One of the characters says, he will go "and travel with young Goose, the motion-man, for a puppet-player."
XVII.—ORIGIN OF PUPPET-PLAYS.
Previous to the invention of puppets, or rather to the incorporating of them into companies, there were automatons that performed variety of motions. The famous rood, or crucifix, at Boxley in Kent, described by Lambarde, was a figure of this kind, which moved its eyes, and turned its head whenever the monkish miracle workers required its assistance. The jack of the clock-house, often mentioned by the writers of the sixteenth century, was also an automaton, that either struck the hours upon the bell in their proper rotation, or signified by its gestures that the clock was about to strike. In a humorous pamphlet called Lanthorn and Candle, or the Bellman's Second Walk, published at London, 1605, it is said, "The Jacke of the Clocke-house goes upon screws, and his office is to do nothing but strike;" and in an old play still more early, "He shakes his heade and throws his arms about like the Jacke of the Clocke-house." The name of Jack of the Clock-house was also given to a certain description of thieves. From these figures, I doubt not, originated the more modern heroes of the puppet-show.
XVIII.—NATURE OF PERFORMANCES BY PUPPETS.
The puppet-shows usually made their appearance at great fairs, and especially at those in the vicinity of the metropolis; they still [568] continue to be exhibited in Smithfield at Bartholomew-tide, though with very little traces of their former greatness; indeed, of late years, they have become unpopular, and are frequented only by children. It is, however, certain, that the puppet-shows attracted the notice of the public at the commencement of the last century, and rivalled in some degree the more pompous exhibitions of the larger theatres. [569] Powel, a famous puppet-show man, is mentioned in one of the early papers of the Spectator, [570] and his performances are humorously contrasted with those of the Opera House. At the same time there was another motion-master, who also appears to have been of some celebrity, named Crawley; I have before me two bills of his exhibition, one for Bartholomew Fair, and the other for Southwark Fair. These are preserved in a miscellaneous collection of advertisements and title-pages among the Harleian MSS. [571] The first of these bills runs thus: "At Crawley's Booth, over against the Crown Tavern in Smithfield, during the time of Bartholomew Fair, will be presented a little opera, called the Old Creation of the World, yet newly revived; with the addition of Noah's Flood; also several fountains playing water during the time of the play.—The last scene does present Noah and his family coming out of the Ark, with all the beasts two and two, and all the fowls of the air seen in a prospect sitting upon trees; likewise over the ark is seen the Sun rising in a most glorious manner: moreover, a multitude of Angels will be seen in a double rank, which presents a double prospect, one for the sun, the other for a palace, where will be seen six Angels ringing of bells.—Likewise Machines descend from above, double and treble, with Dives rising out of Hell, and Lazarus seen in Abraham's bosom, besides several figures dancing jiggs, sarabands, and country dances, to the admiration of the spectators; with the merry conceits of squire Punch and sir John Spendall." This curious medley was, we are told, "completed by an Entertainment of singing, and dancing with several naked swords, performed by a Child of eight years of age." In the second bill, we find the addition of "the Ball of little Dogs;" it is also added, that these celebrated performers had danced before the queen (Anne) and most of the quality of England, and amazed every body.