[696] His blunder for comedy.
[697] See “British Popular Customs,” 1876, pp. 459, 463; Nares’s “Glossary,” vol. ii. p. 943; “Antiquarian Repertory,” vol. i. p. 218.
[698] This was a deep draught to the health of any one, in which it was customary to empty the glass or vessel.
[699] See Douce’s “Illustrations of Shakespeare,” 1839, pp. 441-449.
[700] See “British Popular Customs,” pp. 461, 469, 478, 480.
[701] See Brand’s “Pop. Antiq.,” 1849, vol. i. pp. 1-15.
CHAPTER XII.
BIRTH AND BAPTISM.
As every period of human life has its peculiar rites and ceremonies, its customs and superstitions, so has that ever all-eventful hour which heralds the birth of a fresh actor upon the world’s great stage. From the cradle to the grave, through all the successive epochs of man’s existence, we find a series of traditional beliefs and popular notions, which have been handed down to us from the far-distant past. Although, indeed, these have lost much of their meaning in the lapse of years, yet in many cases they are survivals of primitive culture, and embody the conceptions of the ancestors of the human race. Many of these have been recorded by Shakespeare, who, acting upon the great principle of presenting his audience with matters familiar to them, has given numerous illustrations of the manners and superstitions of his own country, as they existed in his day. Thus, in “Richard III.” (iii. 1), when he represents the Duke of Gloster saying,
“So wise so young, they say, do never live long,”