Bull, then removed to a new built play-house in Vere-street by Claremarket; here they continued a year or two, and then removed to he Theatre Royal in Drury-lane, which was probably erected about his time, and here they embelfifhed their reprefentations with cenes and machinery. The duke's company exhibited at a theatre newly erected in Dorfet Gardens. The court fupported both thefe companies by being frequently prefent at their reprefentations, and took cognizance even of their private government, fo that their particular differences, pretenfions, or complaints, were generally ended by the king or the duke's perfonal command or decifion. Till this time no woman had ever been

feen upon the English ftage, the characters of women having always been performed by boys, or young men of an effeminate afpect, which probably induced Shakefpear to make fo few of his plays depend upon female characters, as they must have been performed to great difadvantage. The principal

characters of his women are innocence and fimplicity, fuch are Defdemona and Ophelia; and his fpecimen of fondness and virtue in Portia, is very short. But the power of real and beautiful women was now added to the ftage; and all the capital plays of Shakespear, Fletcher, and Ben Johnson, were divided between the two companies, by their own alternate choice, and the approbation of the court. The king's fervants feem to have been allowed to be the best company; and when the variety of plays began to be exhaufted, they drew the greater audiences. Davenant, therefore, to make head

against them, firft added fpectacle and mufic to action, and introduced a new fpecies of plays, fince called dramatic operas; among thefe were, the Tempest, Pfyche, and Circe; which, with many others, were fet off with the moft expenfive decorations of scenes and habits, and with the beft voices and dancers. The most celebrated players of this time were Hart, Mohun, Burt, Lacy, Chin, and Shutterel, who were honoured with the fame extravagant encomiums, in the times of thofe who fucceeded them, as Betterton and Montfort were in the time of Booth and Wilks, and as Booth and Wilks are in the times of their fucceffors. Thefe were, most of them, in the king's company; and the public, being at length fatiated with the finging and dancing exhibited by the duke's, as they had been with the more rational entertainments. which they fuperfeded, the patentees of both, in the year 1684, by the king's advice, which perhaps was confidered as a command, united their interefts and companies into one, exclufive of all others; but this union was fo much in favour of the duke's company, that Hart left the flage upon it, and Mohun furvived not long after. As only one theatre was now in poffeffion of the town, the united patentees impofed their own terms upon the actors; the profits of the houfe were divided into twenty fhares, ten of which the proprietors kept for their own ufe, and the other ten they divided among the actors, in fuch proportions as they thought equal to their merit. This was the fate of the theatre till the year 1690, the fecond of king William the Third, when the N 3

play

already mentioned, who were no otherwife formed into companies than our present ftrollers, no company confifting long of the fame perfons; and there were alfo many companies of players, retained by noblemen, who acted not only privately in their lords houfes, but publicly under licence and protection. Shakefpear himself belonged to the company that ufually performed at the Globe on the Bank Side, where his plays alfo were reprefented; and in the year 1603, the first year of the reign of king James I. a licence was granted, under the privy feal, to Shakefpear, Fletcher, Burbage, Hemmings, Condel, Kempe, and others his fellow comedians, to act plays, not only at their ufual houfe, the Globe, but in any other part of the kingdom, during his majefty's pleasure. Burbage was the Betterton, and Kempe the Nokes of that age: Burbage was the original Richard the Third, in which he greatly diftinguished himfelf; and Kempe was inimitable in the part of the clown, the comic character of that time; with thefe there was alfo Allen, the founder of Dulwich college: two fuch actors as Allen and Burbage, faid the wits of that age, no other age must hope to fee. Hemmings and Condel were alfo eminent; Hemmings in tragedy, and Condel in comedy: and thefe were the editors of the firft edition of Shakespear's works in folio, printed in 1623, feven years after his death. There was alfo at this time one Lowin, who is faid to have been the original Hamlet, and Henry the Eighth; and from obferving whofe manner, Sir William Davenant inftructed Betterton. During the whole reign of

James the First, the theatre was in great profperity and reputation, dramatic authors abounded, and every year produced a number of new plays; it became a fashion for the nobility to celebrate their weddings, birth-days, and other occafions of rejoicing, with masks and interludes, which were exhibited with furprifing expence; our great architect, Inigo fones, being fre quently employed to furnish decorations, with all the luxuriance of his invention, and magnificence of his art. The king and his lords, and the queen and her ladies, frequently performed in these masks at court, and the nobility in their private houses; nor was any public entertainment thought complete without them. This talte for theatrical entertainments continued during great part of the reign of king Charles the First; but in the year 1633, it began to be oppofed by the puritans from the prefs; and the troubles that foon after followed intirely fufpended them till the restoration of king Charles the Second, in 1660. The king, at his restoration, granted two patents, one to Henry Killigrew, Efq; and the other to Sir William Da venant, and their heirs and affigns, for forming two diftinct companies of comedians: Killigrew's were called the king's fervants, and Davenant's the Duke's company. About ten of the company, called the king's fervants, were on the royal houfhold eftablishment, haying each ten yards of fcarlet cloth, with a proper quantity of lace, allowed them for liveries, and in their warrants from the lord chamberlain, they were filed gentlemen of the great chamber. The king's company first acted at the Red

इ

Bull.

Bull, then removed to a new built play-house in Vere-street by Claremarket; here they continued a year or two, and then removed to the Theatre Royal in Drury-lane, which was probably erected about this time, and here they embellished their reprefentations with fcenes and machinery. The duke's company exhibited at a theatre newly erected in Dorfet Gardens. The court fupported both thefe companies by being frequently prefent at their reprefentations, and took cognizance even of their private government, fo that their particular differences, pretenfions, or complaints, were generally ended by the king or the duke's perfonal command or decifion. Till this time no woman had ever been feen upon the English ftage, the characters of women having always been performed by boys, or young men of an effeminate afpect, which probably induced Shakefpear to make fo few of his plays depend upon female characters, as they must have been performed to great difadvantage. The principal characters of his women are innocence and fimplicity, fuch are Defdemona and Ophelia; and his fpecimen of fondness and virtue in Portia, is very short. But the power of real and beautiful women was now added to the ftage; and all the capital plays of Shakefpear, Fletcher, and Ben Johnfon, were divided between the two companies, by their own alternate choice, and the approbation of the court. The king's fervants feem to have been allowed to be the best company; and when the variety of plays began to be exhausted, they drew the greater audiences. Davenant, therefore, to make head

against them, first added fpectacle and mufic to action, and intro-, duced a new fpecies of plays, fince. called dramatic operas; among thefe were, the Tempeft, Pfyche, and Circe; which, with many others, were fet off with the most expenfive decorations of fcenes and habits, and with the best voices and dancers. The most celebrated players of this time were Hart, Mohun, Burt, Lacy, Chin, and Shutterel, who were honoured with the fame extravagant encomiums, in the times of thofe who fucceeded them, as Betterton and Montfort were in the time of Booth and Wilks, and as Booth and Wilks are in the times of their fucceffors. Thefe were, most of them, in the king's company; and the public, being at length fatiated with the finging and dancing exhibited by the duke's, as they had been with the more rational entertainments which they fuperfeded, the patentees of both, in the year 1684, by the king's advice, which perhaps was confidered as a command, united their interefts and companies into one, exclufive of all others; but this union was fo much in favour of the duke's company, that Hart left the ftage upon it, and Mohun furvived not long after. As only one theatre was now in poffeffion of the town, the united patentees impofed their own terms upon the actors; the profits of the houfe were divided into twenty fhares, ten of which the proprietors kept for their own ufe, and the other ten they divided among the actors, in fuch proportions as they thought equal to their merit. This was the ftate of the theatre till the year 1690, the fecond of king William the Third, when the

play began at four o'clock; and, we are told, the ladies of fashion ufed to take the evening air in Hyde Park, after the reprefentation; by which it appears, that the exhibitions were in fummer too. The principal actors were Betterton, Montfort, Kynafton, Sandford, Nokes, Underhill, and Leigh, commonly Tony Leigh; the actreffes were, Mrs. Betterton, Barry, Leigh, Butler, Montfort, and Bracegirdle; and to this company, in this year, old Cibber was admitted as a performer in the lowest rank. It was a rule with a rule with the patentees, that no young perfon, who offered himself as an actor, fhould be admitted into pay, till after at least half a year's probation; and Cibber waited full three quarters of a year, before he was taken into a falary of 10s. a week. This company continued together till about the year 1694, when the patentees, having expended great fums upon the Prophetefs, and King Arthur, two dramatic operas, thought fit to reduce the pay of the actors, upon whom they now lefs depended for fupport, that they might be better able to answer the exorbitant demands of fingers and dancers: this attempt produced an affociation of the principal performers with Betterton at their head, against the patentee; feveral perfons of the higheft diftinction efpcufed their caufe; and fometimes, in the circle, entertained the king with the ftate of the theatre. Betterton, and his party, at length obtained an audience of his majefty, who graciously difmiffed them, with an affurance of relief and fupport, and foon after empowered a felect number of them

to act in a feparate theatre for themselves. When this licence was obtained, many people of quality came into a fubfcription for building a theatre within the walls of the Tennis Court in Lincoln's-Inn-Fields. This new thea tre was opened in the middle of the fummer of 1695, by the old actors, with a new comedy of Mr. Congreve's, called Love for Love.

Concerning the perceptive faculty.

THAT there are fenfations ari

fing in man no one I believe doubts, but what it is which is perceptive of them, is a question with fome; whether it is man as a compound being of foul and body, or whether the living percipient is not a mind, or fpirit alone, without a body, or elfe a quality only, refulting from the conftruction of a body without any diftin&t or feparate fpirit annexed thereto. Thefe are difficulties probably never to be demonftrated, and we must at laft be content with a probable proof only.

Man is fo wonderfully made, that he feems to affign a place to every one of his fenfations, and yet reafon and experiment tells him, that in truth they cannot exift, or be, where he is apt too haftily to judge, or fuppofe them to be; for, as nothing can act where it is not, fo the perceptive power of man cannot poffibly perceive any thing without or beyond himself. It is generally agreed, that the fecondary qualities of body (as they are called) do not exift external to the man, but only the primary ley attempted to fhew that they es, though Dr. Berke

both