or iniury be offered vnto him Provided that he and they my thing offensiue against ye or of the Land, and that he make shew of the said Noa's times wth Exception of the or any other Day in the time Service, or on any other day y Proclamation or other lawAnd this Licence to conyear and noe longre from the ate hearof and to Serue throughdome of England Scotland & all other his Maties. Territories s the said Geo. Bayly haueing ecurity for his good behaviour oe not intrench vpon the lawes Giuen at his Maties. Office of vnder my hand & Seale of the the fowerteenth day of Aprill nd six hundred sixty and two & erteenth year of the raigne of o'r he Lord Charles ye Second by the God of England Scotland ffrance nd King Defender of the faith &c. J. POYNTZ. a festival, enlivened by a round of innocer t amusements, which the present enlightened age has pronounced superstitious or triflg. Formerly we had a theatre, at this season, and perhaps a few particulars relat. g to it may not be uninteresting. Gentle reader! should you eve: visit Skipton-in-Craven, go on the market- ay. and stand opposite to the vicare-house in the High-street; there you w see a cart with this inscription, Thomas Aray, Grassington and Skipton cartier." Keep your eye on that cart, and about the bour of three in the afternoon you will be held approach the owner, a little, fat, old an, with reddish whiskers and a jelly face, that Liston or John Reeve would not be ashamedd to possess. In that countenance a mere tyro in physiognomy may discover a roguish slyness, a latent archness, a hidden mine of fun and good humour. Then when Airay walks, mark his stately gait, and tell me if it does not proclaim that he has worn the sock and buskin, and trod the Thespiaa floor: he was the manager of the Grassington theatre-the " Delawang" of Craven. 66 cold glance on poor Tom, and saying to I fancy some rigid moralist bestowing a himself, Ah, old man, this comes of acting; had you, in your youth, followed some industrious pursuit, nor joined a idle strolling company, instead of now being a country carrier, you might have been blessed with a comfortable independence!" Think not so harshly of Airay; though not the manager of a patent theatre, nor of one " by royal authority," he never was a stroller, nor an associate with vagabonds, nor did he ever, during his theatrical career, quake under the terrors of magisterial harshness, or fear the vagrant act. No idle, worthless, wandering man wat be, But in the dales, of honest parents bred, He with the lark in summer left his bed, And, making a pure pleasure of a tread, When winter came with nights so dark and long. 'Twas his, with mimic art, to amuse a village throng! Tom Airay's sole theatre was at Grassington; and that was only "open for the season"-for a few weeks in the depth of winter, when the inclemency of the weather, which in these mountainous parts is very severe, rendered the agricultural occupations of himself and companions impossible to be pursued. They chose rather to earn a scanty pittance by actir 2. than to trouble their neighbours for eleemosynary support. proof that he is, the late newsman." They are almost as unconcerned as if he had been the postman. Once a year, a printed "copy of verses reminds every newspaper reader that the hand that bore it is open to a small boon. "The Newsman's Address to his Customers, 1826," deploringly adverts to the general distress, patriotically predicts better times, and seasonably intimates, that in the height of annual festivities he, too, has a heart capable of joy. "although the muse complains The losses and crosses to which newsmen are subject, and the minutiae of their laborious life, would form an instructive volume. As a class of able men of business, their importance is established by excellent regulations, adapted to their interests and well-being; and their numerous society includes many individuals of high intelligence, integrity, and opulence. The Drama. LICENSE FOR ENACTING A PLAY. To the Editor. Sir,-As many of your readers may not have had an opportunity of knowing the form and manner in which dramatic representations were permitted, by the Master of the Revels, upon the restoration of the Stuarts, I submit a transcript of a licence in my possession. It refers to a drama, called "Noah's Flood," apparently not recorded in any dramatic history. It is true, Isaac Reed, in the "Biographia Dramatica," 1782, vol. ii. p. 255, cites "Noah's Flood, or the Destruction of the World, an opera, 1679, 4to," and ascribes it to "Edward Ecclestone," but it is questionable whether this was the "play for which the license below was obtained, as Reed, or perhaps George Steevens, the commentator, who assisted the former con 68 siderably in the compilation of that work, as it appeared in 1782, expressly entitles it "an opera." Reed states his inability to furnish any particulars of Ecclestone, and his continuator, Mr. Stephen Jones, has not added a single word. Ecclestone was a comedian, though I cannot immediately cite my authority. His opera of "Noah's Flood," which is excessively scarce, is said, by Reed, to be "of the same nature with Dryden's State of Innocence,' but falls infinitely short of the merit of that poem." This may be readily believed; for we are informed that the unhappy bookseller, to prevent the whole impression rotting or his shelves, again obtruded it for publie patronage, with a new title, "The Cataclasm, or General Deluge of the World," 1684, 4to.; and again as "The Deluge, or Destruction of the World," 1691, 4to., with the addition of sculptures. These attempts probably exhausted the stock on hand, as, some years afterwards, it was reprinted in 12mo., with the title of "Noah's Flood, or the History of the General Deluge," 1714. Many plays were reprinted by Meares, Feales, and others, at the commencement of the last century, as stock-plays; and tion, is correct, so far as it came forth as a Reed's assertion, that this was an imposinew production, the preface stating that the author was unknown. piece of parchment, eleven inches high, by The license alluded to is on a square thirteen wide. The office seal, red wax, covered by a piece of white paper, is engraved in one of the volumes of George Chalmers's "Apology for the Believers of the Shakspeare Papers." The License. "To all Mayors Sherriffs Justices of the Peace Bayliffs Constables Headboroughs, and all other his Maties. Officers, true Leigmen & loueing Subiects, & to euery George Bayley of London Musitioner deof them greeting. Know yee that wheras sires of me a Placard to make Shew of a Play called Noah's flood wth other Seusrall Scenes. These are therfore by vertue of his Maties. Lettrs. Pattents made ouer vnto me vnder the great Seale of England wth eight Servants wch are of his Comto licence & allow the said George Bayley Noah's flood wth other Scenes requireing pany to make shew of the said Play called you and euery of you in his Maties Name to pmitt & Suffer the said Persons to shew the said Play called Noah's flood, and to be aiding & assisting them & euery of them if any wrong or iniury be offered vnto him or any of them Provided that he and they doe not act any thing offensiue against ye lawes of God or of the Land, and that he & they doe make shew of the said Noah's flood at lawful times wth Exception of the Lords Day or any other Day in the time of Devine Service, or on any other day prohibited by Proclamation or other lawfull Authority. And this Licence to continue for a year and noe longre from the day of the date hearof and to Serue throughout the Kingdome of England Scotland & Ireland & all other his Maties. Territories & Dominious the said Geo. Bayly haueing giuen me security for his good behauiour that hee doe not intrench vpon the lawes of the land. Giuen at his Maties. Office of the Revills vnder my hand & Seale of the said Office the fowerteenth day of Aprill one thousand six hundred sixty and two & in the fowerteenth year of the raigne of o'r Soueraigne Lord Charles ye Second by the grace of God of England Scotland ffrance and Ireland King Defender of the faith &c. J. POYNTZ. A marginal memorandum, below the seal, contains a direction to the persons named in this license, thus : "You are to allow him either Town hall Guild hall Schoole house or some other con venient place for his use & to continue in any one place for ye space of fforty Daies." The above transcript is literal in every respect and trusting that it may be deemed worthy insertion, I am, Sir, &c. WILL O' THe Whisp. 70 a festival, enlivened by a round of innocent amusements, which the present enlightened age has pronounced superstitious or trifling. Formerly we had a theatre, at this season, and perhaps a few particulars relating to it may not be uninteresting. Gentle reader! should you eve: visit Skipton-in-Craven, go on the market-day, and stand opposite to the vicarage-house in the High-street; there you will see a cart with this inscription, Grassington and Skipton carrier." "Thomas Airay, your eye on that cart, and about the hour Keep of three in the afternoon you will behold approach the owner, a little, fat, old man, with reddish whiskers and a jolly face, that Liston or John Reeve would not be ashamed to possess. In that countenance a mere tyro in physiognomy may discover a roguish slyness, a latent archness, a hidden mine of fun and good humour. Then when Airay walks, mark his stately gait, and tell me if it does not proclaim that he has worn the sock and buskin, and trod the Thespian floor: he was the manager of the Grassington theatre-the "Delawang" of Craven. cold glance on poor Tom, and saying to I fancy some rigid moralist bestowing a himself, 66 Ah, old man, this comes of acting; had you, in your youth, followed some industrious pursuit, nor joined ar being a country carrier, you might have idle strolling company, instead of now been blessed with a comfortable indepenthough not the manager of a patent theatre, dence!" Think not so harshly of Airay; nor of one" by royal authority," he never was a stroller, nor an associate with vagabonds, nor did he ever, during his theatrical career, quake under the terrors of magisterial harshness, or fear the vagrant act. No idle, worthless, wandering man was he, But in the dales, of honest parents bred, He with the lark in summer left his bed, And, making a pure pleasure of a tread, When winter came with nights so dark and long, Tom Airay's sole theatre was at Grass- The corps dramatique of Tom Airay consisted chiefly of young men, (they had no actresses,) who moved in the same line of life as the manager, and whose characters were equally respectable with his, which was always unassailable; for, setting aside our hero's occasionally getting tipsy at some of the neighbouring feasts, nothing can be said against him. He is a worthy member of society, has brought up a large family respectably, and, if report speak truth, has realized about a thousand pounds. Few of Tom Airay's company are living, and the names of many have escaped me. There was honest Peter W, whose face peeped from behind the green curtain like the full moon. He was accounted a bit of a wag ever foremost in mischief, he, more than once, almost blew up the stage by gunpowder, half suffocated the audience by assafoetida, and was wont to put hot cinders in the boots of his associates. He has"left the mimic scene to die indeed," and sleeps peacefully under the beautiful lime-trees of Kirby Malhamdale churchyard, undisturbed by the murmur of that mountain stream, which, rippling over its pebbly channel, hymns, as it were, his requiem Then there was Isaac G- the Eddler and comic singer: he exists no longer. There was Waddilove, and Frankland of Hetton, and Bill Cliff, the Skipton poet and bailiff-all dead! There were, also, the Hetheringtons, and Jack Solomon the besom maker, and Tommy Summersgill the barber and clock maker, and Jack Lthe politician of Threshfield, who regarded John Wilkes as his tutelary saint, and settled in the Illinois, from whence he occasionally sends a letter to his old friends, informing them what a paltry country England is, what a paradise the new world is, and how superior the American rivers are to those "That through our vallies run Singing and dancing in the gleams Besides these, there were fifteen or sixteen others from Arncliffe, Litton, Coniston, Kilnsay, and the other romantic villages that enliven our heath-clad hills. The "Grassington theatre," or rather "playhouse," for it never received a loftier appellation, where (to borrow the phraseology of the Coburg) our worthies received their "nightly acclamations of applause," has been pulled down, but I will endeavour to describe it. It was an old limestone "lathe," the Craven word for barn,with huge foldingdoors, one containing a smaller one, through which the audience was admitted to the pit and gallery, for there were no boxes. Yet on particular occasions, such as when the duke of Devonshire or earl of Thanet goodnaturedly deigned to patronise the performances, a "box" was fitted up, by railing off a part of the pit, and covering it, by way of distinction, with brown paper, painted to represent drapery. The prices were, pit sixpence, and gallery threepence. I believe they had no half price. The stage was lighted by five or six halfpenny candles, and the decorations, considering the poverty of the company, were tolerable. The scenery was respectable; and though sometimes, by sad mishap, the sun or moon would take fire, and expose the tallow candle behind it, was very well managedfrequently better than at houses of loftier pretension. The dresses, as far as material went, were good; though not always in character. An outlaw of the forest of Arden sometimes appeared in the guise of a Craven waggoner, and the holy friar, "whose vesper bell is the bowl, ding dong," would wear a bob wig, cocked hat, and the surplice of a modern church dignitary. These slight discrepancies passed unregarded by the audience; the majority did not observe them, and the few who did were silent; there were no prying editors to criticise and report. The audience was always numerous, (no empty benches there) and respectable people often formed a portion. I have known the village lawyer, the parson of the parish, and the doctor comfortably seated together, laughing heartily at Tom Airay strutting as Lady Randolph, his huge Yorkshire clogs peeping from beneath a gown too short to conceal his corduroy breeches, and murdering his words in a manner that might have provoked Fenning and Bailey from their graves, to break the manager's head with their weighty publications. All the actors had a bad pronunciation. Cicero was called Kikkero, (which, by the by, is probably the correct one;) Africa was called Afryka, fatigued was fattygewed, and pageantry was always called paggyantry. Well do I remember Airay exclaiming, "What pump, what paggyantry is there here!" and, on another occasion, saying, “Ye damons o' deeth come sattle my swurd!" The company would have spoken better, hadthey not, on meeting with a "dictionary word," applied for information to an old schoolmaster, who constantly misled them, and taught them to pronounce in the most barbarous mode he could devise; yet such was the awe wherewith they were accustomed to regard this dogmatical personage, and the profound |