His pliant soul gave way to all things base, Him might the meanest pauper bruise and cheat, Now Richard's talents for the world were fit, Long lost to us, at last our man we trace,— And bought the blessings of the blind and dumb ; He left a pittance bound in rigid trust ;— (At church produced) for forty loaves should pay, He kept in mind their bounty and their blows! Crabbe gives a variety of stories connected with the names of persons appearing in his poetical Parish Register. The real Parish Registers are, in fact, often great curiosities. They commence late in the reign of Henry VIII, having been instituted by Cromwell, Earl of Essex, when vicar general. They have not been very carefully kept. In one Parish, it was found, that the clerk, being also a tailor, was in the habit of cutting up the old Registers for his measures. The fabrifications, erasures, and alterations of baptismal entries have given rise to many judicial enquiries. As an example of the interesting matter to be found in these Registers, I may mention, that I went to Salvington in Sussex to see the house where Selden was born, after which I repaired to the Church to inspect the Register of his birth. There I found, at the date to which I was led by the common histories to refer, the following entry-" John, the son of John Selden the Minstrel." This entry immediately brought to mind an anecdote related of Selden by Anthony Wood. When this illustrious character, to whom the constitution of his country is so deeply indebted, and whose learning was the admiration of Europe, was yet a young Oxonian, and was honored by dining at the table of Sir Robert Alford, the Squire of Salvington, some person asked the Knight, who was that remarkably acute lad E at the bottom of the table? To which Sir Robert replied, He is the son of the Minstrel, whose fiddle you hear in the hall." Before concluding this section upon Infancy, it is necessary to take notice of what has been accomplished in literature and the arts with regard to those scriptural subjects of Infancy, the Slaughter of the Innocents, and the Nativity. As to which we cannot pass over such a very curious circumstance in the progressive history of mind and manners as the Miracle plays of the Nativity, the Adoration of the Shepherds, and the Slaughter of the Innocents. These plays were represented with far greater splendor on the Continent than in England; they are, however, the origin of the English national Drama. And, although, in the present day, the performance of such plays would be deemed an irreverend treatment of sacred subjects, yet they were originally composed, and performed too, by ecclesiastical persons, with a view to keep alive devotional feelings among the populace. We should recollect, that we most probably owe the Paradise Lost to Andreini's miracle play of Adamo, which Milton is supposed to have seen in Italy. The circumstance was first pointed out by Voltaire. In the controversy, raised by the ingenious forgeries of Lauder, concerning the truth of Milton having attempted" things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme," it is shown that he had his eye on several miracle plays. The Paradise Lost was dramatised by Dryden; it appears from Milton's highly interesting manuscripts preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge, that his own original design was to compose "Adam Unparadised," in the form of a drama, with a chorus of angels at the end of each of the five acts. Miracle plays, we learn from Matthew Paris, were performed in England very early in the twelfth century. The Chester series of these plays was originally produced in the year 1268, and they were performed, with various modern interpolations, in that town till 1577. The most ancient extant specimen of a miracle play (Harl. MSS. No. 2253) is as old as the earlier part of the reign of Edward III. There are extant manuscripts of the plays of Wirdwick Abbey of the date of Henry VI. and of the Town of Coventry of that of Henry VII. The two manuscripts of the Chester plays in the British Museum are of later date, viz. 1600 and 1607. the One of the Wirdwick plays on the Nativity commences with Augustus Cæsar threatening to kill on the spot any person who makes the least noise. He then imposes head-money, and sends a messenger to Judæa, he tells him to take highe horse beside Boughton" (the town gallows of Boughton was so called). Joseph brings the midwives on the stage, and is thus accosted by Mary Ay, Josephe, tydings a righte! I have a sonne, a sweet wight. Joseph had been reluctantly married; he said, as he was on the way to church 66 An olde man may nevyr thryff With a yonge wyff, so God me save, If I her chide, she wolde clowte my cote, And thus oftentimes it is sene! The following extraordinary stage directions are given. Here the Holy ghost descendeth, with three bennys to our lady; the son of the God-head next with three bennys to the Holy ghost; the Fadyr Godly with three bennys to the sonne; and so entre all three into Mary's bosome." In the play of the Adoration of the Shepherds, the three shepherds are Lancashire men; they fall asleep, after eating oatmeal cakes and ale of Ely. Upon being wakened by an angel, they hasten to Bethlem with presents for the little tyn mop," viz. a ball, a bob of cherries, and a sixpence. To Joseph they present a nut-hook, saying, To pull down apples, peares, and plomes, Old Josephe shall not need to hurt his thombes. In the play of the Slaughter of the Innocents, Herod asks his council whether they find in "Homere or Vyrgyll or other poets' taylys" any thing concerning Christ. A councillor suggests the slaughter of the male innocents. For this advice Herod promises to make him Pope (this is evident from the rhyme; but the word Pope is carefully erased. The erasure is supposed to have been made in obedience to an ordinance of Cromwell directing the word Pope to be erased in all service books.) Herod vows vengeance against 66 that mysbegotten marmozett." He sends his knights into Judæa, where they execute his bloody purpose. Herod and his knights afterwards sit down to supper, when the devil comes in, and takes them all away, saying, All oure! all oure! this catel is myne, I shall them brynge on to my celle, I shall them teche pleys fyne, And show them suche myrthe as is in helle. In connection with miracle plays and innocents' day, may be mentioned the election and investiture of the Boy-Bishop. It does not appear at what period this ceremony was first |