So much for Bishop Bale's tragedy. We now proceed to a few specimens from the Moralities. The very old piece of this class called Hycke-Scorner, was written in the reign of Henry the Eighth. The object of it is, to rescue two dissolute characters, distinguished by the names of Freewyll and Imagynacyon, from a vicious course of life. Hycke-Scorner, who gives the title to the morality, and who has just returned from his travels, takes a much less considerable part in it than his two companions Freewyll and Imagynacyon. A quarrel having arisen between the two latter, Pytie attempts to make peace between them; an interference which they take so ill, that they put him in the stocks. Perseverance and Contemplation soon release him, and they go in search of Freewyll and Imagynacyon, whom they succeed in converting to a virtuous life, but what became of Hycke-Scorner does not appear. This morality has no inconsiderable pretensions to liveliness and humor, for although the personages are devoid of any distinctive character, they afford us a very lively picture of the manners of the dissolute youth of the age.

Hycke-Scorner gives the following curious list of a fleet, which he describes as having been lost in the Irish Channel.

Herken, and I wyll shewe you theyr names eche one :
Fyrst was the Regent, with the Myghell of Brykylse,
The George, with the Grabryell, and the Anne of Foye,
The starre of Salte-Ashe with the Ihesus of Plumoth,
Also the Hermytage, with the Barbara of Dartmouth,
The Nycolas, and the Mary Bellouse of Brystowe,
With the Elyn of London and James also :

Freewyll's account of his escape from prison, is humorous.

"Freewyll. Make you rome for a gentylman, syrs, and Duegarde, seygnours, tout le preasse,

And of your jangelynge yf ye wyll sease,

I wyll tell you where I have bene:

Syrres, I was at the taverne, and dronke wyne,
Methought, I sawe a pece that was lyke myne,
And, syr, all my fyngers were arayed with lyme,
So I convayed a cuppe manerly:

And yet ywys, I played all the fole,

For there was a scoler of myne owne scole;
And, syr, the horesone aspyed me.

Than was I rested, and brought in pryson;
For woo than I wyste not what to have done,
And all bycause I lacked monaye,

pease;

But a frende in courte is worthe a peny in purs:
For Imagynacyon, myne owne felowe, I wys,
He dyde helpe me out full craftely.
Syrres, he walked thrughe Holborne,
Thre houres after the sonne was downe,

And walked up towarde saynte Gyles in the felde:
He hoved styll, and there behelde,

But there he coude not spede of his praye,
And straight to Ludgate he toke the waye;
Ye wote well, that potycaryes walke very late,
He came to a dore, and pryvely spake

To a prentes for a peny worth of uforbyum,
And also for a half peny worth of alom plomme;
This good servaunte served hym shortely,

And sayd, is there ought elles that you wolde bye?
Then he asked for a mouthfull of quycke brymstone;
And downe in to the seller whan the servant was gone,
Asyde as he kest his eye,

A grete bagge of monaye dyde he spye,

Therin was an hondred pounde:

He trussed hym to his fete, and yede his waye rounde,
He was lodged at Newgate at the swanne,

And

every man toke hym for a gentyll man

So on the morowe he delyvered me

Out of Newgate by this polyce:

And now wyll I daunce an make ryall chere."

Pytie describes the vices of the times in a very peculiar sort of measure, which is not without harmony.

"Loo, vertue is vanyshed for ever daye,

Worse was hyt never.

We have plente of grete othes,

And clothe ynoughe in our clothes,

But charyte many men lothes,

Worse was hyt never.

Alas, now is lechery called love indede,

And murder named manhode in every nede,

Extorsyon is called lawe, so God we spede;

Worse was hyt never.

Youth walketh by nyght with swerdes and knyves,
And ever amonge true men leseth theyr lyves,
Lyke heretykes we occupy other menne's wyves,
Now a dayes in Englonde :'

VOL. I. PART II.

2 A

The dramatis persona, in this Morality, are designated by portraits, or figures.

Every-Man,* of which we have before given a short account, was written in the early part of the reign of Henry the Eighth, in favour of popery. That our readers may see what was said by the advocates of that side of the question, and in favor of the reformation, we shall give an extract, from this, and another from the morality or interlude of Lusty Juventus, which was written in the reign of Edward the Sixth, by R. Wever, in favor of the reformation, and has for its object to reclaim a young man from Abominable Living, who is represented as a female, by the assistance of Good Counsel and God's merciful promises.

Our first quotation is from the former, and is an eulogy on the priesthood in no very moderate strain.

For preesthode excedeth all other thynge;
To us holy scrypture they do teche,

And converteth man fro synne heven to reche;
God hath to them more power gyven
Than to ony aungell that is in heven:
With V wordes he may consecrate

Goddes body in flesshe and blode to make,
And handeleth his maker bytwene his handes,
The preest byndeth and unbyndeth all bandes
Bothe in erthe and in heven,—

Thou mynystres all the sacramentes seven,
Though we kysse thy fete thou were worthy,
Thou art surgyon that cureth synne deedly,
No remedy we fynde under God,
But all onely preesthode.

Every-Man, God gave preest that dygnyte,
And setteth them in his stede amonge us to be;
Thus be they above aungelles in degree.

What follows is a satire on the catholic superstitions, from Lusty Juventus.

The devil complains, that in consequence of the progress made by the reformation, he is utterly undone-Hypocrisye, his offspring, denies it, and vindicates her own services in the cause. I set up great ydolatry

With al kynd of filthy sodometry,
To geve mankynd a fall:

*There is one line, and perhaps only one, which possesses a poetical turn of expression in this play. "I weep for very sweetness of love."

And I brought up suche supersticion,
Under the name of holynes and religyon,
That disceyved almoste all.
As,-holy cardinals, holy popes,
Holy vestiments, holy copes,
Holy armettes, and friers,
Holy priestes, holy bishopes,
Holy monkes, holy abbottes,
Yea, and al obstinate lyers :
Holy pardons, holy beades,
Holy saints, holy images,
With holy, holy bloud,
Holy stocks, holy stones,
Holy cloughtes, holy bones;
Yea, and holy holy wood.

Holy skinnes, holy bulles,
Holy rochettes, and coules,
Holy crouches, and staves,
Holy hoodes, holy cappes,
Holy miters, holy hattes;
A good holy holy knaves.

Holy dayes, holy fastinges,
Holy twitching, holy tastynges,
Holy visions and sightes,
Holy waxe, holy leade,
Holy water, holy breade,
To drive away spirites.
Holy fyre, holy palme,
Holy oyle, holy creame,
And holy ashes also;

Holy brouches, holy rynges,
Holy knelinge, holy sensynges,
And a hundred trim trams mo.

Holy crosses, holy belles,
Holy reliques, holy jouels,
Of mine owne invencion;
Holy candels, holy tapers,

Holy parchmentes, holy papers:

Had not you a holy sonne?

There are two songs in Lusty Juventus, which are more poetical than any thing we have met with in compositions of this kind-one of them, which is rather elegant, we shall quote.

Why should not youth fulfyl his owne mynde,

As the course of nature doth him bynde?

Is not every thyng ordayned to do his kinde?
Report me to you, reporte me to you.
Do not the flouers sprynge freshe and gaye,
Plesaunt and swete in the month of Maye?
And when their time cometh, they fayde awaye.
Report me to you, reporte me to you.

Be not the trees in wynter bare?
Like unto their kynde, such they are;
And when they springe, their fruites declare.
Report me to you, reporte me to you.

What should youth do with the fruites of age,
But live in pleasure in hys passage?

For when age commeth, his lustes wyll swage.
Report me to you, reporte me to you.

Why should not youth fulfyl his owne mynde,
As the course of nature doth hym bynde?

The above song we felt as some sort of reward for our labour, in travelling through such heavy stuff as is contained in the compositions we have been noticing. In an account of the ancient moralities, we should not omit to mention those of Sir David Lindsay, represented in 1552; although they do not come exactly within the plan of the present article. Lindsay's play, which is very long, consists of eight interludes;* they differ considerably from the English compositions of the same class, mingling allegorical personages with real characters. It appears, that the play was acted in the open air, and began at seven o'clock in the morning, and that the place of representation was only separated from the spectators by a ditch. As it is written in a very superior style, although deformed with obscenity, we shall make two or three short extracts from it.

The following descriptions of Sensualitie are poetical:
"I wait nocht, Schyr, be sweit sant Mary:

I haif bene in ane fery fary,

Or ellis intill ane transs.

Schyr, I haif sene, I yow asseur,

*The titles are, The Auld Man and his Wife-Humanitie and Sensualitie-The Puir Man and the Pardonar-The Sermon of FollyFlattery, Deceit, and Falsehoold mislead King Humanitie-The Three Vices overcome Truth and Chastity-The Parliament of Correction--The Punishment of Vices.