Lawful, quoth ha!  Ah! fool! fool! 
    Wilt thou set men to school
    When they be old? 
    I may say to you secretly,
    The world was never merry
    Since children were so bold;
    Now every boy will be a teacher,
    The father a fool, the child a preacher;
    This is pretty gear! 
    The foul presumption of youth
    Will shortly turn to great ruth,
    I fear, I fear, I fear!

In these rude and simple lines there is something like the artifice of composition:  the repetition of words in the first and the last lines was doubtless intended as a grace in the poetry.  That the ear of the poet was not unmusical, amidst the inartificial construction of his verse, will appear in this curious catalogue of holy things, which Hypocrisy has drawn up, not without humour, in asserting the services he had performed for the Devil.

    And I brought up such superstition
    Under the name of holiness and religion,
    That deceived almost all.

    As—­holy cardinals, holy popes,
    Holy vestments, holy copes,
    Holy hermits, and friars,
    Holy priests, holy bishops,
    Holy monks, holy abbots,
    Yea, and all obstinate liars.

    Holy pardons, holy beads,
    Holy saints, holy images,
    With holy holy blood. 
    Holy stocks, holy stones,
    Holy clouts, holy bones,
    Yea, and holy holy wood.

    Holy skins, holy bulls,
    Holy rochets, and cowls,
    Holy crutches and staves,
    Holy hoods, holy caps,
    Holy mitres, holy hats,
    And good holy holy knaves.

    Holy days, holy fastings,
    Holy twitchings, holy tastings
    Holy visions and sights,
    Holy wax, holy lead,
    Holy water, holy bread,
    To drive away sprites.

    Holy fire, holy palme,
    Holy oil, holy cream,
    And holy ashes also;
    Holy broaches, holy rings,
    Holy kneeling, holy censings,
    And a hundred trim-trams mo.

    Holy crosses, holy bells,
    Holy reliques, holy jouels,
    Of mine own invention;
    Holy candles, holy tapers,
    Holy parchments, holy papers;—­
    Had not you a holy son?

Some of these Catholic dramas were long afterwards secretly performed among Catholic families.  In an unpublished letter of the times, I find a cause in the Star-chamber respecting a play being acted at Christmas, 1614, at the house of Sir John Yorke; the consequences of which were heavy fines and imprisonment.  The letter-writer describes it as containing “many foul passages to the vilifying of our religion and exacting of popery, for which he and his lady, as principal procurers, were fined one thousand pounds apiece, and imprisoned in the Tower for a year; two or three of his brothers at five hundred pounds apiece, and others in other sums.”

THE HISTORY OF THE THEATRE DURING ITS SUPPRESSION.