2"^ S. VI. 156., Dec. 25. '58.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



517 



LONDON, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 25. 1858. 



CHBISXMAS AT THE COUKT OP CHAELES THE 

 SECOND. 



The reader of Evelyn's Diary ■will no doubt 

 remember how he tells that, on Dec. 15, 1674, he 

 " saw a Comedy at night acted by the ladies only, 

 amongst them Lady Mary and Ann, his Royal 

 Highness' two daughters, and my dear friend 

 Mrs. Blagg, who having the principal part per- 

 formed it to admiration. They were all covered 

 with jewels." And again, how that on the 22nd 

 he " was at the repetition of the Pastoral, on 

 which occasion Mrs. Blagg had about her near 

 20,000^. of jewels, of which she lost one, worth 

 about 80Z., borrowed of the Countess of Suffolk. 

 The press was so great it is a wonder she lost no 

 more. The Duke made it good." 



How admirably Mrs. Blagg performed Evelyn 

 lias himself described more fully in his Memoir 

 of her; for, having afterwards married Sidney 

 Godolphin, the Mrs. Blagg of the Court Masque 

 is the Mrs. Godolphin of that beautiful biography 

 for the publication of which we are indebted to 

 the Bishop of Oxford, and which is enriched 

 with some admirable notes by the late Mr. Holmes 

 of the British Museum. 



From these Notes, as well as from those of the 

 Editor of the Diary, we learn that the Pastoral 

 which delighted the gay Court of Charles II. at 

 Christmas, 1674, was the Masque of Calisio, or 

 the Chaste Nymph, by John Crowne. 



The principal characters are, Calisto, played by 

 the Princess Alary, afterwards Queen ; Ny^^ua, by 

 the Lady Anne, afterwards Queen; Jupiter, played 

 by the unfortunate Henrietta Wentwortli ; Juno, 

 the Countess of Sussex ; Psecas, the Lady jMary 

 Mordaunt ; Diana, Mrs. Blagge ; Mercury, Mrs. 

 Jennings, the celebrated Duchess of Marlborough. 

 The Nymphs that danced in the Prologue were 

 the Countess of Derby, the Countess of Pembroke, 

 the Lady Katherine Herbert, Mrs. Fitzgerald, and 

 Mrs. Frazier ; the Duke of Monmouth, Lord Dun- 

 blaine, Lord Daincourt, and others were among 

 the dancers ; and Mrs. Davis, Mrs. Knight, Mrs. 

 ]5utler and others acted and sung in the perform- 

 ance. 



The Chaste Nymph was printed in 1675 ; and 

 Geneste, in his History of the Stage, describes the 

 Iiiece as, on the whole, doing Crowne credit rather 

 than otherwise, its principal fault being its length ; 

 Cor it extends to five acts. It is founded on the 

 3rd Book of Ovid's Metamorphoses from line 400 

 to 500. Jupiter, as in Ovid, courts Calisto under 

 the form of Diana, but the catastrophe is altered. 

 Crowne says he was reduced to the dilemma of 

 diverting from the story, or of writing what 

 would have been unfit for Ladies or Princesses to 

 speak. 



Crowne's scruples do him credit. But the 

 reader will perhaps think, from the conclusion of 

 the Epilogue, in which the King is addressed, 



" You, Sir, such blessings on the world dispense, 

 We scarce perceive the use of Providence," 



that his scruples on the score of- blasphemy were 

 fewer than those he felt on the score of immodesty. 



These preliminary Notes may give interest to the 

 following documents, selected from several others 

 of similar character, which show how great was 

 the expense incurred in producing this Christmas 

 revel, and serve to give us some little notion of 

 the nature of the performance. 



As Calisto was probably one of the latest 

 masques exhibited at Court, I venture to think 

 the readers of " N. & Q." will be amused at the 

 glimpses which these documents afford us of the 

 mode of getting up these gorgeous pageants. 



It will be seen from the heading of the following 

 paper that this great ball lasted from the 8th of 

 December to the 22nd of January : — 



A.n Acompt of such things as wer delivered to Mr. Cabbin 



for his 3Iaties Great Ball from the 8th of December, 



lfi74, till the 12 of JOmy. next Enshewing as foU.j)iz, by 



Jon. Brown. 

 For 9 pounds of whealbon at 20rf. per pound - 

 For 45 eles and \ of canvas at u per ell 

 For 2 pieces of white callico of 16 yards a piece 



is - 

 For 12 yards of red buckram - - - 



For 23 yards an h of red callico at IW. per 



yard is - - - - - 



For 9 pounds and J of weiar at 9d. per pound 

 For 5 of a pound of searing candell - 

 For one end and 8 yards of fustian at los. and 



6(/. the end - - - - - 



For 2 pounds of tow at 3d. per pound is 

 For 16 sheets of large pasbord at '2d. per sheet 

 For a piece of 6rf. broad cotton riband and one 



piece 3d broad „ . . . 



For a piece of white silk lawing 

 For 12 yards of cotton riband 

 More to j'e cloathes for this house bought. 

 For 14 laces and taging 2 dozen and 2 laces - 

 For 1 : 2 j-ards of loop lace to be loopd 

 For 1 dozen of buttons silver and silver and 



gold ..... 



Money disbursed by Jon. }FiUon. 



December ye 20. 74. Paid for a collation for 



those of the musick at ye Fleese tavern 

 More paid at Mr. Lamb's for company of Mr. 



Cabbin and Mr. Vaneer - - - 



Paid at Mr. Shallings which was spent by my 



master and Mr. Cabbin ... 

 Per Archebald Robertson's charges by water 



to IMr. Uaris severall times 

 Disbursed by John Hay at ye Golden Lyon - 



I gather from one of the documents before me 

 that M. Cabl)in was employed by Messrs. John 

 Allan & AVilliam Watts, his Majesty's tailors, to 

 prepare the dresses ; and I presume the follow- 



