MASK. 
468 
gazing as it were upon her. Thefe were little boys putt 
jnto covers of the ftiapes of thofe birds, rarely fitted, and 
fitting on fmall horfes, with footmen going by them, hav¬ 
ing all of them torches in their hands. After this anti- 
mal'que came other mufitians on horfebacke playing uppon 
bagpipes, hornepipes, and fuch kind of northerne mu¬ 
ficke. Firft in this antimafque rode a fellow upon a little 
horfe with a great bitt in his mouth, and uppon the man’s 
head was a bitt-with lieadltall and raines, fattened ; and 
fignified a projector, that none in the kingdome might 
ride their horfes butt with fuch bitts as they fhould buy 
of h im. Another projector, who begged a patent of mo¬ 
nopoly to feed capons with caretts; and feverall other 
projeftors were in like manner perfonated, which pleafed 
the fpeflators the more, bicaufe by it an information was 
■covertly given to the king, of the unfittnefs and ridicu- 
loufnefs of thefe projects, againft the law^and the attur- 
mey Noy, who had moft knowledge of them, had a great 
hand in this antimafque of the projectors. 
“ After this and feverall other antimafques were palt, 
there came fixe of the chiefe mufitians on horfebacke, up¬ 
pon footclothes, and in the habits of heathen prielts, and 
footmen carrying of torches by them. Then a fumpfuous 
chariot drawn by fixe horfes with large plumes of feathers, 
in which were about a dozen perfons in feverall habits of 
gods and goddefles. Then other large open chariots with 
mufitians in like habit, butt all with fome variety and dif- 
tinftion. Thefe going before the grand mafquers played 
on excellent loude muficke all the way as they went. 
“ The chariot in which fate the 4 grand mafquers of 
Grayes Inne was drawne by 4 horfes all on breaft, courfed 
to their heeles all over with cloth of tilfue, of the colour 
of crimfon and filver, huge plumes of red and white fea¬ 
thers on their heads and buttockes, and the coachman’s 
cap and feather, his long coate, and his very whippe and 
CTlfliion, of the fame (fuffe and colour. Thefe mafkers had 
habits, doublets, trunke-hofe, and cappes, of the molt rich 
cloth of tilfue, and wrought as thicke with filver fpangles 
as they could be placed 5 with large white filke ftockings 
up to their trunke hole, and rich fprigges in their cappes ; 
themfelves proper and beautiful young gentlemen. On 
each fide of the chariot were 4 footmen in liveries of the 
colour of the chariot, carrying huge fiambois in their 
hands, which with the torches gave fuch a 1 u It re to the 
paintings, fpangles, and habits, that hardly any thing 
Could be invented to appear more glorious. 
“ After this followed the other three chariots with the 
grand mafquers of the Middle Temple, Inner Temple, and 
Lincoln’s Inne, alike richly habited and attended ; and, 
as the fixeteen grand mafquers were molt hanfome an . 
lovely, and the equipage fo full of (fate and height of gal- 
lantrye, it may be laid, that it never was outdone by any 
reprefentation mentioned in our former glories. The 
torches and flaming huge fiambois, borne by the fide of 
each chariot, made it feem lightfome as att noon-day, butt 
more glittering, and gave a full and clear light to ail the 
ftreets and windowes as they pa-fled’. 
“The marche was Howe, in regard of their great num¬ 
ber, butt more interrupted by the multitude of the fpec- 
tators, in the ftreets, belkles the windowes; and they all 
feemed loth to part with fid glorious a 1 'peffacle. This 
gave opportunity to Hyde and Whifelocke, who ufually 
were togither, to take a cocb,and by the other way to gett 
before them to Whitehall, where they found the fayre ban- 
quetting-houfe fo crowded with fayre ladyes, glittering 
with their rich clothes and richer jewells, and with lords 
and gentlemen of great quality, that there was fcarfe 
roome for the king and queen to enter in. They faw that 
all things were in readinefs there, and the lord chamber- 
■leiu carryed them up to the chamber of-the beautiful and 
ingenious countefs of Caernarvon his daughter, whole 
company was no imalle pleafure and refrelhment. 
“The king and queen flood at a windqwe, looking 
Height forward into the ftreet, to fee the mafque come by ; 
and, being delighted with the noble bravery of it, they 
ferrt to the raarlhsll to defire that the whole Ihow mip-Iit 
fetch a t-urne about the Tiltyard, that their majeflyes 
might have a double view of them; which was done ac¬ 
cordingly, and then they allighted att Whitehall gate, and 
were conducted to feverall roomes and places prepared for 
them. 
“The, king and queen, and all their noble train, being 
come in, the mafque began, and was incomparably per¬ 
formed, in the dauncing, fpeeches, muficke, and fceanqs; 
the daunces, figures, properties, the voices, inflrurhents, 
fongs, aiers, composures, the words and actions, were all 
of them exaft, none fayled in their parts, and the fceanes 
were molt curious and coftly. The queen did the honour 
to fome of the mafquers to daunce with them herfelfe, and 
to judge them as good dauncers as ever Ihe fawe; and the 
great ladyes were very free and civiil in datlncing with all 
the mafquers as they were taken out by them. Thus they 
continued in their fports untill it was alLmoft morning; 
and then, the king and queen retiring, the mafquers and 
innes-of-court gentlemen were brought to a (lately ban¬ 
quet;; and, after that was difperfed, every one departed 
to his own quarters. 
“ The queen, who was fo delighted with thefe folemni- 
ties, defired to fee this (how acted over again. Where¬ 
upon, an intimation being given to my lord-major of 
London, he invited the king and queen and the mafquers 
to the titty, and entertained them,, with all ftateand mag¬ 
nificence, att Merchant Taylor’s Hall. Thither marched 
through the citty the fame fliow that went to Whitehall; 
and the lame mafque was again reprefented in the fame 
flate and equipage as before. This alfo gave great con¬ 
tentment to their majeflyes, and no lei's to the citizens, 
efpecially thofe of the younger fort, and of the female fexe; 
and it was to the great honour, and no lefs charge, of the 
lord-major and freemen. 
“ After thefe dreames pad, and thefe pornpes vanilhed, 
all men were fatisfied by the committee juflly and boun¬ 
tifully. For the muficke, which was particularly com¬ 
mitted to my charge, I gave to Mr. Ives and to Mr. Lawes 
tool, apiece, for their rewards; for the 4 French gentl#- 
men, the queen’s i'ervants, I thought that a handfomeand 
liberal! gratifying of them would be made known to the 
queen, their miltris, and well taken by her. I therefore 
invited them one morning to a collation at St. Dunftan’s 
Taverne, in the great room, the Oracle of Apollo, where 
each of them had his plate lay’d for him, covered, and the 
napkin by it; and, when they opened their plates they 
found in each of them forty pices of gould, of their maf- 
ter’s coyne, for the firft dilh ; and they had caule to be 
much pleafed with this furprifail. The reft of the mufi¬ 
tians had rewards anfwerable to their parts and qualities; 
and the whole charge of the muficke came to about one 
thoufand pounds. The clothes of the horfemen reckoned 
one with another at iool. a-luit, att the leaft, amounted to 
io,oool. The charges of all the reft of the mafque, which- 
were borne by the l’ocieties, were accounted to be above 
twenty thoufand pounds.” 
Prefixed to Mr. Leigh Hunt’s Defcent of Liberty, juft 
publilhed, we have a very plealing “ Account of the 
Origin and Nature of Malks;” from which we (hall make 
a pretty large extract. 
The malk, with regard to its origin, is difmifled by 
Warton, in his Hiftory of Poetry as “ a branch of the 
elder drama;” and its nature is defined by Dr. Johnfon to 
be “a dramatic performance written in a tragic llyle with¬ 
out attention to rules or probability.” Thefe accounts 
appear equally vague and incorrefh It is more than doubt¬ 
ful whether the.malk had any connexion with the drama 
in the firft inftance; and there have been malks in a comic 
■as we ,11 as tragic llyle. The definition would even include 
a number of tragedies. On the other hand, it is not eafy 
to fettle the diftinft nature of a compofition, the lawlefl- 
nefs of which is confeffed. Some malks have been with¬ 
out fupernatural agency, others without lcenery, others 
without a machinery of any»kind ; but an intermixture of 
foJlga* 
