er written for and created by Jevon, says,
'I'm a very good mimick; I can act Punchinello, Scaramuchio,
Harlequin, Prince Prettyman, or any thing.'

Harlequin does not appear in Killigrew's _Thomaso._ Mrs. Behn's mime
plays pranks and speaks Italian and Spanish. No doubt she derived
the character from the Italian comedians who had been at the Royal
Theatre, Whitehall, in 1672-3, as Dryden, in an Epilogue (spoken by
Hart) to _The Silent Woman_ when acted at Oxford, after a reference
to a visit of French comedians, has:--

The Italian Merry-Andrews took their place,
And quite debauched the stage with lewd grimace,
Instead of wit and humours, your delight
Was there to see two hobby-horses fight,
Stout Scaramoucha with rush lance rode in,
And ran a tilt at centaur Arlequin.

They were acting again in July, 1675, and remained some months in
England. cf. Evelyn, 29 September this same year, writes: 'I saw the
Italian Scaramuccio act before the King at Whitehall, people giving
money to come in, which was very scandalous and never so before at
Court-diversions. Having seen him act before in Italy many years
past, I was not averse from seeing the most excellent of that kind
of folly.' Duffett in his Prologue to _Ev'ry Man out of his Humour_,
'spoken by Mr. Hayns', July, 1675, who refers to this second visit--

The Modish Nymphs now ev'ry heart will win
With the surprizing ways of Harlequin
O the fine motion and the jaunty mene
While you Gallants--
Who for dear Missie ne'er can do too much
Make Courtships a la mode de Scarramouch.

and a little later he writes:--

Religion has its Scarramouchys too
Whose hums and has get all the praise and pence.

This Italian troop evidently returned in the following year or in
1677, as we have allusions to Dominique Biancolelli and Fiurelli,
'the Fam'd Harlequin & Scaramouch', in the Prologue to Ravenscroft's
_Scaramouch a Philosopher, Harlequin a School-Boy, Bravo, Merchant,
and Magician_, a Comedy after the Italian Manner, produced at the
Theatre Royal in 1677, with the migratory Joe Haines as Harlequin,
and again in _Friendship in Fashion_, Act iii, 1, when Lady
Squeamish cries: 'Dear Mr. Malagene, won't you let us see you act a
little something of Harlequin? I'll swear you do it so naturally,
it makes me think I am at the Louvre or Whitehall all the time.'
[Malagene ac