the Roman Empire, the Dramatic Art, and during the Commonwealth of
this country, it practically did the same for us.

Owing to the exigences of the times, one Robert Cox, an actor of
considerable genius, after the fashion of the Extemporal Comedies of
Italy, invented a series of dramatic exhibitions at the Red Bull Theatre
(where the first English actress made her appearance December 8, 1660)
and elsewhere, under the guise of rope-dancing, a number of comic scenes
from Shakespeare, Shirley, Marston, Beaumont, and Fletcher, and others.
Cox's exhibitions, known as "Humours" or "Drolleries," were collected by
Marsh, and reprinted (1672) by Francis Kirkman, the author and
book-seller. This collection is entitled "The Wits, or Sport upon Sport,
in select pieces of Drollery, digested into scenes by way of dialogue.
Together with variety of Humours of several nations fitted for the
pleasure and content of all persons, either in Court, City, Country, or
Camp."

Of these "Humours" Kirkman observes, "As meanly as you may now think of
these Drolls, they were then acted by the best comedians; and, I may
say, by some that then exceeded all now living; the incomparable Robert
Cox, who was not only the principal actor, but also the contriver and
author of most of these farces. How I have heard him cried up for his
John Swabber, and Simpleton the Smith; in which he being to appear with
a large piece of bread and butter, I have frequently known several of
the female spectators and auditors to long for it; and once that
well-known natural, Jack Adams of Clerkenwell, seeing him with bread and
butter on the stage, and knowing him, cried out, 'Cuz! Cuz! give me
some!' to the great pleasure of the audience. And so naturally did he
act the smith's part, that being at a fair in a country town, and that
farce being presented the only master-smith of the town came to him,
saying, 'Well, although your father speaks so ill of you, yet when the
fair is done, if you will come and work with me, I will give you twelve
pence a week more than I give any other journeyman.' Thus was he taken
for a smith bred, that was, indeed, as much of any trade."

With the death of the Lord Protector, Cromwell, "The merry rattle of
Monk's drums coming up the Gray's Inn Road, welcomed by thousands of
dusty spectators," the return of Charles II., 1660, and though Charles
was more a lover of the stage than of the drama, the theatre again
recovered its credit, and to vi