as _The_ Theatre from the fact that it was the first ever
erected in London. He seems also to have been concerned in the erection of
a second theatre in the same locality, the Curtain, and later, in spite of
all difficulties and a great deal of local opposition, he started what
became the most celebrated home of the rising drama,--the Blackfriars
theatre, built in 1596 near the old Dominican friary.

His son RICHARD BURBAGE (c. 1567-1619), more celebrated than his father,
was the Garrick of the Elizabethan stage, and acted all the great parts in
Shakespeare's plays. He, too, is said to have been born at
Stratford-on-Avon, and made his first appearance at an early age at one of
his father's theatres. He had established a reputation by the time he was
twenty, and in the next dozen years was the most popular English actor, the
"Roscius" of his day. At the time of his father's death, a lawsuit was in
progress against the lessor from whom James Burbage held the land on which
The Theatre stood. This suit was continued by Richard and his brother
Cuthbert, and in 1569 they pulled down the Shoreditch house and used the
materials to erect the Globe theatre, famous for its connexion with
Shakespeare. They occupied it as a summer playhouse, retaining the
Blackfriars, which was roofed in, for winter performances. In this venture
Richard Burbage had Shakespeare and others [v.04 p.0809] as his partners,
and it was in one or the other of these houses that he gained his greatest
triumphs, taking the leading part in almost every new play. He was
specially famous for his impersonation of Richard III. and other
Shakespearian characters, and it was in tragedy that he especially
excelled. Every playwright of his day endeavoured to secure his services.
He died on the 13th of March 1619. Richard Burbage was a painter as well as
an actor. The Felton portrait of Shakespeare is attributed to him, and
there is a portrait of a woman, undoubtedly by him, preserved at Dulwich
College.

BURBOT, or EEL-POUT (_Lota vulgaris_), a fish of the family Gadidae, which
differs from the ling in the dorsal and anal fins reaching the caudal, and
in the small size of all the teeth. It exceeds a length of 3 ft. and is a
freshwater fish, although examples are exceptionally taken in British
estuaries and in the Baltic; some specimens are handsomely marbled with
dark brown, with black blotches on the back and dorsal fins. It is very
locally distributed in central and