Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 06.djvu/408

 Brome depends on the incidents of the action. The two species are, however, anything but strictly kept asunder, just as the rough verse in which the latter kind is chiefly written is intermingled in the comedies of life with prose in varying proportions, or altogether dropped. Of these comedies of actual life the best example is perhaps the 'Jovial Crew' (of which a good criticism will be found in an article on Brome's plays by Mr. J. A. Symonds in the 'Academy,' 21 March 1874). This clever picture of a queer section of society, with a breath of country air (not maybe of the very purest sort) blowing through it, was the latest of Brome's dramas, having 'the luck to tumble last of all in the epidemicall ruin of the scene' (see Dedication). It has also had the luck to enjoy a long life on the stage, having been revived after the Restoration (see 's Diary, s.d. 27 Aug. 1661) and again in 1731 as an 'opera' (probably in consequence of the popularity enjoyed by the 'Beggar's Opera,' produced 1728), and performed as late as 1791. The most successful, however, of Brome's plays seems to have been the 'Northern Lass,' which was one of his earliest productions, and had before its publication been 'often acted, with good applause, at the Globe and Blackfriars.' It contains a pathetic character (Constance) whose northern dialect seems, in the opinion of the public, to have imparted to her love-lorn insanity an original flavour which it is difficult to discover either in the character or in the scheme of the action. It seems to have been revived after the Restoration (see, i. 422). A play of more real cleverness and more essentially in the Jonsonian manner (it was very probably suggested by Jonson's masque, the 'World in the Moon,' 1620) was the 'Antipodes.' The 'play within the play,' on which the main interest of this piece turns, is an amusing extravaganza exhibiting the world upside down ; and the comedy derives an exceptional literary interest from the remarks on the theatre occurring in it. The 'Sparagus Garden,' produced in 1635, seems likewise to have been exceptionally popular (if we are to suppose it to be referred to as 'Tom Hoyden o' Taunton Dean' in the epilogue to the 'Court Beggar,' but Halliwell (249) seems to think this a separate play) ; here it need only be mentioned as an example of the consistent and unredeemed grossness of Brome's 'mirth,' and (inasmuch as the play has an air of truthfulness about it) as one among many indications of the fact that in point of morals there was not much to choose between the London world of Charles II's reign and that of his father's. Finally, the 'Weeding of Covent Garden, or the Middlesex Justice of Peace,' a picture of manners on the 'Bartholomew Fair' model, is worth noticing as a direct attempt at promoting a definite social reform, which appears to have been remarkably successful (see 'An other Prologue,' prefixed to the play). Among the romantic comedies the 'Lovesick Court' and the 'Queen and Concubine' are most worthy of mention; in the last-named Jeffrey is a good fool. In the following list of Brome's plays dates are given as far as ascertainable, but no attempt is made to establish a chronological sequence: 1. 'A Mad Couple well matched ;' comedy in prose. Perhaps the same as 'A Mad Couple well met,' mentioned in a list of plays belonging to the Cockpit company in 1639. According to Genest (i. 207) this comedy was reproduced in 1677, as 'revised' by Mrs. Aphra Behn. (See also 's Diary, s. d. 20 Sept. and 28 Dec. 1667.) 2. 'The Novella ;' romantic comedy in verse. Acted at Blackfriars, 1632. 3. 'The Court Beggar;' comedy in verse and prose. Acted at the Cockpit, 1632. If the epilogue following this was the original epilogue, this play was written after the 'Antipodes' and the 'Sparagus Garden.' 4. 'The City Wit, or the Woman wears the Breeches ;' comedy, mainly in prose. 5. 'The Damoiselle, or the New Ordinary ;' comedy, mainly in verse. Halliwell thinks this was one of the author's earliest productions. The above were published in one 8vo volume, by the care of Alexander Brome, in 1653, under the title of 'Five New Playes by Richard Brome.' 6. 'The English Moor, or the Mock Marriage ;' comedy, mainly in verse ; 'often acted with general applause by his majesty's servants.' According to Halliwell, a manuscript copy of this play is in the library of Lichfield Cathedral. 7. 'The Love-sick Court, or the Ambitious Politique ;' romantic comedy in verse. 8. 'The Weeding of the Covent Garden, or the Middlesex Justice of Peace ;' 'a facetious comedy,' mainly in prose. 9. 'The New Academy, or the New Exchange ;' comedy, mainly in verse. 10. 'The Queen and Concubine ;' romantic comedy, mainly in verse. The above were likewise published in one 8vo volume, by the care of Alexander Brome, in 1659, under the same title as the 1653 volume. 11. 'The Northern Lass;' comedy, mostly in prose. First printed, 4to, 1632 ; reprinted, 4to, 1684, with a new prologue by J. Haynes, and an epilogue ; and again, 4to, 1706, new songs being added, of which the music was composed by Daniel Purcell. 12. 'The Sparagus