land's poet, so near the time when his principal personages occupied the stirring scene in animated reality; and that the entire generation of their contemporaries had not passed away, inasmuch as some yet survived who had known and could describe them.

Cavendish, the faithful usher of Wolsey, and the recorder of his deeds, died only two or three years before Shakespere was born. The poet, who came to London in very early youth, might have formed the personal acquaintance of more than one greyheaded elder, who remembered the trial, divorce, and death of Katharine of Arragon; the favor and fall of the great Cardinal; the marriage, coronation, and execution of Anne Boleyn; the christening of her daughter Elizabeth ; and the first dawn of the recently established faith.

To give full effect to this noble play, information has been sought from every source which could contribute to the realization of what may be almost termed the domestic habits of the English Court, three hundred years ago. Shakespere has so closely followed Cavendish in several of the most important scenes, that they become in fact a dramatized transcript from the pages of that interesting and honest biographer. The grand festival at York Place is so clearly described by the early historian, and so minutely copied by the poet, that there is no difficulty in

conveying an exact picture of the order of the entertainment as it actually occurred; with the interruption caused by the arrival of the king and his twelve attendant nobles, masqued and disguised as shepherds, escorted by sixteen torch bearers, and accompanied by drums and fifes.

In the disposition of the stage at the trial of Queen Katharine, I have again followed Cavendish, as well as the corresponding account in D'Aubignê's History of the Reformation."

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The christening of the future Protestant Queen Elizabeth was solemnized with all the rites of the Church of Rome, at the Grey Friars, Greenwich (not a vestige of which now remains); and I have taken advantage of the historical fact of the Lord Mayor and City Council proceeding to the royal ceremonial in their state barges, to give a panoramic view of London, as it then appeared, concluding with the old Palace of Greenwich, where Queen Anne Boleyn resided at the time.

These views have been copied from a drawing by Antony Van Den Wynyrerde, A.D. 1543 (Sutherland Collection, Bodleian Library, Oxford), which is indeed the only authority we possess on the subject. The scene in which the two Cardinals, Wolsey and Campeius, visit Queen Katharine in the Palace of Bridewell after the trial, so graphically described by Cavendish, is now restored for the first time. The "Vision" in the

chamber of the dying Katharine, at Kimbolton Castle, replaces the introduced song of Patience, and the comparatively recent air of Handel; which change, I trust, will be considered more appropriate, as bearing out the Queen's description of her dream, and preserving the original idea of Shakespere.

The fifth act has of late years been entirely omitted. The portion relating to the christening of the royal infant, the Princess Elizabeth, is now restored. Any further addition would extend the representation beyond reasonable limits.

Strutt observes, in his "Manners and Customs of the English," that the whole life of Henry the Eighth (especially during the time when that pompous prelate, Cardinal Wolsey, was in favor), abounded with processions and princely shows of grandeur and magnificence. This pageantry, Shakespere has vivified with the inspiration of his poetic genius, and has thus produced, as Coleridge says, "a sort of historical masque or show play."

Where it has been possible to find music sufficiently ancient to coincide with the period of the play, it has been introduced. The remaining portions, together with the overture, entre-actes, and duet of "Orpheus with his Lute," have been composed by Mr. J. L. Hatton, with a view to correspond expressly with the earlier selections.

The air that accompanies the king's dance at

The

the festival, and called "Wolsey's Wild or Wile," is taken from Wm. Ballet's Lute Book; a MS. in the library of Trinity College, Dublin. The tunes therein bear evidence of being collected in the reign of Queen Mary, and are considered to be as old as the time of Henry the Eighth. dance of the torch bearers (which is adopted from a French print, illustrating a masque in the age of Francis the First) is accompanied by the music of the oldest Morris Dance known to exist; while "Lightie Love Ladies," supposed to be the favorite air of Shakespere himself, precedes and follows the dream of Queen Katharine.

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In the revival of Henry the Eighth, under its present form, it will be perceived that I have ventured to differ from the stage arrangements of my predecessors. Although in their time fine scenic effects were produced, and much pageantry was displayed, the management did not attempt, nor did the public require, that scrupulous adherence to historical truth in costume, architecture, and the multiplied details of action, which modern taste demands, and is so capable of appreciating, when employed in the service of the monarch of dramatic poetry.

It has been my endeavor in this, as in former productions of a similar kind, to act upon the advice of the celebrated antiquarian, Francis Douce, so far as is compatible with theatrical

effect; and "by exhibiting times as they were, to render the stage what it should be—a true and perfect mirror of history and manners."

Let me here freely acknowledge the advantages I have derived from various sources in the illustration of this play: more especially do I take this opportunity of expressing my obligations to Charles Hamilton Smith, Esq.,. author of "Ancient Costume of Great Britain and Ireland," &c. &c.; to Henry Shaw, Esq., F.S.A., author of "Dresses and Decorations of the Middle Ages;" and also to Sir Charles Young, of the College of Arms. For the architectural portion I am indebted to the valuable assistance of George Godwin, Esq., F.R.S., of the Royal Institute of Architects.

I cannot conclude this notice without an allusion to Mrs. Charles Kean's return to the stage, after a long secession, occasioned by severe illness. It is only thus that I can record my appreciation of the compliment she has received in the voluntary proposal of the ladies of the company, not representing characters in the play, to appear as her "Ladies in waiting." Such an offer is the more valuable, as it combines a graceful expression of personal esteem, with a zealous desire to uphold the interests of the theatre.

CHARLES KEAN.