ས་ ces. niards and those of the Romans fubfifted after the divifion of the Empire, which never faw any change in that article in its provinThis uniformity sustained itself even against the invasion of the barbarians, as appears from the authority of the Bishop IDACIUS, who was witnefs and hiftorian of these invafions. This author always reckons diftances by milliaria, which without doubt he could never have done, if it had not been the ufage of the fifteenth century, in which he wrote. The writings of St. IsiDORE make us believe, that the GоTHS never touched the meafures which the Spaniards had received from the Romans: be-cause one may prefume, from the known accuracy of that faint, that he could not have paffed over in filence alterations of this nature, in the works which we have of his De Ponderibus & Menfuris: fo far from it, he marks always the distances by the fame names which the Romans gave them, and which they had introduced. into SPAIN, with the measures which ferved to determine them. These reflections are fupported in the work of Father BURRIEL, concerning The Authority of the Laws of the Fuero Jugo, which he cites in great numbers, but always with a view to prove, that almost to the time of ALPHONSUS X. the weights and measures of the Romans continued to be used in Spain; and that they still reckoned the diftances conformably to the manner which these conquerors had introduced. Could then this learned prince, who was an able and complete legiflator, could he be ignorant, of this continuation of the Roman weights and measures? And if he knew it, as we ought to believe, confidering the extent of his knowledge, and the lights he had, which fhine much more in thofe of his works which exift in the obfcurity of our archives, than in those which are printed: Could fuch a prince have recourse to foreign measures, when he determined and fettled thofe which were to be used in his dominions, and of which he gave the originals to the city of TOLEDO ? LETTER VI. OF THE E STAGE. VIEW O I Incolumi gravitate jocum tentavit; eò quòd HORAT. ART. POET, AM induced to believe, that there is a resemblance between the stage of MADRID at this time, and that of ROME, when my author was defcribing it: that is, at a period after its infancy, and before it had arrived at its full perfection in propriety of action, fentiment, and tafte. For I cannot well compare CALDERONI'S productions to thofe of TERENCE; nor look upon any of the prefent Spanish actors, as equal in merit and genius to the Roman Roscius, an ESOP, or an English GARRICK. And tho' I venture to give this opinion, it is the opinion of one, who is only an eye, and not an ear-cenfor: For I pretend not to understand enough of the language to be able to judge as decifively as a French critic, of the dramatic merit of CALDERONI, or any of his poetical countrymen. But there certainly is a way of forming fome judgement, tho' by other means; facts often fpeak as clearly as words; and actions and geftures, though filent, are by no means dumb: And I dare affirm, that General JOHNSON often underftood the little Carpenter, a Cherokee, or the bloody Bear, though he was not a great mafter of the elegancies and purity of the In dian language. But farther; when a play has any degree of unity in action, time, and place; when the several scenes, the characters lead on to, and terminate in one grand defign, or event; I will venture to say, if it be tolerably well acted, that a foreigner, tho' he does not understand the language, will be able to tell you what the general drift and design of the play was: Let a Spaniard, or Frenchman, who is ignorant of the English tongue, be prefent at the representation of Othello, Lear, Richard, The Journey to London, or The Bold Stroke for a Wife, and I am certain he will give a juft account of all he faw: he will tell you, that one murdered his wife for jealoufy; that the other went mad for the ingratitude of his daughters; that confcious guilt filled the third, though no coward fpirit, with all the horrors of remorse. WHEN I went first to the Spanish comedy, it was the season for acting the Autos, that is to say, plays in fupport of the Catholic faith; for Auto de Fe is in their language an act of faith. I found at my first entrance a good theatre, as to fize and shape, but rather dirty, and ill lighted; and what made it worse was an equal mixture of day-light and candles. The prompter's head appeared thro' a little trap-door above the level of the stage, and I first took him for a ghost, or devil, juft ready to afcend to these upper regions: But I was foon undeceived, when he began to read the play loud enough for the actors and the boxes too, who were near him. The pit was an odd fight, and made a motley, comical appearance; many ftanding in their night-caps and cloaks; officers and foldiers interfperfed among the dirtieft mob, feemed rather ftrange. That which anfwered to our two-fhilling-gallery, was filled with women only, all in the fame uniform, a dark petticoat, and a white woollen veil. The fide and front-boxes were occupied by people well dreffed, and some of the first fashion. WHEN the play began, the actors appeared much better attired, that is, in richer clothes, than thofe in England; and these theychange perpetually, in order to let you fee the expensive variety of their wardrobe. After fome fcenes had paffed, which were tedious and infipid, there came on an interlude of humour and drollery, defigned, I fuppofe, for the entertainment of the pit. One i 1 VIEW OF THE STAG E. of these comedians appeared tempting, with a bag of money, a lady who fung to him very prettily, and did not seem altogether averfe to grant him fome favours: in the mean while to my great furprize a man brought in three barbers blocks upon the stage: after these three faid barbers blocks were placed upon the stage, the same man returned and dreffed them first in mens clothes, and undreffed them again, and then dreffed them once more in womens clothes. Now, Sir, to tell you the truth, it was for the fake of such scenes as these that I placed thofe lines of HORACE at the head of this account; because I am perfuaded the author attempted this excellent piece of humour, for the reason there given, for the fake of his friends in the pit, and this without violating the decorum due to the national gravity of his countrymen. HOWEVER, I should not forget to tell you, that when these block ladies were properly attired, there came in three men, who had a fancy to tempt these three ladies likewife; but they were inflexibly coy, and I think it was not long before their gallants difcovered the mistake. But to quit this interlude, and return to the play again: In procefs of time, and after some scenes had paffed, which were long, tiresome, uninteresting, and full of fustian and bombaft; the grand fcene approached; an actor, dreffed in a long purple robe, appeared in the character of JESUS CHRIST, or the Nueftro Senor, as they call him; immediately he was blindfolded, buffeted, spit upon, bound, fcourged, crowned with thorns, and compelled to bear his crofs, when he knelt down and cried, Padre mi! Padre mi!" My Father! my Father! why haft thou for"faken me?" After this he placed himself against the wall, with his hands extended, as if on the cross, and there imitated the expiring agonies of his dying Lord. And what think you, my friend, was the conclufion of this awful and folemn fcene? why, really, one every way suitable to the dignity and seriousness of the occafion : one of the actresses immediately unbound Chrift, divested him of his crown and scarlet robes; and when he had put on his wig and coat again, he immediately joined the rest of the actors, and danced a fequedillas. Spectatum admiffi, rifum teneatis, amici? As As to the fequedillas, or dance, it is little better upon the Spanish ftage, than gently walking round one another; tho' when danced in its true fpirit, in private houses, it much resembles the English Hay. After this one of the actreffes, in a very long speech, explained the nature, end, and defign of the facraments; you must know also, that the Spaniards admit a great number of foliloquies, full of tiresome, and uninteresting declamation, into their plays. In the last scene, Christ appeared in a ship triumphant; and thus the play concluded. I forgot to tell you, that Chrift, before his paffion, preached to the four quarters of the world, in their proper dreffes, upon the ftage: Europe and America heard him gladly, and received the faith; but Asia and Africa remained incorrigible. SOME time after I had seen this Auto (for, to say the truth, my curiofity was a little abated with regard to the Spanish stage, from this fpecimen of it) I went to see a regular comedy; there were two English gentlemen in the box with me at the fame time. We understood very little of the design of the first act; we saw a king, queen, an enchantrefs, and many other pretty, delightful fights: but the interlude, with which that act concluded, is, I think, not to be equalled either by ROME or GREECE; neither FARQUHAR,. CIBBER, or any of our lowest farce-writers, have ever produced any thing comparable to it. The fcene was intended for the infide of a Spanish Pofada (or inn) in the night; there were three feather-beds, and as many blankets brought upon the stage; the queen and her maids of honour perfonated the mistress of the Pofada and her maids; and accordingly fell to making the beds. After this there came in fix men to lie there, who paid three quarts a piece; one of them being a mifer, had rolled up his money in twenty or thirty pieces of paper. Then they undreffed before the ladies, by pulling off fix or feven pair of breeches, and as many coats and waistcoats, and got into bed two by two: When behold, the jeft was, to see them all kick the clothes off one another, and then fight, as the fpectator is to fuppofe, in the dark. The abfurdity of this fcene, and the incomprehenfible ridiculousness of it, made us laugh immoderately. The fight of the feather-beds, the men kicking and fprawling, the peals of applaufe, that echoed through the houfe, were truly inconceivable; tho', I believe, our |