and appoint his well beloved wife, Winifride Burbage to be his fole executrix of all his goods & chattels whatsoever, in the prefence and hearing of the perfons undernamed: Cuthbert Burbadge, brother to the teftator, The mark of Elizabeth, his wife, Nicholas Tooley. Anne Lancaster. The mark of Elizabeth Graves. Probatum fuit teftamentum fuprafcriptum apud London, coram judice, 22° Aprilis, 1619, juramento Winifride Burbadge, reli&tæ dicti defunéti et executricis in eodem teftamento nominat. cui commiffa fuit adminiftratio de bene, &c. jurat." Richard Burbadge is introduced in person in an old play called The Returne from Parnaffus, (written in or about 1602,) and inftructs a Cambridge scholar how to play the part of King Richard the Third, in which Burbadge was greatly admired. That he reprefented this character, is afcertained by Bishop Corbet, who in his Iter Boreale, fpeaking of his hoft at Leicester, tells us, when he would have faid, King Richard died, "And call'd a horfe, a horfe, he Burbage cry'd." He probably alfo performed the parts of King John, Richard the Second, Henry the Fifth, Timon, Brutus, Coriolanus, Macbeth, Lear, and Othello. He was one of the principal fharers or proprietors of the Globe and Blackfriars theatres; and was of fuch eminence, that in a letter preferved in the British Mufeum, written in the year 1613, (MSS. Harl. 7002,) the actors at the Globe are called Burbadge's Company. The following character of this celebrated player is given by Fleckno in his Short Difcourfe of the English Stage, 1664. "He was a delightful Proteus, fo wholly transforming himself into his parts, and putting off himself with his cloaths, as he never (not fo much as in the tyring houfe) affumed himself again, untill the play was done.-He had all the parts of an excellent orator, animating his words with fpeaking, and fpeech with action; his auditors being never more delighted than when he fpake, nor more forry than when he held his peace: yet even then he was an excellent actor ftill; never failing in his part, when he had done fpeaking, but with his looks and gefture maintaining it still to the height." It fhould not, however, be concealed, that Fleckno had previously printed this character as a portrait of An excellent actor, in general, and there is reafon to believe that this writer never faw Burbadge: for Fleckno did not die till about the year 1682 or 1683, and confequently, fuppofing him then feventy-five years old, he muft have been a boy when this celebrated player died. The teftimony of Sir Richard Baker is of more value, who pronounces him to have been "fuch an actor, as no age muft ever look to fee the like." Sir Richard Baker was born in 1568, and died in 1644-5; and appears, In Jonfon's Mafque of Christmas, 1616, Burbadge and Heminge are both mentioned as managers: "I could ha' had money enough for him, an I would ha' been tempted, and ha' fet him out by the week to the king's players: Mafter Burbadge hath been about and about with me, and fo has old Mr. Heminge too; they ha' need of from various paffages in his works, to have paid much attention to the theatre, in defence of which he wrote a treatise.” In Philpot's additions to Camden's Remains, we find an epitaph on this tragedian, more concife than even that on Ben Jonfon; being only, "Exit Burbidge." The following old epitaph on Burbadge, which is found in a MS. in the Museum, (MSS. Sloan. 1786,) is only worthy of prefervation, as it fhews how high the reputation of this actor was in his own age: "Epitaph on Mr. RICHARD BURBAGE, the player." "This life's a play, fcean'd out by natures arte, is faid by Roberts the player to have been a tra 6 I did not till lately discover that there is an original picture of this admired actor in Dulwich College, or his portrait should have been engraved for this work. However, the defect will very fpeedily be remedied by Mr. Sylvefter Harding, the ingenious artift whom I employed to make a copy of the picture of Lowin at Oxford, which he executed with perfect fidelity; and who means to give the publick in twenty numbers, at a very moderate price, not only all fuch portraits as can be found, of the actors who perfonated the principal characters in our author's plays, while he was on the ftage, but also an affemblage of genuine heads of the real perfo nages reprefented in them; together with various views of the different places in which the fcene of his hiftorical dramas is placed. Each plate will be of the fame fize as that of Lowin, fo as to fuit the prefent edition. gedian, and in conjunction with Condell, to have followed the bufinefs of printing; but it does not appear that he had any authority for thefe affertions. In fome tract of which I have forgot to preserve the title, he is faid to have been the original performer of Falstaff. I fearched the register of St. Mary's Aldermanbury, (in which parifh this actor lived,) for the time of his birth, in vain. Ben Jonfon in the year 1616, as we have juft feen, calls him old Mr. Heminge: if at that time he was fixty years of age, then his birth must be placed in 1556. I fufpect that both he and Burbadge were Shakspeare's countrymen, and that Heminge was born at Shottery, a village in Warwickshire, at a very fmall distance from Stratford-upon-Avon; where Shakfpeare found his wife. I find two families of this name fettled in that town early in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Elizabeth, the daughter of John Heming of Shottery, was baptized at Stratfordupon Avon, March 12, 1567. This John might have been the father of the actor, though I have found no entry relative to his baptifm: for he was probably born before the year 1558, when the Regifter commenced. In the village of Shottery alfo lived Richard Hemyng, who had a fon christened by the name of John, March 7, 1570. Of the Burbadge family the only notice I have found, is, an entry in the register of the parish of Stratford, October 12, 1565, on which day Philip Green was married in that town to Urfula Burbadge, who might have been fifter to James Burbadge, the father of the actor, whofe marriage I fuppofe to have taken place about that time. If this con Anfwer to Pope, 1729. jecture be well founded, our poet, we fee, had an eafy introduction to the theatre. John Heminge appears to have married in or before the year 1589, his eldest daughter, Alice, having been baptized October 6, 1590. Befide this child, he had four fons; John, born in 1598, who died an infant; a fecond John, baptized Auguft 7, 1599; William, baptized October 3, 1602, and George, baptized February 11, 1603-4; and eight daughters; Judith, Thomafine, Joan, Rebecca, Beatrice, Elizabeth, Mary, (who died in 1611,) and Margaret. Of his daughters four only appear to have been married; Alice to John Atkins in January, 1612-13; Rebecca to Captain William Smith; Margaret to Mr. Thomas Sheppard, and another to a person of the name of Merefield. The eldeft fon, John, probably died in his father's lifetime, as by his laft will he conftituted his fon William his executor. William, whofe birth Wood has erroneously placed in 1605, was a ftudent of Chrift-church, Oxford, where he took the degree of a Master of Arts in 1628. Soon after his father's death he commenced a dramatick poet, having produced in March, 1632-3, a comedy entitled The Courfinge of a Hare, or the Madcapp, which was performed at the Fortune theatre, but is now loft. He was likewife author of two other plays which are extant; The Fatal Contract, published in 1653, and The Jews Tragedy, 1662. From an entry in the Council-books at Whitehall, I find that John Heminge was one of the principal proprietors of the Globe playhoufe, before the death of Queen Elizabeth. He is joined $ MS. Herbert. |