Event Comment: The Duke's Company. Pepys, Diary: I away before to White Hall and into the new play-house there, the first time I ever was there, and the first play I have seen since before the great plague. By and by Mr Pierce comes, bringing my wife and his, and Knipp. By and by the King and Queene, Duke and Duchesse, and all the great ladies of the Court; which, indeed, was a fine sight. But the play being Love in a Tub, a silly play, and though done by the Duke's people, yet having neither Betterton nor his wife, and the whole thing done ill, and being ill also, I had no manner of pleasure in the play. Besides, the House, though very fine, yet bad for the voice, for hearing. The sight of the ladies, indeed, was exceeding noble; and above all, my Lady Castlemayne. The play done by ten o'clock. I carried them all home, and then home myself, and well satisfied with the sight, but not the play

Event Comment: The King's Company. Pepys, Diary: To the King's playhouse, where two acts were almost done when I come in; and there I sat with my cloak about my face, and saw the remainder of The Mayd's Tragedy; a good play, and well acted, especially by the younger Marshall, who is become a pretty good actor, and is the first play I have seen in either of the houses since before the great plague, they having acted now about fourteen days publickly. But I was in Mighty pain lest I should be seen by any body to be at a play. Elegy on that Worthy and Famous Actor, Mr Charles Hart, who departed this Life Thursday August the 18th., 1683: @Such Pow'r He had o'r the Spectators gain'd,@As forc'd a Real passion from a Feign'd.@For when they saw Amintor bleed, straight all@The House, for every Drop, a Tear let fall;@And when Arbaces wept by sympathy,@A glowing Tide of Wo gush'd from each Eye.@ [Reprinted in Thorn-Drury, A Little Ark, pp. 47ff; Sprague, Beaumont and Fletcher, p.38.

Event Comment: The King's Company. Pepys, Diary, 23 Jan.: Knipp made us stay in a box and see the dancing preparatory to to-morrow for The Goblins, a play of Suckling's, not acted these twenty-five years; which was pretty. Pepys, Diary, 24 Jan.: And, anon, at about seven or eight o'clock, comes Mr Harris, of the Duke's playhouse, and brings Mrs Pierce with him, and also one dressed like a country-mayde with a straw hat on; which, at first, I could not tell who it was, though I expected Knipp: but it was she coming off the stage just as she acted this day in "The Goblins"; a merry jade

Event Comment: [The King's Company. Evelyn, Diary: Saw the Virgin Queene a play written by Mr Dryden &c. [Possibly the run of this play continued, for Pepys saw it again on 25 March and there are no certain performances of other plays at the King's Theatre. If Secret Love was acted without interruption, except for the customary non-acting days in Lent, it was probably given on 16, 18, 19, 21, and 23 March.

Event Comment: Pepys, Diary I home to dinner, where Mr Pierce dined with us, who tells us what troubles me, that my Lord Buckhurst hath got Nell Gwin? away from the King's house, lies with her, and gives her #100 a year, so as she hath sent her parts to the house, and will act no more. And yesterday Sir Thomas Crew told me that Lacy lies a-dying of the pox

Event Comment: At Mr Croome's, at the Sign of the Shoe and Slap, near the Hospital Gate in West Smithfield, is to be seen, The Wonder of Nature, A Girl, above Sixteen Years of Age, born in Chesire, and not above Eighteen Inches long, having shed the Teeth seven several Times, and not a perfect Bone is any part of her, only the Head; yet she hath all senses to Admiration, and Discourses, Reads very well, Sings, Whistles, and all very pleasant to hear. Sept. 4, 1667. God Save the King. (Henry Morley, Memoirs of Bartholomew Fair, p. 189)

Event Comment: Pepys, Diary: [Mercer] and I to the Duke of York's playhouse, and there saw The Tempest, and between two acts, I went out to Mr Harris, and got him to repeat to me the words of the Echo, while I writ them down, having tried in the play to have wrote them; but, when I had done it, having done it, withour looking upon my paper, I find I could not read the blacklead. But now I have got the words clear, and, in going in thither, had the pleasure to see the actors in their several dresses, especially the seamen and monster, which were very droll. So into the play again. But there happened one thing which vexed me, which is, that the orange-woman did come in the pit, and challenge me for twelve oranges, which she delivered by my order at a late play, at night, to give to some ladies in a box, which was wholly untrue, but yet she swore it to be true. But, however, I did deny it, and did not pay her; but, for quiet, did buy 4s. worth of oranges of her, at 6d. a-piece. Here I first saw my Lord Ormond since his coming from Ireland, which is now about eight days

Event Comment: The King's Company. This play is on the L. C. list, 5@12, p. 17: the King here. See also Nicoll, Restoration Drama, p. 344. Mrs John Evelyn to Mr Terryll, 10 Feb. 1668@9: one of my Lord of Newcastle's for whch printed apoligies are scattered in the assembly by Briden's order, either for himself who had some hand in it, or for the author most; I think both had right to them (Diary and Correspondence of John Evelyn, ed. William Bray, IV, 14)

Event Comment: Mrs John Evelyn to Mr Terryll: The censure of our plays comes to ee at the second hand. There has not been any new lately revived and reformed, as Catiline, well set out with clothes and scenes; Horace, with a farce and dances between every act composed by Lacy and played by him and Nell, which takes; one of my Lord of Newcastle's, for which printed apologies are scattered in the assembly by Briden's order, either for himself who had some hand in it, or for the author most; I think both had right to them (The Diary and Correspondence of John Evelyn, ed. Bray, IV, 14)