LITERARY HISTORY.

Twelfth Night was first printed in the Folio of 1623, where it occupies pp. 255–275 of the Comedies. Its date is fixed, within certain limits, by a reference discovered by Mr. Hunter in 1828. It is found in a MS. volume in the British Museum (MSS. Harl. 5353) containing the diary of John Manningham, a member of the Middle Temple, from January 1601-2 to April 1603. The entry for February 2, 1601-2, is as follows :---

"At our feast1 wee had a play called Twelue night or what you will. much like the commedy of errores or Menechmi in Plautus, but most like and neere to that in Italian called Inganni a good practice in it to make the steward beleeue his Lady widdowe was in Loue with him by counterfayting a letter, as from his Lady, in generall termes, telling him what she liked best in him, & prescribing his gesture in smiling his apparaile &c. And then when he came to practise making him beleeue they tooke him to be mad."

This entry proves that Shakespeare's play must have been written before February 1601-2; its absence from the list in Meres' Palladis Tamia shows that it could not have been known before September 1598. The introduction in the play of some fragments from the song, "Farewell, dear heart, since I must needs be gone," further narrows the limits of conjecture; for this song first appeared in 1601 in the Booke of Ayres composed by Robert Jones. The play is therefore assigned with great probability to 1601-2; and it has been conjectured by Mr. Halliwell-Phillipps

1 i.e. the Candlemas feast at the Middle Temple Hall.

that it was one of four plays acted in the Christmas of that year before the Court at Whitehall by the Lord Chamberlain's company, to which Shakespeare belonged, and that it was probably acted on Twelfth Night, and derived its name from that circumstance.

Manningham, as we have seen, remarks on the likeness of the play to the Menæchmi of Plautus and an Italian play named Gl' Inganni. There were three plays of this name, one by Nicolo Secchi (Florence, 1562), another by Curzio Gonzaga (Venice, 1592), both containing incidents of a certain resemblance to some of Shakespeare's, and the latter of them a sister who assumes male attire and the name Cesare (which might have suggested Cesario); the third play, by Cornaccini (Venice, 1604), has less resemblance. But there is yet another Italian play, named Gl' Ingannati (Venice, 1537), which really does bear some likeness to Twelfth Night, the whole outline of the primary plot of the English play being found in the Italian one, and the name Malevolti (which might have suggested Malvolio-the name only) occurring in the induction. Gl' Ingannati was translated by Peacock in 1862; it is given in the the 3rd volume of his collected works (Bentley, 1885). The story on which it was founded is told by Bandello (Novelle, ii. 36), and in Belleforest's translation (Histoires Tragiques, tom. iv., hist. vii.). There is what may be called another version of the same story (though whether or not directly copied, it is hard to say) in Barnabe Riche's Historie of Apolonius and Silla, the second story in his Farewell to Militarie Profession (1581), reprinted in Malone's Variorum, and in Hazlitt's Shakespeare Library (pt. I. vol. i. p. 387). This at

least it seems almost certain that Shakespeare must have seen and made use of as the framework of his comedy; all the underplot, if we may so call what is virtually the mainstay of the play, is so far as we know entirely of his own invention. Grant White, speaking of certain coincidences, remarks on the "reminiscence" which appears in Sir Andrew's complaint to Sir Toby, "Marry, I saw your niece do more favours to the count's serving-man," &c., of a passage in Apolonius and Silla, where the servants "debating betweene them, of the likelihood of the marriage, betweene the duke & the ladie, one of them said: that he neuer saw his lady & mistresse, vse so good countenance to the duke himself, as she had done to Siluo his man." Shakespeare has condensed and simplified the entanglements, and he has purified them from certain grossnesses which found place in the plain-speaking pages of his originals.

to go in, which did make the play seem a burthen to me, and I took no pleasure at all in it." On January 6th, 1622-23, he again saw Twelfth Night; on which occasion we learn from Downes that "it was got up on purpose to be acted on Twelfth Night" (Roscius Anglicanus, p. 32), and appears to have been revived with very great success. Pepys does not seem to have formed any more favourable opinion of its merits; for though he confesses it was acted well, he says that it was "but a silly play, and not related at all to the name or day." He saw the piece again on January 20th, 1669, when it was revived at the Duke of York's play-house in Lincoln's Inn Fields. He adds: "I think one of the weakest plays that I ever saw on the stage." This comedy seems, like most of Shakespeare's plays, to have been suffered to lie on the shelf for a long time. On January 15th, 1741, Genest records that it was revived at Drury Lane, and acted about eight times during that season. The cast was a strong one. It included Macklin as Malvolio, Woodward as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Milward as Sebastian, with Mrs. Pritchard as Viola, and Mrs. Clive as Olivia. Twelfth Night does not seem to have been again represented till 1746, when on April 15th it was revived "for the benefit of Raftor and Miss Edwards," on which occasion Neal was Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and Yates the Clown, Mrs. Woffington appearing for the first time as Viola. On the 18th of the same month the play was again represented for Neal's benefit. We may presume the cast was the same. Genest only gives the names of Mills as playing Orsino, and Sparks as Sir Toby Belch, with Mrs. Macklin as Maria. On January 6th and 7th, 1748, at Drury Lane, Twelfth Night was again revived with much the same cast, except that Berry played Sir Toby Belch, and Mrs. Pritchard resumed the part of Viola. On November 9th, 1748, at the same theatre, Woodward played Sir Andrew Aguecheek, a performance which he repeated on January 7th, 1751; on which occasion the part of Malvolio, which hitherto belonged to Macklin, was taken by Yates, Shuter playing the Clown, and Palmer the small part of Sebastian; Mrs.

Pritchard and Mrs. Clive retaining their original parts of Viola and Olivia respectively. The next performance of this comedy, which is worth recording, was at Drury Lane on January 6th, 1755, when Viola was represented by Mrs. Davies, the pretty wife of Tom Davies, the gossiping biographer of Garrick, and author of the Dramatic Miscellanies; to which latter work, in spite of many inaccuracies, the historians of the English stage are so much indebted. Genest, quoting the State of the Stage, says of her: "she gave infinite pleasure by her figure, and prejudiced the audience in her favour as soon as she was seen-she was likewise mistress of extreme justice in her enunciation" (vol. iv. p. 406). The next representation of this comedy appears to have been on October 19th, 1763: "not acted five years." This is probably a mistake; at least there is no performance recorded since the one last mentioned in 1755. On this occasion O'Brien was Sir Andrew Aguecheek, and Love Sir Toby Belch, Yates being again Malvolio. Miss Plym made her first appearance as Viola; Miss Haughton was the Olivia, and Mrs. Lee the Maria. About Miss Plym little seems to be known. She continued in the Drury Lane company, playing mostly small parts, till the season 1766-77, when she retired from the stage.1

For eight years this play seems to have been neglected. It was revived at Drury Lane on December 10th, 1771 with a very strong cast, including King as Malvolio, Dodd as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Love as Sir Toby Belch, with Miss Young as Viola, and Mrs Abington as Olivia (with a song). What this song was we are not told. This revival was successful, and the piece was performed fourteen times. During this season, on April 1st, 1773, at the same theatre, Palmer played Sir Toby Belch, for the first time, for Dodd's benefit.

It was

Up to this period Twelfth Night had never been performed at Covent Garden. produced there, for the first time, on March

1 Genest says that in "A Dialogue in the Shades between the celebrated Mrs. Cibber and the no less celebrated Mrs. Woffington, both of amorous memory," published not long after Mrs. Cibber's death in 1766 (Genest, vol. v. p. 102)—"Miss Plym is said to have withstood a regular siege from an experienced and popular general" (ut supra, p. 127).

VOL. IV.

31st, 1772, with Yates as Malvolio, Woodward as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Dunstall as Sir Toby Belch, Mrs. Yates as Viola, Mrs. Mattocks as Olivia, and Mrs. Green as Maria. It was acted again on May 5th. This comedy does not seem to have been revived at this theatre till March 17th, 1777, when the playbill announces it for Mrs. Barry's benefit "not acted 6 years," with the following cast: Wilson as Malvolio; Quick, Sir Andrew Aguecheek; Dunstall, Sir Toby Belch; Lee Lewes, the Clown; and Mrs. Barry for the first time as Viola. We pass over several performances at Drury Lane, Bath, Liverpool, Dublin. On October 23rd, 1779, at Drury Lane, the beautiful Mrs. Robinson, known as Perdita, appeared for the first time as Violashe had made her debut as an actress there on December 10th, 1776—and at the end of this season she, unhappily, left the stage, of which she promised to be a most distinguished ornament, for the sake of the most contemptible prince that ever appeared in the rôle of Florizel. On May 20th, 1780, at the same theatre, Miss Farren appeared for the first time (with a song) as Olivia.

At the Haymarket Theatre, on August 15th, 1782, Twelfth Night was presented for the first time at that house, for Mrs. Bulkley's benefit; on which occasion Bensley played Malvolio; Edwin, Sir Andrew Aguecheek; Palmer, Sir Toby Belch; and Parsons appeared as the Clown; the bénéficiaire herself taking the part of Viola, and Miss Harper that of Olivia. On September 21st of the same year Mrs. Bulkley made her first appearance at Drury Lane in the character of Viola, the only other member of the cast mentioned being Bannister, jun., who played Sebastian. On May 7th, 1782, Twelfth Night was revived at Covent Garden for the benefit of Edwin, who played Sir Andrew Aguecheek. On this occasion Henderson appeared as Malvolio for the first time; and a Mrs. Robinson2 is announced as Viola "for the first time" (Genest, vol. vi. p.