They sat upon the stage, paying sixpence
or a shilling for the hire of a stool, or reclined upon the rushes
with which the boards were strewn. Their pages were in attendance to
fill their pipes; and they were noted for the capriciousness and
severity of their criticisms. "They had taken such a habit of dislike
in all things," says Valentine, in "The Case is Altered," "that they
will approve nothing, be it ever so conceited or elaborate; but sit
dispersed, making faces and spitting, wagging their upright ears, and
cry: 'Filthy, filthy!'" Ben Jonson had suffered much from the censure
of his audiences. In "The Devil is an Ass," he describes the demeanour
of a gallant occupying a seat upon the stage. Fitsdottrell says:
To day I go to the Blackfriars playhouse,
Sit in the view, salute all my acquaintance;
Rise up between the acts, let fall my cloak;
Publish a handsome man and a rich suit--
And that's a special end why we go thither.
Of the cutpurses, rogues, and evil characters of both sexes who
frequented the old theatres, abundant mention is made by the poets and
satirists of the past.
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