* Doran's " Annals of the Stage."



WOMEN AND THE ARTS. 283

Women are now so necessary to stage perform-
ances that it is odd to find arguments gravely set
forth in favour of their presence. The reasons
assigned for introducing women were that men
failed to act women's parts satisfactorily ; that boys
were no more suitable than girls, and some of the
"boys" were middle-aged men, who could not
properly impersonate young maidens. When in
the reign of Charles II. patents were granted to
Killigrew and Davenant for their theatres, the
following regulations appeared —

" And forasmuch as many plays formerly acted do contain
several profane, obscene, and scurrilous passages, and the
women's parts therein have been acted by men in the
habits of women at which some have taken offence ; for
the preventing of these abuses for the future we do strictly
charge, command and enjoin that from henceforth no new
plays shall be acted by either of the said companies con-
taining any passages offensive to piety and good manners,
nor any old or revived play containing any such offensive
passages as aforesaid, until the same shall be corrected
and purged by the said masters or governors of the said
respective companies from all such offensive and scandalous
passages as aforesaid. And we do likewise permit and
give leave that all the women's parts to be acted in either
of the said two companies from this time to come may be
performed by women, so long as these recreations which by
reason of the abuses aforesaid were scandalous and offen-
sive may by such reformation be esteemed not only harm-
less delights, but useful and instructive representations



284 ENGLAND AFTER THE RENAISSANCE.
