t, which, in truth, was often wisdom in disguise. Until the
end of the seventeenth century, jesters, or fools, as they were usually
called, were in the retinue of every king and princeling.

That the private fool existed even as late as the eighteenth century is
proved by Swift's epitaph on Dicky Pearce, but the last licensed fool of
England was Armstrong, court jester to James I and Charles I, who died in
1672. He lost his office and was banished from court for a too free play
of wit against Archbishop Laud.

L'Angely, his contemporary, and the last titled fool in France, was court
fool to Louis XIII, and died in 1679. He was a man of gentle birth, but
very poor. His biting, caustic wit, however, was so dreaded by the
courtiers that he grew rich from the sums which they paid him to purchase
immunity from his satire.

Ancient Greece had a class of professed fools similar to those of the
Middle Ages. The Romans went a step farther and made human monstrosities
of their slaves--hideous things to amuse by grotesque forms and antics
their cruel masters.

The fool's business, primarily, was to amuse, but owing to the fact that
he dared to tell the truth, much of an instructive nature was gathered
from him by his master.

His dress varied considerably in different periods; and on his shaven head
was a covering that resembled a monk's cowl, and crested with a cock's
comb or with asses' ears. He wore motley, and little bells hung from
various parts of his attire. He carried always a bauble, or short staff,
bearing a grotesque head, sometimes the counterpart of his own.

In England, the names and sallies of many of the court jesters have been
recorded, while literature makes frequent reference to them.

Prominent in the list is Will Sommers, who was court jester to Henry VIII.
His effigy is at Hampton Court, and a tavern in Old Fish Street, London,
once bore his name. He died in 1560.

John Heywood, who was jester to Queen Mary, was the author of numerous
dramatic works and poems, and was a highly educated man.

Tarleton, famous as a clown, cannot well be omitted from the list,
although he was not a licensed jester. He lived during Elizabeth's reign,
but was not attached to the court nor to any nobleman. A book of his jests
was published in 1611, twenty-three years after his death.

The identity of "Will," referred to as "my lord of Leicester's jesting
player," never has been satisfactorily explained. Some authorities a