other, that "he had a wondrous, plentiful, pleasant, _extemporal_
wit." These actors, then, who were in the habit of exercising their
impromptus, resembled those who performed in the unwritten comedies of
the Italians. Gabriel Harvey, the Aristarchus of the day, compliments
Tarleton for having brought forward a _new species of dramatic
exhibition_. If this compliment paid to Tarleton merely alludes to his
dexterity at _extemporaneous wit_ in the character of the _clown_, as my
friend Mr. Douce thinks, this would be sufficient to show that he was
attempting to introduce on our stage the extemporal comedy of the
Italians, which Gabriel Harvey distinguishes as "a new species." As for
these "Platts," which I shall now venture to call "Scenarios," they
surprise by their bareness, conveying no notion of the piece itself,
though quite sufficient for the actors. They consist of mere exits and
entrances of the actors, and often the real names of the actors are
familiarly mixed with those of the _dramatis personae_. Steevens has
justly observed, however, on these skeletons, that although "the drift
of these dramatic pieces cannot be collected from the mere outlines
before us, yet we must not charge them with absurdity. Even the scenes
of Shakspeare would have worn as unpromising an aspect, had their
skeletons only been discovered." The printed _scenarios_ of the Italian
theatre were not more intelligible; exhibiting only the _hints_ for
scenes.

Thus, I think, we have sufficient evidence of an intercourse subsisting
between the English and Italian theatres, not hitherto suspected; and I
find an allusion to these Italian pantomimes, by the great town-wit Tom
Nash, in his "Pierce Pennilesse," which shows that he was well
acquainted with their nature. He indeed exults over them, observing that
our plays are "honourable and full of gallant resolution, not
consisting, like theirs, of pantaloon, a zany, and a w---- e, (alluding
to the women actors of the Italian stage;[55]) but of emperors, kings,
and princes." My conviction is still confirmed, when I find that Stephen
Gosson wrote the comedy of "Captain Mario;" it has not been printed, but
"Captain Mario" is one of the Italian characters.[56]

Even at a later period, the influence of these performances reached the
greatest name in the English Parnassus. One of the great actors and
authors of these pieces, who published eighteen of these irregular
productions, was Andreini, whose name