behind seemed a vast sea, and
united with this that flowed forth, from the termination or horizon of
which (being the head of the stage, which was placed in the upper end
of the hall) was drawn by the lines of perspective, the whole work
shooting downwards from the eye, which decorum made it more
conspicuous, and caught the eye afar off with a wondering beauty, to
which was added an obscure and cloudy night piece, that made the whole
set off. So much for the bodily part, which was of Master Inigo
Jones's design and art." Indeed, Inigo was not simply the
scene-painter; he also devised the costumes, and contrived the
necessary machinery. In regard to many of these entertainments, he was
responsible for "the invention, ornaments, scenes, and apparitions,
with their descriptions;" for everything, in fact, but the music or
the words to be spoken or sung.

These masques and court pageants gradually brought movable scenery
upon the stage, in place of the tapestries, "arras cloths,"
"traverses," or curtains drawn upon rods, which had previously
furnished the theatre. Still the masques were to be distinguished from
the ordinary entertainments of the public playhouses. The court
performances knew little of regular plot or story; ordinarily avoided
all reference to nature and real life; and were remarkable for the
luxurious fancifulness and costly eccentricity they displayed. They
were provided by the best writers of the time, and in many cases were
rich in poetic merit. Still they were expressly designed to afford
valuable opportunities to the musical composer, to the ballet-dancers,
mummers, posture-makers, and costumiers. The regular dramas, such as
the Elizabethan public supported, could boast few attractions of this
kind. It was altogether without movable scenery, although possessed of
a balcony or upper stage, used to represent, now the walls of a city,
as in "King John," now the top of a tower, as in "Henry VI.", or
"Antony and Cleopatra," and now the window to an upper chamber. Mr.
Payne Collier notes that in one of the oldest historical plays extant,
"Selimus, Emperor of the Turks," published in 1594, there is a
remarkable stage direction demonstrating the complete absence of
scenery, by the appeal made to the simple good faith of the audience.
The hero is represented conveying the body of his father in a solemn
funeral procession to the Temple of Mahomet. The stage direction runs:
"Suppose the Temple of Mahomet"--a nee