How Punch, King Solomon, Dr. Faustus,[1] the Queen of Sheba, the Duke of Lorraine, St. George, and the rest of the characters, were brought together, we have no precise knowledge; but "time and space" were evidently "annihilated, to make spectators happy." No wonder that such exhibitions thinned the theatres, and kept the churches empty.
Although our information may be considered complete, as to the high favor in which Punch was then held by the multitude, we are still, and shall probably remain, without any positive intelligence regarding the exact date when he arrived in England. We think, nevertheless, that we may conclude from all the premises with tolerable safety, that he and King William came in together, and that the Revolution is to be looked upon as the era of the introduction of the illustrious Family of Punch, and of the "glorious House of Orange."[2] Certain it is that the Dutch were extremely celebrated for their skill in mechanics; and the author of the "Second Tale of a Tub," 1715, bears witness, in the Dedication, "that the Dutch were the most expert nation in the world for puppet-shows."
That the dress and appearance of Punch, in 1731, were as nearly as possible like what they now are, will be seen by the following popular song, extracted from vol. 6 of- ↑ Many authorities might be adduced to shew that Dr. Faustus often formed a member of the puppet company. See Pope's "Dunciad," vol. 3, 1. 307; C. Pitt's "Prologue to the Strollers;" A. Hill's "Answer to an Epistle from Mrs. Robinson," &c. According to the author of the "Second Tale of a Tub," one of Powell's shows was called "Doctor Faustus;" and Mountford, the actor, produced a farce under the same title in 1697.
- ↑ There is, however, a passage in Granger's Biog. Hist. vol. 4, 350, which, if taken literally, as perhaps it is not meant to be, would shew that Punch was known in England before the abdication of James II. He is speaking of a notorious Merry-Andrew, of the name of Phillips, who, he says, "was some time fiddler to a puppet-show, in which capacity he held many a dialogue with Punch, in much the same strain as he did afterwards with the mountebank Doctor, his master, on the stage. This Zany being regularly educated, had confessedly the advantage of his brethren."
