. The comedies, histories, tragedies, and poems of William Shakspere. wrightsand epigrammatists mention her for half acentury. Her familiar name was Moll Cut-purse ; the name she received from her parents,Mary Frith. There is a letter in the BritishMuseum, dated February 11, 1612, which givesan amusing account of her doing penance atPauls Cross:— This last Sunday Moll Cutpurse, a notoriousbaggage that used to go in mans apparel, andchallenged the field of diverse gallants, wasbrought to the same place (Pauls Cross), whereshe wept bitterly, and seemed very penitent;but it is since doubted she w
. The comedies, histories, tragedies, and poems of William Shakspere. wrightsand epigrammatists mention her for half acentury. Her familiar name was Moll Cut-purse ; the name she received from her parents,Mary Frith. There is a letter in the BritishMuseum, dated February 11, 1612, which givesan amusing account of her doing penance atPauls Cross:— This last Sunday Moll Cutpurse, a notoriousbaggage that used to go in mans apparel, andchallenged the field of diverse gallants, wasbrought to the same place (Pauls Cross), whereshe wept bitterly, and seemed very penitent;but it is since doubted she was maudlin drunk,being discovered to have tippled off threequarts of sack before she came to her had the daintiest preacher or ghostly fatherthat ever I saw in the pulpit, one Piadcliflfe, ofBrazenose College in Oxford, a likelier man tohave led the revels in some inn of court thanto be where he was. But the best is, he didextreme badly, and so wearied the audiencethat the best part went away, and the resttarried rather to hear Moll Cutpurse than 330 ILLUSTEATIONS. [act Butler has sung her praise :— A bold virago stout and tallAs Joan of France, or English Mall. It is difficult to say whether Butler meant todepreciate Joan of France or exalt English Mallby this association. But, with his strong politi-cal feelings, he could not speak very dispar-agingly of Mistress Mall, for she robbedGeneral Fairfax upon Hounslow Heath, andleft twenty pounds by her will for the conduitto run with wine when Charles II. was the title page to Middleton and Dekkarsplay there is a portrait of this Amazon, whichis copied in the preceding page. ^ Scene III.— Why dost thou not go to churchin a galliard, and come home in a coranto ? sink-a-pace. Galliard, a lively dance. A lighter and whereof are regulated by the number five. Inan old Italian work, II Ballerino (1581), thisdance is described as consisting of four stepsand a cadence; and, according to Sir JohnDavis, i
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