in 
Lz'z'erature 
and Art. 
379 
heartily joins. Kitely's jealoufy, and the {teps taken to reform VVellbred, 
lead to the molt comic parts of the play, which concludes with the 
marriage of young Kno'well to Kitely's daughter, Mifs Bridget, and his 
reconciliation with his father. Among the other characters in the piece 
are captain Bobadil, "a bluttering coward," jufticc Clement, " an old 
merry magittrate," his clerk, Roger Formal, and a country gull and a 
town gull. 
Thefe comedies of London life became popular, and continued fo 
during this and the following reign-in fact, the mafs of thofe who 
attended the theatres could underftand and appreciate them better than 
any others, and, what was more, they felt them. Among Jonfon's con- 
temporaries in the literature of this Englith comedy were Middleton and 
Thomas Heywood, both very prolific writers, Chapman, and Marfton. 
Certain claffes of characters are continually repeated in this comedy, 
becaute they belonged efpecially to the London fociety of the time, but 
the employment and dittribution of the-lie characters admitted of great 
variations, and they perhaps often had at the time a fpecial interett, as 
reprefenting known individuals, or as being combined in a plot which 
was built upon real incidents in Lond_on life. Among thete were ufually 
a country gentleman of fortune, who was very avaricious, and had a 
fpendthrift fon, or who had a daughter, a rich heirets, who was the object 
of the intrigues of fpendthrift fuitors; young heirs, who have juit come to 
their eflates, and are fpending them in London; young country fquires 
who are ealy victims; a needy knight, as poor in principles as in money, 
who lived upon the public in every way he could; clengning and unferti- 
pulous women; bullies and lharpers of every defcription. In fact, we 
Ieem to be always in the fmell of the tavern, and in the midft of difIipa- 
tion. Then there are fat, ileek, and wealthy citizens, whofe fouls are 
entirely wrapt up in their merchandite, who are proud, neverthelets, of 
their pofition; and eafy, credulous city wives, who are fond of rinery and 
of praife, eager for gaiety and difplay, impatient of the rule of huibands, 
or of the dulnefs ofhome, and very ready to liiten to the advances of the 
gay gallants from the court end of the town, or From the tavern. The 
city tradelinan has generally an apprentice or two, fometimes very fober, 
but