> Randolph would have been a few years early for me, and this kind of 
> bragadoccio character is more typical of the 1630s-50s. Never heard of 
> him. Any bio? Was this produced in London in 1650? Not the best of years 
> for theater.
>
> Mark

There's a Wiki piece on him --  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Randolph_%28poet%29 -- from the 1911 
Britannica -- I'll let you know more if I find more.

URL that lets you into the play I mentioned (performed probably in the 
1630s, as Randolph -- if he wrote it -- died in 1635):

        http://www.letrs.indiana.edu/cgi-bin/eprosed/eprosed-idx?coll=eprosed;idno=P1.0202

This seems to be a door accidentally left open to the Chadwych-Healey 
English Prose Drama Database.  I came on it -- the trapdoor, that is -- via 
the article on Shadwell in Wiki.  Couldn't believe my eyes (and 
unfortunately doesn't seem to apply to the Verse Drama database).  I suspect 
the C-H people will close the door when they notice it's open, but for now 
it works.

The verses that the Higgins character speaks (and I'd guess, his character 
as a whole, and will confirm or otherwise when I read the rest of the play) 
is more specific than the bragadoccio -- in a line running through The 
Roaring Girl, The Beggar's Bush, The Jovial Crew, then jumping a bit and 
reappearing in Gay's Beggar's Opera.  Off to one side Jonson's Gypsies 
Metamorphosed and (if I can make the argument hold up) Bartholomew Fair. 
All going back either directly to Harman's _Caveat_ or via lifts from Harman 
in Dekker's Belman pamphlets, and Rowlands/Rid's Martin-Mark-all.

Now if I could just manage to tie this in *directly to Shadwell's _Squire of 
Alsatia_ in 1688.  So, Mark, if you *really want to make my day ...

Robin

[Who should be getting on with documenting the development of cant in the 
period 1530 to pre-1688, as a "necessary background" to blowens, rather than 
writing this.  The reason being that I'm convinced that it's impossible to 
understand the what, why and wherefors of "blowen" unless it's seen as 
emerging from the complex of peddler's French terms for females -- morts, 
doxies and dells -- which first appear written down in 1530-1567.

So I've not even actually started writing *directly on blowens yet.

<sigh>  ]