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RANCIS BEAUMONT, 1811. Francis Beaumokt was third son of Francis, the judge, andbom at Grace Dieu, Leicestershire, in the year 1586. In 1596,he, with his two brothers, Henry and John, was admitted a gen-tleman commoner of Broadgate-hall, now Pembroke-college, Ox-ford. Wood, who refers his education to Cambridge, has mis-taken him for his cousin Francis, master of the Chatter-house,who died in 1624, an error not at all wonderful, inasmuch asthere were four Francis Beaumonts of this family, all living in1615, and of these, three were poets, viz. the master of theCharter-house, the dramatic writer, and one who was a JesuitThe subject of this article studied some time in the InnerTemple, and his Mask of the Inner Temple and Gray's Inn, wasacted and printed in 1612-13, when he was only in his twenty-sixth year. His application to the law was probably not veryintense; he devoted himself to the Dramatic Muse from anearly period; but at what time he commenced a partnership withFletcher is not known. The date of their first plays is in 1607,when Beaumont was in his twenty-first year: in all the editionsof their works, and in every notice of their joint productions,notwithstanding Fletcher^s seniority, the name of Beaumontstands first Their connection, from similarity of taste andstudies, was very intimate ; they lived together on Bank-side, notfar from the play-house, both bachelors, and it is said that theyhad one bench between them, and that they made use of thesame clothes, cloak, &c. and that Beaumont's chief business was to
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