plays and players: on the contrary, she kept up the theat rical and musical establishment of her father, at a cost, in salaries only, of between £2000 and £3000 a year, besides board, liveries, and incidental expenses. The old Miracleplays, being generally of the right Roman Catholic stamp, were revived under the fostering patronage of the Court. In 1556, the play of Christ's Passion was presented at the Greyfriars in London, before the Lord Mayor, the Privy Council, and many great estates of the realm. The next year, it was repeated at the same place; and also, on the feast of St. Olave, the miraculous life of that Saint was performed as a stage-play in the church dedicated to him.

Elizabeth succeeded to the crown, November 17th, 1558; and in May following she set forth a proclamation forbidding any plays or interludes to be performed in the kingdom without special licence from the local magistrates; and also ordering that none should be so licenced, wherein either matters of religion or of state were handled. This was probably deemed necessary in consequence of the strong measures which had lately been used for putting down all plays that smacked anyway of the Reformation. A good comment on the action of the crown in this particular is furnished by a letter from Sir Robert Dudley, afterwards Earl of Leicester, to Shrewsbury, then Lord President of the North. Sir Robert had at that time a company of players acting under his name; the letter was written in their behalf, and dated from Westminster, June, 1559:

"My good Lord: Whereas my servants, bringers hereof unto you, be such as are players of interludes; and for the same have the licence of divers of my Lords here, under their seals and hands, to play in divers shires within the realm under their authorities, as may amply appear unto your Lordship by the same licence; I have thought, among the rest, by my letters to beseech your good Lordship, that they may have your hand and seal to their licence, for the like liberty in Yorkshire; being honest men, and such as

shal. play none other matters, I trust, but tolerable and convenient, whereof some have been heard here already before divers of my Lords. For whom I shall have good cause to thank your Lordship, and to remain your Lordship's to the best that shall lie in my little power. And thus I take my leave of your good Lordship."

All which may suffice to indicate how matters stood in regard of what is now to be noticed.

The Moral-play of Lusty Juventus, written in the reign of Edward VI., and printed sometime after 1551, is full of shots at what are called the superstitions of Rome. Its arguments and positions are exceedingly scriptural, chapter and verse being quoted or referred to with all the exactness of a sermon or a theological discourse. And the tenets of the new "gospellers" are as openly maintained, as those of Rome are impugned. Juventus, the hero, is decidedly bent on "going it while he is young," and starts out in quest of his companions, to have a merry dance: Good Counsel meets him, warns him of the evils of his ways, and engages him on the spot in a prayer for grace to aid him in his purpose of amendment. Just at this moment Knowledge comes up, and, chiefly by expounding to him the doctrine of justification by faith, prevails on him to spend his time mostly in hearing sermons and reading the Scriptures. This puts the Devil in great alarm; he has a soliloquy on the subject; then calls in his son Hypocrisy, and engages his services in the cause. While Juventus is on his way to "hear a preaching," Hypocrisy encounters him, argues with him against forsaking the traditions of his fathers, and, by promising him Abominable-living for a mistress, diverts him from his purpose. Some while after, Good Counsel finds him in the lowest state of debauchery, and reclaims him; and God's Merciful Promises undertakes to procure his pardon.

The Interlude of Youth, written and printed in the time of Mary, strikes as decidedly the other way, and with much

more skill of execution. It begins with a speech by Charity in praise of the virtue he represents. Just then Youth enters in a very youthful state of mind; Charity tries to sober him, but presently retires; and Riot comes in, having escaped from the gallows by breaking the rope: Riot introduces Youth to Pride; Pride recommends his sister Lechery to him for a mistress; they are about going to the tavern, when Charity returns, and tries to restrain them, but they bind him with a chain: Humility comes to his rescue; and there they all have a long debate together, Charity and Humility urging Youth to virtue, Riot and Pride instigating him to all kinds of vice. Charity explains to him how Christ hath bought all mankind "on the rood," and the theme works so strongly that Riot and Pride strive in vain to counterwork it. A mutual repudiation follows between them and Youth; the latter is perfectly reclaimed, and is assured by Charity that he shall be "an heritor of bliss.”

"The longer thou livest the more Fool thou art," is the title of a very amusing piece, by W. Wager,, which was probably written early in Elizabeth's reign, though the exact date cannot be fixed, either of the writing or the printing. Its moral turns on the education of children. Moros, the hero, is represented in the outset as an ignorant and vicious fool, thinking of nothing but ballads and songs, and constantly singing scraps of them: Discipline finds hin venting this humour, and reproves his lightness; Piety and Exercitation add their efforts, to reform him, but discover that he has as much knave as fool about him. The two latter hold him, while Discipline lays on the whip, till he affects contrition; but he is soon wheedled into a relapse by Idleness, Incontinence, and Wrath, who, however, profess to hold him in contempt; Wrath calling him “as stark an idiot as ever bore bauble," but giving him the Vice's sword and dagger; while all promise him the society of Nell, Nan, Meg, and Bess. Being left alone, at the sight of Discipline Moros drops his sword and hides himself. Fortune then endows

him with wealth; he takes Impiety, Cruelty, and Ignorance into his service, and "disguises himself gaily in a foolish beard; " Impiety stirs him up against "these new fellows,” meaning the Protestants, and he vows to "hang, burn, head and kill" them without remorse; Discipline returns, and he flees, not having courage enough to use his sword and dagger. When they are gone, People enters, and complains of the hero's cruelty and oppression, but runs off in a fright, on his returning "furiously with a grey beard." God's Judgment then comes "with a terrible vizard," and strikes him down; Confusion follows; they strip off his "goodly gear," and put on him a fool's coat. Being threatened by Confusion with eternal fire, and required to go with him, he re plies,

"Go with thee, ill-favour'd knave?

I had liefer thou wert hang'd by the neck:

If it please the Devil me to have,

Let him carry me away on his back."

We are left to infer that Confusion, who is the Devil of the piece, takes him at his word.

The Conflict of Conscience, by Nathaniel Woods, Minister of Norwich, was written about the same time as the foregoing, though not printed till 1581. A brief analysis will show its pertinency to the great question of the time: besides, it is worthy of notice as being one of the earliest germinations of the Historical Drama. The hero, though called Philologus, is avowedly meant for Francis Speira, an Italian lawyer who, it is said, "forsook the truth of God's Gospel for fear of the loss of life and worldly goods." He committed suicide in 1548, and his fate soon became notorious in England. The characters of the piece are partly real, partly allegorical: among the former, are Speira, his two sons, and Cardinal Eusebius; among the latter, Conscience, Hypocrisy, Tyranny, Spirit, Avarice, Horror, and Sensual-suggestion. Philologus is represented as a rich and zealous patron of the Reformation: Tyranny has orders

from Rome to search for heretics, Hypocrisy and Avarice tc aid him in the search; Caconos, a Romish priest, directs them to the hero's house; he is summoned before the Cardinal, and holds his ground till threatened with prison and torture, when, urged by Sensual-suggestion, he returns to popery. He then has an interview with his sons, during which Spirit, Conscience, and Horror assail him, and the Cardinal comes with Theologus to console him : he refuses to hear them, and rushes out: a Nuntius then informs the audience, that after thirty weeks of suffering and despair he had hanged himself.

The Marriage of Wit and Science deserves mention, both for reasons that will presently appear, and also as the first known instance of a Moral-play regularly distributed into five Acts, and these again into scenes. Master Wit, the son of Nature, is deeply smitten with Lady Science, daughter of Reason and Experience; he wishes to take her to his bosom in marriage forthwith, but is told by his mother Nature that she is only to be won by labour and perseverance; however, she bids him try his fortune, and lets him have Will as a servant. Will is in much alarm at the thought of his young master's being married, and warns him to break his wife in betimes, whoever she may he. The lady is retiring and shy, like Milton's Eve, "that would be woo'd, and not unsought be won;" nevertheless, in obedience to her parents, she accepts a portrait of Wit, and consents to listen his suit. Wit comes; Reason introduces him to Instruction; the latter has two servants, Study and Diligence, who are also of the party; and Science engages to become the bride of Wit, when he shall have spent three or four years under their tuition; though she requires him, as her knight, first to slay Tediousness, a huge giant that has vowed himself her deadly foe. Wit encounters him with too little circumspection, and gets a blow that lays him in a trance however, Recreation comes to his aid, recovers him, and diets him with music till he fairly dances with life.

Wher