some of the other characters are, Reason, Experience, Instruction, Study, Diligence, Will, Idleness, Ignorance, and Tediousness, a Giant the deadly foe of Science. After various adventures, Art manages to strike off the head of Tediousness and presents it to Science, to whom he is then married; Art concluding thus:

'My pain is past, my gladness to begin,
My task is done, my heart is set at rest,
My foe subdued, my lady's love possest.
I thank my friends whose help I have at need;
And thus you see how Art and Science are agreed.
We twain henceforth one soul in bodies twain must dwell:
Rejoice I pray you all with me, my friends, and fare ye well.'

Other morals of this general character are, All for Money (printed 1578), by Thomas Lupton; The Three Lords and Three Ladies of London (1590); and Liberality and Prodigality (1602). Some of these are scarcely entitled to be called pure morals, i.e. plays in which the characters are purely allegorical, as there are introduced into them characters with personal names, often, however, representing some particular quality or abstract idea. As we cannot afford space to give a lengthened example of a pure moral play, we shall, before going further, quote Mr. Collier's analysis of one, by the famous John Skelton (14601529), the only important author, so far as is known, who attempted this kind of dramatic writing. Skelton probably wrote several plays of this kind, but the only one extant is that entitled Magnificence, written very possibly before 1509. In order to show the state of the language at the time this piece was written, we shall, in the quotation, retain the original spelling, which will offer very little difficulty to the reader :

'The moral purpose of Magnyfycence is to show the vanity of worldly grandeur. It opens with a soliloquy by Felicity, who is soon joined by Liberty; and while they are discussing the degree to which freedom ought to be allowed, Measure enters to moderate between the disputants, and enlarges on his own importance.

'Magnificence is immediately afterwards introduced, and becomes acquainted with Fancy (who calls himself Largess), with Counterfeit-countenance, Crafty-conveyance, Cloked-collusion, Courtly-abusion, and Folly, who also impose upon him under feigned names. Courtlyabusion offers to carry him to a young lady, whose virtue is not inaccessible, and whose beauty is described with some luxuriance of style:

"A fayre maystresse,

That quyckly is envyved with rudyes of the rose,
Inpurtured with features after your purpose.
The streynes of her veynes as asure Inde blewe,
Enbudded with beautye and colour fresshe of

hewe,

As lyly white to loke upon her heyre,
Her eyen relucent as carbuncle so clere;
Her mouth embawmed dylectable and mery,
Her lusty lyppes ruddy as a chery."

'Magnificence, ruined by his friends and retainers, falls into the hands of Adversity and Poverty, and the latter, in the following striking lines, contrasts the present with the former condition of Magnificence:

'Despair and Mischief next encounter Magnificence, and at the suggestion of the latter, who furnishes him with a halter and a knife, he is on the point of committing suicide, when Good-hope steps in, and stays his hand; he is followed by Redress, Circumspection, and Perseverance, and they convince Magnificence of the weakness and vanity of his former state of exaltation, and he is content to move in a humbler and happier sphere. Several attempts are made to enliven the serious part of the "interlude," by comic incident and dialogue, the burden chiefly resting upon Fancy and Folly, who on one occasion get Crafty-conveyance into their company, and persuade him to lay a wager that Folly will not be able to laugh him out of his coat; it is accomplished in the following humorous, but not very delicate

manner:

"[Here foly maketh semblaunt to take a lowse Fancy. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

from crafty-conveyaunce shoulder.

Fancy. What hast thou found there?
Foly. By God, a lowse.
Crafty-convey. By cockes harte, I trowe thou

lyste.

Foly. By the masse, a spanyshe moght with a gray lyste.

'The versification is varied, and the length done to lighten the burden.

Crafty-convey. Cockes armes, it is not so, I

trowe.

[Here Crafty-conveyaunce putteth of his gowne.

Foly. Put on thy gowne agayne, for nowe thou hast lost.

Fancy. Lo, John a bonam, where is thy brayne?" of the piece required that much should be

'The moralization at the end of the piece is spoken by Redress, Circumspection, Perseverance, and Magnificence:

"And ye that have harde this dysporte and game,
Jhesus preserve you frome endlesse wo and shame."

'Skelton's aim in this moral play was against grandeur in general.'

As we have said, characters not strictly allegorical, but representative of persons, are introduced into some of the above morals, although when this innovation first took place cannot be ascertained; probably early in the sixteenth century. The earliest instance we have seen of the introduction of the representative of a person into a moral play is in the case of The Nature of the Four Elements, where a Taverner is one of the characters; and in some of the others of a not very much later date, it is attempted to invest even symbolical representatives with metaphysical as well as physical peculiarities, and to attract for them a personal interest.' In Ulpian Fulwell's Like Will to Like, not printed till 1568, besides allegorical impersonations there are characters with such names as Rafe Roister, Tom Tosspot, Philip Fleming, Cuthbert Cutpurse, etc.

Other plays, generally considered as belonging to this class, but which more nearly resemble the regular drama than any above mentioned, are Tom Tiler and his Wife, The Conflict of Conscience, Jack Juggler, Cambyses, and Appius and Virginia. Tom Tiler and his Wife is a sort of comedy, the plot of which turns on the sufferings of a husband, Tom Tiler, under the affliction of a shrewish wife named Strife. It was first printed in 1578, but was probably written some years earlier, and contains among its dramatis personæ, besides Destiny, Desire, and Patience, two friends of the wife known as Sturdy and Tipple, and Tom Tiler's friend Tom Tailor. The poor henpecked husband's friend proposes to Tom to cure his shrewish wife by disguising himself in the husband's clothes, and administering to Strife a sound beating. This is done to such purpose that the shrew is brought to humble submission; but Tom Tiler goes home, and in a weak moment confesses the truth to his own cost, for she, snatching up a stick, 'lays load upon him' most unmercifully, until he exclaims

'O wife, wife! I pray thee save my life ! You hurt me ever, I hurted you never : For God's sake, content thee.

Strife. Nay, thou shalt repent thee,

That ever Tom Tayler, that ruffian and railer,

Was set to be at me he had better had eat me.'

However, matters are brought to a happy conclusion by the intervention of Patience, who renders Tom Tiler contented with his wife, and Strife more merciful to her husband. Six songs are interspersed in various lyrical measures, but none of them, according to Collier, of peculiar merit. The Conflict of Conscience, by Nathaniel Woodes, minister of Norwich, was probably written about 1560, and is remarkable as being one of the earliest moral plays in which a historical character is introduced. This is Francis Spiera, an Italian lawyer, who in the drama is named Philologus, and who, as the title-page expresses it, 'forsook the truth of God's gospel for fear of the loss of life and worldly goods.' Besides Spiera, other personal characters are his two sons, Cardinal Eusebius, Cacenos, a Catholic priest who speaks the Scotch dialect, etc.; the allegorical characters being Conscience, Hypocrisy, Tyranny, Sensual Suggestion, etc. Jack Juggler, which was printed about 1562, but probably written about ten years before that, resembles a moral mainly in its design, and in the fact that a 'vice' Jack Juggler is introduced, all the other characters having personal names, as Martha Bongrace, Dame Coy, Jenkin Careaway, etc., mostly significant, and indicative of the character of the persons to whom they belong. Its main peculiarity, however, is, that it is one of the very oldest pieces in English founded on a classic original, the author professing, in his prologue, to have been indebted to Plautus's first comedy. Of the other two plays mentioned above, Cambyses and Appius and Virginia, both containing a mixture of history and allegory, the latter is superior to the former both in construction and in literary merit, though neither can boast of much of these two qualities. The latter is founded on a well-known incident in Roman history, and is called by its author, whose initials R. B. only are known, a 'tragical comedy,' the exact signification of neither of these words being yet well defined. The characters are, besides Virginius, Virginia his daughter, her mother, Judge Appius, and Claudius; Conscience, Haphazard, Justice, Rumour, Comfort, Reward, and Doctrina, and some domestics. It was written not later than 1563, and, like most plays before and for some time after this, it is in rhyme. The author apparently had no notion of dramatic propriety and decorum, as he makes Virginius well acquainted with the events narrated in the beginning of Genesis, and makes him talk of his wife and daughter going to church like Christians; one of the servants swearing 'by the mass.' Still, notwithstanding these drawbacks, it compares favourably with preceding productions of the same class, and is interesting as marking an important stage in the development of the historical drama out of the old moral play, although there was produced about the same time a drama, which, so far as the characters are concerned, is entitled to be called a regular historical play.

We cannot follow the history of moral plays further, as our only design in noticing them is to show the share they had in giving birth to the legitimate drama; and what we have said above is sufficient for this purpose, as we have brought our observations down to a point when the first regular dramas, somewhat crude in form, make their appearance. We have traced the history of the miracle play, the earliest form of the British drama, down to the period when it gave birth to the morality, although the former for a long time still continued to be represented, especially in the country districts; and we have shown how the latter gradually, became modified, by admitting among its allegorical impersonations, characters representative of persons, and ultimately assumed a form which could not fail to suggest the historical drama. Like the miracle play, the morality kept the stage for long after its legitimate child had reached its vigour, one of the last and worst of its kind being The Contention between Liberality and Prodigality (1602), which was acted before Queen Elizabeth. Even in the works of some of our greatest dramatists, there are occasionally short allegorical episodes; and the best production of George Peele, David and Bethsabe (printed in the following pages), may, so far as the subject and characters are concerned, be fairly entitled a miracle play.

Before concluding this Introduction, by noticing some of the earliest regular dramas, we must go back in point of time and mention shortly a species of dramatic composition, which no doubt contributed largely to suggest the regular comedy; indeed it might itself be regarded as the earliest form of comedy, bearing somewhat of a resemblance to the modern farce. The kind of dramatic entertainment to which we refer is known as an 'Interlude,' and, as its name indicates, seems to have been intended for representation during the intervals of a longer and more serious entertainment. The term Interlude was not confined to plays of this peculiar kind, but as early as the reign of Edward IV. was applied to theatrical productions generally, both miracle and moral plays being sometimes so designated. The name, however, since the time of John Heywood, has been applied to a class of dramatical productions of which, Mr. Collier thinks, he has a claim to be considered the inventor; Heywood, at all events, is the earliest known author of interludes proper, those written by him being likewise the most meritorious. The interlude is a short farcical comedy, which would probably occupy not above half an hour in the performance, founded on some ludicrous or absurd incident, and carried on generally by only three or four characters. How the idea of such a composition was suggested to Heywood is not known, although there was often such a mixture of comedy and even 'screaming farce' in the old mysteries and morals, that it is not improbable the ludicrous scenes in some of these might have suggested to his merry mind the notion of the comic interlude; indeed, his earliest known composition of this kind resembles somewhat a short comical miracle play. The date of John Heywood's birth is not known, but early in the reign of Henry VIII. he is found attached to the court and in receipt of a salary as a 'player on the virginals;' in this capacity, and also as a writer of plays and a professed wit, he continued to be a retainer of the court during Henry's reign and that of his daughter Mary, and, though a zealous Catholic, was patronized even by the rigid Elizabeth. He died at Mechlin in Brabant in 1565. Heywood is perhaps better known as an epigrammatist than a writer of plays; he also wrote several songs. The earliest known of his interludes is A Merry Play between the Pardoner, the Friar, the Curate, and Neighbour Pratte, written before 1521. The tricks and imposition of both friars and pardoners are freely exposed and ridiculed during the course of the play.

Heywood's best interlude is undoubtedly the one entitled The Four P's, written probably about 1530. The play turns upon a dispute between a Pardoner, a Palmer, a Poticary (Apothecary), and a Pedlar. The play commences by each of the four boasting of the pre-eminence of his own profession, doing his best to cast contempt on that of his neighbours. The language here, as throughout the interlude, while sometimes highly ludicrous and full of wit and humour, is often very coarse and filthy; and Heywood, though a Catholic, does not scruple to expose the unclean lives and low tricks of the priesthood. Tired of reviling each other's occupation, they resolve, at the Pedlar's suggestion, to decide their dispute for pre-eminence by awarding it to him who will tell the greatest lie; and after some further wrangling, they agree each to put his lie in the form of a story. The Poticary begins, but his tale is so full of dirt and obscenity, that it is impossible for us to give even an abstract of it in these pages. The Pardoner takes his turn next, and commences by telling them that a female friend of his having died suddenly, he resolved to find out 'in what estate her sould did stand.' For this purpose he went to Purgatory - he apparently never dreamt of commencing higher up-but not finding her there, he made his way to hell.

He beseeches Lucifer to tell him where his friend is; the devil, after hearing

The Palmer allows that the Pardoner's tale is 'all much perilous, but marvels

how the devils could complain that women put them to such pain.'