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In the reign of Richard II. the parish clerks of London acted a play at Skinner’s wells, which lasted three days, theking, queen, and many of the nobility being present at theperformance. Another play was performed in 1409 at the sameplace, which continued eight days j the drama commencingwith the creation of the world, and containing the greater partof the history of the Old and New Testament. Afterwards,when the mysteries ceased to be played, the subjects for thedrama were not taken from historical facts, but consisted ofmoral reasonings in praise of virtue and condemnation of vice,-the dialogue being carried on by allegorical characters, suchas Good-doctrine, Charity, Faith , Prudence , Death , &c. Ofthis kind of play we have a specimen in the celebrated enter-tainment of Don Juan, which is a modernized morality, beingtaken from the old Spanish piece, entitled “ El combidado dePiedra to this succeeded plays, founded on the probableoccurrences of life; and the first attempt of our modern tra-gedy is to be found in “Gorbedue;” otherwise called“Ferrax,” and ' c Porrax,” written by Lord Buckhurst in1560; though, in fact, this was a melo-dramatic exhibition,being accompanied with music and dumb shew; and “ Gam-mer Gurton’s Needle,” written at the end of the sixteenthcentury, is considered as our first comedy : these plays weregenerally performed by itinerant actors or nobleman’s ser-vants, on temporary stages, erected in the yards of inns, evenso late as the close of the sixteenth century.

Dryden has truly observed, that the present stage was notfound, but created by Shakespeare , of which no one candoubt who considers, that of all the plays issued from thepress prior to the year 1592, (when, there is good reason tobelieve, he commenced a dramatic writer), the titles arescarcely known, except to antiquarians, nor is there any oneof them that will bear a second perusal.

Plays were frequently exhibited on Sundays; and thispractice was not prohibited till 1628.

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