Page:A short history of social life in England.djvu/205

Rh o'clock the flag was hoisted on the top of the theatre to announce that the play was about to begin. A flourish of trumpets ushered in an actor in a long black velvet cloak to speak the prologue. Then the play began, lasting some two hours, the women's parts all being taken by young men and boys. Then, as now, a new play had to pass through the fiery furnace of public criticism, and our ancestors were evidently as capricious and successful as their descendants in howling down a piece. The passion for plays increased, and we hear the complaint that there were now "four or five Sundays in every week": new theatres were built and more companies formed, one of which included William Shakspere. The representation of stirring scenes from past history grew and grew, till the young actor came forward to supply the demand. Comedies, tragedies, and historical plays succeeded one another, each of surpassing greatness, each complete in its knowledge of human nature, unexpressed by the ages that were passed. For the first time, men and women, convincing in their reality, played out their lives on the stage, and the drama reached a height hitherto undreamt of.