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entered Sesostris, King of Egypt, who, after some slight conver- 
sation, rang a bell and called “John the Waiter,” who entered at 
that moment. How the would-be dramatist could reconcile the 
presence of Sesostris, an ancient King of Egypt, and our modern 
“John the Waiter” at the same time, was too much for me. I 
laid the drama down and did not enquire further. 
It must be remembered that up to the year 1622, 
there were but few books, and those must have been most 
expensive. The ignorant masses must have gained their little 
learning from the drama. It was not till the Civil War that 
newspapers regularly made their appearance, which, of course, soon 
helped to enlighten the minds of many groping in the dark. From 
the dissolute writers of Charles II., we have little to record till 
Addison came, who wrote the tragedy of “Cato,” a fine declamatory 
poem, but without the life and fire of true dramatic poetry ; like 
a fine piece of sculpture compared to a living human being. 
Nicholas Rowe, the author of the drama of “Jane Shore,” 
lived at this time. He is to be remembered as having first written 
the “Life of Shakespere,” and to him we are indebted for the 
little knowledge we possess of our poet’s history. Allan Ramsey, 
who wrote the pastoral drama of “The Gentle Shepherd,” and 
Gay, the dramatist of “The Beggar’s Opera,” closely followed at 
this period. No great genius came upon the scene from this date 
till poor Oliver Goldsmith took the town by storm with “She 
Stoops to Conquer.” This gave a new turn to the drama, and was 
followed by other witty comedies in the same style by Brindley 
Sheridan, George Colman, Holcroft, and others, whose works— 
“The School for Scandal,” ‘The Rivals,”. “The Heir at Law,” 
—are ever likely to keep the stage. They are pictures of life as it 
then was, and bring back to us the fashions and manners of our 
forefathers. : 
Going a little further back, Samuel Johnson wrote a prologue 
