THE DRAMA. 



de Notre- Da me did not require more than two stories or stalls, the 

 one raised above the other. The upper story represented Paradise, in which 

 were seated upon a throne God and the Virgin, surrounded by their celestial! 

 court. The lower story was reserved for the human scenes, and divided by 

 partitions and tapestry into as many chambers or compartments as there were 

 different places to represent. The upper story (Heaven) communicated with 

 the lower (Earth) by means of two spiral staircases placed at each side of the 

 stage. It was by these that descended and reascended in procession God, 

 the Virgin, and the Angels, when they manifested themselves to the inha- 

 bitants of Earth. The floor of the theatre, the area, or, as it would now 

 be called, the pit, was formed of the turf of a meadow or graveyard;" 

 unless, that is to say, the town in which the representation was to take place 

 possessed the remains of some ancient theatre, in which case it was utilised 

 for the occasion. This indirect use of the pagan theatres for the religious 

 plays of the Middle Ages took place all over Europe before the Brothers 

 of the Passion and other similar associations had acquired permanent and 

 covered buildings. In about the middle of the fifteenth century the per- 

 manent and provisional theatres increased in size in proportion as the frame- 

 work of the mystery-plays represented in them became enlarged. To the two 

 primitive stories were superadded a number of compartments intended to 

 represent in perspective, upon different planes and at different elevations, 

 Heaven, Hell, the World, Jerusalem, Egypt, Rome, the house of St. Joseph, 

 &c. The actors, while they were upon the stage, moved into one of these 

 compartments, designated by placards or inscriptions, every time that the 

 place in which the scene was laid changed, and, after having "done their 

 play," they leisurely resumed their place upon the raised seats of the theatre. 

 As far as can be judged by the few documents relating to this subject, 

 there were two kinds of scenery ; the one kind painted as in the present 

 day, the other constructed of wood, or even stone, which had a regularly 

 embossed surface. Moreover, as the spectators would often have experienced 

 much difficulty in following the plot amidst the host of persons who appeared 

 upon the stage, and the frequent change from one place to another, the author 

 always offered in an explanatory prologue some general notices which enabled 

 them to understand what was going on. He would say, for instance, " We 

 are about to narrate the blessed Resurrection. Let us first arrange the stage 

 accordingly. Here the Cross, and there the Tomb. . . . Hell will be on this 



