Morning journal and courier., 1888-02-21
PHI BETA KAPPA.

1sThe EIizabethan Drama,-ProfessOr
 LOunsbury'S Able Address - ssThe
 Greatest University i'm America.''
 The second lecture in the Phi Beta Kappa course was delivered at Linonia hall last eve- ming by Professor Lounsbury of the Scientific school before large audience. His subject, "The Elizabethan Drama and it's Relations to the Times," was handled In an able and in- teresting manner, President Dwight in- troduced the speaker with few remarks in his usual pleasant vein. In conclusion he presented MT. Lounsbury as professor of English literature in the greatest university in America. The lecture was listened to in- tently and warmly commended at it's close. Some of the speakers thoughts follow: The relations that the theater bore in the time of
 Elizabeth and James were something diff ferent from that of our own time. We look upon the theater as something for amuse- ment. Many famous poems in the earlier time came out in connection with the drama What the essay was to Queen Anne's time, what the novel and newspaper are in our time, the stage was in Elizabeth's time. Everybody tried to write for the stage. All England at that time was turned into vast theater work called the tDiary of Philip Henslow" is the chief authority of that time. The plays at that period had nc run, in the modern sense of the word. In Henslow's diary there is no evidence of plays being presented on two successive nights. At that period men spent certain portion of their ! time in attending theaters, as men now do in reading their newspapers. The demand for | new plays was of course tremendous. A ! successful dramatic author was under as much pressure the editor of a | modern newspaper. Rapidity of production was a matter of necessity; plays rarely re- ceived revision unless unusually successful. Ben Jonson was twitted for spending fifteen \ weeks on a play. Productions which we \ now regard as the glory of English literature \ were then looked upon as having merely an \ ephemeral interest. Ben Jonson seems to me the only one of the time that felt the inn | portance and dignity of his position. He
 was unsparingly ridiculed for calling his plays works. It seems a wonderful manifes- \ tation of the irony of fate that works which were 50 slghtingly regarded at that time are now looked up to as the wonders of Htera- ture. The theater was 8 political and social force of strong and striking character. It \ furnished criticism and comment in the most unsparing manner. All fairness was thrown out of the question, history was perverted, truth de6ed. Up to 1540 plays had fre- ' quentlv been presented in churches, where \ they were forbidden by Bishop Bonner. The
 first regular tragedy ever presented on the English stage was little else than a political pamphlet. During the reign of Elizabeth the \ theater was used as 8 political engine.
 A Legal Holiday.
 | Tomorrow (Washington's birthday being
 a legal holiday all the banks will be closed and notes and drafts due on that day must
 be paid o-day.
 Judge LoomIs Seriously Injured. t THzI- :-Is T
 is, of the Connecticut Supreme bench, fell or
 the ice to-day in his yard, striking on ths
 back of his head and causing slight concus
 sion of the brain. His physician pronouncei
 his injuries serious, but fears no fatal result