Norwich bulletin., 1916-01-08
NOT \ NEW DIVERSION

Tn tha. reign Of Hehfy VII tld55= 7565j they a8NFIshaA ia aii theft gibRy, So eontAnain& A0Mn t6 the latter .AA4 Of the BAxtaehEh century. Ehea tlie His= eoxafy was made, that real human better calculated to awaken Ihs sFf11- bAtAies and Fstalt the attsntieia bk an hnaAelcei besides AaviE4 hlsfe force ID lmpF6Sbims the NsfsiaeFs with H fspr66shfsa zstien si fhs Halhd. The Bhbstitption of real fefsohaEes for Ail666fieai 6nes gradually was brought Ab6ut during the earlier years of .the RlEteshth century su that ht ef bsfYfs writings ef Shakespeare, Fehched iss highest eMeelieuee.
 X Merry John Hsyweed Is rated as one ef the meat successful wFiters of In- tefiMA@ms He was native of London but nobody knows just when hs wss
 One Of his chief plays concerns four wigfts who are put to the test of teil- iffR the biggest yarn imaginable. The Palmer wins oiit, quite diHthnoin9 his three competitors, by declaring In crude rhyme,
 xet h all places where have been,
 Of ali tho women that have ever never saw or knew in my consc.enee Any one woman out of patience.
 Which near.sardonIc whoppsr gives
 iis, perhaps, some Idea where the mother -in-law and votes-for- women pokes origipatedl
 His competitors were SO amazed at ancient and notable art of iyinS." that
 they yielded the prize to him without
 demuri
 About the same period that Hsywood
 Was amusing the populaee with his Intarludes. John Still (165s-16oS) won plandits and profit by writing the first
 genuine comedy in the English lan-
 guRge.
 This was first acted in 15ss and was printed in 1875, under the following
 title: "A ryght pithy. pleasant and
 tcn's Nedle; played on the stage not
 longe ago in Christe's Colledge. in Cambridge"
 This pioneer comedy is written in
 rhyme. and althouhg it's humor is
 somewhat broad, 1t has sort of merit. It's phrases and sentiments ex- cite wonder in these days as to the state of affairs when the inmates of a
 university could listen with delight to such dialogue, etc. But that was many year ago!
 The character of the comedy may be guessed from the style of those who
 participate in. it; Diccon, cunning wag, who lives on stolen bacon and mischief; Hodge. pumpkin; Gammer | Burton and Dame Chat, two brawling old wives; Mas Doctor Rat and Gib, the cat.
 The plot turns upon the loss of Gammer's only needle,
 A little thing with a hole in the end, as bright as any siller, Small, long, sharp at the point and l straight as any pillar. This precious implement suddenly I disappears, although Gammer has just had 1t, while mending an article of clothing for her man Hodge. Gtb, the l. an attempt to steal from a pan of milk. Gamner throws down the ! i:mendingiwhich Hodge innoeently takes | up donning the particular garment without guessing that 1t contains the needle. The naisehievous Dieeon, learning oi I the needles loss, excites Gammer to wrath by declaring he had seen Dame Chat pick it up at Gammer's door. At 1 the same time, Diccon hints to Dame Chat that Gammer has accused her o1
 stealing the Burton poultry. These misunderstanding lead to exciting en- | counters between the two women l finally ending by Gammer seeking the | baily, to invoke the aid of the law Incidentally. somebody gives poor | Hodge a sharp slap, and there is 8 wild cry of pain, as he has discovered | the missing needle, all the time hiding I in his clothes, waiting to prod him when properly coerced! One of the funny scenes in the quaint 1 comedy is where Hodge seeks light l from the eyes of Gib, the cat, to en. I able him to find the missing needle thinking in the dark that the cats eyes
 are sparks. Finally,
 | --Hodge fell to swearing, as came best to his turn,
 The fire was sure bewicht, and there fore would not burn.
 At last, Glib up the stairs among the
 old posts and pins,
 | And Hodge he hied him after, til broke were both his shins. ] 1t is difficult to believe that, in con. | trast to such crude humor and plot al