1.--The _general domestic fool_, termed often, but _improperly_, a _Clown_; described by Puttenham as "a buffoune, or counterfett foole." 2.--The _Clown_, who was a mere country booby, or a witty rustic. 3.--The _female fool_, who was generally an idiot. 4.--The _city or corporation fool_, an assistant in public entertainments. 5.--The _tavern fool_, retained to amuse the customers. 6.--The _fool of the ancient Mysteries and Moralities_, otherwise the _Vice_. 7.--The _fool in the old dumb shows_, often alluded to by Shakespeare. 8.--The _fool in the Whitsun ales and morris dance_. 9.--The _mountebank's fool, or merry Andrew_. There may be others in our ancient dramas, of an irregular kind, not reducible to any of these classes; but to exemplify them is not within the scope of this essay: what has been stated may assist the readers of old plays to judge for themselves when they meet with such characters. The practice of retaining fools can be distinctly traced from the remotest times. They were to be found alike in the palace and the brothel; the Pope had his fool, and the bawd hers; they excited the mirth of kings and beggars; the hovel of the villain and the castle of the baron were alike exhilarated by their jokes. With respect to the antiquity of this custom in England, it appears to have existed even during the period of our Saxon history, but we are certain of the fact in the reign of William the Conqueror. Maitre Wace, an historian of that time, has an account of the preservation of William's life, when Duke of Normandy, by his fool, _Goles_; and, in Domesday book, mention is made of _Berdin joculator regis_; and though this term sometimes denoted a minstrel, evidence might be adduced to prove, that in this instance it signified a buffoon.