[25] Gibbon says the Roman people considered the circus as their home, their temple, and the seat of the republic. The impatient crowd rushed at the dawn of day to secure their places; and there were many who passed sleepless and anxious nights in the adjacent porticos. From the morning to the evening, careless of the sun or of the rain, the spectators, who sometimes amounted to the number of four hundred thousand, remained in eager attention; their eyes fixed on the horses and charioteers, their minds agitated with hope and fear, for the success of the colors which they espoused and the happiness of Rome appeared to hang on the event of a race. “Gibbon’s Decline and Fall,” Vol. iv. pp. 87, 88. London edition of 1848. [26] Collier, 256, 1st. ed. [27] Prof. A. W. Ward. [28] Jeremy Collier’s “View of the English Stage,” 1st ed., p. 258. [29] Bossuet’s Works, Vol. xxxii. Calcraft’s “Defence of the Stage,” p. 12. [30] Gifford’s “Jonson,” Vol. iii., pp. 162, 163. [31] Calcraft, p. 61. [32] Smith’s “Dictionary,” Vol. i, p. 42; Calcraft, 67. Transcriber’s Notes A few minor errors in punctuation have been fixed. Page 14: “had ben formed” changed to “had been formed” Page 29: “high healed-shoes” changed to “high heeled-shoes” “at the Appolo” changed to “at the Apollo” Page 39: “who looked radidiantly” changed to “who looked radiantly” Page 50: “a tradgedy” changed to “a tragedy” Page 65: “not heard her” changed to “not heard of her” Page 80: “with pledty of material” changed to “with plenty of material” Page 83: “either for stage represention” changed to “either for stage representation” Page 93: The spelling of Euripides was fixed. The author appears to have made a few errors while transcribing sections of other works. These have been left as in the original.