times, as we may see from Shakespeare's plays. In the operas of the Commonwealth and Restoration periods the musical side was more emphasized, but the play was the thing, and there was no Shakespeare or Jonson or Marlowe or Beaumont and Fletcher to endow the thing with life. So that whatever operatic performances may have resulted from Tony Aston's visit to America could not be of any importance, though they might be of some historical interest. One wonders if Tony's regrettable departure from these shores left America theatrically barren. Many years pass before we discover any sign of life. Then from Jones's 'Present State of Virginia,' published in London in 1724, we learn that a playhouse existed in Williamsburg, Va., at least as early as 1722. Ten years later New York saw the opening of a New Theatre in the building of a gentleman with the explosive appellation of Rip Van Dam. Its name would suggest that another theatre existed previously in New York. We cannot say what operas, if any, were given there, but probably the Gray-Pepusch 'Beggar's Opera,' Hill's 'The Devil to Pay,' and Fielding's 'Flora, or Hob in the Well,' were produced. At this period the ballad opera was enjoying its vogue in England, and fashions both on and off the English stage were faithfully copied in America. Almost until the end of the century ballad operas remained very popular in this country. They had very little in common with opera as we understand it and have no real place in the evolution of the art-form. The music rarely was written especially for them, but was arranged from existing compositions, especially from English, Irish, and Scotch folk-tunes. Occasionally the 'composer' showed real skill in making his adaptations, as Dr. Pepusch did in the 'Beggar's Opera,' but more frequently still the music was singularly inept and the whole entertainment bordered closely on extravaganza.