printed pamphlet sold (by authority) in large
numbers in the theatre. And let us, too, before
entering into those details, premise that, however
at variance much of the forthcoming representation
may be with English and Protestant
conceptions of what is fitting, decorous, or edifying,
no trace of levity or irreverence was to be found
among either the performers or spectators of
the very extraordinary exhibition. Here follows
the literal translation of the first page of the
programme of the drama:

                             THE GREAT
EXPIATORY SACRIFICE UPON GOLGOTHA;
                                    OR,
THE HISTORY OF THE PASSION AND DEATH OF
     JESUS AFTER THE FOUR EVANGELISTS;
                                   WITH
Pictorial Representations from the Old Testament,
                         Music and Singing,
                                   FOR
                Contemplation and Edification.

Surely a singular product of the printing-press
in this nineteenth century!

The peasants of Tyrol have for centuries been
famous for their skill and delight in a class
of dramatic representations which they call
"Bauern-Comödien" literally, Peasant-Comedies.
These are chiefly—to the best of my
knowledge, exclusively—founded upon religious
subjects, such as the life and miracles of some
saints, or a well-known legend of Holy Church.
In these remote valleys there still lingers a
remnant of the Mystery, or Miracle Play of the
Middle Ages; nor need the reader be informed
that the Bauern-Comädien are by no means the
only remnants to be found in Tyrol of centuries
so long vanished from our ken that it is almost
difficult for us to conceive of those who breathed
and moved in them as fellow-creatures, holding
the bond of a common humanity with ourselves.
Old-world thoughts, beliefs, and feelings, still
exist behind the shelter of the crags and peaks
of Tyrol, and have taken refuge in its secluded
dales, in a manner strictly analogous to the
gradual retreat of decaying races of men or
animals before the busy world's encroaching
advances.

The Bauern-Comädien are written, arranged,
acted, and witnessed, entirely by peasants.
Their performance is not unfrequent at certain
festive seasons, and the rude open-air theatre
used for their exhibition is easily and cheaply
prepared in a country where timber is abundant.
But the production, of a Passions-Spiel
(Passion-Play) such as we were about to
witness at Brixlegg is a very different and much
more important matter. Treating of a far
higher and more solemn argument than the
Bauern-Comädien, great care and circumspection
are exercised in granting permission for
the playing of a Passions-Spiel: such care and
circumspection being exercised chiefly for the
avoidance of any possible "scandal" to religion
in the performance. "Scandal" is a great evil
in the eyes of Mother Church, and she is ever
watchful to prevent it, where prevention is
possible. All the difficulties which had to be
surmounted before the Passion-Play at Brixlegg
could be announced for public representation
are enumerated with much gravity in the little
pamphlet we have spoken of. The recital of these
difficulties, however, albeit interesting enough
no doubt to the Brixleggers, would scarcely
be so in the eyes of English readers. We will
therefore rest contented with saying that all
obstacles were surmounted by the end of
March, 1868, and that in the last weeks of May
the following announcement, printed on large
yellow bills, was to be met with everywhere
throughout northern Tyrol, from the busiest
market-town to the remotest most secluded
hamlet:

"By highest permission of the imperial royal
governmental department in Innsbruck, and
with most gracious leave of the Prince Bishop
of Salzburg, there will be represented in Brix-
legg, near the railway-station, in the lower
valley of the Inn, in Tyrol, the Great Expiatory
Sacrifice upon Golgotha." [Here followed
the title of the Passion-Play, already quoted.
The announce- bill then stated the days on
which the performances were to take place—
the twelve Sundays, namely, from the seventh
of June to the sixth of September inclusive.
It gave the prices of admission, which ranged
from thirty kreutzers to two florins (children
under ten years of age half price), and concluded
thus]: "This grand and sublime piece, in the
performance of which about three hundred
persons from Brixlegg, Kramsach, and the
surrounding villages, will participate, begins at nine
o'clock in the morning. The hour from mid-day
until one o'clock in the afternoon is set apart
for the necessary refreshment of the honoured
public. The conclusion at about five in the
evening. The commencement of each part will
be announced by music and a discharge of guns.
A right numerous attendance is most politely
and respectfully invited by the company."

The drama was divided into sixteen representations.
We translate the word literally, but the
nearest English equivalent would probably be
"acts," of which six make up the first and
shortest part of the performance; leaving ten
for the second part.

These "representations" consist invariably
of three divisions. Firstly, the argument set
forth in long-winded, rather jingling rhymes,
and spoken by one or other of a troop of
angels who fill the place of the chorus in a
Greek tragedy. Secondly, a typical picture, a
tableau vivant taken from the Old Testament,
and shadowing forth with more or less
suitability of allegory, the corresponding events in
the life of our Lord. Thirdly, the action. This
latter is simply the story of the persecution,
passion, and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, taken
literally from the New Testament, with only
such interpolations and additions as serve to
string together the incidents in a dramatic
form. Where it is necessary to the prosecution
and coherence of any scene, a few plain