*p1681 10 00 dl Mithridates, King of Pontus. For a previous cast, see February 1677@8. A Prologue spoken at <i>Mithridates King of Pontus</i>, the First Play Acted at the <i>Theatre Royal</i> this Year, 1681. Written by $John Dryden=. Epilogue written by Dryden and spoken by $Goodman= and $Mrs Cox=.*c1681 10 00 dl The <i>King's Company</i>. The exact date of this performance is not known, but the Prologue refers to "After a four Months Fast," suggesting that the theatre did not reopen until the end of the Long Vacation (24 Oct. 1681 is the beginning of <i>Michaelmas Term</i>). The Epilogue also seems to refer to events at <i>Bartholomew Fair</i>, and the Prologue to the King's visit to <i>Newmarket</i>, from which the $King= did not return until 12 Oct. 1681. Furthermore, <i>The Impartial Protestant Mercury</i>, No. 54, 28 Oct. 1681, reports: A Revised Play was some days since Acted on an Eminent Publick Theatre, and the <i>Prologue</i> is extreamly talked of. [The periodical reprints some of the lines (which are essentially those in the printed version).] <i>The Loyal Protestant</i>, No. 70, 29 Oct. 1681, refers to the same performance and reprints part of the <i>Epilogue</i> (which also is essentially that of the separately printed Epilogue). All of these elements point to a performance in mid-October. Both the Prologue and the Epilogue were printed separately, and have been reprinted by $Wiley=, <i>Rare Prologues and Epilogues</i>, pp. 43-45. Broadside copies of the Prologue and Epilogue in the <i>Huntington Library</i> bear $Luttrell='s manuscript notations that both were written by $Dryden=. Luttrell's date of acquisition is 13 Feb. 1681@2, an instance in which Luttrell's date of purchase does not apparently correspond closely to a date of performance.