Chapter III: Sophocles--Euripides--Dionysius (4)

At Wilsden Green, a hat, and a purse of twenty shillings, were played for at backsword, and, as an encouragement for young players, five shillings were given to the winner of every head, and two shillings to the loser. On the umpire’s proclaiming the game, a hat was thrown into the ring (being the ancient mode of defiance) another soon followed, and the owners entered and played several bouts with much good humour, till the blood trickled down the head of the least fortunate. Other gamesters followed, to the number of seventeen, affording most excellent sport to a numerous and well-dressed field. The prize was won by a Dorsetshire lad, who, by breaking four heads proved himself to be the best man.

CURIOUS PEDESTRIANISM.

A very extraordinary wager was decided upon the road between Cambridge and Huntingdon. A gentleman of the former place, had betted a very considerable sum of money, that he would go, at a yard distance from the ground, upon _stilts_, the distance of _twelve miles_ within the space of _four hours and a half_: no stoppage was to be allowed except merely the time taken up in exchanging one pair of stilts for another, and even then his feet were not to touch the ground. He started at the second milestone from Cambridge in the Huntingdon road to go six miles out and six in: the first he performed in one hour and fifty minutes, and did the distance back in two hours and three minutes, so that he went the whole in three hours and fifty-three minutes, having thirty-seven minutes to spare beyond the time allowed him. He appeared a good deal fatigued; and his hands we understand were much blistered from the continued pressure upon one part. This, we believe, is the first performance of the kind ever attempted; but as novelty appears to attract, as well as direct the manners of the age, _stilting_ may become as fashionable in these, as tilting formerly was in better times.

Twenty-four gamesters contended manfully at Harrow-on-the-Hill for a prize of a hat and purse, at the _right valiant_ game of backsword. Many a crown was cracked and many a heavy blow was given with right good will, and received with true humour. Much skill also in assault and defence in this game (the most lively picture of war) was evinced. Jack Martin of Harrow played the best stick among the Harrow lads--but the prize, alas was actually borne away by--a LONDON TAILOR. Fourteen broken heads graced the ring.

On Monday the 19th inst. a large audience assembled at the theatre
with the expectation of seeing the Foundling of the Forest performed
for the benefit of Mr. Cone. Unfortunately, Mr. Wood, whose
performance of De Valmont constitutes the principal attraction in
the representation of that play, was suddenly seized with an
indisposition so very severe as to demand medical assistance, and
confine him to his room. It was then too late to issue new bills or
advertisements, and nothing was left to Mr. Cone but to throw
himself on the good nature of his audience, and to request their
acceptance of another play: with some opposition on the part of a
discontented few, “the Way to get Married” was accepted as a
substitute for that which was promised.

Influenced by a laudable zeal for the discharge of his duty, Mr.
Wood, though still very feeble, ventured to promise himself to the
public for the character of De Valmont on Friday. As soon as his
name appeared in the bills, a report was circulated through the city
that he was to be assaulted: that is to say that he had so highly
offended that _high and mighty body of gentlemen_ apprentices and
else who swagger in good broadcloth clothes and brass buttons in the
theatre, by not leaving his bed of sickness for the amusement of
their high mightinesses, that they had resolved to hiss and drive
him off the stage. Those who were most prompt to condemn the
insolence and indecency of the band alluded to, thought that such a
design would be an outrage too unjust, too stupid even for such
persons as their high mightinesses; and, therefore, refused to give
it credit. In this, however, they very much underrated the _modesty_
and _good nature_ of their “high mightinesses,” since half the
barbers in the city were amused with the threats uttered by those
doughty champions of what they would do to Mr. Wood. The consequence
was that that gentleman felt it necessary to humiliate himself with
an apology, in order to escape the wrath of a set of obscure chaps,
not one of whom perhaps could reasonably aspire to sit in his
company.

The private character of Mr. Wood is almost as well known as his
professional: by the most respectable part of the community he is
highly valued for his personal worth. No one could suspect him of
wilfully neglecting his duty, or acting the part of dishonour.
Indeed, what motive could he have to injure Mr. Cone? He cannot,
surely, look upon that gentleman as a rival. But, if he could
harbour such a wish, his moral and intellectual character stands too
high, to allow a suspicion of his employing such means--means so
base and so bungling, that it may well be wondered at how even their
high mightinesses could think of them. The truth is, no such thing
was imagined--the whole had its root in causes which more deeply
concern the public than Mr. Wood or Mr. Cone. A set of ignorant
self-conceited young despots have erected themselves into a body of
riot, for the purpose of controling the theatre, and bullying, not
only the actors but the audience. Mr. Cone has really no more to do
with it than Mr. Cooke or Mr. Kemble; but these fellows use him as
drunken Irishmen in fairs are known to use their great coats. These
champions of the _real_ cudgel draw their great coats along with the
skirts trailing on the ground, and keeping their eyes fixed upon
them, cry, in order to kick up a riot, “Who dare tread upon my
coat.”

It behoves the citizens in general to interfere in some way and
prevent those shameful outrages upon their rights and feelings.
Places of amusement ought to be resorts of good-humour and
peace--not rendezvous for swaggering petulant bullies. The law
ought to be called in to prevent a repetition of such offences. For
certainly there are legal provisions to answer the purpose. If not,
it were better to shut up the playhouse at once than have it open,
a school of riot and impertinence.

If these men be really the friends of Mr. Cone, they certainly
take the very worst way to show it. Mr. Cone’s own talents and the
unbiassed judgment of the public are more substantial grounds for
him to rely upon, than all that the whole body of Hectors could do
for his support or advancement. They have long been the pest of the
playhouse, and always the worst enemies of those whose cause they
have officiously assumed to espouse. It is but justice to Mr. Cone
to declare our firm persuasion that he has too much sense, and too
much honour to wish for the interference of men whose pretended
friendship cannot fail to subject any person who is its object to
public odium and to the dislike and suspicion of every wise, honest
and respectable gentleman in the community.

Mr. Lewis, the player, on his late retirement from the stage,
reminded the public that he had been six and thirty years playing to
them, and had never once received the slightest disapprobation. Had
a fragment of the ignorant mob of London been permitted to rule the
theatre he would have been hissed a thousand times, if it were for
nothing else but his superior merit. This we can affirm, that Mr.
Wood is at least as inoffensive as Mr. Lewis.

INDEX.

A
Actors, animadversion on
WOOD,
in Rapid, 62
Rolla, 65
Reuben Glenroy, 67
Harry Dornton, 73
Bob Handy, 76
Alonzo, 229, 337
Jaffier, 337
Copper Captain, 339
Prince of Wales, 339
CONE,
Alonzo, 65
Henry, 76
WARREN,
Las Casas, 65
Abel Handy, 76
Falstaff, 344
Cacafogo, 344
JEFFERSON,
Frank Oatland, 62
Orozimbo, 65
Cosey, 67
Goldfinch, 73
Farmer Ashfield, 75
M‘KENZIE,
Sir Hubert Stanley, 62
Pizarro, 65
Old Norval, 155
FRANCIS,
Vortex, 62
Trot, 68
Mrs. WOOD,
Jessy Oatland, 62
Cora, 66
Mrs. FRANCIS,
Mrs. Vortex, 62
Dame Ashfield, 76
Mrs. SEYMOUR, 62
PAYNE,
in Douglas, 145
Octavian, 220
Frederick, 221
Zaphna and Selim, 222
Tancred, 222
Romeo, 223
COOPER,
Othello, 225
Zanga, 227
Richard, 230
Pierre, 230
Hamlet, 231
Macbeth, 231
Hotspur, 234
Michael Ducas, 234
Alexander, 422
Antony, Jul. Cæs. 420
WEST, 68, bis
DWYER,
Belcour, 425
Tangent, 427
Ranger, 427
Vapid, 427
Liar, 427
Rapid, 427
Sir Charles Racket, 427
Advice to conductors of magazines, 402
Æschylus, 114, 189
Alleyn, the player, account of, 45
Anecdotes and good things
Dick the Hunter, 92
Dr. Young, 181
Othello burlesqued, 181
Voltaire, 184
Louis XIV. 184
Mara and Florio, 185
Macklin, 247, 248, 397, 408, 409
Mozart, the composer, 257
Old Wignell, 343
Macklin and Foote, 397
Impertinent _Petit Maitre_, 406
Curious Slip Slop, 406
Specific for blindness, 407
Kemble and a stage tyro, 407
Kemble’s bon mot on Sydney playhouse, 407
Irish forgery, 407
Woman and country magistrate, 408
French dramatic, 481
Bacon and cabbage, 485
Apparition, sable or mysterious bell-rope, 325
Aristophanes, 269
Authors’ benefits
see Southern, 502

B
Barry, the great player, account of, 298
Bedford, duke of, monument, 317
Betterton, the great actor, 133, 213
Biography, 24, 118, 202, 357
Bull, a dramatic one, 505

C
Carlisle, countess of, opinion of drama, 398
Catalani, madam, 96
Cibber, Colley, his merit, 506
Coffee and Chocolate, account of, 311
Cone, see actors
Cooper, life of, 28
Cooper, see actors
Cooper, account of his acting, 223
Correspondence
on abuses of the Theatre, 103, 104
----, from Baltimore on Theatricals, 157
----, from New-York, ditto, 414

D
Dramatic Censor, 49, 141, 220, 337, 414
Drama, Grecian, 109, 189, 269, 350
----, lady Carlisle’s opinion on, 398
Dwyer, actor, 235
----, see actors.
Dramaticus, 251, 328, 502
Dungannon, famous horse, 500

E
Edenhall, luck of, old ballad, 487
Edward and Eleonora, remarks on, 502
English, parallel between English men and English mastiffs,
by cardinal Ximenes, 88
Epilogues, humorous ones after tragedies censured, 400
Euripides, 195

F
Francis, see actors
----, Mrs., ibid.
Fullerton, actor, driven to suicide, 504

G
German Theatre, vindication of, by Dramaticus, 251
Gifford, Wm. life of, 357, 447
Greek drama, 109, 189, 269, 350

H
History of the stage, 9, 109, 189, 269, 350, 431
High Life below Stairs, account of, 506
Hodgkinson, biography of, 202, 283, 368, 457

I
Irish bulls, specimen of, 455
Jefferson, see actors

L
Lear, essay on the alterations of it, 391
Le Kain, the French actor, account of, 438
Lewis, his retirement from the stage, 185
Literary World, what is it? 406
Longevity, instance of, 496
Lover general, a rhapsody, 399

M
Macklin checked practice of hissing, 504
Man and Wife, a comedy, 188
Menander, 350
Metayer Henry, anecdote of with Theobald, 503
M‘Kenzie, see actors
Milton and Shakspeare, comparison between, 248
Miscellany, 96, 173, 241, 307, 384, 467
Music, 81, 257
----, Oh think not my spirits are always as light,
a song by Anacreon Moore, 83
----, Irish, 161
Musical performance, expectation of a grand one, 428

N
New-York reviewers impeached, 505
Nokes, comedian, 381

O
O’Kelly’s horse Dungannon, 500
Originality in writing, Voltaire’s idea of, 184
Otway, observations on, 502

P
Payne, American young Roscius, criticised on, 141, 220, 241
----, see actors
Pedestrianism, humorous essay on, 262
Players celebrated compared with celebrated painters, 387
Plays, names of, attached to each No.
Foundling of the Forest, No. I
Man and Wife, No. II
Venoni, No. III
New Way to pay Old Debts, No. IV
Alfonso, king of Castile, No. V
The Free Knights, No. VI
Plays criticised in the Censor
Cure for the Heart-ach, 59
Pizarro, 62
Town and Country, 66
Ella Rosenberg, 69
Wood Demon, 71
Abaellino, 73
Road to Ruin, 73
Speed the Plough, 74
Man and Wife, 188
Foundling of the Forest, 80, 345
Africans, 418
Poetry
Tom Gobble, 97
English bards and Scotch reviewers, extract from, 98
Occasional prologue on the first appearance of Miss Brunton,
afterwards Merry and Warren, at Bath, 121
Latin verses on do. and translation, 124
Prologue on first appearance, of the same lady in London,
by A. Murphy, 126
Duck shooting, 172
A true story, 183
Lewis’s address on taking leave of Ireland, 187
On the death of Mrs. Warren, 246
Descent into Elisium, 253
Gracy Nugent, by Carolan, 261
O never let us marry, 324
Epilogue by Sheridan, censuring humourous ones after tragedies, 401
Logical poem on chesnut horse and horse chesnut, 404
Quin, an anecdote in verse, 409
Luck of Edenhall, 487
The parson and the nose, 495
Solitude, advantages of for study, 495
Soldier to his horse, 499
Prospectus, 1

R
Reviews of New-York impeached, 505

S
Seymour, Mrs. see actors
She would and she would not, merit of, 506
Southern, 502
Socrates, death of, 280
Sophocles, 189
SPORTING, 85, 164, 262, 410, 499
Spain, divertissements in, 495
Strolling Player, a week’s journal of, 396
Stage, history of, 8, 9, 109, 189, 269, 350

T
Taylor, Billy, critique on ballad, 467
Thespis, account of, 113
Theobaldus Secundus, 173, 241, 307, 384
Theatre, misbehaviour there, 267
Theobald, his theft from Metayer, 503
Theatrical contest, Barry and Garrick, in Romeo, 507
Thornton, Col. his removal from York to Wilts, 164

V
Voltaire, his idea of originality in writing, 184

W
Warren, Mrs. life of, 118
Warren, actor, see actors
West, see actors
Wit, pedigree of, by Addison, 406
Wife, essay on the choice of, 477
Wood, actor, see actors
----, Mrs., ibid.

Y
Young, celebrated actor, 236

Z
Zengis, so unintelligible audience not understand it, 507

* * * * *
* * * *

Errors and Inconsistencies: The Mirror of Taste

Spellings were changed only when there was an unambiguous error, or the word occurred elsewhere with the expected spelling. Lower-case titles such as “lady Macbeth” and “captain Barclay” are used regularly.

No attempt was made to regularize the use of quotation marks, except to supply those that were clearly missing. Nested double quotes are standard and were not changed. A few missing or incorrect punctuation marks in the Index were silently regularized.

_Unchanged:_

Apollonius[1] of Thyana,
“Oh cussa heart [mismatched quotes]
his play of Amphytrion
His younger cotemporary [standard spelling for this publication]
he avows his villany [common spelling]

_Corrected:_

which occasioned him to be called μισογυνης [μισογυνησ]
in the case already mentioned [men/ed at line break]
as the only valuable levellers [valuabe]
so flat, and unaffecting a manner [unaffecing]
many of the German plays are highly exceptionable [exeptionable]

_Punctuation and Typography:_

HA! I LIKE NOT THAT
[_Printed in small capitals, with ordinary lower-case “no”
in “NOT”_]
... spoke the words “this is a sorry sight,” better. [missing ”]
an ornament to his profession.” [missing ”]

Miss Smith ... is spoken of as follows:
“Macbeth by Mr. Kemble ...
“Some faults ... performances.”
[_the original has opening quotes at the beginning of the second
paragraph only; opening and closing quotes were added conjecturally
in the final paragraph_]

_none but a poet should edit a poet_,” [missing open quote]
“What! has this _thing_ appeared again to night?”
[missing close quote]
“You spirits oft _walk_.” [missing close quote]
And faction’s whirlwind cease to roar [missing punctuation]
preserves its course, its name, [missing ,]
“a _complete list_ ... in the English language,”
[missing close quote]
springs in each human breast [missing .]
“si quid loquar audiendum.” [missing open quote]
similar to a triple shake. [extraneous close quote]
“The maid with the mildly flowing hair,” [missing close quote]
Many a crown was cracked and many a heavy blow [invisible “and”]

_Index_:

Missing or inconsistent punctuation has been silently regularized.

_Poetry_
Soldier to his horse, 499 [tohis]
Zengis, so unintelligible audience not understand it
[word missing in original]

* * * * *
* * * *

VENONI,

OR THE
NOVICE OF ST. MARK’S.

A DRAMA, IN THREE ACTS.

By M. G. LEWIS.

Printed for Bradford and Inskeep, No. 4, South Third-Street,
Philadelphia; Inskeep and Bradford, New-York;
and William M‘Ilhenny, Boston,

by Smith And Maxwell.

VENONI; OR, THE NOVICE OF ST. MARK’S.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE.

The Viceroy of Sicily.
The Marquis Caprara.
Father Cœlestino, prior of St. Mark’s.
Venoni.
Lodovico.
Jeronymo, }
Michael, }
Anastasio, } _gray friars_.
Nicolo, }
Benedetto.
Carlo, }
Pietro, } _servants_.
Giovanni, }
Fishermen.

Hortensia, marchioness Caprara.
Veronica.
Josepha.
Teresa.
Sister Lucia.

_The scene lies in Sicily._