of the company he was engag'd in, to play the parts of Sir Novelty Fashion, Lord Foppington, and the reft of that kind: he had the judgment to know that he was here out of his proper fphere, and he never ventured at the fineffes which he had been fo famous for in the parts that naturally fell in his way; but as he always play'd naturally and with justice, he received the applaufe of the multitude in these characters as well as in the reft; and probably he would have had lefs of it, if forcing his imagination to bring in a thousand fineffes, he had expos'd himself to the neceffity of playing with lefs truth.

CHAP. XVI.

Of Bye-play, or what are called Stage-Tricks.

THE

HE variety of fineffes which fall in the way of the player who has judgment and imagination, is very great : fome of them produce their effect upon the audience, tho' they happen not to be looking upon the actor at the time; others addrefs themfelves wholly to the fight: the laft depend entirely upon the action, and therefore are loft if they are not attended to by the eye. These are rather of a lower kind than the others, and are diftinguifhed from them under the name of ftage-tricks. We have a way of ufing the fame phrafe alfo to exprefs the artificial means. an author of a comedy finds of conducting his fcenes, and introducing incidents, fo as to make them the most striking to an audience in this fenfe of the term it is of a very extenfive meaning, but in that in which it is apply'd to the player, it is confin'd within narrower bounds, and

expreffes nothing but such action as ferves to picture out the fentiments of the characters in the scene, in the most expreffive and the most pleasing

manner.

It may be obferved in general, that provided this bye play is conducted with judgment, we cannot have too much of it in comedy; every kind of it has its place in this fort of plays; comedies are written to be acted, not to be barely repeated; and when we fay of a new one, that it will please better in the closet than it did on the stage, we pass but a very coarse compliment upon the players who perform'd in it.

The bye-play, like all other kinds of fineffes, contributes either to the giving the scene a greater air of truth and reality, or elfe folely to the rendering it more pleafing. That part of it which belongs to the firft, has its place in tragedy as well as in comedy; the other in comedy only, as being below the dignity of the other kind of representations.

It is to be observed of every species of it, that the more intimate a connexion it has with the intrigue and business of the play, the more perfect it is in its kind, and the more it will always please. It is not however abfolutely effential to it to have this clofe connexion; 'tis in many cafes fufficient that it be not contradictory to the scheme and intent of the whole, and that it have probability on its fide. In the Royal Merchant or Beggars Bufh, the meffenger who is fent to the young merchant from his mistress, is a beggar; and as fuch, while the merchant is employed in reading the letter, he takes up the other part of his profeffion, and picks his pocket. This is not at all neceffary or effential to the intrigue of the play,

play, but it is no way contradictory to it, and it employs a moment in which we fhou'd otherwife be at a ftand, and that by an incident quite in character for the perfon who does it.

All bye-play, as well that which contributes to the truth and reality of the action, as that which ferves only to render it more pleafing in the representation, may be in fome cafes executed by one perfon alone, whereas in others it cannot be perform❜d but by the concurrence of feveral. In both these circumstances, the manners of the characters are carefully to be kept up to, and the peculiar circumftances of age and fex, as well as thofe of rank and education, closely obferv'd; where any thing of this is omitted, we are fhock'd at what was meant to entertain us, and we condemn that as abfurdity, which was meant as fineffe. It agrees very well with the nature of comedy in general that it be play'd with freedom; yet we are to banish indecency and libertinifm from it. Every joke that a lady may not enjoy with a fmile that does not reflect upon her modefty, is to be banish'd from the part of the actor, whatever be the quality or circumstances of the character he plays. We are not to allow of any thing which finks into flat buffoonry. The player is not to travefty or burlesque the mufe, when the poet has taken care to preferve to her all her native dignity.

When the bye-play which we are recommending the ufe of, depends on the conjunct performances of feveral different actors, all that are to be concern'd in it ought to concert their plan of acting together in fuch a manner beforehand, that there may appear all the neceffary precision

in

in the geftures and motions of each in regard to thofe of the reft.

When two actors who are together upon the ftage, are fuppofed to be both affected by the fame impreffion, their action ought undoubtedly to be of the fame kind; but ftill there is a difference to be obferved in the degree, otherwife we feel the want of propriety, and confound the two characters. There are two rules which will ferve the player in every occafion of this kind.

Probability requires that the degree of expreffion in each be proportion'd to that of the intereft which each has in the action that occafions their emotions. In the reprefentations upon the ftage, the cafe is exactly the fame as in pictures. Whatever is the principal figure in the piece, ought always to have the privilege of attracting our regard beyond the reft.

It is alfo as neceflary a circumftance that the attitudes and geftures of the feveral actors be fo contrived as to have as much contraft as poffible between them. Every thing on the ftage ought to have the appearance of truth and reality. We carry our love of diverfity so far on this occafion, that we expect the actors not only to be different from one another, but that every one of them, in every part that he acts, fhou'd differ from himself in every other part, at leaft in fome particulars that may ftrike and affect

-us.

CHAP.

IT

CHAP. XVII.

Of Variety in Playing.

IT is evident that variety, or a power of appearing in very different forms, is an effential requilite to thofe actors who have an ambition to excel in both tragedy and comedy: And it is fcarce lefs plain that the fame qualification is alfo neceffary to those who propose it to themfelves to excel in only one of thefe provinces, provided they intend to gain applause in more than one fingle character: Of the two, however, variety is more neceffary to the perfon who proposes to excel in playing comedy, than to him who attempts to make a figure principally in tragedy.

Comedy takes in a vaft compafs: It extends indifferently to every kind of character; every original is proper for its purpose that can poffibly be made to entertain an audience in the copy. Tragedy, by the cuftoms of the world, is allow'd lefs freedom in the choice of its fubjects; it prefents us with the characters of only great and illuftrious perfons, auguft heroes, or noble villains.

The principal intent of tragedy is to affect us deeply by the recital of uncommon misfortunes; or elfe to aftonish, and at the fame time inftruct us by great examples. It is no objection to the merit of the performance, that the heroes of one story reprefent in many things those of another; provided it leads us on thro' uncertainty, terrors, forrow, and even tears, to the very catastrophe, we are content; and when the actors introduc'd

upon