of the company he was engag'd in, to play the parts of Sir Novelty Fashion, Lord Foppington, and the rest of that kind: he had the judgment to know that he was here out of his proper sphere, and he never ventured at the finesses which he had been so 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 less of it, if forcing his imagination to bring in a thousand finesses, he had expos'd himself to the neceffity of playing with less truth. Of Bye-play, or what are called Stage-Tricks. T HE variety of finesses 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 address themselves wholly to the fight: the last 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 diftinguished from them under the name of stage-tricks. We have a way of using the fame phrafe also to exprefs the artificial means an author of a comedy finds of conducting his scenes, and introducing incidents, so as to make them the most striking to an audience: in this sense 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 expresses nothing but such action as serves to picture out the sentiments of the characters in the scene, in the most expressive and the most pleasing manner. It may be observed 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 say 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 else solely to the rendering it more pleasing. That part of it which belongs to the first, 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 essential to it to have this close connexion; 'tis in many cafes sufficient 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 Bush, the messenger who is sent 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 shou'd otherwise be at a stand, and that by an incident quite in character for the person 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 pleasing in the representation, may be in some cafes executed by one perfon alone, whereas in others it cannot be perform'd but by the concurrence of several. In both these circumstances, the manners of the characters are carefully to be kept up to, and the peculiar circumstances of age and fex, as well as those of rank and education, closely observ'd ; where any thing of this is omitted, we are shock'd at what was meant to entertain us, and we condemn that as absurdity, 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 libertinism from it. Every joke that a lady may not enjoy with a smile that does not reflect upon her modesty, 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 travesty or burlesque the muse, when the poet has taken care to preferve to her all her native dignity. When the bye-play which we are recommending the use 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 such a manner beforehand, that there may appear all the neceffary precision in the gestures and motions of each in regard to those of the rest. When two actors who are together upon the stage, are supposed to be both affected by the same impression, their action ought undoubtedly to be of the same kind; but still there is a difference to be observed in the degree, otherwife we feel the want of propriety, and confound the two characters. There are two rules which will serve the player in every occafion of this kind.. Probability requires that the degree of expreffion in each be proportion'd to that of the interest which each has in the action that occasions their emotions. In the reprefentations upon the stage, 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 rest. It is also as necessary a circumstance that the attitudes and gestures of the several actors be fo contrived as to have as much contrast as poffible between them. Every thing on the stage ought to have the appearance of truth and reality. We carry our love of diversity 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, shou'd differ from himself in every other part, at leaft in some particulars that may strike and affect us. CHAP. I CHAP. XVII. Of Variety in Playing. T is evident that variety, or a power of appearing in very different forms, is an effential requilite to those actors who have an ambition to excel in both tragedy and comedy: And it is scarce less plain that the fame qualification is also neceffary to those who propose it to themselves to excel in only one of these provinces, provided they intend to gain applaufe in more than one fingle character: Of the two, however, variety is more necessary to the person who proposes to excel in playing comedy, than to him who attempts to make a figure principally in tragedy. Comedy takes in a vast compass: 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 customs of the world, is allow'd less freedom in the choice of its fubjects; it presents us with the characters of only great and illustrious perfons, august heroes, or noble villains. The principal intent of tragedy is to affect us deeply by the recital of uncommon misfortunes; or else to aftonish, and at the fame time instruct us by great examples. It is no objection to the merit of the performance, that the heroes of one story represent 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 |