The neceffity which every player, who would fpeak well, is under, of giving a peculiar force to certain words in a sentence, is not univerfal, or at leaft it is not equal in all parts, even in tragedy. It peculiarly belongs to thofe persons who reprefent the principal and most interesting characters. We have already obferv'd in difcourfing on what is call'd bye-play, that the degree of force in the expreffion in every actor ought to be proportion'd to the degree of intereft which the character he reprefents has in the play; and in the fame manner the delivery ought always to be more or less strong, according to the more or less confiderable figure the perfon makes in the piece.

They are very much mistaken therefore who fuppofe that the cafe is just the fame in a dialogue that is to be fpoken, and in one which is to be deliver'd in mufic; or that an actor in anfwering a fpeech ought to take up the same tone, accent, and manner with the person who speaks to him: without doubt it is neceffary that every comedian fpeak loud enough to be heard; and it is evident from this that there is a modulation of the voice as to ftrength, below which they are never to fink, because if they do, every thing they fay is loft to a great part of the audience; but this is all the general resemblance we require between the manner of the two different people who speak together.

Perhaps indeed it is neceffary in scenes of pure reafoning, or in thofe between two persons who are actuated by the fame impreffion, that both ufe the fame tone and modulation of voice in fpeaking; but on all other occafions variety is

more

more agreeable, more natural, and there is no rule for the forbiding it.

It is much better that the two perfons in every dialogue, except these, speak in two different tones of voice; it gives vivacity as well as variety, and is in all refpects infinitely preferable to a heavy fameness, both in tragedy and in comedy.

The performers in tragedy ought in a particular manner to obferve this variety of modulation of their voices in the dialogue; they have one reason for it, and that almost an universal one, which the others have not; a fubject, be his rank or degree ever so high, yet in speaking to his king he always throws into his tone of voice the fubordination and diftance that he obferves in his actions; and we may expect the fame difference on the ftage between the manner of speaking of the heroe, and of his confident.

The action of the player, as well as his recitation, has also something mechanical in it; we may regard in this light the neceffity he is under of conforming to certain rules prefcrib'd for his geftures, but which it has not yet fallen in our way to confider.

In the part of a player whofe character is intended to intereft and affect us, the gestures muft not only be, as we have before obferv'd, natural, expreffive, noble, and varied occafionally, but it is neceffary also that they be more or lefs freely us'd, according to the length and nature of the paffages he delivers; they must fucceed one another by a kind of natural connexion; they must have an evident alliance together, and each muft obviously appear to be the neceffary fequel of that which preceded it, and the preparatory or introductive one to that which follows: the player P

muft

must particularly obferve that the peculiar gefture which he uses to accompany the period of a fen tence does not terminate but with the last word, and that the rest of the hand, as well as of the voice, declares that the perfon has done fpeaking. Befide thefe, there are a number of other rules equally invariable; among the rest we may mention that of avoiding too frequently thofe geftures that ferve to mark the most strongly and forcibly fuch parts of a fentence as require it: the prudent ufe of these gives a peculiar ftrength to the expreffion, but the continual abufe of them will give the nobleft fpeech an air of puerility: there are a thousand other neceffary regulations in the gefture which are too trivial and obvious to have a place here; a due attention to good examples will give the young player the best inftructions about them.

The art of treading the ftage, especially in tragedy, is another of the mechanical parts of the bufinefs of an actor, and is particularly of ufe to inform him how to fill the ftage in a foliloquy: we shall refer the young player in this article to the fame means of inftruction, a good example. The antient comedians who, we are told, mov'd by fudden jerks and fprings on the ftage, are juftly condemn'd for it: in comedy, he who can walk across a room like a gentleman will be able to do the fame on the ftage; but in tragedy there is. fomething more requir'd, and it would be well if every player who performs a principal part in that way, would practife for the stage a walk that fhould be much below the mimic dignity of the theatrical ftrut of the last age, and yet fomewhat more noble than the common ftep.

CHAP.

CHA P. XX.

OBJECTIONS.

Otwithstanding the evidence that the prin ciples we have deliver'd carry with them, it is not impoffible but fome players may continue to imagine that their profeffion is much easier than we pretend, and that there are very few difficul ties in the way of the man who would rife to the very first character in it. Children, they will obferve, are frequently applauded on the ftage, and yet it is impoffible they fhould have all the perfections which we have affirm'd to be neceffary to a player.

It will require very little trouble to answer this objection: we are not to deny that we have now and then inftances of premature talents: a happy natural difpofition, a careful and well manag'd education, and continual practice, may fometimes fupply the want of years; and it will not appear wonderful that children fo form'd for the stage should fometimes know better what they are about, than fome who are grown old upon it, as they may perhaps have taken more pains in the few years they have ftudy'd the profeffion, than the others in their whole lives: examples however of children's deferving great applaufe upon the ftage are rare, tho' their having fome is common: in general we applaud them as children, rather than as players, and rather admire the conditions under which they know what they do, than that they know it. Moft of those who have been beft received among us, with much more merit, and a few more

P 2

4

years

years over their heads, would appear much worfe than they do under the advantage of fo young a time of life.

A fecond objection to the difficulty of attaining the art of playing, will perhaps be made in regard to the actreffes, fince it is evident, people will fay, that women who have pass'd their lives in idleness and debauchery, have often risen to the character of very great players. In order to argue justly on this point, we are firft to enquire whether the perfons thus applauded on the stage, have really had that merit which the applause they receive feems to allow in them: we have prov'd, in the beginning of this treatise, that many players have much better understandings than the world fuppofes them to have, and that, in general, people who are well receiv'd, as players, either have natural accomplishments which we don't fee, or they have taken pains that we don't know of; or if neither of these by the cafe, that the applause is given them undeservedly, and we are therefore not to allow it as any evidence of merit: we fhall on this occafion go yet farther and obferve, that even with the advantage of a good understanding, if a woman does not improve herself by applica cation and study, fhe will never arrive at any degree of perfection.

Let it be own'd that an actress whofe course of life has been fuch as allow'd her no time for the study of her bufinefs, has yet charm'd the people who faw her play, we are not to conclude from this that she had a vast deal of merit; the multitude are easily deceiv'd, especially when there is a good face in the way; fuppofe even the poets have extoll'd the merit of fuch an actress, we ought no more to judge from this than from the

other,