But there are other than these recognised and established whispers of
the stage. Voices are occasionally audible in the theatre which
obviously were never intended to reach the public ear. The existence
of such a functionary as the prompter may be one of those things which
are "generally known;" but the knowledge should not come, to those who
sit in front of the curtain, from any exercise of their organs of
sight or of sound. To do the prompter justice, he is rarely visible;
but his tones, however still and small they may pretend to be,
sometimes travel to those whom they do not really concern. One of the
first scraps of information acquired by the theatrical student relates
to the meaning of the letters P.S. and O.P. Otherwise he might,
perhaps, have some difficulty in comprehending the apparently magnetic
attraction which one particular side of the proscenium has for so many
of our players. We say _our_ players advisedly, for the position of
the prompter is different on the foreign stage. Abroad, and, indeed,
during alien and lyrical performances in this country, he is hidden in
a sort of gipsy-tent in front of the desk of the conductor.
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