This, of course, only
refers to the visitors to the pit and boxes; the galleries were always
presumed to be occupied by footmen and apprentices, and persons of no
consideration whatever, while stalls were not yet in existence.
Strangers from the country were few--those from foreign parts fewer
still. The theatre was regarded, as it were, from a household point of
view; was in some sort supplementary to a man's home, and he therefore
considered himself entitled to be heard and to take a personal
interest in regard to its concerns and proceedings. Necessarily this
feeling diminished as London grew in size and the audience increased
in numbers, and finally became impossible. An actor knew at last his
admirers only in the mass; while they lost inevitably all individual
and private interest in his success. But long after the London
players had ceased to make calls and to solicit patronage for their
benefits, the practice still obtained in the provinces, and could on
no account be abandoned. Thus, in early life, when a member of the
country company of which her father, Roger Kemble, was manager, the
great Mrs.
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