In the case of actresses this
plan has often been found efficacious in diminishing the exuberant
ardour of certain youthful supporters of the stage, by enabling them
to discover that the fair performer who had peculiarly stirred their
dramatic sympathies, was hardly seen to such advantage by daylight, in
the seclusion of her private dwelling, as when under the glare of gas,
with distance lending enchantment to rouge and pearl-powder, and
casting an accommodating veil over divers physical deficiencies and
unavoidable deteriorations.
As benefits became common, and they were relegated to the close of the
season, when the general appetite for theatrical entertainments may be
presumed to be tolerably satiated, the actors found it very necessary
to put forward performances of an unusual kind to attract patronage
and stimulate the curiosity of the public. It was understood that on
these occasions criticism was suspended, and great licence was
permissible. A benefit came to be a kind of dramatic carnival. Any and
everything was held to be lawful, and efforts of an experimental kind
were almost demanded--certainly excused under the circumstances.
Pages:
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530