NINE YEARS OF AN ACTOR ? S LIFE. 123 



thus, ( Ladies and gentlemen, I have played William Tell many, 

 many times, but indeed the frightful noise you make entirely drives 

 the recollection of the words from me/ An awful silence ensued 

 for a moment, when a bull-like voice shouted from the gallery 



' Why you have a good house, you , so go on, go on ! ' and 



he did go on, though he appeared annihilated by the rude command." 



Were it possible in an autobiographical work to avoid 

 speaking of one self we should accuse Mr. Dyer of too 

 much egotism ; he however has the candour to give 

 the unfavourable opinions which have been published 

 concerning him as well as those in his praise ; one spi- 

 cy critic was tolerably severe. 



" He abused my personal and mental pretensions compared my 

 head to a mop my mouth to a vast cavern ridiculed my attempts 

 at elegance in Corinthian Tom and insisted that Nature designed 

 me for an Irish Watchman ! '' 



In speaking of Newspaper criticism Mr. Dyer says, 

 " Newspaper criticisms are by no means to be depended on, party 

 spirit frequently decrying the good, and upholding the bad ; and 

 interest forbidding the condemnation of a man, on whose will the 

 insertion of an advertisement depends. The editor of a provincial 

 paper can rarely venture an independant opinion ; and I know seve- 

 ral editors who refuse all theatrical remarks, because the manager 

 makes the insertion of his advertisements conditional on their silence 

 as to the merit of his company." 



This is a sweeping assertion, " by no means to be de- 

 pended on," surely the writer did not weigh his words 

 well when writing this paragraph ; or if he did why 

 does his practice agree so ill with his theory ? why 

 does he bring forward such a mass of criticism, from 

 newspapers in his favour, as is to be found in the notes 

 and the body of his book. 



We are not unaware that some few editors are so 

 stupid, so sordid, or so malignant, that they will decry 

 what is good and praise what is bad ; but, at the same 

 time, we are convinced that the best theatrical critiques 

 ever yet published have appeared in newspapers. 



The getting-up (to speak technically) of the work 

 is highly creditable to a provincial press ; the neatness 

 and accuracy of the typography speak strongly in favor 

 of Mr. Nettleton the Plymouth publisher. N. 



