$10 | 
venture the experiment of publication ; 
but that, on the whole, though the ma- 
nagers and audience should be indulgent 
enough to let it drag on for a few nights, 
#t would soon be laid on the shelf and 
forgotten for ever. * 
There is a practice which greatly fa- 
cilitates the labour of the journalist in 
this department. The author obligingly. 
sends to the different papers, what he 
calls the Plot. This is highly proper, 
and equally advantageous to the critic 
and his readers; because many of the 
modern dramas are so constructed, that 
without such a key, the audience would 
be at a loss to comprehend the business, 
But although the critic may safely 
copy this sketch, and also exhibit such 
beauties as the author, who knows 
west where to discover them, may point 
out; yet let him not rashly attempt to 
improve it, because, the plot being per- 
haps as incomprehensible to him, as to 
the rest of the audience, he .may, by 
what he deems improvement, totally 
pervert the dramatist’s meaning. This 
observation, of course, applies only to 
those complicated plays with which the 
stage now teems, containing much a-do 
about nothing, and of which mystery and 
obscurity are the chief ingredients. 
{here are pieces, however, that receive 
abundant plaudits, so very simple as to 
have no plot at all, their success de- 
pending on other aids. Bayes ob- 
served, that he deemed a plot of no use 
but to introduce good things. How 
much then is that eminent dramatist 
excelled by those play-wrights of the 
nineteenth century, who introduee their 
good things: viz. puns and practical 
jokes without any plot at all? 
Sometimes & newspaper critic is am- 
bitious to excel his cotemporaries, and 
for that purpose he calls to his aid the 
remarks of his predece-sors in that de- 
partment, or books of criticism where he 
finds passages which he thinks may 
apply to the case before him. Unless 
he has sense enough not to borrow re- 
soarks that are not better than his own, 
the plagiarism will be easily discovered 
from une difference of the style. Besides, 
* An admirable satire on newspaper cri- 
ticism is to be found in Cumberland’s Ob- 
server, It is the supposed critique of a daily 
paper, on Othello, the morning after its first 
performance, in which this exquisite tragedy 
is, with great humour, so criticised as to shew 
how the very best drama may be turned into 
‘sidicule. 
On Theatrical Criticism. 
(July 1, 
it is possible that the very parts he steals, 
may not be new to his readers. A the- 
atrical critic of high celebrity, when 
Mrs. Billington in 1801, or 1802, made 
her first appearance at Covent Garden, 
after her return from the continent, pro- 
duced a critique on her performance, 
displaying the musical connoisseur in 
sublime scientific language. With no 
little vanity did he-ask a friend, who 
happened to call on him, his opinion of 
this precious morceau, His visitor un- 
fortunately had been dipping into Buf- 
ney’s History of Music, and_no less un- 
fortunately that work was stack up be- 
fore his eyes ina book-case. Without 
saying a syllable, he handed down the 
volume, and produced the identical pas- 
sage verbatim, to the no small morti- 
fication of the plagiarist, who- begged him, 
for God’s sake, to be mute. 
It is a shameful indolence .in the 
editors of evening papers, that they sel- 
dom or never think it worth their while 
to give an original criticism; but ser- 
vilely copy the accounts and opinions of 
the Times, the Chronicle, the Post, or 
whatever morning paper their caprice’ 
leads them to follow. This is the more 
inexcusable, as these editors have like- 
wise gratuitous admissions, and the per- 
formances, take place at the very time of 
the day when their other professional 
duties least require their attendance. It 
must be acknowledged a bore to sit out 
most new plays; but they should not be 
altogether above the drudgery which their. 
brethren of the morning journals, or - 
their assistants, are obliged to undergo. 
The Sunday papers, with very few 
exceptions, are guilty of this practice ; 
but, they should be more careful than 
they sometimes are. aud inexpertus 
loquor, When I was concerned in a 
Sunday paper, an old play was advertised 
for the Saturday evening’s entertainment, 
Knowing well both the. play and the 
actors, I, without going near the theatre, 
wrote half a column of remarks on its 
performance. Now although these re- 
marks would probably have been just, 
had the piece been acted ; yet as it had 
been suddenly changed for something 
else, my critique had a very awkward 
appearance to those who were present, 
or knew the fact. 
being perfectly innocent, ,had no farther 
bac comsequence; whereas a gentleman, 
now deceased, who conducted another 
weekly paper, not only fell into a similar 
error, but made such a virulent and un- 
justifiable attack ou the supposed pews. 
formance 
But my observations - 
