The Sun.
London, England, 1863-08-21 00:00:00

There is, however, another feature in the profes•
sions of art and literature, including, of course, the
dramatic profession, which, trivial as it may seem,
does really, we believe, exercise no inconsiderable
influence upon the conduct of those whom it affects;
and that is the mode of payment which is customary
in certain branches of them. The system of weekly
salaries is extremely hostile to economy ; and it
operates in two ways. Firstly, when an actor or a
journalist got his six, his ten, his fifteen, or his
Twenty pounds in hand on Saturday afternoon,
there is a marvellously strong temptation to go
home and pay his lodging bill out of it and spend
the rest. Sums received in this manner are too
small and too fugitive to create a sense of property
in the recipient ; and he seldom or never acquires
the power of looking on his salary as something to
be taken care of and economised. He does not see
his way to any adequate result iu return for 60
much self-denial. In the second place, it really
is more difficult than perhaps it seems for
men so circumstanced to put by money. a% here
are they to put it ? They cannot open a banking
account with a £lO note. Savings banks give a
great deal of trouble. And if they keep it in a desk,
a pocket-book, or a cigar-case, the chances of being
robbed, and the constant temptation to spend it,
interfere with any schemes of prudence. The case
we have here sketched is more pecularly the actor's
case, who, in the large majority of instances, is en-
tirely dependent on the salary which he receives
from a particular theatre. The system creates
habits, if not exactly of extravagance, yet certainly
of profound carelessness, of whieh actors who
mount into a higher sphere generally feel the bad
effects. We have little doubt that much of the bad
economy which distinguishes the households of the
poor arises from the same cause—the fatal Saturday.
The one class sees no more good in saving ss. than
the other does in saving £5. Both doubt, errone-
ously, of course, but still quite naturally, if they can
ever save enough to make it really worth the
trouble. But give the same men their money in
quarterly instalments, they would see it in quite a
new light. Finally, we would not deny that there
is some truth at the bottom of the popular feeling
about the " artistic temperament." For gentlemen
gifted with this peculiar organisation to trade upon
its weakness is no doubt extremely culpable. But
it must, in fairness, be admitted that in the ideal
life of the stage anu all its exciting accessories, and
in the constant exercise of the imagination which
is demanded by the higher branches of art and
literature, there certainly is something calculated
to make arithmetic repulsive, and economy, in con-
sequence, difficult. In those fortunate instances
where the exertion of these exalted powers is re-
warded by an ample revenue, the possessor of theta
can afford to neglect such considerations. But, for
one whose mind is constantly absorbed in a world
of his own creation to attend to all those small pre-
cautions which are necessary to make a narrow in-
come do its utmost, is so exceedingly irksome, that
the indulgence claimed for the irregularities of men
of this class is not without some show of reasoo•
In fact, what such a man would gain by at-
tending to business of this nature he would
almost lose by the distraction of thought which it
entails. These remarks, as we need not say, have
been suggested to us by the bankruptcy of Mr. Dian
Boucicault. But we are very far from intending
them to apply with any force to his case. xis
failure results not so much from bad economy as
from rash speculation. Ant at the same time there
is an air of magnificence about his schedule which
bespeaks the man of warm imagination and poetics'
indifference to money. During the first year after
his return from America he made £23,000. le
nays income tax on £lO,OOO a year. He spelt'
£20,000 merely on improving some property in
America, 115,000 more upon a house at BrOmptollf
and £2,300 on the furniture only of a country man'
sion bearing the aristocratic appellation of Cole:
berno Court. Why, this out-Redpaths Redpatu:
and almost out-Waughs Waugh. Let nobody,
all events, say after this that the British drama la
on the decline. Here is a man making an income
which the wealthiest British merchants scarcely
excel, by pretending to jump into a pond. We must
own we think Mr. Boucicault would have dove
more wisely to content himself with these hand"
some wages. But it seems he has a soul above
.ucre, and was bent on ameliorating his specie?:
In other words, he had a hobby which has prove
°
no exception to the general rule in such cases. II:
had a scheme for ventilating theatres, and he g°
up a company to aid in carrying it out. A. scheme
and a company—in these two simple words lies
the history of many a ruin, and many broken hear'
and hopes. Not that Mr. Boucicault is likely II
break either. We have little doubt that he i
soon make another fortune, and that he
second time retrieve his fortunes by some still ll2°'
startling sensation.