, 1866-05-15

lHe Oanquet-Scene IN Mdc0eth, the first
murderer spite of Macready's adiura-
tons, persisted in walking down to the
centre of the stage, and thereby entirely
hiding Macbeth from the audience. The
tragedian impatientIy called for a carpen-
ter, a brass-headed nail, aud a hammer.
The carpenter came. DO you see that
plank there? Drive the nail into that
spot 1t was done. Now you, sir Ghis
to the 'murderer)-look at that nail.
Come down to that spot, not an inch
further-and wait there till I come Mr.
Utility did as he was desired, and Mac
ready'S mind was easy. Night came, and
with it the banquet-scene. The first
murderer enters, walks down the stage,
stops suddenly, then turns round and
round, apparently looking for something
he had dropped. The audience begin to
litter. Macready STALKS to the mans
side In Heavens name, what are you
about 2 Sure exclaims the murderer"
'ain't | looking for that blessed nail of
yours = The effect of this speech upon
the audience may be imagined. The
first murderer had to give his Royal
employer q wide berth for the rest Of the
evening.
The most experienced actor is apt to
find his tongue unruly at times, and play
ing strange tricks with the text. The
following curious colIoquy took place be-
tween Quin as Balance and Peg Voting
ton as Sylvia in the Recruiting Officer !:
Sylvia, how old were you when your
mother was marricd2' what, sir p
'Pshaw, [ mean, how old were you when
your mother was born2' Il regret, sir,
[ cannot answer your questions but l
can tell you how old | was when my
mother diedP Peg was not so stupid as
the actor who persisted in sticking to his
text, when ElllstOn as Richmond blum
deringIv asked rs v0unr George Stan
lev SiajR2 and replied Gle Is, my loru,
and safe in Leicester town An Aber-
deem actress having TO ask if somebody
retained his influence at the India House,
from some extraordinary confusion Of
ideas, actually inquired Does he still
maintain his infants at the India House 2
Sometimes tongue-tripping proves catch
ing, as when Mrs Davenport exclaimed {:
Il protest, there's a candle coming along
the gallery with a man in It's hand ; and
Mrs Gibbs directly afterwards declared /:
Betty has locked the key, and carried
away the door in her pocket
The art of ~apologising is well worth
the study of any actor who hopcs-and
what actor does MOTTO be a manager.
To be able to put folks in a good-humour
who have reason to be in a bad one, is a
valuable accomplishment, and one or two
comedians we wot Of are adopts in the
art, melting the anger Of the gods as sun
shine melts the snow. But some ludi-
crous apologies have been made from the
stage. Jack tombstone, being called upon
to sing the Sprig Of ShiHelagh, stepped
forward to do so; but when he should
have commenced, stood silent and c%onfus-
ed. At length, when the audience shew-
ed signs of Impotence, Jack astonished
them by addressing them thus Ladies
and gentlemen, | assure you [ have sung
the song so often, that, by my soul, l
cannot recollect how it begins |! Quin,
who despised and detested theatrical
dancers, had thrust upon him the dis
agreeable task of excusing the non-ap-
pearance of a popular danseuse, and cx-
ecuted it by saying 4 am desired by the
moporar To inform YOU that the dance