Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1874-05-09
Az AZ kUE
Kissing.

The theatre is, of course, the class
ical and historical home of Kissing.
| imagine that any one with sufficient
acquaintance with the details of dra-
matte history and biography might
compile big book on kissing in the
theatre. 1t has dOmesticated itself
there. In other places it has only
lodged. If it is to be finally dis
lodged from other places, it will
still, | suppose, assert preseriptive
title to be heard there. Theatre
kissing is not only noticed by the
great dramatists of all periods of
our literature, but | find it brought
in to point moral by one of our
great English preachers, who has
most absurdly and uncritically been
taken for a Puritan, Thomas Adams.
In a sermon published inI6l4, under
the title, "The Sinners Passing
Bell" he says: '"The player that mis-
acts an inferior and unnoted part,
carries it away without censure; but
if he shall play some Emperor or
part of observation unworthily, the
spectators are ready to hiss him off. -
Plays, however, are Missed as well as
players, and the French have an un-
translatable adjective which they
apply to both. Kissing began in the
theatres, say the French Encyclo-
pedists, as soon as there were bad
poets and bad actors impudent
enough and ignorant enough to ex-
pose themselves to the criticism of a
great assembled world. The French
call such actors and the works of
such poets si6t,tbLe (hiss-able); they
speak of a "comedie siffiable," an
"acteur Sifflable." / have heard of
only one attempt to dislodge kissing
from its home in the theatre, or
rather to regulate its hour; readers
who are better acquainted with the
atrical history may possibly know of
Others. In December, 1919, the po-
lice of Copenhagen issued The fol-
lowing curious ordinance: "After
this present notice, the public shall
not testify their dissatisfaction at
the conclusion .of.a piece at the thea
tire until ten minutes after the fall
of the curtain. At the expiration of
these ten minutes a signal will be
given by three beats on great drum
and all those who after that shall
hiss,or give any other mark of disap-
probation, will be arrested as dis
turbers of the public peace" A,
French newspaper of the same year
from which this ordo1e,eance is.
translated-says it was infriDged the
first night it was in force, and that
arrests were made accordingly. The
fact that kissing is reckoned legiti-
mate at the theatres has led men to
choose them as the places for ex-
pressing their public disIikes in times
of great excitement. Shakespeare's
Cardinal W0olsey was hissed at the
time of the Papal aggression, but
the hiss was not meant for the actor
but for Cardinal Wiseman. Kisses
are directed at unpopular persons
who come as spectators and not as
actors. Sir William Knighton saws
that George ". always entered the
theatre with an excessive dread of
being saluted with this mark of pub
lie disapprobation. If he heard one
single hiss, although it were immedi-
ately drowned in general and tumul-
tu"us applause, he went home wretch
ed, and would lie awake all night
thinking of that ugly note, and not
of the thousand agreeable notes.
Sometimes it has not been one visit
or, but a whole party of visitors who
have had the Kisses of the spectators
directed upon them. In one of the
periodical ''essays"-poor limitations
of Tattler and Spectator, which ap-
pearrd i'll such numbers in the eigh-
trenth century-the PrOter. 1856.
republished as a book in I757-we
are told that the conduct of ladies
in the theatres was often so unbe-
coming that the audience hissed
them into silence. 1t seems that
they laughed and talked so loudly as
to render the actors inaddfble.
imagine that a chapter might be
made upon.the repsTtees Of the vic
Tins of kissing. To say that the hiss
ed had often given back as good as
they got, would be to say that they
merely showed fight; but the fact is
0u, ClnaL lhey had very frequently, like
Orator Hunt, won an unmistakable
victory. On one occasion, there
were only seven persons inCthe thea
tire at Welmar; the seven, however
considered themselves sufficient ~
form court of criticism, and tak;n6
offense at the bad acting of one NOS
former, they hissed him enerpetic.
ally; the manager thereupon brought
his whole company upon the stage
and out-hissed the visitors. Mr.. ii
Z. Robinson tells us that he was
present at Convent Garden theatre
with Charles and Mary Lamb in
December, 1905, when Lambs "Mr.
H@ was performed FOR the first
time. The -absurdity of the piece
turns upon the hero being ashamed
of his name, which is only revealed