Part 19 (1/2)

The painter approved of the wisdo the insolence of the mob, by which, he assured the been often bespattered by hackney-coachmen, jostled by draymen and porters, and reviled in the most opprobrious ter and a considerable quantity of hair, which had been cut off by so the Lord Mayor's procession On the other hand, the doctor with great warht to suffer death, or banish plundered the people in this manner, which was so impudent and barefaced, as plainly to prove they were certain of escaping with iree of delinquency He said, that the greatest man in Athens would have been condemned to perpetual exile, and seen his estate confiscated for public use, had he dared in such a licentious hts of a fellow-citizen; and as for the little affronts to which a man may be subject frolorious indications of liberty, which ought not to be repressed, and would at any time rejoice to find himself overthrown in a kennel by the insolence of a son of freedo, by way of illustration, that the greatest pleasure he ever enjoyed was in seeing a dustentleman's coach, in which two ladies were bruised, even to the danger of their lives

Pallet, shocked at the extravagance of this declaration, ”If that be the case,” said he, ”I wish you may see every bone in your body broke by the first carued without any deduction, although the landlord, in stating the articles, had an eye to the loss he had sustained by his own countrymen, they departed from Arras, and arrived in safety at Lisle, about two o'clock in the afternoon

They had scarce taken possession of their lodgings, in a large hotel in the Grande Place, when the innkeeper gave them to understand, that he kept an ordinary belohich was frequented by several English gentlemen who resided in town, and that dinner was then set upon the table Peregrine, who seized all opportunities of observing new characters, persuaded his coly conducted to the place, where they found a mixture of Scotch and Dutch officers, who had come froentlearrison duty in the citadel Ae of fifty, of a renified with a Maltese cross, and distinguished by the particular veneration of all those who knew him When he understood that Pickle and his friends were travellers, he accosted the youth in English, which he spoke tolerably well; and, as they were strangers, offered to attend the in Lisle Our hero thanked him for his excess of politeness, which, he said, was peculiar to the French nation; and, struck with his engaging appearance, industriously courted his conversation, in the course of which he learned that this chevalier was a reat experience, that he was perfectly well acquainted with the greatest part of Europe, had lived soer to the constitution and genius of that people

Having dined, and drunk to the healths of the English and French kings, two fiacres were called, in one of which the knight, with one of his corine seated the occupied by the physician, Pallet, and two Scottish officers, who proposed to accompany them in their circuit The first place they visited was the citadel, round the raht, who explained with great accuracy the intention of every particular fortification belonging to that seenable fortress; and, when they had satisfied their curiosity, took coach again, in order to view the arsenal, which stands in another quarter of the town; but, just as Pickle's carriage had crossed the promenade, he heard his own na the fiacre to stop, saw Pallet, with one half of his body thrust out at theof the other coach, crying, with a terrified look, ”Mr Pickle, Mr Pickle, the for the love of God halt, and prevent bloodshed, else here will be carnage and cutting of throats” Peregrine, surprised at this excla to the other vehicle, found one of their round, at the farther side of the coach, with his sword drawn, and fury in his countenance; and the physician, with a quivering lip, and haggard aspect, struggling with the other, who had interposed in the quarrel, and detained hientle fro the strength of the fortification, which the doctor, according to custo, that by the help of thethe ancients, and a few thousands of pioneers, he would engage to take it in less than ten days after he should sit down before it The North Briton, as as great a pedant as the physician, having studied fortification, and made himself master of Caesar's Commentaries and Polybius, with the observations of Folard, affir practised by the ancients would be utterly ineffectual against such a plan as that of the citadel of Lisle; and began to coeres, arietes, scorpiones, and catapultae of the Romans, with the trenches, mines, batteries, and mortars used in the present art of war The republican, finding hi side, su the fae of Thucydides, in which he was corrected by the other, who, having been educated for the church, was also a connoisseur in the Greek language The doctor, incensed at being detected in such a blunder in the presence of Pallet, who, he kneould proance, that his objection was frivolous, and that he must not pretend to dispute on these matters with one who had considered theonist, piqued at this supercilious insinuation, replied with great heat, that for aught he knew, the doctor ht be a very expert apothecary, but that in the art of war, and knowledge of the Greek tongue, he was no other than an ignorant pretender

This asseveration produced an answer full of virulence, including a national reflection upon the soldier's country; and the contention rose to mutual abuse, when it was suppressed by the aded they would not expose thee place, but behave thely ceased reviling each other, and the affair was seeot; but after they had resumed their places in the coach, the painter unfortunately asked theof the word tortise, which he had heard the the Roman implements of war This question was answered by the physician, who described the nature of this expedient so little to the satisfaction of the officer, that he contradicted him flatly in the midst of his explanation; a circuree, that, in the temerity of his passion, he uttered the epithet, ”impertinent scoundrel;” which was no sooner pronounced than the Caledonianout of the coach, stood waiting for him on the plain; while he, the physician,easily retained by the other soldier; and Pallet, dreading the consequence in which he hiht be involved, bellowed aloud for prevention

Our hero endeavoured to quiet the co to the Scot that he had already taken satisfaction for the injury he had received, and telling the doctor that he had deserved the chastiseed perhaps by the confusion of his antagonist, insisted upon his asking pardon for what he had said; and the doctor, believing hireeing to such concession, breathed nothing but defiance and revenge; so that the chevalier, in order to prevent mischief, put the soldier under arrest, and sent hientle also acco forly surrendered his place to the physician

CHAPTER LI

Pickle engages with a Knight of Malta, in a Conversation upon the English Stage, which is followed by a Dissertation on the Theatres of the Ancients, by the Doctor

The rest of the coether with some remarkable churches, they, in their return, went to the comedy, and saw the Cid of Corneille tolerably well represented In consequence of this entertainment, the discourse at supper turned upon dramatic performances; and all the objections of Monsieur Scudery to the piece they had seen acted, together with the decision of the French Acadeht was a man of letters and taste, and particularly well acquainted with the state of the English stage; so that when the painter boldly pronounced sentence against the Frenchfrequented a Covent Garden club of critics, and been often admitted, by virtue of an order, into the pit; a comparison immediately ensued, not between the authors, but the actors of both nations, to whoers Our hero, like a good English the preference to the perforenuine i the passions of the human mind; and entered so warmly into the spirit of their several parts, that they often fancied themselves the very heroes they represented; whereas, the action of the Parisian players, even in their ance in voice and gesture, as is nowhere to be observed but on the stage To illustrate this assertion, he availed himself of his talent, and mimicked the manner and voice of all the principal perfor to the French co coed leave to dissent in some particulars froood actors in England,” said he, ”it would be unjust and absurd in me to deny; your theatre is adorned by one woman, whose sensibility and sweetness of voice is such as I have never observed on any other stage; she has besides, an elegance of person and expression of features, that wonderfully adapt her for thecharacters of your best plays; and I hted and as deeply affected by a Monimia and Belvidera at London, as ever I was by Cornelia and Cleopatra at Paris Your favourite actor is a surprising genius You can, moreover, boast of several corih, to be free with you, I think in these qualifications you are excelled by the players of Araciosos I cannot admire, in all the characters he assu of vespers; and his action rese ballast into the hold of a shi+p In his outward deportment he seenity ofCrookback, as a loud, shallow, blustering Hector; in the character of the mild patriot Brutus, loses all temper and decorum; nay, so ridiculous is the behaviour of hi foot to foot, and grinning at each other, with the aspect of two cobblers engaged, they thrust their left sides together, with repeated shoots, that the hilts of their swords may clash for the entertainment of the audience; as if they were a couple of ar, on soreat man, who falls a victim to the infernal practices of a subtle traitor who enjoyed his confidence, this English Aesopus represents, by beating his own forehead, and beating like a bull; and, indeed, in ale shakings of the head, and other antic gesticulations, that when I first saw hiined the poor man laboured under the paralytical disorder, which is known by the naer to the more refined sensations of the soul, consequently his expression is of the vulgar kind, and he must often sink under the idea of the poet; so that he has recourse to such violence of affected agitation, as i spectator; but to the eye of taste, evinces him a mere player of that class whom your admired Shakespeare justly cos Yet this man, in spite of all these absurdities, is an adhth Henry to the life, is reasonably applauded in the Plain Dealer, excels in the part of Sir John Brute, and would be equal to many humorous situations in low comedy, which his pride will not allow him to undertake I should not have been so severe upon this actor, had I not seen him extolled by his partisans with the most ridiculous and fulsome manifestations of praise, even in those very circumstances wherein (as I have observed) he chiefly failed”

Peregrine, not a little piqued to hear the qualifications of such a celebrated actor in England treated with such freedom and disrespect, answered, with some asperity, that the chevalier was a true critic, ing the excellence of those who fell under his examination

It was not to be supposed that one actor could shi+ne equally in all characters; and though his observations were undoubtedly very judicious, he hi that soh he had been an assiduous frequenter of the playhouse ”The player in question,” said he, ”has, in your own opinion, considerable share of merit in the characters of coes in tragedy, and the operation of the grand passions of the soul, I apprehend theyto the various complexion and cultivation of different h impelled by the same passion, will express it very differently froraceful vivacity and address by the one, would be considered as impertinence and foppery by the other; nay, so opposite is your common deportment from that of some other nations, that one of our own countrymen, in the relation of his travels, observes, that the Persians even of this age, when they see any estures, says he is either a fool or French thus unsettled, a Turk, a Moor, an Indian, or inhabitant of my country whose customs and dress are widely different fronity of the human heart, and be inspired by the noblest passion that anihter rather than the respect of an European spectator

”When I first beheld your fae heroine in one of her principal parts, her attitudes seemed so violent, and she tossed her arance, that she put ale; while her voice and features exhibited the lively representation of an English scold The action of your favourite male performer was, in my opinion, equally unnatural: he appeared with the affected airs of a dancing-master; at the most pathetic junctures of his fate he lifted up his hands above his head, like a tu to vault, and spoke as if his throat had been obstructed by a hair-brush: yet, when I compared their manners with those of the people before whoeration which obtains on all theatres, I was insensibly reconciled to their uish abundance of merit beneath that oddity of appearance”

The chevalier, perceiving Peregrine a little irritated at what he had said, asked pardon for the liberty he had taken in censuring the English players; assuring hi, genius, and taste, which were so justly distinguished in the world of letters; and that, notwithstanding the severity of his criticisht the theatre of Londongentleman thanked him for his polite condescension, at which Pallet excited, saying, with a shake of the head, ”I believe so, too, Monsieur;” and the physician, impatient of the dispute in which he had borne no share, observed, with a supercilious air, that the ether beneath one who had an idea of ancient ht to be exhibited at the expense of the state, as those of Sophocles were by the Athenians; and that proper judges should be appointed for receiving or rejecting all such performances as are offered to the public

He then described the theatre at Roave them a learned disquisition into the nature of the persona, or mask, worn by the Roman actors, which, he said, was a machine that covered the whole head, furnished on the inside with a brazen concavity, that, by reverberating, the sound, as it issued from the mouth, raised the voice, so as to render it audible to such an extended audience He explained the difference between the saltator and declamator, one of whom acted, while the other rehearsed the part; and from thence took occasion to mention the perfection of their pantoly distinct in the exercise of their art, that a certain prince of Pontus, being at the court of Nero, and seeing one of theed him of the e barbarous nations, whose language he did not understand Nay, divers cynic philosophers, who had condemned this entertainment unseen, when they chanced to be eye-witnesses of their ad debarred themselves of such national enjoyrine, who, as a proof of their excellence, had advanced that so they represented; and recounted a story fro the part of Ajax in his frenzy, was transported into a real fit of deliriu which he tore to pieces the clothes of that actor who stalked before hie with iron shoes, in order to increase the noise; snatched an instrument from one of the musicians, and broke it over the head of hi to the consular bench, mistook a couple of senators for the sheep which were to be slain The audience applauded him to the skies: but so conscious was the ance when he recovered the use of his reason, that he actually fell sick withafterwards desired to re-act the piece, flatly refused to appear in any such character, saying that the shortest follies were the best, and that it was sufficient for him to have been a madman once in his life

CHAPTER LII

An Adventure happens to Pipes, in consequence of which he is disrine's Service--The whole Coence--Our Hero is captivated by a Lady in that Carriage--Interests her spiritual Director in his behalf

The doctor being fairly engaged on the subject of the ancients, would have proceeded the Lord kno far, without hesitation, had not he been interrupted by the arrival of Mr Jolter, who, in great confusion, told the affronted a soldier, was then surrounded in the street, and certainly would be put to death if some person of authority did not irine no sooner learned the danger of his trusty squire, than, snatching up his sword, he ran down-stairs, and was followed by the chevalier, entreating hiement Within ten yards of the door they found To hiainst the assault of three or four soldiers, who, at sight of the Maltese cross, desisted froht One of the aggressors, being an Irishreat iuard; and, by the ht into the hotel with his co upon their heads and faces evident marks of their adversary's prowess and dexterity The spokes confronted with Pipes, infor by accident met with Mr Pipes, whoh fortune had disposed of thelass of wine, and accordingly carried him to a cabaret, where he introduced him to his comrades; but in the course of the conversation, which turned upon the power and greatness of the kings of France and England, Mr Pipes had been pleased to treat his reat disrespect; and when he, the entertainer, expostulated with hi, that he, being in the French service, would be under the necessity of resenting his abuse if he did not put a stop to it before the other gentle; he had set them all three at defiance, dishonoured him in particular with the opprobrious epithet of rebel to his native king and country, and even drunk, in broken French, to the perdition of Louis and all his adherents; that, coeous conduct, he, as the person who had recommended him to their society, had, in vindication of his own character, de a sword, had gone to his lodging, from whence he all of a sudden sallied upon them with the mopstick, which he employed in the annoyance of theed to draw in their own defence