To be plain, for the sake of those
unfamiliar with the sports of the village, the rider in a donkey race
may, and does, cudgel the mounts of his rivals.
Consider, therefore, how encouraging the prospect really is. The
individual actor may fail--in fact, he must. Where two people ride
together on horseback, the married have ever been warned, one must ride
behind. And when two people are speaking slowly one must needs be the
slowest. Comparative success implies the comparative failure. But where
this actor or that actress fails, the great cause of slowness profits,
obviously. The record is advanced. Pshaw! the word "advanced" comes
unadvised to the pen. It is difficult to remember in what a fatuous
theatrical Royal Presence one is doing this criticism, and how one's
words should go backwards, without exception, in homage to this symbol of
a throne.
It is not long since there took place upon the principal stage in London
the most important event in donkey-racing ever known until that first
night. A tragedian and a secondary actor of renown had a duet together.
It was in "The Dead Heart.
Pages:
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62