Page:Angelo's Pic Nic.djvu/75

 CHARLES MACKLIN preference suspected. Iam about to relate one of his attempts to minister the "sweet poison of the age's tooth," to no less a man than David Garrick. But in order to do this with suitable effect, I must recall from the partial oblivion which near a century has thrown upon it, the fact, that the Shylock of Shakspeare, Charles Macklin, in the year 1754, established in the Piazza, Covent Garden, an Ordinary and School of Criticism under the same roof. In the former, he brought in the first dish himself, placed it upon the table, and, profoundly bowing to his guests, retreated to the side-board; then, by signs, he directed his dumb waiters, who never spoke but to answer a question from one of the guests. On the removal of the cloth, and the covering the table with the bottles and glasses, Macklin himself tied a bell-rope to the arm of the president's chair, and, again bowing profoundly to the company, quitted the room, leaving them to the enjoyment of their port or claret. The charge for each guest was three shillings. As soon as the dinner was served, the outer door was closed. Here the great actor was nothing more than the head servant, and as such, he appeared with the servile badge, a clean napkin, crossing his left a But, in whatever changes he may indulge, the actor's pride is in strict preservation of character. The quondain professor of silent obedience soon, in turn, imposed silence upon his guests; and in full dress became himself the orator of what was called the ritish Inquisition. Of the peripatetic school, Macklin now assumed to be the modern Aristotle, and to lecture upon the Drama, ancient and modern, though of either Greek or Latin he was entirely ignorant; and, as he read no language but his own, he was unable to acquire even the im- perfect acquaintance with antiquity that French translation 17