ad. Saturday," " two column ad. tomorrow ," or " 150 lines next week .” 128
These are indeed the “ secrets of the critics ' prison
house.”
Dramatic criticism has been hampered not only by theater managers and by advertisers, but also by the social conditions surrounding critics. Leigh Hunt says that " it was the custom at that time (1805] for editors of papers to be intimate with
actors and dramatists. They were often proprietors, as well as editors , - and, in that case, it was not expected that they should escape the usual intercourse, or wish to do so . It was thought a
feather in the cap of all parties ; and with their feathers they tickled one another. The newspaper man had consequence in
a green- room , and plenty of tickets for his friends; and he dined
at amusing tables. The dramatist secured a good-natured critique in his journal, sometimes got it written himself, or according to Mr. Reynolds, was even himself the author of it. . . . What the public took for a criticism on a play was a draft upon the box -office , or reminiscences of last Thursday's salmon and lobster- sauce." 129
Catling relates that E . P . Hingston , a theater manager of about 1840 , during the intervals of a play, mingled freely with the audience, " and several of us enjoyed his hospitality. Suddenly a voice cried , 'Ah , Hingston , at your old game, trying to nobble
the Press !' 'Yes,' replied themanager ,‘and I've squared three of them for tenpence." ” “ It is absurd to suppose ,” he goes on to say , " that such an incident had any effect on what was written ,
but the free-and-easy method did much to lighten labour and make the evening pass pleasantly .” 130 But A . W . à Beckett writes with emphasis still later that “ the great difficulty with which a professional 'first nighter' 128 “ Corrupted Dramatic Critics," Dial, January 3 , 1918 , 64: 13 -15 . An important editorial in the Outlook condemned a prominent New York
daily for dismissing its eminent dramatic critic at the instigation of its theater advertisers. — “ The Newspaper and the Theater, " September 4 , 1909 , 93 :
12– 13 . — The Independent discussed the report that three prominent dramatic critics had been retired from three New York papers at the instigation of the theatrical syndicate. — “ The Dramatic Critic and the Trust ," September 30 ,
1909, 67 : 770–771. “ A Theatrical Press Agent's Confession and Apology " may be found in The Independent, July 27, 1909, 59: 191-196. 129 Autobiography, I, 181– 182. 130 My Life's Pilgrimage ,
