Miss MOORE charming, Mrs. BEERE bright and
sparkling; BOURCHIER quite up to "the Oxonian" mark of _Tom and
Jerry_; BLAKELEY delicious, and GIDDENS as good a _Dolly Spanker_ as
you'd wish to see. It's too good to be "taken off." Not that the piece
itself is a perfect gem, but the acting! _Tout est la._ Oddsfish,
your Majesty, CHARLES REX, Merry Monarch of the Cri, don't remove it
altogether, but let us have it just once or twice a week during the
season. CHARLES, "our friend," do! It's worth while, if but to see you
sitting carelessly at the end of the piece in that chair, R.H., as if
you didn't care for anything or anybody. Only--cut the tag and come to
the Curtain.
* * * * *
THE ETHICS OF MATCH-BOXES.
BY COUNT DOLLSTOI.
(_INTENDED FOR A CONTEMPORARY, BUT FOUND TO BE TOO SHORT._)
I.
What is the true explanation of the use which people make of
matches--of safety matches, wooden matches, wax matches, and, less
commonly, of fusees? Ask any man why he uses such things, and he will
tell you that he does it to get a light, or because others do it.
Is this true? You will probably think so. Let us examine the question.
Why does a man hold his hand in front of a match when he lights it in
the street? To screen it from the wind, or _to hide it from the sight
of passers-by?_ Why do ladies leave the dinner-table before the men
begin to smoke? To avoid the smell of tobacco--which is well known to
be aromatic, healthy, and delightful--or _because the natural modesty
of women shrinks from witnessing the striking of a match?_ Why, in a
railway-carriage, do you hold your fusee out of window when you light
it? Is it because you do not care about being half-choked--a paltry
plea--or is it to conceal from young persons who may be in the
carriage the sparkle which must inevitably remind them of wicked and
alluring eyes?
"_To get a light, or because others do it.
Pages:
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30