A Heavy Play

: The Drama--actors, Etc.

When Sir Charles Sedley's comedy of "Bellamira" was
performed, the roof of the theatre fell down, by which, however, few people

were hurt except the author. This occasioned Sir Fleetwood Shepherd to say,

"There was so much fire in his play, that it blew up the poet, house and

all." "No," replied the good-natured author, "the play was so heavy, that

it broke down the house, and buried the poor poet in his own rubbish."





Monsieur de la Motte, soon after the representation of his "Ines de

Castro," which was very successful, although much censured by the press,

was sitting one day in a coffee-house, when he heard several of the critics

abusing his play. Finding that he was unknown to them, he joined heartily

in abusing it himself. At length, after a great many sarcastic remarks, one

of them, yawning, said, "Well, what shall we do with ourselves this

evening?" "Why, suppose," said de la Motte, "we go to the _seventy-second_

representation of this bad play."