hrases; we
journalists cannot "throw stones" at them--a figure the almost
unintentional use of which illustrates the difficulty. It is a very hard
task to invent new phrases for your characters that will seem congruous,
and there is always the peril of appearing affected in style. Yet
success is possible, as may be seen in the works of a few, such as
Pinero; even he shows a tendency, noteworthy in _Letty_ and, to a less
degree, in _His House in Order_, towards causing some characters to talk
"bookily," which, after all, is better than making them speak
journalistically. Still, in dealing with this point the dramatist must
remember that many people in real life use habitually a large number of
ready-made phrases, even when they are in a serious mood.

The Professions of the Dramatis Personae

If the historian of the future, in the endeavour to get a clear idea of
the social life of our times, turns to the contemporary drama in search
for information, he will find very little matter of value. Yet the mere
fact of the success of some of the plays will give him an idea of the
taste, or lack of taste, of the public, and the failure of others will
speak eloquently, but sadly, to him about the audiences of to-day.

The first phenomenon to impress him must be the fact that in a large
proportion of the dramas professing to deal with current social life the
chief persons are the drones of society and the rich people of leisure
or labour, most of them with handles or tails to their names. Half of
our comedies are supposed to pass among the "nobs," and the middle-class
characters are merely introduced as a necessary part of the machinery.
It has been said that the British people dearly loves a lord, and a
belief in this may be one reason why the upper ten thousand furnish so
many of the heroes and heroines.

A further fact is that certain managers are alleged to think that their
theatres gain in dignity by presenting Mayfair plays, and perhaps there
are players who take a great joy in appearing as Lord this, or Lady
that, or the Honourable somebody. Indeed, there was a case where an
actor-manager usurped a king's prerogative and transferred the chief
characters in a play by a young dramatist to the celestial regions of
Burke, notwithstanding the protest of the author, who admitted his
absolute ignorance of the manners, ways of thought, and style in
conversation of the inhabitants of Belgravia: no changes were made
except in t