But Mr.Colman would not allow a lover to describe his mistress as "an angel." He avowed that "an angel was a character in Scripture, and not to be profaned on the stage by being applied to a woman!" The exclamation, "Oh, Providence!" was not permitted.

The words "heaven" and "hell" he uniformly expunged.

"Oh, lud!" and "Oh, la!" were condemned for irreverence.

Oaths and all violent expletives were strictly prohibited.
Now it was rather an imprecatory age.

Men swore in those days, not meaning much harm, or particularly conscious of what they were doing, but as a matter of bad habit, in pursuance of a custom certainly odious enough, but which they had not originated, and could hardly be expected immediately to overcome.