It is not, perhaps, so much this gentleman's fault as his misfortune that his acting is without either art or craft; but then he was not compelled to play Joseph Surface.

Indeed, we may go further, and say that if he is a man with friends he must have been dissuaded from it.

The Sir Peter Teazle of Mr.Ruskin reminded us of other Sir Peter Teazles--probably because Sir Peter is played nowadays with his courtliness omitted.
[Illustration] Mr.William Archer was the Crabtree, or rather Mr.Archer and the prompter between them.

Until we caught sight of the prompter we had credited Mr.Archer with being a ventriloquist given to casting his voice to the wings.

Mr.Clement Scott--their Benjamin Backbite--was a ventriloquist too, but not in such a large way as Mr.Archer.His voice, so far as we could make out from an occasional rumble, was in his boots, where his courage kept it company.