Critics And Managers

Mr. Charles Wyndham has explained that nis contempt for the presa is not, like Mr. Penley'a, absolute, bnt refera only to Cbristmastide oriticisma. He holds, in short, that the critics are "but mad nor'-nor'west. When the -wind is southerly, they know a bawk írom a herooshaw. " The truth is that some actor managera are snperstitious in their reverence for the presa so long aa it prophecies smooth thinga for them. A critio the other day got into correEpondence with a manager -who thought he had slighted one of hia productions. By way of conclusivo testimony to its merits the manager sent him a paragraph emanating from an obscure presa agency, to the effect that "if there ia one thing in the world the lessee of this theater understands it is the histrionic tastesof theEuglish people. " This ■was of course most gratifying, but the beauty of it was that the writer of the paragraph evidently had not and did not profesa to have seen the play, and bad sent the paragraph to the manager ■with a (Iemand for a coupleof seats "so as to give further particular in our next." Such is the flattering unction Thich some managers lay to their gbuls.