villainy, and I shall be nabbed in the end. I always am. But it is

no matter, I will be a villain--ha! ha!"



On the whole, the stage villain appears to us to be a rather badly

used individual. He never has any "estates" or property himself, and



his only chance of getting on in the world is to sneak the hero's. He

has an affectionate disposition, and never having any wife of his own



he is compelled to love other people's; but his affection is ever

unrequited, and everything comes wrong for him in the end.



Our advice to stage villains generally, after careful observation of

(stage) life and (stage) human nature, is as follows:



Never be a stage villain at all if you can help it. The life is too

harassing and the remuneration altogether disproportionate to the



risks and labor.

If you have run away with the clergyman's daughter and she still



clings to you, do not throw her down in the center of the stage and

call her names. It only irritates her, and she takes a dislike to you



and goes and warns the other girl.

Don't have too many accomplices; and if you have got them, don't keep



sneering at them and bullying them. A word from them can hang you,

and yet you do all you can to rile them. Treat them civilly and let



them have their fair share of the swag.

Beware of the comic man. When you are committing a murder or robbing



a safe you never look to see where the comic man is. You are so

careless in that way. On the whole, it might be as well if you



murdered the comic man early in the play.

Don't make love to the hero's wife. She doesn't like you; how can you



expect her to? Besides, it isn't proper. Why don't you get a girl of

your own?



Lastly, don't go down to the scenes of your crimes in the last act.

You always will do this. We suppose it is some extra cheap excursion



down there that attracts you. But take our advice and don't go. That

is always where you get nabbed. The police know your habits from



experience. They do not trouble to look for you. They go down in the

last act to the old hall or the ruined mill where you did the deed and



wait for you.

In nine cases out of ten you would get off scot-free but for this



idiotic custom of yours. Do keep away from the place. Go abroad or

to the sea-side when the last act begins and stop there till it is



over. You will be safe then.

THE HEROINE.



She is always in trouble--and don't she let you know it, too! Her

life is undeniably a hard one. Nothing goes right with her. We all



have our troubles, but the stage heroine never has anything else. If

she only got one afternoon a week off from trouble or had her Sundays



free it would be something.

But no; misfortune stalks beside her from week's beginning to week's



end.

After her husband has been found guilty of murder, which is about the



least thing that can ever happen to him, and her white-haired father

has become a bankrupt and has died of a broken heart, and the home of



her childhood has been sold up, then her infant goes and contracts a

lingering fever.



She weeps a good deal during the course of her troubles, which we

suppose is only natural enough, poor woman. But it is depressing from



the point of view of the audience, and we almost wish before the

evening is out that she had not got quite so much trouble.



It is over the child that she does most of her weeping. The child has

a damp time of it altogether. We sometimes wonder that it never



catches rheumatism.

She is very good, is the stage heroine. The comic man expresses a



belief that she is a born angel. She reproves him for this with a

tearful smile (it wouldn't be her smile if it wasn't tearful).



"Oh, no," she says (sadly of course); "I have many, many faults."

We rather wish that she would show them a little more. Her excessive



goodness seems somehow to pall upon us. Our only consolation while

watching her is that there are not many good women off the stage.



Life is bad enough as it is; if there were many women in real life as

good as the stage heroine, it would be unbearable.



The stage heroine's only pleasure in life is to go out in a snow-storm

without an umbrella and with no bonnet on. She has a bonnet, we know



(rather a tasteful little thing); we have seen it hanging up behind

the door of her room; but when she comes out for a night stroll during



a heavy snow-storm (accompanied by thunder), she is most careful to

leave it at home. Maybe she fears the snow will spoil it, and she is



a careful girl.

• capable [´keipəbəl] a.有能力；能干的 (初中英语单词)


• collar [´kɔlə] n.衣领；(狗等的)项圈 (初中英语单词)


• instance [´instəns] n.例子，实例，例证 (初中英语单词)


• brilliant [´briliənt] a.灿烂的；杰出的 (初中英语单词)


• career [kə´riə] n.经历；生涯；职业 (初中英语单词)


• prosperous [´prɔspərəs] a.繁荣的；顺利的 (初中英语单词)


• affection [ə´fekʃən] n.友爱；慈爱 (初中英语单词)


• dislike [dis´laik] vt.&n.不喜爱，厌恶 (初中英语单词)


• commit [kə´mit] vt.犯(罪)；把…判处 (初中英语单词)


• unfortunate [ʌn´fɔ:tʃunit] a.不幸的，运气差的 (初中英语单词)


• evident [´evidənt] a.明显的，明白的 (初中英语单词)


• criminal [´kriminəl] a.犯罪的 n.罪犯 (初中英语单词)


• devotion [di´vəuʃən] n.献身；忠诚；热爱 (初中英语单词)


• female [´fi:meil] a.女(性)的 n.女人 (初中英语单词)


• selfish [´selfiʃ] a.自私的，利己的 (初中英语单词)


• advantage [əd´vɑ:ntidʒ] n.优势；利益 (初中英语单词)


• reward [ri´wɔ:d] n.&v.报答；报酬；奖赏 (初中英语单词)


• wealth [welθ] n.财富，财产 (初中英语单词)


• conscience [´kɔnʃəns] n.良心；道德心 (初中英语单词)


• beginning [bi´giniŋ] n.开始，开端；起源 (初中英语单词)


• whatever [wɔt´evə] pron.&a.无论什么 (初中英语单词)


• infant [´infənt] n.&a.婴(幼)儿 (初中英语单词)


• disposition [,dispə´ziʃən] n.安排；性情；倾向 (初中英语单词)


• observation [,ɔbzə´veiʃən] n.观测；注意；意义 (初中英语单词)


• altogether [,ɔ:ltə´geðə] ad.完全；总而言之 (初中英语单词)


• abroad [ə´brɔ:d] ad.海外；到处；广泛 (初中英语单词)


• guilty [´gilti] a.有罪的；心虚的 (初中英语单词)


• childhood [´tʃaildhud] n.幼年(时代)；早期 (初中英语单词)


• audience [´ɔ:diəns] n.听众；观众；接见 (初中英语单词)


• concerned [kən´sə:nd] a.有关的；担心的 (高中英语单词)


• blunder [´blʌndə] n.&v.(犯)大错；疏忽 (高中英语单词)


• awkward [´ɔ:kwəd] a.笨拙的；为难的 (高中英语单词)


• retort [ri´tɔ:t] n.&v.报复；反击；反驳 (高中英语单词)


• temperament [´tempərəmənt] n.气质；性格 (高中英语单词)


• attraction [ə´trækʃən] n.吸引(力)；引力 (高中英语单词)


• positively [´pɔzətivli] ad.确实；断然；绝对 (高中英语单词)


• dismal [´dizməl] a.灰暗的；阴郁的 (高中英语单词)


• cheerfully [´tʃiəfuli] ad.高兴地，愉快地 (高中英语单词)


• soothe [su:ð] vt.安慰；镇定；减轻 (高中英语单词)


• hideous [´hidiəs] a.丑陋的，可怕的 (高中英语单词)


• prompt [prɔmpt] a.敏捷的 vt.促使 (高中英语单词)


• indies [´indiz] n.东(西)印度群岛 (高中英语单词)


• violently [´vaiələntli] ad.强暴地；猛烈地 (高中英语单词)


• affectionate [ə´fekʃənit] a.亲爱的 (高中英语单词)


• misfortune [mis´fɔ:tʃən] n.不幸；灾祸 (高中英语单词)


• umbrella [ʌm´brelə] n.伞 (高中英语单词)


• bonnet [´bɔnit] n.无边女帽；童帽 (高中英语单词)


• hanging [´hæŋiŋ] n.绞刑 a.悬挂着的 (高中英语单词)


• stroll [strəul] n.&v.漫步；散步；游荡 (高中英语单词)


• villain [´vilən] n.坏人；恶棍；反面角色 (英语四级单词)


• intensely [in´tensli] ad.激烈地；热切地 (英语四级单词)


• blessed [´blesid] a.享福的；神圣的 (英语四级单词)


• hopeful [´həupfəl] a.有希望的，激励人的 (英语四级单词)


• providence [´prɔvidəns] n.天意，天命，上帝 (英语四级单词)


• heroine [´herəuin] n.女英雄；女主人公 (英语四级单词)


• sublime [sə´blaim] a.崇高的，伟大的 (英语四级单词)


• reptile [´reptail] n.爬虫 a.爬虫类的 (英语四级单词)


• tolerate [´tɔləreit] vt.忍受；宽容 (英语四级单词)


• sordid [´sɔ:did] a.(指环境等)肮脏的 (英语四级单词)


• inconvenience [,inkən´vi:niəns] n.不方便；打扰 (英语四级单词)


• bankrupt [´bæŋkrʌpt] n.破产者 a.破产了的 (英语四级单词)


• consolation [,kɔnsə´leiʃən] n.安慰，慰问 (英语四级单词)


• cackle [´kækəl] vi.咯咯叫 n.咯咯叫声 (英语六级单词)


• trusting [´trʌstiŋ] a.信任的；相信的 (英语六级单词)


• forsaken [fə´seik] forsake的过去分词 (英语六级单词)


• laborious [lə´bɔ:riəs] a.吃力的 (英语六级单词)


• scoundrel [´skaundrəl] n.&a.无赖(的) (英语六级单词)


• good-looking [] a.漂亮的，美貌的 (英语六级单词)


• blameless [´bleimlis] a.无可责难的 (英语六级单词)


• weeping [´wi:piŋ] a.&n.哭泣(的) (英语六级单词)