Henry Esmond; The English Humourists; The Four Georges

Book I. The Early Youth Of Henry Esmond, Up To The Time Of His Leaving

Trinity College, In Cambridge

The actors in the old tragedies, as we read, piped their iambics to a tune, speaking from under a mask, and wearing stilts and a great head-dress. ’Twas thought the dignity of the Tragic Muse required these appurtenances, and that she was not to move except to a measure and cad...