Note 31 — A VIEW OF THE ENGLISH STAGE OR A SERIES OF DRAMATIC CRITICISMS

An old gentleman, riding over Putney-bridge, turned round to his servant, and said, ‘Do you like eggs, John?’ ‘Yes, sir.’ Here the conversation ended. The same gentleman riding over the same bridge that day year, again turned round, and said, ‘How?’ ‘Poached, sir,’ was the answer.—This is the longest pause upon record, and has something of a dramatic effect, though it could not be transferred to the stage. Perhaps an actor might go so far, on the principle of indefinite pauses, as to begin a sentence in one act, and finish it in the next.