_lines_, or as Quin insisted upon their being called, the _cordage_ of his
face relaxed. He raised, turned, and settled his wig, in sign of
satisfaction; then with a complacent smile gave me a little nod, and
suffered Lord Mowbray to draw him out by degrees into a repetition of the
history of his first attempt to play the character of Shylock. A play
altered from Shakespeare's, and called "The Jew of Venice," had been for
some time in vogue. In this play, the Jew had been represented, by the
actors of the part, as a ludicrous and contemptible, rather than a
detestable character; and when Macklin, recurring to Shakespeare's original
Shylock, proposed, in the revived Merchant of Venice, to play the part in a
serious style, he was scoffed at by the whole company of his brother
actors, and it was with the utmost difficulty he could screw the manager's
courage to the sticking-place, and prevail upon him to hazard the attempt.
Take the account in Macklin's own words. [Footnote: Vide Macklin's Life.]

"When the long expected night at last arrived, the house was crowded from
top to bottom, with the first company in town. The two front rows of the
pit, as usual, were full of critics. I eyed them," said Macklin, "I eyed
them, sir, through the slit in the curtain, and was glad to see them there;
as I wished, in such a cause, to be tried by a _special jury_. When I made
my appearance in the green-room, dressed for the part, with my red hat on
my head, my piqued beard, my loose black gown, and with a confidence which
I had never before assumed, the performers all stared at one another, and
evidently with a stare of disappointment. Well, sir, hitherto all was
right, till the last bell rung; then, I confess, my heart began to beat a
little: however, I mustered up all the courage I could, and recommending my
cause to Providence, threw myself boldly on the stage, and was received by
one of the loudest thunders of applause I ever before experienced. The
opening scenes being rather tame and level, I could not expect much
applause; but I found myself listened to: I could hear distinctly in the