SMOKING IN THE THEATRE.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3304, 24 July 1879, Page 2

SMOKING IN THE THEATRE.

j (To the Editor of the Erening Star.) Sib,—Of the many phasei of «ffiiht**s which display themselves in this com* munity, there is not, I am sure, one whioh would more forcibly 1 impress' i£ •froßgfer than that disgraceful and abominable habit which prevails of smoking in theatres and, otfaer^ia'ces'otf jmblib amutemeritj /Jlfen * surprised that this custom, which is -

j found in no other respectable theatre in any parfc < of' > the ifiririsU IBMtfre should have been so long tolerated here. Complaints -have time after time been made, but apparently-'Wthoriirwflfcit. ! Were I not unfortunately so a often witness to the contrary, it would seem to me | incredible that men could be found so ab« i solutely devoid of consideration for the feeliinpf ofpthers papt,pjPfm^n|Onlir t butofaensi« jtive women and cuildren—as to indulge (in a habit which causes, not only annoy« jance, but often actual pain to those who doj not,, or who cannot,ffollow..theirr r |de^abje!eiample. 'before- W dur* 1 itaiu rises, and at every interval iduring theperform'ahcftibtiiimerftble pipes ! pour out volume-] of poisonous fumes, ■contaminating the air and', filling every !corner of the building with their unsavory ; odour. To a spectator from the gallery ■** ic|pud rises like the smoke-that ascended. ;f?pmthe burning of Sodom and' Goniprrm I-r-oniy. r it,smells w.d'rge-raifd''SfßKs'uke^ Ifog between tlio stage aM. "the audienS The interior of the house looks more Tike a smugglers care than the resort of refined and intelligent people; winteroHe'% clothes ' steeped in an atmosphere satuJ rated with the fumes of tobaecQ>rettuftif6fc& the next twenty-four hours a BifieiP/tlfiftP would tuin iho.stomach of a graven image,This smoking is practised by all sorts.s^nd conditions of men who, from iriclinatidtforV necessity, frequent the pit~frptti f thf hoary headed offender," wlibse' acquafniance with the seductive weed was formal half a century a^o, to the juvenile mis. creant'of gregarious tendency; w-ino^iritbi unkempt hair ; soiled coat, and'difttirdated t inespressiblesVhightly-HauntjrtHeftea^o and outrages decency by his rude behaviour and disgußting obscenity. I would

B'jfK; tl\ese men—if tbey find it indispenBibly necessary for their happiness to so frequently have recourU to tho pipe—to indulge their proclivities outside. They cannot, surely, be in such need of a smoke as to feel an abstinence during the few minutes before the performance begins a "privation, and there is always at least one interval iv the evening's entertainment during which they could gratify their longing for the cherished weed under the sky without annoyance to anyone. They are not as a rule unkind or ungenerous in other things; let them exercise a small a.mpjint of self-denial in this. matter, reineinbering that those who pay for admittance to the house do not expect to pass their time in discomfort and ennoyance, and have a right to expect that their evening's entertainment shall not be marred by the selfish indulgence of those - ji;ho, Qgcupy the least expensive portion in vie house.—l am, &c, VICTIM.