nquiry the house,
convulsed as it was with shouts of laughter, responded in such a way as
delighted the heart of Kean on one great occasion, when he said, "The
pit rose at me." The whole audience started up as if with one accord,
giving a yell of derision, whilst pocket-handkerchiefs waved from all
parts of the theatre.

The dying scene was irresistibly comic, and I question if Liston,
Munden, or Joey Knight, was ever greeted with such merriment; for Romeo
dragged the unfortunate Juliet from the tomb, much in the same manner
as a washerwoman thrusts into her cart the bag of foul linen. But how
shall I describe his death? Out came a dirty silk handkerchief from
his pocket, with which he carefully swept the ground; then his opera
hat was carefully placed for a pillow, and down he laid himself. After
various tossings about he seemed reconciled to the position; but the
house vociferously bawled out, "Die again, Romeo!" and, obedient to
the command, he rose up, and went through the ceremony again. Scarcely
had he lain quietly down, when the call was again heard, and the
well-pleased amateur was evidently prepared to enact a third death; but
Juliet now rose up from her tomb, and gracefully put an end to this
ludicrous scene by advancing to the front of the stage and aptly
applying a quotation from Shakspeare:--

"Dying is such sweet sorrow,
That he will die again until to-morrow."

Thus ended an extravaganza such as has seldom been witnessed; for
although Coates repeated the play at the Haymarket, amidst shouts of
laughter from the playgoers, there never was so ludicrous a performance
as that which took place at Bath on the first night of his appearance.
Eventually he was driven from the stage with much contumely, in
consequence of its having been discovered that, under pretence of
acting for a charitable purpose, he had obtained a sum of money for his
performances. His love of notoriety led him to have a most singular
shell-shaped carriage built, in which, drawn by two fine white horses,
he was wont to parade in the park; the harness, and every available
part of the vehicle (which was really handsome) were blazoned over with
his heraldic device--a cock crowing, and his appearance was heralded by
the gamins of London shrieking out "cock-a-doodle-doo." Coates
eventually quitted London and settled at Boulogne, where a fair lady
was induced to become the partner of his existence, notwithstanding the
ridicule of the w