raising the spirits of the
performers; and then Mr. Sempronius desired the prompter, in a very
audible voice, to 'clear the stage, and ring up.'

Ting, ting, ting! went the bell again. Everybody sat down; the curtain
shook; rose sufficiently high to display several pair of yellow boots
paddling about; and there remained.

Ting, ting, ting! went the bell again. The curtain was violently
convulsed, but rose no higher; the audience tittered; Mrs. Porter looked
at Uncle Tom; Uncle Tom looked at everybody, rubbing his hands, and
laughing with perfect rapture. After as much ringing with the little
bell as a muffin-boy would make in going down a tolerably long street,
and a vast deal of whispering, hammering, and calling for nails and cord,
the curtain at length rose, and discovered Mr. Sempronius Gattleton
_solus_, and decked for _Othello_. After three distinct rounds of
applause, during which Mr. Sempronius applied his right hand to his left
breast, and bowed in the most approved manner, the manager advanced and
said:

'Ladies and Gentlemen--I assure you it is with sincere regret, that I
regret to be compelled to inform you, that _Iago_ who was to have played
Mr. Wilson--I beg your pardon, Ladies and Gentlemen, but I am naturally
somewhat agitated (applause)--I mean, Mr. Wilson, who was to have played
_Iago_, is--that is, has been--or, in other words, Ladies and Gentlemen,
the fact is, that I have just received a note, in which I am informed
that _Iago_ is unavoidably detained at the Post-office this evening.
Under these circumstances, I trust--a--a--amateur performance--a--another
gentleman undertaken to read the part--request indulgence for a short
time--courtesy and kindness of a British audience.' Overwhelming
applause. Exit Mr. Sempronius Gattleton, and curtain falls.

The audience were, of course, exceedingly good-humoured; the whole
business was a joke; and accordingly they waited for an hour with the
utmost patience, being enlivened by an interlude of rout-cakes and
lemonade. It appeared by Mr. Sempronius's subsequent explanation, that
the delay would not have been so great, had it not so happened that when
the substitute _Iago_ had finished dressing, and just as the play was on
the point of commencing, the original _Iago_ unexpectedly arrived. The
former was therefore compelled to undress, and the latter to dress for
his part; which, as he found some difficulty in getting into his clothes,
occupied no in