"missis," which he had volunteered to lend, the roar of
uncontrollable merriment which this new embellishment of our disguised
friend called forth, made the audience clamorous for the rising of the
curtain--thinking, very excusably, that it was quite unjustifiable to
keep all the fun to ourselves.

After some little trial of our "public's" patience, the play began in
good earnest, and was most favourably received. Indeed, as the only
price of admission exacted was a promise of civil behaviour, and there
were two servants busily employed in handing about punch and "bishop,"
it would have been rather hard if we did not succeed in propitiating
their good-humour. With the exception of two gentlemen who had been
dining out, and were rather noisy in consequence, and evinced a strong
inclination occasionally to take a part in the dialogue, all behaved
wonderfully well, greeting each performer, as he made his first
entrance, with a due amount of cheering; rapturously applauding all the
best scenes; laughing, (whether at the raciness of the acting or the
grotesque metamorphoses of the actors, made no great difference,) and
filling up any gap which occurred in the proceedings on the stage, in
spite of the prompter, with vociferous encouragement to the "sticket"
actor. With an audience so disposed, each successive scene went off
better and better. One deserves to be particularized. It was the second
in the first act of the comedy; the stage directions for it are as
follow:--"Scene--An ale-house room.--Several shabby fellows with punch
and tobacco; Tony at the head of the table, &c., discovered." Never
perhaps, in any previous representation, was the _mise en scene_ so
perfect. It drew three rounds of applause. A very equivocal compliment
to ourselves it may be; but such jolly-looking "shabby fellows" as sat
round the table at which our Tony presided, were never furnished by the
supernumeraries of Drury or Covent-garden. They were as classical, in
their way, as Macready's Roman mob. Then there was no make-believe
puffing of empty pipes, and fictitious drinking of small-beer for punch;
every nose among the audience could appreciate the genuineness of both
liquor and tobacco; and the hearty encore which the song, with its
stentorian chorus, was honoured with, gave all the parties engaged time
to enjoy their punch and their pipes to their satisfaction. It was quite
a pity, as was unanimously agreed, when the entrance of Marlow and
Ha