abulary; for
patience in enduring which his Lordship was greatly indebted to his
preparatory fit of the gout. Meanwhile, the lordling exquisites only
fired off a few 'lady terms,' like minute guns and 'angel visits,' with
long intervals between, filling up the aforesaid intervals by sipping
Champagne and eating _bonbons_. The essence of what they said, amounted
to mutual wonder at the d------d run of luck last night, in King-street;
or mutual felicitation on the new faces which had appeared that day, for
the first time, among the old standing beauties who charm Bond-street,
at lounge hours, either in curricle or on foot. For my part, I was
attracted towards the discussion of the dramatic trio, not because I
affect, as the cant of the day is, to have a particular attrait towards
the _belles lettres_, but merely because the more plebeian disputants
were vociferous, (a thing not often observed among fashionables) and
_outre_ in their gesticulations, even to caricature. 'What do you think
of their arguments?' I inquired, _sotte voce_, of Colonel A. 'If we are
to be decided by their conjoint statements, no one is to blame for the
degradation of the stage.'

"'They are all in the right,' returned he, '(excuse the paradox,)
because they are all in the wrong. There is a rottenness in the whole
theatrical system, which, unless it terminate, like manure thrown at
the root of trees, in some new fructification of genius, will end by
rendering the national theatres national nuisances. With reference to
the interests of literature, they are a complete hoax. To please the
manager, the object which the writer must have in view, he must not
paint nature or portray character, but write up, as the cant phrase
is, to the particular forte of Mr. So and So, or Miss Such-a-one. The
consequence is, that the public get only one species of fare, and that
is pork, varied indeed, as broiled, baked, roasted, and boiled; but
still pork, nothing but pork.'

~~408~~~ "'But surely,' I rejoined, 'Mr. Sapphic and Mr. Highsole
are gentlemen of high acquirements, independently of their several
professions, or a nobleman of Lord F------'s taste and discrimination--'

"'There you are falling into an error,' returned the colonel,
interrupting me; 'it is the fashion to introduce actors at the tables of
our great men; but, in my opinion, it is a 'custom more honored in the
breach than the observance.' I have known several good actors on the
stage, very indif