gleness of purpose. He thought of
no one but himself; he saw nothing beyond the one and immediate object at
which he grasped; and yet these faults were caused rather by natural
weakness of intellect than by an unkind or selfish disposition. In fact,
Incledon lived and died a petted servant of the public; which
administered intoxicating draughts of applause to his self-esteem.

Mr. G. Rodwell, already mentioned as having been an inhabitant of No. 14
Brompton Row, resided at No. 15 Brompton Crescent, in 1830.

No. 20 Brompton Crescent was, between the years 1822 and 1844, occupied
by Mr. Planche, well known as, perhaps, the most prolific and skilful
dramatic writer of the day, and as a gentleman of high literary and
antiquarian attainments. His connexion with the last musical efforts of
the German composer Weber, in his opera of 'Oberon,' which was produced
at Covent Garden on the 12th of May, 1826, {65} cannot be forgotten; and
to Planche's knowledge of costume and taste for pictorial effects the
English stage is deeply indebted. In the drawing-room of this house have
some of our most agreeable acting dramas been composed, and nothing could
have been, in its style and appointments, more typical of Planche's
dialogue than was the apartment--smart and neat, fit for all occasions,
and suited in a moment to the present purpose, whatever that might be.
It was polished and elegant; but there was nothing superfluous, beyond a
bit of exquisite china on the mantel-piece, or a picture, excellent in
its way, on the wall; something which pleased the eye, and which the mind
received and relished like a nicely-pointed joke. A well-painted
portrait of Planche himself, by Briggs, the Royal Academician, which has
been engraved, hung opposite to the fireplace; and, as if to carry out
the similitude between Planche's writings and the place where they were
written, folding-doors revealed a back drawing-room, which, like his
memory, was richly stored with the works of heralds and antiquaries, and
of our elder dramatists and poets, so judiciously arranged, that in a
moment he was certain of producing the precise passage or the effect
which he desired. At the same time so completely was this little battery
of knowledge masked under quaint bindings and tasteful covers, that no
one suspected what a mine of learning lay beneath; nor, like his own
mental resources, was a volume displayed without cause, or unclasped
without its effect.

Spe