dramatic nursling; the far-extended cambric of white frill imposed upon
the students, while the unseemly rents in his coat at once compensated
to the wits for what there might be of gaudy or gay in his outward man.
We were received with equal courtesy and ceremony by the president; and
were just seated, when a ballet-dancer of Drury-lane entered. As he was
a Frenchman, it became a question of _national_ politeness: and Dicky
_chestered_ him to his dexter! and, as was befitting, condescended to
address him. "I am proud, sir," said Suett, with the formality of _Black
Rod_ himself, "to do the honours of my _country_ to the _representative_
of a nation which held my _master_ Garrick in peculiar respect. He was a
great actor, sir; a wonderful man! Your Lekain, or any other _Cain_,
could not come up to him, for he was _Able_, Pardon the pun. Oh,
la!--but he was vain, sir; vain as a peacock; it could not be of his
person. Had he been, as Richard has it, _'a marvellous proper man'_ like
myself, one might have said something. He used to say, I was too _lean_
for _Suett_. Oh, dear. _A votre santé, Monsieur,_ happy to see you on
this side the Channel. Never been to France yet, although in the
_Straits_ great part of my life, and not unfrequently _half seas
over_.--Well, sir, to return to Garrick. There was that man 'frae the
north,' who wrote the History of England and Roderick Random,--the
latter a true story, they say;--he who challenged Campbell the
barrister, for calling him _names_, _To bias_ the cause. Well, sir, Davy
refused one of his farces; but the wily Caledonian _pocketed_ the
affront, in coolly observing, 'that he had nearly completed another
volume of his history, and hoped he might be permitted to name _the
British Roscius_, the pride of his country, and all that sort of thing.'
It was a palpable hit, sir--the thing was settled--the _manager
managed_; and _Smelfungus_ retired, _without_ his manuscript, half sorry
he had not added _another_ scene to his farce. Well, sir, the story got
wind, and some days after Davy dined with a lawyer who had interested