periwig that Cibber is highly flattered, and the two are soon
laughing themselves into the best of terms. Nay, they spend the night
roistering over a bottle or two of wine, and dear, vain Colley, like
many who come after him, falls into the belief that he is a bold,
fast man. With an air of conscious rakishness that is charmingly
ridiculous, he writes: "If it were possible the relation of the happy
indiscretions which passed between us that night could give the tenth
part of the pleasure I then received from them, I could still repeat
them with delight."

Instead of pausing, however, to relate those happy indiscretions,
Cibber prattles on in his colloquial way, telling us that through the
goodly offices of Sir Thomas Skipwith, Brett was introduced to the
divorced wife of the Earl of Macclesfield, "a lady who had enough in
her power to disencumber him of the world and make him every way easy
for life."[A]

[Footnote A: One story of the day made this woman the mother of
Richard Savage.]

"While he was in pursuit of this affair [coyly adds the Apologist]
which no time was to be lost in (for the Lady was to be in town for
but three weeks) I one day found him idling behind the scenes before
the play was begun. Upon sight of him I took the usual freedom he
allow'd me, to rate him roundly for the madness of not improving every
moment in his power in what was of such consequence to him. [Oh, fie,
thou worldly old Colley.] Why are you not (said I) where you know you
only should be? If your design should once get wind in the town, the
ill-will of your enemies or the sincerity of the Lady's friends may
soon blow up your hopes, which in your circumstances of life cannot be