_Lord John_. A cynic is a man who, etc....

Rotten. Now try again.

_Lord John_. A cynic is a man who, etc.... _[Lights cigarette.]_

No, even that is not good. Once more:---

_Lord John (lighting cigarette)_. A cynic is a man who, etc.

Better, but leaves too much to the actor.

Well, I see I must tell you.

_Lord John (taking out gold cigarette case from his left-hand upper
waistcoat pocket)_. A cynic, my dear Arthur (_he opens case
deliberately, puts cigarette in mouth, and extracts gold match-box
from right-hand trouser_) is a man who (_strikes match_) knows the
price of (_lights cigarette_)--everything, and (_standing with match in
one hand and cigarette in the other_) the value of---pff (_blows out
match_) of (_inhales deeply from cigarette and blows out a cloud of
smoke_)--nothing.

It makes a different thing of it altogether. Of course on the actual
night the match may refuse to strike, and Lord John may have to go on
saying "a man who--a man who--a man who" until the ignition occurs, but
even so it will still seem delightfully natural to the audience (as if he
were making up the epigram as he went along); while as for blowing the
match out, he can hardly fail to do _that_ in one.