bagatelle!' is again the burden of their song. His excuse for remissness
in correspondence was, "I am a young man and in Paris."

By way of the Netherlands he reached London in October, and remained in
England till January. The attraction in London seems to have been the
theater, where he saw John Kemble, Cooke, and Mrs. Siddons. Kemble's
acting seemed to him too studied and over-labored; he had the
disadvantage of a voice lacking rich bass tones. Whatever he did was
judiciously conceived and perfectly executed; it satisfied the head, but
rarely touched the heart. Only in the part of Zanga was the young critic
completely overpowered by his acting,--Kemble seemed to have forgotten
himself. Cooke, who had less range than Kemble, completely satisfied
Irving as Iago. Of Mrs. Siddons, who was then old, he scarcely dares to
give his impressions lest he should be thought extravagant. "Her looks,"
he says, "her voice; her gestures, delighted me. She penetrated in a
moment to my heart. She froze and melted it by turns; a glance of her
eye, a start, an exclamation, thrilled through my whole frame. The more
I see her, the more I admire her. I hardly breathe while she is on the
stage. She works up my feelings till I am like a mere child." Some
years later, after the publication of the "Sketch-Book," in a London
assembly Irving was presented to the tragedy queen, who had left the
stage, but had not laid aside its stately manner. She looked at him a
moment, and then in a deep-toned voice slowly enunciated, "You've made me
weep." The author was so disconcerted that he said not a word, and
retreated in confusion. After the publication of "Bracebridge Hall" he
met her in company again, and was persuaded to go through the ordeal of
another presentation. The stately woman fixed her eyes on him as before,
and slowly said, "You 've made me weep again." This time the bashful
author acquitted himself with more honor.