bag, he might have seen 'Mrs. Haller,' 'Passion and Genius,' 'Lines to
Miss Fotheringay, of the Theatre Royal,' appearing every week; and other
verses of the most gloomy, thrilling, and passionate cast. But as these
poems were no longer signed NEP by their artful composer, but subscribed
EROS, neither the tutor nor Helen, the good soul, who cut all her son's
verses out of the paper, knew that Nep was no other than that flaming
Eros, who sang so vehemently the character of the new actress.

"Who is the lady," at last asked Mrs. Pendennis, "whom your rival is
always singing in the County Chronicle? He writes something like you,
dear Pen, but yours is much the best. Have you seen Miss Fotheringay?"

Pen said yes, he had; that night he went to see the "Stranger," she acted
Mrs. Haller. By the way, she was going to have a benefit, and was to
appear in Ophelia--suppose we were to go--Shakspeare, you know, mother--
we can get horses from the Clavering Arms. Little Laura sprang up with
delight, she longed for a play.

Pen introduced "Shakspeare, you know," because the deceased Pendennis, as
became a man of his character, professed an uncommon respect for the bard
of Avon, in whose works he safely said there was more poetry than in all
'Johnson's Poets' put together. And though Mr. Pendennis did not much
read the works in question, yet he enjoined Pen to peruse them, and often
said what pleasure he should have, when the boy was of a proper age, in
taking him and mother to see some good plays of the immortal poet.

The ready tears welled up in the kind mother's eyes as she remembered
these speeches of the man who was gone. She kissed her son fondly, and
said she would go. Laura jumped for joy. Was Pen happy?--was he ashamed?
As he held his mother to him, he longed to tell her all, but he kept his