an agreeable evening,--and hold, therefore, in just abhorrence the
circulating plate which sometimes follows a public oration, homily, or
other eloquent appeal to British liberality; yet, I will venture to say,
there was not a creature whom the Comedian had surprised into impulsive
beneficence who regretted his action, grudged its cost, or thought he had
paid too dear for his entertainment. All had gone through a series of
such pleasurable emotions that all had, as it were, wished a vent for
their gratitude; and when the vent was found, it became an additional
pleasure. But, strange to say, no one could satisfactorily explain to
himself these two questions,--for what, and to whom had he given his
money? It was not a general conjecture that the exhibitor wanted the
money for his own uses. No; despite the evidence in favour of that idea,
a person so respectable, so dignified, addressing them, too, with that
noble assurance to which a man who begs for himself is not morally
entitled,--a person thus characterized must be some high-hearted
philanthropist who condescended to display his powers at an Institute
purely intellectual, perhaps on behalf of an eminent but decayed author,
whose name, from the respect due to letters, was delicately concealed.
Mr. Williams, considered the hardest head and most practical man in the
town, originated and maintained that hypothesis. Probably the stranger
was an author himself, a great and affluent author. Had not great and
affluent authors--men who are the boast of our time and land--acted, yea,
on a common stage, and acted inimitably too, on behalf of some lettered
brother or literary object? Therefore in these guileless minds, with all
the pecuniary advantages of extreme penury and forlorn position, the
Comedian obtained the respect due to prosperous circumstances and high
renown. But there was one universal wish expressed by all who had been
present, as they took their way homeward; and that wish was to renew the
pleasure they had experienced, even if they paid the same price for it.
Could not the long-closed theatre be re-opened, and the great man be