The style in which she expressed
'Hoyden's' rustic arithmetic, 'Now, 'Nursey', if he gives me 'six
hundred pounds' a-year to buy 'pins', what will he give me to buy
petticoats?' was uncommonly fine. The frock waving in her hand, the
backward bound of two or three steps, the gravity of countenance,
induced by a mental glance at the magnitude of the sum, all spoke
expectation, delight, and astonishment."]
[Footnote 4: 'Macbeth', act v. sc. 5.]
[Footnote 5: 'Richard III', act i. sc. 2, line 259.]
[Footnote 6: 'Ibid.', line 253.]
* * * * *
Tuesday, March 15.
Dined yesterday with Rogers, Mackintosh, and Sharpe. Sheridan could not
come. Sharpe told several very amusing anecdotes of Henderson, the
actor. [1] Stayed till late, and came home, having drunk so much _tea_,
that I did not get to sleep till six this morning. R. says I am to be in
_this Quarterly_--cut up, I presume, as they "hate us youth." [2]
_N'importe_. As Sharpe was passing by the doors of some debating society
(the Westminster Forum), in his way to dinner, he saw rubricked on the
wall _Scott's_ name and _mine_--"Which the best poet?" being the
question of the evening; and I suppose all the Templars and _would-bes_
took our rhymes in vain in the course of the controversy. Which had the
greater show of hands, I neither know nor care; but I feel the coupling
of the names as a compliment--though I think Scott deserves better
company.
Pages:
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538
539
540
541
542
543
544
545
546
547