Any one," proceeds the
author of "Pendennis," "who has ever seen one of our great light
comedians X., in a chintz dressing-gown, such as nobody ever wore, and
representing himself as a young nobleman in his apartments, and
whiling away the time with light literature, until his friend Sir
Harry shall arrive, or his father shall come down to breakfast--anybody,
I say, who has seen the great X. over a sham book, has indeed had
a great pleasure, and an abiding matter for thought."
The Stranger reads from morning to night, as his servant Francis
reports of him. When he bestows a purse upon the aged Tobias, that he
may be enabled to purchase his only son's discharge from the army, he
first sends away Francis with the stage-book, that there may be no
witness of the benevolent deed. "Here, take this book, and lay it on
my desk," says the Stranger; and the stage direction runs: "Francis
goes into the lodge with the book." Bingley, it is stated, marked the
page carefully, so that he might continue the perusal of the volume
off the stage if he liked. Two acts later, and the Stranger is again
to be beheld, "on a seat, reading.
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