" (A pause for thought
and reply; with little result.) "Proud London, what wealth!" (Another
pause, and a hiccup from Steadfast.) "What constant bustle, what
activity in thy streets!" (No remark could be extracted from
Steadfast. It was necessary to proceed.) "And now, Steadfast, my
inestimable friend, that I may find my father and my Caroline well and
happy, is the dearest, the sole aspiration of my heart!" Steadfast
stared and staggered, then suddenly exclaiming gutturally, "Amen!"
reeled from the stage, quickly followed by Henry Moreland, amid the
derision and hisses of the spectators. "Treat you cruelly!" said
Steadfast, incoherently in the wings. "Nothing of the sort. You quite
confounded me with your correctness. You told me you didn't know your
words, and I'll be hanged if you were not 'letter perfect.' It went
off capitally, my dear boy, so now let's go over our next scene." But
the manager deemed it advisable to omit from the play all further
reference to Moreland and Steadfast.
To performers who gag either wantonly, or by reason of imperfect
recollection of their parts, few things are more distressing than a
knowledge that someone among the audience is in possession of a book
of the play to be represented.
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