Ellen Percy; or, The Memoirs of an Actress — page 180: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ELLEN PERCY; OR, THE MEMOIRS OF AN ACTRESS. the laughter had subsided—when Mr. Grimshaw had resumed his feet—and when Mr. Mellicent was assuming a most heroic attitude for another set speech,—“ what the deuce do you all want? You are like so many hornets. Are you well treated or not? Do you ever go away with empty eae from the treasury on a Saturday night? for the casts of the piece, they are capital. A handsome fellow like you, Mellicent, could not possibly have a better part. You have a soliloquy of a quarter of an hour—at the end of which you die with effect. You are safe to be encored/ —Come, gentlemen, goto the Green-room ; a dozen of wine shall follow you; and at rehearsal to- morrow you will be all in such good humour with your parts, that you will be fit to drink another dozen of wine——that is,” added Mr. Richards aside, “if Z amin a humour to give it.” The storm was completely quelled: the words of promise respecting the wine were like oil thrown upon the troubled waters. Mr. Mellicent seized Mr. Richards by the hand, vowing that he was the very prince of managers, and that he had al- ways loved him with an affection scarcely possible to be exceeded if they had happened to be brothers. The Heavy Man looked light and gay; the Gen- tleman of Utility seemed as if he were by no means averse to include wine-drinking amongst any other avocations which, in the general range of his talents and his Protean qualities, he might be called upon to fulfil. In a word, all the performers issued forth from the lessee’s room with aspects wonderfully changed, and declaring with the true theatrical aside, which was meant for everybody to hear, that “ Mr. Richards was a capital fel- low !” 4 _ * Sit down, Miss Trafford,” said Mr. Richards, when the posse had departed. “Sorry that you should have beheld such a scene: but you saw I knew how to manage them P” “T rather think,” I said, with a smile, “it was Mr. Grimshaw who knew how to manage them ?” * Ah! but it was prearranged,” responded the lessee, chuckling. “I saw the storm was brewing —I bade Grimshaw be here—I told him what to do—and that when the brunt of the tempest was becoming severest, he must come to my rescue.— But I forgot! those men want their wine! After all, they are good fellows at botttom—and they shall have it.” Here the manager rang his bell ; and the sum- mons was answered by the usual underling in at- tendance. “Tubbs,” he said, with a very serious counte- nance, and with an ostentatious manner, “ the gentlemen of my company have behaved in a way to afford me the most cordial satisfaction ; and you know, Tubbs, that I am always the first to reward merit. Tubbs, you will take those gentlemen a dozen of sherry to the Green-room.” “Yes, sir,’ replied Mr. Tubbs. sherry, sir ?” “The best sherry, you scoundrel?” ejaculated Mr. Richards, starting as if he could kick him, “ What! my five-shilling sherry ? Heaven fore- fend! No, sir! The Cape!—the Cape at one- and-three !” “Very good, sir,” answered Mr. Tubbs; and he forthwith departed to execute the commission thus confided to him, ihe “The best = oS or — — — eer Ore; 167 ** A lessee, Miss Trafford,” said Mr. Richards, as the door closed behind the underling, “ has no easy part to perform. His is the part behind the curtain ; and without at all detracting from the merits by which yourself and others overcome diffi- culties before the curtain, I think that mine is the least enviable position. I am a sort of Prime Minister, filling no specific department, but having to overlook the departments of all others. A lessee, Miss Trafford, must, in vulgar parlance, be wide awake, For instance, at the cost of fifteen shillings I am about to treat those gentlemen, who will be as well contented as if, according to the suggestion of Tubbs, the cost of their regaling amounted to sixty shillings. And then too, Miss Trafford, a lessee must have a wonderful capacity for eating and drinking. He must always be ready to propose a chop, or a kidney, or broiled bones, at the tavern over the way, for the behoof of any individual whom he wishes especially to conciliate ; and of course there is no eating with- out plenty of drinking at the same time.—But while I am chattering here, I forget that you may be in a hurry; and now I shall be most happy to attend to you.” I explained to Mr. Richards that I was to a cer- tain degree interested in a young lady named Miss Howard, who was most anxious to go upon the stage ; and without entering into any further par- ticulars, I besought the lessee’s good offices asa personal favour to myself. Mr. Richards at once yielded to my solicitation, and made an appoint- ment for the lady to wait upon him on the follow- ing day, when he would put her abilities to the test, and if she gave any promise at all in the his- trionic art, he would offer her an engagement. I thanked him, and took my departure. On return- ing to Hunter Street, I mentioned to the Nor- mans the visit which I had received from Miss Howard and the step I had taken in her behalf: but I said nothing to excite any particular curi- osity with regard to her. In the evening I repaired again to the theatre; and when the performance was over, I hastened to my dressing-room in the expectation of receiving the visit from Miss Howard, to whom I was most anxious to communicate the hope which the lessee had held out. My theatrical costume was doffed, and I had put on my private apparel, before the message was brought to me, to the effect that Miss Howard solicited a few minutes’ conversation. I directed that she might be at once introduced to my room; and I dismissed the maid, in order that I might receive her alone. She wore the dark veil over her countenance: I saw that she was nervous and trembling, as if with suspense; and I hastened to relieve her therefrom. When she heard the intelijgence I had to impart, she caught my hand, and pressed it to her lips. She was so overcome with her feelings that I begged her to sit down and take some refreshment; for there were wine and biscuits upon a side-table. She accepted the invitation; and I could not help noticing that she ate the biscuits as if she were actually hungry. I was convinced that she had been enduring distress;.and I resolved to make another effort to induce her to accept some pecu- niary succour at my hands, “You are now certain of an engagement, Miss Howard,” I said: “ upon this you may rely. But ECORNIELOO S (COUN