tragedy, comedy, pantomime, all refreshing
themselves after the final dismissal of their auditors. They were merry
and gamesome, and made their flimsy theatre ring with laughter. I was
astonished to see the tragedy tyrant in red baize and fierce whiskers,
who had made my heart quake as he strutted about the boards, now
transformed into a fat, good humored fellow; the beaming porringer laid
aside from his brow, and his jolly face washed from all the terrors of
burnt cork. I was delighted, too, to see the distressed damsel in faded
silk and dirty muslin, who had trembled under his tyranny, and
afflicted me so much by her sorrows, now seated familiarly on his knee,
and quaffing from the same tankard. Harlequin lay asleep on one of the
benches; and monks, satyrs, and Vestal virgins were grouped together,
laughing outrageously at a broad story told by an unhappy count, who
had been barbarously murdered in the tragedy. This was, indeed, novelty
to me. It was a peep into another planet. I gazed and listened with
intense curiosity and enjoyment. They had a thousand odd stories and
jokes about the events of the day, and burlesque descriptions and
mimickings of the spectators who had been admiring them. Their
conversation was full of allusions to their adventures at different
places, where they had exhibited; the characters they had met with in
different villages; and the ludicrous difficulties in which they had
occasionally been involved. All past cares and troubles were now turned
by these thoughtless beings into matter of merriment; and made to
contribute to the gayety of the moment. They had been moving from fair
to fair about the kingdom, and were the next morning to set out on
their way to London.

My resolution was taken. I crept from my nest, and scrambled through a
hedge into a neighboring field, where I went to work to make a
tatterdemalion of myself. I tore my clothes; soiled them with dirt;
begrimed my face and hands; and, crawling near one of the booths,
purloined an old hat, and left my new one in its place. It was an
honest theft, and I hope may not hereafter rise up in judgment against
me.

I now ventured to the scene of merrymaking, and, presenting myself
before the dramatic corps, offered myself as a volunteer. I felt
terribly agitated and abashed, for "never before stood I in such a
presence." I had addressed myself to the manager of the company. He was
a fat man, dressed in dirty white; with a red sash fring