devil of the schoolmen, leading his
victim into temptation, and triumphing in all the petty
artifices and verbal sophistries of a bachelor of the Sorbonne.
But as the march of intellect advances, this would by no means
be appropriate; and before the play is over, he must by turns
imitate the _patelinage_ of a Jesuit _a robe courte_, the
pleading of a procureur general, the splendid bile of a deputy
of the _cote droit_, and should even talk political economy
like an article in the 'Globe.' But the author shall read you
his piece--'_La Creation! drame Historique et Romantique_, in
six acts, allowing a thousand years to each act. _C'est l'homme
marquant de son siecle._''
"'But,' said I, 'I shall remain in Paris only a few weeks, and
he will never get through it in so short a time.'
"'_Pardonnez moi, madame_, he will get through it in six
nights--the time to be actually occupied by the performance; an
act a night, to be distributed among the different theatres in
succession, beginning at the _Francais_ and ending at the
_Ambigu_.'"
It is here that her Ladyship begins to doubt whether this romantic
gentleman was not hoaxing her, and certes it was time; but 'melt and
disperse ye spectre doubts!' an attempt to hoax Lady Morgan, impossible!
They do quickly pass away, and the conversation is pursued in the same
strain, until "Monsieur de ---- one of the conscript fathers of
classicism" is announced. No sooner has his name passed the lips of the
servant, than the romantic gentleman snatches up his hat, and endeavours
to make an exit from the room, in as much consternation as if the
"protagonist" himself were about to appear. But Monsieur de ---- the
classicist, enters before he can escape; "he draws up." The two then
"glanced cold looks at each other, bowed formally, and the romanticist
retired, roughing his wild locks, and panting like a hero of a tragedy."
What a picture! We venture to affirm, however, that had an attentive
observer been present, he would have seen something like a wink or a
covert glance passing between the two worthies as they enacted the above
scene, which might have led him to suspect that they knew each other
better than Miladi supposed: it was only on the previous evening, be it
stated, on her own authority, that she had made the acquaintance of the
romanticist, whom she describes as having "something of an ex
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