gown with a proportionate apron,
the strings of which will bind your arms and body together at the chest;
put on a false nose, a pair of spectacles, a lady's frilled night-cap,
and a comical conical hat; add a little red cloak, and draw the table up
to a window or recess, the curtains of which pin at the back of your
shoulders; and standing thus, with your hands (the old dame's feet) upon
the table, you will represent the most perfect little dwarf (without
arms) you can imagine; the hands are to be supplied by an accomplice,
behind the curtain, who is to suit the action of those hands to the
pleasantries you may invent. Thus, having given the necessary
instructions, we leave the rest to be supplied by the actor; who may,
if he pleases, render the old dame a medium of much merry conceit and
pleasant mirth. Well do we remember the impression made at this party;
for, as before stated, we performed the arms from behind the curtain,
through which we occasionally peeped, getting a good view over the
shoulders of Mr. Lark (the old dame), witnessing the astonished gaping
gaze of the servant, who happened to enter the apartment at the moment,
and stood transfixed to the spot, until the effigy had escaped. One
little boy was so impressed with the illusion, that he actually went
below, with some venturesome companions, in search of her; but soon
returned, rushing up stairs in a state of extreme terror, declaring to
us (as he kept his eyes towards the door, fearing every moment she would
appear), that he had seen the old dame, and heard her pig; the truth
being, one of the party had grunted in a dark corner of the lobby, and
frightened the youth, who eventually became a prey to intense mental
anxiety--a trembling fear we attempted to dispel, without success, until
we bore the little fellow below, he clinging tightly to us. In the lobby
Mr. Lark showed the scared youth our trick, piece-meal--in the end,
pacifying the young gentleman, though much do we think the old dame and
her pig will never be forgotten by him:--he may grow to manhood, have
children, loves and cares innumerable, traverse the seas, know war and
famine, yet do we think the old dame will stand boldly out, like a giant
image in the desert of the past--far more so than the Galanti show,
exhibited afterwards, because really alive, and capable of
reason!--Though, _we_ had more reason to remember the show; for, the men
who performed it hung their hats and coats beside Mr. L