was remarkable. It was so all the evening. Whilst on the stage he at once became another man; with his exit the Cardinal was completely forgotten. One moment he would be in the act of relating some merry anecdote, only to break away without a word of warning, in the midst of it, and the recollection of the story was soon lost in listening to some magnificent speech.
Between the acts.
The opportunity was afforded me of witnessing the working of a veritable little army of stage hands behind the scenes. It is a perfect organization, and the enthusiasm displayed by the men, whether in setting a scene or brushing the crimson plush chairs in readiness for a change, seemed to tell that it was as much out of regard for the man under whom they labour as it was for wages. But, when not with Mr. Irving, I spent most of my time on a little wooden seat which has been let into the proscenium wall, and affords an excellent view of the stage from behind. It is the favourite seat of Mr. W. E. Gladstone when he visits the Lyceum, and many other eminent men have occupied it.
I was sitting there quietly. Mr. Irving had just made his exit, and was by my side.
"Comfortable seat?" he said, with a twinkle in his eyes. "The Chinese Ambassador sat there one night. We were playing 'Hamlet.' Miss Terry in the midst of her mad scene. I was just going round to see how my honoured Celestial friend was getting on. He was in the act of walking on to the was stage—the playing of Miss Terry had affected him so that he was burning to congratulate her on the spot. I was only in the nick of time to hold him back; another half a foot and he would have made his 'first appearance!' I wonder what the audience would have thought of the entrance of somebody in the most gorgeous of robes, whose name was not on the programme?"
[We wish to draw attention to a mistake which inadvertently found its way into the Illustrated Interview, Mr. George Augustus Sala, on page 61 of our July number. It appears that Mr. Sala did not execute the bust of the baby which is given in the illustration by the side of the Dauphin's cabinet, but another one which is at Brighton. He was away from home when the photographer made the photographs for the illustration of the interview, and hence the mistake occurred of selecting Mr. Callcott's statuette, thinking it had been the one that had been described to Mr. Harry How. The one which appears in the Magazine was the work of Mr. Fred. Callcott, and was a gift by him to Mr. Sala.]
