"I  say,  Tom,"  said  he,  .-u  length,  as  he
stared  me  full  in  the  face,  and  laid  his  band
impressively  on  my  knee,  "there's  good
stuff  in  that — excellent  stuff  !  depend
upon  it ! "

"Good  stuff!  what  do  you  mean  ?"  said
I,  in  amazement.
"I  mean,"  replied  he,  "  there's  bone  in
it,  sinew  in  it,  substance  in  it  —  there  are
some  admirable  situations  too.  How  l-ul-
ham  would  come  out  in  Tony  i' ■-
brown  shorts,  white  stockings,  high  shoes
and  buckles — his  own  verve  nunc;  and
there's  that  little  thing  Miss  Booth,  for
Nelly,  give  her  a  couple  of  songs — ballad  airs
take  best ;  Williams  should  be  Barton;  a
devilish  fine  villain  in  coarse  parts,  Wil-
liams. I  think  I  see  him  stealing  along  by
the  flats  with  his  soldiers  to  the  attack.
Then  the  second  act  should  open — interior
of  hut — peasants  round  a  table — eating  al-
ways successful  on  the  stage — nothing  like
seeing  a  fat  fellow  bolting  hard  eggs,  and
blustering  out  unpronounceable  jokes  over
a  flagon  of  colored  water.  You.  by  right,
should  have  your  own  part — splendid  thing
— devilish  fine,  your  sensations  when  the
cabin  was  on  fire,  and  the  fellow-;  were
prodding  about  with  their  bayonets  to  dis-
cover you."

"And  who's  to  perform  Captain  Bub-
bleton?" asked  1,  venturing  for  once  to
humor  his  absurdity.
