The last essays of Elia Author:Charles Lamb Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: ringlets, but just enough to " whip the offending Elliston Adam out of thee," shall courteously dismiss thee at the right hand gate—the o. r. side of Hades—that ... more »conducts to masques, and merrymakings, in the Theatre Royal of Proserpine. PLAUDITO, ET VALETO. ELLISTONIANA acquaintance with the pleasant creature, whose loss we all deplore, was but slight. My first introduction to E., which afterwards ripened into an acquaintance a little on this side of intimacy, was over a counter in the Leamington Spa Library, then newly entered upon by a branch of his family. E., whom nothing misbecame—to auspicate, I suppose, the filial concern, and set it a-going with a lustre— was serving in person two damsels fair, who had come into the shop ostensibly to inquire for some new publication, but in reality to have a sight of the illustrious shopman, hoping some conference. With what an air did he reach down the volume, dispassionately giving his opinion of the worth of the work in question, and launching out into a dissertation on its comparative merits with those of certain publications of a similar stamp, its rivals! his enchanted customers fairly hanging on his lips, subdued to their authoritative sentence. So have I seen a gentleman in comedy ElHston acting the shopman. So Lovelace sold his acting gloves in King Street. I admired the histrionic art, by which he contrived to carry clean away every notion of disgrace, from the occupation he had so generously submitted to; and from that hour I judged him, with no after repentance, to be a person with whom it would be a felicity to be more acquainted. To descant upon his merits as a Comedian would be superfluous. With his blended private and professional habits alone I have to do ; that harmonious fusion of the manners of the player...« less