ACT II
A wild place in Shepherd's Bush
Enter the melancholy James (footman to the banished Duke) with one or two Lords, like Bushmen.
James [looking at his watch]:
'Tis but an hour ago since it was nine
And after one hour more 'twill be eleven;
And thereby hangs a song.
[Sings it.]
[Mr. Punch: Excuse me a moment, but is this Act very bad?
Mr. Hicks von Rubenstammer: Very bad indeed.
Mr. Punch: Personally I fear that I shall not be able to survive it.
Mr. H. v. R.: Oh, two or three of us will re-write it after the first night, you know.
Mr. Punch: Then by all means let us wait for that occasion.]
Irving had met with various vicissitudes of criticism at Punch's hands during his career. But latterly admiration prevailed, and, when the end came, real affection shines through the brief memorial quatrain printed in October, 1905:—
Ring down the curtain, for the play is done.
Let the brief lights die out, and darkness fall.
Yonder to that real life he has his call;
And the loved face beholds the Eternal Sun.
Ellen Terry's Jubilee
Irving, as Punch noted in his review of Mr. Bram Stoker's Life, was if possible more loved by his company than by the idolizing public. The financial misfortunes which dogged the last years of his life were due more to bad luck than bad management, and did not impair his serenity. He died in harness, and there was more tragedy in the latter years of his contemporary and friend, the famous and prosperous comedian J. L. Toole, for they were clouded by bereavement as well as infirmity; and Punch's farewell to his friend in July, 1906, emphasizes the contrast:—
While Summer's laughter thrills the golden air,