"I know," said Moore. "Bessie is getting on, is n't she?"
"Indeed she is, Thomas," replied Mr. Dyke, proudly. "The manager says if she does as well as he expects in the next piece, he will allow her to play Lydia in a revival of Mr. Sheridan's great comedy, 'The Rivals.'"
"So they revive Dicky's play? They do well, for they have had nothing since to equal it except 'The School for Scandal.'"
The old gentleman cleared his throat modestly.
"Quite true, Thomas, and for that very reason I am preparing to write a comedy myself."
"Bravo, sir. Surely it is a shame only one Irishman should wear laurels for play-writing."
"Do you know Mr. Sheridan, Thomas?"
"Not I, sir, though both of us received our education at the same school some thirty years apart. Dr. Whyte taught us both, and admits even now that he considered Sheridan but little better than a dunce."
"So I have heard Mr. Sheridan himself declare," observed Mr. Dyke. "A great man, Thomas, a great man."
"You know him, sir?" asked Moore, a shade of envy for a moment perceptible in his voice.