"'You, sir, are a poet,' I said. 'Perhaps it may be my privilege some day to produce a play of yours. Would you like it to have a long run or a short one?' (Roars of laughter.)
"Answer: 'Well, er, well, of course, Mr. Irving, you—well—well, a short run, of course, for art, but——'
"'Now, sir, you're on oath,' said I. 'Suppose that the fees were rolling in £10 and more a night—would you rather the play were a failure or a success?'
"'Well, well, as you put it, I must say—er—I would rather my play had a long run!'
"A. floored!
"He has all his life been writing articles running down good work and crying up the impossible, and I was glad to show him up a bit!
"The Vice-Chancellor made a most lovely speech after the address—an eloquent and splendid tribute to the stage.
"Bourchier presented the address of the 'Undergrads.' I never saw a young man in a greater funk—because, I suppose, he had imitated me so often!
"From the address: 'We have watched with keen and enthusiastic interest the fine intellectual quality of all these representations, from Hamlet to Mephistopheles, with which you have enriched the contemporary stage. To your influence we owe deeper knowledge and more reverent study of the master mind of Shakespeare.' All very nice indeed!"