THE DIARY OF A NOBODY.
"Why do actors always wear their hair so long?" Carrie in a moment said, "Mr. Hare doesn't wear long hair." How we laughed except Mr. Fosselton, who said, in a rather patronising kind of way, "The joke, Mrs. Pooter, is extremely appropriate, if not altogether new." Thinking this rather a snub, I said: "Mr. Fosselton, I fancy" He interrupted me by saying: "Mr. Burwin-Fosselton, if you please," which made me quite forget what I was going to say to him. During the supper Mr. Burwin-Fosselton again monopolised the conversation with his Irving talk, and both Carrie and I came to the conclusion one can have even too much imitation of Irving. After supper, Mr. Burwin-Fosselton got a little too boisterous over his Irving imitation, and suddenly seizing Gowing by the collar of his coat, dug his thumb-nail, accidentally of course, into Gowing's neck and took a piece of flesh out. Gowing was rightly annoyed, but that man Padge, who having declined our modest supper in order that he should not lose his comfortable chair, burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter at the little misadventure. I was so annoyed at the conduct of Padge, I said: "I suppose you would have laughed if he had poked Mr. Gowing's eye out?" to which Padge replied: "That's right," and
129
