Sal. (presenting him Ravienna, who has laid aside his beard.) Here he is, good sir!
ALL. Long live Bernardo!
Sal. Gentlemen! I see
You are astonish'd at the strange disguise
In which you find our friend.—The truth is this—
His modest fears about his picture's fate
O'ermastered him: he could not face the trial,
And therefore hid himself within this niche,
That unobserved he might await the result,
Disguised as now you see him.
Sec. (handing the wreath to Calmari.) Now, Director,
It is your part to twine this laurel wreath
Around the brow of our successful brother.
Cal. (with an air of pretended satisfaction.) With all my heart.
Sal. (regarding Calmari with a penetrating look.) Director—if your soul
Can be magnanimous—then prove it now,
And make Bernardo's happiness complete.
Cal. Come hither, Laura! (To the bystanders,) Friends, this day, you have
Witness'd the triumph of our new associate—
Now witness further: I bestow on him
(While placing on his head the prize of fame)
The dearer, richer prize of Laura's hand!
(He crowns Ravienna, and joins the hands of him and Laura. The affianced pair stand side by side, looking grateful acknowledgments at Salvator —Amid the sounds of drums and trumpets, the curtain falls.)
the world of london.
Part V.
It will be desirable, before proceeding further, that we take the trouble to recapitulate briefly the portion of our task already completed the better to assist the memory of our readers, and our own.
The vulgar errors prevalent among provincials which we have already satisfactorily refuted, are ideas of town with regard to
I. Society.
II. Expensiveness.
III. Splendor.
The general ideas ap to impress the reflective stranger, already illustrated by a few examples, are those of the World of London in its—
I. Vastness.
II. Industry.
III. Enterprize.
IV. Economy.
V. Comfort.
We now proceed briefly to notice another striking peculiarity of London life—the absence, namely, of a concentrated, determined, or concentrating unity of
Public Opinion.
In a thousand ways this privation of common consent in the expression of public opinion may be illustrated; but it will be better understood by contrasting London with other places, wherein an expression of decision upon matters of public interest is constant, permanent, and tangible.
Let us look to large towns: Birmingham, for example, is a great athletic Radical—flourishing naked bayonets and gun-barrels—talking knives and daggers—and breathing fire and brimstone. Manchester may be aptly represented by a big loaf, set up on a long pole by the dimity manufacturers, and paraded, with various success,through all parts of the country, with the view of enabling said manufacturers to get their dimity wove by the wretched handicraftsmen of the towns for less than they get it done for at
