ANECDOTE OF EDMUND KEAN 115 



country seat at Ardington, near Wantage, in Berk- 

 shire. Once, when Edmund Kean was visiting 

 there, he told his host that in his early career he 

 was acting the part of Richard the Third in a small 

 country place, and was lodging at the principal inn, 

 and had criven the landlord a ticket to witness the 

 performance. When, on his return after the play, he 

 entered the room where many of the leading in- 

 habitants who had witnessed the performance had 

 assembled and were discussing the merits of the 

 actor. The landlord was smoking his pipe, and as 

 he was the oracle of the place, his opinions were 

 anxiously awaited. So when Edmund Kean asked 

 him what he thought of his performance, the land- 

 lord, after pausing some time to collect his thoughts, 

 knocked the ashes out of his pipe, refilled and lighted 

 it, and while the company hung upon his lips, he said : 

 ' Damned good fight.' Alas! these chimney corners 

 in these cosy old country inns are no more, or at 

 least are few and far between. Perhaps in the 

 near or distant future they will revive in some form 

 with the present craze for cycling. Whilst dwelling 

 upon the London Inns of my youth, it will be of 

 litde use my mentioning them, as only a very few 

 are left. In my day there were the ' Green Dragon,' 

 Bishopsgate ; the ' Castle and Falcon,' Aldersgate 

 — still first-class and flourishing; 'Spread Eagle,' 

 Gracechurch Street ; ' King's Arms,' Snow Hill ; 

 ' Swan with Two Necks,' Lad Lane ; ' Belle Sauvagre,' 

 Ludgate Hill ; ' Bull and Mouth,' afterwards the 

 'Queen's,' St. Martin's le Grand; 'White Horse,' 



