Sir Henry Irving—A Record of Over Twenty Years at the Lyceum

There is a spectacle often witnessed in the manufacturing counties, when we may be standing waiting in one of the great stations, which leaves a melancholy impression. A huge theatrical train containing one of the travelling companies comes up and thunders through. Here is the “Pullman Car,” in which the performers are seen playing cards, or chatting, or lunching. They have their pets with them—parrots, dogs, etc. It suggests luxury and prosperity. But this ease is dearly purchased, for we know that the performer has bound himself in a sort of slavery, and has consented to forego all the legitimate methods of learning his profession.