Each of the guests sent or took in his carriage a certain quantity of eatables, and when all had arrived, the happy Taylor found his room filled with all the materials for a monster picnic. Breakfast _had_ been prepared, the guests sat down to table, some amused, others disgusted at the hoax which had been practised upon them, and Taylor ordered the game, preserved meats, lobsters, champagne, &c., into his own larder and wine cellar. Even while directing the affairs of the Opera, Taylor passed a considerable portion of his time in the King's Bench, or within its "rules." "How can you conduct the management of the King's Theatre," a friend asked him one day, "perpetually in durance as you are?" "My dear fellow," he replied, "how could I possibly conduct it if I were at liberty? I should be eaten up, sir--devoured. Here comes a dancer,--'Mr. Taylor, I want such a dress;' another, 'I want such and such ornaments.' One singer demands to sing in a part not allotted to him; another, to have an addition to his appointments. No, let me be shut up and they go to Masterson (Taylor's secretary); he, they are aware, cannot go beyond his line; but if they get at _me_--pshaw! no man at large can manage that theatre; and in faith," he added, "no man that undertakes it ought to go at large." Though Mr. Taylor lived within the "rules," the "rules" in no way governed him. He would frequently go away for days together into the country and amuse himself with fishing, of which he appears to have been particularly fond. At one time, while living within the "rules," he inherited a large sum of money, which he took care not to devote to the payment of his debts. He preferred investing it in land, bought an estate in the country (with good fishing), and lived for some months the quiet, peaceable life of an ardent, enthusiastic angler, until at last the sheriffs broke in upon his repose and carried him back captive to prison. But the most extraordinary exploit performed by Taylor during the period of his supposed incarceration, was of a political nature. He went down to Hull at the time of an election and actually stood for the borough. He was not returned--or rather he was returned to prison. [Sidenote: THE PANTHEON.]