At last the tinkle of the bell; the curtain rose, and enter Miss Mary Taylor, the universal favorite, as _Pauline_. Her soliloquy closes with the cue for _Sangfroid's_ entrance, and at the words, "Hush! my husband!" a pause succeeded--and then from "door left" was protruded an elegantly booted foot, and a moment later Lester stood before us, bowing with characteristic ease and grace to the demonstrations of welcome. We confess to an unconditional surrender on that occasion. The actual fact was far beyond any expectation or hope. We thought we had never seen any one quite so splendid; and _Sangfroid_ was forthwith invested with the best and noblest elements that combine to elevate mankind. We endeavored for many days afterward to conform our daily life to the general teachings of _Sangfroid_; we imitated the gait and manner, the calm aplomb of _Sangfroid_; the accent of _Sangfroid_ was impressed on all our ordinary forms of speech; our conversation on whatever topic was plentifully sprinkled with _Sangfroidisms_; in short, the whole tenor of our existence was shaped and directed by _Sangfroid_ in the person of Mr. Lester. We recovered in due course from our abject submission to the spell of _Sangfroid_; but Lester continued to stretch forth the "sceptre of fascination," and to his matchless grace and finish we owe many a delightful recollection. Then in early manhood,[9] the unrestrained alertness and vivacity of youth were his in bounteous measure. He was in the _Percy Ardent_ and _Young Rapid_ period, and had not yet entered the corridor of years at the far end of which lurked the _blasé_ figure of "My Awful Dad." We remember him in so many parts which in all likelihood he never will play again! There was _Rover_, in "Wild Oats," that buskined hero, with his captivating nonchalance dashed with tragic fire; his tender conversion of _Lady Amaranth_--played, be it said, with all proper demureness by Miss Lizzie Weston; his triumph over _Ephraim Smooth_--one of Blake's instances of versatility--in a scene rich with the spirit of frolic abandon; and his humorous tilt with _Sir George Thunder_--a belligerent sea-dog, played by Burton as he alone could play it--an episode replete with comic power;--all these contributed to a performance which we revelled in many and many a night; and the memory of it, now as we write, draws near in a succession of vivid pictures. There was _Tangent_, in "The Way to Get Married," a capital part in Lester's hands, blending manly action and debonair grace with that easy transition to airy farcical expression, a favorite and effective dramatic habit of this actor, and given full play in that memorable prison scene in the comedy, when, a victim to adverse circumstances, and actually fettered, he makes felicitous use of his handkerchief to hide his mortification and his chains from the eyes of the heroine during her visit of sympathy. _Percy Ardent_, in "The West End," was another of