'Thank you for your account of the _First Performance_. It was
cheering and pleasant to read it, for in your animated description I
seemed to realise the scene; your criticism also enables me to form
some idea of the play. Lewes is a strange being. I always regret
that I did not see him when in London. He seems to me clever, sharp,
and coarse; I used to think him sagacious, but I believe now he is no
more than shrewd, for I have observed once or twice that he brings
forward as grand discoveries of his own, information he has casually
received from others--true sagacity disdains little tricks of this
sort. But though Lewes has many smart and some deserving points
about him, he has nothing truly great; and nothing truly great, I
should think, will he ever produce. Yet he merits just such
successes as the one you describe--triumphs public, brief, and noisy.
Notoriety suits Lewes. Fame--were it possible that he could achieve
her--would be a thing uncongenial to him: he could not wait for the
solemn blast of her trumpet, sounding long, and slowly waxing louder.
'I always like your way of mentioning Mr. Smith, because my own
opinion of him concurs with yours; and it is as pleasant to have a
favourable impression of character confirmed, as it is painful to see
it dispelled.
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