That he will die again until to-morrow."

Thus ended an extravaganza such as has seldom been witnessed; for although
Coates repeated the play at the Haymarket, amidst shouts of laughter
from the playgoers, there never was so ludicrous a performance as that
which took place at Bath on the first night of his appearance. Eventually
he was driven from the stage with much contumely, in consequence of
its having been discovered that, under pretence of acting for a charitable
purpose, he had obtained a sum of money for his performances. His love
of notoriety led him to have a most singular shell-shaped carriage built,
in which, drawn by two fine white horses, he was wont to parade in the
park; the harness, and every available part of the vehicle (which was
really handsome) were blazoned over with his heraldic device - a cock
crowing, and his appearance was heralded by the gamins of London shrieking
out "cock-a-doodle-doo." Coates eventually quitted London and settled
at Boulogne, where a fair lady was induced to become the partner of
his existence, notwithstanding the ridicule of the whole world.


HYDE PARK AFTER THE PENINSULAR WAR


That extensive district of park land, the entrances of which are in
Piccadilly and Oxford Street, was far more rural in appearance in 1815
than at the present day. Under the trees cows and deer were grazing;
the paths were fewer and none told of that perpetual tread of human
feet which now destroys all idea of country charms and illusions. As
you gazed from an eminence, no rows of monotonous houses reminded you
of the vicinity of a large city, and the atmosphere of Hyde Park was
then much more like what God has made it than the hazy, gray, coal-darkened