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A DRAMATIC CRITIC
face resemblance of things. Life was a
muddle by reason of these recurring like-
nesses, and language was a pitfall or a
labyrinth. It was a genuine grief and trial
to him, though very amusing to the specta-
tors, when he came upon another of " those
things that no fellah can find out." His
weakness was carried to the point of farci-
cal extravagance, but there was something
to sympathize with when he was most ridic-
ulous, and one had new visions both of the
inherent weakness and the latent capacities
of our language when he said, with eager
hitches and emphatic bursts, to Lieutenant
Vernon : " Of course you can pass your
examination ; what I want to know is, can
you go through it ? " Closely allied to this
mental infirmity, and another important ele-
ment in the humor of the conception, was
Dundreary's absolute incapacity to cherish
more than one idea at a time. A single
thought, whether great or small, brimmed
his brain, and his cerebral machinery was
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