November 21. - Lupin turned up for a few minutes in the evening.

He asked for a drop of brandy with a sort of careless look, which
to my mind was theatrical and quite ineffective. I said: "My boy,

I have none, and I don't think I should give it you if I had."
Lupin said: "I'll go where I can get some," and walked out of the

house. Carrie took the boy's part, and the rest of the evening was
spent in a disagreeablediscussion, in which the words "Daisy" and

"Mutlar" must have occurred a thousand times.
November 22. - Gowing and Cummings dropped in during the evening.

Lupin also came in, bringing his friend, Mr. Burwin-Fosselton - one
of the "Holloway Comedians" - who was at our party the other night,

and who cracked our little round table. Happy to say Daisy Mutlar
was never referred to. The conversation was almost entirely

monopolised by the young fellow Fosselton, who not only looked
rather like Mr. Irving, but seemed to imagine that he WAS the

celebrated actor. I must say he gave some capital imitations of
him. As he showed no signs of moving at supper time, I said: "If

you like to stay, Mr. Fosselton, for our usual crust - pray do."
He replied: "Oh! thanks; but please call me Burwin-Fosselton. It

is a double name. There are lots of Fosseltons, but please call me
Burwin-Fosselton."

He began doing the Irving business all through supper. He sank so
low down in his chair that his chin was almost on a level with the

table, and twice he kicked Carrie under the table, upset his wine,
and flashed a knife uncomfortably near Gowing's face. After supper

he kept stretching out his legs on the fender, indulging in scraps
of quotations from plays which were Greek to me, and more than once

knocked over the fire-irons, making a hideous row - poor Carrie
already having a bad head-ache.

When he went, he said, to our surprise: "I will come to-morrow and
bring my Irving make-up." Gowing and Cummings said they would like

to see it and would come too. I could not help thinking they might
as well give a party at my house while they are about it. However,

as Carrie sensibly said: "Do anything, dear, to make Lupin forget
the Daisy Mutlar business."

November 23. - In the evening, Cummings came early. Gowing came a
little later and brought, without asking permission, a fat and, I

think, very vulgar-looking man named Padge, who appeared to be all
moustache. Gowing never attempted any apology to either of us, but

said Padge wanted to see the Irving business, to which Padge said:
"That's right," and that is about all he DID say during the entire

evening. Lupin came in and seemed in much better spirits. He had
prepared a bit of a surprise. Mr. Burwin-Fosselton had come in

with him, but had gone upstairs to get ready. In half-an-hour
Lupin retired from the parlour, and returning in a few minutes,

announced "Mr. Henry Irving."
I must say we were all astounded. I never saw such a resemblance.

It was astonishing. The only person who did not appear interested
was the man Padge, who had got the best arm-chair, and was puffing

away at a foul pipe into the fireplace. After some little time I
said; "Why do actors always wear their hair so long?" Carrie in a

moment said, "Mr. Hare doesn't wear long HAIR." How we laughed
except Mr. Fosselton, who said, in a rather patronising kind of

way, "The joke, Mrs. Pooter, is extremelyappropriate, if not
altogether new." Thinking this rather a snub, I said: "Mr.

Fosselton, I fancy - " He interrupted me by saying: "Mr. BURWIN-
Fosselton, if you please," which made me quite forget what I was

going to say to him. During the supper Mr. Burwin-Fosselton again
monopolised the conversation with his Irving talk, and both Carrie

and I came to the conclusion one can have even too much imitation
of Irving. After supper, Mr. Burwin-Fosselton got a little too

boisterous over his Irving imitation, and suddenly seizing Gowing
by the collar of his coat, dug his thumb-nail, accidentally of

course, into Gowing's neck and took a piece of flesh out. Gowing
was rightly annoyed, but that man Padge, who having declined our

modest supper in order that he should not lose his comfortable
chair, burst into an uncontrollable fit of laughter at the little

misadventure. I was so annoyed at the conduct of Padge, I said:
"I suppose you would have laughed if he had poked Mr. Gowing's eye

out?" to which Padge replied: "That's right," and laughed more
than ever. I think perhaps the greatest surprise was when we broke

up, for Mr. Burwin-Fosselton said: "Good-night, Mr. Pooter. I'm
glad you like the imitation, I'll bring THE OTHER MAKE-UP TO-MORROW

NIGHT."
November 24. - I went to town without a pocket-handkerchief. This

is the second time I have done this during the last week. I must
be losing my memory. Had it not been for this Daisy Mutlar

business, I would have written to Mr. Burwin-Fosselton and told him
I should be out this evening, but I fancy he is the sort of young

man who would come all the same.
Dear old Cummings came in the evening; but Gowing sent round a

little note saying he hoped I would excuse his not turning up,
which rather amused me. He added that his neck was still painful.

Of course, Burwin-Fosselton came, but Lupin never turned up, and
imagine my utter disgust when that man Padge actually came again,

and not even accompanied by Gowing. I was exasperated, and said:
"Mr. Padge, this is a SURPRISE." Dear Carrie, fearing

unpleasantness, said: "Oh! I suppose Mr. Padge has only come to
see the other Irving make-up." Mr. Padge said: "That's right,"

and took the best chair again, from which he never moved the whole
evening.

My only consolation is, he takes no supper, so he is not an
expensive guest, but I shall speak to Gowing about the matter. The

Irving imitations and conversations occupied the whole evening,
till I was sick of it. Once we had a rather heated discussion,

which was commenced by Cummings saying that it appeared to him that
Mr. Burwin-Fosselton was not only LIKE Mr. Irving, but was in his

judgment every way as GOOD or even BETTER. I ventured to remark
that after all it was but an imitation of an original.

Cummings said surely some imitations were better than the
originals. I made what I considered a very clever remark:

"Without an original there can be no imitation." Mr. Burwin-
Fosselton said quite impertinently: "Don't discuss me in my

presence, if you please; and, Mr. Pooter, I should advise you to
talk about what you understand;" to which that cad Padge replied:

"That's right." Dear Carrie saved the whole thing by suddenly
saying: "I'll be Ellen Terry." Dear Carrie's imitation wasn't a

bit liked, but she was so spontaneous and so funny that the
disagreeablediscussion passed off. When they left, I very

pointedly said to Mr. Burwin-Fosselton and Mr. Padge that we should
be engaged to-morrow evening.

November 25. - Had a long letter from Mr. Fosselton respecting last
night's Irving discussion. I was very angry, and I wrote and said

I knew little or nothing about stage matters, was not in the least
interested in them and positively declined to be drawn into a

discussion on the subject, even at the risk of its leading to a
breach of friendship. I never wrote a more determined letter.

On returning home at the usual hour on Saturday afternoon I met
near the Archway Daisy Mutlar. My heart gave a leap. I bowed

rather stiffly, but she affected not to have seen me. Very much
annoyed in the evening by the laundress sending home an odd sock.

Sarah said she sent two pairs, and the laundress declared only a
pair and a half were sent. I spoke to Carrie about it, but she