Then came a pencilled note in this little book, “You can take a horse to water, but can’t make him drink.”  “That gave me an idea,” cried Mr. Grossmith, as he sprang to his feet.  “You can take a boy to the piano, but you can’t make him play.’  Thought I to myself, that would make a capital sketch.  And here is how I set about it,” continued he, as he proceeded to illustrate his remarks.  “Imagine a little fellow in the corner there.  I then begin in dumb show to encourage him to come to the piano.  ’Come on, my boy; you know you can play that pretty piece you played yesterday.  Come on, there’s a good fellow!’ Wonderful what you can do with persuasion!  He refuses.  I attempt to lead him to the piano.  He won’t budge an inch.  I carry him under my arm and seat him in front of the instrument, the audience roaring all the time.  At last his mistakes are so many and so ridiculous, I lose all patience and catch him a mighty box upon the ears!  Tableau!!  Of course there is no boy on the platform at all, I am quite alone, but I have so thoroughly lost myself in my imagination that people have declared years after, ’Oh! but I am quite sure you had a boy with you; why, don’t you remember how you boxed his ears?’”

[Illustration:  “I ENCOURAGE HIM.”] [Illustration:  “I ATTEMPT TO LEAD HIM.”] [Illustration:  “I CARRY HIM.”] [Illustration:  “I LOSE ALL PATIENCE.”]

No less marvellous than his power of acting is his power of mimicry.  “I will show you how I do Irving,” said he, and in a moment the little man had ruffled his hair, had assumed to the life not only Irving’s peculiar gait, but, even more remarkable still, had managed to secure almost exactly the very expression of the great tragedian’s face.

[Illustration:  “HOW I DO IRVING.”]

“Then again, I find it a good idea to take up some craze or topic of the moment.  ‘The Drama on Crutches’ I wrote when the craze first arose amongst the aristocracy for going on the stage.  One of the sketches which you will find outlined in that little notebook is entitled, ’Is Music a Failure?’ and I endeavoured to answer the question by showing how popular it is among all classes of the community.”  I will quote pretty freely from this outlined sketch, as it will give my readers an idea, better than anything else would do, of the manner in which Mr. Grossmith prepares his delightful sketches.

“I am not going to treat the subject seriously,” he writes, “but in my own particular, impertinent way.  The question often arises—­are we a musical nation?  The foreigners think we are not.  But where in the wide, wide world is there a country where you will hear so many organs and German bands?  Where is the country, excepting ours, that can appreciate the concertina?  Where, except in England, can you hear that delightful combination of harp and cornet outside a house of refreshment?  The prejudice of other nations is distressing; and as for their ignorance, why, I don’t suppose Italy and Germany have even heard of the ocarino and the Jew’s harp.”