re you saying? You mustn't. I can't _think_ what you mean. Go
away, do!

_Rosmer_ (_softly_). Be the new and living reality. It is the only way
to put BEATA out of the Saga. Shall we try it?

_Reb._ Never! Do not--_do_ not ask me why--for I haven't a notion--but
never! (_Nods slowly to him and rises._) White Horses would not induce
me! (_With her hand on door-handle._) Now you _know_! [_She goes out._

_Rosmer_ (_sits up, stares thunderstruck at the stove, and says to
himself_). Well--I--_am_-- [_Quick Curtain._

[The remaining two Acts of this subtle psychological study
unavoidably held over.]

* * * * *

"KEEP YOUR HARE ON!"

[Illustration: Hare's Theatre.]

In not following the advice given in the headline to this article,
clever Mr. PINERO has made a mistake. _Lady Bountiful_ with only a
very little HARE is a disappointment. The majority of those who go to
"Hare's Theatre" (they don't speak of it as "The Garrick") go to see
the Lessee and Manager in a new part: and they go to see a lot of him:
they don't ask merely for a small piece of HARE, if you please, though
they might be satisfied with HARE in a small piece. Everyone goes
expecting to see him in a good part in a good Comedy, his good part
being equal to the better part of the whole entertainment; and if they
don't so see him, they are disappointed. Why was Mr. GRUNDY's happy
translation of _Les Oiseaux_ peculiarly successful? because it was
a light, fresh, and pretty piece, wherein the occasional phrase in
a minor key was so artistically introduced as to be a relish to our
enjoyment of the humour of the characters and of the situations; but
all this would have gone for comparatively little had it not been
for the excellence of Mr. HARE's rendering of the first-rate part
of _Goldfinch_, which did not consist of occasional flashes, only to
collapse and disappear in the penultimate Act, but continued right
through to the end, dominating everything and everybody. This is not
so with _Lady Bountiful_. The appearance of _Roderick Heron_, who is
no creation of the Author's, as he admits, but merely _Mr. Skimpole_
under another name, raises hopes at the commencement, which are
blighted long before the finish. The part gutters out, as does Mr.
CHARLES GROVE's _John Veale_, another "promise of spring." Young Mr.
GILBERT HARE makes a most creditable first appearance as _Sir Lucian
Brent, Bart_. He is easy and natural.

F