g promised to meet her
reverend husband to go for a walk at a given moment were haunting her.
Finally, with a desperate effort, she said--

"I am afraid I have an appointment, Lady Chaloner, and must go now,
unless there is anything more I can do."

"Oh, must you go?" said Lady Chaloner, "we had better meet in the
morning, I think, and make a final list of the stalls."

"Certainly," said Mrs. Birkett, with a sigh of relief, and with a
determined effort she tried to include the circle she was leaving in one
salutation, and made away as fast as she could.

"I hope," said the Princess, "the poor lady is not shocked at having a
Cafe Chantant in her Church bazaar."

"At any rate," said Wentworth, "she will be consoled when you hand over
the results to her afterwards."

"What is the name of the piece you are going to do?" said Lady Chaloner,
pencil in hand.

"_Une porte qui s'ouvre_," said Moricourt, with a glance at the
Princess.

"Oh! if you think we'll have that one!" said the Princess. "Would you
believe, Lady Chaloner, that he wants me to be the maid in it instead of
the leading lady, because he kisses the maid behind the door!"

"My dear Maddy!" said Lady Chaloner, reprovingly.

"Don't look so shocked at me, dear Lady Chaloner," she said. "I am sure
I am as shocked myself at the suggestion, as----"

"Mrs. Birkett," suggested Wentworth.

"Precisely," said the Princess.

"At any rate we'll put that piece on the list for the present," said
Lady Chaloner. "Then there will be a song from Lady Adela----"

"And a song from Mr. Wentworth," said Moricourt.

"That's splendid," said Lady Chaloner. "The Cafe Chantant will do. The
only thing I rather regret is about the stalls, that every one is goin'
to sell the same thing."

"And who is going to buy?" said the Princess.

"That's another difficulty," said Lady Chaloner, "they'll all have to
buy from one another."

"We had better have some autographs," said the Princess, "they always
sell."

"Very good," said Lady Chaloner, putting it down on the list. "You had
better get some."

"All right," said the Princess. "We'll have some of all kinds, I think.
I will get some from those people too," nodding her head in the
direction of the London manager.

"Everybody considers himself an autograph in these days," said
Wentworth; "it is terrible what a levelling age we live in."

"We might sell photographs, of course," said the Princess, "instead of
autographs."