nd said he was a very good actor
for such a very old gentleman.

Then Beatrice made her entrance, and was greeted with cheers, whereupon
Glory looked perplexed.

"It's Terry," whispered Polly; and Drake said, "Ellen Terry"; but Glory
still looked puzzled.

"They are calling her 'Beatrice,'" she said. Then, mastering the
situation, she looked wise and said: "Of course--the actress--I quite
understand; but why do they applaud her--she has done nothing yet?"

Drake explained that the lady playing Beatrice was a great favourite, and
that the applause of the audience had been of the nature of a welcome to
a welcome guest, as much as to say they had liked her before, and were
glad to see her again. Glory thought that was beautiful, and, looking at
the gleaming eyes that shone out of the darkness, she said:

"How lovely to be an actress!"

Then she turned back to the stage, where all was bright and brilliant,
and said, "What a lovely frock, too!"

"Only a stage costume, my dear," said Polly.

"And what beautiful diamonds!"

"Paste," said Lord Robert.

"Hush!" said Drake; and then Benedick entered, and the audience received
him with great cheering. "Irving," whispered Drake; and Glory looked more
perplexed than before and said:

"But you told me it was Mr. Irving's theatre, and I thought it would have
been his place to welcome----"

The vision of Benedick clapping his hands at his own entrance set Lord
Robert laughing in his cold way: but Drake said, "Be quiet, Robert!"

Glory, like a child, had ears for no conversation except her own, and she
was immersed in the play in a moment. The merry war of Beatrice and
Benedick had begun, and as she watched it her face grew grave.

"Now, that's very foolish of her," she said; "and if, as you say, she's a
great actress, she shouldn't do such things. To talk like that to a man
is to let everybody see that she likes him better than anybody else,
though she's trying her best to hide it. The silly girl--he'll find her
out!"

But the curtain had gone down on the first act, the lights had suddenly
gone up, and her companions were laughing at her. Then she laughed also.

"Of course, it's only a play," she said largely, "and I know all about
plays and about acting, and I can act myself, too."

"I'm sure you can," said Polly, lifting her lip. But Glory took no
notice.

Throughout the second act she put on the same airs of knowledge, watching
the masked ball intently, but ne