ut three months, for the cast of the
players was changed several times--the usual fuss and confusion of
provincial theaters where none of the ladies want to assume the part
of an old, quarrelsome, or shady character, or that of a maid, but
all wish to be heroines.

Krenska, whom Janina kept at a respectful distance from herself,
never confiding anything to her nor asking her advice, found a good
reason in the play for approaching her. She began to give her
lessons in the art of acting, untiringly.

So absorbed did she become with her part, so deeply did she enter
into the character, and so well did it fit her that she gave a very
creditable presentation. She was every inch a peasant woman, a
genuine Pawlowa, and received a clamorous ovation at the end of the
play. This momentary triumph and the consciousness of her power
filled her with a wild and unrestrained joy. It was with a feeling
of intense regret that she saw the final curtain fall.

Krenska also created quite a furore. It was a role that she had
often played with great success on the real stage. During the
intermissions everyone was speaking only of her and of Janina.

"A comedienne! A born actress!" whispered the ladies, regarding
Janina with a sort of contemptuous pity.

Orlowski, whom they thanked and congratulated for having so talented
a daughter and companion, shrugged his shoulders. He was, however,
satisfied, for he went behind the scenes, petted Janina, and kissed
Krenska's hand.

"Good, good! . . . Nothing extraordinary, but at least I don't have
to feel ashamed of you," was all the praise that he gave them.

After the performance Janina drew closer to Krenska and the latter,
in a moment of weakness, betrayed the secret concerning her past
life. She revealed to Janina a new realm, wondrous and alluring.

She listened with rapt attention to Krenska's accounts of the stage,
her numerous appearances and triumphs, and the vivid life of an
actor. As she related her experiences Krenska was herself carried
away by enthusiasm and painted them in glowing colors; she no longer
remembered the miseries of that life and held up only the brightest
pictures to the gaze of the enraptured girl. She pulled out of her
trunk faded and musty copies of roles she had once impersonated,
read them to Janina and played them, stirred by memories of the
past.

All this fascinated the girl and awoke in her certain strong
desires, but it did not, as yet, absorb her; it