on in the affirmative. As far as I am
acquainted with her record, Mrs. Orme is a worthy woman, and I may
add, a remarkably cautious circumspect person for one so
comparatively unaccustomed to the admiration which is now lavished
upon her. I believe it is conceded that she is the most beautiful
woman in New York, but she shelters herself so securely in the
constant presence of a plain but most respectable old couple, with
whom she resides, and who accompany her when travelling, that it is
difficult to see her, except upon the stage. Even in her business
visits to my office she has always been attended by old Mrs. Waul."

"Can you explain to me how one so uneducated and inexperienced as she
certainly was has so suddenly attained, not only celebrity (which is
often cheaply earned), but eminence in a profession, involving the
amount of culture requisite for dramatic success?"

A slight smile showed the glittering line of the lawyer's teeth.

"When did you see her last?"

"Seven years ago."

"Then I venture the assertion that you would not recognize her should
you see her in one of her favourite and famous _roles_. When, where,
or by whom she was trained I know not, but some acquaintance with the
most popular ornaments of her profession justifies my opinion that no
more cultivated or artistic actress now walks the stage than Madame
Odille Orme. She is no mere _amateur_ or novice, but told me she had
laboriously and studiously struggled up from the comparatively menial
position of seamstress. Even in Paris I have never heard a purer,
finer rendition of a passage in _Phedre_ than one day burst from her
lips in a moment of deep feeling, yet I cannot tell you how or where
she learned French. She made her _debut_ in tragedy, somewhere in the
West, and when she reappeared in New York her success was brilliant.
I have never known a woman whose will was so patiently rigid, so
colossal, whose energy was so tireless in the pursuit of one special
aim. She has the vigilance and tenacity of a Spanish bloodhound."

"In the advancement of her scheme, do you believe her capable of
committing a theft?"

"What do you denominate a theft?"

The piercing black eyes of the lawyer were fixed with increased
interest upon the clergyman.

"Precisely what every honest man means by the term. If Mrs. Orme
resolved to possess a certain paper to which she had been denied
access, do you think she would hesitate to break into a house, open a
sec