had come to tell me that
the maniac was dead. He had shot himself almost immediately after
leaving me, and the constable who had put me into a hansom remembered my
words and my name and address. Hence I was now summoned to give evidence
at the inquest.

Of course the policeman was easily pacified, and, indeed, regarded his
rough treatment by two of his own colleagues as a joke rather than
otherwise.

I duly gave evidence at the inquest, but I am sorry to say that when I
told my story it was not listened to quite so gravely as I thought it
ought to have been.

[Illustration: "THERE WAS A SCUFFLE."]

So altogether this adventure rather disgusted me with the occupation I
had hitherto been following, and now, for some time past, instead of
composing tales of crime, I have gone in for writing moral stories for
boys.

[Illustration: THE IDLER'S CLUB

SUBJECT FOR DISCUSSION

SHALL WE HAVE A DRAMATIC ACADEMY?]

[Sidenote: Miss Fanny Brough thinks that it is indispensable.]

Of course, there will be the usual outcry that we don't want an Academy
of British Dramatic Art because we have not had one hitherto; but there
are many things wanted now-a-days which our forefathers had to do
without. I don't say for a moment that the heads of the profession in
England are not equal to those of France or other countries; it is the
rank and file of whom I complain. They never get a chance of learning
how to walk or talk properly on the stage, and, consequently, minor
parts are frequently very badly played in English theatres. For
instance, I went on the stage--in the provinces--just when the old
system of stock companies was dying out. A few years before then it
would have been possible to receive an admirable training in the
provinces. But when I went on the stage, touring companies took
possession of the land, and I had only two parts in eighteen months.
What possible chance was there of learning to act under such a system?
None at all. The result was that when I came to London, and had a
comparatively good part offered me, I did not feel satisfied with the
way I played it, and returned to the provinces. The difficulty, of
course, is how to exist whilst qualifying for the stage. I maintain that
a Dramatic Academy would do away with this difficulty, and tend to the
improvement of British Dramatic Art in numberless ways. There are
hundreds of inefficient teachers who profess to train people for the
stage, although they