nowledge--Mr. Potter may have let fall in the green-room; or
even a few witticisms might not be out of place, if you should recall
these. We should all like to know, I am sure, what Mr. Potter's method
of conceiving his part was. Also, does he leave entire freedom to his
company in the creation of their own roles, or does he aid them? Many
questions, no doubt, occur to all of us. For instance: Did Mr. Potter
offer you any suggestions for changes and alterations that might aid to
develop the literary and artistic value of the pl--"

The placid voice, flowing on in gentle great content of itself (while
all the boarders gallantly refrained from eating), was checked by an
interruption which united into one shattering impact the effects of
lese-majeste and of violence.

"Couldn't! No! No parlour! Horrib--"

The words mingled in the throat of the playwright, producing an
explosion somewhere between choke and bellow, as he got upon his feet,
overturning his chair and coincidentally dislodging several articles of
china and glassware. He stood among the ruins for one moment, publicly
wiping his brow with a napkin, then plunged, murmuring, out of the
room and up the stairway; and, before any of the company had
recovered speech, the front door was heard to slam tumultuously, its
reverberations being simultaneous with the sound of footsteps running
down the stoop.

Turning northward upon the pavement, the fugitive hurriedly passed
the two lighted windows of the dining-room; they rattled with a
concussion--the outburst of suddenly released voices beginning what
was to be a protracted wake over the remains of his reputation as a
gentleman. He fled, flinging on his overcoat as he went. In his pockets
were portions of the manuscript of his play, already distorted since
rehearsal to suit the new nobleness of "Roderick Hanscom," and among
these inky sheets was a note from Talbot Potter, received just before
dinner:

Dear Mr. Canby,

Come up to my apartments at the Pantheon after dinner and let me see
what changes you have been able to make in the second and third acts.
I should like to look at them before deciding to put on another play I
have been considering.

Hastily y'rs,

Tal't Potter.

VI

Canby walked fast, the clamorous dining-room seeming to pursue him, and
the thought of what figure he had cut there filling him with horror of
himself, though he found a little consolation in wondering if he hadn't
insulted