spects since we first made his acquaintance; his disenchantment was
in fact becoming complete. He had taken to the stage at first in
reliance on the extravagant eulogies of friends, forgetting that the
standard for amateurs in any form of art is not a high one, and he
was very soon brought to his proper level. A good appearance and
complete self-possession were about his sole qualifications, unless we
add the voice and manner of a man in good society, which are not by
any means the distinctive advantages that they were a few years ago.
The general verdict of his fellow-professionals was, 'Clever enough,
but no actor,' and he was without the sympathy or imagination to
identify himself completely with any character and feelings opposed to
his own; he had obtained one distinct success, and one only--at a
_matinee_, when a new comedy was presented in which a part of some
consequence had been entrusted to him. He was cast for a cool and
cynical adventurer, with a considerable dash of the villain in him,
and played it admirably, winning very favourable notices from the
press, although the comedy itself resulted as is not infrequent with
_matinees_, in a dismal fiasco. However, the _matinee_ proved for a
time of immense service to him in the profession, and even led to his
being chosen by his manager to represent the hero of the next
production at his own theatre--a poetical drama which had excited
great interest before its appearance--and if Caffyn could only have
made his mark in it, his position would have been assured from that
moment. But the part was one of rather strained sentiment, and he
could not, rather than would not, make it effective. In spite of
himself, his manner suggested rather than concealed any extravagances
in the dialogue, and, worse still, gave the impression that he was
himself contemptuously conscious of them; the consequence being that
he repelled the sympathies of his audience to a degree that very
nearly proved fatal to the play. After that unlucky first night the
part was taken from him, and his engagement, which terminated shortly
afterwards, was not renewed.

Caffyn was not the man to overcome his deficiencies by hard and
patient toil; he had counted upon an easy life with immediate
triumphs, and the reality baffled and disheartened him. He might soon
have slid into the lounging life of a man about town, with a moderate
income, expensive tastes, and no occupation, and from that perhaps
even to