er eyes fell suddenly upon the rich jewel upon her finger. "No, no; I
cannot think of that," she thought.

Then the word "starving" came back to her again with all its force.
"Starving!" Her imagination pictured all its horrors. "Starving" seemed
written on every wall and on the ceiling. It pierced her heart and
brain. "Yes, I will," she exclaimed, wildly. "Here, Strings, old fellow,
take the ring to the babes, to cut their teeth on."

Strings stood aghast. "No, Mistress Nell; it is a present. You must
not," he protested.

"There are others where that came from," generously laughed Nell.

"You must not; you are too kind," he continued, firmly.

[Illustration: NELL PREVENTS A QUARREL.]
"Pooh, pooh! I insist," said Nell as she forced the jewel upon him. "It
will make a pretty mouthful; and, besides, I do not want my jewels to
outshine me."

Strings would have followed her and insisted upon her taking back the
beautiful gift, but Nell was gone in an instant and her door closed.

"To cut their teeth on!" he repeated as he placed the jewelled ring
wonderingly upon his bow-finger and watched it sparkle and laugh in the
light as he pretended to play a tune. "She is always joking like that;
Heaven reward her."

He stood lost in the realization of sudden affluence.

Buckingham entered the room from the stage-door. His eyes were full of
excitement. "The audience are wild over Nell, simply wild," he exclaimed
in his enthusiasm, unconscious of the fact that he had an auditor, who
was equally oblivious of his lordship's presence. "Gad," he continued,
rapturously, half aloud, half to himself, "when they are stumbling home
through London fog, the great _comedienne_ will be playing o'er the
love-scenes with Buckingham in a cosy corner of an inn. She will not
dare deny my bid to supper, with all her impudence. _Un petit
souper!_" He broke into a laugh. "Tis well Old Rowley was too engaged
to look twice at Nelly's eyes," he thought. "His Majesty shall never
meet the wench at arm's length, an I can help it."

He observed or rather became aware for the first time that there was
another occupant of the room.

"Ah, sirrah," he called, without noting the character of his companion,
"inform Mistress Nell, Buckingham is waiting."

Strings looked up. He seemed to have grown a foot in contemplation of
his sudden wealth. Indeed, each particular tatter on his back seemed to
have assumed an independent air.

"Inform her yourself!" he