instruction."

He made her laugh, and she feigned a pout in obeying him; but,
nevertheless, in her heart she felt herself postponed to the interest
that was always first in him, and always before his love.

"And don't talk," he urged, "or keep calling out, or reading passages
ahead. I want to get all the sense there doesn't seem to be in this
thing."

In fact the critics had found themselves confronted with a task which is
always confusing to criticism, in the necessity of valuing a work of art
so novel in material that it seems to refuse the application of
criterions. As he followed their struggles in the endeavor to judge his
work by such canons of art as were known to them, instead of taking it
frankly upon the plane of nature and of truth, where he had tried to put
it, and blaming or praising him as he had failed or succeeded in this,
he was more and more bowed down within himself before the generous
courage of Godolphin in rising to an appreciation of his intention. He
now perceived that he was a man of far more uncommon intelligence than
he had imagined him, and that in taking his play Godolphin had shown a
zeal for the drama which was not likely to find a response in criticism,
whatever its fate with the public might be. The critics frankly owned
that in spite of its defects the piece had a cordial reception from the
audience; that the principal actors were recalled again and again, and
they reported that Godolphin had spoken both for the author and himself
in acknowledging the applause, and had disclaimed all credit for their
joint success. This made Maxwell ashamed of the suspicion he had
harbored that Godolphin would give the impression of a joint
authorship, at the least. He felt that he had judged the man narrowly
and inadequately, and he decided that as soon as he heard from him, he
would write and make due reparation for the tacit wrong he had done him.

Upon the whole he had some reason to be content with the first fortune
of his work, whatever its final fate might be. To be sure, if the
audience which received it was enthusiastic, it was confessedly small,
and it had got no more than a foothold in the public favor. It must
remain for further trial to prove it a failure or a success. His eye
wandered to the column of advertised amusements for the pleasure of
seeing the play announced there for the rest of the week. There was a
full list of the pieces for the time of Godolphin's stay; but it seemed
th