ves into the remainder or wander
forlornly about in the space in front of the tapestry. The playlets again
are almost bound to be just concentrated episodes, probably elemental in
theme and certainly elementary in treatment.

The excuses for their interpolation in _Mr. Todd's Experiment_ were not
marked by a very great subtlety. There was really none for the first three,
which simply relieved _Mr. Todd_ of the tedious recital of the hero's
disillusionments in love. The next two were introduced by way of
illustrating his alleged gift of clairvoyance; and the last served frankly
to fill in the interval while the rest of the company was away at dinner.
The general effect of all these desultory little _Guignols_ was perhaps
rather cheap, and not very complimentary to the intelligence of those of us
who had outgrown a childish _penchant_ for peep-shows.

[Illustration: _Willoughby Todd_ (_Mr. HOLMAN CLARK_). "BE YOUR OLD TRUE
SELF. MAKE THE WOMEN ADORE YOU."

_Arthur John Carrington_ (_Mr. OWEN NARES_). "YOUR ADVICE IS GOOD. I WILL
NOW TAKE OFF MY BEARD AND BE OWEN NARES ONCE MORE."]

_Mr. Todd's Experiment_ (for I have spoken only of Mr. HACKETT'S) was to
restore a _blase_ and valetudinarian young man of thirty to a proper state
of energy by recalling the memories of his past loves and so reviving in
him a desire to stand well in the eyes of the sex. For this purpose he
produces (1) a bunch of wood-violets to suggest (through the nose) the
environment of his first passion; (2) a specially-tipped brand of
cigarettes to revive (through the mouth) the sentiment of his second; and a
gramophone record to recover (through the ear) the associations of his
third.

So well does he succeed that the hero pulls himself together, shaves off
his beard, becomes our OWEN NARES again, and sallies forth, habited for
conquest, to pay calls on all the three. From all the three he retires
disillusioned, having found them as egoistic as himself, and in the end
finds solace rather shamelessly, in the love of a devoted slave who might
have been his for the taking any time in the last several years.

The matter was pleasant enough, but its interest must, I think, have left
us indifferent if it had not been for the diversion afforded by the
playlets. While the idea was original, the presentation of it seemed to
have a touch of amateurishness, though I would not go so far as to agree
with the old fogey, played by Mr. FRED KERR, who pronounced th