he swung halfway back again, then a little forwards, and
finally, coming to anchor at a suitable distance, raised her two hands
and, as though offering him a tray of refreshments, said--

"Grazie."

He, pursuing his policy of frigid politeness, bowed in acknowledgment and
followed her off the stage, leaving the corpse of the giant lying near
the sea.

The back cloth was intentionally too long, so that the bottom was
crumpled into folds which did well enough for little waves breaking on
the shore. These waves now began to be agitated, and gradually rose
gustily and advanced until they had covered the dead giant. It was a
very good effect and avoided the banality of removing the body in sight
of the audience; it looked as though the wind had risen and the depths
had swallowed him. And this, as I afterwards was told, is what happens
to the giant's body in the story.

When the back cloth went up for the next scene the corpse was gone, and
we were in The House of the Poor Man where Michele came to take
refuge--from what I did not clearly understand, but if from the Princess
of Bizerta he would have been better advised had he sought some other
sanctuary; for no sooner had he performed his usual meditation and
soliloquy and got himself to sit down on The Poor Man's chair, where he
instantly fell asleep with his head resting on his hand, than Her
Highness entered and, addressing the audience confidentially, said that
she loved him and intended to take this opportunity of giving him a kiss.
She was, however, on the other side of the stage and had first to get to
him, which she did so like a bird with a broken wing that he woke up
before she reached him. She evidently did not consider that this added
to her difficulties, but something else did.

A dispute had been simmering in the gallery just opposite where we sat,
and now began to boil over, and threatened to swamp the play as the waves
had submerged the Arabian giant. I thought perhaps we ought to leave,
though it would have been impossible to pass out quickly, but the
professor again assured me there was no danger; the management are
accustomed to disturbances and know how to deal with them. So I sat
still, and the proprietor came on the stage and stood in front of the
gas-jets. He joined his hands as though in prayer and begged us to be
quiet, saying that it was a complicated story and would require all our
attention, that Michele would die on Wednesday, and he h