Then her reputation was a little worn; people whistled
and sang her songs and were pleased with their own performance of
them. And Roland, also, had tired a little of the life--of its
regularity and its obligations. He was now often willing to let any
other performer who desired to do so take his place at the piano. He
began to have occasional lookings-backward to Burrell Court and the
respectability it represented.

Then at the close of April Denasia fell ill. The poor girl fretted at
the decline of enthusiasm in her audience. She made stupendous efforts
to regain her place in the popular favour, and she failed because of
the natural law which few are strong enough to defy--that change is as
necessary to amusement as fidelity is to duty. Denasia did not indeed
reason about the event; the simple fact that she had no recalls and no
clamorous approval made her miserable, and then sickness followed.

She was very ill indeed, and for four weeks confined to her room; and
when she was able to consider a return to the hall, Roland found that
her place had been taken by a Spanish singer with a mandolin and a
wonderful dance. That was really a serious disappointment to the young
couple, for during the month money had been going out and none coming
in. For even when Denasia had been making twenty-five pounds a week,
they had lived and dressed up to the last shilling; so that a month's
enforced idleness and illness placed them deeply in debt and
uncomfortably pressed for the wherewithal to meet debt.

Denasia also had been much weakened by her illness. Her fine form and
colour were impaired, she was nervous and despondent; and a
suffering, sickly wife was quite out of Roland's calculations and
very much out of his sympathies. Poverty had a bad effect upon him. To
be without money to buy the finest brand of cigars, to be annoyed by
boarding-house keepers, tailors, and costumers, to have to buy
medicines with cash when he was without his usual luxuries, was a
condition of affairs that struck Roland as extremely improper for a
young man of his family and education.

And he disliked now to interview managers. Mademoiselle Denasia was a
recognised member of the profession which more than any other demands
that everyone stand upon their merits; and Denasia had not been a very
pronounced success. She remained just about where she had begun, and
managers naturally thought that she had done the best of which she was
capable. That best