The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-12-01

n on certainly. ne yOutnlul duIilOI
was so much gratifed by this Difference
to his opinion that he found it difficult 10
maintain his man Of the-world pose. AS
It happened the manager had already
settled the cast in his own mind, but he
had a reputation for uneduale1 courtesy
to live Up to. Consequently ne put an
other tactful question.
Have. yol anyone in your minds eye
for Violet Trehearne?' :"
At that innocent inquiry the author,
despite his fve-and- twenty years, blusn-
u had thought of Gertrude Maxwell,
he V6ntured diffidentiy
Thorpe nodded appro ,iGsly Odd we
should have pitched on the SAME. he re-
1iarked. You know fe-, perhaps:
Net exactly. hut I've net her et cue
of those charity shows. Don't YOU tiltniI
she's the very woman to do Vi0let..,sf'
fsrhe question is whether we shall get
her said Thorpe dGbiodsly; 81 believe
Wil1not has offered her an engagement.
But YOU said Violet Treiiearne' wa an
out-of- the way good part said the au-
thor denreeatingIy
80 it is, my dear fellow, SO it IS: but
thai won't help us if she has already
closed with Wilnlot However, L think 1
may lie able to work it..
Gertle MAXWELL was one of those fnrtll-
nate young women VINO reach the SUM
nit of the ladder of fame at bound.
instead of climbing thither laboriously,.
rung by rung
Public opinion. however, differed as to
Miss MaXwells claim to her high posi-
ton in the theatrical armament Some
went so far as to assert that she pos
sessed no Qualification for her profession
beyond certain charm of manner which
clung to her alike on and off the boards.
Frankly, Miss MaxwelIs face and ner-
sonalty were her fortune-a fortune
Which. having launched her successfully.
Went yet further and contrived in the
majority of cases to disarm the hostility
Of harG-headed critics.
I've letters We're handed to Courtney
Thorpe the following day: their contents
were respectively as follows:
Dear Courtney-What cute chap you
are OF course, L accept, although it
seems playing it a bit low down on the
girl Mind you, ! haven't seen her for
some s time and she may have transferred
her affections meanwhile. l rather hoEe
she has You are sure to come out on
top either way-you always do. BY tie
way, who is your promising author:
Never heard of im!-Yours ever.
g StrangeWays
Dear Mr. Thorpe-Many thanks for
your note. l had not come to terms with
Mr.. Wilmot, so am at liberty to accept
V "A
Passing f'ancy.''-Yours sincerely.
Gertrude Maxwell
P. S.-You are right in thinking I taee
already met Mr.. Strangeways. We were
in the. same company about year ago
Courtney Thorpe smiled complacently
over the postscript.
81 thoGght you would rise to that fly,
Miss Gertrude Maxwell he said.
- "A Passing Fancy shaped well. but a.
the first night approached the author
lost his sleep and appetite a state of
things not entirely associated with ankle
ty to the fate of his play. In addition
MarkwicE had fallen violently in love
with Gertie Maxwell a fact sufficiently
patent to- all.
Gertie's eyes, which were just the color
of spcedwell. were responsible for caus-
ing Marlwick to rush upon his fate tho
day before "A Passing Fancy" was 2,
be produced
81 am SO sorry, Mr. Warwick, but it's
quite impossible, quite"
Markwick1 grew white. Someone else
I suppose?' he said ierl1ily.
81 wish there was!' said Mss Max
we'll
Markwick looked at her in bewi!der-
ment
Its like this" she said. desperate
ly. Perhaps. if I tell you, It will make
it easier for you to PUT me out of your
mind: YOU will see that I'm not what you
think. | love a man who doesn't care a
ran for me. / accented this engagement
only to be near him. to see him, perhaps
to touch his hand sometimes, or his
sleeve. This Is ali [ live for through each
day. each long, weary day. Oh vou
can't despise me more than despise my
SELF. but I can't help i'll can't"
Il understand" said Markwick. gently
Miss Maxwells eyes filed with tears at
the look which had come into his fac.
Don't make me feel have spoilt every
thing for you,' she murmured, "tomor-
row.
Tomorrow? You mean the play? What
does that matter?"
ct does matter. And you will forget
me. inded you will. if you try"
shall you forget?'
Miss Maxwell WINGED.
Forgive me-" said Markwicl1 gently;
''only it's no use saying that Time
works miracles. and all the rest of it,
but, if a cut goes deep enough we'll
the scar stays There! I've upset YOU
I'm such a clumsy fool. For heavens
sake. don't cry; you'll hurt your eyes
OF course, you're right; ] shant give it
thought in q day or two, not a
thought
He stumbled to the door like a man
stricken with blindness.
Left alone, Gertie Maxwell cried her
spesdwe1 eyes out
On the following day Markwick furtively
took up programme and endeavored
to realize that he was indeed the author
of "A Passing Fancy" Until yester-
day he had been well aware what was at
stake-Thorpe's money, his own reputa-
tion. Today he was equally Indifferent
to both.
IN this frame of mind he ran UP
against Courtney Thorpe. Buck up, old
man., said the manager cheerily
why, bless YOU! I should never have
accepted It if L wasn't practically sure
it would so. You'll seer
II hope So murmured the author. and
thanked his stars that Thorpe could not
read his thoughts
The house was crowded The usual
first-niSaters We're present, also the SER
RED ranks of critics. The success of "A
Passing Fancy" was never for a moment
IN doubt. and, moreover. the piece was a
success on its own merits, apart from the
marvellous acting of Gertrude Maxwell
Her scenes with the man whose passir q
fancy she had been were superlative in
comparable. Even the impartial courte-
nances of the critics relaxed. and those
who hard hitherto declared themselves
skeptfca OF her powers owned themselves
converted. Incontestably Miss Maxwell
had arrived
Superb actingi" volunteered a Junior
to OLD Wentworth OF. the Paragon. The
veteran critic nodded cursorily, but his
smile was enigmatical.
rs it acting?" he muttered under his
breath
The curtain fell to that sweetest of aIl
music in managers ears, unQual fed
applause. When Miss Maxwell was led
before the curtain, first by Gilbert
Strangeways. and again by the author.
there was not woman in the house but
n-nl1Id have gladly chancad nlaces witt