Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1919-03-28
CHAPTER x-continued.

Miss Kemble went forward to
Daphne and took her hand and petted
it and said: "I'm so glad to see you.
You must meet my aunt, Mrs. Vlnlng.
She won't object to your playing her
parts, I'm sure"
Mrs. Vining, who had played all
manner of roles for half century,
and was now established as a famous
player of hateful old grandes DANES,
spared Daphne her ready vinegar and
chose to mother her.
Mr.. Reben had come down from his
Office to make up his own mind. He
smiled with a kind of challenging cor
diality and murmured: $50 our little
business woman is going to open the
shop. Well, all you've got to do is
J to deliver the goods and I'll buy 'em
at your own price"
Patterson raped on the kitchen
table that stood on the apron of the
stage under a naked bunch of light
of glazing brilliance.
'Places, please. for the entrance.
Ready? All right, Eldon!'
The noble matinee idol put his hat
On the table, walked on, sat down on
divan composed of two broken
chairs and read an imaginary news
paper.
Patterson said: "Doorbell! Buzz"
A well-dressed young man, whom
Daphne recognized as the elderly but
Ter, walked across and opened an
imaginary door between two chairs.
This was the cue for Miss Kemble's
famous How do you dO?"
Everybody waited and watched for
the newcomer to make her debut in
the new world. Then was a silence.
Daphne stood with heels screwed to
the floor and tongue glued to the roof
of her mouth.
"All right, Miss Kip" said Patterson
with ominous patience. "Come on,
come on, please!''
Another silence, then Daphne
laughed and ehoked. Sim awfully stu
pid. I've forgotten the line"
Patterson CRASHED his unlighted CT
gar and growled: ''Howjadol How
jado!''
ooh, yesi Thank you. I'm so
sorry!" said Daphne, and walked on
at the wrong side of the chairs.
Everybody shuddered to realize that
she had entered through a solid wall.
This miracle was ignored, but there
was no ignoring the peculiarly inelo-
quent note she struck when she bowed
to the butler and stammered:
"How are your
A sigh went through the vast pro-
found and void Of the empty theater.
Instinct told even the echoes that
Daphne did not belong and never could
belong. Patterson groaned, tragically.
"Not to the butler, please! Don't
say How are you? to the butler.
Don't say How are your to anybody,
please. Script says Howjado?' Say
'Howjado?' to Mr.. EIdon there. Say
'Howjado' to Mr.. EIdon there"
"How do you do?" said Daphne,
bowling to Eldon and speaking with a
soullessness of a squeezed doll.
Eldon rose, folded up his imaginary
paper, and came forward with a pity
ing desire to help her. He hoped that
the scared little Kip woman would win
through the same bitter trials to the
same perilous and always endangered
success. But he had a fear.
He delivered her his line with be-
nevolent gentleness. He waited, then
gave her her line with exquisite tact.
She did not repeat it after him. He
said to her:
"Don't be afraid; you're all right. y
He gave her the line again and she
parroted it after him. She leaped
then to a speech several minutes far
Their on. He drew her back to the cue
pardon me, but think have line
before that"
The rehearsal Numbered on. It-was
not Daphne's fright that disturbed
the rest. 1t was her complete failure
to suggest the character, or any char
acter.
But Patterson found nothing to
amuse him, and Reben tasted that
dust and ashes of disappointment
with which theatrical managers are
so familiar when they bite on the
Dead sea fruit of beauty without dra-
matte talent.
Miss Kemble tried to help. She
asked Daphne to step aside and watch
while she went through the scene. But
she was so unnerved that she forgot
her own lines and had to refer to the
manuscript, while Eldon waited in
acute distress and Daphne, looking on,
SAID: ooh, see. think understand
it now" Then she forgot it all again
at the repetition. Somehow the re
hearsal was worried through to the
end and Patterson dismissed the COM
pany with sarcastic thanks. Then he
went to Reben to demand a substi-
tute.