, 1923-04-08
CHAPTER xL1v-continued.)

building up of a false complexion
layer On layer. line by line.
she rarely saw Tom Holby's real
face. He also was painted like an In
dian brave.
But for all the fatigue nj the ar
tince. there was a feeling OF delight
and of friendliness on tho stages.
cooperation was necessary and 1t
was the custom. The technical prob
lens were innumerable and their dis
eussions as scientific as laboratory
debate.
The reward of rewards was the rap
ture OF creation. Nearly all the mem
hers of the company would rather act
than eat. rather play feigne6i sorrows
than indulge in real Joys. They
sought for diffcult tasks they were
grateful for demands upon their ut
most They sulked only
when their tot! was diminished or
they were left out OF a scene or not
taxed to their limit.
Mems affair with Tom Hobby was
settling down into the pleasant but
drab relationship of two business
n~nrtners. They were as friendly al
Ready as an old married couple with
= ont ever having known the initiatory
rites.
But in this dull fact there lurked
a resentful. impatient peril.
CHAPTER XIV.
There was much skylarliing on the
set-a chlldlike spontaneity OF wit and
cynicism and an inexhaustible fascin-
alton of craft.
Mem was becoming something Of n
technician. The mechanics the ar
tlsanShip that sustaIns every art, the
~nlphabcts of expression. the wireless
codes for tho transmission of emo
ton. its creation is a transmitter, its
p~reparation for the receivers - all
these things no artist can ignore and
succeed.
The more eloquence the orator feels
in his heart the more he considers
his tones. The more earnest the writer
the more piously he ons his diction-
AIRY. The mere glorious the singer
the more he studies his breath con-
troll, his coups de glotte. his white
notes, his transition colors. The more
fervid the the more he pom
ders acoustics and tone combinations
and the inventions of new instru-
ments. The mere eager the painter
1 the more ho analyses his values, the
more he seeks new tubes, new
brushes, new chemistries of color.
Only the amateur. the dawdier. the
d~lettante desplses his craft and de-
pends on passion or that egotistic
within which he calls inspiration.
So the ambitious actor must experi-
ment always with the tools OF thought
the engines of suffering.
Once when Mem was shocked at a
nippancy Of Tom Holby's concerning
his art, he rebuked her earnestly:
You're not really well acquainted
with your art unless you can Joke
about It. What's funnier than the
idea thai being funny is not as &C.
rious as being solemncholy There
was never a finer actor than Nat
Goodwin. and I heard him say once,
speaking Of his Shylock: I was great
in the last act. 1 knew I was great
because the audience was weeping
and I was guying 1t. and when you
can guy n serious scene you've got
to be great"
Mem began to understand also. but
slowly. that making fun Of ones Sc
rfous emotions is a form OF modesty,
IA covering of ~nakodness, n shy no
treat behind a mask of smiles.
She began to be able to talk Flip
nantly of her art and to talk OF 1t in
trade terms.
One day when she was posing for
a big closeup of herself asleep. h
director asked her to try to squeeze
a tear or two through her great
olenched eyelids. She startled even
him by saving, with an elfin earnest
ness:
what kind do you want? One
great big slow tcardrop. or a lot of
little shiny ones7"
He was shocked but he hid his
own sense of sacrilege in n careless;
"Give me one large tear about five
elghths OF an inch in diameter.
"All right" she said.
And she did. It oozed through her
long lahsea and slipped reluctantly
down her cheek into her hair. And.
knowing what he knew of its control.
he felt his own eyes wet. and h
ade camera man whispered awe
somely, Great
In another scene, where more tears
were required of her. he noted that
while she waited for the camera set
up she had her hands UP to
ner lips anu bue secahS0 ~ W "
rerlng to herself;
Curious. he asked. What are you
up to now?"
She gazed at him. 81 was praying
God to send me beautiful r
He shook his head and walked away
gasping.
One afternoon the chief financial
power in Tom Eolby's company saw
Mem pacing up and down by herself
Mt a distance from the set. He watch
her and noted that she lcaned against
n canvas wall and hid her head in
her arm. Htr shoulders quivered
and shook with forlorn woe.
Usis heart was touched and he
could not resist an impulse to 90
to her and proffer his sympathy in
her evident grief. He touched her
on the arm and asked with I'M al
most motherlng solicitude:
you poor childl what's the mat
terri"
She whlrled on him in surprise and
stared through g shower Of tears.
Then a smile broke from her u
barfox tf,- and oh. pfpUled