THE IDEAL WOMAN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14302, 23 February 1910, Page 4

THE IDEAL WOMAN.

' BY ROBERT BARR, Author of " The Faco and the Mask." " The Mutable Many," " From Whose Bourne." The Strong Arm." "The Countess Tekla." " A Woman Intervenes." " Stranleigh's Millions," " Gar- : dillac," etc.

PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT.

[COPYRIGHT.]

CHAPTER XII. "If one may believe all t that appears in the newspapers, there exist a number of talented dramatists who'never get an opportunity'with the public. My theatre will afford them that opportunity. There are two women in whose literary judgment 1 feel great confidence, even though I may be shaky in my own opinion. • I shall advertise for unacted plays by ■ unknown dramatists, and those two literary women shall read them, and select the best. The question they must ask of each play is not whether it will pay or not, but whether it is good or bad: ;I intend to choose the best actors and actresses I can for the stars of my company, and to pick, out the rest from among those who, like my dramatists, are unknown. It cannot bo denied that, the stage has attracted, and always will attract, some of the most charming, the most talented, and the best women in the world. I shall quietly study the ladies of my company. A manager,, they tell me, sees all the pettinesses, all the jealousies, with which poor human nature is afflicted. If, then, 1 discover a girl who is not jealous, who is not mean, who is a woman of talent and of charm, well educated, too—who, in fact comes up to the specification with which 1 furnished you a while ago, why, then, I'll marry her, if she will condescend to accept me.":.■■.," -:.■■.,"

Mrs.. Ambry laughed quietly and long. ; "I see you don't approve of my project," paid the marquees. "It wouldn't fulfil the conditions you have set down. There is every likelihood that the actress who, as you said, cameup to your specification, would not be one of the stars, but an unknown member of your company. It would speedily become known among.the players that you had - twenty thousand pounds in the bank, and probably rumour would wildly exaggerate the sum ; but even if' it didn't, twenty thousand represents to an unknown girl illimitable wealth, so you still run the dreaded danger of: being married for your money." . ' ' • '?"' ".- ' '

Wait a moment, Amory— "No, you wait a moment. Although you might not be suspected of rank, they would ■' know - you were clothed in power, which, in such a company, would militate against ;your being chosen . for yourself, alone quite as much as your rank does now. When even the stars knew that at a word from you they would be fallen stars, every member of your company would be looking to you for advancement. T.understand that celebrated actresses nearly always marry their managers, when they: do not enter the sacred circle of the aristocracy, so it seems to -me that in carrying out your fantastic plan you merely exchange one set of conditions for another equally subversive of the object you have in view. I should much " rather risk marrying Lady Dorothy as Marquess of Merivale,, than taking Dolly : Dimple for your bride as manager of a.theatre."

"Well, Amory,. that is all very true, but your criticism.arises from the imperfection. of my outline of plan, i I should be neither the manager of the theatre nor the capitalist. I should select the best manager ; I ' could find a married man for preference— the capitalist would be some unknown rich person in Australia, I enacting the part.of his private secretary, poor but honest. I should have nothing to do with the advancement or the retarding of :■' any member )'■ of the company. ■: ; Whenever my manager wished me to : plunge financially, I might say that if the money were my : own I should not hesitate, but being merely a trustee, I .must: preach economy. v I should make a.proviso that I was always present with the manager during i rehearsals, and when ; complaints were made, being thus an energetic lookeron, a chiel ' amang them : takin' notes, but saying very little. ;; Oh, no "I should not be such a fool as to pose either as a man of power or a man 'of. riches." "You have thought it all out, then . - "Yes ; ;_.' I ; have devoted much time and study to the proposal, and that is why it is so complete. I have pondered about it ever since the ; house-party was - proposed this morning. ; It is the result of the cogitations of several hours, 4 so, you see, it is not hastily come at, but is as well matured as a plan of invasion." Amory sat silent, meditating ;. then she said: "Two women are to be your '■ dramatic advisers. ; May I flatter myself that I am one of them?'' ' „■ "Yes, Auntie Amory." - "But I see the world only through books. I .^ know .nothing of cities or society. So far as I am concerned, you are leaning on a' broken reed in ever}' sense of the word." "Your literary judgment is . unimpeachable, and it is literature that I wish to place on'the stage." . "What a finished courtier you are, Rupert!"-"- '.';.- ■ . ■••. "No, a" courtier -flatters'; , I do not." "Shall I be considered too inquisitive if I ask who the other woman is?" „ "She is Margaret Elmer." "Ah, and: who. is Margaret Elmer?" "Margaret is by way of being my mother's secretary. She is expert at shorthand', with fingers bcwilderingly * nimble on the typewriter." - " ■ ':}„ ■~-':.;:' ;.,-"-' ~': " Does the marchioness ) favour machinemade correspondence, then?" "No. Margaret writes out all my mother's letters with her own pen." . "Then the typewriter is used for your theatrical communications, I suppose?" "No ; I told you I hadn't thought of the theatre ; until late this morning.. My brother John, the politician of the family, is the owner, and , the patron of the typewriter. As Liberal candidate for West Derryinore, he is away at present - pursuing his nefarious trade of politician. Margaret seems to have an intuitive grasp of anything , requiring order or organisation. She is a girl of great tact, and will bring cosmos out of chaos quicker than anyone else I ever knew. These qualities are most useful to my brother John, who is an impetuous, blunderheaded fellow, continually involving himself in all sorts of unnecessary difficulties." "I should think he would resent being set right by a secretaryby a servant, as it were." . ' " Oh ! Margaret is not a servant, you know ; indeed, she is a distant connection of our family, and her father was a clergyman. He held the living at Merivale,village until his death. But you must not suppose for a moment that Margaret is so clumsy as to let John know she is managing him. No ; she is much too subtle for that. She seems to recognise intuitively when to bend before the gale. With equal intuition, she knows when the storm is past, and insinuates her own perfectly correct ideas into John's head so deftly that he thinks-they arose there. She always waits till the clouds roll by, if you, under-, stand me." ' .' "A rather dangerous, crafty person, I , should think." Oh, no, no ; that thought arises through my awkward way of describing her. There is nothing underhand about Margaret. I look upon her as honesty personified. She will always give way in trifles, having an. unerring perception of what is important and what; is immaterial. '• When it comes to an essential point, Margaret is quite placidly immovable. : We had;an instance of that this very : morning. The- mater

made what I considered was an unjust demand upon Margaret, and the girl was mild as a summer zephyr, but firm as a rock, if I am not mixing my similes a bit." "Did she refuse?" "Well, she didn't comply. Refusal seems too harsh a term." "From what you tell me of the marchioness, I should think she would not stand that sort of conduct from a subordinate." "Oh, she thinks she won't, either. She is going to dismiss Margaret, but I can't have that, you know. Miss Elmer was in the right, and I make no doubt I shall succeed in persuading my mother so." "My Lord Marquess, in that case you had better practise on inc." "I'm afraid I don't understand, Amory." ' "You have not succeeded in convincing mo that a young woman'-has any right to defy her employer, a lady so much older than herself." " 1 fear I ain presenting her case very badly. The word 'defy' has no relationship to Margin- Elmer. . ' I could not imagine Margaret defying a sparrow. She is the least combative of created beings. eternally sacrificing herself to the convenience of other people. I have known her to work till daylight on that precious clattering machine, merely to get off by the first post some of the stuff and nonsense that John had been dictating. John has not the slightest notion of the limit of human endurance in other people. 1 study my younger brother with interest and amazement. He has .all the boisterous, bourgedi., overbearing boorishness of his uncle. Lord Brunton, without any of that business man's method and order. To this •ho unites the arrogance of the Merivalrs with very little of their innate courtesy. A Mcrivale would browbeat an equal; but never scold a servant who was palpably doing his best. John will do both." . "How old is she?" " Who?" asked the marquess, in surprise, ."This young woman. What did you call her?" ' • "Miss Elmer? Oh, she's 22 or 24, or somewhere thereabouts," "Is she good-looking "Yes; now that you mention it I should call her a very beautiful girl, though she doesn't in the least suspect it." " How- do you know?" ' )' : " Oh, Margaret, is one of the most modest and retiring of young women, who dresses very simply, and never wishes to go to London for the chopping." " Dear me, what a paragon ! I suppose she acts as your .secretary also?" "No, as a matter of : fact, she doesn't. You see, I am by way of being the loafer of the family." ' J " You'll be busy enough when the theatrical speculation is set on foot." . " I won't be busy, but other fellows will. As I told you before, I'm to be merely a looker-on. What' is the use of a man working when he possesses the money to hire other, people's aid?" " I was thinking Margaret would perhaps be your secretary then." ' ".Oh, it's very likely, but I had intended to enlist her. assistance in the choosing . of plays." ; v '_ l ~,..- ■ -' '■■!' " How do you know she is capable of doing that?" . .' ": " Because Margaret has exceedingly good judgment so far as books are concerned.'" "You mean' that her taste agrees with that of Lord Merivale?" '-/'-.', ; " No, Madam Amory, Ido not. I mean that her taste agrees with yours. ■ I have risen very highly in Margaret's estimation, simply because of the books she thinks I have chosen in London. But you chose those books, and in 'her mind I have fraudulently taken credit that really belongs to you. Miss Elmer is devoted to books, and every minute she can spare from ■ her tasks is '; spent in the library. She has come to look on those volumes you order from London as a mental basis in her daily round." For a-long time Mrs. Amory ; made no replv. and asked no further questions. Once more she seemed to have fallen into a waking trance. .>■'.. ' ' -' "It is remarkable." she said at last, "that having so little to do with Miss.Elmer you know so much about her." 1 ' (To be continued daily.) '. *

PUBLISHED BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT.