ing room as possible.

Fronting the entrance to the open-air theater stood three or four palm
trees so trimmed as to give the effect of a green canopy.

Inside the theater were rows of rustic benches and in the foreground the
open-air stage surrounded by a background of shrubs. Around the
enclosure was a thick hedge.

Once inside the little theater and one was in so unique a setting, it
was as if one were shut away in an enchanted world.

No more charming place could have been discovered for the performance of
Shakespeare's comedy. The atmosphere and the scenery of the "Forest of
Arden" were already secure.

A thrill of anticipation ran through the audience with the tinkling of a
number of bells to announce the opening of the play.

Then the actors entered from behind a screen of shrubs to the left of
the stage. The first conversation is between _Orlando_ and old _Adam_.

The real interest of the audience waited, of course, upon the appearance
of the star, and soon after _Rosalind_ and _Celia_ appeared on the lawn
before the _Duke's_ palace.

Mrs. Burton had played the character of _Rosalind_ many times; the
courage and gaiety of one of the most charming of all Shakespeare's
heroines were essentially her own characteristics.

Tonight, on making her entrance, she had to pause for a moment to
acknowledge the storm of applause. The first speech was _Marta's_, and
Mrs. Burton was glad of the respite, remembering her own tragic first
appearance and wondering if Marta could be suffering half so much.

Several times before the actual performance, she had been afraid that
her solicitude for her amateur company would seriously interfere with
her own acting.

Marta managed her first speech as _Celia_ bravely. If one recalls her
line, it is a brief one:

"I pray thee, Rosalind, sweet my coz, be merry."

Then _Rosalind_ takes the center of the stage and while she is there,
but few eyes are turned away from her. All the grace and charm of the
one-time Polly O'Neill returned to the great actress in the hours when
she was playing, and now added to her natural gifts were the long years
of experience and training.

Tonight Mrs. Burton's voice charmed her audience with its peculiar
magic, her every movement kept one fascinated.

Marta Clark too scored a distinct success as _Celia_. She had been
awkward and self-conscious at rehearsals and no one had believed in
her. But whether she needed the spur of the actual producti