, and soon controlled the attention of all the players except
two, who made it a boast that they had never read a play or listened to
one. "I am interested only in me lines, me boy," said one of them.

"And your acting shows it," replied Douglass, with quiet sarcasm, and
proceeded to the second act.

"You read that with greater power here than to me," said Helen. "I wish
we could give it the same unity and sweep of expression as we act it."
She addressed the company in her calm, clear voice: "I hope you will all
observe carefully Mr. Douglass's reading. He is giving us most valuable
advice in every inflection."

Her attitude towards her company was admirable in its simplicity and
reserve. It was plain that she respected their personalities and
expected the same high courtesy from them. Some of the men were of the
kind who say "My deah" to every woman, and "My deah boy" to the most
casual acquaintance--vain, egotistical, wordy, and pompous; but one
glance from Helen was sufficient to check an over-familiar hand in
mid-air. The boldest of them did not clap her on the shoulder but once.

The reading passed to a rather enthusiastic finish, and Douglass then
said: "I have read the play to you carefully, because I believe--_I
know_--that an intelligent rendition of your individual parts is
impossible without a clear knowledge of the whole drama. My theories of
a play and its representation are these: As an author, I see every
detail of a scene as if it were a section of life. I know where all my
people are at each moment of time, and their positions must be
determined by the logic of the picture without any reference to those
who wish to hold the centre of the stage. In a certain sense you are
only different-colored pigments in my hands, to be laid on to form a
unified painting. You must first of all learn to subordinate yourselves
to the designs of the author. I know this sounds harsh--seems to reduce
you to a very low level of intelligence; but, as a matter of fact, the
most highly gifted of our actors to-day are those who are able to do
this very thing--to carry in their minds a conception of the unity of a
scene, never thrusting their personalities through it or out of it. I
mention these points because I intend to assist in the rehearsals, and I
don't want to be misunderstood."

Helen interposed a word: "I need not say that I consider this a very
powerful play--with that opinion you all agree, I am sure--but I want