She fumbled over his name. Gilbert, as is the custom in England when
introducing people, had spoken the name so indistinctly that she had not
heard it.

"Quinn!" he said.

"Of course," she replied. "Mr. Quinn. I'm awfully stupid about names.
You'll come, too?"

"I should like to!"

"Do. Gilbert, don't forget. Jimphy's very morose this evening. He's
thirty-one to-day, and he thinks that old age is creeping over him!"

"All right," said Gilbert gloomily, and then he and Henry went to their
seats.

"Who is Jimphy?" said Henry, as they walked down the stairs into the
auditorium.

"Her husband. Didn't you notice something hanging around in the
vestibule while we were talking to her?"

"No. There were so many people about!"

"Well, if you had noticed something hanging around, that would have been
Jimphy. His real name is Jasper, but Cecily never calls any one by his
real name ... except me. She can't think of a name for me!"

They entered the auditorium and stood for a moment looking about the
theatre. People were passing quickly into their seats now, and the
theatre was full of an eager air, of massed pleasure, and a loud buzz of
conversation spread over the stalls from the pit where rows of young
women whispered to each other excitedly as this well-known person and
that well-known person entered.

"That's 'er, that's 'er!" one girl said in a frenzied whisper to her
companion.

"Viola Tree?" the other girl, gazing vacantly into the stalls, replied.

"No, silly! Ellen Terry! Clap, can't you?"

And they clapped their hands as the actress went to her seat.

There was more clapping when Sir Charles Wyndham came in and took his
seat.

"Is it Viola Tree?" the girl repeated.

"No, silly. It's Wyndham. Bray-vo! Seventy, if 'e's a day, an' don't
look it. My word, I am enjoyin' myself, I can tell you! Everybody's 'ere
to-night. Of course, it's St. James's, of course!..."

Popular criminal lawyers came in and sat next to racing marquises; and
lords and ladies mingled with actresses who very ostentatiously
accompanied their mothers. A few men of letters and a crowd of dramatic
critics, depressed, unenthusiastic men, leavened the mass of the
semi-great. The rest were the children of Israel.

"Jews to the right of us, Jews to the left of us!..." Gilbert said.

"Anti-Semite!" Henry replied.

"Only in practice, Quinny, not in theory. I'll see you at the interval!"

"If you nip out of your seat as the curtain goe