Part 46 (2/2)

It was upon an evening in June--and a fine evening, full of the exquisite melancholy of summer in a city--that Edward Henry stood before a , dru thereon as he had once, a less-experienced rey, druant Slosson The as theof the ent Theatre And he could scarcely believe it--he could scarcely believe that he was not in a dream--for the room was papered, carpeted and otherwise furnished Only its electric light fittings were so showed a hole and a bunch of wires--like the nerves of a hollow tooth--whence one of Edward Henry's favourite chandeliers would ultimately depend

The whole of the theatre was at least as far advanced towards coreat deal of it was more advanced; for instance, the auditorium, _foyer_, and bars, which were utterly finished, so far as anything ever is finished in a changing world

Wonders, marvels and miracles had been accomplished Mr Alloyd, in the stress of the job, had even ceased to bring the Russian Ballet into his conversations Mr Alloyd, despite a growing tendency to prove to Edward Henry by authentic anecdote, about eneral proposition that woained the high esteem of Edward Henry as an architect He had fulfilled his word about those properties of the auditoriu--in so much that the auditorium was indeed unique in London And he had taken care that the Clerk of the Works took care that the builder did not give up heart in the race with time

Moreover, he had maintained the peace with the terrible London County Council, all of whose inspecting departent Theatre should be opened, not in June as Edward Henry had decided, but at soue future date towards the middle of the century Months earlier Edward Henry had ordained and announced that the Regent Theatre should be inaugurated on a given date in June, at the full height and splendour of the London season, and he had astounded the theatrical world by adhering through thick and thin to that date, and had thereby intensified his reputation as an eccentric; for the oldest inhabitant of that world could not recall a case in which the opening of a new theatre had not been promised for at least three widely different dates

Edward Henry had now arrived at the eve of the dread date, and if he had arrived there in co complete shame and disaster, he felt and he admitted that the credit was due as much to Mr Alloyd as to himself Which only confirmed an early impression of his that architects were queer people--rather like artists and poets in some ways, but with a basis of bricks and mortar to theent had in theory been confined to engaging the right people for the right tasks and situations; and to signing cheques He had depended chiefly upon Mr

Marrier, who, growing radually developed into a sort of chubby Napoleon, taking an i minor hands at round-sum salaries on the spur of the y He was helping Carlo Trent in the production and stage-irlish neophytes at rehearsals He helped to number the stalls He showed a passionate interest in the tessellated paveirl how to make afternoon tea He went to Hitchin to find a mediaeval chair required for the third act, and found it In a word, he was fully equal to the post of actingand everybody except Edward Henry, and except the press-agent, a functionary whose conviction of his own indispensability and importance was so sincere that even Marrier shared it and left hient, who sang in ent Theatre succeeded it would be his doing and his alone

And yet Edward Henry, though he had delegated everything, had yet found a vast amount of work to do; and was thereby exhausted That hy he was dru on the pane That hy he was conscious of a foolish desire to shove his fist through the pane During the afternoon he had had two scenes with two representatives of the Libraries (so called because they deal in theatre-tickets and not in books) who had declined to take up any of his tickets in advance He had coainst a firm of bill-posters He had settled an incipient strike in the 'liinated by Mr

Cos He had dictated answers to seventy-nine letters of co the supply of free seats for the first night He had responded in the negative to a request from a newspaper critic who, on the score that he was deaf, wanted a copy of the play He had replied finally to an official of the County Council about the se

He had replied finally to another official of the County Council about the electric sign He had attended to a new curiosity on the part of another official of the County Council about the iron curtain But he had been almost rude to still another official of the County Council about the wiring of the electric light in the dressing-roo to Slossons about their criticisms of the lock on the door of Lord Woldo's private entrance to the theatre Also he had arranged with the representative of the Chief Coulations for ”setting-down and taking-up”

And he had indeed had h he did not know it, and would have scorned the ier to the pane! Through the pane, in the dying light, he could see a cross-section of Shaftesbury Avenue, and an aged newspaper-lad leaning against a la a poster which spoke of Isabel Joy Isabel Joy yet again! That little fact of itself contributed to his exasperation He thought, considering the i to his press-agent, that the newspapers ought to occupy their pages solely with the metropolitan affairs of Edward Henry Machin But the wretched Isabel had, as it were, got London by the throat She had reached Chicago from the West, on her triumphant way ho to boast, but she was experiencing o prison than in entering it And the question was now becoettes would arrive back in London within the specified period of a hundred days Naturally, London was holding its breath London will keep calony of the House of Lords--but when the supreo

”If you please, Mr Machin--”

He turned It was his typewriter, Miss Lindop, a young girl of so a tea-tray

”But I've had my tea once!” he snapped

”But you've not had your dinner, sir, and it's half-past eight!” she pleaded

He had known this girl for less than a s a week than the years of her age--and yet soe of hi care of hiht that she would have died to ensure his welfare

”And they want to see you about the linoleuallery stairs,”

she added timidly ”The County Council allery stairs! Soh the young woman and the tea-tray

”I'll linoleum them!” he bitterly exclai duly ”linoleuly quite failed to ”linoleuallery staircase, and reached the auditoriuood deal of electricity, at one penny three farthings a unit, was blazing Every seat in the narrow and high-pitched gallery, where at the sides the knees of one spectator would be on a level with the picture-hat of the spectator in the row beneath, had a perfect and entire view of the prosceniu And Edward Henry now proved this unprecedented fact by cli the scene of which he was monarch The boxes were swathed in their nehite dust-sheets; and likewise the higgledy-piggledy stalls, not as yet screwed down to the floor, save three or four stalls in the middle of the front row, from which the sheet had been reh it was, he could descry a paper bag--probably containing sandwiches--and on another a pair of gloves and a walking-stick Several alert ladies with sketch-books walked uneasily about in the aisles The orchestra was hidden in the well provided for it, and apparently ned by Saracen Givington, ARA, concealed the stage

Suddenly Mr Marrier and Carlo Trent appeared through the iron door that gave cos and the auditorium; they sat down in the stalls And the curtain rose with a violent swish, and disclosed the first ”set” of ”The Orient Pearl”

”What about that amber, Cosmo?” Mr Marrier cried thickly, after a pause, his mouth occupied with sandwich

”There you are!” caht!” said Mr Marrier ”Strike!”