she should get something in return for the
attraction of her name."

The manager laughed his little grating laugh,
which stretched his mouth without lighting up
his eyes, and proceeded to debate the terms of
the bargain.

Aunt Mary, who could always struggle better
for another's advantage than for her own, made
a good fight on Mabel's behalf, and succeeded
in securing for her the promise of one-half the
receipts of the benefit-night after a certain sum,
which manager Moffatt was first to deduct for
his nightly expenses. Hamlet was again chosen
at Ladv Popham's especial request, and, true to
her word, her ladyship filled the boxes with a
distinguished audience. In brief, the house was
by far the best of the season, and when Mr.
Moffatt's portion of the receipts was deducted
there remained to Mabel the clear sum of
twenty pounds.

Great were Mabel's delight and astonishment
when Aunt Mary presented her with this mighty
treasure; for Mrs. Walton had kept the bargain
she had made with Mr. Moffatt a secret from
her niece, hoping to give her a pleasant surprise.

Of course the first thing to be done was to
repay her aunt and uncle the sum they had
advanced for her journey to Ireland, and also her
fare from Dublin to Kilclare. The disposal of
the rest of her money was matter for weighty
deliberation. Mabel would have liked to send
it all at once to her mother, but she resolved to
keep a small sum in hand, in order to supply
herself with necessary articles for her stage
toilet without applying to her aunt; and then
the remainder was despatched by means of a
post-office order to Hazlehurst.

The little troupe that had acted together
through the late successful campaign was
scattered at the close of the season. Some of
the performers remained with Mr. Moffatt, and
proceeded with him to Dunscorthy, a
neighbouring town belonging to his circuit. The
eminent tragedian from the principal theatres of
the United States started for Liverpool, whence
he was about to take a slight professional tour,
embracing such promising and easily-reached
localities as Van Diemen's Land and the
Sandwich Islands.

The Trescotts, Mrs. Walton, Jack, and
Mabel returned to Dublin; and Mabel was
pleased to find, at the last moment, that old
Jerry Shaw was going thither also. He was
engaged at the Dublin theatre as what is
technically termed " second old man." Mr. Shaw
had his luggage forwarded to his destination by
carrier, and set off with a knapsack at his back,
his knotted stick in his hand, and Lingo by his
side, to walk to Dublin.

"Are you going to walk all the way, Mr.
Shaw?" Mabel had asked, in surprise.

"Every inch of it."

"But won't you be dreadfully fatigued?"

"Not at all. Why would I? Lingo and
myself have tramped many a hundred miles
together. He's great company on a walk when
he's in spirits."

Mabel, on her return from Kilclare, was
received by her uncle, Janet, and the Bensas with
enthusiasm. A constant correspondence had
kept them all thoroughly informed of the
progress she had been making at Kilclare, and of
her rapid advance in public favour; but they
were never weary of hearing all the particulars
by word of mouth, and of loading Mabel with,
praise and encouragement. Jack, too, had
brought back solid and satisfactory evidences of
industry and steady improvement, in the shape
of a portfolio full of studies and sketches.
These were all laid before Janet, who examined
them carefully, and translated them, as she called
it, one by one, for her father's benefit. Although
John Earnshaw always preserved a cheerful
serenity, and protested that he saw the drawings
as well as anybody, through Janet's eyes, there
was always a lurking melancholy in these
moments, and Mabel frequently surprised the
tears in Aunt Mary's eyes as she gazed on her
sightless husband bending over his boy's pictures
that must be blank to him for ever. At such
times Jack's high spirits proved invaluable, and
he would presently have the whole family laughing
till they cried, at his account of some ludicrous
adventure at Kilclare.

Mrs. Walton lost no time in seeing the Dublin
manager, and applying to him for an engagement
for Mabel. She had taken care to forward
to him the Kilclare newspapers with very
flattering notices of Miss M. A. Bell's performance.

"My dear Mrs. Walton," the Dublin manager
said to her, pleasantly, as he was giving her
audience in his own business-room at the theatre,
"my dear Mrs. Walton, you and I are too old
stagers not to know the value of all that!" and
he tapped the Kilclare journals that were lying
on the table with the back of his open hand.

"Well, Mr. Barker," answered Mrs. Walton,
with great simplicity, "of course I don't expect
that you should believe all they say, but at least
it is a proof that Miss Bell was well received
and successful."

"Well, well," rejoined Mr. Barker, "I'm.
content to take your word for that, Mrs.
Walton. But about engaging the young lady—
humph! — you see it's one thing to do very well
at Kilclare, and, excuse me, quite another to be
up to the mark for the boards of my theatre!"

"If, as you said just now, you are willing to
accept my word as having some value, I don't
hesitate to say that I should not be in the least
afraid of her making the trial. My niece has a
great deal of talent, I assure you."

"No doubt, no doubt, but raw. Come, now,
Mrs. Walton, you can't deny that it must be
raw — very raw."

Mrs. Walton proceeded to combat this terrible
charge of "rawness" with what skill she could
command; and the manager, who had heard
enough from other people to convince him that
there must be unusual promise about this girl,
and to cause him to make up his mind to give
her a trial, graciously condescended to allow
himself to be persuaded to give Miss Bell an
appearance at his theatre, and, moreover, to