would be a good attitude for me,« said Gwendolen, in a tone of
acceptance. But afterwards she said with decision, »No. It will not do. There
must be three men in proper costume, else it will be ridiculous.«
    »I have it!« said Rex, after a little reflection. »Hermione as the statue in
the Winter's Tale! I will be Leontes, and Miss Merry Paulina, one on each side.
Our dress won't signify,« he went on laughingly; »it will be more Shakespearian
and romantic if Leontes looks like Napoleon, and Paulina like a modern
spinster.«
    And Hermione was chosen; all agreeing that age was of no consequence; but
Gwendolen urged that instead of the mere tableau there should be just enough
acting of the scene to introduce the striking up of the music as a signal for
her to step down and advance; when Leontes, instead of embracing her, was to
kneel and kiss the hem of her garment, and so the curtain was to fall. The
antechamber with folding doors lent itself admirably to the purposes of a stage,
and the whole of the establishment, with the addition of Jarrett the village
carpenter, was absorbed in the preparations for an entertainment which,
considering that it was an imitation of acting, was likely to be successful,
since we know from ancient fable that an imitation may have more chance of
success than the original.
    Gwendolen was not without a special exultation in the prospect of this
occasion, for she knew that Herr Klesmer was again at Quetcham, and she had
taken care to include him among the invited.
    Klesmer came. He was in one of his placid silent moods, and sat in serene
contemplation, replying to all appeals in benignant-sounding syllables more or
less articulate - as taking up his cross meekly in a world overgrown with
amateurs, or as careful how he moved his lion paws lest he should crush a
rampant and vociferous mouse.
    Everything indeed went off smoothly and according to expectation - all that
was improvised and accidental being of a probable sort - until the incident
occurred which showed Gwendolen in an unforeseen phase of emotion. How it came
about was at first a mystery.
    The tableau of Hermione was doubly striking from its dissimilarity with what
had gone before: it was answering perfectly, and a murmur of applause had been
gradually suppressed while Leontes gave his permission that Paulina should
exercise her utmost art and make the statue move.
    Hermione, her arm resting on a pillar, was elevated by about six inches,
which she counted on as a means of showing her