represents ? 

The easy-going comedians with whom Eliza 
acted made friendly remarks to each other on 
their private affairs in the intervals of the most 
vengeful discourse; speculated upon the amount 
of money in the house in audible undertones 



HOW A EICH BANKER MARRIED AN ACTRESS. 17 

during the pauses of the wordnetanger ; and when 
Hamlet wanted Horatio down at the footlights to 
ask him if he "marked that," it was likely 
enough that the prince's confidant was up the 
stage telling Polonius of the shameful way in 
which his landlady stole the tea and sugar. 

It was not, therefore. Miss Percival's acting that 
fascinated the banker. Archibald Floyd knew 
that she was as bad an actress as ever played the 
leading tragedy and comedy for five-and-twenty 
shillings a week. He had seen Miss O'Neil in 
that very character, and it moved him to a - 
ing smile as the factory-hands applauded poor 
Eliza's poison wordnetanger. But for all this he fell in 
wordnetdesire with her. It was a repetition of the old story. 
It was Arthur Pendennis at the little Chatteris 
theatre bewitched and bewildered by Miss 
Fotheringay all over again. Only that instead of 
a fickle, impressionable boy, it was a sober, 
steady-going business-man of seven-and-