Mister quilter is the apostle of the middle classes and we are glad to welcome his gospel


Nor is mister quilter's manner less interesting than his matter


He tells us that at this festive season of the year with christmas and roast beef looming before us similes drawn from eating and its results occur most readily to the mind


He has grave doubts whether sir frederick leighton's work is really greek after all and can discover in it but little of rocky ithaca


Linnell's pictures are a sort of up guards and at em paintings and mason's exquisite idylls are as national as a jingo poem mister birket foster's landscapes smile at one much in the same way that mister carker used to flash his teeth and mister john collier gives his sitter a cheerful slap on the back before he says like a shampooer in a turkish bath next man


It is obviously unnecessary for us to point out how luminous these criticisms are how delicate in expression


On the general principles of art mister quilter writes with equal lucidity


Painting he tells us is of a different quality to mathematics and finish in art is adding more fact


As for etchings they are of two kinds british and foreign


He laments most bitterly the divorce that has been made between decorative art and what we usually call pictures makes the customary appeal to the last judgment and reminds us that in the great days of art michael angelo was the furnishing upholsterer


Near the fire and the ornaments fred brought home from india on the mantel board


In fact he is quite severe on mister ruskin for not recognising that a picture should denote the frailty of man and remarks with pleasing courtesy and felicitous grace that many phases of feeling


Only unfortunately his own work never does get good


Mister quilter has missed his chance for he has failed even to make himself the tupper of painting


By harry quilter m a


Because you were sleeping instead of conquering the lovely rose princess has become a fiddle without a bow while poor shaggy sits there a cooing dove


He has gone and gone for good answered polychrome who had managed to squeeze into the room beside the dragon and had witnessed the occurrences with much interest


I have remained a prisoner only because i wished to be one and with this he stepped forward and burst the stout chains as easily as if they had been threads


The little girl had been asleep but she heard the raps and opened the door


The king has fled in disgrace and your friends are asking for you


I begged ruggedo long ago to send him away but he would not do so


I also offered to help your brother to escape but he would not go


He eats and sleeps very steadily replied the new king


I hope he doesn't work too hard said shaggy


He doesn't work at all


In fact there is nothing he can do in these dominions as well as our nomes whose numbers are so great that it worries us to keep them all busy


Not exactly returned kaliko


Where is my brother now


Inquired shaggy in the metal forest


Where is that


The metal forest is in the great domed cavern the largest in all our dominions replied kaliko


Kaliko hesitated


However if we look sharp we may be able to discover one of these secret ways


Oh no i'm quite sure he didn't


That's funny remarked betsy thoughtfully


I don't believe ann knew any magic or she'd have worked it before


I do not know confessed shaggy


True agreed kaliko


Kaliko went to the big gong and pounded on it just as ruggedo used to do but no one answered the summons


Having returned to the royal cavern kaliko first pounded the gong and then sat in the throne wearing ruggedo's discarded ruby crown and holding in his hand the sceptre which ruggedo had so often thrown at his head


A man said to the universe sir i exist


Sweat covered brion's body trickling into the tight loincloth that was the only garment he wore


The cut on his chest still dripping blood the ache of his overstrained eyes even the soaring arena around him with the thousands of spectators were trivialities not worth thinking about


His instant of panic was followed by a small sharp blow high on his chest


One minute a voice said and the time buzzer sounded


A minute is not a very large measure of time and his body needed every fraction of it


The buzzer's whirr triggered his muscles into complete relaxation


Only his heart and lungs worked on at a strong measured rate


He was in reverie sliding along the borders of consciousness


The contestants in the twenties needed undisturbed rest therefore nights in the dormitories were as quiet as death


Particularly so on this last night when only two of the little cubicles were occupied the thousands of others standing with dark empty doors


The other voice snapped with a harsh urgency clearly used to command


I'm here because the matter is of utmost importance and brandd is the one i must see now stand aside


The twenties


He must have drawn his gun because the intruder said quickly put that away you're being a fool out


There was silence then and still wondering brion was once more asleep


Ten seconds


He asked the handler who was kneading his aching muscles


A red haired mountain of a man with an apparently inexhaustible store of energy


There could be little art in this last and final round of fencing


Just thrust and parry and victory to the stronger


Every man who entered the twenties had his own training tricks


There appeared to be an immediate association with the death trauma as if the two were inextricably linked into one


The strength that enables someone in a trance to hold his body stiff and unsupported except at two points the head and heels


This is physically impossible when conscious


Others had died before during the twenties and death during the last round was in some ways easier than defeat


Breathing deeply brion softly spoke the auto hypnotic phrases that triggered the process


When the buzzer sounded he pulled his foil from his second's startled grasp and ran forward


Irolg looked amazed at the sudden fury of the attack then smiled


He thought it was a last burst of energy he knew how close they both were to exhaustion


Brion saw something close to panic on his opponent's face when the man finally recognized his error


A wave of despair rolled out from irolg brion sensed it and knew the fifth point was his


Then the powerful twist that thrust it aside in and under the guard


He had written a number of books himself among them a history of dancing a history of costume a key to shakespeare's sonnets a study of the poetry of ernest dowson et cetera


Hugh's written a delightful part for her and she's quite inexpressible


I happen to have mac connell's box for tonight or there'd be no chance of our getting places


Alexander exclaimed mildly


Myself i always knew she had it in her


Do you know alexander mainhall looked with perplexity up into the top of the hansom and rubbed his pink cheek with his gloved finger do you know i sometimes think of taking to criticism seriously myself


When they entered the stage box on the left the first act was well under way the scene being the interior of a cabin in the south of ireland


As they sat down a burst of applause drew alexander's attention to the stage


Of course hilda is irish the burgoynes have been stage people for generations and she has the irish voice


It's delightful to hear it in a london theatre


When she began to dance by way of showing the gossoons what she had seen in the fairy rings at night the house broke into a prolonged uproar


After her dance she withdrew from the dialogue and retreated to the ditch wall back of philly's burrow where she sat singing the rising of the moon and making a wreath of primroses for her donkey


Mac connell let me introduce mister bartley alexander


The playwright gave mainhall a curious look out of his deep set faded eyes and made a wry face


He nodded curtly and made for the door dodging acquaintances as he went


I dare say it's quite true that there's never been any one else


He's another who's awfully keen about her let me introduce you


Sir harry towne bowed and said that he had met mister alexander and his wife in tokyo


I say sir harry the little girl's going famously to night isn't she


The fact is she's feeling rather seedy poor child


A little attack of nerves possibly


He bowed as the warning bell rang and mainhall whispered you know lord westmere of course the stooped man with the long gray mustache talking to lady dowle


In a moment peggy was on the stage again and alexander applauded vigorously with the rest


In the half light he looked about at the stalls and boxes and smiled a little consciously recalling with amusement sir harry's judicial frown


He leaned forward and beamed felicitations as warmly as mainhall himself when at the end of the play she came again and again before the curtain panting a little and flushed her eyes dancing and her eager nervous little mouth tremulous with excitement


All the same he lifted his glass here's to you little hilda


I'm glad she's held her own since