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 An astonished silence followed the reading, but Victoria startled the audience with a vehement and reverberating "Bravo!" The applause broke out in a decorous wave, but it was plain to be seen that the shot had passed far over the heads of most of the listeners, notably the editor of The Voice, who shrugged his shoulders, as if he had refused that sort of thing by the ton.

The eyes of the reader naturally turned to the group on the divan, where Victoria, overcome by the sudden outburst of her own voice, was blushing furiously.

"'A Legend of Monterey.'" She read the verses directly to her partisan with a half-apologetic look, as if explaining the need of a mental support. This time the enthusiasm was more roused, and Victoria's sincere delight found fuller backing.

"I'm going to speak to her," she announced, as the woman crumpled her papers and moved stiffly aside.

"So am I," Mrs. Durham exclaimed. "She's real."

Philippa, who had a witty epigram all prepared, 122