figure of _Peter_, I decided to reverse the process and put no
lights on him. The light was on the other people--the people still
in life, with just enough amber to give them colour.

The play was cut and cut until there was not a superfluous line in
it. Every word was necessary, although it might not have seemed so
when read. It was only after the play was recalled as a whole, that
the necessity for everything could be seen. The coming of the circus
with the clown singing "Uncle Rat has come to town," and the noise
of the drums, are instances of this. It seemed like halting the
action to bring in a country circus procession, but its necessity is
shown in the final scene when the little boy, _William_, passes
away. It is always cruel to see a child die on the stage. The
purpose of the coming of the circus was to provide a pleasant memory
for the child to recall as his mind wandered away from earth, and to
have his death a happy one. This was made more effective when Peter
took up the refrain of the song as though he knew what was passing
in the dying boy's mind, showing that the dead have their own world
and their own understanding.

No company of players ever had situations so fraught with danger of
failure. They were very nervous. Mr. Warfield appeared in the part
for several weeks before he felt at ease as the living man who
returns as his own spirit.

There is one memory associated with the play which will remain in my
heart as long as it beats. This piece was written during the last
year-and-a-half of my daughter Augusta's life. For some reason,
which I could not understand then, but which was clear to me later,
the subject fascinated her. She showed the greatest interest in it.