than pure instinct. The young man cried out to heaven against such
mystification, for which there was absolutely no excuse. Then,
promptly calming down, he declared himself profoundly moved by the
modesty of his patroness, and swore by all the saints in heaven that
he never had met her equal,--with the result that the manuscript was
momentarily gaining ground in the heart of our sympathetic friend, and
that the young man, overwhelmed with emotion, took his leave of her
until the following day.

"On the following day, Clotilde called upon the manager, and by
threatening to break her contract, forced from him a promise to
produce Inocencio's play as soon as possible. That same afternoon, the
poet expressed his thanks to his patroness and promptly took her into
his confidence. He belonged to a distinguished provincial family,
although without great financial resources. It was in the hope of
bettering them that he had come to Madrid, relying solely upon his
genius. In his native town they said that he had talent, and that if
the verses which he had contributed to the _Tagus Echo_ had been
published in Madrid, he would be talked of as a second Nuñez de Arce y
Grilo. He did not know whether that was so; but he felt that his heart
was full of noble sentiments, and he loved the theater better than the
apple of his eye. Would he succeed in being an Ayala or a Tamayo?
Would he be rejected by the public? It was an insoluble mystery to
him.

"During this interview, Clotilde became convinced of two very
important things: namely, that Inocencio possessed a talent so great
that his head could scarcely hold it, and secondly, that there was no
one else in all Madrid who could wear so conspicuous a necktie with
such charming effect. I need not tell you that their confidential