would, I think, have treated the question seriously--feelingly."

He laughed.

"The adoption of that course implies courage certainly. All the men of
sentimentality--which is something quite different from sentiment, mind
you--have taken to writing melodrama and penny novelettes. You didn't
hear much sentimentality on this stage to-night, or any other night, for
that matter."

"No; it would have sounded unreal. A Parthenon audience would resent
what they believed to be a false note in art; and a Parthenon audience
is supposed to be the concentration of the spirit of the period in
thought and art; isn't it?"

"I don't know. I'm half a savage. But I like to think the best of
a Parthenon audience; you and I formed part of that concentration
to-night--yes, I like to think the best of it. I suppose we know--we,
the Parthenon audience, I mean--what our feelings are on the art of
acting--the art of play-writing."

"I shouldn't like to have to define my feelings at a moment's notice."

"One must make a beginning, and then work up gradually to the
definition."

"For instance----"

"Well, for instance, there's something that people call realism
nowadays."