Madge, who declaimed Byron's 'Destruction of Sennacherib' with much
energy. She certainly looked very charming in her red gown,
harmonising with her black hair. The men in the audience were
vociferous for something more, and would not be contented until she
again came forward. The truth is, that the wily young woman had
prepared herself beforehand for possibilities, but she artfully
concealed her preparation. Looking on the ground and hesitating, she
suddenly raised her head as if she had just remembered something, and
then repeated Sir Henry Wotton's 'Happy Life.' She was again greeted
with cheers, subdued so as to be in accordance with the character of
the poem, but none the less sincere, and in the midst of them she
gracefully bowed and retired. Mrs Martin complimented her warmly at
the end of the performance, and inwardly debated whether Madge could
be asked to enliven one of the parties at the Hall, and how it could,
at the same time, be made clear to the guests that she and her
mother, who must come with her, were not even acquaintances, properly
so called, but were patronised as persons of merit living in the town
which the Hall protected. Mrs Martin was obliged to be very careful.
She certainly was on the list at the Lord Lieutenant's, but she was
in the outer ring, and she was not asked to those small and select
little dinners which were given to Sir Egerton, the Dean of
Peterborough, Lord Francis, and his brother, the county member. She
decided, however, that she could make perfectly plain the conditions
upon which the Hopgoods would be present, and the next day she sent
Madge a little note asking her if she would 'assist in some
festivities' at the Hall in about two months' time, which were to be
given in celebration of the twenty-first birthday of Mrs Martin's
third son. The scene from the 'Tempest,' where Ferdinand and Miranda
are discovered playing chess, was suggested, and it was proposed that
Madge should be Miranda, and Mr Palmer Ferdinand. Mrs Martin