Queen.  Is  that  wild  beast  in  town.?  I  should  not  have
come  if  I  had  known  it.  We  had  a  fight  at  Trouville  last
summer,  right  out  in  the  middle  of  the  Casino.  They  called
the  bets  off  on  both  sides  when  they  stopped  us.
Diana.  I  might  be  interested  later.  Good  luck,  until  next
time.
Queen.  Au  revoir,  Comtesse.  [Goes  out.
Maie.  Wilf,  Wulf,  Wilf,  Elsa  Konigsberg,  arid  the
DucHESSA  d'Arcole  enter.
Diana.  Is  the  opera  over.'*

Mme.  Wilf.  W^e  were  able  to  endure  only  the  first  two
acts,  out  of  sympathy  for  the  artists.  Opera  ?  Imagine  call-
ing such  a  thing  opera  !

Wulf.  Mankind  has  suffered  a  long  time  under  the  im-
position.
Wilf.  Yet  there  are  persons  who  sit  there  and  actually
listen  to  it  as  if  it  were  music.
Elsa.  The  Comtesse  displayed  rare  taste  in  declining  to
accompany  us.
ACT  II  PRINCESS  BEBfi  45

Diana.  Although  I  should  not  have  hesitated  if  it  had  not
been  for  the  music.  I  met  an  old  school  friend  on  my  way
to  the  opera-house;  we  could  not  resist  stopping  and  recall-
ing old  times.     Does  the  Prince  join  us  this  evening?

Elsa.  The  Prince  had  the  bad  taste  to  sit  out  the  opera.
Diana.  Well,  is  there  any  news.'  Has  the  concert  been
arranged.''    Has  the  Casino  accepted  our  proposition.?

WiLF.  It  has  in  the  abstract;  we  have  only  to  discuss  the
details.    We  anticipate  a  great  sensation.
Elsa.  I  am  charmed  with  your  programme.
WiLF.  As  the  audience  will  be  intelligent,  we  need  scarcely
give  that  feature  consideration.
WuLF.  It  comes  fully  prepared.
IVIme.  Wilf.  It  is  no  longer  a  question  of  initiating  a  brood
of  neophytes,  but  of  appealing  to  a  chosen  circle  of  the  Slite,
who  are  already  believers.
