Clara Hopgood

The evening arrived, the room was crowded and a dozen private

carriages stood in the 'Crown and Sceptre' courtyard. Frank called

for the Hopgoods. Mrs Hopgood and Clara sat with presentation

tickets in the second row, amongst the fashionable folk; Frank and

Madge were upon the platform. Frank was loudly applauded in 'Il Mio

Tesoro,' but the loudest applause of the evening was reserved for

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

concluded with a hope that Mrs Hopgood and her eldest daughter would

'witness the performance.' Frank joyously consented, for amateur theatricals had always

attracted him, and in a few short weeks he was again at Fenmarket.

He was obliged to be there for three or four days before the

entertainment, in order to attend the rehearsals, which Mrs Martin

had put under the control of a professional gentleman from London,

and Madge and he were consequently compelled to make frequent

journeys to the Hall.