Her good wishes were, happily, gratified. “The Voice of the Charmer” was a decided success. From the first ring-up to the final fall of the curtain, it went without a hitch. Beautiful scenery and costumes, good acting, a whimsical but fascinating plot--all these things were in its favour; and the audience being enthusiastic, ready to applaud on the slightest provocation, the good fortune of the play was thus ensured. Celia’s cue did not occur until the latter part of the first act. She was heard singing in the distance until, after a melodious cadenza, she herself appeared. From the first moment of her entrance she held the stage. Opera glasses were immediately levelled and focussed, as with almost breathless interest the audience took in the beauty of her face and form, the profusion of bright hair falling over robes of filmy white; and then, the marvellous sweetness of her voice. Slightly nervous at first, she soon gained confidence; and, taking no heed of the audience, lost herself in the identity of Mallida, the hypnotist’s daughter, who, living in an old-world German town, lures men and women on by the magic power of her voice, until, arriving on her father’s domain, they are forced to submit to his evil machinations. It was a curious play, recalling “Dr. Faustus” in the mystic impossibility of its first act, but becoming more plausible as it proceeded. The first scene was a secret cave in the heart of the Hartz mountains, where the hypnotist hid the spoil he had plundered from his victims; the last act represented, in striking contrast, a modern London ball-room; Haviland having run the whole gamut from the romantic to the commonplace. The theatre was crowded in every part. Celia could not have desired a better reception than the one which was accorded her. Many of the people in the stalls and boxes had met her, when, like a meteor, she had flashed upon society under the chaperonage of Lady Marjorie Stonor. Claiming personal acquaintance, therefore, they were particularly interested, and vied with pit and gallery in thundering their applause.