In this piece, ‘Mary Leigh and her Three Lives’ (which later became ‘Hunted Down’), the heroine was performed by Miss Kate Terry, at that time the only member of a gifted family who had made a reputation. Irving’s character was Rawdon Scudamore, a polished villain, to which he imparted such force and _finesse_, that it impressed all who witnessed it with the belief that here was an actor of striking power. It at once gave him “a position,” and an impression of his gifts was of a sudden left upon the profession, upon those even who had not seen him. No fewer than three offers of engagement were made to him. The author of the piece, as we have seen, was particularly struck with his powers; his London engagement was now secure, and he was to receive a tempting offer, through Mr. Tom Taylor, from the management of the St James’s Theatre, about to open with the new season. CHAPTER III. 1866. THE ST. JAMES’S THEATRE—‘HUNTED DOWN’—THE NEW VAUDEVILLE THEATRE—‘THE TWO ROSES.’ The directress of the new venture at the St. James’s Theatre was Miss Herbert, a graceful, sympathetic person of much beauty, with exquisite golden hair and almost devotional features, which supplied many of the Pre-Raphaelite brethren with angelic faces for their canvases. On the stage her efforts were directed by great intelligence and spirit, and she was now about to essay all the difficulties and perplexities of management. Like so many others, she had before her a very high ideal of her office: the good, vivacious old comedies, with refined, correct acting, were to entice the wayward public, with pieces by Reade, Tom Taylor, and Boucicault. This pleasing actress was destined to have a chequered course of struggle and adventure, a mingled yarn of success and disappointment, and has long since retired from the stage. At the St. James’s Theatre the company was formed of the manageress herself; of Walter Lacy, an actor of fine polish and grace; of Addison, one of the old school; with that excellent mirth-making pair, the Frank Mathews. The stage-manager was Irving. Here, then, he found himself, to his inexpressible satisfaction, in a respected and respectable position, one very different from that of the actor-of-all-work in the provinces. Not the least comforting reflection was that he had won his way to this station by remarkable talent and conscientious labour. The theatre opened on October 6, 1866. ‘Hunted Down’ was the piece originally fixed upon, but it could not be got ready in time, so a change was made to the lively old comedy of the ‘Belle’s Stratagem,’ the name which it had been originally proposed to give to Oliver Goldsmith’s ‘She Stoops to Conquer.’