But an intimate friend of Penton Baxter's, before he left, he related to me many fine things about the latter, and spoke in special admiration of his wife, Hildreth. * * * * * I rehearsed and rehearsed. I fought and fought with the directress, a teacher of elocution, who tried to make me mouth my words in the old style. She swore that she would get rid of me as Iistral (pronounced Eestral), if it were not for the fact that it would seriously embarrass her to try others for the part, the time of production being so near. Dineen upbraided me for being insubordinate.... I asked Dineen please to believe in me, and watch results. My idea of acting was to go into the part, be burned alive by it ... to recite my lines naturally. I was proud of myself. I was to act as lead in a play by a world-celebrated author, in its premier American production. The story of it was that of a young poet-student, Iistral ... eccentric ... a sensitive ... who had, while tutoring the children of a count, fallen in love with the countess, his wife ... on the discovery of the liaison, she had committed suicide in a lake on their private grounds.... The play opened up with the young student, Iistral, come back home, after the wife's death.... The tragedy had affected him strangely. He wore a Hindoo robe, let his beard grow like a Yogi ... was irritated with the unimaginative, self-seeking smugness of the grown-ups. He found in Lisel, a little niece of his, the wise, innocent, illuminated imagination of childhood. And he associated with her, teaching her the mystic meanings of flowers in the garden. But he lived for one thing only--the coming of the voice of Egeria, as he called the spirit of the dead countess.... Her voice came to him continually ... preluded by strains of music ... he lived from day to day with her lovely speech, a clairaudient. As long as nothing material was involved, he was regarded as merely a gentle eccentric ... by his relatives and the bourgeoisie.... But as soon as word came that he had inherited a fortune through the death of a rich uncle in America--the attitude of the people around him changed. His relatives began intriguing to have him declared insane. But the village burgomaster, ordinarily decent, saw through their artifices.... Goaded and goaded, finally Iistral assailed his pestering relatives with a shovel with which he was working among the gentle flowers in the garden ... at his customary task of tending them with Lisel.... And now the burgomaster, bribed, had reason to adjudge him insane. And Iistral was dragged off, wailing, to the asylum. * * * * * With my clothes in literal rags I went through the rehearsals, attended classes, kept up my athletics.... Often I woke up in the night, crying out, with tears rolling down my cheeks, the lines of unhappy Iistral ... the spirit-woman Egeria grew real as flesh and blood to me.... "Egeria! Egeria!--"