Her Faithful Knight — page 95: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A New Career. QI piece the first night, and a fortnight later, when I passed the doors, and saw: ‘House full; standing room only,’ I knew it was on its last legs. But I’m sorry you're out of a shop.” Most of the young women wore fair hair, rather dark at the roots, and all of them had dark eyebrows and eye- lashes. Perhaps they were not more painted than are fashionable London belles toward the end of a season ; but there was a difference. The “make-up” was cheaper in quality, and there was less attempt to conceal it. All were gayly, in some cases very tastefully, dressed, and the greater portion of the faces showed unusual vivacity and intelligence. Dorothy’s appearance excited some curi- osity, for those present had nothing to do but gossip and stare about them, with their eyes ever and anon fixed upon the private door of the room where the agent whose ser- vics they had come to seek was understood to be shut in with a manager. An elderly man, with a yellowish, greasy-looking face, who was seated in a corner of the well-filled room, with an air of deep dejection, presently rose, and with much polite- ness, gently insisted that Dorothy should take his chair. The girl was very tired, and gratefully accepted the atten- tion. From the talk of those about her she presently learned, to her great surprise, that the elderly man in question, who had taken up his position in a farther corner of the room, leaning gloomily against the wall with his arms folded, was the “funniest actor in London,” who had just made a hit in a preposterous character in bur- lesque, and who every night caused shrieks of laughter by his whimsical antics. 3 While she was still gazing curiously across the room at the sad-faced comedian, the outer door of the waiting- room opened with a flourish, and a gentleman entered, at sight of whom the clerk rose obsequiously, and coming GEomichook (E@) Im