Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: THE ARTIST Ursula disliked Johnny's idea heartily, particularly that it concerned Helena Falkland, and came by way of Violet Shovell; but she did not resist it for long. She literally could not resist her husband when he was set upon a thing, though she was obstinate enough about details. She and John had more than one acrid dialogue over the matter, while they were in the country, but never over the fact of the party, which was understood after the first encounter,— simply over the management of it. Here she proved denser than usual to Johnny's able and eloquent demonstrations. She showed an entire inability to grasp the fact that business and pleasure cannot be mixed; and wanted from the first to turn, by indiscriminate invitations, her husband's test of the girl before experts into a fashionable party. " I don't want a lot of hangers-on," explained Johnny, the first morning they got back to town. " They can see her on the boards later, if she ever gets there, which isn't likely." " But you are going to act, aren't you ? " argued Ursula. " Everybody likes that." " It's not a costume exhibition," said Johnny, " which is what everybody likes. They may stop her in the middle, probably. They'll probably want to stop her before she begins." "Who may?" "Oh, our lot. Monty Mitchell and the rest." "You mean that horrid Mitchell's coming?" " That horrid Mitchell's my principal guest. I'd have had Mrs. Monty alone if I'd dared,— she's a far betteractor, not to say judge; but I didn't dare in the circumstances. And it's better Monty should see her anyhow,— seeing's something in the case." " I suppose you mean to dress," said Ursula. " I don't," said Johnny. " I shall wear what I'm standing in, which'll be golf-clothes, probably, at two on Sunday. And she'll un...