144 THE PUPPET SHOWMAN.

and applauded quite appropriately. That was quite an unusual
spectator for me! I felt anxious to know who he was, and I head
he was a candidate from the Polytechnic Institution in Copen-
hagen, who had been sent out to instruct the folks in the pro-
vinces, Punctually at eight o’clock my performance closed ; for ©
children must go early to bed, and a manager must consult the.
convenience of his public. At nine o’clock the candidate com-
menced his lecture, with experiments, and now I formed part of
his audience. It was wonderful to hear and to see. The greater
part of it was beyond my scope ; but still it made me think that
if we men can find out so much, we must be surely intended to
last longer than the little span until we are hidden away in the
earth. They were quite miracles in a small way that he showed.
and yet everything flowed as naturally as water! At the time of
Moses and the propnets such a man would have been received
among the sages of the land; in the middle ages they would have
burned him at a stake. All night long I could not go to sleep.
And the next evening, when I gave another performance, and the
candidate was again present, I felt fairly overflowing with humour.
I once heard from a player that when he acted a lover he always
thought ofone particular lady among the audience; he only played
for her, and forgot all the rest of the house ; and now the Poly-
technic candidate was my ‘ she, my only auditor, for whom alone
I played. And when the performance was over, all the puppets
were called before the curtain, and the Polytechnic candidate in-
vited me into his room to take.a glass of wine ; and he spoke of
my comedies, and I of his science; and I believe we were both
equally pleased. But I had the best of it, for there was much in
what he did of which he could not always give me an explanation.
For instance, that a piece of iron that falls through a spiral should
become magnetic. Now, how does that happen? The spirit
comes upon it; but whence does it come? It is as with people
in this world : they are made to tumble through the spiral of this
world, and the spirit comes upon them, and there stands a Napo-
leon, or a Luther, or a person of that kind. ‘The whole world is
a series of miracles, said the candidate ; ‘but we are so accus-
tomed to them that we call them every-day matters.’ And he
went on explaining things to me until my skull seemed lifted up
over my brain, and I declared that if I were not an old fellow I
would at once visit the Polytechnic Institution, that I might learn
to look at the sunny side of the world, though I am one of the
happiest of men. ‘ One of the happiest !’ said the candidate, and
he seemed to take real pleasure in it. ‘Are you happy?’ * Yes,’
I replied, ‘and they welcome me in all the towns where I come
with my company ; but I certainly have oe wish, which some-
times lies like lead, like an Alp, upon my good humour ; I should
like to become a real theatrical manager, the director of a real
troupe of men and women!’ ‘I see,’ he said, ‘ you would like to