Martha rose to her feet, and held out her hand in sympathy.
"I am so sorry, Mrs. Dainton," she said simply.
"Sorry, my dear child?" repeated Mrs. Dainton, cheerfully. "Why need you be? That was what happened to a friend of mine, and that's why I will not help you or any one else to go on the stage."
"But surely," cried Martha, desperately, "some people succeed without pain and unhappiness?"
Mrs. Dainton kissed the girl affectionately.
"You are young, and like all young people, you flatter yourself that you will be the exception," she said. "Good-bye, my dear. I dare say all my advice will be wasted, for if it is in the blood, if you have the call of the footlights in your soul and the fire of ambition in your heart, nothing can stop you in your career; neither the advice of an old woman nor the experience of others. Good-bye, my dear. Au revoir."