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The document provides information on various eBook titles related to population studies and demographic concepts, including 'Population: An Introduction to Concepts and Issues' and others. It outlines the structure of the book, including chapters on demographic perspectives, population processes, and population structure. Additionally, it includes links for downloading these eBooks and mentions copyright information.

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Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
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BRIEF TABLE OF
CONTENTS

PART ONE A DEMOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE

CHAPTER 1 Introduction to Demography 1
CHAPTER 2 Global Population Trends 25
CHAPTER 3 Demographic Perspectives 58
CHAPTER 4 Demographic Data 100

PART TWO POPULATION PROCESSES

CHAPTER 5 The Health and Mortality Transition 139
CHAPTER 6 The Fertility Transition 189
CHAPTER 7 The Migration Transition 251

PART THREE POPULATION STRUCTURE AND CHARACTERISTICS

CHAPTER 8 The Age Transition 298
CHAPTER 9 The Urban Transition 343
CHAPTER 10 The Family and Household Transition 384

PART FOUR USING THE DEMOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE

CHAPTER 11 Population and Sustainability 432
CHAPTER 12 What Lies Ahead? 481

GLOSSARY 505
BIBLIOGRAPHY 519
GEOGRAPHIC INDEX 549
SUBJECT INDEX 559

vii

PRefAce xxi

PART ONE
A DemOgRAPhIc PeRSPecTIve

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUcTION TO DemOgRAPhy 1
WHAT IS DEMOGRAPHY? 3
HOW DOES DEMOGRAPHY CONNECT THE DOTS? 5
The Relationship of Population to Resources 6
The Relationship of Population to Social and Political Dynamics 7
ESSAY: Demographic Contributions to the “Mess in
the Middle East” 10
How Is the Book Organized? 21
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 22
MAIN POINTS 22
QUESTIONS FOR REvIEW 23
WEBSITES OF INTEREST 23

CHAPTER 2
gLObAL POPULATION TReNDS 25
WORLD POPULATION GROWTH 26
A Brief History 26
How Fast Is the World’s Population Growing Now? 29
The Power of Doubling—How Fast Can Populations Grow? 30
Why Was Early Growth So Slow? 31
Why Are More Recent Increases So Rapid? 32
ix

How Many People Have Ever Lived? 34

Redistribution of the World’s Population through Migration 34
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF THE WORLD’S
POPULATION 37
GLOBAL vARIATION IN POPULATION SIzE AND GROWTH 39
North America 40
Mexico and Central America 42
South America 43
Europe 44
ESSAY: Implosion Or Invasion? The Choices Ahead For Low-Fertility
Countries 46
Northern Africa and Western Asia 48
Sub-Saharan Africa 49
South and Southeast Asia 50
East Asia 52
Oceania 54
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 55
MAIN POINTS 55
QUESTIONS FOR REvIEW 56
WEBSITES OF INTEREST 57

CHAPTER 3
DemOgRAPhIc PeRSPecTIveS 58
PREMODERN POPULATION DOCTRINES 61
THE PRELUDE TO MALTHUS 66
THE MALTHUSIAN PERSPECTIvE 67
Causes of Population Growth 68
Consequences of Population Growth 70
Avoiding the Consequences 70
Critique of Malthus 71
Neo-Malthusians 73
ESSAY: Who are the Neo-Malthusians? 74
THE MARXIAN PERSPECTIvE 76
Causes of Population Growth 76
Consequences of Population Growth 76
Critique of Marx 77
THE PRELUDE TO THE DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION THEORY 79
Mill 79
Dumont 80
Durkheim 81

THE THEORY OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION 81

Critique of the Demographic Transition Theory 84
Reformulation of the Demographic Transition Theory 85
The Theory of Demographic Change and Response 88
Cohort Size Effects 90
Is There Something Beyond the Demographic Transition? 91
THE DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION IS REALLY A SET
OF TRANSITIONS 92
The Health and Mortality Transition 93
The Fertility Transition 93
The Age Transition 94
The Migration Transition 94
The Urban Transition 95
The Family and Household Transition 95
Impact on Society 96
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 97
MAIN POINTS 98
QUESTIONS FOR REvIEW 98
WEBSITES OF INTEREST 99

CHAPTER 4
DemOgRAPhIc DATA 100
SOURCES OF DEMOGRAPHIC DATA 101
Population Censuses 101
The Census of the United States 105
Who Is Included in the Census? 110
Coverage Error 111
ESSAY: Demographics of Politics: Why the Census Matters 112
Measuring Coverage Error 116
Content Error 117
Sampling Error 118
Continuous Measurement—American Community Survey 118
The Census of Canada 119
The Census of Mexico 120
IPUMS—Warehouse of Global Census Data 121
REGISTRATION OF vITAL EvENTS 122
COMBINING THE CENSUS AND vITAL STATISTICS 125
ADMINISTRATIvE DATA 126
SAMPLE SURvEYS 127
Demographic Surveys in the United States 127
Canadian Surveys 128

Mexican Surveys 128

Demographic and Health Surveys 128
Demographic Surveillance Systems 129
European Surveys 129
HISTORICAL SOURCES 130
SPATIAL DEMOGRAPHY 131
Mapping Demographic Data 132
GIS and the Census 134
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 135
MAIN POINTS 136
QUESTIONS FOR REvIEW 137
WEBSITES OF INTEREST 137

PART TwO
POPULATION PROceSSeS

CHAPTER 5
The heALTh AND mORTALITy TRANSITION 139
DEFINING THE HEALTH AND MORTALITY TRANSITION 140
HEALTH AND MORTALITY CHANGES OvER TIME 141
The Roman Era to the Industrial Revolution 142
The Industrial Revolution to the Twentieth Century 143
World War II as a Modern Turning Point 146
Postponing Death by Preventing and Curing Disease 148
The Nutrition Transition and Its Link to Obesity 149
LIFE SPAN AND LONGEvITY 150
Life Span 151
Longevity 151
DISEASE AND DEATH OvER THE LIFE CYCLE 153
Age Differentials in Mortality 153
Infant Mortality 154
Mortality at Older Ages 156
Sex and Gender Differentials in Mortality 158
CAUSES OF POOR HEALTH AND DEATH 159
Communicable Diseases 160
ESSAY: Mortality Control and the Environment 164
Noncommunicable Conditions 167
Injuries 168
The “Real” Causes of Death 168

MEASURING MORTALITY 170

Crude Death Rate 171
Age/Sex-Specific Death Rates 171
Age-Adjusted Death Rates 172
Life Tables 173
Life Table Calculations 173
Disability-Adjusted Life Years 180
HEALTH AND MORTALITY INEQUALITIES 180
Urban and Rural Differentials 181
Neighborhood Inequalities 181
Educational and Socioeconomic Differentials in Mortality 182
Inequalities by Race and Ethnicity 183
Marital Status and Mortality 184
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 185
MAIN POINTS 186
QUESTIONS FOR REvIEW 187
WEBSITES OF INTEREST 187

CHAPTER 6
The feRTILITy TRANSITION 189
WHAT IS THE FERTILITY TRANSITION? 190
HOW HIGH COULD FERTILITY LEvELS BE? 191
The Biological Component 191
The Social Component 194
WHY WAS FERTILITY HIGH FOR MOST OF HUMAN
HISTORY? 196
Need to Replenish Society 196
Children as Security and Labor 198
Lower Status of Women in Traditional Societies 198
THE PRECONDITIONS FOR A DECLINE IN FERTILITY 200
IDEATIONAL CHANGES THAT MUST TAkE PLACE 201
ESSAY: Reproductive Rights, Reproductive Health, and the Fertility
Transition 202
MOTIvATIONS FOR LOWER FERTILITY LEvELS 205
The Supply-Demand Framework 205
The Innovation/Diffusion and “Cultural” Perspective 209
HOW CAN FERTILITY BE CONTROLLED? 211
Proximate Determinants of Fertility 213
Proportion Married—Limiting Exposure to Intercourse 213

Use of Contraceptives 215

Induced Abortion 219
Involuntary Infecundity from Breastfeeding 220
The Relative Importance of the Proximate Determinants 221
HOW DO WE MEASURE CHANGES IN FERTILITY? 223
Period Measures of Fertility 223
Cohort Measures of Fertility 229
Fertility Intentions 229
HOW IS THE FERTILITY TRANSITION ACCOMPLISHED? 230
GEOGRAPHIC vARIABILITY IN THE FERTILITY
TRANSITION 232
CASE STUDIES IN THE FERTILITY TRANSITION 234
United kingdom and Other European Nations 234
China 238
The United States 241
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 247
MAIN POINTS 248
QUESTIONS FOR REvIEW 249
WEBSITES OF INTEREST 250

CHAPTER 7
The mIgRATION TRANSITION 251
WHAT IS THE MIGRATION TRANSITION? 252
DEFINING MIGRATION 253
INTERNAL AND INTERNATIONAL MIGRANTS 254
MEASURING MIGRATION 255
Stocks versus Flows 256
Migration Indices 258
THE MIGRATION TRANSITION WITHIN COUNTRIES 261
Why Do People Migrate? 262
Who Migrates? 266
Migration within the United States 267
MIGRATION BETWEEN COUNTRIES 268
Why Do People Migrate Internationally? 270
Who Migrates Internationally? 272
MIGRATION ORIGINS AND DESTINATIONS 274
Global Patterns of Migration 274
Migration into the United States 277

Migration out of the United States 283

ESSAY: Is Migration A Crime? Illegal Immigration in Global Context 284
Migration into and out of Canada 286
FORCED MIGRATION 288
Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons 288
Slavery 288
CONSEQUENCES OF MIGRATION 290
Consequences for Migrants 290
Children of Immigrants 292
Societal Consequences 292
Remittances 293
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 294
MAIN POINTS 296
QUESTIONS FOR REvIEW 296
WEBSITES OF INTEREST 297

PART THREE
POPULATION STRUcTURe AND chARAcTeRISTIcS

CHAPTER 8
The Age TRANSITION 298
WHAT IS THE AGE TRANSITION? 299
THE CONCEPTS OF AGE AND SEX 299
Age Stratification 300
Age Cohorts and Cohort Flow 301
Gender and Sex Ratios 304
The Feminization of Old Age 306
DEMOGRAPHIC DRIvERS OF THE AGE TRANSITION 307
The Impact of Declining Mortality 309
The Impact of Declining Fertility 313
Where Does Migration Fit In? 315
AGE TRANSITIONS AT WORk 317
The Progression from a Young to an Old Age Structure 317
Youth Bulge—Dead End or Dividend? 317
China’s Demographic Dividend 318
What Happened to India’s Demographic Dividend? 320
Demographic Dividends in the United States and Mexico 322
POPULATION AGING AS PART OF THE AGE TRANSITION 324
What Is Old? 324
ESSAY: Who Will Pay for Baby Boomers to Retire in the Richer Countries? 326

How Many Older People Are There? 328

Where are the Older Populations? 329
The Third Age (Young-Old) and Fourth Age (Old-Old) 332
Centenarians and Rectangularization—Is This the End of the Age
Transition? 333
READING THE FUTURE FROM THE AGE STRUCTURE 334
Population Projections 334
Population Momentum 339
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 340
MAIN POINTS 341
QUESTIONS FOR REvIEW 342
WEBSITES OF INTEREST 342

CHAPTER 9
The URbAN TRANSITION 343
WHAT IS THE URBAN TRANSITION? 344
Defining Urban Places 345
WHAT ARE THE DRIvERS OF THE URBAN TRANSITION? 347
Precursors 347
Current Patterns 349
The Urban Hierarchy and City Systems 352
An Illustration from Mexico 354
An Illustration from China 355
THE PROXIMATE DETERMINANTS OF THE URBAN TRANSITION 357
Internal Rural-to-Urban Migration 357
Natural Increase 358
International Urbanward Migration 362
Reclassification 362
Defining the Metropolis 363
ESSAY: Nimby and Bnana—The Politics of Urban Sprawl
in America 364
THE URBAN EvOLUTION THAT ACCOMPANIES THE URBAN
TRANSITION 368
Urban Crowding 369
Slums 371
Suburbanization and Exurbanization 374
Residential Segregation 377
CITIES AS SUSTAINABLE ENvIRONMENTS 379

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 381

MAIN POINTS 382
QUESTIONS FOR REvIEW 383
WEBSITES OF INTEREST 383

CHAPTER 10
The fAmILy AND hOUSehOLD TRANSITION 384
WHAT IS THE FAMILY AND HOUSEHOLD TRANSITION? 385
Defining Family Demography and Life Chances 386
The Growing Diversity in Household Composition and
Family Structure 388
Gender Equity and the Empowerment of Women 392
PROXIMATE DETERMINANTS OF FAMILY AND HOUSEHOLD
CHANGES 393
Delayed Marriage Accompanied by Leaving the Parental Nest 393
Cohabitation 396
Nonmarital Childbearing 397
Childlessness 399
Divorce 399
Widowhood 400
The Combination of These Determinants 401
CHANGING LIFE CHANCES 401
Education 402
Labor Force Participation 406
Occupation 409
Income 410
Poverty 414
Wealth 416
ESSAY: Show Me the Money! Household Diversity and Wealth
Among the Elderly 418
Race and Ethnicity 420
Religion 424
DOES MARRIAGE MATTER? 426
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 428
MAIN POINTS 429
QUESTIONS FOR REvIEW 430
WEBSITES OF INTEREST 431

PART FOuR
USINg The DemOgRAPhIc PeRSPecTIve

CHAPTER 11
POPULATION AND SUSTAINAbILITy 432
THE USE AND ABUSE OF THE EARTH’S RESOURCES 434
Economic Growth and Development 435
Measuring GNI and Purchasing Power Parity 436
HOW IS POPULATION RELATED TO ECONOMIC DEvELOPMENT? 439
Is Population Growth a Stimulus to Economic Development? 440
Is Population Growth Unrelated to Economic Development? 442
Is Population Growth Detrimental to Economic Development? 443
THE BOTTOM LINE FOR THE FUTURE: CAN BILLIONS MORE PEOPLE
BE FED? 446
The Relationship between Economic Development and Food 446
Extensification—Increasing Farmland 449
Intensification—Increasing Per-Acre Yield 451
The Demand for Food Is Growing Faster Than the Population 456
How Many People Can Be Fed? 457
ENvIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION 461
Polluting the Ground 461
Polluting the Air 463
ESSAY: How Big is Your Ecological Footprint? 464
Damage to the Water Supply 468
HUMAN DIMENSIONS OF ENvIRONMENTAL CHANGE 469
Assessing the Damage Attributable to Population Growth 470
Environmental Disasters Lead to Death and Dispersion 471
SUSTAINABLE DEvELOPMENT—POSSIBILITY OR OXYMORON? 473
Are We Overshooting Our Carrying Capacity? 475
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 477
MAIN POINTS 478
QUESTIONS FOR REvIEW 479
WEBSITES OF INTEREST 480

CHAPTER 12
WhAT LIeS AheAD? 481
FROM REvOLUTION TO EvOLUTION 482
The Health and Mortality Evolution 484

The Fertility Evolution 487

The Migration Evolution 488
ESSAY: A California Community Copes with the Migration Evolution 490
The Age Evolution 493
The Urban Evolution 495
The Family and Household Evolution 496
WHAT CAN COUNTRIES DO TO INFLUENCE WHAT LIES AHEAD? 498
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 501
MAIN POINTS 502
QUESTIONS FOR REvIEW 503
WEBSITES OF INTEREST 503

gLOSSARy 505
bIbLIOgRAPhy 519
geOgRAPhIc INDex 549
SUbJecT INDex 559

Growth, transition, and evolution. These are the key demographic trends as we
move through the twenty-first century, and they will have huge impacts on your
life. When I think about population growth in the world, I conjure up an image
of a bus hurtling down the highway toward what appears to be a cliff. The bus
is semiautomatic and has no driver in charge of its progress. Some of the pas-
sengers on the bus are ignorant of what seems to lie ahead and are more worried
about whether the air conditioning is turned up high enough or wondering how
many snacks they have left for the journey. Other more alert passengers are look-
ing down the road, but some of them think that what seems like a cliff is really just
an optical illusion and is nothing to worry about; some think it may just be a dip,
not really a cliff. Those who think it is a cliff are trying to figure out how to apply
the brakes, knowing that a big bus takes a long time to slow down even after the
brakes are put on.
Are we headed toward a disastrous scenario? We don’t really know for sure,
but we simply can’t afford the luxury of hoping for the best. The population bus is
causing damage and creating vortexes of change as it charges down the highway,
whether or not we are on the cliff route; and the better we understand its speed
and direction, the better we will be at steering it and managing it successfully.
No matter how many stories you have heard about the rate of population growth
coming down or about the end of the population explosion (and those stories are
true, up to a point), the world will continue to add billions more to the current
7 billion before it stops growing. Huge implications for the future lie in that growth
in numbers.
The transitions represent the way in which population growth actually affects
us. The world’s population is growing because death rates have declined over the
past several decades at a much faster pace than have birth rates, and as we go from
the historical pattern of high birth and death rates to the increasingly common pat-
tern of low birth and death rates, we pass through the demographic transition. This
is actually a whole set of transitions relating to changes in health and mortality, fer-
tility, migration, age structure, urbanization, and family and household structure.
Each of these separate, but interrelated, changes has serious consequences for the
way societies and economies work, and for that reason they have big implications
for you personally. Over time, these transitions have evolved in ways that vary from
xxi

one part of the world to another, and so their path and progress are less predictable
than we once thought, but we have good analytical tools for keeping track of them,
and potentially influencing them.
The growth in numbers (the bus hurtling toward what we hope is not a cliff)
and the transitions and evolutions created in the process (the vortex created by the
passing bus) have to be dealt with simultaneously, and our success as a human civi-
lization depends on how well we do in this project. A lot is at stake here and my
goal in this book is to provide you with as much insight as possible into the ways in
which these demographic trends of growth, transition, and evolution affect your life
in small and large ways.
Over the years, I have found that most people are either blissfully unaware of
the enormous impact of population growth and change on their lives, or they are
nearly overwhelmed whenever they think of population growth because they have
heard so many horror stories about impending doom, or, increasingly, they have
heard that population growth is ending and thus assume that the story has a happy
ending. This latter belief is in many ways the scariest, because the lethargy that
develops from thinking that the impact of population growth is a thing of the past is
exactly what will lead us to doom. My purpose in this book is to shake you out of
your lethargy (if you are one of those types), without necessarily scaring you in the
process. I will introduce you to the basic concepts of population studies and help
you develop your own demographic perspective, enabling you to understand some
of the most important issues confronting the world. My intention is to sharpen your
perception of population growth and change, to increase your awareness of what is
happening and why, and to help prepare you to cope with (and help shape) a future
that will be shared with billions more people than there are today.
I wrote this book with a wide audience in mind because I find that students in
my classes come from a wide range of academic disciplines and bring with them an
incredible variety of viewpoints and backgrounds. No matter who you are, demo-
graphic events are influencing your life, and the more you know about them, the
better off you will be.

What Is New in This Twelfth Edition

Populations are constantly changing and evolving and each successive edition of
this book has aimed to keep up with demographic trends and the explanations for
them. Thus, every chapter of this twelfth edition has been revised for recency, rel-
evancy, reliability, and readability.

●● Chapter 1 (Introduction to Demography) updates the way in which demog-

raphy connects the dots in the world, including a substantially revised essay
on the “Mess in the Middle East.”
●● Chapter 2 (Global Population Trends) has been completely updated with the
latest numbers on population rates of growth and geographic variability in
demographic trends. The essay updates the prospects for countries currently
confronting below-replacement level fertility.

●● Chapter 3 (Demographic Perspectives) brings in the latest thinking on demo-

graphic theories, while at the same time emphasizing that the demographic
transition is a whole suite of transitions, the discussion of which is really
what the book is all about.
●● Chapter 4 (Demographic Data) brings you the latest information about cen-
suses and surveys throughout the world, with a special focus on the United
States, Canada, and Mexico. There is also a revised section on spatial demog-
raphy, along with a new essay on “The Demographics of Politics: Why the
Census Matters.”
●● Chapter 5 (The Health and Mortality Transition) has all the latest numbers
on disease and mortality, including a new discussion on trends in obesity that
are showing up all over the world.
●● Chapter 6 (The Fertility Transition) brings you new numbers and the latest
thinking about how to accomplish low fertility, while at the same time avoid-
ing fertility that some think is too low, with an emphasis in both instances on
the role of women in society.
●● Chapter 7 (The Migration Transition) updates the trends throughout
the world in the movement of people between and within countries, with
renewed emphases on the tragedies of being a refugee or slave in the modern
world, and a full discussion of the ways in societies and migrants adapt to
each other.
●● Chapter 8 (The Age Transition) reviews the latest literature on the impact
that changing age structures have on societies, and has updated data and pro-
jections of the older population in different countries in the world.
●● Chapter 9 (The Urban Transition) includes the latest definitions of what con-
stitutes an urban place, along with new data for cities, and a discussion of
the sustainability of cities—one of the most pressing issues facing the future.
●● Chapter 10 (The Family and Household Transition) has the most recent cen-
sus data on the changing structures of families and households, especially in
the United States, and has updated information about all of the elements of
life chances that form a key section of this chapter.
●● Chapter 11 (Population and Sustainability) has a new title and a new focus
on sustainability instead of simply looking at environmental impacts of
population growth and change. There is also an updated version of the very
popular essay on the size of our ecological footprint, and a new focus on the
question of whether population growth and our simultaneous quest for a
higher standard of living are causing us to overshoot our carrying capacity.
●● Chapter 12 (What Lies Ahead?) also has a new title and an increased empha-
sis on the likely future evolutions of population change in the world, along
with a more tightly focused discussion of policy options available to us as we
try to influence population trends and thus their impact on global change.
The essay on the migration evolution in a local community also has a new
surprise ending….

Copyright 2016 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).
Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
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money will be gone, but our names and reputations will be safe, and
no great harm will come of it.”
“I was not thinking of that,” said Bruce Wylie. “There’s another
side to the business, and one can’t altogether overlook it. I am fond
of the little thing, and I honestly believe she likes me, but if anything
of this should ever leak out, if, after we were married, her suspicions
were roused, why then, as you say, I can imagine that the taming
process might be difficult. Spite of her china-blue eyes, there’s a
pretty spice of determination in Ewart’s little girl.”
“My dear fellow, you astonish me,” said Sir Matthew, impatiently.
“With enough on your mind to burden most men heavily, you can yet
find time to worry over the matrimonial squabbles that may ruffle
your future peace. When once she’s your wife you’ll be able to do
what you please with her.”
“I’m not so sure of that,” said Bruce Wylie. “It’s just those little,
gentle women with hardly a word to say for themselves who are
always astonishing people by hidden stores of force and courage and
daring at some critical moment.”
“The only possible difficulty with Evereld would be her friendship
for Ralph Donmead,” said Sir Matthew, “and, as ill luck will have it,
the fellow turned up again to-day.”
“D——— him!” exclaimed Bruce Wylie. “How was that?”
“Saw her at the Abbey, and had the audacity to walk home with
her. She told me all about it with the utmost frankness, and without
so much as a change of colour. I don’t think there is any mischief
done yet, but the less she sees of him the better. It seems that he is
doing pretty well on the stage; at least, I gathered so.”
“Well,” said Bruce Wylie, reflectively, “it is always easy to set a
scandal afloat about an actor, and if she seems losing her heart to
him that is the line we must take.”
And therewith the two friends fell to talking of other business
arrangements.
When Ralph turned away from the house in Queen Anne’s Gate,
the happy excitement of the past hour suddenly gave place to a
sobering realisation of things as they were. He, Ralph Denmead, a
super at a pound a week, had had the audacity to fall in love with a
girl of whose fortune he had, indeed, very vague ideas, but who had
always been considered an heiress. That was a situation he liked
very little, but it was characteristic of him that he did not sink into
any very great depths of depression. He was not easily depressed,
having been born with one of those equable tempers which are as
delightful as they are rare. Then, too, his very indifference to money
for its own sake, the habit he had inherited from his unworldly father
of a positive dislike of all display and a contempt for all but the
simplest tastes, came now to his aid. Extremes meet. And the
marriage, which would have seemed a perfectly simple and desirable
arrangement to a selfish fortune-hunter, seemed also perfectly
possible to Ralph with his unconventional way of looking at things.
He disliked her fortune, would gladly have foregone it altogether, but
saw no reason in the world why it should stand as a barrier between
them. If she loved him all would be well. He hoped she did love him,
but was not certain. Only in that last quiet good-bye of hers
something in its very self-control had given him hope; for the first
time she seemed to shrink a little from showing how much she felt
the parting. She was wholly unlike the little girl he had left sobbing
in the schoolroom at Sir Matthew’s country cottage a few months
before.
As he thought of this, a sort of wild desire to succeed in his
profession, and to succeed quickly, took possession of him. His
present position at the foot of the ladder seemed no longer
tolerable. Patient plodding had been well enough earlier in the day,
but now the fiery impatience of youth began to get the better of
him. He turned eagerly to Ivy. They had by this time reached
Westminster Bridge, and the cold, fresh wind from the river and the
wider view seemed in harmony with his eager longing for a fuller,
freer life, for an escape from the dull routine of his present work.
“Tell me more about this Scotch tour” he said, eagerly. “Do you
think there is really a chance of our getting into the company? Does
your grandfather think Skoot a decent sort of fellow?”
“Oh yes,” said Ivy, her face lighting up radiantly. “Come and talk to
him about it. He has seen both the manager and his wife: he used to
know them long ago. Oh, do think it over again. Just fancy how
beautiful it would be to see Scotland! We would go to Ellen’s Isle
together and see the Trossachs!”
Ralph laughed. “I fear there are no theatres on the shores of Loch
Katrine,” he said.
“Well,” said Ivy, looking disappointed, “we should at any rate see
mountains, and the travelling would be such fun. I have never been
on tour in my life, hardly ever out of London even. Come in and see
grandfather and talk about it.”
Ralph was persuaded to follow her into the dreary, little house,
and much to Ivy’s satisfaction her grandfather was awake and
seemed in excellent spirits. He was inclined to see everything in the
world through rose-coloured spectacles, and was about as fit to
advise any one as a baby of three years old. But his venerable
aspect and his smiling benevolent face were, nevertheless,
impressive and Ralph listened eagerly to all that he said. It was quite
true that he had known this manager and his wife many years ago:
they were most estimable people. Skoot himself had real talent, his
wife not much more than a pretty face, but they were thoroughly
worthy people; she was a woman with whom he could trust Ivy, he
had never heard a word against her. He should miss Ivy, but the
landlady would take care of him and the experience and even the
change of air would be very good for the child. He strongly advised
Ralph to try and get into the Company, it was a chance which did
not occur every day. He would give him a letter of introduction and
he could see the manager to-morrow.
At any other time Ralph would have perceived that the old man’s
advice while he was under the influence of the opium was worth
nothing at all. But now the bland, comfortable voice and hopeful
auguries weighed with him. He accepted the offer of the
introduction, and the Professor, urged by Ivy, who brought him ink
and paper and put the pen between his limp, lazy fingers, actually
wrote the letter. After that Ralph bade them good-bye, went home
to dress for the evening, and then set out for the Marriotts’ house
where he had been kindly invited to dine; while Ivy went to the
dress rehearsal of the pantomime. In the evening he talked over his
prospects with Miss Marriott and her niece, giving a very roseate
description of the Scotch proposal. The ladies both advised him to
close with so good an offer; Mr. Marriott would not commit himself,
only counselling him to be sure to have his agreement drawn up in a
legal way, and suggesting that he might take the advice of
Washington. But this, as Ralph knew, would not be so easy; for
Washington was a busy man and though greatly beloved by all his
employés had little to do with them personally. Moreover in his heart
of hearts Ralph knew that the great actor would counsel him to plod
on patiently, and every moment he felt that this had become less
possible to him.
The end of it was that he seized the very first opportunity of
seeing Theophilus Skoot, and finding him a very decent-looking
man, exceedingly hopeful as to the business they would do in
Scotland, and quite willing to come to terms, he signed the
agreement for a six months’ provincial tour for which he was to
receive a salary of two pounds a week, and went back to Paradise
Street in excellent spirits to receive Ivy’s congratulations.
CHAPTER XI
“We ought all to count the cost before we enter upon any line of
conduct, and I would most strongly warn any one against the self-
deception of fancying that he who wishes to be an ambassador of
peace can do otherwise than weep bitterly.”—Frederick Denison
Maurice.

D
uring the weeks that followed, the only thing which marred
Ivy’s complete happiness was a certain jealousy of the bright-
faced girl they had met at Westminster Abbey on Christmas
Day. She was constantly asking Ralph questions about Evereld
Ewart; at times he seemed pleased to talk of her, at other times his
face would grow grave and he would answer only in monosyllables
in a way which perplexed his small devotee not a little. However, she
gathered that he did not see any more of his old friend and consoled
herself by hurrying off to Whiteley’s sale to buy a jacket and hat as
much like Evereld’s as her purse would afford.
She wore them for the first time on the foggy February morning
when Ralph called for her at her grandfather’s rooms to take her to
King’s Cross. For it had been arranged that she should travel with
him to Dumfries where he was to place her under the special care of
the manager’s wife. The old Professor seemed much depressed
when the parting actually came; he kept looking at the child with
wistful eyes and slowly counting out money for the journey with a
small, a very small surplus, in case of accidents as he said.
“Have you kept enough for yourself?” asked Ivy, throwing her
arms round his neck. “I shall be away six months you know.”
“I have enough to last me a couple of months,” said the old man,
“with what my pupils will bring in. And by that time you will be able
to send me a little. You are to have a good salary—a very good
salary and no travelling expenses when once you’re in Scotland.”
“Yes, yes,” said Ivy, gaily. “I shall be as rich as a queen when I
come back.”
The old man’s eyes filled with tears.
“Yes, when you come back,” he said, huskily, “When you come
back. You will do what you can for her if she needs help?” he added,
shaking hands tremulously with Ralph.
“I will, indeed,” said Ralph, heartily; and there was something in
his look and tone which satisfied the Professor and robbed the
parting of its worst pain.
Ivy, too much excited to feel the leave-taking, sprang into the cab
with a joyous sense that at last, like the heroine of a fairy tale, she
was setting out into the world to seek her fortune. It was scarcely
right that she should be starting with the fairy prince beside her, he
ought to have turned up later in the plot and just at some critical
moment. Still real life could not always be regulated by the rules of
fiction and she reflected that it was much nicer to have him at once.
She leant back in her corner of the third-class carriage, and
thought what care he had taken of her, how much more gentle his
manner was than the manner of any one else she knew, and how
blissful it would be to act with him for six whole months. He did not
talk to her very much, being still busy with his parts, but she was
quite content with the mere pleasure of his presence and with the
delightful novelty of her first long journey. The Company were to
play “Macbeth,” “East Lynne,” “Guy Mannering,” “Rob Roy,” “The Man
of the World,” “Jeannie Deans,” and several short plays such as
“Cramond Brig,” a great favourite in Scotland. Ivy was not well
pleased with her parts in “Macbeth,” being cast for Donal Bain,
Fleance and Macduff’s boy. But she reflected that in the first part she
would always come on with Ralph since he was to play Malcolm, as
well as the part of second witch, while later on she should have the
pleasure of being killed by him in his character of first murderer.
Ralph seeing irrepressible mirth in her face asked what was amusing
her.
“I have to call you ‘a shag-haired villain,’” she said, laughing till
the tears ran down her face, “and you have to stab me in the fourth
act.”
“We will have a private rehearsal then, beforehand,” said Ralph,
smiling. “And you will find my red wig very awe-inspiring, I can tell
you.”
Ivy looked pityingly at her fellow-travellers, wondering how they
endured their humdrum lives, and full of radiant hopes for her own
future.
The fogs of London had soon given place to bright sunshine, and
it seemed to her that she had left behind all that was cheerless and
was going forth into a glorious world of possibilities. It was certainly
a red-letter day in her life’s calendar.
The arrival in Scotland, however, was not so cheerful. The cold
which they had not greatly noticed in the railway carriage, seemed
bitter indeed when they left the train at Dumfries.
It was nearly six o’clock and there was little light left. What there
was, revealed snowy roads and slippery pavements. Ivy shivered
and clung fast hold of Ralph’s hand as they made their way to the
manager’s rooms, a red-headed porter, much resembling the shag-
haired murderer in “Macbeth,” going on before them with a luggage
truck. He paused at a high house in a particularly dingy street. The
door was opened by a shrewd, hard-featured woman who, upon
Ralph’s inquiry, told them that Mrs. Skoot was in, and ushered them
upstairs to a room where the remains of dinner still lingered on the
table, and a large, portly lady, with blonde hair and big cow-like
eyes, sat with her feet in the fender reading a novel.
“So there you are, dear,” she said, greeting Ivy affectionately, but
retaining a greasy thumb in the book to keep her place. “I’m glad
you’ve come, for Mr. Skoot has just arranged to have an extra
rehearsal to-night.”
“Is this Mr. Denmead?” she inquired, extending her hand
graciously and taking a rapid survey of him from head to foot. “Have
you found rooms yet?”
“No, I have not,” said Ralph, his low-toned voice and quiet manner
contrasting most curiously with her loud accents. “I was going to ask
you if there is any list of lodgings.”
“To be sure,” she said. “Here it is; you’ll find those all very good
and reasonable. I’ve known most of them myself in past years.”
Ralph thanked her and turned to go, glancing with some
compassion at Ivy. “I shall see you again at rehearsal,” he said.
“Mind you have something to eat first.”
“Oh, yes, I’ll see to her,” said Mrs. Skoot, vociferously. “She’s to
board with me you know, her grandfather made me promise that.
Half-past seven for the rehearsal, don’t forget. Your landlady will be
able to direct you to the theatre.”
“What an awful woman!” thought Ralph to himself. “The Professor
must be out of his mind to let Ivy be with her for six whole months.
She may be all that’s virtuous—but as a constant companion! Poor
Ivy! I wonder how such a decent little fellow as Skoot comes to have
such a wife!”
At this point in his reflections they reached the first house on his
list, but found the rooms already secured by other members of the
company. The same result followed the next application, and yet
again the next. He began to grow tired of wandering about the
snowy streets, and catching sight of a card in a window announcing
that rooms were to be had, he paused at a neat but unpretentious
house and once more made his inquiry.
A very prim-looking widow appeared in answer to his knock; she
seemed favourably impressed with his appearance and mentioned
her terms.
“That will do very well. I want the rooms for a week,” said Ralph,
longing to get into a house, for he was half-frozen and very hungry.
“I don’t take lodgers that keep late hours,” said the widow,
cautiously. “I like to lock up by half-past ten, sir.”
Ralph made an ejaculation of dismay. “I’m afraid I can’t promise
that,” he said. “I’m an actor, you see, and am not likely to be in by
that time.”
The woman’s whole face stiffened, her very cap seemed to grow
as rigid as buckram, her upper lip lengthened. “We only take
Christians here,” she said in a severe way, and then without another
word she closed the door.
It was the first time he had ever been made to feel himself an
outcast on account of his profession, and for a minute the words, by
their injustice, stung him. Then his sense of fun conquered and he
laughed to himself as he walked on with bent head in the teeth of
the bitter, east wind.
Referring once again to the list of professional lodgings, he
consulted the porter who told him which was the nearest house, and
here he at last got taken in, by a dishevelled but smiling landlady.
“There’s Mr. Dudley, one of Mr. Skoot’s company, in my house
now,” she said. “Maybe you could share the sitting-room.”
Ralph hesitated, but without more ado the woman stepped into
her front parlour and put the case to the present occupant.
“Oh, by all means,” said a hearty voice; and the door was thrown
back and into the narrow passage stepped a tall, powerful-looking
man of about forty, his large, clean-shaven face, twinkling eyes, and
broad mouth full of good humour. Ralph knew at a glance that it was
not at all a face of high type, but it was genial and attractive and it
contrasted most singularly with the forbidding face of the widow
who only housed Christians.
“Come in, my boy,” said the hearty voice; “you look half frozen.”
“It was the landlady’s proposal,” said Ralph. “You are sure you
don’t mind?”
“To be sure not! ‘Mine enemy’s dog, though he had bit me, should
stand this night against my fire.’ Skoot was telling me about you.
The little brute has called a special rehearsal; you had better look
sharp and get something to eat for there’s no knowing how long
they will keep us at it. The Skoots were always great hands at
rehearsing.”
“You have travelled with them before?”
“Yes, many years ago, and there’s not much love lost between us.
Shouldn’t have taken this berth now, if I hadn’t been out of an
engagement for some time. I have my doubts if the tour will be a
success. Skoot is awfully hampered, you see, by having to run his
wife as leading lady.”
Ralph prudently forbore to make any comment, but the thought of
acting with Mrs. Skoot was a sort of nightmare to him.
“Have the rest of the company all arrived?” he asked.
“Yes, I think so. There’s little Ivy Grant—she’s coming on very well
indeed, devilish pretty girl into the bargain. Then there’s Miss Myra
Kay, a brunette, rather prudish, used to be in Macneillie’s company,
but lost her health, and is now only just starting afresh. As for the
men—well, you’ll see for yourself by-and-by—half of them in my
opinion are sticks, and the other half roaring ranters. Hulloa, you’ll
find that a bad speculation. Never order coffee in Great Britain, for
they don’t know how to make it. Take to whisky, my boy. It’s the
only thing for strolling players.”
“Thanks, I detest it,” said Ralph, “and if professional landladies
don’t understand coffee-making, why I’ll brew it myself as we used
to do at Winchester.”
“I thought you had been at a public school. What made you take
up with the stage? Didn’t your people object?”
“I am alone in the world,” said Ralph. “My guardian wanted me to
be a parson, but I couldn’t go in for that, and so, being turned out of
his house, I thought I would try to realise an old dream of mine and
be an actor.”
Dudley had watched him keenly during this speech. He was a man
who had led a notoriously evil life, but he had a good deal of
kindliness in his nature, and there was something in Ralph’s
transparent honesty, in his evident purity of heart and life that
appealed to him. Bad as his own record had been he was wholly
without the fiendish desire to drag other men down with him.
“Your dreams were probably very unlike the reality.” he said, with
a smile. “Are you prepared to rough it?” Ralph laughed, and gave
him the account of the straits he had been reduced to, and Dudley
having described the merits and drawbacks of a provincial tour
under Skoot’s management, suggested that they had better be
setting off for the rehearsal.
They had scarcely opened the stage door when Mrs. Skoot’s shrill
voice made itself heard. She was vehemently complaining about
some mistake made by the baggage man, and the poor harassed
culprit stood meekly to receive her angry threats of dismissal, not
daring to proffer excuse or explanation. Ivy looking scared and cold,
stood not far off; her whole face lighted up when she caught sight of
Ralph, and she stole over to whisper in his ear, “Isn’t Mrs. Skoot
dreadful?”
“Suggests the queen in ‘Alice in Wonderland,’” he replied, smiling.
“Off with his head!”
Ivy was obliged to laugh a little.
“That is Miss Myra Kay,” she said, indicating a pale, slim girl, who
was pacing to and fro, book in hand. “I think she is very selfish; they
say she hardly speaks to any one, but just takes care of herself and
is quite wrapped up in her own affairs.”
“Take care,” said Ralph, warningly; “you may be overheard.”
Dudley now introduced him to one or two of the actors, and
before long the manager himself arrived. He seemed in good spirits,
greeted Ralph pleasantly, pacified his wife, and promptly set them all
to work.
Only too soon, however, they realised that the length of the
rehearsal depended on Mrs. Skoot and not on her husband.
Although it was no business of hers she seemed unable to refrain
from constant interruption and fault-finding, and before the evening
was over she had reduced Miss Kay to tears, had tormented poor Ivy
into the worst of tempers and had goaded most of the men into a
state of sullen wrath.
At last, after four hours of this, Mr. Skoot looked at his watch and
announced that it was half-past eleven. Time was the only thing
which had ever been known to conquer Mrs. Skoot; she wisely
bowed to the inevitable, and having reminded Miss Kay that the call
was for eleven on the following morning, she allowed herself to be
helped into a handsome fur cloak, and telling Ivy to follow her,
quitted the theatre.
Ralph went back to his rooms in low spirits and the next morning
did not much mend matters, for they were kept rehearsing from
eleven in the morning till five in the afternoon. Had it not been for
Dudley’s unfailing good humour, his flashes of fun, and his genial
kindliness, Ralph thought he could not have endured so great a
contrast to the whole atmosphere of Washington’s theatre.
He began to feel a sort of angry contempt for the manager who
seemed but a tool in the hands of his wife and was quite indifferent
to the annoyance she gave to others.
But in the evening when “Macbeth” was given, when, for the first
time in his life, he had one of Shakspere’s characters to portray, he
forgot all the previous misery. Into the comparatively small part of
Malcolm he had put an amount of thought and study and
imagination which surprised Dudley, and the elder man, as they
walked home together, spoke words of hearty commendation and
encouragement which cheered the novice’s heart as nothing else
could have done.
On the day before they were to leave Dumfries for Ayr, it chanced
that, being released earlier than usual from rehearsal, Ralph
suggested a walk to Ivy. It was the first chance they had had for any
sort of relaxation, and Ivy listened with delight to the proposal of a
visit to the grave of Burns and to Lincluden Abbey.
She was not at all pleased when as they drew near to the Burns’
mausoleum they caught sight of Myra Kay. As yet Ralph had made
no way at all with this pale, dark-eyed girl, they had scarcely
exchanged a dozen words, and her manner was very reserved and
distant. All that he knew about her was the little he had gleaned
from the men of the company. It was reported that her marriage
was to take place in the summer, and that she was engaged to an
actor named Brinton who was now in Macneillie’s Company. She had
the reputation of being cold, cautious, and conventional, but in
comparison with Mrs. Skoot she was so delightful that Ralph felt
drawn to her and was chafed by a perfectly clear consciousness that
for some reason she disapproved of him. He was pleased when she
volunteered a few tepid remarks about Turnerelli’s sculpture, and to
Ivy’s disgust he asked her if she would not join them in their walk to
Lincluden Abbey.
She hesitated for a moment, then with a glance at his open,
boyish face seemed suddenly to arrive at some determination more
important than that of the mere decision to take a walk.
“I will come part of the way with you,” she said. “But since my
illness I am not much of a walker. It is one of the few grudges I
harbour against Mr. Macneillie.”
“You were in his Company?”
“Yes, and at Oxford, while playing in an outdoor representation of
‘Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ got soaked to the skin and had to wear
the wet clothes. The rest of them escaped with colds but I was laid
up for six months. The manager was extremely good to me I must
say, and in August I hope to be back again in his Company.”
“You like him then as a manager?”
“Yes, indeed, there couldn’t be a better. I don’t know how I shall
ever endure all these months with the Skoots, and had I known that
that scoundrel Dudley was to be in the Company I should never
have accepted the engagement.”
Ralph raised his eyebrows. “That’s a severe word,” he said.
“It’s no more than he deserves,” said Myra Kay, frowning. “I am
astonished that you can share rooms with him and make him your
friend.”
“He is very likely no worse than many others,” said Ralph, nettled
by her tone.
“No worse!” she said, scornfully. “Is it possible you do not know
that he is the wretch who figured in the Houston case? You must
remember it—the stir was so great and it is not eighteen months
ago.”
“I was at school eighteen months ago and never troubled my head
with causes célèbres.”
Myra Kay walked on in silence for a few moments; then she briefly
told him the facts of the case and was pleased to see him wince.
“The man has been properly punished,” she continued, with
satisfaction, “and now no decent manager wall have him—at any
rate, till the details of the case are forgotten. He is desperately hard
up for money, and every one cuts him. I hope, now that you know
all this, you will have no more to say to him.”
“Perhaps he has turned over a new leaf,” said Ralph, looking up
from the discoloured track where they were walking to the pure
white fields beyond.
Myra Kay gave a sarcastic little laugh.
“You are far too innocent, Mr. Denmead,” she said; and Ralph
thought there was an unpleasant touch of patronage in her tone.
“Does he look as if he were repenting?”
“Men can’t go about in sackcloth and ashes,” said Ralph; “and you
surely wouldn’t have him cultivate a face a yard long? It’s his nature
to be full of fun, and, for my part, I would far rather have to do with
a man who has been openly punished than with a hypocrite who
sins with impunity and goes about posing as a philanthropist.”
He thought resentfully of Sir Matthew.
“I can’t think how you can speak to him,” said Myra Kay bitterly,
“For your own sake, and for the sake of the profession, you ought to
have nothing to do with him. It was not just a common case of
wrongdoing—it was a specially atrocious affair throughout. They say
you are the son of a clergyman. I should have thought you would
have had better judgment than to mix yourself up with such a man.”
“He is precisely the sort of man my father would have befriended,”
said Ralph, warmly. “There was nothing of the Pharisee about him. I
remember how when all the village cut a man who had been in
prison for some bad offence, he found out the fellow’s one
vulnerable point—a love of flowers—and had him up with us at the
Rectory the whole of one Bank-holiday, pottering about the garden
and greenhouse, and as happy as a king in exchanging plants with
us, and helping to bud roses.”
“That may be well enough for a clergyman, but for you—a mere
boy, knowing so little of the world—it is different. You ought not to
have chosen such a man as your companion.”
“I didn’t choose him,” said Ralph, with some warmth. “An ‘unco
guid’ widow shut the door in my face, because I was an actor, and
said she only took in Christians. Then at the next place I went to
they gave me shelter and kind words, and Dudley was goodness
itself to me. If I cut him now I should be a contemptible cad.”
“Well,” said his companion, with a shrug of her shoulders, “you
must ‘gang your own gait.’ But remember that I have warned you.”
She turned back soon after this, and Ivy, who had thought the
whole discussion very tiresome, skipped for joy when a bend in the
road hid her from view.
But Ralph seemed unusually silent, and as they looked at the ruins
of the old abbey, Ivy could not at all understand the shadow that
seemed to have come over his face.
Not a word ever passed Dudley’s lips about his previous life, but
there were not lacking people who promptly told him that Ralph
Denmead had just learnt all about it; and when they moved on to
Ayr, he said in his blunt way:
“You’ll not care that we should pig together any longer, I
daresay?”
“I had much rather share diggings with you than with any of the
others,” said Ralph, heartily. “If I’m not in your way, that is? You are
the only man who has shown me the least kindness.”
Dudley made an inarticulate exclamation. He was more touched
than he would have cared to own.
“You are thankful for small mercies,” he said, “and gratitude is a
rare thing in the profession. But I like you, lad, and am glad to have
you as a chum. You shall not have cause to be ashamed of me.”
And so throughout the strange vicissitudes of the Scotch tour
these two oddly-contrasting characters bore each other company,
and for some time Myra Kay kept aloof from them both.
CHAPTER XII
“All these anxieties will be good for you. They all go to the making
of a man—calling out that God-dependence in him which is the only
true self-dependence, the only true strength.”—Letters of Charles
Kingsley.

D
uring the first month Theophilus Skoot’s Company prospered
as well as could be expected. A week at Glasgow and a week
at Edinburgh, with full houses, cheered every one; but after
that, as they went northward, the days of dearth began. It was now
past the middle of March, and the old proverb,

“As the light lengthens

The cold strengthens,”

was fulfilling itself in very bitter fashion. Perhaps people were

disinclined to turn out of their comfortable homes on such bleak
evenings; at any rate, the week at Stirling proved a dead failure, and
Perth was wrestling with the influenza demon, and had little leisure
to bestow on strolling players.
It was here that one evening Ralph, for the first time, learnt what
it is to work without a salary.
He was sitting on a basket, waiting for his cue, with “Pendennis”
to cheer him into forgetfulness of fatigue and cold, when Dudley
returned to the dressing-room, with an odd look lurking about the
corners of his mouth.
“The ghost walks,” he said, in sepulchral tones.
“What do you mean?” said Ralph, laughing.
“It’s all very well to laugh. You won’t be able to do that long.
There’s no treasury to-morrow, my boy. ‘The manager regrets,’ etc.,
etc.”
“No treasury!” echoed Ralph, blankly.
“I’m not surprised,” said Dudley; “I was always doubtful whether
Skoot would hold out long. But we may have better luck at Dundee.”
“And if not, how are we to live?” asked Ralph, recollecting how
small a sum he had to fall back upon.
“Why, my dear boy, we must live like the birds of the air, who eat
other folk’s property, and then fly away.” Ralph looked gloomy.
“Well, after all,” he said, “the debts will virtually be Skoot’s, not
ours. And, as you say, other places may not be so bad as Perth has
been.”
This was exactly what the manager observed as they journeyed
on from town to town. He was always apologetic, always bland and
pleasant; but not another penny was ever forthcoming. In other
respects, however, the tour was less unpleasant than at first. The
rehearsals were shorter, and Mrs. Skoot did not venture to irritate
them quite so much, but solaced herself instead with whisky.
Moreover, their common trouble formed a sort of bond of union
between the members of the Company; they grumbled together, and
cheered each other up; they were extraordinarily kind in helping one
another; all the little jealousies and quarrels were forgotten in the
general anxiety and distress. As to Myra Kay, she was like another
being altogether; she nursed Ivy through a long and tedious cold,
she forgave Ralph for his friendship with Dudley, and she discussed
ways and means in the most helpful fashion. Her experience and
good advice were of considerable use to Ralph, while, when their
prospects were at the darkest, Ivy managed to extract comfort from
dreams about the future, and would listen by the hour to Myra’s
plans for the summer, and to discussions about her wedding and her
trousseau.
And so the weary weeks dragged on, until at last, towards the end
of April, they found themselves at Inverness. By this time they were
all beginning to grow desperate for want of money, and Ralph, after
a hard struggle with himself, conquered his pride and wrote to old
Mr. Marriott, telling him of the plight he was in. It was not until the
last day of their engagement at Inverness that the reply, bearing the
name of the firm on the envelope, was placed in his hands. He tore
it open eagerly and turned pale as he read the contents:
“Basinghall Street, E. C.
“21th April.
“Dear Sir,
“With reference to your letter of the 25th inst., I beg to inform you
that Mr. Marriott has been very dangerously ill with influenza, and to
recruit his health he has been ordered to take a voyage to Australia.
I regret that in his absence I do not feel myself at liberty to make
you any advance. I am, dear sir, yours truly,
“W. G. Maunder.”
The next day they moved on to Elgin. The manager looked
miserable and depressed; Mrs. Skoot, though not quite sober, read
novels more assiduously than ever, and among the actors there were
loud complaints, and angry threatenings of a strike. At Elgin the
audiences were better than might have been expected, and the
Skoots seemed to revive a little as they moved on to the
neighbouring town of Forres. But the luckless Company still toiled
unpaid.
Ralph’s patience was now almost exhausted. Ivy had received
piteous letters telling of her grandfather’s difficulties, and every day
it seemed less and less probable that they would ever again receive
their salaries from the manager.
Forres certainly did not look like a place where they would attract
large audiences, and an indescribable feeling of hopelessness stole
over him as he gazed at the old gabled houses and at the one long,