"Accepted?" I cried.
"With acclamation, my dear boy," said Rousseau.
"And what about the hare passage?"
"Encored!"
Oh! instability of human judgment! that which had revolted M. Poirson sent M. Warez into ecstasies.
It seemed, then, that there were indeed hares and hares, boulevards and boulevards. I ascertained what the rights of the author of a vaudeville written for the Ambigu would amount to. They consisted of twelve francs for author's rights and six seats in the theatre. That meant four francs each per night and two seats. These two places were valued at forty sous. The total I should make out of my dramatic début would be six francs a day. Six francs a day, be it understood, equalled my salary and half as much again. Only, when would our first representation be given? They had promised Rousseau it should be as soon as possible, and, as a matter of fact, he was summoned to read it to the actors in a week's time. That was indeed a red-letter day. When he came back after the reading, Rousseau drew me aside.
"Listen," he said; "we have become intimate friends during our ups and downs of disappointment and delight—if you are hard up for a little money...."
"Hard up for money? I should think I am, indeed!"
"All right; if you are in need, I will tell you of a decent fellow who will lend you some."