“Twenty francs for an idea!”
In the middle of the second I raised my bid.
“Forty francs for an idea!”
The finale commenced.
“Eighty francs for an idea!”
The finale ended and I took myself off, remarking:
“By Jove! I give it up. I’m not rich enough!”
Of course indignant friends of Cherubini told him of my insolence and, considering how he “lofed” me, he must have thought me an ungrateful wretch.
I had better explain here how I got on to the staff of the Débats. One day, being utterly wretched and not knowing where to turn for money, I wrote an extravagantly amusing tale called “Rubini at Calais.” These contrasts happen sometimes.
A few days after it came out in the Gazette Musicale, the Journal des Débats reproduced it, with a few words of cordial appreciation from the editor.