"Did he thank you?"
"On the contrary, he scolded me, and preached me a sermon on tobacco!—Pass me a cigarette.—Now, I must find my Miflorès, for I need money. I have seen a dramatic correspondent, and he tells me that I am wanted at Quimper-Corentin, where they require a tenor jeune premier. I am young; I have an attractive countenance and a good enough voice! I can reach high G!"
"G! but that isn't C!"
"I am perfectly well aware, Mademoiselle Rosa, that G is not C, or rather do, to speak more elegantly; but a chest G is very neat, all the same; and, besides, if the audience isn't satisfied, I'll say: zut! [you be hanged!] and they will be."
"In what rôle are you going to make your first appearance?"
"In Joconde. I sing: J'ai longtemps parcouru le monde! as if I'd never done anything else."
"So they play comic opera at Quimper-Corentin, do they?"
"Why, my dear Rosa, where have you been? Don't you know that since the theatres were enfranchised they play all kinds everywhere? I have seen Tartuffe in a barn, and La Bataille de Pultava in a bedroom; the Russians hid behind a night commode, and the Swedes carried a chamber vessel with the bayonet. So there is nothing strange in their playing comic opera at Quimper. There's only one thing that makes me hesitate: the correspondent warned me that the manager doesn't furnish the costumes; and as I don't want to play Joconde in a frock-coat or an overcoat, I must buy a costume. I want it to be dazzling, gorgeous! That's why I need money, and I must find Miflorès."
"But I thought you were expecting a legacy from an old aunt?"
"Yes, I still have that legacy in prospect; and that's the last! But the old aunt persists in living. That's why I must see Miflorès."