The chorus swelled around her.
Oh! reine en ce jour!
rose, fell, ebbed away, and left her standing alone.
She heard a voice—“Tell me, Venus—” but she hardly knew it for her own. It was all dark before her eyes—while the mad chorus of Kings went on, “For us, what joy!”—thundering away along the wings.
“Fear Calchas!”
“Seize him!”
“Let Calchas fear!”
And then she began to sing—to sing as she had never sung before. Sweet, thrilling, her voice poured forth into the crowded auditorium. The people sat spellbound. There was a moment of silence; no one offered to applaud. And then she began again.
Oui c’est un réve,
Un réve doux d’amour—
She faltered—