“Show it him, certainly,” I replied.
He came nearer and said in a grave, hurt tone:
“You ought never to have done that without telling me first. It shows a lack of confidence, and I did not deserve that.”
He was right, but the thing was done. A moment later Chilly arrived, furious, gesticulating, shouting, stammering in his anger.
“It is abominable!” he said. “It is treason, and you had not even the right to do it! I shall make you pay damages!”
As I felt in a bad humor, I turned my back on him and excused myself in as poor a way as possible to Duquesnel. He was hurt, and I was a little ashamed, for this man had given me nothing but proofs of kindliness; and it was he who, in spite of Chilly and many other unwilling people, had held the door open for my future.
Chilly kept his word and brought an action against me and the Comédie. I lost and had to pay six thousand francs damage to the managers of the Odéon.
A few months later Victor Hugo invited the interpreters of “Ruy Blas” to a big supper in honor of the one hundredth performance. This was a great delight to me, as I had never been present at a supper of this kind.
SKULL IN MADAME BERNHARDT’S LIBRARY, WITH AUTOGRAPH VERSES BY VICTOR HUGO.