[BETWEEN THE ACTS]
Translated from the French of M. Blowitz.
It was in 1870, when war had just been declared.
MacMahon had received orders to cross the frontier, and strike a decided blow against the combined armies of North and South Germany.
In Paris, as indeed throughout the whole of France, everyone was in a state of feverish anxiety; but in the gay capital, the Parisians endeavoured to make the days of suspense pass more quickly by féting the expected victory.
One could hear the clinking of glasses at the out-door restaurants, the music of the cafés-chantants, and the carriages filed incessantly along the broad avenue of the Champs Elysées.
The theatres, too, were well patronized, particularly one on the Boulevards a certain evening when Mlle. Jeanne de Bolney was to make her début.