dently vamped over, an olive surtout,
and a black cravat. At night he played the gentleman in elegant clothes.
He lived, for good reasons, in the same house as Florine, an actress for
whom he wrote plays. Du Bruel, or to give him his pen name, Cursy, was
working just now at a piece in five acts for the Francais. Sebastien
was devoted to the author,--who occasionally gave him tickets to the
pit,--and applauded his pieces at the parts which du Bruel told him were
of doubtful interest, with all the faith and enthusiasm of his years. In
fact, the youth looked upon the playwright as a great author, and it was
to Sebastien that du Bruel said, the day after a first representation
of a vaudeville produced, like all vaudevilles, by three collaborators,
"The audience preferred the scenes written by two."

"Why don't you write alone?" asked Sebastien naively.

There were good reasons why du Bruel did not write alone. He was the
third of an author. A dramatic writer, as few people know, is made up
of three individuals; first, the man with brains who invents the subject
and maps out the structure, or scenario, of the vaudeville; second, the
plodder, who works the piece into shape; and third, the toucher-up, who
sets the songs to music, arranges the chorus and concerted pieces and
fits them into their right place, and finally writes the puffs and
advertisements. Du Bruel was a plodder; at the office he read the newest
books, extracted their wit, and laid it by for use in his dialogues. He
was liked by his collaborators on account of his carefulness; the man
with brains, sure of being understood, could cross his arms and feel
that his ideas would be well rendered. The clerks in the office liked
their companion well enough to attend a first performance of his plays
in a body and applaud them, for he really deserved the title of a
good fellow. His hand went readily to his pocket; ices and punch were
bestowed without prodding, and he loaned fifty francs without asking
them back. He owned a country-house at Aulnay, laid by his money, and
had, besides the four thousand five hundred francs of his salary under
government, twelve hundred francs pension from the civil list, and
eight hundred from the three hundred thousand francs fund voted by the
Chambers for encouragement of the Arts. Add to these diverse emoluments
nine thousand francs earned by his quarters, thirds, and halves of plays
in three different theatres, and you will readily unde