mune had no choice. Few of the principal
artists of the subsidized theatres were available, and there was an
evident reluctance to co-operate among some of those who were; hence it
was decided to give fragments of such operas or comedies, calculated to
stimulate still further the patriotic and republican sentiments with
which the majority of the spectators were credited. There had been less
difficulty in recruiting the orchestra, and a very fair band was got
together. A great many invitations had been issued; few of the seats,
especially in the better parts, were paid for.

All the entrances had been thrown open, and around every one there was a
considerable gathering, almost exclusively composed of National Guards
in uniform, and women of the working classes, who enthusiastically
cheered each known personage on his arrival. The latter were too
magnificent for words, the clanking sabres, resplendent uniforms, and
waving plumes only paled in contrast with the toilettes of their female
companions who hung proudly on their arms. For them, at any rate, "le
jour de gloire etait arrive."

The crowd, especially the fairer portion of it, was decidedly
enthusiastic, perhaps somewhat too enthusiastic, in their ultra-cordial
greetings and recognition of the ladies, so suddenly promoted in the
social scale. Melanie and Clarisse would have been satisfied with a less
literal interpretation of "Auld Lang Syne," as they stepped out of the
carriages, the horses of which belied the boast that at the end of the
siege there were 30,000 serviceable animals of that kind left.

The performance had been timed for half-past seven; at half-past eight,
the principal box set apart for the chiefs of the new regime was still
empty. As I have already said, disquieting rumours had been afloat for
the last few days with regard to the approach of the Versailles troops,
the guns had been thundering all day long, and, what was worse, for the
last forty-eight hours no "startling victory" had been announced either
on the walls of Paris or in the papers. Some of the "great men," among
the audience in the stalls and dress-circle, and easily to be
distinguished from the ruck of ordinary mortals, professed themselves
unable to supply authentic information, but as the performance had not
been countermanded, they suggested that things were not so bad as they
looked.

The theatre was crammed from floor to ceiling, and the din was something
terrible. The heat w