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 leeches, which had been prescribed for some temporary ailment, in the coach as they went along, it being considered impossible to give him a day's respite from duty.

At Bourges, Mademoiselle Durey, the second lady, was taken so ill that Rose, Rachel's maid, was sent back with her to Blois in the coupé. Phèdre, however, was announced for that night, and Rachel, not wishing to disappoint the audience, attempted to act it without an Aricie. Hippolyte, forgetting the absence of his bride, addressed the ardent expressions of love, meant for her, to space. The audience, provincial though they were, did not fail to recognize the comicality of the situation, and greeted his fits of oblivion with roars of laughter. What still further increased the hilarity was the behaviour of the actor (a very inferior one) who played TheramènesThéramène [sic]. Being hissed in the account of Hippolyte's death, he advanced to the foot-lights, and said, with an apologetic shrug of the shoulders, "Ma foi, gentlemen, you are quite right. Nothing could be worse than the manner in which I gave it; but never mind, I'll begin it all over again." Needless to say that this sally was greeted with frantic applause, in which even Phèdre, who was waiting in the slips, joined heartily.

Sometimes, in the smaller country towns, the buildings, selected hastily by her brother Raphaël or M. Prot, organizer of some of her tours, were not suitable for the purpose, and amusing incidents occurred in consequence. One night, at Saintes, everything was ready for the performance, actors dressed, scenery prepared; the only thing wanting was an audience. Not a soul came. The tumble-down building had been propped up by various ingenious means; but