I RETURN TO THE STAGE
Fate drives me back to the theater—New fields at the Porte
Saint Martin—The disadvantages of being thin—New prospects—An
appointment and a contract—A death and another début—Success
at the Odéon—I appear as the chorus—Happy days—George
Sand—The disciples of Victor Hugo disapprove of Dumas’s
“Kean”—I succeed in spite of a hideous costume—François
Coppée and “Le Passant”—The triumph of “Le Passant”—Our
summons to the Tuileries—A rehearsal before imperial
spectators—Empress Eugénie’s feet—Fêted by an Emperor and a
Queen 124–145