He walked side by side with the
Englishman, and had no power to leave him.
"You are mine; you have just committed a crime. I have found at last
the mate whom I have sought. Have you a mind to learn your destiny?
Aha! you came here to see a play, and you shall see a play--nay, two.
Come. Present me to Mme. de la Garde as one of your best friends. Am I
not your last hope of escape?"
Castanier, followed by the stranger, returned to his box; and in
accordance with the order he had just received, he hastened to
introduce Melmoth to Mme. de la Garde. Aquilina seemed to be not in
the least surprised. The Englishman declined to take a seat in front,
and Castanier was once more beside his mistress; the man's slightest
wish must be obeyed. The last piece was about to begin, for, at that
time, small theatres gave only three pieces. One of the actors had
made the Gymnase the fashion, and that evening Perlet (the actor in
question) was to play in a vaudeville called _Le Comedien d'Etampes_,
in which he filled four different parts.
When the curtain rose, the stranger stretched out his hand over the
crowded house. Castanier's cry of terror died away, for the walls of
his throat seemed glued together as Melmoth pointed to the stage, and
the cashier knew that the play had been changed at the Englishman's
desire.
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