23
"He smiled and looked pleased.
"'In fact, Réné, you have outdone yourself this evening,' said Briancourt. 'I never heard you play like that before.'
"'Do you know why?'
"'No, unless it is that you had such a full theatre.'
"'Oh, no! it is simply because, whilst I was playing the gavotte, I felt that somebody was listening to me.'
"'Oh! somebody!' echoed the young men, laughing.
"'Amongst a French public, especially that of a charity concert, do you really think that there are many persons who listen? I mean who listen intently with all their heart and soul. The young men are obliging the ladies, these are scrutinizing each other's toilette; the fathers, who are bored, are either thinking of the rise and fall of the stocks, or else counting the number of gas-lights, and reckoning how much the illumination will cost.'
"'Still, among such a crowd there is surely more than one attentive listener,' said Odillot the
