There, gently aided by the waiter, he ascended the stairs to his bedroom, drank a glass of tea, and, seating himself at the table, called for a candle; which having been brought him, he produced from his pocket the notice, held it close to the flame, and conned its tenour--slightly contracting his right eye as he did so.

Yet there was little in the notice to call for remark.

All that it said was that shortly one of Kotzebue's [6] plays would be given, and that one of the parts in the play was to be taken by a certain Monsieur Poplevin, and another by a certain Mademoiselle Ziablova, while the remaining parts were to be filled by a number of less important personages.

Nevertheless the gentleman perused the notice with careful attention, and even jotted down the prices to be asked for seats for the performance.

Also, he remarked that the bill had been printed in the press of the Provincial Government.