I shall be sure to rejoin you some day, sooner or later, at Paris, for I am a born actress; the theatre was my first love, and I have never long been faithless to it." The two men accordingly, aided by the comedians, took Zerbine's boxes out of the chariot, and adjusted them carefully on the pack-mule.

The soubrette made a sweeping curtsey to her friends in the chariot, and threw a kiss to Isabelle from her finger tips, then, aided by one of the equerries, sprang to her place behind him, on the back of the Colonelle, as lightly and gracefully as if she had been taught the art of mounting in an equestrian academy, nodded a last farewell, and striking the mule sharply with the high heel of her pretty little shoe, set off at a round pace.
"Good-bye, and good luck to you, Zerbine," cried the comedians heartily, one and all; save only Serafina, who was more furiously angry with her than ever.
"This is an unfortunate thing for us," said the tyrant regretfully, "a serious loss.

I wish with all my heart that we could have kept that capital little actress with us; we shall not easily find any one to replace her, even in Paris; she is really incomparable in her own role--but she was not in any way bound to stay with us a moment longer than she chose.

We shall have to substitute a duenna, or a chaperon, for the soubrette in our pieces for the present; it will be less pleasing of course, but still Mme.

Leonarde here is a host in herself, and we shall manage to get on very nicely, I dare say." The chariot started on its way again as he spoke, at rather a better pace than the lumbering old ox-cart.