9/14 He had a way of pronouncing "Gluck" which aroused expectation even before one heard a note. He would come on the stage and say that he had a bad throat, but that he would try to give _Iphigenia's Dream_ or something of that sort. His courage would prove to be greater than his strength and he would have to stop. He would then fall back on old-time songs or La Fontaine's fables in which he excelled. A skilfully studied mimicry, which seemed entirely natural, underlay his reading. |