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28
CYRANO DE BERGERAC
The Spectator.
I have just heard it on good authority.
Murmurs
[spreading through the hall].
Hush! Is it he? No! Ay, I say! In the box with the bars in front! The Cardinal! The Cardinal! The Cardinal!
A Page.
The devil! We shall have to behave ourselves!…
[A knock is heard upon the stage. Every one is motionless. A pause.]
The Voice of a Marquis
[in the silence, behind the curtain.]
Snuff that candle!
Another Marquis
[putting his head through the opening in the curtain].
A chair!
[A chair is passed from hand to hand, over the heads of the spectators. The Marquis takes it and disappears, after blowing some kisses to the boxes.]
A Spectator.
Silence!
[Three knocks are heard on the stage. The curtain opens in the centre. Tableau. The Marquises in insolent attitudes seated on each side of the stage. The scene represents a pastoral landscape. Four little lustres light the stage; the violins play softly.]
Le Bret
[in a low voice to Ragueneau.]
Montfleury comes on the scene?
