The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux 2 The New Margarita Free Famous Audiobooks Tale Teller Books.
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the phantom of the opera the guest on larue chapter 3 the mysterious reason during this time the farewell ceremony was taking place i have already said that this magnificent function was being given on the occasion of the retirement of monsieur de bien and monsieur who had determined to die game as we say nowadays
they had been assisted in the realization of their ideal though melancholy program but all that counted in the social and artistic world of paris all these people met after the performance in the foyer of the ballet where celrelli waited for the arrival of the retiring managers with a glass of champagne in her hand and a little prepared speech at the tip of her tongue behind her the members of cordy ballet young and old discussed the events of the day in whispers or exchanged discreet signals with their friends a noisy crowd of whom surrounded the supper tables arranged along the slanting floor a few of the dancers had already changed into ordinary dress but most of them wore their skirts of gossamer gauze and all had thought it the right thing to put on a special face for the occasion all that is except little james whose 15 summers happy age seemed all ready to have forgotten the ghost and the death of joseph bouquet she never ceased to laugh and chatter to hop about and play practical jokes until monsieur's debian empolinier appeared on the steps of the foyer when she was severely called to order by the impatient czarelli everybody remarked that the retiring managers looked cheerful as is the paris way none will ever be a true parisian who has not learned to wear a mask of gaity over his sorrows and one of sadness boredom or indifference over his inward joy you know that one of your friends is in trouble do not try to console him he will tell you that he is already comforted but should he have met with good fortune be careful how you congratulate him he thinks it's so natural that he is surprised that you should speak of it in paris our lives are one masked ball and the foyer of the ballet is the last place in which two men so knowing as monsieur debian and monsieur puligne would have made the mistake of betraying their grief however genuine it might be and they were already smiling rather too broadly upon cirelli who had begun to recite her speech when an exclamation from that little mad cap of a james broke the smile of the managers so brutally that the expression of distress and dismay that lay beneath it became apparent to all eyes the opera ghost james yelled these words in a tone of unspeakable terror and her finger pointed among the crowd of dandies to a face so pallid so lugrubrious and so ugly with two such dark black cavities under the straddling eyebrows that the death's head in question immediately scored a huge success the opera ghost the opera ghost everybody laughed and pushed his neighbor and wanted to offer the opera ghost a drink but he was gone he had slipped through the crowd and the others vainly hunted for him while two old gentlemen tried to calm little james and while little jiri stood screaming like a peacock cirelli was furious she had not been able to finish her speech the managers had kissed her thanked her and run away as fast the ghost himself no one was surprised at this for it was known that they were to go through the same ceremony on the floor above in the foyer of the singers and that finally they were themselves to receive their personal friends for the last time in the great lobby outside the manager's office where a regular supper would be served here they found the new managers monsieur armand charman and monsieur fermin...