with many wretched ones, while perpetually awaiting a divorce."



"Either as a congenital defect or as a natural instinct, Musetta
possessed a positive genius for elegance.

"Even in her cradle this strange creature must surely have asked for
a mirror.

"Intelligent, shrewd, and above all, hostile to anything that she
considered tyranny, she had but one rule--caprice.

"In truth the only man that she really loved was Marcel; perhaps
because he alone could make her suffer. Yet extravagance was for her
one of the conditions of well-being."




ACT III


_Beyond the toll-gate, the outer boulevard is formed in the background
by the Orleans high-road, half hidden by tall houses and the misty
gloom of February. To the left is a tavern with a small open space in
front of the toll-gate. To the right is the Boulevard d'Enfer; to the
left, that of St. Jacques.

On the right also there is the entrance of the Rue d'Enfer, leading to