suffering for it, but the delight of throwing all the wreaths myself was
too great. I flung them down. A soldier caught one on his bayonet; the
others fell to the ground. I was thoroughly ashamed of myself, and have
never forgotten my shame.


XIV.

I knew that the theatre (where I had never been) was the place where
Mother and Father enjoyed themselves most. They often talked of it, and
were most delighted if the actors had "acted well," words which conveyed
no meaning to me.

Children were not at that time debarred from the Royal Theatre, and I
had no more ardent wish than to get inside. I was still a very small
child when one day they took me with them in the carriage in which
Father and Mother and Aunt were driving to the theatre. I had my seat
with the others in the pit, and sat speechless with admiration when the
curtain went up. The play was called _Adventures on a Walking
Tour_. I could not understand anything. Men came on the stage and
talked together. One crept forward under a bush and sang. I could not
grasp the meaning of it, and when I asked I was only told to be quiet.
But my emotion was so great that I began to feel ill, and had to be
carried out. Out in the square I was sick and had to be taken home.
Unfortunately for me, that was precisely what happened the second time,
when, in response to my importunity, another try was made. My
excitement, my delight, my attention to the unintelligible were too
overwhelming. I nearly fainted, and at the close of the first act had to
leave the theatre. After that, it was a very long time before I was
regarded as old enough to stand the excitement.