CHAPTER XV THE COMMUNE AND VICTOR HUGO Paris after the war—Gambetta, Rochefort, and Paul de Rémusat—One man’s delicacy of mind—A cowardly Prefect of Police and his revenge—The Commune—Captain O’Connor—Paris in ruins—Back to the theater—“Jean-Marie”—My success grows—My mistaken opinion of Victor Hugo—The queen and her valet—Victor Hugo improvises—Victor Hugo’s kindness—Rehearsals of “Ruy Blas”—A Parisian first night and what it meant to me—Victor Hugo’s homage 227–240 CHAPTER XVI I LEAVE THE ODÉON The night of the triumph—A talk with the “Master”—A forgotten luncheon—How I feel when I receive a letter—Overtures from the Comédie Française—Managerial interference—Perrin of the Comédie—I sign a new contract—I lose a lawsuit—Victor Hugo’s supper—The death of M. Chilly—Mamma Lambquin’s premonitions 241–253 CHAPTER XVII I RETURN TO THE COMÉDIE FRANÇAISE My happy memories of the Odéon—I return to an old battle-ground—A _Marquise_ who was too stout—M. Sarcey’s account of my début—The reason I was frightened—What happened to my mother—A strange distribution of rôles—My growing popularity and my delight in playing jokes—Sophie Croizette as a rival—I turn my energies to sculpture—The clash of the “Croizettists” and the “Bernhardtists”—A fight for the moon—Success in “Le Sphinx”—A childish freak of temperament—_Zaïre_ triumphs—I learn something useful about my acting 254–267 CHAPTER XVIII A HOLIDAY AND NEW SUCCESSES A period of sculpturing—My success in making busts—My coffin—A superfluous hearse—A holiday in Bretagne—The delights of the shore—Painting in the country—“L’Enfer du Plogoff”—Into the abyss—“The eyes of the shipwrecked ones”—“Sarah Bernhardt’s chair”—The fête of Racine—I play the rôle of _Phedre_—A tangle of authors and an actress—Unforeseen success—My new hôtel 268–282 CHAPTER XIX BUSY DAYS Alexandre Dumas, _fils_—A quarrel and a reconciliation—The partisans stir up more trouble—“L’Etrangère”—The grandmother of the sea—More sculpturing—A long search for a model—The missing hands and feet—Criticism of my group—Appeasing the god of the _bourgeois_—Luncheon with Victor Hugo—“Hernani”—The tear of Victor Hugo 283–293