I shall always remember the delightful and inspiring days passed at the Chateau de Chantilly with my confrères at the Institute Léon Bonnat, Benjamin Constant, Edouard Detaille, and Gérôme. Our reception by our royal host was charming in its simplicity and his conversation was that of an eminent man of letters, erudite but unpretentious. It was captivating and attractive for us when we all gathered in the library where the prince enthralled us by his perfect simplicity as he talked to us, pipe in his mouth, as he had so often done in camp among our soldiers. Only the great ones of earth know how to produce such moments of delightful familiarity. And _Le Cid_ went on its way both in the provinces and abroad. In October, 1900, the hundredth performance was celebrated at the Opéra and on November 21, 1911, at the end of twenty-six years, I read in the papers: "The performance of _Le Cid_ last night was one of the finest. A packed house applauded enthusiastically the beautiful work by M. Massenet and his interpreters: Mlle. Bréval, Mm. Franz and Delmas, and the star of the ballet, Mlle. Zambelli." I had been particularly happy in the performances of this work which had preceded this. After the sublime Fidès Devriès, Chimène was sung in Paris by the incomparable Mme. Rose Caron, the superb Mme. Adiny, the moving Mlle. Mérentié, and particularly by Louise Grandjean, the eminent professor at the Conservatoire. CHAPTER XVII A JOURNEY TO GERMANY On Sunday, August first, Hartmann and I went to hear _Parsifal_ at the Wagner Theater at Bayreuth. After we had heard this _miracle unique_ we visited the capital of Upper Franconia. Some of the monuments there are worth while seeing. I wanted especially to see the city church. It is an example of the Gothic architecture of the middle of the Fifteenth Century and was dedicated to Mary Magdalene. It is not hard to imagine what memories drew me to this remarkable edifice. After running through various German towns and visiting different theaters, Hartmann, who had an idea of his own, took me to Wetzler, where he had seen Werther. We visited the house where Goethe had written his immortal romance, _The Sorrows of Young Werther_. I knew Werther's letters and I had a thrilling recollection of them. I was deeply impressed by being in the house which Goethe made famous by having his hero live and love there. As we were coming out Hartmann said, "I have something to complete the obviously deep emotion you have felt." As he spoke, he drew from his pocket a book with a binding yellow with age. It was the French translation of Goethe's romance. "This translation is perfect," said Hartmann, in spite of the aphorism _Traduttore traditore_, that a translation utterly distorts the author's thought.