Her chance came, though, when one of the famous male dancers, Dumoulin, for some reason failed to make his entry, and Camargo, in a sudden devil-may-care mood, taking up his cue, leapt forward and went through his dance with such dazzling brilliance and won such universal acclaim that henceforth any intrigue for the suppression of the youthful artist was impossible, and it was Prévôt, not Marie-Anne, who eventually had to go. While Sallé--also a pupil of Prévôt--was making a bid for fame in London, Camargo was taking Paris by storm, and creating another of which she was temporarily the unhappy centre. Furious at this second obtrusion on the public notice Mlle. Prévôt bitterly upbraided her pushing young pupil, refused to give her any more lessons, and even to dance with her in an _entrée_ in which the Duchesse de Berri had asked her to appear. A well-known male dancer of the Opera, seeing Camargo in tears, said to her: “Leave this severe and jealous mistress, who seeks only to mortify you. I will give you lessons, and will compose the _entrée_ which the Duchesse requires and you shall dance in it.” Under the careful direction of Blondi the young dancer--then only sixteen--made rapid progress. She combined _noblesse_ and brilliance of execution, with grace, lightness, and a gaiety which was natural to her--on the stage. One who had seen her described her in the following terms: “_C’était une femme d’esprit; fort gaie sur la scène et fort triste à la ville; qui n’était ni jolie ni bien faite, mais légère, et la légèreté était alors un mérite fort rare. Elle exécutait avec une extrême facilité la ‘royale’ et ‘l’entrechat’ coupé sans frottement...._” There was for a little time considerable rivalry between Sallé, Camargo and a third young dancer named Roland, of whose record history has been neglectful. But the rivalry was testified by an anonymous scribe whose verses may be translated as follow: “Of Camargo, Roland, Sallé The connoisseurs have much to say! One holds ’tis Sallé’s grace that tells, And one--Roland in joy excels. But each is struck by the display Of nimble steps and daring way Of Camargo. “Equal the balance ’twixt the three But were I Paris, forced to choose, Only I know I could not use But crown the dance, sublime and free, Of Camargo.” There was of course the inevitable tribute from Voltaire, whose poem, apart from the ingenuity with which he divides his favours between the rival stars, is of unusual interest, since it gives a useful impression of their contrasted styles in apostrophising the dancers thus: