He would present a slyly humorous rogue,
restrained, and of a certain dignity, wearing a countenance of
complete solemnity, speaking his lines drily, as if unconscious of
the humour with which he intended to invest them. Thus, though it
might take the audience longer to understand and discover him, they
would like him all the better in the end.
True to that resolve, he now played his part as the friend and hired
ally of the lovesick Leandre, on whose behalf he came for news of
Climene, seizing the opportunity to further his own amour with
Columbine and his designs upon the money-bags of Pantaloon. Also he
had taken certain liberties with the traditional costume of
Scaramouche; he had caused the black doublet and breeches to be
slashed with red, and the doublet to be cut more to a peak, a la
Henri III. The conventional black velvet cap he had replaced by a
conical hat with a turned-up brim, and a tuft of feathers on the
left, and he had discarded the guitar.
M. Binet listened desperately for the roar of laughter that usually
greeted the entrance of Scaramouche, and his dismay increased when
it did not come.
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