Accordingly, the very next morning he departed, after having taken an
affectionate leave of the prince, his father; who did not oppose
his going, as Isabelle had confidently expected, but seemed, on the
contrary, to approve of it heartily. After receiving many charges to
be careful and prudent, from his sister, which he dutifully promised to
remember and obey, the young duke bade her good-bye also, and said, in a
mysterious, yet most significant way,
"Au revoir, my sweet little sister, you will be pleased with what I am
about to do." And Isabelle sought in vain for the key to the enigma.
CHAPTER XIX. NETTLES AND COBWEBS
The worthy tyrant's advice was sensible and good, and de Sigognac
resolved to follow it without delay. Since Isabelle's departure, no
attraction existed for him in the troupe, and he was very glad of a
valid pretext for quitting it; though he could not leave his humble
friends without some regrets. It was necessary that he should disappear
for a while--plunge into obscurity, until the excitement consequent upon
the violent death of the young Duke of Vallombreuse should be forgotten
in some new tragedy in real life.
So, after bidding farewell to the worthy comedians, who had shown him
so much kindness, he departed from the gay capital--mounted on a stout
pony, and with a tolerably well-filled purse--his share of the receipts
of the troupe, which he had fairly earned.
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