The second play was also a farce: _Il y a plus d'un Ane à la Foire._--In this there were seven characters, four men and three women; the men's parts were entrusted to Messieurs Glumeau, Mangeot, Astianax and Kingerie; the actresses were Mesdemoiselles Eolinde, Polymnie and Mangeot.
Monsieur Glumeau had the most important part, that of Pincette, created with much success by Serres at the Folies-Dramatiques. It was very long, and Monsieur Glumeau had decided that it was quite useless to try to drive it into his head, where he was certain that he could never succeed in introducing it; but he relied on the prompter to supplement his memory, and proposed to replace such parts of the dialogue as he did not know by pantomime and dancing.
But it was for the third play that they reserved all the striking effects, all the surprises, all the finest scenery and most amazing costumes that they had. This play was _Roderic et Cunégonde_, or _L'Ermite de Montmartre_, or _La Forteresse de Moulinos_, or _Le Revenant de la Galerie de l'Ouest_, an excellent parody of melodramas, in four tableaux, _larded_, as the book says, with dancing, fighting, manoeuvring, conflagrations and destruction.
This play, the action of which takes place wherever you choose, allows the most fanciful costumes to be used. Wooden swords and daggers had been made, with which the combats were to be fought. Chambourdin, who was very intimate with several dramatic artists, had promised to bring the costumes; the non-speaking parts were to be represented by the gardener and his family and anyone else who chose. The élite of the troupe took part in this play: Mademoiselle Eolinde played Cunégonde, her brother, Roderic, and Monsieur Glumeau took the part of the tyrant Sacripandos; the leader of the brigands, Détroussandos, was entrusted to a young druggist of most promising talent, named Fourriette, who insisted upon always rehearsing his fights with the wooden swords. Monsieur Mangeot represented the hermit; the part of the valet Malinot fell as of right to young Kingerie. In order to have a second female part, they had transformed Petit-Colas into Petite-Colette, and Mademoiselle Polymnie had accepted this bit of a part, because of the costume. There was also a child's part. The son of Pichet the gardener, a little boy of five, who never blew his nose, but whose parents had promised to do it for him on that day, was employed to represent the son of Roderic and Cunégonde. His father the gardener had undertaken to teach him the few words of which his part consisted; he beat it into his head with an accompaniment of kicks, which gave the little fellow small taste for the theatre. Lastly, the three speaking robbers in the play were to be acted by Chambourdin and two of his friends. As each rôle would be but four lines, it was hoped that those gentlemen would succeed in learning them.