Meanwhile, the father died; and, suddenly, she seemed to have lost,
with him, her voice, her soul and her genius. She retained just,
but only just, enough of this to enter the CONSERVATOIRE, where she
did not distinguish herself at all, attending the classes without
enthusiasm and taking a prize only to please old Mamma Valerius,
with whom she continued to live.
The first time that Raoul saw Christine at the Opera, he was charmed
by the girl's beauty and by the sweet images of the past which
it evoked, but was rather surprised at the negative side of her art.
He returned to listen to her. He followed her in the wings. He waited
for her behind a Jacob's ladder. He tried to attract her attention.
More than once, he walked after her to the door of her box, but she
did not see him. She seemed, for that matter, to see nobody.
She was all indifference. Raoul suffered, for she was very beautiful
and he was shy and dared not confess his love, even to himself.
And then came the lightning-flash of the gala performance:
the heavens torn asunder and an angel's voice heard upon earth for
the delight of mankind and the utter capture of his heart.
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