Читать книгу Charles Peace, or The Adventures of a Notorious Burglar онлайн

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“I’ve no doubt it does. We’ve got a young gentleman—​a volunteer—​who is well up in nigger melodies. Would you like him to assist you in this part of the performance?”

“Yes, most certainly. He will black his face, I suppose?”

“Oh, most willingly; nothing would please him better. I will introduce you to him, and there will be but little difficulty, I think, about the matter. You can consult together.”

The preliminaries being satisfactorily settled, nothing remained but the rehearsals.

These Peace attended with unvarying punctuality, and the several performers got tolerably perfect before the night on which they were to appear.

A large building—​one of the parish schoolrooms, and which was frequently made use of as a lecture hall, was placed at the disposal of the managing committee.

Bills containing a programme of the performance were posted all over the town, and on these the name of Charles Peace figured as the “Modern Paganini,” who would, by special desire, perform on one string only, after the manner of his great predecessor.