The fact is that the opera [Armide], which was said to be a failure, has earned 37,200 livres in seven performances, not including subscriptions or boxes rented by the year. Yesterday, at the eighth performance, they took in 5,767 livres. Never was there such a throng and such unbroken silence. The parterre was so closely packed that one man, when asked by the usher to remove his hat, replied: “You take is off, because I can’t move my arms.” This aroused laughter. / I saw people leaving with their hair disordered and their clothes as soaked as if they had fallen into a river. You have to be French to pay this price for entertainment. There are six places in the opera that cause the audience to be carried away and lose self-control. Visit us here, madame, and witness the tumult; it will entertain you as much as the opera itself.