From time to time Delsarte gave a concert. He would come on the stage and say that he had a bad throat, but that he would try to give _Iphigenia"s Dream_ or something of that sort. His courage would prove to be greater than his strength and he would have to stop. He would then fall back on old-time songs or La Fontaine"s fables in which he excelled. A skilfully studied mimicry, which seemed entirely natural, underlay his reading. A red handkerchief, which he knew how to draw from his pocket at just the proper moment, always excited applause.