66 'AFTER THE BANQUETS ARE OVER-"? LORD ROBERTS. "WELL, SERGEANT, THEY'VE FOUND A HOME-BILLET FOR YOU." TOMMY ATKINS (Commissionaire). "YES, GENERAL; AND I HOPE THEY'LL SOON FIND A FIRST-RATER FOR YOU!" LES ENFANTS DE MOLIÈRE À LONDRES. as it immensely; it occasionally smiled as it recognised certain well-known scenes "in use at schools," but it literally roared with THE Maison de MOLIÈRE being "à louer," its usual tenants have laughter whenever come over here on the invitation of Sir DRURIOLANUS and Messrs. there occurred such GRAU and ABBEY (not Westminster Abbey, but another from New good old-fashioned York) to give us a taste of their quality and quantity at the T. R. farcical business Drury Lane. From Paris to HARRIS. They were most heartily nowadays is not assoreceived by a crowded audience, whose extreme brilliancy (out of ciated in our ideas compliment to that of the French Company) was only equalled by with what High Coits remarkable intelligence and perfect politeness, quite in accord-medy ought to be. ance with the traditional politesse de Louis Quinze. Maybe in their The Clown chucking heart of hearts not a few would have preferred witnessing the properties at the performances in Policeman makes the however, is only "business" of the House of Molière. will be repeated in the How's this for High Comedy? The Pillows of the La Cérémonie!" "French version of the After Les Plai- Shakspearian farce of Taming the Shrew. We shall see. Howdeurs, a cat, not a ever, I suppose it was essential that the Children of the House of member of the MOLIÈRE should start with one of their Great Parent's pieces, and company, crossed that the "jeu de scène" should be mere "child's play." But the the stage, and attraction of Monday night was the curious quaint Cérémonie received a perfect which wound up the proceedings. This was most interesting. ovation. Some- Vive la Compagnie! They were all on at once, grouped about the body suggested Stage, in a splendidly-lighted scene, and attired in the red robes that the cat and the ermine of Doctors of Law or Arts,-ladies and all,-the having heard ladies looking charming. Then M. Gor led Mlle. REICHEMBERG to some eminently the front, and she read an address in verse; read it quietly, British linguist clearly, and distinctly, without any action, or attempt at declamasaying Yes, tion. She seemed rather to hurry it through, after the manner of a young Etonian getting off a saying lesson." Then followed mock speeches, in Dog-Latin, interspersed with an occasional refrain, sung about eight times in chorus, of which one line seemed to me to be "Vive la loi et la cérémonie!" But perhaps I am mistaken. It was "quaint," but palled on repetition. After about a quarter of an hour or so of this, down came the Curtain. All home, much if not worthier of their great artistic reputation, may at least represent their art in "this so-called Nineteenth Century." E. LOGE PARTICULIER. 66 "Bon Chat, Bon Racine here. Sir," in French, understood it as meaning "Wee mouse 'ere," and so just looked in for a little bit of mousing between the pieces. At the end of the second piece, Mlle. REICHEMBERG read M. CLARETIE'S "Salut à Londres." In one verse the poet tells us how "En vingt ans-oiseaux en voyage-" (The "birds" are not those of ARISTOPHANES, but of the nest of contented, but hoping to see the Company in modern pieces which, MOLIÈRE) "Ont trois fois bravé le peril 19 .... The "peril" is presumably the trajet entre Calais et Douvres. Then it suddenly occurs to the poet that. after all, bad as the passage may be, it is not perhaps to be compared with a voyage to America or Australia, and, breaking off abruptly, he exclaims, "Mais Londres n'est pas un exil!" Beautiful! And with our very best compliments to the poet, I beg to say that not trois fois, but cinquante fois I, moi qui parle, have braved the peril from London to Paris and back, and it has never occurred to me to consider Paris as an exil even at the very earliest date when it was not a pays de connaissance. May the Sociétaires often, in the future, brave the peril of La Manche, and give us some of their excellent performances, which may include an occasional brief extract from MOLIÈRE, but which will exclude anything Shakspearian. Of course, when I say Shakspearian, I would not have them omit from their répertoire a play called Hamlet, written, as their playbill informs me, by Messrs. DUMAS and MEURICE, which has evidently nothing whatever to do with a play of SHAKSPEARE's that happens to bear the same title. In the intermède, a burlesque by MOLIÈRE-yes, a burlesque, Ladies and Gentlemen-the children of MOLIÈRE go in for child's play, and for larks generally; though some of the younger ones on 'the spindle side" do not seem to relish their share in the nonsense, of which the climax is reached when President Gor crams a doctor's cap over the eyes and nose of COQUELIN the Younger, which facetious ceremony brought down the Curtain to shouts of laughter and thunders of applause, testifying to the hearty English apprecia- Guest (at Public Dinner, to Waiter, who has opened a bottle of sodation of the humours of the Bons Enfants de la Maison de MOLIÈRE. water in his left ear). "UGH, YOU SCOUNDREL, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I suppose the performance of Le Malade Imaginaire is governed Waiter. "SCOUNDREL! BEGORRA! IT'S DIVIL A DROP OF DRINK entirely by tradition. Our English audience at Drury Lane enjoyed | I'LL BE GIVING YOU TO-NIGHT!' [And he doesn't! LOCAL VETO. ESSENCE OF PARLIAMENT. EXTRACTED FROM THE DIARY OF TOBY, M.P. House of Commons, Monday Night, June 12.-" And has it come to this?" said WEBSTER (not Sir RICHARD but ROBERT GRANT). He was standing below Gangway, looking with rueful countenance at row of hats set out on Bench where Irish Members sit, under genial leadership of JUSTIN MCCARTHY. "Am not suspected of undue partiality for them or their ways," he murmured, furtively mopping a manly tear. "But one cannot have lived with a section of his fellow-men, in close companionship in public work, without conceiving some regard for them. Heard about their differences; have retired, as usual, to Committee Room No. 15; been shut up together there since one o'clock this afternoon. Now, at the hour when the Terrace is crowded with frivolous persons drinking strong tea and eating damp strawberries, nothing is left of them but these-seven toppers and three billy cocks, the softness of whose texture is, perchance, indicative of the less stern stuff of which their late owners were composed. Nor does this mark the full measure of memorable catastrophe. Full sixty Members, some in the prime of life, others not so, entered the fatal chamber; only ten hats have come out. 'Tis shocking; no words in my popular Dictionary, the studious work of early manhood. adequate to express my feelings. Fifty Irish Members, dissolved like the baseless fabric of a vision, leave not a hat behind!" A good fellow WEBSTER, but sometimes led away by extreme sensitiveness of nature. Might have spared himself this heart-rending scene. True, Irish Members absent through early portion of COLERIDGE ADAPTED TO A CURRENT CONTROVERSY. (After reading Lady Brooke's Article, "What is Society?" in the Pall-Mall Magazine for June.) CRITICS abound around who've found Then others answer back again, Others retort, "You are not fair!" And now 'tis like wind instruments, Some may be right, some must be wrong Oh that they'd all be mute! It ceases not, they still go on: A pleasant summer boon, This noise, like that of a babbling BROOKF, In a magazine for June, That says Society's all right, Or little out of tune! OUR BOOKING-OFFICE.-Always does the Baron de B.-W. read a work with the name of BARING-GOULD to it. Hence he took to Mrs. Curgenven of Curgenven, but wearied of her before he reached Vol. III. He was annoyed with her personally, and heartily wished the second Mrs. Curgenven out of the way. But some of the other characters are delightful, especially the sort of Cornish Madge Wildfire, by name Esther Morideg. The outdoor life is delightful, and the descriptions of the scenery, and of Esther's al fresco, and all frisky life, read in this hot weather, makes the Baron open the doors and windows, and finally decide to " carp the vital airs" in the garden, book in hand, under the shade of a broad-spreading umbrella tree. The Baron thoroughly appreciates the kindly Mr. Percival, who, after buying several illustrated papers, found he had no money, and surrendered all but Punch, and the heroine was happy. BARON DE B.-W. sitting, some ten or dozen observing precaution of retaining their seats by ordinary expedient of reverentially placing hat on Bench before prayers. Spent afternoon in Committee room discussing latest internecine difficulty. Difference of opinion arisen on question of management of Dublin newspaper. Easiest thing in the world to manage a newspaper. As dear old JOHNNIE TOOLE occasionally remarks, "It's nothing; anyone can do it." If one man, taken off street or out of shop, could succeed to a certainty, how much more complete the success of half a score? Somehow-perhaps because scene laid in Dublin-unexpected difficulties present themselves in ordinarily simple problem. TIM HEALY thinks if JOHN DILLON would retire from the Board of Direction, all would be well. JOHN DILLON in favour of resignation, but thinks. slightly to alter a line endeared to infancy, "The first to go should be little TIM." To someone else comes the flash of common sense suggesting that the whole Board of amateur newspaper managers should be swept clear, and a shoemaker put in charge of the last. This on point of being agreed to when SEXTON puts his finger in his mouth, and with tears rolling down his eloquent cheeks, declares he "Shan't play." Not to be pacified on any terms; pettishly declares he will obscure Parliamentary horizon by retiring from it; carefully hands application for Chiltern Hundreds to JUSTIN MCCARTHY. "What's MCCARTHY got to do with it?" asks the sombre Member for SARK. "If SEXTON meant business, he would have sent in his application direct to CHANCELLOR OF EXCHEQUER, and made an end of it. A pretty patriotic performance this, with HomeRule Bill drifting into direst straits; Opposition encouraged by success, unvaried since House went into Committee; only hope of defeating them to be found in united front of Ministerialists; Irish |