The Sun.
London, England, 1865-02-06 00:00:00

French Theatricals.

ODEON.—A very smart little comedy in three
short acts, the work of M. Pailleron, already favour-
ably known by his dramatic efforts, has made a
decided hit at this theatre. Its title, "Le Second
Mouvement," is a kind of index to the plot, which,
in point of fact, works out the cynical aphorism
fathered on Talleyrand—" Il faut toujours se
defier de son premier mouvement, car c'est sou-
vent le bon !" An old savant of the name of
Valin—who has discovered some wonderful pro-
cess for extracting a new dye out of deal boards
or some other substance, which appears quite as
unlikely to be turned to ornamental purposes as
coal-tar, &c., &c.—suddenly dies. He leaves behind
him his discovery—in itself a fortune in the hands of

a practical man—and his only daughter_; the dis-
covery, he had, before his death communicated to a
-wealthy merchant at Louviers. The daughter is
left quite unprovided for. The merchant, whose
heart has not been preternaturally hardened by the
intoxication of fortune, and his wife, consult each
other. They think it a great shame that they
should be pocketing enormous profits out of the old
savant's secret, whilst his daughter is thrown upon
the world to shift for herself. They therefore adopt
her as a daughter of their own. This is le pre-
mier nzouvement—the first good and generous
impulse—it is but short lived. They soon begin
to repent of their generosity ; the young lady
may presume too much from a position she owes
solely to their benevolence. She may—horrible
idea !—conceive the notion of becoming the wife of
their son ! In short this worthy but very worldly
couple are beginning to repent having followed the
dictates of a higher nature, and, yielding to all
manner of sordid dirty little impulses, feel decidedly
inclined to make their quondam protegee " feel her
position." This is the " second movement."
There is little doubt but what they would have acted
upon it, but M. Pailleron contrives to sober them by
sudden ruin, and then by the means of the young lady,
who seems to be the pivot of the piece, proceeds to
reinstate them in their former position of comfort
and affluence. The savant's daughter of course
marries their son, and all ends merrily as a marriage
bell. The plot of this little piece is singularly well
worked out, and its success was complete. Its only
drawback is the fact of its being in verse. There is
something indescribably ludicrous in gentlemen in
white chokers and cutaway coats and ladies rejoic-
ing in all the modern amplitude of crinoline, con-
versing together in Alexandrines. With a great
deal of tact, however, the actors deliver the verse in
such a way as to make it sound very like prose, and
as the dialogue is witty and the play a good one in
itself, the author's furor poeticus cannot be said to
have done him any harm. Thiron, Romanville,
Laroche, and Mmes. Romelli and Mose in the prin-
cipal parts showed themselves consummate artistes.
LYRIQUE.—Prince Poniatowski is well known
throughout the musical world, not only as a
capital musician, but as a composer of no little
distinction. As to the popularity of his works
opinions may vary, but there can be no doubt that
if melodic inspiration occasionally fails, he has com-
pletely mastered the arcana of the science. He has
just produced at this house an opera called " L'Aven-
turier," which has been fairly successful, and it may
be said that its favourable reception was solely due
to the music, and in spite of the libretto, than which
it is impossible to find anything more preposterously
absurd, eminently distinguished as such kind of
things are for absurdity. The hero, Don Ma-
noel, is a Spanish grandee, who, moved by a
spirit of adventure, goes to Mexico in search of a
new sensation. To secure that desirable ohject he
lauds with just two dollars in his pocket, and no
sooner does he touch terra firma, then he hands
them to a mysterious beggar who prowls about the
beach in most Bohemian attire• Being wholly
destitute of money he goes through a variety of
adventures meant to be romantic and decidedly
improbable—and finally the beggar, who turns
out to have been a very great Don in disguise,
makes his appearance in the very nick of time to
rescue l'Aventurier cut of his difficulties, and in
return for his two dollars makes him the handsome
present of a gold mine, which will enable him to
marry the Viceroy's daughter ! The music is light
and agreeable—but not striking. It would however
do credit to a professional musician, and cannot but
add to the reputation of its distinguished composer.
The orchestration is more remarkable than the vocal
part, and the skill with which the instruments are
blended with the voices cannot be passed over
without commendation. Monjauze and Mmes. and
de Maesen and Faure-Fefebvre sustained the chief
parts with ability, and the chorusses discharged their
duty with perfect ensemble.