The Sun.
London, England, 1867-10-08 00:00:00

1111?. FECHTER'S CLAUDE MELNOTTE.

The following charming tribute is paid to Mr.
Fechter's Claude by the able theatrical critic of the
Examiner :—At the Lyceum Mr. Fechter is bringing
to an honourable close a career spoilt by mistrust
of substantial English fare, and faith in the feeblest
of French melodramatic slops that had but a spice
of romance in them. lle imported " gingerade" for
chose who desired of him home-brewed October. If
he had done earlier in his career what he has done
now, Mr. Fechter might have felt in good time,
and to good purpose, the encouragement to which
his great skill as an actor, and in some respects un-
equalled care as a manager, entitled him. Lord
Lytton's play of the " Lady of Lyons," written
for Mr. Macready thirty years ago, was planned,
as the author said in his preface to the first
printed edition of it, with a distinct view
to stage effect. " I was mainly anxious," said
Lord Lytton, "to see whether or not certain
critics had truly declared that it was not in my
power to attain the art of dramatic construction and
theatrical effect." The result we know. Precisely
in those qualities, the " Lady of Lyons" excels
every acted play of any literary weight that has
been written in our time. In adapting this play for
Mr. Fechter at the Lyceum one or two slight
changes have been made, by the author's permission,
which improve the stage effect. The first scene,
showing Pauline at home and her refusal of Beau.
want, is not necessary to the construction, but
valuable where the strength of the play depends
much on the actress who represents Pauline.
At the Lyceum Mr. Fechter's Claude Melnotte
is the one part of the piece. Miss Carlotta Le-
clercq never claimed the rarer gifts of dramatic
genius, and her Pauline, is in the highest degre3
creditable to her; pleasing, clever, in parts duly
energetic; is not more than a clever and sufficient
execution of the business of the part in acting up to
Mr. Fechter. The first scene, therefore, is expunged.
At the close of the act, instead of a letter from
Beauseant, it is Beauseant himself who brings, in
the moment of desperate anger at Pauline's insult to
his messenger, Claude's temptation to abase her
pride and satisfy his love ; and this is, no doubt, so
done as to increase stage effect by adding to the
sharpness of definition in the situation upon which
the curtain falls. At the close of the second act,
Mr. Fechter follows the author's original inten-
tion by restricting himself, when Damas talks of
envying him, to the significant " Do you ?" instead
of adding the lines through which the signification
was expanded by the desire of other actors. Other
changes are but few and slight; unless they be is
the last act, which, so far as we were concerned,
was sacrificed to the carpenters who had occupied
in setting scenes between the acts as much time as
should have sufficed to set the scenes and play the
last act also. But we have heard and seen enough
to assure us that this is the best Claude Melnotte
by whom the part has yet been played. The study
is thoroughly fresh, thoroughly French also, in the
best sense, and for that the truer. It softens with
fine by-play all the passages which abase Melnotte
below the sympathy of honest men ; brings out for-
cibly the patriarchal reverence that coloured the
tenderness of a son's relation to his mother in France
of old, and that is to this day found in the provinces ;
and it puts new soul into the last speech of the fourth
act, after Melnotte has agreed to go to the wars and
recover his honour : To Damas, " There is my
hand Mother, your blessing. I shall see You
again,--a better man than a prince,—a man wil°
has bought the right to high thoughts by brave
deeds. And thou !—thou ! so wildly worshippcd/
guiltily betrayed," &c. In delivery of this there is
a passionate intensity, an abandon, light with the.
sense of sudden relief or possible relief from a load
of conscious meanness, yet with all its impulsive
energy and rapid utterance marvellously coloured
with diverse expression. It will be fixed fur years
to come in the memory of this generation of Oar
goers as one of the finest bits of acting the stage of
our time has furnished. It is needless to add 00
the scenery is excellent, and that Mr. Addison aid
Mrs. 11. Marston are the best repres2utatives Re
have of llamas and Madame Deschapelles.

ROYAL GALLERY OF ILLUSTRATION.—Our reader°
will be glad to learn that this popular place of amuseuico
will re-open on Monday, October 14, with the highly s'l°'
cessful entertainment, "A Dream in Venice," in which gr.
and Mrs. German Rood and Mr. John Parry will re-appear'
and which will be followed by "Merrymaking at Evelol3
Hall." A novelty from the pen of Shirley Brooks is 111
active preparation.
THE MANCHESTER FENIANS.—There were tsiro
Fenians arrested on Sunday evening at Levenshuline, ne3i.
Manchester, on the charge of being concerned in the 11110
outrage, but they have not yet been confronted with Wit-
'losses able to identify them. Seine arrests were also hnade
at Hanley, in the Potteries, on Sunday, in consequence, °
a threatening letter posted there on Saturday.