The Sun.
London, England, 1868-01-04 00:00:00

SCENE IN A PARIS THEATRE.

The Paris Temps gives the following detailed ac-
count of the disturbance at the Porte St. Martin
Theatre, referred to in our impression of yester-
day :--" On Monday evening, at the first per-
formance of the Porte St. Martin revue, Mdlle. Silly
was upon the stage, and had just parodied, in an
apropos song, the tones and gestures of Mdlle.
Schneider, of the Vari6t6s. It should be known
that parodies of this kind are customary in revues;
that they almost always amuse the Parisians, who
vehemently applaud them when they are well
done, Thus, on every side there was applause
and a cry of ' Encore.' A hiss was heard, fol-
lowed by rounds of cheering. The hiss continued
its protest. Up to this point nothing could be
simpler. The hisser, doubtless, did not like ➢ldlle.
Silly, or he liked Mdlle. Schneider. It was his
right. It was a matter between himself and the
public, which certainly would have soon made him
hold his tongue. For I feel hound to state that up
to this time this gentleman had irrieated everybody.
Instead of being in his favour, the public would
gladly have stopped his mouth. Crowds do not
like contradiction. Mdlle. Silly, advancing to the
footlights, had already repeated the first few (yards
of her soag, when a loud uproar was heard at the
very place whence the hissing had proceeded, in the
upper boxes. The artiste stopped ; some per-
sons rose in the stalls. Shortly afterwards we
were all standing, and looking, with our backs to
the stage. A police agent was parleying with the
hisser, who could be distinctly seen, as he was in
the front row. Nothing of what they said could be
heard, but it was easy to guess by their gestures
that the one was requesting the other to leave, and
that the other energetically refused to do so. We
followed this scene with curiosity. Turn him out !'
No, no ;' and the usual jokes under such circum-
stances. People laughed, people shouted, but with-
out any very well defined object in shouting. The
police agent withdrew, and already tranquillity was
about to be restored, when in place of the agent a
cocked hat appeared, followed by another cocked
hat, and the two gendarmes advanced to the recal-
citrant hisser, and put their hands upon his shoulders.
The public down below, which attentively
watched the scene, at first let things take their
course without saying much. But my gentleman*
resists ; he clings to his stall ; the two agents of
authority seize him by the cravat, and twisting it
round his neck endeavour to take him away, not-
withstanding his desperate efforts and his hoarse
exclamations. By degrees the public grows warm
and excited; shouts arise from every part of the
house—' No, no !" Let him alone ! let him alone
A gendarme merely obeys orders. These carry off
our friend bodily, and we see his legs kicking by
way of a final and mute protest. Immediately there
arose a furious uproar, the like of which I never
heard, not even the Gaetana. Shouts of Bring
him back !" Let him return !' arc heard amid a
frightful uproar. The curtain falls, and the mana-
ger arrives. He is not even allowed to make his
three customary bows. No !" No explanations !'
Let him return.' He has a right to do so.'
The unhappy man walks from one side of the stage
to theother, and endeavours to say an unintelligible
word or two, and with a terrified aspect wipes away
the perspiration which pours down in heavy drops
from his face. After five or six minutes, which
must have apperred au age to him, we see him ap-
proach the stage box of Prince Demidoff, and he
appears to ask him what the public wants. After a
colloquy, of which we do not hear a single word,
he goes out backwrrds, and returns a few moments
aftewards, leading by the hand Laurent the actor.
The management no doubt hoped that the sight of
suh a favourite actor would calm the storm. But
the pleasant, simple, and smiling face of Laurents
avails nothing against this outburst. The tempest
recornmeoces with more fury than ever. They
are are no longer shouts—the are roars of anger ;
every arm is outstretched ineaacingly towards the
two men who seem in consultation, and who work

their hands, in despair, like the sails of a wind-
mill. Another five minutes pass. What was being
done meanwhile behind? A deliberation, no doubt
was held ; perhaps some one was sent to consult
M. Pietri—to know if the law was to prevail. Any-
how the scene lasted 12 or 14 minutes, and if it had
been prolonged the public would have played havoc,
so great was its exasperation. At last we hear
shouts of 'There he is !' 'There he is !' and my
gentleman re-appears, in fact very pale, but with
a composed and modest countenance. On every
side there then arose tremendous shouts ; in
the dress circle the ladies waved their
handkerchiefs ; in the stalls his entrance was
hailed with three times three. The incident
was over. The public had prevailed. We may de-
rive some useful lessons from this singular story.
The first is that crowds have lately become singu-
larly susceptible. Three or four years ago things
would not have passed in this way. The public
would not have shown its teeth so easily, and would
not have enforced its will with so much ;energy.
This little circumstance is a serious symptom. I see
in the second place, that though it may be danger-
ous to resist the agents of authority in the cemeteries,
we must defend ourselves in the theatres. Had this
gentleman allowed himself to be gently carried off by
the gendarmes, he would have passed the night in the
lock-up. It was his energetic and desperate resist-
ance which so thoroughly aroused the sympathy
of the public that the police ended by surrendering
their prey. Finally, the prefect of police will no
doubt remark that it was his agents who caused all
the trouble. When ho gives to subaltern servants
the authority he attributes to himself, he ought only
to have in his service people of intelligence. It is
not an easy thing to manage a crowd ; it requires
much tact and dexterity. These gentlemen dis-
played on this occasion much cluminess. As soon
as they saw the disposition of the public they ought
to have yielded with a good grace and withdrawn
discreetly. Whenthe all-powerful and irresponsible
agents display in the exercise of their functions a

certain rough violence they draw upon themselves
the rap on the knuckles they have just received.
Have only Talleyrands for police agents, or you

incessantly expose yourselves to affronts such as
those you were victims to yesterday."

THE 48th MIDDLESEX RIFLE VOL UN-

TEERS.