Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1852-03-06
The Tragedy of asMv Uncle"

The NeU French Play Actor.-Perhaps one
| cause OF the apparent popularity Of Louis
| Napoleon with the French people, may be found
| in their proyerbiaI tondness for theatrical exhi.
bltions. They are delighted with plays of any
kind, and especially with those which CONNIE
morate the glory Of the Emperor Taking ad-
vantage ohShis disposition, the ambitious ne
phew determined to attemp debut. On the sec.
ond of December he rang the bell, drew up the
curtain, and appeared before an astonished and
admirng audience in the character of my Un-
cle.' AS yet the play progresses with remark
able success and the new candidate for histri-
onic honors is greeted with applause in every
scene. He endeavors to adhere to the text
with great fidelity in the most minute and ines
sentia particulars, such as the furnishing Of the
Tuilleries, the number of guests at table, the
distribution of baubles among the troops, hoii-
day reviews and the like.
All this is vastly entertaining to the play
loving people for the time being, but how long
is it likely to continue? How long will it be be-
fore they will grow impatient at being enter
tanned only with these trivial portions of the
drama, and will demand a view of its grander
and more stirring incidents? Several of these
had to be skipped over at the outset. The
actor found it most convenient to omit the
crossing of the Alps, the brilliant campags in
Italy and Egypt, the battles of Marengo and of
the Pyramids. He chose to jump at once into
the Tuilleries and begin the play in the middle
by initiating the Emperor in his eating, leaving
out the preliminary fighting. It is also quite
acts to omit Austertz and Jena and Eylau.
But the French are not the people to be salts
fed at seeing the play of Hamlet with the part
of Hamlet left out. They will not allow them
selves to be imposed upon by having the great
Napoleon represented in this way Their ad-
miratiOn of him did not grow out of the mode
in which he furnished his palace and entertain
ed his guests, nor did it grow out of his mere
reviews of 'leS beaur battalions" at Paris.
What especially fired their i,naginations and
thrilled the very soul of the nation, was the
manner in which he led those batalions to vie
tory on hundred hard fought fields The
actor who has put on the zap and sword of Ma
poleon will soon be forced to enter upon this
part of the play or be hissed from the stage in
disgrace. If he maintains his position, Euro
pean war is not far distant. He can never get
on successfully without performing the graver
as we'll as the lighter scenes ofthe drama which
he has undertaken. |
Thus far he has initiated some of the crimes
and nearly all, of the foes Of his Uncle, tole-
raby well, but all the great and noble exploits |
remain to be performed. And after all is done,
however successfully, then comes the end-the
grand denoument. And what is that? Has the
vain and ambitious actor ever paused to consid-
er that "my Uncle" came suddenly down from |
a very high to very low place; that
'Snce he miscaled the morning star,
Nor man nor fend hath fallen so far;n
and that the concluding scene of this play lies !
amongth dreary and desolate rock ofSt. He
lena? Whatever else may be left out, shave
no doubt that the fall will be included irrthe
play, and that it will be reached as rapidly and |
as easily as the parts which have already been |
performed. There will, however, be an5impor-
tant difference between the Uncle and the Ne
phew. The latter will fall lower though not as
far as the former; and whilst the name of the I
first Napoleon will continue to be surrounded I
by the halo of his brilliant victories and the
achievements of his mighty intellect, darkness
and universal exeeration will gather over that |
of his miserable imitator. ~