New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-04-13
MR.. FDWIN FORREST As CLAUDE
MELNOTTE.

and hisst it of the stsge Ho xever Eoglish audi
may love scandal privately it will not cJunte-
nence it publicly. Hence the hisses which doomed
Bulwers virgin drama to the grave He rose again,
SCARED but not yspquisbed, and mounted his srnor
for another tit
The second product of his industry was The Lady
Of Ly ems" In this play, by dazzling crush OF hits
and effects and thrilling words, aud telling passages
and sterling poses, commiDgled in heterog sDeou,
and uncoDDected MAS, the attention OF the
audience is diverted from the gross ignorance
Of French character, customs, and msnners and
the astounding perveIsion Of the spifs Of the
sge in which the drama is laid, which marks every
feature Of the play throughout To cover this rdicu
lous perversioD, and to render bis effort successful
the utmost cunning of Bul ~ers powers and peu aud
of thoee who assisted him, taxed to gather to-
gether ard turn to ell pc ssbe account brilliant and
curously set Ere nch and Ita ian, German and English
words and sayings. II all the fine things which
put in the mouth Of Claude Melnoe, all the bright
things WI ch shine through the eyes Of Pauine, all
the silly things which gsen through her mothers hair
and all tie honest things which beat beneath the breast
of Damss. we're tab en from the play and separately
EXAMINED, Bulser would just be in the position Of an
old faded Paris belle, who may, at a distance, and
amid the glare OF ball room, be admired, bat who,
when in her bedroom, che lays down her artificial
teeth, her artificial eyee, her artificial hair, and her
artificial bosom, looks fearful picture Of shriveed
ugliness. And If the artificial tecorati ms were
smined, they would be found to come from every
quarter of the world, one from France, one from
italy, one from Germany, and one from England.
Thus Bulwer has gathered from q common place
book, stored with sparkling mots and brilliant fancie,,
of other countries, those delicate and witty " hits
which draw cheer, but which, when the cheer Is
past the audience find they have cheered mere words
wholly ur com ected with and unsued to the charsc-
ter from which they come
II Mr.. Bulwer desired to read q moral lesson on
the injustice Of privileged classes and castles, why
travel out of bis own native soil of England where
even at the present moment the worship Of tides Is
more in ense than it in France ffsy years ago
Why drag poor Monsieur DeSch sppsles upon the
stsge, when he had at home Jones Lloyd and a
Daring Lord Overstone, unless arc misinformed,
has some beautiful gardens round bus rural palace,
and at Aslburton House are some exquisite conserva
tores in which we doub. not many dreamy, ambitious
young gar den boys might be found. Why not make
Mi LLOYD Joner, OF one Of the Miss Barngs, or the
great Mrs Burdett Cou,ts, surrender her wealthy
CHAINS 10 some young floral impostor there' 10
ENGLAND the gulf between great merchants dsugh-
ter al gardeners SON. exactly th,t which Bulwcr
makes us believe exists In France Nov, there Is no
more really democra 10 people than the French Their
natural desire 10 u makes genuine Democrats Of
all of them. Ana their esprit" Is powerful modl-
fer of thosc lioes Of hauteur which, in are
drawn between all he classes from the highest down
wards Indeed the line is far more rudely marked,
and more ofsensively observed between the parvena
merchant and the one below him, than between
tie high bred aristocrat and the one below him.
But Bulwer never writes or speaks, and never
has written or spoken for the higher purpose OF
pointing moral or elevsting noble truth. The
sane purposes which govern him in politics, govern
him in literature. He writes to CRAFTY vanity and
indulge cupidity. Thsckeray has not yet unfortu-
nstely smotbered all the hives Of snObbery in En-
gland The air 10 still alive with snobs. This BuTer
Inoxs full well. and would not venture by placing
the .ceIe In England instead Of France, to offend
tbt.e numerous and pestiferous insects, upon whose
spplaudipg buzz be thrives Provided you lay the
satire at negl Dor door, the snob has not even in
stipct Rough to zee that it applies to his, and au his
ard chuckies with malicious JOY, a. his own dis
section.
But perhaps at no period in the whole history OF
France was this eveng tendency more apparent
,bsp At that very period when Pauline Descappeles
/, pictured as the reenipg belle at Lyons. 1t Was
ina, at Me time in which the first French revolution,
which sent the old noblesse to the guilctine-sent
there lib them the many lingering traditions OF ser
vilty by which they were surrounded The idea at
any time in France, but above all at such time, OF
calling Claude, while Imprinted "a serf and
slave" was Just as ludicrous as calling him, whea
m, pessanted, !" " my lord, my prince Unlucky
Rul.er in the frs, case be puzzled how to trans
late mapani or car allie; in the De1t, he forgot
that French ladies rarely any other word-f ln'
deed thew use any at ALL even in speaking to persons
Of the higher rank-than the simple one " Monsieur
Among the maoy American ladies' who have been
in the hi, beet society Of EDgk who ever heard q
l.Sy OF rank call her b, rOthed' her husband my
"lord" o. Psu,ine is made perpetuslly to do
Among the many Auericsn ladies who have min
pled In the most graceful circles OF Paris, whoever
S..,d l.sy call her be.gothed or her husband
"Mon,ieur le Pfincef' II is coarse vulgsn'y,
wholly repugnsnt TO the delicate ard charming
t,ct Of woman There ere, Of course in France, as
in all other countries, foolish old women and stupid
men and .iny gir's bu, Mr.. Bulwer did not intend
Claude ard Pauline for such grotesque c'rcstures As
be has made them. We are therefore the less dis
posed to look chsritably upon the characters as he
draw, them the lees he has left 10 them the nationA
e,,ui.,e Irregularities which might redeem. by light
glitter Of dress the clumsy sbsureiiy Of the wheis
play. There Ne very likely as msny women IN
France as elsewhere who desire to see their daughters
male grta. matches. Women where their orn al.
sections are no, engaged, are usually ,hfeSd and
calculating. and mammas are rather proverbisl for
MI, hind of trade bu, they msnsge their hius
sheues without repeating, Ike Mother Desch'Pe.e',
aya,v moment, to every one they meet, ho" they
.ha., Thsv do not harass keople with