Nashville patriot. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1858-1860, 1858-11-19
The Last wfIIisisna.

Willis is nothing as writer outside. of the
sensual. His fancy pales and tiickers ont,
withdrawn from the delicate pink -cOlored haze
of sensualism in which lis little wings made
Of fine guaze By miliiner's girl. no doubt
delight to fiutter. Whether it is sJeptha's
daughter or Absalom. an imaginary heroine
or a live prima donna he describes, the same
dominion of sense and sensuous sensibility,
to the exclusion of lofty ideaity. is an newt
able presence. Herein is Williss strength,
and herein his weakness. Herein is the ms
piration that imparts life-like reality,a no.
table reliero, to many of his word-palhtings.
and a characteristic tone to all his descrip-
tions: and herein is the prurient imagination-
SO foreign to true manliness, which does
not even imagine an indicate thought of
true womanliness-tha hOvers upon the verge
of indeicacy when wOmon is the topic, If II
does not often pass beyond that boundary.
This weakness and this strength are displayed
in about an equal degree in an ldlewild linn
ing of Piccolomini. Having first related
how be accidentally ran against. carpct-bag
in hand 1.-The princess of the Millenial DRAMA"
how the dumpy little angel in some way got
the obtrusive baggage in her chubby arms.
and how the leather of the same became there
by consecrated, and the smallest bit OF it
worthy to be set in Piccolomini breast-pn
by his man Friday, Morris; and next, having
described some of the innocent artistic wiles
. of the little wonder he thus accompllshes the
climax with her mouth:
..Rut how can describe what is Piceolomi-
mis- great popularity? Her mouth. while she
sings, plays the most delicious pantOmlme
possible to conceive! The eye of the specta-
tor is 30 pelted with kisses. eXquisitely repre-
scented i'm a sort of alto relieve that il is alb
soutely bewlldering. The natural action of
the lips seems positively that and nothing
else-kisses. caught and put into harness, and
made to do duty like sung words. 1t Is most
difficult to realize. as one looks and listens
when she leans over the foot-light-w any,
thing of habit of kisses seen DONE that Is
to say-that the rest of the audience has not
mysteriously disappeared. leaving the audience
entirely between ones self and her! And
then the absolutely innocent cOnIidingness of
the whole play and pout Of those pulpy little
red lips--looking so as if they implicitly
trusted and believed in you, while they tried
to reach yOu-makes 1t still more absolutely
personal and private,
al do not think there was ever before such an
actress on the stage-one who was unequivo-
cally stamped with the innoc nee of child
while she left upon every auditor the mysteri-
Gus memory of "a kiss As the ballad Says
Such two lips To sigh.for,
(By heraIdry's test,)
Should make tulips the cipher
Engraved on her crest
though | doubt not that the helmet and
shield of the chivalric PiccolOminis bad a
blazou much more warlke, won by their
swords i'm those Middle Ages when they were
so famous. With the two other charming evil
dences that the operate stage is to be lady's
northumberland de Wilhorst and Miss
Juliana May--we may look upon the Princess.
| repeat. as the avatar of the new epoch. She
is, certainly, one of the very sweetest and
most endearing of introductresscs. and from
hands SO pure we may safely receive any
thing.
g heard incidentally, while in New York,
that our distinguished countrywoman, Mad.
lie Vert had shown her usual tact and know
ledge of the world by taking the Princess to
see the one thing she would never see in
foreign countries-an American sized hotel.
She led the fair Italian all over the st. Nicho-
las, showing her the immense kitchens laun-
dries, vast drawing rooms and wiIdernesses of
bedrooms, exciting thereby the utmost RSton-
ishment that the gifted strangers sweet lips
and eyes could possibly express.
'' Go and see the PiccOlOmini. when you are
next in town my dear Morris, remem' ering
as a song writer. that her distinguishing fea-
ture is the one which the lover-god in the
classic pastoral chose to bestow his homage
upon