Daily national Republican., 1863-11-16
B,s,ory OF an Eccentric Comedian.


PARIS, September, isea,
I Poor LassaCne is dead | am persuaded
many of your readers must remember this in
| imitable comic actor Of the Varieties Theatre,
who for wears set Europe In u roar Whenever
he appeared as a stupid, laundering fellow,
into whose dull intellect every ray OF light was
refracted at the mcst extraordinary angles.
The tone in which he would eNclaim hon per-
js was initiated by everybody, aud never failed
TO raise laughter when wit had exhausted its
vivid eolors and bright uoruscatiOns. lie died
iu a mad house. When ono secs Merry An
drews SO sad, SO unhappy, and SO often ehoing
their days In mad'housc, ono can searceiy
help wondering IL Heaven docs not irown on
laughter. The Good Book often blesses the
mourners the laug hers arc never mentioned
exccpt to be acCurscd. Is life too grave
thing, is eternity ever too near at hand, Tor man
to laugh Are there some mysteries which
hang over Laughter that man durst not trife
with Is laughter reserved to higher powers
than man-il is denied to all inferior animals
Has your philosophy ever dreampt OF this sub
juCt The buioon's life was tragtcal all huf-
foons' lives arc ttagical
One day he made the acquaintance OF little
mantua-maker's apprentice; he won her heart
they were ardt tutly attached to each other; she
knew nothing of Lassagne's reputation, and he
found at home that quiet happiness which comic
actors, more than most men, require. No droil-
cry was expected of him thrrc-uo laughter
followed every phrase which fell from his lips;
there he might be solemn and sedatc and silent,
and no one think the comic actor out of sorts,
Or "with dull wine." The poor girl died.
La.saguc grew disconsolatu. lie sought for
| gettulness, where so many have He'd for obliv.
| ion-in the bottle. The poor fellows distress
was ineXpressiblr. llewOuld every night, after
| his return from the theatre, take out from the
wardrobe the articles which had belonged to
| the poor girl and place them around him and
| ipy hpt kisses Ir1Quput
at the bottle would render him inscnsible. lie
J would begin the same thing in the morning and
! continue 1t until the hour of rehearsal came.
| His friends laughed at him; their jcers irrtatcd,
| they could not close the wound: twas too deep
| for that His mind was Jared, too, by another
| incident which had occurred some weeks before
his bereavement. lie was engaged in a cafe
ON the Boulevard playing lansqurTrt with sew
| cral comrades; the stakes were ten sous pieces.
Lassagne had long run OF luck, aud some
body present inconsiccrltCly accused him OF
playing with packed cards. He was extremely
Indignant at being the subject of such dis
honOring suspicion, and Offered to meet any
examination which might be proposed. No
body believed in the accusation. IL was whis-
pCred abOut the town. and before very long
time the walls of houses In every street in
Paris the walls of churches the sides of the
Nuspasian columns on the boulevards, some
anonymous hand covered all of them with
! scrawl in charcoal-"L LassagUc Is u swinder."
60 where he would, turn his eyes which way
hu might, he would find this accusation made
against him. 1t was Que OF those things which
| could not be denied, II could not be arrested
| who could stay that hand which moved in the
darkDtss!
! The world took NO note Of 1t, twas none the
! less visible to him; 1t wtung his heart with
| none the less anguish. Was Banquo's ghost
visible TO aught besides the host! but did il for
that harrow Macbeth lCos with fear Nemesis
! -. tHtN ~.
| floating on an old tune; she rises out of ia
miliar Landscape; che rides on the moaning
wind; she rcrchcs on an o.d clock, or an old
| chair, or an old Volume-inysible tu every eye
save the eye of the prosecuted victim. Who
can tell what shar, this bastard attack had in
producing insanity, The poor buGUon might
have recovered irOm his grief he might have
checked the Corrosion Of liquor, he could not -
| It's the last ounce which breaks the camci's
back bear all together. Shortly before his
madness assumed violent form, his amuse.
ment was to ill his pockets with sous and get
into au omnibus aud take u seat near the con
ductur. lie would make hmscIt very active in
, transmitting the passengers' fares 10 the con.
! ductor and returning them the change; but in
. this return he would add several SOUS 10 the sun
given by the conductor, SO that Passengers whC
, sent up ten sous 10 pay Tor their fare would re-
Ceive fifteen sous back.
y 1t was poor Lassague's pleasure to watch
=, the passengers cOuntrnauce when this sum
was put into his hand, to ObserNG c him count II
frequently and satisfy himself that lie was moi
mistaken and then quietly pocket it, giving, a,
=, he did So, glance al the conductor, as Wucl
as 10 say: You have cheated yuuseii, old iCl
r low, that is none of my business Lassagn,
h says that he never once saw passenger cor
A rect the error which the conductor was sup
posed to have made. His progress in his pro
tession was slow; he was for years an humble
walking gentleman " in the provincial thea
tres. One day his manager refused to advance
him twenty francs. He resolved to ayCng
himself. lie then lived in the gurret of th
d house whose second floor was occupied by hi
n manager. 4 few days afterwards the mana
:, ger, to be on good terms with the municlpa
= authorities (who were the chief patrons OF tn
J. theatre,) gave them dinner.
The season was January, and the weathc
4. was excessively cold, even for January.
glorious fire cracked in the dining room, an
y evidently must have added great zest to til
Z dinner. What dincr-out Is ignorant of I'll
Is exhilcrating iniluuuce Of brisk fire on guest
assembled around a dinner table on winir
day Dinner was announced, the guests wer
scarcely seated when the chimney began l.
smoke, and not only the dlning-room chimney
o but the chimney iu the drawing-room and th
Y. kitchen chimney. IL became necessary TO ope
y windows and doors. Cooking and dinner bot
:, became impos oible, aud the guests retired Ill
II humorcd and with iBiiucuZa. slN tunes th
u manager attempted 10 give dinner TO th
municipal authorliies, and ELK times with III
same result.
n The municipal authorities at last grew 10 b
very angry; persuaded the manager was putin
u a farce upon them, one of those tricks dear I
l. players hearts; they withdrew all support iroI
d the manager, who went TO the dogsi all bccaus
-. he refused to advance twenty francs 10 hi
" walking gentleman For II was Lassagne VIII
u made the chilnneys smoke; he would at dinnl
= time creep out Of his garrct window GU the roo
|, and place plate on each chimney top, while
he would remove after the guests took their d,
> parturc. He was discovered at Rheims u
Mons. Dormeuil. He was only iVrty.two yeal
old when he died.
IL Presidential spec uiati0ns.