The Manitowoc tribune. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1866-1878, 1868-04-30
OUR CHICAGO LETTER.

[Corres pod .nce Of the Manitowoc TRlnusE.l
April 18th 1868.
There are several topics with which my
letter to-day might confluence quite a.
well as with la Belle Helena, . still it
is the one which | shall select, for |
think that good people, who can see it
at least deserve to hear as much about it
as possible 1t is unqualifedly, the most
magnificent buresque ever seen in this
country, richer by far than even La
Grand Duchesse," and even if it is a lit
tie wicked, our people do not generally
understand enough French to he much
hurt by it. The story is the old one of
the loves of Paris, of Troy, and Helen,
wife of King Mcnclaus and while it is
faithfully preserved, the situations, char
acters, costumes and music are all in
tensely ludicrous. After all, it Is not
much worse than good many other
dramas, even when taken by its moral
handle," which as De Quincy says of
murder, '1is, it must be admitted its
weak hold The music is the quintes-
sence of novelty and fun. Orchestral
and vocal effects and climaxes worthy of
Beethoven, Mozart or Meyerber, tumble
in the strangest way into the widest bac-
chanalian songs or such cnmlc choruses
as the imitation Instrumental one int the
second act, setting at utter defiance all
recognized laws of musical composition
and making complete wreck of one S last
remaining gravity A great feature in
the production is the dancing by the pre-
mieres of the De Pal Ballet troupe, with
the inimitable Morlacchi at their head
and their chiefest sensation is ''Le Can
Can. Fast young men, whose semi
added brains only serve to appreciate
the coarsest of bad things, have been
disappointed in the can-can They ex-
pected to see a series of exclusively inde-
cent and violent terpsichorean gymnas-
tics. What they see instead, they are
unable to understand. "What do they
see? All inquisiuve reader | know not
how my modest pen may tell you that.
They see poses and gestures full Of las
civious fire, yet SO blended with artistic
grace that their evil is forgotten, until
the spell is ended with the dance. 1.-the
yielding forms in close embrace, cling
breast to breast, with loving arms en-
twined round willing necks, lips almost
touch and eyes flash the alarm of desire,
while ninlble feet keep time to the mad
dening whirl of the music. A score OF
cymbals clash the measure with the band
and the dancers seem to fly in passionate
frenzy. The cymbals cease and a spirit
of languor for time pervades the music
and the dancers, and then again one S
blood thrills with the sound of the bar
paric cymbals and the renewed fury of
the dance. The Can-Can can only be out
lined-it cannot be described 1t is much
better for married folks than single ones
to see it. Coarse and bad people, the
cdn-cdn, as some here, is not likely to
hurt, but good modest persons to whom
thought is not forbidden and who have
blood in their veins instead of tea will be
apt to find it somewhat warm. But we
have only had one week OF it and now
the ballet troupe goes away and the
French troupe remains to bring out 'Or-
pheus.' another OF Gffenbach' bur-
lesques, without ballet.
A Fenian meeting out at Bridgeport
| the other evening was broken up some
what unceremoniously by the floor on
which it was held breaking down The
room was densely packed and a round OF
applause shook the audience, about two
hundred in number, through the second
| and first floors into the cellar One man
was killed and several very severely in
iured, broken ribs, arms and legs being
quite common.
Another murderous affray transpired
on Friday night in Il gambling house or
Clark Street, corner of Madison. winch
resulted in the killing of a thief, burglar,