, 1872-12-07
A FRENCH PLAY.
4 Drama on the Man and Vile Ques"
tiQ1ls

Paris Letter to Cincinnati Commercial
was reporting to you last year, OF Less ago,
how Mr. Somebody. Of good society @ nase a.
cnlatineiy, caught by him II aagrante de!ictu Of
her wifely duty to him, his husbanding duty TO
her being something overlooked; and how out
Of that occasion was bred from the lapor1ng
French prees numerous little pupucabon6-c!ose
on to score Of pamphlet essays-what might be
STYLED "body OF literature on this adulter-
csnno ouestiou. Several OF these have had
an enormous succcss-success being taken in
the non-Benee Of large and rapid sale-Thlch is
not yet exhausted, Wlthln tho last 1o!tnlght Ia
.L'Honme ct Ia Femme" to it's tenth edition.
These two one By C. woman, the other by Emile
dc Girardin, are the two OF the twenty most re-
putable, least unreadnble, Of the replies provoked
Which is to-day at its thirty-eighth edition. This
last, pretentious, shallow, md but half serious,
was not only the best written and readable Of the
lot but past comparison the cleyerest-and to
it's author proftablest-on an e1traneous eharac-
was frank enough to say in one Of its pages, With
all the cayil made about the man-and-wife-re1a-
ton question, OF which it ingeniously yellicated
the worthy discussion, WAS principally set forth az
preface and advertisements Of bis next (tMs)
winters play, "Claudo ct Ia Femme" This last
product Of the skilHulest French dramatique
now Iving-not superior to eardou in mere the
atrical ingenuity; not equal to Angler in purely
literary style and very strict and dramatic pres
entationa Of character, but combining, WIN
Of dialogue and T. skill of developing bold situa-
tions which, respectively, Angler fails in and
Sardou saves himself from by excess OF ingenlus
trick-well, this last product OF Dumas dra~
matte talent is nov in rehearsal st the Gymnaae.
It will be the hr1ndredth and more nightly sue
cess OF the season. Accident enables your cor
respondent to give to Cincinnati dramapli1es an
outline of the plot IN advance Of anything that
is known to the French public.
Claude is worthiest of mon; an lnVentlng
man has invented q quite extraordinary "shoot-
ing-atick "-well-nigh miracousIy Inurderous IN
it's killing quality, nt hitherto unknown distan-
ces OF invading enemies Of this country. No
word is said hero Of Prussia, or OF the late
war. That French pit and galleries will be
quick to seizo and relish and synpathetically ap-
Plaud the ontspoken, patriotic allusion to the
:: Reranche." need not be pressed On your or n.
Dumas attention. He is aware Of it in advance,
you bet. Grown elderGsh, now, ClaNdes friends
all advise him to take wife, for slipper com
material convenience to himself in his approach
ing old age.
He maSries a woman, whom, presently after
the ceremony, lie comes to know was mother be-
fore she came to be his undivo1ceable wife, He
is much Of q philosopher and more Of & good
man, and says: Wife to ms she is not and cam
be good mother she may be helped by me to
become. But her znaid-born child dies, and sho
exhibits all the tastes for e1travagant luxury,
pronounced greed for whose partial qualification
even implies voluntary sacrifice Of al1 womanly
pride and wifely purity. Claude accepts the sit
uation with panied but clearest realistic posi-
tiveness. Says to his wife: You are what you
nre., I do not quarrel. I hate scandal Be I
be bnt mind you this within limits. Here is q
young man in the house it ia not only that !
know him pure and lore him for thct, but he is
tho fe1low-holder Of the secret Of my wonderful
(patriotcally destructiya) gun. Make your game,
but leave him alone in his purity. Which tho
bad wife does not, but sells herself, for large
sums Of money, to aeduce the young fellow
workman; would have him for lover, and, within
wonderful inyention-( -(secret salable for three
hundred thousand francs or more Claude gets
and has wind Of nil this. Sitting fixed, he, in
tho ngly corner, his naughty wife,
anl the, to him, known success OF
her blerdshulcnts on his Eeduced young
partner Of his secret, have driven him to
his mind is made up. Here is the 's sltuatlon
of the piece, and its DEVELOPMENT As boldly
led up to az sudaciously solved. Claudo sees
his wife passing through the town, with the Sc
duced young partner of his mechanical WORK
knows, tnat she has broken faith aprop0s of tho
only limit he had previously set to hor corrupt
lug activity. She is just leaving the house,
bearing his great secret triumphat}y away with
it his favored apprentice accomplice he beck
ons her to rest q moment; reminds her in
word of the sub-marital legal contract she has
violated and with that shoots her dead with the
peculiarly unpatented gun Of him-the piece
and the period.
Clever? Successful Why not 2 report
not my affair to respond