The New York herald., 1873-12-12

to fepy that ! W write e. 50 great number
OF pieces that IL would be Impossible 70
'1nr as reaure Since last March 's nave Written
Daddy O'Dowdn "Mora I" "Mimi,n "hed Astray"
the the comedy for Mr.. wallack, the comedy ioy MI.
tributions to periodicals. Add 70 this that have
played for twenty weeks and superntended the
building and decoration OF new theatre
gard them with IS suxfiicient xdcIs 1re respect i =
leisure, nor have the taste 70 frequent the places
OF social resort where, perhaps II were more
prejudice @ some peopIe have newer seen entertain
about me. l am extremely sorry TO excite AMI
mostly in any one. Some persons have the misior-
tune 10 provoke it, may say TO radiate It,
REPoRTER-You are generally called the best
abused man in the dramatic worlda
sort. must reflect with some satisfaction that l
never say word, nor allow word TO De said IN
my presence against anybody. You have no idea
what q saving OF time 1t Is.
REPoRrER-When do you expect to get your new
Mr.. BoUcIcAULT-You mean the Park Theatre.
Pardon the correction IL Is not mine 1t belongs
to MT. W. stuart, who has @ ENGAGED me to TO supern- perm
tend the entertainments. The theatre WILL think,
De ready IN February.
The Other Side OF the story-Anti-PuT
and Anti-Imm orality.
To THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD
The critics OF your CRITICS remarks on Bouci-
caut's "Astray'' are good at calling names, but
about or the real question at issue. Your corre-
spondent, "Fiibbertigbbet,n endeavors at great
length to prove that 1t Is impossible TO mpugn the
moral Of "Astray.n / did not understand your
critic to attack Its morality further than to say it
was OF the worst type OF French drama for he
expressly declared that in the selection Of the
subject matter OF dramatic representa- he
would allow the widest latitude In any allusion
he may have made to the morality think 1t was
not IN the temptation OF the wife that
he saw the immortality, else cannot account for
his exception OF Miss Eytinge when he said the
piece was played as II the morals OF the audience
were bad as those Of the play. Let US see what
ground there Is for this. l have seen Mr.. Thorne
In this part OF the Count and IN many others and
never yet saw him play gentleman. His gentle
men are the kind who rest their elbows on tavern
bars and talk blatant profanity about their in
trigues. His Count de Chandoce Is this kind Of
fellow. He makes love TO vulgar adventures,
who plies her vocation all through the play and
looks and acts like the cOmmonest street pad OF
the city. No lady, such Miss Eyttnges Chandoce,
would mistake Miss Weathersby's Miss O'Hsra
for q virtuous woman. The appointment OF
the rendezvous at the opera, made by
means OF the bouquet in the apart
ments Of Chandoce, and the hinted interview
in the garden are suggestive OF such an intrigue
as only backguard would promote and in which
only most abandoned woman would take part.
The Introduction OF sucn creature to the house OF
pure woman in order to iurther the husbands
guilty love is frightlul piece OF immortality. In
these remarks wish to make no reflections upon
Miss Weathersby further than TO say that her en-
bodiment OF the part-an embodiment strictly in
keeping with the conception Of the dramatst-is
such as no decent man cares to look upon much
more bring to the notice OF his wife and daughter.
A woman DractiSinp The
sion in play where all the parts are acted in
this one, fit companions of such heroine is not
q moral lesson, to say the least OF it, but COM
! plete justification OF your critics remark.
But conceive that !, well your corre-
| spondents, have wandered from the real question
at issue between Mr.. Boucicaut and your critic.
II read the criticism Alright it was Mr.. Boucicaults
pretensions and his mpudent falsity to those pre-
tensions against which your critic was contending
After Boucicaut's letter in yesterdays HERALD
presume his sublime egotism and vanity will not
be doubted Perhaps it would be best to call his
claim to be considered the only dramatist OF the
age impertlnent impudence-too impudent to be
merely impertnent and too childish to be alto
gether impudent This was even more fully Illus
trated by his conduct at the Union Square Theatre
on Saturday night 1t is well known that this
theatre is equipped with well organized and
thoroughly efficient ctaQue. 1t is one OF those
sIuBuidLly CouuuCbcu LucdtTeS WHlCi are always
full, though other places OF amusement be empty
Its "papern even flows into the Lotos and other
clubs for distribution. Under such circumstances
1t is not to be wondered at that its CldQue should
be effective that its attaches, IRON the manager
to the scene painter, should be frequently called
before the curtain. 1t was in obedience to the call
Of this ctaQue that Mr.. Bouccault, alter having
been escorted to the theatre by delegation OF
ffteen was called before the curtain at the close
of the third act. Up to this time it was firmly
claimed that "Astray" was an original comedy OF
the same class with "U!d Heads and Young
Hearts," We were told that this comedy
twas In Mr.. Bouccaut's best vein." And
1t was thus he came and bowed his
acknowledgements to the audience; but he
did not acknowledge in turn, that 1t was in
somebody elses vein also. III he desired 10 share
the honor with his personal friend" NJ. Octave
Feuilet, then was the time for the divide" ior
the same obedent CaQue which called him to the
fOotlights in the first instance could easily have
brought him back for speech. But no. and it was
not till the final fall OF the curtain and after he had
been gibed for his false pretensions OF authorship
that the real author got any share OF the glory.
When 1t s considered that the play is not high class
legitimate comedy at all, and that this base trick
had been practised upon an intelligent audience,
think your critic was right in being indignant and
telling Mr.. Bouccault that his baseess claim
that his "Astray" is OF the same order as his
"Old Heads ana Young Hearts, is simply to
suppose that all the world but he are dots and
FOOLS As understood your critic he was castigat.
ing Mr.. Boucicaut Tor endeavoring TO practise two
distinct frauds upon the public-one In claiming
credit for the authorship OF play written by
body ese and the the other in seeking TO pass OF
putrescent French. drama as moral, high toned,
first class English comedy. English playwriting
In which the characters breathe manly and
womanly spirit and the situations are as pure
love Itself Is pure is one thing, but French comedy
in which married women lapse from virtue, or are
tempted to lapse from virtue, is another. Mr..
Boucicault gave us the latter, and he called 1t by
the name OF the former at the same time that he
and his managers declared that they were testing
the public taste by keeping the Illicit relations OF
the sexes of the stage.