, 1873-12-20
1.-THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO"
A Comedy TINT Shook Il Crown.
Ef0nl fIa 1t. La1lia RAanhIfeau.

A Comedy TINT Shook II Crown.
From fhs 1t. Louis Republican.
As oaro'css 1augh amid tho snowy pnasos Of
tho highor Alps has beon known to aot in mo-
tlon tho avalanche which cnrries devastation aud
death into tho valleys bolow, so 1t aometlmoa
happons that q political conyusion Of colossal
magnitude Mud yast consequences IL procipitatcd
by "tr'iles light rs air.''
Tho French Revolution Of 179o. t),ounl, pro-
coded and prepared by tho grinding tyranny Of
agoa waa nnqnestionably 1lnatoncd by two soorn-
ingly Insignificant thfpgs,-a little comedy md
great swindlo. Tie comedy was tho "1rarliago
Of FIgaro," tho awiHdIo WIS tho Diamond Mock
lace. We propose to-day to toll tho atory Of the
first.
pcrrc Augustin Caron was born In tho Quar-
tior st. Denis Of paria, JAN. 81, 1742. 1lo wat
tllo aon Of . watolmnltor aud, after receiving nj
indifferent education at tho College Of Abort
wns sot to work to learn tho patorra[ profession,
But workMat Or III! loaat g Of tho physical kd-waa
bibol strong lovo OF music aud decided fond
noBa for company, noltllor Ut which nttod hi m
for tho dull routine OF tho shop. Naturally
enough, thu father and Bon Ind divers dBputos
on tho subject. and. bolg unable to agree, tl.oy
dissolved partnership, and the son was rather
uEcerenonioMBly driven out Of doors by The old
fllatl. This clsnlax scoins to have brought tho
Former to la aoll@oB. for ho soon grow weary Of
wandering about with no money In hiB pocknt
and no corsntnty Of board md lodgings. md Gil
terod into negotiations for roturn. Tho parent
did not intond to bo vo1ed by an idle apprentice
q Hecond tin'o, md 30 laid duwn oortain eondi-
tionB Which piorro was obliged to Bign before
his repentance was accepted. One Of thesa wo
quote:
You VIII give up your unlucky music altogether, and
{ahoyo Any ho noeioIy Of young poople. viii tolerate
consideration for your weAkueRs allow you thu violin
ats thu flute, hut on Tho oxpross condition that you
avor 3 ii il % o daytime m aud tet ,o DO not atSr ta tha
repoae Of unr i,clghbora Or my own.
80 young Czron won't bach to the bench, and
applied himself 70 thoroughly that iu 176s lio i'll
lug of this ar,d other improvements, In a ,Iomo-
rial dated Juue u, l755, ho says:
Dy these mcana mako watches as fiat IA they aro
called for attor linn they haso hitherto hcen made,
The frat OF these smpllael watches Is III te hnuda Vi
the King Hin Ma5eaty hos had 1t for year, nnd Is
quite su.is1ed with IT, have also had tho lonor,
within these faw daya, OF presenting watvh to Mud
damo du Ponpadour Ut tllis now construction lilo
endallca ao It ia only four line. and nlf IN
diameter and twothrda of inu iu thtckncss between
tho patrs.
This document In signed Caron als, Horloqe,.
lu Roi. Ills position Of maker mud ropairor OF
t1no-pioceB to tho royal faully OF course brought
him abundant custom, and Lfs business Increased
rapidly and promised him ample FORTUNE in
prospective. but our Theological horo waB hold,
handsome; and ambitious, and anxious to obtaln
footing at court, feeling Bnro llo could turn oil
these qualities to his own advantage. It waa his
good louks which placed him OIL tine first round
Of tho Bhppory laiidor. lie repaired n watch FOR
tho younl; wife Of the old con{roleur ce,p d'oDice
de ID maison tla Roi. Il1o Indy was struck with
his appearanco-being 4 decided improvement
pon her climate na lord M 91d s3a sstof M Az In
after aa,tctloning tho Illicit connection for
several months, aold out lis office to
tho lover Of his apouHo in consideration
OF liberal annuity. l,ol,od, then, Caron tiis
clerk Of tic royal kitchen. Ho now dropped his
original name, assumed tint of dn BcaumarahaiB,
and blonsomed out into an accomplished aud Inn
pndout courtier. Tho harp camo into fashion
Eoon after tho kitchen clerk wis inangurated,
and no not only learned to play that instrument
with great skill, but introduced some changes
in tho arrangement Of tho pcdals which increased
It's power. This attracted tho attention OF tho
daughters OF Lolita Nv. anu no waa speedily
PrincesBos, and frequently performed in tic
presence Of tho King and Queen. 1lo was now
on tho high road to success, and travelled that
road with that nonchalant ereco and ineligible
assurance which bolong to ndyonturars OF his
class.
But wo have neither tho space nor the incli-
nation to accompany him III his various porogri-
nations, though nobody wlo wiallos to undor-
stand the tastes and hnpsts OF thnt era in French
history afford to omit tho careful roading Of
Bcnumaschaig' memoirs, md tho innumerablo
anecdotes told OF him by contemporary writer's.
Sufficient for our present purpose to say that in
addition to lis schoningd: Ifs spoculatons and
his intriguos, llo dahbled III literature, and after
several inferior oaorts produced. in 1775, tho
passport to immortality. This pieco had Il great
run In Paris, and tho author, encouraged by hia
happy Lit, resolved to follow it up BY second
attempts aud tho second attompt resulted in
H - hr{n Ia Et1nN- Ia In onH "
It was written probably III t775-'76. and Beau~
u1arcilais RAys:
II remained hvo ycara III my portfolio. Tho play
know had 1t, and they tore 4 from s ut laat,
Hhoher they haso done well or i'll for Themselves tlno
tr"ordinary oaogy TINT they nsuo Of it. Ill classes u
was Obliged to ongags IL auarros Of al sorts. Or
powerful enemies Of is author did fail to spread
abroad at he aasailcd in this work. reiMon govern
ha. only shaken tho stnto in The ''parber, OF So
sedt!sous. 1 haa turned It tolay-tur
Tho censorship Of tho drama was moro aovore
ut that timo in Franco thnn 1t evor has been
since, and NJ tho barber OF Sovillon had colt
tanned mnny sharp thongh secret hits ut mon-
tho s'Marriage OF Figaro" was open to tho same
objection. The authoritios, therefore, by ordors
Of tho King refused permission for it's perform
anco,-which, Of courao, only stimulated popu.
iaf CEttbhst3+ 40 bthht3 tihh tAttodttJ3 aH MIL
az hia own vanity, DoaumarchaiH gave roaalngs
to select circles. Each Of tlloso readings no
rrofacod with short address. in which ho
compared himself to- bashful coquotte.
who, after heing long inportuned, IL
torced to .yiold to her persistent lovers
At Inst, IIo waa a finished olooutionise,
and, holding in his delloately-gloved hand tho
manuscript tied with danty oso:colorcd ribbon,
ho delivered tho sparkling comody with wonder
f"l force and effect. His drawng~roon audi
oncios were composed Of the Princes and Prin-
cessos Of tho blood royal. Dukes. Duehesses
Counts, Countesses, Cardinals, Archbinhops,
Bishops, in short, . full assortmens Of tho
lords, spiritual md temporal, and tho choicest
cream OF tho ehoicost French society. Tho
Marriage Of Figaro" became the rago; noti,-
ing else waa heasd at or talked Of III the gay
world Of Paris ond Versailles, aud, quito natur-
ally, tho demands for its representation upon
the stage iHcroasod in proportion to the
popularity Of tho comedy. At last Louis
XVI, WHO had hitherto depended upon the
Judgment Of his critics, resolved to decide for
himself. Madame Campan, in lor delightful
memoirs Of Mario Antoiuotto, Bays: