New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1874-05-09
PARIS GOSSIP.

ESCAPE.
[FRoa THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUNE.
PARIS, April s-Two questions Of the day. which
must no longer neglect are the propuety of the death
of Nile Crosette and the escape of Henri RochefOrt
Nile Crosette is a young, pretty actress who first
appeared the boards of the Francois two years or
so ago. The brilliant rafting realism of her per
sonatiOn of cocotte in Jean de ThOmeray" last
Winter, which seemed filter to the Vaudeville or
the Varietes already startled the steady old play
goeTs, though their delight at the beauty and spced
spirit of the young adys dress, person and person.
alton reconciled them to this first violation Of the
traditional prOprieties of that classic theater But
in - lie Sphinx" the drama Of Octave Feuillet.
she pushes realism literally To the last extreme-tt
ertremis. In fact the piece is kept alive in the in
terest of crowded hOuse-nOt Of auditors but Of
spectators-by her death at ITS close. She takes
cup of cold poison and then expires for the space Of
two or three minutes with such mortal fidelity OF
change of color, muscular cOntortions, and other
physical Communications of deathas TO put the best
involuntary performers of the Hotel Dieu TO the
blush. Ladies and gentlemen admire. Some of the
more refined almost faint or turn i'll from sensuous
sympathy, and all exceedingly relish the pungent,
acrd nerve stimulant. Ii is good as a guuotining
on the Place de Ia ROquette with the advantage Of
being taken comfortably seated brightly lighted
elegantly dressed, and without offensive jostlng
from the vulgar crowd. Turning to look at the
eager dress circle, was reminded of the Vestal Viz
gins and Patricians of the Roman Amphitheater II
Gerome's second picture of the Gladiators
was told by an acquaintance that Academician
Feullet is greatly disconnected with Nile. CrOsette
for absorbing as il We're, his fame and merit as
dramatic author in that incidental poison cup and
the effects she draws from it, The critics all out
against her for degrading with indeed marvellous
skillful art of simulatIonl STAGE tableau TO
chnque Very generally, after the first question OF
meeting. " Have you seen the Death Of CroisetteF
say it Is artistically false, quite wrong quite
sad; decadence comes Of the war and the Commune
republicans add, Of the Empre, which accustomed
the palates they blunted to vIolences, brutaIties
and crude stimulants." Our age has come in its
cycle as other ages came in other cycles, By mani
fold evolutionary causes to be an age of realism
qualified by nerves, We want facts hot and hot
and crave stimuants. We want novelty-if true all
the better but better latest news than old truths
We want stimulants in lack of lost enthusiasm.
On the stage of this same Francois Theater, III
November 1872 then, now, the first in the world,
NJ. Ducts, lie Don Dacis-Academlcan he too, and
quite as academicaly worthy VI. FeuiIiet
any day-did have brought out his traducton or
Old Williams's " Moor of Venice" Talma was the
OthellO The Tuileries had been stormed, the Swiss
Jacobin Club-Louis Philippe no longer doorkeeper-
was ablaze with fiery eloquence, the prisons flowed
with blood the preceding month with the September
massacres, and the gIillotne was in full play. But
that still was an age OF sentiment and sensibiliy'
to such a degree that when Othello would openly
smother his wife the theater- going pubc's nerves
and taste could not tolerate the reality. The
scene was changed in respect for that gentle public.
At the last moment Othello discovers, by help of his
son. that his illuminated wife was as pure as her
handkerchief. her life is spared and the now re-
mOrseful pentent General of the Venetian Republic
nears the foOtghts to pray the gods III verse that
they grant his sword atOning chance OF lighting
to triumph for the Republic. Which, one may note
in passing is one of the cleverest bits Of aprOpos
gag" that was ever uttered on the stage to a fall
ing curtain.
1t is little more than week now since the news
first reached here and quickly spread that Roche
fort along with Paschal GrOusset Jourde and two
other communards, had escaped from New-CaledOnia
TO Australian Sidney and British safety. The story
goes that the news first communicated to one
or two gentlemen OF eminence among the old Repub-
leans with a request that funds should be sent 70
Sidney to pay the promised reward TO the outside
persous. whoever they were, who had procured the
evasion The story runs on To say that these and
other gentlemen among whom Victor Hugo is men-
toned. answered to this pecuniary appeal. But now
doubts and questions arise and thicken. Officially
the Government much called on for information,
omits utterance of whatever knowledge of facts in
the case it may be possessed Of as well as Of any
definite opinion to the probability OF the first
rcport being true. The best accredited organ
grinders III the press of such scraps or notes and
hints as Ministers irrepressible crafty them with,
convey the idea that Government has not as yet
definite one. And wait. While waiting. some
Of us can but help remembering that the hrst news
OF nOcneIort ; good fortune comes TO us from a
country first peopled by cheudtters dtpdastife and
whence Sir Roger ichbOrne started on ms knlghtly
adventures. Withal, the news REACHED US on tIe
eve of All Fools Day. IL II an affair got up Oy
clever sharpers to draw money from the pockets OF
Rocheforts sympathetic friends III the escape ne
real 1t is the wlttlest Of hochei0rI woiAs 10
shorner Jest flashed out from his LanteIR-fOr
which by "A tribunal composed OF lInperiaists
sitting under a nominal republic winch they IN
stinctyely hated andn0t toranything he wrote dur
the COMMUNE, Rochetort was condemned TO trans
nortation-penetrated loose Joint OF the imperial
srmor 70 deeply, with such ranking irony. as does
the fact of this escape pierce through poison, and
Xpose 20 laughter the sOlemnly pretentlous preCau
tiOnary policy OF VI. de BrOglie.
NJ Theirs the subduer of the Commune. taking
common sense with SENSE Of policy to aid
his sense of humanity, holds invalid Roche,
fort a humaney treated utterly secured
prisoner in IA home fortress. But this Is one OF va,
rious perils of society of which that sinister old
man is culpable-of a society OF whose peril NJ
de Broglie rs by divine class-rlght and personal APP
pontment. the exceptionally gifted and authorized
enemy To drag Rochetort out of the sorry repose
in which Theirs INDUCED him that he might be for
fotten make of him type-Inartyr Of cause really
prander than ROcheforts petulant wit ever con-
eeIved and of himself as a prosecutor and type
defender of society was one of the earliest
most expressed signs and tokens of what
NJ de BroQlie meant should be taken for what he
sincerely believes Is a rational system OF conserya-
tive policy.
IL IS curious TO note the extent of the content that
benms out over this escape of Rochefort. Abating
the nauseatlugly persistent ranc0rs OF some exte-
low ourualists VINO in the time, ready TO hight
win each worthless other for the privilege of
loosing his shoe-strings and licking his bootees