New-York tribune., 1876-02-05

ardent and gallant Young Vladimfy He declines his
mothers offer, and ntimates that he Is IN love with
young girl, by birth serf, whom she has educated
and admitted into her drawing-room. Scandalized
and Mortified, she attempts TO reason away his pas
sion. but he is deaf to arguments and threats. aud
insists upon marrying the modest and amiable Anna
The countess obtains Of him that he will at least ab-
sent himself for year from home, to test the per-
manency of bis afiectOn-that he Will repair TO Mos-
COW, frequent the society of his equals. and do his
best to fall in love- He departs, and his
back IL turned she summons Anna and marries her,
,illy-nilly, out of hand to the coachman The
coachman a certain Osp, in his black velvet KnIck
erbockers and his red silk caftn is the real hero of
the piece. The of the marriage is very effect
i've and makes striking pcture-all the serfs con-
voked and ranged solemnly round the long-beardcd
pope. the picturesque moujik, with soul above his
station the high-handed old countess in the middle.
lanked by her parrot, her lap-dog and
her two grotesque and servile old lady
panions, and the poor young girl, vainly
entrcating and sobbng, in the pitying silence, and
twisting herself at the feet of her mistress. Her
resistance and her prayers are vain, and, secretly
in love sho is with vladimir, she is shutited into
the arms of Osip. The coachnlan is an old-time
comrade of the heir of the house, who. when they
were bows together had treated him almost as an
devoted loyalty Vlahmir on hearing of Anna's
marriage, comes back from Moscow like swhrl-
wind long before his year is ont, and his savage
irruption whip in hand, into the cottage of the
humble couple produces great effect. This is go
well rendered by the young actor who plays the
part that the audience breaks out into long ap-
plause before he has spoken a word. Then follows
a scene between the two young men which it re-
Quired some decacy to handle. The upshot OF 1t
is that Osip instead of deserving his young masters
opprobrium for what he has done, has earned his
gratitude. He has contented himself with being
Annd's husband but in name-he has piOusly alb
stained from the exercise If marital rghts-he has
accepted the young girl whom Of course he secretly
adores), only sacred deposit. The marriage
shall be broken and he will hand her 10 TlGdi-
mir. Inoed not relate the conclusion Of the piece,
for after this exalted flight the most fccitous
cusion must be more or less of an anti-climax.
The obvious objection to the story is that Osp is too
ethereal a fellow for Russian coachman but the
authors have made him plausible the part is sngu-
larly well played and for myself do not object 10
fancful creation. What enjoyed in Les Danl-
cheti," i'll spite of the very sensible presence of
Dumas, is a certain imaginative good faith and
naivete which offers a grateful change from the
familiar gyrations of that terribly tough and lean
old performer, Pesprit Parisien.
have il on my conscience, while touching on
these matters. TO say another word about Ernesto
ROsSi. of whom have spoken hitherto with GER
tain me agerncss Of praise. He has lately appeared
"a Lomeo, and though he has attracted less atten-
ton in the part than in some Others it is the in
which he has given me most pleasure. He has
scandaously mutilated the play, but there is GER
tain compensation in the fact that what he has left
of it sounds wonderfully well in Italian One never
sees Shakespeare played without being reminded Mt
some new point of his greatness; the other night
what struck me the success with which, for the
OCCASION he had ltalianizcd his fancy. The things
that trouble us nowadays in Romeo and Juliet
the redundancy of protestation, the lnportunate
cOnces, the embarrassing frankness-all these fall
into their place in the rolling Italian diction, and
what one seems to see is not a translation, but
restitution. II is singular that RoSs should play
best the part that he looks least for stout middle
aged man would say that ROmoo was rather
snare But il is with Romeo very much with
Gtliei; by the time an actor has acquired the assur-
ance necessary for playing the part he has lost his
youth and his slimness Robust and matu a. he is
Rossl does il as a consumInate artist il is
impossible TO imagine anything moro PIE
tuTesqucly tender, more intensely ardent. AZ
I have said, lie has done very much
what he chose with the play, hut IT Is not to be de
MED that in one or two cases he has almost made his
notifications pardonable. He makes Juliet come to
her senses III the tonb and discover her inanimate
lover before Lomco has utterly expired. Besides
enabling the hapess couple to perish i'll each others
arms this gives RossI an opportunity for great
stroke of dumb show-the sort Of thing in which he
decidedly excels lie has staggered away from the
tomb while the poison, which he has just drunk, Is
working and stands with his back to 1t as Juliet
noiselessly revives and emergcs He returns TO 1t,
finds it empty, looks about him, and sees juliet
standing n short distance of. and locking in the dim
vault like specter. lie has been bending over the
cmpy tomb and his eyes fall upon her as he slowly
Ilscs. His movement Of solemn terror as he slowly
throws up his arms and continues to rise and rise,
until with his whole being diatcd, he stands star
ing and appalled, on tptoe, is, although it is gro
tesque in description, very well worth seeing.
RossPs speeches often weak but when lie al
tcmpts An acutcly studied piece of pantomme he
never misses it. This superiority Of his pantomlme
to his delivery seems to ix him. in spite of his
great talent in the second line Of actors.
HENRY JANIS, JR