The New York herald., 1877-11-04

WINS at ono time weIl known In this city a musical
and dramatic critic. but who IS now devo.ng himself
Wallacks, the present home OF "Marriage, and the
following conversation ensued:. ,
"What is your opinion about Mr. Bouoicaults latest
challenge to the criticsr"
II have the highest possible esteem for Mr.
s"uy' ba. these facts don't prevent my perceving
that he s fully alive to tho value OF advcrsem ents
and knows that free one In the body ofa paper Is
worth a great deal more than one paid Tor In the ad
vertising columns"
.But about comedy. Do you know what a comedy
isaD
al know what think il is; but as am no longer q
critic II rs possible that Mr. Boucicaut might allow
that had faint elimmerngs OF the truth 1t Is only
sCan you give exact definition Of comedy 7"
sNo: nor do l believe can any one give definition
that will the ground from the earliest days OF
the drama down 70 the present, because comedy has
greatly changed In form with the lapse Of time and
this Is q necessity OF It's being because Of the i'm
portant functions OF comedy depict manners
and customs OF the period IN which It is placed AS
civilization advanced and the relations OF society be-
came more complicated comedy necessarily varied
greatly from the simple plays OF the Greeks"
"Ii you wrote q comedy Z, what would you consider
yourself called upon to dof"
ssro develop character by means OF humorous Incl
dents and TO depict udicrous phases OF ife while pre-
serving probabilities as nearly as poss Bile Il prob,
iun may be muds writer desccnds TO the level OF
farce The line between comedy and tragedy is so
broad and clearly defined that II s needless to say any
thing en- that head"
MORE PHILOSOPHY BOILED DOWN.
oCOmedyf' 6a0 JOnn SWtnton. 'COmo0Yl' QuOtn
he, as he found musing the infinite and manu-
facturing newspaper article on the dsfranchisemcnt
question.
tho Of the critics. the thing which Dion Bouci
caut has challenged the whole world to define"
swell, then,n began Mr.. Swntou, as he laid down
his pen aud tried to grasp tho question which the
HERALD reporter had put to him, s'let us perpcnd,
Horace Greeley once said, and approach the theme
by surveying the termination ana exfoation of
comedy; the philoogy Of the Greek text comedy the
secular changes Of the features OF comedy, the anal
temporaneous comedy ana OF the comedy al the vari-
Gus oi Europe and the world the quality Of the
tions and pecuaritIes OF the permanent ana de-
lightu dramatic spparitiou called comedy, which
was the despair Of Arstophanes and Pautus but has
been brought to perleclion by Boucicault."
ssBut hold. - cried the HERALD reporter, "you have
there forty volumes instead OF forty lnes.'
SWELL then," replied Mr.. Swintou, .slet all tnese
things be isnored bur let clear the ground at one
point, as 10 SEQ how the vulgar oil the word
'comc' has tended to confound the popular apDrehen
sion OF comedy. These two words not alike In
meaning application. comedy ought 10 be com c.
but play may be comic as we use tho torm without
comcal writer's for the tragedy papers, arc often
and comic whereas comedy Is the most OK
quiste and subtle form OF dramatic art"
.'But now, interrupted the reporter, "gve denn-
tion OF II satisfactory TO Boucicault."
.sro define IT, answered Mr. Swinton ITO outline
its framework its form and It's features would be easy
enough; but to givo descriptive definition of IT In
ten words would take time and abstraction. Re-
turn To me after lost his wits trying TO
edy bc in nve aots or In three. or high or law;
whether deal with surfaces or qualities, with the
foipes OF an individual features oil society. Wit
the soul ol comedy verisimllituds s Its substance
gayoty its life, delicacy Is lis dress, and Bouccau
Is its smulacrum."
"About Boucicault himsslfp" inquired the HERALD
reporter.
IA queer specimen, a travesty OF genius, a comic
writer, a comedian and comedy, is he. remember
his appearance here long years ago, when he turned
up in old Hope Chanel, on Broadway as lecturer on
the Greek drama His face. ngure, appearance, Dress
ways and words are yot in my eye The highly pic
turosque with which he illustrated his lectures
thore also, and SO is the select audience. Bouci
cault was not rich then as he Is now, his
anatomy as piQuant then as II now is How has
been his comedy from that day to thsl and II he will
put tho stage, properly drawn and coored, II Will
be the most enjoyable and melancholy medley Of
farce travesty and tragedy that under the
name OF comedy"
WHAT THE PEOPLE SAY.
II is not alone the voices OF intelligent gentlemen
with whom Is brought TACO to face from which we
gather all tho trouble. Hundreds Of letters have been
to the HERALD Office the subject from persons
of every degree showing the universal interest that
exists II Is impossible however TO reproduce these
verbatim the reader must therefore, be content
with the salient points that have been extracted aud
Itch halo