The sun., 1878-01-15

NJ od,esk n's Camille.

Nine. Modjcska last evening furnished her
many admirers with an impersonaticn which
in many respects was more intense and alto
gether more original than her Adrienne II
was Du mass Camille. well known to theatre
goors in this country through the vivid
realistic acting Of Matilda Heron. Clara Nor
ris. and others. MOdjeska's representation
OF tho part is unlike any othcr that
We have had here. 1t lacks the fcrcofui
physical agony that Miss Morris threw into 1t.
and it never rose to the heights Of dclirium
when Heron in her primo was at her bost. But
II II far moro poetic in its passion. moro
cifcminatc in its pathos. and far more beautiful
in ts many exquisite shades Of tenderness and
grief. The CaDuHe Of last evening represented
n woman whose exquisite scnsbilitics had not
boon destroyed. whose impusivc nature knew
no other discipline than that of the
affection. whose fate was worse than her
life. The cxccllcnccs Of the portrayal con
sisted In It's perfect symmetry ana con
sist 'ncy. AMI in the marVcllously delicate man
ncr in which the intervening em"tirls '|tWrrn
were manifested Ordinarily the play has
three or four great crises f9r, which th. actress
cxnlnsipn of the fourth act TO suffer. In the in
| trrSicw with the father ~ iiWd'0 U'irdi MISS
! Morris ni-onizns us with her misery. She
| feels nothing but the one blow. nnd her
! lreat loss Modi"ska mad. manifest the futile
! utf Htur' ~ u fond ana weak nature to struggle
/ with ii-rlf Her exquisite art mnde us feel that
! she WIS conscious ~ her lovers gain 10y her
! slcri Il r even while IL broke her heart TO make
H. And SO in the interview with iI7n ndHd. before
/ she l-uNns him. u thousand conflicting emotions
tore her. Passion. grief. pride. honor. affection.
! lu'N made up the muny-cplorcd strain of hcr
! y-trri al conduct and as she went on. ming
ling tears with laughter. storm of applause
followed her I'm the final scenes of physical
sffcring she nal" her heart SORROWS more dis
tn { than her bodily Ills and. though she did
no stab hrr audience with . scream when she
, saw hcr wasted face in the glass, she nevcrthe-
lH-s invested the whol" scene with an epic sad
hess that produced q fearful effect
Nothing could be finer than her sportive
mood in the gayer scrnes Her assumption of a
reckless Eaycty tn hide her sorrow her wanton
manner suddenly interrupted by u recollection.
her superb grace of action and her charming
nalvrt6 made up u picture Of the woman 81
pleasure and beauty suci as We have seldom
seen. Tho support WINS not good. Mr. Bur
rows does not make II loNcable irmdnd. and
Mr. Wiirn. who is good at almost every
thing. has found his match in De IdrrVe The
only commendablc persons in tho .scast outside
uf the prin ipal were Mrs. Louisa Eldridge who
followed the traditional business of Madame
Itrrietce srrupulously. and Miss Annie Elmon-
son. who played NduWe swectly. Even Mr..
Couldock failed. by reason of his grinlncss. to
awr ken any admiration IN the pnit ~ w. DfrdL
Nine. ModJcska. II may br said in conclusion.
would have created q sensation by the magnin-
cenc" and art site sp'enlor oi her costumes IL
attention had not all been given 10 her acting.