Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-03-12

ment will be swift and irresistible.
MIR. GREENS LECTURE on MARY QUEEN OF
SCOTS.
The Claiming club gave its second en-
tertainment Wednesday evening Of last week,
| in the form of n lecture on Queen Mary OF
Scotland by the Rev J. B Green. The sto-
nv of this most beautiful, talented and ill
fated queen is always full Of interest, but
when related by lecturer Of Mr.. Green =
facilo address, nationality and exceeding pat
riotism, il cannot fail to be doubly So Mr.
Green fingered lovingly upon the innocent
| and interesting years of Mary Stuart's carly
! life spent at the French court in study and
! in the requirement Of those accomplishments
so harshly condemned, few years later, by
John Knox, and upon her short and happy
married life with Francis II. until, widow
Of eighteen. she left the admiriug court of
the most polished and educated nation in the
world TO return to Scotland. Here, surround
ed by treacherous and intriguing ministers,
she was to assume the government Of an i'm
poyerished kingdom, shaken to its very foun-
dations by religious and political disseusions.
That she should fail is no wonder, distrusted
as she was by her own people Unsupported
by her mobiles, publicly preached against and
admonished by Knox, and having few if any
advisers upon whose judgment and disinter-
estedness it was safe to rely. To this was
added the untiring interest manifested by
Mary's arch.enemy, Elizabeth of England, in
every thing relating to Scotland and to the
young queen, whose grace, beauty, and just
pretensions TO the English throne, filed the
great Elizabeth with jealousy and wrath.
Then came the sad story Of Mary's ill-starred
marriage with Darnley, his murder, and her
subsequent union with Boutwell,, followed by
her imprisonment and forced abdication Of
the throne in favor Of her infant son James.
Mr. Green then ended his eloquent discourse
with the most touching of all stories the sto-
ry of the unfortunate queens flight into Eng
land, where trusting too much TO the gener-
Gus protection of her enemy, she became a
captive for life At this point having
touched upon Mary's execution the lecturer
like good and loyal Scotchman as he is
drew out his watch, regretting that he had no
time to touch upon the faults of the Scottish
queen. But it was evident that, whatever
historians might believe with regard to the
queens greater or less guilt during the dark
period Of her life, Mr. Green considered her
more sinned against than shining. With this
opinion We will not here quarrel
DELIGHTFUL EVENING WITH THE REEVE
PARK GARDEN OPERA COMPANY.
The BeLls IF Normandy, played in Brat
tleboro for the first time Saturday evening
by the Reeves Park Garden Opera Company.
amply fulfilled the expectations of the large
and critical audience attracted to the hall by
the well-deserved popularity of this most con
scientious and artistic of travelling compan-
les Long before the arrival Of the tickets.
every desirable place was engaged for be
sG,s the desire of again hearing this favorite
troupe, there was a natural thirst for some
thing new. PiHGtore had been presented to
the public in every possible variety comprised
between the severely tame and the wildly
burlesque, until even the children had grown
so coldly critical as scarcely to betray their
impressions beyond a doubtful smile of the
most non-eommittal nature, unless in rare
cases of exceptional excellence like that of
the Saturday PiHdtore Matinee, which at
tracted a fair house and furnished no end Of
amusement. But the BeAs If Normandy
was new to Brattleboro and all were eager to
pronounce upon its merits. That the judg-
ment was'favorable, no one who was present
can doubt. The scene of this opera is laid in
Normandy, and its plot furnishes variety Of
fine scenic effects, the beauty of which even
our own limited and dingy stage properties
failed to destroy. II the ,,chateau-after its
restoration, in the third act, by the elegant
young Marquis-was not, in point of mag
nifcence all that the imagination might sug-
gest, the gorgeous costumes of its inmates,
and the interest of the plot at this point,
greatly assisted in supplying deficiencies.
Indeed, perhaps the varied tabloaux gained |
in brilliancy from having so sombre a back |
ground. This is at least a cheerful view of
the subject, and, up to a certain point a con- |
soling one. The first act of the opera repre- |
sents picturesque scenes Of village life in |
Normandy, during the annual fair; the sec |
ond act is taken up with the exposure of the |
ghosts in the haunted castle of Villeroi, and |
the third, as already limited, furnishes brilliant
scenes in the newly-restored castle, untangles |
the plot and brings every thing to a blissful |
end. 1t is in the second act that the cele-
brated ghost scene takes place, which, in an
artistic point of view, is the best of the opera.
OH Gdspdrd, the miSer-who is also the
ghost of the chateau-is one of the finest
creations to be found within the whole
range of comic opera, and We have every rea-
son to congratulate ourselves on our rare
good-fortune in seeing this character person.
ated by SO true an artist as Stanley Felch.
However charming the other roles may be.
ami however well filed, there can be but one
opinion upon Oh Gdspard as interpreted
Saturday evening it was the star role of the
opera, filed by the star performer of the com
pany. SerpoIette, the charming good for
nothing, was represented by Marie Baretta
Morgan, young drtiste possessing charm
ngly clear and flexible high soprano voice,
allied to unmistakable theatrical talent. II
her acting was occasionally exaggerated, her
identification with the successive roles of vii
age maiden, and false Marchioness, was com.
plete, and her Interpretation of the various
airs falling to her part almost beyond criti.
,ism. The role of Germdiae. the real Mar.
'hioness, was filled by Ada Byron Coombs
whose sympathetic contralto voice won all
hearts in Buttrcup. The music belonging
o the part of Germdine, although not always
he most desirable in range to display pure
'ontralto voice to the best advantage, is vet
II nature to bring out the artistic ability of
he singer much more fully than the part of
6"tteroup. Miss Coombs gave some charm
ng specimens of correct and elegant phras
ng in her airs, which amply atoned for her
somewhat tame rendering of the not over-bril.
liant role in question. Frank Hayden as the
Marquis de COrneriAe filed an important and
brilliant part in the onern nnst sncnnnsf,r.