Morning journal and courier., 1880-06-04

between Neck and Orange street bridges com pleted one year from this time, so that the people may enjoy the use of it's lawns and broad avenues, if they have to go little far ther for the shades and bracing air of the higher sections of the park.
 How MT. Gilbert Built H. M. $. Pinnfore.
 . From the London World.l
 No bri1liancy of dialogue, no skillful elabo- ration of character will supply the want of story serious comic, as the case may be. Convinced of this Mir Gilbert lets his story be moulded in the odd hours of the day or night, until it becomes coherent. Then the rosy part of the work commences First of all he writes the plot out if it were an an ecdote-the condition in which his forthcom- ing work at present is. This covers a few quarto slips of copy and is written very neatly almost without correction, so per fectly are the main lines settled before any thing is set down. The next proceeding is the most laborious one of expanding the ecdote to the length of ordinary magazine article by the addition of incidents and sum maries of conversations. This being care fully overhauled, corrected and cut down to skeleton, the work has taken it's third form, and is ready to be broken up into acts, and the scenes, entrances and exits are arranged. Not till it's fifth appearance in manuscript is the play illustrated hy dialogue, which, it is hardly necessary to say is not written end on
 
 thereof. The important scenes are first written and then these brightly coIored patches gradually knitted thereto, as it were, by the shorter scenes All this must be carefully done, and in the case of musical piece, with due reference to the requirements of the composer. At this stage the work is ready for MT. Sullivans colabo- ration, and all begins over again. A song which Mr Gilbert has expended some labor may happen to be in metre too nearly re- sembling one which Mir. Sullivan has previ- ously set, and must therefore be rewritten Again, the composer has his ideas as to the order of chorus song and duet and wishes that at some juncture a sentimental air could be grafted on the comic stock. Mir. Sullivan is so sound musician that he loves to intro duce at least one serious air, such the charming madrigal in the Pirates of Penzance, which is here the great musical success of the piece, while in America it's presence was re- scented as out of place inA comic opera. While the colaborators, who appear to have been made for each other, at work on new piece, they literally turn night into day, discussing, writing and rewriting as they go on MT. Gilbert's everlasting cigar and his colleagues perpetual cigarette keep burning on while decision is being arrived at wheth- CT the sergeant of police shall have a song with or without chorus, and whether the madrigal shall stand where it is or be trans posed elsewhere
  pears in quite another character as scene painter and stage carpenter. He actually plots out whole scenes, and models them exactly that no scope is left for the imagina- tion or the blundering of the workman. Before H. M. s. Pinafore appeared the author went down to Portsmouth, was rowed about the harbor, viewed various ships and finally pitched upon the quarter deck of the Victory for his scene Having obtained permission he sketched and modelled every detail even to the stanchions This matter of the scene " is serious one. It must be pretty, but not so cumbrous that, like delicate wine, it will not travel. When comic opera is in- tended to be played by three companies in England and four in the United States it must be endowed with scenery that will bear carrying from place to place and will look well in any theatre. MT. Gilbert also designs most of the costumes worn in his plays This work was not necessary for the ladies' dress es in the Pirates of Penzance, as they are strictly modem, but when producing the piece in America there was no little difficulty in getting the dress of an English major gen eraI made by an American theatrical clothier. Play scenery and costumes being arranged and actors and actresses fitted with parts adapted to their various capacity, next comes the difficulty of stage management. MT. Gilbert's views on this subject are as auto cratic as those of M. Victorian Sardou or Mr. Dion Boucicault, and by dint of insistance he has acquired as much influence over any company intrusted with his play as even the last named gentleman, who, in his triple character of manager, author and actor may not be said nay to by the most obdurate of low comedians. MT. Gilbert holds that he is most vitally concerned, for if the piece suc- ceeds, the whole company and establishment succeed; but that if it fails it is ''Gilberts piece" that has failed and not it's representa- tives. Hence he insists, except in the case of artists of high rank in their profession, that the characters will be played according to his own idea On the rank and file he imposes his commands and drills them with marvel ous patience Not only at the theatre at set rehearsals, but at his own house, he devotes hour after hour to ''going through the part with dense but docile artists-willing, yet slow to learn.
 Perhaps MT. Gilbert is the busiest man without hustle in London. He never writes unless he feels impelled to that exercise. He will not be driven and has had too many strings to his bow to be compelled to work for publisher or manager on any but his own terms. He insists that when piece of his is put in rehearsal he is the pilot of the ship but on every other subject he is prepared to talk, as very few men of the day can talk, in Q strain of chserfully ironical banter. His house is full of Hogarth's work, yet he declares that he surrounds himself with Hogarth because the sue cess of that painter encourages the belleft that any human being may aspire to immortality. For the older masters his admiration Is very sincere. His library and dining room are adorned by charming drawings by Volterra, Caracci, Vatican, and one magnificent Sal yator Rosa whom he reveres as the prince of scenic artists. In the dining room is acharm- ing portrait of Mrs Gilbert, by Alfred Wei gall and wonderful picture of the Dutch school Taking the house in the Boltons as it stands, it is without any affectation of sestheticism, the abode of persons of culture and refinement, tone not beled by the pleasant society gathered there for the practice of lawn tennis on these fine spring af- ternoons At such moments the host, albeit always ready with an apt remark, is too in- tent on the enjoyment of his guests to deliv- CT his views at length on things in general It is as the claret passes, or later yet, while the smoke rolls through the library, that he displays in abundance that delicate kind of hunor so peculiarly agreeable to the spirit of to-day, averse from demonstrativeness and deaf to protestation. It's satire is neither harsh nor bitter, but gently and pleasantly sub-acid.
 The Rev. L. T. Chamberlain, of Norwich, will sail for England on the steamer Cynthia of the Cunard line on Wednesday, the 16th inst. He is g delegate to the international Sunday school convention to be held in Lon don. He will make tour of the continent and return home in September next