Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1881-12-20
ADJUSTMENTS.


"A powerful play" "0ne Of the
strongest and best we have had this
season." A finely acted DRAMA" II
like it better than anything we have
had so far The foregoing we're a
few of the remarks overheard last
evening after the curtain rung down on
"Forget-M e-Not' at Leubrie's Thea
ter and as the audience emerged
through the doorway and out in the
rain. 1t was the first appearance here
Of Genevieve Ward in her cele-
brated part Of Stophanie, and was
the most interesting event SO far Of
the dramatic season. 1t will be nee.
essary, however, for an audience to
witness this powerful play more than
once to properly appreciate and under
stand it. Miss Wards conception OF
the principal CHARACTERIZED of a self
possessed, shrewd and calculating
woman-is certainly admirable as far
as acting goes, but there is a certain
indistinctness Of enunciation in her
delivery to the closest listener which
often clouds the sense Of many Of her
most important sentences. The same
trouble appears in the case of Mr..
Clements, her leading support, and
though he appears to greater advan-
tage as the cultured English society
gentleman, Sir Horace Welby, than in
anything he attempted when here with
the great Modjeska a few years ago,
yet it is a fact, nevertheless, that in
many important passages the actor
fails to speak his lines in a clear man
ner so that they can be properly
understood. That Mr. Clements is a
pains taking artist, however, was plain
to every spectator. He dresses with.the
most exquisite taste and acted in the
most effective name throughout. 1t
is possible that Americans unfamiliar
with English accentuation aud ideas
labor under a disadvantage that does
not fall to the lot Of an English audi
ence, and that by his W c%ountrymen
Mr.. Clements can be better under-
stood. The part Of "Forget-M Me. Not"
is highly interesting. A certain
wealthy Corsican is rendered penniless
in q gambling house kept by the hus-
band OF Stephanie, the heroine Of the
drama. In revenge, the keeper
of the gambling house is assas-
sinated by the ruined man, and while
seeking to Stay the widow he is ar
rested and confined in the galleys at
Toulouse. An insurrection among
the prisoners which he aids in sup.
pressing causes his release, and he
pursues his search for the murdered
mans wife, who had trifed with as
well as aided in his moral destruction.
Not knowing him to be at large
Stephanie attempts to enter society
and regain the place in it she had once
held, and which her early education
fitted her to fill. She forces herself
upon a respectable English family re.
siding in Rome, one of the daughters
of which had married her son or is
supposed to have done so. An article
in the French law, however, renders
il 'egal any marriage contract made
previous to twenty-five years of age by
a man unless consent thereto is given
by the parents within twelve months
after the alliance. She threatens to
withhold her consent unless pro-
tected and aided in her desire
to obtain social recognition. Her
conduct is such that the members Of
the Verney household, where she
forces herself, are all rendered unhap
by BY her presence and she is finally
dislodgei by the appearance of the Cor
sican, Of whom she has a mortal dread,
Miss Ward is the original Of this
character, and it is said that the ex-
Empress Eugenia was her model, GER
tain incidents 10 the life of that re.
nowned parsonage atfording the mate
rial upon which the drama is based.
Miss Ward possesses varied and bril-
liant accomplishments Of the very
hishest order and displays them in
everyicene Of "Forget-me Not" They
cannot be referred to in detail to-day
The remaining characters of the play
are we'll rendered, and the piece ran
smoothly last night, ending about hall
past ten. The audience was a very
complimentary one for so ugly an
evening and it was certainly appreci.
alive.