National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-03-19
PARTISAN GOSSIP.
NEW PICTURES BY MISSIONER,
DOre, Duran. and Others-Failurs Of Lepage's Por.
trait Of the Prince Of Wsles-An Ofrenbach
Opera" Croizette" -The Divorce
Bill and Other Matters.

Rue Nolney are called, have recently been thrown
open to the public. That at Les Mirlitons Jas the
former is nick-named, and 1 am free to confess
that do not know its real cognomen, so uniyer-
sally is Its nickname used Is as usual, the most
brilliant and the most important of thetwo. Meis-
sonier, Gerome Cairin, Dore, Bastian Lepage, Car
olus Duran, and Jalabert are amongth names that
figure on the catalogue. Meissonier exhibits
portrait, that of the Baron Gunsberg, painted
with his usual marvellous perfection of execution,
but vulgar both in pose and in treatment. One
touch of ideality would have made MISSIONER di-
vine, but he does not possess 1t, and so remains
coarse grained mortal despite his undeniable ge-
MUS. Carolus Duran has contributed two portraits
TO the exhibition. Both of them are Iikenesses of
ladies we'll known in Partisan society. Gerome
is represented by two pictures, each contain
ing single parsonage, one representing a
fully armed and Misunderstanding Turkish
warrior in the act of indulging in comforta-
Bile smoke, while the other shows
red bearded Jew in a bright green cation, con-
templating with interest the mighty stones and
vast expaASe of the wall of Solomon. Dore adhereS
to his latest form of pictorial success, namely,
landscape, and sends a fine view of group of
Scottish hills seen at sunset. He also contributes
to the sculpture department a small-sized group in
bronze, representing party of acrobats poised on
the shoulders of a Hercules of the arena. and
charming group in plaster of an owl life sized,
with butterfly winged elf nesting amid the
breast plumage of the solemn looking bird JAG
quets Box of Pandora Is three quarter length
of very lovely lady in Louis XIV. costume of
white satin, in the act of opening a casket. 1t is
replete with all the usual qualities OF his maniere
and artificial but essentially charming talent. The
PORTRAIT OF THE PRINCE OF WALES
by Bastien Lepage, is at once the sensation and
the great failure of the exhibition. In fact so
Fail, iS of
such undeniable genius. Fixing his eyes on the
fact that Holbein went to England to paint Henry
Will, this French painter has represented the
most modern of European princes in suit of nom
descript sixteenth century costumes, made up ofa
doubiet of cloth of geld, with huge pulled
sleeves, surmounted by lace ruff. But
only eccentricitieS of costume might have
been pardoned had the hkeneSses only
been good and Characteristic. But, instead of
handsome, stalwart Albert Edward, with his
countenance beaming with health and good
humor the artist portrayed for us asckly-lookfng,
yellow bearded parsonage, with high, peaked
forehead and eyes Of blue porcelain, evidently in
the last stages of softening of the brain, if one
may judge by the utter vacuity of his expression.
The Prince, too, is represented as having but one
arm At least, there is only one visible, the other
having vanished, the Lord knows where, or being
tucked out of sight, the Lord knows how. The
whole figure sinks into the background, which is
hazy view of boats and water and buildings, in
tended, l am told, to represent piece Of antique
tapestry but which all the critics up to the present
time have mistaken for a view of the Thames and
of old London. Qffenbach's posthumous opera,
I" LES c0NTES DE HOFFMAN,"
has just been brought out at the Opera Comique.
The music is uneven In quality and uninteresting
in character. There are some good members on
the partition, such remarkable trio for three
male voices tenor, baritone and baSsO), and
charming barcarole but. as a whole, the work
must be pronounced a failure. Offenbach never
land one is not even forced to borrow the hardly
ever" of "Pinafore" to qualify the aSsertion)
made success outside of the line of the opera
bouffe His "Vert-Vert," Robinson Crusoe" and
"Barkouf," written for the Opera Comique In past
years, all devoid of attractive, as we'll of
serious. qualities, and the ballet of" The Butter
fly" which he wrote for the Grand Opera,
was likewise a failure, though composed
when he was at the very summit of his
renown. Probably the wisest act of
his life was the committal TO the flames of his
grand five act tragic opera, written in the style of
Meyerbcer, and entitled the "Duchesse dAlbe."
This holocaust committed, it is said, after the
failure of Vert-Ve lies Contes de Hoffman,"
in addition to the lack of either charm
power in the music labors under the serious dis
%
uninteresting libretto. The authors have endeav-
ored to bring upon the stage the various personages
of Hoffman's Tales" and the total lack Of connec
ton between the different characters and incidents
may be imagined when one considers the fact that
an entire act the fourth) was cut out of the work
without doing any essential damage to the ensem-
BILE. The three hcroines, Olympia, Antonio, and
Stella-for there Is change of heroine to every
ac-are well represented by Mile. Isaac who is the
Il.
next to
OUR GIFTED LITTLE CoUNTRYwoNAN,
Marie Van Zandt. Indeed, there is talk of the
transferal of Mile Isaac to the boards of the Grand
Opera, that establishment being sadly In want of
representative of Marguerite and of Opkeljo and the
debut of Miss Griswold, who would, it was thought
prove the very prima donna needed for those
characters, being postponed till some remote and
indefinite date. Croizette Is not to be married to
the banker Stern as has been currently reported;
neither is she about to retire from the stage. On
the contrary, her recent creation of the part of
Lionettc in the "Princess de Bagdad" has
placed her on a pinnacle of fame far above
what she ever attained to before. Vic
tor Hugo has given permission to NJ. PENN
to mount next season his powerful drama
of angelo with Croizette as the heroine the
actress TS5e, a part originally written for Mile.
Mars and created by her, and afterward assumed
with immense effect by Mile. Rachel. The role of
the gentle, womanly Catarina, originally played
by Nine. Dorval, will be taken by Mile. Bartet, so
that the stage of the Coincide Franchise will wit
ness a competition of talent between those two
gifted actresses not less interesting than was the
original contest for supremacy between Mile. Mars
and Nine Dorrol Miss Cushman used to play the
part of Tfsbe at period Of her career, her yer
sion of the peace being entitled The Actress of
Padua."
THE DIVORCE QUESTION
has been settled for time by the recent voting
down of the bill in the Assembly its defeat being
mainly owing to the opposition of that very genuine
and patriotic Republican,, NJ. Henri Brisson, who
has been heard to declare in private life: "Once
break down the sentiment of respect for family
ties in France, and there is no telling where the
effects of such catastrophe would end" must
confess that my sympathies entirely with the
advocates of divorce. AS the French marriage
laws now stand, neither husband nor wife
can be freed from the CALLING fetter that
chains them to an adulterous and scaudalous
or q cruel spouse. man may leave his wife,
for instance and go to reside in Yokohama or
Hong Kong, yet if five years after his absence, that
wife gives birth to child that child Is legally
titled to bear the husbands name and to lay claim
to share of his estate after decease Nor can the
husband prevent wicked and VIGOROUSLY IN
faithful wife from continuing to bear his name,
which she may drag through all the mire of the
lowest forms of vice, if she be so minded. have
and heard of too many sad cases of this nature
not to sympathize with the advocates of the bill,
and to wish them speedy success in the future
Lucy II. Hooper in The Boston Herald.
JOHNNY SPILLKINS.