Morning journal and courier., 1885-10-10


 da Complaining - The New Drury
 Lane Spectacle Englfshmen On The
 French Stage e-Jumbo A Satire OR
 Royalty.
 Special Correspondence of the JOURNAL AND CoUR
 All Rights Reservedl
 LONDON, Sept. 26. To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
 Old Europe is lively once more. The His pano-Gernan difficulty is not yet settled and the Eastern question has entered new phase. Roumelia has revolted and declared herself free from the Sultan. Prince Alex ander of Bulgaria is to reign over Roumelia as we'll, and strange to say, the Tory party in England advocate policy of complete neu- trality. Everybody is glad to hear it. But if MT. Gladstone had remained prime minis ter every Tory paper would have denounced such policy inconsistent with British honor. Lord Salisbury would have ascribed the event to the intrigues of those Russian "bankrupts and swindlers;" Lord Randolph Churchill would have once more held up his hands in horror at ''the terrible news,' as he did when be understood that the Liberal ministry were settling the Afghan difficulty by peaceful means (although we are glad to see that the Tories are now conducting the negotiations with Russia on the lines laid down by their predecessors3 and finally the Russophobist Ashmead Bartlett would have proclaimed that again the Russians were at the gates of Constantinople. When in op- position the Conservatives hold Russia to be a standing menace to civilization; when in office they consider that she fulfills her desti ny. The versatility of politicians is really prodigious. It would be difficult to say, just at present., how far Russia is mixed with the Do, iorr b1t Ia N6Ij6Otf the Russian ambassador at Constantinople, has assured his colleagues that the events at Philippopolis took him completely by sur prise, and that the Russian government had nothing to do with the movement. This re- minds me too much of the French proverb, Qui sexcuse s'accuse. Nevertheless in Turk ish circles the rising is believed to be the re- suit of Sir Henry Drummond Wolffs mis- sion, which it is stated Russia interprets as 8 step to bring about an alliance against her. It is even suspected that the revolution is the outcome of the meeting of the emperors at Kremsier. However this may be, rails have been torn up, telegraph lines cut, bridges blown up. Notifications are in course of construction and people are in arms. There has been great fall in Turkish funds, as the Roumelian tribute will probably no longer be paid. Altogether things are look ing very gloomy.
 Mrs. Weldon, the brave exponent of jus tice, the champion of the peoples rights, the heroine of the lunacy laws, who has been undergoing term of six months imprison- ment for libel, was released from Holloway Gaol on Monday evening. She looked none the worse for her long confinement and was greatly cheered by the crowd who had as- sembled in front of the prison gates A procession was formed, accompanied by sev- era1 bands, which proceeded to Hyde Park. On arrival at the park gates the horses were taken out of Mrs. Weldon's carriage, which L 5,, 4l,o Nrx-I Speaking from her carriage, this lady in- formed the people that her voice was not so good as it used to be, because in the law courts it was the custom to have deaf judges. She had nearly screamed her voice away be- fore one old judge who could not hear and was nearly blind. Resolutions were passed demanding Criminal Court of Appeal and urging Parliament and the government to cause searching inquiry to be made in diff ferent cases of miscarriage of justice" Ringing cheers were given for Mrs. Weldon and the proceedings afterwards came to an end. The position of judge in Her Majesty's law courts will once more cease to be sine cure.
 Ouida, the well-known novelist, is loud in her lamentations over the vandalism that is abroad in Venice. She hates the steam launches that disfgure the landscape and dim the wonderful luminous atmosphere and gem-like mosaics She cries aloud against the atrocities that being put up in the shape of cast-iron bridges painted in lead color and red, and the disagreement caused to historic buildings by the application of gi- gantio advertisement bills. She makes touching appeal for the doomed gondo- liers," as she calls them. The gondola will be unable to compete with floating iron saucepans, she says, and soon the most de- lightful picturesque and poetic mode of nav igation will be known no more, unless the people of Venice quickly come to their senses and banish the vaporetti. If Dandolo or Bragadin could arise and look on their city they would be mortified, and Ouida i'm agines them appealing to the people of Ven ice to run not after strange gods and blind idols, but treasure the great past we made for you. Any knot of men can make for themselves city without story, blasting house where they can worship fraud and gold; any knot of men can do this but it is only you-heirs of all the ages-who have Venice"
 Mr. Augustus Harris, who used to modest ly style himself the ''greatest actor-author- manager since the days of David Garrick," has just produced new Drury Lane grand spectacular drama The thing is called Human Nature" but do not ask me why. If had to call it anything in French l would call it La Betise Humaine. Virtue in the person of several Englishmen is duly re- warded, and villainy in the person of Frenchman is justly punished, and Mr. liar
  plause" and his ''two hundred peals of laugh ter' as advertised. The London correspon- dents of the French papers have sept their complaints to their respective editors, with the nasty conclusion that they have discov- cred 0 new and irrefutable proof that the English hate the French, otherwise how could they kiss the wicked Frenchman as they dos A Drury Lane audience is not, however, to be confounded with an English audience, and the clever upholsterer who runs Drury Lane Theater has brought dramatic performances in London to about the same level as the Salvation army has brought the religious performances, to please the kinds of audience who honor him with their conf dence. Really it not to be expected that in order to make show of good taste, he would abstain from exciting the lower feelings of the unintelligent part of the pop l ulation. He was not bound to and probably could not initiate the good taste displayed in Jules Verne's Michel Strogof and other French plays, in which opportunity is taken of displaying the good qualities of a friendly neighbor.
 To contrast this proceeding of an English theatrical manager with the way in which we deal with Englishmen on the French stage, beg leave to extract the following lines from my last book, ''Les Chers Voisins:' Our stage managers, it is true, invariably adorn the Englishman with long red whiskers, put canoe-like boots his feet and arm him with gigantic umDfella. 1n1S Is TOT the benefit of the gallery, and provokes not the kind of laughter which proceeds from ran cerous heart, but good, hearty and harm less mirth. I was quite child when l was taken to see the Capture of Pekin," played at Parisian theater Yet I have never for gotten the hero of this play. fancy I still see this Englishnan walking calmly through . shower of bullets, needless of danger, and saluting as ''rude little fellow" the Chinaman who shoots off his hat while he is jotting down something in his note book. The gal lant son of Albion is Times correspondent He is made prisoner by the Chinese and taken before the Emperor. The mandarins order him to prostrate himself before the sovereign of the Celestial empire. Never" he says, t;1a Angleterre is the first nation in the world" "You shall be put to torture," cry his prosecutors. "Ho! you can do this l thing" he replied unmoved. ''You shall be made to obey.'' ''Hol you cannot do this thing" ''Your legs will be broken; no | longer able to stand, you will be obliged to prostrate yourself ''Break my legs! hol