Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-02-14
NJ, BRED RUSSELL'S LETTER.
.rr rouRyEY FROM PARIS TO
NICE.

-, french thrs"''
~, us,i,- Lesv'w rar's-ohSe S"'',
- esrfss' Day
"a, correspondence OF TIE plsraiee)
NV NICE. January -, 1856.
r,tore We lel, Paris we went to sew
:, 90 the theatres to see the most
o.' A. pieces. At the Nouveaute's the
pVlU'~ scene in a bu:lesque on Rcd
S S,S,n, Hood brought US face to face
IT, .. he municipal council Of French
w" town. Their pecularities of
~. and mAnper, their petty disputes
u ignorance. and thorough conviction
80 he well.beiUg Of France depended
',' hem. were very amusing. Ia the
81 ,,',seular piece = Hop o Ny Thumb
tho Seyen.League Boots several
d,fd persons, young and old, come
o. n, stage. from children who seemed
more than i've years of age to ac-
w. ~ lonc.standing reputation. One
.r, vas formed Of rows Of boots got
70 personate ladies, heavy swells,
y. nea aud women, babies, and other
t,,,-,ers. Another was drill in
rt,b a hundred children wheeled
.t1rt with Surprising precision, and
Il. whole ends with the apotheosis ct
,,,pcipal FAIRIES. The actor Chris
-, vbo PLAYED for long time with
,t.8sme Jude, and Baron, another
mI'.known actor, we're in this piece,
nt.cb All Paris, children included, has
t(,rtosee. We heard the Frenchopera
'.Il,ydee" at the Comique the night
e snbert. a tenor, made in his de5a'
- the chiei r6le and scored success.
The bbretto is founded on a Venetian
.,o,y. and this gave an opportunity for
,,,;5cinc A scene on a Venetian ship
,b,t recalled the Queen OF the Adriatic
~ MS by brilliant colOring and pic.
,crcScue costumes.
THE THEATRE FRANCAIS.
A. the Theatre Francois we saw
" Jean Eaudry," piece by Vacquerie,
the chief yoie being played by the
celebrated actor Got. Except in one
particular. il is q trite subject and set
n matter-of.fact surroundings. A re-
srec,able merchant is ruined his friend
offers him a helping hand, and to en-
able him to accept 1t the daughter of
the ruined man agrees to marry the
friend. who is much older than himself.
The friend. Jean Baudry, eventually re.
Signs the daughter to his own adopted
son. and it is in the representation of
his that the genius Of the playwright
and the actor come in. As often hap
rers at the Francois, the acting was so
rerfect that when we arrived home We
hardly realized that we had been TO the
;iea,Ie. There was no eXaggeration Of
dress OF manner, no high flights of en-
thg>iasm nor agOnizing depths of feeling,
ta, an exact representation of prosy
humanity that one elbows every day.
We felt as il we had been looking on
while excellent ordinary people had
been passing honorably and courage
oasly through troubles that are occur
fuc every day, and, as usual, one per-
son was sort of scapegoat or sufferer
for the rest. In these four theatres we
old not see a vacant seat, but the audi
,rce was by no means as brilliant as in
America. for, except for the grand opera
cr On special occasions, it is customary
20 70 soberly dressed.
ST. EUsTACHE.
en- the festival Of St. Cecilia ser
wee was given in the Church of St.
Eu>tache by the musical artists OF
Paris in aid Of their benevolent insti-
tuiions. The church is large aud was
built at transition era from the Gothic
to the renaissance, so that on strict
architectural principles it is spoiled.
Among other things the pillars are
ruined by the fiat sides and separate
capitals. In reality, however, it is i'm
posing in effect, and its lofty arches
give an air Of gracefulneSs to it.
At the service there were two organs,
innumerable viOlins, seven or eight
harps, and other instruments for the cho-
rus parts. The music on the whole was
pretty good. but the size of the church
and the many TecesseS and corners that
sgitated and absorbed the sound pre-
vented it being as effective as it would
have been in a more regular building.
This was especially the case with the
voice solos and an artistically-played
violin solo. During the service dozen
ladies' made a collection in the church,
aud when it was nearly over they
ranged themselves in double row be.
fore the exit, and shook their collec'
tion.bags as the people passed out, and
said +" Ladies and gentlemen, give
something to the cause of the artist
musicians in distress.
AN EXCURSION.
We made a little excursion out to
Epernay, in Champagne, a town and
district celebrated for producing the
wine that takes its name from that pro
vince. tits not to Epernay, however
that champagne owes its first exist
ence, but to Hautoillers, village six
miles distant. This village in times ii
the remote past had become well
known throughout western Europe or
account Of spring possessing healing
qualities and named St. Helen after tht
mother OF Constantine. As time went
on an extensive monastery with wide
reaching dependencies grew up near the
spring, and one Of the monks of the
order invented champagne. The manu-
faeture Of it was afterwards trans
ierred TO EpeTnay, and now gives EN-
ployment to the entire town. We went
through part Of the eight miles of the
Meet q Chandon cellars, where from
eighteen TO twenty millions of bottles
Of wine are said to be usually stored.
The cellars are like remarkably we'll
built, good-sized railway tunnels more
than anything else, and the bottles are
stacked up on each side, with gang
way between varying in width accord
ne TO whether a walkingway or space
enough for trotty is wanted. One Of
The barrels we saw is as big as a good
sized plantation cabin. The cellars
are well-aired and devoid Of any odor
except slight one Of wine. They
run IN various directions under the
town Of Epernay, and are in places
three deem. The Meet A Chandon es