, 1888-12-02
MAN OR DEMON"

~ ~ ncurly lorIY years since All gnrlS
was tlochng to sec Frederic Lemaitro In
a certain grisly melodrama bearing tho
above title. Partisan d~ramatists have
always had a leaning to the CHASTITY in
~melodrHma, and Partisan audiences have
encouraged that inclination, as witness
la Tour do Nesle," 'LHotel do la Tete
Nolre," and a good many other plays OF
tho grisly order; but this psychological
mystery called ''Man or Demon" was a
new departure In the morbid and the
CHASTITY, and the auditorium of the Am.
blgu Comiquo thrilled and ~shuddered as
one man at the performance of tho great
Frederic. There was n touch OF the su.
p~ernnturRl In tho play. Tho dnmatist
and the actor had adapted tho old ma
cainery OF Les Pilules du Diablo" to
trngical uses.
Tho story OF the play was simple; the
plot turned upon n CHASTITY plvot-de,
moniac possession. A physician. n man
of science and enlightenment. refined, in.
telleotual, OF blameless life and gracious
bearing, beloved and respected by the
world ho adorned. was possessed by dew.
lis. In tho broad light OF day. in tho ex.
ercise of his profession, In society. he wns
his own man. all went vol with him;
but with night and solitude tho demon
cRme and took possession of his victim,
and imPolled him to deeds OF blood.
Through the darkenod theatre there
thrilled n silent horror that held the
crowded audience ~spellbound, as the man
OF science flung a handful OF powder Into
his crucible, and. In tho lurid light that
rose around him, was seen the awful
change from man TO monster. The tall,
aim figure of the physician. graceful and
elegant In his neat evening dress, swelled
to gigantic dimensions, brnwny, muscu-
lar, tho form of n savage Hercules, whilo
tho fashionable modern dress changed to
tho blue blouse and blood red cap Of the
s~Rnsoulotto. Tho face changed, too; the
pale. refined features thickened, the
brows grow penthouso-llke above the
lurid CLEAN Of the malignant eyes: while.
with a cry that had nothing In 1t OF
humanity, the transformed creature rush
cd forth to revel In rapino and murder.
Needless TO expatiate upon the action
of the play. The later scenes rocked with
blood, the whole scheme of the drama was
baseless and wild; but the glamour Of
Lemaitre's genius held the audience In n
state of breathless interest, which tagged
not till tho fRu Of the curtain. The play
was the greatest success the Ambigu had
known for many years.
Ono fact gave an additional aud ex-
traneous interest TO the performance.
Those who knew the celebrities of the
city were able to recognize tho curious
and startling likeness which Lemaitre, In
his make up as the physician, had con.
trived to present to one of the princes of
modern science, Marc Avalon, tho cele-
brated chemist-a man who, at something
less than 40 years of age, had reached the
very pinnacle of professional success, who
had given laws to science, and had made
discoveries which had advanced the prog
ress of chemical experiment further In
his twenty years of labor than his pre-.
decessors had done within a century. So
striking was the resemblance as to be at
once perceived and remarked upon, both
at the first performance of tho play and
In the public press. 1t was even thought
that Marc Avalon would take offense Mt
this appropriation OF his outward sem
blance, and possibly make It the subject
of a lawsuiti but the great chemist
seemed amused, and even hattered, when
he read the comments of the critics upon
this particular feature of Lemaitre's char
a~cterization. He went to see the play
was Interested; e again-saw Lemai-
tire In his dressing room, and made various
suggestions, which intensified tho grim
realism of the scene in the laboratory.
1t was observed by and by that Avalon
present nearly every night during
some period OF the performance. He
generally occupied one particular avant
scene and kept himself perdu, but those
few persons who were able to SEQ his face,
rs he sat In tho shadow of the curtain,
remarked upon It's intent expression and
the keen delight no seemed to derive
from the actors mastery embodiment Of
q most unreal character.
1t was during the run of this play that
Paris was startled by a series Of murders
moro hideous than any crime that had
shocked society during the reign of the
citIzan .kin0. rnurdara (which hpra To-
rible resemblance In being to all appear
ance motiveless, and the work of a mon
ster whose sole desire was to steep himself
In the blood of an unoffendinR victim.
Once, twice, thrice, within O period of
less than three months wal the city horri-
fed by u revolving act of butchery; once
in the Rue Ste. Marguerite, where 6
wretched inhabitant Of that human sham
bles was found stretched In the gutter,
weltering in her blood; another In the
Rue de Ia Vieille Lanterne; a third In the
Rue des Feves.
Paris and the police of Paris were on
tho alert, looking for the Chourineur. 1t
was by that grim name the murderer wns
of In those circles where slang il
the only language. Day after day the
journalists of the gutter announced that
tho Chourineur had been heard Of and
conversed with here or there; had eaten
or drank In this or that restaurant, from
the Bocher dc Cancale to the Chat NOR.
Tho whole flight Of canards were on the
wing, and every morning and evening
there was a new one let fly upon Paris;
but those who knew anything at ali
about the matter knew that, 30 far, the
police were at fault. No trace, no clew,
hint of the Chourineur had yet been
obtained. Cauler, the chief of the secret
guardians Of the public safety, had
worked till he was weary; weary Of his
false lights and failures; wearier Of
other peoples futile and sometimes idiotic
suggestions. He was sitting In the April
twilight before a cafe on the Boulevard
des ltaliens, not many doors from the
Ambigu theatre, sitting alone at one Of
tho little marble tables, taking his demi-
tasse after a temperate dinner, and listen
ing idly to tho conversations around and
about him. He was off duty, resting n
jaded brain, yet the old habit of listening
and putting two mt two together at all
times and in all places was so strong
upon him that his ear was on the alert
unconsciously, and his brain soon awak-
oned to interest in the talk OF two men at
q table near his own.
They were OF the faneur species both,
one young, one middle aged-men who
their Paris, evidently.
Here he comes" said the elder man,
looking down the boulevard toward the